Floods of congratulations crowded Lady Bird’s inbox and text messages once the results of Operation Comeuppance went public in the villain community. Of course, several of them were C or other B-listers hoping that if they sucked up to her enough, she’d take them under her wing and use her to boost themselves up. She wasn’t interested in being a mentor. But a few of them were genuine and some offered money for the foam bomb formula. But it would need to go through some more testing before she considered selling them. But now that the Operation was over, it meant that everyone was due for some time off, including her.

Wayne worked a half-day so that they could spend the afternoon together. Somehow, Lady Bird had seen the kid more over the past few days compared to her husband. Of course, being tax season, he had been quite busy too. He sat on the couch reading a parenting book. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, kissing him.

“So, I was thinking we should go out to dinner tonight at Chateau.” She suggested as she rested her chin on his shoulder. “All three of us, of course. I don’t think Terri’s been out since she stopped going to school. Well, no, that’s not true. She’s been to driving school and practice, but that’s it.”

“Sounds good to me, honey.” He replied, turning his head and kissing her in return. “You should read this book. It’s very interesting. Though it’s geared toward younger children as opposed to teenagers. But some of the strategies should work, right?”

“I would think so.” Then something occurred to Lady Bird. “Do you think the kid would like anything at the Chateau? I doubt she’s ever been there. Her mother wouldn’t have been able to afford it and it’s not Beretta’s kind of place.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. If anything, we can run by someplace afterward and pick up something. We’ll have to go pretty early if we want a seat without a reservation.” Wayne closed his book and smiled. “It’s really cute when you’re concerned about her beyond the basics. And you say you wouldn’t make a good parent.”

“Have you seen the expressions she makes sometimes? It’s like someone… what’s cuter than a puppy?” She mused for a second then nodded. “It’s like someone kicked a hedgehog. I don’t want her to give me that look.”

“Wouldn’t it hurt to kick a hedgehog?” Wayne questioned. “But I get your meaning. Are you sure it isn’t because you’re just a little bit fond of her? She’s probably the kid you know the best, even before all of this.”

“Let’s just get ready and go. I wonder if she has something nice to wear…” Surely she did since she attended church regularly. Sometimes, Lady Bird had to remind herself that when she didn’t see her pretty much all Sunday morning. “Or at least nice enough. They have a dress code, right?”

“I’m sure she’ll tell you if she needs anything.” He put the book on the shelf and got off the couch. “Though you better send word to her about dinner first. I bet she’s done with any school work for today by now.”

At the very least the kid was never hard to track down. If she wasn't in her room, chances were that someone had seen her around and could easily locate her. The one thing about having the Minions around was that they had nearly a hundred other pair of eyes, so nothing went unknow to Lady Bird for long. So she sent word out over the radio.

“Now she’ll know soon. Meanwhile, why don’t we spend a little time by ourselves doing something fun?” Her eyes drifted to the bedroom.

“That sounds like a plan.” Wayne agreed as he held her hand. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Come on, let’s start before anyone has the chance to interrupt us.”

--

Wayne was in his tux while Lady Bird was in her pant/skirt combo and sleeveless blouse and high heels. Number One was also in his suit, a sight very rare for the man. But costumes weren’t allowed at this particular restaurant except for masks and anything that might be helping one to continue living. Surprisingly, Terri was taking the longest to get ready.

“She’s probably just having trouble choosing what to wear,” Number One assured them. “She won’t be much longer though. She should be here in just a second…”

As usual, his prediction was spot on as the kid rounded the corner. She wore slacks and a nice shirt. Lady Bird didn’t even know that she had dress slacks, not that she paid much attention to her wardrobe.

“Do you think this is nice enough?” she asked them. “I’ve never been to a formal restaurant before, but I figured I shouldn’t wear jeans.”

“You look fine,” Wayne stated with a smile. “Right, Birdie?”

Lady Bird nodded. “Yes, very nice.” All she could think of was the time she ran into the kid’s mother and Beretta at a banquet she just happened to attend. With the way her hair was, the kid looked a lot like her mother. She wondered if that had caused her some pause or if she even noticed, though her face was a slightly different shape and her eyes a different color.

“Let’s go then.” Wayne started to head the car. “I called them earlier and they said they should be able to squeeze us in before peak time. Hopefully, the service won’t be too slow.”

The Chateau was a famous French restaurant in the city, that unlike other French restaurants, had a translation for their menu along with a list of ingredients. The pronunciation guide was also nice so that you wouldn’t look like an idiot when trying to order the food.

“Oh, Melissa told me to tell you that you did a good job on the Alchemist.” The kid said in the car as they got on the highway. It was rare that she was the one breaking the silence. “Off the books, of course. I know Dan’s happy too. You’re currently making his fantasy villain team do well.”

She still didn’t know how she felt about that. It worked in the same vein of fantasy football. But then the stats didn’t go by the official Villains Association ones, but one defined by the company that ran it. She was rated averagely, but she wasn’t the most popular villain to have on a team due to her averageness. Part of her was insulted, but the other part didn’t understand the stats they used, so she didn’t mind too much.

“Tell Beretta that I accept her thanks as a professional.”

Fortunately, the traffic cooperated and it didn’t take them too long to arrive at the restaurant. The parking lot was already full, but Number One managed to steal the parking spot from someone who was trying to park their giant SUV. Who drove an SUV to the Chateau, she wasn’t sure. The spots weren’t exactly the largest there were. They all piled out of the car and went into the restaurant. Wayne gave the name and they were led to a table.

“So kid, do you think you’ll be able to find anything here?” Lady Bird asked as they started to look over the menu. “Oh, and don’t worry about cost. We’re celebrating.” Beretta had been nice enough to send some money for the kid so she had a little spending money.

