(A/N: Okay, here's the first chapter of "Keswick & Claire". I think you know what's going to happen, so I'll start the chapter.)

It was a fine early autumn day in the city of Petropolis. The bad guys were causing trouble, but Dudley, Kitty, Bruce, and Katrina were able to stop them and throw 'em in jail. However, this story has to do with Keswick, and he's in the lab at T.U.F.F. right now. To paraphrase, we're going there! Come on!

We find Keswick exactly where I said he'd be: in the lab at T.U.F.F. At that moment, Keswick was busy labeling his inventions. But he's also kind of miffed right now.

He's over his fear of girls, but he's really unlucky when it comes to finding love, mainly because women don't seem to like him. The only way he got women to like him was when he used an invention that caused them to like a guy like him. The relationships that he got on his own were always ruined by his mom.

But not so long ago, his most recent girlfriend, Tammy the secretary (who liked him for saving her life), called off their relationship. However, she did assure Keswick that they could still be friends. Keswick accepted that, but it didn't make him feel any better. All he wanted was a girl that loved him enough to never leave him.

Keswick wondered why he couldn't find love. Most importantly, he wondered if his mom loved him enough to let him find the right girl. He felt like he'd never be loved.

"Why is it that every time I f-f-find love on my own, my mom has to go and ruin it? That's enough to force me to give up on l-l-love! But I want love! I j-j-just wish there was someone..." Keswick said to himself.

"Maybe someday I'll g-g-get lucky and find someone that Mom won't ruin my ch-ch-chances with." Keswick said with a sigh. He always hoped that he would be able to find someone, anyone, who could love him, regardless of his mom, and without an invention.

Anyway, Keswick was working so intently (and lost in thought about love), he didn't even notice when the Chief showed up at the entrance to the lab.

"Keswick!" the Chief shouted.

Keswick was so caught off-guard, he almost fell over. But when he realized that it was the Chief, he asked, "Can I help you?"

"I think it's high time you had a partner." the Chief replied.

"But Chief, I don't n-n-need a partner. I've been doing fine without one." Keswick said.

"Too late now. You're getting a partner, so you might as well deal with it." the Chief said.

"Fine. So, who's my p-p-partner?" Keswick asked.

"Hang on." the Chief said. He exited the lab and told somebody, "Get in there!"

When the Chief re-entered the lab, someone else was with him.

The someone was a female who looked a lot like a Keswick. She wore a white lab coat over a hot pink blouse, blue jeans, and plain, black shoes. On her right hand, she wore a mood ring (which was red now, meaning 'nervous'), and she also wore glasses that looked like Keswick's. Anyway, she was short (she's as tall as Keswick), thin, and her fur was cream-colored (just like Keswick's fur).

Keswick couldn't take his eyes off of her. She had to be one of the prettiest girls he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Keswick, say hello to your partner. Her name is Claire." the Chief said.

"Hi..." Keswick nervously said to Claire.

"Hello..." Claire replied, also nervous.

"Okay, I'll let you kids get to work." the Chief said, and he left the lab.

"So, what were you up to?" Claire asked her partner.

"I was l-l-labeling my stuff." Keswick said.

"Okay. I'll help ya." said Claire.

They got right to work, though Keswick couldn't help sneaking looks at Claire every chance he got. At one point, he noticed that the ring she wore changed from red to cerulean.

"Wow! I never saw a r-r-ring do that before!" Keswick exclaimed, going over to Claire so he could get a better look at her ring.

"It's a mood ring. It changes color with my mood. According to the mood chart, I'm feeling 'relaxed'." Claire explained.

"Nice." Keswick said. Then, realizing that they weren't getting anything done, he said, "Okay, let'sget back to w-w-work."

"Right." Claire smiled.

So Keswick got a partner, and it's none other than Claire! Maybe he'll find love with her. Maybe the title is a big give-away. Stay tuned for more!