"The Ballin' Pranksters in… To Break In & Break Out"

Chapter 1

Created by The Spectacular SpiderDom

Tonight was a night of firsts.

Michelle Wittman, Gregory Sport, and Vanessa Bowman: three middle school teenagers assembled together to swear revenge against their former friend turned bully, Charlotte Withers. Just before their revenge was sworn, Charlotte supposedly stole Michelle's private journal and read several pages from it all over the school announcements. This alone caused the trio to be frowned upon by their other childhood friends: Tracy Lamarche, Lacey Paulson, Walter Henning, Jasmine Brynner, and Mack "Big Truck Buck" Mackenzie. When Michelle tried to apologize for what she did, Charlotte and her best friend, Wendy McFadden came in and messed everything up. In other words, they tried to convince the others into believing Michelle didn't mean anything she said.

Tired of people not listening to her, Michelle decided to band her friends together for an operation called The Ballin' Pranksters Initiative, in which all they would dress up in colorful costumes, learn the ways of pranking, and use their newfound skills to not only steal back their leader's book but also get revenge on Charlotte.

Not too long after their training, they decided to go get some ice cream when they suddenly became victims of a robbery. Without hesitation (and without a clear plan), the trio of wannabe superheroes fought "bravely" against the duo of criminals and saved the store from getting ransacked, unaware they were being recorded by a sneaky newswoman named Eartha Withers.

When asked who they were, Michelle simply responded with…

"I'm Bubblegum. This is Mad Potion and that's Luther Crusoe. Together, we are… The Ballin' Pranksters!"

Taking off in the blink of an eye, the newly named vigilantes hopped on their hover vehicles and fled the scene as if they were professional superheroes.

While they didn't expect to have the night they did, they couldn't help but deny they've experienced some firsts.

First team meeting.

First training session.

First battle.

And first codenames.

Sounds like a fun night for three normal teens like them, but the question is… what's going to happen next? Are they going to continue their crime-fighting adventures, or are they more focused on getting revenge on Charlotte?

Well, let's find out… shall we?

~In the city of Eugene, Oregon, 2035…

~Six Weeks Before The Mansion Heist

After fighting against a duo of criminals and making a mess, unintentionally, at an ice cream shop, Vanessa Bowman: Mad Potion and Gregory Sport: Luther Crusoe sat on top of the former's green hoverbike that was covered in black and purple polka dots and drove down the street in the middle of the night. Their leader went the other way since she lived in that direction, leaving her friends to fend for themselves.

During the ride, Luther Crusoe looked down at his costume and analyzed its features. He wore a grey costume covered in brown accents on his legs and arms. His brown hair flowed against the wind and so did his brown cape.

The bike sped down the road and the golden buckle on his white belt jingled. Looking down at the gold letters, "LC" written on his chest, he removed his grey domino mask and wiped his ocean blue eyes. Taking a deep breath, he looked over at his close friend and wrapped his arms around her chest, hoping to not fall over the side of the bike.

Mad Potion's costume was mostly covered by a white lab coat, but she knew it was nothing more than a dark green costume with purple accents on her knees, upper arms, hands, and neck. Wrapping her dark green gloves against the handles, she took a deep breath and pressed her purple booted foot against the gas pedal, making the bike go faster. Adjusting her purple belt with the letters "MP" written in gold, she turned her purple-colored eyes over to her friend and made a short smile. It was tricky for Luther Crusoe to see her eyes because they matched the purple splotches over her green mask, but he found them and smiled back.

Both of them were relieved to head home after a long night of training and fighting, but they were also curious as to what would happen tomorrow.

After driving around for a little bit, both vigilantes suddenly drove inside of a gated community called Goldbricks Hollow; a quaint town with one to two-story houses that had all of their lights dimmed down. Not a single peep was made aside from a few birds and grasshoppers chirping in the night. Speaking of which, Luther Crusoe looked up at the sky and was mesmerized by all of the stars that illuminated the darkness.

With a sigh of relaxation, he finally released his friend once they arrived at their destination.

Standing in front of them was a two-story house that had light blue walls and a navy blue roof made of shingles that were missing pieces of paint. There were a set of white poles that reached down to the grass and a brown fence was on both sides. The door was a dark red color, and it had a golden doorknob. Beside the door was a blue-floored deck with a set of white chairs and a coffee table.

