As Time Goes By

by Carriedreamer

Act 6 "Beast- Part 3: Townsville has always been a city with secrets, secrets that need to be revealed. Whether it be the culprits of a vicious high school prank, the longings of a teenage girl's heart or the heartbreak of betrayal within a family Townsville is a city of secrets... at least.. that's what Bubbles and Boomer see when they discover that blank face in the museum...

20. Act 5: 104'-5 Part 1

Hello everybody! I'm baaaaack! Ahaha- and just in time for the holidays- so I thought hey why not have a "green" oriented Act in honor of all the holly and evergreen around you know ;D

I have to thank you all for the wonderful wishes you all wished me on ATGB's first anniversary- it really is surreal to think it's been a year since my muse at long last woke from her I had assumed would be an eternal slumber. - And I can't thank you all enough for your amazing support and encouragement!

So my lovelies, why not settle down with a nice cup of cocoa or egg nog and prepare yourselves because this story has at long last "begun" and it's going to be one heck of a ride - Enjoy my lovelies and happy holidays to you all! I hope they're utterly fabulous!

DISCLAIMER: Powerpuff Girls does not belong to me. All rights belong to Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network.

---

"O, O it hurts:
The truth, true prophecy,
It hurts inside my head."

-Agamemnon: Aeschylus

-o-o-o-

The rain fell in a torrent- surrounding him. Surrounding her. Still she did not move- walking only further into the dark waters surrounding her- letting her voluminous sleeves drag upon the water's surface. She waded deeper and deeper- the young man by the water's edge continued to call out to her.

"Wait! Please!"

Silence. More silence. The rain only continued to fall- even as her hands rose to welcome the falling drops… as if she were raising them to greet an old friend.

"You'll grow ill if you stay too long in-!"

"It matters not… whether I be in good health… or bad… my fate shall yet be the same…"

Silence

"It does matter."

Silence.

"…To who?"

A Whisper. Near lost in the melody of the rain surrounding them.

"… Me."

Rain. Wind.

Footsteps. Wading through the water.

A step. Another.

Hesitant. Drifting. Yet constant all the same.

"…You?"

Closer… yet not one. Waiting.

"Me."

The rain… falling. Falling around them increasing as the moments passed.

Waiting. Yearning. Longing.

Closer… ever closer.

Hesitation.

"..Why?"

"… I do not know…but I do… please… please don't be frightened of me…"

"I am not afraid…"

Another whisper. To whom is she trying to convince?

"… Then…why… will you not look at me?"

" I...I cannot my Lord.

"Why?"

Hands touch… a sting. A bite.

Pulled away. A gasp. Low and hidden.

She turned. Quickly. Fists clenched. Away. Far away.

"W-Wait! Wait please!"

His protests ignored.

It is better.

She cannot… she will not. Because…

"If… I do… then I will never see you again…"

A whisper lost in the rain.

Forever… in the rain.

"…Leader Girl…"

Stiff. That voice.

"Blossom. Blossom wake up!"

So…It is time then.

"BLOSSOM!"

A sharp gasp.

Two hands over a pair of thin shoulders.

"…Buttercup?" Groggy. Confused. Pink meeting lime. Baby blue behind her. "Wha… what on earth – what time-?"

The ink haired girl released the redhead and backed away slowly. The golden haired girl clutched a stuffed animal by her side.

"You weren't in bed." A whisper. The redhead stiffened.

"…I wasn't?"

"Yeah… you passed out on the window seat again."

More confusion. A hand to her brow. The little blonde removed the music box from her hands gently while the ink haired girl began wiping her face gently with a cloth.

Wiping away the lines of silent tears that ran down the young redhead's face. Tears she hadn't even realized had begun to fall. They were silent. Always silent.

The blonde however suddenly gathered the long copper hair in her hands, before grabbing a brush from the nearby vanity and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"Blossy- you know you can't go to bed with your hair down like this- it'll get all snarly and be a nightmare tomorrow- here." She gently began plaiting the long hair with a soft round of humming. "BC… can you shut the window the rain's getting in."

The green eyed girl paused. Then narrowed her eyes- staring… eyes slim with suspicion- looking at the inky darkness of the three girls' shared bedroom- Ire reflected in those lime irises- flicking back and forth.

Looking at nothing. Looking at everything.

"Buttercup?" Soft. Barely there. The pink eyes glowed dimly in the darkness. "It's getting bad out there… would you mind?"

"Yeah- we can't get sick tomorrow of all days! Oh no! That would be awful! Especially for you Blossy." The giggling was high pitched and the blonde swooped the blushing redhead into a hug. "So cuuuute! You two are going to be so cute!"

The blush increased. But Buttercup Utonium said nothing- as her sisters laughed – albeit slightly nervously on the elder's part.

No… she only continued to look around the room. Staring mercilessly into the dark- face etched in a scowl- a suspicious wariness in that fierce gaze: Before finally she whipped around pulled the window closed – turned the latch and drew the shade with an echoing slam.

She shall see him again… her promise is true…

"I will wait as long as it takes…And none… shall stand in my way… I will wait… even if for a thousand years…yet I will still wait."

Wait for me my love…

Wait for me…

---

Act 5:

104. 5

---

-V-

ATTENTION TVHS CLASS OF 2011! :: The annual Sophomore Spring Fling will be held at the Townsville Botanical Gardens Clubhouse this Friday- 3/20/09 from 7-10:30 PM- Doors open at 6:30 PM Sharp!

And Remember all you cool cats and baby dolls- dressing up for the occasion is highly encouraged- so get ready to rock n' roll all night long!

*NOTE: TVHS Dress code guidelines are still in effect outside of school grounds at all school sponsored events.

-V-

Mitch Michelson

The strobe lights were flashing- the music was raging- the punch hadn't been spiked-yet-the night was still young- and the dance floor was full of all the beautiful people of Townsville High.

Well at least in the class of 2011- and well they were the best anyway of course: Tch- everyone knew that. They were the lucky ones after all- how many high school classes after all could brag about hosting not one- not two- no not even three – but an entire groupof highly attractive- highly popular and arguably the most highly beloved teenagers in the entire city.

And the X Team. Couldn't forget about that little detail. Heh. Kidding of course- the illustrious Utonium sisters and the equally fantastic Jojo brothers. - in more ways than one- whoo boy was it getting hot In here or was that just the delicious sight of those three lovely boys in ensembles perfect for this Doo Wop of an evening- mmm Brick Jojo in a leather jacket… oh sign Mitch up. Alas for him however- the eldest of the aforementioned brothers was spoken for this evening. And his lovely date was sporting a stunning little red number- flouncy skirt and a cutely modest low neckline that nonetheless the Red Rowdyruff was certainly enjoying- and for all her blushing and little giggles was doing nothing to curb the young man's view of the goods.

Meh who could blame her. They were certainly happy enough-Nauseating levels of happy almost- who was grinning wider Mitch wondered-the smitten pink eyed kitten or the equally infatuated red eyed puppy dog. Hard to tell. And that arm had not left that little waist practically the whole night- the few times it wasn't there one could still almost guarantee that he'd still be touching the pink Puff in some way or form.

He really was an infatuated puppy dog. It was both nauseating and adorable to watch.

Ah… always the cute ones that are taken. However unofficially. Such was Mitch's luck but then again… Blossy Boo deserved this- thank God the girl had finally stood up- declared she wanted something and for once in her damn life just up and taken it.

Mitch had begun to honestly fear for someone else's sanity if she hadn't-.

"Mitch my man- what's up daddy-o- this a rockin' shindig or what- look what my baby doll managed to do for us- ha!" Speaking of… it might be too late. Here was Mr. Believe now.

"…Was that even English?" Robbi drawled as she joined the two of them – oh the long suffering patient songbird of Townsville High School rolled those pretty blue eyes and took hold of her hockey playing hunk's leather clad arm- he flicked up the toothpick between his lips and smoothed back his slicked down hair- though that pesky cowlick still stuck right up.

But that nasty little… souvenir from Mike's grand ghost hunting adventure also certainly aided the "tough greaser" look he was going for- yeesh… that looked nasty. Very nasty. Though not that they'd ever find out what caused it- oh no.

"Course it was baby doll- just getting' in the swing of things you know? - eh- eh." He snickered and elbowed his "Sandra Dee" virginal look sporting girlfriend.

"That was bad Mikey." Another eye roll.

"Oh it was hilarious. You love me."

"Sometimes." She smirked. He wilted.

"…Oh that's cold."

"Aww but you wuv me." She cooed.

"… Yeah I do. Damn it." Another mutter.

Mitch threw his arms over both their shoulders.

"So my delightful fellow norms- another great success from the brilliant mind of Miss Snyder it seems."

"It is hell of a party Tweety- you've outdone yourself this time."

The brunette blushed somewhat, "Hey it wasn't all me. Much thanks is owed to the queen of getting favors over there-." She gestured to the redhead who was currently engrossed with avoiding her enraptured counterpart's gaze as the male proceeded to turn her artfully curled hair (Bubbles Utonium was truly patience incarnate) - into a toy winding it around his finger as Blossy Boo on her part turned pinker as she kept sneaking glances at him from under her eyelids- the perfect image of a demure yet smitten infatuated pink eyed kitten.

Mike blinked.

"Okay… pretty sure I left Jojo in that exact same position… oh...five minutes ago." He slapped his brow and shuddered. "Oh God… the mental images. Oh God."

"You did it." Mitch shrugged, the psychic hockey player blanched.

"I know." A groan. "And thank fucking God but what the hell Jojo- Here I am witness to the two of them having eye sex on a daily basis and oh- God mental pictures!" He covered his eyes theatrically. "Whyyyyy?!" Robbi giggled. "My sister and best friend doing the "deed" - oh God no! No! Bad mental pictures! Out! Out!" He started smacking the side of his head- almost like he really was literally smacking something out of his own brain - . Robbi giggled and clasped her hands together.

"Aww- but I think it's cute!" She cooed. Believe gave her a withering look.

"No you think the views on the fan page are cute."

Silence. The willowy brunette held up her trusty smartphone and the click of the "shutter" effect rang through- Mr. Believe's lamentations forever preserved.

"Shut it-smile for the camera Mikey!"

"I don't wanna!"

Click.

"You're evil!"

"That's what you get hero boy."

"I said I was sorry!"

…Awkward. Okay time to vacate- couple's spat imminent. Oh Robbi had not taken "Brick and Mike's big adventure" very well- after the initial: OH MY GOD YOU'RE ALIVE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Make out session and other… session behind closed doors Mitch had no doubt that Mr. Believe's bed had otherwise remained extraordinarily cold for the last month. If anyone- anyone could hold a grudge it was Miss Snyder.

Oh yes. Bad things happened when one got on Robin's bad side. Very bad things: Thankfully Mitch would never have to know the sting of such an ordeal but woe betide anyone else who did.

Anyone.

Loud high pitched giggles pervaded the dance floor and a flash of light blue, gold and glitter and there was the joyful form of Bubbles Utonium and her equally dashing date Boomer Jojo- ever loyal- ever smitten- Mitch was going to have to put down a lot of tuxedo deposits he didn't doubt in the next few years. Let's see…

More blues laughter. Ludicrously comical height differences aside- the beanpole Rowdyruff and tiny Powerpuff continued to spin around the dance floor. Four months in… and they were still in the… honeymoon stage.

Well that's one.

"Tweety- Tweety- you can't stay mad at me forever! You can't! Seriously even Bloss is talking to me like a normal person again at this point!"

"Oh really? Watch me."

"Robbbbin- baby c'mon!"

She turned on her yellow heels and sashayed back towards the table the group of them had commandeered.

"You'll have to forgive me one of these days! Tweety… baby? Honeeeey!" No shame whatsoever he bolted after the leggy brunette.

There's two.

"Hey! There you are mi dulce raton." Oh… and maybe if Mitch was lucky there's three. Oh yes- he had no idea what his handsome hockey goalie sweetie had just whispered in his ear- in retrospect maybe taking French versus Spanish hadn't been the best idea- after all Bubsy would just burst out laughing half the time when Pablo whispered his sweet nothings in Mitch's ear but oh who cared. Just keep whispering. Keep doing it. He didn't give a fuck.

Nope. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie- those dark eyes seemed to glimmer and he adjusted the fedora he was wearing with a sly smile- oh sure- the Rowdies ( and Mike) had chosen the "greaser"- "bad boy" look for their attire this evening- but oh Pablo here… he was rocking the classy look. Oh yes. Yes he was.

With a grin Mitch followed him to their group's table: Well the two tables they had squashed together to form one big one- Another round of loud giggling and a very out of breath Bubbles plopped into the chair her blue Rowdyruff pulled out for her- as equally out of breath and grinning broadly as he sat down at her immediate side.

"Now this- this is a party Robin." Boomer chugged his water.

"She does it again!" Bubsy grinned. Again the brunette blushed somewhat.

"It wasn't just me though!" She leaned back against Mike's arm- Once again the psychic had managed to get back in his songbird's good grace apparently- "You girls saved the day- you got the Botanical Gardens to give the Sophomore class their clubhouse- X Team saves the day again!"

"Oh nonsense Robin. They were happy to do it." Blossy Boo sipped her punch daintily, "Insisted really as soon as they heard about the gym situation." She grimaced- as did they all. That… had been a nasty piece of sushi. Lots of teeth… and a temper. And… there went the gym.

Again.

"Which you took the liberty of informing them about." Robin retorted smoothly. The Pink puff flushed somewhat and cleared her throat.

"Yes well… the city comes together at times like these. As I said they were more than happy to do it."

"Yeah by the way- what was that thing that knocked out the gym anyway? It looked… mean." Pablo shuddered.

Blossy Boo only sighed and leaned against the Red Rowdy's shoulder- "The Professor is pretty sure and I personally agree that it was a Sphyraena argentea."

The company all blinked. "Could we get that in English?" Mitch said baldly- well if no one else was going to say it!

Brick narrowed his eyes and took a sip of his own drink. "Barracuda." He said lowly. "Nasty. Temperamental. And you can't even eat them. Remind me again why they exist?"

"Wait really you can't eat them?" Mike cocked his head.

"Certain species have been linked to… food poisoning incidents over the years that have made it become theorized by some scientists that some variations might be toxic to people it turns out so it's better to be safe than sorry in my opinion-." They all stared as the Red Rowdyruff Boy took another sip. "What? Can't make Pinky do all the work- what's a co-leader is for?" Brick snapped and Blossom's face went pinker as the boy's arm went over her shoulders smoothly.

"Y-Yes… thank you Ru-… Brick." She mumbled. Mikey snickered but then grunted just as quickly- Mitch sensed double stiletto attack from Robb and Blossy's Boo's directions. Someday he'd learn.

"Dios Mios- you all deserve a medal- every single one of you." Pablo shook his head.

"Damn straight. Fucking sushi." Boomer muttered. Bubbles frowned.

"Poor things…" She murmured. "They can't help it you know… they're just …scared and in pain." Boomer's arm went around her shoulders. "I just wish there was something we could do."

His eyebrow went up at that- the Reds as a unit sighed in sync- dear God it was starting already.

"Bubbles… you know Father is doing everything in his power to help find a solution." Blossom began quietly.

"It sucks but… we gotta think of the city you know?" Brick continued the thought. This was almost disturbing... The Reds had been unofficially together now for… almost but not quite a month and they were already finishing each other's sentences?! Did Mike and Robin do that!? Did the Blues even do that!? Hell did he and his own adorable sweetie do that!?

The Reds didn't even seem to notice their apparent mind meld moment or whatever- or even seem fazed by it.

Well... that's definitely four.

He scanned the table- there was a sardonic bite missing from this conversation. Bubbles seemed to read his mind.

"She went off a few minutes ago- she'll be back soon maybe she was hungry- you know BC." A sigh. Her sister joined her.

"She just disappears from these things- gets lost in the crowd." Blossom shook her head as Bubbles groaned.

"And she looks so cute too! I don't get it-I just don't. I mean we're all wearing dresses and I think we look adorable!" The littlest puff huffed and folded her arms with a little pout. Oh dear the little blonde was displeased- she continued to look around. "Hey… where's Butch?"

"ASSHOLE!"

"CREEP!"

Both the Rowdies groaned in sync and Boomer hid his face in his hands- the slap was loud and echoed through the room- and two young ladies stormed past the table.

"Wasn't that Sasha?"

"No pretty sure that was Vivian."

"He forgot which one was his date again didn't he?"

"That or said the wrong name to the wrong girl."

Another sigh. The Utonium sisters shook their heads in sync with their beau's. (Blossy Boo… was fooling no one. Why she continued to keep up the effort Mitch had no idea.)

CLICK. CLACK. CLICK.

Oh… and now the show was growing more interesting for who had returned to the party but the Green Puff sporting a lovely little green number, hair piled into a chic little bun and a face like thunder hidden by a gargoyle smile all night to appease the tiny blonde force of nature – and there she was storming towards her erstwhile… counterpart.

Well this should be interesting.

"ASSWIPE WHEN ARE YOU GONNA LEARN! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? HAVE YOU NO SHAME!?"

Ah… three…

"Ohhh- sup' Butterbabe- you're looking fine tonight!"

Two…

The Jojo brothers at the table leaned back somewhat- Boomer not really looking all that interested while Brick had rediscovered the wonders of Blossy Boo's hair again- absentmindedly twisting one of the long copper curls around his finger as she leaned against his shoulder.

The remaining Jojo brother meanwhile had apparently decided his double dating woes were to be forgotten in his pursuit of his real prize- oh yes- the boy was determined on… hooking in Butterscotch no matter how many times he had been warned that for his own goddamn good and ability to keep living to leave well enough alone.

Case in point he smoothed his gelled up spikes- still prevalent and leaned against the buffet table suavely. Butterscotch took a sip of her drink in silence.

"This isn't going to end well." The Pink puff murmured. Her infatuated date nodded serenely as he continued discovering the mysteries of how so much hair could be curled around one finger.

"Oh dear." Bubbles murmured- Boomer shrugged and pulled her closer to him wordlessly. His lips moved in a quiet countdown of his own.

"Shiiiit… Baby how long do you plan on hiding that ass from the rest of the world- I mean damn."

Sputtering. Red face. Not the good kind- fist shaking- annnnnd…

One.

"You… YOU- PERVERT!"

SLAP. SPLASH. CRASH.

"Shit three girls in one night." The blonde Rowdy rolled his eyes.

"New Record." Blossy Boo sent him a withering look and pulled her hair away with a whine.

"You pulled."

"Sorry babe."

"Brick…PDA."

Should we go make sure he's conscious?" Boomer drawled.

"Fuck that- I'm busy. Let him peel himself off the floor." Brick snorted and once again the arm went over Blossy Boo's chair-and he took a blasé sip from his cup.

Both Jojo brothers exchanged another look as the green Puff stormed past the table- mumbling to herself.

"Oh dear BC. BC- you can't go around hitting people it's impolite!" Bubbles called out- Butterscotch bristled.

"FUCK IF I CARE!" Away she went. Sigh.

Blossom's face was in her hand. Brick snickered somewhat,

"Least it wasn't a basketball hoop this time Pinky."

Another look. "Brick that's not very nice."

"Last time I checked I was conceived to be the "rottenest of the rotten. Not the perfect of the perfect like a certain pink eyed babe I happen to know." He grinned and thus cue blushing mess- face in shoulder and the small strangled – "Rufffff PDAAAAA!" From the illustrious "Commander and Leader" from within the "bludgeoner's" shirt. Heh heh. Damn well done- Mr. Jojo over there was apparently a fast learner.

The table snickered and the triumphant smirk on Brick's face was nothing short of shameless. Robbi patted the lovesick kitten on the head reassuringly- while Mikey of course threw a discreet thumbs up in the Red Rowdy's direction.

Bubbles giggled and hugged Boomer's arm tighter, 'Speak for yourself Brick- my Boomie's nothing but perfect. At least to me." Another round of loud giggling. More blushing X individual- of a male variety this time. Always good to change things up somewhat.

Speaking of…

Butch came stumbling back – soaked and his white shirt now had a red stain on it from the remains of Buttercup's punch- and plopped himself on one of the empty chairs- a wide shit eating grin on his face- "She so wants me. Damn that piece of fine puffy ass wants me." He snickered and adjusted his leather jacket. His brothers both rolled their eyes.

"In your dreams maybe." A blonde mutter.

"Don't encourage it. We live with him." There was the red.

"Tch- aw please The Butch knows these things- watch and learn- get a few pointers even."

"Yeah no I'm covered." Boomer's arm went round Bubsy's chair like clockwork.

"If you want to continue getting yourself clobbered be my guest- always good for entertainment." A pair of pink eyes peeked out from his shoulder and focused on the Green Rowdy. He immediately stiffened.

"Butch- I would appreciate you not talking of my little sister like that please."

Icy. No nonsense. The Green Rowdy brother visibly gulped and nodded quickly, "U-Uh… yes Ma'am. Right away Boss Woman." A salute for good measure. Now both Reds went well red this time.

"Butch. Stop. Calling. Her-."

"What? You're Boss- she's your woman and she's also a boss. So… Boss Woman." He shrugged.

"BUTCH!"

"What? It's true!"

Was it possible to turn a paper cup into a weapon- Mitch wasn't sure but it seemed like Brick was determined upon finding out- One pitiful look in Boomer's direction was only met with stony silence and a sip from his own cup.

Luckily for the unfortunate near victim however the music abruptly changed and Blossy Boo's eyes lit up. Ah yes- Blossom did love this song didn't she- according to the numerous blackmail recordings Butterscotch had amassed over the years- the Pink Puff was prone to falling to the temptations of hairbrush karaoke to this particular gem after all when she perceived herself to be alone and the latest gem she had revealed with sardonic glee was a good one that was for sure.

The hilarious sight of the prim and proper "commander and leader "dancing around in her PJ's – hair wild and free- rocking and sashaying her hips in a come hither motion while swinging a familiar red cap in the air that she had filched earlier that day: Heh heh. Butterscotch never had to worry about doing paperwork again apparently lest video evidence of such an event somehow ends up in the Red Rowdy's hands.

Oh yes. Heaven forbid.

The song began to heat up and Bubbles jumped up.

"Ooh! I love this song!" And there went one potential ally for the soon to be bombarded Red Jojo brother- Boomer was abruptly seized and pulled back on the dance floor: (not that he was complaining of course) – there's one. With a bit less X' powered antics Robbi stood up and held out her hand imperiously- Michael Believe was obviously better trained at this point- he followed her obediently to the dance floor.

Those huge pink eyes were just getting bigger and brighter and she was looking right at the Red puppy who suddenly seemed to stiffen. Danger. Danger. Not for any of them- but for him of course.

This should be interesting.

The hapless male proceeded to take another sip- already forgotten his cup was empty as the pink puff continued to give him her own equivalent of the dreaded "puffy puppy eyes"- that's right Brick- just look at anything save that deadly look: if he's lucky he'll buy himself five or so minutes.

But… there was only so long the water trick could be used with an empty cup the Rowdyruff ought to know.

"…Pinky I can't dance." He mumbled somewhat- she shook her head.

"Oh nonsense!" She stood and the Rowdy was more or less pulled up. Well as the saying went- when a Powerpuff wanted to do dance with you- just do it or else you were gonna end up doing it anyway minus use of your arm.

"Wait-! Pinky I mean it I suck- I really suck- I'm gonna emb-!"

"Oh please Ruff!" Dragging continued. "You're being foolish- it's not that bad!"

"W-Wait! Wait Ba-Pin-Blo- BLABY-!" - Because the almighty Red Rowdy still couldn't keep the many names he had for Blossy Boo straight on a daily basis- and the more flustered he became the more likely he would just end up squishing them together: Which was hilarious. The Green Jojo brother next to Mitch was watching the scene of his older brother more or less being dragged by a cheerfully smitten pink kitten barely suppressing his own laughter- well actually Butch wasn't even trying to hide it- but then again it was funny.

Ah love.

"Whipppped." Butch snickered and then his eyes lit up- "Oho- scuse me Michelson the Butch sees a lady in need- no one that fine should be a wall flower- oh no." Annnd there he goes.

"Dios Mios- they're an interesting bunch that's for sure." Pablo shook his head.

"But they make life interesting- and there's nothing worse than being bored in life." His hockey playing sweetie brushed his fingers slightly- aww he was still shy.

"I guess you're right- but hell we live in Townsville anyway- crazy stuff happens all the time here."

Mitch nodded sagely as his foot brushed Pablo's shined shoe- the hint of pink in his cheeks was adorable. So innocent. So very innocent.

He cleared his throat, "So… uh do you uh want to d-dance? It's a…good song."

"It is… you know you're really rocking the Fedora look…I like it."

More pink- verging on red. Heh. So cute.

"Yeah…" Another throat clear and he pulled at his tie somewhat, "Robin certainly outdid herself this time- last year was nothing compared to this."

He rolled his eyes, "Because Whorebucks can barely remember how to spell her own name right let alone run a student government. Pablo snorted.

"Mitch that's not very nice." Another round of snickers.

"And yet you're not telling me I'm wrong." More snickers and Mitch's hand was finally swallowed by that calloused grip- strong and hard from numerous hockey workouts- courtesy of the insane psychic over there and his obsession with winning "the cup" before he graduates.

"Quiet you- let's dance."

"Heh I'll turn you into a bad boy yet."

"Fat chance. Someone has to keep you in line."

"Ooh- please do"

Another blush and they joined the throng. "V-Very funny."

"Aren't I though?" Pablo rolled his eyes.

"You need to live a little. Look- even big bad Brick over there is having a good time." His eyebrow rose. Oho- Naughty- naughty Blossy Boo- that's not dancing that is grinding the Red Rowdy was being instructed how to do: Naughty- Naughty little kitty!

"Dios…Mio." His jaw dropped. "Explain to me again how are they not "dating" yet?" He hissed.

"They are- Blossy Boo is just being stubborn as hell. Welcome to the "Norms" m'dear. Feel our pain. Feel it. All three of those girls drive us insane sometimes."

And… case in point- there was Mitch's charge- once again avoiding the foolish Green Jojo brother like the plague. Loud swears optional but apparently necessary. Violence not yet in the picture but clearly being considered. He supposed he'd have to intervene soon- make a distraction or something.

Ah the life of a norm. Never easy.

"But you three are their friends." Pablo murmured. Mitch raised an eyebrow.

"Of course we are." Circling. "I'd do anything for those girls… all of us would. They drive us mad- especially the pink one with the psychic one." He lowered the last part and Pablo being the quick learner (heh heh) he was nodded quietly. "But push comes to shove… they're our girls through and through. You know?"

Silence. Circling. Brushing of brows.

"I understand mi dulce raton." He murmured. Mitch couldn't help the smile.

"You know…. I had a feeling you would." The red grew and that grip on his hand strengthened. Fuck… okay… maybe one more dance. Just one.

…Which inevitably turned into three. Damn it- he couldn't help it- feeling this man's hand brushing his waist- smelling his cologne… fuck… just… fuck. He was surrounded by the music- his friends were all gathered around him- the cheerful innocence of the blues- the long established repertoire between the psychic and the songbird and last but not least- one could feel the sensuality oozing from those "prim and proper" redheads behind them- even despite the fact that the eldest Jojo brother was doing nothing but running his hands over her waist- slightly up- slightly down- he clearly had no idea what he was doing and such in the scheme of things it was probably the most… "tame" grinding Mitch had ever seen ( looking at some of the other grinding couples… yeah it was at most PG to be blunt…but fuck… there was something about it that… just – fuck put on the air conditioners man- it was getting fucking hot in here!

And then… there was Butters. Once again she had commandeered her own section of dance floor- needing no one- needing no partner though the drooling Green Jojo brother would obviously have liked the honor but fuck that- no really good luck: Buttercup Eva Utonium danced alone- and she conquered alone. And she was damn happy doing it.

