Another two weeks, another chapter! Hope you all enjoy!
As always, thank you for all the comments, kudos, and follows! Always smile when I see them!
They couldn't help but snicker from where they crouched at the top of the stairs as they watched the look of joy leech off of his face, slowly being replaced with a look of pure fear.
"Oh, um, h-hi professor. I'm um- just, is Bubs in?" Boomer asked. Buttercup stuffed her fist in her mouth to stop the barking laugh that threatened to come out.
"Hello Boomer. I believe she's still getting ready. Maybe you'd like to come in and wait? I'm sure there's bound to be something we can talk about in the meantime," the professor said. He didn't sound particularly dark but there was a hint of something in his voice that the girls would never hear directed at them.
"Um, I mean I can, but I know how busy you are sir and I'm sure-"
"Great. Come on in Boomer. Let's talk."
Buttercup and Blossom couldn't help but snicker at the look on Boomer's face. He shot them a quick look, but they shook their heads at him. He had to face the music at some point. Gulping as he realized he had no rescue on the way, Boomer made his way inside.
"You know, now that I think about it, Bubbles said she'd be a while and you are due for a physical. I can't do the whole thing right now but how about we take a walk down to the lab and at least get the easy parts taken care of."
Boomer shot the two girls another look but they both simply smiled at him. Buttercup even gave a small wave as the professor opened the door. "Let's head on down. I'm sure the other two will let Bubbles know where we are."
Boomer gulped again before heading for the door to the lab. Once the door closed shut behind the two Buttercup couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst out laughing loudly as Blossom giggled alongside her.
"Oh my god, the look on his face!" Buttercup cackled. Blossom burst out in another fit of giggles.
A throat was cleared loudly down the hall from the two laughing puffs. They turned to see Bubbles standing just outside the bathroom, make-up only half done and foot tapping away. She cocked an eyebrow.
Buttercup burst out laughing again.
"Sorry Bubs but we all knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Better they talk now than when all three boys are here for their check-ups. We all know that if Butch or Brick heard any of that conversation that they'd never let him live it down," Blossom said as she tried to stifle her giggles.
Bubbles face showed that she was clearly not impressed with the logic. "Uh-huh. And it has nothing to do with the fact that you two find this entertaining."
Buttercup barked out a laugh before smirking at the youngest puff. "Oh, we find it hilarious but if you really feel like lecturing us about it right now I'm not gunna complain. It'll mean that you'll keep little boy blue waiting though," she said in a sing song voice. Bubbles huffed before turning back to storm into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind her hard enough that the walls shook slightly.
"Good thing that dad X-proof the house," Blossom said with a giggle.
"But no, seriously. Still, better now than later right? I mean, Butch would have such a field day with this one."
"Oh, I don't doubt that even without hearing it that he'll still have a field day. I also know you're going to go text both him and Brick about what just happened."
"Duh. I mean, they are his family after all. They deserve to be notified that blue boy won't be going home the same."
"Assuming that dad let's him out at all. I know he fixed the anti-X ray a while ago and he is the only one with an active source of liquid Antidote X."
"Ugh, don't mention that stuff to me. I wish we could just destroy it all."
Blossom sighed. "We all feel that way, dad included, but we need it. If any of us ran into a situation where we need surgery, he has to dose the blades in the stuff to cut through our skin and stop us from healing instantly. And sadly, chances are high in our line of work that we'll need him to do that. Again."
"Blech. Just thinking about it gives me the chills. Hate that stuff."
"Yes, yes. Anyways, did you still want help on your math homework? I have a little bit before I have to get started on planning again."
Buttercup regarded her sister. Blossom had bags under her eyes. Truthfully, Buttercup was having a hard time remembering her without the bags she'd been so busy and stressed. While she did still need help with math but there was something else she'd rather talk to her sister about. After all, there was always another red available to ask for school help.
"Nah, I'm good on that but can we talk about something? It's just, I'm a bit unsure on something," Buttercup mumbled softly enough that only Blossom would be able to hear.
Blossom cocked her head for a second before nodding. "Sure, my room?"
Buttercup nodded. The professor had not only X proofed the house but had also sound proofed the bedrooms as well, although the X individuals could still hear through them if they tried. It had been hard for the girls to adjust to not easily hearing each other sleeping at night but the professor had felt back in middle school that it was an important step. They needed to start learning not to be so dependent on one another because someday they wouldn't all be living together like they did now. He knew his little girls would grow up someday and he wanted to make that day as easy as possible.
That and Buttercup gotten into a habit of playing music to fall asleep at night. Bubbles had decided one day that enough was enough.
They made their way into Blossom's room and she softly shut the door behind them. "What did you want to talk about?"
Buttercup grumbled lightly as she plopped down on Blossom's bed. Blossom raised an eyebrow as Buttercup took her time responding.
"Okay, so you know about that thing with Butch's painting? And how I didn't even know about it for a while afterwards?"
"Yes. I thought I told you to not worry about it. It'll be taken care of."
"Yeah, but what if I think I know who did it and the person did it maybe cause of me?"
Blossom sighed lightly before lifting her legs up and sat floating, crossed legs, in the air in in front of her sister.
"Okay, first I want to know who you think it is. Next I want to know why you think it was because of you."
Buttercup scratched at the back of her neck for a second in thought before sighing. "I'm pretty sure it was Merrick. The guy has this weird obsession with Butch and I. Keeps going on about how Butch should be in jail and I should be the one to put him there. And I maybe, sorta just found out that he has a huge crush on me..." Buttercup trailed off.
"Hmmm, you mean someone told you he has a crush on you."
"Yes? Isn't that what I said?"
