It seemed to be a normal day so far, but it wasn't just any normal day. It was sometime before Halloween and our story begins in a costume store where The Toon Force was as they looked at the various costumes, wondering what to pick and decide to wear this year as Atticus seemed to be pondering over the strong guy type of costumes since he was into that sort of thing, though that probably came with being adopted and raised by Superman for most of his life.
"Gee... So many choices... So little time..." Mo pondered to herself.
"Tell me about it." Atticus replied.
"Maybe I should go with my namesake..." Thor said to himself thoughtfully.
"Boy, look at that dress," Cherry chuckled, seeing a dress as red as blood that hung up on display. "That almost looks like something Sabrina would wear..." she then suddenly paused and looked a little distant suddenly as she mentioned an old friend of theirs who was now long gone.
The others looked over as Cherry suddenly began to look sad.
"Guys, she's having a moment!" Thor called out to the others once he saw what Cherry was going through.
"Uh-oh!" Lionel exclaimed. "Maybe we should find a way to check up on Sabrina, so as to assuage our concerns and verify that she's doing okay..."
Cherry did a bit of labored breathing after the sight of the dress made her think of old times. The others came beside Cherry, then went to take her out of the costume store for right now.
"It's okay, Cherry," Thor told the perky goth. "Sabrina is just fine."
"Oh, I'm sorry, guys," Cherry sighed. "I know we sent her away so that she would be with a happier family and world to live in, but... I miss her so much sometimes."
"So do we," Atticus replied. "Maybe we should do something else to keep our minds off it for a little while."
"No, no, it's okay," Cherry sighed. "Let's just keep doing our thing. Who wants to be what this year?"
"Well, I was thinking of being my namesake this year," Thor smiled innocently. "Like those other heroes who have different powers from us and are a different group... Like that Spider-Man or The Incredible Hulk or even that guy Ant-Man."
"Or that guy The Black Bat and his knock-off adventures?" Cherry smirked. "I hear he even has his own alternate Lady Gothika and Bat-Mite, something like Mistress Darkette or whatever."
"Whoo... sounds trippy, also, 'Mistress' anything gives off some major Dominatrix vibes." Lionel commented.
"Especially with a name like 'Mistress Darkette'." Thor nodded in agreement.
Cherry cupped her mouth and chuckled a little at how Lionel and Thor reacted to "knock-off counterparts" for Batman respectively as well as possibly Lady Gothika and Bat-Mite as well.
"Hey, guys... Aren't you a little too old for costume shopping?" Alexandra Cabot scoffed as she rolled her eyes and walked by.
"Look who's talking," Thor began to retort. "That mask is probably the scariest thing I've ever seen in years."
"What mask?" Alexandra glared.
"Oops. That's your face." Thor then smirked.
"Gimme five, man!" Lionel exclaimed as he lifted a hand and slapped it with Thor. "Buuuurn!"
Thor laughed as they shared that moment.
"Do you not remember or know who I am?" Alexandra glared.
"Just get out of here, Alexandra," Cherry glared back. "We're not letting you stand in our way."
"Besides, what's wrong with wearing costumes on Halloween?" Atticus added.
"Ugh! You guys are so annoying sometimes!" Alexandra complained before storming off suddenly.
"And stay out!" Mo added. "...Cherry, do you feel any better?"
"Yeah, I guess," Cherry replied. "I guess I could pick out a costume and then we could probably do something else... Though... I guess it couldn't hurt to... Uh... Ask if we can do a little something magical if you know what I mean." she then began to suggest.
"There's using your head!" Lionel declared. "And maybe."
"Do you think we could do after what happened in The Underworld?" Cherry asked.
"You mean how we saw Sabrina's new life in that other reality where we are, but we have different lives, but not too different since we know The Justice League?" Atticus asked.
"Yes." Cherry nodded.
"Well, if you want, I'm sure we could take a peek and see what's going on with Sabrina and Salem there," Atticus said before smiling a little. "Though I'm sure they're just fine in that other world we sent them to. Just like when we helped get The Avengers Grimm back home to Once Upon a Time and Alice gave you a special job."
"Yeah... maybe you're right," Cherry replied. "But still, I wouldn't mind being able to check in on them."
"Then we'll be sure to do that." Atticus said as he beamed, trying to make the best out of the situation.
"I'll think about a costume later," Cherry replied. "Thanks though, guys."
The others nodded before they left the costume store and went to go back home with Thor.
