It was a beautiful day in the city of Townsville. The bright sunshine cast a warm glow over the city, particularly the Sunken Mall. Despite a war going on with Fusion Monsters literally roaming the city, the Sunken Mall still had patrons hopping from shop to shop and enjoying a Chicken Bucket lunch out at the tables near the stage. It was so normal, one would be forgiven for thinking the fight with Fuse was over.
Alice and her friends passed by the mall without a second look, preemptively turning some Heavy Hunters into Fusion Matter before they knew what hit them. Unlike the shoppers spending the good weather shopping, the team had been called for a job. Bubbles had called on them, so they were meeting her at City Hall. The blonde Powerpuff was already dishing out a job to some girls, so the trio waited off to the side so as not to be rude.
The girl in the cat-eared hoodie looked distracted, leaving her companion - a girl dressed in a purple battle dress - to be given the low down by the Powerpuff. Her wandering eyes eventually settled on Team Super Stars. Amber colored eyes widened in recognition, and then narrowed as they zeroed in on Alice. The Arthenadite remained perfectly calm, schooling her face to ensure it didn't reveal anything she was feeling.
Despite support from the Powerpuffs, Ben, and other high-profile personalities, public opinion on Alice was still firmly in the negative. Harangue was the only one who still publicly ran hit pieces against her, although luckily, he didn't dedicate whole episodes to her anymore; he'd gone back to badmouthing Ben. Suzy had banned Alice from checking the Board due to the negativity that still existed, though it wasn't like the girl could see the messages anyway. Suzy had snatched her NanoCom the second Douglas had brought the Board back online after Harangue's bombshell report and went through blocking anyone that had something negative to say to Alice. Whatever she heard about people's opinion of her usually came from her looking over Suzy's shoulder when the redhead was on her NanoCom. The worst of the posts had been purged by the Dexbots early on, leaving only nonmalignant complaints. Most of the time she was used as a scapegoat if a job went awry, often wondering if she was feeding information to the monsters or flat out stating she'd sent a boss monster after the poster. Alice had never been the kind of person who wanted to be popular, but she was finding infamy to be a much harsher deal.
"...Once you've gotten rid of the Asphalt Freaks, come back here for a reward," Bubbles was finishing up. "But please try to be quick! The baby birds can't protect themselves, so it's up to us!"
"Of course," the blonde volunteer agreed, an easy-going smile on her lips. "Ready, Nikki?" When Nikki didn't reply, her companion turned to look at her quizzically. "Nikki?" She followed her companion's line of sight, spotting Alice and the group. The easy-going smile fell right off, faster than falling off a cliff, and a stony expression took over.
By this point, Junior and Suzy felt eyes looking in their direction and looked back, finding Nikki and her blonde companion staring at their blue-haired teammate. While Suzy's smile remained on her face, it had lost its friendliness, a clear warning to stay away. If the girls were dumb enough to ignore the warning, then Junior's sneering firmly warned them to stay away. A worried frown formed on Bubbles' lips as she sensed the rising tension between the two teams.
Whether it was because she had caught the messages or because she could no longer stand being in the same proximity as Alice, the blonde volunteer grabbed her companion's arm and pulled her towards the steps. With their disappearance, the tension quickly dissolved, although the sour look remained on Junior's face. The blue themed Powerpuff stepped up to the group, training concerned baby blue eyes on the Arthenadite.
"You okay, Alice?" Bubbles asked in concern.
Alice nodded, keeping "It's okay" behind tightly sealed lips. The last time she'd said it, Suzy had lectured her for over an hour on why it was not okay on how she was being treated. It was touching that her friends were so upset on her behalf, and she knew she should be just as angry with the volunteers for their treatment of her, but she couldn't muster up the emotion. She didn't blame them in the slightest. If she were in their shoes, she'd act the same way.
"What can we do for you, Bubbles?" Suzy asked.
"I need you three to head over to the Townsville Zoo and find the missing zoo animals," Bubbles addressed.
Junior frowned in exasperation at the job's description. He didn't rank finding missing zoo animals very high on the list, but wisely kept his mouth shut on the matter. Bubbles was a Powerpuff and an animal lover, so it was much safer for him to not voice his dissension.
"It's suspected that a Fusion rounded up the animals and has them locked away somewhere," Bubbles continued. "I need you to help Jackie Khones and Boomer look for them."
Alice jerked in surprise at the last name, and the sentiment was shared with her half-demon teammate.
"Hold on, Boomer?" Junior questioned.
Bubbles nodded. "Yes. He's been looking for them for over a week, but I think he could use some help."
"You want us to help a Rowdyruff?" Junior questioned incredulously.
"I'm asking you to help the animals," Bubbles countered, her tone pleading. "These poor creatures are captured and being held somewhere, with no way of helping themselves. They need to be rescued. They need your help."
Junior frowned and looked down at his shoes. He wasn't keen on helping a Rowdyruff, - and since when did a Rowdyruff hold any interest in rescuing animals? - but when Bubbles put it that way...
"You know you can count on us," Suzy assured the Powerpuff.
Bubbles smiled in relief. "Thank you. I'll send word to Boomer that you're on your way over. He'll explain everything they've found once you get there. And just to help our odds even more..." Bubbles put two fingers to her lips and released a loud whistle, one that had the trio covering their ears. A moment later, an object zipped past the trio so fast that it kicked up its own gust of wind. Hovering over Bubbles' shoulder was her squirrel companion, Bullet. "Sorry to pull you away from Buttercup, but I need you to head to the zoo and help out. Okay?"
Bullet chittered out what was probably confirmation because the squirrel accompanied it with a salute. The rodent then flew over and curled herself on Alice's head, mussing up the girl's hair a bit.
"Thanks for your help," the Powerpuff said with an accompanying grin. "Good luck!"
The team stepped over the broken turnstiles of the Townsville Zoo, not surprised to find the property empty, but finding the emptiness incredibly jarring. While the zoo would have a modest turn out during the weekdays, it was always packed on the weekends. Parents with their little kids would come out and spend the day looking at some of their favorite animals like lions and tigers and bears. Sometimes the families would spill into the impressive aquarium that sat next door, which boasted an impressive attendance count as well. With the animals missing and an invasion going on, the zoo and its add-on aquarium were left desolate. Alice's built in Fusion radar told her Fusion Monsters were in the area, but not within their immediate area.
