A/N: Sorry for the wait, enjoy!
After the Act
Phoebe never thought she would ever be helping Max with villainy. Though Phoebe reasoned with herself that she wasn't really helping villains per say, she was simply helping her brother fulfil his dream. There was nothing wrong with that right? Besides the most she was doing was watching Max's back in case someone tried to double cross him or attack him when he was distracted. She pretty much stayed in the background while Max worked with the villains and did her best to not draw attention to herself. Of course, when her cellphone suddenly went off because she received a text, it caused some of the villains to suspiciously look her way. She sent them a "what are you looking at" glare making them immediately turn away before she quickly checked her phone.
Cherry: Phoebe where r u?! We've been waiting for you Splatburger for 30 minutes!
Phoebe flinched as she realized that she had completely forgotten about her meeting with the girls to discuss prom plans. She had been so focused on helping Max that the prom had slipped her mind. Phoebe briefly glanced around the abandoned warehouse that Max had decided to use as the new Villain League Lair where villains of all kinds were working on the remodeling. There was no way she could tell Cherry where she really was over a text so she went for partial truth.
Phoebe: With Max, an important "family business" thing came up. Can't make meeting, sorry :(
Phoebe hoped Cherry got her hidden message in her text and that she would understand why she had to miss their meeting. It didn't take long for her to get a reply.
Cherry: Oh! Gotcha! ;) Will tell girls you had a "family emergency". Text me later for new meeting time.
Phoebe smiled at the text, even more grateful that her best friend knew her superhero secret.
Phoebe: Thx Cher! You're the best! :)
After sending the text to Cherry, Phoebe was about to put her phone away until the voice of her brother caught her attention.
"What was that about?" asked Max, having caught his sister texting on her phone.
"Just letting Cherry know that I couldn't make it to our prom meeting at Splatburger today," answered Phoebe nonchalantly as she put away her cell.
At the mention of prom, Max's eyes widened in shock before he groaned in frustration.
"Oh man! I completely forgot about prom!" exclaimed Max bringing a look of sympathy on Phoebe's face.
"I forgot about prom too. If Cherry didn't text me we both probably wouldn't remember until who knows when," admitted Phoebe.
"Allison probably hates me right now," muttered Max as he brushed over his hair in worry.
Phoebe bit her lip as she remembered Allison's outburst towards her earlier that day which had led her to seek Max out in his room in the first place. She had a feeling that Max would have a hard time explaining his reasons for bailing on his girlfriend on prom and wished there was something she could do to help.
"Maybe she'll by the 'family emergency' excuse," Phoebe said hopefully.
"Would you?" asked back Max with a raised brow, daring her to lie.
"Not without solid proof," she admitted to Max.
Max didn't say anything after that and Phoebe was concerned when a strange expression crossed his face. Phoebe didn't like that look and decided to try and encourage her brother not to give up hope.
"Don't worry Max, I'm sure we can come up with something and Allison…"
"I can't be with her anymore," interrupted Max with a serious tone in his voice.
Hearing this made Phoebe flabbergasted. "Why would you even say that? Just because she might be angry at you about ditching her for prom doesn't mean you should…"
"It's not just about prom Phoebe," he interrupted again.
"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.
Max sighed as he took a look around to make sure none of the villains were eavesdropping on their conversation. Seeing that everyone else was more focused on the tasks he gave them, Max felt it was safe to confess his concerns to his sister.
"I may be in charge of the Villain League now, but it wouldn't surprise if one of them wants to overthrow me either. Someone might try and hurt Allison just to get to me," said Max causing a frown on Phoebe's face.
Phoebe's heart shattered when she finally understood the full ramifications of what Max's new role as the leader of villains would mean for his relationship with Allison. As much as she didn't like it, her brother was right. Allison was at risk as long as she was with Max. Even though the girl wasn't weak by any means, Phoebe doubted she would be able to defeat an actual villain that attacked her. Not only that but Max would still have to keep Allison in the dark about his powers and him being a villain. Phoebe realized that she had been fortunate when she dated Link and didn't have to hide a huge part of who she was from him. But Max couldn't say the same about his relationship with Allison.
