Author

Author's Note: After a bit of meandering, we're back to Him's evil plan. Shall we learn more about that strange figure, then? I think we will... Contact me at theak472@aol.com. Sh'moona's ideas help, and thanks very much, mate. Had enough time on Thursday and Friday night to write this.

Maybe I'm Twisted
by Rey

Chapter 6 - New Home
"Secret Santa in the sky, when will I get my share?" - Semisonic

"Oh, look at them, Mr. Quackers... Aren't they just adorable?" Him laughed prissily, holding his rubber duck. He reclined in a bright pink sofa, one long leg held in the air.

"Oh, I just hate the Powerpuff Girls! And their little boyfriends, too... Their love won't get in the way, will it, Mr. Quackers?" His expression gained an air of surprise. "Oh, what's that, Mr. Quackers?" He held the duck up to his ear, and squeaked it. "Oh, yes yes yes yes yes... But fight fire with fire? Love is just horrible," he growled. "Instead... I think I shall fight fire with water, don't you think that's a better idea, Mr. Quackers? Perhaps one of their own shall turn against them, and then..." Him paused, his voice echoing dark and deep. "And then, they shall all be crushed. Perhaps the traitor first, though? Because she... he... it... deserves to be punished. I never liked traitors, did you, Mr. Quackers?"

"Dear me, they're getting close, aren't they?" Him laughed at some ironic joke, clapping his pincered hands together delightedly, as the television he watched zoomed up on Brick and Buttercup. "Ohhh... But I will have one of their own number betray them. And I don't think anyone will get in the way... and then we'll see what Her has to say, oh yes, we will!"

"Having fun, are we, now?" The angelic, warbling voice held a tint of sarcasm, spoken by a figure which had appeared in the room suddenly with a pop. "I expect you believe your plan to work?"

"Oh, why wouldn't it?" Him laughed again, placing a claw over his black-lipsticked mouth. "I'm not interfering with the girls directly, am I?"

"You underestimate th -"

"I HAVE NOT!" Him snarled, growing into a snarling demon, and, just as suddenly, shrinking back. "I will not be spoken to in my own home like that, my dear," He gave a wretched smile, "And I must ask you to leave now. So... Goodbye..."

"If you insist," the figure laughed cynically. It faded, leaving behind but an echo of glowing light before that, too, disappeared. Him sighed, holding his rubber duck.

"Oh, Mr. Quackers. I'm surrounded by fools. No, not you, Mr. Quackers, you're a very smart duck."

"Hey, so, now what?" Butch snapped his fingers in Brick's face, the other hand clamped over a soft drink can. Brick blinked slowly, looking up from his sandwich. Buttercup had gone to chat with her sisters awhile, leaving him to stare at his food.

"..Wha?" Brick frowned slightly. "'scuse me. Say what?"

Boomer snickered, and raspberried from behind Butch's back. "I said, now what? We came to th'girlies' house, ate their food. Tell you one thing, I ain't stayin' with 'em. We gotta get our own place, ya know? Preferably where they won't bug us all the time."

"Geesh, why don't you ask 'em? They know this town better'n us." Brick lifted the can of Pepsi and downed a couple gulps.

"You know what, Brick? For a dumb bastard in love, you sure come up with some ideas. Ask the girlies? Why didn't I think of that?" Boomer snorted. "Alright, fine. Butch, you go."

"No way, dude. You go," Butch glared at the blonde one seated behind him.

"Don't make me kick your ass, bro'."

"Huh, you kick my ass? Get outta my face, yo!" Butch struck out at him threateningly.

"Hey. Hey, dudes. Don't be fightin' yaselves here." Brick held out his arms, coming between the two. Over Brick's outstretched hands, Butch and Boomer glared daggers at each other. "I'll go, if it's so f_cking difficult for you two."

"Yeah, Brick. Go talk to your girlfriend. We'll wait forever for you." Butch smirked. "Boomer, grab holda coppertop here, he's just lookin' for a chance to go talk to his sweet'eart. I'll go talk to the girlies."

Butch blasted off, soaring upwards and landing on the roof of the house lightly, where the three girls sat chatting, and admiring the boys... Well, two of them were.

"Yo. Girlies. We gotta talk here." He gave a half salute, and Bubbles giggled.

"Uh-huh. Watcha wanna talk about, Butch?" She beamed. Butch shuffled uncomfortably, and raised an eyebrow, as Bubbles' two sisters looked on, mildly confused.

"Uh. Me an' the bros talked about it, and we decided we ain't gonna stay wit' you three. At yer place, I mean."

"We weren't planning for that," Blossom pronounced curtly. "In fact, we were just conversing on that subject."

"Yeah," Buttercup tilted her head. "Thought we'd drop you guys off at the clock tower. No one ever goes up there, and it's easy to hide in, 'cause we're always flying about the town and people're used to seeing us in the skies."

"'s the problem of furniture an' stuff, tho'," Bubbles piped up. "We dunno where to -"

"'salright," Butch interrupted hurriedly. "We won' need much, yanno, guys and all, maybe a buncha mattresses, somethin' to sit on..." He shrugged, holding out his hands. "Ain't asking for much."

