I'M SO SORRY! THIS IS LATE! I FEEL SO BAD!
To explain, I moved this weekend and my new place had internet issues so I haven't had internet since Friday. Which was an issue for many reasons (the main one actually being that my classes started yesterday). Anyways! I'm here with my internet fixed and my new chapter ready to go (and yes, classes are sorted and homework has been turned in so I'm all good there too)!
Thanks as always for all the likes and comments! Enjoy!
"Blossom! It's quite the jump to go from villains under surveillance to heroes! How much can we really trust them?!"
"Is this their way of making up for the damages they caused as kids?!"
"What guarantees can you give the people regarding their safety?!"
Buttercup watched as Brick clenched his fists behind the podium. Blossom, probably feeling the heat from his rising anger, brushed the back of her hand against his to remind him she was there.
To be honest this...was going about how Buttercup had expected it to. The press barely liked her, and she'd never even committed a crime. The ruffs? Whole 'nother ball game. She was super grateful that it wasn't her up in front of that mic right now. Mayor Bellum leaned towards her own mic.
"We will work to answer any and all questions and concerns. Please everyone sit down and we will call on people to speak one at a time once were ready!"
She kinda sounded like a teacher.
"The Rowdyruff Boys have proven over the past seven years that they don't mean any harm to the people of Townsville. There have been several times that they have even assisted my sisters and I with monsters we found particularly challenging. We, as well as the city government, don't feel that the Rowdyruff Boys pose any threat. In fact, we're hopeful that they'll greatly help us in keeping the crime in our city under control," Blossom said calmly.
Buttercup could tell she was nervous though. She was too stiff. Made sense. This wasn't they're typical press conference.
"My brothers and I have lived in this city all our lives. We love it as much as everyone else here does and we want to do our part in protecting it," Brick said, kicking up another storm of questions that Mayor Bellum tried to get under control again.
Buttercup resisted a sigh. Why couldn't the people just trust that her and her sisters knew that the ruffs weren't a threat? They been watching them for years now. Hell, Mayor Bellum may as well be their mom at this point!
Next to her, Butch started to twitch. She didn't hesitate to press the side of her foot against his. This was her job. Keep Butch under control. That and serve as a buffer between the blues. While everyone was happy that they were finally together, they weren't quite ready for the whole town to know. Hell, the Professor didn't even know yet. That was gunna be a fun one.
Butch pressed back lightly against her foot. She didn't look at him. Technically, she couldn't. They had to give off the image that nothing was wrong. Looking at him would be a sign of weakness in front of these vultures.
"Alright, we'll start now with the questions," Mayor Bellum said before a number popped on screen. The number would correspond to a reporter who had pressed the question button that everyone had attached to their chairs. The reporter, a young blonde woman, stood up.
"I know that the Powerpuff Girls have a signed contract with the city government outlining their duties. Do the Rowdyruff Boys also have one and is it the same as that of the girls?"
Right for the throat! Ye-ouch lady! That was on their danger question list. Technically the answer was easy. No, they weren't the same because the boys had additional clauses that accounted for what would happen if they did get out of control. Yeah, the puffs had something kind of like that, but it was fluff talk in their contract. They weren't about to go destroying anything and the city knew that. It was a little more difficult with the ruffs.
Plus, they were kind of hoping the ruffs' street cred would help keep crime down and coming out with 'no, they have stricter rules than us' would kind of hinder that.
"We do have a signed contract with the city government that does outline the expectations for myself and my brothers and the consequences of breaking those," Brick calmly replied.
Nice going hat head! Smooth answer, smooth delivery, no hint or sign of nervousness. Would anyone with half a brain see it wasn't a straightforward answer? Yes. But that was okay. It let the people know that they were bound by a contract like the puffs while also being vague enough the criminals might wonder why he didn't just say yes or no.
Another number, another reporter stood. An older man this time.
"Has it been talked about as to how the Rowdyruff Boys will make up for previous damages to the city?"
"That happened during a time where the ruffs were being influenced by other villains. The city does not hold them directly accountable for those damages but regardless, the ruffs have already released a public apology and will endeavor to show Townsville that they are truly apologetic for their past actions," Blossom smoothly cut in. She brushed her bandaged hand against Brick's again and Buttercup could only guess that the question had made him nervous. Which made sense. Butch had twitched and Boomer was drumming his fingers against his thigh now.
Buttercup pressed against Butch's foot again and threw her arm over the back of her chair, brushing against Boomer's shoulder as she did so.
They were here. The puffs were on their side. They wouldn't be thrown to the wolves and they knew that the ruffs regretted their time as villains. It was okay.
Boomer's hand stilled as Butch pressed back again as the next reporter stood. Thank god the reds were taking-
"I have a question for Buttercup." Shit. "Her fights with Butch have happened throughout the years and as the Powerpuff Girl most familiar with him, both from her fights and as his counterpart, can she speak to whether or not he can actually control his more violent tendencies?"
Bitch. This was as much a jab at her as it was Butch.
Buttercup stood and made her way to Blossom's podium with a lazy nonchalance. Blossom stepped back slightly so she could speak into the mic.
"I have full faith that Butch will be nothing but an asset to our team. As you all are aware, I have been working towards damage prevention during our monster fights as my strength allows me to maneuver monsters in ways that my sisters can't. As the strongest of the ruffs, Butch will be paired with me in this role and I'm confident that between the two of us that we can help keep damages to a minimum. His violent nature as you put it, is caused by pent up energy needing an outlet. This outlet will help him as much as it has me. I expect that you will find that Butch will have less and less outbursts as time passes. He won't have any issues controlling those, again, as you said, violent tendencies." Skank.
