Chapter 16

Bubbles and Blossom flew along side one another in silence. They were a little reluctant to fly at first, gravity used to have such a hold on them. But as soon as they crashed through the ceiling, old habits kicked in as well as some slight childish elation of completing one of man's dreams. The wind rushed past them as they experienced flying again. The wind through their hair felt wonderful and Bubbles flew up a bit and made a loop-dee-loop threw a puffy white cloud. Blossom laughed lightly. Bubbles gave a happy smile back.

"I really missed flying. All the pretty clouds and lookin' at all the little people on the ground." Bubbles pointed a rounded hand at the cars and buildings that littered the ground almost like a little micro-world. "It's sooooo peaceful up here." Bubbles sighed happily staring into the eternal blue that stretched out in front of her.

"Yeah." Blossom commented almost sadly. "I sure hope Red and Buttercup make up. It was pretty harsh back there." Blossom commented as the houses began to space out below them and the girls entered a "higher class" territory. The lawns were the most verdant mapping out uniformly the territory where one mansion's property ceased and another began.

"Hey Blossom, do you think Red could be our Mommy?" Bubbles asked as they passed over a large stony mansion.

"I don't know Bubbles. I think she's supposed to be in this world." Blossom paused in her flight. "But it sure would be nice."

"Yeah." Bubbles smiled. The two kindergartners were floating high above a luxurious mansion. A beautiful, well-kept grass lawn spread out in front almost like an endless field. Groundskeepers and gardeners did their work in silence making sure every blade of grass was at it's greenest. "Oh Blossom! You have such a be-u-ti-ful house! Oh, I wish I lived here."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be." Blossom looked sadly at it. "It may seem wonderful, but living here's such a pain. My mother is so mean and I can't touch half the things in my house! The other half I don't even know what they are. We do have a huge library and sometimes I read there. The books there are so old I'm always afraid I'll ruin them. Everybody there is FORCED to be nice to me. Sometimes I see them sneering at me. I once overheard some of them say that I was just another spoiled brat whose boot they had to kiss." Blossom looked solemnly down at it. "I never felt so hurt and alone then when I lived here. My only friend is Nana. Oh, and you and Buttercup now of course." Blossom gave a light nod to Bubbles and she smiled.

"Things that are pretty on the outside can be ugly on the inside." Bubbles said poetically. Blossom paused and grinned.

"That's very true Bubbles. I better wish them a good-bye anyway. I'll see you back at the Professor's in an hour…make that an hour and a half, okay?" Blossom asked.

"No problem, sister!" Bubbles smiled. She waved and flew off in the opposite direction. "See ya real soon." She giggled. Blossom waved back and then floated down to her house. The house loomed ominously in front of her. She shuddered slightly but headed inside.

The door opened threateningly silent. The door used to seem heavy to her, but now that she realized how she could use her super powers better, it seemed like nothing. She heard her mother's voice echoing off the walls. She was upset, the tone the pitch, it said it all.

"I…I just don't know where she could have gone. Someone could have kidnapped her or stolen from her. Oh goodness she may even be dead! James! Hurry; fetch me a pillow and a cold glass of wine. I do not think I shall move from this couch." Blossom heard her mother fall back onto they sofa. Blossom took in a deep breath and walked in.

"Mother…?" Blossom began. Victoria Lukan had a pillow over her face with a skinny arm lying off of the sofa. Mrs. Lukan wearing a navy blue expensive wrap. She didn't look over at Blossom.

"God dammit James that better be my wine." Victoria grimaced.

"Mother, it's…it is me, Blossom." Blossom whispered. Mrs. Lukan sat up suddenly and looked over at Blossom.

"God heavens! Blossom where on Earth have you been! My God, look at your clothing! Have you been sleeping in a dumpster? Oh, where on Earth have you been? I have been worried sick, I called the police force and everyone I could to look for you. Do you know there is a $500,000 reward for your return? That's going to cost us so much money, I mean we can afford it of course, but your foolish stunts will only end up hurting the Lukans. Do you realize what kind of people we would look like if you ran away? They would take away our membership to the country club! They would laugh at us! Laugh! Well, thank goodness I have found you and you are safe. From now on you will have Nana with you at all times." Mrs. Lukan continued to rant. Blossom couldn't get one word in there.

"Mother please! Mother I have something to tell you!" Blossom cried.

"Oh goodness, what? Where have you been? And DO NOT raise your voice at me little lady. What kind of daughter raises her voice to her mother?" Victoria looked down upon Blossom, like she always seemed to do.

"Mother, I'm…I am going away. I have found that I do not belong here. I have to go. I just wanted you to know that-" Blossom didn't get a chance to finish.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Mrs. Lukan angrily glared. "You are staying right here! I can not let you out of my sight. You are not going anywhere young lady." She paced in front of Blossom with a hand to her chin.

"You do not understand, Mother." Blossom growled a little agitated, "I do not belong here. I have found my real parent and I am going to stay with-"

"WHAT?! No! No, no, no, no, NO! I do not approve of this! No! You can not believe everything you hear! That person was probably lying. No! This is unacceptable. No daughter of mine will run off with some…some liar!" Victoria threw her hands into the air dramatically.