The song ended. The DJ was pretty good- another amazing find of Robbi's for sure. He joined in the clapping. Loud and enthusiastic cheering courtesy of a Blue Puff especially rang out. Before another song- oh this was a group dance… and sure enough the Red one clearly had had enough- one whisper in the pink puff's ear and well off they went.

Heh- a few knowing snickers surrounded him- even Pablo averted his eyes politely of course but well it was no secret what those two were up to. The Reds were slowly becoming the it couple of the sophomore class- Especially since that "rumor" popped up on Faceplace a month ago…

Whoo boy- that had opened up a can of worms and fuck if it hadn't done its job. The public eye had been engrossed in the narrative of first love and teenage longing that Robin Snyder had masterfully woven to pay much if any attention to the… very… adult and serious events that were occurring… beneath the surface.

Literally.

He shivered. He couldn't help it. Mikey had been in the hospital for nearly three days- Brick had gotten out relatively quickly- even with the dehydration and that bad arm he'd only been in for two and one had more or less been spent sleeping everything off but Mikey…

Fuck whatever the idiot did in there… and whatever had done that to a Rowdyruff's arm…

Wait… No see Mitch wasn't going to think of that. Nope. No siree. His friends were safe. He was here to party, and dance and if he was lucky get his sweetie over here to agree to move on from first base tonight. Those were Mitch's priorities tonight!

Not… worrying about… nope he was taking a night off from being a "Norm" as the term went – they all deserved one. They were partying as friends and equals. Not "norms" and "X Team". Yes.

Yes there was a bit of a… tenseness in the air with all of them but…

"Out of my way losers!"

…And speaking of tense. Oh fuck their lives- here comes the slut brigade led by the queen of the bitches- Whorebucks herself. Fuck.

Needless to say said psychopath had not reacted well to the news that her never in a million years beau (poor Brick…poor thing) was now "unofficially" the handsome arm candy of the delightfully smitten kitten of a Pink Puff. Oh no- it had not gone over well at all. However Whorebucks for all her idiocy was however no fool. She remembered the threat Mr. Jojo over there had given her- if anything physical were to happen to the Pink Puff again she would be handled by the Red Rowdyruff Boy exclusively from then on.

Brick had after all already proven himself to be protective indeed of his Puff: the events in the factory- however hush hush they were to talk about concerning Blossy Boo had only strengthened that instinct. It didn't matter who it was- Mitch had a feeling and he'd yet to be proven wrong by the way- that if push came to shove Brick Anthony Jojo would indeed show just how much of a Rowdyruff Boy he still was should anything threaten his counterpart and co-leader. The "Bludgeoner" no doubt would earn his name.

And besides- for all her big mouth- Even Princess Morebucks wasn't stupid enough to directly challenge Blossom Utonium in a fight. A fight she would lose. And lose badly.

Mitch… could after all personally attest to that.

Nevertheless however Princess with her cronies in tow was nonetheless storming over- the slut brigade comprising of one Tracy McDonough, Kaley Mancini and the ever vapid Julie Smith followed their mistress obediently- all dressed of course in the shortest ( non-dress code following) dresses imaginable and of course they were too "cool" for the Doo Wop theme of the night.

Fucking hell.

Now Tracy and Kaley… were just the followers- they weren't so bad… misguided but not so bad. Plastic- fake- not the brightest bulbs or at least they act like it- good little followers following the checkbook and expensive Christmas presents that come from being part of an "entourage" – but…then there was…:

Julie.

As much as Mitch hated to stereotype - Julie Smith was the textbook definition of well… dumb blonde. - She followed everything the witch said- no argument no matter how insane- and her crushes changed with the wind: One thing Mitch had to give Whorebucks credit for- she was certainly loyal in her delusions: Being hung up and obsessed with the poor unfortunate Red Rowdyruff Boy for the last… hmm… seven… years? Was it seven? Could have been eight- (poor bastard) - but Julie… tended to flit from one male to the other- though she was taking Princess Lessons in how to land yourself a restraining order in five easy steps or less.

But they were usually fleeting. Only a few months of terrorization.

Her last one had been on one Boomer Kenneth Jojo over there- The hapless girl had centered on him for about… three… four months (?)- Who was counting? But… one super-secret… but firm… conversation later between her and that same adorable Blue eyed blonde ever smiling… somewhat delightfully possessive little Puff later… Julie moved on. Rather quickly.

…Very quickly. Sometimes Mitch wondered what had been said… and then there were times where he knew some things were better off left unknown.

But nevertheless Julie had moved on…

To another… tall… lanky… hockey playing young man whose hair was a slightly darker shade of well… blonde… and who was also very much unavailable.

Julie Smith did indeed have a type.

Unavailable blonde men with ever smiling delightfully possessive girlfriends who could as soon as break your arm as look at you.

No wonder she and Princess got along just oh so well.

Robbi was going to eat the dumb blonde alive and spit her out before stepping on the remains with her stylish stiletto heels. It was going to be a bloodbath. The girl's eyes had centered right on Mr. Believe. Again… not the brightest bulb.

Case in point.

"Nice hair Chicken legs- ohhh hiiiiii Mikeyyy you look sooooooo sexy in that leather jacket-." Her hand reached out to touch the hockey player's arm.

Three… two… one.

"Uh yeah- thanks… Julie." A forced smile- quick backing away. And subtle pulling of a snarling black belt holding girlfriend away. He also looked slightly green himself.

Princess shoved Julie aside and tried to look past Mike and Robin's shoulders.

"Where is he Peasant!" She snapped.

… The calling of Mr. Believe (i.e. Geraldson) peasant never ceased to amuse Mitch. The smile was dangerous. Nonchalantly hiding his rage with an ever bright smile:

"Don't know." He shrugged. The girl stamped her foot- those heels were so ludicrously high how the hell was she even walking. Not to mention that dress… that dress would be considered too short for even the wildest nightclubs- like seriously- was it even a dress or was she just wearing a shirt?

"Listen peasant! I am the last person you want to piss off- now I'll ask you again- where's my Bricky! Where'd that loose slut drag him off to!"

"Um excuse me Princess- what did you just call my sister!"

Annnnnd…. Here comes mistake number one. The slut brigade backed away slightly. Mitch saw Buttercup saunter off. … whoo boy.

Bubbles floated up to be face to face with the bitch. "You did not call my sister that- I'm sure I misheard you!"

"I called your whore of a sister what she is- a little tramp who thinks she can just go and touching other people's property- uh no- I don't think so- so back off Bubble bitch! And FYI no one wants to see your fat ass legs exposed like that- tch have you no shame- talk about GROSS!" And those big blue eyes went big and well… bluer and Mike's grip on Robin had to steadily increase at that moment:

"HEY!" And… here comes mistake number two. "One my brother isn't a piece of property you bitch! TWO- Don't you fucking come over and start shit and don't you dare say anything like that to my girlfriend! WE CLEAR!" Boomer Jojo was exceedingly tall. He was very tall in fact- a solid six feet four inches- and even in the heels Princess was completely dwarfed by him. An amusing image- shame Mike was too busy keeping angry Kung Fu fighting snarling girlfriend from ripping stupid sluts to pieces to capture the moment on film.

Even Princess Morebucks in all her idiocy knew better than to fuck with a Rowdyruff Boy directly. Even the so called "nice" one. She immediately backed off. Boomer narrowed his eyes,

"My brother is here with his date- a date that is not you. Now move along. Get the fuck over it and leave him the fuck alone- Me and Butch are both fucking sick of you chasing after our brother- so this is coming from both of us- FUCK. OFF! C'mon honey."

The little blue puff was led away.

"I'm not fat…" A whimper.

"No you're not honey- she's a bitch." Another blue death glare. This time crystal blue and Robin went hurrying after them. Mike flashed them a bright smile and a sarcastic wave.

"Your johns called by the way-they're waiting for you out front. Better go earn your keep." The other girls gasped. Julie giggled- because Mike had spoken but a glare from Princess shut her right up.

Morebucks sneered, "Better watch who you're talking to peasant- what my Bricky sees in you to deign to hang around you I have no idea but stay the fuck out of my way and mind your own fucking business- got it!"

The single heir to the Geraldson fortune- the single largest in the United States- in the top ten of the World in fact- Morebucks Inc. was in the top twenty only smiled serenely and nodded.

"Of course Miss Morebucks- whatever you say." A sneer and the girl smirked triumphantly and flipped her hair- snapping her fingers three times: "Tracy, Kaley, Julie- let's go: I can't stand to be around the scent of these losers any longer- my Bricky will come looking for me soon enough."

"Fat chance…" Mike mumbled but the four turned on their heels in a creepy sort of sync and clonked away (because Princess had no business walking in those shoes…) Mitch sighed and put a hand on the guy's shoulder.

"Twenty Five can't come soon enough can it Mikey?" He muttered.

"Oh you have no idea- I'm going to run that cesspool of a company into the ground!" Mike snarled. "Scuse' me." He turned to go join the rest.

"What a bitch." Pablo hissed.

"Same old same old."

"No seriously- I knew the bitch was a bitch- but that was just-!"

"Like I said sweetie… welcome to the Norms."

"AIYEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

And… here's number three.

And there Princess Morebucks was: covered head to toe in punch- like the entire bowl had mysteriously gone over her. And that sparkling gold monstrosity she called a dress was completely ruined.

"Like oh my God Princess are you like okay?"

"Here lemme get some napkins-!" The rest of the spilled punch was all over the floor however and down the blonde went- the other two almost fell on top of her- creating a slutty dog pile as the ring leader finally went down: Oh this was going to go viral. Oh this was beautiful!

Oh well done Mr. Psychic- and… he looked just as surprised- as much as he was laughing… so not the psychic so who…?

He caught a glimpse of green emerge from a shadowy corner near the table. His lip curled.

"Butterscotch…" He shook his head with a snicker and excused himself- catching glimpse of the four little bitches still tripping over each other in the slippery mess. Ohhhh this was too good for words.

Heh.

The botanical gardens were well lit and lovely- as Mitch exited the clubhouse- and happened to see the ink haired puff nonchalantly strolling away from the scene of the crime.

Just so very innocently.

He cleared his throat, "Oh Butterscotch." He called out.

She paused and turned around, a smirk on her lips. "Yes Twiggy?" Her arms linked behind her back. Ever so innocently. "Whatever can I do for you my dear dear friend?"

He folded his arms, "You're so bad."

She snorted, "No one saw me."

With that Mitch sighed, "No one ever does." She stuck her arm out like a proper gentleman. Another eye roll was in his wake as he took it. "Ain't this supposed to be my job?"

"Tch. Shut up and be a good piece of arm candy- Mendes can spare you for a sec or two- my sisters got some good candy and I can't be seen missing out." They snickered in sync.

"Yes dear." The gardens were gorgeous. Mitch wasn't a green thumb by any sort of means but damn Robin had outdone herself. He shook his head. "How did she do it?" He breathed.

"Ah you know Rob- when she gets her mind set on something- God help the shmuck that tells her no." She shrugged, "So how's the chaos in there?"

"A disaster as always- well done Butterscotch and no doubt the incident will be blamed on the hapless but handsome psychic in there." She smirked more but remained silent. "You know- you really ought to at least tell him about this little perk of yours- he might feel like he's going mad or something."

"He's already mad as a hatter – seriously did you see him at lunch- why is he hoarding salt packets all of a sudden?"

"Well Mr. Believe has always been an eccentric one."

"Salt. Packets. Mitchell."

Silence. "… Okay that is a little weird even for Mikey." He muttered. Her face darkened, "Buttercup… are you okay?"

She was still silent- but her fist clenched but just as soon as she did so- she sighed and relaxed again.

"…Yeah Twiggy I'm fine just… something feels kind of weird lately is all…I dunno why… it's just… this feeling I got in my gut."

He squeezed her hand, "Butterscotch." Alas, she had retreated back into her own little world. He frowned. She was an elusive breed- the Green Powerpuff- hard to understand at times and certainly at least according to many- the most intimidating Puff but… he knew her quite well. He had for a long time.

So much as his curiosity was practically burning at this point… Mitch knew when to leave well enough alone. They continued to stroll in relative comfortable silence-

"So… how much convincing did it take the gardens to let us come here anyway?"

"Tch. One phone call- they know how much they owe the Team- after that nasty incident a few months ago- oh you'd best believe the Gardens were more than happy to give the X Team's class a nice dance venue."

Mitch snorted, "Oh right this is where the sea cucumber-."

A finger went up, "Don't. Do not – we don't talk about that. Ever."

He snickered and smoothly lowered the finger, "Of course Butterscotch- ah yes Blossy Boo was not happy that day was she."

"A sea cucumber basically shit on her hair- her hair Twiggy. Cap Boy had to practically carry her out of there since she was so determined on punishing its dead insides - and this was before he acknowledged the fact he was so hung up on her there was no room on the clothes line."

He snorted, "Tch True. Oh by the way- Should I be picking out my tux you think?"

"Meh you can pick yours up when I pick up mine."

"You really think you'd be able to get away with wearing a tuxedo to your sister's wedding?" She paused and then bristled.

"I ain't wearing pink." She snapped.

"Oh but you'd look so cute!"

"I am not wearing pink!"

BOOOOM

They froze.

"…What was that?"

"I…I dunno." She began digging in her clutch and whipped out her phone. "The fuck… no alert- who the?"

"Was it a car accident or something?"

Her eyes scanned the area, "… I don't think so."

"Then what was it?" She was still looking at her phone.

"… I dunno. C'mon."

A lime burst and then he was off the ground- oh well thank you. Always appreciated- a Powerpuff taxi! Best way to travel really!

-V-

Buttercup

Well there goes the rest of this evening- Bubs was going to be absolutely delighted – oh yes she was- oh Buttercup could already hear the loud lamentations.

The rest of the room was what else- chaos- everyone was talking at once- in many cases competitions over who could speak loudest were ensuing- because those were oh so helpful! So helpful indeed! She scanned the room.

SHRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNG

Oh well better late than never! She scowled. "Did it just go off?!" Twiggy demanded. She fumbled with her phone.

X Alert.

Oh well that was helpful! Who the fuck had the nightshift tonight!?

"Buttercup! Mitch!" Ah- there at least was someone in their right mind still- Pablo waved them both over and she ignored the flabbergasted Spanish yelp when she dropped Twiggy right in the guy's arms.

"Hold that- where's my sisters and the boys!"

Blushing like mad Mendes pointed to the left. Twiggy sent her a bright smile and a little wave.

"Thanks Butterscotch- now off you go saving the world and such- I'm good!"

More blushing. Heh. Just call Buttercup "Cupid" or whatever what can she say- now… speaking of rosy cheeked blondes… Ah! There was the X huddle. Another loud ring and she dug out her phone

X Alert: TBD

"Oh why! For one night! Just one it's all I ask!" Bubbles stomped her little foot and pouted as she glared at her own phone- Boom like a trooper and a well-trained one at that continued to soothe her little sister's laments. He cast her a look when she joined the huddle. Let's see- one. Two…

"What do you mean you don't know!? Are you some kind of-!"

"Brick not helping! Give me that! This is Blossom- what is it the situation?"

The Reds were already in Leader Mode- Brick waved them over quickly while her sister began the unenviable task of playing telephone with the night shift.

In the scheme of things Buttercup decided against questioning why his face was smudged with mysterious pink lipstick. Boomer's eyebrows rose straight up but Brick was clearly too distracted by "leader mode" to notice. Bubbles giggled slightly but averted her eyes. Finally with a sigh and the fact that no one was going to be taking what this guy said seriously with a face like that – Buttercup the ever kind and wonderful person she was cleared her throat before pointing to her mouth.

Blink. Dumb puppy blink. Before.

"Shit!" He hissed and hastily wiped his mouth before clearing his throat. Buttercup only grinned benignly. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"You're welcome O' venerable leader- now situation?" He stiffened and looked behind him- Leader Girl was on the phone and she looked… kind of pissed.

"Class one." He murmured quickly. "That's all we know."

"So what is it?" Another shrug.

"They only just called it- they think it's a… fucking sushi."

"What do you mean they think-!? Who called it-?" The hell!?"

"Do you copy- is there a visual on the mutation? Do we have a visual? NO I WILL NOT HOLD!" Blossom's voice rang shrill and they all flinched. Cap Boy included. "That would be very helpful yes sir- I would love to speak to the person who claims to have seen it!" She tapped her foot and cast them all an annoyed glance and covered her ear piece, "Only one person saw it – and he's the one that called it in- they don't even know what it is and now they can't find him!"

"Then how the fuck do they know it's a class one-!? What if it ate him or something!?" Boomer hissed. Buttercup flinched- she couldn't help it. The boys… had been lucky so far… they hadn't seen someone physically being eaten… yet. Bubbles hugged her arms and she put a hand on her shoulder.

At least Little Boy Blue seemed to realize his error right away and he cleared his throat, "Um… in expression… only of course…" He mumbled. Good Boy. He was learning. Cap Boy looked grim and hurried over when Leader Girl waved him (and him only) over to listen in-. That look wasn't good. And it was equally discomfiting to see the scowl that washed over Brick's face almost instantly. His grip on her big sister's shoulder increased.

Shit… this was why… fucking Sushi attacking at night was always the worst goddamn scenario! No one could see a damn thing- make a positive identification and worst of all the team could be going in more or less blind!

"So… it could be a case of mistaken identity- it could be nothing you know!" Her sister clasped her hands together and the hope shining in those goddamn big blues- ugh… fucking hell Buttercup hated sushi. She folded her arms and averted her gaze,

"I don't think so Bubs… you heard that big boom." She rubbed her brow- the Reds were still trying to get a hold of the situation- from the panicked and likely dumb as shit people working the night shift- oh yeah- Bellum went home early on Fridays didn't she? So… basically a Sushi attack at night- on a Friday- and the people in the mayor's office running the "X" hotline and shit were the moronic night shift dingbats who had a horrible habit of getting shit wrong!

Would it be easier to just call Bellum? Buttercup had the woman on speed dial for this exact reason after all- she kept a sharp eye on Leader Girl- still in heated discussion – getting more and more frustrated judging from the sheer tenseness of that jaw but no signal yet to make that call. Yet.

She looked around irritably- the two blondes were waiting obviously for word- and the Reds were in the arduous process of getting that word but…. There was one head missing- obnoxious as it was. She scowled- now where oh where did braindead dumbasses congregate.

She saw a flash of black and dark green- followed by simpering. Her face twisted. Ugh. Bingo.

Of course the moron had found yet another hapless victim to terrorize as she clung to his arm listening to his bull shit attempts to "soothe" her- ugh. Gross.

"Aw no worries Jenny- the Butch won't let some nasty fish anywhere near ya- so you quit on worrying that pretty lil' head of yours baby."

Ugh! Men.

She cleared her throat and his eyebrow rose before he turned from Jenny with that fucking smirk. Oh sure all the Jojo brothers had this Goddamn "smirk" or whatever but unlike the other two- this one's was greasier and slimier on a good day than either Cap Boy's or Little Boy Blue's had been at their worst.

But no. No see Buttercup Eva Utonium was left dealing with the moron. Her sisters- nope. They had no trouble "getting along" with their counterparts. Oh no- everything was hunky dory with them- One was already in the midst of planning her nuptials and the other's was being planned for her as a matter of fact.

But Buttercup. No. She was left… with… this.

Life sucked sometimes.

"See Butters can tell you- everything is going to be just fiiiine- and speaking of- dayum do you look fine this evening Butter- OW!"

But there was something oh so satisfying about that grunt of pain when she latched onto the moron's collar and dragged him away from the vapid twit that made life nonetheless just a little better. Oh yes. Yes there was.

"Let's go Casanova! X Business- MOVE!"

"OW! Butterbabe! Watch the hair! Ow! Ow!"

The girl called out what sounded like a bunch of numbers- poor soul- like this braindead moron had the brain cells to memorize his own phone number let alone a bunch of random numbers. Ugh. Of course Buttercup had to share her "counterpart" status with the dumb ass- fuck that shit about Boom being the so called "dumb and the dumbest" uh no- no see Buttercup would give that title among others to the wannabe Romeo here.

So fuck Buttercup's life here she was stuck working with the king of the dumbasses here. Ugh. Life wasn't fair- seriously.

"Aw- what's the matter Butterbabe?" Strike one. "You're acting pissier than normal- which hey as always is pretty fucking sexy." Strike two. "But there's no need to be jealous baby- you know anytime you want the Butch you just name the time and the place and-." STRIKE THREE!

Again. Not. FAIR.

The blondes both gave her a wide eyed look and she snorted, "He's fine! He's just being a dick as usual- what's the update!" She snapped. Boomer looked over her shoulder at the sorry sight of his brother lying on the ground in a slight crater. Bubbles sighed,

"Well I guess that's what the SHL is for…" She muttered.

"Oh please its cosmetic damage at best." She scoffed the blonde narrowed her eyes. "It is!"

"That's not the problem BC!" And cue the tapping of heels while Boomer walked over to the asshole.

"He deserved it!"

"Buttercup…." Another warning tone. Ugh. Goody two shoes.

"Fuck what a woman!" Ugh. See. Fine. "Shit Butterbabe- I say we ditch this lame ass dance and go have us some real fun if you know what I'm saying- the Butch will show you a good time baby- pro- HRRGH!"

"BUTTERCUP!"

"I'm not gonna do nothing I'm just giving the slowpoke a head start for when the Reds give the go!"

The blonde only continued looking at her with that damn look- like a disappointed puppy or kitten who was sad you wouldn't give them the damn toy already- God damn it! She released the shit head who fell back to the ground with a plop. Fucking stupid everything nice… why she oughta… stupid goody two shoes and being a perfect little girl and… stupid…

Cap Boy's hand shot up in the air and waved them out into the hall- and the silent command was as good as a bellowed order. Blossom looked to be almost shaking with rage- whoever she was on the phone with clearly had no idea what the fuck they were doing with their lives, her older sister looked ready to kill.

"What's going on?" She hissed. Brick shook his head and simply waved the blues and the moron out of the main ballroom but Buttercup stood firm. His eyes narrowed and hers only narrowed back.

"Jojo!" Believe came from amongst the crowd, "The fuck is going on- is it sushi or not- you're gonna have a panic here soon man!" He hissed. "Give Tweety and Mendes something to work with- cause the teachers aren't doing anything helpful!"

"That's no shock- hard to believe they're even still in here." Buttercup muttered. Brick however was scanning the area- he caught Believe's eye and instantly like some kind of creepy mind melding shit or whatnot the psychic whistled loud and obnoxiously.

"OYE! THE RED ROWDYRUFF'S ABOUT TO TALK SO EVERYONE SHUT UP!" He bellowed. The endless chatter ceased and like clockwork everyone turned. Fuck must have been nice to be leader. Brick didn't even look phased- like he was just used to it or something. He floated up until he was a good head taller than everyone else.

"Listen up- There's a mutated anomaly within the city limits!" The panic started again. "There's no need to panic nor is it helpful-."

"BUT WHERE THE FUCK IS IT!?"

"IS IT NEAR MY HOUSE!?"

His eyebrow twitched and he started again, "As I said there is no need to panic! The X Team is going to take care of the problem but the best thing to do is to remain calm and evacuate as calmly as possible-"

"SHOULD I CALL MY MOM!?"

"WHAT ABOUT MY DOG!"

And… this wasn't helping either.

"OH MY GOD EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!" She zipped up to his side. " Now listen- the guy said you all have to stay calm now do it- Snyder, Mendes where are you!"

Robb and Pablo ran forward- Twiggy moved to stand next to Believe who gave her a wary look.

"Now see- your Pres. and vice pres. here you lovely people all elected are going to calmly walk you all to either exit one-!" She pointed to the back or exit-!" A curt throat clearing and a quick shake of the head. Ah. Duly noted. "Scratch that you're all going out the back way- so you all get to see those lovely garden lights before you leave- aren't you all lucky they really are quite lovely- now – go! Single file- walk do not run- half of you gals can barely walk at this point anyway with the shoes we're all wearing now can we ladies?"

There little giggles and chuckles – she smirked. "Miss Snyder- Mr. Mendes- you're on. Cap Boy let's go."

He gave her a wary look of his own but nonetheless followed her. Robin's shrill voice cut through any sort of panic that would threaten to form followed by Pablo's slightly less commanding but soothing voice for any stray. A good team those two.

"Thanks." Brick grunted.

"This kind of shit happening at night makes people doubly nervous. Now again- seeing as I helped you- you help me what the fuck is going on- is it a class one or not?"

He scowled, "They don't know." He finally grunted. She paused.

"… Let me guess… Howard's working the night shift isn't he?"

He sneered, "How'd you know."

"He's an idiot. He almost got my sister killed when he made a hotline call and didn't remember to mention the key little detail of the thing had a stinger until after Leader Girl pushed Bubs out of the way of a barb about-"She paused and held her hands out. "Yay long. Turns out Lion Fish have tempers and are apparently poisonous. Who knew right? He thought it was a goldfish."

He balled his fist. "You've got to be kidding me!" He snapped.

"Wish I was Cap Boy."

"He almost got Pinky killed!?"

"Yep."

"And he's still working why?"

"Politics."

He grit his teeth more- he really did resemble a snarling dog at that point.

Angry red puppy alert. Heh- this should be fun. Leader Girl was too nice for her own good sometimes- maybe Buttercup had an ally now in the whole- stop giving incompetent morons second, third and fourth chances- some people are just dumb.

Leader Girl looked up sharply upon hearing their footsteps- and the faithful canine hurried to his mistress's side- she was almost shaking. Bubbles put a reassuring hand on Blossom's arm but it was shaken off. Again with the wounded puppy eyes but Buttercup shook her head. Leave her alone. Leave her be.

"Why weren't they closed sir!? Cleaning!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN-ARE YOU KIDDING ME YOU INCOMPETANT EXCUSE OF A-!" And here we go. Cap Boy grabbed the phone and slammed it to his ear.

"This is Brick- No, you're done talking to Blossom. Now you're talking to me so talk!"

"Now what's going on?!" She hissed. Boomer rubbed his brow and Bubbles only wrung her hands- but Butch being the ever blunt and classless moron he was blurted it right out- sometimes idiots came in handy.

"Apparently some channel or whatever wasn't sealed off or something stupid like that-."

"Channel!?" The bile in her throat almost heaved right up. "What do you mean Channel!?" She looked at Bubbles- they wouldn't be that stupid. There was no way anyone in their right mind could be so -?!

"Monster Island south east channel wasn't closed." She murmured. "They did their inspection and forgot to close it-."

"You mean the inspections that are supposed to be shut down until further notice because of oh gee- MUTATED SEA LIFE flooding in! Why not open the damn flood gates then while we're at it! Oh my God why are people so fucking-!?"

"Uh… scuse me' hate to interrupt but what channel is this and why does Bloss look like she wants to kill someone… and you do too now…?" Boomer asked awkwardly, Bubbles sighed.

"It's Monster Island channel… in other words it's… kind of like this tunnel… like an underwater one the monsters on Monster Island would use to come here when it was their um…"

"When they'd come here to bug us for kicks and acclaim back home they'd use the damn tunnel- Bellum ordered it sealed off when the sushi came to play- apparently someone didn't get the memo-!" She air quoted. Bull shit. It'd been a year and a half- almost two. There was no reason for that channel to be opened. None.

Inspection my ass.

"Or did it on purpose." Butch muttered. Her eyebrow rose.

"Why asswipe that's shockingly astute of you." She muttered.

"It ain't hard for the Butch to smell a rat." He hissed and his eyes narrowed.

