When the cops arrived, they pulled out their guns and pointed it at all four of us. Bubbles and I exchanged glances and flew over to them as Butch and Boomer remained behind. Bubbles and I landed in front of a balding old man and he looked at the two of us, at the two boys and then back at both of us.
"Bubbles, if I recall correctly, you said that if the boys were to cause trouble, you girls would ensure their arrest, am I right?" the Chief asked.
Bubbles glanced at the two of them and she nodded slowly.
"Well then," he continued, "I'll be taking those two into custody."
"No!" Bubbles gasped.
"Chief, please, Boomer wasn't involved in this at all, I promise you," I added.
"Really?" Chief wondered with a raised eyebrow. "And Butch?"
I looked at Butch, who was staring at me pleadingly, obviously begging me to save his ass. But what could I do? There was no way I could defend him. Everyone had seen him wrecking havoc and attacking Brick. It was going to be impossible to protect him. Plus, even though there was something between us, my superhero duties came first. I couldn't be biased to him. A villain had to face his due punishments.
"He did this," I murmured.
"But Chief, he was under HIM's control. Is there any way you can lessen the charges?" Bubbles asked.
The Chief sighed. "I'm afraid, Bubbles, we need proper evidence of it or I'd have to take him into custody. This much damage is going to cost us millions. Unless he can pay for it, he's going to have to go behind bars. While I'm at that, I'm taking his brother in as well."
"But Boomer-"
"No, the other one," Chief cut in.
"Brick?" Bubbles whispered in disbelief. "No, he was the victim in this!"
"Victim? Sure," Chief snorted. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you. I have been waiting for ages to take them in since I realized that they had returned so you're going to have to really show some hard strong evidence to prove their innocence."
"Boomer doesn't have his powers yet! Plus Brick and him saved a child. You can ask the child for details, I'm sure. I remember who he is!" Bubbles insisted.
"Well, if you can find that child for me and pass me his statement, I can let the other two off but I'm afraid, I will still have to take Butch in as a perpetrator," Chief replied. He turned to his men and began barking orders. "Okay, prepare the Antidote X! We're gonna have to shoot that bastard and strip him off his powers first!"
"No, it's fine. He has no powers," I sighed. "Could you give me five minutes with him? Thanks."
I didn't wait for the Chief's reply and I flew back to Butch. I grabbed Butch's arm and pulled him close to me, staring at him instructively. "Look here, Butch. They're going to arrest you and when they do, I want you to cooperate with them. I will find a way to prove your innocence, just like we have a way to prove Brick's and Boomer's. You will be free, okay?" I whispered urgently.
"I… I don't want to go to jail…" he murmured. He tried to pull his hand away from me. "Let me go… Let me go!"
"Butch!" I snapped, grabbing onto his shoulders. I stared at him and I could see an emotion that I had never seen in his eyes before. Butch was terrified. "I will get you out, okay? We'll all go home together. For now, just cooperate with them. Don't get pissed off. Don't fly into a rage. Just listen to them. Okay? You'd do that right?"
He blinked and nodded slowly. "Only because you asked me to… You promise you'll get me out?"
"Yes!" I cried out in exasperation.
"You're lying!"
I stared at him in disbelief. "Come on, Butch, please."
"You're lying!" he repeated. He sounded just as irked as I was, or maybe even more. He shook his head roughly. "I was fully conscious. I wasn't hypnotized. I knew what I was doing. I… tried to kill my own brother. There is nothing you can do to change that fact, BC."
I could hear footsteps walking up to me. It had to be Chief's. I was running out of time and it annoyed me even more because I knew Butch was right. There was no way I could get him out if he admits to his consciousness during the incident. At the same time, I couldn't ask him to lie, not when I was a Powerpuff Girl.
My hold on him weakened and I turned to the ground. How was I going to face him in my hopeless state? There was nothing I could do but feed him with empty promises.
"I'm sorry, Butch… I'm so sorry…" I whispered.
I expected an enraged response- a shout or a punch. I didn't expect Butch to pull me into a tight hug, resting his chin on my head. Butch was huge compared to me, even when I was the tallest among my sisters. In his arms, I seemed puny and fragile but surprisingly, it didn't feel so bad.
I guess even I had an inner girl to me at times.
We were roughly separated by Chief as he pulled Butch away and cuffed his hands behind me. Butch flashed me a weak smile as he was led into the police car. I stared at him till the car left and was out of sight. I wasn't in the wrong at all yet I felt burdened with an unexplainable guilt. It felt like I had betrayed Butch.
We were supposed to go home together, weren't we?
I looked around the place and saw Bubbles and Boomer talking to a kid and a couple- a family, I presumed. I walked over to them, listening in to the conversation as I neared them. It was the kid that Boomer and Brick had saved- the duo's lifeline and protection from the police.
