Chapter 113: Her Fight
The City of Townsville.
It is a quiet night in the suburban neighbourhood of Townsville, and the only thing interrupting the serene quietness is the sound of something shattering.
A sable-haired girl stood in a daze, her bright green eyes finally catching sight of the pieces of the broken plate on the kitchen floor. A dark-haired teenage girl with a lean and tone body squatted down to pick up the pieces of the broken plate with her hands. The young girl's face is etched with a worried expression, as if someone had just gave her the worst possible news.
It is not everyday that Buttercup Utonium, the toughest of the Powerpuff Girls to be afraid of the unknown.
[Utonium Residence, Suburban Townsville, 9.30pm]
Buttercup felt a sickening feeling within her, and she knew why she recognized the uneasy sensation. Buttercup threw the pieces into the trash bin, and immediately raced towards her room. The journey felt brief as she opened the door, causing her sisters to be alarmed by Buttercup's presence. Buttercup picked up the voice of her prim and proper sister asking her out of concern, but she had shut out her sister's voice. Buttercup soon felt a hand pulling her shoulder back, and she turned around to see a pair of concerned rose-pink eyes looking back at her.
"Buttercup!" Blossom yelled at her.
"Dunno." Buttercup answered honestly, but she knew that something had definitely happened.
Buttercup swatted her sister's arm off her shoulder and took her jacket from the clothes hangar in haste. Before they can say anything else, the dark-haired Powerpuff Girl immediately rushed towards the large circular window and opened it. A gust of freezing cold wind blew into the room, and in seconds Buttercup felt the cold air of the Townsville night skies blowing over her face.
Buttercup's instincts had never proved her wrong before, but for once she hoped that her instincts is wrong. Her mind wondered where on earth she needs to go to to stop this impending feeling of doom, but her body is leading her towards where the fates wanted her to be.
For better or for worse.
[Sewers Beneath Townsville High, 9.45pm]
The smoking large gashes and caved-in walls scarred the brick walls, and the sewer looked like it could collapse at any moment. Lying around the whole damaged sewers are the armed men that came with the white eldritch being, either lying in the puddle of their own blood or are still twitching involuntarily from the blows that were traded between Boomer and Her. Boomer had used the Chinese armed men as meatshields and cover in his fight, and most if not all of them are now down for the count. Mark Gor however is nowhere in sight, and Boomer assumed that he was smart enough to make a run for it.
Boomer swear that if that white female-thing did not mess up his senses, he would have much more of a fight in him. Alas, his senses are dulled significantly and it slowed his reactions. But his speed is not affected, and he had used it to the fullest extent. Foremost of all, he had used it to run and hide. But the more important use of his speed is to buy himself time to understand the situation. Boomer may not be the brightest, but he knew that he will be in a lot of trouble if he does not figure out the situation fast enough. That or he wished that there is someone that will be able to save his sorry ass.
But given the situation, Boomer reasoned that he will not be able to see the saviour of his sorry ass even if it arrived. Indeed, Boomer is surprised that he held out as long as he did.
Boomer's legs are immediately encased in greaves with interwoven sheets of plates with several wing-like projections before he assumed a low crouching position, as if he is about to sprint forward. The thrusters in his greaves vibrated as it takes in the air and started to combust the air, allowing Boomer to gauge how much propulsion that he will need to move in a flash. Boomer slowly formed his preferred weapons in each one of his arms; a pair of baseball bats made out of pure energy, connected to each other by a chain of lightning at the end of each handle. Boomer turned the bats around so that it run parallel to his arms. Boomer knew that this can be all over in one split moment, and he wanted to believe that he will come up on top. There is a certain sadness inside Boomer, for he knew that that is a wishful thinking on his part. But Boomer will need to do something, and he rather go out on his own terms.
"This sucks." Boomer spoke out and Boomer felt as if he is in a lose-lose situation.
If he did not make his move, the white female-thing will move instead. If he make his move, the white female-thing will make short work of him. Boomer tried to look around without alerting the white-female thing, and he wondered if he should throw some of these injured men to distract it. However, Boomer's thought was interrupted by a yell of a man, and Boomer's eyes caught the sight of a speeding person heading towards him.
