Author's Note: I've been pronouncing Luceid as "loo-sehd." Now you know (
Chapter 8
"So in conclusion, due to the high costs and the overall psychological make up of the citizenry, I recommend that we not make a bid on the Townsville reconstruction project at this time." B.C. finished her long report to the board. The board members began talking amongst themselves. Judging from the few words she caught, B.C. assumed that the city of Townsville wasn't going to see any Luceid workers anytime soon.
"Well, I believe that will be all from Miss Luceid today on Townsville. I expect a decision by tomorrow at 3 p.m. Until then, I wish you all a pleasant morning." Maxwell ended the meeting and the members left the boardroom leaving B.C. and Maxwell alone. "Are you ready?" Maxwell asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so."
Maxwell led B.C. to his office on the top floor of the main building in the business complex. He went behind his desk and typed in a code on an unseen keypad. A bookshelf slid to one side revealing an elevator door.
"Woah, just like in the movies." B.C. gasped.
"A bit cliched, I admit, but it is an effective security measure." Maxwell responded. The elevator door slid open, awaiting its passengers. "After you, my dear."
B.C. reluctantly entered the elevator with her father following behind her. The doors closed and B.C. felt the elevator descend. "You know Dad, this changes nothing. I'm still your daughter, I'm still a Luceid." B.C. told her father.
Maxwell didn't even look at her. "That's pretty much how I felt the first time I rode on this thing." B.C. became even more nervous. 'What's gonna happen when I get down there?' B.C. thought while the LED display went past the first floor and began to indicate subterranean levels. 'Where the hell are we even going? I know we do have some underground facilities, but this deep?' The elevator came to halt and released them to an underground facility deep beneath the surface Wolf's Ridge. It looked like the R&D facilities above ground but this one had more sophisticated equipment. In one lab, technicians were testing some sort of energy rifle.
"Dad, what is this place? We don't even sell weapons."
"Those are for internal use only." Maxwell noticed the look of fear in his daughter's eyes, "Don't worry, they're stun rifles for our security teams." A motorized cart pulled up to B.C. and Maxwell. It was driven by a forty- three year old woman with black hair, B.C.'s old nanny and bodyguard, Kay Scion Johnson.
"Hello B.C., I haven't seen you since Karen's graduation party." Kay greeted B.C.
"Kay? Why are you here?"
"You'll see."
Maxwell and B.C. boarded the cart and Kay drove them through the hallways to a small conference room with a large monitor embedded in the far wall and chairs surrounding a long table in room's center. Maxwell, Kay and B.C. sat down at the table.
"Beth, are you familiar with the term 'Luceid's Child?'" Maxwell asked.
"Grandpa mentioned that. What does that mean?"
"Our ancestor, Nathaniel Luceid, believed that there were certain children who instinctively possessed certain qualities that indicated potential benefits if that child was brought up in the proper setting."
"Benefits?"
"Leadership, intelligence, honor, intangible qualities that could lead a company or country to true greatness."
"You mean.."
"Yes, Beth, Nathaniel Luceid put his theory into practice. He had his most trusted friend find a child that exhibited qualities that one would associate with a successful businessman."
"That friend of his was my ancestor, Elisabetha Vilkolna. Nathaniel Luceid brought her and her family over to the United States from Eastern Europe for her talents. She was deeply devoted to Mr. Luceid and was more than happy to oblige him." Kay continued the story.
"Talents? What kind of talents?" B.C. asked.
"She was a spy, an expert at the worst kind of espionage. Finding and securing a child to Mr. Luceid's liking was no problem for her. She taught her talents to her daughter so she could continue the family legacy as the mother of Luceid's child."
"So you were the one who.."
"Yes, B.C. I kidnapped Buttercup Utonium and faked her murder and brought her here so she could be you."
"But why her, me?" B.C. asked shocked at this revelation.
"I think Buttercup should ask that question." Maxwell said.
"What are you talking about?" B.C. asked.
"It's time for your final test. It's time to unlock your memories."
"My memories?"
"Max are you sure about this? What if..?"
"That's enough Kay! This needs to happen. Beth, are you ready?"
B.C. shifted uneasily in her chair, 'Am I ready? I don't know. I know I was Buttercup Utonium, Bubbles's lost sister, the girl whose "death" changed the world forever and led an entire city to its destruction. Do I want her memories though? This is my final test to see if I'm really Luceid's child. What if I'm not? What will happen to me, what will happen to the company. No, I don't care what I remember, this is my company. The people who work in the plants are counting on me to keep their jobs so they can live their lives. I need to do this, Dad said so.'
"Let's do this."
"Very good. Just watch the screen." Maxwell told her. The screen flashed images at a rapid rate. B.C. stared at the screen, the flashes awoke memories that have long been sealed.
