Hello! It has been forever and a day since I posted on Fanfic, but I decided to share this one because I wanted to let everyone know that I am currently updating Storm! So this is a prequel series of shorts that help explain some of the world of Storm. Also cross-posted on my AO3 (where my user is kiebs).
Read to discover how Townsville deals with the aliens, how the Resistance and Rebellion are made, and how enemies turn to unlikely friends and allies!
Before the Storm 01
They had spent the last two years pretending to be normal, laying low in Citiesville because that was the last place the Powerpuffs would ever look for them, and it all came crashing down one day in summer.
Brick had just returned from a nauseating walk through the city, an attempt to clear his mind and the irritating buzzing in his stomach. For some reason, he had woken up that day with a killer headache and dreadful twisting in his gut. He felt like his skin was too tight and he was damn sure he wasn't going through puberty again. That had been a painful week of his and his brothers' lives that was better off not reliving.
Whatever he was feeling, he decided to take a walk to escape Butch and Boomer's squabbling and maybe the activity would calm him. There was a better activity, of course, that he knew for sure would help, but that was forbidden due to the mere fact that Citiesville had outlawed superpowers. It sucked because he could really go for a good brawl.
The kind of brawl that included a dangerous game of Cat and Mouse through the skyline and involved ice and fire erupting into steam. The kind of brawl that he had given up since he moved his brothers from Townsville so they could…well, so they could maybe be normal kids. There was only so much fighting and losing, or drawing with, the Girls that he could take. As fun as it had been, eventually it got boring and tedious. Besides, he mostly did that because Mojo insisted. As much as he hated the goody-goodies, there was only so much monkey nagging he could take.
Him didn't give a shit about them anymore. Apparently they had failed one too many times for the lobster to give them more than a glance nowadays. He certainly didn't seem to care that they weren't in Townsville anymore. Not that He or Mojo had been all that good parental units, anyway.
Brick had been the one to teach his brothers, forcing stolen textbooks and workbooks into their hands. It was all he could do to get them to read and write, but at least they weren't illiterate. The few times they had been forced to go to school had led to disaster, anyways. Butch couldn't sit still and, of course, they were with the Powerpuffs so Butch had an easy target in Buttercup. So they would rile each other up and then a fight would break out and then they were expelled. Again.
Remembering that just made his headache worse.
Safe to say, the walk had not helped.
Brick rubbed his forehead, standing in the doorway of their rundown and stolen apartment, when the screams reached him. He looked over his shoulder, down the roach infested hallway, before shrugging and walking into the apartment. Screams weren't that unusual in Citiesville, after all.
The sight that greeted him was unusual.
Boomer and Butch were plastered to the window. Usually, they were spread about the living room, watching their stolen television or playing some video games. Whatever that was going on outside was way more interesting, apparently.
Brick frowned and took a step forward.
"Brick. C'mere," Boomer whispered.
The fear in his voice sent a chill down Brick's spine.
Their apartment wasn't that high, on the third floor of a tall apartment building. Most of the building was abandoned, something about the landlord falling into debt, which meant it was mostly empty. Something was passing their window, something that cast a dark shadow over everything, something that looked nothing like a blimp or giant balloon. There weren't any parades today, either. Citiesville didn't do parades.
His gut rolled. More screams filtered through the grungy glass.
Brick sped back out into the hallway before he could think, his brothers on his tail. They zoomed through the stairwell and exploded onto the roof. His eyes darted around and he felt the blood drain from his face.
Inky lily pads floated through the city, bright lights pulsing across them. They littered the city and, horrifically, things were melting from them and falling upon the people staring in awe up at them. That explained the screams, screams of fear and of pain. They moved wicked fast, almost as fast as they could move.
Boomer shoved his fist into his mouth as the things jumped onto the sides of buildings and began scaling them. People ran from their windows, but the things punched right through as if they were nothing. Some had glowing blades that looked like Boomer's bat, too.
Butch cursed and he was trembling, trembling so much that Brick grabbed his arm. Them just floating there was a violation of the law, but that wasn't why he stopped his brother. Something about those things rang alarms in his mind. Something was horribly wrong.
"Brick. What do we do?" Boomer asked.
Brick didn't look at him, too busy watching the creatures. He swallowed. His grip tightened on Butch.
They could help. They had powers, they could do something. They weren't heroes, though. Surely, the Powerpuff Girls would be here to save these people even if it wasn't their city. After all, only a bridge separated the two.
His mouth twisted.
Yeah, only a bridge. Who said that these things weren't already in Townsville?
Taking a breath, he let Butch go. His decision was made.
"Let's—"
One of those things sprung up in front of them, glowing blades clutched in its hands. All three boys froze before scattering as those blades swung down.
"What the hell! What the hell!" Butch screeched.
It lunged at him and he spun, dodging its swipe. Boomer met it with his bat, struggling with it before Butch and Brick blasted it with beams from their fists. An inhuman shriek sent another chill down Brick's spine.
The thing lunged again and Butch threw a shield up between it and them.
"What is it! What is it!?" Boomer cried and clutched onto Brick's arm.
Brick shook him off. "I don't know. Maybe Him finally decided to try invading with a demon army?"
"Why's it attacking us then!?" his youngest brother demanded.
A loud crack echoed around them.
Butch was sweating. A snarl contorted his face as he pressed his hands against the energy of his shield. A large crack ran between his palms.
"Guys!" he snapped.
Brick tensed.
The thing pulled back, sword lifted to swing again.
Heat bubbled in his throat.
"Butch, drop the shield!" he commanded and the wall disappeared.