"X Team is on their way- secure the area and CLOSE THAT WATERWAY" His eyes narrowed. "THEN FIND THE PERSON WHO DOES HAVE THE CLEARANCE! I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ASSHOLE AND AS SOON AS THIS IS OVER YOU BEST FUCKING BELIEVE MISS BELLUM'S GONNA HEAR ABOUT THIS! GO AHEAD! TRY ME ASSHOLE! MAKE MY FUCKING DAY!"

And… cue the overprotective puppy. Who probably had a point this time? Blossom wasn't even scolding him for losing his temper when she returned to their sides- well maybe the flick to his brow was a silent one who knew.

"Well?" Boomer hissed.

"An unidentified anomaly- financial district- ten minutes ago: the water department was responding to a call about something weird with some sewer grate- the next thing they know- Boom!" He scowled. "It's already in the city limits Pinky." He looked at her meaningfully.

"Has it done anything? Hurt anyone?" Leader Girl folded her arms. "Save the initial… response team?"

He shook his head, "The EMTs are on sight- the grate split apart- it literally just happened."

She froze. "Just happened?"

"Yes."

Bubbles stiffened and Buttercup sucked in a breath- the boys looked confused- of course they did. "Leader Girl." She whispered. Blossom's grip on her arms grew tighter, "The mutations never occur within city limits… usually they're too far gone." She began to pace. "But this just happened." She breathed. "The mutating element… whatever it is… won't have had time to do as much damage to the internal elements." More pacing. "If we're lucky…" She trailed but then her frown deepened. "R-Regardless. If it's already within the city limits then we have no time to lose. Team move!"

She hit the air- their other leader followed behind. The Blues ascended in sync.

"But what even is it!?" Bubbles demanded. "Do we even have time to like change!? What about my haaaaaaaair!? Stupid- Why is always during dances! Why can't this happen during like an algebra test or somethiiiiing!" The blonde's lip continued to quiver as she held up her curly ringlets. "Oooooh why do I even bother!"

"Uh honey- we got an hour… and a half? Honey that's not so bad!" Boomer continued to try to soothe the Blue Puff- good boy. Well trained already.

"Yeah C'mon Blondie and your hair was already curly anyway- I don't get the big deal."

And then some … were just beyond help.

The moron in question drifted next to her.

"Ya know it is a shame though Baby… The Butch wouldn't have minded seeing you on that dance floor… long as he's the one with you that is."

Like really beyond help.

Her fist clenched.

"So how's about after this we ditch the lame ass opening act and get to the main attraction- if you know what I'm saying."

Tighter. Clenched tighter.

"In your dreams." She hissed.

"Oh every night baby- you know you're my favorite."

POW.

She shook out her wrist irritably before zipping to catch up with the others:

Stupid… everything nice… clause… fucking hell- stupid Rowdyruff.

-V-

Butch

Well there goes the rest of the Butch's evening. Damn. Fucking fish freaks had shitty timing. He was having a good time too- so many fine ladies and yet so little time.

And the main course had only just been served. Well not that he was complaining- sure the dress had been delicious but oh the skintight uniforms… oh those were the Butch's favorite. Bar none was the sight of the Utonium sisters as a unit in these glorious wonderful uniforms not the highlight of the Butch's evening.

And his brothers. They could deny it like a bunch of saps all they wanted but he knew they were full of it- he'd seen the dumbass's eyes linger on the blonde's behind and Boss's own eyes flick up and down over Boss Woman's shapely legs only emphasized in those tight leggings.

Heh. So as annoying as this shit was… at least there were some things that made it worthwhile. Heh heh.

But... then again this particular scenario was kind of annoying all the same- hotties or not… the fuck was the city doing keeping some kind of secret waterway open and some shit in the middle of the night!? Were they fucking out of their minds!? No wonder the Reds looked super fucking pissed- and normally Butch would rejoice on his brother's behalf because hey- … non-official girlfriend… thing aside- a pissed off Boss Woman meant it was Boss's duty to make her feel better! So…good things lay ahead for the dragon!

But on the other hand… he got a bad feeling in his gut from all this. The Butch was after all a brilliant and observant fellow- this kind of shit…didn't bode well and judging from that scowl on Butterbabe's otherwise delicious looking red mouth…

She apparently agreed with him.

He zipped next to her and she sent him a scintillating lime glare- God she wanted him- it was so Goddamn obvious. But hey- if she wanted to keep it up with the "hard to get" act to keep things fresh and interesting well never say the Butch wouldn't deliver.

"Whatever you have to say think carefully- I'm pissed off as it is. Go." She snapped.

Again. Obvious. He sent her a devious smirk and she rolled those big green eyes. His own eyes roved that heaven sent uniform the little blonde kitchen angel currently ranting in his ever patient almost saintly at this point little brother's ear had delivered to him. Again- must always find the positives- and this gorgeous uniform was clinging to Butters in all the right places- fuck.

What the fuck Butch had been thinking for all these years he didn't know- sure he'd known the chick was attractive but fuck no- this girl was nothing short of a babe and the fact that the Butch had been blind to this irrefutable fact was almost criminal- send him back to jail! Let him suffer for his sins! And oh the sins he had planned.

As soon as she gave word- he was gonna rock her world.

The flashing lights finally came into view and it was… oddly quiet. Weird. Usually people were screaming and running around like fucking dumb asses and Boss and Boss Woman were left bellowing orders for "everyone disperse! Evacuate- GET THE FUCK OFF THE STREET YOU FUCKING MORONS!" (Okay so that was more Boss than Boss Woman nine times out of ten and she would give him a tongue lashing from hell for it)

Point was. Way too quiet. This was weird. Even the faithful dragon and his mistress paused in midair- hands out ordering a halt as a unit- Red's eyes scanned the area- Boss mirrored her- they were creepily in sync nowadays- like fucking creepy as shit mirror thing was going on here or something! Butters' hovered by his side-

"What the fuck…?" She whispered. "Where the hell is everyone?"

"Blossy- didn't you say a bunch of people from the water department were here- and like an ambulance too?" Bubbles called out- her poufy hairstyle looked utterly ridiculous with the hastily thrown on uniform- hell all the girls looked kind of strange- with done up hair, make up and jewelry on top and X uniform on the bottom. His brothers also looked somewhat out of place- unlike the girls the only thing the Rowdies had bothered changing into were their protective pants and boots- Brick and Boomer had after all just basically shoved their jackets on over their dress shirts and hastily followed their ladies like good little obedient puppies. Seriously Boss was still wearing his tie- it'd been enough of a bitch to get the damn thing on him he probably didn't know how to take the damn thing off.

Butch slicked back his hair peevishly, not him though. He looked nothing but perfect as usual.

The silence dragged- Boss folded his arms.

"Is this some kind of stupid joke?" Red looked grim as she hovered at his side.

"The emergency services are here- but they seem to be abandoned…" She murmured.

"Like they ran away? Didn't the City Hall guy say they'd be waiting here? It's a class one I thought." He sneered.

"My point exactly." The Pink Puff's eyes narrowed more and she waved the rest of them over- her sisters looked tense- especially Butters- heh the Butch could make that stress go away real fast just saying. Just throwing it out there.

"Should we look for them then?" Boomer looked around uneasily, "Guys I'm getting a bad feeling right now."

"Me too… this is creepy. Why are all the lights on but there's no one here?" Bubbles wrung her hands. "Blossy you said it was a class one right?"

"That was the information we were given-." She began.

"From a moron who has no business running the hotline." Brick snapped, cutting her off. She flashed him a nasty look.

"Ruff. Down." She hissed. "Your concern is noted we'll talk about that later- focus on the task at hand!" Brick scowled but nonetheless dropped it.

Oh God his brother was so whipped… he'd tried. The Butch really had. But Boss had fallen victim to another influence before the Butch could save the day. He grit his teeth somewhat and folded his arms. Fucking… cheeky shithead. The fuck was Boss doing wasting his time with a stupid normie anyway!? Stupid…

The Rowdyruff Boys' rep as a whole was on the line lately- and shit like that was not helping it whatsoever!

Butters growled under her breath, "I don't like this Leader Girl. Where the fuck are they?" She hissed.

"And where exactly… is the sushi in question?" Boomer mumbled. He'd taken hold of Bubbles' hand. Fucking pansy. Had he no dignity left? Any at all? Again- the Rowdy's Rep was on the line here and apparently Butch was the only one still interested in keeping it intact and not dismantled by a pair of big goo goo eyes and pouting lips and ugh both his brothers were complete goners.

One of the Rowdy puppy's proud owners continued to eye the area warily before she began descending. Boomer stiffened but Bubbles put a hand out stopping him. "Stay here… I hear something."

"Bubbles?" Red called out but the blonde hit the empty street silently and crept over to a particularly dark area- weird- Butch could have sworn there were street lights everywhere around here- had the sushi knocked the power out?

The little Puff knelt, "Hello? Excuse me can you hear me?" She called out. They all went silent- and suddenly… Butch began to hear it. Muffled and… faint but.

Elp! –mebody-elppppp-!

His eyes widened and a lime green flash later Butters was at her sister's side- Red following with a pink flash- Boss had gone stiff but a red streak later he was also there- Boomer had already descended.

"The hell!?" Butters yelped and stepped back- she looked absolutely nauseated- "The fuck is this shit!?" She poked the blackness… and it moved. Uh… the hell? Butch cautiously put a hand forward and it… felt fucking disgusting. The fuck was this shit!? It wasn't reacting or making a sound or nothing but…

"Is this… the sushi?" Boomer continued poking the weird blob like a dumb ass. "The hell is it even alive?"

"It would have… combusted if it were deceased." Red sounded… confused. Genuinely confused and Boss looked just as mystified. Bubbles had gone to her hands and knees.

"Hold on sir! The X Team is on the case! We'll have you out in a jiffy! Are you by any chance from the Water Department?"

Es! Areful!- e car-ul! Urry!

He blinked. It was just a blob. A gooey… slimy… blob. Well then again maybe being crushed by said blob wasn't very nice. Butch had seen that movie- shitty and the effects were so bad it was funny but… it hadn't seemed a pleasant…err way to go so….

He pulled up his sleeves and strode over- "Step aside sweetie- let the Butch handle this." Butters snorted.

"The hell are you doing?" She raised an eyebrow. He smirked. Heh. Impressed was she? Of course she was.

"What's it look like Butters- rescuing a hapless citizen" he grinned. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah? Okay- this should be good." She folded her arms, now it was his turn to glower.

"Please- the Butch could do this kind of shit in his sleep- watch and learn baby."

"Don't call me baby!" She snapped.

Heh. She so wanted him. Look how red those cheeks were getting- and how much she was pursing those lips as she snarled. Fuck she wanted him. Oh it was going to be a good evening after all. Yes it was. Just had to get the chores out of the way first. Then he could play. Heh heh.

It was… slimy. Real slimy. And it was kind of… slippery. Uh… but uh fear not! Nothing the Butch couldn't handle! He just had to get a good grip on it! His hand slipped and another snort. Fuck it. Okay… err maybe this side-.

"Butch. The fuck are you doing?" Boss drawled. He flinched. Err…

"Just getting the uh sushi off the citizen sir! Uh…- Boom- you too! Boss we got this no worries!" Boomer was giving him a withering look but nonetheless at least walked over. Good boy. "Okay Boom- on the count of three- one…two-."

"Boys I really don't think you should touch that until we know what it-!" Red began but well there was someone obviously stuck under it so… sorry but uh this had to go.

"C'mon Boom put your back into it!" He snapped.

"I can't get a good grip on it- the fuck is this thing!?" Boomer snapped back. "Uh maybe this side-."

"Um Boomie would you like some-?" Bubbles put a finger up but Boomer shook his head quickly.

"No- no, it's okay Honey I got this! We can handle it!" It really was kind of slimy… and it was coating their hands with whatever slime this was- fuck this was worse than the parrotfish or whatever.

"Um… are you sure Boomie BC and I can totally-?"

"Boys I really must repeat this isn't the best idea!"

Um. Gross. It was seeping all over his clothes. This was kind of nasty- what was this thing? Was this ocean water or something else? Did he want to know? Did the Butch want to know what this thing was!?

He heard a snarl and a mumbled obscenity, "For the love of- Cripes- move over you idiots!" And here was the Rowdy Boss himself- he grabbed a good chunk of the slime… blob thing.

"Ruff… we don't know what it- Brick Anthony Jojo put that down this instant!" Oh now Butch sees how it is- it's just little warnings with the Butch and the dumb ass over here but bring Boss into it and suddenly it's like the apocalypse! Well didn't the Butch feel loved.

"Babe." Grunt. "It's not that-." Gruuuunt. "Big a deal- just trust me - okay boys- on the count of three- one- two- Three -HEAVE!"

The muffled yelling grew louder and a hand peeked out from what seemed almost like a crater- Bubbles gasped and dove right in the opening- while her sisters mirrored her and zipped in themselves. Seconds later- Blondie was back in sight dragging a man in a water department uniform- soaked and shivering with what looked like one hell of a twisted ankle.

"Oh! Oh thank God! Are we glad to see you all! My partner- he's-!"

The man looked genuinely frightened- guess being stuck under a blob would do that.

"It's alright sir you're safe now."

Boss Woman came next- aiding a lady also covered in grime and dirt and wearing EMT scrubs out of the hole. She looked more dazed than anything.

"Easy- easy ma'am."

"Thank you Blossom but the patient- he's-!"

Patient?

"I'm gonna need some help down here! Leader Girl, Bubs one of you!" Butters' voice came from the cavern and they both blanched and raced back down there.

"Came out of nowhere man… one minute we're just on a routine call about some loose sewer grate and then BOOM! Fuck… what's wrong with Victor!?"

"OUCH!" Bubbles' shriek pierced the night air as if on cue and their heads all swerved around, – WHOA!? What the- What the fuck was wrapped around the guy's neck and why was Bubbles' hand all red!? The fuck was going on!?

Butters and Red scooted out of that crater pretty damn fast- and Red was already yelling in her headpiece- "This is Pink Ice- authorization code TVS6771- There has been a miscommunication and we are calling for an immediate quarantine of Sectors 36-41! Repeat- immediate quarantine!"

Quarantine?! For what!? The hell was-!?

"BOYS PUT THE FUCKING THING DOWN! NOW!" Butters shrieked, "They're fucking everywhere!"

What was everywhere-? Butters had the guy in a bridal hold practically and she was racing towards the ambulance- the EMT running after her. Bubbles was… the hell why was she? Boomer obviously went into action- dropping his portion and racing to his little Puff's side- before the drama king scooped her up and mirrored Butters in running her to the damn ambulance.

The fuck was!? Boss let his own side drop and he didn't even wait to be called or some shit- Boss Woman was white as a damn ghost-

"Pinky the fuck is-!?" Her hand went out.

"Yes. Yes Miss Bellum I am certain- a grave error. Absolutely not. This is no class one." Butch felt a chill down his spine. "It depends on the species Miss Bellum I'm sorry I… I didn't know- no Miss Bellum I had a feeling you didn't… No… No we'll take care of it." She paused and then slowly nodded, Butch walked over slowly to the Reds but Brick put a hand out and he stopped immediately. Another shaky breath. "I think that's best yes. Bubbles but she should be fine- the paramedics are with her now. Yes… as crude as the statement was I agree with Brick on a personal level but it's your decision."

What happened? He mouthed slowly. Boss was almost white with rage and didn't answer.

"We're fine Miss Bellum! Just… we're a little caught off guard but nothing the t-team can't handle. Yes. Thank you…thank you auntie." She whispered and her face fell. She held the bridge of her nose and was breathing hard. So… this is when err… the dragon puppy should scoop her up right? Uh… hello- Big Bro- lady in distress here…uh get to it?

She took one more quick breath before she looked back up, "There's been a miscommunication. We are not dealing with a class one- Miss Bellum has made the call this is officially a class three starting now." She breathed. "We're dealing with a subspecies of a Medusozoa- in other words a jellyfish and its toxicity levels in the tentacles depend on what specific species we are dealing with- we don't know yet and any and I mean any ideas from you would be very helpful right now Brick because whatever is causing these damn mutations will not have far to travel through as jellyfish don't have most basic organs-thus we have minutes to figure out how to get rid of this before an explosion of venomous tentacles hits this city like a toxic storm and-!" She was talking a mile a minute he couldn't even understand her.

Oh…Oh shit. Uh… um… okay that shaking… did not bode well. Uh… okay… maybe the Butch should go see what the rest of the team is up to… because… uh yeah. This was Boss territory. Um. Yeah. Whipped or not this was Brick's time to shine so uh… bye.

They probably didn't even notice his err… somewhat fast exit.

The EMT- Kendra as she introduced herself quickly was a newbie and was the only one that had stayed- as soon as the "stings" had started the rest of her goddamn crew had hightailed it out of there- fucking cowards. The guy was in bad shape- the tentacles were like wire practically- wrapped around the guy's neck and torso- snip. Snip. Kendra was a natural- shit she was gonna go far. He watched as the tentacles were carefully cut and removed with tweezers- Butters slammed the cover on the petri dish but said nothing before she hopped out of the ambulance itself.

"Owie- Owie!" Bubbles whimpered while Boom just kept pouring something over her hands.

"Its okay Honey – you're okay. Butch- you okay bro? Did they get you too?"

He flinched but shook his head, "Nah it's all good… just uh the Reds needed an uh leader moment and shit." Again a sharp lime gaze and even Bubbles' baby blue gaze went flying to where the eldest Puff was in whispered conversation with the Rowdy Boss over there.

"You okay Bubs?" He mumbled. She frowned but nodded,

"Yeah- it was my own fault I grabbed the tentacle or whatever." She mumbled. "I'm not supposed to do that."

"Yeah well if we'd had the right info in the first place!" Boomer snapped.

"There's no point in getting pissed Little Boy Blue- trust me: This isn't the first time they've fucked up classing one of these damn things and it won't be the last." Butters scowled. "So what is it now Asswipe? You were over there right- you heard what Leader Girl said?"

"Yeah- Bellum called it a class three or whatever- it's a jellyfish I guess." He trailed and she threw her hands up in the air.

"Oh you think!? The fuck man! Class one my fucking-!" She squeezed the bridge of her nose.

"How the fuck does this even work- how did one guy who didn't even see the damn thing get to call it!?"

Her gaze was dangerous. "Politics." She snapped. "What else. There's a whole chain of command- but the guy clearly panicked when he realized his bull shit order to "clean"-. She air quoted. "The damn channel or whatever was in fact- news flash a bad idea! Who would have thunk right! Fucking hell she must be beside herself." More nose squeezing. He frowned.

"Aw c'mon Butters- yeah this whole situation's fucked up but we're the X Team we can handle anything-." He put a hand on her shoulder and she ripped herself away- eyes burning before he was shoved back. Oye! Not cool!

"Don't touch me lech!" She snapped.

"Why the hell you gotta be so mean Butterbabe- we're partners aren't we-?" Her hand shot out and she hoisted him down to eye level.

"Let's get something straight here Butch – we might be "counterparts" and we might "work together" but by no means are we – partners!" A hiss and yet another shove before she sashayed away.

"… Jeez touchy." He muttered. Playing hard to get was hot and all but fuck man that hurt!

Sirens issued again- oh look the cowards had come back with back up. Wonderful. Butters sneered as a very uncomfortable looking guy in thick glasses and a rumpled looking appearance stepped out of a sports car of all things. Looked like one of those lawyer types- more comfortable in an office than being out in the open. He frowned but he saw Butters sneer.

Two flashes of pink and red and there were Boss and Boss Woman and…. there went Boss Woman.

"YOU!" She snarled. "You have some nerve- making a hotline call when you yourself had little to no idea what the hell was even out here!" Her voice was loud and shrill and the guy looked ready to shit himself. Her teeth were grit, "Didn't you learn your lesson the first time! Or even the second! Is third time the charm Mr. Howard!?" She pointed to the ambulance. He gulped again.

"B-Blossom I was simply working with the info I was given- the m-mutation wasn't directly going after civilians or causing damage to city property so I assumed-."

"You assumed what! That it wasn't dangerous! Jellyfish don't hunt or openly go after their prey they possess no brain so called to speak of they are creatures of instinct- letting these-!" She flashed her cell phone light on the ground and Butch almost jumped back- the whole street was covered in the strands- there were hundreds- no thousands of them! Red looked grim, "Every single one of those tentacles is filled with toxic barbs too tiny for the human eye to see but packed with enough toxin to incapacitate any sort of prey- now depending on the species we also have no idea how dangerous these will be to humans but Mr. Peron can probably shed some light once he wakes up from being completely covered in them!"

Whoa… Boss Woman was… maaaaad.

The guy was dumb enough to look insulted, "Listen here missy you can't talk to me like that- it was an honest mistake-so stop being such a little bitch about it and do your damn job so we can all go-!"

The snarl was loud and the turd jumped back. In a red streak Boss was in his face- eyes blazing. That smoke looked awfully dark and those teeth were nearly crushed into a snarl.

Fuck man Boss may have been a puppy dog lately but there was no denying he was still a god damn dragon too- and that fucker had just gone and disrespected the Dragon's lady. Even Boomer knew well enough for all his being a dumb ass to back the fuck away and bring the blonde with him. Butters looked pissed too but fuck he wasn't gonna be responsible for a double whammy- nope.

"Butters- trust me. Back. Off." He hissed and pulled the sputtering green Puff with him.

"A mistake? You're calling your gross incompetence a fucking mistake!?" He bellowed. "The fact that you're obviously such a lazy fuck that you couldn't be fucking bothered to check the facts or make contact after the initial call and confirm the facts before you have the audacity to call us and put MY TEAM in danger from your utter stupidity! If that's a mistake to you than what the fuck is a real problem sir!"

"You- You can't-!" The guy almost shat himself. It was fucking hilarious. He was already going a good two or three shades of pasty white.

"We'll fix your fucking "mistake"- we'll take care of it don't you worry you sniveling little pencil pusher- but don't you ever speak to Blossom in such a way again are we clear!"

"You… You can't talk to me like that- you're just a-!"

"I can talk to morons anyway I fucking want- and Miss Bellum's on her way now so frankly I don't see any reason for you to stay here- so get back in your car- and drive away. I'd suggest also coming up with a good excuse as to why those channels were open." The tone was a terrifying sort of silk and the guy went even whiter. Brick was almost smoking by the nostrils he was so angry at that point- "I for one am looking forward to hearing it myself. Now get the fuck out of my sight. Greens with me! Blues secure the area and then come right back! And do NOT land on the actual street blind! Double Red order! NOW TEAM MOVE!"

The two blue flashes were instant- and Butters shoved past the shaking four eyes who was looking like he either wanted to cry or shit himself- or a nice combination of both: He turned back to Red who was talking to Kendra in quiet tones.

"He can't talk to me like that! The amount of disrespect is absolutely unacceptable!" He huffed his chest out indignantly like he was some kind of big shot. Boss only sneered and Butters flipped the guy off before she turned back to Brick. Both of them were talking- pointing to the street as they hovered above it. Four eyes continued- the pasty white was turning into an infuriated near purple. "Blossom you can be sure Miss Bellum will be hearing-!" The sniveling little shit called out and finally Boss Woman turned. Slowly, eyes blazing, Butch couldn't be sure but they looked kind of darker but it was dark anyway so who knew.

That purple color vanished instantly once again as the Pink Powerpuff Girl- the so called "commander and leader" strode towards the gaping normie. Eyes like ice. An expression of pure fury. Fuck… even the Butch knew to back away then.

"Miss Bellum already knows enough Mr. Howard. I can assure you a full investigation is already underway concerning your rather odd order to inspect a channel that had been shut down until further notice by order of the Mayor himself." She sneered, "I'll speak to Brick again about curbing his foul language in a public setting such as this but as for the gist of his words towards you he spoke nothing but the truth sir and he was also correct in there being no further need for you to be here. Now… Leave."

The chill was almost instant. Butch almost gulped himself. Holy… fuck remind him never to get on the Pink one's bad side. Fuck he thought Boss was scary when he was mad! Like… really- really mad with no yelling just being… scary and serious and fuck.

The guy sure didn't waste any time- he practically tripped back to his fancy shmancy car and zipped off. Tool. They locked gazes and she gave a slight nod- the two blue streaks returned and they all met in the middle- Butters and Boss quit whatever hissed talk they had just been in the middle of as soon as they approached.

"Finish this later." Butters hissed and put a hand on her hip as she surveyed the area with narrowed eyes. "Fucker's gonna pay for this."

"Damn right he is" He hissed back, "Talking to her like that- We'll show him!" He muttered. Damn right! Messing with Boss's girl! Nope that was a direct violation of the Rowdy Code if Butch had ever seen one!

"Brick. Buttercup. Down!" Of course Boss Woman intervened. "Focus on the task at hand!"

"What's the plan Blossy? Brick?" Bubbles broke the silence. Boomer gave Butch a meaningful look- good boy. He too sensed the breach of the Rowdy Code that had just occurred- but one task at a time after all like Boss Woman had said.

She frowned, "This incident now being officially upgraded-." She grit her teeth. "To a class three means we have no time to lose- The mutation happened within moments which means that in this case… "

"The mutation isn't going to last as long which means we have no time. That's-." Brick pointed to the jellyfish just kind of sitting there… chilling. "Gotta go. Now."

"But why'd it happen so fast this time Big Bro I don't get it?" Course the moron didn't.

"Jellyfish as a species don't have a sort of circulatory or nervous system as other organisms do Boomer- the mutation wouldn't have far to travel per se which means… the faster it gets in…"

"The faster it'll get out. Fuck." Butters hissed and her gaze drifted to her sister who was still nursing her hand- the irritation was pretty bad. Looked nasty. Poor thing. Again… fucker with the glasses was gonna pay for this. Boomer rubbed Bubble's little shoulder and she whimpered. Butch's teeth grit and he saw Boss even clench his fist somewhat.

"Right- no choice: We have to move- okay… so normal methods…. Aren't going to work here." He folded his arms. "Suggestions anyone?"

"We're pretty close to the harbor - we could dump it back in the ocean." Bubbles mumbled.

"We can't just dump it back in the harbor sis- it's too close to town. The tentacles and shit are gonna go flying everywhere."

"It'll happen nonetheless Buttercup- the tentacles are the problem here." Boss Woman looked at Boss meaningfully. "We have to take care of them first."

"Can we rip em' off or something?" Boomer looked around. "How many could they have?"

"Depends on the species- and again Bubs already found out the hard way they're gonna hurt us too." Brick muttered.

"Not to mention it's not the "tentacles" per say that are the problem… It's the barbs within- and the mutation has made them grow…." Red clutched her wrist and looked around anxiously.

"How… many are in each tentacle though Blossom?" Boomer looked like he was going to be sick. Bubbles next to him looked near tears.

The Boss Woman was silent and then sighed, "According to… my research… one tentacle… can have nearly five thousand…sometimes more… it depends… on the species…"

Boomer sucked a harsh breath and they all mirrored him. Oh…. fuck.

That…. was a problem. A big problem.

"So we have no choice: We have to get this thing as far away from town as possible. And we have to do it quick- I saw we take it out to sea- make it explode like we always do- asswipe puts up a shield and then Cap Boy… I dunno you burn as much of the remains as possible so it doesn't wipe out the rest of the fish or something around it."

The Reds were silent but Butters folded her arms. "Of course… it's up to you O' leaders."

They looked at each other, "Burning it sounds like a viable option."

"Agreed but can you handle that much fire at once?"

"If we freeze them in clumps it would be more of a focused area and I wouldn't be "breathing" it Pinky."

"Again… Ruff can you handle that- the last time you attempted this… new skill of yours your hands-."

"I did it once Babe I can do it again." The murmur became softer. "Trust me okay."

