CHAPTER 25: DOUBLE TROUBLE

The Silver Sentinel has taken the place of Royal Woods' official superhero from Ace Savvy. Appearing in a set of shiny silver clothes and taking opportunity of Ace Savvy's recent failiures, the fame that the young hero had made for himself was snatched up and brought under the name of the new superman that had appeared in Royal Woods. Unable to accept his 15 minutes of fame being up to give way to the next trend, Ace Savvy fought tooth and nail to regain his honor.

His attempts were noble as they were numerous; always being the first one on the scene and ready for battle. Despite how fast he was to arrive to the scene, each and every villain he would go to fight would be taken down by the Silver Sentinel, downing the opponent before Ace Savvy could even lift a finger. At this point in his career, it was a question of how long his persistence would last. Youthful and eager as he was, it was only allowing his mind and his body to take so much.

With the arrival of Silver Sentinel coming to make a deal, Ace Savvy found a prospect to regain his fame and honor. The deal Silver Sentinel had to offer was simple: Take a week off and make sure that he was still sure if he wished to continue a career in superherodom. In this deal, Ace Savvy found himself some opportunity of his own: By taking the deal, he would await a time, a moment of weakness, when Silver Sentinel would not show up to save the day, and take the opportunity for himself.

After nearly a full week of waiting as Lincoln Loud, Ace Savvy found his opportunity, having two villains to face: Tommy Gunn, a 1920's-obsessed gangster archetype; and Killer Crab, a man in a massive crab suit with claws capable of pinching through anything. Where the latter would be taken on by his sidekick, One-Eyed Jack, Ace Savvy would take on the outdated if not classy Tommy Gunn.

Taking the stage inside a convenience store, Ace Savvy and Tommy Gunn stand at odds; one party more than ready to do battle with each other.

"So, 'Tommy Gunn', huh? That was the best you could come up with?" Ace Savvy asked.

"That's the real game, kid; no gimmicks here. 'Gunn' was my daddy's name, and 'Tommy' was the name my momma picked." Tommy Gunn said.

"Then what's with the tommy gun?"

"This here is the same tommy gun my great-granddaddy used at the beaches of Normandy. I always had a bit of a penchant for gangster films growin' up, so it only seemed fair that I carried on this gun's legacy."

"Listen here, my Pop-Pop fought in Vietnam. I might not know a lot about what soldier have to deal with in war, but I can take a pretty good guess that they wouldn't like their grandkids killing innocent people."

"Oh, so, you're one of those people, huh? Well, killin' is killin', kid. Back then, it was killin' guys tryin' to tell us what to do. For the made men, it was killin' guys tryin' to tell us what to do. Now, from where I'm standin', it looks pretty much like you're tellin' me to stop all this, i.e., tellin' me what to do, right?"

"Yeah, I guess that's right."

"Wrong. Ain't nobody tells Tommy Gunn what to do, or else they get a load-a-bullets outta my tommy gun!"

Aiming his eponymous weapon at the spade-spannered hero, Tommy Gunn began firing straight at the boy, sending the shots straight for the one unprotected portion of his body: His head. With a swift leap behind a sales counter, Ace Savvy avoided the shots, taking cover behind the counter as his temporary shelter from the gunfire.

Readying a set of cards in his hand, Ace Savvy prepared to return some projectiles of his own.

Outside the convenience store, One-Eyed Jack had his own troubles with the foe known as Killer Crab. Not many may see a crab as a particularly threatening creature, having a man-sized crab face off against you may change your attitude towards the crustacean, especially when you haven't even reached 8th grade.

Such is the case with One-Eyed Jack and his opponent of Killer Crab. Having watched the aforementioned villain pinch his way through a car, he knew fighting this opponent would not be an easy task.

"So, kid, still see crabs as just a seafood dish?" Killer Crab asked.

"On the contrary, all I'm thinking about is whether I'd like you boiled or steamed." One-Eyed Jack said.

"Oh, a funny guy, huh? Well, that is pretty funny, because I was wondering the same exact thing about you."

