It was about to be movie night at Cherry's house. Luckily for her and her friends, Drell was taking time off from them for a little while to have a romantic vacation with Hilda so he wouldn't be sending them away on adventures for a while. Right now, she was making popcorn in the kitchen and looked over to a tangerine-colored teddy bear who seemed to stare at her with his big, black, marble eyes, and she soon looked around before hugging the bear since no one else was around.
Lionel walked over to her. "Who's the bear?" he asked curiously.
"Gah!" Cherry yelped, hiding the teddy bear in her sweatshirt and looked over with her hands in her pockets. "What bear?"
"The orange bear you just put into your sweatshirt," Lionel replied. "I'm not gonna laugh or anything. Hero's promise."
Cherry looked away. "Oh, good, popcorn..." she then said. She soon saw that Lionel's gaze wasn't going away and soon turned herself around, unzipping her sweatshirt, and took out the teddy bear. "Okay... This is Tangie."
"Oh..." Lionel replied, gently shaking its paw. "Nice to meet'cha, Tangie."
"Hey, there!" Cherry said, trying to make a cartoony voice for her teddy bear.
Lionel giggled a little at this. "I know this is the first time we've met, Tangie, but I hope we can be great friends." he replied.
"I do like to make new friends," Cherry continued. "Especially when they hug me!" she then playfully threw Tangie out onto Lionel to make her bear hug him.
Lionel squeed internally as he hugged the bear back. "D'aww...!" he gushed.
Cherry then went to check on the popcorn as it popped in the microwave.
"I hope that isn't a magic microwave." Lionel said.
"Please," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I've had enough magic for a week... Luckily, it'll last that long." She then smirked.
"If you say so..." Lionel replied, placing Tangie onto a nearby table.
"Uh-oh... It's popping out of control..." Cherry soon panicked.
"Where did you BUY that popcorn?!" Lionel asked.
The others soon came to the door, but Cherry ran out of it.
"Incoming!" Cherry yelped.
The microwave soon seemed to explode with popcorn flooding the house and reaching out to the neighborhood with all of them buried in it. Then, one-by-one, they each popped out of the pile like gophers.
"So... Anyone know where one could find an industrial-size tub of butter?" asked Furrball.
"Cherry, where did you get this popcorn?!" Atticus asked.
"My grandma did the grocery shopping this week." Cherry replied.
Lionel blinked.
"That explains it..." Sabrina said, spitting some popcorn out of her mouth. "Ugh... Salty."
One of the neighbors looked in shock and horror.
"Uh... You saw nothing, Mr. Taylor!" Cherry told him nervously. "You're sleepwalking again! Heh... Do you think he bought it?" she then asked the others.
"Nah..." Lionel replied. "And he'll probably be visiting his therapist again."
The man soon ran off back into his home.
Eventually, the popcorn was collected, and the others began to rub and shake the popcorn that got in their hair and fur.
"So, what movie are we watching?" Sabrina asked.
"You guys need to watch Spawn!" Cathleen told them, jumping in the middle. "Hi!"
"Uh, hi, Cath..." Cherry said.
"Hi..." Lionel replied. "And what the heck is Spawn?"
Cathleen gasped dramatically with an over-the-top expression. "You've never heard of Spawn?!"
Atticus chuckled as that made him think of when Starlight asked Rainbow Dash who the Wonderbolts were.
"Cath, it's my house... I'll decide what we watch," Cherry crossed her arms before looking to Lionel. "The Hellspawn are controlled by Malebolgia, the supreme master of Hell, and are mainly used as an officer corps for his army of Hell, although they were not created by Malebolgia and existed before him," she then explained from what she knew from Cathleen. "Hellspawns are infused with dark energy, called neoplasm, when they are created, but this power is finite when outside of Hell."
Lionel cringed. "Ugh... Sounds gruesome. Not to mention confusing..." he replied as black smoke began churning from his ears.
"You guys haven't lived." Cathleen pouted.
"I thought we could watch an animated classic." Cherry said, taking out a DVD of Toy Story.
"One, everyone has a different definition of living," Lionel replied. "Second... OOH! TOY STORY!"
"I thought we could watch a classic," Cherry said as she went to put the movie in. "Who hasn't watched this as a kid?"
"I don't know much about Toy Story myself," Patch smiled. "Someone mind telling me?"
"It's about this cowboy doll named Woody who's the favorite of this kid named Andy," Lionel explained. "But when Andy gets this toy called Buzz Lightyear for his birthday, Woody sees that he's no longer the favorite... But then they later have to learn how to work together. Seeing it is better than being told about it, trust me."
"Hmm... Well, all right," Patch said. "It does sound promising."
"I remember when I was little and I thought my toys would come to life every time I left the room, I always kept a close eye on them." Cherry said.
"I remember that," Atticus chuckled. "Every time it was time to eat, you always made sure Tangie wouldn't leave your bed."
