It's date night for Hank and Barb, leaving Max and Phoebe in charge...What happens when Hank's old enemy turns up at the house in the middle of the night?
"I love you my babies" Barb cooed as she placed yet another kiss on the top of Billy's head.
Hank gently pulled her towards the front door "Come on dear, we don't want to miss our reservation"
The kids stood in the doorway and waved as their parents pulled out of the drive. Once they were safely out of sight, Max turned to his siblings.
"I get the TV, no arguments. Billy go make me a sandwich, Nora go tidy my room and Phoebe-"
He smiled sweetly at his twin who scowled right back at him
"-I don't care what you do, just stay out of my way, 'kay?"
The girl folded her arms "You know Max, Mom and Dad put us in positions of authority" she reminded him as he hopped on the couch.
"Yeah, so what? I'm being authoritative" he retorted.
"Ugh!" Phoebe groaned, turning on her heel and storming up to her room.
Max leant back against the cushions and shook his head as he flicked through the channels.
"Where's my sandwich Billy?!" he yelled.
...
Max yawned and stretched, checking the time on his watch. 10:30.
"Must have fallen asleep" he muttered getting to his feet and turning off the TV.
The rest of the house was in darkness, and there was no sound from upstairs, indicating that his siblings were all in bed.
The empty hooks on the coat rack showed that Hank and Barb were still out, so opening up the hatch to his room, Max slid down, landing on his bed.
After feeding Dr Collosso, changing into a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt; he was about to climb into bed when a noise from upstairs disturbed him.
Curious, Max quietly opened his door and poked his head round into the living room.
Grabbing a rubber baseball bat from its place propped up in the corner, he crept further forward.
Through the moonlight, he could see the silhouette of a person standing by the couch.
Steadying himself, Max gripped the bat handle and charged forwards, swinging neatly at the figure's chest.
"Ouch!" came a high pitched hiss
Max instantly lowered the bat "Phoebe?" he asked in surprise "What are you doing down here?"
"What are you doing with a bat?" she retorted.
Max chucked the bat on the couch and folded his arms "I heard a noise, but it was just you" he sneered.
Phoebe rolled her eyes "Well I wouldn't have come down if it weren't for you being so loud!"
"I only came back up here because of you knocking around everywhere you clutz!"
They both froze at the sound of crashing and then murmured swearing coming from the back door.
"What was that?" Phoebe whispered, instinctively reaching out to grab her brother's arm.
Max didn't answer, instead he pushed a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet.
The crashing sound came again, and Phoebe tightened her grip.
"Maybe it's Mom and Dad" she suggested hopefully.
Max shook his head "They wouldn't use the back door, besides they have a key"
"What do we do?" Phoebe whimpered
"We go upstairs get Billy and Nora and lock ourselves in your room. We can ring Mom and Dad, or the police"
"I don't think that'll be necessary" a voice interrupted through the shadows.
Suddenly light flooded the room, causing both twins to squint.
"Who are you?" Phoebe demanded looking up at the stranger before them.
He wore jeans and a black jacket with biker boots.
"Just an old friend of your Dad's" he informed them with a grin.
"What do you want?" Max questioned "Especially this late at night?"
The man looked around "I take it your folks aren't home?"
"Date night" Phoebe mumbled
The sound of the stairs creaking, drew their attention to where Nora and Billy were crouched looking through the banisters.
"Hey kids" the man greeted "Nice to finally meet you, I'm Steve a friend of your Dad's"
Hesitantly, the two youngest Thundermans wandered into the living room.
Phoebe held out her arms and pulled them to her, not taking her eyes off 'Steve' who chuckled.
"Relax guys, I'm not here to hurt you"
"Then what do you want?" Max repeated, in a firmer tone.
Steve raised his hands in surrender "Your Dad has something of mine, he stole it a while back and now I need it"
"Well what is it?" Billy wondered "Maybe we can help"
Nora facepalmed as Phoebe yanked her brother back behind her.
Steve chuckled again "Well, that's what I'm hoping son"
...
"Well I've never even heard Dad mention it" Phoebe said as they were all sat on the couch
The others shook their heads too.
"Mind if I take a look around?" Steve wondered already on his feet.
"Can't this wait till Dad gets home?" Max asked, watching him.
"Afraid not kid, It's kinda urgent"
"Mom and Dad better be home soon" Phoebe muttered, biting her nails.
Max checked his watch "It's 11:00 they can't be too much longer" he assured her.
A sudden smash of glass from the kitchen sent them all to their feet.
"WHERE IS IT!" Steve bellowed storming back through to the living room.
"We told you we don't know" Phoebe reminded him in a weak tone.
The lights began to flicker before the bulb shattered, sending glass scattering everywhere.
Steve lifted the coffee table and sent it flying into the TV, much to Max' dismay.
