AU: Just an idea that's been brewing for a while. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Summary: "No matter what we are, no matter what we're capable of, we're still just teenagers." A raw anecdote that hopes to humanize kids who've never had the luxury of being mundane, and show how illusory invincibility can be.
Disclaimer: A few characters are mine. The rest of them are Craig's, but I own these words :)
Rating: R/Fiction M. They're teenagers. Sex, drugs and profanity are not unprecedented.
Pairing: PPG/RRB
Notes: - Inspired by the legendary "More Than Human" by sbj and the urge for representation.
- Strong themes.
- Updates will be slow, a lot of review and editing goes into each chapter release, and the chapters are fairly long, please bare with me. Gratias Tibi :)
"Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word." - George R. R. Martin
I - It's Been A While - Zed
"This sucks," Buttercup grumbled, lifting up the frying pan while simultaneously scrambling the last of the eggs in it.
"We know you don't want to go back to school Buttercup, you state it incessantly," Blossom said with visible ire at Buttercup's persistent bellyaching. The redhead seemed rather agitated, constantly glancing at her watch without paying much attention as her sister rationed eggs into her plate.
"Don't you think dad's been overworking lately?" Bubbles said with a worried frown, looking at the empty chair that the Professor would normally be occupying beside her.
"He's fine Bubbles, the city's security protocol needs to be strengthened. You know if he had a choice he would spend more time with us," Blossom replied, reaching out over the table to rub her sister's arm soothingly.
"Besides, we're not kids anymore. We don't need dad to hold our hands and walk us to school every morning." Buttercup added bitterly, but she seemed more irritated with the pan than Bubbles.
"Your candor outweighs your empathy once again." Blossom chided with a sarcastic undertone, to which Buttercup shrugged nonchalantly.
The sister who'd been scolded just scraped eggs into the last plate where it would be welcomed, shoving the pan in the sink before taking her place beside Bubbles.
"You could have at least put in effort with the toast," Blossom said, her face scrunching as she lifted a slice of something that was a little too black to even be identified as bread. This only highlighted Buttercup's obviously sour mood, as she was more than competent in the arts of Meal Making.
"Christ! Get off my dick Blossom!" Buttercup exclaimed.
"Language!"
Bubbles rolled her eyes at her sisters' antics, it was basically their morning routine to fight at breakfast. She looked at the chair beside Blossom, another empty chair, her brows knit in confusion as she turned to face the door that led to the stairs, and up to the girls' rooms.
As they had gotten older and more... distinctive as individuals, sharing a room had ultimately proved to be problematic. So upon moving to their new home—still within the suburbs—the professor had made sure the girls got their personal space, with three rooms available to them.
Blossom and Bubbles ended up getting rooms to themselves, the last—and biggest—room went to their sisters.
Due to to expertly tuning out her squabbling sisters, she was able to pick up on the soft thumping descending the stairs.
Briskly, a figure turned in through the kitchen door, adjusting her belt before patting the slithered edges of her naturally voluminous afro, which was held up in her signature two puffy buns.
Bubbles beamed. "You almost drown in the shower or something?" she teased.
The newest arrival grinned back at Bubbles. "Even when you have enhanced genes—" she paused as she reached the fridge, "—getting this to look good still requires a lot of work." she stated, gesturing towards her congenial updo for emphasis.
She then fetched a carton of orange juice from said fridge and grabbed a glass from the cabinet above, before turning to face the squabble that had become indigenous with their breakfasts.
"Sorry I'm not excited at waking up by six-thirty to prepare to return to the soul sucking loop called school," Buttercup spat.
"Really now? You often seem excited having to wake up at six o'clock to catch swimming practice on the weekends," Blossom retorted just as steely.
"Somehow, I think swimming will ultimately prove more useful than Pythagoras's theorem or some shit," Buttercup countered with a scoff.
"Watch your language!" Blossom reiterated in exasperation and turned to the fridge. "Bunny, help me out here."
The brown caramel toned girl rose her hands in jocular surrender, lightly licking some juice off her lips, "I couldn't get paid enough to come in-between you guys,"
"Really?" Bubbles asked.
"Actually—" Bunny said, pursing her lips in thought, "—twenty bucks'll do it" she finished, glancing expectantly at Blossom with an open palm.
The pink eyed girl gave her a dry look, punctuating it with a "Really?"
"What? I need a new flannel."
"It's seven-forty ladies," Bubbles announced, standing with her backpack. "We have to get going," she said as she began clearing the table, regardless of whether the plates were empty or not.
Blossom and Buttercup didn't seem that intent on actually eating anyway.
The latter was up after Bubbles, already making her way towards the front door.
"She can be so needlessly difficult sometimes!" Blossom blatted, grabbing her bag and going into a silent litany of complaints about Buttercup's attitude before exiting the kitchen herself.
Bunny stood, leaning against the island, calmly sipping on her orange juice as Bubbles emerged beside her, staring at the door their sisters had just walked through.
"We should definitely get them some counseling," Bubbles said.
"No therapist with any sense of self-preservation would even go near them." Bunny replied, shaking her head humorously.
The city looked beautiful as it glistened under the summer golden carpet that enveloped it, Blossom thought as she and her sisters flew over it, hastily descending onto Townsville High's car park.
There was a mass of students filing into the building, chattering and socializing blissfully. "There's Robin!" Bubbles announced to her sisters, beaming as said girl caught sight of them, tapping an oblivious Mike and pointing upwards.
The girls landed just centimeters away from the couple. "Ahhh!" Bubbles and Robin shrieked in unison as they ran to envelop each other in a tight embrace.
"You will not believe what happened at Ashley's party," Robin squealed, leaning back enough to look at Bubbles while the hug remained in place.
"Bianca texted but she was sooo vague. You have to give me the deets," Bubbles replied with equal enthusiasm.
Mike laughed with an amused shake of his head, stepping around his gossiping girlfriend and Bubbles, since of-course, there were three other Powerpuffs just standing behind them.
"Hey Mike," Blossom greeted with an affable smile, receiving a hug from him first before he gave one to her sisters as well.
"You guys think I have anything to worry about?" He asked, jabbing a thumb at Robin and Bubbles who had simply gone on prattling like nobody else was present.
"I mean, Bubbles does have the whole superpowers thing going for her. She has better hair too, so you're going to have to step up your game," Bunny said with an uncomic nod, eliciting a genuine cackle from Mike.
Buttercup already looked bored out of her mind, and she hadn't even entered the school building. She surveyed the passing crowd, trying to locate a familiar brunette.
Bubbles and Robin finally came to a conversational halt as the latter diverted her attention to the others, she hugged three of them equally, pausing at Buttercup, her eyes locking on her hair.
"I love your hair BC." She complimented with a wide smile. The object of praise mumbled a thanks, mindlessly pulling at the dyed green tips of her chin length raven hair.
A random student walked past them then, he looked around their age or possibly even older, and Blossom noted how he was completely unrecognizable. "Seems like there's a few new students this year."
And as though the universe had been patiently waiting for her to utter those specific words, it was then that blaring car horns captured their attention, as well as that of most of the populace currently still outside the building.
"Whoa! Look at those sweet rides bro." Another random said, slapping his friend's shoulder as he pointed in awe.
The group followed his gaze, their eyes landing on the cars that drove up into the parking area. Mustangs, Buttercup discerned the instant they drew nearer. One was a standard black 1965 vintage model, toned with a tint of dark purple. The other was a gratifying red but was a sports model, a Mustang GT Fastback, to be specific.
"Damn," Buttercup muttered at the second one, that model was quite expensive.
At this point, every student who had seen the cars drive in waited with ardent curiosity to see the passengers step out.
They'd coincidentally parked beside each other, and even more outlandishly, all four front doors were pushed open almost simultaneously. When the occupants stepped out, making their presence known, there was an immediate slew of whispers and indistinct chatter, as well as a collective gasp from the girls.
Blossom's breath hitched in her throat. Her muscles tensed, in unison with her sisters. Buttercup's expression was somewhere between shock and aggravation. Bubbles externalized only the former. Bunny though, her hands suddenly went limp at her sides, her face blank, she hadn't even adopted a mild stance of prudence like her sisters.
Brick slammed the driver's door of the red mustang closed, Butch slammed the passenger seat right after him. Boomer slammed the passenger door of the black one, stuffing his hands into his pockets before he took on a horrified expression.
"Aw shit! I forgot my lunch money," his eyes shifted to his brother across him who'd just locked the car. "Bear, can I get like... ten bucks?"
Bear stuffed his keys in his back pocket before turning to Boomer, listlessly itching at the cluster of dreaded locks held up on his head, long enough to obey gravity.
"Sure." He answered monotonously.
The brothers walked towards the school's front doors, totally disinterested in the number of eyes that furtively followed them as they moved, headed by Brick.
That complacence wasn't deterred even as they approached the girls. "What are you doing here?" Blossom asked, her voice level as Brick approached her.
He didn't even spare her a glance as he strode past her, completely ignoring her question. Buttercup's scowl deepened.
In a flash of green she was right in-front of Brick, glowering viciously at him. "Maybe you didn't hear the question cap boy. What. The fuck. Are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes glowing threateningly.
Brick had come to a halt, and so had his brothers as a result. All plans the students surrounding them had to get to their lockers and prepare for first period were completely abandoned, they were all intently focused on the scene unfolding in the middle of the car park now.
"Relax Buttercup," Blossom ordered as she appeared by her side, a reproachful look on her face. Buttercup glanced at her, seemingly ready to argue, but she stayed quiet, averting her gaze back to the boy in-front of her.
Blossom turned to Brick just as Butch stepped up beside him, resting his elbow on Brick's shoulder as he stared down at the girls with an amused smirk.
"You ladies are just as enthusiastic as I remember," he said, diverting his eyes to Bunny. "Damn, did you age well." he finished, his eyes taking on an almost predatory glister as he looked her up and down.
