Heightened Tensions- Chapter 17

The moon was harsh that night, lighting the already burning orange streets in a hard white glow. It's fullness hung in the sky like a floating disc of pure light, a stage lamp that shined upon the audience of Townsville, putting everything in flickering shadows as the city continued to breath.

Bubbles watched the illuminated buildings whirl past in a dizzying assortment of colors and sizes. Her round eyes, filled with so much sadness and remorse as the 255 bus continued to move through the governmental district of Townsville, dripped falling tears like leftover tea on blue saucers. She wiped them from her reddened cheeks with the back of her shaking palm, grinding her hand back against her sweater with hopes to dry them. But the tears still came, and she soon gave up on trying to stem the flow.

Bubbles didn't know what she was doing. She had no idea where she was about to go, knowing full well that her actions were horribly reckless and stupid. Bubbles knew she should have told Blossom, she shouldn't have ran from Buttercup, but at this point she was desperate. All alone, with everyone turning their backs on her, she felt like there was nothing else she could do. She needed her sister's help, the little bit they would inevitably be able to give, but Bubbles didn't want to risk getting them all killed, especially if it was only her that X wanted.

But what it didn't end once she was dead? What if Mojo just reprogrammed the robot to go after her sisters, or even the professor? God knew Mojo had it in for him. It was a thought she couldn't bear. Bubbles felt so tired, hopeless and insane with confusion. Her brain was overcome with the constant buzz of panic, and her body on high alert, ready for fight or flight when the time came. But was she just going out to the woods to die? To die alone? To be murdered with nobody there to help her?

A sudden lurch of panic swelled behind her breastbone that made her gasp loudly, causing a few disapproving stares from the people sitting quietly in the seats directly around her. Their faces were all blank, the smallest hints of irritation cast over their eyes, and none of them seemed to give a rat's ass that she was crying. Surely they knew who she was, and if she was really that important to all of them, then certainly they'd be a little bit more sympathetic!

Selfish assholes. All of them. They've taken us for granted. Let's see how they feel when my mutilated corpse is found in the woods by some camping children. Let's see how irritated they'll be with me when my bloodied remains are uncovered on the evening news.

But as those angry, violent thoughts surged through Bubbles's head, she couldn't help but see her family, standing among the rest of the crowd as the coffin trudged past City Hall, saying farewell to the mayor for the last time. It made her angrier, and it just upset her even further to the point that she was finding it increasingly difficult to hide the jumping hiccoughs in her throat. Seeing the faces of Blossom, and Buttercup and even the professor, all of them mourning her abrupt end, made her dashed feelings of hopelessness grow even stronger. She was facing death, and they didn't even know.

But the only thing Bubbles could think of was that she had to get away. It was the only shining beacon of hope in the swirling hurricane that was her mind. She wanted the rest of her family out of danger, and if that meant her becoming an outcast, then so be it. She could live in the forest, she could take care of herself… and maybe she could even find help as she went along.

Bubbles's thoughts continued on like that for what must have been forever. People came and went as the bus made its stops, edging its way to the city limits of Townsville. It was quiet, much too quiet, and it was starting to grate on her anxiety like nails on a chalk board. She could feel the intensity in every muscle, every wiring pulled taut, ready to leap into action at a second's notice.

Yet soon the muffled roar of the engine beneath lulled Bubbles into a light doze, where she dreamed of flying. Everything was very peaceful, and she could have sat there for hours, her head tilted towards the glass window to her right, her hands wrapped tightly in her lap. Her hair fell softly down her shoulders, dusting her face with soft blonde waves. Yes, everything seemed okay, everything seemed safe.

Bubbles awoke with a startling jolt as the bus shuddered roughly, people around her also stirring with confusion, their once blank faces now darting to look in every direction. Bubbles froze instinctively, feeling as much as hearing the newfound handicap the vehicle had obtained, somewhere around the front wheels. The other passengers were talking about an explosion, and Bubbles listened carefully to both their words, and the sounds that rumbled around her, checking for something, waiting for something to happen-

-Then again, this time at the back. Another thunderous roar of sound as the bus gave a frightening lurch to the side, the back fishtailing dangerously into the sidewalk. Some of the people had screamed, their faces awash with strangled terror as the bus slowly lost control, and Bubbles caught a quick glance at the panicked driver just before she leapt from her seat and jumped into the aisle-

-Again. Another wheel gone. This time the bus tottered dangerously sideways, before readjusting its grip on the road. The behemoth of metal slammed back to the pavement, sending showers of sparks that looked like tiny fourth of July sparklers at the windows. Bubbles was thrown forward, her hip smacking against a railing hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. But she bit them back, trying to regain her stance as she threw her arms out to catch the back of a chair. The people were screaming at her now, all of them pleading for her to do something, but she couldn't hear them.

The bus was crashing, careening down the street, scattering pedestrians and other drivers in its wake. Collisions sent the vehicle into even more chaos, as more and more people were thrown from their seats, and when the last tire blew Bubbles thought she heard another voice over all of the madness. Deep in her mind she knew what was happening, she knew they were about to crash, she knew people would die, and she knew who was responsible. She was trapped.

