I'm in such a good mood. Just got my results back for my tests (I had two these past few weeks and it was a nightmare of stress) and I did awesome. So! To celebrate, I'm going to post the first chapter of my next story this weekend. Yay!
As always, thank you all for the likes, follows, and reviews!
Princess stood there in front of the ruffs, foot tapping. Brick was avoiding looking at her, Butch was looking at his feet as he scuffed them against the ground, and Boomer had a strained smile on his face.
"Prinny-" the blue ruff tried. Again.
"Don't even blue butt. Not unless you're going to answer the question," Princes snapped at him. Buttercup, standing not far away, snickered as she turned to Robin.
"Oh I am so loving this," Buttercup said. She could hear Butch groaning softly at that from where he said while Brick let out a sigh he didn't even try to hide.
"I'm sure you are. Why is she so upset anyways?" Robin asked. Buttercup shrugged.
"Beats me."
Bubbles sighed. "Because to Princess all of them are reformed ex-villains. She considers them to all be on the bandwagon so to speak. Anytime the ruffs make a mess she feels like they 'fell off' the wagon and thinks it's up to her to remind them to get back on it."
"Does that work?" Robin asked.
Blossom sighed. "Surprisingly better than anything we could do actually."
"We won't do it again?" Butch said sounding completely unsure. Princess didn't even hesitate before smacking the side of his head. He didn't even blink at the action.
"You better believe you won't do it again! Next time you do I'm getting my super suit out!"
"What?! No! Princess no super suits!" Blossom yelped as she rushed over to the group of ex-villains. Buttercup laughed.
"Hell yes! Break that baby out! Let someone else try and knock some sense into those three for once!"
"Buttercup no!"
Bubbles sighed. "Well hopefully this won't become an issue. We have a meeting after school today. Just in case though, we should head in. I don't trust Butch to not say something back."
Robin giggled lightly at that. "Sure Bubs, sure."
The two linked arms and began walking to the front doors.
"You know Butters, if I didn't know better-"
"Moving faster!" Bubbles said as she picked up the speed, Robin laughing as she did so.
"Here is a training schedule. You'll need to run through it with us for the first few weeks to make sure it's adequate. I'm sure there'll need to be tweaks but once everything has been smoothed out you'll be expected to go through it on your own," Blossom said as she handed each ruff a packet of paper. Boomer groaned as Brick just huffed. Butch raised an eyebrow.
"Like fucking hell I'm going to do whatever you've put into this," he said. Without even hesitating Blossom lashed out with a punch straight into his gut. Butch doubled over coughing as he crumpled to his knees. Blossom barely glanced at him. Brick shook his head and ignored his brother, preferring to start reading the packet of information, while Boomer winced.
"There's also a list of rules you will be expected to follow and other information you will need to know. Rule 17 is an important one for you three. Under no circumstances will you cuss while on duty and/or are in front of civilians."
"You enjoyed that way too much," Butch wheezed out. Blossom smirked at him.
"I suggest you read through the rules carefully. They aren't strict for the most part but they are important. Mostly it's how the city feels is the best approach for press related matters as well as matters that may impact the city."
"Makes sense. Shi-heck. Heck," Boomer said slowly when Blossom glared at him before continuing. "Are we seriously getting paid? And this much?"
"Yup. It's not as much as most heroes are payed but we felt that anymore was a rip off. Truthfully, it took a while before we came to terms with being paid at all. It was weird going from just helping to it being a job," Bubbles said frowning. Buttercup snorted.
"You mean you and leader girl had a hard time. I was more than happy to get paid for beating monsters up."
Both Bubbles and Blossom rolled their eyes at that but didn't say anything.
"My question is, how am I supposed to find time for homework with this schedule? This is ridiculous!" Brick complained, glaring at the last few pages of the packet. Boomer and Butch leaned over to read it and groaned. Blossom shrugged.
"It's not that bad once you get into the swing of things."
"In other words, you make the sacrifice in your social life," Buttercup sighed out. Blossom scowled at her. "Trust me, Bubs and I hate the thing but the professor and leader girl have spent the last five or so years tweaking it. It helps a lot. We're always prepared for anything."
Brick sighed and adjusted his hat before glaring at Blossom. "I still think it's ridiculous."
She shrugged. "Try it for a few weeks. If it is too much then I can adjust it. But it shouldn't be too much right? After all, if we can handle it of course you three can too right?" Blossom taunted. Bricks eyes narrowed a bit more but before he could say anything Butch scoffed.
"Obviously. We can handle it," he said. Boomer sighed before shaking his head while Blossoms smiled triumphantly. Brick rubbed one of his temples.
"Butch. Think before you speak. Please."
"Why? We can handle anything a puff can."
Brick just sighed and refused to look at Blossom. He didn't think he could handle the look of victory he knew he'd see on her face.
"For the first few weeks you three will split up and join one of us on patrol. Once you've gotten a feel for things we'll split the patrols up so that only one of us has to be patrolling at a time," Blossom said.
"Is that safe though? I thought you three would be constantly patrolling the city and all? Wouldn't it be better to double up on patrolling to cover more ground?" Boomer asked. Bubbles shook her head with a giggle.
"No, that would be overkill. We really only patrol during the dangerous times of the day, like dusk and the first few hours of the night. Most of the daily crime here is actually under control. We just provide a little extra help during the times when crime is most likely to happen. With the big baddies like Mojo and you three retired from evil, the cops can actually handle most of the crime. We just lend a hand when it gets a bit too much," Bubbles said.
"Or if it's related to a certain group. We get called in for the Gangreen Gang crimes as well as for villains like Fuzzy Lumpkins. Fuzzy isn't too bad now but the gang is another story," Buttercup said with a scowl.
