Hey everyone! I am so sorry for my massive delay! I can promise you all it's within good reason! I gave birth to my second baby boy early June, who is happy and healthy! The birth was slightly traumatic & it took me awhile to recover, and I'm not gunna lie, getting into the swing of a routine with two young children is HARD! But totally worth it :) Anyway I have promised all along I will not abandon any stories, and whenever I get the chance I have been writing. So here is chapter 14, I hope you all enjoy it and my long break hasn't made me sloppy! Thanks again for sticking around!
Harrison Courtez walked through the halls of his vast home with a purpose, passing by countless R Tron guards and a few servants as he did. He made no eye contact as he walked, and no one questioned his actions as he marched, even though he should have been tucked up in bed, or at least in his bedroom.
But Harrison Courtez was a law unto himself, much like his older sister, except he was a lot subtler about it. Hyacinth threw her weight around very loudly. Harrison was quiet, and Harrison was sneaky, and this is how he managed to make his way down to the empty laboratories and successfully use his fathers access card to get inside, all without being caught or questioned.
Who on earth would dare question the son of the ruler? And who on earth would suspect him?
Harrison switched the light on, glancing around slowly. He was definitely alone. At the back of the large laboratory was a storage room, and Harrison proceeded there, once again using his fathers access card to gain entry.
Once inside, he reached into the pocket of his long coat and retrieved a small tote bag. And quickly he began to fill it with large vials of Chemical X, Antidote X and Chemical RC, a low chuckle escaping his lips as he did so.
A few days later and Beatrix's hands were finally beginning to heal. Benjamin's arm had been fixed pretty much the day after it broke, and Blair was of course in one piece again not long after her minor injuries were inflicted on her.
Blossom had had her sister and husband in the training room as often as she could manage to drag them in there. Wearing her leader boots again had never felt so good, although she could tell her also-leader husband wasn't so keen on being told what to do. In fact, he'd told her himself he couldn't wait till he could yell at his own brothers in the training room instead of being yelled at by his wife.
The puffruffs hadn't been back into RC HQ since they had stolen back half of their parents' powers. And now, not long after dinner had been served, Aoife had summoned everyone to a conference room as she had some news.
"It's about Mojo." She said, receiving a room full of confused and disgruntled stares.
"Mojo?" Blair asked, her face screwed up. "The monkey?"
"Our Granddad?" Beatrix questioned, receiving a stony glare from her cousin.
"Stop calling that hairy monkey our grandfather!"
"But he created our Dads, so technically –" Beatrix responded only to be interrupted by Aoife.
"Yes, the hairy grandfather monkey!" She cried loudly.
"What about him?" Blossom asked.
"He's got a new position. And location." She answered, examining her nails and leaning back in her chair.
"Meaning?" Brick pressed impatiently.
"Position: cell mate. Location: you guys' old joint. He's in the prisons." Aoife replied, looking at them curiously. "That's what's going about round the servers anyway."
"Why?" Boomer said, confused.
"That's what we need to find out. He's obviously done something to piss Ramiro off." Aoife shrugged.
"We need to get back down to the dungeons." Benjamin said, instantly beginning to devise a plan in his head already.
"I'm not so sure about that…" Sandy said; her forehead creased with worry. "It's not safe."
"The security around the place is ridiculous too, you know that yourself." Mitch pointed out, but Benjamin looked indifferent.
"Yet we still managed to get three out of six powers back to our parents." He replied coolly.
But Mitch and Aoife didn't look convinced. "There's no way you're getting down to those dungeons. Not easily anyway."
"And even if you did, you won't be able to talk to him, the place will be teaming with security now. And whose to say Mojo will talk to any of us anyway?" Mitch said.
"I'll make him talk." Benjamin said, undeterred. "I'll go in again tomorrow and find out why he's in there."
"I don't even know if you four going back inside is doable now." Sandy said, still looking concerned. "What after gaining back some of the powers, and coming face to face with Ramiro, he might recognize any of you. Surely that's far too risky?"
"I'm going back in." Blair said, folding her arms across her chest. "I've gotta get my old man's powers back."
"And I need to get my parent's powers back." Brandon said, doing his best to look as defiant as Blair did.
"And I'm going back in to talk to the monkey." Benjamin said.
Sandy looked to Eugene for his opinion. He sighed deeply. "You're both right. It's not an easy decision to make."
"The decision has been made. We're going back in. Beatrix, you can stay here, there's no need for you to go back." Benjamin said, turning to his sister, who looked positively outraged.
"What?! You can't just make that decision for me! I want to come back and help!"
"There's no need. Blair needs to go back to get Uncle Butch's powers, Brandon needs to go in to get both his parents powers, and I'm going back in to find out why Mojo Jojo is impounded. You should stay here, and let your hands fully heal again." Benjamin instructed, and Beatrix scoffed.
"My hands are fine now! Why can't I come back in and help you with Granddad –"
"Stop calling him that!" Blair interrupted, but Beatrix ignored her.
"Because it's too dangerous!" Benjamin snapped, eliciting a glare from his sister.
"I don't know why I'm even asking you, you can't tell me what to do anymore." Beatrix said, turning to her Mom and Dad. Benjamin looked away, a little stung. "I can go back in, can't I?" Beatrix asked her parents.
"I wish none of you had to go back inside there again." Blossom said sadly, stroking her daughter's hair.
"Brandon and Blair have to go back in, they are the only ones who can touch the remaining power orbs. And it would be interesting to find out what's happened with Mojo Jojo." Eugene said, more thinking aloud then talking to the others.
"Who cares if that stinking ape is sitting in a cell? Way I see it, he can die in there for all I care." Butch spat, glaring as he spoke.
"I couldn't care less that he's in a cell either, but it's important to find out." Brick responded. "Ramiro formerly considered him a trusted ally. If something has happened to change the dynamic of that relationship, it could be vital info. Plus, if Mojo feels wronged by Ramiro, he might be quite willing to betray him and divulge some beneficial knowledge. It's worth finding out more if we can."
Butch and Boomer listened to their brother speak, both not being able to keep the slightly puzzled looks off their faces. They all hated their former 'Dad' with a passion, Him as well. Not only had they abandoned them as boys; but they had tried to kill them. Boomer and Butch were struggling to fathom why Brick would want his own son going anywhere near the cretin.
"But don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting we help him in any way. I hate that stupid motherfucker with an intense, fiery passion, but still, it could really help us." Brick added, his brothers looking a little relieved.
"Brick!" Blossom hissed at his use of language.
"Surely all four of us going back in as normal will look less suspicious then only three of us?" Blair questioned, receiving a grateful look from her youngest cousin.
"She's probably right you know." Eugene agreed.
"Then it's settled. We'll all go back in tomorrow. Brandon and I will attempt to get back into Ramiro's office, and Beatrix and Ben can attempt to get down to the prisons." Blair said, cracking her knuckles in anticipation.
"Hello Warren."
Warren sighed heavily as he turned towards the voice with a dark glare.
"Or should I call you Ben –"
"What do you want?" He said flatly, interrupting her before she could use his real name. He dropped the scourer he held in his hand back into the bucket. Surprisingly enough the foursome had made it into HQ without a hitch once again, and he'd been scrubbing the bathroom floors of the fourth floor for the past hour and a half, and formerly had been counting his blessings that he hadn't ran into Hyacinth; her bedroom was on the fourth floor. His luck had clearly just run out though.
