#robin lincoln

[neopoliitan]

my girl. she rotate.

got bored, kitbashed a robin model together lol

[evilhorse]

This is new.

(Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #25)

[shamlesspandanerd]

[theweebnextdoor]

Operation: S.E.C.R.E.T.S

Sunnie☀️: Started this story sometime last year but decided to start posting the chapters on here as well. Hope you enjoy the chaotic adventures my ocs go through and be able to get to know them a little more.

Operation: S.E.C.R.E.T.S

Sector

Enlisting

Child

Recruit

Ensures

Trouble

Surfaces

A new girl claiming to be family shows up on the Uno's doorstep but not everything is as it seems as she trains to be an operative. Meanwhile, an adult with a connection to this child becomes involved in the DCFDTL's lives as trouble ensues.

Chapter 1: Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Uno's Door

The evening had been quiet minus a few lousy villains trying to sneak into the treehouse. Thankfully their defense system made sure to alert that someone was on the property and was immediately dealt with. It wasn't too much for one kid to handle himself seeing how all his teammates were in their own respective homes on a school night but he could do without the minor annoyances. Things would quiet down soon but he wanted to be able to update the computer system of some of the newer villains they had fought recently. Even if they had defeated those adults and they weren't a threat at the time there was a good chance they would strike again soon enough so they had to collect as much information on their enemies to ensure another victory by the Kids Next Door. From now on there will be no more distractions.

DISTRACTION DETECTED!!

Dropping his clipboard in surprise, the boy groaned that it was the phone of all things interrupting him. Not wanting to hear it keep ringing he rolled his chair to the other side of the computer and picked up his phone, telling himself that it had better be important. "Hello?"

"Oh, good! So glad you picked up Nigel, honey!"

"Mom? I told you not to call me unless it was an emergency and besides I'm very busy trying to-"

"You'll consider it an emergency if you don't hurry down here and eat your dinner before it gets cold, young man! We're going to spend some family time together."

The boy knew he wouldn't be able to get out of it. Sure he could refuse and just find something to eat in the treehouse once he was finished with his work but he would be in trouble for not listening when he did finally go downstairs. Hearing that there was a dessert after was enough to convince him to stop his work for now but he would be sure to return once he had been full and satisfied.

"Okay, okay I'll be down in five minutes." He sighed as he began saving the information he had already typed up as he held his handmade phone between his ear and shoulder so he could hear his mother speak.

"Wonderful! We'll wait for you until you come down. Love you, honey!"

"Love you too, Mom," Nigel muttered before hanging up. He sighed as he made sure the defense system would stay on while he left the base of his treehouse. It was highly unlikely that there would be any more unwanted visitors for tonight but he couldn't be too careful. Once everything seemed to be in order, he made his way to the elevator and hit the button for house level.

"Ugh, the things I'll do for cherry pie." He put his head in his hand in slight disbelief at himself as the doors closed.

Like his mother had said his parents had waited for him, welcoming him as he sat down. Nigel said hello to his parents before beginning to tune them halfway out as he focused on his food instead. He picked up a spoonful of mashed potatoes with gravy, making sure to push his asparagus away. No way he was going to let those vile things contaminate the rest of his dinner more than it already had.

His father talked about another fishing trip they could take next weekend and he only got a few bites in before the doorbell rang, setting off an alarm system he had his teammate install. Jumping from his seat, Nigel made his way to the door before one of his parents could get there first. In case it was another adult villain he would be sure to deal with them with one of the weapons he kept hidden in the house. When he did open the door the alarm shut off and he was ready to question what the person wanted but grew confused when a woman he never saw before with long black hair stood at their doorstep.

"Oh! Um, hello young man but are either of your parents home?" She seemed like she didn't expect a kid to answer the door so he could guess that she didn't come here on Kids Next Door business but still raised a brow at her as he answered that they were.

"Nigel ol' boy, don't just stand there. See what the nice lady wants." His dad had left the table to see what was happening, only to find his son glaring at some woman in a pantsuit. He didn't know what he was going to do with that boy.

"Hello sir, are you by any chance a man named Monty Uno?"

"Why, yes I am." He answered and Nigel stepped to the side to observe. "Is there a problem of any kind I can help you with?"

"My name is Patricia Foster. I work for social services and it has come to our attention that you have a long-lost relative in the system that has been orphaned recently and it states that we track down any potential family members to see if they would be willing to take the child in even if temporary or else they will remain in foster care until further notice. No decisions have to be made right away but I have brought the child here with me so you could meet her in person."

Stepping to the side, Patricia showed that there was indeed a child standing behind her who looked up at the man with a sheepish smile as she took one of the hands resting behind her back and gave a little wave.

Both Nigel and his father stood there not saying anything for a moment. Neither one was sure how to properly take the information in. Finally, Monty called for his wife over his shoulder, hoping that she could help address the situation.

"Jen dear, could you please come in here for a moment?"

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

They were all seated in the living room with Nigel sitting on the couch next to his parents while they looked through some of the paperwork that this Patricia woman was showing them. He tried to sneak glances but his main attention kept going back to the girl sitting on the ottoman on the other side of their coffee table. They were supposed to be related in some way? She had been observing what the adults were doing as well and when she went to move a strand of brown hair behind her ear her eyes suddenly locked with his. Giving a little wave, she mouthed, "Hi" to him, and smiled when he awkwardly waved back.

"As you can see here it says that her dad's second cousin twice removed matched your info." Patricia passed the letter to Monty along with a document of a family tree showing that Nigel's father and this girl did share the same bloodline.

"I guess this is what we get for skipping out on your last few family reunions otherwise we might have already met-." Nigel's mom paused for a moment realizing she didn't catch the child's name and looked to her for an answer.

"My name is Robin. Robin Hughes." The girl answered, biting the inside of her cheek for a moment before speaking again. "So what happens now? Is this where I'll be living or will I have to keep staying in foster care?"

Monty and Jennifer could both hear the nervousness in Robin's voice and looked at each other wondering what on earth they should do. Everything checked out and this girl needed a proper living situation but could they take on another kid out of the blue like this?

"I think if Robin will be more comfortable knowing she's around family then she can have a place here with us. We'll do what we can to make the proper arrangements for this young lass."

"What? Dad don't you think this is all just a little too-" Nigel didn't get a chance to voice his opinion that he felt something was fishy about this whole thing as Robin suddenly jumped up.

"Really? Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me! I know this is a lot and I'm sorry to spring all of this on you.." Robin looked to her feet and shifted.

"I can drop Robin here off tomorrow along with the paperwork I will need you to sign claiming to be her new legal guardians." Patricia stood up from the chair and began organizing her copy of the files into her briefcase while Jen took Robin to the kitchen for a moment to get her a slice of pie to take with her.