Killer Crab began his attack on the boy hero, picking up the nearby sliced car he had pinched through not a few seconds ago. Lifting the car over his head, Killer Crab pulled on the two halves, preparing to rip the remaining parts of metal holding the build together to make into two objects to throw.

In less than seconds, the car was ripped in half, giving Killer Crab a pair of heavy objects to toss at One-Eyed Jack. Tossing the driver's side to the boy, Killer Crab sent the half flying in the air, leaving the promise of over a thousand pounds of metal crushing his body.

With a quick leap to the side, One-Eyed Jack avoided the attack, dodging the threat being crushed under the immense weight of a destroyed car, instead leaving it to slide down the street, hitting a few light posts and newspaper boxes. Although he may have avoided the attack of one half of the car, there was still one more half of the car Killer Crab had ready to throw.

While once setting his sights on One-Eyed Jack to toss the car his way, the sight of a few civilians standing to the side changed his mind, giving him a new target to send the car to. Taking notice of his enemy's change in target, One-Eyed Jack began making his way towards the civilians, quickly working to save them both.

Just before Killer Crab could toss the car, One-Eyed Jack fired a barrage of poker chips at the crustacean caitiff, landing his shots into the enemy's face. With his eyesight being diverted away from his target, the throw of the car was sent off, giving One-Eyed Jack more time to save the endangered civilians.

Having made the car been just slightly out of the way of the civilians, One-Eyed Jack leapt to remove the two from the line of fire completely, knocking both to the ground. Where the car half would have easily crushed the two under its sheer weight, it instead went flying into the adjacent store, leaving no injuries or casualties.

With the civilians safe and on their way, One-Eyed Jack now had less challenges in the task of defeating Killer Crab; no more innocents in the line of fire. Now, having One-Eyed Jack and Killer Crab standing each other down, each on an opposing side of the street, the fight could give itself a proper start.

"Not bad moves, kid. But you'll find a case of the crabs is very, very hard to get rid of. Right now, I'm thinking this crab is gonna boil you." Killer Crab said.

"Don't worry, I always bring a pack of garlic butter with me. Really, my dads make me pack some in case I need it for dinner." One-Eyed Jack said.

Back within the convenience store, just as the battle continued between One-Eyed Jack and Killer Crab, the fight between Ace Savvy and Tommy Gunn continued as well. As Tommy Gunn expended all the ammunition in his weapon, the supervillain was quickly put under attack by Ace Savvy; who readied his own attack to retaliate on the gangster-wannabe.

Watching a barrage of energized cards being sent his way, Tommy Gunn realized that he was in need of desperate cover, and fast. Using a gutsy move to protect himself from the blasts, Tommy Gunn took off his suit jacket, tossing it behind himself to catch the cards and soften their explosion. His gambit was not recommended, to say the least, but it had managed to work well enough to avoid the explosions.

Taking cover behind a collection of aisles, Tommy Gunn readied another magazine out of his pocket, inserting it into his submachine gun. Cocking back the weapon and chambering the first round to be fired off, the villain carefully took an eye out of the corner of the aisle, watching for the next move of his target.

"Those suits are ungodly pricey, kid. Ya owe me a new suit jacket." Tommy Gunn said.

"I wouldn't worry about that. Where you're going, they'll have a nice set of orange suits for you to wear, and they're quite stylish there, if you know what I mean." Ace Savvy said.

"You know, kid, I really thought you woulda appreciated a guy like me to fight. You've had to fight a buncha morons so far, and nobody with any real class. See, guys like Capone and Hoffa, those guys had class. The world deserves a betta class-a-criminal, an' I'm gonna be that guy."

"There's not such thing as a better criminal, Tommy. There's only good and bad. Since you made it clear you're the bad guy, that pretty much narrows down my place, doesn't it?"

"Don't be so quick there. From what I hear, you've been gettin' kinda jealous-a-Silver Sentinel suckin' up all your glory. Sure this ain't about pride more than that whole heroism crap?"

