The Toughest Fighter
Chapter 1- Ace Copular: Ex-Gorillaz
It was a rainy Friday night in Townsville, and a certain green-skinned man was in his residence, talking to an old-time friend on the phone.
"I'm sorry you couldn't stay in the band longer, mate," said hoodlum and satanist Murdoc Niccals over the phone. "But I'm sure the rest of the gang misses me."
The man on the other line gave a meaty chuckle. "Miss you? Oh, please, Muds. I actually feel sorry for them folks. Especially for that little bit, 2D. Poor little fella. Ya know, he always told me that you were a demon to him."
"Ah...well... the little punk is sensitive," stammered Murdoc. "I'm just playing around with the wimp, Ace. He'll be fine."
"Sure he will," said Ace in a sarcastic tone as he got a cigarette from out of his pocket. With his lighter, he lit the cancer stick and popped it in his mouth. "I'm sure all hell will break loose when he finds out you'll be returning back to the band."
"Whatever, mate. They'll be fine." Murdoc sighed. "Well, I've got to go, Ace. My time with you is almost up and the wardens are already given me the fuckin' stink eye. I'll be out of prison soon and then I'll mail you your paycheck. It should come in two weeks."
"Aight, Muds, that sounds great. Talk to ya later, aight? And good luck with your band in the future" Ace said as he sucked on his cigarette. When he exhaled, smoke escaped from his green lips.
A chuckle was heard from the other line. "I'll try, mate. Once again, thanks for saving my band and you will always be an honorary member of the Gorillaz."
With that being said, Murdoc hung up the phone from the other line. Ace sat back on his couch and enjoyed his cigarette. The olive green-skinned man sighed and looked at the table which had an excessive amount of unpaid bills.
"Murdoc, you cracker ass, I hope you're telling the truth about that damn paycheck," Ace muttered to himself as he started to count the bills on the table one by one.
Nine years ago, Ace D. Copular was the former leader of the Gangreen Gang and one of the notorious adversaries of the famous superhero triplets, the Powerpuff Girls. Well, that was until the Gangreen Gang was disbanded.
Ace wanted to stop his life of crime permanently and for once do something good for a living. Eight years ago, he told his gang that he wanted to be a famous musician and asked them to join him. He also told them that if they were famous, people would see the Gangreen Gang in a new light.
Ace successfully convinced his gang and they all started to buy equipment and instruments to start their new lives as musicians. However, this didn't last for very long when Grubber got an acceptance letter from a college; Lil Arturo found out that he was going to be a father; Big Billy was somehow convinced into joining another gang, and Snake started to become a drug dealer.
This made Ace upset when their lives started to go in opposite directions. He then made his final decision: to disband the Gangreen Gang for good. Ace didn't want to stop his friends from living their lives, so he let them go. And that was it; his gang was gone forever and Ace was officially alone.
Ace decided to fulfill his dream as a musician by himself. While he started to work on lyrics, he worked part-time as a bartender at a famous casino in Townsville and he even saved enough money to buy a room in a condominium. Ace was ecstatic when his long-time friend Murdoc gave him a call and offered him a position in Gorillaz while he was in prison; he happily accepted the offer. When he got to Kong Studios in New England, he was greeted by the band themselves.
Coincidentally, Ace and Murdoc both have green skin, have criminal backgrounds, and are leaders of their respective groups. The rest of the band did not trust Ace due to him being friends with Murdoc. However, they quickly grew to become good friends and they enjoyed having him around. 2-D, the keyboardist and lead singer of the band, said that Ace respected him. In an interview with Billboard Argentina, 2-D has also said that "Ace is great" and that "he made a career in showbiz by taking balls from kids and stealing their lunch money". 2-D also said that Ace once stole a toaster from him and sold it to Russel, the drummer of the band, for $5, who then sold it back to 2-D for $10. In a FreeMurdoc chat, Noodle, the songwriter and guitarist, described Ace as "A bit clingy, but he's got a good heart." Even though his fellow band members said he was good as gold, Ace still kept his mischievous side, which was shown in a music video called Humility.
When Murdoc told him that he was going to be released from prison soon, he was both happy and a little sad; he was happy that his friend was being released, but sad since he won't stay in the band for as long as he thought. When he told 2D, Russel, and Noodle, they all had mixed feelings, except for 2D, who was just completely devastated.
When he moved back to Townsville, he was greeted by thousands of fans. Reporters followed him non-stop and he couldn't go anywhere without signing an autograph. Ace was annoyed at the constant fans following him and taking pictures of him. To keep a low profile, he continued to stay in his condominium and decided to work at home as a musical artist and post his works on social media. He made a salary on the internet and he also had paychecks mailed to him from being the temporary replacement bassist for Gorillaz.
