So just as a heads up, I'm also posting this story on Archive of Our Own if any of you prefer that platform. Same name, same author. Enjoy!
The loud blaring of an alarm went off, making nearly every student in the room jump. There were a few huffs as they returned to working on their last final of the year. One of the students though, one of the few who hadn't jumped, quickly grabbed her bag. Her long, flame red hair pulled up into a high ponytail and her cotton candy pink eyes flashed to darker almost red shade as she pulled a red and white cellphone out of her bag. The back of the phone had a bright yellow smiley face on it. She smiled apologetically at the teacher who sighed and nodded in response.
"Blossom speaking. What's the emergency?" She asked as she answered the phone. She stood and began to make her way over to the window as the person on the other end of the phone replied. She was nearly there when she stopped. Slowly she turned around, her eyes finding and making contact with a pair of red eyes. A familiar shade of red hair peaked out from below the ever present red hat on his head, the rest of it in a messy bun at his beck. He narrowed his eyes at Blossom.
"I see. This complicates things," she murmured to herself, breaking the eye contact between her and the boy. She heard a knock on the window and turned to find two other girls floating just outside the window. One had bright golden blond hair with glowing sky blue eyes, the other had dark raven black hair with equally just as glowing emerald green eyes. The two of them next to each other made the stark differences between them shine out obviously. Despite this, they looked extremely similar not only to each other but also to Blossom.
"What's the problem this time leader girl?" The raven haired girls asked as Blossom opened the window.
"It's...complicated. I'll explain on the way over," she said as she floated up and out the window quickly. Not quick enough.
"Like hell I'm staying here. I heard what they told you. We're coming too," the red haired boy said as he quickly stood and marched over to the window, eyes set in a fierce glare. Many students shudder at the look and turned away, despite the look not being aimed at them. Blossom turned and winced slightly at the look on the boy's face.
"Brick, I don't think that's-" Blossom started.
"Cut the crap Pinkie. I heard what they said. If Him really took Bellum then it isn't you three he's getting at, it's us. I'm calling my brothers and we're going," Brick responded. Blossom sighed slightly, shoulders slumping, knowing there would be no winning this argument. The teacher wasn't even trying to argue with him either.
"Mayor Bellum's been taken?!" The two girls behind her all but screamed. She flinched slightly at that, turning to face them as Brick floated out the window, cell in hand to call his brothers.
"That's what Joseph said. Him showed up, in typical dramatic fashion apparently, and with a wave of his claw both Him and Mayor Bellum disappeared. There was a note left behind with an address on it saying to 'not be late'," Blossom air quoted at this. She noticed, with a quick glance behind saw that they had gained the attention of the entire class. "Let's take this up a bit. We don't need the rumor mill picking this up and getting out of hand before we even get a chance to save the day." Blossom whispered, floating higher up and above the school. The other three noticing the classroom of eyes on them quickly did the same.
"Where'd he take her? And fucking why?" The raven haired girl said. Blossom frowned.
"Language Buttercup, please. As for where, I believe the address leads to a large abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town, not far from the cost." Blossom said.
"Ew. Please please please don't let it be an old fish warehouse!" The golden haired girl said, hands coming together in prayer, eyes going skyward. Buttercup scowled at her.
"Really Bubbles? That's what you're worried about?" She said. Blossom rolled her eyes at her sisters.
"To finish answering your questions Buttercup, I don't know why. I only know where. Brick might be right though. We all know that Him has been oddly quite for years now. If he's only just now learning of Mayor Bellum's involvement with the boys he could be taking her to get to them. He could also be just be trying to get our attention and say he's back. With Him? It's always hard to tell what his real aim is," Blossom said as Brick rejoined the group, two more boys floating their way up to where they were above the school.
"He's getting at us. I know it," Brick said as the two other boys reached their group. "Boomer, Butch," he greeted them both. Similar to the girls, the three boys were both at once vastly different from one another while also incredibly similar in appearance. One boy had golden blond hair, much like the girl's if only a bit darker in color, with deep ocean blue eyes. The other boy had raven black hair as well, his eyes a dark forest green. Blossom looked around the group.
If it weren't for how similar their faces were around their siblings and you asked a stranger who was related to who they would immediately come up with three pairs of siblings, not two groups of triplets. All members of the group, each just as attractive as the next, were obviously unique in appearance. Their eyes all had a glow behind the unnaturally bright and unique colors of their eyes, doubly so for the red heads of the group. It gave them an ethereal like feel.
Everyone was even distinct in body types as well. Bubbles was soft and curvy in ways that most girls dream of being as well as the shortest of the group. She was everything cute and cuddly, the word bubble coming to mind immediately when you looked at her. Buttercup was the tallest of the girls and was hard and rough in more places than not. Even through her loose fitting uniform you could see the well-defined muscles. Her frame was still on the more petite side, giving her a girlish look at times. Blossom was an in between of the two, her appearance coming off more elegant and dancer like than either of her sisters, though still not lacking in the curves that all three seemed to have in common.
The boys had definitely change dramatically, especially since the beginning of the school year when their growth spurts had begun in earnest. All three boys were a good deal taller than the girls and still growing. At this rate, they would soon be nearly a foot taller than some of the girls at least.
Butch was obviously the shortest of the boys, much to his immense disgust, but still nearing 6'. He more than made up for it in pure muscle mass though. Simply put, even though he was lankly in the way most teens are, he was still built like a tank. One look at him and you didn't question how long he spent at the gym but how long he didn't. On top of that he had several ear piercings as well as an eyebrow and tongue piercing. Boomer's height had easily passed his brothers'. While still clearly muscular, his body type was more similar to a runner's. Long limbs and a slim frame, his body was clearly built more for speed than it was for force. Brick was, like Blossom, somewhere in the middle. He was taller than Butch but not as muscularly defined. At the same time, he wasn't on the lankier side like Boomer.
"What the fuck are we floating around here for?! Shouldn't we already be on our fucking way to the warehouse already?!" Butch yelled.
"Language," Blossom said as she gave him a bland look. She then suddenly took off at an extreme speed, creating a blast that battered against the remaining teens. This doubled in strength as both Buttercup and Bubbles immediately followed after their sister. With a string of curses from Butch, the boys quickly followed catching up in next to no time at all.
"Leader girl, we seriously gunna let the rookie brigade tag along? They're just gunna ruin everything!" Buttercup said as the boys finally caught up.
"It's Bellum. I'm not letting them do anything. If they don't come with us, they'd simply follow us and do something on their own. I chose the option that gave me the most control over the situation," Blossom didn't even turn to face her sister as she spoke. The boys flew in, slightly below the girls in altitude but near even with them otherwise. Butch scoffed at that.
"The fu-" he cut himself off as he received a particularly nasty glare from Blossom. Buttercup snickered at that. "The heck you talking about Bossy. Control over us? I don't think so. I listen to bro." Blossom continued to glare at the boys slightly.