Rather than answer the villain's question, Ace Savvy readied another set of cards to toss towards his opponent; his frustration with the question leading him to only further desire the defeat of his enemy. Tommy Gunn, having reloaded his weapon with a full new magazine, shared the sentiments in full, never wanting to face opposition from the boy in the first place, nor expecting it.

With both having their armaments reloaded, the two opponents faced back up against their covers, firing their artillery at one another in a gunfight not unlike those fought in the old west. Just as those gunfights were fought over profit and personal disputes, this one was fought over good and evil; between two archetypes seeking to fulfill their own goals. Of course, in the case of Ace Savvy, his goals also included personal motives.

Once again, after several shots fired back and forth at each other, many bullets and exploding cards were thrown back and forth at one another, but none of it managed to hit a single target. As the draw between the two opponents came to a close, it came time once again to take cover and reload for the next round. Ace Savvy took cover behind the cash register, and Tommy Gunn took cover behind another aisle; both parties preparing to attack once again.

"You're a real shit aim, you know that?" Tommy Gunn asked.

"So are you. Tell me, does your bad aim come from those gangster movies, or just your bad accent?" Ace Savvy said.

"Up yours, prick!"

Outside the store, as the two primary opponents took a temporary break, the fight between One-Eyed Jack and Killer Crab went on without any sort of pause. Where the fight continued on for quite some time, with One-Eyed Jack firing poker chips towards the massive crab-man, and narrowly avoiding the heavy blows dealt by the red-suited monster.

With every dodge and duck exerted by One-Eyed Jack, his body began to grow tiresome under the stress, not leaving him with enough energy to continue the affair. Unable to keep up these methods of defense for much longer, the boy sidekick began blasting through various alternate methods of attack through his mind, thinking of a new means of defeating his opponent.

For obvious reasons, there was no real way to defeat him head-on. Facing up against a giant crab monster with nothing but a pair of bare fists would not be feasable for a 12-year old boy. Where Ace Savvy may possess powers to aid him in situations such as this one, One-Eyed Jack was without any sort of abilities; forced to rely on nothing but his own wits and skill.

Many might be overwhelmed by such a scenario, perhaps even unable to do it on their own, but One-Eyed Jack was not simply any average person. Having read many Ace Savvy comics since his early childhood and receiving extensive tutoring from his two adoptive fathers, the boy had honed a sheer set of detective skills, enough to help him find his way out of any problem, much like this one here and now.

With one eye covered by his eye patch, all mental attention was focused on the one optical outlet, further enhancing this power of observation. While limited to only one side of the street, his skills were greatly enhanced from both limitation and danger; sharpening them higher than even most regular senses could go. As such, One-Eyed Jack finds a way to end the fight.

Taking notice of a large billboard atop the adjacent building, One-Eyed Jack found an idea to defeat his large opponent without having to use much physical force of his own. Running to the building holding said billboard atop, One-Eyed Jack began making his way up the fire escape, preparing to reach the billboard for his secret weapon to defeat Killer Crab.

Unfortunately, while his movements were fast to get him up the fire escape, Killer Crab proved himself to be just as fast, despite his large size. Although unable to fit through the fire escape itself, the villain had found his own way to catch right up. Driving his claws into the brick walls of the building, Killer Crab began to climb up the building by crawling the wall, following alongside One-Eyed Jack as he climbed the fire escape.

Crap. I'd better hurry up if I'm gonna beat this guy. Wonder how Lincoln's doing? One-Eyed Jack thought.

Within the convenience store, yet another duel occurred between Ace Savvy and Tommy Gunn, with the duel once again ending in a mutual draw. Both parties had expended much of their own ammunition, but neither had managed to hit one another. Taking cover behind their respective shelters, the two readied themselves for another duel, each hoping to make it the winning duel in their favor.

"You know, you really outta consider yourself lucky. Ain't nobody managed to keep me held up in a fight this long. I'd-a-bumped most guys like you by now." Tommy Gunn said.

"And I would've taken you out fast enough by now, too. For somebody with no powers, you're pretty good." Ace Savvy said.

