A/N: HELLO EVERYONE!
First and foremost, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to anyone and everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed this story so far. You're so awesome and you make me so happy!
Secondly, I want to thank you for your patience. I'm seriously trying to get my life together and organize this thing! I'm getting better, but MAN, was I behind. I'm determined to complete this for myself (because I'm terrible at completing projects), for my son (because I don't want him to fall into the same habits as I have), and for you (because you all are amazing and I don't want to let you down). With that being said, I FOR REAL am going to have a schedule for this thing to hopefully power through these updates and satisfy everyone's needs! :D
For now, though, enjoy!
While Mojo's Away
Chapter Twelve: Egg Fight
"Booms, I need support!"
"Follow your dreams, Butch!"
"NOT THAT KIND OF SUPPORT, DINGUS!"
There was a loud explosion on the television which was immediately followed by laughter from the blue Ruff. Butch looked less than pleased as he glared at his brother.
"Dude." It was the only thing Butch could muster and it was said in deadpan, disbelief. He had finally convinced Boomer to play on his team only for the boy to shoot him out of the sky moments after spawning into the map. Boomer was regaining control of himself, wiping tears from his eyes.
"I forgot you were on my team," he tried to defend through a new onslaught of giggles.
"No. You didn't."
"Friendly fire?"
"Purposeful fire."
"I was…" he began but fell over backward with laughter. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I couldn't help it!"
"God, I hate you."
"I gave you support!"
"You headshot me!"
"We still won!"
"No, we didn't! We just lost less!"
Boomer laughed again. He was having too much fun, "I'm not sure that's a thing."
From the kitchen, Buttercup scowled. The bickering boys in the other room were testing her patience. She was in front of the stove, a frying pan lay on the burner in front of her, and a carton of eggs on the counter to her right. She was hungry when she walked in the kitchen, but the more she heard the two laugh and carry on, the more she was beginning to lose her appetite. She had an egg in her hand and was about to crack it open, but another round of giggles hit Boomer, and it annoyed her to the point where she crushed the egg's shell right in her fist.
Yolk and egg white dripped through her palm, dragging shards of its shell with it on its journey to the floor. In a huff, she smacked the entire thing into the pan causing it to hiss violently in protest before she whipped around to amplify her voice.
"Would you two just shut up already?!" Buttercup shouted, her anger finally boiling over. "It sounds like you both suck at that game!"
"For your information, Butterbrat," Butch started, intentionally making his voice sound nasally and nerdy to irritate her further. "We're the best in the world!"
"Yeah!" Boomer said, quick to agree to the praise. Buttercup rolled her eyes.
"The console hasn't been released yet! Your high scores are the only ones posted!"
"Boomer! Does it sound like someone's a little jealous to you?"
"It most certainly does, Butch!" Boomer replied in the same mocking tone as his brother. Buttercup growled in irritation.
"I'm not—"
"Someone's jelly! Jelly! Jelly! Peanut-Buttercup and Jelly!" The Butch teased, making a song out of the ordeal.
Buttercup screeched in frustration and was about to zip into the other room to knock their teeth in, but a voice called down from the stairs, breaking Butch's taunt.
"Excuse me?!" The boys looked up to see the pink Puff descending from the stairs. She was fully dressed (unlike Butch, Boomer, and Buttercup who were all still in pajamas) but seemed a bit dazed. Large bags hung under her orb of eyes, and they almost look bloodshot from exhaustion. It didn't stop her from ranting, though. "What did you do to the wall here?!"
Buttercup rolled her eyes and turned back to the eggs. She grabbed the pan and flipped it over the sink, cleaning off the shell and burnt egg she threw in earlier and allowing her to start over as she tried her best to ignore the boys. She wasn't entirely sure if Blossom being here was a good thing, knowing how little sleep the girl had gotten the night before and how anxious she was over the thought of playing hooky.
"Why don't you ask Butterbrain," Butch said, before going back into his song. "Peanut… peanut… peanut Buttercup!"
"What happened to your face?!" Blossom interjected yet again, this time pointing with her finger at the boy. It most likely didn't click in her head that Butch was making fun of her sister.
