"Ugh! Why can't I think of any new plans?!" Mechanikat complained.
"Maybe you're getting off your game, especially with how The Justice League, Dog Stars, and that new Toon Force are keeping the town safe," A blue kitten remarked with a deadpan tone of voice. "Not to mention how recently, there's three girls from Japan who you'd think would be cutesy, sweet, and not a threat at all, they just fight crime and save the world before bedtime."
"But every plan I come up with ends up as a failure, Snooky!" Mechanikat glared.
"Yes, I know, O Most Evil One; I've experienced them as has Delilah." Snooky said.
"He's got a point." Delilah added.
"Well, whatcha gonna do?" Snooky shrugged innocently. "You can't stop the Dog Stars."
"No..." Mechanikat had to admit. "But I've heard tales of Catwoman's best cat having a family member in the city."
"What do you suggest then?" Delilah asked.
"Perhaps... We could recruit her somehow to help take down the Dog Stars... I'll make my own army of Cat Stars... Someway.. Somehow..." Mechanikat replied firmly. "I just need a plot to go with it, especially since there is a new kitten around. It's not like the Dog Stars are going to get any bigger in their team than they are now, right?"
"Or you could always use a puppy and have him fight against Superdog after giving him powers while doing that idea of yours so they are out-numbered and won't have Superdog to help them." Delilah suggested.
"Right, like I could find the right puppy to do that." Mechanikat said.
"Just a suggestion." Delilah shrugged.
"If you had such a good idea all this time, why are you now just telling me?" Mechanikat scoffed.
"I like to keep a tomcat on his toes~" Delilah smirked.
"So then all we must do is find the perfect pup to use." Mechanikat smirked.
"But there must be so many," Snooky said. "How will we know which one to use?"
"I might have to do some research or I could always appoint you as my little spy." Mechanikat smirked, about to reach for the kitten.
"Yes, O Mighty Evil One." Snooky obeyed.
"I knew you'd see it my way, Snooky Wookums." Mechnikat smirked.
Delilah then snickered a bit.
"Hey!" Snooky glared. "I didn't pick my name, okay?!"
"Whatever you say, Little Miss." Delilah teased.
"I'm a boy!" Snooky snapped.
"Ya could've fooled me." Delilah smirked.
"Now all you have to is earn the trust of a puppy, any puppy will do." Mechanikat smirked to Snooky.
"I won't let you down, Mechanikat." Snooky said.
"I know you won't," Mechanikat smirked. "But of course we shouldn't rush after finding the perfect puppy to use."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Snooky rolled his eyes as he soon went out. "Just let handle this."
Eventually, Snooky came to the busy streets of the city as it was the middle of the afternoon, and kids would be let out of school soon while adults walked across the streets, narrowly missing him on the way. "This is not going to be easy." The evil kitten said as he walked around the city, hoping to find a puppy to use for the plan.
Unknown to him or anyone else, there was a puppy perfect for the plan who would learn a lesson in all this, but who would also be able to make friends with everyone would meet unlike back where he was before meeting Superdog.
Eventually, Superdog brought Tripod back home and became Krypto again.
"Really nice house you got here." Tripod smiled as he explored the house a little.
"Welcome to the Whitney house," Krypto smiled back. "Soon you'll meet Mom, Dad, Kevin, and Melanie."
"That's good, I guess." Tripod said.
"You won't feel homesick for long," Krypto told Tripod. "Just stick with me and we'll get along just fine."
"I just didn't think you'd be in a normal house in the city," Tripod remarked. "I kinda thought you'd live up in a spaceship or something."
"Well, at times I do go down to my spaceship to contact the Dog Stars sometimes." Krypto smiled.
"That's cool." Tripod said.
"Yeah, I'll have to show you some time," Krypto nodded. "I'm sure the Whitneys are going to love you too."
"I sure hope so," Tripod sighed. "It'd be nice to have a loving family and friends for a change."
"And you will I promise you that." Krypto smiled.
"I'll take your word for it." Tripod said.
Krypto patted him on the head a little and soon decided to turn on the TV for Tripod as they relaxed in the living room together.
"Tired?" Tripod asked.
