“Sorry, no,” said the man at the hanger doors. “No one’s leaving any time soon. We have a superhero team patrolling the area?”

Joseph did his best to look nervous. “Which one?”

“The Fullmetal Force,” said the guard. “Don’t worry, this bunker is well hidden. If we keep our cool and don’t reveal ourselves, they’ll have no choice but to give up the search. We’ve already set in motion plans to leak fake information to the U.H.E.. That should get them off our tail soon enough.”

“Good,” said Joseph, giving a thumbs up. “Very good.”

As Joseph turned and walked away, he took a deep breath. In truth, he’d just been confirming what he’d suspected earlier. Thornton had quit the trial to look out for Superheros in the area. Now that he knew, he could put the next part of his plan into motion.

Joseph Kimball had never been more nervous in his life.

###

Joseph stood in his quarters, taking a deep breath. Putting on a jacket, Joseph put the SOS locater in his inside pocket and pulled out his cell phone to call his wife. He waited a moment for the call to go through, and while it was a relief to hear his wife’s voice, he remained somber. He had a job to do.

“Hey, honey,” said Sandy on the other end of the phone. “How is it going?”

“It’s going great,” said Joseph. “Fantastic. My work with the Son’s of Purity has gone well.”

Joseph cringed. He really hoped no one was listening as he feared.

“Anyway,” he continued. “This calls for a celebration. We should take Rose to Oceanworld when I get back.”

Joseph held his breath as he waited for her response. A moment later, Sandy responded, her voice shaking just a little.

“Y…yeah,” she said. “That sounds like a great idea. We’ll do that.”

“See you soon,” said Joseph.

“See you soon.”

Joseph hung up, and then turned to leave. He’d give her twenty minutes to reach the nearest U.H.E. office, and then he’d make his move.

###

“We gotta get out of here,” said Inferno Man, looking around nervously. “I don’t suppose anyone has a plan now?”

“Stay calm,” said Blacksting.

Inferno Man laughed frantically, beginning to pace around his cell. “Stay calm? Are you kidding me?”

“Yes,” said SteelStar. “Blacksting’s right. Panicking isn’t going to help anyone.”

Not that SteelStar didn’t understand where Inferno Man was coming from.

“They’re right, dude,” said Nosfeline. “You need to chill.”

Inferno Man wasn’t listening, and started hyperventilating as he grabbed his head. He attempted to turn to flame, whisps of fire coming off his body. The sprinklers activated immediately, dousing him. One could see firelight under his skin, but most of his body remained solid.

Getting Desperate, Inferno Man ran to the edge of his cage and began banging on the glass.

“Let me out!” he cried. “Let me out!”

###

Andrew Thornton was still keeping watch on the Iron Eagle through the cameras when his desk buzzed. He tapped the desk, scowling.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Sir, someone just made a phone call from the base.”

Thornton frowned. “Who was it, and what did they say?”

“It was Joseph Kimball sir. He called his wife and said they’d celebrate by taking their daughter to a water park.”

Thornton rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “How long did the call last?”

“Less than a minute.”

Andrew Thornton considered it. Joseph Kimball wasn’t set to go home until tomorrow, so this phone call was unexpected. It was suspicious timing, but the message itself sounded harmless enough. Furthermore, this bunker did have measures in place to bounce cell phone signals around, a tap into nearby cell phone towers that they’d installed covertly. Any cell phone signal that came from this base appeared to come from elsewhere, so he wasn’t worried about that. These measures weren’t great for other types of signals, but the man scanning Kimball’s belongings hadn’t turned up anything suspicious, so Thornton wasn’t worried about that either.

Even so, Mr. Kimball’s earlier doubts were weighing on Thornton’s mind. Perhaps he’d keep an eye on Kimball just in case. In the meantime…

He pressed a button on his intercom. “Men, make sure you’re in your power suits, just in case.”

With that order done, Joseph stood, walked over to a wall and pressed a button. The wall slid away to reveal Andrew Thornton’s personal power suit.

###

Inferno Man fell to his knees, hyperventilating, tears forming under his eyes. Most in the room moved as close as they could in their cages, concerned. The only one who didn’t was Beetle Brute, who just laughed.

“You need to calm down,” said Blacksting, still strapped to his seat.

“He’s right, dude,” said Nosfeline. “This is no time to panic.”

SteelStar wished he shared their confidence.

“Inferno,” said Green Angel. “Inferno, look at me.”

