Authors Note: Hey, sorry if this is a short part. I kept rewriting it because I wasn't liking how it turned out. Just a small bit to tie up loose ends before the next wedding. Hope you all enjoy!
Fink worked away in her room at Voxmore Industries. The book from Jint Barrows had been full of information. It proved much for the young mouse to glance at, let alone begin to absorb.
"Fink?" Shannon's voice got Fink looking over at the doorway.
"What do you want Shannon? I'm busy," Fink briefly replied, not turning her head while she was focused more on researching.
"I came to check on you. You've been drowning yourself in research… I don't think I've even seen you play one video game this week, or eat much at all today," Shannon stepped over to her practical little sister, seeing the book from Jint that the henchwoman was going through. It looked largely complex, even for her circuitry to handle.
"So? I can't keep being a little kid. I need to actually learn and get smarter if I want to be a half decent villain one day," Fink responded, trying her best to just get her older robot of a sibling to buzz off so she could focus on her own work.
"Did something happen with you and K.O.? I know you've been sneaking out for dates," Shannon knew it would be stressful, keeping a romantic relationship secret. She wanted to not see Finks first love fall short. First loves tended to be more for the experience than anything, yet with K.O. Shannon really had no clue what to expect. All she could do was act as a support if needed.
"No, me and K.O. are doing great. We just realized we have to grow up sometime soon," Fink retorted while she continued to write in her own little journal about her research findings so far that could be of help to her future child.
Fink felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Shannon had decided to try and give her a comforting hug, since even she could sense that the rat girl was lying, yet somehow telling the truth at the same time. All the while being immensely stressed out. Shannon decided maybe it was time to consult with her siblings about this. Secrecy did not seem to be working out.
"If you're jealous because of Venomous and Daddy getting married, I understand. Just know that I'm here for you, okay?" Shannon insisted. Fink appreciated the comfort, and she would be lying if she didn't confess that she was bothered by her practical father and savior's attention dividing up amongst the whole Boxmore family.
"Thanks, Shannon… I've never felt happier though than I do right now," Fink insisted. She had a child on the way, unconventional as the method of creating it was, and it made her happy. Having someone like K.O. that cared by her side each step of the way, made it all the better.
"It's no trouble at all, Fink. You know we're all here for each other," Shannon smiled, glad that Fink seemed to be warming up to her. Boxman's daughter though, had to do something. She walked away, needing to go to the plaza.
K.O. and his mother rode along in their family car. A layer of silence loomed this otherwise peaceful day that even the not so bright Level 4 hero himself couldn't miss. The glorbucator containing the artificial womb still rested on his back.
"So… are you excited that you're going to be a big brother?" Carol tried to break the ice, hoping that her new husband was wrong about K.O.'s seemingly changing personality being caused by him being jealous that her attention might avert to their new baby.
"Yeah! I'm really happy! I never thought I'd have a little brother or sister to take care of. I bet dad is happy too," K.O. responded. He has been calling Mr. Gar dad since the day after the wedding. Unless they were at work, that was the rule, though one that the kid had been trouble following, and it led to some playful teasing from his co-workers.
"Eugene is really happy," Carol smiled, still remembering how her new husband wound up crying in joy when he first heard the news. The muscular high level hero was not as tough as people thought, at least emotionally. "How have things been with you and Fink?" she asked, knowing that her son had been dealing with this relationship's issues, more so how people reacted to it. Even some of the fitness dojo regulars had been talking rather poorly about it.
"They've been great! We go on dates every other night and we see each other every day during plaza attacks," K.O. exclaimed to his mother happily. It was clear that so far, his relationship had worked out with Fink perfectly well, even if the context was still left unannounced. Carol was very happy for him. "…mom, do you think I'll be a good dad?" The Level 4 hero questioned, out of nowhere. It was so out of left field that it actually surprised his mom, and she wound up almost losing control of the car during her shock. After another moment, they came to a stoplight. She looked down to her son.
"Peanut, where is that coming from?" Carol asked, failing to hide her surprise. It was his first relationship and he was way too young to even be thinking about children. She guessed her newfound pregnancy might have brought the question, though she was surprised that her son was thinking that far ahead into his and Fink's relationship.
"I just… I always wonder if I'll be good enough to be one," K.O. answered. He felt bad for all the news about the baby and his P.O.I.N.T. scholarship that he was going to inevitably drop on his family. Nobody was going to take it well. His mother certainly wasn't going to be happy as soon as she learned the truth about what was inside the orb that the glorbucator contained.
"Sweetheart, that's a normal worry! Everyone feels afraid about that sort of thing. I was terrified of being a bad parent when you were first born," Carol assured her son that it was perfectly normal, even if she was still rather put off by the query. Though thinking back on her first pregnancy, the blonde woman did not like recalling how two of her ribs had been broken by her son during gestation. It's how he got his name after all.
"K.O., you have a great heart. You know the difference between right or wrong. You're strong, kind, plus confident! A lot of people don't have half of those traits when they have a kid. I'm positive you'll be the best dad ever when you have a child one day," the high-leveled hero promised, still rather perplexed that her son thought that far ahead in the future. He wasn't the kind of person to do that.
"Thanks, mommy! Really," K.O. felt his heart warm, and he felt more confident for his future child, though it also struck a chord of guilt in him, since he was going to leave for P.O.I.N.T. Prep Academy in that future.