"Bubbles and Buttercup aren't allowed to handle Gangreen Gang calls that involve the actual original gang members though. I handle those ones," Blossom said. Bubbles and Buttercup both glared at her.
"Why? I mean to both things too. Why do you three help with the Gangreen Gang calls and why aren't Bubbles and Buttercup allowed to help with the actually Gangreen Gang?" Boomer asked.
"Because leader girl says so," Buttercup snarked. Blossom ignored her.
"The gang really grew in power as the old big villains retired. With you three not causing havoc, Him missing, Mojo in jail, and Princess retired there was a giant hole left in the criminal realm here in Townsville. The gang took advantage of that. They brought actual city problems to Townsville. Drugs, loan sharks, illegal gambling rings, an actual black market, and so on. For the most part the city prefers these troubles over the ones that Mojo and other villains had presented. The city suffers less large scale damage but the trade-off is the higher crime rates. It's easier to stop a large scale attack like the ones you three or Princess would pull off though. These crimes are more likely to go unnoticed. That's why we patrol around the worst times of day. Just a bit before dawn and a few hours afterwards. We can pick up any distress calls that normal cops would miss and it helps to balance out the damage a bit," Blossom said. Boomer quirked an eyebrow.
"And the reason Bubbles and Buttercup can't face the actual old gang?" He promoted. Blossom gave him a blank look.
"I have my reasons."
They waited but it was pretty clear that was all she was going to say. After a few seconds Brick sighed.
"Alright. The city wants to talk to us tomorrow about all this so for now we'll just start with the training. Once everything has been arranged with the city then we can join the patrols," he said.
Blossom nodded. "Agreed."
"And with that, everything is all set. You three are officially heroes," Mayor Bellum said with a large smile on her face as she took her pen back from Boomer. Brick raised an eyebrow.
"That's it? I figured there would have to be a press conference and other things like that."
Mayor Bellum waved him off. "For now, you three are set. We want to let you three ease into things a bit before putting you in front of the press. We're hoping that if they see you helping more often and with smaller crimes as well that they'll be less likely to…well…" She trailed off with a wince.
"Less likely to try and eat us alive?" Brick asked with a smirk. He sobered up quickly though. "I don't think there's much of anything we can do to avoid that. We might have been helping out a bit these past few years but for the most part the city still sees us as villains. Collared ones maybe, but villains all the same."
Mr. Jones didn't try and hide his scoff from where he stood off to the side of the room. Boomer shot a glare at him before Blossom stepped between the two. Grinding his teeth slightly, Boomer turned away at the look Blossom gave him. Buttercup took a step closer to Butch as well just in case. For the most part the green ruff had been pretty calm but it was hard to tell what might set him off and none of the ruffs likes Mr. Jones very much. They still remembered that first meeting with the man all to well.
"We should be fine for a few months while you three settle into your new roles as heroes," Blossom said as she shot a short look at Mr. Jones as well which the man ignored in favor of continuing to glare at the ruffs. "Once we call that first press conference though you three will be expected to have a much larger press presence. We just want to give you some time before that as well as try to find a few strategies to help deal with them as well."
"Do you think there's anything we can do about it? They'll throw us through the ringer either way probably," Brick said. He was doing a very good job at not letting Mr. Jones enter into his field of vision. Blossom shrugged even though Brick wasn't looking in her direction.
"It's hard to say but it's better to be prepared than not. This gives us the time to at least try and come up with something. Anyways! Now that everything's signed off on you three can start on patrols with us. We'll go in rotations, a puff with a ruff, for the first few weeks at least. Hopefully that'll give you three time to get up to speed."
The ruffs shared a look at that but wisely stayed quiet. Blossom shot at glare at them but let it go. She knew that they weren't as trained to react as they were. They'd see eventually the reason for it being this way.
"So it's the greens tonight right?" Boomer asked as Bubbles packed her stuff. She blinked at him, startled slightly after having not really even seen him for over a week now. She was still adjusting to him talking to her again, even almost a week later.
"Right. Buttercup will walk Butch through everything tonight and then tomorrow night it's our turn."
"Okay, so how do these things usually go? Butch seems to think there'll be lots of action."
Bubbles giggled and shook her head at that. "No, chances are we won't stop more than maybe one or two crimes at most. Things are usually pretty calm. Especially right now. With the monster surge dead criminals will start to ease back into all sorts of things but we usually have a few weeks before it really gets back to normal. We probably will end up with a midnight monster call though. It's been quiet all day today. Although, I think Bloss wants to hold off on you three helping with those for the week. Something about giving you three time to adjust first?"
"Right, not looking forward to the midnight wake-up calls so I'm good with that. Also, quick question. How binding was that hero contract that we signed? Brick read it all but I kinda didn't and I wanted to ask but wasn't sure it would be a good time with that one dude glaring."
Bubbles frowned. Yes, Mr. Jones had not been thrilled that the boys had finally decided to try out the hero gig. He'd made that perfectly clear during the signing yesterday.
"Pretty binding. If you outright break it you'll go on the league's black list. It's not that big of a deal though. If you don't want to continue the whole hero thing section 5 listed out the steps on how to retire so to speak."
"Everything was pretty well covered then."
"Yup! Mayor Bellum made sure of that thankfully. If it makes you feel any better, we all signed one too. It really is just kind of like a job contract just slightly more…large scale."
Boomer snorted at that. "Yeah, large scale is one way to put it. Anyways, this is my hallway. See ya later Bubs."
Boomer gave her a bright smile before turning and walking away. Huh. Guess they were just going to go back into the swing of things. Not that she was complaining but it definitely threw her for a loop. Boomer hadn't really been that upset after the first day so she wasn't surprised. Brick was probably another story though.
She wished her sister all the luck with that one.
"Alrighty Butchie boy. You actually have to listen to me tonight got it? If you don't I have leader girl's permission to put you down," Buttercup said.
