Confused Emotions
by Buttercupsaiyinjin
Chapter Three
The Powerpuff hotline rang in the girls' bedroom. Bubbles continued drawing as Blossom snatched up the receiver eagerly. She had been hoping to get a call. It would take her mind off things.
"Hello? Mayor? Yes ... ok, near the Carvin' Cove School? We're right on it!" Blossom said, putting the phone down. Bubbles looked around, feeling like something was missing.
"Blossom?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah?" the other girl answered, before getting ready to burst through the roof.
"Where's Buttercup? We can't do this without Buttercup!"
"Sure we can, Bubbles. Buttercup just went out for a little while because it's the weekend. Don't worry about it," Blossom said, patting Bubbles' arm reassuringly. The blonde-haired girl relaxed, trusting in her judgement. "Now let's go take care of the latest monster."
"Okay!" Bubbles said, and they flew off through the roof, shingles and plaster spraying everywhere. The Powerpuff Girls minus one headed toward the Carvin' Cove school near the middle of Townsville. Their eyes fell on the latest monster.
It was hideous. This one was a fiery demon with blackened eyes, twisted scales, and gnarled claws extending off his many arms. He was shredding the schoolhouse to pieces. Screaming children ran amok, out onto the street, and away from immediate danger. Blossom claps her hands, an idea occuring to her from a prior experience.
She inhaled deeply, and blew out her ice breath again. It froze in mid-air forming a long chunk of ice. She hit it with her laser vision, causing the ice to melt. A large wave struck the demon, putting his fire out. The black eyes narrowed in irritation. The fire surrounding it roared back to life.
The demon hesitated only a moment before leaning down, and plucking a child up between its claws. Bubbles dove in, and rescued the boy from the monster's grasp, setting the kid back down on the ground. Blossom drew back out of its range. "This is going to be harder than I thought."
Bubbles brightened, and looked toward the nearby ocean. She went around behind the rampaging demon, watching the thrashing tail in fascination. She grabbed it, whirled it around her head, and tossed the beast toward the ocean.
He hurtled through the air and into the water with a resounding plash. People on the beach cheered on the Powerpuff Girls for saving the day. They smiled, and Blossom shook clasped hands over her head in victory. See, we didn't need Buttercup after all.
The water behind them started to bubble ominously, cutting the hollering and hooting short. The girls turned around with looks of dread. Sure enough, the demon rose from the water again. He grinned maliciously. A ball of fire formed around his hand which it sent hurtling toward them. Blossom dodged, but Bubbles was hit by it, and throw backwards into the sand.
The pigtailed girl soared up, sand and soot shaken off her. She flanked Blossom as they flew round and round the monster's head. It began to get dizzy. Blossom shouted, "Attack now!"
Twin lasers struck the monster simultaneously. The flame aura around him only seemed to absorb the heat harmlessly. They tried again. Bubbles tossed her head back, and screamed as high as she could. People fell over in pain, and even Blossom had to cover her ears.
The demon screeched, and then crumpled, unconscious into the sea. Blossom knew it was only fainted though, and inhaled deeply again. She gestured for Bubbles to follow her, and plunged underwater. They swam after the sinking monster.
His eyes flickered open again, glowing a deep red. Each girl took hold of one arm, holding it down. It struggled, and tried to twist around to attack, but was in vain. Eventually, he subsided and air stopped leaking from his mouth. He rested on the ocean floor.
Both girls burst out of the ocean, gasping mightily for breath. Even that had been a strain for their powers. Bubbles looked deeply saddened. That was the first time they had ever had to -- well -- had kill a monster in such a cruel way. "Did we have to do that?"
"Yes," Blossom answered, looking down at the swirling waters, "It was pure evil. Didn't you see it? We didn't have a choice; it's one of the burdens of being a superhero."
"I thought it was supposed to be fun ... " Bubbles said, her eyes still troubled. Blossom put her arm around the other girl's shoulder. "Fighting and protecting the town isn't always fun. It's necessary. Having great power brings great responsibility."
