Just Like Us

This large batch of one-shots will introduce more Nextgenners, such as Eva's children! These are also some of the first Nextgen fics I wrote, so beware of cringey dialogue. I promise the characterization will get better later, and how they are now is a stark contrast compared to how fleshed out they get later.

Just Like Us

It was a peaceful summer's day when two children, a boy and a girl, were playing a game of Sonic Adventure 2 2-player mode in a house. The boy wore a blue sweater, blue jeans, had blonde hair, brown eyes, and a football-shaped head (sound familiar?) while the girl wore a white T-shirt, black jeans, had black hair and black eyes. The boy played as Sonic while the girl played as Amy in the stage, City Escape. Just before the boy could touch the Goal Ring, the girl used Amy's Time Stop, allowing her to pass him and win the stage.

"WOOHOO! And Melody owns you once again!" she exclaimed, doing a victory dance.

"Hey, no fair! You totally cheated!"

"It ain't cheating if they put it IN the game! Besides, my parents were some of the greatest gamers back when they were kids! They've had plenty of experience, unlike your workaholic parents, and I guess I've inherited my parents' traits!"

"Well, FYI, my dad was chosen as the second Earth operative to be in GKND!"

"Yeah, which was evil!"

"Well, they didn't know that, and he saved the universe!"

"Big deal! MY mom is descended from royalty! That makes me a princess!"

"Well, so is my dad! I'm a prince!"

"Yeah, from an EVIL royal family, along with Aunt Fanny! Besides, what kind of prince wears Rainbow Monkey and Doctor Time-Space underwear?"

"What kind of princess tells cruddy jokes and has horrible foot odor?"

"Someone's asking for a waterbending slice!"

"And someone's BEGGING to have their hair singed!"

"Are you challenging me?"

"Bring it, Mel!"

"YOU bring it, Chris!" With that, they stood up and readied for battle. Chris held flames in both hands, and Melody bended water out from a bottle. The two then tackled and began rolling and tugging at each other on the floor.

"Alright, that's enough, you two!" They stopped fighting to see both their parents looking shamefully at them. "Chris, what did we tell you about using your powers?" Rachel asked.

Chris sighed, "Only use them for good, not evil."

"Same to you, Melody." Eva scolded. "If you're gonna beat your cousin, do it safely."

"Now, apologize." Nigel demanded.

The two turned to each other and said, "Sorry." in unison.

"Good!" Kade said. "Now, come on, Mel! Let's go work on your jokes!" The man walked away, his daughter following.

"Chris, wanna go practice with your brother?" Rachel asked.

"Sure, whatever." With that, they walked away as well.

Nigel and Eva watched them leave, smiling. "Aren't they something, Nigel?" Eva asked.

"Yep! Just like us when we were kids!"

"Yep! Only MY daughter's inherited her uncle's cheating!"

"I did not cheat!"

"Did too, Rainbow Monkey Lover!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"AUGH!" With that, the two tackled and began fighting each other on the ground.

Rachel, Kade, and the kids came back just to see this. "MOM!" Melody shouted.

"DAD!" Chris shouted.

The two stood up and blushed in embarrassment. "He/She started it!" they both shouted.

The kids smirked while their loved ones looked in disbelief.

Date?

"So, there you have it: despite a rather rough and violent childhood, Boba and Khryssa Fett are happily enjoying their life on Naboo." Melody Jackson spoke as she and her brother, Danny, were currently doing a KNN News segment. Danny looked just like Kade, only he was a little less fat, and he wore a blue T-shirt, khaki light-brown pants, and black shoes. "Coming up: we'll see how Ava and Kweeb are enjoying their lives on Aquaria."

"I'm surprised Ava didn't accidentally swallow him through making out by now!" Danny exclaimed, laughing at his joke.

Melody gave a little chuckle as well. "Well said, there, Bro. Anyway, thank you for watching and see you next time." After their news segment ended, the two news anchor siblings went to get some sodas from the fridge and sat down on the living room couch. "HOO! I can NOT talk that long without having a drink!"

