The Atlantis Expedition

Prologue: In Which New Babysitters Are Found

Finn sat slumped on the sofa watching cartoons, half listening to his Mom and Dad discussing the latest in a long string of babysitters. It had been roughly two years since his longest running babysitter, Mrs. Morgan, had passed away. She reminded him a lot of his Grandma, a sweet, kindly old lady who always had fresh, warm cookies for him when she looked after him. She'd lived right next door, which was super convenient. After she died, though, there just didn't seem to be anyone else to look after him in a satisfactory manner when both of his parents were working late, or just wanted a night to themselves. There had been a long string of teenage girls who never watched him and Bianca more than twice, more interested in whatever was on their phones than looking after a pair of young children- though Finn would argue he was capable enough of looking after himself.

This newest sitter sounded like she worked with his Dad though, so she wasn't going to be some disinterested teen. Finn was somewhat curious; his Dad certainly seemed convinced they might get along. He certainly hoped so, he didn't want to deal with one more person who would ignore him in favor of their social life for a week straight while his Dad was away on business (and he nearly laughed out loud at his own joke, catching himself just in time) and his Mom had to work nights. Both his parents were annoyed at this arrangement, but there wasn't much they could do.

He slumped down further into the cushions when his Dad stepped back into the living room and sat down next to him, trying not to look like he was pouting. It wasn't the first time his dad had gone away on business, but now his dad was actually interested in playing with him. They'd been having so much fun, and now he would be gone for a whole week. "Excited to meet your new sitter?" his Dad asked, and Finn shrugged.

"I guess so."

"That doesn't sound very confident."

"I didn't like any of the others."

His Dad sighed. "I know Finn, I didn't really either. But I really think you'll like Amy. She has a book published, you know."

That piqued the boy's curiosity. "Then how come she's working in your office?"

"I think she just writes as a hobby, rather than to try to make a living. She says it's a very difficult market to get into." Finn looked considerate of that. "She'll be coming around six every night, just before your mom has to leave for work."

"Okay." Finn climbed into his father's lap, snuggling close. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too buddy, I always do." Finn smiled when he felt a kiss pressed to his head. "You help Miss Amy look after Bianca, okay?"

"Okay."

"And don't give her any grief about your homework."

"Okay..."

"Off to bed with you, Mom will come tuck you in when she's got Bianca down." Finn scooted onto the floor and made his way up to his room, mind starting to buzz with ideas of what his new babysitter would be like.

When Miss Amy came at five forty-five the next day, Finn had hyped himself up so much that she honestly fell a little short of his expectations. She seemed so... normal. Plain, even. The only really notable thing about her was that she carried a beat-up old canvas messenger bag, rather than a nice purse. That intrigued him a little. She smiled warmly at him. "You must be Finn," she said, and held a hand out to him. "Your dad's told me a bit about you. I'm Amy."

Finn took her hand, giving it an uncertain shake. "Hi Amy," he greeted.

"Alright sweetie, I'm off to work," his Mom said, giving him a goodbye hug. "Bianca's watching tv and coloring in the living room, that usually keeps her pretty well occupied. She shouldn't be too much trouble tonight."

"She won't be a problem," Amy promised, and waved as his Mom left. Finn turned his attention back to Amy. "So I hear you like Legos?" she asked, and he nodded. "Your dad says you make up some pretty good stories to play out."

"He did?"

Amy nodded. "He didn't really go into detail about it though. Can you tell me the story?" Finn shuffled a bit, embarrassed, but related to her the tale of Lord Business and the Master Builders. He was pleased to note how much she was actually paying attention, rather than dismissing it as childish nonsense the way his Dad first had. She really seemed interested. "That was a very good story, Finn," she complimented when he ended it, "and you told it very well." He blushed, looking down at his sneakers. "So what's going to happen next?"

"Well, Batman has to go back to Gotham cause Joker's up to no good again, but everyone else is still cleaning up Bricksburg..."