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

Chapter 12

Created by The Spectacular SpiderDom

Suggested Music:

(1) Sinister Shadows – Kingdom Hearts 2 OST

(2) The Encounter – Kingdom Hearts 2 OST

(3) Won't Stop, Just Go! (Green Forest) – Sonic Adventure 2 OST

The Ballin' Pranksters entered the attic, the very place they started their mission and ran towards the window they first came through. Bubblegum shoved it open at full force and looked down at the ground, seeing it wasn't too far from their reach. She nodded to her teammates before she motioned to them.

"Come on! Go, go, go!" she barked urgently.

Luther Crusoe was the first one out followed by Mad Potion.

Both of them jumped onto the balcony below before they climbed over and hung themselves on the railings. Bubblegum finally jumped out, closed the window, and performed the same maneuvers. The multi-colored teens jumped from one railing to another and from one platform to the next, not even thinking about the number of police cars in front of the house. Speaking of which, they saw nothing but red and blue lights flashing from the opposite side, which made them feel even more nervous. Despite a successful mission in which they got what they wanted; they were scared all of it was going to waste because of Bubblegum getting cocky. Of course, it wasn't her intention to mess everything up, but they weren't in the mood to face the consequences of their devious actions.

The Ballin' Pranksters made like clockwork and hopped down to another platform, jumping up to a windowsill and climbing across a silver pipe.

"I-I hope Charlotte's okay, she looked like she hurt her arm bad!" Luther Crusoe muttered.

"Forget about her, we got what we needed!" Bubblegum retorted. "Besides, she's an alien, she'll probably-"

Luther Crusoe jumped to the next platform when he stopped in mid-air, making both teenage girls widen their eyes.

Sparks of purple energy wrapped themselves around the grey and brown-costumed boy as he slowly rose up to the rooftop. Gasping, Mad Potion jumped upward and grabbed his cape, grabbing onto the pipe with her free hand.

"Hang on, Greg! I gotcha!" she exclaimed.

The energy spread down Luther Crusoe's leg and down to his determined partner, lifting her away from the pipe. Just before they reached the roof, Bubblegum jumped towards them and wrapped both of her yellow boots against the pipe, grasping Mad Potion's legs with all of her might.

"What's going on!?" Luther Crusoe screamed.

"Hang on, guys!" Bubblegum replied. "I got you!"

Due to the combined weight, the pipe broke off and all three pranksters flew up in the air.

"NEVER MIND!" Bubblegum blenched.

The Ballin' Pranksters, making bloodcurdling screams, launched upward, and landed flat on the rooftop. Clenching their stomachs, they groaned in pain before the purple energy coursing through them left them and combined together.

The streaks of light formed a wormhole right across the pranksters before a figure emerged.

The Ballin' Pranksters looked up and growled once they saw who it was.

Charlotte Withers. (1Start)

Wait, what?

Yes, it was Charlotte, and she wore the same exact black cloak she had at the gym six weeks ago. But there was only one difference, her skin was purple, and her hair was as red as a tomato.

With an evil cackle, she stretched her right arm followed by the rest of her body.

Bubblegum and Mad Potion jumped up and clenched their fists whereas Luther Crusoe stayed on his knees. His eyes bulged out of their sockets, and he slowly pointed at the culprit.

"D-d-didn't you just hurt your arm!?" he whimpered.

"Oh, Gregory Sport… my arm couldn't be better," the evil Charlotte replied, clenching her purple fists.

"You really like to manipulate people, don't you, Charlotte!?" Bubblegum hollered. "Tricking everyone into thinking you're all cute and innocent when really, you're nothing more than a lying, manipulative, piece of shit thief!"

"Oh, grow up, Michelle Wittman," Charlotte rolled her eyes, resting her face against her palm. "Well, actually… you won't live past your current age. You three will be dead by the time my plan is complete."

"What plan!?" Mad Potion inquired.

"You pathetic humans won't have to wait long to find out," Charlotte snickered as she snapped her fingers.

A red force field formed around the roof, preventing anyone from escaping.

Luther Crusoe looked around nervously.

Mad Potion huffed as she stretched her arms and legs.

And Bubblegum gritted her teeth, slapping her knuckles together.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do this, Charlotte Withers," the proud leader snarled, making a dynamic martial arts pose. "One, I get to make an awesome battle pose. Two, I get to kick your ass alongside my friends. Three… I'm gonna make you pay for all of those years of torture!"

"Then quit flapping your trap hole and show me," Charlotte barked back, motioning to her opponent.

"Oh… I will," Bubblegum slapped her fists together once again as she released a loud battle cry and leaped into combat. "LEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY JENKINS!"

"W-who's Leroy Jenkins!?" Luther Crusoe asked.

Bubblegum and Mad Potion ignored his question and charged towards Charlotte, throwing an armada of punches and kicks. They landed a few good hits against her face and stomach, but after a while, Charlotte dodged to the right and swiped both of their feet, causing them to fall on their backs. She was about to smash their guts with her fists, but Bubblegum and Mad Potion rolled to opposite sides. The yellow and pink leader kicked her bully in the stomach while her green and purple partner landed two right jabs, a left jab, and a downward uppercut.

Watching the three girls fight, Luther Crusoe jumped up and reached for his belt.

He knew he couldn't muster the courage to hit a girl or even Charlotte for that matter, so he took out an Easter Surprise egg and threw it forward.

Charlotte grabbed Bubblegum by her costume's shirt collar and threw her against Mad Potion, falling right on top of her. The egg-shaped grenade landed in front of her and exploded, trapping the right side of her body in blue slime.

