Chapter 11 – Cats Cradle and Soccer Balls
He pinched his nose,before rubbing his forehead. Once again, Ace felt he was getting no where. It had been a good suggestion from Buttercup to look into companies and doctors who had been shut down for genetic experiments, but nothing fit his bill. He had known better then to think he would of gotten answers quickly, but he'd been on this for two months now. He had hoped to at least get one lead. Part of him wanted to blame the BCA schedule he was on, but knew that wasn't it. Even if he didn't have a job, classes, community service, Gym, and Therapy it'd be unrealistic to say he would have been spending all that free time looking.
He tilted his head back and grunted, taking a deep breath to calm his annoyance, as he felt the pressure of anothers person press against his back. It would be easier however if his handler would quit bugging him and trying to get him to play a game Cats Cradle with her. "Buttercup."
Buttercup had slipped over the back of the couch where he sat, now positioned with her back pressed against his and her legs dangling over the back of the couch in the Utonium house. She had a couple of old shoe laces tied together laced between her fingers as she made integrate designs. "One game isn't going to kill you. Just take a break, man."
"Buttercup, I don't want to take a break." He twisted his back just right to make her fall off onto the cushion next to him with a small umph, "I don't have anyt'ing to-"
"Come on man! I'm board!" She declared baping her now tied together hands against the cushion.
"Then watch a movie or somethin'!"
Buttercup huffed and sat up right on the couch going about untangling the string. "You know as your handler I could just make you play.
He sighed, shut the laptop in front of him and turned to her, "Fffine!"
She smiled in victory as she restrung the laces to begin the game. "Buck up dude. Try talking to me, maybe it'll help something come to you."
He made a face before reaching up to take the string and create a new pattern, "There's nothing to tell. I've been looking up places charged with illegal experimentation, even places doing it legally, but nothin's been right so far to have anything to do with us."
"Okay," Buttercup took the string back creating a bridge pattern, " What have you learned so far?What are the patterns? Maybe you can summarize a reason you guys where taken to begin with?"
Ace took the string again, going though a more tricky move, "I guess. By the looks of it when kids are involved dere targeted."
"Targeted?" Buttercup repeated, as her turn came again.
"Yeah, either because dey're low risk kids no one will notice or care if dey disappear or dey have somet'in' already unique about dem. A genetic marker or proximity to somet'in' important."
Buttercup nodded passing the game back to him. She was a bit hesitant to ask, but she did anyways, " Which do you think you guys where?"
Ace gave a dry chuckle, "I was a runaway from a broken abusive home whose parents never really went lookin for him, Snake was a foster kid in a over crowded home. You guess what we where."
Buttercup looked away from him, before lacing her finger through again, "Have you everrrr..." She shrugged, "Ever though of trying to find them? Your families? See why they didn't come to find you."
He messed up taking the string back, getting their hands tangled and tied together. "Damn it." He muttered lowering his hands only to have Buttercup pull them back to try and detangle them, "No Buttercup we've never... I don't even remember what my folks look like."
"It was just a thought. Something for you to consider." She pulled at the string making him hiss.
"Ouch! Can we just cut dese?"
"No! These go to my favorite sneakers."
Ace rolled his eyes, " I'll buy you new laces. Just lazer dem off kay. Dere getting tight."
Buttercup rolled her head back at the sound of a knock and followed by the front door opening. "Hello? Buttercup you home?"
Buttercup smiled at the girl with long Burnett hair who peeked past the door, " Robin! Good, come here and get us out of this mess!"
Robin, the girls neighbor and shared best friend, walked in, shutting the door behind her, and gave them a curious look. She giggled at the sight of their hands tied together, "Am I interrupting something? If it's a bad time I can pop back in later."
"Robin!" Buttercup glared at her. It wasn't a truly angry glare, more of a friends teasing glare. Buttercup reached over with her legs and tugged at Robins pants legs with her feet. With Ace not budging, and Buttercup not feeling like dragging him, it was the best she could do to reach her friend, "Untie us!"
Robin shook her head in good nature before sitting on the table in-front of them and going about to untie the knots that had formed in the string holding them together. "What was this anyways?"
"Cats Cradle gone wrong." Buttercup answered.
"I still say we just cut the damn string." Ace added.
"Don't worry. I'll have it done in a jiff." Robin smiled at Buttercup, "By the way have you signed up for summer soccer practice?"
"They opened the sign ups already?"
"Yeah, the paper is do at the end of the week. How could you not know? If you really want to play varsity next year you're gonna have to do summer practice! You know how the Coach is!"
Ace and Buttrcup both rubbed their wrist as the sting fell off while Buttercup groaned, "Daaamn it. I've been so preoccupied getting projects and stuff finished for the end of school I hadn't even been thinking about it! I hope I can still get the slip filled out in time."
Robin smiled flipping the small string back pack off and pulling out a folded paper. She held it up against her chin so it was easy to read, "I thought as much."
"Ooooooh thank you Robin!" Buttercup leaned over and hugged the other teen. She took the page, "You saved my butt, I owe you one."
"Actually at this point you owe me five." they both chuckled before Robin turned her attention to Ace, "How rude of me. I'm Robin."
He shook her hand, "Ace."
"I know!" She giggled slightly before pulling a CD case and a marker out of her back pack. Seeing what her friend took out made the green eyed puff face-palm.
"Robin..."
"If you wouldn't mind Ace, would you sign this for me?" Ace took the case and the marker, then chuckled when he recognized what it was.
"Sure." He grinned signing his name under the green skull cover picture that belong to one of the very few CD albums he'd published a year ago. Then for good measure he popped open the case and signed the CD itself. "Here you go."