Blossom had to be quick to grab Buttercup's arm before she could swing it forward. Butch melodramatically stepped backwards, raising his arms in mock capitulation, evident by the stifled snicker that followed.
Bunny hadn't even looked at him, her focus was elsewhere. Boomer and Bear hadn't so much as batted an eye at the exchange ongoing between her sisters and their brothers, and for reasons unknown to her, she couldn't take her eyes off the latter.
He stood with a nonchalant expression, his hands pocketed into his ripped jeans. He hadn't even flinched in her direction.
Bubbles looked from her sisters to the boys, her eyes momentarily landing on Boomer, who, rather awkwardly, smiled amicably at her.
"Answer me," Blossom demanded once she'd gotten Buttercup to settle, physically anyway. If looks could kill, Butch would have been six feet under.
Brick stared her down, the edge of his mouth curving in indignation. He bent down just enough to look her dead in the eyes. She hated how she nearly jolted at this action. He opened his mouth and pointedly said...
"Piss off Puff, I don't have to explain myself to you."
Any underlying fret within Blossom quickly morphed into utter rage. How—how dare he! The sheer impudence.
She took a step forward, matching his glare head on. "You don't just show up to my school unannounced and think I'll let you just stroll in through the front doors,"
"Oh yeah? On what ground?" he rose a brow, his tone dripping with condescension.
Blossom gritted her teeth and intensified her glare, Brick replied in kind.
"You guys know we've got like, seven minutes before first period right?" Boomer said in a tone that really contrasted the atmosphere.
"He's right," Robin said for the first time since the boys arrived, she was still by Mike's side, both had felt the moment too... personal to give any input. "We should get to class," she appealed to the girls.
"I don't trust these assholes," Buttercup spat, clenching her fists in an effort to avoid slugging that stupid grin off Butch's face.
"We're fresh out of fucks to give honey, sorry." Butch shrugged.
Buttercup opted to throw constraint out the window as her right fist glowed, drawn back in preparation to shoot forward. Before Blossom could make to stop her, Buttercup's balance was suddenly tipped as someone bumped into her.
She staggered back lightly, watching in disbelief as Bear walked past her, past all of them. They all turned to his retreating form, he had seemingly grown jaded of their bickering and had decided to leave them to it.
"Hey!" Buttercup yelled after him to no avail. She growled, already, they were already getting under her fucking skin.
Almost comically, Boomer strode past her then, turning towards his siblings and the girls as he jogged to catch up to Bear. "Six minutes now guys. Wait up man!"
Brick stood straight and walked around Blossom to follow his brothers. He paused, turning enough to look into those disoriented pink orbs of hers. "Simmer down, we're not exactly 'over the moon' to be here either." he said with audible honesty, then he was off as well.
Blossom could only glare.
"Well, this was fun," Butch said with a laugh as he opted to float over to the doors instead, he threw one last glance at Bunny, smiling suggestively and saying "Dig the piercing." And in a flash, he was landing behind Brick at the doors, a path having been cleared for them by the students who were everything from perplexed to frightened.
Only then was Bunny's attention diverted as she scrunched her face in disgust, suddenly conscious of her septum.
"Wow..." came Bubbles' voice finally, but that was all she could manage.
"What are they doing in Townsville though?" Mike asked in genuine curiosity.
"I doubt any of us can answer that baby." Robin replied, just now feeling the shock flowing out of her body.
Bunny stepped up beside Blossom, Bubbles came up behind a still visibly livid Buttercup.
"What are we going to do?" Bunny asked the question on all their minds.
"Watch them," Blossom answered without missing a beat.
"I'd prefer if we pound their fucki—"
"Language!" Blossom reprimanded Buttercup before she could finish that thought. She bit her back her retort and grunted.
"We watch them, for now." she repeated firmly, her sisters' silence represented their affirmation. They proceeded to just stare at the doors that students had resumed piling into, with more urgency as they were all running late now.
They noted a single student oddly pushing his way through in the opposite direction, desperate to get to the car park. His struggle proved successful and he emerged at the bottom of the front steps, revealing himself to be none other than Mitch.
He looked around frantically before his eyes landed on the girls, standing with Mike and Robin. He suddenly grabbed two full fists of his hair in frustration and moaned exaggeratedly.
"Aw fuck, I missed it!"
John gathered his belongings in his suitcase, unconsciously letting out a yawn. He chuckled, shaking his head in admonishment of his newly developed laziness.
Even a man of his humble nature wouldn't deny appreciating the privileges that came with his promotion to Associate Laboratory Director of the Energy Sciences division. He smiled satisfactorily at the title, that wasn't him being materialistic, it was simply him being proud of his duly deserved accomplishment.
He didn't need to be present at the general city lab save for inspections. He did most of his work from home, the incontestably preferred alternative for working in this day and age.
He clipped his suitcase closed as he locked his office door behind him, humming melodically. He greeted a few of his subordinates on his way down the hall, he spun to make a left turn but was suddenly, and briskly, pulled straight ahead by another man in a lab coat.
"John! Great to see you pal, you barely drop in here anymore," greeted a man who was roughly John's height with a clean shaved head, contrasted with a thick, kempt beard.
John laughed in good nature, trying and failing to shift himself out of the man's one armed embrace. "How are you Frank?" he greeted with a smile regardless.
Frank was a ball of energy, his sonorous voice complimented that. Like John, he was an Associate Laboratory Director, of the Computing Sciences division, they'd been working together for over six years.
Given his coltish exterior, one wouldn't peg Frank as one with scientific aptitude, but he had said trait in abundance.
"Happy now that Sandra's back at home," Frank answered with a bawdy smirk, to which John shook his head in amusement, a laugh escaping his throat despite himself. "How are your four superstars?"
"What can I tell you, they're teenagers," John answered, managing to sound fatigued at the mere thought of raising four teenage girls.
"Don't I know it, they're a handful ordinarily and you've got four of 'em, with superpowers," Frank cackled teasingly while consciously palming comforting circles on John's back.
"Well, I was actually planning to capitalize on some alone time before they get back from school. Why are you taking me to Richard's office?" John asked, his confusion growing as he realized they were nearing the Deputy Director's office. Richard Mcpherson had been the D.D for Operations since the city lab was built.
Had been.
"You haven't heard? We got a new D.D, Richard retired," Frank informed, throwing a thumbs up to a passing subordinate.
"Richard retired? How was I unaware of this?" John asked with a puzzled look.
"The news was sudden, I only found out yesterday myself. Apparently he'd already spoken to the L.D, got a letter of approval weeks ago," Frank answered, the door to Richard's apparent former office now visible.
"I see, he must have delayed the announcement because the board were in search of a replacement" John figured, pursing his lips in thought.
He was so preoccupied with his musing that he hadn't even read the new name on the sign plate of the door before stepping in after Frank had opened it.
It turned out they were late, every other A.L.D was already present.
"Ah, that makes six, this is all of you then, yes?"
John froze at the recognition of that voice. Frank had been directly in-front of him so his vision to the source of said voice was completely obscured.
No, he instantly told himself. It was impossible, she wasn't in Townsville. Hell, last he checked she wasn't even in the United States, there was no plausibility that she would just spontaneously emerge, in this manner as well...
One of his colleagues stepped aside kindly as John halted in the unorganized circle around who was obviously the new Deputy Director. He slotted in and smiled as thankfully as he could without revealing his anxiousness, getting an unobstructed view that cleared his doubts.
She looked a little different, he thought. Her milk chocolate skin was as radiating as he remembered, her hair was short and natural, dyed a luscious silver. She was clad in an accentuating grey business suit over a white blouse and an equally grey skirt. Her three inch heels brought her five inches below John's six-foot-two figure.
"Well then," she said, adjusting her glasses. "I'm Olivia Venus. I will be assuming the role of Deputy Director for Operations in wake of professor McPherson's resignation."
How? John found himself thinking. How was she here? Why was she here?
"I was told to make this announcement as formal as possible, so forgive me for the lack of fireworks." Olivia jested, receiving a round of laughs in return.
She monologued for a couple of minutes and John tried desperately to maintain his composure, agitated at the fact that he could not even hold her gaze when it landed on him.
"I'm told professor McPherson had quite a lot of projects under supervision. On that note, I'd like to start immediately, I'm excited to work with you all." she finished with an amiable smile as the scientists began to file out of the room.
John's feet remained rooted where he stood, Frank, who stood beside him grabbed his shoulder, raising a brow at John's expression. "John, what's wrong?" he asked.
John didn't even face him. Frank followed his line of sight and saw it landed directly on Olivia. Who was staring right back at John.
Frank looked between them. "Is it safe to assume you two know each other?"
"Frank, is it?" Olivia suddenly inquired, Frank nodded. "Kindly give Professor Utonium and I the room," she requested with a smile.
Frank blinked, taking one last look at John before nodding. "Alright." He said and exited the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Then there were two. John continued to stare. Olivia continued to stare back, she soon grew tired of the silence however.
"You look good," she said, turning as she walked around her desk.
"What are—what are you doing here?" John asked, sheer astonishment still etched on his face.
"What does it look like? Paperwork." she answered, straightening out the pile of files on her desk.
"I don't understand, why'd you come back?" he asked again, determined to stay on topic.
"Well I don't know if you've heard, but Canadian cold is a growing epidemic. Besides, the bread here in Townsville is unma—"
"Don't be flippant Liv!" John seethed, and in a swift motion his hands were on her table and his suitcase was on the floor.
The rapid progression caught Olivia by surprise as she looked up at him—bent over her table—in perturbation.
He calmed down at her expression, recoiling into an upright stance and taking his hands off her table.
"I'm sorry," he apologized genuinely, shocked by his outburst himself.
"It's fine." she assured, leaning back into her seat and placing her arms on her lap.
A few moments of silence passed. She gazed at him intently, patiently waiting for him to wind down.
He picked up his suitcase and she proceeded. "I simply got a promotion John, it was a good opportunity for me—" she paused. "—and for my boys."
