AN: Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 10: Challenge 10
Professor's POV
HIM woke me up the next morning and I was still in the same chair.
"Well, well professor, why don't we start thinking of some challenges for today? I was thinking of having her do something dangerous today. What do you think?" I thrashed in my chair as I watched him write down the challenge for the day.
"Stop! You're going to kill her!" I tried to get out of the chair and shred the paper, but the ropes were tied too tight.
"Oh wonderful! That is the plan after all." I mentally killed the demon multiple times in many different ways, only if I could actually do it…
"It's her job to beat you! Stop being a sore loser and give her a break! You can't do this to her just for beating you up a few times! It's not like she was bullying you, you pretty much asked for every punch!" He snarled at me and held a claw to my throat. "And if you kill me, she doesn't have to do any of this shit you're making her do! Plus, she'll kill you! I promise." He pulled his claw away and turned his back to me.
"She'll be here any minute." He stormed out of the room and left me alone. I couldn't wait to see her.
Buttercup's POV
I woke up with a strong arm wrapped around my waist. I liked the feeling of having someone near me, it was… comforting. I snuggled further into Butch and hugged his arm. I heard a tired groan and felt him pull me closer.
"Goodmorning sunshine, how do you feel today?" I rested my head on his neck and answered him.
"Comfortable." He chuckled and I could feel the vibration of his voice. We just laid with each other for a moment before Bubbles busted in the room and squealed like a fangirl.
"Can I get ANY privacy in this house?" My sister, however, ignored me and took a few pictures.
"You guys are soooo CUTE!" I groaned and got up to push her out of my room, but Butch pulled me back towards him. I gave him a confused look and he returned it with a childish one.
"I'm cold." I started to smile, but a loud squeak from the door wiped it right off my face.
"Get another blanket." I turned my attention to Bubbles. "Bubbles get out." She pouted and left closing the door behind her. Once I was sure she was gone, I walked over to my dresser and grabbed the new red note, then walked back to my bed and sat next to where my new boyfriend was laying.
"What does it say B?" He sat up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder so that he could read the challenge. I didn't know what I was expecting exactly, but it wasn't what was written on the paper.
"Dear Buttercup. Your father requested a visit from you so you will get your Challenge in my lair after visiting hours are over. I don't suggest bringing your boyfriend, the old man didn't particularly like what happened in the dressing room last night. Come as soon as possible."
All color drained from my face as I realized the professor had seen everything that happened last night. Butch realized this and kissed my neck, bringing color back to my complexion.
"We should go as soon as possible." Butch obviously skipped over the last part.
"Babe he literally said NOT to bring you!" He pulled me into his chest and kissed the top of my head.
"He said he doesn't suggest it because your father wouldn't be happy. I feel like I should definitely meet your dad though and now's a great time." I thought on it, but eventually I agreed.
"Okay Butch, but be on your best behavior around him and dress kinda nice." He nodded and smiled.
"I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes, I'm going to get ready now." I was about to respond, but before I could, he flew off to get ready.
Butch's POV
I flew out of her window and towards my house, I HAD to make a good first impression. He already probably had me on his shit list, so I couldn't mess up. I flew into my house, ignoring my brothers' questions.
I got to my room and hopped into the shower, only taking five minutes to shower and shave since I shaved in the shower to save time. I hopped out and dried off, using the next five minutes to style my hair and brush my teeth.
After making sure I smelled great, I looked desperately through my closet for nice clothes but found none. "Fuck, she's gonna kill me!"
Just when I thought it was all over, Boomer walked in my room looking confused. Perfect!
"Boomer! I need a nice outfit to make a first impression in! Help me!" His eyes lit up and he ran into his room, returning with a blue/green button up shirt, a pair of white jeans, a brown belt, and brown dress shoes.
"This will work great!" I gave my younger brother a smile and took the clothes.
"Thanks Boom, I owe ya!" I urged him out so I could change and threw on the clothes, rolling the sleeves of the shirt up so that they stopped above my elbows. I gave myself a once over in the mirror and once approving of myself, flew back to Buttercup's house.
I saw her sitting on the front steps fiddling with her keys. To my surprise, she was wearing a flowy black skirt, a brown belt and a mint green button up shirt tucked in with the sleeves rolled up and two buttons undone at the top. Her hair flowed over her shoulders in loose curls and she sported a pair of black six inch pumps.
I flew down so that I was standing in front of her and she looked up at me.
"You look nice. Ready to go?" She smiled at me and stood up, taking my hands in hers.
"Yup, let's go!" We got in her car and drove off towards HIM's lair.
