It was early in the morning, but K.O. was already up and active. He was standing on the couch in his pajamas, jumping up and down with eager anticipation. It was snowing outside, and it was a school day, so K.O. was hoping to hear some good news from his favorite reporter, Dynamite Watkins.

She busted onto the screen with an explosion like she normally did.

"Dynamite Watkins here with an Action News 52 breaking news report!" She punched the background and suddenly she was out in the snow. "The snow continues to come down hard in Lakewood, leading to several school cancelations. It has just been confirmed to me that all Lakewood public schools including Lakewood elementary have been closed down for the day!"

"YAHOO!" K.O. exclaimed as he rocketed up towards the ceiling. "No school! Imagine what I can do with my day! I can go out and make a snow man, come inside and play video games, and watch the new Chip Damage cartoon!"

"And don't forget your favorite snow day meal, peanut!" Carol said from the kitchen area.

"WAFFLES!" K.O. shouted excitedly. Carol took the plate of waffles and tossed it like a frisbee towards K.O. He jumped up into the air, caught the plate and sucked in the waffles like a vacuum. He then landed back on the couch with an empty plate, and syrup on his face. "Ahh. They taste so good."

Carol then walked over, picked up the plate, and rubbed K.O.'s head. "Glad you think so kiddo. Go ahead and get dressed and we'll make that snowman!" K.O. then jumped off the couch, but then froze in the air when he heard another news report coming in.

"Dynamite Watkins with another breaking news report!" said the reporter who was still out in the cold. "The storm has become so massive that Lakewood public officials are now advising everyone remain indoors until further notice! This is Dynamite Watkins, and I'm now stuck out here."

K.O., who was still in midair, shot to the ground and landed on his feet. "Aww, darn it," K.O. said looking down.

"First off, language, K.O.," Carol said. "Second, you can't go outside, but we can still have fun inside. If the power doesn't…" before she could finish, all the lights in the house went out. "…go out."

"NOOOO!" K.O. shouted as he fell to his knees. "Why mother nature?" K.O. said as he pulled out a P.O.W. card of the hero Mother Nature. "Why?"

"Mother Nature is a complicated woman K.O.," Carol said. "She has various mood shifts. Sometimes it's hard to be around her."

"Well now what are we gonna do?" K.O. said, sounding sad. "We can't do anything without power."

"Don't worry, K.O. We'll figure something out," Carol said as she squatted down and patted her son on the head. "Go ahead and get the fireplace started and I'll throw in some wood."

K.O. did just that. He got the fireplace up and running. Carol, meanwhile, walked over to the window and looked outside. There was so much snow, almost half the window was blocked out. "I tell ya puddin, I haven't seen such a storm like this in a long time."

"Really? How long ago was it?" K.O. asked.

"Well let me think," Carol said as she knelt in front of K.O. and started putting in firewood. "Ah, now I remember. It was X years ago. You were just a small baby." She then paused, looked at her son, and smiled. "Hey, how about I tell you the story to pass the time?"

K.O.'s eyes sparkled, and he jumped into his mother's arms. "Tell me the story mommy!" he said excitedly.

Carol laughed. "Ok peanut, I'll tell you," she said. She walked over to the couch, sat down, and threw a blanket over her and K.O. "Alright sweetie, you all cozy?"

K.O. nodded rapidly. "Tell me the story!"

"Alright, K.O. It was back when mommy lived in that old apartment complex…"

FLASHBACK TO X YEARS AGO

A young Carol came bursting through the door of her apartment building. Outside was a major blizzard, and Carol had barely managed to get home. She had in her hand a brown grocery bag.

Carol still had her long hair from her days as Silver Spark, except her leotard was replaced with blue sweatshirt and sweatpants. She also had on a tan colored coat and a red scarf.

She walked past the empty reception desk and made her way up to her room on the third floor. She unlocked the door with her key and walked inside. Her apartment was only one room, which had a kitchen counter with a stove, and a tiny living area where carol had a couch, coffee table, and a tv.

Sitting on the couch was one of Carol's longtime friends, the nuclear bug known as Gertie. "Hey Gertie," Carol said as she walked inside, took off her coat, and set down her bag.