"Makes you wonder how our parents handled this, huh?" Danny replied.

"And how." With that, the two opened their sodas and drank away. They stopped after a while and released a sigh.

"Well, our relatives are coming over for family game night. We should probably get ready."

"Oh joy." Melody said, sarcastically. "How nice we get to enjoy a dinner with our egotistic auntie."

"Who? Rachel?"

"Not RACHEL, stupid, I mean Mor-"

"Hey, Numbuh 10.11!" The two looked to see Eric Horvitz, a nerdy boy with a reddish-orange shirt with pockets, khaki grey shorts, brown shoes, short brown hair, and glasses and two buckteeth, walk up to them.

"Hey, Eric." Melody greeted the son of Numbuhs 13 and 11-Teen.

"Great news segment today! Even better than the story about Dillon York catching Mason Dimalanta and Sheila Frantic making out in the Moonbase closet!"

"Well, I couldn't have done it without your brilliant paper organizing skills!" Melody complimented.

"Or Dillon's shadowbending!" Danny mentioned.

Eric blushed and chuckled nervously. "Well, I learned all I know from my mom!"

"Anyway, we should probably go get ready for dinner." Melody said as she got up and walked past Eric.

"W-Wait!" Melody stopped at Eric's call. She turned to him as he scratched his head. "Um…are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

"Um…I don't think so."

"Really? Cool! Um, I was wondering if you wanna come over to my place. I just bought the new Transformers on DVD. You could come over, and we could watch it, or something…"

"Well, sure! Hey, would you mind if I invited that cute Tom boy over, too? There is just something about that boy that turns me ON!"

"NO!! TOM TAYLOR IS NEVER SETTING FOOT IN MY HOUSE!"

Melody giggled playfully. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I don't wanna invite anyone! Sure, I'll come over!"

"YYES! I have a DATE!"

"Date?"

"Ooh!" Eric covered his mouth in embarrassment and blushed. "Er, I mean, that is-"

"Oh, Eric! You can be SUCH a nerd sometimes!" Melody giggled, playfully pinching his cheek. "But it's no pressure, really. I'm just coming over to hang out! No big deal!"

"Uh…hehe. Okay." With that, Eric started walking toward the exit. "Well, see you tomo-WHOA!" He screamed as he tripped on his shoelaces on the way out.

The nerdy boy blushed as Melody burst into laughter. "What is with you ALWAYS tripping on yourself?" Melody walked over, bent down, and tied his laces together. "There you go. Won't trip very much like that."

Eric blushed once more. "Uh…thanks!" He chuckled nervously on his way out.

"Hehe!" Melody might not've had a crush on him, but Eric was the sweetest and funniest boy she could ask for a teammate. "Well, Danny, time to get ready for game night."

"Okay."The siblings headed out the exit as well. "Hey, that reminds me, how many are coming exactly?"

"Uncle Nigel felt the need to include the whole family."

"Oh joy…" Melody frowned, not liking the idea of being cramped in her house with her jillion relatives.

This part also has cringey dialogue.

Popularity

The Kids Next Door Bike Hub was roaring with cheering kids as two certain operatives raced at high-speeds across the track. Mike Strongarm, Leader of the Central Bike Hub, wore a determined look on his face, his feet moving fast as he spun the pedals of his bike. He wore a white T-shirt with dark purple stripes on its sides, dark purple pants, purple shoes, and a white helmet with purple to the side. Beside him, his current rival, Terry Stork, a boy with a light blue shirt, with longer dark blue sleeves, and black pants and dark-gray rubber shoes, wore a frown with gritted teeth, extremely desperate to best the Bike Hub leader.

In the audience, a nerdy girl with blonde, messy hair, a white lab coat, yellow T-shirt underneath, purple and white shoes, and purple square glasses couldn't help but stare closely at the speeding biker that was in the lead. She sighed dreamily. "That Mike Strongarm is SUCH a dreamboat."

