"Here you go, Mrs. Lawrence. Mr. Sprinkles is safe and sound." Bubbles smiled, handing the small kitten back over to his owner, the elderly craftstore owner who lived just a few blocks from Pokey Oaks Kindergarten.
"Why, thank you dear. I knew I could always count on you to keep Mr. Sprinkles safe," she patted her on the arm, before making her way back into the house.
When she and her sisters received the call from the mayor that there was a cat stuck up in a tree, Buttercup rolled her eyes.
"Can't the cops handle one thing themselves?"
Even Blossom seemed annoyed, telling the mayor that they were very busy and should only be called during emergencies. But Bubbles didn't mind; she'd never admit it to her sisters, but she vastly preferred missions like these over fighting towering monsters and supervillains with weapons that could wipe out the entire city along with any other in a 100 mile radius.
So, she volunteered to go by herself.
Satisfied that she was able to bring the kitten back safely, she started to make her way back home when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Goddammit, Snake," Ace's nastily voice rang through the alleyway. "I told you to swipe me a box of Marlboro Lights, these are Virginia Slims," Ace threw the box of cigarettes back at Snake, causing him to flinch.
"I'm ssssorry Accce, thissss wasss all they had-"
"Did I ask?" Ace snapped. "God, you really can't even handle the simplest of tasks, can you? All that weed you smoke must've fried your brain," he chuckled to himself. "Maybe next time I'll just have Billy do it. He still has at least half of a brain left in that big skull of his. Probably."
"Yeah! Billy got big brain!" Billy said happily.
"Haha, yeah, good one Accce," Snake said lamely. "Maybe I sssshould cut backsss a bit."
"Whatever," Ace said. "Come on guys, let's head back. I had enough of all of yous for one day."
As the rest of the gang headed back towards their hideout, Snake trailed behind. Arturo looked back toward Snake, shooting him an apologetic look. Snake shook his head in a gesture that Bubbles guessed meant don't worry about it.
Snake, now alone, walked towards the outer wall of a corner of a nearby shop, sliding down into a sitting position. Wordlessly, he pulled out something that looked like an oddly shaped cigarette out of his pocket along with a lighter, and lit it. He took a deep inhale and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they looked more exhausted than Bubbles had ever seen him.
"Snake?"
At the sound of her voice, the teenage gangster jumped nearly a foot in the air. He hastily put out the odd cigarette that smelled like a skunk.
"I wassssn't doing anything, I sssswear!" he cried. "I wasss jussst resssting my eyesss for a bitsss."
Bubbles knew he was lying, but decided to let it go. "I'm not here to get you into trouble," she said. "I saw what Ace said to you and I just wanted to ask; are you okay?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What, are you a ssspy now too?"
"I wasn't spying!" Bubbles defended. "I was helping Mrs. Lawrence."
"Whatever," Snake said. He slunk back down, picking at a scab on his arm.
"But... you are okay, right? Ace was pretty mean to you back there."
"That'sss jussst Acce," Snake shrugged. "He'll ssssay sssh- I mean, stuff, but he doesssn't mean it. And he's not wrong, anywaysss. I ssscrewed up."
"He still shouldn't talk to you like that," Bubbles argued. "I make mistakes sometimes, but my sisters never treat me like that. Even Buttercup; she can get mad but she always says sorry afterwards."
"Sssorry isssn't a word in Accce's vocabulary," Snake said.
"Well, maybe it should be."
Snake looked at Bubbles for a long time, as if he was trying to piece a puzzle together. "Why do you care? What'sss it got to do with you?"
"I'm a superhero. Helping people is my job," Bubbles said. "And I don't think friends should be bullying their friends, even if their friends steal or break the law, or are even bullies themselves. And if they do, their friends should find better people to be friends with who aren't so mean to them."
Snake was silent for a moment. He looked back in the direction that the rest of the gang went. "I really ssshould be getting backsss. Accce isss going to get mad if I ssstay out too long."
"You don't have to go back," Bubbles said. "I could talk to the Professor and tell him you need a place to stay-"
"Thanksss, but no thanksss," Snake replied. "Besidesss, I promissssed Arturo a poker rematch. He thinksss I cheated, but he'sss jusst a sssore lossser."
He picked himself up off the ground, and headed toward the city dump. Before Bubbles could come up with something to say to convince him otherwise, he looked back.
"Thank you, Bubblesss. You're not too bad, for a Powerpuff."
A/N: Thanks for reading! This was super fun to write.
Feel free to leave a comment if you'd like to tell me what you think! :D