"No, it's not. You said he has a crush on you, but you only think that because someone told you. You don't know for certain unless-"
"Bloss, I'm like 99% sure he does so can we skip the technicalities please?"
Blossom made a face. "Fine. Leave it to me and I'll have the school look into it. If it really was him then they'll handle his punishment."
'"Bloss it's been like a few months. There's not gunna be any evidence left and if the school goes and questions him, he'll shut up fast and then just go at Butch more than before. And Butch has been calm lately, calmer than he's been in years. You really want a dick-" "Language." "-like Merrick to go at Butch and ruin that?"
"You have a point. No. I don't want anything or anyone riling Butch up, especially not right now. They just went on live TV to announce that they're heroes now. I don't need him stirring up trouble. Still though Buttercup, there are other ways-"
"What if I had an idea that won't cause any damage to any buildings or anything? But I maybe might need some occasional help."
"Well, I'd want to hear the idea first, but you know I'm always here for you. I'll help anyway that I can."
"Great! So I can go for it the right? And you'll help me out?"
"Well, sure, after I-"
"You're the best Bloss! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise you won't regret it!"
Buttercup jumped off the bed and threw herself into the air to hug Blossom.
"Yes but Buttercup-"
"I gotta go shopping. Ugh, I already hate this part."
Buttercup zipped to the door and threw it open only to zip out in a flash of green. Blossom zipped over to her door in time to see Buttercup's streak fading through the front door. She groaned into her hands.
"What was that about?" Bubbles asked as she came out of her room, finally done getting ready for her date.
"I don't know but I have a feeling Buttercup just got a bad idea and I may have given her the okay without actually giving the okay. I think I even offered to help too."
"Hmmm, sounds confusing. I'm sure it'll be fine though."
"I hope so. I really really hope so."
"So I noticed some weird tension between the greens this morning..." Brick started as he jogged to catch up to Blossom who was headed down the hall. She sighed.
"Because of Buttercup right? I knew I should have pushed more. She somehow has it in her head that she knows who ruined Butch's painting and she has the perfect way to handle it. It's even something she doesn't think I'll be upset about."
"So she's talked to you about it then. Is she right? Does she know who did it?" Blossom stayed quiet and Brick sighed. "Okay, great. Last thing we needed. So what is her plan?"
"I honestly don't know. She zoomed out of the house to do something after mentioning it and I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it since. Speaking of not having a chance, I do have to get to the auditorium Brick. I don't really have time right now to deal with this. The dance is right around the corner and I need to make sure that everything is going smoothly."
"I did offer to help."
"No, you offered to do it for me. Don't think I don't know you would have taken over."
Brick threw his hands in the air as he continued to walk with her to the auditorium. He could never just have an easy win with her, ignoring the fact that this time wasn't even a win. "You say that like it's a bad thing. Most people are usually thrilled when someone comes along to help with things."
"Again, you weren't going to help you were going to do it and then tell everyone all you did was help letting me take the credit which is wrong. If you'd wanted to take care of it then all you had to do was ask and I would have let you take over."
"I did ask!"
"No, you tried to make it seem like you were just wanting to help and then let me be the one to bring up what you really wanted. You didn't ask."
"Seriously, most people would have let it happen Blossom."
"Maybe. But that would be wrong."
"And we can't have you being wrong, now can we?" Brick muttered, frustrated, under his breath. Blossom shot him a glare and he at least had the decency to seem apologetic.
"Like I was saying though, I have a lot to do so I can't really talk about the potential greens issues. It isn't even an issue yet. I'm sure it'll all be fine."
Blossom couldn't help but grimace at Bricks raised eyebrow. She wasn't convincing anyone, let alone him, that she didn't think this was an issue. It was the greens after all. Everything they did tended to lean towards the explosive side.
"Whatever. I'll let it go for now on one condition."
"You are not 'helping' with the dance Brick. But if you have a few spare hours you can help with hanging the decorations. We only have a little time left before the first dance and I want most of everything to be done by then. We have everything we need, it's just a matter of setting up now and I want it to be perfect."
"I'm sure it will be. What theme did you go with?"
Blossom hummed lightly and shot him a look that he avoided. "I thought that the third one that magically showed up in front of me was a good one."
He hadn't been as subtle as he usually was about doing his weird helping but not helping thing. So what?
Brick shrugged all the same. "No clue what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh. We're going with a masquerade theme. The ticket orders have been finalized and we'll be sending the actual tickets out tonight so that they should all arrive well before the dance even at the other cities. I had to stop Princess from buying everyone a mask to send with the tickets she's so excited for the theme."
Brick snorted at that. "How the hell did you pull that off?"
"Easy, I let her buy the decorations we needed. She compromised easily when I added that she could have say in the food as well."
"Trust Prinny to find a way to run a dance she has nothing to do with planning wise."
Blossom sighed. "I'm lucky that her and Robin are interested in Student Government for that fact alone. They always do such an amazing job when it comes to organizing events and parties like that. If it's not a fundraiser I don't seem to usually be very good at it."
"Did you actually just admit to me that you aren't good at something?" Brick teased. Blossom shot him a look as they rounded the final corner and approached the auditorium.
"I don't think I have to worry too much about people finding out that I'm not good at party planning. I'm sure it isn't even something I have to admit to too be honest."
Brick had to agree. It was pretty obvious that Blossom was horrible on her own at planning anything aimed at their age group. She did have a knack for planning fundraising events though.
"I plead the fifth."
Blossom shot him a look but didn't say anything as she opened the door. She turned to the auditorium and took a single step in before freezing.
Brick immediately felt the temperature drop and knew then that something was wrong.
"What? Blossom what-" he took a step into the room as well but stopped when he saw it.
