Chapter 36 – Field Trip!
Bubbles POV
Well, this was awkward.
…Like really awkward.
But really, she shouldn't have expected anything less. She was traveling with the infamous Blue Mute. Uncomfortable silence was sort of his MO. She had been delusional to trick herself into thinking this little trip would be anything but awkward.
Bubbles tugged lightly on her pigtail as she chanced a look at her counterpart from the corner of her eye.
Boomer appeared completely oblivious to her as he walked down the cold, dead streets. Even though winter was settling down in the City of Old Townsville, it didn't seem to be affecting the Blue Ruff at all. Bubbles envied that.
She was freakin' cold!
And bored.
Oh so bored.
If only he would say something…anything! Well, something more than one word syllable answers. That would be a nice change of pace. This silence was become excruciatingly painful and honestly, she didn't operate very well in it…at least not when such things weren't absolutely required of her, like on a mission or ambush.
But this wasn't some super sensitive secret mission to sneak into some enemy outpost. As far as missions went, this was probably one of the more mundane ones she had ever gone on.
What was it? To travel across Old Townsville to the Boys' former abode and collect their things so they could peaceably settle into base life. Peaceably being the key word here.
Bubbles was pretty sure that was the main reason Blossom even issued this 'mission' in the first place. It was a generous display of trust that Blossom was giving the Boys, allowing them to bring in their own equipment and personal effects. A nice little peace offering if there ever was one.
But she was pretty sure that underneath it all, this was just a way for the redhead to keep her counterpart from bitching and moaning every time they met. Lord knew they bickered enough as it was.
So, here she was, walking alongside her silent counterpart for what must have been at least three hours. In all that time she had barely gotten more than three sentences from him. No, wait…that would be too generous.
It was more like two.
The blonde Puff looked back forward and sighed lightly through her nose.
She was at a total loss as to what to do. Already she had tried eight times to engage him in some sort of conversation, but that usually resulted in odd looks, small grunts, or the ever predictable silence. How was she supposed to work with that? Bubbles considered herself a pretty optimistic person but getting a conversation out of this guy was looking darn near impossible.
Operation Get Boomer Socially Acclimated was turning out much hard than she originally anticipated. She'd have an easier time trying to befriend a rock…which strangely enough, she recalled doing in first grade.
But that wasn't the point!
The point was, this was turning into a special situation that required more than a few polite inquires and how are you's. It was time to knuckle down and pull out all her skills. She had said she was going to get him to talk to her and by golly, she meant it.
…the only question was how?
Once again she looked at him from the corner of her eye. It was like she wasn't even there to him. His eyes were focus ahead and the rest of the world could have been burning for all he seemed to care. There had to be something she could say to get him to speak.
Think, think, think.
Hmmm…Wait! She had it!
"Sooo, are we almost there?" Bubbles asked, favoring her counterpart with a questioning brow.
Okay, so it wasn't her greatest conversation opener ever, but she was running low on ideas here. Cut her some slack.
"Hnn." He replied with a noncommittal shrug.
…well, that was wonderfully informative. She wasn't going to let him get away that easily though.
"Was that a yeah kind of hnnn or more of a no kind of hnn?" She asked again, taking a step closer towards him.
She finally got a different reaction from the taciturn blonde as he glanced at her. He took a step to the side as he walked on, once again putting a minimum of three feet of space between them. Switching his gaze forward again, he gave her another shrug.
"…we're close." With that, the blonde man picked up his pace and forced Bubbles into a near jog to keep up.
That was one minor victory. Not really a whole lot but you had to start out with something small before you could build something big.
Bubbles let a determined frown hover on her lips for a moment before addressing him again. "Aren't we getting near the Divide?"
"…yes."
"So you lived near the Divide this whole time?"
"…yes."
"Didn't that put you guys in a lot of danger? Don't Simian patrol run around here a lot?"
"…yes."
"Did you ever accidently run into them? That had to have happened at least once."
"…yes."
This was getting way too repetitive for her tastes. She needed to stop catering to his yes or no answers and trap him in a question that required him to actually communicate properly. Hmmm.
"So what happened?" Bubbles leaned in close. She was almost certain she had him this time. There was no way he could answer with just a yes or no on this one. No way.
…
"…stuff." He hummed with a shrug.
The blonde Puff held back a sigh as the dismissive gesture. It wasn't a 'yes' but dag nabbit! She really thought she had him there. Maybe her social jujitsu wasn't as up to par as she thought?
No, it was simply the Boomer effect. That's what she was going to call it. There was some special…something that he was using to sidestep all her questions. She hadn't met anyone who had put up this much resistance to talking since meeting Quartermaster Nicholas all those years ago.
But look how that had turned out, she had won him over eventually. This would be the same.
Putting on her game face once more, Bubbles opened her mouth to ask Boomer another question but stopped in her tracks at the sight of a large building in front of her. It was more of a mini skyscraper actually. Forty stories of what was once polished glass, still looking moderately clean and well-kept despite the years of abandonment. Was this their destination?
"We're here."
Well that answered that question.
So this was where the Boys had lived huh? She had seen this building from a distance a few times during her scavenging runs but had never had a chance to come and investigate. It was way too close to the Divide to just go gallivanting off to. Blossom would have had her hide if she had ventured so far out of her way just to look at a nice building.
