Inner Turmoil- Chapter 13
They searched for what seemed like hours, so long in fact that the sun had already set behind the city skyline, casting all the streets in a strange, mournful orange glow. Everything that had just happened in the 12 hours seemed like a dizzying array of shock and emotion, some of it too surreal to even believe.
After the professor had finally told them the truth, Blossom had been shocked to say the least. Despite the fact that she'd known it was coming, and despite the fact that she'd already had a pretty good idea as to what the full story was, to actually hear it come out of the professor's mouth was in itself very strange. The story seemed like the kind of thing you'd only find in one of those sci-fi novels, or even in one of those video games Buttercup always played.
Blossom herself hadn't been angry; she'd been more along the lines of grateful to the professor. Telling them to their face had taken so much courage, and it only made her respect her father more. Hearing him describe his feelings towards them, and his motivations for taking them in, made Blossom's heart swell with joy. The professor could have easily left them to die, but he didn't, and that had to count for something.
Buttercup's reaction, while true to her nature, had been completely out of line. Blossom had known she'd be thrown into a display of over-dramatic anger, but not to the extreme in which she had. Being a Powerpuff, it would have been easy for Buttercup to attack and kill the professor, but thankfully Blossom had been expecting her to do just that. Blossom had reacted just in time, sending herself in-between the two of them before Buttercup had time for her fist to connect, and the dull ache in her head was a painful reminder of things past.
Blossom knew that Buttercup didn't actually want to hurt the professor, but Buttercup didn't know any other way to express her feelings without angry words and physical violence. That was just the way she was, and despite the fact that it had been directed at the professor, Buttercup had been acting purely on her own battle instincts. The truth did hurt, Blossom would give her that, and at least Buttercup was obviously ashamed at what she'd almost done. That was exactly why Blossom and Bubbles were wandering the busy streets of Seattle, looking for their missing green-eyed sister amongst the hurried crowds and blaring sounds of the nighttime metropolis.
There was a light feeling of panic in the air, and between the two sisters, there was probably enough adrenaline in their systems to power a semi truck. They darted amongst the streets and alleyways, directing their search to Buttercup's usual haunts and favorite hangouts whenever she went off to be alone. But so far, after at least an entire day of looking, they'd come up empty.
Blossom had sworn once that she'd seen her sister get on the monorail train, but after a quick run (well, really fast run, enough to keep up with the damn thing), Blossom met the car all the way at its stop downtown, only to find that she'd mistaken an older women for her sister. Grudgingly, Blossom had walked all the way back to the mall they'd been checking to meet up with Bubbles. Bubbles swore she saw Buttercup inside a Starbucks, but it had turned out to be a man in his late twenties, and at that point Blossom felt like socking the next person with black hair that walked by.
"This is hopeless!" Blossom said angrily, punching a marble pillar that was part of a walk along fountain sculptor, leaving a rather impressive crack in the gleaming stone. She looked over at Bubbles, who was winding her way through the slick stone pathway, cascading water crashing to the ground on either side to drain away into a row of grates. Her hair and clothes were completely soaked from the water, and the light spray was creating droplets of cool water on Blossom's skin and clothing.
Bubbles wobbled dangerously, then threw her arms out for balance,
"Do you think she's at the arcade?"
Blossom brightened. She'd forgotten all about the arcade downtown that Buttercup had always talked about. It was a huge two story building that was filled with the latest arcade machines, and at night it turned into a happening bar and restaurant; the kind of place that had always attracted their black haired sister.
"You're a genius Bubbles, you really are," Blossom said brightly, brushing a few pieces of cracking stone from the dent she'd created. She hoped nobody had noticed it.
"Oh. I just remember her talking about it, is all!" Bubbles blushed furiously, her entire face going a fierce crimson. Perhaps she was embarrassed, or perhaps it was because she almost fell over, slipping over the slick black stones beneath her feet.
"Well, let's get to it." Blossom said, pausing to examine a suspicious looking vehicle that had just passed by on the street. "We need to find her fast." The car passed harmlessly, and Blossom calmed just slightly.
Ever since leaving the house Blossom had been watching every person and vehicle to go by very suspiciously, scrutinizing every detail as if she expected something to be hidden amongst their features. White Hazard was definitely out looking for them, and Blossom figured they would be elusive, but also hard to miss being the nature of the thugs they seemed to send out. If she did see anything, they'd have to act efficiently, and they'd have to be on the constant guard.
"I hope the professor's okay," Bubbles said softly, leaping out from the misty structure she'd been hiding in, to stand next to her redheaded sister.
Blossom grabbed Bubbles's hand firmly; more of a protective gesture at best, and began to make her way down the street to where they would most certainly find their sister. As they walked, Blossom's eyes darted every which way, intent on noticing anything funny before it ran up to them to pounce. She was determined to keep them together, and after Buttercup's near brush with containment the night before, Blossom knew that this company meant business now, and was going to stop at nothing to get their prizes back.
Bubbles trotted behind, not saying a word, but she faltered when they passed the horse drawn carriages. Blossom dragged her on, not wanting to leave anything else to chance. On the more earlier parts of her search, she'd felt okay separating from Bubbles, but there was something new that was making her apprehensive, like something, somewhere else in the world, had gone horribly wrong; like something carried on the wind was sending her hidden messages of danger, alerting her to get home as soon as possible. Or perhaps it was just the nighttime jitters, but whatever the case, it made her even more eager to claim Buttercup and return to the professor, to protect him in case anything happened.
Which, the possibility of something happening was now very likely, considering that Bubbles had once again unleashed her powerful scream, this time, into the entire neighborhood. While perfectly normal people would be completely oblivious, to the more trained eye, like White Hazard for example, it would certainly grab attention, especially if they knew exactly what they were looking for.