(Twenty years and seven months earlier)
Buttercup was doing a night patrol in the city of Townsville. Tired and bored, she decided it was time to head back home when all of a sudden she heard the cackling voices of the Gangrene Gang. Buttercup flew to the source of the voices to find the thugs harassing a young woman.
"Now what's a pretty thing like you doing out on a night like this. A girl like you can get into some real trouble." Ace said in his usual threatening voice. The rest of the gang just chortled menacingly as they advanced on the poor woman.
'Finally some action.' Buttercup thought as she intercepted the gang. "At it again, Ace? Forget about what happens everytime you guys try to mess with people."
""Uh, Buttercup, we was just offering this nice lady.. RUN FOR IT!!!" The gang scattered into the darkness, leaving Buttercup alone with the young woman. Buttercup got a better look at the woman, she had black hair and was very pretty.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Don't worry about it." Buttercup was about to take off when the woman stopped her.
"W-Wait, would you mind walking me home?"
Buttercup groaned but decided to escort her home. As they headed towards the woman's home, she decided to strike up a conversation with the girl who just saved her. "You're Buttercup, right?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"It's nice to meet you."
"Uh-huh."
"My name is Kay, I just started working at the church a few weeks ago. I'm a Sunday school teacher."
"Sunday school?"
"Yeah." The woman explained the concept to Buttercup. Eventually the two reached Kay's apartment. "Thank you once again for saving me and helping me get home safely. I can't pay you but if you ever want to talk to anyone about anything, I'll be more than happy to listen."
"Really? Gee, thanks. Maybe I'll take you up on that. I gotta go, so I'll see ya later." Buttercup flew off and headed back to her own home. 'Hmm, first time anyone ever offered to listen to me. She seems pretty cool.'
(Two and a half weeks later)
Buttercup was busy in class drawing when Ms. Keane announced it was time to hand back the tests the class had done earlier. When Ms. Keane reached the girls' table she seemed incredibly happy. "I'd just like to congratulate our Buttercup on her remarkable improvement." The teacher smiled while handing Buttercup her test. The paper bore a huge 'B' on it.
"Wow, Buttercup. You did better than me." Bubbles told her, a little excited for sister. "How did you do it?"
"I had some help studying." Buttercup answered proudly. The time she spent with Miss Kay had paid off. Not only did the young woman offer a friendly ear but also helped Buttercup with her studies.
"Well that's wonderful." Ms. Keane beamed and the class applauded Buttercup. The girl was so caught up in the praise for her, she didn't notice Blossom staring daggers at her.
Later at recess, Buttercup was watching Bubbles draw her chalk drawings when Blossom confronted her, "Don't think I don't know what's going on."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play innocent with me. You cheated on that test!"
"What?! I did not!"
"Oh really? Then how did you get such a good grade?"
"I told you, I had some help studying."
"HA! Do really expect me to believe that. I know you. You couldn't study if your life depended on it. You're nothing but lousy cheater."
"You better take that back, Red." Buttercup was really pissed. The class gathered around anticipating a fight.
"What's the meaning of this?" Ms. Keane came out to investigate the commotion and was now angrily glaring at the girls.
"Ms. Keane, Buttercup cheated on her test." Blossom told her teacher.
"I did not!" Buttercup retorted.
"That's enough! Blossom how do you know that your sister was cheating."
"Well.. I.. I just do!"
"Blossom Utonium, I'm surprised and disappointed in you. You should know better than to make accusations without proof. You apologize to your sister right this instant."
"But Ms. Keane.."
"NOW!"
"Buttercup, I'm sorry." Blossom grumbled and stalked off enraged at what had happened. It was obvious that the red head was convinced that Buttercup had cheated. It would be a few days before the two were on speaking terms again.
(Ten days later)
Buttercup sadly listened to the bawling coming from the girls' room. Bubbles most prized possession was destroyed in the last monster attack. Buttercup personally didn't care for Octi, but she hated knowing that Bubbles was so sad. Secretly she loved how cheerful and carefree her blonde sister was, her perpetual happiness was one of the few reasons Buttercup still continued fight alongside her sisters even while her faith and interest in crimefighting had begun to dwindle. Buttercup floated upstairs and into the bedroom. Bubbles crying hadn't ceased since they got home. The blonde had buried her face in a pillow and crying as hard as she could. Blossom was sitting in the corner, watching her sister in despair.
"How is she?" Buttercup asked.
"It's no use. You know how much she loved Octi. I don't think she'll ever get over this." Blossom quietly answered.
