**A/N: Thanks for the great feedback. Hairy Gregory and Phoenix have to be the coolest people for reviewing every time I post lol. Thanks guys! You're making
the process of writing this story go by much quicker than I thought it would. I just can't seem to stay away from it now. **
Chapter 3
"BC WATCH IT!" Blossom shrieked as Buttercup dealt a vicious blow to the monster that sent it spiraling towards an office building. It was well after 8 o'clock meaning the building was inhabited with workers! Blossom threw herself into the line of fire trying to stop the monster's flight toward the building. The heavy body slammed into hers painfully, and she pushed with all her might and will to change the direction of destruction. She felt some of the pressure being reduced, and she opened an eye to see Bubbles beside her helping her push. The monster was sent tumbling to the street.
"What the hell are you doing? Helping it?" Buttercup shrieked. She dived down toward the beast pummeling it with her fist as it offered no defense to her relentless attack on it.
"BC it's down!"
"It's still ALIVE!"
"Blossom we never killed the monsters before...lets not start, ok?" Bubbles looked at Blossom meaningfully. Blossom nodded solemnly as she realized what
Bubbles had in mind. Buttercup was smaller than the two of them, and would be very easy to grab, keeping her restrained was another story. Blossom took to
Buttercup's left while Bubbles took to her right. In her rage, Buttercup never noticed her sisters' ambush.
Kill it dead...kill it and it will never bother you again. Kill the demon, kill it! Let it die, and maybe I'll die with it, as long as it goes away! The monster suddenly had blond hair and hazel eyes, it leered at her lustfully and smiled showing even white teeth. "Quiet now, my little buttercup... Quiet..." It was on top of her, she thrashed and struck out again, not caring that her fists were coming away wet, damp with black monster blood. "What a beautiful little flower you are buttercup...Shhh, now, or I'll pluck your petals." NO! She used her feet to break ribs, DON'T TOUCH ME!
Her head snapped back as she was grabbed from either side forcefully and pulled from her revenge. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
"BC you've got to stop. I think you've killed it."
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"
"Buttercup, we...."
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
She tried to fight them off, but found that she was no match for the two of them. Of course she wasn't, she was weak... How could she forget that?
They flew outside of the city limits and landed just before the Townsville Woods. They released her watching her warily, ready to grab her if she made a move to escape.
Buttercup pulled away from them sitting down on her rump and drawing her short arms and legs into her chest.
"What the hell was that BC?" Blossom exploded. "What the hell was that?! Do you know what you've done? You killed it... I'm pretty sure you killed it."
"Good."
"You could have killed innocent people today as well. What were you thinking about up there?"
"Getting rid of a monster," Buttercup growled dangerously, her green eyes were hooded and menacing like a snake's before it struck.
"The only monster out there, as far as I'm concerned was you. BC, you're becoming part of the problem. We can't fight crime and you."
"Then don't fight me. We'd get a lot more accomplished if you'd just let me take care of the garbage. Who needs the scrum you save? Put them in jail, and they're back out the next week. Kill them and they're gone, forever."
"Is that how you think?"
The question needed no answer in Buttercup's mind.
"Butter....er...BC, what's happened to you?" Bubbles demanded, and Blossom blinked. Was Bubbles actually speaking up and going on the attack?
Buttercup bowed her head, her crown of midnight curls obscuring her face, "Leave me alone," she murmured darkly.
"We've left you alone for long enough, and all you seem to do is get worse! It's been 3 weeks BC, and I'm sick of it!" Blossom seized her sister roughly by the arm and pushed up her thick sleeve. "What is this BC? Is this from a fight, or did you do this?"
Bubbles was gasping from behind her. She hurriedly pushed Blossom out of the way and took Buttercup's blood red arm into her own hands... the skin had been scrubbed off, and angry new skins were being borne to substitute for the abused older layers. "BC... who's done this to you?"
The arm was snatched back, and Buttercup jumped to her feet snarling at them, "Don't touch me! Don't ever touch me!" She backed away from them, her eyes daring one of them to make a move toward her. "Just stay away and leave me alone!"
