The Chronicles of Silverwolf: The Dawning of a Hero (9 page)

“Thanks,” Wolf smiled.

***

The warehouse Justin had bought was an old two story building located on a street corner in the middle of downtown San Francisco. The first floor was used as his research lab. The second floor consisted of three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living area. It had everything the team needed.

“Impressive,” Wolf said, looking at the setup Justin had inside.

“Well you can forget your worries. I’ve secured your ship in my private hangar at the airfield. The hangar is locked up tighter than a drum,” said Justin as he walked in behind us.

“Let’s hope nobody can get in,” Jonathan said.

“Relax. I’ve got a digital keypad and hand print scanner on all the doors. No one but me has authorization to access it,” Justin reassured us.

“Well, since we brought the suit with us we might as well make good use of it now and I’m not just talking about stopping Shadowgate. I’m talking about helping this planet move along the right evolutionary path,” Peter suggested.

“What are you talking about?” Sarah asked.

“Well, after doing a lot of research on your internet here, there are quite a few countries that could use Silverwolf’s help such as North Korea, Burma and a couple of places in Africa where people are suffering under some kind of tyrannical rule,” Peter explained.

“You know the Oracle wouldn’t approve of us doing this,” Jonathan told Peter.

“We’re kind of past that point. Don’t you think? Besides she isn’t here, Jonathan. Silverwolf can be a beacon of light for this planet and I’ll be your eyes and ears while you’re out there fighting the good fight,” said Peter.

“What about me?” Sarah asked wanting in on the action so she could be part of the team.

“You my dear can be our eyes and ears out in the public domain. We’re going to need the intelligence,” Peter suggested.

“I can help too. I can supply us with the food and supplies we need. Since you’re not from this world it would be hard to walk into a local food market and pick something and pay for it without cash or a credit card. And you can use my facility as home base,” said Justin.

“Sounds good to me,” Jonathan said.

“And I can help bring down Shadowgate,” Justin added.

“Is any of your equipment capable of helping us put a stop to him?” Jonathan asked.

“That’s not quite what I had in mind,” said Justin who then did something that took them all by surprise.

Within the blink of an eye he ran, in a blaze of fire, from one side of the warehouse to the other and then returned to the spot where he was standing before. The fire that engulfed him as he ran, soon became extinguished.

“Well I’d say that partly explains why your last name is Gait,” Peter said.

“What are you talking about?” Sarah asked.

“In the dictionary the word gait means the ability to move fast or in forward motion,” Peter explained.

“Uh, Justin? Is there something you want to tell me?” Jonathan asked, bewildered.

“It only started happening recently. I would start to get these hot flashes and before I knew it I was running faster than a speeding a bullet. And I’m only on fire when I’m running,” Justin explained.

“Does your father know about this?” Sarah asked.

“No. I haven’t told him. I’m not sure I want to just yet,” said Justin.

“Well we could sure use the extra man power with your abilities. They will come in handy,” Peter smiled.

“Now let’s see this suit of yours,” said Justin.

Peter opened the case he brought with him and handed the gloves to Jonathan.

After putting on the gloves, the nanites did exactly what Peter said they would do. They formed a sliver liquid metal substance around his entire body. The only distinguishable features were two sapphire shaped eyes and a large black bendable wire that stuck out at the back of his head and hung down from it.

“That is awesome,” Justin sparkled with delight.

“Not bad, huh?” Jonathan said.

“I’ll say,” added Sarah. “But what’s this used for?” she asked pointing to the black wire on my head that was attached to the suit.

“It acts like a communication antennae so Jonathan and I can keep in touch and so I can monitor the suit in case it fails,” explained Peter.

“You’re more than welcome to do that here. You’ll be completely isolated and safe from the outside world,” said Justin.

“We appreciate this, Justin,” Jonathan told him as he made my way to the roof in the suit.

“Where are you going?” asked Sarah.

“To change the world. Let me know if Shadowgate shows up,” Jonathan said walking up the flight of stairs that led to the upper floors and the roof.

Chapter 16

It was the most isolated country on the planet. Not since the holocaust have people suffered in such great numbers. The people of North Korea had been living under a blanket of lies and secrecy since the country was founded by Kim-Il-Sung.

Jonathan felt this was the first country that needed to be liberated, considering the people have been suffering long enough. First the famine took place, starving and killing millions of Koreans, and now a disillusioned son, whose ruling had brought hardship down upon the entire country.

As he took flight for the first time from San Francisco Jonathan’s heads-up display showed him his current location and a map of the entire world. The suit allowed him to fly at a speed close to Mach 1. Any faster and the suit wouldn’t be able to protect him from burning up. Peter was also able to communicate with Jonathan remotely from the warehouse both visually and by audio if he so desired.

“Let’s hope your presence doesn’t start an international incident,” said Peter.

“Since no country will take responsibility for this I doubt it will come to that. Besides these people need to be free and they need someone to motivate them to do it,” Jonathan told him.

“No argument there,” Peter said. “You should be flying close to North Korea now.”

The map on his heads-up display proved Peter right as he saw the country below him.

“I’m going in,” said Jonathan.

As he started his descent, he spotted one of the prison camps and decided to zoom in using the suit. He could see a gathering of people standing near a village watching a group of soldiers carrying a female over to what looked like a wooden pole sticking up out of the ground. The soldiers tied her to the pole and then backed away with their automatic weapons aimed at her. It looked as if they were about to execute her.

