Villain: Redux
By: Yay Ninja Bob
Author's Note: So sorry for the long break, guys. The end of 2020 was some crazy times for me personally which again put writing on hold for a while. As if the end of the year wasn't crazy enough, the cherry on top for me was me contracting coronavirus. I only traveled to work and back home- wore my mask always, washed my hands obsessively, and STILL SOMEHOW the virus got me. I am very fortunate though that my symptoms were pretty mild like a common flu and I was able to isolate safely at home. Thankfully my wife never got it, and NOW I'm happy to say that I'm feeling all better with my covid defeated- YAY! AND NOW I'm back to writing again- YAY!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe, and I wish everyone good health and good luck in this new year. I know these are difficult times for a lot of us, and I really thank you guys for your continued readership when I know from experience that with EVERYTHING going on in the real world, spending time on fanfic isn't always easy. So the fact that so many of you continue to take time out of your lives to reading my fic is SO special to me, and I really really thank you guys for all your awesome feedback and ongoing support with this story. It's crazy to think I started writing this fic before the pandemic began, but as the crisis around us continues, I am so thankful to have this story as an escape of sorts at the end of a day, and I am so very grateful to have people out there who I can share what I create with, which just makes this project of mine all the more fun. Seriously, I love you guys! D:
Anywho. As long as life doesn't have anymore unexpected surprises for me, we should be back to our monthly-ish updates going forward. On my current outline, after this chapter there's roughly 6-7 chapters left here in Part II- just depending on how the rest of our events flow as I get to writing them- but anticipate the ending to the current arc somewhere around Chapter 18 or 19. It is definitely a personal goal of mine to try to get us through the rest of Part II with regular every 4-6 week updates until it's ideally done by the end of this summer/start of fall. THEN I plan to take a little break and PREPARE before we dive into... DUN-DUN-DUNNN- PART THREE! O:
Oh, the insanity that's to come~ I can't wait. :D
Part II: Hate & War
Chapter 12
Picture Day
"Yes. It is a sad, terrible and unfortunate thing, but a fact of life nonetheless, that people need something to hate. Years ago it was Mojo who the people despised. However, with I, Mojo Jojo- and the rest of the villains for that matter- incarcerated for life, there remained nothing left for the simple-minded to target with their neverending, relentless and unwavering need for acrimony, and so... it became you..."
As the green Powerpuff stood underneath the shower's steady stream of warm water, the events that had just transpired played over and over again within the young hero's mind. There was a lot that had just happened, but out of everything that took place- rescuing Tyler and the gang, the police chase, running into Princess and burning down the Discovery Dome together, nearly getting caught by both sisters as the wanted Alien- it was the unexpected confrontation that took place beside the volcanic base's magma lake that dominated the many pressing thoughts that swarmed the sixteen-year-old's head. Even though the mutant chimp had said a lot that night, everything he had said had definitely managed to stick. As the steam from the hot shower built up within the small bathroom and swirled round the air, the villain's haunting words continued to replay...
"The difference, of course, is that when they call Mojo a freak, at least they do not expect anything from him. But you? They call you both 'hero' and 'monster' and these are simply titles that are impossible to maintain at once! Such identities cannot coexist! Yet those who judge you still refuse to let either label go. They have branded them more deeply than the scar they fear upon your face..."
As the water beat down against the back of Buttercup's head, the green eyed Powerpuff hunched forward and watched the last few traces of blackened dirt swirl around the shower drain and wash away forever. It had taken nearly an entire bottle of shampoo and another bottle of conditioner to successfully strip all the hardened bits of lava rock that clung to the teenager's hair, but after much tedious scrubbing, Buttercup at long last felt clean again, and shut off the running water.
The green Puff slipped into a clean pair of pajama pants and a worn baggy band t-shirt, and knelt down to gather the pieces of Mojo's "gifted" clothing that were scattered upon the tiled floor.
"What an impossible existence, really- a torturous paradox. How miserable it must be..."
Buttercup used the small bundle of children's pajamas to wipe away the fog from the bathroom mirror.
"Really, it is no wonder you have had no choice but to try and reinvent yourself. Is that not right... Joey?"
The green eyed Powerpuff stared directly ahead at the mirror's reflection and asked for the hundredth time that night, "How the hell did he manage to figure out it was me?"
The lingering steam within the shut bathroom fogged up the mirror once more as Buttercup turned away from the reflection and reached for the door. The superpowered teenager paused for a moment, listening intently for any signs of life within the Utonium household. Still, all that could be heard were the distant, steady sounds of clinking and tinkering coming from the basement laboratory. Since the prison break, the Professor had stayed even busier than usual, spending at least fourteen or sixteen hours of his day working inside the lab. Buttercup hadn't seen the man face to face in days, but truthfully didn't really mind it. After all, it was one less person to have to answer to.
Buttercup stepped out into the hallway and saw that the door to Blossom's room had been left open. The green Puff stood outside the doorway to the pink themed bedroom and peered inside for a moment. Blossom's computer desk was neatly organized with stacks of printed transcripts and piles of Manila folders marked "evidence." Beside her keyboard sat a spiral pink notebook containing all the pink Puff's ongoing notes concerning "the Alien." Without a doubt, once she returned home, Blossom would have a lot to add to her findings. She and Bubbles were still out searching for the masked villain, and when they got back, Buttercup imagined they would want to know just where their sibling had been. However every time the green Puff tried to focus on forming some sort of alibi, that villainous simian's deep, dark voice still interrupted every thought.
"Tomorrow, meet me after sundown at the water tower..."
The green Powerpuff slowly retreated to the third bedroom down the hallway, disappeared inside, and locked the door.
"What could Mojo want?" Buttercup wondered again, "Why the water tower of all places? He sounded like it was supposed to mean something, but..."
As the skinny teen walked across the bedroom, a sudden small gasp escaped as a new realization came to mind then, "Shit... What if he's figured out that the water tower's like my hideout? Fuck, I still have my stuff there. He must've figured it out, right? Why else would he want to meet up there tomorrow? Shit-shit-shit! He knows too much- way too much- How does he know so much? What the hell am I gonna do? He said if I helped him he wouldn't snitch but I can't trust him! No way! He's a villain after all! Ugh! Just what the hell am I supposed to do?!"
Buttercup tossed the bundle of clothing onto a pile of dirty clothes and slammed the closet door shut, feeling a growing frustration. As the skinny teen turned around, there were two pairs of tiny black beaded eyes that stared back. The green bird and yellow bird both tilted their heads innocently as they blinked, clueless as to what the teenager was ranting about. To them, the green Puff was always acting strangely.
Buttercup's eyes narrowed on the birds who seemed to be chirping then more than usual. They bobbed up and down from where they were perched inside the cage as if trying to get the green Puff's attention. Buttercup raised an eyebrow, "What do you two want?"
The green budgie fluttered over to the side of the birdcage and pecked at the empty plastic water dispenser as he chirped again. Buttercup realized then that the birds had run out of water to drink and scoffed, "Of course Bubbles said I wouldn't even have to take care of you two, but here I am," the teenager muttered with annoyance while removing the empty water dish, "taking care of you." Buttercup floated down their home's staircase and into the kitchen with the birds' water dispenser in hand, continuing to complain quietly, "That's the last time I do her any stupid favors..."
As the teenager refilled the dispenser's water bottle underneath the kitchen tap, the sounds of ascending footsteps could be heard beyond the shut door to the Professor's lab. Still waiting for the small plastic tank to be filled, Buttercup groaned a little, knowing there was no avoiding having to talk to the Professor once he stepped outside the basement door and into the kitchen.
"Oh," the Professor wore a small, surprised smile as he stepped into the kitchen and his eyes fell on Buttercup. "Hey there, Buttercup," he greeted as he approached the kitchen counter and reached for the coffee pot that sat beside the sink. "What do you have there?"
Buttercup's back was turned towards the Professor, and the scientist could not see the eye-roll the teenager responded with. "Just fillin' up some water for Snot and Pus, Professor."
As the Professor emptied the final drops of warm caffeinated liquid from the coffee pot into his mug, he continued to watch his daughter with a small smile. "That's nice, Sweetie. I'm glad you're enjoying having your new little friends."
"Yeah," Buttercup muttered while replacing the water bottle's cap, answering with undetected sarcasm, "They're loads of fun..." The tomboy turned to leave, "Well, night, Professor-"
"Buttercup, hey, where are your sisters?" the Professor curiously asked as he added sugar and creamer to his coffee.
Buttercup turned around and glanced at the wall clock that hung over the Professor's head, "I guess still out on their midnight sweeps. I dunno."
The Professor raised an eyebrow from behind his coffee mug as he took a sip. "You don't know? If it's your Powerpuff sweeps then why aren't you out with them?"
Buttercup shrugged, "I took the day off."
"Oh?" the Professor lowered his coffee mug and immediately wore a concerned look. "Why is that? Is everything OK, Buttercup?"
The superpowered teenager recognized the look then on the Professor's face. It was that look that said "what's wrong with her now?" The green Puff watched as the Professor walked closer with that annoying, squinty-eyed, analytical look plastered on his face. It was the exact expression he'd make whenever the green Puff had to go through one of her "check ups" with him. Frankly, it made the teenager feel like a science experiment.
"I'm fine, Professor," Buttercup said, but knew no matter the answer, the same checklist of questions to come were inevitable at this point. He was already making... the face.
"How are you feeling?"
"I said I was fine, Professor."
"How is your vision? Any changes?"
"It's the same."
"Your medication? You're taking it every day right?"
"Yes."
"And no more surges, right?"
The Puff's green eyes momentarily shifted over the Professor's right shoulder, glancing at the door to the basement for just a split moment before answering him. "...Right."
"Good." The Professor paused before asking next, "How has crime-fighting been going?"
Buttercup blinked at the Professor, quiet at first. That was a new question. "It's been... fine."
As the Professor studied Buttercup closely, he sensed something off. "I know it's been a long time since you've had to deal with anything like this, Buttercup. It can't be easy," he continued to try and converse with the fidgety teenager. "As your father, well, I had hoped all these villains were finally a thing of the past. I can't imagine what sort of monster would want to cause so much chaos," the Professor shook his head. He forced a weak smile before continuing, "But," he began trying to sound hopeful, "I've been working day and night on a solution to improve the Villains Ward. It's taken some time, but rest assured, once you girls get a hold of everyone, this time they will be locked away for good. And once that happens, well," he smiled again, resting a hand on Buttercup's shoulder, "Everything will be back to normal. You'll see."
Buttercup stared up at the Professor. Knowing he was looking for a smile, she forced one, "Sure, Professor."
As the Professor watched the tomboy slowly ascend their home's staircase, there was a click heard coming from the front door. He stepped out into the hallway, as Buttercup paused on the stairway, to see both Blossom and Bubbles returning home. "Hello, Girls," he greeted them, "How were your sweeps tonight?"
"Professor, hi," Blossom couldn't help but smile from the unexpected sight of her father outside the lab, but the smile faded fast when her pink eyes fell on her sibling on the stairs behind him. Buttercup casually floated up the staircase, seemingly ignoring her and Bubbles completely.
"Buttercup!" Bubbles called out with a loud gasp the moment she noticed her sibling reach the top of the stairs. With a quick flash of baby blue light, the blonde was side by side with Buttercup. "Omigosh!" she exclaimed loudly. "Where the heck were you?! Blossom and I must have called you like a million times!"
"Yeah," Blossom spoke loudly and sternly from the bottom of the staircase, still standing with the Professor, "Buttercup, I told you you could have the day off, but to still be on standby!"
"Huh," Buttercup shrugged, looking somewhat confused. "I never heard nothin'. Now that you mention it..." the green Puff spun around a little, "Where is my phone?"
The leader placed her hands on her hips, "You lost your phone? How could you lose your phone, Buttercup?"
Buttercup answered with another shrug, "If I knew that, then it wouldn't be lost."
Blossom sighed heavily before she continued to lecture, "Well, thanks to you missing tonight, we lost against the Alien!"
Buttercup glanced from Bubbles to Blossom, blinking dumbly. "Wait... what?"
Blossom shook her head as she ascended the stairway next. "Buttercup, that masked freak was running around town all night tonight making a fool of us. He started a police chase on the east side and then later he set fire to the Discovery Dome!" Blossom frowned as she stood before her skinny sibling. "We really needed you tonight, Buttercup."
Buttercup stared up at Blossom with wide eyes, before glancing again at Bubbles who nodded quietly with a frown. "Well, if all this was going on, then why didn't one of you come home and get me?" Buttercup questioned.
"I did! Or I tried! You weren't here!" Bubbles shouted immediately.
"Nuh uh!"
"Yeah huh!" Bubbles insisted, "I came home, and I checked the living room but you weren't there! So I went upstairs to your room, but you weren't there! I even asked Lor-" Bubbles paused for a split moment as her baby blue eyes fell on the Professor who ascended the stairway and stood behind Blossom, "I mean... Snot and Pus," the names pained her to say out loud, but she did anyways, "I asked them if they'd seen you and they said that they hadn't!"
"Well, did you check the bathroom, Bubble-Brain?"
Bubbles blinked back for a moment, "Well, I... no, I didn't but..." she looked from Buttercup to Blossom, "Look, I was under a lot of pressure, OK?!"
Buttercup responded with an eyeroll before continuing through the bedroom door with the birds' filled water dispenser still in hand. "Way to go, Bubble-Brain!"
Bubbles could not help but tear up a little from her sibling's teasing, suddenly feeling like maybe their loss for the night had actually been her fault somehow.
Blossom sighed deeply once more before stepping inside Buttercup's room. She watched as her sibling replaced the birds' water dish. "Seriously, Buttercup," Blossom began again, sounding exasperated, "Where is your phone? You really need to keep it on you at all times. Especially during times like this!"
Buttercup turned to face Blossom and shrugged. Of course, the green Puff's cellphone had been destroyed by molten magma earlier that evening, but it wasn't as if Buttercup could admit such a thing. However, a conveniently missing phone was definitely an excuse that could be used... "Huh," Buttercup began to look about the floor of the bedroom, as if actively searching for something, "Dude, I actually really don't know where it's at. Now that you mention it... I remember havin' it on me when we went to that robbery heist the other night but... I haven't really used it since..."
"Buttercup, that is so irresponsible-"
"OK, OK," the Professor interrupted as he entered the room with Bubbles next. "It's late, Girls. There's no use in arguing over something that can't be helped, right?" He smiled weakly at Blossom, "I'm sure you girls will have another chance to catch the Alien." He checked his wristwatch for the time and yawned. "I was hoping to spend a few more hours in the lab tonight finishing up my current project for the mayor, but," he looked to each of his daughters and smiled a little, "Perhaps I can spend that time instead trying to whip up some sort of solution to help you three stay connected during your crime-fighting efforts. Perhaps a shared communication hub, or... portable hotline if you will," he chuckled.
