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...

21. Act 5: 104'-5 Part 2

A/N:

WELL HI EVERYBODY! Long time no see! Ha ha...ha? Oh...I know this is so late and you all are probably ready to throw the tomatoes at me so I'll come clean.

As many of you suspected... and messaged me about... especially concerning the sudden SLEW of oneshots and "writing experiments" that came flying out at you all in the last couple of months- ( Which yes.. are almost always a big red flag in the world of Carriedreamer) Yes... I had the block.. A big ATGB block. I refused to call it such because I was afraid putting a label on it would do the exact same thing it did years ago: yes this was a pretty bad one-motivated by mostly outside influences beyond my control- but that doesn't matter anymore because at long last it broke and just in time too! Ha- amazing what a little outside pushing can do for motivation...

(Anyone who's seen me on Tumblr the last week knows what I'm talking about XD)

So a big thanks to all of you for your patience- and your supporting words and encouragement! I can't begin to tell you all how much I love hearing from you all and how your support has really helped me through these crazy couple of months! I know its been a long wait but I hope you all enjoy!

Stay lovely my lovelies and now- on with the show!

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

---

"

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave...when first we practice to deceive."

-Walter Scott: "Marmion"

-o-o-o-

The girl laughed out loud- long fiery hair billowing in the wind- as she spun seemingly in the air and then turned around. Her mouth moved wordlessly as she waved jubilantly to someone unseen.

She was free. She looked to be in such bliss – as she danced upon the ice- a truly remarkable feat he had never seen such a thing before but it didn't shock him: She was a wonder- she was everything he had ever hoped for: She was kind and gracious-gentle, intelligent and… she was beautiful. A true living Goddess- how could he not watch her?

The laughter continued—she spun and spun and spun. Her laughter echoed and she continued to beckon to someone unseen.

His mouth curled- as her hand reached out he reached out as well but his hand only touched the solid wall again- the image continued in the strange box but it was nothing but a trick of the light- he could see her- but she could neither see him nor could she hear him: A stand still- as long as this cursed chain kept him here in this forsaken prison… he could not go to her- could not answer her call to join her… even if only in her dreams.

The shining blades upon her feet made delicate designs upon the ice- loops and curves, straight lines- they all turned into a mosaic as she went dancing along- occasionally hitting the air in an awe inspiring display: One turn, two, and then three-.

She landed gracefully and with loud musical laughter in her wake as she threw her hands in the air- triumph apparent in her face. Eyes shining- cheeks flushed in pleasure and near shaking with excitement. She began to twirl again- and again- spinning in circles, hair flying free and wild around her- laughing, celebrating.

She paused and then whirled around- her laughter grew more exuberant and she waved wildly. Beckoning.

His smile faltered then. Because suddenly she wasn't alone.

His fist clenched- his teeth bared and a low hiss escaped him as that wretched boy joined her- intruded more like it- how dare he… he invade her dreams such! Invade her most private moments and… intrude on her most… private thoughts… and hidden desires.

How dare… that… that wretch stick that bulbous nose where it didn't belong! How dare he!?

Leaning so casually on the side of the odd arena she was in- eyes fixed on her like that of a beast eying its dinner- she drifted over to him- silently- no words were exchanged as she gazed up at the boy with light in her eyes- as her arms wound around his neck and he pulled her into his arms and-.

CRASH

The hiss had turned into full out snarls- otherworldly and he grabbed another hard object- and chucked it at the wretched wall- the image sputtered but still he was plagued by it- plagued by the loathsome sight of his beloved looking at that… that thing with such- he couldn't even put a word to it. He wouldn't. That look didn't belong to that boy.

That was a look…. Reserved only for him. Or it would have been!

The flow of time was cruel- he remembered not what he had once looked like: Save that he had been handsome- life had flowed within him- he had been young… too young when he had… left the mortal world as he had.

And now… to be reduced to this?!

He who had once been a warrior. A great warrior.

At least… he imagined it to be so. When he had awoken he had had a blade in his possession- worn and tarnished from lack of care but judging from the way the hilt had been worn- his very hands had near melded with it- the imprints of his fingers obviously worn its way into the metal in the very mold of his hand... he had been accustomed… to using it. It had been obvious. And when he had taken the blade in hand he had felt a power in him- a knowledge of the art of weaponry- and he had worked to make these hands weapons again. To feel the surge of power it brought him…

His gaze drifted to his hand slowly. Once muscular and strong was now skeletal and brittle- he grit his teeth simply at looking at it- no these hands had once been the firm callused hands of a seasoned warrior- he knew it- and now here they were reduced to… this.

He will pay.

This new demon. This abomination sent to plague him and deceive his one true love with his charmed lies and deceitful leers. With those evil crimson eyes burning like blazing fire and in possession of otherworldly demonic power followed by his familiar-his lackey his- what had his Master (as it claimed to be ) called him- oh yes a sidekick- he would pay too!

All of them would! Those two buffoons and the banshees who followed them they would pay too! - Especially that insane harridan with the green eyes: She had near ripped his ear off with her own teeth like some kind of…. Some kind of demon! How dare they interfere- they even presume to meddle with fate- with destiny! They would regret their transgressions too!

They all would! All of them!

They were demons. All of them demons!

Sent by the Dark God to plague him: Keep him from his goal. He was after all… the only one the Evil One truly feared. He was the warrior destined to destroy and end its reign of terror once and for all.

His motives unlike the countless others that surrounded him in this realm… had been pure. He had been fighting not for glory- for power- or for fame.

He had been fighting for love.

He had walked away from everything he had ever known- and all in the name of his beloved.

And his poor love… she was being blinded by these wretch's cruel tricks.

He could not be expected to simply stand by and watch as she was entrapped by those… those demons any longer!

My soul…is yours….

The words haunted him- Words from… those last precious… days- their last stolen moments burned from within his consciousness. Her hand… that tiny hand- so delicate… so frail- laced with his- where it should have been… forever. But instead… the irons had been clamped around his wrists and she had been thrust back towards her fate… her inescapable fate… dragged back by those heartless… wretches…

If he thought long and hard enough…he could just make out the blurs of their faces- see those blank expressions cold… and lifeless- deaf to the desperate screams of the woman in their clutches- immune to his own blind rage- they had held her tighter as they had dragged her away- kicking and screaming while another equally faceless entity behind him had dragged him the other way- He had raged- he had fought- but it had been no use…

Her screams melded into one long agonized wail- and he had bellowed out… the only thing he could think of to soothe her- he knew her fate… just as he knew his… he could do nothing… she could do nothing… and so…

Wait for me! I'll find you do you hear! I WILL FIND YOU LA'EL! -JUST WAIT FOR ME! MY SOUL IS YOURS!

And he had waited. No matter what… this demon that enslaved him thought- he was still his own. He was still man. He belonged to no one!

Well…no one but…

Her.

Some lesser men called it willingly putting themselves in chains. He would be the first to hand her the key. She was his light- the shining beacon of purity and innocence that had quite consumed his very existence from that first… meeting upon the lake's edge that cold… rainy night. Her song had guided him to her- a song from the very Gods themselves- who had smiled upon their meeting.

Why else did they choose to shield them from any prying eyes by making a shroud of rain to hide within- that on those night even the moon itself would choose to look away- give them their stolen moments in peace- the wind would hide their hurried whispers and the water would hide their desperation- those stolen precious moments- they'd needed no greater witnesses then the Gods when they had pledged their troth- their vows declared for the almighty ones to hear- their rebellion against the Demon God that had plagued them all.

He was going to destroy it. He had sworn. He had vowed. As their souls and bodies had finally become one… he had promised.

He would succeed where the others had all failed. And once that was done she would be free: He would destroy the Evil One: The Dark God and then he would move on to his "master" as the creature persisted to claim itself to be- both of their heads he would present to his bride. Proof of his undying love and devotion- unchallenged nor changed from that final night in the rain: Their troth had been pledged- she had become his… as he had become hers. In both body… and soul.

My Soul is yours…

He could remember nothing. He could remember not his own name, his mother or father's faces. His very identity he had had in life was a mystery of blurred visages and indecipherable mumbles and murmurs.

But he remembered those words clear as day. He remembered his vows- he remembered… his love.

And he would never forget them. Never.

Those demonic eyes looked at him mockingly from the odd wall- almost like the wretched boy could see him having no choice but to watch as- as- THIS WAS INTOLERABLE! He was not about to simply stand here and-!

Click. Clack. Click.

Ah there you are my Warrior I was wondering where you had wandered off to.

His teeth grit.

"I can hardly go anywhereeeeee-." His eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth- the laughter was almost instant.

Oh dear oh dear- Having a bit of a tantrum again are we- whatever about?

Click. Clack. Click.

Ohhh- what is this: Oh how darling- what a show-what a show.

The hissing continued- the creature smirked and set the strange box back to rights- the cracks from his assault disappearing instantly.

Ah Warrior- isn't it lovely? There's truly nothing purer than a young woman's dreams- It warms my very being simply watching them- wouldn't you agree?

Those cruel black eyes centered right on him- he bristled but then he felt his legs give way and back on the ground he was prostrated.

Click. Clack. Click.

Ah first love… it's simply awe inspiring isn't it? Mortals for all their inanities are certainly…. Entertaining in some aspects.

"She does NOT love him!" He snarled. "She is confused and being led astray by that… that DEMON!"

The ensuing chuckle was airy and echoed around the empty chamber.

Ah my poor warrior.

The coo was like poison against his ear and his face was cradled by the claw

Whatever can I do my boy? My poor little boy? I hate to see you in such anguish- but….

Another surge of pressure and his face hit the floor nose first- the crunch was sickening. The pain was almost mind numbing but he managed to peel himself off the ground. Another chuckle- another slam.

I do hate to do this my boy- but you know you were awfully disobedient – lessons must be learned.

Snap.

Another slam.

But enough. There's business to attend to-.

Snap.

And surely we've learned our lesson by now haven't we Warrior? Hmmmmm? Well go on- speak up. I give you permission.

The weight ceased and he was able to fully pick himself back up and he grit his teeth but at another imperious look he sunk back down to his knee and lowered his head.

"How may I serve you Master?" He spat. The laughter this time was almost sickening. He squeezed his eyes shut and he was patted on the head like a dog.

Oh good boy. Good boy indeed. We're learning. I'll have you trained yet. More laughter. More degrading pats as if he were a beast indeed.

He could feel his teeth grow- scrape the insides of his mouth – he clenched his jaw.

"Whatever my Master commands…" The words were poison. He choked them out. Clenching the ground- indents forming where his hands gripped the ground.

The sight seemed to amuse the creature. The laughter was loud and barking- he could only clench the ground harder. After what seemed like eons… it finally ceased and the creature gazed down at him. He forced himself to remain still even as that claw sliced into the ragged remains of what was left of the left side of his face.

My poor, poor warrior- did that mean widdle boy hurt you? It cooed and he ripped himself backward- the chain around his ankle tightened then and he fell back down on his bottom. Again you're hardly going to be winning any hearts with a temper like that.

"He'll pay! He'll pay for what- what he's done to me! This… This Brick and his evil magic- his tricks! He's nothing but a demon! A DEMON! Release me! RELEASE ME! I'LL HAVE HIS HEAD! I'LL HAVE HIS HEAD FOR THIS!"

Another snort and it shook its head.

Mortals. So overdramatic. Have we forgotten however one teensy weensy little detail Boy…?

The air seemed to chill and before he knew it there he went flying – only the chain kept him from hitting the wall but his landing was… abrupt. The pointed heel stuck in his chest-

I already made it quite clear Boy you were to leave Brick Jojo to me now didn't I? Oh now I'm sure I did.

The heel dug deeper and deeper.

So my good little Warrior- we're going to focus on the task at hand aren't we? Hmm? Oh I think so.

He coughed violently when he was finally released. An instinct- no air was within him obviously but it was… reflex nonetheless. Another smack this time on his back- he fell forward.

Pull yourself together Boy- I have a job for you.

He frowned but he immediately bowed his head again at the sight of the lifting claw.

"Y-Yes Master."

Ah… Good. Good Boy- see what happens when we cooperate? Now let's see- I can be a benevolent being when I wish to be you know- tsk tsk-. Look at that face.

It was gripped in the claw once again. He grit his teeth.

Tell you what Boy… you be a good little minion and do as you're told and I'll fix this little… disaster area here – like it never even happened.

He froze. His struggles ceased immediately.

Oho- do I have your attention now my vain little warrior. Want your pretty face back do we- or at least enough of one so your precious flower over there doesn't gag at the sight of you?

He bristled, wretched… wretched. How dare-!

But then he saw her- her shining eyes and her sheer… happiness exuding from her very being- she reached out again- once more- towards him. She was calling to him again… he knew it… he heard it…

"I will wait… I will wait even if for a thousand years… still I will wait… come back to me… my love."

He squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head.

"Tell me what it is you desire Master."

He was released.

Ah… Good Boy… Good. Now onto business.

Another snap of the claw and his beloved disappeared from view and was suddenly replaced by a different scene- he blinked but then frowned.

The various boxes flickered to life: each showing a new scene- his eyes narrowed as he recognized one of the faces in the box right away- the fool was jumping up and down and wildly waving a golden cup of some sort in one hand and a…stick in the other? Was it some sort of fighting stick? Then why was it crooked? Was it a sickle? No…where was the blade? The point? Why was he waving it in the first place!? And why was he wearing the same sort of blades on his feet as his beloved had been….?

He was a strange one.

Another box he had to look away from almost instantly- the laughing dark haired boy being surrounded by various young ladies in states of… dishevelment. Ugh. Vile. Disgusting.

The scene next to it was much more…wholesome. The tiny golden haired girl was surrounded it seemed by clouds and baby animals as she went about singing and dancing with them all- a charming scene.

Another scene- the golden haired male this time seemed to be surrounded by flashing lights playing some sort of instrument while leaning over and yelling into another… stick (?) though shorter while the throngs of people surrounding him were yelling as well. He didn't recognize the two others on stage next to the gold haired youth…

But he did recognize… the girl.

His eyes narrowed. The creature smirked.

The harridan was in the midst of a battle – the creature stood no chance and only joined the pile of its unconscious brethren. The girl seemed rather full of herself- planting her foot upon the back of one of them and cackling like some kind of witch indeed. His eyes narrowed further.

Those children you encountered will be a problem my warrior- they've always been…. Annoyances but now it seems they travel in packs. We need to dispose of them.

Was that so? He clenched his skeletal fist

The odd boxes seemed to freeze and the different faces stared back at him. The beaming blondes, the sardonic sneering smirk of the wretch in the mask, the leering stare of the ink haired boy and finally…

The green eyed woman.

Witch. Harridan. She and her wailing sister… his fist clenched. The creature's smirk grew.

Ah patience my boy… patience…The claw grazed his shoulder- Young Buttercup has always been… a spirited one… and she's most astute… she could be a problem especially.

STAY. THE. FUCK. AWAY. FROM. MY. SISSSSSSSSTTTTTTERRRRRR!

"She will be of no consequence. She is no more a threat than those other fools."

Another chuckle. It was mocking him.

You say that…. but yet your prior defeat by her says otherwise-.

OOH! Listen to you and your big words! You think you're all high and mighty but you can't even get a fucking date without resorting to kidnapping! PATHETIC!

"It was not a defeat- it was a miscalculation- it won't happen again-."

See that it doesn't. This… group of mortals could be… problematic as a whole. They need to be… dealt with accordingly.

"… I will not fail you Master."

The grip was hardened. Almost painful.

Mmm… oh I know you won't Boy… I have every faith you'll do as you're told- you know what happens otherwise after all.

He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded quickly.

"Yes Master."

Your task is simple- even you can't fail at it. Little Buttercup might be… problematic at the moment but not for long: Not with what I have in mind-.

Snap

The image changed again- He wrinkled his nose. The individual… within looked... less than wholesome.

"This is the one you were speaking of…earlier?" He muttered.

Yes. It seems he very well could be… of use to us especially concerning the…green one. I want you to…. persuade him to come over for a little… chat. Maybe even some tea- I'm a good host after all- I trust I can at least trust you this one small task.

He grit his teeth but nonetheless made himself nod.

"Leave it to me Master."

Ah… good. Good boy.

The claw finally left his shoulder and the creature turned but then seemingly almost like an afterthought it turned to him one more time.

Oh yes… and boy- a word to the wise- take some friendly advice… you really ought to learn to… watch that little temper of yours…

He clenched his fist harder.

It really doesn't… become a man to be so… beastly in manner.

The shutting door cut off his reply- if he had dared make one that is…

His gaze drifted back to the man on screen. That conniving look in his eyes… he grit his teeth. It gave him… an unpleasant feeling- that leer. To be associated in any way with… that.

But…

I make this vow only to you.

And to this vow… I hold forever true…

"My soul is yours…" He whispered.

There was no other way. He closed his eyes and dug in his shirt- the delicate petals within filled the room with that… intoxicating scent.

"Wait for me… just wait for me my La'el."

However… one more scene caught the warrior's eye. One more… those cursed crimson irises looked back at him- mockingly- challengingly. What was this one dreaming of- defiling his beloved in actions as much as words no doubt…

The scene remained… infuriatingly quiet however. Blank one could argue. Perhaps this wretch didn't dream. Were demons capable of such a thing after all? He highly doubted it. This Brick Jojo… he hadn't seemed much at first: when he had been instructed to more or less "keep an eye" on the wretch and "test" him…

He had failed of course. Miserably. And yet the wretch had still been allowed to live. What made this one so different than the countless others who had perished in their quest for power… for glory- after all HIS reasons for taking the blade had been… honorable! For love…

What had Brick Jojo's been he had to wonder?

The boy's dreams revealed nothing. Nothing but darkness: Fitting he supposed for a being as wretched as that one. Tch… let the "Master" believe what it wished to believe- he would play along for now- be his "stooge" do all the dirty work he believed was the saying in this world now…

The blade had chosen him. Him. He was the warrior who would save all and stop the chaos from being unleashed… he would restore… order.

Order…

His gaze fell back upon her and then drafted back to the wretch… surrounded by nothing but darkness. What sort of mortal did not dream- it was unheard of- No… no the wretch was hiding something. Hiding something from even himself…

His fist clenched. The black tendril squeezed and he grimaced- he would not be like the others- like that fool was destined to become… no… he would rise above them all…

There was no darkness in him. Not like the others before and after him… no…

Chaos… Order…

The heavens turn to blood

Light… falls to dark…

When Chaos rises.

One shall step forward.

Bringing order in their wake.

And letting the light shine once more

The foolish boy had no idea what he'd gone and done the moment his greed had gotten the better of him- the moment his lust for power and glory had obviously consumed him. Just like all the others… save he.

Brick Jojo would be devoured by that darkness inside of him.

Man. Beast. Something in between…a warrior… a lackey… a slave…

The tendril continued to squeeze and he grit his teeth- long and sharp as they were- but…no! No he would not fall! He would not-! He had made a vow… a promise! And… no matter what…

At least… despite all that he was… and had once been…

Some things would always… remain…true.

And woe betide any… who dared get in his way.

The green eyed woman stared back at him from the box- the challenging glint in those fierce eyes…

Anyone.

-o-o-o-

3:30 AM

What… the hell was she doing?

She was walking around the room- hunky dory- and she just kept touching things- feeling around almost like she was walking blind or something ( well DUH- her eyes were closed!) - She was especially interested in the closet. She'd taken out one piece of clothing after another- some of which hadn't even been her's! Since when did Blossom like frilly flouncy sun dresses!

The blonde was fast asleep- no doubt completely unaware her closet had been raided and she would be devastated to hear how she had slept through living out her long held dream of seeing Blossom Utonium all dressed up and decked out like a pretty-pretty princess was happening right before her eyes- albeit… sloppily and badly managed.

Then again being fast asleep likely did not make someone very….coordinated when wandering the room at three in the morning and getting ready for some obviously flashy shindig seeing as the eldest Utonium sister was currently sticking nearly every shiny object the three of them owned- her own collection of bangles- Bubbles' many rings and dangling earrings and of course Buttercup's own collection of chains and pendants. (She liked shiny things occasionally… so what?)

But… but where was she-!? Shaky- unfocused- none of this made-!?

No choice. Had to follow. Clumsy- none of the smooth gliding moments- she wasn't even floating… why bother walking?

Clink. Clink. clink.

She wasn't doing a good job at being discreet either- if she was sneaking around why the hell had she done and made herself into some kind of mannequin or whatever for the Utonium sisters' vast bling collection or whatever.

Also pretty sundresses thrown over tank top and yoga pants- interesting...look sure but not really Leader Girl's...normal style.

The door was locked tight- but in what seemed like a labored fashion Buttercup just had to say Blossom's hand finally slapped the palm scanner-and the security night lock gave one final beep and down she went- still slow- still looking completely asleep…

Buttercup floated behind her- she was clinging to the railing- she really did seem… clumsy. Like she wasn't used to… walking? The hell… was going on here? She'd seen Blossom err...sleepwalk (more sleep fly) over the years but this just seemed...bizarre.

She got that...nasty feeling in her gut again. And it only grew worse when instead of heading into her office like...what she was expecting- Blossom kept walking.

Deeper into the lab.

The...hell…

She ducked behind a computer-one of those super ones' Cap Boy had almost lost his shit over - but the pretty pretty sleepwalking puff zombie stumbled past them all- and...Oh now she knew she didn't belong in there.

Daddy's office was not Blossom's office. Unlike the Puff Leader's -everything was in its exact place, in an exact order and...Sure… Blossom could just wrench the doorknob clean off and open the door that way...PowerProf...had been meaning to replace it anyway…

And now the curious little kitten was...snooping around where she didn't belong...okay Dad was gonna be pissed if Leader Girl messed up his filing- time for wake up time and blackmail opportunities for the rest of-.

"Where is it…?"

She froze.

"Where is it? I can sense it!"

That...voice. That voice wasn't… wasn't… More drawers being wrenched open by X' hands- quicker and harsher. She was...getting annoyed apparently.

And well...so was Buttercup she had a test in the morning… so…

"BLOSSOM!" She snapped.

The girl froze. Buttercup bristled and balled her fist. All at once… that grip on the drawer slacked and she groaned.

"Wha...Where-z am I?' She looked around. "Whyz I in Father'sa….office?"

She sounded drunk. She was obviously more or less still asleep. She didn't even seem to realize...her odd apparel.

….Blackmail...or… sisterhood….

Blackmail….sister duties…

"You're still asleep." She murmured. Her eyes barely focused. "You stayed up too late in your office-you're going to wake up in there tomorrow morning like always."

"Butterszupza? Zat you?"

"No- I am a figment of your imagination- I am a dream- c'mon back to your office bed."

"Oh...Ruff won't be happy with me'z… hes made me promises to nots do this anymoreza."

Of course he did… and no doubt he wouldn't be very happy to hear about...this either.

"He likes me huhs?"

"Yes he does Blossom. Go back to sleep and you can go back to dreaming about him like you do every night."

"No'sh I don't... " Yawn. "You're…. exaggerati-...ngsz…" She settled her back on her desk- her arms made a handy cradle and she was asleep within moments.

Her arms went up and off came the dress apron- and she collected the bling - Blossom didn't even stir. She made sure to shove a bunch of random papers around her- like she had literally just gone down in the middle of paperwork- she even rolled a pen just under her fingers.

Daddy's office was harder but hey- Buttercup...had a good memory. None of the papers were disturbed- just the drawers. Shuffling through them- slamming them shut- she hadn't read them….it was like she'd been...looking for something…

The doorknob they couldn't help. It was wrenched clean off- she sighed- well… not the best fix but-. She plopped it on the door and welded it- that would have to do she guessed.

Just… keep up appearances. Keep up… normality. Everything was… fine.

Where is it…?

She clenched her fist.

Everything was just… peachy.

Just…. hunky...dory.

---

Act 5: 104. 5

Part 2

---

-V-

Butch

It was a typical new morning in the esteemed Jojo brother household- and all was right in the world- the sun was shining- the jellyfish had been cleaned up – for the most part there were still those warning signs everywhere and shit but regardless-.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"BRICK. I. HAVE. TO. GO!"

It was official.

Boss had gone and lost his goddamn mind.

"BOSSSSSSSS- c'mooooon!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

This was inhumane. Torture- absolutely unfair!

"Briiiiiiiick! I. HAVE. TO. PISS!"

BANG BANG BANG

"Wait your damn turn!" The reply was way too fucking cheerful this early in the fucking morning. What was he even doing in there!? Other people lived in this damn house by the way! Ya couldn't just hog the bathroom and some shit like an asshole!

Who even did that!?

"You've been in there for twenty minutes!"

"You're exaggerating- it's been five."

"LIKE HELL IT'S BEEN FIVE!"

BANG. BANG.

"Just give up Bro." And there was the other annoying lovesick puppy in the damn house! Now see Boss had an excuse- he was still trying to seal the damn deal – but the dumb blonde here- oh no- what excuse did he have- oh yeah- NONE!

What the hell did he look so damn smug for!

"The fuck you look so damn smug for! This ain't funny- the Butch has to go-!"

Boomer smirked and took another swig of milk- damn beanpole didn't need the damn shit by the way! Stupid…

"You should have been up earlier." He shrugged listlessly.

"I was up!" Butch stomped his foot. What the hell man!? This was ridiculous- fucking ridiculous – it wasn't like there was even any point to Boss being in there- cause soon as he got out he'd just shove the damn hat on his head like normal and it'd be all for nothin' anyway!

On cue the door finally opened and out came the lovesick puppy with that shit eating grin- again not looking any different because there goes the hat and… again with the dorky glasses- why the glasses all of a sudden? Glasses and actually brushing his hair and…

Since when did Boss go around with the damn… five-o-clock shadow look or whatever – did Red like em' hairy or something!?

Even Boomer seemed to notice the odd look but Brick strolled past them both into the kitchen or whatever without another word- whistling as he went and for the love of God…when was this going to stop!?

No seriously- even Dumb Dumb over there hadn't been this insane when he and the blonde had started… whatever they did –he had no idea- seeing as every time the Butch was gracious enough and willing to offer his sad little brother some desperately needed advice he'd end up soothing a static shock or some shit ( ungrateful much!?) – But-!

"Five minutes on breakfast!"

… But at least the food had been pretty good lately- funny thing that- Boss being happy equaled some real good shit and stuff in their bellies- huh imagine that.

The blue streak was instant- tch baby: he sauntered into the bathroom- one had to make the magic happen first- then breakfast- priorities little brother- priorities.

The moron was already gorging himself on a stack of pancakes or whatever like a dumb ass at least the Butch would keep his dignity and manhood intact while he partook in his own eggs and slobbered his ketchup on the plate.

"I mean it's really not that big a deal Pinky- I don't mind and the boys are actually up- shocker I know." And… well he doesn't wait long does he? Boss Woman apparently didn't either.

"You know… I resent that." Boomer took another gulp of his milk and shook his head somewhat- with that weird smug smile still on his face. Butch rolled his eyes.

"Just eat your pansy cakes and shut up dum dum." The navy glare was instant.

"I resent that too!"

"D'aww poor baby." He cooed. The blonde held up his fork in what he obviously believed was some kind of threatening manner. Tch. Please- he held up the ketchup bottle meaningfully- fork still didn't go down if anything there was the faint crackle of electricity between the dumb ass's fingers- please- his own shield was rearing and ready to go asshole so bring it on-!

CRACK

The knife was still vibrating from the sheer blunt force of it being ya know… slammed clean through a table and all (!) – they both looked up right into their beaming older brother's face- the smile didn't' waver once- "Hm? Oh nothing Pinky- so no go on the ride then? No Babe I really don't mind."

Boomer snickered under his breath while Butch rolled his eyes.

