Disclaimer: I don't own Calvin and Hobbes...

Calvin's mom sat on the couch as the doorbell rang. She answered to find Rosalyn standing outside the doorstep.

"Thanks for coming!" Calvin's mom greeted.

"You had better appreciate this." Rosalyn sneered. "I think everyone is going to be at the countdown."

"We're sorry." Calvin's mom apologized. "But we need to do this."

"Remember, an extra ten bucks bonus." Rosalyn said grumpily. "I had been looking forward to the fireworks for weeks! What did he do to deserve missing the fireworks?"

Calvin's mom chose to ignore Rosalyn's question. "Honey!" She screamed. "Rosalyn's here!"

"Great!" Calvin's dad said as he ran past them to the car. "Calvin's in his bedroom. By the way, if the fire starts again, we put a fire extinguisher in the kitchen."

Rosalyn winced.

"Maybe I'd like a fifteen buck bonus instead." Rosalyn added.

"You've got it!" Calvin's mom said as she left.

Calvin sat on his bed sulking with Hobbes sitting nearby. How could they do that? He loved the fireworks! His year's not complete without constant explosions in his book. And forcing him with that evil woman was cruel.

"I want my explosions!" Calvin sobbed. "One fire and my parents are against you forever. For god's sake, it was an accident."

"Honey!" He heard his mom scream. "Rosalyn's here!"

"I hate her!" Calvin told Hobbes. "She never loses! We always get more punishment then reward. And her punishments are cruel and inhumane. She's scary. She's crazy. And of course she's…"

"Right behind you!" Rosalyn laughed from the door. "I heard from "never loses", were there any others I missed."

"Ouch! Bad start." Calvin moaned.

"Wait until I'm done with you kiddo." Rosalyn said as she left the room. "Follow me."

"I'm coming!" Calvin cried before addressing Hobbes. "Hobbes! Quick! Trade lives with me."

"No way Jose!" Hobbes replied.

Calvin's parents drove up to the crowd. They were amazed at the size of the bunch. The fireworks were supposed to be five blocks ahead.

"Wow! Rosalyn's right! It looks like the whole town's here." Calvin's mom said.

They hopped out of the car. And walked off to try and get a good view.

"Hey!" Moe said from nearby. "Mom! I wanna see the fireworks too!"

"Shut up you little runt!" Moe's mother said as she pushed him away. "Go bother someone else."

Moe looked around. Every other kid gets hoisted over onto their parent's shoulders but not him.

He turned to Calvin's parents. He recognized them from somewhere…

"Say, aren't you Twinkie's… I mean… Calvin's parents?" Moe asked the two.

"Yeah, we're Calvin's mom and dad." Calvin's mom said cautiously.

"Where's Twinkie… I mean… Calvin?" Moe asked.

"He's at home." Calvin's dad replied.

"Oh man, I needed to pulverize someone… I mean… talk to someone…" Moe cried before catching Calvin's parents' glares. "Bye!"

Calvin's mom shook her head as Moe ran in a random direction. What a moron that kid was! And no wonder if you look at his mother.

"I don't know about this." She said. "I don't feel right about this! I feel a little sorry for Calvin"

"Me too." Calvin's dad replied. "But I keep thinking, $9 300 in damages, $9 300 in damages. And the fact that we have to sleep on the couch."

The two felt no different. They turned and went to talk to the first person they saw.

"COME BACK HERE YOU RUNT!" Rosalyn screamed as she chased after Calvin in his Stupendous Man costume.

"With the speed of a full throttle Mercedes, Stupendous Man speeds away from the evil Babysitter Girl." Stupendous man said as he sped away from Babysitter girl.

Calvin began running up the stairs to Hobbes, who was wearing a pillowcase around his neck to resemble a cape.

"Rushing to the aid of our hero is Tiger Boy!" Tiger Boy cried as he dived after Babysitter Girl. "Can our mighty heroes defeat this fiend?"

Hobbes jumped off the top of the staircase and dived after Rosalyn. He turned into a stuffed toy and bounced right off of Rosalyn to hit the floor. As she thought Hobbes was nothing but Calvin's teddy bear like tiger. She figured that somehow Calvin had booby-trapped Hobbes to fall on her. Calvin had booby-trapped her before after all!

"Holy Mackerel Tiger Boy!" Stupendous Man cried. "You bounced off of her like a stuffed animal! I'll have to take the situation into my own hands!"

Once he reached the top of the stairs, Calvin turned around and jumped after Rosalyn. "For justice!" Calvin cried before hitting Rosalyn in the stomach.

Rosalyn fell on her back and began sliding head first down the stairs. Calvin sat on her stomach and began hitting Rosalyn non-stop until she hit the floor. Then in a swift movement, Rosalyn kicked Calvin away to the floor!

"I'll be right back!" She sneered, holding on to her aching back.

"Stupendous Man has been defeated. He knows not what Babysitter Girl will do, but he doesn't want to find out." Stupendous Man cried, clutching where he'd been kicked. "Can his loyal sidekick help our wounded hero?"

Calvin lied down on the floor. He was in quite a bit of pain. Not because He knew Rosalyn had won.

"He could if he hadn't jumped off the top of a staircase." Hobbes said, lying a few feet away.

"Wuss…" Calvin said.

Moe still was unable to see the fireworks. He had such a stupid mother. Why did all the other kids get special stuff from their parents? His only good toy was the truck he'd stolen from Calvin..

"10… 9… 8…" The crowd began chanting.

It was his last chance.

"Mom, can I please…" Moe cried.

"Shush! 7… 6… 5…!" She replied.

Moe sat down on the pavement disappointed. That was it. No fireworks for him.

"4… 3… 2…" The crowd cried.

Almost time.

"1… 0!" The crowd celebrated.

Moe heard the first firework go off. He let a tear go out and waited for the fireworks to end.

Except he didn't hear anymore fireworks. Confused, he looked up to see the fireworks weren't going off. And the crowd had vanished.

"What the…" Moe said as he looked around the empty streets.