Another chapter! Thank you all so much for the follows and likes. Seriously, it's great and I really appreciate that you like this fic! This will probably be the last chapter I post on a weekly basis. I'm running out of cached chapters so I'm going to switch to bi-weekly. I'll post another chapter in two weeks for sure though! Enjoy!
The second he opened the door he regretted it. Sure, he figured she'd already be there but he didn't think she'd be the only one there. Blossom didn't look up from her book either as Brick walked into the room. Without saying anything he walked over to the same spot as last time and sat, pulling out his phone.
He spent about a minute or two pretending to be busy on it before glancing over at Blossom. She was still reading and from what he could tell, completely and totally ignoring him. He winced and refrained from messing with his hat. It would have just given away how antsy he felt and he didn't know that he wanted her to know. Brick glanced at the clock. This was as good a time as any though. They'd both let their tempers get to them a little last week which wasn't that unusual. This time though he had messed up. It hadn't been right what he'd said about Bubbles and Brick couldn't help but admit to himself that Blossom had a point. With everything she'd said too. He opened his mouth to say something when the door opened.
He glanced and saw it was one of the other sports club leaders. He hadn't bothered to learn the guy's name but he knew the face. He glanced at Blossom again to see she still had her nose in her book. Brick's shoulders slumped slightly at the lost opportunity before he turned back to his phone. No way in hell he'd say anything now.
It wasn't long until more people started trickling in and Blossom finally put her book down. Bubbles was working on a plan for another art project while Buttercup was jotting something down in her old notebook. She sighed and looked around the room. Most everyone was there, all three of the ruffs included. Howie hadn't arrived yet though and as much as she'd like to get started without him she knew that the headache it would cause wasn't worth it.
She'd finally managed to get him to understand she didn't care about his equation so she'd had some relief this week so far. Making the most of it, she'd spent her lunches in the library. So far, no one had found her there but she knew that wouldn't last. It would be the last place Brick would look though so she'd use it until she couldn't. Not that she was avoid him or anything. Nope. Not at all.
...Right and Bubbles was sure to believe that. Blossom was half hoping that the blond girl would be too busy with her boyfriend though to push either her or Brick on this. The ruffs had developed a habit of avoiding problems over the years and Brick had hit a nerve or two and she finally decided she'd had enough. As such, she refused to be the one to give in first this time. It was then that she noticed Howie entering the room and with a sigh decided to get started.
"Alright, so as I mentioned to you all last week, the budget was approved. We have handouts with the information on it which we can also email out to you if you'd prefer that. This budget is final and I can tell you already that most of us will have to do some fundraising to afford everything. Don't come knocking on the student government's door if you find it's crunch time and you didn't raise enough money. We will not adjust this budget."
Blossom could tell that there were a few people in the room she was going to have to speak with. Again. She made note of them so she could do that tomorrow before carrying on. Again.
"With that finalized everyone can start planning. You have until the end of next month to submit your proposal plans. These need to include any fundraising activities and the course of action. If you need more hands to complete something, that needs to be noted as well as how you plan to address that. The puffs and ruffs will be meeting to start planning security but we probably won't have any finalized plan ready for a while. Since that's likely going to be the case, please take your proposals to your department leads for their okay first. It'll cut down on unnecessary information coming across the student government's plate."
"Which I'm all for because they plan all the school events so please come to me first. The less they worry about this the more they can worry about those," Bubbles added with a slight giggle. There were a few sighs but overall everyone seemed to be nodding to that.
"The meetings will shift to better help people cover things they need help with. We're all in this together and it's encouraged that we each help one another out. We recommend meeting with your department after these meetings to go over suggestions but it's ultimately up to you all. Once plans have been finalized we can start moving forward with preparing things. Student government will have space allocated by the end of this month for everyone to work on their displays. These spaces will match what you'll have at the competition so please keep that in mind. Any question?" There was silence. "Great! Then I'll see you all next week."
Everyone began filing out. For a second it looked like Howie was about to stay behind but after a glare from Buttercup he quickly changed his mind. The ruffs moved up closer to where the puffs sat.
"So. Security. Why are we doing this again?" Butch asked as he sat down. Buttercup groaned while Blossom sighed. Brick whacked him in the back of the head causing him to whine.
"Because Butch. Just because. Have any of you thought about it beyond what we've already discussed?" They all shook their heads causing Blossom to sigh again. "Fine. I wanted to let you all know that Mayor Bellum and Ms. Keane agreed that they want one of us at the school after class each day next semester to help with this." They all groaned at this. "That said, there's about a three hour gap between when school ends and the security guards start that needs covered. We can rotates through the week as to who stays after. For the rest, to help motivate students to sign up, I was thinking we can also set up so that students who are struggling with school can sign up for tutoring as well as this for a little extra credit. Not a lot but I think I can convince the professors to offer like 5 or 10 points. It'll help encourage students who are having troubles in class to get help. I plan to slot out the three hours into hour long segments so those students can be tutored for one or two of those and walk the school the other hour."
"Do we really want kids like that watching the school though? If they're having a hard time putting the work into their classes what's to say they won't struggle to do the same with this?" Brick asked. Blossom's lips tightened a little with each word causing Bubbles and Buttercup to exchange a look.
"It won't be perfect but it's an idea. I don't hear anyone else offering any other ones so for now it's all we've got. Unless you have something in mind?" Blossom said all while not looking at Brick. He watched her for a second before sighing.
"No. I don't. I also can't think of anything else. We done then?"
"Yes."