Butch's features darkened at the reminder and even more so when Boomer burst into laughter again. He watched his brother struggle for breath in-between giggles before finally snapping his attention back to the Powerpuff leader.
"Why don't you ask her about that too?!"
Blossom looked confused. She floated down the rest of the stairs and peered around the corner to better see into the kitchen.
"Why? How would she know?"
Butch smirked, "Because Peanut Buttercup is all-knowing… and mad jelly."
"Totes jelly!" Boomer added before his face lit up, "DUDE! Peanut Buttercups! Like the chocolate candy!"
"NO! I like that candy! Now it's forever going to be associated with the ogre in the kitchen!"
"SHUT UP, BUTCH!" The green Puff finally snapped, no longer able to stay quiet. Butch jumped to his feet. He was determined to drive the girl insane today.
"MAKE ME, BUTTERBITC—AHH!"
His insult was cut off at Buttercup suddenly appeared in the living room, armed with a carton of eggs. She unloaded them all at a breakneck speed most of them hitting their intended target head-on while the rest cracked on the wall behind him. Boomer took cover immediately, impressed with his reaction time and the girl's aim.
Butch, however, could do nothing but pathetically shield himself from the assault. If anyone else aside from Buttercup had been doing this to him, he would almost find it funny, but at the moment all he could do was flinch and shrill in pain as the eggs made contact with his body.
She finally ran out of ammo but didn't stick around to survey the damage, instead, withdrawing back into the kitchen in search for something else to eat.
Boomer's snickers from below Butch is what broke him out of his shock. The green Ruff blinked several times. He opened his mouth to speak, but yolk from the top of his head slithered right down the middle of his forehead, down the arch of his nose, and then plopped on the carpet next to Boomer's face. It brought an enormous glob of egg white with it, and that proceeded to run down Butch's face like a thick mucus.
The blue Ruff peered up at his irritated brother just in time to watch him wipe a hand down his face and look at his palm.
"Why… do you look impressed?" Boomer asked as he desperately fought to control his laughter.
"I suppose I am a little," Butch replied, another yolk tracking down the side of his face and landing on his shirt. He took a moment before speaking again and when he finally did, indifference was still in his voice. "It's overshadowed just a little bit on account of me being absolutely livid… but it is there."
Boomer shoved his face into the carpet to mute his laughter, unable to stop himself. When he looked up again, Butch was making his way out of the living room and down the first-floor hallway. Boomer sat up and cocked his head.
"Where uh… where you goin'?" Boomer asked in-between giggles.
"The fuck do you think, Booms?!" He called over his shoulder while marching into the bathroom.
"Hey, watch your language!" Blossom said, finally snapping out of her haze to join the conversation. Her response was the bathroom door slamming shut.
Finally deeming it safe, Boomer burst into laughter the same time Blossom's sleepless brain caught up with present-time and registered what had actually just happened.
"BUTTERCUP, LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" She called for her sister and zipped into the kitchen.
"I know what I did! I did it!"
"How could you?!"
"You saw, didn't you?!"
Boomer shook his head and tuned out the bickering girls. He grabbed his controller and began setting up a new game while waiting for Butch to return. The smile on his face threatened to split his face in two.
"Best. Morning. EVER!"
When the alarm on Professor Utonium's dresser went off, he wanted to cry. He snaked his arm out from under the blanket and smacked the device several times before finally silencing it; never once lifting his head from the pillow or opening his eyes. He had no recollection of climbing into his bed last night which meant the girls had put him there to which he was thankful for, but with the girls staying home from school, he didn't need to wake up this early.
Or did he? It was oddly quiet.
He turned his head to face the door, but couldn't find the energy to get out of bed.
His room was still intact. That had to be a good sign, right? They were on the second floor which meant that the room below him was still intact as well. Is that how logic worked?
He let out a groan into his pillow, already dreading today. He should probably make breakfast, check on Boomer, the boys, the girls, and generally just… be an adult, but he didn't want to move.
After several attempts, he finally willed himself out of the bed and zombie-marched into his bathroom with the hopes of trying to make himself look somewhat presentable today. He was wearing his undershirt and lab pants from yesterday. Good. Two things he already didn't have to do.