"I'm so sorry Max," stated Phoebe with sympathy, wishing it didn't have to be this way.
Max looked at her with a sad smile. It was obvious to Phoebe that Max was distraught over the fact that he would have to breakup with Allison in order to keep her safe. At that moment, Phoebe decided to comfort her brother and quickly pulled him into a warm hug. She felt Max tense for a moment and realized that hugging her brother in a place where villains could see them probably wasn't the best idea. She was about to pull away from him, yet to her surprise she felt Max's arms surround her to return the hug.
"Thanks Phoebe, for everything," Max whispered in her ear with nothing but honesty in his tone.
This made Phoebe smile and hug her brother tighter. "Anytime Max," she whispered back.
Their sibling moment drew a lot of attention, but one heated glare from the twins towards anyone who looked their way made many hastily turn away from them in fear.
Even though it looked like Phoebe was simply getting things from her school looker for her next class, she was subtly eavesdropping on the conversation that was taking place several feet away from her. Her eyes briefly glanced at Max and Allison across from her and hoped that the breakup wouldn't end too badly.
"You're breaking up with me on the day of prom! I can't believe you Max!" shouted Allison in anger making Phoebe flinch at the sound of Allison's anger.
Phoebe watched as a sorrowful expression crossed Max's face as he tried to calm Allison down and explain himself; however, it was clear that Allison was not taking it well at all.
"You know what, fine! Max Thunderman we're though!" announced Allison before storming away from Max.
Phoebe had to resist the urge to run over to Max and give him another twin sibling comforting hug. It was one thing to do it in front of villains they could easily intimidate, but their classmates and friends was another matter entirely. Still, Phoebe refused to leave her brother standing there as he sadly watched Allison leave him. She quickly shut her locker and walked over to Max.
"You did the right thing," she told him while placing a gentle hand on Max's shoulder.
"I'm a villain, I'm not supposed to do the right thing," bitterly joked Max as he glanced at Phoebe.
"You may be a villain, but you're not evil Max…and that's okay," claimed Phoebe with a small smile.
Max stared at his sister as he let her words sink in. He knew she was right. Yes he was a villain, yes he liked causing mischief and trouble, and he definitely wasn't a model citizen. Yet, he loved his friends and family and would never dream of hurting them. He also knew that if someone was really in danger, he would help them, especially if it was someone he cared about. That was the reason he was breaking up with Allison after all, to protect her. So yes, Max could admit that he was not evil. He was sneaky, manipulative, a liar, and prankster, but definitely not evil.
"Yeah, I guess that's okay," Max admitted with a light smile of his own.
The twins shared a heartfelt look before it fully hit Max that he no longer had a date to prom.
"Guess, I'll be going to prom by myself now," sighed Max.
Phoebe felt even sorrier for Max. She didn't want her brother to feel even worse going to prom without a date. She certainly knew how that felt.
"You could tag along with us 'single ladies' if you want," suggested Phoebe with a grin.
Max was a bit surprised that Phoebe was inviting him to hang out with her and her friends for prom and he did appreciate the gesture. But he honestly didn't think he would enjoy being the only guy among four teenaged girls who happen to be his sister and her bubbly friends.
"Thanks Phoebs, but I think I'll pass. It would be awkward hanging out with just you and your girlfriends," said Max.
Phoebe was a little disappointed with Max's answer, but she supposed he would feel out of place amongst her group of friends. Still she wished there was some way that Max wouldn't have to go to prom alone. Fortunately, the answer came to Phoebe when she spotted Max's friends trying to ask her friends to prom. A huge grin came on Phoebe's face as she took her hand off of Max's shoulder only to start dragging him over to where their friends were.
