Marvel owns the Fantastic Four and the Yancy Street Gang. My friend Shane created Griswald, but he gave me permission to write a story featuring his canine character. The URL to his story is on my profile.
A Return to Yancy Street
Ben Grimm felt bored beyond belief. He couldn't find anything on tv, didn't feel like reading any of the books or movies in his collections, and when he tried to get in contact with his friends, there was no response. Reed and Sue had gone out to go shopping, and Johnny was on a date, which left Ben all alone in Four Freedoms Plaza. He sat back in his easy chair and closed his eyes.
"What a revoltin' development!" Ben muttered to himself. "This can't be happening to me. I'm the Idol O' Millions, the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing. There must be something for me to do, but there isn't. I almost wish there were a villain for the FF to battle. Then I'd have something to do with my time."
A couple of minutes went by, when a bark sounded nearby. When it didn't illicit a response, more barking occurred. This caused Ben to open his eyes. Griswald, a brown dog with blue eyes, sat down at Ben's feet. A leash was near the dog.
"Hiya Griswald. I thought you were a figment of my imagination or sumthin'. It's hard to believe the Yancy Streeters actually did something nice for me."
Griswald looked into Ben's eyes, and almost appeared to smile. The 2-year old dog had been part of a plot by the Yancy Street Gang, to trick and publicly humiliate the Thing in front of a lot of people. Ben had been humiliated all right, wearing a ballerina tutu on a stage of ballerina dancers, after believing Griswald could talk. However, the Yancy Streeters failed to put into account that Ben Grimm would become Griswald's new owner, which made the experience seem less humiliating when Ben looked back on it.
Ben got out of his easy chair, and sat down in front of Griswald. The dog barked some more, then carried the leash over to Ben's lap. Immediately afterwards, Griswald jumped into Ben's lap and licked his face. This caused Ben to start laughing.
"C'mon Griz, quit it. You're such a silly dog, jumpin' around like that getting some licks in all the while. Y'know, I never did think I'd have a pet while bein' a member of the FF, but then you came into my life."
Ben stopped talking and picked up the leash. "Griz, do you want to go for a walk?" he asked, dangling the leash in front of him. "Mebbe I should bring Griswald for a walk down Yancy Street," he thought to himself. "The 'ol gang must've taken good care of him, since he already knows tricks without my help. On the other hand, the Yancy Street Gang didn't seem like the type of people to take care of animals when I was a member. What should I do?"
Griswald grabbed the other end of the leash with his teeth and gave it a slight tug. This signal indicated the dog did want to go on a walk. Ben then picked up Griswald and sat in his chair again. He attached the leash to Griswald, and headed towards his living quarters. While there, Ben removed his hat and coat from his closet and put them on. After the disguise was complete, Ben felt ready to take his dog on a walk.