"No. Now you take them from me. All three of you will. And before you say anything Brick, I have my reasons," Blossom said, cutting Brick off as he opened his mouth to reply. He shut it again, listening. The fact that he didn't just ignore her and plow on with what he wanted to say regardless like he normally would have was clue enough to both Boomer and Butch that this was serious. "The Powerpuff Girls have been fighting crime since the day we were born. You three, while you may have continued to exercise and practice, have been out of the picture almost entirely since we were ten. This isn't a simple monster fight like the other times that you three help out either. If you want to be a part of this rescue mission then you will listen to my command. Period."
She looked down slightly, meeting the eyes of the only one in the group capable of overturning her command. Brick's jaw was clearly clenched tight but it was the only sign of his dislike at Blossom's words. He met her eyes, his only narrowing slightly in a shadow of his normal glare. She narrowed her eyes right back, unlike him not attempting to hide her dislike at the situation.
"If you don't like it, leave. I don't need three unknowns charging in and potentially setting off Him before we even get a chance to evaluate the situation." Blossom spoke again, the two red leaders maintaining their glare off.
"I say we kick 'em to the curb now. We don't need ex-criminal, wanna-be heroes messing things up" Buttercup spit out, glaring at all three, her green counter-part in particular. Butch of course, was always up to rising to Buttercup's baiting.
"Ha! I'd like to see you even just try and kick us to the curb Bitterbitch. You pussies wouldn't be able to do jack shit to us," He retaliated. Blossom broke her stare down with her own counterpart to glare at Butch.
"Language," she chided him. Butch scoffed and opened his mouth to, more than likely, throw a few more cuss words at her only to be cut off.
"We'll listen. Just remember, this doesn't change shit. We're only here cause of Bellum," Brick said, throwing his brothers both looks telling them to shut up and do as he said. Butch scowled but obeyed while Boomer let out a nearly unnoticeable sigh. Buttercup scoffed.
"What, big bad red says the word and you're just gunna take it? Aw, how sad. Hey, how long do you think it'll take Butchie boy here to run screaming once we get there?" Buttercup goaded, a smirk on her face as she watched Butch out of the corner of her eye. Bubbles let out a loud sigh.
"Really Buttercup? Are you really going to do this now?" Bubbles asked. Buttercup threw a feral smile her way.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about dearest sister of mine. I'm not doing anything?" Buttercup said. Bubbles opened her mouth to respond but was cut off.
"Your mouth is moving Buttercup. That's a sign to everyone that you're doing something. Stop. We don't have time to entertain a green fight right now," Blossom scolded. She threw a side glare at Buttercup who shrugged but kept her mouth shut.
"We're getting close right? What's the plan Bloss?" Bubbles asked. Blossom took a moment to think before responding, not seeing Buttercup make faces at her counterpart whose face was slowly going red with rage. The blonds both shot looks at their respective siblings while the reds ignored them.
"BRG-123. That's the warehouse there. Boys stay with me and follow my lead. Split now girls," Blossom said as she slowed her speed slightly.
"Aye aye captain!" Bubbles giggled as she shot ahead of everyone.
"You got it leader girl," Buttercup saluted as she all of a sudden let her self drop like a rock, nearly taking Butch out as she did so.
He loudly cursed as he swerved to avoid her. She shot another nasty grin at him as she continued to let herself plummet, pulling up only as she neared the ground where she stayed, waiting.
While this was happening, the blue streak that was Bubbles collided with the large side windows of the second floor of the warehouse, breaking straight through and shattering the nearby windows as well from the force of the impact. Blossom glanced down at this before flying up and above the building before stopping near the middle of it, waiting. The boys stopped behind her.
"Why are we just floating here?" Boomer asked after a little while, shooting Butch a cautious look as he started to twitch, showing his impatience.
"Bubbles will be creating a hole for us to go through. Don't worry. It shouldn't take her much longer to finish scouting," Blossom replied.
They floated in silence a hit longer, Butch's twitch intensifying. Like Blossom had said though, a blast of blue shot through a section of the roof creating a hole. Blossom immediately made for it and flew in, the boys shortly following. They all landed near Bubbles while looking around.
"I, um, Bloss. I couldn't, wasn't able to find Mayor Bellum," Bubbles stuttered, looking around slightly wide eyed while also reaching out to grab Blossom's arm. Blossom didn't pay her sister much attention though, too busy looking around, eyes narrowed.
"Hmmm, someone create a hole in the floor for Buttercup," Blossom said. Boomer moved to do just that before Brick stopped him.
"How do we know that Bellum isn't just below us?" Brick said. Blossom dragged her eyes over to him, almost reluctantly. She swallowed.
"What do you see?" She asked. Brick's brow furrowed.
"A fucking warehouse. What the hell else would I be seeing?"
"It's dark. Everything. Just...dark," Bubbles spoke up, still clinging to her sister's arm. Butch and Brick gave her weird looks.
"Not particularly. You good sugar cube?" Butch asked. Bubbles ignored him, looking at her sister who was staring off in space again.
"Don't worry. I'm positive Mayor Bellum isn't below us," Blossom said. Boomer did as earlier asked, ignoring Brick's half attempt at telling him not too. Butch quickly went over to check if Blossom was right.
"I don't see anything-" he started only to be cut off as Buttercup quickly flew through the hole, knocking him back as she did so.
"Huh. What was that you said earlier about not being able to..." Buttercup trailed off looking around. She quickly tensed and landed. "Leader girl, the fuck is this place?"
Blossom once again didn't comment on the cuss word making all three boys, who were really used to her nagging, look at her. She swallowed thickly.
"If I had to guess...Him is playing one of his favorite old games with us. Who's the chicken," she commented, still looking off around her.
"Alright Pinkie, what the fuck is going on? We're just in a fucking warehouse!" Brick yelled cause both Buttercup and Bubbles to flinch slightly surprising Brick and Butch.
"I see a hospital hallway. Lots of them I guess?" Boomer said. Both Butch and Brick gave him looks.
"Did you steal from Mitch's stash Boom? Cause this place looks nothing like a hospital. Like Brick said, fucking warehouse," Butch said.
"Yeah, nothing like a hospital at all," Buttercup said halfheartedly as she floated over to her sisters while continuing to look around, her body completely tensed up. She landed closer to them than she usually would have.
"I don't know what it looks like. I can barely see just five steps in front of me," Bubbles said. Blossom looked at Buttercup.
"What do you see?" She asked her. Buttercup hesitated, shooting a glance at the boys before answering.
"Webs. Lots and lots of webs. I think that there are cave walls behind them but they're so dense...it's hard to tell," she finished softly. Blossom nodded.
"So Him's messed with the dimension in here somehow. We're all seeing something we dislike, potentially fear," she said.
"Then why do Brick and I just see a warehouse? Not that I'm saying there's anything I fear or nothing. Just that it's weird!" Butch yelled, again causing the girls to flinch slightly.
