Cherry Meets the Teen Titans: chapter 7

It was taking them a long time to find the address, but they had finally found it to see it was both where the sleeping sleuth lived and also where his office was.

"An apartment?" Mo asked out of confusion.

"Must be slow business..." Cherry shrugged.

Patch and Colette were confused too.

"Come with me, I think I know just what to do." Atticus walked ahead of them.

"I sure hope he does know what to do." Colette said.

Forte, Dot, and Lucky were seen running up to them, catching up.

Mo held onto Dot. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We were walking around and then we saw you." Dot explained.

"Plus we didn't want to get lost." Lucky said.

"What are you doing here?" Forte asked.

"Something about a kid named Jimmy Kudo." Cherry explained the best she could.

"Oh, yes, the famous young detective which is--" Forte said before covering his mouth. "I've said too much."

"Not surprised you've heard of him..." Cherry looked up at him.

"Yes, especially the experimental poison that was forced into his mouth." Forte whispered to himself.

"Heard that..." Cherry said.

"Um... Go inside, I guess..." Forte let her go.

They went into the 'office' to solve this new mystery.

"Excuse me, is anyone here?" Dot asked.

Lucky stayed close to Dot.

"Anybody home?" Mo called.

"What do you want?" A man with a mustache asked them.

"Do you know where Jimmy Kudo is?" Atticus asked. "Or maybe Conan Edogawa?"

"Who should I ask is calling?" the man asked back.

"My name is Atticus, I'm their cousin from America." Atticus said.

"Wait, you're that punk and squirt's cousin?" The man asked.

"Umm... Yes...?" Atticus replied.

"I guess that would make me too..." Dot spoke up. "Right...?"

"Yes, yes, it would." Forte said.

"Just checking." Dot smirked.

"Yeah, so can you let us in?" Mo demanded, folding her arms. "We don't have all day."

"Okay, okay, sheesh." The man groaned.

They then followed the man inside.

"No animals allowed." the man glared to Patch, Colette, and Lucky.

"Listen, if they go in, we go in with them!" Patch growled.

"It's the policy, I don't make the rules, I just claim them." the man replied.

"Fine, and hearing a dog or puppy talk isn't freaky to you?" Patch asked.

The man then looked back down and his face turned pale. "What on Earth!?"

"What's the matter?" Colette smirked then. "Afraid of a little talking puppy wuppy?"

This just caused for him to faint.

"I guess that means we can go in now." Patch chuckled.

"Dad, who's...?" A teenage girl asked before seeing the kids puppies dog and composer in the room with her father, fainted.

Cherry rolled her eyes. "Weak..."

"Um, hello?" Dot waved to the teenage girl.

Mo put the younger girl's hand down and shook her head. Dot shrugged and they went inside the apartment building. Atticus followed the instructions he had so they could all get this settled.

"So are any of you here for my dad to solve a case?" The teenage girl asked.

"Not exactly." Atticus said.

"We're here for Jimmy." Patch told her.

The girl looked confused for a moment.

"Shinichi." Cherry gave the Japanese name.

"Yeah, he's mine and Dot's cousin along with Conan." Atticus said.

"I see..." the girl said then. "Come with me." she then led them to who they were searching for.

And where they were led into her father's office and where they see a little boy with the same color hair and eyes as Jimmy, except he was wearing glasses.

"May I help you?" the man asked.

The girl came to the man's side and whispered to him. The little boy turned to see the guests.

"You wouldn't be Conan by any chance?" Atticus asked the boy.

"Yes..." the boy bowed to him briefly.

"My name is Atticus Fudo and this is my cousin, Dot," Atticus said. "We're your and Jimmy's cousins from America."

"Really?" the girl asked.

"So it seems." Dot said to her.

"Why haven't we heard of them then?" Cherry asked Atticus.

"They are the same person," Atticus whispered to her. "But no one has figured it out yet, so shh."

"Yeah, yeah..." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"So, do we call you Shinichi, Jimmy, or Conan?" Dot asked about the cousin she never knew about.

"Conan. But why would you ask that question?" Conan asked while smiling nervously.

"Long story, don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Dot giggled.

"Can she?" Conan asked the others.

"She's kept a pretty big one for a good while." Lucky gave a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, you can trust us." Atticus whispered to the boy.

"Well... Okay..." Conan smiled.

"So, what's this all about?" Mo asked. "Atticus says you've called him, but you didn't say anything after that... You just hung up."

"And I looked you up on the Web." Cherry added.

"We better talk in private." Conan whispered to them.

"Should I go?" Cherry asked Atticus since this was his cousin after all.

"Yes, you should join us." Atticus said.

"Okay." Cherry said.

"Come on, I know a place where we can talk." Conan led them so they could have some privacy.

"Lead the way." Atticus said.

"Come on." Conan told them to come with him.

Atticus, Patch, Lucky, Dot, Mo, Colette, Cherry, and Forte followed him. Conan led them to a private room where it would be just them so he could explain everything.

"So," Colette said once she got settled. "What's going on here?"

"He's about to explain." Patch said.

