The Adventures of Sparrow - 5

Jon woke up refreshed. It was Saturday, which allowed him to sleep in, and he had a date today. The events of last night didn't hurt his mood either. He took a shower, had breakfast, and made sure he had his wallet before he headed out of the house.

"Where are you going?" His mother asked.

"I.." he blushed. "I have a date. We're going to see a movie and then have lunch."

His mother smiled at him, "be a gentleman."

"Why wouldn't I?" Jon blinked.

"You're a teenage boy," his mother laughed. "There are only two things on your mind right now. Girls, and naked girls."

"Mom," his blush deepened. "I don't want to have this conversation."

"Do we need to have 'the talk'?"

"No," he shook his head and backed up to the door. "I know where babies come from. Use a condom. Be responsible. Health class covered it," he quickly added. "This is our first date. I'd be shocked if we even held hands."

"Remember," she gave him an evil smile. "I've an entire book of embarrassing baby pictures."

"It's a first date," he shook his head. "I'm not planning on bringing her home to meet my parents."

"We have a scanner, and I know how to tag photos," she said sweetly.

"Point taken," his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I will be a gentleman, I was planning on it anyway."

"Have fun," his mother called after him as he left.

"I bet your other partners didn't have to deal with parents," he muttered as he walked toward the theater.

It wasn't too far away. He found a spot to wait for Juleka and settled in. The earliest movie started in fifteen minutes, but he wasn't sure what they were seeing yet. His mind drifted back to the conversation he had just had with his mother. Sure, he had had sex twice in the last week, but she didn't know. He was a responsible kid. She didn't need to worry. He knew how to use protection.

"Shit," he whispered as the realization hit him.

He hadn't. Sparrow had bedded Sabrina and Chloe without a thought of condoms. He scanned the area quickly. There were too many people to talk directly to Merp, but he needed answers now. He pulled out his phone and dialed the weather line. It was an automated system that provided the date, time, and forecast. That way he was covered in case someone called. The only thing worse than pretending to use the phone was having it ring mid-conversation.

"Hey, Merp," he said as he held the phone up. "I had some questions."

"Why do you have your phone out?" The kwami asked.

"There are too many people around. It was easier to call," he looked around to make sure Juleka wasn't there yet. "You know the last couple of night?"

"Yes."

"Well," he swallowed. "Is there any magical protection during... those activities."

Merp laughed, "sorry, Jon, magical condoms aren't in my skill set."

"Damn," he whispered. "What if something happens?"

"Any children conceived while using your powers would have a chance of having their own," Merp patted his shoulder. "Their abilities, if they had any, wouldn't kick in until puberty."

"Is there a way to tell if," he paused to think of a way to say what he needed without using the actual words. "Something happened?"

"You mean can I magically sense if there is new life growing within them?" Merp almost seemed to enjoy the conversation. "No, there is not. On the plus side, you are resistant to illness and disease while transformed so it's unlikely you'd catch anything."

"Wonderful," Jon groaned. "Thanks."

He disconnected the call. His phone chimed.

Juleka- On my way.

Jon- I'm at the theater.

Juleka- the mutliplex?

Jon- Yes. Is that where you wanted to meet?

Juleka- Yeah. There are places to eat nearby. If that's okay.

Jon- That sounds great. Are you a vegetarian?

Juleka- No. Are you?

Jon- No :) Just thought I'd ask.

He saw the telltale purple hair as Juleka saw where he was. She wore a dark gay sleeveless shirt with a swan-neck collar. The only sign that it was different than her usual were the purple lined pockets instead of green. Her purple pants had worn holes just above her knees.

She smiled and waved as she got closer. Jon returned the wave as he stood.

"Hey," he tried to fight the blush on his cheeks.

"Hi," she looked down at her shoes.

"What movie did you want to see?" He asked as he took a step closer.

Being Sparrow made it so much easier to talk to girls.

"The Creature From the Black Lagoon reboot is supposed to be good," she shrugged. "If you like horror movies."

"I do," he smiled.

"Cool," she blushed.

"Did you want to get snacks, or wait until after the show to eat?" He asked as they walked to the ticket booth.

"After, if that's fine with you," her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

"You're in my way," a familiar voice said.

Jon turned around to see Chloe and Sabrina standing behind them. The blonde had her arms crossed tight against her chest and one foot was tapping.

"Oh, look, Sabrina, the wallflowers are dating," her voice dripped venom.