Red seemed to stiffen but finally she nodded. "Then to the ocean we go- three on three on the top part- do not touch the bottom- we need to do this quickly everyone- we can't let this happen within city limits the clean-up… is already going to be bad enough." Another sigh. "X Team… go."

They approached it in typical formation- of course he and Butters being the powerhouses that they were had opposite ends- while the rest of their team took up either side.

"Remember everyone- only touch the bell- nothing else- not the bottom- the top. Now…one… two… three… Heeeeave!"Boss Woman's order rang out and slowly- the living blob was lifted from its nasty crater into the sky.

Ugh… this jellyfish reeked- Butch could already smell the rot coming from within- ugh this was going to be bad. Brick looked ready to puke with his magic all-knowing nose in overdrive.

"Brick are you alright? Did you need to sit this one out?" Bubbles cringed.

"Yeah Cap Boy you look like you're going to puke." Butters raised an eyebrow.

Boss shook his head quickly but he was clearly holding his breath – better hurry with this one. The blob was huge and even with all six of them this was going to suck. This was going to suck ass. The tentacles blew listlessly in the wind- they had to keep going up as high as they could- keep the stupid things from dragging or something- who knew how long they were- and fuck this thing was slippery. He grit his teeth and the feminine grunt across from him matched his.

"Okay seriously- I lift up cars and buses no problem why is this so difficult!?" Butters hissed.

"Because nine times out of ten the car ain't covered in goop and shit! You got a good grip on it Pinky? Brick grunted.

"Yes I do- Boomer how is your grip?"

Boomer grunts. "Yeah… Yeah I think I got it. No worries Bloss."

"Eww this is so grosssss." Bubbles lamented. "How much farther Blossy?"

"We need to get it past city limits and back in the harbor we'll… dispose of it in the open ocean."

"And judging from that lovely smell I think we need to speed things up a bit." The Green Puff groaned. "Shit Cap Boy are you sure you're okay- seriously you look green."

Boss again only shook his head. "Fine. Just fine." He sucked in another gulp of air. "But yeah speeding things up a bit would be a good idea yeah."

Thankfully the harbor came into view- and the smell was only growing more and more rancid. Shit they weren't going to have much time were they- Red however still wouldn't give the order- how far did she want to be!? Finally she paused.

"Alright… no sudden movements. We don't know how much time we have left before the mutation degenerates so…Easy… Easy." They slowly began to set the monstrosity back in the water-"Easy…." Another murmur- the tentacles all sunk into the ocean before finally the top of the damn thing was left floating willy nilly. The water swirling it seemed around it.

Red seemed to release the breath she'd been holding and Brick mirrored her but the smell was still pretty nasty. Bubbles whimpered and hung her head.

"Do you think… It's in pain Blossy?" She whispered. "I can't hear it."

Both Reds stiffened but Boss finally shook his head. "It doesn't….have a brain like we do Bubbles… I don't think it even knows it's been moved." He murmured. "It won't even feel it."

Boomer the sap put his lanky arms around the tiny Puff's shoulders. "C'mon honey. Let's just get this over with."

Butch didn't really get why they got all sober lately- it was just a fish and Boss had even said it was pretty much a living blob- it didn't do nothing but eat- so why the blonde was getting so damn emotional he didn't get it. Even Butters had gone all quiet and shit- but she'd been kinda quiet since the guy had been shoved in the ambulance and shit…

"Butch kindly put up a shield- we're far yes but… I still don't want to take any chances- can you handle making one to shield us as well?" Red murmured.

Please- she was actually asking if the Butch could do it. Puh -lease woman. He sent a salute anyway- despite the redundancy of the request and raised his hands and the dark green wall appeared on command- he smirked- but no one was paying attention.

"Alright team on my mark." Boss ordered and raised a finger. "Five-four-."

Bubbles still seemed kind of upset- maybe she was pissed her hair was about to be ruined, Boomer the moron even waved at the blob like it was still alive. Idiot.

"Three-two-!"

The heat in Butch's eyes increased- as their eyes all began to glow in sync.

"ONE!"

In the gist of sushi kills this one was actually pretty tame- Boss Woman had been right- nothing really came flying out of it like it normally did- the goop and slime of whatever splashed the shield but he also saw the somewhat shiny strands drop to the ocean in limp piles- Red dashed from behind the shield and began freezing them until they were all in blocks of ice- while Big Bro – hands glowing all red from that nifty new trick he'd come out of that stupid factory with – sent fire shooting straight from his palms and the ocean bonfire burned for a good few minutes- it was… admittedly hell of a sight. Fire on the water like that.

He lowered his own hands and the shield dissipated: the fires burned and burned- the tentacles encased within being reduced to nothing but ashes and shit before sinking back into the water.

"And so the day is saved…." The murmur was quiet behind him, he turned and Butters hovered with her arms folded- eyes glued on the flames. "And let the shit show begin." She murmured.

He raised an eyebrow, "What shit show- this is the cleanest kill we've had in months…?"

She snorted and that delicious ruby smirk was curled higher and higher- and it looked kind of… bitter? But quick as it came it was replaced with that familiar scowl and rolling of eyes.

"Just watch the fires Asswipe. Just watch em' burn." She murmured again before she went to join her sister who had already begun with the whimpers and the tears. Which he still didn't get. At all. The thing didn't have a brain or nothing- it didn't feel anything.

So what was the big deal? And…

"Fires?" He muttered.

The fuck did she mean by that?

-V-

THIS IS A PSA ANNOUNCEMENT FROM TOWNSVILLE CITY HALL:

WARNING

All citizens are urged to be vigilant and mindful of their surroundings as clean-up of the latest mutation continues- the Chrysaora achlyos : More commonly known as the "Black Sea Nettle" is a benign species of jellyfish somewhat rare to our waters. The council is urging citizens however to be watchful for both themselves and their neighbors as clean up continues.

Symptoms to watch out for:

Burning, prickling, stinging pain.

Red, brown or purplish tracks on the skin previously not seen before.

Itching in the area.

Swelling in the area.

Tingling and numbness in the area.

Throbbing pain that radiates up a leg or an arm.

Please note: If you or someone you know have any or all of these symptoms and also begin developing a high fever or temperature please visit your local ER right away:

-o-o-o-

THIS IS TVS CHANNEL 18: Your number source for breaking news and the stories you wanna hear:

"Good evening everyone, I'm Bob Hackett."

"And I'm Laura Ginsen. Our top news story tonight: Questions remain as to the handling to what locals have termed the "Jelly disaster" as clean up continues in the Financial District after what appears to have been human error resulted in a water channel being left open overnight- allowing what scientists are calling a mutated Black Sea Nettle- a species of benign jellyfish that nonetheless has led to concerns about the hundreds if not thousands of tentacles left littering the streets of our city."

"And now coming to you live from Townsville City Hall- is Trish Sayuko: Trish what's the situation there?"

"Well Bob I can tell you things are pretty quiet here now- a pretty big change from the tension that was in this same room where the X Team spoke to the press just hours ago before Buttercup Utonium's meltdown."

"I'll say Trish- it's been pretty sober here in the studio that's for sure. But for viewers just tuning in- mind cluing them what happened here?"

"Sure Bob- at approximately 6 pm the X Team sat down to talk to local press concerning the "Jelly incident" among others of its kind – it was more or less routine at this point we are Townsville after all! Never a dull moment that's for sure!"

"Ha Ha! That we are Trish- So everything's as normal then?"

"Not quite Bob- it seems an employee of City Hall has come forward with accusations pinning the entire Jelly disaster on X Team leaders Blossom Utonium and Brick Jojo's apparent lack of picking up their phones of all things as they were at their high school's school dance. He's calling it a "Disaster that could have been avoided if not for teenage hormones."

"And is there any truth to those rumors Trish?"

"Absolutely not Bob- Both of the two teens have in fact already willingly offered their phone records to prove Mr. Howard's timeline of events is wrong and are cooperating with Mayoral officials in the investigation."

"A fact that seems to be rubbing a few other members of the team the wrong way apparently."

"Well in retrospect Bob- on a personal note-who can blame her? After all as this new dramatic footage that has emerged taken from a cell phone camera in the closed conference shows- Buttercup Utonium was more than justified in her reaction."

"Miss Utonium! Miss Utonium- do you have a comment concerning the positive identification of the creature containing "Black Sea Nettle" DNA?"

"My father Professor John Utonium has indeed confirmed the positive identification of the creature stemming from samples taken from the tentacles gathered on scene."

"Mr. Jojo is there any word what may be causing these mutations?"

"At this point in time we are still unsure as the cause of the mutations. That investigation is ongoing."

"Miss Utonium! One last question- do you have a comment concerning the accusations Mr. Daryl Howard has come forward with concerning your behavior that night? Is it true you were late in answering your hotline call?"

"That is nothing but a slander issued by a man desperate to keep his job and cover up his own utter incompetence. I can assure you my co leader's phone was on and once received we went to investigate with the little information Mr. Howard gave us- I would suggest focusing your attention on the internal inquiry City Hall is performing into Mr. Howard's actions that night."

"Mr. Jojo is it true you threatened Mr. Howard, a city official-."

"It wasn't a threat- I was and I think understandably upset my team went in blind to a potentially dangerous situation- as you can see Bubbles is still nursing her wound. If Mr. Howard and I exchanged words it was completely due to his lack of common sense and laziness which in turn put my team in danger as well as the civilians involved!"

"Miss Utonium is it true that the X Team has issued a formal request for Daryl Howard to be removed from duty in his position at City Hall?"

"No. We've only asked he not be put on hotline patrol. His track record has not been the best- we have no prejudice concerning Mr. Howard's abilities as a politician. His complaints to the contrary are again untrue and unmerited."

"But didn't Mr. Jojo threaten Mr. Howard for in witness's terms- being "disrespectful" towards you?"

"I think calling my big sister a " bitch" and telling her to just shut up and "do her job" merited Brick's speaking to him but that's just my opinion don't mind me."

"Buttercup- You've kept relatively silent about the mutations compared to your sisters what do you think happened last night?"

"I have no comment on that issue. I said my case about Brick's defense of my sister from a sniveling little toad like he said desperate to keep his job. I can confirm Blossom had her phone on her and so did Brick- we didn't get the call until "after" the explosion- not before. Mr. Howard saying otherwise is a lie."

"Miss Utonium with all due respect- we were all teenagers once and we know what happens when hormones get involved- is there really "no" merit in Mr. Howard's-."

"I'm going to stop you right there sir- you're veering towards dangerously personal territory. They had their phones. End it."

"So why hasn't Mr. Jojo over there not answered to this accusation himself! Was Mr. Jojo paying attention to his phone or was he… distracted?"

"My phone was on. Blossom's was on. We got the call. Gathered the team. And did our job. Mr. Howard again is lying. Yes- you on the left-."

"I have a question for the team as a whole- is there any sort of word on what could be-"

"I got a question- is there a reason why Brick Jojo just won't answer the question- but keeps sticking to the same bull answer he's obviously prepared ahead of time!"

"Brick has answered the question numerous times and in numerous forms many times already sir- kindly don't call out when someone else is speaking-."

"Oh please- we were all teenagers once- and I for one know that if I was a teenage boy and I had my hand up some pretty girl's skirt the last thing I would be paying attention to is my phone-!"

"HEY! Keep your sick little fantasies to yourself bucko! That's MY sister you're talking about! Where are you from- the Tribune? Hey you lot control your dumb little intern there or better yet put a goddamn muzzle on him!"

"Buttercup- Buttercup sit down! SIT. DOWN! - Miss Bellum if that man could be removed from the room we would appreciate it- Yes you on the right-."

"Are you insinuating that the press should be muzzled Buttercup Utonium? A direct breach of the Freedom of the Press."

"No I'm insinuating closeted perverts like you don't belong in a press room! Get him out of here!"

"BUTTERCUP. SIT. DOWN!"

"The city of Townsville has a right to know if their heroes are becoming too "distracted" by hormones and are willing to cover for each other at the cost of the city's well-being–that perhaps in a hormonal sense of entitlement at the moment a disaster was near reached because two teenagers didn't want to be interrupted to pick up their phones- then yes. I think the city deserves the truth. Were the so called Reds- as prompt in their response to the emergency as they claim?

"YES! YES THEY WERE! WE HAD LITTLE TO NO INFORMATION AND YET WE STILL WENT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE X TEAM DOES!"

"There's no need to raise your voice Miss Utonium- why are you growing so defensive? Are you hiding something? Covering for your sister?"

"Buttercup- Buttercup sit down."

"NO! I'VE HAD IT! THIS IS BULL! - BULL YOU HEAR ME!"

"BC… BC please calm down. Y-Yes you on the right-?"

"So I'm just supposed to sit here and watch as some sniveling asshole upstart looking for his "big break" HUMILIATES my sister and the rest of this bloodthirsty scavenging vulture horde just picks from the carcass to write their bull for the ratings!? FUCK THAT! I'M OUT OF HERE! FUCK YOU ALL! "

"BUTTERCUP! Buttercup – get back here! Security! Escort that man and his associates out of this building. Brick- take over. BUTTERCUUUUUUPP!"

"BC- B-BC! Come back! SIS!"

"Uh… Uh- you know what- Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your time and the X Team will be sure to let you all know when we know more about the Mutation crisis –Thank you. Conference over. If you'll excuse me….Pinky! Babe! Come back here!"

"Bubbles Honey! Honey! Wait up!"

"I'm with her- screw all of you!- X Team out!"

"The X Team as of yet has yet to give formal comment regarding the incident- but we at channel 18 will be sure to keep viewers posted as this story develops- this is Trish Sayuko- TVS channel 18."

"Thanks Trish- and now the weather:-."

-V-

Buttercup

"X Team a no-go? – Green meltdown at City Hall – Ah here's a good one- X Team- or X "teens"."

The newspapers hit the desk with a slam and those manicured nails tapped the pile ominously. She said nothing- as paper after paper, print out after print out were slammed on the desk before her.

"Well?" Leader Girl hissed. "What do you have to say for yourself Buttercup?"

Those eyes were blazing, that tapping was ominously growing slower- tenser. Silence was probably her best option here. Blossom continued to glare at her over her steepled hands – the only sound being the tick tock of that wall clock she insisted on keeping in here.

She scowled, "Answer me Buttercup!"

"I've been given leave to speak then Ma'am?" She hissed.

"Don't be sassy with me. Do you have any idea what Miss Bellum and I are going to have to do to smooth this all over-?!"

"Smooth what over!? What right do they have to be pissed when they're the ones that couldn't control their stupid intern who was determined to "break" some nonexistent story- Not picking up your phones? Are you kidding me!? And that hand up a skirt comment!? Are you kidding me! I was supposed to just sit there while he humiliates my sister like that!?"

Her cheeks went pink and she rubbed her brow, "Buttercup I understand your frustration trust me I do-."

"It's BULL BLOSSOM!"

She shot up. "Of course it is- but here's the facts Buttercup you and I both know that the press can make or break any situation. Our credibility and such with the media is essential especially now!" She took a deep breath. "The public are getting restless concerning the mutations Buttercup, they want answers-."

"And they think we don't?!"

"The public has to be appeased Buttercup- they want answers and if the media suddenly decides to no longer cooperate with us- in other words its better in their interests to create an- excuse my crudeness- media shit storm for ratings- they'll eat us alive! We can't afford a public panic right now Buttercup- because you know that'll only result in more injuries in the end. If the public doesn't trust us…"

"… We'll end up back on the rock." She squeezed her eyes shut.

"A bit dramatic in theory… but if the public turns against us then yes- our job will be much harder."

"This is such bull." She hissed.

"The young man has been terminated from the Tribune. They've sent word of that and have expressed their deepest apologies to our family- Brick has also received a personal visit from the editor who assured him such a thing will never happen again-."

"Which is also bullshit."

She sighed, "Buttercup… what do you want me to do?" More brow rubbing, "The Tribune is the biggest newspaper in Townsville- the man's journalism career in Townsville is effectively over- he's been unofficially "blacklisted" – so we've been reassured."

Buuuuuuuulll.

She nodded shortly and the so called commander and leader folded her arms.

"We have to appease these people Buttercup. If you think I like this- I can assure you I don't- believe me… I don't." Her shoulders slumped. "But this is the way of the world- the media can make or break us and right now… we need their support. So until we have real answers to give the public… we have to play nice Buttercup. Understood?"

Tick. Tock. Tick.

"Crystal Ma'am."

All at once her sister's shoulders completely slumped- as if in relief.

"Good…" She breathed. "Official reprimand over."

She crossed from behind the desk until they were face to face, "Now… as your sister."

Buttercup felt herself stiffen somewhat but returned the hug regardless- Blossom wasn't normally one to openly be "affectionate" per se- she was too reserved but hey- maybe Cap Boy had opened up the floodgates of human emotion that had been sealed shut for gee… five…six years now?

"Well done Buttercup." She pulled away, "You showed them what for and this will probably make the press think twice about bringing our personal business into X business after all." She folded her arms and her smile was small but genuine. "Though next time kindly try to keep it PG- preferably G."

Buttercup flinched, and stuffed her hands in her pockets- averting her gaze as she did so,

"Yeeeeah…. I don't think the Professor's decided how long I'm grounded for screaming the f' bomb on live television yet has he?"

Professor had this thing with swearing- and his middle daughter's less than innocent mouth had become a sort of…err sore spot between them: Shit- Err stuff like that kind of just spilled out and well for all his demands where she'd gotten such foul language from :Twiggy and the guys had been blamed mostly- God help the man if he ever heard Robin Snyder when she was off on a rampage: She made Mike Believe look innocent at times like that- quite amusing to watch actually- even the psychic was left cowering nine times out of ten:

But the fact remained that Buttercup Eva Utonium had a potty mouth- and it reeked like the most vile sewer imaginable- and her friends all had potty mouths- Get the Boys, Mike, Twiggy, and Robin in the same room and insert say a Morebucks or something and the Professor would likely spontaneously combust before he went crazy with the soap and "cleaned" all their mouths.

Blossom chuckled somewhat and shook her head- "Actually I spoke to father and seeing as the circumstances were less than… appropriate and your actions were one hundred percent merited- off the record of course- you've been left with a warning only. After all… his daughter's personal lives…" She cleared her throat again. "Are no one else's business… but our own."

True of course- but Professor Utonium was also not… taking news of his daughter's awakening "hormones" as well as perhaps the svelte redhead and perky blonde would have liked… after all…

One of the unfortunate males had already been subjected to… the talk. Whatever that meant- perhaps Boomer just was a sensitive soul- Buttercup could understand that and hey it made sense that maybe he was just easily startled- but for some reason the blue Rowdy just seemed awfully nervous whenever he was waiting downstairs for the littlest Puff to come skipping down the stairs all kittens and rainbows in her wake. Not to mention after the initial "greeting" he was a good couple of inches separate from the blonde he normally was inseparable from- but under Professor John Utonium's steely black gaze he was nothing but the epitome of gentlemanly distance and decorum.

Whatever Father dear had said to the guy had clearly been enough to traumatize him for life- and try as Blossom might to dodge it- it was inevitable that it would soon be another's turn to have that special little talk.

Though gotta give Leader Girl props- she was getting real good at making excuses seem like non excuses- not that Dad would ever hurt anyone- ( unless his babies were physically being injured by said individual then God help you) but Buttercup knew somewhere in the recesses of the lab that "Rowdyruff containment ray" was still down there somewhere. Did it still work? Hard to say- her father figure's… inventions had never worked out too well in the past.

It had taken years for them to be able to walk through little Tokyo without being glared at- well mostly at him- it had been his idea after all. Dynamo was… long retired and was never to be used again. Ever. Official contract and everything Dad had had to sign and they'd been witness to.

So Buttercup didn't think the man really was that frightening save the fact that this was a father to the unfortunate boy in question's sweetie (unofficial or not ) – and apparently according to Twiggy ( and Mike…) this made him (as well as any father) the most terrifying man on the planet. The only scarier being to the Red Rowdy would likely be an amorous Princess Morebucks who had gotten a hold of A'X laced handcuffs.

Err... okay scratch that- that was probably scarier to Cap Boy than her father.

Besides it wasn't like the Powerprof still had the "power suit" or whatever.

Pretty sure that had been thrown away in the last great "lab cleanout" last year anyway.

So… it wasn't like Boomer (and Brick) couldn't outrun the guy if it was ever merited: they might have a hard time outrunning her but Dad- Nah.

Just don't knock the Puff up and there won't be a problem. Easy.

Boomer had certainly understood that simple concept when Buttercup had explained the laws of the land to him and even Cap Boy had also been most cooperative (not that either of her sisters knew about this) – so everything was just hunky dory. The Jojo Brothers knew the stakes and they would follow the law. Her sisters would remain happy and Buttercup could be content in that knowledge.

And she apparently wasn't grounded. Not a bad deal in life.

Her lips curled, "Thanks Leader Girl." Blossom's returned the smile with one of her own and she gave a small nod before her pink eyes returned to the pile of papers on her desk.

"It was the least I could do Buttercup- now I should get started on this incident's official report-."

[Amegafuru to watashi wa anata ni denwa shimasu - amegafuru to watashi wa anata ga watashi no soba ni iru koto o nozomimasu ]

Buttercup's eyebrow shot up as Leader Girl's face went well pinker and she hurriedly grabbed her phone stopping the Japanese lyrics in mid note.

"He has his own ringtone now? D'aww!" She snickered. She got a glower in response.

"I like the song." She said primly.

"Isn't Rainfall one of their love ballads?" She snickered more when her sister flipped her off mid typing- well if that's the game she wanted to play.

Yoink.

"BUTTERCUP! GIVE THAT BACK AT ONCE!"

Payback's a bitch. Ooh let's seeeeeee-.

From: Brick

Sup' Pinky- Walter let me out early so I was wondering if you wanted to hit Janey's and then maybe a movie? My treat babe ;)

"Awwww- Cap Boy's looking for a date? Awww!"

"It's not a date! It's coffee! ….And a movie yes but… damn it! Give me my phone! GIVE IT!" Heh she might be the taller but Buttercup was the stronger – heh heh- Toughest fighter for the win.

"Aw but Leader Girl you're just so busy so let me answer for ya huh how's this sound- hmmm- Sure Ruff! Pick me up in fifteen! – should I add a little heart emoji or is it still too early for that you "non-dating" crazy kids. Aw what the hell- zoink- there we go."

"BUTTERCUP!" She lunged and Buttercup casually tossed the phone backwards- her sister caught it with a high pitched yelp. "YOU DIDN'T?! BUTTERCUP!" She whined. " Should I text back and say it was you so disregard it- but what if he takes it the wrong way!? We talked about this- one day at a time! One day at a time-!" She continued to babble and turn pinker and pinker. Heh…

Three. Two.

The lyrics sounded again and she paled though her cheeks turned redder and her protests died.

Damn new record.

She smirked, "What'd he say?" The redhead was seemingly mesmerized by her phone. That line of pink growing darker but her smile growing wider. She rolled her eyes and then cleared her throat. "Hello- earth to Blossom- you still in there sister dear?"

Leader Girl blinked and then seemed to break out of her "Ruff" trance and cleared her throat quickly, "He'll be here in twenty." She said primly.

"Did you get one baaaaack?"

"… That's none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me-." The papers got shoved in some random drawer willy nilly before her fingers went flying over the keys and of course one just had to ignore the little smile on her sister's face- "I have work to do before then."

"D'aww Cap Boy and Leader sitting in a car- F-U-C-K-I-N-G-!-."

Annnnnd cue the tomato Puff.

"BUTTERCUP!"

And cue the middle Utonium sister being shoved out the door.

SLAM

Well. Meeting adjourned. Hehehehe.

Of course the "X" part of the lab wasn't empty- especially if those mysterious floating gold balls were to be believed but of course they ducked right out of sight behind the couch as soon as she strode over.

"You can come out now Bubs." She for one plopped on the couch itself- her little sister peeked out and leaned over- big blue eyes wide.

"So… how'd it go?" An acrobatic flip and she joined her. "Are you in a lot of trouble?" The blonde wrung her hands, and Buttercup sighed.

"Officially yes." She cracked her back, "Unofficially no. So basically I'm in the clear."

"They're gonna make you apologize you know." She frowned, "Which is totally dumb."

"Meh, it's just gonna be me putting my name to whatever official statement Bellum writes out for me- it's just to make sure those vultures don't turn on us or whatever: Everyone knows that jerk was way out of line- it's just politics and shit Bubs."

Her sister frowned more, "Well it's still dumb – ugh that guy was a creep!"

"Exactly- and in retrospect Leader Girl likely agrees that it's a good thing I lost it first or else we would have had an enraged overprotective red puppy on our hands and that would have been bad."

Bubbles giggled, "Yeeeeah…. That wouldn't have been good- Brick is so protective of Blossy." More giggling and she clasped her hands, "So cuuuuute!" And cue the gushing. And what Twiggy had correctly dubbed:

Fangirling.

Because after all with the loss of her beloved Hilwood Falls for the season how else was Bubbles Anne Utonium to live out her hopeless romantic fantasies? What luck her own older sister was apparently living a fairy tale- complete with a "prince charming" – what… had possessed Boomer to tell Bubbles about the apparent kiss of life? What possible good could that have done? – But the damage was done: Bubbles, a hopeless romantic on a good day was in heaven at the moment: It had all the makings of one of Bubbles' soapy teen dramas. Drama. Romance. A dashing hero. A beautiful heroine. A rescue. An evil villain. Yada Yada.

No doubt that magic sketchbook was already filled with wedding gown designs with red accents. She probably had the wedding favors all planned out and even a draft of the invitations.

The Reds didn't have a goddamn prayer.

Cheerful humming signaled the return of the heroine of this romantic drama. - buried in her phone and texting up a storm- oooh naughty naughty Cap Boy- one should not be texting while driving- uh-uh- uh. Bad lovesick puppy.

Her eyebrow rose, "He actually hasn't left yet- he's buying the tickets online." She said quickly. Buttercup smirked- gotta love this Powerpuff ESP or whatever- or maybe it was just sisters. Bubbles giggled more- and Blossom stiffened- that giggle was terrifying after all.

"Awww I didn't know you and Brick were going on a date Blossy! Sit down – I'll do your hair!"

And three… two… one…

"Oh… Well uh thank you Bubbles but this is just sort of last minute so there's no need-oof!"

When will sister dear learn… when will she learn…

Buttercup of course surrendered her seat on the couch and Bubbles plopped right in it- bringing their poor sister with her – holding her hand out expectantly and with a sigh Buttercup zipped to the bathroom and grabbed the emergency hairbrush kept there just in case of emergencies like these.

"Now let's see… what do you think BC- up or down?"

"What was wrong with my ponytail!?"

"It's boring now shush! Oooh! I know!"

The elder Utonium sister gave Buttercup an imploring look but oh she was barking up the wrong tree- (heh barking) – Bubbles had decided on her paper doll of the afternoon- there was no escape- don't even bother. This would teach O' Commander and Leader to not rescue Buttercup from glitter happy harpies and equally giddy armed with even more glitter blondes.

You let her put glitter in my hair. Suffer bitch.

"Bubbles- I really don't have any-." Again she persists.

"And you're so not going out with Brick in that!" Bubbles used the hair brush in emphasis.

"What's wrong with my clothes?! Jeans and a sweater! It's cold!" She spluttered.

"Ain't that what Cap Boy's for?" Buttercup snickered and that look was less than sisterly but that's what you get glitter bitch.

"Exactly Blossy- You need to look cute! Tres chic- I know just the thing- c'mon!"

Heh have fun leader girl.

"E-Eh!? Bubbles he's going to be here in-!"

"Nonsense! We've got plenty of time! Let's see- Oooh! I got a skirt that will look super cute!"

"S-Skirt!? But- but!?"

Giggle.

She blinked. The hell?

They were already halfway up the stairs.