Blossom envisioned an entire swarm of people with guns, surrounding their house, cornering the professor, threatening to kill him if he didn't tell them where they were. Blossom knew the professor wouldn't betray them, and that didn't make her feel any better, in fact, it made her feel worse. She tightened her grip on Bubbles's hand, and felt her spirits lift a little bit when the building in question came into view. Buttercup was definitely there; she could feel her sister's pain from all the way down the street.
By the time they got to the sliding glass doors, Blossom knew for a fact that her sister was inside. Her painful presence was so strong in her mind that is almost made Blossom cringe. She could feel her sister's feeling of remorse and guilt swimming around inside her brain, along with her own fear and anxiety about what was happening.
Blossom stepped inside and looked around. It was terribly busy, with heaps of young people laughing and playing games, some of them screaming over lost bets or quarters. It was also noisy; the air filled with the synthesized jingles and blips of what must have been hundreds of different video games all sounding off at once.
Nothing really caught Blossom's attention, until she saw Buttercup standing on the balcony above them, looking distastefully down at them.
"There she is!" Bubbles chimed, pointing at their black-clad sister standing above them. Buttercup really made no motion to signal that she knew they were there, but the fact that she was standing still, scowling, glowering down at them was all it took to tell them their presence was known.
Blossom smiled up at her, nearly being knocked over by a young guy brushing past her, a handful of quarters jingling in his pockets. She regained her balance and grinned, trying to look happy.
"Hey Cuppo!" Blossom yelled up to her. "Fancy seeing you here!"
Buttercup scowled and turned her back to them. After a few moments she disappeared into the crowded floor above.
"Let's go get her," Bubbles said urgently. "At least she's okay."
"Yeah," Blossom agreed. "But we still need to take her home. The city won't be a safe place tonight. W.H. will be out in full force looking for us," she whispered, trying to keep her voice low as they found the wide stairwell that led to the second floor.
When they made it to the top they looked around anxiously, hoping to find some clue as to where their sister had disappeared. Stylish wall lights dimly lighted the top floor, and it seemed as if everyone in the immediate area was wearing black, making it doubly hard to find Buttercup. Cautiously, the two sisters walked forward, their eyes scanning every face and every back, searching-
-Then they saw her, sitting alone in an armchair that looked as if it was in the middle of a rest area on the far wall. Buttercup wasn't looking at them, but had become deeply engrossed with her knees. Silently, they moved towards her, and took seats on either side of their sister.
"Hey," Blossom said softly, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. Normally Buttercup would cower back at this gesture of affection, but this time she did nothing. Her lower lip was trembling, and her eyes were quickly filling with tears. Buttercup's face seemed so naked without her eye makeup, and she almost looked vulnerable and weak with her face so devoid of color. Her emerald eyes were glittering from the tears, making them look like freshly polished jewels. Besides that she looked like a ghost.
Then very suddenly Buttercup did something very odd. She threw herself at Blossom, burying her face into Blossom's shirt, and started sobbing heavily.
"That son-of-a-bitch. what has he done?" she sobbed quietly, her voice partially muffled. Blossom looked over at Bubbles who was watching her sister anxiously, wondering if there was anything she could do. Finally, Bubbles settled on scooting herself closer to her crying sister for comfort. Blossom put her arms around Buttercup tightly, glaring at a stupid teenage boy who had suddenly found it funny that an older girl was in so much distress. Bubbles scowled at him ferociously, and he hurried away quickly, grinning stupidly.
"Buttercup. why don't you just think this through. That's all in the past. and the professor loves us, he really does." Blossom began to say, choosing her words carefully. It was hard to find the right things to say, because she didn't want to upset Buttercup even more.
"Why did he lie?" Buttercup choked, her tears soaking Blossom's shirt and making it stick to her warm skin. Bubbles put a hand lightly on the small of Buttercup's back and patted it gently.
"Buttercup. He just wanted to protect us. We were so young, and it would have been so confusing for us as children."
"And maybe he didn't want us blabbing. Maybe he didn't want us to say anything in case word got around. And maybe he didn't want us to be afraid. Buttercup, please keep your faith in him." Blossom said softly, drowning her face in Buttercup's soft locks. Blossom had never realized how small and weak Buttercup felt in her arms as she trembled from the tears. Buttercup was never the weak one.
Buttercup sniffled and pulled away from her sister forcefully, clumsily wiping her soggy cheeks with the back of her hand. She was embarrassed to let her sisters see her crying, because to her, crying was for pansies, but her human emotions were getting the best of her. She looked at her sister's calmly, her eyes strangely serene. Perhaps the lack of eye makeup made Buttercup look so much gentler.
Bubbles leaned in close, "Whatever the case, the professor still loves us, and that's all that matters isn't it. He works so hard to keep us happy, and we owe it to him to give him the respect he deserves." Bubbles said, grinning, her usual demeanor showing through in the other wise dreary situation.
Blossom watched her blonde sister curiously. She'd never realized how calmly Bubbles had taken everything. Her scream had merely been the product of seeing such a violent tussle between the rest of her family, and perhaps her devotion to their father was what was keeping her sane.
"I know." Buttercup said, her voice very small and meek. "What have I done Blossom?" she added, eying Blossom's face with hurt in her eyes. Blossom hadn't even thought twice about her injured face because she had been so worried about finding her sister. But now, there was only a dull sting, and that she could bear.
"It's okay Buttercup," Blossom began to say. "The professor isn't mad either. He understands. and he's worried about you. We have to stick together okay?"
