Chapter 26
Blossom shaded her eyes from the dazzling morning sun. She sat at a bench, and made yet another scan of the area around the Sears Tower. She was somewhat in disguise, wearing a long, thin coat buttoned up over her uniform, her hair rolled up in a loose bun, and a pair of sunglasses that she just now pulled out of her pocket and placed over her eyes. She checked her wrist cuff for the time: 7:57 A.M. Blossom sighed and fingered the cell phone in her right coat pocket. Should she try to call Brick and check up on his progress? Maybe not, since he would have contacted her if he ran into anything. The two had no knowledge of when things would occur, so they were stuck waiting for things to unfold. Blossom shifted in her seat, feeling very impatient. She hoped things would happen soon, or she wouldn't know what to do.
That morning, she and Brick woke up very early, after sleeping through a very long and mostly sleepless night. Brick kept getting up throughout the night and getting water, or using the bathroom, or getting a bit of fresh air. Blossom knew he was just nervous. She was a bit nervous herself, but she was up mostly because he kept making noise, and because she had many thoughts running through her head since she spoke with Bubbles and Boomer. She was a bit nervous herself, but was looking forward to the morning. Ever since talking to Bubbles and Boomer, all the pieces had unbelievably falling into place, and it made Blossom very curious indeed. What more was she going to find out today? What other pieces will they discovered in due time? Blossom was eager for more, and her lack of sleep didn't bother her one bit. She and Brick had downed lots of coffee that morning anyway, so she was well energized.
Against her better judgment, Blossom pulled out her phone and dialed Brick's number. She knew there was not going to be any progress, but it was at least something to do. It rang… again… and again….
"Hello?" Brick answered. "What? Did you find anything?"
"No, I was just checking up on you," Blossom said. She sat back and folded one leg over the other. "Did you find anything yet?"
"Of course not, I would've called you already," Brick replied impatiently.
"I know," Blossom said with a sigh. There was a short pause, and Brick cleared his throat.
"Bored?" he asked.
"Oh, God, yes," Blossom exclaimed. "You?"
"Yep. Boring as hell here," Brick said. "And it's not like we can do anything, you know?"
"Duh," Blossom said, her eyebrows flickering. She scanned the area again. Businessmen hurried in and out coffee shops, and tourists started their early morning journey through the city. Two men hailed a cab at the corner. A store clerk unlocked the front doors of their shop and propped open the door. All in all, absolutely nothing was happening.
"Alright, well, I guess I'll let you go, yeah?" Blossom heard some soft rattling on the other line.
"Yeah, sure," Brick grumbled.
"Yeah, I feel for ya," Blossom said sympathetically. "Well, I'll talk to you later."
"Alright. Bye."
"Bye."
POW! POW-POW-POW!
Blossom leapt up just as several men jumped out of cars, out of buildings, out of nowhere. They were covered head to toe in black armor, their heads shielded by a metal helmet and a thick layer of bulletproof plastic over their faces. Each man was packed with two large guns, tons of ammo attached to their body, and extra pistols in holsters on their thighs. The men shot their guns, causing all the citizens in the area to scatter and scamper away. They slowly made their way into the nearest shops, wielding their guns in front of them.
Loud, static gunshots rang in Blossom's ear, and she realized she was hearing it over the phone.
"Brick! What's going on?!" she cried.
"Men! Guns! They're everywhere!" Brick yelled into the phone.
"Get rid of them!" Blossom commanded. "I'll take care of mine. Then get over here as soon as you can."
"I don't know if I'll be able to, there's too many of them!" Brick bellowed over another series of gunshots ringing through the phone.
"Well, try to get the fight over to Grant Park, then!" Blossom shouted back into the phone, watching more men storm in from all over, heading in after the other men. Thankfully, none of the men were hitting any civilians, just scaring the daylights out of them, but Blossom wasn't sure how long that would last.
"Alright! See you soon!" Brick said, and hung up the phone. Blossom ripped off her coat and tossed her shades aside. She stuffed her phone in her backpack, and hoisted it over her shoulder. She leapt up in the air, avoiding the gapes and gawks of the civilians, and shot after the criminal soldiers
Miles up north, Brick was now battling his own pack of armed men. The men thundered in from all sides, guns blazing, and helmets shining. Brick stepped into the air and leapt on one man. The man screamed and shot off his gun, scrambling to push Brick off of him. Brick swung left, swung right, then smashed right through the man's faceguard, knocking him out. Several men nearby hollered after, and they came running. Brick held his fists forward, prepared to fight. He felt the adrenaline electrifying his limbs, and suddenly, he was ready for this battle.
