After two hours of vigorous cleaning, the girls headed back down to the cave to hear what Techno could have possibly come up with.

"This had better be good," Dee shot at the one-eyed computer geek as she plopped down into a poofy chair. 

"So... what's the plan, T?" Sally asked taking a seat at the long metallic meeting table and wiping her dirty forehead with the back of her hand.

He gave a small smirk.

"Great!"  Tonya burst out.  "My life is hanging by a thread and you think your winning smile is going to save me?"  Zarbon put a hand on her shoulder to shush her.

Sally and Poopsie instinctively looked at each other and gave their best Indiana Jones impression.  "We are going to die!" they said in unison, then burst into laughter.  Alec shook his head.

"C'mon guys," Jed interrupted the giggling.  "This is serious."  Then she turned to T. "You'd better tell us before they start talking in Indy quotes."

Techno leaned forward and set his elbows on the table.  "The plan is," he paused as he smirked again.  "Is to just act normal, and go about our business as usual."

Tonya gawked.  Then turned toward Zarbon and began to cry into his shoulder.  "Talking to Justin?" she whimpered, "TALKING to Justin?"

Techno shook his head.  "If we divert our routines and you try to hide us, your mothers will just find out and be all the more angry.  If you just introduce us and explain the circumstances, I'm sure they will understand."

Sally shrugged.  "I've nothing to loose, my boyfriend doesn't live with me."

Poopsie glanced at Alec and smiled giddily.  "I guess as long as we emphasize the fact that we all have separate rooms..."

Techno nodded then shot a harsh look at Tonya who was rolling her eyes innocently, trying not to notice his glare.

"Well," Jessica sighed, "I guess that we'd best get back to cleaning.  I suppose that he's right.  We might as well tell our mothers about our 'other' inhabitants to the mansion."  So she stood up and headed up the stairs and out of the Cave to keep on cleaning.

"Yeah, easy for her to say," Tonya said.  "SHE doesn't have a guy living here!"

"Well, Tonya...At least we'll die together," Poopsie told her friend, trying to console her.

"C'mon, you two.  You might as well clean the mansion so it's ready for the massacre.  Let's go help JED clean," Sally stated.  She too then stood up but waited for her friends at the bottom of the steps.

Tonya and Poopsie stood up and walked arm-in-arm to the steps and waited there with Sally for Dee to follow them.

Dee stood up and went over to stand by Techno.  She leaned down so that they looked each other square in the eyes.

"You're plan better work, or you're balls and ass will be mine," Dee growled at Techno.  She then walked over to her friends and the group of girls went up the stairs, leaving Alec and Zarbon to watch Techno squirm just the slightest.

- - - - - - - - -

The next morning came upon the household bright and early.  Everyone rushed around to shower extremely fast, being careful not to make a mess in the immaculate mansion. 

They had cleaned every nook and cranny of the old building.  Toilets had been scrubbed, floors had been mopped, windows were washed, and bedding had been run through the washer and dryer.  They only hoped that the dusting job that Techno and Zarbon had done would pass the white-glove-test that they were SURE that one of their mothers would give.

However, by the time the doorbell rang, everyone and everything was spic 'n' span.  They were all dressed nicely.  The girls stood in the foyer while Jessica opened up the heavy front door.

"Hi, Mom!" Jessica said as her mother walked through the door.  "Welcome to our humble abode!"

"Hi," her mom replied, looking around the foyer, giving it a quick pre-inspection.  She then moved further into the foyer and looked around more closely, seeing if there was any dust left behind.

Poopsie's mom came through the door next carrying two boxes of food. Poopsie cringed as she heard her real name being used.  "I brought you some pretzels and animal crackers." she said as she sat a box of food on the table right inside the door

Poopsie nodded and replied, "Thanks, Mom."

Poopsie's mom took off her sunglasses and smiled at the other girls.  "Hi, girls."

They all mumbled back a soft hello as Sally's mom then walked through the door.

"Hi guys!" she said, smiling, her northern accent coming through strong, just as the girls remembered.

"Hi, Mom," Sally said as she tried to keep herself from giggling like she always did.

