Blossom hung from her chains limply, having long ago given up fighting the pain that continued to ravage her consciousness. He knew too well what he was doing... it was almost like everything that happened was according to some master plan of his. It pissed her off to no end... but there was nothing she could do about it. Fighting was futile... she was lost...
She looked up slowly when she heard one of the shadows walking down the hall toward their cells. It was carrying a silver platter of soups and a glass of water. She watched the dark figure approach her cell... them walk straight past it to the neighboring one. Blossom watched curiously as the figure approached the red jumpsuit-clad girl hanging against the wall... now that Blossom concentrated she could recognize her...
The shadow moved up to Clover and set the platter on a small rock platform that grew out of the wall beside her. It placed its hand under her chin, pulling her head up from her chest.
Clover's eyes opened somewhat, though it was questionable whether she was conscious or not. Blossom stared when she saw the girl's eyes glowing crimson, her own eyes completely masked by the demonic glow within them. The shadow started shoveling food into her mouth with the spoon, food that she hungrily accepted.
Why would He want to keep Clover alive? What was he doing with her? His specialty was messing with the minds of his enemies... a trait that she and her sisters had experienced many times in the past. He must be using Clover for something... but what? What could he possibly need her for when he already had all of the 'girls and 'boys under his command?
Blossom watched the shadow pick up the glass and stick a straw in it, letting Clover drink her fill. When she finished the shadow let her head fall back to her chest and turned to leave, carrying the platter with it. The molten bars reformed as it left, leaving Blossom staring through the cell at the teenage spy.
"Hey." Blossom called softly. Clover picked her head up slightly, her crimson-hued eyes opening halfway. "Clover, over here." Clover turned to look in her direction slowly, though it was impossible to tell if she actually saw her or not. "What's going on? Why are you here?" Blossom wasn't really in the mood for conversation, but it managed to take her mind off the searing pain.
"No... Alex... don't..." Clover replied softly, turning her head to stare sightlessly into the air in front of her. "Listen... to me... don't listen..." She thrust herself forward suddenly, pulling at her chains with all of her strength.
As Blossom watched, she groaned and strained against the bonds that held her, but finally she fell limp again, letting her back swing against the wall with a dull thud. Her eyes remained open, staring down at the ground in front of her. "Alex... don't... it's not..." she trailed off, closing her eyes and lowering her head to her chest.
"Not what?" Blossom asked curiously, floating up from the ground to move as close to the other cell as she could, chained to the wall as she was. "What's going on?"
"Alex..." Clover muttered, with red tears flowing down her cheeks. "It's not... me..."
Alex stared out across the ocean, with her arms crossed over her chest. The blood red sky was reflected in the calm water, making it seem as if the sky continued on forever with no Earth in sight. Helen was down on the dock, readying the moderately sized speedboat she'd 'found' at a nearby warehouse. Alex sighed. It was almost time to back out onto that damned ocean...
"Don't sweat it Alex." She heard Clover's comforting voice behind her. She looked back, grateful to have her best friend's smiling face to comfort her. "You'll get through this just fine. A few days of rocking back and forth, and you'll be back on dry land before you know it."
"Yeah... I guess so." Alex said softly. "I know you're not real... but tell me you and Sam are okay Clover."
"We're just fine Alex, I promise." Clover smiled and put one arm around her shoulders. "And when you get back home, we'll all solve the problems of the world together." Clover smiled comfortingly. Alex smiled back and nodded enthusiastically.
"Are ye comin' lassie? We're ready to shove off." Helen called from the dock. Alex nodded and hobbled her way down the slope toward the docks, leaning heavily on the wooden cane Helen had given her to make things easier. Clover walked beside her, keeping her arms wrapped around one of Alex's.
Helen helped her into the boat, as usual ignoring Clover and pushing the boat away from the dock before jumping in herself. Clover leapt onto the boat easily and sat down beside Alex. Helen cranked the engine, which started with a furious roar, and they took off across the water.
Alex leaned against the side of the boat. She was already getting seasick, a problem she hadn't had before since she'd thrown up her entire last few meals within the first twenty-four hours. Helen took a deep breath and let it out with a satisfied smile.
"The sky may be red, but the ocean breeze is as pure as ever." She nodded, looking around at the ocean that surrounded them. "I love the ocean... it's so calm and peaceful..."
"It's slow, annoying, and lonely." Alex countered irritably, staring down at the bottom of the boat so she wouldn't have to look at the water anymore. By now Ireland had faded into the distance behind them, lost to the glowing crimson sky that now surrounded them on all sides. It looked endless... but she knew they would reach the end eventually. She just had to wait.