And with that the red ruff quickly grabbed his stuff and left the room, a slight smoky smell following him. Butch and Boomer exchanged a look this time at this and quickly got up to follow their brother. Once they were gone Bubbles and Buttercup turned to Blossom who was massaging her temples.
"You good Bloss? I haven't seen you that snippy with hot head in a while," Buttercup asked. Blossom sighed.
"Fine. Just still annoyed from the argument."
"Do you want to talk about it some more?" Bubbles asked. Blossom sighed before shaking her head.
"It's fine. Not anything to worry about. Although that said, this year is already more stressful than I wanted. Either way, it's fine. Now come on, let's get home. Tomorrow's a dance day so I want to make the most of today to get ahead in my homework."
With that, Blossom stood and left the room. Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged another look before getting up to follow their sister.
"Hey Bubbles, mind if we talk?" Boomer said, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot as he stood behind the blond girl. She turned from Mark in surprise.
"Boomer. Hi. Why?" Bubbles said, stiff. Seeing him looking so awkward was making her feel awkward. Mark took a step closer to her putting an arm around her waist. Bubbles saw Boomer's eyes glance at it before he looked down the hall.
"It's about Blossom and Brick."
Now more curious than anything else Bubbles found herself nodding and taking a step towards her counterpart only to feel a tug of her shirt. She turned to see Mark glaring at Boomer. She blinked in surprise. She knew he was tense still as results hadn't been announced for football but she hadn't seen him this off around Boomer before.
"No reason you can't talk about it here. I'd love to help if I can," Mark said. Boomer glanced at him before scanning the area. As was typical, a couple of students had caught Blossom's name and seemed to be paying attention to the conversation. Boomer sighed before shaking his head.
"Probably would be best if I talked to Bubbles privately about this. Besides, I don't even know if there's anything to do. I just wanted her opinion on something."
If Mark had been a super like Brick, Boomer had no doubt he'd have a trail of black smoke leaving the boy's mouth. Seeing as how he wasn't though, Boomer couldn't help but chuckle at how angry Mark looked, which of course made him angrier. He made a move towards Boomer only to have Bubbles step into his path. She shot a glare at Boomer who shrugged in response before turning back to Mark.
"Sweetie, why don't I meet up with you later? This is something I probably should talk with Boomer about. It has to do with the Tri-villathon. We'll probably just talk about it on our way to class."
In other words, it was fine. No need to be jealous as it was 'work' related. They'd also be surrounded by people so there was no chance of anything happening. He could relax.
Mark still seemed unhappy but nodded. He shot a final glare at Boomer, as if in warning, before turning to Bubbles. Boomer scoffed but turned away, not wanting to watch their goodbye. The blues were known for being affectionate after all.
"Fine Bubbly. Text me okay? Love you." Mark said giving her a quick kiss.
"Will do. I'll see you soon okay?"
He hummed before walking away. Bubbles sighed before turning to face her counterpart. Boomer had turned back around and was giving Bubbles a funny look.
"Didn't want to say it back?" He asked. She sighed before starting towards their class.
"Say what back?"
"Hmm, okay Bubbles. If you want to play it that way." He started to follow her, quickly catching up and matching her pace. "About the reds..." he trailed off, voice dropping until it was so soft only Bubbles could pick up on the sound.
"What about them?" She asked back, equally as quiet.
"Well, last night was weird wasn't it?"
"They fought. Nothing really weird about that."
Boomer rolled his eyes. "They fought on Thursday. It's almost been a whole week. They never fight for this long! Do you know what they fought about?"
"Not all the details, no. Blossom said it was a typical fight until it wasn't or something. She also said she won't be the one to apologize first." She gave him a pointed look at this. Boomer couldn't help but wince.
"Fuck. It's a battle of the red wills. This could last months if she plans on waiting for Brick to apologize first. You know what he's like."
"I do. I also know it isn't fair for him to always expect her to say sorry first. Blossom bends over backwards for people enough as it is. As a fellow red? He needs to step it up a bit."
"But this is Brick. Don't get me wrong, he's a great leader for us ruffs but the reason for that is cause of how, well, rough he is. He take no shit from anyone and never shows them any weakness. How else do you think he kept Butch in line back in middle school?"
"I get it, I really do but that was middle school. We're in high school and Blossom has a lot on her plate. More than ever before even. She needs help and Buttercup and I can't give much of that. If you ruffs still aren't willing to step up then the least Brick can do is cut her some slack."
They'd stopped in the middle of the hallway, still whispering, as they had a glare off. People were giving them a decent amount of space as well as somewhat scarred looks. The blues were known to be the easiest going members of the super groups but they had a habit of riling each other up every now and then unintentionally. It usually ended in Blossom having to some and split them up before the power behind their sonic level screaming tore the school apart.
Boomer gulped at the look Bubbles was giving him and pulled back a bit. Bellum had asked the boys over the years if they'd ever want to join the girls and for the most part they'd avoided answering. They helped out every now and then when Bellum thought the puffs needed a hand but for the most part left the crime fighting to the girls. Boomer had wondered why Brick hadn't stepped up to help or at least give a clear answer, especially with how guilty he'd looked after the fight with Him a few months ago, but knew better than to question his leader. Brick knew the ruffs and he knew what was best for them. If he hadn't answered then there was a reason and Butch and Boomer would respect that.
Bubbles sighed when Boomer didn't respond and gave him a sad look. "There's nothing I can do to help here Boomer. This time, Brick has to be the one to step up. If he doesn't or if he finds a way to have her cave? Well, Buttercup and I agreed last night. He does that and he has us to deal with instead. See you in the classroom."