Thor soon brought them over to his house and he brought out a special crystal ball. "This is just like Hilda and Zelda's," he then told them. "This will show us anything and anywhere we would like to see, especially the infinite Earths."
"Spiffy!" Lionel exclaimed with a whistle. "It's just what we needed!"
"So... Should we check on Sabrina and Salem... Or as they're known in that world, Jane and Dorian?" Thor asked his dear friends.
"Yes, please!" The others agreed as that sounded like a good idea.
"Okay then, let's get this party started," Thor smiled as he put the crystal ball into position. "Um... We'd like to see Jane Hart Spellman... Please." he then said as Sabrina changed her name after moving into an alternate universe with a better and more supportive, not to mention caring, Hilda and Zelda Spellman.
The crystal ball glowed and sparkled a bit for a minute or two before the image began to look clear as they were soon shown a different looking Victorian house with the two ladies of the house, decorating for the special holiday that landed at the end of October.
"Core the pumpkin and come play, Halloween, o'happy day, Halloween o' ha-ppy day~" The Spellman sisters began to sing together as they decorated their house, having a very good time together so far. "Have a jolly-olly-hollo-Halloween~"
"So far, so good!" Lionel commented. "But where's Jane?"
"She'll probably be there in a minute." Mo replied.
And then, as if on cue, Jane was coming downstairs, before looking over to see what Hilda and Zelda were doing.
Eric Needles, who was now known as Eric Spellman, also came out from the kitchen to see what was going on as the Spellman sisters did their own thing. "Are you guys singing... Carols about Halloween?" he then asked.
"But of course," Zelda said like it was obvious. "We do this every year."
"Yes! Happy Halloween," Hilda added to the kids. "I bet you couldn't sleep last night with all the excitement and anticipation?"
"Well, it sounds better to celebrate Halloween this year than that time I dressed as a clown and Maxum Brain made fun of me while everyone else dressed like Maxum Man... Though Trevor decided to be Xoxum Man." Eric shrugged.
"Xoxum Man?" Jane glanced at him.
"His own idea," Eric explained. "A combo of Master XOX and Maxum Man."
"Ah..." Jane nodded before smirking. "Well, it's always fun for me to see people in the spirit of this holiday. Seems like back home, I was one of the few excited about it, especially with my love of horror movies."
"Well, I guess everyone's got what they like." Eric shrugged.
"Especially those two upstairs," Jane smirked. "Ambrose and Marie."
"I'm just glad they've found each other," Zelda said warmly. "Now, who wants to help me carve pumpkins for the house?"
"Oh! I do! I do!" Jane then suddenly beamed and raised her hand. "C'mon, Eric! You can help out too!"
"Oh, well, um, okay..." Eric said with a small smile. "I just hope I don't mess up."
"You won't," Jane smiled back. "Your big sister will be here to look after you and she happens to love Halloween more than anything, so this year is gonna be great for ALL of us!"
"Thanks, sis," Eric replied. "I guess that helps me feel better about going trick-or-treating with our friends."
"It'll be the best Halloween ever." Jane beamed in response.
Hilda, Zelda, Jane, and Eric then all shared smiles with each other.
"Feel better, Cherry?" Atticus asked his best friend.
"I guess I'll be okay now," Cherry replied as they watched their old friend in her new life. "Greendale seems better than Riverdale sometimes."
"It usually is." Lionel nodded.
"All right..." Cherry then said.
"You wanna go back to costume shopping or you wanna do something else for a while?" Thor then asked Cherry.
"Hm... Maybe we could try to come back here tomorrow after school," Cherry shrugged. "Or maybe get some Halloween candy... Like Kit Kats."
"Okay, then we'll get Kit Kats!" Lionel agreed.
"Yeah!" Everyone else cheered so that they could help cheer up Cherry.
"Think anyone will come trick-or-treat at Wayne Manor?" Atticus then asked.
"If any luck, maybe Damian and Raven," Cherry shrugged before smirking. "They've gotten very close when it comes to Titans training... Just like Gar and Terra or Dickie and Kori."
"Didn't Terra turn out to be a traitor?" asked Lionel. "So... probably not the best example."
Cherry glanced over at him a bit.
"Not helping. Not helping." Lionel said, backing up then.
Cherry gave him a firm nod before crossing her arms.
"Either way, it sounds like Damian and Raven have been close ever since they first met," Atticus remarked. "Should make things interesting at least."
