FREAKS IN THE BACKYARD

Chapter 1

Drew had been ecstatic when she found out she was pregnant. It was the light of hope she clung onto when they discovered the cursed Kur stone eleven years ago. She still remembered vividly, the first soft cries of her baby boy made once he was out and into the world. She never regretted that moment, and she never will. She knew her husband thought the same. Her previously long lost brother, who became her son's only and forever favourite uncle, would never let anything happen to his dear nephew (despite the numerous attempts of rash and reckless behaviour).

After the Naga Kur-sensing artifact glowed on her baby boy, she felt her world shatter around her. It took all she had to regain her composure for the sake of her baby; she couldn't let him think that the Kur they all were bent on destroying was him. No.

They all made sure Zak knew what they thought him. A boy born with special powers, their boy and not the source of evil like the legends and prophecies have said. His actions, his beliefs, and his courage were what made Zak Saturday a hero and their baby boy. Nothing else in the world mattered except that.

They made every precaution to convince the rest of the secret scientists that Kur was that giant carcass at the Himalayas. The Naga relic had been obliterated into dust by Doyle himself, even making sure specks of it were lost forever.

Doc had been adamant in making sure Zak could control his abilities, still. But at the same time, telling his own son that he truly still believed that Zak would always do the right thing with his abilities.

Every adult didn't hesitate to grab their weapons once they heard Zak's shout.

"ZAK!" the large man had his Battle Glove all charged up as he raced to his son's side. The man immediately recognized the duo in front him but did not let his guard done. His wife and brother-in-law did the same.

"Fiskerton, Zon, Komodo, and you too Zak, please head back to the airship." Drew gave all her children the don't-argue-with-me look. She could tell from the faces how they had to bite back their retorts before following her orders.

Once they had cleared, Batman stepped forward.

"I assume you recognize us, Mrs. Saturday?"

"Yes, unfortunately our son does not, he's not very updated of the outside world's other events... you are here for what reason?" Drew had withdrawn her weapon carefully. "We're rather suspicious of visitors, please excuse our... precautions."

She gestured to both the men behind, still armed and ready.

"Please Mrs. Saturday, we mean no harm, I and Batman, on behalf of the Justice League, merely wish for an alliance." Superman didn't want to settle this in violence or tension, not after seeing a child present. "You know the good we do, so please, a benefit of a doubt?" there was silent moment.

The woman glanced at her husband before she finally nodded, signaling the others to lower their weapons.

"Elaborate, please." Doc stood beside his wife as Doyle quickly flew back to the house. Batman presumed it was to check up on their son.

"We've notice a few anomalous events which we suspect you have been involved in resolving, I assumed that it was threat unknown to the league. Just in case such events happen again, we want to be prepared."

"So you need information from us." Doc perceived.

"Yes."

"... Seeing as your organization has the best interests for the world, we'll give you the information, granted that you will not interfere with our 'events' unless we call for it. There is a reason why we have been doing this all our lives." Drew added.

Taking out a small handheld device, she projected a screen.

"Creatures not known by the scientific world and believed to myths are what we call Cryptids. They exist. We are part of a group called the Secret Scientists, specializing on Cryptid studies and keeping them safe and separated from humankind. We do so for the sake of both Cryptids and mankind." The white-haired woman showed them several images of Cryptids they have encountered.

"Those creatures with your son are what, cryptid pets?" Batman asked.

"No, in fact, they're not pets, they're family... Zak considers them as siblings and more. Please refrain from calling them 'pets'." Doc intervened, knowing fully well his son was now genetically linked with his cryptid brothers. "Our boys are not your concern Batman."

The Dark Knight nodded in response.

"We do have our own personal database of information, but I'm not really certain if your organization has the capability to keep this strictly classified. Call us if there is such a case and we'll handle it, that's all we can offer for now... till you earn our trust and vice versa." The African scientist already had guessed the league's intentions. "You obviously distrust us as well, bringing an all-powerful being such as Superman here; you've made your threat quite clear Batman and although I understand the reasons, I do not appreciate it."

The parents turned away, ending the conversation quite aptly.