"I know that..." Colette looked to him.

"Oh, right." Patch said.

"So, what is it, 'Conan'?" Cherry asked.

Conan began to explain everything to them.

"Jim-I mean, Conan, there's something I have to know," Atticus said to his cousin. "Sorry, but this has been driving me crazy since we met Commander Daizo, but... Is Brushogun real or not?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out too and you can call me Jimmy just not while anyone that doesn't know yet." Conan said.

"But how did you get your voice to sound older on the phone?" Atticus asked.

"I was in my teenager form." Conan told him.

"What?" the others asked.

"I know, it's weird, it's really complicated to explain, but I'm really a high school student and I can turn into a child form when I want." Conan explained.

"You mean the doctor found a cure to that poison that those guys in black forced down your mouth?" Forte asked.

Conan looked at him. "How do you...?"

"He knows everything about everybody..." Cherry said.

"Oh, way to make me sound like a creeper." Forte muttered to her.

"Like stalking a little girl you used to haunt in the eighteenth century doesn't?" Cherry retorted.

"You two sound like an old married couple." Conan laughed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Mo smiled.

"We are not a couple!" Cherry scowled.

"Right..." Forte rubbed his arm. "Now, about that poison...?"

"Yeah, me and the doc finally found the cure." Conan said.

"Oh, so happy for you." Forte gave a small smile to that.

"So, you don't know who Brushogun is?" Patch asked his owner's Japanese cousin.

"No, but I'm not giving up yet." Conan said.

Patch groaned lowly.

Lucky frowned to him, then looked back. "Let us know if you do, I'm curious about this guy myself."

"I still think Commander Daizo is hiding something from us." Cherry spoke up.

"I have the same feeling." Atticus and Conan said.

"We'll need proof though, can't go accusing people without evidence." Cherry looked at the cousins who had more in common than they had thought.

"You're right." Conan said.

"We'll have to do some research on him too." Atticus said.

"Anyone know where we can find a computer?" Forte asked.

"Ahem..." Cherry reminded him of her laptop. "I take this everywhere I go."

"But what if it rains?" Conan asked.

"Always..." Cherry repeated what she said, she then got it ready to do more research with the mystery on their mitts.

"Let's get some information on this commander." Patch said.

Cherry tried to log into her computer.

"I hope the Titans are okay out there..." Dot looked worried.

"Same here." Lucky said.

Dot hugged her dog with a smile. "You're my best friend!"

"Aww, well I grow fond of you too, Dottie." Lucky chuckled.

Dot then suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Don't call me that."

"Okay, okay, I won't." Lucky chuckled.

Dot smiled and hugged her dog again.

"Oh, I don't know, Colette, I think we should--" Patch sounded concerned.

Colette smiled dreamily and came to his side with her tail wagging. "Alone..."

"Oh..." Patch blushed at that and his eyes widened slightly.

"Go on, you two." Lucky smiled.

"Uh, right, let's go then." Patch chuckled.

Colette giggled and walked alongside her future mate.

"Those two are so cute together." Dot smiled.

"You got a sweetheart yet?" Mo asked her boyfriend's little cousin.

"I'm 'liberty eated'." Dot said, rather smugly.

"Do you even know what that means?" Atticus chuckled to her.

Dot pouted. "Um, I know what it means, I just wanna see if you know."

"Could someone please tell her?" Forte said.

"Liberated means freedom from social conventions or... Erm... Grown-up conventions in a romantic sense." Cherry defined.

"Oh..." Dot shrugged. "I heard one of my mom's friends say it when she came over for dinner last week."

"Well, that explains where she learned the word." Conan said.

"Yeah, I suppose..." Atticus said. "Anyways, we better get down to business."

"You sure it's a good idea to leave two puppies alone to wander around Tokyo?" Cherry asked.

"What could happen?" Lucky asked.

"Anything." Cherry said.

"Your friend, erm, doesn't get out much, does she?" Conan whispered to Atticus about Cherry's dark demeanor.

"No, no, she doesn't." Atticus whispered back.

"Is she dangerous?" Conan asked.

"She's a perky goth." Atticus said like he usually did whenever someone questioned Cherry's personality.

Conan tilted his head. "What's that exactly mean?"

"At Halloween, she's perky, but any other day is, well, her being her." Atticus answered.

"That's confusing..." Conan scratched his head.

"Cherry can be confusing at times." Atticus said.

"She's the world's greatest mystery." Forte mumbled.

"Yep, it's true." Lucky said.

Cherry glanced as others talked about her. "Ugh, this WiFi is horrible..."

"Here, lemme see that a sec..." Conan stepped in and typed something in for her. "That browser's really bad, this one will work." He then let her back at her laptop.

"Ah, yes, thank you." Cherry smiled once the internet speed picked up much better.

"Thanks, if you hadn't helped her with that, I don't if she would have handled it." Atticus said.

Lucky yawned and got comfortable. "It's been a long day... Let me know when you guys are ready to move, I need a cat-Erm, dog nap..."

"Okay, Lucky." Dot smiled.