And it was nice. Even through the years of emptiness and war, the building managed to present a dignified air. If memory served her correctly, it had originally been part of a large urbanization project, a way to get more people of wealth interested into moving to Townsville and making their homes here.
It never really got that chance did it?
"Come on." Boomer said abruptly, breaking her out of her observations and forcing her to scramble after him as he walked towards the entrance.
The inside was even nicer than the outside. It was obviously never lived in. Even covered under inches of dust, Bubbles could make out the immaculate marble tile and hardwood floors. There were even those fancy fluted columns lining the walls. It was all pretty posh.
Boomer walked them through the lobby towards the back. There, past the elevators, was the emergency stairwell. The door opened with only a small creak as Boomer pushed it open and then took to the stairs, ascending two steps at a time.
"How far do we need to climb?" Bubbles asked as she leaned over the railing and looked up. There were a lot of stairs. They weren't going to have to climb all of them were they?
Boomer didn't answer her question. Instead he kept on climbing and once again Bubbles was pressed to hurry after him. It was really starting to wear on her nerves but she wouldn't let it get the best of her. Annoying or not, she wasn't going to let these little slights bother her.
After all, he was only a boy. It was in their nature to be slightly immature and annoying. It was like some sort of defensive mechanism. Nothing she couldn't handle though.
Up and up they climbed.
While it wasn't really all that strenuous, it was boring and repetitive, especially considering the fact that her companion was about as talkative as a chunk of wood. Bubbles was just about to try and instigate another conversation with her Mute counterpart when he veered off course and approached a door on the far wall.
Standing still, he stared at the piece of wood like it was some magical entity that could grant him access to a treasure trove. Weird, that should have been her reaction. She was the one seeing this for the first time. Maybe he was a little homesick?
"Um Boomer? Is this it?"
He blinked out of his daze and favored her with a brief look before nodding his head. "yeah."
The Blue Ruff grabbed a hold of the handle and shouldered open the door. He stepped in and took a deep breath while Bubbles gazed around with wide eyed wonder.
So this was it, the place where the Boys lived…she'd thought it would be messier.
Seriously, when she had went to retrieve Boomer from his quarters back at the base she had managed to sneak a peek inside. She could safely say that it was easily the messiest place she had seen in years…and it had taken less than two weeks to get that way.
Bubbles had always heard that boys tended to be messier than girls but one look into that disaster zone they called their living quarters had sealed the deal.
Boys were seriously hygiene deficient.
Of course, it could have been all Butch's fault. He didn't really seem to have respect for anyone but himself, that probably included personal belongings and hygiene too. Brick and Boomer took much better care of their personal appearance in comparison, especially Brick.
He had been at the base for only twelve days but that was more than enough time for Bubbles to learn that he was almost obsessive about his personal appearance and not in a vain way either. He just kept himself very...immaculate. At least, she thought that was the right word for it.
All of his clothes had such a nice crisp look to it. How in the world he managed that when he lived in a ruined city with barely any amenities, Bubbles had no clue, but she wasn't about to ask. Brick could be just as intimidating as Blossom and twice as scary.
She wasn't afraid to admit he tended to make her a bit nervous from time to time. It was those eyes of his. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought.
No eyes should have looked that dead all the time. It was just wrong.
"I'll collect the stuff from our rooms. Look around the kitchen for anything useful if you want." Boomer told her before he wandered down the hall and disappeared into a door at the far end.
It took a moment for Bubbles to snap out of her internal dialog and comprehend what he had said, but when she finally did manage the feat, she let out a soft curse.
Darn it! He had essentially just tripled his word count for this entire trip and she had missed the opportunity to continue the conversation. The moment was now passed unfortunately. He was busy digging through who knows what and probably wouldn't speak again until he was finished. Any effort she made now would probably only be seen as an annoyance.
That certainly wouldn't help her with Operation Get Boomer Socially Acclimated. She'd just have to wait for him to finish and be more prepared next time. They were going to have a conversation today.
With a sigh, the blonde set to work on her own scavenging. Turning towards the kitchen, she walked up to the various cupboards and pulled them open to see what was hiding inside.
It was a pleasant surprise to find that all the food stuff inside was as well organized and maintained as the rest of the apartment. She was strongly inclined to believe that was another one of Brick's influences. It was funny to note how much him and Blossom were alike in some things but totally different in others.
Like this for example. Blossom and Brick obviously shared the same OCD tendencies to make sure everything was in its proper place and ready for quick retrieval. And they had the same penchant for strategy, both were masterful at subtle positioning and taking advantage of any opportunity presented to them.
On the flip side, the two couldn't be more different personality wise. Blossom usually guided every action she took with the thought of others at the forefront of her mind, while her counterpart only thought of himself. And there was their general countenance, the redhead usually had a pleasant smile on her face, but Brick...Bubbles was pretty sure that boy hadn't smiled once since settling into the base.
At least, not a smile that wasn't made at Blossom's expense and those were more of a smirk anyway.
