"Calm down, 'Wing." Cyborg tried to look around him to see the TV.
"He's going to be here any minute." Nightwing paced.
"So what?" Changeling didn't see what the problem was. "Didn't you talk to him on the phone?"
"Talking on the phone & spending time in person is two very different things, Changeling!" Nightwing gave him a withering look.
"Batman is cool. Why do you trip so much?" Kid Flash didn't get it.
"He's cool to you guys! He gave me hell growing up. I don't want that to rub off on Chris."
"You're his dad. He's going to act like you." Cyborg reassured him.
"I'm telling you, Bruce has a way about him!" Nightwing couldn't explain it. "He has this way of making people do what he wants."
"You're eighteen years old." Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "Stop being afraid of your daddy & be a man!"
"I am not afraid of him." Nightwing wasn't sure if that was the complete truth. "Just think of how confused Chris is going to be when he starts telling stories from his adventures!"
"Kids love stories." Changeling snorted. "You're freaking out over nothing. You don't see Rae flippin out over Wonder Woman."
T-H-A-N-K•Y-O-U
"I'm stressed out." Raven admitted dryly.
"How bad can this be? Realistically?" Terra wanted to know.
"We get in a huge fight & everyone sides with her." Raven said immediately.
"You've thought about this." Jinx filed her nails.
"I can't stop. She calls me every week to give me "pearls of wisdom"." She pulled a face. "She sends me links to websites about child safety & nutrition. Stories about children dying in strange accidents. Recalled food. She even once called to see if I was hugging Charlotte enough."
"She just wants to be a good grandmother." Bumble Bee assured her.
"It's driving me mad. When she said she wanted to be Charlotte's surrogate grandmother, I thought it would be a good idea so I could have feminine help but she goes too far."
"Maybe it's her maternal side seeping out?" Jinx suggested. "It's not like she has any kids & this is the first time she's been able to do anything like it. She's able to be a mother & grandmother in one fell swoop."
"Why do I have to suffer?!"
Bumble Bee laughed. "I'm glad Sparky & I don't have to worry about that."
"Wait until Christmas when Green Lantern comes."
"He's not my father." The sporty brown eyed girl shrugged.
Starfire shook her hands & finally spoke. "I wish I had parents to invite for the holidays. You are worried about what they will say & do. I wish I could as well."
"You could take Diana." Raven offered.
Starfire giggled, breaking her somber retrospection. "Then whom will you have?"
Raven smiled. "I'll take Superman from Changeling."
"It's not like he wants him." Jinx snorted. "He was so rude at the party!"
"He was just really protective of Charlotte." Raven had really liked that.
"Like a mama bear protecting her cub." Terra teased.
"Okay. I think all this stuff is done." Bumble Bee quickly rubbed her hands together. They'd been making snacks for the game watching boys while they cooked Thanksgiving dinner.
They had chips & dip (homemade along with store-bought), ham rolled onions, hummus, carrots, celery, pigs-in-a-blanket, sliders, sliced meats & cheeses with crackers & pretzels. They had hot, naked & buffalo wings, broccoli & asparagus.
"Star & I will bring this stuff out & we'll have more space to work."
The redhead & brunette left with the food as the others continued the prep work for dinner.
"Seriously, stop stressing, Raven." Jinx chopped potatoes. "It's not like she's coming here expressly to ruin your life. & Charlie likes her."
"She does." Raven had to admit. Charlotte had gotten over her initial shyness & taken to the iconic super heroine.
"Then you just let her play with Charlie & relax." Terra said.
"I don't even know why she wants to be here. We just cook dinner & watch the parade."
T-H-A-N-K•Y-O-U
"This game is lame." Cyborg stuffed another cheese covered chip into his mouth. "Let's go outside & play football."
"I'm good with that." Changeling broke his celery stalk in half & gave a piece to Charlotte, who was sitting in his lap in a pretty purple dress.
"Who's going to watch Cal?" Kid Flash asked.
"We'll just stick him in the kitchen." Cyborg sat up.
"& the girls won't mind the extra work of watching a five month old?" Nightwing snorted.