Her and Butch were standing facing each other looking for all intents and purposes as if they were about to start trading blows. Buttercup had her feet placed in a fighting stance with her arms crossed in front of her chest and a scowl clear on her face. Butch stood lazily, hands in his pockets, head tipped back, with his typical cocky smirk on his face. If one didn't know better they might almost think that the green ruff was just chilling. Buttercup knew better though. His feet were braced and firmly planted. He hadn't moved them at all proving that he was ready to take anything she might throw at him.
"I mean, sucks for you that your leaders such a hard a-" he said only to be cut off by a blast of red from inside the mayor's house.
"Butch I swear to god that if you don't watch your fucking mouth and do as you're told you'll be wearing burn scars on you face for the rest of your life. Be-fucking-have," Brick growled from where he stood at the end of the hall. Butch glared at him.
"Like you're one to talk! You just cussed twice! Why can you cuss but I can't?" The green ruff whined.
"I'm not the one on duty. Seriously Butch. Behave," Brick growled again with a pointed glare at his brother before walking off.
"Says the guy who broke the no powers in the house rule. Turd."
Buttercup cocked an eyebrow. "Not a single cuss word. That's an amazing change. Makes me think you're used to not using them. Which is soo weird since you always seem to use them around me and my sisters. Leader girl in particular."
Butch smirked at her. "Why Bittercup, you wound me. To actually accuse me of cursing on purpose in only certain situations that may or may not involve you and your sisters simply to, oh, I dunno, get under your skin? Pft, that would be so rude wouldn't it?"
Buttercup's face was about seven levels of I'm so done with this.
"Let's get started on patrol before I decide to just put someone out of their misery."
"You mean me? D'awh Butters, you sure do know how to sweet talk a guy."
Buttercup didn't even respond to that and instead took off for the city. Butch quickly followed.
"The downtown area's usually a hot spot. Surprisingly around the park as well. Those are the two constant spots. The other bad spots tend to move around. The area around the bars right now is a hot spot. Has been for a few days and probably'll continue to be until the end of the week. We'll start there and then loop down into the downtown area," Buttercup said.
"And do what? Just listen for screams or something?"
Buttercup shrugged. "Pretty much actually. You can try to scan the streets with your X-ray vision but chances are low that you'll see anything. Most people know we patrol around this time so if something happens they make sure, if nothing else, to at least scream. Let's us know pretty quickly which way to go."
"Seems kinda like a lazy approach. For Bossy I mean. You'd think she'd be more on it."
"She probably is. She does additional sweeps through the city when Bubs or I are on patrol. Her approach is targeted for sure. She pours over crime charts and reports for patterns or something. Her methods a bit too much for Bubs and I. We're trying to get her to tell us on our patrol nights on where to go but she always doges the demand."
"Why? Not gunna lie, kinda weird that she stops you two for going after the gang too. Boom was thinking over it like all week."
Buttercup snorted. "Well, if he figures it out tell him to let us know. Leader girl still won't tell us."
"Is she like that with a lot of stuff? I can't see you two being okay with that."
"We aren't but it's just this one thing. We've been trying for years now to get her to explain but she won't budge. When leader girl sets her mind to something, she really sets her mind to it. I used to think that it was cause I was pals with them at one point but that never explained Bubs."
Butch pulled up short. "Hold up. You were friends with them?"
Buttercup gave him an odd look as she stopped. "Yeah, for a little bit. Most of them were okay. Big Billy and Snake were at least. Gruber wasn't bad either but it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Arturo was just kinda there. The only rotten egg in the bunch, back then at least, was Ace. Guys still a slime bag from what I've heard."
Butch barked out a short laugh. "Got that right. The guy tried his hand at human trafficking from what Brick's learned."
Buttercup was quick to get in his face, glaring at him at that. "How the hell would he know? You three better be clean or so help me-"
"Chill Butters. Big red reached out to a few guys we knew back in our rougher ruff days sure but they're just guys who make it their business to know what's going on in the criminal world. Information hubs so to speak. Nothing illegal and bro woulda let Bossy know if he heard anything about things about to happen. He just wanted to get caught up on all the going ons of the past few years. Been a while since any of us ruffs payed attention ya know?"
She watched him for a second or two before backing off again. "Fine. Just...keep it clean okay? You three are still technically our responsibility so if you go rogue it's us who'll be torn to pieces. I can't tell you to avoid the grey zones cause I know you three but anything clearly black? I'll personally haul you three in still."
"Don't worry Butters. We ain't interested in going back to a life of crime. Good to know that grey is okay though."
Buttercup snorted. "With me maybe. Don't let leader girl or Bubs hear about it though. Bubs'll scream her head off and leader girl'll make it her personal mission to show you that Him has nothing on hell."
"Hey! That was technically a bad word! You cursed. Imma tell Bossy on you."
Butch grinned his usual grin while Buttercup sighed. She already hated this and they hadn't even really started the patrol for the night.
"Let's just go Butchie boy, before I loose what's left of my patience for you."
"Hi Boomie! Ready?" Bubbles asked as Boomer opened the door. The later groaned and rubbed a hand across his face.
"Not really. I have a test tomorrow in math and I'm nowhere near prepared enough but I guess that's my own fault. Brick's gunna kill me when he sees the grade I'm about to get and don't even get me started on what Bellum's gunna say. I'm a dead man walking."
Bubbles winced. "Yikes. I'm sorry. I'm sure Bloss would understand if we pushed your first patrol back until after the test."
"Except then I'd have to listen to Butch calling me a number of names. My nickname of choice for the next month would be not so nice for not going tonight and honestly? I'd rather face Brick and Bellum than have to deal with that."
Bubbles giggled. "Well, if you're sure. Is it the last test before the final?"