With a shake of her head, the blonde discarded all those errant thoughts and refocused on her task. It was time to pick through all this crap and see if anything was edible. Any sort of food stuff was useful to the head cook Ms. Rosa, no matter the quantity or quality. Bubbles half believed that woman could make a five star meal out of a can of dog food.
…Probably.
Humming to herself, the blonde got to work. It didn't take long to go through all the cans, there weren't a whole lot to being with. She did find some useful things though and really, any kind of food supply they could use was a God send to their resource strapped base.
Bubbles threw the last of the cans into her bag and gave the kitchen one last look over. She didn't see anything else of interest in there, but the dining room across the way snagged her eye.
She hadn't known, but probably should have guessed, that Brick had his own room filled with maps and notes just like Blossom. It was almost as impressive as her sister's room, which was an impressive feat in and of itself.
Sure, it didn't have the whole plethora of maps hanging about everywhere, or the pinned lines of yarn that connected every point of interest, but the giant map laid out on the table was close in size to the one Blossom had. And there might have even been more detail on this one than her sister's.
"We should probably take all that stuff too. Brick would be pissed if I didn't bring 'em."
Boomer's sudden voice caused Bubbles to jump a good three inches in the air.
Goodness! What was with him and being so quiet? She hadn't even realized he had snuck up behind her until he had spoken. Damn reserved people and their innate stealthiness.
"Oh, okay. Do you have any more room in your bag? I think they'd get crushed in mine and I'm sure Brick wouldn't like that."
Her counterpart hummed in agreement and moved towards the large cabinet alongside the wall. Fishing out a long cardboard tube from the shadows, Boomer set to work sliding the rows upon rows of maps safely inside.
It left her with a very opportune situation on her hands. He couldn't escape her questions this time. Plus, they were on his home turf. That might make him comfortable enough to actually engage in the conversation instead of just sidestepping it.
At this point, she'd take anything that would loosen his self-imposed gag order.
"Have you guys lived here this entire time since you moved back to Townsville?" She asked delicately as she watched him roll up the large map on the table.
Her question caused him to pause momentarily before resuming his work. She had caught him off guard. That was kind of weird considering the fact that she had been pestering him with questions this entire trip. Maybe he hadn't expected such a direct inquiry about his past? Whatever it was, Bubbles bit down her lip and waited to see if he would actually respond.
…
Seconds ticked by as he finished rolling up the map and gingerly stuffed it into the tube along with the others. Bubbles felt her hopes crumble as he turned from her back towards the cabinet.
Dag nabbit, anther snub. He wasn't going to-
"No, we had a few other places around town that we lived in. This was just the latest one we set up."
Again his sudden answer caught her off guard. Bubbles blinked at his back in astonishment. She had honestly thought that he wasn't going to respond.
Progress! Yes!
"Really? I didn't know that. Were they all so close to the Divide as this one?" She pressed, hoping to get him to open up a little more.
Plus she was actually curious. The only thing she knew about their past was what Boomer had told her on the roof the day they had started this crazy alliance. She found herself curious about what he and his brothers had gone through to get here. It must have been vastly different from her and her sisters, they had the Resistance after all.
The Boys had only had themselves.
"Some were." Boomer replied with a shrug.
She waited for him to say more, but unsurprisingly he didn't.
Ugh, this was starting to get on her nerves. She didn't care how much he disliked her or talking, this was getting ridiculous. He could at least be polite and answer her questions. It wasn't like she wanted to know his personal love life or anything!
The blonde Puff crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a reproachful look. He must have caught it out of the corner of his eye because she was sure she saw him flinch slightly.
"Really?" Bubbles said.
He looked back at her uncertainly. "…what?"
"That's it? Oh come on! There has to be more to it than that!" She cried throwing a hand up in the air.
"Like what?" He replied, looking a little wary at her outburst.
"What was it like? Did you want to move here in the first place? Or did you like staying back in Cisco? How many other hideouts did you guys live in before this one? Were they as nice? How do you even live out here without any running water? Things like that!"
Normally she wasn't this forcefully or upfront about things, she liked to let people have time to get comfortable around her and then say whatever they were comfortable saying, but Boomer was different. He was like a brick wall and time wouldn't even make a dent in his impenetrable silence. The only way she was going to get to know him was to knock it down.
"Why do you want to know?" He asked defensively, he even went as far as narrowing his eyes a little.
"Because I want to get to know you!"
Her statement obviously threw him completely for a loop. At her declaration, his mouth dropped open and he fixed her with the best deer caught in headlights look she had ever seen.
"It can't be that hard to believe. We're teammates now, how are we supposed to work together and achieve anything if we don't know each other first?"
He still looked at her with no small amount of confusion and what might have been fear. Seriously, what was this guy's problem? It was like he had never had anyone take an active interest in his life before.
…wait a minute…that was probably true. Maybe she should have thought this through a bit more before she got so blunt about things.
Whoops.
Bubbles drew back as she came to the realization that this was probably the most any one had ever talked to him, besides his brothers. It was hard to remember that the Boys had been pretty much living on their own for the last decade. They probably had no human contact what so ever, besides the random ambushes on Simian patrols but those didn't really count.