"Ooooo!  What a pretty house girls!" Sally's mom commented as Sally rolled her eyes and sighed.  And Sally's mom just laughed and moved over to where Jessica and Poopsie's moms were standing now.  Dee's mom came in next, and after saying hello to the girls and looking around the place, she joined the other mothers. Both groups stood facing each other. 

"I parked the van on the side of the drive," Tonya's mom said coming in and joining the group of mother's.

For a moment, everyone was silent, not sure exactly what they should do now that their mothers were here. Poopsie looked at her watch and then at the other girls… Now what? she asked Tonya telepathically, and she just shrugged offering no help.

"Well aren't you going to show us around?"  Poopsie's mom asked. "I want to see what this place looks like."

"Sure.. just hope you brought your walking shoes.." Poopsie said and laughed. "It's kind of a big place. Tonya, would you care to begin the tour?"

Tonya cleared her throat and folded her hands in front of her, "Certainly" she said in her best fake British accent.. "Right this way, please." they led their mothers into the TV / entertainment room first.

- - - - - -

They were showing their mothers the pool when Zarbon walked into the room wearing slacks and a dress shirt.  He was trying to button his sleeve as he walked so failed to notice the extra people at first.

"Is there anything else we need to do before your mothers arrive?" he asked his accent thick, then finally succeeding in buttoning the cursed sleeve.  He glanced up and blinked in surprise.  Recovering quickly, he stepped forward to join the group, standing next to Tonya. 

Taking a deep breath, Tonya said, "Mom, this is my boyfriend, Zarbon Chan.  Zarbon, this is my mother, Diane."

He took the offered hand and kissed the back, bowing gracefully.  Smiling, he straightened and said, "Now I see where Tonya got her beauty from."

Diane blinked in surprise, then smiled.  "My, aren't you the charmer," she said, "Do you live in town?"

Tonya tensed, but Zarbon's smile didn't falter.  "Actually I live here in the mansion.  I pay rent along with doing some of the housework.  My room is here on the first floor near the kitchen," he said.

Mothers looked at their respective daughters thinking the same thing, Men?  In a house full of young women?

"Where are you from?" Linda, Sally's mom asked.

"Sydney," he said.

"Is Chan a common Australian name?" Diane asked.

"No, my father died when I was about eight, and my mother remarried a Japanese man when I was ten," he lied smoothly, looking her straight in the eye, "He adopted me so I got his last name.  We remained in Australia and he taught me Japanese and many of his native customs."

------------------

Once Tonya's mom had stopped laughing at Zarbon's accent, the tour continued and the girls led their mother's down the hall towards the kitchen. Suddenly, Poopsie's mom stopped and looked at one of the doors to her left.. across it was draped a large British flag, and pinned ever so carefully (so as not to damage them) were several pictures of the Beatles. "Hmm..." She said with a grin. "I wonder who's room this could be?"

Poopsie shot Tonya an "I'm dead" look, and then turned back to her mother who was now opening the door. Poopsie closed her eyes and waited for the explosion she was sure was about to happen, but when there was just silence, she dared to open one eye. Her mother was still standing at the door, her hand on the knob and looking in with a "what in the world" expression on her face.

From his desk across the room Alec stared back at her, with a "oh crap.. I am so dead" look on his face.

"Uhh.. mom..." Poopsie started. "This is Alec…my boyfriend.  Alec…this is my mother."

Poopsie's mom looked at her and tilted her head a little. "You mean... you aren't a lesbian?"

"What?!"  Poopsie laughed, "No!"

Finally regaining control of himself, Alec stood and walked towards the door, "I…I'm very happy to meet you." He shyly extended his hand and Poopsie's mom took it.

"So I'm assuming that you live here too?"

He nodded and Poopsie came up beside him and put her arm around his waist, facing her mother.

"So..." she said.. "Are we going to get to see the rest of the house?"

"And are there any more surprises I should know about?" Jed's mom eyed her daughter questioningly.

"Besides T?  No, Mom...I'm still single," Jessica replied in a hurry to answer her mother's inquiry. 

