Chapter 4 - Young Justice
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Kenny walked over to the table where they were handing out Cookies.
"Alright, chocolate chip or frosty covering?" asked the nurse at the table.
"Chocolate chip." Kenny got a cookie and took a victory bite after donating his blood.
As he ate the last piece of the cookie, another person walked into the room.
"Hey, did you see Diana or Batman? I need them." It was a young blonde lady. She spoke within earshot of Kenny, who still had half a cookie in his mouth.
"Oh, they juuu-dohh there." Kenny replied.
"What?" Replied the girl.
"Oh...jusha secuuu." Kenny chewed up the cookie to talk.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?" The girl scolded.
By then Kenny had the cookie down his esophagus.
"Yeah, but I never learn. You're looking for the Batman?" asked Kenny
At that moment, the Batman walked into the room.
"Miss Sandsmark." Batman walked over to Diana's Protege/Secretary, Cassandra Sandsmark "What's the matter?"
"Get Diana too, we've got some trouble outside." Cassandra signaled.
"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" asked Batman
"Well, about 2 groups of people about to start a fight." Cassandra had to take a breath.
By this time, Diana had heard the commotion and came out herself.
"Is it a gang fight?" Asked Batman
"No, it's more like 2 angry groups of law-abiding citizens." Cassandra replied
"Then, let's keep it that way. Kenny, come along, we might need your help." Batman led the way while Diana, Cassandra, and Kenny all followed.
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"I thought I told you John, keep your dog locked up!" said the first angry man.
"Your kid keeps harrassing him, i'm sick of it, Mike!" replied the other man.
"Now you keep our son out of it!" Said the first angry man's wife.
By this time, the heroes had walked out into the lot and saw the commotion.
"Take your best shot, pal! hit me, and you'll go to jail!" Said Mike
"That's consent right there, you're asking for it!" John shot back.
Then the Batman butted right in.
"And if you take the first shot, i'll get off the second." Batman stood in the centre of the argument.
"Hey, it's Batman!" said Mike's wife, Mandie.
"Now, let's get this settled as adults. Why are we arguing?" Batman acted as the leading peacekeeper.
"He keeps letting his dog loose around my kid!" yelled Mike
"And your kid is always taunting him!" John replied
"Now hang on!" Batman signaled for his backup to come and stand around the situation so they could be referees. "We don't need to escalate to violence, let's talk this out."
"C'mon, let's seperate em." Diana signaled for John's wife to come over to a car and explain the situation. Kenny took Mike off to the side and Cassandra took Mandie.
"Now, first of all, what's your name?
"I'm John Hunter. This morning, I let my dog out to do his business in the backyard, and his son goes off shooting a capgun like he's Scarface or Jackass Sam."
Meanwhile, Diana was busy talking with the John's wife. They had already exchanged names so they could at least feel like they were on mutual terms because Diana figured that possibly a guilt trip might calm the situation a bit.
"Diana, I've had that dog for 8 years, he won't hurt a fly!"
"Maybe, his son doesn't believe that, Connie." replied Diana "Would you feel threatened if you tried to go onto your backyard and had a dog barking at you?"
"His son is always taunting our dog, threatening to hit him, and we're sick of it." Replied Connie.
"Dogs sometimes don't need taunting, they're just protective of their property." Diana spoke with good reason.
Just then, an overweight looking teenager showed up to the situation, dressed in some gangster-style hoodie and baggy pants, wearing his cap like a hip-hop star.
"Oh my God, what the Hell are you doing to my parents?" he came over to Kenny, who stood up to him.
"We're trying to calm them down." Replied Kenny.
"It's him! He's always aggravating our dog!" Connie replied.
"Your dog needs to shut up and stop barking." the boy replied.
"He's right." replied Mandie.
"Jimmy...go sit in the car." replied the boy's father, Mike.
"No, I want to kick these people's ass, i'm sick of them letting their dog bark at me!"
"You're irritating my dog!" replied John.
"Your dog deserves it, he's a retard." replied Jimmy.
That was the 7-word sentence that officially changed the heroes' minds, and made both Mike and Mandie feel embarrassed.
"Oh...you little shit." Kenny cursed under his breath.
"What did you say?" asked Jimmy.
"You heard me." Kenny turned his attention away from Jimmy's dad to intimidate Jimmy. Kenny knew Jimmy was all talk and no action, and it was proven when Jimmy immediately put his hands up to act sincerely apologetic.
"Steady, big guy, i'm just trying to protect my rights and my parents." Jimmy replied.
"Jimmy, your rights are that you best listen to your parents." Batman started to turn the attention to the real problem.
"You're Batman? You're the real Batman!" Jimmy turned to see Batman but Batman turned away.
"If...you want me to talk with you...there's a rule...we have our blood donor clinic inside, you can donate your blood...and then i'll talk with you." Batman wasn't going to cater to the man-child.
"Oh...well you see...I have this phobia of needles. I can't take them otherwise I can't help breaking out and crying." Jimmy tried to make it sound like it wasn't his fault.
"Coward." Cassandra muttered.
"Our nurses are good at applying needles, James. You can get over the fear." Diana added.
"I'm not gonna do it." Jimmy began to pout a bit "What, You're not going to talk to me? Are you such a famous asshole that you want to hurt people in order for them just to meet you?"