She glared at her crush and chuckled. "You think your childish toys are going to stop me!?"

A surge of purple energy ran through her arm and an electric blast broke her free.

She floated through the air and dashed towards Luther Crusoe, stroking her energy-filled fingers.

"Oh, jeez!" the short-haired boy gasped as he pressed his brown top hat against his face and ran away.

Charlotte threw her arms forward and shot multiple electric spikes at the young boy, who was smart enough to learn one of Michelle's lessons: Don't Ever Run Straight, Zig-Zag!

He ran from left to right before he dove forward, performed two somersaults, pushed himself off the force field's wall, and ran in the other direction. Huffing and puffing like there was no tomorrow, he kept doing what he did before Charlotte landed in front of him and smacked him across the jaw. A drop of blood escaped from his mouth, and he fell on his side, coughing in the process. He wiped his lip and screamed, watching Charlotte get closer to him.

"You're clearly the weakest link of this team," she scoffed. "How about I kill you first?"

Luther Crusoe reached for his belt to pull out a weapon just as Charlotte struck her fist towards him, but she was pulled back by a sudden gust of wind.

She fell on her rear and turned around, seeing both Bubblegum and Mad Potion with their own versions of Chompy the Suckigator. The former's being lime green and the latter's being dark green. Just then, Luther Crusoe launched a kick against Charlotte's stomach and jumped back on his feet. Running towards his friends, he pulled out his black and yellow alligator weapon and turned it on.

"Chew on this, Withers!" Mad Potion snarled as The Ballin' Pranksters aimed their weapons high and pulled the alien witch towards them.

With their combined strength, they lifted her in the air and slammed her against the ground.

Rinse and repeat; they did it again, slamming her to the right.

They performed their attack one last time before they pulled Charlotte towards them and delivered a powerful kick. She flew into the air and landed on her back. Just before they could jump on top of her, pinning her down, she clapped her hands together and blasted them with a shockwave.

All three of them tumbled against the roof and crashed against the wall.

Charlotte leaped back up and stretched her neck, igniting her hands with dark, black, and blue swirling energy.

"Do you honestly think your childish weapons can stop me?" she chortled arrogantly.

"If we can knock you on your ass back at the gym, we can do it again," Bubblegum replied with a smirk, unleashing four Spider Grenades from her brown belt. Pressing the buttons, she threw them forward and they exploded, shooting over a dozen tiny drones onto the alien.

Instead of freaking out as any normal person would, she snapped her fingers and they melted into a green residue. They dripped off of her body and she shook her head.

"That wasn't your best, was it?" she asked.

"Well…" the leader answered with a gulp. She then growled in annoyance and pointed at her enemy. "Just wait until we unleash our secret weapon!"

"And what would that be?" Luther Crusoe panickily asked.

"I don't know yet, LC! I'm just trying to sound tough!"

"If you're so tough, then dodge this!" Charlotte barked as she summoned a large fireball and chucked it towards The Ballin' Pranksters, who screamed and evaded to the side. They watched as the purple-skinned took to the skies and shot at them with lightning bolts and fireballs.

"Remember what I taught you guys, zig-zag!" Bubblegum shouted, pulling out her paintball gun. As she continued running, she looked over her shoulder and fired paintballs at her enemy. Some of them were deflected with ease whereas others hit her in her face, stomach, and shoulders.

Mad Potion and Luther Crusoe shared a nod before they did the same thing.

Due to the rapid-fire, Charlotte couldn't concentrate on her powers, so all she did was shoot electric blasts and balls of fire into the air. Some of them bounced off of the force field and hit the ground, nearly burning and/or shocking the wannabe heroes.

The Ballin' Pranksters continued shooting her with paintballs with determined looks on their faces. When they ran out of ammo, all they did was whip out a cartridge and cock their gun barrels. They kept firing one shot after another before Charlotte roared as loud as a lion, splashing the paint off of her and stomping against the ground. The force of the impact caused The Ballin' Pranksters to fly off of their feet and hit against the force field. Mad Potion and Luther Crusoe fell beside one another while Bubblegum landed across from them. Just before she could get up, Charlotte grabbed her by the neck and held her up, squeezing her tight.

Bubblegum coughed and held her neck with both of her hands, struggling and gasping for air.

Charlotte growled and pulled back her fist, ready to land a punch.

Mad Potion gasped and reached for her purple belt, pulling out a weapon of her own design: a red and orange toy blaster with two barrels. She pulled the trigger three white capsules shot out, skyrocketing towards the purple-skinned alien, who was about to sock Bubblegum across the jaw.

Her fist lunged forward when suddenly…

POOF!

"AHH! WHAT THE!?" Charlotte coughed as white/beige colored powder covered her body and got into her eyes. She turned around, wiped the smoke from her face, and continued coughing, feeling an intense stinging on her corneas. "Argh! What did you shoot me with!? I can't see!"

"Garlic powder, or as I like to call this baby, Garlic Power!" Mad Potion replied, blowing powder off of the blaster's barrel. "Two grams of carbohydrates, ten average calories, and-"

"One-hundred grams of ass-whopping!" Bubblegum growled as she bent both of her knees and kicked Charlotte against her stomach, shoving her back against the ground.

The pink and yellow prankster landed on her rear before she jumped up and rushed towards Charlotte, landing nothing but punches, jabs, and kicks.

Due to her lack of sight, the alien just took every blow from left to right, feeling the true wrath of The Ballin' Pranksters' founder. Bubblegum screamed in anger as she landed another punch. She was so angry that she did something not even she knew she could do, perform a back-flip and slam her foot against the back of Charlotte's head, faceplanting her against the ground.