"Stay safe, kiddo." Lucky said before yawning and curling up, taking a brief nap, they had been traveling a long time after all.

"Aw! He's always so cute when he's asleep." Dot smiled.

Lucky smiled in his sleep, he never seemed to not have a smile on his face. Conan, Atticus, and Forte came to Cherry as she had her laptop ready.

"Okay, what do I need to look up?" Cherry asked the boys.

"Any information on this commander." Forte said.

"Right..." Cherry said, then tried to look up the Commander.

"You should go on a date with Atticus while we're in Japan." Dot said.

Mo blushed and looked to Dot. "E-E-Excuse me?" she smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, come on, you know you wanna go on a date with him." Dot said, giving her a little push over to Atticus.

Mo stumbled slightly in her step. "Don't little girls think about sunshine and butterflies?"

Dot folded her arms with a smirk. Mo glanced to Atticus.

"Not unless you wanna forget about love..." Dot sighed. "That'd be so sad..."

"Okay, okay, I'm going to ask him." Mo told her.

"Ask me what, Mo?" Atticus asked.

"Umm... Uhh..." Mo suddenly got nervous, this seemed easier to talk about, but she somehow lost her nerve. "Umm... I... I'm happy we found your cousin..."

"Oh, thanks..." Atticus smiled at that, then had a sneaking suspicion. "Isn't there something else?"

"Uhh... I... Never mind..." Mo sighed and walked away, she felt so stupid right now, she couldn't spit it out.

Atticus sighed. "Uh, okay? Aww..."

"Hey, Atticus, why don't you and Mo go out on a date?" Dot asked, knowing that this was going nowhere.

"I just like her as a friend!" Atticus sounded defensive for a moment.

Dot gave him a long look.

Atticus sighed, with blushing. "Well... I guess I do like her..."

"You guess?" Cherry laughed at him. "Come on, ever since you two first met, I swear it was love at first sight!"

"Cherry!" Atticus and Mo whined.

"I mean it..." Cherry folded her arms. "I've never seen Atticus show any attraction to anyone who wasn't Mo."

Atticus and Mo now felt embarrassed because she said that, but they smiled to each other bashfully.

"Um, well, maybe one date wouldn't hurt." Atticus smiled while blushing at Mo.

"Only if you would let me, my good sir..." Mo said as she looked afar briefly, then looked back with a smile. "Then maybe more after that?"

"Yeah, maybe." Atticus smiled.

Mo smiled back to him. The two then shared an overly friendly hug with each other.

"I'm a matchmaker!" Dot cheered with a giggle. "Now to find a girl dog for Lucky."

This caused for Lucky to wake up from his nap.

"According to this line of research, Daizo has actually captured Brushogun," Cherry read from an article she found on the internet and her eyes widened slightly from what she found out. "He didn't turn him in to the authorities though and instead held him captive to find out his abilities..."

"So he's just using Brushogun's ability to his advantage." Dot glared.

"That's what it looks like," Cherry said as she did not look up from the screen now since she was at work. "According to this, he trapped Brushogun in a printing press and is using his powers to create new super-villains until his control... He was even the one who summoned Saico-Tek!"

"Okay, that laptop of yours must be magic or something because I don't think any computer has all of that information." Conan said.

"My sister gave me a password to get past special security." Cherry said.

"Your sister?" Conan asked.

Cherry handed out a photograph that her sister gave her after she and Atticus saved Hilwood from being torn down by Sheck.

"Nice sister." Conan smiled.

"I miss her so much..." Cherry sighed.

Conan frowned. "Did something happen to her?"

"Oh, no, she didn't die, it's just that because of her job, I can barely see her anymore," Cherry explained. "She used to visit all the time when I was a little kid, but i haven't been so lucky recently... It's actually a surprise when I do see her again, but she said the next time she's free, we can go to the Smithsonian together at her home in Washington DC."

"Cool." Conan smiled.

Cherry tried to find out more, but suddenly, a random virus blocked her computer before she could get any further. "Hey!"

"A virus." Forte said.

"I just got this thing fixed!" Cherry groaned.

"Really?" Forte asked.

"YES!" Cherry hissed at him, very cranky since she couldn't do anything on her laptop now since there was a random virus waved into her face.

"Okay, okay." Forte said.

"Let me see what's wrong with it." Conan said.

"I got this thing fixed before the new school year..." Cherry folded her arms before gently picking up her laptop and handing it over to Conan.

Conan thanked her, then placed the computer down to take a look at it. He began to do a little hacking to see if there were any firewalls or viruses that had just arrived in the laptop but where and why and by who?

"Do you shut it down before you go to bed?" Forte asked.

"Yeah, every night..." Cherry said with a shrug. "I just don't get it..."

"So then it doesn't overheat." Conan told her.

"Ohh." Dot said, understanding why now.

"No, I know why, I mean I don't know why it's glitching up." Cherry explained.

"Oh... Well, I don't know why either, but I think I can stop it from glitching." Conan said.

"I hope so, I need my laptop..." Cherry grabbed her head.