Eventually, the night gave way to the next morning, and Zofia made her way to the couch with a bowl of cereal to watch TV at 10:30. LJ, however, didn't feel like coming down. Cherry and Thor cuddled a bit through the night before they woke up in each other's arms.
"Why you so snuggly?" Cherry asked.
"I was born that way," Thor smirked before looking over at Lionel. "I'm not sure if he'll be up to snuggling though."
Lionel grumbled to himself as he got up and shuffled downstairs. A little while later, Felicity came out of her room and went to the restroom; LJ was inside, brushing his teeth.
Zofia looked over as she watched TV on the couch. "Good morning, Father." she greeted softly.
"...Morning, Zo." Lionel replied with a tired smile as he came into the living room.
Meanwhile, in the restroom, LJ glared daggers at his eldest sister. "...What is it you want?" he asked gruffly.
"Whatya think?" Felicity replied grumpily as they were in the bathroom. "Ugh... I feel like I just got smashed in the head with an anvil."
"After what happened last night?" LJ replied. "Being hit with an anvil would be a much nicer fate, considering what you did to us. It hurt me, sure, but it hurt Zofia even more."
"I just have one question..." Felicity said.
"...Okay, what?" LJ shrugged as he decided to humor her.
"What exactly happened last night?" Felicity asked.
"You really don't remember, huh?" LJ asked with a dry chuckle. "Where to start, where to start? First, you threw a wild party, the teenagers destroyed half the place, then Chad and his cronies got you drunk, you lashed out at us and told Zofia to her face to piss off, and then you basically insulted your own friends. And for what? A bunch of snobby jerks who couldn't care less about what happens to you?"
"What...? I got drunk?" Felicity gasped. "But... I don't do that... I'm not even old enough to drink."
"You really have no idea what happened...?" LJ asked.
"I remember Audrey coming with the Dennis twins... Not much of anything else after that..." Felicity said wearily.
"Then Chad and his friends showed up and tricked you into drinking booze," LJ explained. "Zofia and I tried to get the teenagers to leave, but then you flipped out cuz your party was more important than keeping the house undamaged. You basically said to get lost or else you'd ground us until the dinosaurs came back, and when Zofia tried to reason with you, you just told her, 'piss off, shorty'. And then Zofia said something to the extent of 'I can't believe I used to look up to you', and then ran off. Long story short, Dad was absolutely LIVID. I never saw him so angry before!"
"Ugh... My head..." Felicity groaned. "That doesn't sound like me at all."
"Tell me about it," LJ said. "It was like when your popular peers showed up, you felt some sort of bad pressure around them."
"I think Mother warned us about this..." Felicity sighed. "What's happened to me?"
"You got hooked on being popular, and you damaged your friendships," LJ replied. "I told you this would happen, but you didn't listen. So now you have to pay the price for it."
"Well, it's not like I'm gonna do that again, right?" Felicity shrugged. "I'm sorry about what I did though."
"I'm sure you are," LJ replied. "Though I doubt Zofia will be as willing to accept your apology. And considering how many people you let trash the place? I'm no math genius, but I reckon that adds up to bein' grounded for two months."
"Oh, it can't be that bad, right?" Felicity asked.
And so...
"Two months?!" Felicity asked.
"I'm sorry, kiddo, but I can't be the fun parent all the time." Thor said as he tried to sound mature.
"Exactly!" Lionel replied. "Besides, you didn't do anything to stop it. You took our trust, and you just stomped on it... Stomped it until it was broken. Broken, like my comic book collection AND my ceramic Batman statue!"
"I'm sorry..." Felicity said with a shallow voice.
"Sorry doesn't cut it I'm afraid," Cherry said. "You're gonna have to pay us back somehow. We love you, but we're very angry and disappointed, you were always mature for your age, even after your brother and sister were born."
"Can't we just fix it with a special way?" Felicity asked. "Can't we make this all go away like nothing happened? We might all laugh about this someday."
"Why would we laugh about this?!" Lionel asked. "This is not something to laugh about! The things those teenagers broke are irreplaceable, and if we just 'made it all go away like nothing happened', then you wouldn't learn anything from this experience. Not to mention, Zofia is still pissed at you."
"You are confined to your room," Cherry said. "No leaving the house except for school with no friends over and your chores will be doubled."
"And you have to get a job!" Thor added.
"A job...?" Cherry looked at him funny.
"...I dunno," Thor shrugged. "I see it in a lot of sitcoms."
