The Professor was a miracle worker. He'd been patching up the girls since they were old enough to knock a grown man's teeth out – butterfly band aids on fists and stitches on foreheads - Bubbles and Blossom had nothing but praise for him. But as soon as Buttercup needed her nose fixed, it was 'Sorry, it might not set straight. You know this isn't my area of expertise."
Buttercup leant close to the mirror. The Professor had placed a puffy square bandage on her nose after he'd pushed it into place – but it wasn't hiding anything. The skin peeking out was tinged black, fading into a deep purple around her eye sockets.
Just let Bubbles try and complain about 'dark circles' in front of her.
Buttercup poked at a red bump on her forehead and flinched. Every muscle in her body ached with the same fierceness. Even her neck was mottled in varying shades of red.
She gripped the edge of the sink.
How was she supposed to face anyone with this much damage? She'd fought Ace, not one of Mojo's robots. And after all this, she'd lost too. Buttercup scoffed. The fight had actually gone just as she'd predicted – just as everyone had predicted at one point or another – Blossom, Bubbles, even Butch.
She'd noticed him pause at the alley; he didn't want to leave her alone with Ace. Like he was her bodyguard. Like he was her real knight in shining armour. As if she needed any of that crap.
"Damn it!" Buttercup cried. She swiped at a tear that threatened to slip down her cheek. She was just as weak as she'd feared.
And now everyone knew it too.
There was a knock at her door. "What?" Buttercup rasped.
"Hi," Bubbles called. "… um, the Professor said you were awake. He said he was done with your medical treatment."
She went silent and Buttercup let it hang between them. It wasn't a question. And she didn't particularly want to speak.
"So I was hoping we could talk? Because, I mean, I heard what happened yesterday with the Ganggreen gang. Are you okay?"
Buttercup trudged out of her bathroom and crawled into bed. She hoped her door was locked. "Don't you have breakfast to make or something?"
"Yes, but –"
"Then go." There were no footsteps. "Bubbles. Please just –" Her throat was starting to close up, she could feel a sob building, suffocating her words. Buttercup smothered her face with a pillow.
"Okay, I'm leaving," Bubbles said. "But…you should know that everything's okay. You and Butch saved Princess Morbucks; you're heroes. Even Blossom thinks so."
Buttercup dragged the pillow off her face. "Just leave," she yelled, voice breaking. The day she wanted a compliment from Blossom would be the day she'd lost her freaking mind.
"Okay," Bubbles muttered. Her footsteps vanished as quickly as they'd come.
Buttercup shut her eyes. She was a hero, huh? What had she done that was so heroic? She'd opted to abandon Princess. She'd wanted to avoid Ace. And when she'd stepped up, she was slammed right back down.
She felt like a failure in every role she played; hero, sister, friend.
A low buzz caught her attention and Buttercup reached for her phone. It was a text from Mitch: I have the entire day free. Want to do something?
She tossed her phone aside. A little late for that. If he'd been around yesterday instead of Butch, none of this would have happened. Buttercup flung the duvet over her head and welcomed sleep when it finally, finally came.
Sorry for the wait and the unusually short chapter. As always, thanks for the reviews!