The Bolt Crew: Penny's Boyfriend.
There was no doubt that Bolt and Penny were the bestest of friends. They did lots of stuff together, like playing, eating, sleeping, reading, etc. This duo was inseparable… or was it? All of a sudden, Penny was lesser present at home. Bolt missed her a lot and wondered why Penny didn't play with him as much as she did before. Then, one day, the answer arrived to the door of his home. It was a boy!
"Bolt…" Penny said. "I want you to meet Cody. Cody, this is my dog, Bolt."
"Hey, Bolt. Nice to meet you!" Cody said, approaching his hand to pet Bolt.
However, Bolt stepped back and growled.
"Oh! Sorry about that." Penny said. "Bolt is not used to have visitors."
"It's alright." Cody said.
"I'm sure you and Bolt will become good friends."
But Penny was wrong. Bolt was upset because she spent too much time with Cody. Whenever Bolt brought one of his chew toys for Penny to play with him, she either did it for a few minutes or didn't do it at all. She mostly preferred to go out with her new boyfriend.
One afternoon, Bolt was sadly lying in his dog house, when his friends, Caroline, Gerald, Poppy, Shawn and Dustin arrived to check on him.
"Hey, Bolt!" Shawn said. "What's up?"
"Sigh, not now, guys." Bolt said.
"Why the long face, darling?" Poppy asked.
"It's just… Penny got herself a… boyfriend."
"Really?" Caroline said. "That's great news!"
"Not for me." Bolt said. "She prefers hanging out with him instead of playing with me. It feels like… she doesn't love me anymore…"
"Oh, that's not true." Poppy said. "Penny DOES loves you. You're her most special friend."
"It doesn't look like it anymore."
"Cheer up, friend!" Dustin said. "Come hang out with us instead!"
"Yeah! We'll make sure you shake it off your mind!" Shawn said.
"We've got lots of fun activities for us to do!" Gerald said.
"Um… okay." Bolt said.
Bolt accompanied his friends to have fun with them and forget everything about Cody. First, he went to Gerald's.
"Look. Buddy. One thing that gets me in in a good mood whenever I'm riled is talking some nice whiffs of Bob's socks!"
Bolt liked this idea. He secretly shared the love for socks with Gerald. After all, it was something common among dogs. Gerald grabbed a pair of his owner Bob's socks for him and Bolt to sniff.
"Ready, Bolt?" Gerald said. "Take a deep whiff!"
Gerald sniffed the sock.
"Ah, this scent!" He said. "It reminds me of how much Bob loves me and works really hard to take care of me."
As Bolt was sniffing his sock, he thought It smelled nice. However, he remembered the scent of Penny's socks, which in his opinion, smelled much better. And Gerald's words didn't help very much. Bolt believed Penny didn't love him as much as she did before and that she wasn't going to work hard any longer to take care of him.
"Um, Gerald. I think that's enough." Bolt said.
"What's up, Bolt?" Gerald asked. "Didn't you enjoy it?"
"Hmm… not too much. Thank you, anyway."
Bolt left Gerald's home, crestfallen. Next, he headed to Caroline's house.
"Oh! Hi, Bolty!" Caroline said. "Did you… have fun with Gerald?"
"Yeah, but only a bit, I guess..."
"Oh, too bad. Well, you can come to my house and play some of Annette's videogames! She's got lots of choices! Come on!"
Bolt followed Caroline to her house to play games. Caroline was secretly a streamer dog, and loved to record herself playing videogames for her dog fans. But for now, she was only going to play with Bolt for fun. She picked a game she thought Bolt might like.
"Oh, look at this one!" Penny said. "It's fun. It's about a Native American boy and his pet wolf. The playability is fun, and the best thing, is that it's cooperative!"
"Wow. That looks interesting." Bolt said. "Alright. Let's play, Carol!"
Bolt and Caroline played the game together.
"It's awesome, right?" Caroline said. "The boy and his wolf must work together through the wilderness in the Ice Age, and fight hordes of primal creatures to survive! The wolf is pretty loyal to his master, and will do anything to protect him and ensure his safety."