"Wow, I didn't think you'd have that tone with me, considering I know your secret." Hyacinth said in a low, sweet voice.
Warren narrowed his eyes even more at her. He didn't talk, he wouldn't grace that with a response.
"I did some thinking, after you revealed yourself, and you know what conclusion I came to?" She waited a few seconds for a reply, but Warren didn't give her one, he turned away and continued scrubbing. "You're much cuter without the wig and contacts."
Warren rolled his eyes as he worked, carrying on ignoring her.
A few seconds silence passed and Hyacinth clicked her tongue with impatience. "Are you seriously just going to ignore me?"
Warren turned to face her then, giving her a serious look. "Why haven't you turned me in?"
"I told you, I like you."
Warren's cheeks reddened ever so slightly, but he shook it off, hardening his expression. "Seriously, why?"
"I'm being serious! I like you. Even if you're bad." Hyacinth said in a soft voice.
Warren widened his eyes at her. "Wait a minute. I'm bad? You think I'm bad? I'm sorry, but I think you're the one on the side of bad!"
Hyacinth gave him a look of confused disbelief. "How come?"
Benjamin couldn't restrain the scoff that escaped his lips. "Um, hello? Do you have any idea who your father is?"
"Well, yeah but I –"
"And everything he's done? You know, taken over the world, enforced horrendous living conditions and taken away people's freedom and basic human rights! Have you seen it out there? The world is deserted! People live in fear! They hardly want to leave their houses! I mean do you ever even leave your house?" Benjamin asked angrily.
She shook her head slightly and opened her mouth to speak but Benjamin carried on.
"House. I say that loosely. You live in a fucking evil villain's headquarters. Surrounded by servants, people who have been plucked from the streets because their options were work here, or die. And then there's the R Trons. You do realise the majority of them have been poisoned? Their minds have been poisoned to think they're on the side of right, that doing the things they do daily is legitimate. They too were mostly snatched from their families, injected with some junk that gives them fake powers and takes away their basic ability to think for themselves and forces them to maim, injure and kill, because your Dad tells them to."
Hyacinth frowned at Benjamin as he caught his breath from his rant. Once again she attempted to speak, but this time, nothing came out.
"And all that, before I even mention me, and my family. You know what he did to my family right?" Benjamin demanded furiously.
Hyacinth stared at him with wide eyes.
"Do you?" He pressed, and yet again she didn't respond, just looked up at him with anxious, wide brown eyes. She knew, he knew she knew, but he carried on anyway.
"I'll fill you in then. When I was 5 years old, your father killed my Grandfather. The day after, he kidnapped my parents and aunts and uncles. He then sent some of his henchman to the house where myself, my sister and my cousins were staying and killed our friend who was babysitting us right in front of us. Me, my sister and my cousins were then shipped off to various children's homes for the next 9 years. And what was happening to my parents then, Hyacinth? While I was left to raise a 1 year old, 2 year old and 3 year old – I was 5, by the way, while I was left to explain to them that our parents were dead, and probably all of the rest of our family too, what were my supposedly dead parents going through?"
He paused briefly, Hyacinth only sniffed in reply.
"They had their powers extracted. They were split up, and lead to believe the other three were dead, and that their children were dead, and they were routinely beaten. Not only were they beaten, they were starved, psychologically and emotionally abused, and their basic human rights, identity and dignity robbed of them on a daily basis. They thought they'd lost everything. Can you imagine losing everything?" He asked her, drawing closer to her now to gauge her reaction. She hiccupped loudly. "Can you imagine losing everyone you love?"
A sob escaped her lips and she buried her head in her hands, beginning to cry quietly.
Warren blinked, taking a step backwards. He wasn't expecting that reaction. He didn't really know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that.
It felt like forever, her standing in front of him crying, him giving her a hard look, feeling zero sympathy, but it was probably only seconds until she regained a little composure.
"Oh, Benjamin –"
"Don't call me that!" He growled in response, but she may as well have not heard him.
"I'm so sorry!"
Warren screwed his face up in confusion. Did she just apologise? Hyacinth Courtez, easily the most stuck up, spoilt little princess on the planet, just apologised to him?
Surely not?
She hiccupped, trying to catch her breath as she continued to speak. "That must have been so awful for you! I'm so sorry I really am! I mean, I knew some of what happened and whatever but, I didn't really know, you know? I didn't think about how it might affect someone. God! I feel so bad for you!"
Warren didn't reply, he only watched her as she wiped at her face and tried to compose herself. Occasionally her bottom lip would wobble and she'd struggle to stop crying again. Warren was totally stumped, he couldn't decide if a crying girl was worse than one who kept coming on to him.
She'd sidled a little closer to him, obviously hoping he would hold her to stop her crying, but even she knew really she didn't have a hope in hell of that happening.
"I can't believe you went through all that. I can't imagine spending all that time without my Mom. And thinking she was dead! I feel so bad for you." Hyacinth said, wiping at her eyes again.
"I don't want your pity." Warren muttered, folding his arms across his chest.
"Well, what do you want?" Hyacinth asked. Warren gave her a confused look.
"What do you mean?"
"If there's anything I can do for you, I will." She answered, sounding the most serious he'd heard her sound ever.
"You'll do something for me?" Warren asked, holding back a scoff.
"Yes. Yes I will!" She replied, her voice determined.
Warren did scoff this time. "Like I'm going to trust you. I wasn't born yesterday."
"I mean it! Anything. Well, anything that won't get me into too much trouble. I can swing quite a bit around here, my Dad being in charge and all…" She trailed off at the mention of her father, noticing Warren's eyes darken as she did.
Warren narrowed his eyes at her, thinking deeply. Should he trust her? Her concern seemed genuine. But he knew better then to trust a few tears, he'd had all kinds of people trample all over him all of his life, he could see no reason why he should trust anyone, let alone the daughter of Ramiro Courtez.
But somehow, he felt inclined to not pass this opportunity up. She'd had plenty of chances to tell her Dad about him. It had been a few days since she had properly found out, and even longer since she'd knocked his wig and had her suspicions about him.
Yet she still hadn't told him. She hadn't told anyone. And now she was offering a favour. She was kind of putting her ass on the line for him.
He cocked his head to the side, still staring at her. "Take me to the dungeons. I need to speak to Mojo."
Hyacinth gave him a slightly disgruntled look as it settled into her head that he somehow knew Mojo Jojo was in the dungeons – something she had only learnt herself very recently. After brushing past that, she screwed her face up at him. "Eww, why do you want to see that smelly ape?"
"Just do it, please? I need to speak to him, with no guards about, and no Medusins. Can you swing that?"
She thought for a minute, then shrugged. "Might be a little hard but, yeah, probably. So what do I get in return?"
Hyacinth was batting her wet lashes at him now and leering ever so slightly. Warren was confused… "Hang on a minute, you're doing this because you said you'd do anything for me. You don't get something in return!"
"Well then maybe I need a little persuading. I could really get in trouble here, fraternising with the enemy and all…" Hyacinth oozed.
A young male voice piped into Warren's head then. The unmistakable voice of his cousin, Brandon: 'Just give her a bit of a sweet talk'...
