Tanner waited for the mechanical power to run out before hitting the three button

keys for the Gold Man. He leaped off the terminal and stretched his limbs down to

stop his fall before his body impacted the asphalt. He ran toward the designated

runway, elongated legs swiftly covering the distance.

He had to get Givens back and flee before they started shooting at him. He didn’t

want to take more hits from those fireballs. The Gold Man was tough, but it had

limits.

A few bad hits to the face would put him down until the power ran out and he could

switch to something else.

Tanner spotted the plane coming in. He nodded as it descended to the designated

runway. Black SUVs waited at the end of the runway. He should have known more

goons would be waiting at the end of the line.

How did he stop them from taking off with Givens?

He should have gone for some kind of blaster. He had a few in his set but he didn’t

like to use them unless he had to face someone he couldn’t physically overpower.

He needed to circle around to get behind the SUVs. Then he could sneak up on them

with the Gold Man’s ability to flatten his body.

Tanner hoped Givens would be smart and help him with the rescue. He didn’t need

a victim that wanted to be victimized.

Whatever was going on couldn’t be legal with all of the black suits and lack of

badges.

Tanner sank into a sheet with arms and legs. He crawled to the edge of the runway,

picking a path that would take him behind the parked cars. He reached the edge and

crept out on the runway.

He grimaced at the lack of cover, but he had to do the best he could with what he had.

He pulled himself until he was next to the rear bumper of the nearest car. He checked

the back door. It opened with the flip of its handle. He held the door and crept inside

as quietly as possible.

He pooled himself into a pile behind the back seat. He readied giant hands as he

steadied himself. He took a deep breath. It was time to go to work.

Tanner boiled over the backseat. His gold fists punched soft flesh as he moved

towards the front of the vehicle. The driver half-turned in his seat. He tried to unleash

a fireball at the gold face coming right at him. A thin pipe of an arm slammed the

fireball making hand upwards so the blast went into the car’s roof. The other gold

hand came around in a long powerful arc to knock the man’s head against the steering

wheel.

The Gold Man pulled himself together. He had this car secured. All he had to do was

take the other two, and then he could move against the men on the plane. It sounded

real easy when he said it to himself.

Men in black boiled out of the other two cars. They pointed their hands at the SUV

Tanner was in. They blasted the car, pouring power into the fiberglass and steel.

The SUV blew up around Tanner. He was ejected into the air on a column of fire. He

hit the ground off the runway. Debris fell down around him.

He lay there and tried to pick himself up. One finger twitched at his efforts. He

concentrated. He got his hands under his body and levered up into a sitting position.

It took a supreme effort for that much.

Men in black approached him as the plane coasted to a stop. So much for trying to

ambush them. He had to regroup before they burned him up. Those fireball makers

packed more punch than the Gold Man could handle.

He sprang at the closest man and turned him around. He threw the man at the next

closest group of suits. He was rewarded that they fell down. He turned and fled the

other way.

He had to get some distance. His timer for the Gold Man was running down and he

needed to catch his breath. At least the ambush was a partial success. The five men

in that car would never kidnap another kid.

He flung himself into the grass as fireballs flew over his head. He flattened himself

out as much as he could and pulled himself away from danger.

The plane coasted to a stop a few feet from the SUVs. Men disembarked, one

dragging their captive by the arm. Their hands swept around as they looked for targets

as they moved to their transportation.

Tanner watched as the vehicles pulled away from the runway. He had missed Givens,

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and was pinned down. What was he supposed to do now?

He needed to make his own escape and get after the SUVs. He had to switch powers

to do that. That meant becoming visible to the Men in Black while switching powers.

The two surviving cars vanished on an access road leading from the airport into the

city. He would have to track them down somehow. He just didn’t know how he was

going to do it now.

He should have gone with a blaster instead of the Gold Man. He relied a lot on the

stretching and the toughness. Maybe he relied on it too much.

The timer on his arm ran out. He switched back to his normal body laying in the

grass. The Men in Black shouted when they saw him. He touched the keyboard on his

arm as they shot at him.

Tanner flew back towards the burning SUV. He cursed it as he hit the wreck and

bounced into the air. Fireballs flew around him as he skyrocketed upwards.

The Rocket fired him at something and let him take impacts easily. It turned him into

a cannonball that would keep burning until he ran out of time.