Buttercup turned and made her way back to her seat. Butch shot her a thankful look that had a sliver of receding panic in it. She made a face at him with her back still turned before sitting back down. She felt both Boomer and Butch press their feet against hers and pushed back.
The next reporter stood up and Buttercup barely resisted a sigh. This was going to be a hella long day.
"Oh my god. Make it stop. I'm going to be sick," Buttercup moaned as she watched Bubbles and Boomer being way too affectionate for a couple that had literally just started dating.
"But seriously. Can we like, limit them or something? Only one way too cutesy act a day or something? Please?" Butch begged from beside her. Brick sighed.
"It's not that bad." Both greens gave him a look. "Okay, it's not that much worse than Bubs and Mark. It's just with...Boomer now."
"Come on bro, you can't look at that and not feel your teeth just rot."
They all turned to look at the blues. They were standing in front of each other. Or well, Bubbles was floating so that they could touch foreheads without Boomer throwing his back out. Their hands were clasped together and they were giggling about something. They hadn't stopped staring at each other for over an hour.
"Yeah, okay. It's pretty bad. But it's them! Come on, we all expected it."
The greens grunted at him. He had a point.
"Dude. This is why I wasn't looking forward to this. We'll never be free from this sight ever again," Buttercup whined.
"Yeah, he's already more whipped than any other man alive. Did you know that in art she broke a pencil and at the end of the period Boomer was there with a spare for her? Like, two seconds after class ended there he is! Pencil in hand. Disgusting as shit."
Brick rolled his eyes. "You say that like it's a bad thing. They're happy. Leave them be."
"Says mister next in line," Buttercup mumbled. Brick whipped around to glare at her while Butch groaned.
"Butters, please no. I can't. I really can't."
"Well maybe you just gotta deal snail brain."
"Ugh, speaking of Bossy-"
"No one mentioned her!" Brick cut in. Both of them ignored him.
"How's she doing? Healing alright?"
Buttercup shrugged. "Yeah. Her hands are still sort of shot though. A few of the bones started healing back the wrong way again last night so we had to re-break them. It's been a nightmare."
"Speaking of nightmares, either of them mention what they saw?" Brick asked.
"At little bit. I think they mostly talked to each other about it. Leader girl said one thing but...well, I'm not gunna share that. Let's just say that they're both pretty pissed that they couldn't make the things suffer more before they ended it."
Butch raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Sugar cube and Bossy said that?"
"More implied? Trust me, they weren't happy."
"I can believe it. Blossom nearly froze me solid on the flight back afterwards. She was pretty shaken up," Brick added as he adjusted his cap.
"I'd believe it."
They went quiet as they continued to watch the blues giggle across the school's yard.
"Who's handling all her stuff by the way? Since she can't, you know, write or anything," Butch asked. Buttercup frowned.
"She's managed to download a program on her laptop that registers her voice to operate. Took her a good couple of hours to get the hang of it before she was working away as usual."
"You're kidding. Buttercup, please tell me you aren't being serious. She shattered her hands! Not to mention the blood loss and other damages. Super or not, she needs to rest," Brick said with a scowl.
"Don't preach to the choir man. Go tell her that. Bubs and I have been trying to get her to just rest and take a break, but she won't. She says she has to keep working or she'll fall behind. We can't really argue with her either cause she's not wrong."
"Yeah, well, she'll fall even further behind if she works herself to the point of passing out! She looks like a zombie half the time!"
"You know bro, it's you saying things like that that has all the girls thinking you and Bossy are okay ouch ouch ouch! That's my spine!" Butch cried as Brick grabbed his brother by the back of the neck and squeezed.
"You are seriously asking for it ya know?"
Buttercup shook her head at them. "So, who wants to go break up the couple so we can all go home?"
"Not it. I say Butch does it."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
"Hey! Don't I get a say?!"
"No," Brick and Buttercup said as Brick shoved him forward.
"And hurry up. Bellum said it's pizza tonight."
Butch flipped him the bird but turned to head over to the blues. This would probably be the biggest challenge of the year for him. Pulling the blues away from one another.
"So, I know that we've only been dating for a few days..." Boomer said with a small smile. Bubbles giggled at him.
"Yeah?"
"But I was wondering- holy shit Butch! What the hell?!" Boomer yelled as he pulled away from the wet willy his older brother had decided to give him. Bubbles glared at the cackling green as she slowly floated back to the ground. She could hear Buttercup cracking up not far away too. Heck, she was pretty sure she even heard a chuckle from Brick. Rude!
"Come on love birds, we wanna get home."
"Shit man! Don't you have practice or something?!"
Butch shrugged. "Nah, not today. Game this weekend remember? Coach is going easy on us this week."
"Doesn't mean you can wet willy me! That was disgusting!"
"And really rude Butch. We were talking," Bubbles huffed as she crossed her arms and started to tap her foot. "You know I don't like being interrupted."
"You weren't the one talking sugar cube."
"Doesn't mean it's okay to interrupt me bitch!" Boomer yelled as he shot an eye blast at his brother, hitting him in the side of the head.