"Whiiiiiiipped." He mumbled under his breath – OW! He flashed the shithead an irritated look but Boomer continued to glare at him. What!? What'd he do!? All he got was another nasty look in response. The hell did Butch do!?

"Well damn I mean if you're sure- hey if your dad wants to drive you girls then may as well let him- but how's coffee after school sound? My treat of course- nope it's my treat- you can try Pinky but you and I both know you'll lose….that's right. See how much easier life is when you-." Brick's cheeks suddenly flared scarlet and he started coughing repeatedly- his grip on the counter seemed pretty strong too- ohoho? – "Uh…. ha… um err…. Yeah… I don't think they're uh home this afternoon – I mean I can ask-."

"BAND PRACTICE!" Boomer declared grandly with a shit eating grin. Butch snorted and adjusted his collar,

"Whatever you need the Butch to be doing this afternoon you got it Boss- you need us to vacate so you can get some – OW!" Yet another static fucking shock- GOD DAMN IT BOOMER! Said blonde dunce glared at him. The fuck did Butch do!?

"Will you stop being such an idiot for once Butch!" He hissed. "This is Big Bro's big chance-!"

"Exactly dumb ass! Boss is clearly getting some tonight so-!"

"Oh my God would it kill you to think with something other than your dick for once ya-!"

"Least I still got one unlike you-!"

"Scuse' you!? Why I oughta-!"

"Ahem." They froze and the Rowdy Boss glared down at them….aw fuck. Angry Dragon eyes! Puppy or not Angry Dragon Puppies still could bite!

"Yep… we should be headin' to school soon…" He was still blushing like a sap. "Yeah… you too babe- heh cause its fun to make you blush- sorry can't hear you babe-" More unhinged snickering. He could just make out what sounded like a muffled PDAAAAAAA- from the phone while Boss continued to grin like a loon. An unhinged Goddamn lovesick loon.

Boomer snickered under his breath and Butch rolled his own eyes before he felt that dangerous crimson glare lock right on them. ….Uh oh. He immediately cleared his throat and kicked Boomer under the table. "Okay Pinky- see you soon. Bye."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

And… cue the still blushing but now somewhat...pissed….dragon. Uh….

"So…" Tap. Tap. Tap. "Who wants to die first?" That smile was too broad and he sounded way too chipper and… oh fuck his life. Angry Dragon. Smoke coming from nostrils- OH GOD NOT THE DRAGON!

"HE DID IT!" Butch yelped while pointing to the blonde dumb ass who had the nerve to be pointing at him like some kind of moron even when it had obviously been all him and aw fuck Butch's life-!

Like some kind of miraculous guardian angel the phone rang again- fuck… talk about clingy already: Shit man- when the time came Big Bro was gonna have no problem whatsoever sealing the deal with Red and-

The dragon gave him a hard look but nonetheless looked at his phone before he headed off to the balcony and wait what?

….OHOHO! So that's what the deal was- oh okay the Butch got it- that's right: A "decoy" call and then the real "good mornings" would commence. Heh heh. Nice one Boss. Butch scarfed the rest of his eggs down- well who knew how long this would take- Red probably had to duck in her bathroom or something and-….

Why'd he look… pissed? Err… pissed more he should say.

The hell? Brick was talking in low tones- and his hand was moving wildly- like he was upset… like he was arguing with someone… the fuck? Trouble in….paradise? Already? Huh?

"I told you just put some ice on it!" Boss hissed. "Hey I warned you!" He stiffened. "… What do you mean? Like what?" Butch bristled when that red gaze centered on him and Boomer- narrowed and then he turned back to his conversation.

Butch's fist clenched before he stood.

"What are you doing?" The blonde hissed but Butch shushed him instantly. The moron continued to protest but he ignored it- Boss was still too engrossed in his conversation- the erratic hand movements had ceased and Boss just… stood there clutching the rail.

The only movement being his near constant scratching at his arm- Boom growled under his breath at the sight- Tch like some kind fretting chick or whatever the little baby had been badgering Boss about it for weeks now- Get it checked! Something ain't right with it! Blah Blah! Baby!

"You're kidding…" The grip strengthened on the rail. "You sure? You're a hundred percent-… eighty five's not good enough- ninety is my minimum. Yeah. No offense." Head went in a hand and he yawned loudly. Boomer crept closer or at least tried to like a moron Butch pulled him back. No subtly that one.

"Who's he talking to?" His mouth moved wordlessly.

"Don't know." Butch mouthed back. Boomer's eyebrow rose.

"I'm not saying that! I'm just saying with shit like this-… yeah. Better to be safe than sorry- aw shut up I ain't impulsive in the slightest take that back!"

What the…? They exchanged another look.

Walter? Boomer mouthed. Not a bad guess…. but what would Brick be doing telling his teacher to put ice on something? He hadn't heard about an accident at school or the garage…-?

"Easily but I can't. Because I promised her I wouldn't moron! I'm more than aware of-!"

Boomer blinked and Butch shook his head. He was gonna go with a big No there on the Big "W".

So… who else would Boss be… talking to?

… You're sure...With all due respect your "gut" isn't enough to merit-... shut up. Stop bringing that up. … YOUR NOSE IS FINE YA BIG BABY! No… No running into a wall was not my most brilliant of- yes I'm admitting-... Shut up. Hilarious. Not. Go on- try to convince me of your crackpot theory before I've had caffeine...see how well that works out for you."

Brick was obviously deep in thought- in "Boss mode"- continually tapping the rail. Boomer's eyebrow rose higher and higher- even as they crowded just out of sight of the balcony- Brick after all kept looking behind him… like he didn't want to be overheard… "Yeah. Actually I'd appreciate that yeah. How much? …That was a month ago but whatever I'm not arguing. Yeah the usual…. Yeah yeah- whatever label you wanna put on it whatever- right see you man."

Boss stiffened and then seemed to sigh, "…. Listen get me ninety percent certainty at the least… and we'll talk okay. All I can do. See you."

They practically scrambled back into their chairs and resumed their eating- Boss was obviously distracted… he didn't even bat an eye despite the fact that Boomer had brilliantly decided a spoon was something to cut with. Butch was the one to kick him this time and the blonde quickly switched utensils like a dumb ass. Ugh.

Brick was already typing on his phone-he wrapped a leftover pancake around a few slices of bacon still on the stove and didn't look up once.

They looked at each other but the lame ass blonde who never could leave well enough alone cleared his throat- Brick jumped- startled almost it seemed before he turned to them.

"So uh…. are we picking the girls up?"

Butch almost cursed out loud- IDIOT! Brick's typing paused and he gave them an odd look.

"Nah their Dad's takin' em." He murmured before he dug in his pocket and tossed his keys listlessly, "He insisted or whatever- you two ready?"

Boomer had blanched somewhat like a baby- oh yeah- the very thought of the almighty Powerpuff Daddy was enough to scare the dumb ass. Still though… "Insisted" eh… that didn't sound too good…

Not that the Butch had anything to worry about in that respect but uh… Puppy over here and the fire breathing… Dragon Puppy… might have a bit of a problem.

Boss was blasé as he tossed his keys more, Boomer gulped and grabbed his backpack- ugh sap. Brick rolled his eyes somewhat patted their dumb ass of a brother on the shoulder reassuringly or whatever- ugh. No hope for that one but at least Brick wasn't a lost cause.

….yet.

In some things though…. Boss was err… he needed some assistance.

"MR FIRE!"

The little kid shot over- seemingly out of nowhere and jumping up and down like some kind of overeager hyperactive…. Puppy the kid had already begun his usual high pitched squeaking and bleh…. Kids. It wasn't like Boss had a goddamn reason to be all nice to the kid right now- wasn't like Red was here or nothing but even Boomer paused and bent to the kid's level – just being dumb as usual on his part but the hell man. Ugh – he could already feel the damn headache coming in.

"Morning Greg."

"Oh… Hi Mr. Thunder! Morning!"

"Lightning Greg." Brick muttered. "Blue Lightning"

The dumb kid blinked and then looked at Boomer who was still smiling like a dumb ass. "Oh." He nibbled on his thumb for a second, " Sowwy Mr. Lighting. I'll get it soon I pwomise." A gap toothed dumb smile. Butch rolled his eyes. The kid's creepy big eyes centered on him then- another big smile.

"Ohhh Hi Mr. Dee!"

…Why does this kid persist in calling me that…?

Boss snorted and had to look away for a second. Boomer was snickering like mad. Butch's eyes narrowed.

"His name is Butch kiddo." Again with the quiet murmur. "Where's your mum at- you know you're not supposed to run in the middle of the parking lot- there's way too many cars around and you're puny."

"I'm not puny! I drink my milk everyday like you said!"

"Still a midget." Brick's lip curled somewhat.

"I am nooooot!"

"Yep. You are. You're a shorty."

"Am noooooot!"

Ugh. More of a headache. The kids from the other day had been loud and shit but fuck this one was just nothing but some kind of high pitched puppy and it only had one volume. LOUD. And it kept talking. And going on. And on. Butch rolled his eyes and finally went in the car.

"Aww where you going Mr. Butch?"

"School. At some point." He muttered and the kid gasped.

"Wait Superheroes gotta go to school too?"

"Sure do kiddo. It's why you gotta stay in it you know." Boomer had put on his fake ass "smile for the kids" or whatever the blonde was always insisting on and now he sounded like some kind of lame ass PSA or whatever- ugh. Boss even rolled his eyes and managed to shake off the yapping puppy who had attached itself to his leg yet again – patted his head and turned the kid's ever there baseball cap around backwards and well fuck it was almost like he'd gone and won the fucking lottery or something the way the kid looked at Big Bro- stars in the eyes and shit- hyperventilating even.

Thankfully a frantic clicking and there was the momma here to reclaim her offspring.

"Morning Ms. O'Donnell." Boom waved like a dumb ass and Brick mirrored him with a hard look in Butch's direction. Oh… oh yeah. Lawyer and shit. Gotta be nice to the lawyer who was gonna get em' away from the Monkey once and for all. Guess that explained the whole being extra nice to the brat here and shit.

"Ah good morning boys." She was somewhat out of breath, probably because she'd had to likely run after the pup. "Sorry about that." She shook her head. "Gregory Daniel O'Donnell how many times do I have to tell you do not let go of Mummy's hand in the parking lot there are cars!"

"But Mummy-!"

"No buts young man! Now Brick and his brothers have to get to school just like you do now say bye bye- you'll see them later. Sorry boys have a good day in school." She flashed them a broad smile. The kid waved again.

"Okay Mummy! Bye Mr. Fire! Bye Mr. Fire's brothers!" Cause that was apparently easier to remember than their names. Okie dokie…

"Looks like you've got a number one fan Big Bro." Boomer grinned and leaned up from the back sticking his dumb face in between the seats, Brick rolled his eyes and started the car.

"He's one of those kids whose face is always in a comic book is all- he's harmless."

Butch frowned, "Yeah but don't you ever...get sick of that kid just yapping in your ear all day Boss?"

He was silent, "Meh. You get used to it. I live with you don't I?"

"Oh... well yeah but-... HEY!" '

Boom only started laughing like a dumb ass behind them and he saw Boss's lip curl somewhat as he stared at the road straight ahead – No respect… none whatsoever for the Butch.

"So… the Powerprof wanted to drive the girls today huh?" Boomer said sheepishly, PowerProf? Where the fuck had that come from? How stupid could you get!? Who the fuck had come up with that!? Brick's eyebrow rose at the odd wording too. Boomer flushed, "It's uh… what the Norms call him." He scratched his neck sheepishly. "Guess Mitch is rubbin' off on me."

….That explained a lot. The moron would come up with something stupid like that. Brick raised an eyebrow.

"Is he now?" Another snicker. The moron's cheeks went pink somewhat before he suddenly smirked.

"Nah- he likes em' red more actually." Boss rolled his eyes.

"Sure Mendes just loves to hear that." Their brother muttered.

"Nah you're just eye candy Big Bro- he's pretty hooked on Pablo you don't need to worry." More snickers- another eye roll. "I mean even Mitch knows better than to incur the wrath of the Puff Queen."

"Must you call her that?" Another mutter followed by him squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Seriously- must you?"

"Aw c'mon Your Majesty it suits her ya know." More dumb ass laughter. Fucking moron. Big Bro's cheeks were flaring.

"Why do you insist on calling us- me… her- I… we're not-… God damn it Boomer shut up I'm driving!" He snapped.

"Yeah dumb ass he's driving- stop being a moron!" Butch aimed a cuff behind the seat but Boomer managed to dodge it. " tch- let Boss seal the deal without your lame ass nicknames and shit- Rowdy King and Puff Queen puh-lease-."

"Again is it possible for you to think with something other than your dick!? Has it ever even occurred to you that maybe Big Bro is interested in something other than just "sealing the deal" with Bloss!"

"Course it has moron! But the chick's fucking crazy about him so course Big Bro is gonna-!"

They jolted forward- Brick had slammed on the brake. Both of them looked at him with wide eyes and immediately stared straight ahead. Boss's breathing was quick and the slight smoke coming from his nostrils…. Aw fuck DRAGON! DRAGON ALERT!

"KNOCK IT OFF! BOTH OF YOU!" The roaring dragon well… roared.

"Yes sir!" They both snapped to attention.

"PINKY AND I'S RELATIONSHIP IS NO ONE'S BUSINESS BUT OUR OWN! IF AND WHEN WE CHOOSE TO DO…DO ANYTHING IS BETWEEN US! AND US ALONEI!"

"Uh… Big Bro-."

"QUIET BOOMER!"

"B-But-?! He pointed like a dumb ass and Brick followed and suddenly blanched. The hapless pedestrians in rush hour Townsville traffic also all suddenly decided in sync to look straight ahead. The troop of elementary kids heading off to their own educations also seemed to hurry their pace. Hell even the old broad with the stop sign averted her gaze as she waved the car forward.

As in the… you know… convertible. With the top down. Like it had been… this whole time.

"Uh… Boss?" He finally broke the silence.

"Shut…. Up… Butch." The dragon wheezed.

"Yes sir." He turned back to the street.

Brick continued mumbling to himself- Boomer became very interested in his phone- probably texting his "angel" or whatever- Butch only rolled his eyes more and leaned over the side.

Amateurs.

-V-

Mitch

Townsville High School was buzzing already- well no duh- that rant someone had already caught on their phone? Whoo boy- Robb would have her hands full covering for that one: Yes… yes indeed.

Time for the Norms to come to the rescue as always. Miss Snyder would of course be taking the reins but Mr. Believe would be right behind her. After all let's face it- with his "assigned" Puff… Mike was arguably the leader of their little organization … even if he was whipped and whipped good. Seriously all it took was one mini skirt and voila – putty in her hands- regardless however: Mitch (as well as anyone with half a brain in this school without X powers at least) knew better than to directly argue with Mike Believe- who was more irritable than usual lately. Likely stemming from those "late nights" he had been up to lately.

Uh huh… late nights… uh….huh.

It didn't take a genius but Mitch was no dumb ass. How the fuck he was keeping it from Robin of all people Mitch had no idea but….

….Whatever not his business: he wasn't about to piss Mike off by squealing- ohhh no. Uh uh. Mitch rather liked not being hoisted in the air and hung over a flagpole- yes. Yes he did. Let Mr. Believe deal with the future consequences of getting caught- not Mitch's problem.

Nope. Not at all… he had his own to deal with after all. Because of course he did.

And so the school was abuzz already- Robin would be ready to tear her hair out- She took her role as X Team PR seriously- protecting her dear friends the best way she knew how by keeping the social media vultures at bay and under control - seriously she was a natural and arguably a miracle worker. For near two and half hours Robin had worked tirelessly to keep the public rumor mill at bay- crafting an elaborate narrative and such that captured the fickle attention of the social masses while Bellum wasted her time with the newspapers and television even radio- Robin had been typing away.

When that weird quake had hit the city- still no proper explanation by the way- her trial had ended- the city's social media had exploded into earthquake coverage: there had been no damage save a few broken pieces of china, pictures knocked off walls and a few stray shingles had fallen on some poor sap's car but other than that… nothing.

Geologically science was stumped- it had come from nowhere. Frankly- Mitch was no seismologist or scientist of any sort- but… it had felt… like it had come from… below him. Which well okay that was what an earthquake was and his sweetie had told him as much when he'd mentioned it but…

… Mitch had been a Norm long enough… to know when something…

Just didn't feel right.

He shook his head slightly and his gaze drifted to the slight crowd that had once again congregated around the row of lockers- the usual fan club- men, women – all adoring and all full of whispered gossip and rumors: Ah high school. Gotta love it.

"You think they're doing it?"

"Tch- you heard him in that vid – sides… wouldn't you?"

"Oh my God yeah- Brick Jojo ever wants my shirt off I'd be like- okay where you want it!"

"Keep dreamin' girl- I heard those two are like glued by the hip- lucky bitch- and he's like crazy about her anyway- has been for like ever."

"Wait seriously- like oh my God you know that makes sense- didn't he like flip his shit when Todd pulled that nasty prank back in middle school? Like fucked his nose up or some shit."

"Wasn't that just like a rumor though?"

Case in point.

And so thus did Mitch's duties begin in full. His role was simple- it always had been:

Damage control.

Information gatherer- some went so far as to call him the "Spy" - the Puffs' "bucktoothed little weasel. But really a spy?

Such a horrible way to put it really! He wasn't a spy- he didn't have any neat gadgets or equipment - though he did look pretty swanky in a suit if he did say so himself it was more… Mitch was just friendly! He liked making friends! He got along with every social circle, every "clique" no matter the grade -

Mitch in a day could flit from the art club's table at breakfast, sit with a group of jocks at lunch and be laughing with the honors society at a coffee break. At any given moment- the "preps" would laugh at a joke, a senior would throw him a smile from overhearing said joke. A cheerleader would ask if his lip ring was real (yes) and a junior would want to know where he'd gotten his "kick ass gages done.

And being as friendly as he was Mitch would hear things- and in the course of conversations yes Mitch would "spread" things - again horrible way of putting it. Mitch Michelson just liked to talk! He wasn't a "gossip"- Mitch just got along with everyone!

Well- except the Bitch Squad and well- to be blunt no one liked them much anyway. Morebucks' checkbook bought her friends and popularity but without it- tch- no one wanted to deal with that.

Even though she was still under the delusion she had the honor of being the most popular girl in school.

Which was not true… in the slightest… no that honor was likely Amanda Brinks- senior year class president- over all nice gal- liked by everyone- and for the Sophomore class that honor likely belonged to Bubbles to be brutally honest. Bubbles or Kimberly Wong. Maybe both? Robb was likely up there- Butterscotch too - Blossy Boo… err… she was too shy to be one of the "popular" girls but she was universally respected- and… everyone knew what happened if you messed with her anyway- the psychic and Green Puff wouldn't have a chance of getting to you before the fire breathing Red Puppy made you regret every life decision you had ever made after graduating to pull ups from diapers.

And probably made you shit yourself. By looking at you.

After he was done- then you would meet the angry hockey stick wielding "little brother" and have ice ground into your teeth after which a Green Puff would hoist you over her shoulders - lift you up very high in the air and proceed to yell at you in a very loud voice that could be considered most upsetting for those with delicate constitutions. You might also be upside down during the stern talking to too- it really depended on Butterscotch's mood.

Moral of the story...Just don't fuck with Blossom Utonium. Just...don't do that. You'll live longer.

Princess Morebucks had still yet to come to terms with that very simple concept. And such here they all were.

The girl was deluded. Mitch would admit… there had been times he'd felt slightly maybe not bad for Princess Morebucks but it couldn't have been well… pleasant to be so hated and have no idea- or just too blind to see it.

But the girl just wasn't nice. She was crass- acted completely uneducated- was bigoted as hell and despite her "crush" on Brick Jojo she was also quite vocal in her hatred of "Abnormals" as she'd call them – just like Daddy. Daddy's little girl. Ugh. Apparently if you were "hot" you didn't count- lucky Brick. Fucking hell poor guy.

She'd tried to lure Mitch away from the Norms years ago- probably sensing his popularity would be useful to her- or she'd just wanted to hurt Buttercup or she was just dumb but when Mitch had come out well that had mysteriously dried up. Ugh. It took a lot to make Mitch Michelson hate someone… and she was one of the few that had that honor.

And he was basically one of many- after all after failed freshman presidency and Robin swooping in and saving the day (freshman class) from ruin - well… people tended to remember that.

Thus this year out of a class of five hundred and twelve - Princess Morebucks for her reelection campaign for sophomore class of 2011 Presidency had received a whopping one vote. One. From herself.

So technically it didn't count anyway. Robin had won so single handedly it was almost laughable. The recounts had been hysterical. It had broken a school record. The single most amount of votes for one person Townsville High School had ever seen in a single election.

And of course- Mitch had been blamed. The "Powerpuff's little weasel!" had been flapping his fucking mouth again! Destroying her reputation- spreading all kinds of false info like the good little lackey he was!

Tch. False? Pardon moi? No. Never false. Mitch was never if anything but honest. If he was considered by many outside of their social circle to be the "link" to the X Team and what was going on- then Mitch in fact took that role quite seriously thanks.

Like last month- perfect example- Mitch had been quite busy.

People had been wondering why Blossy Boo was going around with a bandage on her face in early February- so Mitch had sent them the link to the "Catfight" video: If they had decided to adopt stripes shortly after well that was their choice- he had nothing to do with it.

If people came up to him asking if "the rumors" were true about that weird "factory" he'd simply told them what he knew.

What was the deal with Brick's arm?

Brick had been drugged with A'X- he'd had a nasty fall from some grating.

What was the deal with Mike's face- that scar was nasty! –

A machete being used to cut people up would do that.

Why had they gone in?

Investigation gone bad- Mike was superstitious and Brick was a realist: Both had a point to prove to the other. Robin and Blossom were taking care of that punishment- don't worry. Yes. Yes the Red Rowdyruff and number seventeen of the Briners Center were whipped. It was hilarious yes.

WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH THAT QUAKE!?

He had no idea about the quake- it was weird he agreed. With all due respect Mitch was a musician and business man not a geologist.

Are the Reds a thing now?

When a certain picture had ended up on Faceplace - a lovely selfie taken atop the Valentine Carnival's famous Ferris wheel- the two redheads side by side with matching toothy grins and looking nauseatingly smitten and adorable- the school had gone mad.- So many likes and comments. So many it had likely made those innocently naïve redheads' heads spin.

SO CUUUUUUTE! REDS 4 EVER!

U 2 ARE SO CUTE!

LOOK AT THOSE SMILES!

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Damn Brick! Way to rock the glasses!

Wait Brick Jojo knows how to SMILE!?

Blossom don't take this the wrong way but you really need to smile more often- like that- cause damn girl. Congrats Jojo you lucky mother fucker.

Oh My God are you 2 finally together! ABOUT TIME!

Jeez took you guys long enough!

Better watch out Snyder- your shoe in "class couple" for 2011 spot might be in jeopardy!

Calling it- Future Prom King and Queen Right here!

BLOSSICK

REDS

KISS!

And so on.

Blossy Boo had likely regretted forgetting to make that picture private. And in Brick's defense he had had need of a decent profile picture. That weird little faceless figure in the corner was sort of creepy-

"RUFF! P-PDA! What about that don't you understand!?"

"You're the one who said you wanted a pic of me smiling."

"ON MY PHONE!"

Mitch for one much preferred seeing a broad smiled infatuated Rowdyruff Boy holding an equally smitten Blossy Boo on his screen than nameless gray man leering down at him.

After the whole… broccoli incident… Mitch had a thing with aliens okay? Sue him. Well actually no- don't sue him. He was rich but he wasn't that rich- yet. He had a solid investment plan- unlike Father Dear Mitch had no intention of squandering his wealth faster than he could write the checks- his new plastic step mommy wasn't going to stick around when the money dried up.

So Were the Reds together or what? Their Faceplace status or whatever was hidden.

Mitch had no comment on that at the moment- anyone who wished could join Mr. Believe in a round of head smacks in the nearest wall. High pitched lamentations concerning way too stubborn and analytical sisters and best friends optional.

It had all died down soon enough- for the most part: But when Mitch had heard from a concerned freshman who had heard Whorebucks screeching and yelling during her illegal smoke break in the girl's bathroom- the freshie- Connie apparently- had been alarmed when the words- ice bitch was "going to regret it!- well yes- Mitch may have mentioned it to Butterscotch in passing and if Blossy Boo had taken a private lunch with Mr. Jojo apparently on the school roof instead of the cafeteria that afternoon that had been her choice. Mitch had had nothing to do with it.

Princess Morebucks was no fool. It was one thing to ambush a Puff- it was another to openly seek out said Puff when Puff had had warning. The bitch was dumb but she wasn't stupid.

She'd already learned the hard way long ago… what happened when someone pushed Blossom Utonium to her breaking point.

Butterscotch! Buttercup- c'mon speak to me! Speak to me!

Bubsy- Bubsy can you hear me!?

GET HER OUT OF HERE! GET EM' BOTH OUTTA HERE! GO! GO!"

What the-!? Mikey- MIKEY WHAT ARE YOU-!?

GO!

Mitch only spoke the truth. But it didn't mean he… didn't have suspicions… unprovable suspicions… but suspicions nonetheless. And he also knew how to filter the truth.

Why had Mike been in the hospital for almost a week?

Hey, head injuries could be pretty bad: He may have had a thick skull but it was better to be safe than sorry from a concussion like that.

Guess being known as a "klutz" … came in handy at times. No one asked anymore awkward questions.

And not for nothing- while Mitch had nothing but respect for Blossom Utonium… the story about the "serial killer" and the "den of horrors" discovered by those two "brave young men" who had had one long horrifying night evading a madman…

…. It wasweak.

Sorry Blossy Boo… but it was weak. Veterans of Townsville's checkered past and experiences with the supernatural weren't going to be appeased by that for long. Mitch had seen the flashes of… apprehension in Mike's eyes- just walking with him through the school and shit… and the guy just flat out freaked like the devil himself was behind him if you happened to accidentally startle him- random objects flying around optional depending on the witnesses involved.

Nah…. Something…. Something had happened down there. Didn't know what- no matter how much his sweetie pestered him to find out Mitch was pretty sure he never would know but…

Well such was the life of a Norm. Closer than most people (including the press) to the superheroes but still being out of the loop. In everything- fuck it drove Mikey nuts. No wonder the guy had just finally snapped and gone all vigilante on em'!

Oh did Mitch just think that- oh no bad Mitchell- Vigilantes were bad. He didn't know any personally oh no… course not.

Because psychic hockey players were always near dead on their feet at any given time and had begun to worship the great Caffeine God despite all his lectures and arguments to another caffeine addict in the vicinity mere months ago.

Oh. Well lookie here- speaking of…

"Mornin' Mikey." He waved cheerfully. A grunt was the only response he got. Along with a – OH! Chocolate chip! This boy was a saint. A handsome saint- and his mother was a Goddess. Oh how Mitch loved Mondays- "Baking Mondays" – yes- yes he did.

"Gotta get over that there weekend slump kiddies! So here y'all go- a baked treat to start the week off right!"

Elementary traditions… how he loved them so.

"Thanks man!" Another grunt. And Baking delivery boy went on his way- his zombified sleep deprived way- dead on his feet- like a robot- Mitch's eyebrow raised, Pablo blinked but took his own treat with gusto anyway- no one in their right mind said no to one of Janey Believe's baked goods after all.

No one.

The young man made his way over and then pointed over his shoulder somewhat, "What's up with him- he looks exhausted." Oh so cute… but so naïve. Exhausted didn't even begin to cover it- had the guy slept at all? "Should we be worried- maybe I should-?"

Mitch grabbed the well-meaning… but naïvely cute fool by the back of the shirt with a small shake of his own head. "Trust me sweetheart- let the boy finish that magical elixir right there before you approach with anything more than a "oh hey thanks for the muffin man." –Okie dokie?"