"It might be because he doesn't know what you fear? Did Him know?" Blossom asked. Butch scowled at her before looking to Brick.
"I doubt it. He didn't play on our fears to get us to do things. He appealed to our anger more," Brick answered. Blossom nodded at him.
"Makes sense. That might be why you aren't seeing anything. Although Boomer?" She trailed off. Boomer shrugged. You almost wouldn't be able to tell he was possible in a literal nightmare.
"Mojo ran a lot of tests on us and Him probably saw the results. My special ability made him curious about my blood I guess? Something about how my body was able to conduct the electricity without getting hurt I think. He liked to take samples. Do you know of any 6 year old who wouldn't be scarred by constantly being poked and prodded day in and day out?" He said nonchalantly. Bubbles looked at him, slightly horrified.
"Poked and prodded? Daily?" She asked. He shrugged in response.
"I see. So it's only the fears Him knows about," Blossom said to herself.
"What about you Bloss?" Bubbles asked her. She hummed in response and waved he sister off.
"What I see isn't really my problem right now. The better question is, where is the Mayor?" She replied.
"We'll have to split up and look I'm guessing. If this is one of Him's dimensions then there has to be a seam or break in it somewhere. We just have to find where. Chances are Bellum will be there," Brick said. Blossom nodded.
"Agreed. We'll split into pairs. Bubbles with Boomer. I'll go with Butch and you go with Buttercup. If something happens you boys look to us before making a move. We know how each other moves and will be able to account for that better," she said as Brick nodded slightly in agreement. The pair of greens did not agree.
"Whoa whoa whoa. You want me to go with hot head? Uh-uh. No way. Send him with Bubbles, not me!"
"Wait, why the hell do I have to look to you? I mean, hot as you are Bossy, you're fucking bossy as hell!" Buttercup and Butch both yelled respectively at the same time. Blossom sighed while Brick rolled his eyes. Boomer came over to where the girls stood and Bubbles reluctantly let go of Blossom to walk over to him.
"You greens are too impulsive. I want someone who thinks before acting first to go with each of you and the blues are too likely to just let you act even when they know it's a bad idea. So, greens with reds. Mark where you go as well. We'll try and meet back up around here in an hour. If you get lost, make some noise and hopefully someone will hear and head over," Blossom said as she approached Butch. "Also. Language." She glared at him. He shrunk back just slightly at the full force of Blossom's glare.
"Whatever," he mumbled, sounding like a petulant child.
"Like hell he's going to know the best way to act," Buttercup complained. Blossom turned to glare at her, her eyes glowing slightly with the threat of an eye beam. She shrunk back as well in response.
"We're on the field Buttercup. You'll do as I tell you to. Suggest to Brick before you act and if he has a suggestion you will listen to it and you will properly consider it. One hour. Back here. Understood?" She turned to look at everyone as they nodded in response. She nodded and without another word turned and started walking. Butch swing around to follow her reluctantly. He shot a glare at Brick quickly, letting him know that Butch blamed this on him. Brick rolled his eyes in response.
"B-boomer? Could I maybe, um, hold onto your sleeve? It's just...it's so dark," Bubbles whispered. Buttercup rolled her eyes.
"Really baby blue? Why not just yell at the top of your lungs that you're a scawed wittle baby while you're at it," Buttercup said. Bubbles glared at her.
"Oh really? Should I add in the closet full of cobwebs while I'm at it?" She snapped back, momentarily forgetting her fear. Buttercup scowled.
"Whatever. Let's go human torch. Clock's ticking," she mumbled before taking off in a direction opposite from Blossom. Brick sighed through his nose before following, looking like he was just strolling through a mall and not a creepy inter-dimensional warehouse.
"Don't worry Bubbles, I don't mind if you hang onto my sleeve. Might make me feel a bit better too," Boomer smiled at the girl hesitantly. She smiled back slightly before whispering back a thank you. They finally took off in their own direction.
"There's nothing here," Butch whined. Blossom huffed in response while massage her right temple.
"Can you seriously not stay quiet for more than 5 seconds? I'm having a hard enough time thinking straight as it is!" She huffed at him, only to get a long, drawn out whiney noise in response.
"So bored though," was his response. Blossom decided to ignore him this time. Butch just whined again, dragging his feet along the ground. After a little more of this Blossom finally snapped. She whirled on him and shot off an eye laser that he barely managed to dodge.
"What the fu-," Butch cut himself off at the look on Blossom's face.
"Shut. Up. My head is killing me and you're not helping!" Her voice went shrill at the end of it as she all but screeched at him. He blinked in surprise.
"Sorry?" He asked hesitantly. "You doin' okay there Bossy?"
She heaved a sigh before turning to stare of into the space around them again. She shook her head slightly, her eyes taking on a far off kind of look. She hesitated slightly before speaking.
"Unlike the others, Him isn't just using visual fear against me. I don't even really know if what Him is using could really be considered my fear anymore, or if it's more just the burden now," she said softly. Butch cocked his head slightly at this.
"Soooo...not doing okay?"
"No. Not doing okay. It's very loud right now. All I can hear is just..." she trailed off.
"What are you hearing?" Butch asked after a little while. Blossom squinted at the space around them.
"I don't know if..." Butch rolled his eyes at this.
"Bossy, you know I'm dumb as shit. I can't do anything to help if you don't tell me what's wrong. I'm no Brick and I sure as hell ain't no Boomer," he replied. She took a moment to think before deciding to respond.
"It's failure. Everything I've failed at, everything that I've done wrong, every word of criticism is being thrown at me. Visually, it's not too bad although what I'm seeing right now is a reminder of a not so favorite memory so that doesn't help," Blossom's shoulders sagged slightly as she spoke. Butch took a moment to process.
"Seriously? Failure is what you're afraid off? Look Bossy, you might be 'the leader and commander'" he said, air quoting and everything. "But at the end of the day, supers or not, we're just human. Isn't failure just a part of life? Hell, I think you were the one who told me that failure is just a second chance to learn what's right from what's wrong or something."
"You're right but you're also wrong," Blossom said, still staring off into the distance. Butch groaned.
"Look, I know what Brick is like when he's made up his mind and as his counterpart I think I know how useless it would be to try and change your mind so give me something else to work with here. We've got a job to do don't we? And you're still just standing there staring at the same pillar you were looking at five minutes ago,"
"Like I said, it's not so much a fear anymore as just- never mind. As for the pillar, it's like I said. I'm seeing a reminder I'd rather not."
Butch hesitated before speaking again.
"Don't know that I really want to know but what do you see?" He asked. Blossom continued to stare a bit before dragging her eyes away and continuing in the direction they had previously been heading in.
"It's not important. Just...a memory of a day where things changed. A memory I'd much rather forget," she said. Butch watched her for a bit before shrugging and continuing after her.
"If you say so," he was curious still but knew better than to push. He also stayed quiet but this seemed to only weigh on Blossom as her eyes continued to glance around. Still, she didn't say another word about what it was she was seeing. Or hearing.