"Phoebe, what are you doing?" asked Max in surprise as she pulled him across the hallway.
"You'll see, now come on," she answered in excitement which made Max curious enough to allow Phoebe to continue to drag him to their friends.
"Hey!" greeted Phoebe in a cheerful tone when she reached the group.
This drew the six teenagers' attention to the twins and Phoebe was quick to put her plan to action.
"Here's an idea. Why don't we all just go to prom together as a nice sized group of friends? Us four single ladies," stated Phoebe while gesturing to Cherry, Maddy, Roxy, and herself. "With you four single guys," she continued as she gestured to Oyster, Gideon, Wolfgang, and lastly Max.
When Phoebe pointed to Max, the others looked at him in puzzlement. Seeing the looks he was getting Max decided to tell them the news about him and Allison.
"Allison and I broke up today," admitted Max, causing their friends to give him sympathetic looks.
Phoebe noticed that Max was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the looks he was getting so she quickly spoke.
"Sooo, what do you single ladies and guys say?" asked Phoebe with an eager expression on her face.
Both girls and boys went into a group huddle and began talking in hushed whispers. After a few seconds each group ended their huddle and gave their answer.
"We're in!" they all said at the same time.
Phoebe was ecstatic that her plan worked and the grateful look Max sent her way made her feel even happier.
Max and Phoebe were in a good mood coming home after school. Their group of eight single friends had discussed and agreed on their plans for prom. Everything had been set and all that was left to do was decide where they would do for their after-prom activity. The twins entered their home through the front door with smiles on their faces only to stop in shook at the unexpected guest who was in their living room.
"Link? What are you doing here?" asked Phoebe in disbelief, not expected to see her ex-boyfriend standing in her house.
"Surprise, I'm here to take you to prom!" exclaimed Link in an exuberant way.
"Really, that's funny because before you said you couldn't and now you're here," she replied with clear unease in her voice.
Link could tell that something was off with Phoebe as she seemed to be more upset by his arrival than joyful about it. And that feeling only grew stronger when he caught the intense glare Max was sending his way. Even though Link was used to receiving Max's dislike, something about the boy's glare actually made him gulp. He figured it was best to explain his reasons for being here since the look from Max seemed to promise pain in his future if he did not say something to defend himself soon.
"Well, I felt bad for bailing on you for prom so I told the Hero League they could fire me if they want. I'm going to take out a very special girl on a very special night," announced Link as he focused back on Phoebe.
"So will you be my date?" he asked as he produced a yellow rose to give to Phoebe.
Phoebe was unsure how to respond to Link's question. How was she supposed to tell him that she wanted to go with him but that she also didn't want to abandon Max and their friends either? Phoebe was stiff as a statue and seemed to not be able to come up with any words to say. Max seeing his sister frozen in place, decided to take matters into his own hands.
"We already made plans to go with our friends as a group so she can't go with you," explained Max with a bit of sharpness in his voice to make it clear he was serious.
"Really?" Link asked, looking at Phoebe for confirmation.
Phoebe glanced at Max and knew that he expected her to refuse Link's offer to take her to prom. Even though the thought of going to prom with an actual date was very tempting, Phoebe knew deep down that she couldn't abandon her brother at a time such as this. She could tell that he was still hurt from his breakup with Allison and seeing his ex-girlfriend at prom with someone else would devastate him. She had been completely supporting her brother in any way she could these past two days and she couldn't stop doing that now. Max would need all the support he could get for tonight and Phoebe realized she couldn't let him down.
"Yeah, we already made plans. Sorry Link, I can't be your date tonight," declined Phoebe with an apologetic expression on her face.
"Well you heard her," said Max with a pleased expression on his face as he immediately opened the front door. "Now get out," he finished haughtily at Link as he motioned toward the open door.
