Ronan took no notice of the inordinate number of people watching, "Perfect timing, you two. Now we can eliminate you three in a single fight!" He turned to face the two heroines, Diablo flanking him. The baby being held in his left arm looked around with most teary eyes.

"Awwwww, he's so cute!" exclaimed Azula. She wanted to punish herself for not delving into Johnny's room…she may've stumbled upon some baby photos way before this. Baby Johnny's sobs softened to muffled noises; his captor held him close to his body & was about to wave his staff with his aim locked on the Blue Dragon.

"Trick or treat?" a party of youths approached Ronan. They weren't aware they'd trudged onto a minefield. Every one of them wore warlock & witch costumes complete with heavy, smudgy makeup.

"DO YOU MIND?" the villain snapped brashly to scare them off.

Following that little distraction, Sue looked at the Kree with racing adrenaline, "Tell me how you can justify the robbing of a child from his family." Her hardened eyes were perpetually holding his.

"For someone who chooses wise words, dealing with two unstoppable foes is rather absurd," laughed the Accuser.

"We're not going anywhere. Cliché as it sounds, stay away from the people & give back my brother."

Diablo paced around them & hissed, "That will not happen. We've come all this way to be rid of this little child." The following second elapsed & he struck again with water. Azula jumped in front of Sue, who'd just picked herself up, & changed the water into quickly evaporating steam by the action of her crescent flame shield. Except she was a little drenched. "Rsssppp!" she spat out some water & corrected her hair.

"Thanks," Sue grabbed at the chance. Ronan wanted to lash out at her next, only she intelligently angled her body so that her force field plate would reflect his beam at Diablo.

"Watch it, you fool!" yelled the frustrated alchemist, after he'd clumsily dodged the blast. "Don't just stand there, FINISH THEM!" the Accuser bawled.

"Azula! Now!" barked Sue. She rendered herself invisible for the time being, for she required a good interval to knit together a plan. Azula kept her distance from Diablo & fired a long-range blast; her adversary conjured up a fire shield of his own but was too slow. The Blue Dragon's flame force was so immense that he flew backward against a tree trunk!

Sue had reappeared on one of the stairwells of the opposite apartment block. The elevation would reward her with a better aim at the villains. She helped Azula up to where she was using a levitating platform she formed under Azula's feet.

"I have an idea. You take Diablo out while I go for Ronan," the Invisible Woman advised.

"Just be careful not to hit little Hotshot!" her friend cheekily smirked.

"Don't worry!" Sue's following move: restraining Ronan's movement & attempting to free her brother in the process. Of course, she was no stranger to the fact he might willfully act against her inclinations. Yet she tried, making a rope out of unseen cords that wrapped around Ronan's other arm. But he was induced him to gather his strength - with that same arm he pulled hard to loosen the rope. Then he surprised her by throwing his weapon powerfully at one of the stairwell's poles. The pole snapped in half.

Diablo had just mustered all the power stored in his four potions. Out of his chalices appeared four beast-like forms of the elements. Soon enough, they chased after their target who cartwheeled, ran & leapt to evade them. Azula didn't think of a backup plan less than incessantly. Luckily for her a truck moving in Diablo's direction distracted him from working his spells; the alchemist lost his concentration & halted the vehicle with an Earth potion attack. The truck driver, terrified, hopped out of his ride & made a run for it.

Some plucky, somewhat explicit youngsters from the neighbourhood homes were rooting for the Blue Dragon - they snatched up some of the large Halloween pumpkins strewn about the pavement & pelted Diablo! He became flustered, & sent his Fire 'beast' straight at them. Thankfully the kids were quick to duck & avoid being fried.

Ronan had wrecked the stairwell Sue stood on, & she hovered over to the nearest street lamp pole for support. Her focus flashed to the chalices floating above Diablo. Down below Azula had had it with the display of alchemistic magic tricks. Thinking it foolish that she hadn't destroyed the chalices at the start, she lithely rushed past the fire & wind 'beasts', sliding skillfully, & unleashed her fiery slice move. That damaged two out of the four chalices. Sue, as if by automatic function, destroyed the remaining two with a couple of invisible discs. Hilariously, Azula approached a cowering Diablo & brought him down with one pressure point hit.

As the chalices were destroyed, all four of the elemental monsters exploded into dust. It was such a huge blast that Ronan toppled over with Johnny hurtling through the air. Azula caught him in the fall, right on timing.

