Chapter 2
It was the morning after the firework show, and the sky was overcast, promising rain sometime later that day. The winds blowing between the battered buildings of the ghetto were bitterly cold, and the few pedestrians walking about the narrow streets moved ever faster against it. One such individual, a young child entirely concealed by a black, adult-sized trench coat, made his way towards a worn-down pub at the end of a dead end street, which bore a banner inscribed with the name "The Lucky Clover". Despite the fact that a "Closed" sign was hung up on the door, the boy knocked twice on it. Immediately, a slot opened up at the top of the door, revealing a pair of large, ocean blue eyes that peered through suspiciously.
"Password please!" a raspy voice called from inside the pub.
"Cut the crap and open the door, Boomer!" A similarly raspy yet irritated reply came from the boy in the trench coat.
The slot was shut, followed by the sounds of chains and locks being undone. The door opened with a creaky whine, and the boy in the coat stepped inside.
The pub was as filthy and dilapidated internally as it was externally. The space overall was one pitiful room with boarded up windows on every wall. The bar itself was coated in dust, and the liquor cabinets behind it were tragically bare, having been that way since the establishment closed. There were three freshly-stolen, twin-sized beds in the three remaining corners of the pub, and at the center of the room stood a dining table and three armchairs, also purloined. Noticeably, there was hardly any light coming from the ceiling lamps in the room, as if power had not fully returned to the building after the events of the previous night.
The boy who had opened the door stepped back a few paces and seated himself in one of the chairs around the table. His blue and black long-sleeved shirt had grimy smudges in several places, as did his black pants and sneakers. His blonde hair was parted down the middle and unkempt, as if he hadn't washed or brushed it in weeks.
Upon entering the pub, the coated boy reeled back and gagged on the air around him. "Jeezus, Boomer, you reek!" he chided while beginning to unbutton his trench coat. "What the heck did you do today?! Go dumpster diving?!" He threw off the top half of the garment, revealing his long ginger hair, brushed back into a mullet, and serious crimson eyes. The boy straightened his red baseball cap before removing the coat entirely and tossing it to the side indiscriminately.
The blonde, Boomer, looked at his brother with slight shock. "Umm…I kinda did…" His gaze fell to the floor, and he appeared slightly ashamed. "It was fun…I thought I'd find something cool…"
The redhead stared back at his brother with a cold grimace on his face. He knew that Boomer wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, so to speak, and the only way to make him man up was with a bit of tough love. However, Brick's day had been extremely hectic between stealing some poor sap's expensive-looking trench coat, which he planned to pawn at some point, and trying his hardest to avoid a confrontation with the Powerpuff Girls. So, at the moment, he didn't feel up to putting Boomer in his place.
Brick groaned in aggravation and murmured, "Just don't do it again or I'll smack your stupid face with a bar of soap." Brick did not wait to see if Boomer would reply to this; he knew the younger boy wouldn't dare to talk back to him. Instead, the redhead floated lazily over to his bed and plopped down, folding his arms behind his head and crossing his legs. "By the way," Brick added, opening one eye and furrowing it, "where the heck is Butch?"
As if on cue, someone began incessantly knocking, and a slightly unnerved Boomer flew over to answer it. The moment Boomer unlocked the door, a third boy rocketed into the pub. The newcomer had spiky jet-black hair, forest green eyes, and a green and black shirt, paired with pants and shoes identical to Brick and Boomer's. He hovered in midair, clutching a stack of newspapers that seemed too massive for a person of his size. All the while, he was sporting a scowl that could intimidate an army drill sergeant.
"It's about time you showed up, Butch," Brick teased, not moving from his comfortable position. "I didn't know you read the paper. What are you, ninety?"
Dropping the newspapers to the ground, Butch retorted, "Reading?! As if! I flew all around Townsville today and snatched up these cruddy newspapers 'cuz I wanna start a bonfire and burn their stupid faces in it!" He snatched up one newspaper and gestured to the article on the front page, which displayed a photo of the three Powerpuff Girls in heroic poses. "Just look at those drama queens! They make me sick!" The green-eyed boy then tossed away the paper, which sailed into Boomer's unsuspecting face. The blonde removed the projectile and, rather than retaliate, actually began to skim the pages curiously.
Brick flew over from his bed and grinned evilly down at the offensive publications. "You know what we could do," Brick thought aloud, "is wrap up some dog poop in these newspapers, set them on fire, and place them outside doorsteps the next time we ding-dong-ditch," He placed a hand comfortingly on Butch's shoulder and continued, "Either way, we get to destroy these stupid things. Then maybe we can focus on breaking Mojo Jojo outta jail."
"Umm…guys?" Boomer spoke up, his eyes peeking out from behind his newspaper. "Mojo already broke out yesterday!"
"What?" Brick and Butch interrupted in unison.
The blonde looked up at his brothers with slight excitement and nodded. "It's true! Oh! And here's an article about some tomb in Egypt that's super old with a ton of gold and-"
Before Boomer could finish that sentence, Brick tore the paper out of his hands and quickly found the article. It only took up a quarter of the third page and the font was so small it was nearly illegible. Butch and Boomer sat in silence, and with only slight difficulty, Brick read aloud the following print:
...
Townsville Students Uncover Temple's Treasure Trove
By: Archie O. Logist
Two weeks ago, a team of archeology and anthropology students from Townsville Community College traveled to the ruins of the ancient city Bubastis, located on the Nile River delta. During an excavation of the city's temple, a hidden passageway was uncovered, much to the delight of the group. An exploration party was immediately dispatched to see what secrets the tunnels beneath the temple could contain, but their progress was halted by unforeseen hazards. The Egyptian government has claimed ownership of the passageways and any artefacts that might lay within, but the students have received permission to aid in further excavation of the temple.
If local legends are to be believed, these tunnels may house a wealth of gold, jewelry, and ornaments dating back to the New Kingdom of Egypt. Historians claim the temple was used as a place of worship for their lion goddess, Bast. Seeing as the cult of Bast was disbanded centuries ago, experts suspect that any historical records uncovered from the temple's hidden chamber will reveal much about Egyptian customs and beliefs during this era.
Who knows what secrets will be uncovered that had once been buried in the sands of time?
...
Upon finishing his narration, the red-eyed boy looked up from the paper. He stared blankly at the empty space in front of him, as if contemplating this new information. Then, his mouth curved into a wide, devious grin.