"I'm so sorry," Buttercup choked, the tears threatening to burst forth again. "I'm so sorry I. hit you. I-I-I almost killed the professor-" and her head dropped again, her shoulders jumping with sobs. Blossom put her hand on top of Buttercup's head and twisted her sister's head around playfully, trying to bring her sister into better spirits.
"It's okay. we have so much to deal with right now. We'll go home and the professor will give you a.big. hug."
There. It was like an alarm; sudden and powerful, ringing in all of their heads like an echoing shriek. Buttercup had jumped, Bubbles had gasped and Blossom had frozen. Something was wrong, and they could feel it, calling to them, beckoning to them like some sort of unreachable claim.
"The professor!" Bubbles cried suddenly. They'd all felt it to, like a sudden surge of panic and fear that rose with dramatic tempo as the seconds ticked away. Something was wrong with the professor, and they had to act fast; they could feel his panic.
"Let's go," Blossom said quickly, and they didn't need to be told twice. Buttercup's sobbing had stopped, but despite the fact that her eyes were still red and puffy, her face blotchy, the object of the professor's safety had suddenly become a more pressing matter. Their own inner turmoil was shoved aside, to make room for a new, even greater fear; the fear that they wouldn't make it in time to help their father.
In an instant they were running. Perhaps it was carelessness, or their panicked fervor getting the best of them, but Buttercup was the first to do it. Instead of swerving to the stair well she ran straight for the balcony railing, letting her muscles do the rest of her thinking. With a powerful leap she was on the sturdy metal poles, her boots touching for an instant before she threw herself over the side, landing to the ground below in a half crouch amongst the shocked screams from the people around. Her sisters followed, and touched down and instant later, the three of them so intent on getting to their father that they didn't bother to wait for the automatic doors to open in front of them. With a mighty crash and an explosion of jagged shards they hit the street running, the idea of concealing their powers suddenly becoming very irrelevant.
To Blossom is seemed like they weren't moving fast enough, the ever-present feeling of dread growing inside her like a deadly fungus. The three of them ran in sync with each other, arms pumping for more speed, chests heaving and only one thought on their minds: get to the professor, protect him-
-But when they made it home Blossom felt her breath catch in her throat, and for a good few minutes she forgot to continue breathing. All around their house, curious neighbors peered through the smashed windows and the shattered door, what was left of the exterior of their home. The professor's car was totaled; every window broken, and every inch of the metal dented. On the road that stretched out in front of their house, they could see the scorched marks of tire tracks, like someone had come and gone in a huge hurry.
"No!" Buttercup choked, throwing herself towards the front door of the house that was dangling from the frame. Blossom and Bubbles followed suit, scattering many of the worried people who stood around their lawn.
They both ran through their front door, terrified at the prospect of finding the professor dead, his body riddled with bullet holes, but that never came. Instead, they were greeted with a holocaust, their entire house smashed and bruised with the appearance of something you would only find in the bad parts of town.
Not paying attention to any of the people around them, who were whispering anxiously amongst themselves, the girls wandered around the wreckage. Tables were turned over, gaping holes in the walls, furniture torn and smashed, and it seemed like every loose belonging they had owned was now lying to pieces on the floors beneath their feet.
There was a very loud crunch as Bubbles stepped upon the remnants of what used to be their living room window, and immediately burst into noisy tears.
"Professor!" she sobbed, dropping to her knees on the glass below, the dangerous shards uselessly attacking her skin. Bubbles didn't seem to notice that she's just sat down on glass.
Blossom stood in the middle of the destroyed living room, surveying the carnage around her, looking at all their belongings that had once been pristine. Now it was nothing more than garbage. Their home, somebody had destroyed their home. and she knew exactly who it had been.
Those bastards, she thought bitterly, clenching her fists at her sides, tears stinging her eyes. Why couldn't they just face us. those cowards.
"Dad!" Buttercup's voice floated towards Blossom from somewhere in the house. She was running around from room to room, half-broken possessions crashing to the floor in her wake, calling for the professor as if by some miraculous chance he was still around. But Blossom knew it was useless. The professor was as good as gone, and whether or not he was still alive, Blossom could only guess.
"He isn't here," Blossom said mournfully as Buttercup stomped back into the room, clutching a very ratty looking Octi in her bunched up fist. If Octi had been alive, Buttercup would probably be choking the poor thing.
Bubbles stopped crying long enough to see that Buttercup was holding her most prized possession, and then instantly feel back into a shower of tears. The professor had given Octi to Bubbles as a birthday present on their very first day, and she'd treasured it ever since. Perhaps seeing the toy now, after knowing that their father could be dead only strengthened the anguish inside of her. But, true to nature, Buttercup wasn't at all feeling empathetic.
"Quit the water works already!" she scoffed angrily, throwing the dirty stuffed toy at Bubbles's knees. Bubbles looked up at Buttercup defiantly, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Buttercup glowered down at her, her expression deadly.
"If you hadn't attacked him none of this would have happened!" Bubbles cried challengingly. Buttercup glared down at her, her face a mixture of rage and sadness.
"If you hadn't started screaming-"
"Only because you guys were fighting!"
"BUT YOU LET EVERYONE KNOW WHERE WE ARE! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The banter continued on, and Blossom chewed her lip nervously as she looked around the room, the wheels in her head already starting to come up with a plan.
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
"THEY WOULDN'T HAVE COME FOR THE PROFESSOR IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU-"
"SHUT UP!" Blossom screamed, her anger rising quickly. Now wasn't the most opportune of times for an argument, and Blossom wanted to sit and concentrate, think things through. Bubbles and Buttercup had stopped fighting instantly, both of their faces streaked with tears as they watched Blossom with blank, staring faces. "They didn't come for the professor," she murmured through her concentration, and Blossom sat on the half turned couch. She drew her knees up to her chin and rested her head there, looking at her two sisters with anxious worry.
