On a small television station, the news was playing.

“Famed superhero Demigoddess was released from jail this morning. While she did plead guilty to damaging U.H.E. property, a judge ruled that the charges weren’t serious enough for jail time. Instead, Demigoddess was fined for the damages and ultimately released. U.H.E. member Speedshock insists that Demigoddess got off easy.”

“Are you kidding me?” said Speedshock, clearly irritated. “She tried to frame two superheroes for assault. If she thinks she’s going to get away with that, she’s got another thing coming. We’ll find a way to drag her back to court. Mark my…”

Joseph Kimball turned the television off, shaking his head. Sighing, he went back to packing his luggage, weighing what he’d need with careful deliberation. He didn’t normally take this long to pack, but he found himself taking longer than normal. Maybe he was just nervous about actually going to the Sons of Purity headquarters. He still wasn’t certain he could fully trust them, but who else would have helped him?

“Joseph.”

Joseph turned behind to see his wife, Sandy, her arms folded in displeasure.

“What is it, honey?” he asked.

“Is this it?” she asked. “You’re finally joining them for real?”

“The jury’s still out,” said Joseph. “Literally. I’m going to witness a few of their…trials…for myself.”

“I don’t like it,” said Sandy.

“I have doubts of my own,” said Joseph. “But if it weren’t for them, I’d have gone out of business. Besides, I just saw the news. Demigoddess was released…on minimal charges, too. There are too many forces protecting people like her. What else can we do?”

“I still don’t like it,” said Sandy, looking away.

“Look,” said Joseph. “I’ve given this some thought. If something goes wrong, I’ll call you, and say,” he cleared his throat. “This calls for a celebration. We should take Rose to Oceanworld when I get back.”

“The theme park? I thought Rose hated that one.”

“I know,” said Joseph. “It’s a code. It means take Rose, go to the nearest U.H.E. office and tell them everything.”

“What will you do?”

“I’ll find an excuse to leave and meet up with you when I can. If I can’t, I have a backup plan. Don’t worry.”

Sandy started shivering. “I’m scared, Joseph.”

Joseph stepped forward and brought her into a comforting embrace. “I know, honey, I know.”

###

With all the mutant attacks in Partition City that day, classes had eventually been canceled and the students instructed to find a safe place. Brian had spent the day in his dorm room at first, but his roommate, a lanky guy the same age as him, had spent most of the day complaining about SteelStar.

“Hope that hero killer doesn’t mess this up,” said the other guy, sitting at the laptop in his dorm. “Why’d he have to protect our city?”

Brian had tried to talk some sense into him previously, highlighting all the things SteelStar had done for Partition City, but the other boy dismissed them out of hand. Frustrated with someone trash talking his friend, Brian had ultimately decided to go for a walk, mutants or no mutants.

When he’d learned that SteelStar was captured, it was like a punch to the gut. Brian found himself wandering the campus in a daze, not sure what he should do with himself. The campus was atypically empty. Now that there was no danger, the remaining students were using the free day for their own purposes, so Brian had some time to himself as he walked between the campus buildings.

Once again, Brian found himself merely an observer, helpless to help a friend in his time of need. No matter how long Brian thought about it, he had nothing. Wandering the campus, he eventually pulled out his phone and messaged someone. He couldn’t help Andy, but maybe there was someone else he could help.

Brian found Brenda sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree, just staring off into the distance. Upon hearing him approach, she looked up, and Brian could see the glimmer of tears in the corner of her eye.

“How are you holding up?” asked Brian, sitting down beside her.

“Not good,” said Brenda, sniffling. “SteelStar…he’s so powerful. If they can do that to him…”

Brenda started crying, and Brian watched her sadly. Hesitantly, Brian put a hand on Brenda’s shoulder, and she leaned into him. Brian put his arms around her, doing his best to give emotional support.

What else could he do?

###

“You’re kidding!”

