Instead, she slips out of the building to meet with a man waiting for her in the parking lot. From the window, Steve zooms in on the tape that she hands over to him. He rushes out of the room and chases after the man's car but loses it. Steve returns to the gate guard (Marshall Reed) to ask about the man but the guard answers that he hasn't seen anyone leaving nor entering.

If that man was able to freely get on the premises he must have had an ID clearance card in his possession. So Steve asks to check the personnel roster. Again, nothing.

Not satisfied with Oscar's explanation that the man was a pure figment of his imagination, Steve seeks an answer from Carla. He zooms in on a picture she is holding and recognizes the man from the parking lot. He is Barney Hiller, a former racecar driver who suffered a terrible accident a few years ago and was never heard from again. That man must be very important for her to jeopardize her career. As a result of the little exchange that Steve made such a fuss over, she was fired. Steve is appalled that she could betray him, the man she nursed back to health emotionally following his near-fatal accident.

Steve cuts in the conversation, hoping to have a chat with Barney. Instead, the drunken man provokes him into an arm-wrestling match. Steve declines but Barney insists by threatening to reveal his true nature if he doesn't accept the challenge. The two men go at it for a good minute before Barney swings Steve's bionic arm in his favour, breaking the table in the process. With sharp cynicism, Barney informs a stunned Steve that he's looking at Rudy's second cyborg.

The government plans to send Barney on his first mission and Oscar figures that Steve should accompany him for moral support. As a rewarding gesture, Oscar agrees to have Carla Petterson reinstated.

For their first mission as a team, Barney and Steve pose as telephone repairmen and await Oscar's signal that the van containing the stolen merchandise they were sent to retrieve is approaching. They wait for the right moment to spring into action. During the fight, Barney's bionic powers kick into gear. He enjoys beating, pounding, kicking and smacking the thieves so much that at some point, Steve has to hinder him from giving vent to his enjoyment.

Steve warns Oscar of Barney's mental instability and asks that his bionic powers be neutralized for his own safety. An option he had offered Steve when he, himself, flew off the handle.

Outside, Barney rages. He whinges about his fate and Steve tries to make him understand that he will eventually get over his depression just as he did and that he intends to help him muddle through. In a gush of rage, Barney elbows Steve in the stomach. He hates being constantly reminded that he failed where Steve succeeded.

Outside, Oscar waits for Steve to return from his visit. He had no intention to go up there, knowing that Barney must be resenting him. He is amazed by Steve's prowess, not referring to his bionic ones but the human side of the man. Steve is flattered but warns Oscar that too many compliments could prompt him to ask for a raise.