Gorgeous red drapes were torn to shreds and scattered across the room. Gold and black paper was ripped to pieces and scattered along side it. Glittering stars were kicked in and beaten. Other props half hidden by the shadows were clearly in similar shape.
"This...this took weeks. I've been working to get this all together for weeks. There's 15 other people who have been helping. The invites alone took 10 people three weeks to do. I...I don't..." Blossom continued to trail off and mumbled as she took a few hesitant steps into the room.
She bent down to pick up one of the torn drapes to take a closer look but they had all clearly been torn so thoroughly that nothing was salvageable. The temperature continued to drop, and Brick quickly was at Blossom's side.
"Blossom-" he stopped dead as she turned to look at him, tears in her eyes.
"It took weeks." She hiccupped and Brick felt a flash of heat run through him as his temper rose at the ones responsible. He kicked his temper down but let his fire run wild. It was the beginning of spring and winter was taking its time to leave. He was worried that Blossom might freeze again if she continued to let the temperature drop.
"Hey, none of that. It's fine. Prinny can get new drapes. I wouldn't even be surprised if she has some just sitting at her house ready for use."
"The invites though and the other decorations. Brick I-"
Blossom cut short as she turned away and took in a deep, shaky breath.
"Blossom, it's okay. We'll figure it out."
She shook her head without turning to look at him and Brick could smell the salt in the air from her tears and knew then that she was full on crying.
Blossom Utonium was standing in front of him crying.
He had no idea what to do.
"I think-" Blossom cut off and cleared her throat before trying again. "I think I'm just going to go home. I'll-I can't- this is just-"
Brick hesitantly lay his hand on her shoulder and she jolted slightly but didn't pull away.
"Go home. Sleep. You're tired enough as it is, and this wasn't even your responsibility to start with. I'll get the committee for the TCB together and see what we can do. And no saying no either. I don't give a shit about the credit but I'm not having you working on this dance for another second. Go home and rest. Got it?"
He could tell she wanted to resist, wanted to be the leader, and not do what he was telling her to do. The temperature slowly stopped dropping though and Blossom swiped at her eyes before turning around to face him. Her eyes were red, and Brick swallowed hard at the flare of anger at the sight. She swallowed lightly before nodding.
"Sleep...sleep sounds good. I could do with a nap. If you could get a report of everything together from the other TCB committee members, then tomorrow...tomorrow I can get on fixing things."
Brick wasn't going to let her do anything on this now but to get her to go home and nap he nodded.
"Sure. Now go get some rest."
Blossom meekly nodded before heading for the far door, floating over the damages. Brick waited until she was left and he heard the classic zoom of an X individual taking off in full speed flight before pulling out his phone.
Emergency. Auditorium now.
"What. The. Fuck." Boomer said as he walked into the auditorium with Bubbles. Bubbles covered her mouth in horror at the sight.
"Oh my gosh. Blossom. Where's-"
"Blossom went home to hopefully get some rest. No way in hell I was going to have her helping clean this shit up. Hell, if I'd had my way, she wouldn't have had anything to do with the fucking planning to start with." Brick said from where he stood literally fuming in the center of the room. He'd been having to be careful not to get too heated. He didn't want to accidentally burn the place down after all. It was a big enough nightmare as it was.
"Good. Still, this..." Bubbles trailed off as she left Boomer's side to start walking around the room. "Where's everyone on the committee?"
"Apparently the official meet time is 30 minutes after the last bell. A few showed up not too long ago. I sent one to find Princess, another to find Mitch, and the other to find Mike and Robin."
"You got a plan then bro?" Boomer asked as he made his way over to his brother. He stopped a few steps away as the heat Brick was giving off was slightly on the uncomfortable side.
"All fucking hands-on deck. Greens better get their asses over here soon or I swear to fucking God-"
"Chill. We're here. Who did all this? I know for a fucking fact this was not how it was left yesterday. Leader girl had me swing by after practice last night and this is..." Buttercup said as she scanned the room. Butch was with her. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he scowled at the mess and began shuffling his feet through some of it.
"It was nearly done. Bloss was so happy with how everything was turning out too," Bubbles said as she made her way over to Buttercup. "She went home. Hopefully, she'll actually rest. In the meantime..."
Both puffs turned to look at Brick who was still glaring at the mess barely keeping his temperature low enough that things wouldn't start bursting into flames.
"Gotta chill out there a bit hot head. Getting heated ain't gunna help," Buttercup said. Brick snapped his head to glare in her direction, eyes glowing threateningly. Both puffs leveled him with glares of their own.
"I fucking know that Buttercup. I've got it under control. In the fucking meantime if you don't mind, we have a situation we need to handle instead of you riding my ass for my temper."
"Long as you got it under control. What's the plan? I'm assuming you have one or you wouldn't have called us all here."
"Bubbles and Butch. You two need to find someone from the committee. I want you two repairing the invitations first, then the decorations. When Princess gets here see what she can do. Buttercup and Boomer. I want you two finding the sons of bitches who did this. Stick 'em on the roof, door locked. No, I'll melt the handle actually. I don't want a single one getting off."
Buttercup and Boomer shared wolf like grins while Butch whined.
"Come on bro. I wanna wrangle them up too."
"Shut up Butch," Brick said darkly. Butch snapped his mouth shut and stood up straight as Brick turned to glare. It had been a long time since Butch last swore he could see his brothers inner fire flickering in his eyes. "Fix the damned invites then the decorations. You and Bubbles are the only two who have a chance of being able to salvage this damn thing before it's too fucking late. Do what I said."