Ronan fumbled for his footing, staff in hand & ready to tussle some more. Sue landed in front of him to protect Azula, Johnny & her family. "Hey, catch!" someone tossed her a strong sturdy pole used as a Halloween decoration. She & the Accuser began to spar with their weapons. Ronan may've been brawny, but Sue's powers granted her the upper hand. Each time her opponent delivered a blow, her force field would make his staff bounce off. To end the battle she opened the palm of her free hand & launched a pulse toward his chest. He stumbled back, losing balance & at last falling down on his behind beside Diablo.

"We're leaving," Ronan activated his time-dancing mechanism, "But mark my words..it won't be too long before we encounter you again." The supervillains were wrapped in light, & disappeared.

Azula eyed the sweet little face before her, & traced the little details such as his lively blue eyes & heart-melting smile. She stroked his hair just like she now liked doing whenever her boyfriend thought of sad things. Baby Johnny laughed & reached out to feel her cheek. You've been a hottie since you were little, she thought.

"Oh sweetie you're okay!" his mother scooted over. "Thank you for rescuing him," she lifted him out of her arms. The baby made a jolly sound & looked at Mary in a way that couldn't be described. Azula was inwardly moved; perhaps Johnny's bond with his mom was like no other mother-son relationship. "Don't mention it," she grinned. But her heart held deep sympathy for how the Human Torch coped all these years.

Mary cheerfully went on, "I know the stuntmen in Chinatown can play with fire, but I've never seen anything like what you can do. How can we repay you, uhh -"

"Azula," the Blue Dragon shook her hand. She told her, "Don't. Just keep Johnny safe."

"You know his name?"

"Mrs. Storm, I know this will sound crazy but - we're kinda from the future. To be exact, nineteen years ahead." She crafted a dragon-shaped flame to entertain the baby, who rolled jolly noises in his mouth whilst trying to catch it.

Sue & Johnny's father walked over to meet her, "You knew this would happen?" His tone was friendly & light.

"Technically, yes." In Azula's opinion, Franklin Storm was indeed rewarded by rugged good looks. She was facing him, sort of studying his facial features. She was a little astonished to discover how Johnny truly looked like his dad. Franklin had spiky hair at the sides of his head like his son did. The eyebrows, irises, even the expression, matched Johnny's. "Who's that? I heard her say 'my brother'..," he suddenly pointed to Sue who stood opposite them, a few feet away. Her countenance was pretty tensed up, like there was some tumult going on in her mind.

Young Sue had also come out the house. She shyly tugged at Frankin's coat (which gave him a very becoming appearance), "Daddy, I wanna be like her when I grow up." She was actually pointing to the older version of herself standing nearby. Sue had forgotten to breathe, touched by the little child she tried not to look at. It was like beholding a mirror but scarier. Surprisingly the world didn't implode, as Reed said would happen if you saw yourself in another timeline.

"Honey, if they're both from the future, is that -?" Mary said, turning slowly to the strange, familiar woman who was unknowingly her eldest child. That woman reluctantly smiled, half frozen upon realizing the power of a mother's instinct.

"I'm sorry. We're leaving," the Blue Dragon rushed her speech. But a beckoning little voice called to her. "He likes you," Johnny's mom expressed in warmth. Unable to resist crouching to pick up the little infant who crawled up to her, Azula gently squeezed him in an embrace. "I'll see you again…," she whispered to him. Something stirred her to grab Sue & walk her away from this place.

While they made a lightning fast turn around the block, sirens belonging to none other than the police wafted to them. Sometimes you couldn't take the risks & laws of time travelling too lightly. They were back in the park, on their way to the time machine hidden by shadows & shrubbery at the edge of the area & next to a warehouse.

"Was it hard? Seeing the faces of your parents?" queried Azula, strapping herself for the ride home.

"Yeah. It really was," Sue croaked.

"I understand."

"Wait a minute - if all those people saw what happened, wouldn't it somehow alter the histories of each of our lives?" Sue nearly hyperventilated.

"That's why I invented the built-in neuralizers in our suits, Susan," Reed's voice suddenly broke through the comm systems. He'd been monitoring them all the while.

Sue questioned, "The what?"

"The neuralizers will wipe any witnesses' memories of what they have seen, Johnny included. Their minds were set to revert to whatever actions or activities they were doing before you made your appearance. The devices are activated at the exact moment the time machine arrives at its destination." Reed was reassuring them that history wouldn't actually be altered, despite what Ronan & Diablo tried doing.

"Real sweet, Reed. We owe you one," chuckled Azula. Reed asked about the missing Kronotracker that they hadn't sighted; fortunately he replied that he didn't need it. More than ever the Blue Dragon was excited to see the older Johnny that'd greet her with the same face she wouldn't grow tired of.

Sue kept quiet all the way, but it was understandable why she lagged behind. In her own small world she was mending & braiding together a scar from years past.