Blossom turned to the Professor and smiled, "That would be great, Professor."
"OK, but," Buttercup spoke up next, "Can I still get a new cellphone? Like... something that texts and plays music, you know?"
The Professor sipped from his coffee cup and nodded, "If you still can't find your phone tomorrow, Buttercup, then yes, I'll take you to get another." He turned to leave, "Well, I'll be in the lab, Girls, if you need anything. For now, the three of you should try and get some much deserved rest, OK?"
The Professor glanced at each of the triplets who all nodded in unison. "OK, Professor."
Bubbles followed after the Professor as he left, but Blossom paused for a moment at the doorway. She turned to face Buttercup again and frowned. "Look, Buttercup, I know you needed a day off to rest and everything, but," she sighed heavily, "It really did suck tonight without you. For a moment, I really thought we had it, and you were gonna get that victory that was gonna change everything..." The redhead rubbed the back of her head as she frowned again. "So... you're feeling better now, right?"
Buttercup stared at Blossom and nodded slowly. "Yeah... Yeah, I am. Sorry, I guess. I... wish I could've been there..."
Blossom watched as her sibling floated over to the bed's mattress and sat down. "The Alien," Blossom began again, "He's... there's something up with him, Buttercup. After tonight... I'm starting to think that the prison break and busting into the Villains Ward was just a warm up for this guy."
Buttercup raised an eyebrow. "Whaddya mean?"
Blossom bit her lip, "I'm not sure what it is, but... my gut is telling me that this whole Alien thing is just the start of something... bigger, you know? I got a chance to face him myself tonight and he's even stronger than I ever imagined. Buttercup, I swear he's just about as strong as us!"
Buttercup's eyes widened, "Blossom, there's no way-"
"I'm telling you, Buttercup. If you had been there, you would have seen it for yourself! He outran us twice today somehow, and with that kind of speed, and that kind of strength..." Blossom's voice trailed off and Buttercup could tell that the redhead was becoming lost in her racing thoughts.
Fearful of what thoughts Blossom was having and where they might lead her, the green Puff stood from the bed and approached Blossom slowly with a weak smile. "Hey, let's just try and forget it for tonight, alright? Like the Professor said, we should all try and get some rest." Buttercup gave the tall redhead a small pat on the shoulder, "Especially you, Leader Girl."
Blossom returned a small smile, and nodded. "I guess you're right. Goodnight, Sis."
"Night," Buttercup shut the door behind Blossom and immediately locked it.
Buttercup leaned against the shut door and slunk down to the ground with a long, drawn out, exhausted sigh. The skinny teen's chest heaved up and down as if just completing a marathon. While the green Puff lay on the ground of the bedroom feeling their heart continue to race, there was no stopping the small nervous laughter that took over. Exactly how Joey had managed to survive another night that night would always remain a mystery to them.
Robin awoke from where she lay on her family's living room sofa, surprised to realize that she had drifted to sleep. With her parents both asleep for the night, it was dark inside the Snyder Home, save for the light of the television set which was still tuned to the 24-hour news network Robin had been watching earlier. She hadn't meant to fall asleep while watching TV, but her night of waiting for her girlfriend's return turned out to be a lot longer than she anticipated. When Blossom had to leave their coffee date prematurely, the brunette quickly returned home to watch the latest Powerpuff story unfold. Only, from what was being reported at least, the latest Alien sighting seemed to be another hard-to-solve mystery for Townsville. Robin had texted Blossom, asking her to please call whenever she arrived home so that she knew she was safe of course, but...
Robin sat up, and reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out her cellphone. Her teal blue eyes immediately widened at the time: 2:48 AM. She quickly checked for any messages from Blossom, but there were none.
As Robin frowned at her cellphone in her hands, she heard a soft scratching coming from their home's backdoor. She returned her phone to her pocket and quickly walked over and opened it. "Sorry, Ginger," the teenager apologized to the old tabby cat as she hurried inside for the night. As Robin held the door open for her cat, her teal blue eyes landed on the Utonium household next door.
From their back porch, Robin could see the three circular windows that belonged to her friends. The middle window- Blossom's window- was the only room with any light on inside. As Robin noticed this, she stepped out onto the porch and began to walk along the wooden fence that separated their homes. She kept her teal blue eyes focused on the window to Blossom's room. With her pink shades drawn closed, she could not see much, but with the light still on inside, Robin had a feeling the pink Puff was still awake.
Blossom was indeed still up. Even though the Professor and her sister had told her to get her rest, after her close encounter with the Alien earlier that night, Blossom really couldn't fall asleep even if she tried. Instead, the teenage hero sat at her desk, scribbling away furiously in her notebook as she wrote down every last detail of the night. On her computer monitor played her personal copy of the Townsville Prison's security footage, while she used her cell phone to stream the latest news being reported.
As the redhead lowered her pen for a moment so that she could stretch in her seat, she was surprised to suddenly hear a light tapping noise coming from her shut window. Blossom immediately rose from her chair and went to investigate. As she pulled back her pink window shades, her bubblegum eyes widened from the sight of her girlfriend waiting on the other side of the window, standing on the roof of their home's garage. "Robin!" Blossom exclaimed in a whisper as she slid her window open.
"Hey," Robin laughed a little, amused by the shock that swept Blossom's face. "Well, I'm glad to see you weren't abducted by aliens. I was starting to worry."
Blossom blinked at Robin for a moment before she pulled her in through the window. Once inside Robin was immediately pulled into a tight embrace by the tall redhead. "Oh my God," Blossom continued to whisper as she pulled away, "Robin, how did you manage to reach my window?"
Robin shrugged a little, "You do it all the time."
"There's a huge difference, Robin. It's not dangerous for me to hover outside of your window to visit you. I can fly. You climbing onto rooftops on the other hand-" Blossom frowned a little, "What if you had fallen and hurt yourself?"
Robin shook her head, "It's not that big a deal, Blossom." Her teal eyes traveled over to the desk lamp that illuminated the teenager's desk and noticed her girlfriend's set up. "So, no luck again tonight?" she frowned.
Blossom sighed deeply as she returned to her desk and plopped down onto her swivel chair. "No, and I'm driving myself crazy over here trying to figure out just where on Earth this guy could have come from," Blossom pouted as her pink eyes fell on the looping surveillance footage of the masked villain once more. "First the prison break on our birthday, and now setting fire to the Discovery Dome- specifically just about everything Powerpuff related... Robin, whatever is this guy's problem, clearly it's got something to do with us."
Robin frowned, "What a jerk." She walked up to behind where Blossom sat and leaned forward, speaking softly into the pink Puff's ear, "But, I'm sure you guys will catch him soon."
Blossom rested her head on her hands and sighed again as her pink eyes watched the security footage once more, "Let's hope so. The entire city is depending on us." As Blossom's gaze was fixed once more on the masked Alien, suddenly the monitor to her computer shut off.
Blossom glanced at Robin who still held her finger over the screen's power button and smiled sweetly at her. "You have to have seen that about a hundred times by now, Blossom," Robin spoke softly, "Will a hundred more times really make a difference?"
The redhead stared quietly for a moment as she watched Robin continue to shut off her cellphone's stream and close the pages to her notebook next. Blossom frowned a little, "Robin," she began again with a whisper, "I know it probably looks like I'm going overboard with this, but I really do have to-" Blossom stopped as her girlfriend spun her around in her swivel chair and silenced her with a soft, tender kiss. The brunette lowered herself onto her lap, straddling the redhead's hips as she continued to kiss her.
"Don't you miss spending time with me?" Robin asked softly between kisses.
Blossom leaned her head back against her chair's headrest as her girlfriend continued to kiss her neck. She bit her lip, "Of course I do-"
"It doesn't always feel like you do," Robin rubbed Blossom's shoulders, feeling out the tension the redhead was carrying within her body. "You know... if our relationship has become just another stressor for you then-"
Blossom frowned again, sitting up in her seat, "Don't say that. If anything you're the only thing in my life left that brings me any sort of sense of calm," She sighed as she reached out and gently caressed her girlfriend's face, "Robin, I'm sorry. I know I'm not the best at expressing myself always, but," Blossom continued to brush her red painted fingertips along the side of the brunette's face. "I really do appreciate you, and I love you more than anything. And yes, I miss you always when you're not around. It's just... everything's gotten so crazy. It's got me so scattered brain as of late, I- I'm sorry. I know you deserve better."
As Blossom caressed her face, Robin looped her arms around the redhead's neck, "All I want is you, Blossom," she leaned forward and planted another kiss on Blossom's lips. She smiled as she pulled away, "And I guess if I have to climb a tree, to climb a fence, to scale the side of your garage to reach your window so that I can spend a little time with you nowadays, well," Robin smirked, "I guess that's just what I'm going to have to do from now on."
Blossom could not help but smile. She pulled Robin into a tight embrace once more and held onto her as she breathed deeply, "God, I love you so much."
The green Powerpuff lay in the dark unable to sleep. Even though the teenager had turned out the light hours ago, there was no stopping the never ending loop of the night which still replayed over and over within the young hero's mind. Buttercup had done nothing but tossing and turning in an attempt to try and find rest that night, and had managed to kick away all of the bedding and sheets. Laying upon a bare mattress and still hopelessly waiting for sleep with eyes shut tight, there was sudden faint knocking sound heard coming from within the bedroom.
Buttercup sat up in bed with a jolt the moment the sounds began in the dark. Immediately the Puff's emerald eyes fell on the door to the bedroom's closet. The door to the closet was shut, but the noise was definitely coming from behind it. Buttercup watched the door intently, while silently and cautiously moving towards it. With super hearing activated, the Puff listened to the sound of something rustling about inside, and as the young hero crept closer and closer, there was a rotten, burning stench in the air. Buttercup reached for the closet door's handle and opened it.
"Where is it? Dude, it's gotta be somewhere around here!"
Buttercup blinked at the blood soaked kid for a moment before a look of annoyance came next. The sixteen-year-old Puff watched as the thirteen-year-old apparition dug around the heap of dirty laundry that littered the closet floor. The kid had her back turned as she knelt upon both knees over the large pile of laundry and searched frantically for something. Buttercup groaned, still holding the closet door open, "Oh no... What are you doing here? Dude, really, I'm just trying to get some sleep tonight and you showing up now just isn't-"
"Where is it?!" the kid jumped onto their sandy wet sneakers and began to search the shelfing within the closet, "Where the fuck is it?!" As the thirteen-year-old removed an old snowglobe from the shelf and tossed it carelessly over her shoulder, Buttercup caught it and glared at her.
"Where's what?!" Buttercup snapped at herself.
The kid stopped suddenly and slowly glanced over her shoulder with her ghostly, opaque white right eye. "Where's the mask?"
"Oh," Buttercup's angry expression softened. "...It's... gone..."
"...Oh..."
"...Yeah..."
As Buttercup reached over her to return the snowglobe to its spot on the shelf, the kid turned round to face them. "Can't you get it back somehow?"
The green Puff sighed deeply and floated slowly back over to the bed, "Nah, Dude..." Buttercup reclined upon the bare mattress again, "I think... I think that shit's over now... I mean, shit's getting pretty serious now that Mojo knows about us. I'm hoping it all works out tomorrow, and he's really not gonna make me do something fucked up in return for his silence, but... even if he does keep his word..." Buttercup shut both eyes and yawned, "It's just gettin' way too risky, Dude..."
"Huh..." the kid stood at the teenager's bedside, "I thought we were just startin' to have some real fun..."
Buttercup's eyes remained shut, hoping the illusion would go away soon. "It was fun while it lasted..."
"Sucks, Man... Say, you got anything I can eat? I'm fucking starving, Dude-"
"Dude," Buttercup interrupted with annoyance, "Why are you here?" The green Puff sat up in bed once more and looked towards the kid and saw that she had made her way across the bedroom. The blood soaked child stood in front of Buttercup's dresser, staring at the pair of birds that sat within their cage. Her back was towards Buttercup, but Buttercup could see that the kid suddenly gripped something shiny in her right glowing green, acid burnt hand.
"Same reason I always drop by," the kid answered with her back still turned. The apparition turned her head slightly, and even in the dark Buttercup could make out the devious glint of a small, sly smile as she still gripped whatever was in her hand. "I'm here to help you out, you know... since you got nobody else, right?"
Buttercup continued to stare at the kid, but chose to remain silent. The green Puff watched as the illusion returned her attention to the birdcage, and with her left, seared bloody hand, she reached for the cage's small door and opened it. Both Snot and Pus instantly tried to dart away from the sizzling glowing green acid drenched palm that reached for them, but the kid easily managed to yank the fluttering green bird from the cage. Buttercup's eyes widened in shock as she watched the kid cut into the squirming, live bird with a shard of glass, slicing the helpless creature straight down the middle. His yellow companion fluttered about within the closed cage behind them, squawking loudly as the kid raised the green bird to her lips and began to slurp loudly.
All the green Puff could do was look on in stunned silence as the kid continued to suck the blood from the slowly dying bird. As many times as the green Puff had received a "visit" from their former, "dead" self, this sort of thing... was definitely new. As Buttercup continued to watch, the green Puff tried to keep in mind that what was being witnessed... could definitely not be happening.
The kid used her tattered black jacket's sleeve to wipe away the fresh blood-stache from her face, before turning to Buttercup. "Did ya want the other one?"
The green Puff shook their head.
"Suit yourself," the kid shrugged and tossed the dead green bird over her shoulder, before she repeated the same act with the yellow bird next.
Buttercup still could not look away. "Dude... what the actual fuck...?" Eventually, the Puff's green eyes drifted slowly back to where the discarded dead green bird's drained body lay on the floor of the room. There was a gust of wind and Buttercup watched as the wooden floorboards of the bedroom and the dead bird began to blow away like strange particles of sand. The green Puff rose from the bed mattress as it next faded away into the dark atmosphere around them. "Ah, shit, no wonder..." Buttercup laughed a little nervously, "I'm dreaming..."
"We're dreaming," the kid added as she stood beside herself with a grin.
The green Puff glared briefly for a moment at the unwelcomed tag-along before looking around once more. The once empty black void that was the adolescent's default dreamscape had changed as of late. It was still a mostly desolate land, but no longer shrouded in total darkness. Now, the sky shook with thick, dark and thunderous clouds which boomed with a growing, green electricity inside them. The fiery green light that crackled within the black storm clouds illuminated the land with an eerie green glow. The earth was cracked and dry and as the storm ahead continued to boom above, the windy weather of the vast wasteland kicked up the sandy dirt around them.