"Trying to get all the rest I can get before I have to go anywhere," Krypto chuckled. "Just wait until you're my age."
Tripod laughed a little with him before they began watch the TV and without meaning to Krypto did fall asleep having a little nap. Tripod kept watching the TV until he heard something going on outside before leaving Krypto's side to find out what was going on. Tripod peeked his head out and looked around as he explored a little to follow what was going on. He then saw Snooky Wookums being chased by some dogs even though he didn't know the light blue-furred kitten. He would have woken up Krypto, but didn't want to disturb him and went to save the kitten from the dogs even if he didn't know what he was getting himself into.
"Help! Somebody! Anybody!" Snooky cried out, acting scared as he ran far from the bigger and scarier dogs.
The dogs barked loudly and darkly as they chased the kitten. Snooky soon ended up in a dark alley, looking scared as the big dogs surrounded him. The big dogs looked ready to finish off Snooky.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Tripod's voice called out from behind the big scary dogs.
The big and scary dogs snarled and turned around to see the Dalmatian puppy. Snooky looked over before hiding a smirk as he hoped that this would be the puppy they would need.
The Rottweiler laughed a bit menacingly as he stood up in front of Tripod. "Stay out of this, Pup, you'll live longer." he said mockingly and threateningly.
"No way! I'm not letting you hurt this kitten!" Tripod glared.
"Then I guess you'll be meeting your doom." The Rottweiler smirked.
Tripod growled as he looked ready to fight back.
"You're just a wee little puppy," The bulldog smirked as he joined the Rottweiler. "Not to mention... You have three legs."
"That's not my fault though." Tripod firmly pouted.
"This should be easy to take down a three-legged pup." The German Shepard smirked as he joined the bulldog and Rottweiler.
Tripod narrowed his eyes. The three bigger and older dogs soon jumped in to ambush Tripod. Snooky just stood by quietly to see what would happen since Tripod wasn't like many other puppies when it came to strength and where he was surprised as the three bigger and older dogs got a taste of Tripod's strength as he got each dog into a trash can as he fought them and flung each one into a trash can and sent them rolling away.
"Whoa." Snooky said.
Tripod growled firmly before nodding. Snooky soon backed up a little while acting a little scared.
"Hey, uh, you okay, little guy?" Tripod asked the kitten.
"Oh, uh, I-I'll be okay, I'm surprised though that a dog saved me like you did." Snooky smiled innocently.
"It's alright, I just did what Superdog would have done if he was around." Tripod said.
"Well, thank you for saving me-" Snooky drawled on.
"Oh, I'm Tripod; you can already see why I was named that." Tripod said.
"That's a very nice name; I'm Snooky." Snooky smiled.
"That's a nice name too," Tripod smiled back. "You're parents must be worried. Though if you don't mind, I can take you home."
"Oh, uh, that's okay, I can take myself home." Snooky said innocently.
"You sure?" Tripod asked curiously. "I'd hate to leave you all on your own after what just happened."
"Well, I-" Snooky paused.
"Oh! My baby!" A voice called, as Delilah was shown to be rushing over, acting like a Mama Cat.
Snooky blinked in surprise, but he didn't say anything.
"Is this your kitten?" Tripod asked her since he didn't know her.
"Yes, yes, this is my little darling," Delilah said before putting her paws against Snooky's cheeks, though she smirked at him just to embarrass him a little. "Don't run away from Mama Cat again, my poor baby~"
"I'm sorry, Mom; I didn't mean to make you worry." Snooky said with a forced smile before seeing Tripod smile softly.
"You're very lucky to have a mother that loves you, Snooky; anyway, I must be going now." Tripod said softly before leaving to get back to the Whitney house.
"Oh, leaving so soon?" Snooky asked. "Are you sure?"
"I should probably get going," Tripod nodded. "It was nice meeting you though, Snooky."
"You too." Snooky said.
Tripod soon continued his way back to the Whitney house.
"So?" Delilah smirked.
"He's the one, but like Mechanikat said no rush, he'll be of some use someday in the future." Snooky said.
"Shall we report back then?" Delilah smirked.
