We were lucky we six wore our superhero suits, Dr. O included. He was practisin' in his armour a bit in the mornin' before we got kicked out. My girlfriend's place was the best place to be now. I knocked, & she opened up the door right away.

"Hey 'Licia...do ya mind if we crash here for a bit?" I asked while smiling.

"You don't even need to ask," she answered. That made her the perfect girlfriend..

We sat down & got to business. Suzy started off, "Mole Man?" I shook my head, "Nah, too subtle. He usually goes for big monsters. How 'bout Skrulls?"

"Too dumb. I think it's Doom," Flame Brain joined in.

Dr. O said, "Maybe not Skrulls. If they shapeshifted into hundreds of imposters who hate us, it'd be a big job for them to abduct a fraction of the city's population."

Next was Stretch, "Yes. The Skrulls are not dumb, Johnny. Doom is a possibility, but something about this feels more like...."

'Licia's turn came up, "My father. The Puppet Master."

"Precisely," Dr. O added to it all.

"Controlling minds IS his specialty. But he's in prison, & needs his irradiated clay to make his puppets. If only I could get to my lab," said Stretch.

I thought of somethin' suddenly, "Or...maybe it's us."

"What?" asked Blue Blaze.

I didn't stop, "Maybe we're as bad as they're all saying."

'Licia didn't like that. She said my name sharply, "Ben!"

Stretch filled in, "No..he's right. Our presence in the city does sometimes result in quite a bit of chaos. But we generally do more good than harm."

"I second that," Blue Blaze raised her finger.

"& we always cleaned up afterwards! Can't people understand that?" Suzy said.

The kid quickly told us, "Guess not. You saw what they did to my car. Bunch of savages in this town!"

"All the same, I think we should pay a visit to our old enemies. Alicia, if you wouldn't mind checking in on your father...," Stretch decided.

Suzy finished up, "Super villain or not, we can't fight the city or public opinion. As much as I hate to say it, the Fantastic Four may be over. We may have to get...jobs." Matchstick passed out when he heard this.

Jobs schmobs. I had to try out dumping loads of garbage at the sites they had around the city. A stinkin' job, alright! Flame Brain visited Mole Man but it didn't work out; Giganto almost ate him. Stretch tried teaching at some school - of course the kids didn't get a thing he said. My best friend was laughable in that sense. Blue Blaze was the lucky one: she got cookin' in a restaurant uptown. When my shift was up I paid Doom a visit myself. He smashed me through his front door! Poor man had a temper flare. I yelled back at him, "Okay, I get it! It wasn't you! Don't take it so personal, Doom!" Suzy entertained at a kiddie birthday bash at Central Park. Stretch talked to them Skrulls (who were undercover as cows in the middle of nowhere) but got no info. As for Dr.O, the poor guy had to sort things out in his office. Stretch wanted to lend a hand but the doc said no. He was feelin' the tension. I even saw him put his hands together & shut his eyes tight. Like, to pray or somethin'. Last but not least Matchstick was teachin' people in the park how to start campfires. No further comment. We were all doing this till we were beat by sundown.

We got to 'Licia's place again & Stretch asked about her dad.

Her answer was "Same as always. He wouldn't talk to me. But it was just like you said..he's in jail with no clay."

"Good. No offense Alicia, but your dad is nuts," Johnny told her.

"I'm sorry. But you can't stay here anymore. It's just too dangerous," said 'Licia.

"But Alicia --," Dr. O begged her. The stressed look hadn't left him.

My girlfriend had said weird stuff. Boy, was I surprised too, "'Licia!! Come on, it's us! We'll protect you!" My words didn't work.

***

So we went to take refuge in a warehouse containing Stretch's other gizmos. Reed was always bein' the 'just in case' kinda guy.

"Got enough stuff here, Stretch?" I asked him, movin' boxes around. Dr. O helped me.

"Projects I'm not actively working on," Stretch said. Blue Blaze fired up some computer wires near him.

Suzy got curious, "Why wasn't this placed locked down by the city like everything else we own?"

I pressed a button on one gizmo & it flew up high. Stretch turned it off for me & explained, "Oh, this isn't mine…it's my father's. We should be able to keep a low profile here until I can figure out what to do next. Provided we don't blow up anything."

Matchstick came in handy by buyin' us dinner. Sandwiches, but still, it was food. He said, "Hey, didya know that this police is totally surrounded by police? It may've been a SWAT team. Not sure."

"What?!" said the rest of us.

I looked out the window & went sarcastic, "Gee, I wonder how they found us, TORCH?"

Torch answered, "Beats me. Sandwich?" I'm quite sure he had some clue to what I meant.

"The area's secure! Send in Code Blue!" someone yelled outside.

"That's some impressive gear they've got there, don't ya think?" I commented. I looked at Stretch & said, "Kinda looks like something you might come up with."

Ahah! I found the piece of the puzzle. Stretch admitted it, "Well, actually it is. I outfitted the NYPD's Code Blue unit with all of their weapons & armour."

"Oh," said Blue Blaze who folded both arms.

"You gave them weapons – to fight US?" Suzy asked, a little mad now.

Stretch shook his head, "Well, not us specifically. Just so the city could defend itself. You know..in case we weren't here."

BOOM!

Outta the door came a really big robot. People with high-tech guns ran in to surround us, too. I always told myself not to be surprised if someone bloodies your nose. You always had to prepare for the worst. & trust me, I had experience when it came to stuff like this....

Dr. O put on his cat helmet; it made a cool growlin' sound as his green glass eyes turned on. I put my fists together. Stretch switched to battle mode (not scientist-at-the-computer mode) & Suzy got into position. Flame Brain had just finished the sandwich. Blue Blaze waved her hands & out came her pretty blue firepower.

----------

I found some Proverbs verse that actually says "don't be surprised if someone bloodies your nose". Interestingly, it fit with how Ben was engaged in many gang fights in his past.