'Come get me, assholes," he laughed. The men rained bullets on him, the shots ricocheting off Brick's thick skin. He chuckled and hopped in the air. He spun around, leg jutting straight out, and knocked down all the men in one blow. More men dove after him, wasting more precious ammunition on him. He kicked, punched, elbowed, and even shattered one guy's teeth. He jumped up and leapt on another man. He crashed his foot right through the helmet, and the man crumbled to the ground. Brick jumped on another guy's head, obliterating his helmet, too, then another, and another, playing some twisted sort of hopscotch game.
THWOOMP!
Brick felt a sickening crunch in his back and he fell to the ground. He groaned in pain, and he clawed at the cracked cement beneath him. Gritting his teeth, he looked up and saw a golden streak blaze through the sky above him. It came closer and closer, and then landed right in front of him. It was another armed person, holding two enormous guns, one of them smoking from the end. The person lifted his faceguard, and a beautiful, snarking face looked down upon him.
"You!" she cried.
"Hi, Princess," Brick whispered, the pain in his back growing magnificently by the second.
"What are you doing here, Brick?" she asked menacingly. "And why are you fighting my men?"
"Heh… heh…" With all his might, Brick twisted his back and cracked all his vertebrae back into place. He slowly lifted himself up and stood before Princess. She glared at him, her dark brown eyes narrowed into thin little slits below two perfectly shaped eyebrows.
"I think the better question is what are you doing here, and why do you have men fighting in the first place?" Brick's voice faltered, but his hyperactive immune system quickly worked through his body, and he started recuperating right away. Princess smiled.
"Who's with you?" she asked.
"Only the best: me," Brick said fiercely. He raised his fists again, and floated into the air. He looked at Princess. "Come on, babe. Show me whatcha got."
Princess snickered.
"You expect me to believe that not only are you here alone, but you're going to fight me?" Princess asked disbelievingly. She cackled, and cocked her guns. "You're no match little boy."
"Little boy? Seriously?" Brick asked, rolled his eyes. Princess popped her hip to the side and rocketed into the air. Brick zoomed after her and the fight began.
Princess sent one missile hurtling towards Brick, but he dodged it, rolling around in the air. He threw his fist and socked Princess right in the jaw. Her helmet flew off and her curly hair bushed out around her head. Brick threw more punches, into her arm, into her chest, into her stomach. Princess lifted her leg up fast, right between Brick's legs –
"Fuck! You bitch!" Brick howled, pain exploding from his groin. Princess zipped back and shot off another missile. Brick looked up and opened his arms. He caught the missile with his bare hands, his body flying back several yards before he stopped in midair. He tossed the missile back at her, and she rocketed to the side, spiraling out of the way. Brick huffed, his body still in great pain, and shouted back at her.
"Come get me!"
He zoomed off toward Grant Park, hoping Princess would follow him. He hoped that Blossom would see his red streak, followed by Princess' gold, and she would get the idea.
Back by the Tower, Blossom slammed two soldier's heads together and hurled them at some others nearby. He groaned, and jumped in the air, giving herself a quick breather from all the action. She whirled around, observing all the men completely giving up their original tasks to come and fight her. Blossom sighed and turned up north. Where's Brick? She thought. She reached in her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She looked back up.
"Whoa!"
In the sky, two colors streaked through the air, faster than anything Blossom had ever seen. She knew right away what they were. She ignored the commotion below and headed towards Grant Park.
"Come and get me!" Blossom called to the men below. Sure enough, they followed her, all of them parading down the street, shouting and shooting after her. Blossom rolled her eyes and sped up. She hovered above the cool tricklings of Buckingham Fountain, specks of water splashing at her ankles. The streaks flew closer and closer, before they collided, and the gold streak swirled off past Blossom. She ducked, and Princess crashed into the fountain, splashing water everywhere.
Princess groaned. She crawled out of the fountain, her jetpack smoking, and her armor dented all over. Her guns dropped carelessly on the ground away from her. Brick zoomed past Blossom, and she followed him. Brick kicked Princess over and he and Blossom hovered above her.
"So, Princess, what have you been up to these days?" Blossom asked, placing her hands on her hips. Princess spat out some blood and scowled.
"What haven't I been up to?" she grumbled. She tried to sit up, but Brick kicked her back to the ground. Princess rubbed at her arm and stared at them. A small smile played on her face.
"What do you know about a testing facility, Princess?" Blossom demanded. "And Fuzzy? And Sedusa? And mechanical spiders?"