Boomer watched her go before groaning into his hands. They all knew Brick had a thing about saying sorry. It was like he was allergic to it or something. If they really had made that decision then this wasn't a normal red fight. Blossom had pretty much made a stand for change, intentionally or not.
"So this is where you've been hiding out," Boomer said as he sat down next to her. Blossom simply sighed and turned the page of her book.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied. Boomer hummed slightly at this before quickly snatching her book away and holding it out of her reach.
"Hey! I was reading that!"
"And now we're talking. What's up Blossom? How have you been? Why haven't you been at the table?"
She sighed, realizing she wouldn't be getting that book back until she answered his questions. She sat back in her chair, arms crossed, glaring at him.
"I'm good Boomer. You all just talk too much and I wanted peace and quiet to read my book. Give it back please."
"Nope. Not good enough. You've read through worse than us. Why haven't you been at the table?"
Blossom sighed heavily before glancing at her book. Boomer was the fastest of the boys and while the girls were slightly faster than their counterparts these days, Boomer was still too quick for her. She'd never get her book away from him.
"I just needed space Boomer."
"From Brick?"
She gave him a look that answered that question. He sighed and set the book on the table. Blossom grabbed it and hugged it to her chest.
"Usually you two would have made up by now."
"Usually, but not this time."
"Did he say something? Or did you? What happened Bloss?"
"Nothing more than usual. He said something, I said something back, he replied slightly louder. You get it. It's just, I'm tired Boomer. I was sort of hoping that for once Brick would say something first. He was the first one to say something he probably didn't meant too after all."
Boomer sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Brick had been pretty mopey looking around the house. He seemed normal at school but Boomer had noticed the glances he'd sent Blossom's way. He seemed to want to say something but also seemed like he was more waiting for her to say something, do something that said he everything was fine. The ruffs in general weren't good with apologies but Brick was easily the worst out of the three of them.
"This is Brick we're talking about right?"
Blossom laughed softly at that. "Yes, I know. I'm not being realistic. It's just, whenever we fight it always seems like no matter who starts it I'm always the first to say sorry. I don't want that this time."
"So you ignored him last night because of that? You know he hates being ignored."
"I know he doesn't like when people give the impression that they're better than or above him, which I didn't. I also didn't extend an olive branch for him to grab onto. Plus, he had nothing good to offer. All he did was gripe about my idea!"
The more she thought of it the more she thought of their argument. The more she thought of that the angrier she got. He wasn't being fair. If he didn't want to step up and take on the responsibilities that she did then he had no right to say what he did. Boomer leaned back in thought.
"So he did say something. Hmm, well that isn't very surprising." He paused before glancing at her. "There have been a lot of cookies that have gone to waste this week."
"That's a shame. You'd think between you four one of you would want one."
"There's even been a red velvet cupcake."
She glared at him. "Did that go to waste too?"
"Wouldn't know. Left the table early. I can say that he's been glaring at anyone who tried to take it though."
"Well that really is just a waste now isn't it?"
Boomer sighed and let it drop. Seemed like this year the ruffs and puffs were getting along just fine, as long as they weren't also counterparts. He winced as he remember his talk with Bubbles from earlier. Blossom watched him.
"How about you Boomer? How are you?"
He looked to Blossom and sighed. Of course he wasn't surprised that she'd noticed his mood. She seemed to have a way of seeing issues, same way Brick did.
"Fine."
"Right, and you expect me to believe that?"
He glanced at her before quickly looking away again.
"It's just, it's Ali. She's a great girl and all but..." he trailed off. She watched him for a second.
"Your heart isn't in it."
"I don't know if it ever was. I don't know if it ever has been."
He glared at the table, not wanting to see the look on Blossom's face. She watched him for a second before she responded.
"You still don't think you deserve happiness."
He winced and looked at her. It hadn't been a question. She was giving him that look, the unnerving one. He sighed.
"Why should I? I'm not exactly a good person."
She scoffed loudly at that. "Please Boomer, what you did when we were five really isn't something to judge yourself on for the rest of your life."
"But all that damage-"
"Was something you caused because you were told to. For over five years now you've been given the chance to choose and you've never gone back to being a villain. Sure, I've caught you three doing some graffiti here and there but hurt someone, wreck something? Intentionally? I've not seen it once."
"I dunno Bloss. Doesn't feel like enough."
She laid a hand on his shoulder. "You chose and you deserve to be happy with that choice. Ali doesn't make you happy, that much is pretty obvious. Just because you make her happy doesn't make it right to be with her. Do what you want for once Boomer, not what other people want you to do."
"Kinda can't really do what I want right now." He replied, again avoiding looking at her. Blossom sighed.
"I can't really say much on this and you know that but trust me Boomer. Don't make yourself unhappy for other people's happiness. Then, just give it time. Things will work out, one way or another."
He watched her before turning away again.
"I'll try."
"Good. Consider breaking up with Ali."
He laughed at that before turning to Blossom.
"Ms. Everything nice pretty much telling me to break up with someone? Oh what has the world come to?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Anyone can see she doesn't make you happy. Step one to being happier? Think about what you want with her."
"Not gunna tell me I should try to talk to her? Work through it?"
She gave him a look. "Every time she opens her mouth you immediately look bored. This isn't really a problem to talk through. You aren't interested and it's pretty obvious."
He winced at that. "Does she...?"
"No, but Ali never has been the most observant. It's better to end it now before she realizes and then makes it worse by trying to fix it."