"Okay, never mind that last bit," said Lionel. "But you will have to make amends with your siblings; hopefully you haven't completely burnt the bridges between the lot of you."
"I am so very sorry..." Felicity told the adults.
"Don't just apologize to us." Cherry reminded.
"Yes, ma'am." Felicity replied.
"Honestly, we're not even sure we can leave you in charge whenever we head out for the night," Lionel replied. "Might need to ask one of our old friends to look after you three."
"What?!" Felicity yelped.
"That might be best." Thor agreed with Lionel.
"Hey, don't look at me, you're the one who decided to have a wild party while we wuz out," Lionel told Felicity. "What's to say it won't happen again? Unless we can leave them with someone... Maybe Mo and Atticus would be willing to help?"
"That could work," Cherry said. "Atticus was always the responsible one when we were kids."
"I heard he has kids of his own," Lionel replied. "Might be nice for LJ and Zo to make friends with them, considering, well..." he took out a remote and played the video footage of what happened. "See for yourself, in case you don't believe it."
Felicity shuddered a bit from that.
"Let's check it out... Just to be safe..." Cherry said as she took a look with Thor.
"See? Riiiiiight there," Lionel told Felicity, showing her the screen where Zofia lost all faith in her older sister. "You can actually pinpoint the second her poor little heart snaps in half. Though I will admit the math exorcist thing was pretty funny."
"LJ always had your sense of humor," Cherry hid a smirk. "I guess there was always a reason I thought naming him after you would be a good fit. Either that or David."
Felicity looked a bit terrified and overwhelmed with the video footage as she watched her little sister's trust be shattered like Lionel's ceramic Batman's statue.
"After Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld?" Lionel replied. "Unexpected, but hey... Maybe for the next one."
"Eh, I just always liked the name David." Cherry shrugged.
"And if it's a girl?" Lionel asked.
Cherry shrugged again. "Roseanne?"
"How about Kiki?" Thor smiled. "I like the name Kiki. You never hear the name Kiki anymore."
"Say 'Kiki' one more time..." Cherry said a bit firmly.
"Kiki...?" Thor blinked.
Soon, everybody left the room, though Thor had a bit of a black eye now.
"I brought that out on myself, besides, I'll heal instantly." Thor said as he held his eye.
"Besides, what would we call her when she got older?" Lionel replied. "Whatever, I'll go call Atticus and explain things."
And so he exited, leaving Felicity to bear witness to the awful things she did last night.
"I take it you've seen your actions, right?" LJ asked as he and Zofia had come over.
"Gah!" Felicity squeaked.
"Hello." Zofia said.
"...Hi." Felicity said to her younger siblings.
"What a performance," LJ remarked. "Can't say I'd like an encore, though. Looks like you owe us."
"What do you mean?" asked Felicity.
"I bet $20 that they'd destroy property," replied LJ. "They destroyed the ceramic statue, some plates, and one of our family portraits... So yeah."
Felicity looked over with a whimpering pout a bit before she came to get her wallet. "Excuse me a minute." she said softly.
"I'm still barely talking to you!" Zofia scolded.
"I deserve that." Felicity sighed.
"Good. Glad we're on the same page," LJ replied. "Cuz if you EVER want us to be on good terms again, then you'll have to prove it. Otherwise, we'll be younger siblings who hate our older sibling."
"You would hate me?" Felicity asked as that hurt her.
"That pain you feel? That's how I felt when you told me to piss off." Zofia said.
Felicity let out a small frown from that.
"At this point, it's a mild dislike," LJ replied. "I suggest you do what you can to decrease it down to a 'tolerate being around you'."
Felicity let out a small sigh. "Of course."
Zofia nodded from that. "I'd flip you off to show an edgy side, but that feels more childish than trying to seem... Adult compared to what was once for children..." she then said.
"Well, I appreciate that at least." Felicity said softly.
"...I think I'll head out," LJ replied. "Oh, I forgot to mention: you'll be pretty lucky if you can get your friends to accept your apology, considering how quickly you brushed them aside when you thought you were gonna get to be popular."
Felicity slumped a little.
"I'm just gonna go to my room a little," Zofia said. "Maybe use one of those adult coloring books. They're surprisingly soothing."
"I understand," Felicity said to them. "I think I need to lie down and think about what I've done."
"Yeah, seems like a good idea." LJ replied as he left.