"Ow! Fuck Boom! Not cool!" Butch yelped as he put a hand to the spot before pulling it away. No blood but he could feel a healing burn. It hadn't been a full blast beam. It still pissed the green ruff off and in seconds, flickers of green light were surrounding him. "If you're gunna play at that-"
"Don't even think about it!" Brick yelled from where he was standing. His brother turned to glare but shrunk back at the look in Brick's eyes. He was definitely not in the mood.
"Whatever! He started it!"
"And you know I'll end it! Hurry up! I'm hungry!"
Butch flipped him the finger again before turning to look at Boomer with a raised eyebrow. "Pizza night. You nearly done?"
Boomer waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Give me like two seconds. And space."
Butch scoffed. "Like space'll make a difference. We've all been stuck listening to you two cooing at each other for the past 15 minutes."
"Yeah well, give me two more! Now fuck off!"
Butch grumbled as he walked back to Buttercup and Brick. Both Bubbles and Boomer frowned at them when Buttercup gave him a high five.
Boomer shook his head before turning back to Bubbles. "Anyways, like I was saying. I was wondering if maybe on Friday I could take you out on a date."
Bubbles gave him a huge smile and he melted as he leaned down to touch his forehead against hers again. "I would absolutely positively love that Boomie. Why Friday though? Wouldn't Saturday be better?"
He shook his head. "Butch has his game and it'll be the first one of the season. We always go celebrate after if he wins. Plus, Friday is Valentine's day."
She blinked at him for a second before breaking out in giggles. "So, our first date will be on Valentine's day? I hope you know that means my expectations will be extra high."
"Of course, but they should always be extra high cause you only deserve the best."
"Aww, Boomie! You only deserve the best too!"
"Bubs! Come on! I want to get home!" Buttercup shouted at her. Bubbles pulled back from Boomer to glare at her briefly before turning back.
"Text me the details tonight?"
"Hmmm, some. Most of it's going to be a surprise though."
"I look forward to it."
"Good."
They leaned in again.
"Oh my- Boom! Let's go! Now!" Brick yelled. Both blues felt their shoulders drop.
"Guess we should maybe get going," Bubbles said.
"I don't want to though," Boomer whispered back. She smiled before floating up to him just a tiny bit...
"I will give you another wet willy bro!"
"He's just sooo sweet! Oh my gosh, the past few days have been amazing," Bubbles gushed before squealing into a pillow, her feet kicking crazily in the air.
"Bubbles, if you literally kick up a storm in the living room, I will be angry," Blossom said as she glared at her computer. It made no sense. Then again, did dances, other than Ballet, ever make sense to her?
"Seriously though Bubs, we get it. You've only been screaming since it happened," Buttercup said from her spot on the sofa next to her. "And you might wanna kept it down unless you want dad to hear."
"I still think you're over exaggerating. Daddy won't do anything to Boomie."
"So why haven't you told him yet?"
Buttercup smirked while Bubbles glared at her. "I just haven't felt like it."
"Uh-huh. Right. Got nothing to do with the fact that you're worried about that one machine dad mentioned when you started dating Mark."
"He was kidding!"
"Actually, I don't know that he was Bubs. I saw what he was working on before you brought Mark over. It... wasn't pretty," Blossom said with an apologetic glance at her sister. Bubbles pouted.
"He didn't know Mark though. He knows Boomie."
The doorbell went off causing all three to blink at the door. They turned to look at each other, wondering who had invited someone over. Buttercup shrugged at them before getting up to get it. Blossom turned back to Bubbles.
"I really don't think it works that way. Sorry Bubs."
Buttercup opened the door and stopped.
"Noooo, I like him though!"
"Uh, Bubbles? I think it's for you," Buttercup said, strange look on her face. The blonde frowned before floating over. She dropped to her feet when she saw who it was.
"Oh. Hi Mark. What are you doing here?"
Blossom got up to walk over as well, as much to give Bubbles some support while also being better positioned to stop Buttercup. Just in case.
Mark shuffled nervously on the porch. "Hey Bubbly. I needed to talk to you about something. I tried to get a sec at school but, well, congrats on the new relationship. I kinda didn't want to chance him killing me so, you know."
Blossom glanced at Bubbles whose face was carefully blank. It wasn't often that she was guarded like this, but it made sense. Blossom gestured for Buttercup to head upstairs. Said puff only glared back.
"Mark, you'll forgive me for asking you this, but do you really need to talk to Bubbles?" Blossom asked after pulling her eyes away from Buttercup. Mark fidgeted but didn't back away under her gaze.
"Yeah, I do. Its- Look, I got hit by the monster attack recently and I need to talk to Bubbly here about a few things."
Blossom wondered what he saw. After seeing what Bubbles had gone through though, she was okay with not knowing. She suppressed a shiver. They were still all taking through some of those nightmares. Buttercup had nearly blown a hole in the roof when they talked about Bunny.
"Okay, Bubbles? Buttercup and I will be upstairs okay?"
Bubbles looked at her for a second before nodding. If she needed them, they'd be there in a flash but they would give the two some privacy as well.
Buttercup grumbled but after a stern glare from Blossom, made her way slowly up the stairs. At the top she turned to glare at Mark.
"If I find you so much as make her even just tear up, I'll rip you a new one. Kapsch?" She asked. He nodded vigorously at her and Buttercup, somewhat satisfied, made her way down the hall. Blossom gave her sister one more glance but could tell she was fine. If that changed? Well, frostbite could do some rather serious and permanent damage.
"Come in. We can talk in the living room," Bubbles said as she heard the little click of Blossom's door, but not Buttercup's, shutting. She'd left her laptop in the living room so maybe she would take a nap. Bubbles definitely hoped she would. Her oldest sister looked exhausted.