"Oh why oh why oh why did Him have to make it so dark. I don't like this!" Bubbles said as she looked around, her hand grabbing a handful of Boomer's t-shirt. He shrugged.
"That's why isn't it? I can't lie though. I'd much rather take the dark than this. These hallways have started taking on a slasher film kinda look and I'm really not digging it," he said. Unlike Bubbles, he was making a very conscious effort to not look around more than necessary. Bubbles whimpered slightly in response.
"That doesn't sound too great either. Oh how I wish I seeing the park, or maybe, maybe the ocean or just something not so...gloomy!" Tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Boomer looked over at her and noticed.
"Whoa! None of that. Please don't cry Bubbles. This really is bad enough as it is," Boomer said as he turned and faced her, a look of near panic on his face. He reached out and grabbed her arms. She looked back at him slightly startled.
"S-sorry. It's just I'm really not enjoying this situation is all and I hate to think of what Mayor Bellum is possibly going through right now," she said, leaning back and away from Boomer slightly. He noticed and quickly let go of her taking a step back.
"Right, yeah. I get that. Just please no tears? I really wouldn't know what to do if you started crying. I'm not exactly having an easy time myself here," he said rubbing the back of his neck, eyes staying solely on Bubbles.
"Really? You seem pretty calm to me,"
"Hmmm, yeah well the hospital walls literally starting bleeding about 10 steps back and just about everywhere I look there's about 10 needles so I've really just been trying to not look and you seemed stressed so I thought, okay Boom. You got this. Someone has to stay calm but the walls are seriously bleeding and there's all the needles and I just really really really need you to not cry right now," he rambled wincing slightly. Bubbles blinked at him and let out a small giggle.
"Sorry. Bloss would probably yell at me right now if she was here. I'm supposed to be the seasoned vet after all," Bubbles said wiping her eyes. Boomer smiled at that.
"Let's be real, even Blossom's a little shaken up right now. I think its fine to react the way you are. I just won't know how to help if you start crying."
Bubbles smiled at him before hearing a long drawn out whiny growl from behind her. She jumped into the air floating slightly as she quickly spun around.
"What was that?!" She half whispered half yelled. Boomer blinked at her.
"I didn't hear any..." he trailed off as he looked to his side. A door in his hallway opened slowly, a pair of red eyes looking back slightly at him. "Yup. I'm done. Let's head back," he said as he grabbed Bubbles arm and very quickly began walking back to where they started, Bubbles whimpered slightly.
"Oh Mayor Bellum, where are you?"
"Fuck this is seriously messed up," Buttercup said as she followed Brick. He grunted in response, eyes scanning all around hoping for some sign of something helpful.
"That's it? No snippy remark? You never hesitate usually whenever leader girl opens her mouth," she said, taking small step closer to the red head as she looked off to her left. "But seriously messed up. I swear I've touched five of these things. You don't see anything on me do you?"
Brick turned to glance at the girl before shaking his head.
"I don't see anything. I don't even see any windows. This warehouse isn't big enough that we could have been walking this long and not actually run into a wall or something. Also, you're not Blossom so you don't nag. Usually as long as I stay quiet you do the same. I was hoping you'd take the hint," Brick said, squinting out around them. Buttercup glared at him.
"That's rude. Though, pretty sure that's your middle name so no surprise I guess," she mumbled the low part and although she knew he heard her clearly he ignored her again. She huffed and looked around as well. "You're right though. We shouldn't have been able to walk this far. Bubbles made the meet up around the middle of the building right?" Brick nodded.
"Roughly." He grimaced before stopping. Buttercup nearly ran into him at the abruptness.
"What? You see something?"
"No, and that's the point. I don't see anything different anywhere," he paused as he looked around, his red eyes glowing slightly from the eye beams he let build from frustration in his eyes. "Screw this. Let's head back. Whatever Him has done to mess with the dimension in here is completely messing with our vision. The key to getting out isn't going to be visual."
"Leader girl probably won't like that," Buttercup said in a sing song voice, none the less following the boy as he began to head back to where they came from.
"Screw Pinky then," he muttered as he stormed towards the meeting point.
All six teens looked around, frustrated but not quite sure what to do. Blossom and Brick agreed there had to be some trick but neither could think of what it was. Bubbles was sitting in the middle of the group, arms around herself with Boomer standing very stiffly not too far away. Buttercup was muttering angrily as she stomped in a small circle, kicking at the ground. Butch sat on the opposite side of Bubble from her Indian style as he supported his head with his arm. He had a frustrated look on his face as he stared out into the space around them. Brick and Blossom had both walked off slightly from the group. Blossom stood calmly, looking nearly serene considering the situation, as she gazed out around the group. Brick was pacing as he also stared out around them, the look on his face showing he was getting very done very fast.
"There's always a trick. Him likes games. The way to win them is usually to figure out what it is," Blossom spoke aloud.
"Well, this is like the nightmare from before right? Do we just have to conquer this like we did last time again?" Bubbles asked. Buttercup scoffed.
"Like Him would make it that easy. He might be playing on our fears but we can't just bust our way out. We have no clue where Bellum is and knowing Him, we'd probably just blast her too if we tried. Gotta play the game," Buttercup drawled, her pacing at odds with the way she spoke.
"This blows. Can't you red heads figure it out already?" Butch whined. Brick spun to glare at him.
"If you're not going to even try to use that empty space you call a head then don't go spouting words from that overly large mouth you've got there Butchie boy," he snapped at his brother. Butch looked at him only to sigh.
"I'm so bored I'd actually be willing to take the beating you look like you want to give me," Butch responded, causing Buttercup to laugh.
"Hell, if it comes to that, please flame breath, let me join in," Buttercup said. This got a reaction out of Butch. He glared over at her, tensing and looking about ready to jump at her. He opened his mouth to shoot a reply off at her that Blossom knew would set Buttercup off until the whole thing spiraled out of control as they would eventually start physically hitting each other if no one stopped them.
Normally, Blossom would have stepped in then and there but she was torn. She didn't understand what Him was trying to get at. She spent a few minutes thinking before the arguing between the now three people (Butch had thrown a few jabs at Brick for fun it seems) grew too loud to ignore. The other voice in her fear realm seemed to grow off of the argument as well causing so much noise to surround Blossom that she knew once the tense state she was in relaxed she'd have a killer migraine.
"Did you all really see nothing? Not even one thing that stood out or seemed different or anything?" Blossom asked, cutting in between yelled insults. The group turned to give her various different looks.
"Obviously we saw fuck all Pinkie," Brick said, his anger at Butch turning on her as he tightened his fists. His power was starting to seep out around him as the temperature very quickly began to rise. Blossom narrowed her eyes slightly at him, warning him not to do something stupid in this situation.
"Did anybody else's fear world thing change? Like get...worse?" Boomer asked as he stared out at a pillar not too far off. Both Blossom and Brick snapped around to look at him.
