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Posts: 4011
Join Date: May 2005
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------------------------------------------Chapter Two-----------------------------------------------------
Cole got his bearing inmediately and soon realized he had landed within 100 yds. of his target. He gathered his chute and buried it quickly then set out for the spot where the object was buried. A lot of
thoughts running through his head. "Did the plane send a signal?", "Did anyone else know about this?", "If the mission was classified they may not have filed a flight plan, what then?, "would anyone
come for him?'.
Night was fast approaching, and he knew his first priority was to survive, to find shelter. Soon he was able to make out the marker that had been described in the quick briefing. It seems mother nature
had been up to her old tricks again. Rain and wind erosion had exposed a portion of the drum and he could clearly see it.
As he got closer he realized that mother nature could be mean indeed, the barrel had deteriorated in the 40 plus years it had been out there.
Sergeant Turner could see there was something else there, another canister inside the larger one. He ran the last few steps and knelt beside the object. As he touched the lid it crumbled, it simply became
dust. He reached in and got a hold of the other cannister. It felt cool to the touch and very light despite it's size. As he pulled it out he could see the remaining pieces of the drum crumbling. Part of his
work was nearly done already, a little pressure and the hole caved in leaving just a small indentation where it had once been.
He gathered his belongings and the cannister and headed for the nearby foothills. There were caves there that would provide shelter from the weather. He knew this was Federal protected land so he was
in no danger from humans; mountain lions, bobcats, wolves and creepy crawlers were another thing entirely. An hour later, after clambering over some rocks he found the perfect shelter, a small cave, he
quickly found the back wall and determined there were no signs of predatory animals. He made a small fire,
got some power bars out his pocket for some energy and began in earnest to assess his situation. All the same thoughts came flooding back. All the what if's of his situation. He had to figure out a way to
get back to civilization while concealing the cannister. He was certain that no one would come for him. It seems that plan had been last minute. If no signal was sent it would be up to him.
But what then?
What was he supposed to do with it?
Whom would he give it to?
He would wait a day or two in case a distress call had been sent, but somehow he knew, help was not on the way.
The night was getting cold, as it can in the desert, so he added a few logs to the fire and got ready to sleep, tomorrow the answers will come to me. He checked his weapon and put it under the pack he
was using for a pillow, pulled the cannister close to him and fell asleep.
By midnight the Moon had slowly crept over the horizon bathing the valley in a silvery light that chased some of the shadows away.
The cave was facing due east and soon enough the brightness hit him full on.
AWAKE! Cole bolted up gun in hand, he sprang to his feet and in the same motion kicked out the flames!
Something was wrong, he did not know what but every fiber of his body screamed an alert.
He quietly made his way to the front of the cave to scout for anyone aproaching.
Nothing.
He looked again even venturing a few steps outside.
Sergeant Turner you are losing it man! calm down, it's just a case of the jitters, relax!... he muttered to himself. He checked the time, it was midnight.
As he turned to head into the now darkened cave he could see a glow from within. Of course the Moon lighting up the cave he thought, but instantly checked himself! The glow was an intense blue and
was pulsing. Slowly, he aproached and realized it was the cannister.
He picked up the container and was surprised to find it warm now. As he turned it over in hands he felt a small depression near the top edge and pressed it.
The top came off and Cole looked inside. There were three items inside which he pulled out for a closer inspection.
The first was a small box with what appeared to be computer chips, the second item a tube with something rolled up inside and as Cole pulled it out he was aware that this was strangely familiar. As the
material came out of the tube it unrolled itself and lay perfectly flat. This was what the rancher and other witness had reported so long ago, a material that was light and went back to it's original shape
after being crushed or folded. and fold it he did. He tried several times with the same result. He pulled out his K-Bar and tried cutting it, nope, got his lighter out, but couldn't burn it.
The third item was the strangest of all; this was the source of the glow!
