Chapter 9

Blossom felt a little cramped in the back of Bubbles 2013 model car. It was small and fuel-efficient but not fun to ride in with the family's luggage. Bubbles and the Professor were in the front, happily chatting away, ignoring the reason why the Utonium family reunited in the first place, the apparent abduction of Buttercup. Blossom looked out the window at the scenery of Citiesville. It was a spectacular sight, modern buildings glowed with window lights, neon signs and spotlights. Blossom almost forgot about her troubles until she caught a glimpse of a billboard bearing the Luceid insignia. She felt her blood boil when she caught sight of the wolf's head that represented the very corporation that robbed her of her sister. 'Twenty years worth of torment and guilt.' Blossom thought bitterly.

(Twenty years earlier)

Blossom sat on the bedroom floor propped by the end of the girls' bed and stared at pile of toys that once belonged to her late sister. Bubbles was lying on the bed sobbing quietly. The poor girl had cried as hard as she could when the Professor made the horrible announcement and never stopped. By the time Buttercup's funeral had started, the girl had used up all off her energy leaving only a sobbing, broken mass. Tears were flowing from Blossom's rose colored eyes as she continued to stare at the pile of Buttercup's toys. 'She's gone. I practically accuse her of intentionally taking a life, and now she's gone.' Blossom couldn't shake the guilt of her last words to Buttercup. 'Why did I say that? Why?' The pain was unbearable, Blossom began to weep bitterly, wishing she could apologize to Buttercup. Blossom's thoughts were cut off by the buzzing of the hotline. Blossom ignored it, she didn't care what was happening.

"THEIR SISTER ISN'T EVEN COLD IN HER GRAVE AND YOU DARE CALL THEM! I DON'T CARE IF THE BANK IS BEING ROBBED! HAVE THOSE DAMN COPS DO THEIR JOBS FOR ONCE!" The Professor screamed from downstairs. The next sound Blossom heard was the smashing of the hotline phone that was downstairs. The Professor almost instantly appeared in the doorway red and shaking from a rage that the redhead had never seen before. "Girls, I want you to pack up your things. We're leaving this awful place forever."

"But Professor, we can't leave. I don't want leave Buttercup." Blossom weakly protested.

The Professor picked up the mourning redhead, "I've already lost one of my precious angels to Townsville. I don't want to lose anymore." The professor looked sadly at Bubbles clutching the stuffed dragon Buttercup gave to her. "Please understand that I want to protect you girls. Please help your sister, Blossom."

"O-Okay." Blossom knew it was pointless to resist. She still didn't want to leave. Buttercup was buried here and she felt if they left, they would be abandoning their sister.

(The Present)

Bubbles was happily chatting with the Professor. It had been awhile since the family was together. Bubbles took a quick look in the rear view mirror and caught the look in Blossom's eyes. 'She's agitated. Better get 'em all home,' Bubbles thought and sped up to the speed limit. Bubbles was thrilled at the possibility that her long lost sister was still alive. However, it was obvious that a certain other sister needed to be defused. "Here we are." Bubbles announced as she pulled into the parking space behind the building she owned. The family flopped out of the car and entered the back door leading directly in to Bubbles apartment. Bubbles showed her father to her room. He immediately fell asleep on her bed. Bubbles just giggled, he had been getting on in years and no longer had the energy to keep up with his daughters. Bubbles went downstairs to find Blossom sitting on the loveseat. The red haired woman looked ready to burst.

"He's asleep now. Went out the moment he hit the bed. Let's talk in my office. We won't be able to disturb him in there." The two went into the office of Bubbles's store. The two sat down at Bubble's desk.

"Alright, Bubbles, let's just go over what we know. You met Ms. Luceid and suspected she was really Buttercup. How did you come to that assumption."

Bubbles thought back to her meeting, "Well, to be honest I didn't really figure it out until last night. She didn't look like us, so I didn't catch it at first. She asked me about Buttercup during our conversation about Townsville so I talked to her about Buttercup. After awhile I started crying.. thinking about her." Bubbles speech slowed during her last words.

"Go on."

"Right, so she hugged me. She comforted me. It seemed strange since we just met, but it felt so good being held by her. It felt like the time when the Professor told us and when he held us." Bubbles stopped, the memory of that sad day still hurt her.

"I see. Anything else."

