I know it's later than usual, but I had finals. Here's Chapter 10, and I hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.
Chapter 10
Part II: Breaking Boundaries
"…For 50 years this Institute has upheld it's legacy throughout all shortcomings or obstacles that have taken the city! And it's because of this that we will persevere and celebrate this year's internationally acclaimed Exposition right where it all began!"
The astounding introduction was met with roaring applause from the crowd standing outside of the Institute, mesmerized by the speaker's vibrant charm. Behind the front doors on the interior balcony stood Captain Russell Cross with a deep scowl at the sight of such frivolous festivities. At the creak of the door Cross turned to witness the dark haired girl in full officer uniform as his scowl vanished into a mocking grin.
"Never looked better. Let's meet you're new teammates." He led her to a group of officers split on two sides. "You know Turner and Emery. To the left's Jack Hunter's crew and the right's Will Faye's. You're all going to sound the same with the voiceovers so take a good look at each other so you don't get mixed up." He glanced at Buttercup with a triumphant grin. "Get acquaintanced kid these guys are just as crucial as you are."
"Complete bullshit if you ask me." The man from the left grumbled as he glared at Buttercup. "Do you honestly think that shorty's gonna catch the Target? She can't even reach the guy's height!"
Buttercup then kicked the front of the officer's chest pushing him against the wall. At his shouts of protest she snickered in delight as if to prove a point.
"Not bad for a shorty huh?" Then without warning the officer twisted around and had the girl pressed up to the wall in lightning speed. To her surprise, Buttercup realized that no matter how much she tried she couldn't get away from his stone grip as he leaned closer for her to hear his real voice.
"Wanna take this outside?" he murmured softly, as if she were his opponent.
"Hunter!" The officer immediately let go and turned to face his captain. "As I was saying, we will have to cooperate in order for the Target to be captured. Everyone knows their position. Extra support by the main doors. Arm every showcase item. And for God's sake keep your hands to your fucking sides unless their making contact with the SUSPECT!" Turning on his heels he stormed away from the group as Buttercup followed shorty after him.
"You're really banking on this thing. Do you even know if he's coming?" she asked
"If he's not coming then why are you here?" he grumbled
"Same reason as you! But I just don't see a guy like him coming to something like this. I mean who cares about how much this stuff's worth when you can steal as much money you want?" The captain turned to Buttercup with a skeptical look.
"Out of the few things we know about this guy, it's a God given fact that he's not doing this alone."
"He has a partner?"
"More like a boss. Gets through security walls, finds the places to hit, knows where to run; he's way too dumb to figure all that crap out on his own, so it's the only logical explanation."
"So you have any clues on who it might be?"
"Nope. All we know is that it has to be someone containing a significant limitation for him to have to rely on someone like him; like an injury, disability, or maybe he's in prison himself."
"Or he'd rather have someone else take the blame."
"True." He motioned towards the showcase displayed below. "The stuff inside this place could make anyone invincible, and any real criminal would want this stuff before it goes under the safe for good."
After glancing over at his team, he turned right back to Buttercup as he straightened himself up. "This is his only shot, so I'm pretty damn sure he's coming."
"Then you better get ready," she said dismissively. "the front doors are opening."
"Hunter, Left Wing! Faye, Right!" He motioned towards Buttercup. "You four follow me." From there he led her, Austin Emery and Jane Turner to the outside balcony just above the front entrance to the Institute where they could see all the spectators arriving to the scene.
"This is the best view of every single person coming in so we can spot this guy right when he comes. Back section's the same case plus we have people monitoring the sides and the interior to see if he's already infiltrated." He turned back to his team with another triumphant grin. "This place is bulletproof."
As the officers stood watch Buttercup looked out from the balcony and could see the bright lights of her school's soccer game.
I wonder what they're doing right now? She wondered. But very soon she knew she'd have other things to worry about.
"What up it's yo' boy DJ with Ty here to announce this year's SOCCER PRELIMS! Now let's start off tonight with the one, the ONLY…WEST COAST SHARKS!:: the brothers shouted in excitement as a club mix by Gain and Seminara blasted from the speakers. Suddenly the team tore through the sharks banner and charged towards the field with the team captain leading them in full vigor. The team mascot sat on two of the players' shoulders as he held last year's trophy in one hand and the school's spirit stick in the other, raising the two objects with the sound of the club mix.
As the team spread out across the field, both the dance team and the cheerleaders filled the track in front of the bleachers and performed alternating routines with the two dance team captains standing beside the cheerleading captain riling up the crowd to a deafening roar.
