Sportacus watched as "Lazycus" stumbled away in the defective shoes, his feet flying every which way. The man had caused some real trouble with his antics, but before Sportacus could chase after him he had fled the scene exceptionally fast considering he had no control of his feet. Stephanie ran up to Sportacus with the real shoes and cleaned them off for him, a happy grin on her face as usual. But despite everything working out in the end, Sportacus couldn't shake the feeling of disapproval he felt in the villians actions. He couldn't do anything now to confront the man about his behaviour, but he decided that when the day was done, he would have a very long talk with Robbie.
It wasn't until the sun set that Sportacus finally had time to think about how he would handle the situation. The rest of the day had been filled with saving the reckless kids left and right, making it nearly impossible for him to have a moment to himself. But now that he was in his ship alone, he replayed the days events as he chopped up some sports fruit for his dinner. He certainly couldn't allow the man's misdeeds to go unnoticed, but at the same time he was very unsure of how to confront an adult about bad behavior. With children it was easy, a stern look and mild scolding if it was necessary usually took care of any behavioral issues, but an adult? Surely if he talked to Robbie he would see the error of his ways and start behaving with conduct more fitted for an adult.
Just then, his crystal began flashing and he jumped into action, practically flying down the rope to help whoever was in trouble but it was dark already and everybody had already gone inside, most of the kids having alread been put to bed. Sportacus heard a small shriek come from above him and looked up to see Robbie clinging for dear life to a branch up high in a tree. "Robbie! Are you alright?" His only response was a small whimper, one of which Robbie sincerely hoped Sportacus hadn't heard. "How did you get up there?"
Robbie took in a deep breath and explained quickly, "the shoes." Sportacus nodded in understanding, realizing that the remote controlled shoes must have caused poor Robbie to jump up into the tree somehow. It appeared that Robbie had taken the shoes off once he was up high in the tree, as they were strewn across the ground at the base of the trunk.
Sportacus held his arms open and outstretched towards Robbie, "I will catch you," he assured, but Robbie simply shook his head, refusing to let go of the branch. Sportacus gave a small smile and stepped closer, fully prepared to catch the man. There was a long silence of Sportacus reassuringly gesturing for him to let go, and Robbie looking away and scoffing, before finally Robbie gave in and let go of the branch. He fell like a rock but Sportacus was there to catch him just as he promised. "There, that wasn't so bad was it?" He placed the man on his feet and Robbie scrambled away, his face red with embarassment. As he turned to run, Sportacus caught his arm with a vice like grip. "Wait, I need to speak with you, Robbie."
"Yes thank you Sportakook," he turned to leave again but the hero was having none of it.
"No, no, I need to speak with you about what you did today." Robbie's face fell at the mention of his failed plan and he tried to tug his arm away but Sportacus' grip was unmoving. "I want to know what you were thinking when you switched my shoes."
"It was just a joke you crazy elf," Robbie sneered, frustrated that the man wouldn't release his arm.
"I understand you were just having fun but you must understand that stunts like that effect everyone around you. You could have hurt someone today with the shoes. I almost kicked the mayor and that's dangerous." Robbie yanked away again, making Sportacus hold tighter. "Robbie I am trying to have a conversation with you. Please listen."
Robbie huffed and tugged again, shouting "Let go of me Sportahoof!" The elf's expression turned to one of mild annoyance and he released the man's arm, causing Robbie to tumble back slightly.
"Surely you understand that you can't put people in danger?" there was a hint of hopefullness in Sportacus' voice; he was sure that Robbie was capable of behaving like an adult.
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Robbie sneered, turning away and stomping back home.
Robbie's rude response caught Sportacus off guard and he caught the taller man by his bicep again, a firm expression on his face. "If I catch you putting people in danger again, Robbie, we will be having an entirely different conversation." Robbie stared back at the other man and immediately brushed off his warning, leaving as soon as the other man let go of his arm.
Sportacus watched Robbie walk away, worried about whether or not he had actually made his message clear. What would he do if Robbie did pull another stunt? Could he talk to him again or would it be just as useless as this conversation had been? He sighed and went back to his ship, hoping that the man would realize he was in the wrong without Sportacus having to use harsher methods. What else could he do besides talk to the man? Lock him up? Ground him? He laughed at the thought of grounding Robbie Rotten, imagining the man upset over not being allowed to eat cake. Then again, perhaps it would do Robbie some good to have someone show they cared about him.