"Tell me about it," Cherry replied. "Some things will change... Even if trick-or-treaters might not visit Wayne Manor."
"How come?" Atticus then asked.
"They're probably too scared." Cherry guessed with a shrug.
"Well, it doesn't exactly give off a welcoming aura," replied Mo. "So it makes a lot of sense."
"Hm..." Cherry paused thoughtfully.
"Come on, let's get some candy." Thor then said so that Cherry wouldn't feel sad again.
"Okay." Cherry replied calmly, but not too perky.
They soon left and came to the store to pick up some Halloween candy in the form of Kit Kats which was Cherry's favorite candy.
"We'll get some Kit Kats, then we'll head back home and finish up some homework..." Thor began to suggest. "Maybe you guys can visit Bruce?"
"I guess that couldn't hurt," Cherry replied. "But something tells me that this Halloween won't just be any ordinary Halloween."
"With us? I wouldn't expect anything less." Atticus stated.
"I guess we'll see and find out later." Cherry replied.
The group agreed and they soon went to get some candy before they would separate for another day as their classmates Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge, and Betty Cooper seemed to be wandering through another part of town solving a weird mystery, but that would be another story for another day of course.
"So, what's going on with Bruce tonight?" Mo asked.
"I think he has a meeting with some people," Cherry replied. "He didn't call Aunt Selina before we left to meet up with you guys."
"Maybe he got sidetracked and wasn't able to call her?" Lionel suggested. "Just a theory."
"It happens," Cherry shrugged. "But yeah, I think he said something about a meeting."
"But not a Justice League meeting?" Atticus guessed.
"No, not one of those," Cherry shook his head. "This is more of a Bruce Wayne emergency than a Batman emergency."
"Aye," agreed Lionel. "Definitely another bit of Wayne Industries business, I can assume."
"Pretty much." Cherry nodded.
They soon made it to the store and decided to go inside and get some yummy Halloween treats for themselves before they would head back home for the rest of their evening since they were out of school now.
Meanwhile, as they did, like Cherry and Lionel told their friends, Bruce seemed to be having a very important meeting with certain figures who were important in the world of big business. One of which included the one called Carmine Falcone with another man being intensely focused on his crossword puzzle. It was so quiet that the only sounds heard came from the pencil filling out the crossword puzzle as Bruce stared out the window, looking long and intense before he decided to break the silence.
"I only came here out of respect for my parents who knew your family." Bruce soon said while giving a thousand-yard stare out the window.
"Your father was more than just a friend to my family." explained Carmine Falcone.
Bruce's eyes narrowed. "That was a long time ago." he countered.
"Yes," said Carmine, as Bruce continued staring out the window. "...a long time. Thomas Wayne believed in my father; he believed a man could bring order to a world of chaos. And you, Bruce...?"
After a few minutes of silence, Bruce turned back to face Carmine. "...I believe in Gotham City." he responded.
Cherry and Lionel soon came over to Selina's apartment. At their feet, hopped over Isis who purred and nuzzled up against their legs.
"Hey, at least someone's happy to see me come home," Cherry chuckled as she held onto a bag of Kit Kats. "You ready for Halloween, Isis?"
Isis mewed in response before coming up closer.
"Oh, all right, all right," Cherry said before making Lionel hold the bag and she knelt down to pet the cat. "Come here... Good girl~..."
Isis mewed before seeing The Bat-Signal up in the sky.
"Looks like Bruce is off to work." Lionel commented, catching a look at the signal.
"Ah... Looks like it..." Cherry said as she took a look before facing him. "You wanna go with him or just hang out here until he or Aunt Selina get back?"
Isis then dashed away into a corner before licking her paw as she seemed to be the only company they had right now.
"Wonder what's on TV?" Lionel questioned.
"Well, why don't we see if we can find anything?" Cherry shrugged before she took the Halloween candy and decided to pour it in a rather large bowl.
"Sounds good to me," Lionel replied. "I'll go make snacks. You want anything in particular?"
"Probably boneless wings if there are any," Cherry shrugged. "You know how I like my chicken."
"Damn right I do!" Lionel declared as he roller-skated towards the kitchen, leaving Cherry in the living room with Isis.
Cherry nodded and soon came over to sit down and flipped through the TV channels until she found something interesting. Eventually, there seemed to be a special on The Disney Channel with a movie called "Tower of Terror".
"Hm... That girl seems weirdly familiar..." Cherry commented as she took a look at the child actress in the movie who was named Sally Shine who had big curly blonde hair and a vibrant pink dress as she smiled and curtsied cutely and innocently.