Huh. Well that was one way he could guarantee she'd get him down there. He opened his mouth to ask what exactly she was after, but that was no use, he knew what she would say.
Before he could overthink it anymore, he pushed her up against the dingy bathroom wall, placing his hands on her hips (that seemed like a good place to put them, he wasn't too sure, he wasn't really allowing his brain to be in charge).
Hyacinth's mouth popped open, as did her eyes, to question him, but she didn't get very far as Warren's mouth met hers.
It didn't last very long, his brain took over screamingly and he let her go, using all his restraint to not lob her across the room. Hyacinth was almost seeing stars. No, not stars, floating pink love hearts. Her shocked expression turned to one of delight as she focused on Warren, who also looked completely shell shocked at what he'd just done.
Too googly eyed to respond in any other way, Hyacinth blushed, linked her hand in Warren's and dragged him out of the room. "Come on, the dungeons are this way."
Well, that had worked. But Warren couldn't help but wonder who had just been manipulated…
"Hey Perry."
Perry looked around at his cousin and fellow server with wide eyes. "What?"
"Wanna try looking less nervous? Or you just tryna get us caught?" Macy hissed at him as they marched along the halls, her voice so low and quiet only those with superior super hearing would hear them.
They weren't alone; they were being escorted down to the labs with two R Trons, who luckily enough, though powerful, their hearing seemingly wasn't quite up to spec.
They had never been asked to work in the labs before. It was a highly guarded area of the HQ and only the most trusted were allowed permission to go down there, and only with good reason.
There had been a chemical spillage of some kind, and they needed someone to clean up after the specialist lab team cleaned the area. This confused Brandon. It was a part of the large headquarters in which Ramiro didn't like just anyone going, yet here were Perry and Macy on their way to clean up an area that had already been cleaned – it seemed like a trap to him. This explained his nerves – plus, Ramiro was at the labs, this would be the first time they would come face to face with him since taking the powers. He was worried they would be recognised, even in all their disguises.
"Sorry." Perry replied quickly. "I'm just a bit weary. Something about this doesn't seem right."
"Don't sweat it, if something kicks off, we'll handle it. Just take everything as it comes and, whatever you do man don't freak out." Macy finished with a sigh.
Perry gave her a quick glare as they walked. "I'm not gunna freak out. You've gotta admit this doesn't add up though!"
"What the hell does in this goddamn hell hole?" Macy answered him as they approached the door to the laboratories.
The R Trons used their cards to gain access and barked at the two to follow and to not touch a thing.
Perry and Macy did as they were told, looking with their eyes not their fingers and taking in as much as they possibly could. Macy fiddled with her sleeve as discreetly as possible, clicking away at the small camera device she had stolen off of Benjamin that morning. She'd somehow figured she would benefit from it more, and she'd been right.
The lab itself wasn't that different to the lab they trained in at base, their grandfather's old lab, all but one thing: it was huge. Vast and filled with bits of equipment and experiments that may as well have came from another world to the twosome; the whole place was quite breathtaking. Neither Perry nor Macy were scientifically minded, but impressed nonetheless.
But they had to pop their eyes back into their heads when they rounded a corner and came face to face with Ramiro, his trustee sidekick R Tron Elmer Sglue and various professors in white lab coats busying themselves around him.
A group of men in protective outfits were just finishing up cleaning the floor and surrounding areas when they arrived.
"Cleaners here at your request sir." One of the R Trons said as Ramiro turned to look at the newcomers.
"Right, good." He said, examining Perry and Macy momentarily. Perry held his breath as Ramiro's black eyes met his navy blue, contactless ones. "Well what are you waiting for? It isn't going to clean itself!" He snapped, making Perry jump.
"The cleaning equipment is here. Give it a thorough going over. We will escort you out again once you are done." An R Tron instructed passing Macy a bucket filled with different chemicals, bleaches and sponges. She had her suspicions that none of the chemicals in the bucket were as strong as any possible remnants of the stuff that was spilt. Her and Perry grabbed a sponge and got down on their hands and knees, beginning to spray some of the bleach onto the tiled floor and cleaning it over.
Ramiro watched them for a few seconds, eyes squinted, then turned his back and returned to talking to the professors.
"Perry." Macy hissed quietly, making Perry jump again.
"What?" He replied just as quietly.
"Do not touch any of this shit. It could be Antidote X. Or that jacked up chemical he uses to control people."
Perry nodded, continuing to scrub.
"And calm the fuck down will you!" She added, causing Perry to briefly scowl at her.
"I want them found and I want them killed!"
Both Perry and Macy stopped scrubbing temporarily, Ramiro's words catching their attention. When they noticed an R Tron shift to look at them both, they carried on cleaning, honing in their super hearing to the leader of the world.
"Yes your highness, we know. We're still trying to figure out how whoever it was got in here." One of the Professor's stammered in reply.
"I am growing ever so tired of being made a fool of! Using my own ID card to get in – Did they think I wouldn't find out?!" Ramiro declared.
"Considering they also managed to return it to your person too your majesty, that would suggest it was someone who perhaps is close to you and could manage to -" A professor garbled, but Ramiro jumped down his throat.
"What are you insinuating?"
"N-nothing sir." He gulped back.
"That's what I thought. We need to increase our research Drayton. We need to increase our research on the remaining powers we have. It's been 10 years for gods sake, it's not good enough!" He barked, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"I, I understand your frustration sir, but I'm really not sure that's the answer." Professor Drayton stuttered as Ramiro loomed over him, furious.
"Are you questioning me?" He said in a low, threatening tone.
"No your majesty, I just, we've done all we can! They can't be obtained! Not even by the children it seems. It would be further pointless research!" Professor Drayton babbled, cringing at his own words as soon as they left his mouth.
"Pointless research?" Ramiro repeated, his voice edging on insane.
Professor Drayton shook his head weakly as Ramiro slowly approached him.
"I think your time with us is indeed over, Professor Drayton, seeing as you're clearly showing your true colours. Shame it was a 10 year long relationship, filled with pointless research, hmm?" Ramiro said lightly, gesturing with one long finger for an R Tron to take him away.
"Wait, no, Mr. Courtez, sir, I'm sorry! We'll keep researching! I'll get more scientists in! I'll do more! I'm sorry!" Professor Drayton wailed as he was dragged unceremoniously out of the laboratories, his colleagues looking on in fear. Perry winced as his cries echoed through the room before the door silenced them.
Ramiro turned to the fear stricken professors with a wicked grin. "So, whose second in command?"
A younger looking professor raised a shaky hand, dreading the day he got that promotion.
"Name?" Ramiro squawked.
"P-professor Parsons, your highness."
"Right, Parsons. I hope that you and I will get on like a house on fire. I'd hate to have to have a repeat performance." Ramiro said smoothly, and Professor Parsons nodded hastily. "I want further research into the three remaining power orbs." He ordered, and Parsons continued to nod. "And another thing, the moment I catch those four rotten mutant offspring, I want their powers extracted too, seeing as I'm running low. And seeing as they think they can make a fool of me. Nobody makes a fool of me. You understand Parsons?"
"Yes your highness, completely. We'll, we'll get right on that." Professor Parsons answered, his voice as confident as he could muster.