Inferno Man looked up, meeting Green Angel’s eyes.

“Tell me your name,” said Green Angel.

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“Wh…what?”

“Say your name.”

“Um,” he stammered. “I…Inferno Man.”

“What are your powers?”

“I… I can turn to… to flame.”

“That’s good,” she said. “Now, take a deep breath.”

Green Angel went on like this, talking him through his panic and helping him calm down. Soon, he was calmer than before, and the mood in the room quieted down for a moment. SteelStar, however, looked at the door of this room longingly. As much as he appreciated her efforts, they still had the same fundamental problem.

###

“Sorry,” said the guard. “You need authorization to confront the prisoners. Until you’re a full member, I can’t let you in.”

Joseph Kimball stood in front of a locked door, the guards on duty sitting behind a desk filled with controls.

“Oh, come on,” said Joseph affably. “I just want to show that power user that even a construction worker can take him down.”

The guards couldn’t help but grin. “That is pretty cool.” Said one of them.

“Yeah,” said Joseph. “And you know, I just can’t get that Manny Turner out of my mind, you know? It’s just so tragic.”

That, at least, is true, Joseph thought.

The guards considered this. “Sorry. I can’t authorize it.”

Joseph nodded. “Sure, I understand.”

Joseph turned and walked away, suppressing the urge to sigh. In truth, it had been a longshot that he could get into the room with them, but it wasn’t absolutely necessary. So long as he was in the general vicinity, he could summon the superheroes outside just fine.

Taking a deep breath, he looked around, found an out of the way corridor, and reached into his jacket to activate the beacon.

###

“Got something!” said Goldshift. “It’s faint, but someone activated a locator beacon. Just a second, and… yes! I have a location.”

“Yes!” said Goldarms from his gun.

“Send the coordinates,” said Silverwing from the cockpit, a relieved smile on her face.

“Wait,” said Coppershot. “It could be a trap.”

“Noted,” said Ironmind. “But we don’t have any other leads. Their base is just too well hidden. Goldarms! Get to quick deployment, now!”

###

“Sir!” came a frantic voice over the intercom. “There’s a homing signal on the base! It’s coming from near the brig!”

Thornton, now wearing his power suit, frowned. “Get someone down there, now!” Thornton quickly switched the feed. “Jones! You scanned Kimball’s belongings, right?”

Jones appeared on screen, surprised. “Uh, yeah. The scanner didn’t show anything suspicious.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. He just had change of clothes, toothbrushes, things like that, you know. And his hobby.”

Thornton frowned. “Hobby? What hobby?”

“A remote controlled car kit.”

“A remote controlled…” Thornton paled, standing up immediately. “You idiot! A remote controlled car kit would have a radio in it! He could have used that to hide a transmitter! I want a search party for Joseph Kimball, now! And get men in the chamber with the power users! If someone comes for them, kill them!”

Thornton picked up an object from beneath his desk, a sleek looking alien pistol, the most powerful weapon they’d managed to steal. Once armed, he ran out of the room as fast as he could.

###

“We have the precise location of the beacon,” said Goldshift. “Sending now.”

Both Silverwing and Ironmind saw the coordinates from their positions.

“Roger,” said Ironmind. Seeing that point, Ironmind then imagined a bunker inside that area, calculating how a bunker would have to be built to reside in that mountain. He didn’t want to damage the beacon, so he had to aim away from the signal and give it a wide berth.

“Silvering,” said Ironmind. “Aim the ships cannons at the coordinates I’m sending you.”

“Roger,” she said.

“Goldarms,” Ironmind continued. “Are you ready to fly?”

Goldarms, laying face down horizontally with his gatling gun on his back, replied, “Ready to fly, captain.”

###

“Come on, come on, come on,” Joseph muttered to himself. Those superheroes had better get here soon, he thought. He looked down the corridors nervously, hoping no one noticed him standing there. He wondered out how long it would take for the Sons of Purity to notice him sending a homing signal.

Sadly, he found out that it was quickly.

“Kimball!” someone shouted.

Joseph saw men running towards him angrily, and Joseph immediately sped off in the other direction.

###

Alarms started blaring through the bunker, and SteelStar looked around with the others.

“What… what’s that?” asked Inferno Man.

“It’s okay,” said Green Angel. “An alarm for the Sons of Purity is likely good for us. It may mean that a superhero is in the area.”

