Like a good communist, I own nothing.


"Gauntlet: Pain"
Part 2


More than two months ago, in a seedy part of Citysville...

"Hey, you kids can't come in here... urk!"

"And who, exactly, is going to stop us?" Brick chuckled, softly, and let go of the burly man's neck.

"What's that?" Brick pretended to hear. "You're going to let us in? That's very nice of you, Mr. Bouncer. And to show my appreciation, I won't break your arms OR your legs! Aren't I a regular saint and a half?"

The man coughed, and fell back against the wall, clutching his throat. Fear in his eyes, he motioned them in. Brick led his brothers inside the building of flashing neon. Almost casually, he sat down near center stage, at this point dragging Boomer (who had closed his eyes) and Butch (who had done likewise) with him.

"Open your eyes, you two idiots!" Brick smacked each one upside the head. "This is your lesson on the birds and bees!"

Slowly, they opened their eyes and looked.


Boomer quickly wiped a bit of blood from his nose.

Butch was just drooling, his eyes lolled into the back of his skull.

Brick was still smirking.

"Well?" Blossom asked, again. "Why didn't our kisses work the second time around?"

"When you've seen a mountain, the hill is not so impressive," Brick finally answered. Blossom obviously wasn't happy with his answer, so he became more to the point.

"I took them to a strip club." Brick admitted. "The 'Foxy Tail,' if I remember correctly. Or was it the 'Neon Kitten?' Come to think of it, it may have been the 'House of Bounce'..."

"W... we saw..." Boomer stuttered, for once.

"And! And!!" Butch seemed to have a similar problem. He started waving his arms around erratically.

"Yes! And!!" Boomer jumped up and started forming weird shapes in the air in front of him. Buttercup looked at them and couldn't help but laugh. Bubbles, however, didn't quite get it. She said as much.

"I don't get it."

Blossom let out a loud disgusted 'hmf' and looked away, at the door. She'd never seen Brick blush before. He looked... he looked very different. The red Rowdyruff, a bit nervous that Blossom would look through the walls to check on Mojo (who, by this time according to their timetable, should be in the Professor's Lab), quickly drew her attention.

"Bloss!" He called to her. "Truth or Dare?"

She blinked at him, as if surprised that he'd picked her.

"Truth this time," She said.

"Riiight." Brick paused, formulating his question. "If kissing suddenly worked on us again, if that weakness still existed, and you could kill us again, would you?"

"I did try to ...kill you again, or have you forgotten?"

"I mean here. Now."

"If..." Blossom started to answer, but found that she wasn't telling the truth. She mentally wrestled with the problem.

"Yes or no?"

"It would... depend..."

"Yes. Or No?"

Blossom picked up her red bow, and stared at it intently. Her indecision wasn't something Brick expected. He had 'trained' her to be more passive than before, in respect to him anyway. That she was even thinking of still turning against him spoke volumes for her willpower. To face an enemy that knows you, that can outthink and outfight you, to have come to terms with such a defeat and still harbor some desire for freedom and resistance. It was as impressive as it was foolish to reveal.

Or, perhaps, he was reading too deeply into things.

It was just as probable that she was just composing conflicting thoughts.

"No." She finally admitted. "I've seen... in your eyes... even in Boomer's eyes, sometimes, memories of what happened after you died. You hide it Brick, most of the time, but... you get so angry when you remember. You keep it inside, aim it at yourself, and blame yourself. Anything that did that to you would destroy me, so no... I don't think I could live with myself doing that to someone else. Anyone else."

Brick had tried not to listen. Blossom had been far too close to the truth, too close to him. He had directed her to believe things down certain controllable paths, and yet she had seen through smokescreens. She knew far more than he wanted her to know. So he closed his eyes, shut off his mind, and tried to ignore her words.

Blossom smiled inwardly at the small victory.

"Boomer." She addressed the blond boy. "Truth or Dare?"

Boomer thought for a second and answered. "Dare me, baby, one more time."