"Explain," Brick ordered. Bubbles and Boomer exchanged a look.
"Well...we we're just kind of talking and then I started...hearing things...in the dark. Screeches and screams. They weren't there before," Bubbles said.
"I didn't think it really mattered too much but it was different so maybe?" Boomer tagged on.
"Did yours change too?" Blossom asked. Boomer nodded.
"Yeah, it got more...interactive I guess? It was an abandoned hospital before but then this door appeared and when it opened, this red eyed doctor or something stepped out. He's got a few friends now. Not gunna lie, little freaked out by them right now," he said as he glared in what was obviously the direction of said doctors.
"Jesus Boom! This should have been the first thing you said when we got back!" Brick growled as he threw his hands up and turned away in disgust.
"What were you talking about?" Blossom immediately asked. The blues took a moment to think about it.
"What we were seeing?" Bubbles hesitantly said. At this Brick let out another growl as Blossom crossed her arms, brow furrowed in thought.
"We've been doing that since the get go!" Brick yelled at them. This of course triggered Buttercup to start yelling at him for yelling at Bubbles which Butch then had to jump in on, once again starting an argument.
Blossom rolled her eyes at them before walking off slightly to try and think. Yes, they'd been mentioned what they were seeing but not details, just the bare minimum until they split off. She doubted that Brick or Buttercup talked much but she and Butch had gone into quite a detail and the base of what she was experiencing hadn't change. Yes, it shifted a little but it seemed to just do that every now and then anyways. Always moving to pray on different memories of her shortcomings and fears. It was easy seeing the blues talk the most about it though. Both were open and easy to talk to while also being loudmouths and gossipers when given the chance. That in mind, it was easy to see that they'd talk. So what made it different between her and Butch and them? Blossom looked over at the group, watching as they argued.
Brick was yelling just kind of at everyone at this point. She had to give him props though. He had a short fuse and she was surprised it took this long before he really started to blow. She was also surprised he hadn't dragged her into the argument yet too but she wasn't going question it. Butch and Buttercup were near red in the face, spit flying between them as they all but screamed at each other. Boomer was yelling at Brick who must have yelled at him at some point. Bubbles was off to the side trying to calm them down with next to no success. The Rowdyruffs and Powerpuffs.
The Rowdyruffs and Powerpuffs. Blossom narrowed here eyes at the group. Brick had mentioned that taking Mayor Bellum had been to get at the boys. That probably wasn't wrong. It would have been a better tactic to use the professor if all Him wanted to get at was the girls. Yet, the boys wouldn't be the only target. Taking the mayor was the one way to get both the boys and the girls involved. The question that had been plaguing Blossom was why. Why did Him want 6 super powered humans, all against Him, in one place?
...Unless Him didn't truly consider the boys to be against Him. The shift had happened when Bubbles and Boomer talked about what they saw, in other words their fears. Now, Boomer's fear being manifested was a bit of an outlier but it was hard to say how specific Him can make another dimension like this. Despite that, Blossom doubted that Boomer was the first to start speaking. Bubbles was much more likely to open up first and she would open up to just about anyone. Including the one person on the planet literally created with her destruction in mind.
"I'm really not liking this. Buttercup might just kill Him if I'm right," Blossom muttered to herself as she watched the group, all still yelling at each other. Blossom noted that Bubbles seemed to have moved from attempted mediator to additional party member of the arguing. She sighed before walking back over.
"Who spoke first?" Blossom asked only to be thoroughly ignored. She stared at them all, a dull but nearly annoyed look on her face. She cleared her throat only to be ignored again. She knew they heard her. They all had super hearing!
"ENOUGH!" Blossom bellowed. They all jumped at the force in her voice before turning to face her.
"Not necessary. Seriously leader girl, you nearly rivaled Bubbles there," Buttercup said as she rubbed her ears. Blossom ignored her. See how she likes that.
"Who spoke first?" Blossom asked the blues. They looked at each other again.
"I did?" Bubbles said, her brow furrowed as she thought about it.
"Yeah, think it was you?" Boomer agreed, cocking his head slightly to the side as his brow also furrowed. Blossom groaned.
"Oh I really hope I'm wrong. I really really hope I'm wrong," Blossom said, eyes going skyward in an almost prayer like attempt.
"You know what the trick is?" Buttercup asked. Blossom sighed.
"I think so. If I'm right then you're going to really hate this Buttercup," Blossom said. Brick had had enough of the beating around the bush though and cut in.
"If you think so then hurry up and say so! What's Him's angle this time?" He yelled at Blossom. She sighed before meeting his eyes.
"I really don't want to do this," she started, obviously hesitant. "But the mayor needs help." Blossom then squared her shoulders, the slight slouch that had entered into her stance completely disappearing as the commander and leader stood ready to face her duty. "Brick. My fear is failure."
As soon as Blossom finished speaking there was a burst of light blinding everyone for a split second. When they could see again they all blinked slightly in disbelief. Blossom and Brick were both nowhere to be seen, a slight red smoke where they had been standing.
"What the fuck?" Butch asked nobody, the looks on everyone's faces matching the sentiment exactly.
"Okay, but seriously. Where the fuck did they go." Buttercup stated. She obviously was not having this.
"I think they solved the trick? Him obviously brought them out of the dimension. Flashy lights and red smoke is kind of his style after all," Boomer answered, despite the fact Buttercup clearly hadn't actually been asking.
"Obviously dip shit! How though?!" Was her reply.
"Back off Bitterbitch. Just cause your PMSing doesn't mean you can go yelling at my boy blue here," Butch cutting in, taking a swaggering step towards his counterpart. His posture was lazy in a way that made one think of lions and other great beasts. Buttercup was quick to turn on him, back ramrod straight as light green wisps of energy started to roll off her slightly.
"Say that again and see what happens," she hissed out through grinding teeth. Bubbles looked between them unsure for a moment before the lightbulb went off.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, the three remaining members of the group turning to stare at her. She wilted a little with the two green death glares on her. "Oh dear. Bloss was right. You're really going to hate this Buttercup."
"Hate what?" Buttercup asked, her glare loosing most of its intensity as she stared at her sister. Bubbles started twiddling her fingers nervously in front of her.
"Welllll, if I'm right, then it looks like the trick has to do with our fears," Bubbles hesitated and cringed slightly as Buttercup started to glare at her. "And the boys..." she mumbled the rest rapidly and quietly preventing the others from understand her.
"Sorry blondie. One more time?" Butch asked. Bubbles sighed and spun in a circle hoping up and down slightly.
"So rude Bloss! Leaving me to explain," she muttered as she did so, nerves obviously getting to her. She sighed before meeting Buttercup's eyes again. "I said, I think we have to admit our fears to the boys."
Buttercup's face went blank at this. Boomer looked at her, slightly worried while Butch broke out in a huge grin.