"Shit!" Boomer immediately bolted sideways to avoid the living projectile, only for him to see that the pristine white being is no longer where it is. Boomer's reflexes informed his body to lower himself to the ground even more, and with only moments to spare. Boomer saw several strands of his hair dropping in front of his eyes, and his eyes finally registered that the being that identified itself as Her had just made a spearing motion towards his head.
Boomer made a swiping motion with his left hand towards Her's body, but Her stepped back to avoid Boomer's fists. Boomer anticipated the movement, and twisted his wrist to instead strike with his energy bat. The blow made contact with Her's body, causing a loud burst of energy to ignite and cause a small explosion. Using the smoke from the explosion, Boomer swung with his other bat upwards in an uppercut motion. Boomer felt the hit connecting, and another explosion confirmed that the blow made its mark.
Boomer felt a sudden blow to his temple, and Boomer's head soon made contact with the ground. The sand blonde teenager immediately rolled on the ground, barely avoiding several blows that was meant for his head. The Rowdyruff Boy swung a kick towards where he thinks the white being will be, and the attack stopped for a moment. Boomer took the lull in the attacks as an opportunity for him to retreat, igniting the thrusters in his greaves to propel him away while also trying to burn his opponent at the same time. Boomer accelerated away from his opponent and landed away, only to see his opponent patting the flames away from its body.
The flames died down, leaving no mark on the pristine whiteness of its appearance. The being turned its attention towards Boomer as if speaking to him. If the being had said anything, Boomer is deaf to it. However there is a truth on Boomer's situation. The temple blow is a rather severe blow, and Boomer can feel his legs trembling trying to keep him upright. His sense of balance is now robbed from him, and Boomer wondered what senses are left for him to use in his fight.
His sense of taste is utterly useless in a fight, unless he wants to lick his opponent.
His sight is blurring out, and it will not help him if his opponent moves faster than his sight would allow.
His sense of smell will be needed if his sight is lost.
His sense of touch and electroreception will be the senses he will be relying on the most now.
No...I need to reduce the senses I need to use. Use the most practical one.
Boomer closed his eyes, allowing his sense of touch and electroreception to take over the other senses. The sensory world in his mind became surprisingly dark, save for several glowing silhouettes lying down on the ground. Some are becoming dimmer, while others are still bright enough for Boomer to know that they are doing well. However, the brightest presence in the room belonged to Her, and Boomer finally understood what he is facing.
That's a horrible thing to see, Boomer thought. For Boomer to fight against such an eldritch abomination, he will need more than just one savior to get him out of trouble.
[Townsville High, 9.55pm]
Buttercup slowly closed in on the location that her instincts is leading her to, and her light-green eyes spotted Townsville High at a distance. Buttercup gulped, for Brick and Blossom did point out that their school is a big target for whatever nefarious purpose their enemies are planning for. But an empty school is worse than a fully occupied school, for it beggars reason why someone bad would want to do something without any victims or spectators in landed in front of the main entrance of the school, and she was about to open the door when she heard the sound of something landing behind her.
To be exact, two things.
"Bolting out like that scared us." Buttercup turned to a pig-tailed girl with a concerned pair of light zircon eyes.
"I...I..." Buttercup wanted to explain herself to Bubbles, but she is unable to do so.
"Hold on girls." Blossom answered, and Buttercup turned her attention back towards the copper-haired Powerpuff Girl. Buttercup had a sinking feeling in her stomach when Blossom lifted a broken lock in view.
"I hate it when I'm proven right." Buttercup cursed.
"And this is picked in the Rowdyruff Boys' style." Blossom pointed out.
"Wait...so the boys are-" Bubbles was interrupted mid-speech by Buttercup bursting through the door.
"Come on!" Buttercup's husky voice yelled out, and both Blossom and Bubbles were forced to follow their sister's lead into the dark corridors of the high school.