Bubbles' lip trembled, and she didn't say anything for a long time as they drifted slowly home. "I guess you're right, Blossom."
Blossom smiled and nodded, and she went back into their room through the hole in the roof.
* * *
Buttercup hovered over the ocean, scanning the beach for the person whom
she was supposed to meet here. After several minutes, she spotted him and
landed beside him. He as wearing red swimming trunks now. He waved happily,
and was smoothing out the wrinkles in a towel. "There," he said, and sat
down on it, promptly wrinkling it again.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi!" he answered back. They looked at each other for a long time before Buttercup finally broke the awkward silence that always liked to descend between them. "So ... what do you want to do?"
He shrugged indecisively. "Well, I don't want to go swimming yet. Want to build a sand castle?"
"Who'd wanna -- " she bit her lip, cutting off the biting remark, and changed her mind. "Sure, I'd enjoy building a sand castle with you."
"Okay!" he ran across the beach like any excited child, and started clumping sand together. Buttercup picked up a stray clam shell, and started adding to the pile. Slowly, after several minutes of labor, something that might roughly be called a sandcastle emerged from the pile of sand. A roar momentarily distracted her.
She looked behind her to see pink and blue streaks circling around a demon's head. He raised his head to look in the same direction as well, a worried expression on his face as he turned to look back at her.
Buttercup slowly clenched her teeth together as she watched. They don't need me! I don't care anymore! I'm always told I "needly endanger people's lives", I don't think, and they can handle it! What do they need with someone who is only the brute force in the group, when they can have perfect little Blossom's intellect. I'm getting a life of my own. So there! She wasn't even sure who she was directing that towards. Everyone in general, maybe.
But she did turn away, her heart hardening. They didn't need her, none of them did. She was always the little trouble-maker, always doing wrong. She went back over purposefully to continue building the sandcastle, packing sand and shaping it clumsily. Memories whirled through her mind brokenly.
Buttercup was surrounded by villains grinning evilly, their teeth obviously broken or missing completely. They were closing in. She shot a desperate glance at her sisters hovering overhead.
"Sorry, Buttercup, you know what they say," Blossom said sadly, and a little too smugly, "An eye for an eye."
"And a tooth for a tooth!" Bubbles chimed in excitedly. Buttercup laughed nervously in disbelief. Her sisters wouldn't possibly leave her here to this ...
But they did. They watched on as she was taken from all sides by angry punches, kicks, or whatever was hurled her way. Her jaw was almost broken, and several teeth cracked or knocked out. And her sisters watching it all in grim silence, not lifting a finger to even assist her afterward, not an ounce of sympathy on their faces.
It had twisted something deep inside her, a hurt that words could have never conveyed and anger swelling to fill it. It was ten times worse than anything else that had ever happened to her. And while she was vulnerable, the villains descended harder in her distraction, leaving her helpless ...
The citizens of Townsville surrounded her again, fire eerily lighting their faces. Buttercup reeked, and was grimy.
"Enough talk!" an angry man shouted, waving his torch menacingly.
"It's bath time!" a female declared.
The mob surged forward, brandishing their torches. She ran through the grass, into the woods, her dress tearing and bushes cruelly scratching her. Buttercup was terrified. The people had turned on her. Hounds nipped at her heels, teeth flashing. It was all like something out of a nightmare, being persecuted just because of her choice not to bathe. Her family, friends, and now all of Townsville had turned against her ...
Ima Goodlady -- who was really Sedusa in disguise, in hindsight -- had fainted pitifully in their Professor's arms, supposedly recovering from worry for them. Buttercup regretted ever setting him up with that harridan. The Powerpuff Girls protested at their oncoming sentence.
"No 'buts'!" the Professor said, cutting them off. "You're g .. g .. grounded!"
And he had fallen for her. Buttercup seethed even more as Sedusa flashed them a victorious smile as they dejected floated upstairs ...