Boomer rubbed the back of his neck. "She would try wouldn't she?" He winced at the thought. "Okay, you're maybe right. It would be better to just end it here."
The bell rang causing both teens to look towards the door.
"I'm usually right Boomer but don't let me tell you what to do. Do what you want. Please?"
He had to look away from the pleading look in her eyes. He knew he had a problem with always trying to do what other people wanted him to do but it was usually fine. For the most part he enjoyed making other people happy. She had a point though that in making Ali happy he'd made himself unhappy. He should probably do something about that.
"Fine, I'll think about it."
"Good. Now you better start heading to class. The band classroom is on the other side of campus."
He laughed at that. "Not a huge issue when you can fly though, is it?" She just rolled her eyes at him.
"So, yesterday was weird," Butch said as he sat at the workout station next to her and starting playing with her spare weights. Buttercup glared at him.
"Really? Scram. I'm not in the mood to deal with you," she replied. Butch just gave her one of his usual manic smiles. She resisted from groaning.
"Yesterday though."
"What about it?"
"I dunno. Bro and Bossy seemed awfully tense."
Buttercup rolled her eyes. "So they fought again. Why does it matter?"
"They fought last week. Kinda odd that they're still fighting. I heard from Boom she hasn't been sitting with them."
"Guess what snail brain, she's a big girl. She can sit wherever she wants. Not surprised she decided to sit somewhere else with all of them trying to be white knights or something."
"They just wanted to help her out. Howie's gotten ridiculous. You know that Butterbum."
She huffed and set her weights down to turn and glare at him. He still had that grin in place and she saw the slight twitch in his hand. He'd been jittery since the start of the year, even more so after she gave him the notebook, for some reason and she was surprised he wasn't doing more to annoy her. She should maybe talk with Brick about it before her counterpart went stir crazy. Again.
"Yeah and she doesn't need it. She's fine. Her and Brick fought. They'll make up. It's fine. Brick just has to say one simple word and it'll be good."
Butch laughed at that and gave her an unbelieving look. "You lot want bro to apologize? Christ, this ain't no fight then. It's a goddamned war."
"Maybe it's just time for a ruff to step up."
Butch cocked his head to the side and his look took on a slightly sharper edge to it. Whoops.
"What's that supposed to mean Bitterbitch?"
She rolled her eyes. Why couldn't her counterpart be easier to deal with? He got butt hurt too easily. All the ruffs did in her opinion.
"Nothing other than Blossom is always the one to say sorry first. Maybe this time it should be Brick's turn. Also, fuck off if you're gunna call me that. Seriously would have passed on weights this year if I knew you were taking it."
"Pft. You love me and clearly don't get enough of me. How bout we fix that? Take this outside?"
She noticed that both of them were letting off wisps of green energy. She took a step back and a quick, calming breath. She had to stop unconsciously rising to his challenges! It never ended well.
"How about you take yourself to the other side of the room instead?"
Butch scoffed at that and made no move to bring his energy under control. It was crackling slightly now. She glared at him but made a very conscious effort to keep her energy under her control. Blossom did not need the headache of a fight between her a Butch right now. Plus, what good was her special ability for complete control of her x, to a much more intense degree than any of the others, and her body if she didn't even make use of it at times like this.
"How 'bout not? You gunna try and make me?" Butch taunted. Buttercup felt an internal spark from her energy but kept it there.
"No, I'm not. You come over here worried about leader girl and then try and pull this shit? You think this'll help things?"
He frowned and then, after a minute or two, pulled his energy back in.
"Guess not. Still say we should go blow some steam."
She rolled her eyes. "The simulators were built for that. Go use the thing. I know the one at the mayor's house is running just fine otherwise that's where the professor would be."
"True. The thing just isn't as satisfying though. Oh well, maybe another day eh Butcup?"
He swung himself off the bench he was on and back to his side of the room without waiting for a reply. Buttercup took a deep breath to calm herself, mentally reciting a mantra as she did so. Butch was getting too antsy. It wouldn't be long now until he blew. She had to do something about that before it was too late. Last time she didn't Butch had tackled her through three rooms and the resulting fight had torn down that entire building. Blossom had been more than pissed. Brick had given Butch several third degree burns.
She sighed before sitting down. Blossom was too stressed to take this too. The school was already pressuring her slightly about the damage control and security plans. Add in everything else that was going on and their normal duties? There was no way Buttercup was going to take another issue to her. No, she'd have to talk to Brick and hopefully his fight with Blossom hadn't put him in such a bad mood that he would ignore her.
She turned another page, ignoring the sounds from the team practice below her. Bubbles would be wrapping up soon and then they could head over to the soccer field to wait for Buttercup. The football practice was still going strong and they'd gotten to the point in practice where they needed more of the field. Which meant cheer would be kicked off. Blossom looked up to see Bubbles walking towards the locker rooms. Bubbles waved at her causing her to smile.
She placed her bookmark in the book and grabbed the rest of her stuff. She walked down the bleachers to stand at the tunnel's entrance. Bubbles was usually quick to change after cheer, just wanting to get home to shower. This was why Blossom was not expecting to see Abigail walk out first.
She gave the girl a polite smile which caused Abigail to huff and glare at her. Blossom was slightly surprised when Abigail turned to walk over to her. The girl had made her opinion clear and tended to avoid the puff. It seemed today would be the exception. When she was close enough she opened her mouth to say something. Blossom's eye caught movement behind Abigail at the same time she heard a cry of warning from the field.
