The low hum of people chatter was toned down a few notches at the Gagosian Gallery when Azula unveiled her father's winning masterpiece. Ozai's occupation as a part-time sculptor began quite some time back since their days in China, unbeknownst, however, to the Fantastic Four & the New York artsy-fartsy crowd until recently. He began his presentation to an audience who was all ears. "This is "Winter's Jewel" – my work carved out of the clay of inspiration. My homeland's mountains boast an often-conspicuous treasure; it has plenty of fangs, but runs short on size." Some reviewers & guests expressed warm laughter. Azula half-daydreamed of letting her future audience exhibit the same effect toward her own masterpieces to come.

"You're looking at the humble, majestic creature of the snow leopard," Ozai continued. It became true as he expected; guests were fascinated. Quite a few New Yorkers had never feasted their eyes on a snow leopard before, he guessed. After all, snow leopards were originally only ever sighted on Chinese land. He relished them in the wild, on TV, in books & paintings. This animal's physique was also the design for his current robot project with Reed, & that's where science intervened to complement his artistic skill. "Now, before I get too lengthy - ," he then said. A wall in the hall crumbled. Ben trudged in with the same eyes that had no life of its own. They were a sinister-looking pair, guided by a hidden master & serving it well. Ozai was confused; before he could figure things out, Ben grabbed hold of his shirt.

Some distance from there, the Fantasticar sped through city nightlife. Reed, Sue, Johnny & Alicia (& Ricky) had grabbed some of Azula's Chinese stew before leaving. Lucky she was around to prepare 'emergency food' instead of them buying dinner. Ben & she took turns whipping up culinary concoctions, & certain days, they'd go "fusion" & mixed their ingredients into one dish. The FF & their two newest acquaintances met up just about everyday now. Conversation between them grew healthier & livelier, in fact. Ben had left the lab in his silent state earlier, but fortunately he wasn't the chef today.

"I'm getting one of those flying cars. Why are you so quiet? It's boring!" said Ricky. Alicia, sharing a cockpit with him replied, "I'm worried about my friend." Soon the vehicle landed outside Alicia's place. As Alicia entered her loft, Philip appeared at a nearby corner of the block, watching her. The FF's next destination was the Gagosian Gallery itself; Reed, Sue & Johnny hurried to exit their vehicle the moment they arrived. Johnny got Ricky to stay in his seat for safety reasons. It was all a second away from getting ugly. A large sculpture burst out of a building window, in Johnny & Ricky's direction, only to be halted in mid-air by Sue's force field. Her reflexes were good. Her mind was pretty lithe. The statue missed Johnny by a tiny breadth. A shocked Ricky had his jaw hanging open while trying to breathe normally.

The team turned to the now-broken window where Ben stood. "You'd better explain, Reed! Ben nearly smashed my sculpture!" yelled Ozai whose leg was grasped tight by Ben in a way that he hung upside down. Down below, Azula exited the building to meet the rest. Always the first to prepare, she assumed her readied stance to fire in case the situation went awry. Sue barked an instruction, "Azula, don't! Not yet. We can try free your dad without causing any trouble!" Johnny hovered at a safe distance from Ben & shouted, "Ben! Don't scare the kid; he's my only shot at getting on TV!" Reed made move number one, launching himself upward with elastic force. Ben lashed out a mighty hand to grab his best friend by the throat, muttering darkly, "Nice try, but less than fantastic." He looked Reed in the eye before flinging him skyward. "Express elevator goin' up!" said Johnny, who skyrocketed to catch Reed.

Ben jumped to ground level, smashing the road & sending Sue & Azula flying backward. "Please don't make us fight you!" pleaded Sue. Ben muttered a warning for them to stay back; in a second he was tossing a nearby cab right into a building, causing the structure to dangerously fall into pieces. People inside & those on the pavement panicked. Azula swiftly guided them to the opposite side of the road. Sue tried holding the building upright with force field ropes, but to no avail. Reed came to her aid. "It's okay. The building is clear! Everyone is out!" he told her. He quickly lifted Sue & Azula in both arms to a safe distance as the structure crumbled completely. No success. Ben had vanished.

"That went bad fast..," said Johnny, clearing the dusty clouds with Azula. Funny how he isn't striving to beat me to it, thought Azula. She'd love to next make fun of the Human Torch by outperforming him in pyrotechnics. "Can I go home now? Please? I'll be good; I promise!" stuttered Ricky, still in his cockpit of the Fantasticar.

* * *

"Father? It's me Alicia. If you're there, please pick up. I know we haven't talked in a long time. Please call me. Something's happening, & I need to know you're alright." No answer. Through her earpiece, a voice rang clear, "Alicia, it's Susan. We lost him." Blindness helped sharpen Alicia's hearing - the door behind her slid open ever so silently. Big footsteps followed. "He's here..right now."

"Alicia, get out of there!" sounded Susan. "It's not Ben - it's -" There was then silence after Ben homed in on his girlfriend.