Bubbles gaped in awe at the whole event, wishing more than anything to be on the track with them cheering in a school uniform. But for now, she'd just have to settle with cheering her team on with Becky and her sister.
"Man this is gonna be so fun! How cool would it be if…" she fell silent at the next phrase as her face sank in deep sorrow.
If Robyn was here…
Her chestnut brown hair, those bright blue eyes, everything about her former best friend flooded Bubbles's thoughts in sorrow. Just the thought of her brought back horrifying memories. Memories she knew wouldn't help her if she kept thinking about it.
I wish she were here… I wish they were all here. But they're not. No matter how much she would ever wish to see their smiling faces, they were all just memories in her past.
"Brianne?" Her sister turned to her curiously. "Do you ever find yourself thinking back to them?"
Blossom lowered her gaze from her younger sister. "Brooke…"
"Robyn would've loved this–"
"–Brooke! Just don't, okay?" she snapped, unwilling to let Bubbles ruin such a happy moment for her and turned back to the game in silence.
Just then a strong stench filled my nose causing me to gag uncontrollably. The hairs on my neck started prickling and I started to break out in a cold sweat immediately. He has to be here. There's no way something can throw off my senses that badly.
"Hey kid! You okay?" But instead of getting help, I veered towards where the smell was coming from to see a blond lady taking pictures from the tabloids and ran off the balcony to make it to the front doors with Cross running behind me.
"What is it?" he yelled
"I found him!" I shouted back as I shoved people out of my way and tore through the doors. Before Cross left he turned towards the security guards with a pistol already loaded.
"CLOSE THE DOORS!" I heard him yell, but I kept pushing through the crowd even though the smell was burning my eyes. At this point it was getting unbearable! How can anyone around this stuff?! I found the woman in the designer dress and tackled her into the grass just before Cross dragged me off of her.
"–How dare you touch me!" we both jumped at the lady's shriek."Don't you know who I am? I'm the heiress to Beaumont's Cosmetics and my lawyers will be here in the next two minutes to sue this Institute for everything it's– W-What are you doing!? G-Give that back!"
"Don't see why an heiress would need it." Placing the watch on the metal helmet it latched on immediately, just one of those things you can pick up on if you use your powers right. "It's fake. Gold doesn't attract metal." Two minutes of Chemistry prove their worth for once!
With that being said the girl froze in place making her lie even more obvious. No, she wasn't our Target, but she might just be the accomplice. After my whole explanation Cross finally let me go and slowly pointed his gun at her with Turner and Emery coming towards us with their guns ready.
"Hands up." He growled. The woman turned to me with a bright smile instead. "My how clever you've gotten, Buttercup!"
I froze in terror at the sound of my name. How did she–
"Unfortunately that can't save you now…Nothing Will." All that was left of the woman was the puff of red smoke as it exuded from the brown pile of revolting flesh, leaving all four of us speechless.
It was just a decoy.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a white flash of light coming from the Institute before a loud blast of fire blew up from the entrance. Before I could react I felt a huge weight tackled me to the floor.
"GET BACK!" Cross shouted and pulled me to a safer distance with the two guards close behind. "Kid what the hell is going on?"
"The Target never planned on coming in through the doors, that'd be too obvious!"
"Then who the hell is it!?" he hollered
He must've made it insider before they opened the doors. I thought back to everyone I saw there. The inventors… tabloids…
The guards…
"Wanna take this outside?" That voice… no wonder I couldn't fight back against him.
"He was with us the entire time…" I whispered. How could I have been so stupid…
The blood chilling shrieks coming from the Institute snapped me back into consciousness. I tore myself from Cross's grip and ran towards the Center.
"WAIT! You can't go in there alone!" he called out.
"Hell yeah I am!" I stopped running and turned to the three staring back at me. "I'm the only one who can stop him!"
Turner and Emery looked at their captain and waited for the order. Cross locked eyes with me for a moment trying to think of what to do.
"Just trust me!"
As a response he marched towards me and planted a walkie-talkie into my hands with a stern look on his face. "See you on the outside, kid."
Taking the walkie-talkie I ran towards the front doors and saw the damage the one blast did. Flames seven feet tall blazed against the gaping hole made by the explosion as the entire place was left in ruins. All the showcase items were broken into pieces on the floor as the Target came out of the smoke dressed in the black guard suit with his signature ski mask and as always that sneering look held behind the glint in his green eyes, always ready for blood.