Boomer and who the team suspected to be Jackie Khones were waiting for them at the information kiosk situated behind the entrance's gates. Jackie Khones turned out to be a miniature Imaginary Friend, a cyclops with a thin green stick-like figure. He resembled an animated broccoli stick with the eyeball for the flower head. Over his lithe body was a brown bomber jacket with a puffy light brown collar, and a brown fedora situated on top of his eye completed his look.
Boomer, contrary to what Alice thought, didn't resemble his Nano counterpart. Instead of a shirt and pants Alice had been expecting, the Rowdyruff was dressed in a blue short sleeve jacket over a black shirt with a blue stripe going horizontally. He wore black shorts with a blue trim at the bottom, and he had on blue tube socks with a white trim and black sneakers.
Jackie appeared to be bored, munching away on a ham sandwich. Boomer, on the other hand, had his arms crossed and was sizing up the team as they approached. From the way his lips were dipped downward, he didn't look very pleased to see them.
Suzy led the way as she naturally did, and Alice was especially thankful for it. She had been just as surprised as Junior to hear that Boomer was looking for the missing zoo animals. Before the invasion happened, Boomer had been seen less and less with his brothers. His MIA status led many to believe that he had died, although that was highly suspect given his superhuman abilities; there were very few who could defeat him, and the majority were villains like him. After the invasion, he had been spotted around Foster's Home, which was a headscratcher. Many believed it was an act, but they couldn't pinpoint the ulterior motive. Boomer wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, which was saying something considering all the Rowdyruffs were dimwitted. She didn't exactly know what to think of the boy, but she put faith in Bubbles; if the blonde thought Boomer was trustworthy enough to search for animals, then maybe he wasn't going to pull some villainous stunt on them.
"Greetings, gentlemen," Suzy greeted with her signature smile. "I'm sure you're aware Bubbles sent us."
Boomer's displeased frown only grew at the greeting. Instead of looking ecstatic for the help, as many others did, he looked downright annoyed.
"Just so we're clear, I'm not happy about this," Boomer pointed out to the three. "We don't need your help."
"How long have you been looking for the animals?" Junior challenged. "Over a week, right? Sounds like you need help."
A dangerous look entered Boomer's eyes. His fingers clenched into tight fists that trembled with growing rage. For a moment it looked like the Rowdyruff was going to attack Junior, causing Alice to tense in preparation. But then, to her surprise, he merely closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. He uncurled his fingers and shifted his facial muscles so that he was wearing a mask of forced indifference.
"Fine, we have been at this for over a week and haven't found the animals," Boomer responded. "We did have a suspect. A monkey named Jake Spidermonkey. We had to rule him out because he was..."
"He was an idiot," Jackie supplied for Boomer when the later found trouble labeling their suspect. "No way that one took 'em."
"Bubbles mentioned that it may have been a Fusion," Suzy joined in the conversation. "Do you know anything about that?"
"We suspect it's a Fusion, and that the animals are underground somewhere," Boomer answered. "But we've been unable to find the portal."
"All we found was a baby fishballoon," Jackie piped in.
The team shared a similar look of confusion. Alice wasn't very well versed on marine life, but she couldn't recall ever hearing about a fishballoon.
"A what?" Suzy asked.
"Fishballoon," Boomer repeated. He raised his eyebrow upward in surprise. "Yah know, the monster? Orange, spikey, two legs, multiple eyes? A larger version tried attacking the city a few years back."
Immediately, Alice put an image to the name. She recalled the news detailing a monster fitting that description, only it was as tall as skyscrapers when it went on a city tear. "But, isn't it supposed to be on Monster Isle?"
Boomer shrugged. "Nope."
"Doesn't live there. Some sort of lake creature," Jackie contributed after he took a large bite out of his sandwich. "Sent it back."
"Anything else you came across?" Suzy asked.
Boomer released a frustrated sigh, but it didn't feel directed at the team. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "Nothing. None of the monsters I've beaten have dropped anything useful."
"We've beaten," Jackie corrected, although that was met with an exasperated eyeroll from the blond.
"Anyways, that's it," Boomer finished. "We're stuck."
"Probably why your girlfriend sent them," Jackie piped in with his mouth full.
Alice expected the Rowdyruff to become angry at this, but he rolled his eyes once again. "She's not my girlfriend," he corrected in exasperation, probably because this wasn't the first time he'd corrected the Friend.
'Alright, so we're on the hunt for a Fusion Portal," Suzy announced, falling into her natural role as a leader. "I think we should split ourselves into three teams to cover more ground." She placed her hands on her hips, looking at her two teammates. "Junior, you team up with Jackie. Alice, you're with Boomer. Bullet and I will be a team."
The superpowered squirrel chittered in excitement and hopped off of Alice's shoulder so that she could take up residence on the redhead's shoulder. While Bullet clearly had no problems with the arrangement, the furrow of Boomer's brows indicated he was.
"Hold on, why aren't I and Jackie teamed up?" Boomer questioned.
"You've been here for about a week, so you two should have a strong understanding of the layout," Suzy explained rationally. "You've encountered the monsters here, so you can give us tips about which areas to search and which to avoid."
Boomer looked a little confused by the reasoning, but he quickly hid it. "Uhm, okay."
"So long as I get my sandwich at the end of the day, I don't care who I'm partnered with," Jackie commented, finishing up the last of his sandwich.
"You just had one," Junior pointed out.
"I get two."
"Alrighty, if nobody has further questions, let's break! Bullet and I will head west. Junior and Jackie, head up north. Alice and Boomer, you've got the east side of the zoo. Let's get moving people!" Suzy instructed, getting the group back on track.
Boomer led Alice through the Aves habitat, passing by several empty aviaries that used to hold all manner of birds. This part of the zoo was always the loudest, because the birds enjoyed making noises to each other and at the guests. Now, with all of the birds missing, the emptiness put goosebumps on her skin. Add in that her internal radar was warning her of monsters nearby and it was like a scene from a horror film, except she was living it. Boomer didn't seem as disturbed by the quietness as she was, and he wasn't in any hurry to disrupt it.