Mark nervously made his way in and sat gently on the edge of the sofa. Bubbles sat down in the armchair, the furthest place in the room from the boy.
"So. You needed to talk."
He nodded and Bubbles was surprised at the surge of anger she felt. He tossed her aside after cheating on her, treated her now boyfriend like trash, treated his brothers just as poorly, and the showed up out of nowhere demanding she listen. Not. Cool!
"Yeah," Mark squeaked a little and took a second to clear his throat before continuing. "Yeah. Um, so first I'm really sorry for how I treated you. I shouldn't have-"
"You're right. And just because you said sorry doesn't mean I'll forgive you."
Mark winced. "That's fair. I deserve that. Although, let's be honest. You weren't entirely guiltless- no! Let me talk please. You can say whatever you want after."
Bubbles snapped her mouth shut. Fine. She'd let him talk if only so this could finish up sooner. She didn't want him to come back later about this if she kicked him out now.
"Look, that last monster you guys fought was seriously messed up. The things I saw...I'm not ever going to forget those, and they made me see how much I messed up in so many ways. Yeah, I shouldn't have asked you out. I did it for a dick reason, but you shouldn't have said yes. You and I both know you weren't actually into me and you weren't ever going to be. I fucked things up more when I cheated, and I'll own up to that. I clearly was the one in the most wrong in our relationship, but I wasn't the only one in the wrong. I'm sorry for asking you out. I'm sorrier for cheating. I'd say I won't ever do it again but I'm trying to be honest. So, that said, I'll at least be honest when I do see more than one girl at a time. Tell girls straight up. If they don't like it, they can walk away. I'm also not gunna ask out a girl just to get at a guy again either. It was really not cool."
Huh. He must have really seen something terrifying to spook him this bad. She waited but he looked like he was done. For now at least. She could tell there was still something he wanted to say but he seemed to be waiting to hear what she had to say first.
"Okay, fair. I admit I shouldn't have said yes because I wasn't interested but I did say yes because I thought that there may have been a chance I could have become interested in you. I should have broken up with you when I realized that wasn't going to happen. If I had, well, it would have been before break so we would have avoided the whole cheating thing, I guess. I'm sorry."
She had led him on, just like he had to her too she supposed. That had been not okay, on either side. They shouldn't have dragged it on the way they did. She could own that mistake. Especially since he was also owning it.
"Thank you." Mark seemed to have had a weight lifted off his shoulders at her words. She frowned.
"I don't forgive the cheating though. I probably won't ever forgive you for that. You'll also need to be extra careful if you ever run into Boomie or one of the greens on your own. I won't try to get back at you, but they might. Halloween did nothing to make them less angry either."
He grimaced. "Fair. I deserve that. I'll also keep my distance. Not quitting the team though. I love football and even if I wasn't played even for the easy games this past season, I'm hoping Brick will ease up a little and I might get to play a game or two next season."
"I'll talk to him, the others too. It's me you wronged, not them. They don't get to punish you for something you did to me. That's for me to sort out. No promises though."
"...are you going to do something to me for it?"
She thought about that. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Yeah, he was a horrible person for cheating on anyone and she hated that he had cheated on her. On the other hand, like they'd said, she wasn't completely without fault in the relationship. It takes two invested people to make a relationship work. They didn't even have half of that.
"No. I don't think I will. You seem like you've learned your lesson from whatever you saw in the monster included nightmare. I say that whatever that was, was punishment enough."
Mark let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I learned a few lessons. What I saw...well, I doubt I'm the only one who's had a change of heart or a realization or two."
She doubted it too. After what she and Blossom had seen with Bunny...she didn't think either of them would be forgetting that any time soon.
"Was that it?"
He shook his head. "No, there was one more thing I wanted to say. Kind of an attempt at making amends even though I know it won't come close. That Merrick guy and Howie came up to me a while back all weird. Kept asking me if I wanted to get things back to the way they 'should be' or something. I dunno. It was weird but I figured it had something to do with you puffs. Howie was involved after all and everyone knows how he is. "
Crazy? Psycho? Obsessed? Yeah, they did. She wasn't sure about this Merrick guy though. The name rang a bell but she wasn't sure why. Oh well, she'd let Blossom know and go from there.
"I turned them down but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Felt like I should do something but wasn't sure what. I'm hoping this is it," he finished.
"Okay, thanks for letting me know. Now if that's it?"
"Yeah, that's it. Thanks for listening to me Bubbly. I know you had every reason not to."
She sure did. She didn't waste any time in getting him out of the house. The second she closed the door on him she turned to the stairs.
"Bloss! I need to talk to you about something!"
"Come on Brick! You gotta have something to say! Words of wisdom, a wise crack, a jab. Something!" Boomer pleaded as he tugged at his hair in the middle of his brother's room. Brick sighed from his desk.
"I don't know why you think coming to me about this is a good idea. You're the one she said yes to. You're the one she wants to take her on a date. That all means, you're the one she wants planning it all."
"I know! And I have like, half of it planned but it's the other half that's killing me! I don't know where to take her for dinner. Especially since everywhere I thought of is already booked!"
"Well maybe you shouldn't have made the first date with her on Valentine's day then!"
"But it was more romantic and I had to do something anyways! There is no way that I could ignore the holiday literally devoted to couples. Like, seriously bro! We just started dating! I can't screw anything up this early!"