"Well, whaddya know? Ya changed up the place, huh? I like it!" the kid grinned as she cupped one bloody beaten hand over her brow and looked about the dreamscape. The thirteen-year-old turned back around and saw that she had been left behind as the green Puff continued to float on ahead without her. "Yo! Wait up!"
The green Puff carried on without stopping, moving towards a large, distant shadow in the east. After several minutes, the kid managed to catch up, loudly wheezing and gasping for air as she tried to catch her breath beside the casual floating Powerpuff.
"Dude! I told ya to wait up!" she socked Buttercup on the shoulder with a bloody, bruised fist, "I don't have my ghost powers in this dream world!"
"What sorta sense does that make?"
"I dunno!" the kid threw up her hands, "You tell me!" the kid paused to cough a little, splattering the dirt with blood. She wiped at her mouth with her tattered sleeve, as she walked quickly beside the Powerpuff, "Here, I'm just like you were when Goody-Goody left ya behind on that island! Weak and human-y and useless and burning alive! You remember?"
The green Puff glared at the kid for a moment before muttering, "Yeah. I remember."
"So, where we goin' anyway?"
As the two approached a tall arched golden gateway, the green Puff stopped and turned towards the kid. "No way. You ain't comin' with me, alright? Why don't you run off somewhere else, and I dunno... play."
"Why?" the blood-soaked kid strained her eyes as she tried to peer through the thick golden bars of the gate. Besides only having one functioning eye, there was a dense mist in the air that made it difficult to see. "Where are we- Oh-" she stopped as her vision focused on a short redhead walking her pet Pomeranian through the garden. "Her?" the kid laughed a little, "Dude. What do you see in her, anyway? Like... do you like gettin' bossed around, or is it the big boobs, or-"
"Shut up," the green Puff rattled the gate a little to get the kid's attention once more, "Look," the skinny teen's scarred hands grasped the kid by her hooded jacket and spun her to her left, "Go that way, alright? You'll find Ace's place and have a good time."
"OK, cool!" the kid thankfully agreed, "Which building is it? That one or that one?"
"What are you talkin' about? There's only one other build-" the green Puff stopped mid sentence, noticing for the first time a tall silhouette in the distance.
The thirteen-year-old watched as the green Puff shot off for the tall structure with a flash of green light. "Shit!" she started to chase after on foot, "Wait up!"
As soon as the structure came clearer into focus, the flying teen halted mid-air, "The water tower...?"
For a while, the green Puff remained suspended in the sky, watching the tower intently from afar. As far as the hero could tell, there were no signs of anyone there, but the scene still felt too ominous. It was several minutes before the teenager worked up enough courage to continue forward.
Touching down on the metal landing of the water tower, the structure was so high up in the eerie green atmosphere that the darkened mist was especially thick and overpowering even for superpowered vision. The green Puff gulped nervously, walking cautiously around the platform, tense and ready for anything. Both green eyes glowed as they searched around the labrynth of the thick metal beams that supported the tower's massive water tank. As the teenager reached the railing on the other side, far below could be heard the desperate wheezing and coughing of a struggling thirteen-year-old attempting to climb the tower's ladder.
"Oh, Man!" the kid shouted from below, "I don't think I'm gonna make it! Dude... a little help?!"
The teenager sighed before zipping downward to retrieve the kid from halfway down the ladder. The green Puff carried her back up to the metal landing and set her on her feet, but the kid instantly collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily from exhaustion.
"You know..." the wheezing thirteen-year-old spoke between hard breaths, "That's hard enough... without powers... but climbing really sucks... when your hands... practically have no skin..." she sat up and coughed as she struggled to climb back onto her feet. The kid stood silent for a while as she watched the green Puff continue to intently search around every metal beam of the platform. "So what's up?" the kid finally asked after a while. "What're you lookin' for?"
The green Puff came to the center of the landing, and turned to look back at the kid, wearing a somewhat disappointed frown. "Nothin', I guess."
Usually, Blossom and Robin avoided sleepovers so that they could avoid any suspicion about their relationship with either of their families. However, as the couple cuddled in bed together, it wasn't long before Robin realized that the redhead had fallen soundly asleep while wrapped in her arms. By that point it was well past 3 AM, and Robin imagined that the exhausted superhero could use all the rest she could get. Not wanting to wake her, and also, frankly feeling tired of their secretive night visits all together, Robin decided to break their rule for once and stay the night. After all, with everything going on, Robin truly believed that making an exception just that once would not be a big deal.
Like always, her girlfriend's embrace felt warm and safe, and as Blossom awoke the next morning she could not help but nestle against the crook of her lover's arm that wrapped around her and ignore the morning sun for just a moment longer. It took a full minute for the redhead to come out of her slumber enough to realize that Robin had broken their "no sleepovers" rule. Blossom immediately sat up with a gasp, "What time is it?"
The brunette was stirred awake by this. She yawned as she sat up, and before she could fully open her eyes, she heard her girlfriend frantically answering her own question.
"Oh my God, it's nearly eight! How did I sleep in so late? Robin, you're still here? Did you accidentally fall asleep? Oh my God... We need to get you home before anyone notices that you're here-"
Robin rubbed at her sleepy eyes, "Blossom, relax," she spoke through another tired yawn, "What's the big deal? They're not gonna think anything of it. We used to have sleepovers all the time-"
"Yes, but those sleepovers were when we were just kids and they definitely never involved you sleeping alone with me in my room, in my bed-" Blossom stopped pacing as her bubblegum eyes fell on Robin sitting up in bed, wearing the NASA themed t-shirt Blossom had initially worn as PJs, "And in my shirt!" Blossom glanced down at herself and realized then that somehow they managed to swap shirts for the night. Her face became flushed bright red as she quickly removed Robin's high school band t-shirt and tossed it back to her. "Come on! Hurry and get dressed before everyone wakes up!"
Robin caught the clothing and frowned as she removed her girlfriend's t-shirt next and handed it back to her. Blossom quickly slipped it back on before she zipped over to her door and cautiously opened it, careful to not make a sound as she peeked out into the hallway briefly. "I think we're still OK..." Blossom reported in a quiet whisper.
Robin sighed deeply to herself as she slipped her own t-shirt back on, and rose from the bed. As she slipped on her sneakers next, there was a chime heard coming from her girlfriend's computer, and Robin had to actively step out of the path of the bright pink light that flashed past her to instantly check the incoming message.
"That's probably the mayor with last night's incident report-"
Robin stood behind Blossom from where she sat at her desk, and tried to curiously read the e-mail message for herself, but Blossom scrolled too fast for her to keep up.
"Oh no..."
"What is it?"
"Well, for one thing, according to the Discovery Dome incident report, the investigating team discovered that Mojo Jojo's suit was stolen last night! How did I miss that?!"
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You were busy trying to find and stop the Alien, remember?"
Blossom frowned, "Well, on top of that, the mayor say's they're holding a press conference at 10 today and has asked us to be there," Blossom's pink eyes darted to the corner of the screen momentarily, "That's just two hours from now!" She continued reading and only felt worse the deeper into the e-mail she got, "National media is going to be there, and- Oh God, why now?"
"What?"
"It's time for our annual press photoshoot, and she's scheduled it for after the conference," Blossom buried her face in her hands and groaned, "How does that leave any time for sweeps this morning?"
Robin frowned as she lay a supportive hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, "It's gonna be OK, Blossom-"
Blossom rose from her seat, "Come on. Let's get you home."
The two girls quickly made their way downstairs and Robin had just stepped across the divide of the home's front door before they suddenly heard a voice from behind.
"Oh, what a surprise!" The Professor spoke as he walked out from the kitchen and into the hallway to spot Blossom and Robin. "Hello, Robin. What brings you by so early?"
Blossom still held the door open as Robin stood awkwardly on the porch. The two exchanged glances for a moment, each knowing then that the Professor believed that Robin had just gotten there.
Blossom quickly thought of an excuse, "Oh yes, it is early for Robin to visit, but you see, Professor, the mayor e-mailed me this morning about press photos today, and so naturally I asked if Robin could come by and help us all get ready! R-right, Robin?"
Robin glanced from Blossom to the Professor and smiled weakly as she stepped back into the house, "Right."
"That's nice of you, Robin," the Professor smiled at the girl before turning to Blossom, "Well, I'm glad I caught you before you girls take off for the day. It took all night, but I was determined to get these done for you girls," the Professor reached into his lab coat and retrieved three brightly colored wristwatches- one green, one blue and one pink. He handed them next to the pink Puff, "Your new wrist communicators," he explained.
Blossom smiled at the devices and then at the Professor, "Wrist communicator?" she repeated as she fixed the pink colored watch around her left wrist.
"Yes," the Professor beamed proudly, "With these, you three can be sure to have close contact with one another whenever you may need it, with just a simple tap." He stood beside Blossom and tapped through the pink watch's small screen as Blossom held her wrist steady and listened carefully as he demonstrated, "Here, you have your direct lines with each of your sisters. Tap here for Bubbles and here for Buttercup. It's the same for each of them, so you will all have the ability to either contact each other one on one, or initiate a three-way call. This is how you can contact both at once, and here," he paused to grin at his redheaded daughter, "Well, being the leader, naturally you have your own line that connects to the mayor. I'm afraid I still have to finish Bellum's line before that feature will work, but," the scientist yawned big, "It will have to wait to be done after a short nap. I'm really hoping I can finish it and the new cell prototype for the mayor by the end of today."
Blossom looked to the Professor and smiled, "This is great, Professor, thank you. It'll definitely prevent last night's disaster from ever happening again."
"Well, that's what I had hoped," he returned a soft smile, before he turned to leave. "Good luck today," he added with another tired yawn as he reached their home's staircase, "I'll be sure to let you know the moment I've finished up the mayor's line."
As Blossom glanced back down at her new wristwatch, she read the time, remembering then how little was left before she had to have their team ready for the day. She glanced at Robin and smiled weakly, "So, did you want to actually stay and help us get ready? I mean... you being here might actually help soften the blow when Bubbles and Buttercup learn that today's picture day for us. It's never a fun day."
Robin returned a small smile. "Sure."
"Thanks," Blossom held onto the blue and green wristwatches and looked up to the second floor, "Well, time to get everyone up, then."
Robin followed behind Blossom as they climbed the staircase and reached Buttercup's door first. Blossom knocked, "Buttercup! It's eight! We have a lot on today's agenda, so I really need you up! Report to my room in five so we can have a quick team meeting to go over everything, alright?" She paused and when there was no answer, she knocked again harder, "Buttercup? Buttercup? Are you up?"
On the other side of the door, Buttercup groaned quietly with both eyes still stubbornly shut, annoyed to be awoken in such a way. Sure, Blossom had always made a point to check up every morning, but it seemed the team leader was shouting louder than usual and banging on the bedroom door with extra urgency, and Buttercup definitely did not look forward to finding out the reason why. Whatever was going on that had the redhead wound up so early could not be good.
"Ugh," Buttercup sat up in bed and yelled through the shut door, "OK, OK! I'm up! Jeez..."
"Sounds like that Goody-Goody's really on one today, Dude."
The green Puff turned their head and saw that at the foot of the mattress sat the blood-soaked thirteen-year-old. "You're still here?"
The kid responded simply with a shrug.
"Ugh," Buttercup rose from the bed and muttered, "Great. Just great. As if I don't have enough to deal with today-" the teenager stopped as soon as there was a crunching felt beneath both feet. The Powerpuff looked down and saw broken glass. "What the-?" The shattered bits of glass were surrounded by a sticky wet puddle. It took a moment to recognize the tiny plastic snowman figurine that lay in the center of the mess. Retrieving the small figurine from the ground, it clicked finally. "My snowglobe?"
The teenager instantly spun around and looked toward the closet door- it was open. Not only that, all the laundry that had been stored away inside was scattered throughout the bedroom. Buttercup stood dumbfounded for a full minute, trying to mentally retrace the events of that early morning when the Puff had believed at the time that everything that was happening was just a hallucination, or at the very least a dream, but...
Buttercup's green eyes fell back on the kid who still sat on the edge of the bed's mattress. "What?" the kid blinked back.
The green Puff gripped the small plastic snowman with their scarred palm, "I don't understand... I thought I caught this."
"Nah, you tossed it, remember?"
"No, you tossed it, and I caught it."
"How could I toss it?"
Buttercup blinked at the kid for a moment before gulping nervously. Slowly, the green Puff turned their head and looked toward the birdcage. The teenager's heart stopped briefly, not seeing the birds at first, but as the Puff drew closer, next came a deep sigh of relief, "Oh good. They're just asleep." Buttercup stared for another moment, realizing next that it was odd for the pair to be asleep on the floor of their cage. Even though they looked unharmed, it was also strange that they appeared to not be moving at all.
"Wait..." Buttercup raised the birdcage off the dresser and tilted it forward, causing the two tiny stiff birds to fall through the open door and plop onto the floor. Staring at the obviously dead birds, the Powerpuff's emerald eyes widened, "...Shit."
Bubbles awoke to the sound of Blossom knocking at the bedroom door. "Bubbles! Time to get up, OK? First thing's first- team meeting in my room in five minutes! There's a lot we have to talk about!"
The blonde sleepily rose from bed and floated over to the door and opened it. "OK. I'm up," she yawned. Her baby blue eyes fell on Robin who stood beside her sister, "Hey, Robin. What are you doing over here so early?"
"She's come to help with the meeting," Blossom answered for her before darting back to her room with a flash of pink light.
Bubbles watched her sister disappear before turning back to Robin, "Really?"
Robin shrugged, "I guess it's time for your guys's press photos again. So I'm here to help you all get ready."
Bubbles frowned a little, "Oh no. That stuff usually takes all day!" she pouted as she floated out into the hallway and made her way to the bathroom. Robin watched the blue Powerpuff disappear inside, shutting the door behind her, before walking back down the hall towards Blossom's room.
Robin stepped inside the pink bedroom and saw that Blossom had changed out of her PJs and into a pair of jeans and clean, simple white tank top. The tall girl held her red hair tie between her teeth as she fixed her ponytail with her hands. "So," Robin began as she sat on the pink Puff's already made bed, "What can I help with?"
Blossom finished tying her hair up and turned towards the brunette, "Can you print out three copies of that incident report the mayor attached to her e-mail?" she asked as she made her way towards the door again, "I gotta go make sure Buttercup's actually awake so we can get started."