"Look man, just wait for our Dad, he'll be back anytime now"
Ignoring him Steve opened his mouth, sending a torrent of fire into the air.
"Duck!" Phoebe cried, pushing her siblings down to avoid it
"He's a supe too?" Billy asked in admiration "Cool!"
"No Billy, not cool!" Max snapped, jumping behind the couch "Come on"
The others joined him as Steve continued to destroy the room.
"What do we do?" Nora whispered "He's going crazy"
Max swallowed, resting himself against the back of the couch, and drawing his knees up beneath his chin.
Phoebe watched him, waiting for his 'ingenious plan'
"We wait" he suggested with a shrug, wincing at the sound of more smashing glass.
"There goes Mom's favourite vase" Nora sighed, fiddling with the ties on her dressing gown.
"Can't we do something?" Billy asked desperately "We're supes too right?"
Phoebe nodded and got into a crouching position, her eyes locking onto her twins "We could freeze him?"
Max looked at her, her eyes blazing with anger and determination, along with the slightest hint of fear. He nodded slowly.
"Wait here" he ordered, turning to their two younger siblings.
"Be careful" Nora warned, moving so Max could crawl closer to Phoebe.
"Count of three?" the boy murmured
"Count of three" Phoebe agreed, preparing herself
"1,2,3"
The pair jumped up and instantly sent the chilling waves over Steve, who was stood frozen with a chair in his hands.
"We did it!" Phoebe squealed, clapping her hands and bringing Max in for one of their rare twin hugs.
Billy and Nora stood up and high fived
"What do we do with him now?" they asked in unison.
Before anyone could reply, a cracking sound could be heard and the ice surrounding Steve shattered.
"Oh great" Phoebe drawled "He's one of those supes"
Steve rounded on the kids "Big. Mistake" he snarled, dropping the chair and taking a step towards them.
"Want me to run to the restaurant and get Mom and Dad?" Billy asked, taking a step back
"No-one is going anywhere" Steve smirked, stretching out his arm all the way to the front door and locking it.
"Wait you breathe fire, have super strength, and can stretch like a slinky?" Nora cried "No fair!"
Steve cracked his knuckles "Yeah well, I'm not your average ordinary everyday superhero"
"True that" Phoebe muttered, jumping as her back hit the banisters.
"Should we run for it?" Max whispered
"I doubt you'd get very far" Steve cut in lightly
"Oh come on! You heard that?"
The man shrugged and clicked his fingers, sending a spark of electricity out in front of him.
Nora ducked just in time to dodge it, but the bow on top of her head turned to ash.
"Two can play at that game" she said sweetly, shooting lasers from her eyes.
Steve dodged them expertly, sending more electricity firing towards the kids.
Max grabbed Nora, pulling her to one side as the spot where she just stood got blasted.
"Tell me where I can find my invention!" he roared, coming to a standstill.
He frowned and tried to move forward
Max frowned and turned to see Phoebe with her arms stretched in front of her, creating a forcefield around them.
"Pheebs what are you doing?" he asked numbly "How are you-"
"-be quiet nimrod, you'll break her concentration!" Nora hissed.
Billy wandered up to the shield and tapped on it "Haha, come get me Steve" he teased poking out his tongue.
Steve upturned the couch before sending another torrent of fire at them.
Phoebe let out a cry as she felt the forcefield weaken
"If she stops now we're done for!" Billy exclaimed
"Totally barbequed" Nora agreed placing a hand over her eyes.
Max stood beside his twin
"Come on Phoebe you can do this, don't give in" he urged "You're the stronger one, the better one, the smarter one, just hold on okay?"
As the intensity of the flames increased, the girl let out a scream and the shield burst, sending Steve flying backwards. A faint thud indicating his head had hit the wall.
"Upstairs!" Max instructed "Now!"
The four took off at a sprint, rushing into Phoebe's room before she locked the door.
"That door won't hold him" Billy reminded the fearfully
Nora ran over to Phoebe's desk and began pushing it over.
Phoebe herself collapsed onto her bed with a groan.
"You okay?" Max asked, trying not to show his worry
"Just a little tired, and dizzy" she replied faintly, shutting her eyes.
"Nora!" he called "Come here, don't let Phoebe go to sleep"
The youngest Thunderman ran over, lifting a bottle of water from the bedside table, she promptly tipped it on her sisters face, causing her to splutter.
"He's coming" Billy hissed, taking a step back from the door.
Max nodded, barely having time to react as the door caved in.
"Well that worked" Nora muttered, while slapping Phoebe gently to keep her awake.
"At last!" Steve cried, shoving past the boys to the other side of the room.
"That's a mirror" Max said in confusion
"It's a super computer you fool" the man snapped, stroking the frame.