He missed his old gang and wished them the best before he sent them off. He did get a few calls from Grubber and Lil Arturo about how they were doing in their lives. Grubber told Ace that he was made valedictorian and Lil Arturo sent a picture of his newborn daughter to Ace. Unfortunately, he never got any calls from Snake or Big Billy.
Ace finally made out the number of bills: twenty-eight.
"Damn!" Ace hissed as he took his cigarette from out of his mouth and stubbed it in a nearby ashtray. "I'm in a lot of trouble."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"What the fuck?" Ace muttered to himself as he lowered his shades. Someone was banging on his door. "Who the hell is tha-?"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Aight, that's it!" Ace then got up from his couch and started to speed walk towards the front door; he was starting to lose his temper.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"AY! WHO THE HELL IS BANGING ON MY DAMN DOOR LIKE THEY SOME DAMN POLICEMAN, HUH?!" Ace yelled before reaching the front opening the door to his humble abode. His eyes widened with shock as a familiar face showed up at his front door.
A teenage girl with green eyes and a hoodie looked up at the man with a smirk. Ace still kept his surprised expression as he stared at the girl.
"Buttercup?!" asked Ace as he lowered his shades to get a better look at the teenage Powerpuff. "Is that you?!"
The Powerpuff girl let out a giggle. "...Surprise."
The tomboy has changed a little over the years. The now fourteen-year-old Powerpuff developed B-cup breasts, small curves, and stood at 5'3. She still had her short black hair and she wore a black, round, stud earring on her right ear. When she approached the adult, she was wearing a green hoodie that was soaked from the rain and she wore the hood to protect her hair from the rain.
"W..wow, you look great!" Ace stuttered. "Like...really good. Seriously, you've grown, girl. When was the last time we saw each other in person?"
Buttercup playfully scratched her chin. "Hmmm...I dunno, dude. It's been a while." She then chuckled. "You look good yourself. You're looking ripped. Back then, you had those scrawny arms and you looked like a wimp. But now, you've got a gun show going on."
The man just cackled as he pushed his sunglasses up to his face again. "Hey, come on in, kid! I want to know more about you."
With that being said, Ace let Buttercup into his room. The green Powerpuff looked around and saw a lot of things that piqued her interest. There were posters on famous bands that she liked (including the Gorillaz); a pool table and poker table; a vending machine; an arcade gaming system; a shuffleboard; a dartboard pool cue rack and much more. He had a WHOLE mancave to himself.
Buttercup took a seat couch and Ace took a seat on the sofa across from her. When they took their seats, there was an awkward silence between the adult and the teen.
Ace decided to break the silence and cleared his throat. "So...what's happening, Buttercup."
The teen smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. "You know, just a monotonous life of fighting crime and monsters 24/7." Her small smile turned into a smirk. "What's been going on with you, ex-Gorillaz?"
The adult returned the smirk. "Ah...so you heard I was on the Gorillaz, huh?"
The green Powerpuff nodded her head "yes" in response. "Everybody knew, dude. My sisters and I were speechless when you were on Gorillaz. One of our biggest adversaries was in a popular band. I see you, Ace. Killing it with that bass."
"Oh...you betta stop it, girl," said the green-skinned man. "Speaking of your sistas, how are they doing?"
"They're doing fine," she answered. Her lips then curved into a frown. Blossom and I haven't been getting along lately and Bubbles or the professor were always the ones who break up our fights."
"You two fight a lot, don't ya?"
Buttercup hung her head and rested her head in her hands. "Sometimes, I can't stand that ginger bitch with her stupid bow and her dogmatic leadership; can you believe that she still wears that damn bow. It's sad that Bubbles or our dad has to put an end to our fights."
Ace looked at the green Powerpuff with pity. "That is sad, lil' britches. Siblings do fight sometimes, and in the end, we sometimes never know why. I never had any brothas and sistas so I can't relate. Well...my old gang and the band members in the Gorillaz were the only people that I thought were always family to me."
Buttercup's eyes settled on Ace. "I'm sure you had fun in that band, didn't you?"
Ace chuckled and then scratched the back of his head. "Not at first, since the band didn't trust me 'cause I was a criminal and I was friends with Murdoc. The cracker-ass told me that I had to make a good impression 'cause he knew that his band wouldn't like me at first. I had to show them that I was a good person most of the time. I still love to cause a little mischief every now and then."
Ace smirked at Buttercup in that last sentence. His smirk quickly disappeared when the superheroine gave a nonchalant look in return.
The Powerpuff girl cocked an eyebrow before speaking. " I guess old habits are hard to break, huh?"
Ace shrugged his arms in response. "Sometimes, lil' britches. You know, it was kind of hard to stop villany for good. I wanted people to see the Gangreen Gang in a new light for once. That's why I started to do music in the first place. Not do anything stupid like bully the kids at your kindergarten…"
"Okay, Ace…" Buttercup started but Ace went on about his numerous wrongdoings.