"Long time no see, babe. Did ya miss me?"
"Don't flatter yourself."
::ANOTHER SAVE BY BRENT JONES!:: Donnie shouted excitedly. As the audience roared a close up was shown of the captain standing by the goal, his lips set into a firm line as fierce determination glowed through his eyes.
As a few minutes passed, Blossom noticed her sister straining her neck over the crowd of people. "Brook who are you looking for?"
"Brandon. He said he'd be here." She turning to Becky with a worried look. "Have you seen him?"
Becky shrugged dismissively. "Maybe he's running late."
"I hope he makes it to play for the team, they really need his help."
Becky turned to the blonde in suspicion. "Wait, what are you–"
::Holy crap, look at that kid!:: Ty exclaimed.
::Who's this guy?:: Donnie asked curiously.
::I think that's the Water boy!::
::Sam Wentz? No way!::
::He just passed the last defender–::
::–HE'S HEADED STRAIGHT FOR THE GOALIE–!::
Just then the boys grew silent as the Principal entered the press box with a grave face. Despite their confusion, the boys drew back from their mikes to let him speak.
::Attention – Attention all West Coast students and guests. This is Jun-seo Lee, principal of West Coast Commuity High School here for a crucial announcement–::
At the sound of this the players froze in place, just as West Coast was about to receive their first goal. Brick looked up at the press box in outrage at the interruption.
"What's this about?" Blossom asked Becky, but the journalist could come up with no answer and instead turned to the principal impatiently.
::–I'm very sorry to say that we must cancel this game and postpone for a further date. As there is a disturbance located at the Research Institute.::
Bubbles quickly turned to Blossom in panic. "Blossom, what if they're talking about the Pro–"
"–Shh!" Blossom swiftly lifted a finger to her lips never taking her eyes off of the principal.
::I now highly advise for a fast yet orderly exit of the soccer field before such a threat may endanger the lives of anyone here. Thank you for coming and I hope you have a safe–::
At that instant the lights shut off leaving the field pitch black as students cried out in shock and fear. Then suddenly a loud explosion blazed out of the darkness as the crowd let loose a full panic. The players ran off the field to find their friends and family. When his attempts at grouping the team together failed, Brick grabbed Boomer and ran to the locker room. Blossom looked around the area in suspicion. With her sight impaired she was just as blind as everyone else in the bleachers.
"Brianne!" Blossom broke out of her train of thought and turned to her worry-stricken sister. "We have to leave now!"
"B-Brooke!" The sisters raised their heads to where Becky's voice came from as a hand emerged from the darkness. "Take my hand!"
Grabbing each other's hands, Becky managed to lead them out of the bleachers and onto the parking lot where the chaos only escalated as students tried desperately to call their parents in a petrified state.
"I'm not getting a signal!" Becky cried as frantically dialing her phone for her parents.
"Me neither! Did you?" someone called out.
"Not one bar!" another yelled.
"The blackout must've hit all the power lines." Blossom muttered to herself as she witnessed the scene with a mix of feelings. There's no doubt someone had this blackout planned, but it didn't matter what she knew so long as she was there. She was useless.
Is this what Buttercup felt at the bank? It seemed like just a few moments ago she was laughing with Bubbles and Becky and now this.
If it's chaos here, I could only imagine what it's like at the Institute…
With a swift kick to his gut I sent him a couple feet backwards giving me time to tear off my helmet so I could breathe better. Even as a superhero, fighting in the middle of a burning building isn't as easy as you'd think it's be.
Just then I heard a ragged cough coming from the corner. Using X-ray vision I saw the Professor trying to get out from one of the windows but it was sealed shut just as the ceiling was about to fall on top of him.
"Professor!" All of a sudden a huge piece of debris slammed into my face and threw me into another pile of rubble and making another hole in the walls from the fight.
I groaned out in pain wishing I kept that helmet for a few more minutes. How much more can I take of this? As I laid limply on the rubble, I could see the Professor as he slowly escaped through one of the holes to safety.
"Damn! You just don't give up do you?" And out of the corner of my eye I could see the Target coming closer trying to examine me. When he was just a few feet away I grabbed a large piece of the wall and hurled it right back at him full force throwing him back onto the floor with a smirk on my face.
"Not by a long shot, asshole!"
With a venomous glare he grabbed a huge laser gun and pointed it in my direction just as I was getting up.
::KID!::
"C-Cross?" I called through the walkie-talkie. I'm kind of surprised it still works.
