- Who let the crooks out?
"What time is it, buzz?" Bumble Man asked Jean Claude, excited.
"Why you keep asking me that, if you know I have no watch, you fool?" The pirate replied, annoyed.
"Relax, you guys; we'll be out of here exactly at sunrise." Tim told his partners, looking at the window. He was as eager to escape as the other criminals, but trusted the person who sent him the message to do his job.
"Can we take the pills now?" The Kid asked his cellmate. Tim shook his head.
"No. According to the note, the pills' effect lasts only for a few minutes. We have to take them at the right moment." Tim explained.
Outside, the sun appeared at the horizon. On one of the prison's watchtowers, a couple of guards drank the last drops of coffee from their mugs.
"Good thing our shift almost finished. It's my imagination, or the coffee no longer keeps me as alert as it used to?" One of the guards asked to himself.
"Well, at least we had a quiet night. Of course, what criminal would risk escaping knowing Super Hunk will surely capture him in a couple of hours?" The other guard replied, making his partner to chuckle.
"Yeah. Only an idiot would try escaping this place." The first guard commented.
"Wanna bet?" The guards turned when hearing a voice behind them. Before they could react, the watchtower was filled up with a green gas, and, a couple of seconds later, they were on the floor, on fetal position, totally pale and talking nonsense.
"Now, three more watchtowers, and then, to the ventilation system," A dark figure said to himself, in a sinister tone.
A couple of minutes later, the same green gas poured from the prison's every air vent, causing similar panic-like effects on everyone inhaling it. Tim noticed when the gas appeared at his cell, and knew the time had come.
"Now, take the pills, quick!" Tim instructed his partners. They all did it, and, as expected, the drug protected them from the gas' effects. Now, they only had to wait. About ten minutes later, the sinister figure approached their cells.
"Hello; are you ready to leave this dumpster?" The big-nosed man, wearing a totally black outfit and carrying a backpack, told the criminals while showing them the cell's keys.
"Any time you want, Shark." Tim grinned at the view of his friend, the master spy only known as The Shark. Since he was a spy, he was imprisoned in a special jail where he couldn't have contact with anyone to spill all the secrets he knew.
"How did you escape from your jail, man?" The Kid asked Shark while he opened the cells.
"Well, I'm not the only spy our government had on that prison I was. One of them handled to get out of his cell, and opened ours to distract the guards. Most of the spies were recaptured, but I could escape." The Shark explained.
"And what kind of gas you used?" Jean Claude asked.
"Some time ago I stole some data from Gotham City Police Department concerning the weaponry used by those insane criminals they have in that place, and handled to duplicate this one, The Fear Toxin, as well as the antidote, the pills I sent to you. Actually, I could prepare enough of the substance to fill these special guns." The Shark explained while handling some guns to the other criminals, all of them filled with the toxin.
"Sweet. Now, what's the plan?" Tim asked while checking his gun.
"Simple. We'll get out of here, and use this to keep the cops busy." The Shark said while taking out a couple of white colored guns. "I couldn't prepare many pills, but these guns are filled up with the antidote, and I have a few more charges to refill them. We can use it to eliminate the effects from the other prisoners. Once we leave, we'll keep the gates closed so they have to fight their way out of here, and, since all the guards are too scared to even move, well..." The spy and his partners got a devious smile.
"I get it. Most of the cops will come to stop the riot." Jean-Claude commented.
"And, since they already had a bad experience leaving the city unprotected, the local hero will surely stay in town instead of coming here." The Kid added, rubbing his chin.
"And then, we kick Super Hunk's butt, buzz!" Bumble Man concluded, excited.
"That's right. And, besides this toxin, I already have regular guns waiting for us, as well as outfits for all of you, including a certain bee suit and battle equipment I could recover from the warehouse Bumble Man keeps his stuff," The Shark informed them.
"How did you know where I keep my spare costume, buzz?" Bumble Man asked, surprised.
"I know things. It's almost scary, isn't it?" The Shark replied with his trademark predatory grin.