"What's he taking so long for?" Brick frowned, sounding a little suspicious. Boomer smirked, shoving him sideways.

"Get off it, dumb bastard. Butch ain't hitting on your girlfriend, I'm sure of tha'. If anythin', he's probably got eyes for that Blossom there, she's a nice round pieca ~"

"Ya just love calling Blossom a nice piece of ass. Wonder what it means," Brick leered. Boomer just shrugged, scowling slightly.

"Don't get the wrong idea here, yo. I don't like those girls at all, a'ight? So get off me."

"If you say so," Brick grinned, tilting his cap. "... Oh, and Buttercup ain't my girlfriend."

"Yeah, bro. Whateeeeever you say."

A muscle in Butch's cheek twitched, as he watched the three girls talk. It was horribly embarrassing being left to stand there and wait while his brothers watched on. "Can't you.. talk any faster?"

"Mhm." Blossom stood, and was followed by her sisters. "Come on, as soon as Boomer and whatsisname -"

"Brick!" Buttercup bared her teeth. "His name is Brick."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. As soon as Boomer and Brick are done e ~"

"We're right here," Boomer said, as the redhead and the blonde touched down behind Blossom. She blinked a few times, and shrugged.

"Did you guys pack up the food?" She turned to glare at them accusingly, as if they'd committed a heinous crime. Brick put up his hands in a peaceful gesture, and Boomer stepped back.

"Hey, we cleaned up. It's all good, you can depend on us," Boomer smirked. Somehow, that smirk didn't reassure Blossom very much, and she tilted her head towards Bubbles.

"Would you go check, Bubbles?" She asked. Bubbles beamed.

"Okay!" She disappeared down the edge of the roof.

"Well, about business," Blossom's gaze followed Bubbles' path before returning to glance towards Butch, and end on Brick and Boomer. "As we've already told your brother, we've decided to set you three up in the clock tower downtown... We found kind of a secret room in there, away from all the mechanism and stuff. Is that alright? Since you don't want to stay here -"

"- And Blossom doesn't want you around," Buttercup interjected. Blossom shot a glare at her before continuing.

"How does that sound to you?"

Brick shrugged. "You know more about it, personally, I say we go visit the place. What's in there, anyway?"

Bubbles reappeared over Butch's shoulder, almost hugging him from behind, beaming from ear to ear. "They did a great job of cleaning up! All the dishes are washed an' everything." Butch winced, but otherwise did not retaliate, though his face surely began to turn a light shade of red. Boomer smirked, elbowing Brick, and they snickered together.

"Shut up, you guys," Butch muttered. Bubbles just giggled and bounced over to join Blossom, who appeared completely oblivious to the brotherly fight.

"Right, well. I think we'll show the boys the tower now..." She trailed off, and, as the pink light streaked across the sky, it was joined by a navy blue one which trailed behind, a dark green and a light blue, and finally light green and red, a rainbow of colors.

One by one, the entire gang of six landed on the clock tower's roof. Blossom, who looked tired from having to manage three extra "team" members, allowed Buttercup to take over. The brunette led to the long peak of the roof, where a large trapdoor was hidden under a manhole cover, which was strategically welded on top to conceal as much as was possible. Buttercup lifted and held the trapdoor open as the five of them trooped in, Buttercup the last.

Blossom tugged a string and a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling illuminated the inky darkness. The boys could see it was a relatively spacious room, but it was dusty, with cobwebs hanging off the ceiling. There appeared to be no sources of outside light, though the walls seemed to have cracks cut neatly into them which were actually windows disguised to look, from the outside, like solid wall. A single chair sat by an abandoned card table in one corner, with a lamp, bulb blown, plugged into an electrical socket nearby, one of the only ones.

After a pause in which the boys digested their new surroundings, Brick shrugged.

"I like it. Let's move in." Butch nodded agreement. Boomer, however, tilted his head, taking another glance around.

"I like it too, but it's kinda bare. Where are we gonna sleep? We 'tleast need a couch."

"Um, well..." Bubbles looked to the ceiling, as if for inspiration, digging a foot into the floor.

"We... might have some extra mattresses around the house, doncha think, Blossom? And.. maybe we can ask the Mayor if he can spare a couch or something from his office...?" Buttercup looked questioningly towards Blossom.

"Well, I don't know..." Blossom frowned.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?" Bubbles and Buttercup pleaded with wide eyes, as the boys looked on, bemused.

"Oh, okay."

"Yay!" Buttercup and Bubbles celebrated, Buttercup going so far as to kiss Brick, who responded with a deep blush and a chaste peck on her cheek.

"Cheer while you can, girls," Him sneered, watching them in the ripples of his bathtub water. "Oh, Mr. Quackers, be a little more patient. My plan to destroy the Powerpuff Girls and hit one in Her face will come soon! Just be patient..."

Rey: Hmm. What can Him be up to?.. I wonder. I won't be submitting many (if at all) fics/chapters for the next week and a half, or so. Major exams coming up. After that period, I'll be back in writing. Thanks for reading.