Jessica's mom, Laura, only raised her eyebrow at the girl and then continued to follow the rest down the hall.

- - - - - - - - -

The group moved up the grand staircase and to the girls' wing of rooms after the run-ins with the men of the house.  Each girl then showed the moms their rooms (Dee's was to come later, though).

"This is my room," Jessica said as she opened the door to the sunlit room.

"Oh, this is nice, JED," Dee's mom said as she nodded in approval of the first bedroom that she had seen.

"Are those curtains machine-washable or dry-clean only?"  Jessica's mom asked her daughter.

"Well, we just get most of the curtains and draperies in this house dry-cleaned, Mom," was Jessica's reply.

"Hmm," Laura replied, a frown on her face.  "That's got to be one large dry-cleaning bill then."

Jessica sighed and glanced over at her friends, who were choking back giggles.  "It's not that big of a deal, Mom," she said, shaking her head.

"Not very practical, though."

"Don't worry," Tonya spoke up.  "We have plenty of money to cover it."

"Well, that's good...I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about that bill," Laura replied as she stepped out of Jessica's room---the rest of the group followed suit.

- - - - - - - - -

"Oh, well this is cute," Linda said as Sally opened the door to her room.  The blonde rolled her eyes, and began to close the door again.  "You mean you're not going to let us in?"

"Mom," Sally whined.  "Mostly the bedrooms look the same.  They just have different motifs."

"Oh, nonsense," her mom pushed passed her, opening the door.

Tonya patted her friend on the back, "It'll be okay," she whispered.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Finally, they made it to Poopsie's room, which at first glance, looked extremely clean, however, had her mother or anyone else opened the closet door, there would have been an avalanche of clothes. Poopsie’s mom plopped down on her bed and looked out the window next to it... "Wow you got a really nice view here…" She glanced approvingly at the rest of the room and also approved of Poopsie's den... she did however consider stealing the old beat up white metal stool that Poopsie used as a end table next to her couch. This stool made it painfully obvious just how much her mother had rubbed off on her.

At his computer in the cave, Techno watched the procession and inspection as the girls' mothers continued through the house. The girls showed them the house, and he was glad his hiding place was safe and sound.  He grinned as occasionally, when none of the mothers were looking, one of the girls would make a rude gesture or face at the hidden cameras.

Deciding that maybe he should get his lunch now, before the mothers invaded the kitchen, Techno heading up the stairs.  He was opening the white bread when the group walked in and paused at the sight of the one eyed man.

"Hello T," Diane said.  "Are you joining us for lunch?"

"Well," he replied.  "I hadn't planned to..."

"Of course he's joining us for lunch!" Tonya interrupted and walked over him. She wrapped her arms around him in more of a “you aren't going anywhere” gesture than a friendly one. "He'd be happy to."

Poopsie giggled and pathed Nice try dear... but if we have to deal with all of them… so do you... to him.

Techno and Tonya had a brief glaring match, then Techno smiled at the mothers.  "I was just setting it up for you, but I guess I could stay for lunch."

"Maybe you could give T a lesson in doing dishes after lunch, Mom!" Jessica exclaimed, a look of pure joy on her face at the idea of Techno being tortured by her mother's doing-dishes lesson.

"You mean...he doesn't know how to do them?"  Laura asked her daughter, eyeing the entire group of girls.  Each of them, with a look of mock innocence in their eyes, nodded their heads vigorously.  Techno only glared at the girls in fury.  And they suppressed back gleeful giggles.

- - - - - - - - -

Later, after lunch was ate and Jessica's mom was in the kitchen giving Techno a dishwashing lesson, the rest of the group gathered in the den to let their meal settle.

"So," Poopsie spoke up as she leaned back into the couch, "How long are you guys staying here?"

Poopsie's mom looked over at Jessica and said, "Well, Jessica asked us to stay overnight."

"Reaaaalllyyy..." Poopsie commented.  She turned her head and gave Jessica a quick look.

Jessica's face turned a slight shade of red and she gulped.  "Yeah, really.  I hope you guys don't mind...?"

