A/N  Thank you everyone for the reviews!  Keep them coming!  I do like to know if people are reading this and haven't lost interest, so if you've been reading but slacking on the reviewing, PLEASE leave a review. It makes me happy.  I like being happy. You know what else makes me happy?  An update!  Enjoy!

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Chapter Seventeen: First Day Back

Walking down the hallway for the first time in a week was strange for Buttercup. Never before did the Utonium girls need to miss school for a long period of time. She was subject to many stares. Some gave polite second glances, some people were a little less discreet. There was a lot of whispering, some people even snickered, which angered Buttercup greatly. One person loudly complained of not having anything to do now that the only multiplex in the Pokey Oaks area was ruined. "Now we have to go all the way to the other side of town to go to the movies!" he had complained. She chose not to say anything, she did feel that they were right to be mad. She should have done a better job, but she really didn't want to deal with it at all.

"Hey Buttercup," someone called as she headed to class. It was Deuce Green, Ace's cousin, leader of the newer generation of the Gang Green Gang, second only to Ace. She frowned and looked away, choosing to ignore him. He persisted, "Yo, Buttercup!" he stood in her way.

"Get lost," Buttercup hissed.

He cornered her against the lockers, "Man, that looks nasty! It must've looked terrible when that was new!" he commented, looking closely at her bruised cheek, he put his hand to her face but she bitterly brushed it away before he could touch her face.

"I told you to get lost!" she snapped.

"Take it easy," he said, "I was just saying! Does it hurt?"

She glared at him, "Why don't I hit you, and you can find out for yourself?"

Mitch Mitchellson, who was also part of the Gang Green Gang joined them, "Hey, so I guess it's true, you really are powerless!"

Buttercup shoved Mitch out of the way, "Leave me alone you jerks!" She started to walk away but Mitch grabbed her good arm.

"But you're still the feisty girl I know," he winked in an insinuating manner.

"I may not be as powerful as before, but I can still kick your ass, so you'd be wise to let go now before I castrate you!" Buttercup warned.

"Sorry," Mitch backed off. He let her go and raised his arms in truce, "Sorry, habit. You know me, remember? No need to overreact." He laughed nervously and looked away avoiding any eye contact with her.

"We just want to talk," Deuce said seriously. His normally cocky tone disappeared.

"You have a funny way of going about it," Buttercup growled, "I don't want to talk. Certainly not to you."

"It's important," Mitch said, also losing his slick tone and turning serious. "It's about Mojo Jo…"

As Mitch spoke, Buttercup ran her fingers through her hair, a nervous habit she developed since the attack. Her long sleeved shirt that she wore to hide the bruises and make her cast on her left arm less noticeable slid down slightly, exposing partially faded red, purple and yellow bruises on her wrist. She also briefly moved her bangs to reveal the stitches on her forehead partially.

"…man, what did he do to you?" Mitch asked with sincere sounding sympathy. "I knew Mojo successfully ended your crime fighting career, but… I didn't expect you to look like this…"

"Are you done? I don't want to talk about it!" she snapped.

"We may have been enemies in the past but…" Deuce started.

"What now that I'm not a superhero and don't have the authority to arrest you all of a sudden we can be friends?" Buttercup rolled her eyes, "Not interested…" She started to walk away but Deuce grabbed her.

"Listen this is important!" Deuce hissed.

"Let go!" she snapped, pulling away. She winced and clutched her ribs, the action caused her some strain.

Kevin came around the corner in time to see Buttercup grimace in pain, "Hey! Let her go!" he pushed Deuce away and raised his fist at Mitch, "Beat it!"

"Whatever," Deuce snorted turning on his sleazy tone of voice, "We'll talk later." he said to Buttercup before he and Mitch slinked away.

"BC are you OK? Did they hurt you? I didn't know you were coming back so soon, why didn't you tell me?" Kevin exclaimed giving her a gentle hug, surprised to see her.

"I'm healing pretty fast, even though it doesn't look like it," she replied, pushing him away, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"I can fight my own battles you know," she stated coldly. "I don't need you to protect me."

