Hey, guys!

As promised, I'm back from my hiatus. Was a bit longer than anticipated but it should be a pretty regular update schedule going forward.

Anyway, we last left off the boys finally having some true bonding even if it took a pretty fucked up situation to do it.

Let's see how things play out further.

Edit: Fuck I posted a chapter of my Star Wars story instead of the Powerpuff Girls. So sorry guys XD Fixed it up

Act 1 Part 9- Bubbly

Once upon a time, the Rowdyruff Boys took great delight in committing petty crimes: vandalism, theft, basically doing whatever they wanted because let's face it, who could stop them apart from their rival counterparts?

Now, stealing and plundering wasn't for shits and giggles, it was a necessity. Powers or no powers, the boys were limited by the same basic human constraints as everyone else: shelter, water, and food. Especially food. Their metabolisms worked twice as fast due to Chemical X and staying well fed meant one needed twice the amount of nourishment someone their age normally consumed.

As the summer turned to fall, the Rowdies scoured the town for a proper hideout. Years of moving in between places left them yearning for something more permanent. Of course, even when they did find something habitable, they couldn't stay for very long lest the Powerpuff Girls find out their location and attempt to bring them in. Brick even set a cycle for them based off his own calculations of when they left a certain area. It was actually quite ingenious. Instead of becoming an obvious target for the girls, they did their crimes of necessity quick and easy. No messing around, no threats. Smash and grab was the name of the game.

Of course, this also had its disadvantages when moving around so much. You had to scout out new places to rob. And it was impossible to buy anything with real money when pretty much every business had blacklisted your name.

For Boomer, this new life had its ups and downs. Brick was still sullen and short tempered, but he had ceased any form of hitting or unnecessary cruelty, coordinating their efforts as a team. A big brother who truly looked out for his younger siblings.

But the flip side of that coin was quite grim. Their little stunt posing as the Powerpuff Girls had made them public enemy number one in the eyes of the public. If they didn't carry the ability to reduce people to ashes, they'd have had every cop chasing after them. Being immune to physical damage or bullets, however, didn't make him immune to the insults and sneers tossed their way.

Rotten!

Filthy brats!

Monkey spawn!

Boomer kept a brave face and his temper in check. Brick declared they were laying low for a while. The only crimes to be committed were in the name of food and a few personal items here and there. But he always heard them...the people who hated their guts and saw them as little more than vicious trouble makers hellbent on destroying everything in their path.

Well they aren't totally wrong...how are they supposed to know we're just stealing what we need?

Whatever. He'd lived on the streets pretty much his entire life. You got used to it after a time. A person had to take what they needed, no matter what people thought.

Even if it hurt.

"Yo, Boomer."

He peered up from the Batman comic book nestled in between his legs. They were currently staying in an abandoned Navy Yard which had ceased operations after the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Much of the structure remained unattended, rusting away into memory. But hey, no one bothered to remove the cots.

"What's up?"

"It's your turn to get dinner.."

Drat. Another smash and grab. Another evening of all those terrified, loathing faces looking down on him.

"Ok. What do you guys want?"

Brick gave an indifferent shrug as he plopped down on his own cot, a Superman comic being his choice of literature.

"Eh, up to you."

"You're going to let Boom decide?" Butch asked with a snicker. "Knowing him he'll probably bring back a bunch of rocks he thought were potatoes.

"Hey!"

"That still beats the time you brought us back expired yogurt and canned beets."

It was Boomer's turn to snicker as Butch scoffed and gave a middle finger.

"At least I don't read superhero comic books. We're bad guys, remember?"

"So why do you keep all the latest Green Lantern issues underneath your pillow?"

Brick gave an amused chuckle as he flipped a page.

"Shut up, he's the only one I like, okay? He's green and he can produce shields. I can relate to it."

"Whatever you say."

It did bring up an important question. Why did they like superheroes? By all accounts they should have preferred reading stories about villains and people similar to them. But for some reason, whenever Boomer decided to snatch a comic book, he was always drawn to the good guys. Something about the action, the heroics, the willingness to defend people that couldn't defend themselves...he understood a little better why Brick wanted to pretend to be the Powerpuff Girls. Even if he'd never admit it.

It felt much better to be loved than to be feared.