"I dare you..." She started to laugh - a laugh worthy of a true demonic fiend. "I dare you to kiss one of your brothers!"

"What!?" Boomer fell backwards. "No Way!"

"That's SICK!" Butch yelled, backing off.

"I must protest..." Brick began.

"What? There's nothing wrong with a little brotherly expression of affection, is there?" Blossom stood up, and walked towards the stunned blue wearin' ruff. "It's a dare! You have to!"

"Never!" Boomer swore. "NEVER I say! It uh... it goes against my religion, yeah. I can't do the dare."

"And what religion is that?" Buttercup said between snickers.

"Um... the kind that doesn't let you kiss other dudes, naturally!" Boomer sat down, set his expression in stone. "I'll take 'Truth' instead, in light of this affair..."

"Fine." Blossom took another step towards him. "Are you happy?"

"What do you mean, 'am I happy?'"

"Are you happy? Are you content with your life?"

"Happy? I'm god damned jolly. I'm like a happy fat man on his tenth helping of wedding cake and extra buttered popcorn rippin' on some new movie. I'm a friggin' dynamo of laughter and chuckles! A raging tornado of ecstasy! An inferno of giggles and joy!" Boomer seemed about to continue, but caught himself and instantly composed himself. "Che. Yeah, Red, I'm a happy camper."

"I see." She sat down in her place next to Brick.

"Hey, Bubbles! Truth or Dare?"

"Dare!" Bubbles answered, happy to be back in the loop.

"Righty, then. I dare you to prank call someone!"

"But... that's mean!" Bubbles protested.

"At least I didn't ask you to lick one of your sisters or nothin.'" Boomer gave Blossom a wayward glance. Butch seemed to think of something, and started coughing wildly.

"Bad thoughts... evil thoughts..." Butch whispered to himself.

"One prank call," Boomer said again. "That's all I ask."

"Aa... ok." Bubbles got up, and walked over to the hotline. Uneasily, she picked it up, and dialed up the one number she remembered. After two rings, someone picked up.

"Hello?" The voice asked. "Who is this?"

"..."

"Hello? Anyone there?"

"..."

"Blossom? Buttercup? Oh no! My fairy died again!"

"..."

"Oooh!" Click - the line cut off.

"WAAHHH!!" Bubbles bawled, and ran back to Boomer. His eyes widened, and he barely got his arms over his face when she started crying and pounding on him, talking a dozen miles a second. Under the onslaught, Boomer kept trying to reassure her, or at least focus her anger and grief somewhere else (usually at Blossom or Brick). When the blue puff had tired herself out beating on the blue ruff, the game continued.

"Butch," Bubbles took a deep breath. Boomer was on the floor behind her, groaning painfully. "Truth or Dare?"

"Eh..." Butch said, lazily. "Truth, I guess."

"Butch, which one of us do you think is the cutest?"

"Of you three?" Butch looked from Blossom to Buttercup to Bubbles.

"Yes! Which one?" Bubbles giggled. Boomer was still groaning painfully.

"Keeping in mind that I don't particularly like any of you..." Butch tapped his chin. "I suppose..." He looked at Buttercup. "Well... you're too unhygienic and tomboyish, Green eyes." Then to Blossom. "And you remind me of Brick. Ugh. Scary."

"I guess that leaves you, blondie. Process of elimination is an amazing thing, isn't it?" Butch shrugged. Bubbles seemed happy enough at his decision. The fact that Blossom and Buttercup weren't too pleased by it never really entered into his mind. They glowered at him, and he remained totally oblivious.

"Have you ever heard of tact?" Blossom asked, sardonically.

"Isn't that a new kind of chewing gum?" Butch shook his head. "Anyway: Green eyes, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Buttercup wasn't in the mood for 'truth' anyway. "Why not?"

"Ok. I dare you to apologize for hitting me!" Butch pointed at her and barked out a laugh. "I double dare ya!"