::Listen! Whatever you do, DO NOT GO NEAR THAT LASER::
I knit my eyebrows in confusion. Why wouldn't I–
The laser set off just missing my head as it hit the wall behind me as , blasting it into dust as another fire erupted. I leaped behind one of the pedestals for the showcase item to shield myself from the debris.
::Copy that?:: I gawked at the gaping hole in horror. It was almost as big as the first one!
"C…Crystal." I murmured softly. There's no way I could fight him face to face with that thing!
But then everything fell into a deathly silence. I looked around from the pedestal, but there was no sign of him. Cocking the pistol from its holster, I crept up from the pedestal cautiously looking around the ruins while trying my best to keep my hands from shaking. Slowly…slowly…
Still no sign of him.
I slowly crawled out from where I was, my body tensing up against every crackle the boots made against the crumbling floors. Left… Right… Behind… It wasn't until I got to the fifth step that I started growing impatient. If you're gonna finish me off at least do it to my face!
Where the hell is this guy?!
"C'mon kitten I'm right here!" I veered my head towards where the voice came from and shot at debris and flames, leaving a deafening silence.
He's screwing with me. I could feel a growl rising in my throat in rage as a thrashed through the place trying to find where he was.
"Here kitty, kitty!"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" I shot laser beams from my eyes at the ceiling in full rage at his games. He was gonna finish me off without even doing it to my face!
C'mon Buttercup, think of something! He can't be in the same place once, so he has to be on the inside balcony where he could change his position easier. But how do I get him down here?
"…these tactics have been used for centuries in modern warfare, sports, even politics…" maybe it could help in hand-to-hand combat. I tried to think of some quotes Mr. Lee said.
"Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance." That's it!
I then screamed out in frustration and marched indignantly towards the exit doors. Wait for it…
The laser hit the doors exactly where I was headed to, just barely missing my face. I smirked with satisfaction. Of course he wouldn't let the game end so quick.
I veered towards the direction of the blast and shot the ceiling above it with my laser beams (not my best idea, but it's all I got left) and just like that the ceiling toppled over the balcony floor, leaving the laser gun and the Target covered in rubble on the floor.
"Long time no see." I smirked.
The crowd of people huddled around the exit started to decrease when the police arrived to direct everyone. With the signal back up Becky was already making a call to her dad and things were starting to sound a bit calmer.
I wonder if the soccer team's left by now. When I turned I didn't see anyone from either team except for our captain and the blond guy from the pep rally dressed in sweats shouting at each other in a heated argument.
What's their issue? "Brianne!"
I turned around to see Bubbles running towards me with her cell phone in her hand. "I just got a call from Gladys. She said she was on her way to the Institute."
"Wait," I pulled her away from the crowd and spoke in a lower tone. "but what about Buttercup?"
Bubbles shut her phone grimly before making eye contact with me. "Blossom… Buttercup's not in the apartment." For a minute I froze, unable to react to this news. No anger, frustration, instead all I did was stare at her. It was like my mind couldn't comprehend what she just said.
Taking in my reaction, Bubbles scrunched her eyebrows and pressed her lips just like when she confronted Princess. "We need to go to the Institute."
I looked at her in dismay. "No, we don't! Whatever she does is on her. This isn't my problem anymore!"
"She's our sister!" she cried.
"So what if she's my sister!" I shouted in rage. "She can take care of herself!"
Bubbles took a step back, clearly stung by what I said. "You don't mean that."
"And what if I do?" I said evenly.
She started to pale slightly as she tried to keep her voice steady. "Blossom if this is about what happened back at the apartment–"
"Guys c'mon!" Becky yelled. When we both turned we saw the black haired girl in an red SUV waving frantically at us.
"Don't worry! My dad said that he's on his way here!" Bubbles called out. Seeing their uncertainty, she forced a smile to reassure them. "Go ahead and get out of here before it gets worse!"
Apparently they bought it. As the two drove off she never turned to look at me and instead kept her back facing me as though she couldn't bear the sight of me.
"You can do what you want, but I'm going to go help my sister… even if I have to go alone."
"Wait–Bubbles I…" But she kept walking into the streets before disappearing into the crowd, making me wonder if whether or not I was making the right choice.
The windows shattered into pieces as the two crashed onto the grassy fields of the now abandoned Research Institute. After making contact with the ground, Buttercup drove a kick straight into the green ruff's jawline and sent him two yards back.
This bitch is dead. But when he looked around for the Trans Ray, he realized it had to be under the rubble inside the Institute with her standing in his way.