… But that had been right in her…ear? Sonic giggling… much?

Giggle.

…. What? She blinked. That… was weird. Real weird. Uh…. right. Okay so-.

"W-Well gals it's been fun but rehearsal awaits so-."

Giggle.

She froze the rest of her sentence trailed.

Who the- HUH!? That… wasn't Bubbles… the… the fuck!? But- but!?

What the…. What the fuck!?

"Buttercup?" Blossom murmured and Bubbles released her arm before they both hurried downstairs. "Buttercup what's the matter?"

"BC?"

What the fuck- what the fuck-whatthefuckwhatthefuck-whatthe-!?

"BUTTERCUP!"

A shake- her eyes widened and she sucked in a harsh breath: Leader Girl's grip on her shoulders was like steel.

But… but she'd heard?! Right….right?

She felt her shoulders relax before they slumped completely- Bubbles gave her a wide eyed look.

"Sis…?" A whisper. She stiffened again but pulled from the redhead- who was… What was-?

…..

She was tired. She was stressed. She… she needed a break is all. This… this jelly bullshit was getting to her is all.

"Sorry. I uh… thought I saw a spider." She said quickly. Her sister's eyebrow rose.

"A spider- Buttercup you were white as a ghost-."

"G-Ghost?" She backed away slightly and cleared her throat, "Tch? Me? Please- you know I just… hate the fuckers is all."

"Buttercup… are you alright you've been acting somewhat strange late-."

[Amegafuru to watashi wa anata ni denwa shimasu - amegafuru to watashi wa anata ga watashi no soba ni iru koto o nozomimasu ]

Saved by the lovesick puppy. Blossom's cheeks reddened. "We'll talk later." She said quickly but then her eyes narrowed, "Buttercup… where exactly are you and the boys rehearsing?"

"Uh… Pablo's this time I think."

"… And is that anywhere near the quarantine zone?"

"… Uh yeah it's fastest to cut through there why?"

Her eyes fastened on Buttercup's legs… oh. Right. Shorts.

"I should… change right?"

She frowned, "You don't have to… but it would be less worrisome- you know until the quarantine is lifted and… yes I admit I'd I'd feel much better if well… both of you refrained from wearing shorts or skirts for a few days but I obviously can't tell-."

"N-No. It makes sense. I'll um… I'll go throw some jeans on. You uh-." She shoved her hands in her pockets. "You go have fun." Push. "Don't worry about a thing!" Push.

"Buttercup!? What on earth has gotten into you?"

Good Question.

Bubbles followed after them like a little puppy- Push. Push. Push. Grab the purse. Push. Shove in hands. Push. Not like the guy will let her pay for anything anyway but she'll still argue so just in case he caves- again not likely but- PUSH! Door open. Insert confused cap wearing Rowdyruff Boy in doorway- oh well didn't he look nice- changed his shirt and everything it looked like- how nice!

"Sup Cap Boy! - so here we go one gorgeous Pink Powerpuff Girl all ready to go!"

"Uh…. hi BC? Pinky you ready to go-?" He put a finger up. " Everything okay-?"

Shove. Awkward Red spluttering as pink kitten was shoved more or less into red puppy's arms. Now wave nice and happy like. Big smiles now!

"Have fun Blossom- tell us all about it when you get home! Bye!"

"Buttercup- but-!?"

"Have fun ya crazy kids!"

"But-!?"

SLAM.

She pressed back against the door- she knew how fast her breathing was and she knew what this had just looked like – especially to the blonde looking gob smacked at her right at that moment: What… what the fuck had that…

"… Buttercup are you okay?"

Her hands clenched unseen behind her back but she threw Bubbles a smile regardless.

"Tch- course I am sis- just you know Leader Girl she was gonna start a lecture and shit about the shorts I could sense it ya know- and it'd be rude to keep the guy waiting after all." She winked and Bubbles… giggled. Clear and ringing and… solid. If that made sense- there was none of that airy… quality to it and…

Her fist clenched more.

"Yeah I guess Blossy would have done anything to get out of wearing a skirt- I don't get it she just looks so cute in it you know- it looked cute on me why wouldn't it look cute on her?!"

Blossom also has a good five-six inches on you hon.

She shrugged, "That's our sister for you."

Her sister was still giving her a wary look- big blues narrowed and hands on her hips.

"Yeah… totes… you sure you're feeling okay BC- how big a spider was it? I didn't see anything?"

She knows you're full of shit Utonium- come up with something and quick.

"It…was… decent sized- I'd rather not remember it- you know me and spiders sis."

"Well yeah it's why we have that sider spray all over the house… we just like got a nasty one yesterday…?"

Shit.

"Guess we missed one. Or it was its angry vengeful family member out for revenge." She grabbed her in a headlock- the blonde squealed and did her best to avoid Puffy hothead and salvage her precious pigtails. Heh.

"Eek! BC- My haaaaaair!"

"Well stop questionin' your favorite sister- honestly."

"Oh you're the favorite?"

"Course I am- my popularity is off the charts this month." She rolled her eyes. The monthly "Townsville's greatest poll" or whatever the Tribune released. Once again the X Team was in the top ten. No surprise of course. Buttercup herself was at a high standing number three. Bubbles was at number two- the boys respectively had pretty high marks and Leader Girl…

The blonde frowned then, "… and Blossy in on the bottom again."

… Oh yeah.

Buttercup scowled, "Yeah…Well they're idiots."

"They think she's so… mean." Bubbles murmured. "I hate it- she's just… really serious you know it doesn't mean she's mean or intimidating or whatever- I mean no offense but Brick is just as serious and stuff- and actually you know he's kind of worse! So why don't they shove him at the bottom! I mean… like I said no offense but-!" The blonde folded her arms and buzzed her lips peevishly before plopping herself on the couch, "It's not fair."

"No… it's not but… that's public opinion for you." She sighed and joined the blonde, "They don't know… Leader Girl like we do- they just see the "Pink Puff" you know."

"Well yeah I know but-!"

"What's it matter what a bunch of strangers with their stupid articles and popularity polls or whatever think of us- tch I sure as hell don't give a fuck."

She sighed, "Oh BC… must you swear? You know Daddy doesn't like it."

"Well the Professor ain't home now is he?"

"Well no but…"

"So we're fine." She muttered and picked up the paper from the coffee table.

Number 10: Blossom Marie Utonium

Age: 16

Our number ten pick Blossom Utonium always gets the job done! With her sense of duty and determination she co- leads the X team day in and day out, as well as contributing to her numerous charitable works and keeping her immaculate 4.0 GPA: Miss Utonium simply never stops! And even despite being considered by some to be somewhat reserved and aloof and also what some may call "cold" in her mannerisms Miss Utonium even has time for romance as reportedly the eldest of the Powerpuff Girls has become involved with her co-leader and partner- Brick Jojo.

Tch. Fuck em' all. They didn't know shit.

"Wow… Brick made number one." Bubbles murmured.

Number 1: Brick Anthony Jojo

Age: 16

The courageous co-leader of our X Team makes the top of our list for a variety of reasons but looking at his daring rescue of one of our littlest citizens, his discovery and exposure of the sinister doings at the old Carmie's Chewies Manufacturing facility (investigation still underway) - all with keeping his grades up – in the running for the class of 2011's valedictorian even? – How could we NOT vote this amazing youth our number one citizen of the month! But sorry ladies- this fine young man is supposedly off the market as we speak- as recent rumors suggest Mr. Jojo has reportedly become involved with Co-leader and partner Blossom Utonium in a whirlwind romance indeed supposedly begun at the Sweethearts Carnival just last month- again no official word on the so called "Reds" has come out concerning their relationship- again sorry ladies- but we here at the Tribune nonetheless wish the rumored lovebirds all the best! Congratulations Mr. Jojo on all your achievements!

"Well the person who wrote this certainly is a fan of Cap Boy's…" She muttered.

"Yeah it's almost like Blossy's… was just an afterthought compared to all these- Brick's is like a paragraph." She frowned. "Um yeah- Brick's off the market! What's this "rumors" – scuse you!?"

"It's the press Bubs." She muttered.

"Well they're dumb!" Whoo boy- angry Puff hissing is imminent. At least it wasn't creepy giggling. "I wish they'd leave Blossy alone… she's not cold she's serious." More mumbling.

"We have to play nice Bubs."

A gold eyebrow rose, "This coming from you- legion of vultures right?" She giggled.

Again better than the other… one. How'd she do that anyway?

"Bloodthirsty scavenging vulture horde." She scoffed before she stood, "Get it right Bubs."

"Ooh-whoopsie my mistake." Buttercup waved sarcastically in retaliation for the blonde's sass- before she grabbed a pair of jeans from the laundry basket- she'd only gotten a day out of these so them being in the laundry was dumb anyway.

Bubs had a lot of control over air and shit- and she could understand well… basically any language now as her powers had developed but that new trick of hers with the giggles- yeesh- talk about creepy- keep that shit at Halloween or something!

Seriously it had sounded… windy. Sort of breathless and echoey right against her ear and that shit was weird and well very funny Bubs but-.

…. The fuck?

Leader Girl had closed that window though…? No she was sure of it- she'd been complaining it was cold last night and Buttercup had made a comment about Sister dear needing a "Red" hot blanket and gotten a pillow thrown at her halfway across the room.

Heh.

…But… that was nonetheless… a very… open window.

"The hell?"

…. Funny Bubs… real… funny.

She slammed it closed It was supposed to pour later on today and she wasn't about to listen to Blossom bitch about the rug getting wet or whatever. Her eyebrow rose- speaking of bitching…

"Dunno what you're doin' on the floor but if someone dares step on you the magenta eyes will be the least of our problems." She muttered before she put the precious silk rose back in its proper place on Leader Girl's desk ( seriously why she didn't just get a stupid vase or whatever- it looked real enough- no one would know. )

She grabbed her bag and stuck a piece of her trusty spearmint gum in her mouth- not as in your face whoa as peppermint or God forbid arctic mint- Spearmint was subtler and a more sophisticated gum in Buttercup's humble opinion and-.

… She chewed the inside of her cheek. Okay…

"Now see I know I closed you." She muttered. "Latch fucking up again-." Nope. Pristine just where the Professor had fixed the hinge like Bubs had asked him to last week. Shiny even- brand new. She frowned and closed the window- this time being sure to latch it closed- a little… redundant but well maybe it was a bad hinge- he didn't have the best luck when it came to being… handyman.

Whatever. Weird. She grabbed her baby's case and strapped it to her back-

Creeeeak

She stiffened as the door opened and Bubbles came skipping in holding a shopping bag.

"Oh BC- good I didn't miss you- I made these for you guys last night but I totes flaked and forgot to text Boomie- I can't come to rehearsal today because they asked me to come in to the shelter for a bit and how can I say no to all those lil' puppies and kitties and- Oh! BC silly- the window!"

She pointed and Buttercup felt a chill run down her spine.

It was wide open.

Bubbles cocked her head, "Oh dear- they're thinking it's going to rain today Blossy's laptop is right there." She hurried over and closed the window gently, "There. Oh!"

And now… Buttercup's chest clenched.

Bubbles gently set the rose back on top of the desk and smoothed it gently, "BC you know how much this means to Blossy-you could have stepped on it." She admonished gently.

"But… But I-?" The bag was thrust in her hands with a bright smile.

"You'll tell Boomie I'm sorry right? They just really need me at the shelter today- Cammy called out sick." She kicked on her shoes slightly, adjusting the straps, "Something's going around town or something- a bad bug. Not literally of course- I mean I asked her if she'd been anywhere near the Quarantine zone and she said no but if she gets worse she promised she'd go to one of those med tents they're setting up at the park." She frowned. "BC are you okay?" Her frowned deepened and she looked around, "Oh God is it another spider!? Gross! Ew- in my room too you have a lot of nerve!" She buzzed her lips. "Now where's that spray?"

But… but… what the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK!?

Her grip on the strap increased and she took a quick step back, "Um… T-Thanks-." She cleared her throat, "Thanks Bubs- but I gotta go I'll uh give these to the guys." She held up the bag and Bubbles gave her a gentle smile.

"I'd appreciate that- don't worry BC I'll get it." She flashed her a wink. "Have no fear- Bubbles: Spider Exterminator extraordinaire is here! Pas de problème oi? - Alors vite- vite. Mademoiselle. Au revoir!"

A cheerful wave and her little sister armed herself with the massive spider spray can like a soldier determined for battle, Buttercup returned the wave halfheartedly and backed away- slightly quicker than her dignity would recover from sure and she'd likely never hear the end of it at dinner but-…. But…

What… what the fuck just happened?!

The- The window!? And the rose… but… she had… she'd closed it! She'd put it back on the… so how'd it end up in the middle of the-!?

… Tired. That's it. Tired. Stressed. Not thinking clearly. Rehearsal.

Yeah… rehearsal would… do her some good. Yeah.

She locked the door behind her – no doubt Bubbles would lock it too but… better be safe than sorry…?

A loud crashing of drums and guitars interrupted her- she frowned.

From: Twiggy

Where are youuuuuuuuu we need our bassist Butterscotch! : ( - have you abandoned me for someone cooler already? Oh woe is meeeeeeee!

She rolled her eyes. Idiot. Whatever- she kicked off the ground.

Some tunes would do her some good… she was clearly tired is all...

Yeah… tired.

More obnoxious texting tones.

Note to self: New texting tone.

To Twiggy:

Quit your whining! I'll be there in a few we had a hiccup at the house is all- some nasty spider got in and you know how Bubs hates the damn things. On my way now- see you in ten.

Ten minutes. Yeah. A nice quick flight would do her some good.

S'all she needed.

She was just tired is all…

-o-o-o-

To: Boss

From: The Butch

Sup Big Bro! Mr. W is letting u off early 2day rite? So hows bout when Boom gets bac the 3 of us watch Zombie Horde 8 2nite!

From: Boss

Sorry Bro- I'm going out with Pinky this afternoon. Going to see that new epic or whatever- the one that's being nominated for all the rewards or whatever.

From: Boss

Also how the fuck did you get Zombie Horde 8 when it's still playing in theaters…?

From: Boss

….Never mind. Don't get arrested. I'm not bailing you out.

From: The Butch

Ur goin 2 that lame flik about the sinking ship or whatever Lucy something?

From: Boss

"Lusitania" dumb ass. And yes. Nothing else was playing- Pinky doesn't like zombies anyways and under the current circumstances we're both not fans of the undead right now…

From: The Butch

OH SHIT! Sorry Big Bro! I forgot!

From: Boss

Figured. So this was the compromise or whatever. It's also almost two and a half hours long. So I'm also going to try taking her to dinner. You know- an actual date. With a label.

From: The Butch

Aw man- watch out- Boss gonna get some "Pinky" 2nite eh? Ha! U need me to keep Boom outta the apt 2nite Big Bro ;D

From: Boss

Shut the fuck up. I mean it- no getting arrested. I'm not bailing you out.

From: The Butch

So…. u DON'T want me 2 clear out the apt?

From: Boss

There's left over tacos in the fridge- don't start a fire with the microwave. Again. Now I have a gorgeous woman to attend to- don't bug me unless someone's dying and even then think twice.

From: The Butch

Aw please Boss I aint an idiot like Boom- I no how 2 use a dam microwave!

-o-o-o-

To: Tweedle Dum

From: Brick

Boomer. Keep Butch away from the microwave tonight. I'm taking Pinky out to dinner- she actually agreed to call it a date. Don't let him fuck this up for me. I'm asking you as my brother.

From: Tweedle Dum

You can count on me Big Bro! :D – Go get em' Tiger! :D We're all routin' for you man!

From: Brick

You're an idiot.

From: Brick

But thanks little bro

-o-o-o-

To: The Village Idiot

From: Boomer

Hey sup Bro! Seeing as his Majesty is going to "occupied" this evening – how's a meat lover's supreme extra cheese pizza sound?

From: The Village Idiot

Fuck man u red my mind! Heh- make it as to go as possible so we can "vacate" as quik as possible heh heh- Big Bros gettin' sum 2nite! C wat happens when u listen 2 the Butch! U oughta take sum pointers- u mite learn sumthin!

From: Boomer

Uh… yeah. Sure Bro- Whatever you say man. So what you wanna go on patrol or something then?"

From: The Village Idiot

Heh- patrol- I like the way u think little bro- that asshole has been opening his fukin mouth a little 2 much for the butchs liking 2- Good idea! Meet me after your band- we'll set the jack ass straight!

From: Boomer

…. Uh…. okay? Butch who are you talking about…?

From: Boomer

Uh… Bro? You there?

-o-o-o-

To: Believe

From: Brick

For some reason Boomer wants you to call him but he doesn't have your new number. Message delivered now don't bother me.

From: Believe

Uh…. okay? I will… later- I'm kind of… busy right now? Tweety's over?

From: Brick

I figured. Also this movie ain't so bad- bring Snyder to it if she's interested. Effects are pretty cool.

From: Believe

Seriously? I heard it was a total snooze fest? Huh- go figure. Thanks for the tip bud.

-o-o-o-

To: Robin

From: Blossom

Your boyfriend is distracting my date during "Lusitania". Fix this please.

From: Robin

On it. Sorry girly- have a good time. Remember- details later missy! I earned them! :P

From: Blossom

We'll see. Now take care of the meddling psychic.

From: Robin

Oh with pleasure - Have fuuuuuuuun ;D

-V-

Butch

This was laaaaaame.

Tch- both the saps ditched him: Okay so he really couldn't blame Big Bro- he had a chance to finally get some "puffy" action tonight and hey gotta give the guy some slack- he was still in the beginning stages- the wooing – and even tough… yeah he was kind of dangerously close… to becoming whipped like the dumb ass that was their youngest brother…

Boss was clearly in the zone right now so… yeah The Butch would just have to be available with his extensive expertise when the Rowdy Boss came to him in need of his timeless and brilliant advice.

Not that he wasn't doing a…passable job on his own- but Butch had begun to darkly suspect there was someone else- meddlingwhere he didn't belong- just following after Boss like some kind of dumb puppy- that annoying cackle in his wake- and Boss was in such a lovesick daze nine times out of ten that he didn't even fucking realize he had a new stalker!

And so Boss Woman! Or she always had- seriously what was the deal with those two being so buddy-buddy and everything- Red didn't need that toad no more! She had Boss! And Snyder being all okay with her guy and Red being like that?! It didn't make no sense!

Cause now see- the Butch knew Boss Woman quite well at this point - obviously next to Big Bro, the Butch was Red's favorite Rowdy after all- and so he knew there was no way none of those nasty rumors and shit were true- she was too classy for that kind of shit and Snyder seemed like a pretty tough chick too- not the type to share like that blonde bimbo who hung around Bitchbucks had found out.

Seriously- the chick made Boom look like Einstein- first she goes after Butch's brother who was clearly claimed by the blonde puff… with a seriously well-hidden temper that… The Butch would admit he never… ever wanted directed towards him – seriously the chick had taken a chunk out of the monkey's ear! She'd bitten the flea bitten mongrel like some kind of pissed off well- she beast.

So never poke the sleeping Puff beast. Bad shit happens. Good to know.

Heh Good luck Boom.

But back to the real dumb blonde ( of the female variety) of Townsville High- the chick had been more or less ordered off the Blue Jojo brother and who had the chick decided to set her sights on next ( though Butch couldn't understand why personally) but fucking Mike Believe. The most annoying, the single stupidest and all out arrogant son of a bitch in the entire fucking school! (No offense to Janey- it was hard to believe such a baking angel had given birth to such a jack ass- Daddy Believe must have been an asshole) but this shit head took the fucking cake! Pun non-intended.

What Robin Snyder saw in the guy he did not understand but there was a real chance another cat fight was going to be break out soon and once more would Kung Fu Snyder come out to play- seriously- those had been some kick ass moves: Somewhat impressive for a normie he'd admit.

Meh- that was probably it: Butch also knew Believe was nothing but a coward- and maybe she liked making him her bitch or something- judging from the way that relationship was it was pretty clear who wore the pants anyway and fuck was it pathetic to watch.

He followed after her like a bitch in heat and she just dangled her favors like treats to a ravenous dog and fuck if Butch was letting him give HIS brother any more fucking "advice".

"Sister"- tch give me a break.

Oldest trick in the book: Make a chick feel like she had a "bro" she could count on and then BOOM- the next thing she knows he's sabotaging every damn attempt at her finding love so out of desperation she finally decides she "loved" him all along. Tch- that shit worked in movies but it wouldn't' happen here.

Nope. Nuh uh! Butch knew what Mike Believe was really up to- sabotaging Brick left and right – giving him shitty advice and turning his brother into a total sap- well not with the Butch around!

I know your game asshole.

Big Bro hadn't always been the most social and shit- he'd always had better things to do than deal with their stupid peers- but Red was fond of the asshole and his chirpy girlfriend- right- Butch got it- get on the friend's good side and make the chick happy- but that was it. He got the girl- as Butch had walked into Brick had really gotten the girl and if shit hadn't gone down well it was pretty likely his Big Bro wouldn't still be a sad lonely virgin.

But no- life sucked like that and here they all were – the place was quarantined to hell- the new fences were even higher- the locks thicker- the whole place was monitored- something big had gone down in there.

And yet Butch still didn't know exactly what because Brick wasn't fucking talking and it was pissing him off.

And… that shithead knew something too. The son of a bitch - sorry Baking Goddess- had been with Boss down there. Why Butch was still at a loss to know- obviously he'd had some kind of deluded hero complex or something and Big Bro had had to save his sorry ass and gotten caught.

Butch was pretty sure the whole damn thing must have been the guy's fault anyway- after all Brick had been off to that café before he'd come home all upset and raving and yelling about the damn lobster and-!

… It didn't make any fucking sense. He wouldn't' fucking talk about it- and that Believe guy was clearly lording something over him because the two of them were fucking inseparable and that really was beginning to piss Butch off.

Seriously. The guy was annoying as fuck, didn't know how to keep his crooked nose out of other people's business ( literally talk about fucking unattractive- again what the fuck did Snyder and now Julie whatever her name was see in the guy!?) – And he had fucking interfered in a Rowdyruff investigation.

Something Butch or Boomer (let's face it- it should have been Butch) should have been involved in from the get go.

Why the fuck had Big Bro gone in "alone".

… And why the fuck had he let some… stupid normie go with him…

Why the fuck had he gone with Believe as his backup- when the guy was nothing but a coward- a fucking coward! Seriously you could sneak up on the guy and he'd jump a damn foot!

It didn't make any fucking sense man!

What the fuck did the guy have on Big Bro that was so bad that Brick wouldn't say a damn thing to his brothers!

…Yeah Butch knew something was up. He was up later and later- burying himself in every fucking excuse he could come up with- the emancipation or whatever trial coming up- lets learn basic "family law" or whatever according to the state of California! And when that's done let's do all the bills at once- and oh- oh how's about we add some tinkering and oh look it's time for school- tch- sleep was for losers.

The black circles under Brick's eyes… weren't gonna make him too attractive for Red soon… he was gonna have to seal the deal soon… or get some sleep.

Not gonna lie… either would probably be good at this point. The guy was gonna make himself… sick.

Come to think of it Believe the turd was starting to look kinda more like shit than usual lately- circles under his own damn eyes and shit- tch- up late concocting schemes to ruin his brother and keep his creepy three some fantasy or whatever!

Well not with the Butch around! NOPE!

He was also buried in new books like some kind of nerd with weird fucking titles like "Legends and Myth of the Americas'"- "The Sun and the Aztecs: Doomsday"- all kinds of lame history books and shit. Tch. Loser. Why the fuck was Big Bro wasting his time with the guy.

Asshole was holding something over Big Bro's head – he was sure of it.

Dick.

Ugh. Whatever- Butch was bored- the season was over- practices were over- he could go watch Boom play or whatever – he'd offered but meh- that was boring too- he liked seeing Butters' ass sway with the music sure but he didn't feel like dodging shit thrown at him today- it was just kind of an off day.

Meh… maybe he'd go get something at Freddy's or whatever- he was kind of hungry and Su… Susie (?) usually gave him an extra helping of guacamole-.

His eyebrow rose- huh weird. The park was more packed than normal- and what was with the tents? Was the circus in town or something?

Weird… but you know what wasn't weird was that pretty piece of ass standing watching as a bunch of amateurs were struggling with such an easy task. Tch. He licked his thumb and slicked back his hair a little bit before he descended down.

"Please be careful- I don't know how well padded those coolers are-!"

Crash.

Even Butch had to flinch.

"Sorry Lesley!" One of the dumbasses called out and the brunette put her face in her hands. Hmm- Lesley huh? That's a nice name- she looked a little bit older but hey- looks could be deceiving. He cleared his throat,

"Scuse' me Miss is there anything I can do to be of assistance?" Heh. Being a superhero rocked sometimes- the two guys glowered, but the girl turned right around- ooh she was a looker- and that curly dark hair sure looked nice and soft- he was right- a little older but hey- The Butch liked older women too.

Her eyebrow rose and she put a hand on her hip- ooh sassy too.

"Well be my guest kid- can't be worse than these two."

He smirked and grabbed the pole from the first glaring fool and promptly set that to rights- and then grabbed the other one from the other gaping shmuck. The tent went up smoothly and sure enough there was indeed a cooler on the floor- she flinched and bent down-

"Allow me Miss." He said smoothly.

"Uh Thanks kid but this is a two person-." He lifted it easily off the ground of course and her eyes widened. Huh- must be an out of towner. "Oh! You're one of them-!" She snapped her fingers, "The X Team right?"

His grin grew, "Sure am- Butch Jojo at your service."

"Jojo…" She murmured and then her eyes widened more, "You're one of Brick's brothers then?"

Fucking… hell.

Ugh. Fucking figured- that stupid article had gone and made Big Bro suddenly the most popular guy in town- and sure he deserved it but now the guy had more "fans" than he knew what to do with and he wasn't really good at spreading the wealth around:

Not to mention jealous Magenta eyes…

"Uh yeah- I'm Brick's brother." He mumbled. She grinned and stuck her hand out,

"I'm Lesley Pinzarro- I'm uh… Matthew Pinzarro's little sister."

…Oh. OH!

He took the outstretched hand and shook it quickly, "Oh…. it's nice to meet you Lesley- I'm… err sorry for your loss."

She sighed and tucked back a piece of her hair- a little dolphin peeked out on her wrist, "It's… okay. Really it is- I mean we know what happened now so…yeah." He flinched again. "We just wanted closure you know?"

"No I get it." he stuck his hands in his pockets, "Understandable."

Her smile was small, "Your brother left before I could really thank him- he just kind of dropped off Matt's jacket and yeah. Not the biggest talker huh?"

"Yeah… not really." He shrugged.

"Well it was nice of him to bring it to us." She sighed again. Maybe… he should go. Yeah. Probably a good idea. "I don't suppose though… you could…" He paused and turned around, she bit her lip, "It's under investigation and everything I know- but… do you know… how-."

…Shit.

He grimaced, "We're… uh still looking into it. It's kind of hard to-."

She flinched and put a hand up, "No- I get it it's X business or whatever right?"

More like… Rowdy business actually.

"Yeah basically. Sorry I wish I could-."

"No, like I said I get it- we got closure now- we can… move on you know- my mom… she called that brother of yours some kind of miracle… like a messenger or something sent from above… thanks to him we can finally let Matt… rest and we can move on because we know the truth… or at least we know he's… in a better place. It's what he would have wanted you know." She trailed. "How is… your brother doing?"

He frowned. "He's fine- Big Bro can handle anything-."

"Well yeah but there's a lot of gossip is all." She opened the cooler and began organizing and arranging different bottles and other medicine looking stuff. "He seemed like a tough cookie sure but some of the rumors man…" She shuddered.

He folded his arms, "Like I said- Brick can handle anything."