"Dad, I'm not so sure about this. I'm all for helping out another kid. It's what I do but they don't just show up at your doorstep and suddenly start living with you this fast. At least I don't think they do.." He didn't know how all this was supposed to work but sharing his home with a girl they just met seemed a little weird.

"Nonsense, Nigel ol' bean." His father waved him off. "I know this will take some time to get used to but I'm sure you'll learn to love having a new playmate. You and she appear to be the same age so she'll even be in the same class as you."

"We'll need to make arrangements to have her enrolled in a new school but we'll worry about all of that once Robin has settled in here." Patricia closed her case, having gathered everything, and smoothed out her pants. "It was a pleasure to meet you, folks."

Patricia shook Monty's hand before saying that she was going to warm up the car and just have them send Robin out once she was finished.

Shutting the car door after slipping into the driver's seat, Patricia threw the briefcase in the back before reaching up towards the top of her head. Pulling on her hair it completely slipped off to show that it had been a wig this whole time and her natural red hair was pinned up underneath. Grabbing her phone she quickly began typing a number and spoke once she heard someone answer on the other end.

"Step one has been completed. She's in.."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

"So a total stranger is going to be staying in your house?" One of Nigel's best friends, Wally, questioned trying to understand the situation his leader was in even though it had been explained twice already.

"Maybe she will be our friend and I can invite her to my Happy Tea Time Rainbow Monkey Party!" The raven girl, Kuki, giggled to herself not paying attention to the eye roll Wally gave her.

"What did you say her name was again? Raven or something?" Hoagie questioned his friend as they neared the street the treehouse was on. It was after school now and they were walking home while Nigel told them to watch out for this girl when she arrived.

"Her name is Robin. At least that's what she claims to be called." Nigel responded, lifting his sunglasses as they began to slip further down the bridge of his nose. "I just don't get it. Yesterday I was an only child living with my parents and now today I have to share the space with my so-called long-lost- I want to say, Cousin?"

"Maybe you're thinking about this too much Numbuh 1. I mean you have a long-lost cousin on your mom's side and she's a member of the Kids Next Door." The dark-skinned girl of the group, Abigail, reminded him as she twirled a red lollipop between her fingers before putting it back in her mouth.

"Numbuh 10 didn't come to live with me in less than twenty-four hours of meeting her." Numbuh 1 pointed out to his second in command. "Don't you agree it's a little bizarre?"

"Maybe it is but Numbuh 5 thinks you're too tense even more. Ever since that last attack with the Delightful Children you've been a little on edge. I know you went through a lot and it took over a month for us to rebuild the tree house but you need to chill man. If this girl is your cousin and needs a place to crash then as members of the Kids Next Door, Numbuh 5 says we give her a chance and welcome her. She still is just a kid after all."

Numbuh 1 had to admit that Numbuh 5 was right. Maybe he was overthinking this too much. He had been even more suspicious of adults ever since transforming into one himself and having to face their greatest enemy so far. Father. There was no reason to take it out on a fellow kid.

"I suppose you make a good point Numbuh- Hey!"

The four members looked to their leader wondering what caught his attention all of a sudden. They followed his gaze ahead of them to see a car parked in front of his house. She was here already? Numbuh 1 motions for his teammates to follow him as he crept closer and stood on his tiptoes to peer through the side window. The others crowded around him trying to take a look as well. Nigel didn't see any signs of Robin. Only Patricia was sitting with his mom at the kitchen table; talking and laughing with a cup of coffee in each of their hands.

"Hey move it, would ya?!" Wally yelled, jumping to try and gain some height over his taller friends. He tried to elbow Hoagie to the side only for his friend to tell him to watch it and shove him back.

"Would you two knock it off?" Numbuh 1 warned moving the sleeves of Kuki's green sweater from his face while her chin rested atop his bald head, having hopped up on his back so she could get a good view too.

Numbuh 5 stood back with her arms crossed while the other four tried to squeeze around the window. If they kept at it the two women would hear them and see that they were trying to spy on them. Having finished her lollipop, Numbuh 5 pocketed the stick to throw away later when she saw a figure moving toward her friends. "Uh, guys?"

"Can someone just-!" To try and share the space Wally jumped on top of Hoagie but in doing so he made the other boy lose his balance and crash right into the other two, sending them all into a heap on the ground.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

"What was that?" Patricia questioned from inside, having heard a noise. Jen only shrugged with a smile before continuing her story.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

"Get off me!" Nigel lay face down beneath the weight of his friends trying to lift himself. He was able to prop his elbows when a pair of black shoes came into his field of vision and he looked up to see Robin standing over them with a box in her arms.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Oh! Um-." He began as he felt his teammates move their weights off him. "Nothing?"

Robin raised a brow at him then chuckled before shifting the box to one arm and offering her free hand to help him up. "Good to see you again Nigel." She smiled.

"It's good to see you too Robin." He responded before clearing his throat. "These are my friends." Nigel pointed his arm to the other four behind him. He introduced them each by name along with their respective Numbuhs 2 through 5 as they waved and gave hellos of their own. "And this is Robin. The girl I was telling you guys about."

"Spreading rumors about me already, eh Numbuh 1?" Robin joked using his codename that she learned.

"Ooh! Robin, your hair clips are so pretty! Can I try them on? Please! Please! Please!"

Robin turned to see the bubbly Japanese girl bouncing on her feet. She was the cutest thing but she didn't give in to her request.

"Sorry, Numbuh 3 no can do but thanks. They are pretty, aren't they?" She smiled, hovering her free hand over the clip that was pinned to the left side of her hair. It was merely a gold-colored barrette that mirrored the one on the right. They held importance and no one could wear them but her.

"What's that?" Nigel questioned, nodding towards the box that had 'Robin's Stuff' written on the side.

"Oh! Just the last of my belongings. Your dad is upstairs trying to make sure that the sofa bed still works." They didn't have another actual bed for her to use on such short notice but this would do for now.

"Hey, maybe once you're finished we can all hang out and get ice cream or something?" Numbuh 2 suggested, thinking that they were lucky to have such a cute girl staying here.

"I'm lactose intolerant but I'll take on your offer to hang out." Robin smiled, saying that she would be right back before turning and making her way back into the house.

"What does lacruz indolent mean?" Wally questioned out loud, completely mispronouncing the words.

With a sigh, Numbuh 5 corrected that it was lactose intolerant and it meant that she couldn't digest dairy products well which included ice cream. It would make her sick.

"That's a bummer." The blonde mumbled.

"Well, it looks like it's official." Numbuh 1 said as he watched Patricia walk out with Robin, hugging the child before stepping into her car and driving off. Before they had fallen from the window he was able to see some papers with his parents' signatures on them. "Robin is a part of the family now."

