After we had gotten the butterfly settled in his new home, time had passed by since that day and now I was poking my head out of my dog house while I could see Kevin arguing with his mother about having to watch his sister while she was out as Melanie giggled and waddled around in the backyard.
"But mom, do I have to watch her? It's Saturday and I only get one Saturday a week," Kevin complained and Mrs. Whitney sighed.
"I'm sorry honey, but I have a very important meeting in the city and I'm already late so if you need any help, Mrs. Susman is next door," Mrs. Whitney said as she looked at her watch and headed back into the house before Kevin started looking less-than-happy as he sat down on the step that was in front of the door.
I left my dog house with Krypto leaving his as we headed over to where Kevin and Melanie were at, then Melanie saw us and babbled happily as she waddled over and hugged Krypto before I licked her across the cheek and she squealed until Krypto whacked his tail happily onto the ground and caused a few tremors.
"Whoa, careful you don't damage the yard by accident," I reminded Krypto, who stopped whacking the ground with his tail and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry," Krypto said with a look of embarrassment and I just smiled at him until Kevin huffed.
"I'm glad that you and Max are happy," Kevin grumbled and I looked to see that he was resting his hands on his cheeks while looking grumpy and I stared in concern.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as I walked over and sat down next to him.
"It's nothing and you would probably think it's stupid anyway," Kevin said and I shrugged.
"You never know, I might not think it's stupid and I'm always willing to hear what you have to say," I told him and Kevin looked uncertain before he sighed.
"It's just...it was supposed to be my Saturday and now I have to spend it by watching my sister so it feels unfair," Kevin admitted and I frowned before I looked away while I recalled my parents and two older brothers.
"I'm not going to lie, the world isn't fair and I know that more than you think...I don't think I told you and Krypto this, but I have two brothers named Grant and Joseph," I said hesitantly and Kevin looked surprised.
"Really? I know that you told me and Krypto that you used to be human but you never said that you have two brothers," Kevin pointed out and I grimaced as I recalled Grant getting hit by dad while they were arguing one day, which was the very thing that caused me to run away in the first place.
"I'm not exactly eager to talk about my family since it wasn't a very stable environment where I grew up, and don't get me started about my parents since they were always getting in shouting matches...dad wasn't a very nice man and he was angry most of the time, so you're lucky that you have good parents and a loving sister because not everybody gets that luxury," I stated with a hard expression before I stood up and left Kevin to his thoughts as I decided to play with Melanie.
Pretty soon, Melanie was riding on Krypto's back and he marched around while I couldn't help but smile at the sight while I watched, then I noticed a flash out of the corner of my eye and looked to see a strange triangular remote on the ground next to Kevin while a mouse was sitting on the big red button and it ran away as I walked over to investigate and Kevin picked up the remote.
"What is this?" Kevin wondered with a puzzled look and before I could stop him, he pushed the button and suddenly disappeared much to my shock until he appeared in front of Krypto and caused him to let out a startled yelp.
"Cool!" Kevin exclaimed excitingly as Krypto sat down with a stunned expression, just before Melanie rolled off of him and she laughed as she crawled away.
"How the heck did you do that?" Krypto asked as I walked over and sat down next to him while Kevin gestured at the remote in his hand.
"With this and it seems to be a teleportation device," Kevin answered and I walked over to study the remote with a critical eye.
"But where did it come from is the question," I muttered thoughtfully as I examined it and Kevin shrugged.
"I don't know, a mouse brought it so it must be a space mouse! Watch," Kevin said as he pushed the button and vanished, then Krypto and I looked around to find him until Kevin called out to us and we looked to see him leaving the house.
"Man, just think of the possibilities...oh, you want me to take out the garbage, dad? No problem," Kevin commented and used the remote until he appeared at the garbage bin and pretended to put away the trash.
"Garbage out. 'Oh, Kevin, you're going to be late for the school bus'. Don't worry, mom," Kevin remarked after mimicking his mother and used the remote again until he appeared on the lawn chair next to me and Krypto.
"I'm on the bus!" Kevin added smugly while Krypto and I sent each other worried expressions before looking back at Kevin.
"Kevin, you shouldn't play around with that because we have no idea where it came from or if it's dangerous, so the smart thing to do is take it to Superman so that he can figure out where it came from," I suggested uneasily and Kevin waved at me reassuringly.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful and I just want to test it one more time," Kevin assured before he used the remote again and disappeared.
Krypto and I looked around to see where Kevin would appear until we looked up and my eyes widened in horror when Kevin appeared in the sky, then he dropped down with a terrified scream and Krypto flew up to save him while I formed into a bouncy house just in case as Krypto saved Kevin and lowered him back down into the yard before I changed back to normal.
