Right. Today was Saturday.

"You've got everything with you, K.O.?"

"Yes, Mommy!" K.O. replied back in a chipper voice, his stuff in hand.

As the young hero got in the tank, his fears began to kick in.

He wondered how being with his evil dad was going to be like--would he try to hurt him? Screw with his mind again?

K.O. hoped that perhaps Professor Venomous would actually realize how much they were actually missing out on.

"You okay back there, peanut?" Carol asked her son as she began to park the tank in front of Boxmore's doors.

"I'm fine, Mom," K.O. unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed his things. "Still trying to wrap my head around dad being a supervillain and all..."

"If you wanna go back, we still can-" Her dialogue was cut off by the rapping of Boxman's scaly chicken-foot hand against her window.

Boxman awkwardly thumbed up outside, waiting for K.O..

"If Lase-erm-Venomous I mean, tries to do anything to hurt you, call me immediately, 'kay kiddo?"

K.O. nodded as he exited the door.

"Love you, honey!"

"Love you too, Mommy,"

He caught Boxman trying to say some words to his mother, none of which she responded to.

The two watched the tank leave the area.

"Hey there, K.O.!" Boxman greeted to the best of his politeness.

"Hi, Boxman!" K.O. responded with the same vigor, walking alongside Boxman who was heading into the factory.

Noticing the load of his bag, "You're staying here overnight?"

"I...want to stay the whole weekend." K.O. replied. "I bet Dad wants that too."

Boxman laughed awkwardly. "Well, PV always had a way with children! I-I mean, with how surprisingly amiable he got with my um,"

Boxman immediately noted K.O.'s discomfort.

Sighing, "Look, I know villainy isn't really your thing, but if you want to get something good out of this,"

K.O. looked at Boxman directly in the eyes.

"I suggest you give your Daddy a chance." Apparently right there, Boxman knocked on Venomous's door.

Venomous's door slid open as Boxman left K.O. there. A dark gas escaped the room, and K.O. was too slow to cover his nose.

Thank goodness it was just decorative scented gas—Venomous immediately assured his son so as he took K.O. in.

It smelled like K.O.'s favorite vintage berry lollipops.

_________

"We have so much catching up to do!" The Professor announced gleefully.

"What do you wanna do, K.O.? Let's,"

Threaten the congresswoman? No!

Pollute the water supply? Doesn't everyone need to drink clean water?

"—attack the plaza!"

"I work there," K.O. responded briefly and bluntly. "All those things you said are evil!"

"Oh!" Venomous chuckled to himself with a brief expression of self-doubt that graced his face which quickly turned into polite glee.

He tried to ruffle K.O.'s hair, "surely you wanna know what your old man does at work, right?"

The boy recoiled with a brief growl, his father responding appropriately by keeping away his hand.

"Come on, K.O.! Is there someone out there that you, maybe, wish to destroy?"

"I don't destroy...I can easily defeat my enemies! You know, by knocking them out!"

Venomous bent down to K.O.'s level, "don't lie to me, kid,"

"I'm not lying!"

It was around this time that Fink entered into the room unnoticed.

"Perhaps there was someone you haven't defeated yet?"

When she saw what was happening, she sighed to herself quietly and went to look for her videos game console.

"I don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm-" K.O. cut himself off. "No wait, there was one! Shadowy Figure!"

Fink almost dropped her console, the name the only stark words in her head.

"Shadowy Figure?" Venomous was curious.

"He's this guy who wears his hood that covers his face; he's the one who wants me to unleash T.K.O.!"

Fink began to pay attention to their conversation.

"T.K.O.?"

"Um, he's like my inner darkness...in the form of an alter ego."

"That's interesting," The bioengineer was intrigued at the idea. He wondered where K.O. got it from.

"Perhaps," Venomous suggested, "We should hunt down this Shadowy Figure and des-erm-defeat him once and for all!"

"...yeah!" K.O. seemed to like the idea. Perhaps getting rid of him would give him more time to think about his villain dad. He could very well make his father a hero again.

"That's a bad idea!" Fink reacted, surprising the other two.

"Hi Fink," K.O. greeted. She responded back with a raspberry.

"Why exactly is that a bad idea, Fink?" Asked the professor.

"Just trust me, boss," She turned back to her console. "I uh...tried looking for the guy myself; it ain't worth it going after a dead end."

"Nonsense," Venomous retorted back at her in determination. "K.O., what else do you know about him?"

"Well, he likes glorbs really much."

"Then he must be a glorb dealer," Venomous then pulled out his phone.

"Let's find this Shadowy Fig--" He was cut off as his phone exploded in his hands.

Coughing out some smoke, "Cob dangit, I just bought that!"

"Maybe we can ask other glorb dealers if they know him?" K.O. suggested.

"Other glorb dealers..." Venomous wiped his face with a handkerchief. "I think I know a guy."

"Let's go to them then!" K.O. exclaimed with determined energy, immediately leaving the room by himself.