Boomer sighed before stepping out and closing the door behind himself. "Yeah. I've done okay on my other ones so I'll just sign up for a red boot camp afterwards. Assuming Brick gives me a choice and doesn't just drag me into one."
"Good luck with that. I can't imagine its fun."
"It's a straight up nightmare but I'll ace the final so worth it?"
"Sounds debatable. Anyways, let's get started. We'll follow what Butch and Buttercup did yesterday. Start at the bar area of town, move our way downtown then head to the park to finish up."
"Sounds good."
"Well, this is the last stop. We're lucky it's been so quiet lately still," Bubbles said as she and Boomer flew over the park. Boomer sighed.
"Try telling that to Butch. This is only day two and he's already whining about the lack of action. He seriously pouted over the fact that Blossom doesn't want us helping with the monster calls yet. Brick nearly had to pin him down last night when he heard you three out there fighting one."
"As long as he doesn't charge tackle Buttercup on patrol it'll be fine. Trust me, something should pop up soon and Bloss'll have you three helping out with the monsters soon. Our usual monster fights are different than the ones you three usually help out with and she just wants to come up with a plan of action I think. Plus, we never go long without some sort of crime."
"Seriously. I'm surprised that there wasn't anything. Both yesterday and today. I would have thought there would have been more going on."
"Weeell, tonight isn't over yet. And honestly, criminals tend to avoid doing anything at these times of the day because they learned we like to patrol these times. Helps give people heading home from work or enjoying their evenings a bit of protection."
"I guess that make sense. Still surprised."
Bubbles shrugged before dropping down to land on a path near the small lake. Boomer followed.
"I guess the constant patrols would make you think that more goes on but it's thanks to the patrols that things are so quiet. Years ago it was a nightmare trying to stay on top of things. It's thanks to Bloss and the professor that we're able to have some normalcy. The mayor too. She's been great at getting the police force to where it needs to be to handle the crime here in the city. Although I've heard they still have a hard time keeping the baddies in jail."
Boomer chuckled. "I remember that a bit. It was her focus when she first took us on right? Man, she really let loose a few frustrated shrieks then. Still does over the jail retention rate."
Bubbles giggled as she started to walk around the park. Boomer followed at her side.
"I can't picture that. Mayor Bellum always seems to be so in control."
"Eh, she has her moments where she gets frustrated with the people she works with. She knows what needs to get done but convincing them? Whole different story."
"I can imagine. There aren't many people in the city council that we get along with either. Thankfully we don't have to deal with them that often."
Their conversation took a comfortable lull at that as they continued to walk around the lake. Boomer's hand twitched slightly as he walked next to Bubbles, her hands clasped behind her back. She took a deep breathe before closing her eyes and tilting her head back to enjoy the light breeze. Boomer couldn't help but feel himself turn into a puddle of goo at the peaceful look on her face. It was the most relaxed he'd seen her in years.
"Such a nice night out. I wish every night was like this," she said as she opened her eyes slowly. He swallowed thickly as she turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling in the light of the moon.
"Well hopefully there'll be more nights like this now that me and my brothers are helping you three out."
"I hope so. It might drive Bloss and Buttercup insane but I know that the criminal world will take the threat of you three more seriously than us. For a few reasons." Her voice was soft and there was a gentle smile on her face.
Boomer cocked an eyebrow while also trying to get his heart under control. "That's sexist of them." His voice had softened greatly as well, to the point he was barely whispering. She giggle lightly at that.
"Well yes but that's just society isn't it? The fact that you three were some of the most feared villains in town at one point helps a lot too."
Boomer groaned lightly at that. "Not sure I'm thrilled about that. I'd like to think we've proven we aren't the way we used to be."
"You have to the people that matter."
She was still giving him that smile and he felt it in his bones. Even when they were younger he'd never seen such a soft look on her face. So at peace with everything, him included. He swallowed thickly again and couldn't help but take a small step closer to her. He saw her eyes dart down to his feet for a split second as he did so but otherwise she didn't move. He took that as a good sign to continue.
"Bubs, there's something I've been really wanting to talk to you about. Well, more like something to tell you and things have been so crazy between Mark and the monsters and then the animal thing happened. I screwed up at Halloween and then Mojo was out of Lockdown and things just kept getting crazy and now I'm rambling and whoo, give me a second here."
Bubbles was giggling by the end, a blush across her cheeks. Her smile was so wide and filled with joy that Boomer felt his heart ache with the need to make sure she always smiled like that.
"Take your time," she whispered. He took a deep breath to try and calm his heart.
"Bubs, I-"
He was cut off by a scream from somewhere to their left. Bubbles didn't hesitate. Her head snapped in that direction and in a blast of blue that left Boomer slightly stunned was off at a speed not far below sonic boom speed. Boomer stood there for a second blinking before his brain caught up and he was zooming after Bubbles just as quickly.
He arrived only to watch the tail ends of Bubbles zooming around the alley just outside the park. Next thing he knew three men were tied up and sitting in front of him. He blinked down at them as they blinked, stunned, up at him.
"What the fuck was that?" One of them asked. Boomer gave him a weird look.
"A Powerpuff girl. The blue was kinda a giveaway there. How do you not know that in this city?" He asked. The man groaned.
"Fuck, if I'd known this town had supers I woulda just kept going."
Boomer ignored him to walk into the alley. Bubbles was somewhere down there still and while he was sure she could handle thugs like these on her own he still needed to make sure she was okay. He found her crouched next to a woman behind a dumpster. The woman was shaking like a leaf but didn't seem hurt. He couldn't smell any blood but they were next to a trash can and he was no Brick. He couldn't pull smells apart like his brother could.
