Chapter 1: Capture

The sun was already low in the sky by the time the boys had managed to pull themselves from the Powerpuff Girls' powerful grasp. No inch of their skin had come unscathed from their onslaught of attacks, despite their hard efforts. The boys flew through the sky in complete silence. The sky was a dismal gray, which matched the boys' mood well. A heavy weight of shame hung around their necks with the reminder of their failure. Again.

At the head of the group, Brick steamed and simmered. He'd occasionally mutter a curse or an insult to the girls under his breath, his mouth barely moving but sounding just as mean-spirited as usual. His jaw was tight and his body was tense with anger that boiled just beneath his skin.

The silence of the trip persisted even longer. That is, until Boomer broke it.

"Wow Brick, you looked really funny when Buttercup punched you through three buildings in a row, didn't y-"

Boomer was promptly cut off by a punch directly in the face.

"Shut up, idiot. I'm tryin' to focus on escaping from those stupid girls," Brick spat, not even bothering to turn to face him. "And quit flying near me, will ya? I know you've got some sort of wacko disease going on with you right now, and I know damn well you ain't spreading it to me."

Butch snickered beside him, showing off his swollen lip- courtesy of Bubbles. "Yeah, Boomer, don't spread your gross cooties to us!"

"Heh, I bet he was hanging out with some dumb girls and got sick, weren't you, sissy?" Brick added, his anger lifting a little bit.

Boomer's eyes- well, eye, since one of his was swollen shut- widened for a second before narrowing in indignance. "W-what? No! No way! I just-" He was interrupted by his own loud sneeze, sending out a spray of mucus.

"Eww!" Brick and Butch said in unison, sticking their tongues out in disgust as they looked back at him.

"Gross, Boomer! Get away from me, man!" Brick flew a little bit faster, his red streak trailing behind him as he left the sick Boomer fall behind. Butch promptly followed him.

"See ya later, dork!"

Boomer watched them laugh and blow raspberries at him as they flew farther and farther away. His strength just wasn't up today. With the exhaustion from the recent battle with the Powerpuff Girls along with the dastardly cold he'd caught the other day, Boomer couldn't find the strength in him to speed up and catch up with them. With a nasally sigh, he allowed himself to fall back and watch them go.

"They shouldn't be talking," he grumbled under his breath. "They got their butts whooped just like I did." He stopped to cough into his hand for a moment, his throat going dry.

Man, he just really wanted to be home.

Feeling pissed and tired and sore all over, he slowly made his way to their stolen home in the woods.

Boomer finally landed, glad to hear the crunch of leaves and grass beneath his shoes. He was eager to lay down in bed and rest after yet another failed fight against the Powerpuff Girls. He scowled at the thought of them and walked up the rickety, wooden stairs to push open the door.

Brick and Butch were lazing around like usual, chatting about something and exchanging raucous laughter. Behind them, their fireplace crackled, filling the shack with a warm, cozy feeling. However, the faces his brothers made when they saw him enter out of the corner of their eyes made Boomer feel the exact opposite.

"Oh, uh, hey, Boomer," Butch deadpanned. "Brick and I were talkin', and we think you should take the rug for tonight." He said it so nonchalantly, as if he were telling Boomer about tomorrow's weather rather than that he was being kicked out from their room.

Boomer blinked slowly, his mouth twitching into a frown. "What? No way! I'm not a dog. I should be able to sleep in the bed just like you t-"

"Oh, wouldja can it already, idiot?" Brick snapped, getting up from his chair. His hair was still messy from the fight. "I said it before, but since you're so stupid I guess I'll have to say it again. You're sick and I don't want you comin' near me, got it?"

Butch piped up beside him and raised a fist, "Yeah! What he said-"

"So that's why you get the rug. Spread your germs all over it as much as you want. Just feel lucky I don't make you sleep outside," Brick said, a smirk creeping onto his face as he crossed his arms. The smirk looked more stupid than intimidating, considering Brick's swollen cheek, likely from one of Buttercup's famous knuckle sandwiches.

Boomer furrowed his eyebrows at him and bit the inside of his cheek. His anger was climbing. He did nothing about it, though, and instead decided to stare at the floor. As usual.

Feeling satisfied with the reaction, Brick turned away from him to go to their room and watch on their stolen TV like he usually did. Butch grinned, showing off his messed up teeth from the fight. He stuck his tongue out at Boomer before turning to follow Brick inside.

Watching them go, Boomer muttered sharply under his breath, "Asshole."

