I just noticed I've been switching between Pinky and Pinkie...my bad.

Boomer touched down just inside the gates. His flyover hadn't really given him any clues so now he was stuck now with having to actually go in. Thankfully he'd thought to bring gloves. The last thing Bellum needed was for the cops to be on him for breaking and entering. Last thing he needed too with the way things with Bubbles had been. Especially after he said she didn't have to worry about this.

Luckily the building was empty. That much he had seen. Yeah there were security cameras but those were easy for him to deal with. A little shock to their system and they'd be out. Hopefully not too damaged but eh, not like anyone would know it was him. These things happen all the time in this city after all.

He had tried asking the new students about why but hadn't been able to really get any kind of answer. It was a bunch of the same.

'They said the school wasn't allowed to stay open.'

'Everything seemed normal on the last day.'

'It was really surprising.'

No one knew anything. He was sure he could ask Bellum but she was so busy that the ruffs always felt bad asking her for stuff. They only did it as a last resort. Still, he was surprised that not a single one of the new kids knew anything about what happened to their old school. That struck him as weird. Granted, he hadn't asked everyone but he'd asked enough of them that he should have heard something.

Sending a shock through the camera watching the front he approached slowly. He could feel the buzz of electricity on the other side of the front door and sent a surge through those cameras as well. Once the buzz was almost gone he pulled out a small black kit from his back pocket.

Brick was technically the best one for this but Boomer had made sure to learn how to pick locks too. He was glad he had now. After they'd started staying with Bellum they made sure not to make a habit of breaking into places but Brick had snuck this kit into the house just in case. They knew she wouldn't approve but at least this way they weren't breaking doors down and again, they didn't make a habit of this or anything.

He frowned as he tried to pick the lock. Normally he'd have just asked Brick to come along with him but Brick had been busy. For the Tri-villathon the physics and other similar classes were apparently working on something big and they'd asked for Brick to help plan it out while they got everything needed. Whatever it was, and Brick was stubbornly not saying anything. It was taking up a lot of Brick's time with the planning. Boomer had gotten a glance but hadn't made much of it since it was mostly just numbers.

With a click the door finally opened. Boomer checked his watch. It took longer than he would have liked but he was out of practice. If Brick had been here he would have been cracking up at Boomer's poor skills. Maybe he should practice tonight.

Walking through the doors he scanned the hall. Seemed pretty normal. He was pretty surprised the school hadn't been torn down yet. He would have thought that would be the plan which was why the students all transferred elsewhere. Keeping his senses open for that familiar little buzz, Boomer started his way through the school. He was surprised at how many cameras there actually were. The front doors made sense but they were also scattered throughout the hall as well. Even though this school was in the more criminally inclined part of town, the threats in Townsville were usually more of a large scale variety so this much security in a school was surprising.

Taking his time he continued towards the auditorium, paying attention to things as he went. Other than the large number of cameras, the school seemed pretty normal. Nothing else stood out and it was getting pretty boring pretty quick. Why was he wasting a good Saturday for this? Right. Cause he was curious. And the reds wanted to know. His red in particular wanted to know first.

All of a sudden he stopped and cocked his head. What was that? Now glad he had no one with him, Boomer took a long, deep sniff. He might not have as much puppy tail but the bit that he and Butch had gave them slightly stronger senses of smell. Not as good as Brick's but they picked up a lot more than a normal person would. And something smelled...off.

Turning down a different hallway, Boomer followed the smell while trying to figure out what it was. He knew it wasn't blood, which was good, but that didn't help much. He didn't even know how to begin to describe the smell. He didn't think he'd smelt anything like it before. Not that that said much. There were a lot of scents out in the world.

Finally, he reached the end of a hallway. Which was weird because the scent seemed to continue through the wall. He looked both ways but there wasn't a door nearby either. A scan of the wall with his X-ray vision didn't really reveal much either. He didn't see anything that could be a switch or any signs that anything was hiding in the wall. He even scanned the ceiling but still, nothing.

With a huff, Boomer did the only thing he could. He committed the smell to memory as much as possible. Again, this was more Brick's area than his but he'd do what he can. Maybe he could convince Brick to come down and take a whiff himself. A walk through the school revealed nothing else.

A strange smell. After all this time poking around, weeks now, all he had was a bunch of nothing and a strange smell. Still, something about that smell...Boomer couldn't put his finger on it but something was up. Whatever it was, it had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. Never a good sign.

Butch glared at his phone. Of course Brick would be missing the one singular piece he needed to finish his gift for Bellum. He was pretty sure there was one of these at the old observatory but he really didn't want to go there. He hated that place. Too much bad juju. Not like he had much choice at this point.