"Or they can take the fifteen extra steps to check on him in here." It didn't make Cyborg no difference. He wanted to go outside.
Changeling laughed. "Bee's going to cuss you out!"
"Don't she always?"
"You don't have to aggravate her." Nightwing pointed out.
"I'm lovely!" Cyborg argued. The guys fell out laughing.
"She doesn't see it that way."
"They never admit to liking us." Kid Flash sulked.
"Jinx would admit to liking you if you didn't flirt with anything that moved." Changeling continued to feed his daughter half of whatever he picked up.
"I don't think that's it."
Cyborg laughed & stood. "Come on. Let's go!"
"Want to play football, Chris?" Nightwing handed Christopher a dough covered hot dog.
The little boy chewed thoughtfully. "How do I play?"
"You get to hold a ball & run all over." Kid Flash explained.
Christopher grinned, mushed hot dog in his mouth. "Yeah!"
"Alright!" Cyborg cheered. "What about you, Charlie?"
Charlotte took the carrot out of her mouth. "Will I stay clean?"
Changeling thought quickly. "If you do it right."
Charlotte eyed him dubiously. "I'll watch."
He snapped his fingers. She was too smart for him. "Okay. Want to take some veggies outside?" She nodded so he grabbed a napkin & folded up some vegetables.
"Who has the football?" Kid Flash asked once they'd made it to the elevator.
T-H-A-N-K•Y-O-U
"Alright, you lean over & wait for me to hand you the ball then run to the trees." Cyborg explained to Christopher, who nodded.
"No using your powers, Kid!" Changeling warned the notorious cheater.
Cyborg snickered before turning back to Christopher. "Try not to let your dad & Uncle Wally stop you."
"Got it!" Christopher raised a thumb.
"Okay! Let's play ball!" The guys dropped to their hunches & Cyborg began calling out numbers before lightly tossing Christopher the football.
Christopher stood stock still for a moment before moving his little body in the direction of the grove of trees on the island. His short legs was gaining him no favor as he stumbled over the uneven ground.
Nightwing ran towards him & scooped him up in one fell swoop. "Intercepted!"
"Aww man!" Christopher pouted.
Nightwing chuckled. "Good try though."
"What's the score, Charlie?" Kid Flash asked.
Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know how to count."
Changeling laughed. "It's okay. We don't have to keep score."
"Yes, we do!" Cyborg looked at him like he lied. "How else are we going to let them know they're smoked?"
"In case you forgot, I got your quarterback." Nightwing lifted Christopher higher.
"We still gained three yards!"
The guys' laughter was cut off by the sound of approaching tires.
Nightwing scowled. "He's here."
"Anybody could be using the bridge." Changeling pointed out.
"I can feel the dark cloud of oppressive judgment. It's him."
Christopher poked Nightwing's furrowed forehead. "Who's coming?"
"Wait for it."
A limo stopped in the long drive. A uniformed driver stepped out & went around to open the door. A dark haired man in a suit stepped out crisply. He wore a long black overcoat & expensive shoes as he moved out of the way of the small dark hair tween that exited behind him.
Lastly, the driver helped out a black haired woman in heels. The driver shut the door then got back in the elongated car & drove away.
"Dick!" Tim Drake waved.
"Tim!" Nightwing threw up a hand.
"Stop acting like you're at the dentist." Changeling bumped his shoulder.
"I'd rather be there every day of the year." Nightwing bit off as the handsome trio walked over.
"Cheer up! It's not a funeral." He waited for Nightwing to contradict him.
Nightwing knew he couldn't. "I'm smiling."
Changeling looked at the straight lips on his friend's face. "It's welcoming."
The three finally reached the others.
Batman, Bruce Wayne stuck his hand out to Nightwing. "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Happy Thanksgiving." Nightwing shook it.
"Happy holidays." Diana gave each of the young men hugs before making a beeline for Charlotte.
"What are you guys doing outside?" Tim asked.
"Playing football." Cyborg said as awkwardness set in.
Tim fidgeted for a moment. "Is this him?"