Butch pressed his lips in a tight line and nodded quickly. He had forgotten how scary his brother could be when truly angry. It had been a very, very long time since the Bludgeoner had last truly been around.
"I don't mind letting you round up the ones responsible, but I hope you know I can't let you do anything crazy," Bubbles said. Brick turned to glare at her, but she didn't flinch back. Boomer twitch as if to move in her direction but Buttercup shot him a glare. They might be dating but no puff needed protecting from any of the ruffs. Even Brick.
"I won't hurt them. Physically. Just gunna have a nice little chat before leaving them there for a few hours while I take my time in telling Principal Keene about them."
Bubbles tilted her head slightly as she thought it over before nodding. "Okay. That's fine. Have fun hunting you two. Come on Butch. Bloss showed me the invites before they got destroyed so I know what we need to do. I know where the extra supplies are too."
Butch huffed but followed the blue puff regardless. Boomer turned to Buttercup and cocked an eyebrow. She grinned back and they both made for the door. Just before leaving though, Buttercup turned to face Brick.
"And you hot head? What do you plan on doing?"
Brick blew out a thin stream off smoke. "I'll be hunting down the mastermind."
Buttercup shared a look with Boomer. "Thought that was what you wanted us doing?"
Brick snorted. "You're rounding up the muscle. The person responsible for this ain't gunna be so easy to pin down. I mean, fuck, they convinced students at the school to destroy something a puff was working on. That alone ain't a walk in the park. Nah, I got the one pulling the strings. You two get the rest."
"...you know who it is bro?" Boomer asked. Brick rolled his shoulders before glaring at his brother.
"You got a damned job to do Boomer. Do it."
Boomer gulped before nodding and turning to leave with Buttercup. Once they were gone Brick let out a deep, smoke filled breath.
He seriously had to be careful here or he might actually kill someone, even if it would be accidental. That would be the last thing Blossom needs.
"Should I be worried about Brick?" Bubbles asked as she rummaged around in the supply closet. She knew the extra supplies were in there somewhere. She just wasn't sure where.
Butch shrugged. "I'm sure it'll be fine. If he makes a mess then Blossy would be the one who'd have to clean it up and that'd mean more work for her. Brick won't do that."
Bubbles shot him a look over her shoulder. "And if it weren't for Bloss?"
Butch rolled his head back and forth in thought at that before shrugging. "Eh, can't say. Haven't seen him that pissed since we were back with Him. That was when we were, what, 7? 6? Shit, a long time ago. Those were our bad, bad days."
"Hmmm, yes. Bloss did have a lot of burns back then from her fights with him. Still, he's never actually hurt someone seriously right? At least, not on purpose?"
"Not on purpose but we destroyed a lot of shit back in the day. Think we were more than hella lucky that no one died, thank god this city is so good at evacs, but wouldn't be surprised if a few people were in bad shape. Never did it on purpose but..." Butch shrugged. He didn't like to dwell on it too much. Made for bad thoughts and twitchy hands.
"So even without Bloss...he still wouldn't go too far?"
Butch shrugged. "Dunno sugar cube. Back then we were kids just playing around. Now? We're nearly adults and he's hella pissed. I honestly couldn't say."
Bubbles pulled on a ponytail as she turned back to the stuff in the closet.
"...I'm gunna believe he wouldn't go too far. You ruffs aren't the same as back then. You're better. Good."
Butch watched as she started back searching through stuff. He wasn't so sure. He knew himself and he knew his brothers. They were capable of some seriously bad shit. Thing was, they didn't want to do that seriously bad shit anymore. That was the only reason they didn't. Without that reason though...
Butch sent a prayer out for whoever was responsible for this mess. They seriously done fucked up big time with this one. Brick was gunna hunt them down. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if Brick got down on all fours and sniffed them out. There wasn't going to be any running from this. Brick would catch them. Butch had no doubts about that.
"I'm sure you're right sugar cube. So, what's this stuff supposed to look like? Construction paper I'm guessing?"
He'd let Bubbles continue to believe the best in them. Maybe one day he'd be able to believe it too even.
"Yeah. Bloss put it all in one box. It should be labeled TCB but I'm just not seeing it."
"So, where to first?" Buttercup asked. Boomer's head seemed to be on a swivel, eyes glowing as he peered through the walls with his X-ray vision.
"Well, I have a hunch. Guys probably did this last night since no one tends to go in there until the end of the day. That in mind, no way in hell they'd want to miss the show. They'll feel like they have to come back, see the damage firsthand ya know? So, I figure that a good number of them probably found seats nearby to enjoy the show then probably, like idiots, got together to celebrate one upping a puff."
"Great. Didn't ask that little boy blue." She popped her knuckles as Boomer stopped swinging his head around and stared through the walls on their left. "I asked where to first?"
Boomer turned and grinned at her. "Right this way. Party looks like it's just about to get started."
Buttercup chuckled darkly. "Hell yeah it is."
Brick could hear the zoom of Buttercup and Boomer taking off to hunt down the first group of kids. He had to grit his teeth and clench his fists to keep from zooming off after them. He'd get to the guilty kids soon. First, he had to have a talk with a certain someone.
He continued down the hallway a bit further before stopping. This spot was far enough away that a super would have to focus to hear the conversation and likely the others would be too busy to pay much attention. He turned slowly before facing a hallway that led to the front of the school.
At the end of the hallway stood Abigale. She gave a flirty wave towards Brick before beginning to strut down the hallway towards him.
Brick had to take another deep breath and remind himself that killing someone would not help things.
Even if it might make him feel slightly better.
"Brick! I was wondering-"
"Cut the shit Abigale. I'm so fucking down with it."