Alice was conflicted over partnering with Boomer. While she had concerns, she kept them to herself because Suzy's strategy had made sense. Jackie and Boomer had spent the most time in the zoo, so they probably knew every nook and cranny. Suzy and Junior probably had a firm understanding of the zoo's layout, but Alice's knowledge on it was shaky. Her mother's job didn't permit a lot of time off on the weekends, so there weren't as many opportunities for Alice to go and see the animals unless it was on a field trip or if Aunt Muriel came down for a weekend.
While Suzy or Junior could team up with Boomer, it wasn't the smartest choice. Although Bubbles trusted him, there still remained the fact that he was a superpower. Teaming him up with Suzy who had no powers whatsoever put her in a dangerous position, so she was out of the running. This left Junior and Alice, and while Junior did have some powers, the boys' attitudes were not compatible with each other, and they'd probably spend their time just getting into fights. This was absolutely not productive to finding missing zoo animals, so he was out of the running as well. That left Alice as the only viable choice: she didn't have a confrontational personality and she had enough powers to protect herself from Boomer. From there, Junior was assigned to Jackie since the Imaginary Friend didn't seem to have any superpowers, meanwhile non-superpowered Suzy would be teamed up with super powered Bullet.
So, Alice went along with the arrangement, although she kept a healthy distance between her and Boomer. She wasn't entirely sure she could trust him. He wasn't too smart to pull off a con, so she wasn't worried about being tricked by him. But she didn't know if she could trust him wanting to be helpful and find animals. Finding lost animals just wasn't a thing a Rowdyruff Boy did. Beating things up were in his wheelhouse, however.
The zoo may have been empty on visitors and animals, but it had plenty of Gorillions, Roadblock Rhinos, and Elephantine Freaks to go around, although their part of the zoo was populated exclusively by the Gorillions. Having a Rowdyruff made the fights with Fusion Monsters almost too easy, although Alice wasn't complaining. She was here to help find missing animals, not exterminate legions of monsters (that was just a bonus).
"Where are they coming from?" Boomer complained after the Gorillion he had been kicking turned into Fusion Matter. "They're crazy today."
Alice grimaced, searching for any indication that more Gorillions were in the area. Luckily, it seemed the horde that had befell them were the only ones in the area. Alice's radar indicated that there were none in their immediate vicinity.
"We should conti-"
"Boomer!" a voice suddenly rang out, cutting Alice off midsentence and even making the girl jump in startlement. "Hey Boomer! BOOMER! BOOMER MOJO! BOOOOOOOOOOOMERRRRRRRRR! HEEEEEEEEYYYYY!"
Boomer visibly shuddered and released an annoyed groan. Alice looked around for the owner of the voice, spotting a Monkey Minion rushing for them. As the minion came closer, Alice was surprised to see that it wasn't actually a monkey in the armor; it was a human. The boy was dressed head to toe like a Monkey Minion, complete with a fake tail swinging back and forth with the boy's motions. On his hip, Alice spotted a purple-colored communicator, indicating he was working under Mojo. Considering his getup, it wasn't exactly surprising.
"Go away, George," Boomer demanded, growling out the words.
"Not until you agree to go home," the boy, George, insisted. "Your father misses you."
"Tell the monkey I'm not coming back," Boomer retorted.
"But he's your father!"
"You keep throwing that word around like I'm supposed to care," Boomer remarked, turning his head away from the teen. "I'm not going back and that's final. Tell him to quit wasting my time."
"You can't just turn away from our glorious leader!"
"Pretty sure I can, dude."
"But you're not a good guy. You're a bad guy!" George argued strongly. "Live up to that potential!"
Boomer's eyes flashed and he whirled around on the boy, reaching out and grabbing him by his armor's collar. Boomer yanked the boy so that they stood forehead-to-forehead, fire blazing in angry blue eyes.
"Shut. Your. Stupid. Mouth!" Boomer snarled.
"See! That's the bad guy we love!" George declared emphatically, looking close to tears with joy.
Boomer frowned in disgust and dropped the boy on his butt.
"Leave me alone," Boomer demanded.
Alice stared wide-eyed at the blond boy. If she hadn't been paying close attention to the conversation, she would have missed the slightest tremble in his voice. Was he...growing upset? George didn't look as if he heard it since his eyebrows came together in frustration.
"I will not leave you until you go back home. Your father tasked me with this most important job and I will not leave until I have met our leader's expectations!"
"You have been bugging me three days straight! Ever think about what I want?" Boomer shot back.
George blinked, looking taken back with the question. Then, completely honestly, he replied, "Why would I care?"
Boomer's eyes tripled in size at the honest remark, and Alice could see something akin to hurt inside. His fingers curled into fists, trembling with suppressed emotion; anger or pain, Alice couldn't pinpoint.
"You-!"
"Boomer," Alice called, stopping Boomer mid-word and mid-step. "Let's go."
Boomer and George looked at her, the former staring with wide eyed confusion. Ignoring the wannabe Monkey Minion, Alice kept her gaze focused on the Rowdyruff.
"Bubbles is counting on us to find the missing animals," she reminded him. "George is being mean, so we shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's keep searching the zoo."
Boomer's confusion turned to surprise, staring at the blue-haired alien with a slackened jaw. This was probably because he had never heard her speak so much. Or maybe he was surprised that someone was sticking up for him.
"Excuse you! Calling me mean is a compliment!" the boy snapped at Alice. "And who exactly are you to- ... Wait ... I recognize you." George's face lost color, becoming as white as the helmet he wore. Dramatically, the Mojo fanatic raised an accusatory finger pointed straight at her. "You're the Fusion Girl."
Alice grimaced at the proclamation, keeping her gaze on the wannabe Monkey Minion. George produced a rifle from his communicator and raised it up, leveling the long-range weapon at Alice. The girl blinked in startlement at George's swift actions. Before the boy could move his finger to the trigger, Boomer suddenly appeared, placing himself between the weapon and Alice and wrapping his hand around the barrel. Exerting very little effort, Boomer snapped the barrel off. He squeezed his hand, cracking, splintering, and breaking the metal into pieces, letting the fragments fall to his feet like ash.