"Sure," Robin stood again and walked over to the pink Puff's computer. "No problem."
As Blossom stepped out into the hall, Bubbles stepped out from the bathroom. "Is it really picture day today?" the blue Puff asked.
Blossom frowned. "Afraid so, Bubbles. After a press conference with the mayor at City Hall. We'll go over everything as soon as Buttercup's up," the redhead spoke as she hurried down the hall and reached her sibling's shut bedroom door. She knocked, "Buttercup! Come on, it's time to get started! There's a lot we need to go over and not a lot of time, OK?"
"Blossom," Bubbles squeaked, "Those photoshoots always take too long, and I have work again tonight. After I had to leave early yesterday, I don't wanna miss another day! And of course I have to still feed the coyotes!"
Blossom frowned, "I know Bubbles," she sighed. "Don't worry. We'll find some time to get everything done, OK?" She turned back to Buttercup's shut door and knocked again, "Buttercup! What's taking you so-"
Blossom stopped as the door to the room suddenly opened and her sibling slipped out, quickly shutting the door behind. "Alright, I'm here."
"Finally," Blossom looked at each of her siblings, "Come on. We got a lot on our plates today, Girls."
Bubbles and Buttercup followed their sister into her bedroom.
"What else is new?" Buttercup muttered, stepping into the pink room. "Robin? What are you doing here?"
"She's here to help," Blossom answered for her again. "Look, Girls, I know this is last minute, but I literally just received the news myself-"
"What news?" Buttercup raised an eyebrow.
"We got press photos today," Bubbles answered.
"What?!" Buttercup shouted immediately.
"I know it always sucks," Robin interjected quickly, causing the green Puff's scowl to lessen a little. Robin smiled weakly at the tomboy, "But I'm here to help whatever way I can."
Buttercup still scoffed, "Ugh. That bullshit always takes forever. Don't we got enough going on? Why today?"
Blossom sighed deeply, "Well, I guess with all the extra media attention, the mayor's PR team thinks it'd be good to update our press photos now. It's going to be difficult to maintain our surveillance schedule, but we'll have to find a way," she placed her hands firmly on her hips as she spoke seriously. "We can't let the Alien slip by us again. Whenever or wherever he strikes next- we need to be there, Girls. And this time, we need to stop him. He didn't wait long to cause trouble again after the prison break, and I have a strong hunch that it won't be long before his next attack, and when we face him, he may have a partner with him."
"You really think so?" Bubbles squeaked.
"Yeah," Buttercup gulped, "What makes you think that?"
Blossom took the printed reports she had requested from Robin and handed a copy to each sibling. "Last night's investigation by police at the Discovery Dome uncovered new evidence to suggest that is very possible that the Alien..." Blossom paused to take a deep breath before breaking the news, but was interrupted by Buttercup before she could finish.
"Might have ties with Mojo Jojo?!" the green Puff exclaimed in genuine disbelief, reading ahead on the report.
"What?" Bubbles blinked.
"Yes," Blossom nodded, "Apparently, Mojo Jojo's suit that was on display in the museum went missing last night. It's not as if that custom suit could be of use to anyone else but him, so-"
"So they think Mojo and the Alien are working together?" Buttercup scoffed at the report. "Unbelievable."
"I know, I know. It's a lot to take in, Girls," Blossom sighed. "Look, the mayor's going to go over all of this at the press conference, so take five minutes to read the report for yourselves and get familiar with the details."
"Press conference?" Buttercup lowered the printed report to raise an eyebrow.
"Yes. It's at 10 am. Mayor Bellum will be doing all the talking. We just need to be there," Blossom frowned a little, "Trust me guys, this is overwhelming for me too, but," she paused to look at each of her siblings, and tried to show them an encouraging smile, "We'll get through it, Girls. I know we can."
Bubbles returned a weak smile, while Buttercup crumbled the printed report with a scarred fist and muttered something low, looking irritated.
Blossom took another deep breath before continuing, "Another thing to keep in mind, at the press conference every local news station will be there, and the mayor mentioned national networks will be in attendance as well. We should all do our best to appear calm, collected and in control, so as to not cause anymore concern for the citizens who are already on edge enough with the Alien and the rest of the villains still at large."
"Ugh," Buttercup groaned. "Fucking great. Why exactly do we have to be there?"
"To show Townsville that we are there to support the mayor and the police, and that the city is in trusted, good hands, Buttercup," Blossom sighed, starting to feel a little irritated by her sibling's attitude. "Anyways," she carried on, "Once the televised conference is over, the mayor said our press photoshoot will be set up in her office for the day. So basically that means the three of us have to be camera ready by 10 AM. Hence, Robin," she paused to smile at the brunette.
"Oh no," Buttercup groaned again. "Camera ready? For like... all day pretty much? That's what you're saying?"
"That's what I'm saying, Buttercup, yes."
"I'm not wearing makeup."
"Buttercup, do we really have to fight about this every year? We've agreed already that you should wear it at school and for photos. It's easier that way!"
"No way. I'm sixteen now. I should be able to make my own choices. Besides, it's not like covering my face scar has ever made a difference."
"It does make a difference when you actually do it-"
"So you're saying it's my fault I don't wear enough makeup?!"
"No! That's not what I'm saying!"
"I wore makeup when we had to go round up all those prisoners in the streets, and it didn't matter! Next day they call me a fucking killer! It doesn't matter what the fuck I do!"
"But Buttercup, we are trying to repair your image, remember?"
"So what you're saying is for that to work I'm not allowed to fucking fight crime and have a fucked up face?! Is that it?!"
"Please, guys!" Bubbles had retreated slightly from her siblings as they began arguing and stood beside Robin. Her baby blue eyes glistened with tears as she quietly spoke, "Buttercup, you know Blossom's just trying to look out for you, right? We just don't want people to say mean stuff about you, that's all-"
"Ugh!" the tomboy glared at the blue Puff next, "Everyone's seen my stupid face already, alright?!" Buttercup faced both sisters, "At first we thought if we tried to cover it up, that people would forget about all those stupid stories, but they didn't, alright?! I'm sick of having to do something that I don't like like wearing stupid makeup just to try and avoid something that's never gonna stop!"
"But Buttercup, we already agreed before-" Blossom began again but was cut off immediately again by the angry green Puff.
"I said I'm putting my fucking foot down and I ain't wearing anymore makeup, alright, Goody-Goody?!"
"It's OK!" Robin cut in next between the bickering siblings, drawing their attention immediately. She gave Buttercup another small smile, "I'm here to help, remember? If you don't want to wear makeup, we can still find something else..." Robin paused to think of a solution. "How about... instead of makeup, we can always style your hair like we did when the two of us went to that Green Day concert together? It looked nice like that. Remember, Buttercup?"
The green Puff stared at Robin for a moment. The hopeful smile the brunette wore was naive but genuine, and enough to ease Buttercup's rising rage for the time being. "Ugh..." the tomboy looked away and as the scowl faded slightly, "That was practically like two years ago..."
"Yeah, but when you wear your bangs like that, it really does cover your..." Robin stopped and looked at her sulking friend who looked completely defeated. She frowned, feeling a little guilty all of a sudden. "But... it's just a suggestion," she added quietly.
"It's a good suggestion," Blossom encouraged. She turned to Buttercup who stood with both arms crossed, staring at the floor with a displeased frown. "What do you say, Buttercup?"
The green Puff looked up and saw both sisters and Robin waiting for an answer. "Ugh. Fine. If that'll get everyone off my back, I guess."
"Good," Blossom said with an exasperated sigh. She reached into her pants pocket and retrieved the blue and green wrist communicators the Professor had given her earlier. "OK, last thing before morning sweeps is this." She held out the watches for Bubbles and Buttercup to take, and they each took their corresponding color in hand.
"What's this?" Bubbles asked.
"Our new wrist communicators that the Professor made for us last night. With these, we'll be in direct contact with one another whenever needed. It's crucial we don't have any more communication mishaps like we had yesterday, OK? I don't want either of you going anywhere without them on and attached securely to your wrists. Got it?"
"Got it," Bubbles nodded, already wearing the new device.
"Buttercup?" Blossom asked.
"Yeah, yeah," the green Puff muttered while slipping the watch on with a sigh, "Got it."
"Good," Blossom nodded. "OK. Let's do a quick sweep of the city before we all start to get ready."
"While you three are out, I'll go home and get all my hair stuff set up," she smiled weakly at Buttercup, before turning to leave, "See you in a bit."
Buttercup shrugged. "Sure. Whatever."
Once Robin was gone, Bubbles turned to Blossom, "Can we feed the coyotes after sweeps real quick?" she squeaked. "I'm afraid there won't be time after the shoot and before work and everything."
Blossom checked her watch. "OK. But we have to be fast."
"Ugh!" Buttercup groaned again, "Can't you find a way to do that on your own time, Bubbles? Jeez!"
The blue Puff's eyes immediately began to water, "You don't have to come if you don't want..."
Blossom sighed, "How about this? Sweeps. Then, Buttercup you see Robin about your hair for the day. While you're with Robin, Bubbles and I will feed the coyotes, and then when we return the three of us can get dressed in our uniforms and prepare for the conference together. Sound good?"
Bubbles nodded, "OK."
"Fine," Buttercup muttered.
"Good," Blossom exhaled deeply, before checking her watch again for the time. "Alright. Let's-."
"Wait, let me feed Lorenzo and Maria first-"
"I took care of it," Buttercup interrupted.
"Really?" Bubbles smiled a little, remembering her sister taking care of their water dish the night before. "Thanks, Buttercup."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"Come on you two," Blossom led them towards the door, "Let's go!"
Ginger, the orange tabby cat, sat upon a purple colored chair and watched curiously as her owner cleared off everything from her work desk and began to quickly arrange an assortment of combs, brushes, and styling products upon the table top. She retrieved a spray water bottle, a tabletop mirror, her blow dryer, curling iron and hair straightener next, and also sat them down. As the teal eyed girl scratched her head for a moment and looked about the room, she wondered what else she might need. The teenager pulled out the purple chair next, shooing the cat from her spot, "Sorry, Ginger. I need to borrow your chair for a bit, OK?"
The tubby, elderly cat slunk slowly off the chair and found a new spot upon her owner's bed.
Once Robin had her quickly-made styling station set up, she checked for the time and saw that it had been about fifteen minutes since she had left the Utonium's. She wondered where Buttercup was and if she had returned yet from her Powerpuff surveillance sweep. "Better go check, I guess," the girl decided, before leaving the room. She took a moment to stop and lecture her cat first, "And you stay off that chair while I'm gone, Ginger! I know you think it's yours, but technically it's mine, and I'm gonna need it when I get back, alright?"
The cat responded with an unblinking stare, before curling into herself for a nap.
Robin had almost made it to her home's front door before she heard a voice call out from the kitchen as she passed by, "Robin, is that you?"
Robin stopped and answered. "Yeah, Mom," she turned back around and peered into the kitchen, "It's me."
"I didn't see you this morning," the petite woman in medical scrubs, who was Robin's mother and a nurse at Townsville Medical Center, sat at the kitchen table with her cup of morning tea. Like her daughter, she had a dimpled smile and wavy, chestnut brown hair. "I was just about to try and call you. Were you next door again?"
"Yeah, Mom," Robin stepped inside the kitchen. "I... spent the night."
"Aw, it's been a while since you girls had a sleepover."
"Yeah," Robin bit her lip for a moment. "Actually, they're gonna come over in a bit. They have a photoshoot later and so I'm helping with their hair. I'm on my way to go get Buttercup now."
"Oh, OK, Dear. I'll be sure to bring you girls up some snacks before I leave for work then."
Robin smiled. "Thanks, Mom."
Her mother lowered her cup of tea and asked curiously, "How are the girls and their father holding up throughout all this?"
Robin frowned. "Honestly... I think it's been really hard on all of them."
"Those poor, sweet girls," she shook her head, "I still can't believe some monster would target them on their Sweet 16! I pray for them every day, you know?"
"Yeah... me too, Mom." Robin smiled weakly, "Well, I'll be right back."
"OK, Dear."
Robin walked quickly across her home's front yard and crossed over to the Utonium residence. Being an unofficial part of the family for most of her life, the teenager was always welcome, and so she went straight inside, hurried quickly up the home's staircase and walked towards the first door on the left. The door to Buttercup's room was shut, and so she stopped to knock first. As she raised her hand, she paused, hearing Buttercup's muffled voice through the door.
"Look, I don't need anymore of your advice, got it?"
Robin gently knocked on the door, "Hey, Buttercup. It's me. Are you ready?"
It didn't take long for the green Puff to emerge from the room. Buttercup stepped out, shutting the door quickly, "Yeah, hey, let's go-"
"Hey," Robin smiled weakly. She couldn't help but notice that her friend looked flustered and a little sweaty. "Who were you talking to just now?"
"Huh?" Buttercup blinked. "Uh, no one really."
The two started down the stairs together.
"Were you talking to your birds?" Robin asked as they walked. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I talk to Ginger all the time even though I know she can't understand me, and she can't really talk back." Robin paused, "It can be weird sometimes when Bubbles is around to tell me what she's really saying though," she laughed a little.
Buttercup laughed along nervously, "Yeah..."
As the two entered Robin's home, the girl's mother shouted a cheerful greeting from the kitchen as they passed by. "Hello, Buttercup!"
"Uh, hey, Mrs. Snyder-" Buttercup answered back, as Robin hurried quicker.
"Don't stop," she spoke in a whisper, "She's just gonna talk your ear off forever if we do."
The two reached Robin's room, and as they stepped inside the brunette immediately threw up her hands at the sight of the orange cat on her chair.
"Ginger, what the heck did we just talk about?" Robin sighed as she plucked the cat from the chair and sat her back on her bed. "Go on, Buttercup," she gestured towards the chair, "Have a seat."
Buttercup lowered herself onto the chair, and watched as Robin repositioned the standing mirror on the desk in front of them so that the green Puff's reflection was visible.
Robin took a hair comb in hand and stood behind the green Puff, "So, I know it's been a while, but," she began to part her friend's slick straight raven black hair, combing it to the right, "When we went to that show, we had done somethin' like... this..."
Buttercup stared ahead at the mirror's reflection and watched as Robin combed a large section of hair so that it swooped over and covered nearly all the facial scarring. The teen's dark hair blended well enough with the dark colored features, but it was still a style that wasn't exactly a favorite.
"If we wet it up a little and blow dry it, I can add some cool little flips to it if you want?" Robin stepped back and watched for Buttercup's reaction in the mirror. The scrunched up expression the tomboy wore was enough of an answer. "No?" Robin frowned. "Well... we can always try something different? Have anything in mind?"