"Shh, it's okay. They won't hurt you. You're okay now. Everything is going to be okay. Here's your purse back. Can you do me a favor and make sure everything's there? The cops are on their way too. They might want to talk to you, is that okay?" Bubbles said softly as she handed the woman her purse. The woman sobbed lightly as she took it nodding to both questions. Bubbles nodded back before turning to Boomer. He stayed back not wanting to accidentally trigger the woman on accident.
"Anything I can do?" He asked her. Bubbles nodded.
"Keep an eye on those three until the cops show up. After that, well, it's the end of patrol so you could probably head home. I'll have to give my statement but you should be fine to go."
Boomer winced at that. "Sorry."
She shook her head. "Nothing to apologize for. It took me years to react so quickly. That's why Bloss wanted us paired up for a few weeks, to try and bring you three up to speed quicker."
"Right," he sighed out, not really feeling any better. She gave him a reassuring smile before he turned and went to watch the three at the end of the tunnel. They were arguing and he wasn't even going to try and stop them. As long as they didn't try and make a break for it then he was content to let them be.
Still, Boomer couldn't help but groan into his hands. He was so close! Another minute tops and he finally, finally would have told her after years of liking her. Granted, the delay was definitely nobody's fault but his own but still. He was so close that he couldn't help the glare at the three men. When they noticed they very quickly shut up and sat in silence until the cops arrive.
Once the cops were there he quickly got them as up to speed as he could. He'd have to ask Bubbles later how she'd called the cops so quickly but for now he'd let her handle things and not bother her. He'd also have to try and tell her. Again. All over again. He groaned as he took off for home cursing the whole way.
"So I heard that you guys are heroes in training now," Robin said as she walked alongside Bubbles and Butch. Said ruff puffed out his chest in a ridiculous manner.
"Hell to the fuck yes. We be bringing it birdie. Catch all those fuckers," he said pretty much swaggering down the hall. It was over exaggerated and Bubbles couldn't tell if he was actually swaggering or just being Butch. She was leaning to the later.
"Bloss has them following us and they've started their training regimen to get them brought up to speed. She thinks in about a month they should be able to cover patrols on their own. I'm really looking forward to getting a break now and then too," Bubbles said. Robin laughed.
"I bet. Good luck reigning all of that in though," she said gesturing to Butch. Bubbles frowned.
"Yeah well, thankfully that's not my job."
"Nah its Butter's," Butch said with a snicker. Bubbles shook her head.
"For now but I'd be careful if I were you. It won't take much for Bloss to come down on you. She's always gone easy on you ruffs but now? She's not going to hold back."
Butch grimaced and rubbed at his stomach. "Yeah, noticed that. Is she always like that?"
"Pretty much yeah. Once she's in leader mode it's no holding back. You better do as you're told or she won't hesitate to make you. I'm not sure how she plans to approach things with Brick though. We all know he's not going to just sit back and take orders."
"Ha! That'd be a sight. Brick doing what someone told him to even when it does line up with what he wants. That would be hilarious," Robin said with a shake of her head. Butch scoffed.
"Well, guess we'll really find out tonight. It's the red's turn after all. Though, I'm sure it'll turn out pretty similar to the way they work for monster attacks. If they can get past their pride long enough to not yell at one another," he said as they finally made it to the classroom. They stopped in front of the art room.
"Yeah well, if they can then I seriously feel bad for the criminals in town. Just Bloss alone and the crime rate is lower than ever. Add in Brick? Poor criminals won't have a second to breathe before a super is there," Robin said.
"Hopefully. That's the goal at least. Again, just have to wait for the reds to get over the road bumps," Bubbles said. Robin giggled at that.
"Well, I wish them luck. See you at lunch," she said as she waved at them and continued walking down the hall.
"How much you wanna bet big red ends up with laser burns by the end of tonight?" Butch asked as he opened the art room door for her. Bubbles shook her head and gave him an exasperated look.
"Nothing seeing as how I'd probably end up betting on the same thing."
Butch snickered. "Seriously. Hey, ever notice how she's never the one walking away hurt? Always thought that was odd. Big red ain't one to take it easy on people so gotta wonder if she's just that good at dodging."
Bubbles gave him a look while slowly shaking her head. "I can't ever tell if you're really that dense or not."
"Hey! I see all sugar cube! Don't-well that wasn't there yesterday."
Butch frowned at his painting as he took the cover off of it. Confused, Bubbles walked past her own painting to look at his. As soon as she rounded the side of it she gasped.
"Oh no! What happened?!"
Butch shrugged as he cocked his head slightly, still staring at it.
"Dunno."
The painting was of the city from a high point of view, the kind of view you'd only get if you could fly. Well, that was what it was supposed to be. The painting was covered in splotches of black spray paint. It didn't seem to be in any order either. At least half the painting was covered in it.
"You were almost done too."
"Yeah. I dunno, kinda don't hate it though."
"What?! But it's all black and ugly and ugh. How could you not just want to trash the piece? Just looking at it's destroying my motivation."
"Tsk tsk tsk sugar cube. I'd like to think that as a fellow hero you'd be more up to work through a challenge. Plus, it ain't actually that bad. See, if I can fix up these few bits and try and blend the black out, add some color on top of it and keep up the theme it won't be too bad. Kinda like sky graffiti? Maybe I can get Boom to take a look at it. He's the best out of the three of us at that city freestyle shit."
Bubbles gave him a look. "If you say so...I'll look forward to the end product. Still, who would have done something like this?"
Butch swung his head lazily in Bubbles's direction and gave her a wicked and unhinged grin. "Oh I've got a guess or two."
"Uh-huh, forget I asked. Just remember, heroes don't murder civilians."
"Ayyyy! If it ain't my secret muse Ricky himself. Whatcha up to my man?" Butch said as he threw the closet door open. The two teens inside sprang apart in shock. Merrick was quick to turn and glare at Butch.