Without thinking Blossom blasted over and pushed the girl out of the way, slightly harsher than she'd meant to, before bracing. The ball hit Blossom squarely in the chest and she was quick to grab it as it pushed her back a step or two. The rotation was so intense that the ball started to burn rubber against Blossom's hands before finally starting to slow. Once it had stopped rotating she was quick to drop it, blowing a slight puff of ice breath onto her hands to cool them. The ball was still smoking slightly so she blew on it as well.
"Shit! You good?!" She heard a voice from the field yell. She looked up to see all three ruffs jogging over to her. Boomer reached them first and picked the ball up.
"Coach is gunna be pissed Brick. Only been a week and you've already trashed a ball," Boomer said as he tossed the slowly deflating ball to his brother.
"No way, this one's on Butch. The idiot was peacocking waiting for the cheer girls to leave. If he hadn't moved the ball would have been fine."
"Well sorry I didn't want a dent in my skull. You two okay?" Butch asked again as he offered a hand to Abigail on the ground. Blossom took a look at her shirt and sighed. The ball's rotation again her chest had singed her shirt.
"I'm fine. Abigail are you alright? I'm sor-"
"I'm fine. Next time watch your strength."
Blossom blinked at the venom in the girl's voice. Boomer and Butch exchanged looks while Brick sighed.
"I'm sorry. Next time I'll be gentler. Hopefully there won't be a next time though," Blossom said as she turned to glare at Brick. He was avoiding looking at her.
"Don't blame Brick for you pushing me too hard," Abigail retaliated. Blossom again blinked in surprise at the girl. How was this her fault?!
"Sorry Bloss! Princess had something to talk about. Everything okay?" Bubbles asked as she jogged slowly to the group. She glanced between Blossom and Abigail sensing the tension.
"It's fine. Your sister should really learn some control though. I'm going to have a hell of a bruise tomorrow," Abigail said looking at her arm. She took a step closer to Brick and looked up at him. He was ignoring her too. She pouted slightly at that.
Bubbles watched with a raised eyebrow before turning to her sister. Blossom just sighed and shook her head slightly. It wasn't worth the trouble.
"Are you shitting me? You dumb or something? You'd have a lot worse than a bruise if Bossy hadn't pushed you out of the way," Butch said with a glare at Abigail. Blossom sighed again. As touched as she was that the ruff was standing up for her it was bound to just make things worse.
"It's fine Butch. I'll be more careful next time. Shall we Bubbles?"
Bubbles watched her sister for a moment before nodding and smiling at her.
"We shall. Buttercup should be done by now."
They started to walk away from the group. Abigail glared at them both and Bubbles made a mental note to watch the girl more closely. There was something about her beyond just jealousy and a crush and Bubbles didn't like it. Blossom let her shoulder hit Brick's slightly as she walked past.
"Be more careful next time," Blossom hissed softly enough for only X-hearing to pick it up. Brick slightly winced at her tone and watched the two puffs float off to the other fields.
"Well, you're a bitch and we've still got practice. Bye," Butch said to Abigail. He threw an arm around his older brother's shoulders and walked with him back to the field. Boomer was quick to join on Brick's other side.
"No wonder you wanna avoid that one. She seems psycho or something," Butch said with a glance back at Abigail. The girl was still watching Brick and it sent slight shivers down the green eyed boy's spine. Not even Howie looked that obsessed when he watched Blossom.
"Seriously. Also, great job at not pissing Blossom off further. Really, seriously glad you knew how deep the hole you were already in was," Boomer sarcastically added. Brick sighed.
"Shut up. I know I screwed up. Again. It's fine," Brick ground out.
"Apparently not according to the girls. They want you to say sorry bro," Butch said. Brick groaned.
"I figured as much. It's still fine."
"So you're actually going to apologize? Bro, I've never, not once, heard you say sorry," Boomer said. Brick sighed and the coach waved for them to get back into position. They moved to do so but froze at the sound of an alarm coming from their bags.
They all zoomed over and pulled out their phones. Their screens were all red and white with a yellow smiley face in the middle. All three groaned before looking to their coach. He sighed and nodded. The ruffs quickly took off for the other field.
"Well, looks like you'll get a chance to make it up sooner than you thought," Boomer said. Brick glared at him.
"Shut up Boom."
Blossom was listening as the mayor described the situation. The monster had somehow gotten past the early detection system and was already in the center of town. She watched as the ruffs made their way to where they were standing.
"What direction does it need to be led in?" She asked the mayor. Mayor Bellum sighed.
"At this point there isn't really a short path out of the city. If you think you can get it to turn around and lead it out the way it came in that would be best."
"We'll do our best to minimize the damage even if that isn't an option. We're on our way now."
She took off towards the city as she said this, not waiting to see if the others were ready. Buttercup and Bubbles immediately fell into place behind her. The ruffs lagged slightly at her sudden action but were quick to catch up.
"What's the situation?" Brick asked. As much as Blossom still wanted to ignore him she swallowed that down. She had a job to do.
"Somehow a monster managed to get into the center of the city without anyone noticing. The early detection systems seem to have failed. The professor is already looking into that. We need to lead it out of the city and then deal with it."
"Size? Any particular powers we should know about?"
Blossom shook her head. "They don't know much. Not the largest monster, maybe 7 or 8 stories high. It's dark grey. That's about all that they know."
"That's nothing," Brick growled. "How the hell did it get this far into the city and no one knows anything?"
Blossom sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"What's the plan leader girl?" Buttercup asked.
"If we can turn it and take it out of the city the way it came out before destroying it that would be best. If we can't do that then we need to minimize damage as we lead it out."