"Butch, please be on your best behavior, my dad's probably a little upset about last night still." I looked over to her and realized how professional she looked.
"I understand why I had to dress up, but why did you have to? You look so professional…" Her grip tightened on the wheel and I wondered if I hit a sore spot.
"I'm scared he's going to think less of me so I dressed how Blossom would. He's always been the most proud of her…" I almost felt bad for asking after hearing her answer.
"Buttercup, he has no reason to not be proud of you! You're literally putting your life at risk to save him!" I stared at her profile and saw her jaw clench.
"Look, let's just drop it." I nodded and didn't say a word for the remainder of the drive.
It wasn't long before we made it to HIM's lair. She got out of the car without a word and walked in. I jumped out and ran after her.
"Buttercup! I'm sorry if I offended you, but I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to dress like your sister for your dad to be proud of you!" She stopped and turned to face me with a sad smile on her face.
"Thanks Butch, but it's too late to change now." We both laughed a little and walked in together.
"For what it counts, I think you look better in that outfit than Blossom anyways." She smiled brightly and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"You're the best! Now be cool, my dad's in the next room." I nodded and straightened my posture before walking into the room behind her.
Professor's POV
My attention snapped to the door as it opened and I felt the happiest I had in awhile when I saw my daughter walk in the room.
"Hey dad, I brought someone with me. I hope that's ok." She looked at me but never met my eyes, something she had always done when she thought I was mad at her.
"Um, that's fine. Who did you bring sweetie?" I decided to let her make eye contact in her own time.
"Uhh… My new boyfriend, I think you've met before." A tall, tan, and well built man stepped into the room and I immediately noticed that he attempted to dress nice. He had spiked up black hair and forest green eyes. Yes, I knew this boy. This was Butch Jojo, one of HIM and Mojo's three sons.
"Nice to meet you sir, I'm Butch Jojo." I analyzed him with a critical eye, watching closely for any wrong moves, any bad intentions. That was when I realized this was the same guy from the dressing room.
"Ah yes. Butch Jojo. I saw you just yesterday." Buttercup wasn't dumb, she knows that I saw everything about last night. Her eyes widened and her face flushed pink.
"Dad, I swear we had a good reason! I'm sorry!" I meant my words to put Butch in hot water, but it completely backfired as Buttercup thought I was upset with her.
"I know you did. I'm just a father trying to give the boyfriend a hard time. No matter how hard it is for me to say this, I actually want to thank you Butch. Not only for making her first time special, but for not letting her lose it to a stranger." My middle daughter flushed bright red and I laughed at the poor girl.
"Dad! This is so weird!" Butch started to laugh with me as Buttercup only got more flustered.
"Buttercup, I'm not mad at you. How could I be?" She finally meets my eyes and flashes me one of her beautiful smiles I rarely get to see.
"You aren't?" I returned her smile.
"Of course not! You're doing all of these ridiculous challenges to save my life!" She walked over and wrapped her arms around me. My chest warmed at the feeling since it was rare for her to show such affection towards me.
"I love you dad." I wanted to hug her back, but my hands were tied up, so I just relished in the feeling that I may never get again.
"I love you too, Buttercup. And by the way, you don't need to dress like Blossom for me to be proud of you." She pulled back and looked surprised that I could read her so easily.
"B-but, how d-did you know?" I smiled to her as I answered her question.
"Buttercup, you aren't that hard to figure out. Plus, while you look great in the outfit, I know it's not your style." Her lost look from before disappeared and was replaced with a small smile and a blush.
"Oh…" I was about to say something else when our favorite demon waltzed into the room.
"Oh Buttercup! I'm so glad to see that you made it!" His voice sounded overly cheery and I could tell it was grating on my aggressive daughter's nerves. "Butch, always a pleasure." He took on a demonic growl and both Buttercup and I flinched.
"HIM, you need to stop. You're going too far." I was surprised that Butch stood up to one of his parents.
"Actually, I just came in to give my little toy her next challenge."
Buttercup's POV
He did not just call me a toy! "I'm not a fucking toy!" I honestly forgot that my dad was in the room in my anger.
"Really? You have to do whatever I want you to and I'm having fun with it. It sounds like you're a toy my dear." My vision went more red with each word that came from him. I didn't even care that I didn't have powers when I lunged at him. I guess he didn't expect me to be as bold as I was because I landed a hard punch to his jaw, probably dislocating it.
His laughter cut off the second my punch landed and the room went silent. "I'm not a toy, I was never a toy, and I won't ever be a toy! Don't think I'm just going to sit around and let you talk to me like that! Our deal was that I had to complete your challenges without my powers and that's what I'm doing! Now cut the talk and just give me the fucking challenge!"