"I think our options are pretty limited," Buttercup sighed, "It's fine, Robin. Just... do whatever you think will work, OK? I don't care."
Robin frowned. "But it's your hair. I don't want to decide for you."
"Knock, knock," Robin's mom interrupted at the doorway, "I'm off to work, Robin, but first I wanted to bring you girls some fresh fruit to snack on."
"Thanks, Mom," Robin walked over to her door and took the plate of assorted fruit from her mother.
"Hello, Buttercup."
"Hey, Mrs. Snyder."
"Did you girls have a fun sleepover last night?"
"Huh?" Buttercup glanced to Robin whose face blushed a bright pink. "Uh... yeah. Yeah, it was fun, Mrs. Snyder..."
"OK, Mom," Robin sat the plate of fruit down on her desk quickly and rushed back to her door, "You're gonna be late for work, so bye!"
"OK, OK, I'll get out of your hair! Goodbye, Buttercup-"
Robin shut the door and sighed heavily before turning around to face her friend with her cheeks still flushed.
"Dude," Buttercup couldn't help but smirk. "What was that about?"
Robin returned to standing behind the chair and tried her best to act casual, "Nothing-"
"Nah," the green Puff still smirked. "Were you up to no good last night or somethin'?"
"Yeah... thanks for playing along there." Robin laughed a little.
"Well, where were you?"
Robin looked at Buttercup and suddenly felt a wave of guilt. She did not want to lie, but she had to keep her word to her girlfriend. "Well, I was out somewhere... I probably shouldn't have been..."
Buttercup raised an eyebrow. "That's all you're gonna tell me for real?"
Robin bit her lip. "It's complicated, but... I'll tell you about it another time. Promise. It's a long story and we gotta get your hair done, right?"
Buttercup raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "Alright," she watched Robin through the mirror as the girl popped an orange slice into her mouth and snacked quietly for a moment. "I gotta say, I'm a little surprised. I thought for sure you'd been spending way too much time with Goody-Goody lately. Glad she hasn't rubbed off on you too much."
Robin laughed nervously again, but forced herself to shake off her nerves. She refocused her attention on the head of black shaggy hair once more, "OK," she began again, tousling Buttercup's hair, "So what should we do with this?"
"I told ya," Buttercup shrugged, "Do whatever."
Robin frowned again, not sure how to proceed. She paused, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What?"
"Do you really want your scar covered for this, or... is that just to try and make other people happy?"
The green Puff shrugged, "I dunno. Like I said earlier, I'm fucking over this stupid scar shit. But if everyone's gonna make such a big deal out of it, then what choice do I have?"
"You absolutely have a choice." Robin's teal eyes met Buttercup's emerald in the mirror, "Look, I know Blossom can be a bit pushy with her opinions sometimes- she really is just trying to look out for you- but... if you really are tired of hiding your scar, and you really don't care what people think then..."
"Then what?"
Robin shrugged. "Then fuck 'em, right?"
Buttercup smirked, but said nothing.
Robin walked around the chair and stood in front of Buttercup. "Say... how brave are you feeling right now?"
Buttercup raised an eyebrow, "Whaddya mean?"
"I kinda wanna try something on you. I think you'll like it, but... it's gonna be different. Like... total makeover status!"
Buttercup raised an eyebrow, "Total makeover?"
"Yeah," Robin smiled. "OK, like, here's my vision, right?" She returned to behind the chair and began to comb her fingers through the green Puff's hair, "If you really feel like making a statement today and just showing off your scar, then I think we shouldn't hold back, right? I'm thinking we go really short. Like... all of this... gone. Well not gone, gone, but you know what I mean right? And we'll leave this a little long on top- but not too long! Just enough so we can try out some different styles with it. Like... maybe gel it up, or we can slick it back, or we can even do like a fohawk!"
"So you're saying you wanna give me a haircut?"
"Well, yeah," Robin smiled again. "But, people will definitely be able to see your scar, so... how brave are you feeling?"
Buttercup thought for a moment. Looking at Robin, the girl seemed to hold her breath for an answer. "Alright," Buttercup smirked. "Let's try it."
"OK, great! Let me grab my dad's clippers! I'll be right back!"
As the brunette rushed out of the room, the invisible tag-along watched as she passed and grinned at Buttercup, "Dude. I think she's into us."
The green Puff's eyes narrowed briefly on the kid, but said nothing.
It did not take long for the brunette to return with a pair of electric clippers in hand. Buttercup watched as she rushed over to the desk with an eager grin as she turned away the mirror, "Big makeovers require big reveals. So no mirror until the end, alright?"
Buttercup laughed a little, "Alright."
"OK," she gently tilted Buttercup's head forward, and switched on the clippers that she held in her right hand, "You ready?"
"Yeah."
"You sure? Once it's off, I can't exactly glue it back on, you know?"
"Dude," the raven haired teen laughed again, "Just do it, already."
"OK! Here we go!"
Buttercup held still, head tilted forward, watching as the clumps of jet black hair began to fall upon the floor. "Woah," the teenager laughed nervously, "That's a lot of hair..."
"I know, I know. Are you regretting it?"
"No, no. Keep going."
"OK..."
It took about twenty minutes for Robin to do her work, but as the green Puff waited and watched the many strands of hair falling, there was a rising feeling of excitement stirring within. Any time the Puff had gone to a hair salon in the past and asked for "short," the shortest received was a simple bob that came just about chin length. And for the last three years, the awkward teen had tried to avoid places like hair salons, so simple do-it-yourself chops at home was all that was done. That usually involved just tying one's hair into a small ponytail and cutting it with a pair of scissors.
Robin stepped away from her friend with a giant grin once all was complete. "Oh my God..." she breathed with excitement, "It looks really good." She rushed over to her desk and grabbed the mirror and stood in front of the green Powerpuff. "You ready to see?" Robin received a nod, and so she turned the mirror around and held it up, "So... whaddya think?"
"Woah," the green Puff stared back at the reflection, jaw totally dropped. Like Robin promised, it was definitely a big change. The teenager's raven hair was cropped short, with the back and sides clipped down to just under half an inch left. The top of the new cut was left a little long, and still a bit shaggy, but the bangs stopped just above the brow. The 'V' shaped scar on the Powerpuff's face no longer hid between peaks of long, stringy black hair. It was there for all to see, and could definitely not be ignored now. Slowly, a grin swept the green Puff's face.
"Do you like it?" Robin held her breath.
"Dude. It actually looks... good."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," the teen lifted a scarred hand and played with the new style a bit, grinning still in the mirror.
"Oh my God, I'm so glad you like it!"
The green Puff looked up at Robin, still grinning, "Thanks, Rob."
As the pair of friends smiled at one another, they heard the sounds of Bubbles and Blossom approaching from downstairs.
"OK, we're here!" Bubbles announced as she entered the room first. Her baby blue eyes fell on her sibling and at first all she could do was stare in stunned silence as Blossom came in next.
"We brought our uniforms over so we can get dressed. How's it going in here-" Blossom stopped next, her jaw instantly dropping the moment she saw the green Puff sitting in the purple chair with the drastic new look. The pink Puff found herself speechless.
Bubbles suddenly erupted in a loud, high pitched squeal, "OHMIGOSH YOU LOOK AMAZING, BUTTERCUP!"
"Doesn't she?!" Robin squealed next.
"I AM FREAKING OUT!" Bubbles bounced in place, overwhelmed by giddiness, "OHMIGOSH! IT'S LIKE SO... SO... YOU!"
"I know, right?!" Robin grinned. "To be honest, I was kinda going for a little bit of Joe Strummer for you, Buttercup. Can you tell?"
The green Puff laughed, "Ha, yeah. I can see that, I guess."
"OK, OK," Bubbles zipped over to where her sibling sat, "Get up! It's my turn!" As the green Puff stood, Bubbles immediately took a seat in the purple chair. "But no haircut necessary. Just curls, please," she smiled at Robin.
Robin picked up her curling iron and grinned, "So the usual, Bubbles?"
"Yes, please!" the blue Puff giggled.
The green Powerpuff found another mirror on the wall of the bedroom and floated over to it, continuing to run scarred fingers through the new do. Blossom watched from the doorway, holding onto the three sets of uniforms and still somewhat in shock from the new reveal. Her sibling seemed to be all smiles, looking into the mirror. Slowly, the pink Puff approached from behind. "Here's your uniform," she said quietly as she handed the green attire over.
"Thanks. Hey Robin, can I use your bathroom to get dressed?"
"Sure, of course!"
Blossom watched as her sibling carried the green uniform and floated out of the room. The redhead bit her lip for a moment, before following after.
"Hey, Buttercup," Blossom called out as she stepped out into the hallway. "Can I get a sec?"
The green Puff stopped and turned around. "What?"
Blossom tried to force a smile, but it was difficult. Everyone else was so enthusiastic and so excited for Buttercup, but Blossom could not help but always think logically about things. She did not want to ruin her sibling's fun, but at the same time, she felt as if someone had to point out the obvious risk of the situation. Apparently, that always had to be her. She took a deep breath before beginning, "You know... you know that I support you no matter what, right?"
"Uh huh..."
"Well, I do," Blossom paused. "But Buttercup... with your hair like that now... are you sure you don't want to reconsider maybe-"
"I ain't wearing makeup, Blossom."
"OK, OK," Blossom responded quickly, "It's just... well, you do know that everyone will be able to see... your scar... right?"
"Yeah. I know."
"Good," Blossom tried to smile again, but failed again. "If that's what you want, then good."
"Uh huh... Look, Blossom, I know you hate it, alright?"
"I do not hate it!" Blossom defended herself, "I actually really like it, too. Like Bubbles said, it's definitely... you." Blossom paused, "It's just... well, I just want you to remember that... we kinda tried this before, right? At the Discovery Dome premiere, remember? And, well, I just remember how tough that experience ended up being for you... How all the media started making up stories and all... Your depression got even worse, and you started that sleep walking thing for a while..." Blossom gulped. "There's going to be media from all over today. Plus the photoshoot, which will be what is ultimately on all the billboards and magazines and everywhere... So... I just... don't want you to have to go through something like that again. Does that make sense?"
The green Puff blinked at Blossom for a while, before beginning in a low voice "That... definitely sucked," Buttercup sighed heavily, "But... it's different now, alright? I get that showing up with a short boy's cut and my face fucked up is gonna freak some people out. And yeah, they probably will make up more stories after this. Shit, I'll bet money on it. But... I know now... no matter what, they're gonna call me a monster 'cause of this," Buttercup raised a scarred hand to the 'V' shaped blemish, "And that's never going away." A small frown briefly swept the Puff's face, "You want me to prove people wrong by catching all the villains, and that's fine I guess. We can try. But one thing's for sure, Blossom, you're not gonna convince people that I ain't ugly, 'cause I am-"
"No, you're not-"
"It's fine, Blossom," the green Puff interrupted firmly, but the statement sounded almost more consoling than combative. "I know how I look, and I know that there are always gonna be idiots who talk shit about it, but I don't care what they gotta say anymore. I've heard it all. I'm fucking numb at this point, alright? So," a deep sigh, "I appreciate you lookin' out, but you gotta fucking stop, Blossom. There's nothing left to defend me on with this, or try and fix somehow. It's my face. It's not gonna change. And I don't care anymore. OK?"
"OK..." Blossom watched her skinny sibling closely, surprised by the rare calmness then. That morning it felt as if Buttercup was going to be in a difficult mood all day, but Blossom could not sense any agitation then. She bit her lip, before giving the slightest nod and repeating more confidently. "OK."
"OK then," the green Puff returned the nod and reached for the bathroom door handle. Before stepping inside, Blossom spoke up one last time.
"Your hair really does look good like that, Buttercup."
"...Thanks."
Even on a clear, cloudless summer day, standing at the edge of the dock, the island was barely visible and looked to be just a speck in the distance. The bright blue ocean waves were calm that morning and the sea breeze was light. It seemed like the perfect day to set sail, and it was what she had come there to do. The only slight obstacle, of course, was she would first need to find someone who would be willing to take her where she needed to go. Monster Isle had always been a destination the average boatman would naturally want to avoid. However, persuasion had always been the villainess's specialty, and she knew she would eventually find someone. She always did.
Her camouflage for the day was a curly honey blonde wig, a tightly fitted halter dress in light coral that hugged her hourglass shape perfectly and in all the right ways, and a pair of matching kitten heels. Sedusa called this particular disguise: Natalie.
Natalie walked along the wooden platform with her heels clicking beneath her as her bright green eyes searched about for anyone that may be useful. Unfortunately, while there were many cabin cruisers and sailboats parked along the dock, there didn't appear to be a single potential sailor in sight. It was early enough still though that she knew she had time. With the summer morning sun blazing brightly above, she set her sights on a small, seaside bar that faced the ocean water where she could wait for her next prey someplace cool.
It was mostly empty inside the darkened establishment- just a single bartender, and one sad, passed out lonely alcoholic asleep in a booth. The only light inside the tiny tavern shone in through a singular, small window that hung above the bar, and a small television screen that hung on the back wall. As the seductress stepped inside and surveyed her surroundings, she glided closer to the television set which was muted.
On screen, was the local news covering a live event taking place at City Hall. Natalie's green eyes narrowed on the redheaded politician who stood upon the capitol steps and behind a podium, speaking to a large crowd of reporters and press. The sight of Mayor Bellum was enough to make her blood boil.
"Would you like me to turn that up for you, Ma'am?" the bartender shouted from behind the bar.
"No, that's alright," she answered with her back still turned and still watching the screen. As the camera shot pulled backward, it revealed three teenagers in bright, pastel colored tracksuits standing on display behind the speaking politician. The blonde in baby blue was obviously Bubbles, and the redhead in pink was obviously Blossom, but the final raven-haired teenager in green... "Who's the boy with the ugly face?"
"Boy?" the bartender looked up from the bar towards the screen. "Oh. Haha, good one, Lady."
Natalie turned away from the TV and made her way over to the bar, taking a seat upon the nearest stool. The bartender's attention was elsewhere as she sat down.
"Seems strange for a team called 'the Powerpuff Girls' to recruit a boy."
"Ha, well, everything about that Buttercup sure is strange if you ask me."
"Buttercup?" she turned her head once more to look at the news broadcast. The pale faced hero in green with the dark 'V' shaped scar stood up tall and straight, like a good little soldier, and just like both sisters. "Hm. Yes. Strange..."
"So what can I get for you?" the bartender asked as he approached the blonde from behind the bar.