Just before the grey and brown-costumed kid leaped off, his friend in green and purple nudged his shoulder.

"Where's your bedroom window?" she asked.

"Um… right there," he said confused, pointing to a black window on the second floor. "Why?"

"I'll drive you up there so you can sneak into your room," she replied.

"Oh, that's appreciated, Ness, but I'll just go through the front door."

Mad Potion chuckled at his response. "Greg, haven't you seen a superhero movie? You don't walk in through the front door; you sneak in through the window."

"One, I'm pretty sure you and Michelle already know the answer to that," he replied, shaking his head left and right. "Two, my parents go to bed pretty early, and trust me when I say this, they're heavy sleepers, meaning the loudest peep couldn't wake them up… and three, I'm afraid of heights."

"That's not what you said when you were testing out those Spring Shoes earlier," Mad Potion smirked.

Luther Crusoe looked down and realized he was still wearing the Spring Shoes, which were a pair of bright purple sneakers with neon straps. Tied by a blue strap were a series of metallic springs. He rubbed his head and chuckled.

"Well… I'm still working it out," he said. "Thanks for driving me home, Ness, and thanks for helping me fight those guys earlier. It was scary, but it was fun."

"Yeah, we should do it again sometime," she smiled.

"Yeah, let's not," he said, mirroring her expression.

Mad Potion laughed and shook her head, as she reached over and hugged her best friend. "Good night, Greg. See you in school tomorrow."

He hugged her back and rested his head against her shoulder. "Night, night, Ness. See ya tomorrow."

The two of them held each other close for a little bit before the green and purple girl waved goodbye and took off down the street. Luther Crusoe watched her disappear into the night before he walked up three blue steps and took a deep breath.

"Mom and Dad are heavy sleepers, right? They shouldn't be awake this late at night. Molly's a heavy sleeper too, the only person I need to worry about is Iris. She's just a little baby and they can be awoken by anything…. Maybe I should have gone through the window."

The moment he got up the last step, he leaned back and stared at his bedroom window.

"Who am I kidding? I am not doing that."

Relaxing his shoulders, he felt his heart pound against his chest and his palms began to sweat.

He slowly reached for the doorknob and closed his eyes.

"Here goes nothing… or something."

Pushing the door open as gently as he could, he stepped inside the house and opened his eyes.

Everything seemed clear.

The inside was a brown wooden floor with a white carpet with red flowers on it. He looked to the right and saw a kitchen that had collectibles from the 1920s' on the shelves and the table was as clean as a baby's rear. He walked inside and looked to his left, where he saw his old-fashioned living room.

The carpet was white, but it was covered in more designs than the one in the walkway; it had golden trims on the outside, green, and orange trees in the middle, and red branches that sprouted off of them. The carpet covered most of the floor and sitting on top of it was a green sofa bed with grey pillows with blue jays on them.

No one was there watching the TV, so Luther Crusoe nodded to himself and walked inside.

Closing the door tightly, he tip-toed towards a set of green stairs and scanned his environment.

Not a single person was in sight.

He was about to take the first step when he heard a young female's voice come from the right.

"Greg?"

"DAHEEBLA!" he shrieked, as he waved his arms and legs around, making a funny-looking karate pose.

Sitting by the kitchen counter was a teenage girl with skin just as white as his and her facial structure was similar to his as well. Her hair was short and blonde, and her eyes were as green as grass. For attire, she wore a black pajama shirt covered in white tulips. Her eyes were partially closed, and she felt like she was seeing double of the person standing in front of her. She poured herself a glass of milk and piled on some freshly cooked bacon onto a pile of sliced ham, lettuce, tomato, and provolone cheese. Pressing one potato bun against another, she picked up her sandwich and took a bite.

Her name was Molly Sport: A Girl Who Wants To Be Normal.

Luther Crusoe looked left and right, afraid of what his sister would think of his unusual attire.

"What are you doing?" she yawned.

"Um… getting ready for bed," he gulped.

"New PJs, I assume?" she yawned again, sipping a glass of milk. She couldn't make out his costume too well due to how exhausted she was; all she could see were multiple shades of brown, white, and grey. She was so tired, she couldn't even tell if there was a buckle on his belt or a giant wasp.

"Y-you can say that, yeah," he chuckled nervously. "You see, I was hanging out with Michelle and Vanessa and we were making costumes for something. Not that we were doing anything weird in these costumes, it's just that-"

"Stop," Molly said with a deadpanned look. "I'm just gonna tell you right now… I don't care."