Nightwing came to attention. "Yes. Chris, this is your uncle Tim."
"Hi!" Christopher held out the football.
Tim took it. "Hey. What's the score?"
"We don't know. Charlie can't count."
"You can't either!" Charlotte yelled. Changeling snickered.
"That's Charlie." Christopher pointed. "She's my best friend. Who's your best friend?"
Tim was so surprised he actually thought about it. "I don't think I have one."
"Why not?"
Again Tim was stunned into honesty. "I guess I'm not brought up to let my guard down enough."
Bruce could see how that could be construed to be his fault (especially with the way Nightwing pursed his lips) so he took the three year old from his father & set him on his feet. "Have you been behaving for your parents?"
"Yes." Christopher nodded.
"Do you know what behaving means?"
"No."
Kid Flash had to bite his fist so he wouldn't laugh.
"It means that you're doing what your parents say." Bruce went on.
"Oh. I do." Christopher happily reported.
"Good lad."
"Well I'm going to take Charlotte inside. I'm not wearing the shoes for football." Diana gestured to her heels.
"The girls are in the kitchen." Kid Flash offered.
"Thank you." Diana turned to leave. "This is a pretty dress, Charlotte. Did your mommy pick it out?"
"I did." They heard Charlotte reply.
"Let's get back to the game." Cyborg smirked at the girl's affronted tone.
"I've never played football before." Tim said.
"Then you can be on their team."
"It doesn't matter who's on our team, you're still going down, rust bucket!" Kid Flash trash-talked.
"We're gonna stomp a mudhole in you, roadrunner!"
Changeling rolled his eyes, glad to not be arguing for once. "There is a kid here. Relax."
Nightwing smirked. "It sucks to be the mature one, doesn't it?"
"It's boring." Changeling grinned.
"If you're going to be on our team, all you have to do is run that way & try not to let Changeling, Cyborg or Christopher catch you." Nightwing explained to Tim.
Tim nodded. "Okay. Sounds easy enough."
Bruce had taken Charlotte's seat & was watching intently.
Changeling, Christopher & Cyborg walked back by the garden. Kid Flash, Nightwing & Tim arranged themselves by the grove.
Kid Flash bent over & held the ball between his fingers. "Twenty four! Thirty two! Fifty six! Hut! Hut! Hike!"
Nightwing caught the ball & ran to the garden, Changeling on his tail. It was wide open space so he couldn't hide but he could duck & weave, which he did.
Changeling leapt in the air & caught Nightwing by his ankles.
"Does that count?" Nightwing lifted his face from the dirt.
Cyborg came over. "I don't know. We don't really have any markers. What do you think?"
Kid Flash frowned. "I don't think it should."
"Of course you don't!" Changeling snapped as he hopped to his feet.
Nightwing got up slowly. He'd slid a little on his bare stomach & it hurt. "It can count."
"How magnanimous of you." Cyborg drolled.
"That sounds like one of Rae's words." Changeling scratched his head.
"She probably knows it."
Changeling gave him a dark look. "I want to change teammates!"
T-H-A-N-K•Y-O-U
Diana stepped off the lift & went down the small amount of stairs into the common room before going into the kitchen. "Happy Thanksgiving!"
All activity in the kitchen stopped. "Happy Thanksgiving, Diana!"
"Do you need any help?" Diana walked to Raven.
"No. We're just putting things in the oven." Raven wiped her hands on a towel before taking Charlotte.
"What are you making?"
"Turkey, tofurkey, pot roast, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, greens, candied yams, green beans with potatoes & bacon, creamed corn, cranberry sauce, cornbread & yeast rolls." Bumble Bee listed.
"We also have baked the pumpkin & sweet potato pies." Starfire added.
"That all sounds good." Diana was impressed. "What are you baking first?"
"We just need to bake the meat & rolls." Jinx said.
"How long will that take? You're not going to stay in the kitchen the whole time, are you?"
"The guys are outside so we were just going to watch TV." Terra noticed how stiff Raven was.
"It's said that you shouldn't let a little one watch television for more than thirty minutes a day."