"Thank you so much," Boomer said, shaking the hand of the man.
"No, no. Thank you- both you and your brother- for saving my son. He means the world to us," the man replied. He took his son's hand and smiled at him. "Come on, now. We should be going to the mayor's office."
Bubbles and Boomer waved farewell to the family before turning to me and I filled them in on Butch's situation. Boomer wasn't happy one bit but he admitted to the logic behind it. As long as Butch had some form of resentment towards Brick, there was always going to be a possibility of HIM's interference, especially since HIM had sworn personal revenge on Brick. Maybe, the separation and time in jail would do him good, just for a while.
We headed back to the boys' apartment. At first glance, it seemed quiet and vacated but we eventually found Blossom and Brick in Brick's room. Brick was fast asleep, bundled up on his bed, while Blossom sat on the side of the bed, her hand rubbing the back of her neck tiredly.
"Yo, Bloss," I greeted.
Blossom turned to look at me and got up, waving slightly. "What happened?" she asked.
"They arrested Butch. Brick and Boomer were cleared by the statement of the kid they saved but I don't think they're going to let Butch out anytime soon… Plus, I'm pretty sure Chief's just waiting for the right moment to throw the other two in as well," Bubbles replied.
Blossom looked at Brick and let out a sigh. "Well, it doesn't look like he's going to be doing anything but mope so I guess it's fine."
"Did the two of you have a fight? You seemed tensed when we came in," Boomer questioned.
"It wasn't a fight." Blossom hesitated and glanced at Brick again. She sighed and sat down on the bed, shaking her head. "It's just really confusing and tiring. I don't know where I'm going with him but every time I let him touch me, I feel disgusted with myself."
"Because you can never forget what we once were," Boomer muttered bitterly.
"I'm not Bubbles. I can't forgive and forget what you boys did so easily, nor am I Buttercup who can somehow find a way to look past your mistakes. As much as I admit that you guys are amazing people now and you have changed, I also have to admit that I haven't changed at all since I was young. I was, am and will probably always be the stubborn, overbearing leader of the girls and it is not going to be easy for me to fully accept all of you," Blossom replied with the straightest of faces I had ever seen on her.
"Then why do you keep sticking to Brick? If you're never going to accept him, why are you messing with his feelings?" Boomer yelled. I felt the need to step in and I could tell from Bubbles' face that she wanted to as well. The problem lay in taking sides. Both of them made sense.
"Because I want to forget everything!" With that cry, Blossom broke out of her stoic leader persona and jumped to her feet. "I genuinely like his company. I have fun when I'm with him. I want to be with him more but there's always a part of me that reminds me of the destruction he caused, the lives he had taken and the pain that he has caused me. He will always be that kid that defeated me, humiliated me and countlessly hurt me."
"What do you want then? An apology?" Boomer snapped.
"No! I don't want an apology!"
"Well good because I was just about to say that someone like you does not deserve Brick's apology!"
"But the countless people who have suffered because of you boys do! They deserve more than an apology!" Blossom screamed.
"So you're saying that I should go to… let's say, Derrick, and get down to my knees to apologize for the death of his sister that was due to the ruble of a building we destroyed in a fight against you?" Boomer asked sarcastically.
"If it weren't for you boys, he wouldn't be like this, would he?"
Both Boomer and Blossom were screaming at the top of their voices. Bubbles was holding onto Boomer's arm, tugging him and pleading for him to stop. From my position by the door, I could see Brick stirring. He slowly lifted his head and looked at Blossom, rubbing his eyes.
"Weren't you going to sleep to?" he asked, sitting up straight and stretching.
"Actually, no, you kinda pulled me down with you," Blossom sighed.
Brick looked around the room, blinking his eyes. "Hey, why's everyone here? Where's Butch?"
"Butch was arrested," I replied.
Brick pressed his lips against each other and nodded grimly. Boomer and Blossom were still throwing hateful glances at each other and I think Brick actually noticed it. He started at both of them and then at Bubbles. There seemed to be some telepathic conversation going on between them and when he looked away, Bubbles took Boomer by the arm and started pulling him out.
"I'm sure everyone's hungry. Let's make some lunch, Boomie," she said as she pulled him out, leaving me with the two leaders.
Brick paid no heed to my presence and he turned to Blossom. "You know, your screaming actually woke me up so I was listening to your… conversation… with my brother."
Blossom sighed, her shoulders slumping. She turned to look at me. "BC, mind giving us a minute?"
What?! So I couldn't stay and watch the interesting conversation between these two blockheads about their relationship?
Oh hell no. No way was I going to give that up.