As the woman turned her head, her sparkling bright green eyes locked with the man's instantly, causing him to freeze momentarily, almost as if turned to stone. "I'm looking for a sailor," Natalie's unblinking eyes continued to glimmer as she spoke in a soft, sweet voice. "Do you know of any around here?"
The bartender stood still for a moment, before he began to blink slowly once more. He cleared his throat, and feeling himself suddenly extremely parched, he found it difficult to speak at first. He took a glass from the bar, filled it quickly with water and drank. The woman watched and waited patiently with a small, calm smile.
"A sailor?" he repeated at last. A sly smile crossed his face as his eyes ran up and down the woman then. "You want to find yourself a sailor?"
She smiled. "Yes. Do you know any?"
"What can a sailor do for you, Honey?"
"Hm," she smiled, "Name's Natalie."
"What can a sailor do for you, Natalie?"
"I want to take a trip, but I need a boat to get there."
"Where do you wanna go?"
"The island."
"Island? You mean... Monster Isle?"
"Yes. That is what they still call it nowadays, right?"
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I know for a fact that that island is strictly off limits to the public."
"Well, then I guess I need to find a daring sailor then, don't I?"
The bartender cleared his throat again, before taking another sip of water. "I really hate to bring a frown to such a pretty face, but even if you find such a sailor to take you there, they've had that island closed off for... well, just about six years now. The only type of boat or ship I've seen set sail for Monster Isle since then are either military or expeditionary."
"How does one 'close off' an island?"
"You're not from around here, are you?"
Natalie just smiled, her bright green eyes shimmering.
The bartender sat his short glass upon the bar. "Well, here's your island," he gestured to the cup as he retrieved a stack of square, red colored coasters. He boxed the cup in with four coasters, placing a final fifth coaster on top, "And these would be your island walls. No way in, and no way out, you see? Unless you got the proper authorization, that is."
"Hm. That is disappointing," she pursed her lips. "You said military is allowed and who else again?"
"Expeditioners, Ma'am. You know, scientists."
Natalie raised an eyebrow and then smiled again. "Scientists, huh?"
It had been nearly five and a half hours of posing and smiling under bright, beaming studio lights for what must have amounted to at least a thousand or more photographs, and the super hero troupe found themselves exhausted. As if their annual press photos weren't enough to handle, their duties of protecting the city did not end for the day. The team leader insisted on the three maintaining their surveillance sweep schedule, spending each brief "break" the group received throughout their shoot scouting for crime within the city. Lucky for them, it had been a quiet day in Townsville.
The blue and green Powerpuffs sat together on a bench that sat off to the side of the ongoing photoshoot, watching the pink Puff pose for her solo shots. The photographers had finished with Buttercup's solo shoot relatively quickly- something the green Puff did not mind, of course despising the entire process. Forcing a smile for hours was an irritating task, and after a while the teenager dropped the fake grin and embraced a scowl for the cameras instead. This was when the camera crew called it a wrap, however. Buttercup had managed to ignore all the gawking stares and whispered gossip throughout the day. But as the skinny teen slouched upon the bench and watched Blossom under the spotlight, there was a rising frustration beginning to build. Probably because it was getting difficult to ignore the nagging kid who had yet to shut up all day.
"Ugggghhhh," the kid groaned from where she dramatically lay sprawled out on the floor at the green Puff's feet. "When is this fucking bullshit going to be over?! Dude, we still gotta meet up with Mojo! If we don't then he's gonna turn us in! Come on, already! Ughhhhh, how many pictures do they need of that Goody-Goody anyway?! Just look at her! Everyone's fucking favorite! They can't get enough of her stupid fake ass smile! They just think she's sooo perfect! Give me a fucking break-"
The green Puff kicked her foot at the illusion to stop.
Bubbles noticed the sudden hard stomp that seemed to come from nowhere, and glanced at her sibling, "You OK?"
"Yeah," Buttercup muttered, sitting up again and cracking scarred knuckles, "I'm fine."
Bubbles looked from Buttercup to where Blossom stood against the brightly lit backdrop and sighed before taking another bite of her veggie burger. She had just finished with her own photos, and had been enjoying the dinner Mayor Bellum had ordered for her and her siblings. As she chewed she gently rubbed her chubby cheeks with one hand, "Ow," she swallowed her food, "My cheeks kinda hurt from having to smile so much."
"Imagine how I feel," the green Puff muttered.
Bubbles looked at Buttercup again. Beside her sibling sat the unopened to-go bag containing the burger Bellum had gotten for her. "Aren't you gonna eat?"
"Not hungry."
"But you didn't touch the lunch Miss Bellum got for us either-"
"I said I'm not hungry."
"OK," Bubbles frowned. She sat down her veggie burger for a moment to check the time on her new blue wristwatch. "It's almost six," she mentioned sadly.
"So?"
"So I have work soon," she sighed. "I hope this is almost over."
Buttercup heard this and perked up a little before turning to Bubbles, "Hey... can I ask you for a favor tonight?"
Bubbles paused to finish her bite. She swallowed, "You don't mean you want me to lie for you again, do you?"
"Not lie. Just cover for me."
"Covering for you always means lying."
"Well, then fine. Yeah, I need you to lie for me, alright? Just say I'm going to work with you again, OK? Simple."
Bubbles frowned. "Buttercup, after everything that happened with the coyotes," she sat her burger down for good, suddenly feeling her appetite gone, "I really don't want to keep secrets anymore- I... I've been feeling really confused and-"
"Ugh. Come on, Bubbles. You owe me. Remember?"
Across the room the two could hear the announcement at long last being made, "OK that's a wrap! Amazing work, Blossom! Thank you!" They turned their heads and saw their redheaded sister stepping off from her marker at last and beginning to slowly walk towards them.
"So?" Buttercup whispered.
"...OK," Bubbles squeaked.
"OK, Girls," Blossom began with an exhausted sigh, "All that's left is just approving the edits. The team said they'll need another hour or so before proofs are ready so in the meantime, let's get some surveillance sweeps finished and-"
"Blossom, do we have to be here for that part?" Bubbles interrupted with a squeak.
"Right. You got work, Bubbles. I haven't forgotten," she smiled at her blue eyed sister. "After sweeps, you can head to work. Since we're a little behind on our usual schedule, Buttercup and I will meet up with you at 9:30 for our next round of surveillance-"
"Well, I was gonna help Bubbles at work tonight," Buttercup spoke up. "Right, Bubs? You said the hospital was slammed, right?"
Bubbles nodded. "Right..."
"Oh," Blossom paused for a moment. "Sure. I guess I can just check the proofs myself," she frowned a little, "But I will text you guys what the edits are before I approve anything. So find some time at work to check your phone if you can, Bubbles, OK?"
"OK," Bubbles answered.
"OK, it's sweep time then," the leader clapped her hands together as both her siblings rose from their seats. Once the two stood, she wedged herself between them as they began to head for the exit together. "Nice work today, Girls," she smiled as she draped both arms around each of her teammates' shoulders, "Didn't you guys think this year went a little bit faster than usual?"
"Yeah, I guess it wasn't that bad," Bubbles returned a small smile. "I hope we look good."
Buttercup responded with an eyeroll, but said nothing.
"I really think this year's shoot might be our best yet, Girls," Blossom continued to smile, "For once, I'm actually excited to see how everything turns out!"
As the evening sky grew darker, the iron lamp posts that lined the Downtown Bridge began to flicker and glow. Mojo had spent enough time observing from his post above to know that this meant it was exactly seven then. The green Powerpuff would be arriving any moment, and so he waited patiently upon the water tower's landing and continued to silently watch the city below. It would still be several more hours before the busy streets of Downtown died down for the night, and when the citizens retired to their homes.
Despite the population of citizens on the streets, Mojo had curiously observed for himself that the passersby below never seemed to pay the abandoned, rusty monument any attention. Mojo imagined it was because the water tower had aged into nothing but an eyesore to the people of Townsville. After all its paint was faded and chipped, its metal rusted, and its piping and tank were bare and dry. Decrepit, worn and ugly, Townsville had no use for it anymore, and so it was simply ignored by all. The more Mojo thought about this, the more confident and determined he became in his mind.
This would be the place.
"H-hey?" a timid voice called out from the other side of the tower's landing. "A-alright, I'm here... Mojo...? Are you up here...?"
A sly smirk crossed the villain's face. He could not help but find it amusing that the teenager found him so intimidating still after all this time. "Over here, Joey," Mojo answered, staying where he stood facing the Downtown Bridge.
The green Powerpuff slowly came around the largest center beam of the tower, and found the villain on the other side. He stood with his back turned towards them, overlooking the tower railing with his purple cape blowing freely in the wind. The young hero gulped hard before slowly continuing towards him, their heart pounding in their chest and still internally dreading what could possibly come next.
The anxiety about their meeting had been with them all day, but all their nerves had severely intensified the moment they touched down upon the metal landing of the tower. And although the green Puff tried desperately to ignore it, the kid was huddled close behind them, panicking and whispering incessantly in their ear: "This is gonna suck- this is gonna suck- this is gonna suck-"
The green Puff halted just behind the villain. "So," they gulped again. "I-I'm here... What did you want? ...What is it? ...Why am I here?"
Mojo smirked again to himself choosing to let the silence go on a little longer than necessary. It obviously rattled his enemy, after all, and even he- a villain- deserved to have a little fun. He took just a minute for himself as the teenager squirmed nervously, before slowly turning around to face them.
Mojo's eyes widened briefly as they fell upon the unexpected new haircut the tomboy possessed. "Hmph," he began with a raised eyebrow, "If you had wished to replace your recently lost mask with a new form of disguise, I'm afraid just a haircut is not enough to hide," he paused and motioned with a gloved white hand round his face, "Your more prominent features."
The green Puff blinked back, confused as to what he was talking about at first. "Oh," they paused, raising a scarred hand to their hair, "Yeah, no. This was for-" the hero stopped themself, and tried to force a serious face, "What do you want, Mojo?"
Mojo smirked again, before placing both his hands behind his back and strolling past the teenager. "What does Mojo want?" he repeated as he came round the other side of the center beam, the green Puff following slowly and cautiously behind him. "Well, I suppose there are many things that I want and desire," Mojo began as they came round and stopped at a spot on the landing beside the center beam where the green Puff noticed an assortment of tools scattered upon the floor and traces of metal shavings. "Especially, considering all that I had managed to acquire and achieve for myself was taken from me when I was thrown into that accursed Villains Ward- my lair, my inventions, my arsenal, my belongings, my freedom! Yes, there is much to be replaced, and much to restore before Mojo can truly reclaim the power that was stolen from him..."
The green Puff stood and watched as Mojo reached somewhere behind his cape and pulled out a rolled sheet of paper. "So... I'm supposed to help somehow with that?"
Mojo unfurled the sheet in his hands, holding it up for the green Puff to see, "As Mojo promised, it is a simple project, Joey," he handed the sheet over to Joey, and reapproached the largest metal beam at the center of the tower landing. "Easy enough for someone with your capabilities that is."
The sheet the green Puff held in their scarred hands was a blueprint sketched out by the villain himself. As they held it up, they saw that the spherical shape of the architectural design perfectly lined up with the shape of the water tank. Lowering the sheet, their emerald eyes fell on Mojo who stood underneath the area where the tank dipped down lowest into the landing space. The short simian removed a cut section of metal from the thick center beam of the tower.
The hollow space inside was dark and as the villain crouched to stick his head through the small opening, his voice echoed as he continued to speak to the Puff, "First task of course will be to get rid of all this rust and grime! I want this entire interior scrubbed and polished! Much of this piping will have to be removed as well! All of which can be repurposed elsewhere of course! And we will save this portion here-" the villain stopped and removed his head from the opening and looked at the teenager who stood behind him, staring silently with wide green eyes. "What are you doing just standing there and gawking?! There is much to complete before the night is through!"
"Wait," the teenager shook their head from where they stood. "You want me to help build you a new lair?"
"Yes, of course," Mojo rolled his eyes a little, "How was that not clear? Come on now!" he motioned for Joey to come closer, "How can you understand my instructions without observing for yourself exactly what it is that I am referring to?!"
"Wait, but you wanna build it here?" the green Puff looked from the sketches in their scarred hands to Mojo again and stared in disbelief, "Why here?!"
Mojo turned around fully to face them and crossed his arms, "Why not here? The tank's two million gallons of water is drained and gone, leaving adequate space inside for a comfortable home and work space. It is a place where neither the Powerpuffs or the police have bothered to search in the past several days. It has the potential to serve as a good lookout location, although the view could be improved-"
"You can't build your lair here!" Joey stomped their foot in protest, "I... I was here first!"
Mojo laughed, "Oh, were you?"
"Y-yeah!"
"Hmph," Mojo smirked, "Tough luck."
The green puff's eyes narrowed on the villain, as they clenched their teeth silently in frustration.
Mojo's devious smile only widened. But he reveled in his enemy's misery only for a brief moment longer, before he forced himself to stay focused on the task at hand once more. He motioned again for Joey, "Now, come on," he turned back around, "As I stated earlier, there is much to complete tonight!"
"Ugh," the young hero grumbled again, cracking their scarred knuckles as they approached the villain, "Fine. Let's do this..."
Closing time for the animal hospital was at 8 PM and so Bubbles spent the rest of her late shift tending to the kennels at the back of the veterinary facility. The blue Powerpuff had just finished feeding all the boarding animals when she had a moment finally to check her cell phone for any messages. Sure enough, there were several from Blossom, and Bubbles opened them to find all the proofs their leader had promised to send before approval.
"Show these to Buttercup and let me know if you guys both approve! I think they look great!" Blossom's text message read with the attached photos.
Bubbles swiped quickly through the pictures on her cell, as a smile swept her face. "OMG I LOVE THEM!" she texted back immediately.
"What about Buttercup?" Blossom's reply came fast.
Bubbles paused. Her sibling of course was not with her. But Bubbles had promised to cover for the green Puff and so she took a deep breath and replied, "Yeah she said she likes them too!"
"Great! I'll let the PR team know! See you guys at 9:30 for sweeps!"
"Okie dokie," Bubbles returned her cell to her pocket and was passing through the hospital's main hallway when she overheard the receptionist speaking to somebody in the lobby.
"Sorry, but even if the veterinarian was still here, there's no way she would see your... dog..."
"But, I just rescued 'im off the streets, and my Mom says if I'm gonna keep 'im then he needs his shots before she'll let 'im in the house-"
"I'm sorry, but, we only treat domesticated animals here, and I'm pretty sure your dog is, well, a coyote..."