"Like I'll tell you anything!" Princess cried. She rolled over and scrambled up off the ground. She tried to relight her jetpack with a swish of her hips. Blossom snickered, and leapt over and tackled her. She pinned Princess' arms down and stared right into her eyes.
"You will tell us everything!" Blossom said.
Princess growled and, with all of her strength, pushed Blossom away. Blossom stumbled over, just as Princess made an ear-splitting whistle. Suddenly, dozens of men poured around them from all sides, fast enough for Princess to make a fast exit. Blossom and Brick shot up, and hovered in the air next to each other. Blossom surveyed the area, calculating the number of enemies and formulating a quick strategy.
"Brick – cover me while I get Princess," Blossom ordered, feeling that reminiscent sense of leadership overcoming her. Brick whirled around and stared at her. He glared at her, and opened his mouth to say something… then, he shut it. Blossom eyed him.
"What?" she asked. Brick shook his head and flew down without another word. Blossom shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to think about whatever just happened. The only thing on her mind was finding Princess. Blossom scanned the area again, wondering exactly where she may have gone. Then she sighed, figuring this was pointless. She closed her eyes, and opened them – her eyes now set to X-ray vision. She glanced over the closest buildings… Aha! Blossom spotted a figure fiddling with something in a building on the right. Blossom blinked back into normal vision, and headed down.
Blossom crashed into the building, smashing through the glass and cement. Princess turned around, and grinned. She now wielded a golden missile launcher over her shoulder, larger than her other guns. She pulled the trigger. Blossom leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the enormous rocket blasting through the air. Princess snickered and dashed off, leaving Blossom coughing in a cloud of smoke. Blossom zipped away and rubbed the sting from her eyes. Ignoring her tears, she glanced around for Princess' shimmering armor.
Far off, Brick smashed his fist through several gunmen. He leapt in the air, and searched the skies for a sign of Blossom or Princess. Right on cue, a huge blast burst through a nearby building, a shining, silver missile rocketing to the clouds. Brick spotted a golden glint racing through the smoke. He smirked and zoomed towards her. Princess' bushy brown hair bounced around her face, as she spun around on the spot and aimed her gun at Brick. She fired, and Brick simply turned to the side with a smirk.
"Is that the best ya got?" Brick laughed. Princess grimaced and ran back into the smoke. Brick rolled his eyes.
"Chickeeeeen!" he cawed, snorting to himself.
"Brick!"
Brick looked behind him to see Blossom whizzing towards him, her skin covered in a thin layer of dirt. She looked livid.
"Are you just gonna stand there and laugh at her? Go get her!" Blossom pointed
into the cloud of smoke. Brick's lip curled.
"Why don't you do it?" he snarled. Blossom looked at him, confused. She glanced down, eyeing the remaining hoards of gunmen shooting up at them and at each other. Blossom looked back at Brick.
"Then take care of that!" Blossom said, pointed below. "I'll get Princess."
"Why? Why don't you do all of it?"
"What's your problem?" Blossom demanded, absolutely flabbergasted. Brick frowned and shot off towards the gunmen. Blossom watched him, no idea why he was being so… difficult. She shook it off and headed through the smoke after Princess.
Princess cowered by another building, hurriedly reloading her missile launcher. Blossom did not waste a second, and hurtled towards her. She jammed her fist in the back of Princess' head, knocking her to the sidewalk. Princess made a sickening noise and rolled on her side. Her eyes fluttered open, and she bared her pearly white teeth. She coughed.
"Figured you'd be here, too," she wheezed. She closed her eyes, and tried to catch her breath. Blossom hovered over her, one foot planted firmly on Princess' hand, ready to stomp if need be. Princess' other hand lay trapped under her body, and she was now fairly paralyzed at the spot.
"How did you know, Princess?" Blossom asked. Princess chuckled weakly.
"All of you…" she whispered. "You're so gullible. So… stupid."
"How? How are we gullible? How are we stupid?" Blossom wanted more, more information to solve this mystery, more information to satisfy the detective in her head.
"Can't you see?" Princess asked, opening her eyes slightly again. "Trap. You fell right into the trap."
"Trap?" Blossom's eyes widened, and a pulse thumped in her temple. A trap? Were they in a trap?
"Tell me more!" Blossom ordered, pressing her foot down harder. Princess winced, the pressure on her fingers building.
Suddenly, several gunmen flew through the air, smashing into the building next to Blossom and Princess. Brick landed on the street, and immediately spotted them. He ran over.
"Trap!" Blossom said. Brick eyed her, then looked at Princess.
