Based on information provided by Garreth Knight (aka Vanguard; retired hero, monster hunter, and occult expert) Furies now knew the location of the long missing Starman. Phoenix and Icestar immediately launched an assault on what they believed to be an underground DEMON stronghold. They defeated the DEMON agents they found there with great ease. Unknown to Phoenix and Icestar, an ENTITY within the base was absorbing the energy of their aggression, and using it to slowly, invisibly, weaken them. This attack was combined with the mental illusion that the agent's attacks weren't as powerful as they actually were. The heroes, far more badly hurt than they thought they were, pressed onward, until they suddenly collapsed. They ENTITY, having the combined energies and knowledge of Starman, Phoenix, and Icestar at its disposal prepared a new trap for the next heroes.

Shocker, Miss America, Iron Maiden, and Whiz Kid arrived several hours later. Whiz Kid went to scout the opposition. Having energy to spare, the ENTITY launched a powerful mental attack against Whiz Kid as soon as he entered the base. Whiz Kid was knocked unconscious by a powerful blast of mental energy, and captured. When Whiz Kid failed to return after a few minutes, the remaining Furies members attacked. They proceeded through the base, finding only unconscious agents. The agents had clearly been defeated by fire and ice powers. They proceeded unhindered to the heart of the base, where the entity had prepared a different trap for the heroes. The lowest level of the base was apparently a huge cavern, lit by a faint, sourceless phosphorescence. Entering the cavern, they saw Phoenix and Starman unconscious, each chained to a large stone altar in the center of the cavern. Icestar and Whiz Kid, also unconscious, were each imprisoned in a strange crystalline tube, which reached from the floor, to the invisible ceiling of the cave. Three beings, in the form silent humanoids clad from head to toe in black, medieval looking armor also awaited Shocker, Ms. America, and Iron Maiden. The first was covered in spikes (Spikes), the second, over 8 feet tall, had a huge sword (Blade), and the third, short and stocky, had huge gauntleted fists (Hammer). The strange beings refused to respond to any questions. The remaining Furies attacked.

Shortly, the heroes were losing badly, but had at least managed to free Whiz Kid and Phoenix. Whiz Kid's accelerated metabolism allowed him to regain consciousness in seconds instead of hours. Phoenix remained unconscious. Things got worse. Launching an incredible attack, Iron Maiden knocked Spikes back over 80 feet, taking him out of the fight. At almost exactly the same moment, Hammer did the same thing to Shocker. Miss America continued to duel with Blade. Still too weak to do battle, Whiz Kid concentrated on awakening the freed Phoenix by building a bonfire on top of him, and looking desperately for a way turn the tide of battle in the heroes favor. As it turned out, the entire hero group might have been lost if not for Whiz Kid. Whiz kid noticed certain subtle auditory and tactile anomalies. The chains holding Phoenix had made appropriate sounds when sundered by Miss America's shield, and when torn apart by Iron Maiden's hands, but didn't clink when he accidentally kicked one. Whiz kid also noticed that the villains always attacked after the heroes, and then performed virtually the same attack. Piecing the clues together quickly, Whiz Kid shouted that this was all an illusion, and that the heroes were fighting each other. Testing Whiz Kid's theory, Miss America and Iron Maiden stopped attacking. He was right! The armored figures quickly faded away.

Moving to free the remaining heroes, Miss America and Iron Maiden were attacked by the very chains holding Starman to the altar. Because of their incredible strength, they easily overcame and destroyed the chains. The cavern floor began to shake and rumble. Phoenix regained consciousness. Having freed all of the captured heroes, Furies made a hasty exit. Whiz Kid took a sundered link of chain as a souvenir. Outside the base, the mountain began to shake and rumble. A mountain-sized crystalline entity erupted from the mountain, leaving only a thin shell of earth and rock behind. The illusion concealing the true nature of Whiz Kid's souvenir chain link vanished with this event, revealing it to be a fragment of tentacle! The entity began to glow ominously. The FURIES quickly piled into the waiting Furies jet. The entity vanished in a flash of light accompanied by a tremendous shockwave. Luckily, the jet was able to outrun the shockwave.

Back at Furies' headquarters, the injured heroes were placed in waiting autodoc units, and the tentacle fragment was examined by Garreth. The fragment was revealed to be a remnant of a sixth-plane entity known as "He Who Walks Between the Stars". Sixth-plane entities, Garreth revealed, are physically huge, possess vast mental powers, and can absorb hostile thoughts to increase these powers. The heroes were lucky to have survived being inside one. Such entities also have a strong vulnerability to zinc. It affects them like a good dose of salt affects a snail. Armed with this knowledge, the heroes will be better prepared next time...