Not wanting to hurt him, Faye says it’s a complaint she shouldn’t dwell on. Elf, however, sweetly encourages her to tell him because if it’s something that’s been bothering her, he wants to help, even if he’s just listening. “I don’t want to tell you. I don’t want to risk making you doubt, but I know you’re right that it’s something I need to get off my shoulders. It’s just that the System Guards said that their technology doesn’t hurt the innocent, only purifies. My dad died because of a System Sword. The teachers said all the Mirrors, as well as every other villain, were destroyed due to the Great Unification, and yet, here we are being harassed by Mirrors. No, I’M being harassed specifically by them, and they’re tearing all my friends away from me specifically. Now, after we’ve been told Allure was taken care of, female robots invade the most precious Galaxy in our new universe. What are they going to do, come use their powers to lure you away from me? Why does the System hate me, Elfie?” With all this on her mind, she doesn’t notice or care that she’s leaning her head on Elf’s shoulder. He’ll kindly redirect her in a moment, but he’s careful not to do it too soon. Being appropriate doesn’t mean being heartless.
“Kammy, I’m not so sure it was Allure. Hey, that rhymed.” The poetic teacher explains, “Either the Mirrors are slowly perfecting their form of imitation, or we have a new threat on our hands.”
Gigi astutely asks her father, “Do the Dolphins know about Lure Bots?”
Proud of his daughter, Rug points at her and verbally applauds, saying, “Exactly my point, my super smart angel! If this was an attack from Allure, the Dolphins would have specified, and I’m pretty sure they would be familiar enough with Mirrors to recognize a simple upgrade. This seems like something different altogether.”
“And it’s in connection, I bet, with the sudden attack from supposedly dead villains,” Kammy points out. “I bet it might even have to do with the Viewfinder!”
As he sees their hosts waving and approaching, Doug laments, “There are other parts to this mystery that highly concern me as well, but we will have to wait until later to put them all together.”
“Well, be!” This is the strong southern greeting from a bright young man we met last time. He is a human cyborg made from a blue alien rock that was discovered to have possibly been a System material used for creating certain types of characters, thus making him as much human as naturally born PACs. This is Peter. “What are y’all doin’ in our neck of the swamp?”
“Ah, we just decided we needed to practice our fishing, so here we are,” Doug jokes, as both men know why the class is here.
Peter’s wife Lullaby and his big blue brother Friend stand by waiting to tell the group something. After the initial hug and hello, Lully informs the group, “Hey guys, Friend here is going to be getting a new name soon. He’s so excited.” Turning to the blue bot, she prompts him by saying, “Friend, what is your new name going to be?”
His red lenses lighting up, he proudly declares, “UNCLE!”
“YOU’RE HAVING A BABY!” The girls shout in unison.
“Yeah!” Lully says with a little jump dance.
“And it’s gonna’ be a boy,” Peter proudly proclaims.
Checking the girl’s vitals, Jo shows her suspicions of Lully’s physical appearance. “How far along are you, Lully, hon? That’s a pretty big baby I detect for a tiny thing like you.”
“He he, ya got me!” Lillian Baxter boasts. “I may not be an Infinite yet, but Peter and Friend are. My sweet-hearted husband uses his powers to monitor my health, along with the baby’s, while being kind enough to make sure my mommy body doesn’t present itself too annoyingly obvious since I am a famous singer now. I’m not ashamed to grow in a typical pregnant fashion. It’s just a practical matter, that’s all. Oh, where are my manners? Speaking of sweet, you guys want some tea? We should go inside instead of forcing you to stand out here all day. Come on!” And so, the group heads inside where the mother-to-be happily serves everyone, though receiving help from the girls who don’t want her overdoing things.
Inner Man Theatre 