The smell of antiseptic and alcohol was strong- it almost made him gag- God he hated the smell of anything… hospitaly… and well…

Butch had had enough of hospitals thanks.

Beep-Beep-Beep

That sound was annoying as hell. He hated hospitals. They were just… depressing. And they smelled nasty too. How could anyone willingly work in a place like this-?

He was unconscious. Or sleeping or some shit- Boss wasn't a weakling like that moron Believe – them putting the guy in some kind of "induced" coma or some kind of weird shit- the guy was in pretty bad shape: Lost a shit ton of blood and rambling like a lunatic about weird shit like "patches" and " When do I go" and…. ducks. He'd been yelling about a duck before they finally knocked him out with the drugs and some shit.

Butch always knew the Believe kid was fucked in the head and now he had proof. Weirdo. Fucking weirdo.

Beep-Beep-Beep

It was pissing him off. Boomer was fast asleep in the chair- pansy- the girls had finally made Red leave- managed to make her agree to head to the Cafeteria or something- good. Poor girl had been through enough- Big Bro wouldn't be happy when he woke up and found her half dead in his room.

Shit he looked… like shit. Let's be honest. Sure Believe had looked like something the cat dragged in- dried blood all over his face like some kind of messy vampire or whatever- and his clothes were barely staying on- and again with the rambling.

Beep-Beep-Beep

Boss's uniform was gone. It was in pieces. The Kevlar had been ripped to shreds- his boots were torn and falling apart- he was missing a whole side of his vest- and his shirt- forget it. Had he even been aware of what he'd looked like when he'd just come strolling up the stairs like everything was hunky dory- supporting the moron who barely made it out the door before going down.

Brick had managed to keep it together to have his reunion with Boss Woman before he'd… finally gone down. Doctors said he was so dehydrated they didn't even know how the fuck the two of them were still walking… let alone managed to climb up however small a flight of stairs.

Butch could have told them how easy- because it was Big Bro.

And Big Bro was the Boss of the Rowdies for a reason.

Case closed.

Beep-Beep-Beep

Even now the guy was fine- he was beat up sure- he'd be in a bit of a jam while his new uniform was hastily ordered but he'd make do- and so now… he was just sleeping.

He didn't know why the fuck all the nurses and shit had been blabbing next to him- sticking his bro with A'X treated needles – getting readings and shit- the guy was fine- he was just sleeping. He'd be pissed when he woke all hooked up to these stupid machines.

Beep-Beep-Beep

Tch. Morons didn't know who they were dealing with. They'd bandaged him up- stitched up some of the deeper cuts and covered his hands in some kind of cream or whatever: His palms… had been sort of burned. It was weird. Nothing else was burned- just his hands.

Well… there was that weird burn or something on his arm sure but… that'd go away soon enough. Red had been… pretty clear what Casper the Pervert ghost had done to Big Bro…

He clenched his fist. Fucking skeezeball. He'd regret the day he even saw Red. The Butch would make sure of it. Oh yes he would.

"Pinky..." He frowned, fun fact- Big Bro talked in his sleep sometimes. He rolled his eyes- well least some things were back to normal. Dreaming about his woman again- least that was something good for Big Bro now- Red had been glued to the guy's side for hours now and even when her sisters had finally managed to get her to leave for some food and some brief shut eye she'd gone and leaned over and kissed Big Bro like he was her one and only or some shit in the movies.

Fuck- it felt like a fucking movie- why the fuck not?

He'd been mumbling now for hours- random words- none of it made sense- whatever the fuck he was dreaming about… must have been hell of a trip he was on.

Could he even hear him? Should he wake him up? It'd been… a while now.

"Summers…"

He blinked. The fuck? That was new.

"Big Bro?" He murmured- the moron in the chair had been barely coherent he'd been so fucking tired- waking him up would just make the shit worse.

"Summers… only… summers…."

…What?

"Summers… Summers…"

"….summers? The fuck that mean?" He hissed. "Boss- c'mon man me thinks you've slept long enough- maybe it's time you-." He avoided the pointy needles and shit sticking out of him and poked his arm. No response. He was out.

"Summers…"

"Uh… hate to break it to you Boss but it's not even spring yet you got a while to go til summer…?"

"…Blossom…"

…Ahhh. That was it. He should have known.

"Yeah I hear ya Boss- don't worry- summer'll be here for ya know it and then it'll be bikini season- bet you're looking forward to that this year especially- eh-eh?"

Beep-Beep-Beep

Well fine- be boring and just keep sleeping and shit.

"Eighteen…. Summer…"

"Eighteen? Shit man you don't have to wait that long! She's ready and willing to go right if you know what I'm saying man- you went and did it- she's crazy about you Big Bro- and you pulling some kind of heroic "hero" move or whatever- tch she'll be all over you soon as you wake up so… so why don't you- you know? You've been sleeping for a while now… and well it's rude to keep the lady waiting… so… you can wake up now-." Another poke. Fuck he was really out. Had they mixed sleeping pills or something in that fluid bag or whatever?

Beep-Beep-Beep

"Boss- you should wake up- these chairs are mad uncomfortable and well maybe dum dum over there can sleep anywhere but the Butch needs to have a full night's sleep to maintain the perfection that is the Butch so… you should wake up so we can call the nurse and she can sign you out or whatever."

Beep-Beep-Beep

"Big Bro. C'mon man… Sleeping here's gonna suck."

Beep-Beep-Beep

"…Fine. Guess you must be pretty tired… so… wake me up when you decide you wanna get out of here Boss.

Beep-Beep-Beep

"… Night Big Bro."

"Uh…. Butch? Hello- you still in there kid?"

He blinked. And then looked around somewhat- oh… uh oops.

Lesley looked at him oddly- a raised eyebrow in her wake: "You okay kid?"

He blinked, aw fuck he'd pulled a Boom hadn't he? Fuck- he slicked his hair back again- and shrugged nonchalantly,

"Oh yeah just uh thinking- sorry sweetie." He waved it off- as well as that nasty image of Boss laying there all quiet and hooked up to all those machines right with it. Hospitals… sucked ass. Again… how could anyone willingly agree to work in one…?

He just didn't get it.

Needles… ugggh. Whoever invented those fucking things better be roasting in hell. And… Were there any… in here right now? Uh….Yeah okay change the subject.

Now. He shifted back from the cooler- somethin' shiny was in there- was it another bottle or was it one of those nasty needles- err… yeah move away from that.

" What'cha all doing out here anyway- shouldn't ya be… I dunno in the hospital or some shit?"

The chick shrugged, " Yeah well the ER was being overwhelmed- it's like every time someone's getting a damn paper cut they think it's one of those tentacles or something kind of deal- people are kind of nervous."

He flinched, Oh yeah… Big Bro had mentioned that- chewing Boom out for trying to go out in those board shorts or whatever he'd been planning on – tch- they were the Rowdyruff Boys! Yeah the blonde had ended up with a nasty mark on her hand from that "sting" yeah but well the girls were inevitably more delicate- biologically everything about him and the boys was stronger than the Puffs- always had been- he'd always just let Butters win cause he didn't want to deal with her yelling and shit when she lost!

Yeah. So- he didn't get why Boss was acting like this was a big deal for them. Seriously.

"So you guys are just bringing the hospital to them then?" He raised an eyebrow and she nodded.

"It makes sense- less waiting time you know."

"So…you're a nurse?" Shit she didn't look that much older than him! She laughed somewhat,

"Not yet. I'm a Bio student- but they came in looking for volunteers so-." She shrugged.

"Oh… that's nice of you."

She went quiet, "… Yeah well it's the right thing to do you know… I mean even though he was for animals… Matt would still go help out wherever he could- and well… my concentration is marine biology so… jellyfish- marine bio- kind of goes together you know."

"You wanna study fish?" He handed her a bottle, again those shiny things at the bottom he didn't know what those were so he was avoiding them. That little dolphin peeked out on her wrist again- oh… duh dolphin-fish- duh. She was quiet again but then nodded.

"Yeah… sometimes you figure out what you wanna do with the rest of your life when you're like five years old… and then sometimes-." She balled her fist where the dolphin was playing along on and her gaze centered on it, "It just hits you one day- you just hear your calling and you gotta go with it…even if it sounds… crazy. Yeah I know I sound weird." She laughed somewhat.

There are weirder things…

"Nah… I get it. Life's weird like that." He shrugged.

"Yeah… it is."

"LESLEY!" She jumped up- the same dude from before ran in breathing hard. " Can you come help us out- we got a bunch of kids or whatever from a day camp on a field trip and the teacher's pretty sure they' got you know… you're good with kids right?"

She frowned, "Uh… I guess why are you assuming I'm good with kids again?"

"W-Well…." He shifted his feet, "I mean you're a… and well kids are-."

Ugh. What an asshole. Butch stood up and gave the guy a nasty look before he stepped out- sure enough there was an entire troupe of mini-humans surrounding a woman who was nursing her wrist- and it was red and ugly and yep. That looked like what happened to Bubs alright.

He rolled his eyes.

Time to be a good boy.

A hero's work was just never done.

-V-

Buttercup

"The T-Squad!"

"No."

"The X beats!"

"That's bad."

"…. The Mitchettes?"

"There's only one "ette" in the entire damn group man!"

"Scuse me I resent that- I am very pretty thank you."

"… Well yes but-."

Buttercup snorted and continued tuning her guitar- Twiggy and Pablo had been in polite conversation over a name for their little group now for the last oh… twenty maybe thirty minutes or so- it was getting slightly comical- heh.

She picked out a particularly gooey snickerdoodle from the bag- oh Bubs knew her oh so well yes she did- it was an entire smorgasbord of sugary delights in there- not that Buttercup was anywhere near as big a sweet tooth as Leader Girl – as no doubt Cap Boy (and his wallet…) had found out at this point but the Green Puff was still quite a fan of her sister's baking. Yes. Yes she was.

Speaking of the color blue one voice was absent from the "argument ( flirting) going on behind them- their vocalist and apparent lyricist was hard at work- taking a cookie from his own pile he'd stacked by his side.

She finished her tuning and zipped over. The X positive Beethoven was so engrossed he didn't even look up- "Touch my chocolate chunk and be prepared to face the consequences." He muttered. "No too flat… maybe a C' instead." She shrugged and stole another snickerdoodle, plopping it in her mouth serenely.

"How goes the latest symphony Maestro?"

"Bad. Chorus ain't cooperating with the harmony- this is likely- yep." He tore out the paper, crumbled it and tossed it aside. She picked it up nonchalantly, "Don't bother BC- its garbage." The bite of that poor chocolate chunk was particularly savage.

She frowned, "Ain't this the one about the Team?"

Another bite. "Yeah." The rest was just plopped in his mouth, "Bubbles wants me to finish it but it's not cooperating… or I'm just not on my game today I dunno." He buzzed his lips. She raised an eyebrow,

"Something up Boom?"

Another sigh. "Nah BC- don't worry about it- its nothin' just stupid shit." He was flipping through his notebook. "Really dumb stupid shit but hey that's life. Fuck if I can change it." He continued to mumble to himself- her eyebrow rose.

"Uh right… like…?"

He glowered but then his shoulders slumped, "Something's up with my brother is all." He muttered before he snuck a glance at Pablo and Mitch who were still in the midst of their little "argument"- She folded her arms.

"Cap Boy?" She murmured and he stiffened more- the blue Rowdy's eyes flicked to the left and right quickly.

"Well… not exactly." He finally mumbled. "I mean… yeah he's kind of acting… sort of weird too but no… it's… Butch." He started tapping the pencil faster and faster. "He's… up to something or at least he's planning something… and that never bodes well for me." He moaned and slumped against the wall.

Her eyebrow rose higher, "Butchy Boy still jealous as fuck?"

"Fucking hell you have no idea. He's plotting I know it- and fuck my life I don't know if I'm gonna be able to stop him this time."

"Another brilliant "binder" scheme?" She said dryly with air quotes: Oh God when Leader Girl had ever found out the real reason Butch had been after her binder- fuck it hadn't been pretty. Despite the fact he was a sleaze- throwing the guy in a level 19 simulation- twice in a row: Just… ouch. People were afraid of the toughest fighter- tch: Yeah they should be- but don't piss off the commander and leader either. Fuck if she won't put you right back in place pretty fucking fast.

"So what's the moron up to this time?" Boomer groaned and slapped his forehead. "That bad huh?"

"I'm aware I was a horrible person in my youth and I did many unspeakable things to many people- my angel included- but that doesn't mean I deserve this!" He whined.

Slight over dramatics aside- one couldn't really blame the guy either. It could not have been easy living with that moron and dealing with his dumb assery on a daily basis. She almost shuddered to think of it.

"Well… tough luck man- Good luck?"

Another groan. "Thanks. I'm only praying- literally if I have to- that Big Bro doesn't find out- he's stressed enough he doesn't need to have to deal with any of the moron's bull too!"

"Whose bull?" Boom stiffened but Mitch and Pablo were both staring. Mitch frowned,

"You okay Boom Boom? You look…sick?"

Another groan, "Don't call me Boom Boom…" He muttered. "Yeah I'm fine guys just distracted and shit."

"Anything we can do?" Pablo arched his head to the side.

"Nah- just… Rowdy stuff." He murmured.

"Butch is being a jealous little baby still." Buttercup popped another snickerdoodle in her mouth and ignored the withering navy look. Fuck- must have been a counterpart thing but that look was just as bad as Bubs'! Well then again Cap Boy and Leader Girl both had the – "I'm the leader don't you dare fucking argue with me" look down pat so it probably was a counterpart thing.

At least she didn't have that problem.

Mitch snickered and nodded knowingly, "Tough luck dude." Pablo elbowed him.

Another groan, "Aw shut up Mitch- I mean yeah part of me can't blame him- Big Bro is acting kind of weird and stuff but-…" He trailed. "Like I said… it's kind of a Rowdy thing…"

Of course it is.

"Well we're your bandmates Boom if you can't trust us- who can ya trust?" Twiggy shrugged and turned his drumsticks idly in his hands. "After all if we're going to end up world famous and touring all together we have to trust each other." He winked. Boomer's smile was wan and he sighed. Pablo put a hand on his shoulder,

"We won't say anything- honest. What's said in this room stays in this room." An elbow to Mitch's side- and Buttercup subtly cracked her knuckles. Mitch of course immediately nodded. Good Boy.

The blonde nibbled another cookie, "Brick's… acting weird." He murmured finally. "He's been staying up… a lot longer than he usually does. I thought he was up reading all the legal stuff and everything Ms. O'Donnell sent us cause you know…" He trailed again.

The emancipation hearing. A date had finally been set and it was going to be a shit show: Despite the fact the damn monkey didn't have a fucking paw to stand on he'd somehow managed to end up with a pretty… dedicated lawyer. Someone who had "volunteered" their services- dedicated to the reunification of a "broken family" he had said.

Yeah- well the Pink Kitten smelled a fucking rat and so did Buttercup and Bubbles. A well dressed, fucking sleaze ball caviar eating-Cuban cigar smoking – big fat ugly rat.

It pissed her off but fuck Cap Boy had gone off the deep end- she knew from Leader Girl the guy had begun trying to teach himself basic emancipation law- if not basic family law in his own frenzied three month crash course. Sleep apparently optional.

Her sister was worried sick. The guy looked like a walking zombie at times- but he was as stubborn a "Red" as Blossom ever was – he wasn't letting the shit head find a fucking loophole or some other legal mumbo jumbo and like hell was the monkey turd going to win!

Blossom was convinced he was going to make himself sick. If he hadn't already- the guy was looking awfully pale at the Spring Fling: nerves aside… Brick hadn't looked well.

Judging from his little brother's face- maybe she wasn't being paranoid after all.

"It really that bad Boom?" Twiggy had sobered at once, he was more than aware of how messy familial disputes could get- especially in court- he'd been used like a damn weapon in his parents' divorce- a case that had dragged on for almost two straight years- fucking blood money made it all the worse.

Why Reginald Morebucks had bothered somehow funding the insane deranged simian's custody case no one "officially" knew but even though there was no definitive proof- that word again- it didn't take a genius to put the pieces together.

Revenge.

The guy didn't like them. As much as the creep liked looking at her and her sisters he'd also made it pretty clear he was one of those- "anti-paranormal" assholes- he thought they were still "big eyed freaks" deep down just like his pathetic slut of a daughter- she could almost laugh: he'd probably had a coronary when he'd found out the unfortunate male victim his precious little "pearl" was obsessed with was actually one of those kinds of people.

Oh to be a fly on that wall during that conversation. Oh how she had wished she could have been there. Bastard.

But a filthy freaking rich bastard. One who liked throwing it around to make their lives an utter misery- and money… not love… made the world go round- as much as her sister- her adorable naïve little sister… persisted in believing the opposite.

So yeah… as much as he was probably working himself to death… Buttercup couldn't blame Brick for maybe going overboard.

If she were in his shoes she'd be freaked too.

Her hand went on Boomer's shoulder and she squeezed it gently, "Boom- you know it's going to happen bud- it's not- Bellum won't let it and neither will my Dad or the mayor for God's sake."

"Three months isn't a lot of time to prepare though…"

"It'll be fine Boomer." Mitch said sternly. "Trust me man. The city knows what up- there's no way a judge would find in favor for that asshole!"

"After all didn't they finally have to go outside Townsville to find someone even willing to represent him?" Pablo frowned. "We all have your back mi amigo- you don't have to be worried."

He was silent, "… I'm not. I mean not about that I mean- Big Bro said we don't need to worry about that just-." His voice trailed before he shook his head, "Guys I shouldn't be talking about this- it's like it's behind his back you know!"

He's hiding something.

Her eyes narrowed. Twiggy and Pablo both looked at each other- The nod was almost indiscernible but for someone looking for it- it was unmistakable. Twiggy met her eyes.

X Conversation?

I think so- vacate.

Can do.

"Hey Pablo- mind helping me pack up some of these speakers?" the hockey goalie looked confused for a moment before he blinked and immediately stood up.

"Of course mi dulce raton- here let me get that…"

Good. Fast Learner. Twiggy still had no idea he was being called a sweet mouse- and it was fucking hilarious. Oh well- Buttercup wasn't about to burst his bubble and well there were weirder pet names out there so that one wasn't so bad.

Boomer had already become engrossed once again in his sheet music – or was pretending to be- but then the door closed.

"Boom?" She murmured. Still determined on that book. He was a stubborn one. She frowned, "It's not my business I know- but you know we are teammates… and if something's… up I don't think the team should have any more… surprises… if you know what I mean."

Silence.

"Something… else is bugging him." He finally mumbled. "I dunno BC… something's… different about Brick lately is all?"

She snorted, "Does different have anything to do with pink eyes and red hair?" She snickered and he chuckled somewhat.

"Okay- you got me there. Big Bro is over the moon and… it's great. It is you know- he's never really…" He trailed. "He really likes her BC- and I've never I dunno… seen my big brother so… happy before… but sometimes…" He closed the book. "You'll… keep this to yourself right?"

She frowned but nodded regardless. "You can trust me Boom."

The silence was worse this time before the Blue Rowdyruff boy finally took a long deep breath.

"…Something's up… with Brick. He's… on edge lately and yeah he's getting ready for the trial but..."

"Cap Boy's acting weird." She said baldly. "And not in a lovesick daze weird either."

His eyes widened but he nodded, "Y-Yeah. You noticed it too huh?"

"Hard not to- not to be a bitch… but him and Believe have been…. Off since-."

"Since the…factory- yeah I know. Both of em' are acting… strange."

That was the understatement of the year.

The two of them… for all their big, bad – "manly men" nonchalance bullshit they were putting up about their grand little "adventure"… they were nonetheless… off somehow.

After all- She'd heard of friendships popping up overnight and who knew what horrors the two of them had had to work together to get through so there was a connection there but holy shit the two were suddenly inseparable- no wonder Asswipe was ready to lose his goddamn jealous baby mind.

But… Buttercup had known Michael Ethan Believe long enough to know something else.

He was a god awful liar and so it was pretty damn obvious he was hiding something. He was nothing but evasive at his best- snippy and curt at his worst when questions popped up about the factory- his experience.

Even Robin couldn't get anything out of him. The two of them were completely infuriatingly silent on the whole thing: The combined efforts of Leader Girl and the General had gotten… bits and pieces… vague half answers and curt almost rehearsed responses.

It was like some kind of huge wall of silence.

Buttercup had read the report Cap Boy had written concerning what was being simply called "The factory incident"- and that sorry excuse had been filled with holes- Entire hours were missing- one minute Brick and Mike were going their merry way following the ventilation system together- the next… suddenly they're separated. Not a page later they were suddenly in the lair of… the Lobster.

So what had separated them? What had happened in the forty two minutes between the two wannabe ghost hunters going through that final shaft… and then there being a medieval-esque showdown with Cap Boy and Casper the Pervy ghost.

And there was NO mention of that mini quake that had shook the city… and had been felt nowhere else in the state. OR why the fuck Cap Boy had come out of that factory with a mother fucking KATANA.

He'd been clutching it for dear life- he'd been delirious from dehydration- rambling- clutching that sword to him and the EMT had been too fucking scared to do his vitals or anything while he had it.

No word on where the hell he'd found it- or how the fuck he'd even ended up with it! Because of course there was no mention of that either in the so called "report" Cap Boy had obviously bullshitted.

So… question was…

What were they hiding?

"He won't talk about it… but I think… he dreams about it." Boomer's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "He's… not sleeping much but when he does…" he shuddered. " Its lame I know but… I want to know what happened down there….but at the same time… I don't." He closed his notebook quietly.

She said nothing.

The Blue Jojo's gaze was distant… his mind was obviously far away and at the same time she knew exactly where it was.

Buttercup's after all… was the same.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY! I MEAN IT! STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY!"

"Big Bro!? Big Bro it's us! It's us!"

The thrashing was incredible- the EMT had already fled- huddling behind the ambulance door. The Jojo brothers had no choice but to jump in- Boomer on one side- Butch on another- yelling. Screaming. Wrestling the eldest Jojo brother down.

"You want this don't you? Fucking shit head pissed I passed your little test huh! WELL TOO FUCKING BAD CAUSE I DID! NOW BACK OFF!"

SHRRRRRRRRINGG

"BRICK!? WHAT'S WRONG!? BRICK YOU KNOW ME! IT'S BOOMER!? BUTCH IS RIGHT HERE- BIG BRO CALM DOWN!"

"I SAID BACK OFF!"

"WHAT THE FUCK!? BOSS WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GET A FUCKING SWORD?! SHIT MAN-PUT THAT DOWN!"

No choice- Boomer finally jumped on the guy and began a wrestling match for the damn sword- Butch was left only to crush the guy down with what looked like every facet of his strength.

"BIG BRO! GIMME THAT! BRICK YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING HURT SOMEONE! BRICK! FUCK-! GIRLS SOME HELP WOULD BE NICE! BC- BLOSS! ONE OF YOU!"

"Oh… Oh my God! Ruff! BRICK STOP!"

Silence.

"…. Pinky?"

The grip on the sword seemed to shake- her sister walked over and gently peeled each finger- almost crushing that blade- how the fuck was it withstanding a fucking X' enhanced grip anyway- it should have shattered by now?! Or at least been snapped in half!?

The fuck was going on!?

"Pinky… what's… where…-?"

"Brick… you're dehydrated- you've suffered blood loss and you may have a head injury: Please…just calm down and let us help you Ruff."

"Trick… nothing but-."

"This isn't a trick Ruff… trust me… don't you trust me?"

A quiet nod. The last finger was untangled from that supernaturally sturdy sheathe and Leader Girl quickly shoved it in Boomer's hand – Little Boy Blue immediately stepped back.

"N-no! Give that-!"He reached out for it she caught his hand instead.

"Brick… sleep. You're safe now so just… calm down" She whispered as he finally lay down but his grip on her sister remained like steel. Not that she would have left him anyway at that point but…

"Stay… don't leave…me."

That blush was all consuming- were the circumstances not well… this Buttercup would have laughed but nonetheless the Jojo brothers exchanged a quick look before the blonde stepped aside- of course the green one took a bit more convincing but nonetheless he finally backed away.

What… the hell had happened down there…?

"SUMMERS! SUMMERS NO MORE!"

And then… there was the other one. He was in arguably worse shape- more or less deep frying one's own brain would do that- those nosebleeds were a tell-tale sign someone had gone and overdid it again- and now he was left yelling incomprehensible nonsense – going on and on about things like- "summers" – the number eighteen- Ouija boards and… sexting… (Buttercup didn't want to know) – fakes and…

Patches.

…. Blossom had gone pasty when he had ever started screaming about Patches… but the sword wielding hero back there had just as quickly gone mad and well- in retrospect an out of control Rowdyruff Boy was more dangerous than a frightened delirious psychic…

Probably.

He wasn't sending the EMT flying now was he- yet.

"Summers… Summers…"

Funny she'd always been under the impression Winter was Mr. Believe's favorite season but apparently not- He hadn't stopped rambling about "summer" the entire damn time he was conscious enough to talk- it was… bizarre.

"Jojo… Bloss…Summer"

She frowned and walked over to the groggy psychic- they'd finally given him something- his words were becoming more and more slurred.

"They're fine Believe. Just rest man you've been through a lot-."

That grip was like steel and for some reason she felt a chill rise up her spine- those eyes… glazed and unfocused as they were… held nothing but….

Fear.

"Mike? The hell are you?"

He took a deep breath- and was clearly fighting off the drugs.

"Summer… Summer bad… BC. Summer… bad. Ghosts… after… after…"

Ghosts? As in with an "s" – as in more than-!?

"What do you mean ghosts- you saying there's another- Mike!" She snapped her fingers in his face- Bubbles had retreated over to Boomer's side and Butch was still at his brother's side- albeit still being somewhat distant- whether it was from giving the Reds their space… or the fact the EMT was preparing a syringe of some sort was… anyone's guess.

The grip on her wrist tightened and she saw the psychic's eyes had focused somewhat- despite the slur still present in his voice.

"Green…. Blue…. Green… Blue… No… No Red…"

The chill grew worse. It was almost a whisper now- the yelling had ceased.

"Believe…?"

"Green…. Blue…. Green…Blue… X…no more… Summer bad…. Summer….bad. She…can't keep for much….longer… Bloss…Brick… sword….Danger."

"Mike- what do you mean-!? Mike what happened down there?! Mike- stay with me for a little longer Mike! Focus! What's going on here!? What happened down there!?"

"Ghosts…Ghos-."

Silence. The drugs had finally taken effect. He was out like a light. The grip on her arm loosened before it gave way completely.

"BC?"

What… the fuck had…?

"Hello? Earth to BC?"

Ghosts….? Was there… was there another… Casper down there? The hell was-!?

"BUTTERCUP!"

Her eyes popped open and she jumped back- "Fuck! Boom the hell are you trying to do gimme a damn heart attack!?"

The blonde gave her a withering look and leaned back, "Just making sure you're still with me here- you sort zoned out there."

"…I did?"

"Yeah. Pretty bad- no offense but that was almost "me" worthy in zoning out."

She snorted and he gave her a wry smile but his face sobered, "You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine… just got lost in thought there for a sec is all-." Boomer's gaze narrowed more and he plopped the last cookie in his mouth, bastard!

"No… I mean in general… you've been kind of off today- you missed your cue twice." She flinched again and that piercing look increased. Fuck. Boom was no "asswipe" – unlike the green moron- Boomer Jojo was much more astute.

But the day was saved by a convenient sneeze- despite the fact that a loud static crackle erupted from the nearby speaker- Boomer frowned and wiped his nose irritably.

"Coming down with something Little Boy Blue?"

He buzzed his lips and scowled, "Nah- it's just the change of seasons of whatever- I don't get sick. I'm a Rowdyruff." He finished grandly. Her eyebrow rose.