"Apologize for hitting you?!" Buttercup raged, indignant.

"You did do it for no reason." Brick added, nodding sagely.

"Fine... Butch..." She faced him, and focused on the difficult task at hand. "A short time ago, there had been a... misunderstanding that led to violence. I was a bit hasty, and judged you wrongly."

"I still don't hear my apology..." Butch singsonged.

"As I was saying, I... regret my action and... and... apo... and apo..."

"Apollo..." Butch led her on.

"Apollo... apologize. For hitting you. When you didn't deserve it."

"Ah, it was a little sissy punch anyway!" Butch crossed his arms while she fumed. Buttercup grumbled something under her breath, and faced Brick, who had recently gained more than a little of her ire. She still fought with him regularly, and he still won, but she was lasting longer, and actually connecting with a few blows now. He never said as much, but sometimes he looked honestly impressed with her. She had gotten much better, definitely, and even if his cooperation was roundabout, it was appreciated. No, it was his attitude that mostly annoyed her now.

"Brick! Truth or Dare?"

Brick seemed confident. "Dare."

"I dare you to say something nice about someone!" Buttercup smirked inwardly at her chosen dare. Brick was loath to compliment others, and maybe, he'd compliment her. He was still rather intimidating and unapproachable, but his lack of any sort of praise in respect to her improving fighting skill was vexing. She disliked him intensely as a human being, but respected him deeply as a fighter and warrior, and even teacher.

"That's easy. I'm a great guy. I'm smart. I'm handsome. I'm..." He was smirking now, and Buttercup realized her wording had been wrong. "But I suspect you want me to say something nice about someone else, and more specifically you three girls... very well. Bubbles, you do an exceptional job of beating Boomer up when he says something stupid. Good job. Blossom. You have a driver's license at the age of six. That is pretty impressive. And, lastly, Buttercup..."

She didn't say anything; she just waited. This was it.

"You don't know when to quit."

"Gee. Thanks!" Buttercup grumbled.

"You're welcome!" Brick stood up, and quickly picked Bubbles. "All right, puff: Truth or Dare?"

"Truth!" Bubbles answered, happily.

"Where's the bathroom? I gotta drain the lizard."

Bubbles face screwed up in distaste. "At the end of the hall."

"B-eautiful." Brick inclined his head to the girls and walked out, closing the door behind him. With a quick look, he scanned the room he'd just walked out of, and confirmed that Blossom was keeping an eye on him. So: her trust of him extended only so far. Butch and Boomer were keeping the other two occupied, but Blossom wouldn't be easily turned off the trail.

Brick closed the bathroom door, and pretended to look at himself in the mirror. To his surprise, Blossom was still watching him. He was tempted to wink or give some signal that he knew she was watching him, but decided against it. Instead, he turned, flipped up the toilet seat, and did as he promised. Looking over his shoulder leisurely, he noted that Blossom had turned away.

At least she had respect for his privacy.

"Foolish." Brick cut his activity short, and in a flash headed downstairs. He'd only recently realized that the Professor's Lab was shielded: prying Powerpuff eyes couldn't penetrate it. So he had to improvise and check the old fashioned way. He was downstairs in a heartbeat, through the kitchen, and to the door of the lab. Brick opened it, walked in, and closed it behind him. The electronic lock had been picked, and Mojo was already inside, sitting down at the Professor's computer system. A rack of books in a neat row nearby also caught Brick's eye.

Brick made a hand gesture.

Mojo frowned. "You can talk. The Lab is completely sealed. Sound will not get through the walls, much like light and..."

"Good." Brick walked up behind his former mentor and father figure. "Have you established the linkup?"

"The Professor's system is well protected." Mojo's gloved hand tapped at the keyboard while the decryption program worked. "It will take more time, which is something we do not really have. Time being in short supply..."

"Just answer my questions, 'Father.'" Brick's voice was cold. "And keep it to the point."

"...Of course." Mojo's frown deepened.

"Surveillance?"