The siblings all split up as the adults were together as they tried to decide what to do with the kids while they also had work to do with Batman.
Cherry's hair seemed to be messed up and she had dark circles under her eyes as she looked a bit exhausted.
Lionel sat down and hugged her gently. "...It feels like our little family has been fractured..." he said, sadly.
Cherry wasn't looking at him, but he had tears running down his face.
Later that night, he and the others were with Batman, doing surveillance from atop a gargoyle. Batman cracked his neck as he took out a rifle. Voltage winced a bit from that as it sounded a bit gruesome. Helicopters flew not too far from their height at the height they were in. One helicopter landed above them as they stayed put in the shadows while the other shot an air missile to explode at the building which startled some civilians in the middle of the street. Giant crumbs of debris soon fell down near them which made them run off as the building soon caught on fire. Batman took the rifle and put in a grappling hook implement, which he fired at the building. After hammering down the other end, he rushed across the rope with the others. The bandage-faced man took his gun and started shooting at him, knocking him off the rope.
"Is that a mummy?" Voltage asked.
"Why on Earth would you ask that?" Catwoman II deadpanned.
"Well, his face is bandaged up." Voltage shrugged.
"...Okay, I'll give you that one." Catwoman II allowed.
"No... It's Two-Face," Bat-Mite replied. "Going for a whole new look after his cosmetic surgery."
"Oh... I must've missed that..." Voltage face-palmed. "...Are you gonna call me an idiot now?"
"Well, you had a good excuse to say 'mummy', so I'll let you off on that one." Catwoman II told him.
This was suddenly on the news for everybody watching TV right now, even for Terry as he still thought about what was told to him about how he was the son of Bruce Wayne. Batman climbed up the side of the building and threw a smoke pellet, distracting the goons and allowing himself and the others to easily dispatch them. Catwoman II, Bat-Mite, and Voltage came together. Voltage came between them before they rubbed their feet together and shot out bigger and stronger thunderbolts from Voltage's thunder magic which shook the building a bit from the vibrations and impact. Two gunmen started shooting at them, but one got a Batrope tied around his legs and was dragged into the smoke. The second guy tried to aim, but all he saw were a hulking bat-creature, a monstrous cat-creature, and an electricity demon. Batman calmly took the gun away as the man slumped to his knees.
"...What's HAPPENING?!" The man asked, clutching his head.
"Your favorite nightmare," replied Batman. "Should last about an hour." And so he and his allies entered the helicopter.
"I'm just glad I never pissed off Bruce or Batman." Lady Gothika said to herself.
"What about that time you had 'adolescence' so you talked back to him and got cocky about not cleaning your room?" Voltage smirked.
"Uh... What?" Lady Gothika asked like she didn't know about that.
Bat-Mite rolled his eyes. "Let's go..." he muttered. "Hopefully the kids are doing as good as we are..."
"I just know if the house is turned upside-down again, Felicity is going straight to military school, Cadet Kelly style." Catwoman II replied
"Then hopefully the Fudo kids are a better influence on them." Voltage replied.
Meanwhile, the kids had been dropped off at the Fudo house for the night.
"Sorry we came a little late," Cherry said to Atticus. "We appreciate this though."
"Hey, no worries," Atticus said with a yawn. "I just might miss breakfast though. I had a huge case that lasted the whole day."
"Well, at least try not to miss brunch," Lionel replied. "That's your second shot."
"You sure the kids will be okay here?" asked Thor.
"Trust me, dude, they'll be fine," Lionel said. "Why don't we introduce OUR kids to your kids?"
"Excuse me..." Atticus said as he came inside his house which was pretty big, though not as big as like say a mansion, but still bigger than the average house.
"We got company?" Patch asked Atticus as he came by.
"We sure do," Atticus smiled sleepily as he pet his adult Dalmatian. "I can tell this will be a pretty big adventure and experience."
LJ reached out and curiously patted Patch on the head. Patch looked over and gave a small smile.
"I see you met Patch," Atticus smiled wearily. "I'll go get the kids."
"Thanks, Atticus," Thor smiled back. "How've you been?"
"Pretty good, just really tired right now," Atticus replied before he called out. "Kids! Come on down! Vincent!"
The oldest child came out, he had Atticus's dark brown hair and Mo's earth green eyes.
"Akito!"
The middle child came out as he had light brunette hair like Mo, but had Atticus's ocean blue eyes.
"Estelle!"
