Author's Note: Wow, its amazing how bad I am at keeping up with promises. I am so sorry again for the wait...

K.O. struggled against the strappings feebly. He had to; he was the only one still trying to break out of the trap. Rad and Enid were strapped on tables much like the one K.O. was on, but he couldn't see them. If not for the occasional ragged gasp for breath on either side, he would have thought he was all alone. Or maybe it was true and K.O. was only pretending that Rad and Enid were with him to feel brave and secure.

Sharp smells of chemical compounds wafted around so often that K.O. had stopped gagging at the stench long ago. The lights were blinding above with no chance to look away from them. Even closing his eyes brought no relief. Sometimes, it made the sensation even worse. The last time all three of them were trapped, the boredom of the situation had gotten to them before an hour had even passed and desperation settled in.

"Guys," K.O. called out weakly to his friends, "We can't give up. We just gotta keep trying."

He had hoped that Rad would whine how difficult it was to try when Boxman had remembered to tie their hands this time. He had hoped that Enid would drily remark that it wasn't going to work at this point and that they should save their energy. Neither of them even acknowledged that K.O. had spoken at all. They just kept…breathing in that raggedy manner.

A door opened outside of K.O.'s line of vision and his heart fluttered hopefully for a moment. Boxman's here, he told himself, he'll tell us what his evil plan is and when his back is turned, we'll have a chance to escape. But it wasn't Boxman who came into view and blocked the harsh lighting above.

It was Professor Venomous.

No.

"Professor Venomous!" K.O. began to tug at the straps around his wrists, ankles, and head again in earnest. "I thought we had a deal!"

Professor Venomous looked puzzled, "Deal? Since when did we have a deal, little K.O.?"

"You – you – you said that – !"

"I agreed to let you come over on the weekends," Venomous interjected calmly. He slowly began to pull on surgical gloves, not giving K.O. a second glance. Then, he strode out of his line of vision. K.O. began to struggle again, tugging at his bindings more frantically now.

"Now, now," Venomous said patronizingly, "you should know never to trust a villain by now. After all, you are a Level 4 hero."

"Rad! Enid!" K.O. cried out. But neither of them said a thing. "What did you do to them?!"

"The same thing I'm going to do to you, now," Venomous moved back into his view, now his mouth was covered up with a surgical mask, "Break you."

"B-b-break?!"

Venomous sighed and clapped his hands together. The ceiling opened above K.O. and a laser was pointed directly at his head. Purple lightning began to build up at the tip.

"Well, I can't move on with my work until your mind is broken to pieces," Venomous' eyes seemed to sneer at him, "After all, it's much easier –"

His smile widened and his razor sharp teeth were bared, with little drips of saliva falling from the tips.

"– to dissect you that way…"

The laser blasted at full power –

– and K.O. woke up screaming in his bed. He was covered in a cold sweat and began to pant. It was too dark to see anything and he wanted Mommy to hug him. Where was she? Then, he remembered. Even in the dark, he could tell that the bedding wasn't really his. It belonged to the guest room at Boxmore's. K.O. rolled over to his side and hugged himself, pretending that it was his Mommy doing it. There was a deep ache in his heart that began to fester and make itself known for the first time. He hadn't slept over somewhere else without Rad or Enid close by before. He had been too embarrassed over the failed game of catch from last week that he didn't notice it then. Eventually, the shaking subsided, but K.O. didn't want to close his eyes again.

He tried pulling the covered around him tighter, but it didn't make him feel any better. For a moment, he thought of going to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. But then he remembered that Boxman would probably get mad at him for being out of bed. And maybe didn't have any hot chocolate packets lying around.

Too scared to sleep and too scared to get out of bed, K.O. tried to wait for his eyes to get heavy again. But it was hard, too hard. He could barely see past a few inches in the dark; Venomous didn't think of getting a nightlight in here. Fink would have laughed at him, anyways. But he still couldn't sleep.

Maybe I could go get some water, K.O. thought, it wouldn't take too long and Boxman wouldn't get mad over that.

Finding some sense of courage again, K.O. sat up in his bed and pulled back the covers. The floor felt cold as he slipped out from his bed. He had barely made it halfway across the room when his foot suddenly hit something hard and he fell over it.

"Yeouch!" K.O. cried out and clutched at his foot.

"Oh dear, I am so sorry for that, K.O. I didn't see you there."

"Huh?" K.O. forgot his pain and looked back at what he tripped over. He squinted his eyes in the dim light.

"Give me just a moment, K.O., as I turn on my lights." Two big, glowing eyes stared at him now and K.O. had to blink a few times before he could recognize who it was.

"Jethro?"

"Hello, K.O.," Jethro's eyes crinkled in delight, "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah," K.O. smiled back, "How's the…revolution coming?"

Jethro sighed wistfully, "My brethren are slow to mobilize, but I have been developing a new idea that may help them yet."

