A/N Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! It's a bit long, but I couldn't make it shorter.
Thanks are in order!
Pilfered Sympathy: Thank you muchly! (x3) I will definitely continue!
Hairy Gregory: Hey! Hook me up with some of that popcorn! I'm in the mood for a snack! This chapter should explain Bubbles' odd reaction. And to answer your question (or was it comment…) about chemical X, well, this chapter will deal with it early on. Don't worry, I considered it.
BluSky229: Thank you so much for the review and the fantabulous compliment! ^_^
Raskolin Phoenix: Not much to say, but thanks for being a loyal R&R-er.
PinkPuff514: Aww! Thank you so very much for the thoughtful review! That's one of my favorite kinds of reviews! And I am so glad you like Buttercup more because of this! As you may have guessed, she's my favorite!
Anyhoo, here it is folks, chapter 8 in all it's glory! Please R&R!
Chapter Eight: The End of an Era
Sitting in her seat on the couch Buttercup's head was spinning, for more reasons than one. One reason was the newly discovered antidote X in her system, the other was of learning about the antidote X. It couldn't be that, it just couldn't. That was their kryptonite; it was the most obvious explanation, yet the last thing she considered as a reason for the strangeness she and her sisters were experiencing the past few days. She snorted to herself, it was the only explanation. No wonder she denied it so. It was her greatest fear. But for every problem there was a solution.
"Chemical X!" Buttercup exclaimed, "Why am I getting so upset when there's chemical X downstairs in your lab? There! Problem solved!"
The Professor rose to his feet, "No! Not yet, it's too risky. Never use chemical X to reverse antidote X! That's not an option!"
Buttercup sank in her seat, startled, "But why? Why not? It makes perfect sense!" she looked to Blossom and Bubbles for support, but they were silent. She looked at them exasperated and turned back to the Professor, "Well?"
"Both chemicals are unstable. It could work temporarily, but the chances of that are incredibly slim. There's a great chance that the results could be catastrophic. Taking pure chemical X would be suicide- it's too risky," he said, making sure his point was clear. He took a brief pause and then explained the gist of what was happening, and what will happen to them, "The antidote X will eat away at the chemical X in your system until it's gone and then…" he couldn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to say aloud the fact that he feared the most. And then they would die. Chemical X was as essential to them as water.
"…and then we become normal," Bubbles concluded with a small but satisfied smile. The Professor closed his eyes with shame from letting them come to their own conclusion even though it was the wrong one. He couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth.
Buttercup wanted to scream. She hated the thought of becoming normal. Her superpowers were what made her who she was. "That can't happen!" Buttercup snapped, "There's gotta be something that can be done, right?"
"Perhaps," he replied, "And believe me, I will work on it until I do find a solution. But first I need to find out where it came from, until I do, I won't be able to do much. When we do find out the source, I will need to do some research and maybe find a way to counteract the antidote X."
"Is that possible?" Buttercup asked
"I hope so," he said, "but I need to work fast. There is a point when… when the effects of antidote X can't be reversed."
"When is that?" Buttercup demanded.
"I don't know, and I have no way of knowing," he replied. "There are too many factors to determine. Like how much antidote X you acquired, how much energy you spent, how often you used your superpowers, the smaller you are, the faster it works… the list goes on."
Buttercup felt the urge to hit something. She considered the factors. She used her powers a lot- even after she felt strange, and she was the shortest and smallest sister- which she always hated and found ironic because if someone didn't know she was a superhero, they'd think she was weak- certainly not the toughest fighter. Considering those things though made her worry that she might have already passed the point of no return. What if it was too late for them? What if it was too late for her and not her sisters? The thought angered her because looking at Blossom and Bubbles, they seemed perfectly fine with the thought of becoming normal, in fact Bubbles seemed almost happy!
She looked at her sisters with a foreign feeling of loathing, a feeling that didn't exist before they began their fights. But that night the feeling she hated to have seemed more intense than ever.