Luther Crusoe cringed once he saw that as Mad Potion rushed forward and fired more capsules of garlic powder at Charlotte. Not wanting to be blinded, Bubblegum leaped backward and whipped out two toy blasters filled with Spider Grenades. Loading the actual grenades into her weapons, she cocked both of them before she fired at will; she shot countless amounts of tiny spiders at Charlotte, making her cough and scream in agony and frustration.

The grey and brown-costumed boy wasn't sure what to do.

He knew Charlotte was in no mood to talk and thanks to his friends, he had most of the confidence to fight her, but deep down, his heart kept telling him this wasn't the right thing to do. That, and he kept thinking about what his sister told him before.

"Just because you're trying to gain confidence… doesn't mean you have to change who you really are."

But at the same thing, he remembered what Bubblegum told him a few nights before.

"Trust me when I say this, Luther Crusoe, her going to jail or wherever can benefit us. She won't harass me, and Ness and you won't be able to be her doormat anymore."

Doormat…

Doormat…

Doormat…

He looked up and saw Bubblegum and Mad Potion shooting their projectiles at Charlotte, who was able to dodge some of them and strike them down with an energy blast. She launched herself forward, but Mad Potion smacked her face with the tip of her Garlic Power blaster. Bubblegum kicked her stomach, chest, and face before she landed an uppercut and kept fighting.

Luther Crusoe, hearing that cursed word replay like a witch's incantation, closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth.

Sitting there for a few moments caused him to suddenly open his eyes and release a scream of guilt and anger.

"I'M SORRY, CHARLOTTE!"

Pulling out two Easter Surprise eggs, he chucked them forward and they landed near Charlotte's feet, trapping her in red and blue goo. She looked down and simply melted them away; however, she was too slow to notice her former crush charged towards her. He roared like a rampaging lion and closed his eyes, landing a solid punch across her jaw.

Mad Potion's eyes widened with shock and Bubblegum cheered with joy.

"Yeah, there you go, LC!" the latter clapped her hands. "Show her who's boss!"

Luther Crusoe landed a few punches across Charlotte's face, still keeping his eyes shut before he delivered a roundhouse kick and swiped her off of her feet. At the same time, he pulled out another Easter Surprise and cracked it open, but Charlotte smacked the weapon out of his hand and blasted with a ball of energy. He flew straight into his friends' stomachs, and they tumbled across the ground.

She pulled herself up, cleaned her costume, and lazily flew into the air.

Clapping her hands together, electricity roamed from her shoulders to her arms as her eyes shined blue and fire escaped from her jaw.

"I've had enough of you three!" Charlotte scowled.

"So have we!" Bubblegum barked. She and her teammates pulled out their paintball launchers and aimed them high.

Pulling the triggers, they ran in several different directions and shot her with globs of paint.

Charlotte formed a neon blue force field around herself and flew around, shooting beams of light from her eyes.

They nearly hit Bubblegum and Luther Crusoe, who jumped back and blenched.

"She has heat vision too!?" the former shouted. "I don't know whether to find this cool or freaky!"

"Why not both?" Mad Potion inquired.

"Yeah, both! Both are good!"

"Die, you immature freaks!" Charlotte snapped her fingers and summoned a ball of energy.

It flew straight down towards The Ballin' Pranksters and shot them into the force field.

They ricocheted off of it and flew towards Charlotte, who landed one punch and a kick against them.

The Ballin' Pranksters landed on the ground just as their opponent shot them again with an electric blast.

With their costumes having black marks on their shoulders, knees, and abdominal areas, The Ballin' Pranksters got down on their knees and wiped drops of blood from their lips. Coughing, they sneered at Charlotte before they reloaded their weapons and charged into battle.

Charlotte, who had her hands glowing with energy, did the same. (1Stop)

As the battle on the roof waged on, Eartha and Charlotte opened the front door and ran downstairs.

Police officers standing near Omni Sterns raised their weapons, only to hear their chief shout at them.

"Stand down!"

They lowered their weapons, and they ran towards the reporter and her injured daughter.

"Mrs. Withers, is everything okay?" Omni asked urgently.

"Does it look like everything's okay!?" Eartha scoffed. "Those Ballin' Pranksters snuck into my house, damaged my property, and hurt my daughter! Just look at her arm!"

"Mom, it's just a slight bruise, I'm fine," Charlotte replied.

Omni took a look at the black and blue mark on Charlotte's arm before he turned around, pointing to another officer. "You! Have someone get a look at this! Eartha, you need to tell me what-"

"Uh… Chief Sterns?" a nervous female officer interrupted.

"What is it?" Omni asked.

"You might want to look up."

He did just that and so did everyone else.

"BLEEPING BUZZARDS! WHAT'S THAT!?" Eartha screamed. (2Start)

All they saw was a force field followed by explosions of fire, electricity, and purple energy.

They watched as Bubblegum flew into the air, riding on top of the alien Charlotte's back, landing multiple punches across her face and jaw.

"What is going on up there!?" Omni asked.

"I don't know! Why don't you go find out!?" Eartha screamed.

Wayne came barreling through the front door and stopped for a deep breath. "Mrs. Withers! Those charlatans made their way to the rooftop! I tried to stop them, but the doors and windows were locked! I keep hearing explosions and shouting, what's going on!?"

"The three of you need to get somewhere safe, my team and I will check this out!" Omni demanded. "You, have a look at this girl's arm. You, get Eartha and this gentleman away from here! As for the rest of you, let's get to the roof and find out just what the hell's going on up there!"