How was it that this hadn't even occurred to her? In the entirety of the last two weeks she had been so focused on spying on Boomer and trying to get him to open up that she had somehow managed to overlook the most obvious of facts:
Boomer was a complete lunkhead when it came to social interaction, and that was putting it lightly.
He probably hadn't talked to anyone besides his brothers in years. That could make anyone a quiet recluse, especially when she considered the fact that he was technically the baby of the group. Crap, she hadn't really taken any of that into consideration.
Now she felt bad.
"Umm." Bubbles backed up a step and scratched nervously at her arm. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pelt you with so many questions or anything. It was kind of rude of me huh?"
He stayed silent, still just looking at her. It was distinctly uncomfortable.
'Come on girl, you've got this.' Bubbles coached herself.
Taking a deep breath, she thought over her next words carefully. This might be the only chance she had to smooth things over and it needed to perfect, otherwise it might take six months before he even looked at her again. Stranger things had been known to happen to frightened creatures… and Boomer definitely seemed to fall under that category.
"Listen, I'm sorry I overwhelmed you there. It's just…I don't know anything about you, at least nothing recent. The only things my sisters and I have to go on are half remembered memories of you and your brothers when you were evil. But you're not anymore. If this alliance is going to work then we're going to need to open up with each other and be able to communicate. And the easiest way to do that is to learn about each other's past." She finished boldly.
It was a long shot, but it was the truth. She honestly believed in her heart of hearts that getting him to talk would not only help the obvious trust issues between them, but would also help their teamwork. And since none of their siblings were trying to make any effort in that department then it was up to them.
If they could form a somewhat shaky companionship, then maybe it would lead the way for the others to do so too? It was worth a shot.
Bubbles pulled lightly on her pigtail as she watched her counterpart look at her. She had absolutely no clue what he was thinking about, those cobalt eyes of his were swirling with emotion but for once she couldn't decipher a single one.
He was the most aggravating, puzzling person she had ever met…and for some reason that made her insanely curious about him.
She would admit this whole learning about his past thing also partly had to do with the fact that she just really wanted to know. Maybe it was the clue to figuring out this strange man that seemed to defy all the social norms that she had come to expect out of people.
But that would only happen if he decided to talk.
Bubbles waited in anxious silence but Boomer just stood there as the seconds passed by. This was turning out like the walk here. It was probably too much to hope that he would answer her huh?
"…Cisco wasn't so bad." He muttered, looking down at the cardboard tube in his hands.
The blonde Puff forced herself to stay silent even though she was doing a little happy dance on the inside. He was doing it! He was actually participating in a conversation!
Her counterpart shifted nervously on his feet. "At least it had people in it you know? It gets kinda of boring living in the ruins after a few years."
"Years? It got boring for me after a few weeks." Bubbles joked.
That might have been a small twitch at the corner of his mouth but it happened too fast for her to be sure. Still, it was a response. That was more than she usually got.
"Was it hard moving into a bunch of ruins after living in a city for so long?" Bubbles asked as she rocked on her heels.
Boomer shrugged in response, still looking anywhere but at her. Thankfully eye contact wasn't important right now. As long as he continued talking she'd take that a victory. One small, baby step at a time.
"I guess. It was a lot quieter and there were the Simian patrols and Collectors to worry about. We got used to it pretty quickly. It was either that or you know, die."
"Yeah…"
Another awkward silence seemed to fill the room as Bubbles puzzled over what to ask next. This was a fine line she was walking. One wrong question and he could clam right up. Then all this progress would be for nothing.
What to say, what to say?
"Heh, the first place we lived in wasn't nearly as nice as this." Boomer broke the silence first, surprising the crap out of her.
"Really? How so?" Bubbles asked, trying to keep the shock out of her voice.
The blonde man shrugged and slung the tube over his shoulder. "It was pretty shitty. Leaky roof, ruined carpet, infested with rats."
"Eww." Bubbles shuddered.
She really didn't like rats. They were God's creatures but they were the ugliest and most disease ridden ones and she didn't want anything to do with them. Squirrels were much more appealing in comparison.
"Yeah, we moved out of there quick enough. I think we only spent like a week or two in that place. Brick had us moving around a lot back then. We were still trying to learn the layout of this place and how things worked."
Bubbles nodded in agreement as she followed him back out in to the living room. She took a seat on the arm of the couch and watched him as he idly walked around.
"Each time we moved, we stayed a little longer in our new hideout. This one was the longest. I think we've been here…three years? Yeah, that sounds about right. We got pretty good at getting things set up too."
"Things? What kind of things?" The blonde Puff questioned.
Boomer shrugged. "Things like running water, siphoning off electricity from the nearby outposts to power up some of the electronics, rerouting gas lines for the stove. All the amenities you need to survive."
"How in the world did you manage to siphon electricity and gas from ruins and not get caught? Don't the Monkeys monitor that kind of stuff?" Bubbles asked curiously.
Sure, the Resistance base they set up here did the same thing but they had access to advanced resources like engineers who specialized in sneaky rewiring and machines to mimic signature patterns. She was pretty sure the Boys didn't have any of that kind of stuff. So how did they do it?
"Brick figured it all out. He's been observing the Simian Army for years and learning how they operate. By the time we moved here, he already had a plan in place on how to get all that stuff."
