Chapter 10: Esperanza Lost
The City of Townsville. Morbucks Family Mansion.
3 FEB (Friday) 1989. 2002.
Clutching his stomach with a hand on the wall of the unnecessarily long corridor, Professor Utonium was stumbling his way back to the Girls, his steps small and slow. The corridor was supposed to lead back to the grand hall, but it was taking forever. While he was still far from the doors leading in, a woman in a white, flowing dress busted through them, her angel mask white as his - though he had discarded his a while back when the party had become anything but a joyous, fun occasion.
There was something about the woman he recognized. She was a brunette. Her figure was pretty but not beautiful. And when she turned to look at the professor, he noticed that the eyes were a familiar shade of light brown. She reached for her face and removed her mask.
"Alice," the professor said in pain as he stumbled towards her.
"Thomas! What happened!? Here, let me help," she was almost shouting, but she had always been the calm one. She rushed to his side, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Bastards planned all this," the professor said, his voice still dripping with venom - he couldn't help it. He had just been bitten by a snake. A snake covered in some of the world's most expensive scales.
"I heard about it," Alice replied sympathetically. "I ran to the Girls as soon as I realize what happened." And she couldn't stay with them for long, not with Selicia around. The Medusa was hissing hatefully at her when she tried to check on Buttercup.
"How are they?" the professor asked anxiously. A wave of sadness hit him; he felt like he'd failed them again. He should have known. What could he expect? The Girls were special - everyone's going to want a piece of them, and it wasn't just the criminals out in the streets. A normal life, with normal friends and a normal party wouldn't just happen to the Girls, would it? They were destined for 'greater' things.
"They're strong, Thomas," Alice said optimistically, ever the shrink. They were reaching the door. "It's going to take more than a little staged incident to break them."
"I just… want the best for them, Alice," the professor said, nearly driven to tears by the impossibility of his role. It was as if some god from above had decided that he was fated to fail at every turn. "This was supposed to be a normal party. A memorable one. Every kid's dream come true. All I've done is deliver them to a fucking zoo."
"What am I supposed to tell them?" Thomas rambled on, digging his hole of misery even deeper.
Before they went through the door, Alice leaned Professor Utonium against the wall beside it.
"Thomas… Lewis- Don't be so hard on yourself," Alice reasoned with him. She took his hand, which was larger and darker than hers. From what she knew, he was descended from a military family but had turned his back on it. But he could never turn his back from himself, how he was raised, how his psyche was put together by his parents. Like Selicia. Like everyone else. "The mind is a complex phenomenon, the brain a complex organ. It's more so with the Girls, I think. They might not take it the way you imagined it. Besides, we're still here. We can still salvage the party if we want to."
"No, we're leaving this party," the professor said. "They got what they wanted. If they're going to treat the Girls as the night's entertainment then we'll leave when the show's over."
Alice considered the professor's words for a second. Would it be healthy for the Girls? Would it be unhealthy for them? True to her own words, even she couldn't be sure - but she was sure that the professor would only do what was best for Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.
"If that's what you think is good for them," Alice finally gave her approval, reluctantly. She had always been more comfortable being in the psychiatrist's office or a safe room with her patient. There, she was always in control. Out here, she could only analyze her peers' psyche, put in one or two touches and hope for the best. It felt too much like watching a train wreck happening in slow motion.
"It is," the professor said as he pushed himself off from the wall and went through the doors. Alice, however, not wanting another confrontation with Selicia, followed him only to disappear into the crowd.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Alice had said before she departed.
As the Girls waited for their Daddy to come back, they had found themselves seats near the stairs leading up. Buttercup was missing. She had gone elsewhere on a volition only the enhanced little girl knew about. Blossom sat alone, beside Mommy, untended and looking pretty upset.
Bubbles got to sit in Mommy's lap, hugging her, needy - it was too much for her that a night that was supposed to be all fun and relaxation had just turned into another 'operation', even if it was staged. It'd reminded her of… everything. Once again, bad memories forced themselves to the surface, like gunshots and grenade explosions, and her untrained and undisciplined mind had no power over it. Her make-up was smudged again.
The Princess wasn't far away, but she was unsure of what to do with her own gloved hands, unsure of even what she should do. The Girls' father had all but told her that she was guilty of the deception, even if she hadn't planned the whole thing. She had unwittingly helped to put the Girls where they needed to be just so they could give her dad's friends a demonstration - that seemed enough to implicate her, to bury guilt into her heart. For a brief moment, Bubbles and Princess' eyes met, but it wasn't like before when they were dancing together. There was a certain distance now.
Professor Utonium didn't take long to find them despite the crowd. It was easy to spot the Girls because of the colors of their sequin dresses, make-up, and glowing eyes. He forced himself to stand straight despite the aching pain in his solar plexus, marching up to them.
