Before we begin I just want to say Merry Christmas to all, and enjoy the New Year.
Atomic Meeting
The office was massive; double the size of Pauline's own apartment in fact. On the walls between her hung massive portraits of none other than Mookie, former sidekick of Captain Atomic, the most annoying enemy of AP and Joey Felt, (her fiancé), and the current CEO of Ding-Dong Corp, (her family's company). The portrait on Pauline's left showed Mookie in his supervillain outfit that he wore after escaping from prison with all the other villain, "from Big Shift Part 2". That was the only time he actually looked impressive. Though after that incident, Mookie went back to wearing his usual, Sergeant Subatomic outfit for unknown reasons. The portrait on Pauline's right showed Mookie's triumph in court when he won control over Ding-Dong Corp from George William Bell the 4th, (her uncle). Finally at the end of the office sat a chubby man behind a massive desk with a desk plate that said CEO Mookie McClain in front of it. Mookie appeared to be wearing a suit, (that failed to cover most of his belly), and a malicious grin on his face as he watched one, (of many), of his enemies, walked towards him.
"Why hello, there Mrs. Atomic," Mookie greeted. "Welcome to my company's headquarters."
This greatly annoyed Pauline. "First off it's not Misses yet, though when it does change to that it'll be Mrs. Bell-Felt. Secondly, Ding-Dong Corp is not your company, it belongs to the Bell family, which you are not a part of."
"Technically, the Bell family no longer owns Ding-Dong Corp. I do. So now the Bell family has no power within the company."
"I own five shares of the company. Meaning that the Bells still hold some power left. Besides, my family founded this company over a hundred years ago. We possess a very strong influence. You, on the other hand, are known as a failed superhero/villain, who pissed off everyone in the city, (superheroes, villain, and civilians alike). And on top of that, it's no secret that you'd flunked out of high-school right before becoming Captain Atomics' sidekick."
"Oh…BURN!"
Surprisingly, Mookie wasn't as hurt by this as Pauline had thought he'd be.
"Oh please, that burn's been used on me so many times, that I've become flameproof because of it."
"Wow, that was terrible."
"Besides you're one to talk, miss teenaged mother who got knocked up at a party by a lame-o like you, while drunk."
Now, this really pissed off Pauline. True she'd been drunk when she and Joey had conceived their child, and true that they were still technically teenagers. However, (in their defence), both teens had unknowingly, drank spiked punch. Besides, both of them had gladly accepted the baby, doing the best they could to make sure that they were totally prepared to raise their child. On top of that, both of them had secretly been in love with each other for years but always feared telling one another their true feelings. This pregnancy had actually benefited the teens as they were now engaged and happier than ever. Though this didn't mean she liked it when people made it sound like the whole thing was a stupid, disgraceful mistake. That's what made her mad.
"LISTEN, YOU NO-GOOD SHIT BAG! I DIDN'T COME HERE SO THAT YOU COULD INSULT MY FAMILY! I CAME HERE TO GET MY FAMILY'S COMPANY BACK BEFORE YOU DESTROY IT IN ONE OF YOUR IDIOTIC PLOTS TO DESTROY ATOMIC PUPPET, AND TAKE OVER THE CITY! Which always lead to an epic failure."
"MY PLOTS DON'T ALWAYS FAIL!" Mookie shouted, attempting to defend himself. "I did destroy Captain Atomic."
"You didn't destroy him. You "accidentally" turned him into a puppet. A powerful puppet to be exact," Pauline countered. "One that, (when combined with my fiancé), has thwarted more plots than any other superhero in history. Including all of yours."
"Liar! It was my plan to turn Captain Atomic into a puppet."
"That's not how I heard it."
Oh, this brought back some memories.
Flashback
It was just an average night at Captain Atomic's lair. Mega City's greatest hero was watching some tv after having defeated some villains, while his sidekick, Sergeant Subatomic, (aka Mookie), was talking to himself in front of the bathroom mirror. Though this time he had something special planned for tonight.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I Sergeant Subatomic will now activate this ray gun," lifts a ray gun to present to his reflection and imaginary audience, "on myself, becoming your newest, and most powerful superhero EVER! When this happens, I will become GENERAL SUBATOMIC, replacing our current hero Captain Atomic. As your newest/greatest hero, I pledge myself to protect you all from every villain in the world, defeating them in a heroic, and glorious manner. In time you will see me as the most powerful being on earth, a god in fact. When that time comes you will submit yourselves to my rule as I shall become you rightful, and enteral RULER! MAW HA, HA, HA! MAW HA, HA-"
Thump, thump. "HEY MOOKIE! YOU IN THERE?!" Captain Atomic called out from the other end of the door.
