Book excerpt: Dunc thinks Mr. Smith is just an old man who owns a junkyard and a mean junkyard dog. But Amos is convinced Mr. Smith is Lightning Man, a retired superhero, and the dog is his super sidekick. Meanwhile, Mr. Smith's sinister new neighbor, Professor Brainard, seems to be casting some kind of weird spell over the city council. Dunc and Amos have to do something before Professor Brainard cleans out the town's coffers. They sure could use some help. Too bad there's no such thing as a retired superhero and a retired superhero's dog!