As the sandstorm caused by Vee’s bike begins to thin out, she gets a better look at the van she collided with. Not only was the blood painted on, but hard to read text on the side appears to say "The Murder Machine!" A spiky, blonde haired teen in a black tank top stuck his head out the open window.  "Vee! You dented the Murder Machine!" Like an olympic swimmer, the boy dives out of the driver's seat. Trying as hard as possible, he cannot open the door from the outside either. "Dude, I think you broke it!"

"I think she broke her skull," says a taller, dark skin boy with long black dreads. The worried teen runs around the car's front end and dirties his white tee and jeans by sliding on his knees. "You good?" "Yeah," says Vee while rubbing her head. "No concussion? Amnesia?" Both smile and share a laugh. "Your name is Lajon. The idiot who pulled out in front of me is Chester." At the mention of his name, Chester picks up his bottom jaw from the ground and says, "Oh, so now I'm to blame for it?" "It doesn't matter," says Amy running over to hug her friend, "I'm shocked you didn't get hurt."

Vee stands without assistance and shrugs. "Eh, guess I'm hard headed." "Got that right," Lajon says with a chuckle, "Why were you pedaling so hard?" The reminder puts a sour expression on Vee's face. "My parents, mostly dad. The usual never-home-but-when-they-are-I-hate-it sitch." Chester repeatedly pulls with his entire body weight to try and open his van's door, while Lajon asks, "Is your old man still trying to force you into taking up his work again?" Vee's frustrated grunt and rolling of her eyes told him and Amy the answer. At last, Chester forces the door open. "Phew! What does your dad do?" Vee hesitates for a second before answering, "Nothing I want to." "Wicked!"

The dirt covered girl brushes herself off with a look of confusion. "How is that wicked?" Chester eagerly says, "Cuz you got all the motivation you need to pack up our instruments and drive out to Phoenix!" Vee smirks. "Leaving this dump a week early, sign me the hell up!" As the teens hop back in the Murder Machine, Amy appears concerned. "B-but we haven't gotten permission to take the instruments. They're school prop-" "Amy, Amy, Amy," says Vee with a grin, "All rock stars get famous by breaking some rules." With everyone else inside already, Amy sighs and joins her girl friend in the backseat.

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Sundown approaches Cerro Gordo High School. Almost a century old, the founders intended it to be the shining star of the town, but nothing really shined at all here. "See? Totally easy," Chester exclaimed as he opened the doors. The Murder Machine was parked a few steps away from the staff only exit, the only way in or out without a security camera. Each band member walked outside with their 'borrowed' instruments. Vee balanced every piece of her drum kit and stuffed it in the back of the van, then came Lajon with his red bass. Amy followed with her keytar, and Chester placed his electric guitar and mic stand on top.

The spiky haired teen closes the trunk doors and wipes his hands together. "Course, my uncle being the janitor helps smooth out the process." "He lets you in whenever?" Vee asks. "Not all the time. I have to bring him his favorite drink." "Dr. Peppy?" Amy guesses. Chester darts his eyes away for a second. "Just because the bottle says 'Dr. Peppy,' doesn't mean that's what's in it."

With everything packed up, the driver returns to his dented door and once again tries his hardest to open it. While Amy hops in the back seat, Vee facepalms like she remembered something. "I didn't pack my clothes and stuff, and I really don't want to go back home." Lajon gives her a light nudge with his elbow. "It'll be fine. Your last time going there, right?" Vee returns the favor but harder. "You said it."

Before the tall boy opens the back passenger door he stops and turns to his friend. "Hey, I'm not saying your parents are right, forcing their wishes on you, but you probably shouldn't hate them for it." Vee's face scrunches up, but it softens with her tone of voice. "I don't. Things were better when I was little. I just...wanna be normal. Have a normal family to come home to." Lajon takes a half step closer. "Earlier it sounded like you didn't want them around." A forced chuckle comes before Vee's reply, "Guess I don't make it easy to get along with me." "What about me?" At this point the teens couldn't get much closer without touching. "I got all summer to figure that out."

Chester grunts in a long attempt to force open the driver's side door, to no avail. Not even bracing his feet against the van helps. Vee shoves him aside and quickly turns her hands to steel. In a single brute force pull, she grants the teen entry and desteels her skin without notice. "I loosened it!" shouts the red faced Chester with angry, triangle eyes. Lajon and Amy laugh inside. Last to enter the Murder Machine, Vee overlooks the baseball field, granting a decent view of Cerro Gordo. No more.

As a light breeze shakes Vee's black and white hair, a red star in the purple sky catches her eye. Brightly it shines. Perhaps a celestial sign of change coming her way. However, seeing it grow larger, and at a rather fast rate, leads her to believe it's physically coming her way. "Uh, Chester! Start the van!" "It's not a van. She's called, the Murder Mac- Whoa...Now that's wicked!" From the heavens a blinding, red beam of energy rockets to the Earth. Vee hops in the backseat with a frightened look. Chester shifts gears and floors the gas pedal, but it's already too late.

Pitcher's base is annihilated by the crimson blast, along with most of the baseball field dirt. With the force of a mighty explosion, the Murder Machine is pushed and tilts on its right wheels. Had it not been parked so close to the school's wall, it would have turned on its side. Inside, the unbuckled teens slam against each other twice before coming to a stop. "Oww," says Amy, holding her head, "You are hard headed, Vee." "Sorry." Vee climbs over her friend and peeks from behind Chester's seat to look out his window. Smoke rises from the crash sight. What was once their school's baseball field, now appears as a crater. A crater with someone inside.