Buttercup looked at Bubbles again. She sighed and went into the closet. She pulled her journal from a shelf and jotted down an entry. She then put her journal away and looked at a huge bag that she wrote on stating that what was inside belonged to her and woe to anyone who would dare to touch it. 'Can't believe I'm going to do this but she needs them more than I ever will.' Buttercup grabbed the bag and offered the contents to Bubbles. Blossom sailed in from the corner and comment on the value of Buttercup's gift. Bubbles stopped crying and inspected the pile of Fuzzy Friends. Buttercup had explained where they had came from. Bubbles had found the special Dragon Fuzzy Friend that was a personal gift from the inventor herself. Bubbles was more interested in the dragon then in Buttercup's story. "And I can keep her?" Bubbles asked.
"Yeah sure." Buttercup was about to continue telling the story when Bubbles tackled her at full force and wrapped her arms around the green- eyed puff. Buttercup could barely breathe, Bubbles was holding her so tight. Bubbles squealed happily and quickly called the Professor to tell of Buttercup's unexpected generosity.
"Are you okay?" Blossom laughed as she helped Buttercup back on to her feet.
"Yeah, man it felt like a monster grabbed me." Buttercup groaned to Blossom.
"That was a very wonderful thing you did for your sister." The Professor told Buttercup, all smiles.
"Uh-huh." Buttercup was out of breath and a little sore from Bubbles's enthusiastic reaction to her new toys. But she felt good, bringing so much happiness to her sister in her time of need.
(Three weeks later)
'Mojo Jojo, how many times do we have to fight him, before it's over. How many people have to get hurt before someone actually puts him away for good.' Buttercup was frustrated by the mutated chimpanzee's frequent releases from jail. It was obvious that Mojo had no intention of stopping his attacks yet he always manages to get out of jail. The girls were flying to where the mayor said Mojo was attacking. "Same thing, we stop him, throw him in jail, and then they let him back out. Am I the only one who sees how wrong this is?" Buttercup muttered quietly. Mojo's robot came into view, another one his Robo Jojos, this particular one had rather nasty looking laser attached to it. Buttercup felt a little scared when she saw the primate's expression. His eyes danced with a madness that she had never seen before. The crazed mutant began to charge the laser and aim at the girls. 'Something's wrong.' Buttercup thought. Suddenly the robot swiveled to fire at the crowd of spectators.
"Omigosh, he's gonna shoot the townspeople!" Bubbles shrieked. The girls were frozen. Mojo was too far away for any physical attack, there was only one option. 'I have to take the shot or else all those people will get killed, but it might.. I have to, I can't let them die." Buttercup fired her heat vision at the laser causing the device to erupt in a spectacular explosion. The girls flew through the air like ragdolls and crashed a few feet from a build that was previously several hundred feet behind them. The trio got up and flew to the wreckage of Mojo's robot. Blossom reluctantly lifted up a piece of debris to check on Mojo's condition. Blossom dropped the metal in shock.
"Mojo Jojo, he-he's gone." Buttercup couldn't believe what her sister just said. She looked for herself and saw the still body of Mojo Jojo, staring at her with dead eyes, his face frozen in a hideous grin as if to tell her he had won. It was too much for the young girl to bear. She had no love for Mojo Jojo but she never wanted to kill him.
"I-I didn't mean.. It was an accident.. I didn't want to.. Oh God, I'm sorry, I'M SO SORRY!!!" Buttercup took off, her eyes began to tear up. She flew to the one person she felt understood her, Miss Kay. Buttercup flew to her friend's apartment and knocked on the door.
Miss Kay opened the door to find her young friend staring at her with tear- filled eyes. "Buttercup are you okay?"
"It was Mojo again. He had a giant robot with a big laser and was about to shoot the people with the laser, so I.. I killed him."
"Oh my god! Sweetie come here." Kay picked up the child and held her. Buttercup broke down and cried as hard she could while Kay rocked her in her arms, comforting the upset child. "It's okay. I promise you it'll be okay."
An hour later, Buttercup calmed down enough to tell Kay what had happened. "I didn't know what else to do. I knew if I fired on that laser something bad was going to happen, but if I didn't do anything he would have killed all those people. I didn't want anyone getting hurt. Everyone is going to hate me."
"Sweetie look at me." Buttercup looked up at Kay's eyes. "This was going to happen eventually. This whole incident was not your fault."
"It is my fault. If I hadn't.."
"Buttercup Utonium, you listen to me!" Miss Kay shouted angrily. "You weren't the one who kept letting that lunatic out of prison. You weren't the one who sold him the materials to build those awful machines of his. You were the one who protected the people of Townsville. You did the right thing. If you hadn't, you and your sisters would have been held responsible for the death of dozens of people. It's ridiculous how this city is, expecting children to fight for them. Tell me Buttercup, what has the city of Townsville done to protect itself?"
"I-I don't know."
"From what I can see, nothing. Don't you find that to be a little strange?"
"I guess so." Buttercup answered meekly.
"Look, why don't you rest up a bit and I'll make us something to eat. Will that be alright?"