The WOOHP jet carved a path through the blood red sky, leaving behind it a trail of thick black smoke. Jerry sat at the controls, while Alice, Crimson, and Professor Utonium sat in the rear seats waiting to reach their destination. Alice hadn't said anything since they'd lifted off from Area 51, and neither had the Professor.
Their detour to Beverly Hills had cost them some time, but it was time Jerry insisted they had to take. Alice couldn't complain, if there were any other WOOHP survivors it would be good to find them. It had turned out to be a major disappointment though. Just a broken, abandoned compowder...
"There it is. Townsville." Jerry said from the control panel. Alice, Professor Utonium and Crimson all got up to walk into the cockpit.
"Oh my God..." The Professor muttered as the rubble and debris of the tall, looming spires and skyscrapers of the once great city loomed ahead. It looked like, of all the cities in the world, this one had received the greatest attention from Him. It made sense when Alice thought about it. From what she knew, the Powerpuff Girls and Professor Utonium hailed from Townsville. He might have a personal grudge against this place.
They sailed over the city, all looking down for any signs of life amid the blasted ruins. Nothing moved, not even any insects or stray animals prowled through the rubble. The entire city was desolate and destroyed. So they expanded their search to include the outer suburbs.
"Over there!" Alice pointed as they passed over a small school, in front of which a line of tents and small huts had been building in the street. Jerry looked down at the small gathering of tents.
"They're still alive." The Professor grinned, grateful to see his old friends and colleagues still alive kicking after all this time.
"I'm taking us down." Jerry brought the WOOHP jet into hover mode, slowly bringing them toward the ground a little further down the street from the small settlement. The group gathered near the rear exist as the cargo hatch slowly opened. All of the adult survivors were already gathered by the time they emerged. Their eyes were full of distrust and suspicion until one short black-haired woman stepped forward.
"Professor Utonium? Is that you!?" The woman rushed forward excitedly.
"Miss Keane! It's been forever!" The woman rushed into the Professor's arms, giving him a massive hug. Alice growled softly to herself, but remained quiet. "I'm so glad you're alive. I was afraid He would have..." The Professor trailed off, the smile fading from his lips.
"No... not yet at least." Miss Keane smiled sadly. "Those shadows keep coming back... it's almost like they're drawn here. And last time... they took..."
"Took...?" The Professor prompted softly.
"They took Blossom." Miss Keane replied. Alice stared, then looked around at her companions. Jerry had his eyes closed, while Crimson clenched her fists angrily at her sides. She'd been right... Blossom was already gone. It was too late. He had all six of the Chemical-X creatures. Unless they could find them and catch them by surprise... it was all hopeless.
"Are you okay Professor?" Miss Keane asked.
"No..." The Professor replied softly. "I'm sorry... but I'm not. There's nothing we can do now..." Miss Keane and looked past him as Jerry spoke.
"Unless we can find His hideout, there's nothing we can do now but wait for Him to come for us all." Jerry said. Silence reigned, until a pair of tiny footsteps marched through the crowd. All eyes turned as a young girl with long brown hair and bright blue eyes stepped forward.
"Excuse me sir... I'm Robin Schnieder... I... I know where they took Blossom... I followed them." She stated softly. "They're underneath the volcano in the middle of Townsville." Alice looked up at Jerry, who looked around at the stunned crowd.
"There's no way we can fight inside a volcano." Jerry told the gathered crowd. "But we have enough weapons to wage a full scale assault on the mountain, and the... shadows. All we need are troops." His eyes scanned the crowd in front of him. One by one, hands began to rise. Miss Keane's was first, followed by a tall lanky redhead, and many more after that.
Alice stared in surprise. The entire settlement was volunteering to wage war against these superbeings who had been decimating the planet piece by piece for the last month. She knew Jerry was a good leader, but she'd never realized just how good. She supposed one didn't become the leader of an international organization without certain leadership qualities.
"Then tomorrow..." Jerry stated, pushing his hands into his pockets like he was announcing another routine mission for his spies. "We fight."
Alex would have hopped up and down in excitement if she weren't weak and still sitting in a boat. It had taken awhile, but the east coast of the Unites States of America finally loomed ahead of her. She was back home again after a month of absence, back to civilization. She had to wonder what stores were still open after all this. Surely Clover and Jerry had succeeded in getting order restored.
Her heart sank when they finally docked and pulled themselves onto American soil. The city into which they wandered was crumbling and ruined. Bodies lay on the ground like the grim reaper himself had swept through. Men, women, children, it didn't matter.
"Oh my God... this... this is terrible..." Alex stared in shock, looking over at Clover in desperation. She wanted comfort, any comfort she could find. "Tell me this is an isolated thing... tell me the entire country isn't like this!"