At that, Brick stopped in his tracks, his arms visibly tensing. Slowly turning around, he made direct eye contact with Boomer. His eyes dilated, and he looked almost animalistic in the flickering light of the fireplace. "Oh, I'm sorry, Boomer," he spat, slowly floating over to him. "What was that comment? I guess my super hearing missed it somehow." Brick's voice was saccharine sweet. The unsaid message was there. It was a dare. A dare for Boomer to challenge him.

Boomer didn't look at him, instead choosing to glare at at the wood floor below him. He was silent.

"Are you deaf, Boomer? Your leader asked you a question." Brick's mocking voice rang like an alarm.

Boomer clenched his fists and shot his head up to face him dead-on. Brick's red eyes stared hot daggers into Boomer's own.

He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He tried his best to gulp around the forming lump in his throat.

Boomer trembled. It was a no-go.

"N-nothing," he mumbled, fists dropping. "I said nothing." Boomer bit his lower lip, knowing damn well that it was wobbling right now. He was waving his white flag in Brick's face. Just like always.

Brick raised a brow. "Oh?" He leaned back, hands on hips. "That's what I thought." He turned around and smoothed out his hair before slowly making his way to to their room once more. He paused for a moment, and Boomer tensed, unsure what to expect. "Oh, and another thing, just for that, you're feeding Fuzzy tonight." And with that, Brick entered their room.

Like a baby duck following its mother, Butch laughed and blew another raspberry at him before turning around to fly after Brick for the second time. Boomer grit his teeth and said nothing. They were growing more and more insufferable by the day.

Once Boomer had given up trying to enter their room after getting pushed out so many times, he settled for sitting by a window and talking to Fuzzy. He looked out over the forest and up at the sky. Rain was starting to come down.

"God, Fuzzy. Brick and Butch are such… jerks!" He puffed up his cheeks and pulled his knees up further to his chest. "I… I hate 'em!" he yelled. If his brothers heard, they didn't care. "One of these days… I-I'll… sock 'em in the face! Show 'em that I'm not dumb! O-or weak." He bit his lip and turned to Fuzzy. "You shoulda seen them today, Fuzzy! They were all over the place. The girls beat us instantly! Brick's a bad leader and a meanie." He punched the wall in front of him, leaving a dent in the weathered wood. "You know what I'm saying, right?"

Fuzzy stared back at him with pleading eyes. How long had it been since they'd stolen his house?

"...You too, Fuzzy? No one wants to talk to me!" Boomer groaned, rubbing his snot on his sleeve. "I swear I'm always alone! Butch and Brick treat me like- like- I'm some dummy! A-and I'm not! I'm a member of the Rowdyruff Boys just like they are! I'm a villain! I'm scary!" He puffed up his chest but quickly fell into another coughing fit. "Dang... This cold is pissin' me off."

Boomer's usually happy-go-lucky demeanor was soiled. He turned and ripped off the tape covering Fuzzy's mouth, promptly shoving in a piece of ham. Fuzzy let out an 'ouch' sound at the sudden tape removal that was quickly muffled by the ham. Boomer didn't wait for him to finish chewing before replacing the tape.

"Well… I guess I'll go watch this fire burn, or something. Since nobody wants to be around me because I'm sick and stupid." He spat the last word with venom and hovered dejectedly into the chair in front of the fireplace, slumping into it in a mixture of anger and boredom. The sound of Brick and Butch's laughter rang loud from the other room, making Boomer's stomach twist ever so slightly. Boomer would give them the finger if he was physically able to do so.
Even amidst his brothers' laughter, the crackling fireplace, and the steady rain outside, Boomer found himself drifting asleep.

"Is he really sleepin'?"

"Yeah, he is. How'd this idiot fall asleep sitting up?"

"Who cares, just hurry up and shake him."

Boomer was rudely awakened by a firm grip on either of his sides and a rather wild shaking.

"Get up, moron!"

Boomer's mind was still waking up.

"We said get up!" The words were followed by a clunk on the head.

Boomer struggled in the grip, his eyes still tightly closed to deflect them from the spit that was being flung at him. "I'm awake I'm awake! Quit shaking me!" He pushed away, trying to shake away his grogginess.

Brick's face was his first greeting when Boomer opened his eyes.

"Sheesh, took ya long enough!" Brick snapped, looking annoyed. "Go fetch us some drinks, will ya? You know, the usual."

Butch interjected, "Mountain Dew for me!"

"-and Dr. Pepper for me." Brick said. He paused for a moment. "Or Coca-cola. Surprise me."