He reached the sink and turned on the faucet, hoping to wash away his exhaustion with the water. He showered yesterday which is awesome because he wasn't entirely convinced he wouldn't fall asleep in the shower if he were to take one right now.
After deeming himself presentable or at least good enough, Professor Utonium made his way to the hall.
The door to the guest bedroom was slightly ajar and he couldn't help but peer into the room. The only Ruff on the bed appeared to be Brick, but it was hard to tell from this angle. The other two were most definitely gone, though, presumably together and given that the house was still standing the Professor was going to assume that they haven't encountered the girls yet or that they were getting along with them.
He snorted, a smile tugging at his lips as he playfully rolled his eyes before backing away from the door and continued down the hall. He slowed down to see if he could hear if the girls were up, but didn't bother to actually check, deciding that it would be best to confirm the whereabouts of the Rowdyruffs first.
He had to stop his trek to the kitchen about halfway down the stairs, though, to stare at an exposed spot on the wall that was caved in like it had been punched or rammed into. He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled through his nose before letting out a deep sigh, silently praying the rest of the house was going to be together when he rounded the corner.
He spotted Boomer immediately. The boy was sitting cross-legged on the floor, glancing behind his shoulder to peer down the hallway as if he was waiting for someone. Beside him sat two game controllers and the Professor figured he had been playing games with Butch (which Boomer probably shouldn't be doing given his head injury, but at least it was keeping the Ruffs out of trouble).
"How are you feeling?" The Professor asked.
Boomer shrugged, "Meh. Better than yesterday, I guess."
"Do you mind if I examine you to make sure everything's fine?"
"Sure."
"Can we go to my lab?" He motioned with his hand towards a door that must lead downstairs. Boomer's eyes widened a bit as paranoia flashed across his features for a brief moment before he forced himself to calm down.
"Why not here?"
"I have better equipment down there," he started. "Boomer, if I wanted to hurt you I could have done so already."
"I know that," he mumbled, before peering over his shoulder to look down the hall again. He frowned. "I just—"
"We can wait until your brothers are up if you want," the Professor cut him off. If Boomer didn't feel comfortable, he wasn't going to force him to do anything. He walked towards the Ruff to see if he could see what the boy was looking at but stopped short at the sight of something else.
"What—What's all this on the wall?"
"Wha—?" Boomer turned around to see what the Professor was looking at before letting out an excited laugh.
"Karma?" He shrugged, an enormous grin plastered on his face. The Professor rose an eyebrow but didn't question it.
He was too tired for this right now. Coffee first. Then breakfast. He could panic about the state of his house later.
Brick woke up feeling bleary and drugged. He reached out for Boomer to lazily check the boy's vitals for the umpteenth time, but his blue-clad brother must have rolled away from him because he kept patting the mattress instead of a body. After a few moments, Brick blinked several times to clear his vision and took a moment to come to full mental clarity before his heart dropped and he bolted upright. Boomer was gone.
In a panic, Brick scrambled out of bed but stopped himself when he dropped to the floor, forcing himself to think rationally.
Butch was gone too. They were most likely together. They would have woken him up if something had happened. They are fine. Stop being so stupid. Stop worrying about dumb shit! Just… STOP!
He hit himself in the chest with a balled fist in hopes of punching out his anxiety, but it didn't help. He hated this so much. What was up with these attacks lately?
He took a deep breath and held it, trying to reassure himself everything was fine and he was being an idiot. When that didn't work, he tried imaging what would happen if his brothers were to walk in and see him. And when that didn't work, he imagined it being the Puffs.
Anxiousness soon turned to anger and he held onto it like a lifeline. Their powers should (hopefully) be back soon and the very second that they were, those stupid girls were going to get it for making him think of stupid, stupid shit.
He released his breath slowly, the lingering pain in his lungs from lack of oxygen killed what remained of his uneasiness, but he took another breath and held it just in case.
What was it about the Powerpuff household that made him feel so nervous? Maybe it had nothing to do with the setting, but rather the lack of control. The boys had absolutely no power in this situation, and while it was true the Professor was helping them out, if he changed his mind (which he theoretically could at any moment) and decided to hurt them, he could easily do so. It was another reason why they needed to get out of here. How long would the Professor honestly be okay with the sworn enemies of his daughters living under the same roof as them? How long until they've overstayed their welcome? A welcome they never even asked for.