"The wings are ready!" Lionel called as he sat down with a tray full of boneless chicken. "Ooh, what are we watchin'?"
"Ah, it's a movie based on the Disney attraction 'Tower of Terror'," Cherry replied. "There seems to be a marathon of these and I think after this is The Muppets' Haunted Mansion." she then said before looking over and taking quite a handful of boneless wings. "Thanks."
"No problem!" Lionel replied as he made himself comfortable. "Now... what were you saying a few seconds ago?"
"Uh... Was I saying something?" Cherry asked, feeling a little confused for a moment.
"...whatever." Lionel shrugged as he adjusted himself on the couch.
Cherry glanced at him, taking some more wings as they began to watch their Halloween shows together as the TV did a marathon of scary movies, shows, and anything else spooky to get in the mood during the month of October, or as some channels called it "Spooktober" or "Shocktober".
However, as they had their own horror night, Batman had to spring into action. Down the streets, a trio of looters had laughed as they got away with several bags of money, feeling victorious as Commissioner James Gordon followed them in a squad car with the sirens blaring. However, the driver of the other car began to look concerned as soon down in front of the car, and dropped down Batman before an explosion erupted, causing the tires to screech to come to a forced halt, but it was too late and the car then crashed into a lamppost that was there. Two of the thugs soon opened the door before grunting as they fell flat onto the sidewalk before they were in front of Batman yet again. Underneath a bridge, a rotund man in a suit with a bowl cut handed a manilla envelope to another, leaner man in a suit. The second man then gave a grave facial expression as he accepted the folder.
Much time later, the large man came home and turned on his lights as he got ready to take a bath, so he undressed himself and quickly grabbed his robe. He shut the door behind him and soon turned on the water and once it was to his liking, he dropped his robe and climbed into the tub, making some water splash out before he took a deep breath to relax. However... He wouldn't be alone for long. The door soon opened into the bathroom before someone walked in with a very interesting weapon of choice. The large man looked over to see that he wasn't alone in his tub before he was suddenly shot and soon, the bathwater began to leak crimson from the blood that poured from the gunshots. Left behind was the weapon, a pistol with what looked like a baby bottle nipple at the end and a glowing Jack-O-Lantern of all things before the person who did the deed vanished into the night.
Meanwhile, Cherry snorted and shot awake as she and Lionel fell asleep watching their Halloween shows and movies. "Guh..." she then shivered after waking up. "That was weird."
"Hm...?" Lionel asked as he started to wake up. "What's going on?"
"Sorry, Lionel... I just had a very weird feeling..." Cherry said softly. "It's probably not important."
"Ah, it's quite alright," Lionel told her as he conjured up a blanket to wrap around the both of them. "As long as it's not important, then we're a-okay."
"Well, okay," Cherry said before nodding. "Tomorrow's Halloween... It's practically here..." she then quoted The Grinch, but of course with a holiday that fit the atmosphere more as it wasn't time for Christmas yet obviously, though that didn't stop most stores from celebrating.
"Yeeeeeup." Lionel agreed.
"Should we get back to costume shopping before we gotta help out a little with Batman and Catwoman?" Cherry suggested with a shrug.
"Sure, I wouldn't mind," nodded Lionel. "Sounds like a good idea."
"All right, let's see what we can do," Cherry nodded before sighing a bit. "Sorry... I still miss our Sabrina a little."
"We all do," Lionel said softly. "But she's a lot happier in her new home and new family."
"Yeah, that's true," Cherry said before she stood up. "Seems like a lot is changing, especially after the adventures our other friends in The Avengers Grimm had, but at least they're all fine back home too."
Then, unknown to her, her notebook on the coffee table seemed to be glowing as they soon left and went to go back to costume shopping since Halloween would be here before they would know it. Cherry then took out her phone to text Atticus and Mo to let them know what the plan was if they wanted to be in on it. A few seconds later, a reply popped up. 'SOUNDS GOOD.'
"All right, let's go meet Atticus and Mo at the costume shop so we don't end up sticking out like sore thumbs." Cherry then told Lionel once they left the door to go back into town as she sounded like she was feeling much better now.
"Aye-aye!" saluted Lionel.
And so, they went off to the costume shop for their own Halloween festivities with their friends. Thor smiled as he pulled out a Thor costume from The Avengers, deciding it would suit him best. Mo found a special costume to try on and went to go put it on to show the others after being told what it was.