"What do you mean?" Buttercup said, turning her body to face Blossom. "But they took him, they took the professor and it's all her fault!" Buttercup said angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Bubbles who had decided to stand up.
"It is not!" she countered reproachfully, folding her arms across her chest. "It's all Buttercup's fault, she-"
"Will you two just shut up for once?! I'm trying to think!" Blossom hissed, dropping her legs back down to the floor. She hunched her shoulders and grasped the edges of upside down couch firmly with her hands.
"Think, think, THINK! That's all you ever do-" Buttercup was flailing her arms in the air madly to emphasis her words. It was clear that Buttercup wanted action, and wanted to beat the stuffing out whoever had done this, but Blossom was intent on solving this without violence.
"It would certainly do you some good once in a while!" Blossom retorted, trying to shut her sister up. "They didn't come for the professor, they came for us."
"But they took the professor!" Bubbles cried angrily, clutching Octi in her arms.
"No, think about it. Who's the one person we'd do anything for, even throw ourselves into the most unknown of situations in order to save?" Blossom said, giving Buttercup a reproachful glare. The green-eyes girl was scowling, and looked like she was ready to kill something.
"The professor." Bubbles murmured under her breath. "It's a trap isn't it?"
"Yes." Blossom said softly. "Bubbles figured it out, you should be taking notes!" Blossom said accusingly at Buttercup, but was met with nothing more than her middle finger. "Grow up," Blossom scoffed angrily, but Buttercup didn't respond. She merely turned to the wall and gave it a hearty punch, sending a huge hairline crack all the way up to the ceiling.
"I'll kill those sons of bitches-" Buttercup muttered into the wall, her back turned to Blossom. Blossom rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, and started fingering a loose bit of threading from what had once been their living room couch. They'd spent so much happy evenings on that couch together. playing games, talking, and watching TV-
The very same TV that was now smashed against the wall, the entire screen smashed open, making the inner circuitry and wires visible. Blossom looked deeply into the TV, as if looking for answers, trying to even her own breathing and tend to her own rage. Now was not the time to be vengeful, especially with the seriousness of what they were dealing with. Whatever their actions were could very well have a huge impact on whether the professor lived through the night. That comforting little thought just made Blossom want to think harder, and want to keep her sisters together.
"That's exactly the state of mind they want us in. They know what we're capable of. so they'll be ready-" Blossom began, choosing her words carefully as her eyed moved along the ceiling, only to find that the light fixture that had once been there was now dangling precariously from only a few wires. "-They'll be expecting us to bust in there, guns blazing; they'll be counting on that, and they'll have something prepared in order to capture us. They're using the professor as bait. He may even already be dead for all we know."
At this Bubbles's head jerked up to stare at Blossom with her eyes wide, shards of broken glass in her hands. She'd been trying to clean up the mess in front of her, but when she realized it was pointless, she threw the glass pieces back to the floor with a tinkling clatter.
"Bullshit, nothing they have can stop us-" Buttercup began to say, spinning around to face her pink-eyed sister.
"That isn't entirely true. Remember who we're dealing with, Buttercup. They know everything about us, and that also means they could know a way to easily apprehend us without a fight." Blossom said lightly, resting her chin in her hands, her elbows propped up on her knees. "Plus, we could be putting the professor's life at risk. Those are chances we can't afford to take."
Buttercup groaned with disgust and started to turn away, but at the last second she turned back to Blossom.
"Fine, Little Miss Genius, what do you suggest we do? Form a complex plan," she said angrily, her patience quickly draining. Whenever there was something that needed to be dealt with, Buttercup hated sitting around and stewing over, and felt that the best course of action was always the more dangerous approach. Blossom on the other hand, wanted to go over options and strategies for the safest way possible. That had always been their nature, and Bubbles had always just followed them either way.
"We go in by stealth," Blossom said simply, lifting herself to a stand. "We simply don't let them know we're around."
"Oh, that's brilliant!" Buttercup said sarcastically, but she was disappointed at the prospect of not being able to break a few noses. "So, we'll just hide in the bushes like a bunch of wooses then?"
"I'm not a woos!" Bubbles cried angrily, throwing Octi over her shoulder. "Blossom's plan is brilliant!"
"You stay out of this," Buttercup hissed through gritted teeth. "I need to punch! I want justice!" she said fiercely, punching the air blindly as she did so, narrowly missing Bubbles by mere inches.
"It's not your place to take justice into your own hands. Bashing a few faces in won't make things better. It'll just make things worse."
"For you maybe." Buttercup said bitterly, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "But I swear, the minute someone sees us-"
"-You'll do what I tell you, is what you'll do. I don't want you running around beating everything you see. They want you to do that." Blossom said matter-of-factly. Buttercup was being selfish, but she was also like herself again, and that in itself was slightly comforting. Blossom knew Buttercup meant well, and she also knew that Buttercup wouldn't let anything happen to any of them if the situation arose.
"Okay, we slip in undetected and see what the situation looks like. If it looks okay, we'll get the professor out of there. If something unexpected happens. or if it looks dangerous." she trailed off, eyeing Buttercup coolly. "Then I suppose we'll improvise."
"Excellent!"
"The last thing we want is to end up caught. Now, Buttercup, we need to borrow some of your clothes," Blossom said, walking towards Buttercup, her hands outstretched in request.
"What? Why?"
"Because all you wear is black right? I'd always thought it was tasteless, but it may actually come in handy tonight. We'll practically be invisible!" Blossom said brightly.
Buttercup's only response was a heavy huff, and she trudged up the stairs to her room grumpily, not at all looking forward to a completely un-action- packed evening.