-End Transmission-

Sunnie☀️: I don't think we ever learn Mrs. Uno's real name. If it was brought up and I don't remember, feel free to correct me, but I chose Jennifer cause that's the name of her voice actor. Let me know what you think of the first chapter and I will have the next one posted soon.

[coconuttyglittersmurf]

If i had a nickel for everytime one of my favorite cartoonists

were inspired by THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938),

I would have 2 nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but, it's weird it happened twice!

[consideratesea]

the thing is I do actually need to pull up a map when I listen to Elis and John

[regalceliniac556]

If you like Lincoln Lawyer, Lisa Trammel and fanfictions…well just check out my AO3 account for my The Verdict Lies Within; https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naticat5656

Enjoy your reads!! Leave comments, it always helps! 📚

Once Upon a Time fics available on my page too!

[loycspotting]

(Ewan) Character Ask Game

This character ask game is from @epickiya722

Rules: Send a Ewan character + one of these questions for me to answer in my ask box. In turn, I will send YOU a Ewan character + question in your ask box.

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

11. Would you date this character?

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

23. Favorite picture of this character?

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!

[thingsasbarcodes]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3x22 - Ascension

[little-gay-boy-likes-music]

You guys should do this too

[neopoliitan]

TEAM RAIN: ARC 4 CH6 - THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

A WRITE UP FOR THE REST OF TEAM RAIN: CHAPTER 6

We return to Zenith. Zelena Braith is still questioning Viorel Braith on what Kamala Braith’s final plans are. We are not told what Zelena was asking about as we open on her asking for a firm confirmation, which Viorel gives.

Zelena rests her head in her hand as she processes this. She says she wants justice as much as the next person, but is unclear what Kamala aims to achieve with her plans. Viorel cuts her off and says they have spent fourteen years trying to render “the machine” operational, and that Zelena should not make the mistake of wasting their time.

Zelena affirms that she appreciates Viorel’s work, and claims that Akane’s semblance has got inside her head. Viorel states that “fools will do as fools will do.”

They’re interrupted by Viola Braith, who skips into Zenith victorious after her “beta test” in Avon. She states global rollout will go off without a hitch. Viorel says there was no doubt it would work as they did the hard work, but are cut off by Sterling Braith, who enters the room and brings up Viorel’s failed plan to recruit the Crazy Bunch. Having not seen Sterling since the start of Arc 3, Viola expresses exaggerated shock at his haggard appearance.

Sterling confronts Viorel and says his new arms aren’t “good enough” and they need to “do better.” Viorel retorts he’ll have to wait till Tahlia and Gardner get home, as the former is the engineer/mechanic of the family - besides, Sterling “is lucky to get anything after such a pitiful display” at Unsei Ridge, and they did a “miraculous job” given the short timeframe they had to work with.

Sterling grabs Viorel by the chest and lifts them off the floor, stating they’ll find out how “miraculous” a job they did when he uses his new arms to break every bone in their body. Zelena looks worried, then glances at Viola, who is clearly getting a kick out of the drama.

There’s a decent-length fight scene between Otso Umber and Raleigh Radcliff. During the fight, Otso lands a direct hit on Raleigh whose aura flares and causes Otso to reel back in pain. 

Raleigh’s semblance is named “Return to Sender.” As the cost of aura, Raleigh will not take damage from enemy attacks - and instead deflect it back onto the enemy as they hit him. The more he focuses, the less damage he will take and the more his attacker will endure.

Raleigh mocks Otso for not recalling his semblance despite their forty-year feud. 

Raleigh: “Doesn’t matter how hard you hit me - you’re the one who feels it.”

Otso: “I’ll take it if it means killing you! You ruined my life!”

Raleigh: “You’re doing a damn good job of that yourself!”

Otso: “Just admit it! You stole everything from me!”

Raleigh swings at Otso and clips his cheek with his hatchet. Otso spins with the momentum, then turns and catches Raleigh off guard, knocking him to the ground with a right hook. Otso swings down with his greatsword, but Raleigh blocks it with his ax and sweeps Otso aside.

Raleigh: “You want the truth? FINE!”

Raleigh: “You would’ve lost us that tournament! You didn’t stack up! I was the only one who did anything about it!”

Raleigh: “I cracked your damn head open so that I could take your place. You would’ve lost anyway.”

Otso is stunned by this revelation, so much so that Raleigh closes the gap and swings his hatchet at him. Otso parries, then uses the opening to drive his greatsword through Raleigh’s gut. Impaled, Raleigh’s knees buckle.

Otso pushes forward, leaning in and forcing his sword out through Raleigh’s back. As the space between them closes with Otso’s push, he yells that they were like brothers once.

Raleigh raises his hatchet. He affirms “we were” and swings at Otso’s exposed neck. In delirium thanks to their shared mortal wounds, the two exchange glances and chuckle, almost seeing their 18-year-old selves again. Then Raleigh swings again and Otso falls.

Raleigh pulls Otso’s sword from his gut, fully aware the wound is fatal, and casts it aside before dragging himself to lean up against his ship. He winces in pain, closes his eyes, then tilts his head to the sky.

After a moment, he hears footsteps.

Gardner Braith enters the clearing. He ponders Otso’s corpse and weapon for a moment, before being distracted as Tahlia Braith calls to him. She warns him that Team RAIN is here and they need to leave. Recognising their task is complete, Gardner picks up Otso’s bloodied sword as proof of his death and the duo hop into the truck they used to get to Faraday.

Team RAIN pursues Tahlia into the clearing to see the truck pulling out. Wil marches forward, saying all he needs is a truck to close the gap - Irving adds that the tyre tracks will basically draw a map to Zenith.

Akane and Robin spot Raleigh and kneel at his side. Robin says they need to get him help, but he tells them not to waste the effort on a dead man. 

Raleigh pulls a photo out of his vest pocket and hands it to Akane, telling her he has a son, Cordovan. He adds he has a daughter, Rosie, by a different mother. He asks her to find them and tell them he’s sorry, and that he’s proud of them. Akane protests that he can tell them himself, but he scoffs that it’ll mean more coming from her - they’ll know she’s telling the truth.

Raleigh slumps. Robin stands up and places her hands behind her head as she takes it in as Akane studies the photo.

The roar of an engine brings them back to the present - Wil announces he’s found a truck that works. Everyone piles in as Akane pockets the photo for later. 

Wil: “Where’s Radcliff?”

Akane: “He didn’t make it.”

Wil: “How well d’you know him?”

Akane: “Barely.”

Wil: “Then we can worry about it later.”

The truck pulls out, in pursuit of the Braiths.

–

Things get much more nebulous from here, as very few scenes are fully scripted (all of the next chapter was written pretty early, though.)

The following would have been a vehicle fight between Gardner/Tahlia’s truck and Team RAIN/PALM’s truck, involving a lot of bumper bashing and side-swiping. 