She stopped dead where she was a few steps away at the tone in his voice. Finally getting the clue that he wasn't happy, she took a second to give him a quick look over. Usually, it would have been a flirty once over. This time it wasn't.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" She asked, sounding concerned. Brick wasn't having any of it though.
"Like I said. Cut the shit. You know exactly what happened."
Her brow furrowed as she seemed to think over his words. "I really don't. Brick, just tell me-"
"Fuck you. You're the biggest bitch in the school and that's saying something considering Princess goes here and she's a literal ex-villain. You were the one behind it all weren't you?"
She shook her head slowly, face kept carefully blank. "I really don't know what you're talking about. Maybe if you could explain-"
"Hell no. I can't be bothered to waste my breath on that. No, I do have something to say though. You're on the last straw. I've put up with your shit. I've ignored the fact that you don't actually care how I feel. Hell, I even ignore the constant stink eye you give Blossom and the other puffs. This though? This crosses the line and I'm done tolerating all of your shit. So all I have left to say is a warning. You so much as look at Blossom or her sisters the wrong way again and I can't promise that I won't break your neck where you stand. You're also going to leave me the fuck alone. I'm not interested and I'm no fucking prize from Him either. Stay out of my sight. I seriously can't promise you'll stay alive if you don't."
She stared at him blankly without responding. Brick gave her a few seconds before turning and making his way down another hallway to one of the school's side exits.
"I always get what I'm owed Brick. Always."
Brick stopped where he was at that, body tensing. One quick movement would be all it would take. Just the lightest bit of X behind his actions.
Blossom crying, back turned, flashed through his head. Him killing Abigale might feel good but at the end of the day it would just cause more work and upset Blossom more. He couldn't do that to her.
Not responding, Brick continued down the hallway. He'd given his warning and he'd hoped she would be smart enough to heed it.
Didn't seem like that would be the case though.
"Right. This is the last one, right?" Buttercup asked as she yanked the runner's shirt backwards. She stepped out of the way and watched, apathetic, as the guy fell on his back.
"Look! I didn't do it! All I did was stand with some friends at the gate. Whatever happened I had nothing to do with it!" The guy was ignored as Boomer floated down next to Buttercup.
"Yeah. This is the last one. Rest are already on the roof. Hey, you're gunna be the one to tell Principal Keane about the door right? Cause I sure as hell don't wanna be the one to explain that."
Buttercup rolled her eyes as she placed a foot on the runner's chest to keep him down and in place. "I mean, sure, but she's gunna know who the real responsible party is. Fire melts metal differently than laser beams do, and Principal Keane learned how to tell the difference years ago."
"Eh, fair enough. Brick can handle that then. I just don't wanna get in trouble for it. Been rough enough keeping my grades up this semester. I don't need detention duty cutting into the little study time I have left."
"Keane wouldn't do that. More like she'd make sure to cut into your free time and force you to study."
"Not better."
"Please! Just let me go! I'm sorry! Swear to god if I'd known those idiots would do something to piss off you supers, I'd have had nothing to do with them!"
Boomer and Buttercup finally turned their attention to the kid on the ground. He looked like he was about ready to wet himself. Buttercup wasn't surprised. He wasn't a transfer student so, in theory, he knew better. She was sure that if he had known what was being planned then he really would have had nothing to do with. Too little too late though. These fuckers had messed with the wrong puff. She was more than happy to let Brick make them pay for it.
"Tough shit. See, those idiots? They messed up the TCB decorations. Trashed 'em. Do you know who was helping plan that by any chance?" Buttercup smiled darkly down at him, enjoying watching him pale to a deathly white color.
"Shit. Shit! I had no clue! Those fucking idiots-"
"Oh, we agree. Thing is, that ain't enough. Time to face the music."
The kid started to struggle like crazy at that. Buttercup watched with mild interest as he completely failed to get away before looking at Boomer. "So, Boom. Need you to do something for me."
"What?" Boomer asked as he brought his eyes up off the struggling kid to look at Buttercup. He'd been enjoying seeing the panic.
"Get Butch." Boomer raised an eyebrow at that. Buttercup rolled her eyes. "I don't trust that hat head can keep his cool, so I want you to go get Butch. I want him to be ready to put a shield up in case things get a bit too heated."
"I mean sure, but Butch's shield is usually only good for brute force kinda things. A good deal of heat can still get through his shield. It's why he hates going up against Bloss with her ice breath."
"What, and he has no problem pissing of your red head leader?"
Boomer shrugged. "We did live over a volcano. Kinda okay with the heat. The cold though...whole 'nother story."
Buttercup gave him a look. "Fine. Just go get him. All said and done, I can't have hat head causing any serious damage to any of these kids."
"Please! I had nothing to do with it!"
"I sure as hell wouldn't be complaining if he did. What they did was seriously fucked up."
"I know that blue boy, but I gotta think about after the revenge. I'm not gunna let things go too far. That'd just mean more work for leader girl cause she'd be the one who'd have to throw hat head's ass in jail."
"In his defense, he probably wouldn't put up much of a fight. It'd not be a lot of extra work for her."
"I'm soooorrrry!" He was sobbing now. They ignored him.
Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Maybe in that way, yeah. Can't say it wouldn't upset or stress her out though. Can you imagine how that would be for her? Having to throw one of you three in jail right after we just announced your hero status? City would eat us all alive after that."
"That's a scary thought. Fine, I'll go get him. Good luck getting him to help though."
"I've been getting that idiot to do things he doesn't want to for years. Just get him to go to the roof."
Boomer shrugged before floating up slightly. "Fine. You'll handle that one?"
"Yeah, yeah. Get going blue boy. I need Butch there pronto."
"Got it." With a mocking salute, Boomer took off in a flash of blue for the other side of the school.