Furious that he'd been interrupted in what he'd hoped would be his hour of glory, Mookie shouted back in response, "YES NOW IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M BUSY! I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE MY GREATEST INVENTION!"
Captain Atomic then knocked down the door and stepped into the bathroom.
"Ugh, how many times have I told you Mookie? None of your inventions work," Captain Atomic reminded his sidekick. "In fact usually they make things tougher for me, which also means more work for me. Besides you're my sidekick. Sidekicks just stand by the hero to make them look cooler in comparison, run errands for them, and serve as a distraction till the hero can figure out how to defeat the villain."
Boy did this really set Mookie off.
"IT'S SERGEANT SUBATOMIC!" Mookie screamed. "And unlike my previous inventions, this one will truly be my greatest creation."
"You said that about all of your inventions," Captain Atomic combated. "Besides there was a reason you got kicked out of high school, and your former science teacher made that very clear to me when I hired you."
"Augh, just you wait and see. When I activate this ray gun here, I'll become the most powerful being in the universe."
Captain Atomic could help but laugh when he heard this, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Oh man. Good one Mookie. Now, why don't you make yourself useful and go get some root beer."
"Grrrrrrr. I'LL SHOW YOU!"
Filled with rage Mookie pulled the trigger on his ray gun, causing a green energy laser to fire out of it. Unfortunately, Mookie fired the gun before he could properly aim it at himself so it ended up hitting the mirror instead of him, which caused the ray to bounce off the glass and redirect it towards Captain Atomic. The effects of the ray immediately took effect, though not in the way that Mookie had planned on. Instead of transforming whoever got hit by it into an immensely powerful person, it turned the great hero into a hand-sized puppet version of himself.
Upon realizing what he'd done, an idea came to Mookie. He grabbed the former Captain Atomic, took him into one of the bathroom stalls and dropped puppet into the toilet.
"Farewell Captain Atomic. You will be missed," Mookie said menacingly as he flushed his now former boss down the toilet.
End of flashback
That was supposed to have been Mookie's greatest moment, but instead, his former hero had to survive and get found by a damn kid and become the greatest hero ever. And now that kids' future wife was sitting right across from him in his office.
"Um... it doesn't matter. The whole me turning Captain Atomic into a puppet is ancient history. Now I'm the CEO of a big million dollar corporation."
"You mean my family's company," Pauline said sternly.
"Technically it's my company now," Mookie reminded her.
"I still own five shares of it," Pauline pointed out.
"Yes, um well I am prepared to buy your shares of Ding-Dong Corp for two hundred thousand dollars."
Shocked by what she'd just heard, Pauline asked, "Did... did you say two hundred thousand dollars?"
"In exchange for your shares of Ding-Dong Corp," Mookie confirmed. "Sounds like a good trade, especially given your situation. I mean you're a part-time university student working at some crappy old comic book store; and on top of that sundae, you got a newborn child to raise. A child whose father you're currently planning to marry in the near future. Add that all together and it would appear that you've got a lot of expenses to cover."
Unfortunately, Pauline couldn't help but agree with Mookie. Though when she looked the offers in a different way, she saw something from it that she didn't like at all. "Are you asking me to sell out my family's company," Pauline asked, fury starting to build inside her before it burst out like a volcano. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH MY FAMILY HAS PUT INTO THAT COMPANY?! MY FATHER, MY GRANDFATHER, MY GREAT GRANDFATHER, AND MY GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER ALL GAVE THEIR SOULS TO THAT COMPANY! Anyone who's ever worked for, or been associated with Ding-Dong Corp knows this, and understand the importance our family has towards it. You, on the other hand, are well known as a failure who's been arrested multiple times for terrorizing an entire city, attempted murder on superheroes, and orchestrating the biggest jailbreak in history. So how exactly do you plan to get a company to follow you over the family who has created and maintained it for over a hundred years?"
"Yeah um… well…" Mookie attempted to say. Paulines' rage really spoked him out. Though suddenly something came to him, "Just because your family founded the company doesn't mean it's your company now. True you own five shares of the company, but I own the rest, giving me the most control over the entire corporation along with the board supporting me one hundred percent."
