"Are you okay?"
"Blossom, sweetheart, are you okay?"
"Bloss, are you here?"
She blinked one, two, three times. It took her a second to realize she had spaced out. Images of flames and smoke slowly fading, to leave place to her sister's big blue eyes.
The bright neon light and the squeaking of shoes on the linoleum pavement made her realized they were sat somewhere in the police station.
"Yes. Sorry, I was distracted" her voice came out raspy. Her throat still hurt from all the ice she had blown the night before, "did you ask me something?"
"Are you sure you don't want to go home? You haven't slept much" Bubbles' look only grew more concerned. The reality was that Blossom hadn't slept at all. It was already the middle of the night when they had left the library, and she had spent the rest of it going through every piece of information available, over and over.
That was the only thing she could have done, the only thing that had put her restless mind at ease. She had come home with a rare sense of powerlessness. In the past she had felt confused, overwhelmed, but rarely helpless.
No matter how much she had fought, the flames had been like a big invincible monster. Ready to mock all of her efforts, while her childhood burnt down in front of her eyes.
"I am fine" she drank a sip of coffee, grimacing at the taste, but swallowing it anyways. "I really want to take part to this police meeting. They are going to talk about the fire and I want to be present".
"Blossom, you know they never conclude anything in these meetings. We stopped attending them for a reason."
"Then why are you here?" Blossom wasn't asking out of spite, she was too tired to feel anything of the sort. She was just curious. Bubbles had been following her all morning.
"Somebody has to make sure you are okay" Bubbles gave her sister a little squeeze on the arm, and Blossom felt too exhausted to even pretend to be too proud for those kind of attentions.
"I am fine. Really. I just want to go to the bottom of this whole thing, I have a feeling-" she stopped, realizing she was getting worked up. She took a deep breath before continuing with a calmer voice. "Something is not right, and I know they never listen to me here, but I need to try".
She finished her coffee with one big gulp, throwing the cup in a nearby bin. She thought about getting a second one to wake up. She looked at the coffee machine at the other end of the room. It really did taste awful.
"The fire chief told me the origin of the fire is unknown. No short circuit, no faulty electronics, no unattended candle or cigarette" she started, her hands missing the feeling of a warm cup between them.
"Do you think it's arson?"
"They haven't found anything that could support this theory, but fires don't start out of nowhere."
"So you do…" Blossom nodded, she already knew what her sister's next question was going to be and spoke before Bubbles could.
"Why somebody would burn down an old library worth pretty much nothing, I really don't know."
She felt her sister moving next to her and a second later a brown paper bag appeared on her lap.
"I bought some cookies on the way here" Blossom let out a chuckle and was quick to grab one, starting to pick all the chocolate chunks out as she always did.
"Blossom, you know it's okay to be sad…"
She took another bite of her cookie before relaxing on her sister's shoulder.
"I am fine" she breathed with little conviction, the tiredness starting to show, "but thank you."
A few men were hurrying into the conference room, and she took a look at her watch. "It's about to start" she said straightening her back and cleaning her skirt from any crumbles, "are you coming?"
Bubbles was already up, her hand stretched towards her.
She sat there in silence, as usual, listening to Captain Redfort going through the various points of the agenda of the day.
What Bubbles had said wasn't completely true. Those meetings were not useless, she found them informative. They put her up to date with everything that was going on in town, and she liked to know how things were handle and what the thinking process behind the cases was.
The fact that the police didn't really involve the Powerpuff girls, that part was true. They did work together, but usually their support was asked for more practical things. And Blossom, being Blossom, felt there was a big part of the whole process she was missing.
She understood it to a certain degree. Her sisters and she were young and different. Having superpowers should not have given them a free pass, she knew that. At the same, she knew she could be of help, and it was frustrating knowing nobody was willing to take her seriously.
It was a fine line to walk on, she had to choose her battles and work hard to prove she really knew what she was doing. She was the diplomat of the family, after all.
Captain Redfort started talking about the fire and Blossom straightened her back, listening more carefully.
"So, as many of you know, yesterday our beloved public library caught on fire. Investigations are still going on, but there is reason to believe old electrical wires were the source of the fire. Moving on."
Blossom immediately raised her hand attracting a few amused stares. She dropped it as fast as she had raised it, and cleared her throat standing up. Captain Redfort threw her a confused look, before moving his hand in an invite for her to talk.