Bubbles stopped in her tracks as she heard this. She turned around and began to float quickly down the hallway and towards the hospital's front lobby.
"Jeez, you guys call yourselves animal lovers, huh? Fuck this then. I'll take 'im someplace else. Come on, Killer."
As the blue Powerpuff appeared in the lobby, she arrived just as a tall boy with messy brown hair retreated towards the hospital entrance, holding onto a black nylon dog leash which was attached to a spiked collar worn by...
Bubbles gasped quietly to herself with a small squeak, "Victor..." The blue Powerpuff had yet to see her coyote friend since he disappeared after Fuzzy's fateful "accident." Being the former leader of the coyote pack, she imagined Victor took all the blame in what had happened that day. Bubbles had searched everywhere she could think of to find him so that they could talk about everything, and so that she could convince him to return to the sanctuary, but she had had no luck.
The blonde stood behind the receptionist desk with her mouth slightly agape as she watched the grey coated coyote exit the building with his new owner. The canine hadn't seen her himself, and Bubbles debated momentarily over whether she should follow him or not. She certainly never imagined the coyote would find a new home, and as a pet at that. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what to think of it.
"Mari, I'm gonna take five real quick, OK?" Bubbles said as she floated quickly around the front desk.
"Sure, Bubbles. No problem."
The blue Puff exited the hospital and watched from the entrance as Victor continued across the parking lot with his new owner. She took a deep breath before deciding to quietly follow.
The teenager reached the sidewalk and stood under the light of a nearby street lamp, he paused to retrieve a dog biscuit from his pants pocket and offered it to Victor who heeled and sat patiently for it with a wagging tail. "Good boy, Killer!" Finally seeing his face as he grinned at Victor then, Bubbles recognized who the boy was from school.
She halted midway through the parking lot and blinked in disbelief. "Mitch Mitchelson?"
"Come on," Mitch patted the coyote on his head before grasping his leash firmly in one hand. "Let's go home, Boy!" Mitch took off in a sprint down the sidewalk, and Victor excitedly followed right alongside him.
Bubbles watched quietly as the two raced down the sloped hill together, unsure of how to interpret the situation. She had always believed Mitch Mitchelson to be one of the worst people on the planet. But seeing that Mitch had taken it upon himself to rescue Victor from the streets definitely surprised her. And Victor looked... happy. She had been so worried that the canine might have fled some place far away and for good, and that she would never get to see him again. As strange as the sight was to see him with Mitch of all people, Bubbles still could not help but feel a great sense of relief just knowing that her friend was out there and OK.
The blue Powerpuff waited until the boy and dog had disappeared entirely out of sight before turning back to return to the hospital. She wondered if she should try and visit Victor at his new home just to make sure he was truly alright. After all... it was Mitch Mitchelson he was with.
The superpowered teenager had made fast work of their laser eye beams, using them at different degrees to easily gut, clean and polish the interior of the water tower's tank. The only attached piping that remained was the large center pipe which traveled from the middle of the tank all the way down to the base of the tower below. Mojo explained how he planned to build an elevator within the vertical steel tunnel and construct a secret entrance for himself below. Inside the tank, they would have to construct three different levels. The first two were designed to be Mojo's living areas, with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and two separate studies and library. The third level and largest area would be the villain's new work place for all his villainous pursuits. On the blueprints Mojo had sketched, Joey curiously noted that the work space would have more than a hundred feet of space between the ground and the ceiling above. It seemed like a lot of space to just leave empty, but the green Puff was sure that the design could not be by accident. Whatever he planned to use his workspace for... it was going to be big.
"Remember, Joey! After tonight, you forget all of these ingenious details I am sharing with you! This is not for the Powerpuffs to know!" the villain kept repeating throughout the night. The more he said it, the more the green Puff found themselves cracking a small smile in response.
After about an hour of cleaning and initial construction and repurposing what scraps they could, Mojo announced that it was time for their first supply run of the night. They would need to get all the necessary equipment and tools needed to complete the lair. Mojo had prepared an itemized list of what they would need, already scouting out a location earlier that day on his own- a home improvement store on the east side of town. The supply warehouse he had planned to rob after hours for materials wasn't far from the water tower itself, and when the green Puff offered to fly them there, Mojo declined.
"There will be much to carry back to the new lair. It is one thing for the two of us to go unnoticed in the evening sky, but I am afraid we will need another form of transportation in order to safely haul everything back undetected and unseen," the short simian explained as the green Puff swiftly carried him down from the tower.
The superpowered teenager sat Mojo on his feet once they reached the grassy ground. The Puff watched curiously as Mojo continued to a row of unkempt hedges and bushes that were on the other side of the tower's base. Once they saw him disappear between the thick foliage they followed after him. Once on the other side, the skinny teen's emerald eyes widened with surprise, "Dude, a pickup truck?" They laughed a little, finding the rusted, beat up vehicle to clash with Mojo's usual shiny steel robots the villain used to operate in the past. "Where'd you get this old thing from?"
"Mojo found it during his venture home last night from that accursed museum," the chimp explained as he opened the driver's side and hoisted himself onto the seat.
"Huh," the green Puff walked over to the passenger side and opened the door. Their emerald eyes fell first on the assortment of bundled, exposed wires that protruded from underneath the truck's steering wheel and then on the yellow handled screwdriver that was wedged in the ignition. "Found it?" the teenager couldn't help but smirk a little.
Mojo returned a small smirk, as he started up the engine. He waited for the green Puff to join him inside the cabin. "Tell Mojo, what is the current time now, Joey?"
The green Puff checked their wristwatch, "8:22 PM."
"We must be mindful of your Puffery duties tonight and get you back to your surveillance sweeps as scheduled to ensure that your absence from your sisters is not noticed. After all, if you are caught red handed tonight, then Mojo is caught red handed as well, and this is something I wish for us both to avoid," Mojo spoke as he reversed the truck out from their camouflaged parking spot behind the tower. As the green Puff buckled their seat belt, they curiously observed how the short simian had managed to alter the gas and brake pedal, extending them out for the short legged driver.
"When are your sisters expecting your return exactly?"
"How do you know about our sweeps schedule?"
"Hmph," Mojo smirked from behind the wheel as they pulled out of the grassy empty lot that surrounded the tower and onto a nearby road, "Mojo did not earn the title of Townsville's top villain by sharing his tactical secrets with his enemies."
The teenager rolled their eyes. "I gotta be back by 9:30, alright?"
"Excellent. Yes, that should be plenty of time for us to complete this supply run of ours. No, we should not require much time to get everything that we need. After our heist is complete, Mojo will transport our new equipment back himself to the tower, and assemble our power generators while you attend to your Powerpuffery." The rickety old truck's worn brakes screeched slightly as they came to a stop at a red light. As the green Puff turned to look at the villain then they saw that he reached behind his purple colored triangular belt buckle to retrieve something small. "Take this with you when you return home after your sweeps."
Mojo placed a small computer USB drive into the teen's scarred palm. "What's this?"
The light turned green and they rolled along the darkened street once more. "While you are home," Mojo continued to explain as he drove, "You will take that drive into your father's laboratory and place it into his work computer. Leave it there for fifteen seconds before you remove it. Then, after all your Puff duties are finished and when your family is asleep for the night, you will return with it to Mojo and we will complete our work. We will certainly need to wait until most of the city slumbers before beginning our next stage of construction and before carrying the bulk of our supplies into the lair."
"What's this thing gonna do after I stick it in the Professor's computer?"
"What did Mojo just say about not sharing his tactical secrets with his enemies?" Mojo huffed from behind the steering wheel. "Must he always repeat himself? Must everything I say always be said again- reiterated- retold- re-"
"OK, OK," the green Puff felt another smirk as they slipped the small drive into their pants pocket, "I got it."
"Good," Mojo came to another red light and stopped. He turned his head and glanced briefly at the green Puff, who had their gaze focused on the road ahead of them. Mojo had always remembered the scowl faced child to have a sour attitude, and from their time together, and once the hero had relaxed a little in his presence, he could see that this had not changed. Underneath all that scarring, it was still the same kid. As the teenager turned to look at Mojo, the chimp quickly looked away before they could see his gaze and returned his attention to the road. The light turned green, and they started forward again once more.
It was certainly strange for the green Puff to be working alongside so closely with the villain after not seeing him really since they were ten-years-old. Even though the hero would never admit it, during their old battles against one another, the young Puff used to really fear him most of the time. He had definitely come close to killing them and their sisters on multiple occasions. But... there was a brief time before they had officially become enemies when a young Buttercup actually liked the chimp. The green Puff initially found him to be incredibly smart, witty, and often truthfully hilarious even if he didn't mean to be. Of course then, he was just Jojo, and then, the five-year-old had no way of predicting that the kind, sympathetic simian who took them in when the rest of the world had shunned them would turn around and betray them.
But of course that was then, and this was now. Now, the sixteen-year-old knew better, and as often as they found themself involuntarily cracking a smirk at all of the villain's antics throughout the evening, they knew- deep down- that they could not let themself forget this fact. He was not just a villain. He was the villain. And at the end of the day, he was still the enemy.
With just two minutes left until Blossom's arrival, Bubbles watched the night sky anxiously as she stood outside the vet hospital still waiting for Buttercup's return. She poked at her wrist communicator wishing she knew just how to use it so she could try and contact the green Puff. With all the chaos of the earlier day, Blossom must have forgotten she hadn't exactly explained how the new device worked. Bubbles had only realized this then. Thankfully though, there was a flash of green light just as her wrist watch ticked over to 9:29 PM and her sibling landed beside her.
Bubbles sighed big with relief, "Ohmigosh you made it! I really thought you were gonna be late tonight!"
The green puff rolled their eyes, "I told ya I wouldn't-"
"OHMIGOSH, BUTTERCUP, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!" Bubbles interrupted suddenly with a high pitched squeal.
"Jeez, Bubbles," the tomboy cringed slightly from their sister's sudden loud outburst, "What?"
"I found Victor!"
Another eyeroll, "Cool, Bubbles."
There was a flash of pink light that fell from the sky next as Blossom landed between the pair, "Ready for sweeps?" The blue and green Puff each gave the leader a nod, and Blossom returned a smile, "Good. Let's go!"
The trio took off together in the summer night sky. By this point, their surveillance routes had become second nature to them. Bubbles kept watch from the right, Blossom led them flying center, and Buttercup's job was to keep watch from the left. The heroes raced from one end of the city to the next in their brightly colored formation, combing quickly through every street. It only took them fifteen minutes to complete the job. Once again, for the time being at least, everything looked to be in order, and yet again, no villains were found.
As the triplets touched down on their home's front porch, Blossom held the door open for both of her siblings before following them inside. "How was work at the vet hospital tonight, you two?" the redhead asked curiously as she shut the door behind them.
"Good," Bubbles responded somewhat quietly and quickly as she began for their home's staircase.
"Yeah, it was fine," Buttercup added, watching Bubbles closely. As soon as it was noticed that the blue Puff was headed upstairs, the green Puff quickly followed after.
Blossom followed next, but was distracted by her cellphone in her hands as she texted her girlfriend, and did not see the way her raven haired sibling seemed to rush to the first bedroom door, pushing past Bubbles quickly as she ascended the stairway.
"Hey!" Bubbles frowned as she was bumped by her sibling, "What are you trying to beat me to the shower or something, Buttercup?"
"Buttercup, let Bubbles shower first, alright?" Blossom spoke without looking up from her phone as she continued to float past them and to her own room.
"Yeah, sure. Fine. Whatever," Buttercup stood outside the shut door to their room, guarding it until she saw the blue Puff disappear completely into the bathroom.
"Dude," the blood soaked kid spoke up beside them suddenly. "You can't keep her out of your room forever, ya know? Especially with how clingy that Big Baby is. Sooner or later, Bubbles is gonna see that those birds are gone, and when she finds out that you killed 'em and threw 'em in the garbage," the thirteen-year-old whistled a little and grinned, "She ain't ever gonna forgive you for that."
The green Puff's eyes narrowed on the kid. Although they had succeeded in not speaking to the annoying illusion all day, she had yet to disappear. Usually, the kid only stuck around for an hour or two at most. Hanging around all day and night- following them into their dreams at night even- all of this was new.
"One problem at a time," the tomboy muttered, gripping Mojo's USB drive firmly in their scarred hand as they quickly descended the staircase.
The green Puff halted outside the shut door to the Professor's laboratory and listened first. The Professor could be heard inside, playing one of his Patsy Cline records as he continued to work in solitude. The teenager took a deep breath as they opened the door and descended the basement steps slowly.
"Oh, hello, Sweetie," the Professor immediately looked up from his work desk as he heard the sound of the basement door opening. He was surprised to see that it was Buttercup. "Everything OK? What brings you down here?"
The green Puff kept both hands shoved deep in their pockets as they stopped at the bottom step. "I..." they paused to look around for a moment, "I wanted to come ask you about my phone..."
"Oh yes," the Professor smiled at his daughter before lowering the pair of safety goggles that rested on his forehead and returning his attention to his work momentarily, "I haven't forgotten, Buttercup. I just have the mayor's communicator line to finish here tonight. Tomorrow, I'll have the time to take you to get a new phone, alright?"
As the Professor kept busy, the green Puff carefully retreated backwards towards his computer desk. The drive was quickly inserted as the Puff watched him carefully, ensuring that he was still distracted. "Yeah... I tried looking for it everywhere, but... I have no idea where I coulda lost it..."
"That's fine, Buttercup," the Professor continued, still focused on work. "Like I said, we'll go tomorrow."
"OK, Professor." The green Puff removed the flash drive successfully and quickly hid it in their pockets once more. "Well, see ya tomorrow then-" as the superpowered teenager tried to rush from the room then, they turned to their right and failed to see the clear, glass box that stood in their path.
The Professor looked up from his station across the room just as the green Puff bumped into the large glass wall. "Careful there, Sweetie," he rose from his seat and came near.
"What the hell is this thing?" the tomboy rubbed the spot on their forehead where they had collided with the near invisible barrier.
The Professor stood on the other side of the ten foot by ten foot glass box where he appeared to hold a clear, glass door open. "Come, let me show you what I've been working on, Buttercup," he beamed proudly.
As the green Puff floated over to the other side, the Professor guided them inside the small glass room and shut the door. As it closed, the incessant sentimental, country crooning of the Patsy Cline record that had been playing in the Professor's lab suddenly went silent. Even with super hearing, the young hero could not hear it, or anything for that matter. They saw that the Professor was also speaking, but no sound was heard at all. Only the slowly increasing tempo beat of their own heart within their chest could be heard as a panicked claustrophobia began to rise within. They raised a scarred hand to the glass wall on their left and knocked against the surface, realizing it was the same crystal material the Professor had installed on their own bedroom window.