HIM stared at me with a blank look as if he honestly didn't know how to respond to what I just did. "Well?" I tried to snap him out of it, but he didn't respond.
"Buttercup, get away from him." I turned around to face Butch and saw a cautious look on his face.
"Butch he's not even moving!" Suddenly his eyes widened.
"Buttercup move!" I felt the air move near me and turned around just in time to catch an open claw that was going for my neck. Butch flew over and pushed him into the wall, then pulled me close to him.
"Butch, you will pay for that! You too Buttercup! Don't forget who writes your challenges!" I sent the demon a death glare that he eagerly returned.
"Just give me my challenge. And let the professor walk around a little, it's unhealthy to sit that long." HIM looked from me to Butch and snarled in defeat. He stood up and shoved a red paper in my hands, then untied the professor.
"Don't try anything funny, I'm watching." He disappeared into a puff of red smoke.
I turned to the professor and greeted him with a tight hug.
"How are you dad?" He pulled away and chuckled.
"Buttercup, I should be asking you that!" I giggled lightly at his exasperation.
"I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind.
"B, tell him the truth, he deserves to know…" I mentally slapped my boyfriend and dropped my happy facade.
"Fine! I'm awful and everyone who isn't a horny guy or my family wants me dead! I don't have my powers, which sucks! I don't have a dad to cry to, which also sucks! And worst of all, I don't even have my virginity anymore, and it fucking sucks!" At that point I couldn't hold in the tears and they started to fall down my cheeks. I was wiping my wet face in frustration that I was showing weakness in the house of the enemy. I looked down to hide the fact that I was crying, that I was weak.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to meet the professor's concerned eyes. "Buttercup, I'm so sorry… Don't be ashamed to cry sweetheart." He pulled me into a hug and I eagerly returned it, sobbing into his shoulder while I could.
"D-dad I'm sorry f-or di-disappointing you! I kn-know you said you a-aren't, but I'm sc-scared that you secretly are!" He pulled me away from him so that I was looking into his dark brown eyes.
"Buttercup. Look in my eyes as I say this: I'm not going to be disappointed in you for anything you do in any of these challenges. Once I get out of here, I'll help you clear your name. I love you so much and I'm so proud of you. Never forget that." I wiped the tears from my face and offered a small smile.
"Thanks dad, I love you too." I turned my attention towards the red paper in my hand. "Now let's find out what I'm doing today." I caught the professor glaring off to the side as I looked at the challenge.
"I already know what it is. It's a tough one, but if anyone can pull it off, it's you." He only said that in really dangerous situations! I quickly looked back down to the challenge and read the letter.
"Oh hello dear! So nice to write to you again considering this could very well be the last letter. I'm not cutting your challenges short, it's just very likely that you'll die in this challenge. Fighting was never a problem for you when you had your powers. Even as a human, I'm sure you can fight well, but let's see how you hold up when I throw you in a pit with an angry lion. This might be easy for you if you had a weapon, but you'll be getting none of those. Your challenge is to stay in the pit with the lion for and hour. Be back at my lair in an hour. Just one last warning: He hasn't eaten since yesterday." I honestly didn't even know what to say.
"You can do it, B. You're tough and smart, even without your powers." Butch whispered in my ear as he hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek. I looked at the professor and while he looked upset with the situation, he also had an air of confidence.
"Like I said before, if anyone can pull it off, it's you. Go home and get changed, it'd be hard to fight in that. You have an hour to get back here, I'll see you soon." I nodded in agreement and turned to Butch.
"Stay here with my dad. I need to talk to a few people too." He looked nervous, but willing to do what I told him.
"Ok babe, but make sure you're back in an hour." I nodded and ran out the door.
I jumped in my car and drove back home to get changed and talk to my sisters. I hated thinking about it, but if I die tonight, I at least want to say something to them.
I walked inside and saw both of my sisters watching a movie together on the couch.
"Hey Buttercup! Wanna watch it with us?" I smiled at Bubbles and politely declined.
"I would love to, but I need to be somewhere and I'm kinda in a rush." She smiled at me and nodded in understanding.
I took off my heels and ran upstairs to find a change of clothes. I pulled out a pair of black spandex and a tight, sage green tank top. I've seen too many fights where loose clothes were used against someone. I threw on an old pair of sneakers and pulled my hair into a high ponytail.
I ran back downstairs and hugged my two sisters from behind. "I love you guys so much, never forget that." I kissed both of them on the cheek and ran out to my car. I put the car in drive and sped towards Kit's house.