"Green Lantern is still cooler than Batman, numbnuts."

"Yeah, in opposite world."

"Enough," Brick cut in firmly. "Butch, quit pretending you don't read superhero comics. Boom, time for dinner. There's a mall ten minutes from here you can fly to. Chop, chop."

The blond wasted no more time. A blue streak later and he was off to the races.

Maybe they could go for hot wings? Brick liked spicy food after all.

This would be a cinch.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

Pulling up a blue hoodie he'd stolen from a Nike shop a couple weeks prior, he figured it was good enough of a disguise not to set off any alarms before he entered whatever restaurant he planned to steal from.

First he would have to find the restaurant though. Boomer chastised himself for having no sense of direction. He'd walked into Macy's probably half an hour ago and still couldn't find his way out into the actual food court. This place was friggin huge! Three floors full of clothes! Who cared about clothes anyway? No one needed that much stuff anyway.

Even worse, he found himself in a part of the store that was very pink and very feminine looking.

Yuck. The girls section

It was kind of freaky to see just how much glitter could be crammed into one setting. There were numerous dresses, shoes, skirts, leggings, jeans, bags with more glitter, and unicorn themed pillows. Seriously, did everything need to be so sparkly and pastel?

Boomer was the embodiment of the color blue and everything little boys enjoyed. All of them were. To say a place like this made him uncomfortable was an understatement. He couldn't deny feeling a sense of enjoyment wearing that dress. He often wondered how the Puffs fought in them all the time but no self respecting boy wore or admitted to enjoying a dress. I mean, he still preferred pants of course.

Focus, Boomer

Right, time to get food for dinner. His stomach began growling as a reminder of just how hungry he was. Brick would get seriously pissed if a meal wasn't fresh in front of them. Butch ate like a fiend and would probably complain if he didn't get at least two servings of whatever he brought them. But how to get out of this accursed place with all its perfumes and weird people asking if he wanted samples of whatever tiny boxes they were selling.

Then again, he'd never been in a mall before. It seemed like an endless maze.

He was half tempted to blast his way out or break through the roof, but Brick had said numerous times to minimize damage to property when going out for a run. And causing drywall damage would certainly violate that directive. However, asking someone for directions was also out of the question as the minute they saw his face, the Powerpuff Girls would be called and he'd be facing down all three at once.

No, he did not want a repeat of that scenario remembering all too well what happened last time.

At the very least, he could get out of the girls section and maybe try to find…

"Lalalalalalala…"

Oh, no. It couldn't be. That voice, that singing.

"Heehee...doodooodooodoooo…"

Bubbles? What's she doing here?

There she was. Blonde hair tied in those usual pigtails, practically skipping with joy without a care in the world. Boomer dove into one of the circular coat rack displays to avoid being seen as she approached. He just hoped that the fur would be enough to hide the entirety of his body. Thank God they were blue in color. The last thing he wanted was his eardrums being ruptured.

"Lalalala...oooo what do we have here?"

Boomer swallowed nervously as he saw those shiny, black Mary Janes stop in front of the exact coat rack he currently hid in. Part of himself felt ashamed. He was a Rowdyruff Boy! No Rowdyruff Boy got scared! Especially from a girl!

Nevertheless, he stayed silent as she began rummaging through the coats, flipping through them one by one.

Crap! She's going to find out I'm here! Then what?

Slowly but surely, her search edged closer and closer to him and Boomer started charging up his electrical powers just in case…

"OW!"

Perhaps a bit too soon. He almost decided to throw the gloves off right then and there, but thankfully Bubbles didn't take heed of the shock.

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily as she pulled one of the coats off the rack. "The last one!"

Soon, those Mary Janes began to skip away once more. Boomer breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Maybe now he could actually find a way out of this place…

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Alas, maybe not. Peeling underneath the rack, another set of shiny black shoes stopped right in front of Bubbles. About six shopping bags were interlaced between her arms, defying physical odds.

"What do you want, Princess?"

Princess? As in Princess Morbucks? The one who tried to force herself into their group and then teamed up with the girls to defeat them?

"You know perfectly well what I want, Powerpuff."

He recognized that shrill, spoiled voice anywhere. Only Morbucks could have made the name 'Powerpuff' sound like an insult.