"Good. And you lot, you useless bags of bones. Keep this place better guarded. Getting in with my own ID card for goodness sake! Find out who it was immediately. Or do I have to do everything around here?" Ramiro questioned hotly.
"No sir, we'll get to the bottom of it sir." Elmer answered obediently.
"Good. Come Elmer." Ramiro instructed, sweeping out of the room.
Perry looked over at Macy, who was already glancing at her cousin worriedly, and he gulped hard.
"Hyacinth!" Warren hissed as she continued to pull him along. "We need to discuss this before just going down there! It isn't just your ass on the line remember!"
"Oh lighten up, it'll be fine. I used to go down to the prisons quite a lot, to chat to the Medusin sisters. I can go down and talk with them while you talk to the simian." Hyacinth said, brushing a hand at him casually.
"They're not gunna just let me wander off and go talk with him! In fact, they're going to want to know what I'm doing down there. If I even make it that far." Warren retorted.
"I'll just say you're with me. No one will ask any questions okay? Then once we're down there I go chat with the Medusins and you can talk to the monkey. I'll leave you with him. It'll be fine. Anything goes wrong just leave, that's what the guards will tell you to do anyway." Hyacinth said as they boarded an elevator. She was so thrilled about the recent events it wouldn't of mattered what he'd asked of her, she'd have made it happen.
Hyacinth punched in the number to take them both to the prison floors. Unlike all the other times in the past that Warren had been down there, it asked for an access code. Warren thought they were stumped already, but Hyacinth typed it in at break neck speed.
"Don't look so nervous! You're with me remember. It'll be fine." She said confidently, the loved up smile still on her face. Warren was beginning to wonder if she was delirious.
The moment the doors to the elevator slid open they came face to face with a pair of R Tron guards. They gave Warren a hard look, but it softened when they turned to Hyacinth. "Good afternoon Miss Hyacinth, what brings you to the dungeons?"
"Oh I've just come to ask Mojo a question and catch up with the Medusin sisters. My laptop is playing up again and Daddy's too busy to fix it. I always used to get Mojo to look at these types of thing for me but, you know, he's down here now so, I just want a word. Oh, and don't mind him, he's my assistant for the day. Come on slavey boy!" She yelled the last sentence in typical Hyacinth fashion, and it almost made Warren jump. He'd been too surprised by her realistic and convincing story to the R Trons. It was almost impressive how quickly she had come up with it.
"Right, that's fine your majesty. Mojo Jojo is down the corridor and to your right. Please let us know if you need anything or if he causes you any trouble." An R Tron said as Hyacinth dragged Warren past them.
"Thanks!" She called back.
Hyacinth triumphantly pulled Warren along towards Mojo's cell, only not yanking her off of him to keep up appearances, until he ground to a halt a few yards from cell 1.
She turned to face him, confused. "What's the hold up?"
"CCTV." He said simply. Glancing around first, Warren proceeded to shoot his laser eyes at the camera in the corner pointing down at the cell, making it fizzle and leak smoke instantly.
"Who goes there?!" A baffled gruff voice asked, and Hyacinth raised an eyebrow at Warren.
"He's all yours. Call me if you need me. And no monkey business." She added, snorting with laughter as she trotted away.
Warren watched her go, and then turned back towards Mojo's cell. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward into the simians line of vision.
Mojo Jojo gave him an irritated look. "What do you want boy? What is going on? I demand to know!"
Warren gave him a flat look. "A word." He said evenly, answering his first question.
Mojo's look of annoyed confusion only deepened. "What happened to that closed circuit television device? I demand to know what's going on! That is to say that I need to know the meaning of this -"
"Cool it monkey, I don't have much time." Warren said, already tiring of the ape's repetitiveness.
"Monkey?! Who do you think you are calling monkey?!" Mojo cried, furious.
"What would you prefer I called you, Grandpa?" Warren asked, and Mojo's eyes widened as he figured out whom he was talking to.
"It can't be..." He almost whispered, so Warren carefully popped a contact out, revealing a deep red eye for Mojo.
"Well it is. So keep it down will you, as soon as they notice there's a camera down they'll be all over your ass." Warren said as he poked the contact lens back into place.
"You're Brick's boy." Mojo said almost fearfully.
"That's right. And you're technically his father. But I'm not here for a family reunion."
"What are you here for?" Mojo asked.
"I want to know why you're in here." Warren said, folding his arms over his chest.
Mojo Jojo looked Warren up and down. "And what value does this information hold to you?" He questioned, an evil hitch in his voice. "That is to say, why should I tell you anything?"
"Don't you think you owe me? You've sure missed a lot of birthdays." Warren answered sarcastically, and Mojo rolled his eyes.
"Definitely Brick's boy with that sarcastic tongue in your mouth. How have you been getting in here?" Mojo asked, a hint of admiration in his voice.
"I'm the one asking the questions. Why did Ramiro throw you in here? From what I understood you were one of his right hand men."
Mojo scoffed. "What nonsense. I would never consider myself his right hand man, ever. All I was and ever have been to Ramiro is a name that held weight. Weight, and fear. The moment he got what he wanted he made mistake after mistake. But would he listen to Mojo? No, he knew better. And now when his empire is slowly crumbling from within, the ones who are singing 'I told you so' are no longer any use to him."
Warren cranked a brow at him. He hadn't exactly answered his question, but he could gather what had happened from what Mojo had provided. "So you're in here because you disagree with Ramiro?"
"Yes boy. But do not get me wrong. I am not saying my harsh heart has softened. I am just fed up of being treated as a common peon, whose opinion, ideas and superior experience means nothing. That is to say that for too long, Mojo Jojo has been treated like a –"
"Right, right, I get it." Warren butted in before Mojo could really get into the swing of a trademark rant.
Mojo gripped the bars of his cell tightly. "You want to bring him down, boy? You seek revenge, for all he has wronged you?"
Warren glared at him. "Of course I do. And stop calling me 'boy'."
"I call it as I see it. Listen to me closely. If you break me out of here, I can be of great service to you."
Warren scoffed now. "Right, I bet you could."
"I have inside information that I can guarantee will aid you in Ramiro's downfall." Mojo said, leaning forward as close to the bars as he could. Warren examined the monkey's greying hair and saw the desperation in his eyes. But what was he so desperate about? Was he desperate to bring Ramiro down, or just plain desperate to get out of the prisons?
"Out with it then." Warren said simply, and Mojo smiled a wicked smile.
"You think I'll divulge this information to you that easily? It's a pretty simple situation boy. You do something for me, I do something for you." Mojo said, his voice tiresome like he was dealing with a very, very dumb person.
"I know everything you've done you know. I know what you did to my father and his brothers. And I know what you've been trying to do to my mother and her sisters all their lives. Why on earth would I help you?" Warren spat, and Mojo's expression darkened.
"And I know everything you've done. I cannot pretend I am not mildly impressed that you are even standing in here, and I haven't even touched upon the several antics you have been up to in this HQ: releasing your parents, stealing back half of the power orbs, etc. I could very easily alert a guard of your very presence and you know very well what Ramiro would do. In fact, I could predict we would end up as bunk buddies."
"Threatening me isn't going to persuade me to risk my own ass getting you out of there." Warren reminded him.