"Yes, I think we should," Snooky smirked back. "It'll be quite the surprise."
Both of them began to laugh, slightly fiendish.
Eventually, some time passed and it was now time for kids to come home from school as Krypto rested up in the living room.
"He sure is lucky to have a mother that's worried about him," Tripod whispered to himself. "I wonder if my own mother really loved me or if she only acted like she loved me?"
Krypto soon heard Kevin coming back home by the bus and so were Kevin's parents and Melanie.
Snooky and Delilah soon got away.
"Did you do something outside?" Krypto asked Tripod.
"I was just helping a kitten." Tripod nodded.
Krypto's left ear soon flew up. "We'll talk about that later," he then suggested. "Kevin's on his way back."
"Cool." Tripod said.
Kevin was seen getting off the bus and saw his parents and sister getting home as well. The Whitney family soon got home as Krypto stretched a bit and got ready to go and see the family once they got home.
"These long office hours, I tell ya." Eddie said to his wife.
"I'll take your word for it, Working Man." Mary smirked as she carried Melanie in her stroller.
"Today at school was so bad this time." Kevin said.
"Oh, Kevin, school is good for you." Eddie advised.
"Yeah, I know, Dad," Kevin mumbled. "Just try being a kid with tough homework."
"What was that, Kevin?" Eddie asked.
"Oh, uh, nothing, Dad." Kevin said innocently.
The family soon came into the house were soon greeted by Krypto.
"Hey there, boy; you've been waiting for us inside like a good dog?" Kevin smiled.
Krypto shook his head with a smile before looking over to where Tripod was standing. Tripod stepped back a little bit, feeling nervous and squeamish.
"Kippo!" Melanie cooed and giggled at the white Lab, reaching out to him.
"Looks like Krypto has a surprise for us." Eddie said to his family.
"I am not cleaning it up because he knows better than that." Mary mumbled thickly.
Krypto soon barked a bit to bring Tripod out and soon, the Dalmatian puppy took a deep breath and let it out as he came to go over to beside the adult white Lab as he looked up at the Whitney family.
"Puppy!" Melanie smiled.
"Aw~... He sure is cute." Mary smiled.
"He sure looks cool and different." Kevin said.
Tripod gave a small smile back as he came out a little more since the family seemed nice.
"What an interesting pup," Eddie remarked. "I wonder where he came from? Krypto, is this your new friend?"
Krypto barked and nodded as his tail wagged a bit.
"Can we keep him, Mom and Dad?" Kevin asked as he hugged Tripod. "He could be like Krypto's little brother or something."
"Oh, Kevin, I don't know, one dog is a big enough responsibility, two dogs might be quite the handful." Eddie said thoughtfully.
"Please?" Kevin begged.
Tripod begged with Kevin and even added in a whimper and puppy dog face.
"Aww..." Mary smiled as Melanie even copied her mother.
"Well..." Eddie said before sighing sharply. "All right."
"Yes!" Kevin then beamed.
"But you have to look after him like you do for Krypto," Eddie reminded Kevin. "It'll be even more of a challenge though since that little guy's a puppy and not a fully grown dog like Krypto is."
"I promise I'll keep a close eye on him, Dad." Kevin smiled.
"Yay!" Melanie cheered as clapped her hands.
"Well, all right then." Eddie nodded.
"You'll have to give him a name." Mary added.
"His name is..." Kevin paused a bit.
"Tripod." Krypto whispered to Kevin.
"Tripod," Kevin then said before looking curious. "...Tripod?"
"...Well, that's an interesting name for an interesting dog." Mary smiled politely.
"Plus it fits with of how many legs he has." Eddie pointed out before getting nudged by Mary.
"Still, it's an interesting name for an interesting dog." Mary smiled politely.
"So he can stay?" Kevin asked.
"Tripod can stay, but remember what we said." Eddie reminded his son.
"Yes, Dad... Thanks, Mom!" Kevin beamed as he soon hugged the three-legged puppy. "Welcome to the family, Tripod!"
Tripod smiled, happy to hear the word "family".
"Tipod!" Melanie smiled.
The family laughed a little at that.
"Can I call Atticus and he can see Tripod and his friends too if they want?" Kevin asked.