Another adorable blink but then his eyebrows furrowed and another deep sigh. "Ah… "Norm" business right?" Good Boy. Fast learner. He shook his head. "Coach won't be happy to hear Believe is a coffee drinker now…."

"Guess it's just a "red" mark on his record then." Mitch shrugged. Pablo snorted,

"Yeah guess it was inevitable – Blossom was bad enough but Brick- dios mios that boy outdrinks her."

"It's a tough job being a leader. And seeing as Mikey's a shoe in for being captain-."

"Despite what some morons think." Another eye roll. Ooh- saucy. "Every practice I swear the guy just goes on and on – he never shuts up. I'm waiting for Mike to snap I really am."

"Ain't that the jackass is counting on?" Mitch took a hearty bite out of his muffin. "Get him in a fist fight or whatever- get a blotch on his record and some shit."

Pablo took a smaller less messy bite, "That's a laugh. Graham's had more warnings than anyone on the team-." He motioned him closer and Mitch eagerly complied, oh that cologne was heavenly- God sent. Huh… so that's what it felt like to be Brick- he actually kind of got it now. ( Seriously- there were times Mitch was pretty sure the Red Rowdy was getting high off the pink Puff or something- he was a clingy pup for sure- and didn't dogs have some kind of… scent instinct or whatever when it came to their mates or some shit? Huh- note to self-ask Believe later- be sure to avoid inevitable hockey stick. He was protective over his charges- goodness. Even more so than normal lately…

"Between you and me all of us are sort of hoping Mike finally snaps- it'll be his first fight but it'll be Graham's fourth- three strikes and you're out- you know what I'm saying." He hissed. Mitch nodded.

No one fucked with Mike Believe- psychic powers not included-he was a bad ass hockey player and those eyes were piercing no matter his mood- He commanded respect from the "normal" crowd- only David Graham - Townsville High's moron of the year by a landslide: Was dumb enough to directly and actively try to piss off Michael Ethan Believe on a daily basis.

The kid had a temper. A hell of a temper- Mitch suspected at times Mr. Believe arguably was more "hot headed" than the resident fire breather at times… sure he was patient. A nice guy and a class jokester. His pranks were legendary (however anonymous) - but… the kid was no saint- everyone had a breaking point.

Shit was going to go down soon- Mitch knew it. Robin knew it. Bubs and Boom knew it. Butterscotch was waiting for it- likely so she could join in- No doubt Blossy Boo had resigned herself to it.

Graham was on - excuse the horrid pun. Thin Ice. Still though…

"….Can I sell tickets?" Another eye roll and that muscular arm was looped around Mitch's neck.

"You need to be less cynical mi dulce raton. Jokes aside what the guy is saying about Brick… a fight with Mike is one thing… but a Rowdyruff fight…" He trailed. Mitch shook his head.

"Won't happen- they have this thing with fights remember? Boom said it the first time we asked why Brick just doesn't punch the turd in the face."

He blinked, "Ah… right the code or whatever." He frowned. "Still though…" Again his voice trailed. The commotion began again- the doors opened and thus the three main attractions had finally arrived for the day. A typical Rowdyruff formation- Boomer on the left – threw the two of them a wave and a smile. Butch on the right- leering looks towards anything with a skirt but towards Mitch and Pablo nothing but a slightly suspicious look- quickly masked by his womanizing antics but… nonetheless there.

But like always lately- it was the brother in the middle – the leader who had taken all the attention and… what the fuck?

Even Pablo's eyes widened somewhat- as they exchanged a brief look.

"Morning Jojo, Jojo brothers-." The Baking delivery boy threw the three of them a mock salute and dug in his magic bag- Boomer took his blueberry muffin eagerly, Butch grunted and shot a nasty even hostile look in Mike's direction.

"I hate banana nut." He grunted. Boomer kicked him in the leg. The Green Rowdy grumbling as he went nonetheless began chowing down on it.

Mike was obviously just too tired (or resigned at this point) to notice.

But… then again who was going to notice with all due respect anything about the Green or Blue Jojo brothers…

When the red one looked basically dead on his feet.

Mitch had seen Blossy Boo at her worst- when before the timely intervention comprised of pinning her to a chair in Mitch's basement ( again why was it always his basement Robb? Why not Mike's- or her's?) - the girl had been existing on a "diet" of coffee and coffee and more coffee when the sushi attacks had begun to spiral out of control: those dark circles, those sleepless nights… and the combination of being a living locomotive talking a million miles an hour at some points and then being a slurring over exhausted zombie someone would have to inevitably carry home.

And not for nothing… but Brick Jojo looked worse.

He was pale- had he even shaved? – And just… something wasn't right. Again… not Mitch's business nor did she have the… clearance in the first place to know that information but…

Even Believe looked startled. He seemed to hesitate on the delivery of Brick's baked good….and coffee but the Red Rowdy grabbed it so fast the guy wouldn't have been able to stop him even if he tried.

Again… Mitch caught Boomer's gaze- a determined and fake smile plastered on his face- covering for his brother as always. Butch made no such effort- that glare was so hateful it almost made Mitch flinch. Good thing Mike was so exhausted he probably didn't even know where he was at the moment.

Brick had thrown his head back and was drinking the caffeine like water - again… was another coffee intervention in Mitch's future? Should he clean his basement?

"Shit man- slow down!"

"Shut the fuck up Believe- don't talk to me until I've had my caffeine."

Again another smirk in Mike's direction and Boomer flinched. Whether it be from the sight of his elder brother putting himself into another caffeine high or at Butch's "glee" at hearing Mike Believe "scolded" ( the kid really did have some err… sharing issues didn't he? ) – Either way Mitch couldn't tell.

"Morning to you too Charming." Mike mumbled. He was flipped off wordlessly but finally with a few loud chugs – was that coffee or booze? - Brick crushed the now empty cup with his fist and tossed it behind him. A slight finger raised on Believe's part made sure it hit its target despite how badly aimed it had been.

"Fuck man how does your mother do it?" Mike rolled his eyes,

"That is a mystery many have spent their lives trying to solve Jojo." Brick snorted loudly and Boomer snickered somewhat but he stopped at the murderous glare he received from Butch. Ah. Mitch gave a subtle nod towards Pablo- it was safe to approach after all.

"Morning Mitch. Pablo." Mike shot them a bright smile- ah apparently his delivery duties being more or less done had left him time to now get his own caffeine high going on- how lovely Robb was going to be just thrilled. And now Believe remembered where he was and was human again.

The two of them still looked dead on their feet. Those circles under the eyes were horrifying- and he was pretty sure Believe had raided his mother's makeup case and tried to cover it- badly- no finesse he'd likely just smeared it on with no thoughts of blending or anything just stick the white powder all over his face and hope not a lot of people asked questions.

This was high school. He was deluded.

Ah… the life of the Norm- maybe Mitch could get the guy to wash it off before Robin got in-.

"You look like shit."

Or Brick could just blurt it out. That worked too. That silver glare was less than friendly but he didn't even flinch.

"I was up late." Another look. Not hostile but directed towards the Red Rowdy all the same. "What's your excuse? Or has Bloss suddenly decided she likes the hairy look?"

He blinked- Butch snarled and Boomer averted his gaze- albeit hand out slightly obviously ready to grab snarling Green brother should it be needed.

Brick blinked and cupped his chin for a moment- eyes went wide for a moment and he cleared his throat.

"Trying out a new look." He said quickly.

"Ah. Okie dokie then." He dug in his bag, "No worries though Jojo- Here's your strawberry tart- your favorite." Brick bristled and swiped the treat.

"Fuck off." He muttered. "That ain't even funny."

"On the contrary it's hilarious- speaking of though- I'm heading out to go meet up with them-." He trailed. The Red Rowdy immediately grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder- d'aww so whipped. So adorable so… outta here?

… Well that was odd. Why go outside to meet up with them- there was only one entrance at the moment because of construction…

Strange.

Certainly the Jojo brothers agreed with Mitch. Boomer's expression was guarded but there was obvious concern. Butch looked ready to kill.

Whoo boy. That wasn't going to be fun. Butterscotch and Boom alike had mentioned… Butch's slightly possessive streak but… their initial worry had been inadvertent sabotage on the Reds part not… directed towards a random Norm.

Boomer was distracted in taming the jealous beast. Pablo was being his usual adorable friendly self. No one would notice if Mitch stepped out for a bit.

Just for a bit of air is all.

-o-o-o-

Stay downwind. He'd been briefed by Butterscotch – the Red Rowdy was very hard to sneak up on.

Even harder to eavesdrop on.

Except this wasn't eavesdropping this was…. Going out for some air before the school bell rang. He dug in his pocket and stuck the arctic mint gum in his mouth- that scent was strong enough to overpower anything.

The crowd of kids all in their usual spots- a few seniors were getting one last smoke break before the bell. What luck- a spot of red and tan- bingo. He waved and one of his friends waved him over- he shook his head at the cigarette offered him though- Pablo was worth quitting over. The laughs were good natured and he was nonetheless allowed in the circle.

He had good hearing. Not as good as X hearing but good nonetheless.

The cloud of smoke and mint would mask him- he was just another scent in the crowd.

Mitch was no spy thanks. But that didn't mean one of his many many talents wasn't… information gathering – even if the means weren't always visible.

But he wasn't a spy. Ugh dirty word.

The two were talking – the red one looked slightly annoyed. The silver one did look annoyed- arguing? At seven twenty in the morning? Whatever about? And yet more frantic pointing at Mr. Jojo's arm… the very same arm that had been in a sling: How very… odd.

He was mad.

Very Mad. And for a moment it seemed even Mr. Jojo was slightly cowed- perhaps it was the ominous white glow in Mr. Believe's irises- that would do it.

"You need to get that looked at! It's been a month!"

"It's fine Believe!"

Having a grandmother who was legally deaf in one ear also made the art of lip reading an essential skill in Mitch's life. Not always an exact science but…

"BIGGER! IT-BIGGER!"

"No. NOT!"

And the psychic's terrible habit of "yelling" with his hands meant that was all Mitch was going to get for now anyway.

Still though… something was up with the boy's arm then? The same arm where he'd been… cut? Was that what had happened- Butterscotch and the others had after all fallen into the same infuriating silence as the two wannabe ghost hunters over the exact events of that night…

Interesting… very interesting.

BOOM

Ah… and now the day was set to get even more interesting because here came the rest of the main cast now. The more appealing sort- the boxy car with the engine slowly dying an agonized lingering death- one that Brick was likely twitching inside from being unable to prevent without permission: Why the man didn't take advantage of the mechanical genius with a wrench who would be willing to do just about to win the approval of said Professor Utonium so he would be able to properly court said man's eldest daughter Mitch hadn't a clue.

Oh well. Mitch excused himself from the crowd all surging forward – discreetly of course-all trying to catch a glimpse of the almighty Utonium sisters- and the class president had apparently joined them today- oh dear… Daisy not running again? That explained why Mike had beaten Robb to school.

Again… another vehicle that… well to be blunt it hadn't run since Robin had bought it used in that shady deal online both Mike and Buttercup had accompanied her to. She loved that lemon yellow Bug however and she was determined to save it…

Robin was more or less one of the best of friends of the infatuated puppy's smitten kitten. Perhaps Daisy would live again someday after all…

"Mikey! Hey! - Hm oh mornin' Brick what brings you two out here- D'aww are you here to say mornin' to Blossy Boo- D'aww!"

"Brick? Michael?" And here we go. He caught the lime gaze and the green puff obviously after giving her goodbye to her growling father - easy there Pup- embracing the redhead in front of overprotective father was not recommended this early on- fix the man's car first then they'd be in business- Butterscotch scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Mornin' Twiggy." She acknowledged the waves and slightly awed greetings of the people around them and denied (albeit hesitantly…) the offer of a smoke - Mitch immediately pulled out his gum pack and she grabbed two pieces- sticking them in her mouth. Baby steps Butterscotch… baby steps. "What brings you here and not hiding in some corner with Mendes until the bell rings?" She flicked her hair over her shoulder nonchalantly- and totally not discreetly keeping an eye on the pleasantries happening behind them.

"Your dad needs to get his car looked at." Mitch murmured.

"I know right- engine sounds sad."

"It does doesn't it."

'Someone should help it."

"It would certainly give Father dear a cause to be grateful."

They smirked.

"Still fighting the inevitable isn't she?"

"You have no idea- every night at dinner there's a new excuse. It's hilarious."

And then cue the high pitched squeal and a blue streak- ah here came the rest of the party- Boom Boom of course caught the blonde and even performed a sort of twirl- four months in and still in the honeymoon stage - how sweet.

She smirked but Mitch knew it was a front- inside she was dancing and smiling ear to ear at the sights of her sisters: smitten, infatuated… happy. But well the toughest fighter obviously had to keep face- a reputation of sorts.

Bullshit as it was.

Speaking of bull however…

"And what Mr. Believe were you up to- to the point you couldn't answer any of my texts last night hmmm?"Robin cooed to Mike as she played with his jacket's strings.

"What's with this look Ruff- not shaving suddenly?" Blossy Boo was taking a more discreet approach (or taking advantage of an excuse she had to touch him -who knew)

Mike gulped and removed Robin's hands from those strings, ""Sorry hon I got caught up in homework – phone was on silent. I answered you though when I got your message!"

Brick was less obvious. "Just tryin' out a new look Pinky...like it?" The smile was fake. He was a horrible liar - not as bad as Believe but close enough- at least in regards to his pink eyed kitten. She was silent- a good or bad sign but she also had begun discreetly playing with the prickly hair.

"I haven't decided yet." She murmured.

Robin pouted, "Yeah like an hour later- what were you doing?" Robb's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah… well I uh…" He looked nervous. Brick had a perfect poker face or he was in "Blossom land" from the mini massage "Like I said honey forgot to take the phone off silent- you know Coach and being super strict about phones and shit at practice- especially night ones. But here-. Fresh out of the oven- one Janey Believe patented apple tart for my Tweety bird."

Baked goods to the rescue.

The Brunette immediately grabbed the tart- and the pink one's eyes drifted from her "deliberations" concerning her "non-beau" new look to the baking delivery boy. He rolled his eyes. "Riiiight- how could I forget- One cinnamon roll for-." It was immediately swiped from his hand and popped in her mouth. "Good God woman chew!"

"Fwut Wup."

"Bad night Leader girl?" Butterscotch murmured quietly. The redhead stiffened. Oh? Bubbles averted her gaze and happily began chowing down on her chocolate chip muffin. Even Butch who had come stalking after his blonde brother seemed to notice the tension in the air suddenly.

Blossom frowned and Brick's gaze was piercing.

"What is she talking about?"

"Nothing."

"Blossy um… fell asleep in her office again is all- she works way too hard don't you agree Brick! Good thing you guys are going out Saturday! Right?" Nervous laughter. The tension didn't abate in the slightest.

"I thought you said you went to bed early last night." Brick folded his arms.

"I...did." She mumbled. "I woke up in my office...but-."

"Pinky…" She bristled at the warning tone,

"You're one to talk!" She hissed. Uh oh. Trouble in non-official paradise already. She pulled at the stubble on his chin. "Now is this really a new look or did someone oversleep again because you didn't sleep at all! You were up all night reading all those legal papers again weren't you!"

Oh boy… uh...time to vacate.

"I have to be prepared babe!" He hissed.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Blossom hissed back. MREOW! Okay… time to vacate. Couples spat imminent. Even Boom was discreetly pulling Bubbles away and Butch exchanged a quick look seemingly in sync with Believe- realized what he'd done and quickly turned it into a scowl.

SHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGG

Ah… saved by the….bell? And… oh okay stubborn kitten one way… angry puppy on another….oh that just...was swell. Again- another look exchanged before jealousy got in the way and stalked after his brother while the psychic it was in his best interest to accompany Miss Snyder to her homeroom.

Mitch exchanged another look with Buttercup but she was silent- even as she ignored the scathing look from the blonde.

"You didn't have to bring that up BC…" She scolded quietly. "It's not Blossom's fault she sleepwalks."

Silence.

"Bloss sleepwalks? Really? Huh… she didn't back in-." Boomer trailed. Bubbles sighed.

"Yeah… when she's stressed she does- I dunno why she didn't back then- maybe she was too stressed or something I don't know. It's been happening a bit more than usual lately but it's probably because of the icky sushi or whatever. I wouldn't worry about it. C'mon guys we should get to class."

Seemed…. reasonable enough.

Funny though… judging from that hard lime eyed stare…

Why did Mitch have the distinct feeling… something else was happening here…

Not that it was…any of his business of course.

Mitch leaned over and caught her by the arm as she strolled past him.

"Something's up with Brick's arm. Believe's sucking down coffee again."

She was silent as always- the most discreet of nods in her wake but she sailed into the school regardless. Mitch felt a gentle grip on his arm.

"Yeesh… trouble in paradise I guess." Pablo grimaced but then gave him a wan smile, "I'm sure it'll be fine though- c'mon. I'll walk you to class maybe?" he extended his arm.

"Oh well lead the way my fine sir." Mitch was no fool - he grabbed that fine arm and let the gentleman escort him to homeroom. Oh yes he did.

A fine reward for a day's good work.

Yes… yes indeed.

-V-

Buttercup

There was a lot to be said for the organization of TVHS's student government: The seniors obviously had the best seats in the school: the fourth floor atrium- where they arguably were watching over their kingdom from afar- the juniors second best on their third floor observatory but Buttercup had to give the sophomores (Robin) credit- they'd managed to turn their second floor classroom (old science lab) into a pretty nifty "headquarters" of sorts.

She strolled on through- their class secretary Oliver Walsh waved cheerfully while the treasurer Hanout nodded as she continued writing down… way too many numbers for BC to handle on a non-class necessity basis thanks. All the power to em'. They were way too happy at the moment- Buttercup called bullshit.

Pablo looked up surprised at her approach- she noted his "desk" had been moved in front of the large former supply closet that had been converted in the President's "office"- she also took note of the loud slamming noises coming from within.

"O-Oh- Hey Buttercup what brings you here?" He closed his binder. "I'm sorry I can't make it to practice today but-." She waved her hand idly.

"No worries Mendes- just wondering if Madam President is in." She crossed her arms. He frowned.

"Yes and no… yes she's at her desk but uh… she's not happy at the moment." He cleared his throat and looked behind him then her before he waved Buttercup closer. "I think her and Mike got in a fight." He whispered.

Her eyebrow rose, "Really? Why?"

Another grimace, "Well maybe not a fight but uh… definitely a spat…"

"Them too huh?" She murmured. He nodded.

"Something about not picking up his phone…?" He trailed.

"Ah. Being MIA again." She squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Okay Mendes- at ease. You're a good guard dog but let me handle this. "He grimaced. "Just tell her I threatened to deck you in the nose." She said dryly.

"That'll work." He mumbled and she strode over to the large doors and debating on knocking but- Nah. She strolled on into the darkened room.

"Leave." The deep growl likely would have cowed anyone else into doing just that but meh Buttercup liked living dangerously. The brunette was perched behind her grand "desk" ( three smaller desks shoved together and a big green cloth from the Prop closet draped over it- she'd also commandeered an old office chair from said closet. As Robin said- as long as everything was back in there by the end of the year "clean up" no one gave two shits.

Her teeth were mashed- she was writing furiously- and she didn't even bother looking up. Buttercup cleared her throat. "Ahem."

Snap

There went that pencil.

"I'm busy. Leave any concerns you may have with anyone outside and I'll look into it as soon as possible."

"It's me Robb- down."

She blinked and her brow furrowed, squinting, Buttercup rolled her eyes and flicked the switch. The brunette flinched and shielded her eyes somewhat.

"Working in the dark isn't recommended Robb." She leaned against the doorframe. "So… you and Believe had a tiff or whatever today too?"

The class president stood up and stormed over to a bookshelf- grabbed a binder and ripped it open- slamming a piece of paper down on the desk. "You know what this is?" She hissed.

"A piece of abused paper." Buttercup said dryly. Robin snorted.

"Maintenance records. Zamboni records- turns out that old Martha or whatever stupid name the Briners came up with has been out of commission for the last oh...five days - this week there's no practice. But yet… Mr. Believe has been at nonexistent practice." She hissed. "For the last three days! He's forgetting to turn his phone back on- oh yeah fucking right! Fool me once shame on you- fool me twice shame on me - fool me thrice- Something's going on!" She snarled. "He is hiding something from me!"

Took her this long to figure it out?

"He's not cheating on you." Buttercup shook her head, "You've got him completely wrapped around your-."

"I know that!" She paced somewhat pulling at her braid irritably, "I'm not worried about that! I trust him in that! I trust him in general! Or at least I mean want to but-!" She sighed. "I've done my damn best to be patient… I am patient- I know he'll talk when he's ready- I know whatever happened down there with him and Brick and then Blossom and you all- I know he's freaked out… and-." Her arms folded. "I've tried everything you know…have you not noticed my wardrobe choices?" She held out her jean skirt and stuck out her boot. "I'm not proud of it but… how am I supposed to help him… if he won't let me in." She hissed. "Yeah I lost my temper with him- he and I had words and again… I'm not proud of it."

"You're human Robb- it's understandable."

"He just won't budge! Neither of them will! It's like this big wall of silence or something with them- I've tried. Blossom's tried. Hell his brothers have tried! Nothing. "She chugged down her water bottle and then plopped in her chair- waving Buttercup to sit in the other. "It's almost been a month BC...I'm really starting to worry now."

"You and me both then."

"The same guy who staged an intervention to curb Blossom's coffee is suddenly drinking the stuff- black- like water. I've heard of "sponging" off the other but this is crazy! And Brick not shaving today- the fuck!?"

All valid points. She leaned back- "So you agree then...something's up?"

Robin gave her a withering look, "Of course I do- it's obvious. How Blossom hasn't seen it I don't know! But what does it matter because- wall of silence- My Mikey's a terrible liar...but he's loyal as hell." She sighed again.

"Normally one of his finer attributes." Buttercup mumbled. Robin snorted bitterly.

"Mmhm. But like it or not- Mikey's not talking now and he likely won't… but…" She gave her a long look. "I was there." Buttercup stiffened. "I was there when you all came back...the first time. I saw… Bloss." She whispered. Buttercup popped a piece of gum in her mouth quickly- it was still dry but… at least it was bearable. "I know it's classified… I know Bellum slapped that classified sticker on that file so fast it would have made the Tribune's head spin but…." She took a deep breath. "Whatever… was down there… whatever he had to fight…I know one thing about my Mikey." She tapped her nail in the wood in a constant tap tap tap- "Mikey's always been… Mr. Hero- sometimes I swear he think's invincible- I kid you not I really think he does sometimes- drives me crazy - like one of these days I wouldn't be surprised if he just decides- well - YOLO! - you only live once and he shoves on some lame ass costume and mask on and calls himself "Super Mikey" or whatever and then I dunno- he trips over his cape and falls off a damn building and BOOM- I don't have a Mikey." She whimpered.

Buttercup sighed heavily and patted her friend's hand, "we all know the guy has a chivalrous streak yeah but even Mr. Believe wouldn't be that stupid Robin. C'mon. He might be stubborn. He might be an idiot but Believe ain't dumb."

"So why did he go with-!?" She threw her hands in the air, "Never mind- I know why. Cause he's his "best friend." -." She air quoted and then squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Between you and me I think those two are determined on sending Blossom Marie Utonium to the looney bin before she's twenty five and me right with her."

"Right speaking of my dear older sister."

Her eyebrow rose, "what about her? Next to her apparent new bed in her office…" Robin said dryly.

Buttercup flinched. Another sleepless night for her too why don't you know- because oh it was just so relaxing and hypnotic to witness from the corner of her eye the truly mesmerizing sight of her sister stumbling out of bed- eyes closed- a little dribble of drool hanging off her mouth even - clearly fast asleep- and then she just… walked. And shit… shit had gotten weird and well Buttercup didn't want to think about it...nope. Nope. No thanks. Robb's sharp gaze centered on her again. Seeing as the girl was their next door neighbor...the chick had likely seen...well things.

She never asked...she left well enough alone but…

"We've exhausted our options you know- if Believe is as… loyal as you say he is." Buttercup muttered.

"Which he is. Something I normally love about him." Robin sighed.

"We have to go to the source." Buttercup said baldly. "We have to make Capp Boy talk." Robin was silent before she leaned back and steepled her fingers with a snort. "I never said it'd be easy."

"More like impossible. You actually think you can make the Red one talk?" She shook her head. "He's kept that wall up for a month- he lives up to his name- a brick wall if there's ever been one."

"Who said it'd be me."

More silence- more steepling of fingers. "... I'm listening."

-o-o-o-

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?!"

The plan was simple. Or should have been. Save the key factor being… well…

"I surely must have misheard you Robin- please tell me I misheard you-!"

Leader Girl for all her being a smitten kitten... was however still being difficult and uncooperative. Blushing like mad- acting utterly scandalized - this being the same girl who had spent a good forty five or so minutes making out in the back of a movie theater… but that apparently was different.

Bubs was also utterly scandalized- "BC! ROBBI! How could you say such a thing!?" She yelped.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and removed the packaging from her brownie- Leader Girl's centered on said brownie. Discreetly of course- how unfortunate for her that class had run late and she had missed on her chance to have such a delicious treat. "Oh please Bubs- it's not like I'm telling the girl to go and have sex with the guy or whatever! Or well I mean if you want to sis that's one thing but-."

"BUTTERCUP!" Another scandalized shriek. Robb sighed and took a sip of her drink before she set it down pointedly,

"Bloss. You and I have both talked about this. Something is up with Mikey and Brick. You know this."

She flinched, "And I thought we agreed the best thing to do was let them be and they would come to us when they were-!" Blossom protested but Robin shook her head.

"That was a month ago hon."

"... It takes time-it was very likely traumatizing for the both of them- I...I mean he… he almost-." Her voice shook and she didn't even try to finish that thought. "... b-besides you would be better off getting one of Brick's brothers to speak to him- Brick won't want to speak to me he's still-."

"Yet he hasn't claimed his hat back." Robin said dryly. Blossom's eyes widened and her hand went to her head where a familiar red cap still rested. Her cheeks went pink before she bit her lip somewhat.

"Even… Even if I were to consider… speaking to Brick… there's no guarantee he'll-."

"Leader Girl… trust me if anyone can get Brick Jojo to talk it's you sweetie pie." She blushed harder.

"I think that's a gross exaggeration-."

Bubbles giggled, "Oh it's not Blossy. It's totally not. He likes you so much its so cuuuuuute!" She clasped her hands together. More blush.

"The guy is completely infatuated Bloss- utterly smitten- trust me I know this from a….reliable source." Robin smirked. "I mean…. let's face it if you were to tell him to - oh I dunno- uh….. Throw his hat in the shredder or something-."

She made a small eep and pressed the hat flatter on her head- Bubbles and Robin both burst out laughing as Buttercup only snorted and shook her own.

"I would never-!" She protested while still holding it.

"Yes-yes- Leader Girl- the point is… men as a whole are a simple species- flash them a nice smile and bat those pretty eyes and voila- they're putty." Buttercup shrugged while Robin nodded sagely.

"Oh BC that's terrible!" Bubbles scolded.

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Oh and you don't have Boom completely wrapped around your little finger." She held up her own pinkie. Bubbles flushed.

"W-Well…. I mean… I um…"

"He's completely your bitch right we get it Bubs- anyways!" Buttercup shrugged and also ignored the high pitched squeak and her little sister hiding her face in her hands. Blossom still looked mortified.