With two officers escorting the Withers family away from the donnybrook, Omni and his team went around to the back gate and kicked it open. One by one, all of them loaded their guns and scouted the area, searching for a way to the rooftop.

As she and her family walked down the driveway and to a nearby police van, Charlotte looked over her shoulder and saw another electric spark followed by an energy blast.

"What the hell's going on up there?" she asked herself.

Back up above, Mad Potion, whose costume was covered in scratch marks and bruises were seen on her body, landed near a wounded Bubblegum and an exhausted Luther Crusoe. He held his arm tight and crawled towards his partner, making sure she was okay. A single nod relieved him, but it also spooked him because Charlotte landed on the ground and cracked her purple fingers.

The Ballin' Pranksters huddled together with their weapons in hand, ready for another round.

"I've studied the superpowered creatures of this planet and I must say, despite not having powers equal to them, the three of you are worthy opponents," Charlotte evilly chuckled. "It's amazing how your immaturity and childish gadgets got you this far. But I'm afraid this little game must come to an end."

"I don't know what you're up nor do I really care!" Bubblegum coughed, standing up on her feet. "You've pissed my friends and me off long enough! It's time we make you pay for everything you've done, Charlotte Withers!"

Upon hearing her name, the black-cloaked alien shook her head and laughed.

The Ballin' Pranksters raised their eyebrows.

"What's so funny?" Bubblegum asked.

"As much as I commended you for your abilities," Charlotte grinned. "I must admit, the three of you are dense. Do you honestly think a broken soul like Charlotte Withers could match my level of power?"

Bubblegum widened her eyes.

"Let's bring her down to the stage, shall we?" the alien snapped her fingers and a blue wormhole opened beside her.

The dark-skinned girl standing next to her mother and butler fell inside.

"Charlotte!" Eartha screamed.

"Miss Withers!" Wayne yelled at the same time.

Charlotte fell through the wormhole and appeared on the roof, landing on her bruised arm.

"Ow!" she moaned. "What the hell is-… going on?"

She looked up at the alien wearing her face and she began to panic.

"Wha… Wha… What, what, what, what, what the hell!? What is this!? W-Who ARE you!? W-why do you look like me!? What's going on!? I'm scared!"

"What!?" The Ballin' Pranksters gasped.

"See?" the alien Charlotte gestured to herself and her look-a-like. "A puny human like herself can't comprehend what's standing in front of her. But she won't need to… heh, she'll be dead like the rest of you once my plan is finished… as much as I'd hate to leave a fight unfinished, I'm afraid I must get going. The next time you see me, Ballin' Pranksters, you, and the rest of this world will bow before me. See you real soon. Mwa-hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!... oh, I love the evil laugh. I can see why this world's supervillains do it."

With the snap of her fingers, she disappeared and so did everything around her. (2Stop)

The force field evaporated, and a cloud of smoke covered both Charlotte and the three injured teens.

Everyone coughed and wiped the vapor away from their faces as they scanned the environment for any sign of the purple alien.

But after a few seconds of waiting…

…nothing happened.

A moratorium occurred and everyone felt mixed emotions.

For Luther Crusoe, he couldn't be any happier knowing that Charlotte wasn't the culprit, but he still wondered why she had possession of Michelle's notebook. He was also curious as to why the alien impersonated her in the first place and what her diabolical plan was.

For Bubblegum, she didn't think a twist like that would happen. She expected Charlotte to be responsible for everything that had happened, but for her to find out it was an alien imposter felt like getting a punch to the gut; she got a major culture shock. It was hard for her to even remember that despite everything going wrong, she and her teammates managed to get her notebook back in her hands. Even then, it was hard for her to celebrate given what she just heard.

For Mad Potion, she felt a combination of both of her friends' emotions. She too assumed her former friend turned bully was the guilty one, yet after tonight's battle, she thought otherwise. Part of her felt happy as she felt it would hurt Luther Crusoe to bring Charlotte down to justice like that yet at the same time, she was scared as to what the alien meant by having a scheme to conquer the world. After a moment of two, she thought about the conversation she had with Bubblegum earlier in the bedroom: the one where The Ballin' Pranksters should use their powers for good and not just their own selfish desires. She would've smiled in delight after fighting her first supervillain, but she figured the moment wouldn't be right.

As for Charlotte…

…she didn't know what to feel.

Fear?

Confusion?

Agitation?

Anxious?

A normal person would freak out at the fact a superpowered creature copied their appearance and dragged them through a wormhole, Charlotte felt somewhat differently. On one hand, she was definitely scared of the fact someone was impersonating her, but on the other hand, she wondered why The Ballin' Pranksters were in her house and how the alien's attack related to it. She clenched her arm tightly and felt her eyes lunge out of her sockets. Her heart began to sink, her face went pale, and her whole body became as soft as jelly.

Luther Crusoe was about to comfort her, but he was caught off guard by a ferocious shout.

"The shield's down! They're up here!" Omni yelled as he and his teammates climbed on the house's platforms and began making their way up top.

Bubblegum tapped Luther Crusoe and Mad Potion on their shoulders, snapping them out of their confused trance.

"Come on, we gotta move!" she puffed.

"But… but what about…" Luther Crusoe pointed to Charlotte.

"Forget about her, let's go!" Mad Potion nodded in agreement.

Like clockwork, The Ballin' Pranksters ran towards the edge of the roof and leaped forward, landing on a platform across from them. Grabbing onto a white railing, they dropped themselves down a level and landed on the pipes. They slid down and landed on the ground, making their way down to the backyard. In the process, a few cops looked over their shoulders and saw them bolting towards the gate.