"Yeah, she acted a whole lot like Buttercup. She told me about when she was growing up and it reminded so much about how Buttercup was. (giggle) She even teased me a little bit, the way Buttercup did. Yeah more that I think about, the more I'm sure that B.C. was really Buttercup."

"B.C.?"

"That's her nickname. She said her nanny, Kay gave her that name."

"Kay? Bubbles did Buttercup mention anyone named Kay to you?"

Bubbles thought for a moment, "Yeah, now that you mention it. After Mojo was killed, Buttercup said she was talking to a "Miss Kay." Said she was helping her out with herself. Oh god, I'm such a moron!"

"What?"

"That's what B.C. said about her nanny. Oh why didn't I remember when she mentioned it."

"It's okay, Bubbles. Even if you did remember, I doubt there it would have made much difference."

"I guess so. How did you know about Miss Kay anyways?"

"Buttercup's journal." Blossom answered. "She came up a few times in her final entries. I think that this Miss Kay was responsible for her abduction."

"Abduction.. Why would they want to kidnap Buttercup?"

"Luceid's Child."

"Luceid's what?"

"Well, it's a bit complex but let's just say that the Luceid Corporation thought Buttercup would have made a good CEO."

"So they kidnapped her, because they thought she'd make a good CEO? That doesn't make any sense."

"They wanted to raise her the way they wanted. I guess they wanted us out of the loop, so they'd have complete control over how she grew up and what kind of person she would turn out to be."

"T-That's terrible."

"Exactly, that's why we need to expose these people and their crimes.."

"Wait a minute! Shouldn't we be concentrating on getting Buttercup back in to our lives and getting us into her life? We can't just go on some crusade against the Luceid Corporation, we'd might end up hurting her."

Blossom was incredulous, "Bubbles, don't you realize what they've done? They took our sister away from us, Townsville was destroyed, super heroes all over the world lost their jobs and thousands lost their lives because of battles against super villains. All because some mega-corporation wanted our sister to be the next head honcho."

"Don't you think I know that!?" Bubbles yelled back, "Everything that happened back then, it was going to happen eventually. Buttercup was going to quit because she knew how the people really felt about us. We didn't realize it because nobody hated us. You were the smart and pretty one, I was the cute and bubbly one, so we just assumed everyone loved us for what we were, not what we did for them. But Buttercup didn't have that, she was only the toughest fighter as far as anyone was concerned, so it was easier for her to see how everyone was. She knew that we were being used, not just as a substitute for the police but as entertainment as well. She knew and we would have found out even if she wasn't kidnapped."

"But.. But.."

"But what? You would have talked her out of quitting? We would've been able to handle Townsville by ourselves? C'mon Blossom, you know how stubborn she was, you'd have better luck talking HIM or the Rowdyruff Boys out of harassing us. And there was no way we could take care of Townsville by ourselves, we were a team, all three of us needed to be out there"

"But she was our sister." Blossom started to cry, "She was supposed to grow up with us. I wanted to help her grow and develop. I wanted her to help me grow and develop. I-It's not fair, she was supposed to be with us, not some stupid rich guy and his stupid corporation. I suffered twenty years of pain and guilt, it's not fair goddamnit."

Bubbles got up and wrapped her arms around sobbing sister. "I know it's not fair. It hurt me too, but I don't care about that. All I want is to get my big, tough sister back and we have that chance now. So why don't we get some sleep and tomorrow we can figure out how to get our sister back."

Blossom sniffed and stopped crying, "Y-you're right. We need to get our sister back, but still, we can't let them get away with this."

"I know. Let's worry about that later though. We should concentrate on getting Buttercup back."

The two sisters went back into the apartment. Blossom unrolled a mat that Bubbles had brought out for her and slept on the floor. Bubbles lied down on her loveseat and watched her sister fall asleep. 'I know why she was so mad. She and Buttercup always had a special bond that I could never have had. They were the worst of rivals yet they complimented each other so well. Blossom was always the rational one, always obeying the rules, always thinking things out. Buttercup on the other hand she was the one who always acted before thinking, she never liked plans or the leadership of others. But they always worked well together. They balanced eachother out. I know I had my part in the team but those two had something special and I don't think they even realized it.' Bubbles smiled at her sleeping sister and went to sleep.

The next morning Bubbles was awakened by the Professor searching her refrigerator. "Morning Professor." Bubbles tiredly greeted her father.