Sabrina laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

"Now move, you're going to make me late for my movie," Chloe took a step forward.

"It's called a line," Jon didn't move. "You're behind us," he turned to face the booth. "Two for Black Lagoon."

"Why do you need to see the movie?" Chloe continued. "You're already on a date with her."

Juleka clinched her fists.

"Chloe," he turned to look her in the eyes. "We prefer out monsters on the screen instead of soaked in cheap perfume."

"My perfume isn't cheap," she snapped.

He leaned in and sniffed, "I can't smell it over the lube in your purse."

"What did you say?"

"Do you think we couldn't hear your vibrator go off in your bag?" Jon asked. "I sit a few rows behind you, and I thought it was my phone."

Juleka laughed as they walked away.

"Where did that come from?" Juleka asked.

"What?"

"What you said to her," she whispered. "About lube and a vibrator."

"I knocked over her purse once," he blushed as he lied. "She was too busy yelling at me while Sabrina cleaned it up to realize what had come out."

Juleka laughed. He realized that he liked it. They headed into the theater. The movie was better than he expected. It had gore, scares, suspense, and even a story. He hadn't seen the original. For all he knew it could have been a horrible interpretation of a classic, but he didn't care. Juleka had slipped her hand over his once the lights dimmed. It turned out that the only time her soft voice faded away was when she was cheering on the monster.

"That was a good movie," she slid her arm into his as they walked together.

"It was almost as fun as watching you watch it," he smiled.

Her cheeks started to turn red.

"Where do you want to eat?" He asked.

"Not seafood," she smiled. "It's wrong after such an awesome monster."

"Agreed."

They had a nice meal. The movie lent well to conversation. It was the most he had heard her talk in the last few months.

"I should be getting home," she said as they stood outside the restaurant.

"This was fun," Jon whispered as he looked into her brown eyes. "I'd like to do something with you again."

"I'd like that," she looked down at their entwined fingers.

Jon lifted her hand and kissed it gently. Her cheeks were bright red when he looked at her again.

"Well," she looked away from him. "Bye, see you Monday."

She hurried off the way she came. He swore she skipped a little. A loud voice and a swath of yellow brought his attention to Chloe. She was too far away to hear what she was saying, but she was probably complaining. He thought she was starting to change. Buying lunch for everyone was a good start, but her adjustment didn't seem to stick. Sparrow was going to have to do something about that.

He watched as she got into her limo. It had a sunroof and black-out tint on the windows. Sabrina was in there with her now. He wondered if she was rode with her to school.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rumble. He looked for the source to find a metal Minotaur charging down the center of the street. To make things so much easier, it was headed right for the limo. For once, he didn't think that this was connected to Chloe. She looked to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The people in the square started to run away from the destruction. Jon blended in with the crowd until he was able to duck into an alley. He slid into a niche along the wall.

"Merp, let's fly," he called.

Sparrow leaped up to the rooftops. The minotaur was still charging along the street. He could see the limo on its side. He took in the scene. When the akuma was purified the damage would be undone, that was how it worked, but that didn't stop the screams.

He bounded into the air. His three darts were in his right hand once he was in a controlled glide. A frontal assault wouldn't get him far, but he had an idea. He dropped a few feet as he tossed the trio of darts at the metal beast. The first two harmlessly bounced off its legs, but the final hit its mark. Sparrow watched as the minotaur stumbled as the dart made contact with its descending foot. It toppled to the side leaving a groove in the street.

The three darts returned to the holster. He dove down toward the fallen beast. His booted feet connected with the side of the of its head as it tried to stand. He felt the impact in his teeth and the metal creature hardly seemed to notice it.

Sparrow felt a hard gust of wind as he ducked a swat. The creature turned its glowing red eyes to him.

"Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir?" The creature bellowed.

It made no move to attack. Sparrow took a quick moment to assess the mechanical beast. There had to be some sign of where the akuma was located. The slates of shiny metal didn't seem to have anything out of the ordinary, for a nine-foot-tall mechanical beast of legend that was. It left him with two thoughts. The first being that the real akuma was inside this thing, and secondly, Hawkmoth wasn't interested in him at all. Even the chance at another miraculous didn't seem to matter to him. This was a topic he'd bring up to Merp.

"They didn't show up to the superhero support group," Sparrow shrugged.

"The Charger will not be mocked," the beast roared.

"The Sparrow is new at this," he yelled back.