"We're going to tell the Professor BC. He'll make you..."
"He can't make me do anything! No one can!" Not anymore, she would never let anyone have power over her again.
"You don't know what you're saying," Bubbles said shakily. "You're upset about something, and we want to help you. Please tell us what it is... tell me what it is. Let me help you, BC. This....it's hurting me."
"Oh it's hurting YOU is it? Poor pretty Bubbles with her shiny blond hair and big blue eyes is hurt. Call the police so they can arrest me for my crimes against her. Why does everything have to be about you? Why must you take everything and make it affect you? Everyone's in it for themselves."
"Everyone's in what?" Blossom asked, her eyes narrowed as she glared at Buttercup. "I'm not in anything for myself...I'm in it for the people you hurt. BC, believe it or not, the world does not revolve around you. Other people live on it too, and right now, you're behaving as if you are the only one. What you do DOES affect people! It affects everyone in your family, because you threaten us, everyone in Townsville because you're dangerously stronger than them and they can't protect themselves while you're on one of your wild rampages! You're the only one in it for yourself here, BC....so you tell us. Just what are you trying to get?"
Buttercup glared at Blossom, then at Bubbles who had tears streaming down her face in disgust, "You'd never understand. You could never know how I feel..."
"Maybe if you told us..."
"Tell you? Tell you what? Telling you isn't going to take it away, and make it not happen! Telling you is not going to save the day!"
"B..."
"You develop any time traveling powers as of late Red?"
"No."
"Then you can't help me," Buttercup sneered. "No one can." She gave her sisters one final glare before taking to the air again, "I'm gonna get rid of that corpse. Can't have that lying around Townsville.... it would affect the citizens. I'll see you in school."
The last bell rang for school, and there was still no sign of Buttercup. "She cut school," Blossom was muttering as they exited the classroom. The teacher stopped them on their way out to inquire about Buttercup, "She..."
"We fought a monster this morning, and she felt a little sick after it. Our dad probably decided to keep her home today."
The teacher nodded, accepting the excuse, and telling them to let the Professor know he didn't have to worry about giving a written excuse for Buttercup.
"Looks like she's going to get away with cutting school," Bubbles said. "The Professor will never have to know, and as long as she comes home on time... Oh no..."
"What?" Blossom asked rather peevishly. She was thinking of Buttercup and how she was would like to wring her little neck.
"You don't think she'd run away do you? She told us to leave her alone...and then we saw her arm...and told her we were gonna tell the Professor."
Blossom froze in her tracks, her eyes growing large, "Oh no." Why else wouldn't she come to school? She knew she'd catch hell at home for skipping.
"Blossom?"
"Bubbles, we need to go home and tell the Professor everything."
"But Buttercup..."
"We may need the Professor's help in tracking her down."
"So you think..."
"I don't think, I know. She's left us, and with us being in school all day, she has an 8 hour head start on us. We better hurry home!"
Buttercup...my little buttercup? Are you running from me now? Poor little buttercup, why are you afraid? I only want to tell you how beautiful you are.
LEAVE ME ALONE!
She sat in the shadowy gym alone, her bare legs dangling in the swimming pool. Roz, the gym manager always left the pool open fo her. Buttercup came so often, and at such odd hours, Roz quit trying to keep up and just kept the gate for the girl to get in unlatched, and door with a key taped under the floor mat.
She wore a regulation green one piece that showcased the angry skins that had her family so upset. She was only trying to get clean. It didn't even hurt that much anymore.
Little flower, lovely little flower, come to me. Don't you like being told you're lovely? Such soft petals... Such grace.
She slid into the water allowing the water to close over head like a safe being closed, she couldn't hear him underwater. She kicked her legs and moved her arms, and her body began to glide. She could fly here too, in private. She cut through the water like a carving knife through gelatin. Here she was strong, and in control. The water had to surrender to her every will.
