The Iron Eagle sped over the mountains, guns blazing. Enemy ships exploded all around them as Silverwing’s maneuvers kept it out of enemy fire. Aboard the ship, the four members of the Fullmetal Force were focused on ending this fight as soon as possible so they could extract their comrades inside.

“Is Thornton really sacrificing this many men just to delay us?” asked Silverwing as she rolled the ship.

“There is tactical value in it,” said Ironmind, though the disgust in his voice was apparent “Let’s just finish cleaning up and…”

“Captain!” cried Coppershot suddenly. “Power activity below us!”

“Take us up!” Ironmind responded.

Silverwing pointed the ship upward, climbing as quickly as she dared. Swinging the ship around, she eventually caught a glimpse of the power that Coppershot had witnessed.

The remaining fighters were now wrapped up in trees which had grown suddenly. Even as their jet engines roared, the ships remained locked in place. Silverwing raised an eyebrow, but before she could relay what she was seeing to Ironmind, she was interrupted.

“Oh, no,” said Coppershot, the displeasure in her voice palpable. “It’s Green Angel.”

Ironmind, Silverwing, and Goldshift all gave audible sighs.

###

In one section of the hidden base, members of the Son’s of Purity altered the ongoing alarm.

“Attention,” said the voice. “Attention. All Sons of Purity are to evacuate the base. Repeat, all Sons of Purity are to evacuate the base.”

Most people started pouring out the bunker, heading to the nearest exit. The frantic crowds rushed away in desperation, terrified looks on all their faces. A couple of men, however, stood in a room filled with a metal box standing vertically. Typing into a laptop connected to the box, one of them sweated profusely while the other kept an eye out the door.

“How much longer,” said the one at the door.

“Almost there,” said the man at the laptop. “I’ve set it for five minutes. That should be just enough time for everyone to get away.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“There,” said the other. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t wanna be here when this thing activates.”

“You’re telling me.”

They left, and on the laptop, a timer began counting down.

###

In the hallway, a gruff looking member of the Sons of Purity stood behind cover hefting a rocket launcher. Nearby, more men with rocket launchers watched the leader nervously as a few more men covered the vents with steel plates, just in case inferno tried to attack that way. The last line of defense was a couple men with fire hoses, ready to douse flame man when he came back.

“Get ready, men,” said the gruff man. “When those power users come round, we’ll hit them with everything we’ve got.”

“Shouldn’t we be evacuating?” asked one of them.

“Trust me,” said the leader. “We’ll be legends among the Sons of Purity if we can pull this off. I think that’s worth the risk, don’t you?”

Then other men thought about it, then began nodding enthusiastically.

Further down the corridor, the power users in question hid with their backs against the wall. SteelStar had sensed the electromagnetic signatures of the enemy and Blacksting’s senses had detected the men as well. Goldarms still carried the alien hammer, and SteelStar was still using the gauntlet since his electricity wasn’t back.

“You’re sure the generator is down there?” asked SteelStar.

“Positive,” said Inferno Man. “I saw the men preparing and figured there was something down there. I was able to confirm it was the generator before they could stop me.”

“Judging by their movements,” said Blacksting. “They’ve probably finished setting up their defenses by now.”

“Maybe we should retreat,” said SteelStar. “Most of the Sons of Purity are retreating.”

“I don’t know,” said Goldarms. “I doubt Thornton would give up so easily. He usually has a few surprises up his sleeve. I think getting that energy is the safe play.”

“Whatever,” said Inferno Man. “Let’s just get our payback already.”

SteelStar sighed. “It’s not about payback.”

“Whatever, let’s just do it!”

###

The metal box hummed ominously, getting louder and louder with each passing moment. The laptop connected to it continued to count down, until finally reaching zero. Seams on the metal box then unleashed pressure, hissing as smoke flew out. Soon, the box began to open, ready to unleash the machine within.

Once the box opened, the device inside sped out, it’s movements a blur.

###

“Okay,” said Blacksting, sensing down the corridor. “I’m pretty sure they have rocket launchers and fire hoses.”