They searched for what seemed like hours, so long in fact that the sun had already set behind the city skyline, casting all the streets in a strange, mournful orange glow. Everything that had just happened in the 12 hours seemed like a dizzying array of shock and emotion, some of it too surreal to even believe.
After the professor had finally told them the truth, Blossom had been shocked to say the least. Despite the fact that she'd known it was coming, and despite the fact that she'd already had a pretty good idea as to what the full story was, to actually hear it come out of the professor's mouth was in itself very strange. The story seemed like the kind of thing you'd only find in one of those sci-fi novels, or even in one of those video games Buttercup always played.
Blossom herself hadn't been angry; she'd been more along the lines of grateful to the professor. Telling them to their face had taken so much courage, and it only made her respect her father more. Hearing him describe his feelings towards them, and his motivations for taking them in, made Blossom's heart swell with joy. The professor could have easily left them to die, but he didn't, and that had to count for something.
Buttercup's reaction, while true to her nature, had been completely out of line. Blossom had known she'd be thrown into a display of over-dramatic anger, but not to the extreme in which she had. Being a Powerpuff, it would have been easy for Buttercup to attack and kill the professor, but thankfully Blossom had been expecting her to do just that. Blossom had reacted just in time, sending herself in-between the two of them before Buttercup had time for her fist to connect, and the dull ache in her head was a painful reminder of things past.
Blossom knew that Buttercup didn't actually want to hurt the professor, but Buttercup didn't know any other way to express her feelings without angry words and physical violence. That was just the way she was, and despite the fact that it had been directed at the professor, Buttercup had been acting purely on her own battle instincts. The truth did hurt, Blossom would give her that, and at least Buttercup was obviously ashamed at what she'd almost done. That was exactly why Blossom and Bubbles were wandering the busy streets of Seattle, looking for their missing green-eyed sister amongst the hurried crowds and blaring sounds of the nighttime metropolis.
There was a light feeling of panic in the air, and between the two sisters, there was probably enough adrenaline in their systems to power a semi truck. They darted amongst the streets and alleyways, directing their search to Buttercup's usual haunts and favorite hangouts whenever she went off to be alone. But so far, after at least an entire day of looking, they'd come up empty.
Blossom had sworn once that she'd seen her sister get on the monorail train, but after a quick run (well, really fast run, enough to keep up with the damn thing), Blossom met the car all the way at its stop downtown, only to find that she'd mistaken an older women for her sister. Grudgingly, Blossom had walked all the way back to the mall they'd been checking to meet up with Bubbles. Bubbles swore she saw Buttercup inside a Starbucks, but it had turned out to be a man in his late twenties, and at that point Blossom felt like socking the next person with black hair that walked by.
"This is hopeless!" Blossom said angrily, punching a marble pillar that was part of a walk along fountain sculptor, leaving a rather impressive crack in the gleaming stone. She looked over at Bubbles, who was winding her way through the slick stone pathway, cascading water crashing to the ground on either side to drain away into a row of grates. Her hair and clothes were completely soaked from the water, and the light spray was creating droplets of cool water on Blossom's skin and clothing.
Bubbles wobbled dangerously, then threw her arms out for balance,
"Do you think she's at the arcade?"
Blossom brightened. She'd forgotten all about the arcade downtown that Buttercup had always talked about. It was a huge two story building that was filled with the latest arcade machines, and at night it turned into a happening bar and restaurant; the kind of place that had always attracted their black haired sister.
"You're a genius Bubbles, you really are," Blossom said brightly, brushing a few pieces of cracking stone from the dent she'd created. She hoped nobody had noticed it.
"Oh. I just remember her talking about it, is all!" Bubbles blushed furiously, her entire face going a fierce crimson. Perhaps she was embarrassed, or perhaps it was because she almost fell over, slipping over the slick black stones beneath her feet.
"Well, let's get to it." Blossom said, pausing to examine a suspicious looking vehicle that had just passed by on the street. "We need to find her fast." The car passed harmlessly, and Blossom calmed just slightly.
Ever since leaving the house Blossom had been watching every person and vehicle to go by very suspiciously, scrutinizing every detail as if she expected something to be hidden amongst their features. White Hazard was definitely out looking for them, and Blossom figured they would be elusive, but also hard to miss being the nature of the thugs they seemed to send out. If she did see anything, they'd have to act efficiently, and they'd have to be on the constant guard.
"I hope the professor's okay," Bubbles said softly, leaping out from the misty structure she'd been hiding in, to stand next to her redheaded sister.
Blossom grabbed Bubbles's hand firmly; more of a protective gesture at best, and began to make her way down the street to where they would most certainly find their sister. As they walked, Blossom's eyes darted every which way, intent on noticing anything funny before it ran up to them to pounce. She was determined to keep them together, and after Buttercup's near brush with containment the night before, Blossom knew that this company meant business now, and was going to stop at nothing to get their prizes back.
Bubbles trotted behind, not saying a word, but she faltered when they passed the horse drawn carriages. Blossom dragged her on, not wanting to leave anything else to chance. On the more earlier parts of her search, she'd felt okay separating from Bubbles, but there was something new that was making her apprehensive, like something, somewhere else in the world, had gone horribly wrong; like something carried on the wind was sending her hidden messages of danger, alerting her to get home as soon as possible. Or perhaps it was just the nighttime jitters, but whatever the case, it made her even more eager to claim Buttercup and return to the professor, to protect him in case anything happened.
Which, the possibility of something happening was now very likely, considering that Bubbles had once again unleashed her powerful scream, this time, into the entire neighborhood. While perfectly normal people would be completely oblivious, to the more trained eye, like White Hazard for example, it would certainly grab attention, especially if they knew exactly what they were looking for.