All teens make room for each other to stare, knowing the smarter move is to drive away. Though if the thing in the crater was hostile, perhaps it would be best to stay quiet. Either way, the temptation was too great not to stare. Further smoke clears, allowing Vee to clearly see. Mom? The sudden sound of jet thrusters turns their eyes upwards at another strange sight. A metal man, or perhaps a robot, of gold and black color gently lands in the crater. A thin, red visor appears where a human's eyes and nose would be, with a gold chin piece covering the mouth.  "Not your best landing, Tatiana," the stranger's smug voice said, "And thanks for answering my call for help. I knew Eduardo wouldn't bother showing up to that."

Inside the van, the teens watch in fear. "Whoa!" Chester whispers, "He's like a super villain!" Lajon ducks low to look out the driver's window and asks, "You know him?" "No, but if I had to name him, 'Death Metal' sounds pretty good!" Vee's fingers tightly grip the seat she sits on. The man named Death Metal speaks in a joking tone, infuriating her. "Not talkative tonight?...You never had the best English." With every footstep the man takes, a clunking sound is made. Finally he stands a few inches away from the motionless Miss Steel and taps her arm with his metal boot. Nothing. "Iris, scan her vitals." Upon command his helmet visor glows blue, and a british, female voice says in a robotic tone. "Sir, Miss Steel's heart has stopped."

The world stopped spinning. Everything around Vee began to blur and darken, only allowing her to focus on the lifeless body of her superhero mother. Miss Steel was invincible, she always thought, yet here she lay. As rage enters the teen's face, metal coats her human skin. The man in metal looms over Miss Steel's body, then stands straight and taps his left arm's built-in screen. "Iris, send the drones for pick up." "Incoming, sir." "That fast?"

Sparks fly from Death Metal's helmet upon impact with Vee's fist of steel. Her body had changed. Up to her elbows, her skin turned to solid steel. Her face also hardened with a furious expression and white hot eyes. The mech-suited man leans back from the blow but regains his balance, just in time to take another uppercut to the chin. "I did warn you, sir." says the AI's voice. *CLUNK!* Another punch! "Gah! Noted!" *BANG!* "Iris, analyze-" *CLANG!* "Attack pattern!" *BONG!* "Right away, sir."

A circular reticle appears in the red visor of Death Metal's visor, and his left hand quickly catches the attacker's fist. Shocked at the jarring block, Vee reels back her left arm for one more uppercut. The man in metal punches faster, striking her steel face. Sparks follow her head as it falls back. "Huh," Death Metal says before releasing his grip on her fist, "Iris, left arm thrusters." From the mech's left elbow pop out two tiny jet engines.

The speeding fist collides with Vee's stomach, spewing saliva from her mouth. Fast as a bullet, her body flies through the bleachers beside the Murder Machine. "OH MY GOD!!" shouts Amy from inside the van. Chester's jaw hangs wide open at the sight. "Too wicked!" Lajon attempts to get out, but his door cannot open against the school's brick wall. As he pushes against it anyway, Amy taps his shoulder to turn his attention back to their friend.

To the teens' shock, Vee begins to climb out of the wrecked bleachers. Through the hole in her shirt steel skin can be seen, then it returns to bruised flesh. Without an ounce of fear, the man in metal steps closer. His AI's voice speaks, "Scan complete, sir. Target's DNA appears to be a perfect mixture of human and titanian." He chuckles. "Well I'll be damned. Tatiana did lie about the miscarriage...Lil' Miss Steel." On unsteady feet, Vee stands and steels up her forearms and fists. "You killed her!" "Eh, you'll thank me later. The world's going to be a lot safer now thanks to me."

With a scream from the bottom of her lungs, Vee charges on the baseball field dirt. Down the crater she goes; Death Metal remains still. "Please." In a split second his raised left arm shifts its form. Fingers divide from the metal palm and surround the barrel coming out of the wrist. A flash of red light seeps through the holes in the barrel as it fires a bright beam of energy. No time to react, Vee is knocked out of her shoes and rolls into the outfield. Her fingers dig in the patchy grass to slow down, and she's back on her socks. Smoke spews from Death Metal's left arm cannon. Its transformation reverses back into a hand as he says, "Titanite cannon is less effective. Noted."

As Vee rushes head on once more, the man in metal stands firm. "Iris, eject at target." Like a small rocket, the entire left arm launches off the shoulder plate with thrusters popping out of the bicep and tricep. A deer in headlights, Vee guards her face with steel arms. She widens her stance and braces for impact, but the flying arm doesn't go for a punch. With precision it swoops under her arms and grasps her metal face firmly with its hand.

Despite her bravery, Vee can't stop herself from screaming as the rocket arm flies her in loops above the ruined ballfield. The one armed Death Metal watches from below and taps the center of his right palm with his ring finger. The underside of that arm pops open, revealing a missile. With a flick of his wrist it launches. At last the airborne Vee rips off the hand from her face, too easily. Her eyes widen at the sight of not only the ground below, but also the missile. Its fire reflects in her steel cheeks before hardened arms cover her face before the impact. "VEE!!" Scream the teens from the van.

A trail of smoke follows the flying teen in the sky, and Death Metal's left arm reattaches to his body in the crater. "Sir, the drones have arrived," the A.I. says, "Shall I send one after the hybrid?" The man inside the helmet ponders with closed eyes. "No. Her half blood is of no use to me...Plus, she's just a kid. She didn't ask to be born that way." From the cloudy sky, twin drones of black and gold colors descend with four rotating blades. Nets deploy, and magnetize to each other underneath Miss Steel. With an arm dangling out of a gap in the cables, her motionless body is lifted from the crater. The man in metal activates the thrusters on his boots and back, leading his drones high into the sky.

To be continued...