Four members of the Sons of Purity sat in an empty warehouse, sunlight pooling beneath the window to the back. Cobwebs lay spread around the corners of the roof, covered in dust as the four members conducted their business. One of them, a young man with a strong jawline, had just entered with the bad news as the older man in front of him looked over some papers on the table between them.

“I wish I was,” said the strong jawed man. “But it’s true. The military could activate the backdoor to our stolen power suits at any moment. I was able to steal a reprogramming key, but I need to get to headquarters as fast as possible.”

He pulled a device out of his jacket and showed it. It looked like a USB drive with an atypical connecter at the end.

“Can one of us use it?” asked the other man.

The strong jawed man shook his head. “DNA lock. It took forever just to figure out how to set to mine. It will take even more time to set it to someone else. I need emergency access to the hideout. I’ve already arranged transport since I’ll need to move quickly. All I need is the coordinates.”

The older man considered it. “Alright, you’ve got them.”

A few minutes later, the strong jawed man was walking away from the warehouse with the coordinates in his jacket pocket. He walked for a few minutes until he reached a certain Alley. There, he waited in the shadows, looking over the papers until he heard a ship flying above. Looking up, he saw the Fullmetal Force’s ship, the Iron Eagle.

The strong jawed man then begam transforming, turning back into Goldshift, the yellow skinned Valtarian with green patches. He then turned to his gold form and flipped over to let the ships magnetic field pull him to the ship. After a quick turn of the metal circle, Goldshift found himself inside the vessel with Ironmind standing before him.

“How’d it go?” asked Ironmind.

“Swimmingly,” said Goldshift, walking up and pulling the coordinates out of his jacket. “They bought it hook, line and sinker.” He handed the papers to Ironmind.

“Excellent,” said Ironmind, taking the papers and pulling out his communicator. “Silverwing. We have the coordinates. I’ll bring them up to you now.”

Through the communicator, Silverwing said, “Roger.”

Ironmind turned, walking to the cockpit as Goldshift followed.

“There’s just one problem,” said Goldshift. “I studied the coordinates, and they only give us a general area, not the exact location.”

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Ironmind hummed thoughtfully as he looked over the papers. “This radius is just about right for a short range radio. We’re probably supposed to transmit some sort of emergency code before we’re escorted to the main base.”

“Then how do we get in?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” said Ironmind, before talking to his communicator again. “Goldarms, you can drop off the captured Son of Purity to the authorities now. Goldshift is finished with his face. We’ll come pick you up when you’re done.”

Through the communicator, Goldarms said, “Roger.”

“Coppershot,” said Ironmind. “Do we have anyone on our tail?”

“Don’t see anyone,” said Coppershot through the communicator. “But I’ll keep you posted.”

“Roger that.”

###

The Sons of Purity had yet to begin their trials, so the six power users planned their escape.

“I assume they can hear us?” asked SteelStar.

“Undoubtedly,” said Blacksting. “If someone comes up with an idea, we’ll have find a way to communicate with each other nonverbally. First, let’s go over how they’re holding us. SteelStar’s power is being drained, likely to a generator deep below us. Inferno Man has sprinklers to douse his flames before he can melt the heat resistant glass around him. All they had to do to confine Green Angel was keep any plants or seeds away from her, and Nosfeline has gloves preventing her from extending her claws.”

“Not that I can get out of this cage anyway,” said Nosfeline, shrugging. “I’m only at my full strength when I can absorb blood from people.”

“And my brother and I can’t move with this paralysis serum being pumped into our bodies,” said Beetle Brute, growling. “If I could just get it out, I’d break these restraints and bludgeon those smug little…”

“The point,” said Blacksting irritably. “Is that freeing Inferno Man should be our priority. Out of all of us, he’s the only one who’ll be at full power when released from his prison. The rest of us either need resources that are difficult to obtain or must wait for this paralysis to wear off.”

“Alright,” said Inferno mag, cracking his knuckles. “Just leave it to me. I’ll deal with these Sons of Purity freaks.”

“You won’t kill them, will you?” asked Green Angel.

Everyone looked at her incredulously.