Brick sighed as he rubbed at a temple. Boomer was pacing again, and sparks were literally flying. The lighting in the whole house had been flickering all day. Hell, even the school lights were having a hard time right now. Bellum hadn't said anything yet, but Brick didn't think it would take much more before she did.
"Just...think of something that isn't a restaurant then! Still too cold for a picnic outside so go have one inside somewhere or something!"
"Where the hell would I do that?!"
"Fuck if I know!"
"Uh, my bros? Bellum be back so maybe don't scream the cuss words?" Butch said as he poked his head into Brick's room. Brick blew a puff of smoke at him before glaring at his work again. "And also, why was I not invited to this little planning session?"
Boomer rolled his eyes. "Cause last time I asked you for advice I nearly screwed this up for good! Don't really want a repeat."
"Well, I mean, I guess. But asking Brick for date advice? You know the girls always have those things planned when he occasionally says yes. He never puts more than the basic effort in."
"You make it sound like I don't do shit," Brick grumbled. Both of his brothers gave him looks.
"Flirting is about the only thing you really do bro."
"Yeah, Butch is right. You kinda do make the girls do all the work."
Brick threw his hands up. "Then don't ask me for advice and don't ask Butch! Hell! Ask Rob or Princess or maybe, I don't know, one of Bubbles's sisters! They'll know what she likes!"
"But then they might leak my plan and I want it to be a surprise."
Brick was going to kill his brothers one day. Some days it was pretty clear which one would go first too. Today was becoming one of those days.
"I'm pretty sure Bossy and Butters wouldn't say anything. The rest...he has a point," Butch said in thought.
"Well you clearly think my idea is shit so I guess you're just gunna have to ask Blossom or Buttercup then!"
"Nah, you were kinda onto something with the picnic idea. I just need to figure out where," Boomer said as he rubbed his chin in thought. Brick gave him a look.
It was official. Boomer would be the first to die.
"Gotta think of something with a good view or some shit. If you could find a car to borrow then maybe you can eat it in the car?" Butch said as he walked over and plopped down on Brick's bed.
Eh, maybe it'd be Butch.
"Bellum would skin me alive if I borrowed a car and then ate in it. Princess would do the same. Mitch's car is on its last legs and I don't want that thing breaking down on the date. Mike needs his car for his date with Rob. Rob borrows her dad's old thing when she has to so that's out. Bloss and Buttercup don't have cars. So, that won't work," Boomer said.
Brick sighed. "I mean, it you want a nice view and warm there is one place but good luck convincing the owner to let you use it for a date with the puff."
Boomer snapped his head in Brick's direction. "Where? Who? You know I can be real persuasive."
"Top floor of the observatory has a great view. Volcano keeps the area warm too."
All three boys were silent at that. While yeah, it seemed Mojo and Him weren't going to be wreaking havoc they still had been pretty clear on their position with the puffs. They didn't care to try and kill them but if they died? Well, Brick wouldn't be surprised if both supervillains threw a party.
"Shit. I don't know if I can convince Mojo to let me do that."
Butch snorted. "Yeah no seriously. Big red is right but Boom, not even you have enough skill there."
They all went quiet again. After a minute or so, Boomer spoke up again.
"Actually, speaking of our wonderful fathers. There was something I've been meaning to say."
"What's up?" Brick asked, his full attention of Boomer. Anything to do with those two had to be bad news.
"Well, you know how you asked me to check out the school for those transfer kids? And how there was that weird smell that I couldn't pinpoint?"
"Yeah?"
"No. When was this? Why wasn't I invited?" Butch whined. Brick and Boomer glared at him.
"Needed a softer touch. Didn't want Bellum on our backs for breaking and entering. Again. Why mention it?" Brick asked Boomer.
"Well, I figured out the smell...smelled just like Him's mist does."
Brick's eyes narrowed. "You mean to tell me that you smelt Him's influence at the school?"
Boomer nodded. Brick leaned back to think about that.
"Well shit. So, we gotta go question the lobster don't we? How the hell do we do that?" Butch asked. Boomer shrugged.
"Mojo seemed to be in pretty close contact with Him. It's why I remembered to be honest. Maybe he can help?"
Butch rolled his eyes. "Why the hell would he do that?"
"Cause while he still might not like the puffs, he does actually seem to want to get along better with us. Might be because he wants to do experiments but it might also be because he feels bad. That's what the puffs seem to think it is after all."
"So, he'd help? Just gotta go ask him then."
"Yeah except the part where we aren't supposed to visit the observatory. At all. It's written into the contract we signed. Anytime we want to go there, we need a puff to go with us," Brick said. Boomer and Butch winced.
"So, we ask a puff?" Butch asked.
"Not Bubs. I'm not taking her there. Not if I'm going to maybe, possibly try to have the date there," Boomer said. He gave both his brothers looks, waiting for them to say something. They knew better.
"Blossom wouldn't be the best idea either. She'll end up wanting to help more and she has enough on her plate as it is," Brick said. At that, both Boomer and Brick turned to look at Butch.
"No. Please bros. Please don't make me ask Butters. She still hates my guts and I'm trying not to piss her off right now with the whole hero thing."
"Dude, she doesn't hate you. Just tell her we need to check something and she can tag along. That's okay right Brick?"
"Yeah, Buttercup won't get more involved than she has to. She's the best option."
"Oh, come on! Then one of you two ask her! I sure as hell don't want to! You know she'll take advantage of that shit!"
"Nah, she's your counterpart. You ask," Brick said. Boomer nodded.