"Minimal. Just recordings for the equipment."

Brick smirked. "Even if he knows, he won't make a fuss over it. I know too much. He wouldn't dare it."

Mojo just grunted in agreement.

"Wait." Mojo switched to a new filter. "That's it! We've got linkup! We are communicating, we have an electronic connection between..."

Brick's low growl cut Mojo off.

"Good. Transfer everything you can get your hands on. We can sift through it for important things later." Brick snorted and floated up to the bookshelf. Picking up one that caught his eye, he looked through the pages. Closing it, he reread the title.

"'How I did it?'" Brick's eyes sparkled. "Oh, Father... how cliché. But... where better to hide something then in plain sight?"


"What's that sound, John?"

The Professor leaned back, and reached into his breast pocket. He took out a small electronic device, noted the reading on the small screen, and smirked. Flipping open its side, he depressed a shallow button, closed the panel, and returned it to his pocket.

"The inevitable." He finally answered.


"Something is wrong..." Mojo hunched over the keyboard, hands suddenly a blur as they worked. "Something's is very wrong! The Data flow is running both ways!"

"What?" Brick turned around, and zipped over to see the screen. On it, he could see how the flow of information, between Mojo's computers and the Professor's, was going both ways.

"We must have copied a dummy program onto our system... its reading our files!"

"Onto this system? Or another one!?"

"I... I don't know!"

"What do you mean, you don't know!?"

"We need to cut the link! We need to do it now! It cannot be delayed...!"

"Get out of here!" Brick pointed to the door. "This is a complete disaster!"

With an angry snarl, Mojo raced out of the Lab, and Brick followed. He was tempted to destroy the entire place, but in all likelihood it would do him more harm than good. The Professor had planted a trap for them, anticipating the Mayor's laziness, and Brick's own motives. The information would be transferred to another location. Luckily, Brick had kept all his and Mojo's important files stored on always-accessible CD-ROMs, so their own system wouldn't face any irreplaceable deleted files or edited information.

All he needed to do was find out where the Professor copied the information.

Unfortunately, that could be nearly anywhere.

Without a word, Mojo settled on the couch, resuming the facade of watching the TV. Brick flew upstairs, to the bathroom, and flushed. He made a good deal of noise washing his hands, and walked back into the girls' room. Boomer and Bubbles were arguing about something trivial, no doubt some new 'Dare' Boomer had given her, and Butch and Buttercup had retreated to each other's company, discussing their mutual interests in pugilism, the specific application of violence, and highly exaggerated tall tales about different fights they'd been in.

"You were gone a little long, Brick." Blossom followed him with her eyes as he entered. "I thought you had to do a Number One."

Brick laughed. "I changed my mind. Don't tell me you were looking up on me, Bloss?"

"Ew! As if!" She answered, defensively.

Brick was still chuckling amiably, but his mind was working a mile a minute. He was confident that Blossom hadn't searched the house for him, but he was intensely worried about what the Professor would learn, and confirm, from the files he'd taken. Almost as inexcusable, he had indefinitely lost the Professor's copied files and any number of non-essential ones back at Mojo's Lab.

Silently, he cursed Professor Utonium.

Yet, at the same time, he had to admire the man's patience and foresight.

At least in some respects.

What did he know of Professor Utonium? In a great many ways, he reminded Brick of himself. The Professor was a committed, driven and often obsessive man. Outwardly, he was somewhat of a goof and stiff, but inwardly there was a familiar darkness, well hidden from the world. None knew the man's dark side like Brick - Mojo may be the ruff's Father Figure, but Professor Utonium was truly their Father, especially now.

He was a practical man, proud of his home and his family.

Almost certainly, the data would be hidden in the house, on some sort of hard copy, in a place of some emotional and personal significance. It was simply a matter of deducing it, then. However, emotions and the like were not Brick's strong point. Slowly, the Rowdyruff leader smiled.

"Hey... Bloss." He gave her a sly grin. "Truth or Dare?"