"Blossom. We know Cap Boy lied in his report-." She bristled and those eyes flashed dangerously, oh right- protective. "Okay- he may have left some things out of the report." Magenta faded. "I don't know why- no one does but don't you think we really ought to know- you know…" She leaned over and Robin sighed but covered her ears and looked away politely. "You know what Cap Boy and Believe ran into. Or better yet you know who they ran into." She hissed. Blossom blanched- Buttercup sat up, "Not for nothing I understand what he's feeling right now- trust me I get it- he's in protective mode big time- he's trying to spare Boomer and the moron."

Bubbles nodded quietly, as Robin continued to hum to herself rocking to the tune and keeping her ears covered. Blossom however….was silent. Gotcha. Buttercup pounced- if there was one thing that would get the "commander and leader" cooperating… it was her "duty."

"But not for nothing… we don't have time for "brotherly love"- We have a city to protect and if that…. if you know who… is in fact planning something... "

"Then the X Team needs to know." Blossom finally whispered. Her eyes squeezed shut but finally she nodded. Bubbles seemed to sigh in relief while Buttercup exhaled with her before a slight kick and the brunette was allowed to return to the conversation. Blossom continued wringing her hands. "I know that… Buttercup. Of course I do...and deep down he does too but…" Now the blush returned. "I don't...think I can do it- what you're asking me… I… I'm not-. Maybe another...less… um… well any other girl could but me… I don't think…" Her voice was getting smaller and smaller.

Buttercup exhaled slowly and Robin squeezed her eyes shut with a snarl and balled fist on the table. Bubbles openly growled and grabbed their sister's wrist.

"Oh now you stop that! You're beautiful!"

More blushing but still a minute shake of the head. Buttercup joined Snyder in the snarling.

There were a lot of living things Buttercup so longed to punch but one of the top fives was that insipid… petty… pathetic…. excuse of a husk of plastic and some humanity left that was Princess Morebucks. That unhinged (jealousy fueled) campaign of fucking terror she had for three long… long years waged against Buttercup's poor sister had scarred the Pink Puff for life.

For life.

Her sister- her gorgeous sister- was in fact under the impression she was some disgusting freak of nature - what with her pink eyes and vibrant copper colored hair- two things that in Buttercup's opinion actually made the pink puff a knockout but well with the power of instant messaging, the infant stages of social media, enough cash to throw around to make people say whatever she wanted whenever she wanted- and the added "bonus" of them all having begun the pleasant process known as "puberty"- X-puberty" that is… Princess Slutbucks had managed to make Blossom Utonium's life pure… living… hell for three…. long…. years. Nothing had helped. No angry Puff eyes, no angry psychic eyes or black belt wielding ones even Twiggy's desperate double deals couldn't compete with that fucking checkbook.

The girl had been determined upon hating them all. But an especial hatred had been saved for Buttercup's poor sister…

Blossom was still keeping a timid hold on that red cap - touching it likely unconsciously as Bubbles and Robin persisted in stating the obvious over and over Blossom's looks and her elder sister's quiet denials which persisted to this day.

It had finally ended mysteriously enough with no explanation. One final incident involving a particularly vile specimen throwing an entire bucket of water over her sister - as a "lesson" for not giving in to the creep's advances… humiliating her in the process. (Again…) Causing the Pink Puff to finally lose that almighty self-control- burst out crying and run for the hills.

Buttercup and Mike of course had had enough at that point- they'd been preparing a most special punishment in fact when Todd or whatever his name had been had suddenly had some sort of… miraculous change of heart- gotten on his knees and begged for the Puff's forgiveness. Literally- he'd been almost in tears.

The shiner on his eye had been a pretty good one too. Not forgetting the sorry state of the guy's nose….

And just like that...it had been over. No one had ever crossed her sister again.

A mystery… but was it though?

Sometimes… Buttercup couldn't help but wonder….

"Right BC!" Hm? She looked up and the blonde was staring at her imploringly- oh...right.

"Oh! Of course- c'mon Leader Girl you're a total hottie you know that." More blushing. Still silent.

"Brick certainly thinks so…" Robin cradled her chin. " Mmhmm yes he does. He does call you-."

Her blush was worst of all- "Alright, alright I get it!" She waved her hands wildly, "Okay...I am… some… what attractive-."

Ugh. Best they were going to get- may as well go with it.

"But...I don't….know...how to-..." She trailed and held her cheeks.

"Well… what do you two...do? Clearly you did something to get a forty five minute make out-."

"For the last time the bank-!" She yelped. Even Bubbles gave her a blank look- she slumped in her chair. "It just… kind of happens- I've never… tried to-.. You know! I wouldn't know where to...where to start!" She groaned and hid her face in her hands as Bubbles patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Buttercup sighed and scanned the cafeteria- let's see- let's see. Ah. Freshman athletic table. That would do. She cleared her throat and tapped the table. The three looked up. "Observe Leader Girl." She said dryly as she stood.

"I'd rather not…" She groaned. Buttercup ignored her and stood up- with a crack to her back and began fanning herself dramatically. Blossom groaned more. "Fuck girls it's hot - shit did they put the heat on in here or whatever- ugh I'm so damn hot!"

"Buttercup…. Buttercup sit down!" Blossom hissed. Bubbles was too busy giggling like mad to join in the "indignation". Heh. "Shit maybe there's not too big a line at the water machine- I'll be right back girls- shame I did want to eat lunch but well-."

The footsteps were instant. She curbed the smirk. Blossom's eyes were wide.

"Oh h-hi Buttercup-um ma'am-h-here have some of mine- I have an extra." The freshman male was shaking practically as Buttercup plucked the bottle out of his hands.

"Fuck man- are you a lifesaver - thanks- shit what was your name again?"

The kid was sweating bullets. Bubbles was giggling hysterically- Robin buried in her shoulder- Blossom sunk deeper into her chair.

"O-OH! Uh...Um…. K-Kevin Ma'am- you're right though- they uh- they definitely have the h-heat on or somethin' you know! Ha ha!" Her lips curled.

"Oh my God that's so cute!" Bubbles said in between giggles.

"He's a freshman oh what is my sister doing…" Blossom groaned.

"Teach us your ways sensei." Robin only snickered.

The kid was too dazzled to notice- heh. He kept looking behind him- the table of males was watching their ambassador eagerly- having had the courage to dare approach the Powerpuff table- he was obviously looking for social cues. Tch.

Observe Leader Girl.

"So um… Buttercup-." He cleared his throat- ah preening- Arrogant type- "You uh thought about your new spring sport yet- word around… uh everywhere is you're not uh… doing basketball this year- which is totally bull for the reason! Yenko's a dick!"

She frowned. Don't remind her. He paled. He had upset the Powerpuff Girl somehow (?) -Uh oh! - Another frantic look behind him- his teammates were egging him on still. She rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Ken- he is an asshole."

"Uh... yeah but you know I bet uh… lacrosse would love to have you! I mean-!"

Lacrosse was boys only. She kept her smile up.

"Oh… I wasn't aware it was coed this year." She took another swig. The laughter grew louder- and the plop of Blossom's head hitting the table was just as loud.

"O-Oh! Uh… Field Hockey! I meant field hockey! My uh… cousin's sister… she thinks you'd be a great fit!"

Another swig. "So in other words… your cousin?"

"O-Oh! Yeah… Uh right… Penny's my… cousin…. right." He mumbled.

Ah well- he'd served her purpose well- may as well spare him further embarrassment.

"Right… hm… I'll have to think about it- I'll check it out sometime maybe." She finished the bottle smoothly and handed it to him. "Thanks Ken you're a lifesaver."

"N-No problem Buttercup! Who wouldn't do something for the uh… P=Powerpuff Girls! Uh...OH! Hey- by the way-!" He dug in his jacket and pulled out- oho what's this! Hmmm…. "I managed to swipe an extra one- if you want you can have it."

…. Hmmmmm. She turned back to her table, back to the freshman and then at the glaringly empty dessert spot on Leader Girl's tray. And then at the brownie being offered.

"Oh thanks but I already had one but you know - my poor sister here- Blossom- she got held up in class so she missed her chance and I feel so bad because she loves them so much. Could she have it?"

And cue the somewhat dazed kid suddenly turning into a stuttering wreck- eyes locked on her older sister and his breathing becoming slightly worrisome as quickened.

"Now Buttercup that's really not necessary- eh!?" The brownie (like clockwork) was shoved in her face.

"H-Here you go Miss… B-Blossom… ma'am… You… You can have both of em' even! I don't need em' Coach will get mad if I go too nuts on the sweets anyway!"

Point. Set. Match.

"Um… Well… I uh… thank...you?"

His cheeks were bright pink- and he was stumbling for words before he turned on his heels and ran back to his table. The hooting began immediately as did the high fives and claps on the back. Ah… men. So predictable. Buttercup smoothly returned to her seat.

Robin and Bubbles both were in near hysterics while Blossom only continued staring at the two brownies suddenly in her hands looking just so confused - it was adorable really.

"You were saying Bloss." Robin said between snorts.

"What am I supposed to- do I eat these?"

"That's usually what brownies are for Blossy." Bubbles said between her own giggles.

"But… why did he?"

"This is usually a part of the c-courting p-process y-yes." Robb was lost in an uncontrollable snorting fit shortly after.

"But why would he-?" Still not getting it. No choice.

"Cause you're hot." Buttercup said badly. More blushing.

"W-Wha-!? Wait but I didn't ask for- I don't understand….?" She squeaked and looked at the treats in her hand.

"Soooo…. what was that about not being able to-?" Buttercup folded her hands serenely under her chin- Blossom was still stuttering, Robin was still snorting and Bubbles was lost in her own giggling fit. Just a typical lunch among them girls.

"You know...I bet Cap Boy will sneak you one too-." And bingo. The cheeks went crimson then- heh. Before the stuttering wreck took a deep breath and folded her hands in her lap.

"I think not. He...he happens to be a fan of these brownies I highly doubt he'll-."

"Cept I know something he likes better…." Robb sang and Blossom gave her a withering look before she finally set the other two sweets aside.

"It wouldn't be right to eat these- please see these get back to Ken-."

"Kevin, Blossy." Bubbles giggled. Her sister flushed.

"Ah… right- err Kevin I meant… please see these back to him I don't feel… comfortable accepting… them from a stranger and well it'd be rude. Now if you excuse me girls I really should be going-."

"So will you talk to Brick or not Blossom?" Robin interrupted. "Bloss- listen I know you're just as worried and BC has a totes point- if anyone and I mean anyone can get Brick to talk… it is you. Listen… I'm worried about Mikey okay… something seems off with him… and I know you are too. All joking aside Bloss… something's up. So… you… you should find out. Just saying." She finished quietly.

There was a lingering silence. "... I'll speak to him." She finally murmured and Robin seemed to slink down in relief. "But I can't guarantee… I will not try to…. coerce" him into…" her blush deepened before she sighed, "I… can't promise anything but… I'll try." She stood and gave a little wave before she strolled out of the cafeteria. Robin's head went in her hand. Bubbles rested her own on her shoulder.

"I'm not trying to be a bitch I swear I just don't know what else to-!" The brunette gulped.

"You love him Robbi…." Bubbles clasped her hand. "It's understandable." She murmured soothingly.

"She totally hates me." A groan.

"No." More soothing. "She's worried too… Blossy's… been off lately." Buttercup flinched and the blue stare was piercing. The blonde however said nothing else. For now. That didn't bode well for Buttercup's future. "You know BC… not for nothing though you didn't have to word it the way you did- no wonder Blossy freaked out. And you really should give that guy his brownies back." She wagged her finger.

Buttercup snorted and grabbed the dessert and removed the plastic, no way was she letting one of these babies go to waste. "It's not my fault all men are idiots." Double whammy of piercing blue stares. She rolled her eyes as she took a hearty bite of the decadent treat. "Okay fine- Most men are idiots- aforementioned beaus of the young ladies of this table are excluded- happy?"

The brunette was too busy in her sense of late guilt to say anything else and the blonde frowned but shook her head.

"Oh Buttercup…" She murmured.

Ugh...again with that damn pitying tone only the blonde was capable of. She took another bite in silence.

Those damn eyes… fucking blue knives is what they were… fucking… hell. Like some kind of unfair weapon or whatever!

Ya know… green eyes are ma favorite- blues kinda overrated you's knows what I'm sayin?

….Really?

Aw c'mon Buddababe…

Would I eva lie to ya?

She took another bite- biting it clean in half this time.

"BC? You okay?"

Chomp.

"Fine."

-V-

Butch

A-A-ACHOO

…. Ugh. Goody. There went the microwave- Butch tapped his fingers irritably on the counter.

ACHOO! ACHOO! A-A-A-A-!"

And the stove… well least the popcorn was done.

ACHOO! ACHOO! CHOO-CHOO-!

"GOD DAMN IT TWEEDLE DUM COVER YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Well glad someone had finally said something. The over exaggerated groan meant to apparently instill some kind of pity for the dumb ass echoed as the beanpole wheedled over and plopped himself on-.

"HEY! THAT'S MY SEAT! GET YOUR OWN!"

"I don't see-!" Achoo! Lights flickered. "Y-Your-!" Achoo! Laptop with Boss's lame ass jazz playlist flicked on and off. " N-Name on it!" Achoo! Achoo! Choochoooooooooo! DVD player turned on with one of those obnoxiously happy little jingles or whatever.

"Never mind…. you can have it." Butch grumbled and plopped himself on the floor- fine- he could watch the game here then. Boss was still settled on the sofa- surrounded by Emancipation law 101 and not checking his phone every five seconds… nope- course not. Because Big Bro wasn't stewing. Nope.

"Remind me again how you managed to make yourself sick in less than eight hours." Brick muttered as he turned another page (and glanced at this phone) Butch rolled his eyes and grabbed a handful of popcorn: Making sure to keep it from Typhoid Eddy over here at the same time.

"I-I-." ACHOO! "I ain't sick!" Boomer whined. "It's just dusty as fuck in here!"

That crimson glare wasn't pleasant- and the blond moron immediately clammed up. Not a good idea to poke the dragon on a good day but the day the dragon's mistress decided to be off speaking terms with him…

Ah well- hey least it wasn't Butch this time. Boomer however was a dumb ass on a good day- so now him (not) being sick and all he wasn't thinking even more than usual -

"Have you tried calling her- ACHOO!"

The TV went black.

AW HELL! NO! Right in the middle of a-! The blonde rubbed his nose sheepishly.

"...Oops?" He mumbled.

"... My TV! YOU LITTLE-!" Butch shot up.

"It was an accident!" Boomer yelped- avoiding the punch.

"MY TV! MY GAME!"

"You don't even like basketball-!?"

"I LIKE CHEERLEADERS!"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME-?!"

SLAM. There went the law book onto the coffee table.

They both froze. Uh oh. Uh…. uh… Boomer gulped (and sneezed) - Butch obviously had more dignity and merely sneered his justified discontent with this bull shit. The smoke wasn't… black at least but it wasn't… err… steam either… so…. dragon was… pissed.

Pissed and sexually frustrated.

Terrible combination for anyone but with a sadly repressed fire breathing dragon puppy whose mistress was certainly not willing to throw any sort of bone to at this moment when he was clearly hungry… that was…. uh….

…. not good. For innocent bystanders. Like the Butch.

…. Or Butch's television.

Or… uh guess the dumb ass next to him too- guess Butch was kinda supposed to care about him too. Brothers and shit… sibling whatever.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

May as well have been a funeral march.

"Big Bro-." Boomer began (dumb ass) - like clockwork Brick grunted and held his hand up. "But-?" Another grunt. "C'mon Brick I didn't do it on purpose-!" A grunt. A whine.

"Well maybe if you weren't doin' your dumbass electro-sneezes or whatever near all our shit-!" Another grunt and then Brick had turned to HEY! WHAT DID BUTCH DO!? What's with angry dragon eyes at him!?

Brick took a deep breath, "Boomer. Go take some fucking sneeze-away. Butch. The game sucked ass and we were losing badly anyway- now both of you find a mother fucking movie, put it on, and don't say another… goddamn...word until I say so- Okay?" He hissed before he plopped back on the couch- ripped the book back open- glared at his phone again and then fell back into the mysteries of United States Family Law 101.

Boom immediately headed for the kitchen while Butch dug through the cabinet- Boss just kept reading in (stewing) silence.

"Hey uh… Big Bro-." This kid was a fucking nutcase. Was he delirious too!? Boomer however came floating back in- big pill in his hands and then he set Boss's trusty mug down in front of him- Brick grunted but nonetheless reached over and took a sip.

"What is it Boom?" fuck he sounded tired. He looked tired- just… Butch grimaced somewhat- and held up Zombie Horde Anthology - his brothers both silently nodded but in Brick's case it could well have just been him nodding off- the beanpole frowned and swallowed the pill dry before he plopped himself on the loveseat ( That had been Butch's thanks so much)

"Brick… do you really think that… this is going to end up going to…" Boomer wrung his hand like a sissy baby and the Rowdy Boss was silent before once again the heavy book was closed.

"Don't worry about it." Boomer flinched like a moron and Butch only put the disk in and began skipping the previews.

"Big Bro... "

"Concentrate on school…. the band… Bubs." he murmured. "I got this under control Boom. Don't worry yourself into one of those sissy fretting attacks aga-." He hissed suddenly and clutched his arm. That fucking arm- and here they go again. Boomer pounced.

"Did you let the Professor look at that yet!" he snapped. Brick rolled his eyes and scratched his arm irritably.

"It's fine- it's just scabbing."

"For a month!?"

"It's fine Boomer! Cripes I get enough of this from Believe I don't need it from you!"

Butch bristled. Oh... him again.

Mr. High and mighty look at me I'm so cool- I'm all buddy buddy with the rowdy Boss- and I'm fucking the class president and I'm looking to add the Pink Puff ( NOT HAPPENING) to my list too- fucking hell Butch fucking hated that arrogant PRICK.

When he'd ever just gone a sauntering away with Brick- talking in some kind of weird ( badly disguised) code or whatever- the whipped dog completely left as a pathetic excuse of a male left begging at his mistress's door because they'd apparently gotten into some kind of fight- because fuck he liked to pretend he was Boss's shadow or something.

Just following around Butch's brother like that dumb ass kid neighbor they had below em'- oh wait no that wasn't fair to the kid: Brick was a pretty kick ass actual hero so it would make sense a child would worship the damn ground his kick ass brother walked on but Believe was their age- what was his excuse.

Oh he could picture it. The little coward cowering behind his brother, screaming for his momma while Brick fought that perverted ghost -demon… wannabe opera ghost who wanted a piece of Pink nooky and just- UGH! It made Butch's skin crawl.

He didn't know what that had been… it hadn't been no human that's for damn sure… and the fact it had gone and stalked Red for apparently months trickin' her into thinkin' he was so kind of dream or some shit- what an asshole! Butch was goin' to enjoy watchin' Boss rip im' into pieces and leave nothin' but ashes when he was done.

He probably would have already if someone hadn't gone and followed Boss like some kind of braindead fucking puppy!

And why the ever living fuck had Brick let the shithead tag along?! The hell had he been thinkin'- if Boss had needed back up why hadn't he called BUTCH!?

Boom was too much of an idiot to be of any help obviously but BUTCH!? BUTCH!? Baron of the berserk!? Green….uh… what was his code name again? He could never remember- kind of dumb and shit to be honest but it was handy for the kids he guessed. But that didn't matter!

No see- Butch should have been the one to go in the lobster's candy shop of horrors! Butch! Not Boomer, Not Boss woman, Bubsy or Butters and most certainly not the JACK ASS!

But no… Brick had gone in alone. Alone and been confronted with some delusional wannabe hero who had distracted Boss in trying to keep the dipshit alive and had most definitely been the reason Brick had been caught.

He'd gotten his brother caught. Boss woman had almost been… (Don't think about that… puking was gross) and the girls had gotten hurt- Boom had gotten hurt.

It was all that shithead Believe's fault- and the fucker was going to pay dearly for it.

And then- oh then to go parading himself around like he was some kind of hero. Playing all coy and humble like- refusing to talk about anything - like he was just so much better than all of em'- even having the nerve to claim he didn't remember shit- oh yeah okay- even Butch knew a fucking hour missin' from a report was bull! But what else did Boss have to work with- he'd done the best he could and shit with the shit he was forced to work with.

Fucking hell Butch smelled a rat. A big stinky hairy one. With creepy grey eyes (he was still convinced the fucking things changed color on im' sometimes) - and a hyena bark that made him want to rip those damn vocal cords out. Acting all buddy buddy with Boss when he was tryin' to seduce away Boss's girlfriend (fooling no one- why even bother - he still didn't get it) -

The ass was a coward. Who had run and hid leavin' Boss to save his sorry ass and then had even made a goddamn spectacle of himself just so he wouldn't lose any attention - Brick had been freaking out- flipping a shit and then the shit head had gone and done the same thing! Spouting shit about "colors" and summers and fuck what the hell had happened down there…

Just… c'mon man…

He understood keepin' Boom in the dark. He was the baby and he was a moron.

But Brick was gonna have to tell Butch sometime!

….Right?

… Course he would. He was just distracted with the law and crap now. Boomer was just lookin' like a lost puppy - Brick just turned his face away and buried himself back in the book. Fuck it.

"You want five or six Boom?" He murmured and the blonde turned those damn puppy eyes at him.

"Don't care." He mumbled. Butch buzzed his lips. Well wasn't he helpful- s'ok - Infested zombie ridden museums it was.

A bunch of drums and a long guitar solo interrupted them and Boss certainly jumped at it- lunging for the phone (because he also hadn't been stewing) and so Butch paused the movie accordingly.

"Hello!- uh." He cleared his throat. "Hey Pinky what's up?"

Boomer gave him a side glance.

"You're not a-. Okay… okay I'll let you finish." He muttered and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "That's because I'm an ass- if you get to call yourself a bitch I get to call myself an ass- fair is fair - damn right touché."

Butch focused on the movie- Boom didn't even make a secret he was eavesdropping- amateur. Sure enough Brick with a side glance did indeed vacate- focused completely on his woman as he strolled onto the balcony and shut the door.

"...Well that's a relief." The beanpole muttered and muffled another sneeze. Butch shrugged,

"They got in a fight- now they're gonna be all lovey dovey and shit like you and Bubs- Kiss and make up and that shit. Not a big deal."

"Still kind of weird about the whole….sleeping walking thing though- sounded like she doesn't even remember doing it."

He rolled his eyes- moron. "Well duh… she's sleepwalking. Ya know- asleep. Too bad she didn't sleep fly on through Boss's window but meh that'll come soon enough." The blonde's face twisted.

"That's really all you think about isn't it." He sighed. "Butch… I got one of those bad feelings in my gut again…"

"So go puke over there- don't you puke on my chair!"

"Not like that!" He snapped. "Just… something… ain't right Bro…that thing on Big bro's arm… its-."

"It's just a scab Boom- he got stabbed remember?" He shook his head, "Stop bein' so damn paranoid." he muttered.

"It ain't being paranoid if it's the truth!" He hissed back. "You and I both know he's been acting weird since-!"

"He'd tell us if somethin' was up! You're just bein'- paranoid- Boss wouldn't lie to us."

"Yeah…. then why's Believe been actin' so weird!"

"Tch- How the fuck am I supposed to know- I ain't the asshole's keeper or shit- he bit off more than he could damn chew somewhere he had no business bein' - no one to blame but himself!"

Boomer's eyes narrowed but he soon sighed and sunk back in the chair. "I don't like it bro…"

"Yeah well you don't like nothin'."

"That's not true!"

"Oh wait you're right let me fix that- you don't like nothin' that ain't a little blonde with little pigtails and big blue eyes"

His brother went pink and he folded his arms- pouting like a little sissy. Loser.

"I like it when my girlfriend wears the pigtails- it's adorable..." He muttered- Butch rolled his eyes. So hopeless. Adorable. Good God… there was no help for this sap. None. "But I know when shit's up Butch- and I just got this gut feelin' that Big Bro…." He trailed and looked over his shoulder. "I just got this feelin' that Brick's hidin' something… they both are." He whispered in a hiss.

Butch's scowl grew.

"Brick wouldn't keep secrets from us. He knows the code."

"...No offense Butch but when we wrote that code… we weren't thinkin' of the lobster now were we…?"

"Code's the code. No matter what." Butch upped the volume- "Now shut up and stop eavesdroppin' like some kind of moron."

Tch…. idiot. Fucking idiot.

Secrets…. tch.

Boss was smilin' again- least he wasn't bein' all broody and shit like before- he had to admit… he hadn't seen the guy this… fucking happy in well… years. The last time Butch had seen his Big Bro all happy and smilin' like this was-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BOYS! Even though you are not technically "born" I created you and thus we must celebrate this occasion of the anniversary of your creation with gifts and cake- and thus when we celebrate this day of your creation-."

… Never mind. Ancient history. Fuck if the Butch cared- History was for losers anyway- tch no wonder it was Believe's favorite subject. It suited him. Dumb, useless and shitty.

Conning his way into Big Bro's mission… almost getting him killed while Brick saved his sorry ass (should have left him to fucking rot in the Butch's opinion) - it made his blood boil at the thought of it. He was probably the reason Brick hadn't called Butch or Boomer in! Well no he would have called Butch…. Boom didn't belong down there neither- it should have been Butch. Everyone knew it.

We stick together. We go down together. No matter what.

And with how happy his brother was- his fucking brother deserved to be fucking happy! Red made him happy! Boss and Boss Woman! PERIOD. Case Closed.

No way was some smirking hyena gonna ruin that! The Butch knew the kid's game and it wasn't happenin' his brother was too distracted (justifiably) to know he was bein' played. Well… that's what the Rowdy Code's for.

Butch would take care of it.

We will never be anyone's lackey or chump ever again.

Brick came striding back into the living room- Boomer flashed him a thumbs up like a dope but the lovesick Dragon returned it anyway- guess he was in a good mood again- he was almost whistling as he scooped up his car keys.

"Everything all good Boss?" Butch raised an eyebrow- a little late for a date but…

"Yeah… I gotta run to the store or whatever to pick up some shit for Saturday." He got real happy with that one- that grin was goofy and lovesick and well… if it sealed the deal guess that was Boss's game plan or whatever. "Boom you need any more Sneeze-Away?"

"Nah I think I'm good Big Bro… but could ya maybe pick up some orange juice…?" Ugh- baby was always king of milking it for all it was worth. Butch rolled his eyes. Brick just typed in his phone or whatever.

"Yeah yeah sure little Bro- let's see…. looks simple enough… jar of sauce, penne, breast - that could get dry though maybe a thigh instead… What do you guy's think- thigh or breast?"

Boomer blinked and Butch snickered, "Well I mean Red's got some nice legs on her sure but I'm more of a chest guy myself-."

ZAP

"OW!" the beanpole only put his natural Taser down and folded his arms.

"Go with whatever chicken you think is best Your Majesty." Brick flipped him off of course but the blond only shrugged. "You want us to come with?"

"Nah- it's just a quick run." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully- the bristle was still there. Boss even seemed to grimace this time. "I'll stop at DeMarco's too…. I need shaving cream." He mumbled.

"Boss Woman not a fan of the new look Boss?" The Red Rowdy Boss bristled but didn't answer the Green Rowdy's perfectly reasonable question either. Heh.

"I'll be back- don't break my house."

"So little faith in us Your Majesty." Boomer sighed "dramatically"

Brick raised an eyebrow, "Four Hundred dollar plumbing bill." Butch flinched. "Like I said- be back soon...ish. Don't break my house."

"...Yes sir." The Blue Rowdy mumbled. "That wasn't me you know." TATTLE TALE!