"Yeah." Miss Kay left Buttercup by her self to think about what she was told, 'Miss Kay does has a point, they kept letting Mojo out even after everything he's done. And how did he get all that stuff to make those robots and weapons? Hmmm.' Miss Kay made lunch for the two of them and they talked for a couple of hours. "I'd better get home. Everyone is gonna be worried about me."
"Alright, be careful sweetie. And if you ever need anything, please come see me."
"I will, thanks Miss Kay." Buttercup left Kay's apartment and headed home when she heard Bubbles crying. 'Oh man, she must have been looking for me all this time.' Buttercup landed on the building where Bubbles was crying. "Bubbles?" Bubbles looked up at her. "Bubbles, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Bubbles ran up to Buttercup and hugged her. Buttercup held her sister and explained where she was. "Let's go home, the Professor and Blossom are probably worried about us." Buttercup told Bubbles and weakly smiled, seeing the doubt and fear in her sister's eyes. 'Please don't hate me.' Buttercup thought while she and her sister flew home.
(Three days later)
Buttercup put the finishing touch on her resignation speech. Miss Kay and Buttercup agreed that it was time to call it quits. The people's reaction to Mojo Jojo's death was predictably negative. It had occurred to Buttercup, that her fighting was nothing but a bloodsport for the people of Townsville and that she had just put an end to one of their favorite events. Buttercup wrote down her latest thoughts in her journal and snickered, imagining how shocked everyone was going to be when she dropped the bomb on them.
"BUTTERCUP!" the Professor angrily shouted from his lab.
"Now what?" Buttercup muttered out loud. She went down to the lab to find her father and Blossom glaring at her.
"Buttercup, would you mind explaining this?" the Professor pointed to a broken machine on the floor.
"Looks like one your inventions fell on the floor." Buttercup answered.
"I know that, but maybe you could tell me how it fell on the floor."
"I have no idea." Buttercup snorted.
"Oh, I think you do."
"What?! I didn't break your dumb ol' invention."
"That's enough! Young lady you go up to your room and stay there until you're willing to tell me the truth."
"Unbelievable, I get blamed for everything that goes on around here." Buttercup muttered irritated.
Buttercup floated to her room, none too happy about being blamed for the Professor's broken invention. She gave a quick glance at Bubbles. Buttercup instantly knew it was her. The guilt in the blonde's eyes gave it away. 'Figures it would be her. Oh well, she'll admit it, sooner or later. Lucky it wasn't Blossom, she'd never admit it. Funny, that girl is a slave to that goody-two shoes morality of hers but when it comes to covering her own..'
"Why can't you take responsibility for what you've done. The Professor worked real hard on that invention and you destroyed it." Blossom nagged.
"For the last, it wasn't me. I'm not gonna fess up to something I didn't do." Buttercup retorted.
"Right, like you didn't kill Mojo." Buttercup turned red from anger, how dare she bring that up.
"THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!"
"Sometimes I wonder." Blossom growled. That was it, Buttercup swung around and faced the redhead. It took every fiber of self-control she had to keep herself from grabbing Blossom and beating the crap out of her.
"Just stay away from me." She warned Blossom. Enraged, Buttercup flew into their room and slammed the door as hard as she could. Buttercup grabbed her journal and reported the incident. Buttercup looked at the clock. 'Hmm, it'll take Bubbles a little while to fess up. Might as well go meet Miss Kay in the woods.' Buttercup pulled out the pendant that Miss Kay gave her yesterday. She could hear some quiet beeping from it with her super hearing. 'I wonder what that is. Oh who cares, it's probably nothing.' Buttercup quietly snuck out the window and waited until she far enough to take off at full speed without being noticed by her family. Buttercup reached the secluded clearing deep in Townsville Forest. "Hmm, that's strange. Kay hasn't got here yet. I hope she doesn't take too long. If they find out I'm not home, I'm really gonna get it.' Buttercup heard a faint whine of a device being charged. Buttercup turned her head to investigate the noise only to find an energy bolt flying right at her. The bolt struck her square in the chest knocking the girl out. The last thing she heard before succumbing to the darkness was the voices of many people including Miss Kay.
(The Present)
"I remember." It was surreal. The memories of another person, another life, suddenly bloomed in B.C.'s head. "My memories.." B.C. didn't know what to make of the experience. She remembered how angry she was with Blossom, with the Professor, with Bubbles, with the people of Townsville. B.C. looked at Kay. "You.. You were the one who.." B.C. got up from the chair. "I need to be alone for awhile."
"B.C. wait.." Kay got up to stop her from leaving but Maxwell grabbed her.
"Leave her be." Maxwell turned towards his "daughter." "Just ask a security guard to let you out." B.C. wordlessly left the room.
"Max, we can't let her go like this."
"It'll be alright. She needs some time alone." Maxwell sighed and continued, "In all honesty, she took it a whole lot better than I did."
