The mysterious man, the void, those eyes… Buttercup's thoughts were interrupted by a strict-sounding voice.
"Buttercup!" It was Blossom. Buttercup blinked, snapping out of her trance.
"W-What?" She managed to stammer out. "What, Blossom?"
"We were so worried about you!" She raised her voice.
"I know, I'm sorry."
She sighed. "It's okay…are you hurt?"
"I think I'm fine…"
"Do you remember anything that happened?"
"All I remember is chasing some guy down an alleyway…then I got struck by lightning and I passed out."
She wasn't going to include the details about the phone ringing and all the things in between her waking up. They couldn't know about that yet. Buttercup didn't want to make them even more worried than they already are. She didn't have any fatal injuries, but she knew that whatever scratches or bruises she had, in Blossom's mind they were probably multiplied to sound a hundred times worse than they really were. She knew that, though. That's just the way Blossom was.
"Buttercup, are you okay? Do you have any injur-"
"Listen Blossom, I'm fine, so can we stop talking about it now?" Buttercup interrupted, losing her patience.
"Oh…alright…" Blossom's voice got quieter. There was a long silence.
"Well, the doctor said you can come home, but you need lots of bed rest." Bubbles' voice cut through the stillness. Blossom looked at her and nodded.
"You might not be able to fight crime for a while." She added. Buttercup shot up in her bed, sitting up straight.
"But why?" She asked, a look of worry coming over her face. Wasn't the Chemical X in them supposed to heal wounds or bruises in a shorter time than this? She couldn't just quit for a week. All three of them remember what happened when one of them was missing when they needed to fight crime.
"Buttercup, you were seriously damaged during that lightning strike…" Blossom's voice was stern.
Buttercup was starting to get worried. What would happen if she couldn't fight crime? She couldn't do anything except listen. If she tried to start fighting again, her condition might worsen.
Just not to worry her sisters, she replied with a "Whatever".
The Utonium family checked out of the hospital and got in the car to take Buttercup home. The silence during the car ride was so thick, you could cut through it with a knife. Not even Bubbles tried to start conversation. It felt like hours to Buttercup until they got home. Finally, they all got out of the car and Buttercup took in a deep breath of fresh air she hadn't felt in a while.
It's really nice out, she thought. But they probably want me to stay inside…
Buttercup walked inside with her family, lingering behind. Her mind was still stuffed full of questions, like the crust on a pizza. She almost didn't hear the Professor telling her that dinner would be ready soon. She snapped out of her thoughts.
She just responded with a bland "Okay" and floated up the stairs. She landed softly on the ground and walked into a room down the long hallway. Buttercup opened the door and slugged inside. For some reason, she didn't feel like talking to anybody. Not even her family. This is the place she went when days like these came across. It's not very special, but the laundry room helps her thoughts flow. Buttercup slowly floated up and placed herself in the red laundry basket, in between the bed sheets.
Mmm…still warm…
Since she didn't have her green blanket anymore, Buttercup started coming here to soothe her whirling thoughts and grumpy moods. As she got comfortable, she began to think. Maybe not so much though, because within the first five minutes of trying to click her thoughts into place, she started to feel drowsy. This is always the only problem with her special thinking place. Buttercup rolled on her side, feeling her eyelids getting heavy. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.
"Where's Buttercup?" Blossom raised her voice so Bubbles could hear her.
"I don't know, she went upstairs a half hour ago!" Bubbles replied.
"Want me to go get her?"
Bubbles nodded, and Blossom went upstairs in search of her sister. She looked everywhere she thought Buttercup could be, except the laundry room. Her family didn't exactly know she goes there on occasion. After ten minutes of searching, Blossom gave up and returned to Bubbles.
"I can't find her…" She uttered.
Bubbles looked a little worried.
"Well…let's not worry. She'll probably come back." Bubbles nodded in agreement, but was still worried since they'd already lost Buttercup once.
Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder rumbles above them, almost shaking the house. Bubbles shrieked and zipped over to the couch to hide under a pillow. Blossom didn't go that far, but she was still startled.
That's so strange…didn't it just rain yesterday?
Buttercup awoke with a start. She fell out of the laundry basket, the sheets inside it toppling over her. Buttercup scrambled to get up and ran over to the window in the bathroom, to see what the commotion was. The sky was coated with a gray smog, and rain was pouring down nonstop by bucketfuls. Lightning flashed brightly and thunder rolled through the air. Buttercup sighed.
More rain?
She sighed. Well, at least she didn't fall asleep for too long this time. Buttercup floated downstairs, rubbing her eyes.
"Where have you been?" Blossom scolded.
"Sorry." She mumbled, joining her family at the dinner table.
The Professor came back with four plates of food, each stacked on another.
"A little help?" He chuckled.
Bubbles and Blossom smiled, and helped him with the plates before they fell. They ate in silence for a little while, until the Professor noticed that Buttercup wasn't eating.
"Buttercup, is everything okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine…" She was poking at her mashed potatoes with her fork.
"Are you sure?" Blossom asked as well.
"Perfectly fine." Buttercup was getting a little angry.
"Really sure?" Bubbles pressed.
"I'm fine, okay?"
A loud clap of thunder boomed, startling Buttercup's family members. Lightning flashed.
"I'm not hungry…" She growled. Without asking to be excused, she angrily stomped upstairs.
The rain seemed to be coming down even harder now.