Link wasn't surprised that Max was ready for him to leave and when he saw Phoebe give Max an unpleased look he expected her to say something on his behalf. But when Max met Phoebe's glare with an expression that Link couldn't understand, Phoebe's glare softened immediately and a look of understanding came on her face. She then turned back to Link and what Phoebe said next did surprised him.
"I'll talk to you later Link, Max and I still have some stuff to plan before prom tonight," Phoebe told him, letting Link know that she too wanted him to leave now.
"That's right, so vamoose!" Max instructed, once more pointing toward the open door.
Link frowned as his eyes went from Phoebe to Max and then back to Phoebe. He had a feeling that something more was going on with the twins, and it made him concerned.
"Phoebe, are you alright?" Link asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"Um, yeah I'm fine, why would you ask that?" she asked in confusion, clearly not understanding why Link was asking her such a question.
Link wondered if Phoebe really didn't realize how strange she was acting. He was about to tell Phoebe about her weird behavior, but then Max quickly interrupted.
"Maybe he's so shocked that you turned him down that he figures something has to be wrong with you. He probably expected you to just jump into his arms the moment he asked you to be his date for prom," Max responded with his arms crossed in an annoyed way.
Link rolled his eyes at the ridiculous explanation Max came up with. He was going to give a snarky comeback to Max for that until what Phoebe said next really stunned him.
"Is that true? You think something's wrong with me because I won't go with you to prom?" asked Phoebe while giving Link an apprehensive stare.
Link's mouth almost dropped open in disbelief. How could Phoebe actually believe that he would think something like that? He was waiting for Phoebe to say that she was just joking and knew that he wasn't that kind of person, yet the more he waited the more Phoebe seemed to grow doubtful.
"Oh, come on Phoebe! You don't really believe that do you?! Seriously, since when did you start listening to Max anyway?!" proclaimed Link with frustration.
Link's last question actually made a small smile form on Phoebe's lips.
"Yesterday actually," Phoebe confessed while momentarily sending her brother a knowing look.
Max couldn't help the genuine smile from coming on his face, knowing that his sister did seem to value what he said more now. He knew Phoebe had doubted him plenty of times, but now he could tell that a new level of trust had formed between them these past two days. He would never admit it but he was enjoying their new stronger bond and he wasn't about to let anything or anyone ruin it. That's why Link had to go, Max refused to let the guy walk in and steal Phoebe away from him. So what if he had to be rude to Link and tried to tarnish the guy's character in order to persuade Phoebe into sticking with him for prom. He was a villain after all. Particularly, a villain who was getting pretty annoyed with his sister's ex-boyfriend who for some reason was still in their house.
"Dude, seriously, leave," Max told Link with a sense of finality in his voice.
When it looked like Link was about to protest, Phoebe decided enough was enough.
"Link, you really need to go, prom is only a few hours away and Max and I need to start getting ready," stated Phoebe with a seriousness in her tone.
Link frowned. He didn't feel right leaving when he knew something was not right. He wondered what could have happened yesterday to make Phoebe suddenly go along with whatever Max wanted. Link suddenly recalled a certain device he remembered spotting in Max's lair when they had hung out during the time Phoebe had been trying to get them to get along. When he had asked Max what it was, he had been surprised. Max had boasted about the device and that once he fixed the kinks out of it, he would use it the first chance he got. The fear that Max had finally finished the device and had used it on Phoebe made Link turn to Max with an accusing glare.
"Did you finish the BrainWasher XL and use it on Phoebe?" firmly questioned Link.
However, that was the wrong thing to ask Max. Before Link could blink, he was suddenly being levitated off the ground and immediately thrown harshly to the floor by Max's telekinesis. A firm expression was on Max's face as he walked over to Link's fallen form.
"I would never do something like that to Phoebe, ever," he said with such severity that actually sent a shiver through Link's body.
Link knew he crossed a line and that he defiantly had overstayed his welcome. Just as he was about to get up from the floor, Link was once more telekinetically shoved to the ground, but to his surprise, Phoebe was the culprit this time. He turned to Phoebe in confusion until he saw the angry glare she was giving him.