The youngest child came out who was a daughter with Atticus's dark brown hair with Atticus's ocean blue eyes.
"Um... Good evening," LJ said, taking a bow. "Very nice to meet you all."
"Salutations." Zofia added.
"Well, it's good to meet ya too," Akito replied. "So, I suppose we're, like, cousins?"
"I would say so as their mother is like your father's sister," Mo said as she came by while stirring a bowl of cookie dough. "It's so good to see you all again. Does anyone want some cookie dough?"
"Oh, uh, I shouldn't..." Thor smiled bashfully. "I have such a sweet tooth."
"W-Well... Alright," LJ said as he had a little. "Oh... Wow... This tastes amazing!" he exclaimed, hopping around on his sneakers.
Thor decided to have some too and beamed a bit from that.
"I hope you kids like some chocolate chip cookies then," Mo beamed. "I'm making that for dessert later~"
"...Could I have some?" Felicity asked her parents.
"Hmm... I suppose..." Cherry replied. "Just don't take advantage of your aunt and uncle's kindness."
"We'll do our best not to," LJ replied, before turning to Akito. "So... What do you do for fun?"
"Well, I usually work-out or play some sports," Akito said. "Sometimes I read, though I'm mostly an outdoors kid."
"Neat," LJ replied as he took out a lunch pail. "I usually like to watch cartoons or play with my action figures. Sometimes I like reading, though."
"Cartoons and action figures are good." Akito replied.
"Um... What do you like?" Zofia asked Estelle.
"Most of the time, I'm practicing to become a prima ballerina," Estelle smiled as she balanced on one leg. "Would you like to learn?"
"Oh, yes," Zofia smiled back. "My friend at school doesn't like ballet, but it looks pretty amazing, like when I watch the CATS musical."
"Well, alright then; I guess I could show you some." Estelle replied.
"Nice!" Zofia beamed.
"...I like to paint..." Vincent said to Felicity.
"I usually just read or make up my own music." Felicity shrugged.
Things seemed awkward between the two elder siblings as they weren't sure how to bond with each other.
"Sometimes I like to carry my toys around in this lunchbox," explained LJ. "Easier than using my pockets all the time, really."
"Eh, I get that," Akito replied. "I have a collection of some action figures. I don't play with them much anymore, but would ya like to maybe check 'em out? My sister collects dolls these days even if she doesn't play with them anymore as a teenager."
"Well, okay!" LJ replied.
"So, do you guys have to go?" Mo asked Cherry, Lionel, and Thor.
"We have a lot of work to take care of," Cherry replied. "It's a bit complicated."
"Let's just say Mr. Wayne needs our help," Lionel added. "We'll pick the kids up tomorrow morning."
"All right," Mo replied. "We'll see you then."
"Thanks, Mo, I knew we could count on you guys," Thor smiled. "Have a good time, kids!"
The kids told their parents goodbye as they were left at the Fudo household.
"Hopefully that'll work out fine," Cherry said. "I hope it at least keeps Flick out of trouble. I was always afraid of teenage rebellion because I wasn't sure how I'd deal with that when it would come. Also, with her, I didn't think that it would come."
"Well, she probably did it in an attempt to be popular," Lionel replied. "And with most teenagers, being popular is the most important thing to them."
"Yeah..." Cherry sighed. "I guess that's true."
They soon left the Fudo household as they went to keep doing what they were doing.
"Alright, so where were we?" Thor asked as he took out a Pocket Planner, even though those died out back in the 90's.
"Helping Bruce." Lionel said as the flashback ended.
As Batman was knocked from the rope, he fired another grappler that clung to the ceiling of the helicopter the bandage-faced man was aboard, and yanked it, causing the helicopter to tip over and send Two-Face tumbling out of the aircraft. Luckily, Batman used the rope to swing down, grab him, and crash in through a window.
"Sorry, not sorry." Voltage chuckled at Two-Face's demise.
Two-Face soon sat up before he glared as he tried to shoot his gun at the three before they all ran around as Batman hopped towards him and lunged out at him to tackle him to the floor. The other three moved themselves as Batman had Two-Face then.
Batman firmly punched Two-Face which made the gun fly out of his hand before he grabbed a hold of the bandages to rip them off. "Show me. What did you do?" he demanded before he saw the villain's face which was a bit of a shock.
"He looks... Normal..." Catwoman II said to the boys.
"Yeah..." Bat-Mite and Voltage added.