Oh, boy. that was an entitled brat talking.
"Hey! Don't you call him that, Jimmy!" Mandie was beginning to feel embarrassed.
"And you let go of my mom." Jimmy went over to try and grab Cassandra, but she brushed his arm away rather aggressively.
"Don't touch me! You've got no right to touch me!" Cassandra turned to Jimmy.
"You've got no right to hold my mom back, that's assault!" Jimmy replied.
"Jimmy, stand down!" replied his father.
"I'm not gonna stand down! That's assault, and if you touch my mom or me again..."
"Listen, You little spoiled, pampered brat." Cassandra let go of Jimmy's mother to confront the real problem head on. "Oh, you look so tough in your stupid hat that you forgot to remove the sticker off of, and gangster hoodie with that generic gangster artwork! But underneath that is an umemployed, first-person-shooter playing loser who needed a trip to the woodshed a long time ago." Cassandra let it all out.
Jimmy was at that point, offended and very tempted to attack the well-dressed young lady. After all, was a woman in high-heels, short skirt with pantyhose, and dress jacket and dress shirt going to be dangerous?
"You bitch!" Jimmy wound up his fist and threw it at Cassandra, but she caught it, and took Jimmy down, and put that arm behind his back, causing him to yell out and swear.
"So i'm a bitch? Who's on the ground, crying like one, huh? A spoiled, entitled brat, that's who!" Cassandra made sure that Jimmy heard it loud and clear.
Jimmy's father was less than amused, but was totally on Cassandra's side. Jimmy shouldn't have done what he did, and he paid for it.
"Hey John. I'm sorry...let me handle this one." Mike turned away to go up to his son.
"Dad, make her let go!" Jimmy stopped moving.
"Jim, when I tell you to get into the car, you get into the car. When I tell you to do something, you do it. And if there's one thing, that really, really makes me mad...it's when you go off acting like a man-child...You going to listen to me?"
"Yes, just get this bitch off me..OW!" Jimmy's attempt at talking was stopped quickly when Cassandra twisted his arm a bit.
"And...I think it's fitting you apologize to this girl for being rude." Mike added.
"I'm not apologizing! This is assault, i'm pressing charges!" Jimmy held his ground, even though his face was right up against it.
Diana stepped forward to say what was on her mind.
"This is gonna be beautiful." Kenny smiled as he watched Diana go to give Jimmy some tough love.
"James..." Diana crouched down in her nurse scrubs "...You need to learn to respect women. You came from a woman, and a woman nursed you when you were a baby, and a woman fed you and wiped your tears when you cried as a child. And guess what? If a woman can raise you...She can take you down." Diana was giving out some tough love, and as an army nurse, sometimes had the priviledge to watch women give birth in war-torn Europe during wartime. "Now apologize."
James grunted and groaned before muttering "I'm sorry."
"I can't hear you!" Cassandra replied.
"I said i'm sorry!" Jimmy said it loud enough.
"Ok, Cassie, let him up." Diana ordered her secretary.
Cassandra let go of the overweight man baby and he walked off.
"You...are going...to jail." Jimmy whimpered off to the car.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Talk to my hand." Cassandra held her hand up.
"Hey John, i'm sorry about him, i'll make sure he doesn't do it again." Mike said as him and Mandie went to their car.
"I sure hope so." Replied John.
"Oh, I will..." Mike tugged on his belt. "I think he needs to see the woodshed for the first time in his life." Mike shut the door to the car, and drove off. After they drove away, Batman went over to talk to Cassandra.
"By the book, Miss Sandsmark, you're a trooper." Batman praised the young heroine.
"Give me some skin." Kenny held his hand out and Cassandra slapped it hard.
"Ow." Kenny held his hand back.
"Oh, sorry, did I hurt you?" asked Cassandra.
"Nah, i'm kidding, that was awesome." Kenny was delighted to see some Gender-role revolution.
"You've been taught well, Cassandra, I'm glad to see that you can take care of yourself." Diana added.
"MMA is in my blood." Replied Cassandra "By the way, I wanted to ask Batman something too."
"Ask me." Batman readied himself.
"What's Robin up to? I was hoping we could go to a bar or catch up or something."
"He's on the guard duty at the white house right now along with Mr. Kent, When he gets off at 7 PM tonight, he's free then." replied Batman.
"By the way, Kenny, I don't know if you've formally met my secretary Cassandra." Diana introduced her Secretary and protege.
"Well, she sure makes a good impression." Kenny extended his hand to shake Cassandra's.
"Diana's told me about you." Replied Cassandra. "Hey...if it's not too much trouble, when Robin gets off, you wanna come to the bar with us? We're all friends of the justice league."
"I didn't have anything planned tonight." replied Kenny
"If you have a girlfriend, bring her too, it'll be a fun night out." Cassandra added.
"Oh, i'd love to, but she's back in Vancouver. Shoot, give me a second, I still gotta call her." Kenny fished out his smartphone to call up his girlfriend.
"Shall we get back to the blood clinic?" asked Diana
"Yes, we shall." Batman followed Diana back into the clinic, which was starting to fill up with people.
And that little incident in front of the blood clinic would be the worst that would happen that day...at least for everyone but one person.
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