"Hey, you're right. That's scary." The Kid admitted while The Shark started spraying all the other criminals with the antidote.
X-X-X-X
An hour later, at Chuckie and Angie's home, the phone rang. Chuckie, who was already up, answered it.
"Hello? Yes, but she is... Oh, okay, wait a minute." Chuckie nodded and then went to the bedroom where Angelica was still sleeping. Chuckie hated to wake her up so early, but this was an important call, so decided to do it as gently as possible.
"Angie? Wake up, Angel. You have a call." Chuck whispered on her ear. Angelica half-opened her eyes and yawned.
"Tell him or her to call back in an hour." Angelica replied, not wanting to interrupt her rest.
"It's your secretary. She said you asked her to call you about an important meeting, no matter the time." Chuckie insisted. This time Angelica wide opened her eyes, and shook her head to fully wake up.
"Oh! I'll answer here. Thanks, Finster." Angelica replied, and, after giving Chuckie a fast kiss, she grabbed the bedroom's phone. Chuck exited and hung off the living room's phone; he never messed with Angelica's job unless she asked him to help her.
A few minutes later, Angelica shouted from the bedroom.
"Hey, Chuckie, I have to go attend some very important stuff! I'm getting a quick shower and dress; please, prepare me..."
"A chicken and cheese sandwich with pickles and ketchup so you can eat something on your way to the office?" Chuckie finished the phrase.
"And some coffee, thank you," Angelica replied. Chuckie went to the kitchen to prepare Angie's breakfast to-go, wondering about who might ask for a meeting so early on Saturday.
X-X-X-X
Mayor Gripling, like Angelica, wasn't a morning person. Unless she had to attend something, she liked to oversleep every day she could, and always told her employees to respect that. So, when she was waken up by some noise coming from outside her bedroom, the blonde obviously wasn't happy.
"Oh, please! How can I conserve my lovable looks so the people can have a gorgeous mayor if my beauty sleep is interrupted?" Courtney said, upset. She quickly put her white robe over her pink pajamas, and moved to the door to see why her house was so noisy that morning.
Courtney opened the door, and gasped at the sight of Kill-A-Lot Kid, on his regular black cowboy outfit, aiming at her with his pistols.
"Morning, ma'am. Sorry for not arranging an appointment with your people first, but I had been a little busy to do it, so my partners and I decided to come personally." The Kid said while giving Courtney a mocking look.
"W-where are m-my..." Courtney tried to talk, but was cut by The Kid.
"Your bodyguards? They are crying for their mommies right now. It's amazing what mad scientists can create these days, don't you think?" The Kid said while motioning her to walk out from the bedroom. He forced Courtney to walk in front of him, with a gun aiming at her back.
When the mayor walked downstairs, she almost fainted at the view of all her employees, including the bodyguards, crying and with begging eyes, some of them kneeled and others hugging each other, while Tim Tug, Jean Claude, and Bumble Man (all of them with their regular respective gangster, pirate, and bee's outfits) were aiming at them with the special gas guns. At a distance, The Shark smiled deviously when watching The Kid with the mayor.
"W-what do you want?" Courtney managed to say.
"Simple, Miss Gripling. We don't like people that insult us, so we're going to use you as the bait to catch and eliminate Super Hunk. After that, well, maybe we can ask for some money for your pretty head; I think one million dollars for each one of us is a fair deal." The Shark explained while grinning evilly at the mayor.
X-X-X-X
Half-an-hour later, Chuckie kissed Angelica before she entered the car to attend her meeting. The blonde waved bye to him, and, after Chuckie doing the same, he entered the house and turned on the TV.
"Newsflash! Mayor Gripling had been taken hostage at her own mansion. I repeat; she is a hostage!" Doddie said the moment she appeared on screen, making Chuckie to gasp.