Blossom envisioned an entire swarm of people with guns, surrounding their house, cornering the professor, threatening to kill him if he didn't tell them where they were. Blossom knew the professor wouldn't betray them, and that didn't make her feel any better, in fact, it made her feel worse. She tightened her grip on Bubbles's hand, and felt her spirits lift a little bit when the building in question came into view. Buttercup was definitely there; she could feel her sister's pain from all the way down the street.
By the time they got to the sliding glass doors, Blossom knew for a fact that her sister was inside. Her painful presence was so strong in her mind that is almost made Blossom cringe. She could feel her sister's feeling of remorse and guilt swimming around inside her brain, along with her own fear and anxiety about what was happening.
Blossom stepped inside and looked around. It was terribly busy, with heaps of young people laughing and playing games, some of them screaming over lost bets or quarters. It was also noisy; the air filled with the synthesized jingles and blips of what must have been hundreds of different video games all sounding off at once.
Nothing really caught Blossom's attention, until she saw Buttercup standing on the balcony above them, looking distastefully down at them.
"There she is!" Bubbles chimed, pointing at their black-clad sister standing above them. Buttercup really made no motion to signal that she knew they were there, but the fact that she was standing still, scowling, glowering down at them was all it took to tell them their presence was known.
Blossom smiled up at her, nearly being knocked over by a young guy brushing past her, a handful of quarters jingling in his pockets. She regained her balance and grinned, trying to look happy.
"Hey Cuppo!" Blossom yelled up to her. "Fancy seeing you here!"
Buttercup scowled and turned her back to them. After a few moments she disappeared into the crowded floor above.
"Let's go get her," Bubbles said urgently. "At least she's okay."
"Yeah," Blossom agreed. "But we still need to take her home. The city won't be a safe place tonight. W.H. will be out in full force looking for us," she whispered, trying to keep her voice low as they found the wide stairwell that led to the second floor.
When they made it to the top they looked around anxiously, hoping to find some clue as to where their sister had disappeared. Stylish wall lights dimly lighted the top floor, and it seemed as if everyone in the immediate area was wearing black, making it doubly hard to find Buttercup. Cautiously, the two sisters walked forward, their eyes scanning every face and every back, searching-
-Then they saw her, sitting alone in an armchair that looked as if it was in the middle of a rest area on the far wall. Buttercup wasn't looking at them, but had become deeply engrossed with her knees. Silently, they moved towards her, and took seats on either side of their sister.
"Hey," Blossom said softly, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. Normally Buttercup would cower back at this gesture of affection, but this time she did nothing. Her lower lip was trembling, and her eyes were quickly filling with tears. Buttercup's face seemed so naked without her eye makeup, and she almost looked vulnerable and weak with her face so devoid of color. Her emerald eyes were glittering from the tears, making them look like freshly polished jewels. Besides that she looked like a ghost.
Then very suddenly Buttercup did something very odd. She threw herself at Blossom, burying her face into Blossom's shirt, and started sobbing heavily.
"That son-of-a-bitch. what has he done?" she sobbed quietly, her voice partially muffled. Blossom looked over at Bubbles who was watching her sister anxiously, wondering if there was anything she could do. Finally, Bubbles settled on scooting herself closer to her crying sister for comfort. Blossom put her arms around Buttercup tightly, glaring at a stupid teenage boy who had suddenly found it funny that an older girl was in so much distress. Bubbles scowled at him ferociously, and he hurried away quickly, grinning stupidly.
"Buttercup. why don't you just think this through. That's all in the past. and the professor loves us, he really does." Blossom began to say, choosing her words carefully. It was hard to find the right things to say, because she didn't want to upset Buttercup even more.
"Why did he lie?" Buttercup choked, her tears soaking Blossom's shirt and making it stick to her warm skin. Bubbles put a hand lightly on the small of Buttercup's back and patted it gently.
"Buttercup. He just wanted to protect us. We were so young, and it would have been so confusing for us as children."
"And maybe he didn't want us blabbing. Maybe he didn't want us to say anything in case word got around. And maybe he didn't want us to be afraid. Buttercup, please keep your faith in him." Blossom said softly, drowning her face in Buttercup's soft locks. Blossom had never realized how small and weak Buttercup felt in her arms as she trembled from the tears. Buttercup was never the weak one.
Buttercup sniffled and pulled away from her sister forcefully, clumsily wiping her soggy cheeks with the back of her hand. She was embarrassed to let her sisters see her crying, because to her, crying was for pansies, but her human emotions were getting the best of her. She looked at her sister's calmly, her eyes strangely serene. Perhaps the lack of eye makeup made Buttercup look so much gentler.
Bubbles leaned in close, "Whatever the case, the professor still loves us, and that's all that matters isn't it. He works so hard to keep us happy, and we owe it to him to give him the respect he deserves." Bubbles said, grinning, her usual demeanor showing through in the other wise dreary situation.
Blossom watched her blonde sister curiously. She'd never realized how calmly Bubbles had taken everything. Her scream had merely been the product of seeing such a violent tussle between the rest of her family, and perhaps her devotion to their father was what was keeping her sane.
"I know." Buttercup said, her voice very small and meek. "What have I done Blossom?" she added, eying Blossom's face with hurt in her eyes. Blossom hadn't even thought twice about her injured face because she had been so worried about finding her sister. But now, there was only a dull sting, and that she could bear.
"It's okay Buttercup," Blossom began to say. "The professor isn't mad either. He understands. and he's worried about you. We have to stick together okay?"