He should probably let Buttercup know…nah. Too much work. He wouldn't need long and it wasn't like anything dangerous was still there so it should be fine.

With his mind made up, Butch made his way for the nearest doors. As he turned a corner he froze for a second at what he saw before taking a step back behind the corner he'd just turned. He wasn't sure why he did it because really there wasn't a reason to hide but it was pretty weird to see Howie and Merrick talking.

Neither boy looked happy. In fact, both looked pretty pissed. Howie even huffed before turning to storm off. Butch hadn't know that the two were friends.

…hah! Howie having friends. Right.

Maybe the two had a class together? Assigned a group project? That didn't make much sense though. Howie's classes were all with Brick and Blossom. Last Butch had checked, Merrick wasn't in the advanced courses. In fact, pretty sure the guy had a C average in everything but weight class. Not really high achiever status.

Merrick glared after Howie before turning and stomping off in the opposite direction. Weird. Butch wondered what the whole thing had been about. Didn't he also tell Buttercup that he was going to look into things…?

Eh, he was sure she was keeping an eye on the guy. That was good enough right? Plus, he really did need that part. He'd ask Brick if Merrick was in any of Howie's classes later. For now, Butch had to get to the observatory.

He really should tell Buttercup though. The puffs got pissed when he skipped without saying anything. A quick text should be good.

"So Butch is organizing it all this year?" Blossom asked. Brick shrugged.

"It's his turn. He won't give Boom and I any real details though. Not sure what he has planned but he's excited."

"Hmmm, not sure I like the idea of him being excited. That usually doesn't end well."

Brick shrugged. "Should be fine. When he has art on the mind it's usually all he can think of. I wouldn't stress too much about it Pinky."

Blossom sighed and shook her head. She wasn't sure she'd ever agree. There had been plenty of times where Butch had snapped and gone at Buttercup while drawing. Sometimes he just really couldn't help himself. At least he had enough self-control to only really lunge for the one person who could properly take him. If Brick was the only one ever stopping him he'd be covered in burn scars at this point.

"And that's why he had to skip half the day? You know, despite the five years being over and the amount of trust we have in you ruffs, you are supposed to tell us about these things. You're all still technically our responsibility."

Brick scoffed. "I hadn't expected him to take off in the middle of the day like that. He's still Butch after all. Plus, he said he shot Buttercup a quick text. Isn't that why she's off chasing him down right now?"

"Fine. Still, don't be surprised when Buttercup demands you help her understand her missed lessons. She'll demand a ruff take responsibility."

"What else is new? That's all she ever does when Butch screws something up. Makes it a bit unfair don't you think?" He said as he raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled smugly at him.

"Nah, I think it's perfectly balanced."

He snorted at that. "Right well I say you take care of the next blues' study session. The last one was painful."

"Oh whatever. I've been helping them out most of the semester. You can cover every now and then. I need some time to myself after all."

"Well maybe you shouldn't pile so much up onto your plate then?" He caught sight of the glare she quickly gave him and raised his hands in defense. "That wasn't a jab. Not picking a fight!"

She regarded him for a moment before pursing her lips and turning away. He swallowed the sigh of relief at having avoided another fight. So far this semester their fights tended to blow out of proportion and he wasn't sure why. It was putting him on edge though.

"I don't have that much on my plate."

"Pinky, are you blind?" She turned to glare and he winced. He had such a bad habit of putting his foot in his mouth. "I just mean that between the crime fighting, full AP course load, charity events, dance, student government, and the Tri-villathon you don't really have much time for sleep let alone you time. Even more so since the monsters are still on one of their weird waves."

She thought for a moment on that before sighing softly. "Maybe. I just don't want to miss an opportunity. If I can do something then I should, shouldn't I?"

"I mean, as long as you're not neglecting you. Kinda can't do shit if you don't keep yourself healthy first."

"Well yeah but we're-"

"Still human. X or not, we have limits. Just because you ignore yours doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

She pouted. "I don't ignore it."

He snorted softly. "Yeah, you do. You're sisters might not see it but I do. What do you think the other reds would say if they saw you right now? You have bags under your eyes for fuck's sake."

Blossom winced. She'd noticed that a while ago but had brushed it off. It wasn't that bad. "I don't really care what Berserk thinks or says."

"And Blane?" Brick said. He was trying not to dwell on the fact that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to know the answer for this red or not.

Blossom shrugged. "I doubt he'd say anything. He usually doesn't pay much attention to anything other than his brothers and the punks. Which isn't surprising."

Didn't really answer his question but he couldn't push. Blossom was right after all.

"You care what your sisters think though. They'll notice sooner or later, if they haven't already."