Raven looked at Jinx. It's starting already!
As if she could read minds, Jinx grinned. "I think that's propaganda invented by the book industry."
Diana frowned. "Did you read an article about it?"
"You know, Diana, Charlie has some really cool toys Sparky's made her." Bumble Bee rushed to smooth things over.
"Are they safe?"
"Cyborg wouldn't make anything less." Raven said stiffly before Bumble Bee could say exactly what she thought.
"Would you like to show me your toys?" Diana asked Charlotte.
"I can drive." Charlotte flew out of Raven's arms & into the common room.
Diana looked confused at the girls but they only smiled vaguely so she followed behind. As soon as she left, the girls released a sigh of relief.
"You were right." Terra admitted immediately. "This is awful!"
"She is neurotic!" Bumble Bee spat.
"I'm sorry, Karen." Raven sighed. "That was really rude. Cyborg would never designed something dangerous for anyone."
Bumble Bee relaxed. "I know he wouldn't. It's not your fault she's taking this grandma thing to the max."
"What are we to do with her?" Starfire asked. "We were to finish our daily viewing of the Small Dishonest that are Physically Pleasing."
"I'm not changing for her." Raven felt particularly stubborn. "We're going to put the meat in the oven then go in there & watch Pretty Little Liars like we planned!"
"She's not the type to talk all through a show, is she?" Jinx groaned. "I want to see if Ezra gets to apologize to Aria & if I miss it, I'm going to hex her to next week!"
"I don't think the aggression is needed." Terra reared back.
"They're my OTP." Jinx sniffed.
"Hanna & Caleb are the one true pairing!" Starfire argued.
"Why did Maya have to die?" Bumble Bee sighed.
"So Paige could have a chance." Terra showed her the light.
"Paige tried to kill her!"
"You need to let that go."
Raven, who was a fan of Spencer & Toby, smirked. "She admired Maya."
"She was barely on!"
"But she made the biggest impact on Emily." Bumble Bee sassed.
Terra rolled her eyes & sucked her teeth.
Starfire giggled. "Let us make the haste with the meal & rejoin to the sofa to view our program!"
The other girls laughed. The oven, preset, was opened & the meats were settled inside. The quintet cleaned the kitchen quickly & left the room to see Charlotte showing Diana her toys.
"It lights up the whole room!" Charlotte was saying.
"That's so nice!" Diana smiled. "Do you use it a lot?"
"No. I like to sleep in the almost dark." Charlotte shook her head.
Raven held out her hands for her. "We're going to watch our show now."
Charlotte shot up & over to Raven happily. "Caleb!"
"He is most rugged." Starfire & Charlotte had the biggest crushes on the long haired actor.
"Toby has refined features." Raven walked with Charlotte to the couch.
"Ezra is the hottest teacher I've ever seen! Hands down!" Jinx made the gesture.
"He does have nice eyes." Terra admitted.
"He is a nice man." Starfire went on.
"& he's incredibly educated." Raven sat down.
"Nobody ever said he was ugly!" Bumble Bee burst out with.
They all laughed.
"What do you think about Ezra, little one?" Jinx asked Charlotte.
Charlotte made a considering face. "He's really cute."
Jinx threw her hands up. "Yes! I win! I have the cutest character!"
"Not true!" Raven & Starfire argued.
"What are you talking about?" Diana asked.
"The Small Dishonest that are Physically Pleasing." Starfire said.
"Excuse me?" Diana was confused.
"She means Pretty Little Liars." Jinx told her.
"Dean." Charlotte scrambled off her mother's lap to go to the food ladened table & pick up a hot dog covered with biscuit.
"Bean?" Terra misunderstood.
"Sounds like she said eat." Jinx strained to understand.
"Dean." Charlotte said again. "I want Dean."
Bumble Bee jumped in the air. "Yes! She's talking about Dean."
"Ugh!" Raven rolled her eyes. "I don't know why she likes him so much. He's so type A."
"He's sexy as sin!" Bumble Bee shot back.
"Are you talking about Winchester Dean because Sammy is beautiful!" Jinx argued.