"Whoops."
George stared in horror at his broken weapon. "My...My beautiful weapon," the boy lamented. "Gifted to me by our glorious leader."
Boomer rolled his eyes at the boy's theatrics. This was probably the most annoying thing about Mojo's people: they all became drama queens like their dear old Simian Supreme. There were actual tears in the boy's eyes, like he was mourning the loss of a friend. How utterly, completely annoying. George shot his head up to look at the blond, disbelief written all over his face. Boomer challenged it with an eyebrow raise.
"Why?! Why would you destroy your father's weapons!" George demanded. "Have you no appreciation for the delicate craftsmanship?!"
"Dude, you pointed it at an unarmed girl."
Boomer conveniently kept silent on the fact that Alice didn't actually need weapons to fight and protect herself. It was on a need-to-know basis and George didn't need to know.
"She's the enemy!"
Boomer shrugged nonchalantly as a response. George bared his teeth and released an annoyed growl. He looked ready to throw down, but must have correctly guessed it'd be futile. He was a simple human, and his weapon was destroyed; there was no possible way he could beat the Rowdyruff and the Fusion Girl barehanded. Instead, he threw down his broken weapon with a frustrated cry and spun around, stomping off.
"Wait until your father hears about this!" George threatened, though it came off as whiny.
Boomer snorted. "Like I care. The creep is probably spying on me from his telescope."
George disappeared without another word, no longer viewable even to Boomer's advanced sight. Tension left Boomer's body as he released a relieved sigh.
"If I knew breaking his toys would get rid of him, I would have done it sooner," Boomer commented aloud, mostly for his own benefit.
"Thank you," Alice spoke up, garnering the boy's attention. His eyebrow quirking upward had her further clarifying, "For stopping him."
His rescue had been completely unnecessary. Amber hadn't spent a month training her simply so she could be offed by a Mojo minion. However, it was rude to tell him all this, especially because he had stepped in for no other reason than because she was being aimed at. The right and proper thing to do was to thank him for his actions.
Boomer's face went a bright shade of red, and for a moment Alice feared it was out of anger. Her fears were quelled - though replaced with confusion - when the boy glanced away and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Uh, yeah, whatever," he stammered, which was completely strange for a Rowdyruff. "It's...ya know..." He shrugged lamely. "Whatever."
Alice smiled lightly at the boy's show of embarrassment, probably because he wasn't used to it. Had he ever been thanked before? Considering how destructive him and his siblings were, the answer was probably a resounding no. Boomer coughed into his fist like the single action could get rid of his embarrassment.
"Anyways, you..." His face twitched as he thought over his words. "You uhh... with him so... yeah, favors and stuff," Boomer continued, his mouth unable to produce a sentence that was remotely coherent. Luckily, Alice was able to decipher his intent.
"You looked..." Alice trailed off as she carefully thought out how she wanted to word this to a Rowdyruff. "You looked upset by what he was saying. And it wasn't right of him to say those mean things to you."
Boomer looked away, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "He's following Mojo, so this is right up his alley. Being a jerk and bothering someone sounds like things a villain would do."
"It still wasn't nice," Alice pointed out.
Boomer turned away from the girl, but she got a frown growing on his face.
"We gotta keep moving," he said, changing the subject.
Alice silently agreed, following behind the boy with a frown of her own. She reviewed the conversation once more in her mind, and the way George treated Boomer made her ill. She had her own concerns about the Rowdyruff boy, but...
"Ever think about what I want?"
"Why would I care?"
Alice's brows came together as the words echoed in her head. Rowdyruff or not, it still troubled her how dismissive George was of Boomer's feelings. It felt all too familiar to-
"Hey."
Boomer's voice cut through her thoughts, startling the girl back into the present. She blinked rapidly and glanced over at Boomer, finding that the boy was side eying her in poorly veiled curiosity.
"Yes?" she asked.
"George called you 'Fusion Girl.' What did he mean by that?"
Alice glanced away, her muscles tightening preemptively in the event of a fight-or-flight situation. Considering this was Boomer, it would probably be a fighting situation midflight.
"You don't know?" Alice asked.
"I don't have a communicator," Boomer answered defensively. With a pout, he added in a whiny voice, "I'm not trusted."
Alice's eyebrows went up before burrowing together in confusion. She recalled Bubbles mentioning that she'd let Boomer know. Did they still use phones? Seemed unlikely since there probably weren't any public phones working at the zoo.
"But Bubbles said-"
"I use Jackie's," Boomer cut off.
"Oh."
Boomer turned his head to look at her, raising his right eyebrow up in an expression of impatience.
"Soooo...?"
Alice startled a little, having momentarily forgotten that the conversation started because of her moniker.
"It...It turns out I share DNA with Fuse," Alice admitted. "Harangue refers to me as Fusion Girl, and a lot of people have been using it."
"But you're not actually one?" Boomer questioned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
Alice shook her head swiftly. "I'm not. I don't know the full extent of the relationship, but I'm not a Fusion."
Boomer's face morphed to understanding, and she thought she spotted a flash of hopefulness in his eyes.
"So, even though everyone thinks you're bad 'cause you're born bad, you're trying to do good," Boomer commented, his tone bordering on familiarity. "But everyone still thinks badly of you."
Alice nodded to the summary, a little surprised to hear it coming from the mouth of a Rowdyruff.
"Yes," she answered. After a brief pause, she added, "They treat you the same way, don't they?"
Boomer hesitated, looked around like he was searching for another soul who was in the area, before he nodded slowly to her question.
"Ye-yeah," he admitted, sounding vulnerable with the one word. He shrugged like he was trying to shake off that vulnerability. "But it's whatever. My brothers always picked on me anyways, so telling me I'm stupid and can't cut it doesn't matter to me. And Mojo's such a crybaby annoyance I'm glad to be gone." He looked away from her and made a quick swipe for his nose. "Yeah, I don't need them. If they can't support me, then I don't need them. I don't need any of them. I can do this on my own."