"Oh… I see."

She nodded and took another bite of her sandwich, releasing a small burp in the process.

"Well then, I'll just be uh… heading to bed now," her twin brother chuckled once again, as he walked up the stairs.

"You do that," Molly yawned, leaning her head against the counter. "Why does my family have to be so weird?"

Luther Crusoe opened the door to his room and immediately closed the door. Leaning his back against it, he covered his face and slid down to the ground. Rubbing his eyes, he ripped off his mask and released a sigh of relief. He was afraid he'd get caught as soon as he opened the door, but he figured it would be better than having to sneak through a high window. Opening his eyes, Gregory looked around his room, which reminded him of something he had read in a book.

It was an average bedroom in terms of design. The walls were a light blue color, and the floor was covered by a dark blue carpet. There was a large white dresser on the side that had a mirror on top and several textbooks and school supplies beside it. A red velvet chair sat in the middle of the room and his backpack hung over the cushion. There were four drawers in his dresser and there was a blue hamper filled with dirty clothes.

Looking over to the right, he saw a white nightstand with two drawers in it and there was a vintage lamp whose bottom resembled a green and brown flower vase. Lastly, Gregory's bed was just a simple white mattress covered in a white sheet and topped with blue blankets and white pillows with fluffy cases.

Speaking of which, he didn't bother to take off his costume.

Instead, he sat down in bed and wrapped himself under the covers.

Normally, he'd fall asleep, but there was one problem, he couldn't sleep.

His mind was focused on the exciting donnybrook he and his friends endured in the ice cream shop. As scared as he was at the time, he recalled having a lot of fun working with his childhood besties and learning how to be brave. It truly was a learning experience he knew he would remember for the rest of his life. But sadly, that moment prevented him from falling asleep.

Rubbing his eyes again, he opened his draw, revealing a series of books.

"Maybe The Lord of the Rings can help me fall asleep," he said to himself, as he took out one of the books from that franchise.

But as he removed the book, a piece of pink paper fell out from the bottom and landed on the floor.

"Oops," he said, placing the book on his nightstand. "What's this?"

Picking up the paper, he quickly noticed it was folded and he unraveled it.

It was a letter written in red ink.

"Dear Greg, thanks for drawing me this picture. I know you said it wasn't good, but it's more than enough to make me happy. Thank you so much for being there for me, I couldn't ask for a better friend like you. Love you. Love, Charlotte."

Hearing Charlotte's voice read the paper in his head, Gregory looked up at his white ceiling, trying to remember when he drew her a picture. Stroking his chin for a moment, he suddenly found himself lost in a memory.

~Flashback, The Withers' Mansion, 2027…

Inside of a medium-sized room with light green walls covered in brown shelves infested with collectibles and pictures of relatives, a young Charlotte Withers sat on her queen-sized bed and sobbed into her fluffy feather pillow. She tried not to cry too loud because she didn't want to concern the guest that sat in the living room and she also didn't want to alarm her parents, Eartha and Harold.

Speaking of which, she could hear them arguing from the next room over.

Despite having thick walls, she could hear their aggravated outbursts shout back and forth. What made her feel worse was when the screams and shouts would occasionally overlap.

Raising her head up, she sniffed and wiped a few tears from her eyes, hoping that the fighting finally stopped. But once she heard a loud slam followed by a moment of silence.

She wasn't sure if someone slammed a piece of furniture or if one of her parents smacked the other, but she buried her face back down in her pillow, being too frightened to investigate. Clenching the pillow itself, she repeated this as she cried.

"Please, let this nightmare end. Please, let this nightmare end."

Her sudden chant was interrupted once three knocks came from the door.

The brown-skinned woman lifted her head up and looked at the door. "C-come in."

Someone miraculously heard her faint voice, and they opened the door.

Gregory Sport, wearing a brown 1920s' suit along with pants of the same color, walked in the room with a sheet of paper in his hands. Adjusting his red tie and tucking his white shirt inside his pants, he removed his black beret and rested it on the bed. His bluebell eyes saw nothing but a brown-skinned girl in a black and white-striped shit and blue jeans feeling like it was the end of the world.

"H-hi, Charlotte," he spoke with a soft smile. "May I come up?"

She completely forgot he was here.