Buttercup looking at her shivering sisters, and then shooting a look of pure death at Ace, stammering to come up with excuses. Blossom and Bubbles had only narrowly escaped death, but what stung most of all was his betrayal. He hid behind his gang, but she pelted them out of the way. It was only her and him.
"Buttercup, I'm innocent!" he tried to explain belatedly, "They put me up to it, honest!"
She didn't give him a chance to come up with any more lame excuses, seeking retribution for a toppled pedestal and a popped bubble. Rage consumed her for those few moments, and hatred blazed in her eyes ...
Blossom shoving her backwards after being pinned against the wall. "If you get into trouble, I don't care anymore! Go!" ...
She closed her eyes as if in physical pain, and pushed them away. The boy was gazing at her in open concern, reaching out a hand toward her entreatingly. Buttercup waved him away. He drew his hand back away slowly, and helped her create another tower on castle, making eleven now.
Buttercup leaned over to pick a pretty oyster shell up. She cracked it open, looking at the opalescent side. But what really caught her was a perfect pearl inside. She held her treasure up. "Hey! Look what I found!"
"Cool!" he exclaimed. He stepped back to look at their castle, and shook his head. It looked miserable. "Why don't we go find shells instead?"
"Ok!" A streak of blue light raced toward the beach dressing room, and he waited about two minutes. She came back out in a green bikini. He smiled slightly at the sight of her. Buttercup said, "I bet I can find more complete shells than you!"
"You're on!" he agreed, laughing. The hunt began and they ran, laughing with childish delight, into the water. Each stayed close together, sometimes fighting over who saw what shell first. The sun dipped downward in the sky, and a large pile of shells accumulated on the beach. Buttercup's was slightly taller.
She beamed with pride at winning the challenge, and he easily admitted defeat. They sat down on the sand, crosslegged, to watch the sun go down in silence. Townsville citizens began leaving the beach now that darkness was slipping in.
Yet they stayed, looking at each other, the sky, the ocean, and making the usual idle talk. He fidgeted, and flicked away another shell. "Pretty sky, huh?"
"Yeah," she answered. Buttercup looked like her mind was a thousand miles away. She laughed, softly, ruefully. She couldn't recall a time when she had been so, well, happy before. Not even defeating an enemy gave her this sort of giddiness. "I'm usually not into this stuff."
"Neither am I," the boy conceded. Their gazes met at the same time. He started to lean forward slightly, and she started to do the same. At the last moment, Buttercup ducked to the side and gave him a rather platonic peck on the cheek.
He blinked and covered up his disappointment rapidly. The boy pointed out at the horizon. "Wow ... look at that!"
She was easily distracted. A full, yellow moon hung over the horizon. They watched it shrink as it moved upward in the sky. Buttercup began to realize how late it was. She took one last, lingering look at him still glistening from seawater, the white sandy shores, how the moonlight reflected off the waves, and the fading twilight.
"It's getting really late. I've got to go ..." Buttercup tried to look remorseful, but a second reason was that things had gotten uncomfortable and she didn't want to spoil it now. He nodded acceptingly. "I will see you again next weekend. It shouldn't be too hard to find your house, what with you girls being celebrities around here and all."
She looked a little amused, but her eyes were sad. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," he said back, and went over to go roll up his towel as she flew
away.
* * *
Blossom and Bubbles waited for their sister to arrive back. Blossom managed
to both entertain Bubbles, and to keep the Professor from realizing Buttercup
was still missing. The inklings of worry and fear started to gnaw at her.
It had been hours. But she refused to give in, and go looking.
Bubbles was depressed even as they played a video game. She didn't put he heart into any effort, and Blossom beat her easily. At around nine o'clock, Buttercup finally graced them with her presence. She looked a little troubled.
Bubbles leapt up, restored, and tackled her to the ground. The game was forgotten. "Buttercup! I was so worried about you! Where have you been?"