Boomer just squinted at them, his expression reluctant.

"Hurry up, go!" Brick waved him away with a flourish of his hand.

"But… last time you sent me out alone to get something, I got kidnapped by the Powerpuff Girls. It'd be better if we went out togeth-"

"Quit bein' such a baby! Just don't be stupid this time! It's your fault by letting yourself get caught by such a bunch of stupid girls. You're lucky we were even there to save you."

"Yeah, just don't be so stupid… like you always are!" Butch added with a little snicker.

They fistbumped right in front of him, and Boomer furrowed his brows.

He didn't want to fight it this time. He got up from his seat with a sigh and hovered over to the door. He pushed it open to find the damp earth and the ever-so-steady downpour of rain. It smelled strongly of mud.

He turned around. "Uhh… it's raining. A lot."

With an uninterested stare, Brick said, "And? So what?" Butch stood next to him, arms crossed.

Boomer stayed still for a few moments, hoping for Brick to change his mind. Five seconds of silence was a lost cause. Understanding his fate, Boomer dejectedly flew out the door and slammed the door shut behind him.

"JERKS!" he yelled into the pouring rain. His blue streak was a sharp contrast against the gray sky. The rain he was now soaked in came faster and faster. Boomer groaned, having to push his soggy hair out of his face every five seconds. He sniffled and rubbed his nose on his wet sleeve as his eyes scanned the city for a convenience store to rob. He wanted one close by, so that he'd hopefully be able to steal quickly without alerting the Powerpuff Girls. Boomer shivered, partly due to the memory of his incident with the candy and partly due to the cold rain seeping into his clothes. Boomer was grateful when a store finally came into view. He slowly descended, sneezing multiple times along the way. This rain was definitely not helping his cold. At all.

When he landed, Boomer felt nauseous. He should be in bed, resting, but instead he was outside in the pouring rain getting soda for his ungrateful brothers. He tugged at the shirt sticking to his body. He felt sick and tired and wanted to get this over with. He shoved his face up to the glass of the store. The 2 litre soda bottles on the shelves instantly caught his eye. Dr. Pepper… Mountain Dew… and Sprite! Boomer lit up. It was his favorite.

Figuring he'd get back home sooner than he thought boosted Boomer's mood instantly, enough to get his mind off of the snot running down his chin and the growing soreness of his throat.

Boomer leaned back a bit, a playful, devilish grin spreading across his face. "And he's going for the…" He crashed through the window, swiping as much soda as he could hold. "Soda!"

It was a score, and Boomer was satisfied as he looked at the sodas he'd snagged. He quickly took to the air, leaving behind the sound of angry yelling and the store alarm.

"Now time to get 'em to-"

"Hold it right there, Boomer!"

His heart dropped and he froze, disappointment flowing through his body.

You've got to be kidding.

Three pairs of feet dropped to the street floor. They landed with a soft thud that echoed throughout the streets.

Boomer turned to face the Powerpuff Girls.

Every time, like clockwork, they showed up to ruin his life. He locked eyes with their leader and frowned, still holding the litres of soda close to his body.

Blossom stared him down, as if judging him him, before her eyes drifted down the to the soda in his arms.

She quirked a brow. "Really, Boomer?" she said, sounding like a parent who'd just caught their child stealing from the cookie jar. "I thought you learned from last time."

Boomer shot back a mean look and bared his teeth in an attempt to look intimidating. "Well guess what? I never learn anything!" he spat back, smirking as if it was a witty comeback.

The girls shot each other a look, and Bubbles covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

Blossom stepped forward, clearing her throat. "Well then, Boomer. I'm sure you remember last time. You can either give the soda up, or-"

Buttercup pounded her fists together. "-we can do this the hard way."

Gulping every so slightly, Boomer had flashbacks to his first, very similar encounter with the girls, seeming all too similar. His eyes drifted over to the litre of Sprite cradled in the crook of his arm. He sucked in a breath and looked them dead in the eyes. With a cocky grin, he popped open a litre and chugged it halfway, finishing with a hearty 'ahhh'.

The girls watched his every move with deep frowns, Buttercup especially.

"You can't beat me up… if you can't catch me!" And with those words, Boomer took to the sky. A blue, carefree idiot with many litres of stolen soda running from three girls who, when together, could easily overpower him. Not to mention outfly.

Boomer wasn't exactly the smartest person out there, so t's not like he would learn from his past mistakes so easily.