Sighing, Buttercup looked down at the sobbing kid.
"Oh please. Like I'd let anything serious happen. Get over it," she said as she reached down and yanked the kid up by his shirt. Once on his feet he tried to get free by wiggling his way out of his shirt, but Buttercup simply grabbed him by the wrists instead. She watched as he continued to struggle for a few more seconds before getting annoyed.
"Okay. Stop. We both know you can't get free so just let me take you to the roof."
"Brick- Brick's gunna kill meeee!"
"He's not going to kill anyone, and I'll be there the whole time to make sure. Now can you stop before you seriously hurt yourself?"
The boy continued his struggle for a few more seconds before slowly stopping. Finally satisfied that he wasn't going to try something stupid, Buttercup yanked him towards her and off balance before throwing him over her shoulder.
Was she a little rougher than normal? Maybe. Did she enjoy the grunt of pain as his stomach hit her shoulder? Definitely.
She took off for the roof slowly, not wanting to chance going too fast and for the kid to do something stupid halfway up that couldn't be undone. The kid stayed still though, and Buttercup was thankful for that. Maybe she'd make sure he got off lighter. Did seem like he regretted it enough.
When she got to the roof she dropped the kid down with the other 10 to 15 kids that were there. She glared at them all before launching back up into the air. Turning slightly, Buttercup glared at the spot where Brick was floating. She could feel the heat he was giving off, even at the decent distance she was at. Hell. She could see the heat he was giving off. It was a good thing that their uniforms were custom made to withstand their X abilities as much as possible or Brick's clothes would have been a pile of ash at this point.
She glanced around and saw her counterpart slowly making his way over the school. She clicked her tongue at him only to get the finger. Ignoring him she turned back to Brick. He had cocked his head slightly, probably having heard her tongue click, but still was facing away. She rolled her eyes.
"Yo, hat head. All done. Let's get a move on ya?"
He turned to glare at her for that. She just glared back.
Truth be told, Buttercup was terrified of what was about to happen. She knew exactly what the ruffs were capable of when pissed and she hadn't seen Brick this pissed at anyone in a long, long time. The most recent time she could remember was the prank on Blossom last year, but they'd all had their hands tied by Blossom's orders to do nothing then. This time there wasn't anything like that. She might not have seen her sister, but Buttercup knew that Blossom would have even forbidden this much if she'd been thinking straight. This was dangerous after all.
One wrong move and they were all royally screwed.
"Right. I'm here. Let's beat some shits up now," Butch said as he lazily flew to a stop next to Buttercup. She didn't hesitate to whack him over the head hard enough to send him forward a few inches. He rounded on her quickly, a hand going to the back of his head, and snarled. "Bitch!"
"Shut up Butch and be serious."
"I fucking am!"
"No, you're angry. Stop. Anger is a no go right now."
She shot a look over at Brick who frowned at her before sighing and taking off his hat to run a hand through his hair before placing it back on. A few seconds later and the heat disappeared.
"I'm always angry though!"
"No Butch. Just no. Stop. And be prepared to step in if we have to."
"What the hell are you-"
"Its fine Buttercup," Brick said as he made his way over slowly. "I won't snap or anything. Just gunna give 'em a warning and get them to make up for things. Maybe let them sit out here while I explain to Keane too."
Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Right. I'll believe it when I see it. The blues might be able to fool themselves into thinking you three are harmless now but I'm not an idiot. Right now, I'm 100% Powerpuff on guard. Keep that in mind."
She let her tight grip on her X weaken slightly and it began to mist around her. Almost instantly Butch's X also sparked to life but Brick's stayed silent. He gave her a look.
"Duly noted. I'm not an idiot like this one you know," Brick said before floating down to stand on the fence that surrounded the roof that the idiotic students were currently trapped on.
"Doesn't make it better shit head," Buttercup mumbled. Whether Brick heard or not she wasn't sure. Either way, he ignored her and Butch. She turned to her counterpart. "Seriously. Be prepared to step in. If I have to step in, then we're all fucked. Got it?"
Butch was still rubbing the back of his and frowned down at his brother. "Yeah, yeah. Bro's got this though. I really don't need to be here."
"Always better safe than sorry."
"Look! Whatever you think you're doing you better knock it off and let us down," one of the students yelled at Brick, finally fed up with being ignored by the supers. "If you do it now maybe you'll get lucky and the principal won't find out about this!"
Buttercup sighed through her nose. She was sure that Principal Keane would know everything that went down within the hour, even without Brick telling her. There was a reason why she was given the position of principal in a school with six X individuals after all.
"Yeah! Let us down!" Another chimed in before several more also complained.
Idiots. They weren't helping their case at all.
"Shut up and sit your asses down. You newbies clearly need a reality check. The idiots who know better should have clued you in but clearly, that didn't happen. So here we are," Brick said as he crossed his arms and glared down at them in what Buttercup thought of as his signature Rowdyruff stance.
Psh. He looked ridiculous like that. Like a gangster wanna be. She'd never understood why he thought it was imposing.
Then again...when Blossom stood, back straight, arms crossed she always feared for her life. Maybe there was something there after all. Brick needed to stand straighter in her opinion if he wanted the same affect.
Butch clearly didn't agree though as she heard him loudly gulp next to her.
Several students, all the kids who had been going to school with then for years now she assumed, quickly sat down at Brick's words. The other students glared up at the red ruff.
"This shit isn't allowed you know. I know you supers aren't allowed to use your powers at school."
Brick cocked an eyebrow and looked back at Buttercup. "We aren't allowed to use our powers at school?"