Alice bit her lip at the words. "Boomer-"
"So, if you're connected with Fusions, can you find them?" Boomer asked, diverting the subject before it could get serious.
Alice frowned at the obvious diversion. While it would probably be dangerous, she really wished Boomer had teamed up with Suzy. Suzy would have known what to say. However, Suzy wasn't there, and Alice was and she didn't know how to respond to Boomer's words, so she simply agreed to change the subject.
"I haven't been able to find specific monsters, but I have been able to sense them based on their power levels," Alice answered.
"Can you do that then?"
"I can try," Alice replied, coming to a stop.
Boomer stopped as well and looked at the girl, watching her close her eyes. Alice stretched out her powers to search for the monsters. She felt the sameness of the Gorillions in the area and expanded her searches further. She did sense a stronger power level, but the several Gorillions sensed close to it identified it as a boss. She ignored the boss and its underlings and kept searching. She searched for another minute and almost called it quits when she remembered Fusion Bubbles and Fusion Raj. Both of them had been in lairs, which were below the surface level. If she were a Fusion who had just captured helpless animals, she'd go underground. She directed her searching downward, immediately sensing the Gorillions, and then she found them. Two sources, far more powerful than the wandering bosses, were sticking close together. The sense reminded her of Fusion Boomer, and so she felt confident they were the Fusions behind the missing animals.
"I've found them," Alice reported, opening her eyes.
"Them?" Boomer questioned in surprise. "You sure you're sensing right?"
Alice nodded in confirmation. "They're this way."
Alice led Boomer up the pathway a few yards, coming to a stop in front of the zoo's large bird enclosure. It was hard to miss how empty the space was, including the lack of a Fusion Portal.
"It's empty," Boomer pointed out unhelpfully, although his tone sounded like an accusation. He was probably doubting her.
With confidence, using the two Fusions as a homing beacon, Alice strode into the enclosure and moved through it until she was at the halfway point. It was here that she ran into an obstacle, which startled the girl and had her stumbling back from surprise. Boomer, waiting at the entranceway, raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"What the...?"
Alice reached out and touched the object in her way, finding that it was a very large sheet of paper. She gripped the paper and then yanked downward. It took two pulls, but eventually the paper gave way, dropping downward and revealing the rest of the enclosure. Situated on the opposite side was the Fusion Portal she had sensed. Boomer stood slack jawed.
"This has been here the entire time?" Boomer complained in disbelief.
Alice could understand his surprise. Fusions weren't as dumb as everyone had once believed. They were fast learners, just as the camouflaging of the Fusion Portal in the Fissure had shown. Still, being able to recreate half of the bird enclosure was quite the surprise, especially because of how well the painting had been. It had looked so life like that it was easy to fool the naked eye.
Wait. Didn't Boomer have x-ray vision like the Powerpuffs? Shouldn't he have noticed there was something behind the facade?
"Haven't you used your x-ray vision to check the cages?" Alice asked, turning around so she could look at the boy.
Boomer's face went a bright tint of pink, going all the way up to the tip of his ears. Without acknowledging her question, Boomer rushed past her and headed for the portal.
"Wait," Alice protested as he passed her, "we need to let the others-"
"No time. I'm getting those animals," he argued.
"But-"
Her arguments were ignored as the portal transported the Rowdyruff to the Fusions' lair. Alice stared at the teleporter in conflict. Her instinct was to stay and wait for her friends, giving themselves the best odds to search for the missing animals and to put an end to the Fusions. However, she didn't want to abandon Boomer to face the Fusions on his own. He was a Rowdyruff and could probably handle the monsters on his own, but she didn't want to take that chance. She hadn't yet heard of the Powerpuffs being able to single-handedly end a Fusion, let alone two Fusions teaming up, and so she didn't want to mistakenly believe he could handle himself only to find that she had been wrong. Spurred by this, Alice quickly shot off a message to her teammates, telling them where the portal was located, and stepped on the teleporter.
Within the span of a blink, she was in an underground cavern. No monsters greeted her as she took a step off the teleporter. Freshly made Fusion Matter - most definitely the result of the monsters losing to Boomer - flew into her NanoCom due to its vacuum ability and because it was the only technology in the area. Knowing that flying was faster than walking, Alice lifted herself into the air and followed the path of the Fusion Matter puddles. The puddles led through the cavern's passageways until it opened up into a large clearing, quite possibly the largest she'd seen in a lair (and considering she had only been in two, that wasn't saying much).
She gasped out in surprise when she found that there were cages stacked on top of each other. Inside these cages were animals from the zoos, although even she could tell that these weren't all the missing animals. In attendance were: lions, zebras, lemurs, toucans, monkeys, cheetahs...Alice paused in her mental inventory and looked back at the cage holding one of the monkeys. Unlike the others, this one was in a power suit; a very familiar power suit that Alice recognized from the hologram at Heroes Square.
"Monkey?" Alice asked in surprise, gliding over to the cage.
The simian was unresponsive, curled up tight in the corner of its prison. She couldn't tell if the superhero was hurt or sleeping, but his presence had her worried. Monkey was supposed to have the same powers and endurance as the Powerpuff Girls. How was it possible for him to be captured? And how long had he been captured? At least a week, since Boomer and Jackie didn't mention the superhero.
Boomer.
Alice looked away from the captured superhero, extending her senses once more. She pinpointed the Fusions, and found that they were moving around more rapidly than before. They were probably engaged in a fight with the Rowdyruff. Glancing back at the simian superhero, Alice grimaced and stepped away. Releasing the animals, though it was her job, would only get the animals hurt so long as the Fusions were still around. She needed to help Boomer, and then come back for the animals.
She shot up higher into the air, nearly touching the ceiling. She flew in the direction of the Fusions, ignoring the lair's labyrinth. It was easy to spot the green of the Fusions against the brown dirt. She recognized one of the Fusions to be a copy of Monkey, but the other eluded her. It was a duck with a Q as a headpiece. Despite the heights of the Fusion monkey and duck - only coming up to the waistline - Boomer was having trouble landing a hit. No matter how fast he lunged, the Fusion animals managed to jump out of the way, even managing to get a strike on the Rowdyruff as they moved. Even from high up in the sky, she could see he was getting frustrated by his inability to catch the Fusions.
