Chapter 10
[Color Etereo]

Professor waited for his girls in the kitchen, inviting them to sit at the table.

"First, let me say how relieved I am to get some of these things off my chest, and how sad I am to have to share them with you girls. These were not happy times in our lives, as you'll see. But the good news is it's all behind us, and in all honesty it might not be a bad thing at all if these memories never come back.

"Shortly after our return home, I made arrangements with Ms. Bellum to hold a memorial service for Buttercup. We told the world she'd died while we were away. Even the aliens that brought her back with us believed she was dead, because her vital signs were so faint. By the time we returned, we'd given up hope of even highly advanced medicine being of any help. There were even times—God help us, there were times we considered giving up. Considered that a life like that was really no life at all. But, thankfully, we persevered, and we're all together today because of that.

"There was an addition to our family that none of you remember. I wish I could show you a photograph, but none were taken during her short, short life. Her name was Ashley Utonium, and Blossom was the one who created and named her."

"Another sister?" Bubbles asked.

"That's right. She was much more well-made, but ultimately unstable. She strongly resembled Buttercup, at least physically. But Ashley and Buttercup are two very separate people. Do you understand? Ashley, when she was first created, looked exactly the same as the girl sitting with us today—Buttercup—did when she was first created. Ashley even mistook Buttercup for herself in a family photo. But Ashley was a different person, and is gone now.

"More unfortunate than her passing are the events leading up to and following it." Nodding at Blossom, he said, "When you and Bubbles took her out for her very first patrol, she seriously injured a man. She didn't lose her temper or anything, but she... Well, the man died from his injuries. It was all very shocking."

Professor paused to let it sink in. Nobody used the opportunity to ask questions. Bubbles and Blossom stared intently at him, while Buttercup stared at the floor, concentrating intensely.

Avoiding Blossom and Bubbles' gazes, Professor watched Buttercup. "Shortly after his death, we lost Ashley. Shortly after that, Bubbles was hospitalized with a serious injury to her eye."

Buttercup looked up now. Professor swept his gaze between his daughters as he continued. "The Association was still helping protect the city at the time, while we recovered from our ordeals, but Mojo Jojo proved a handful for E-Male and then for Bubbles. From then until her healing coma, Bubbles was blinded in that eye. The combined strain of everything hit Blossom very hard, and she had her accident in the lab."

"A 'handful' for E-Male and Bubbles?" Blossom asked. "Where was I when this was happening?"

"You were in your room, grieving for Ashley."

"So...I probably blamed myself for not being there to help, didn't I?"

Bubbles scooted her chair over and wrapped an arm around Blossom. "You tend to do that sometimes. For what it's worth, I don't hold it against you."

Blossom smiled and put her hand on Bubbles's, still resting on her shoulder. It was small comfort, but comfort all the same.

"In any case, in the weeks that followed it became apparent there was a new face in town."

"The Harvester." Blossom declared.

"That's right. Seems a shipment of chemicals and fertilizer got swapped around, and a local farmer had an unexpected reaction to a spill. He declared a murderous vendetta against those he perceived as criminals, as well as against the heroes who failed to 'take care of business' his way. The Harvester's earliest victims included a number of those...familiar to you. He did murder a number of ordinary citizens as well, but you'll have to understand the world out there is going to be a little different when you see it. The Harvester was stopped and, unfortunately, killed as well.

"His earliest victim was believed to be Mojo Jojo."

"What?" the girls asked in unison.

Blossom then spoke alone. "You mean Mojo Jojo is..."

"Dead?" Buttercup asked.

Bubbles's hand was pressed over her mouth, eyes wide in quiet shock.

"That's right. Along with most of the Gangreen Gang, save for Little Arturo. Fuzzy Lumpkins hasn't been seen in years." With a warning glance at Bubbles, who was still reeling, Professor added, "Princess Morbucks passed as well. At the very end, a plan was concocted that involved Bubbles, E-Male, and even Sedusa acting as bait. We drew the Harvester out, and he proved a very difficult adversary. Both Sedusa and E-Mail were killed, and though we managed to put a stop to him in the end, Bubbles passed out from blood loss and entered a healing coma as well."

"That's awful," Bubbles said, beginning to cry. "All those people."

"I have something to show you girls as well. Buttercup, down in the inner lab, the top drawer to the right of my computer? There's a movie disc there. I'd like you to bring it up to the living room for us."

Buttercup nodded and hopped up to do just that. The drawer in question was empty, except for a little paper envelope holding the disc. She strode into the living room and put it in the player. Professor stood nearby with the remote in his hand while the girls sat on the couch.

"You're welcome to watch all of this if you'd like, but it's mostly just boring speeches." Professor fast forwarded his way through various people taking turns at a podium. "This is a recording of Blossom's memorial service, which was broadcast all over the world. I excused myself from Bubbles's, but I have recordings of that as well, along with Buttercup's. What I really want you to see, is this."

"Hello," Bubbles said into the microphone. She wore a black dress, complete with a wide-brimmed black hat and black veil.

Bubbles smiled and lifted her veil over the brim of her hat to show her face. Some people in the audience gasped or whispered at the sight of the white bandages covering her right eye.

"Thank you so much for being here. I know there are a lot of you who wish you could be here too, but don't worry. I know you care, and it doesn't matter how far away you are. I'm really grateful for your support.

"I've...I've gotten a lot of support over the years. From you. From friends. From family." Bubbles shakily drew in a deep breath and sighed. "You almost lost me, too. I got hurt pretty bad, but if I were just a little slower, I might not be here today. I have to thank Blossom for helping me be more quick-thinking. And if not for Buttercup pushing me to be tougher, I might not have had the strength to push through the pain."

Her smile wavered visibly. "My sisters were wonderful, awesome people. I think I'm really a better person because of them. I really want to think that by following their example, even now that they're gone, that I'll keep getting stronger. I promise I'll do my best to save the world again someday.

"But right now I need time to get healthy and grow up a little. My life is going to be really, really different with all of them gone, and I don't know how long it'll take to get used to that."

Here her smile's valiant efforts to remain strong fell short. Tears started to well up in her eye as she continued, her voice growing ever hoarser. "Blossom's never going to give my any more advice. I'll never get another noogie from Buttercup. She'll never push me away when I try to hug her or call me a crybaby or try to show off. Blossom's never gonna tell me what to do or brush my hair or..." At this point, her words were incomprehensible, turning into whining as her throat became ever tighter.

In the video, Professor strode over to the podium, kneeling beside Bubbles and whispering into her ear before taking her hand and walking away.

Back in the living room, present-day Professor paused the recording.

"As you can see, this pain and these losses were very real to everyone, including ourselves. I've tried to shield the gravity of the situation from you girls to avoid worrying you, but in truth it's nothing less than a miracle that you are all alive and well today. We can't say for sure whether we can even rely on these healing comas again, and I certainly wouldn't recommend getting reckless."

"It's all my fault." Buttercup's voice was tight and high-pitched. "If I hadn't been so stupid..."

"Shh, shh, shh," Blossom said, sliding to press against her sister's side and wrap her arm around. "Don't say that. We're just glad you're okay."

Buttercup sat up, leaving her sister's embrace. She tromped loudly up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door.