Buttercup quickly swept her hand over the bulge in her pocket, comforted by the wave of energy. She had never felt so alive in her life. She whizzed towards her sisters, beaming with glee.
"Hey Blossom! There was nothing there but an empty box"
"What, why would Him go to all that effort to get a box"
Bubbles slowly floated up to be level with the other two girls from her previously prone position on the floor. She winced slightly and whimpered as she looked at the large welts and bruises puckering up like mounds of dirt on her pale skin.
"How can you have so much energy? What happened to the scratches on your arms? You fought harder than any of us"
Realizing her mistake in appearing so cheery, Buttercup quickly toned her excitement down, making an effort to appear hurt.
"The wounds on my arms were slight, they healed easily"
Bubbles looked skeptically at her blood clotted dress with large rips. Buttercup struggled to find an excuse then started to get angry, Jeez, can't they see I'm all right.
"I said I'm alright. Stop bickering. I'm going home"
She sped off without realizing that her sisters could barely fly and they had not been ripped across the stomach by Him. Blossom looked suspiciously at her disappearing form, then, looked at the box Him had tried to steal. Indeed, as Buttercup had said, it was empty. Strange, this carved box looked like it cost a small fortune. It's hard to believe that there wasn't anything in it. Wait, could Buttercup have, nah, she couldn't have. Him must have taken it before. Still, with doubts she pondered over it for a moment, and then she shrugged of her thoughts and instead concentrated on getting home and tending to her wounds.
Buttercup flew straight into the toilet, ignoring the Professors aghast look at her bloodstained clothes, and told him she wanted to clean off in the bathroom. Shaking off the Professor with a glare that could make a monster the size of a skyscraper have a heart attack, she firmly closed the door behind her. Shaking her head, she undressed, taking a quick bath to wash off the layer of dried blood. As she looked at the blood defiled water swirling around, down the drain, she felt a strange stirring inside her. Ignoring it she stepped out and looked at herself in the mirror. Indeed her wounds have disappeared. She remembered how her fist had simply gone through the stone. How powerful had she become? There was only one way to test it. Gripping the stone solidly in her hand, she reached into the medicine cabinet, drawing out a set of duranium needles. Careful to tap out the bubbles inside first she got ready to stab it into herself. Closing her eyes, bracing herself for the metallic intruder she was about to penetrate her skin with. She felt a dull thud against her skin, akin to what one would expect from a much feather filled pillow, not a slowly sharpened point of duranium. She tentatively opened her eyes, looking in awe at the blunted stub of duranium. In a further test she gripped it in her hand, molding it like putty. God, this was power. Suddenly a wave of fatigue and cold spread throughout her body. She shivered and quickly pulled on her nightie. She quickly flew off to the bedroom, disguising her weariness with a very haggard smile. She pulled the door, leaving it slightly ajar with a nod to Bubbles. As she slipped the spherule under a pillow she turned off the light. Then it struck her how utterly dark it was, how she huddled in the dark while her sisters lay in the light. She looked out the window, desperately for some sort of light but even the moon was not there. She could barely make out a few stars but then a mass of clouds rolled over, obfuscating her vision. Hurriedly she reached under her pillow and took out the spherule. Instantly she felt comforted by the play of darkness and light. She just lay there, admiring it, enthralled by the weird luminance.
The Professor sat in front of his computer while handing a bowl of ice-cream to comfort Bubbles. He found the man who had been murdered by Him. He was an antique dealer who had recently acquired, with a considerable amount of money, a special gem from Africa. He made a mental note to check into its value, but for now, he had to check whether Blossom had seen this. Blossom looked at the picture on the screen. She recognized the box but not the stone.
"Wow, that's some jewel. It wasn't there though"
Sighing, the Professor told them to brush their teeth and to go to bed. He would have to see if he could find the gem again. Bubbles went straight to bed falling asleep immediately, while Blossom slowly brushed her hair before going to bed. The others should do this too. It makes your hair look so much nicer when you wake up. It saves time in the morning too. I only need an hour to brush my hair now. Buttercup's already in bed. Guess she was hurt more badly than she cared to say. Oh, Bubbles is already asleep, better not wake her up. Wait, what's in Buttercups hand? It's the jewel in the picture. She took it! She's really gonna get it this time.
"Buttercup! What do you think you're doing with that?"
Buttercup turned around with a start. She had been caught. Her mind rushed through for an excuse. She is going to take this from me. All that power gone. No I can't let her. Ignoring Blossoms demand for it she got up and roughly pushed her aside.
"It's mine, no one is going to get it"
Blossom flew it her, in a mad dash to grab it from her. Buttercup and Blossom struggled silently for the prize. Suddenly, in the heat of the moment, her hand flew at Blossoms chest, sliding through the flesh easily. She gave a sudden gasp of surprise and then went blank. Realizing what she had done, Buttercup just sat there in shock. Her sister's dead body in her arms. Then she pulled her body close, gripped it in a hug. Then, in the din of Bubbles sleepy gurgles and the Professors penetrating snores, the heat slowly escaped Blossoms body and the dark of the night enveloped her.
Tortured Artist, Raskolian and Ratchet Lombax, Hairy Gregory: Yes you're all right. That will happen. Damn, that was quick. My plot lines must be really obvious. Oh, well.
As before, please review, even if it is a flame or a short ting that says "read". It's nice to know whether anyone bothers to read my stuff.
