Ace was growing bored as he leaned against the lamppost waiting for Snake to finish his shift for the night. As he breathed in and out, the cold air turned his breath into mist, and he had his hands shoved into his pockets to keep them from freezing.
To the side, Grubber, Billy, and Arturo were animatedly conversing amongst themselves, but Ace had drowned them out. He wasn't particularly interested in the gossip the trio shared. Or rather, Arturo shared. Grubber and Billy rarely left the dump on their own to seek out gossip worthy news, and so the smallest of the gang had taken up the roll of head gossip, for lack of a better term. Ace supposed that it was as good as any form of entertainment, despite his own disinterested.
Instead of the gossip, he had been entertaining himself with the random assortment of posters on the shop window. He had read them at least a dozen times over in his boredom. Old band posters, weathered and faded; job advertisements that hadn't been touched; a found dog poster; and most interesting of all, a missing child poster. Specifically missing Buttercup Utonium.
It was old news by that point, the Powerpuff Girl had been officially missing for weeks. Granted, she, nor her sisters, hadn't been seen out and about long before she had been reported as missing by her parents, which was strange in and of itself, and people had been losing hope that she would be found and the girls would start fighting crime again. Not to mention that the lowlives of the city were crawling out of the woodwork like lice. Spreading chaos and mayhem now that it was only the, frankly, incomplete police force keeping an eye on the city.
Admittedly, Ace and his boys weren't using the absence of the superhero girls as a get out of jail free card. They were trying to go clean. They had been for a good few years, since Ace turned 18. Which was why they were standing outside a crusty old corner shop, waiting for Snake to get off work in the first place.
Finally the soft ding of a bell sounded and the shop's door opened, revealing the very 20-year-old they were missing.
"Hey bossss," Snake greeted though a yawn.
"Snake," Arturo grinned.
Ace nodded to Snake in is own greeting. "You good to go?" He asked, and Snake nodded.
"All good," he affirmed.
Satisfied, Ace let out a small, sharp whistle, alerting Grubber and Billy, and the boys fell behind him in their usual formation. They may have been trying to go clean, but some habits never died. Their formation -Ace in front, flanked by Arturo and Grubber, Snake and Billy making up the rear- was comfortable. It was something they always did. And something Ace was thankful for with the events that transpired next.
"You get back here boy! You no good thieving rat!" An angry voice roared as fast and heavy footsteps echoed down the street, and Ace and his boys turned in alarm at the commotion.
Down the road, a large, furious looking old man was chasing after a small figure who was wearing a dark green hoodie, and clutching a stuffed backpack like it was a lifeline. The figure was fast, but clumsy, and nearly stumbled a few times where ice had formed on damp spots of the pavement. He wasn't looking where he was going, staring down at his feet, and barrelled into Big Billy.
"Agh!" The kid exclaimed in alarm, stumbling back.
"Oi! You lot, grab him!" The angry man chasing him called out, and Ace took one look at the kid, then another at the man and snapped his fingers. Effectively catching his boys' attention, he gestured for Snake to pull the kid into the centre of their group as he stepped forward.
"Hey, what are you-" the kid began to question in a hoarse voice, trying to pull away, but Arturo shushed him.
"Kid? I don't see no kid," Ace called out casually. "Do you see a kid, Grubber?"
Grubber blew a raspberry, shaking his head.
"Arturo, do you see a kid anywhere?"
"No, boss," Arturo shook his head, a knowing grin on his face.
"What about you, Snake?"
"I don't sssee anyone, Acce," Snake hissed.
"Me neither," Billy nodded.
"The fuck are you on about?" The angry man scowled, nearing the gang and panting heavily. "He's right there," he jabbed a finger towards them.
"No, pretty sure that's Grubber," Ace smirked, and Grubber blew a string of raspberries.
The man growled, "Oh for the- hand him over. That brat has stuff that belongs to me."
"I honestly don't know what you mean," Ace soothed. "Are you sure you're okay? There's noone here but us."
"Stop messing with me! I know who you are! You're the Gangreen Gang. Do you want me to call the police? Hand him over!"
"Oh no, the police," Snake dramatically swooned. "Whatever shall we do?"
The gang snickered at his actions, while the kid was dumbfounded.
The man gritted his teeth in irritation, "You- for- oh for the- this isn't fucking worth it," he snarled. "If I see that kid, or any of you near my home, I will be calling the cops," he declared as he turned about heel and stormed away. In his fury, he misstepped and slipped on a patch of ice. Crashing to the ground, he let out a string of curses.
The gang broke out into more howls of laughter and Ace found himself far from the boredom he had been plagued by earlier.
After a moment to calm down, the old man disappearing off in the distance, he looked down at the kid. It was difficult to make out his face thanks to his hood and the dark of the night, but tufts of dark hair and pale skin made themselves known, if little else.
"Alright, kid," Ace began curiously, casually shoving his hands in his pockets. "What did you take from that guy?" He asked. "Must have been something valuable, the way he was goin' after ya."