"Well, in a world where guys can stop entire crowds with their thoughts or draw things outta chalk in the air, you gotta keep up somehow. In any case, it don't matta. None of them got to me, and you ain't gonna get me, neither. Only thing you're gettin' today is a ride in a meat wagon."

"Not gonna happen. You spent about 6 magazines during our fight. Those clothes of yours can't hold more than 7 or 8. Once you spend that last bit of ammo, you'll have nothing left to fight with."

With another check into his pockets, Tommy Gunn realized that only one magazine remained in his possession, and he had just placed it inside the gun, making it the very last of his ammo. Knowing that this would not last him long in the fight against Ace Savvy, Tommy Gunn began observing his surroundings for another means of beating his opponent, looking for a way to make the most of his ammo.

Taking notice of a variety of liquor bottles above the head of the cash register, the place where Ace Savvy was taking cover behind, Tommy Gunn began to speculate an idea. Taking notice of a pack of toilet paper and a bottle of lighter fluid, the idea began to solidify itself into a plan.

Removing a roll of toilet paper from the pack and covering it in the lighter fluid, Tommy Gunn readied the means of defeating his opponent, relying on this as a last-ditch method. Readying the toilet paper roll in one hand and his tommy gun in the other, the villain prepared himself to make use of his surroundings this battle to his own advantage.

Taking his weapon in one hand, Tommy Gunn began firing at the liquor bottles, shattering the majority in an instant. Weilding a 45-caliber machine gun one-handed was nearly impossible to achieve, and sure to make his accuracy suffer greatly, but his efforts managed to fulfill their purpose.

Behind the counter, Ace Savvy, still taking cover behind the counter, suffered little from his attack; only having particles of glass running off his suit. Not immediately knowing Tommy Gunn's plan of attack, Ace Savvy decided to make a mocking remark about the choice of attack.

"So, what exactly was that supposed to do? Make me smell like a homeless man?" Ace Savvy asked.

"Not quite, kid. Haven't you heard that alcohol can be flammable?" Tommy Gunn asked.

"Yeah, but have you heard that I'm fireproof?"

"Yeah, you are, but he ain't."

"Who?"

Rather than have the villain answer his question, his eyes gave a very clear answer as to who he was referring to. Hiding underneath a shelf in the counter was the clerk of the convenience store; having spent his time in this hiding place for the entirety of the fight.

"Oh, god, I'm not even supposed to be here today!" The clerk said.

Between One-Eyed Jack and Killer Crab...

Racing his way up to the top of the building, One-Eyed Jack readied himself for his plan to defeat Killer Crab, having the aforementioned villain chase him up the building to finish him off. As One-Eyed Jack had no powers of his own, he was forced to rely on his own wits to defeat his own opponents, not having an easier means of fighting like Ace Savvy did.

With the prospect of a billboard atop this building, however, One-Eyed Jack's wits found him a means of defeating this opponent. From here, it was only a matter of effectively implementing the plan. Now, watching Killer Crab make his way to the top, there was no more choice now but to carry it out.

"Running isn't going to help you. Why don't you just give up already?" Killer Crab asked.

"Why don't you just go to jail already?" One-Eyed Jack.

With neither question going answered, Killer Crab prepared a swing towards One-Eyed Jack with his claw wide open; looking to slice the boy in half with his sharpened claw. Performing a somersault to the side, One-Eyed Jack avoided the slash, only leaving the claw to cut through the support of the billboard. Killer Crab found this miss to be a minor annoyance, but One-Eyed Jack hid a sense of excitement, knowing that his plan was working.

Continuing to strike at the boy, Killer Crab continued to land several slashes and pinches towards One-Eyed Jack. Each and every strike had missed the faithful young sidekick, but they had been following his plan to destroy the billboard perfectly, all to Killer Crab's obliviousness.

Finally, after dodging many slashed and pinches, many attacks that would have surely left him dead, One-Eyed Jack stopped his dodges, standing pridefully tall against Killer Crab. The two stood at the end of the billboard, right were the sidekick wanted his target, but, once again, Killer Crab had no clue as to what the boy's plan was.

"Finally ready to accept death like a man?" Killer Crab asked.