“What?” asked Green Angel. “The Sons of Purity are people too. Most of the people Andrew Thornton recruits are those wronged by other power users. If we start killing them, it will only prove to them that everything they say about us is correct.”

SteelStar sighed. “I feel like I’m pointing out the obvious, but only three of us have nonlethal takedowns, and two of them can’t use them right now. I can’t knock people out nonlethally without my electricity, and you don’t have your plants. That leaves Nosfeline, and I doubt she can fight all the Sons of Purity by herself. No offense…”

“No, no,” said Nosfeline. “You’re right. My claws couldn’t even get through those power suits. Even if they could, draining blood is a nasty power. Believe me. It’s possible for me to knock someone out without killing him, but I can’t promise to.” She turned to Green Angel. “Sorry, sweetie. If we have to fight our way out of here, we won’t be able to avoid killing anyone.”

Green Angel sighed. “Then we’ll have to reason with them.”

The room went silent. SteelStar shook his head, and judging by the expressions of everyone aside from Green Angel, they felt the same way he did.

“Good luck with that,” said Inferno Man, with a mocking grin. “Now, how can we free me?”

“Surely we can appeal to their humanity,” said Green Angel.

“You’ve never had to deal with the Sons of Purity before, have you?” asked Blacksting. “Well, I have. They’re led by their most fanatical, including Thornton himself. I’ve never known a single one of them to be reasonable. The so called trial we’re about to undergo is nothing more than a show to give themselves the appearance of legitimacy. Andrew Thornton already has our verdicts planned. Just wait.”

“They’re just confused and frightened of us,” said Green Angel. “And given how much power we have over them, I can’t say I blame them. The answer isn’t to make them fear us more, it’s to show us that there’s no reason to fear us.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” said Nosfeline angrily. “But we’re in cages. Fear didn’t stop them from attacking us the first time. It won’t stop them from attacking us again.”

Green Angel glared at her before sitting crossed legged on the ground. Crossing her arms, she said, “I won’t be a party to murder.”

“It’s called self-defense,” said SteelStar.

“Call it what you like,” she replied. “You’re still taking people’s lives from them.”

Everyone looked at Green Angel grimly. SteelStar, watching her, could see the obstinance written all over her face. At this point he only hoped she wouldn’t interfere with their escape.

###

Andrew Thornton, adjusting the sunglasses on his face, sat in his office, watching the so called heroes bicker amongst themselves. The man couldn’t help but grin, just a little. Seeing these so called superior beings squabble like this was infinitely reassuring for him. These were not gods among men. They were mortals who got lucky.

Andrew’s office was lavishly decorated, with paintings on the walls and bookshelves filled with leather bound books. Behind him, Andrew had hung a painting of a knight facing a dragon, sword drawn and shield up. One could picture this office a multimillion dollar corporation’s CEO. No one would guess from this room alone that it lay inside a bunker deep in the mountains.

A moment later, Andrew got a call, and he pulled up the video feed on his computer.

“This is Thornton.”

“Sir,” said the man on the computer screen, his voice shaky and nervous. “It…uh…item…weapon…you asked us to hack. It’s…um…it’s being stubborn.”

“Can you hack it or not?” asked Thornton.

“We can,” said the other man. “But even if we do…isn’t the E.H.O.D. going to notice it missing? I’m still not sure how your team managed to steal it in the first place.”

“Relax,” said Thornton. “It’s an older model. It was rotting in a warehouse when I commandeered it.”

“Even so,” said the other man. “They’re not going to be happy about this.”

“And if I didn’t have to do the job they’re supposed to be doing, I’d probably care. Now, get it under our control and do it fast. The U.H.E. could be after us at any time.”

“Y…yes sir.”

Andrew hung up and then took a deep breath. Some people just had no guts. Their enemies had vast power. It would take radical solutions to deal with them.

After a few more minutes, Andrew got another call.

“This is Thornton.”

