Chapter 3: They reach Townsville and meet the Utonium family.
Reaching Townsville, Buttercup was extremely happy. Finally, after taking the subway and taking the bus to the suburbs, they were here at the familiar, stark white house of the Powerpuff girls.
"Go onss," Snake encouraged Buttercup to ring the doorbell.
As soon as she did, the door opened and Buttercup was slammed down in a streak of blue and pink.
"Ow!"
"Buttercup! You're home!" Blossom cried.
"Shh, keep it low will ya? I don't want people to recognize me!"
"Why?" Bubbles asked.
Only then, they spotted Snake standing forlornly with the bags of stuff. "Um, hi?" he offered.
"YOU!" Bubbles and Blossom were poised to attack him, but Buttercup stopped them just in time.
"Please, he's a good guy! He helped show me the way home." Buttercup stood between Snake and her sisters.
After a few moments, Blossom said, "Okay, Bubbles, help me carry this stuff upstairs. Come in, then."
Phew, Snake thought.
"Professor, Buttercup, she's back!" Blossom streaked past them to the laboratory. Not long, the Professor walked in and gathered the girls for a hug.
"Buttercup, what happened to you?"
"I, I was playing for a band, the Gangreen Gang."
"What, why didn't you come straight home? You had us all worried for you," the Professor said, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"I lost my memory. That's why I needed Snake to lead me home." All eyes stared at Snake, making him feel very uncomfortable.
"Thanks Snake," Blossom said.
"Yeah, thank you, Snake!" Bubbles and the Professor said, smiling.
"Yeah, no problemsss." Snake scratched the back of his head in awkwardness.
"Just WHOSE clothes were you wearing?" Blossom asked.
"Um, the shirt's from Ace, the jeans from Snake and the shoes were Arturo's," Buttercup said. Bubbles giggled while Blossom looked horrified. Buttercup rolled her eyes. Were her sisters always this irritating? She pitied Snake who was left sitting in the living room, no doubt feeling awkward. Bubbles wandered off to look at her guitar bag.
"Wow, you play the guitar?" Bubbles asked.
"Yeah, and Snake's the bassist."
Thankfully, the Professor's voice called out, "Dinner time!" Gosh, was it almost night already? The introductions and re-familiarizing must have really taken them a long time, Buttercup thought. And Snake! She had almost forgotten about Snake.
"Coming professor!" Blossom and Bubbles flew but stopped when they saw Buttercup walking. "We'll explain everything at dinner, I promise." Bubbles looked sadly at Buttercup, and the three walked together to the dining table.
Snake was helping to set the table, moving with practiced ease. "What? I usually set the table for the guys anyway," Snake said to Buttercup who stared.
Dinner commenced and they started discussing. "Alright. Buttercup, what happened was that Mojo-jojo shot you with a Powerpuff-weakening ray that made you lose your powers. We'd thought you drowned in the ocean." Blossom swallowed a few sniffles, and the Professor gave Bubbles a hug who had burst into tears.
"But it's okay now that you're here," Bubbles said weakly with watery eyes.
"Once again, I thank you for taking my daughter in and returning her once she got well," the Professor said seriously to Snake. "It's night now, do you have a place to stay?"
"Not reallyss. The band iss now in Citiesville, so I guess I can jussst ssleep at the dumps?" he offered.
The professor looked horrified. "No! You can stay here for the night, Snake."
Buttercup positively beamed. "Thanks Professor!" She grinned at Snake and blushed when Buttercup giggled at her reaction.
That night, Snake slept in a sleeping bag in the living room. The professor offered to sleep on the couch but Snake refused so in the end they found a brand-new sleeping bag still in its packaging.
Buttercup sneaked out of her room to look at him sleep. He looked so peaceful, and Buttercup couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Buttercup?" Bubbles voice shocked her.
"W-what are you doing here?" Buttercup asked.
Bubbles giggled. "I know what you're doing here. You're looking at Snake sleep cos you like him, don't you?"
She gave a knowing smirk when Buttercup flushed red, visible even in the darkened living room. Bubbles was actually more mature than she looked, Buttercup thought.
"Don't worry, I think he likes you too. He likes you so much he stayed even when he looked like he was going to die from embarrassment today." Bubbles hugged Buttercup. "You're right, Snake is a good guy. I hope you're happy together."
"Yeah." Sheesh, what a way to go. Getting caught by her sister while staring at her boyfriend sleep.
"Don't forget to come in once you're done staring," Bubbles said, earning a death glare from Buttercup.
Early next morning, the smell of cheesy bacon omelet wafted in the air. "Mmm…" Buttercup woke up and went to the kitchen.
Looking at the plates set with the microwave-heated croissants and steaming coffee, she was stunned. She immediately hugged the tall guy cooking the delicious-smelling omelet from behind…who turned out to be Snake. The professor stepped in at that very moment.
"Uh, um, I thought you were the professor!" Buttercup blushed.
"Oh, Snake's helping me cook breakfast today. I take it that you like his cooking?" the Professor slyly raised an eyebrow. He cleared his throat which suspiciously sounded like a laugh.
Snake expertly folded the omelet and set it on the plate. While he acted like he kept his cool, inwardly he was cringing.
