Supernova watched the three familiar faces laughing in glee from the school’s rooftop. “Disruptor Gang!” said Elizabeth, “What are they up to this time?” They scanned the area, noticing a suspicious machine which looked dangerously unstable.

“What is that thing?” asked Noah, “Looks like it’s gonna blow any second.”

“That must be where all this heat is coming from—but why would Disruptor build such a thing?” wondered Toru.

“Only one way to find out. Let’s go!” said Marisol, leaping over the ledge and down below, as her team followed behind. The five of them landed strong against the pavement, startling Gracie, Narendra, and Ivan. “Freeze, Disruptor!” shouted Marisol.

“Gyah! S-Supernova!” yelped Gracie.

“Give it up, you cowards, or we’re gonna have to kick your butts—again!” said Elizabeth, clenching her fist.

Gracie stood up on her chair and pointed angrily at them, “I’ll never let you brats take a better picture than me!” she shrieked. Marisol and her companions traded confused looks, even her goons showed concern for their hysteric boss. Gracie cut through the awkward silence, “Well, don’t just stand there! Get them!” At once, Ivan and Narendra turned their mean mugs towards the Supernova team, growling to intimidate them. Narendra tore the STOP sign from its metal post, keeping the metal bar for himself and tossing the red octagon towards Ivan. Ivan snapped the sign in half against his knee and held up the two pieces to defend himself.

“Toru, see what you can do about that machine.” said Marisol, “We’ll take care of these guys.” He nodded and made way for the trembling machine.

“Oh, someone’s gonna get taken care of! Y’all ain’t ready for the Emerald City Sluggers!” grumbled Narendra as he patted the metal bar against his palm. He dashed forward and swung hard at Marisol and Elizabeth, but they quickly dashed out of the way. Noah and Jaleesa rushed towards Ivan, dodging his makeshift iron fans. Ivan swung left, then right, unable to match the speed of the miniature superheroes. The four led the two goons to each other, where in a blind rage, Narendra smashed his metal bar in his comrade’s face. Ivan fell to the ground, watching stars twinkle above him. The stubby man waddled over to his accomplice, shaking him back to consciousness. “Wake up, you idiot!” he shouted, but Ivan simply smiled at the birds chirping around his head. As Narendra turned to face his opponents, he was greeted by Elizabeth’s gloved fist, knocking him to the ground alongside Ivan.

As his teammates battled Gracie’s goons, Toru wrestled with the trembling contraption the Disruptor Gang had devised. He carefully unscrewed bolts and removed haphazard wiring all while avoiding an occasional jet of steam. The machine noisily came to a stop, as loose parts clunked around inside. Having dismantled the humidity machine, Toru joined his friends who were ready to send the Disruptor Gang running. Gracie scurried over to her henchmen and picked them up by their ears.

“Quit laying around and get rid of them!” she shouted, giving them a firm push. Gracie ran around the fight scene and into the ice cream truck. Ivan and Narendra put on their meanest mugs and growled at Marisol and her friends. Supernova dashed forward and served the two tough guys a series of punches before hurling them into the truck. Gracie shook as her goons groaned in pain, laying lopsided in the front seats. “Get this thing started and get us out of here!”, she squealed.

Narendra achingly repositioned himself in the drivers seat and cranked the engine. After a few churns, the engine chaotically came to life, clanking and spouting black clouds of smoke from the front and behind. The truck bounded off, skipping and rattling as it turned the corner and away from the school.

Supernova dusted off their hands as the villains sped off.

“Who would’ve thought that thing could still run.” said Elizabeth.

“Well, that’ll get rid of them—for now.” said Marisol, “We should head back in.” The others nodded in agreement and went off.

—

The five friends snuck back into assembly unnoticed, where the dean was addressing the whole school.

“Because of the unforeseen circumstances, we will be postponing picture day until tomorrow, so be sure to wear your best. With that said, today we will be having class as usual, so have a great day and learn something new!” she said gleefully through the megaphone. With that, the students stood up, gathered their things, and headed for class.