Chapter 8: Memory

Blossom sat in the living room, looking at her hands, mainly because she knew if she looked up, she would only see her siblings' faces of anger or worry. "I don't get it, Blossom. Why were you hiding him here? What, is he your boyfriend or something?" Buttercup asked why she was hiding a fugitive. "What?! No! It's just… I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," Blossom claimed, sighing in a slight sadness, knowing she had been found out. Just denying it would be a worse idea. "Oh come on, Blossom. I'm sure you had a good reason," Bubbles reassured, knowing their leader wouldn't act without a real reason behind doing this.

"Well… I kind of gave him amnesia. I was hoping to turn him into a good guy. You know?" Blossom tried to justify her actions, her eyes looking away awkwardly. "You can't turn someone good. You know he's just going to get his memory back and try to kill you or something. I say it's better if we just find Butch and Boomer and let them handle it," Buttercup said. She didn't want to risk her family's safety over a form of dumb dream of changing someone from evil to good. "I have to agree with Buttercup. Sooner or later, he might forget all the good when he remembers the evil," Bubbles agreed. She liked the idea of changing someone to good like that, it was more than likely impossible if the person didn't even remember their own name without a reminder. "Fine… let's go try to negotiate. Bubbles, you watch him," Blossom said, darting off with Buttercup beside her, leaving behind two trails of green and pink respectively.

Bubbles began watching over Brick, feeling like a bodyguard to a convicted criminal. He was just reading a book out of boredom. A voice rang out from downstairs and distracted Bubbles. "Girls! Could one of you come help me?" the professor called out. "I'll be back," she told him before going downstairs to the basement that was his laboratory. Her father was in the middle of trying to keep two pieces of metal together. "Can you weld these pieces together for me? If I let go, they just snap apart," the professor asked. "Of course, professor," Bubbles chimed, floating over and using her heat vision to assist him in his invention. They never minded helping him create his inventions and devices.

While Brick was waiting and looking at the floor, he heard a light tapping noise. Looking to the window raising an eyebrow and approaching, he found Boomer floating there with his arms behind his head, waiting patiently. "Hey again," Boomer gave a wave. Brick opened the window. "Oh… you again, bro?" Brick greeted him confusedly. His mind was clearly trying its hardest to remember, but so far it wasn't coming out in good results. Boomer nodded with a smirk. "Yeah. I thought I'd come help jog that memory," Boomer claimed. Brick wanted nothing more than to follow. He flew out the window. "Come on. I got a special little thing set up for ya," he insisted for his sibling to follow. He flew off ahead, Brick following his lead, excited wanting to find out what he really was.

Meanwhile, Blossom and Buttercup had found Butch, and they were talking to him at the family cabin that was once owned by the Lumpkins'. "And that's pretty much what happened. I'm sorry," Blossom had finished explaining what had happened to Brick, knowing his brothers were all but worried for him. "Yeah… no, we aren't taking him back," Butch simply responded. "What?! Why?" Buttercup questioned. She didn't even want to consider the thought of being stuck babysitting one of the Rowdyruffs. "'Cause as far as I care, he's a Powerpuff right after he saved that bank," he simply answered, referring to the incident prior to the other day. The sisters looked somewhat embarrassed that he was being compared to them in terms of heroism, since he was now being considered a bad guy at heart.

Buttercup came up with an idea. "But think of all you could have him do, Butchie," she started. "Don't call me Butchie," he hissed, waiting for her to make her point. "As I was saying… he isn't as mean as before. You could make him do whatever you wanted, really. You'd be the leader of the Rowdyruffs then," Buttercup suggested. Butch stopped for a second, rubbing his chin, actually pondering it for the moment. "…fine. Just bring him here," Butch agreed to this. Blossom was glad that they weren't going to completely forget their brother. She didn't hesitate to fly off to get Brick, letting Buttercup stay behind to make sure Butch didn't change his mind.

Brick continued to follow Boomer. They were being lead to an old closed down library that had long since been forgotten. Brick just followed inside through the ceiling that had been mostly fallen apart over years of age and damage that had done its toll on it. "So… what are we doing here?" he asked while landing on the dusty old ground, seeing the many books in the library had were mostly left untouched. "To show you who you really are. I went and gathered up all the old news reports on us," Boomer told him while going over to the only thing that wasn't dusty, an old ring binder that was resting on a nearby desk that he had been assembling all day.

Brick went over and opened the ring binder, revealing a pile of old newspaper clippings of the trio doing various evil acts from robbing banks, throwing cars, wrecking buildings and starting fires, even a few photos of them fighting the Powerpuffs. Each clipping brought up a feeling in his head. Each page he viewed made him remember more and more. Boomer was in a state of boredom, folding pages that he randomly ripped from books into various animals. Suddenly, his brother stood up and zapped one of Boomer's origami animals into ash with his heat vision. "Uh… dude?" he gulped. Brick grabbed him by his shirt collar and forced him up. "Boomer… it's time we get payback at the puffs, and I owe butch something too." He declared. "Yes! You're back dude!" Boomer cheered hugging his brother in glee. Brick didn't hug back, and instead shoved him off. "Come on," Brick hissed, darting off through the ceiling with a dark red light following him. His brother just sped off to try and catch up as well.

End of Chapter 8