Upon arrival, I saw Bradley's car, meaning he was there too. I knocked on the door and luckily Kit answered it.
"Buttercup?" I immediately pulled her into a tight hug.
"You're the best friend I ever had. Thanks for always being there for me even when I'm doing a bunch of crazy shit." She pulled from the hug and shot me a concerned look.
"Why are you saying this?" I did my best to smile.
"I just thought you should know how much I appreciate you always being there for me… I wasn't sure if you knew and I figured I should let you know." She suddenly started to cry and I had no clue of why.
"Wh-why does this f-eel like good-goodbye? What's wr-wrong? I c-can help you!" I immediately caught onto what she was thinking.
"Kit! I'm not gonna kill myself! I just wanted to let you know that you're appreciated!" I started wiping tears from her face as they fell from her eyes.
"D-do you promise?" I smiled honestly and nodded.
"I promise I am not going to kill myself. Now smile Kit, it's a better look for ya." Her pout turned up into a smile as she laughed lightly.
"For the record, you're my best friend too Buttercup." I smiled brightly and hugged her again. This time she returned it.
"Maybe we can do something tomorrow." I could feel her smile into my shoulder and nod.
"Yeah, just the two of us!" I pulled away from Kit and nodded.
"Of course! I need to go now though so maybe I'll see you tomorrow!" She nodded and waved to me.
"See you tomorrow!" With that I turned and walked to my car, then drove back to HIM's lair.
Upon arriving, I waited in the car for a little while, not quite ready to take on a hungry lion. I pulled out my phone and saw multiple texts from my sisters.
'Buttercup, what are you doing? Where are you? When are you coming home?' That was Blossom, always wanting all the facts.
'I never got to tell you that I love you too before you ran out. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda worried about your well being right now, so please lmk what you're doing.' Bubbles was always sweet and loving. I felt kinda bad for leaving them both on open.
I left my phone on my car seat and walked into the room with Butch and the professor. "I'm ready to go. Wish me luck." I gave both a hug and a kiss on the cheek before walking into the next room where the conniving red demon himself was waiting.
"Good to see you back, dear! I hope my furry friend doesn't mess your pretty little face up too badly. You can just walk down those stairs and there should be a gate to an arena. Once you're in, I'll release your opponent. Good luck." I shuttered at the thought of being eaten alive by a lion, but I only had to last for an hour and if I did, both the professor and I would be able to live. I could do this.
I held my head up as I walked down the stairs. I came upon the gate and flung it open, strutting into the area. It honestly looked just like the Roman colosseum and I felt like a gladiator. I looked around the stands and was surprised to see most of Townsville. I looked down and realized that my clothes transformed into gladiator attire: A tight brown leather dress, gladiator sandals that came right below my knees, and a leather headband that went across my forehead to match the dress.
I almost brushed it off as an illusion until I saw a dark green streak fly through the top and land in the front row as Butch.
"Buttercup! I'm here, you'll be fine I swear! I'll be right here the whole time!" I looked around and started spotting people I knew.
Mitch was sitting in the third row with Robin sitting next to him, Harry was a few rows back with his family, Mike sat in the middle, Mary was seated on the other side of the colosseum with Jillian, and even Ms. Keane was there, sitting by two young kids. I snapped back to reality when I heard a bunch of screams and barely had enough time to dodge a pouncing lion.
"Holy shit!" I continued to avoid the lion, already on the defensive. The lion roared loudly and ran right at me. I was smart enough to know that I wasn't fast enough to outrun it as a human, so I needed to have a strategy to survive this. I stood in place and as soon as he reared up on his back legs, I slid underneath of it and kicked him in the stomach. I quickly rolled out from under the beast, but he wasn't about to give up.
He quickly turned and pinned me to the ground by my shoulders. His claws dug into my skin and he moved his head down, probably to eat me alive.
"Buttercup! Do something!" I could hear the fear in Butch's voice as he watched the fight. When the lion's face got close enough, I brought my knee to his jaw and kicked one of his teeth out when he roared out. The vicious animal reared back in pain, giving me the opportunity to escape the lion's paws. I grabbed the tooth that I knocked out and created distance.
I locked eyes with the big cat and we engaged in some kind of staredown. I could feel the blood running down my shoulders and felt a surge of adrenaline rush through my veins. I touched my wounds on each shoulder and smeared the blood on my face like war paint.
"Bring it on Simba!" With that, it sprinted right at me in a blind rage. I dove to the side as he got too close, causing him to run into the wall. While he was in his daze, I jumped on his back and gripped his mane. He recovered quickly and tried flipped on his back, something I didn't anticipate.
