All five members of the Fullmetal Force sat at their battle stations as they flew over forest covered mountains. Ironmind, Coppershot, and Goldarms manned their guns, while Silverwing piloted the ship and Goldshift manned a radar. There was a hidden bunker out here somewhere, camouflaged. They just had to find it.

“Anything?” asked Ironmind from his gun seat.

“Nothing yet, captain,” said Goldshift. “Wherever they are, they’re well hidden.”

“Alright,” said Ironmind, cutting off the feed.

As he scanned the horizon with his gun interface, Ironmind whispered under his breath. “Where are you, Andy?”

At their posts, each member of the Fullmetal Force asked themselves the same question.

###

Andrew Thornton watched camera footage of the Iron Eagle as it made its way through the mountains. The Fullmetal Force was close, too close for comfort. As he watched, Thornton considered his assets.

At this point, attacking the ship was out of the question. The stolen Thraxian Striker had been their best bet at taking that down, and that had failed. Those that hadn’t been captured in Partition City still had their power suits, but there was a reason they’d chosen to wear SteelStar down rather than fight him head on. From reports they had of the Fullmetal Force’s fighting abilities, those power suits would only get his Sons of Purity so far.

Thornton thought of the weapons they’d gathered, hidden in their armory. They were still figuring most of them out, but they had a few weapons they could arm themselves with. Thornton himself would take the strongest, of course, but he’d make certain he had trusted men to take the others.

And then there was, of course, the item they’d stolen recently, his trump card. He only hoped it would be reprogrammed in time.

When he finished taking inventory, he got a sudden whim and brought up the feed from the power user’s cells. There, Thornton’s gaze locked on SteelStar, and he tapped his fingers nervously. The metal man’s words stuck in his mind. Jealous? Him? How dare he say that. SteelStar knew nothing of what ordinary people had to endure. Someone with his power didn’t know what it was like to feel helpless. At least, he wouldn’t know what it was like unless someone like Andrew Thornton showed him.

No, SteelStar spent his whole life knowing he would be one of the blessed in this world, that he would be lifted on a pedestal. He was corrupted by power, and anything he said in his defense was corrupt as well. As far as Andrew Thornton was concerned, that was all he needed to know.

###

“Well,” said Dr. Shelby, putting the hand scanner back in his bag. “Luckily, you’re just suffering exhaustion. Your body seems to be recovering quickly, so you should be back on your feet in a few hours.”

Celerity, still laying in bed, nodded gratefully to the middle aged Valtarian with dark grey skin and black hair. As Doctor Shelby took his leave, Celerity looked around the room. They’d let her sleep in SteelStar’s room and had confessed that his name was Andy. She looked around, rings under her eyes, and took it all in. It was an ordinary young man’s room, with his movie/ games collection, and superhero posters all over the wall. She’d guessed it was SteelStar’s room the moment she woke up.

As she lay there, Celerity briefly thought of the differences between them. Andy had probably grown up knowing he’d be a superhero. Even if he never inherited his father’s mutation, he had his Valtarian heritage. She, on the other hand, had grown up never knowing she’d be a power user, and yet here they were, facing the exact same problem. This was one of those times that Celerity, Laura Landry, regretted awakening her powers the most. Out of all the people in the world, why did she get powers? There were plenty of people who would love to be superheroes, and Laura would give them her powers in a heartbeat if she could. Thinking about this, she wondered if Andy ever felt the same way after everything that had happened.

A tapping at the door caught her attention, and Andy’s mother Amelia poked her head in.

“How are you feeling?” asked Amelia.

“Like I should go back to sleep,” said Celerity. “Did you call my parents?”

“They’re on their way. They were downright frantic when I told them you were here.”

“Thank you.” Celerity hesitated. “How’s Mr. M…Mr. Gatlin.”

She’s almost said MagKnight. It was so strange to think she was in the house of a famous retired superhero.

Amelia sighed. “He fell asleep a few minutes ago. He’s… well, he’s still going through some things.”

Celerity nodded. “Any word on SteelStar?”

“Some old friends of his are looking for him now,” said Amelia. “You’ve heard of the Fullmetal Force?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, They’re on the case. We’re still waiting for word from the U.H.E., but a lot of heroes are still on mission. Hopefully, the Fullmetal Force will be enough.”

Celerity smiled weakly. It seemed a small hope right now.

“Well,” said Amelia. “I’ll let you get more rest, and I’ll let you know when your parents arrive.”

“Thanks.”

Amelia left, stepping out into the hallway. There, she turned to see her other three children. Samantha stood next to Abigail, the two of them filled with worry. Martin, by contrast, scowled angrily.

“Is Andy gonna be okay?” asked Abigail.

“Of course he is!” Martin Snapped. “The Fullmetal Force is gonna rescue him, and then they’ll smash those Sons of Purity jerks to pieces!”

Abigail flinched.

“Martin,” said Amelia sternly.

“What?” asked Samantha. “They probably will have to fight their way out, and that will probably involve breaking a few bones.”

“I know that,” said Amelia. “But it’s no excuse to snap at your sister.”

