Patrick Powell made his report on the Hammerhead News Network.

“Recently,” said Patrick, his eyes intense and passionate. “The military base in Partition City announced that the item Draego and Deathstare attempted to steal was none other than the fugori crystal, the power source of an alien weapon that attacked earth decades ago. No one has figured out how to harness that power, but plenty of people are ready to try.

“It’s a good thing other superheroes are on their way because I, for the life of me, can’t imagine this SteelStar character,” he said the name with pure disgust. “Is up to the task. I tell you, people like him are yet another reason we need the power user draft, aside from the lazy, cowardly super squatters not using their powers to help people. We have too many young superheroes who think they’re invincible and can do no wrong. Getting them under the direct supervision of the E.H.O.D. is a vital step towards holding such people accountable.”

###

SteelStar sat on a metal chair with Centurion sitting a few feet to his right. Further to the right lay a giant vault where the fugori crystal was currently being stored, a circular metal door with no discernable opening mechanism. The only people who could open the vault were soldiers in a separate room monitoring it with security cameras.

While SteelStar had gone home to sleep, he’d immediately gone to the military base to guard the fugori crystal once he got a message saying he had permission to enter. It had taken a while for the base to give that permission, and SteelStar suspected they were hesitant over SteelStar’s current controversy.

Speaking of that controversy, SteelStar had just watched the latest video from Hammerhead news.

SteelStar cleared the video from his smartwatch. Patrick had just said the same narrative he’d been saying from the beginning. Did this guy have to tie everything back to the power user draft? What did the fugori crystal have to do with that? And what was that nonsense about getting superheroes under the direct supervision of the E.H.O.D.? Them breathing down his neck wasn’t enough?

Of course, SteelStar wasn’t surprised to see Patrick finding another excuse to trash him. This reporter seemed to have made it his personal mission to destroy SteelStar’s reputation. Patrick, and everyone who listened to him, had judged SteelStar without knowing him and without knowing what happened that day. SteelStar had done everything he could to stop Spectramancer without hurting him, no matter what Patrick said. He desperately wished he could take it back and that Spectramancer was alive today, but SteelStar had a sinking feeling that this would haunt him for the rest of his life.

As SteelStar was feeling low, he suddenly sensed a lot of stress outside. He didn’t need the inevitable alert on his smartwatch to know that this military base was under attack. Draego and Deathstare were making their move, so SteelStar stood up with Centurion, knowing he didn’t have time to feel sorry for himself right now.

###

Laura, dressed as Celerity, had just finished dealing with a store robbery. She’d rushed in, taken the gun, and then knocked out the perpetrator with a tap to the forehead, just like Fast-Track had shown her. Before she could even call the police, she got a message on her smartwatch about the military base.

As she saw the news about two supervillains attacking, she took a deep breath, took a moment to call the police for the robber, and ran off to help.

###

Draego flew with spread wings above the military base in his half dragon form as fire blasted from his feet, making a beeline for the vault that Deathstare had identified. Occasionally he was forced to throw fireballs at some heat seeking missiles, exploding them in mid air. Below him, Deathstare rode a motorcycle, occasionally shooting lasters from the eyes on his body to knock bullets out of the air. The soldiers took cover behind steel walls that rose from the ground, several feet thick and barely strong enough to withstand the lasers from Deathstare’s eyes.

A mile away from the action, Cipher sat in a van typing on his laptop. He controlled drones that flew high above the base, surveying the area. One of his drones, armed with an infrared camera, caught a figure running through the city at high speed toward the base. Celerity, no doubt, but after examining the base’s defenses and their firewalls, Cipher had a way to stop her, or at least slow her down.

The base’s firewalls were pretty basic. Compared to the one at New Tartarus, this was child’s play to manipulate. He lowered a few metal barriers to clear the way for deathstare on his motorcycle and raised a few to cut off Celerity. Cipher may not have been a fighter, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve.

###

Laura sped towards the military base as civilians heeded the alerts from their phones and took shelter in the nearest building. As before, steel barriers dropped in front of windows and entrances once civilians were inside. Laura dodged and weaved between abandoned cars on the road as she made her way to her destination.

Finally, she saw the base in the distance. The base lay just beyond the edge of Partition City, across an open plain with a single road leading to it. Laura ran across that road, and as she approached, she realized metal barriers were up around the base, blocking her entrance.