"How's the evacuation going?" Bubbles asked.
"Not the best. People are more used to having time to get out now."
"Blues can help speed things along," Brick said. Blossom nodded.
"I agree. Greens keep it in place while we figure out the best plan. Try to turn it around if you can but if not, just try not to let it thrash too much."
"No promises," Butch said with a manic grin on his face. Buttercup shot a glare at him.
"I'll do what I can leader girl."
"Good. Blues go ahead. No point in you sticking with us. Get those people out of the area."
"Roger!" Bubbles said as she took off at a much faster speed, zooming past all of them.
"Got it," Boomer said as he quickly followed after Bubbles.
"Greens need to poke and prod too. We need to see what makes it tick," Brick said.
"But not at risk to the city. We have to get it out before we do anything like that."
"And if it springs something on us we aren't expecting while we do that? While the blues help clear the area the greens should take the opportunity to learn what they can."
Blossom chewed on her lip at this. It was a good point but it also put the city at more risk.
"Fine. Butch can do that. Buttercup, try to minimize any damage."
Buttercup sighed heavily.
"Cleaning up after the dick head again huh?"
"You love it Butters, don't lie," Butch said as he cracked his knuckles. They were getting close now and saw the occasional blue flash of light near the ground.
A roar rang out as they flew over the last few buildings that had blocked the monster from view. The monster looked like a mix between an armadillo and a porcupine. Spikes ran across the hard shell of its back and plate like scales covered the monster's front. Its beady black eyes rolled across the city in an almost frantic way. It really was small compared to others they'd fought but the trail of damage behind it had Blossom worried. For a monster that size the damage was larger than she'd expected. Butch let out a crazed laugh as he dove straight for the monster, immediately diving in to land a punch across its jaw. It roared and tried to swat him but he quickly moved out of the way with another laugh.
Buttercup growled lightly before diving down and taking a swipe at the monster's side. It glared at her and reached to try and grab her only to have Butch zoom by its face, landing another punch. It roared again before turning its attention back to him. Buttercup watched as it took a step towards her counterpart and quickly dove down, pushing its foot to slightly alter its path and stop it from crushing a row of small business buildings that were miraculously still in tact. Blossom turned to Brick.
"I'll check in with the blues," she said. He nodded and watched the fight.
"I'll find out what makes it tick," he replied with a smirk. She sighed.
"Try not to let it do too much damage."
He rolled his eyes. "I'll do what I can Pinkie."
She glared at him slightly before taking off to find one of the blues. Brick turned back to the monster. Butch was throwing insults at it every chance he got while Buttercup zoomed around the monster's body, trying to change the course of its actions before it caused more damage. He watched for a moment but saw no sign of anything too concerning. He dove in for its face and took a deep breath.
As he flew past he breathed out flames into its face. It shrieked, clearly in pain this time, and brought a claw up to its face. It staggered back a step and Brick heard Buttercup curse as she tried to stop the monster from crushing the buildings again. She had slightly less success this time as the monster's foot took out about a third of them. Brick grimaced at that but continued to zoom around, avoiding hits. Butch flew in to land another punch and take the monster's attention off Brick.
Now behind the monster Brick took a chance to observe the spikes on the monsters back. They didn't look like they could be launched out which was a good thing. The tight scale like armor also didn't look like it allowed the monster to expand the way some did. He couldn't see anything special and had to wonder at how the monster had gotten so far inside the city if that was the case.
He flew in for another punch, this time meeting Butch's eyes. He motioned that it was time to try turning thing and got a nod in response before landing another punch on the monster's face. It growled and tried to swat at Brick. He pulled around and flew back behind the monster. It took half a step to follow as Butch swung past its side, shooting laser beams as he did so at it. It growled before reaching to follow, taking another step in the direction Brick had begun turning it in. It roared, clearly angry that it once again missed Butch.
Brick grinned at that. Trust his brother to piss the monster off. Brick took that second to scan for the blues. He still saw their streaks of blue through the gaps in building but they were further away now. It wouldn't be long until they were ready to join in on the fight.
Blossom must have agreed because she came flyingl straight in then and shot a laser beam at the monster as she zoomed past. She stopped and floated next to Brick as she watched the monster. Butch had again swooped in and grabbed the monster's attention. This time though the monster came much closer to grabbing him. Brick frowned at that. The monster didn't seem incredibly intelligent and Butch was known to be unpredictable. He had a habit of switching up his fighting style making it near impossible to guess what he did next. The monster couldn't have known what angle his brother was coming in at and so there was no reason for him to be that close to catching Butch. It had taken another step around and he heard Buttercup scream out a curse or two in anger as the buildings were completely crushed this time.
She launched herself straight up and delivered an upper cut to the monster's chin with enough force that a wave of pressure blasted past where Brick and Blossom stood. He heard several windows shatter and Blossom sighed.
"She was doing a pretty good job," Brick offered. Blossom just shook her head.
"Right. Try telling the press that," she said watching the fight. Butch stepped in where Buttercup had left and tried his best to stop the monster from causing more damage as it took a step towards Buttercup. He had next to no success as the foot came down on another set of buildings. Both reds winced and Buttercup let out another shriek in anger.
"Anything?" Blossom asked. Brick was about to shake his head but stopped.
The monster took a swing towards Buttercup as she zoomed around it launching energy blasts at it. It caught her and threw her through a building.
"It's faster than it was I think," he replied with a frown. Why had it suddenly been able to catch one of them? Buttercup, while the slowest of the puffs, was faster than Butch. She should have been fine.