"Hey, they're getting away!" a female cop shouted.

"Get them!" a male officer snarled.

A few cops dropped down to the ground and chased after the vigilantes, who saw them and increased their speed. (3Start)

"Oh, shit!" Mad Potion called out.

"Don't look back! Just move, move, move!" Bubblegum replied.

"No need to tell me twice!" Luther Crusoe screamed, clenching his brown top hat.

As the chase commenced, the cops loaded their handguns and aimed them forward, issuing the trio a warning.

"Freeze! Get down on your knees and hands behind your head! If you don't stop running, we will open fire!"

"This is Officer Thompson of the Eugene Police Department! We got three burglary suspects on foot! Three juveniles, two female, one male!"

"Freeze!"

"Get down on the ground!"

"This way!" Bubblegum demanded as The Ballin' Pranksters made a sharp right turn and ran down the stairs. But they were blocked by a few officers that shined flashlights directly in their faces. "Crap!"

"Stop running!" a female officer shouted.

"No thanks!" Mad Potion exclaimed as she and her team leaped over the officers and ran down the yard.

"One more warning! Down on the ground, hands behind your heads!" another male cop threatened. "We will open fire!"

The Ballin' Pranksters turned around a tight corner and ran towards the tall fence that had a dumpster against it. They jumped on top of the dumpster and climbed on the edge of the fence. Bubblegum and Mad Potion helped Luther Crusoe climb over and they landed on the other side. The cops ran towards the fence and saw the team disappear into the darkness of the forest.

"They've escaped!" one called out.

"Not for long! Go around to the main gate, they went into the forest!" another one retorted.

As the cops rushed back towards the main entrance, Omni and a few other cops climbed up to the roof and saw Charlotte in utter shock. Everyone raised their eyebrows as they climbed up and approached the teenage girl.

"Huh?... how'd you get up here?" Omni inquired, scratching his head.

Charlotte, warping back to reality, looked up at him and replied. "I… I don't know."

The Ballin' Pranksters ran down the forest faster than the speed of light before they finally found their hover vehicles sitting in place.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Bubblegum yelled as she grabbed her hoverboard and got a running start.

Mad Potion and Luther Crusoe hopped on their bikes and started the engines, following close behind their leader.

Once they got down to the main road.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHOOOOOOO!

Police sirens echoed through the streets.

Bubblegum turned around and saw the cars driving at a rapid speed.

They were close to running her over before she threw her hoverboard forward and hopped on top of it. Kicking the ground, a streak of pink energy shot out of the back, and she caught up to both Luther Crusoe and Mad Potion. Streaks of blue and green lights came out of their exhaust pipes, and they sped down the road.

Making a sharp right turn, they drove up a hill and hopped forward.

They landed on the road again and zoomed into the shadows of the night.

The police cars shined their lights and searched the environment, searching for any signs of them.

But they were nowhere in sight.

They stopped flashing their lights and pulled over to the side, aggravated that they lost their suspects. (3Stop)

~Moments Later…

After a few minutes of an explanation, Charlotte was returned to her mother and butler safe and sound. One quick hug later and she found herself sitting in the back of a police van with a doctor checking the bruise on her arm. Even though she didn't think much of it, the fact someone else was touching it made her flinch. But the pain meant nothing to her as she was more concerned with The Ballin' Pranksters and the villain they fought. She took a deep breath and rubbed her face as she cringed when the doctor touched her arm once again.

As for Eartha and Wayne, they were discussing tonight's events with Omni Sterns.

"What do you mean you let them get away!?" the reporter scoffed, folding her arms. "You're supposed to be Eugene's protectors and you can't even keep up with a couple of reckless kids!?"

"Look, Mrs. Withers, I didn't say anything to them about us letting them escape," Omni replied, scratching his cheeks. "They took us by surprise and bolted towards the back gate. By the time my team made it to the main road, they took off on their hover vehicles. They're searching the forest for them as we speak. Hopefully, they'll come back with some good news."

Just then, a dark-skinned officer approached his chief. "Chief Sterns."

"Here we go," the chief nodded with a smile. "Yes, Officer Carl?"

"We scanned the forest and parts of the main road. The suspects escaped."

"Damn it," Omni snarled. "Get the others and head back here."

"On it, Chief," the cop tipped his hat before he walked away.

"I'm telling you, Chief Sterns," Eartha hissed. "It was The Ballin' Pranksters. They came in here to get their revenge on me because I made them look bad on TV!"

"Trust me, Mrs. Withers, we know it was The Ballin' Pranksters and we're going to do everything we can to bring them down to justice; however, I doubt they came in here looking for revenge on you specifically. That one vigilante from Los Angeles, Turbine, is bashed all of the time on your show and we haven't heard cases of him taking his anger out on TV news reporters."

"Well… maybe I can change your mind with video footage I captured of them," Eartha clapped her hands and smirked.

"Can't do that actually," a detective in a black suit and brown trench coat said. He joined the interlocutors and held up a box of damaged security cameras. "We went inside the house and found these cables were cut."

"Son of a-…we didn't get them on video!?" Eartha screamed. "And now I gotta buy new cables too!?"

Omni took a deep breath before he dismissed the detective. "Mrs. Withers, I suggest spending the rest of tonight with a close friend and/or neighbor. We're going to be doing more investigating and we'll let you know if we come across anything useful. Stay safe, Mrs. Withers."

"Chief Sterns has a point, Mrs. Withers," Wayne nodded. "Perhaps we can stay with the McFadden's. I'm sure Wendy would love to have Charlotte sleepover."