"According to the last reports, it seems that, about ninety minutes ago, there was a break-out on Everwood Prison. The criminals who escaped were Sean Butler, Timothy McNulty, Jean Claude, and Abner E. Jasper, better known as Kill-A-Lot Kid, Tim Thug... okay, Jean Claude has no nickname, and Bumble Man. Apparently, they were aided by the famous criminal known only as The Shark, who drugged all the prison's guards with some undetermined chemical. The five of them had taken control of the mayor's mansion, and are keeping everyone as hostages. To make things worse, about ten minutes ago, the rest of the prison's criminals started a riot and are trying to escape while I'm talking. The police ask the citizens to please stay at home and avoid going out unless it's truly necessary until the situation gets controlled." Doddie informed.
"Chanfle! Law or not, I have to do something!" Chuckie said to himself, and dashed upstairs to grab his disguise. However, at that moment, the phone rang, and he stopped to answer.
"Chuckie? It's me, Kimi. You heard the news?" Kimi asked from the other side of the line.
"Yes, I did. I'm getting ready to go right now." Chuckie replied.
"Stay right there! You know you can't do anything heroic in this town without revealing your secret ID. Tommy just called me, and he is going to help the cops supporting Super Hunk at the mayor's house while the rest of the police force, me included, attends the prison's riot." Kimi informed.
"What? The commander is not going to allow Super Hunk to be in charge of a hostages' situation, right?" Chuckie said, shocked.
"We have to. The Shark already sent us a few demands, and the main one is that he wants Super Hunk to try stopping them without any help. If we do anything to aid him at the mansion besides keeping any crowd under control, your enemies will eliminate the mayor." Kimi explained. Chuckie kept silence for a few seconds.
"Kimi, you know I have to keep my secret ID to protect all my loved ones... but, if you get in troubles, please summon me. Your life is more important than my secret." Chuckie said to his sister in an almost begging tone.
"Okay, promise. But you have to promise me as well that you'll stay at home unless someone summons you." Kimi replied.
"Promise. Please, take care." Chuck sighed. He knew Kimi was a very capable officer, but he couldn't ignore his big brother's instincts.
"I'll do. Thanks. Love you, bro." Kimi said in a kind tone and then cut the call.
Chuck decided to put his disguise anyway, just in case, while pondering about a way to help the cops at the prison. Even if he didn't trust SH to direct such a delicate operation like rescuing the mayor, Chuck knew Tommy would be there, and, since his identity wasn't a secret, he could help SH even if the egotistical hero didn't want it.
Oh, rats! How I'm going to help without breaking that law? Okay, Angelica says every contract or law has at least a loophole you can use for your gain. There most be one for me. Chuckie thought while pacing back and forth. He found one of The ColoRed Chuck's action figures, that Angelica decided to keep, right next to the phone, and grabbed it, sighing in sadness. Then, he realized something, and his expression brightened.
Of course! Tommy isn't the only hero with a public identity! Chuck thought while quickly grabbing his agenda. After a few seconds, he found a number, and grabbed the phone to dial it, getting an anxious expression that disappeared the moment the person the other side of the line answered.
"Hello? Doctor Wakeman? The ColoRed Chuck here." Chuckie said at the phone, smiling widely.
X-X-X-X
At the mansion, Susie and Harold, alongside a few other cops, formed a barricade around the house to keep the curious away. Luckily, since the mansion was located at a very exclusive neighborhood, and it was a Saturday's morning, there were very few people to control.
"Hey, Sergeant!" Susie and Harold turned when hearing another cop calling them. They saw two of their officers carrying a man with a black business suit, who Susie recognized as one of Courtney's bodyguards.
"We saw him hidden behind some bushes the other side of the yard. He doesn't want to talk, and seems to be pretty scared." One of the officers commented to Susie while she approached to check the bodyguard. He was totally pale, and his eyes were wide open, staring at the space.
"Easy, pal. You're with friends now. Please, tell us what happened in there." Susie said to the man in a comforting way, trying to make him react. The bodyguard looked at her, and muttered something nobody could listen.