“Great,” said Inferno Man irritably.

“Not to worry,” said Blacksting. “Here’s the plan. Goldarms, SteelStar and I will get their attention. You, Inferno Man, detonate any rockets that come our way, and then we’ll rush them.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” said SteelStar.

The four superheroes took deep breaths, ready to spring into action.

“On my signal,” said Blacksting. “Three…two…”

He was cut off by something. SteelStar almost asked what it was, but he sensed electromagnetic energy a moment later. Soon they heard a creaking sound that sprung up all around them. Before anyone could question what was going on, thick tree branches burst through the corridors, going past the superheroes and catching the Sons of Purity by surprise. The branches wrapped them up, grabbing their limbs and holding them in pace. The men struggled as their weapons were ripped from their hands on dropped onto the floor, but their struggles were in vain.

The surprised superheroes then looked back to see someone walking down the corridor. Green Angel, her arms raised, now wore wings made of leaves behind her back. She looked around, her features stern and stoic.

“That’s enough violence,” said Green Angel. “There’s to be no more killing.”

Inferno Man crossed his arms and looked away irritably, while Blacksting, SteelStar, and Goldarms breathed sighs of relief.

“Well, I guess that’s that,” said SteelStar.

“Where’s Nosfeline and Mr. Kimball?” asked Goldarms.

“They’re safe with the Iron Eagle,” said Green Angel. “Your comrades are busy disabling the enemy ships.”

“Good,” said Blacksting. “Let’s…”

He was cut off once more, and SteelStar sensed it too. Something was approaching them, moving fast.

“What?” asked Goldarms.

Green Angel and Inferno Man gave the two of them curious looks, until they heard jets. They looked around until something flew into view, and the object landed, shaking the ground with a crash. If SteelStar’s flesh wasn’t currently made of metal, he would have paled.

The humanoid robot bore black metal plates, its internals humming with power. Red camera eyes shined as it scanned its surroundings. The most distinctive part of it was its head, a shape SteelStar found familiar. It was vaguely shaped like a dog’s head, though the one SteelStar had seen before was smooth and sleek, while this one was rough and angular. Despite the differences, there was no mistaking it.

SteelStar backed away. “That’s a cerberon.”

“What?” Goldarms, astonished.

“He’s right,” said Blacksting. “It looks like an older model, but that’s definitely a cerberon.”

The robot’s eyes eventually turned to the power users, who all looked on in astonishment. Scanning their biology, it was able to determine both their mutations, and the nature of the weapons they carried. Singling them out as the more dangerous targets, it took a battle stance, raising its palms which glowed red.

“Take cover!” cried Blacksting.

SteelStar, Goldarms, Green Angel, and Blacksting ducked behind the wall as red blasts sped down the corridor. Only Inferno Man stayed where he was, turning to fire and letting the blasts pass through his flame body. Inferno Man responded by throwing fireballs down the corridor, each one exploding on the robot.

The cerberon barely flinched from the explosions as it scanned its surroundings. With surprisingly fast movements, the robot ran, grabbed one of the fire hoses the Sons of Purity had dropped, and unleashed a stream of water.

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Inferno Man was thrown back, forced back into his organic form, gasping in surprise, he rolled away. As the cerberon prepared to run forward and attack, the nearby tree branches suddenly wrapped around its limbs. Green Angel, concentrating from behind cover, tried to hold it in place, but the robot broke free of the branches easily. She did bring in more branches to hold it again, but this merely slowed it down.

SteelStar stepped out and aimed his gauntlet, but the purple ball of energy barely seemed to knock the robot back. The cerberon responded with a red blast that caught the Gauntlet head on, blasting it to pieces and making SteelStar pull his hand back with a cry of pain as he ducked back into cover.

With his back against the wall, SteelStar cradled his hand, red hot from the blast. That wasn’t good. Super heating him could weaken his body even when it was magnetically reinforced. Without his energy, being superheated meant an ordinary man with a hammer could injure him. As he shared a desperate look with Goldarms, both knew neither could stand up against those lasers.