"Buttercup! Wait!" Her sisters called out to her, but she shut them out. They are inconsequential for now, and the only thing Buttercup need to care about is to face the source of her fears.
Buttercup's frantic footsteps echoes through the corridors like droplets of water on a still lake, her panting interrupting the serene ambience of the school grounds. She felt as if time is of the essence, and every moment she had yet to reach her intended destination would only make things worse. Buttercup moved around the corners of the labyrinthine hallways, wondering what exactly she is looking for.A bright flash of light came from above her, and Buttercup's eyes stung a little before she felt something resting on her shoulders. Buttercup was about to move her elbow reflexively to strike at the source until she heard Blossom's voice.
"It'll help if you can see what you are looking for." Blossom reasoned.
"Perhaps that is what you are looking for." Bubbles pointed out, and both Blossom and Buttercup turned their attention to an opened door.
"Oh...the basement." Blossom voiced out her unease.
"Bloss...what are you not telling us?" Buttercup asked, knowing that Blossom knew more about what is going on that she would let on.
Blossom stayed silent, hoping that the lack of words alone is enough to answer. Buttercup is not sated by Blossom's answer and Bubbles looked at Blossom, knowing well that whatever it is that made Buttercup this uneasy must be a whole lot of trouble.
"What is in the basement Blossom?" Bubbles asked her sister. Blossom wanted to answer her sister, but she was stopped before she can do so by a particularly loud explosive sound coming from the basement. Buttercup immediately ran towards the basement door, leaving her sisters behind.
"Come on, let's move." Bubbles beckoned Blossom to come along, knowing well that their most reckless sister will need all the backup she needs.
Time moved in an instant for the Powerpuff Girls as they made their way through the basement, and their unease is further aggravated by the sight of a collapsed wall after the opened steel door. Blossom and Bubbles glanced at each other, knowing well that they are about to enter into a messy situation. Bubbles was about to warn Buttercup to be careful, but the pig-tailed Powerpuff Girl noticed a change of expression on Buttercup's face.
What's wrong, Bubbles wondered.
"What's wrong Buttercup?" Blossom voiced out her thoughts, sensing the same thing as what Bubbles was thinking about.
Buttercup did not answer her sisters and immediately burst into the dark hallways by herself. Blossom and Bubbles immediately went after their sister, sensing that their sister is particularly agitated by the turn of events. Both sisters knew that their sister is not acting like herself, and whatever it is at the end of the dark hallway will answer their questions. What both sisters will not admit out loud is that they too felt the uneasy sensation that almost shut their minds moments before Buttercup barged into the room and flew off.
"Buttercup wait up" Blossom and Bubbles cried out at the same time as they exited the dark hallway to find themselves staring at a bloodbath.
The walls and ground around them were violently marked with gash-like damages and craters while several bodies were lying in the puddle of their own blood or twitching involuntarily on the ground. The stench of the sewer and blood blended together into a particularly unsavoury mix, and the Powerpuff Girls were surprised that the entire sewer chamber have not caved in upon itself. However all that were ignored almost immediately by two figures staring at them with eyes hidden behind sunglasses and dark midnight blue eyes respectively.
"The Powerpuff Girls." The pristine white feminine humanoid clad in similarly white business suit uttered, the unnatural cacophony of its voice betrayed its nature to the Powerpuff Girls.
"Girls?" The teenage boy clad in a black hoodie with patterns of flames emblazoned on the sleeves and rims of his hood uttered out in surprise, his voice barely coming out from his ragged breathing.
"Boomer?" Blossom and Bubbles exclaimed with surprise.
The brief moment of distraction is all Buttercup needed to spring into immediately launched herself towards the white feminine being, her body totalling spinning in the air. A quick lashing kick made contact with the demon's face, shattering the sunglasses on its face and slamming it into the sewer waters. But before Buttercup can even make her landing, Boomer immediately grabbed Buttercup in mid-air using his lightning fast reflexes and bolted away.
"Wh-" Buttercup was cut off by Boomer's yell.
"LET'S GET OUT IF HERE!" Boomer's face is filled with an expression of both relief and fear.