She glared at nothing in particular. A few students walking opposite of them still gave her a wide berth though at the sight of it as they continued down the hall.

"I'm sure they already noticed. Buttercup offered to help me plan the event for this Sunday. Bubbles had been helping but with the game that day she's been focused on that and she's been too busy with practice. They must have planned on this though to have Buttercup help me as back up. Do you know how obvious it was?"

Brick didn't even need to think about it. He snickered. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

Blossom sighed. The greens were anything but subtle. "I'm sure you do."

She was about to say more when her phone went off. Frowning, she pulled out her regular cell and answered it.

"Buttercup, what's-"

"Bloss. Butch is heading to the observatory," Buttercup said, cutting her sister off. Blossom stopped in the middle of the hall, face paling. Brick gave her a weird look.

"The observatory? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well stop him! You know they aren't-"

"I know! But this is Butch! He's going to get there either way Bloss and when he does-"

"You don't need to worry. He's just picking something up. Said he needed it for Bellum's gift," Brick said frowning. Blossom shook her head.

"No. That's not it. You three can't go there. Not yet! Buttercup, stall him. I'll grab Bubbles and we'll be there soon," Blossom said frantically.

"I'll do what I can," Buttercup said before hanging up. Blossom wasted no time in calling Bubbles, heading for the nearest exit out of the building as she did so.

"Whoa, hold up Pinky. What's the deal? We've been there before and it wasn't an issue," Brick said following her. She just shook her head as Bubbles picked up.

"Bubs, Butch is heading to the observatory. We need to go. Now." Blossom wasted no time hanging up once she was done, also having finally reached outside. She turned to face Brick and winced. He was pissed.

"What the fuck is going on Pinky?" He growled. She hissed slightly as she winced away from him. He was giving off a lot of heat and she didn't want him to explode this close to the school.

"Brick can you please just trust me on this and stay here? With Boomer? It's just- there's something there that you're not allowed to see and we have to stop you from going if you go and I'm really really sorry but please Brick. Please just stay. Heck, if you can, call Butch back. I'll pick up whatever he needs. Just, please."

He watched her for a second as a streak of blue went jetting away from the school. "Looks like Bubs is on her way. You better go with."

Blossom chewed on the inside of her cheek for a second. He hadn't responded to her plea. She'd tipped her hand. Again. Knowing the damage was already done Blossom took off in a flash of pink hoping he would do as she asked but not holding her breath.

They second she was gone Brick pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hey Boom, we're taking a half day today."

Butch completely ignored Buttercup as she screamed at him from somewhere behind him. He had shit to do and didn't have the patience or, for once, the energy to deal with her. He had something to find at the observatory after all.

It had been a while since he'd been by here. Last time was a few years ago when Brick had needed an old part for a school project. The girls hadn't been happy to hear that they'd been there alone but other than Buttercup watching him more closely than usual for a few months after, they'd let it go. It was past the five year mark though so that had to mean something. They couldn't keep babying him and his brothers like this.

He huffed as she screamed something particularly nasty at him to try and get him to stop. Someone was in a mood.

Thankfully, he'd had enough of a head start that even with her slightly faster speed he still made it to the observatory way before her. Quickly grabbing the key, Butch unlocked the door and slipped in, closing and locking it behind him. That should keep her busy for a little while.

Finally feeling like he had some breathing room, Butch quickly started on his way to the old machine room. It was where most of Mojo's old gizmos were kept and should be where this part he needed was. He was feeling pretty good today, hand jitters almost non-existent, and so he started whistling as he went. Of course, he knew Buttercup was probably close enough to hear so he picked the most annoying song he could think of. He couldn't help the savage grin at the thought of how angry it would make her.

He got to the room he was looking for and opened the door only to quickly pull up short right after. Even without turning the light on he could immediately tell the room was empty. While that wasn't emergency status, this room didn't have any of the giant town destroying robots in it, no one other than the ruffs and puffs were supposed to be able to get in here. He knew the puffs wouldn't have touched anything which had him confused. His brothers knew he was coming today so if they'd taken it why didn't they say so? He was gunna be hella pissed if he had to face a raging Buttercup for no reason.

A sound from behind him startled him out of his thoughts. It hadn't come from the front door, although Buttercup was definitely making some noise in that direction too. It had come from further in the observatory, the second floor area even. All that was up there was the old bedrooms. There shouldn't have been anything to make a noise.

Cocking his head he focused on the area the sound had come from and heard it again. It sounded like a heavy footstep. Uneven, a clack of something else, solid, and blunt sounding. Big foot walking bare foot with a cane? He tracked the sound as it slowly made its way down the stairs. It didn't take long before he was able to see who had made the noise and boy was he confused.