"Really fucker? What did you go and smoke this time? Leave me the fuck alone," he said as he wiped at his lips. Butch didn't see what that was supposed to do though. A lipstick that red was straight up gunna just need a make-up remover wipe thingy. He'd know. Just last year Bubbles had saved his ass with one after a make out session of his own.
"I mean, I would but you don't seem to want to return the favor. Seem hell bent on doing the opposite in fact."
The girl was quick to excuse herself. Butch thought her name was Jazzy? She was one of the skater girls. A tough girl. He hummed to himself as he watched her run off. She didn't usually wear red lipstick did she? Was a good color on her.
"Seriously, what the hell did you smoke this time? I haven't even talked to you in weights!"
Butch turned back to see Merrick try and shoulder him out of the way. Butch snickered when instead he just winced. "Yeah well, see, this time you didn't have to say anything. No one else has a bone to pick with me so figured it has to be you."
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about."
"Dude. My painting is all blaaack," Butch whined as he followed after the other boy. He watched as Merrick twitched before continuing like nothing had happened.
"And? How the fuck is that my problem?"
"I mean, it isn't really. Its mine. That was gunna be one of the lame competition pieces that we have to do. It's okay though! I actually kinda like it. Gunna get my bro to help me fix it up a bit and give it that real rowdy edge to it, ya know?"
"No, I don't," Merrick growled. "And if it isn't a fucking problem then why are you trying to accuse me of something huh? I didn't do anything to your shit painting."
"Hey, rude Ricky. It ain't shit. Not my best piece either but not shit! It'll be amaze-balls when I'm done now though so, thanks my man," Butch said with a grin as he clapped Merrick on the shoulder. It could have been taken as a friendly gesture if it weren't for the fact that there had been enough force that Merrick went stumbling forward a few steps.
"Fuck man! What is your goddamned problem with me?!" Merrick said as he spun and got into Butch's face. Butch grinned in response.
"I mean, nothing in particular. Just really fucking bored and thought I'd entertain you with this game you seem set on playing."
"I didn't mess with-"
"Us ruffs were made with puppy dog tails ya know? Now, granted I'm only like, 20% of that shit but it's still there. Gives us a few bonuses that the puffs don't have. Better senses, including smell. You're the only one on school that uses that expensive as shit smelling cologne ya know."
Merrick froze at that, a slight panic at the edge of his face that he was quick to smash down.
"That doesn't prove shit," Merrick snarled out. Butch chuckled.
"You're right. Doesn't prove anything to the school and teachers and shit. Me though? All the proof I need. Don't even have to ask big red for help to sniff you out either. Trust me when I say that the boss man has the nose of a fucking hound dog. Don't ever try and wrong him cause you'll really learn what it's like to be hunted if you do."
"I don't fu-"
"Yeah yeah, beside the point. Still man, I gotta ask, why me? I mean, flattered and all sure but I've been told I ain't the top dog here so if you're planning on upping that spot you should really aim for the actual lady killer here. Which, I mean being honest, I'd totally be down to help with. Nothing too serious but messing with big red and then trying to get away with? It's such a fucking rush."
"You're sick in the head."
"And you didn't answer. Why Ricky? Why me? I just gotta know."
Merrick watched him for a second, trying to be imposing and failing. Butch thought it would have been funny if it weren't just that little bit of pathetic. He was trying too hard to cover up his fear.
"I don't need the top dog spot. Been there, done that. All I want is her."
Butch cocked an eyebrow. "By her do you mean Butters? Cause if so I'm still not seeing why it's me you're going after."
"I see you two. I've seen the way you are around each other. When you're around other people there's this wall or something. Like, you push people away without even trying. Around each other though? There's none of that."
Butch shrugged. "What can I say? We be beasts my man. We don't care much with our siblings though. They might not understand but they don't care. Never have and never will. Hell, Bossy uses it quite happily for monster fights."
"It isn't the same around them though. Yeah, you're relaxed but you're not open. You keep a lid on it almost."
Butch gave Merrick a lazy smirk. "The only other person who would get it is her and the only other person who would get her is me. That's what you're seeing. Well, the other greens would get it too but not like we ever really see them so meh. Surprised to hear you're observant enough to pick up on it though. Usually takes people years to see it."
"I've got a good eye."
Butch opened his mouth to reply but quickly snapped it shut and spun away from Merrick. Said boy gave him a confused look as Butch threw his arms open and madly grinned. Merrick turned to see what Butch was looking at but stumbled away as a green wind knocked him back.
"Butt-ugh," Butch was cut off as Buttercup slammed a fist into his stomach. He doubled over in pain as she glowered down at him. She snarled as she grabbed his ear and yanked his head up to look him in the eyes.
"You good for nothing piece of shit snail brained fucker."
"Love you too Butters," Butch wheezed out. "Mind telling me what I did this time?"
"You literally just signed a contract saying you were joining the hero brigade. Leader girl even told you the thing about language! So why is it that all I've been hearing is how you screamed after Boom this morning calling him pussy huh? Mind telling me what the fuck that was about?"
Butch gave a weak smile, realizing that his counterpart was actually pissed at him and not just annoyed. "Well, you see, I have a really good reason and I think you'll agree-"
"I think fucking not," she said with a yank on his ear. He winced. "See, leader girl put me in charge of you and keeping you in line. What you did this morning? Not in fucking line! It isn't just your ass that'll be getting a beating for that shit you know! Now come on. I've clearly got to beat some sense into you before the reds hear about this and decide to burn my ass for it instead."
She yanked his ear as she began to stomp down the hall.
"Hey sweet cheeks-"
"Not in the fucking mood Merrick. Fuck. Off."