Blossom and Bubbles took a second to realize that Boomer and Buttercup had just went past them, and they looked back to see the blue streak of light marking the Rowdyruff Boy's exit from the field. Blossom and Bubbles turned around once more to see the pristine white figure rising up from the water, and both girls took it as a chance to make their exit. Within seconds, they are now barely trailing behind Boomer and Buttercup.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Buttercup scolded Boomer, and both Blossom and Bubbles sensed the vibe of a girlfriend seeking an answer. Blossom and Bubbles had enough sense in them to not butt in the conversation, knowing that getting out from the basement is a bigger priority for them.
"I thought I smelled Brick and Blossom coming down here!" Boomer yelled back.
"BRICK AND BLOSSOM?! SERIOUSLY?!" Buttercup felt that Boomer made no sense.
"I KNOW WHAT I SMELLED! THEY ARE DOWN HERE BEFORE AND THEY FOUGHT SOMETHING HERE!" Boomer faced Blossom.
"Seriously Boomer you are a rea-" Buttercup was about to dismiss the Rowdyruff Boy when she saw Blossom looking away from him. Buttercup knew her sister's habits, and she knew that her sister will look away and face her head down when she is trying to avoid an issue.
"Look guys the exit!" Bubbles interrupted them, pointing out towards the opened steel door. They flew past the steel door and through the boilers in the basement before making their way up through the upward staircase.
Boomer is the first one to land on his feet, followed by Buttercup, Bubbles and Blossom. The teenagers looked around the hallway, sensing an uneasy sensation still lingering inside them.
"We need to get out of here." Blossom advised and the teenagers decided to not look back and sped off towards the exit, hoping that the white feminine humanoid did not pursue them. As they turned around the corner that leads to the school building's entrance, a pristine white entity is standing between them and their exit from the building. However, instead of having a pair of sunglasses staring back at them, the superpowered teenagers found themselves staring at a blank face.
"I don't see how we are going to end this amicably, children." The shadows from the moonlit sky cast a dark and ominous shadow on the contours of the demon's face, and the superpowered teenagers felt the anger in its voice.
Boomer lowered his stance with one of his legs squatting parallel to the ground and the other leg extended out forward with his entire body now almost perpendicular to the ground. His hands are bent backwards and his entire combat pose is like those of an eagle ready to launch itself, and this is not lost on the Powerpuff Girls. However, Buttercup picked up on Boomer's trembling body and she knew that he is already at his limit.
"I don't see it either." Boomer answered truthfully, only to notice how it would sound like to his opponent.
The Powerpuff Girls immediately activated the Magi, and their bodies were soon enveloped in their battle armor. No one is willing to take the chance, and everyone is now on edge. Boomer did not even look back as the Powerpuff Girls armed themselves, for his attention is on the 'thing' before them. Unlike the Powerpuff Girls, Boomer do not see a white feminine-like humanoid. Boomer is seeing something much more convoluted and true at the same time, and it terrifies him. No being should appear in such a manner, and yet Boomer's sanity is slowly slipping away as his mind subconsciously try to interpret the being's true appearance.
Buttercup had seen Boomer time and time again hurt his body in a fight, and indeed he had experienced the most grievous injuries among his brothers. Buttercup wondered how his body had healed itself, only to weaken with every consecutive injury. With Boomer's fragile frame, Buttercup wondered if he even had enough in him to even land a blow and she decided that enough is enough.
Buttercup is already swinging her feet at the white being's head, having accelerated across the room in a great burst of speed. The lash-like kick is further accelerated by the thrusters in her legs and it sped like a sharp gust of wind ready to slice the head of the demon before her. To her surprise, the being looked at her, and a multitude of pure black insectile eyes appeared on every surface of the blank face. Buttercup immediately felt a great blow on her sides, launching her out from the exit of Townsville High.
Buttercup crashed with a resounding boom, and she immediately got up only to buckle down on one knee. The readings in her helmet is warning Buttercup of the blow dealt to her torso, and she wondered what will happen to her if she had not decided to wear Melchior on her. There is no time to think further as the being stepped out from the school.