"Oh I love this," Butch said gleefully, rubbing his hands together in a jittery like motion. His twitch tended to come out when he got excited sometimes.
"No."
Bubbles sighed at her sister's response.
"Look, I'll test it out with Boomer. If I'm right then, well, at least you'll only have to tell Butch?" Bubbles finished hesitantly.
"Fuck no." Was Buttercup's response. Bubbles sighed.
"Come on Buttercup! If she was right then Blossom could be facing Him right now! Alone! Without the toughest fighter! We don't have a ton of time to spare," Bubbles said. Buttercup frowned and crossed her arms now glaring at the ground.
"This is so stupid. Dumb Him and his dumb games. Why can't it ever just be a simple beat down?" Buttercup muttered, now pouting slightly. Bubbles sighed again.
"Cause it's Him. I'm going to try it now, okay? Try not to take too long?" She asked before turning to face Boomer. At this Boomer stood straight and watched her hesitantly. It was pretty obvious what her fear was but it was one thing to hear her allude to it and another entirely to have her admit it to him of all people. Bubbles took a deep breath in.
"Boomer, I'm afraid of the dark." As soon as she finished the same flash of light appeared and again, when that cleared there was the same slightly red fog clinging to the ground where both Boomer and Bubbles had stood.
Butch grinned widely.
"I'm waiting Butters," he said in a sing song voice.
"Fuck my life, I hate this," she groaned before turning to face her grinning counterpart
A bright flash of light lit the red room as the two redheads appeared in the middle of it. They dropped a little, both making noises of surprise before quickly catching themselves, leaving them floating there. Blossom and Brick both quickly went about examining the room. Blossom didn't see much of it before narrowing in on the giant, and she meant giant, red he-she lobster like being with a pink feather boa around its neck.
Him was standing on a small bit of land that was surrounded by lava, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. Brick observed the giant cave like room a bit more before narrowing in on a second island where a red head with a red suit was currently bound on. The mayor met his eyes and he felt nothing but pure rage at the giant lobster when he saw a bruise clearly peeking out on her cheek from beneath the gag she had tied around her head. Brick turned to glare at Him.
"Fiiinallly," the sing-song like voice of Him rang out. Both Blossom and Brick tensed slightly, both shifting into a battle stance, prepared for anything. "It took you long enough. And here I thought you two were the smart ones."
"Release the mayor Him. Then let us all go," Blossom said. She didn't want to antagonize the giant devil lobster too much not only for the safety of the mayor but also as her team was still not there.
"Now now now. That would be spoiling things though don't worry. Once I have all my boys back here again I'll let her go. After all, it's you six I'm interested in," Him replied. Brick scoffed.
"Why the hell do you want us all here? And why the fuck did you make it so them admitting their fears to us was the key?"
"Now now my dear boy. It can't be that hard to figure out can it?" Him sung at the two. They turned and exchanged confused looks before facing Him again.
"I think I side with Brick here Him. I don't see why you need us to admit our fears to the boys. I honestly don't see the point in taking the mayor to force them to be here at all," she said. Him sighed.
"Oooobviously, I wanted my boys to gain an advantage. Clearly they haven't been able to complete their task yet. Mummy here thought I'd give them a hand," Him cooed as his claw came towards Brick in an attempt to pinch his cheek. An awkward attempt as not only was his claw easily the same size as Brick but Brick also was quick to avoid and swat away the attempt.
"Fuck that."
Blossom's lips tightened slightly at the blatant response. Pissing Him off would not be helpful and while she appreciated the lack of hesitation in his reply, it alleviated that age old fear she still sometimes felt, he could have used more tact. Him's expression changed to something much darker.
"I'm sorry, I think I must be hearing things. Clearly you meant to say yes?" Brick scowled at the lobster.
"I meant fuck that. You and Mojo haven't had squat to do with us in years and we'd actually prefer to keep it that way. I might not besties with miss do-gooder," he pointed a thumb at Blossom who scowled at him in response. "But I ain't about to go trying to kill her. We haven't been on your side of things in years. Not gunna change now."
The old slang slips that he'd developed before living with the mayor was Blossom's biggest que on how annoyed Brick truly was with Him. The only time he slipped was when his brothers really truly did something particularly stupid. Not even she could annoy him to this point. She tensed and turned to face Him.
"Look Him. The boys don't need to be here and neither does the mayor. Just let them go and we can face off like we normally do," Blossom said, trying to reason but knowing there was no point. Him took a moment looking as if to be thinking it over bringing one of his claws up to his chin as he did so.
"How about...no!" Him's voice turned deep and angry as he brought his other claw up, swinging towards Blossom.
"Shoot!" She yelled as she shoved Brick out of the way, dodging the claw herself. "Watch the mayor!" She yelled at her counterpart before taking off towards Him. Brick scowled after her.
"Like I needed you to tell me that," he muttered as he watched her dodge another swing from Him, shoot off an eye beam in response. He quickly flew over to the mayor and quickly untied and took her gag off.
"Brick, thank god you're here. Where are the other girls? Boomer and Butch?" Bellum said as soon as she could. Brick stood up and turned to watch the fight.
"They shouldn't be too far behind," he reassured the mayor. "I really hope they stop taking their sweet time soon though," he mumbled to himself as he watched Blossom block a hit from Him.
There was enough force behind the swing to send her flying back into the cave wall behind her. She gasped at the impact and had to take a fraction of a second to recover. Her eyes darted over to where Brick stood near the mayor, now freed of her restraints. In that slightly lapse of attention Him took advantage. She saw Brick's eyes widen as his mouth opened to yell something at her. She immediately turned back to Him and was barely able to put her arms up to attempt to block Him as his claw went driving into her.
Her foot had landed against the wall in an attempt to steady herself and give her some leeway which now worked against her. Blossom has been unable to move the limb and it was now joining her arms in taking the force of Him's claw, the small bones in her foot creaking under the pressure. She grit her teeth at the impact, feeling the cave wall behind her give way as Him just kept pushing. Her back was slowly becoming covered in cuts and Blossom knew that she knew she have some really nasty bruises to go along with them.
Finally, Him stopped and withdrew his claw from the now small tunnel he had used Blossom's body to make. Blossom allowed herself a second to breath as she heard the familiar screech of Bubbles and her sonic scream. The crackle of electricity wasn't too far behind. Blossom took the moment to assess the damage done. Him had managed to land two or three glancing hits before that last one and Blossom's arms were already taking a faint purple tint as they began to bruise. They weren't broken though, probably thanks to her foot and leg helping to take some of the force. Her foot was not so lucky. She could tell there were some fractures if not breaks. She grit her teeth before getting ready to fly back out to help.
At least I can fly, she thought to herself as she took off back through the tunnel. Upon reemerging she saw only one blue light trail flying around the lobster. She glanced over to where the mayor was to see that Boomer had joined his brother and was assessing the mayor's state as his brother watched the fight. Blossom clicked her tongue at the obvious signs that they'd not be helping before rushing to join her sister. Hopefully Buttercup wouldn't take too much longer.