"All right, Kevin," Mary smiled. "Maybe they could stay for dinner too if they would like. We'll make something special for the new member of our family. Even if we have no idea where this little guy came from."
Krypto and Tripod then shared a wink with each other. Kevin soon went to the phone and began to dial Atticus's phone number as they knew his phone number by now.
Atticus began to do his own homework which was a bit easy for him before he answered. "Hello?"
"Hey, Atticus." Kevin smiled.
"Kevin," Atticus smiled back. "You got hard homework today?"
"Yes," Kevin sighed and rolled his eyes. "But that's not the reason I called. I thought I'd invite you over and if you want, your friends and Patch can come too and meet a new member of my family."
"A new family member?" Atticus asked.
"Yep." Kevin nodded.
"Did your family adopt a kid or something?" Atticus asked.
"You'll have to come over and see," Kevin beamed. "I thought I'd tell you since we're like family sometimes since I've always wanted a big brother."
"Aw." Atticus smiled.
"Anyway, I hope you can come over for dinner and bring whoever you want, even Patch since he and Krypto are friends." Kevin smiled back.
"Sure thing, hopefully there's something good for dinner." Atticus chuckled.
"Pretty sure Mom will make steak," Kevin replied. "See you soon then."
"See you soon," Atticus smiled before hanging up. "I better go tell Patch and the others."
"Tell us what?" Patch asked as he came inside the house.
Atticus beamed as he turned around to share special news with Patch, though he already knew all about it.
Back at the Whitney house, Kevin had a new dish for Tripod with his name on it and gave the puppy some water after giving Krypto some of his own.
Tripod smiled as he began to enjoy the water as he drank it. 'This is great; I have a family now,' The young pup thought to himself. 'Maybe I won't have any trouble from here on.'
Krypto smiled at Tripod as he kept the puppy company.
"So, uh, where did he come from?" Kevin asked Krypto once it was just the three of them right now.
"There was a fire and I had to go in and save him." Krypto explained to Kevin.
"Why was he in a fire?" Kevin asked.
"There was a lightning storm and it set the barn on fire I was inside when it happened," Tripod frowned before realizing something. "Wait. You can understand what we're saying?"
"It's kind of a long story." Kevin said.
"And we can trust Kevin with secrets," Krypto smiled at Tripod. "That's how we met and I became his pet after Superman trusted Kevin to look after me for him."
"Cool." Tripod smiled.
"So why were you in the barn by yourself?" Kevin asked the three-legged puppy.
"Because my former family left me behind." Tripod frowned.
"They just left you?" Kevin asked.
"I guess they just decided they had no use for me and left sometime while I was sleeping," Tripod said. "They were with me one night and I woke up and they were gone."
"Whoa... That's harsh." Kevin said.
"But as luck would have it Krypto came and saved me." Tripod smiled.
"I bet he did," Kevin smiled back. "Krypto's a super dog after all."
"Well, I don't like to brag." Krypto chuckled bashfully.
"Um, do you mind if I call you Dad?" Tripod asked Krypto.
"Y-You wanna call me 'Dad'?" Krypto sounded touched.
"If not, it's okay, I understand, but I would really love to." Tripod nodded hopefully.
"...O-Okay then," Krypto nodded back before smiling. "You may then."
"Then I'm really gonna like living here, Dad." Tripod soon smiled back.
"And we're going to like have you here, Tripod." Krypto smiled back.
"Oh, yeah." Kevin nodded.
Eventually, some time had passed as Mary went to make some dinner for the incoming guests. Kevin had the others meet up in the backyard to meet Tripod up close as Patch happily ran on ahead in the yard.
"Sure, it's cool that Superman has his own dog," Cherry smirked at Atticus on the way into the Whitney backyard. "But Superdog can't compare to Ace the Bathound."
"She's got ya there." Lionel added as he joined them.
"Bathound's cool too in his own way." Atticus said.
"Oh, I can't wait to meet the new member to the Whitney family." Mo smiled.
"Yeah, I can't wait for you to meet him either!" Patch beamed. "You guys are so slow!"