"Girls, we're leaving," the professor declared, then realized that there was something wrong with the picture. "Where's Buttercup?"
"Right here!" Buttercup, who was already floating over to them, mumbled as if her mouth was full. The professor turned to look. She had a plate in her hand, and she looked like she had just devoured half of what she took. Her mouth was filthy, dripping sauce and chunks of meat. She was attracting stares from everyone, including her family. "What? I was starving!"
If nothing else, it'd reminded the professor that dinner was supposed to be part of the party, and they hadn't eaten anything - not even Selicia and him, who had only had a few sticks of expensive kebab. Looking at Blossom and Bubbles, he could only believe that hunger had added to their misery.
"We're leaving. Right now," the professor repeated himself. Reluctantly, Selicia got up with Bubbles still in her arms, walking towards the door. Blossom followed behind her, floating erratically, an indication of misery. Buttercup looked like she couldn't believe what was going on, and proceeded to go through the rest of her plate messily before shoving the dirty dish into the arms of a passing waiter.
The Princess was alarmed by this. Things weren't supposed to happen like this. The Girls and she were supposed to be having a good time! She knew she could salvage the situation - they could joke about the 'attack' her dad had staged! They could do other things to distract themselves!
"But- but-" the Princess stuttered as she struggled to find the words to express herself. No one was listening. She ran up to the professor, tugging at the legging of his tuxedo. "You're not supposed to leave! The party's just getting started!"
Annoyed, Professor Utonium ignored the Princess nonetheless, hoping that the rich brat who ruined his Girls' time would just do the smart thing and leave his family alone.
"Bubbles! Blossom! Buttercup!" Elodie screamed. "I have a table for the four of us! We're supposed to eat together and talk and- We're supposed to have a great time and- and-" The professor and his family walked on. Bubbles peeked from over Selicia's shoulder, conflicted as to what to feel and what to do, but the warm embrace of her Mom had left her deferring to her 'parents' decisions. "Stop! Please! I'm sorry!"
The professor whirled around quite suddenly that Elodie 'Princess' Morbucks was shocked and had backed away, even forgetting to keep calm as was befitting of someone like her. She was shaken by the adult's reaction, how blunt he was towards her.
"You're sorry!? You better be!" the professor lectured the rich little girl. "I let the Girls visit you because I thought they've met a good friend! Thanks for proving me wrong, little lady!"
The professor's sharp words had cut incredibly deep; it didn't help that Elodie's emotional defenses were little to non-existent because of how her short life had been full of suffering, because of her tender young age. She froze, the words still ringing loudly in her ears, in her mind. She shook with barely-controlled, strong emotions. Barely holding back an avalanche of tears, she balled her hands up into fists as she looked on while the Girls drifted further and further away from her - the best friends she'd ever had, for the five weeks they'd known each other - until they disappeared out of the door.
It was enough to snap the professor out of his rage, perhaps make him think twice about unloading it on the little girl. Could he rightly blame a little girl for the deception her father had concocted? Had raising Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup clouded his judgment? Horror dawned upon him when he realized what he had done, but what was done was done.
"I'm sorry. But this is all too much," the professor said weakly while he was on the threshold, and on seeing a pair of Princess' bodyguards coming up to him, he turned around and left. The Princess did not seem to have heard him, and instead still stood where she was, trembling with untold agony in her. There was so much pain and sadness in her and it occurred to her there and then that she was better off dying of cancer instead.
The City of Townsville. Downtown. Pete's-A Pizzeria.
3 FEB (Friday) 1989. 2023.
To make up for the complete disaster that was the Morbucks' party, Professor Utonium ordered the limousine driver to take his family to one of their favorites - Pete's-A Pizzeria. No words were exchanged between them, no discussions and no consensus. None of them wanted to be there, but all of them were going there. Selicia kept silent - he knew how people could get when they were angry, as she had a first-hand example in herself. Blossom was too confused to ask questions. Bubbles was too upset. Buttercup was endlessly throwing out words and questions at first, but when no one answered her, she too eventually fell silent.
When they entered the Pizzeria, the place was as depressed as they were - empty of customers, with half the staff gone and half the lights off. The animatronics were powered down. When they settled down to order their pizzas, the dog suit waiter, who reminded Bubbles of Stanley Talker, informed them that they were closing in half an hour.
They stayed silent as they waited for their consolation meal. It was awkward, as the entire family was seated in a booth. Professor Utonium, Blossom and Bubbles were on one side and Selicia and Buttercup were on the other.
The pizzas came after that. Their appetites weren't whetted by the garlic bread and neither did their sparkling sodas lighten up the mood. The professor thought the pizzas tasted like rubber and plastic, as lifeless as himself right then - but he couldn't blame the restaurant. He'd lost his appetite and taste the moment Mister Morbucks revealed himself to be one of the fake shooters.