The car pulled up at the plaza and he stepped out from the car, as well as his mother.
"You have a good day at work, peanut! I love you!" Carol bid and headed towards the fitness dojo to get to work.
"Bye, mommy! I love you too!" K.O. then made his way towards Gar's bodega, though before he could step inside the bodega cleaner, he was grabbed and yanked off to the side into one of the alleyways of the plaza.
"Whoa! Hey, what's-mff!" K.O. felt Shannon's hand cover his mouth.
"Hush! Relax, I'm not here for a fight, brush head," Shannon insisted before letting him down. The boy wanted to disagree, but he remembered they still had the practical peace treaty until Boxman and Venomous's wedding was over as well. He relaxed, just adjusting the glorbucator on his back.
"Hey, Shannon… What are you doing here?" K.O. tried to just ask. He knew Fink had already told her about their relationship.
"I… came to ask you somethings, that's all. It's about Fink," Shannon confessed, not even trying to put on her usual brazen act but trying to act warm and friendly. She did not want to go pressuring the young boy anyway.
"Sure! What do you want to ask about?" the Level 4 hero was more than happy to answer any question his frenemy had. It was how he saw the Voxmore bots after all.
"Is everything going okay? Between you two I mean?" Shannon requested to know that first.
"Yep!" K.O smiled, "Things have been great! We go on dates every other night now. Fink's really affectionate and sweet… even if she teases me a lot. …is something wrong?" he ended up asking, more so wondering why she was so interested in his relationship with Fink. He hoped his girlfriend was okay.
"I think there is. Fink has been practically drowning herself in work and research. She keeps saying she can't be a kid anymore, and Rad told me you had been acting more mature lately…" Shannon tried to explain the train of logic she had followed. It was prying into Fink's personal life, she knew that, yet it did little to stop the orange robot.
"Yeah! I even asked Mr. Gar to start giving me a real paycheck and a raise so I can save up the money," K.O. stated in a matter-of-factly tone, more than happy about it even if he had to keep his reasons more than secret, "Fink just wants to get strong and smart, so that she's ready for anything that comes our way. I support her no matter what," he looked up at Shannon, who sighed. It was obvious they were lying about something, yet she could not simply force an answer out of him. He could see how worried she was, and that made him feel bad.
K.O. took in a breath and tried to gather himself. They had to tell everyone sooner or later.
"The reason she's trying to learn so much is because me and her played with a machine of Venomous's and… well it made this," K.O. showed the glorbucator to Shannon, letting her see through the viewing window.
"What is it?" the Voxmore robot gazed upon the artificial womb, watching the elegant green liquid within. To her, it just looked like an over sized miscolored glorb.
"It's a-an artificial womb, and…" K.O. gulped, "it's carrying me and Fink's child. The machine made it."
Shannon swore that her circuits glitched suddenly. "It's… what?" she breathed out, struggling to absorb it.
"Please keep this all secret," K.O. begged, "We don't want to tell anyone yet, like I said, it's a womb… me and Fink are having a baby, and we think Professor Venomous wants to do the same thing with Boxman."
Shannon's eyes short circuited for a moment. After a few sparks, she fell over, she had fainted.
"Shannon? …uh oh," the worried K.O. hurried off to go get someone to help, thinking that he had to work on his news breaking skills.
"Shannon!? Shannon!"
Shannon felt herself being shaken, though everything was still fuzzy from her circuits being overloaded by the news.
"Shannon! Come on Shannon wake up!" Radicles' panicked voice caught her attention. The buzzsaw loaded robot sat up, holding her head sorely.
"Rad…? H-hey, what are you doing here?" Shannon groaned out. She noticed a lack of K.O. She guessed he had taken his chance to escape a tough conversation as soon as she passed out.
"K.O. came and told me you were passed out here! What happened? Did someone attack you!?" Rad asked, still visibly worried about his robotic girlfriend, forgetting that she could merely reload into another body if her current malfunctioned.
"N-no no, don't worry! Nobody attacked me! I just… passed out from the stress," Shannon assured, though as her memories refreshed, she grew slightly more distressed, unable to decide what to do. K.O. had asked her for secrecy about him and Fink becoming parents.
"Stress over what?" asked the stockroom worker, wondering what he could do to help his secret girlfriend. She did find it to be a funny coincidence to run into him here. She smiled, thinking this was a perfect opportunity. She had this on her mind for now.
"I… wanted to invite you to Daddy and Venomous's wedding. That way, we can tell everyone we're together!"
The buff alien stared in awe. "R-really? You want to go public… about us?" he was in disbelief. This had been something he had wanted to do. This was so unexpected though. They had talked about it a few times yet nothing ever came of it.
"I mean, Fink knows already and Jethro probably does too, knowing how sneaky and clever he can be," Shannon said looking a little sheepish now. She was then pulled into a tight hug.
"I'm totally up for it Shannon! We'll do it together," Rad promised. The robot nodded and happily returned the embrace. Though upon looking up, she could see K.O. watching from the end of the alleyway, trying to hide and failing due to his large, brushy hair.
"Fink is going to kill me…" K.O. held his head in shame. He just hoped Boxman and Venomous's wedding would be a calm one.