Robin took it back and squealed, "Thank you so much! I think your music it so great!, and you're just so cool! I can't believe you and Buttercup get to hang out all the time!"
Buttercup chuckled, and shot Ace a look at the sight of his smug expression, "He's not as cool as you think he is, Robin."
Ace rolled his eyes and shoved her over, "Don't listen to her Robin. I'm as cool as you want me to be."
"Don't be shoving me, dude!" Buttercup said pushing him aiming to knock him off the couch, but he pulled her into a head lock bringing her down with him. "Ahy!"
Robin laughed openly. Buttercup looked up from her place on the floor, "Oh you think it's funny?!"
Robin squeaked as Buttercup pulled her down, thusly turning the situation into a three way free for all wrestling match. Amongst the ruckus of laughs, grunts, and mild curses and taunts the three didn't notice when Saundra and Ken came through the door. Saundra, had watched the scene only momentarily. She had seen such a scene many times between the girls, their friends, and boyfriends over the years. She momentary debated having them stop, especially as this wrestling match involved Ace, but she could see he kept his hands appropriately and was making sure he didn't hurt them. So she just smiled helped Ken get his backpack off and went to the kitchen to begin her task of grading school work.
Ken walked over to the small brawl and looked a them seeming confused. He took a quick step back when Buttercup landed with a grunt at his feet, "Oh you think that's funny!?"
"Bubbub?" Buttercup looked up surprised to see Ken, "What are you doing?"
She looked back at the other two who had also stopped, "Ummmm." She looked back and grinned at Ken, "It's the zombie apocalypse kid, and you're next victim!"
She grabbed him, earning a childish scream, pinning him to the couch. She pretended to bite him several times before raspberrying his exposed tummy. She sat back up, "Quick Ace, hold him by his feet!"
Ace got up off the floor and lifted Ken up by his feet. The boy laughed as his hands dangled down. Fully exposed Buttercup didn't need to tell Robin before both girls began tickling him. The whole group laughed and giggled till the front door opened up yet again.
Through a fit of giggles Ken reach out to the new figure, "Daddy save me! The Zombies have me!"
The Professor looked up as he set down his work briefcase. Taking in all of them, he put on his play voice, "Oh no Zombies? In my house, and with my boy, too?"
Ace held Ken out, still dangling by the feet, as the Professor came over. He took the boy swinging him upside right, tossing him up in the air a little bit, and catching him, "Come we should get you to the lab where our best scientist are coming up with a curative potion. Saaaaaaay in the Chocolate milk variety?"
"Yes!" Ken wiggled down running to the kitchen.
The Professor smiled and looked around at the living room where the table, couch, and floor rug where all a mess. "I see you where having some fun."
Buttercup rubbed the back of her neck, "yeah, I guess we gotta little out of hand."
"What where you playing?"
"Cats Cradle." Robin smiled.
"Mhm...I see." He patted Buttercups head and gave her a small kiss on the head, "Remember to put the table back."
"Yes, dad."
"Robin...Ace." The Professor acknowledged them as he continued to the kitchen to great his wife and to help Ken get his drink.
Buttercup turned to the other two, before they all lightly laughed, and begun to put the room to rights. Once done Butterup offered them all something to drink, and headed to the kitchen. She got three sodas from the fridge before going to the table where The Professor, Sandra, and Ken sat. "Hey Professor, can you sign this for me? It's for Summer Soccer."
He took the page and read over it, "Ah, that time already? Soon we'll have two soccer players wont we?"
He gently tickled Kens ribs with the end of a pen as the boy blew bubbles in his milk. He then looked over and Sandra, "Mama, can we have pizza?"
She and the professor looked at each other, before she nodded, "I don't see why not."
"Sweet!" The kid got down from his chair and went over to his back pack to pull something out to present to his dad, "Look Daddy, we made wind chimes today!"
"You did? Give me one second and I'll take a look." He signed the permission for Buttercup handing it back to her before looking at the thing Ken had made. It was mostly made of multicolored marbles and thin see through pieces of plastic glued and strung together. "Well isn't it lovely. How about we hang it in the kitchen window?"
"Oh I think that's a great place for it." Sandra agreed.
Ken nodded before grabbed a small soccer ball from next to the back door, "Buttercup, you wanna play?"
"Yeah, I'll meet you outside." She agreed.
"Oh, Buttercup ask Robin and Ace if they're staying for dinner." The Professor said as he hug the makeshift wind-chime in the window.
"Sure." The teen went back to the living room giving Ace and Robin a soda each, "There's pizza in it for you if you guys come play soccer with Ken and me."
It wasn't long before the four where joined by the red and blue Powerpuffs, and then called in for food. However on their way in Ace hesitantly tapped Blossoms shoulder. "Hey Blossom?"
She turned around surprised and equally replied hesitantly, "Yes?"
He stood back from her and rubbed his cheek nervously, "Can I...I know I have no real right to ask, but can I get a favor off you?"
She eyed him wearily and with obvious suspicion, "What kind of favor?"
"Well, I knows Summer vacation for you girls is goin to be here soon, and dat means you'll be around when I have to be here wit your sister. Soos I was wonderin'...Could yous, well" He slightly blushed feeling suddenly grumpy, "Could you tutor me?"
The redhead was taken back, "Tutor you?"
"I'm gonna try and get my GED..." He shrugged, "I was thinkin..."
Blossom stood quiet a moment, considering his request, "Summer activities and Tutoring dose look good on a college application...And it's bonus points when it's work with a convict. Oh I could even do an essay based on the whole experience!"
"So, dat's a?"
"Yes, I'll tutor you over the summer."
Ace let out a breath before he nodded, "Thank you."
"Hey you two! Pizzas gonna get cold!" Buttercup called out to them.