"Excuse me, Captain. The fire department has ruled out that possibility. The fire has no precise source yet, for this reason I believe-"
"We all know firefighters are not the brightest" the whole room exploded into laughter and Blossom shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She had to wait for it to die down before continuing.
"I believe this fire to be more serious than what it appears" she added sounding much meeker than usual.
"Miss Utonium, it was an old building, it was falling apart as it was. Why would anybody set it on fire?"
Blossom took a deep breath. She looked around the room, the majority of the people there seemed bored out of their mind, but there were a few who were listening to her.
All those guys, they are just dumb old farts. Who cares about them.
She blinked in surprised, Butch's voice echoing in her head. She took a deep breath and looked at the Captain. That was the battle she was choosing. Screw diplomacy.
"I don't know" she answered, her voice full and strong. "What I know is that the fire department can't tell me how the fire spread. What I know is that there is strong evidence for arson. As there was for the monster barrier, and the museum before that" she felt taller, bigger, her presence in the room no longer a mistake.
"I don't know if we are dealing with an arsonist who likes to have fun, or with a serious criminal whose plan we haven't discovered yet, but there is something going on. Maybe I am wrong, maybe all of this is not connected. But what if it is? Shouldn't we at least look into it, before swiping it under an "old electrical wires" rug?"
The room fell silent, but Blossom kept her eyes on the Captain, chin high and arms crossed on her chest.
"Thank you for contribution. Anybody else wants to share something?" he said those words with such a dismissive tone, it was clear his question was rhetorical. However, somebody made both of them turn.
"Maybe, Utonium here is onto something" the one speaking was a young woman leaning on the wall at the very back of the room.
The first thing Blossom noticed was her badge. She had it around her neck, shining bright under the neon lights. The second thing was that she was smiling at her. No quite smiling, but a small smirk that reminded her so much of a certain someone.
"Elaborate please, detective Pérez."
"You know the vehicle who caught on fire at the truck stop next to the freeway a few nights ago? We all thought it was an accident. But it's small town, how many accidents need to happen before we can stop calling them that?" Blossom turned towards the man. She saw him taking a long breath, massaging his temples.
"Fine. If you think it is worth investigating, you can share that information with the Powerpuff girls. Now, can we move on?" he didn't wait any longer, and started talking about the next point on his agenda. Something about the new cadets, Blossom wasn't really paying attention, her heart beating much faster than usual.
She turned to the back of the room, detective Pérez was looking at her. She winked and Blossom smiled back.
For once, she was thankful she had decided to raise her voice.
Detective Pérez looked like the tough heroine from a comic book. The leather jacket, the long black hair and the dark aviator sunglasses only added to the look. But what Blossom liked the most, was how effortlessly she owned the space around her. Her presence wasn't menacing, it was strong and confident.
Bubbles and Blossom followed her in her office. They sat in silence, waiting for the woman to find what she was looking for in a drawer behind them. Once she had found it, she sat at the edge of her desk, and observed them for a long moment.
"I think we haven't been properly introduced. I am detective Elena Pérez, you can call me Elena" she smiled, her tone much warmer than the one she had used during the meeting.
"I am Bubbles and she is Blossom" Bubbles was quick to answer, feeding on the welcoming atmosphere of the room.
"I have recently transferred here, and I have seen you in action, girls. I have to say I am impressed…But don't you have a third sister?"
"Buttercup? I am sure you will meet her. She is hard to miss" Bubbles made her laugh and Blossom smiled too. As usual, she wasn't very good with small talks. She just wanted to go straight to the point.
Detective Pérez must have sensed that because she spread a few photos on the desk, and both sisters leaned in to observe them.
"Blossom, this is what I wanted to show you" they were pictures of the carcass of a small truck, completely burnt down by the flames. "This is the truck I was talking about. It was found by its driver, who had left it unattended for a few minutes."
"What was inside? Was there any sign of theft?" she asked raising her gaze to look at the detective.
"Hard to say. It was transporting very flammable chemicals, that's why it took a whole night to put it out, and when they did, nothing was left."
"Do you think it's arson?" Bubbles asked, picking up one picture to look at it closely.
"The experts of the fire department can't tell us what might have caused the first spark. There was no sign of technical malfunctioning nor any evident manumission of the vehicle. So, yes… to answer your question, arson could be a very likely possibility".
They remained quiet, Blossom's mind racing to find a possible common denominator. She knew they were working on mere assumptions, but her guts were screaming at her something was off.
"The real question is: is it just arson?" Detective Pérez had asked the exact same question that had been torturing Blossom all night.
