Author's Notes: Hello, everyone! Where to start? First of all, I'm sorry it's been two months since I last updated this fic, and I also apologize for not posting as frequently on FF. I've had a lot of other projects going on, and while I still want to update my stories whenever I can I simply haven't had the time for it lately. These things come in waves though, so maybe soon I'll be able to update a lot of stories. I'm already working on a couple story updates including new chapters of "Fan-Turbotastic" and "Prisoners of Pride". I also want to work on my TF stories, but it's hard to pin down just one to sit down and write. Anyway, thank you to everyone who is following this PPG fic, and I hope you enjoy this chapter of "Friendship is a Many Splendored Thing" :)
Chapter 7
Chemical Reaction
Bubbles and Buttercup didn't know what had gotten into Blossom lately, but she seemed determined to find the hideout of a street gang known as the Taser Blades. It seemed beneath the Powerpuff Girls to go after a low-level annoyance like the Taser Blades, but for some reason Blossom was pursuing them like a dog hunting down an escaped convict, which technically they were.
She went to a dive bar and asked if anyone had seen the good for nothing rogues, and surprisingly the burly bikers and muscular miscreants were quite nice and accommodating. Apparently even lowlives appreciated it that the Powerpuff Girls frequently saved the day for the citizens of Townsville.
Blossom had learned from one of the patrons that a Taser Blade gangster named Mike "Havoc" Jermaine frequented the docks to pick up shipments of illicit contraband and shoot the breeze with the sailors. Blossom started flying in the direction of the docks to find this guy and make him tell her where the others were located. No one hurt her friends and got away with it, and she wanted Wild Thing to be able to sleep at night without fear of these hooligans.
Just as Blossom was approaching the pier her cell phone rang, and when she saw the number was her house she picked it up.
"Hello?" Blossom replied as politely as she could despite her impatience.
"Hey Blossom, you won't guess who showed up to our house," Buttercup replied; a disbelieving edge to her tone.
"Not now, Buttercup. I'm busy," Blossom dismissed; uninterested in their mystery guest.
"It's Brick," Buttercup told her, and Blossom stopped dead in her tracks.
Brick, the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys. That was the last answer Blossom had been expecting. The Rowdyruff Boys had left Townsville three years ago without warning and the girls hadn't seen them since. The boys were a threat when they took their fights with the girls seriously, but most of the time all they cared about was messing around and causing mayhem and destruction. Blossom couldn't exactly say she missed them.
"Did he say what he wanted?" Blossom asked guardedly.
"Yeah, he did," Buttercup replied; her tone surprisingly subdued for the boisterous Powerpuff, "Blossom, I think you should come back home. You...you've gotta see this. You won't believe it."
Did Buttercup sound scared? Cautious? What was that tone Blossom was hearing? Whatever it was it didn't sound good, and Blossom knew it must be serious to shake up someone as strong as Buttercup. Sighing, Blossom turned around and headed home, forgetting her former mission for the moment.
Ace had gone off alone to shoplift at a convenient store and snag some lunch for the other members of the gang. The cashier most likely knew Ace was stealing their stuff, but only a fool would be crazy enough to confront the leader of the Gangreen Gang over something so petty. As Ace left the store he stopped at the automatic doors, turned back to the frightened cashier, and smirked to show off his intimidating fangs. He still relished that feeling of power, even after so long.
Meanwhile the other four members waited at the condemned house with twitchy limbs and empty stomachs. Big Billy would whine every few minutes that he was hungry, and the others would try to calm him down as best they could. Billy pulled on his orange beard that he had grown in the past few years and tried to find some leftover candy that might've got stuck in there. No such luck. He would just have to wait.
Grubber couldn't help but watch the big brute. In many regards Grubber pitied the gentle yet powerful oaf, but there was one area where he was actually a little envious of Billy. Grubber, for whatever reason, couldn't grow facial hair. It was likely due to the subspecies of subhuman he was, but he wasn't able to grow hair anywhere but on his head. He didn't even have armpit hair, which was a shame because he enjoyed grossing people out any way he could.
Finally, after waiting for over an hour, Ace returned home with his jacket pockets lined with treats. Billy cheered and wrapped their leader in a crushing hug, and when the overgrown man-child let go Ace handed him a bag of chips and a soda. He then distributed various food items to the other three gangsters.
Grubber gratefully took the package of snowball cakes and the soda. Snake grabbed some beef jerky and soda, and Arturo grabbed chips and the one cup of hot coffee Ace had brought with him. Arturo loved coffee, and for whatever reason Ace treated him better than the other three. Probably because he was the fastest with a knife when they got into street fights.