John could do nothing but blink, he stuttered then clamped his mouth shut. Frustrated that he was struggling to form a simple sentence, all the while Olivia simply stared at him.
"Your boys?" he finally managed, his tone indiscernible.
"Yes," she replied bluntly. "My boys. Coming back here will be good for them. It's important to find meaning in your origin. And this city, well, this is their origin."
She glanced towards John's tottering hand, he took notice of this and fisted his hand instantly. She looked back up at him.
"Not all of them," he suddenly said.
"Excuse me?"
"Not all your boys," he said, the birse in his voice unmissable.
"Indeed. Regardless, it would help him better understand... a lot of things. Especially with aid from your girls, don't you thi—"
"Keep them away from my daughters!" John erupted again, pointing at Olivia with his free hand.
"Neither you nor I have the power to make that decision." she replied without missing a beat.
John clenched his jaw, he wanted to say something, but nothing materialized, a myriad of sentences swam around in his head but he couldn't get any of them to shore. Seeing her here after everything, and she was acting so nonchalant, so casual, as if they hadn't...
"John." her voice shook him from his rumination and he looked at her, unable to understand why he instantly mellowed at her expression.
"We left things on a... complicated note, but that's no reason for hostility. We've talked about all we need to, unless we haven't?" Olivia said, raising a brow in question.
John swallowed, letting his head fall so he could pore over the carpeted floor. She was right, there was no reason for him to be angry, he had no right, he was just... honestly he didn't even know why he was feeling so unnerved by her presence.
He internally scoffed the instant that thought emerged. He knew exactly why, but it didn't matter, not anymore.
"I'm sorry, again," he said.
"I know, we've both done far more apologizing than necessary. I'd like us to start anew," Olivia offered, her position on her seat unaltered.
"Yes," John said, flicking his eyes into space, then back at her. "I'd like that."
Olivia smiled. "Okay then," she noticed him space out once again and her smile faltered slightly. "This will naturally take a little getting used to John."
"For us? Or for the children?" John replied instantly, Olivia stared, then sighed.
"They're teenagers, I expect they'll be more dramatic about it."
John nodded in concurrence, still gazing into nothingness. He suddenly exhaled before facing her again, "I'll leave you to your work Liv."
He turned and made his way to the door. He was already halfway out before she called after him and he looked over his shoulder.
"Yes?"
"I think I'd prefer you to call me 'Boss' while we're in the office." she smirked.
It was slow, hesitant, but a smile crept up to John's face before he closed the door shut.
By the time the Girls found their way into the halls the Boys were nowhere to be seen, leaving only a string of murmurs in their wake.
Buttercup grumped, still in the process of calming her contempt. "Just what I fucking need, like we don't have enough idiots running around here."
Mitch laughed beside her, "Damn, two thousand views already," he said, eyes glued to his phone screen.
"What?" Buttercup inquired.
"Someone posted the shit online." he answered with a sneer, angling his phone so she could see the screen. Buttercup watched the confrontation that had occurred not five minutes ago replay, she scoffed and turned away, uninterested.
"Should we be worried about that being online?" Bubbles wondered, marginally floating to view the video over Mitch's shoulder.
"I don't think so, it probably won't escalate beyond city gossip." Bunny answered, clutching her tote. Her eyes flickered to Blossom, who was openly surveying the busy hall. No doubt she'd been disoriented by the Boys' spontaneous arrival, she along with her sisters, and most likely the rest of Townsville, hadn't expected them to return, ever. The girls had furtively tried to maintain surveillance on them ever since the court appeal, but they'd vanished after that. The Girls foraged for them for weeks on end, even extending their search beyond Townsville, but still they found nothing.
It wasn't until just last year, during Ms. Bellum's official inauguration ceremony as Mayor, that the Girls got a location, a package sent from British Columbia, Canada.
It had been from Olivia Venus, congratulating Ms. Bellum on winning the election. The scenario had been burned in Blossom's memory to this day, with her and Bunny standing in Ms Bellum's office as said Mayor sat in her chair, elbows propped up on the desk as she studied the package featurelessly. The professor was standing in-front of them, unable to mask his unease. It had simply turned out to be a ball gown, a stunning midnight blue in-fact, but of-course that was not the primary issue of concern.
They couldn't have been certain that Olivia and the Boys had been situated in Canada at the time, but Blossom was willing to acknowledge the plausibility and had suggested the girls go confirm it. To her surprise, she had immediately been dismissed by Ms Bellum, who reminded all three Utonium's in the room that Olivia was no criminal, and neither were the Boys any longer. So any attempts to inspect them would be unwarranted, and could back-fire legally.
This truth had somewhat frustrated Blossom, who'd tried to re-appeal her proposition to Ms Bellum who just shut it down once more.
Now, they were here, in Townsville, in their school, and Blossom didn't like it, not one bit. Whatever it was they were up to, it wouldn't get past her.
Bunny peeled her eyes away from Blossom, keeping pace as Buttercup and Mitch diverted to head to their class, followed shortly by Bubbles and Mike. She stared straight ahead, into thin air, the crowds that navigated past her nothing but a blur as she sunk into her head.
They were back, the Rowdyruff Boys were back. If she really thought about it—and she had, profusely—that was all they were to her, the Rowdyruff Boys. Unlike her sisters, she hadn't any advertence on their person, she didn't know who they were. She hadn't fought them repeatedly, or had any variant of a conversation with any of them. Her first and—until today—only encounter with them had been the day she and her sisters had successfully defeated and detained them, a feat they hadn't been able to accomplish until she provided the numerical advantage that day.
She remembered her sisters being jubilant at their victory, especially Buttercup. It seemed as though the Boys had been their most formidable and persistent enemies from what they'd told her. Soon though, they naturally stopped talking about it and went back to their lives as per usual, squabbling, fighting monsters and coursing through the Sixth Grade, the Boys nothing but a rare topic of conversation.
That was until a month later when a social worker knocked on their door, requesting the Professor's compliance for an interview, specifically, to vouch for Olivia Venus's credibility as a parent. He had been shocked, and couldn't help but ask why the worker needed such verification from him, she had then informed him of Olivia's intent to adopt the Rowdyruff Boys. He hadn't needed to fill the Girls in on this information, they found out themselves through a much more youthfully indigenous medium, the Internet.
News had propagated about Olivia adopting the Boys, with various pictures of her exiting the Townsville courthouse—the Boys in tow—on the day the adoption was validated flooding the web. It was a fruitful day for the paparazzi, they went crazy with the headlines.
"WORLD RENOWED SCIENTIST ADOPTS EX-CONVICTS!"
"TOWNSVILLE STUNNED AS VILLIANS GET ADOPTED!"
"A FOURTH ROWDYRUFF?"
They must have been elated at the opportunity to put out news stories in relation to that last headline, seeing as that was Bear's first ever public appearance, an astonishing revelation to the world, the girls included.
She wondered what this was like for him. As far as she knew, he had never even seen her or her sisters physically until today. She wondered how he felt coming back here, seeing her sisters, seeing her.
Then again, he didn't seem to care much earlier, and that made Bunny feel inexplicably... uneasy.
"People are gonna be talking about this for a while." Robin said, unknowingly snapping Bunny out of her reverie.
"I'd expect nothing less, this is High School after all." Blossom replied, huffing in frustration at her failure to locate the Boys.
"It's so weird seeing them back here after, you know, after everything."
"Their sudden appearance can't be random, it has to be a cover for their true intentions." Blossom said with certainty.
Robin glanced at Blossom's staid expression like she wanted to say something, she opened her mouth to speak...
The school bell beat her to the punch, alerting the last residuum of students to file into their classes as the halls emptied.
"I'll see you guys later." Blossom said as she turned to climb the stairs to their left. Robin watched the redhead until she disappeared upon reaching the second flight, she turned to Bunny, whose expression was near unreadable.
"Bunny?"
Bunny blinked, then swiveled her head to face Robin.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," Bunny replied. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Here you are boys." Ms Keane—principal of Townsville High—said, handing them a spate of papers. Brick took them, inspecting each paper and passing them to his brothers accordingly.
They had gone straight to Ms Keane's office as they'd been instructed the previous day, and they'd done so quite quickly as well, what with the students simulating the parting of the Red Sea as they sauntered up the school hallway.
Bear's detached expression almost acted as a warning symbol, which the student body diligently obeyed. Boomer swirled his head around, examining everything from the row of olympic blue lockers to the assorted design of the tiled floor, composed of mostly white with squares of red. Butch sneered directly at some he caught looking at him, relishing the frightened expression they would assume. He made sure to divide his attention though, there was a myriad of eye candy here as well. He'd sighted a particular brunette smirk as they locked eyes, he smirked lasciviously and cemented her image into his head.
Brick exuded the irritation his expression bespoke as he trailed his brothers, forcing the students who were already quailing to all but phase into their lockers.
"I'm sure you'll find your electives are as you selected?" Ms Keane inquired as the boys perused their schedules.
"Yes! I get both Drama and Honors Chorale," Boomer exclaimed in elation.
"You are the literal embodiment of virginity," Butch said, getting whacked on the head for his troubles.
"Shut up, Butch," Brick ordered, narrowing his eyes at him.
"No such thing anyway," Bear said, arching a brow at his papers then looking to Ms Keane. "I can only have two electives max, I'm guessing?"
"Until your senior year dear" Ms Keane said almost apologetically, having been impressed with his form submission. Olivia had mentioned Bear's assiduousness towards his passion, she hoped he wouldn't be too set back by his slightly inconvenient schedule.
Speaking of studious Rowdyruffs, her eyes flicked to Brick, who, in about five seconds, handed her back his paper. She surveyed his electives and smiled up at him, "I can't wait to see your Photography work Brick."
Butch was handing her his just as she finished talking, "Got to keep the legacy going," he said, smirking proudly. Miss Keane saw that he'd opted for Basketball.