It was a standoff. Had been for a minute or two now. Buttercup's face was set in a scowl at her counterpart, arms crossed, feet squared and planted firmly in a fighting stance. Butch was still grinning like a mad man, hands in his pockets now with his whole posture slouched slightly as his foot tapped every now and then against the ground. He cocked an eyebrow at her as her scowl deepened.
"C'mon Butters. It won't be that bad. Just one little sentence. Look, I'll even make it easier for you. You're afraid of..." he looked at her expectantly.
"Shut up."
Butch sighed heavily.
"We really don't have time to just be standing around here. You're sisters have probably been facing off against Him and without the toughest fighter being there to back them up too. Just one itty bitty sentence and poof, off to fight Him we go."
"Your brothers are there too you know."
"And knowing them, if Bellum's there, they'll be sitting on the sidelines making sure she doesn't get hurt. Nice and safe. Your sisters? Probably not so much."
Buttercup growled slightly at Butch but couldn't deny he was right. And really, one sentence wouldn't be that bad. Her glare could cut diamonds at this point but Butch still stood there looking completely un-phased. And that was the problem. This was Butch. Anyone else and she'd have done it already. Her sisters needed her. But...Butch. She yelled and threw her hands up in the air in defeat.
"I fucking hate you, you know that right?" She yelled pointing at him. He just grinned in response. "I'm afraid of fucking spiders."
The second she finished the light came back and claimed both greens. In the blink of an eye, they were sent directly into the cave where Him was battling both Bubbles and Blossom. Recovering quickly in the same way that the reds had Buttercup took a second to evaluate the fight. Butch just stared at her, a look of half shock and half disbelief on his face.
"Spiders? Really? That's it?"
Buttercup ignored him and blasted off, with touch more strength then needed, heading straight into the fight. She was concerned at the sight of Blossom's back and Bubbles was already starting to favor her left slightly, that old injury from earlier in the week coming back to haunt her. They needed her.
Butch scoffed at the dramatic blast off and looked down at his brothers. As was typical, Brick was scowling at him in standard Brick fashion. Without his brother having to say anything, Butch made his way over and immediately put up a green shield around his brothers and Bellum.
"How long can you hold it?" Brick asked as he turned back to watch the fight. It had been a year or two since he'd last really seen the three of them go at something together like this. He wasn't too reassured by what he was seeing either. Bubbles had begun to lag slightly and Blossom was clearly in more pain than she was letting on. She had been covering Bubbles a little and had taken another hit or two for her sister. Clearly it was starting to get to her and although Buttercup's appearance seemed to bring more life into the other two Brick was still not impressed. Butch shrugged.
"Haven't really done much today so maybe thirty minutes? You know this thing drains hella bad on my X," he said as he turned to also watch the fight. He felt his leg start jigging up and down as he got slightly twitchy. Looked like a hell of a fight.
"Boys, I don't need all three of you here. Some of you should help them. They've already had a couple rough fights this week and Him isn't an enemy to mess around with," Mayor Bellum spoke up. She was still seated on the ground, at Boomers urging. The boys all turned to her, each with a very different expression on their face.
"I don't think they'd appreciate that," Boomer hesitantly said, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. Brick had filled him in on what Him's angle had been. He wasn't too thrilled that Him still considered himself to be their parent. Butch scoffed.
"Then let me go. I'd love to throw old lobster face a punch or two."
Brick glared at him.
"You go nowhere," he turned to watch the fight. The girls were clearly doing better now but he couldn't deny that Him wasn't looking too troubled. Having been able to fight both Blossom and Bubbles without Buttercup for even just a few minutes had clearly made a big difference. Just as he thought that, Blossom took another blow for Bubbles. This one sent her into the cave wall not too far from them. She grit her teeth and glared at Him.
"Buttercup! Give Him a blitz!" She yelled. Buttercup laughed in response and flew straight at Him doing exactly as told. Bubbles backed off, taking a short breather while waiting for a break in Buttercup's rampage to join back in.
"Need a hand?" Brick asked Blossom, startling her. She kept her focus on the fight while she thought it over. She grit her teeth when she realized what her answer would be.
"Maybe. Bubbles and I have already taken more hits than we're used to and Him isn't holding back. I don't want you throwing off our team balance though. If you want to help, stay to the edges and try taking fire off of us."
With that she took off, rocketing straight at Him to deliver a huge punch just as Buttercup pulled back. Brick nodded to Boomer and they both started flying off. Brick turned to Butch before he fully left.
"Stay. Put." He said, pointing and glaring at his brother. Butch folded his arms and pouted.
"I never get to do anything fun."
Bellum just sighed heavily at this, thankful that Butch would be staying. Brick and Boomer flew to different edges of the cave, watching the fight.
"You three little girls are truly getting on my nerves! Why can't you just die already?!" Him screeched as he swung another fist towards Bubbles. She swerved and just barely avoided the hit, aiming a blue power blast at Him's stomach when she got a chance. He screamed in both anger and pain.
Buttercup took the chance to throw a punch directly to Him's cheek which he retaliated too by breathing a blast of fire in her direction. Blossom quickly intercepted and countered it with a blast of her own ice breathe. During this, while both Buttercup and Blossom had their views blocked by the waring elements, Him glanced towards the remaining Powerpuff. She was watching the area where the flames and ice met, clearly worried about her sisters, and not paying close enough attention to Him.
Him took advantage of this. Quicker than one would expect the giant lobster to be capable of, Him spun around towards the blue puff, a claw being thrown straight towards her. Seeing this, Bubbles froze for a fraction of a second too long, her brain not processing the change quick enough.
"Watch it!" A voice growled before a body slammed into Bubbles, knocking her well out of the way. She gasped, having slightly lost her breath from the impact, and turned to see Brick watching Him like a hawk.
"Thank you," Bubbles whispered. Him shrieked, a look at pure rage on his face.
"Pay attention. That stunt just now really pissed Him off."
"You insolent insignificant failure of a creation! How dare you?!" Him screamed as Brick and Bubbles braced for his next move.
"How dare you! That's my baby sister!" Buttercup growled as she launched a flurry of green energy blasts at Him while his back was turned. Him screeched in pain and swung around to face her only to have a blast of crackling dark blue slam into him. Boomer quickly spun away from Him before he had a chance to react, a cocky grin on his face.
"Says father of the year. Or was it mother? I always forget," he said, a bat of blue crackling energy forming in his hand.
"You-" Him growled, his claw swinging down and scooping a handful of lava up to throw at the blue boy who easily dodged with plenty of time to spare. Boomer cocked an eyebrow.
"Was that supposed to do something?"
While Boomer kept Him's attention, Blossom had worked her way over to Bubbles and Brick while Buttercup got into a better position to support Boomer. Blossom nodded in thanks to Brick, the fatigue really starting to show on her face.
"Bloss," Bubbles started only to be quickly waved off by her sister.