"Hey guys," Ace called for attention, and everybody stopped eating to look at him, "While I was out I also snagged some CDs for everyone."
CDs, while primitive compared to downloading music, were easier to steal. Truth was in many ways the Gangreen Gang despite their young age were virtually trapped in the past due to having to either steal stuff or root around in the trash to find things. That meant they couldn't stream things and relied on more archaic methods of consuming media. Either way the gang was excited, because it wasn't typical for Ace to give them presents.
"Snake, I snagged you Tupac Shakur," Ace said with a smile as he handed his right hand man the classic disc.
"Yesss! Thanksss, Accce," Snake replied eagerly as he took the CD and held it out to look at it admiringly.
"And this one is for Arturo," Ace continued as he handed a CD to Lil' Arturo.
"Toby Keith!?" Arturo snapped angrily as he looked at the country album and then glared up at Ace.
"Hah hah, just kiddin'," Ace chuckled before handing him another CD.
"Enrique Iglesias? That's worse!" Arturo shouted even more furiously, "I don't wanna listen to no sissy songs!"
Ace was doubled over now laughing, before he took that CD as well and handed Arturo his actual gift.
"Weird Al Yankovic. Much better," Arturo nodded in approval.
"Weird Al? Ssseriously?" Snake asked critically.
"Shut up, man! Weird Al's a genius!" Arturo snapped defensively as he held his CD closer to him.
"Oh boy! Oh boy oh boy! What did Billy get?" Big Billy asked excitedly as he jumped up and down; causing the room to shake.
"I got you Blarney The Sea Serpent Movie Soundtrack," Ace replied as he handed Billy the kiddie CD, "I can't believe they still sell this thing. That movie came out like ten years ago."
"Yay! Blarney!" Billy cheered as he grabbed the CD and hugged Ace again.
Ace was really starting to get tired of Billy hugging him, but he was the one gang member that Ace couldn't bully into stopping. Once Billy finally let Ace down the gang's leader gave Grubber his CD. It was excerpts from the opera Pagliacci. Grubber blew a raspberry in thanks and went off to find his CD player.
Grubber could say a lot of things about Ace, not all of them flattering. He knew his leader could be demanding, abrasive, manipulative, and abusive. One thing Grubber appreciated about Ace though was that he didn't care that his friends didn't think exactly like him or that they all had different interests and tastes. Arturo could be mischievous, Snake could try too hard to be cool, Grubber could like sophisticated things while actively mocking a civilized lifestyle, and Billy could be childish and naive. It didn't matter. They were united by the unforgiving hand the world had dealt them and they were also united in their pursuit of fun and power.
Blossom returned home to see Bubbles crying on the couch and Buttercup trying to comfort her. Blossom had expected to see Brick right away, but the only sign of him was muddy footprints on the formerly clean blue carpet.
"Alright girls, where's Brick?" Blossom asked immediately.
That question only made Bubbles cry louder for some reason. Blossom was starting to feel kind of weirded out by this strange reaction. What was going on?
"He's down in the lab with the professor," Buttercup replied, much calmer than her blue-clad sister, "Blossom, he looks terrible."
"So what else is new?" Blossom tried to joke, but the solemn look Buttercup gave her said that she was serious, "Wait, what happened?"
"It's science mumbo jumbo. The professor will be able to explain it better," Buttercup dodged the question, "Just be prepared, Blossom. It ain't pretty."
Blossom was worried about what she would see down there, but she was curious enough to override her sense of trepidation and venture forth downstairs. She floated down quietly to see if she could get a handle on the situation before she spoke to the professor. What she saw sent chills down her spine.
Brick was in a containment field, likely so he couldn't hurt the professor if something went wrong. His entire body had broken out into pustules and rashes. Several places were oozing black liquid. His eyes, while already naturally red, looked swollen and bloodshot. His clothes and hat were covered in the strange black puss. He was still awake, and he was moaning in pain.
Blossom gasped, and the professor turned around to look at her. His gaze was sympathetic and sad. He knew Blossom would be disgusted by the sight of Brick's pitiful condition, but there was something else in his look Blossom couldn't quite place.
"Professor, what happened to him?" Blossom asked in shock.
"Well, from what I've been able to gather through running tests on the young man," The professor replied with the warm professionalism of a doctor, "The Chemical X in his bloodstream is breaking down. You see Blossom, the Chemical X Mojo Jojo used to create the Rowdyruff Boys was impure, and because of this it breaks down much more quickly than unadulterated Chemical X."