"Lemme guess... Superboy?" Cherry asked Atticus.
"Uh... Maybe?" Atticus smiled sheepishly.
"Called it." Lionel snickered, slapping fives with Cherry.
Atticus turned away sheepishly before he went to turn away.
"Hey, you can be Superboy if you want," Cherry replied. "It's a free world."
"I guess it IS kind of obvious for me, isn't it?" Atticus asked bashfully.
"A little bit, yes." Thor admitted. "But you shouldn't let that discourage you."
Atticus looked shy before he went to try the costume on.
"What do you guys think?" Mo's voice asked.
The others looked over to see what Mo's costume was. She appeared to have her brunette hair worn down without her trademark red bandana, a bright green dress that seemed to match the color of fresh leaves with leaf-like wings in the back and a leafy crown with a golden rose in the center of the crown.
"Uh... What are you exactly?" Cherry asked, not even wanting to bother to guess what the tomboy was dressed as.
"I decided to be Mother Nature this year!" Mo announced. "...At least, how the media sees Mother Nature."
"Ohhh...!" Lionel commented. "Well, bonus points for not being easily recognizable!"
"Hehe... Thanks," Mo replied. "I just hope Poison Ivy doesn't get mad at me or anything."
"Ah, you'll be fine," Lionel told her. "It shouldn't be any problem."
"Right..." Mo nodded then.
Thor soon stepped out and showed the others his Avengers' Thor costume.
"Nicely done, Thor," Cherry approved. "That look actually works for you."
"No kidding!" Lionel beamed. "You look... mah-velous!"
"Aw, gee... Thanks, guys..." Thor smiled bashfully as he shuffled his foot.
"Does it come with a hammer?" Cherry asked.
"Yeah, but I think I'll be okay," Thor said before pumping his fist. "I don't care how old I am, but I'm gonna enjoy getting candy, whether 6, 98, or even the age of 12 are considered too old for trick-or-treating!" he then proclaimed. "Let's hear it for the 12-year-olds who still wanna go trick-or-treating!"
The others just glanced at him, including a group of kids who seemed to be at least 12 with red hair tied in a low ponytail and glasses, a girl with long blonde hair, and a boy who wore a colorful hat that was purple with colored rings underneath the purple with the colors of green, orange, and yellow.
"You heard me!" Thor told them before Cherry pulled him away.
"Okay. Calm down," Cherry told Thor. "You can go trick-or-treating, but we need to go to Wayne Manor first~" she then told him with a bit of a smirk on her face.
"Yeah! Yeah!" Lionel chimed in. "We still need to figure out OUR costumes!"
"I'm not sure..." Cherry said before shrugging. "Maybe I'll be Carmilla."
"Carmilla?" Lionel asked, a question mark appearing over his head.
"You don't know Carmilla?" Cherry replied.
The others didn't seem to know either.
"Well, she actually predates Dracula by about 26 years," Cherry said before taking out a book based on vampires. "She seduces and charms women before taking their blood because female victims are easier than male victims."
"Ohhhhh..." Lionel replied, impressed. "Then yeah, I could see you pulling off that look spectacularly..."
"Then it shall be Carmilla," Cherry nodded with a grin. "It'll definitely be an adventure."
"Yeah!" The others cheered while some other people, mainly the sassy girls in school like Alexandra and Cassandra just scoffed at their Halloween excitement.
"Ignore them," Thor glared. "They're unworthy to be in our presence."
"Yeah..." Atticus added bashfully. "...Think we could invite about three more guests over at Wayne Manor before we have Halloween fun?" he then asked hopefully.
"Like who?" Cherry asked.
"Oh, you know... Our new friends from that Townsville place?" Atticus suggested. "They're apart of our team after all."
Thor smirked. "You sure you're not a little curious about what Momoko's gonna be for Halloween?" he asked with a cheeky look on his face.
"Huh? What?" Atticus blinked and smiled nervously. "Don't be silly! Um... I wanna see what they're all wearing."
"Sounds like Superboy is getting hyper for Hyper Blossom," Cherry smirked. "You know you are. Whenever we have group missions with them or if we're hanging out with the Titans with them, you often insist on going with Momoko more than the others."
"That's an exaggeration," Atticus replied innocently. "Why wouldn't I wanna help out one of my friends?"
The others just all shared a knowing smirk with one another. Atticus just stepped away bashfully.