Buttercup could see him glowering at her, in fact she could see a lot of this guy with his mask off. Sleek black hair covering a pair of dark green eyes glaring intensely at hers, but for some reason she couldn't stop staring at him in curiosity. I know him from somewhere…
Then the ground below her disappeared as she was lifted off of the air and thrown into the light hovering over the field. She landed against the sharp spikes of glass and let out a shriek of pain before she hurled the broken street light at the black figure in rage, past caring about keeping her cover.
Butch caught the pole just on time but saw a fist coming from midair as a sharp pain planted right into his eye. He tried to shove her off but only staggered back with his sight impaired as she picked up the broken pole for a final hit.
"NOW!"
Suddenly a surge of lightning slammed into Buttercup's torso throwing her back from the boys. At the sudden attack Butch strained his eyes to see two blurry figures floating above him facing his opponent.
For a moment he couldn't even come up with a response to his brothers' arrival. "Wh–"
"–Boomer, hit her with another blast and I'll hold her down for the final blow!" Brick ordered. As Boomer charged up for another blow, the soccer captain looked towards Butch impatiently. "Are you gonna help us out or what?" he demanded. After a brief silence the younger brother's lips curled into a sinister smile at his chance and felt a hint of nostalgia thinking back to when they did crime as kids.
Buttercup could barely stand after the hit, but despite her pain she decided to stand straight and figured she'd just have to fight them off until Cross arrived. When she looked up to locate the SWAT team she only saw the three figures floating ten yards away from her as they prepared to finish her off.
FLOATING? Who the fuck are those guys!?
As the bolts swelled from Boomer's hands Buttercup was just about to make a feeble attempt at dodging until she saw the huge bolt of light scatter into small fragments just as it was about to hit her face, bouncing off into separate directions across the field.
Brick looked at the display in shock. What the hell? But before he could snap at his brother for missing such a clear target, he realized that his brother's attack was blocked as two new girls emerged onto the scene next to the dark haired girl.
"Nice timing Blossy." Buttercup sneered
"Shut your face." Blossom gritted never taking her eyes off of the three floating in front of her.
"Blossom…" Bubbles mumbled with a confused look. "Who are those guys…?" As Blossom looked closer she noticed how similar the boys looked to her sisters. Matching every detail; especially the one in the middle.
The red hair… maroon eyes…
"Oh my God…oh my God"
The pink eyes said it all for Brick.
"Shit…!" he breathed out, almost as if he were holding it the entire time. He couldn't speak anymore, much less breathe.
How are they still alive?
Butch raised an eyebrow at his brother. "What?"
Brick grabbed his brother's suit and pressed his chin in the direction of the girls, frustrated that he'd have to even spell it out or his brothers. "Butch take a good look at those girls!"
When Butch finally realized the truth his face turned pale as his eyes widened in shock, unable to accept what was right in front of him, but at the same time he knew it was impossible to deny.
"No fucking way…" he whispered.
By this time Boomer was looking in the same direction as his face turned just as pale as Butch's merely seconds ago. Soon it was as if the boys were staring at three ghosts.
"Brick aren't these girls supposed to be dead!?" Boomer finally cried …
"They are…" Brick murmured, never taking his eyes off the pink puff as rage suddenly boiled in his veins. It's their fault they're in this mess, and for that they'll pay with their blood.
"…but they're about to be."
"What the hell are they doing here?" Buttercup yelled in irritation.
"Blossom?" But the pink eyed girl didn't respond to Bubbles, too horrified at the sight of three ghosts from her past.
"BLOSSOM! (W-)What do we do now?!" Bubbles cried frantically. When Blossom turned to see her sisters' petrified state, she realized that it was once again up to her to resolve the situation, and she proudly accepted the task after what poor decisions she's made recently.
"Stay behind me and wait for my signal." She said sternly as she placed a barrier around them. Following orders the girls braced themselves for the worst. She glared at the three boys flying towards them to attack as her eyes began to glow.
They put their lives in jeopardy before, but she wasn't going to let that happen again.
At that moment the boys saw a gust of wind surround the girls in a dome with Blossom placed right at the center, her eyes glowing in an eerie neon pink.
"The hell's pinky doin over there?" Butch mumbled.
Brick narrowed his eyes at the sight of the sudden wind before realizing what was going on. "She's setting a barrier…" Since when was she able to do that? "Get them before they get away!"
Impossible. Blossom thought smugly. There's no way any of them could come near them. As long as she kept this up, the authorities would come soon to see a wanted felon, two accomplices, and three defenseless girls.