"Hell. No. First off, if blue butt here wants to take sugar cube to the observatory then he needs someone to take him there to get the okay. And you two didn't have me tag along for the school break-in! Why the hell should I help here?!"
"I mean, point on the Boom thing but the school thing? Why do you even care? I thought you hated the transfers," Brick said. Boomer shot a glare his way.
"I hate one transfer. Maybe two actually now that I think about it. Still! I told Butters that we'd look into them."
Brick raised an eyebrow. "Did you? Look into them?"
"...I meant to?"
Boomer snorted. "Yeah, I say you ask Buttercup. Great way to make up for the fact she's probably been doing all the work there."
"Hey! I kept an eye on things! I saw that sleaze bag Merrick talkin' to Howie about something?"
That got Brick's attention. "Howie knows Merrick?"
"Meant to ask if they had a class together or something. They both seemed pretty pissed with one another."
They didn't. At least, Brick was 99% sure that the two boys shouldn't have any school related anything together. So how did they know each other?
"And you're only mentioning this now? What did they say?"
Butch shrugged. "I mean, it was right before we found out about Mojo so it slipped my mind. I didn't hear what they were saying either. The conversation was pretty much over once I got there."
Howie and Merrick. Normally Brick would just brush it off. Merrick seemed like a tool and Howie was a nerd supreme. It was likely that Howie was just being bullied. Brick remembered back to the beginning of the semester though. Blossom had seemed concerned by Howie and even Brick had to admit the guy had been unnaturally quiet. Expect for the few instances of strange courage in front of the ruff, Howie hadn't made any serious attempts to get Blossom on a date since the beginning of the year. Usually there would have been at least another one or two by now.
"Both of you keep an eye out. I wanna know if any of the other transfers end up talking to kids they shouldn't know."
Butch and Boomer exchanged a look before shrugging.
"Sure. Next, we just need Butch to text Buttercup. Heading there tonight if we can, right?" Boomer asked. Butch glared but didn't get a chance to say anything before Brick spoke up.
"Yup so hurry it up Butch."
Boomer and Brick grinned at their brother as he glared back.
"If I end up having to do something I'm gunna hate then I'm so blaming you two."
"Hurry it up slow pokes. It's too late for this as it is. I mean seriously, couldn't you have waited until tomorrow?" Buttercup asked as she led the way to the observatory. Brick shook his head.
"No, I want this over with now. Plus, Boom has a date plan to organize."
Boomer glared, a blush clear on his face, as Buttercup snickered.
"A starry night picnic is definitely something Bubs will love. I'll be sure not to say anything. Assuming you can get the okay from Mojo."
"Eh. We can be convincing Butters," Butch said casually. The brothers exchanged a look. They'd agreed to not tell Buttercup about Him and the school, but she'd insisted on taking them to Mojo's. She wouldn't be going in with them, she was in no mood to deal with the chimp, but she'd be waiting for them. It meant they'd have to be quick.
Buttercup snorted. "Yeah. Right. Just remember what you promised me for this favor Butchie boy."
Butch groaned. He'd made a deal with Buttercup that if she did this and didn't mention it to the other puffs that he'd do her history homework for the next month. Brick hadn't been happy, because if Blossom found out they'd all be dead, but he'd relented. It was all she wanted so they hadn't had a choice.
"He'll do it Buttercup. Anyways, we shouldn't be too long but don't expect this to take two seconds either," Brick said. While he and Butch would be talking to Him, Boomer would be talking to Mojo. However long Boomer took would be how long they had with Him. Realistic but annoying.
"Whatever," Buttercup said as she stopped in the air above the park. "Just give a holler once you three are done and don't take too long. Leader girl thinks I'm on an extra patrol so she probably expects me back in the next hour."
Boomer snorted. "Let me guess, something you do when you have too much energy?"
She gave him a look. "What the hell else do you expect me to do? Blow a hole in the wall like your green idiot does?"
"Hey!"
"Anyways lover boy, I think you have bigger concerns than what I do to blow off steam. Good luck with banana breath."
She took off for another part of the park. Brick looked to his brothers, a resigned look on his face. "Ready?"
"Not really."
"No."
"Great, let's go."
All three ruffs shot, slow enough not to make energy streaks, for the observatory. They didn't bother knocking once they got there and unlocked the door with one of their keys.
"Yo! Banana breath! Your wonderful sons are here so come out and say hi!" Butch shouted. There was silence as the ruffs plopped themselves down on the old sofa in the main room. Eventually they heard some shuffling above them and knew Mojo was on his way down.
"So. This isn't weird at all," Boomer mumbled. Butch snorted.
"Seriously. When's the last time all three of us were in here? Other than, you know, that last monster fight."
Brick shrugged. "Probably the day before the signing. We packed all our stuff up and had it ready for the moving people. Puffs came through after with the prof to get rid of all the dangerous machines."
"Sounds about right," Boomer said.
"What are you, my sons, the Rowdyruff Boys doing in my, Mojo Jojo's home? At," Mojo squinted at the clock as he finished hobbling down the stairs, "half past eleven? I should be in bed."
The boys stayed splayed out on the sofa.
"Butch and I need to speak with Him. Boom has something he needs to ask you though," Brick said. Mojo made a face at them.
"You should not be here. Not without a Powerpuff Girl. I have nothing-"
"Buttercup's outside. She didn't want to come in. We don't have all night though. Call Him so we can get this over with."