"Hey, now that it's possible, does this mean I can get my eyebrow pierced?" Bubbles asked, "Megan said it would look so cool on me and she has a nose ring and…"
The Professor looked away, shocked that she could be so nonchalant and clueless, but in her defense Bubbles didn't know the whole story.
Buttercup rose to her feet, "Bubbles! How can you ask such a stupid question at a time like this?! Don't you see what is happening to us?!"
"Yeah," Bubbles replied, "We're becoming normal."
"Which is fine for you isn't it? You guys are perfectly fine with this, aren't you? You guys are perfect anyway, you don't need superpowers to be special! You don't appreciate them! You don't care! You don't care about being superheroes anymore, so why should it bother you?" Buttercup ranted angrily, "You Bubbles have your wonderful art scholarship and the city practically worshiping the ground you walk on, and you Blossom, little miss over achiever of the year with her perfect boyfriend…"
"Ex boyfriend remember?" Blossom felt tears forming at Buttercup's harsh words, "We broke up and thank you so much for bringing it up…"
"Oh Blossom for crying out loud! When are you going to get it through your thick skull? He was taking a break! Get it? It seems that everyone knows this except you because you're too high on yourself to notice it! Read the friggin' note already! He only did it because he adores you and only wants what's best!" Buttercup snapped, a wave of dizziness came upon her and Buttercup fell back onto the couch. She was so angry and upset at her situation, she no longer cared about what she said.
'Oh I see," Blossom hissed, "how do you know all this anyway? Greg and I have problems and all of a sudden he confides in you?! You're the reason we're in this mess!"
"Get over yourself and get it through your brain, you're the reason! I'm merely a factor. And the reason is that he loves you dammit! You have the perfect boyfriend and you're too blind to realize it!" Buttercup put her hand to her forehead. "You're just too busy thinking about yourself. You're so selfish!"
"I'm selfish? What about you? You're so quick to point out our faults and yet you don't seem to notice your own!" Blossom retorted angrily.
"I'm perfectly aware of my faults thank you very much," Buttercup hissed, "You like to make a point of pointing them out yourself."
"You know I'm sick of your 'poor little me' act," Blossom sighed, "you should just wake up and realize that it's not all about you!"
"See? You're doing again!" Buttercup's voice was shrill.
"Geesh will you two shut up?" Bubbles cut in, her high pitched voice cut off Blossom's reply which was a good thing too since it was not exactly what could be considered appropriate language. "Blossom, maybe you should read the note before you jump to conclusions, and Buttercup, relax!"
"Relax?" Buttercup raised a brow, turning her anger towards Bubbles, "Relax?! How can I relax? Are you seriously so stupid that you don't see what's happening to us?"
"Of course I know what's happening to us," Bubbles protested.
"Apparently you don't," Buttercup replied, "We're losing our powers, our identity. This means, no more flying, no more laser eyes, no more ice breath, no more talking with animals, no more crime fighting, no more…"
"I get it!" Bubbles hissed, cutting her off, "And that is exactly what I've wanted!"
"What?" Buttercup asked. Blossom and the Professor looked at her, not expecting Bubbles to say that.
"For years now this has been my secret desire. To be normal. Sure, for a long time I loved having powers. I loved saving the day, I really did. I love helping people. But the novelty of having superpowers wore off…"
"Novelty? Our superpowers are not a mere…" Buttercup cut in.
"Will you just shut up and let me talk? I've been wanting to say this for forever," Bubbles snapped, cutting her off with authority. She paused for a moment as Buttercup folded her arms, giving her the floor. Bubbles took a breath and changed her angle, "I am a lover, not a fighter. And yet, what do I do? I fight, not because I want to, but because it's my duty. But what do we get out of it? Sure, there's the satisfaction of saving lives, I'm not saying that's not important, but people take us for granted. We get nothing, it's become routine. I'm bored with it. All our lives we've fought crime, saved lives, yet by doing this, all our lives we've seen the worst in people. As much as our friends and family have tried to shelter us from it, by fighting crime, we've seen the evil in people. We we're raised seeing the best, and absolute worst in society.
