Dusk in the city of Megatropolis was all but relaxing. The Impossibles were speeding down the street in the Impossi-Mobile, hot on the heels of another bank robber. This one was driving at top speed down the road, but the Impossibles were starting to close in.

"We should have him in another stretch or so," Coiley said.

"Right, Coiley," Multi, who was driving, said. "Rally . . . . . whoa!"

Multi suddenly slammed on the brakes, and the Impossi-Mobile screeched to a halt. The bank robber laughed, and drove off.

"He's getting away!" Coiley shouted.

"I'll go after him!" Fluey shouted, converting to liquid. "Rally ho-ho!"

"What did you stop for, anyway, Multi?" Coiley asked, as Multi got out of the car, and walked around to the front of it. He bent down, and when he stood back up straight, he was holding a little, very dirty, brown and white puppy.

"Sorry, Coiley," he said. "But I didn't want to run over this dog."

The puppy looked around, and she began whimpering and shaking a little. Multi held her up, and looking her over.

"Is it okay?" Coiley asked. "We didn't hit it, did we?"

"No, I don't think we hit her," Multi said. "No collar . . . . no tags . . . . doesn't look like she has any injuries . . . . at least none that I can see. But she looks awfully young to be out here by herself."

"I'll check the alley and see if I can find the mother," Coiley said, and he bounced into the alley. By then, Fluey streamed back over.

"Where's Coiley?" he asked.

"He's in the alley," Multi said. "He's looking for this puppy's mother. What happened to the crook?"

"Oh, he saw me coming after him, panicked, and tried hiding in the back of a police squad car. But where'd the puppy come from?"

"That's why I stopped so suddenly. I saw the puppy in the road and I didn't want to hit her. I can't find a collar or tags. I think she might be a stray."

"Hey, Multi!" Coiley called, and he began bouncing out of the alley. "I can't find any sign of a mother dog, or any other puppies."

"We'd better take her to a vet," Fluey said.

"Good idea," Multi said, getting back into the Impossi-Mobile. Coiley took the driver's seat, and Fluey jumped in as well. Coiley knew a good vet in town. They would be open at this time of day.

When the boys reached the vet, they changed out of their superhero form and back into their rock and roll form (I still don't know how it's done). They did this so they wouldn't freak out Dr. Stone. Coiley often went to Dr. Stone with his younger sister, Courtney, who had a pet turtle, but only before he acquired his super powers. When the boys walked in, the receptionist immediately recognized Coiley.

"Calvin Collins!" she shouted, using Coiley's real name. "Long time, no see."

"Hi, Leslie," Coiley said. "These are my friends . . . ."

"Franky and Mark," Fluey interjected, giving Leslie his and Multi's real names. The boys rarely went by their given names these days. Usually only if they ran across someone who knew them before they got their super powers. This was one of those times.

"So what brings you boys down here?" Leslie asked.

"Well, we almost ran over this puppy," Multi said. "She was in the road, and we couldn't find a mother dog."

"Well, let's get her looked at," Leslie said, taking the puppy from Multi. Then, the four of them went into one of the examining rooms. Moments later, the vet, Dr. Stone, walked in.

"So what do we have here?" he asked.

"A stray puppy," Multi replied. "We almost hit her with our car."

"Nice to know our brakes work," Fluey commented.

"I couldn't find any tags," Multi continued. "Or her mother. Or any injuries."

Dr. Stone began a routine examination. The puppy whined a little, but she was pretty calm, otherwise. Once he was done, he picked her up, and turned to the boys.

"She seems to be in good health," he said. "Just a little underweight. Age wise, I'd say she's about nine weeks old."

"She looks kinda small for nine weeks," Fluey said.

"Maybe she's the runt of the litter," Coiley said, shrugging. "What kind of breed is she?"

"I'd say a mixed breed," Dr. Stone said. "I can't really tell what of, though."

Dr. Stone let go of the puppy for a minute, and she raced directly to Multi, barking. Multi picked her up, and she started licking his face.

"Hey, cut that out," Multi said with a laugh.

"Looks like she's taken a liking to you," Dr. Stone commented.

"I don't know if I should keep her," Multi said. "I mean, I'd like to, but the three of us lead kind of a . . . . hectic lifestyle."

"Well, she's going to need someone to take care of her," Dr. Stone said.

"Come on, Multi, I think it'd be kinda fun to have a pet," Fluey said. "She could be like our mascot or something."

Multi gave in. He couldn't help it. This puppy definitely seemed to like him a lot, and the truth was, he liked her a lot, too.

The next morning, the Secret Security Headquarters was in a bit of an uproar. Big D was pacing around his office while his secretary, Phyllis Dawson, watched.