"Butch..." Brick rasped despite how painful it clearly was for him to speak, "...Boomer. They're sick too. What do we do?"
"Well, first of all you need to be treated with pure Chemical X," The professor explained, "However, we must be careful. Since you're already 4 years old your body might believe the new Chemical X is a foreign body and try to expel it. The measurements must be exact, and I don't feel confident in proceeding until I know the exact dosage you need."
"What..." Brick had to cough up bile before he could continue, "What if...what happens? If I don't get treated?"
The professor looked down sorrowfully, and that told Blossom and Brick everything they needed to know. If the professor didn't cure them, then the Rowdyruff Boys would die.
"Brick?" Blossom called to the suffering young punk, "Why did you come here? Why didn't you go to Mojo Jojo?"
"Didn't *cough* work," Brick replied weakly, "Boomer tried. Mojo...threw him out. We ain't got nowhere else...to go."
Blossom, despite not necessarily liking the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys, couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Mojo Jojo was essentially their father, yet the simian scientist threw out his own creations when they became inconvenient for him. She couldn't even imagine that kind of rejection.
"Blossom, I know it's asking a lot," The professor began cautiously, "But I could really use some help running tests."
"I'm on it, Professor," Blossom replied with a determined nod.
They went to the lab together and started working on a potential cure for the Rowdyruff Boys. Brick was too tired to watch them work, and he found science boring anyway, so he decided to take a little nap. A little sleep wouldn't hurt him, right?
As they worked on computer simulations of Chemical X dosage in someone with the body chemistry of a Rowdyruff Boy, Blossom noticed that the professor sighed several times in as many minutes. Something was distressing him, and she had a feeling that it wasn't just Brick's dire condition.
"Professor? What's wrong?" Blossom asked, deciding to take the direct approach, "Is it about Brick, or is it something else?"
"Well..." The professor wasn't sure if he should share his suspicions with Blossom, but she was the most mature of his daughters, so he decided to likewise take the direct approach, "When I made you girls 9 years ago, adding Chemical X had been an accident. I kept it around because it was a newly constructed formula and no one yet knew the full extent of its uses and hazards. Blossom...Brick's Chemical X isn't just leaving his body, it's losing its potency and being flushed because his body no longer recognizes it."
"So?" Blossom asked uncomprehendingly.
"So it means that Chemical X expires," The professor told her, "I didn't know that before. No one knew. Chemical X has only existed for a couple decades. What I'm worried about is...if we can't find a cure for the Rowdyruff Boys...Blossom, this could happen to you and your sisters. You have pure Chemical X inside you, so it will take longer, but eventually your systems could wear out and you could become sick in the same way the Rowdyruff Boys are sick. I'm just worried...what if we can't...?"
"We'll find the cure, Professor," Blossom reassured him confidently, "After all, we're both geniuses. What could go wrong?"
With those words Blossom went back to work with the professor. Despite her confident exterior however she couldn't help but take the professor's words to heart. She had often wondered about how her body functions. Chemical X created children was an untested concept, and it was so easy for something to go wrong.
Blossom still remembered the times when things did go wrong. When she and her sisters were young they had made a Powerpuff Girl named Bunny to be their younger sister and help them fight crime. The being they had made was large, disfigured, and mentally stunted. She released criminals from prison that went on to attack the other three girls. Bunny exploded a few days after her initial creation, right after saving her sisters' lives from the mess she herself created. Blossom had harbored guilt over Bunny's life and death ever since, though it was something she, Bubbles, and Buttercup never discussed openly.
There was also that time Professor Utonium's so-called college friend Dick Hardley had used decreased doses of Chemical X to create his own knock-off Powerpuffs. They also were disfigured, indicating Bunny's issue likewise might have been an insufficient amount of the mysterious chemical. Those Powerpuffs also died after their first fights, which meant they likewise had been unstable.
What if the Rowdyruff Boys didn't make it? What if the Powerpuff Girls themselves were in danger of becoming unstable? Blossom didn't want to think about it, but her mind wouldn't allow her to stop pondering the morbid question. They had to save Brick, otherwise it could be the end of not just one life, but six.
Author's Notes: I didn't really want to use the Rowdyruff Boys in my fic since they are overused characters in the PPG community, but they were the best ones to serve this subplot of the story so in they go! Let's hope that decision doesn't come back to bite me...