"What is with that infernal sound, that racket, the incessant noise? That puff was here just yesterday! Yesterday I tell you! The day before today! Why would she be here again to bother me, none other than Mojo Jojo, when she need only bother me once a week?"

"Whoa. Aren't you supposed to be in fucking jail or something? The fuck is going on?" Butch asked.

There, standing at the bottom of the stairs was an old chimpanzee with a walking cane. The monkey turned sharply to look at Butch. His head was covered in a large night cap, covering what Butch knew was a large brain. His face and hands a green color and the black fur speckled and spattered with a large amount if gray. Mojo's face said he was just as shocked to see Butch here.

"This is not right. They said you would not be told. Not right. You should not be here," Mojo said wagging the cane at Butch. It was then that Butch realized that Mojo had only one arm. Butch blinked a few times as the door behind him finally burst open.

"Oh my fucking god Butch! For once in your life you need to-"

"The hell is Mojo doing here?" Butch didn't even turn to face Buttercup. Mojo sighed before slowly moving to sit at the stairs, knowing the damage was already done. Buttercup sputtered.

"You weren't-I didn't-this is so not good! Bloss is gunna kill me," Buttercup moaned. Butch finally moved at that turning time face the girl.

"You knew?"

"Course I knew. You think he could just waltz back into this old place without us knowing? We fucking put him here Butch."

"I think I need a little more than that Bitterbitch," Butch snarled at her. She tensed and immediately shifted into a defensive stance.

"Look, there's a really good reason and we would have explained it to you ruffs but-"

"Explain? Explain?! Explain what?! That the monkey that created us and raised us for the first five years of our lives was free again? That he was just waltzing around while we all thought he was still locked up in Lockdown? Fuck! This isn't something to explain! This is something we should have had a say in."

Buttercup glared at him. "You ruffs aren't heroes. Creator or not, Mojo isn't your responsibility."

"Not our-fuck that! He is and you know it!" At this point, the two greens started to slowly circle one another.

"Fine! It wasn't our call to make! You don't get it Butch! We might be the Powerpuffs but we aren't the final word here. We report to the city. They make the decisions."

"So Bellum-"

"Was overruled just like us puffs. The four of us wanted to tell you three but the rest of the city government vetoed the idea! You three weren't supposed to know!"

"Weren't-oh Bitterbitch, you're really pushing it right now. Be careful with what you say next."

She threw her hands up at that. "Why does it even matter?! Not like your gunna go back to him. Are you?" She asked with a sneer.

Butch couldn't help it. With a growl he launched at her. He barely registered Mojo sighing and asking them to at least take the fight outside as he threw the first punch. Buttercup snarled back as she dodged and aimed a kick perfectly at his stomach sending him to the door. Well, seemed someone cared what the monkey thought. The super powered, evil genius monkey who'd been locked up in a very high security prison for what should have been life. It kinda just pissed him off more.

Before he got the chance to retaliate though Buttercup was rushing at him again. He managed to block the punch she sent to his stomach but he hadn't had the time to properly brace and ended up going flying outside. He managed to pull up short before going through any of the buildings surrounding the park. He flew up and watched as Buttercup did the same.

"Why the hell weren't we told about this?" He said. She sighed.

"The city was worried okay? They weren't sure if you three would go back to Mojo and the agreement Mojo made when we let him out has some really strict conditions. Even more so than the ones the ruffs had. They didn't want you ruffs to know in case. The mayor and us tried to tell the city officials they were all being ridiculous but-"

"But clearly you didn't try very hard. You've never really trusted us. You've always been looking for a reason to go off on us!"

"Butch, that's not it! We didn't have any choice!"

"Ha! No choice. You're a fucking Powerpuff! You do whatever you want!"

"I don't though! We don't! There are rules-"

"Don't care anymore," Butch growled as he launched at Buttercup again, no longer wanting to listen. She snarled back and spun to avoid his punch. She elbowed him in the back sending him straight down into the park below. He tunneled down slightly into the ground and groaned.

"Butch I don't-"

"Stop fucking talking!" He yelled as he sent a blast of laser beams at her. She yelped as it hit her shoulder, sending her spinning it the air slightly. Taking advantage of that, Butch launched himself towards her again.

She straightened out in time for Butch to deliver a powerful punch to her face sending Buttercup flying. She went straight into a tall building at the edges of the park but not all the way through it. She groaned and quickly got up to brace for another hit but Butch didn't follow her into the building. She hesitantly made her way to the edge of the hole and sighed in relief when she did. A light blue flash was zooming around Butch as he yelled at Bubbles.

"Buttercup! Are you okay?" Blossom asked as she zoomed over.

"Fine. He saw Mojo. He's pretty pissed."