"Looks pretty much like a mirror to me" Billy chipped in.
Steve raised an eyebrow and fiddled behind a panel before taking a step back.
The mirror began to expand, the reflective glass transforming into a black screen.
"Woah" Nora and Billy breathed.
Max rolled his eyes "Trust Phoebe to get the cool secretive gadget"
"Now I can hack into every supercomputer mainframe in the world!" Steve laughed
"What a nutjob" Nora muttered, helping Phoebe to sit up, now she was more awake.
"What did you do to my mirror?" the teen cried, scrambling shakily to her feet.
Max held out an arm to block her "Easy sis" he said gently, watching Steve remove the mirror from the wall.
...
Before he could make it out the room, the sound of a door shutting downstairs interrupted them.
"KIDS WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED DOWN HERE?"
"MOM DAD UP HERE!" Billy and Nora yelled, rushing for the door.
Steve knocked them back "Stay where you are" he ordered grimly, leaning the mirror against the wall.
"He's gonna hurt them" Nora whispered, gripping the back of Max's t-shirt.
Phoebe squeezed her free hand comfortingly, her other entwined with Billy's.
As the sound of her parent's footsteps neared on the stairs, and idea struck her.
Quietly she stepped forward, gesturing for Nora to follow.
Max and Billy watched in confusion as the two whispered for a second before nodding to each other.
"Kids what's going on?"
In an instant, Nora used her lasers to blow up the mirror, distracting Steve long enough for Phoebe to freeze him.
"Oh my Goodness" Barb gasped, at the sight of them all
"Steve?" Hank murmured
"Better hurry Dad, he won't stay frozen for long" Phoebe told him wearily.
Hank drew out his phone and rang for the 'supe police' who turned up immediately and took Steve away.
...
The kids sat on the couch, huddled together as Barb brought them all a hot chocolate.
"My poor babies" she sighed, running her fingers through Max' hair as he drank.
"We're fine Mom" Phoebe assured her with a weak smile.
"Yeah, did you know that Phoebe can make a force field!?" Billy asked enthusiastically, apparently unfazed by the whole experience.
Hank raised his eyebrows "We'll have to work on that one sweetie" he informed his daughter, taking a seat on the back of the other upturned couch.
"What's gonna happen to Steve?" Nora asked quietly.
Max wrapped an arm round her shoulders in comfort as they waited for their Dad to reply.
"Don't worry about him, he'll be shut up for a while" he assured them.
"Why does he hate you so much?" Phoebe pressed, placing her mug on the coffee table, which was now the right way up again.
"We went to the same high school, for a start her loved your Mother"
The kids gasped and looked between their parents
"I would not like him as a Dad" Billy stated firmly.
Phoebe ruffled his hair with a laugh as Hank continued.
"And then, I beat him at a competition, a competition to make the world's best machine. He made his supercomputer, and I made...Flying shoes"
"How did you win?!" Max snorted "The computer is way more awesome, no offence"
Hank laughed "Yeah, but Steve's machine was intended for evil, where as mine was harmless, so I won and he lost"
"That's so cool" Billy grinned "Shame Nora destroyed it though"
"I had to!"
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"Kids come on, that's enough" Barb sighed looking at her watch it's 1 am you should be in bed"
"We'll be up in a minute, we'll just get things sorted down here" Phoebe told her with a smile.
Hank and Barb said goodnight and trailed upstairs, after ensuring that all the doors and windows were locked.
...
"That was the most fun I've ever had when you two babysit" Billy joked as he ran round picking up all the broken glass.
"Never again" Phoebe groaned, using her telekinesis to put the furniture up the right way.
"I was totally in control though" Max bluffed, attempting to use his freezing to fix the vase.
Once the living room began to look normal again, the 4 turned to each other.
"Not gonna lie, I was scared" Nora admitted, bowing her head
Max ruffled her hair "Me too kiddo"
Phoebe nodded in agreement along with Billy.
"Especially when Phoebe went all droopy" he added.
Nora yawned, setting the others off too
"I'm going to bed, I feel like I could sleep for a week!"
"Me too!"
Max and Phoebe watched as their younger siblings climbed upstairs.
"You really had me going there" he muttered, hopping on the back of the couch
"Sorry"
"You know, we go around pretending to hate each other, and that's fine, I like it how it is, but after today..."
Max trailed off and slid back to his feet, wandering over to the door of his room.
"Just, don't ever leave me okay?" he said sincerely, before disappearing inside.
Phoebe stood in shock. Had Max just shown genuine concern and sibling love?
She shook her head "I won't" she said quietly, switching off the lights, plunging the house into darkness once more.
Man that was long, sorry if you hated it, I just felt like writing a Thunderman fanfic after watching the latest episode the other night. Hope some of you liked it! :)