"And how did you get it?" Bubbles asked.
Boomer stopped his idle wandering and looked at her for the first time.
Houston, we have eye contact.
"It was mostly a combination of stealth and blatant destruction. Butch and I did most of the leg work. You know, sneaking into outposts and rewiring the crap that Brick told us to, springing ambushes on unsuspecting cargo trains to get the parts we needed. Brick told us what to do and we went and did it. It's how we got so good at raiding I guess, we kind of needed to in order to survive."
"That makes sense." She agreed, nodding lightly.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." He gave her a shrug and went back to looking around the room.
Bubbles continued watching him as he stood there.
It was interesting, she had never really thought about what it must be like to live on your own before now. Except for those first few years, her and her sisters had always had the Resistance backing them up. And when they hadn't, the Girls had always had the Professor.
The Boys had been completely on their own, just scraping to make a living for themselves.
In a way, she and her sisters had been forced to do that too. Fourteen probably wasn't the best age to be thrown headfirst into fighting on the front lines and amputating limbs, but that's what they had done. It had made them grow up fast, all of them.
They might have gone through different experiences, but each one of them had obstacles that they had to overcome and grow through. Both groups had been forced to fight and push through hardship after hardship just to survive. They had all lived under the same fear of discovery, the same knowledge that at any time they could be found out.
Death wasn't a stranger to any of them.
Maybe that was why, despite some of the blaring personality dissimilarities, she felt drawn to the Boys. When she thought about it like that, they really weren't that different.
"…Thanks for telling me that. I feel like I have a little bit better understanding now." The blonde Puff said, offering her counterpart a smile.
He didn't return it, but he did nod. He also mumbled something under his breath but Bubbles couldn't quite catch it.
Before she could question him, the blonde turned towards the door and started towards it. "Come on, let's get going."
Hopping up off the couch arm, Bubbles walked out after him. Getting close, the blonde just managed to hear him muttering under his breath.
"-at, maps, med kit. I guess that's all we need for the moment. If not, then those lazy asses can get up and come get it themselves."
She couldn't help it, the giggle just burst out of her before she could stop it. But really, can you blame her? It seemed like a totally un-Boomer type thing to say. Maybe the boy did have some backbone in him after all.
At her laughter, the poor Ruff's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He briefly glanced back at her before hurrying down the stairs, as if to stave of embarrassing himself any further.
Bubbles didn't mind though, she had gotten what she wanted from this trip. He had spoken without provocation what? Twice? Three times?
Something like that. It was definitely a new record though. That was something to be proud of, this run had gone off splendidly if she did say so herself. Mission accomplished.
She got the feeling that the trip back to the base wouldn't be nearly as awkward as it was coming here. And that made her happy.
She had been right! The trip back wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as the trip there had been. Sure, there hadn't really been any more conversation between her and Boomer, but that didn't really bug her for some reason.
The silence that lingered between the two of them wasn't quite as stifling as it had been before. It was the type of silence that didn't need useless chatter to cover it up because it just felt…comfortable. Honestly, Bubbles wasn't sure if it was just her perception of the quiet that had changed or if it really was different.
Either way, she felt like she understood her reserved counterpart a bit better now. Maybe these small field trips need to happen more?
The blonde smiled as she turned the corner with Boomer trailing a few feet behind. Up ahead the makeshift gate of the Resistance base glowed in the darkness. The field lamps that lit up the structure weren't blazing with the bright white intensity of a thousand suns this time thankfully, so she could actually approach the gate without being half blind.
As they neared, the Blue Puff spotted two figures through the train's windows. Upon closer inspection, the figures resolved themselves into none other than her favorite sentry guard, Gil, and the head of the scavenging unit, Corporal Stephens.
"Knock, knock. We're back!" Bubbles said with a smile as she popped her head into the window.
The two of them had been so absorbed with their conversation that her abrupt entrance prompted them to flinch violently and reach for their guns.
"Cheese and crackers Bubbles! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Gil cried, holding a hand up to his chest and breathing heavily.
Corporal Stephens was much more composed in his recovery. He simply lowered his gun and gave her a nod of welcome. Stephens was a pretty cool character, Bubbles couldn't remember a single time she had ever seen him ruffled or out of sorts. He was just the type of person that seemed to work well under any sort of circumstances, be they easy or difficult.
He was the perfect pick for leader over the scavenging unit in her opinion. You needed someone who could remain calm when half of your squad was late coming back from their runs and could potentially be lying dead in the ruins somewhere. It tended to happen a lot, the coming back late not the lying dead in the ruins thing.
Flipping out every time something like that occurred would have been way more detrimental than helpful in that sort of situation, which was exactly why people like Blossom weren't handling those type of positions.
Bubbles loved her sister, but sometimes she tended to overreact to things like that. Not that she was any better, but that's why they had people like Corporal Stephens. He was reliable, collected, and always seemingly in control of things. He was a solid guy.
"Hello Bubbles…Boomer." The man nodded respectfully to the both of them as Gil opened the gate and allowed them entry through the train car.
"Hiya! What are you doing down here? Going on a run?" Bubbles asked as she climbed through.