"Or steal precious artifacts for some hot chick with some fine ass thighs, who only betrayed me in the end…"
"Okay, dude, I knew that…" said Buttercup as she started to get irritated.
"Or use you so I could kill ya sistas-"
"Okay, dude! Seriously, shut up!" Buttercup snapped as anger traveled through her. Her expression softened when she looked away from Ace. "Just please, shut up."
Ace was taken by surprise when the green Powerpuff snapped; he hadn't seen the Buttercup snap like that in years. Ace always knew that Buttercup was not the one if you pushed her buttons. The man frowned as he looked at Buttercup, even if she didn't look at him in return. He didn't mean to make the young teen upset and he knew the bad deeds he did were things he was not proud of.
After a moment of silence, Ace finally spoke as he kept his eyes on Buttercup. "Look, I know I haven't been the best person in the past and me and my gang did some things that were not right. But I wanna change that, Buttercup. I wanna change and I want to forget the bad things that the gang and I did. So...please, Buttercup. Can you please give me a chance to see that I'm reformed?"
Buttercup sighed and finally turned her head to face Ace, who gave her a small smile in return. The young teen couldn't help but return the smile.
She sighed before speaking. "...Well...okay."
Ace's fangs were shown as he grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks, lil' bit. You a'ight."
"You're not bad yourself," said Buttercup with a smile. Her eyes then looked around the room and smiled when something piqued her interest. In a flash of green, the Powerpuff quickly flew towards the bass and picked it up. "Hey, is this the bass that you played in Gorillaz?"
The ex-villain chuckled and nodded his head "yes." "That's right, Cuppa."
Buttercup's face then flushed in embarrassment. She quickly placed the bass back in its bass holder. "Um...heh...I forgot to ask...mind if I touch it?"
Ace sat back in his chair and waved his hand in the air. "Sure, girl, sure. Just try not to break it."
Buttercup smiled at him and immediately held Ace's bass once again. She quickly sat back on the sofa, wore the strap that was attached to the instrument, and held the bass properly. Ace watched as the teen started to strum the strings of the bass with her hands. He then smiled when Buttercup started to play a small tune. When she was done, she was immediately applauded by Ace. The teen couldn't help but stand up from the couch and take a bow.
Ace then got a rose from a nearby vase and tossed it at Buttercup. He whistled and then clapped some more as the green Powerpuff's face flushed red.
"Wow, lil' bit! I didn't know you could play" said Ace as he watched Buttercup undo the strap that was attached to the instrument and place it back into the bass holder.
"Yeah, I do. Well, I used to play" said Buttercup as she sat back on the couch. Her happy expression turned into a sad one. "You know, when the girls and I were eleven-years-old, we used to make our own little band; the professor and Bubbles' stuffed animals were our audience. Ribbon Head was the lead singer and guitarist; Bubs was the drummer; and I was the bassist."
"Ah, so y'all did your own little thing, huh Cuppa?" asked Ace with a sly smirk."No one knew y'all had your own little band?"
The green Powerpuff slowly shook her head "no." "Everybody knew we were superheroes, so why should they know that we were a band."
"We're y'all good?"
"Oh, we were the best, dude!" said Buttercup with more enthusiasm. "We wanted our band to be a secret. The only people that knew were the professor and our close friend, Robin."
"Robin?"
"Yeah, she's our next door neighbor," Buttercup replied. "She was everyone's best friend and she was kinda like another sister to us. She's still our friend right now."
Ace smiled and watched the teen pick up the rose that he tossed at her. "Well, I'm glad that you and your sistas had fun during your younger years."
"Thanks, man" Buttercup then looked down as she fiddled with the petals on the rose. "I sometimes want to bring those good times bac-"
Buttercup was interrupted when a loud ring that was similar to the hotline at home came from her pocket. The teen quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket as it vibrated in her hand. Her face turned worried as she answered the phone.
"What's up, Miss Mayor?!" asked the superhero as she got up from the couch and started to head towards the front door. Ace got up from the sofa he was sitting on and started to follow Buttercup.
"Mojo is causing trouble near Pokey Oaks! Alright, Mayor….You called my sisters too! Alright cool!...I'll be there!"
Buttercup then hung up her phone and shoved it back in her pocket. She gave Ace a small smile. "I'm sorry that our reunion was cut short, but Mayor Bellum said that Mojo was causing trouble again. And I-"
"Hey, kid, go ahead!" said Ace as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You go out and stop that crazy ass chimp. If ya need me, ya know where to find me."
The green Powerpuff gave Ace a smirk before opening the front door. She then wore her hood before taking off into the rainy, night sky in a flash of green. Ace lit a cigarette and popped it in his mouth as he watched Buttercup's green streak light up the sky.
"Man…" started Ace as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew out some smoke. "...that kid is fuckin' miserable."