SteelStar resisted the urge to correct her. It didn’t necessarily mean that, as it could be any type of emergency. That being said, SteelStar looked up, hoping she was right. Around him, the other Power users had similar hopes.

Until Nosfeline flinched, her ear pointed towards the door. “Heads up guys. I hear more guards outside, and I think they’re wearing those power suits.”

SteelStar grimaced. “Now that she mentioned it, he could sense some electromagnetic signatures outside. The Sons of Purity weren’t going to give up their prisoners without a fight.

###

“Captain!” said Goldshift. “The signal is on the move. Should we alter coordinates?”

“Negative,” said Ironmind. “We still need to avoid harming the hostages. Stick to the original coordinates. Goldarms will just have to find the signal once he gets inside. Goldarms, you ready?”

“Affirmative!” Goldarms cried back as he turned to metal.

“Very good. Silverwing! Open Fire!”

“Aye, captain!”

Silverwing unleashed the Iron Eagle’s forward cannons, blasting a hole in the mountain side. Within the bunker, the concrete walls were demolished, leaving a view of the outside. men saw the destruction and fled from it as fast as possible, terror written all over their faces. Soon, Silverwing stopped firing, the forward guns making a whine that slowly quieted.

“I have a visual on the enemy base,” said Silverwing.

“Alright then,” said Ironmind. “Goldarms, you know what to do. Silverwing, send the package.”

“Stay safe, big guy,” said Coppershot.

Goldarms, his face set in determination as he lay on his stomach, waiting for Silverwing to press the button. The metal tunnel he lay in glowed with electromagnetic energy for a moment, and then Goldarms was shot out of the ship, sent flying towards that metal hold. As he flew, the wind rushing past him, Goldarms pulled the gatling gun off his back then flipped forward until he was in a standing position.

Goldarms landed in the bunker, his feet breaking the stone floor beneath him as he slid down the corridor.

Once he came to a stop, he pulled out his communicator, hefting his gatling gun over his shoulder.

“Goldshift,” said Goldarms. “Where’s that signal coming from?”

“Go to the corridor to your left,” said Goldshift.

Goldarms ran in that direction, his metal feet clanking the whole way.

###

Joseph Kimball ran as fast as he could, the men behind him hot on his heels as alarms blared in the background. He didn’t get very far, however, before more of the Sons of Purity blocked him off. Surrounded on both sides, Joseph Kimball looked back and forth frantically until a large man caught him by the shirt and backed him violently against the wall.

“What did you do?” the man demanded.

“N…n…nothing!” Joseph stammered. “I…”

“Search him!”

For a moment, Joseph thought he was done for. They were sure to find the SOS beacon in his jacket. Before they could start, they were interrupted by the sound of clanking. They all looked down the corridor to see Goldarms in his metal form, raising his gatling gun.

“Run!” cried one of the men. Half the group ran immediately. A few tried to shoot guts at him, but the bullets simply sparks off the superhero’s golden skin, prompting the rest of the men to flee as well.

The only man who stayed was the one right next to Joseph, he pulled the poor construction worker in front of him and pointed a gun at his head. Joseph Kimball trembled as Goldarms moved closer, his face stern and focused.

“Not another step, power user,” said the Son of Purity. “Or he…”

The man didn’t get the chance to finish, as Goldarms quickly reached to his belt and threw an object to the floor. The device released a magnetic field that attracted the man’s gun out of his hand and Joseph’s SOS beacon out of his jacket. Both devices were soon stuck to the floor, and the man who’d tried to take Joseph hostage turned and fled as fast as he could.

Joseph stood there, his hand on his chest as he caught his breath. Goldarms stepped forward pointed his gatling gun up, noting the transmitter beacon on the floor.

“I take it you sent that homing signal,” said Goldarms.

“Yes,” said Joseph. “And I know where the other superheroes are.”

Goldarms grinned. “Lead the way.”

###

SteelStar and the others waited as the alarm kept blaring in the background, their eyes glued to the door. For a moment, nothing changed, and then they heard gunfire on the other side. This was followed by an even louder sound of gunfire before everything on the other side of the door went silent.

They waited with baited breath.

A moment later, the door to the room opened, and Goldarms walked in. Most of the power users looked up hopefully, while SteelStar broke out into an excited grin.

“Goldarms!” cried SteelStar.

“Hey SteelStar,” said Goldarms. “Ready for a prison break?”

“You’ve no idea.”