"Never accuse Max of something like that ever again. He would never do anything to hurt me," Phoebe said with such conviction that there was no doubt that she absolutely believed her words.
Link flinched at the twins furious looks they were sending his way.
"Phoebe…" began Link, but Phoebe didn't want to hear whatever he was going to say.
"Link, leave, now," she ordered with a sharp edge in her tone.
Link had never heard such coldness in Phoebe's voice and one look in her eyes told him that she was done with him. He caught the twitch of her fingers as it seemed she was ready to use her powers to throw him out of the house herself. He knew he couldn't reason with Phoebe at this point and anything he said would definitely get him forcibly kicked out of the house. Realizing this, he simply got up from the floor and took a quick glance at the twins before leaving the Thunderman house. The second Link went out the door, Max used his powers to immediately shut the door close with a loud slam. The twins were silent for some time before Max finally broke it as he turned to Phoebe with a stern look.
"Phoebe, you know I would never…" began Max, but Phoebe stopped him with a soft smile.
"I know," she said earnestly causing a smile on Max's face as well.
"Now come on, let's get ready for prom," Phoebe proclaimed while presenting her hand to Max for him to take.
"Yes, let's," he agreed as he took Phoebe's hand in his.
Phoebe, wearing her beautiful pink prom gown, was quickly heading down the stairs to Max's lair with a happy grin on her face.
"Max, you ready? It's time to go," asked Phoebe as she reached the bottom of the steps before spotting her brother and Dr. Colosso at his desk.
Max, already in the tuxedo Dr. Colosso had given him to wear, briefly jumped in surprise from Phoebe's entrance before he gave a relieved sigh and turned around to face his sister.
"Phoebe, don't scare me like…wow," said Max as he stared at Phoebe with wide eyes.
"Wow, what?" asked Phoebe wondering why Max was suddenly looking at her like that.
"As in wow, you actually look really nice," he answered honestly.
Phoebe smiled in response to Max's compliment and gave Max a quick look over herself.
"You clean up pretty good yourself," she replied back.
"Of course he looks good, he's wearing my tux," bragged Dr. Colosso.
"So, ready to go and get our prom on?" Phoebe said while giving Max a playful nudge.
"Actually, there's two things I need to take care of before we leave," announced Max as he took a small sized plastic container from his desk and handed it to Phoebe.
"Here, this is for you," he told her while avoiding eye contact with his sister.
Phoebe was surprised to see a pink and white corsage inside the container.
"Is this really for me?" asked Phoebe in astonishment.
"Oyster, Gideon, and Wolfgang are going to give corsages to your friends, so I figured I get you one too. It's not a big deal or anything," answered Max, doing his best to remain casual even though he felt a bit embarrassed.
Phoebe's heart warmed at the kind gesture from Max, knowing he did it so she wouldn't feel like the odd one in the group without a corsage. With a cheeky grin, she gave the container back to Max which made him give her a confused look.
"I want you to put it on me," stated Phoebe with her arm stretched out for Max.
Max playfully rolled his eyes at his sister request before relenting to his sister's wishes. He took out the corsage from the box and slipped it on Phoebe's waiting wrist.
"There, happy now prom princess," teased Max with a smirk.
Phoebe stared at the pretty corsage now on her wrist and gave her brother a smirk of her own.
"Why yes, you have made your princess very pleased," mocked Phoebe while playfully flipping her hair in a snobbish fashion.
They both ended up chuckling at their own antics, both enjoying how easy it was to be comfortable around each other now.
"Seeing you both get along is still weird," commented Dr. Colosso with an uncomfortable look on his face.
"Well than you better start getting used to it buddy, right Phoebe?" Max replied, glancing in Phoebe's direction for conformation.