***

"Hello, Alicia." This wasn't her loft anymore. Eyes slowly growing alert, Alicia sat up on the couch she had been laid on, tracing the direction of whoever greeted her. It was question time for her father. "Where's Ben?" Philip answered casually, "You mean my new servant? He's right here. I had him bring you to me so I could show you what's happened." Muffled but urgent voices were heard behind the couch. Alicia turned, heart pumping increasingly fast. "I've taken my art to the next level, Alicia. My art doesn't just mirror life; it controls it!" said Philip confidently. His stepdaughter was obviously becoming aware of his motives, not that she was going to buy them, however.

"Alicia. I may only be your stepfather but I raised you like I was your own daughter. I taught you how to sculpt. & now, together, we can take the respect we deserve. These three, my so-called peers..they will serve as an example of my power!" he waved his hands in circular motion over his victims. He approached the artist in the middle of the three. He took his time to let his words slither out, "& you, Ozai, shall be the first." Philip tugged hard at the cloth gagging Ozai's mouth; Ozai jerked his head vertically to let the cloth be lowered a little. "Pride's eroding you. Your talent may have been ignored, but some of us are naturally ahead in the field. & I suggest you humble yourself to learn from the best," he muttered boldly, now able to try talking some sense into the almost-senile man. But time had hardened Philip as well. "Always the philosopher, are you?" was his reply, followed by his cackling. Ozai sighed & shook his head.

Alicia mustered some strength in her voice, "No, you have to stop this! Whatever you've done, this is wrong." Philip threw a wide-eyed glance at her. She was backing away in fright. "Alicia, don't be afraid of me. I'm doing this for us!" "Father, I'm sorry."

Flames erupted from the direction of a wall in the large room. Out of the inferno dashed Johnny, with Sue, Reed & Azula close behind. All four stood in great anticipation. Philip's emotions whirled. "Alicia, did you lead them here??" "You're going to jail, Mr. Masters." Reed's tone was authoritative. Philip had a strange way of feeling negative emotion; people could say he was really being eaten away by crazed thoughts that precipitated with the passage of time. He hung his head, shut his eyes, containing his bubbling anger successfully. "You may call me…Puppet Master." He passed an eye around the room. Johnny had to butt in, "Too late! Already started calling you "Alicia's Crazy Dad". Seriously dude, you need to get a life."

However, an intelligent answer came forth from the villain. "Agreed! I think I'll take yours!" Swiftly, he locked eyes on Ben, who walked toward a sculpture with cloth covering it. He unveiled it, apparently obeying a command straight from the Puppet Master's mind to reveal a big sculpture of Johnny. Sue's senses seemed to tingle & it made her say, "Why do I get the feeling this is bad?" Johnny (being Johnny) excitedly asked, "Hey..nice! Is that for sale?" He didn't bother about what the others expected was coming. "Coz I think I might be intereste –," he froze as he was about to finish. Philip's newfound power took over. Johnny's eyes were shut when he stopped midsentence, & they opened again, this time lit up by the same amethyst colour as Ben's eyes were. More trouble was in store.

Philip spoke, putting on a bit more of an act, his confidence boosted, "What's that he likes to say? Oh yes! "Flame on!"" Johnny obeyed. The rest, especially his sister, felt uncomfortable with the rarity of him instantly following orders. He had to exhibit this good trait at a bad time. The Puppet Master made his intentions crystal clear, "Human Torch, Thing, destroy your teammates!" Alicia begged that he not issue the order, but he took no notice.

The room & the situation heated up, literally. Johnny opened fire (also literally!) on Reed, Sue & Azula but a wide force field separated them from the fireballs. Reed instructed Sue to handle Ben whereas he & Azula were to distract Johnny. They were to break their control by Philip, racing against the clock. To buy time, Reed made a loop with his torso & whacked Johnny aside whilst dodging more fireballs. Ozai called out, "Azula, I can help, but -" Azula smiled, burning the ropes tied around his fists behind him. He signaled back with a twinkle of his eye, indicating that he was conveying the word 'okay'. Ben tried smashing Sue only to be deflected with her quickly formed force field. She then evaded his second smash attack which broke some floorboards. Ozai leapt onto Ben's right arm, & struck downward at his eleventh rib. Sure, he was made of rock, but Ozai was confident his fist could cause a short, handy slowdown by hitting that pressure point. It worked out. Ben squinted in what little agony he was experiencing; thankfully it could buy some time.

Azula wanted to laugh for a brief moment. The heavens heard how she wanted another showdown with the Human Torch. This was rematch #2 alright. She was careful, though, to revert to a serious state of mind. She caught one of Johnny's fireballs in her left fist, colouring it blue by powering it up. Good. Her flames were still hotter. Her new projectile was hurled back at Johnny as she threw it gracefully. He got hit smack in the middle of his chest & was stunned. Without hesitation, Reed dodged more of Johnny's fireballs with ease, & then wrapped himself around him to try containing him. But the heat increased until Reed got overwhelmed & released his hold to yield to his captive.