"Twenty bucks says he'll get kicked off the team this semester," Boomer challenged, spontaneously popping up behind Butch's shoulder.
"More like in three weeks," Bear assented, not raising his eyes from his schedules. Butch turned to him, offense clearly taken.
Brick scoffed. "Two."
Butch's frown deepened as he scowled at his brothers, in turn. "I'm actually gonna prove you fuckers wrong this time, fucking watch!"
"Right." came their collective response, dripping in sarcasm.
Bear finally handed his schedule over, Ms Keane collected it and gave it a quick once over, beaming upon review. "Poetry and World Music—" she looked up at him, "—tasteful."
She gave them each back their schedules before making to address them, which, she realized, required her to take a few steps backwards. She'd always been petite by nature, and the boys, as she assumed was natural with all their inhuman genes, were quite tall. She didn't imagine that any of them were under six feet. Boomer seemed to miss that benchmark by just an inch, regardless, he also seemed to be the shortest among them.
"Now boys—" she started, now that she didn't need to crane her neck to look at them properly "—I understand that coming back to Townsville must be difficult, considering everything."
"More like everyone," Butch grinned.
"That's none of our concern." Brick said dismissively, Butch snickered.
"Despite that," Ms Keane said, giving Butch a warning look. "I assured your mother that you four would stay out of trouble."
"We understand, we won't cause any trouble, you can rest easy." Bear said in assurance.
"Alright then." Ms Keane nodded, satisfied. Her eyes shifted to Boomer, who was putting an immense amount of concentration into blowing a bubble from his gum, before it was finger flicked into a sticky web against his face, via Butch's finger. A mild look of panic flashed across her face, she looked to Brick and Bear.
"We'll watch them." they said in unison, with Bear making a show of smacking Butch across the head again.
Ms Keane then ushered them through her door, the secretary room and out into the hallway. Boomer hastily spun right before she closed the door, a goofy grin on his face.
"Thanks, Auntie Helen."
Ms Keane chuckled fondly. "It's Principal Keane during school hours Boomer, now get to class."
Once she closed the door the boys briskly relayed their schedules to each other, they'd be separating now in pairs to head to their different classes.
"Alright!" Butch exclaimed and clasped his hands desirously. "You guys know what class the purple one is in? In-case I get bored of mine."
Suddenly, all he saw was red. Brick was right in his face, his eyes hard as they peered into Butch's.
"You better fucking behave yourself," Brick said, his words looming with perilous intent. Butch blinked, then smirked before pouting mockingly.
"Yes daddy," he said, then his chin ate Brick's fist.
"I'm serious! Now let's get to class," Brick said, marching up the hall.
"My jaw hurts you dick!" Butch groused as he held his chin between his fingers, but fell into step behind Brick either way.
"Later shitheads!" Boomer bellowed, Brick and Butch threw middle fingers back at him without turning.
Bear chuckled and nudged Boomer before walking in the opposite direction. Boomer followed, lightly bouncing and hooking his arm on Bear's shoulders. "The hell is up with you?" Boomer asked, squinting at his brother in curiosity.
Bear glanced at him, "What are you talking about?"
"You've said like, three words since we got here. Brick's been the only one really bitching about having to go to school here, and Butch is obviously excited at the prospect of new skirts to chase. Where does that leave you?"
Bear shrugged, his eyes roaming from locker to locker aimlessly. "Indifferent, I guess. There's nothing about this school that educes any emotion from me."
"Even if you're brothers with guys who were once infamously recognized as archenemies to the superheroes who go to this same school?"
"People will be talking about something different next week, it's High School. Besides, that's kinda you guys' drama." Bear answered bluntly.
Boomer peered at Bear a second longer before turning his gaze elsewhere. "You gonna talk to her?" He abruptly asked, intertwining his fingers behind his head.
Bear's eyes flickered back to him, and he wanted to ask who Boomer was talking about. But he already knew that.
"If she seems cool, I guess. It's nothing to fret about," Bear answered, rolling his head circularly and audibly loosening a few knots. "Why are you so ecstatic about this place?"
"Why shouldn't I be? It's a chance to revitalize, yunno? Change is inevitable man, no use grumbling about it," Boomer beamed.
Bear replied with a noncommittal grunt as they made a right turn into the hall where their classes were located.
"A'ight, this is me." Bear said as he came to a halt, Boomer padded on, turning so he could face his brother as he stepped backwards.
"Talk to her," he soundlessly mouthed, grinning at Bear's uninterested head shake.
Bear swung the door open, hearing the discussion that filled the room dissipate. He closed the door behind him, coming face to face with the class, all eyes riveted to him. He stared back featurelessly, briskly scanning through the seated students before halting at a particular one. Then he guessed that Boomer had probably furtively used his X-Ray vision to look into the classroom before he'd stepped in, the dickhead would definitely be laughing to himself now.
Bear blinked at the specific pair of eyes he'd landed on.
Bunny blinked back.
"Mr Venus," Bear turned to the teacher. Mrs Labille, if he remembered the name on his schedule correctly, smiled at him.
"Welcome."
Boomer eased one of the doors to the auditorium open and was met with an arcadian atmosphere.
The room was dark, the only illumination being provided came from the lights surrounding the stage. He sighted the circle of students seated on the floor right in-front of said stage, with a few students lodging on its edge.
As he neared them, he realized they had completely stopped chattering, and were openly peering at him as he approached. He sauntered past the rows of black theater seats, stopping when he reached the students. He also then noticed the teacher was the only one sitting on a chair, with his back facing the stage.
The elderly—Boomer guessed somewhere in his fifties—man smiled at the blonde, but oddly said nothing. Boomer looked around the class, feeling like he made eye contact which each and everyone of them.
He then proceeded to characteristically beam at them, raising a Peace Sign to punctuate. "What's good guys?" he greeted cordially. "Uh, I'm Boomer. But I guess some of you unfortunately know that already." He laughed.
He'd intended it as a joke, and it was even perceived as one for the most part. But it didn't hinder the reflexive shiver the students responded with.
In contrast, the lax—evident in the vintage shirt he was currently vestured in—teacher cut into the silence with laughter. "Boomer. Welcome." He replied, reciprocating Boomer's collegiality. "How about giving Boomer a proper greeting guys?" He induced.
"Hey Boomer." Came their instantaneous, almost choral-like greeting.
"That's better," the teacher said with a satisfied nod, educing a few laughs. He looked to Boomer, whose grin was plastered on his face.
"Thanks Mr... Hughes?" He said, his lack of certainty provoking another round of laughs.
Mr Hughes beamed wider himself. "Blow my mind at auditions on Friday and you can call me Callum," he jerked his head downwards. "Take a seat."
Boomer gave one last grin before moving to plop down in-between the people nearest to him. All the students in the circle had to adjust to create space for him.
He sat and crossed his legs before stripping off his bag and digging into it for his materials.
"Alright, so, as I was saying. Margo Jones's work in..." Mr Hughes continued with the lecture and Boomer intended to pick it up from there, except now he couldn't find a pen anywhere in his backpack. He tended to take notes in class, at least classes he cared about.
He looked to the person beside him. An Asian boy who blew his bangs out of his face as Mr Hughes went on, continuously flicking his pen against the fabric of his jeans.
"Hey," Boomer whispered. The boy turned. "Got an extra pen?"
The boy nodded, hastily fetching his own rucksack from behind him and retrieving a pen after a brief rummage. He handed it to Boomer who collected it with a curt nod.
"Thanks man," Boomer said, flipping his notebook open. They both refocused their attention on Mr Hughes, and after a stretch of silence, the boy turned back to Boomer.
"I'm Billy by the way." He introduced himself, his smile casual but friendly.
Boomer smiled back. "Thanks Billy."
Bunny watched as Bear sat, just two seats in-front of her.
Mrs Labille proceeded with the class, but it was obvious that she had lost her grip on their attention upon Bear's arrival. She'd certainly lost Bunny's.
Bunny stared at his back, no, his head, she realized she was staring at the back of his head. She wondered what was going on in there, she wanted... she wanted to know.
She could find out, she thought, then she shook her head instantly, surprised she'd even briefly entertained the thought. That was risky. What if he sensed her trying to probe his head without permission? That would sink their energy from awkward to unpleasant and then some. Why had she even just considered that? She never utilized her power for invasion of people's privacy, period.
Just talk to him, she thought, her brows subconsciously knitting in self-induced frustration. She was being unnecessarily dramatic. Yeah, that was it. She would just talk to him. Later though, she couldn't take him aside right now, during class, that would be weird, weird and disrespectful to Mrs Labille. She liked the woman, a lot, she didn't want to rudely disrupt the class. Yeah.
She tore her eyes away from him, she needed to chill. Seriously. She rose her head up as she clicked her pen open, but before her senses could reestablish her French teacher's voice or presence, she was softly pelted by a tiny, crumpled clump of paper.
She flicked her eyes in the direction it came from, landing on the curly haired Pablo who was returning her furtive glance, before shifting his gaze to Bear with a bawdy grin.
Bunny chuckled, triggering a link between the both of them so Pablo could gossip freely, as he clearly wanted to. Upon feeling the familiar 'zapping' sensation briskly wave though his head, the latin boy instantaneously bellowed.
'Who is that specimen of a man?!' Pablo's voice boomed in her head, his grin threatening to split his face in two.
Bunny refrained from rolling her eyes in amusement. 'Unfortunately for you, I have no idea.' She replied.
'What? Really?'
'Yeah', Bunny said, her eyes flicking to Bear. 'Never even seen him until today.'
'Oh, damn,' Pablo's grin momentarily faltered, 'Is it weird then?'
Bunny shrugged faintly, her eyes moving back to meet Pablo's. 'A little, but, that's probably just me'.
'Have you guys talked?' Pablo asked, plopping his elbow on his desk and placing his chin in his palm.
