Chapter 2: Welcome Aboard
The white light was washed out and pale. It seemed like the world wasn't a physical form. It was a soft visible air that shimmered with a white mist. But he was standing regardless. It was a floating sensation. The beauty of this place was drowned out by the confusion it brought.
There were no people. There were no trees. There were no houses. There were no streets. Just barren land, if it could be called land. Everything was smeared together; he couldn't tell where ends meet. Where the ocean met the skyline, where up connected to down, and left became right…
It was an endless white fog.
He put out an ear to catch the sound. To locate anything that wasn't him. Did he even exist? He figured he did in some way, somehow.
He could hear a faint and distant cry. It grew louder, it grew heavier. There was more than one. Multiple voices- male and female- and they were talking all at once. It was a jumbled mess of the English language- all repeating one thing, unfortunately not to the rhythm of the same drum.
He stressed his ability to hear and think. He began to process as much words as possible, enough to form a logical sentence.
End. This end. The end. This the end. End this is. Is not the. This is not.
This is not the end.
Brick shot out of bed and groaned, annoyed with yet another screwed up dream. He slammed down his alarm clock as it rang, just like every other day as of late. It was an ongoing cycle, ever since the day of the Gangreen Gang leader's death. He would jump out of bed after having the same damned nightmare, and he would always wake up at exactly 2:22, AM or PM, and five seconds before his alarm clock went off because of a dumb glitch it caught after being dropped too hard.
In other words, Brick was all too used to this.
This time it was morning; the sky was almost pitch black with the smallest traces of violet and orange. He peered out the large framed window beside his bed. It was a view of the quiet street just below his room. The streetlights provided a warming glow that melted the world into a calm orange fireplace, and as much as he hated getting up this early, the sight of a peaceful night made him feel at ease.
"Brick, you're awake?"
At least he was at ease.
He turned with a hardened expression, facing the direction of his door where the tiny voice had come from. In walked a boy who seemed too small and thin for his age, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to adjust to the early awakening.
"I could ask you the same thing, Boomer." He said as Boomer plopped himself down on the edge of the bed. Brick took his place next to him, turning towards his younger brother. "Why are you up right now?"
"Well, I heard you get up…" Boomer muttered quietly, still dreadfully tired. After staying up until one o'clock, not to mention waking up that day at six in the morning, he'd been awake for roughly 19 hours. Brick knew, as certain as the sunrise, that ninety percent of those hours had been invested into nothing useful, and probably something time and energy consuming.
"You don't need to worry about me, Boomer. I'm the older brother, it's my job." He explained as he ran his slightly muscled arm gently down the young blonde's back. It provided a sense of comfort as usual; comfort that Boomer particularly needed to progress in anything nowadays. He patted lightly and drew small circles as the younger siblings eyes drew to a close.
He was relaxed now, drifting in and out of consciousness. Brick smiled, watching him react like a baby kitten trying it's hardest not to fall asleep, but cutely failing miserably.
The silence dragged on into the still night. The air was warm and smelled of mildew and fresh laundry. An odd odor, but a soothing scent nevertheless. Brick took in the tranquillity; greedily grasped at the silence and wouldn't let go. He needed peace; he needed some time to himself to clear his mind of weary thoughts.
"Brick…?"
"…What is it, Boom?"
"Can I sleep in your room tonight?"
He sighed in slight annoyance. He was not mad at his family for wanting to be with him, but was mad at himself for a reason he couldn't put a finger on. Maybe it was his job as an Older Brother, and the fact that he should've been fired by now. He looked down into innocent eyes. Pure blue; deeper than the deepest sea yet lighter than the sunniest sky. The life that he provided this teeny-tiny excuse of a man was decent enough for him to set aside his personal problems. Bottling up for one more night wouldn't hurt now would it?
He hugged the teenaged baby with all his life's dependence, and whispered a positive response.
"Of course you can."
Brick guided Boomer carefully down onto the bed, pulling in the sheets and closing the door. He made sure to snuggle closely, just to provide him with that comfort he longed for. For once, Brick had the energy to stay up, just until his brother's warm breaths slowed down and the mysterious pools of blue faded and shut for the night; then, and only then, would he sleep.
So as he listened and followed the rise and fall of his fragile chest he couldn't help but imagine the family back together again. He could see it, right there. When they were kids, dumb and naïve, and didn't give a damn about the world they lived in. Back then, when they fought for entertainment, not survival. Running around with his immature little brothers and getting a whooping they deserved from their counterparts each time.
"Yeah…" Brick smirked nostalgically, enjoying the moment of bliss that came from those memories. "If only Butch were here."
He shut his eyes. Sleep came easily for once.