Alicia needed an update, "Susan? Are – are you okay?" Ozai guided Alicia to safety because Ben was rampaging toward her, with Sue deflecting his blows along the way. "Err..let me get back to you on that!" replied Sue. The Puppet Master had a grin stretched from ear to ear. "They mocked me, Alicia. But who's laughing now? I could only control Richards through physical manipulation. But now, I can control anyone with just my mind! The space station's falling was destined. I was meant to rule..& now I have the means to do so with my clay." His eyes narrowed in glee, yet another reflection of how he was warming up well to his sinister nature. But smart old Reed had been observant to pick up giveaway clues from what seemed like a painfully boring supervillain's speech. "Destroy the statues; he's using the statues to control them!" he ordered Sue. Her strength was evidently waning, though, for right now her feet slid across the floor as Ben was losing his patience. He delivered more & more punches to her force field.

Ozai had attempted to hit Ben hard in the centre of the arm, the back of his neck, & the shoulder & scapula, but The Thing certainly required someone else's rock-hard fist, just like his own, if his vital points were to be struck with maximum efficiency. A human's non-superpowered fist, even if trained to unleash deadly punches, could do no more than stop him temporarily. Ozai heard Reed & shifted his eyes to the blue clay statues. He insisted, "I'll try!" But before he could run to Philip's desk, Ben grabbed his left leg & he fell to the floor, unable to move further. Azula too tried, but Johnny hovered in her path & fired a long stream of flames that she had to deflect, thus delaying her effort.

Reed sought to buy more time before someone could reach & smash the statues to smithereens. He barked his next order to his teammates, "Switch!" With that, he wrapped an elongated arm around Ben's fist before it pounded Sue again. Azula obeyed Reed & gave it a shot doing a master lock around Ben. Although her move & Reed's tightening grip combined to pose quite a hindrance to the Ben, Ben could still grab Azula with his right hand, her whole body now hanging in mid-air. Sue maintained her force field as she & Ozai were shielded from relentless pelting of Johnny's flames. All this was an opportunity for Alicia - fumbling on her stepfather's table for a hammer, she grabbed one. Philip spotted her, "Alicia, what are you doing?! Stop her!" Ben listened to his master, nearing Alicia with eyes that seemed to glow purple. Alicia kept her spirits up. "Ben, I know you can't hurt me.You've got to fight him. Please, Ben…" Her gentle voice soothed him. Hewas ready to get her but hesitated; his eyes turned normal momentarily. His minded nearly defeated the control by Philip, but he yielded.

Eyes changing colour again, his tall figure loomed over Alicia. Alicia had but one choice. She raised the hammer & brought it down. "Nooooooo!" panicked Philip. He clutched the sides of his head, & then pointed to Johnny, "Destroy them! Destroy them all!" Johnny homed in on the others & increased the intensity of flames enveloping his body. Ozai reacted fast by leaping high enough to execute a downward kick on Johnny. Of course, he didn't want to shatter any bones; he made his attack quick & light. Johnny hit the floor but hadn't yet flamed off. Ben grabbed him & directed some of his flames toward hiss own statue at the other side of the room. Mission accomplished. Johnny's statue melted, much to his disappointment. Philip fell to his knees, palms on the floor, head hanging.

When he looked up, a figure huge & orange towered above him with cold, hard blue eyes. "You made my hurt my friends!" Alicia's voice rang behind him. "Don't, Ben, you're better than this. You're not like him. I know he's done a terrible thing, but he's still my father." Ben listened & reasoned. In the end he stamped mightily on the floor, missing Philip by inches but startling him. That was just to let out the anger. Sue smiled, "Alicia, you saved us. You know, we can always make it the Fantastic Five." Alicia was earnest, "Thanks, but I think I'll leave the clobbering to Ben. I just..wish it didn't have to end this way." She needed some comforting from Ben later. Reed curiously asked Ozai & Azula, "So what you two do, is a combination of building machines, sculpting, and..kung fu?! You were incredible!" The two looked at each other. "What? We like a bit of well roundedness," Ozai said lightly with a grin. Ben & Johnny were untying the other two artists; funny enough, they were still afraid of Ben.

***

"I'm gonna start blaming everything I do on supervillains!"

"You ARE a supervillain, Flame Brain!"

"Hey, hey - I got Ricky Carter through your little rampage safe & sound. Can you say co-star of a hit-series? Because I can!"

H.E.R.B.I.E. made an announcement, "Err, Jonathan, your agent left a message for you. Ricky has decided to go with..another actor."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Johnny put down his breakfast mug.

"& Benjamin, Johnny's agent left a message for you! You're being offered a part co-starring with Ricky in a hit TV show! Apparently young Mr. Carter was very impressed with you," continued H.E.R.B.I.E.

"WHAT?!!" The whole penthouse could hear Johnny.

***

Two guards opened Philip's prison cell door. One of them said, "We hear you're an artist. Well, you've have plenty of time to work on your next masterpiece in solitary." He laughed, closing the door & locking it.

The prisoner removed his sunglasses, muttering words under his breath, "Exactly what I'm hoping for..." His sunglasses…weren't really sunglasses. His villain's mind was still ticking. More evil schemes were on their way to fruition. The Puppet Master molded the frame of his shades - into the shape of the guard who had just refueled his inner anger.