Melody and Danny Jackson were standing beside her, and Melody said, out of the blue, "You should ask him out."

Emily jumped with a start. "What? No way! What if he thinks I'm a total nerd?"

"You are a total nerd, Emily!" Danny exclaimed, earning him a punch in the arm from Melody. "Ow! Even so, I'm sure he'd like you, anyway."

"Hmm… I don't know."

"Come on, after the race, you should go over and talk to him." Melody suggested.

Right at that moment, Mike came in victorious, getting off his bike and doing a victory dance. "And the winner is, once again, Numbuh 78-Speed, Mike Strongarm! And Terry Stork will need to pick up the pace for next time." Announced the… announcer.

Terry Stork kicked his bike to the ground hatefully, and his shadow patted his shoulder as he stomped away.

"This is reporter Zach saying: I hope we also don't get replaced by potty-mouths."

"Now's your chance." Melody whispered. "Go talk to him." With that, she pushed Emily in Mike's direction.

While Mike waved to his fans, Emily approached nervously, a red blush clearly visible on her face. "Uh…w-wow, Mike! You looked so cool in that race!" she said sheepishly.

"Always good to meet a fan." Mike smiled coolly. "Hey, aren't you that nerd girl that works at the museum?"

"Y-Yeah! I'm, uh… Emily. N-Numbuh 303! I'm the one that told the history of the Negatar Realms, like how the first human poisonbenders established-"

"Ah ah ah ah, stop right there!" he exclaimed, waving his hands. "You kinda talked too much."

"Oh… sorry. I guess I can sort of ramble like that sometimes. I'm pretty boring, huh?"

"Eh, not really. Well, you ramble a lot… but you're pretty smart, I'll give ya that." He winked.

"I know. Thank my parents for that. I just wish I could be cool and popular like you, and not some geek face that turns into a zombie the moment someone steals her things." She frowned, looking away shamefully.

"Hey, being popular isn't everything." He said comfortingly. "It's hard being adored and admired by everyone, rarely ever getting privacy. Besides, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself because you're a nerd. I mean, that only means you're smart."

Emily gave a nervous laugh, and snorted. "I never liked popular guys much for being, well, popular, but I always thought you were cool for some reason. Maybe because you don't make fun of me. And you admit you're dumb!"

Mike laughed a little. "You know, you are kinda cool, Emily. Want to, uh…hang out sometime? When we're off duty?"

"Uuuuhh, sure!" Emily smiled, blushing madly deep down. "We could play videogames! W-We could play Skyrim."

"Hehe, sounds great! And, uh… I could use a little help on some math… if it's not too much trouble." He asked shamefully and sheepishly.

Emily laughed. "Sure thing. See you later?"

"Hehe! See ya!" With that, he got on his bike and rode away.

Emily waved good-bye, still blushing as Melody and Danny approached. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Mel asked.

"Heck no! I have a date!! WOOHOO!"

"You're not gonna die from the heat, are you?" Danny asked jokingly.

"Ehh, she'll be fine." Melody said. "Heck, she's doing better than a certain SOMEBODY I know."

As she thought of the boy in question, Eric Horvitz had gotten his shoelaces tangled up in his bike pedals, lost somewhere on the race course. It took quite a few hours for anyone to find him.

It's time to introduce the children of Harvey and Shaunie!

Practice

A normal day in West Virginia. The weather was nice. The air was quiet. Anthony McKenzie stared fiercely at his opponent, his bare feet locked firmly to the ground. Anthony was 7 years old, and Leader of Sector W. He wore a light-green T-shirt, tan khaki pants, had brown eyes, sandy-blond hair, buckteeth, and freckles on his face. He resembled his father, but took after his mother. Despite his young age, he was born with bigger feet than most other kids. He was teased, because of this, and it was hard to find shoes that fit. However, he wouldn't like wearing shoes, anyway. He preferred to have his feet dirty, feeling soft dirt and rocks under his soles. He was an earthbender, like his mother, and he did his best to get in touch with his element.