“Blacksting!” cried Goldarms. “Think you can cut that thing up?”

“Maybe,” said Blacksting. “But my armor won’t stand up against that kind of firepower after the damage I’ve already taken. I think the substance they were pumping me full of made my armor weaker than normal.”

“There’s only one choice then,” said Green Angel. “We’ve got to get SteelStar to that generator.”

“We need a way past it,” said SteelStar.

“Hey,” said Inferno Man, his body drying. “Um… my powers did nothing. I won’t be much good here. So… good luck, I guess.”

Inferno Man turned to fire and slipped into a nearby vent. The others gaped in astonishment, even as more laser blasts rained on their cover.

Both SteelStar and Green Angel cried out at the same time.

“Coward!” cried SteelStar.

“You coward!” cried Green Angel.

More blasts hit the walls beside them.

“Alright,” said Blacksting. “I’ll draw its fire. Goldarms, you and SteelStar make a break for it when you get an opening.”

“I’ll slow it down as much as I can,” said Green Angel.

Though she looked determined, SteelStar could see the concentration on her face. She was already straining trying to hold that thing down. Still, he nodded in the affirmative. Beside him, Goldarms hefted his hammer.

“On three,” said Blacksting. “One… two… three!”

Blacksting rushed out, two panels on the back of his armor lifting to reveal insect wings. When they started flapping, a gust of wind blasted down the corridor behind him, making the others flinch. Blacksting went down a little bit, then dived left down another passage when the laser blasts came his way.

The cerberon, breaking through some more branches, turned and aimed his lasers after him as Blacksting narrowly avoided taking cover. It was at that moment that SteelStar and Goldarms burst form their hiding spot and made a run for it. The cerberon attempted to aim at them, but its arm was caught by a branch, the laser narrowly missing Goldarm’s head.

Though it broke free, Goldarms and SteelStar got close. The golden man swung his hammer, a small explosion knocking it out of the branches and making it slide backwards, it’s feed skidding on the floor. The robot showed no signs of damage, however, and the two metal superheroes barely escaped as it unleashed another laser barrage. The Cerberon made to chase them but was caught by more branches.

As SteelStar and Goldarms made a break for it, the cerberon turned its gaze to them and detected the generator in the distance. With its data on SteelStar’s mutation, it marked him as a high level threat as he got closer to the said generator. For a moment, the robot’s priority was to eliminate the threat controlling the branches so it could get to SteelStar quickly.

Before it could act, However, Blacksting circled around, getting next to Green Angel. As she concentrated, trying to hold the robot in place, he grabbed her shoulders, moved them close to the wall, and then waited, stingers exposed. The cerberon then calculated that it would take too long to kill green Angel with Blacksting in the way. Those vibrating blades were a high level threat, meaning the only viable way to fight this mutant was at a distance. Therefore, the robot turned and pursued the metal men, crashing through the branches that tried to get in its way.

SteelStar and Goldarms bobbed and weaved through the men still trapped in branches. down at the end of the corridor, they could see the entrance to the generator room, thick and sturdy looking metal doors.

“It’s not far,” said Goldarms.

They heard the cerberon behind them crashing through the branches.

“It’s too far for my liking!” shouted SteelStar as they picked up the pace.

They didn’t get far before they heard screaming. The Sons of Purity trapped in branches screamed in terror as the cerberon knocked them out of the way, smashing them against the wall. SteelStar and Goldarms looked back for a moment even as they ran in the other direction.

“Why is it killing them?!” cried SteelStar.

“Who knows?!” Goldarms shouted back. “Just run!”

The branches lifted the remaining men out of harm’s way a moment later, even as they kept trying to slow down the killer robot. A moment later, the cerberon raised its palm blaster, and SteelStar sensed a buildup of energy.

“Take cover!” SteelStar shouted.

The two of ducked into a side corridor just as a laser blast raced past them. As the two of them stood with their backs to the wall, more blasts rained down the corridor.

