The next night, Max, aka Batgirl II, found herself with the others inside the hulking, tanklike "Batmobile", which rumbled through the city streets towards the location of the Mutants' meeting place in the Gotham Junkyard.
"Master Bruce?" asked Alfred, appearing on a video screen.
"Who else?" replied Batman, a smug smile on his face.
"Of course, but the signal is coming from-" Alfred replied.
"Been a while since I've taken her out," Batman continued. "Still purrs... Like it was yesterday."
"You're alright with this?" Max asked Alfred.
"I've come accustomed to it for quite some time now." Alfred replied.
Meanwhile, the Mutants stood as their leader spoke to them. "They call us a gang; they think we just noisy kids!" he bellowed. "Only when they die by our hands will they know that Gotham City belongs to the Mutants!" he was met with a rousing cheer. "Take the guns. Take the bombs. Storm police headquarters and kill, and kill! Bring me the head of the old man Gordon! I will carry it through the streets! And the Batman, who thinks he can mess with us. I will tear him limb from limb!"
Just then, a warning flare was shot into the air, getting the attention of the Mutants as the Batmobile rumbled up onto a hill.
"Mutants, surrender now, or be destroyed." announced Batman. His response came in the form of a hail of gunfire.
From nearby, the young Carrie Kelly watched, as the Batmobile kept on moving. The Batmobile moved forward regardless of the gunfire as Carrie came to help out in her own way. Bombs fell like at a war zone as the Batmobile drove by.
"They don't even wait for an order," Batman smirked as he kept coming as he didn't let anything stop him. "Kids today. No respect."
The Batmobile launched several rockets back, blowing up parts of the junkyard.
"I love the smell of nitroglycerin in the evening," Bat-Mite remarked, as he squeezed the trigger, knocking over several Mutant punks. Some of them tried to gear up and retaliate, only for Carrie to show up and soundly kick each of their asses.
Eight thugs leapt on top of the Batmobile and tried to smash their way inside, but Voltage electrified the outer walls, zapping each of them. "Sorry, no hitch-hikers allowed!" he exclaimed with a smirk.
"Ugh! Those three are back too?!" A thug complained.
"You better believe it and there's more where that came from!" Voltage smirked.
Some thugs came to tackle Catwoman II as they saw her before she leaped up and pounced out of the way before using some fighting that she learned to keep them away.
"That's my girl." Batman whispered as he sounded very proud of her.
The mutant leader inspected one of the bullets and grinned darkly. "Rubber bullets..." he said. As the Batmobile came to a stop, he yelled some more. "All this metal, and you don't even use it to kill! It's just a shell to keep you safe? What's the matter? Ain't you got the stomach for it?" he asked, standing right in front of the tank.
"I say we blow his fool head right off his shoulders..." Bat-Mite snapped.
"I call you COWARD!" roared the mutant leader. "Come out here and face me like a MAN! I kill you. I eat your heart. Prove you can take me. Prove you can fight with your hands."
Voltage made a "yak-yak-yak" gesture with his left hand.
"Come on, man. You boring me!" said the mutant leader.
Batman shut off the Batmobile.
"Sir, you can't seriously be..." Alfred said.
"Mm-hmm." Batman replied.
"Batman...?" Catwoman II asked warily.
"I got this, alright?" Batman told her. "I've been doing this since before you came into my life."
"...Well, okay..." Catwoman II said as she tried to keep calm.
Cracking his knuckles, Batman climbed out of the Batmobile, leapt off the mutant leader's head, and landed in front of him, ready to throw down. Catwoman II took a deep breath as she got ready for her own thugs to fight.
"Yeah! Get him!" Carrie's voice called.
"Spy!" Catwoman II glared as she lunged out at Carrie's direction.
"Wah! Get off of me!" Carrie cried out.
"Hey, chill!" Batgirl II exclaimed. "I know her, she's cool. Like the mutants would be smart enough to have spies. You give 'em way too much credit!"
"Hmm..." Catwoman II replied before she took another look. "...That outfit... That's Robin's old outfit..."
"I can explain, but please get off of me." Carrie grunted.