Which brings us to his opponent: a simple boulder, twice his own height. He stood under a towering cliffside within a forest. It may've been just a boulder, but Anthony needed to be steady. He kept his firm stance. He wiggled his toes between the dirt. For in order to best this rock, he must be like a rock himself.

Anthony took a deep breath through his nose, then released calmly. He kept his stance for 10 minutes… but now he was ready. He raised his right foot and stomped with great force before throwing both fists against the boulder. "GUAH!" Immediately, the force sent him flying backward several feet. "Owww…" Needless to say, his head was aching from the impact.

"Ha ha ha HAA!" came the feminine laughter from a voice Anthony knew too well. "Prithee: yon boulder wast too MUCH for Anthony! HA ha ha ha!"

Floating above him, Anthony's best friend, Fybi Fulbright. She had frizzy orange hair, freckles on her cute face, and beautiful emerald-green eyes. She wore a dark-green sweater, khaki-brown skirt, and brown Greek sandals. She looked like her aunt, Fanny, except she had pinkish-yellow angel wings. Her mother was a Nimbi; an angel person, and her father was human. She had a high Scottish accent, as her father was Scottish/Irish descended.

Fybi was a beautiful girl to Anthony's eyes. Her emerald eyes were very vibrant, and her skin was smooth and fair. She had very small feet, compared to Anthony's, and while Anthony's feet were rough and dirty, Fybi's were smooth and soft. That's because, while Anthony's element was Earth, Fybi was an airbender. She rarely ever walked, and instead preferred to use her wings. In short, she was very opposite of Anthony. Especially in personality. But regardless of this, Anthony loved to hang out with her.

"It's NOT funny, Fybi!" Anthony yelled grumpily. "Uuuuugh!" The boy stood up and stomped angrily toward the boulder. "I don't get it! I stood here for TEN minutes, 'bein' a rock', and I STILL can't EARTHBEND! Why did I get big, giant feet if they weren't gonna help me push a BOULDER??"

"Mayhap yon boulder hath yonder brain. Ha ha HA!" Fybi laughed.

"Huuuuuh. What're you doing here ANYWAY, Fybi?"

"Prithee, canst a friend not come to offer her support?" Fybi smiled as she lightly seated herself atop Anthony's head. "They say laughter be-eth the finest of medicines, so mayhap mine laughter givest thee strength to bend."

"Well, it DOESN'T. It makes me feel WORSE."

Fybi hovered off his head and landed to face him. "Pray, how sad. The mocking laughter worketh for Cheren all the time, when fair cousin Panini dost it to him. Mayhaps thou art just weak. 'Tis no wonder thou canst not bend."

"What would THAT have to do with anything?? Michelle was only TWO when SHE began bending! And she was already GREAT at it! How come she and MOM could lift a boulder with one hand and I can't even PUSH IT??"

"I doth not know. But most earthbenders possesseth unbreakable, rock hard spirit. Mayhaps thine doubt in thyself ist what maketh thee slump?"

"Well, why WOULDN'T I doubt myself? My sister's a buhmillion times better than me. Do you know how many times she's buried me HALFWAY in the ground and laughed 'cause I couldn't get out?? I just wanna… nnnn!" Filling with rage, he swung his foot and kicked the boulder. "YOW!!" he stubbed his toes as a result.

Anthony's pain eased when Fybi put a hand on his shoulder. "Anthony… I am sorry thou feelst so small compared to thine sister… but thou mustn't let her laughs break thy stone heart. If there ist one thing thou hast over thine sister, it is thy years of pain and suffering through mastering thine element."

"(Sigh, can't you talk normally for once?) But how is THAT better over Michelle?"

"Michelle hast accomplished so much, through simple skill and talent. She will never know what true pains and struggles most must endure, to achieve the simplest of tasks. In time, Anthony, thou wilt be a powerful earthbender, but only after much toil and hardship. But such toil and hardship would feelst rewarding, once thou hast conquered it, and used it against thine sister. One day, she wilt lay defeated, and you shalt stand tall."