"No. I played along as long as I could," Two-Face panted a bit as he faced Batman. "While you and the docs had your joke. You got everyone to smile and keep their lunches down when they looked at me. Pretending I looked normal."
"You think...?" Batman started.
"Cut it out. Just look at me and have your laugh," replied Two-Face. "Get it over with. At least both sides match now, right? Look at me and have your laugh. Who are we kidding? They couldn't fix me. Nothing can change what I am."
"You and me both." said Batman firmly.
"...Deep." Catwoman II whispered.
"What now after this?" Voltage asked.
"...Maybe we should go back home." Catwoman II suggested.
"Good idea." Bat-Mite replied as he snapped his fingers, and the three of them vanished.
They came back home in their civilian outfits. Since the kids weren't home that night, they all decided to relax with a very hot bubble bath together, with Cherry in the middle, as usual, so they could both be next to her.
"I'm bushed..." Thor groaned a bit as he sunk in the tub a little which made some water sploosh out onto the floor which made him chuckle sheepishly. "Heh. Sorry about that, guys."
"It's okay, we'll take care of that later," Cherry replied. "Let's just relax. Tonight was a bit of a doozy."
"You said it..." Lionel sighed, going limp as Thor was apparently massaging him.
"I just had to ask to join the Justice League that time when Superman died before he was able to be brought back," Thor said. "...You guys liked me in the League, right?"
"Of course we did, Thor," Cherry told him softly. "You helped us cheer up after a bit of a big dark period."
"I'm just not sure if I can keep up this superhero 'stick'." Thor sighed a bit.
"Hey, it's fine," Lionel replied, in mid-moan. "It's not forever... Soon we'll find someplace nicer to live, ya know? Mm... Yeeeeaaaahhhhh..."
"I'm gonna mold you like fluffy pizza dough~" Thor purred as he massaged carefully, but still strong.
"Ah, you boys keep me young." Cherry said to them.
"Mm-hmm..." Thor smirked. "I just guess... Where could we go to live? The kids grew up here."
"Maybe after they get older we'll... We'll... R-R-Retire somewhere..." Cherry said, though a bit shakily as she dreaded about getting older.
"Don't think of it as retirement," said Lionel as he moaned again. "Besides, no matter how old you get, you don't even look any different... Mmmmm, fuck yes! You're welcome, by the way!"
"I suppose that's true." Cherry said softly.
"It'll be okay," Thor smiled as he still massaged Lionel. "We'll all be just fine."
"Aye!" Lionel replied as they decided to watch TV. The program that was on had been pre-empted by a news report.
"A spokesman for the Ridley Chewing Gum family has revealed that the Mutants have kidnapped Kevin Ridley: the two-year-old heir to the Ridley fortune." explained a reporter.
Lionel sighed, wrapping a towel around his head. "No rest for the wicked, I reckon." he remarked.
"Sounds right to me," Thor sighed as he put on the fireplace and put his hands by the fire. "Ah... Toasty..."
"Being an adult is soooo hard..." Cherry said with a slight whine as she began to wash her hair as the boys got out of the tub. "I'll be there in a minute, I gotta get some tangles out."
"Gladly," said Lionel. "We'll wait up."
Thor kept warming up by the fire.
"Are you cold?" Lionel asked. "We just got out of a warm bath."
"Exactly!" Thor chuckled a bit before sighing. "Ah... The news... It's always rough."
"Ain't it always nowadays?" Lionel replied as he got dressed. "It's like good news doesn't even exist anymore."
"Yeah, just at like the dinner table if you're lucky." Thor remarked.
Eventually, Cherry walked by with a towel wrapped around her body and hair as she came to get dressed too. "The news always depresses me, that's why I rarely watch it, except fo maybe School Closings." she said with a sigh.
"You and me both," Lionel replied. "And who could really blame ya?"
"Yeah," Cherry replied. "I'm about to change my clothes."
Thor leaned over a bit bashfully.
"No, you can't watch!" Cherry rolled her eyes.
"It's a joke! I'm joking!" Thor smiled bashfully as he backed up then.
"Well, you win some, you lose some." Lionel shrugged.
"I just hope that the kids were alright with Atticus and Mo." Thor sighed softly.
"Me too." replied Lionel as he got dressed.
"I'm sure they did though," Thor smiled. "I always loved playing with Atticus in high school."
"More than playing with us?" Cherry smirked playfully, referring to herself and Lionel.