Upon hearing this, Bolt grimaced. He remembered the bond he shared with Penny, and feared that after she met Cody, it would never be the same.
"Um… I think I've played enough, Carol. Thank you."
Bolt got up and left.
"Wait, Bolt! We just started!" Carol said.
Bolt headed to Shawn's house. Maybe he would think of a better pastime that didn't remind him of Penny and her boyfriend.
"Hey, Bolt!" Shawn said. "It's great to have you here!"
"Thank you, Shawn."
"Look, I prepared an obstacle course for us to play!"
"Wow! Nice!"
"You ready?"
"I'm Bolt! I was born ready!"
"Here we go!"
Bolt and Shawn raced through the obstacle course, laughing joyously. However, in the midst of the race, Bolt had instant flashback of when he used to play with Penny at the park. And now that he was hanging out with Cody, she wasn't going to have enough time to take him to the park again, was she? Bolt stopped all of a sudden.
"Bolt? Why did you stop?" Shawn asked him. "Tired already?"
"No, I'm okay. I just remembered something. I gotta go."
"Oh, okay. Say hi to Poppy for me, okay?"
Bolt went to Poppy's house.
"Bonjour, Bolty!" Poppy said. "I have been waiting for you!"
"Hi, Poppy." Bolt said. "What do you have planned for us to do?"
"Bubble bath!" Poppy said.
"Whoa, that's… nice!"
"Come on! The water's warm and ready!"
Both entered the bubbling tub, sighed and relaxed.
"Isn't this beautiful?"
"It is! Thank you, Poppy! I needed this."
Bolt closed his eyes and submerged his body in the warm water. Then he fell into a profound sleep. After a while, he heard Poppy calling out to him.
"Huh? Poppy?" Bolt said, waking up.
"You fell asleep, sweetie!" Poppy said, giggling. "I knew a bubble bath was all you needed to relax."
"You're right! Now I can go about my day."
"Take care, Bolt! And may I suggest you spending some time in the outdoors?"
"Will do, Poppy! Oh, and Shawn says hi!"
When he exited Poppy's house, he walked down the road, trying to think of something to keep himself distracted from thinking of Cody. Then, Dustin showed up.
"Hey, Bolt!"
"Hi, Dustin!"
"So, did Poppy help you overcome your problem now?"
"Yeah… for now."
"I'm glad for you! Hey, guess what? The new volume for Boyish Altered Red Kelpies just came out!"
"Wow, that's great! By the way, when did you become so obsessed with comics? Didn't you like to read epic stories and tragedies and listen to opera?"
"Well, maybe. But ever since we became superdogs, I decided to read more comics to become more informed about what we will have to face as superheroes. And what I've read so far has me captivated! Besides, my dramatic persona was a bit boring. But, hey, I'm still the brains of the team!"
"You're right about that." Bolt said.
"BOLT, LOOK OUT!" Dustin cried.
Both got out of the way, just in time to avoid a police car.
"Where there's the police…" Dustin said.
"There's criminals!" Bolt said. "Quick, we gotta gather the others!"
Once the Bolt Crew had gathered, they ran to where the police car was heading to.
"You ready, guys?" Bolt asked. "I'm not sure what will we be up against this time."
"Whatever it is, we'll be with you, Bolty!" Caroline said.
"Yeah! Until the end of time!" Gerald said.
Smiling, Bolt said:
"As man's best friend…"
"Our city we'll defend!" the others replied.
The Bolt Crew arrived to the crime scene. Much to their surprise, it was Calico's henchmen the police was after! They were trying to steal mechanic parts from a store.
"Not on our watch!" Bolt said. "Bolt Crew, let's kick it!"
The six dog friends used their superpowers to fight Calico's men.
"Call me nuts, but I kind of missed fighting these guys!" Shawn said.
"Yeah, I get you." Gerald said. "Generic criminals had me a bit bored."
"Look out! I think they toughened up!" Caroline said.
Suddenly, Bolt imagined something strange. When he looked at the henchmen, they all had Cody's heads! Suddenly, he remembered his resentment against Penny's boyfriend and fought them fiercely.
"Bolt?" Caroline said.