I felt the weight of the large animal crash on top of me and felt a few ribs crack. I winced at the pain, but used his weight to my advantage and stabbed him with the tooth I kicked out earlier. The lion roared out and rolled off of me, taking my makeshift weapon with him.
I tried to get up, but before I could, I felt his teeth sink into my arm and I screamed as he flung me around by my arm. As soon as he stopped flailing, I took my opportunity to kick him hard in the nose so that he would release me. He opened his mouth to roar and I took that time to remove my now useless arm from his jaws. I looked up only in time to see a claw coming for my face, but my reflexes kicked in and I ducked the blow, grabbed his leg and snapped it with a well placed kick.
I looked down at my throbbing arm and wanted to scream when I saw the bone jutting out from the mutilated limb. It was bleeding badly and barely recognizable. I bit my tongue until it started to bleed so I wouldn't scream.
"Buttercup look out!" I heard Butch's voice and noticed the lion snapping at me. I dived out of the way just in time and jabbed the bone from my broken arm into the side of his neck. Both of us screeched from the pain and I quickly pulled my arm away. I had a moment of rest as my opponent recovered from my previous attack.
My attention was soon diverted from the fight however, when I saw a pink and blue streak land beside Butch with both Kit and Bradley with them.
"Buttercup! Get out of there right now!" My older sister demanded, but she didn't understand that I couldn't just leave.
"Kinda busy Bloss! I can't just leave!" I heard Bubbles shriek and my attention immediately snapped to her.
"Buttercup! Behind you!" I didn't bother looking and just sent a roundhouse kick to the side of the lion's face. Unfortunately for me, he didn't seem too phased by the attack. He didn't waste time as he slashed his claws at me, connecting with the side of my face. I screamed as I felt his claws tear into my skin. I heard everyone in the crowd gasp as I fell to the ground and held my face in agony. I could feel the three claw marks and in a way, I was lucky. One crossed my forehead, the second one went from my ear to my chin, and the other travelled from my neck to the middle of my chest, missing any big arteries that would've gotten me killed.
The lion went in for another swipe at my face, but I blocked it with my good arm, cutting me almost to the bone. I let myself scream again and kicked the lion hard in the chest. He froze for a moment and I jumped on his back to grab the tooth from earlier. He tried to flip over on me again, but I jumped off of him this time. His underside was exposed and I used the tooth to cut him deeply from his chest to his stomach. He flailed around and stood up, but I needed to end this and quick. The blood from my forehead had run into my left eye and I couldn't see anything from it.
I ran towards the beast and thrusted the tooth into his throat. He froze on the spot and dropped to the ground trying to catch his breath. The crowd cheered loudly that I had beaten the lion and I felt pretty cocky since HIM was so sure that I was going to fail this challenge. I looked over to Butch, my sisters, Kit, and Bradley and saw concerned, yet relieved looks on their faces. I walked towards the exit to finish my challenge, but realized that the gate was still locked and had a timer with twenty minutes left.
"Fuck. I haven't been in here for an hour…" As my adrenaline started to fade, all the pain I was feeling crashed onto me at once. I dropped to the ground and clutched my mutilated arm tightly and bit my already bleeding tongue to hold in a scream. I could hardly hear the concerned calls from my family as I laid on the ground bleeding.
"You only have twenty minutes left B! The lion isn't even alive anymore! You're going to be fine babe, just hang on for a little bit!" I picked out Butch's voice and tried to concentrate on that instead of the agonizing pain I was going through.
"Bubbles, we need to call a hospital stat! Do you have your phone on you?" Blossom actually sounded stressed, something that was rare since she was typically the level headed one.
"Yeah, I'll call now!" Bubbles sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"Oh my god! This is why she came over to my place earlier! Please say she's going to be ok!" I heard Kit scream in a shaky voice.
"Why does she have to wait twenty minutes?" I was surprised when Bradley showed any concern at all.
"The Challenge was to survive for an hour. She only has fifteen minutes left now, then we can help her." Butch answered again, but everything started to sound quieter.
"What challenge?" I could barely manage to hear Kit jump into the conversation.
"I c-" Everything went silent and I blacked out.
Butch's POV
"I can't say too much about it or else we'll get in a lot of trouble. Forget I said anything." Kit looked at me impatiently and got an angry look on her face.
"Look, she's important to us too! Just tell us what's going on!" I mentally beat the shit outta myself for saying anything at all.
