5:11 pm

The old Imperial Bunker Complex

Astro and Atlas backed away from the bulky device that was the size of half an 18-wheeler and stood brooding while Mars walked around it.

"So how are we going to set this thing off?" Mars asked as he pointed a thumb.

Astro reached into a pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "Bingo."

Atlas cocked his head. "Huh? You carry a cell phone?"

"Kinda redundant and obsolete isn't it?" Mars asked.

Astro didn't answer before he reached over, popped open Mars's chest door and started groping around inside him. "You…don't need a clock. "Plink!"

"HEY! WHAT THE HECK?! GIVE THAT BACK!" Mars screamed.

"You'll live." Astro replied as he snapped open Atlas's chest door and groped him! "You don't need…G.P.S." "plink!"

"UGH! YOU VIOLATED ME!" Atlas snarled.

"I'll deck you and leave you here if you want?" Astro replied smiling as he popped off the back panel of the cell phone and started messing around with the circuit board. Chewing off the plastic shrouds of the wires he took and soldering them in place while Mars and Atlas looked over his shoulders…

"Nice idea." Mars chirped. "A home made trigger?"

"You figured it out!" Astro beamed as he waved the contraption in his hand. "You get a star on your forehead…Atlas gets the dunce cap."

Astro walked over to the device and started wiring his home made trigger to the firing computer. "Unfortunately? This isn't a perfect trigger. The battery's low…"

Mars smirked. "You carry a cell phone and you don't even bother to keep it charged?"

"I'm not listening to you right now." Astro replied. "Second problem is I can't set this phone to set off the device more than seven seconds. Once I push the "send" button I have to go balls to the walls to get away from here. Mathematically speaking it's gonna be a squeak and a rats eyelash to get out the front door ahead of the explosion."

"Well you…..WHAT?!...we haven't made a choice yet?' Atlas snapped.

"Don't need to." Astro replied. "I'm faster than the two of you, that's not in dispute."

"Oh? So all of a sudden you judge yourself as the hero in this whole thing without even giving us a chance?" Mars snorted. "You don't know even half the things I can do and all of a sudden mister big and bad Astro's made himself Captain Marvel…"

Astro snatched Mars by his scarf. "There's no question about it! It's a logical choice backed by fact and you know it. Don't push it Mars, I'm not going to argue nor waste the time we have on settling things with a spoiled brat. Now you and Atlas get out of here! I'll be right behind you."

Mars waved his hands. "Alright! Alright….you win." He said frowning as he backed away.

And no sooner had Astro turned around…Mars jumped forward, slapped his hands on Astro's shoulders and threw enough voltage into Astro's body that it threw him to a dust clouded slam against the wall of the excavated cavern.

"Told you, you didn't know half of me you dufus!" Mars snatched Astro up and threw him over Atlas's shoulder…."Get out of here."

"What the hell?!" Atlas snorted. "Better not turn your back…"

"Oh shut up!" Mars sniped. "It's not like I'm doing this because you guys have girl friends. If something happened to Astro? It wouldn't be a week before you'd start acting like a stupid dumb ass and give all of us a bad name! Astro's the only thing besides Epsilon that keeps you level headed and don't give me the same old "I hate him." garbage."

Mars walked over to the device and grabbed the cell phone. "Besides…you two get enough press. Now do you start flying or do I press this?"

Atlas smiled and shook his head. "You understand that of the three of us? You're the slowest?"

"And you're the most worthless, big deal." Mars snorted back. "My thumb is getting tired?"

Atlas took off in a cloud of dust as Mars stood licking his lips and taking a stand like a kid at a school track meet….."Just don't let me trip please?" he said looking upwards before mashing the green button.

"Beeep!"