"No, nothing like that. My run isn't until this evening which reminds me Boomer, you're shift has been postponed."
Oh yeah, that's right. She kept on forgetting about Boomer's inclusion into the scavenging unit. It was probably because he was so quiet about everything. That and the scavenging unit didn't really have any formal meetings that others like the ATA Squad had.
They were simply a few handfuls of soldiers that were good at running around and not getting spotted. It was more of a lone wolf operation than any solid team effort. That didn't mean they didn't interact with each other or lack camaraderie. It just meant they didn't really see each other as often as others did.
Boomer took news of his shift change in his normal fashion, a silent nod of agreement, and started walking out towards the Main Lobby. Bubbles waved to the two soldiers before trying to catch up with him.
"Hey wait a sec!" Gil called to them after he finished reclosing the gate.
"What is it?"
"I just remembered. The General told all sentries that if they were to see you they were supposed to tell you to report the Command Center as soon as you could." He replied, snapping his fingers and pointing at her.
"Blossom wants to see me? What for?" Bubbles asked.
Gil shrugged in response. "Heck if I know, I'm just a sentry but it wasn't just you she wanted to see. It was him too."
Bubbles looked over towards Boomer but he appeared just as confused at this abrupt summons as she did. Hmm, what was Blossom up to now?
"Okay, thanks Gil. See you later and you too Corporal Stephens." The blonde Puff said and waved at them again.
The two soldiers waved their goodbyes and returned to their previous conversation. Bubbles was greeted with a surprise as she turned around back towards Boomer and saw him holding out his hand to her.
"Uh…huh?" She hummed uncertainly, not quite sure what he was doing.
"I'll take the all the stuff back to my quarters and then head to the Command Center. Give me your bag." He muttered.
Bubbles blinked at him in confusion. "It's okay, I can help you carry it. I don't think Blossom will be too put out if we're an extra few minutes late. They've been waiting this long already."
"No, no, it's fine. I'll do it." He insisted.
If Bubbles didn't know any better she would have thought he was trying to ditch her…but it could have been that he had been stuck with her for over six hours already and wanted a little space. She didn't think she was that overbearing of a presence but she could get on some peoples nerves after a time. She had made some progress today, it was probably best not to push it.
"Oh, okay. If that's what you want." She said graciously, handing over the bag.
"Hn, meet you at the Command Center." He nodded and turned around, walking off towards his quarters.
…That was sort of weird, but then again Boomer was sort of a weird guy. Just because she felt like she had gained a little bit better of an understanding of him today didn't mean she had him totally figured out. Maybe she never would. It provided an interesting challenge none the less.
Whatever it was, she had taken some big steps with Operation Get Boomer Socially Acclimated and she was going to take pride in that fact. Now, it was time to see what Blossom wanted with the two of them.
Was it just the two of them or were their siblings involved too? Oh man, she really hoped it wasn't another fall out between Butch and Buttercup. Lord above, those two…they were like rabid ferrets put into the same small box whenever they were near each other.
Their last encounter still had Blossom ticked off and that had happened a week ago! She hadn't been there for the event but she had heard enough gossip from people around the base to get the gist, and Buttercup had told a fair bit about it herself when the blonde was patching her up.
It had all started because of the impromptu arrival of a new platoon of troops from the Resistance. It was a surprise since they hadn't received any new recruits for at least five weeks. Bubbles had thought they had been cut off and left to fend for themselves. It was nice to know she had been wrong. While they might have been feeling the pressure of the war, the leaders of the Resistance still knew who held the fate of the world in their hands.
Anyways, the brand new batch of soldiers had been reassigned and was officially placed under Buttercup's command. The only problem? They had to find housing to put all of them. Mining operations were still under way throughout the base and the meant that the only available space was…you guessed it, Lobby C.
That was what started the whole shebang.
Apparently, no one had informed the Boys of these new living arrangements. So the first time they found out about it was when the new soldiers were actually being moved into the space.
Butch had not been a happy camper and made his displeasure well known. There had been tons of cursing, and threatening, and all other sorts of Butchisms that did nothing to help the situation. Add in the fact that these new recruits were just learning about whom these three strangers really were and that they were being forced to bunk with them and the results had been somewhat…explosive.
To say the least.
Evidently it had taken less than ten minutes for things to degrade into an all-out brawl. Nobody knew who threw the first punch but by the time her middle sister had joined the fray, Butch had already laid out seven men. He was in the process of incapacitating another two but his counterpart's interference put a stop to that.
From what she could get out of Buttercup as she was patching her up, the brunette had heard about the ruckus the moment it started and booked it all the way from the armory to stop it…or more accurately, to join it.
The black eye she had given the Green Ruff was still purple and shiny, even after a week of healing.
Buttercup had looked mighty pleased at the result. Although she did come out of the brawl with a swollen lip and bloodied nose, it was obviously well worth the sacrifice in her book. Her lip had healed by the next day but that shiner on Butch's face was taking its precious time. It was a fact she liked to point out every time they managed to run into each other, which thanks to Blossom, wasn't often.
Oh, the redhead had been so pissed off by that first fight. Seven brand new soldiers sitting pretty the Med Clinic for various bruises, cuts, and one mild concussion meant that there were seven less troops to use on patrols or ambushes.