"Keep your collar on," Lionel teased. "I'm still trying to get used to walking around like a normal kid."
"I wish I had a new family member," Thor pouted before smiling. "But you guys can be my family like when we formed the Toon Force."
"Good thinking, big guy," Lionel nodded. "Let's go see this kid... Or whoever it is."
"All right, Kevin," Atticus said once he came into the backyard with his friends. "We're here to meet your new family member."
"Alright then guys, meet Tripod." Kevin said as he showed Krypto at first.
"Uh, isn't that...?" Mo started.
"Come on out, they're friendly." Krypto smiled softly behind him.
Tripod soon came out a little shyly.
Thor gasped with wide eyes and his jaw dropped, though Lionel closed his mouth in order to see polite.
"Well, he sure is interesting." Lionel commented.
"One of a kind," Mo nodded. "He'll fit right in along with the little extended family... And, uh-"
"That pup's kinda freaky looking, that's what he is." Cherry said bluntly as she stepped in to look at Tripod.
"Cherry!" The others scolded.
"Well, he is!" Cherry defended. "And you named him Tripod? Sheesh... That's like nicknaming a handicapped kid 'Wheels' or somethin'!"
Tripod started to whimper as he backed away as he had a feeling this was a bad idea.
"He isn't freaky, Cherry; he's unique and looks strong and athletic," Atticus told her before facing the three-legged puppy. "And not to mention cool with that sweatband on his head."
Tripod smiled bashfully at that.
"He's like a little pup athlete," Atticus smiled before looking at Tripod. "I wonder how much you can bench?"
Tripod then looked even more bashful, though he took the compliment.
"Hi, Tripod, I'm Patch." Patch smiled.
"Hi, Patch." Tripod smiled back.
"You two almost look like you could be brothers." Mo giggled.
"Maybe in some other universe." Patch chuckled.
"I'll look into that for ya." Lionel smirked.
"They can understand too?" Tripod asked Patch.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Patch nodded.
"Yeah, sure is." Tripod smiled.
"Dinner!" Mary's voice called out.
"Ooh, food." Thor smiled.
"Ease up the drool a little, big guy." Lionel chuckled.
Eventually, Atticus and his friends sat together and they had some dinner which was of steak.
"Can't go wrong with steak." Atticus smiled.
"Would you believe me if I told you I used a vegetarian recipe?" Mary whispered to Mo who just stared at her plate.
"I would have to say thank you." Mo whispered back.
"Oh, so delicious." Thor smiled.
Mary beamed as she went to sit down with them.
"Mm... Well, it sure is boffo." Lionel smiled.
"I hope that means that you like it." Eddie said to him.
"Oh, I do," Lionel nodded. "Probably the best steak dinner I'll ever have in my lifetime."
"This steak is so delicious." Thor smiled as he kept eating.
"Mom's cooking is always the best." Kevin smiled back.
"Are you hungry, Thor?" Mary chuckled to the biggest boy in the room.
"I have a very big appetite." Thor smiled bashfully.
"I can see that, good thing I've made plenty for everybody." Mary smiled back.
"Wahoo!" Thor cheered.
"Oh, so good." Patch smiled as he got to have some food with Krypto and Tripod.
"Your new family feeding you good?" Krypto asked Patch.
"Yeah, especially once they started bringing Kanine Krunchies to the local grocery store," Patch beamed. "That's the official dog food of Thunderbolt!"
"That food is always good." Tripod smiled.
"Yes, it is." Patch smiled back.
"So Patch is a good little helper with the Dog Stars." Krypto soon told Tripod since it was just them dogs.
"That's cool." Tripod smiled.
"And maybe sometime in the future, Tripod can be a little helper too." Patch smiled back.
"He'd just need a name and superpowers and I'm sure he'd be all set." Krypto chuckled.
"Oh, I'm sure we could work something out for that." Patch remarked.
"Seriously though? They're willing to let a three-legged puppy named Tripod?" Cherry deadpanned to the others. "That's like begging for others to pick on him."
"Shh! He'll hear you." Thor whispered.
"I'm being realistic." Cherry said.
Tripod began to look soft after hearing that.
"Look at what you did." Mo scolded Cherry.