Chapter 8
"So in conclusion, due to the high costs and the overall psychological make up of the citizenry, I recommend that we not make a bid on the Townsville reconstruction project at this time." B.C. finished her long report to the board. The board members began talking amongst themselves. Judging from the few words she caught, B.C. assumed that the city of Townsville wasn't going to see any Luceid workers anytime soon.
"Well, I believe that will be all from Miss Luceid today on Townsville. I expect a decision by tomorrow at 3 p.m. Until then, I wish you all a pleasant morning." Maxwell ended the meeting and the members left the boardroom leaving B.C. and Maxwell alone. "Are you ready?" Maxwell asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so."
Maxwell led B.C. to his office on the top floor of the main building in the business complex. He went behind his desk and typed in a code on an unseen keypad. A bookshelf slid to one side revealing an elevator door.
"Woah, just like in the movies." B.C. gasped.
"A bit cliched, I admit, but it is an effective security measure." Maxwell responded. The elevator door slid open, awaiting its passengers. "After you, my dear."
B.C. reluctantly entered the elevator with her father following behind her. The doors closed and B.C. felt the elevator descend. "You know Dad, this changes nothing. I'm still your daughter, I'm still a Luceid." B.C. told her father.
Maxwell didn't even look at her. "That's pretty much how I felt the first time I rode on this thing." B.C. became even more nervous. 'What's gonna happen when I get down there?' B.C. thought while the LED display went past the first floor and began to indicate subterranean levels. 'Where the hell are we even going? I know we do have some underground facilities, but this deep?' The elevator came to halt and released them to an underground facility deep beneath the surface Wolf's Ridge. It looked like the R&D facilities above ground but this one had more sophisticated equipment. In one lab, technicians were testing some sort of energy rifle.
"Dad, what is this place? We don't even sell weapons."
"Those are for internal use only." Maxwell noticed the look of fear in his daughter's eyes, "Don't worry, they're stun rifles for our security teams." A motorized cart pulled up to B.C. and Maxwell. It was driven by a forty- three year old woman with black hair, B.C.'s old nanny and bodyguard, Kay Scion Johnson.
"Hello B.C., I haven't seen you since Karen's graduation party." Kay greeted B.C.
"Kay? Why are you here?"
"You'll see."
Maxwell and B.C. boarded the cart and Kay drove them through the hallways to a small conference room with a large monitor embedded in the far wall and chairs surrounding a long table in room's center. Maxwell, Kay and B.C. sat down at the table.
"Beth, are you familiar with the term 'Luceid's Child?'" Maxwell asked.
"Grandpa mentioned that. What does that mean?"
"Our ancestor, Nathaniel Luceid, believed that there were certain children who instinctively possessed certain qualities that indicated potential benefits if that child was brought up in the proper setting."
"Benefits?"
"Leadership, intelligence, honor, intangible qualities that could lead a company or country to true greatness."
"You mean.."
"Yes, Beth, Nathaniel Luceid put his theory into practice. He had his most trusted friend find a child that exhibited qualities that one would associate with a successful businessman."
"That friend of his was my ancestor, Elisabetha Vilkolna. Nathaniel Luceid brought her and her family over to the United States from Eastern Europe for her talents. She was deeply devoted to Mr. Luceid and was more than happy to oblige him." Kay continued the story.
"Talents? What kind of talents?" B.C. asked.
"She was a spy, an expert at the worst kind of espionage. Finding and securing a child to Mr. Luceid's liking was no problem for her. She taught her talents to her daughter so she could continue the family legacy as the mother of Luceid's child."
"So you were the one who.."
"Yes, B.C. I kidnapped Buttercup Utonium and faked her murder and brought her here so she could be you."
"But why her, me?" B.C. asked shocked at this revelation.
"I think Buttercup should ask that question." Maxwell said.
"What are you talking about?" B.C. asked.
"It's time for your final test. It's time to unlock your memories."
"My memories?"
"Max are you sure about this? What if..?"
"That's enough Kay! This needs to happen. Beth, are you ready?"
B.C. shifted uneasily in her chair, 'Am I ready? I don't know. I know I was Buttercup Utonium, Bubbles's lost sister, the girl whose "death" changed the world forever and led an entire city to its destruction. Do I want her memories though? This is my final test to see if I'm really Luceid's child. What if I'm not? What will happen to me, what will happen to the company. No, I don't care what I remember, this is my company. The people who work in the plants are counting on me to keep their jobs so they can live their lives. I need to do this, Dad said so.'
"Let's do this."
"Very good. Just watch the screen." Maxwell told her. The screen flashed images at a rapid rate. B.C. stared at the screen, the flashes awoke memories that have long been sealed.