To say her leader was annoyed would be a major understatement.
Bubbles had had the unfortunate pleasure of being present for the dressing down both Greens had received in the Med Clinc and she was pretty sure her ears were still ringing from it. Blossom's voice could carry the cadence of a whip when she wanted it to and boy, had she ever used it that day.
Since then, Buttercup and Butch had been pretty much forbidden from being near each other which meant that the Green Ruff had been stuck in his quarters for the last week. It did not make for a very pleasant Butch.
He didn't even have the pleasure of Brick's company. As soon as the redhead had been given the okay from the Professor to walk around on his own, he had demanded that Blossom include him in her planning sessions.
She had graciously agreed to it and the two of them practically locked themselves in the Command Center. They had spent the last few days in there arguing over when to commence the next raid and how to go about it.
Bubbles had heard it had gotten rather…venomous at times, but at least they didn't end up in the Med Clinic like some people.
Maybe that's why Gil had told her and Boomer to report the command center. What if Blossom and Brick had finally agreed on something and were ready to share the rest of it to the group? Did that mean the next raid was going to be launched soon?
Only one way to find out.
Bubbles hopped up the steps to the Command Center and waved happily to the guards at the entrance. They nodded curtly at her and resumed their vigilant posture.
That had been happening a lot recently. Ever since the Rowdyruffs had taken up residence, the entire base had suddenly become way more uptight. The easy nonchalance that once was a nice change of pace gave way into a full on military mode. Every soldier seemed to be on their guard, whether the boys were near them or not.
Bubbles could understand their change in demeanor but they were taking it a little too seriously in her book. It wasn't like they had adopted a trio of rabid pit bulls or something.
Well, come to think of it, it probably seemed that way to the people of the base. Hopefully this next raid would help dispel some of those reservations and make it easier to accept the boys.
As she stepped into the conference room she realized she was one of the last ones there, besides Boomer that was. No one seemed to notice though, they were all too caught up in their own worlds.
Blossom, Buttercup, and Mitch were crowded around the head of the table, whispering in quiet voices. She couldn't really hear what they were saying but she'd bet Octi it was about the raid or, knowing Mitch and Buttercup, more specifically about the Boys participation in the raid.
Speaking of the Boys, there was Brick. He was sitting on the other end of the table, as far from Blossom as physically possible. To his left, Butch looked like he had developed a bad tooth ache by the severe frown he was sporting, but Bubbles was getting comfortable enough around him to know that was just his usual expression. The only one missing now was Boomer.
As if her mental thought was some sort of cue, the blonde Ruff shuffled in from the hallway largely unnoticed. Her and Brick were the only ones that actually bothered to look up at his entrance. Bubbles sent him a small wave as she took her seat and was pleasantly surprised when he gave her a small nod back.
That trip had definitely been successful.
An awkward silence was just starting to become noticeable when Blossom clapped her hands together. Her little powwow with Mitch and Buttercup had broken up and both of them were moving back towards their seats as Blossom took center stage.
"Hey Bubbles." Mitch smiled at her as he sat to her right.
"Hey Bubs." Buttercup muttered in a distracted matter at her left side.
The blonde smiled happily at the two of them before turning her attention to her older sister, who was still standing at the head of the table.
"Alright, now that everyone is here it's time to discuss the plan. If you hadn't guess it already, we've decided on how the next raid is going to precede." Blossom started off.
She passed out several papers to each of them. The first page held a map of what Bubbles assumed was their target. The second page was a broader map that showed the bordering outposts around it. There were groups of multi-colored arrows pointing at each outpost but Bubbles wasn't sure exactly what they were supposed to mean.
What had her sister and Brick come up with?
"Our target is this base. It's located two miles from the Divide along Davis Boulevard. Our preliminary scouting reports suggest that it's a standard size base with a heavy flow of foot traffic. It seems to be in a prime location as a midpoint between the south and north outposts along the ruin's edge." Blossom began as she pointed to a bigger map that hung up behind her.
"Our scouts haven't reported any signs of a robot army lying about but that doesn't mean there isn't one. We're going to have to assume that it could be there, but we also have to be prepared if it's not. In the event that it's not housing the extra supply of robots then we fall back on our original objectives, destroy as much of that base as we can."
The redhead pulled out some bright yellow tape and pinned it to various places around the nearby outposts. "Now, according to our reports, security had been tightened up on all of the exterior bases outside of the Divide, this one is no exception. In order to get in we're going to need a distraction."
She turned back and pointed at Mitch.
"Mitch is going lead simultaneous attacks on these four bases using Alpha and Bravo Platoon. And yes Buttercup, I know Bravo Platoon isn't fully manned yet. We'll split up Alpha to cover the shortfall, plus we have those new recruits." Blossom said before the brunette could raise an objection.
So that's what had her so distracted. As the Company Captain, the entire fighting force of their base was Buttercup's responsibility not just the ATA Squad. Sending out platoons undermanned was not something that would sit well with her, but they didn't really have a choice at the moment.