"All I can tell you is that this is part of a challenge that she's in and nobody else except me and my brothers can know the details of it aside from her." I sighed in relief when she seemed to drop the topic. I looked back to Buttercup and my heart dropped at the sight. She wasn't struggling like she was before, she was lying in a puddle of her own blood without moving. The only comfort I had was the almost unnoticeable rise and fall of her back. I couldn't decide between being glad that she wasn't in pain or being horrified that she might not wake up.
"B! Wake up! You can't sleep right now!" I watched as her eyes fluttered open. She glanced up at us with a look of pure agony on her face. I looked to the clock to see only two more minutes.
Kitty's POV
I watched as my best friend struggled to stay awake in the arena. I buried my face into Bradley's shoulder and began to cry.
"Hey, baby, she's tough. She'll be okay, I promise." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
"What if she's not okay? She's just lying there and we can't do anything to help her!" I turned my head lightly to watch Buttercup squirm in a puddle of blood. It was obvious that she was struggling not to cry.
I suddenly heard loud buzzing sound and realized that it was the timer. I jumped the arena wall and ran beside my best friend.
"Buttercup, they have paramedics all lined up outside of here and they'll be here to get you in just a second. You're going to be okay." The rest of the group joined me by her side while we waited for the paramedics.
"Oh my god, Buttercup we love you. Please hold on…" Blossom spoke for both herself and Bubbles since the youngest sister was sobbing and stroking her older sister's hair.
"Stay with us B, you're tough. You gotta make it through this babe." He leaned down and kissed her gently, even though she was too weak to kiss back. He wiped some of the blood from her eye. She looked around at all of us and tried to smile, but it only caused her to wince from the pain.
The paramedics finally burst through the entrance and we cleared the way so they could get to Buttercup. They gently picked her up, but you could see from her expression that it hurt like hell to be moved. I felt anger grow in my chest and shot a mean glare towards Butch.
"Who the fuck made her do this?" He flinched at my question since he probably didn't expect it.
"Look, I wish I could tell you, but if I did, she, someone else, and I would be killed. You can't tell anyone about this! Everyone is supposed to think that she's doing this on her free will. I'll probably get punished in some way just for saying this much." I gave him a weird look and deepened my glare.
"How would he know if you only told us?" He had an exasperated look to him that almost made me feel bad for interrogating him. Almost.
"He has eyes and ears everywhere! There's probably at least seven cameras and twenty microphones in this arena alone! I'm sure he's already rigged all of Townsville with cameras and microphones!" My eyes widened of the thought of being watched and listened to everywhere I go.
"That's illegal! Nobody can do that!" He shot me a frustrated glare and smacked the side of his face.
"So is forcing a girl to fight a fucking lion! He doesn't care if something's illegal! And don't bother calling the cops because he'll have no problem killing every single one of them and everyone involved in the challenge right after. I've already told you more than I should and I'm probably going to get killed for it!" I stood there in shock and Butch took the opportunity to fly out of the stadium. I looked to her sisters who looked horrified.
"Someone else is involved too… We need to find out what's going on for ourselves." Blossom looked determined and picked me up, flying towards the hospital.
"From what he said, could you possibly figure out who the challenge master is? I mean, he gave us a lot of clues…" I couldn't see her expression, but I imagined that it brightened up at the idea of helping somehow.
"You're right! Bubbles and I can put together some research on all the villains and maybe find out who's behind everything!" We landed at the hospital and ran in to see how Buttercup was holding up.
"We're here to see Buttercup Utonium." The lady at reception nodded and looked back down to her computer.
"She's in room 310. You can go in." We nodded our thanks and walked down the hallway until we saw her room number.
"Butch, I'm fine! Stop treating me like a baby!"
"Buttercup, they can't even set your arm because they can't even tell where everything is!"
"Well the bone is right here so that just shows how much they know!"
"B, you know that's not what they're talking about!"
"Well either way I'm still kickin'! I'm not going anywhere any time soon!"
"Buttercup, just let them help you…"
"I'm fine! I just needed a little time to lay down! I'm not even bleeding that much anymore!"
We thought that was probably a good time to walk in and give Butch some backup on the matter. She was too stubborn for her own good…
"Buttercup, you should really listen to him." Blossom spoke up as we entered the room. I looked up to catch a dangerous glare.
"Hey! Why are you glaring at me? I didn't say anything!" Her eyes only narrowed more.
"You were planning on it! I saw your mouth start to move! It's not like it would matter anyways, you guys can't change my mind. It'd be so much easier to just go home and jump in a pool of chemical X!" I looked her over and cringed at all of her injuries. There were several huge puncture wounds on her shoulders from being pinned down, three deep slash marks across her face and neck, and her arm was almost unrecognizable.