"Oh, we don't mind," Tonya said flatly.  She glared at Jessica, a promise in her eyes to deal with the curly-haired girl later.  "We've got plenty of space," she continued as she faced the moms.  "Wherever you want to stay you can.  Just not in our rooms, please."

Just then, they heard Jessica's mom from down the hallway.  "Now, T...you just remember what you've learned today and you'll be fine doing dishes."  They heard Techno mumble a reply but couldn't cipher as to what it was. 

"Now...where are the girls and the other ladies?  You'll need to show me since I don't know my way around this place," Laura continued.  And she continued to chat with Techno as they made their way to the den.

"Here you go," Techno mumbled as he opened the door to the room.

Laura smiled and said, "Thank you very much."

Techno just nodded and gave a glare to Jessica before he shut the door to the den.  Laura then grabbed a seat next to Jessica on one of the couches.

"So, what next?" Diane asked the girls.

They looked at each other and then the four looked at Jessica.  She just slightly shrugged her shoulders.

"Well..." Sally said after a few moments of deafening silence.  "Why don't we just all do our own thing until dinner time?  And then we'll just meet back here around 5:30."

"That sounds fine to me," Poopsie's mom spoke up.  She stood up and said, "I was wanting to hit the antique shops around here.  You coming with me?"  She turned to face her daughter, who nodded yes.

"Well, just everyone be back here at 5:30 then for dinner," Tonya said as everyone else stood up too.  And, each mother with her respective daughter, they went off to do their own thing.

- - - - - - - - -

 Hours later, the girls and their mothers reassembled at the mansion for dinner.  Techno had taken the hint Tonya had dropped, a note actually, and ordered a fabulous banquet from Pierre's.  The guys had carefully transferred the food to the mansion's own dishes and set the formal dining room table for the occasion.  All evidence that the food had not been cooked in the mansion was destroyed with a quick Ki blast.  They had even gone as far as to turn on the oven and dirty a few dishes that they were washing when the girls and company came into the kitchen.

 "Supper's ready," Zarbon said smiling warmly at Tonya.  "We just have a few dishes left, then we can put the food on the table."

- - - - - -  -

 After supper, the girls were each trying to think of an excuse to get out of the house and away from their moms...except Tonya.  She'd thought of the perfect excuse several hours ago and was eager to use it.

 Stretching, she looked at her watch then stood up.  "Well, I hate to eat and run, but I'm on baby watch tonight and need to get out to the refuge.  See you tomorrow morning.  If you need anything, my pager number's by the phone and the refuge is on speed dial.  Night."  With that she turned and head for the garage.

One by one, the remaining members thought of an excuse to get them out of the house.  Alec headed for work, while Zarbon and Techno met the other girls down in the cave.  Abra and Shani headed out for rounds, while Dee and Jessica watched TV.

About an hour after they’d left the mothers alone, a massive electrical fire broke out in the warehouse district.  The girls on patrol called for back up and the others hurried to respond.  Just after the team had left, the perimeter alarm sounded and Techno frowned darkly at the monitor.

Half of the front gate was lying on the ground and a gang of five thugs was stomping up the long driveway.  The mothers, oblivious to the approaching danger, sat in the den talking about their respective daughters.

"Oh what's this?" Linda asked as she spied the photo albums on the bookcase.  She picked one up and handed it to Diane, then took another. 

They began to laugh at all the silly, cute, and downright embarrassing photos.  Several times they were shocked by the poses or outfits their daughters were in, but all seemed to be in good taste.  Dee's mother stood, stretched, and walked over to the windows.  Pulling back the curtain slightly, she peeked outside.

"Umm...Ladies?  I think we may have a problem," she said spying the men.

* * * * * *

"Tonya, I need you back here now," Techno said into the COM unit.

"No can do, T," she replied.  "I'm up to my elbows in placenta.  I've got two lambs on the grounds, and three llamas in labor.  I can't leave."

"We have a situation," Techno said.  "The gate's down and a gang of men is approaching the house."

"Where are the others?"

"Helping with an electrical fire."