"Well... Fine..." Catwoman II said as she backed off. "But I'm watching you, Red."
"Duly noted..." Carrie replied as she brushed herself off.
"Hmm... Sorry about that..." Catwoman II said. "I guess I could trust you since, uh, Batgirl II does."
"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Carrie replied. "You look a lot like Lady Gothika from the old stories. Batman's trusted ally and the biological niece of Catwoman."
"You're very purr-ceptive~" Catwoman II smirked a bit.
"Well, I'll be," Bat-Mite remarked. "Looks like the kid knows her Bat-Mythology."
"So, you must be Bat-Mite," Carrie said to him. "You're like Batman's #1 fan from another dimension."
"Yep-Yep-Yep!" Voltage replied.
"And you... Um... Uh..." Carrie said.
"Well, I was Thunder Boy, but I'm Voltage now," Voltage explained. "I'm an honorary member of the Bat-Family since I got married."
"To Lady Gothika?" Carrie guessed.
"Her and Bat-Mite..." Voltage smiled bashfully. "We have a, what they call, polygamous relationship."
"Yep," Bat-Mite agreed. "Though Batman looks like he could use some help out there. He's gettin' seriously whomped!"
"Do you mind if we...?" Voltage asked Carrie.
"Oh! Sorry, go ahead," Carrie told them. "It was nice talking to ya."
"Likewise." Voltage nodded before he jumped out with Bat-Mite and Catwoman II.
Batman grunted as he seemed to be a bit bruised and slightly bloodied from the mutant gang. Voltage launched a blast of electricity to fry the mutant leader, then Bat-Mite handed him a gift-wrapped box, which he opened, only for it to explode in his face. Catwoman II then used her whip to wrap around his legs and trip him up. They all shared a threeway high-five/high-five sandwich from their combined efforts.
"I think that guy just bit me." Batman groaned.
"I'm just glad you didn't get killed." Catwoman II said to him.
"Now let's get you outta here." Bat-Mite replied as he magically lifted Batman back into the Batmobile, then set it on auto-pilot to head back to the Batcave.
The mutant leader grumbled a bit.
"So... What's up?" Catwoman II smirked.
"You three are just as tedious as he is," The mutant leader replied. "I'll brawl you all worse than a hippo with a hernia."
"Oh, you're gonna bring your mother into this?" Voltage smirked.
"HA! Sick burn, Voltage." Bat-Mite congratulated him as they threw a smoke bomb in his face.
While the mutant leader was stumbling around, the Batmobile took off. Voltage beamed proudly of himself.
Batman passed out a bit on the way due to the extreme pain.
"Gosh... That has to suck..." Catwoman II said from the blood and bruises.
"Please, dear. You're in the way of the sensors." said Alfred's voice as two metallic sensors lowered down, making Carrie back up.
"Watch it. You're bouncing around too much!" Carrie exclaimed.
"It's all right..." Batman grunted. "Stretcher's gyro-stabilized... Stays level, no matter what."
"Cool," replied Carrie. "What is this thing?"
"Dick called it the Batmobile... Something a kid would say." Batman replied.
"I like it," replied Carrie. "Now, hold your breath." she told Batman as she lifted his right arm and lifted it over his chest, before breaking off a section of pipe, wrapping it around a piece of her cape and made a makeshift sling for his broken arm.
"Where'd you learn to do that...?" asked Batman.
"Girl Scouts." Carrie replied.
"What's... Your... Name...?" asked Batman.
"Carrie. Carrie Kelley," replied Carrie, before she thought for a bit. "...Robin."
Batman gave a smile, despite the obvious pain he was in. "Mine's Bruce."
"Sir, you are delirious!" Alfred's voice said. "You should stay quiet from now on, we're moments from the hospital."
"Alfred, we shouldn't go to the hospital, we should go to the Cave." Catwoman II argued.
"You know me so well." Batman said to her.
"You were always like a father to me." Catwoman II reminded him.
Batman hid a small smile from that.
"But sir-" Alfred's voice piped up.