Taking a deep breath, he lunged forward and shoved his brother down. Flames erupted from his mouth, slamming into the thing, which shrieked so shrilly his ears rung. The scent of burning flesh filled the air and it wobbled backwards, clutching its face.
Not letting it recovered, his eyebeams slammed into it and sent it over the side of the building. It writhed as it fell.
Brick grabbed his brothers' collars and shot into the air. He barely let them regain themselves before he was shooting across the city, towards the one place he had vowed not to return to. He scowled, hating the bitter taste of retreat on his tongue, but he knew when he was outclassed. These things, whatever they were, were just as powerful as they were.
As they flew, he could see some flying, some ripping doors and cars apart, some waving around those energy weapons. The lily pads floated lazily around the city, dropping more and more of those things. He had a sinking suspicion that they were witnessing an invasion, just not one of the demonic kind. If that was the case, they needed to regroup and they needed more firepower.
And that meant a truce.
"Where are we going?" Boomer finally asked, even as they neared the river.
Brick clenched his fists.
"Townsville."
If he had expected Townsville to be any better, he was proved wrong immediately.
Those lily pads floated down the streets here too. Screams and smoke filled the air. The creatures had scaled the buildings, wrecking them and outright causing mayhem, just like in Citiesville. Somehow, he knew that other cities were getting the same exact treatment. This was an invading army, meant to terrify and subdue.
Streaks of blue and green crisscrossed the city in the distance. The echoes of a sonic scream rippled around them. The wind roared occasionally as a green tornado traveled down roads. Brick led his brothers directly towards them.
The lack of pink made that dreadful feeling bubble and froth in his stomach.
"Boys," he called over the wind, "help."
He didn't need to see his brothers to know that they nodded.
The Rowdyruff Boys dived into the fight.
What felt like hours later, it had to be hours later, Brick, his brothers, and both Bubbles and Buttercup had fallen back. They had saved as many people as they could, but there were just too many of the creatures. He was refusing to call them aliens, even though that made the most sense. They weren't demons, no matter what Buttercup called them.
Currently, they were in the Utonium's living room. The Professor had startled at the sight of he and his brothers, but had ushered them in all the same.
A blue-eyed girl had jumped up from the couch and had hugged the sisters as soon as they walked in. She didn't seem deterred at all by their ragged state, but Brick didn't miss the way her eyes darted around. He knew exactly who she was looking for. His head pounded.
Currently, the three girls sat staring at a computer, watching as news scrolled across the screen. He was surprised that there even was any news, but then again, the reporters in Townsville knew no fear. Their lack of fear he had experienced plenty of times.
Brick sat on the edge of their fireplace and watched the door. His fists pressed against his lips as he wait, his stomach tightening and tightening the longer it didn't open.
His brothers had retired to their counterparts' sides, despite the hesitance on both sides. They were too tired to care about an old rivalry, anyway. He wasn't exactly the best person to be around and, besides, the girls had their only source of communication to the outside world. So they too watched the news, their faces paling at whatever they saw.
Brick couldn't spare them more than a glance before he continued his vigil.
The red door refused to open.
The sky outside of the window grew darker, redder, as the sun filtered through the smoke of the city. His leg began to bounce.
The door didn't open.
His stomach rolled.
His head pounded as he willed the door to open.
He clenched his fists tighter.
The sky grew darker. Red turned to purple to midnight blue.
Venus rose in the horizon.
His jaw hurt from him clenching his teeth.
"Where…is she?"
It hurt to move, but he did to see Bubbles staring at the door. Her eyes were haunted and she trembled.
Buttercup looked up as well. The blue-eyed girl, whose name he had missed, hugged Bubbles tightly.
"She'll be back, Bubbles," the girl murmured. "Let's…Let's sit down."
His brothers met his eyes. They looked as lost as he felt. He scowled.
Brick returned to his vigil.
At some point, the Professor made them eat. Brick didn't taste anything, too busy trying to watch the door or the windows from the kitchen. He didn't understand. Where was she? This wasn't like her. She didn't…She didn't leave her sisters like this unless she had a plan. They, like he and his brothers, were stronger together.
It wasn't like her.
Wasn't she punctual?
As soon as he was done eating, he returned to his vigil.
An hour later, a wail began.
"Wha-a-a-at are we g-g-gonna d-do?" Bubbles cried as Buttercup tried to soothe her.
The blue-eyed girl, Robin she had reintroduced herself as, rubbed her shoulders. She looked close to tears herself.
Boomer and Butch drifted closer to him. Both looked out of their depth, not that Brick was any better with crying. He didn't…do the whole soothing thing.
"Shh, shh, Bubbles. I'm sure she's okay," Buttercup murmured, but her voice was shaking. "I'm sure…she's probably just…hiding out somewhere, y'know? Strategizing!"
Bubbles' mouth trembled, but she began bawling her eyes out.
Brick rubbed his temples.
"But—! But Buttercup—! What if—! What if—!" she sobbed. "I-I-I w-want B-Blossommmm!"
He gritted his teeth.
"Pinky's too damn smart," he snapped, glaring at the door. Any moment now she would come waltzing through that door and demand to know why he was in her house. "Stop crying."
Sniffles answered him.
Any moment now…
Hiccups followed and what sounded like someone wrapping Bubbles in a hug. Buttercup made shushing noises.
Any moment…
Brick clenched his teeth. He pressed his fists to his mouth.
Any…
His stomach felt sour, like he was going to throw up the dinner he had wolfed down.
Moment…
The dreadful feeling he woke up with doubled.
Now…
.
.
Pinky, where are you?