"But BC, they were harassing you, weren't they?" he asked.

"I don't think so," she whispered, leaning against the lockers, looking exhausted, "I think they wanted to tell me something. But it doesn't matter. I have no interest in what the Gang Green Gang says."

"They weren't hurting you?" he asked.

"No," she sighed still clutching her ribs. She leaned against the lockers and doubled over in defeat, stress and pain, emotional and physical so evident in her emerald eyes.

"I'm sorry," he frowned, "Are you OK?" he asked softly.

She shrugged.

Kevin's squinted his eyes, and scratched the back of his head in contemplation, he then looked her in the eyes and asked carefully, "Buttercup, what exactly did happen?"

Buttercup looked at him in surprise, it was rare when he called her Buttercup, "You mean about what happened between Mojo and I, or the Gang Green Gang?" she demanded.

He hesitated, judging by her expression he was afraid to reply, but he took a deep breath and said rather meekly, "Mojo."

She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, "Mojo Jojo and I battled to the death. He won. As far as I know he could be in Hawaii sipping pina coladas on a beach while I'm stuck here at this loser high school, powerless, in pain and subject to stares, whispers and laughs. Anything else?" she seemed bitter about having to say anything. "Look, everyone has been trying to get me to talk about what happened. The Professor, Blossom, Bubbles, the police and even the bloody Gang Green Gang! I already gave the police a statement and to be quite honest I think that's enough. I don't want to talk about it and I don't need you pestering me about it!" she snapped.

"Sorry, I won't mention it again," he said.

"Just forget it!" she sighed, storming off.

Kevin watched her go, dumbfounded.

Meanwhile Princess Morbucks checked her reflection in her locker mirror and spotted Mitch and Deuce heading her way. She eyed them suspiciously as they walked on by, not knowing that she noticed them in her mirror. They passed by quickly as though they were avoiding her. Princess closed her locker and glared at them as they walked on by. As she headed to her class she spotted Buttercup and Kevin. Princess was surprised to see her back so soon and even more surprised by the fact Buttercup and Kevin appeared to be fighting. "…and even the bloody Gang Green Gang!" she heard Buttercup snap as Princess continued walking. Princess narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist, her face in a scowl.

"What were they doing talking to her?" Princess wondered furiously.

*****

Bubbles heaved a sigh. It was 4:00, time for cheerleading practice. She still hadn't told anyone that she had to quit. Instead she had come up with excuses for missing practice. Buttercup's injuries were a perfect excuse. "I have to go with my family to visit Buttercup in the hospital." "It's Buttercup's first day home and we're having a welcome home party, I have to be there." "I have to help Buttercup since she's still in pretty bad shape." were her typical excuses, they were true. Her cheerleading friends were starting to resent Buttercup for hindering Bubbles' involvement in cheerleading, practically blaming her for her problems. Bubbles was beginning to resent those accusations.

"You guys just don't understand," Bubbles sighed a few days ago when Megan complained about how Buttercup was taking too much of her time.

"It's true," Megan snapped, "It's always 'Buttercup this, Buttercup that!' I mean, come on! She's such a bitch, who cares?! Bubbles we need your full commitment. The year's almost over, this is serious crunch time, we have a major competition coming up, do you really want to throw away what you've worked so hard to achieve?"

"No!" Bubbles replied, "I don't want to throw it away, I love cheerleading."

"So why are you going to let her ruin this for you?" Megan asked.

"It's her first day back from the hospital, you don't understand how important it is that I be there for her right now," Bubbles replied.

"But you can't stand her!" Jennifer pointed out.

Bubbles hesitated, "Sometimes she does get on my nerves, with her attitude, but she's still my sister. I watched her die, remember? You have no idea what that's like! You have no idea how that feels, how much it haunts me. Especially considering how I've been as a sister."

"But she's alive now and didn't you say she'll be fine?" Sarah asked.