Phoebe could tell that Max was slightly worried about what she would say to this. It was obvious to her that he did not want their relationship to go back to how it was before and Phoebe knew that she didn't want that either.
"Yep, you're just going to have to get used to the weirdness," Phoebe agreed with a smile while placing her arm around Max in friendly way.
Max smiled when he heard Phoebe say this. He was glad that they both wanted to keep their closer relationship intact.
"So, I'm guessing giving me this corsage was one of the two things, what's the other thing?" questioned Phoebe after removing her arm from Max.
Max's face seemed to light up at the question and he quickly snatched a very familiar item off his table. When Phoebe saw the power sapping orb in Max's hand, she gave her brother an inquisitive look. Max noticing her puzzled expression, quickly explained.
"Colosso and I have been talking and we agreed that leaving Dark Mayhem's powers in the orb would be too dangerous. If someone got a hold of this and took his powers, we would be in big trouble," began Max.
Phoebe nodded her head in agreement, knowing that even though Dark Mayhem was gone, his powers alone could still cause trouble.
"So, did you guys figure out what to do with them?" she asked.
"Well, Colosso said I should take his powers for myself."
Phoebe wasn't sure how she felt about that plan. But if it was something her brother really wanted to do she wasn't going to stop him. She had absolute faith in him and so she wouldn't worry over it. She trusted him after all. Yet what Max said next truly stunned her.
"But then I thought of an even better idea," he announced with a smirk.
"And what's that?" she asked.
Max's smirk softened into a genuine smile as he faced Phoebe. "Phoebe, I want to you share Dark Mayhem's powers with you."
"Really?" wondered Phoebe in astonishment, almost not believing what she was hearing.
"Well, we both have freeze breath, heat breath, and telekinesis, I figure we both might as well have Dark Mayhem's powers too," admitted Max in a nonchalant way.
If Phoebe was moved by Max getting her a corsage, she was really touched by this. She remembered a time when Max despised them having the same powers, but now he was willing to keep it that way instead of taking the powers for himself. Phoebe gave Max a huge smile.
"I think I like your idea better," said Phoebe.
"Me too," agreed Max with a smile of his own.
"I don't!" exclaimed Dr. Colosso, but the twins simply ignored him.
"Ok, let's do this," proclaimed Max in excitement.
"Wait, right now?" questioned Phoebe.
"Why not, it won't take long. Besides, I want to get rid of this thing as soon as possible."
"So, after we take Dark Mayhem's powers, you want to destroy the orb?" Phoebe asked in puzzlement.
"That orb can still take away powers remember? Something like that is too dangerous to keep around," reasoned Max.
"Just like Dark Mayhem," Phoebe stated seriously as she realized why her brother wanted to destroy the orb.
"Exactly," agreed Max.
"Ok then, let's do this," proclaimed Phoebe with determination in her voice.
Max pulled Phoebe closer to him so that she would be in the orb's range. With Phoebe in position, Max activated the orb causing two green streams of power to come out of the orb and enter both Phoebe and Max at the same time. With the power transfer complete, Max then turned to Phoebe with a smile.
"Wanna use our newly acquired powers to destroy this thing?" Max asked, clearly eager to try out Dark Mayhem's powers.
Phoebe couldn't deny that she was just as eager as her brother to try out their new powers. "Sounds good to me," agreed Phoebe with excitement.
Getting the go ahead from his sister, Max threw the orb high up into the air. A dark green glow surrounded each twin's hand before they shot green lighting from their hands towards the orb. The orb was immediately destroyed the second the two bolts of lightning struck it.
"Now, I believe I'm ready to go," announced Max cheerfully.
"Then what are we waiting for? We have a prom to attend," Phoebe said eagerly as she locked her arm with Max's.
The twins shared a meaningful look before walking out of the lair arm and arm with huge grins on their faces.
A/N: I will probably do an epilogue next and that will conclude this story. I will try to start writing the conclusion soon so hopefully it won't take long.