(Twenty years and seven months earlier)
Buttercup was doing a night patrol in the city of Townsville. Tired and bored, she decided it was time to head back home when all of a sudden she heard the cackling voices of the Gangrene Gang. Buttercup flew to the source of the voices to find the thugs harassing a young woman.
"Now what's a pretty thing like you doing out on a night like this. A girl like you can get into some real trouble." Ace said in his usual threatening voice. The rest of the gang just chortled menacingly as they advanced on the poor woman.
'Finally some action.' Buttercup thought as she intercepted the gang. "At it again, Ace? Forget about what happens everytime you guys try to mess with people."
""Uh, Buttercup, we was just offering this nice lady.. RUN FOR IT!!!" The gang scattered into the darkness, leaving Buttercup alone with the young woman. Buttercup got a better look at the woman, she had black hair and was very pretty.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Don't worry about it." Buttercup was about to take off when the woman stopped her.
"W-Wait, would you mind walking me home?"
Buttercup groaned but decided to escort her home. As they headed towards the woman's home, she decided to strike up a conversation with the girl who just saved her. "You're Buttercup, right?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"It's nice to meet you."
"Uh-huh."
"My name is Kay, I just started working at the church a few weeks ago. I'm a Sunday school teacher."
"Sunday school?"
"Yeah." The woman explained the concept to Buttercup. Eventually the two reached Kay's apartment. "Thank you once again for saving me and helping me get home safely. I can't pay you but if you ever want to talk to anyone about anything, I'll be more than happy to listen."
"Really? Gee, thanks. Maybe I'll take you up on that. I gotta go, so I'll see ya later." Buttercup flew off and headed back to her own home. 'Hmm, first time anyone ever offered to listen to me. She seems pretty cool.'
(Two and a half weeks later)
Buttercup was busy in class drawing when Ms. Keane announced it was time to hand back the tests the class had done earlier. When Ms. Keane reached the girls' table she seemed incredibly happy. "I'd just like to congratulate our Buttercup on her remarkable improvement." The teacher smiled while handing Buttercup her test. The paper bore a huge 'B' on it.
"Wow, Buttercup. You did better than me." Bubbles told her, a little excited for sister. "How did you do it?"
"I had some help studying." Buttercup answered proudly. The time she spent with Miss Kay had paid off. Not only did the young woman offer a friendly ear but also helped Buttercup with her studies.
"Well that's wonderful." Ms. Keane beamed and the class applauded Buttercup. The girl was so caught up in the praise for her, she didn't notice Blossom staring daggers at her.
Later at recess, Buttercup was watching Bubbles draw her chalk drawings when Blossom confronted her, "Don't think I don't know what's going on."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play innocent with me. You cheated on that test!"
"What?! I did not!"
"Oh really? Then how did you get such a good grade?"
"I told you, I had some help studying."
"HA! Do really expect me to believe that. I know you. You couldn't study if your life depended on it. You're nothing but lousy cheater."
"You better take that back, Red." Buttercup was really pissed. The class gathered around anticipating a fight.
"What's the meaning of this?" Ms. Keane came out to investigate the commotion and was now angrily glaring at the girls.
"Ms. Keane, Buttercup cheated on her test." Blossom told her teacher.
"I did not!" Buttercup retorted.
"That's enough! Blossom how do you know that your sister was cheating."
"Well.. I.. I just do!"
"Blossom Utonium, I'm surprised and disappointed in you. You should know better than to make accusations without proof. You apologize to your sister right this instant."
"But Ms. Keane.."
"NOW!"
"Buttercup, I'm sorry." Blossom grumbled and stalked off enraged at what had happened. It was obvious that the red head was convinced that Buttercup had cheated. It would be a few days before the two were on speaking terms again.
(Ten days later)
Buttercup sadly listened to the bawling coming from the girls' room. Bubbles most prized possession was destroyed in the last monster attack. Buttercup personally didn't care for Octi, but she hated knowing that Bubbles was so sad. Secretly she loved how cheerful and carefree her blonde sister was, her perpetual happiness was one of the few reasons Buttercup still continued fight alongside her sisters even while her faith and interest in crimefighting had begun to dwindle. Buttercup floated upstairs and into the bedroom. Bubbles crying hadn't ceased since they got home. The blonde had buried her face in a pillow and crying as hard as she could. Blossom was sitting in the corner, watching her sister in despair.
"How is she?" Buttercup asked.
"It's no use. You know how much she loved Octi. I don't think she'll ever get over this." Blossom quietly answered.