Blossom sighed. "Well, that's about what I expected. Here's just hoping...never mind."

Blossom sighed again as she saw the flash of red and dark blue that signaled the other ruffs had arrived. They stopped not far from where Bubbles was flying around Butch and Blossom could hear them yelling at each other.

"Let's get over there. I don't expect this to end well," Blossom said.

Buttercup snorted as she rubbed at her check. Butch had hit hard enough that she'd have a hell of a bruise for the next day or so. There was a slight burn on her shoulder too that she'd have to deal with for a little bit. "What was your first clue?"

With that, both sisters sighed and flew back over to the groups. Butch was still clearly angry but he wasn't trying to swat Bubbles like a bug anymore. Bubbles was nervously tugging on her pigtails while Boomer and Brick glared at her. They all turned to face Blossom and Buttercup as the two approached.

"The fuck is this Pinky? Mojo's free? Why the hell weren't we told? Why the fuck weren't we asked about it even?! No one knows Mojo better than us!" Brick yelled, red eyes flashing. Blossom gulped slightly. It had been a long time since she'd last seen him this angry.

"You knew him best. Brick, things happened and we were brought in. It was agreed, above our heads, to keep you three out of it. Even Mojo didn't want you involved."

"You spoke with him? You asked him? You care what he wanted?!" Brick growled. Butch and Boomer moved to float behind their brother while Bubbles flew over to her sisters.

"We've spoken with Mojo a number of times over the years. The professor was only able to complete the early detection device with his help."

"You let him build things?"

"No! They went over schematics only, with a large amount of security present. Look, before that battle with Him some things happened at Lockdown okay? Can you let me explain what happened? Please."

The ruffs exchanged a look before turning back to Blossom, silently agreeing to let her explain. Letting out a shaky breath Blossom tried to calm down. This could end very badly. The last thing the city needed was a full blown fight here. The last thing the ruffs needed was a full blown fight period.

"About a month or so before Him showed up we got a call from Lockdown. There had been an incident. As you know, we aren't the only ones who use Lockdown for our more extreme and unruly villains. The Hero's League uses it as well for their more difficult villains. One particular guy had some really weird power. Paired with a really weird...hobby, he ended up in Lockdown pretty quick after capture. There was a communication error though and he ended up placed in the same block as Mojo which led to issues."

"The guy was sick in the head. Seriously fucked up. He should have been in the deeper levels of the jail but he wasn't," Buttercup added.

Blossom nodded. "He liked to collect body parts and he had a power that he liked to use to do so. Anything he touched he would turn to wax. It didn't take long for him to target Mojo. At this point they'd been considering moving Mojo to a higher level. As you know, the higher your level in the prison, the more lenient and relaxed things are. Mojo had been doing so much for the city that he was literally only a week or two away from being moved. Unfortunately, it wasn't soon enough. He was attacked in the exercise ward for that level and before the jailers could step in the guy managed to turn Mojo's arm into wax. Mojo was taken to the medical ward but there wasn't anything they could do. They had to amputate the arm."

"He went into a pretty crazy depression after that," Bubbles said. She tugged a pigtail. "I was asked to come and talk to him. They figured with our history and with my language and people, or in this case animal, skills that maybe I could help. I don't know that I did but it was eye opening. Mojo had come to very much regret a lot of stuff."

"The point of Lockdown was never to cause people harm in anyway. That includes the prisoners," Blossom added. "The level Mojo was on at that time allowed the prisoners some basic accesses, including basic news. Mojo had been following you ruffs any time you popped up in the news and it caused him to really regret a lot of actions."

"We spoke pretty often about you three," Bubbles said softly. "He was happy to hear how you'd become so close to the mayor and how you'd grown up to be more stable and healthy. He wanted it to stay that way and so he was okay with staying in Lockdown. It became pretty obvious though that things couldn't stay the way they were. His depression just got worse and worse."

"We might not like the old monkey but we didn't want him hurt or worse, dead. We took it to the city," Buttercup huffed out.

Blossom nodded. "We thought, if they'd been willing to give you three a chance maybe we could organize something for Mojo. It took a lot of convincing but we were able to arrange something. Not telling you three was one of their requirements. They didn't want to chance you three going back to Mojo. When we took the deal to Mojo he agreed and even demanded that it stay that way. He didn't want to be a hindrance on you three. He wanted you to stay with the mayor. There was literally no way we could tell you three about it. It would have gone against too many people and too much of what even allowed us to get him out."