She lowered herself to the ground, joining in on the fight right as the Fusion duck made a lunge for the boy's kneecap. Alice raised up a barrier to protect Boomer from the Fusion, watching as the Fusion fowl hit the barrier and bounce back. The brawling boy turned to regard her with a furious look on his face.
"Boomer, we need-"
"Butt out of this," Boomer snapped at her. "I've got this handled."
Alice's eyes raked the boy head to toe, spotting every burn and scratch he had obtained in the battle with the two Fusions.
"You're getting hurt," Alice pointed out. "We need to work togeth-"
"I don't need you!" Boomer shouted.
Because the barrier had only been a wall, Boomer moved around it, engaging in battle once again. Fusion Monkey decided to actually face the boy and so it landed a punch on the blond's face when the Rowdyruff got closer. The hit was strong enough to send Boomer flying in the air, though he was able to right himself before hitting the cavern wall.
"Bo-"
"No! Shut up! You're just like everyone else, thinking I'm stupid!" Boomer shouted at the girl, rocketing off once more. "I got this!"
Alice gasped in surprise by the raw emotion in his voice. Where had that come from? Boomer threw himself at the Fusion duck, hitting the ground when the creature ducked out of the way. An indent was made from where he'd landed, but that didn't stop him from hopping back up and lunging for Fusion Monkey. He threw some punches at the Fusion simian, but Fusion Monkey managed to deflect the erratic hits.
With Boomer focused on Fusion Monkey, he missed the Fusion duck racing up Fusion Monkey's back and jumping over its head, kicking Boomer in the face. The hit momentarily stunned the boy. Fusion Monkey cupped its hands together and raised it upward, prepared to swing it downward on Boomer's head. Alice raised her hand and fired off an energy ball at the Fusion, but Boomer chose that moment to stand up, getting in the way of the attack. The energy ball hit him in his back, sending him forward. Alice's eyes widened in horror.
"Boomer, are you-"
"Save it, Fusion Girl!" Boomer roared at her, using his superspeed to get in her face. He was leaning forward, his hand raised and threatening to hit her. "I don't need your stupid help! I'm going to beat these stupid Fusions. I'm going to save the animals. I'm going to prove I can be a hero. And I'm doing it alone!"
He spun around and shot off for the Fusions once more, throwing punches without actually aiming. Instead of deflecting, Fusion Monkey and the duck dodge, duck, dip, and dived from the strikes. Their unwillingness to fight back infuriated the boy, making him even madder.
Boomer threw a punch that Fusion Monkey ducked. In that position, the Fusion delivered a powerful kick to the boy's solar plex, causing him to stumble back in the pain. Beneath his feet, without him realizing it, a green path began to form. Alice recognized the patch instantly and, although she was still filled with terror at the boy's earlier show of aggression, jumped forward to tackle him. The two of them rolled away from the green patch just as an eruption attack went off. Had Alice acted a second later, Boomer would have been caught in its powerful explosion.
Instead of being grateful for the assistance, Boomer pushed her off of him and glared at her. Alice scooted away as much as she could, staring up at him fearfully.
"Get the hint! Everyone leaves me, so why don't you!" Boomer yelled. "I don't need you! I don't need anyone!"
He shot off for the Fusions again, leaving behind a wide-eyed girl. Although she was still upset but his show of aggression towards her, a new horror took over. The Rowdyruffs were hardly the smartest people out there. They always relied on their brute strength to see them through anything, whether it was leveling city blocks or beating up the Powerpuff Girls. On his own, with his growing anger, Boomer was being outsmarted by two Fusions who were playing him like a fiddle.
It was horrific to watch, but Alice felt her stomach turn as she realized that Boomer was losing it. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that it was affecting how he fought. He was dead set on doing things on his own, that he was willing to push away anyone. The scariest bit was that it was like looking into a mirror. It hadn't been that long ago that she was pushing others away, prepared to live an isolated life. But she had people who loved her and supported her and stopped her from making such a choice. Who did Boomer have?
Determination smoothed over her nerves, allowing Alice to get onto steady feet. Raising her hand, she generated a dome that separated Boomer from his opponents, once more sending the Fusions bouncing back. Boomer spun around, his eyes wide and wild as they settled on her. He looked feral, dangerous, like an undomesticated creature. His mouth turned upward in a snarl, his balled-up fists rising upward in preparation for a fight.
"What do you-"
His demand was caught in his throat when Alice snaked her arms around him, gripping tightly. The action caught him off guard, and his intense eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, remorse and sympathy in her voice. "I know you're alone, and everything seems scary. I know what it's like to have people look at you in distrust, thinking you are going to hurt them. I've been in your shoes. I've been lonely, and the world was scary and large and I had no one to turn to. But then I realized I was wrong, just like you're wrong."
Boomer jolted like he'd been physically shocked. Alice kept her grip on the boy. He could easily break out of it, but it was surprise that kept him from fighting her. And also, maybe, he wanted to hear where the conversation was going.
"You're not alone, Boomer. You've never been. Maybe your brothers aren't there for you, but you have so many others to lean on. Bubbles trusts you and gave you this job because she believes in you. Jackie agreed to team up with you because he wasn't scared of your reputation. And Mojo clearly loves you. Even if he may not agree with your choices, he sends out his people to bring you home."
The tension in Boomer's body slowly evaporated as he listened to Alice's words. She could feel something wet hitting her shoulder, but didn't dare ask him if he was crying. He was a teenage boy, and while Alice hadn't been a social butterfly at the junior high, even she knew from conversations at school that boys didn't like to be called out when they were caught crying. So she remained silent on the matter, keeping her arms wrapped around the boy in silent comfort. In response, the Rowdyruff wrapped his arms around her, his fingers clinging to the back of her shrug.
Alice wondered if he'd ever been held before. She doubted Brick and Butch would be the hugging type, but what about Mojo? Did the simian give the boys hugs like a father did? Did any of them know the comfort a hug could bring? To know that the burdens weighing them down could be shared with someone who cared about you? By the way he clung to her, she didn't think so.