Brick shivered and hugged himself despite not being cold. He needed to find Boomer and Butch, yell at them for leaving him alone and not waking him up, and then tell them the plan to get out of Powerpriss Palace. They were most likely downstairs. What were the chances that the boys had woken up before the girls? Not high, most likely.
He wondered how suspicious it would be if he dragged his brothers in a corner and told them a plan of escape, but he knew there was no way Blossom had stopped playing detective and the last thing he wanted to do was give the nosy brat anything to question him or his brothers about.
He made his way around the bed but almost tripped on something before making it to the door. Curious, he reached down to pick up the spiral sketchbook Boomer had dropped yesterday right before being attacked by Buttercup.
The leader absent-mindedly flipped through the pages. Most of it was just random doodles of dinosaurs destroying a cartoon town or karate stick figures fighting, but when he started noticing pages with decent content on them, he slowed down.
Boomer was so good at art. Brick didn't even have a problem admitting that aloud. The page he was currently looking looked like Boomer had been sitting atop a skyscraper while drawing it. There was a road with tiny cars and dot people going about their business entirely oblivious to his brother drawing them at the time.
He turned the page.
Some candy along with their wrappers. Messily written above it was the word 'yum!' Brick snorted and smirked. Boomer was such a dork. He flipped the page, and Brick's smile fell.
This picture was horrifying. Some creepy monster thing with a mask and a knife. It wore a black hoodie and loomed over an unfinished scribble that looked as if it meant to be his victim.
It took Brick a moment to recognize where he had heard that description before, but once it clicked he rolled his eyes in irritation.
'Dude! I'm telling you! The killer was huge! And you couldn't see his face because he wore a hockey mask!'
'What? That's dumb, Boomer.'
'No! It's scary!'
'It's dumb.'
It still was dumb. HIM, Mojo, and Brick all told Boomer not to watch that stupid documentary, but naturally, the blue blunder recorded the damn thing and stayed up when everyone fell asleep. If there was at least one plus side to being in the Powerpuff household, it was that there was no child block on the TV.
Brick shut the book and tossed it over with the rest of Boomer's stuff, but the moment he did, a thought had occurred to him.
Was he not just worried the Professor or the girls would do the same thing to them? Grow annoyed? Grow psycho? Hurt them?
He shuddered again and blinked himself out of his thoughts before anxiety could resettle. It didn't matter if the Professor was going to snap. They'd all be long gone before that happened anyway.
As Brick made his way through the hall and down the stairs, he noticed the wall crushed in and for a moment his heart nearly stopped in his chest. He stared at it for a while, his mind racing as to what could have possibly caused it, but his anxiety kept bringing him back to only one person.
"I swear to God… if that's from Boomer—"
"Brick!" Speak of the devil. The blue Ruff was over by the television but stood up once he noticed his leader. He waved at him before walking over as Brick descended down the rest of the stairs, the two met in the middle. Relief washed over the red Ruff at the sight of Boomer, but he showed no sign of it in his expression.
"Morning, bro," Boomer greeted.
"What are you doing?" Brick asked. He looked Boomer up and down before his eyes darted back to the hole in the wall. He raised his hand to point at it. "You do that?"
"Nah. Buttercup did."
"Buttercup did the last one too."
Boomer blinked before his eyes rose skyward and he pursed his lips in thought.
"Well… yeah… I guess she did."
Brick's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"How's your head?"
"Better than Butch's."
"What's that supposed to—" Brick's sentence died on his tongue. His jaw hung open and his eyes widened at the sight of his green-clad brother who just rounded the corner and reentered the living room. The green Ruff spotted his brothers and huffed in annoyance, but made his way over to them nonetheless. Boomer's grin widened.
The combination of the egg white with whatever Butch tried to use to wash it out, matted the boy's hair down in a way that almost resembled Buttercup's style, save for a few strands that flicked up into their natural, cowlick spikes. It wasn't clear what Butch was trying to accomplish, although knowing the Ruff, he most likely had given up when it wouldn't come out; instead, opting to just shower later, but going with it for the moment. Brick, who had no idea what had actually happened, frowned in confusion.