"No, but I just remembered something. If you're red, then that means you're already cooked. So, all I have to do now is break the shell, right?" One-Eyed Jack asked.

Before Killer Crab could question what he meant, the loud groans and creaks of breaking metal began to flood the area, leaving no time for the villain to question One-Eyed Jack. Looking up to the sounds of the bending metal, Killer Crab watched the billboard above him, a medical ad asking 'Have you fallen and can't get up again?', began to bend and fall over, and he stood right in the middle of its fall.

Upon seeing why this happened, Killer Crab instantly realized what a mistake he had made.

"Oh, shi-" Killer Crab began to say.

Before Killer Crab could finish his sentence, the billboard fell down over the villain, sending him falling to the ground with several hundred pounds of metal sending him down. One-Eyed Jack, safely out of the way of danger, watched the villain take his fall under the weight of the billboard, taking the entirety of the fire escape with it.

When Killer Crab finally reached the ground, the villain was stuck between a sandwich of crushed fire escape and a crumbled billboard; leaving the foe out of commission. With One-Eyed Jack handling his opponent, there was only now the question of how his partner was coming along with his own opponent.

"Well, that worked out okay. I hope Ace's doing alright." One-Eyed Jack said.

Between Ace Savvy and Tommy Gunn...

Now realizing the added danger of a civilian in harm's way, the realization came to Ace Savvy all too late. Peeking behind the counter again, the spade-spannered hero watched Tommy Gunn light up the doused toilet paper roll, creating a makeshift fireball to ignite the liquor. With one toss into the air, the fireball was sent flying towards the back of the counter.

Unable to allow any harm to befall the clerk, Ace Savvy leapt into the air and caught the fireball, allowing himself to set on fire. Containing the flames of the fireball and only allowing himself to be ignited, the flames began to die out as quickly as they were set. Absorbing the energy of the flames being emitted, the energy that gave light to the flames quickly died out, eliminating all traces of fire and sending all energy into the body of Ace Savvy.

Now, with another charge of energy sent into his body from the flames, Ace Savvy had the energy expended on the fight with his opponent refilled; readying him to finish the battle once and for all. With no more ammunition for his tommy gun, Tommy Gunn seemed to be all but defeated already by Ace Savvy. However, this villain would not be so easy to face defeat like that.

Tossing the empty magazine out of his machine gun, Tommy Gunn hit his enemy in the face with the blunt object; not harming him in any way, but granting him enough time to prepare for another form of attack. While the tommy gun is not designed to house a bayonet save for the for the experimental Model 1923, Tommy Gunn had made a modification of his own allowing one; using his time of distraction on the hero to attach a bayonet to his gun.

With the attachment of a bayonet turning his weapon into a makeshift spear, Tommy Gunn began wielding the weapon as such. Taking various swings and jabs at the hero like a primal caveman battling a beast for his next dinner. Where such a battle would be driven only by survival and a need for food, however, this one was driven by concepts of morality; something a mere caveman would not comprehend in its stage of evolution.

A simple beast or animal might not be able to defend itself against a man with a spear or bladed weapon, but Ace Savvy was no simple beast. Both of these enemies were human beings; a species capable of constructing tools for its own needs and survival. Just as Tommy Gunn had his tommy gun, Ace Savvy had his baton; quickly extending it to its staff form to fight back with.

Ace Savvy's suit was made well enough to take gunfire of bullets up to 50-caliber pistol rounds, able to stop and absorb the impact for him to absorb the kinetic energy, but the suit itself was not completely proofed from all means of attack. Something like a knife or a blade, much like Tommy Gunn's bayonet, for example, was at risk for landing into an unprotected joint or loose plate; more than enough for the villain to exploit.

Of course, there also laid the most obvious risk of having his face and head completely exposed; making it the primary target of Tommy Gunn. Ace Savvy was quick enough to avoid most attacks by the villain, the blade only hitting his hair at best, but one wrong move had cost him a nick of skin on his cheek. With one move made too late, Ace Savvy had suffered a small cut to the side of his face, letting out a panicked yelp from the boy.