Butch would have smirked at that but he was a bit busy trying to make sure his ear stayed attached to his head. He'd have to address things with the guy again later but, well, he never could say no to a good brawl with his counterpart. Even if he had a feeling this would be less of a brawl and more of a beating.
"Your brother will literally be the end of me," Blossom said as Brick opened the door. She was standing there, arms crossed, foot tapping. She had on at least two jackets, a beanie, boots and gloves. Brick sighed as he closed the door behind him.
"I'm aware. At least Buttercup was able to handle it this time. He can't even sit right now without wincing. She took kicking his a-butt to another level."
He winced at the near slip as she glared at him. She sighed through her nose at the quick correction before taking off. Brick quickly followed.
"I'm sure Butch and Boomer told you about how Bubbles and Buttercup handle patrol but my approach is slightly different. They target the main crime areas. I scan the whole city in a targeted approach. It's mostly to make sure that we're still focusing on the areas that we need too. I scan the police activity from Bubbles's and Buttercup's days and use that to sweep through any areas of high police activity. For the most part it's usually the same areas as the other two but today it isn't."
"Makes sense. Butch was complaining about no action and Boom only had the one incident at the end of everything. I know for a fact this city has too high of a criminal activity for that to be the norm, even if there is less crime than there used to be."
"You're right. Those were both really quiet days. Anyways, the area around Main has become a hot spot again. The gang often operates around that area so it comes and goes. They try and stay off my radar but like to push things. 22nd has also been getting a fair amount of activity too."
"Wasn't that one of the areas the last monster hit? Have they finished repairs already?"
"For the most part yes. There are a few things here and there that are still up in the air which is actually the problem. One of the smaller gangs is trying to push into that area and the Gangreen Gang has been pushing back, violently. There's been a gun fight or two so that's actually going to be my main area of focus tonight."
"Prioritizing the more devastating crimes."
"Exactly. I've let the cops already know about Main and they should be increasing their presence there. They shouldn't have any real issues though, a number of drug busts and dealers brought in but no real violence."
"22nd is a different story though. Do the cops have the okay to move in or are they supposed to alert us and wait for us to go in first?"
"Alert us first but they can move in if they consider it necessary. For the most part it shouldn't take us long to get there so they tend to move in knowing that back up is minutes away."
"Right. And when are we getting whatever device the cops use to alert you three with?"
Blossom glanced at Brick but his face was blank. He wasn't angry looking despite sounding it. "Well, as soon as the professor can finish them. Should only be another few days."
"The professor makes them?"
"Yes. Is that surprising?"
Brick snorted. "No. I'd say it's more concerning after recent events."
Blossom glared at him. "That's uncalled for. The professor makes tons of very safe and very effective machines."
"He accidentally made three super powered little girls in his lab while also mutating his pet chimp. Guys a genius yeah but his inventions are a little extreme sometimes."
"Need I remind you that you wouldn't be here if it weren't also for that? The professor keeps any and all dangerous machines locked up tightly."
"So tightly that not even Mojo can get to them?"
Blossom huffed. "I should have known you'd still be upset about that. Look, Mojo isn't a threat. He hasn't had access to advanced technology in years and that's not about to change anytime soon either."
"That you're aware of. Mojo is as much a genius as the professor, if not more so with robotics. If he really wanted to go back to being evil what's to stop him?"
"Well us Powerpuffs for one. And let's not forget-" she cut herself off looking at a small black device around her wrist. Blossom quickly changed direction and shot directly to her left. "Hurry. There's an argument between the two gangs happening on 22nd and Avondale. The cops are expecting shots to be fired any second."
"Got it. How many?"
"Five for the new gang and three for the Gangreen gang. None of the main gang though. Just lackeys."
"And the cops?"
"Two. Mainly we want to make sure they stay safe and no fatal shots land."
"Got it."
They quickly came up on one of the older dumps and could hear yelling. The cops had stepped in and while neither of the supers could hear any gunshots the anger present in the voices was enough to say it wouldn't stay that way. They sped up and pulled into sight just as all eight of gang members pull out guns and point them at each other and the cops. The two rushed forward in a flash of pink and red as the first gun went off.
Blossom landed heavily in front of the two cops and braced for the impact of the bullets while Brick rushed in between the two groups of gang members. He landed with more force than Blossom on purpose, rocking the ground and sending a gust of wind up and out. Everyone except Blossom stumbled as the wind pressure ever so slightly moved the speeding bullets. Instead of the fatal shots three gang members go down with glancing hits and one through the shoulder.
Not wasting a second both rushed forward to disarm the gang members. Blossom quickly took care of the four remaining from the opposite gang, not worrying about the one with the bullet through his shoulder as the cops, slowly, moved forward to help. Brick quickly took the guns off of all three of the Gangreen Gang goons, breaking one of their hands when they tried to resist.
"Pinky, are you able to call the paramedics on that device of yours?" Brick asks as he let one of the cops start handcuffing the gang members, standing close just in case. Blossom scowled at him.
"Yes. They're already on the way," she said curtly, and a little angrily, in response. Brick cocked his head slightly in question, he honestly didn't know what he did this time, but Blossom turned away from him to watch over the gang members instead.
Still confused, Brick let it go for now as he watched over the gang members as well. It wasn't long until an ambulance was rolling into the dump and there were more cops on the scene. Blossom eventually nodded at Brick and took off, him quickly following.
"Well, that was hour one handled. We have a few more hours of patrol left. I wouldn't be surprised if there was another shoot out either," she said once they were in the sky.
"What was up with you down there? Was it the professor comment?" Brick asked. Blossom cocked her head slightly at him in confusion before she remembered what he was talking about. She scowled at him at the reminder.
"No. It wasn't although you really are going to have to trust us on all of that. Still, are you seriously going to keep using that ridiculous nickname you have for me even now? We'll eventually have to do a press conference as you know and I'm really rather not looking forward to you calling me Pinky on live television."