"Told you that the teleporter was potentially dangerous and it looks like I was right," I said after recovering from the scare and Kevin shrugged sheepishly.
"Well, my aim was off," Kevin stated nervously just before one of the neighbors opened his bedroom window and peered out irritably.
"Hey, what is all the racket out here?!" Mr. Fritch snapped before we all managed to make ourselves look casual.
"Um, nothing Mr. Frich!" Kevin responded and Mr. Fritch sighed.
"Well, just keep it down because I'm trying to take a nap," Mr. Fritch grumbled before he shut the window and I let out a breath of relief.
"That was close, but now we need to lock up that teleporter until we figure out what to do with it," I said with a serious expression and Kevin gasped in realization.
"That's right, I dropped it while I was falling," Kevin notified us, then we started searching for the remote.
"Well, it couldn't have gone far and might still be around here so let's look and see if we can find it," Krypto stated and we separated to cover more ground.
I sniffed the ground as I moved around the backyard to see if I can pick up a distinct metallic scent before I noticed Melanie heading over to the children's slide and I smiled slightly while she was climbing up the ladder until she made it to the top, then I sucked in a breath when she fell off but luckily Krypto flew up to save her and carefully placed her down onto the top of the slide before she suddenly disappeared until my eyes widened in shock and Krypto let out a gasp.
"Oh crap, that not good," I muttered just before Krypto and I rushed over to Kevin, who was searching through the sandbox.
"Kevin, your sister has it!" Krypto alerted urgently and that caused Kevin to spin around with a look of alarm.
"Where?" Kevin asked and I started looking around to see if I could spot Melanie anywhere.
"Well, she was on the slide last time we saw her," I explained just before we heard Melanie call for Kevin and we all turned and looked up to see the little girl in the nearby treehouse.
"Melanie, don't worry because I'm coming so just sit down!" Kevin shouted as he ran over to the tree and that when I realized where the teleporter was on Melanie and my eyes bugged out.
"No, don't sit down!" Krypto and I yelled in a panic before he took off into the air and I bounced up so that we could prevent Melanie from sitting down, only we were too late and Melanie vanished again just as we made it to the deck of the treehouse before Kevin climbed up to meet with us.
"How did that happen?!" Kevin gasped while Krypto landed onto the deck and I extended my neck up above the tree so that I could have a better view while my eyes turned into a hawk's.
"We think it landed in her diaper," Krypto said as he gazed around to find her until I noticed him peering at Mr. Fritch's house and he gasped, catching the attention of me and Kevin as my neck retracted and my eyes changed back to normal.
"You see her?" I asked and Krypto nodded before he motioned his head at Mr. Fritch's house and Kevin's eyes widened.
"Oh no, she's in Fritch's house?" Kevin questioned.
"Appears so, now let's get her out of there before she sits down again," I suggested and we all got down from the treehouse before we hurried over to Mr. Fritch's house and peered through the living room window to see Melanie climbing up onto the sofa while Mr. Fritch was currently lazing on it and sleeping with a magazine covering his face until Kevin got his sister's attention by gently tapping on the window with his finger.
"Melanie, stay right there and don't move because help is coming," Kevin whispered before Krypto and I nodded to each other, the two of us bolting to where the back door was at and I saw that it was closed.
Krypto noticed the open basement window and flew into the house while I spotted a crack beneath the door and had an idea, leaning down to press the end of my muzzle into the razor-thin space between the door and its frame as my form squished through the small space and I enjoyed how relaxing it was as my now paper-thin appearance slid through to the other side of the back entrance as if I had just been rolled out of a printer and I peeled my cellophane-like form off the floor before I reinflated back into my 3D shape again.
"Heh, I'm like a cartoon in real life," I muttered wryly before I quickly headed to the living room and met up with Krypto until we arrived at the living room and promptly gasped at the sight of Melanie standing on the arm of the sofa and she waved at us happily.
"Krypto, Max!" Melanie babbled cheerfully and it startled Mr. Fritch awake as he sat up with the magazine still covering his face.
Krypto and I hurried over to get Melanie before she sat down again, but we were too late as Melanie sat down on Mr. Fritch's lap and they both disappeared just before we landed onto the sofa and got all tangled up until we managed to get off of the sofa and Kevin gasped in alarm.
"Oh no!" Kevin shouted in horror as Krypto and I tensed up since god only knows where Melanie and Mr. Fritch went.
Suddenly, our question was answered when we heard Mr. Fritch outside as he screamed in a panic and it caused us to zip outside while Krypto flew up to bite down on the bottom of Mr. Fritch's robe, only it tore and he continued falling until I sped over and formed into a trampoline before he bounced off of me and landed into the bushes, then I changed back to normal as I grimaced and snuck out of Mr. Fritch's backyard while his wife was arriving until I met up with Kevin and Krypto flew down to regroup with us.