"If you're talking about this beautiful coat made from Carters, too bad. I already found it first."

Boomer didn't need to be a genius to know that someone like Princess wouldn't back down without a fight.

"It's the last one in stock," Bubbles continued. "I found it fair and square."

"Fair, schmair. Everyone knows Carters is the best. I'm not taking no for an answer!"

"No."

Bubbles' defiance sparked a degree of admiration. The Powerpuff may have been annoying. But certainly not as annoying as someone like Princess.

"Hand it over you stupid little bimbo! Before I make you!"

"I'm not handing over anything, Princess!"

"Do it or else!"

"Or else what?"

By this time, Boomer was so intrigued by the fight he raised himself over the rack to see what was going on for himself. Sure enough, the two girls were in a standoff. Morbucks had her usual horrid combination of purple and yellow, those infamous curls as obnoxious as ever. She also had a strange looking orange gun.

"Bullets don't harm us, remember?" Bubbles reminded her.

"What makes you think this fires bullets, hmm?" Princess shot back, an evil sneer slowly stretching across her face.

"I'm not afraid of you, Princess. I'll kick your hiney either way."

"Except you won't be able to without your superpowers."

The horrible realization dawned on the blue Puff which only seemed to encourage Princess as she stepped forward ominously, gun aimed directly at her chest.

"But...but…"

"That's right. Loaded in this little baby of mine is 'Antidote X'. Luckily, that monkey left his notes lying around. And I've got an entire supply."

Antidote X? What the heck was that?

"One zap of this and your powers go 'bye-bye'. And without your sisters to back you up, I think we all know who'd win that fight. So, I won't ask again. Hand over the coat, or else!"

The punctuated screech almost made Boomer cover his ears. What was it with girls and screaming? He noticed that Bubbles looked quite frightened but nevertheless stood firm, not backing down for one second. The surge of admiration became even stronger but it left the Rowdyruff confused. This didn't make sense. He was a bad guy and she was a good guy...girl. Shouldn't he be rooting for the villain?

But he never rooted for the villain. Not in the comics, not now.

What happened next felt almost instinctual. Princess prepared to fire her devastating dose when the gun suddenly exploded in her hand.

"ACK! What the-"

She looked up and saw a blue eyed, blond haired boy, pupils still red from the fresh use of heat vision.

"YOU!"

Bubbles' jaw nearly dropped upon seeing Boomer standing in the middle of a coat rack. More amazing still, he'd gone out of his way to help her...of his own volition.

"Boomer?"

"You idiot! What do you think you're doing?"

Boomer gave a half hearted shrug as he emerged from his previous hiding spot.

"You were gonna shoot her. That's not nice," he said somewhat lamely.

"Hello?! She's a Powerpuff Girl! And you're a Rowdyruff Boy! You're supposed to be helping me and kicking her butt!"

The blond narrowed his eyes. As annoying as Princess was the last time, something about that shrill voice and red puffballs rubbed him the wrong way. He disliked her more and more with each passing second.

"Guess I didn't feel like it."

Her face turned an ominous shade of magenta as the spoiled brat was on the verge of explosion.

"THAT WAS MY COAT!"

"No, it's not. She saw it first. I was there. You tried to take it from her."

"IT'S MINE! Whatever I see is mine! And if I don't get it I'm going to call my daddy and sue the pants off of you! Do you hear me?!"

Boomer couldn't help but smirk at the outburst. He wasn't the brightest bulb on the porch, yet even he could detect desperation.

"I ain't afraid of your daddy. And I ain't afraid of you. Now beat it. Unless you wanna get...rowdy."

Electricity began pulsing through his fingertips and crackled ominously in front of Princess, who began to back down. She may have been rotten, but not stupid.

"This isn't over, punk! I'll get you and your brothers! I'll get you all! GUARANTEED!"

She ran off in a huff while Boomer crossed his arms triumphantly. Screw her. Money meant jack shit if you couldn't back it up.

He was so pleased with himself he almost failed to notice Bubbles reaction, her baby blue eyes were so wide they almost looked like flying saucers with sapphires.

"Um…hi."

"Boomer, you...you stood up for me."