"Sam." Starfire hovered three feet off the ground.
"I'm alone on the Adam train." Terra sighed.
"Who are you talking about? Is Winchester a show?" Diana couldn't keep up with all these new young shows.
"Winchester is a name." Jinx corrected. "The last name of the most good-looking set of boys on the planet."
"Or off." Starfire made a face. "I have not encountered a Sam on my planet."
"These shows. What are they about?" Diana wanted to make the effort to connect to these girls.
"Pretty Little Liars is a show about a group of friends whose friend goes missing & someone blackmails them about the events of that summer. It has a bunch of twists & turns & anyone could be the blackmailer." Jinx explained.
"Supernatural is about two brothers who fight monsters on a cross country road trip to find their dad." Bumble Bee went on.
"So these Winchester boys are cute?" Diana could talk about boys.
"Dean has these amazing clear green eyes that radiate pain." Bumble Bee waxed poetry on Jensen Ackles. "He has a strong jaw & a great body. The only reason people think he's short is because he stands next to that giant Sam. Dean is as tall as Nightwing."
"Sam is not a giant!" Starfire slammed her fists on her hips. "He is most intelligent & resourceful!"
"He has pretty blue eyes & he's built like a skyscraper." Jinx melted.
"I think Adam is much more appealing!" Terra was sick of them pretending Adam Winchester wasn't cute. "He's the baby & he grew up with just his mom. He was eaten for Pete's sake!"
"But he gave in to the angels & said yes to Michael!" Bumble Bee would never forgive him for that.
"He didn't know they cared about him!"
"They said they did & Dean never lies!"
"He lied about killing that monster Sam saved when he was a kid!" Jinx pointed out.
"She was going to kill again."
"She promised she would not." Starfire had gotten emotional on that episode. "She was simply caring for her young. How can you find fault with that?"
"She's a monster."
"You're only saying that because you like Dean so much." Raven teased. "If Cal got sick, you would def. do anything to make him better."
Bumble Bee blew out a breath. "Fine! She might not have killed again & yes, Dean does lie but the entire point is, Adam defected! No room for traitors."
"People make mistakes." Terra pouted.
"We never said he was unattractive." Raven patted her arm. "& no one is perfect."
"Dean let Adam rot in the cage because he obviously only loves Sam!"
Bumble Bee sputtered. "Death let him pick only one!"
"He took all of one second to think it over!"
"That was cold." Jinx admitted.
"It's his little brother." Bumble Bee sulked.
"So's Adam!" Terra crossed her arms.
"All of you picked the wrong one." Raven decided to stir things up. "Castiel is perfect."
"The half demon's in love with the angel." Jinx snorted with an eye-roll.
"He's sweet, naïve, loyal & caring. He always tries to do the right thing."
"Like when he tried to be God?" Bumble Bee sassed.
"He makes one mistake!"
Diana couldn't help but laugh. Their banter was amusing & it did stoke her curiosity to find out what exactly they were talking about. "When does this show come on?"
"Fridays but we're rewatching the series on Netflix because we can't get that channel." Bumble Bee grumbled.
"Let us show her the first episode." Starfire was excited to show off her favorite program.
"Everyone get your food now so nobody's in the way." Jinx advised.
The women grabbed paper plates & loaded up on snacks then sat down.
Raven was closest to the remote so she switched the HTMI & found the remote to use for Netflix. Then she went to her account & clicked on Continue Watching so she could find Supernatural faster. She found it then pressed play from the beginning.
T-H-A-N-K•Y-O-U
"Alright, I'm tired!" Cyborg breathed hard.
"Why aren't you tired yet?!" Nightwing didn't understand how Christopher was still running in circles.
"He's a child." Bruce was amused (though no one could see it). "They have boundless energy."
"Even Tim called it quits."
Tim was currently lying on the ground, cloud gazing.
"I think we made a bad decision to switch to tackle." Changeling rotated his shoulder.
"Man, I'm hungry!" Kid Flash complained.
"Me too. You think dinner's ready?" Cyborg hoped so.