The kid stepped back anxiously, almost bumping into Grubber, and gripped his backpack tighter. He shook his head, "It isn't. Not really," he muttered. His voice sounded scratchy, like he hadn't drunk anything all day. He also sounded young. Really young. It concerned Ace. What was such a young kid doing out so late? Stealing from ugly shitstains like that old guy?
"Relax, we ain't gonna take it from you," Ace rolled his eyes.
The kid didn't look all too reassured, but he did loosen his grip on his bag somewhat.
"Where you heading, kid?" Ace asked gently.
The boy shrugged, kicking the ground lightly. "The hell do you wanna know?"
Ace almost let out a laugh. The kid had some bite to him. "I wanna make sure you get there safe," he admitted with a drawl. "It's real late out, kid. Lot of unsavoury folks out at night. 'Specially this side of town."
"I don't need your help," the kid snapped.
"Looked like you needed it jusssst then," Snake pointed out.
The kid let out an annoyed growl, "Thank you," he admitted.
"No problem, chamaco," Arturo grinned.
"Now," Ace said. "Back to where you're going."
The kid was silent for a long moment. "Fine," he eventually gruffed, and, although his face was hidden, Ace could tell he was scowling.
"Great. Lead the way, kid," and he did.
The gang was led through a winding path of back alleys for a good ten minutes before the kid stopped. Ace was mildly confused at the place they halted, but he wasn't entirely surprised. He watched as the kid stood in front of a large cardboard box, and shifted a few smaller stacks that seemed to be acting as some sort of door/wall.
He removed the bag from his back and pulled down his hood.
Ace and his boys couldn't help but gasp.
"Buttercup?" Snake was the first speak, and the girl locked her eyes onto him.
She was glaring, "Great," she snapped. "Let everybody know why don't you." She rifled through her bag and pulled out a blanket before spreading it out in the box, that had been set out as some sort of makeshift bed for the girl. She sat down with crossed legs and pulled a water bottle from her bag, taking a long drink.
Ace and his boys watched her with confusion, concern, and mild horror. She looked grubby and thin, with hollow cheeks, and a yellowing bruise ringing her left eye.
"What happened to you?" Ace asked in hushed concern.
Buttercup glared at him, crossing her arms and electing not to answer, watching the boys suspicion in her eyes.
"How long have you been out here?" Ace tried again. "You an' your sisters ain't been seen for months."
Buttercup shrugged in response, returning the bottle to her bag and zipping it up. She stifled a shiver. She was only wearing a hoodie, and likely didn't have access to anything warmer save the recently acquired blanket.
"A few weeks," she said. "More or less. Wasn't allowed out before."
Ace frowned, uneasy about the girl's words, though he was more concerned about her being cold. He unzipped and shrugged off his jacket, stepping forward and handing it to her.
She stared at him with confusion.
"Take it," he urged, and Buttercup took the offered jacket, eyes holding suspicion. He didn't blame her. He and his boys had screwed her over royally in the past. They were dicks. But they were trying to move past it.
Buttercup put the jacket on. It was too big for her, so swamped her figure, but at least it would warm her up.
"Thanks," she muttered.
Ace nodded, fighting off shivers, and let his mind wander slightly.
He turned to his boys, sending them meaningful looks. Receiving compassionate glances in return, he knew he had a consensus on what they had to do. They couldn't leave the girl alone. Not like this. It wouldn't be right.
"Buttercup," Ace spoke, catching the girl's attention.
She looked at him with irritation in her eyes, an unspoken question of "What?" clear as day on her face.
Anxiously, Ace spoke. "It's freezing out here, kid," he said. "Why don't you come stay with us? It's only gonna get colder out here. It'll even start snowing someday soon."
Buttercup blinked in surprise at the offer, before she shook her head. "No," she insisted.
Ace frowned, worry furrowing his brow. "Buttercup, you're like, what, seven?"
"Nine," Buttercup corrected gruffly.
"Sure. Nine. Either way, it ain't safe for yous to be out like this. Especially in this weather. Winter ain't half dangerous on the streets."
"I'm fine," the girl huffed. "I have powers. I'm fine."
She seemed more like she was trying to reassure herself than anyone else.
"Even if you do have powers, it still ain't right. You shouldn't be out freezing like this. You're a powerpuff, but you just stole from someone. And I'm guessing you've done it before, too. Not just today."
Buttercup averted her eyes, scowling.
"Look, you clearly don't want anyone knowing where you are," Ace soothed. "Considering you've been hiding out for weeks. And you obviously have your reasons for it. I respect that. But that don't mean ya have to stay out in the cold like this. I- my boys and I, we can't let you freeze to death." He watched as Buttercup's face morphed into reluctant acceptance of what he was saying, though she avoided looking at him directly. "At least at ours," Ace continued, "You'll be warm, and you'll have plenty of food and all that stuff. Noone will know where you are. We promise you that, right boys?"
There were murmurs of agreement from the gang, and Ace looked to Buttercup expectantly. The little girl was silent for a long while, and Ace could see thoughts forming in her mind as clear as day on her face.
Biting her lip, she finally looked at him. "Fine," she said.