"Can you please talk a little louder?" Harold, right next to Susie, asked.
"I-I-I saw... SNAKES! Hundreds of them!" The man finally replied in terror.
"Snakes?" Susie repeated, puzzled. Harold gave the man a long look, and gasped.
"Of course! The panic state, hallucinations, the drug used at the prison... Susie, this guy was infected with The Scarecrow's toxin!" Harold told his girlfriend.
"A toxin called Scarecrow?" Susie replied, confused.
"No, a toxin created by The Scarecrow, a super villain from Gotham City. You know I like to read a lot about heroes and their stunts, and I remember an article from a magazine I read some time ago concerning this particular toxin. It makes the victims to experiment their worst fears; some of them even get traumatized for life, unless you give them an antidote on time. And forget about gas masks; that stuff can also get absorbed through the skin." Harold informed Susie.
"The Shark. I'm sure he is the one who got the formula to prepare some of that stuff." The female sergeant got a serious expression, but, a moment later, she wide smiled at her partner.
"Harold, that's exactly what we needed to know! We can call Gotham City Police Department, and ask them for the information about how to treat the victims." Susie told Harold right before giving him a slight kiss on his cheek. Then, she instructed the officers to take the bodyguard with the paramedics (who were already there with an ambulance) while she and Harold dashed to their patrol to ask the guys at the station to contact Gotham.
"Gotham? Why calling them, when you have me?" Susie and Harold turned to see Super Hunk advancing towards them, with Betty and Brittney at his side, as usual, while the few people behind the barricade cheered at him. He had overheard a little of Susie's speech, and wasn't happy with the idea of involving another superhero, especially one who surely wouldn't care about the "official hero" law.
"Those guys are using a toxin created by a villain from there, so Susie is going to ask for information about how to neuter it." Harold informed the hero while Susie kept talking with the guys at the station. SH rubbed his chin.
"Okay, you can do it while I, by using the magnificent power contained in my glorious body, handle the criminals. This will end quickly." Super Hunk said in his usual arrogant tone while he and his assistants started walking towards the mansion's main door.
"Wait! Are you insane?" Tommy, in his Okey Dokey Jones' outfit, arrived at that moment, yelling at Super Hunk. The caped hero turned and gave him an annoyed look.
"Oh, is the glorified archeologist. Don't you know I have to attend some heroic business here? Besides, you can't play hero in this town, remember?" Super Hunk said to Tommy while rolling his eyes. Tommy kept his cool, and directed to him in a very serious tone.
"Yes, I remember that stupid law, and, according to it, I can be a hero in this city if I go by my real name, Thomas Pickles. Now, if you wanna listen for once in your life, you must know you're making a huge mistake here! Harold has information about the weapons those criminals are using, and you should listen to him before getting into action." Tommy explained; he handled to hear a little of Harold's explanation, and saw the bodyguard when arriving, recognizing the substance that affected him.
"Super Hunk doesn't need that information. He is more powerful than any weapon." Betty replied while pointing at SH, who conserved his superiority pose.
"And you ladies are?" Tommy directed to Betty and Brittney. The females and SH got puzzled expressions. Harold entered the conversation.
"That's another mistake you almost made. From what I know, you like keeping your assistants close to you when doing a stunt, but this time you are going to be in a closed space, with toxic gas and, surely, regular weaponry involved. They can get hurt, or even worse." Harold explained while Tommy nodded. Despite not being the smartest guy around, Harold knew his job and the measures needed to attend a hostages' situation.
Super Hunk and the females gulped. Certainly, Super Hunk always protected them when he was catching a criminal, but most of his fights were on open spaces and all the criminals' attention was always on him. However, this time there was a major risk of the females getting hurt by accident, or being captured to be used as hostages as well.
"I-I didn't consider that." Super Hunk admitted while rubbing his temples, and getting a slightly pale look. Tommy noticed this, and changed his angry expression for a concerned one.