While Alice was bringing Boomer down from his frenzied state, the two Fusions had been putting their all into breaking through Alice's shields. Normally this would be hard to do, but given Alice's concentration was preoccupied with making the Rowdyruff feel better about himself, a few good hits were able to shatter the force field to pieces. Alice jerked to attention, releasing her hold on the boy and watching the two Fusions baring down on them. Sensing his enemies upon him, the blond boy, tears still in his eyes, spun around to face the Fusions. Fusion Monkey targeted the boy since he was closer, stretching out its fist. The fist was a hair's breath away from Boomer's face when a hand mirror appeared out of thin air, slotting itself between the Fusion and Boomer. The Fusion's fist hit the mirror's reflective surface and instead of breaking, the Fusion was propelled backward, taking the Fusion duck with it and sending the two into the cavern's wall. Alice and Boomer stared dumbfounded at the magically hovering mirror that had repelled the Fusion. Not a scratch was on it, and if they hadn't seen it for themselves, they'd never believe the Fusion had struck it. The mirror did a twirl in midair and then disappeared in a plume of smoke that seemed familiar to the Arthenadite, although she couldn't put her finger on it.
It didn't matter, really, with the Fusion duck launching itself at the duo. Once more, before Boomer and Alice could react, a sonic scream shot out and sent the Fusion duck into the wall next to its buddy. Alice and Boomer looked over to the source of the attack, a little surprised to see Monkey hovering in the air with a triumphant look on his face. Hovering over his shoulder was an equally triumphant looking Bullet.
"Bullet!" Alice called out to the squirrel in surprise. "Where's the others?"
Bullet chittered in her squirrel language that Alice didn't know, but some hand motions helped Alice piece together that the others were back with the animals, rescuing them. They must have rescued Monkey first and sent him and Bullet to help with the Fusions. Alice smiled, glancing over at Boomer to see his surprised stare.
"Ready to do this as a team, Boomer?" Alice asked.
Boomer looked away from the superpowered animals, turning his surprised look onto the blue-haired girl. He then looked over to the Fusions, watching them pick themselves up and try to escape. Slowly, a smirk crossed his face.
"Alright, let's do this," Boomer agreed. "We've got zoo animals to save."
Boomer rushed at the fleeing Fusions, Monkey and Bullet joining at his side with matching smirks. Alice hung behind and instead sent out Nano Boomer to use Batter Up on the Fusion duck. While the Fusions may have found the fight easy when it was just Boomer, fighting two superpowered animals, a superhuman, and a Nano proved to be impossible for them to win. Within seconds the two Fusions were reduced to Fusion Matter, which was sucked up by Alice's NanoCom.
Monkey and Bullet high-fived each other for the job well done, the former feeling especially vindicated. Boomer stared in surprise at seeing his Nano counterpart, who was equally surprised. After a moment, stars entered the Nano's eyes.
"You're so cooooool," the Nano complimented.
Boomer blushed under the praise, probably never having heard anyone call him that. Alice smiled at her Nano and rubbed his head before sending him back into her NanoCom.
"Are you doing okay, Boomer?" she asked.
"Huh?" Boomer asked in confusion. Alice indicated to the injuries on his body. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I used to fight the Powerpuff Girls. Their beatings hurt way worse than this."
Alice nodded, trusting the boy's assessment of his injuries. With the Fusions no longer around, they needed to go back and release the animals.
"Hey guys!" Suzy greeted cheerfully. "Great job with the Fusions."
After dealing with the Fusions, the four had gone to check on the progress with the animals. They arrived to find all the animals released from their cages and nowhere in the lair. When the four returned to the surface, they found a good number of the animals roaming. It had taken some time for all the animals to go back to their habitats - some taking longer to corral than others - but eventually all of them were back where they belonged. Suzy had gotten in touch with Alice as they were finishing up, and told her to meet at the hub, which was where two-thirds of Team Super Stars and Jackie were waiting.
"How'd you know it was Fusions?" Boomer asked in confusion.
"Alice told me," Suzy answered simply. "Plus Nano Raj's Mappy showed me two on the map."
"Oh," Boomer said dumbly.
"I've done a count of the animals, but the ones we found in the lair aren't all of them," Junior stated. "Which means they're hidden somewhere else."
"That's fine," Boomer replied. "I can just search them out easy now. The animals will be back in their homes in no time."
Monkey grunted, tapping on his chest when he gained their attention. Bullet chittered excitedly and flew over to Boomer, zipping around him until settling on his head, chest puffed proudly.
"I don't speak animal, but I bet they're here to stay and help," Suzy said, grinning. "You want us to stick around and help?"
"Nah, we should be okay," Boomer replied, reaching up and scratching Bullet's head. "Right, Jackie?"
"Sure, but I'm not sharing my sandwiches," Jackie argued.
"If you don't need us, we'll head out then," Suzy said. "I'll send word to Bubbles about the situation."
"Tell her to send chips," Jackie requested.
"We'll see what we can do," Suzy replied. "See you later."
"Wait a minute, Alice," Boomer requested, stopping the girl from following behind her friends. She looekd at him in curiosity. He flushed a light pink and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted to say th-thanks... for what you said in the lair. And...uh...s-sorry about calling you Fuse Girl."
"It's alrig-"
"No, it's not," Boomer interrupted with a firm shake of his head. "I went back to my old ways, and I said it to hurt you. I...That wasn't cool of me, so sorry."
"We all make mistakes. We even made the same one," Alice responded. "I made the mistake of thinking I was alone when my mom died and when Harangue leaked my heritage. You made the mistake of thinking you were alone when you decided to change your ways. Learning from these mistakes is the most important thing."
"I'm not really good at learning. Never went to school," Boomer admitted with a shrug. "But I'll try."
Trying was all Alice could ask of him. So long as he remembered he could turn to Bubbles and Jackie, maybe even Mojo, he'd be fine. Still, it wouldn't hurt the boy to have another positive influence in his life. Alice smiled as she thought of the perfect woman to help Boomer.
"You know, when you're done finding the animals, you should come to Nowhere and meet my aunt," Alice suggested.
"You don't think she'd mind meeting a former villain?" Boomer asked uncertainly.