She wanted to tell him to go away, but she was afraid she'd accidentally upset him. So, she replied with a single nod and he climbed on top of the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, moving his beret to the side.

Charlotte wiped her nose and leaned upward, leaning against her green wall. "No… I'm so sorry, Greg. I was hoping my parents wouldn't fight today, but they did… right in front of us."

She paused for a quick moment, as she grabbed a tissue from her white nightstand and wiped her teary eyes. Gregory's heart sank; he felt horrible to see his close friend like this. She blew her nose into it and threw it in a silver garbage can. Gripping her pillow tight, she shut her eyes and buried her face back into it.

"Why do they have to be this way!?"

Gregory took a deep breath before he briefly looked down at the paper he was holding. "I… I wish I had a clear answer for you, but I'm afraid both of us are too young to understand what's going on… that's normally the response my parents would say, but you get the picture… no pun intended towards the paper I have in my hands, ha-ha…"

Noticing her lack of laughter, he sat there with an awkward smile before he cleared his throat and scooched closer to his distressed friend. "Sorry, that was bad timing. I-if it makes you feel any better, I-I made you something while you told me to wait in the playroom."

Charlotte raised her head up and looked up at her white-skinned friend, as he gently handed her the paper. She slowly took it from him and leaned upward, unfolding it in the process. Once she finished, she saw nothing but a cartoonish figure with squiggly arms, legs, and a head that had a bigger right side than a left side. The figure had a large yellow chest with orange horizontal lines and there was a black rectangle near the figure's waist. A blob of purple went over the character's white eyes and it held two wooden baseball hats in its four-fingered hands.

At first glance, she chuckled and wiped her eye. "Aww, Greg, this is adorable… I have no idea what this is."

"It's supposed to be one of those figures we were playing with," he shrugged. "I tried to make the purple one that's supposed to be smart."

She thought about what he meant before it finally came to her. When it did, she burst into a ball of laughter. "Oh, were you trying to make Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

"Oh, is that his name? I thought Donatello was the orange one,"

"No, that's Michelangelo," Charlotte slapped her knee and laughed. Pressing her hands against her face, the picture fell over her head, and tears of joy rained down her eyes. She finally leaned her head back and continued laughing.

Gregory smiled once he saw the happy expression on her face and he mirrored her positive outburst.

Both kids shared a laugh before they finally stopped.

"I know it's not the greatest picture, nor is it a good picture, but I just thought a picture of him would make you feel better," the young boy smiled, adjusting his tie. He grabbed his beret and placed it back on his head.

As soon as she heard that, she gazed into his bluebell eyes, seeing nothing but a warm smile on his face. She stared at him for a few moments, feeling her heartbeat slowly increase. Her cheeks turned red, and she quickly turned away, twirling part of her hair. Chuckling nervously, she looked back at him and smiled. Her face's color went back to normal, and she stopped playing with her hair, but her heart was still pounding.

"And it did," Charlotte said, as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck; she pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks, Greg… this is perfect… even if it looks like a demented knock-off."

Just before he could say anything, she kissed his cheek and rested her chin against his shoulder.

Gregory's face began to turn red, and he could hear his heart beating as loud as a drum.

Two drops of sweat poured down his face and he chuckled nervously and gleefully.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"W-welcome you're-I mean, y-y-you are welcome, Charlotte, heh heh… And h-hey, maybe it can be our own Ninja Turtle," he said, hugging her back.

"Oh, yeah? What would his name be?"

"I don't know… Canaletto, maybe?"

Charlotte laughed some more as she hugged her best friend tight.

She stopped laughing because she needed to ask him one important question.

"Who?"

~Present Day

The wannabe superhero placed the letter against his chest and took a sigh of happiness.

I almost forgot about that picture, Canaletto the Ninja Turtle: a character that lived on in Charlotte and I's fantasies, ha-ha, he said to himself. He placed the letter back on top of his nightstand and released a loud yawn. Pulling his blue blankets over his body, he leaned against his fluffy white pillow and smiled. But just before he closed his eyes, his smile morphed into a casual frown and he stroked his chin.

Huh… now that I think about it, that's probably where her crush on me came from. She snuck that letter into my backpack when we went to school the next day. For as long as I can remember, she's always treated me with kindness… even when she had a falling out with Michelle and Vanessa. Which makes me wonder… is this crush that she has on me real or fake?