All of a sudden Brick fazed three inches from Blossom's face before planting his fist square into her face, breaking her focus on the barrier.
"Kill them!" he ordered holding a firm grip on Blossom's neck seconds before she zapped him with her laser beams.
"Blossom!" Bubbles cried as Boomer dove towards her. She leaped into the sky just on time and let out a sonic scream, forcing him away from the piercing sound. Bubbles looked back at Blossom to see if she was alright until she felt a hard grip on her arm and turned to see Boomer fifty feet from her, and another Boomer two inches from her face!
There's two of them?! Before she could open her mouth he hurled her ground as she plummeted into the grassy fields.
Seeing Bubbles fall, Buttercup quickly braced herself and blocked just in time but staggered at his force as he delivered a punch straight in her lower abdomen. Seeing her double over, he was about to land a punch to the side of her face until she swung her foot at his groin. He staggered back in intense pain shouting curses as Buttercup snickered at his agony.
"Oh I'm sorry! Did that hurt?"
"You little bitch!" he screeched.
"Aww, Butchie gotta wittle boo-boo?" She teased dodging his attacks. Even though she was risking her life, she hasn't had this much fun since the time at the bank. But them Butch grabbed at her hair and drove her face onto the floor, stifling the her shouts from the dirt.
"Maybe you'll have this crap tied up next time kitten!" he snarled
"There isn't gonna be a next time!" she screamed. With a twist of her head she shot laser beams at Butch before turning to see Bubbles, dirty and bruised, trying to fight Boomer from the floor. Despite the attempts she made at dodging his close range attacks, he gripped her wrist and sent her flying into the wall of the Institute two feet from Brick trying to choke Blossom.
"Bubbles!" Blossom choked before Brick shoved her into the cement again.
"She should be the last thing on your mind." He sneered with a wicked grin matching the bloodlust in his eyes. "You've gotten a little rusty pinky."
"Get off me!" She yelled as a huge shield expanded from her body and knocked Brick's grip off of her, landing him next to his brother. But before Boomer could launch another attack for the blonde puff, his brother pulled him back to his surprise. Seeing his brothers group up, Butch soon joined them to see what the next plan was.
As the Bubbles went to help Blossom, Brick stood still at the sight of the girls trying to make sense of the situation until it all finally seemed clear.
"We're leaving." Brick announced abruptly.
Boomer looked at his brother in shock. "Brick are you kidding me?"
"Yeah we're just about to finish them off!" Butch protested.
"I said we're leaving," he snarled menacingly, his eyes still locked on Blossom, realizing exactly where he's seen her before. "Meet back at home. Let's go."
Then the boys flew off into the dark sky, just as Buttercup ran towards her wounded sisters. "Are we gonna go after them?"
When Blossom finally found her strength she gave her sister a dubious glare. "Buttercup, what do you think?"
"But they have the Trans Ray!"
"Do you think we'll have a chance against them!" she snapped, but her features softened as she turned to the youngest sister. "Bubbles, are you okay?"
"I think so… Blossom where did they get all those new powers from?" The two puffs gave her a puzzled look. "Boomer was able to split himself into three people. There's no way I can compete with that!"
"Now that I think about it, Brick was never able to teleport." Blossom said doubtfully as she considered this. Did they face a Rebirth like we did?
"TROOPS LET'S MOVE!"
"They always come at the last minute!" Buttercup snapped in aggravation.
Bubbles started to panic and turned to Blossom. "Blossom what're we gonna do now?! We can't let them see us like this!"
Blossom knew she was right. It was one thing to find them with the Rowdyruff boys, but to be seen like this would be incredibly suspicious.
"Blossom?" The pink puff looked at the hoard of officers running to them in dread. If she didn't think of something quick, not only would their future in Townsville be in jeopardy, but also their lives.
"We had them! We freaking had them and you blew it!" Butch shouted as the three entered the closed library.
"Butch get over it, it's done. Besides you got what you were looking for right?" With the Trans Ray securely latched onto his shoulder, the felon knew he couldn't argue with that and instead plopped himself down onto one of the sofas without any regard to his filthy clothes.
"Brick how'd you even get the keys to the library?"
"Owner of the place owed me a favor." Brick replied absentmindedly as he turned on one of the computers.
After a few seconds the sound of thumping emerged as the two older ruffs turned to see Boomer banging his head onto one of the bookshelves. Butch narrowed his eyes at the sight of his brother. This was weird even coming from Boomer.