"Hey, are you feeling okay? Fighting criminals and being sick is a disastrous mixture." Tommy said, honestly worried, since he knew Courtney's safety was mainly on SH's hands.
"Of course he is okay! He is just worried about us, because he is as compassionate and caring as he is handsome." Brittney said, folding her arms. Super Hunk's expression brightened again.
"Yes, I'm that wonderful. Okay, my babes, you heard them. For once, I must give these guys reason, and ask you to wait me here until I return with my fallen enemies." Super Hunk told his assistants, who nodded and gave him a little kiss each one. Then, he walked towards the mansion, alone.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Harold commented Tommy.
"So do I; don't you guys usually have a SWAT team for these emergencies?" Tommy asked. Susie (who was at her patrol during the whole exchange) approached them, and answered his friend's question.
"Half of the SWAT team is on its way to the prison, and the other half, well... the guys at the station told me that many of them were poisoned with the fear's toxin. Apparently, our favorite spy decided to take no risks, and dropped some gas bombs on their homes during the night. Luckily, we just contacted Gotham, and they're faxing us all the information they have about the poison and how to prepare the antidote." Susie explained Tommy.
"Okay. Then, it's up to us. You two do your job, and prepare your officers for the worst. I'll try to sneak into the mansion from behind it, and rescue the hostages while Super Hunk keeps the criminals busy." Tommy explained his plan to the sergeants, who agreed with it, and then Okey Dokey Jones dashed the other side of the barricade to surround the mansion and reach the back.
"Maybe one of us should go with him, don't you think? This is our job, after all." Harold told Susie the moment Tommy was out of sight.
"Yes, but right now we are more useful here. Those criminals aren't expecting any hero besides Super Hunk, so Tommy will have the surprise element on his side. The best we can do is being ready to attack the mansion the moment we know the hostages are safe." Susie replied. She knew that, at the moment, she had limited resources to fight these villains, so Tommy's strategy was the best option.
On the meantime, Super Hunk was already in the mansion's main room, searching from the hostages or the villains. He then noticed all the hostages, but the mayor, in the middle of the room, looking at him with fear-filled eyes.
"Relax, my dear citizens. I, the great, powerful, fantastic, not to mention handsome and modest, Super Hunk is here to save all of you. Please, stand up and I'll guide you all to the closest exit." SH said while approaching them, not noticing one of them pointing timidly to the ceiling.
"You're mine, buzz." Super Hunk handled to hear a quiet voice coming from the ceiling. He looked up, and discovered Bumble Man handing from the chandelier, pointing at him with his darts' gun. When the villain got discovered, he started shooting at SH, causing all the hostages to scream in fear.
Super Hunk quickly crossed his arms in front of his face, and tensed his muscles. He wasn't invulnerable, but, over the years, he had learned that, by doing this, he could make his muscles and skin extremely resistant to impacts. As a result, the darts bounced on him without causing any damage.
"QUICK! Run to the exit! Now!" SH shouted to the hostages while receiving all the darts. The people hesitated a moment, but, eventually, the preservation instinct made them to dash away.
"Not bad, Super Dumb, but let's see how you handle this one." Kill-A-Lot Kid said while entering the room by another door, alongside Tim Thug, both aiming at SH with the gas guns, shooting all the charge against the hero. Super Hunk held his breath, and wide opened his arms before clapping as hard as he could, creating a current that cleared the gas.
"Now, if that's all you have, it's my turn." SH smirked and cracked his knuckles while approaching the villains.
"Curious. I thought all your hair was black, but I see some gray from here, buzz." Bumble Man commented, still hanging from the chandelier. The effect of his little comment was quite unexpected.
"W-WHAT? A GRAY HAIR? That's impossible!" SH exclaimed while dashing next to a mirror he spotted at the room, looking desperately for the dreaded gray hair. The villains looked at each other, confused, especially since it seemed SH's skin was getting a pale tone.