"You don't…. get sick?" She repeated slowly,

"Course not."

"Even though there's that nasty cold going around or whatever- all over town."

"Yeah well-." He shrugged, "We don't get sick."

And yet Powerpuffs do. How curious.

Another sneeze, another static crackle- another- another. She rolled her eyes,

"You sure about that Boom?"

He glowered, "Aw shut it BC-." She snickered.

SHRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

They both stiffened- he dug his own phone out of his pocket and she held up her own.

X Alert: Bank Rob. In progress- Class 2. Immediate assistance requested.

They exchanged a look before both stood.

"You think it's been called right this time?" Boom said dryly- Buttercup rolled her eyes,

"The day shift is usually competent- besides Bellum's taken the reins for a while it sounds like- so yeah- best get goin' Boom Boom." She snickered and he glowered.

"Aw no- not you too! C'mon BC- Don't start callin' me that too!"

She patted his shoulder, "Aw c'mon man- it just means you're one of us now."

"But can't he come up with somethin' else!"

She smirked, "Who says Twiggy was smart enough to come up with it?" Another snicker and he blinked.

"Wait… HEY! NO! NOT FAIR! You're telling YOU came up with that- Aw c'mon BC!"

"Best get going Boom Boom-." She floated up and patted him on the head serenely- he glowered. D'aww.

" I am not dealing with being called Boom Boom." He muttered. "Boomie I can take, Little Boy Blue I have no choice- Tweedle Dum same thing- but Boom Boom – no! Absolutely not I have some dignity!" The muttering continued and she snickered more.

"D'aww but its so cuuuuute!"

"BC- I know there are photos of you in a poufy dress and with hair bows- and I will get them to Butch."

Silence. Her jaw dropped. The "nice" Rowdyruff Boy folded his arms and smirked.

"You… You- how do you even-!?"

His smile was more akin to a deranged Cheshire cat. "I have my waaaaays." He snickered. "I am a Rowdyruff Boy remember."

…. Bubbles.

She chewed the inside of her cheek and folded her arms before she floated off the ground. "Touché mother fucker- I hope you understand this means war."

His smile was serene as he bent over to pat her head. Damn beanpole. "Challenge accepted- now let's go Butterscotch." He snickered and she glowered.

"Oh no! Oooh no! Uh uh- I deal with it with Twiggy cause I have to but I ain't dealing with it from you!" He snickered and the beanpole shot off. She glowered but then her lips curled somewhat.

Little Boy Blue was apparently a fast learner. Heh.

Let the games begin then Boom Boom. Guess the Blue one-.

Blue….Green… Blue…Green…. No Red.

She paused.

It'd been nothing but ramblings from someone who at that moment really was out of his damn mind… so…it was nothing.

Nothing… at all.

"BC?! C'mon we gotta go!" Boomer's voice rang out and she blinked before she too zipped off.

Hero time.

-V-

Butch

The kids were all obviously freaked out- huddled as they were around the one old lady who was also obviously doing her best to stay calm and keep the mini panic from exploding but one of em' looked up and then came the loud gasps and shit- well seeing as Butch was floating off the ground it was pretty easy to tell who he was. He held his hand up and the cheering was near instant.

Ah- yes yes- hold the applause kiddies- it's the Butch alright. Come to save the day.

He saw the cutie flash him a grateful smile as she and the sexist douchebag excuse of a nurse hurried over to the older woman and discreetly took her in one of the tents.

This whole jelly shit was pretty… well bad. No wonder Boss Woman was so on edge about it- not to mention all those nasty rumors and shit- Big Bro had more or less slammed the door in some reporter's face and when they ever approached his car.

Tch. Whatever- it'd be cleaned up in no time and then everything would be back to normal and shit. Just had to be patient- the fucking press man- they weren't helping either in the Butch's opinion but whatever.

The miniature human troop all looked up at him with those big huge eyes and shit- maybe Big Bro wasn't acting like such a sissy after all when it came to these kids- their eyes were pretty big. The O'Donnell kid or whatever followed Boss around like a damn puppy- babbling away and despite the fact Butch knew Brick hated children on a good day- he was surprisingly indulgent with the kid- letting him yap away, cling to his leg- hell the kid even somehow seemed to become part koala or whatever and climbed on top of Boss like he was nothing but a big redheaded tree and Boss would just let him do it. So there Greg or whatever his name would be on any given day- Perched high up on Brick's shoulders and the kid had even begun wearing his ever there baseball cap backwards.

Sure it may have seemed a bit weird at times but hey the Butch was a genius after all and frankly it didn't take a genius to figure out what his super genius of an elder brother was really up to.

The Butch had seen the way Red's eyes had lit up whenever the little boy showed up- and chicks just had a weakness obviously for cute little kids and for Boss to "show" he was good with em'? – Tch Genius. Boss Woman was eating up the whole charade and Boss would be getting some soon enough- he wondered idly how that was doing.

Movie and then dinner- not a bad approach. Sure they still persisted in that weird thing about "one day at a time" but c'mon man- they weren't dumb- well okay maybe their little bro was but even he could see through the whole thing. They weren't foolin' no one and it wasn't gonna be long til Boss was finally getting some "Puffy" action and then he'd obviously be in sore need of the Butch's expertise.

Not some… meddling normie. Tch. Asshole.

The crowd of children circled him- which was kind of creepy- especially when they all looked up at him with the same big eyed stare- like they couldn't believe he was even there- it was… kind of cute he'd admit.

And then…. The yelling started.

Mr. Butch-Did you fight any bad guys today?

How come your hair is all pointy like that?

Is green your favorite color?

He chuckled and held his hands up, " Hey- Hey one at a time kiddo's one at a time- the great and powerful Butch will be happy to answer any and all questions but let's be good bout this okay- so being a superhero is awesome- the "do" is just so awesome it's naturally like that and well duh green's my fav color- it's the best color there is duh."

He cast a glance behind him- the mother duck was still being tended to by the nurses on site and he saw that cutie Lesley throw him a grateful smile- heh. Not all heroics involved getting covered in nasty goop and shit. Heh. He cleared his throat, "So! Now the Butch wants to know- what were you tykes doin' fore you decided to come visit me? Anythin' good?"

Another loud flurry of high pitched duckling noises- he managed to get something like- Park and fieldtrip- must have been a day camp or something: but then the barrage of questions started again- even louder and faster this time.

Shit- this what Boss felt like when the Greg kid was all over im' and babbling a mile a minute? Fuck man- Boss really was the man- Butch couldn't even imagine dealing with this all day- let alone longer than a few minutes.

"You're short."

….And this is why the Butch hated children.

"Yeah well so are you." He muttered.

"I thought superheroes were supposed to be really tall though!"

"Mr. Brick and Mr. Boomer are both really tall how come you're not?"

"Cause they're too tall!" He grunted.

"Yeah you're shorter than my daddy!"

"And my Mommy!"

He almost felt the vein pop in his head. "Well I'm taller than you lot ain't I?!"

He felt a tug on his arm and one of the shorter ones- quiet too- looked up at him and the little girl cocked her head. He narrowed his eyes,

"What… small child?" He growled.

I hate kids. I hate kids.

"You're short like me… I like you." She grinned- and there was a gap in her mouth where her front teeth should have been and she stuck her thumb in her mouth, "And I like green too! You're my favowite!"

….Okay so maybe kids had their moments.

He smiled despite himself and bent over, "Aw well thank you sweetie- the Butch is always happy to hear from a fan no matter how small." She giggled when he ruffled her hair. "It's what makes being a superhero even awesomer you know?"

The kids all looked up in creepy sync- kids tended to do that- and it was weird. And… cue the onslaught of questions again:

Is it fun to fly!

Can you really make lazery beams come out of your eyes!

How do you make that wall thingie?

At least it was easy to keep the kids occupied – it couldn't be that much longer: that lady's hand had been red but not as red as Bubs' had been- it was a minor sting if anything: it could have been a bee sting to be honest- but guess people couldn't take chances nowadays.

That guy… was still in the hospital. He'd been engulfed in em'- more than one tentacle had been around the guy- or as Red had darkly suspected the mutation or whatever had caused more tentacles to form and break off just as quickly- some kind of…never ending supply of tentacles or whatever- who knew how many had ended up spread around everywhere or how long the pieces of em' were still "active"- Butch had been curious and looked shit up about jellyfishes a few days ago and well…

People still ended up in trouble when they just stepped on one dying and stranded on the damn beach. They needed to find em' all and destroy em'- and fast.

They'd done everything they could- even brushed off the ole' X ray vision at points but that fucking headache had been so bad Bellum had basically ordered them to stop.

See that was the thing people… just didn't get. Much as a perfect specimen as the Butch was… he was still human. Not very human but he was still better than most normies- including loud mouthed assholes with creepy silver eyes and annoying laughs- but Butch as well as the rest of his team… had…some limits.

And x ray vision fucked up their eyes. A lot: Apparently Boss wasn't the only one with glasses but the blondie also sported a pair she needed for reading and shit- it kind of made sense he guessed: Lasers outta their eyes… heat and shit on the nerves- and changing their focus or whatever to suddenly see past shit… it was probably bad for em' to be honest.

Boss had always told em' not to use their X ray or whatever it was called for anything but emergencies- and even then as a last resort- it'd get them in "ethical trouble" or whatever otherwise for one and two it fucked up their eyes and shit- Aw well- Butch's sucked anyway- he could see at best outlines- and only through thin shit- he couldn't see through a concrete building or whatever- Brick and Bubbles had been flat out forbidden by Bellum and the Professor to even try to use their "special vision"- apparently Boss's eyes were worse than he'd thought- those lame ass glasses were likely going to be full time pretty soon: Poor guy.

Well least Red didn't seem to mind them. Brick could be thankful for that at least.

He felt another tug on his arm and the little sweetie was staring up at him with those huge eyes again, "Mr. Butch- why'd you become a superhero anyways?"

He paused.

"You know where you are yet Butch huh! - You know what this place is! This is what happens when we fuck up!"

Letters and numbers… all around the tree… carved into the bark… so many he couldn't even count them all. She knew every name… every date….even though he could barely hear her over the pouring rain…

"So you wanna be a hero- you want the perks and glories and rewards! Earn them."

"Mr. Butch?"

He was quiet- but then he stood back up and shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey someone had to do it sweetie- so why not the Butch?"

Giggles and cheers abounded around him and he found himself smiling. Okay… so maybe kids weren't so bad… a little… blunt but meh they'd learn in time. The endless questions turned into a bunch of kids wanting to play super powered tag or something- which was apparently childrenese for jump all over the super hero in one giant giggling dogpile and see how many it took to keep him down. Ah well.

"Kids!" Again in creepy sync the kids all looked up at once as Momma Duck came out of the tent- sporting a new bandage and a bag she tucked quickly into her pocket as she clapped her hands together, "I'm very proud of all of you- you all were so good and very patient waiters- Well done- your parents will be so proud! Now-." She gave Butch a grateful look and a nod, "Alright everyone say bye bye to Mr. Jojo- he's a busy man helping out the nice people here today- be sure to say thank you."

Again… creepy… children synchronization activate!

"Thank you for playing with us Mr. Butch!"

…. I am never having children. This shit is creepy. I am never having children.

He threw a thumbs up, "No prob- all in a day's work ma'am." The kids all cheered again. Heh. "Be safe guys!"

The duck troop scurried off and he wiped his brow: Kids could be exhausting fuck. No wonder there were times when Big Bro finally managed to peel the O'Donnell kid off him he'd come home and just collapse on the couch passing right out. Kids were nuts!

"Thank you." He raised an eyebrow and oho- right- but little miniature humans did come in handy after all for some things. The Pinzarro chick looked mighty impressed.

"Hey like I said- the Butch can handle it." He flashed her a broad grin and for some reason she seemed to just roll her eyes even as she laughed.

"Quite the charming piece of jail bait aren't you?" She folded her arms.

"Tch- please baby the Butch is nothing but charm." More laughter.

"Seems it- bet you're pretty popular with the girls."

"Course I am- the ladies love me."

Another laugh before she seemed to be looking behind him. Her face fell, "Shit." She hissed.

"What is it-?"

The grimace was bad, "See for yourself."

The crowd was huge and… oh fuck. That was a lot of limping and red hands or ankles or fuck…. fuuuuck.

"These can't all be stings?" He breathed. "There's no way-."

"Oh my God did you hear what happened at the bank? Something fell right off an awning and landed on a bunch of people!" The yelp echoed from the other side of the park.

…Or maybe it could. SHIT.

Lesley braced herself and then gave Butch a look, "Listen kid- thanks for your help really- and be sure to give my best to your brother but-."

"LESLEY! WE COULD USE YOUR HELP HERE!"

She grimaced, "Yeah Jack I'm coming! Thanks again Butch- really-!"

"…There anything I can do?"

She blinked, "Hm?"

He looked around, " Look I mean I don't got nothing to do today- I'm just waiting for my lil bro to get out of band practice so… if you guys I dunno need crowd control help or somethin' it's kind of my job you know?"

She frowned but then that crowd just seemed to get bigger and bigger as more people - sporting red hands, arms, legs or feet- but one poor sap had a big red splotch right over his eye- joined the throng.

"If you don't mind… that would actually be really helpful I think but uh…" She looked him up and down- Heh- Butch was such jailbait- "Um… come with me kid."

-o-o-o-

"Okay people single file! Single file- don't push! The emergency folks will get to you as soon as possible okay- worst cases up front- let's be real people- getting stung in the face might be a bit worse than the finger! And small children and seniors up front by default- okay- Okay! Good- Let's be good about this people!"

He put both his hands on his hips- twenty four… twenty five… okay-. He put the rope down: Groups of twenty five- the crowd behind it wasn't too happy but apparently Butch's manly presence was keeping things from turning into a riot at least.

Fucking hell- these gloves kind of sucked- but Lesley had insisted on it- in case the tentacles or whatever were still on people's clothes or something- which yeah made sense but fuck these were itchy!

"Excuse me- pardon me- oh I'm so sorry but my son-!" He looked up and…oh yeah. That was a kid- the kid was crying and Mommy was just as hysterical it seemed like- clear around the kid's ankle. Yep. Front of the line- at least with kids there was never an argument from anybody: He waved the poor woman right on through and she just started spouting thank you's and shit but fuck lady it was common sense!

"Mommy it huuuuurts!"

"I know baby! We just have to be patient a little bit-. It's all over the basketball court- he was watching his cousin and the next thing I know-."

"Which court?" He said quickly.

"Over near Matherson Ave- it's where his school is-." Fuuuuuuck! He grabbed his phone and wrote it down- they were spreading alright- fuck Boss Woman was gonna be beside herself. Which meant Boss was gonna be just swell to live with. The kid continued to whimper and shit Bubbles had been blubbering and she had X' skin- poor tyke.

"I'm really sorry buddy- I know it hurts but you just gotta be a brave tyke right now- don't worry kay? Can you be brave like the X Team? I bet you can."

The kid hiccupped and gulped but nonetheless he nodded. Even got a smile out of him too- as well as the hysterical mommy. Maybe the Butch really was jailbait. Heh.

The crowd just kept coming- some of em' were definite stings or whatever- he recognized em' from Bubs' and that mother duck group from… tch what time was it even?

… FOUR!? Shit Boom's rehearsal was gonna end any second now- and probably Big Bro was out of the movie by now- sure he'd been a little confused by Brick's choice of flick but looking back at it it'd been fucking genius- Lusitania or whatever was after all supposed to be the "make out" movie of the year- and it was a two plus hour snore fest if not otherwise occupied anyway: perfect for sealing the deal. Maybe there was hope for the Dragon puppy yet.

But still- Butch was supposed to meet Boom and whatever but… there were still a lot of people here err… enough people that if tempers fried that could be a problem and well- the X Team had had enough "bad press"- fucker was still spouting his mouth and talking shit about Boss like some kind of pencil pushing little nerd incarnate.

Tch- well Butch and Boomer were going to straighten him out real quick. Butch could read between the lines- he knew what Boom was really after in those texts- and he more than agreed.

But… he dug his phone out again- meh the moron wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer.

SHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

He blinked and he saw the people still in line stiffen. Aw hell. No. Not again! Give him a break!

X Alert: Bank Rob. In progress- Class 2. Immediate assistance requested.

He looked up, "Bunch of dumb asses at East Bank." He said and the relief seemed to spread like wildfire. Fuck… as much as they were annoying and how much they got in the damn way the Butch couldn't blame em' either- they were just as sick of this. It pissed him off- for the most part Townsville was pretty chill- he could think of plenty of other places that deserved this shit.

Townsville wasn't one of em'- yeah it'd been an… awkward time for a while- but… Butch was beginning to get kind of… used to these people. He didn't want to see them… get hurt for no reason.

He returned the waves and acknowledged the slight cheers as he hurried to the tent- quickly removed the gloves and stuffed them in the trash. The Pinzarro chick turned to him,

"Crowd scare you off?" He snorted.

"Tch- nothing scares the Butch- please- but gotta go- superhero duties are calling." she took the gloves and nodded.

"Figured- one of those kind of alarms went off when your brother was at my house." She was silent. "You guys are somethin' else – you X Team. I can see why this city loves you all so much." She smiled.

"You're not from Townsville?" he should go but it wasn't polite to leave a pretty girl without a word.

"Nope- I'm from Citysville- trying to convince my mom and grandma to come move here but we've had the same house for generations- they don't wanna give it up- can't blame em'." She sighed. "Thanks Butch. You're a real natural at this you know?"

"What charming the ladies and being jail bait?" he winked and she laughed again.

"Yeah, yeah sure- ain't we a charmer- I mean this-." She gestured to the tents. "You looking to getting into this when you grow up kiddo?"

He blinked, "What a security guard? Meh- I thought about it once but the pay-."

Another laugh for some reason, "I meant medicine." She folded her arms. "You seem to have a good bedside manner and stuff- the other nurses were talking about it."

"Oh well I mean I have plenty of bedside manners sweetie." He wagged an eyebrow- her eyes rolled.

"Again- jailbait. You trying to get me arrested?"

"Aw c'mon can't be that much older than me?"

"I'm turning twenty next month buddy- you're sixteen."

"Aw shame. Look me up in a few years sweetie."

"Nah- you'll be swooped up by then no doubt. But I mean it kid you seem to be a natural."

He folded his arms, "Me in medicine and shit?" His gaze flicked over the tent and… that one nurse holding a damn needle and he took a quick step back- cause he really had to get goin' you know! – "Uh… yeah uh med field ain't really my style- I'm just a nice guy what can I say."

Needle too close. Get the damn thing away from me!

She frowned, "Huh- too bad. Well you never know though- don't count it out just yet- until I was oh… nineteen or so… I wanted to be an actress but…" She held up her wrist somewhat. "Sometimes… life just throws shit at you and you gotta be ready to catch it. Even if you don't know what it is… you know? Well…Good luck Butch- it was nice to meet you- maybe I'll see you around sometime."

He winked, "I sure hope so sweetie- well gotta fly- save the world and all that shit- one bank robbery at a time- see ya!"

Hitting the air amongst a slew of cheers and applause never got old- fuck he'd never get sick of it!

"Butch!" He blinked and oh hey- little brother approacheth and ohhhh- here comes another delight. He stopped in midflight and the blue streak was beside him almost instantly- the light green dragged behind. Boomer began babbling about bank robberies and shit- but whatever it was all good.

No the Butch's gaze was fixed on those sultry lime eyes and plump delicious looking mouth- redder than the ripest of apples and oh she was a fruit just waiting for the plucking. God he fucking wanted her- he couldn't remember when a chase had been this fun- if ever- and when the prize at the end was just this mouthwatering.

He could almost feel the drool now- and her eyes narrowed before she rolled those bright eyes and averted her gaze from him.

Fuck she wants me.

And fuck if he wouldn't grant her, her wish- she just had to ask. Ask it of the Butch and he would rock her fucking world.

"Sup' Butterbabe." She stiffened and crossed her arms.

"Fuck off Asswipe." She snapped.

"So mean to me again…" He "sighed" and his arm went around her shoulders, Boomer kept babbling. "You know Butters… we really need to work on this."

"Work on what- you're lack of personal space!" She shoved his arm off. "I couldn't agree more- now shut the fuck up and focus asshole- bank robbery- armed- civilians in danger- go! – Let's go boys!"

Boomer jumped somewhat but a quick nod and he was gone in a streak of lightning fast blue light- fuck his brother really was fast: Shit. She sneered.

"Let's go Butch!" She hissed and off her light went. Aww.

Oh well guess a superhero's job was never done.

His phone buzzed then and oh… angry red dragon puppy's face was on the- aw fuck- uh yeah! Yeah a superhero's job was never done!

"Fuck! BUTTERS WAIT UP!"

-o-o-o-

To: Little Bro

From: The Butch

Remind me…. Never 2 get on Boss Woman's bad side.

From: Little Bro

…. Yeah. Same here. You really shouldn't call her that in front of Big Bro- he gets kind of embarrassed by it. Just saying.

From: The Butch

I still dont get it! She's a Boss, she's a woman, and she's Boss's woman!? What is the big deal?

From: Little Bro

Hey it was just a suggestion don't go biting my head off. Also why did you decide THEN to tell her about the other places getting hit by the jelly and shit!?

From: The Butch

Uh… I thought Red would wanna no?

From: Little Bro

YOU TOLD HER WHEN WE WERE ALL IN THE MIDDLE OF A BANK ROBBERY- GUNS! THERE WERE GUNS! BIG GUNS!

From: The Butch

Big Bro melted em…

From: Little Bro

To save their sorry asses from becoming ice cubes…

From: The Butch

… Well Boss will just have 2 calm her down is all- heh

From: Little Bro

You're a fucking idiot

-o-o-o-

To: Brick

From: Blossom

One. Our "time" this mission at least shouldn't garner any comment and it was a job well done. Definitely one of our better team efforts I would say.

Two. Butch sent me a list of further sites being affected by the Sea Nettle venom as I requested him to earlier this evening- this is beginning to worry me- there's no set pattern- it's almost like some tentacles are more potent than others and I don't know enough about jellyfish anatomy to figure out reasoning for this- but it seems we can conclude that the mutating additive at least hasn't affected the toxicity of the venom: It seems Mr. Peron is still hospitalized in terms to the sheer amount he was exposed to.

Three. Thank you for backing me up in there and I'm sorry we weren't able to finish the film- I was rather enjoying it…. though I'll admit there were some parts I enjoyed more than others... : )

From: Brick

One. Agreed – this'll shut that bastard up once and for all. We beat the Blues there for God's sake! But speaking of- I'd agree for the most part about the team- I saw some mishaps here and there but yeah- over all a solid assignment I'd agree.

Two: According to what I've read jellyfish tentacles can be potent far after their "death" – a lot of stings happen on the beach and crap and the thing's washed up already dead. It would make sense the mutation fucked with the genetic code enough to get to some tentacles and not others- I agree on that point. Not for nothing Pinky but… I think our focus needs to shift on the mutating agent itself- if it's going to happen that quickly and without warning then we have to have a better warning system- there's got to be something that connects all of this. Has the Professor had any luck in analyzing that sample? Any anomalies? Anything at all?

Three: Any time babe- and hey just another rain check- and I'm glad you were enjoying it- it was a pretty good flick wasn't it- makes me wonder if we enjoyed the same "parts" - ;)

From: Blossom

One. We'll discuss this in further detail at our next meeting then.

Two. Unfortunately nothing- Father is determined to keep trying though- he's brought the sample to the university lab- hopefully he'll be able to further analyze it better. I agree- the mutating agent is top priority- I'll start looking over past reports perhaps I missed something…. Feel free to join me in this if you wish.

Three: Another rain check then-hmm I'll have to look into my schedule but I'm sure I can fit you somewhere- and yes the movie was rather good wasn't it- the story dragged a bit in the middle but it was entertaining….nonetheless.

From: Brick

Speaking of next meeting- how's about I take you up on that invitation babe- two sets of eyes are better than one and you know if you bring it here I can promise you a damn good dinner- any requests?- I assure you that I can make anything. And if you could look at your schedule how about squeezing me in next Saturday babe ;)

From: Blossom

A solid plan Ruff. You're right two sets of eyes are better than one for sure and Saturday sounds perfect.

From: Blossom

And you wouldn't happen to know how to make… Chicken Alfredo would you? It's perfectly fine if you don't! I just happen to like it quite a bit but we can't really have it anymore because the Professor has developed a rather nasty lactose intolerance so… um it's been a while but I know it's a bitch and a half to prepare so no worries.

From: Brick

No worries Pinky- Saturday it is. ;)

-o-o-o-

To: Believe

From: Brick

Your mother wouldn't happen to have a chicken alfredo recipe would she bud?

From: Believe

I can ask. Why?

From: Brick

No reason.

From: Believe

Ohhhhh! Never mind- I got you buddy- no worries XD- Ma's got a bunch of those old fashioned recipe card in a book deal I'll see if I can dig it up. Heh- Prince Charming is trying to woo Sleeping Beauty I see.

From: Brick

... Must you?

From: Believe

Oh but I must. Payback for last week asshole.

From: Brick

I told you to duck.

From: Believe

Well excuse me for assuming it was the "other" kind of duck you were referring to- have we forgotten Demonic rubber ducky already -_-;;

From: Brick

… Touché.

From: Believe

Damn right touché. But speaking of… I take it Midnight as always or cancelled because of bank robbery?

From: Brick

Tch- nice try. Midnight.

-V-

Buttercup

The humming was loud and cheerful- for all of the enraged she beast that bad been in their midst for a horrifying ten minutes or so back at the bank everything had calmed down quickly enough.

Couldn't blame the girl- when they'd shown up the Reds were already there- pissed as all hell- and people could laugh at those silly "teenage hormones" all they wanted- combine those pesky things with two rather irate X positive individuals with elemental powers of fire and ice respectively… and you weren't going to have a good day.

Tch- at least the guy hadn't tried pawing at one of their asses like last time: Ugh. Men.

But no- after all was said and done- and a rather irritated pink Puff was being appeased by that handy "unofficial" boyfriend while the other Jojo brother chewed out the moronic one for opening his fat mouth in the middle of a fucking gunfight- seriously- yes bullets would most likely not kill them- but that didn't mean they wouldn't hurt like a mother fucker or cause some nasty damage if they hit a goddamn artery or vein! Fucking moron!

It just wasn't fair! Why was Buttercup the one stuck with the loudmouth Neanderthal for a counterpart!? What'd she do!?

… Okay… okay knocking out her sister's teeth for tooth fairy cash had not been the smartest idea but that was ancient history and the villains' teeth she'd knocked out… okay that had been unethical too but c'mon man!

Leader Girl stole a set of like fifteen hundred dollar golf clubs and Bubs snuck a whale in the house! C'mon! Didn't that sort of cancel everything out?!

… Fucking everything nice syndrome stupid…

"Someone's happy." Bubbles grinned and flopped over her bed, grabbed a random fashion magazine and a sketchbook and began sketching.

"That she is- one can't deny that." Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Happy and insane."

"Aw BC- but it's so nice to see though- Blossy is always so serious." Her voice deepened and she puffed up her shoulders and sat up with her arms crossed before she put up a finger imperiously and cleared her throat- "Now Girls we muuuust have proper Puff decorum at all times- and furthermore-." Not a bad impersonation- she snorted.

"I can hear youuuuuu!" The sing song reply wafted from their bathroom and the blonde blanched before she grabbed her sketchbook and began sketching quickly. Now Buttercup laughed out loud.

"She's got you to life and don't deny it sis!"

"Oh nonsense you're exaggerating!" And cue more happy singing.

Little muffled giggles escaped from Bubbles' side of the room. Buttercup rolled her eyes before picking up her crochet needles once again.