Martin then saw Abigail shrinking away from him and he looked away, rubbing his arm nervously. Samantha also looked away uncomfortably.

“Sorry, Abigail,” said Martin.

Amelia nodded. “I’m sure that once Andy’s old friends find him, he’ll be fine. Right now, all we can do it wait.”

Samantha grimaced. “I hate that.”

“So do I, Samantha. So do I.”

###

Joseph Kimball sat in a room lined with concrete walls, browsing news stories on his laptop as he sat crossed legged on the bed. He searched for the name Manny Turner and discovered that Spectramancer had, indeed, caused this man’s death during his approach to Partition City. The more Joseph read about it, the more he had to ask himself how he could not have known about him.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Joseph searched the website of the news station he watched, The Daily Sunbeam. Most of the articles talking about the Spectramancer were focused on blasting SteelStar, no mention of Mr. Turner. The few articles that did only mentioned his name in separate italics at the bottom of the article, the kind of thing Joseph often skipped over. He wondered how many other people skipped over entries like that. Looking at one of those entries, Joseph tapped his leg nervously.

Curious, Joseph looked through more news sites, and about half of them did the same thing. Comet News, the Fireball, and the Daily Mutant all kept mentions of Manny Turner out of the way and hidden. Some didn’t even specifically say that it was Spectramancer who killed him. They simply stated that Manny Turner died during the incident, and browsing the comments under these articles revealed something disturbing. There were people with the impression that it was SteelStar who accidently killed Turner, even if the text never specifically said that. The sight of it made Joseph shake his head. Joseph himself never read comments, so he’d missed conversations like that.

And that’s if they mentioned Turner at all. Hammerhead news, in particular, didn’t bear a single instance of the man’s name on their website. The only news stations where Joseph found detailed instances of his name were the Daily Crown and Phoenix Feather News, Karen Carlisle’s network. The more he discovered, the more he started to wonder if SteelStar’s actions were justified.

And as he searched, he came across two things the Daily Sunbeam hadn’t reported on.

The first was Spectramancer’s proximity to Partition City and just how much energy he was releasing. This Joseph found on a podcast called Current Topics with Jack Lane, a thirty something man with dark hair and an energetic look in his eyes. The host, Jack, and his guests all wore casual clothing as they sat in a recording studio with microphones in front of them.

“Let’s bring up the satellite footage,” said Jack.

The footage onscreen showed the cast of the show to the left, with satellite imagery to the right. It was an overhead view of the forest where Spectramancer went on his rampage. One could even see the highway running through it, and a small, red, glowing dot could be seen at the edge of the image.

“So if we look here,” said Jack. “That’s where Spectramancer and SteelStar encountered each other. Let’s move forward a little.”

The image then showed the red dot bigger than before, resting in the center of the image.

“Spectramancer is still moving towards Partition City, and the amount of energy he’s releasing is getting bigger and bigger. Now, let’s move forward some more.”

The red energy could no longer be considered a dot, but a giant circle on the highway.

“That’s where Spectramancer was right before SteelStar stopped him.”

One of the other cast members said, “Dude, that’s huge.”

“I know, right?” said Jack. “I don’t even know how you’d measure the amount of energy he’s giving of. If he’d reached Partition City, it would have been like a tornado going through, worse potentially. We don’t know if the growth of that energy field would ever have stopped.”

“Yeah,” said another cast member. “This seems to be a new issue for Spectramancer, and I mean it’s sad when an older superhero loses control of his powers, but this is insane.”

“Yeah, it is insane,” said Jack. “And I think it’s safe to say that this SteelStar guy was fully justified in stopping him, especially after what happened to Manny Turner. And if you follow the timeline, Steelstar waited quite a while before he stuck that killing blow.”

“Probably should have struck that blow sooner,” said another guest. “And I hate to say that, because Spectramancer has done so much for the world, but he clearly needed to be stopped.”

“And I am… astounded… that people are calling SteelStar reckless,” said Jack. “It can’t have been easy to make that decision.”

Joseph cringed, smoothing his hair back as he took it all in. Once again, he had to ask himself how he could not have known about this. Digging some more, he found something else. Spectramancer’s will had provided for the release of a certain video if the right conditions were met. For the first time, Joseph Kimball saw that video.

“My friends,” said Spectramancer on the screen. “I have a confession to make…”

###

SteelStar sat on the floor of his cell, sitting against the bars, feeling worn out. The other power users relaxed in their own cages, all except for Blacksting and Beetle Brute, who didn’t look like they could relax strapped in as they were. Everyone remained silent and looked dejected. None of them had come up with an escape plan, and SteelStar was beginning to wonder if they’d ever make it out.

“Hey, SteelStar.”

SteelStar turned to Nosfeline, who looked reluctant to speak.

“I’m…” she said. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable before.”

It took a moment for SteelStar to realize what she was talking about.

“Don’t worry about it,” said SteelStar.

“No, really,” said Nosfeline. “I know I can be kind of blunt. I should have known that Spectramancer would be a sensitive topic for you.”

SteelStar smiled weakly. “It’s okay.”

In her cage, Green Angel regarded Nosfeline curiously. “Do you really believe that Spectramancer deserved what happened to him?”