Realizing the implication of assisting a Powerpuff Girl, their sworn rivals, the blond attempted to backtrack but it was no use, no masking the intent of his good deed.

"Well..I...uhm...you did see it first. And Princess...I don't like her at all," he said trying to piece together a coherent sentence.

He was terrible at this. Conflicting thoughts entered his head as the images of his disapproving brothers bore down on him.

She's our enemy, you idiot!

Jesus, what a sissy!

"Are you going to try and beat me up?" he suddenly blurted out.

Bubbles looked as though she'd never heard of such a ludicrous question.

"Why would I do that?"

"Well I mean...that's what we usually do every time we see each other."

A beaming smile spread across the blonde hero's face and those blue eyes began to sparkle. Why did it suddenly make him feel funny?

"Teehee, no silly. I'm not gonna hurt you. But what were you doing in the girls' aisle?"

Boomer couldn't prevent his face from flushing red. He didn't want to admit the true reason he got stuck in such a feminine place. Nor what he was really after.

Unfortunately, his stomach gave it all away as it groaned loudly.

"Your tummy is all rumbly," Bubbles observed. "Then that means you wanted food."

"Yeah."

"And you were going to-"

"Steal it? Yeah. I uh...also couldn't find my way out of the store."

Why would you admit that, moron?

Well, it's not like she didn't already know they were criminals. Boomer prepared himself for another throwdown, a scream, heat vision, a punch...and for the inevitable scolding from Brick when he came back empty handed.

But nothing happened. Instead Bubbles giggled once more and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, I know a place where we can get some food."

Boomer allowed himself to be dragged away by his counterpart, half intrigued, half mortified. He vowed to keep silent about this entire event.

Brick and Butch wouldn't believe him anyway.

"I never knew this place existed."

"Really? Well you do now."

Bubbles gave a happy little smile as they were seated in a Mexican themed restaurant called 'Juanitos'. Boomer took in the atmosphere, which was friendly, bright, and had soft, latin music playing in the background. A bar area encircled the front area but plenty of tables and booths aligned the sides. He took it all in with a bit of awe. This was the first time he'd been in a place without stealing, setting it on fire, or causing general havoc. Sometimes all three.

"Oh, Bubbles! So nice to see you!" one of the waiters came by, he was a young man in his early thirties with a buzzcut, jet black hair and an olive complexion. His face was naturally amenable and he sported a pearly, white grin.

"Hello, Gabriel!" she said brightly.

"Our favorite customer returns and-" Gabriel paused and looked apprehensively at Boomer, backing away nervously. "Um, Bubbles, you do know one of the Rowdyruff Boys is with you."

"I know."

"Um well should I call the police or-"

"Don't worry," she said with a reassuring smile. "He's with me."

"Um...alright then. Do you know what you'll have?"

"I'll have an extra large Juanito's Burrito! In fact, make that two."

Gabriel, still a bit skeptical that Boomer intended no harm, quickly jotted down the orders. "To drink?"

"I'll have a Sprite! What about you Boomer?"

"Uh, coke. I guess?"

Once the waiter had left, the blond felt a sense of awkwardness at living, drinking, and eating at the same table as a stinking Powerpuff Girl. But clearly, Bubbles did not feel the same way. On the contrary, she was beaming at him so brightly Boomer wondered if she might be descended from the sun god...or whichever god was the sun god...he couldn't remember properly. Maybe Brick would know.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked without warning.

She cocked her head to the side as though he'd said something mildly interesting.

"What do you mean?"

"We're enemies!" he practically shouted. "We have been for years. You're good, I'm bad. That's how it works, right?"

Still no angry or 'hardcore' response. Instead Bubbles' cheerfulness and good nature shone through once more.

"Don't believe what Princess said. I don't think you're bad."

Boomer blinked stupidly before responding.

"You...you don't?"

"Nope. Anyone who does what you did back there can't be evil," she answered with a bounce in her pigtails.

Boomer thought about it for a second, trying to make sense of her words. Weren't the Rowdyruff Boys evil? After all that's what Mojo said. Even if the monkey wasn't around anymore.

"But we steal, we blow up stuff, we tried to steal your identity and everything. How could you not think we're evil?"

Bubbles shrugged, her upbeat attitude fully intact.