"Like he'd wanna," Lionel replied. "I know I wouldn't!"
"I used to have this old rag doll that my grandmother gave me for my first birthday," Sabrina said softly. "I miss her a lot... She died when I was very young though... Drell let me visit her once though so that I could tell her I was a witch."
"I guess she was your mother's mother?" Cherry guessed.
"Yeah... I miss her a lot..." Sabrina nodded softly.
"He did something like that for me too..." Cherry said about seeing someone who had died without them coming back to life.
"Wow..." Lionel replied, patting them both on the shoulders.
"You know I could always bring her back if you want." Atticus said to Cherry.
"I think temporary visits in the plain are good on occasion," Cherry replied. "Thanks anyway."
Atticus soon smiled, even if she didn't smile back to him.
"Anyways...let's watch this thing!" Lionel exclaimed.
Cherry soon took out the remote once the video was ready and soon clicked play. And the group settled onto the popcorn pile as the movie started...not noticing that the screen began to flicker with magical energy.
"You ever feel like something strange might happen?" Cathleen asked.
"I'm not saying anything," Cherry said. "I thought you were with Rex. Why are you here?"
"He's busy at the Providence Headquarters." Cathleen replied, taking some popcorn.
"I see..." Lionel replied. "At least we get the week off from being in the Justice League. These new recruits that Hawkgirl mentioned are from this burg called New Eden City..."
"When do I get to be apart of the Justice League?" Cathleen asked.
"When are you stop going to get greedy?" Cherry replied.
"Yeah," Lionel nodded. "Even I know I can't be part of most adventures, but that's because I was either busy with other stuff or just chose not to get involved. Especially considering you spent most of our adventure career badmouthing Equestria even though you hadn't even BEEN there, but the moment that they get to freaking kill Sombra with a friendship laser of death, THEN you're suddenly willing to give it a chance? As the saying goes...too little, TOO LATE!"
"You're gonna let him talk to me like that?" Cathleen asked Cherry.
"Yes." Cherry replied.
"Sorry, Cathleen, but you kinda deserve that." Sabrina said as she checked her nail polish as some popcorn got under her fingernails.
"Also, if we get sucked into the movie, maybe try NOT to use that lame Jinkies joke from the crossover with Scooby-Doo and Johnny Bravo, because a joke isn't funny if you use it too much," Mo added. "Just try and come up with some new material."
"Why are you being mean to me?" Cathleen asked.
"We're not being mean, we're just trying to help you." Cherry said to her.
Cathleen looked to them and soon decided to leave.
"...Goodbye?!" Cherry called out to her before sighing. "Guys, am I a bad friend? I mean... I do have fun with her, but I just wish she would listen once in a while... I feel like she doesn't sometimes."
"No, of course you're not a bad friend," Lionel replied. "Cath is...just kinda stubborn, that's all. Besides, she'll be back."
"Don't worry about it, Cherry, we're here for you," Atticus said before holding out a handful of kettle corn. "Have some kettle corn."
Cherry looked to him and soon took some as they began to watch the movie, but of course, something began to happen.
"...Please tell me that was just a blackout and not magic." Sabrina begged.
"Close. It was both." Lionel replied.
"I forgot my phone," Cath's voice said. "Wait, why is everything all dark?"
The TV seemed to open up a portal to suck all of them in.
"I'm gonna kill that warlock!" Cherry complained. "He promised that we could take time off! The Justice League promised us!"
"Hey, save some for the rest of us!" Lionel yelled as they were pulled in.
"What the crap?!" Cathleen yelped as she began to join them against her will.
While they were being pulled in, something changed with them, such as altering their appearances to be more toy-like than how they usually looked, and it also put them in their JL superhero outfits.
"Where is he?!" Cherry glared.
"He's on a romantic weekend with Aunt Hilda." Sabrina said.
"Oh, bull!" Cherry glared. "He planned this, I know it!"
"Well, we can chew him out later," Lionel replied. "Besides...instead of WATCHING it, we get to LIVE this adventure! That makes it even BETTER!"
"It wouldn't be the first time." Atticus said.
Sabrina looked to them all and soon tried to make her own superhero outfit with her witch magic.
Lionel, now in his Bat-Mite outfit, shrugged. "It looks alright for what it is." he replied.
"Eh, I did what I could," Sabrina shrugged back, wearing a mask with a simple body-suit outfit with a cape, gloves, and boots. "I don't know what to call myself though."
"Too bad you're not a boy, otherwise we could simply call you Spell Man." Cherry commented.
"That'd be too obvious," Lionel replied. "How about...Mystica?"
"Mystica, huh?" Sabrina replied. "It should work out just fine."
"Sabrina as a superhero... That's an image." Patch commented.
The others soon saw Cathleen.
"Oh, look who's back." Atticus said.
