Chapter 2
The Interview
Martin Stone sat rather uncomfortably in a kitchen chair surrounded by boxes that had consumed most of the apartment he was sitting in. Across from him sat the woman who would be the subject of his interview. The woman was attractive in a rugged, street sort of way. A weight room and punching bag he'd passed when entering the apartment were clearly being put to good use. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top. Her black hair was kept short. No noticeable makeup was present on her face. If it weren't for the distinctive green eyes he'd have had no way of recognizing the former PowerPuff Girl.
He'd only received word of the assignment a day in advance, and he'd jumped at the opportunity. Martin, being a man who grew up around the time of the PowerPuff Girls was excited to be presented this opportunity. Buttercup had been the most reclusive of the former super trio and somehow he'd been given the first interview with her in years.
"We gonna get this thing started or what?" Buttercup impatiently asked. Her eyes looked over his head as if she were studying something in the difference. At what, Martin did not know.
Martin had his pen and notepad at the ready. Buttercup explicitly demanded that the interview not be recorded. They'd already exchanged greetings and the woman clearly wanted to get it over with. Martin was young, but professional. Her apathetic demeanor was intimidating, but did not hold him back.
So he started with #1 on his list of questions.
"What is it like knowing six years have passed since you girls officially announced you'd lost your powers?"
"It sucks."
"Care to elaborate?"
"It's…We could fly, lift cars, and shoot lasers out of our eyes the instant we came into this world.
"It must have been tempting to abuse such powers."
"Oh….Well, if you can do something it's hard to resist. Like, if a dollar bill is sitting on the kitchen counter you want to grab it. Its only one dollar…Its only two goons in the hospital. Criminals deserve to be punished. It would be so easy to kill one…but we had control."
Buttercup crossed her legs anxiously. It had probably been a long time since she'd talked about those days. Martin expected she'd become more talkative as the interview went on.
"Have you spent much time with your sisters?"
"Not really. I've probably seen them once or twice, but nothing special."
"Why don't you see eye to eye with your sisters?"
"They wanted me to be something I was not. Or at least Blossom did. Bubbles probably didn't care much, but Blossom wanted cohesiveness within the group; for everything to match. She was obsessed with control. Blossom would have had it that the three of us would all act as a single entity. As such, she demanded that we all strive to be the perfect little girls…that girly girl crap just isn't my style."
Buttercup's voice had risen considerably.
"Why would Blossom want to control the group?"
"Because she fancied herself as our leader. She was the most attractive, considered herself the most intelligent, and spoke as our voice in the media."
"Couldn't you have spoken up?"
"Blossom went out of her way to get in the spotlight. As high school came in Bubbles and I decided we didn't need to attend every single community function. Blossom on the other hand: She was a total media whore. If she could get her photo at a charity drive she would."
"Some would say your activities were born out of your demand for public attention."
"The photo shoots? Easy money!" Buttercup laughed. "The scandals? Just a gal having some fun. Everyone freaked out because I wasn't being a little Buddha."
"Maybe they reacted that way because children looked up to you three."
"I never asked to be a role model. That was forced on me. I beat up monsters, saved the world, and got home in time for dinner. I just love punching things! That's all my power days were: fly around and punch something in the face."
"Moving back to that subject: Why did you do the modeling? You were always the tomboy of the group, so some found that particularly shocking."
"As I said, the money was good, it didn't require much work, and they never put me in any pink or frilly crap. It was just easy money."
"Why did you need that money?"
"Because it was there. They wanted a young super heroine to pose for their magazines. They probably wanted Blossom, seeing as she has all the right curves, and a nice pair of tits, but of course she'd have none of that. She'd not be seen in anything less than a knee length skirt and blouse. The offer came to me, and I knew easy money when I saw it. Think of it: some gals spend their entire lives working to look the part for photo shoots. I have super powers and it doesn't matter if I look rather boyish! My name alone was all the reason they'd pay for me to pose in front of a camera. Why shouldn't I have taken advantage of the opportunities I was offered?"
"That easy money sure did cause a great deal of controversy some nine years ago. What do you think of the public's reaction?"
"Retarded. The first when I was 17 was only a swimsuit, same as I'd wear to the beach. And the folk who thought the corset and stockings were such a big deal need to get a life! I was 18, and technically I was wearing more clothes than I had in the swimsuit shoot. People are such fucking prudes. Any store in the country has mags with gals wearing far worse. I never went nude or anything."
"Don't you think their reaction had more to do with the context? You sitting there wearing clothes which not only exposed skin but suggested sexual acts being committed by yourself? For people who grew up idolizing you it was a pretty big shock."
"And what's wrong with expressing some sexuality? I grew up; I wasn't going to be the little girl forever. Why deny the truth: I am an adult now. Blossom never could see that. She thought we needed to stick to that sweet little school girl act. Hell, if we still had our powers we'd be there at age 100 and she'd still be pressing for it!"
"That leads nicely into my next question. During final two years leading up to you three losing your powers the public began sensing the riff between you and your sisters. What would have changed if you all still had those powers?"
"I would have gone solo. No question about it. I was done being a part of the group. I'd be going to parties, doing photoshoots and whatever other easy money opportunities presented themselves, and I'd get the bad guys my way. No more of that sissy crap."
Martin finished writing her response down before taking a deep breath. He'd saved the most personal question for last. He expected her either to react violently, or not provide an answer…
"One year before you all lost your powers there was two deaths. The Professor who created you girls, and your arch enemy Mojo Jojo both died. How did it happen?"
Buttercup crossed her legs anxiously. Her face remained apathetic as it had been throughout the interview, but something seemed to make her hair stand on end.
"Nothing you don't already know. Mojo Jojo's plan went awry, there was an explosion and the professor died…The monkey took his own life when we came for him."
"He knew he'd gone too far?"
"Yeah…yeah you could say that."
Martin sensed her discomfort and was thankful that his line of questioning had come to a close.
"Any closing thoughts? Anything you just have to get out there to the public?"
"None."
Martin closed his notepad.
"That's all I've got..." As he packed it up he looked up at Buttercup, who hadn't moved an inch. "It's been a real honor getting the chance to meet with you."
"No biggie," she replied. Now her eyes connected with his. She seemed to be analyzing every feature of his face.
"Why did you want me to conduct this interview?" Martin said as the silence became uncomfortable. "My editor says you explicitly asked that I be the one to interview you."
"You did the piece on local gyms. I liked it." Buttercup shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Looked you up online and figured it'd be self answering questions for you."
"Why did you want this interview?"
"A lot of shit's been said about me over the last six years and I want a chance to set the record straight instead of having my sisters write history for me."
Martin nodded. "So why me?"
"I like you Martin. You seem like a good guy... If any stories come to mind about the past I'd like to tell them to you. Maybe I'll need someone to help me with an autobiography someday…"
"Well…that would be a privilege." Martin didn't understand why she would want him, but he knew better than to question this unique opportunity he'd be presented.
"Thought you'd say that." Buttercup gave her one smile right then just as Martin got up to leave. "I'll give you a call after I've read the story. Don't fuck it up too bad or I'll break your nose." She was joking of course.
"I may have to edit some of your choices in language, but it'll be good. I'll have an article on you to go alongside it."
Buttercup chuckled. "Now I'm really looking forward to seeing what you cooked up."
Martin didn't know whether she was genuine or not, but he intended to try his best at pleasing her.