"The security cameras at the museum, the monster barrier, the library and now… this truck. What do all of these things have in common?"
The detective mouth turned into a smirk, the very same grin Blossom had seen in the conference room.
"Well, it's our job to find out."
As soon as they left the police station, Blossom allowed herself a big yawn.
It was as if her body had known she had something important to do, and it had resisted up to that point.
She was tired, but she knew something else was off. She closed her eyes and again, images of smoke and flames filled her mind.
"Bubbles…" she called, "maybe I am a little sad."
Less than a second later, Bubbles was hugging her tightly, and she relaxed in the embrace.
"Oh, honey, I know. Let's get you home, okay?"
Blossom looked at her phone for the thousand time that day, and like every single time, she grunted for her stupidity.
"What am I expecting?" she hid her phone under her pillow, trying to resist the temptation of checking it once again.
She hadn't seen Butch in four days. Considering she had not seen him for almost seven years, it wasn't that much. Then, why did it feel like an eternity?
The last time they had seen each other had been rough, for lack of better terms. She knew she had pushed a very touchy subject on him, and the more she thought about it, the worse it became in her head. And she had left without even fixing it, leaving that whole conversation on standby.
He wasn't answering her texts neither. She had sent him one right after the meeting at the police station, wanting to share with him her little victory. Somehow she felt he was part of it. She had sent another text the next day, asking if everything was okay. A third text was already typed out in their conversation, waiting to be sent. Her pride the only thing preventing her to do so. That and the fact that according to Google, sending a third text in a row was a big mistake.
She grunted again, suffocating her complaints in her pillow. She felt silly. She had bigger problems to think about, and she had no time to obsessed over such a trivial thing like Butch not answering her texts.
He had no right to disappear, not after having pestered her for the past weeks. He could not show up whenever he wanted, and then ignore her for four entire days.
Maybe he was mad, but he had no right to be that either. And why would he even be mad. She had just pointed out he had powers, and could use such powers for good.
At the end of the day, she was the one who should be mad at him. And maybe she was, because…where the hell was he?
She gave in and checked her phone once again.
She needed to apologize, and she needed to do it fast, before sanity completely abandoned her.
She had to fly all the way out of Townsville before being able to pick up his energy. She had grown so accustomed to his signature, it hadn't been hard to recognize. It was a weak, imperceptible sparkle, but she knew it was him.
She followed it without second guessing what she was feeling. She was trying to keep her thoughts to a minimum, concentrating on that lingering feeling in the back of her head. For once, she couldn't allow herself to think, because that whole situation was hard to justify. She was blindly following chemical X traces right out of town, with no clear destination in mind.
She had just reached the very outskirt of Citisville, when Butch's energy changed. It was hotter than before and unstable, almost jumpy. She concentrated, looking down at the various building below her. It was an industrial district, with a few warehouses and factories.
Butch's energy was coming from the one with the big colorful sign on its roof. It was one of those cheap twenty-four hours gym and Blossom took a whole minute to decide whether to descend or not. She had found him, now she only needed to understand what she wanted to tell him.
The automatic door creaked at her passage. That place reminded her so much of that horrible diner Butch had shown her. The floor was dirty with shoe-prints and the furniture was probably older than her, straight out of a 70s movie.
The receptionist was missing and there was no single noise in the place if not for the buzzing sound of the ceiling lights. For a moment, Blossom even doubted she was in the right place. She hadn't given much thought on where she would found him, but she could confidently say that was not what she was expecting.
She walked towards what was indicated as the entrance to the training room, trying to be as light as possible in her steps, feeling somewhat of an intruder. She pushed the door and it opened to what looked like a completely different building.
It was like the inside of a big industrial shed. It was bright and warm, the ceiling much higher than the room she was previously in, and covered with windows. There were no treadmills or stationary bikes. The majority of the space was occupied by mats, punching bags and weights. A big boxing ring right in the middle. Definitely not what she expected when she had left the house.
The rhythmical noises that were echoing in that huge space woke her up from her stupor and she scanned the room looking for Butch.
He wasn't hard to spot, there was nobody else there. He was training with one of the punching bags. His fists colliding every few seconds with the sack in front of him. Out of everything she had just seen, the thing she was expecting the least was to find him shirtless and covered with sweat.
Blossom felt like a fish out of water, her mouth suddenly dry. However, she had no time to even think about turning her back, because the whole room was filled with the loud creaking noise of the door closing behind her.
