When the chips are down and Speedy finds himself in real danger, it's actually not far off to say he's nearly invincible. Forged by instinct rather than summoned, the moment a lethal attack comes his way, he just... reacts. Hunkered down, hands crossed in front of his eyes, elbows in front of his chest, it seems like a futile effort, but then the magic happens.
Out of nowhere, a translucent purple shield, inlaid with geometric patterns, sprouts around Speedy's frame. Three triangular faces coming out of the ground and into a sort of pyramid. The sheer weight of the shield digs into the ground slightly, whilst Speedy initially remains unaware. Bullets and blades bounce off the structure with ease. The real star of the show, however, is when the attack is energy based. Lasers are absorbed into the shield, and then subsequently fired out from one of the three faces at random, sometimes even shooting back at the attacker.
However, this ability is limited. It cannot be summoned at will, only forming when Speedy believes his life is in imminent danger, guarding him from a blow that otherwise could kill him. The moment he realizes he's not hurt, the shield will dissipate, which means sometimes he may need to get back to evasive maneuvers. The shield will also not work if he is on his back, as it activates only when he's in that pose.
If caught in midair, he can curl up to produce a secondary version of the shield, which surrounds him in two pyramids that can handle a few attacks before breaking, allowing him a better chance of getting back to ground safely.
This gorgeous rendering of my boy's defense was done by