Tonya closed her eyes and bit her lip.  "I really can't come back.  Frank and I are the only ones here.  Charlene took the last forty-eight hours with Dr. Mendoza.  Her husband is out of town and Mark is down with a cold.  There's no one else."

"Find somebody." Techno replied, as the thugs moved closer and closer to the house.

Tonya growled a little. "I'll be there as soon as I can, until then, get a hold of Alec and Zarbon." With that, Tonya hung up the phone.

* * * * * *

            “What should we do?” Linda asked.  “Do you think they’re friends of the girls?”

            “Doubt it,” Poopsie’s mother replied.  “They don’t look anything like the other three.”

            “Should we call the Police?” Dee’s mom asked.

            “Yes,” Laura replied.  “It would be safer to assume they are a threat and report it.  If it a false alarm, at least we’ll be okay.”

            “Agreed,” the women chorused.  Just then the men reached the massive doors and tried the handle.  Of course the girls had locked it, so they began to break it down.  The mothers scattered to hide and hopefully find a phone to call for help.

            The door was strong, but the lock was old and couldn’t handle five guys slamming against the doors.  It gave with a rusty shriek, the doors bursting open, and the guys walked on in.  They looked around the foyer for a moment before splitting up to look for expensive, yet easy to transport items to heist. 

            Linda realized with dismay there wasn’t a phone in the hallway she’d run down and turned to go back.  Just then one of the guys appeared and spotted her.  He raised an eyebrow in surprise and she dashed around the corner before he could move.  The sound of a door closing reached his ears and he crept around the corner.  The only closed door close by was the hall closet and he grinned as approached it. 

            “Got you,” he growled smirking and flung the door open.  The smirk faded instantly as the towering mass of debris being held back cascaded out, knocking him unconscious from the force.  Linda peeked out from behind the door of the study and smiled, hoping the other ladies were fairing okay.

            Poopsie’s mom had made it upstairs and was hiding in Poopsie’s room.  She had snagged the old butter churn that had been sitting in the hallway and held it at the ready.  Debbie held her breath as the footsteps drew closer.  The door opened and the men peeked inside.  Without hesitation, she clocked him with the heavy crockery, knocking him out cold.  She looked at the butter churn in her hands and was pleased to note it was still intact.  The blow hadn’t even chipped the paint.

            “Maybe I should borrow this,” she said quietly.

            Laura had easily taken down the third thug.  After working in the hospital, dealing with multiple rowdy patients a night, taking down one guy was a simple matter of pressure points.  She dragged him out of the hallway into the dining room so the other crooks wouldn’t see him. 

            Pausing as she noticed his bare arms, she nodded with a smile.  Nice veins, she thought.

            Dee’s mom also took down the thug following her without problem.  She just let him spot her and chase her.  Ducking around a corner, she opened a door, put the heavy doorstop in place, and let the slick wax floor do its dirty work.  The guy came tearing around the corner without watching where he was going and ran smack into the door.  He bounced back, hit his head on the heavy wooden railing of the stairs, and went down for the count.

            Diane made it to the kitchen and was about to call the police when she heard heavy footsteps coming her way.  She ducked out the second door, and spotted the long white rope Tonya had been using to support her water bucket while she been washing windows.  Picking it up, she quickly made a loop, then snuck around to the other door.  She walked up right behind the man and took a deep breath.

            “Freeze or I’ll shoot!” she said jamming him in the back with what felt like a shotgun barrel.  “Don’t try anything funny or I’ll blow your guts all over this kitchen.  Put your hands behind your back.”

            He complied and she threw the loop over his head, so it settled around his arm and pulled it tight with one hand.  Then she twisted it around his wrists and tied it.

            “Now march,” she barked poking him with her weapon again.  She walked him to the foyer where the other mothers had gathered

            They could hear the police sirens in the distance and looked around surprised.  In all the excitement, it had slipped each of their minds to call the boys in blue, but each assumed one of the others had.  Three patrol cars slid to a halt in front of the house and the police jumped out.  Alec was in the lead with Seth a safe distance behind.  He came in the door like a professional, then froze and lowered his weapon, unsure what to say.