Bubbles nodded, but on the verge of tears, "Yes, but I still need to be there for her. She's been going through a rough time lately without this happening, and I wasn't there for her. I feel I was given a second chance, I feel guilty for everything and I don't know how to react to it all OK? Please, try to understand how much of a hard time my family is going through. We need each other, I need to be there for them. Can't you guys be a little more supportive? If it were you, I would be."

"Fine, all right," Megan replied, "You can miss another practice. I guess things do kinda suck for you right now." she gave Bubbles a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, "Sorry. But don't miss anymore."

"About that," Bubbles said, wiping a tear from her eye, "I um…"

"What?"

Bubbles was going to tell them the real truth then and there. She was going to tell them the whole story about antidote X and how strenuous activities were harmful, but looking in their eyes she couldn't do it. They didn't care about the fact she had lost her powers, that wasn't an issue, in fact she wasn't allowed to use her powers while cheerleading, but she was afraid of how they would react to her quitting. She noticed how they seemed to look down on her, always scrutinizing her, even more so since she first had to leave practice early for not feeling well. What if her fears and wishes were realized? She wanted to be normal to find out who her real friends were, but now that she had her chance she was terrified. What if they really weren't the friends she made them out to be?

"Bubbles?" Sarah raised a brow, "What is it?"

"I uh… nothing," Bubbles replied. She was angry at herself for her behaviour, and at her friends for the way they talked about Buttercup. Ever since Mojo attacked, family had become more important to her than before and she noticed how her friends slandered them all the time. Why hadn't she noticed it before? Have I really become that shallow? She wondered.

That night she apologized to Buttercup on behalf of herself and her friends. As Bubbles slowly headed towards the field, where cheerleading practice was held, Bubbles regretted getting angry at all. Why did she get mad at Buttercup for slamming her friends? In her mind she was saying the same thing lately, so why did she defend them? Why did they matter to her? Why was she so afraid to lose a few friends who in reality were meaner than she painted them to be? She was so confused sometimes she wanted to scream. Not only about her friends, but everything: her family, her friends, losing her powers, Mojo Jojo, the state of their health, graduation, her future… everything.

Bubbles had her silver, white and black uniform in her back pack, she held her nose in the air with snobbish confidence and told herself to relax. She had no more excuses now that Buttercup was back at school. What excuse could you give for missing three practices in a row? She had to tell them, she was going to tell them. "There's nothing to fear. If they're true, they won't care, they'll understand. If they're not the friends you thought they were, do you really want them as friends?" she asked herself as Megan and Jennifer waved her over.

"It's about time you show up," Megan exclaimed, "Come on, get changed, you're late."

Bubbles took a deep breath, "I can't."

"What is it now?" Megan rolled her eyes, "It can't be Buttercup again?"

Bubbles shook her head, looking at her hands which were still a little red from her own injuries of that night. She did have minor burns that were almost completely gone. "No, it's not that." she replied, "I quit."

"Why?" everyone gasped.

"I'm really tired lately, you know?" Bubbles sighed, "I don't have the energy to do it."

"I noticed you haven't been yourself," Mandy, one of the cheerleaders who Bubbles didn't hang out with too much nodded. "You look tired lately, you OK?"

Bubbles shook her head, "No. But I will be when the Professor finds a cure."

"For what?" Megan asked sceptically.

Bubbles handed Megan the uniform and explained almost everything. She left out the part that antidote X was potentially fatal if the Professor couldn't find a cure, and antixium, the temporary solution. She didn't want to tell them about that lest she start a rumour that the Powerpuff Girls were dying and explaining antixium would complicate things too much. "I hope you understand."

"Sure," Megan shrugged, but her eyes were less understanding, "I don't know why you didn't just tell us."

"I'm sorry," Bubbles replied, "I don't want to quit, and I think I was just in denial. But I have no choice. I'll see you all later, OK?" Bubbles waved to her team and headed back to the school to wait for the Professor to pick them up. When she saw Buttercup sitting by herself on the steps outside the main entrance, Bubbles sat down next to her and put her arms around her, taking Buttercup by surprise. She jumped and made a fist but relaxed when she saw that it was Bubbles.

"Where's Blossom?" Bubbles asked, letting her go.