The punching immediately stopped and Blossom had to gather all of her remaining dignity to keep her head high and look at him, an apologetic smile on her lips.
"Pinky?" his voice filled the room. "What are you doing here?" he was looking at her as if he was trying to decide if he was having a hallucination or not.
"This creepy building is my to-go gym" she tried with sarcasm, floating towards him, but Butch's look became even more confused.
"Obviously, I was looking for you" she continued with a puff of her cheeks, her face growing hotter. Not only she had admitted she had been deliberately going out of her way to find him, but Butch was standing less than a meter from her all glistening and with no shirt on. She really hadn't prepared herself for that situation and it was of no use pretending it had no effect on her.
Butch looked at her for a long moment, his eyes still wide with surprise. After a few seconds, he seemed to have come to a sort of conclusion because he chuckled shaking his head.
"Yeah, now I get the stalking thing" he had the audacity to wink at her and for a second Blossom's heart stopped. He shouldn't have been allowed to do that when he was not wearing a t-shirt.
Her reaction must have been noticeable, because his grin grew wider. He turned his back to her and went looking through his bag. Blossom followed him almost on reflex, not at all satisfied by his answer.
"You disappeared" she insisted, "I just want to make sure everything is okay."
"Aw, you care" he joked with a baby voice, before finding his t-shirt and putting it on. "I have been busy, that's all." He took a big gulp of water from a bottle, cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand and went back to his punching bag.
"Doing what?" she realized the sound of those words as soon as they left her mouth, but it was already too late. She had even put one hand on her hip out of habit, which she was quick to drop as soon as she realized it.
Butch chuckled again throwing a lazy punch. "Sorry, we are not all saving the world" the bag swung back and forth, before he hit it again this time with more strength.
Blossom observed him in silent, debating on what to do. He was obviously not in a good mood, but she had come all the way there for a reason. She had hidden behind silly arguments for days, but she had always known what was the right thing to do.
"Are you mad at me?" she finally asked the question that had been on the tip of her tongue since the moment she had seen him.
"For what? Oh, for that" he nodded in realization, but he avoided her gaze, "I…no. I told you, I have been busy."
There was something weird in his behavior. He was nervous and tense, fidgeting with any distraction he could find not to look at her.
Blossom took a step forward and blocked his next punch with her hand, finally catching his attention. "I am sorry" she said, looking at him straight in the eyes. "I was selfish, I was thinking about me. I am sorry" she repeated.
Butch dropped his hand, and looked at her for endlessly long seconds. She saw his expression soften, his mouth turning in a shy smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"God, I am an asshole" he said, letting out an amused sigh. "I know. I fucking know, Pinky" he brought a hand on his face and let out a short laugh. "You had good intentions. You always have good intentions. Fuck, I am an asshole. Did you feel guilty?" his amusement wasn't shared.
Blossom curled her nose and observed him with her mouth half open in disbelief. She had spent four horrible days building paper castles.
"So, you aren't mad. Then why-"
"I told you. I was busy" he repeated, this time sounding much more convincing. "And…After what happened to the library, I taught I was the last person you wanted to see". Blossom's disbelief only grew with that last sentence. At least there was an "and", but that was the last reason she would have ever expected.
Butch sat on a bench nearby, a cocky smile still on the lips. Blossom was soon next to him.
"It's not funny, I was feeling guilty" she admitted. Butch laughed again, and this time she couldn't help but smile too.
"It's cute" he said bumping her shoulder with his. Her cheeks took fire, but she tried to ignore that warm feeling spreading through her.
They remained silent, sat one next to the other, Butch's chuckles the only thing interrupting the moment.
"You know all of this doesn't change the fact that I am sorry" she said after a while.
"You really shouldn't be. It's not worth it" he bumped he shoulder a second time, before standing up, unable to remain seated.
Blossom observed him from the bench, he was back at the punching bag, the sound of each hit echoing through the room. He still looked tense, and in that moment, he reminded her so much of Buttercup when she had too many things on her mind.
She knew what to do with her sister in those occasions, maybe it would work with him too.
"Let's spar" she said standing up. She removed her shoes and walked towards one of the mattress.
"What?"
"No powers, no pulling of hair, no bites and…I guess I can add no hits below the belt" she took her time to tie her hair in a high ponytail, while eyeing him from head to toe.
He followed her on the mattress, a smirk plastered on his face. Thanks to his height advantage, he took the time to look down at her with his best condensing expression, arms crossed on his chest.
"I am not sparring with you."
"Too bad I am."