Tilting dangerously, the bus went barreling down main street, its shudders and bumps becoming angrier and more persistent with each second passed. They were done for, the driver had given up trying to regain control, and some of the people were praying. She would most likely be blamed.

But then in the distance, glowing hot in the shuddering headlights of the raging beast, Bubbles saw something that made her cry out with a mixture of joy and fear. Standing in the middle of the street, growing closer at an alarming rate, was none other than Buttercup.

***

This really doesn't look good.

The bus was coming up fast, its size increasing rapidly at an exponential rate. But Buttercup wasn't daunted, she'd done this before. It was lucky she'd been on that street, or Townsville would have had a major catastrophe on its hands.

Stop, just stop!

Buttercup knew she was in no real condition or strength to take on such an intimidating foe, but she was overcome with her own sense of duty to turn away. She felt tired, and almost reluctant as she started running towards the bus, hands open wide to catch the prize.

Stop! Just stop!

She wanted more than anything for it to magically come to crashing halt. This time she was afraid, and grew even more scared as the screeching hunk of metal grew closer. For some reason, something was telling her to run, that this bus was going to pulverize her.

Stop!

And as she continued to move she suddenly grew insanely tired, like all of the energy had been sucked from her by a giant vacuum. Buttercup skidded to a halt, the bus moving ever closer, the headlights now pounding against her body. She didn't run, she didn't move, but her breath continued heavy in her throat. Her head felt limp and watery, her eyes burning and the rest of her body draining quickly with fatigue. She wasn't going to be able to stop the bus, but she had to try, even if it killed her.

NO!!! STOP!!!

And she threw up her hands, her breath leaping from her lungs in one solid rush of air. Her eyes widened, and for a split second she felt them burning with glow. She breathed,

"Oh god…"

Her arms still outstretched, ready to catch the bus in a futile embrace, she closed her eyes tightly. She expected the blow, any minute now…. Any second now…ANY DAY NOW!!

Over the grinding roar of splitting, sparking metal Buttercup never made a sound. She stood, with her eyes shut tight to the madness, her face turned and her posture tense and prepared for the hit. But soon, Buttercup began to get impatient, as seconds inched into horrible minutes of stark nothingness. No blow ever came, and in fact, the screaming seemed to have stopped too. But she still felt the lights on her, harsher than ever before.

Buttercup opened her eyes, and leapt backwards, screeching raggedly as she took in the scene before her. Just inches from her, staring her down in the face, was none other than two glowing orbs of light. She shielded her eyes from the sudden onslaught, finally able to take in the entire scene before her.

The bus had come to a crashing halt just as it had been ready to mow her down. It was leaning badly on one side, the dented and torn metal giving it a horribly obscene look. The interior of the bus had gone dark, and as Buttercup squinted to see the inside, trying at the same time to ignore the light of the headlamps, she quickly ascertained that she couldn't see a damn thing. There was the tiniest shimmering tinkles of shattering glass, and just faintly, Buttercup picked up the scent of gasoline, growing stronger as the time went by, a strange tick tick tick of a stopped engine above it all.

For moments, everything was silent. Buttercup's body still just barely recovering from the ordeal. She was tired, and felt beaten, her entire being just having gone through a very serious stressor. Her limbs were tingling and numb, her heart thundering and her head felt light with the onslaught of adrenaline to her system. The air around her had gone very still, and Buttercup stumbled backwards, trying to survey even more of the damage.

Then something caught her eye that made her spin around, a scream rising to her lips like the cry of a beaten animal. Finally, after all this time of enduring her sister's ranting, screaming and crying, Buttercup finally saw the source of Bubbles's distress, and what she saw made her blood run cold.

Up in the buildings, silhouetted against the moon was one of the most intimidating robots Buttercup had ever seen. It's sleek form glimmered brightly in the moon's light, its limbs thick and outstretched as if ready to pounce. Buttercup just barely made out the shape of it toad-like face, with two glowing slits that must have been illuminated eyes. She'd seen robots before, but there was something about this one that held a certain mixture of grace and brutality unlike anything she'd ever seen. Its knee joints were bent , ready to propel it into a jump, and Buttercup followed its line of visions all the way back to the bus, and after a few scant seconds she finally put two and two together.

"BUBBLES!" She cried, suddenly leaping into action, her fatigue very quickly forgotten as her body went into panic mode. She spun back around and kicked off the ground, running towards the bus's teetering door, just in time to see her sister emerge from the wreckage.

She looked like hell, her face puffed and red from tears, her hair a rat's nest, and her clothes were ripped in various places. She was limping just slightly, her hands lolling weakly at her sides as each step was a stumble, the source of her pain seeming to be one of her thighs. She saw Buttercup, their met eyes, and Bubbles nearly collapsed with what must have been relief.

"BUBBLES! IT'S HERE!! WE HAVE TO RUN!!"

Bubbles choked what was either a response or a symbol of her grieving panic, and she fell forward, nearly falling as Buttercup caught her. The passengers escaped the bus in droves, some of them supporting each other, but none of them gave the two girls a second glance as they fled, some of them spotting the robot amongst the rooftops.