"Scouts say there isn't much of a presence of Collectors in the area but we'll see how that turns out once the fighting starts." Blossom continued. "With Mitch commencing these hit and run attacks, hopefully that will drain our target outpost of its security and manpower. They will likely be sent off as backup, leaving it open for our team to slip in and figure out what's inside."
Blossom turned back towards the group and folded her hands behind her back. "Any questions?"
"Are we going to break into teams once we get inside like last time Blossom?" Bubbles asked.
"We're not quite sure yet. It'll all depend on how the outpost is set up and what their security levels are like." She replied somewhat hesitantly. "The situation will be fluid, Brick and I will probably be making most of the plan up as we go."
She was not happy about that. That much was obvious by the frown taking over her face.
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, when are we going? I'm so ready to kick some ass!" Butch jumped in with a crazed grin.
"Two days' time. Be at the south gate by 0400. If there are no more questions then you are dismissed." Blossom replied absently as she picked up her papers.
The group shuffled out of the Command Center, some more excited than the others. More specifically, Butch looked ready to set off skipping. Bubbles didn't think she had seen him this happy in long time, not since their last battle before their powers were gone, if memory served.
Buttercup was excited about the prospect too, she could tell. Even though her middle sister tried to hide it, there was look in her eye, a certain way she moved when she was pumped and ready to go. Sitting cooped up for two weeks had left both the Greens with a lot of energy and nowhere to utilize it. This raid was just what the doctor ordered.
Boomer and Brick remained silent as they left, both seemed lost in their own thoughts. She knew Brick was most likely reviewing everything over in his mind just like Blossom probably was, but with Boomer…she wasn't too sure. It was hard to get a read on the young man. Was he nervous? Excited? Accepting? Did he feel as antsy as she did?
She supposed that's what she really should have been focusing on. Hearing they had only two days before they set out left her feeling like a swarm of butterflies had suddenly bloomed in her tummy. You'd think she'd be used to it by now.
She should be used to it by now but…
There was just so much that could go wrong, she couldn't help but think about what would happen if they failed. Bubbles knew she shouldn't worry so much, that was Blossom's job after all, but still…the reality of it all was finally hitting her.
Heh, ten years later and it was finally hitting her that they were fighting a war. She knew that they had been fighting a war, hell she had helped patch up all the causalities. That had been at a distance though, she usually ran around picking up the broken pieces.
Now it was personal, she was being thrown right smack dab in the middle of the battle and even after two of them, she still felt out of her element. Maybe that was good thing though. She didn't think she should feel comfortable in battle, that wasn't her calling. Her calling was healing people, bringing them hope, not killing them.
But if fighting is what she needed to do, then by golly she would do it. She was still a hero with responsibilities and she would fulfill them, with or without powers.
Would this raid work out as well as the last? Well…she would find out in two days' time and she'd do her best to make it succeed. That much she knew.
A/N: Whoo, finally finished. Oh man this chapter was tough. I had to rewrite it four times before it finally came out right. I didn't start this version until Wednesday so I've been scrambling all week to get it finished. If there are more grammar mistakes than usual please forgive me. I'm not the best proof reader and I only got two chances to read over this whole thing. But anyway, enough with excuse!
How did you guys like it? I'm trying to set up some basis for interaction between the Blues but I don't want to rush it. Did this scene help with that or hinder it? Let me know with a review! And speaking of...
Reviewer Recognition Time!
ROC95: Thank you as always for your kind review!
tweetybird99: Lol yes, I had quite a bit of fun with the last chapter. I felt like I've been neglecting Blossom a little so I wanted to give her some time to shine. And Brick deserves it the jerk. ;)
Scourge: Yes, I like the mini battles too. Although I'd say Bubbles and Boomer's battle is more of who has the most patience. Bubbles with her ability to keep pestering Boomer or Boomer for taking the pestering and not responding? Obviously Bubbles gained a point this round :D But really, it's not much of a battle. I'm sure Boomer wants a friend, he just doesn't know how to get one. Thanks for the review mate!
The Cynic: Thanks Cynic! I'm glad it went well in your book. It's really hard to plan out a conversation on both sides and keep it evenly balanced. It's kind of like playing poker against yourself. Glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!
Guest: Lol yes, yay for Boomer :D
Silent Reader: You write English very well for being a native Spanish speaker :D And thanks for kind review, it wasn't so much unfortunate events as a lot of stuff happening all at once O.O But it is all calmed down and things are returned to normal ^.^ Hope you liked the chapter!
LovelyAngel: :D Thanks, and yes, the hate shall linger. It can't just disappear, they have been enemies for quite a long time. But it does present some fun opportunities like the last chapter. Thanks for the review!
Lily975: Thanks Lily! Glad you liked it, this is only the beginning for the battle of most competent leader. Hehehe.
kidsstandout: Ohh, good point. 5:2 then :) But it was Blossom keeping score, she's bound to be a bit biased. Thanks for the review!
Devin Trinidad: Haha, yes. Popcorn would be good idea. I shall strive to live up to your expectations!
A big thanks to everyone this week! I had a lot on my plate but it's all good now, and all of your viewership and reviews helped. So thank you reviewers, silent readers, and favoriters. You guys awesome!
Next Saturday is a fun chapter, instead of a summary I'll just give you the title - Raid two:FIGHT!
See you next time!