"Oh, hey Carol!" she said as she stood up and waved her top right hand. "Glad to see you made it back!"

"Yeah, so am I," Carol said as she shook some snow out of here hair. "I tell ya, they say this in one of the worst snow storms in the history of Lakewood."

"Yeah, I saw that on the news," Gertie said. "You know they got a new reporter now. Some girl named Dynamite Watkins. She's cute but she lacks the tenacity and fire."

"Eh, give her a few years to get used to the job," Carol said as she took off her sweatshirt and tied it to her waist. "Doing news ain't easy."

"Speaking of jobs, any luck finding one?"

Carol sighed. "No. And I need to find one soon. But I've been trained as a hero for most of my life. I just don't think a regular job would be all that exciting. But I need to find something soon. I can't keep living off P.O.I.N.T. checks forever."

"Carol, I'm telling you, you gotta invest in that new Plaza. You could start your own business."

"I don't know, Gert. That's a big risk to take, and keep in mind that I'm not the only one who'd be riding on it."

"Well at least think about it. Anyways, I've got kids at home. See ya, Carol!"

"Bye Hun," Carol said as Gertie walked out the door. Carol sighed. She sat down on the couch and was lost in thought for a moment. She was seriously concerned about what she was going to so, especially since she had another mouth to feed. She looked over to the side of a couch, where there stood a baby's crib.

Carol peered over the crib, to see her baby, K.O., all wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping soundly. Carol smiled. Seeing her son always brought joy to her heart. She reached in and picked him up, and she rocked him gently in her arms.

"Hi K.O.," she said softly. "Mommy's finally home. Did you have fun with Aunt Gertie?" Baby K.O. remained fast asleep. "Already ignoring me, eh? I guess they do grow up fast." She continued to rock her baby as the tv played in the background.

"And we now go to our on-site reporter, Dynamite Watkins for your weather update," said the tv reporter.

"H-h-hi! T-t-this is D-dynamite Watkins, a-a-and the snow is really coming down. P-public officials have declared a state of emergen- "said the young reporter, who was cut off short as the power went out.

"Oh, come on!" Carol said loudly. This woke up K.O., who immediately started crying. "Oh no, K.O. Please calm down. It's ok." She tried rocking him again, but it wasn't working. She got up and went to prepare his formula.

K.O. kept crying loudly, and it started to really annoy Carol. "Ugh, kid. You're killing me." She finished warming his bottle and took him back over to the couch, where she began feeding him. K.O. stopped on a dime and began sucking down the drink.

"There ya go honey. Mommy's gonna make it all better." Carol took away the bottle and set it on the counter, then started patting K.O. on the back, and he burped. Carol chuckled. "There. Feel better?" Baby K.O. laughed and put up his arms attempting to reach for something. Carol grabbed the bottle and began feeding K.O. again.

"It's starting to get cold in here. Momma needs a blanket." She reached over to a basket besides the couch and pulled out a blanket and she immediately covered herself. K.O. finished his milk and Carol burped him again. She then started tickling his stomach with her finger. "Are ya ticklish?"

Baby K.O. began laughing joyfully. Carol continued to tickle him and started blowing raspberries on his stomach, which made K.O. laugh harder. She them blew a raspberry on his face before giving him a kiss. K.O. kept laughing, and Carol laughed too.

"Oh, K.O. You're just the cutest little thing," she said as she tapped his nose. She looked over at the coffee table and saw a picture of her and K.O.'s father. She picked it up and held it next to K.O. She sighed. "He would've been so happy if he'd known he'd become a dad," she said somberly. She looked over at K.O. "He would've loved you so much, K.O. Already you remind me so much of him. I really wish he was still here."

Baby K.O. held out his arms trying to grab the photo. Carol held the picture closer to him. "Handsome fella eh? If you grow up to look half as good as he did, you'll have girls all over you," she joked.

"You know, a lot of people told me I shouldn't have had a baby," she said. "I was becoming an important person over at P.O.I.N.T. Commander Foxtail said I was too young and should give you up for adoption." She paused. "There was no way. The bond between mother and child is sacred. Thank your grandmother for convincing me of that. Everyone told me it would be hard, but I wanted to have you. I wanted to raise you. You're my baby boy."