"Well, it's better than playing with myself," Thor rolled his eyes before his eyes widened. "Uh, wait, lemme rephrase that."
"Hey, I could say the same!" Lionel smiled. "Playing with YOU is fun, too."
"Yeah, it is," Thor smiled back sheepishly. "I do love our time together."
"That's so cheesy, I mistook it for pizza," Cherry smirked as she came back out as she was more comfortable. "Ah, I guess there's a plus side about growing up: this type of comfort with each other."
"Yeah..." Lionel added as he finished getting dressed. "Ready to roll."
"You good to go, Thor?" Cherry asked.
"Yeah, let's go," Thor replied. "After some chocolate though."
Cherry rolled her eyes before she let him borrow some Kit Kats.
"Mm..." Thor smiled as he took one to eat which made him feel a lot better.
Later, one of the Mutant gangsters was on their phone. "You ever wanna hear him again?" he asked, while his cronies were holding Kevin Ridley captive. "Do like we said. You got one hour." he then hung up.
One gangster soon sniffed the air. "Aw, man. The kid messed himself!" she groaned.
"Hold your breath," replied the leader as he prepped his weapon. "Once we get the ransom, we flush the whole kid."
Suddenly, they heard a click on the door. The lead gangster turned around and opened fire on the door, shooting it full of holes, and his cronies joined in shortly. The door then slowly opened up before a bat came flying in as there didn't seem to be anybody else there.
"Get it off me! Get it off me!" A thug cried out as the bat attacked him.
"Chill, Spot," One of the others told him flatly. "It's just a bat."
A Baterang shot out and stabbed Spot through his hand which made him scream out and bleed.
"Get out of the way." The other gangster told Spot before he rapidly shot his gun which made Spot cry out and fall out the window with the glass shards that had blood dripped on them. "Should have got out of the way, Spot." he then said.
Soon, Batman's arms shot out of the wall before he grabbed a hold of the shooter and pulled him back as he came for the attack.
"Back off or I'll kill him!" The female gangster threatened as she held her gun at the toddler's head. "Believe me, man, I'll do it."
Batman shot the weapon out of the female gangster's hand, and then knocked her out with the butt of the rifle. Fortunately, Bat-Mite caught Kevin before he hit the ground, and hugged him to his chest.
"...I believe you." Batman replied firmly.
Meanwhile, a young girl in green boots and a familiar costume was sprinting across rooftops at that very moment.
Voltage shook a chill down his spine.
"You okay?" Catwoman II asked him.
"I could've sworn I felt some sort of weird déjà vu feeling... I can't explain it..." Voltage shrugged before he tickled Kevin's chin. "Hello~"
Kevin cooed and giggled at him with a small smile.
"Relax, little guy... You're gonna be ooookay." Bat-Mite added.
"Get out while you can," Batman told the other three. "I'll be right with you shortly."
"Alright," Catwoman II replied. "We'll keep the little ankle-biter busy."
Bat-Mite did a salute. "You got it!"
"Aye-Aye!" Voltage added.
Catwoman II walked out with the boys as Batman stepped back into the dark.
"Do you know who I am, punk?" Batman's voice asked.
"Where am I?" A man's voice replied. "I can't see."
"I'm your worst nightmare. The kind that makes you wake up screaming for your mother."
"I think I'm bleeding. What's on my face?"
"Quite an arsenal you had in that apartment. Combat weapons. You're going to tell me where you got them."
"Solid, man, I'll tell you, but no cops, and I walk. Deal?"
"You're in no position to negotiate. Let me show you."
Voltage played "Peek-a-Boo" with Kevin as he sat with Catwoman II and Bat-Mite. Batman removed his hand to reveal that the guy was being dangled from a rooftop, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. Voltage covered Kevin's ears.
"The roof dangle," Catwoman II smirked as she leaned over to see that. "Classic."
"Never thought he'd actually DO it," Bat-Mite chuckled. "Anyways, we may as well get the little guy home, and then we'll stop by the cave, say hi to Alfred, and then head home."
"All right..." Catwoman II said as she sent a quick text to Batman.
After a few moments, Batman checked his phone before he waved Catwoman II off as she left with the others.
"There, there, you'll be with Mommy and Daddy soon." Voltage cooed at Kevin as they walked off.
"Yeah, so just relax, little hombré." Bat-Mite added as they vanished in a puff of smoke.
After taking the kid back home, the three went to visit the BatCave.