Nosfeline looked down sadly. “Maybe that’s a bit… hyperbolic. I do still think Spectramancer is ultimately responsible for what happened.”

Green Angel nodded. “Yes. That’s probably true.”

SteelStar grimaced. “I mean, I guess so. It’s just, I’ve known about Spectramancer my whole life. I looked up to him, and thinking back on that day, it isn’t just that I had no choice but to kill him. I also think of him as someone I failed to save.”

“Do you?” asked Green Angel thoughtfully. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

SteelStar looked down, smiling ruefully.

“I still don’t think you should blame yourself,” said Nosfeline. “From what I’ve seen, you weren’t in control of the situation. It’s different when people get hurt because of something you could control. Believe me, I know.”

SteelStar considered her words carefully. “I see what you’re saying, but… I just can’t be angry at Spectramancer. He didn’t want to retire because he wanted to keep helping people. Maybe it was misguided at his age, but what he wanted was a good thing.”

“He still got someone killed.”

“I know,” said SteelStar sadly. “I know.”

Silence hung over the room for a moment as every hero there, even Inferno Man, looked away sadly. The only person in the room who didn’t was Beetle Brute.

“You know,” said Beetle Brute. “I was joking before when I thanked you for killing him, but I really do respect someone with a spine.”

SteelStar, Nosfeline, and Green Angel scowled at him.

“I don’t care what you think of me,” said SteelStar.

“I’m sure you don’t,” said Beetle Brute. “But I respect strength all the same. Perhaps, someday, we’ll get the chance to test our strength against each other.”

SteelStar almost snapped back.

“Don’t respond,” said Blacksting. “He’s trying to get under your skin on purpose.”

Beetle Brute grunted. “Spoilsport. You’re just angry you’ve never beaten me.”

Blacksting looked like he had to fight himself not to respond.

SteelStar looked back and forth between them thoughtfully. Nosfeline pursed her lips, and Green Angel nodded. SteelStar still wanted to snap back, but perhaps Blacksting was right. It probably wasn’t wise to let the supervillain get under his skin.

“Maybe we’ll fight, maybe we won’t,” said SteelStar stoically. “We’ll see.”

Beetle Brute tilted his head curiously.

“Honestly,” said Blacksting, eyeing Beetle Brute. “I don’t’ know which is worse, that I have to deal with you, or that these Sons of Purity lumped us both in the same category.”

Beetle Brute chuckled. “Seems we agree on at least one thing, brother.”

###

Joseph Kimball sat in the facility’s mess hall, surrounded by official members of the Sons of Purity. Today’s lunch was a military MRE, and Joseph casually wondered if these were stolen. He tried to eat in silence, but the conversations around him were hard to ignore.

“Can’t believe he said that,” said one person. “Jealous? The nerve of that freak.”

“Green Angel acts so high and Mighty. The pretentious…”

“Blacksting’s still a villain, just like his brother. Capturing other powers is just a way to boost his ego. He’s corrupted by power just like anyone else.”

“Inferno Man? Try spark plug.”

“Can’t believe people call a freakin vampire a hero. What a joke.”

All the conversations ran like this, denigrating the power users relentlessly. Joseph supposed that some of them, like Joseph, had been deeply hurt. Even so, not one of the power users they’d put on trial today had hurt the people here. Joseph really was beginning to think he’d made a mistake coming to this place.

His thoughts were interrupted by Andrew Thornton’s voice coming over loudspeakers. “Attention! Attention! I will now sentence the power users. First, Blacksting and Beetle Brute. For the crime of oppressing your own village, you are deemed unworthy of human contact. You will be fitted with a harness that locks your wings in place and exiled to an underground chamber so obscure not even the U.H.E. will find you.

“Green Angel, for the crime of letting Silver Snake go, you will be left alone with family of the people he killed. They’ll be free do with you whatever they wish.”

“Yeah!” cried a woman to the back. “I’ll teach that witch a lesson or two!”

Joseph stopped eating, just listening stoically.

“Inferno Man,” Thornton’s voice continued. “You burned down a man’s house. For this crime, you will be kept in a house with no furniture, no entertainment, nothing. Just an empty, fireproof building, and if you try to escape, we’ll drown you.

“Nosfeline, for the crime of letting your family’s blood be drained, you will be used as a permanent blood donor. We will harvest as much blood from you as we can to keep other people healthy.

“Last, but not least, SteelStar. For the crime of letting a man die, you will serve mankind for real… as a battery. Your energy will keep this base running until the day you die.”

The Sons of Purity burst into cheers, and Joseph halfheartedly clapped a couple of times so as not to stand out. In truth, he was feeling a newfound sense of clarity. He now knew exactly what he needed to do next.

###

In their cells, SteelStar, Inferno Man, Blacksting, Beetle Brute, Green Angel, and Nosfeline, all clenched their fists in anger. SteelStar looked at the device on his arm and once again tried pulling against the electricity being leeched from his body. He still couldn’t stop the flow.

“So, what do we do?” asked Nosfeline.

None of them answered, the frustration on their faces palpable. SteelStar’s mind raced. There had to be a way out. There just had to be.