Gregory rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, searching for a clear answer to his query.

She's shown affection towards me before. Heck, there was a time she asked me to the fifth-grade dance, and we actually spoke like normal people. Kinda stinks that Michelle and Vanessa pranked her, but in their defense, she did say they have a terrible sense of fashion… and despite the fact she can a little creepy sometimes, she's never been mean to me once in her life.

He rolled over on his side and stared at the wall, continuing to ponder.

She always came to me whenever she had a problem and I, along with Wendy, was the person that was mostly invited over to her house. Yes, she hung out with people like Michelle, Vanessa, Walter, and Tracy, but I was always the first one she called upon.

Releasing a deep sigh, he closed his eyes and said this out loud.

"Did she really steal Michelle's notebook?"

Meanwhile in another part of town…

Mad Potion crawled through her dark window and landed on a light brown, wooden floor. The light of the moon showed her what was inside, and she proceeded with caution. She was inside her room which had nothing but science equipment sitting on a series of tables. The equipment consisted of items such as beakers, tongs, rubber gloves, rubber goggles, matches, various bottles of chemicals, and more.

But somewhere in the pile was a white mattress topped with a light pink sheet. With a purple blanket, the bed was stationed beside a large brown dresser and she had pillows that matched her bed sheet's color palette.

She was thankful to make it to her bed without tripping on any mechanical robot toys she tried to reprogram on the floor, and she hopped right on top of her bed.

Wobbling up and down, she gave a large sigh of relief followed by a loud yawn. Stretching her arms out, she turned to her side, ready to sleep for the night.

But in the process, she found herself falling into a void, a void that would take her to a place that she'd been through before.

That void was called memory lane.

~Flashback, Gordon Ramsay Elementary School, 2026…

Inside of a school named after one of the world's famous culinary artists, a group of young kids sat inside a giant cafeteria where the white-bricked walls were covered in pictures. The picture flowed around the room and it displayed a grassy field with barns, animals, and people pulling vegetables out of the ground. There was no blue paint to represent the sky, but there was a giant orange sun that loomed over a tall barn.

In the hub of the cafeteria, students waited in line to be served their food and each of them counted their change.

Janitors and other custodians were ready for any accidents that might happen.

And a young Vanessa was preparing to enter the biggest battle of her life. Rubbing her hands together, she stretched her neck and tugged her short, black afro. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat and playfully glared at the opponent across from her…

…Charlotte Withers, who pressed her circular glasses above her nose.

Both of them had determined grins on their faces and they were ready for combat.

But before they could begin, a dark-skinned woman with a black shirt and purple pants leaned towards them and nodded her head. Her shoulder-length hair was the same color as her skin, and she cracked her fingers and pushed her circle-rimmed glasses up above her nose.

Her name was Tracy Lamarche.

Standing beside her was a peach-skinned girl with blonde hair and emerald, green eyes. She also had a black shirt, but she had pink pants on, unlike her best friend. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she was excited to see the match between her close friends.

Her name was Lacey Paulson.

"Now, remember… I want this to be a clean, fair, game," Tracy said thoroughly. "This means no going off on angry rants, no looking jokes up on the internet, and keeping the conversation at a PG rating. However, each of you is allowed to make at least one PG-13 rated joke. Anything past that and we're gonna have a repeat of last time. Let me tell you all, whoever invented detention shall burn in the fiery pits of hell!"

"You're telling me," Lacey gulped, as she whipped out a purple pencil with a basketball for an eraser. "They took away my lucky pencil!"

She pressed it against her face and hugged it tightly.

Her three friends stared at her awkwardly before they turned back to each other.

"Ready, you two?" Tracy asked.

"I was born ready," Vanessa stretched her neck. "You're going down, Withers!"

"Please, I've been doing these since you were in diapers," Charlotte smirked.

"That isn't possible, actually, as you and I were born a few weeks apart," Vanessa corrected her, adjusting her purple striped, green shirt. She removed her hands from her black pants and cracked her knuckles again.

"This is true," Tracy said. "For you to be doing this since Vanessa was in diapers, this would mean you'd have to be born at least four or five years apart. But even that wouldn't be possible because, by the time Vanessa's your age, you would either be in middle school or high school-"

"Tracy… I don't care about the science behind this, are we doing this or what?" Charlotte groaned.

"Right, of course," the dark-skinned woman cleared her throat. "Ready…"

Vanessa and Charlotte smirked at one another.