The one small moment of surprise and shock had taken nearly all of the hero's concentration; leading him to cover the wound by reflex and drop his staff. This one reflex granted Tommy Gunn one last opening he needed to finish his opponent, prompting him to drive his bayonet straight into the eye of the hero. Acting on a more beneficial reflex to save himself, Ace Savvy grabbed the tommy gun by the barrel, preventing him from getting stabbed, but only just enough to leave the blade just near his eye.

"I was born with this gun in my hands, kid. I spent years learnin' its ins and outs; learnin' how it works and how to make it better. I've put countless hours into modifying it and makin' it the very best weapon on Earth. This gun's a part of me, an' I'm gonna make it part-a-you!" Tommy Gunn said.

Unable to allow himself to be defeated by this supervillain, Ace Savvy found a way to both defeat and disarm his opponent. With both of his hands already placed on the weapon, Ace Savvy began feeding energy into the firearm, setting it ready to blow. The metal body of the tommy gun began to grow red-hot to the touch, having a vast amount of energy placed within it, giving the wielder of the weapon a good clue as to what was about to become of it.

"That's alright, keep it!" Ace Savvy said.

Unable to hold itself together with the energy placed within its body, the tommy gun exploded under the buildup; sending both opponents flying to opposite ends of the store. Where Ace Savvy crashed into the glass doors of the refrigerators, Tommy Gunn was sent flying out the front window; crashing through the glass and falling onto the windshield of a parked car.

Picking himself out of the wreckage of the destroyed refrigerator, Ace Savvy dusted himself off, shrugging off several smashed beer cans and milk cartons. Standing outside the convenience store, the spade-spannered hero took a look at the downed Tommy Gunn, watching him writhe on his back after suffering such an attack. While the villain might still have lived, he was clearly in no shape to continue fighting.

"You... You destroyed... my tommy gun... and my suit..." Tommy Gunn said.

"Well, I think that second part might have done you a favor. That zoot just didn't suit you." Ace Savvy joked.

"Ugh... That's a shit joke, kid..."

"Blame my sister. It was her idea to teach me puns."

With his own villain defeated, One-Eyed Jack regrouped with his partner, looking upon the efforts that he had put out to defeat his own opponent.

"Well, looks like you took care of things alright on your own." One-Eyed Jack said.

"Yeah, but it wasn't easy. This guy wasn't any pushover." Ace Savvy said.

"Oh, really? You should've seen what I had to deal with on that crab guy."

"I noticed. All that rubble on him, I don't think he's getting up again."

Although the two were greatly enjoying their moment of victory, the last remark about their battle had been spoken all too soon. Out of the rubble of the destroyed fire escape and billboard, Killer Crab emerged from the wreckage, ready once again to attack the two. While the crustacean super-criminal was still standing, he was very visibly damaged from the fall, but in still good enough shape to fight back.

"Oh, crap, that didn't get him?!" One-Eyed Jack panicked.

"Relax, I got him." Ace Savvy said.

Ace Savvy reached for a playing card to toss towards the last villain to put a swift end to Killer Crab, but found a new difficulty in that task. After his elongated duel with Tommy Gunn, he had expended all of his cards, leaving none left to toss towards Killer Crab.

"Uh-oh." Ace Savvy said.

"What?" One-Eyed Jack asked.

"I'm out of cards."

"What?! How are you out of cards?!"

"I- I don't know, I just used them all up."

"Well, what do we do?"

Searching around their surroundings for another object to throw, the pair found a godsend within the convenience store. Hanging off the register were a set of Ug-Li-Oh cards packs, giving Ace Savvy a different kind of card to fight with. Upon trying to take the packs to fight with, the clerk, no longer cowering behind the counter, protested the two using the cards for these purposes, grabbing at the card packs himself.

"Hey, man, that's 10 bucks a pack!" The clerk said.

"We need it, it's an emergency!" Ace Savvy said.

"I don't care, man, you gotta pay!"

"Just put it on our tab!"

"We don't do tabs here, man!"

"We'll pay you back, just give us the cards!"

"No way, you want it, you gotta pay!"