"I'm aware." A pointed look at Butch. A travesty! It had been an accident damn it! If he'd known Boss had Red in his car and had been about to partake in the lovin' from being invited in Butch never would have called! Communication! This was a thing! Text the Butch and tell him- Don't bother me- I'm about to get busy! - Simple- seven easy words. But nooo- God forbid and now Butch was still getting shit about that stupid shower head…. pipe…. thing…. that he had accidentally (!) ripped….out of the wall.

Not his fault he was the Butch and he was the strongest out there and stupid pipes were intended for Normies and not… X specimens like himself!

Stupid… thing.

Brick rolled his eyes and sauntered out the door with a one fingered salute in his wake. Meh it'd be a quick run - he'd be back soon enough.

A-AACHOO!

…. And then the room went black.

"GODDAMN IT BOOMER!"

-V-

To: The Toughest Fighter, Mitch; Pablo

From: Boomer

Sorry guys- No rehearsal today: Keane sent me home… this is so stupid!

From: Pablo

Better to be safe than sorry Boom.

From: The Toughest Fighter

Shit...You really didn't look too hot in homeroom either… you've looked over for stings right?

From: Boomer

Yeah. I did the whole check like the posters and stuff said to- Nothing. It's just allergies. I feel better already this is so dumb.

From: Mitch

Boom Boom. You knocked out the speaker system for the announcements with one sneeze… I don't think this is allergies.

From: Boomer

Ughhhhh! Not you too! And don't call me Boom Boom damn it! I'M FINE!

-V-

To: Brick, Butch

From: Bubbles :D

OMGGGGGGG! I HEARD WHAT HAPPENED! DO YOU BOYS NEED ANYTHING!? DO YOU NEED ME TO COME OVER AND HELP!? IS HE OKAY!? DID HE REALLY FAINT!? DID HE REALLY FAINT!? HE'S NOT PICKING UP HIS PHOOOOONNNNNEEEEE!

From: Brick

Boomer is fine Bubbles- We have it under control. He's sleeping at the moment. Also no… Boomer didn't faint who told you that?

From: Butch

God dam it Blondie I didnt say "faint"! – Rowdys dont faint!

From Brick:

Ah. That explains a lot. Sorry for the confusion Bubs- Boomer's fine he's just being a stubborn brat who won't take his medicine- how about you work your magic? Also- I'll keep you posted: Don't rely on Butch. He panics.

From: Butch

HEY! I DO NOT!

-V-

To: Little Boy Blue

From: Buttercup

He's totally panicking isn't he

From: Little Boy Blue

Yep – both of em are

From: Buttercup

Cute: Btw Bubs is going to kill you if you don't take your medicine. If you think she isn't capable of coming over there and shoving it down your throat- think again.

From: Little Boy Blue

My Angel? Never!

-V-

To: Boomie

From: Bubbles :D

BOOMER KENNETH JOJO IF YOU DON'T TAKE YOUR MEDICINE RIGHT NOW I WILL COME OVER THERE AND MAKE YOU MISTER! DON'T THINK I WON'T! NOW DO IT!

From: Boomie

0_0 – Yes My lady!

-V-

To: Pinky

From: Brick

I am so sorry

From: Pinky

Nothing to apologize for. Your brother's health is more important. Has he checked for stings- the possibility is remote I know but….

From: Brick

We did the check… trust me… all clear. I still feel like an ass. Let me take you out to dinner at least?

From: Pinky

You don't have to feel like an ass. We can go to that new Italian place that just opened maybe? Should you leave Boomer though? He really didn't look well. If we have to call another rain check it's completely understandable Ruff- please don't get yourself into a panic…

From: Brick

I'm not panicking.

From: Pinky

Yes you are. :p

From Brick:

No I'm not

From: Pinky

Your texts are flying in at a hundred miles an hour- you're either panicking or have had far too much caffeine. Choose Ruff.

From: Brick

….Touche.

From: Pinky

;)

From: Brick

Hardy har har- everything nice my ass. Minx.

From: Pinky

That's a new one.

From: Brick

Suits you Babe ;)

From: Pinky

… Must you?

From: Brick

Must I what?

From: Pinky

You know what.

From: Brick

Sorry Babe can't say I do- but hey seeing as I've got Boom high on cold medicine for his nonexistent allergies I'm good for a bit- and Butch is here too so he can shield the electronics- but I could really go for a coffee right now- how's about it babe? ;)

From: Pinky

RUFF! PDA!

From: Brick

Heh- texting babe. Doesn't count.

From: Pinky

… Touche. Pick me up in ten.

From: Brick

Now you're getting it ;) – On my way.

-V-

To: Leader Girl

From: Buttercup

Soooooo going off with Cap Boy eh?

From: Leader Girl

….Yes.

From: Buttercup

Excellent!

From: Leader Girl

….I'll see if I can talk to him but excuse me for worrying a bit more about his mental health at the moment!

From: Buttercup

Sheesh- okay- okay- take a chill pill Leader Girl. I get the picture. Get the info your way- I get it.

From: Leader Girl

….. I'll see you later. I'm getting coffee now.

From: Buttercup

Yep- say hi to Believe for me.

From: Leader Girl

He's at practice.

From: Buttercup

Sure he is…

From: Leader Girl

What?

-V-

To: My Sweet hockey hunk

From: Mitch

Just because rehearsal got cancelled doesn't mean we can't still have some jamming sessions of our own ;)

From: My Sweet Hockey Hunk

….True. Very true. Practice ran late… but I'll meet you…. sometime. Free me.

From: Mitch

Mr. Believe still running the team ragged?

From: My Sweet Hockey Hunk

No. Graham held it up- him and Mike had…. Words again. And… uh oh… here he comes again and… he just shoved Mike and broke his stick… uhhh… This… is not going to end well. He looks…really angry. Like… whoa… H/O a minute.

From: Mitch

Wait… what do you mean? Angry how!? Like White eyed angry!? Pablo? PABLO ANSWR ME!

From: My Sweet Hockey Hunk

Mitch… you wouldn't happen to have Brick's number would you…. this… isn't going to end well….

-V-

Gary Young- Mike Believe: Dude… you kicked that guy's ASS: But fuck where did you learn how to fight like that!? C'mon the Briners gotta know!

Vincent Young, Derek Hale, Fred Killinge + 13 others like this

Vincent Young: Duuuuude- You kicked ass! Serves him right too! What he EVER called Blossom just… WOW.

Mike Believe: VINCE. SHUT. UP

Brick Jojo: Graham opening his fat mouth again?

Mike Believe: I got a little pissed okay… nothing too serious-.

Gary Young: YOU KIDDING! YOU KICKED HIS ASS! WHERE'D YOU EVEN LEARN THAT STUFF MIKE! THAT ONE KICK YOU DID HOLY- Shit Brick you gotta see this! Derek you got it on camera right?

Mike Believe: That's not necessary! Jojo- trust me it really isn't!

Vincent Young: Dude! What are you talking about!? It was AWESOME!

Derek Hale: /video7818281881- seriously man- check this OUT!

Robin Snyder: ….. MICHAEL ETHAN BELIEVE YOU CALL ME RIGHT NOW!

Derek Hale: Uhhhhhhh….

Vincent Young: …oops.

Gary Young: … Sorry man.

Pablo Mendes: … I warned you guys to keep that video private….

-V-

To: Believe

From: Brick

ONE. I DID NOT AGREE TO TEACH YOU SO YOU COULD WASTE YOUR FUCKING ENERGY ON FUCKING PIECES OF SHIT LIKE DAVID GRAHAM!

TWO: HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO FUCKING TELL YOU! YOU'RE NOT ON THE FUCKING ICE STOP LEANING ON YOUR RIGHT FUCKING SIDE!

THREE: WHERE DOES THE SHIT HEAD LIVE! I AM DEAD SERIOUS. DO NOT FUCK WITH ME RIGHT NOW! WHERE DOES YOUR LITTLE SHIT HEAD TEAMMATE LIVE! WHERE. DOES. DAVID. GRAHAM. LIVE. – I GOT ENOUGH SHIT ON MY FUCKING PLATE AND THEN THIS FUCKING ASSHOLE GOES AND CALLS MY PINKY – THAT! I DON'T THINK SO. ADDRESS. NOW!

From: Believe

I lost my temper. I'm sorry. You saw the video. It had to be done.

I've been skating as long as I've been walking. It's a little hard to shut the habit off.

678 Highland Ave- Apartment 17: He works at Cost Smart down the street. Should be there now as a matter of fact. Have fun.

From: Brick

Four: Next to the right side bullshit- solid effort. B+.

From: Believe

Nothing impresses you does it…

-V-

To: BC

From: Brick

Buttercup. Butch has to stay with Boom to make sure he doesn't destroy the stereo and I think some X assistance might be needed in the East Side.

From: BC

Why Cap Boy- you simply read my mind. Cost Smart?

From: Brick

Yep. Ten minutes.

From: BC

Fabulous. Meet you there.

-V-

Mitch

"So… He'd already basically shit his pants and ran for his life by the time you made it there."

"Basically. Shame that." Butterscotch popped a piece of gum in her mouth. "And apparently Leader Girl and Cap Boy had some discussion or whatever and he must have had a damn good bunch of bull crap ready to go because she's declared the matter- closed. In other words… he seduced her- with some bogus bull shit line so she's going to "trust him" – and that's the end of it." This bubble was blown and then chomped on with particular savagery. "Fucking hell…"

That can didn't stand a chance. It hit the wall with a sickening thud.

"So… what did Blossy Boo say exactly…?" Patience… must be calm with the raging beast…

The Green Puff snorted and then clasped her hands together and sighed dramatically, "I asked him what was on his mind and we had a long talk and he asked me to trust him and well…" Another mock "infatuated sigh" – "I do and I will choose to do so." - Another savage kick to another unfortunate can. "But oh no- just ignore the giant fucking hickey – nothing to see there- I'm totally thinking clearly – we just have to wait and see Buttercup-. UGGGGH! God damn it do I have to do everything myself!?"

"Well Butterscotch… for all you know…"

"Hickey the size of Mt. Everest on her neck twiggy- should have known." She snapped and popped another piece of gum in her mouth. "When you need a job done- you do it yourself: Not relying on infatuated kittens!" She threw her hands in the air. "Fucking hell!"

Oh boy… Mitch cleared his throat, "Butterscotch-."

"I bet they didn't talk about anything- oh no- they just used their coffee excuse and then made out in the back of his damn car like a bunch of teenagers for an hour!"

"Well… arguably they are…. Horny teenagers Butterscotch-."

She stamped her foot, "For all we know something big could be happening- something terrible but my sister's too fucking engrossed in BRICK LAND to even think clearly- she's lost her goddamn mind!"

"She's in-."

That glare was dangerous- he clammed up.

"They "talked" it out- give me a break- well I guess they were using their mouths so that's sort of talking isn't it! Oh he knows the tricks it seems already- he knows exactly how to distract her don't he-!"

He frowned, "You don't think Brick-."

She paused. He inhaled slightly- but the anger stemming from the somewhat hatred of males this young woman happened to harbor seemed to subside and that harsh lime light faded.

"If I thought the guy was playing my sister for a damn fool or an easy fuck I'd already have had words with him… and knocked a few teeth out." She muttered." It's the fact he doesn't and isn't that's the problem. He cares about my sister. He cares a little too much obviously if he's gone into full blown "protective" mode here- seriously…. The guy was livid." The Green Puff frowned and Mitched matched his stride to hers, she continued talking sometimes it was better to just listen. "I recognize this- if he does have something to hide- and oh trust me obviously does- it's not… he's not being malicious about it which just makes it worse!" She folded her arms. "He's being protective… protective of her… and I bet it has something to do with…" She paused and Mitch flinched.

Ah.

"Did…. Brick and Mike…. Meet up with…. Whatever….you know…? Blossy Boo I mean-."

The grip on her arms increased, "I'm almost ninety nine percent they did. And I know that's what the missing hour has got to be about. Brick Jojo apparently has a chivalrous streak- shocking I know- and you know Believe…" She sighed. "Bad combination. I wish it'd been me. In the scheme of things… maybe Brick was damn lucky Mike went and followed him but-."

"They're both overprotective, over confident and overdue for a proper explanation." Mitch finished smoothly.

"Basically." Her hand went on her hip. "They're up to something Twiggy…. Both of them. And it's got to have something to do with that damn factory and what they saw in there- that missing forty two minutes… that's the key."

"Forty two minutes?"

"Forty two minutes."

"What could have happened in forty two minutes?"

"Isn't that the question…?"

He frowned. That was…odd. Rather specific. No wonder Butterscotch had reacted in such a way- and if it indeed did have something to do with…. Well… that thing…

"I'll just have to do some digging is all? No more relying on smitten kittens… want something done you gotta do it yourself."

He raised an eyebrow, "And… is this why we're here?"

She frowned, "Ham?"

They'd stopped in front of Cost Smart. She cracked her knuckles-…. Oh God.

"Butterscotch." He warned. She raised an eyebrow and then her mouth slid into a smirk.

"I need a way to vent." Crack. "Making an overgrown ice gorilla piss himself will be such a stress relief." Crack. Crack. She paused in her…preparations and then rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon Twiggy- I ain't gonna hurt the guy…. I'm just gonna scare him. Believe took care of the beat down for me after all."

"Yeah…. That video was something else…."

"We're not talking about that- or how the guy who can barely walk in a straight line without tripping over air is suddenly able to throw a punch, swing around in a roundhouse kick and then block overgrown gorilla punch- all without losing his balance once." She gave him a side glance.

…Okay… so maybe that was… a little strange.

"Nope. Not going to talk about it- I'm going to go beat up-…. I mean have a talking to." She corrected herself quickly. Ugh. Mitch sighed and she patted his shoulder. "Aw no worries Twiggy I'll tell you when to duck." She grinned deviously and this was going to be interesting. Last time he'd seen Butterscotch this mad had been….

…. Never mind. Ancient History.

The ring was ever so pleasant but the employee working as greeter went pallid and his hand went to his handy walkie talkie – Buttercup flashed him a big smile.

"Sup Pete- your friend David around?"

The right defense of the Briners was shaking like a leaf.

"U-Uh…. Um…. "God those uniforms were wretchedly ugly. Imagine having to walk around in a bright purple vest with khaki's.

"Aw Pete I know your vocabulary is basically limited to three syllables or less but I know you at least know how to say- yes or no. You can do that right? So let me ask again- Graham. The one with the filthy fucking mouth- he here…. Or not?"

He continued to squirm and make that odd croaking noise reserved for the truly stupid and or terrified.

"D-DAVE RUN! THE CRAZY GREEN ONES HERE!" He bellowed.

Surprisingly astute and there went that display and the chase was on. A loud pterodactyl like screech and… there went Butterscotch… knocking Pete Worsted flat on his ass and racing after the turd.

"YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE GRAHAM! YOU'RE GONNA WISH YOU'D NEVER EVEN HEARD OF MY SISTER YOU PIECE OF-!" The gasps were loud. Mitch slapped his brow before he stepped over the tub of lard – a door opened and closed – then again. Ah. There they are out through the back door.

The customers in the store all were agog. Whether over the carnage that had just ensued or the foul language. Ah well. Damage control time. Goody. He cleared his throat.

"That young man called one of the Utonium sisters a particularly foul and inappropriate name and implied something very insulting in a public place." He recited smoothly. The murmurs began but soon enough they they all went about their business. Ah Townsville- the city of heroes and monsters and a populace that nine times out of ten didn't give a shit unless the car or house said monster had squished was one of theirs. Then came the tears and the swearing.

Otherwise- Buttercup Utonium's rage was completely ignored despite her being obviously about to rip a pervert to shreds for publically implying her sister was some kind of- "desperate little freak who enjoyed sucking the toilet orphan's dick."- and implied that Brick Jojo was now apparently the fourth in the fabled ménage a trois Miss Utonium scandalously had with Mr. Believe and Miss Snyder- fascinating- And Mike Believe was so enamored with Robin Snyder that he would both never cheat- and he would never share. So…. yeah- those rumors… were pretty much bullshit anyway. how sad: Let's face it- as much as Mitch adored his hockey hunk with all his being- he wouldn't lie: Mike Believe ever wanted to go looking for a third to join him and Robbi- oh sign Mitch up. Sign him up- the guy was hot and oh yeah he wouldn't mind seeing that.

Seeing – not touching. No… no Mitch had plans for another Briner to be honest: Oh he was going to get Pablo Mendes into bed one of these days. Oh Mitch was going to get that hunk of a goalie into bed and it was going to be fabulous and he was going to rock that innocent's world. Yes… yes he would. He would enjoy it so much. Life would be nothing but sheer joy. Yes- Yes and did he mention Yes!

David Graham however- would not be enjoying life for much longer… and he wouldn't be capable of speaking much either once Butterscotch succeeded in punching his teeth in

Hmm….intervene… or not to intervene….

On one hand Mr. Graham had also had no problem calling Mitch that lovely word that started with an F' and Butterscotch the word that started with a C' – was grossly stupid to the point that poor Blossy Boo's ears would likely bleed the very moment he tried to woo her in any kind. He assumed the world belonged to him or would because he was David Graham and thus that's just how the world apparently was supposed to work

Now see- Mitch knew arrogance- of course he did- he was a Norm and he'd grown up with the X Team before they were the X Team. Mitch knew everything- including things they didn't want him to know but it was okay because Mitch was not a spy thanks so much- just making that clear once again – buuuuuuut:

Mr. Believe's and Mr. Jojo's arrogance- absolutely undeniable was in its own way was charming- especially because of how glaringly obvious those two big manly men– were in actuality so blatantly whipped by two (admittedly tiny) young women (Seriously…Robbi was…. A twig and Blossy Boo…. Was not much bigger)

It was hilarious and adorable. Thus were Brick and Michael arrogant yes: But it was charming arrogant. And also that same arrogance was slightly merited in some ways: Brick was after all currently number two in their class and Mr. Believe (save for that unfortunate math grade) was currently number nine.

Mr. Graham was going to be lucky to graduate at this point and college- that was a joke if he didn't smarten up (HA! Mitch was a genius) - Which hey- college wasn't for everyone and you didn't have to be smart to be liked. He knew plenty of people like that- Harry Pitts, great guy- excellent football player… not the brightest bulb: But at least he had taken Bubsy's gentle rejection of a freshman homecoming date just fine- no yelling or insulting her need apply. When the Blues had finally gotten together- he'd even liked the relationship change on Faceplace. Classy Guy. He just really liked blondes- Mitch knew someday he'd find his perfect blonde and all would be well- because he was a nice guy and good things come to those who wait.

Graham was an asshole. Graham was a brute. Graham did not take rejection well.

Graham was going to be pterodactyl food.

So… on the other hand though… was it really ethical to let a (however justified) enraged Powerpuff Girl cause carnage in the middle of an innocent Cost Smart? Mitch rather liked Cost Smart… he didn't want to get banned from it and… ooh…. Popcorn. Ooh. Cost Smart Popcorn. Awful for you- truly awful but oh the sin was just so tasty.

... I will not be banned from my buttered sin.

"Butterscotch!" he yelled out. She ignored him and ugh- he buzzed his lips. He was going to have to go after her now… and implicate himself. Farewell sweet buttered-.

"What the hell was that about?" He blinked- could he have a savior in his midst!? A popcorn savior!? He turned around and indeed there he was: That Green Hero! Butch Jojo! Looking dapper and… confused as he held a bottle of cough syrup in one hand. A basket in another. Oh thank you Popcorn Gods- thank you!

"Butch! Perfect timing- and how are we this fine afternoon? Boom still feeling a bit under the weather."

The Green Jojo brother raised an eyebrow, "Yeah…. The big baby's milkin' this for all it's worth. Boss sent me to go get some damn meds or whatever." He rolled his eyes." Pansy. Actually getting sick – idiot."

"Well it's a natural human occurrence." Mitch snuck a glance behind him. The door was still swinging- they couldn't have gotten far…

"Tch- yeah maybe for normal humans but me and my bros- we don't- Rowdies don't get sick."

Unless your name is Boomer apparently.

"Some cold or whatever's goin' around Pokey Oaks- turns out that kid neighbor of ours is sick as a dog too. Least that's one mystery solved." He buzzed his lips. "Stupid."

Fascinating…. Now about Butterscotch….

"So where did Butters go off to in such a damn hurry?"

"She found Graham. He ran."

"…. You shittin' me? The shit head actually thinks he can outrun Butters? This I gotta see-."

Jackpot.

"Well you're in luck- they couldn't have gotten far- if you hurry you could probably catch them…"

Three… two…

"Yeah you're right…-." He blinked. Mitch tossed the bottle listlessly.

"Exactly- I'll take care of this for ya pal- why don't you go see if Butterscotch needs any back up eh?" He also grabbed the basket. Please get the hint. Mitch lived up to his name okay? He was a twig. He was not a hunky hockey player with slap shot arms and goalie legs- nor was he a beast on the football field like this handsome man right in front of him. (Shame about the height though… Mitch had likes- and well Pablo at that delicious six feet, two inches…. Sorry Butchy Boy- Mitchy had a type. Nothing personal)

Said football behemoth (Muscle wise) arched one of his jet black eyebrows and then snorted.

"Butters needing back up cause of a normie? Tch yeah okay- whatever you say Michelson- I'll make sure there are still pieces left though- gotta stick to the code and shit."

Err…right. Code. Uh sure- whatever you say.

"Thanks…. I guess?"

He threw him a salute which seemed to confuse the Green one more but at least he pushed past him (uh…kind of rude- ow. No need for that but then again…. Mr. Green Jojo did seem to have…. Sharing issues so… meh whatever at least this time Mitch was going to have to calm the raging overprotective she beast (Love you Butterscotch!) and ooh- it was on sale too! So… buy this for the green one and reward self with popcorn and-…. Seriously Butch? Generic cheap? For his lead vocalist? Oh no- oh no no- what else was in this thing?

Good lord he was cheap…. Fuck this shit- Mitch was getting the good stuff.

They'd be fine- he'd be out in a few minutes.

-V-

Buttercup

So maybe Buttercup was angrier than she'd thought. So maybe chasing after this dumb ass pervert wasn't the most Puff thing to do but oh did it feel good and oh did it make her feel better after that bullshit this weekend!

She wanted Blossom happy. Of course she did. Brick was her friend. So she wanted him happy too! Buttercup wanted everyone happy!

But she actually would prefer they all stay alive long enough to enjoy said happiness!

Let her get confirmation she was just being paranoid and everything would be hunky dory! Yahoo! Halla-fucking- LEYUH! Glad to know Buttercup was wrong!

But the sad part was… she wasn't and she fucking knew it.

She had no choice. Like she'd told Twiggy… when someone wanted something done… they just had to do it themselves. She wasn't going to relish in this believe it or not: She didn't exactly like spying on her friends like some kind of shadow ninja! She didn't like the fact she had basically tried to set her sister up to be some kind of seductress and potentially put her (non-official ) relationship in jeopardy if Cap Boy hadn't been too dazed to figure out he was being tricked… it never would have happened but the guy was on paper a genius. Just like her sister.

…Yeah it had been a bad idea. It'd been a bitchy one. She'd have to buy her sister a box of cinnamon rolls or just a couple pounds of candy for this one.

Buttercup was on edge. She was walking on a thin wire and it was getting worse. These… incidents… were getting to her. Maybe she was tired… she wasn't sleeping well.

Little airy giggles and things moving on their own and then sleepwalking closet raids… didn't make for a very relaxing atmosphere…

"Leader Girl…"

The pen scratching abruptly stopped. Her sister looked up but said nothing.

"…How'd it go?"

That pink look was piercing. She swallowed.

"I already told you about the discussion Brick and I had-my feelings on the matter haven't changed..."

"I meant… the date… thing. Did it go well?"

"Yes. He's very distraught about his brother but I managed to calm him and he and I had a lovely hour. Thank you for asking." Clipped. Professional. She was pissed. "And before the snickers start yes I kissed him. He kissed me and my skin is very sensitive. I was not rolling around in the back of his car or some other nonsense. I'm choosing to trust him for now. My suspicions are still there but in the scheme of things Boomer's illness takes precedence and until the emancipation trial is done and done with- unless circumstances significantly change- I am putting the Factory incident on hold until the official investigation by the SHL ongoing is concluded."

"And the report?! Forty two minutes! You can't be-!"

"Both the boys were severely dehydrated- and Michael had a head injury as well as Brick's losing a significant amount of blood." Her sister flinched and her hands clasped the pen harder. "If you think I'm choosing to ignore the appearance of that… creature then you're very wrong Buttercup….and I do plan… on getting the full story out of Brick at some point… but only when he's had time to… heal."

"His arm is-!"

"Not all kinds of Hurt is physical Buttercup!" She snapped and Buttercup gulped.

"I…I know that-." She stammered.

"Do you!" Her voice had gone shrill and she pounded her desk. "With all due respect it doesn't seem like it!" And then… into a hiss. Oh… uh oh. Uh… that hand was drifting to her neck and…. oh fuck… shit…

"… I know they're… freaked out now… I mean… the stairs and the… Believe being so jumpy and-." Shit. Blossom looked like a raging lioness those eyes were blazing- and they weren't even magenta- they were pink and they were just as scary. Her hand trailed her neck…. Unconsciously it seemed like.

Then all of a sudden it seemed the anger went out of her and she sighed instead, sinking back in her chair.

"… Forgive me. I shouldn't have yelled. You're right… Buttercup. The facts… don't add up in some cases… in many…cases… forgive me... but I just can't… I can't make myself… be the one to…" She trailed. "Call me a coward if you wish but… Ruff is… I don't want to put him through it again… I don't want him to… have to be back in there… not yet… not when it's still so raw… it was only five weeks ago Buttercup.. It feels like a lifetime I know… but… it's barely been…" She bit her lip.

Fuck.

"… I know it's only been… shit… sis I'm sorry I'm just worried I didn't mean to imply- but the city- !"

"Dismissed Buttercup."

"But I didn't mean it like-!"

"Dismissed. Buttercup."

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!"

"GET OUT BUTTERCUP!"

"BUT I DIDN'T-!"

The chair went flying back and the pink Puff was out of her seat and glaring at her. Teeth grit- eyes blazing (pink) –

"I you think… I don't know what the extent of my failure truly was… and is… and what my failure has done… you are very mistaken. I know what my failure cost this city, its people and the people I care about! I let everyone down back then… and now we're all paying for it. I am more than aware the city could and probably is in danger at this point if H.I.M. has truly returned. And I have no doubt that Brick's report is correct in that regard. Which is why I'm down here going through these reports-." She tapped the huge white binder Buttercup had never seen before. "And then I'm going to go through them again. And again. And again- until I have them memorized because I failed last time… and I need to make sure that I don't again. Now... dismissed. I have work to do."

"Blossom… sis… I didn't mean-."

"… Please just go away Buttercup… p-please."

She hadn't meant it like that! She hadn't- her sister had done nothing- they'd been kids! They'd…. she couldn't possibly blame herself for- oh fuck of course she could and- and-!

Buttercup never would have implied this was Blossom's fault. Or she'd had any power to stop it. Brick was a stubborn asshole on a good day and-… Buttercup NEVER would have said anything remotely implying her sister….

She was playing fucking favorites. If it had been anyone else down there she would have been in that room interrogating the shit out of them- tying them up with the whip even if necessary! If it had been anyone else- Little Boy Blue or Robb or Twiggy fuck even Butch – she wouldn't be acting like this. No no she wouldn't'! But since it had been HER "norm" and HER "Ruff" – oh no- must give them space- must give them-… them…

"BC… BC what if we can't find them…. what if they got captured too what will Blossy-!?"

"We don't leave anyone behind- Leader Girl knows that- the morons probably got lost we'll find them and then we'll find the other two morons and we'll get out and-."

The shriek was piercing. Bubbles went white. Buttercup stumbled back.

"Was…Was that… that real or was that-!?"

"BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

"….We wouldn't be hearing that if it wasn't- oh my God it's real – oh my God…"

"Oh My God…. BLOSSOM!"

They bolted towards the shriek.

"WHAT IS SHE DOING IN HERE!? WE TOLD HER TO-!"

Another shriek. This one sounded even more terrified. Her blood chilled. Bubbles' face was a pallid white.

They saw the door- had it been there before? Fuck if Buttercup cared! Bubbles kicked it with all her might while Buttercup threw her full weight on it- the door collapsed.

"Boomer! Butch!" Her sister screamed.

The two were on the ground- being engulfed by… by some kind… of sick… tar… shit bellowing and trying to escape-.

And then she saw it.

It was tall. Wearing ragged clothes all in black- its face was completely shadowed… like it didn't even… fucking have one…

Her breath caught.

No…face. Oh… Oh no….

It had her sister. Had her in a death grip. And it was dragging her into the darkness even as she pulled and screeched.

She saw red. She saw blood.

"WHAT THE FUCK! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU- GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SISTER FUCKER!"

The sonic scream echoed through the room. The battle had been intense. It was strong.

Fucking… really strong. Tossed "BUTCH" of all people like a goddamn rag doll- tossed Boomer away, Bubbles at her angriest had been nothing to it.

She'd fought with everything she had- punches, kicks, but it had laughed at her. She'd lost her temper. Course she had. She'd made a rookie mistake.

The pain had been excruciating. But it hadn't been broken. It was a familiar move she'd recognized… her sensei from long ago… had been able to do such a thing.

It had been a warning.

She'd hit the ground hard. Real fucking hard and her team had freaked out.

It hadn't even seemed winded. It just kept… fucking…standing there. Bored. Calling them…. "Annoyances"…

Like the X Team- the enraged mother fucking X Team… Boomer, Butch, Bubbles… Buttercup.

Had been… nothing to it.

And the X Teams' leaders… Brick…. And Blossom….

Were nothing to it.

Well… not…nothing… in one case.

Boom had been almost unconscious- Butch dazed and upset- Bubbles was crying trying to keep the beanpole awake. Buttercup… Buttercup had wanted to get up… but… but she couldn't… the nerves or whatever had been paralyzed. The pain was excruciating. It was not an easy move to pull off… Not breaking the bone… but making it seem it.

It was ironic in a way… if the demon… no face… Ghosty pervert hadn't set its creepy no face gaze on her sister… Buttercup…would have been almost impressed.

And speaking of… what… what had that moron done. That terrified… stupid… selfless moron of a big sister of Buttercup's for all her fucking genius… what had she done…

She'd been prepared to give up.

She'd been about to sacrifice herself… like she always did…

The squid's tentacle raised ominously in the air- the people screaming inside the bus continued to scream as the tug of war continued.

"NOT TODAY! NOT TODAY YOU SLIMY- LET GO! LET. GO!"

"BUTTERCUP MOVE!"

The redhead had this bad habit of assuming Buttercup couldn't protect herself. That some kind of "older sibling" complex or whatever bound her to be the one to protect Buttercup- throwing her out of the way of a damn angry squid…. And giving herself up to… to who knows what… to… save her again…. When Buttercup Eva Utonium hadn't needed to be fucking saved!

That hand was shaking as she hovered over the specter's. Bubbles was openly weeping- the boys looked like they were going to be sick- that shaking continued…

NO! NO!

Get up! GET. UP!

""STAY. THE. FUCK.AWAY. FROM. MY. SISSSSSSSSTTTTTTERRRRRR!"

For a ghost it was solid- it cried out and started swinging wildly- she didn't care- let it fucking try! Long as her team got out…

What the fuck did Buttercup care?

Ghosty had learned to never fuck with "The Toughest Fighter" that day. It had pulled a cheap shot… caught her off guard… but it wouldn't happen again.

She'd protect this damn city. These damn people. This whole damn world!

She'd protect… her family.

She'd never… let anything hurt her family again!

….

Except she had.

And she knew she fucking had.

And for all of her fucking anger and shit… Buttercup… she was justified in this- the city was their priority- it was her job! It was… but this was her sister…

Her friends… her sister… but the city… she was the toughest fighter… she knew something was going on… because was she even seeing this shit!? Was it all in her head!? Was she dreaming?! Was this the fucking lobster!? Was it trying to drive her mad!?

But Leader Girl had ended up in her office! That hadn't been a dream! Something was wrong! Bubbles had seen the rose. She'd seen the window.

Green, Blue, Green Blue… no… Red.

What the ever living fuck did that mean!?

What the fuck… had happened down there?

The city had been… quiet. Except for sushi… and a few fucking morons with death wishes… it had been quiet.

If… If H.I.M was… back.

….Why hadn't it attacked?

What was… what was its plan… did it have a plan… what was…

The garbage can hit the wall with a resounding slam. She could almost hear the piss as the fucker wherever he was hiding shat himself.

"COME OUT FUCKER! COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!"

Silence. She grit her teeth. Oh wanted to play a fucking game of hide and seek then? Well fine- no fucking problem.

"Ready or not here I fucking come!" She snarled.

She just needed to punch. Give her something to fucking PUNCH!

"Whoa… okay… what's your problem Butters?"

She stiffened. Oh… fuck… no. Uh uh. Not in the mood!

"Fuck off!" She hissed. The moron cocked his head like a moron and sauntered just so nonchalantly over towards her- she balled her fists.

"Yeesh… someone having a bad day?" He snickered. Her eyes narrowed.

"I said fuck off Asswipe!" Of course he didn't listen. God forbid. Was this karma? Karma for making Leader Girl likely cry like a baby in her office because Buttercup was a bitch on a good day? Well fuck you karma she didn't even believe in you anyway…

Because of course the moron followed her. She threatened to snap his arm in half- he only laughed. Of course he did. Fucking X.

"So… off to hunt some morons eh?" Butch folded his arms. "Not very Puffy of you-."

She whirled around. "I'm gonna say this once- and only once asswipe. Fuck. Off. – I mean it. Not in the mood to deal with your BULL right now!"

His eyebrow arched.

"Okay…" He was suddenly in front of her- UGH! Stupid X! He was hovering somewhat above her head- she glared. His smirk was so fucking infuriating she was going to-! HEY!

The beam almost hit her straight in the fucking ass!- His smirk had turned into a leer and he pursed his and gave her a wink. Oh… that… fucking… piece of…

"Can't help myself sometimes Butterbabe… it's just so tempting ya know."

THAT'S IT! X TEAM OR NOT – THAT'S IT!

His shield went up easily- fucking hell though she noticed the punch had left a bit of a crackle in the energy or whatever. Because she was the strongest. She was the Toughest Fucking Fighter…

And she was going to teach this ass that once and for all!

He blocked her punch- and kick: That damn shield was such a fucking unfair advantage she hated the damn thing- she was gonna break it into a million pieces! Shame she couldn't figure out a way of smacking him over the damn head with it!

"Shiiiiit Butterbabe- something's really got you pissed- heh- not that I'm complainin' or nothin' cause its fucking hot when you're this mad but shit."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Kick. Punch. Punch. KICK.

So serene. So fucking smug- she launched him in the fucking air and he just floated all hunky dory like the world was just so fucking funny!

KICK. PUNCH.

His slimy hand wrapped around her waist and her hands got slammed to her sides,

"Fuck… you're one crazy chick ain't you Butters… shit I've missed this… being a hero is great all but-." He grunted and she freed herself- he snickered, "Gotta say- when we used to always go at it…" His grin began to widen and the shield began to crackle with energy. "It was always so…fucking…HOT!"

The shockwave smacked her back and another green flash and she landed against him- aw fuck no! Uh uh! Hands off! He put his hands up and backed away with a smile.

"We gotta do this more often baby… because fuck have I missed this."

She grit her teeth and he blocked the hit- no shield this time. Ugh.

"What you missed me beating the shit out of you on a daily basis?" Buttercup hissed. "Oh no problem- I'll happily oblige- how's about THIS!"

At least this kick landed on its target. He went flying into the wall. HA! Serves him right! Serves the perv right-….oh wait… oops. Shit he wasn't moving. Uh… uh oh.

"…Asswipe." She landed on the ground and crept closer. Aw fuck… fuuuuuck. "Butch… you conscious…?"

…Brilliant… make sister cry… knock counterpart out… likely gotten oneself banned from Cost Smart… again…. Good Day Utonium… good day. Well… she'd just have to lug his sorry ass home and hope that Cap Boy wouldn't ask too many- EH!?

At a dizzying speed suddenly she was whirled around and pinned to a wall and he was looming behind her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up all at once when that voice just oozed in her ear.

"I win. Guess there's some everythin' nice in there after all. Heh."

Her fist clenched.

"Like hell you did- I'm just getting started asswipe!" This time no shield came up- he wiped his mouth clean from where she'd managed to hit him and that grin was truly maniacal. Crazed. Tch-She'd always known there was something fucked in the head with him.

"Oh Butterbabe… I was hoping I'd hear you say that."

She stiffened, "I told you… do… not… CALL ME THAT!"

Another block- punch- kick- and now he was finally fighting back instead of toying with her like some kind of stupid… stupid…

She ducked and rolled out of the way of another kick and punch combo that- she blocked another one but he spun pretty fluidly she'd admit out of way of her own returning kick.

"Where the fuck did you learn how to fight?" Kick. Block.

"Where do ya think?" Block. Punch. Punch.

"I dunno asswipe- why else would I ask- dumb ass!" KICK.

"Boss taught me. He taught both of us. We knew how to fight and shit when we I dunno-." Block. Kick. – "But Boss figured out how to really make it... I dunno… more bad ass than we already are."

They circled each other- she wiped her mouth.

"Aw why'd you do that? I could have cleaned that for ya." Ugh. He avoided her roundhouse kick smoothly. "I mean any time- any place Baby."

"You disgust me." She snapped. He snorted. "No you really do- you think you're God's gift to women like some kind of-!" She avoided him again.

Circling like two enraged beasts.

"Listen Baby- the Butch can't help that the ladies love him- I mean what's not to love?" He preened like an arrogant peacock. She snorted.

"Want a list?" Again with the side stepping. He was too fucking smooth in this. He was a total idiot- he wasn't supposed to be… like this in fucking any way shape or form. He almost had a… class to him. He wasn't a mindless fucking brute- he was thinking- he was fucking focused and… he was actually… decent… at this.

"Lay it on me Butters- and remember at any time if you want to you know- make that less of a metaphor and make it… literal you just have to say the word."

"Tch-. Fat chance. Okay… I get free rein at insulting you. Good. No problem. This should help my mood. Okay- one. You're arrogant."

Another chuckle, "It's not being arrogant if it's being truthful."

"Two- you're a sleaze. You couldn't even remember your Spring Fling date's name!"

"I'm smooth with the ladies- I'll admit to being shitty with names though- yeah. Gotta work on that- Okay Butters- one point for you- the Butch has a terrible memory."

"Tch- probably from me beating your sorry ass every time you are a total and complete ass! If you weren't such an ass you wouldn't have memory problems! Not a hard concept!" He hit the ground. Ugh was he even trying anymore or was he getting his… Ew. Okay- maybe she didn't want to finish that thought.

"Aw…" Wait how had he gotten behind her- hey wait a minute-!? "But what if I like it when you go all raging Puff on me." Again… how… had he gotten behind her…? WHOA!

How in the-!?

Her hands were again pinned to her sides and both of his damn arms looped around her waist like some kind of gross male straitjacket

"Let go." She hissed.

Shockingly he did so- again hands up and smoothly backing away.

"How did you do that?" He raised an eyebrow. "Don't give me the dumb ass look- how did you do that!"

He cocked his head like a moron again but then suddenly crouched down again before he edged to the side-.

"You mean this?" Again! He was behind her again!? "You just gotta bend the right way baby- people think you're getting up… when really-." She paid attention this time- his leg bent under and his roll was almost flat against the ground. "You're doing this." Back in front of her.

She blinked.

"How… the….?"

Butch only grinned. "Rowdy Style Butterbabe."

She frowned, "Stop…calling me that."

"But it suits you- you're a babe and you're Buttercup so…."

"Your attempts at wooing are pathetic you know!" She folded her arms. "How'd you move your leg again…?"

He was the one to frown this time, "Sorry Butters." He got up smoothly, "Can't tell you- it's a Rowdy secret."

"… But we're on the same side." She flexed her wrist. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Hey- it makes sense but- Code's the Code." He shrugged.

"Um… right Code." She folded her arms. He'd bent his down somewhat- but his arm hadn't been up but it hadn't been down either… so in the middle. So…

"So… feel better?" She blinked.

"Scuse me?"

Another shrug, "I asked if you felt better- obviously you were pissed about something if you went and decided to hunt down some nobody like David Graham. Tch. C'mon Butters why you wastin' your time on him?"

"…Cause he pissed me off. Surprised you're not goin' after him what he said about Cap Boy." His eyes narrowed for a moment but then he simply shrugged again.

"Why waste the Butch's time?" He said airily. She rolled her eyes.

"Why do you do that…?"

"Do what?"

"That. Talk like you're in third person?"

"Cause the Butch is awesome."

"Case in point." Ugh… her mouth was all dry again. Fuck she wouldn't mind a… no. Bad. She dug in her pants and grabbed her gum- shit two left. Well. Whatever- she'd grab a pack when she got home. She blew the bubble listlessly.

"So… seriously Butters- what's up?" He said slowly, "It ain't like you to go off the handle like that… unless it's with me… cause you know- counterparts- X. But…goin' after a normie…? Asshole or not that's… not like you."

She blew another bubble, "I wasn't gonna beat him up- I was gonna give him a talking to- he already got the shit beaten out of him after all- you see that video?"

He gave her a blank look, "What video?"

"…Seriously? The one where Believe and Graham went at it and their team had to pull em' apart- Believe kicked some serious ass I'll admit."

The Green Rowdy glowered… no he glared at her then. "Why would I waste my time watchin' some lame ass normie fight? Tch."

And jealousy…thy name is Butch.

"You…really don't like him do you?" She shook her head.

"He's a shithead." Grunt.

"According to that report he saved your brother's life."

"He lied." More grunts.

"Your brother lied?"

"…. It was a coincidence." Angry grunt.

"Right…. Okay….it was a coincidence. Okie…dokie."

That topic was obviously… better left off then. She sighed- "So how's Boom?"

He snorted, "Sick and milkin' it for all it's worth. Big Bro sent me to get cough syrup or whatever."

"So… shouldn't you-…?"

"Michelson took care of it- sent me to come give you "back up"- he air quoted.

She rolled her eyes, "in other words- calm the raging beast because I'm too scared to do it." She laughed somewhat. "Yeah…. I was pissed this time."

"Well he is an ass."

She chewed her gum in silence, "Not as much as I'm a bitch." She muttered.

"Meh true- but better to be a bitch like you are versus I dunno- Morebucks or that blonde chick she's always with Jenna- Jessy?"

She rolled her eyes, "Julie- Julie. You know I was being sarcastic before but seriously do you have a documented memory issue or…?"

He shrugged, "Nah- I remember the names that are important or matter a lot more than some random chick who wants a piece of the Butch." Another shrug. She frowned.

"You really are an ass." She muttered.

"And you're really a bitch but people like us anyway. So we're just awesome."

Her lip curled somewhat but she kept it back. "So you only really remember the shit that really matters eh?"

"Yep. Everything else- meh who cares."

"That's a dumb ass way of looking at things.'"

"Better than focusing on the shit that doesn't and obsessin' over it- shit you can't change ain't worth rememberin' anyway."

"There's a saying that "he who ignores their past is destined to repeat it"-."

"Well… that's a dumb ass way of looking at things ain't it?"

"Tch- you got me there I guess."

She stuck her hands in her pockets- and he walked by her side. Like an annoying little burr he refused to go away. Bah.

"So… what really happened?" She tensed. Ah well… it wasn't important in the scheme of things to this guy- if it didn't involve naked flash and or food – he didn't give a shit so… meh why the hell not?

"Leader Girl and I…had a very sharp exchange of words-." She muttered.

"Sisters spat. Thought so." He sighed. "Only two things make you go that nuts- Yours truly or something to do with your sisters. Yep. I knew it."

She blinked. "Say what?"

"You took down some faceless pervert ghost freak with a busted ankle screeching like a harpy- and it was the most bad ass thing I've ever seen you just went- I dunno- she beast on him or somethin'- and he learned not to fuck with you that's for sure!" He held his fist out and despite herself she decided to bump it anyway. Whatever.

"I did huh."

"It was pretty kick ass… you girls are somethin' else…but you man… you fucked that shithead up."

"It got away though… I didn't get to-." She glowered but he shook his head.

"Yeah… I know it got away… but it learned not to fuck with Boss Woman again that's for sure- not with the Toughest Fighter ready to give it another beat down! I mean yeah we'll all help and you should leave Boss a chance to kick its teeth in but…" He shrugged. Again her lips tried to curl but nope. Not happening.

"… Thanks I guess. You should probably get back to your house though- before Cap Boy starts on ya."

"Meh it's on the way- I could use the walk." She frowned.

"You mean I get to listen to you the whole walk home…. Goody." He winked.

"Yep- ain't you lucky?" Ugh… he tried to pull a fast one.

"The luckiest…" She droned while she avoided the arm.

And off they walked in silence. She could fly- but she didn't feel like an aerial chase today. Heart wasn't in it to be honest.

"Sibling fights suck." He said baldly. " You wanna stay mad as fuck and you have every right to be nine times outta ten it's their fault you know but… you can't help but forgive em'. Cause you know… blood and shit."

"Blood is thicker than water… even for non-biological…bug eyed freaks like us."

"I never got that- our eyes were pretty big but we didn't have the whole- fifty gazillion lenses or whatever like bugs and shit got- we were more like… I dunno those weird frogs or whatever- like the one on our bio book's cover."

"Tree Frogs… Tree Frog eyed freaks…" She murmured. "Yeah but it doesn't really flow does it?"

"Meh whatever- mine's better and you know it."

She rolled her eyes.

"Point is… it'll smooth over. I dunno what you two fought about… but it ain't worth gettin' yourself arrested or givin' her more paperwork and some shit- that will piss her off."

"…I'm just… I guess what happened back there." She trailed. He was silent.

"That place was fucked up. That whole situation…was fucked up. Never should have happened."

"You can't control what your brother does."

"He should have called me."

"What happened to the past doesn't matter?"

Silence.

"He still should have called me."

She nodded. "Or me. Or Bubbles. Or Boomer. But he didn't…. and well… shit happened we can't change I guess."

Silence.

"C'mon froggy- you can't stew forever-."

"Why did he bring Believe you think?"

She blinked.

….Awkward. Uh. Well… she could tell the truth.

Mike Believe was probably the best non X choice Cap Boy could have had: Being a psychic and all- oh you didn't know that? Uh yeah- he's a psychic he can make things move with his head don't tell anyone though!

Because that would… go over so well.

"The moron followed him- he had a feeling Brick was going to do something stupid-."

"I read the damn report! I mean why'd he let the ass go with him! He had some kind of black mail or some shit- he had to! Why else didn't he- I dunno throw the asshole back over the fence!?"

Cause he would have gone flying…

"Cap Boy doesn't seem the type to purposely maim someone by breaking their leg when you throw them over a fence…"

"Tch… you don't know my brother." He spat. "He ain't some kind of… drooling puppy… he might be crushin' hard on Red but he's still a Rowdyruff… he ain't gonna just sit and let some normie-!" His scowl grew. "It pisses me off… the guy had no business being fucking down there!"

True.

" Boss should have called me. WE should have been the ones stuck down there! Not some… dumb ass Normie who's probably the reason they got caught in the first place!

[Despite Mike's attempts to warn me otherwise- I made the decision to go down to the final level upon the discovery of Blossom's missing hair clip – which I know now was planted- but in my haste and admitted excitement to having in my mind finally gained the proof we needed to assure the SHL's assistance I chose to go against my companion's warning and went down the basement stairs. Unbeknownst to me at the time Mike instead followed me and we both fell in the trap. However- it was my brash decision that propelled this. Mr. Believe should be absolved of any blame in this matter. ]

"It's bull. Fucking bull. Pisses me the fuck off but… you're right I guess." He buzzed his lips. "Guess I can't change it or whatever… it was one… bullshit… thing that just went outta control and fuck…" He shrugged. "Just… fuck I guess. What else am I supposed to say? … I'm gonna guess you and Red's spat was about this same shit huh?"

She said nothing. Butch's smirk seemed… forced.

"Yeah… thought so."

"They're hiding something… Butch." She murmured. He froze. "Don't you see that? They're hiding something."

"… Boss wouldn't hide this from me."

"There's forty two… missing minutes Butch… the exact… same… missing minutes in both… reports. In Mike's witness statement and Brick's. That's not a coincidence- that's planned and it's a sloppy one at that-."

"Big Bro wouldn't lie."

"It's not a lie if they just don't put it in- there's nothing to lie about then is there?" She snapped. Ugh. Why'd she even bother?

"Then he's the liar. He's the one hiding something- not my brother! Believe is. He's the fucking liar!"

"They're in cahoots Butch! Open your damn eyes!

He was shaking his head over and over. The truth sucked and it hurt but-."

"Brick… wouldn't… lie to me!"

"Butch listen to me- just listen!" For the love of- the kid looked like he was about to have a fucking aneurism! His eyes were also starting to glow and… that was a growl. No really that was a fucking dog growl – apparently Brick wasn't the only canine in the family after all! Well who'd a thunk! This wasn't helping either! For the love of- fuck this- truth sucked didn't it- okay- time to vacate.

"M-My brother wouldn't lie to me. He wouldn't. He's not. It that's asshole doing it! He has some kind of… some kind of fucking hold over him! And… "That growling was getting louder. " No… no see the asshole won't even know what him. Oh no- not with what the Butch has got planned! Oh no… see… because…because…" His fists were shaking. "Operation Disbelief… is officially a go!"

"Operation… Disbelief… what? Butch the fuck are you-!? BUTCH!? Where are you-?!"

He bolted. Didn't even bother flying. And fuck he was a fast runner- and… he was gone.

"The fuck….?"

-V-

Butch

The living room was vacant when he got back- he frowned. Boom was probably sleeping- but where was…?

Oh- hey there was a note on the table. He didn't recognize the writing though.

Dear Butch,

Your brother had to run out on an emergency Puff soothing session (my suspicions proved correct and Butterscotch and Blossy Boo apparently got in a fight- hence- the Graham beating. I hope you got pictures by the way. Please and thank you in advance for copies.

Boomer's asleep but he'll probably wake up hung over from his cough syrup dose- he doesn't like to be sick does he? He was high as a kite when I got here- no wonder Brick went and locked the syrup away in a cabinet before he left.

I hope you were able to calm down Butterscotch. She's sensitive deep down you know- she was really hurting and I was really worried but… hey I'm a Norm so… can't do anything to help in… those cases. It sucks to be a Norm sometimes.

But something came up with me on my end- my mother's I think nursing the same cold… but just to be safe we're doing the Jelly check – she works in that area you know? So in the event you're not back first please feel free to disregard this message- but in the likelihood you are first…

Thank you.

If you guys need any more help with Boom (or if anything comes up with Buttercup) – I don't seem to have your number – heartbreaking I know- but here's mine. Call me if anything comes up. Seriously- anything- I'm a norm- I can handle this crap.

Thanks again my friend!

Mitch

[408-899-0122] – Call me!

He blinked… weirdo.

Whatever- so Boss had… gone over to comfort Red… who was apparently upset and see- just like the Butch had said… it would all blow over and just… yeah.

Yeah…

He was hungry- he was going to raid the fridge- yeah. Lots of goodies here- leftover chili- yes. Perfect. He liked chili. His brother's chili was the best because his brother was hell of a cook and so Butch's brother always made sure there was extra when he made his God sent chili!

Yes. Yes it was!

He buzzed his lips- grabbed a bowl and shoved it in the microwave. Seeing as his brother had decided to trust Butch with the kitchen again because he was the second eldest here- he was the second in command and he was Brick's favorite brother. Yes.

Yes he was.

His phone was buzzing- bunch of Faceplace notifications and shit. He saw some cute faces though on his messages- hmm… well that would make him feel better. Except he wasn't upset. No… he was in planning mode. Yes.

Yes he was.

The shithead was going to regret the day he fell out of Janey Believe's tummy. He was going to regret every single day of his life since then. Butch was the Baron of Berserk for a reason. He was going to make… this little shithead's life…

Hell.

It would be so unpleasant to be named Mike Believe that the shithead would finally abandon his pathetically see through plots and run for the hills- leaving Boss and Boss Woman at peace and then with that out of the way everything would go back to normal.

Yes… yes it would.

Now… how to begin… he supposed intimidation would be the fair way to start… but it would be so satisfying to see that slimy smile wiped off his face by means of paint falling from the heavens above all over him- or to see his precious rink covered in some kind of substance – yet to be decided- glue wasn't a bad idea – though he'd have to figure out a way to warn Mendes not to go on the ice that day because Michelson would freak- which would mean Butters would freak and well yeah – okay so maybe leave the rink alone. But… hmm… he should write this shit down- this was a delicate operation.

It would require finesse- brilliance- absolute perfection: All these things the Butch already had of course but…

They're in cahoots Butch! Don't you see that!

… She was wrong. Boss wouldn't…. it was stupid. Boomer worthy in paranoia to be brutally honest and he'd thought Butters at least would be beyond that.

Oh well- guess for all her being a badass bitch and babe she was still human so whatever.

Fuck though… he'd missed those fights- the thrill and adrenaline was just fucking… it was like a damn drug. Fighting with Buttercup Utonium was a damn rush he'd never get fucking sick of. Fuck if she wanted to start doing that every time some sister spat came up- fuck it sign the Butch up! What she doing wasting her time following slime like Graham… he paused.

Right. Him. He needed to be taught a lesson too. They were on the same team or whatever- maybe it could be a double whammy…. Hmm…

Believe was the priority… obviously but… this Graham…. Needed to be taught a Rowdy lesson too. Respecting women and respecting Boss' woman! Just… aw hell no and what he had ever implied about Boss in the first place…

Oh hell no.

Stupid… not on the Butch's watch! He wasn't about to let Boss get slandered like that! Fuck that! Uh uh!

Toilet orphan… fuck you… fuck. You.

Shit head had no business talking about Big Bro like that... or him and Boom for that matter! Fucking…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Fuck man… this was ridiculous. The hell was everyone messaging him about!?

… Oh. Yeah okay. Butch didn't give a shit- so the asshole had apparently punched him or whatever? Whoopty fucking doo.

Even Butters had sounded impressed… fucking… please- he'd shown her some real moves today and aw fuck… man he wouldn't mind showing her some moves- aw yeah- Butterbabe in little booty shorts and a sports bra- training with him- bein' so impressed with the Butch.

Fuck he'd have her in bed by midnight. Fuckin' - ah well… that was being a Rowdyruff Boy for ya- sacrifices had to be made… but he'd made progress today… oh yeah baby. She'd been giving him the eyes- she'd been wanting a taste…

But… he'd had to get home- stupid Boom and his cough syrup- I'm gonna get better no matter what!- Blah blah- moron.

…Least he didn't have to worry about the girls or anything- they'd be fine. No doubt Red was gettin' some comfort lovin' and Butters would get home and they'd make up like a bunch of saps and everythin' would be good again.

Cause that was what sisters did. Sisters and brothers- siblings and shit. They stuck together- they had fights over stupid shit- then made up and everythin' was good again.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Fucking hell! Stop sendin' this stupid video! He didn't give a flying fuck!

…Although…. Maybe this kid had a weakness or whatever- maybe a bad leg or something- he could take advantage of… trip im' into the paint- heyyyy that could work- alright fine- whatever- he could use a laugh- maybe Believe got socked in the face. Heh- that'd be a sight.