However, what she will witness next is something Buttercup is not prepared for. Buttercup eyes opened wide as the being's body started to morph.
The single head snarled before it started branching out violently into several other heads, and the multitude of insectile eyes soon formed into pairs of each of the branching heads. From there the heads elongated itself forming into smooth worm-like neck with a blank head with two black eyes resting on each neck. The feminine monster's body started to break apart, with the pair of legs splitting itself and each split leg tiptoed itself to form into eight spider-like legs. Each hand split itself as well, with the arms forming a macabre form of petals.
Bubbles covered her hands over her mouth immediately as she watched the monstrosity came into existence, while Blossom gritted her teeth. Blossom clearly did not expect something like this to exist, let alone to face in a fight. Blossom need to save her sister from the monster's attention, but it appeared that someone else already did it for her.
Boomer launched it off the ground with the sheer force of his entire body slamming the torso of the monstrous being, and they both went down. Boomer did not relent with just a simple body tackle, and bludgeoning the monster's body with his energy bats. More explosions burst from the contact made by Boomer's bats and strands of electricity current burst out from the clouds of explosions.
Blossom and Bubbles rushed out from the school only to be blown back into the school by an unknown projectile, and they skidded back for a few moments before falling down. The two Powerpuff Girls picked up on the identity of the mysterious projectile that had knocked them down, and they immediately help it up.
"Are you alright Boomer?" Bubbles asked.
"Shit..." Boomer rubbed his head.
"Whatever that thing is, we need to defeat it." Blossom pointed towards the monstrous hydra-like being as all its heads turned its attention to Blossom, Bubbles and Boomer. Before they all could do anything, a flash of light engulfed the entire hallway and Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup and Boomer all covered their eyes with their forearms. For a second they all thought that this will be it and they will all be doomed.
"FIRE AT WILL!"
The yell is immediately followed by the sound of bullets flying through the air alongside several electrifying sounds. Several more explosions were heard, and the superpowered teenagers felt their arms being pulled away. Their ears were ringing from the deafening sounds, and once their vision returned they found themselves inside one of the classroom. Standing before them were several persons clocking their rifles in unison, each one of the men were clad in ballistic body armor over their black fatigues, with neck protector and plate padding over their shoulders and greaves. Each helmet is equipped with a fully-enclosed mask with rebreather units and optometric equipment, and a harness with multiple grenades and ammunition.
One of the heavily-armed person yelled out amidst the ongoing firefight happening outside. Bubbles recognizer the language as French, and they are yelling that whatever happens, the monster sound never touch the Powerpuff Girls and Boomer.
"Qui êtes vous? " Bubbles asked, surprising the other armored soldiers. However, they regained their composure and continued on with their operations.
"They're good" Buttercup observed.
"Of course they are." Boomer agreed. In fact Boomer knew for a fact that these people are veterans of fighting.
But no matter how good they are, they are still human.
Boomer and Bubbles heard the call to retreat, and the armed men pulled their arms and led them towards the windows. One of them broke the window with his elbows and soon cleaned the glass away from the window frame. Blossom noticed that they are staring at her as she is the closest to the window. Blossom climbed up and out the window, landing on her feet before walking away. Buttercup soon followed, and Bubbles and Boomer came out moments later. The other armored-clad men got out from the window, and the Powerpuff Girls looked at each other, realising how foolish they are.
"Wait...why are we superheroes being escorted to safety by you guys? Buttercup, being the most vocal, voiced out the discrepancy first.
" We are suppose to be helping you fall back. "Bubbles added in.
" For that matter, your friends will not last long without us helping out. "Blossom reasoned.
" No girls,you don't get it. They need us elsewhere. "Boomer replied taking the Powerpuff Girls by surprise.
"That makes no sense!" Blossom voiced out her disbelief.
"Not when you are staring at that." Boomer pointed towards the city, and the Powerpuff Girls are now staring at an ominous black cloud with flashes of red erupting from within it above Townsville.