Blossom looked to where her sister had been launched and let out a sigh of relief as Buttercup came barreling back, a look of murder on her face.
"How much? And why?"
"I dunno. Let's find out."
He dove toward the monster, meeting up with Buttercup as they both landed blows on the monster's stomach. It roared and swiped at them, catching them both and sending them flying into the street. Brick grunted at the force of the impact and had to take a second in his new crater to recover. While he didn't have any other hits to compare it to the monster seemed to have picked up not only in speed but strength as well. But why?
He watched as Blossom swung by the monster's face letting off a string of energy blasts. It roared again and before it got a chance to swing at the girl Buttercup flew up to land another punch on its chin. It roared and Brick flew by its feet, using energy beams to change the course slightly as it took another step. It was finally turned around.
It looked down at Brick's actions only to see Butch flying in at it. It swung its foot up and kicked him sending him at an angle up through a tall building. Brick flew over to Blossom as Buttercup kept it distracted.
"You're right. It's faster. It also seems to have more force behind its moves as well."
"But why?" He growled out in response. She glared at him.
"How should I know? Are you sure you didn't see anything?"
"I'm sure! Is it because it's getting angry?"
Blossom rolled her eyes. "Not likely. That would make its moves sloppy and it actually doesn't seem angry. It looks more annoyed?"
Brick took a closer look and saw that she was right. It did look annoyed, which wasn't right. They'd landed some pretty powerful hits on the monster. It should be in pain. He looked and realized he saw no evidence of any damage on the monster. He was slightly distracted as Buttercup went zooming past into another building. Butch had joined back in but wasn't laughing anymore.
"Incoming!" Boomer yelled as he flew in, blue electricity crackling around him as he created a bat and swung at the monster's head. Bubbles was quick to follow with a sonic scream at it that had the others covering their ears. Buttercup followed up with a growl as she flew past and landed another punch on the monster.
"It doesn't look hurt," Blossom said, voicing Brick's earlier thoughts.
"Yeah, our punches are apparently not doing shit," he growled out. There was always something wasn't there? Blossom shook her head.
"We can figure it out once it's out of the city." Brick nodded in agreement. "Blues! Bait it out of the city. Greens minimize damage!"
The blues immediately began flying around the monster's head landing light hits and flying ahead of the monster, just out of its range. It began to start following them out of the city and the greens zoomed around its feet, ready to try and divert them if needed.
"It didn't like my fire breath. That seemed to hurt it," Brick said. Blossom glanced at him before nodding.
"Let's see how it feels about ice then."
She flew towards the monster. As she flew past its head she let loose a might gust of frozen air. The monster roared and swung at her as she continued to follow in the path of the blues. Brick frowned. It didn't seem to care as much.
He flew towards the monster in a similar path but on the other side of its head. As he went past he let out a giant breath of flame and the monster shrieked in pain. It blindly stumbled forward a few steps, causing the greens to yell at him which he ignored. He flew up to join Blossom.
"So it just doesn't like the heat," he said.
"Looks like. Let's get this thing out of the city and then deal with it."
As she said that, the monster took a few blinks to clear tears out of its eyes before focusing on Brick. He cursed as the monster began to run at him. Blossom shot a glare at him but doubled up her speed to stay ahead of the monster. The greens were screaming at Brick. He simply sent a cocky smirk down at them, pissing them off more.
It didn't take long before the harbor came into view. The monster had entered the city through a beach not far from the edge of the city. Blossom pointed to the spot she wanted the monster as the others nodded in agreement. They pulled up far enough outside the city that they didn't have to worry too much about the damage. The monster roared as it went swinging for Brick who managed to zoom past the monster's fist at the last second. He let loose another blast of fire causing the monster to rage. The greens were quick to jump in after that and began to throw beams and punches at the monster distracting it. The blues zoomed in and out of the fight pulling the monster away from the greens before it got too close. Brick pulled up next to Blossom.
"Why just your fire? Why aren't our punches doing anything and why is it getting faster?!" She ground out. Brick watched closely trying to figure it out as well.
"There has to be something we're missing."
"Obviously," Blossom said rolling her eyes. "The question is what?"
Bubbles let out another scream as she flew past and the monster clearly looked a bit frazzled afterwards. It then started to glow slightly catching the attention of both reds. Butch flew at the monster as it recovered and it swiped at him faster than before sending him flying into Bubbles as both went flying off and into the ground.
"You saw that right?" Blossom asked as Brick nodded.
"Makes no sense though. If it can absorb attacks, like it looks like it can, why not my fire? Why did your cold do nothing? Shouldn't it be opposite?"
"You'd think so if it was energy related. Maybe the type of energy or attack matters? Could be it just can't handle high temperatures."
"Well, let's take a closer look."
With that both reds flew in, both taking deep breaths. Blossom blew an icy gale into the monster's face as she flew by and Brick let loose flames at its stomach. The monster roared and swiped at Brick near its stomach while trying to catch Blossom in its mouth as she flew by. They both dodged and doubled back for another attack. The monster shrieked in pain again and Brick had a moment after his fire dissipated to observe the monster's stomach. He still couldn't see any sign of damage.
He missed the monster's next move as it kicked its foot up sending him flying. He managed to pull up short before hitting the ground only to be tackled out of the way by Bubbles as the monster went running past. It turned to roar at them but was stopped from another run as Blossom blasted it with more icy breath.
"Thanks," Brick said.
"No problem. Please tell me you two have a plan."
Brick ground his teeth as the monster narrowly missed Blossom. "Working on it. Get it off Pinkie. I need to talk to her."