'Plan to. But, I don't know if he wants to. He's barely even looked at me since him and his brothers arrived, if at all' Bunny replied, her lips settling into a small frown. She didn't understand why she was so adamant on this. She didn't know who Bear was, at all. He didn't know who she was either. But, perhaps that was the reason, she... she wanted to know something about him, wanted to know how he was dealing with, well, being alive. Being who he was, being what he was, especially in relation to her. And on that note, she also wanted to know more about Olivia Venus.
Their dad had always been very conservative about details when he spoke about Olivia to the Girls. The rare times that he did so, he would give compendious summaries about the period she lived in Townsville, and worked conjointly with John himself.
Bunny understood though, or at least she tried to, considering the incident. Olivia was obviously a delicate topic of conversation for John, but... she wanted to know more about her, about her and John, about why she did what she did that faithful night. But, she had better luck discovering an animal species with supernatural powers so long as she depended on her dad to give her that information.
Pablo hadn't responded, he'd stayed mute and simply watched as Bunny visibly got lost in thought. He got the feeling that she had more to say. If she did, words definitely eluded her, evident when she finally said...
'I just... I don't know.'
Pablo scrutinized his best friend, averting his eyes to the source of her disquietude and back. 'Well, you won't know anything unless you talk to him, and you should if it's really bothering you. Which it clearly is.' He said in a solacing manner.
'I know,' Bunny puffed out a sigh. 'I will, once, you know. Once I get my head straight.'
'Bitch, you best make your move before I do!'
Bunny couldn't curtail the laugh that escaped her lips, which catalyzed a laugh from Pablo as well. Mrs Labille paused and shot them both a look and they clamped their mouths shut, faint chuckles still spilling through the cracks of their smiles.
Butch groaned in frustration, he'd already been dreading having to deal with fucking Chemistry on his first day. Now he had to deal with Buttercup's malignant eyes glaring daggers into his side profile on top of that, which was made easy by the fact that she was sitting right next to him. He regretted not shoving Brick in-between them, said red-head was seated on the other side of the classroom, blissfully unaware of Butch's misery.
Butch couldn't so much as blink irregularly without Buttercup foaming at the mouth, he was surprised she hadn't barked at him yet.
He let his bored eyes drift away from her, intent of finding something his brain could latch onto, Heaven knew he would never consciously absorb a lick of that Chemical Bonding crap the teacher was currently spewing.
His eyes roamed the class, intermittently stopping at a few potential weekend companions. He added them to The File and pushed it to a crevice in his mind with a grin. He circled back to Buttercup, who was thankfully making an attempt at focusing her attention elsewhere, then to Mitch just behind her.
He was slouched in his chair, blearily staring at the board, or past it, it was hard to tell. He kept fidgeting, clearly agitated. Butch observed his arms, his right was propped up on his table as he fruitlessly tried to embody an air of consciousness. His left dropped at his side, his hand stuffed into his pocket, fiddling with something.
Butch's eyes flickered back to Mitch's face just as the brunette's head jerked downwards and his eyes momentarily shot open before slowly drooping back to their weary state. He took in Mitch's shaggy hair, his left brow piercing, his lean frame.
He smiled maniacally, his pupils dilated as he activated his X-Ray vision and flicked his gaze back to Mitch's pocket. His smile widened as he examined the joint in-between his fingers.
Alright! Butch snorted, guess he was going to prove his mom wrong and actually make a friend today. First period came to a much anticipated end and Butch watched as Buttercup speedily stood, turned to Mitch's now snoring form and lightly poked his forehead. Such an action performed by a regular, everyday human wouldn't beget much of an effect, but coming from a superhuman like Buttercup, even a faint finger jab was enough to send Mitch toppling to the ground.
He landed with a loud thump, eliciting a couple of head turns in his direction, but those were redirected as soon as they confirmed it was Mitch. "Ugh," he grunted, rubbing his neck, "You could've just shaken me asshole!" He exclaimed, issuing a glare at her as he shuffled to his feet.
"But then I'd miss out on the chance to make you look stupid." Buttercup sniggered. Mitch muttered something unintelligible as him and Buttercup made towards the door, the latter throwing Butch one last threatening glare over her shoulder.
Butch winked, relishing the snarl it educed from her. He searched for Mitch once he stepped into the hall, successfully locating him near the stairs, where him and Buttercup separated.
As fate would have it, him and Mitch shared his second period as well. Brick and Bear also shared this class with him, meanwhile Bubbles was the only Powerpuff present. Unlike her surly, dark haired sister though, Bubbles didn't actually pay much mind to the boys. She instead busied herself with surreptitiously texting Robin, made obvious by the way said Robin would giggle each time she threw a glance to her phone, before furtively typing a response which would elicit an analogous giggle from Bubbles.
This was good news for Butch, who delightfully found himself free to survey the female variety of the class's occupants, halting only when his eyes slowly began to capitulate to the consuming power of sleep. The sound of the bell jolted him awake, he blinked away the dreariness and swiveled his head to see Mitch already halfway out the door, impatiently shoving people as he paced.
He hastily stood and exited the class himself, bounding up to meet his brothers.
"Are we really going to eat in the cafeteria?" Bear inquired as the three of them navigated the crowds, approaching said cafeteria.
Brick sniffled. "Taking that smell into consideration, I'm definitely not." He scowled. "I'll just spend my lunch in the library."
"I'm not eating that shit either, gonna go grab a burger at Bruno's," Butch said once he saw Mitch make a turn for the front doors. Brick turned to face him, his features screaming distrust. "What? Not all of us enjoy spending our time nose deep in Alfred Camus bro."
"It's Albert, dumbass." Brick affronted.
"For real? Oh... whatever!" Butch replied, shouldering past his brothers through their middle. "Catch you guys later." He lifted off into the air and zipped down and out the hall, some people cautiously ducked and held their books in place, in prudence of the sudden gust of wind that blew past them.
Brick continued to frown in the direction Butch had flown off in, almost as though willing his glare to reach Butch wherever he was. It was the unfortunate people in his direct path who took the brunt of it however, with several of them shuddering in fear.
"You know, sometimes I wonder if you legitimately have the ability to smile." Bear said.
"What fucking reason is there to?" Brick groused. "Besides, you're one to talk."
"You should try to relax," Bear said, side-eyeing Brick. "You're overly stressing about this."
Brick blinked, then slowly his features began to harden as he glared at Bear. "Easy for you to say, you don't have any history here. You didn't have the displeasure of being treated like shit by these second-rate hypocrites." He said, in reference to the students who roamed the hall, the teachers who were spending their break in the staff lounge, the middling citizens who were walking along the streets. All of them. Everyone in this fucking city.
He had finally been free, free from the coercion, free from the incessant vilification, free from those pestilent, self-righteous little girls who tagged themselves as heroes.
Bear didn't get it, which Brick couldn't blame him for, but he didn't understand regardless. Brick had desperately longed to leave, had almost lost... everything in the effort to do so. Now he was going to be here for at least two years. Twenty-Four fucking months.
If he had to inadvertently spend that much time here, he sure as hell wasn't going to pretend like he was enjoying it.
"You think they're going to treat me any different because of that?" Bear arched a brow.
Brick scrutinized him, then let his gaze roam to the people who strode past them, noting the way they carefully walked around the boys, trying, and dramatically failing to furtively murmur.
He looked back to Bear. "Then you should understand my disdain for this place."
"I do," Bear replied. "But it's not mom's fault we're here."
"She could have chosen the job in Russia," Brick muttered, adjusting his cap.
"One of the most racist countries on the planet?" Bear said, fully turning to Brick with an accusatory glare. "So that's what this is really about then?"
Brick suddenly looked mortified, stuttering as he tried to speak. "Wh—what? No! No! That's not what I meant, I just—" he ceased his defensive rambling as Bear's scowl softened into a grin, accompanied by a small laugh.
"Seriously? I'm just fucking with you man." He said, still laughing lightly. Brick frowned, his glare on his brother intensifying, but there was a hint of relief in his expression.
"Fucking jackass." He said. Bear snorted.
They had reached the cafeteria now, they stopped at the open doors, surveying the hordes of teenagers seated in circles across the room. Brick's face scrunched in disgust.
"It's even more prominent up close." Brick said. Bear went on examining the room, catching sight of their blonde brother on a table somewhere in the middle area. Boomer swiveled his head away from the people he was conversing with to the doors. He smiled and waved his brothers over.
Then, something happened. Neither Bear nor Brick could really explain it, there was this ominous force that suddenly pervaded the room, they felt it, it caused all the stares directed at them to avert instantly.
They both looked over their shoulders to see Buttercup glaring at them with her arms folded. Bunny and Pablo were with her, standing at either side. Bear recognized the latter from French class earlier.
Brick returned Buttercup's glare with equal venom, Bear flicked his eyes between all three, then he faced Brick to speak, but Brick took the prerogative.
"There a problem?" Brick asked with a scowl.
Buttercup's frown matched his, undeterred. "You tell me." She spat. A brief silence followed, soundlessly punctuated by Buttercup and Brick's Scary Face contest.
"Well, I'm starving," Pablo announced, grabbing their collective attention as he loudly clasped his hands together. "I suggest you two ladies continue this elsewhere. You're causing traffic." He said, striding past Bear into the cafeteria.
Bear looked up to confirm Pablo's statement, and saw that there were in-fact people who had stopped advancing towards the cafeteria's entry once they stumbled into the tense atmosphere. Even though Brick and Buttercup had exchanged merely two, three-word sentences, the crowd's size was rapidly increasing.
Man, what the hell is wrong with these people? Bear thought, exasperated. He'd expected that his brothers' arrival would undoubtedly elicit some attention. However, he hadn't foreseen that the students here would be all but enthralled if he or his brothers so much as breathed, or were anywhere within fifty feet of the Girls.
"I don't have time for this," Brick scoffed, breaking the glare with Buttercup and turning to head to his left, away from the cafeteria. "Later Bear."