"Set…"

Both of them pressed their hands against the table.

"Go!"

Vanessa was the first one to speak. "Yo mama's so fat, when she walked past the TV, I missed two movies and three commercials! Beat that!"

Charlotte chuckled before she clapped her knuckles together. "Yo mama's so ugly, I took two buses and a train just to get to her good side!"

"Whoa!" Lacey gasped, cupping her hands over her mouth.

"All right, so that's how you wanna play it, eh?" Vanessa grinned. "Yo mama's so old, she sat behind Jesus in the second grade!"

"Yo mama's so old, when she was in school, they didn't have history!" Charlotte fired back.

"Yo mama's so fat, when she went to the beach, a whale swam up to her and said, Mommy?"

"Yo mama's so old, she waited tables at The Last Supper!"

"Yo mama's so fat, she sat on a penny and a booger came out of Abraham Lincoln's nose!"

Tracy and Lacey snickered at Vanessa's remark.

"Yo mama's so dumb, she sits on the TV and watches the couch!" Charlotte smiled, folding her arms.

Vanessa nodded before she lightly tapped the table. "She actually did that once… not because she's dumb, but because there was a rat on the sofa."

Charlotte chuckled before she kindly gestured to her friend, wanting her to continue.

"Yo mama's so fat," Vanessa continued. "Her high school photo was taken from a helicopter!"

"Yo Mama's so fat, she has to pull down her pants to get to her pockets!" Charlotte smirked, folding her arms.

"Yo Mama's so old, she knew Burger King when he was a prince!"

"Yo Mama's so dumb, she took a ruler to her bed to see how long she's slept!"

"Shockingly, she did do that," Vanessa mumbled to herself before she bounced back with another joke. "Anyways, Yo Mama's so lazy, she stuck her nose out the window and let the wind blow it!"

During their banter, they were approached by two boys they knew well.

One of them was Gregory and the other one was Mack Mackenzie, a chubby kid who had curly hair as red as a tomato and had a dark red shirt on with black sweat pants. Both of them sat down beside their friends, exchanging a look of curiosity.

"Yo Mama's so…" Charlotte spoke before she noticed the two boys sitting beside her. "Oh, hey, Greg. Hey, Mack."

"What's going on here?" Mack asked in his dark, gruff voice.

"Hey, guys," Vanessa waved. "Charlotte and I are having a Yo Mama Jokes battle."

"Ha, I love those jokes. They're funny," Mack smiled.

"Your mama jokes?" Gregory raised an eyebrow.

"No, no, not your mama jokes," Vanessa corrected him. "Yo Mama Jokes."

"Is that what I said?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes before she went back to the game. "Here, Greg, I think it's better if I show you. Hey, Charlotte. Yo mama's so dumb, she got hit by a parked car."

Everyone at the table giggled except for Gregory, who released a horrific gasped.

"Vanessa!" he exclaimed. "How could you be so mean to Charlotte's mom!?"

"No, no, no, it's a joke, Greg. I didn't actually mean it," Vanessa said reassuringly.

"I don't understand," Gregory said.

"Greg, sweetie," Charlotte pressed her hands together and began to explain. "Yo Mama Jokes are cheesy insults people use to make fun of someone's mother, but they're more for joke-telling than they are for being mean. Some people take them too far, yes, but in Vanessa and I's case, we're using them to mess with each other. Whoever loses the game has to buy the winner ice cream."

"Oh… so you two aren't really insulting each other's moms?" Gregory inquired, pressing his hands together.

"Nope," both dark-skinned competitors replied.

"They're just jokes, dude," Mack nudged his old-fashioned friend.

"Oh… I think I see it now," Gregory's face changed to a smile. "C-can I try one?"

All four girls exchanged a curious glance.

"Sure," Vanessa replied.

"Oh, okay," the brown-suited boy rubbed his hands together before he placed them on his knees. "Yo Mama's so… so… yo mama's so… this… and that… uh… um…"

All five of his friends shared awkward stares.

"Um…" Gregory scratched the back of his head. "I'm lost."

"Here, Greg," Vanessa gently nudged his shoulder. "Let Charlotte and I help you out a little bit. Charlotte, Yo Mama's so literal, when I said, 'drinks on the house', she got a ladder!

"Yo Mama's so old, her birth certificate says expired!" Charlotte bounced back.