            “Are you okay?” he asked sheathing the dagger.

            “Just fine,” Dee’s mom answered.

            “Was this the only one?” another officer asked. 

            “No, there’s one knocked out in the hall by the study,” Linda said.

            “And one passed out in the dining room,” Laura added.

            “One’s out cold by the stairs,” Dee’s mom put in.

            “And the last one’s upstairs laying just inside one of the rooms,” Poopsie mom finished.

            “Nice work, ladies,” Alec said.  “I guess we’ll handle the clean up.” 

            Diane prodded her thug again and the cops suppressed a smirk.  “Careful, ma’am,” one cautioned.  “Don’t accidentally shoot him.”  He put the cuffs on the thug and started to lead him out the door.

            “Oh, don’t worry officer,” Diane answered patting her cane.  “It’s not loaded.”

            * * * * 

Tonya flew up the drive way, her worry increasing as she saw the flashing light atop the cop cars in front of the mansion.  She parked quickly and ran up the steps, almost bumping into the officer coming out with a man in handcuffs.  Then she noticed the doors had been forced open, but were undamaged except for the lock.  She paused her studied of the damage as she realized the mothers were standing there with Alec and …Joe Friday?  Seth!  That was the rookie’s name.

            “Mom?” Tonya asked cocking her head slightly.  “I thought we agreed…no wild parties and no boys coming over?”

            Diane shrugged and the cop Tonya had almost hit came back up the stairs.  “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

            “Tonya Daws.  I live here.  The silent alarm sends a signal to my phone and I thought my mother might have accidentally tripped it,” she paused eyeing the other guys as the cops brought them out.  “I guess I was wrong.”

            “Just a little,” Poopsie’s mom replied.

            “So you’re trying to tell me that our moms beat up those five guys, then called the police?” Tonya asked looking at Alec skeptically.  She glanced at the five women then back at the cop.

            “Actually, two of the men suffered self inflicted injuries,” Seth replied before Alec could.

            “Self inflicted?” Tonya repeated cocking her head and raising an eyebrow.

            “They ran into things and knocked themselves out cold,” Alec explained.  “Laura subdued another one by tweaking a pressure point in his neck.  Your mom fooled the fourth into thinking she had a gun, but it was a cane.  Penny’s mom was the only one who actually knocked anyone out.”

            Tonya turned to look at the moms again, then shook her head.  “I still can’t believe it.”  Her phone suddenly began to ring and she quickly answered it.  “Hello?”

            “Is everything okay?” Frank asked politely.

            “Uh, yeah, sure,” Tonya answered unsure how to respond, catching the stress in the man’s voice.

            “Then get your fuzzy butt back out here!” Frank exclaimed.  “We need some major help!”  Then he hung up.

            Tonya just blinked then looked at Alec.  “This is under control?”

            “Yes, I think so,” he replied.

            “Good, cause I need to get back out there,” she said then ran to her car.  “Call if you need something!”

"We will need you to come downtown with us, so we can finish our reports" Alec said looking at the mothers. "It shouldn't take all that long."

"Well, shouldn't we get a hold of the girls first?" Asked one of them.

"Yes…where are your other roommates, Alec?" Asked Seth, raising an eyebrow.

He just shrugged. "They must be out somewhere."

- - - - -- -  - --

Sally rewound the security tape again and hit play.  “I can’t believe it,” she murmured as the scenes of their mothers taking down the bad guys flickered across the screen for the second time.

“It is hard to believe,” Alec added.  “I didn’t know what to think when I got here and they were okay.  I was almost afraid of what we’d find inside when I saw the gate on the ground.”

“I’m just glad it they were all right,” Poopsie put in. 

“Me too,” Jessica and Dee chimed in.

“I don’t really see why you’re all so surprised they took them down,” Zarbon said.  They girls all turned to look at him.  “I mean, you had to get your courage from somewhere, right?  Why not from your mothers?”

Tonya shrugged.  “All I know is that I want AT LEAST one week of warning before anymore relatives come to visit,” she said glaring at Jessica.

“Here, here!” the other chorused.