"Got it!"
She launched back at the monster letting out another scream. This one was slightly raspier than the previous one and Brick could tell her voice was getting sore. She only had a few more in her. Blossom flew back out of the way and Brick zoomed up to meet her.
"I didn't see any sign of any burn marks," Brick said as he reached her. She glared at the monster before turning to Brick. He knew that look.
"What if...what if it's because the damage you're doing isn't external? What if it's internal?"
Brick caught on quick. "You think I'm cooking its insides."
She nodded. "With that plating it's possible. It could be that my ice breath is doing something but we wouldn't know because maybe I'm numbing the pain? I've never known my ice to numb something so quickly but the monster seems to be really sensitive to your flame. It could be that internally it's really-"
"Incoming!" Buttercup yelled causing both reds to look in her direction. Brick reacted faster than Blossom and quickly pushed her out of the way of the claw as it came barreling down on them. He hadn't been quick enough to dodge or brace as the monster's claw hit him, send him straight down into the earth. He groaned as he saw stars from the force of the blow.
"Brick! Oh my gosh please be okay!" Blossom exclaimed as she flew down into the hole. Brick groaned in response. She gently turned him over while looking for injuries. "Nothing seems broken."
"Fuck that hurt."
Blossom glared. "How many fingers?"
She held up two and he glared at her before holding up two of his own, one on each hand. She glared and smacked his hands down.
"Really?"
He started to chuckle only for it to be cut off by a cough. "Think you were wrong. I've broken a rib or two. Not coughing blood though so I should be fine."
She gave him a worried look causing him to groan and let his head fall back into the earth.
"Pinkie, we just found that I might be able to stop this thing. I'm fine."
She watched him for a bit longer before sighing. "Okay, okay. You're right. Luckily we have a second to think here. Also, thank you," she whispered the last part, still not happy with him after their fight but knowing he'd saved her from that hit. He waved her off.
"We're even now," he grunted out. Blossom looked at him, startled. He was rubbing his face with one hand, the other resting on his rib cage avoiding looking at her. Well, fair enough she supposed.
"Can you two please figure something out?! I think this thing just broke my arm!" They jumped slightly at Buttercup's yell from above.
"Right, so it's sensitive internally and really doesn't like your heat," Blossom said. Brick groaned.
"I don't like where this is going Pinkie."
"Do you have any other ideas?"
He moved his hand and met her gaze. He thought for a few seconds before sighing heavily.
"No." He slowly stood, waving off Blossom's attempt to help him, and pulled his hat off of his head. He thrust it at Blossom who was quick to take it. "Don't let it get dirty."
"Right," Blossom said hesitantly.
Brick took off forcefully causing some dust to rain down on Blossom. She blinked blankly at the hat before wincing. Maybe she should stay here?
"Butch! Make it roar!" Brick yelled as he hurtled out of the hole.
"You got it!" Butch yelled as he launched at the monster's stomach.
"What about Bloss?" Bubbles asked. Brick ignored her, waiting.
As soon as Butch hit the monster into the stomach it roar and Brick took off. Without another thought, he launched himself into the monster's mouth.
"Well. I was not expecting that," Buttercup said as the monster tried to cough Brick back up. It took a second before they caught on.
"Shit! This is gunna be-" Butch started.
The monster let out a ragging scream of pain as it began to glow from the inside. Seconds later and the monster exploded covering everything in goo.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh noooo!" Bubbles cried as she looked down at herself. Butch spit some out of his mouth, trying not to gag.
"That...was disgusting," Boomer said as he looked to his oldest brother.
Brick was floating in the air covered head to toe in goo. He wiped it off his face, flicking it off his hands. Blossom floated up and out of the hole.
"Yikes. I was not expecting that."
Brick growled lightly at the mess while Butch finally threw up.
"Great. I'm going home now," Buttercup said before taking off. Bubbles quickly followed with a cry of despair. Boomer went over to rub circles on Butch's back.
"I'll let the mayor know," Blossom said as she floated over to the ruffs. They all gave her grim looks before nodding.
"I need to wash-" Butch attempted to say before throwing up again. Boomer sighed.
"Let's get you home. That can't be pleasant."
Butch shook his head in response before letting Boomer lead him back towards home. Brick continued to shake the goo off his hands as he glared at his hat.
"Did you want it back now?" Blossom asked holding it out. Brick looked at his hands before sighing.
"Nah, give it to me tomorrow?" He asked. Blossom nodded. Brick watched her a bit before sighing. He went to run his hand through his hair before grimacing and letting his hands drop.
"Look, about last week," Brick started. Blossom immediately tensed and looked away. Brick sighed. "I didn't mean what I said."
"I see."
She continued to look away and Brick felt his jaw clench.
"Pinkie I..." he trailed off and she looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. He took a breath. "I went too far. I shouldn't have said what I did about Bubbles. It was uncalled for," he ground out. She gave him a look before sighing figuring this was the best she'd get.
"Fine. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said what I did either."
"Right. Great. I'm gunna go shower now," Brick rushed in saying before blasting off for home. Blossom sighed shaking her head before turning to do the same.
So Brick caved sooner than expected! He really actually doesn't like Blossom being mad at him, not that he'll admit that ever. I also feel like I maybe should explain? The ruffs really don't usually help out much. This is the first time since the Him fight that they have only lend a hand when there have been an insane number of monsters, like 3 in one day, or if one makes it into the city, like this one.
Thank you for the reviews Birdie Black! Hope you also enjoyed this fight scene.
Again, next chapter should be up in about two weeks time.