"Let's go check." Changeling was all for food.
"Come on, Chris!" Nightwing called to the little boy, who was wildly spinning in circles now.
Christopher immediately stopped & sprinted to his father. "Where are we going?"
"Inside. It's time to eat."
"Yay!" Christopher started dancing.
"You got the right idea, little man." Cyborg picked up the football.
Tim stood up, having heard the word "food", & dusted himself off.
The males walked to the front door then to the elevator. They rode up to the top floor & exited the lift in anticipation of a good meal.
What they found was the girls watching the television screen with such an intensity that they were sure that the world could have ended & they wouldn't have known nor cared.
"Guys?" Nightwing walked over first. "Is the food done?"
The girls shushed him en masse.
He jumped back, startled. "But-?"
They shushed him again.
"What are they watching?" Kid Flash wanted to know.
Changeling crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Supernatural. I can see the angst from here."
Nightwing, Kid Flash & Cyborg groaned.
"What's Supernatural?" Bruce asked.
"Complete cow dung."
"It's a show about these brothers that fight monsters." Cyborg sucked his teeth.
Bruce's lips twitched. "What's wrong with that?"
"They're these tall muscle bound guys that these girls drool over." Kid Flash gritted his teeth.
"Can't take the competition?"
"Not when we lose every time." Changeling grumped.
Bruce grinned. "You have to show them reality is better than fantasy."
"Easy for you to say. They have hearts in their eyes when they look at them but daggers when they look at us." Cyborg huffed.
"Go over there & turn that TV off."
"I'm not trying to die!" Nightwing refused.
"You will not die." Bruce rolled his eyes.
"Then you do it."
"Here's the remote." Kid Flash was a blur before he tossed it to Bruce.
Bruce pursed his lips before pressing the button to turn off the program. The girls reared back in confused shock before searching for the remote.
"Did it fall into the couch?" Jinx asked.
"I don't see it!" Terra moaned.
"He got it!" Charlotte pointed behind them.
As one, they all turned slowly to see the remote in Bruce's hand. The man in question was prepping his speech on the frivolousness of television watching when they all moved into action.
Diana stood, arms akimbo. Jinx's eyes glowed & her fingertips sparked pink energy. Bumble Bee matched with yellow sparks leaping from her fingers. Terra's eyes glowed yellow. Raven's eyes turned red & multiplied. Starfire's eyes & fists glowed green & little Charlotte turned into a king cobra.
Nightwing, Changeling, Kid Flash, Cyborg, Christopher & Tim moved away from Bruce & pointed to him. "He did it!"
T-H-A-N-K•Y-O-U
Bruce threw down the scrubber & ripped off his gloves with a scowl. He was finally done with the meal's dishes. He walked from the kitchen & approached the sofa in the common room. "I've finished."
"Good." Diana held her head high. "It's time for us to go anyway."
He growled under his breath. "Get your coat, Tim."
Tim moved from his place slowly, eyes on the screen. "& they just light the bones on fire & the ghosts go away?"
"Yes!" Starfire smiled widely.
"That's so cool! I wanna light someone's bones on fire!"
"Tim!" Bruce pulled him away from the couch. "You're never watching this again."
Tim grumbled all the way to his coat.
"Thank you for showing me this amazing show. I'm going to have to find the DVDs immediately." Diana pulled on her coat.
"Let's go." Bruce hated Supernatural.
The boys snickered at his hateful tone.
"It's been lovely & dinner was fabulous." Diana waved.
"It was good to see you." Terra said.
"Give Grandma a hug, Charlotte." Diana held her arms open.
Charlotte hugged Diana before climbing back on her mother's lap.
"Thank you for the invitation. We'll talk soon." Bruce spoke to Nightwing as he hurried Diana & Tim out the door.
Nightwing waved pleasantly as the door shut. He released a breath.
"How you feelin'?" Cyborg joked.
"That was better than expected."
"It was a pleasant enough visit." Raven conceded.
"But you're happy they're not coming back for Christmas, aren't you?" Changeling guessed.
They both gave him droll looks. "Yes!"