"N-no!" Eartha retorted, shaking off Wayne's hand from her shoulder. She pointed at the officer's chest and sneered. "You should be doing something about them now! They've been responsible for two crimes in the past six weeks! How long before they start doing something serious like terroristic threats, murder, grand theft auto, or something worse… causing a riot within our city!?"

"Mrs. Withers, I need you to relax," the chief said calmly.

"Not until they're exposed!"

"Mrs. Withers, we can't just go out and search for them without a plan!"

"If you won't do something about it… then, I will…"

Leaving it at that, Eartha stormed off to take care of her daughter.

A moment of silence occurred before Wayne whispered to the chief. "I apologize on her behalf. Thank you for everything you're doing, Chief Sterns. We trust we know what you're doing."

"Thank you, Mr. Grayson," Omni nodded.

The chief walked away to resume his work.

And Eartha sat down next to her daughter, who just got a blue cast wrapped around her arm.

With a deep sigh, the reporter looked at the injured kid and wiped a tear from her eye. "H-how's your arm?"

"It's fine, Mom," Charlotte replied with a soft smile. "This thing's going to be filled with a bunch of signatures tomorrow morning, that's for sure."

Eartha chuckled at her small joke before she frowned once again. "I'm so sorry you got involved in all of this. I should have protected you better. I swear, Charlotte… I will take down The Ballin' Pranksters."

"I'm sure you will, Mom… but there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh, what is it?"

Charlotte was silent before she inhaled nervously. "Well… when I fell through that portal thing and landed on the roof, I saw someone that was fighting The Ballin' Pranksters… He-I mean, she was some sort of alien creature. She made all of these explosions and shot energy from her hands. I think she was the reason The Ballin' Pranksters were here… but here's the weirdest part… she looked… just like me. She had my face and everything. Granted, her skin was purple, but she still looked like me!... I'm wondering if The Ballin' Pranksters were here to protect us… from her."

Silence struck the two of them before Eartha did something Charlotte least expected…

…laughed maniacally.

"BAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT!?" She cackled as loud as a hyena. "You think The Ballin' Pranksters were protecting us from an alien witch!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh!... Oh, Charlotte!... Oh!... that's rich!... BAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Even when we nearly had our lives taken, you're still making jokes! Classic Charlotte, classic! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"M-Mom, I'm not joking! Why else would they be here?"

"It's simple, to take me down. They know I'm exposing the truth about them so they're going to do whatever it takes to shut me down. But they should know that I, The Great Eartha Withers Trademark, am not going to down without a fight. If it's war they want… it's war they'll get."

"But… but Mom, I-"

"I'm going to call Wendy's mom and ask if we can stay over at her house tonight. You should tell Wendy what you just told me, she's gonna crack the heck up! Hahahahahaha!" Eartha stood up and pulled out her cellphone. Dialing a number, she held it up to her ear and walked away. "Hi, Isabelle, it's Eartha! Listen, my family and I just dealt with something horrible! The Ballin' Pranksters broke into our house and damaged our property!... I know, it was crazy!"

Her voice faded as she strolled down a path, leaving Charlotte to exhale in annoyance.

"Jesus…" she muttered.

She hung her head back and closed her eyes, trying to see the positive side to tonight's chaos.

But as she took some time to recollect…

…her alien self-watched her from the house across.

She stood there and watched the police officers resume their investigation and she glanced over at Eartha, who was still talking on the phone. After taking a good look at her human look-a-like, she clenched her purple-colored fist and smirked.

Raising her right arm, she pulled her black-cloaked sleeve back. A silver watch with a black ring sat around her wrist and she twisted it to the right. A yellow circle of energy formed around her, and it blanketed her body. It took a few seconds for it to disappear, and it changed her appearance completely.

She was now a slender male figure with a face as red as a pumpkin and short, grassy green hair. For attire, he wore bright orange spandex with silver straps around his shoulders and a belt of the same color. With purple accents on his stomach, he had violet gloves with silver tips, and he walked around barefoot. His toenails were made of gold and his eyes were black, pitch-black, almost as if they weren't there at all. The only instance of pupils were small, white dots.

"Despite their idiocy and selfish nature, The Ballin' Pranksters in this universe are stronger than I thought," he spoke in a dark, mature voice. He folded his arms back and scratched his palms. "But with their disposal… I will find peace."

He suddenly stopped and closed his eyes.

"…he will find peace."

With the snap of his fingers, the stranger of fright disappeared from sight.

~One Hour Later…

Deep within the heart of Hendrick's Park, The Ballin' Pranksters finally got a chance to rest.

Having parked their hover vehicles near the badminton court, Mad Potion and Luther Crusoe sat on a warm bench with their shoes on the ground and feet sticking out. They felt the need for their toes to breathe after all of the walking and running they were forced to do. Occasionally, they would look at one another and give a smile of reassurance; both of them were mentally drained following tonight's plot twist, so they wanted to make sure both of them were okay.

As for Bubblegum, all she did was pace herself back and forth in both excitement and shock. She was happy to have her notebook back after so much trouble, but she was also shocked at the fact there were two Charlottes. She would stroke her chin every now and then, thinking of a new plan for Charlotte moving forward. After she walked around a few more times (even strumming the badminton net out of boredom), she finally stopped and pulled out the thing she'd been searching for: her personal journal.

Holding its soft, brown leather in her hands, the pink and yellow prankster flipped it around and released a deep sigh. She took one good look at her friends and felt nothing but sorrow. A drop of dried blood was on their lips and their bodies were covered in bruises. Parts of their costumes were scratched, and their capes looked like they were scratched by wolverines. Bubblegum looked down at the damages done to her costume and bowed her head in shame.