"Later," Bear replied, shifting his gaze from Brick's retreating back to Buttercup's frigid glower. He hadn't even seen Bunny step forward, and by the time he tried to face her, she was already past him. He just noticed then that she hadn't said a word.
His gaze followed her into the cafeteria, where she seemed to be heading to the table he just saw Pablo perch on, with two others he didn't recognize.
"Where's he going?"
He turned back to Buttercup. She was looking at Brick, whose form was beginning to fade into the mass of students in the hall, then she faced him, her expression demanding.
He stared at her perfunctorily, before stuffing his hands into his pockets and scoffing, already turning into the cafeteria.
Buttercup's eyes went wide, once again shocked at the sheer audacity of him. She bristled, and had to consciously keep from clenching her fists.
Just who the fuck did he think he was?!
The students had resumed walking following Bear's exit. Buttercup released one last indignant grunt before moving into the cafeteria herself, watching as Bear made his way to over to the table his blue-eyed brother was waiting at.
She headed straight for her usual table where her friends and sister were already seated.
"C'mon! I'm gonna lie? You can't make this shit up," the dark skinned boy beside Pablo said defensively.
"What's Harry on about this time?" Buttercup inquired, as she slotted in-between Harry and Bunny.
"They think I'm trippin' BC!" Harry explained, gesticulating dramatically.
"Harry says the biggest condom in the world can stretch up to twenty feet," Kim informed, sneering.
Buttercup opened her palms in perturbation, "What the fuck did I just walk into!?" She exclaimed.
"Another episode of the THC show, starring Harry Pitt." Pablo cackled.
"I wasn't even stoned when I saw this!" Harry cried. "I'm telling y'all, this ain't like the flying deer, there's a whole ass documentary online."
"People post a lot of fallacious BS online though," Bunny said, incredulous.
"You on their side?" Harry issued Bunny a look that bespoke betrayal. Bunny gave him a shrug, grinning.
"Why the hell would anyone even make that?" Buttercup said, giving Harry a look that clearly said Really Dude, Really.
"Bet it was a pitifully optimistic, hetero male," Kim answered, placing her soda near her lips. "I'm willing to put money on that." She finished, and took a sip.
"I'll double it," Pablo assented.
"Fuck y'all," Harry griped, beginning to stand. "I'm gonna get some chips."
"Get me a bag of Tositos?" Harry looked to Bunny, who simpered amiably. He grumbled callowly, but made sure to take out an extra five bucks from his wallet as he started for the vending machines.
Buttercup scanned the table, arching a questioning brow. "Where's Mitch?"
"Definitely getting stoned at the bleachers," Kim said, sitting up as her eyes swept the room back and forth, returning to Buttercup once she failed to locate who she was looking for. "Bubbles doesn't have this lunch?" She asked Bunny, who shook her head. Kim found herself scanning through the room once again, but stopped when she accepted it was obviously pointless.
"Fool is gonna get himself suspended," Buttercup said, snatching Pablo's soda right out of his hands ("Hey!").
"For Mitch? Probably a glorious opportunity to get fried everyday for two weeks," Bunny said, whipping out her phone when it chimed, she swiped, double tapped, then pocketed it. "Are we all set for today?" She asked, facing Kim.
"Yeah, Mitch already put up posters on the notice boards before school," Kim answered, nodding.
"You guys still haven't found a guitarist?" Buttercup asked, loudly sipping Pablo's cola. Bunny shook her head.
It was fair to say that, despite having lived in the city for the better part of twelve years, the Girls, including Bunny who'd lived here for about nine, were still viewed as the créme de la créme of the populace. A warranted title when one took note of the fact that they were indeed, capable of things that ordinary human beings could, literally, only dream of. This vantage extended to the girls' distinct interests. While naturally, Blossom greatly excelled at academic endeavors (her painting was an entirely different story), Bubbles was essentially the popular girl, Buttercup effortlessly emasculated the school's jocks and there were people who would do unspeakable things just to get Bunny to sing them to bed.
The walnut brunette first dropped jaws, including those of her father and sisters, at a middle school talent show. They hadn't been aware that she was just as shocked when the crowd rose up to give her a standing ovation. Her passion—aided by her family's persistent persuasion—for music only grew. Come sophomore year, she'd decided she was going to start a school band. She worked her way towards it and within two months, at one of Robin's parties, Kim clutched the bass, Mitch sat at the drums, Harry stood over the piano, Wes gripped the guitar and she held the mic.
And thus, Ravenhead was born. They'd been one of, if not the most popular band in school. Then, abruptly, Wes moved to the other side of the country, stumping Bunny and her band mates. Wes had probably been the best guitarist in Townsville High, replacing him was undoubtedly going to be difficult, but of-course they had to. Bunny had briefly considered helming the guitar herself, but she was captious to the extent where she admitted she was dissatisfied with her precision in playing said instrument.
She was by no means bad, she had an ingenious inclination for musical instruments in general, but she had standards concerning music, standards she equally held herself to. They needed someone better, someone who could manipulate those strings immaculately.
"Easier to inform people that we're holding auditions through school anyway." Bunny said.
Buttercup nodded in understanding, ignoring the sour look Pablo gave her as she handed him back his soda. Her green eyes flicked past him, landing on a particular table right as her lip curled in distaste.
Bunny followed her sister's gaze, not surprised to track it to Boomer chattering animatedly as the people around him laughed, barring Bear. The latter seemed more interested in his phone than the conversation his brother was orchestrating. She actually recognized both people, she realized, as Billy reciprocated Boomer's jaunty energy while Susie leaned against him, chuckling as her boyfriend and the blue Rowdyruff prattled on.
"That purple one pisses me off," Buttercup frowned. Bunny shifted uncomfortably.
Kim and Pablo turned to see the recipient of Buttercup's glare. Pablo sighed affectionately, turning back to the Girls with a faraway gaze, "Isn't he just... dreamy?"
Buttercup scrunched her face in disgust. "He's pretty cute," Kim said, pursing her lips as she nodded. "The blonde one too."
"I'm about to empty my breakfast on this table," Buttercup scowled at them both.
"You didn't have any." Bunny reminded her.
"I'm just being objective," Kim said, in response to Buttercup. "Besides, they aren't my type, obviously."
"Can you just imagine what his eyes look like in the moonlight?" Pablo said, his eyes still gleaming with imaginative bliss.
Harry reappeared then, bearing chips. He handed Bunny one bag, which she excitedly grabbed and tore open instantly.
"That damn machine almost ate my five bucks," Harry groused as he took his seat.
Buttercup suddenly jerked and pointed under the table at Harry's feet. "Shit! Are those fucking rats!?"
"Fuck!" Harry yelped, diving backwards hastily and flinging his bag of Lays in the process as he landed on his back.
He propped himself on his elbows and frantically searched for those fleecy, scurrying little devils he hated more than anything.
He found nothing. No rodents, just his chips scattered across the floor. He glared up at Buttercup who was nearly doubled over in laughter.
Mitch looked around, circumspect in scanning the area. He was under the bleachers, facing the small fence that sundered the school from neighboring houses.
He sat on the ground and drew out the joint from his pocket, fetching a lighter from his left sock. He lit it up and took a hit, inhaling satisfyingly before blowing out the smoke.
He didn't know why he hadn't thought to make this his smoking spot since freshman year. Airy and deserted, perfect. Once he got those new headphones he probably wouldn't even know to go back to class.
"Yo!"
"Holy sh—" Mitch jerked to. His senses lulling once he saw Butch at the end of the Bleachers, casually strolling towards him.
"Fuck's sake man, you almost gave me a damn heart attack." he said, palming his chest in relief. Butch continued his approach, smirking as his gaze landed on the joint.
Mitch's relief suddenly dissipated as his voice got clogged in his throat. Despite having grown up around superpowered beings and thus adapted to their existence, he found it just a bit more difficult to breathe as Butch reached him. In his defense, none of them carried quite the... sinister aura Butch did. The smile he threw Mitch somehow only accentuated that effect and he suddenly thought of how pathetic it would be to die under the bleachers of a High School stadium field.
Butch then flopped down next to him, impertinently reaching for the rolled up green in Mitch's right hand. "Gimme' that shit." he demanded.
Mitch's face dropped comically, he looked from Butch to the blunt and back. Butch looked at Mitch like he was wondering if he understood English, motioning at the joint with his fingers.
Mitch noticed the light had gone out since he'd just been holding it in the air. He passed Butch the joint as well as the lighter and watched as he lit the joint and hit it himself.
And man, did he hit it, he really dragged that motherfucker, burned through half of it in one go. Mitch looked at Butch in reverential shock as the Ruff passed the joint back, exhaling a large mass of smoke like he was some sort of walking, talking exhaust pipe. He didn't even fucking cough.
"Shit," Butch sighed, contented. "Been weeks since I had a good smoke." he said with a cackle, letting his back fall to the ground.
Mitch kept his eyes on Butch even as he took another hit, Butch glanced at him from his laid down position and snorted. "Right, where are my manners. Butch," he said, raising a hand.
Mitch paused, considering, then rose a hand himself as they shook. "Mitch."
"Smoke often?" Butch asked. It was Mitch's turn to snort.
"I'm only sober when I've got no choice."
"You realize we're at fucking school right?"
"So fucking what?"
Butch released a throaty laugh. "A man of culture I see." he said, sneering in approval.
Mitch laughed before taking another hit, it was possibly the drugs talking, but the atmosphere suddenly got significantly thinner as him and Butch began to converse. "Hey, speaking of," he said, smoke wisping out of his mouth. "You, like, have a special power right? Like the Girls?"
"This is correct," Butch answered.
"Does it have anything to do with your throat?"
Butch arched a brow in a Say What Now? manner, "Dude, I literally just met you. Plus, I swing the other way."
"That's not what I mean you gross bastard!" Mitch said, shaking his head as well as his raised hands. He held up the blunt, "I mean how the hell can you smoke like that? Like, what the fuck?"