"Gee, Cherry, I know social cues aren't your thing, but you could at least notice when you're upsetting someone." Lionel scolded.
Cherry glanced over before looking at Tripod. "Oh... H-Hey, Dog..." she then said. "I... I didn't mean it... You understand, right?"
"Are you a bully?" Tripod pouted.
"What?! No! I'm not a bully," Cherry defended. "Uh... I'm sorry, Dog..."
"It's okay, I guess it would be impossible for someone like me to be on a superhero team." Tripod said.
The others gave Cherry a sharp and firm look, towering over her as she suddenly fell to her knees with a nervous grin as she sweat-dropped at their disapproval.
"Now, now, come on," Cherry grinned nervously. "I'm sure you'll be a great superhero someday, Dog. I didn't think any of us would become heroes, especially since we're a group of rejects in school, but we became heroes."
"She's right about that, Tripod." Lionel said.
"Yeah, I guess." Tripod replied.
"Hey, so what if you're a little different?" Lionel asked. "I was very different from my home."
"You were?" Tripod replied in surprise. "It's different for you... You're a human."
"Not exactly," Lionel smirked as he snapped his fingers and brought out an ID card to the Dalmatian puppy. "Lionel W. Schwartz... Former resident of the 5th-Dimension... #1 fan of Batman, Lady Gothika, and pop culture references, at your service."
"Whoa... A whole other dimension?" Tripod asked.
"Yep." Lionel nodded truthfully.
"Can we go now?" Cherry asked.
"Do you know any tricks?" Atticus asked Tripod with a smile.
"Mostly the basics," Tripod replied. "'Fetch', 'Play Dead', 'Roll Over', 'Lift up'."
"Lift up? I never heard of that one." Patch said.
"That's usually when I carried heavier loads for my family," Tripod explained. "Such as heavy barrels, boxes, or anything like that."
"Guess you're the gifted one in your family." Cherry remarked.
"Does that mean I'm different?" Tripod asked with a frown.
"Yes, but it also means you're special in a very good way." Mo smiled warmly.
"Yeah, you're stronger than any Earth puppy and to us, that's special." Patch smiled to Tripod.
"And now you have Krypto as your adoptive dad." Atticus added.
"I still have to be dreaming." Tripod said to himself.
"Trust me, kid, if you were dreaming, I would know it." Cherry replied stoically.
Mary and Eddie were in the kitchen and looked out the window.
"Isn't that cute? They're talking with the puppy like he can talk back." Mary smiled at her husband.
"Yeah, it is cute," Eddie replied. "And where he certainly is, uh, um, something."
"Eddie, don't be rude around the new puppy," Mary advised. "That might make him feel bad."
Melanie soon began to walk before falling to her knees as she crawled out to see Tripod in the backyard where the big kids were.
"You must have been lifting heavy things a whole lot." Thor said to Tripod.
"Yep." Tripod nodded.
"Mind showing us a demonstration of your strength?" Thor asked.
"Aw, jeez," Cherry groaned and face-palmed. "What is with this world and needing to show off strength all the time? Am I the only one who doesn't care?"
"Hmm... I'll need something heavy to lift first." Tripod said to the others.
"How about Atticus's fat head?" Cherry smirked then. "I bet not even The Mighty Hercules himself could do that~"
"How about my doghouse?" Krypto suggested.
"Perfect." Tripod smiled.
"I still think Atticus's head would be nice." Cherry smirked before yelping.
"Shh~... This looks epic." Thor shushed her as he suddenly hugged her from behind and lifted her off of the ground and put one hand over her mouth.
Cherry muffled and struggled before glaring at him.
Tripod soon went over to the doghouse and did a few stretches. "All right, Tripod... Lift Up." he then told himself as he took a hold of Krypto's doghouse and began to lift it up. Luckily, he then did and as he lifted up Krypto's doghouse, he didn't struggle or have trouble keeping it up in the air.
"That is epic." Thor smiled.
"Impressive." Krypto smiled at his adoptive son.
Cherry just yawned as she sat with the others.
"I guess I just always had it in me." Tripod shrugged before putting the doghouse back down before anyone else would see.