She walked towards her friends and sat between them, not sure what to say to them.

"I… I…" she began with a whisper, which caught their attention.

"Hmm?" the green and purple scientist raised her eyebrow.

"You what?" the grey and brown boy scratched his messy hair.

Bubblegum shrugged and exhaled softly. "I… would say tonight was somewhat successful… right, guys?"

Feeling disappointed in her response, both of the other pranksters shared a glance and nodded.

"I'd say so," Mad Potion replied.

"Yeah… sure… successful," Luther Crusoe groaned. "Let's call it that."

"Are you guys okay?" Bubblegum inquired.

"It feels like there are bruises all over my body," Mad Potion said. "Oh, wait… there are."

"That freaky alien thing was tougher than she was last time," Luther Crusoe nodded, stretching his back. He heard a crack and cringed. "But at least we made it out alive."

"And most importantly, we got this back!" Bubblegum smiled, holding her notebook proud.

Yeah, because a notebook is more important than our lives apparently! Luther Crusoe thought to himself and rolled his eyes.

"This is gonna make one helluva story," Bubblegum said, turning to the first page. "Here, let me write it… down?"

Upon opening the front cover, she saw a picture of a Pegasus crossing through a portal into a dimension where a forest sat across from a beautiful river. Something she would never draw. Raising an eyebrow, she flipped to the next page and found another picture. This time, it was a cartoonish image of Charlotte and Gregory strolling through the woods covered in roses and tulips.

"What is?... hold on… hold on, what?"

Bubblegum flipped through different pages and found several entries.

Dear Diary,

Tried asking Gregory out today. Didn't go as well as I hoped. I kept foaming up at the mouth and I looked like a complete idiot. That's why I decided to look up dating tips online. I found this great website that taught me a lot of things I wish I knew sooner. For instance, adding "poo" to the end of someone's name makes it sound cuter and lets the person know that you like them. I think I might try this sometime.

Dear Diary,

Oh, my gosh! The first trailer for "Vinny's Not-So Swashbuckling Adventure" came out today and I am super excited about it! It looks like a great mesh of comedy, action, and romance! Everything I look forward to whenever I watch movies! I'm debating whether I should ask Gregory if he wants to see it too. I've already asked Jasmine, Wendy, Tracy, and Lacey! All of them preordered tickets instantly! I'll have to see if I can ask him tomorrow. If not, no biggie. I can always ask him if he wants to see "Snowed In."

Dear Diary,

Heard Walter and Mack having a friendly debate at lunch today. Who would win in a singing competition, Xavier Allegro Quincy, or Adam Starshine? Adam Starshine's an actor, singer, comedian, content creator, model, and I believe he was a part-time race car driver. He's best known for playing the role of Silver Lightning on the TV, "Foreign Power: The Adventures of Silver Lightning." He's got a really good voice and he's super funny. As much as I love Xavier for his voice and soothing instrumental talent, I'm gonna place my money on Adam. I'm hoping I meet him at Comic-Con this summer!

Bubblegum scrambled through more pages and found more of the same, pictures and journal entries.

Her face turned red and sweat rained down her forehead.

"No… no, no, no, this isn't happening! You've got to be kidding me!"

"What's the matter?" Mad Potion asked.

"What now?" Luther Crusoe moaned.

"Guys… this isn't my journal," Bubblegum said, flipping to the end of the book.

If found… please return to Charlotte Hamilton Withers at the following address.

21A Henderson Ave, Eugene, OR, 97403.

"This is Charlotte's journal!" Bubblegum exclaimed.

"Are you freakin' shitting me!" Mad Potion facepalmed.

"Seriously!?" Luther Crusoe grasped his hat for the thirtieth time. "We wasted all of that time for nothing!?"

Bubblegum closed the book and slammed it against the bench, burying herself into her bright yellow gloves. "Sorry, guys… we messed up big time."

"Eh, it's not a complete loss," Mad Potion rolled her eyes and shrugged. "What we should be talking about is the big climactic plot twist. I mean, come on! We can't go home without talking about it, can we?"

"Funny you should mention it, Ness… Michelle, I hate to say it, but… I told you so," Luther Crusoe said sternly.

"What do you mean?" Bubblegum asked with a muffled voice.

The grey and brown-costumed boy stood up and paced himself around the bench, making exaggerated movements with his arms and hands. "I kept telling you Charlotte wasn't the culprit from the start but did you believe me? No! Why!? Because you think I'm some kind of bonehead!"

"I don't think that way," Bubblegum replied.

"Well, it certainly doesn't feel like it sometimes! I guess I should feel happy that Charlotte isn't the bad guy, but I feel more upset at the fact someone is out there making her look bad!"

"Which is why we have to stop them!" Mad Potion smirked, snapping her fingers.

"Yes!" Luther Crusoe shouted before realizing what she said. "Wait… what?"

The purple-eyed scientist stood proudly and explained, "Don't you guys see? We were attacked by a real supervillain twice! This must be fate telling us that we're more than just a couple of teens pulling pranks on people, we're meant for more! This is it! This is our superhero origin story! Someone is out there with Michelle's actual notebook and pinned the blame on Charlotte just to fool us! Now, we have to find out who the real culprit is and bring their sorry ass to jail! The world may see us as criminals now, but after we defeat our villain, we'll be heroes!"

There was a moment of quietness.

"Do you realize how ridiculous you sound right now?" Bubblegum asked.