Alice smiled reassuringly, nodding. "She'd love to meet my friends."
Boomer stared with wide eyes before a smile broke out on his face. It was quite possibly the largest she'd ever seen on a person, and that was saying something considering Suzy was her friend. The boy was very pleased with the response and nodded.
"See ya later, Fusion Girl," Boomer said, his tone teasing.
"Bye, Rowdyruff," Alice replied, waving her hand goodbye.
She turned away from the boy and caught up with her friends, who were waiting for her at the zoo's entrance gate.
"What was that about?" Junior asked, his tone leaning more suspiciously than curiously.
"Seemed like a nice conversation," Suzy put in.
"It was," Alice assured the two. "I was just inviting a friend to Aunt Muriel's."
Junior looked at her in surprise, whipping his head from the girl to the boy. Suzy didn't look surprised, her grin growing wider at the answer.
"I knew partnering you two up was the right choice."
"Hold on, you planned this?" Junior asked, whipping his head to the redhead.
"Of course," Suzy replied, flipping her hair. "I'm always three steps ahead."
Alice giggled into her hand, trying to stifle the noise so she wouldn't offend Junior. The boy should have known by now to never doubt Suzy's judgement.
Alice felt light as a feather as she followed her friends out of the zoo and toward the park, feeling especially good about the job they had done. Eliminating Fusions helped the war cause, since it removed Fuse's generals from the fight. Rescuing lost animals may not make a big deal in the war in general, but it made Bubbles happy and was the job they'd been sent for. Finding a missing hero added more firepower to their side and would help public morale. The most important part, for Alice at least, was helping Boomer when he was at his emotional breaking point. She cared about his feelings, his emotional state. It was scary being alone in the world without a friend to lean on, but she was pleased to have proven him wrong. Who knew what the future could hold with a Rowdyruff on their side?
Plus, she made a new friend.
Thank you for reading another chapter! It means a lot that you're taking your time to read it.
Seventeen chapters in and we finally get a proper introduction to Boomer. We've seen his Fusion and Nano, but not him. If you're an old soul who has been in the community since FusionFall Legacy (which most of you probably are), then you'll notice that Boomer's placement at the Townsville Zoo as well as his personality are in line with Legacy over Saturday Morning Invasion. The reason is that when I first wrote this, Legacy was still happening and so it was this iteration I had in mind. However, I manipulated the personality in an attempt to balance both his Legacy!personality and his Original!personality. If you want to see a Boomer that falls in line with his Original!personality, check out buttercrush's "A Girl Named Roxie." I'd go into a spiel on why I liked what Legacy was doing with his character, but AO3 has a character limit, so I'll just say check out the YouTube video "Let's Talk: Inside Look - Boomer" for my take.
The girls at the beginning of the chapter are from FF promotions. The cat-earred hoodie girl we've seen on promotional FF art. The other girl in the purple dress is from the FusionFall Opening Cinematic as well as the "Recruit" trailer. She can be seen among the other player stand-ins. The same is for the boy in the Monkey Minion getup, who was also seen in the same trailer. Since they were obviously used for promotional work, I came up with names. Nikki for the cat-earred hoodie girl, Cassidy for the girl in the purple dress, and George for the Monkey Minion boy.
The outfit George is wearing obviously comes from Mojo's guide rewards. The same is for his weapon, the Giganto Destructo Ray. I figured if the guy was going to be a diehard Mojo fan, he was going to have the weapon, too. On outfits, you'll have noticed that Jackie is sporting a hat and jacket. The idea behind this is a commission Virt did for me. He drew Jackie and Boomer in the clothes of Chip and Dale from Rescue Rangers. Boomer's not wearing Dale's Hawaiian shirt (Grandpa Max already has that department covered), but I liked the idea of Jackie dressed up like Chip. Sure, maybe I should have given him a long coat to look more like a stereotypical detective, but I like the bomber jacket look better.
The mission Nikki and Cassidy are given by Bubbles is Part Two of "Befriending Bubbles." George's "mission" is obviously made up since FusionFall never had the Rowdyruffs. Team Super Stars assisting Boomer with the case of the missing zoo animals is based on what would have happened in Legacy, though I took some liberties with it.
I learned from the wiki that Jake Spidermonkey was supposed to be there, but I kicked him out. I don't really need him thrown into the mix, and he's better off up in Habitat Homes.
The Baby Fishballoon (yeah, it's not actually a blowfish. I was checking the wiki randomly and found out the thing we've called a blowfish is actually a fishballoon in PPG) that Boomer and Jackie found is a nod to the Pics of the Day story where we see the two discover the Baby Fishballoon.
Some of you may have clued in that the magic mirror is Him's magic mirror from the "One Spooky Fusion" story line. I like to think, just like with Mojo, Him does have a soft spot for the three boys he had resurrected, and so he helped out when Boomer needed it. Or you can see it as him just saving Boomer now so he can mess with him later on in life. However you choose to view Him's parenting.
While it wasn't intended, "Lonely Road (Stan's Song)" by Jeff Williams & Dave Martin is a really great song for this chapter. I think it fits Alice's earlier lonely state before she realized that she had a support group who cared about her. And, just as in the song, Alice turns to someone who is also lonely and helps them out.
The third missing hero has been found! Though Monkey shares the same powers as the Powerpuffs and should therefore have had no problems getting out of his prison, we have seen Blossom be captured at a Fusion's hand in "Doppelganger Gang," so it can be assumed the Fusions know how to counter a superpower's superpowers.
This will be the first time Alice encountered two Fusions at once. Occasional missions had you fighting two Fusions, and I thought that'd be fun to have here. While I'm unsure of what Fusion would have been the culprit in Legacy, for this story I've chosen Fusion Monkey, and its accomplice Fusion Quackor. Quackor wasn't seen much in Dexter's Laboratory and only got a very brief cameo in Powerpuff Girls, so it's questionable if Quackor was a well-known villain. For this reason, I left Alice and Boomer without a clue on what the Fusion is named. Once this Fusion gets its data put into the Fusion Book, Monkey will update it with the correct name.
Once again, thank you for reading! Please come back for the next chapter.