"OK, Professor," the green Puff began to laugh nervously from within the airtight, sealed room with Powerpuff-proof walls, "It's... cool... Can I get out now? Professor...?"
The green Puff watched as the Professor chuckled from the other side and rose a hand to his ear, shaking his head and saying something. Beside him, on the other side, stood the blood soaked apparition. The kid stared at herself with wide, panicked eyes but for once, appeared speechless.
After a short while, the Professor finally reached for the small electronic control board outside the room's door and entered a pass-code, opening the door once more. The Puff darted out of the glass container immediately with a flash of green light, "What is this thing?"
"Ah, so I guess you couldn't hear me then?"
"No, not even with super hearing!"
"This," the Professor grinned big as he rested a hand on the shut door of the crystal glass room, "Is the new prototype cell I've designed for the Villains Ward." He smiled at the tomboy, mistaking the shocked expression for simple amazement, "I told you once you girls manage to round up the villains, there won't be any more escaping!" He patted the glass box proudly and beamed once more, "I figured if it's strong enough to stop a Powerpuff, then it will be strong enough to stop anything or anyone! Whether that be a human, a mutant chimp, or well, an alien! What do you think?"
The green Puff gulped quietly, "It's... cool... Professor..." they retreated slowly for the basement steps, "Well... goodnight, OK?"
"Goodnight, Buttercup!" the Professor called out as the Puff zipped back up the basement stairs.
"Dude, what the fuck was that shit?!" the kid panicked as she hurried quickly behind herself, "This is not good- this is not good- this is not good, Dude! What the fuck are we gonna do?! If cells like that get installed in the Villains Ward then what's gonna stop 'em from locking us up?!"
"Would you shut up?! You're not helping! Don't you think I fucking realize that?! Look, all it is is more of a reason to get this job done tonight and put all this behind us, OK?!"
"Who are you talking to, Buttercup?"
The green Puff had just emerged from their home's kitchen when the voice came from upstairs. The blue Powerpuff stood at the second floor railing, wrapped in her baby blue towel and fresh out from her shower.
"No one. Just... myself."
"Oh, OK," Bubbles shrugged as she retreated down the hallway and into her room.
"Yo, Bubs, wait up!" the green Puff shouted after the blue Puff, as an idea came to mind then.
Bubbles stopped and looked at her sibling who appeared beside her with a flash of green light then.
"I was gonna watch a movie downstairs. After you get dressed, did you wanna-"
The girl's baby blue eyes immediately lit up and she squealed before her sibling could complete the invite, "I'll pop us some popcorn!" She disappeared in her room with a flash of blue light.
The green Puff exhaled a deep sigh of relief, knowing just a little more time had been bought. A movie would keep the blue Puff distracted enough until it was time for their midnight sweeps together. The blonde usually went straight to bed after that. Once Joey was finished helping Mojo, then maybe their mind would be free enough then to try and find a solution to the deaths of her sisters' bird friends. Right then, it was impossible to try and think of anything with all that was going on. As the tomboy waited in the hallway for Bubbles, they leaned against the wall and held their throbbing head with a scarred hand.
"Did I hear it's movie night?" Blossom asked as she came out of her own bedroom next, still with her cellphone in hand.
"Yeah..."
The answer came with a grumble and Blossom finally looked up from her phone. She noticed her sibling looked pale and sweaty. Blossom frowned. "Are you OK, Buttercup?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... a headache."
Blossom smiled weakly, "Well, it was a pretty long day today, but," she paused to place a comforting hand on her sibling's shoulder, "You did great at the conference and the shoot today, Buttercup. I know how you hate cameras, but honestly I think that new haircut Robin gave you really boosted your confidence somehow."
The green Puff smiled weakly, but said nothing.
Blossom raised her phone once more and continued, "You know which picture was my favorite of us?" she swiped through the device, "Let's see... Ah, yeah, this one!"
The redhead turned round her phone to show off the finished photograph of the super hero team. The triplets stood in their traditional formation with Bubbles on the right, Blossom in the center and Buttercup posed on the left. As the green Puff looked at the picture, they hadn't really noticed much else detail except for one obvious thing...
"Dude!" the green Puff exclaimed as they ripped the phone from their sister's hand, "Where the fuck is my scar?!"
Blossom blinked back, "What do you mean?"
"I mean where the fuck is my scar?!"
"It's an edited photo, Buttercup, so they-"
"They just went ahead an erased my fucking scar?!"
"Buttercup, I don't understand," Blossom continued to stare confused, "I texted everything to Bubbles beforehand and she said that you liked the photos-"
Just then a blue Puff emerged from her room, unaware of what she was walking into, "I'll get our popcorn started, Buttercup-"
"Bubbles!" the tomboy screamed as soon as their pigtailed sister passed by, causing her to screech to a stop. "How the fuck could you think this was OK?!"
"Wh-what?" Bubbles squeaked as she turned around, her baby blue eyes already glistening with tears.
"Did you seriously think I'd be OK with them painting over half of my fucking face with Photoshop?!"
"What? You seriously didn't see this, Buttercup?" Blossom blinked.
"Of course I fucking didn't! If I had, I woulda told ya then that this shit is fucking bullshit, Blossom!"
"Wait... So Bubbles, did you not show Buttercup the proofs like I asked you?" Blossom faced the blonde next.
Bubbles looked between both siblings and began to shake nervously, "I-I... I..." her blue eyes instantly became flooded and she buried her face in her hands as she cried out, "I told you I didn't wanna lie anymore, Buttercup!"
"Bubbles, what the fuck?! Are you fucking kidding me, right now?!"
"Buttercup, calm down-" Blossom interjected next, but between both her siblings she found it hard to get a word in for once.
"Buttercup didn't come to work with me-"
"Shut the fuck up, Bubbles-"
"I dunno where she went but she asked me to cover for her-"
"Bubbles, I fucking swear, shut up-"
"And so when you texted me I was just trying to cover for her still and so I just answered what I thought she would say-"
"BUBBLES! SHUT YOUR STUPID BLUBBERING MOUTH, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!"
The blue Powerpuff retreated into her bedroom with loud, hard sobbing, "I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP!"
Blossom stood with her jaw agape as she watched the door to her baby sister's room slam shut. She blinked next at her skinny sibling who still stood in the hallway with a mean, unblinking stare fixed on the shut door to Bubbles' room, clenching both scarred fists hard. "Buttercup," she began with wide bubblegum eyes, "What's going on-"
The rage-filled emerald eyes moved immediately next to Blossom when she spoke. "Blossom, you also thought this fucking bullshit was gonna be OK with me?!" the teen tossed their sister's cell back to them.
Blossom caught her phone and blinked back. "Buttercup, if it was just a pimple they would have also tried to touch it up somehow-"
"It's not a fucking pimple, Blossom! It's a fucking scar! It's half my fucking face! Ugh!" the green Puff tore at their short black hair, "Don't you ever fucking listen to me?! Why the fuck did I bother wasting my fucking breath earlier today trying to explain this shit to you?! Of course, a perfect Goody-Goody like you can't understand it!"
"Understand what?"
The green Puff reached for the phone once more in her sister's hand, ripping it away to point at the picture again, "THIS. IS. NOT. ME. OK?!" The enraged teenager next pointed to their own face with their scarred hand, gesturing over and over again, "THIS! THIS RIGHT HERE! THIS IN FRONT OF YOU RIGHT NOW! THIS IS ME! OK?!
Blossom continued to stare with wide eyes as her sibling tossed the phone back once more and she caught it again. She glanced down at the photo before looking back up, "Buttercup, I'm sorry... I-I thought that-"
"NO! YOU DON'T GET IT, BLOSSOM! YOU AND BUBBLES! YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO GET IT, ARE YOU?!"
"Buttercup-"
"I DON'T WANNA HEAR YOUR FUCKING TIRED ASS EXCUSES FOR THIS, BLOSSOM, OK?!" The rage that built within the green Powerpuff was becoming all too much to handle, and they knew they had to get out of there before they exploded, "I'M FUCKING DONE WITH THIS BULLSHIT! SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, ALRIGHT?!"
Blossom watched as her enraged sibling disappeared fast with a flash of green light, zipping down their home's staircase and out the front door, slamming it shut. Behind her, the pink Puff could still hear the loud sobbing on the other side of Bubbles' door. Between one distraught and crying sister and another angry and screaming, Blossom was unsure what to do.
The pink Puff took one last look at the photo that had ignited the rage within her sibling and sighed deeply to herself. She really had believed it was a good photo of them, but... she must have been wrong. Realizing this, the tears came fast, and Blossom quickly wiped them away before they could fall. The pink Puff knew she had to be strong then for both her siblings somehow. She entered Bubbles' room first, while simultaneously trying her wrist communicator to get a hold of Buttercup.
The climb of the water tower's ladder had gotten a little less tiring for the short simian, but it was still no easy task. As Mojo pulled himself back up onto the metal landing, he was looking forward to that trip up the ladder being his last. Once Joey returned, they could resume their construction of his new base of operations. With most of what they needed waiting for them in the hidden "found" pickup truck below, with the superpowered teenager's help, Mojo imagined it would not take long to get everything in place. And once his new lair was complete, true vengeance on behalf of his old liar could finally be sought.
As the short villain entered the hollow water tank and looked around, he saw that the portable generators he had instructed Joey to drop off before returning home were there waiting for him in the exact spot he had asked them to be. As much as the child seemed to increasingly roll their eyes at him all night, at least they seemed to still follow instruction well enough.
Mojo had just sat down with the first generator to begin assembly when there was a sudden clunk heard on top of the metal tank. The villain immediately rose to his feet and walked out to the metal platform outside.
"What are you doing back so soon?" Mojo began as soon as his eyes fell on the floating teenager who lowered themself onto the platform. "Why have you returned so quickly? Did Mojo not say that our next stage cannot begin until-"
The green Puff interrupted with a mutter and a scowl, "Force of habit, I guess. I always come here after a fight with my sisters." The teenager cracked their scarred knuckles before reaching into their pants pocket. Mojo noted that the scarred hand that held out the drive for him seemed to twitch strangely. "Here's your virus chip or whatever the fuck it is-"
"It is a data drive-"
"Whatever," the green Puff scoffed as Mojo took the device from them. "Now that I'm here, can't we just get this over with?"
Mojo raised an eyebrow before crossing his arms. "As Mojo stated earlier," he began to lecture, "You were supposed to return only after your midnight sweeps to ensure we have total secrecy as our main construction of the night begins. We cannot risk- jeopardize- or chance Mojo Jojo's new lair being discovered before it is even completed! Besides, I have yet to have a chance to generate power and electricity for us within the tank! Something we will surely need! And what is this about you fighting with your sisters? And then you come straight here?! Are you trying to lead the Powerpuff Girls straight to Mojo Jojo's new lair?! Could you not have avoided such a mess- such drama- such foolishness for simply one night?!"
"URRGGH!" the green Puff ripped at their short hair and bit their tongue as the pressure within continued to rise then. It wasn't just Mojo's ranting then that made things worse, but also the communicator on their wrist that beeped loudly and incessantly as Blossom tried over and over again to make contact.
Mojo's eyes widened as he noticed the trace of blood seeping from the super powered child's mouth as they bit down on their own tongue hard. The teenager's skinny frame shook as they balled up both scarred fists which began to slowly glow a bright, neon green.
"I GET IT, ALRIGHT?! I FUCKED UP! I'M THE POWERPUFF FUCK UP, ALRIGHT?!" the teenager snapped, ripping the watch from their wrist and chucking it far away- easily sending it soaring for miles with their super strength. "SO JUST STOP IT ALREADY! I CAN'T TAKE ANY FUCKING MORE!"
As the Puff tossed the communication device away from them, a powerful bright green beam of light shot forth from their scarred palm and as they lifted their other hand to try and stop it, it too erupted with a fiery green blast. The electric green rays of light traveled far into the distance, high above the city and went on for miles without stopping. Being so high up in the air upon the water tower landing, there was nothing in the blast's path to stop it, and so the strange, eerie green energy continued to flow out from the super hero, stretching far beyond the ocean. "NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!" the green Puff pleaded with themself, "NOT AGAIN!"
Mojo had stepped aside just as soon as the fiery blast exploded from the hero's palms and stood in stunned shock as the mighty waves of glowing bright energy almost blinded him. The light was so powerful, it was difficult to see what was happening standing right beside the source itself. He had never witnessed anything like it before. Whatever power this was, he knew that it was new. But what was it?
Mojo heard a squeaking and saw that the teenager struggled to support themself underneath the weight of their own power. As the fiery green blast raged on, their sneakers slid underneath them, and they began to skid along the metal platform backwards, both arms remaining locked in an outstretched position. It looked as if the Puff was fighting to shut their fingers- he imagined to stop the power somehow- but clearly the hero was at the mercy of something that could not be controlled then.
The powerful green light continued for a full minute. The skinny teen had slid almost entirely across the platform before the blast suddenly quit. As soon as the light ended, the hero's body went limp. Mojo witnessed the fall as if it were happening in slow motion. He quickly rushed over to keep the Puff from collapsing off the side of the water tower, yanking them by their jacket just before they could fall fully backward. The Puff collapsed forward against the short simian, and he fell to the floor of the landing with them.
Mojo quickly scrambled onto his feet and blinked down at the unmoving Powerpuff. He was not sure what to make of anything that had just happened. He waited for the young hero to do something, but all they did was lay there on their belly, completely still and unmoving.
The villain gave the Puff's body a slight kick with his foot, "Hey," another kick, but still the Puff did not move, "Hey!" Mojo knelt down and rolled the skinny teenager onto their back. He grabbed them by their shoulders next and tried to shake them awake, "Hey!" Their eyes remained shut, and as Mojo tried a few light slaps across the face next, he noted that the Puff's complexion was ghost white. He laid the hero back down and pressed his ear against their chest. Indeed, there was still a heartbeat, although faint...
Mojo rushed over to the metal railing and briefly searched about the night sky for any traces of pink or blue, before returning quickly to the unconscious green Puff. Surely, the villain could not be caught with a nearly dead hero beside him and not be blamed somehow for this. The fiery green light show lasted too long to not have been seen by someone. No doubt, people would be searching the skies for a source or explanation. He needed to make certain that he and the green Puff were not discovered.
And so the short simian grabbed the arms of his unconscious enemy, and began to slowly drag their body into the darkness of his lair.