"The Cave," Batman grunted out before he held his chest a bit which made Carrie put both of her hands down over him before he cracked a very small smile to her. "And Robin comes with us."
"Welcome to the band, kid." Bat-Mite remarked as the Batmobile rumbled on towards home.
Carrie looked a bit touched from that as it seemed to mean a lot to her. Just to hear those words.
They made way into the Batcave as Carrie got to see it up close as she felt very amazed. Voltage tried to help Batman out which made him get away and walk off, though a bit stumbled from his poor balance.
"Welcome to the Batcave." Catwoman II told Carrie.
Carrie took a look around the place, seeing the Batcomputer, and tried to log in, but the screen kept replying "ACCESS DENIED".
"Hands to yourself, please." Alfred told her.
Carrie stared at him for a few minutes. "Where did he go?" she finally asked.
"To find his strength..." Alfred replied.
"He'll be back shortly," Catwoman II added. "Also, step away from the Batcomputer. Nobody else is allowed to touch it, except for maybe our new intern."
"...Fine." Carrie replied as she backed off.
"Hm." Catwoman II nodded sharply.
"...Weren't you a little hard on her?" Voltage asked.
"Hey, you know the rules and so do I." Catwoman II defended.
"Solid point," Bat-Mite replied. "She'll get her access card when she earns it."
"Hmm... Okay... She seems like a cool kid though." Voltage said.
"Yes, she does, but we'll give her some time before we accept her." Catwoman II suggested.
"Fair enough." Voltage shrugged from that.
Meanwhile...
"Yeah, Creepie, we gotta stay with our aunt and uncle a while," Zofia said as she was on the phone with her best friend from school. "Oh, don't worry, we'll be back in school when it's time, it's not like our parents abandoned us. I just feel like Felicity has a huuuge lesson to learn in humility."
"Alright, catch you later." Creepie's voice replied before she hung up.
"Your friend alright?" Felicity asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," Zofia replied. "She, Chris-Alice, and Budge were worried that I probably moved away without telling them."
"It's so good that you've made some friends," Felicity smiled. "I remember when you were younger, you didn't think that you would even need friends."
"You trying to butter me up?" Zofia asked suspiciously.
"I am sorry I hurt you," Felicity sighed. "I had no excuse to do what I did with that party. I know now that Audrey, Delia, and Deidre are not my real friends and they abandoned me and will still in the future if I ask them for help."
Zofia gave a odd look at her sister. "...At least you learned a little from this..." she replied, before taking a rolled-up newspaper and hitting her with it. "And that's for being a nitwit. Next time we try to give you good advice, be ready to actually take it."
"I understand." Felicity sighed.
Zofia nodded firmly as she walked off at that.
"Is she always so critical?" Felicity asked LJ.
"Not until recently," LJ replied. "Before then, she had no reason to be."
"I'm very, very sorry..." Felicity sighed. "I just hope I can pay back Mother, Dad, and Uncle Lionel about the collateral damage of our house."
"Even though Dad can fix most of the stuff that got destroyed, it'll be a while before they trust you again," LJ replied. "And speaking of paying..." he held out his hands.
"Huh? Oh..." Felicity looked to him before she took out her wallet to pay him.
"They'll forgive you some time," Estelle soothed. "Just give them some time."
"I hope that you are right." Felicity sighed to her cousin.
LJ withdrew his hands as soon as he was paid.
"Just no reading my diary." Felicity said.
"Oh, I would never do that," LJ replied. "I may be a little brother, but I'm no Matt McGuire or Truman X."
"Which I appreciate." Felicity remarked.
"And... I still appreciate you," LJ added with a smile. "And I'm not just saying that cuz I got paid. You just needed time to get back on the right path."
"I just hope I can make amends with my new friends... If they still wanna be my friends..." Felicity sighed a bit.
"Likewise," LJ agreed. "I'll come with you... For back-up, you know."
"Hmm... All right..." Felicity said. "I have to warn you though, high school is a jungle: It can be very dangerous if you stray away from your pack, the predators are quite merciless, and if you're below the social food chain, you're as good as prey. Freshman year can be pretty brutal unless you're like a ninja or something."