“Let this be a lesson to all who betray your dear leader Kim-Jong-Il. It is treason to leave the borders of this country,” the officer said in Korean.

The suit was able to translate the language into one I could understand; English.

Jonathan knew he had to act quickly before they opened fire and took her life. He quickly landed safely in front of her just as the officer ordered his men to fire.

“Put your weapons down! Now!” Jonathan ordered. Luckily the suit translated his words into their language.

For a moment, he could tell they were all shocked by what they saw. Then the officer yelled, “Kill him!”

His soldiers opened fire but the bullets had no effect as the suits armor was too tough for them to penetrate. Quickly, Jonathan had the suit form two throwing disc in his hands and then threw them at the soldiers AK-47’s, slicing them in half. The soldiers then instinctively dropped them knowing it was pointless to continue holding them.

The officer then ran straight towards Jonathan and tried to punch him but he grabbed his arm and slashed his chest with his claw which ripped open his uniform. He yelled out in pain before stumbling to ground.

“Listen to me! All of you!” Jonathan yelled so everyone in the area could hear him. “Your dear leader has lied to you. Trust me. I know because I come from a place that is free. I know what it’s like to be free. Sadly you are living under a blanket of tyranny. Not freedom. If you were free, your own government would not be executing the people you know and love. These soldiers do not have to kill this innocent female. All she was doing was crossing the border to get food and possibly expose what really goes on here.

“If you truly want to be free then I say fight for it. If you want to live in peace then sacrifices will have to be made but it’s up to you. Your dear leader isn’t a god. Otherwise you wouldn’t be starving. I can tell from the expressions on your face that you are not happy living under these conditions. You can put an end to all of that if you truly desire,” he said.

“Nice speech,” he heard Peter say.

“Thanks,” Jonathan replied, then turned around and walked over to the woman who was tied to the post. He removed her blindfold then walked around back and untied her hands. When she first looked at up at him, she stumbled backwards and fell. He cautiously approached her knowing she was frightened and reached out his hand.

“It’s okay. It’s over. I’m here to save you,” He gently said.

For a moment, she hesitated. Then she smiled and took his hand as he lifted her off the ground. Then she unexpectedly hugged him and said, “Thank you,” and began to cry in happiness.

Suddenly, Jonathan began to here the word ‘Freedom’ being chanted from people in the crowd. The chant got louder as he turned to have a look. The most surprising thing of all was that the soldiers actually joined in. He smiled knowing he started something that would possibly change this country forever.

***

The main difference between Burma and North Korea was that at least the people living under Burmese rule had protested several times in the past. Now they were protesting once again. Standing on one of the few buildings in the capital, cloaked in invisibility to the naked eye, Jonathan saw fights break out between the civilians and soldiers as another protest rally had taken place.

“I wouldn’t interfere unless you have to. Remember, we’re here only to help if needed. Not do the work for them,” Peter advised.

“Right,” he responded as the fighting grew more intense down below.

The phrase “Freedom and Democracy” could be heard as more protestors took to the streets. The key difference between the protestors and the solider was that the soldiers were armed. The protestors only had their fists and rocks to fight with.

The soldiers opened fire at the protestors which turned a lot of them away but not all. Some were killed instantly by the bullets. Others had been lucky. Soon more soldiers had shown up and it had turned into a blood bath. Jonathan decided it was time to take action and help. So he landed in front of the protestors and joined in.

Using the skills he had and the weapons that were available to him, Jonathan was easily able to take out a dozen soldiers while the rest charged at the protestors behind him. The soldiers were stunned to see an invisible presence among them but it didn’t alter their decision to attack.

When the protestors saw that something was attacking the soldiers they started joining in by grabbing some weapons from those soldiers that had fallen and fired back. That was when Jonathan uncloaked himself to reveal who he was. He could see shock in their eyes as he continued to help the protestors fight and turn the tide of the fight.

The chanting got louder as he used his claws to slice up the soldiers. One even tried to charge him from behind but he grabbed his arm and threw him aside before he had a chance to react.

It took awhile, but slowly, the soldiers started to fall back and retreat. Some surrendered and started helping the protestors. Now it seemed that the people weren’t so afraid anymore when they turned to me and started thanking me.

“It looks like you’ve got a fan base growing,” he heard Peter say.

“As long as it helps them achieve their goal,” he said.

“By the way, we need you back here,” Peter said.

“Why?” Jonathan asked.

“It seems Shadowgate has come out of hiding again.”

“I’m on my way,” he sighed, not happy about the news, and took to the sky.

Chapter 17

Jonathan Woolf felt that he had achieved a lot in the last two days. It was unfortunate that he had to cut his other missions short because of Shadowgate. He was, after all, the reason Jonathan went back to Andromeda to retrieve the suit.

As soon as Jonathan returned, it was close to midnight and he found a swarm of police cars blocking off both ends of the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Close to the middle of the bridge was a person who fit the description of Shadowgate, according to his heads-up display. He flew in closer and landed on one of the towers for a better look.

“Hands where we can see them, now!” an officer commanded using his portable voice amplifier.

“This isn’t going to be good,” Peter said coming in through the commlink.

That’s when arching bolts of electricity hurled out of Shadowgate’s hands and branched out into dozens of smaller forks hitting the police cars and officers who either ran for cover or simply ran far enough away not to get hit. It didn’t take long for the electricity to cause the gas tanks underneath the vehicles to explode, sending huge flames of fire into the air.