"Easy there, Bolt!" Dustin said. "You're going too hard on them!"
"Bolt, chill out!" Poppy said.
Once defeated, Calico's henchmen had no other option than to retreat. Finally, Bolt calmed down and realized what he had done. He felt horrible.
"Bolt, what happened to you?" Caroline said.
"It looked as if you weren't yourself for a moment!" Shawn said. "What went through your mind?"
"I'm… I'm sorry, guys." Bolt apologized. "It's just… I thought about Cody again."
"Cody?" Gerald said. "I thought you had already overcome that, Bolt!"
"I thought so, too." Bolt said. "It's just, I wouldn't bear if Penny's boyfriend becomes better than me."
"Poppycock, darling!" Poppy said. "Penny loves you more than anything else!"
"It might be true that humans often hang out with others, just like Annette, who often goes to play videogames to the neighbors' houses." Caroline said.
"And Bob goes to play basketball with other guys of his age."
"But remember." Dustin said. "A dog's love is loyal and unwavering. We must always be there to accompany and protect our loved ones, no matter who or what stands in the way."
Bolt stood silent and pondered on what his friends said.
"You're right, guys." Bolt said. "Cody may be Penny's boyfriend, but there's something he will never replace, and that is the sweet unconditional wag of a dog's tail. And no matter what happens, I'll stay by Penny's side to protect her, because I love her."
"Well said, buddy!" Shawn said.
"Alright, we better go home now."
The six dog friends headed home. Meanwhile, Penny had just left school. Cody was waiting for her at the entrance.
"So, where shall we go now?" he asked her.
"I don't know. Why don't we grab some food at the café?"
"Good idea."
However, just before they arrived to the café, they were suddenly attacked by two burglars!
"Aah!" Penny cried, as the burglars grabbed her and tried to take her backpack. "Help!"
"What do I do?" Cody asked.
"My dog! You gotta call Bolt!" she said, struggling with the burglars. "He's a superdog!"
"What? How?"
"Use the thing on top of the building!" she said, pointing at a building, before the burglars forcefully lowered her hand while searching her backpack.
Cody rushed up the staircases and to the top of the building. There, he found the Bolt Signal! But before he could activate it, he hesitated. Bolt? A superdog? Really? However, there was no time to think about that. He hurried and activated the Bolt Signal. Bolt and his friends noticed it.
"Someone else is in danger! Come on!" Bolt said.
The Bolt Crew ran toward the place where the Bolt Signal was coming from. Bolt was shocked to find Penny assaulted by burglars! He growled and prepared to strike them, but then, he remembered to control his anger. Penny wouldn't like to see her dog fighting criminals with such rage! What if he eventually did this to Cody? Thus, he took a deep breath, and said:
"Bolt Crew, let's get them!"
Bolt, Gerald, Dustin, Shawn, Poppy and Caroline worked together to defeat the burglars. Afterward, Poppy trapped them inside an unbreakable bubble so the police could take them away.
"Bolt! You and your friends saved me!" Penny said. "Thank you."
Bolt barked happily.
"If Cody didn't call you, I would have been lost!"
Bolt was puzzled upon hearing this. Then, Cody showed up. Bolt realized he was the one who used the Bolt Signal! It was all crystal clear. Cody never wanted to compete with Bolt or take his place as Penny's partner. He only wanted her to be okay, just like him! Both could make Penny happy! Bolt nodded at Cody in approval. He would no longer be his rival. Now they were in good terms.
"Now, come on!" Penny said. "I'll get you all some puppuccinos. You deserve them."
Bolt and his friends licked their lips in anticipation. What a nice reward for saving the day! As they were heading to the café, a street camera had recorded everything that happened. That camera was made by Richards Enterprises, and there were more all over the town. From his building, Dr. Roy Richards, Penny's dad, had seen it all! Not only he had seen Calico's henchmen stealing mechanical parts, but he noticed how Bolt and his friends saved Penny's life! Then, he had an idea. He wanted to find a way to communicate with the Bolt Crew. He pulled out a blueprint for his next invention, a Cybernetically Advanced Rescue Robot with Outstanding Technology…
THE END