CHAPTER 2: A Father's Dilemma

Blossom woke to the sound of the alarm clock blaring out the PowerPuff theme song. Sleepily she dragged herself out of bed and walked slowly to the bathroom. Though externally a morning mess Blossom was mentally wide awake and in her mind churned the knowledge of knowing what Buttercup's dream had been. Whether she liked it or not, sharing dreams was a power of theirs and it had helped like that time with the Sandman. Over time, she had learned to hide her presence so that the dreamer could not see her or realize she was there, she wondered if Bubbles and Buttercup knew how to do so as well but noted that they hadn't appeared in her dreams recently. "Poor girl, I hope she knows neither the professor or us would ever laugh at her that way." Blossom thought as she stared at her own face in the mirror "Sharing a nightmare always takes a toll on my complexion." she thought as she splashed water over herself, though in truth her skin was a radiant as ever.

"Morning Blossom" mumbled Bubbles as she slowly entered the bathroom.

 "morningpfh" muttered Blossom back with her mouth full of toothpaste.

"Was it a dream or were we really laughing at Buttercup Blossom?" Asked Bubbles as she waited by the doorframe for her sister to finish using the sink.

"I saw it too, Buttercup was having that dream again." For the 3rd time this week too she silently reminded herself. Bubbles didn't reply this time and instead took up her own toothbrush and began brushing her teeth. There was a silent understanding in the room under the sound of the running water, the two puffs knew that when Buttercup did wake up she was going to be in the foulest of moods so they had better enjoy the silence while it last. Blossom sighed. "I'll get breakfast ready."

By the time Buttercup did wake up the smell of freshly made pancakes wafted through the home. She sat in bed letting her nose and taste buds do the job of waking her up. "I had that dream again, but I can't let it get to me. I've got to focus on whatever, monsters, school, how irritating Bubbles is, how much of a goody two shoes smarty pants Blossom is and whatever else there is out there like those yummy smelling pancakes." She used her pillow to block out the rays from the sun as they cast their beams onto her bed and face. "Its so bright, I wish those girls would let me put up some curtains. Maybe if I ask the Professor, but then again he always listens to them anyway so what's the use? Bubbles would say the room was too dark anyway just because she's afraid of the dark. And Blossom would probably say something about sunlight generating Vitamin D in the body just to impress him." She groaned and rolled of the sheets, breakfast was awaiting and she would destroy anything and everything that got in the way of what she wanted. Why you might ask? Because to her the whole world at that point was against her and she was going to fight back or her name wasn't Buttercup. "I wish it wasn't" was her final thought as she pulled on her green dress and started going downstairs.

"Morning Buttercup" Bubbles cheerful voice was directed at her sister who had appeared in the chair next to her at the table.

"Morning" Came the grumpy reply from the green one. "Where's the professor?" she asked after surveying her surroundings.

"He's still in bed cause he slept late last night." Blossom replied as she dunked two pancakes onto Buttercup plate.

Buttercup stared at her plate for a moment. "Only two? I want three Blossom, you know I eat a lot." She said with a confident smile and tone.

Blossom was irritated and it showed but she held herself back, she knew that underneath Buttercup's arrogant exterior was a little girl crying for attention and she was not going to be the one to feed that desire. She glanced over at Bubbles who had been quietly sipping her orange juice since greeting Buttercup earlier. "Want some more too Bubbles?" Bubbles just shook her head. She was deep in thought, very unlike Bubbles indeed. Blossom poured more of the ready mix onto the non-stick pan while thinking about how bad her luck was, her turn to make breakfast and Buttercup needed to be pampered.

Bubbles looked on a Buttercup stuffed her face a worried look on her innocent face. Buttercup looked up from her gorging. "What's the matter Bubbles?" She asked with her mouth stuffed.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something." Still staring into space. Buttercup didn't continue the conversation she just continued eating, only stopping briefly to nod in appreciation when Blossom dumped another 2 pancakes on her plate.

The Professor knew something was wrong as he dragged himself down the stairs, it was too quiet, there was no gigging, no laughter not even the usual morning argument. He tried to lift the mood anyway. "Mourning Girls" he greeted in a lively tone.

"Mourning Professor." Came three replies. Two sounded like groans and the other sounded like normal. He wondered what was bugging Blossom and Bubbles.

"Is something the matter?" He asked

"Buttercup had this dream and…" Started Bubbles but she stopped when Buttercup started staring daggers at her.

"And it was about me winning the World Boxing Championships" Buttercup continued after putting on a fake smile. "She knows? And Blossom too? That's why they're trying to stay out of my way." She thought at the same time. She had to be quick though and make a cover story otherwise the professor might want to talk to her and comfort like he did with Blossom and Bubbles. That would not be in line with her character she thought. "I'm Buttercup and I don't need comforting because I'm the tough one and everyone expects me to be that way even the professor."

The professor knew better, she probably had a nightmare and wouldn't admit it. If it were Bubbles or Blossom he might sit her on his lap and comfort her, but this was Buttercup. How could he relate? Get her to open up?

"But…" Bubbles tried to continue.

"That's nice honey." The professor quickly replied not wanting to spark the short temper Buttercup used as a defensive mechanism. "Care to tell us more about it?"

"Well I was in the ring and…"

Blossom pretended to listen but tuned it out the words. "Silly Puff, doesn't she know how much we love her…" She thought. "I'm going to get ready for school guys" She announced and whisked off to grab her ready packed bag.

"Me too" Said Bubbles as she rushed off leaving Buttercup to continue her tall tale to the professor.

The professor nodded in approval at Buttercup's story, it was good as usual and came out in a confident tone. But he knew when she was lying.

"I'd better join them, I haven't packed yet" She said at last.

Mentally, Buttercup hoped that the Professor would buy the story. In the meantime, she filled her mind with the methods of revenge she would take on Bubbles, hide her favorite toys and coloring books…nope did that last week, itching powder in her underwear…too cruel she'd save that for Blossom. She looked at her school bag, books, stationary boring stuff, she wished they taught self-defense at their level, but that would have to wait until she was older, like many other things.

The rest of the morning was rather normal with the usual hustle. The girls rushed by and kissed the professor goodbye before flying off to school. "Like any other day, except those times when the hotline rang in the morning." The professor reflected. He looked around the now quiet house and then at his watch. It was nine o'clock and the one person he needed to call would have been awake for three hours now. Slowly he walked over the phone and hesitantly dialed an old familiar number. He brought the receiver to his ear and spoke.

"Hello Mother, its me"

END CHAPTER 2