In the darkness of the quarry warehouse, a row of ten windows casts the moon's light in square beams. Both masked goons drag four heavy bags of cash each, unable to hoist them over their shoulders. "HURRY UP!!" shouts Stonehold's hoarse voice, "Stonehold wants to be out of town by midnight!" Chains rattle in the distance. The rock monster narrows his white eyes but only finds a swaying chain hanging from the ceiling. Slowly he stomps towards it, leaving a drop of mud where he stood. Stonehold grabs the swaying chain in mid-motion, then turns his head left and right. Nothing out of the ordinary appears, leaving only one direction to look. Above, Lil' Miss Steel plummets from the ceiling fist first

A direct hit to the head sends the rock monster falling forwards. With both hands Vee grabs Stonehouse' skull and yanks it. However, mud follows and spins around her. Lil' Miss Steel attempts to keep track of his moving body, but he's too fast. Stonehold reforms behind her and claps his hands to crush her. In a last second move Vee extends both arms, holding back the monster. An arrogant chuckle comes from his mouth, until his smaller foe takes hold of his fingers. With all her might, Vee flings Stonehold over head and splatters him on the warehouse floor.

The masked teen searches the pool of mud and rocks for her enemy's head, tossing one after the other with no luck. "Looking for Stonehold?" The sound of his voice leads Vee to look behind. A trail of mud from the pile leads to the monster's head and acts as a road, on which all other stones drive and regather. "Your old man tried that when he was your age too!" he says fully shaped again, "But he was too slow. Couldn't beat Stonehold alone, just like you." Vee regains her fighting stance. "I think I'm doing better this time."

Stonehold laughs. "You're trying to be just like him? Take Stonehold to jail!? For what!? The bank's insured. What's so bad about Stonehold getting the money Stonehold deserves!?" Vee hangs her head in shame, remembering the fifty dollar bill in her shorts. "I get it," she says, softer in tone, "But whether the bank will miss it or not, stealing does hurt someone, someway. The people you held hostage will be traumatized by what you did!" Slowly she reaches for the pouch on her side. "You're giving the money back!" Vee tosses a Moondisc at her taller foe; blades spread in a crescent shape as it spins. Stonehold roars and leans back from the sharp object landing in his right eye. Quickly his body loses form and flows away like a brown river.

Frostbang in hand, the masked teen runs out the warehouse after the monster. However, standing outside in the quarry yard reveals a new problem. Rocks. Everywhere. With her free hand, Vee pulls out her tracker device, but it fails to refresh the screen. She slaps it hard to no avail. *rumble* The sound of shifting rocks turns her head right; it echoes to the left. In a panicked reaction Vee tosses the frostbang, freezing a normal stone in a pillar of ice.

In the corner of her eye, the masked girl spots a flying rock. Her fist of steel shatters it upon impact, but the nightmare has just begun. All at once speeding rocks fly from all directions. Lil' Miss Steel can only block so many. Repeatedly the teen is stoned in the back, no matter which way she turns. "Grah! STOP!!" she shouts in frustration. Surprised, Vee gets what she wants. All rocks drop and roll to a stop; something too good to be true. A massive shadow envelopes her. Stonehold's body of mud and rock towers over with a crooked grin before crashing down like a tidal wave.

As before Vee is trapped in pitch blackness, unable to open her mouth or eyes in the mud. "RAHAHAHA!! Stonehold warned you! You're nothin'! Not your daddy, or your mommy!" Rage fills Vee, yet she contains her scream behind tightly closed lips. "What!?" gloats the monster, "Stonehold can't hear you!"  The sound of a motor in the near distance turns his working eye away from himself. Fastly approaching down the quarry road, a single headlight blinds Stonehold. "Huh?"