"That's the fifth agent this month," Big D said. "I don't understand it. How in the world did the Secret Nasty Association of Plotters find out about the assignment?"

"I wish I knew, sir," Phyllis sighed. "But I don't. The only thing I can think of is there's a leak somewhere."

"Precisely what I was thinking," Big D said. Then he sat down behind his desk. "The problem is trying to find out who and where the leak is coming from."

"And that's going to be easier said than done," Phyllis replied.

Big D nodded, and dismissed her. Phyllis left his office, sat down at her desk, and to work on some typing. As she was clacking away at her typewriter, one of the SSHQ's new agents, Gilbert Specktrum, walked into the room, carrying a stack of papers and a package of Skittles.

"Morning, Phyllis," he said, putting them both on Phyllis's desk. "I've got those reports Big D wanted me to do. And I brought you some Skittles. I know they're your favorite candy."

"How thoughtful," Phyllis said. She loved Skittles, but she wasn't too crazy about Specktrum flirting with her, which was something he did often since coming to work for the SSHQ.

"So Phyllis," he said. "It's Friday night tonight. How 'bout a date?"

"No," Phyllis said. "I'm not interested, Gil."

"Aw come on, it'll be fun! A little dinner, a little dancing . . . ."

"Gil, every week, you come into my office and ask me for a date, and every week, I give you the same answer. No."

"Come on, baby. What do you say we go paint the town red?"

"What do you say I paint your face black and blue if you don't back off?"

Gil got the message, and backed off. Then he left. He had other work to do. Phyllis got back to her typing, but stopped when the door opened. Thinking it was Gil, Phyllis took the package of Skittles and hurled it at the door.

"I said I'm not interested!" she shouted.

"Whoa!" Fluey shouted, as he caught the Skittles before they could hit him in the face. "What was that for? And if you don't want 'em, mind if I open 'em?"

"Oh, sorry, guys," Phyllis said, sheepishly. "I thought you were Agent Specktrum. And go ahead and help yourself, Fluey."

"Still trying to get you to go out with him, huh?" Fluey asked, as he opened the Skittles, and sat down on the couch.

"That man can't take a hint," Phyllis groaned. Then she looked over at Multi, and saw the puppy in his arms.

"When did you get a dog, Multi?" she asked.

"Last night," Multi said. "We nearly hit her with the car during a high speed chase."

"Remind me to tell Mike the brakes work perfectly," Fluey said, popping a couple of red Skittles in his mouth. "A little too perfectly. Coiley and I were almost catapulted out of the car when Multi stopped like that."

"Anyway, we think she's a stray," Multi continued. "We took her to the vet, and he said she was fine, just underweight, that's all."

"I'm sure the K-Nine department has some puppy chow," Phyllis said, taking the puppy from Multi. "You know they breed the German shepards down there and train the puppies as soon as they're old enough. But I don't want you to turn this one over to the K-Nine department, Multi. She's too much of a sweetheart!"

Phyllis giggled, as she nuzzled her nose against the puppy's. The puppy barked, and snuggled up to her. Something was telling Multi that his new friend was going to be a big hit around the agency.

"What are you going to name her?" Phyllis asked.

"I don't know yet," Multi said. "What are some good dog names?"

"Well, Rover and Fido come to mind, but they've been done to death," Fluey said. "Besides, they don't sound right for a girl dog."

"My aunt had a dog she called Queenie," Coiley said.

"Nah," Multi said. "Why is it so hard to name a pet?"

"It's just as hard to name a kid," Phyllis replied. "Don't worry about it, Multi, the perfect name will hit you sooner or later."

The puppy began sniffing around, and then ran to Fluey. She jumped into his lap, and began pawing at the bag of Skittles he was holding. Then she grabbed it with her teeth, and pulled, causing the bag to tear, and multi-colored candies spilled to the floor. The puppy jumped off Fluey's lap, and began sniffing around at them, tasting one or two.

"Hold it there," Multi said, picking up the puppy. "Dogs can't eat candy. If you eat those Skittles, you're gonna get sick."

Multi stopped for a moment or so, and looked thoughtful. Then he smiled.

"That's it!" he shouted. "I think I'll call you Skittles. What do you guys think?"

"Well, not one I'd choose myself," Fluey said, as he was picking up the candy from the floor. "But it's cute."

"Yeah, it has a certain ring to it," Coiley replied.

"Well, what do you think?" Multi asked the puppy. "You like it?"

The puppy barked, wagged her tail, and licked Multi's face.

"I'll take that as a yes," Multi said, and he scratched Skittles behind her ears.