She set the photo down and went back to rocking her baby. "I can't wait to see you grow up. Partially because you cry a lot. That drives mama crazy," she said smiling. "But also, because I can't wait to see what things you'll do for this world. I'm going to raise you to be a good, kindhearted young man. Hopefully you'll take after me and want to become a hero. Or you'll work at a convenience store. Either way, I'll love you all the same."

Baby K.O. then started making sounds. It seemed his attempted to say a word. Carol's face lit up. "Oh, my glorb! Your first word!" Carol set K.O. down on the couch and immediately grabbed a video camera. "I spent my last check on this! Come on sweetie, say your first word!"

Baby K.O. kept trying and trying to form his first word as Carol held up the camera, eagerly anticipating what her son would say.

And then, a magical sound filled Carol's ears.

"M-m-mommy."

Carol silently starred at her baby, with the happiest look on her face.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed loudly as she dropped the camera and hugged her child, kissing him on the cheek. "Oh K.O.! You're just the sweetest thing!" She kissed him one more time and cuddled him in her arms.

K.O. then yawned, and he dozed off to sleep.

"Heh, I guess words take a lot out of ya," she said to her sleeping child. She wrapped him in a blanket and gave him one last kiss. "I love you K.O." With that, she too dozed off asleep with her baby in her arms.

FLASHBACK TO CURRENT DAY

Carol showed K.O. the video in question. When she heard his first words again, she smiled and pulled K.O. into her side. "I actually broke that camera. Good thing I had that SD card," she said.

"Wow!" K.O. said. "That really was my first word! I can't believe you kept that video for so long mommy!"

"Hey that camera was expensive," she said. "I had to salvage what I could," she joked. "Nah, but in all seriousness, that video always brings a joy to my heart. Anytime my day is bad, I always give it a watch to cheer me up."

"Really? Why?" K.O. asked.

"Because it reminds me that no matter how bad life gets, I always know that my little puddin' cup loves me and has always loved me. You keep me going, Kiddo. I'm proud to be your mother."

K.O. immediately jumped up and wrapped his arms around Carol's neck. "I love you too mommy!"

Carol smiled and hugged her son, and the two remained locked in place for some time. Then, they heard a knock on the door.

"Now who in the glob could that be?" Carol said as she got up and walked to the door. She opened it, and there stood a shivering cold Dynamite Watkins.

"G-g-greetings Lakewood resident!" she said stuttering. "I'm D-d-d-dynamite Watkins, and I got trapped in the snow, and I need a place to stay while this blows over."

"Oh, my you poor thing!" Carol side. "You're more than welcome to come inside and stay a bit. My son is a huge fan of your work."

"T-thank you kind citizen," Watkins said as Carol helped her inside. K.O. saw her and immediately rushed to change out of his pajamas into his white tank top. He ran up to the reporter with a photo and marker in hand.

"Oh my gosh Ms. Watkins!" he said excitedly. "Hi, my name is K.O.! I love watching you on the news! Especially when you fight bad guys! Oh, can I please get your autograph!"

"Now K.O., it's not nice to overwhelm Ms. Watkins like that," Carol said. "She just got out of the freezing cold."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Watkins said. "I'd be more than happy to give you an autograph K.O. Just after I warm up."

"Here! Have a seat on the couch! I'll grab you a blanket!" K.O. said as he ran to grab the blanket. Watkins sat down on the couch and K.O. covered her in a blanket.

"Thank you, young man," Watkins said. "You're very sweet."

"Aw, thank you!" K.O. said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'll throw on some tomato soup for us all," Carol said. "In the meantime, I made us some hot cocoa." She walked into the living room and handed her son and the reporter a mug,

"Thanks mommy!" K.O. said.

"Oh, thank you," Watkins said. "I haven't seen a storm like this since I first started reporting. That was so many years ago. I was so nervous on camera, and then I got left in the snow."

"You know something, I think I remember that day too," Carol said with a smile as she looked over at her son. "Probably one of the best days of my life."