Professor Venomous couldn't help but smile at the boy's chipper nature. A dash of melancholy graced his countenance when the thought of his old flame sparked briefly within his mind.

"Come on, Fink. I know you want to come too."

_________

"You come here to interrupt my spa day? What's so important that you would dare to do such a thing?!"

Billiam was handed a tablet by one of his lesser servants.

Gasping, "Professor Venomous?! Quickly, make sure everything looks like it's in tip-top shape!"

All the servants rushed about to arrange everything. With a snap, Billiam was redressed into his so-called leisure robe, laid on a soft beach chair, polished, and then fanned with palm leaves by his servants.

"Really?"

"Yes. You know, if it weren't for him,"

Billiam caught the dreaded Professor, his henchman, and a random child?

"I wouldn't have gotten this far so quickly."

"Professor Venomous, darling!" Billiam greeted as he locked eyes with the three, trying his hardest not to look nervous.

"Hey, Billiam," Venomous responded casually.

"I'm so pleased to have you and your company with me! What brings you here, my dear Professor? Business...or pleasure?"

Fink rolled her eyes at the villain.

"Actually, we're here to ask about a glorb dealer," Venomous replied.

"Why," Billiam rose from his reclining position into a sitting one, an offended flick of the wrist resting his hand upon his bare aurum bosom, "have you gone tired of my services and demands, Professor?"

Before he could reply, K.O. cut him off, "No, I'm the one looking for a glorb dealer—his name is Shadowy Figure."

"How curious!" Billiam exclaimed, surprised at the circumstances before him.

"You must tell me, boy," He rose and walked towards K.O., "how did a young hero like you come to the conclusion of approaching such gruesome villains such as ourselves? Last time I checked, glorbs are being sold to heroes by heroes too."

Billiam Milliam was a golden statue. K.O. had his Pow Card and had heard all about him, yet chills came upon the young boy as he looked directly into the uncannily humanlike eyes of the villain.

"Um—"

"It's a story for better ears, Billiam," Venomous spat, clearly uninterested in sharing the details of his heroic yet failure-filled past.

Billiam scoffed. "Fine. Keep your delicious secrets to yourself, you monster."

Facing K.O., "Hmm...because I have respect for this job, I'll try to help you. Although, it is a shame, most especially that I have never heard of this...Shadowy Figure before."

"Maybe you've seen him?" K.O. pleaded. "He's got this hood that covers his face and is like, dressed all black,"

"...doesn't ring a bell, my boy." Billiam turned to Venomous, "Are you here for anything else?"

"The payment from your last shipment,"

"I already had it sent!"

"It's not even actual cash! It's just green paper!" The two approached each other in a heated argument, clearly disagreeing about some shady and illegal deals.

"Does this usually happen when you guys visit?" K.O. asked Fink.

"Not really. Usually Boss and I get to set this stupid thing on fire."

"I see," K.O. nodded away awkwardly.

_________

They had passed through the Plaza's hidden glorb tree, and Shadowy wasn't yet to be found.

That was weird.

K.O. tried his hardest to make sure neither Fink nor his father would take any glorbs. Fink managed to slip a couple into her pocket without the boy's notice.

As K.O. looked at the tree and all he went through with it, he remembered what Billiam Milliam had said:

"Last time I checked, glorbs are being sold to heroes by heroes too."

_________

"P.O.I.N.T.?!" Venomous exclaimed as he powered on his car.

"Yeah," K.O. tried to remember. "I dunno what caused it, but all I know is that at one time, Foxtail tried to get P.O.I.N.T. to harness the glorb tree under the plaza."

Venomous felt a pang of concern but tried his hardest not to show it. "...was Greyman there with her?"

"No. I met him sometime after the whole Dark Plaza Takeover; he said he quit when he found out was Foxtail was planning on doing."

"Of course he would," He then chuckled to himself. "I suppose big ol' Miss Foxy finally learned to take a page out of my book,"

K.O. wasn't sure what Venomous meant, "...she felt really bad about what she did, saying stuff about wanting heroes to be strong enough or something,"

"That so?" Venomous tried to keep calm.

K.O. nodded.

"Heard it was under new management now,"

"Oh yeah, Elodie runs P.O.I.N.T. now! She's best friends with my best friend Enid!"

"Good to know."

The drive was silent so suddenly, the folks in the car deep in thought.

"Boss?" Fink asked in the back.

"What is it, Fink?"

"I don't think they're gonna let us in,"

"Oh my Cob, Fink's right!" K.O. realized. "Elodie wouldn't let us in just like that!"

Venomous, eyes still on the road and the pointing-hand signs, tapped his fingers against the wheel. "Unless we pretend you managed to defeat us,"

"Huh?" The children questioned.

"It's a small blow to my rep—"

"Not really, Boss,"

"Ah well," He paused. "Okay, it's a really big blow to my rep, but I can certainly recover with ease."