"Guy, do you want us to beat this supervillain or not?!"

Taking the packs from the defiant clerk, Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack opened the packages, rummaging through the contents to find the least valued cards to throw. Unfortunately, where the two had little luck with gaining rare cards, these packs were loaded with expensive and rare cards, making the challenge of picking bad ones a troublesome task.

"Crap, why did it have to be now when we get good cards?" One-Eyed Jack asked.

"Look, don't worry, just pick something crappy."

"Okay, uh... how about a White Dragon?"

"What, are you, crazy?! That's valued at $800!"

"Okay, okay, how about a... Mineral Light Witch?"

"That one's your pick?! That's got to be over two grand!"

"Fine, then, what have you found?!"

"Uh... Two-Headed Lion?"

"No, dude, not that one, that's 1 in a thousand!"

As the supervillain named Killer Crab grew closer with each step, time began to run low for the two to make a decision. Within mere seconds, Killer Crab would approach the two, and it would surely spell doom for the two.

"Okay, okay, how about the Vamp-Cyber?" Ace Savvy asked.

"Toss it." One-Eyed Jack said.

Charging the inferior card and tossing at Killer Crab, the card exploded on impact, taking out the last of the supervillain's stamina. Unable to rise from the ground again, Killer Crab laid on the ground in defeat, unable to get back up again.

"Wait a minute, was that a silver or a gold Vamp-Cyber?" One-Eyed Jack asked.

"Uh... gold?" Ace Savvy asked.

"Dude... That was the only one of its kind, worth 7 million dollars, at least. And you threw it."

"Dangit. Well, uh... At least we saved the day, right?"

At this moment, any one would expect a numerous amount of praise to be showered upon the two; every saved life in the area thankful for being delivered from the attack of the supervillains. After all, with Silver Sentinel achieving much of the same with his own efforts, it only made sense that Ace Savvy received thanks and praise for his efforts, and he would surely regain his honor and fame back.

"Boo! You two suck!" A civilian said.

With all civilians joining in jeering Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack with the dissenting citizen, the supposed moment of praise for the heroes turned into a full public trashing in seconds. Having put in innumerable effort to defeat the two supervillains, neither hero could understand why they were receiving such harsh words and cruel messages.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, we just beat these guys for you! Would you prefer if we didn't do anything?" Ace Savvy asked.

"You destroyed half the city block fighting these guys off! The fire escape and billboard's been destroyed!" A citizen said.

"And you wrecked my store!" The clerk said.

"And my car!" Another citizen said.

"And my car, too!" A different citizen said.

With many angry citizens continuing to shout numerous dissenting and hateful remarks towards the heroes, the moment of praise and honor that the two were looking to receive had quickly turned into the very last thing they wanted. It seemed, at this point, there was nothing that could be done to win back the hearts of the people of Royal Woods.

To make matters far worse, Silver Sentinel had entered the area, flying down from the skies to give the two a scolding. Flying down from the sky and landing sharply on his feet, the man of silver stared right at the pair of superheroes, adding insult to injury among the vilification they were facing.

"Now do you see how I've been trying to tell you how this superhero business is not fun and games for children?" Silver Sentinel asked.

"Hey, Silver Stupidhead-" Ace Savvy began to say.

"That's not nice."

"...I get that we caused a little damage, but, hey, we at least got the bad guys, didn't we? Plus, nobody was hurt."

"Nobody may have been hurt, although they seriously could have been, but, as for the villains... Well, did you manage to secure them?"

Looking to where the downed Tommy Gunn and Killer Crab once laid, the heroes looked upon a pair of empty spaces, signalling the two were still at large. Now, it seems that even this one win had subverted itself into a victory of Pyrrhic proportions.

"Dangit." Ace Savvy said.

Later on, with Silver Sentinel taking care of some of the fallout of the fight, Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack made their returns back home; their journey turning to a walk of shame. Where One-Eyed Jack could at least find the peace to take his troubles in silence and peace, Ace Savvy had an entire family of nosy sisters to peer into his life.