"So, he was shot by his own gun?" Professor said in disbelief. The whole world knew about Flynn Lumpkins' absurd obsession with firearms. Particularly his classic Remington 870 shotgun which he probably slept cuddled up to at night. "Yes, that is correct, shocking as it is." Bubbles shrank into her chair as Blossom responded, her eyes drooping ever so slightly. She was tired of all of this, especially so early in the morning. When would the real summer break actually begin? When would she get any break whatsoever? A pair of green eyes turned her way, absorbing the body language was giving. Buttercup just smiled reassuringly at her younger sister and muttered for her to lighten up a bit.
But she didn't seem so lightened up herself.
Bubbles took note of that as she excused herself to the kitchen.
"I can't bear to see you girls struggling with this on your own…" John worried aloud, catching Blossom's attention.
"We'll be fine for now dad. I don't want you to get too stressed." Buttercup turned to him with a knowing smirk.
"We all remember what happened last time you got too worked up juggling work and us at the same time." She recalled.
He sighed, scratching at his thinned-out hair.
"So, Butch decided not to show up this time around, huh?" Boomer eyed his father, who spoke with a loud and clear voice on the opposite side of the table. Brick grabbed firmly onto his shoulder, pulling him back before shaking his head. Boomer understood and turned away from the standing man.
His curiosity dragged his eyes around the room as his brother proceeded to explain Butch's possible whereabouts. His eyes lingered above the entrance, diagonal from where he took his seat. A large silver slate with Communication Discussion Agreement engraved in large bold lettering. A cough to his left shook his thoughts and he looked to the man sitting upright beside him. He wore a lab coat and his hair was Golden brown. Boomer almost didn't recognize him without his trademark Ray-Ban shades. His nametag read Dick Hardly, which is another thing about him that Boomer never knew.
He'd always seen these men and women running around their house, but never quite understood why they were always there looking at him, smiling at him, downright ignoring him. Professor Hardly felt his eyes lingering, and looked down at him with a warm grin. He smiled back awkwardly, not really knowing how to react properly.
Brick nudged him for staring too long in the first place.
They sat in the room, around a large table with a handful of men and women, all older than them by over ten years. The only person that even came close to their age was a fair-haired woman by the name of Catalina Ibachi- 24 years of age.
Brick, being the eldest child of three, would have no choice but to be the mature one of the group and use his knowledge of the situation to help his younger brothers. He continued to listen for the two of them, even despite the absence of one.
His father continued to preach to the room of elders. "That murderer has taken out the Gangreen Gang; it's impossible to think it was a one-man show. Especially after our very own professor Hardly here got his sticky fingers on a few shots of Chemical X." The two men smirked at one another, putting sniveling grins on the faces of those in the room before returning to the seriousness of the topic at hand.
A raven haired woman, seemingly in her thirties, snickered, gaining attention from the individuals in the CDA room. "If you think about it, those boys were pretty stupid. Maybe they'd be alive if they had the slightest clue." She folded her slender arms across her chest.
The director of the group turned to her with judging eyes. "Just what are you getting at, Ima?"
"Well, Mr. Ryuuko, if those punk-headed brats had some sort of education, maybe they'd know how to handle a pesky lower-class criminal the right way." She snorted.
He cocked his head to the side, taking in Ima's words. "So you're saying if they knew what two plus two was they'd still be alive?"
She shook her head frantically, her dark hair twisting and squiggling like a tangled knot of snakes. "No, no, Joey. I'm saying if they knew how to handle real power they'd still be alive."
Boomer's eyes darted up at the mention of his father's name. No one had ever addressed him as such. Only the gutsiest of coworkers would dare call out his name.
It was the name of the mastermind himself- the name of all names- the name that all knew and feared.
It was the name of the Rowdyruff Boys' father…
Joey Ryuuko.
The felonious professor known for creating three of the most powerful teen brothers the world has ever seen.
Brick grabbed his arm, guiding him to lean back in his chair. These meetings were often boring, and he would always convince Boomer that it was simply a time for him to relax and do nothing but keep his energy up. He always thought his brother paid no mind to the topics discussed in the CDA. But Boomer always had an ear out. He was smarter than he was given credit. He understood what they were discussing completely.
Joey began to talk again, keeping the meeting at a smooth pace.
"The Gangreen Gang may not have been the smartest of the bunch, but Flynn Lumpkins finished college. He knows how to handle real power but he's still dead."
"Well, that's because…" Ima had no comeback. Joey won this round again.
"We just need to figure out what kind of power the killer has and beat him at his own game." He announced, shutting Ms. Goodlady up completely.
"We aren't here to discuss the GGG, but more like the Shotgun baring idiot with abnormal pink hair." He snapped, smirking as a flush of embarrassment wiped across the raven headed woman's face.
Brick took note of his father's witty and cruel demeanor. Boomer focused on the woman.
The whole room fell silent, taking in the situation.
The Rowdyruffs have made their appearance now. It's a bit short, but it's only an introduction to the second chapter! Hope you enjoy.
BYE!