By the end of the vehicular battle, Tahlia would have climbed out of the sun-roof of the Braith truck, ran along the roof to the back of the vehicle and jumped off, landing in front of the Team RAIN truck. Using her Repulsion Semblance, she would repel the truck off the road and down a bank where it would be trashed.

Tahlia stands at the top of the hill, looking down at the wreck with slight remorse. Gardner pulls up next to her and climbs out of their truck, brandishing his weapon and telling her to get in the truck as she doesn’t need to witness what comes next.

Gardner proceeds to march downhill as Tahlia stares blankly at the horizon. After a moment, she notices something and squints - a blurry figure appears in the distance. She calls out to Gardner, telling him that someone is coming.

Gardner spots the figure too. His eyes widen and he turns, gently pulling Tahlia towards the truck. 

Gardner: “We need to go.”

Tahlia: “But what about–”

Gardner: “Just get in the truck.”

Gardner looks over his shoulder at the stranger.

Tahlia: “Who are they?”

Gardner: “Don’t worry about it.”

The Stranger watches the two Braiths peel away from the scene of the crash as they approach the wreckage. Irving pulls himself out, groaning as his aura flickers. The Stranger’s boot lands in front of him as he looks up worriedly, but he is relieved as the stranger offers a hand to help him up. We see their face is obscured with a hood, with a neckerchief and goggles covering their eyes and mouth.

Stranger: “Here. Let me help.”

–

Hours after the crash, Robin wakes up in a cave, a blanket covering her. She reaches for her sword, but its scabbard is empty. After a brief scan she sees her sword lying against the cave wall, and quietly picks it up. 

She rounds a corner nervously, where we see an obscured close up of the Stranger warming their hands at a small fire, their back to her. Robin slowly creeps up with her weapon, but the Stranger interrupts without turning - telling her that if they wanted any harm to come to her, she’d be dead already.

Robin asks where her friends are, and the Stranger tells her they’re resting - as she should be. Ignoring this, Robin presses further, asking why and how a random stranger would come to rescue them in the wilderness.

The stranger ponders for a moment as they stand up, playing with their fingers. They tell her they’ve been watching the Braiths for a while now. Robin asks why - who are they?

We see over the Stranger’s shoulder as he turns around to face Robin, whose eyes widen.

It’s a man in his fifties, with untidy grey hair that was once black. His eyes are a piercing white - both sclera and iris - ringed with dark circles of age and sleeplessness. He has a streaked, unkept beard, but his expression shows an innate kindness.

Stranger: “Oh, you know… just their father.”

[esfordays]

Robin spun around slowly in the living room, music playing loudly (although his singing was louder). The rest of the team crowded around the doorway, entranced by his precise movements and hauntingly beautiful voice. The song faded to a close, as did Robins’ movements, ending in a graceful pose. The group started clapping, and Robins head jerked up in an instant, hands already moving to the staff leaning against the nearest couch, before he finally seemed to recognise them. He still grabbed the staff, and his body was still tensed, but his eyes were no longer clouded with murderous intent as he shoved his way through the group.

“Don’t do that again.” He growled, shouldering a worried Kaldur to the side as he stalked down the hallway, each footfall making no sound against the echoing marble. The team shared looks of confusion and concern, before deciding disturbing Robin in his current state would be… unwise.

[robntunney]

We don't have any other choice. You have to have faith, okay? Nick's already primed the court to hear our case. Whatever Michael's doing, he doesn't need to do it now. We're gonna beat this thing the right way.

[theweebnextdoor]

Operation: S.E.C.R.E.T.S

Operation: S.E.C.R.E.T.S

Sector

Enlisting

Child

Recruit

Ensures

Trouble

Surfaces

A new girl claiming to be family shows up on the Uno’s doorstep but not everything is as it seems as she trains to be an operative. Meanwhile, an adult with a connection to this child becomes involved in the DCFDTL’s lives as trouble ensues.

Chapter 4: May I Have This Dance?

"Come on. Come on. Where is he?" Robin had been trying to secretly keep an eye out for the mailman while also helping Nigel with a few chores they had to do. She planned to offer to check the mail and casually slip the invitation in along with it but he was running later than usual today. She hoped that he was still coming cause otherwise he won't be back till Monday and she would have to come up with a different strategy. Until then she had spent most of the morning with Nigel and now they were sitting together at the kitchen table, eating a late lunch while chatting.

"The others have finished their chores as well and will arrive shortly." He spoke, taking a bite from the plate of chicken nuggets they were sharing.

"Cool. So about my training-" Robin began. "When will I be able to start?"

"It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid. There are usually a lot of other kids trying to get in at the same time and some don't make it right away. How well you do on the written test will determine if you may proceed or not."

"Boo! You didn't mention having to take a test first." Robin gave a little pout which Nigel sighed at.

"I suppose if I'm being honest I still don't know how I feel about you being here but what I don't doubt is that you'll become an operative. I guess if your heart is really into joining the KND, you're not so bad after all."

Robin could tell that he was having an inner battle with himself over this. He still wasn't fully able to trust her just yet but it seemed he was willing to give her a chance to prove herself. Not like he had much of a choice with everyone else being on board with her.

"Aw, that's the nicest thing you've said to me." Robin smiled and wrapped one arm around his shoulder.

"It's so nice to see the two of you getting along."

Jen came into the kitchen carrying a brown paper sack, having gone to the market to pick up a few things this morning. Having Robin here now was a lot to take in and she knew her son needed time to adjust to the change.

"I think after I put these away I'll grab the mail and then work more on my crocheting. Do you kids have a fun day planned?"

"Our friends will be over soon so I'm sure we'll be keeping busy." Robin took one last bite of her nugget, offering to grab the mail for Jen so she didn't have to.

"Took him long enough." Robin thought, seeing the mailman in the distance.

She had the invitation tucked inside her pocket and once she grabbed the other bills she added it along with them before going back inside. Nigel was standing in the kitchen waiting for her, watching as Robin set the envelopes on the table except one.

"Here Nigel, this came for you."

He mumbled thanks and was about to open it when he saw who it was from. He suddenly kept it at arm's length away from him and grabbed Robin's arm, quickly dragging her along with him as he headed for the elevator to the treehouse. Jen called after them to have a good day, unaware of her son acting strange.

"Whoa Nigel, what's wrong? Did your college acceptance later turn you down?"

Nigel told her this was no time for joking around and that she might have to be decontaminated, making her raise a brow. She didn't expect this reaction from him.

"I'm just saying it should be illegal to make us do chores on a Saturday. It's not right!" They could hear Numbuh 4 complaining to the others as they stepped into the room and Nigel quickly set to work. They must have got here just before the two of them did.

"What's with him?" Abby asked as she walked up to Robin, noticing how their leader was acting all serious.