"Good Morning Bubbles, I was going to make breakfast for you girls but it doesn't seem like you have anything to make it with."

"Well I usually eat breakfast at the café down the street. As soon as Blossom wakes up, we can all go."

"Well if that's what you want but I was really looking forward to making breakfast for you girls. It been such a long time since we've all been together."

"We were together last Christmas, silly." Bubbles giggled.

"I know dear, but it seems like a long time to me." The Professor got out of the refrigerator and sat down at the table. "Bubbles, Blossom told me you spoke to that young woman."

"You mean Buttercup?"

"Yes. Was she.. alright."

"She seemed okay to me."

"What I mean is did she have a good life. Did she seem to be well taken care of."

"She seemed pretty happy. She didn't seem to remember me or acted like she knew me, but she definitely had a good life."

"And you're sure she's our Buttercup."

"Yes."

"Thank goodness." The Professor looked as if a great burden was lifted from his shoulders.

"Is everything alright Professor?"

"Yes, it is now. Oh, Bubbles, when you girls began to fight crime, my worst nightmare was that I might lose you girls. When the police brought her dress all covered with blood, I felt as though a part of me died at that moment. Knowing that your sister is safe and lived well, it's such a relief."

"Yeah, it is."

"I just hope we can see her again."

"Me too, Professor."

Soon Blossom woke up and the three ate breakfast at the café Bubbles had mentioned. Even though he didn't make it, the Professor felt good seeing his daughters eating breakfast together. Losing Buttercup had been a nightmarish ordeal for him, and it was his remaining daughters that kept him sane in those trying times. They were only little girls, yet the world had expected so much from them. He knew that their lives were constantly being put on the line, yet he felt he was the only one who realized that. He lost count of how many times he'd nearly lost all of them, yet they still kept at it, always going out there saving the day. All he could do was support them and encourage them, but part of him always worried that the day would come that his daughters wouldn't come home. He remembered how much it hurt after he confirmed the blood on the green and black torn fabric the police had brought to him belonged to Buttercup. The worst part though was having to tell his remaining daughters the fate of their sister. The pain in their eyes on that day always stuck with him. He had always assumed Maxwell Luceid was a good man based on his correspondence with his former colleagues who worked for the Luceid Corporation. But how could anyone with a conscience knowingly raise a child stolen from her loving family. It was good to know that Buttercup was well taken care of, but it didn't make up for the years of suffering he and his family had to endure.

(Notte Falls, Twenty years Earlier)

Professor Utonium had finally finished his latest invention. Its purpose was simple, to take away his daughters' powers and hopefully make them more human. He didn't know how it would affect them psychologically considering they've been through a summer of hell. The loss of their sister had nearly destroyed them, Bubbles had fallen into a deep depression saying nothing save the tormented screaming at night, begging for her Buttercup back. Blossom had tired to remain cool throughout the whole ordeal but she would frequently fall into crying fits at the slightest provocation. To make things worse, the city of Townsville had recently been destroyed in a massive riot resulting in a national anti-superhero backlash. He tried to hide his daughters' eyes from the horrific event but to no avail. Eventually they found out and at the worst possible time too. They were all watching cartoons when a news flash showed the remains of their former house. The vandalized structure accusing them of abandoning their hometown had devastated them. The Professor hated the people of the Townsville since that day, a hatred that his daughters would pick up. However, all was not lost. He had befriended a young woman at a small community college where he had applied for a teaching position. The young woman was a child therapist who was a former child super hero who had lost a close friend in her final battle. She had agreed to help the girls for free, considering she knew how hard the recent events must have been for them. "The first thing you should do is to give them a normal life. It'll help them immensely, believe me." She told him. It made sense, his daughters did deserve a normal life after what they've been through, so he decided to what the doctor had suggested.

"Girls, it's ready!" he called to his remaining children. Bubbles and Blossom floated downstairs to the new lab they and the Professor built immediately after moving to their new home. The girls looked at machine the Professor had built. They both knew what it was for.

"This is it, huh?" Blossom sighed sadly. Bubbles didn't say anything, she just look at the Professor with sad blue eyes.

"It's time girls." He told them. The sad looks on their faces broke his heart. Their powers were part of their identity and he was going to rob them of that. "Are you ready?"

"Professor are you sure about this?" Blossom asked, her eyes beginning to tear up.

"Yes dear." The Professor sighed trying not to crack, "We've discussed this with Dr. Kamia. She said this was the best for you two. And you know how people feel about super heroes these days."

"I know, it's just that.." Blossom couldn't finish, she just began to weep.

"I know it's hard for you, but it needs to be done."

(The Present)

'Didn't they realize how much pain and suffering they've caused?' the Professor thought angrily.

"Professor, are you okay?" Bubbles asked.

"I'm fine dear." The Professor answered trying to hide his anger. Blossom knew what he was thinking. She could see it in his eyes. Losing Buttercup hurt him the most. He blamed himself for what had happened, not just to Buttercup but to all of them. She lost count of the times she overheard him lamenting the fact that he punished Buttercup for something she didn't do during an emotionally fragile time for her, allowing his daughters to fight crime, whatever he could blame himself for, he did. She hated the Luceid Corporation even more everytime she looked at him.

After breakfast, the three returned to Bubbles's home. Bubbles was making arrangements for a friend to run the store while she was taking care of family business. The Professor had fallen asleep siting in Bubbles's recliner. Blossom began reading Buttercup's journal. Reading every complaint about her felt like a dagger in her heart, tears flowed down her face.

"What's wrong Blossom?" Bubbles asked her.

Blossom didn't turn her eyes away from thee notebook, "Bubbles was I really that bad of a sister."

"Huh?"

"I only wanted what was best for her. I didn't mean to be so hard on her."

"Lemme see that." Bubbles grabbed the journal and searched through it. "Ahh, here we are. Read this one." Bubbles showed Blossom an entry.

'11-10 Blossom's in pretty bad shape. The Professor said she'd be alright, but when I look at his eyes I can tell how worried he is. If she doesn't make it, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm no leader, at least not like her. God I wish I could be more like her. She's so smart and confident and such a good leader. I could never be like her. The world needs her. If only it was me instead of her.'

"That was when I got injured and nearly died. Bubbles how did you know how she felt?"

"I've always known. Buttercup always looked up to you. Sure she'd complain about you a lot but that was Buttercup being Buttercup. Deep down, you meant the world to her and she knew you were only trying to help her."

Blossom smiled despite herself, "Thanks Bubbles."

"(giggle) Anytime sis. Remember the last time we talked about her?"

"Yeah."

(Five years earlier)

Blossom was driving Bubbles to the airport in the next city. The blonde just bought a place in Citiesville. She was leaving the tranquil town of Notte Falls to start her own comic book store using the money she made selling the rare Fuzzy Friends Buttercup gave to her shortly before she died. Blossom initially opposed Bubbles's plans, but eventually gave in.

"Bubbles, I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the ass about this."

"It's okay, you're just worried about me. I know you didn't mean any harm.."

"You know, this is a pretty brave thing you're doing. I'm proud of you."

"Really! "Bubbles smiled widely at her sister's praise, "Do you think she would have been proud of me too?"

Blossom knew who she was talking about, "Don't you ever doubt that." Buttercup had always been secretly proud of Bubbles, especially when the blonde stood up to her.

"What do you think she'd be doing if she grew up?"

"She'd be a scientist like the Professor." Blossom answered without even thinking about it.

"You're talking about Buttercup, right?" Bubbles looked quizzically at her sister.

"Of course. Don't you remember what the Professor would tell us when ever she got us mad?"

"Oh yeah! He'd laugh and say, 'I was just like that when I was that age.' And then he'd punish her." Bubbles giggled. The two sisters laughed all the way to the airport.

(The Present)

Hours had past into the evening and the Utonium family was no closer to coming up with a solid plan to recover Buttercup from the clutches of the Luceid Corporation. They knew from Bubbles, that Buttercup's memory had been erased and most likely wouldn't believe she their long lost sister and daughter. The three continued to deliberate over how to reclaim Buttercup and restore her memories when the phone rang. Frustrated, Bubbles snarled and got up to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Bubbles eyes went wide when the voice on the other line responded, 'It's her.' She quietly mouthed to her family. Blossom and Professor Utonium listened intently to phone conversation. "Oh, hiya, B.C., how are you today?" Bubbles's jaw dropped, her eyes got even bigger and the phone slipped from her hand.

"She knows." Bubbles said breathlessly.