"Yo Mama's so ridiculous, she tried to climb Mountain Dew!"

"Yo Mama's do dumb, when I said it was chilly outside, she got a bowl!"

"Yo Mama's so short, when she went to see Santa, he told her to get back to work!"

"Yo Mama's so silly, she plays a pool in a bathing suit!"

Both of them stopped and they turned towards an astounded Gregory.

With his eyes widened with shock, he shook his head and blinked twice.

"Come on, Greg, your turn," Charlotte smiled warmly. "I can show you again if you want."

"No, no, I think I get the concept," Gregory replied softly, as he pressed his hands together and took a deep breath. He waited for a moment of silence before he cleared his throat and said his joke. "Yo Mama's so… so… she's so…"

He paused for a quick moment and he tapped his fingers together.

Vanessa, Tracy, Lacey, and Mack waited for his punchline.

Thankfully, it didn't take him long to come up with one.

He snapped his fingers and smiled. "Yo Mama's so ugly, when she saw two robbers break into her house, she yelled rape, and they yelled, no!"

Everyone's jaws dropped and their eyes widened. They all exchanged a glance before their eyes darted back towards the young boy, whose smile faded into a nervous frown. Wrapping his arms around himself, he gulped and placed a finger against his bottom lip.

"Uh, oh…" he gulped. "D-did I go too far?"

The five kids shared one more glance before...

…they belly laughed like there was no tomorrow.

"BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Gregory gasped at first before he saw the happy expressions on everyone's faces. He even heard Mack wheezing and he watched him clench his stomach. The bulky redhead placed his head against the table and repeatedly slammed his fist against it. Vanessa and Charlotte hung their heads back while Tracy and Lacey were wiping tears from their eyes. Gregory, despite not knowing what was going on, chimed in once he registered what he said. He didn't expect to make a joke like that, but he was relieved he didn't upset anyone. Tugging his beret, he closed his eyes and joined in the laughter.

Students around the group gave the interlocutors dirty and confused glares, but the five kids didn't care.

They all kept laughing before it was eventually time to head down to their next class.

~Present Day

Waking up from her dream, Mad Potion opened her eyes and removed her green and purple mask. A smile appeared on her face and she placed her mask on her dresser. Chuckling to herself, she made sure she was quiet enough so she wouldn't make her number, but the memory was too funny that she accidentally made some loud snorts. Holding her nose, she leaned back in her bed and continued guffawing.

Within a matter of seconds, she came to a stop and took a deep breath.

Folding her arms behind her neck, she sighed and stared up at her beige ceiling.

God, it's weird to think there was a time Charlotte and I could mess around with each other without it turning into a huge argument. Who would have thought she'd be the type to make some decent Yo Mama jokes, ha-ha?

Shaking her head, her smile soon faded into a neutral expression.

When was that exactly? Nine years ago?

That was before Michelle and I eventually had a falling out with Charlotte.

One moment, we saw her as our close friend, the next thing we know, she treats us as if we're her worst enemies.

What did we do that was so bad exactly?

Stroking her chin, Vanessa thought about a possible answer before she closed her eyes and dismissively waved.

Maybe it's something stupid... or maybe it's something else… I guess I'll worry about it in the morning.

Just before she could wrap herself underneath her blankets, she took one look at the "MP" logo on her chest and made a toothy smile.

On an unrelated note, that whole fight against the ice cream robbers was awesome! Who would have thought those karate lessons my friends, and I took eight years ago would finally pay off!? Michelle, or should I say Bubblegum was a great leader! Yeah, she had no idea what she was doing, but she was organized enough to lead us into victory. Luther Crusoe, despite running around like a dork for some part of it, actually held his own! I'm proud of you, Greg. You're gonna grow up to be a damn fine hero someday…

But I gotta ask… is there a possibility The Ballin' Pranksters can become full-time heroes once Michelle's revenge against Charlotte is over? With all of the gadgets we have, it'd be a waste to use them all on Charlotte. There are plenty of bad guys out there who could use a good ass-kicking!

Plus, most of the cool superheroes live in New York, Seattle, and even London. It'd be nice if Oregon got some superheroes too. It'll make this city a little more interesting.

With a warm smile on her face, she let out a loud yawn before shutting her eyes and sleeping for the night.

It'd be really cool to be a superhero… especially when two of my best friends are my partners.