Superman looked completely stunned while Batman remained stoic. Clark felt himself being teleported before he could utter a word. As he glanced at his dark best friend, the man of steel had to admit, he should have expected this sort of manipulation and scheming from Bruce. Hopefully this shaky alliance would solidify overtime despite the... awkward start. The boy, Zak, was rather adorable in his opinion (minus the ferocious Cryptids surrounding him). It was obvious that most of his physical features had been inherited from his mother and he guessed the recklessness had been genetic as well. If it weren't for that monkey-cat thing restraining the child, he would guess a head to head collision with that bird claw.

Imagine having Cryptids as siblings. What a strange kid.

Bruce looked contemplative before he finally broke the silence.

"They're intelligent and very ingenious people Clark, which alone makes them very formidable. But their son was their main concern from what I could tell... both took turns to glance the airship, very paranoid and over-protective over their son actually." Bruce took a seat in front if the large computer, updating his files on the Saturdays.

"So? Aren't all parents like that?"

"True, but I have a feeling there's something more to it... anyway, the Saturdays' computers are practically un-hackable, even for me."

"That's...woah, now I know why you're so you adamant about meeting them."

"Did you know Atlantis isn't the only ancient civilization that sunk and prospered in the bottom of the sea? Kumari Kandam, is another city that suffered the same fate but is less well-known to most human folklore."

"What about it?"

"Aquaman recently mentioned his kingdom was now negotiating with its new and young ruler... who apparently is more accepting of the surface world because of the Saturdays. I had to look up a lot of other league members who could be related to anything mystical, legendary, and magical. The family is well-known in the world of Cryptozoology... their son had been particularly close to the new ruler of Kumari Kandam... "

"In other words, they've been an effective team without any super-powered help." It helped that Clark was learning how to follow Bruce's way of thinking to reach to that conclusion.

"Exactly, their confidence in the field is not unfounded... however, I'm curious about the red head with them, he seems to have been part of the family..." the detective started digging once more. "Doyle Blackwell, a successful ex-bounty hunter who's got a very long record, never did anything except steal and has been recently inactive according to the FBI files... He's probably a relative, I'll have to look into other sources to find out more though."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"What? The UFO guy? Again!? I thought I had a new cool uncle to get rid of him!" Zak whined, though he wasn't alone in his complaint. Fiskerton and the rest of his sibling expressed their dislike as well.

"Sorry little man, I've got a date," the 'cool' uncle ruffled his favourite and only nephew's messy hair. "It was just bad timing that your folks had something on too."

"Not to mention, this time, we had Dr. Beeman install a wireless signalling device on his ship just in case he had another one of his 'sudden' and 'perfect' sightings..." the mother clearly voiced her tone of warning. No more fake UFO sightings (inclusive of abusing Christmas lights, portable speakers, and creating energy fluctuations). "If he leaves, we'll know about it."

"But!"

"No buts Zak, I've also put in a new force field that'll make sure trespassers will need more than surgically enhanced mandibles to get in our home..." The doctor was still reeling from remember how a dangerous stranger entered their home so easily. "This time, we have at least 3 back-up mega-sized generators and dozen smaller ones which will each activate once there's black-out."

"... Dad? Isn't that a bit,I dunno, an overkill?" Even his mother looked a bit surprised.

The father simply shrugged, pointing at Doyle who looked slightly embarrassed.

"Doyle and I set it up; actually, he suggested most of the precautions..."

"Uh, what do you know, I'm late! Seeya lil'man!" In a burst of jet engine smoke, his Uncle Doyle flew out through the window in haste.

Soon after, his parents had left him in the care of the UFO guy who wisely decided that Zak and the rest of his siblings should have early dinner AND bedtime. No cryptid-related instincts exception. Everyone was staying in Zak's bedroom till the adults get home.

"Aw Fisk! This totally stinks! We do one little stunt and they torture us with pure BOREDOM!" in his orange pyjamas, the eleven year old paced in his room. "I mean, ever since the whole Kur-is-me deal they've been more over-protective! Well, more than usual! Even Doyle's doing it!"

Fiskerton looked at his fellow brother sadly, knowing how much things have escalated since that event. He wrapped his arms around his fellow kin, Zak simply snuggled into his warm fur, murmuring softly. "It's not fair..."

The Lemurian knew well that it wasn't about the babysitting issue anymore. Zak was referring to his life. How incredibly insane it has been, how it was unfair that an eleven year old was supposedly the source of all evil. Komodo slithered to the boy's side, licking the boy's tears away with his forked tongue. Zon cooed softly, soothing the child to deep slumber. All they could do was stick together and protect their most precious.