"How are you not screaming right now? You look awful!" I didn't even bother to act like I wasn't staring.
"Remind me to come to you when I need a self esteem boost. God Kit, if you came to cheer me up, you're doing a damn good job!" Even a newborn could've caught the sarcasm in her reply.
"Buttercup, I didn't mean it like that! It's just that everything looks so painful…" She laughed at me.
"Calm down, I'm not upset with you. I know I look like a hot mess! Now I just need to go to the bathroom." Butch helped her up and started to walk with her.
"I can handle going to the bathroom by myself." She winced as she jerked away from her boyfriend and walked out of the room alone.
"I'll follow her. I don't trust that she's just going to the bathroom." Blossom slipped out of the room, leaving Butch and me alone.
Blossom's POV
I stealthily followed my sister until I realized that I passed a bathroom. Just as I suspected, my stubborn sister was trying to escape. I turned back to where she was to see an empty hallway.
"Shoot! Where'd she go?" I whispered to myself and flew to the lobby, where I saw her walking through the doors that exited the hospital. How could the hospital staff just let her walk through the whole building without stopping her? It's not like she looked well enough to leave!
I flew out of the hospital and almost crashed into Bubbles, who was holding a scowling Buttercup. "Is this what you were looking for Blossom? I came across her walking back home." If I wasn't so upset with her right now, I would've laughed at the glare and childish pour on her face.
"I was fine!" I sent her a stern glare and she grumbled under her breath in response.
"You're not my fucking mom." I guess she forgot we had super hearing because I knew she didn't want me to hear that.
"Well maybe you need a fucking mom! Now get the hell inside before I drag you in by that big mouth of yours!" I typically avoided cursing, but I was more than angry, I was absolutely livid. I didn't care that she was injured right now. She needed to find some self control and respect because I wasn't about to let her run around doing whatever the hell she pleases.
My sister's green eyes were wide in utter astonishment. I held my glare hoping to beat her in a battle of wills. To my utter surprise, she looked away, admitting defeat. I signaled for Bubbles to let her go, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, she made a break for it. I really should've seen this coming, but both of us were too shocked to move after her.
"Buttercup get back here!" I shot after her and as soon as she heard me flying, she ran onto a full bus. I cursed under my breath and followed the bus, signaling for them to stop. The driver's eyes lit up in recognition and stopped the bus. I flew through the doors and stomped straight over to where Buttercup was sitting.
"She's trying to hurt me! I'm just trying to go home!" My eyes widened in disbelief as my sister blatantly lied. I was met with the glares of all of the people on the bus.
"Leave her alone! She's hurt and trying to get home!"
"Why would you want to hurt your sister when she's already injured?"
"She's lying! I'm trying to bring her back to the hospital!" Buttercup's eyes held a mischief that only Bubbles and I could ever see.
"She's trying to send me to a hospital! That's what she always says before we fight! She's trying to sound nice, but she's going to hurt me!" I glared at my sister and I realized a little too late that I probably just helped her case. I almost gave up, but a mother took my side.
"This brat is nothing but trouble! She needs to be taught respect and maybe her sister can beat it into her!" I gasped at what the woman just said about Buttercup, that was awful!
"I'm not trying to hurt her-" A young male cut me off to protest the woman's statement.
"That's awful! You're probably just mad because your husband went to that strip club last night when she was there!" The woman gasped and clapped back at the teenage boy.
"You're probably only defending her because you're one of the many guys who have fucked the little slut!" I actually felt bad that she had to listen to people talk about her like this. I looked over to where my little sister was, but she wasn't there! I looked to the front of the bus and saw her running towards our house. That little sneak! I didn't even notice her leave the bus!
I flew out, ignoring the little dispute on the bus. I flew in the direction I saw her running in, but couldn't spot her in the crowd of people. It shouldn't be that hard to see her since she's in gladiator getup, but she was harder to find than Waldo. I flew as fast as I could to the house and decided to wait for her there. Not even two minutes later, I saw a figure in a light hoodie run up to the house.
From in a nearby tree, I watched as the figure lifted the welcome mat and unlocked the door. I gasped as I realized we were being robbed! As the hooded figure opened the door, I landed a hard punch on their back. The person slammed into the couch and screamed in pain.
I didn't hit them that hard! I flew over to the person and pulled the hood back only to reveal that it was my runaway sister. She threw me a watery glare as she held back tears from the pain I just caused her. I felt a hard kick to the stomach and I flew back into the wall. I sat up to see Buttercup running downstairs into the lab.