Behind the cerberon, Blacksting extended his wings and flew down the hallway, prompting the cerberon to turn around, breaking another branch to aim at him. Blacksting ducked into cover, and SteelStar sensed the cerberon aiming the other direction.

“Now!” cried SteelStar.

He and Goldarms ran for it, getting just a little bit further before taking cover, the inevitable laser blast tearing apart the wall just as they passed behind it.

Blacksting attempted to attack the cerberon from behind again, but was met with more lasers, forcing him to take cover again. Every time Blacksting attempted to get close, only to dive into cover, SteelStar and Goldarms took advantage of the distraction to get closer to the generator room. The branches occasionally catching the cerberon’s arms meant that it had trouble aiming quickly, giving the heroes time to move from place to place. After two more mad dashes to the next cover, the two metal men managed to burst through the door.

The interior of the generator room was wide, the ceiling high above them. The generator itself was encased in a steel shell, giving SteelStar no obvious access point. Goldarms scanned his surroundings and found a large computer console in the wall. He turned to SteelStar and threw him the hammer.

“Take this and get the energy,” he said.

SteelStar caught the weapon. “What about you?”

Goldarms grabbed the computer console and pulled, the metal straining loudly.

“I’ll slow it down as long as I can,” said Goldarms. “Just get that generator open.”

The console came out of the wall and Goldarms lifted the whole thing by himself. SteelStar, nodding, ran to the generator with hammer in hand as Goldarms planted the console in front of the door, barricading it.

He wasn’t a moment too soon. Something banged against the doors, and Goldarms pressed both his arms against the makeshift barricade, holding it shut with all his strength. SteelStar, meanwhile, sensed where the heart of the generator was and swung his hammer at the panel. The small explosion on impact barely dented the metal. SteelStar swung again, and again, and again, but was barely making progress.

Goldarms, still bracing the door, shouted, “Hate to rush you, SteelStar, but any time would be good now!”

Outside the room, the cerberon punched the door, which dented under its assault. Though nearby branches attempted to hold it down, it still broke through them easily. Behind it, Blacksting peeked around a corner, his stings vibrating above his wrists. Thinking it through carefully, he figured this was his best shot at taking the cerberon down. Spreading his wings, he rushed out, flying down the hallway.

The cerbron turned around quickly, aiming its palms and unleashing laser blasts. Blacksting managed to dodge the first two, but one caught him in the chest, blasting him back. He fell on his back, a gaping hole in the chitin armor exposing his chest. Blacksting rolled to the side, barely avoiding another laser blast that tore up the floor.

As the cerberon kept attacking the door, Blacksting lay on the ground, dazed. He lifted himself and looked at his now exposed chest muscles, gritting his teeth under his chitin mask. That substance they’d been pumping him with had weakened his armor after all. He could normally take more than one blast like that before his armor broke. Even those earlier weapons shouldn’t have caused as much damage as they did. He was never going to get close to that thing, at least not on his own. Green Angel’s branches weren’t slowing it down enough.

“Hurry up SteelStar,” thought Blacksting.

SteelStar grunted, putting all his strength into the hammer strike. The panel he was hitting finally started coming off.

“I’ve almost got it,” SteelStar shouted.

A robot arm burst through the barricade, not far from Goldarm’s head. The golden man, his eyes wide, shouted back, “Keep going! I can’t hold this much longer!”

SteelStar kept hitting, and at the entrance, the cerberon kept trying to break in. The panel was slowly but surely coming off, but SteelStar still couldn’t reach his hand in. Soon the computer console Goldarms was using as a makeshift barricade started to split apart. Goldarms flinched, feeling every hit reverberate through his entire metal body.

Finally, the panel was just barely open enough for SteelStar to reach his hand in. SteelStar didn’t hesitate to drop the hammer and reach in. For moment, as he grabbed a cable and felt the electricity flow into him, he thought they would make it.

It was at that exact moment that the barricade failed, breaking apart as Goldarms was knocked away, falling flat on his back as debris scattered around him. SteelStar looked up to see the cerberon aiming its palm at him. With his arm in the panel, he couldn’t move away in time, and for a moment, SteelStar thought it was over.