"I'm so sorry," Buttercup choked, the tears threatening to burst forth again. "I'm so sorry I. hit you. I-I-I almost killed the professor-" and her head dropped again, her shoulders jumping with sobs. Blossom put her hand on top of Buttercup's head and twisted her sister's head around playfully, trying to bring her sister into better spirits.
"It's okay. we have so much to deal with right now. We'll go home and the professor will give you a.big. hug."
There. It was like an alarm; sudden and powerful, ringing in all of their heads like an echoing shriek. Buttercup had jumped, Bubbles had gasped and Blossom had frozen. Something was wrong, and they could feel it, calling to them, beckoning to them like some sort of unreachable claim.
"The professor!" Bubbles cried suddenly. They'd all felt it to, like a sudden surge of panic and fear that rose with dramatic tempo as the seconds ticked away. Something was wrong with the professor, and they had to act fast; they could feel his panic.
"Let's go," Blossom said quickly, and they didn't need to be told twice. Buttercup's sobbing had stopped, but despite the fact that her eyes were still red and puffy, her face blotchy, the object of the professor's safety had suddenly become a more pressing matter. Their own inner turmoil was shoved aside, to make room for a new, even greater fear; the fear that they wouldn't make it in time to help their father.
In an instant they were running. Perhaps it was carelessness, or their panicked fervor getting the best of them, but Buttercup was the first to do it. Instead of swerving to the stair well she ran straight for the balcony railing, letting her muscles do the rest of her thinking. With a powerful leap she was on the sturdy metal poles, her boots touching for an instant before she threw herself over the side, landing to the ground below in a half crouch amongst the shocked screams from the people around. Her sisters followed, and touched down and instant later, the three of them so intent on getting to their father that they didn't bother to wait for the automatic doors to open in front of them. With a mighty crash and an explosion of jagged shards they hit the street running, the idea of concealing their powers suddenly becoming very irrelevant.
To Blossom is seemed like they weren't moving fast enough, the ever-present feeling of dread growing inside her like a deadly fungus. The three of them ran in sync with each other, arms pumping for more speed, chests heaving and only one thought on their minds: get to the professor, protect him-
-But when they made it home Blossom felt her breath catch in her throat, and for a good few minutes she forgot to continue breathing. All around their house, curious neighbors peered through the smashed windows and the shattered door, what was left of the exterior of their home. The professor's car was totaled; every window broken, and every inch of the metal dented. On the road that stretched out in front of their house, they could see the scorched marks of tire tracks, like someone had come and gone in a huge hurry.
"No!" Buttercup choked, throwing herself towards the front door of the house that was dangling from the frame. Blossom and Bubbles followed suit, scattering many of the worried people who stood around their lawn.
They both ran through their front door, terrified at the prospect of finding the professor dead, his body riddled with bullet holes, but that never came. Instead, they were greeted with a holocaust, their entire house smashed and bruised with the appearance of something you would only find in the bad parts of town.
Not paying attention to any of the people around them, who were whispering anxiously amongst themselves, the girls wandered around the wreckage. Tables were turned over, gaping holes in the walls, furniture torn and smashed, and it seemed like every loose belonging they had owned was now lying to pieces on the floors beneath their feet.
There was a very loud crunch as Bubbles stepped upon the remnants of what used to be their living room window, and immediately burst into noisy tears.
"Professor!" she sobbed, dropping to her knees on the glass below, the dangerous shards uselessly attacking her skin. Bubbles didn't seem to notice that she's just sat down on glass.
Blossom stood in the middle of the destroyed living room, surveying the carnage around her, looking at all their belongings that had once been pristine. Now it was nothing more than garbage. Their home, somebody had destroyed their home. and she knew exactly who it had been.
Those bastards, she thought bitterly, clenching her fists at her sides, tears stinging her eyes. Why couldn't they just face us. those cowards.
"Dad!" Buttercup's voice floated towards Blossom from somewhere in the house. She was running around from room to room, half-broken possessions crashing to the floor in her wake, calling for the professor as if by some miraculous chance he was still around. But Blossom knew it was useless. The professor was as good as gone, and whether or not he was still alive, Blossom could only guess.
"He isn't here," Blossom said mournfully as Buttercup stomped back into the room, clutching a very ratty looking Octi in her bunched up fist. If Octi had been alive, Buttercup would probably be choking the poor thing.
Bubbles stopped crying long enough to see that Buttercup was holding her most prized possession, and then instantly feel back into a shower of tears. The professor had given Octi to Bubbles as a birthday present on their very first day, and she'd treasured it ever since. Perhaps seeing the toy now, after knowing that their father could be dead only strengthened the anguish inside of her. But, true to nature, Buttercup wasn't at all feeling empathetic.
"Quit the water works already!" she scoffed angrily, throwing the dirty stuffed toy at Bubbles's knees. Bubbles looked up at Buttercup defiantly, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Buttercup glowered down at her, her expression deadly.
"If you hadn't attacked him none of this would have happened!" Bubbles cried challengingly. Buttercup glared down at her, her face a mixture of rage and sadness.
"If you hadn't started screaming-"
"Only because you guys were fighting!"
"BUT YOU LET EVERYONE KNOW WHERE WE ARE! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The banter continued on, and Blossom chewed her lip nervously as she looked around the room, the wheels in her head already starting to come up with a plan.
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
"THEY WOULDN'T HAVE COME FOR THE PROFESSOR IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU-"
"SHUT UP!" Blossom screamed, her anger rising quickly. Now wasn't the most opportune of times for an argument, and Blossom wanted to sit and concentrate, think things through. Bubbles and Buttercup had stopped fighting instantly, both of their faces streaked with tears as they watched Blossom with blank, staring faces. "They didn't come for the professor," she murmured through her concentration, and Blossom sat on the half turned couch. She drew her knees up to her chin and rested her head there, looking at her two sisters with anxious worry.