He took a big spoonful of chili- wonder if Boss had seen this yet? Heh- seein' how dumb the kid must have looked… heh wouldn't hang out with some loser like that anymore- bein' caught on camera lookin' like a dumb ass… heh heh.

[Inside the Townsville High Rink boy's locker room-

"So… it's finally happened… Believe has snapped- him and Graham are about to go at it… this is kind of bad…"

Voice obviously of one of the Briners…

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY SISTER GRAHAM!"

"You heard me- desperate little freak who'd prefer to suck some toilet scum's dick than-!"

PUNCH. Graham goes flying back. Right on his ass.

"Oooh look at that- little Believe's got some balls after all- go on fucker- hit me again- I fucking dare you! Show me what you got! You ain't for your little monkey friend to hide behind like some kind of-

"Oh you better not be talking about Jojo- you better not have just called my best friend a fucking-!"

"BELIEVE STOP!

Mendes in the frame- pulling him back.

"Bet your ass I just did- after all look at his sorry excuse of a DADDY- oh wait- I can't- cause he's too busy throwing his own shit like a fucking MONKEY! You know I didn't think the Pink Puff was into bestiality and shit but obviously if she'd prefer some toilet monkey hybrid or whatever over a real man like me well then- tch fuck her. Ya know maybe Snyder's more my speed – maybe I'll give her a try: show her what a real man feels like-."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! LET GO PABLO!"

Mendes fall down- camera is shaky as blur of two hockey players rolling on the ground – fists flying.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

PUNCH. KICK. PUNCH. KICK.

PUNCH. PUNCH. KICK.

….Roll?

Swoops back up- blocks a hit then ducks another… Wait…

"Holy… shit did Snyder teach him some new moves or something?"

"I dunno… but shit YEAAAAH! Go Mike! Show that asshole what it means to be a REAL Briner!"

"Yeeeeeeeahhhhh! GO BELIEVE!"

KICK. PUNCH. Another kick. Another… punch but wait… huh wait how did he!? Wait… WAIT A MINUTE!

On the ground. Graham attempts to body slam him- ROLL!? Arm half up- half down- propelled off the ground- under legs- legs kicked from under (!?)

But… But…

"Okay… Okay BREAK IT UP! C'mon you guys! Believe it ain't worth it! You know it!"

Mendes runs over. Grabs him from behind.

"DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT MY TWEETY LIKE THAT AGAIN! OR MY SISTER! OR MY BEST FRIEND! JUST DON'T TALK ABOUT THEM! YOU KNOW WHAT- JUST DON'T TALK!"

"Or what! What you gonna do Believe! Bore me to death with your lame ass plans and shit! How you managed to satisfy ONE bitch let alone TWO I'll never fucking understand-!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T QUIT WITH THAT BULLSHIT I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL-!"

Older man- Senior runs over- Andy Finkley- Briners Captain proceeds to rip two boys apart.

"Okay- Believe- Believe walk away- let's go- Derek shut that off! Jesus Christ! Pete get Graham out of here both of you! Into the showers! Consider yourselves both striked! David this is number two- one more and you're benched the rest of the season! WE CLEAR! DAMN IT DEREK I SAID SHUT THAT OFF!"

Black. ]

The chili hung off the spoon before it dripped on the floor. Butch felt his jaw almost drop. He was seeing things. There… There was no way!

He rewound.

Kick. Punch. Kick. Punch.

Okay… okay that was a basic… amateur fighting…

Kick, punch, punch- block- duck- on the ground, off the ground.

It couldn't be… no it was just a coincidence… course it…. course it was. Butch was tired. Butch maybe had a few loose brain cells from Butterbabe's hits before so… so…

Kick. Punch. Punch. Block. Duck. On the ground. Off the ground.

His arm… the way he was holding himself back… he wasn't even…

The guy was bigger than him- Believe was scrawny compare to this big ogre or whatever so… so…

Kick. Punch… punch. Block. Duck…. On the ground… Off the ground…

Kick… Punch…

Block… Duck…

-o-o-o-

"OOF!"

He sneered and smacked the dumb blonde's mitt away. Stupid… the snickering was pissing him off.

"I wasn't ready that time!"

"You're never ready." The nerd called from the ratty couch.

"Yeah well least I'm not wastin' my time doin' nerd things like readin'! I'm gonna be ready to kick those stupid girls' butts the next time!"

"Dad said to lay low for now Butch."

"Well I don't wanna lay low! Pop's gonna take over the city someday right! Well we gotta be ready to help him!"

"Yeah Brick- Dad's gonna need our help!"

"So instead of readin' like a nerd you should come train with us!"

"I AM training Tweedle Dee."

"What's that even mean anyway!?"

Those red eyes were withering.

"It's from Alice in Wonderland – suits you two perfectly in my opinion."

"Hey! Don't be calling us something from some stupid nerd book!"

"Yeah!"

"Shut up Dum Dum!"

"Okay…"

The door opened and Pops came striding in with a tray of grub. Yes! Banana muffins- Butch's favorite! He zipped over and Boomer followed behind- Brick grabbed one and continued looking at his nerd book. Pops only shrugged and lifted Big Bro's feet off the sofa with a grunt before he sat down at their brother's side.

"Dad! Tell Brick to come train with us- he's been sittin' there for an hour!"

"It's been twenty minutes Tweedle Dum…"

"…. Dad tell Brick to stop calling me weird book characters!"

A deep sigh, "Brick. It is not nice to call your younger brothers the names of literary characters they do not know- they are your brothers you are the eldest- you are thus supposed to be nice and not call them by anything but their names and not by literary characters. Especially from books that glorify the effects of hallucinogenic mushrooms."

"Hallacu-wha?"

"Never mind Boomer."

"Okay."

"Dummy."

"DAAAAAAD!"

"Butch!"

"Tattletale!"

"Better than a jerk face!"

"Boomer! Language!"

"…Yes Sir."

Brick rolled his eyes and returned to his dumb book.

"Seriously Pops- tell Brick to get off his butt and come train with us we gotta be ready if the Powderpuffs come and attack us!"

"Cause they totally are gonna raid the Observatory out of nowhere."

"Uh YEAH! Cause they're dumb and we're gonna be ready! Right Boom!"

"Yeah!"

"Okay you two do that."

Back in the nerd book. Pops had picked up his newspaper.

Butch stomped his foot and grabbed the stupid thing and ripped it away from him because he wasn't being a good Rowdyruff Boys right now! He was being-!

"HEY! MY PAGE!" He snapped.

"Quit it with the readin' and do something useful!"

"I am doing something useful! I'm studying!"

"Stufyin' what- how to be a nerd or whatever! News flash Big Bro- you don't need a book to do that- you're as big a nerd as they come!"

"Least I'm smart and not stupid like you!"

"Guys don't fight…."

"Boys."

The three quieted and Mojo tapped his boot disapprovingly on the metal floor. Butch buzzed his lips while Brick scowled and grabbed his book back before sitting back down on the couch.

"Some leader you are- won't even fight."

"Leaders don't just jump in and start punching at random- they have plans- you know they actually think instead of just punch! –"the supreme art of war is to to subdue the enemy without fighting."

"What's that even mean?!"

He held up the book. " It's a quote from this book Dad told me about- The Art of War – it's worth a read you should try it – then again there aren't any pictures so…"

"Why you-!"

"Brick…."

"Aw c'mon Dad!"

"Brick-Butch the two of you have been at each other's throats for the last week now- it is time we settle this. As your creator and father figure- mostly your father figure- I Mojo Jojo will be solving this problem once and for all. Come with me Boys."

"Can I come too Dad?" Boomer jumped up and down.

"Yes you may Boomer- bring the muffins please."

"Sweet! Okay!"

"Do not eat them all! You will ruin your dinner!"

"Aww…, fine."

Brick raised an eyebrow but nonetheless floated listlessly after them- Butch sneered but followed.

-o-o-o-

There was no doubt. He must have played it back a dozen times… but there was no… fucking doubt.

The kid… was using…

Rowdy Style.

Brick's own invention and hybrid of basically every fighting technique and style from cultures- it was fast. It was based off of quick thinking and the ability to improvise.

It was their secret…weapon.

No one but Rowdys… they hadn't even taught the girls this! (Sure they didn't need it cause he saw those girls train and fuck they kicked ass but still!) - How the fuck….

There was only one way… one way this guy could have learned this…

One… way.

"Butch?" he stiffened and the door closed while Brick slipped his jacket off. "Good you're back- I take it Buttercup's… calmed down as well then…you okay?"

He blinked.

"What?"

"You… look weird. Did you eat- you look pale as fuck." he cracked his back somewhat.

"I…had some chili." He muttered. Brick nodded and went over to the fridge.

"There any left- I don't feel like cooking. Fuck it's been a long day."

"Yeah…there's plenty Boss."

Clink.

He came strolling over and plopped on the loveseat- took his cap off and fanned himself idly with it.

"Red….okay?"

He continued fanning himself, "Pinky's upset- but she's more upset because she thinks Buttercup now hates her- did you get anything from BC- I knew there was no point in asking her and Pinky wasn't telling me anything."

"So… why'd you go over then…?"

His eyebrow rose, "I didn't go over- I met her at Janey's. Believe called me."

His grip on his spoon tightened.

"Oh yeah just your old pal Believe." He grunted. Brick shrugged and the microwave beeped- he zipped over. "So… did you see that video…?"

There was a slight pause.

They're in cahoots Butch! Can't you see that!

"The one on Faceplace? Yeah I saw it. I plan on talking to Mr. Graham myself actually- … if there's anything left after BC got through with him."

He returned to the living room.

"Nah- the turd ran away."

"Tch. ain't that typical."

"… Pretty rad moves on Believe's part though… gotta admit."

More silence.

"Yep. He's not bad."

"Nothing to us Rowdies though."

Brick snorted.

"Not even close."

They finished their chili in silence- and Brick cracked his back again.

"Back ache Big Bro?"

A shrug. "All-nighters and shit- remind me… that law is never going to be in my future." He shook his head. "I'll stick with engineering- numbers can't lie."

'You should… go to bed then. You know- take a break. You've earned it."

His brother stiffened and he scratched at his arm listlessly.

"Yeah…that'd be nice…" He mumbled. He seemed lost in thought for a moment.

"You okay Boss?"

Once again the Rowdy Boss seemed tense for a moment but then sighed.

"Yeah I'm fine Tweedle Dee… just… got shit on my mind is all."

They're in Cahoots Butch!

Butch leaned back and played idly with his phone, "Like what?"

"….Just worried about Pinky I guess." He mumbled.

"Meh- they'll be fine I talked to Butters- she's super upset too- they'll end up having a big sister cry or whatever and end up doing each other's hair and be best friends again by tomorrow.'" Boss snorted. "Aw c'mon Big Bro you know it's true." Finally his brother's lip curled somewhat.

"Yeah, yeah- doesn't mean I like seeing her upset."

"Course not- because she's your woman Boss."

Chili hit him in the head. He blinked. Brick lowered his spoon.

"Did you seriously just throw chili at me?"

"I did, I'm tired and it seemed the most effective way of getting the point across."

"You got chili in my hair."

"You need to learn."

"You got chili in the Butch's hair!"

"Then stop calling Pinky- my "woman"!"

"It's true!"

"She doesn't like it!"

"She's never complained."

"Have you seen the way she gets all flustered?! She doesn't like it!"

"She gets redder in the face when you call her Babe- I don't see you stopping."

Silence.

"… Stop being smart." He muttered and grabbed Butch's bowl.

"Big Bro let me do those-." The hand went up.

"Nah Bro… I got it. I'll do these quick and I think I'm going to go to bed. You're right… I'm tired as hell…." Another back crack. "Fuck..." He muttered.

"You sure…?"

"Yeah I'm sure." Another mutter- he could barely hear it over the running faucet.

"…Okay… well I'm gonna go shower then… so uh… Night Big Bro…"

He waved him off idly- "Night. Try not to use all the hot water in the building this time."

The Green Rowdy bristled but the Red Rowdy only continued doing the dishes in silence. A zombie like silence. He hadn't noticed before… just how damn… deep those circles under his big brother's eyes were lately. Deep and sunken and his shaving job was half assed at best…

…maybe something… was off.

The water pressure was like heaven and the chili hadn't had time to mar the magnificence of the Butch's hair at least. Small miracles.

Achoo!

He blinked. Well looks like sleeping beauty was up. More cough syrup high antics awaited them then-.

A-A-ACHOO!

"SHIT!"

Hmm? Was that-?

The fire alarm blasted and Brick's swearing grew worse.

"You okay Big Bro!"

"Fine! Was too close to a paper towel- I got it!"

… Okay… the hazards of living with a fire breather he guessed.

The blaring stopped soon enough and well that was crisis (?) over and done with – it was fine. It was whatever… just another night in the Jojo household.

Nothing new…to see here.

A-ACHOO!

"GOD DAMN IT!"

BRIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZING

… Yep. Nothing new.

-o-o-o-

Butch tossed- he turned- he finally growled and gave up.

He couldn't sleep. He heard the shuffling- the tell-tale signs someone was up- floating could only mask so much movement. Butch flipped through his magazine idly… but meh none of these chicks were really his type so… Nah. Dud. He flipped magazine into the trash. Articles sucked too this month. Ah well.

Clink.

It was faint- but he recognized the sound of keys anyway. Keys being removed from the hook. The hook Boss always keys his house keys on. He scanned the clock.

12:05 AM

The fridge door opened- closed. Distinctly- slowly. Someone was obviously trying to keep quiet.

A cough syrup high Rowdyruff Boy… always made hell of a racket.

But a Rowdyruff Boy…trying to sneak out… making preparations and shit…

He was… much more adept.

The door across the way-opened and shut. Butch tensed.

Three… two… one…

He had to take a piss. Yep. Yes he did.

The door slammed open- Brick's door was closed- the lights were off.

The keys were gone.

His teeth grit.

They're in cahoots Butch! Don't you see that!

Big bro wouldn't lie to me!

His fist shook before he grabbed his jacket from the couch- opened the balcony window and jumped into the sky. Fucking… what the fuck! What the fuck was going on here! WHAT. THE. FUCK!

Oh there had better be a good explanation for this- the worst fucking blackmail known to mankind! SOMETHING! They'd handle it together- and the fucker would regret fucking with the Rowdyruff Boys! Yes he would!

Now… if the Butch was some sniveling normie blackmailer where would he be…?

Movement in an alley… AH HA! Found him the little shit head keeping his brother hostage somehow with some kind of-!

"Butch… the fuck you doing now?" he blinked and turned around.

"Butters? What are you doing here?" The Puff drifted past him listlessly.

"I asked you first." She folded her arms. Oh baby… someone had clearly just gotten out of bed- look at those little shorts and that little tank top under that zipper hoodie and… no. Bad. Focus. Hot Counterparts… in little to no clothing would… have to wait… God damn it stupid codes!

"I'm… on patrol." He grunted. Her eyebrow rose and she flicked her hair back- aw look what a nice braid.

"Right… okay- what a coincidence- so am I."

"Ain't it a little late to be on patrol?"

"I'm bored."

"You're in booty shorts."

"You're in boxers.'

He blinked and looked down. "AW FUCK! Uh… Uh- no these are… uh basketball shorts! They're uh-!"

"Someone was clearly in a hurry- don't worry Butchy Boy- your little…" She blinked this time. "Are you seriously wearing creepy alien head boxers?"

His cheeks flared, "They... they let me breath."

This snort was even louder.

"Yeah okay- whatever. Like I said… your uh…" Her gaze flicked up and then down before she cleared her throat, "Your uh… secret's safe with me." She shrugged.

The Butch needed to find a hole now. A very very deep hole. Deep enough to get to China and hide in another hole there. Butters only put her hand on her hip- and cradled her chin.

"So… again… what are you doing out here?"

He bristled and folded his arms.

"I'd like to ask you the same question."

"Yeah no- I asked you first- get talkin' alien boy."

"They were on sale okay!" He hissed. She snickered. "I… just needed some air."

"Uh huh… so… the red streak that went flying by oh… fifteen… twenty minutes ago didn't catch your interest?"

…Damn it. She idly examined her nails.

"You saw Big Bro go flying around here?" He muttered. Her eyes "widened"

"You didn't know?" She cupped her cheek, "Oh my goodness- but I thought your brother would never keep secrets from-."

"Okay! Okay I get the point!" God what a bitch. A sexy fucking bombshell of a bitch. But fuck she was going to drive him insane! "Which way did he go-?"

"Looked to me like he was heading to the harbor district." She shrugged.

"Harbor District? The fuck is he going there for- it's almost one in the morning!"

"Hm- yeah my thoughts exactly. So… shall we?"

"Shall we what?"

Again she put her hand on her hip and those curves were like gifts from God. "You know… investigate…have our own little X investigation."

He swallowed. "X...investigation?" Those curves were inhumane. They were unfair- they were everything the Butch had ever wanted in bed and more- and oh fuck… fuck…

"Uh yeah- investigate. See what's up."

"… Yeah… but… why are you in the alleyway if he was headin' for the harbor-?"

She tensed and plopped a piece of gum in her mouth. "I was on my way when I heard a commotion down here- you're just in time actually- I think we may have some proper X Team duties to take care of first…"

"….. You're gonna fight in that?"

POW.

Why… was it always the face?

Her cheeks seemed to be pink even in the dark, "S-Shut up Asswipe- let's just make this quick." She rubbed her arms somewhat. "Seriously it's fucking freezing."

I could warm you up baby…

She stiffened, "That wasn't an invite- back off." She shoved past him – "Let's go damn it!"

She so wants me.

He followed her down the alley- he didn't hear anything but… Puff instincts were likely still better than Rowdy ones at this point when it came to shit like this- for now: They'd catch up soon enough but hey- no one could argue against experience.

There'd be plenty of things the Butch could teach this luscious creature the second she gave the word after all- heh heh.

"So… Butters- how's things with Red?"

She stiffened but then her hand trailed her braid listlessly, "She's talking to me. Guess that's better than nothing." She muttered before she looked around, blinked once, twice and then looked around again. "The fuck… I know I heard something…"

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he looked around, "We didn't come too late did we-?" He didn't see any evidence or shit of some kind of mugging gone bad or an attack… of any kind but-.

"No… the hell man…?" She continued looking around.

"Maybe it was… Trixie or whatever… stopped it before we got here?" He scowled. Stupid attention hog. Butters frowned.

"… It's possible I guess...?" She still looked confused… and kind of creeped out. Weird. "Well… I guess if there's nothing here… we should get to the harbor. Catch Cap Boy in the act… whatever he's doing."

Butch flinched. He couldn't help it. And she noticed it right away- her eyes narrowed.

"Got something to share with the rest of the class there Alien Boy?" She folded her arms. "What's Cap Boy up to? You know?"

Know… no. Suspect… yeah.

He shrugged. She rolled her eyes but instead of bugging him more she just brushed past him without another word.

Why he'd be… at the harbor didn't make a lot of sense but well… it was… unexpected… a good place to learn to… think on your feet…

He clenched his fist. Stupid… fucking blackmailer… fucking… when he ever got his hands on-!

Oof! He blinked but Butters was frozen in place.

"Uh… Butters? Butterbabe? Hello?"

"Boss this don't seem the best idea."

"Dahhh yeah- this don't' seem a good idea!"

"Bosssssssss we ssssssssssshould go backkkkkkkk."

"Brrrrrrzk!"

He narrowed his eyes. Well there was the answer. Those green turds or whatever- the Butch should have known. Well… he was in a bad mood so maybe beatin' some green hide would be good stress relief.

"Boys- Boys- when have I eva's left youz down? Trust me… this is the legit deal."

And there was the ringleader. Oh good all five of em'- yeah the perfect-!

He blinked.

Uh….? Huh? He looked around. The fuck!? Where'd she-!?

"Butters!" He hissed.

She was gone (?!) – but when had she-!? Where was-!?

"Bossssssss can you really trusssssssst thissssssss guy?"

"Yeah what if he's some kind of coppa in disguise or somethin'?"

"Dahhhh yeah!"

"Briiiiiiiiiizzpt!"

Sounded like some kind of meeting- well too bad- it would have to wait, the Butch was in a bad mood and they were around and scum bags. He cracked his knuckles as the footsteps got closer- that's right: Ambush em'- whatever they were doin' meetin' someone this damn late it wasn't good and like hell would the Butch just sit around and watch some bad shit go down and not do nothin'!

Yeah just another day in the life of the Butch- Townsville's most bad ass new-. WHAT THE!?

He hit the wall and she slammed her hand against his mouth. He blinked. Uh… what? Those eyes were huge- and that sweatshirt was suddenly zipped up all the way to her goddamn chin. He blinked again. She removed her hand.

"Butters what-?" Again with the hand!

"Shh!" She hissed. "Be quiet you moron they'll hear you!"

…Since when did that matter? They tried nothin' – they'd beat the shit out of them- case…closed? She looked over her shoulder- the footsteps were getting closer and those piercing lime eyes centered on his. "Keep… your mouth shut." She hissed and he was pressed further into the wall. "And don't let go of me." Oh… well uh… was this the right time? Shit he'd heard of adrenaline and heat of the moment impulses but fuck was this the right time?

She pressed him further against the wall: … Fuck it he'd make it the right time! He pulled that hottie right into him and she growled but nonetheless her grip on him tightened. Fuck… okay… he was still pissed but at least his night was about to get a whole lot fucking better-!

"The fuck are those morons doing this late at night… and this ain't their turf… this isn't even close to Gang Green Territory." She murmured. He nodded. Weird- yeah. Lots of weird shit in this city. Uh huh. Why the sweatshirt still? He could keep her warm- he could keep her plenty warm.

… But uh… not for nothing if she didn't want to be seen… uh shouldn't they move..? Fire escape? Rooftop…?

Behind the dumpster?

"Butterbabe… much as I'm all for this don't you think we should uh move this somewhere"

"Shh! Stay still and shut the fuck up!" She hissed and she pulled him into a crouch- those slick boots came into view- followed by all the rest of the morons. Ugh… he was such a fucking sleaze just by looking at him.

Fuck people who had the nerve to say shit about Brick's hair should take a good look at this winner- that hair was greasy it looked like it hadn't been washed in damn weeks- look at im' dressin' in the leather and the greasy hair with those damn sunglasses and shit… like he was tryin' to be all big and bad!

God this guy pissed Butch off. All five of these losers did. They were nothin' special but acted like they were- he'd had to deal with their stupid attempts to get into the "big leagues" now for months- god knows how long Butters and her sisters had had to deal with the creeps. He'd seen the leering looks thrown in their directions: Guy was lucky he still had all his teeth…

Ace Copular- fucking wannabe gangster who did nothin' but give Butch a damn headache.

Butters was grimly silent next to him- and the grip on his jacket seemed to increase. He frowned- was she? Why though? Hadn't she always said…?

Golden rule of being a Green Butchie Boy- Buttercupalwaysgets the last hit on Ace."

So why the-? Not that… Butch would be complaining in normal cases for this but… his… something ain't right thing was actin' up.

"So what- this guy just says to come ere' and you would "talk"- what's that even mean?"

"Bosssssss Arturo'ssssssssss right…. Letsssssss baillllll."

The shortest member and the thinnest member were surrounding the creep. The big one and the one with the… tongue problem or whatever seemed to hang back. Ace though… he looked pretty determined- especially as he dug in his jacket and pulled out a pack of smokes and flicked a lighter nonchalantly.

"You boys can bail- no problem- it'za rude to not hear what the guy has to say ya know- he spoke my language after all." A wisp of smoke surrounded the air.

"How do we even know that cash was real though Boss? I'm tellin' ya- this is too weird- why he come and talk to you – if he wants to cause trouble for those-."

The shortie was hoisted in the air. "What you'z sayin'! That I'm not a threat to those fuckin' brats! Course I am! Ma plan was goin' to work like a goddamn charm- I had it practically eatin' outta my hand until that bitch had to stick her nose in ma business! Fuckin' stuck up lil' bitch!" he spat on the ground. "Someone needs ta teach that one a lesson! And seems this guy wants the honors or whateva's so may as well hear what he has ta say."

Bitch…? Stuck up little? Who the fuck was this loser talkin' about- whoa! Butters!?

Her face had gone white- her grip on his wrist was like steel.

The lanky one continued to look around nervously- the shortie was dropped on the ground – the big one pounded his fist into his palm.

"And duhhh if we don't like it then I get to clobba him right boss?"

"That's right Billy- whateva this guy has to say- fine- but one way or another we're leavin' with that cash." He flicked his cigarette while the group of em' snickered.

"Grubba- time!" he snapped his fingers.

The weirdo with the spittin' problem looked at his wrist and tapped his watch. " BBBBBRSSZZZT!"

Ace stiffened. "Late. Well ain't that rude- what he think? I gots all day?"

"Tellin' you Boss… weird."

Butters' grip was getting tighter and tighter- he was gonna lose circulation in his wrist at this point! He gave her a look but she wasn't paying attention.

No… she was just lookin' at the lot of em'.

Step. Step. Step.

Now Butch stiffened- those steps were comin' in the opposite ways and maybe these dumb asses were too idiotic to notice em' crouching here- no matter how dark it was- but the other direction- this mystery guy would see em' for sure and if they were about to see some shit go down then-.

" Aboutsssssss timeeeeeeee!"

"You gots a lot of nerve keepin' our Boss waitin' like-!"

The two suddenly went quiet and held their throats (!?) – And their mouths were opening and shit but no sound was coming out.

"Apologies Mr. Copular. I was delayed."

His skin went cold. Butters' froze.

The guy was tall and heavily cloaked but that voice… his grip on her increased this time.

Ghosty… But… But HOW!?

"Yeah –Yeah whateva- I ain't here for small talk- I'm here for the dough- cough it up fucka!"

The laugh was deep and…kinda echoey. He saw the big guy kind of back away a bit. The two loudmouths still clutched their throats but also mirrored the big oaf in backing away.

"Ah yes- of course- your… payment." He dug in his cloak and pulled out- WHOA!

That must have been an easy couple grand in that wad of cash!? Ace was almost drooling when he lunged for it – shakily fanning it out.

"I take it this is… a good starting point- we can do business now or is further persuasion needed Mr. Copular?"

"Y-You actually have tha cash… you gots my attention- let's hear it." His voice was shaking too. Almost as much as his hands.

The grip on Butch's arm was only growing tighter.

"Ah… good. Good. You see Mr. Copular my Master has a wish to speak to you- he has a… offer if you will?"

"Offa? What kind of offa- it pay like this?"

"Oh no Mr. Copular. I can guarantee it pays even…more. As much as your greed could possibly want."

The other guys all stiffened, " BRZZZBT!?"

"Duh yeah! What's the catch?"

Ace even looked up from the cash, "My…associates are right- nothin' like this comes for nothin' what's te catch?" Still looking at the cash.

Greedy… fucker.

"That I'm afraid- I can't tell you." He said smoothly before his hand touched the wall next to him- "But… as I said… my Master… is most eager to speak to you Mr. Copular… I'm sure a fine businessman like yourself… can come to an agreeable arrangement." He dug through his cloak again and this time a golden necklace… with a fucking ruby the size of a goddamn hardboiled egg or some shit was dangling from the specter's hand.

The Gang all choked and Ace's own eyes bugged out. Butters grip was getting tenser. He strengthened his own. Her breathing was growing faster.

"As I said in our… first encounter Mr. Copular- my Master is eager to meet with you… discuss this arrangement in greater detail- if you'd follow me."

Master… Master huh? So Ghosty was nothing but a lackey!?

"… Shit my man lead the way!" He grabbed the pendant- again… Ghosty just seemed to laugh as he waved Ace over to him and then tossed his head back.