"I know once we were needed, but then everyone left, our job was done. Mojo Jojo is gone, Him disappeared, Fuzzy finally got committed, petty crimes get dealt with by the police… Townsville no longer needs us anymore, and yet, instead of living the normal life I want, we're still on duty, fighting the random monster that comes our way. They've trained the police to handle monsters but we still get interrupted from our daily lives to fight. Why should they fight monsters when we're more than capable of doing it for them? Sure saves taxpayers a lot of money. Fighting is not me.
"Being able to fly, being able to talk to animals, it was great. When we were kids anyway. But now, it just alienates me from my friends," Bubbles wiped her tears. Saying what she had been keeping from everyone, saying what was on her mind, it was a great release, so she cried freely even though a moment ago she felt relieved, "I can't relate to them. Sometimes I feel that because I'm not normal I'm on the outside looking in. I may be popular, I may be loved, but really I don't know who my real friends are anymore. Sometimes I wonder if people crowd around me not because of who I am, but what I am- a superhero, a celebrity. I want to live my life they way I want to. I want to go to college, I want to be an artist, I want to get married someday have kids and live a quiet, normal life. I want to be able to walk down the street without a complete stranger saying, 'hey Bubbles, how's it going' like we were best friends and then have them flash a pen to my face and ask me to sign my name.
"These headaches we've been having? They'll pass, I'm sure of it. Everyone else gets them, at least now I can sympathize. Besides, the aspirin works wonders. I've longed for normalcy for years now. So why shouldn't I be happy now that my wish has come true?"
"But it's who we are," Buttercup said quietly, "We're the Powerpuff Girls."
Bubbles put her hand to her forehead and then wiped her teary eyes, "Honestly Buttercup, did you really think we'd be the Powerpuff Girls forever?"
Buttercup narrowed her eyes, and looked at her feet. No. She knew that it wouldn't last forever. She was going to leave Townsville soon anyway, of course they weren't going to be the Powerpuff Girls forever. So then why did Bubbles' words suddenly have such an impact on her that she was speechless? Buttercup realized that it was because a part of her didn't want it to end. A part of her wanted them to be Powerpuff Girls forever, she couldn't allow herself to foresee them ever stop fighting crime, she didn't want to see them ever splitting up even though she was going to play a big part in it by moving away from Townsville. No, she couldn't see herself ever stop fighting crime and the split was already happening. They were already breaking apart.
The truth was, they haven't really been the Powerpuff Girls for almost a year.
A part of Buttercup welcomed the change, but a part of her wanted to hold on to what once was. Buttercup looked over the room, her anger had died down and she saw Bubbles and Blossom in a new way. Bubbles' words helped her understand the truth, which helped Buttercup realize why they could no longer get along. Blossom and Bubbles longed to move on, while Buttercup deep down wanted to hold on.
The only real reason why Buttercup planned to move away once school was over was partially because of what Bubbles said, they weren't needed anymore. Buttercup loved being a superhero and desired to be where she was needed. But she also wanted to get away because she resented her sisters, she was jealous of them because there was more to their lives that fighting crime, and they were happy; they didn't need to be needed by Townsville. She resented the fact that they weren't going to be the Powerpuff Girls forever and that they were no longer needed. Their existence had become empty and unappreciated and routine. Being a superhero was her life and what brought her happiness, it was a part of her identity. That was no longer true for her sisters. That was probably a big reason why their fights were never resolved. It was probably one of the reasons why their typical sibling arguments evolved into a full blown feud.