Mojo narrowed his eyes, looking each ruff in the face carefully before moving onto the next. Finally, he sighed. "I see there is no point, in other words no reason, in trying to dissuade or argue this with any of you. Let me go and summon Him."
"Great. We'll just keep chilling here," Butch said lazily. They watched as Mojo went to the door leading to the basement and went through it. "Don't you think we should follow? Figure out how to summon Him on our own? Just in case?"
Brick sighed and took his hat off to run his hand through his hair before placing the hat back on. "No. I don't want to get more involved with these two than we have to. Plus, Buttercup entered into a pre-contract agreement with Him about meeting us. I want to get her out of that, and the only way is for us to make a deal with Him directly instead so there isn't really a point. I'll find a way to break it to Blossom later."
"Shit. I'd forgotten that."
"Same." Boomer said with a grimace. "I wish there was a way to just get rid of the lobster."
Brick scoffed. "Yeah, same but let's be real, that ain't an easy feat. Pretty sure it'd take more than just us three and while I'm pretty sure I could find a way for us to get help and pull it off it would be more work than it's worth. As long as Him agrees to stay quiet then we have no reason to go at Him."
Butch shot a glare at the door Mojo had gone down. "If there's even a whiff of either of them going after the puffs or the city..."
"Yeah, agreed."
Boomer nodded as well before all three lapsed into silence waiting for Mojo to come back. After about a minute, Butch's foot started to tap, and Boomer's finger were drumming against his thigh. After another minute both were glaring at the door. Another minute and teeth started grinding.
"Would you two knock it off?! It's annoying as hell!" Brick growled. His brothers turned to glare at him instead.
"Well they're taking forever dude. How long are we supposed to wait? We don't have all night!" Butch ground out.
"And it won't take all night. It's not even been five minutes! The chimp has a fucking cane nimrod! You don't think it probably takes a bit for him to get around here?"
"Well then maybe I should go lend a hand?"
"No Butch. You're too agitated. You'd probably just break him in half!"
"Better than just sitting around! Plus, not like he doesn't deserve it."
"Gotta say I'm with Butch on this one bro," Boomer added. Brick glared at him.
"I might not like them either, but you think Buttercup would like to hear we broke the monkey? I'd rather not deal with that. So, sit. Stay. Shut up!"
"We ain't dogs!" Butch snarled.
"Hate to break it to you but we all kinda are Butch! Puppy dog fucking tails. You might not be the designated representative, but you got some of it in there. You ain't just a snail head!"
"Screw-"
"Good to see my boys getting on as well as they usually do," Him's voice said, cutting through the argument. All three boys snapped their attention to the door as Him and Mojo came through it. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure? I haven't called in that agreement with the puff yet and it isn't Tuesday so that can't possibly be why."
"Him. We needed to talk," Brick said with a nod to his brothers. Boomer stood.
"Come on Mojo. I need to ask you something else. We can talk in the kitchen."
"Why must I-"
"We only have so much time before Buttercup bursts through the door. Since Boom's thing is something else, we're splitting this up," Brick cut in. Mojo grumbled some more but followed Boomer into the kitchen. With the monkey already in a bad mood, Brick hoped his brother had some serious luck right now because he'd need it. He turned to Him only to find he'd summoned a sofa for himself and was laid out across it.
"Weeeell? I'm waiting," Him said in a sing song voice. At least Him seemed to be in a better mood. Brick and Butch exchanged a look before speaking.
"First, since you mentioned it, we need to talk about that deal. It wasn't a formal agreement so we all know you can't hold Buttercup to it. You didn't shake and she didn't sign anything," Brick started.
"Ah ah ah. A verbal agreement with me can be just as binding as a written one and you know this. I can hold her to it quite easily."
"Fuck that. You try that shell face and I swear I'll make you regret it," Butch growled at the demon. Brick put his hand on his brother's shoulder to try and get him to calm down. Him didn't look impressed.
"We want to make a deal, written and signed, with you directly and keep her out of it but there's conditions."
That got Him's attention. He sat up, crossing his legs, and placing his claws on his knees. "I'm listening."
"We need information, and we need some time. First, the time. I need to talk to the puffs and get them to understand. Before you say anything, yeah, I need their okay cause without it? They can legally lock us up for life. Already have a signed agreement or two saying as much."
Him narrowed his eyes. "Foolish boys. I know I taught you better than to sign agreements so easily."
"Trust me, it wasn't signed easily. I know a good deal when I see one and they were good deals. I'm not gunna sign a contract with you that'll go against those. That means that if the puffs demanded to be here for any meetings that they can fucking be here. Clear?" Him sighed but waved for Brick to continue. "We also can't be meeting with you if you go around making trouble for the city or the puffs. I need it written in that if you do make trouble that it'll be a breach and the contract will be voided at that point."
Him glared. "Oh, how the mighty fall. You think I'll agree to such ridiculous terms?"
Brick scoffed. "Yeah. I do. Otherwise you wouldn't still be sitting there. I don't know why you and Mojo seem to want to make amends or something but clearly you do and that means no trouble making or law breaking." Him clicked his tongue but stayed quiet. "Next is the information."
"You know that school that went down? Why the hell were you there?" Butch cut in to ask. Brick gave his brother a look as Him shrugged.
"I have noooo idea what-"
"Cut the crap Him. Boom smelt hell fumes in the corridor. You're the only way in this town that could have done that," Brick said with a roll of the eyes. He knew the lobster wouldn't want to just answer but did he think they were dumb? They wouldn't be asking if they weren't sure.