"Don't you see what I am getting at? I could, and technically should make Ramiro aware of you being down here, and your little brunette alias, but I'm not going to. Because I too want nothing more than to see Ramiro crumble to his knees." Mojo said with fierce determination, and Warren slowly realised he was right.
He still didn't know if he should trust him.
"You've been working with and for Ramiro for years. You betrayed your own sons twice, once for Ramiro, why the hell should I trust you?" Warren asked him, looking the old ape up and down.
"Because you must. I can help you, if you just get me out of here. Once you do that, I can return my part and give you some information and tips to aid you in your success." Mojo insisted. "Because if you continue the way you are, and you trust me, you will succeed."
Warren was still unsure. But something in him must have trusted the monkey before him, as he was already subconsciously hatching a scheme to get him out in his head.
A minute or so passed, and Warren and Mojo Jojo stared at each other while Warren decided what to do.
"How?" He asked simply, and a pleased smile broke out on Mojo's face as he realized Warren was going to listen to him.
"I need one of the R Tron's weapons, to make it look like I have disarmed you. You will also need to make it look like I have roughed you up a little. And destroy a hole through the wall for me to escape through." Mojo began to explain. The moment he finished his sentence Warren zipped off out of sight.
"Hey! Where have you gone b–" He was back before he could even finish his sentence, spinning a purple, futuristic looking gun in his hands.
"You're familiar with super speed right?" Warren asked him flatly as he handed the weapon over to him slowly.
"Just as cocky as your father." Mojo muttered as he got to know the weapon he held once again.
Warren eased a bar open with his super strength and the old monkey hopped out, surprisingly nimble for his age.
"Right, I'm giving you a free shot here. To the face, with the gun." Warren instructed, and Mojo began to cock the gun to his grandson's face, fiddling with the trigger when Warren yelped: "No! Don't shoot it you idiot! Pistol whip! Hit me with it! I'm gunna go down and blow the wall up as I do."
"And then I'll get out of here." Mojo added.
"But you will keep your end of the bargain up monkey." Warren warned, and Mojo gave him a deviously honest look.
"Of course I will, we're family remember." He muttered, before hitting Warren hard around the face with the gun.
Warren fell to the floor a little harder then he would have done in reality. As he landed, he outstretched his palms, sending bright red beams to the wall adjacent to them, which let out a loud explosion.
When Warren opened his eyes he was surrounded by dust and smoke. The shrill sound of alarms was going off, and the rush of several footsteps coming toward him.
"What the fuck is going on?!" One of the R Trons demanded, spluttering through the debris and dust.
Warren mimicked them, coughing and hacking as he faked a limp and found the two guards.
"He just attacked!" He cried dramatically.
"Mojo Jojo is gone." The other R Tron confirmed.
"How did he get out?" The first asked Warren. "And what the hell were you doing anywhere near him?"
"Hyacinth left me here. He pulled out a gun, attacked me and blew the wall up with it." Warren explained as hurried and panicked as he could muster.
"Impossible! The inmates have no possessions of their own." The R Tron barked, and the sound of a feminine voice scoffing interrupted them.
"Please, this is Mojo we're talking about. The guy was always pulling weapons out of his ass."
Estrild stepped through the smoke looking as catty as she always did. Her sister Sedusa was by her side, but she didn't look as happy.
"How on earth did this happen?!" She hissed at the guards, giving one of them a shove.
"Ramiro is going to shit a brick! You two are clearly useless, get out of here!" Estrild commanded, and the two did as they were told, looking chagrined. "We can deal with Mojo sis, he can't have gone far."
"Yes," Sedusa answered tiredly. "We'll take it from here. Hyacinth, you should get going too."
Hyacinth was stood behind them, looking sheepish and guilty. Clearly the loved up haze had cleared; suddenly she realized what she had just helped Warren do. "You're right. I won't get in trouble will I?"
"No," Sedusa said, eyeing Warren up suspiciously as Hyacinth yanked him next to her, assessing the fading bruise on his cheek while Warren played along. "you and your little friend were never here, so go."
"Thank you Sedusa!" Hyacinth yelped, dragging Warren with her as she headed for the elevator.
"Hyacinth!" Sedusa called again, and Hyacinth turned around slowly. "Be careful."
Hyacinth nodded, giving Warren a careful look as they boarded the elevator out of there.
"Yo Red, just bring a jug of water back if you can." Buttercup called to her sister as she made her way out of the lab her father had once worked in.
"Will do." Blossom called back, smiling absentmindedly as she took off down the long winding walk way towards the cafeteria at base. Her, Brick and Buttercup had of course been training again; for one because they had to, but also because it was a distraction from the inevitable worry they all felt for the welfare of their children, who were still in Ramiro's HQ. Distraction though training was, it didn't quite help shake the feeling that the three of them should of been the ones out there on the frontline instead of their babies.
Blossom had offered to go grab some refreshments as they'd been kicking it hard for a few hours, and besides, her throat was getting dry from all the shouting she was doing!
The cafeteria was a good 45 minute walk on foot, if not more but it took Blossom a few seconds to fly there.
Once she landed by the door she made her way to the back of the line and requested some water from the chef, who agreed to bring some over to her.
Blossom noticed Boomer and Butch sat at a table with a coffee each, so she decided to join them while she waited.
"Hey." Blossom said, pulling a chair up beside Butch and opposite Boomer. "You two okay?"
"Yeah," Boomer said, shoving a cookie into his mouth. "How's training going?"
"Going good... No Bubbles?" Blossom asked, noticing her blonde sister wasn't attached to Boomer like she normally was.
"She's seeing Dr. Shapiro. Again." Boomer said quietly, and Blossom pulled a concerned face.
"She's seeing a lot of him lately, isn't she?" Blossom questioned, and Boomer nodded languidly.
"She's not dealing with all this, change, as well as she'd hoped. And there's the guilt, of course." Boomer said, and Blossom felt her stomach tighten. This was the closest Boomer had gotten to talking about the whole Bubbles/Brick kiss scenario with Blossom.
An awkward silence passed, and Butch broke it by rising to his feet. "I'm gunna go get a refill." He muttered, striding off towards the queue carrying his coffee mug.
It was a few moments before either Boomer or Blossom spoke. "We said we were just gunna forget about it." Boomer said, looking into his half empty coffee mug. "But, I think she's struggling to let it go more than I am. Which, I find kinda weird, you know?"
Blossom nodded.
"What about you and Brick? Have you managed to get passed it?" Boomer questioned, and Blossom looked down at the table.
"I suppose so. I mean, I'm not mad, and I guess I am, at the same time. I guess I just want to forget about it too, and focus on the good things. Brick and I, we're fine. I know he loves me. And Bubbles loves you Boomer."
"I know. I know she does." Boomer said firmly. "It just kind of feels like, I don't know, like –"
"Like we're entitled to be devastated by it." Blossom finished, and Boomer nodded slowly. "I mean, we both know as well as they do what it was like in there. I know I say I could never, but I'm not saying there were no almost moments."
"There were almost moments."
"Being in there just made you miss physical contact after a while. And I'm not necessarily talking, you know, sexual, I mean just being touched, or held." Blossom tried to explain.
Cerulean met rose then, and the moment they did, there were images in their heads of the afore mentioned 'almost moments'.
"But I don't want to be devastated. I just want things to be okay." Boomer said, pulling a hand through his blonde waves.