"What the hell are you doing"
"Trying to make sure that I'm not hallucinating. Those guys are supposed to be buried under that stupid monument! What are they doing here?!"
"Boomer maybe if you'd shut up for two seconds I might be able to answer that right now!" Brick snapped before turning back to the computer. "According to this, the Powerpuff Girls were given a private funeral with just the Mayor and Ms. Sarah Bellum closed casket before being buried in the next half hour."
"Sounds like one hell of a funeral for Townsville's greatest heroes." Butch muttered
"How come it was closed casket? It's not like they were burned alive or anything." Boomer asked.
"Because they were never executed in the first place." Brick murmured before turning back to his brothers "If anything I think they just–"
"–disappeared? People don't just vanish out of thin air Brick!" Butch barked.
"We did," Brick replied evenly. "so unless you have any better ideas I'm all ears!"
The room fell silent as the two brothers glared at each other, unsure of what they were more upset about; their past coming back to haunt them once again, or how they were going to deal with it in the end.
"The three girls we just fought with a few minutes ago are the new girls from our school. With the cops coming I couldn't risk our covers. So I made us leave." The boys faces paled at the sudden turn of events. Butch froze in shock, but Boomer turned his back from them as he thought back to Brook, someone so innocent, so sweet.
Alright! I'll see you before it starts!
It just couldn't be possible. He thought incredulously.
"Don't take this as being stalker-ish, but have I met you somewhere?" Brick flipped over the couches in furious outrage. "GODDAMMIT!" Stupid! She was right in front of you this whole time!
After a tense silence, Butch stepped in between his brothers in expectation. "Okay… so now what?"
"They're coming closer!" Bubbles whispered frantically. "Blossom–"
"–DON'T MOVE!" she shouted just as the hoard of officers ran towards the ruined field and stopped as they examined the area. The captain who was just inches away from Blossom's face, examined the space in front of him as though his eyes were deceiving him.
But after waiting for a few agonizing minutes in anxious silence, the officers soon walked away from the scene, with the captain still left staring at Blossom until one of the officers called out to him. Hearing the call, he eventually turned his back and headed for Institute for further investigation. When he was out of sight the girls let out huge sighs of relief.
"Whoa… it's like they didn't even see us!" Bubbles cried excitedly.
"They didn't." Blossom sighed tiredly. "The barrier covered us in camouflage to hide us, so in essence we were practically invisible."
"How'd you do that?" Buttercup questioned.
"I… don't know. I couldn't let them hurt you guys, so it just.. happened."
There was a silence, then Bubbles jittered excitedly at the newfound power.
"That's so cool–"
"–Are you done drooling over her?" Buttercup interjected. "Let's just go home."
"Don't talk to her like that! I thought you stayed at home!" Blossom snapped angrily.
"Of course I wasn't staying home while you guys got to sneak out, that's not fair!/While you two got to leave? That's not fair!" Buttercup retorted
"We didn't do anything wrong!"
"Neither did I–!"
"–QUIET!" Bubbled shouted. When the girls remained mute, the blue puff could hear a car nearing their location "Shoot." She muttered.
"What?"
"It's Gladys and the Professor, so I suggest you guys stop arguing, because we're gonna be stuck with each other for a while after this."
Back at the Underhill Residency…
"ASSAULT AND BATTERY! RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT! CONSPIRACY TOWARDS DOMESTIC SECURITY! Are you writing any of these down?!"
"Not really." Buttercup muttered from the couch. Ever since they came home the Professor's done literally nothing but yell at them for everything that came to mind. And now he's gone so far as to list the charges that they might've gotten.
"Well you'd better start, because for each of the things you almost got charged with, that's two weeks added to your punishment, not including the two weeks starting now!"
"How are we supposed to know what we're charged with!" Buttercup snapped.
For that answer he calmly turned to the agent sitting on one of the bar stools in the kitchen. "Gladys, how many potential changes could they have gotten?"
"About five; The three you just said along with Disturbing the Peace and Fraud–"
"–Fraud! If they found out who you really were then God knows what could've happened to you three! They could've have you in prison, or even worse!"
This –just like all the other statements he made that night– was met with silence. Even Blossom who can usually justify herself, merely sat by the dining table with Bubbles leaning on the palm of her hand, unable to look her father in the eye. That along with Bubbles fingering her worn out ponytail and Buttercup glaring out at the windows, the Professor knew not a single response would come out of the three of them,
"Can't you understand that you not just playing with the law, you're playing with your lives! You cheated death! Don't expect it to be the same way if they found you guys again!"