She shrugged. "Excessively. We aren't allowed to excessively use our powers on the campus. That only applies to the actual building and grounds though. Float up a few feet and not even that applies. Not that it matters. You ain't doing shit right now anyways."
"You used excessive force getting us up here!" The student yelled at her.
Both Buttercup and Butch barked out laughs at that while Brick gave the guy a look.
"Holy shit. You think that was excessive force? Man, you should be glad you weren't around two years ago when that moron broke Boom's guitar. Now that, that was excessive force," Butch said with a vicious smile done at the students.
"Shit. Even just last year when you lost it over that one thing. What was it again? Doesn't matter, you did a number on the school. Took them a month to fix that up and this is Townsville. Our people are used to repairing shit quick," Buttercup added.
"Huh. I forgot about that. Wasn't as bad as the time that I-"
"Enough. I really don't need you to list out every time you used 'excessive' force on school grounds Butch. If you do that, we'll be here all day. Regardless, this idiot here clearly doesn't get it."
"What-what the hell are you talking about?" The kid said, still trying to appear unphased.
"Easy. Even if there was a rule against powers it wouldn't matter cause you lot seriously fucked up."
The air directly around Brick's skin was wavering from the heat he was keeping trapped in his body. Buttercup kicked Butch's shin, lightly this time, and nodded at it. He frowned but nodded and flew a bit closer. Brick glanced at him but otherwise didn't react to them.
"How the hell did we do that huh?"
Brick rolled his eyes. "Like you lot don't know. Look, I'm not here to waste time cause, well shit, the longer I look at you lot the angrier I get and when you have lava for blood, anger is usually a bad thing. So let's not beat around the bush. You successfully pissed off five out of the six supers that go to this school with what you did. Do you know what that means?"
"Apparently it means you think you can scare the shit out of us for no reason."
Some of the other students still standing were starting to look pretty nervous. One even joined the smart students sitting on the ground. The ones already on the ground looked like they were about to cry.
"It means you're all now black sheep here. Come the end of the day tomorrow the school will know what you lot did. I don't even have to lift a finger either. But what else would you expect when you fuck with the leader of the Powerpuff Girls at their own school?"
The students that they'd been going to school with for years paled further. A few even started to cry. She saw one praying. Maybe a little excessive but eh, she couldn't blame them. Guess they hadn't known.
"She's just another girl who goes here. Who the hell even cares?!"
Buttercup snorted at that. Butch was giving the guy a weird look before he turned to look at her. "Is this guy for real? I can't tell. Cause if he's seriously that dumb, I don't understand how he ain't dead yet."
"I think he's serious Butch. Sadly."
"Well shit. Ain't you a lucky little fucker."
Brick sighed loudly through his nose as he glared at Butch. "Can you just stay shut up for once? Serious making this whole thing take longer than it has to."
Butch shrugged. "I mean, if you wanna just start throwing punches, go for it. We should be able to get a few in before Butters can stop us."
"Don't even."
"We won't!" Brick ground out with a final glare at Butch, effectively shutting up the green ruff. He turned back to face the students. "Blossom isn't just another girl who goes here you idiot. Hell, even if she had no X, she still wouldn't just be some girl who goes here. Do you not even know what she does? Like, honestly, do you not know? Cause if you don't I ain't gunna lie, I agree with my brother about you."
The kid nervously looked around the group. None of the kids on the ground would meet his eyes. "I mean, come on. Without her X, she's just another girl."
"Well shit. He dumb as fuck," Butch couldn't help but say. At the particularly harsh glare from Brick, he slapped his hand over his mouth.
Dragging his eyes away from his brother, Brick kept the glare as he looked down at the student. "Well, annoying as he is, Butch isn't wrong. You do realize that the entire lunch menu is thanks to her right? Students complained about the poor lunch menu and she was the reason it changed. She even went about changing the standards for other schools as well and organizing ways for them to get access to better food. I'm sure you probably had a menu change the year before you all came here. That was her. The nice equipment that every club has? Also her. She was diligent and able to plan a budget thorough enough that everyone had the amount they needed. Yeah, Princess's donations helped, but it still wouldn't have happened without her. Same could be said for the after school tutoring opportunities, the access to resources that normally students don't have. The school counselors here are better trained than any other and receive additional trainings in things like depression so that when students need the help, they don't have to go far. And don't even get me started on the off-campus volunteer opportunities here. All of that and more, was thanks to Blossom Utonium. And somehow, she stills finds time to listen to students, understand what they want, memorize all their names and faces, organize big activities like the competition and the TCB while still fighting crime, planning fundraisers, and keeping on track for the top student position. Much to my frustration. And what did you idiots go and do? Not only did you fuck up one of the most looked forward to events for the entire school, but you messed with something Blossom Utonium was working on."
The kid had sat down, face pale, about halfway through. No one was standing anymore. Brick cast a look back to the two greens behind him and Buttercup raised an eyebrow. She was sure he wanted nothing more than to let a few punches go flying but she couldn't let that happen.
Seeming to read her mind, Brick loudly clicked his tongue before turning back to face the students.
"Three things are going to happen now. First, you lot are gunna help fix what you wrecked. Under my supervision. Blossom is officially taken off of dance duty now thanks to this and I'm taking over. Trust me, you're gunna wish she was still in charge. Second, each and every one of you will be going to Principal Keane tomorrow and confessing what you did, despite the fact that she'll already know. The reason why you're going to do this is because of point three. Tomorrow, every other student in this school will already know that us supers rounded you lot up and they'll wanna know why. Now, if you're lucky, they'll ask one of us three cause we'll just give it to them straight. The truth speaks enough for us. What's more likely to happen though, is that they'll ask the most approachable puff and ruff. This means the blues. If they ask a blue, your entire social life from now until the end of your time here is over. You'll be pariahs for sure and no one outside this group will want anything to do with you for a long, long time. Sure, you'll maybe be able to make up for things enough to fix the damage, but I really wouldn't count on it."