"I better make a call..." Cherry said as she was about to call Atticus's house.
"Go for it." Lionel replied as he and Thor entered the BatCave.
Cherry dialed a number as she waited for the other line to pick up.
Eventually, Mo answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, Mo," Cherry gave a small smile. "I thought I'd check in. How are the kids?"
"Oh, they're fine," Mo replied as she walked by as the kids watched a movie together. "They seem to be watching a little Star Wars together."
"Oh, good, I'm glad they all found a common interest." Cherry said from that.
"Atticus just hit the pillow and he's been out like a light," Mo continued. "You could set off a nuclear bomb and he'd still be sleeping."
"Cherry?" whispered Lionel, as he and Thor poked their heads out from the secret entrance. "You... Might wanna see this."
"Sounds like Atticus to me," Cherry replied as she put one finger up. "He was always such a hard worker."
Thor looked very impatient and shook Cherry a bit to get her off the phone.
"...Could you say hi for me?" Cherry sighed. "I think something bigger needs my attention right now."
"Oh, uh, sure," Mo replied. "Good night then."
"Good night," Cherry said before she hung up to look at the boys. "What?"
Lionel and Thor led her inside, where Max, the teenager from a few days ago, was busying herself by checking through Batman's crime files on the Batcomputer.
"...I reckon our intern found a way inside." Lionel replied.
"Oh... I see..." Cherry said with wide eyes.
"At least she's computer literate." Thor smiled sheepishly.
"Well, guess this is how Batgirl II begins..." Lionel replied. "Because we need SOME way to keep her quiet about this."
Max looked over to the three of them.
"Well, uh, hello there..." Cherry said.
"Hey." Max replied calmly.
"I see you've made yourself at home, young lady." Cherry remarked.
"Yeah..." Max replied. "This is a pretty neat set-up. Who knew that my boss and Batman were the same guy?"
"...Alright," Lionel sighed. "What would it take to ensure nobody else finds out about this?"
"You let me become part of the team." Max smirked eagerly.
"...Fine." Lionel sighed.
"Was that so hard?" Max smirked.
"Kids today," Cherry rolled her eyes. "As long as you keep your mouth shut about this your boss and Batman are the same person."
"Yeah, kid, that could be very, very dangerous." Thor cautioned, a bit severally.
"Hey, my lips are sealed." Max replied.
"I'll start working on your suit," Lionel replied. "Soon as I draw up some blueprints."
"Sounds good to me," Max replied. "So, could we talk about a Christmas bonus?"
"Don't push it, kid," Cherry narrowed her eyes. "You're a bit salty."
"Aw, come on, you were young once." Max smirked.
"Yes, and I was a lot like you on a good day." Cherry said to her.
"We'll get to that eventually." Lionel replied.
"That's fine by me," Max said to them. "I look forward to my new future though."
"Likewise," Lionel replied. "You'd best get yourself home, young lady. And... You got the intern job."
"Excellent," Max said as she stood up. "I guess I'll get a call from you sometime tomorrow to start out?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Lionel replied. "You'll officially receive your new armor tomorrow after school, so you've got until nightfall to give it a test run."
"Sounds good to me," Max said. "Pleasure to be in business with you, sirs and ma'am."
"Get back home safe." Thor smiled.
"I will." Max replied as Lionel and the others took their leave.
"So, uh, you wanna watch a movie?" Thor smirked. "In bed..?"
"Thor..." Cherry warned. "Don't look at me like that."
"Can't help it," Thor smirked. "I just love to empower you like this, you're like a cute little deer in headlights."
Lionel blushed as he rode on Thor's shoulders. "He makes a good point..." he replied.
"Come on, guys, don't gang up on me like this!" Cherry playfully whined. "You know weak it makes me feel."
"Yes, we know, that's why we do it," Thor whispered as he brushed some hair behind her ear to whisper closely. "You're trapped with us..."
Cherry let out a muffled squeal as she cupped her mouth before flailing her arms a bit as that made her shake. "You vile cruel beasts!" she then gasped out.
"Maybe, but we're your vile, cruel beasts," Lionel smirked. "And you love it."
"Shucks..." Cherry mumbled as she turned bright pink in her face.
"Let's go to bed... With a movie..." Thor smirked. "I'll wrap you up like a marshmallow."
"Stawp that naow~..." Cherry mumbled sheepishly.
Lionel chuckled at this as they all changed out of their street clothing and back into inside clothes.