"You don't remember anything about it?" questioned Azula. He just shook his head in profound awe, still a little mussed from the pain meds taken that morning. Besides, he was too busy fumbling his way out the hospital doors. Azula can drive? How? he thought to himself. She'd been actually taking classes & coaching all these months, eventually rewarding herself with the driving license she could now keep with her superhero license proudly. The issue at hand was Johnny's memory loss after the mob attack in the past week.
"I wanna bring you someplace before we head home. You cool with that?" she took out the keys of Johnny's car named Viper. Sue had given them to her to pick him up upon his discharge from the ICU.
"Yeahhhh. Sure," he grinned. He wanted her to hug him the second time since they exited Presbyterian Hospital, or tenderly finger the healing bruises on his temples.
She was about to rev up Viper, but some half-heard noise stretched out from further up the road. Her face puzzled up upon seeing them - regular civilians, but they did not look happy. They resembled hungry sharks snatching up whatever flotsam & jetsam they could find. Their big footsteps reverberated down the pavement. Azula & Johnny hadn't even entered the car.
"There he is…," one of the three brawny figures jabbed his finger at Johnny. The Human Torch's pulse was racing - weighed down by the trauma of the assault on him. Azula saw it in the oceans of his eyes.
"I'll do the talking," she protectively patted his shoulder.
" 'Bout time you get a real life, Torch," another one of the thugs snapped. Fast approaching, they cornered the pair right by the car. Two of the party inaudibly whispered in discussion. "She's sweet, ain't she?" one of them fingered Viper's hood. "They both are," the other looked at Azula in addition.
Their other buddy spat in Johnny's face, "You wanna hear somethin'? You're nothin' but a menace. We'd best station a giant fire extinguisher at every city block." The trio cackled in unison.
"He's too dangerous to be around normal people. You oughta just stay at home & light up your penthouse at night," snickered his friend. More laughter.
Azula stationed herself firmly between the group & her boyfriend, "Pick on someone who can stand on his own two feet."
The three stared as persistently & coldly as they could at Johnny, who was behind her remaining helplessly quiet. "Sorry, Dragon. Some of us gotta speak our minds."
"So Torchie, you always thought it's never gone easy for any of us except you?"
"How 'bout now, freak?"
"Likin' it when you sink back into an 'average' life?" The thug leader pointed to the bandages protecting Johnny's wrist.
"Guys!" warned Azula, "Break it up or you're up against a one-girl firing squad."
"Now, now, we don't want Blue Dragon havin' a bad time in the news, do we?" one of them mocked.
She used her wit, "You started it, genius. Harassing a superhero could land you in the long arm of law."
The second thug raised his arm with iron knuckles, gaze locked on Johnny, "I'd land this jerk in what I call hot soup -" His smile revealed rows of rather monstrous teeth.
"All of you, SCAT!" Azula fired up both fists. They wouldn't back down. They were too close for the couple to feel comfortable so she struck. A feathery light but lethal blow was delivered to the neck of the thug leader. Another focused punch to the base of the second thug's spine. The third guy helped them up & they made haste & retreated to an alleyway nearby, partially because he'd noticed a wary officer down the street too.
"YOU KEEP THAT FREAK AWAY FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD!" the leader boomed back at Azula, right before the trio disappeared. Passers-by witnessed most of the scene & could be heard muttering out their views on what just occurred.
Johnny hung his head in some kind of total shame; he was stripped of his heartfelt smile from earlier. It was verily different: he had frozen & he didn't put up any argument against the trio at all. His insides were knotted; terrible, as if the solid bottom of his well-known trait of confidence turned out to be a false bottom. It was like the attitude he had before - impulsive & all - was defunct & hadn't yet been replaced with a new 'him'. Seemingly, the bedrock had collapsed completely after it was hit.
Azula put her good arm around his to trace her fingertips across his famous flame-patterned jacket. "Just relax. Don't take for a minute anything the creeps said," she snuggled up to him. "Let's go." He was still speechless, not even asking about their destination.