"Yeah, yeah, come on, get off," Buttercup said, removing herself from her enthusiastic sister's grasp. "I'm fine. I just went to the beach for a little while with a friend."
"Friend?" Bubbles inquired, her curiosity perked. Blossom stood silently next to the bed, almost imposing. Buttercup met those disapproving eyes. "Yeah, I made a new friend a few weeks back. You'll all be meeting him next weekend."
"Him?" Bubbles squealed, delighted. She started dancing around the room. "Ooh! Buttercup's got a boyfriend! Buttercup's got a boyfriend! Buttercup's got -- "
"Shut up!" Buttercup snapped, cuffing her sister on the back of her head for her antics. "It ain't like that!"
Blossom smiled at her in self-satisfaction. "Not at all, huh?"
"I want to know who! What's he like? Is he cute? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Bubbles bounced up and down, trying to get Buttercup's attention. She received a cold scowl for her troubles. Buttercup threw her hands up in exasperation. "All of you ... leave me alone! You'll meet him soon enough!"
Blossom frowned, and went back over to play the videogame. Bubbles finally wilted, and went over to her bed. She hugged that dumb squirrel in one arm, and her stuffed octopus in the other. Buttercup snatched the dropped remote controller up from the floor, and started joining in on the game uninvited.
Blossom didn't last five seconds under a sudden barage of attacks from the character on the screen. She turned the videogame off in disgust, and disappeared into the living room. Buttercup sighed. She knew, deep down, when she was venting her frustrations on everyone else without reason.
* * *
A late dinner at the Utonium household was a complete fiasco.
The Professor called down the girls to dinner. They gathered around the table in the kitchen silently. The meal that had prepared was excellently cooked as always; mashed potatoes, sliced fruit, seafood soup, and sandwiches. The girls were too unsettled by their private emotions though.
Buttercup and Blossom both looked at the sandwiches. They reached for one simultaneously, their hands hovering over the prize. Each glared at the other. "I was first!" Buttercup proclaimed.
"No, I was!" Blossom retaliated.
This continued on throughout dinner for the first serving of anything. Bubbles retreated further into herself, slumping slightly. She was reserved throughout all of dinnertime, not trying to soothe arguments, nor complimenting the Professor on how good the meal was, or making any sort of comment at all. She ate her food dully as if not really seeing it nor tasting it.
"I wanted the steak sandwich, Blossom," Buttercup insisted. Blossom made a noise of indignation. "Well, I happened to get to it first."
"Why don't I go make another one ..." The Professor offered suddenly. He changed his mind as both girls regarded him with contempt and narrowed eyes.
Buttercup ate quickly, not bothering to keep good table manners. Her eyes remained on Blossom's, who could not keep her gaze on her irate sister. The red-haired girl looked down at her food, her appetite gone. "Excuse me ... I'm not hungry."
She scooted her chair away from the table, and floated out of the kitchen. The Professor watched her go, and turned the other two. "Girls, is anything wrong?"
"No, nothing at all," Buttercup insisted.
"Not a thing," Bubbles adding, smiling suddenly. The expression faded when he looked away. It was obvious that he didn't take their word on faith.
Buttercup finished her plate off, and helped herself to Blossom's uneaten portion as well. Bubbles slowly ate about half of hers, and gave the rest to her voracious sister. Bubbles drifted back up to the bedroom after Blossom. Buttercup looked up. "Why don't I clean up?"
The Professor looked shocked. This was extremely unusual; Buttercup despised cleaning. But she smiled winningly at him, and he relented. "Alright, dear, if you want to."
He got up and went to the living room, shaking his head, and mumbling to himself, "What on earth has gotten into my little girls?" It had apparently slipped his mind that they had supersonic hearing.