And just like that, Anthony's negative feelings were gone. He suddenly had a new purpose. …If he translated what Fybi was saying correctly. "…So you're saying… if I keep practicing… I might get strong enough to beat Michelle?"

"Aye. Thou willst." Fybi nodded. "And always know… thou hast my support." And the angel planted a small kiss on his cheek.

Anthony's face froze, and his cheeks turned red. "Duuuhh…" He could only smiled goofily. He shook it off a few seconds later, smiling with confidence. "Anyway… thanks, Fybi." With that, the McKenzie boy climbed and stood atop the boulder with sureness. "I'm gonna keep trying and KEEP getting stronger! And one day, I'll pick this boulder up, and bury HER in the dirt! Just you WAIT, MICHELLE! I- whoooOOA!" He lost balance and fell off the boulder.

Fybi shook her head, smiling. "Thou wilt need to work on thine stance…"

This one-shot introduces Anthony's sister.

Memories

The hot noon sun shone bright in the cloudless sky. Summer was just starting, and the weather has been boiling these past few days. Rachel Uno was currently enjoying the warm weather, the married woman lying back in a lawn chair in the backyard of their house, her gold-blonde hair wrapped in a ponytail, like she kept it nowadays, wearing only a bright-blue bellybutton shirt, short blue jean-shorts, and blue flip-flops, having her left leg crossed over her right leg, and her head rested on her hands.

"Geh! Give it back!"

Although she wasn't the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door anymore, she still got to use her leadership skills in her new job, as the current principal of Gallagher Elementary. In fact, Dimentia got to do the same thing, as principal of the new Galaxia School. Like her KND job, it was pretty stressful, and almost everyday she came home, she always took the time to relax.

"No! It's mine!"

Unlike her husband, Nigel, she always loved sunbathing. The warmth of the sun's rays, mixed with the cool breeze on her skin, always made her feel at peace.

"Come on, Michelle, give it back."

But it wasn't entirely peaceful today. Her 7-year-old nephew and 5-year-old niece were currently over. She frowned in slight annoyance, glancing to them on the other side of the yard, standing on the porch and tugging on a Nintendo 3DS. Anthony McKenzie, with his little sister, Michelle. And they were her brother; Harvey's, and his wife, Angie's kids. Michelle looked a lot like Angie like her brother did Harvey. Michelle wore a brown sweater that was similar to Harvey's, had dark-red hair, bright-blue eyes, and a purple skirt. She wore no shoes and went barefoot like her mom and brother, since they were earthbenders.

But every time she saw them bickering, she always forgot they were siblings. When she looked at them, all she saw was her baby brother fighting with the girl next door that always bugged him, just like the old days.

As the two kept trying to pry the device away from each other, Michelle stomped the ground and jabbed Anthony away with an earth chunk, jumping in victory after finally retrieving it. Anthony gritted his teeth in anger, and attempted to send an earthquake toward her, stomping the ground, but accidentally sent it across the yard toward the relaxing woman. The quake pushed the chair over, knocking Rachel on the ground. Anthony backed away in fright as Rachel got up and glared at them, and Michelle immediately pointed to her brother. "Anthony did it!"

"WHAT? You made me! Quit lying, Michelle!"

"Start truthing, Anthony!"

"That's not even a word!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"HARVEY, ANGIE, will you STOP-…" Rachel stopped herself, forgetting who they were. "Uh… I mean, Anthony, Michelle! Can't you take this somewhere else?"

"She started it!" Anthony refuted. "It's still MY turn with the DS!"

"Nuh-uh. Mom says we each get two hours per turn, and Anthony's is way past up."

"It is not."

"Alright, alright. Anthony, when did you get it?" Rachel asked.

"Three."

"And… what time is it now?"

Michelle checked the time on the 3DS. "5:02!"

"Okay, then it's Michelle's turn now."

"Yyes!" Michelle cheered.

"Aw, come on, Aunt Rachel! I-" Anthony tried to argue.