Goldarms stood quickly, getting between the robot and SteelStar with his arms spread wide just as a laser bolt struck him in the chest.

SteelStar froze in shock, even as he kept absorbing electricity. Goldarms stayed still, his muscles groaning. Branches wrapped around the cerberon’s limbs as SteelStar sensed Goldarm’s energy fading away.

“I wish I could have seen you at your best,” said Goldarms. “But you’re a great superhero already. I know you are.”

“No…” SteelStar muttered.

The cerberon activated jets, priming itself to break free of the branches.

“I’m glad I got to see you,” said Goldarms. “One last time.”

And at that moment, SteelStar felt Goldarm’s electromagnetic energy fade completely. All that was left was a gold statue, standing in the middle of the room with his arms spread wide. Though SteelStar finally felt his energy reserves at full strength, he barely noticed.

“Carl!” SteelStar cried.

The cerberon broke free of the branches, flying into the air and aiming its lasers. SteelStar, sensing a buildup of energy, flew into the air just as a laser bolt blasted the panel behind him. SteelStar, enraged, screamed as he unleashed lighting from both hands, blasting the cerberon backwards. Though the robot now sported scorch marks on its torso, it recovered quickly, turning its jets and taking evasive maneuvers as SteelStar threw more lighting. Below, the branches stopped moving, having suddenly lost their target as it engaged the metal superhero.

The cerberon threw laser blasts which SteelStar did his best to dodge, but a couple of lasers struck him, one in the shoulder, and one in the torso, leaving holes in his costume and making the metal there red hot. Fighting through the pain, SteelStar managed to hit the cerberon with more blasts of electricity, but the robot seemed to shrug those blasts off.

Growling angrily, SteelStar flew forward, reaching out with magnetism to pull the robot towards him. The robot fought the pull with its jets, but that just caused it to hover in place. SteelStar weaved back and forward to avoid the laser blasts and screaming, throwing a punch with all his might.

It made a small dent, but it was a dent nonetheless. SteelStar kept a steady magnetic pull so the cerberon couldn’t back away he threw one punch after the other. Every time the cerberon tried to raise its palm to shoot a laser blast, SteelStar knocked it out of the way before throwing another punch.

SteelStar rained blow after blow on the robot, it’s angular, doglike face and torso getting more and more warped. SteelStar kept on screaming, his face a portrait of rage as he attacked relentlessly. Finally, the cerberon’s movements halted, just for a moment.

SteelStar grabbed the cerberon by the torso and pushed it back. As he flew, he pulled back his fist, and just as the robot hit the wall, he unleashed a punch. The punch hit the robot against the wall with a boom, leaving cracks behind it as robots torso collapsed in on itself.

Finally, the cerberon went still, and SteelStar let it fall, crashing to the floor beneath him. SteelStar hovered there for a moment, his body shaking with anger. Slowly, he lowered himself to the floor, his feet eventually landing amid the wreckage of the robot. Soon, he turned and walked towards Goldarm’s body.

A moment later, Blacksting and Green Angel stepped into the room to see the state of the room. Upon seeing Goldarm’s body, the two of them bowed their heads in sadness. Before long, two others entered the room, Ironmind and Coppershot, both in their metal forms and carrying powerful looking guns. On seeing Goldarms, the pair of them froze.

“No,” said Coppershot, shaking her head as bronze tears formed under her eyes. “No!”

She fell to her knees, crying openly. Ironmind, meanwhile, let his gun fall to his side, completely and utterly dejected.

“Goldarms,” he muttered.

SteelStar soon stood in front of the statue that was once Goldarms, and as mercury tears formed under his eyes, he leaned in and hugged him, sobbing. To anyone who saw it, Goldarm’s body was an extraordinary sight, his face frozen as it was during his final moments. Though his eyes had been closed, his expression was the most remarkable thing.

Goldarms, protecting his friend, had died with a contented smile on his face.