"I don't like the things you do. And you guys can be meanies sometimes. But you're not evil."

Her posture shifted as did her expression which became questioning.

"Do you guys steal all the time?"

"Well, yeah. It's sort of our thing."

"No, I meant...so your tummies won't hurt," she clarified.

She's asking if you go hungry

When it occurred to Boomer what she was getting at, he felt surprised at the question. What did she care? Bubbles Utonium had the perfect life alongside her sisters: popular, adored, rich, pretty…

Wait, did I just think 'pretty'

"I mean, yeah. We have to eat to survive."

"That's really sad."

Those bright blue eyes suddenly looked very watery as though she could not fathom the idea of anyone going hungry on a daily basis.

"It's fine," Boomer said, trying to play it off as though it were no big deal. "We deal with stuff like that all the time. I'm used to it."

But Bubbles did not seem to accept this as her jaw became set and her lips pressed together into a thin line.

"Gabriel? Ven aquí, por favor?"

The young man returned drinks in hand and spoke back in Spanish.

"Si, Bubbles? ¿Qué puedo hacer?"

"Podrias hacer cinco burritos más para sus hermanos?"

"Por supuesto."

"Ponlo en nuestra cuenta. Gracias."

"Si, muy bien."

Boomer, of course, had no earthly idea what they were saying and didn't know one lick of Spanish.

"What did you ask him?" he asked curiously.

"It's a surprise," she responded with a wink. He decided not to press the matter and be grateful Bubbles was treating him to a meal.

"I didn't know you knew Spanish."

"Yup!" she said brightly. "I also know French, Italian, German, Chinese, Russina, Portuguese…most languages actually. Except pig latin. I don't think that's a real language...pigs can't talk. Except to me of course."

"That's...cool," he said, unable to come up with another adjective. "How do you do it?"

"It's one of my special abilities," she explained. "I can also talk to animals which is super neato!"

Boomer nodded absentmindedly as he sipped his soda. Holy crap what couldn't this girl do?

"What about you? Any special powers?"

"Uhh..well I can make a bat out of electricity. You've seen it plenty of times."

"Of course, but what else?"

Was Bubbles really talking to him as though he were a casual friend? Brick would have chided him for trusting a rival so easily. Butch would have called him a sissy. But he couldn't help but trust the blonde girl in front of him. Her demeanor made it so easy to just sit back and be open about anything.

"Not really," he said with a shrug.

"Aw, come on. I bet you got plenty of special abilities!"

And so they talked. For over an hour actually. At first Boomer didn't have much to say but found his hesitation steadily eroded over time as she continued to ask questions. Before long, he too began asking questions in return. He learned that Bubbles did ballet, desired to do horseback riding, just began playing tennis, once brought a baby whale home for a pet, and a favorite stuffed Octopus she lovingly referred to as 'Octi.' The food was so mouth watering he practically devoured it. She even laughed at the belch afterwards!

Never once in a million years did Boomer ever think he'd get along with a Powerpuff Girl. Yet here he was in a Mexican restaurant chatting away like they'd known each other for years. But nothing could have prepared himself for what happened next.

"Here you are. Five more burritos wrapped and ready to go."

Gabriel plopped down the delectable cuisine on the table causing the blond boy to scratch his head in confusion. They hadn't ordered more food.

"Thank you, Gabriel. Put it on our account."

She handed him a blue piece of plastic and Boomer suddenly realized what she was doing.

"Wait...are those-"

"For your brothers, silly," she affirmed with an adorable nod of her head.

"But-"

"It's on us," she said kindly. "Two years ago, the city started giving us special favors in return for helping the city. I don't remember what it's called, Blossom would know, but basically it covers most of our expenses."

Boomer couldn't believe his ears. The city actually paid them to be superheroes?

"And your dad allows you to buy anything you want?"

"Well not everything we want," she said with a small giggle. "But once a month he allows us to get something special. That's why I was getting that coat. Also I really like fashion!"

"You won't get in trouble for this meal?"

"Nah, I'll explain it to him as soon as I get back. He'll be okay with it."

Somehow, Boomer didn't think it was that simple. Who approved of using taxpayer money to buy food for the very people who caused the damage in the first place? He looked hungrily at the plastic bag containing the very food his brothers asked him to get. There wasn't even a need to steal it! It was right there for the taking. A free meal. And yet, he didn't know if he could accept such a kind gesture.