That was the last thing he needed if he wanted to find Givens and get him back from

his captors.

Tanner looked down as he soared ever upwards. When the power ran out, he had to

look forward to a long fall. He spotted the black vehicles heading into Manhattan.

What did he do about it?

He grimaced. He was at the mercy of the keyboard’s timer. Too bad he hadn’t asked

the man in the coat how to modify that before things went into the pot.

He smiled. He was in New York. He had a bead on the bad guys. He only had to wait

a few minutes before the power ran out. Then he could switch to something to get out

of the jam he was in.

He just needed to stay calm and things would work out.

The skyrocket cut off. He floated high above the Earth. He could almost see the

curvature of the planet. He had to react fast before he ran out of oxygen and died.

He put on his wings and dropped toward the ground. He needed to get back on the

track of his enemy while they thought he was out of the picture.

He found the airport easily. He scanned the streets around the airport. Where had the

two car parade gone? They had to still be on the road. Where were they going?

He was not going to lose after all this effort to track the gang down, and getting close

enough to stop them.

Tanner winged over the city, watching the streets. There had to be a way to find the

caravan. He decided that maybe he should climb and try to pick up the trail.

He didn’t have a lot of time, but he had enough for one shot. If he could climb high

enough before the timer ran down, maybe he could spot the SUVs and figure out

which direction they were going. Then he could switch to the runner and catch up.

It wasn’t a perfect solution but it was all he had for the moment.

And if it worked, it allowed him to get close enough for another ambush. He needed

to make sure it worked the next time around.

And he already knew how they treated someone taking hostages.

He didn’t like the feeling of almost being blown to pieces. He knew they were

ruthless from the confrontation at the school. He didn’t think they would discard their

friends so readily.

He should have known better from the way the downed Men in Black had committed

suicide after the rest had gotten away with Givens.

It was too bad he hadn’t figured a way to con Darla into coming. She had a lot of

skills given her by her third eye that would be useful in this situation.

She didn’t like using it, and felt like it was a curse.

It told her too many things she didn’t want to know was all she ever told him. The

few times he had been able to coax her to use her abilities had been emergencies

where no one else could help, or was available.

He loved his abilities, but didn’t like the new knowledge that pressing more than

three keys sent out a signal to someone to invade the Earth. It dampened his

enjoyment somehow.

He had a ton of abilities with the three keys. Did he really need more than that?

Tanner put his thoughts about powers away. He thought he saw a two car parade of

black vehicles driving slowly through the streets. He checked his timer. He had to get

down, or he was going to have problems.

He aimed for a building ahead of the cars. He could switch back to wings, or use the

runner option. He had to keep them in sight.

He didn’t know what they wanted with Givens but it couldn’t be good just from the

methods they were using.

He expected that was why the man in the coat had duped him into getting involved.

Something bigger than a kidnaping was going on. It was up to him to find out what.

He didn’t like that feeling at all.

He landed on top of a building just as his wings gave out. He leaned against the wall

and caught his breath. A few seconds the other way and he would have been headed

for the street.

He doubted he could have activated a power to help him before he hit the ground.

He looked down at the street. The two cars still rolled down below him. He frowned.

He was too high up for the runner. He needed to put on the wings again.

He pushed the three keys and let the wings lift him from the ledge. He soared to the

next building. He needed to know where they were stopping. He could try to grab

Givens there.

Once he had spoiled part of their plans, he could work on spoiling the rest.

The SUVs pulled into a parking garage. He lost sight of them as they rolled into the

deck.

He checked each deck from the outside. He found the cars parked on the third floor.

He climbed over the rails and watched the cars. Nothing moved as far as he could see.

Had they already gone to the exit on foot?

He looked at his arm. The wing timer was winding down. Once it had, he needed to

switch to something that would help him. He might have lost Givens while trying to

find the cars. Where would they have taken him from here?

He still needed to check the cars. They might be waiting to meet someone.

Darla would have been able to scan the cars and tell him if he was waiting in vain

with one look.

He lost the wings and waited for a moment. Nothing moved. He gritted his teeth.

What could help him in this situation? The Gold Man, his primary offense, had been

beaten back twice already. What could he use to get the upper hand and get Givens

back.

He pressed the three keys on his arm to activate his next change.