For a moment, Laura was prepared to gain momentum, transfer the kinetic energy to her legs, and jump over the wall. Looking up, however, Laura saw some specks high in the air. Those must have been the drones from yesterday, which could be a problem.

Laura stopped right in front of the barrier, considering her situation. She could get over the barrier but couldn’t easily change direction during a jump and would inevitably lose speed before landing, making her an easier target. If those drones were armed with guns, then that kind of jump wasn’t an option, and she wasn’t confident her speed based strength could get her through those barriers.

Laura grimaced. For the moment, she was shut out of the action.

###

SteelStar waited in front of the vault, his metal skin gleaming in the light. He could sense the two supervillains approaching and tensed himself, ready for a fight. He kept a simple charge to magnetically reinforce his body and would be ready to throw lightning bolts the moment the supervillains entered this room. Centurion stood next to him, his shield already up. SteelStar sensed that Centurion was stressed but didn’t question it.

A moment later, the wall before them exploded and Draego flew in. SteelStar didn’t waste time as he flew up and aimed a lightning bolt. This time he paid attention, and just like his dad said, he could see Draego dodging before the bolt released from his hand. Now he knew for certain. He just had to make use of it.

Draego flew close and unleashed blue fire, but SteelStar backed up and shot a lightning bolt through the flames. SteelStar figured this had worked before because the flames masked SteelStar’s heat buildup. Draego, however, had immediately flown to his left after shooting the flames, so the bolt missed.

Centurion, meanwhile, heard a motorcycle. The armored superhero raised his shield and reached for weapons he’d brought along specifically for this. He looked towards the entrance and saw Deathstare riding in. Centurion immediately activated his antigravity device and flew forward, his shield charged with red energy.

Deathstare turned his motorcycle to the side and stopped, unleashing lasers from every eye on the side of his body and mixing them into a big laser. Centurion, glowing with his power, blocked with the shield, but this time was better prepared.

Centurion threw a small canister at Deathstare, who immediately used the eye in the palm of his right hand to blast it. This proved to be a mistake as the canister burst, filling the area with smoke. When Deathstare felt his eyes stinging, he realized it was tear gas. That forced him to turn off his lasers and rev his motorcycle to flee in the other direction. Tear gas could be devastating for someone whose power was in his eyes.

Centurion had a few more tear gas canisters which would keep Deathstare at bay. That was all Centurion could do for the moment. Holding off Deathstare would be good enough for the public to say he contributed, but the E.H.O.D. still had instructions to interfere as little as possible without letting SteelStar out of his sight. SteelStar would have to fight Draego on his own, which miffed Centurion.

SteelStar threw a few more lightning bolts which Draego dodged easily. Then SteelStar charged a bolt but waited. Draego dodged but realized a bolt hadn’t shot and swerved a second time, evading the lightning bolt before it left SteelStar’s hand.

SteelStar was forced to dive as Draego tried to close the distance, blue fire unleashing from his hands. SteelStar managed to get away and then aimed lightning. Once again, Draego flew in a zigzag pattern, and SteelStar’s lightning bolt missed.

One more time, thought SteelStar, furrowing his metal brow in determination.

Draego tried to close the distance again, and SteelStar swerved upward to avoid the blue fire. SteelStar aimed his bolt as Draego turned, weaved, and circled to make himself harder to hit. SteelStar aimed carefully, taking his time to line up his shot. As Draego swerved, his hands began to glow as he prepared blue fire. Just as Draego closed the distance, SteelStar unleashed his lightning.

Finally, his aim was true, and the lightning bolt struck Draego in the torso.

SteelStar grinned as Draego was blasted away, hitting the far wall. Groaning, the half dragon recovered quickly and blasted towards SteelStar, his draconic eyes wide with anger. SteelStar dodged more blue fire, then aimed lightning again. Draego managed to dodge, but only by a narrow margin, the electricity singing his scales.

That narrow dodge worked in his favor as he managed to get in close. SteelStar followed his lead and dodged the blue fire by as little as possible. When they got in close, SteelStar knocked away Draego’s hand and flames away before punching him with a metal fist, sending the half dragon flying away once more.

Centurion had already thrown another tear gas grenade, keeping Deathstare at bay, and he watched the fight above with interest. Centurion had found himself annoyed at having to babysit this fledgling superhero but had to admit that the kid had potential.