Bubbles seemed to sense his hesitation as she pushed it forward.

"Take it, Boomer. Please...I don't want your brothers to starve."

He couldn't resist that puppy dog look that made his stomach do a backflip.

"Okay."

"Great! I hope Brick and Butch like Mexican food! I'm sure they'll love it," she said cheerfully. Honestly, it was amazing just how positive about everything she could be.

Both blondes seemed to realize simultaneously that their time together was coming to an end as Gabriel returned the credit card and with it a sense of awkwardness. For a short hour in their lives, they had not behaved as mortal enemies ready to do combat, but as friends. As people.

Boomer wasn't entirely convinced she would let him go but those anxieties were laid to rest when she lightly tapped his arm and gave a smile.

"Good luck. I'm sure your brothers are waiting for you just like my sisters."

"Err...yeah...you're still not going to beat me up, right?"

Bubbles giggled again and there was that increasingly familiar backflip. Somehow, he knew it wasn't the Mexican food at fault.

"Boomer, I'm a superhero. I wouldn't buy someone dinner and then throw them in jail."

"Well...awesome."

There was another awkward pause as Boomer felt himself flush red. God, why was he going red? It wasn't like this actually mattered. Soon they'd just go back to hating each other. Hero vs villain. All that typical stuff.

Except he didn't hate her. And he didn't feel much like a villain. Not really.

"I'll see you soon," she said. It wasn't lost on him that she had also gone pink. The heck was going on here?

"Yeah...see ya."

Boomer wasted no time in grabbing the food and flying out of the restaurant. He couldn't help but look back one last time. Bubbles gave him a little wave from the window, which was returned promptly.

Maybe the Powerpuff Girls weren't so bad. Well...Bubbles anyway. He doubted Buttercup or Blossom carried the same kind of innate kindness or sympathy. One thing was for certain, however.

His older brothers would never know about what happened today.

"Jesus, there you are! What took you so long? We were just about to make sure you didn't accidentally get lost," Butch called out to him upon his return with a Hyena like laugh. Both his older brothers were sitting in awkward positions of boredom within the abandoned barracks.

Boomer quickly dropped off the food and handed it out. Brick hadn't said anything but he knew a reprimand was in order. Hanging upside down from one of the bunks, he adjusted his cap and plopped down on the ground.

"For real, Boom. Don't dilly dally like that next time. What is this anyway?" he asked, taking the wrapped burrito.

"Got it from a place called Juanitos. Mexican."

"Aww sweet!" Butch called out triumphantly as he began mawing on the burrito. "Dude what a score! Fanks, Boom!"

"You even got us two a piece," Brick observed as he too began unwrapping the paper. "Good thinking."

"Yeah, figured we could use the extra grub."

Butch happily munched away but there was a suspicious look in the redhead's eye as he studied his younger brother up and down.

"These are all wrapped too. Quite neatly."

It wasn't accusatory or even a question but Boomer could hear Brick's skepticism and moved quickly to dispel it.

"I just snatched it off the counter when no one was looking."

"Right. And how come that took over two hours?"

Boomer looked away, unable to meet Brick's gaze.

"Well uh...I sort of got lost."

Technically that wasn't untrue. He did get lost inside the Macys.

"Haff! Boomer got lost infide a deparman sore!" Butch mocked through a full mouth of rice and beans.

"Swallow, you moron," Brick snapped. "Or have you forgotten that you can't chew and talk at the same time?"

Boomer gave an inward sigh of relief as his older brother seemed to accept his explanation, though perhaps not whole heartedly.

"Just be a bit quicker next time," he said. "Remember we're trying to keep a low profile right now."

"You got it, bro."

They ate in silence, with even Butch too immersed in the delicious Mexican cuisine to make any more jokes. Boomer was grateful.

He was far too embarrassed and far too fearful to tell anyone the truth. The wondrous and horrifying feeling that Bubbles Utonium was one of the most amazing people he'd ever met.

"Jesus, there you are! What took you so long?"

Typical Buttercup response. Of course, Bubbles took it all in stride but sometimes her older sister could be overly harsh without knowing. She shut the door behind her and made for the upstairs, coat in hand but was stopped.