"That may be so. But a reminder, my family founded, and have run Ding-Dong Corp since its birth. We have a strong influence within it."
"Oh, and what influence could your family possible have on it these days?" Mookie countered. "When your parents died, you moved far away from the company's headquarters. You've had no contact or any sort of affiliation with the corporation since then. All you know is from what your uncle Wolf has told you, but it isn't much given how little involved he's been with the company. According to company records, he willingly signed over all ownership rights when he graduated high school and hasn't been involved in company affairs since. Heck, he was rarely involved during his childhood; mainly because he was raised by wolves for most of it. Then there's your uncle George: the older brother of both your father and Uncle Wolf. Last Bell to run Ding-Dong Corp before his decisions led to a catastrophe that resulted in hundreds of lawsuits, a massive loss in the company's bank accounts, a large number of deaths and injuries, all which have made this the largest blow to the company ever; not to mention this completely destroyed Ding-Dong's reputation. It's no surprise that the board was eager to fire your great uncle, and have all of his ownership rights taken from him. Putting all this into the equation, I don't see how much influence the Bell family really has over Ding-Dong Corp now."
Pauline wanted to snap back at this. She wanted to just yell at the wannabe, and remind him that this was still her family's company. That no matter what he thought, he was wrong just as he'd always been. However, she could help but admit that he was right. Neither she nor her uncle Wolf had really any strong connection with the company anymore, especially since her parents died. Heck, they hadn't even been keeping up to date with the company's recent changes including its turn towards non-door related products. All she had now was the history of her family's part in the company, as well as five measly shares with the other ninety-five belonging to Mookie. She hated admitting this to herself, but it appeared that Mookie had the upper hand in this after all.
From the satisfied look on his face, it was clear to Pauline that Mookie could tell that she realized her defeat.
"So about my offer to buy your shares of the company?"
Rubbing the back of her head sadly, Pauline got up from her chair and starting walking away. Once she reached the office door she responded, "I'll think about it," before shutting the door on her way out.
"So you figuratively got your ass kicked by Mookie? Boy, that must suck," AP snarked after hearing Paulines' recap of her meeting with Mookie.
"I will move you back into Marisa's room and turn that cubbyhole you occupy into a storage space for her diapers," Joey threatened while he handed a defeated Pauline a can of pop.
F.Y.I. when Joey, Pauline, and AP moved into the apartment they found a small, built-in, cubbyhole with an outlet. AP originally intended for it to be his quiet room to get away from it all and have some alone time when he felt he needed. However, after Marisa's first week at the apartment, AP couldn't handle her constant crying and the smell of her diapers. So he ended turning his quiet space into his actual room.
"I just can't believe that no good, slimy, backstabbing, asshole beat me," Pauline fumed.
Moving closer to Pauline, Joey snuggled up to her in an attempt to comfort her. "Hey don't sweet it Paula. We've all been defeated by Mookie before, but we managed to get back up and take him down."
This actually helped Pauline as when she looked up at her boyfriend/fiancé she started to smile a little.
"Besides," AP added in, "he won't be in control of the company for long. Eventually, he's going to attempt to pull off one of his crazy spectacles and bam! Everyone will hate him again, his reputation will be in ruins, and the board will kick him out of the company. We just need to wait for him to mess things up for himself."
Surprisingly Pauline couldn't help but agree with the puppets' logic. But one thing still continued to bother her. "But what about afterwards? Who's going to run Ding-Dong Corp? I mean it was extremely important to my family, though I don't see myself, nor anyone else in my family taking control over it I still can't just stand aside and let some random person take ownership of it."
"Then make sure you that when the time comes, you have a trusting family friend who's an expert in business take over the company. That's what your uncle Wolf did when he sold off his t-shirt designs," Joey suggested.
Thinking it over for a couple minutes, Pauline agreed, "That's perfect! And I still know of a few family friends who'd be more than suited, (as well as eager), to run Ding-Dong Corp. Thanks, Joey," Pauline said right before giving Joey a kiss on the cheek, followed by snuggling closer to him. "You really know how to make a girl feel strong."
"What can I say, I know how to fix my girl up."
The two of them, (ignoring AP), continued to snuggle on the couch together, just enjoying each other's company.
Once again, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!