“Sir,” said another of Andrew’s men. “We’ve got trouble. One of our scouts picked up movement heading in our direction. They’re not close to the bunker yet, but we’re certain it’s the Iron Eagle, the ship of the Fullmetal Force.”

Andrew sighed, and he momentarily pulled his sunglasses off to wipe some sweat from his forehead. The man on his computer screen looked away uncomfortably. Andrew didn’t show people the eyes under his sunglasses often, but it was always an unsettling experience. Andrew then replaced the sunglasses and then considered how he would respond to this news.

The Fullmetal Force wasn’t exactly an A-list team, but he was concerned by how quickly they’d reacted. The fact that they could turn to metal, just like SteelStar, suggested a connection. It was now even more imperative that they get their trump card up and running.

“Alright,” said Andrew. “Send a few squads after them. They’ll be hard to kill on foot, but I doubt even people made of metal can survive their ship exploding.”

###

The Iron Eagle soared through the clouds, its engines roaring as it flew over green hills. On the bridge of the Iron Eagle, watching out the bulletproof glass at the horizon before them, three members of the Fullmetal Force waited with various degrees of patience for their destination to appear.

Silverwing sat in the pilot’s seat with the autopilot engaged, tapping her finger on the console as she gave the horizon a hard stare. Ironmind sat in the copilots seat, his face a stoic mask. In one of the three chairs behind the pilot seats, Goldshift leaned back, resting.

“Are we sure this ship can’t go any faster?” asked Silverwing.

“You set it to top speed, didn’t you?” said Ironmind. “You’ll just have to be patient.”

Silverwing just shook her head. “I just keep thinking of And…SteelStar, I mean, in the hands of those terrorists. What are they going to do to him?”

“There’s no point thinking about it,” said Ironmind. “If it helps, don’t dwell on what they’ll do to him. Just think about what we’ll do to the Sons of Purity once we find them.”

Cathy gave it a moment’s thought, then grinned in satisfaction. “I can handle that.”

Ironmind smirked in satisfaction.

“Careful, young ones,” said Goldshift. “I know we’re rescuing a friend, but don’t let your anger cloud your judgement. We’ve never succeeded in a mission by rushing in recklessly.”

Ironmind nodded thoughtfully.

A moment later, the ship shook, making the three of them grimace. Ironmind then pressed a nearby intercom.

“Goldarms, Coppershot,” he said. “Status update.”

Towards the rear of the ship Goldarms and Coppershot, covered in grease, worked in the engine room. A multitude of machines lined the room, connected by pipes and accessed with metal walkways. Goldarms was currently using a wrench to tighten a bolt inside one of the machines, while Coppershot used a device to scan another part. When he got the message, Goldarms balanced a communicator on his shoulder with his chin.

“Sorry,” said Goldarms. “The stabilizer was loose.”

“Is it serious?” asked Ironmind.

“No,” said Goldarms. “I repaired the serious damage before we left on vacation. I just have a few kinks to work out. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Alright, I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Roger that.”

Goldarms finished tightening the bolt, closed the machine, and put his tools down. Looking around at the engine room, he patted the machine affectionately.

“Don’t worry, girl,” he said. “We’ll get you fixed up in no time. I hate to push you so hard, but we’re gonna need your help to save Andy. You understand, right?”

Coppershot, still taking readings with her device, looked at Goldarms out of the corner of her eye with an affectionate smirk. She’d long since stopped questioning his penchant for talking to the ship. Carl and Rick had built the Iron Eagle using parts scavenged from derelict Valtarian ships in a bunker under their neighborhood. The ship was his baby, and he treated it like a living thing. Erica had always found it a little silly, but she hadn’t built it, so who was she to judge?

Back in the cockpit, Silverwing, Ironmind, and Goldshift kept their eyes on the horizon, when a beeping drew their eyes to the radar. Five aerial vehicles were bearing in on their position. As Silverwing deactivated the autopilot and took control, Ironmind contacted the others.

“Coppershot, Goldarms,” said Ironmind. “Finish up whatever you have to fast and get to battle stations. We’ve got company.”