"Anthony…" Rachel glared. "Do you want your mom to take away your extra cookies?"

Anthony gulped and finally gave in. "Fine." He grumbled, stomping away.

"Thank you, Aunt Rachel!" Michelle hummed merrily to herself, skipping back in the house.

With them gone, Rachel set her lawn chair back up and went back to sunbathing, smiling and chuckling to herself. "Oh, Harvey. You really know how to raise your kids…"

This segment introduces Ava and Kweeb's kids in some adorable family bonding!

Alien Mother's Day

The tropics of Planet Aquaria were the perfect place to build a house and raise a family in peace. The weather was always fair, they had good food, and even T.V.. The daughter of the family, 9-year-old Makava, decided to spend a lazy afternoon watching reruns. She was defined by yellow skin with a tall antenna rising from her black, ponytailed hair, along with a purple dress. A swordsgirl in training, Makava's skin color was certainly unseen for Glomourians.

"We now return to The Amanda Show. Edited for aliens."

"It's TIME for an Asteroidbilly Moment!" The T.V. showed a couple alien hillbillies skip out of a house on an asteroid, chuckling crazily.

"Hey, hey! Knock-knock!"

"Huhu, who's there?!"

"Photon Phlaser!"

"Huhu, Photon Phlaser, who?!"

"Haha, ah'm gonna hit ya in the head with a Photon Phlaser!"

"Huhu… huh?" The female asteroidbilly immediately whipped out a ray gun, firing a large, green laser straight at the male's head, burning it clean off. The female watched his body drop as she continued to dance and laugh.

Makava heard some small panting and looked over the couch. "Makava!" A tiny boy was hurrying frantically over the carpet. He was an inch tall, with white skin, big ears, puffy black hair, a blue jumpsuit, and black boots. "Don't tell her where I am!" the boy pled as he ran under the couch.

Vweeb was a year older than Makava, but remarkably smaller. His skin tone was more known for Glomourians, but Vweeb was born as the Kateenian of the family, inheriting his father's technical know-how and natural sneakiness.

Makava heard some footsteps approaching, automatically knowing it was their mom, because she and Makava were the only regular-sized people in the house. Makava went back to watching TV, pretending nothing happened as Ava walked in. She was a tall and sturdy Glomourian warrior with thick proportions, her dress and hair a mirror of Makava's. With hands on her hips, Ava studied the floor. "Makava, have you seen your brother anywhere?"

"Uh, nope. Have you tried looking under your nose?"

Ava rolled her eyes downward and rubbed the bottom of her nose with her right index. "Nope."

"Between your toes?"

Ava looked down at her feet, spreading her toes for confirmation. "Not there. Now, where could he be?"

Vweeb ran to hide behind the back-left couch leg. His mother's colossal feet came thudding behind the couch, each step a small earthquake to the little Kateenian. The Glomourian crouched down and examined the underside of the couch. When she crawled around to the side, Vweeb sidled around the leg to stay out of her vision. He saw her stand up and walk to the front of the couch, so Vweeb ran to the leg on the other side to squeeze behind it as she looked around.

Makava internally wondered what Vweeb might've done to warrant hiding. Being as tall and strong as she was, it was very unwise to upset their mother. For the males, this was especially true: their smallness made them very susceptible to intimidation, so Ava could easily keep them in line if she needed to. She certainly wasn't a cruel or controlling mother, but a gentle grip of her bulky fingers or an occasional stomp of her foot usually silenced any misbehavior.

When Ava began to search elsewhere, Vweeb took this time to run out from under the couch to the living room table, laughing as he grabbed hold of the table's leg. "Haha! Safe!"

Ava looked down and saw her son smirking victoriously. "Aw, you clever little sneak! Where were you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find me there!"

Ava giggled as she bent down to pick up her little son, setting him in her left palm. "Well, you truly are the Hide-and-seek Prince."

"Oh, is that what you were doing?" Makava asked. "I thought Vweeb got in trouble for crashing the hovercraft again."

