A/N: Here's the next chapter! This will probably be the last thing I post before school starts, sorry. Also, I just realized that if you don't read LOSH comics you probably don't know who Lyle is. Lyle Norg, AKA Invisible Kid, is another scientist in the Legion. In the comics he and Brainy don't exactly get along all of the time, but it's more fun to write if they're friends. I don't know much else about him :). Also, I have another fic in the works that I'm thinking of posting around Thanksgiving (Mid-November for those who aren't American) or Christmas, maybe sooner. Be on the lookout for it!
Disclaimer: I still do not own LOSH. Alariah is still mine and always will be ;)
Alariah and Timberwolf made spaghetti for lunch. Brainy was still trying to figure out how to eat the strange noodles when Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, and Lyle returned.
"Mommy!" He cheered. "How do I eat this?" He asked almost immediately after.
Saturn Girl smiled and explained how to twirl the noodles around a fork. Lyle plopped down next to Brainy and began eating very sloppily by shoving the noodles into his mouth, but at least he was using a fork.
"You're supposed to twirl it on your fork." Brainy said.
"So? Shoving it in my mouth is more fun." Lyle replied through a mouthful.
Brainy tried shoving the spaghetti into his mouth and smiled. "This is more fun!" He said once he had swallowed.
The boys continued to eat messily as the Legionnaires snuck into the meeting room to wrap their gifts. Lightning Dad didn't have a gift to wrap, so he stayed out with Brainy and Lyle.
"Are you excited for your birthday, Brainy?" Lightning Dad asked.
Brainy just shrugged. He had never had a big celebration for his birthday before so he didn't know why everyone was making such a big deal about it.
"What do you mean?" Lightning Dad asked.
"It's just another day. Sometimes I'd get to work on one of my own projects or go outside, but it's nothing special." Brainy said sadly.
"Well!" Lightning Dad began. "Here on Earth, birthdays are a big deal! There's presents, and cake, and music, and your family just celebrates you being you! It's a big party!" He finished.
Brainy looked at Lightning Dad, wide eyed. "Really? I get to have a party just because I'm me?" He asked.
"Yeah!" Lightning Dad replied. "You're gonna be a whole year older, that's pretty important."
By now the other Legionnaires had finished wrapping their gifts and were filing back into the room.
"Kell! Kell! Kell! I get to have a party because I'm me!" Brainy yelled happily to the first person he spotted. Obviously, that happened to be Kell.
"So Lightning Dad explained birthdays to you, huh?" Kell asked. By now every Legionnaire had adopted that nickname for Garth.
Brainy nodded excitedly. Then his happy look changed to one of concern. "Is everyone gonna be there, like Mommy and Lightning Dad and Cosmic Brownie and Puppy and Al and-" Brainy was cut off.
"Cosmic what?!" Cosmic Boy asked.
"Cosmic Brownie!" Brainy and Lyle chirped happily.
"Yeah, we're all going to be there." Lightning Dad reassured Brainy.
"Good. I wanna have my first party with my family." Brainy said seriously.
All the girls had to resist the urge to say "Awwwwww!" Brainy had just called them his family! They never thought that they'd hear the Coluan say something like that. Even if it was how he felt they never dreamed he'd voice it.
Brainy thought back to something Lightning Dad had said.
"What are presents?" Brainy asked curiously.
All the Legionnaires froze and stared at Brainy, save Cosmic Boy. He was still trying to come to terms with his new nickname.
Even though Brainy had become more comfortable with the Legionnaires he was still afraid of angering them or disappointing them. He backed away and began shaking.
Lightning Dad placed a hand on Brainy's shoulder, causing him to jump. "What's wrong?" Lightning Dad asked quietly, so not to startle the child.
"E-everyone was looking at me like I did something wrong. I thought you were mad at me." The boy sniffed.
"Oh, Brainy, we're not mad and you did nothing wrong. We were just surprised that you don't know what a present is." Lightning Dad assured him.
"W-what is a present?" Brainy restated his question hesitantly.
Lyle decided he should explain. "Presents are free stuff people give you on your birthday and other holidays. They're really cool!" He said.
"Do you get presents?" Brainy asked Lyle.
Lyle's face fell. "No, Mommy says that only you get stuff because it's your first time having a good birthday." Lyle explained.
"But I want you to get stuff too!" Brainy protested.
"You can share with Lyle." Saturn Girl suggested.
Brainy thought it over for a minute, then nodded in confirmation.
"Whoo hoo!" Lyle cheered.
"Wait, what's my name again?" Cosmic Boy asked, still shocked at what the boys had called him.
"Your name is Cosmic Brownie. Life will go on now, get over it." Lyle said with all seriousness.
Cos just stood there, gaping like a fish out of water.