"Our bodies work way differently man, that shit wasn't even enough to get me high high." Butch said, raising his hand again, this time towards the blunt. Mitch had subconsciously just kept hitting it, he was definitely good. He handed it over to Butch who all but swallowed what was left of the joint and flicked it away.
Mitch stared, still awed. "I need to learn how to do that,"
"Ha! You'll hack out your fucking lungs." Butch sniggered.
Mitch grunted in response as he cracked his neck, before shaking his head and bringing his vision back into focus.
"So, you're friends with Buttercup yeah?" Butch said, raising his left sneaker to scratch his shin.
"This is correct," Mitch answered. This time they snorted in unison.
"Bet she's gonna give you hell for fraternizing with a Rowdyruff,"
"Probably, you guys piss her off,"
"Evidently." Butch said, visibly amused.
Mitch tipped his head back, it felt heavier all of a sudden. The weed was really starting to kick in. "What are you guys doing back in Townsville anyway?" Mitch asked bluntly, and if he wasn't so high he'd have considered that a question like that could probably be unwelcome by Butch. Fortunately for him, Butch didn't seem to care.
"Mom got work here, so we had to move. We could've gone to another school, but where's the fun in that?" Butch answered, smirking as he closed his eyes.
"So like, you guys aren't here to take over the world or some shit?" Mitch said.
Butch laughed. "Dude, seriously? We don't do kids stuff like that anymore. We've got lives yunno? Better shit to do than trying to 'defeat' a bunch'a caped crusaders."
"The Girls don't wear capes,"
"You get the point." Butch said dismissively.
"Could've bet on Blossom to have started wearing a cape by now though," Mitch thought out loud, gazing into space. "'Cause she's the leader yunno? She's got that whole Captain America-like vibe about her."
"Oh yeah?" Butch asked.
"Yeah man," Mitch said, not looking away from... nowhere. "She even gives you shit for cursing, it's crazy. I don't think she needs a shield though."
Butch shook his head, Mitch was fucking stoned. Well, he had to admit he was feeling the effects as well, he would kill for another joint though. Which reminded him...
"Yo, who's your dealer? I want to get an ounce of this shit." Butch asked. Seconds went by without him getting a response and he cracked open an eye in confusion. "Mitch?" Still no answer.
Butch pushed himself up into a sitting position so he could look at Mitch properly. The scruffy haired boy was arrested by something on the ground now. Butch followed his gaze to find a wandering beetle as it, well, wandered.
He looked back up at Mitch, "Dude" he called and Mitch snapped to, blinking vigorously as his eyes drooped and he vainly tried to stop smiling.
"Huh?"
They sat in silence for a few passing moments, simply staring at each other. Then, together, they burst out laughing.
"You're fried dude. I swear to fucking God." Butch cackled.
"Man, that shit's good" Mitch slurred, grabbing his head and releasing a cackle himself.
"And your eyes look like you're about to beam out fucking lasers," Butch noticed, reaching for his pocket and retrieving an Eye Drop bottle with a purple cap.
"The hell is that?" Mitch asked, eyes fixated on the bottle.
"Lumify, brother. Saving stoners since... whenever the fuck it was made." He said, handing the bottle to Mitch. He took it, squinting as he examined the bottle.
He popped it open and pressed a drop each into both his eyes. He blinked the liquid in, sniffling as he felt it trickle down to the bridge of his nose before he handed the bottle back to Butch.
"You a'int half bad Mitch," Butch praised, pocketing the Lumify.
"You too, dude. I mean, you've got a fucking stoner kit." Mitch laughed.
Butch's acute super hearing picked up on the ringing of the school bell. He groaned, hastily jumping up from his place on the floor.
Mitch looked up at him, muddled. "The bell just went Shaggy. C'mon, let's bounce." Butch said, offering a hand. Mitch blinked then shook his head before puffing out a breath that made his lips wallop together rhythmically. He took Butch's hand and allowed himself be pulled up, which, he noticed, Butch did with practically no effort.
They exited the bleachers and made their way back towards the school building through the field.
"Hey, did you just call me Shaggy back there?" Mitch asked in what might have been offense, but he genuinely seemed like he'd forgotten.
"You ever look in the mirror? Scooby wouldn't be able to tell the difference." Butch laughed.
Fuck this. Fuck this God forsaken dump of a school. This God forsaken dump of a city. Those bitches who played hero to it, thinking they could tell him what to do. If he wasn't so adamant about consciously blanking out the next two years, he'd show them that their delusional sense of self-importance only extended to feeble minded humans.
Brick was incredibly pissed, and said pissiness oozed off him in tidal waves. His ire practically manifested in the form of an invisible force that pushed the people walking past him to their lockers, clearing a straight path for him to the library. He stalked past the bathroom doors, catching the girls' door start to creak open as he passed by, but it was simply his peripheral vision doing its work so he paid it no mind.
He'd moved about five steps forward before he heard the door close and then...
"Going somewhere?"
Brick stopped in his tracks, momentarily shocked, but, even before he turned, that shock morphed into exasperation at the recognition of the voice.
He groaned loudly, turned and glared.
Blossom glared back.
"Aren't you supposed to be having lunch?" She followed up when he didn't respond. Stepping forward and folding her arms, issuing him a suspicious look.
"Where I spend my lunch period is, and listen carefully, none of your fucking business," Brick seethed.
"Watch your language!" Blossom reprimanded, letting her arms fall to her sides as she took another step forward.
"Don't tell me what to do you little cu—"
"I know you're planning something," she interjected, pointing. Brick blinked.
"You don't have me fooled, not in the slightest."
Brick continued to glare, scrutinizing her. Taking in the look of scathing distrust she gave him. Oh, how he wanted to smack her across that freckled face. But no, he was done with that, unless of-course she forced his hand, in which case he would give her a proper reunion, since she certainly seemed keen on it.
He scoffed. Fuck this. Fuck her.
"You know what? Think whatever the fuck you want. But, if you really think I'm here just to cause trouble in your pathetic excuse for a city, especially after all this time—" he narrowed his eyes, cocking his head so he could glare right into her eyes. "You're greatly overestimating your importance."
Blossom's features slackened, surprised. "Must be a real shock to realize the world doesn't revolve around you huh?" He said, and before she could formulate a retort he was already walking, back on his way to the library.
That little... did he just...? Blossom's jaw tightened as she bit back a needless scream. She stood there, her hands fisted, hating, absolutely detesting how she could only resume glaring daggers into his back.
"Wow, he didn't say he was in Choir too." Susie said from her position on the top row of seats, her eyes on an attentive Boomer on the bottom row. A strange sight indeed, even if she'd known him for all of twenty minutes.
Bubbles was right next to her, equally surprised at Boomer's presence. "Mr. Bladen didn't say anything, he must have already auditioned," Bubbles guessed.
"Probably," Susie nodded her assent. "And if he's in this class that means he's already in our ensemble."
"That's so strange," Bubbles said, knitting her eyebrows as she looked at him.
"Why?" Susie said, zipping her mouth shut momentarily when Mr. Bladen's eyes fell on her. Bubbles answered once his eyes had moved on.
"Just like, I never would've envisioned one of them in something like Choir," Bubbles said, hoping she made sense.
Susie's nod assured her of it. "I get what you mean, it's pretty weird. Maybe he's just average."
Both girls suddenly found their eyes widening, disconcerted, as Boomer turned to look at them, his face blank.
Crap, Bubbles thought, she forgot he had super-hearing. She almost looked apologetic, but Boomer simply smiled and averted his gaze back to Mr. Bladen.
"Well, that'll do great for his nerves." Susie winced guiltily.
Bubbles eyes lit up in realization. That was right, even though he'd obviously passed the audition, he still had to perform an introductory song at the end of the class, as was Mr. Bladen's tradition.
They ceased talking about Boomer then, directing their focus on their teacher. Class was a blur as they mostly covered basic stuff and reviewed the projects they did last semester. It was about five minutes to the end of the class before Mr. Bladen called on Boomer to perform.
Boomer stood, confidently striding towards the microphone, Mr. Bladen walked in the opposite direction, taking a seat at the front of the class, the only one in-front of the bottom row.
Bubbles watched as Boomer blew into the mic experimentally, clearing his throat after doing so. She was oddly tense, maybe that was because she was still feeling a little guilty for doubting his singing capabilities. But, really, he was a Rowdyruff Boy, what could he possibly know about—
Her eyes widened, in unison with everyone else in the room, barring their teacher. Bubbles stared on, shocked, awed. Boomer had gone for a mellow song, Madonna's Frozen, specifically. Now Bubbles had a trained musical ear, she'd been in Choir since the seventh grade, and she lived under the same roof as Bunny. She knew what a good singer sounded like, and Boomer was...
She wanted to see how Susie was reacting, but she couldn't peel her eyes away from him. The way he was completely immersed in the song, his eyes closed as he swayed his head in tune with the melody. Words failed her as he harmonized into the end of the song, finally opening his eyes after releasing a light breath.
Mr. Bladen immediately launched into applause, the rest of the class followed suit, splendidly surprised as well as impressed. Bubbles found herself just staring at, well, she could say her counterpart, in disbelief, she wasn't alone in this either.
"Oh my God." Susie whispered, her expression one of equal astonishment.
Boomer gave the class an impish grin as the applause died down. This was so strange, Bubbles' brain was finding it difficult to process that this boy who was once her enemy, this boy who was once a vandalic, villainous brat, had absolutely killed his introductory performance for Choir in galvanizing fashion. The last time she laid eyes on him he was just a twelve year old criminal. She didn't mean to be offensive, it was just that... this was so strange.
"Well," Mr. Bladen said, smiling approvingly, "There's nothing to say except, Welcome to the Choir."
Boomer grinned right as the bell rung for the last time that day. The class collectively stood, scrambling for their backpacks.
