Résumé: At Ivy University, a mysterious stranger hands Sylbert Rundine a costume and a Bio-Belt and gives him the name Dwarfstar. He follows by saying that he has a small chore in mind for Rundine.
Moments later, agents of the Waiting come swarming down the sewer tunnels and attack the Atom. Ryan fights them off and destroys one of their robotic mounts. Peering into the cracked shell, he discovers a miniature particle drive. Ryan takes the device and quickly effects his escape.