"What—What happened to your hair?" He asked.
"Girl power," Boomer snickered. Butch shot his brother a glare before his upper lip curled in annoyance. He turned back to Brick.
"The beginning of a war."
"It's like… slicked down?" Brick asked, still surprised.
"That's what war looks like!"
Boomer burst into laughter and Butch scowled. He pulled his fist back to punch the boy, but right before he could make contact with Boomer, Brick intervened, catching Butch's fist in his palm.
"Don't hit him, stupid!"
Butch snarled, "Believe me when I say he deserves it, dude!"
"He's concussed!"
"Not in his stomach!"
"BOYS!" The Professor called from the kitchen after hearing all three voices. "I'm making pancakes if you're hungry!"
"Sounds delicious," Boomer said. Butch was about to bark something back at Boomer, but Brick snagged his shirt to pull him closer as if to tell him something. Boomer took the hint and leaned in to better hear as well.
"Listen, numbskulls! I'll go into the details later, but we ain't hanging out here much longer, got it?"
"Wait, what?" Boomer asked, genuinely confused.
"Thank GOD!" Butch said, remembering his conversation with Brick last night. "When are we dippin' out? I'm already sick of this shithole."
Boomer looked between the two of them.
"We're leaving?"
"Shut it!" Brick hushed the blue Ruff by pulling him closer. He chanced a glance towards the kitchen to make sure they hadn't attracted any attention before continuing, "And yeah. We're leaving as soon as we can. I'll tell you the plan when we're alone. Deal?"
Butch nodded, "Absolutely—"
"—Not!" Boomer pushed himself away from his brothers and crossed his arms. Both looked at him in complete surprised.
"What are you—"
"Did you guys forget what happened? Cause I sure didn't!" Boomer snapped.
Butch stared wide-eyed and slackjawed at his brother's words, unable to form any of his own while Brick was growing increasing nervous of the volume of his brother's voice.
"Boomer! Shut—"
"You're only pissed cause of Buttercup, Butch. All you have to do is leave her alone! That's literally the ONLY thing you have to do! But naturally, you gotta be a total dickhead!"
"Boomer—"
"Free food, a bed, videogames—"
"Okay, okay! Just shut up, Boomer!"
"Or mud, and bugs, and cold, and hunger—" In a desperate panic and before he could actually think, Brick decked Boomer across the face. His fist made contact with the rim of his jaw, causing the boy to stumble back before hitting the ground. He recovered fairly quickly despite being caught so off guard. He was moaning when he picked himself up and looked into the panic-stricken faces of his two brothers. Butch recovered first.
"What the fuck, man! You can hit him, but I can't?"
"I didn't mean to—"
"What happened to 'He's concussed, Butch! He's concussed!'"
Brick snapped and spun around to face Butch as he spat, "Would you shut your purple-eyed fucking face for one second!"
Butch shoved his leader hard enough to make him stagger backward. In retort, Brick tackled Butch to the ground.
"Boys? BOYS!" Professor Utonium peered into the living room to see Brick and Butch wrestling on the floor with intent to hurt each other. Off to the side sat Boomer who was rubbing the edge of his jawline and wincing in pain.
"BOYS!" The Professor called again and ran towards them.
"PROFESSOR, WAIT!" Blossom shouted back. She didn't want her father to take on the Ruffs alone. Buttercup must have had the same idea as the green Puff was immediately at her sister's side and the two simultaneously dashed into the chaos.
Professor Utonium had run to Boomer, his concern for the boy's head flashed through his mind before any thoughts of breaking up the other two had. When he realized Boomer was conscious and okay, he whipped around just in time to see his daughters pry apart their counterparts.
Buttercup had grabbed a fistful of Butch's shirt and took him into the air. The boy dangled for a moment before he realized what was happening and started to thrash and kick in an attempt to free himself, but the girl was not letting him go.
Brick was underneath the Powerpuff leader as the girl saddled his stomach and pinned his wrists to the ground. He blinked for a moment as if stunned before he too tried to kick and wiggle himself out from under her.