Gently, he slid it out of the cannister and dropped it in his hand.
The surge of energy that went through his body was at once frightening and exhilarating. He felt himself raise from the ground, thought of falling and instantly he was on the ground! He opened his hand
and looked down, it was like a diamond but pure blue and had an almost holographic look to it, even though he knew it wasn't he could feel its weight. As he looked at the Gem he began to realize that he
could see through himself. He was translucent! When he focused on this the effect increased to the point where there was only the Gem floating in mid-air and even it was fading fast. Solid, think solid! He
was back whole. Clearly here was something from another world and now it fell on him to secure it. Think of what enemies of the U.S. could do with this if they got their hands on it.
That could not be allowed, one way or another he was going to protect this secret against misuse. he felt a little cold and thought of the warmth of the fire, he heard a quiet rustle.
Like Neo in The Matrix being covered in glass the material which was underneath him covered Cole instantly and provided warmth. So the material cannot be cut or burned, but can be molded by
thought; as long as I'm holding the gem it will bend to my will. To test his theory he put the gem down and the material fell right of him.
The next few hours were spent experimenting with the gem and the material. He discovered that the material would change form as he willed it and that he could shoot portions of the material from his
fingertips at will and guide the material onto small rocks to envelop them, then released at will. He became completely invisible and easily learned to control the amount of invisibility.
The next step was harder! He had levitated a little when he first touched the Gem, he remebered the sensation clearly, that was accidental but now he needed to know how far that property of the Gem
could be controlled if at all. Closing his hand on the Gem he felt himself rise. He tried over and over again until he had mastered the confines of the cave. Now he ventured outside and set about learning
to fly short distances at first and always in a straight line, then while on a short hop he figured out how to turn. Not so much by thinking but by actually initiating the turn by leaning into it, the same way you
lean into a turn while on a bike. Same principle. He was elated as he practiced and gained proficiency beacuse he, of course, now knew that he would effectuate his own rescue.
For the next 12 hours he practiced and mastered these newly granted abilities. The time had passed quickly and effortlessly, while he should have been tired he wasn't it seems the gem provided him with
extra energy. The only sign of the passage of time was hunger. He had come to a stop at the entrance to the cave and pondered his next move while grabbing some chow.
Sergeant Turner grabbed an MRE from his pack and ate while formulating his plan. He began with the obvious; until he got more intel, he would keep and guard all these items. Next, he needed to know
his status and that of his mission. The latter required him to get back to civilization where he could listen to the news and find out if anything had been said about a plane exploding in mid air.
That would be his starting point. He donned his new suit grabbed the gem and flew to his landing site. He dug out the chute and checked on the site where the drum had been and soon realized that unless
you knew exactly what to look for, the area was undistiguishable from its surroundings. He flew back to the cave, hid the chute and concealed all evidence that he had been there. No need to let anyone
find proof that something had gone on in the area should somehow the site become compromised. With that accomplished he took the first step of his journey back to civilization.
Some step indeed! He flew well above the ground to get his bearings and in the distance he saw what appeared to be communication towers. He headed straight for them. As he got closer he realized they
were not radio or TV antenna, but a Doppler radar station with a small control building beside it, perhaps there was a telephone inside or maybe radio transmitter. He landed beside the building and
approached while still cloaked. No sounds of life came from inside, just the hum of electrical equipment. He found the door to be unlocked and entered. The small room contained a small work bench, a
lamp, a pegboard full of tools just above the bench and a lot of equipment. Realizing he was alone he uncloaked and set his pack down on the bench. Clink! Something had fallen out of his pack and
sounded metallic.