"No clue." Robin shrugged. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought.

An alarm was suddenly set off putting all operatives into action. The only thing Robin could do was to follow them and hope Nigel was ready to open the invitation already. They ended up in the briefing room where he stood with a blue apron, yellow oven mitts, and a pair of tongs to protect himself from a piece of paper that it held.

"Bad news team, we have just received a dangerous item in the mail that you'll want to take a look at."

Abby started to read it out loud only for Nigel to swat her hand away and yell for her not to touch it.

"What?" Abby narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips. "It's just an invitation."

"An invitation to the Kid's All Town Cotillion!" Kuki squealed in excitement and waved her sleeves in the air as the others processed that they were invited to the biggest shindig in town.

"Read the fine print!" Nigel ordered them to take a closer look and at the bottom, it showed that it had been signed by the Delightful Children From Down The Lane.

"Aren't those the kids you mentioned before?" Robin questioned, remembering how Nigel accused her of going near them a few days ago. "Kids can host these things? Kind of impressive."

"Does that mean we can't go?" Kuki sadly asked, sensing that her leader wasn't happy about this and thought maybe he wouldn't let them be included in the fun.

"Of course, we're going!"

Everyone's frowns were instantly turned upside down and Robin joined in on the cheering. Nigel said that they would only go to their soiree as a mission to figure out what they were really up to and he proposed that they couple up to avoid suspicion. At that moment Abby leaned against Hoagie and Wally grabbed Kuki's hand, leaving only Nigel and Robin.

"Don't look at me, dude. I'm going solo on this one." Robin put her hands up as if to say he better not even think about it. Even if they weren't related like she said it would still be weird.

"Ooh! Ooh! You should call Lizzie!" Kuki giggled.

"Who's Lizzie?" Robin asked, noticing how Nigel was starting to act a little sheepish, piquing her interest.

"Nigel's girlfriend," Hoagie answered with a snicker.

Robin's eyes lit up as she suddenly turned back to Nigel again. Why was she only just now hearing about this?

"You have a girlfriend?" She grinned, making him lean back away from her as she moved closer to him in excitement.

"Why do you act so surprised? I-It's not a big deal!

Nigel sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder to gently push Robin away so he could move past her and grab the phone. He knew the others paired up quickly on purpose so he would have no choice but to ask Lizzie. Then again it was probably best that he did. If she found out that he took someone else to the Cotillion even if it was for a mission, she'd never let him hear the end of it.

"A lot of people are going to have dates, Robin." Hoagie pointed out and asked if she was sure about going by herself. "I'm sure we could call someone up in the Kids Next Door that could go with you."

"I don't do blind dates and yes I'm sure," Robin told him. It didn't matter to her that she would be the only one without a date. If she had been around longer and knew more people maybe she would have considered it but for now, she would be happy to just steal a dance with one of them. Besides, having an actual date would only distract her from her real mission.

"Lizzie? I-It's Nigel."

They all began to smirk and snicker in his direction which earned them a glare. While Nigel was asking his girlfriend to go on a date- sorry, mission with him; Robin stopped to wonder about something she probably should have already considered by now. What the heck was she going to wear?

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Kuki had come to the rescue with that, letting Robin borrow a light lavender top she had with her extra clothes she kept at the treehouse to go with a dark indigo skirt Robin owned that had ruffles at the bottom with an extra lining of lighter ruffles underneath to help give it a little poof. It was complete with a black vest with gold buttons that matched the black dress shoes she wore. There wasn't a whole lot she could do with her hair being short but she still slicked back the top half while having a few loose curls towards the ends. She of course kept her gold hair clips in.

As promised they had picked Lizzie up at 7:00 and she happily greeted all of them. She paused and narrowed her eyes seeing a new girl sitting near Nigel and asked who she was. There was some confusion when Kuki told Lizzie that her name was Robin and that she was now living in the same house as Nigel. Seeing that Lizzie was about to get angry, Abby jumped in and said Kuki left out the part that the two of them were related, and Robin required a new living situation so they took her in. Seeing how Robin wasn't some girl trying to steal her man, Lizzie offered her a smile and sat next to Nigel, complimenting her on her outfit.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

"Thank you so much for the corsage, Nigie!" Lizzie admired the flower pinned to her dress as they exited the ship onto the front lawn. Nigel corrected that it was a two-way communicator which Lizzie had fun testing out.

Robin giggled at their interactions with each other and followed them all inside. The Delightful Children were there to welcome all of the guests that passed through. They smirked as Sector V and company entered the party.

"Well, well, well if it isn't Nigel Uno and his little playmates."

"Listen you snotty little punks." Nigel waved his finger accusingly toward them and grabbed the side of his sunglasses to peer over the top. "I've got my eye on you and I don't blink."

The Delightfuls simply brushed off his threatening tone and gave their best welcoming smiles.

"Relax Nigel. We only wish to have fun with our guests for whom we provided free food and entertainment."

"So?" Hoagie shrugged as it sounded good to him. "Let's party!" He followed Abby, Kuki, and Wally further down the hall while Lizzie coaxed Nigel to come along too.

"Aw come on Nigie, it'll be fun!"

He started to walk alongside her but stopped, hearing the Delightful Children call after him. "Good luck on your date, Nigie." They teased as he grumpily stormed away.

Robin tried to suppress her laughter by putting her hand to her mouth. Thankful that Lizzie had him distracted, Robin took that moment to turn her head to the five kids hosting this shindig. They wouldn't be able to discuss anything further with eyes and ears all around but when they gave her a wink, Robin knew everything was good to go and smiled back at them before turning and running after the others.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The Delightfuls certainly knew how to throw a party. Now that everything was fully set up, the place looked even better than it had yesterday when she came over. The red carpet leading to the ballroom was a nice touch. Nigel reminded everyone that they were on a mission and to keep their eyes open. Abby and Hoagie wasted no time in checking out the snacks being served while Wally and Kuki made their way onto the dancefloor. Robin did a quick scan of the room. There were a lot of kids here. How was she supposed to persuade all of them to have their "picture" taken without Sector V catching on while also acting like she was enjoying the party with them? The Delightfuls would need a few minutes to set up so she supposed that the last part didn't need to be an act even if just for a moment.

"Stop!"

Over at the refreshment table, Nigel quickly stopped Abby from consuming any more of the punch and quickly ran a test on the beverage. He acted like it was spiked with something but the readings showed that it was just what it looked to be. It was even his favorite; cherry flavored.

"Look Numbuh 1, I am keeping my eyes peeled." Abby crossed her arms. "But I am telling you this is just a dance! You seriously need to chill."

"Yeah, just kick back already!" Hoagie told him, taking another one of the little finger sandwiches. "Enjoy your date."