"He needed out too. Since then Mojo has been doing a lot better. We have to go check on him every week and he has a tracker injected under the skin. If he wants to leave the observatory he has to have a chaperone. The professor often comes by and takes him out on walks while they discuss new scientific articles and advancements," Bubbles said. "He's being watched really carefully but without both arms the city isn't too worried about him being a threat. If we catch any hint of him trying to build anything as well he goes straight back. Doesn't even matter what he tries to build."

"That means jack shit with Mojo. He's a super villain. He knows how to cover his tracks," Boomer said. He sounded calm and was speaking offhandedly but the puffs knew better. His fingers were drumming against his thigh showing he was a lot more agitated than he was willing to admit.

"We do a full sweep every week with X ray vision and everything. We know how sneaky he can be. He won't trick us," Blossom said calmly.

"Fuck that. He doesn't even need to do anything! His rep alone is enough to get other villains to do shit. You don't find it weird that Him showed up only after Mojo was let out?" Brick growled.

"We already questioned Mojo about that. He says he didn't know about it and even said he'd try to get Him to back down. Why else do you think Him hasn't struck again even though it's been over half a year?" Buttercup said. Butch bared his teeth at her.

"And what, you just took his word for it? Woulda expected better from you Bitterbitch."

"Look, we're sorry we couldn't tell you but what's done is done. The only question now is what are you three going to do?" Blossom asked, staring at Brick. He glared back. She was sure that if they were on the ground all three ruffs would be pacing at this point, Brick in particular was known to do that when he was thinking.

"Who knows? You'll just have to wait and find out I suppose," Brick said before zooming off towards the mayor's house in a flash of red, Boomer and Butch quickly following. Blossom sighed as she watched them go.

"Should we follow them?" Bubbles asked. Blossom shook her head.

"No, we have other things to attend to. Call the mayor and let her know though," Blossom said. Bubbles nodded and pulled her cell phone out to do that. "We need to check on Mojo and I have no idea what we're going to tell the press about the damage to the city."

"Tell them I got into a mood and you had to put me in my place. Typical sort of stuff for this level of damage," Buttercup said with a scowl. "My fault it happened anyway. Shouldn't have let Butch get such a head start on me and I should have booked it more to catch up with him. That's on me."

"Are you sure?" Blossom asked.

Buttercup shrugged. "Yeah. Gotta ask though, why didn't you tell them about our talks? I mean, hell, feels like we were just about able to convince the city to let us tell them."

"Because at this point it doesn't matter. What's done is done and they know."

"Might have made them a little less angry if they knew we continued to try and convince the city."

Blossom shook her head. "I don't think it would have made that much of a difference. Maybe if the mayor mentions it if they talk to her with cooler and calmer heads but right now? No, they were too angry and probably hurt. Did you see their hands? Butch was twitching, Brick was clenching and unclenching his, and Boomer was drumming his fingers against his leg. I've not seen the three of them that agitated at the same time in a long time. Pushing things might have done more harm than good. It was better to just stick to the facts that lead up to Mojo's release and not try to convince them we were still thinking of them."

"I guess. Ugh, I'm so not looking forward to this though. Media's gunna eat this shit up and I'd been doing sooo good too," Buttercup whined. Blossom gave her sister a soft, understanding smile.

"Language. But you're right. You have been doing a lot better at minimizing damage lately. If the media can't see that? Then they can just deal."

"I agree," Bubbles chimed in as she hung up. "I also say we have a baking night tonight. Put your orders in now girls because I'm in the mood to wow."

She flipped one of her pigtails over her shoulder in a flash of what seemed to be confidence. Both Buttercup and Blossom could see the shaking in her hands though. She was really upset and thrown off by this.

"Well, do I even need to say or can you just guess? Obviously red velvet cookies."

All three girls giggled slightly at that before taking a deep breath. First thing was first, time to get to work.

"So what do you think?" Boomer asked as the three ruffs sat in the simulator room. Brick had demanded they all sit in there until they'd calmed down to stop them from making a mess of Bellum's house on accident. Butch growled and threw a punch at the wall.

"I think it's all bullshit! We should have been asked before they let that damn chimp out."

"Maybe but what would we have said? The Mojo we know is from years ago. Sounds like he's changed."

"You think people can change, just like that?"

"Well, I mean, we did didn't we? I know I'm not interested in moving back with Mojo and picking up crime again. Sounds like Mojo's not too interested either."

"Which is why they should have fucking told us!"

"Both of you shut up!" Brick roared. Boomer and Butch both covered their eyes at the flash of intensely hot flames that erupted from the roar. Luckily he had been looking at the ceiling, saving all their clothing. "What's done is fucking done. No point bitching 'bout it now."

"So what, you cool with this bro? Cause I ain't!" Butch yelled. Green flickers of light where popping up around him. Brick snarled at his brother.