"You never cared before!" Blossom yelled. Victoria stopped and turned on her heel to look at the child. Blossom continued. "You never cared how I felt! You never cared that I was miserable. I hated school. You never asked why, Mom. You never even asked! They tortured me there. They called me horrible things and they…they pushed me down a flight of stairs, Mother. A flight of stairs! I'd come home with a dirty uniform and I could never explain why! You just said 'oh Blossom why are you such a dirty child' or 'why couldn't I have had a more refined daughter'. Well it wasn't my fault, Mother! I tried to be my best for you! I tried to be that perfect little girl you always wanted. I tried, Mrs. Lukan. But whatever I did was never good enough. I could never be perfect…I couldn't even be normal." Blossom had tears in her eyes. She looked at her hands. "I was just born this way. I can't help it. Just because I don't have fingers or…or a nose or…or ears doesn't mean I don't have feelings. It doesn't mean you can look down on me. I am still your daughter. And you never treated me like a daughter should be treated. You never even treated me like a human being." She put her hands down by her side and looked up at her "mother". Hot tears rolled down her cheeks onto the imported wood floor. She didn't care. "I'm leaving now. Not because I didn't like you, Mother. I still loved…love you. I just have to go now. I'm sorry."

Mrs. Lukan was silenced by her daughter's speech. The child was crying and standing in the middle of the spacious room, her apology echoing off of the walls. Victoria sat down suddenly, her tiny form slightly shaking. Blossom looked her in the eyes and Mrs. Lukan looked right back into them. There was something else there, Mrs. Lukan thought she'd missed before. This look of hurt and pain but still of love. After all of what Victoria had done, there was still love there.

Blossom shook her head softly. Her mother would never understand. Her red hair swished lightly across her back.

"Good-bye Mother. I will miss you." Blossom turned to leave, her shoes echoing off of the wooden floor. A tiny voice called to her.

"But…what will I do now?" Victoria asked. Blossom looked back unsure of what she meant. "What will I tell everyone? How will I explain this to Charles?" She questioned.

"Tell them…tell them I went home." Blossom smiled softly and headed out. Shutting the door behind her silently.

Victoria Lukan watched as her five-year-old daughter walked out through her door. The echo of her footsteps was like the distant memory of the child's existence. Then there was stillness. Not a sound as the blonde woman stared at the door. The light played on her face and a shine in her eyes detected tears forming. But crying ruins makeup.

* * * *

As Blossom rounded the corner away from her house she fell to the curb of the sidewalk and began crying. Her knees scrapped the hot concrete and she pressed one mitt on the sidewalk to hold her up. She put a mitt over her eyes and let herself weep. What about Nana? I have to say good-bye to Nana! She thought to herself weeping into her mitt. The sounds of luxury cars and limos flew past her as she sat on the concrete weeping.

She heard the sounds of footsteps approaching her and people talking and laughing. She ignored it at first when she was hit with something. Blossom saw an apple roll away from her and she looked up in alarm.

Just as she had feared, Herbert stood over her with a smirk on his face. A group of schoolmates were snickering behind him. She scrambled to her feet trying to wipe away her tears. Her panic was overriding her sensibility. Herbert smiled evilly.

"Well if it isn't the Little Lukan." Herbert sneered. His posse smiled devilishly.

"What are you crying about Little Lukan?" A cruel girl laughed. "Did you see yourself in a mirror?" The others laughed hard. Blossom thought she'd run as fast as she could and then maybe she'd be able to escape. She turned to flee when a light-haired girl stepped in front of her.

"Where are YOU going, freak?" The girl asked. The students surrounded her. They were all laughing at her.

"Look at her clothes!"

"You find them in the trash?"

"It is probably her uniform from the freak show!" The children gleefully prodded her. Blossom shuddered and shrunk. Then she remembered, Wait a second, I'm a superhero. She stood up taller and looked at them with smugness. The children seemed a little confused so they closed in a tighter circle, threateningly.

"You guys better leave me alone." Blossom glared. They guffawed riotously. Blossom remained smug and confident.

"Or what, freak? You will call upon the bearded lady and the strong man?" Herbert laughed.

"This is your last warning." Blossom smiled in an almost singsong like tone. The kindergartners seemed confused but just chuckled. They nodded to one another and then began to push Blossom. She gained an angry look. "All right! You had your warnings!"

Blossom picked up the whole batch of kindergartners with one hand. Each one was balancing and clinging onto the other. Blossom's eyes let off a slightly sadistic shimmer as she begun to spin them all around and around.

"You see," She spoke while whirling them faster and faster, "it isn't nice to pick on people who are different than you. It makes them very sad and a lot of the time," she gave another hard push and the children gyrated even faster, "it makes them very angry!" Blossom hurled (ha ha) the group of kids into the grass below. They're spinning forms dug into the grass, spreading dirt and mud all over their designer clothes. They moaned and groaned miserably, some had even lost their lunches. Blossom walked over to them, standing in front with a gleam in her eye. Herbert looked up almost in fear at the silhouette of the girl as she stood in front of the sun. "I think we all learned something here."