Suddenly the Professor came at a loss of words and simple stared at the three with sudden and insurmountable grief. If only they could realize how much they meant to him. How close he was to losing the greatest joy of his life.
"I just… can't lose you girls… you're all I have left." He murmured silently, too afraid to speak anything else before his voice started to crack.
Blossom stood up at his distress. "Professor –"
"-You heard the charges. Do the math and get to bed."
When the Professor closed the door Bubbles got up quickly and strode towards her door. Her abruptness surprised Blossom as she walked right past her two sisters.
"Bubbles–"
"–Good night."
"Wait! Shouldn't we–"
"–what Blossom? We already got grounded!"
"Shouldn't we… talk about this?" Blossom mumbled feeling unsure of her response.
"With all due respect Blossom, I really don't wanna talk to you right now." She scoffed and she shut the door. Blossom felt like she'd been slapped. Bubbles may have had issues with Buttercup every once in a while, but she never lashed out on her, surely there must've been some mistake.
Three months of being grounded! How can anyone survive that? She thought incredulously. But glancing towards Buttercup, she knew they deserved every one of them. The only question was how they'd get through it without anything to distract themselves. It's bad enough that they wouldn't have any entertainment, but now they'd have to deal with each other's company until April, and at this point the three could barely stand being around themselves.
She thought back to the mall as she and Bubbles were laughing together in the dressing room, that one moment when she believed everything would be alright.
If only she knew how wrong she was then.
-Brick-
12:30 AM
When Boomer walked to his room he peeked into my open door. "I'm going to bed. I suggest you get some shuteye too."
"Just doing research. I'll go to bed soon." When he closed the door I went right back to researching them. Anything counts at this point.
After another half hour of researching articles written on them, my phone rang off for the fifth time all night in an alert, but I already knew who it was.
::Bella::
Are you okay? Please answer!
I wanted to talk to her, to hear her voice one more time, but if I called she'd know I wasn't okay. It was all complicated; all one big conflict. And I got my brothers caught right in the middle of it.
I shut my phone for the last time that night. Nothing was okay anymore… it was just getting worse.
"Professor Utonium?"
"Yes Gladys?" The Professor looked up from his clattered office desk to see Gladys standing by the doorway looking down at the carpet flooring.
"I just wanted to apologize. None of this would've happened if I had just–"
"-Don't worry about it. What matters now is that they're home safe and sound. Thank you for calling me."
"That's not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about." Gladys slowly closed the door and stepped towards the desk to face the biochemist. "Professor… I know this isn't my place and I don't know what it's like to be in your position but… I do believe you're going a little too far."
The Professor then faced her with a stern look. "Gladys you're right. This isn't you're place. Now I humbly ask that you leave my room."
"That's just it Mr. Utonium. Despite how hard it's been for these girls to go to high school, change their lifestyles, and deal with what they've left behind, you've been all but nonexistent in their lives. When was the last time you had a real conversation with one of them?"
"I don't need anyone telling me how to raise my kids! All the things I've been doing here is for their benefit! Do you think I like working so many shifts? I don't, but it's what keeps food on the table!"
"This problem started before you even came here!" she exclaimed, exasperated by his aloofness. "Let me ask you some things, Professor Utonium. Why do you think Bubbles never told you about making the dance team? When was the last time you visited –or even called– Buttercup before Mr. Morgan and I showed up? Why do you think Blossom never even considered calling you about this whole issue? They think you don't care, Mr. Utonium! You've subconsciously put up this barrier around yourself, and it's affecting your entire family!"
The two instinctively froze at a soft thud. Gladys knew she had to calm herself down before the girls overheard them. One moment, then another, until they silently concluded it was the girls getting ready for bed before turning to each other once again.
"I'm not here to lecture you on how to raise kids, I've never had any. And I do believe that these girls are at fault for what occurred here… but they're not the only ones." She turned to the door but before she left she turned back one last to time to the man, unsure of what else to say. "Have a good night, Mr. Utonium." And left for her apartment, leaving the Utonium family in with an unnerving silence which wouldn't go away until the break of dawn.
What do you guys think? Now I have a little goal set in mind to make this number three on the 'Drama and Suspense' category before the new year. For me to do that I need 20 favorites –just one more left!– so if there's someone that likes this story by all means favorite this and you'd make my day –and the rest of my year ;-) – a whole lot better.
R&R AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!