"Course I ain't fucking fine with it but it's done! Puffs weren't honest and we shoulda know they'd not tell us about this. Shitty government or not."

"Is this a bad thing though? I mean, now that Mojo's not in Lockdown..." Boomer trailed off. Both Brick and Butch turned to glare at the blond causing him to flinch. "Just saying!"

"Not a bad thing that Mojo is out, no. Makes things a little easier but the puffs not sayin' shit to us, that's not fucking okay," Brick growled. Boomer sighed through his nose but stayed quiet.

"How's Mojo being out okay? That shit stain oughta have stayed locked up nice and tight in Lockdown. Let him rot I say, especially after the shit he and Him put us through," Butch said. Brick sighed and took off his cap to run his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, they were shit parents but they still made us. Mojo being in Lockdown made things awkward too," Brick said. Butch opened his mouth to speak but Boomer beat him to it.

"He's why you never answered Bellum, isn't he?"

Brick sighed as he put his cap back on. "Pretty much. I was worried what us becoming heroes might do to him in Lockdown. Couldn't say yes with him in there but couldn't say no cause, well...I wasn't sure that would be the best move for us."

"You wanna be heroes?" Butch asked, face scrunched up. Boomer and Brick both glared.

"You don't? Come on dude, the puffs beat monsters and scum bags up daily. With the okay of the city too! Why the hell wouldn't we wanna be heroes?" Boomer asked.

"I dunno, maybe cause we're ex-villains?"

"Emphasis on the ex dontcha think? I sure as hell don't wanna wreck the city but I'd love the excuse to wail on things. Plus, we know that the puffs have a tough time now and then and the fuckers in the Hero's League don't do shit here in Townsville."

"Well, I mean yeah but heroes? Can we even do that?"

"Bellum asks us to almost once every few months. Think she'd do that if it weren't possible?" Brick asked. Butch shrugged.

"Didn't think 'bout it much. Why the hell would you say no?"

Brick sighed and massaged a temple. To think Boomer was the one with the title of Dumb and Dumbest.

"Because Butch, if we went good and Mojo was in Lockdown with a bunch of criminals it might have gotten him into a lot of trouble with the other inmates. Think they'd be happy to see his creations fighting alongside the puffs?"

"I mean, but we did it anyways?"

"Not really. The fights we help with are very loosely covered by the news at Bellum's request. It was the only way I would agree to helping out the puffs."

"Why do we even care bought banana face anyways?" Butch whined. Brick threw his hands up before walking off.

"Be-fucking-cause Butch! I'm done. I'm going to bed. Night fuckers."

"Wait! What about the puffs? And Bellum? And hero status?" Boomer asked.

"I need time to process. I ain't saying shit to any of them but Bellum till then. Good. Night."

And with that Brick slammed the door for the simulator room closed behind him. Boomer sighed.

"I'm down for not talking to the puffs. Not sure how I'm gunna get through the week without slamming Bitterbitch through a wall or two," Butch mumbled as he also moved to leave. Boomer just sighed again.

"You'll do it by reminding yourself what happened last time. I'm still in shock you don't have at least one scar from that."

Butch snicker. "Man, that woulda been awesome. Can you imagine how sick that'd look?"

Boomer gave his brother an odd look before shaking his head. "You need help dude. Serious help."

Butch cracked up laughing at that. "I know! It's fucking awesome!"

"I say that there needs to be an immediate suspension for Buttercup for at least a month," Mr. Jones said. Once the lawyer who opposed the deal with the Rowdyruffs, the man was now on the council and made a point to stay active in all super related incidents. Like this one. Especially this one.

"A month is too long. Yes, there should be a punishment but we can't go with just two Powerpuffs for a month. We'd be overwhelmed," Blossom said.

Her and her sisters were all seated around a table with the members of the council. Mayor Bellum sat at the center of the table, directly across from the girls. Mr. Jones scowled at the eldest Powerpuff but before he could say anything else, another member spoke up.

"It would be a bit much seeing as how school is currently in session. Let's not forget that these are teens we have here. Their education is important and I am not willing to agree to a punishment that would impede upon that," an elderly Asian woman who was sitting across from Mr. Jones said. When Judge Harrows had resigned, Mrs. Zhao had stepped up as the leader of the side that tended to back the girls. She'd done wonders at convincing other members of the council on certain matters but Mr. Jones was determined not to lose his position on others.

He was the reason they'd not been able to tell the ruffs.

"They handle their duties currently just fine. The crime rates aren't high enough at this moment that they should affect the girls' performance in school if one of them is suspended for a month," Mr. Jones countered.