X-X-X-X
Meanwhile, at Retroville, a beautiful green-eyed blond young woman, wearing a green blouse and brown pants, approached an apparently ordinary club house the kind kids build with planks they find here and there, located in a backyard. However, this house had a DNA analyzer and a speaker on the door. The blonde pushed a button on the speaker, and talked to it.
"Hey, Nerdtron, it's me. Let me in!" The blonde said, and, a couple of seconds later, a trap door opened under her feet, making her to fall. Fortunately, she landed in a mattress, softening the fall. She now was in an underground lab, and an extremely advanced one. Its owner no longer lived on the house the backyard was located, but the lab had grown so much over the years, he decided to keep it there. He didn't live very far from the lab anyway, and could work here for hours without being disturbed.
"You need to build another way to get in, you know that?" The female directed to the person in front of her, James Neutron, the lab's creator and owner, and her fiancé, who was sitting in front of his main computer with Goddard, his robotic dog, next to him.
"Morning, Cindy." Jimmy greeted her with a soft smile. The genius then covered his mouth and yawned; it was obvious he had been working on something the whole night. Cindy noticed this, and, after playfully scratching Goddard's head, she placed her arms around Jimmy's shoulders, kissing him softly on his neck.
"A hard night, uh? I hope you didn't forget we have to check the invitations today." Cindy told him in a half-serious tone. Jimmy shook slightly his head, and smiled at her.
"Of course I didn't; even my most important projects aren't as relevant as our wedding." Jimmy replied while gently rubbing Cindy's face. The blonde and the genius kissed for a few seconds, and then directed their attention to the screen.
"What were you working on anyway? A new nearly-catastrophic invention or you're just improving a previous one?" Cindy asked, truly interested. Even if she wasn't a science genius like Jimmy, her intelligence was still a lot above average, and she could aid him in several projects.
"Nope... but it's something very important. You see, when I visited Nick, I made my hover car's devices to scan his aura while we were talking so, even if he doesn't agree with me checking him, that way I can analyze his powers and see if there is any risk about using them. Of course, since this analysis had to be done secretly, I needed several days to get a proper diagnosis." Jimmy explained.
"Oh. And what did you got? Nick isn't going to get sick or something like that, right?" Cindy asked, concerned. She almost died the first time she got superpowers, and knew how painful it was.
"Maybe. Maybe not. According to this, Nick's aura is powered by his brain waves; more precisely, the ones related with the pleasant stimulation. And you know what's the thing that makes him happy the most," Jimmy told her.
"Being admired by other people; more like worshiped, actually." Cindy shrugged.
"Exactly. The aura produces a low level hypnosis, not strong enough to make you follow him blindly, and it seems it can be resisted if you block the aura-induced stimulation with a strong feeling, like rage, love, or, in my case when I visited him, concern. However, it has a wide range of action, so the aura can affect a large amount of people at the same time, even through TV, and, since Nick already knew how to get people's attention for a long time before the accident, it's quite effective, producing both an increase on his natural charisma and a special psychic wave that affects the brain the same way pheromones would do it." Jimmy explained.
"So, there is a feed-back cycle here. Nick needs people to flatter him to keep his aura strong, and the aura makes people to do it." Cindy deduced. Jimmy replied with a wide smile.
"You're right again. However, there is a complication. The aura's energy fades quickly, so Nick needs constant flattering. And there's the detail of his strength's origin. Apparently, the machine made its job about making Nick's body to find a way to resist his powers, changing the energy excess into super-strength, so, if Nick aura is weakened, he might lose the strength as well. Worst of all, if he gets a lot of unpleasant stimulation against his vanity like well directed insults, or strong blows to his ego, the aura will lose its energy even faster. It's quite possible Nick doesn't know about it because he always have Betty and Brittney next to him for moral support, so every decrease on his energy levels is always fixed by them cheering him up. But, if he ever has a hard fight without anyone cheering for him and Nick gets very badly insulted or his ego is damaged..." Jimmy paused, getting a worried expression.
"I get the picture. How much can he be affected?" Cindy asked.