"I uh well…"

"Alright, Bubbles. What happened?"

Crap! She did not like that tone Sissy just used. It meant she was about to be interrogated.

Blossom got off the couch and bookmarked the novel she was reading before entering the kitchen, arms crossed, that hooked eyebrow raised. Buttercup too gave an intense glare.

"Um..nothing," she offered weakly.

"You were gone for two hours," Buttercup said to her. "It doesn't take long to buy a coat."

"Not to mention you smell like a burrito," Blossom added, taking a sniff. "Did you eat while you were there?"

"Uh...yes...no...maybe."

Both sisters looked at each other. Bubbles was a terrible liar and it showed.

"Out with it, Bubbles. Before we tell the Professor."

"It wasn't my fault! I was just going to buy the coat but then Princess showed up-"

"Princess?" Blossom asked, clear worry on her face. "Bubbles, why didn't you call us?"

"There was no time-"

"You know she still has it out for us!" Buttercup said growing more frustrated by the second.

"And that still doesn't explain the Mexican food."

"But I...I…"

"Girls?"

Speak of the devil. Saved by the Professor. Bubbles blew a sigh of relief.

"What's going on?"

"Professor," Blossom said promptly and with a degree of pompous authority. "Bubbles just came back from the store but it's been two hours and-"

He held up a hand to stop her.

"Yes, I am aware that she is past her time. But I will be doing the questioning here. Bubbles, will you come with me?"

"Yes, Professor."

She walked behind him as he led the way back to his back office, unable to resist giving her sisters a parting raspberry. Honestly, why did Sissy have to be such a tattle tale. She wasn't a baby! She could look out for herself!

Upon closing the door to the study, the Professor gestured for her to take one of the two chairs by the computer. It was a bit of a mess as the smartest man in Townsville often struggled with organization and keeping track of every idea that came to mind. However, when it came to finances and his daughters, there was no man more suited for either task.

"Professor I-"

"You're not in trouble," he quickly cut off. "I didn't need your sisters to know that you arrived late and also purchased about a hundred dollars worth of food from Juanitos."

Bubbles looked at the computer screen and sure enough a record of every purchase they used with their city assigned credit card was on display even if she didn't quite understand all the numbers and figures.

"Oh."

"I wanted to give you a chance to explain yourself free from Blossom or Buttercup," he continued with sternness yet patience. She knew that tone and knew that he wasn't upset. If nothing else, her father was a fair man. But how would she explain everything that happened?

"Well you see. I did get the coat like you said I could. But Princess Morbucks also wanted the same coat. She threatened me when I didn't hand it over. It was a gun...full of Antidote X."

The Professor's expression changed to one of grave seriousness as he made a special note in one of his databases. That needed to be dealt with later.

"Continue, Bubbles."

"Right so, um, I managed to fight her off for the coat, but then there was this boy…"

"A boy?"

"Yeah umm...he was homeless and didn't have any money to buy food. I couldn't just let him go hungry."

The stern, curious gaze turned to one of soft sympathy. Robert Utonium loved all of his girls equally of course, but the empathy and natural kindness exuded by his youngest often moved him to tears. But underneath this admiration was also a layer of suspicion. When Bubbles failed to look you in the eye it meant she was attempting to hide something.

"I understand, sweetheart. I would ask that you talk to me first in the future before buying anything for those less fortunate. We just can't take the city's good will for granted. If you'd like, I can talk to the Mayor and see if we can set up a special fund for helping those in need."

She beamed a great smile, one well known to all in Townsville by now.

"Yes, Professor. I'd love to."

"Very good. Now run along."

Bubbles began to float away but not before one more question posed by her father.

"Oh, one more question, dear. Do you know who this boy was by chance?"

"No. Just someone random."

"Okay then."

The Professor returned to his work. He didn't press the matter further nor did he plan to in the future. But the look in Bubbles' sky blue eyes was extremely telling. Homeless children certainly existed. Too many. However, only one would cause his youngest to lie.

One who shared the same hair and eye color.

Something tells me Bubbles and Boomer don't really dislike each other...if they ever did ;)

Stay tuned! Next update will be this month!

~The Wasp