"Yeah, sure. Brick, I'm going to borrow your Xbox." I said casually as I walked back to the living room. I put a game into the console and turned it on. As the game came on, I turned to face Brick's room. Brick's room still had no door but from where I sat, the wall blocked the bed and I couldn't see the two of them until I used my x-ray vision. I had to rely on my superhearing to listen as well. They were apparently speaking in whispers.
"I meant it when I said I like hanging out with you," Blossom said.
"That's it? You like hanging out with me and that's it?" Brick asked aridly.
"What do you want me to say?" Blossom snapped. "You agreed that you don't want this out anyway."
"That was before Butch busted us," Brick hissed. "Seriously, Bloss, what are we? Are we even friends?"
"We can't be friends!" Blossom replied and with a much softer voice (I don't even know how much softer she could have gone), she added, "I don't want to be just friends."
"If you like me, just admit it. Your mixed signals are driving me insane," Brick grumbled.
I think Blossom was blushing. I couldn't really see her face clearly but she looked embarrassed (or was it shyness?) and she turned her face away from him. "What mixed signals? I don't like you."
Brick raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Look at yourself in the mirror. You look like a bratty high schooler in love."
"Well I am a high school student!" Blossom insisted.
"So who's the mad scientist that stole this genius' heart?" Brick mocked. "I heard from Mitch that there's this kid who people speculate is your boyfriend… and that there's a thing going on between you guys."
"Who?" Blossom wondered.
"Someone who goes by the name of Dexter, I believe," Brick replied as he leaned backwards, brining his hands up to his head.
"That asshole! I'm not a thing with anyone," Blossom replied, scowling.
Trust Mitch to bring up Blossom's ex to Brick…
Brick pointed at himself. "Not a thing with anyone, eh?"
"We're not in a relationship!" Blossom argued.
"Which is why I was asking you, what are we?" Brick asked.
I was getting bored. I had expected the two of them to start a full-blown argument over their different views on each other. That would have been much more entertaining than watching Brick openly flirt with my annoyingly dense and stubborn sister. I got up and walked to the kitchen. My prayer for some entertainment was answered when I realized the Boomer and Bubbles were actually in a pretty heated argument, while cooking food at the same time.
"Like I said, I'm pretty sure she didn't mean a single thing. She just doesn't want to be honest with herself," Bubbles said.
"That does not give her any excuse to be such a bitch over Brick!" Boomer complained as he reached over her and took the bottle of salt. "What if he heard it? He'd be hurt!"
"Look, I'm sure their relationship is very different from what we see. It's Brick and Blossom we're talking about. Both of them hate to lose. Admitting that they have feelings for each other is basically losing."
"Losing to who?" Boomer cried out.
"I don't know. Us? Themselves?" Bubbles shrugged and lifted a spoon to his mouth. "Taste."
It was funny to see that even in their argument, Bubbles was completely calm while Boomer was on the verge of losing his anger. I had never seen Boomer angry before and to see him losing his cool over Brick, I had to wonder- just how much loyalty did Boomer have in him to stick by Brick even though Brick was obviously not the best brother around?
Boomer consumed whatever it was and he nodded. "Good, as usual," he chuckled. "Bubs, do you think it'll be okay?"
"It's Blossom and Brick we're talking about. Of course they'll be okay."
I decided to leave them be as well, seeing that the argument had ended. I walked back to the living room and turned back to Blossom and Brick again. I didn't know what I had missed but I obviously had missed a lot since Brick had Blossom pinned down on the bed. Blossom seemed to be trying to push him off. I couldn't see her face clearly but her hands were on his chest, pushing against him.
I stiffened. Was he forcing himself on her?
"Stop pushing me away, Bloss, and I'm not just speaking literally." Brick voice had a lot more humility and pain than I had ever heard before. I could see Blossom's arms relaxing and slowly winding around him, pulling him down to her. She held his head and lightly stroked it.
"You still aren't over her, are you?" Blossom murmured.
I turned my attention away, knowing that Brick would probably appreciate me not watching him when he was at his weakest. I decided to play the Xbox until lunch was prepared. At least it would take my mind of my sisters and their respective boyfriends. With a sigh, I started on the game, realizing that, even if it was just a minstrel, I was missing Butch (I mean, hey, if he was there, at least I would have company).
Even if Butch was in the wrong, I was going to get him out.
Yahoo for two chapter update today (though the other one was way too short to be considered a chapter anyway haha). I hope you guys enjoyed this story because it's going to come to an end very soon and I'm going to miss it entirely. I do, however, have another story in mind so if I'm up for it (and if you guys want it as well) I'll start on that when this ends. It's going to be centered around Brick, as always, and I intend to focus a lot more on the boys' relationship in that piece. We'll see how it goes, I guess.
Love all of you. Thank you for your support, here's a virtual hug. *hug*