"More than he would like. According to my lectures, when I visited him, his energy decreased twice, and it was right after I made comments that surely hurt his ego a little. Probably Nick felt them like a cold's symptoms, or something like that, and since he wasn't doing a hard effort, and he knows I didn't really mean to hurt his feelings, just lecture him and express my anger, he recovered quickly. I also checked, frame by frame, his meeting with The ColoRed Chuck, and noticed he got a disturbed expression when CH made two comments that hurt his ego, but, again, he was surrounded by hundreds of people enforcing him, and that expression can be easily confused with an annoyed or surprised one, so nobody, not even him, would notice the weakening at that time." Jimmy commented.
"Guess we should call Nick right now to warn him." Cindy proposed.
"Certainly. VOX, communicate me with Super Hunk; use his direct line." Jimmy instructed his computer. A few moments later, VOX's electronic voice was heard.
"There's no answer, Jimmy. I tried communicating with Everwood's Police Department, but nobody answered either." The computer said. Jimmy rubbed his chin, and directed to Goddard.
"Goddard, keep trying to communicate with Nick; he probably is on one mission or something like that, probably assisting the police. Call me when you do it so I can talk with him, no matter where I am, okay?" Jimmy instructed his dog while standing up. The canine barked in reply, and turned to see the computer's screen; since the dog had a direct link with VOX, he could keep trying contacting Nick, and connect him with Jimmy and Cindy's cell phones the moment he got an answer.
"Let's go, Cindy. I'll just shower, and then I'm all yours." Jimmy told his fiancé while holding hands and walking to the lab's exit.
"When you hadn't?" Cindy replied in a playful tone. Jimmy chuckled, and opened the exit's automatic doors. He gave Goddard a last look before leaving, and sighed.
I just hope Nick doesn't do something stupid, and my discovery isn't too late. Jimmy thought.
X-X-X-X
Jean Claude entered the mansion's main room when he stopped listening fight's sounds. Since they were just five crooks, he and The Shark were in charge of watching while the rest handled the fighting.
"What's going on here?" The pirate asked, getting a confused expression when noticing SH checking his hair obsessively.
"No idea. Bumble Man made a comment about this guy's hair, and he just forgot about us. And I might be wrong, but he looks a little pale; maybe he's sick." Tim informed the pirate. Jean Claude looked at the hero, and agreed with the gangster.
"You are right. He really looks like he's anemic or something." Jean Claude said. Super Hunk overheard him, and gulped.
"A-anemic? It can't be! I keep a good diet, and, well, I'm perfect! I can't get sick!" SH said in horror while looking at his face, getting scared when noticing he was getting pale.
"Perfect? This guy has a huge mouth. And he's not even that powerful. Now I see him at this distance, he's not a big deal." The Kid told his partners. SH looked at them, and got a shocked expression.
"N-no big deal? B-but I'm great!" The hero tried saying more, but he couldn't because of an acute stomachache that made him to lean in pain.
"This guy is pathetic, buzz. And coming from a guy like me, who is always mocked because of his disguise, that's truly serious, buzz," Bumble Man commented while folding his arms. Super Hunk gasped, and wide opened his eyes in shock.
"W-what's wrong with me? I hadn't being sick since I got my powers, not even once!" SH said loudly to himself.
Jean Claude got an evil grin. He and The Shark were the smartest ones of the group, so he deduced the reason SH was in such pain.
"If you are so good, why you hadn't captured us yet? Maybe that's why the UHPS rejected you... because you're not the great hero you think you are. You can't even stand a few insults." Jean Claude told the hero in a venomous tone, making him to get an even more pained expression, and sweat cold.
"I-I am great. I-I am the b-best!" SH said, trying to use his heroic tone, but self-flattering wasn't working on him, since he wasn't so sure about what he was saying because of the sudden weakening and pain..
Jean Claude cracked his knuckles, and his grin grew. Then, he directed to his partners, who now were grinning as well.
"Gentlemen, I think we had discovered his kryptonite."