Rhode Island Hero, 6/28/05 - A surprise 4 a.m. attack by the abnormally large octopus Lusca was thwarted today with the help of just a dozen plucky young heroes, oddly including the new administrator of Paragon City's newest private school.

Dr. Harold Crow was seen flying around the beast, with beams of light shooting straight from his eyes. Just three weeks ago, Crow was diagnosed with an indefinite comatose state in Founder's Falls, with no past record of superhuman tendencies.

Still, onlookers agreed that he flew circles around Lusca, literally, as if monster hunting was second nature.

The attack in Independence Port interrupted an undercover investigation conducted by Postmodernprof, a schoolteacher who wore armor plating recovered from the Freakshow gang. Heroes raced against the clock to defeat Lusca before Postmodernprof's disguise fell apart.

Lusca felled many heroes, most of which had not even reached a security clearance level of 25. A few wily empaths and others were able to quickly revive their comrades and maintain the pressure on the beast.

Among the ranks of the vanguard was Temp Aurealis, a pupil of Super Heroes for Hire leader Temp Extremes, who said he was too exhausted after the battle to discuss recent talks between PLC and his own employer.

Shortly after Lusca fell into the depths of the bay, emergency response and research teams arrived to take samples and clean up damage to the area. Lusca has been known to excrete a murky, thick ink that can burn to the touch and poison water sources.

"That thing is a menace. It's stuff like this that keeps us on strike," commented Leroy, a union dock worker who protests the continued inaction of the Paragon Waterworks.

Though Lusca escaped officials once again, every victory creates a peaceful break as it licks its wounds before the next attack.

[Ed: See photos of the battle in our PLC Newsmakers gallery.]