"Hey girl, trust me. Everything will be fine in the end... as long as you're careful." Clover replied enigmatically. Alex blinked in confusion, but didn't have time to dwell on it before Helen walked up behind her.
"Well, we're here lass. Where do we go now?" she asked. Alex looked back at her, realizing that she had no idea. She didn't even know where in the country WOOHP headquarters was located. She blushed and looked down, too ashamed to admit she'd dragged them across the ocean for nothing. "We have ta GO somewhere. So make a choice."
"I... I guess we could go back to California..." Alex suggested. Of course, that was no easy feat. They were on the opposite end of a country probably overrun by murderers, psychos, and nutcases.
"Fine then, do ya know at least where that is?" Helen smirked. Alex nodded. It was probably the only state she knew the location to by heart, and that was because she lived there. They started walking, but Clover walked up beside Alex.
"It's getting pretty late Alex. You should probably rest for a while, you're not strong enough to move around for a long time yet." Clover suggested. It sounded reasonable to Alex. Her legs were beginning to ache and the can she used to hobble along didn't help all that much.
Alex turned to Helen. "Maybe we could rest a while before we get too far."
Helen shrugged. "Fine, I'm not in a very big hurry anyway." Looking around, she spotted a small furniture store nestled in the middle of a string of larger stores. "Come on, we can rest in here." They walked toward the furniture store, with Alex rushing to keep up with her. Clover rested her hands gently on Alex's shoulders, helping give her the strength to move faster.
"Whoa..." Alex walked into the store and looked around. Most of the furniture was as demolished as the rest of this city, but a few beds sat intact against the back wall. In fast, a few of the displays looked just fine, and they looked very inviting. Helen's bed in the cabin hadn't exactly been like sleeping on a cloud. "This must be where God shops." Alex hobbled over to one of the beds.
Helen chuckled. "Go ahead and rest up lass." Alex climbed on top of one of the beds, setting the cane beside it while the rolled to her back, smiling blissfully. "We'll head out again in a few hours." Alex nodded while the larger Irish woman turned to find her own bed to rest on.
Clover walked up beside Alex's bed, sitting on the edge. Her weight didn't affect the mattress at all, since she was imaginary. "You should be more careful Alex..." Her gaze turned to follow Helen. "She's planning something... I can see it."
"Wh... what're you talking about? She's done nothing but help me." Alex replied shakily. Clover reach up with one hand to stroke her forehead.
"Don't worry... I'm sorry I got you upset. I'll keep watch while you get some sleep." Clover smiled sweetly and brushed her fingers over Alex's forehead. Alex smiled up at her.
"Thanks Clover..." Alex rolled onto her side. "I don't know what I'd do without you here..." She closed her eyes, trying to drift off into her first comfortable sleep in the last month.
Sam kept her hands on the wheel and her eyes on the road, though it didn't really matter what lane she used. The roadways were empty except for a few wanderers, who were either begging or robbing anything that came into view. She and Mandy didn't feel like taking the risk of being robbed, so they kept to themselves and moved down the road in their newly acquired beat up old Cadillac.
Mandy looked down at her feet, pulling down her also newly acquired pair of sunglasses. The red sky was starting to give them headaches, so they decided to protect themselves from it. "Hey, someone left a CD case in here." Mandy grabbed it and hauled it up to her lap.
"Oh yeah? Put something on." Sam said amiably. Mandy dug through the CD case, throwing CD's out her window like so many Frisbees until she finally found one and stuck it into the dashboard CD player. Sam smiled slightly when an old familiar song started playing over the speakers.
Tell your children
That their time has just begun
I have suffered for my anger
There are wars that can't be won
Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel to the beat, nodding her head slightly. They weren't driving anywhere in particular at the moment. Their only destination was 'east' because 'west' would put them in the Pacific Ocean. There was nowhere to stay, so they figured moving randomly was as good an option as sitting out in the open.
Please believe me
I am laying down my guns
I am broken like an arrow
Forgive me, forgive your wayward son.
Mandy looked over at her, shouting over the song and the wind blowing through the windows. "Hey Sam, do you think we could stop in Las Vegas for a while? I've always wanted to go there."
"Why not? It's not like we have anything better to do." Sam shouted back. Both girls laughed as Sam turned back to the road, bobbing her head to the music.
Everybody needs somebody to love (please believe me)
Everybody's bitching cause they can't get enough
And it's hard to hold on when there's no one to lean on
Sam looked over to the passenger's seat, watching Mandy bob her head slightly to the music and stare out across the desert that was the road into Nevada. She'd changed a lot over the last month, but she could still see that inner fire burning in those deep, haunting violet eyes. Sam looked up when they passed a sign that said 'Las Vegas, twenty miles'.