They floated there staring off at one another. Brick blinked blankly at her for a few seconds while she regarded him. The sun had completely set at this point and Blossom couldn't help the shivers. She really wasn't a fan of winter.
"I mean, I hadn't really thought about it. Butch has nicknames too but I guess if Buttercup is never really doing much talking during interview he won't be either. Guess...I shouldn't?" He sounded almost pained at the question. Blossom raised an eyebrow.
"I would prefer if you didn't."
"Right. What-what should I call you then?" He said with a wince. Blossom couldn't help one of her own at the question. Another shiver went through her as well. He raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment.
"I mean, you know my name. Blossom's fine."
He gave a look like she'd grown two heads. She really didn't see what the issue was. It was just her name. He could manage that much.
"Right," he said sounded slightly squeaky. He quickly cleared his throat as another shiver went through Blossom.
"Ugh. Just don't call me that nickname in front of the press alright? It's a miracle they haven't caught onto as it is. The last thing I need is for them to make a big deal of that. Now can we please get moving? If I stay still like this for too long I'll literally start to freeze over."
Blossom didn't wait for him to respond before turning and starting on patrol again.
"Sure...Blossom."
The shock of hearing Brick actually say her name was enough for Blossom to forget how to fly straight and she immediately, and very badly, stumbled in the sky before catching herself. She spun back around to look at Brick. His face was buried in his hands and he was groaning to himself. The tips of his ears were pink.
"Can I just...are you sure Pinky doesn't work?" He asked from behind his hands, muffling his voice. Blossom tried to answer but was only able to out a strangled sound. Brick peaked through his fingers to catch a glimpse of her face being bright red before she spun around.
"Lets-let's get back to patrol. And not speak. At all. Oh my goodness that was weird. I just-oh that's really going to take some getting used to," Blossom babbled slightly as she started off again on the patrol. Brick followed her.
At least he wasn't the only one who thought that way.
"So I heard you tried to bet Bubs on a fight for last night. Who won?" Buttercup asked as she sat down at the lunch table. Butch shrugged.
"I mean, we never finalized it and even if we did, not really sure who would have won. No burns but I'm not sure what the hell could have happened for big red to come back looking so...off."
"Cap boy too then? Leader girl nearly straight up ran into her door last night."
Bubbles giggled at the two. "I know what happened," she said in a sing-song voice. Both greens spun to her.
"What? What happened that would frazzle both leaders that much?" Butch asked as he leaned forward. Bubbles giggled.
"Well, it's mostly a guess but I overheard something in the hallway that pretty much confirms it."
"Bubs stop winding us up and just tell us," Buttercup said.
"I heard Brick...actually use Blossom's name."
Both greens blinked as it sank in before leaning back. Buttercup was grinning madly while Butch frowned.
"That's all? Man, I was hoping it woulda been juicier than that," he said.
"Tsk tsk tsk Butchie boy. This is plenty juicy. Just think about it. When was the last time you heard cap head use Blossom's name?" Buttercup asked as Bubbles nodded. Butch leaned back to think on it. His brows furrowed more and more as each second passed.
"Never? No, wait. That can't be right?"
"Ding ding ding. Give the dingus a prize. Cap head has never used Blossom's name. It's always been some sort of nickname. Him calling her Blossom is huge! Hell, I wish I'd been there to see it," Buttercup said as she leaned back.
"It was pretty entertaining. They both froze up and did this awkward thing were they pretended the other didn't exist for a good 5 seconds before she acknowledged him. They were both beat red too. Oh it was just so cute!" Bubbles squealed. Buttercup snickered while Butch frowned in thought again.
"Wait. That sounds like-no. No. They don't-do they? Oh shit please no. You blues are bad enough. I refuse to accept another puff-ruff pairing. Uh-uh. Not gunna happen," Butch pleaded. Buttercup tried to frantically shake her head but he saw too late.
Bubbles slowly turned to look at Butch and he couldn't help but shrink back. She was smiling but there were sparks going off in her eyes and he could see a blue mist from her X start to swirl around her slightly.
"Butch. Sweetie. I've been secretly shipping those two since high school started and dying for something like this to happen. I don't care if they like each other yet or not. If you ruin this for me I will ruin you. You'll wish I was your worst nightmare come to life. Do you understand me?"
"Yes ma'am. Loud and clear ma'am."
Bubbles smiled and nodded stiffly before turning back to her food.
"Now that they finally made their first step, and on their own, it's time for me to get started! Love is in the air whether they want it to be or not!"
Both Buttercup and Butch felt somewhat bad for the reds at that moment. And Boomer. The poor blue ruff was clearly a second priority to the blue puff at that moment.
Added like a good 1,500 words to this just tonight to try and smooth things out. Still not sure it's as smooth as I wanted but oh well. Not gunna stress about it. My mood's too good for that!
Thanks to RainbowColoredHumanBeing and Marsnoesunplaneta for your reviews!
RanbowColoredHumanBeing, so glad you think my story is so good! I also hope I'm not breaking any laws haha. I'm glad you think I'm that good? Personally, just looking in this fandom alone, I think I'm kinda just average. There are so many other amazing authors in this fandom alone! And don't even get me started on all the other fandoms and authors out there! (Like...90% of my fun stuff budget goes to books...I read a lot...and they're all so good too! T.T) But seriously, I am happy to hear you're liking the story so much. Hope you liked this chapter too!
Marsnoesunplaneta! Serotonin! Happy to hear I'm helping you produce some with my story! Taking me back to my bachelor degrees throwing that word at me too haha. (One of them was in Biology and I loved my anat and phys classes so so much.) Hopefully this chapter helped you make some more!
Be back with another chapter in about two weeks!
Ciao!