"Tell me more!" Blossom repeated, glaring down at Princess' pathetic, pained face. Princess rolled her head around, cracking several joints in her neck. She smiled.
"I know all about Sedusa," she began. "I know all about Fuzzy. I know all about everything. I know everything you know—" she glanced back up at Blossom and Brick. "—But you don't know everything I know."
"Maybe you should tell us!" Brick snarled. Princess rolled her eyes at Brick and grinned.
"Maybe you should come find me," she whispered. Blossom snorted.
"Find you where? You're right here," she laughed.
"North of Townsville. With your sisters, and your brothers. And Him."
"Him?" Brick questioned.
"Townsville?" Blossom repeated. "And what about our siblings? You're not going anywhere, Princess."
"Sure I am," Princess smirked. "And you are, too, if you're going to defeat us."
"What?" Blossom snapped impatiently.
"North of Townsville. You have a few days." Princess twisted back, and her trapped hand grabbed at something around her throat. "Catch you later."
And she disappeared.
"WHAT?!" Blossom shouted. She dropped to the ground, grasping at the air where Princess was moments ago. "NO!"
"Where the fuck did she go?!" Brick spun around, looking up and down and back and front. Princess was gone.
"What do we do now?" Brick asked, smoothing back his shaggy red hair. Blossom stood up and pursed her lips.
"We head back to Townsville, obviously," she said. "What else can we do?"
"How?" Brick asked. "Fly?"
Blossom turned around and gave him a dirty look. "Why not? What's there to lose now?"
"Fine," Brick huffed. He turned back around. He and Blossom noticed that the smoke was clearing, though several gunmen were heading their way.
"Finish them off and head back home?" Blossom suggested. Brick rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, captain."
Then, a car horn shrieked into the air. A brigade of shining black sports cars rolled around the car a block away and raced down the street. Brick and Blossom leapt in the air to avoid the massive army of vehicles. The cars stopped all over the street, all over the lawn, and even more gunmen poured out. Blossom sighed.
"They just keep coming, don't they?"
"No," Brick laughed. He pointed. "They're not after us."
The gunmen stormed after the other gunmen, raining a barrage of bullets all over the park. Brick floated down and hovered over to the last car to pull up. The back car door opened, and Tomas and Don Guerilli stepped out. Blossom, confused, zoomed over and landed next to Brick.
"We're very late," Don Guerelli said, a look of misfortune on his face. But he shrugged and looked at Blossom and Brick. "You did a beautiful job."
"Thank you, Signore," Brick said with a bow. Blossom smiled and nodded.
"We'll take care of it from here," Tomas said, pulling out a pistol from his coat pocket and heading into the battle. Blossom looked at him, and then the Don.
"We tried to hold them off as best as we could, and we almost got Princess—"
"Blossom!" Brick glared at her. "Shut up."
"Brick." Brick winced and looked at the Don. The Don eyed him scornfully, one bushy eyebrow raised. Brick's face dropped all color.
"Fratellino, you should learn to respect women, especially ones with as much wit and nerve as this one," Don Guerelli scolded. Brick sighed and nodded. Blossom then realized she was being complimented, and all the color Brick lost suddenly found its place in Blossom's face.
"Th-thank you? Signore?" Blossom stammered. Don Guerelli nodded.
"Blossom," he started, Blossom's face flushing red. "Clearly, your power and leadership skills are extraordinary, as extraordinary as Fratellino's. If you are ever in need of anything – a job, money, protection – you are more than welcome in our family."
Blossom was trembling, and she could barely mutter a thanks. She bowed gracefully. Brick inhaled deeply, trying to withhold his anger, and he turned to her.
"We oughta go," he said. Blossom nodded and grinned weakly.
"We need to get Princess still," Brick told the Don. "She… got away."
"I have faith in you," Don Guerelli nodded. "Buona fortuna." He bowed one last time, and stepped back into the sports car. Brick and Blossom hopped into the air and soared up above the city. Blossom turned to Brick.
"He… he offered me a job?" she asked, strangely flattered. Brick snorted.
"Don't get too excited," he grumbled. He quickly changed the subject. "How long will it take to get back home?"
"I don't know… a couple days at least," Blossom replied, going along with the topic-change.
"Great," Brick sighed.
"How much time do we have?" Blossom asked, more curious than anything.
"Two days. Tomorrow and the day after." Brick answered without a thought. Blossom smiled.
"Plenty of time," she said. Brick stared at her.
"For what? Princess could be up to anything…"
"Plenty of time to think," Blossom laughed. "I think I'm on to something anyway."