Lord we gotta keep the faith
Don't you let your love turn to hate
Now we've gotta keep the faith
"Alex... Alex wake up." Alex stirred with a groan when she heard a voice penetrating her deep, healing slumber. "Alex, hurry!" Clover's frantic, worried voice jarred her straight up in her bed. The lights in the store had been turned out, thought the red light from the windows illuminated it well enough. She could see Helen asleep in one of the beds a ways away from hers.
"Clover... what's going on?" Alex asked worriedly.
"Helen... she's conspiring to hurt you!" Clover told her frantically. Alex's eyes went wide and she looked over at the sleeping Irishwoman. She looked pretty peaceful to her...
"A... are you sure? Why would she?" Alex asked.
Clover suddenly appeared behind her, resting her hands on Alex's shoulders and moving her lips close to her ear. "Believe me... I saw her. She was talking with... Him." Alex went cold. She remembered Him, she'd spoken with him on the raft. One hand reached up to rub the scars that remained on her throat from where his claw had dug in.
"You know what you have to do Alex... protect yourself. Protect yourself, and stop His plan." Alex gulped, pushing herself up from the comfortable bed. "You can stop Him... one ally at a time." Clover stayed with her as she approached Helen shaking with uncertainty and fear.
"I don't know Clover... how would you know... you're just..." Alex mumbled worriedly.
"I'm your best friend in the world... you still trust me, don't you Alex?" Clover wrapped her arms around Alex's neck loosely, resting comfortably against her back. Alex nodded slowly, staring down at Helen. "Then do it... trust me, and help me stop Him."
Alex reached forward slowly, reaching for the pillow that lay beside Helen. She picked it up, wrapping it up in both hands. She stared down at the woman's inert form, trembling in uncertainty. "Help me Alex... and save yourself. You can stop all this by cutting off his allies... you can save the world." Clover spoke into her ear as she lifted the pillow above her head.
Finally with a yell Alex leapt on top of Helen, slamming the pillow down over her face. Helen let out a muffled scream in surprise and lashed out randomly, but Alex held the pillow tightly over her face. Those massive tree-trunk arms reached up to pluck the far smaller Latino girl off of her, but Clover slid behind Alex, sliding her hands along her bone-thin arms. Somehow, Alex held on, fighting against the massive woman's far greater strength.
Eventually, Helen's struggles grew weaker and weaker until her arms fell limp to the sides of the bed. But still Alex held on, shaking and staring down at the pillow covering the large woman's face. Clover slid her arms up Alex's biceps to her neck, rubbing slightly as she spoke. "You did good Alex... one down... dozens to go."
Alex looked over her shoulder at her best friend, who was giving her a comforting, supportive smile. "Wh... what should I do now...?"
"Don't worry Alex... I'll take you everywhere you need to go."
Alice watched the citizens of Townsville line up for their weapons as Professor Utonium handed them out one at a time. From High-powered spotlights with enough output to roast a retina within seconds, to sound generators with such a high pitch that they could make a dog's brain explode (as a poor pooch found out when one of the kids by the name of Mitch got hold of one).
"Remember everybody, these things are very high-output, but the batteries aren't made for this kind of thing. Activate them only in short bursts, they'll last longer." Professor Utonium advised as he continued handing out the weapons. Alice wasn't going into battle tomorrow, her and Crimson were given special orders by Jerry. But that didn't mean she wouldn't regret seeing the Professor go into battle against some pretty bad odds.
Alice approached him from behind while he handed Miss Keane one of the weapons. "Professor, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Of course." The Professor gestured for the line to wait a moment while he walked a small ways away with Alice. "What's on your mind?"
"I know this may seem stupid but I just wanted to... well you know... wish you luck tomorrow." Alice looked up into his large, kind eyes. "As in... don't die on me, okay?" She smiled. The Professor smiled back and took one of her hands in his.
"I could say the same to you." He told her softly. "I still think you should stay behind. You're in no condition to-" He was cut off suddenly.
"I can't abandon Crimson like that." Alice waved that aside with one hand. "Anyway I... said what I wanted to say." She looked down and turned to leave but he held onto her hand. He pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her waist, planting a deep, yet gentle kiss on her lips. The people waiting in line made some whooping and cheering noises until he moved away from her.
"Stay safe, Alice." Professor Utonium smiled. Alice smiled back, her hands lingering on his as she turned to get ready for tomorrow's mission.
TO BE CONTINUED (Song: "Keep the Faith" by Bon Jovi)