"Ah, come on, Querl. Look at his widdle face and tell me he's not going to light up the whole lab. He's the perfect therapy cat for overstressed scientists." Robbie holds Niels out to his new friend, obviously for petting.

But he can hear Mabel, and Robbie cannot believe that she's taken him seriously. The question about a possible species shift - is he understanding this right? Robbie meets Brainy's eyes for a second and raises an eyebrow as if to say, 'can you believe I have to explain this joke?'

"I don't like admitting to being a single parent. People judge us enough without that burden." He's struggling to not laugh, though, and he has to stop acknowledging anyone is in the room in order to keep going. "Would you believe Niels is actually adopted? He is, you know. How else could a human spawn a feline child? I'm just a super-evolved monkey, after all."

Robbie shoots a wink at Brainy and grins happily. "I hear we make great lab pets."