Hearing her calling for him, Nigel turned to the direction Lizzie was standing and saw her waving for him to come over. Things were never this simple when it came to those Delightful brats and he would continue to figure out what was going on but he supposed he owed his girlfriend at least one dance.

Robin took that moment to make her move. She did tell herself she would dance at some point and all she needed was a partner. Going over to the refreshment table that was being cleaned up by one of the servers since Nigel spilled most of the punch, she tapped Abby on the shoulder and bowed, offering her hand out to her when she turned in her direction.

"May I have this dance, my lady? You don't mind if I steal your date for a moment, do you Numbuh 2?" Robin looked back up at him, getting a thumbs up as an answer since his mouth was full.

"Numbuh 5 would love to dance." The other girl answered with a smile.

Abby took Robin's hand and the two of them moved to the center of the room. Lifting their hands into the air, Robin went on her tiptoe and allowed Abby to spin her with her skirt twirling around as they ended up face to face with each other again. Robin's hand rested on her shoulder while Abby had hers on Robin's waist; their other hands were still locked together. They moved around the room at a fast pace, stepping to the beat of the music being played. From the corner of her eye, Robin could see some kids came to crowd around them but paid them little mind. Placing both hands on her shoulders, Robin allowed Abby to lift her into the air as they both spun around with a laugh. Robin was placed back down and with a few more steps, the song came to an end as Abby dipped Robin into a final pose; the onlookers clapped for them.

"Not bad Lincoln," Robin smirked. "We didn't have to rehearse that or anything."

"Numbuh 5 doesn't dance often," Abby admitted. "But my brother used to let me stand on his feet when I was younger and would dance with me so I kind of just copied what I remember him doing." That seemed so long ago but was still a fond memory that they shared.

They turned to a commotion nearby and looked to see Nigel pointing one of their 2x4 technology weapons toward one of the servers who had only tried to offer him some shrimp, freaking the poor man out. Abby sighed and shook her head. So much for him chilling out.

"You might want to take that away from him before he hurts someone," Robin suggested.

Abby nodded and excused herself to go over to the table where her leader and his date were sitting. Now that she was gone, it was time for Robin to put her effort into her part of the deal.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

She went around and tried to mingle with other kids, introducing herself and saying that she loved someone's dress or dance moves as a conversation starter to get them comfortable with talking to her before she would let it slip that she heard there was this beautiful set up where they could have their pictures taken. A lot of them took her suggestion to check it out and invited some of their other friends to come along, making her job a little easier. At one point she did notice the number of people seemed to slowly disappear but no one else did for some reason.

"Hey, Robin!" She turned her head to see Kuki and Wally walk up to the refreshment table where she had been taking a break from secretly manipulating other kids to sip on some punch.

"Oh, hey guys! Isn't this party great?" Robin smiled, noticing how Kuki had a firm grip on Wally's arm while he tried to squirm away.

"The greatest!" Kuki giggled, tightening her hold. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along with Wally and me to take photos together?"

"I already told you! I don't care about having my picture taken!"

Honestly, it wouldn't have been so bad but he heard the scenery they had to stand in front of was covered in flowers and that was too girly for his taste. Why couldn't there be options at least? Like a backdrop with a monster truck? Plus he knew Kuki would try to make them pose in a cute mushy way and he wasn't going to stand for it.

"It won't hurt you to take one photo, Numbuh 4." Robin reached her hand out and playfully ruffled his blonde hair. "I'm sure it would make Kuki happy and it would me too."

Wally grabbed her hand and shoved it away but not in a mean manner as she caught a glimpse of a smile coming from him when she did that.

"Alright, alright! I'll do it." Wally gave in much to Kuki's joy. "Let's get this over with."

"You guys go on and get a head start," Robin told them. "I'm going to find the others so we can all take a group photo together."

"Ooh, that's a great idea!" Kuki jumped up and down as she agreed. "We'll meet you guys there!"

Robin watched as they walked away together. Kuki still had her grip on him in case he changed his mind but he didn't fight it this time and even leaned a little closer to her touch. She seemed too excited about the photos to pay attention to the gesture. Before Robin could gush at the adorable sight too much, she quickly set her now empty cup down and went in search of Abby and Hoagie.

She didn't know how she was going to get Sector V to go into the photo room but Kuki made it sound like it was her idea so they shouldn't expect she was plotting anything. She found Hoagie dancing or at least trying to. He nearly tripped over his own feet but laughed it off and started moving again. His cheerful mood seemed to be contagious as Abby laughed along with him.

"You two look like you're having a good time." Robin greeted.

Hoagie asked if she was here to steal him away for a dance this time and gave her a suave smile to try and charm her but was turned down.

"Maybe after Numbuh 2. I came over to tell you guys that Numbuh 3 wanted to take some group photos with everyone. Have any of you seen Numbuh 1 around?"

"Last I saw, Lizzie dragged him out on the balcony," Abby answered. "Want me to grab them for ya?"

Robin shook her head and told her she didn't have to. "You already tried to take his weapon away so I can check up on him this time. Numbuh 3 and 4 are waiting if you guys want to head over."

Hoagie nodded and left with Abby trailing behind him. Robin waited until she saw them disappear into a room before making her leave as well. She knew Nigel wouldn't be as easy to convince. Lizzie might have been able to help with that but there was no way Nigel would just stand there and allow the Delightful Children to shoot him with their ray. She supposed seeing all of his friends turn delightfulized and helpless without his team was also an option so she left him alone for now. Before she left she did take a peek out on the balcony and they were out there like Abby said. Lizzie was leaning her head against Nigel's shoulder or at least she thought she was before she realized it was only a dummy version of him and the real Nigel was off to the side with some machine and a pair of headphones on.

"Way to kill the mood, Nigel." Robin thought, leaving before he could notice her presence. "Looks like it's my turn to become a little..delightful."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Robin stepped into a room where a pair of clothes were waiting for her. When she asked to borrow their look, the blonde female Delightful allowed her to have an extra sailor dress that she had for this moment. It fit better than she thought it would, seeing how Robin was a bit shorter. Fastening the buckle on the shoes, Robin got up and stood in front of a full-length mirror. She didn't bother doing anything with her hair, figuring that part didn't matter but her eyes were a different story.

All the kids that have been delightfulized appear to have icy blue eyes now. Robin's brown eyes would stick out like a sore thumb if she were to come face to face with Nigel like this but luckily they came up with a plan. Along with the dress there sat a pair of glasses that she slipped on. They seemed normal at first but by pushing a small button on the side, the lenses lit up with a hologram that focused on her eyes and made them look like a different color. Some kids had glasses appear with their delightful look so it shouldn't be questioned why she suddenly had them.

"Is it bad that I find this kind of cute?"

