Chapter 14 - What's That Sound?
They headed out over the city. As they flew, Blossom ripped their latest letter open and read it aloud.
"Dear Powerpuff Girls:
By now, you have traveled much of the trail. I am certain that you have also figured..."
"Why does he never mention us?" Butch yelled in anger. "He obviously wrote the things in advance and put them all over the place before we ever got here, but he had to have known we'd be here, too!"
"'Cause, you guys can't read, dummy!" Buttercup hollered. "Does it really matter?!"
"Hey!" Brick yelled at her. "Just 'cause we can't read doesn't mean we're stupid!"
The three of them continued to argue as their frustration levels reached maximum points. Suddenly, Buttercup attacked Brick, crashing into him in mid-air and the two tangled together. As they fought, they lost altitude. Buttercup saw the ground coming up fast so she wrestled Brick under her as they both landed hard. Buttercup slammed Brick into the ground, face first. A long, deep trench formed behind them as their momentum dragged them until they stopped.
As Buttercup stood up, proud of her victory over Brick, Butch sped in, snatched her off of Brick, and threw her into a tree. The tree snapped in half and fell over.
Buttercup stood up and glared at Butch. "Two on one, huh?" she snarled. She shot out of the broken tree and went after Butch. She wound up, preparing to pound both Boys.
Blossom snatched her by the arm and stopped her in her tracks. She glared at all three of the combatants and shouted, "CUT IT OUT!!" She released Buttercup but continued to glare at her. "This isn't helping us one bit! Now, if the three of you are finished..."
Brick climbed out of the trench and stood next to Butch. They huffed and puffed with exhaustion and glared quietly at each other. Finally, Brick spoke up. "All right, all right. But, maybe that did help."
Blossom turned to him with an angry look. "OK, how?"
Brick sighed. "Look, we've all been whipped up into a frenzy, right? Hopefully, that helped us all blow off some steam. Now that we've had our first and hopefully last brawl on this trip, we can keep going as a team."
Butch took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right." He looked at Buttercup. "I'm sorry I chucked you into a tree."
Buttercup nodded and looked at the ground. "Yeah, OK, and I'm sorry I smashed you into the dirt, Brick." she said. "And I'm sorry I called you guys dummies."
They all reached out a hand and piled one on top of another. "Team." they said in unison.
"Read the letter, Blossom." Brick said.
Blossom began again.
"Dear Powerpuff Girls:
By now, you have traveled much of the trail. I am certain that you have also figured out that though you are unaware of MY location, I am aware of yours at all times. My minions will continue to follow you as they have from the beginning. Here is the next clue for your puzzle:
'Though the terrain which surrounds me is rocky and steep, still they come searching for enlightenment. I await the day to give them that which they seek with timeless patience. That day is now approaching fast.'
You will now go to Trinidad. Hurry for Boomer and Bubbles are hanging by a thread!"
Blossom let out a heavy sigh. She looked around and said, "Well, we don't have any of the papers the Professor gave us anymore, but if I remember correctly, Trinidad is north of here."
"It can't be that hard to find." Brick suggested. "If worse comes to worse, we can probably buy a map or something."
Blossom took out what was left of their money. "I hope we have enough." she said as she counted the few remaining bolivianos. "We still have to..."
Butch suddenly grabbed her arm and hushed her. He turned his head and listened. "You hear that?"
They all stood trying to hear what Butch referred to with their ultra sonic hearing. Faintly, they all heard someone crying Blossom's name.
With wide eyes, Buttercup spoke up. "That sounds like Bubbles!"
"Yeah, she can't be too far away! And, it would make sense! If Mojo's got people following us, they'd have to stay together as a group to both keep tabs on us and report back to him!" Blossom explained. "That guy from the first bus even said they were moving Boomer and Bubbles each time we get to another place!"
Brick nodded. "Yeah, and I bet'cha that's what that room at the mission was for. Remember ole' cigar man said it had recently been reinforced with those bars. They must've had Boomer and Bubbles in there. Why else would they need the room reinforced?"
"But, how is she yelling like that without anybody else hearing her?" Butch asked. "Not only that, but why haven't we heard her until now?"
"That's her sonic voice. It's so loud that it can't be heard by regular people, if she wants." Buttercup explained.
"And this is the first time we've been out in the open without a bunch of people around to cover the sound." Blossom guessed.
"Hey, I can do that, too!" Butch beamed proudly.
Buttercup looked at him. "You're weird." she said. "Why are you and Bubbles the same instead of you and me? Doesn't make any sense."
Butch shrugged.
"OK, if the next place we're going is Trinidad, north, then they must be headed the same way. Let's go before they get too far ahead of us." Blossom urged.
They took off again, but Blossom slowed a bit. "No trails!" she yelled. "No sense letting them see us coming!"
The others slowed enough so their coloured trails stopped. The group continued on, scanning for any signs of their siblings.
"They'll have to be on a road of some sort." Brick guessed. "I somehow doubt they're walking."
"Right." Blossom agreed. "Here's the plan. If we see them, you guys go in and grab them while Buttercup and I cover for you."
"What?" Butch complained. "I think the other way around is a better plan."
"Oh, don't worry, little boy, you'll get your chance. For now, we'll handle the scene." Buttercup teased.
"Plus," Blossom added. "Remember Brick's still hurt. It'll be better if we take care of any obstacles."
"Yeah, go ahead, blame it on me." Brick said as Butch glared at him.
"Any time I can't have fun it's your fault." Butch declared.
"Is not!" Brick answered.
"Is so"
"Is not!"
"Is so..."