"Now what would I want in a school?"
"I dunno. You tell us. And if I don't like your answer? I'm out. We all are and good luck trying to make amends after that."
Both he and Butch gave Him lazy smirks and the devil himself finally seemed to gain some sense.
"Fine. I may or may not have contacted a student in the school. Daughter of an old...acquaintance."
It clicked for Brick then. "Fuck. Abigail is the daughter of a loyalist family, isn't she? Shit."
As one would expect with any powerful creature, especially one as old as Him, there were families through the years that had sworn themselves to serve Him. Usually it came with some great reward, money, power, revenge, anything the heart might desire. In return though, the family would be tied to the literal devil for the rest of eternity. Occasionally they might get another reward if they proved themselves again but Him was whimsical to begin with so it was hard to say what you might have to do to get it.
"Wait, what?" Butch asked, lost.
"Abigail. Boom and I noticed she feels like Him. Add in the smell of hell at her old school and I'm guessing Him asked her to do something and had the school closed down to make sure she was able to do it. Is that why she won't leave me the hell alone?"
"Now, now. It's not nice to use the name of your second home in vain you know," Him purred out, clearly amused.
"Answer the question Him. What did you ask her to do?"
Him waved Brick off. "Nothing actually. Her family owned the warehouse I used when I kidnapped the mayor. I asked what they wanted for a reward and... attempted to grant it."
Brick didn't like where this was going. "Him, what did they ask for?" Him looked away, looking slightly nervous. "Him."
"Oh, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal! She's a pretty girl and you like pretty girls. You flirt with enough of them at least. I thought you'd like her!"
Brick groaned into his hands.
"I'm so lost," Butch said.
"He fucking promised her me Butch. That's why she's so sure that I'll end up with her."
There was a pause. Then Butch cracked up laughing.
"Oh my fucking god! This is hilarious! You were the 'fucking congrats on your service' prize!"
"In my defense, I did only tell her I would present an opportunity to her and that anything beyond that was in her own hands. I didn't actually promise you. You know I'd neeeever do that to you boys. You're my boys after all!"
Oh, how Brick wanted to kill Him. He really, really wanted to kill Him.
"Fuck me. Let me guess, you also said something about the puffs."
"Hmmm, yes. I did say I'd reward her if she managed to...bring them down a bit."
Butch scoffed. "I mean, explains what her issue with them is. Especially Bossy."
"Yes, she does have something against the pink Powerpuff. I wonder why that is, hmm?" Him said with a pointed look at Brick. He wasn't going to say anything on that point though.
"Doesn't matter. I want her to back off."
"Can't help I'm afraid. You see, the reward was already handled and I can't just remove it. That would ruin my reputation you see! And truly, there's no point in my telling her to ignore that last point about the puffs. It should be clear that anyone who can harm the Powerpuff Girls in any way deserves a reward after all. And you can't say this is me causing trouble. I'm not asking dear, little Abigail to do anything right now. She's doing it aaaaall on her own."
Brick grit his teeth. Technically, Him was right and unfortunately, Him lived for technicalities. There's a reason why deals with the devil are cautioned against. At the end of the day, the only one who really wins is Him.
"Fine. Just no more actively telling people that you'll reward them for going after the puffs." Last thing they needed was for a swarm of Him's minions hunting down the puffs.
"Fiiine. You boys truly have become so dull."
"If you actually thought that you wouldn't be sitting there."
Him smiled at that. Brick knew at the end of the day, Him was really only there for one person, himself. Brick could only guess that the entertainment factor was what was prompting all this. Even back when the ruffs had been brought back it had been all that Him really cared about. It was even why the puffs had never had to truly fight Him as kids, because they were the biggest challenge and entertainment Him had encountered in years. The fight for Bellum told Brick that Him considered the supers to be on somewhat equal footing now. That's what led to this. Him wanted to watch the drama and see if the puffs would grow more powerful. Add in the ruffs and even Him would truly struggle in a fight.
Considering that Him was a huge fan of feeling pain, Brick wasn't too worried about Him actually attempting to fight them again.
"So, shall we sign a contract?" Him asked. Brick frowned.
"Not yet. I'll write one up and get the okay from the puffs. They won't be signing but they'll need to know."
Him huffed. "Again, so dull. Fine, do what you have to. I expect you to have something by the end of the month." And with that, Him vanished in a puff of pink smoke. Butch turned to Brick.
"So... getting the okay from the puffs?"
Brick groaned. "I'll talk to Blossom about it. God, I can already hear the arguments against this."
"Yeah, good luck bro. Good luck."
Brick groaned again. He was actually going to need it.
Bam! Hope you all enjoyed!
Acknowledgements!
Trase! I always felt bad for Buttercup in the show cause she just had the tongue thing as her special power which was weird. So I put a twist on it! She has hyper control of her X and therefore her muscles! I dunno, seemed to be a good fit. I guess in my mind, Buttercup is all internal control whereas Butch is external control. He can manipulate his X outside his body the best of all of them. And yeah, as a green he has huge reserves. I never really thought about who would have most but it probably would be a toss up between him and Buttercup. Green moments are to come! I think you'll like them too :)
RainbowColoredHumanBeing! Glad you enjoyed the blues! More to come too! I promise! Thanks for asking! I'm good. Stressed (haha school haha shoot me now haha what am I doing with my life haha oh right I wanted to do this haha) but good. Hope you've been well as well!
I'm gunna go play video games now. See you all in two weeks! Ciao!