"That was so cool." Thor smiled.
Cherry soon grunted and got her hand free as she flopped her arms out from over Thor's latching arms as she sighed in relief.
"Yeah, it was pretty nice, I suppose," Lionel replied. "Not bad for a pup after all."
"Wow, thanks," Tripod smiled back at them. "I never thought I'd meet nice hum-Well, uh, mostly humans."
"When you were going through tough times, did your mom ever help you through?" Thor asked the three-legged puppy.
"They didn't pay much attention to me," Tripod said softly. "Sure, they would talk with me, but... Sometimes, it felt like they weren't always there."
"Ooh, I can feel that unmended scar," Cherry sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe they would do that to me."
"Me neither and they seemed so nice when I first met them." Lionel frowned as Cherry got a little personal.
"But one night, my mom did help me get some sleep by singing a song, but I think it was just because it was late and she didn't want to bother staying by my side the whole night." Tripod said softly.
"So she sang you a lullaby... That's good, it's close to a sign of caring, kinda." Thor said.
"Still did more than my parents." Cherry said softly.
Tripod looked at her. "You wanna talk about it?" he then asked.
"Huh? Oh, no, no, I'm fine," Cherry smirked as she was soon back on the ground, shaking her head and putting her hand up. "You don't need to hear about my boring personal stories, Dog."
"I bet it's better than mine before getting saved by Superdog." Tripod said.
Cherry looked a bit wide-eyed and soft before she stared at the ground.
"You know, you can always talk to a dog if something's bothering you," Patch advised. "We're great listeners."
"Nothing's bugging me, okay?" Cherry replied sharply, though Patch and the others except for Krypto and Patch knew otherwise. "Just leave me alone."
"Okay. Okay." Tripod said then.
"Let's just... Go, okay?" Cherry sighed.
"You can tell me later if you want," Tripod said to Cherry. "Just remember... I'm here for you."
"...Thanks, Dog..." Cherry shrugged.
"He sure is friendly." Lionel said.
"Yep." Thor nodded.
"I'd like a puppy," Lionel smirked. "But I guess that's you sometimes, StormCloud."
Thor chuckled bashfully and shuffled his feet across the ground.
"All right, I met the puppy, can I go now?" Cherry asked Atticus.
"Okay, Cherry, you can go," Atticus smiled. "This is gonna be a lot of fun for him, I just know it."
"And if you smile even bigger, you're gonna need major surgery from someone like Dr. Frankenstein." Cherry snarked.
"Yeah, yeah..." Atticus replied.
"We'll see ya around." Mo said to Tripod.
"See ya." Patch smiled at Tripod.
"Come back soon, Patch?" Tripod asked his fellow Dalmatian puppy.
"Sure, I'll come back," Patch smiled. "Whenever Kevin needs help with his homework, Atticus will come over to help him and that means I will too."
Tripod smiled back as he really looked forward to it.
"I'm more of a cat person anyway." Cherry grumbled as they walked off.
"Yeah, so am I, especially with Isis." Lionel agreed as they left the Whitney household.
"I'll come and visit whenever I can." Thor smiled.
"Me too." Mo added.
Eventually, the teenagers and Patch decided to go back home.
"There? You see?" Krypto smiled at Patch. "You've got yourself some new friends."
"Yeah, I guess I do." Tripod smiled back.
"Hey, can you keep it down please?" An orange cat asked from next door.
"Who's that?" Tripod asked.
"Sounds like Streaky, taking another one of his infamous naps." Krypto smirked.
"Streaky?" Tripod repeated curiously.
"Here, I'll show you real quick," Krypto said as he took Tripod over to the fence to the house next door to show the orange cat who made it outside of a young girl's bedroom, who was his owner. "That's Streaky."
"How many naps does he take?" Tripod asked.
"He's a cat, he'll take as much as he wants." Krypto remarked.
Tripod soon looked at Streaky and noticed that the cat looked a little familiar. "...Have I met this cat?" he then asked. "He seems familiar."
"You've got a lot to learn about this neighborhood, kiddo." Krypto chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess so," Tripod smiled. "I guess maybe soon I'll make more than one cat friend."