She threw him a punch, and Butch barely avoided it. She raised her shoulders in an innocent shrug and smiled.
"The little girl wants to play" he clicked his tongue, and widened his legs to support his stance, his green eyes brighter than just a second before.
"Please, I am not a little girl" before he could retaliate, she punched him again, this time he had no problem dodging it. What he didn't avoid was the kick that followed, right into his chest. It was so strong, it pushed him off the mattress, making him almost lose his footing.
"Well, maybe not" he stared at Blossom, raising his eyebrows, a mischievous light in his eyes.
Butch got back on the mattress and they started to walk in circle, observing each other's every move. Blossom's heart was pounding, but she tried to remain calm, her chin high and her eyes looking straight at him.
He was the first to attack, but that wasn't a surprise.
His fighting style was very him, always on the attack. He was against her, refusing to give ground. Blossom kept dodging, waiting for the perfect time to land her hits. She was more methodical, her movements following a specific rhythm.
He was stronger, but she was faster. She ducked a hit, got down on one knew and quickly swept her feet against his legs. He jumped, avoiding the blow, looked down and winked. Blossom rolled her eyes, but that was all she had the time to do because he was soon back at it.
They had never fought like that, not with that lightness. It was almost a game. However, like any other game, they were both playing to win, neither one of them willing to give in first.
Butch hair became wet with sweat, so was his t-shirt. His skin was hot and flustered, but that light in his eyes was still there.
She was sweating too, her ponytail coming lose, and hair sticking to her shoulders. It had been a while since she had sparred without the use of powers, and she felt almost limited with her feet stuck to the ground.
She almost lost her balance to block a particularly strong hit, and that was enough for Butch to grab her from behind, his arm wrapped along her torso.
"Wanna call it off?" she could feel his chest pressed against her back, his hot breath on her skin and his arm hugging her tightly. His voice was dripping with excitement and Blossom felt a weird heat spreading in her chest.
The thing was, it wasn't too bad. It almost felt nice to be in his arms. And maybe, she would have indulged a second longer.
If she hadn't had a sparring match to win.
"Why would I do that when I am winning?" she knocked hard into his hips, startling him. That second was all she need to grab his arm and pushed him forward, over her shoulders. Before he knew it, Blossom was looking down at him with a satisfied smile on her lips.
"Wanna call it off?" she repeated, a big fat smile filling her face.
She felt her ankle being grabbed and a second later she was lying face down right next to him.
"That was dirty, you were already on the floor" she turned on her back grunting and massaging her nose.
"I have never said I play clean" she punched him with the little strength she had left, and Butch laughed.
They remained on the ground, their erratic breath the only noise in the room. It was nice, peaceful, and Blossom closed her eyes, her body relaxing as her breath steadied down.
That didn't last long. After the third poke on her arm, she turned on her side to face him. He was smiling, a child-like smile that was almost too pure to belong to somebody like him.
Without even realizing what she was doing, she raised her hand to move his messy hair out of his eyes. "I am happy you are okay" she said through a smile of her own, getting more comfortable on the mat. When she had turned she had inadvertently moved a bit closer to him. Their legs were touching but she couldn't bring herself to care.
She was lying right next to him, their noses almost touching, and his deep green eyes carefully studying her. It was weird, they were in the middle of a huge shed, but no other place could have felt more intimate.
"Were you worried about me?" he asked jokingly, but his eyes remained serious.
"Am I crazy if I say yes?" she breathed biting her lips. Butch gaze fell on them and Blossom didn't fail to notice, suddenly hyper aware of his every movement.
"I guess we both are, then" he turned to lay on his back, eyes looking up at the ceiling.
Blossom stayed on her side, a weird feeling of disappointment somewhere in the back of her mind. She quietly observed his chest rising and falling, one, two, three times. And that's when she thought it, that maybe she could lay there forever, just like that.
Her breath caught in her throat, thoughts like that were useless and stupid. Even worse, thoughts like that were dangerous.
She stood up, fixed her ponytail and went looking for her shoes.
"I have to go" she explained floating in the air while putting on her snickers, "Tonight is the big night."
"Right. Should I wear a bow tie or a tie?" he joked, sitting up. She was already in the middle of the room, she turned and threw him a serious look.
"A tie, never a bow tie."
She reached the door, but before opening it she turned one last time.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked in what was half a question, half a goodbye.
"Yeah, sure…"
She grabbed the handle, and this time it was him who called her.
"Hey, have fun tonight".
She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and left.