By the time Buttercup was done, three dishes had been shattered on the floor, soup spilled, and most of the food was in the refridgerator. She cleared up the broken glass and spills, feeling slightly guilty that it wasn't all due to her inadequancy in domestic cleaning. She had simply gotten mad, and taken it out on the first thing she could lay her hands on. How dare Blossom do that to me, humiliate me like that in front of the Professor, even ... !
Four dishes broken. She sighed.
* * *
The Professor treaded on cat's feet as he went into the girl's bedroom at 10:00 to tuck them in for the night. He hadn't pressed the bedtime issue nor dinner being belated. It hadn't seemed wise with his three daughters so moody lately. He didn't want to add to whatever burdens they were carrying.
All three Powerpuff girls were still awake, indulging in their own activities at different sections of the room. Blossom reading a novel at her vanity, Bubbles coloring at a desk, and Buttercup playing video games. It was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Girls?" he asked quietly, knocking on the door, and opening it. They glanced up. "It's getting very late, and it's time for you to go to bed."
"Yes, Professor," they said as one, and started getting into their nightgowns. They flew over to the bed, and got under the covers. He smiled, and tucked them in snugly. He kissed each of them on the forehead.
Buttercup rolled her head to the side almost sullenly, Blossom smiled, and Bubbles beamed. "Goodnight," he told them seperately.
"Goodnight," they replied back. As he left, each girl fell into her own troubled sleep. No one noticed a dark form slipping out the door.
* * *
Bubbles was back fighting monsters in the Danger Grid, the setting on eleven. Monsters hurled themselves at her, but she beat them back, one, two, even three at a time. She stood panting as she was finished, fire blazing behind her. She wiped blood off her mouth.
She looked down. The blood covered her hands. Suddenly, the pile of defeated monsters and burning town coalesced into a roaring, blazing demon. It swiped at her with his long, twisted claws. She dodged, and with hands still covered with blood, slammed it into the wall. The air became as thick as water. But it wasn't water, it was slime. She was being smothered.
The demon's head rolled lifelessly to the side. Bubbles screamed, but the liquid rushed into her mouth, in her lungs. She tried to spit it out, to breathe, but she couldn't. All she got was more slime instead of air. "End program! End program!"
At least, that was what she tried to say. The sound only echoed in her mind alone. Then everything was gone into a blackness.
Bubbles realized that she had awoken, breathing hard, sweat pouring off of her. No, it wasn't entirely black; the nightlight was still left on. She clutched the blanket while hyperventilating. She focused on calming down. Just a dream. It wasn't real.
She wiped sweat off of her forehead, and gave one last deep exhalation. Bubbles rolled over, and went back to sleep.
* * *
Alliances, truces, and war were declared daily between the Powerpuff Girls. One would support another, and then turn around and argue or cut one down an hour later. Whe nthe hotline rang, they had agreed to put disputes aside. Villains, however, tended to receive an the unleashed agitation inside. Somehow, crime seemed to die down at an extraordinary rate.
And so the week came and went rather uneventfully.
Buttercup constantly tried to outdo Blossom in everything. Her grade was soaring while Blossom's was souring. Bubbles gave her minimum effort, which was to say, it was average. Ms. Keane was disturbed by the pictures she was drawing lately for art class.
The Professor started to pay more attention to Buttercup, relying on her to settle arguments more often as she seemed the most cool-headed. Blossom resented that deeply. It only served to bring the sibling rivalry to its apex.
It was Saturday. The Professor suggested going out to the park to settle nerves, yet the girls declined, oddly enough. Early in the afternoon, the doorbell rang. Mystified, the Professor went to answer it, but a green streak far beat him to it.
"Hi!" Buttercup said with felicity, "Please, come in.
A shy-appearing boy around the age of nine poked his head through the door. His black hair had been combed neatly back, and he had dressed agreeably for the occasion. "You must be Professor Utonium. I've heard a lot of about you."
"Yes ... who are you?" the Professor inquired politely.
The young boy smiled disarmingly, and answered solemnly, "Belial Droes. It is a pleasure to meet you."
To be continued ...