Buttercup looked at Bubbles again. She sighed and went into the closet. She pulled her journal from a shelf and jotted down an entry. She then put her journal away and looked at a huge bag that she wrote on stating that what was inside belonged to her and woe to anyone who would dare to touch it. 'Can't believe I'm going to do this but she needs them more than I ever will.' Buttercup grabbed the bag and offered the contents to Bubbles. Blossom sailed in from the corner and comment on the value of Buttercup's gift. Bubbles stopped crying and inspected the pile of Fuzzy Friends. Buttercup had explained where they had came from. Bubbles had found the special Dragon Fuzzy Friend that was a personal gift from the inventor herself. Bubbles was more interested in the dragon then in Buttercup's story. "And I can keep her?" Bubbles asked.
"Yeah sure." Buttercup was about to continue telling the story when Bubbles tackled her at full force and wrapped her arms around the green- eyed puff. Buttercup could barely breathe, Bubbles was holding her so tight. Bubbles squealed happily and quickly called the Professor to tell of Buttercup's unexpected generosity.
"Are you okay?" Blossom laughed as she helped Buttercup back on to her feet.
"Yeah, man it felt like a monster grabbed me." Buttercup groaned to Blossom.
"That was a very wonderful thing you did for your sister." The Professor told Buttercup, all smiles.
"Uh-huh." Buttercup was out of breath and a little sore from Bubbles's enthusiastic reaction to her new toys. But she felt good, bringing so much happiness to her sister in her time of need.
(Three weeks later)
'Mojo Jojo, how many times do we have to fight him, before it's over. How many people have to get hurt before someone actually puts him away for good.' Buttercup was frustrated by the mutated chimpanzee's frequent releases from jail. It was obvious that Mojo had no intention of stopping his attacks yet he always manages to get out of jail. The girls were flying to where the mayor said Mojo was attacking. "Same thing, we stop him, throw him in jail, and then they let him back out. Am I the only one who sees how wrong this is?" Buttercup muttered quietly. Mojo's robot came into view, another one his Robo Jojos, this particular one had rather nasty looking laser attached to it. Buttercup felt a little scared when she saw the primate's expression. His eyes danced with a madness that she had never seen before. The crazed mutant began to charge the laser and aim at the girls. 'Something's wrong.' Buttercup thought. Suddenly the robot swiveled to fire at the crowd of spectators.
"Omigosh, he's gonna shoot the townspeople!" Bubbles shrieked. The girls were frozen. Mojo was too far away for any physical attack, there was only one option. 'I have to take the shot or else all those people will get killed, but it might.. I have to, I can't let them die." Buttercup fired her heat vision at the laser causing the device to erupt in a spectacular explosion. The girls flew through the air like ragdolls and crashed a few feet from a build that was previously several hundred feet behind them. The trio got up and flew to the wreckage of Mojo's robot. Blossom reluctantly lifted up a piece of debris to check on Mojo's condition. Blossom dropped the metal in shock.
"Mojo Jojo, he-he's gone." Buttercup couldn't believe what her sister just said. She looked for herself and saw the still body of Mojo Jojo, staring at her with dead eyes, his face frozen in a hideous grin as if to tell her he had won. It was too much for the young girl to bear. She had no love for Mojo Jojo but she never wanted to kill him.
"I-I didn't mean.. It was an accident.. I didn't want to.. Oh God, I'm sorry, I'M SO SORRY!!!" Buttercup took off, her eyes began to tear up. She flew to the one person she felt understood her, Miss Kay. Buttercup flew to her friend's apartment and knocked on the door.
Miss Kay opened the door to find her young friend staring at her with tear- filled eyes. "Buttercup are you okay?"
"It was Mojo again. He had a giant robot with a big laser and was about to shoot the people with the laser, so I.. I killed him."
"Oh my god! Sweetie come here." Kay picked up the child and held her. Buttercup broke down and cried as hard she could while Kay rocked her in her arms, comforting the upset child. "It's okay. I promise you it'll be okay."
An hour later, Buttercup calmed down enough to tell Kay what had happened. "I didn't know what else to do. I knew if I fired on that laser something bad was going to happen, but if I didn't do anything he would have killed all those people. I didn't want anyone getting hurt. Everyone is going to hate me."
"Sweetie look at me." Buttercup looked up at Kay's eyes. "This was going to happen eventually. This whole incident was not your fault."
"It is my fault. If I hadn't.."
"Buttercup Utonium, you listen to me!" Miss Kay shouted angrily. "You weren't the one who kept letting that lunatic out of prison. You weren't the one who sold him the materials to build those awful machines of his. You were the one who protected the people of Townsville. You did the right thing. If you hadn't, you and your sisters would have been held responsible for the death of dozens of people. It's ridiculous how this city is, expecting children to fight for them. Tell me Buttercup, what has the city of Townsville done to protect itself?"
"I-I don't know."
"From what I can see, nothing. Don't you find that to be a little strange?"
"I guess so." Buttercup answered meekly.
"Look, why don't you rest up a bit and I'll make us something to eat. Will that be alright?"