"Me too. They will be eventually. There's so much to deal with still, and I guess we all just need time."
Butch arrived back at the table then, and there was an instant perking up and a swift subject change.
"I wonder what the kids are up to now." Butch said as he sat down beside his brother.
"Hmm, don't, it makes my stomach turn. It feels really wrong that they're out there in danger and we're in here..." Blossom trailed off.
"Drinking coffee and stuffing our faces with cookies!" Butch said, snatching the plate of snacks from his blonde brother and stuffing a couple into his mouth.
"Leave me alone, I'm comfort eating! What else are we supposed to do? At least you guys can train." Boomer said, snatching the plate back from Butch and taking a couple more cookies.
"You could always go down to the gym and train, instead of eating?" Blossom suggested with a smirk.
"Yeah, you're like a girl on her period." Butch added.
"You're eating cookies too!" Boomer defended himself through a mouthful of chocolate chip.
"Because I'm hungry not sad. Blair will be okay; she's made of tough stuff, literally. Fingers crossed she'll come back with my powers soon and I can go and kick Ramiro's ass myself." Butch said, crumbling a cookie in his palm. "In the meantime, I'll be at the gym buffing up best I can. Not the easiest thing in the world when you got as skinny as a rake."
Blossom's smirk faltered as she took in the pairs' still slightly malnourished physiques. They were no where near as weak looking as they all had been when they arrived at Alliance X, but they weren't as muscular as Blossom remembered them being in their previous life, particularly Butch, who had took pride in his muscles and high level of fitness (even though 5 foot 4 inches and 100lbs Bubbles could still beat him in an arm wrestle, with powers).
Being athletic and ripped come naturally to Butch, Boomer and Brick, so slowly losing that stature over time had been a blow for the three of them.
Blossom suddenly wanted the pair to have their powers back as intensely as she did when they were incarcerated together.
"If it's any consolation, Brick's brawn has pretty much returned along with his powers... So it's only a matter of time." Blossom said, feeling a little guilty for having her powers herself. She knew she looked like a new woman since having her powers back, and it saddened her to see her sister and brother in laws still a shadow of there former selves.
"I can't fricking wait." Boomer said quietly, looking up at Blossom, briefly.
Blossom caught his line of vision too, and when they're eyes met, she too felt the need to look away. She looked at Butch instead, but the moment he clashed eyes with her, she looked away too, as did he.
Why couldn't she look at them properly? Why couldn't they look at her? She'd felt the need to look away when her and Boomer had looked at each other, really looked at each other earlier, but she thought it was because of the subject matter. But it was happening again now.
Then she realised something.
"This is the first time us three have been alone together since the kids saved us." She said, her voice sounding heavy, like it carried a great weight.
A few seconds passed before Boomer replied. "It is."
"I don't know why, and I'm sorry if this sounds out of line, but every time I look at one of you it's like..." She paused, gripping at her head in her hands as she tried to find the right words. "All I see, and even hear, is something, something -"
"Something you want to forget." Butch finished for her, and Blossom looked at him with wide eyes, nodding lightly.
"Yes, that's it exactly. It's horrible."
"I've got to admit," Butch said, dunking a cookie into his coffee and watching it float to the top. "As happy as I am that we're all back together again, I've actually kinda been avoiding you both. It just brings back some messed up shit in my head. Things I done, things I said, things I saw. And I just don't want to see it."
Blossom thought about it, and began to realize she had been the same. If they were together in a large group, it wasn't so bad, she could avoid looking at them, but alone, like now, it was almost like she was back there in that cell with them. It was like they were the only people in the world right now, but in a bad way.
"Me too. I'm trying so hard to stay positive, and it's not easy, especially with walking talking reminders everywhere I go, you know?" Boomer mumbled.
"This sucks." Blossom murmured, and both boys agreed.
"Do you think it will always be this way?" Boomer said quietly.
"Could be." Butch murmured firmly. "10 years is a long time. And we witnessed and went through some pretty fucked up shit together."
"Well then, we have to fill the next 10 years with good stuff, I guess." Boomer said, like it was the only solution that made perfect sense.
"I guess you're right." Blossom replied, smiling.
Macy stood with her arms folded across her chest as she waited around the corner from the big entrance gates of RC HQ, scuffing her work boots along the gravel. "Are you two nearly here? Someone's gunna come over in a minute." She asked into her headset. It was the end of the day and she was waiting for her cousins so they could head home. They couldn't go by car with Mitch or Mike every day at the moment, the security staff at the HQ were performing random searches in the vehicles; it was getting risky having all four puffruff's in there every day.
Warren appeared around the corner then, Wednesday and Perry in tow, making Macy jump. "We're here. You're so impatient." Perry said as they fell into step with each other and ambled down the sidewalk.
Walking through Townsville was just eerie now. The place was deserted, and any people you did see walked quickly and looked terrified. If you saw a person that was, the street was mostly occupied by jumpy looking R Trons, or plain clothed members of Ramiro's staff, like Mitch and Mike posed as.
They were walking to Malphs to get home that way, as slowly and as innocuously as they could manage.
They trudged along in silence, knowing better than to talk about the things they'd learnt throughout the day until they were safely back at Alliance X. They always found this bit particularly hard, especially if they had a lot to tell one another, like they did that day.
When they were about half way to Malphs (walking sucked when you could fly), Wednesday began to cough loudly, drawing her brother and cousins' attention.
"You okay?" Perry asked.
Wednesday cocked her head behind them sharply, eyes wide with alarm.
Warren, Macy & Perry all came to a halt and looked behind them simultaneously, and Wednesday slapped a hand to her forehead; so much for being nonchalant. Wednesday began to walk again, her walk becoming more of an urgent march.
"Bea what the hell's up with you?" Macy asked her cousin, forgetting to use her code name.
"Someone is following us." Wednesday hissed in a low voice. Before they could all whip their heads round to look, Wednesday yelped and they all looked at her again. "Don't all look at once!"
"I'll look." Warren said as they thundered along the crumbling pavement, trying to keep up with a stricken Wednesday, who was only just not using her powers.
Warren had his suspicions about who he would see when he turned around to look, and when he noticed the purplish grey fur of Mojo Jojo leaning against a lamp post his suspicions were confirmed. Mojo was following them.
"Is that the monkey?" Macy asked, evidently she had taken a peek too.
"Yeah." Warren said, his voice flat. "Just keep walking."
So they walked, their pace a lot quicker than it previously had been. Warren was constantly shushing his curious cousins as they walked; Wednesday was too busy looking back to check if he was still behind them – he of course was every time.
As they began to make their way across the parking lot, Wednesday looked back for about the hundredth time that trip.
"He's still there Ben – I mean Warren…" She said in a quiet voice. "What do we do?"
"He can't follow us in, surely?!" Perry asked, beginning to sound a little panicked too.
"It's freaking over man, he keeps this up we're gunna give the game away! We can't go back to base with him on our tails!" Macy whispered and Warren nodded.
"I know, don't worry, we're not gunna blow our cover. This way." Warren replied, changing their direction.
"Where are we going?" Perry said, confused. Rather than heading for the entrance to Malphs, Warren was leading them to the back entrance, where the deliveries were picked up from.
"He's still following." Macy added helpfully as Warren growled under his breath.