"Buttercup wait! Just let the hospital take care of you!" I didn't get a response so I followed her to the basement. When I get down the stairs I saw her in a Chemical X healing chamber.
"Buttercup, get out of there now! You don't have your powers, that's dangerous!" She glared at me and locked the door on the chamber.
"So you can bring me to the hospital? No fuckin' way! They don't know what they're doing, they wanted to cut my fucking arm off! That's what they do when they don't know what to do, just cut it off! I can't live without an arm Blossom, I can't go back there!" I flinched in surprise. I never knew that, why didn't she just say that in the first place?
"Buttercup. I understand that you're scared, but you're just a normal human right now and that could kill you." She put on a breather, held my stare, and defiantly pushed the button that filled the chamber. I watched in nervous anticipation as she disappeared in the black substance.
Butch's POV
It had been around an hour since Buttercup went to the bathroom and Blossom followed her. At this point I had a pretty good hunch that the only place she 'needed to go' was home.
"Come on Kitty. I think she made a break for it, let's head back to her house." The girl nodded and followed me out. We found Bubbles and Bradley waiting in the lobby, looking concerned.
"Blossom should've caught her by now…" Bubbles sounded on the verge of tears, but Bradley was quick to comfort her.
"It'll be fine. Your sister is tough enough to take care of herself even when she's injured. She was just going home anyways." We walked over to where the two were sitting.
"Wait, what happened Bubbles?" I was already picturing several different situations in my head.
"She ran out of the hospital and I caught her, but she tricked us so that when I put her down, she ran! Blossom shot after her, but Buttercup's a hard one to catch. I just hope Blossom finds her before she does anything stupid…" I had to hold back a laugh at the story. Two Powerpuff Girls having a hard time catching their human sister, now that was funny.
"Let's head back to your house and see if anyone's there." She nodded and picked up Bradley while I picked up Kitty. We shot off towards the Utonium household and stopped dead when we saw the door wide open.
"This doesn't look to good…" Bubbles whimpered out and put down Bradley. She slowly floated inside and saw that the lab door was open too. She motioned for us to follow her, so we did.
We all quietly walked down the stairs and saw Blossom sitting on the ground with her head in her hands.
"Um… Blossom? Is everything ok? Where's B?" I hesitantly asked the oldest Puff, scared that she would blow up if I asked the wrong question. She turned her head to face us and she looked scared and stressed out.
"She's crazy! She's trying to heal herself with chemical X! I looked over to a chamber filled with opaque black liquid.
"She's in there? For how much longer?" I was beginning to grow concerned for my girlfriend at this point, what was she thinking?
"It should be done any minute now. She's been in there for almost half an hour…" Just as I was about to respond, all of the liquid drained and Buttercup stumbled out. We all looked at her with anxious eyes, wondering what would happen next.
"See Bloss! I told you I would be fine! Not even a scratch!" We looked her over and sure enough, she looked as good as before aside from a few light scars. Without warning, we all jumped on her in some obnoxiously cliché group hug. She was quick to protest and struggled away from us.
"I thought you were going to get yourself killed!" Blossom was on the verge of tears and couldn't find it in herself to get mad.
"You scared the shit outta me!" Kit was in between being angry and relieved.
"I'm so glad you're ok Buttercup…" Bubbles took the opportunity to trap her in yet another hug. After everyone had their say on the matter, everyone looked to me.
"Glad to have you up and running B." I kissed her lightly and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Glad to be up and running." She whispered into my shoulder so that only I could hear her. I buried my nose in her hair and smiled, happy that everything turned out alright.
HIM's POV
I screamed in pure anger as I watched them hug it out in the lab. I was hoping she would at least lose a limb! I wanted something horrible to happen! I looked over at the professor and saw a proud smirk on his face.
"What are you smiling about?" I snarled, but the man wasn't affected.
"You really think you can kill her don't you? She's the toughest person I know. None of your challenges are going to work." My blood boiled at his comment. I drew my claw back and slapped him hard with it, leaving a nasty cut across his cheek.
"I told the little slut that I wouldn't kill you, but that doesn't make you invincible! I can still hurt you as much as I want and she won't know until she comes back here!" His grin quickly turned to a defiant glare.
"Don't you dare call her that! And once she finishes these challenges and gets her powers back, she's going to rip your throat out!" It was my turn to grin.
"Those are big words for someone who's tied to a chair and completely at my mercy. Not to mention, the girl is only one fifth of the way through the challenge! I promise you, someone will die during these challenges." The professor didn't respond, but I could tell he was angry.
This girl is going down.
AN: This chapter took a little longer than I expected. I tried to add some humor in it to lighten the mood… Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review!