"Uh... Got it." LJ nodded.
"Support from the family helps a bit." Felicity said.
"I know," LJ replied. "That's why I'm doing it."
Felicity beamed a bit from that. LJ gave a small smile. Akito, Estelle, and Vincent all looked happy from that as Zofia had some privacy with a coloring book to soothe herself as she listened to some classical music. For what it was worth, she seemed to be coming along decently. The phone soon rang.
"Hello?" Mo smiled. "Just a sec. Kids!"
The Fudo siblings rushed by.
"Erm... The other kids!" Mo then said.
The Schwartz siblings came by then.
"It's your mother." Mo told them warmly.
"Hi, Mom!" LJ said. "What's up?"
"I just thought I'd check on you kids," Cherry replied. "Luckily I haven't heard complaints from your aunt and uncle, are you three getting along okay?"
"Yes, Mother, we're all okay," Felicity smiled. "Though... Zofia says she's barely talking to me."
"Ah, Zo, you were always the sensitive one." Cherry said from that.
"I believe I get that from Uncle Thor." Zofia remarked.
"More or less," Lionel chimed in. "Takes a lot to get him to cheer up, but Zofia will forgive you when she's ready."
"I understand..." Felicity sighed.
"We're glad that you kids are alright though," Thor smiled. "We've just been so busy with-... Uh... Work... And taxes... And adult stuff... Like... The President of the United States."
"I'd rather not worry a lot about him if you don't mind." Cherry rolled her eyes about the current president whose name we won't mention at this moment in time.
"You mean Ronald Reagan?" asked Lionel. "This was written in the 80's... Still, our business with your Great-Uncle Bruce won't interfere with spending time with you four, um, three."
"You'll be back for us soon, right?" Zofia asked. "I promised Creepie we'd be back in school."
"Oh, our work won't interfere with your schoolwork," Cherry promised. "We'll all be back together again soon, I promise."
"Could we also get presents from Grunkle Bruce and Graunt Selina?" Zofia asked.
"Impulsive, aren't we?" Cherry smirked. "I wonder where you got your Large Ham tendencies from, my younger daughter?"
"I think it's because you watched late-night talk shows when you were pregnant with her?" Thor smirked back.
"Quiet, you." Cherry rolled her eyes.
LJ gave a wheezing chuckle. "Don't ever change, Mom, Dad, Uncle," he replied. "I reckon we'll see you around."
"Don't worry," Cherry said. "We'll be back home altogether soon."
"And then we'll all do something fun," Thor added. "Okay? Okay!"
The Schwartz siblings smiled hopefully to be with their parents again soon, but of course, it would take some time with the return of Batman and Felicity gaining her family's trust again. Like most things, it'd take time, but it'd be worth the effort. Eventually, they all hung up on each other.
"See? They called." Estelle smiled.
"They sure did," Felicity replied. "I just hope they're not still mad at me."
"Didn't sound like it to me," Akito said to her. "Luckily we all have pretty good parents to look out for us."
"Oh, for sure!" LJ agreed. "They're not gonna be mad forever, just for a little bit."
"Yeah, just give them time to cool off," Akito smiled bashfully. "I got mad at Dad once because he was gone for so long and didn't tell us why, but it was just all part of one big mission for him. Luckily we made up."
"You were always the closest to Dad." Vincent commented.
"Well, yeah," Akito chuckled. "I look up to him, the same way he looked up to Mr. Clark Kent. Hmm... Should we call him 'Grandpa'?"
"Maybe." Estelle shrugged.
"You guys sure are admirable," Felicity said to them. "I'm glad we have you with us."
"Yeah, we're pretty cool like that." Akito smirked with his hands on his hips.
"Maybe we could have adventures of our own!" LJ exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Akito beamed as they shared a fist-bump. "It would be most awesome."
Mo smiled from the kitchen as she watched and heard the kids getting along nicely with each other. They soon came to the living room together to play video games for a while as Patch watched them from the floor. They all had plenty of fun hanging out and they seemed more like siblings than cousins.