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Quiz Kid takes the steps on the fire escape two at a time, pulling ahead of Mister Terrific. He's grinning when he pulls the window open to the top floor of Terry Sloane's business. He's talking before he's even fully inside the room, where he knows Wanda Wilson will be waiting for them both.
"We tracked down who was robbing the museums this last month. Herbert Bernard!" Raghu excitedly says.
Wanda's sitting at a large desk near the middle of the room, papers spread out in front of her, but she turns immediately at his voice. "The professor?"
"Yeah! Apparently he was even smarter than he presented." Raghu hears Terry climbing through the window behind him. Terry walks past him and towards Wanda, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning down to kiss her on the head.
Raghu continues rambling, hands waving in the air. This is how it usually goes after missions, with him and Terry coming back to the office where Wanda will listen to everything that happened and share her own commentary.
"He'd created these glasses that hypnotize people, making them pliant enough to do whatever he commanded. That's why every theft was a bit different from the last — it was all different people and their personalities still came through the hypnotism. But once we figured that out, it was easy to track him down through shared connections. We destroyed his research too, of course, after we arrested him. Way too dangerous."
"Sounds like you two have been busy. You're making to be a great hero, Raghu. Good job," Wanda compliments, a smile playing on her face. Raghu beams at the compliment.
Terry's his mentor and the first person he's met who can not only keep up with his thought process, but also contribute, or even challenge him and force him to think in different ways. But it had actually been Wanda who he'd met first, while she'd been volunteering at the orphanage he'd lived in before. He's fairly certain it was thanks to her that Mister Terrific showed up during that trivia contest, though neither Wanda nor Terry have ever said so.
Wanda tilts her head and glances up at Terry. "And I guess good job to you too, Terry." Her smile twitches, but there's something in it that feels forced, as if she really doesn't want to be smiling right now.
Raghu frowns. He's talking again before Terry can say anything. "What's wrong?"
Wanda lightly shrugs and waves the question away. "It's nothing, really. We just haven't spent a lot of time together lately, not with all the crime you two have been busy busting." That's true. A lot of Raghu and Terry's time is taken up with crime fighting or lessons.
Terry's face scrunches up for a moment in thought, before his eyes light up. "I think I have just the idea. Come by my house in, hmm, two hours. You can even invite your brother. Maybe he and Raghu will get along."
"Welcome to the Fair Play Candlepin Bowling Alley." Terry spreads his arms wide, voice raised into a funny announcer voice. The alley is really just one room in Terry's mansion - meaning it's a very large room - setup with homemade, wooden lanes. At the end of each lane are tall, white pins that are completely uniform and flat at the top. There's a rack with bowling balls that are small enough to grab in one hand.
If it were anyone else, Raghu would be surprised they'd managed all this in only a few hours. But with Terry, it's no shock he was able to do this.
"Candlepin bowling?" Raghu asks. He stands between Terry and Wanda, and cranes his head up to look at Terry.
"A New England specialty from 1880." Terry reaches over Raghu and nudges Wanda with his elbow. "Wanda's nearly a pro at it."
"Really?" Raghu's eyes dart to Wanda.
Wanda flashes a self-conscious smile. "Definitely not a pro. Growing up, some of the neighborhood kids tried making one for us to play. It wasn't as well-made as Terry's, but it helped us kill time."
As if the mention of her childhood reminds him, Terry frowns before asking, "Did you ask your brother if he wanted to come?"
Wanda shrugs, like her forthcoming answer barely matters, but Raghu catches the way her face tenses before she forces herself to relax. "You know how it is with older teens. Spending time with your sister is lame now. He's busy with his friends." Raghu's surprised when she wraps an arm around his shoulders, pulling him against her side. "But that means we get more time teaching Raghu how to candlepin bowl."
Terry wraps an arm around him too and, for that moment, Raghu sinks into the embraces. At the orphanage, no one had really hugged him, but affection comes easily from Terry and Wanda.
They explain the rules to him, which aren't that different from regular bowling. Three rolls, not two. Smaller ball. Pins aren't cleared between rolls. It's simple, but simple games can be especially fun, particularly when there's no real stakes.
They play until it's far too late for Raghu, laughing and cheering as the pins go down. They try to make it harder for Terry in any way possible, from blindfolding him to making him spin in a circle for a full minute before throwing the ball. It doesn't do much to his score, but it's hilarious to Raghu. They need to try this with every sport.
The time passes too quickly. Even as he can feel his body demanding rest and his eyes growing heavy, Raghu doesn't want the game to end. He knows it's an irrational thought, but it feels too harsh, too permanent an end, but Terry and Wanda do that half-hug with him again and promise they can bowl again another time. They still have some tricks to teach him.