The Charger, as the beast was called, slammed a hand down into the street where Sparrow had stood a moment before. He hopped onto the large metal arm, used it as a springboard, and landed in a crouch between the large horns. Sparrow grabbed onto them to steady himself.

"I have to ask," he said as Charger started to shake its head. "Does your suit have good ventilation? It looks really hot. I know this is spring, but you should have a water bottle or something in there."

"I," Charger tried and failed to reach him. "Will," he changed tactics to trying to shake the hero off the perch. "Not," the bull started to head-bang. "Be," the beast braced itself. "Mocked," it roared the final word as it charged for something to smash the hero on.

As it so happened, the closest thing to them was an ornate light post that was part of a fence. Sparrow smiled as they raced forward. He didn't like the idea of becoming a smear on a light post, but he also really doubted that the short iron fence would stop Charger.

Sparrow launched himself off his perch. He watched as Charger ripped through the light post like it was paper. A moment later the beast began to tumble in the air. It roared as it dropped the thirty feet to the park below. Sparrow landed and hurried over to the edge. Unfortunately, it hadn't landed horns first, but the metal creature was now torn into three uneven pieces.

"If you're there guys," Sparrow muttered as he jumped down. "This would be the perfect time to show."

A thickly built man crawled out of the wreckage as Sparrow landed. The man wore a shiny bodysuit, almost identical to the bull, and had a thick golden ring in his nose. More importantly, there was a key-chain dangling from the accessory shaped like a bulls head.

"Let me guess," Sparrow looked the man over. "Road rage?"

Charger growled something unintelligible and, as his namesake implied, charged. He was faster than he looked. The thick man slammed into Sparrow. He was lifted off his feet and smashed into the ground. Sparrow let out a shocked wheeze as the air was driven from his lungs. He pulled arms around his head as Charger began to throw a barrage of wild punches.

Sparrow dodged to the side, caught the arm in a tight grip, and snaked his legs quickly around the extended appendage. He slid the hand just under his armpit while he locked his ankles and pushed. Charger let out a roar that turned into a scream. A moment later there was a loud crack similar to splitting wood.

Charger stumbled a few steps back with Sparrow still wrapped around his arm. His other hand gripped the hood of the hero's jacket. Sparrow was fiercely flung off of the injured arm. The hero tumbled along the ground and slammed into a tree.

Sparrow rolled to his side. His blurry vision swam as he tried to find Charger. He was able to eventually make out a shiny human shape as it stalked over to the twisted wreckage. Charger touched the metal minotaur with his uninjured arm. The machine sagged. It seemed to melt before it traveled up along his good arm. The shiny metal suit began to shimmer as it took on a new shape. Charger was smaller than before, but he had returned to his minotaur form. A shimmer of light played along the gold ring in his nose. Sparrow squinted. Sure enough, the bull-charm was still hanging from it.

"Progress," he muttered as he stood.

The tree helped him get back to his feet. Charger turned to look at him. The eyes were the glowing red of the bull, or normal human. There was a crimson sheet over his brown eyes that made Sparrow wish that this monster was on the screen rather than in front of him.

He smiled at the thought of Juleka yelling at the screen.

"Don't laugh at me," Charger screamed.

He lowered his head to put his horns in line and rushed forward. Time slowed as the villain closed the distance. Sparrow was acutely aware that little tufts of grass were kicked up with every step Charger took. He could also see the bull-charm jostled through its pendulum swing to never actually complete a full arc.

His vision flashed red. Sparrow wondered for a moment how odd it all was. He didn't feel anything. Maybe he was paralyzed. His battered brain eventually connected the dots, as in red and black. Charger bellowed again as he was yanked off his feet.

"Bull charm," his words slurred. "Nose ring."

Cat Noir dropped beside him, "how are you doing, birdseed?"

Sparrow looked at the black clad hero, "can't complain."

Cat Noir laughed as he eased the injured hero to the ground. He leaped into battle beside Ladybug. Sparrow was partially aware of the fight. It either didn't last that long, or he passed out. The next thing he knew was a wave of restoring energy surged from Ladybug. His head stopped spinning and he found the strength to stand.

"Sparrow," Ladybug called as she got closer to him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Now I am," he smiled to her. "Your powers healed me."

"You were looking paw-fully rough," Cat Noir said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"I'll see you litter, kitty," Sparrow gave him a mock salute. "Ladybug, always a pleasure."