And thus, the chase was on. Four colored streaks zoomed through the air. Boomer stuck his tongue out at them cockily, sure he could lose them. He was more wrong than anything (of course). Behind him, Buttercup grit her teeth at his display. What made him think he could be so cocky when they'd captured him so easily just a few months back? Psyching herself up, Buttercup took in a deep breath, immediately pushing herself to fly faster.

The next time Boomer decided to take a peek behind him, Buttercup was right on his tail. She grinned at him menacingly with narrowed eyes. Boomer gasped aloud, trying to speed up. The rain pattered against his face and hit his eyes, slowing him down significantly.

He failed. Buttercup nabbed him by the shoe and spun him around in a fast circle. Boomer dropped all the soda instantly. Air whizzed past his ears, and the scenery around him blended into one fast blur. He held his breath, afraid he'd throw up from the vigorous movement.

A voice from somewhere around him proved to be his savior.

"Buttercup, quit it! You got him already. Let's go take him to the Professor now."

Boomer knew that voice. It was the redhead. The one that always talked too much and used big words.

Above him, Buttercup groaned, and Boomer felt himself slowly coming to a stop. He opened his not swollen eye and tried to assess the situation. He was upside down and hanging from Buttercup's iron grip. He looked down. In the scuffle, all the soda had splashed all over the street below. Boomer grit his teeth.

"I'm just trying to have fun with him, leader girl," Buttercup said back, a note of annoyance in her voice. "

Blossom crossed her arms. "You already got your "fun". We fought the boys earlier. Look at him! Even his eye is still swollen shut." She rubbed her temple. "Look, they sent him out alone again. Injured right after a fight. And it didn't even take us five minutes to apprehend him. There's no need to rough him up again."

Boomer felt his cheeks warm from Blossom's comment on how easy it was to catch him. Oh, would he ever learn?

Another voice added to the conversation. It had to be the blue one. Bubbles.

"Yeah, Buttercup. Let's just get him back to the Professor. It'll be just like last time when I went undercover! This is the second chance we've been waiting for."

Her voice was high and sing-songy. It grated at Boomer's ears. He wrinkled his nose and glanced up from his upside down position to look at Buttercup. A scowl painted her features.

"Oh come on! He's practically yelling for us to beat him up again. These villains will never learn if we don't teach 'em a lesson!" she argued. "It's our job as superheroes to whip these guys into shape!" She pointed at him. "Especially this one. Even Bubbles isn't as dumb as him."

"Hey!" she yelled.

Blossom shut her eyes. "True, but still."

"Hey!" she yelled again, louder this time.

The three argued back and forth on whether to rush him back to the Professor or to fight him once more. All the while, Boomer dangled below this, anger climbing and teeth grinding inside his mouth.

He decided he's had enough and used Buttercup's distraction as a chance to wriggle out of her grip.

Once he was free, he whipped around to look at them. "Shut up!" he yelled. For a second he felt like Brick. "Shut up shut up shut up! I don't wanna listen to a bunch of stupid girls with cooties argue!"

Across from him, the girls' eyes widened in unison, a faint gasp escaping their lips.

Buttercup narrowed her eyes at him. "We do not have cooties!" she said, her voice low and threatening. She flew close to Boomer, merely inches away from his face.

Boomer crossed his arms and smirked. "Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too."

"Do. NOT!" Buttercup shouted through grit teeth. Her face grew more and more red.

Feeling the rising tension, Blossom piped up behind her. "Buttercup. Down." She then directed her attention to Boomer who was having an intense staring contest with Buttercup. "Quit being so childish, Boomer. Just take it back and come with us peacefully. Do it the easy way. For your own sake."

Boomer tore his eyes away from Buttercup's, staring straight at Blossom. Oh how he hated being told what to do. "No! I get enough stupid orders from my brothers. Don't start thinkin' you can tell me what to do now! I'm not coming with you! I'm… not dumb!" he spat the last word out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. He turned his back on them, and the girls tensed, ready to fly after him again if he tried to fly away. Boomer paused for a bit and just floated there before he turned back around quickly to face them. "Oh and by the way, your dumb dad should've named you all Buttface because you're all ugly!" He ended the statement by childishly sticking his tongue out at them.

He finally turned back on them again and got ready to fly.

It didn't take even five seconds before three pairs of fists connected with his body.

And with that, Boomer was unconscious.

Boomer awoke around an hour later with a small groan, his head throbbing and aching. The girls had definitely not held back. The pain from both fights stacked up, leaving him too weak to even move. He cursed under his breath and opened one of his eyes slowly. The sudden light left black spots in his vision and made his head spin. He blinked rapidly, wincing a little bit.