When they reached the open back door to the grocery store, they gathered behind a large lorry, and Warren whirled on Mojo, who didn't really have anywhere to hide right now.
"What do you want?!" Warren demanded, and Mojo approached them with a wicked smile.
"You're very jumpy Benjamin." Mojo answered smoothly, making Perry, Macy and Wednesday's eyes bug.
"How does he..?" Wednesday stuttered, and Warren answered anyway.
"I told him. I'm the very reason he's standing here, and not rotting in a cell. You do remember that don't you Mojo? You owe me, so no funny stuff."
"Yes boy. Why else do you think I am here?" Mojo Jojo said in a disgruntled tone, not enjoying owing someone but being too prideful to not follow up on his deal.
"You broke him out?!" Macy cried, catching up.
"He says he has some info that can help us." Warren explained, and Macy scoffed.
"And you believed him? He's some tired old has been, and one of Ramiro's lackeys for years, why the hell would you –"
"Listen here young lady! I am in no way a has been, and if Ramiro knew what he was doing he would have utilized that fact a lot more! So that's quite enough from your incorrect, sassy mouth! I can safely assume you are Buttercup and Butch's spawn?" Mojo cried, provoking an eye roll from the teen girl.
"Yes." She bit out in reply.
"The resemblance is uncanny, even in disguise. Now see here boy, I need to speak to your parents." Mojo requested, and Warren scoffed now.
"You think I'm going to take you to my parents. No chance. You can tell me then you can go." Warren said flatly, but Mojo only smiled.
"They are out looking for me you know. And if they catch me with you four, they're going to want some answers from you."
Warren knew he was right.
"Are you fricking insane?! Don't even contemplate this! We are not taking him to.. To where are our parents are! He could trot off to Ramiro after and tell him!" Macy cried, giving Mojo a scowling once over, which he returned.
Warren knew Macy was right too.
Before he had a chance to speak on the matter, someone popped their head round the side of the lorry curiously. It was Mary.
"Is everything okay here? Oh my god!" She exclaimed when she spotted Mojo Jojo stood casually talking to the four puffruffs.
"We need to come inside. But first, we need some kind of blindfold. And restraints." Warren said to Mary, who decided not to ask any more questions.
"We have sleep masks on aisle five." She muttered as she turned and walked back into the store, nothing fazing her anymore.
Buttercup hovered in the air, laying back on an imaginary recliner and stretching.
"I say we call it a day there." Buttercup said as she stretched.
Brick kicked the large monster simulation they had just beaten off a rock like it was a pebble and sat on the boulder. "Too tired?" He asked, and Buttercup scoffed.
"Course not. It's getting late, the kids should be getting back soon." Buttercup said, and slowly the simulation around them faded away.
Brick peered out of the window of the training booth and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"That's true." He muttered, still in a sitting position in thin air even though the rock he was sat on had dissolved from beneath him.
A few silent moments passed in which both stared ahead of them. Buttercup broke the silence by clearing her throat loudly.
"Wanna hear something stupid?" She said, still looking ahead of herself.
"Go on then." Brick said, staring dead ahead still too.
"I've been purposely making sure I'm not alone with you and Bubbles." Buttercup said, smirking slightly. "Cos it's like whenever I'm with one of you two, all I can fucking think about, is something really shitty that I wanna forget."
Brick digested what she had said, still not looking over at her.
"I mean, its kind of gotten a little easier since getting my powers back and being stuck in training with you daily, but maybe that's more because Blossom has been there too. It's like a mixture of 'Fuck, I can't look at you cos I see a bunch of shit I don't want to think about', and 'Fuck, I don't want to look at Blossom because I think about how much I fucking missed her.' Screwed up."
Brick nodded. "I know what you mean. We're bound to all be a little screwed up now. And I gotta admit it's not as easy to forget about it all when I'm with you or Bubbles as it is when I'm with Blossom or my brothers. Not that I'm ever with Bubbles."
Buttercup raised a brow and turned to look at him. "I'm sorry about that man. It just kind of slipped out. But, she did deserve to know about it."
"I know. Don't sweat it. I would have told her eventually anyway." Brick muttered in reply.
"Do you think it will always be so hard to look each other in the eye without wanting to cry with a crippling memory?"
Both Brick and Buttercup looked up when they heard the muffled high pitched voice speak from outside the training booth. It was Bubbles, sitting in a chair looking like a small blonde ghost.
"Sorry, didn't mean to make you both jump. Or to eavesdrop." She squeaked.
"Don't worry about it." Brick murmured, looking at his feet.
"10 years is a long time. Guess it'll take just as long to feel good again." Buttercup said, stretching and looking at the ceiling.
"I guess so." Bubbles said sadly.
"Tell you what though," Buttercup said. "Seeing Blair's smile sure does make me forget the sucky stuff. Can't wait till they're back."
The door to the lab flew open then, and Lavender panted as she caught her breath.
"Aunty Lavender! Is everything okay?" Bubbles cried, jumping to her feet.
"Yes, well, no, yes and no. The kids are back -" She answered, out of puff.
"Are they all right?" Brick said, both him and Buttercup had stood too.
"I'm sure they're fine, it's just, they're not alone." Lavender tried to explain.
"What?" Buttercup barked, confused.
"Just come, you'll see." Lavender said, turning in a flurry of silver waves. After exchanging puzzled looks, the three followed her.
"Apparently we have a visitor." Blossom said to her husband as him and her sisters fell into step with her.
"A visitor?" Brick asked, furrowing his brow.
"Mary called Sandy to let her know the kids are on their way from the Malphs entrance. And that they aren't alone. That's all I know." Blossom answered as they walked along the winding underground corridors of Alliance X. The puffs, ruffs, Sandy, Eugene, Sara, Lavender and Dylan marched down the corridor to meet the puffruffs and find out who this mysterious visitor was.
"Are they okay?" Bubbles squeaked as they walked.
"As far as I know." Blossom replied, concern in her voice.
Bubbles' face screwed up in worry for her son and nieces and nephew, so Blossom tried to make it a little better.
"Mary would have said if someone was hurt, they must be fine."
Bubbles' expression eased a little. But as they rounded a sharp corner and came face to face with their children, everyone gasped at whom Blair was dragging along the floor by an ankle.
Everyone but Brick and his brothers, that is. After a brief look of surprise, they glared hard at the greying monkey, bound by rope and gagged and blindfolded.
"Is that Mojo?!" Bubbles cried.
"Yup." Blair answered, dropping the wriggling simians leg and giving Benjamin a pointed look.
"Oh my god what is he doing here?!" Sara cried, covering her mouth in shock.
"Trust your daughter to bring a monkey home with her!" Sandra commented, just as shocked as everyone else.
"Hey this wasn't my idea!" Blair exclaimed, outraged and giving Benjamin another pointed look.
"What is he doing here?" Brick asked, his voice borderline fierce.
"He has information. In exchange for his freedom." Ben said simply, and Brick cranked an eyebrow.
Butch scoffed. "And you believed him?!"
"That's what I said!" Blair defended herself again.
"He came back and found us didn't he? After Benji broke him out, he could have cleared off. Or worse, gone straight to Ramiro..." Beatrix mumbled, trying to stand up for her brother but not liking how angry her father and uncles looked.