Then just like that the robot was gone, and Buttercup felt Bubbles suddenly seize up in her grasp, her gaze darting around to find the robot's position.

Damnit that thing is fast…

There was a thunderous crunch from just above them, and both of them turned upwards abruptly, only to find the hulking shape of the beast just above them, standing on the newly dented front end of the bus. It was glowering down at them, and strange eyes angled downwards as it stared directly at Bubbles. Bubbles started screaming frantically, some of it unintelligible words, and some of it cries of the purest terror. Buttercup felt tears well up in her own eyes, she felt her own body turn into floppy jelly as her mind fed off of her sister's own fear. But her overly protective instinct hit the override button, and soon she was dragging Bubbles away, her sister stumbling in her grasp as they tottered away from the fallen bus, her trembling form light in her arms. Buttercup risked a glance back, and saw to her horror, that the robot had moved its perch to the ground.

Without thinking, Buttercup stopped, causing a renewed slew of screams from Bubbles. She threw Bubbles forward onto the ground, and spun herself around, taking a few running leaps towards the metallic monster. It was walking now, its lumbering, yet agile steps carrying it forward with a sickening pace, carelessly showing off master-craftsmanship with each fluid step. It moved towards Buttercup, but its focus seemed to be on anything but her. She didn't care, she had to destroy it, because it meant to tear her sister apart.

Screw the past jokes, screw her past impatience with her baby sister. Now was the time to act, because her life depended on it.

"Buttercup! NO!" Bubbles's sobbed behind her, now clearly on her feet, but Buttercup didn't turn to face her. "IT'LL KILL YOU!"

Buttercup threw her arms back to ward Bubbles away.

"GET OUT OF HERE! RUN!" Buttercup said, feeling her own whimper rise to her throat as she quickly realized, the robot was almost an arm's length away. She readied herself in a fighting stance, clenching her fists, her fierce gaze turned up at the beast before her. It continued forward, and soon is towered over her, blocking the light from her vision.

Then it finally noticed her, and Buttercup growled, readying her stance for a pounce, preparing her entire being for a fight. But the robot was too quick, and before Buttercup could react, she felt a solid swipe as the robot swatted her backwards like a harmless fly. The wind was knocked from her lungs as her entire upper body crumpled inwards with the solid blow, and she came to a crashing halt in a pavement crater some ten feet behind the scene.

Completely dazzled with pain, Buttercup rolled over onto her stomach, wincing as the raw, throbbing section of her body came into contact with the crumbling shards of stone beneath her. At first she almost thought she couldn't move, her body protesting so violently with quick, rapid stabs of intense pain that she thought her entire rib cage had shattered. But in seconds it subsided, and she stumbled from the ground just in time to see Bubbles fall.

She was pushed backwards, crying so loudly it bordered on screaming. Buttercup felt her blood boil with rage as she saw the robot tower over her sister. One of its arms was extended into a shining blade, its deadly edge glimmering in the light of the street, its end ready for a kill. She tried stumbling forward, every fiber of her being struggling against the biting pain as she limped towards the scene of murder in front of her. All of her thoughts were frantic and disillusioned, all of her wanting nothing more than to see this robot flattened.

Bubbles was backing herself away, her face turned upwards as the robot lumbered closer to her, its strides easily overcoming all of her efforts to move in the opposite direction. Buttercup screamed for her, but Bubbles never reacted. Stretching her hands out, her face so twisted with agonized terror, Buttercup screamed one final time just as the robot moved its arm back for the kill.

A blood curdling roar then followed, and in her disillusionment Buttercup couldn't comprehend the scene that bloomed before her like one of the most terrible flowers. As if gaining a life and vengeance of its own, the ruined shell of what was once a bus suddenly leapt from its still sleep on the cold pavement, rumbling a wordless growl as it jerked forward, finally crashing back down to smash the robot beneath it.

Bubbles had leapt out of the way just in time, rolling sideways into a building as the explosion kicked off just inches from where she'd been on the ground, shards of metal and glass bursting like a bomb.

There was once again deafening silence, so much so that Buttercup couldn't take it. She felt as if all the blood in her veins had just gone to ice, every inch of skin on her body flushed with vibrating heat, creating a sick contrast in feelings. She stood, half leaning, half falling with sheer weakness as her bleary gaze searched for Bubbles. Finally she found her, stumbling towards her with a face so white it could have been carved in snow.

Buttercup's head suddenly split open with a torrential migraine, so suddenly overcome with nausea and weakness that she was sure she was going to die. Her throbbing head felt empty, so completely devoid of life, as if every particle of thoughts had been smashed to bits by a hammer, and as if every shimmering piece of electricity had been snapped so abruptly it left her very disoriented and confused. Her head, something felt so wrong with her head. She was so sure it was going to crack open and fall to the ground.

Bubbles was upon her, and she was talking, but Buttercup couldn't hear her. Her gaze was straight ahead, every lingering ounce of strength fighting off the urge to vomit. Her eyes fluttered weakly, and a surge of energy rushed through her, making her head give a sudden spurt of pain. She couldn't take it anymore. Everything was buzzing, and spinning and she just wanted to sleep.

Finally, almost unable to breath, Buttercup passed out.