He looked in his pack and realized the box with the chips was open and the sound had been one of them as it rolled out. He needed to be more careful. Leaning over the bench to try to locate the missing
chip he saw that the side panel of the machine had been removed. The now familiar blue glow of the Gem was emanating from somewhere inside the machine. As he ducked under the bench he saw the
it, it was glowing alright, but it was hovering also; perfectly centered about two inches above a computer board; and emitting little bluish tentacles of lightning from time to time. He reached for it and it
came away effortlessly. As soon as he closed his hand on it he felt a pulse rushing through his arm and inmediately could sense a 3-D vision of his suroundings that extended for several miles. He looked
at his hand again and saw the chip leap from his hand and attach itself to his belt. Like a bolt from above he knew that the chips were able to clone technology. He would have to be careful with the
remaining chips as there were only four left.
With no means of communication available in the small building he knew he had to press on. Turning South-south-east he headed for San Antonio. The city was his best bet for information before
deciding what to do. He headed for the outskirts of town knowing that he couldn't risk being spotted by MP's although he also knew all he had to do was to stay cloaked. He felt that talking to people
would probably be the fastest way to gather intel. First things first, a quicky disguise. He found a narrow alley behind a Military Surplus store, taking of his military gear he wrapped it all in the flexible
material and willed it to "stay". He hid the package and entered the store where he picked up a duffel bag, plaid shirt, jeans and a pair of sunglasses. He returned to the alley and hid the rest of his stuff
having confirmed that his package had maintained the form he willed it into.
He entered a few bars with TV's, talked to people, picked up a newspaper and there was nothing. Not a word! In the city where he expected to get answers he got nothing. Not even a rumor. Zip.
He returned to the alley and retrieved his belongings. concealing it all in the duffel bag. It was late, very late, and he felt hungry. He found an all night diner and went in for a meal.
Fate intervenes in a lot of ways to change peoples lives, sometimes for bad, other times...
"Nobody move! You, there, open the register! NOW!"
Cole clenched his hand around the Gem tightly and was gone from sight. With everyone focused on the thugs screaming at the cashier no one took notice of his dissappearing act. He stepped towards the
back of the Diner so he could pull the material from the bag, as long as the bag was in his hands it would remain invisible, cloaked by the Gem's power. As he slipped the material on he heard his uncle's
voice ringing clearly in his head ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’. He was startled by a loud thud; the next thing he saw enraged him instantly. One of the thugs
was hitting an elderly couple and demanding their money and jewelry all the while grinning and mocking them. The little boy cop inside Cole was awakened.
The thug was having the time of his life, intimidating and abusing helpless people gave him a rush. They are like sheep led to slaughter! Ha! he thought, easy pickings.
It was the last thing he remembered. He felt a blow at the back of his head then darkness!
The other thug looked up as his friend hit the floor.
"Hey, what the..."
A hard blow to the solar plexus sent the thug flying into a corner. Stunned but not out he stumbled to his feet and began leveling the weapon. Cole was upon him in flash.
Bang! the shotgun went off striking Cole in the chest. There was a moment of panic in his head. Visible only to him because of his cloaked state, small pellets sat on the surface of his suit and were slowly
"ingested" by the suit.Before the stunned thug could recover; the gun was flying out of his hand. And like his partner before he too felt a hard blow that stole his consciousness.
The Diner was quiet and everyone was trying to make sense of what they had seen or "not seen". The silence was broken by the sound of the clock chiming twelve times.
Sergeant Turner remembered it was midnight when he awoke at the cave! It was midnight now! Coincidence?
Purposely, thinking clearly and knowing what he was about to do he shifted the material to include a mask and willed himself to visibility.
Staff Sergeant Cole Turner spoke the words that sealed his fate.
Fear no more!
Don't ever be afraid again.
I am your friend and you are safe now.
No longer will the scum of the Earth terrorize anyone! Not on my watch!
I am, The Midnight Avenger!
===============================TO BE CONTINUED=========================>
Why were there no news about the accident?
Who was the civilian on the plane?
Why did the plane explode?
What about Sergeant Coles' military career?
What other technology can he incorporate into the suit?
Can he trust anyone?
Stay with us for all the answers and more.
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