"I don't suppose you have a better explanation."

"Oh, I do, MP and you wanna know what it is?... trickery. Nuff said it's all trickery on Charlotte's part."

"What are you talking about?" Luther Crusoe asked.

Bubblegum joined her friends in standing up. "Come on, do you honestly expect me to believe that there's an alien purposefully framing Charlotte for wronging me? It's obvious she and her family are setting this whole thing up."

"That doesn't make any sense," Mad Potion shook her head. "What about the portals and the freaky stuff we saw in the gym?"

"That was probably just a bunch of practical effects made to look real," Bubblegum replied. "The portals were just LED lights and the wall the aliens came out of was just paper. Speaking of which, the aliens themselves were probably the athletes in costume. The basketball hoop creepy head thing was probably just a projection, and the fireball was… well, I'm not so sure about that one. I can only assume it's a crumpled-up, light-weighted substance that was set on fire."

"Okay, what about the hallway moving in Charlotte's house?"

"Could've been the walls having a projection, making it look like an optical illusion."

"But we were floating!"

"Could've been some trick they did with the floor."

"And what about the alien Charlotte herself? How do you explain her and all of the things she did!?"

"Well, she could have been flying thanks to a harness on the rooftop. The force field was probably a bunch of fake translucent walls, the explosions, and energy blasts were probably just props from a stunt show that hurt like hell, and the alien Charlotte could've just been Wendy in make-up or something. You know she's into demonic monster shit, right?"

Both of her friends were in shock.

"I can't believe you're being this delusional," Mad Potion chuckled. "This is a lot bigger than we think, Bubbles, and I'm surprised you're not getting it! We live in a world where superheroes and supervillains fight each other in different parts of the world, people identify as either human or supernatural beings called deviants, there are secret organizations that make cool technology, and then there's us. Us! Realistically, we would've survived half of what we went through, but we did! We did because the world wants us to become the heroes we were born to be! Right, Greg!?"

Bubblegum and Mad Potion looked at Luther Crusoe, who was blushing.

"Well… I mean… if you want to look at it like that, or… something… yeah," he smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Tired of the nonsense she was hearing, Bubblegum rubbed her temples and shook her head.

"What are we going to do with Charlotte's notebook?" Luther Crusoe asked.

"We're going to do what true heroes would do, put it back where it belongs," Mad Potion answered boldly.

"What are you, nuckin' futs!?" Bubblegum asked. "We can't go back there! The cops are gonna have our heads!"

"I don't mean we go back and return it there now; we'll have to somehow give it back to her or something," Mad Potion shrugged.

"If you guys want, I can give it back to her," Luther Crusoe raised his hand. He approached Bubblegum with his hand out, but she shielded the journal and backed away.

"No!" she shouted.

He stopped and raised his eyebrows.

"I mean…" the leader looked left and right. "I'll give it back to her… yeah, I'll probably just sneak it into her backpack or something."

"Are you sure?" Luther Crusoe asked again. "Because if I just-"

And it was that moment where Bubblegum snapped right in his face. "Look, you already did enough tonight, all right!? Let me take care of this! Let's be honest, my journal was probably in the basement you were stuck in and instead of searching for it like you were supposed to, you were just looking at all of the stuff you and Charlotte played with when you were kids! Listen up, Gregory Sport! Those days are over! Okay!? O-V-E-R! Charlotte isn't the person you knew her as! She's a liar, a thief, and someone who I can't wait to humiliate when all of this is over! You can either grow up and accept that or you can continue to act like the doormat you are!"

Upon hearing that…

…his heart sank, and his face went pale.

His eyes were on the verge of tears.

And seeing those misty eyes caused Bubblegum to realize what she said.

"Oh, god…" she cupped her hands over her mouth. "What have I… Greg, I-"

Mad Potion stepped in front of her and said, "Maybe you should leave him alone tonight."

Bubblegum wanted to retort back, but she was afraid she'd do more damage.

She nodded and walked towards her hoverboard.

"I'm sorry, Greg… I'm sorry."

She hopped on top of it and zoomed off.

Mad Potion turned around and saw Luther Crusoe's back towards her. He had his arms tight around him, and he tried to hide his tears. He whimpered a few times, but he made sure no one noticed him crying. Thankfully for Mad Potion, she wasn't dumb enough to fall for that. She walked around him and looked at his clammy face, seeing a flood of tears pour down his cheeks. He looked up at her before he turned away, feeling embarrassed.

"Greg… please don't do that," she said kindly.

He slowly tilted his face to look at her, and he coughed out a few words. "Pl… plea… please be honest with me… am I… am I as weak as she says I am?"

She shook her head and pulled him towards her chest, embracing him in a tight, warm hug.

Luther Crusoe closed his eyes and leaned on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her.

He sobbed once or twice, but he mostly bleated gently and held her close.

The Ballin' Pranksters definitely succeeded in not getting caught…

…but where will things go from here?

END OF STORY

Tune In Next Time For…

Ballin' Pranksters – Issue #4: This News Just In! (Part 1 of 2)

Special thanks to StarShine89 for allowing me to use the names "Adam Starshine/Silver Lightning" and ApiphobicDalmationLass for allowing me to use the names "Alexa Ivanov/Bloodhound." StarShine89 has an awesome story called "The Lost Miraculous: Foreign Power" and ADL has two stories. A Miraculous Ladybug called "Bloodhound, The Dog Miraculous Holder" and an Owl House story called "Finding the Light, or The Human Witch." On . I recommend checking them out!

Thanks for reading the episode!

See you all for Ballin' Pranksters #4! :D