"I forgot my phone, okay?" Cath replied.
"Look, Cath, is it?" Lionel asked. "In life, you're gonna get good advice from some folks. You can either choose to take it and use it to better yourself, or refuse it and make the same old mistakes. It's your call."
"Hey, how come you guys get to be superheros? I wanna be one too!" Cathleen said, changing herself with her own magic.
"Listen to yourself," Cherry said. "I want you to listen to yourself. Also, listen to us. Also, you can't leave once you're in an adventure."
"What happens if I do?" Cathleen asked.
"Drell gets mad and turns someone into a toad." Lionel explained.
"I'll just change myself back." Cathleen said.
"No... You can't..." Cherry replied.
"Sure I can!" Cathleen said. "Are you forgetting that I'm part wizard?"
"No, Cath, you can't," Cherry told her. "Drell's the most powerful man in the universe, his magic pretty much powers over everyone else's... Unless of course he tries to turn Lionel into a pony." she then added before laughing as that was kind of funny.
Lionel took a bow. "A-thank you. A-thank you very much." he grinned.
"His reaction... To turning you into a pony..." Cherry kept laughing in memory from that. "I thought he was gonna explode like a bomb!"
Lionel smirked at that. "Anyways, what we're saying is that sometimes you're not gonna get to be a part of some things...and that's okay. Also, it won't kill you to come up with new jokes instead of just relying on the same old stuff." he explained.
Cathleen looked to them.
Eventually, a spark opened up in a giant looking bedroom for a young boy and they all soon appeared.
"Where are we?" Cherry asked, looking around.
"Giants!" Cathleen panicked.
"Take a look..." Lionel pointed at the walls. "We're in a kid's bedroom! We must be toys now! Like action figures!"
"A giant kid!" Cathleen panicked.
"I think he's normal sized and we're just toy-sized." Cherry told her.
"Oh. Okay." Cathleen said.
"This must be Andy's room," Sabrina guessed. "I guess we're having our own Toy Story."
"See?" Lionel replied. "We get to actually LIVE the movie instead of just watching it!"
"And I'll say again, wouldn't be the first time." Cherry said.
A group looked out to them from under the bed.
"You should talk to them." The potato said to the cowboy.
"Yeah, I agree." The pig agreed, shoving him out.
"Wonder who that is?" Patch asked.
"Um... Hi..." The cowboy doll said to them. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Uh... Not exactly..." Sabrina replied.
"Well, I guess I should tell ya then," The cowboy said. "My name's Woody. Woody Pride. And this is Andy's room."
"Nice to meet'cha," Lionel smiled. "I'm Bat-Might, that's Lady Gothika, Saiyaman, Saiyadog, Mystica, and..."
"Midnight Moon." Cathleen said.
"Midnight Moon." Lionel then said.
"Hmm... Interesting... I can't say I've heard of Andy having toys like you guys before," Woody said. "You must've been a gift set sent in from his grandmother."
"Hmm...sure!" Lionel replied. "Works for me."
The other toys soon came on out.
"You might as well meet everyone," Woody said to them. "Mr. Potato Head, Hamm, Slinky Dog, but we call him Slink, Rex, Sarge and the Bucket O Soldiers, RC, Rocky Gibraltar... There's a lot of us, you can see."
"So we see." Cherry replied.
"Nice to meet you all!" Atticus waved.
"Welcome to Andy's Room, I suppose," Mr. Potato Head shrugged to them. "The peanut gallery too busy."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cathleen glared at him. "You wanna become a mashed potato?!"
"Whoa, Midnight, chill out!" Lionel replied. "He didn't mean anything by it!"
"He called us a peanut gallery!" Cathleen glared.
"Hey, if Mr. Potato Head insults you, it's a compliment!" Cherry told her. "Sheesh, you always get so mad easily, then you 'Go Wolf' to scare off people."
"Yeah, you need to learn to calm down and not take it so seriously!" Lionel added. "Besides, we don't need to start any unnecessary trouble!"
Cathleen just crossed her arms as she felt like the others were picking on her for no reason.
"We're just trying to help you." Atticus said.
"You're one to talk," Cathleen glared. "You always had to try to save the day in the spotlight when we met Rocky and Bullwinkle."
Atticus sighed to that, bowing his head.
"And he doesn't need to feel any more guilty about that," Lionel replied. "We're not picking on you like you think we are, we're simply trying to give you useful advice that WILL help you in the long run."
"Alright, alright." Cathleen mumbled.
They soon heard some footsteps.
"Andy's coming!" Woody warned everybody before dropping to the floor with the other toys.
"Oh, I get it!" Lionel replied as he and the others flopped onto the ground, pretending to be lifeless toys.
Cathleen looked around until Patch pulled her down on the floor with them.
"Well, this is going to be interesting." Sabrina whispered.
"Yep." Atticus replied as Andy came into his bedroom.