Robin shook her head and told herself that she didn't have time for this. Leaving the dress she came here with folded over a chair, Robin opened the door and peeked out. No one was in the hall so she saw her chance and took it. She ran out and intended to find a different way that led to the photo room where she would hide in wait for her next move. While she was walking, Robin froze when she began to hear voices and carefully looked around the corner to see the one person she had to avoid right now.

"Oh, Nigie! I love this song! Come dance with me!" Lizzie urged, pulling on his arm.

"Hang on Lizzie. I want to vacate some of the areas near the ballroom to double-check that nothing funny is going on." Nigel was opening and closing doors, heading straight towards where Robin was.

"You've been in work mode most of the night and we haven't had the chance to dance all that much. Can't you take a break? Please? For me?"

Lizzie tried to give him her best puppy dog look which seemed to work as Nigel gave in to her. Robin watched as Lizzie lit up and grabbed his hand, leading him back in the opposite direction.

"Thank you, Lizzie." Robin thought before she was on the move again.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

"This is an improvement for you, Robin."

The child rolled her eyes slightly at the Delightful's comment on her appearance. Of course, they would think that.

"Don't get used to it." She told them, before asking about Sector V. "Besides Numbuh 1, were the others already taken care of?"

When she went to sneak into the room, she found that there were no kids in there besides the five up on the platform above. She wondered if they saw through the plan and ran off but then again she hadn't seen anyone who had come into this room come back out.

"Oh, yes. They are lying in wait with the others ready to serve us." The Delightfuls explained before snapping their fingers.

One of the curtains opened up to show a bunch of the kids she had talked into coming in here standing there with motionless expressions. Being the only one not among them, Robin stiffened as their eyes focused on her, feeling the need to hide.

"Relax, Robin. Now that they have been affected, they have no recollection of what is happening right now so you have nothing to worry about just yet."

Feeling her shoulders relax, Robin looked from the kids up to the Delightful Children. If it was so easy to change a person's entire structure like this, she couldn't help but wonder if it had once been the same result for them. Had they always been known as the Delightful Children From Down The Lane?

"We couldn't have done this without your help." They spoke. "We have to admit, we're kind of impressed at how many brats you were able to send our way. We believe our thanks are in order."

"I'm sure some were gullible enough to come on their own." Robin reached up to play with the scarf tied around her neck. "I only did what I had to for us to succeed. There's no reason for you to thank me."

She appreciated that they recognized her efforts but she was ready to wrap things up soon. They didn't have to wait too long as she heard Lizzie's voice again. Man, she's had to try and avoid them a lot tonight. Moving quickly, Robin disappeared into the crowd just as the curtain closed behind her.

"Okay, now wrap your arm around me and hold my hand like this." She heard Lizzie instruct.

"Oh, this is stupid." Nigel frowned and was going to ditch this whole thing if his girlfriend hadn't pulled him back to her.

"Oh, come on Nigie! It's not a date without an official picture."

He was almost going to give in and wrapped his arm around her as she had asked but when he looked up into the evil eyes of the ones hosting this party he knew it was a trap and pushed Lizzie out of the way.

"What are you doing?" The Delightful Children asked in an agitated tone as they missed the shot. "Stand still!"

"What is your problem?" Lizzie questioned, completely oblivious to what was happening.

"That is not a camera!" Nigel tried to explain but those brats beat him to it.

"A neural suggestion ray. You know your mind control devices." They smirked as he figured it out a little too late. "But we're afraid that puts you sadly in the minority."

Hearing something behind him, Nigel and Lizzie both turned to see all the other guests appear and they had all been delightfulized. How could he have let this happen? There were too many distractions going on even though he knew they had been up to something. He should have been more cautious.

"See? They all had their picture taken!" Lizzie huffed.

She still didn't get it.

"Fiends!" Nigel yelled, pointing at them. "You said you only wanted to have fun!"

"This is fun." They insisted that it was for them and with Nigel outnumbered even more fun was about to be had. "Delightfulized minions! Take them!"

"Join us!" The mindless kids all around them spoke at once as they began to move toward them.

He had to find his team or at least a way out of there until he could come up with some sort of solution to this mess. Grabbing Lizzie's hand, he ran through a door that wasn't blocked off and led them both down a hall with the kids following them, coming out of every door they had passed. Nigel opened one door to try and take a shortcut to lose them only to come face to face with his team who had been turned into minions just like everyone else. He saw Robin standing right beside them and slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Oh, great! How am I supposed to explain this to my parents?"

He had no time to worry about that right now. He had to get him and Lizzie somewhere safe even if just temporarily. The only place he could think of was a closet. It wasn't the best hiding place and since she was the only one with her mind still intact, Robin pointed everyone in the direction they should go. It helped that Lizzie wasn't being quiet making it that much easier for the kids to be led right to them. Standing from a distance, Robin watched as Kuki opened the closet door where Lizzie was trying to take Nigel's and her picture. A big flash went off and Robin's eyes widened as it was strong enough to turn his team back to normal.

"That's some flash!" Hoagie complained, rubbing his eyes and wondering where he was. Hadn't they just been getting ready to have their pictures taken in the photo room?

"Ah, crud!" Robin whispered under her breath and backed away until she reached the end of the hall where she high-tailed it out of there before they could notice her and her odd behavior. She had to change back and fast.

Lucky for her, Nigel had his attention on installing Lizzie's camera to his weapon to make the flash even more powerful. He should have guessed that one would neutralize the other.

"Alright! It's time to get this party really started!" He began as he aimed his handheld ray toward a group of kids. "So.. Let's dance.."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Nigel went all around and took pictures of every kid that they had come across. His teammates helped by letting him know if he missed someone and even held a kid or two in place if they had to, to speed things up. After a good while they all ended up in one room together with everyone seeming to be back to normal. Nigel did a double-take around the room to make sure they were all here and narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw Robin make her way toward the front of the crowd, rubbing her head. He didn't recall seeing her turn back but everything had happened so fast. He hadn't paid attention to every single group of kids he had taken a shot of. Just as long as he knew they weren't delightful anymore. He guessed that she had been among them somewhere and was too focused on his mission to notice her till now.

Damn, those glasses gave her a headache. They were great for her disguise but not so much for her eyes. She had to blink a few times to try and focus again but at least it made her look confused like everyone else. She was about to ask Wally if he remembered anything only for her eyes to widen and snap her head in Nigel's direction when she heard him explode in rage.

"IT IS NOT A DATE!!" His anger was directed at Lizzie and he continued to go off on her. "It was never a date and even if it were a date, I don't care! I have more important things to worry about than someone who's..who's..DATE CRAZY!"

He stormed out of the room leaving everyone in an award silence beside the sniffles that came from Lizzie. The rest of Sector V made everyone back off knowing she needed space right now.