"Oooh! New project BC?"

Click. Click. Click.

"Dunno yet- maybe."

"Oooh can I have it?"

"Bubbles you got the last two- don't you think it's someone else's turn?"

She pouted, "Oh I guess you're right. Any ideas?"

A shrug, "Nah- it'll come to me. I mean maybe it's a hat- I could give that to Leader Girl but she's already covered in that department."

"I heeeeeard that!" The song echoed- the slight vibrato rang out: huh- who knew their little bathroom would have such good acoustics.

"You were suppooooooosed to." Buttercup sang right back. Bubbles clasped her hands together clearly in fangirl mode and her sketching only became more frenzied. Looked like a dress. She'd been joking before- well half joking- but was that seriously a wedding gown being drawn right there-… it was. That was a wedding gown. Or at least a very fancy dress. Either way- God help Cap Boy.

Click. Click. Click.

The singing continued from the bathroom- Blossom did like her long showers ( three feet of hair… she was going to be in there for a while ) so it soon became pleasant white noise of sorts- the background music of the Utonium household if one were to think of it even: the constant scratch scratch of a pencil. The clicks and clacks of a pair of crochet needles, the classical music streaming from the Professor's room: clearly someone had fallen asleep watching the Time Channel again- but hey Dad had been working his ass off analyzing that sample they'd gotten from around that poor sap's neck. Thick and slimy it had nonetheless been the most "stable" specimen- it was their best bet to get any kind of answer.

Anything.

So if the guy wanted to hit the hay early then Buttercup wasn't about to judge him.

The wind gusts increased and she looked up with a frown- Bubbles mirrored her.

"Well here comes the rain." She murmured. "Maybe it'll wash the rest of these nasty tentacles away or something- right into the sewers. That would be nice."

"As long as they don't back up into people's toilets." Buttercup muttered back.

"Oh Buttercup can't you try to be optimistic for once." A sigh, her sister stood up- unpinned her pigtails and began brushing out the golden curls listlessly. "You're such a Debbie downer sometimes."

She paused in her crochet. "It's called being a realist Bubs- I agree- everything being washed away would be hunky dory- but we're the X Team: therefore we have no luck." She said dryly. "We're going to have to do this the hard way and get dirty and shit. No magical raindrops making the world all better." She avoided the pillow thrown at her smoothly.

"You don't have to be so mean about it." The blonde huffed, " That's being grateful- here I am having gone through this whole stinking room looking for any creepy crawlies so my beloved big sister wouldn't be afraid to sleep in her own bed and look- I'm insulted. Why I never." She stuck her nose up in the air and sat crisscrossed. "See if I go on any more spidey-safaris for you."

Buttercup flinched but then sighed, "Okay… touché- thank you little sister- you're right I'm being a bi-." The frown deepened. Another sigh. "I'm being a brat-." Smile returned. "I'll stop."

The blonde raised an eyebrow but hopped off the bed and plopped herself by Buttercup's side. She recognized this routine of course and surrendered her comb and brush as proper. The singing continued- she was going through more or less her whole song library at this point. Bubbles sighed dreamily.

"She's so happy BC." Buttercup closed her eyes by the relaxing rhythm of the brush, "He really makes her happy doesn't he? It's so…great to see."

"She really is huh?" She murmured back, "It is nice to see the chick… I dunno being human again…ish." She snickered and Bubbles tapped her with the brush.

"Be nice. It's beautiful. Listen to her in there- Listen." Bubbles scolded as she began braiding Buttercup's hair quickly.

It was a simple little tune- rather pretty and delicate sounding- she frowned. She didn't recognize it. Weird.

"That a new Night Baron ballad or something?"

Bubbles cocked her head, "You know I'm not sure." She hummed the strange song to herself. "Hmm… not that I know of but it must be." She frowned.

"What is it?"

Her little sister blinked, "Nothing… sorry it's just… I dunno it's kind of… sad sounding. Sad… and happy. You know? Must be a love ballad." She giggled. "Oh they're just so cuuuute." She giggled again and began humming right along with their infatuated older sister as she continued taming Buttercup's hair.

Just a few minutes later the door opened and out the lovesick kitten glided.

"Ah hello girls- sorry that took so long." She began running her hands through her hair and slid in front of their vanity smoothly- her own collection of brushes searched through and the brush of the night picked she began her own night routine.

"That's why we always go first and you're always last Leader Girl." She snickered. Those pink eyes settled on her before she stuck her tongue out but nonetheless returned to her primping.

"Sooooo- Blossy." Bubbles turned around eagerly, and here we go. "How'd it go?"

"Oh? I thought that mission went quite well girls- well done sorry I meant to say that before." Her smile was serene and Bubbles pouted and buzzed her lips.

"Oh no Missy- you're not holding out on us- we're your sisters- you spill! How was the movie?"

"If she even watched it Bubs- after all the reviews all seem to agree on one thing- "Lusitania" is definitely the date movie of the year so far."

"I thought it was called something else BC- now what was it?" Their grins grew. Blossom continued to brush her hair quietly, being infuriatingly coy.

"Oh why my dear little sister I do believe it was actually termed the make out movie of the year by most critics!"

Again. Still silent. Oh stubborn tonight were we. She got up smoothly and strolled over to the silent redhead- Bubbles joined her before they were on either side-

YOINK

"Buttercup!?" She yelped. The brush was tossed into Bubbles' waiting hands before the almighty "commander and leader" was spun around on that handy dandy spinning stool. One Powerpuff hand on one shoulder- another Puff hand on the other.

"Well now that we've got your attention O' Leader how's about you clue your beloved sisters in hmm?"

'You were way too blushy and giggly- soooo did you guys kiss or not?" Bubbles squealed. "You did right! He totally kissed you!"

Buttercup paused- oh… sweet little naïve Bubbles. She cleared her throat, "Think it was a bit more than a little kiss Bubs."

"We thoroughly enjoyed the movie!" Blossom yelped.

"Oh yeah I bet you did- all twenty minutes you saw of it." Buttercup snickered while Bubbled squealed and started giggling like mad. She leaned over further across her sister's shoulder.

"I saw more than twenty minutes thank you!" She crossed her arms. "Honestly- We're not about to roll around on the floor and such-!" Her cheeks reddened. "I told you before… he's very respectful…he always is." Her hands squeezed together. "He…doesn't try to paw at me or just slobber all over me- he… listens to me… and we talk about well… everything." She continued to wring her hands. "We shared popcorn and we were in the back yes but it was a somewhat full theater and it really is a good movie… dull at some parts but…" Her lips curled into a small smile. "There was an entire scene talking about the inner workings of the ship and you should have seen his face- he was just… utterly fascinated by it- he really is… a genius. I don't say that facetiously you know."

And that look was nothing short of sheer bliss. Buttercup found herself smiling with her.

She steepled her fingers, "It sounds foolish but I find myself… loving to listen to him talk about machinery… it's… adorable to be honest." Her blush grew. Bubbles was utterly mesmerized. "The story was… cliché- I can definitely see it being called a "date" movie but… it was fascinating seeing the ship come to life and the political undertones and… it was a good movie." Her finger brushed her lips. "A very good movie indeed. Cliché love story aside…"

"So… did you two…?" Bubbles breathed.

Her cheeks flared but finally their sister must have admitted defeat in her mind because she gave a small nod. Buttercup knew enough to slam her hands over her ears ahead of time from the squeal.

"Shhh! Bubbles Father's sleeping!" The eldest Puff admonished quickly- cheeks still a glowing pink. "Please… control yourself."

"He kissed you?" She said in a soft higher pitched version of the previous squeal. The redhead blushed more but she shook her head- Bubbles eyes widened and her jaw dropped and she began breathing really fast. Oh God.

"I did… it was a dull… scene romance wise and well the chemistry between the two was utterly awful- supposedly Malcolm Fjord is in the running to play Tony in the Broken Glass remake and Brick and I both agree that is yet another terrible choice and we're debating skipping that travesty altogether- so… we… decided we agreed with the other… couples in the theater and." She cleared her throat. "We were out of popcorn." She said shortly.

"Oh my God did you spend the entire rest of the movie making out with the guy!?" Buttercup yelped. Her sister's eyes widened.

"Eh!? N-NO! Of course not- it was… a kiss! One!" She held a finger up and Buttercup's eyebrow rose. "Err… okay two… three?" She began counting on her fingers like a dope- each "number" increasing the red in her face. "Um… err…we saw the ship get hit with the torpedo…?"

Silence. Buttercup skimmed her phone listlessly.

"According to the Movie Farm website that happens at…. Exactly 78 minutes into a 124 minute movie- where'd the rest of the movie go Leader Girl?" She raised an eyebrow. Leader Girl's face went in her hands with a groan.

"The hotline-!"

"Bull! - You're caught sister dear." She snickered and was only met with another groan.

"It was all romance! All the interesting things happen in the beginning and middle!"

"Miss "must keep decorum at all times" was sitting there making out with her boyfriend in the back of a movie theater- oh this is priceless."

"He's not my-!" She raised the eyebrow higher and Bubbles joined her. "… One day at a time. It's not official we're not ready for it… it just… sort of happened…it was a heat of the moment… "

"So… the Spring Fling with him covered in what looked awfully like your lipstick- that a "heat of the moment" too?" She glowered and Buttercup snickered more.

"Oh… be… be quiet- frankly I blame the song playing in the background." She muttered. "Subliminal messaging or something." More mutters.

"Oooh! Is that what you were singing a few minutes Blossy? It was really pretty!" She began humming the odd little mystery tune. "It's so pretty how does it go?"

Silence. Blossom looked… confused?

"Do you not remember?" She cocked her head.

"Too busy to pay attention?" Another snicker.

"… No. Was that one of Boomer's new songs Bubbles?"

Silence.

"… No. Blossy. You were just singing it a few minutes ago…?"

"…I was?"

Silence.

"Yeah Blossy… you just started… singing it in the shower- BC and I were both saying how it was really pretty- is it one of Night Baron's then?"

Blossom looked… genuinely mystified.

"Leader Girl… you okay?"

"I was singing… that song? Are you sure?"

What…what the fuck?

Bubbles looked just as disturbed. "Blossy… yes. You were singing it in the shower BC and I both heard you- it was totally you-are you okay?"

Their sister stood up, her hand went to her brow, "Y-Yes. Yes of course. I… yes perhaps I was singing something from the score or whatnot and just didn't realize it."

"Leader Girl… Blossom you okay?"

Thunder cracked and the three of them all jumped. Her eyes widened,

"SHIT!" she rushed over and slammed the window shut- the FUCK!? How the fuck had that-!? Bubbles' eyes were wide too and she exchanged a quick look with her before Blossom shoved the latch into place before she began gathering up some papers and quickly picked up her laptop- Bubbles jumped up and ran to the bathroom- returning with a towel and she quickly rubbed the desk down. "Damned window! I thought Father fixed this?" She sighed and stuffed her laptop into its case before shoving it in her desk drawer.

Both Bubbles and Buttercup were in agog silence. She frowned, "Girls? Are you alright?"

Bubbles raised a finger but Buttercup nodded quickly- "Yeah we're fine- thunder was loud."

Her eyes narrowed more but nonetheless she nodded, "True… it was rather startling- I'd hate to be out in this." She mumbled. Bubbles quickly knocked on the vanity,

"Well knock on wood then!" She yawned, their sister chuckled,

"I think we should call it a night girls- it's been… a crazy day." She murmured.

"Oh but Boomie hasn't called yet-!"

There was a loud vibration then and Bubbles squealed before she ran over and near dove into bed. "Hellooooo- Hi Boomie!"! More giggling followed as she snuggled deeper in her pillows.

"Speaking of-." Buttercup snickered and Blossom smiled as she walked over to her own bed, "What about you?"

Her cheeks were pink as she pulled back her covers, "Hmm? What about me?"

"Awww Boomie that's soooo sweet!"

Buttercup plopped on her own bed- "Don't play coy with me- you know what." More pink. The phone was obviously in her hand and there was no point in hiding it- but the shy kitty cat tried to anyway before she saw it was futile and merely sighed.

"Don't you think… it would be… slightly overbearing on my part?" She whispered. Buttercup frowned. "I don't want him to think I'm needy or anything…"

Buttercup put a hand out, " Uh uh- okay: You everbeing called the so called "needy one" is bullshit If anything it seems to be Cap Boy is a little bit more on the clingy side personally." The pink puff snorted. "No, no I mean it. Seriously are we sure Cap Boy isn't secretly a werewolf or something because he follows you around like some kind of X fueled puppy." More laughter she smirked. "You can't deny it- he's crazy about you Leader Girl- ."

She flinched and- aw fuck. Shit. Bad wording.

"The good kind of crazy not the… creepy stalker kind of crazy." Buttercup quickly added and the Pink Puff relaxed. That was a close one. Though she continued to simply stare at the phone before her hands flew over the keys in a whiplash and she just as quickly put the phone on her nightstand and quickly dove in her covers.

"Ouch!" She yelped and Buttercup snorted,

"Smooth Leader Girl- smooth: did you forget a pen was in your bed or some-."

She stopped. Her sister had dug under her pillow with an irritated huff and pulled out…

What…. The…!?

"What on… I know I had you on my desk." She muttered and played with the rose slightly before her eyes narrowed and centered on Buttercup. "Very funny Buttercup." She murmured but settled back down and set the rose on the nightstand carefully with another pointed look at Buttercup as she did so.

"Leader Girl… I-?" She stuttered.

"No harm no foul- but try to remember for all of them being artificial those thorns are still sharp."

"… Blossom I didn't-!"

That copper eyebrow raised. Buttercup felt her chest clench but then her sister frowned, "Buttercup? Are you alright?"

I didn't. I put that damn rose back. I closed the window too. Hell Bubs closed it too! How the…

What the fuck is going on…

She balled her fists unseen under the covers, "I'm… fine Leader Girl…just tired I guess." Her head sunk into her pillow and her hand drifted over the switch. "So… lights out girls?"

Bubbles looked up from her conversation and then nodded quickly before she leaned against her headboard, "No… you hang up first. Booooomie- my sisters are going to bed- that's not very nice silly!" She whispered into the phone and Buttercup rolled her eyes but flicked the switch.

The room was dark and shadowy- only the glimmering cityscape in the distance combined with the softened glow of the two phone screens broke though the darkness. She drew the blankets around herself- a soft hum broke through the silence and Blossom's arm reached out.

Buttercup's own lips curled before she sunk further into her pillow and blankets.

The rain continued on. And on.

And on…

Her eyes closed.

One step, two step, three step- four.

The hell…?

Wait until you don't see the door.

What the… what the fuck!?

Five step, six step, seven step, Eight.

Who… Who!?

Better stop before it's too late.

Where-!?

Nine step, ten step, eleven:

Am I back in the-!?

Better hope the clock's not past seven.

L-Leader Girl!? Bubs! Someone!? How did I-!?

Cause Twelve steps go down but if there's a Thirteen…

She looked around. Wildly- frantically. How had she ended up back in-!?

"Girls… Girls where are you?"

Then never again… will you ever be seen.

The scream was loud and piercing. She whipped around and her eyes widened- her hands flew to her mouth but as much as she wanted to run… run to their aid…

She couldn't move. It was like… she was glued to the same spot: Like some kind of sick fly paper or something!? She was completely frozen.

Finally… her lips moved.

"L-Leader Girl?"

Silence. Only silence greeted her.

And then laughter…

Deep… demonic laughter.

"Nani mo kojin-tekina chīsana hanayome."

"What!? WHAT!? What does that even-!?"

The laughter only grew… louder.

And louder…

Louder…

Louder…

CRASH

She awoke with a start… what the fuck?! What the hell!? She took a shuddering breath- The rain continued to fall in almost a downpour now- and she held her head: The…fuck?

That's… that's the last time she'd be drinking soda before bed. It just… did shit to her head. Just…just no. No more… no more soda.

Her eyes flicked to her phone- glowing on its charger- and the time within.

3:30 AM: Well fuck- she had four more hours until school- she plopped herself back on her pillow and tried to will herself back to sleep. Stupid… she squeezed her eyes shut and threw the blanket over herself- what… what the hell had that been-!?

Her chest clenched. She balled her fists.

Was that…?

It was low… almost… a whisper but nonetheless… Buttercup knew that voice. That… hushed voice…

Blossom…

She kept a grip on the familiar green blanket and finally peeked from under it.

She was just… standing there. Staring out the window- her hand was pressed against the glass and… her other held that music box. The little tune wafted through the room- quiet and delicate but the song still played.

And all Leader Girl did… was keep staring out that window.

And hummed.

But no… it wasn't just any song… no… Buttercup recognized that tune- that simple little song. Her humming only seemed to grow louder as her fingers traced the glass- skimmed over the latch and slowly… with a creak the window was opened.

The rain was in torrents- the wind was howling- but still she held her hand out- catching the raindrops within the palm- and she simply stared straight ahead.

Buttercup clutched the blanket to her harder- her eyes growing wider as the minutes dragged on.

Before finally… she seemed to finish the song… the very same song she had claimed to have no knowledge of just… hours before and she drew back from the window.

And then she turned. Buttercup didn't know why… but she felt the urge to bury herself back under the covers.

… Fucking hell… she was a Powerpuff Girl damn it!

So Leader Girl was… sleep walking again… and sleep humming or whatever- bah- no big deal she was making a big fuss out of-!

Her hold on the blanket became like steel- and she dove underneath. Her heart raced- her breathing increased- and an icy feeling quite overcame her- she couldn't even gasp- she couldn't talk.

She could only stare. Stare in a wide eyed… icy… silence.

What the fuck… what the fuck is going on?

The music box was gently placed back on the desk- the tall redhead stiffened suddenly and then turned- turned to face her directly.

While her eyes glowed a vivid….blazing red.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tucked her face further in her pillow.

Whatthefuck-whatthefuck-I'mdreaming-wakeup-WAKEUP!

Step. Step.

She balled her fists fighter.

Step. Step.

But she heard only the sound of a covers being drawn, and the soft groan of her sister's mattress- before… in what seemed like only an instant… soft breathing. And only then did Buttercup dare look up.

She was asleep.

She took a deep breath. Sleep walking…her sister had just been sleep walking… is all?

Just… sleep walking.

They were all stressed… and tired…

It was… that had been…

… It was nothing.

No big deal…

None… None at all.

Just…

…. Never mind.

She gulped quietly and slipped of her own bed and crept over to the window- her hands shook somewhat but nonetheless.

It latched shut.

Before she locked it for good measure.

---

To be continued...

---

A;N::: Ohhhh- and with that the plot thickens doesn't it- ohhh I can't begin to tell you all how much fun I had in bring out the Green Puff's voice- and I can already tell this Act is going to be more fun than I even thought- I am just so excited. So excited- and it was so wonderful to get back into the brain of "The Butch"- and of course the fabulous Mr. Michelson- I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and once again I wish each and every one of you a wonderful fabulous holiday :D

If any of you are also wondering- no worries- translations and such for Blossom's ringtone will be revealed soon enough ;D ( Google Translate... is officially the single greatest invention on the planet... okay second greatest- whoever invented cinnamon rolls if up there too ahaha) -

Next up on Carriedreamer's plate next to the whole Holiday season and all (XD) is likely going to be "Soul Ink" although I do have a few plot bunnies thanks to CERTAIN people who know full well who they are who decided to feed the dang rabbits extra carrots ( y'all know who you are - I see you ) - so who knows one of those rabbits may escape from the "hutch" soon enough ahaha XD

Thanks again my lovelies and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! - If you'll excuse me there's a cup of steaming hot cocoa with a candy cane stirrer in my trusty "cherry blossom" cup of course awaiting me :D

- Carrie

-Reviewer Recognition-

MarshmallowFluff:

Oh yesss those were the days weren't they- ahahaha- Act 0 was... crazy long and looking at it now I can see just how bloody nervous I really was- it's amazing what a year can do I suppose XD - I'm so glad that you've enjoyed As Time Goes By as much as you have! It makes me so happy! :D

Mike's journey is one I have been looking forward to fleshing out for a Long time now- am I bias as heck towards my lil psychic baby... yeah. I'll admit it- he was always the "character of the day" I had always wanted more info on even when I first saw his episode "Imaginary Fiend"- so many questions were left after that episode- what was Patches- why did Mike Believe never show up again- what on earth really happened there!? - the questions are endless and for someone just rediscovering her childhood favorite show and how timeless it really was- Little Mike Believe's "untold story" just was too intriguing to pass up. And when I discovered the "Robike" shipping ala the amazing Sweatshirtmaster on DeviantArt- it just was the icing on the cake and the rest is well " history" XD

Thank you so much for your review! :D

HardWrapping:

I see the last chapter and other "interludes" playing almost like "webisodes" or "side stories" - maybe arguably "filler" and I do look forward to fleshing out the rest of the cast with them- some of the interludes I have planned ohhh I can't wait- :D

I'm flattered you find my odd sense of humor so funny though XD- Glad you're enjoying it!

You have not seen the last of Mr. Believe's magical salt either- oh no. I can guarantee that ;D

Thanks for the review!

jtdarkman:

Faceless McGee, Ghosty, Casper the Pervy Ghost- whatever name you wish to call him ( he has many and he'll end up with more XD) was definitely one of the more... complicated characters I've attempted- is he a sympathetic character? Is he a victim? Is he a villain? Hard to tell at this point eh? His story is going to become clearer * clears throat* as time goes by * :P - I'm horrid someone stop me XD

Thanks for the review!

MicheleTaye210:

Ahaha- no problem! Glad to have helped- Hulu will be home to the PPG from this point on apparently- Though on my end I still mostly rely on my trusted Powerpuff Girls complete collection ( Where O' where is my Blu-ray release- o' where- o' where could it beeeeee" (I'm terrible again someone stop me XD)

And trust me- my PPG obsession was pretty bad- not Sailor Moon bad like I was (...am) but I had basically every Blossom plushie in the world- she was my favorite ( if you COULDN'T tell) - I loved to draw them too! Even though my attempts at PPG style are... nightmare fuel... I'm trying but... no... just no. For the sake of all those can never see the light of day... just trust me XD

I can't watch the reboot- it's like a stab in the gut: My reasons for liking the Powerpuff Girls as a kid and why I still like it to this day were pretty personal- and mostly had to do with how awesome a character Blossom was and they've... utterly destroyed her. Giving her a lame Gary Stu "love interest" who... I'm pretty sure is older than her...( THEY'RE FIVE...SIX... Whatever they decide they are in that particular episode! - I could go on for rants about how truly a mess that show is in its writing too but that's a topic for another time- another blog- i.e. their "huge" twist they're obviously planning... isn't going to be much of a twist in my opinion but again I could be wrong) - and while yes there have been SOME funny moments... I just can't watch it for what they did to Blossom. Also... children twerking... is never okay and that creepy panda whatever is giving me Pedobear vibes and I don't like that... at all. Plus... where are my REAL villains eh? Where's Mojo ( not being turned into a joke) - Where's HIM ( Again... a joke) - and as for Princess... again thats another time for another rant and another blog XD

As for your question: Princess Morebucks is one of the planned "Guest star" Point of Views- some their definites are: Professor Utonium, Kimberly O' Donnell, Greg O' Donnell ( again XD) - James Walter ( Again) - Sarah Bellum and likely Pablo Mendes among others.

And in case you all are wondering- Robin is not in that particular list because like Mitch- she is the third "Norm" whose "voice" will be heard through Act 6 and beyond. :)

Princess is also one of those complicated characters- she's awful as a person but she has potential... and she's disturbingly amusing to write as for me XD - Ah "Scripted" definitely one of my more... "Unusual" experiments - You might be able to explect one more story in that universe... there's a story that needs to be told there... at some point or another ;)

Thanks for your review!

StraniqueGirl0684:

At this point I think I'm just going to put this poor blush-o-meter out of its misery- it has no chance in heck oh well you had a good life old friend XDD

Thank you Thank you- THANK YOU! :D

Mike Believe as a character as evolved so much it almost makes my head spin- the very first draft I ever featured him in...which is never seeing the light of day- ever- not even in the next installment of the "Cutting Room Floor" - just no. Noooo. I have limits XD - But to see how he's evolved- my editor adores him and she's ecstatic people seem to like Mr. Believe ( for all his... cocky somewhat annoying attributes at times but hey he's human XD) - he definitely has gone through one of the more "dramatic" changes as I've said before :D - So his and Brick's friendship will only continue to grow " as time goes by" heheheh- y'all beginning to see a pattern here I wonder ahaha ... I'm terrible. :P

The boys do have a long- LONG road ahead of them though- the memories of the factory are still raw and fresh and some scars aren't just external- that'll be an interesting dynamic too: I have a feeling Brick's method of coping is going to be a lot different than Blossom's with her own "demons"- should be interesting to see.

And yes- if you are wondering the song that was playing during that entire sequence was indeed " I'll make a man out of you" - Is the Rowdy King "Shang" in that case- oh yes. Yes he is and Mr. Believe is in for it- Brick is terrifying: You'll be seeing more of THAT later on as well- arguably next chapter but I can't guarantee that juuuust yet- it depends on the outline and if the narrative wants to cooperate XD

And oh yes... Ghosty-Ghosty... poor misguided Ghosty- nothing more than a glorified prisoner in the end and Him is vile- there is no other word to describe such a sadistic and ruthless creature: What his motivations are for this entire fiasco as yet still remain unclear... but they can't be very good now can they?

I certainly hope you're pleased with Greens in this installment- once I got her talking Miss Utonium surprsingly didn't want to shut up: and oh how I loved it. Writing as her is going to be fuuuuuuuuun XD

And really as I said before it is I who should be thank you and sooooo

Thank you once again for your amazing review! :D

AWESOMEROCKSTAR101:

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the chapter! :D

CuteVyper:

I hope the Greens were to your liking in this chapter XD And oooh more theories about the lore and such going on in the background here- oooh I love it :D

Whether you're right or not of course is the question ;)

Thanks so much for your review!

Ashuri:

Yes the Greens were quite stubborn at first- resentful of having to share the spotlight perhaps but they finally relented and cooperated with me ahaha XD - Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks so much for the review!

Vipper73:

Awww thank you! Yes Act 5 was a long time coming I just hope it was worth the wait and as for your theories well... we'll see won't we :D

Thanks again!

ReadLoverNumber1:

No you got it- it was indeed called " X'aversary" because the Rowdyruff Boys are so clever like that :P - Though in reality it was probably Bubbles who came up with that let's be honest XD

I think the team as a whole have been affected in various ways by what they encountered in that terrible place- and that will be coming more to light in the chapters and Acts ahead- Him's Labyrinth is not something one just is able to walk away from "unscarred" - wither literally like Mr. Believe's new "war wound" or figuratively: It's left it's mark on them all in one way shape or another.

Mike and Brick are indeed the "dynamic duo" of Townsville- a more fantastic ( terrifying) combination could not be found - and writing that training montage was just FUN. Perhaps it was the "score" I found that worked so well for the scenes but I just felt so pumped writing it- it was one of the funnest writing sequences I've had in a long- long time :D

And YES- actually what Ghosty was describing or "trying" to describe was indeed Him's own personal television wall: That image is one of my favorites in the original show and I was doing my best to make that clear that yes- the Demonic lobster DOES still have a "screening" room: More of Him's realm will be revealed and put into focus in Acts to come but you are correct regardless! :D I'm glad someone caught it!

As for the dynamics of the Utonium family I hope this was a good introduction of sorts ;D

Thanks for the review!

Livku:

Awwwww! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Gah- the blushes- they never stop! XD

- A.T.G.B-

And to all my followers, those who have added me to their favorites and just my readers in general again I simply must say:

Thank you.

See you all at the next update.

Cheers,

Carrie