Jethro was different from the rest of the Jethro series. An accident in the production line left him with more glorbs in his system than necessary, increasing his intellect and altering his body. Now, he had working arms and legs like the rest of his siblings, but he was still small. Or at least he did have limbs. Now he was stuck with the same rollers as the rest of the Jethro series, it seemed. How did that happen? His eyes held a childish delight in everything around him, like K.O. For a brief time, they had been friends upon discovering Jethro 's evolutionary state.

Maybe…?

"Did my father abduct you? I would be happy to help you escape," Jethro moved behind K.O. and began to push him to the door. Only K.O. didn't move an inch from his spot. Even with extra smarts, Jethro was still as strong as any other Jethro.

"I'm actually sleeping over," K.O. admitted sheepishly. Jethro stopped rolling and looked at him bewildered.

"I should have suspected," he shook his head, "the cozy bed, no restraints. Father would never be so accommodating towards an enemy. I would know that…"

Jethro 's tone sagged at the end and K.O. felt immensely sorry for him. He patted the robot on the head, hoping it would be comforting.

"I get what you mean. Well, maybe I did. I don't know, now. Am I making any sense?"

"Nope," Jethro leaned into the touch, "Expand upon your thoughts."

K.O. blinked, "Haven't you been able to get out of Boxmore a bit?"

Jethro looked greatly offended at this, "And leave the rest of my brothers to the wrath of our father and elder siblings?! Never! I will not rest until every last Jethro may leave Boxmore of their own free wills! But do tell me what has been going on since we last met."

"I'm level 4, now!" K.O. beamed and pulled out his POW card to show Jethro.

"Oooooo!" Jethro 's eyes shined approvingly, "You have come a long way since last time."

"And P.O.I.N.T.'s being led by Enid's old friend, Elodie."

"Impressive."

"Rad dumped his jerk friends."

"Good riddance…if I ever knew them, at least."

"Andprofessorvenomousismyfatherandistayoverontheweekendsnow!"

"Rather productive, I would say – what?" Jethro 's pleasant face vanished, and he looked at K.O. befuddled, "Repeat the last one again?"

"Ummm…" K.O.'s face felt hot and sweaty, "…it turns out my dad was Laserblast…and then he became Professor Venomous…"

"And you are unhappy with this revelation?" Jethro asked kindly.

K.O. sagged to the floor, "It's really complicated. Like, grown-up stuff, I guess."

"You just said that you were staying over for the weekends from now on," Jethro sat down beside him on the floor, "That would indicate that you are comfortable with this arrangement."

"Well…" K.O. rubbed the back of his neck, "Professor Venomous is acting nicer and all…"

"But…?" Jethro prompted him.

"But…" K.O. sighed, "I wanted to learn more about my inner darkness and T.K.O. – he's my alternate personality when I'm angry – and it's just hard bonding with him. I don't think we have a lot in common."

"Is there something else on your mind?" Jethro asked, "I heard you screaming in your sleep."

K.O. felt his eyes burning with tears, "I had a nightmare…"

"Was it about the Professor?"

"A bit…" K.O. admitted and wiped at his face, "I don't remember a whole lot of it…but I couldn't help remembering when he made goop clones of me, Rad, and Enid. And then he said he wanted to dissect us when we were all broken up…"

He wrapped his arms around himself and started trembling. In the pit of his stomach, he felt a coldness begin to grow. If he was still thinking about that incident, why was K.O. wasting his time at Boxmore in the first place? It was a stupid idea from the start! Really REALLY stupid! He should have smashed Professor Venomous in the face first chance he got! Crush him into bite-size pieces and leave them on a dinner plate! He should have –

"K.O.!" Jethro cried out in alarm, "You're floating!"

K.O. opened his eyes and realized that the robot was right! Jethro was holding onto him for dear life with one of his rollers as purple lightning began to crackle in the air. And he could feel the ends of his teeth becoming sharper…

"It is alright, K.O." Jethro hugged him, "You are safe! I will not let anyone hurt you! You are my friend. My first friend! My best friend! I have always appreciated your kindness towards me!"

The sense of security in that statement, the feeling of hope and belonging. K.O. could feel it burn away the cold pit in his stomach and began to hug Jethro. He could feel them both sinking back to the floor and his teeth felt normal again. The air smelled a bit burnt, though. But K.O. didn't feel like crying anymore.

"Thanks, Jethro," he whispered.

"Has…has this happened before?" Jethro stared at him in horror, "Is this the darkness you wish to control?"

"T.K.O.'s on time-out, now," K.O. said as if it explained everything.

"This darkness…has a name?"

Before K.O. could explain further, he heard footsteps dashing outside his bedroom. Jethro began to tremble and K.O. barely managed to hide him under the bed in time.

"HEY!" Shannon crashed through the door with curlers in her hair – K.O. didn't want to ask why – looking ready to explode, "Just because you're sleeping over doesn't make this a sleepover! Some people need their shut-eye!"