Buttercup shrugged, "Work I think."

"Oh yeah," Bubbles nodded, "I forgot about that. It was nice of Mayor Bellum to give her that time off. I can't believe Blossom insisted on going back today, she's been keeping herself so busy lately."

Buttercup nodded but said nothing.

"How was your first day back at school?" Bubbles asked. Buttercup shrugged. "I'll bet Kevin was glad to see you." Buttercup didn't respond. "Well, I took a while, but I finally told everyone I quit cheerleading."

Buttercup looked at her, "So what did they say?"

"They were OK with it," Bubbles nodded, "I think."

"Hey guys," Mike sat behind Bubbles and gently massaged her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Do you want a ride home angel?"

Bubbles shook her head, "Professor's picking us up." She leaned back into him as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Buttercup'll tell him where you are, right?" Mike asked.

Buttercup shrugged. She looked at Bubbles, "So how do you feel now that you told them?"

"I was scared at first, but now that I told them, I feel so much better," Bubbles replied. "I just hope they're OK with it like they say they are."

Buttercup shook her head and snorted.

Bubbles frowned and glared at her for a moment then looked away guiltily. She sighed, "Tell the Professor I'm going home with Mike."

Buttercup nodded.

Mike and Bubbles left and Buttercup was left alone. She sighed and looked around at everything, rubbing her temples, feeling like crap. She listened to the breeze rustle through the trees, and focused on the sound it made-- anything to keep her mind off of how she was feeling and the memory of the attack. The faint sound of cheerleading and football practice echoed in the background prompted Buttercup to look at Bubbles as she climbed into Mike's car. She felt bad for Bubbles, but at the same time was relieved that she quit. Buttercup knew how much Bubbles loved the sport, and was sorry that she had to give it up, but it would be better for her in the long run if she stopped hanging out with Megan and her clique. If the only way it would happen would be by quitting, so be it. She just hoped that Megan matured a bit since junior high. Buttercup hated the thought of Bubbles feeling Megan's wrath.

Buttercup shifted her glance as they drove off and noticed a dark figure lurking in the parking lot. He was leaning against the school sign, partially hidden in shadows between the sign and a tree, smoking a cigarette, long dark hair hung in his face. He was intensely looking around, like he was watching for something. When he and Buttercup made eye contact he tossed his cigarette and stomped it out and walked away, somewhat startled.

"Ace?" she narrowed her eyes with recognition. She frowned, wondering what he was doing there. He was obviously not there to pick up his cousin.

Buttercup closed her eyes and shivered.

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Thanks are in order for my fantabulous reviewers who inspire me and always make me smile!

Hairy Gregory: Thanks, glad you liked the last chapter, even though I didn't.  I tend to be more critical of myself than necessary sometimes (I think).  It really was hard to write.  So was this chapter.  I'm at the point right now where I know what's going to happen, I know how this will end, but getting there's the problem since I don't want to get too rushed or too boring.  You know what I mean?

Bubblebean022: I hope this chapter helped you get some insight to Bubbles' coldness.  Thanks for the review!

PinkPuff514: That was my intention, to fool/shock/surprise my readers with the beginning of the previous chapter.  Glad it worked.  (I can be so evil, can't I?)  As for what happened to Buttercup, I will slowly reveal what happened, not completely though because what her ex-friends did to her isn't exactly the point, what matters is that she free herself from past hurts to live her life and move on.  It's important for me to mention because it's a big reason why she is how she is.

Dooly: Bingo.  When the original mayor was mayor, Townsville's justice system sucked (of course if all the villains got a decent jail sentence, there wouldn't be a show and the girls would have more time on their hands. :D) but Mayor Bellum is a little tougher on the bad guys and worked hard to improve the justice system. Glad to hear I fooled you too with BC's death. Thanks for the review!

Once again to all you silent readers, REVIEW!!!  I do take anonymous reviews and value each and every one of them (unless they're flames in which case I stomp them out, but CC is more than welcome).  You don't have to say a lot if you don't want to, I just like to know if there's more people reading and that you haven't lost interest.