From inside the muddy prison, muffled pops and bangs warn Vee of a third party, possibly the police again. In a matter of seconds the walls collapse around her. Vee resurfaces for air and takes a long breath before coughing. This time she didn't inhale any mud. Upon whipping her mask, a dirtied image of a man was found. A familiar figure in a hooded cape and armor stared down at her with neon green eyes. Knight Vision. "Dad!? What are you doing-" "Saving you apparently," he said. His helmet amplified his already intimidating voice with extra bass and growl.

Lil' Miss Steel ditched her dirty mask to see clearly, leaving a clean spot on her face where it was. The rock monster who nearly killed her twice today appeared frozen only on his head; the rest of his body simply melted down around him. "I had him!" she said in frustration. "You definitely did not," said Eduardo, "Stonehold is a D tier villain." "And you're an F tier dad!" Vee's scream traveled across the entire quarry, possibly beyond. The following silence left both father and daughter standing firmly, until she spoke again. "I watched mom crash down from the sky, and you hung up on me! I nearly died, and you told me to get better on my own!"

Tears began to overflow from Vee's eyes. Her father remained still with crossed arms. "Go home," he said, "I have no time to train you to fight." "No!" she shouted back, "I am not going back to that crappy trailer!" "You will. Now go home!" Vee stepped closer, standing as tall as possible. "You wanted me to be a hero like you! Now I'm doing it, and you don't want me to!?" Eduardo harshly grabbed his daughter by the shoulders and said, "That was before your mother was killed!..." His grip softened. "...Before I felt her heartbeat leave me."

Remembering her mother, Vee placed her right hand over her heart. "Mom's not dead. I can feel her heart now." Knight Vision looked down at her with anger. "You're delusional! Why would she cut my link and start one with you!?" For a moment, Vee couldn't answer. She hadn't thought about that yet. "I...don't know," she said, "But I know it's her. She's being kept in a big container somewhere. I-I can feel it!"

Eduardo looked away to gather patience, then lowered his faceplate to show more of his eyes and nose. "Who attacked her?" His voice sounded normal now. "Some guy in a metal suit," Vee said, "Or maybe he was a robot...I'm not sure." Silence returned to the quarry; neither certain of what to say next. "I trust your word," said Eduardo in a softening voice, "But I can't just act on witness alone. If it's who I think it is, I will need evidence. A lot." "Who?" Vee asked. "It's not your place. I'll handle this with the Mighty Five. Go home."

As Knight Vision lifted back up his faceplate and walked to his motorcycle, Vee clenched her fists by her hips. Courage filled her words. "Like it or not, I'm staying in Phoenix!..." Her father stopped. "...This is my home, at least until we find mom. You're not gonna stop me." The teen waited impatiently for a response, tapping her foot against the dirt. Her father never said a word. After several long seconds, what felt like an eternity, Eduardo reached into a pouch on his belt and dropped something on the dirt. He gripped his motorcycle's handle, revved the engine and sped off. As her father grew more and more distant from the quarry, Vee stepped closer to pick up the object. A radio with Knight Vision's logo on the front laid in her hand.

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A new day in Phoenix, Arizona, just as hot as the last. Down the hot road, a pink automobile from the 60's cruises and finds a handicap spot in front of a store to park in. The elderly woman slowly hoists herself out of the driver's seat with her overly large hat and magenta purse. *bark!* "Edward, hush." As the asian lady hobbles to the door, a familiar metal face runs down the sidewalk. "Ma'am! Wait!" At last Lil' Miss Steel makes it to the elder and leans her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She had been chasing the car for ten minutes. "This...is yours," she says, handing over the fifty dollar bill she took yesterday.

The elder's withered hand returns the bill to Vee's and closes it. "I am an old woman," she said with a smile, "My time to help others is limited. But you, you are full of youth. Use this the right way." Lil' Miss Steel drops to her knees with her head bowed in reverence. "Thank you so much! I really needed this!" The lady laughs. "Of course, if you want more, I have many yard chores that need...doing?" Before she could even finish, Vee had already ran off. *bark!* "Yes, Edward. Kids these days are quite lazy."