The stuck-up brats climbed to their wobbly, filthy feet and ran as fast as they could, away from the girl they had once teased. Blossom laughed as she watched them run, tail between their legs. Herbert even let out a little yelp before racing after his so-called friends. She let out a happy sigh.

"My goodness, dearie, what was that about?" Blossom heard someone say from behind her. She turned around to see her sweet old Nana looking a little shocked and bemused.

"NANA!" Blossom cried happily and ran to her leaping into the older woman's arms. Nana seemed shocked as the child practically bowled her over. The two fell the ground while the other children fled the happy scene. Blossom hugged Anna Nana tightly around the neck.

"Dearie, where have you been? We've been looking all over for you. At least you're safe. And my, what interesting clothing." Nana smiled sweetly at the adorable play clothes Blossom had adorned. The redhead released her nana and smiled.

"Oh Nana! I'm so happy. I've got new friends who are really my sisters and I told Mother how I felt, and…and I showed those mean bullies at school they shouldn't mess with a PowerPuff!" She hugged her nana tighter. "Oh Nana, this has been the best day ever."

"Whoa! Slow down, dearie. Friends and sisters? And poor Mistress. And I saw what you did to those children, dearie. My goodness." Nana put a hand to her heart for a moment but then hugged the child. "Why don't you tell me when we get home." Nana began. Blossom looked down sadly, the breeze slightly blowing her hair back.

"Nana, I can't go home. I…I know that I don't belong there. Not just because I wasn't born a Lukan and not just because I…I look so different. I know that I belong with another family and in another world." Blossom sighed. Nana looked confused and hurt.

"Oh…did you find your real family, dearie. Your birth mother…and you're going home with her?" Nana asked slowly. She shakily rose to her flat black shoes. Blossom floated to the ground. Nana, however, didn't see.

"Something like that. Nana, I love you. You were my only friend. I had all the toys in the world, but all I really wanted was a friend. And you were my friend, Nana. My best friend. Now I have to leave and I have to leave you and my whole life behind." Blossom sat on the sidewalk flicking a few stones away with her mitt. "I'm not just leaving the house or the state, but the whole world. I'm going…beyond." Blossom brushed her hand across the sky like trying to emphasize the big picture. Nana seemed confused. She looked off whimsically.

"You know, I always knew you were special, dearie. I knew it from the day we found you on our doorstep. There was just something about you. It wasn't because you looked a little different, no." Nana seemed to be reminiscing. "There was something in your smile, in your eyes. I could tell." She sighed softly and looked down toward the five-year-old on the ground. "Your mother was always so strict and harsh. I knew you weren't the type of girl she wanted you to be. You were better than that, you were special. There was always a glow about you, Blossom Laura Lukan. I knew you were always something special. Maybe even magical." Nana's eyes glimmered in the sunlight. Blossom blushed a little embarrassed and looked back toward the stones.

"I want you to come with me, Nana. You and me and my family will go back home and…and we'll take care of each other. And you'll tell me stories about your home again and again and again and again and--"

"Yes, dearie." Nana replied slightly annoyed.

"Oh well, and we'll be happy and together for the rest of our lives." Blossom hugged onto Nana's legs and buried her face in Nana's dress. "Please come back with us, Nana. I don't think I could live without you. You're my best friend."

Nana smiled at the thought and knelt down to her little dearie. She tilted her head up to look into her eyes. Blossom looked as though she may cry.

"Oh dearie, that is a lovely idea. But, I don't think I can." She replied sadly. Blossom's heart seemed broken.

"Why not?" She pleaded and asked at the same time.

"I'm needed here. Sure there won't be the beautiful voice of the Little Miss echoing through the halls and there won't be any need for the enormous amount of toys in your bedroom, but I'll be needed. Your mother was the first child I ever took care of. She's not only my boss, but she's almost like a daughter to me, and she's my friend. I'm her best friend too, Blossom. And although it's difficult to choose, you will have your new family and your new life and friends. Your mother will be all alone. Her husband's never home and the servants don't do much for company. Your mother needs me." Nana had tears in her eyes as she hugged onto Blossom. "Your mother needs to learn things you have long-since known. I know you'll be fine on your own. It's your mother I'm not so sure about." Nana let out a teary laugh as she hugged tightly to the littlest Lukan in the middle of the sidewalk. The child's finger-less clutch got tighter.

"I…I'll miss you…Nana." Blossom stammered crying into her best friend's shoulder.

"I'll miss you too, dearie." Nana replied. "You are destined for great things and I have no doubt in my mind that I'll see you again." Nana smiled warmly, the tears rolling across the crevices in her cheeks. Blossom smiled lightly. "You'd better get going, dearie. There's the whole world and a whole life in front of you."

Blossom nodded and gave Nana one last, tight hug. She wiped away her tears and took a step back. Nana stood up slowly placing one hand on top of the other in front of her and resting them on the front of her dress. Blossom gave a smile and a wave and floated up and off. Nana stepped back astonished watching her child fly like the birds into the sky, looking back at her once with a smile, and disappearing in the sun's light.

"Maybe even magical." Nana repeated in awe as she watched Blossom Laura Lukan leave her life, maybe forever.