"Yeah." Miss Kay left Buttercup by her self to think about what she was told, 'Miss Kay does has a point, they kept letting Mojo out even after everything he's done. And how did he get all that stuff to make those robots and weapons? Hmmm.' Miss Kay made lunch for the two of them and they talked for a couple of hours. "I'd better get home. Everyone is gonna be worried about me."
"Alright, be careful sweetie. And if you ever need anything, please come see me."
"I will, thanks Miss Kay." Buttercup left Kay's apartment and headed home when she heard Bubbles crying. 'Oh man, she must have been looking for me all this time.' Buttercup landed on the building where Bubbles was crying. "Bubbles?" Bubbles looked up at her. "Bubbles, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Bubbles ran up to Buttercup and hugged her. Buttercup held her sister and explained where she was. "Let's go home, the Professor and Blossom are probably worried about us." Buttercup told Bubbles and weakly smiled, seeing the doubt and fear in her sister's eyes. 'Please don't hate me.' Buttercup thought while she and her sister flew home.
(Three days later)
Buttercup put the finishing touch on her resignation speech. Miss Kay and Buttercup agreed that it was time to call it quits. The people's reaction to Mojo Jojo's death was predictably negative. It had occurred to Buttercup, that her fighting was nothing but a bloodsport for the people of Townsville and that she had just put an end to one of their favorite events. Buttercup wrote down her latest thoughts in her journal and snickered, imagining how shocked everyone was going to be when she dropped the bomb on them.
"BUTTERCUP!" the Professor angrily shouted from his lab.
"Now what?" Buttercup muttered out loud. She went down to the lab to find her father and Blossom glaring at her.
"Buttercup, would you mind explaining this?" the Professor pointed to a broken machine on the floor.
"Looks like one your inventions fell on the floor." Buttercup answered.
"I know that, but maybe you could tell me how it fell on the floor."
"I have no idea." Buttercup snorted.
"Oh, I think you do."
"What?! I didn't break your dumb ol' invention."
"That's enough! Young lady you go up to your room and stay there until you're willing to tell me the truth."
"Unbelievable, I get blamed for everything that goes on around here." Buttercup muttered irritated.
Buttercup floated to her room, none too happy about being blamed for the Professor's broken invention. She gave a quick glance at Bubbles. Buttercup instantly knew it was her. The guilt in the blonde's eyes gave it away. 'Figures it would be her. Oh well, she'll admit it, sooner or later. Lucky it wasn't Blossom, she'd never admit it. Funny, that girl is a slave to that goody-two shoes morality of hers but when it comes to covering her own..'
"Why can't you take responsibility for what you've done. The Professor worked real hard on that invention and you destroyed it." Blossom nagged.
"For the last, it wasn't me. I'm not gonna fess up to something I didn't do." Buttercup retorted.
"Right, like you didn't kill Mojo." Buttercup turned red from anger, how dare she bring that up.
"THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!"
"Sometimes I wonder." Blossom growled. That was it, Buttercup swung around and faced the redhead. It took every fiber of self-control she had to keep herself from grabbing Blossom and beating the crap out of her.
"Just stay away from me." She warned Blossom. Enraged, Buttercup flew into their room and slammed the door as hard as she could. Buttercup grabbed her journal and reported the incident. Buttercup looked at the clock. 'Hmm, it'll take Bubbles a little while to fess up. Might as well go meet Miss Kay in the woods.' Buttercup pulled out the pendant that Miss Kay gave her yesterday. She could hear some quiet beeping from it with her super hearing. 'I wonder what that is. Oh who cares, it's probably nothing.' Buttercup quietly snuck out the window and waited until she far enough to take off at full speed without being noticed by her family. Buttercup reached the secluded clearing deep in Townsville Forest. "Hmm, that's strange. Kay hasn't got here yet. I hope she doesn't take too long. If they find out I'm not home, I'm really gonna get it.' Buttercup heard a faint whine of a device being charged. Buttercup turned her head to investigate the noise only to find an energy bolt flying right at her. The bolt struck her square in the chest knocking the girl out. The last thing she heard before succumbing to the darkness was the voices of many people including Miss Kay.
(The Present)
"I remember." It was surreal. The memories of another person, another life, suddenly bloomed in B.C.'s head. "My memories.." B.C. didn't know what to make of the experience. She remembered how angry she was with Blossom, with the Professor, with Bubbles, with the people of Townsville. B.C. looked at Kay. "You.. You were the one who.." B.C. got up from the chair. "I need to be alone for awhile."
"B.C. wait.." Kay got up to stop her from leaving but Maxwell grabbed her.
"Leave her be." Maxwell turned towards his "daughter." "Just ask a security guard to let you out." B.C. wordlessly left the room.
"Max, we can't let her go like this."
"It'll be alright. She needs some time alone." Maxwell sighed and continued, "In all honesty, she took it a whole lot better than I did."