She finally reached the murkier side of the pool, where she could stand up and have her feet touch the bottom and have her head still above water. Her favorite side of the pool, it had secrets just like she did, and she didn't ask it what it hid, nor did it ask her. Full of mystery, she mused about herself and the pool. Did anyone ever think of her as a body of water, she wondered? As poetic as pretty Bubbles was, she perhaps did. Blossom only thought of Buttercup as Satan. That was fine, with Buttercup, the devil shouldn't be messed with. Eventually Blossom would learn that and leave her alone.
She came up for air shortly, then quickly dove back into the water. If she broke the surface for too long he came back. She swam for hours on end, forgetting about school and family, she only wanted the safety of her shadows. Cold as they may be, they comforted her better than anything else could, and best of all, shadows didn't have voices.
She could stay here forever, and was actually contemplating forever, when she heard the door to the pool room opening behind her, and the sound of three people coming into the room.
"Buttercup Utonium, you'd better have a very good explanation for this."
She treaded water, and turned to see the Professor standing before the pool glowering down at her with his hands on his hips. Bubbles and Blossom stood beside him, both trying not to make eye contact with her.
"Come out at once," Professor commanded.
Should she listen to him? He couldn't make her come out... But he was her father, she was supposed to do what he said. She didn't want to give him another reason to hate her.
But if she came out...he would see, see her uncleanliness. She treaded the dark waters some more staring at her father. The lights came on above the pool, Buttercup had to squint before her eyes got used to the light. Bubbles... The shadows of the deep end had cleared and Buttercup could now see through the clear water to the bottom... She gulped, no more shadows to hide in, no more secrets. She slowly began to swim to the ladder. She climbed out and stood dripping before the Professor watching his anger turn to horror when he took in the state of her body. "Buttercup?"
"Please don't call me that anymore. I'm not a flower."
Professor stared at her, "Who's done this?"
Bubbles appeared with a towel, and held it out to Buttercup, who took it and covered herself with it. Once shielded from the burned flesh, the Professor seemed to snap out of his daze, "Come on girls, time to go home so we can talk."
He reached to put a hand on Buttercup's shoulder, but froze when she took a step back from him, "I can find my own way to the car, assuming that you drove."
Professor blinked, then nodded, "Come on girls."
Buttercup walked ahead of the group, she went into the dressing room to retrieve her clothes. She pulled them on over her damp skin. She never cared if her clothes were wet. She liked the sting of the cool Autumn air on her wet body. Wet clothes, wet skin, wet hair, maybe she'd get sick. Maybe she'd catch pneumonia and die. She came back out, not surprised to see her family waiting right outside the door to the locker room for her. Together they walked out of the gym into the parking lot to the car. Together they got in, but the small family had never been so internally divided in their entire existence.
"You're still all wet. Why didn't you dry off?" Bubbles asked innocently.
Buttercup shrugged, "Doesn't matter."
"You're getting the seat wet."
"Should have left me where I was then. I know the way back home."
"We weren't too sure of that," Blossom said somberly with a sigh. She turned around in the front seat to spy upon her dark haired sister. She sat hunched with her head to the floor, but she must have sensed eyes on her, for her head jerked up. Her cool green eyes glared at Blossom, Why can't you just leave me alone?
Because now is not the time for you to be alone, BC. Please try to understand we want to help you...or just stop you from turning into this monster you're becoming.
It was a 20 minute drive back to their house that was filled with silence. When they pulled into the driveway it was dark. The Professor told everyone to get out of the car, and instructed Buttercup to go dry off. When she was done, she was to come downstairs and they would have a family meeting.
Buttercup shivered as she ventured up the stairs. She chose to dry off in the bedroom, and pulled off her soggy jeans and sweatshirt and reached for a large green towel in her closet. The big cloth came free and as she pulled it towards her body something tumbled out, and floated gracefully around her head tickling her nose and landing on her foot. A buttercup....
He was there.
"Hello little flower..." his breath tickled her neck, "still in beautiful and in bloom..." She felt her body freeze as the hypodermic needle was inserted into the flesh of her back. She was his in a matter of seconds.
"My little buttercup..." He lifted her in one fluid motion and crept to the window to make his descent with his tough, but precious flower for his garden.
