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[sayshazam]

It had been about a million degrees lately, so Billy had decided it was time to brave the beach. He and his dog had gone there fairly early hoping to avoid the crowds but it seemed like everyone else had the same idea. Billy had managed to spend about twenty minutes in the water before deciding that it wasn't worth it and he and his dog left.

Going back to the apartment didn't really appeal to him either. It was summer and school was out, he wanted to spend it doing things he normally wouldn't be able to during the day. Which mostly meant eating food cart food. He'd gotten a few hot dogs for his dog and some sort of messy burrito thing for himself before heading to the park.

The burrito was almost overflowing and tricky to eat while walking, which is why he didn't see the girl until he bumped into her. Billy had to do a sort of awkward dance type thing to avoid spilling the burrito or knocking the girl over and he credited his lessons with Korra to his ability to not make a mess or hurt someone.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry," he said, turning to the girl. "I was, uh, paying attention to my burrito."

Comments

[thefourthone]

Whatever Steph is about to say next is immediately forgotten when they actually get to the bat exhibit. Because...holy mammal, Batman, there are baby bats in blankets. It's more than she could have ever imagined, and all she can really do is make a high-pitched little squeal of delight as she runs up to the glass.

"Oh my God," she says with a breathless little giggle. "I can't handle this. Look at them. Look at them!"

[sayshazam]

"Aw shit, those are actually super cute," Billy said, scowling at the adorable baby bats all snuggled up in blankets. Which was completely unfair because babies of just about any species look adorable, especially when wrapped in color-coded blankets and all that. This was so, so not happening. Where were the super ugly bats kept?

"Did you plan this? Did you know about this and completely manipulate me into making that stupid bed?"

[thefourthone]

"What! No!" She looks away from the cute babies to give him an affronted look. "You think I keep track of zoo exhibits then go looking for gullible strangers? No, these cuties are just a delightful surprise."

Steph turns back to the glass and wiggles her fingers in a wave at the bats, as though she can see them. "Hi, tiny adorable baby crimefighters!"

[sayshazam]

"Man, this is so not fair," he muttered. What were the odds that there would be a baby bat nursery at the zoo? Well, actually, considering this was the only zoo in this entire world, the odds were actually pretty good. But still, he didn't even know this was a thing!

"I- I don't think that's how superheroes work," he said, frowning as she cooed at the bats. "Is it?"

[thefourthone]

"You are looking at tiny baby adorable bats wrapped in blankets, how can you be mad about anything?" If she could just carry one around in her pocket all her problems would go away. Steph's pretty sure that should disqualify her from ever getting near one.

"If they do grow up to be crime fighters, the obvious names are all gone. Batman...ManBat...they'd have to go outside the box a bit."

[sayshazam]

"Because it means I lost the bet," he said. He supposed it wasn't that big of a deal because they were super cute, but he knew that somewhere they must have had some super ugly bats they could have just as easily seen first.

"They could be The Bat. RedBat. BlueBat..."

[thefourthone]

"But isn't that loss soothed by their big eyes and adorable itty bitty ears?" Steph was a total sucker for cuteness, definitely one of her teenage girl weaknesses. She just can't help herself.

"The Bat Brigade," she agrees with a grin. "Since it probably takes more than just one of them to stop a mugging, on account of being tiny and not having hands."

[sayshazam]

"I guess it's slightly soothed," he grudgingly admitted, moving a bit closer to Steph and the bats behind the glass. They were kind of super adorable if you liked cute things. Maybe he'd come back in a few years to show her how ugly they got.

"They all grab the mugger and lift them into the air."

[thefourthone]

Steph wishes they could hold them, though that would probably mean contaminating them with her human germs or something. Or maybe they imprint on the first thing they see and would follow her around thinking she was their mom. Which is probably not as cool as it sounds.

"Yup, toss him into a nearby dumpster or something. They'd have a limited skill-set but honed to an art."

[sayshazam]

The way Steph was looking at the bats he wasn't sure if she was going to break in there and take one or two of them home with her. Maybe hanging out too much longer would be such a good idea.

"Maybe they could combine into one big bat for really hard enemies?"

[thefourthone]

"Batsformers!" It is a perfect idea and Steph practically bounces with glee as she beams at him. "Definitely what happens when they need to rely on the power of flying rodent friendship."