Buttercup didn't doubt that. Boomer and Bubbles could be brutal when they wanted to be. Everything they'll say will be the truth but how it's said? That'll depend on who they're talking to. They'll appeal to the side that'll get Blossom the most sympathy...and these kids the most anger. It wasn't going to be pretty. She just hoped that Blossom wouldn't go on a guilt trip when, or if, she noticed.
It was a small hope. She knew her sister too well for anything more.
"And next time any of you lot decide to fuck with a puff? Remember that the only reason you all ain't in the hospital right now is cause I have one floating right behind me. You hear me?" All the students nodded. Brick huffed out a cloud of smoke before floating up. "Good. Time to get cracking then."
"Yo, Bloss! You still up?" Buttercup asked as she walked through the front door with Bubbles. They didn't get a response. Sharing a look, the two floated up the stairs and towards their elder sister's room. They couldn't hear anything in the house, so they figured the professor was likely still at work. Today was a late day for him.
When they got to Blossom's door, both leaned up with their ears against it. They pulled back after a few more seconds and shared another look. They couldn't hear anything.
Bubbles cocked her head, silently asking if they should go in and check. Buttercup shook her head in response. She was hoping that Blossom was asleep and didn't want to risk waking her. Understanding Buttercup's concern, Bubbles nodded before floating off for the bathroom to take her after school shower. Buttercup floated there for a few seconds longer before quietly sighing and taking off for her room.
They'd done what they could for now. Tomorrow Buttercup would see about making Blossom take the day off. She deserved a break after all. That was a fight for tomorrow though. For now, it had been a long day and there were things Buttercup needed to do tomorrow so homework and then sleep it was.
Blossom turned for the billionth time in her bed since she'd laid down in it. At first, she'd admittedly cried into the pillow a bit. It was upsetting after all to see all that hard work trashed that way, especially when she'd been doing an awesome job on everything. At least, she was pretty sure she had been. Bubbles and Robin had been pretty excited when she'd asked them to look things over which had been a good sign.
Blossom had stopped crying pretty quickly though and started obsessing. Crying didn't help after all, though obsessing over what all needed to be done probably wasn't doing much good either. She really should shoot a text to Brick and ask for an update on everything, but she couldn't seem to find the energy to do that. She also seemed to have too much energy to actually take a nap. She'd already done all her schoolwork though and the project for the competition was on schedule so she didn't really have anything else to do.
Blossom supposed she could go grab her sisters and maybe play a round on a board game or video game of some sort. She'd heard get back home earlier but they'd thankfully left her alone. She didn't really feel like talking about it. Which was why she hadn't gotten up to do something with them yet. She could also start on that new book but...
There was a knock on her window. Blossom couldn't help but groan into her pillow. She so did not want to face Brick right now. Not after pretty much breaking down in front of him earlier. Maybe if she just didn't make another sound?
"Blossy, open up. I come bearing gifts."
Blossom's head shot up. Well. That definitely wasn't Brick's voice. Shooting over to her window in a pink flash, Blossom threw it open only to have a container shoved in her face. She scowled and moved it away from her face a little.
"Butch. What are you doing here?" She asked. He gave a lopsided grin. She noted he had a few burn marks and bruises on his arms and poking out from his shirt around his neck.
"Gifts! I'm just the delivery man though. The bros are on duty tonight, but they threw this at me before leaving, and after our seriously intense sparing session, and told me to bring it here."
"And you couldn't knock on the front door instead?"
"Nah. Too boring that way. Was hoping to get a glimpse of a half-asleep pink puff but looks like I'm outta luck."
"Well seeing as how I wasn't sleeping, yes. You are. Anyways, what did you bring?"
Blossom reached to finally take the container from Butch and he shrugged as he handed it over. "Boom sent me over with a tea blend or some shit for you. Brick sent cookies that are supposed to be good with it I think."
"Language."
"But eh, I dunno. It's gifts. Why does it even matter?"
Blossom sighed at the ignored admonishment but opened the container only to find herself quickly drooling at the smell. "Oh my gosh. It smells divine! I have to have some now."
Butch snickered. "Figured that'd be the response. I'll let the bros know you said thanks. Wait. Was I supposed to mention it was from them...whatever. I don't care. Enjoy the snack Blossy."
And without waiting for a response Butch zoomed off in a flash of dark green for home. Blossom shook her head at him before closing with window. Time to put the kettle on.
So I should be good to post another chapter in two weeks (assuming I'm not having a stress hangover from the test I have next week. It's possible). Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
Now, comments!
RainbowColoredHumanBeing! I'm so sorry to hear you've had a rough time. Trust me, you aren't alone. I had a real rough time too. I'm glad you're working through it with help though. I know you got this! And once you get through this you'll always know that you can do it! I have faith you'll catch your break soon! The move went great! Loving the new place. School is...school. I'll live. I didn't want to make their date super awkward because they've known each other (and been head over heels for each other) for so long. First dates between the other pairings...might not be as smooth haha (I so haven't decided yet on what to do for those). Happy to hear I'm building the tension well! Hope you like what I have coming up next too!
Guest! Maybe, maybe not. You'll just have to read on to see :)
Artemis Raven Courtney! I'm glad you're enjoying the greens! They're really gunna start picking up now (I know...I've been saying that for chapters. I mean it for reals this time!). And yes, Howie is annoying. As for whether he'll take the advice...well, don't hold your breath.
Until next time. Ciao!