"Nah, we're just playing a little game." Ava assured. "And now that we've worked up some energy, it's time to go shopping!"

"Then let's-a go!" Vweeb chirped.

Twinkly Mart

Set inside a glass dome atop an asteroid in the vastness of space, Twinkly Mart was a colorful rest spot on the star-glittered void. Upon finding her favorite squid soup on a high shelf, Ava reached up and pulled one down, then tried to grab another one, but it seemed too far back. "Ugh, they always put 'em where you can't reach."

"You mean, put 'em where YOU can't reach! Put me up there." Vweeb requested. Ava lifted her diminutive son onto the top shelf. The Kateenian ran behind the large can and, despite his small height, was able to push it over the edge for Ava to grab it.

"Haha! And they say tall boys are better!" Ava chortled.

On their way to the check-out line, Vweeb spotted a few familiar faces. "Mom, look! It's Arianna!"

Arianna Dunfree had purple skin with long, grass-green hair and two antennae. She wore a yellow- and green-striped shirt and khaki pants. "Hey, Cosmo, Nova!" Ava called to the girl's parents, green and pink-skinned respectively.

"Ava!" Nova called out in surprise.

"So, what's up with you two?" Cosmo asked, the family approaching her.

"Just shopping with Vweeb here."

"Heh, same here." Cosmo laughed. "The ladies were starving for Floran Carrots."

"Hello, Vweeb." Arianna smiled and waved upon spotting him.

"Hi, Ari!"

"Mrs. Vweeb's Mom, can I hold him for a little bit?"

"Hehe!" Ava knew her surname would be too hard for Ari to pronounce. "It's up to you, Vweeb."

"Yeah!" Arianna held her hands open, allowing Vweeb to jump onto them. The Harnitan carried him a short distance away, leaving their parents to chat. "Heh heh..." Vweeb sported a blush. "Pretty embarrassing, huh?"

"Why? Don't you like spending time with your mom? I think it's cute!"

"I do, but it makes me feel like a total softie. I can just imagine all the other kids calling me 'mama's boy.' I see her training Makava every other time, but... I feel like she still thinks I'm a little kid."

"Well, it is hard to tell how much you've grown."

"Ari!"

"Sorry!" she flushed blue. It was true, though. Vweeb and Ari had known each other since she was six and he was five years old. They were kindergartners of vastly different height, but a cute, friendly bond. As they grew older, Arianna would only grow huger in Vweeb's eyes, while he himself only looked the same to her. It would astonish Vweeb when all the kids he knew would grow into full adults. By then, would they still be seeing Vweeb as a cute little boy? "Um...have you ever asked if your mom could train you, too?"

"I don't know if I would make a good swordsman. You think giving the enemy little pokes would be helpful?"

"I don't know, but it could be good exercise. You should ask her!"

"Okay..."

"Alright, Vweeb, ready to go?" Ava asked, returning to collect the little man.

"See you later, Arianna!"

"Take care, you two!"

Parting ways with the Harnitan-Pumparian family, Ava stood at the back of the check-out lane. "So, you want some advanced training, huh?"

"Y-you were listening?!" Vweeb jumped.

"Sometimes, my ears can't help it! And to be honest, I was planning to give you my own brand of training, anyway. The universe has a lot of big enemies out there. You'll need to learn the right ways to defend yourself."

"Yeah..." The very idea had always been a concern on Vweeb's mind. "Hey, Mom... do you really think someone like me can make it as an operative?"

"Of course you can. The Kateenians are a strong and resilient race, just like the Glomourians. You just need to be brave, smart, fast, and wary. It won't be easy, but I know you can do it. 'Cause underneath that teeny cuteness is a big, strong man!"

"Ha ha ha..." Vweeb blushed, thankful for her encouragement. "...Say, Mom, when are we gonna visit your home planets, anyway?"

"Um...when the time is right." Ava frowned.

"But when's that?"

"It's sort of complicated, Vweeb. Nothing you need to worry about now..."