That was harsh. Robin understood why Nigel was so upset. Lizzie had been getting in the way all night and certainly wasn't the brightest but Robin couldn't help feeling bad for her. He could have at least waited until they were alone so he didn't humiliate her in front of all these people. It probably wouldn't help anything but Robin walked up to Lizzie and tapped her on the shoulder, offering her a cup of punch when she glanced up at her. Lizzie wiped her tears and smiled small at the kind gesture.

"You okay?" Robin carefully asked, knowing it was silly to ask.

Lizzie gave a slight nod as she looked down at her reflection shining in the punch. Instead of drinking it, she pursed her lips together before straightening up and stomping in the direction Nigel had gone; holding her dress up with one hand so she wouldn't trip.

"Robin, what happened?" She heard Abby ask and her gaze was torn away to see her and the others standing there. "I thought you were going to get Nigel for the group photo but he said he never saw you and you had been turned delightful as well."

"I lost sight of him after Lizzie dragged him somewhere else." Robin quickly came up with a lie, hoping they would buy it. "I went to find you guys to help me look but when I went to the photo room you weren't there and after that, everything has been a blur up until now."

"Those punks must have got you when you went to check up on us," Wally grumbled, referring to the Delightful Children. Even if the result would have ended the same he still said that he would get back at them for zapping her when she least expected it. They were used to the Delightful Children pulling stunts like this and should have believed Nigel. Robin was new to all the chaos they went through and he hated knowing that they took advantage of his friend.

Robin started to tell him that it wasn't necessary when the sound of an explosion got their attention and they turned to see the Delightfuls running through in a panic as they headed for the front door. Nigel and Lizzie followed after them in a hurry, yelling for everyone to run. The sound of another explosion boomed through the mansion and you didn't have to tell them twice. Everyone rushed towards the exit all at once and while it was a bit hectic, they all ended up on the hilltop outside at a safe distance. Parts of the mansion shot up into the air and were turned into fireworks that nearly everyone "oohed and awed" at.

Robin was one of the few that wasn't smiling. Her head was tilted up to watch the fireworks but she couldn't focus on them. The mission had failed. Of course, it wouldn't have been that simple. It never was. All she wanted was to see her dad again but it looked like she was going to be sticking around for a while longer. Her gaze lowered and she looked at the Delightfuls. They were the only ones who knew how she was truly feeling right now but they couldn't give her comfort. More like they wouldn't as they turned their heads away from her.

"Don't you just love fireworks?"

The Delightfuls' attention was turned to some boy standing near them as they glared at him. Parts of their mansion were being destroyed and Father would be furious at them once he came home so, no. They didn't love fireworks.

Robin sighed and looked back towards Sector V only to see Nigel had already been watching her as he held hands with Lizzie and her eyes widened as they locked eyes with each other. Robin wasn't sure what her expression was reading right now but she knew it wasn't good. Before anything else could happen, she felt someone grab her hand and glanced beside her to see Kuki before she was pulled closer to the group.

"Hey, Lizzie! Do you still have any more film left?"

"Most of it had been used up," Lizzie said, checking where her camera was set at. "But there should be enough for one more picture." She smiled knowing where Kuki was going with this.

Just like they had originally planned, they all came closer together for a group shot. Nigel's focus was still on Robin as she stood beside him now. Something was wrong and the feeling he got about Robin when she first stepped into his home came creeping back up. Why had she been looking at the Delightful Children like that? Her expression was almost unreadable but he could have sworn there was pleading in her eyes almost as if she was asking for help and then slight fear when she turned to him instead. He had no idea what was going on but he was going to get to the bottom of this and-

"Nigel! Pay attention!"

He jumped as Lizzie yelled in his ear. Sighing, Nigel put on a fake smile for the camera knowing that the girl next to him was doing the same. There was nothing more he could do tonight but he was going to have someone up in the Global Command do some digging on her. He had to know if she was really who she said she was or if there was something bigger going on that he didn't have the answers to just yet. This was far from over.

Flash!

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Robin's fingers traced over the edges of the picture as she sat on the windowsill of her room. They had let her keep it and soon after the fireworks ended they all decided it was time to head home and call it a night. After dropping Lizzie off, they returned to the treehouse where Robin excused herself and said that she was going to bed. She hated to admit it but part of her did have a good time with them tonight. She just got caught up in the act she told herself. She couldn't let herself get attached to them. Moving the photo, it was shown that she had two of them and the one she had in front of her now was different. It was a picture of her parents holding her when she was still a toddler. She missed them both so much.

"Don't worry Dad." She sighed as she turned to look up at the stars, knowing he was out there somewhere. "I promise I'll get us home soon.."

-End Transmission-

[ggfj84]

Chapter Summary: The Night of Owls has arrived. 

“Well, you and your little pups have helped with that,” Lincoln laughed as he knelt before a thick, metal cabinet in the corner of the dining room. “By now, they’ve probably rounded up most of the Talons, whom the Court would have sicced on me. Sure, they can always train new ones, but that’ll take time. And by then, I’ll have reclaimed the Gray Son.”

“Reclaimed?” Batman echoed, to which Lincoln hummed.

“You know what’s ironic, Bruce?” He pulled shimmering silver armor from the cabinet and clipped a gauntlet into place. “The Owls – they were afraid of you. A boy who could uncover their secrets at the tender age of nine? You were someone to avoid. Even though they’d killed Wayne after Wayne, they were going to let you live – until I convinced them not to.”

Lincoln pulled the cuirass over his head and settled it upon his chest. “You know what sealed the deal? When you stole their prized servant. It was one thing to let you live but another to allow you to take what was rightfully theirs.

“And I knew Richard would be your downfall.”

[similistic]

Books of 2022

Favorites:

- Owen by Kevin Henkes It’s a children’s book about a mouse who is very attached to his security blanket. XD

- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler A very eerie post-apocalytpic/dystopian science fiction novel. The story is set between 2024 and 2027, so reading it in 2022, as a resident of California, was a bit chilling and very thought-provoking.

- Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb This is book 2 of the Rain Wild Chronicles series, and to be honest, I don’t highly recommend the other three books in the series, and I’m not sure I would have “favorited” it as a stand alone. But it’s the most dragon-centric book of the series and I really enjoyed her treatment of dragons and their lore.

5-Star Ratings in 2022:

- The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Young man coming of age, vintage Americana.

- Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater Basically a look at what happens to Merida from Disney/Pixar’s “Brave” after the events of the movie.

- The Partner Track by Helen Wan Young, female, Asian lawyer, trying to make partner at her firm. Dealing with racism and sexism. Slight “Devil Wears Prada” vibes.

- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne Fun romance novel. Enemy to lovers trope.

- 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne Fun romance novel.

- Mad Ship by Robin Hobb Book 2 of the Liveship Traders trilogy.