"What do you mean?" Buttercup said, turning her body to face Blossom. "But they took him, they took the professor and it's all her fault!" Buttercup said angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Bubbles who had decided to stand up.
"It is not!" she countered reproachfully, folding her arms across her chest. "It's all Buttercup's fault, she-"
"Will you two just shut up for once?! I'm trying to think!" Blossom hissed, dropping her legs back down to the floor. She hunched her shoulders and grasped the edges of upside down couch firmly with her hands.
"Think, think, THINK! That's all you ever do-" Buttercup was flailing her arms in the air madly to emphasis her words. It was clear that Buttercup wanted action, and wanted to beat the stuffing out whoever had done this, but Blossom was intent on solving this without violence.
"It would certainly do you some good once in a while!" Blossom retorted, trying to shut her sister up. "They didn't come for the professor, they came for us."
"But they took the professor!" Bubbles cried angrily, clutching Octi in her arms.
"No, think about it. Who's the one person we'd do anything for, even throw ourselves into the most unknown of situations in order to save?" Blossom said, giving Buttercup a reproachful glare. The green-eyes girl was scowling, and looked like she was ready to kill something.
"The professor." Bubbles murmured under her breath. "It's a trap isn't it?"
"Yes." Blossom said softly. "Bubbles figured it out, you should be taking notes!" Blossom said accusingly at Buttercup, but was met with nothing more than her middle finger. "Grow up," Blossom scoffed angrily, but Buttercup didn't respond. She merely turned to the wall and gave it a hearty punch, sending a huge hairline crack all the way up to the ceiling.
"I'll kill those sons of bitches-" Buttercup muttered into the wall, her back turned to Blossom. Blossom rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, and started fingering a loose bit of threading from what had once been their living room couch. They'd spent so much happy evenings on that couch together. playing games, talking, and watching TV-
The very same TV that was now smashed against the wall, the entire screen smashed open, making the inner circuitry and wires visible. Blossom looked deeply into the TV, as if looking for answers, trying to even her own breathing and tend to her own rage. Now was not the time to be vengeful, especially with the seriousness of what they were dealing with. Whatever their actions were could very well have a huge impact on whether the professor lived through the night. That comforting little thought just made Blossom want to think harder, and want to keep her sisters together.
"That's exactly the state of mind they want us in. They know what we're capable of. so they'll be ready-" Blossom began, choosing her words carefully as her eyed moved along the ceiling, only to find that the light fixture that had once been there was now dangling precariously from only a few wires. "-They'll be expecting us to bust in there, guns blazing; they'll be counting on that, and they'll have something prepared in order to capture us. They're using the professor as bait. He may even already be dead for all we know."
At this Bubbles's head jerked up to stare at Blossom with her eyes wide, shards of broken glass in her hands. She'd been trying to clean up the mess in front of her, but when she realized it was pointless, she threw the glass pieces back to the floor with a tinkling clatter.
"Bullshit, nothing they have can stop us-" Buttercup began to say, spinning around to face her pink-eyed sister.
"That isn't entirely true. Remember who we're dealing with, Buttercup. They know everything about us, and that also means they could know a way to easily apprehend us without a fight." Blossom said lightly, resting her chin in her hands, her elbows propped up on her knees. "Plus, we could be putting the professor's life at risk. Those are chances we can't afford to take."
Buttercup groaned with disgust and started to turn away, but at the last second she turned back to Blossom.
"Fine, Little Miss Genius, what do you suggest we do? Form a complex plan," she said angrily, her patience quickly draining. Whenever there was something that needed to be dealt with, Buttercup hated sitting around and stewing over, and felt that the best course of action was always the more dangerous approach. Blossom on the other hand, wanted to go over options and strategies for the safest way possible. That had always been their nature, and Bubbles had always just followed them either way.
"We go in by stealth," Blossom said simply, lifting herself to a stand. "We simply don't let them know we're around."
"Oh, that's brilliant!" Buttercup said sarcastically, but she was disappointed at the prospect of not being able to break a few noses. "So, we'll just hide in the bushes like a bunch of wooses then?"
"I'm not a woos!" Bubbles cried angrily, throwing Octi over her shoulder. "Blossom's plan is brilliant!"
"You stay out of this," Buttercup hissed through gritted teeth. "I need to punch! I want justice!" she said fiercely, punching the air blindly as she did so, narrowly missing Bubbles by mere inches.
"It's not your place to take justice into your own hands. Bashing a few faces in won't make things better. It'll just make things worse."
"For you maybe." Buttercup said bitterly, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "But I swear, the minute someone sees us-"
"-You'll do what I tell you, is what you'll do. I don't want you running around beating everything you see. They want you to do that." Blossom said matter-of-factly. Buttercup was being selfish, but she was also like herself again, and that in itself was slightly comforting. Blossom knew Buttercup meant well, and she also knew that Buttercup wouldn't let anything happen to any of them if the situation arose.
"Okay, we slip in undetected and see what the situation looks like. If it looks okay, we'll get the professor out of there. If something unexpected happens. or if it looks dangerous." she trailed off, eyeing Buttercup coolly. "Then I suppose we'll improvise."
"Excellent!"
"The last thing we want is to end up caught. Now, Buttercup, we need to borrow some of your clothes," Blossom said, walking towards Buttercup, her hands outstretched in request.
"What? Why?"
"Because all you wear is black right? I'd always thought it was tasteless, but it may actually come in handy tonight. We'll practically be invisible!" Blossom said brightly.
Buttercup's only response was a heavy huff, and she trudged up the stairs to her room grumpily, not at all looking forward to a completely un-action- packed evening.