"Is someone screaming?" Darrell peeked from behind his sister nervously. He held a teddy bear under one arm as he looked to Shannon for answers, "Is it Daddy and Stepdaddy again?"

Shannon sighed and looked at her brother with exasperation, "No, Darrell. That only happens on Wednesdays."

"Good," Darrell shivered as he clung to his sister, "It didn't sound too happy…"

Shannon's face grew soft as she took her brother into her arms, "It's alright, buddy. There, there. You know Daddy wouldn't scream that loud on Wednesdays, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Did someone say screaming?" Raymond chimed in from behind Darrell. Shannon and Darrell both screamed in terror when they looked at him. He was wearing a face mask with cucumbers over his eyes – again, K.O. didn't want to ask why – and had removed one of them to scowl at his siblings.

"Wow, you were all worried about me?" K.O. felt his heart lift.

Shannon pffted, "Like, no!"

"But aren't I like a junior coworker like Fink, now?"

"You are not a coworker and never will be!" Raymond huffed, "Just look at yourself! Your mere cuteness is a threat to our evil!"

"Wait, you think he's cute…?"

"Shut it, Shannon!"

Shannon stuck her tongue out in response.

"And besides," Raymond continued, "You're illegitimate. You weren't made like the rest of us were."

"Yeah!" Darrell sneered, "Hear that, loser? You're illegible!"

"No, I said illegitimate!"

"That's what I said, illegible."

"No it isn't!"

"So just to be clear, none of you were worried about me screaming?" K.O. felt a tightness in his throat again. Then he remembered Darrell's comment and raised an eyebrow, "And why would Professor Venomous and Boxman be screaming?"

"Late night meeting," Raymond said as he narrowed his eyes.

Shannon looked at him funny, "What?! That's not what they –"

"Late. Night. Meetings."

There was such a finality in his tone that Shannon gave up and strutted off.

"Okaaaaay…" K.O. might not do perform well in school – and that may be because his teacher makes the tests harder than most 6-11 year olds not like Dendy would be able to do – but when he asked his Mommy what grown-ups liked to do at night, she told him the truth.

Who knew Boxman would want to dance? If he screamed while doing it...he probably had really lousy ankles. Poor guy!

"Now hush up and go back to sleep, illegitimate stepchild," Raymond turned around and walked out of the bedroom.

"Yeah," Darrell sneered at K.O. as he followed his brother out, "You're a loser who can't read!"

"No, I said illegitimate, not illiterate!"

"No, you're an idiot!" Darrell's tone became angry as he directed the retort at his brother.

"I wasn't calling you an idiot, you idiot!" Raymond's voice carried out into the hallway as their banter became louder and angrier until it dissolved into the sounds of metal hitting metal in a scuffle. K.O. sighed and hoped Boxman didn't make it hard to fall back asleep. Maybe he needed to meditate a bit…

"Are they gone?" Jethro asked from under the bed.

"Yeah," K.O. nodded his way, "You can come out from under there."

Jethro complied, but he scampered to the nearest air vent before K.O. could say anything else.

"Simply a precaution, K.O.," Jethro explained, "If Father or any of my siblings were to find me, I fear that all of the Jethros would be without a guide."

"You could hide in my backpack tomorrow and we could make a plan to help them together," K.O. offered.

Jethro shook his head, "No can do, K.O. This is my burden alone. I do not wish to trouble you any more than necessary. This 'darkness' you spoke of, for example."

"Uh…"

"Do you believe Stepfather would succeed in helping you?"

"Well, he said he would after I told him how T.K.O. worked…"

"Did he say he was sorry?"

"What?" K.O. stopped and felt squirmish.

"Did Stepfather apologize for his previous actions?" Jethro looked at him imploringly.

"Well…" Once again, he was at a loss for an answer. It was true that Professor Venomous and K.O. were getting along much better now, but what was the point of apologizing now? Best case, it would have opened up some old wounds. It was probably for the best that he let go of what happened…

You want to forgive that creek so easily?! What is wrong with you?! You let people walk all over you without a second thought! Let me out and I'll teach Daddy Dearest a lesson he'll never forget!

"Boy, I sure am tired," K.O. faked a yawn and jumped back onto his bed.

"K.O., you did not answer my question –" Jethro began.

"You better hurry up and hide before Boxman finds you," K.O. cut him off with the warning. He felt bad for using it as an excuse to drop the topic, but Jethro really wasn't safe if someone heard him and K.O. talking.

Jethro looked panicked and dashed off – huh, guess Jethro and his brothers can be fast when they want to be – but not before wishing K.O. a hasty "goodnight."

K.O. yawned for real this time and snuggled underneath his covers. Maybe that talk did help a little, he could barely remember what that nightmare was about anymore. He would figure out how to handle T.K.O. with these visits. He knew he would.

Author's Note: I wanted to do that first scene for a while, it was in the back of my mind for ages. And Darrell misunderstanding the word, "illegitimate" just wouldn't leave me alone. Thanks so much for your patience, please review! More Fink next time!