"My Master is awaiting you down there." Another toss of the head – where… the alley suddenly seemed to… be nothing but darkness. What the… where had the street lights gone?! The fire escape!? What the-!?

Ace's eyes glimmered at the pendant in his hands and he forward eagerly- his cronies all hustled to follow im' like a bunch of dumbasses- but the hand went out.

"My friends… I'm sorry but my Master has instructed that only Mr. Copular accompany me… you'll have to wait here."

The lanky one especially didn't seem to like that.

"Bosssssssss! Thisssssss- Thissssss ain't right mannnnnn!"

"Yeah man! Not right! We should go!"

"Duuuuuuh- yeah. Yeah we should!"

"…. Brrrrzpt."

Ace was only still looking at his bounty in his hands and he grinned – kinda crazily to be….brutally honest.

"This is our shot Boys… our shot at the big league! Where the Gang Green Gang belongs! Don't ya trust me- when has I eva led you guys wrong?"

They all hesitated and Ace smirked before he held up the necklace again, "And if this is only a taste of what's waitin' for us… then who the fuck could say no- am I right my man?"

The specter laughed again, "My Master can grant any desire you so wish."

Ace snorted, "And what's your big reward in all this- you got all this cash from somewhere-."

Ghosty shook his head, "My reward for my…service is not in material matters- I have no need of such things."

Ace blinked, looked at the loot in his hands again before he snapped his fingers, "Aw yeah- you wanna bang the pink chick or whatever right?"

Buttercup sucked in a harsh breath- Butch had no choice but to grab her and keep her down.

"As I said… my reward will not be material in nature."

Reward… Pink… oh… oh that didn't sound good. No… No see that sounded really bad! Butters had gone a scalding white- her breathing was shaky and… fuck… fuck this was bad. This was really bad!

She wasn't angry. It'd be one thing if she was angry- he'd know how to handle that. But… But… her breathing was getting shakier- and-….

Ace snorted, "Yeah okay- whatev's you say my man- so what? You do's what this Master of yours says and he'll get ya the pink one- you'll get to teach her, her damn place and shit. Good- the bitch needs a lesson me thinks." He spat.

Again… the ghost… pervert… creep… thing said nothing. Though Butch saw… its hand rest on the sword at his hip briefly- for a second… and then…

It turned.

He sucked in a harsh breath and he grabbed Butters - instinct or somethin' – weird as fuck… but… she didn't fight im' off either.

There was somethin' fucked up about a fuckin' man with no face. Hearin' a voice comin' from some black void… and somethin'… somethin' in Butch told him…

It was looking straight at them.

His hand went up- shakily- he couldn't help it- the urge to throw a shield up was almost… insane.

It turned away then.

"My Master doesn't like to be kept waiting. Follow me."

The cape – cloak...whatever it was swirled behind Ghosty as he strode past them- Butters' breathing was still labored- still forced and heavy.

"Butters…" He finally hissed.

She whipped around to face him and… oh… what…the….?

The screech was ear shattering. He jumped back- and the rest of the morons all cried out as the Green Puff went charging at the two- with a harsh laugh Ace was pushed in front of the creep and disappeared- and there was the fire escape and the street lights and aw fuck! Not again! Butch didn't sign up for this other dimension shit! The other guys all were freaking, hisses, spitting and incoherent ramblings in English and Spanish alike before finally they bolted- the tiny jack ass jumping on the tub of lard's back as he lumbered out of there I a surprisingly speedy pace- the spitter didn't even hesitate.

Only the lanky one – the one with the hissin' problem whipped back around. He seemed to be looking where his "Boss" or whatever had just disappeared to… but then also at… Butters?

Butch followed the gaze… and his jaw dropped.

The Green Puff was snarling like a wild animal- almost exactly like how her damn sister had looked the night she'd gone and beaten the ever living shit out of Mojo in front of em'- teeth bared- and her eyes glowing a bright… almost florescent lime green.

…This… was new.

"B-Butters…?" In circumstances like this… it was perfectly fine for a male's voice to go that high. Even a perfect specimen like the Butch and-… fuck it what was he doing! He shook his head and held up his own fists.

"Buttercup!" He called out in a much more manly voice. She stiffened. "Think it's time Casper the Pervert Ghost here got some well-deserved PAYBACK Greens Style! What do you say!"

Buttercup met his gaze- big glowing eyes seemed to abate somewhat – this was good those were kind of worrying him a bit wouldn't lie- her own fists went up.

"You read my fucking mind." She hissed.

Time for round two! And this time…

"Time to learn what happens when you fuck with a Rowdyruff Boy asshole." He sneered.

That lime green gaze fixed on his own. A small nod.

And a Powerpuff Girl too.

---

To Be Continued….

---

A/N: Annnnnnnd scene. XD I hope you all enjoyed! And again I can't thank all you amazing people enough in your encouragement and support- I really can't. So not to sound too emotional or whatever but... thank you.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to go stare at the calendar willing March 3rd to come faster please. ;) - y'all know what I'm talking about- hehe- (and if you know me on tumblr y'all DEFINATELY know what I'm talking about XD)

Stay lovely my lovelies!

-Carrie

-Reviewer replies-

Yuyui Hime:

AhhhH! Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed Act 4! :D - it's a bit of a doozy I know- but its the "Oh hi Plot!" for sure XDD- Ah yes the Reds journey has only just begun and it's going to be... well a crazy one! :D You're just too kind and I wish you all the best in your studies! You'll be fabulous I have no doubt!

Thanks again!

Dante:

An interesting set of questions you weave here- hmm? And no need to apologize- I know I've raised a few eyebrows with this piece especially- I get yelled at all the time whether it be by review or PM -Ce La Vie. What can I say ahaha!

You ask how "canon" I consider "As Time Goes By" to be in regards to the original: Well obviously there is only one "canon" at that is the movie and seasons 1-6 of the "Powerpuff Girls" (Classic) - I would say then that EVERY fanfiction is in fact an "AU" to the original because no one knows how the characters would truly well have grown up or what happened: The only showing of "teenagers" in the classic show -" The Cit of Clipsville" is considered a parody even by the original creators- so who knows what it was supposed to be? XD - So to answer your question- I don't! XD -

As Time Goes By is most DEFINITELY an AU fic as is any teenage PPG fanfiction or portrayal to be honest in my opinion. There is no true "canon" after the Powerpuff Girls are at most six years old- thus this fandom is a wonderful example of what I like to call...

A sandbox fandom.

The possibilities are endless. Some stories have the Rowdyruff Boys leaving and returning to Townsville after a long absence- others have them having lived relatively normal lives ( as normal as Chemical X enhanced super kids can have) and never left the city. Some stories have Mojo as the primary parent - others Him. Some have OCs taking on the roles- some have Keane or even Bellum: The possibilities are absolutely endless in the PPG fandom and thus any writer can more or less fill in the pages of blanks we all have about what happened after the final episode aired.

You ask why I have Mike and Blossom being close friends despite him being shown with Bubbles? Simple- why not? But the reasons for it WILL be explained in later acts- friendships don't always pop up over night- sometimes they do- sometimes they don't. Is Mike Believe's character in the classic show a psychic? Your guess is as good as mine ! XD How WOULD the girls' powers develop over time? Again who knows! But being able to play with those ideas and create a cast of interesting ( at least I hope) characters out of what was essentially writer's clay is one of my biggest joys in writing this piece as well as all my others. I was able to weave a story which again I hope everyone reading is enjoying - I certainly hope so but if you don't- hey that's okay too! Because this fandom is just that amazing.

There is no set canon after their childhood and that is what I truly LOVE about this fandom- people are so accepting and in fact eager to read and see what people think happened next I mean who is to say? Maybe instead of color coding ships someone wants a mixed ship instead- Red Green, Pink Blue, Blue Green- what does it matter? Maybe someone prefers to see on the of the girls with a member of the "normal" cast- maybe someone doesn't want them to end up with anyone at all! It's all in the hands of the writer, the artist anyone who so chooses.

And that kind of fandom is so rare and precious- a true sandbox and this is why I absolutely adore it.

So to answer your question- no As Time Goes By I do not consider "canon" by any means: It is a continuation of a show that canonly ended when the heroines were six years old and many times I will be trying to incorporate elements from the original as much as possible both as "easter eggs" and plot elements in some cases- after all a lot can change in ten years... it's just up to the fans who loved the show and those characters... to maybe fill in some of the blanks. ;)

But to answer one question for sure: Bubbles has many... many friends- Robin is in fact her best friend: I hope this will be made clearer upon the next Act for sure when both the "littlest" Utonium and Miss Snyder have their voices "heard" so to speak and a chance to shine in the spotlight: The reason Robin has been so predominantly featured as being in a "Red" zone is simply because as she is Mike's girlfriend in this universe and she happens to share a class and a lunch period with the Reds: In the show Robin was featured as being friends with all three of the girls- and I hope this chapter showed a bit more that deep friendship the four of them equally share in different ways.

Thanks so much for the review! I hope I cleared some things up a bit! :)

Guest:

Ah another set of questions- you ask why Blossom is a sweet tooth and not Bubbles? Well two reasons really the first being pure author's privilege I'll admit.

I find it funny XD - it's an image that amuses me to no end when I'm writing it and it's a homage to the Powerpuff Girls Z anime which DID have the "Blossom" character being a sweet tooth and well...I love that anime- there are some things... I wish they had done differently but other than that I genuinely liked it and so I managed to sneak a nice little homage/easter egg in my little universe XD

And Number two and more or less for story reasons- the girls powers will be explained in detail very soon: but to give a small non spoilerish explanation: The girls are made of a third each of the elements of their creation- one element however will not be as prevalent as others it all has to do with how I more or less tried to "medically" explain as "realistically" as possible what caused them to form: In my mind- the last element formed "first" which is how I see Blossom being the eldest. The X was added and "sped" up the process and well- "Thus the Powerpuff Girls were born!" - I am not a chemist. I am not a scientist. I do not understand nor even know if this is even remotely close to being accurate and so I also use the long fabled "author's" privilege here because chimpanzees can't talk, there is no league of Super Heroes of America ( though it'd be really cool if there was XD) and there's no way three teenage boys could afford a top floor apartment in the middle of California- juuuuuust saying XD - But this is the beauty of writing in general- fanfiction or not: there are no rules as long as you tell a good story. At least that's my rule of thumb. ;)

As for your comments concerning Blossom being "demure" and well "perfect" - one has to see where those are...coming from. IN Act 0, 1 and 4 arguably... much of if not all of Blossom is seen in the perspective of an infatuated young man. Because Brick did not fall for Blossom in Act 3. Or act 2. Or Act 1 or 0. Brick has been crushing on her for a "very" long time ( in ATGB canon of course XD) - and one does not see "flaws" in people one is infatuated with- no matter the denials or how much they try to deny. Love is blind. A very fitting quote for Mr. Jojo in this case XD - Blossom is by no means perfect, nor is she demure. She is very shy and slightly unsure of how to proceed in something as alien to her as a relationship. She is very serious but also slightly obsessive and a workaholic. And she is very insecure and arguably has the worst "self esteem" of the Utonium sisters. I hope this chapter sort of brought to light reasons for this final point: Princess was truly vile as any jealous little girl with the means to be so would be to someone they perceive as... taking something they want. Kids can be very cruel it is an unfortunate fact of life.

Every universe, every story and every character is different. As Time Goes By Blossom is different than "Caged" Blossom, or "Soul Ink" Blossom- a friend of mine on Tumblr once made a joke that these three "characters" meeting would be... an interesting comedy of errors thats for sure XD - the story evolves with the characters, the characters evolve with the setting- I don't compare any of them when I'm writing them and I never imagined them to be so so I'll admit I was slightly surprised at being asked (how I read it at least forgive me if I'm wrong here) - but I was asked why I had characterized Soul Ink Blossom differently than ATGB Blossom: And well- they're two very different characters is all I can say XD - They might have the same name but they're not the same and they're characterized differently.

ATGB Blossom is admittedly the heroine of this tale: She is "the anime heroine" as Brick is the "anime hero" - Soul Ink I began as not only something to write because I was bored and had no internet save my phone for two weeks: But as a character excercise. A love story with a twist. I am biased towards the Reds- I readily admit this- and I do want to apologize if that bias is more evident in ATGB than others- I'll definately do my best to work on that!

Thanks so much for your review! :D

Guest:

Oh dear- I'm so sorry I don't have another name to call you other than guest TT_TT but thank you so much for your kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed these last couple of chapters!

Deleted scenes are a thing yeah- because I intend on doing it because a lot of scenes and snippets don't make the final cuts for whatever reasons so expect "Cutting Room Floors" to show up a few more times me thinks XD- Glad you enjoyed them though!

The Greens were such brats in this chapter... they did not want to cooperate with me - they don't like sharing the spotlight and Mitch doesn't like to give it up - horrid triple combination XD Oh well such is the life of a writer ahaha! And YES- Julie Smith - A.K.A. Princess' little parrot sidekick... is very much a character in As Time Goes By ( Her character design was just so cute I couldn't leave her out XD)

And ah yes... yes the eighteen summers... very interesting... very interesting indeed... we'll just have to wait and see won't we m'dear ;)

Thanks so much for your review!

Guest:

Gah! Again apologies for not being able to call you anything but "guest" but oh my goodness thank you! Maybe someday I'll have the courage to try to get something published but for now I'm content writing as a hobby and I'm glad you liked ATGB so much! :D

Thanks again!

Goddess Cure Mystic:

A sea snake? Hmm- intriguing thought: My research has shown that most sea snakes aren't found on or around the California coast but who knows- maybe there's an El Nino or something that brings them: It could be a possibility: There is a somewhat "snake" like mutant in the works for As Tme Goes By as well as a few other unlikely specimens but you'll just have to wait and see ;D

Thanks again!

Dark Waffle:

Ahaha! Never apologize for questions- I love them so - as I always say it just means I'm doing something right XD

Your theory on Ghosty's story is definately on the right track- hopefully this chapter and getting into his "mind" per say a bit more may have answered some of your questions for sure- H.I.M. is vile isn't it- there's a reason it was always my favorite PPG villain and goodness it probably shows XD (...May have already put the HIM FunkoPop figure in my wishlist... and preordering it as soon as it becomes available... I have no shame I know)

Mr. Morebucks was also... just as... well I won't say "fun" to write as because I hate this man and I love to hate him so maybe that means I'm on the right track who knows and who knows also what the man is planning- or what his role in this complicated web truly is- well I can't reveal anything juuuuuust yet but trust me: answers are coming ;)

Blossom's role as the "anime heroine" here has been a tough one of balance- my bias is also pretty evident despite how I'm trying to tone it down a little but no worries you'll be seeing more "bad ass- don't mess with me" whip wielding, gimme back my non official boyfriend before I kick you into a damn wall and break all your teeth(!) commander and leader during the course of the X Chronicles - ohhhh like you'll be seeing the Powerpuff Girls as a whole being their kick butt ass whooping selves soon enough- the first part of "Season one" /Book One does focus a bit more on the Rowdys so far but it'll even out me thinks when all the POV's have been established - Bubbles and Robin of course- and then the Acts will mix-solely color coded, norms switched and more than "three" per act at times too depending on how the Act's narrative takes shape :)

I'm glad you're enjoying madam Buttercup so far as well! She was... not easy to get a voice for. Not as Bad as the Blue Rowdy... no we won't talk about him... in the first part of Act 3... but I finally found a narrative style I was happy with... after a lot of failed drafts XD And Butch... Butch gets better as well "time goes by" - he is a bit on the... shallow side at times but he's one of my favorite characters in the end - hsi character arc is genuinely one of my favorites: Probably top three ( there are a lot of arcs in X Chronicles...XD) - He gets better I promise! ( Well I hope at least XD if not for the Green Puff's sake XD)

Act 5+6 are predominantly as I said focused on color coding including the norm: So any POV "not" on the big three in those two acts will be a beginner or "ender" POV such as Ghosty's opening scene in this chapter: But as soon as we hit Act 7- All bets are off. The Muse will be off her leash- be afraid... or rejoice I dunno XD

And alas... circumstances put Blossom's beloved chicken alfredo on hold- a sad day for all. But I'm sure she'll get it someday!

Thanks for your review! :D

Dinosaurs R Dead:

Oh my goodness! Excuse my slightly being starstruck here but whoa you're one of my favorite PPG authors ever and thank you so much! Wild Eyes is amazing and I am so envious and amazed by the amount of research you must have put into it it especially concerning all the background and such (Avoiding potential spoilers here- so for anyone reading this who has not read 9 Months or Wild Eyes - do it. I mean it. It's amazing. Capital A' Amazing. )

I'm so glad you're liking As Time Goes By so far though! But as far as I know the girls have no official last names I just really liked how "Marie" sounded with Blossom's name XD- and I knew also that the "Broken Glass" character she picked it from would have the same name so yeah that's heck of a coincidence though! I'm awful with names so I just went with names that sounded nice: Blossom Marie, Bubbles Anne, Buttercup Eva, Brick Anthony, Boomer Kenneth, Butch James: ( Though I'll admit I knew Brick's right away because "Anthony" is honestly one of my favorite boy names and if I ever have a son his name would Anthony or Adam so Brick Adam sounded bad to me so Brick Anthony it was XD)

Thank you so much for your review! :D

HardWrapping:

Something tells me nailing the window shut wouldn't do much... but that's just me ;) - Oh yes... things are afoot now that the plot is afoot and the X Team is going to be in for a long... wild ride that's for sure XD

And Butch interacting with the kids was probably my favorite part of part 1 to write- the dance being a close second - Butch is as I've said evolved into one of my favorite character arcs and I hope you'll enjoy his journey as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Oh yes though the Butch's jealousy of Mr. Believe is only going to get worse before it gets better- with him having leaned so long on his eldest brother it's not going to be easy for him to learn to well... share. It should be interesting for sure...

News Conferences are not fun to write. I don't know why I do this to myself: They get nasty and violent with six hot tempered X teens sitting there- must give credit to Bellum for keeping the chaos down as she does XD- I figured that line at the end with Butch was likely "all" the readers at that point XD

Thanks again! :D

Tonifranz:

Brick is kind of overwhelmed at the moment you're at XD- he's just genuinely at a loss at how to go about this after all: for all his being a genius... our Red Rowdy is slightly socially awkward XD - he'll get better promise but for now... he has absolutely no idea what he's doing and is too stubborn/prideful to admit it.

And same with the young smitten Pink Puff- who as this chapter reveals... doesn't exactly think herself as very attractive and she VERY much thinks her counterpart is however so... of course she would have had and still does have a hard time believing someone could feel this way about her.

The fight with Princess back in middle school will be brought back up again I assure you and yes... Miss Morebucks was very lucky she didn't anger Blossom any more than she already had or that fight could have ended "very" differently. Though as for Mr. Morebucks loving his daughter so much as to give her everything she could possibly want... yes...and no? Again you'll see- there's more to Miss Morebucks' life than what's been shown I'll say that much.

Thank you so much for your review! :D

Grnblue:

I'm glad you liked Buttercup's POV! :D - And yes after all the heck the Reds went through they deserve their happiness no matter how crazy it's going to get from here on out! I hope it was a little more clearer what Buttercup's "special" power is though ehehe ;)

Thanks again!

MarshmallowFluff:

Ahaha! Yes the creepiness begins- mwahaha- I am an aspiring horror writer- have ALL the creepiness! XD

You ask where Mitch and Pablo come from? Well... to be honest that was another author's privilege moment. I was rewatching the show and I thought the character was just adorable so I decided to incorporate him somehow: And I knew I wanted to avoid the Greens love triangle with Mitch, Butch and Buttercup that has been done in far superior ways than I could even have tried so one day I looked at my first sketch of how I wanted Mitch to look and then at another sketch of an older Pablo along with a rest of the aged up Pokey Oaks cast and I just thought to myself... "Ya know- they'd look cute together." and the rest is history XD

Thanks for your review! :D

StraniqueGirl0684:

Ahaha! Yesss I hope this latest chapter was worth the wait- god darn Block! Blahhh! But yes- Act 5 has officially begin and so has the plot and it is taking no prisoners as you said XD- mwahaha.

Mitch is way too much fun: Your describing him as fourth wall breaking? Yeah pretty much XD- won't lie I picture his POV almost like "The Office" esque and it's only going to grow harder for this poor Norm. All he wants to do is cuddle with his hockey sweetie, eat some buttered sin that is Cost Smart popcorn and make sure his best friend doesn't get herself killed in another impulsive "Butterscotch" esque mission: Will this happen? Probably not and this is why he relishes in to go bags XD But at least now he has a new "ally"(?) - after all the Green Rowdy can't be as bad as Butterscotch! ...Can he?

The Reds are sexual tension incarnate- trying so hard to be calm and "mature" about their feelings when secretly all Blossom wants to do is exactly how you describe and all Brick wants secretly is to let go and let her do it - he ain't complaining! XD it is hilarious and so much fun to write oh yes it is- poor Mike...poor poor soul. I torture the poor dear so. All he wants is his sister and best friend to be happy and do naughty things to each other ( outside of his immediate knowledge- in fact he never wants to actually KNOW its happening thanks) and he wants them to be happy with each other and he wants the soap opera to end... so he never... has to hear about it...again. Will it happen? Well for Mr. Believe's sanity one certainly has to hope so XD

Have you figured out Miss Utonium's special power yet my friend? Hmmm? ;)

And oh yes! Rule of thumb for works of Carriedreamer: Nine times out of ten if a character is directly named- last name and all they WILL be showing back up at some point- I hate names... I really do... some people hate description, some people hate dialouge, my hates are simple. I hate coming up with names and summaries and good lord does it show. If a character has a first and last name... it means you'll be seeing them more than once XD - this is not the last we'l be seeing of Miss Pinzarro nope- not at all ;)

And something is indeed afoot in Townsville and its not just sushi and whoo boy... are things about to get ugly... very ugly indeed. Blue, Green, Blue, Green... but no sign of Red indeed... what's going to happen well...

Heh you're just going to have to wait and see m'dear ;D

Thanks again as always and I'm glad you're feeling better!

Tdrhm:

Ahaha- yes indeed but all fires have the capability of burning out of control rather quickly... just saying ;)

Thanks for your review! :D

CuteVyper:

Butch has a long way to go indeed- poor thing. He's trying XD

Thanks for the review! :D

JamaicanBlood:

Aww but the Butch is always useful... sometimes- he's learning like I said ahaha XD

Thanks for the review! :)

bossom782:

No worries! No need to apologize my goodness XD Thank you very much- it is hard to believe it's been more than a year since ATGB began and my writing muse finally came back... I missed this.

Writing Mike's training was rather fun ehehee- Brick showed no mercy- you all really didn't think Brick was going to let Mike get off THAT easy did you ehehehe XD

And you sympathize for Ghosty eh? Well he is a rather sad character if I do say so myself: But I'm biased- I created him XD: but in all seriousness yes... in my opinion... Ghosty is very much a character who can be both hated... and pitied depending on how you see his situation. Is he an antogonist? Oh absolutely but a villain... I dunno... kind of a grey area to me...

Thanks for your review!

Delago1811:

Oh my goodness you're making me blush! Thank you so much!

I hope this chapter satisfied your Green cravings - slowly but surely the tension is building - oh my my XD - and yes things are about to get pretty intense for the X Team it's going to be a wild ride!

Thanks so much for the review! :D

Ashuri:

Mr. Morebucks is vile. He truly is. I feel I would loathe him in real life as much as I loathe him as a villain. His character will be further explored in later acts- Brick has quite the challenge ahead of him directly standing up against this business maven/tycoon. Yes he does.

Your questions about Ghosty and his past with his beloved La'el will be answered in time: I hope the beginning of this chapter started drawing a clearer picture of this tragic story... slowly but surely all will be revealed.

Mitch and Pablo are becoming a favorite among readers it seems :D - this makes me quite happy: huh- maybe I'll write em' a oneshot in my Valentines Day collection after all if there's an interest XD.

Yes the Reds are in denial... a lot of denial. Blossom is a smitten pink eyed kitten and Brick is a whipped red eyed dragon puppy of that there is definately no doubt. Ah young love. XD

Thanks again for your review! :D

AWESOMEROCKSTAR101:

Thank you so much! :D Glad you enjoyed!

MicheleTaye210:

The Greens are always a bit slow to start for me it seems but then they just flow out like water... and never want to stop... ever. Seriously- they never shut up. XD Glad you're enjoying their perspectives! And ahaha- deep down of course Butch is a sweetie he's just a little rought around the edges is all!

Princess' POV will be... interesting. I haven't decided WHERE her guest narration will be... but I do have drafts of it I'm looking forward to it I'll say that much ;D

As for the volleyball incident? That'll be revealed in another act- likely by Robin at some point but who knows- it will be desrcibed as a fun little anecdote at some point ahaha XD

And thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for the review! :D

Guest:

Well you certainly had quite a bit to say I must say XD - alrighty then: Well first off yes there are times I will admit to taking quite a bit of liberty with the "written" anime angle and the tropes involved but hey this is my hobby and I'm just having fun - sometimes if I want to write something a bit over the top because I've had a bad day I'll likely do it I'm only human ya know XD

And yes- the team is terrible at communication I agree: with different motives ranging from protective instincts to coping induced denial this bunch of crazy kids has to get their act together and finally work together because who knows whats going to happen by the eighteenth summer... whoo boy.

But as for your comments on the Reds- there are different types of intelligence and while yes the Reds are absolute supergeniuses when it comes to academia... their social smarts may be slightly... lacking. Brick is socially awkward- he hides it behind arrogance and bravado but the truth the of the matter is that he is very awkward and or uncomfortable around crowds and people: he is quite aloof- there was likely quite a bit of truth to Butch and Boomer's fears all the way back in Act 1 that their brother was more or less some kind of hermit hunched in his workshop all day. Blossom is much the same: she is a brilliant strategist and academic but in much different ways she is also socially awkward. She is cold and seemingly standoffish when in public: half the reason Townsville is so engrossed in the Reds' "romance" is because half of them simply can't imagine the "commander and leader" acting in such a way: a teenager? Unheard of!

So yes- while academically the Reds are "geniuses" they are also human and sometimes no matter how "book smart" you can be - emotions will rule the day: Should Blossom be absolutely just trusting Brick at his word concerning the factory despite the glaring evidence to the contrary- logically no. Absolutely not. But she cares too much for him to see things in such a cold way. Buttercup is right in that there is a bias going on here but its not a bias anyone can blame her for and the same with Brick's motives: His desire to keep his brothers safe and Blossom safe are clouding his judgement: but emotions can be the strongest factor any human can face and superpowers or not: He's still human.

At least this is what I'm trying to represent: Whether I'm succeeding I don't know yet- I still after all have quite a bit to learn myself XD

Thanks for your review! :)

Vipper73:

Ahahaha! I hope this chapter satisfied your green cravings my friend ;D - the plot thickens indeed...hehehee.

Thanks again! :D

ReadLoverNumber1:

Ah yes indeed Butch still has yet to learn but he's getting there... slowly... surely he's getting there XD

But just as an fyi: "technically" it's not a "Reds" fanpage- its technically the X Team fan page... run by a very big Reds fangirl XD - oh yes Robin loves her friends very much but she loves lording it in Morebucks' face even more XD Ah Robin... she'll be fun to write as I think XD

And who is haunting the Utonium household you ask? Well I hope this chapter may have... helped answer that a bit just saying ;)

Thanks again for the review!

LunaWolf1313:

I'm doing my best to not just focus on the main three colors when it comes to the fluff so be expecting more "Miblo" ( Holder for Mitch/Pablo name I can't think of anything except "ice mouse shipping" I dunno XD) - Robike, and even some "older" fluff coming along too hehehee :D

Thanks so much for the review! :D

- 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