Even Buttercup wasn't pigging out on her slices of pizzas, and it wasn't just because she'd snuck some food into her during the party.
"Girls, we need to talk about what happened…" the professor finally said, each word harder to spit out than the last. But it had to be done. He couldn't stand seeing his family looking like a bunch of rejects being cast aside. Looking out the window, he saw the only people he and his Girls had left for company was clinical and cold - a convoy of USDO soldiers 'protecting' them. "Blossom, how are you feeling?"
"I'm confused… Why would Mister Morbucks trick us? And in his own party? Why was everyone acting so strangely?" Blossom rambled on. She hadn't touched her pizza at all. "It was supposed to be fun tonight…"
"Eat your food, dear. It'll get cold if you don't," Selicia said to the little girl, who obeyed and mechanically picked up her slice of pizza and nibbled on it.
"It was supposed to be a party…" Bubbles added. The professor knew it would happen. His sweetest adopted daughter had taken it the hardest. Alice had warned him about Bubbles' condition, which would be easily triggered - even a random loud noise could set it off. It was worse when it came so unexpected when her guard was down and she was with people she'd trusted. It was definitely worse when those people she'd trusted had broken that trust.
"I wish there were more of them though," Buttercup said as she took a bite out of her pizza. Her appetite, too, was diminished because the staged attack had reminded her of what she truly craved for, and the fact that she wouldn't be able to satisfy that craving. "It's stupid! I wish it was real so I can beat the snot out of them!" And more - of course, Buttercup did not mention the fact that she wanted to utterly ravage them, then kill them. Blossom had, as usual, stopped her from even taking a fraction of that.
"Now, now, Buttercup. That's not very nice," the professor said to his most overactive little one, then turned to the others. Selicia scooted up next to Buttercup and snuggled with her. Picking her up, she placed her on her lap and began feeding her more pizza. The professor sighed. "You see, Girls, some people in that party were curious about what you could do whenever you're fighting crime. They wanted to see it."
"Can't they see it on the TV?" Blossom said, ever the smart one. "Or hear about it on the radio?"
"Yes, but you see, it's different when it's happening in front of you," the professor went on to explain. "They were wrong to trick the three of you. So next time, Girls, don't let anyone treat you like clowns. It means they were being disrespectful to you. Okay?"
"Okay…" the Girls agreed in unison.
"I'm sorry I brought the three of you into this. I didn't know what they were planning," the professor said, the pain in his voice at being unable to protect his own children quite apparent.
"I don't blame you, Dad," Blossom said, and took his arm and slipped it around her.
Bubbles, however, remain conflicted. She'd seen how the Princess looked on her way out. Elodie wouldn't have wanted them to be upset, would she? Neither did she need to see what she and her sisters could do - she'd witnessed it first-hand on that day when she had nearly died because of Mojo Jojo. For the past month since that battle, Elodie Morbucks had been nothing but nice to her and her sisters, inviting them for an afternoon at her place, and even a sleepover that had been fun and memorable.
"Dad, they didn't mean to hurt us, did they?" Bubbles asked as she was looking down at the Cthulu mask Elodie Morbucks had given her, clasped tightly as if it was some priceless treasure. "Elodie… She... She's our friend. She couldn't have wanted this."
"Maybe they didn't, but they should've known better," the professor maintained his stance. "Good friends know better. The bad ones don't. They're not good. The 'Princess' wasn't a good friend."
"But we've made mistakes before," Bubbles said. "Townsville forgave us. The mayor forgave us. So did everyone else." At least from her point of view - there were still many who bore grudges and even hatred against them, just that they were either not very close to the Girls, or they were simply just strangers. All of them wouldn't have made it known to the Girls.
The professor blinked at her when he heard what she said. It was incredibly insightful - and such things would normally come from Blossom. It'd caught him there - she was right and he was wrong. In his near-insane fit of rage, he had let himself become utterly hostile, forgetting that he was surrounded by people. While he couldn't forgive the likes of Mister Morbucks and General Blackwater - the ones who were, overall, responsible - he knew he couldn't maintain the same anger against Elodie 'Princess' Morbucks, or even the other guests of the party - did all of them knew exactly what was going on? Did they even know that the Girls were in the dark? For all he knew, they could have thought that the entire thing was staged with the Girls' permission.
"Are we still friends with the Princess?" Bubbles asked. "I still want to be friends with her. She looked so sad when she was all alone there at the party." She'd seen the poor cancer-stricken little girl just before she went through the front door while she was in her Daddy's arms. It was as if the Princess had lost her soul because she couldn't see it in her eyes. It was as if her very blood had gone completely cold - was gone, period. It was as if she had died on the spot even when she was still standing.
"I don't know, we'll see," the professor simply said.