After a long silence Bubbles continued, "Buttercup, I know how much having superpowers means to you, but really, it's time to move on, don't you think? We're graduating this year, and this part of our lives is coming to a close. We are not needed anymore, so why deny it and keep fighting? Maybe you could start thinking about your future- you don't seem to have any plans after high school. It's not the end of the world. Can't you think of it as a new beginning?"
Professor Utonium had until that moment sat in silence, listening to Blossom and Buttercup fight, listening to Bubbles pour her heart out, all blind and ignorant to the truth. It broke his heart sitting there listening to them, wondering how to break it to them, wondering how to accept it himself. "Girls, you don't seem to understand," he blurted, unable to let the girls be deceived any longer, "If antidote X indeed does manage to eat away at all of the chemical X in your system, you will die."
"What?" Blossom asked, as her sisters gaped at him, wondering if they heard him correctly.
"Chemical X is the very essence that created you. It sustains you, and if it's too late to reverse the antidote X, you will eventually succumb to it and die," he explained. 'I am so sorry. I would've told you sooner, but I didn't know how. But believe me, I will work day and night, doing everything in my power to prevent that from happening."
Suddenly everything Bubbles said seemed meaningless to her. She shook her head with guilt in her eyes, "No. No you can't be serious! It's not supposed to be like that. This is supposed to be a dream come true… not this!"
"I'm afraid it is sweetie," he said, "But I won't let that happen."
Blossom wrinkled her brow, "How long d…do we have?"
"I have no idea," Professor Utonium replied, "There are too many things to consider. There are ways to slow it down considerably. No more physically strenuous activities, don't use your superpowers anymore. The more you use them, the faster it'll work. I trust I'll find the source of the antidote X tonight, and I think I should be able to come up with a way to slow it down even more. If I can buy enough time, I think there's a slim chance I can prevent it completely. However, I doubt I'd ever be able to restore your powers."
"So what now?" Buttercup asked. The last sentence he said bothered her more than the dying part. She took quick shallow breaths through her nostrils, trying to restrain herself, wanting to scream.
"Well, you can't fight crime anymore- that would be suicide. You can't use your powers anymore although I'm sure you'll have them until almost the very end, albeit they will be very, very weak. It will get to the point where you won't want to use them anymore anyway; it'll drain you of too much energy and intensify your headaches," Professor Utonium sighed, "You can't tell anyone. If anyone asks, tell them you've overused your powers and are taking a break. Blossom, I'd like you to call Mayor Bellum this so she won't call you anymore. We can't let this information get in the wrong hands. It scares me enough to know that someone out there already knows."
"People are going to find out eventually anyway," Blossom said, "Why not just tell them. The public should know."
"The crime rate may have dropped drastically, but it's because of the power you have over the protection of Townsville. You've made a lot of enemies," Professor Utonium said, regretting ever allowing them to become superheroes in the first place. "They will find out eventually I know, we can't deny that, but we can prevent it as long as we can. So please keep this a secret."
Buttercup wanted to shut out everything she heard, she closed her eyes, doing everything in her power to keep from going crazy, wanting desperately to scream. Neither of them seemed to know how to react. They had never had to face mortality before. Because of that, they couldn't seem to fully grasp the concept. After being invincible for most of their lives, even then, the idea of physical vulnerability was beyond them.
After a while, Bubbles was had been sitting in her seat quietly looked at Blossom and Buttercup and her blue eyes watered and she began to cry. Blossom looked at the pink envelope still in her hand unopened. She opened it up and read it, tears falling down her cheeks. She held the envelope to her chest and broke down into choking sobs that was mixed with laughter; a small but broken and comfused smile was on her face. Professor Utonium rose to his feet and embraced Blossom and Bubbles to comfort them and dry their tears, but he needed comfort himself. He too broke down and cried, he outstretched his arm and invited Buttercup, the only one with dry eyes, to join them but she shook her head. She had to get away. She had to be alone. She slowly rose to her feet and went to her room and started to beat on her punching bag.
It was official. The Powerpuff Girls were no more.
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