He continued to lay there for what felt like hours before he finally got a hold of himself and was able to move slightly, although everything still hurt. Boomer got to a sitting position and looked around, rubbing his swollen cheek and trying to open up his black eye. One eye served him just fine, though.

Slowly but surely, he took in all of his surroundings.

Test tubes.

Different contraptions.

And… an electric cage of sorts.

Boomer groaned quietly, his stomach dropping.

His suspicions were confirmed. He was trapped in the Professor's lab for a second time. Still, Boomer was slightly comforted now that he knew where he was, at least. He then directed his attention towards the electric cage surrounding him and reached out his hand to touch it before quickly pulling it back.

"I probably shouldn't…," he thought aloud. He lowered his arm for a moment. "If Brick and Butch were here they'd call me stupid." Boomer puffed out his cheeks in frustration. "And. I'm. Not. STUPID!" He punched the electric cage without another thought, his eyes shut and teeth grit.

Electricity pumped through his veins, sending him back against the floor of his small containment area.

He cried out as he hit the ground, rubbing his electrocuted hand. On second thought, not punching the cage would've been a great idea.

Boomer was sure he'd alerted the girls to his awakening. With all of his energy spent from punching the cage, he decided to lay still on the floor.

In a few seconds, three streaks of light flashed past his vision.

"Oh, he's awake!" whispered Bubbles.

After a few moments, approaching footsteps echoed on the floor. Boomer looked up and locked eyes with Blossom. She sat down in front of the cage and stared at him for a few moments. She crossed her arms.

"Do you boys ever learn?" she began. "You made it way too easy for us to capture you with the state you went out in. Are you that desperate for another beating for today?"

Boomer scowled at her. "No," he grumbled. "I didn't want to go out. My brothers made me. I'm not that dumb." He narrowed his eyes. "So shut up."

Blossom stared at him, her face listless. She didn't say anything for a few moments. The only sound was the muffled sound of rain pouring outside.

She floated up again and turned her back to him. "Whatever you say, Boomer." She shrugged and didn't look at him. "Just know that the girls and I won't be making a mistake with this second chance you've given us. Now that we've captured you, we're taking you boys down."

Bubbles and Buttercup said nothing as Blossom departed. Buttercup followed suit, and Bubbles hesitated for a second before leaving, as if she wanted to say something to him.

Boomer watched them fly up the stairs with a deep hatred. He was thankful for their leave, though. He wanted to be alone.

After he heard the lab door shut behind them, he scoured the floor of his cage, desperate for a distraction, if any. He found nothing but cold tile and dust. There was something right next to his cage, though. It was most likely one of the Professor's odd inventions. Boomer wasn't sure what its purpose was, but it was shiny. Shiny and reflective. He got as close to the edge of the cage as he could without getting hurt.

He stared at the invention, and his reflection stared back at him. He was a sight to see. One swollen eye bruised a deep purple and the other red and puffy. His hair was messy and stuck up in odd places, definitely a result of being punched and kicked over and over from angering the girls. Multiple bruises and small scratches lined his face, and snot ran from his reddened nose. He lifted his hands up to his face and stared at how scratched up they were. He let out a slow, tired breath.

In short, he looked absolutely terrible.

Boomer rolled over on his side and faced the other wall of his cage. He didn't want to look at himself anymore. He covered the sides of his head with his hands and shut his eyes. He was still sick and stuck in an electric cage while wearing soaking wet clothes. And to make it even worse, he was stuck inside the home of his mortal enemies, the Powerpuff Girls. He bit on the inside of his cheek.

He felt pathetic.

He was sore, cold, and most of all, alone.

The image of his brothers drifted into his mind. If Boomer had to guess, Brick and Butch were probably curled up in front of their fireplace, watching the pouring rain and pissed off at not having received their soda.

Boomer tucked his legs up to his chin, tearing up just a little bit. He pulled at the wet clothes draping his body and sniffled, feeling angry at himself and everything around him. His voice wobbled when he broke the silence.

"They're right. I really am stupid," he whispered to no one at all.

update 25/4/18: fixed some errors and added some stuff to the beginning

I've been thinking about writing a RRB redemption story for a long time so I'm going for it baes! wish me luck

this was gonna be a longer first chapter but I just wanna get something out right now so I shortened it, hope this works fine for an intro. expect this thing to be around 5 chapters (if I can articulate myself that fast,)

reviews and feedback super appreciated! 3