"I think we broke him." Brainy said to Lyle. He sounded more amused than concerned.
"Brownie Boy just needs some time to process what you said." Kell said, trying to keep his stoic demeanor. He managed for about ten seconds, then he broke down laughing.
"How about we go make a cake?" Timberwolf suggested. "Brainy can pick the flavor and you both can help make it." He added.
"Yay! I want chocolate!" Brainy cheered.
"You don't even know if that's a cake flavor!" Timberwolf said, amused.
"Well, I've deduced that if it's a pancake flavor, then it must also be a cake flavor." Brainy said seriously.
"Okay, okay, you're right, it's a cake flavor." Timberwolf said, laughing.
"I told you so." Brainy said triumphantly.
The boys followed Timberwolf into the kitchen to begin making the batter.
Twenty minutes later, the boys were happily licking the bowls, chocolate batter smeared all over their little faces.
Saturn Girl walked into the kitchen and smiled. Timberwolf seemed happy to finally have the cake made, and the boys had begun a small batter fight, getting chocolate all over each other. She sighed, realizing that she was probably going to be the one to get those stains out, seeing that Trips and Phantom Girl wouldn't do laundry, most of the boys claimed they were too manly for laundry, and Al had placed a restraining order in the washing machine, claiming that it had attacked him last time he did laundry. Still, it was worth it if it made the little ones so happy.
"Boys, stop. You'll get yourselves and my kitchen all messy." Timberwolf said, annoyed.
"Are they done yet?" Brainy asked, ignoring Timberwolf's earlier statement as he threw more batter at Lyle.
"The cake isn't but the brownies will be done in a few minutes." Timberwolf replied.
"Brownies?" Saturn Girl asked curiously.
"Yeah! I wanted to see what brownies are since Cosmo seemed so offended by being called one." Brainy explained.
Saturn Girl sighed. Nicknames for Cosmic Boy were so easy to come up with. She would bet her flight ring that the boys had about a dozen more.
Brainy threw more batter at Lyle.
"AHWM!" Lyle yelled, making an exaggerated eating sound as all the batter landed in his mouth. (A/N: Try making that noise. It's fun XD)
"Ten!" Brainy yelled, scoring the intensity of the noise. Both boys began clapping and laughing.
"Seriously, stop. You're getting everything all messy." Timberwolf scolded.
In response to that the boys threw spoonfuls of batter onto Timberwolf's fur.
Timberwolf sighed and looked at Saturn Girl. "Does it ever end?" He asked her.
"I'm afraid not." She replied, giggling.
Suddenly, the oven dinged.
"BROWNIES!" Brainy and Lyle cheered, completely forgetting their assault on Timberwolf's fur.
Timberwolf brought out the brownies and put them on a cooling rack.
Brainy and Lyle began to reach for them, but Timberwolf was once again playing bad cop.
"Uh-uh-uh! They're still really hot! You can't have any until they cool down so you won't get burned." He said urgently.
The boys pouted but nodded.
Once the brownies had cooled down the boys happily munched on the sweet treats. A few other Legionnaires were smart enough to follow their noses and they found themselves with a few brownies as well. The brownies were almost gone when Brainy whispered something to Lyle, who nodded in reply.
Brainy stood on his chair. "We need the last two brownies to go to our cause!" He announced.
"Would that cause happen to be your stomach?" Lightning Dad asked.
"No." Brainy and Lyle said together.
Lightning Dad looked at Saturn Girl. She nodded to him, signaling that she didn't sense that they were lying.
"Okay, you can have them." Lightning Dad decided.
The boys snickered and looked at each other with mischievous smirks. They put the two brownies on a plate and ran down the hall, yelling a quick thanks, followed by hysterical laughter.
Cosmic Boy sat in his office, trying to piece together his ruined ego. He was now a brownie.
He sighed and got up. It was getting late and he should probably get ready for bed. He was grateful that he didn't have the night shift tonight.
Cos walked into his room, only to stop immediately upon entering. On his nightstand was a plate of brownies with a note that said 'For your enjoyment'.
For a moment he was dumbstruck, trying to figure out who put them there, then he looked at the handwriting. It was a little bit sloppier, but he had seen the older Brainy's notes. That was his three-year-old handwriting. It looked somewhat similar to Cosmic Boy's own handwriting when he was eight. He sighed. The boys had way too much fun here.
Cos shrugged and sat down in his bed, beginning to eat the brownies. They were pretty good. He had just finished the first one when he heard a young voice in the hallway.
"See, I told you he'd do it!" Brainy yelled as he and Lyle collapsed into laughter.
Cos rolled his eyes. Those boys were something else.
Is Timberwolf's name one or two words? I've seen it done both ways. Please Review!