“I think I can find something, don’t worry.” She glanced up from the menu and to the table next to them. “Wait, that’s the Gemini Hunters, Orion and Chiron.”

Lady Bird and Wayne turned (Number One was sitting at a different table) and indeed, two big named mercenaries were sitting near them. Wayne sank in his seat some. She didn’t blame him. They had been hired to kidnap him and they had done that during their honeymoon. Needless to say, he didn’t have pleasant memories of the event.

“If we don’t draw attention to ourselves, they won’t notice us.” She assured her husband and she looked back down at the menu. “They already have their food, so they probably won’t be here for too much longer. I wonder if they’re meeting their next client here. This doesn’t seem like their type of place.

“I think Beretta’s tangled with them a couple of times. She said they’re pretty tough.”

“Given that they’re mercenaries, I would say that’s an apt description.”

Despite their team name, the two mercs were not twins. They weren’t even related, they just looked very similar. But at least they didn’t lean into that theme too much or it would be creepy. Lady Bird wouldn’t deny the fact that whenever she saw the two, she wanted to throw something at them even though the kidnapping of Wayne hadn’t been personal.

Soon, they had drinks and food ordered. The kid, of course, was getting something without alcohol in it while Wayne and Lady Bird ordered some pretty nice wine. She wasn’t sure what Number One got, though since he was driving, it probably wasn’t something very strong.

“I’m going to run to the restroom. I think I saw it on our way in.”

As she got up, her chair hit a waiter passing behind her. He fell to the side, everything on his tray crashing onto the table with Orion and Chiron. The drinks splashed on their nice suit and some of the food also got on them. They stood up and brushed the food off. The waiter stuttered out an apology, even as he picked himself up from the table. And the kid, being the good person she was, also jumped in to apologize, though more to the waiter than the mercenaries.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you were so close, sir! Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.” He assured her as he retrieved the tray and started putting the glasses and plates on it. He was probably kissing his tip goodbye in his head. “But I’m afraid I’ve ruined these gentlemen’ dinners.”

Orion brushed the last bit of food off him. He was the taller and slightly older of the two, so most considered him the lead of the duo. He certainly did the most talking when it came to business matters. “It was an accident, though this is just a rental and the bill will be a lot.” He looked toward Terri, but only with a side glance. “I would at least insist that you pay for dry cleaning, but you’re just a…” His sentence trailed off for a moment as he focused on her face a bit more. “You look familiar. Have we met?”

Terri shook her head and Wayne hid under the table as Chiron’s gaze turned towards them, probably trying to find empty tables that had napkins they could use to help clean up. Lady Bird held the menu in front of her face so they wouldn’t be able to see her. If she needed to, she would step in, but the Gemini Hunters were stable around civilians. The kid would be safe.

“You look like someone we’ve met though,” Chiron added as he set his spilled glass upright after his unfruitful search for napkins. He was considered the best fighter of the duo, giving him the meathead reputation. Truthfully, he was just more social than most mercenaries were and that put people off. “She’s Beretta’s friend. It started with a C...Charlotte I think. Nice looking woman too. I wonder if she still lives here. Might look her up…”

Orion shook his head. “She’s friends with a hero. She wouldn’t go out with a merc like you unless you kidnapped her and we don’t do that unless we’re getting paid for it.” He got out his wallet and laid down some money. “Now come on, we’ve got to get going. The meeting location has changed.”

Lady Bird froze when she heard Chiron mention the kid’s mother. That was sure to get a reaction out of her and the mercenaries weren’t so thick that they wouldn’t notice a change in facial expression. She wasn’t able to see it, but Chiron did.

“What’s the matter, kid? You don’t look very well...Wait, didn’t Charlotte have a kid?”

“Yeah, she had a picture of her in her wallet.” Orion put his wallet back in his pocket and glanced the kid’s way. “Age her up, what, five years and… Yep, she’d look like that.”

Lady Bird lowered the menu a bit so she could look over it and observe what was going on. Orion and Chiron were examining Terri closely. She had to give the kid credit for not running with the invasion of personal space, even though she looked like she wanted too.

“I’m sure that you’re Charlotte’s kid. Is your Mom around?” Chiron asked. “Thought she and I had some chemistry. Not that I date, but I wouldn’t mind taking her out for a drink or two. We had a very interesting conversation a few years ago.”

“She’s...she’s not...here.” The kid replied. “If you excuse me, I have to be somewhere.” She tore away before they had an opportunity to say anything else. Lady Bird sighed in relief. Wayne was relieved as they turned away from their direction.

“I wonder what was up.”

“Probably heard horror stories from Beretta and had enough common sense to risk anything.” Orion straightened his suit some. “But we should probably get to where the Alchemist wants to meet us. I bet he wants us to do something against Lady Bird after what she put him through.”

The Alchemist certainly moved fast. She didn’t lower the menu until they left the restaurant. Lady Bird looked under the table at her cowering husband.

“It’s okay, they’re gone. We can have dinner in peace now.”

Wayne climbed back into his chair as dignified as he could. Something about the two terrified him and she had never figured out what. The Gemini Hunters might not have even been aware. The kid came back not long after and sat down.

“You all right, kid?” Lady Bird asked. “I didn’t expect them to mention your Mom…”

“Neither did I, but I’m fine. Really.” She insisted as she sat down. “Though I think we should have dinner before anyone else shows up.”

On that, Lady Bird agreed with her. Though she was unsure how to tell the kid that she probably wouldn’t be able to leave the Nest for a while. No doubt that she would be the target of the mercenaries. But the kid didn’t have to know that tonight. No, she needed to enjoy this.