Changing back into the persona of Lincoln Loud and stashing his costume away, the aforementioned boy made his way through the front door of the Loud House, preparing himself for said sisters to involve themselves in his troubles, taking in and letting out a deep breath. Upon stepping inside the house, a gallery of 8 feminine faces looked back on him with sympathy, all knowing of his troubles in the line of duty.

"Dude, we saw what happened on the news. We're really sorry." Luna said.

"Yeah, Linc, we were sure that you had it that time." Lynn said.

"Trust me, honey, if there's one thing I know, it's tough crowds. But, worry not, we can get you ready for the next time." Lola said.

"I concur with the shiblingsh. I believe that we jusht may make thish work for you yet. I've devished shome new tacticsh in which you-" Lisa tried to say.

"Not now, guys. Just leave me alone." Lincoln said.

Hopping onto the couch and planting his face into the side cushion, Lincoln went for an approach to his troubles not unlike how the ostrich does: By sticking its head in a soft and secure area where it cannot see its troubles. Just as this tactic is ineffective for the flightless bird, it is just as ineffective for the witless boy; having his sisters bombard him with questions and support.

"C'mon, Linc, it's not that bad. It's like unclogging a toilet: Sure, it's dirty and smelly, but it's gotta be done, and you can have lots of good fun doing it!" Lana said.

"Yeah, Lincoln, you just gotta know how to play a crowd. You know me, I always kill 'em with my jokes! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Get it? You know, Killer Crab? Kill 'em with jokes? C'mon, Lincoln, I'm not made out of puns." Luan said.

"I don't have anything to say, I just want to say you look great lying there. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look just like a corpse." Lucy said.

"Poo-Poo?" Lily asked.

"Will you all please shut up?! I've had a long day with a lot of crap happening to me, the last thing I need is 9 sisters all-" Lincoln began to say.

Upon taking a headcount, Lincoln realized that there were only 8 sisters present, leaving out Leni from the group.

"Hey, where's Leni?" Lincoln asked.

"Well, I believe we made it clear that we could not allow her to know your shecret indentity ash Ashce Shavvy, did we not?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, but, how'd you get rid of her?"

Meanwhile, in the basement, the aforementioned Leni Loud found herself strapped to a chair, unable to move from her spot. As none of the Loud sisters possessed any official handcuffs, the lot were forced to settle on a Chinese fingertrap, securing Leni in place and preventing her from moving.

"Help! Someone, please! I really have to pee!" Leni said.

Back in the foyer...

"We took care of her. Look, don't worry about her, we're here for you, dude." Luna said.

"Yeah, anything you need from us, we'll-" Lynn began to say.

"Forget it, you guys. I just want to lay here and do absolutely nothing. I've had enough with dealing with people today." Lincoln said.

"Very well, but, before we depart, I should inform you that we should have-" Lisa began to say.

"I SAID QUIET! I SWEAR, IF I HEAR ANOTHER PERSON TALK TO ME AGAIN TODAY, I'LL-" Lincoln began to say.

Before Lincoln could finish his sentence, the doorbell to the house rang, further adding to his frustration. Wanting to personally see about the interruption to his moment of peace, Lincoln began marching towards the door, intent on venting all his frustrations on whoever may be behind it.

"I swear, I don't care who's behind that door, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!" Lincoln said.

"Uh, Lincoln, we kind of forgot to tell you, that should be-" Lana tried to say.

"FORGET IT! I'll handle this myself!"

Swinging open the door, Lincoln, his face a bright, beet red, vented out the intense anger and frustration he had inside him in one loud blast of emotion, not knowing or caring who would be behind the door.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT, MOTHERF-?!" Lincoln began to scream.

Upon seeing who this particular guest was, Lincoln's outburst of emotion and anger immediately came to a screeching halt, not wanting to show any signs of anger or hostility towards this guest. The guest herself, while no stranger to Lincoln in his most vulnerable moments, was not too thrilled to have an outburst of anger let out on her, sharing her sentiments to the perpetrator.

"Well, Lame-O, is that your idea of saying 'welcome back'?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Ronnie Anne?!" Lincoln asked.