"How do we know he hasn't gone to Ramiro?" Boomer exclaimed.
No one answered, and Benjamin suddenly felt like he'd made a stupid move.
"Can't we just hear him out?" Brandon said, causing everyone to look at him. "Benjamin isn't stupid. He usually knows what he's doing..."
"Thanks buddy." Benjamin muttered dryly. He bent down and slung Mojo over his shoulder. "I'm taking him to a conference room, and we're gunna hear what he has to say. If he's playing us, I'll deal with it."
"And what about if he has told Ramiro? What about if Ramiro is tracking him right now?" Eugene asked, he himself almost as angered as Brick, Butch and Boomer, but of course for different reasons.
"I said I'll deal with it." Benjamin growled as he began to walk, his tone as icy and threatening as his fathers. Without a word, everyone followed him down to base in silence.
The moment Beatrix ripped the duct tape off Mojo's mouth he immediately started screeching and demonstrating his outrage.
"How dare you treat me in this way! This is an absolute outrage! This is ridiculous! How dare you treat me with such indignity, such –"
"You want to talk about indignity?!" Brick snarled, charging for the monkey so fast a startled Beatrix only just got out of the way. He seized Mojo by the throat and held him roughly against a wall in the conference room.
Beatrix had flew to her mothers side, a little freaked out.
"Brick wait!" Blossom cried but Brick was gone in a haze of anger.
Mojo Jojo struggled as Brick squeezed on his neck. "Indignity is sitting in a 6 by 8 cell for 10 years. Indignity is having to share that 6 by 8 cell, one toilet and a shower with two other people, for 10 years. There is so much you don't fucking know about indignity!" Brick growled in a low, severe voice as he bashed Mojo against the wall to reiterate each point.
Blossom wrenched her hands around one of Brick's arms, pulling as hard as she could to get him to release his grip on the monkeys neck. "Brick stop! You're going to kill him!" She cried, almost hanging off his arm.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?" Brick asked, still not peeling his glowing red eyes from Mojo as he gasped for air, spluttering out a few 'please stop's'.
Brick felt another hand grip his other arm, yanking the same way Blossom was pulling, and he looked that way, calming a little as he stopped looking at Mojo.
"Because he owes us some answers." Benjamin said frankly, managing to help his mother pull Brick away from the monkey.
"And you're frightening your daughter!" Blossom hissed in a scolding tone.
Slowly, Brick let him go, and he fell to the floor wheezing and spluttering as he caught his breath.
Brick turned to Beatrix, exhaling unsteadily and trying to calm himself down. "Sorry Trix." she nodded meekly in return.
"I did not come here for this violent behavior!" Mojo choked out as he shakily pulled himself to his feet.
"Did you think we'd be happy to see you?" Butch gnarled as he booted him back onto his backside.
"That's enough!" Blossom commanded, standing in front of the shaken ape. "Guys, I know you have every right to be furious right now,"
Butch scoffed, and Buttercup elbowed him to shut up.
"But he can't tell us anything if he's a beaten pulp, can he?" Blossom added, folding her arms across her chest.
"Funny you should mention a beaten pulp, Blossom. Wasn't that the look you were rocking last time I saw you?" Mojo leered in a hoarse voice. Blossom's expression darkened, and Brick lunged, but Blossom caught him with her outstretched arm.
"Don't." She said simply, turning sharply to face Mojo. She looked him up and down with a severe glare. "Listen to what he has to say. After that, you can do what you want with him."
Mojo glared back at her, but gulped at the fiery eyes that were bearing down on him.
"I didn't bust you out of that prison cell to taunt my family." Benjamin snapped as Mojo dusted his grey fur down, and everyone took a seat.
"Yeah, cough it up and then get the hell out of here." Blair said, leaning on the table.
"I can't say I am as willing now, knowing that the threat of a beating is looming over me." Mojo grumbled and pulled a stubborn face.
"You owe us. So talk!" Benjamin growled.
"You know, I haven't knocked you around for a good 10 years plus Mojo. To say I'm getting withdrawals is an understatement." Buttercup said casually, and once again Mojo gulped.
"All right, okay. You want to bring Ramiro down? You need to get him from the source." Mojo said.
"Meaning?" Buttercup pressed, irritated by his lack of explanation, and the fact that the monkey hadn't changed one bit.
"Meaning, you need to destroy his chemicals. Go down to the labs, and destroy everything. All the Chemical RC, all the Antidote X. Then you will have him." Mojo explained.
"How will that solve everything?" Benjamin asked.
"Surely he will just make a shit ton more?" Blair questioned.
"Yes, that is precisely what he will do. But destroying all his stores will buy you some time. Ramiro has his lab men make the stuff in batches. Each batch takes two weeks to produce. Destroy it all, you will have around two weeks in which he will be slowly becoming less powerful, as will his men. Destroy his chemicals, destroy his power. And take his Chemical X supplies. You will need it more." Mojo instructed.
"And how exactly are we supposed to do this?" Blair said, looking skeptical.
"Yeah, we went down the labs today, that place is crazy protected." Brandon added.
Mojo Jojo reached into the pocket of his clothing, and rummaged around, producing a small key. He slid it across the table. He also brought out a small folded piece of paper.
"Use the vents. They are the perfect way to get around HQ without being watched, they are not under CCTV surveillance. Here is a key to the vent doors. And a map that locates the vent doors and the directions in which the vents operate on each individual floor. Use them wisely."
There was a slightly stunned silence, only broken by Benjamin sliding the key and map across the table and into his own pocket before Mojo could change his mind.
"Why are you telling us this?" Butch asked, sneering at his 'father'.
"Yeah, I smell a rat that looks a lot like a stinking ape." Buttercup agreed.
"I am legitimate. For too long I have been under Ramiro's thumb, for too long I have been forced to sit back and watch him do everything wrong! He has made mistake after mistake, and not taken a word of my advice. I mean for Pete's sake, why did he decide to keep you all alive? If it had been me, I'd have had the lot of you destroyed to take away the threat! He was asking for own eventual downfall!" Mojo cried, instantly regretting his words when he was met with a room full of angry glares. "I guess it was a good thing I wasn't in charge, hmm?" Mojo muttered, adding a nervous chuckle.
"You'd have never have gotten that far." Butch sneered.
"Yeah, tired old has beens like you should be sat in retirement. Or rotting in the ground." Boomer added.
Mojo glowered at his sons. "I would rather be considered a 'has been' than a bunch of no good traitors. Look at yourselves! Look at what you've become! Look at what Ramiro reduced you to."
"And look at how far we've come. Don't you worry old man, the moment I get the chance, I'm gunna make Ramiro pay for every single broken bone, every single amount of pain, big or small that he caused me and my family, a million times over. And if it weren't for my kids being here, or my wife stopping me," Brick chuckled evilly. "I'd be doing the fucking same to you. Traitor or no traitor, that I can promise you."
Mojo glared evenly back at his sons threat, straightening himself up slightly. "I think it's time I left."
"For once we agree on something." Brick muttered. "Get him out of my fucking sight before I stamp on his head." He snarled.
"How do we get him out without him seeing anything he shouldn't?" Sandy asked worriedly.
Blair brandished the duct tape and pulled a long strip out. "Same way we got him in." She grinned evilly, looming over him and letting out a little cackle.
r&r (: