Chapter 3: Blaine's Big Entrance
Moments later, Blossom had rounded up Butch and Bubbles, and brought them to the lab. Now, everybody was in the lab, and everyone except Blossom was wondering what was happening.
"So, what's the big announcement, Blossom?" asked Boomer weakly. Since he wasn't really in good enough condition to sit up by himself, Bubbles was supporting him.
"You'll find out when Dad gets here, which should be any second now," replied Blossom, wondering how everyone was going to react to having a new brother.
As if on cue, the Professor arrived and stood in the doorway. "Boys, girls, due to the current threat you all will be facing, I have decided to move this introduction to right now," he said.
"What introduction, Professor?" asked Brick, raising an eyebrow.
"Mine," said Blaine as the Professor stepped out of the way, allowing him to enter the lab. Everyone except Blossom, naturally, looked at him in surprise.
"Who in the heck?" they all chorused.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet your new brother, Blaine," said the Professor.
"As I said to Blossom moments ago, it is good to finally meet you," said Blaine, once again bowing respectfully. "It will be an honor fighting at your side."
Brick blinked his eyes as though checking to see if he was seeing things. "Jeez, and you said my hair was long, Blossom," he said, glancing at his counterpart.
Blaine turned his attention to the Rowdyruff. "You are Brick, am I right," he said, a smile of amusement on his face. As Brick looked at him open-mouthed, Blaine proceeded to correctly identify everyone else.
"How…how did you know our names?" asked Buttercup, whose head was resting on Butch's lap.
Blaine suppressed the urge to chuckle. "Yes, this is our first meeting, my sisters. However, Father always talked about all of you whenever he was in the lab with me," he explained.
"Hey, I don't want to sound rude, bro, but exactly how strong are you?" asked Butch, leaning forward.
"Father, would it be permissible to show them my performance in the simulator?" asked Blaine, looking at the Professor.
"Well, I'd like to say yes," said the Professor. "Unfortunately, three of your siblings still need time to completely heal."
Blaine did not look the least bit phased by this. "That is a problem easily rectified, Father," he said as he began unplugging the primary power cords for all three healing tables.
"Hey, what do you think your doing, man!" exclaimed Butch.
"Watch, and you will see," said Blaine, clutching the plugs in his hand. The hand was suddenly surrounded by gray energy, which traveled down through the power cords and into the healing tables. Almost immediately, they gave off a nearly blinding light, causing Butch and Bubbles to jump away from their respective counterparts' tables. When the light cleared, Brick, Boomer, and Buttercup sat up and got off the tables.
"Hey, my injuries are all healed!" said Brick in amazement.
"Hey, so are all of mine!" exclaimed a very happy Boomer.
"All right, boys and girls, I am back in the house!" said Buttercup, flexing her good-as-new arm, hand, and wrist.
After a few hugs and shouts of joy, everyone thanked Blaine for what he had done.
"That was sweet, dude!" said Brick, putting his cap back on so it faced forwards. "How did you do that? It was like the healing tables went super powerful or something!"
"It's amazing what a little advanced Chemical X science can do these days," replied Blaine. "Anyway, now that everybody is fit as a fiddle, why don't we check out that simulator?" He and the Professor headed to the simulator, the others following behind.
Once Blaine was in the chamber and the others were in the control center, the Professor began setting up the simulation. "Blaine, what level would you like me to set the simulation for?" he asked through the loudspeaker.
"What was the highest level my siblings have ever completed?" was Blaine's response.
The Professor checked the simulation records. "It seems it was level 30," he said.
"That will do nicely, thank you."
"Blaine, what are you, nuts! That's a very advanced level!" protested Blossom. "We've been doing this stuff for years, but this is your first time being in here!"
Blaine suddenly flew up in front of the control center and looked at everyone through the windows. "Yeah, and that's part of the fun," he said, his expression seemingly cooler than before. Also, his face now bore an expression of cold ambition. "Father, set the simulation to Level 30, please," he said. The Professor quietly complied and activated the simulation.
"Sir, with all due respect, are you insane? He's not ready for something like that!" said Brick.
"I beg to differ, brother!" boomed Blaine as the simulation placed him against an army of 600 armed-to-the-teeth robots. "Is that all you brought with you?" demanded Blaine, addressing the robot commander.
"Now, witness what will defeat all who oppose the cause of justice!" he shouted, firing an enormous gray power blast from his hand. The blast completely engulfed all the robots in the center ranks, vaporizing them. Now, that left him with 200 robots to deal with. "All right, bolt brains, it's time to take out the trash!" roared Blaine, his face now a mask of determined, blazing fury.
"HAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!" he roared, an explosion of gray energy surrounding him, which, combined with his pose, gave him a Super Saiyan power-up effect. He charged at the remaining robots and began tearing through them as if they were made of wet tissue paper.
"Holy smokes, look at that guy go!" shouted Butch, leaning up against one of the windows, along with Buttercup.
"Professor, he demonstrates incredible control of his powers, even though he has never used them before," said Brick, his face serious as he observed Blaine's assault on the robots. "I'm not an expert on this, but what he displays is not normal development."
"In a way, you are correct, Brick," said the Professor. "Blaine was made in a similar manner to you and your brothers, but he is very different. All of my Chemical X research of the past nine years has been poured into him, making him the ultimate Chemical X experiment."
"You mean that he's like a Super Rowdyruff Boy or something?" asked Boomer.
"If you want to call him that, then yes, that's basically what he is," replied the Professor.
By then, Blaine had destroyed the robots, and was now engaged in battle with a monster that looked like a giant gray dragon. Several others were floating nearby, watching the already explosive fight. Both adversaries were trading blows, as well as cries of rage, but Blaine seemed to have the upper hand. Suddenly, the dragon spotted an opening and smacked Blaine with one of its powerful paws, sending him crashing into a skyscraper.
"Oh, no! Blaine, are you okay?" cried Bubbles, pressing her face up to a window.
Blaine suddenly shot into the air, where he did another power-up, this one even bigger than the first. "Okay, bitch, that tears it! I'm going to mess your ass up!" he shouted, charging at the dragon. It tried to slash at him with its razor-sharp claws, but Blaine caught the paw and gave it a sharp, firm tug. With a loud tear and crack, the arm was ripped right out of the socket and tossed off to the side.
"Ooh, now that had to hurt like hell!" said Butch, cringing slightly.
Blaine didn't stop there. He followed up with a powerful kick to the beast's neck, crushing it instantly. He immediately followed up with a power blast that blew it completely away. Not wasting even one second, he charged up a power orb and flung it at the other dragons. It exploded, engulfing all of them, as well as some of the simulated sky.
LEVEL 30 CLEAR. CLEAR TIME: 6 MINUTES, 25 SECONDS
"Sweet Jesus, man! You ran that level like it was nothing!" exclaimed Buttercup as Blaine flew up in front of the control center.
"Don't be fooled, that was a tough workout for me," said Blaine, giving a look of discomfort to his left shoulder. "Bastard damn near dislocated my shoulder," he growled, massaging the shoulder.
"Tough workout, my super powered ass! It took us almost an hour to clear Level 30 when we ran it!" said Butch in disbelief.
Blaine nodded and sat down on a chair. "Yes, you make a very good point, Butch," he said, stretching his neck. "But no matter how powerful I am right now, I still have plenty to learn, plenty of untapped power and potential."
"And there will be plenty of time for that some other time," said the Professor. "Right now, I suggest we all get some sleep. We may have a series of big days ahead of us."
Everyone said good night and went to their rooms except Blaine and the Professor. "If you don't mind, Father, I'm going to give Level 30 one more time," he said and then he looked the Professor right in the eye. "Do you know anything about love, Father?" he asked.
The Professor looked at him, surprised by his son's question. "Well, why do you ask?"
"Nothing really, it's just that, well, I remember you telling me about how close my brothers and sisters are to each other, and having seen it for myself," he paused for a moment before finishing. "I don't know why it suddenly caught my attention, especially since this is my first time out of the X Lab, but I can't help but wonder about it now."
"Is there something specific that you're thinking about?" asked the Professor, the faint traces of an impending idea suddenly beginning to gather in the back of his mind.
"I'm just, you know, wondering if…if there could ever be someone like that for me. A kindred soul joined to my own as if they were one and the same," replied Blaine, giving his father a somber look.
The Professor couldn't believe it. His son had never set foot outside of his lab until tonight, and here he was already experiencing heartache. He knew that Blaine was special, unique among his children, but he couldn't believe that the boy's mind and perception were so clear. He had helped his daughters through their growing pains, and even the boys, whom he considered his surrogate sons, and he wanted to help Blaine just as much. 'If Blaine had a "kindred spirit" just like the others, maybe that would help him,' he thought.
Like a cinder block moving at light speed, the idea finally hit him. "Hey, Blaine, you can handle the simulation by yourself without me monitoring it for a while can't you?" he asked.
Blaine looked at the Professor with an assuring smile. "You go take care of whatever it is you need to do, Father. I will be able to manage well enough on my own," he said, back to his old self.