"Did you find her?" Kevin asked and Krypto shook his head.
"No, she sat down again," Krypto informed us and I started frowning.
"That teleporter is a serious problem and we need to get it away from Melanie before she gets hurt," I stated and at that moment, a bus drove by before my eyes widened in alarm at the sight of Melanie on the roof and we all gasped in shock before Krypto and I nodded to each other with serious expressions.
Krypto and I changed into our alter-egos and took off after Melanie, flying to the roof of the bus before it hit a pothole and caused the little girl to disappear by accident before either of us could get her and I started feeling frustrated as Kevin followed after us on his bicycle and we shook our heads to show that she was gone again.
"Not again...this is bad since she could be anywhere by now," Kevin said and I frowned thoughtfully as Krypto seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
"Fortunately, the teleporter appears to have a short-range of travel so if I listen real hard, then I should be able to find her," Krypto told us before he perked his left ear and closed his eyes to focus his sharp hearing on where Melanie could be until his eyes shot open and he gestured for me and Kevin to follow him before taking off in the opposite direction and we chased after him.
Krypto and I flew side by side as we headed into the city with Kevin right below us as Krypto led the way until he came to a stop next to a construction site, followed by me as I noticed a group of protesters standing outside of the site with Mrs. Whitney among them as a news reporter was interviewing Lex Luthor but I wasn't paying attention as the protesters spotted us and perked up before smiling and cheering for us as I could see Kevin using the distraction to head inside the construction site while avoiding the police and security that had sealed off the area to prevent people from breaking into the construction site.
Pretty soon, Krypto froze and looked behind us with an expression of alarm as he gazed at the Daily Planet and gasped in horror until I saw what he was looking at and spotted Kevin sliding off the ring until pure panic hit me, then we took off to the building as fast as we could when Kevin slid off the building as he held his sister and screamed in terror but Krypto managed to save both of them by biting down on Kevin shirt and I flew over to get the teleporter that was stuck in the back of Melanie's shorts as my paw formed into a hand and pulled out the teleporter.
"Don't worry Mel, I got you!" Kevin gasped out while I sighed in relief that we saved him and his sister just in time before they could get killed from the fall, then we flew back home and relaxed after going through such a scare while Kevin, Krypto, and I were in his room and gazing at the device that caused so much trouble.
"Man, I'm so happy that's over with and this thing is way too dangerous since I almost lost my sister and myself so there's only one thing left to do now," Kevin stated and I nodded.
"Yeah, Krypto and I will give it to Superman so that he'll make sure it's locked up until he figures out where it came from, though I'm guessing that it came from STAR Labs since who knows what they come up with these days and a teleporter isn't that far fetched with the company," I agreed and Kevin smiled.
"Yeah, so be quick since mom home and we still have the rest of the day for some fun," Kevin encouraged before Krypto and I smirked while I took the teleporter and I was about to leave after Krypto flew out the window before Kevin grabbed my shoulder and I looked back to see him appearing hesitant.
"What is it, Kevin?" I asked and Kevin bit his bottom lip until he sighed.
"I've been thinking about what you said earlier today and after going through something so life-threatening with my sister, I realized that you're right since I'm lucky to have a good family and it scares me that I almost lost my sister like that," Kevin admitted and I softened my eyes as I turned around and placed a paw on his shoulder.
"Hey, what matters is that you two are okay and there are going to be times where you two will argue over the most ridiculous stuff when you both get older, but it doesn't change the fact that you will always love each other and treasure the memories you make throughout your lives," I told him with a calm smile before I turned away and flew after Krypto, thinking about my brothers and wondered if things could've been different if my family wasn't such a broken and dysfunctional mess.
A/N Hey, sorry for keeping you all waiting so I wanted to give you all a new chapter to thank you for your patience and, as you can see, Max had gotten Kevin to see that family's important and that you should never take it for granted, so it's a nice thing for the kid to learn especially after going through such a life-threatening situation with his sister and seeing Kevin's family has the former human wonder if things could've been different for his family.
Anyway, I've been getting questions if Ace will make an appearance and the Bathound will show up after two more chapters, but I'm going to change his appearance to be the german shepherd version with the blue mask that first made an appearance in the classic Batman comics since the Ace in beyond is a black Great Dane mix, so the Ace that'll soon show up will have the same backstory of his former owner John Wilker getting kidnapped by counterfeiters and being taken in by Bruce Wayne after John became too busy to take care of Ace to keep some of the classic lore intact in this story, so I hope you're happy to see that.
Well, let me know what you think about this chapter and stay tuned.