"I suppose you could say that." Krypto nodded.
"I think I need to take a little nap to get settled," Tripod said before yawning as seeing Streaky napping made him look sleepy. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all, go on ahead," Krypto replied. "Just don't be alarmed if you wake up and I just happen to not be here."
"Okay," Tripod said. "So where in the house am I going to be sleeping?"
"I figured you could share my doghouse with me if you'd like." Krypto replied.
"I would like that." Tripod smiled.
"We'll just make sure that the Whitneys give you a bed or a pillow," Krypto smiled back. "It'll be a lot of fun."
"Krypto, do you have any puppies of your own?" Tripod asked curiously.
"No, Tripod, I don't think so." Krypto shook his head.
"Well, I think you'd make a pretty great dad." Tripod then smiled.
"Aw, thanks, kiddo." Krypto smiled back.
Tripod soon began to get ready to get some sleep as he began to walk around in a circle before settling down in the doghouse. Krypto smiled at that, feeling touched and happy for Tripod as this was going to be a happy change for everybody, especially for The Dog Stars and the Whitney family, but of course there were some that would be mean and there was also Mechanikat.
"So, did you find the perfect puppy to use?" Mechanikat asked Snooky and Delilah.
"Mm-hmm, he was unlike any other puppy I'd ever seen." Snooky nodded.
"Care to tell me more about this puppy?" Mechanikat asked.
"He's a Dalmatian puppy and he only has three legs," Snooky said before grimacing. "I'd hate to see how that came to be."
"Some dogs are just born that way." Delilah rolled her eyes.
"And not only that but he's stronger than a normal Earth puppy." Snooky said.
"Hmm... Very interesting." Mechanikat smirked.
"But when he saw Delilah acting as if she was my mom, he seemed rather sad." Snooky said softly.
"You're not going soft, are you?" Delilah smirked.
"What? No way." Snooky scoffed.
"Just checking." Delilah smirked.
"Hmph," Snooky rolled his eyes at her before looking at Mechanikat. "I suppose you could go onto the next step of your plan then."
"Oh, that's easy I'm going to start building my newest inventions," Mechanikat smirked. "One is for my own Star Cats and the other is to help convince that pup to help us in the very end."
"Purrfect~" Delilah smirked back.
"In the meantime, Snooky, I need you to keep that pup thinking you are his friend, but do not forget the plan for a second." Mechanikat told the light blue kitten.
"So, just blend in for the rest of the time being?" Snooky asked.
"Exactly," Mechanikat nodded with a dark smirk. "Do cute kitten things and what you do best."
"I won't let you down," Snooky nodded back before saluting the older cat. "Have I ever let you down before?"
Delilah looked like she wanted to answer that question.
"No one asked you." Snooky narrowed his eyes at her.
"Just be sure you don't forget the plan." Mechanikat told Snooky.
"I won't forget, I promise." Snooky assured.
"Like he would even think about forgetting." Delilah added.
"I'll go back and see that pup again another time, the sooner the better." Snooky soon nodded as he dropped down to look like he was bowing loyally.
"Good, and while you do that I shall get started on my newest inventions and as for Delilah, she shall take over your chores while you are away." Mechanikat said before going off to get to work.
"That's right," Delilah smirked before realizing what Mechanikat just said. "Wait, what?"
"I believe you heard me, Delilah." Mechanikat smirked as he walked off to get to work.
"And I better get going too." Snooky added as he walked off.
"Oh, very funny!" Delilah narrowed her eyes as she began to look angered and annoyed. "When I write about my life... And I will... I will not be kind." she then warned them both sharply.
"Well, off I go." Snooky smirked as he got himself down to Earth.
Tripod began to enjoy his sleep with Krypto. Krypto made sure Tripod was comfortable enough as they fell asleep together as another day was soon coming and going. Also luckily for Kevin, tomorrow was Saturday which meant he didn't have homework to worry about. Everyone slept soundly that night, though Mechanikat was hard at work to carry out his plans against Superdog and the other Dog Stars as he, Delilah, and Snooky would use Tripod as a pawn for the plan, but of course, no one would know about that until it would be too late.