Blossom cleared her throat. "It's true that the crime rates aren't that high right now but that's due to the monster surge we're currently in. Most of the city's criminals tend to back off during these times for their own safety. It helps but not much. We experience a much larger number of injuries during monster surge periods which do affect our ability to concentrate greatly. Without Buttercup, who is easily our strongest fighter, we would start to really struggle with most things by the middle of the month. Can I suggest a week instead?"

Blossom felt more than saw Buttercup tense at that. She'd apologize later though. There was no way they were going to get out of here without her being suspended and unfortunately, a week was a reasonable period of time. Were any of them going to enjoy it? No. But hopefully Brick will have talked some sense into Butch and the green ruff would leave her sister alone for at least a week. It was the only thing she could hope on to avoid another green fight at this point.

"I think a week would be acceptable. Do we all agree?" Mrs. Zhao said quickly. There were a number of nods and agreements. Mr. Jones looked to be the only one who didn't agree.

"Wonderful. A week it is starting tomorrow. Thank you all. I'll speak briefly with the girls and then join you all in conference room two for our next meeting," Mayor Bellum said, dismissing everyone. Mr. Jones's teeth were grinding together just enough that nobody but the girls could hear. Blossom had to commend the man on his poker face. Looking at him you wouldn't be able to tell he was so agitated.

Once the room was cleared, Mayor Bellum sighed into her hands.

"How bad was it?" She asked. The girls exchanged looks.

"Well, Brick will probably keep them from destroying your house and I'm sure they'll calm down sooner or later. I mean, they have to don't they?" Bubbles asked. Blossom sighed this time.

"Brick doesn't like being looked down on, as we all know. The fact that this was kept from him wasn't good. He probably felt that it reflected poorly on his leadership of the ruffs and the efforts all three of them have made over the past few years to try and convince people that they've changed. This whole thing just makes it look like we don't trust him or his brothers. On one hand that means he'll be extra well behaved and have the other two on a tighter leash. On the other hand, I don't expect him to even look in our direction for a while."

"Probably won't be upset with you though Mayor. They were mostly just pissed with us. I'd definitely talk to them though," Buttercup said scowling. Blossom laid her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Buttercup. A week was the lowest they'd go and you know it. Any lower and Mr. Jones would have pushed back and we would have had to of spent an hour here trying to get things under control. Again," Blossom said.

"Yeah, I know," Buttercup sighed. "Whatever. I'll just be in the simulator late tonight."

"I figured."

"I'll speak with the boys once I get home. In the meantime, I have another three meetings, all of which Mr. Jones will be in, so if you three will excuse me. I want to take a quick snack break while I have the time," Mayor Bellum said as she stood to leave. Bubbles giggled.

"Good luck," all three puffs said before leaving. Mayor Bellum groaned in response.

They left the room quietly and made for the buildings exit. All three were tired and looking forward to a good night's rest. Only their exit wasn't as easy as they'd hoped.

"It doesn't matter how much you try to twist the truth, I know that the green ruff was responsible for the damages. You can only protect those three for so long I'll have you know," Mr. Jones said once they'd turned the final corner, coming face to face with the man. Buttercup scowled and Blossom tapped her back to get her to keep going.

She sent a thankful look before doing so. Bubbles was quick to follow.

"Mr. Jones. I really don't know what you're talking about," Blossom said. The man glared.

"You puffs aren't what this city needs. You've been blinded and corrupted by these ruffs. I'll have the council see it one day. In the meantime, enjoy your freedom."

The man stalked past her, making sure to give her plenty of space. She guessed it was more because he didn't want to chance touching her but the man was hard to get a read on sometimes.

Ever since he'd lost the case, if it could be called that, against Mayor Bellum regarding the ruffs he'd changed. It was slow but over the years it became clear to see the Mr. Jones was very much in favor of the League coming in to handle crime related matters. Not that it would happen any time soon but it was frustrating. It divided the council and made things more difficult than they needed to be.

Blossom sighed as she watched the man storm off. One day this was actually going to turn into an issue but she could only hope that they'd have plenty of time before that. If they could convince the ruffs to help it would make things a lot easier but that was a lost cause at this point.

…No, they'd have to handle the push Mr. Jones gave them on their own.

She sighed again before turning to leave the building, fingers crossed and hoping that the ruffs would at least try to stay out of trouble for the next few months.

One more chapter to go before we hit the end of what I mentally consider to be part one! I hope you're all excited!

Also, I have now started writing three new PPG fanfics...whoops. Extra whoops, I'm not sure which one I want to make my next story that I post...I'm probably going to post names and summaries for the three on my profile page today. If you're interested in one in particular please let me know. If I get enough people reaching out about a particular story I'll focus on that one. Again, this story is priority number one for now. That won't change until I'm done with the story.

See you all again in about two weeks. Ciao!