K.O. was scared of the implications.

Nearing the gate of the institution, "K.O., you gotta pretend you've defeated us or something. It should convince the folks there that we won't threaten them."

"That's a not a bad idea," K.O. thought about it. "But how do we look convincing?"

_________

After forcefully taking the boy's increasingly powerful power fists, Professor Venomous and Fink followed behind K.O.

"I guess Elodie got rid of the rest of the Troopers," K.O. remarked.

"Troopers, huh?" Venomous snarked. K.O. didn't respond.

The lobby was empty, and K.O. began to text on his phone.

"Can't we go any faster?!" Fink complained, the three of them just standing in the halls.

"Enid went here for a time, so she should know where Foxtail would usually be," K.O. then received a reply. "Either in the Gym or in a class!"

"I have no intentions of interrupting a hero class while being this tired out," Venomous stated. "Just be quick, alright? You know I have history here."

Suddenly, the sight of a faded orange tail slipped into the Gym, which was nearby. Apparently, K.O.'s sights were impressive.

"There!" He pointed out and dragged the two with him.

Foxtail was rounding out some dodgeballs, perhaps for a game later.

"Hey, Miss Foxtail!"

Almost making a mess of the dodgeballs, "Sugarcube!"

Foxtail let the boy run towards her, and they embraced.

Venomous and Fink stood leaning against the sides of the doorframe.

Venomous couldn't believe how old Foxtail has gotten—she's certainly more burly now than the last time he saw her.

Foxtail caught the villains by the doorframe and was about to remark about them when K.O. interrupted.

"Miss Foxtail, I need to ask you something very important!"

"Go ahead, sugarcube," Her eyes were on the villain, the ambitious Professor Venomous.

K.O., with his strength, tried forcing her attention to him. "Miss Foxtail?"

Now that she saw the villain this close, his uncanny resemblance to one of her most beloved friends became far more uncanny.

"MISS FOXTAIL!" She jumped at the boy's sudden rise in volume.

"Please pay attention to me!" He replied annoyed, his rust-colored eyes sparkling with a purple she last remembered seeing in the eyes of his poor, poor father. K.O. must be getting really angry.

"I'm sorry, sugarcube," She knelt down to his level. "Something caught my attention."

"Okay," He calmed. "You remember when you started acting like a misunderstood anti-hero with all the glorbs at the plaza?"

She did not want to remember that but nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, I was wondering...did you happen to get glorbs too from a Shadowy Figure?"

She gasped dramatically as she stood up in shock.

She tried to look away, obviously blushing. "I don't associate with him anymore, not since after I resigned as leader of P.O.I.N.T."

"Well, do you know where he is?"

She seemed to not answer, fully faced away from him.

"Miss Foxtail?"

"Looks like nothing," Fink remarked. "We should get outta here, boss."

He nodded at her and then the two began to walk out. Venomous clicked his tongue and winked at Foxtail as he left.

"Hey wait," He wanted to be determined but relented. "...I-I'll catch up with you guys!"

Foxtail suddenly put a hand on K.O.'s shoulder, making the boy jump.

"Here," She handed him a small paper. "The coordinates for Shadowy's lair."

"Thanks, Miss Foxtail," K.O. replied gratefully, putting the paper in his bodega vest.

"By the way, could you care to tell me why you brought Professor Venomous and that rat kid with you? I mean, surely you have a reason."

"Oh, that's my evil dad and his henchman," K.O. replied casually.

"I see."

"Alright. Bye, Miss Foxtail!"

"See ya, Sugarcube!"

K.O. then ran out of the gym.

Foxtail then went back to her—

"His dad?!"

Foxtail paused in frantic energy.

"...evil?!"

_________

"Hurry up, Boss's waiting!" Fink called out to K.O. when she caught him in her sights. She was standing by the entrance doors. She exited after she said this.

"Coming!"

K.O. was about to grab the handle when a sudden force pinned him to the doors.

"You're not going to get away from me so easily, you vile vil—" Gasping, "Oh no! I'm so sorry!"

K.O. slid himself out of his vest, and saw it pierced by a pink magical arrow.

"Elodie?!" K.O. turned back to face the Head of P.O.I.N.T Prep.

"I'm so glad I didn't hit you, K.O.," Elodie ran up to him in relief. "I saw some dangerous villains follow up behind you in the cameras, just having exited the Charisma class!"

She began to dote and check on him, "That Venomous or that rat didn't hurt you, did they?"

"They didn't try to hurt me Elodie," K.O. assured her. "I just have something important to do which involves them, and because of that I think I should go—"

"Oh, please talk to me, just for a while!" Elodie stopped him. "I bumped into Foxtail on the way here, and she's been meaning to discuss you with me! Considering you're still here, we should be able to discuss more openly."

"Um,"

"It wouldn't take long!" Elodie sent him a charismatic smile.

"Alright," K.O. relented. He pulled out his phone to text his dad while following behind Elodie.