"We can't keep this up. That last hit from Him threw lava way to close to where Mayor Bellum and Butch are for my comfort. We need to end this. Space out, surround Him. Get into a good position to start blasting and get ready for my mark."
Bubbles nodded, somewhat hesitant, before doing as told. Brick didn't move. Blossom looked at him only to get an eyebrow raised in response. With a huff at her counterpart's unwillingness to do as told she took off. Brick scoffed at her before focusing on Him.
He couldn't help but agree with Blossom. Butch's shield would have kept Bellum safe from a direct hit from the lava but the heat would have bleed through and baked them both as they became trapped in the green shield. He could see Butch swearing to himself as Bellum tried to calm him. It wouldn't be much longer now before Butch did something stupid either. He wasn't known for his patience after all. While Brick was distracted by his brother and Bellum he didn't notice Him move. Next thing he knew, he was feeling an odd sense of deja-vu as he was knocked out of the way in a similar way to Bubbles. The difference here was that Brick wasn't tackled but shoved.
Quickly looking to where he had been, Brick saw and heard Blossom scream in pain as Him's claw trapped her legs in his grip. With a manic grin, Him quickly slammed her first against the side of the cave and then the ceiling before Brick finally snapped out of it. With a growl he took off.
He arrived where he wanted to at the same time as Buttercup, landing a punch to Him's stomach right beside her. The force was enough to send him staggering back as he dropped Blossom. Buttercup and Brick both tensed as they watched her fall but were saved from having to do anything as Boomer quickly swooped in catching her.
Even from where they floated, they could see that Blossom was pretty much out of commission now. Her legs covered in blood and seemed slightly misshapen, the force from the claws having not only broken skin but also bone. There was a deep cut in her forehead and Boomers arms were doing more at this point to cover her back than her shirt was, something that was also obviously causing her pain as she arched away from the boy.
Buttercup growled as she watched her sister and Brick couldn't help but clench his fists at the sight of his counterpart. The boys hadn't watched much of the girls' fights since Bellum took them in, preferring to avoid anything to do with them, and he couldn't remember the last time he last saw her looking so beat up.
He actual could but didn't want to think back to the days he had spent pummeling the girls for pure fun. He had to force himself not to start growling like Buttercup was. It had been a long time since any of the ruffs had felt hate towards them.
Him started to straighten up and the action snapped Blossom out of her dazed state. She quickly looked towards her sisters and grit her teeth.
"How much force can Butch's shield take?" She quickly asked Boomer. He blinked at her owlishly causing her to repeat the question before getting a response.
"A lot. Not even Brick and I can get through that thing."
She nodded grimly at his response before straightening. She met Brick's eyes briefly before turning back to her sisters.
"GB-blitz!" She shouted at them. Buttercup's manic grin returned while Bubbles worry was replaced while a hard look. Brick having caught on quickly looked at his brother.
"Boom!" He shouted before moving with the two puffs quickly towards Him. Boomer responded instantly to Brick's tone, letting Blossom go and joining the charge towards Him.
"I fucking love doing this!" Buttercup yelled as she and the others all started to literally pummel Him in a flurry of punches, kicks and energy blasts too quickly for Him to even respond. The force of their attacks forced Him into the cave wall and the entire thing began to shake as their attacks pushed Him further into the wall. Butch could be heard swearing as rocks began to fall and the lava sloshed around the rock they were on. Blossom spared him a glance, worried about just how much his shield could take.
Him started yelling in pain before he swept his claws out in front of him, cause the four teens to fall back shortly. As they made to start their attack Him glared at them all before pink smoke began covering the entire room.
"This isn't over," Him growled before fading into the pink mist.
The mist continued to fill the room and all the occupants began coughing as it filled their lungs as well. Just when they all thought they would be able to handle anymore it began to clear up. As it did so, the sun began to hit all their faces. Everyone stood, or in Mayor Bellum's case sat, outside the warehouse. From the looks of things, only an hour or two had passed which was supported by the fact that the emergency teams were still alert from where they were parked just outside the warehouse perimeter. As soon as they saw the teens and the mayor they rushed over.
"Finally," Blossom sighed as she let herself relax. As she did so, she felt herself nearly faint but Buttercup was quickly at her side supporting her.
"Easy leader girl. Even I had a tough time with some of those hits and I'm more used to taking punches than you are. Just a bit longer though, then you can rest," she said, eyeing the press that was also parked alongside the emergency vehicles. Blossom followed Buttercups gaze and sighed.
"Right," she replied, straightening up slightly but still letting Buttercup lend her support. The mayor turned to them.
"I'll handle them. Other than a sore wrist and a bruise or two I'm not injured at all. You girls need a break from all of that anyways," she said as she stood. The boys immediately made to argue but she waved both them and the paramedics away. Standing straight, head held high, the mayor marched her way over to where the press was already taking photos. The boys all grimaced at that as the paramedics reached the girls. A few of them gasped slightly at the sight of Blossom.
"She needs the professor. There aren't any machines here capable of...resetting our bones. Buttercup, do you want help?" Bubbles said as she stepped in between the paramedics and her sisters.
While they meant well, the girls had learned first-hand that sometimes letting the paramedics do their job didn't help. It just gave bones more time to set incorrectly. Which led, of course, to the bones having to be re-broken.
"Nah I'm good. Bloss?" Buttercup whispered softly to her sister.
Blossom was watching the mayor with a far-off look on her face that Buttercup and Bubbles didn't see often. They knew she was thinking back on other fights, other results. Not all of which had ended like today.
"This is why," she said suddenly. The super teens all turned to look at her. She met Butch's eyes. "You thought it was stupid but what if I had of failed today? What then?" She paused for a second as the boys considered her words. She smiled softly at them. "Superheroes aren't allowed to fail."
With that, Blossom straightened completely and without waiting for her sisters took off for home. Buttercup clicked her tongue before taking off to follow her sister, a scowl on her face. Bubbles sighed.
"Don't worry about Blossom. She tends to get a little more serious when she's in pain," she said with a soft smile before taking off quickly after her sisters.
The boys watched them for a while before turning their attention to Bellum and the press.
"Huh. Guess it's not so dumb," Butch thought aloud. Brick scowled before starting to head towards Bellum.
"Let's just get Bellum and go home. I'm too tired for this shit," he growled out. His brothers exchanged a look before following after their own leader and commander.
So I feel like it needs said that tensions in this chapter were a bit high between counterparts. They aren't always that snippy with each other (though that's debatable with the greens).
I'll try to have another chapter finished with being edited by next weekend but no promises! I have a couple of chapters drafted that I'm cleaning up and smoothing out. Trying to iron the edges out so to speak.
I have a ton of side/pre-stories that I also have drafted that are pretty much ready to go. I'll try to post one or two tomorrow (I'll be posting them in a separate story so keep an eye out).
Also, thank you to MisfitQueen for the review! You were super fast there!