"Get off!"
"Let me go!"
Both boys shouted while the girls reeled their fists back in preparation for a blow.
"STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!" The Professor shouted in a panic. He jumped forward, fumbled on awkward legs all while waving his hands frantically in front of him. "STOP! Please, girls! Just stop! It's fine! They're fine!"
It took a moment longer for the Puffs to be convinced of that, but they eventually lowered their arms. Brick shoved Blossom off of him as soon as she loosened her hold and sprung to his feet before marching over to Boomer. Buttercup released her hold on Butch and the boy dropped to the ground not so gracefully, but he too stood up and straightened out his shirt.
"What happened? Why were you fighting?"
There was a pause before all three boys shrugged simultaneously. The girls exchanged glances.
"You don't know?" The Professor asked, not entirely convinced. "Okay…"
The Professor tried to think about how he could handle this. Timeout didn't seem fair for some reason—a punishment he normally reserved for the girls when they reacted this way. But the boys were villains. He wasn't sure what they were exactly used to or allowed to do. For all he knew, this was entirely normal for them.
Maybe he could separate them a different way…
"Fine," he started again, nodding to himself as his idea became clearer. "Fine. We're just going to get ready for the day then. Brick, go brush your hair."
"What?!" Brick gawked at the Professor. "I brushed it yesterday!"
"You should brush it every day."
"Every day?!"
Even his brothers gave the Professor an odd look at that revelation.
"You should want to," the Professor explained. "You should want to look presentable and clean at all times."
Brick gaped at the man before pointing accusingly towards his green brother.
"What about him?!"
"What about him?"
"He looks like Peewee Herman!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Butch started off sounding offended, but a devious grin swept across his face. "I literally just washed my hair."
To be fair, Butch's hair wasn't as matted down as it was before their fight, but he looked more like a mad scientist now than a snobby, rich kid. Brick scowled in annoyance, his attention back on the Professor.
"HIM and Mojo don't make me brush it every day!"
"Then go back to HIM's and Mojo's!" Buttercup cut in, clearly fed up with the bickering and not being allowed to punch something. Blossom, the boys, and the Professor all snapped their attention to her, but before her father could interject, she added in a mocking tone, "Oh wait, that's right. You can't. Cause one's in jail and the other doesn't care enough to take you back!"
Brick went rigid, the color seemed to drain from his face and his eyes widened. He didn't have to look over to know his brothers found that comment oddly hurtful as well. It was a little too close to the mark.
"BUTTERCUP!" The Professor shouted, enraged. Buttercup jumped in surprise and shrank back at her father's fury. His arm snapped towards of the stairs. "Your room. Now."
It was a tone he rarely used with anyone—especially his daughters—but it had silenced everyone, including the boys. Buttercup trembled but hastily obeyed. The Professor watched her every movement until she disappeared around the corner and up the stairs.
The room was unbearably silent.
"Brick, go brush your hair," the Professor repeated. His tone was considerably calmer but remained stern.
"Yes, sir," Brick said, whipping around on his heel and making a beeline in the direction the green Puff had went; jumping on the request to exit the room as quickly as possible.
He didn't even feel guilty about leaving his brothers alone to face that awkward mess.
The Professor let out another sigh before turning to the remaining three children in the room before his eyes ultimately landed on Boomer.
"Boomer, would you please come with me downstairs now?" The scientist asked, the sternness still lingering in his voice. Boomer squealed in fright but slowly made his way towards the man. The Professor looked over at his daughter and the last remaining Ruff.
"We'll only be a minute." He said. Butch and Blossom exchanged glances before Blossom gave him a sheepish smile.
"Take your time."
As always, I apologize for any grammatical errors whether it be spelling, punctuation, repeated words, or overall confusion you may have stumbled upon thus far - Whoops! Sorry!
In all seriousness, when I uploaded this, it jumbled things up for a moment, redlined everything, and then fixed it and then did it again so... I don't know.
Anway,
Next Update: Wednesday, March 1
YOU READ THAT RIGHT! I'm giving myself a due date (and heart palpitations) that I'm determined to follow through with! So, I'll see you then!