Draego was dazed for a moment but quickly started flying again. SteelStar was right on top of him, and when Draego tried to shoot blue fire, SteelStar managed to bat his hands away and land another punch, sending Draego soaring through the air. Draego then blasted off and zigzagged through the air. SteelStar aimed carefully and managed to lead his target, hitting Draego with another lightning bolt.

Draego impacted the far wall again and fell for a moment, dazed. SteelStar took advantage of this and got close. Draego tried to fly away and throw blue fire, but SteelStar knocked his hand away, charged his fist with electricity, and punched Draego in the torso, sending electricity through the lizard man’s body as he was knocked to the floor.

Draego landed with a powerful crash, leaving a crater. He convulsed with electricity for a few moments before getting a hold of himself and blasting away with wings spread right before SteelStar landed, leaving more cracks in the floor.

SteelStar, of course, flew after Draego again, and the half dragon realized that this SteelStar, despite his youth, was a formidable opponent. Centurion hadn’t even interfered with the fight, and yet Draego found himself in a position to use his trump card. SteelStar was hot on his heels, but Draego kept his distance. In truth, Draego was kind of impressed.

“Consider my next move a compliment, little hero,” said Draego.

Quickly Draego circled, dodging more lightning as he reached into clothing and pulled out a small ring kept on a silver chain. This golden ring was shaped like two dragons intertwined, and Draego put it on his scaly finger.

Immediately smoke drifted from Draego’s skin, surrounding him and obscuring his form. SteelStar had no idea what that meant, so he flew backward. Even Centurion on the ground had the urge to back away. Draego had never done anything like this before. What power was this?

The smoke grew quickly, filling up a fourth of the massive room. Before SteelStar had time to think, the smoke began to clear. Where Draego had once been now stood a full, four legged, winged dragon with green scales and black horns. The beast snarled, its claws digging into the floor and leaving cracks, and one of those claws wore a gold ring like twisting dragons.

SteelStar looked up at the monster and noticed an intelligent, angry look in its eyes. It was the same look that Draego had given him. Draego, supposedly, was only half dragon, so he shouldn’t have been capable of this transformation. And yet, here he was.

SteelStar immediately flew up, reached for a bullet at his belt, slotted it into his right gauntlet, and aimed it as the Dragon rushed him. The good news about this transformation was that SteelStar was unlikely to miss such a big target. The bad news, sadly, made itself clear quickly.

Before SteelStar could get out of range, Draego swiped his gigantic claws at the metal superhero. His scaly palm hit with so much force that SteelStar flew away, crashing through the wall and into the next room. He bounced on the floor a few times, leaving cracks each time he flipped over before finally coming to a stop.

The room was empty, thankfully, so he was relieved he didn’t crash into anyone. That didn’t stop SteelStar’s metal head from pounding.

As SteelStar recovered, Draego, still inside the room, began flapping his massive wings. Centurion’s antigravity device barely kept him in place. The real problem, he realized, was that the tear gas he’d been throwing up to keep Deathstare out was being dispersed.

Then Draego swung his tail, striking Centurion’s shield. Even enhanced with his power, the shield couldn’t stop Centurion from being thrown away by the dragon’s incredible strength. Centurion, his armor glowing with red energy, was thrown through the opposite wall as SteelStar, leaving a hole surrounded by cracks.

With the two superheroes out of the way for the moment, Draego walked up to the vault, opened his jaws, and bit into the metal. Heaving with all his strength, the dragon pulled, the hinges straining before he yanked the door away, throwing it to the side like it was nothing. The vault door crashed as it landed, shaking the room.

A moment later, Deathstare rode up with his motorcycle and entered the Vault.

SteelStar, his metal body sore from being knocked through a wall, finally stood and flew back to the hole he’d made. He was met with blue flames from Draego’s open maw, forcing SteelStar to back away. The stone walls turned red from the heat and started to melt, making SteelStar wary of entering the room.

Moments later, Deathstare rode out of the vault, the canister with the fugori crystal strapped to his bike. As he left the room, Draego flapped his wings hard, making gusts of wind that roared as he leaped up, bursting through the roof to fly away as debris fell from his body.

A moment later, SteelStar flew out of the building. Above the military base, SteelStar could see Draego flying as Deathstare rode away. As a half dragon, Draego had already been difficult to deal with. How was SteelStar supposed to stop a full dragon? He hovered there watching, an overwhelmed look on his face.