"Alright birdies, remember your assignments," Mr Bladen stood—patting Boomer on the shoulder as he walked past him—and faced his class. "Find a partner to perform a duet with, contemporary works only, but if you want to be original that's fine. Due in two weeks." He said, gesturing for emphasis.
"Got a partner?" Susie asked as she and Bubbles stood, slinging their bags over their shoulders.
"Nope, want to pair?"
"You know this girl." Susie answered and Bubbles chuckled as she turned to lead them out from the row of seats but halted as she nearly crashed into someone. She looked up to see Boomer grinning down at her.
"Hey." He greeted in a genuinely friendly manner.
Bubbles blinked, disoriented, he looked behind her and threw up a characteristic Peace Sign. "Hey Susie."
"Um... hey... Boomer." Susie replied. He looked back to Bubbles.
"So uh, this might be kind of weird but, you want to pair up? I hear you're really good," he asked, brows raised in question.
What? Was he—was he being serious? "Are you being serious?" She asked disbelievingly.
"Of-course," he said, giving her a weird look.
Bubbles stared at him, trying and failing to form words through her slightly parted lips. He just stood there, gazing at her outright as he waited for an answer.
"Uh—" she finally managed, laughing awkwardly. "Oh Boomer. I'm sorry but, Susie and I are already—"
"Hey Sanjay! Wanna pair up?" Bubbles heard Susie say. She whirled on her, shooting Susie a frantic look that screamed Now Is Not The Time to Be Funny!
The Indian boy who Susie requested partnership from looked up at her from a bottom seat, beaming. "Sure." He said. Susie smiled at him in thanks, turning back to meet Bubbles' murderous eyes.
She ignored them and jerked her head towards Boomer. "Answer the man."
Bubbles was so going to kill her! She turned to face Boomer, whose grin had found its way back to his face. She coughed—for no reason—and looked away from him, gripping the straps of her small bag.
"Um... sure, we can pair."
"Sweet!" Boomer exclaimed, reaching for his pocket, drawing out his phone and handing it to her. She looked from the phone to him and back, hesitantly letting go of her bag as she took it and tapped in her number.
She handed it back to Boomer who enthusiastically grabbed it and looked at the screen. For her super enhanced sight, she wondered how she was just noticing his painted nails. She all but gawked at the Egyptian Blue that coated his fingers before they were whipped away from her sight as Boomer pocketed his phone.
"I'll call you? Text?"
"Text." She said immediately, taking hold of the strap again.
"Got it, see you later," Boomer smiled, already floating towards the door. "Bye Susie!" He waved, she waved back.
"Bye!" She beamed as he flashed out the door, making the girl who had opened it shuffle back, almost losing her balance. She looked back to Bubbles who was glaring at her, it actually looked like there was a dim glow in those baby blue orbs.
"You better have a good explanation for doing that," Bubbles demanded.
"Oh come on! You guys would sound amazing together. No way I'm missing out on a chance to hear that." Susie said in defense, too pleased with herself to be sympathetic for Bubbles.
Bubbles' anger dissolved into defeat as she sighed, floating up and towards the door herself. Susie scurried after her, "You guys should definitely do a Queen song."
Buttercup exited the school doors with Mitch in tow, searching for their friends in the midst of the pool of people in the parking lot. She sighted Bunny and Pablo around the primo parking area, both were leaning against the latter's car, laughing at something Harry said, or maybe just at what he was doing, Buttercup thought as she watched him put one hand up to the sky while placing the other one on his chest.
She diverted towards them as Mitch finally caught up to her.
"Hey I forgot to ask, where were you at lunch anyway?" She said conversationally.
"Getting high under the bleachers," Mitch replied, bumping fists with a couple of guys as they walked by.
"You're gonna get your ass suspended one of these days," Buttercup said in a bored tone.
"What else is new?" Mitch sniggered.
"How much did you smoke?"
"Just a J."
"You killed a joint by yourself? And still went for class?" Buttercup asked incredulously.
Mitch briefly hesitated before answering, "Nah, convinced Rodney to skip class."
Buttercup shook her head, "You're the kind of kid parents shit on at PTA meetings."
"I try." Mitch smirked, taking pride in the title, Buttercup snorted. They reached Pablo's car right about the same time Kim did, said Asian girl had just been four cars over, discussing something seemingly important with Billy and Susie. She left her brother and his girlfriend once she saw Buttercup and Mitch nearing the others.
"Okay you guys go on ahead, Buttercup and I will fly over." Bunny said, once they were all present.
The sudden sound of revving engines and screeching car tires stole their conjunct attention. The ones who had to turn did so as they watched the two, now infamous, mustangs roll up the driveway.
The passenger window of the red one slid down as it rapidly approached, and Butch stuck his head out right before it whizzed past them. "Looking good dyke!" He jeered at Buttercup, his laughter fading as the car got farther away. Followed briskly by the black one that most likely housed Bear and Boomer.
Buttercup was already above the ground, ready to zip towards the car and wrench Butch out of it, then drag him across the fucking asphalt. It was a good thing her equally superpowered sister was there to hold her back.
"Buttercup! No! Forget him, he's just an idiot!" Bunny tried to calm her raging sister down, which she wasn't making easy by thrashing in Bunny's grip. The purple eyed Puff made sure to subdue her sister by wrapping her hands around her midsection.
They continued to struggle, with the others equally attempting to put Buttercup at ease, while being careful not to be on the end of one of her aimless kicks. After a few more minutes, their efforts proved successful. Bunny set her down, still latching onto her in-case she was being dishonest about her equanimity.
"I'm good." Buttercup growled viciously, but honestly. Bunny released her from her grip as Buttercup glared in the direction the cars had driven past.
"He even has good taste in cars," Pablo murmured with a sigh, Kim snapped to.
"What?"
"I said those guys are asshats," he lied.
"Major." Harry assented, mirroring Buttercup's sour look, said girl continued to bristle, only soothed by the comforting shoulder squeezes Bunny gave her.
"C'mon, let's hit it." Mitch said, issuing Buttercup a look that was mixed with both guilt and... actually it might have just been that.
As soon as they were off in Pablo's car, Bunny and Buttercup took to the air.
"That fucking piece of shit." Buttercup muttered as they flew above the school building. Bunny observed her sister, who continued to mumble irritably as they soared forward.
Harry's house—also Ravenhead's practice venue—was at max, a ten minute drive from school, meaning Bunny and Buttercup could have flown there in seconds, less. But they flew past it, or rather Bunny did, confusing Buttercup. She looked down at the house as it kept shrinking in her vision before looking up at Bunny who just kept moving. She followed her.
They soared over the suburbs in silence, absorbing the scenery. From the skate park which was already beginning to get littered with people, to the mini resort that was occupied by mostly adults, save for the pool. They ascended further, reaching the lowest level of the clouds, there was a flight flock hundreds of feet away from them, both girls slowed down even more as they savored the beauteous formation they crystallized.
Buttercup stared, then took off in their direction.
Bunny watched as her sister downscaled into a tiny dot, chuckling as the formation scattered, the birds dividing into batches in an attempt to avoid Buttercup's impact, though it was obvious she didn't intend to cause any damage.
The dot grew larger as Buttercup made her way back to Bunny's side, her perpetual frown having been replaced with a dinky smile.
Bunny shot forward, right into a cloud, dispersing it. Buttercup followed suit, and they suddenly kept at this for minutes. Up. Down. Left. Right, they zipped, soared, letting themselves get caught in the channels.
Buttercup was laughing now, so was Bunny. Then, like always, they clicked the same idea at the same time, upon looking at each other, they already knew. They floated as though they laid on their bellies, facing each other with ear-splitting grins before deactivating their X and fucking dropping.
Their gleeful howls coalesced as they descended.
"Holy Fucking Shiiiiiit!" Buttercup bellowed exuberantly. Bunny laughed, endlessly, as the city rapidly rushed at them. They fell below the skyscraper, the high-rise hotels, the three story event centers. It wasn't until they were mere feet above the ground that they pushed forward through the streets—causing a few citizens to stop and point as they whizzed by—and launched themselves back into the air, cackling all the way.
They settled in the air, still laughing uncontrollably. Their laughter slowly faded into just chuckles as they essentially just hung there.
"Damn," Buttercup exhaled.
"Tell me about it," Bunny laughed, letting her eyes linger on Buttercup as she let out another laugh. "You good?" Bunny asked, Buttercup looked to her. Her smile already telling her answer.
"So fucking good." She answered, and Bunny couldn't resist an open mouthed smile.
Though they had been doing so for all their lives, flying always did it for them, their gargantuan, obstacle-free playground. Like they'd told each other years ago, this was definitely the best thing Chemical X did for them, they wouldn't trade this for anything. Ever so often, if or when either one of them needed to unwind, they just took to the skies, sometimes beyond that, if they wanted to, because they could. They fucking could.
Buttercup chuckled with a shake of her head as she took in Bunny's expression.
"Don't get mopey on me now." She said, looking away from her sister who laughed softly. Buttercup's eyes then lit up and she turned back to Bunny with a sneer. "Race ya, bitch!" She declared, zooming off in the direction of Harry's house.
"Cheating ass bitch!" Bunny yelled before jetting towards Buttercup, their laughter withering into the all encompassing, sky blue canvas.
Olivia exited the basement slash laboratory, clad in much more home-friendly clothes as compared to a few hours ago. She glanced at her watch, the boys would be home any time from now.
She made a beeline for the living room, settling on the couch as she swiped the remote off the stool to the side. She switched the fifty-inch TV on, releasing an amused grunt as the screen exploded to life, displaying an absolute mammoth of a man hacking creatures that greatly resembled zombies to pieces.
She really had to get Butch a new laptop, so he could view these obscenities in his own privacy.
She wondered how their day had been, she'd asked Helen to ensure their abidance but she was well aware that would do little to hamper them if they truly decided to cause trouble. Although, she wasn't entirely worried about that, the request was made mostly, if not specifically for Butch.
Speaking of her boisterous, trouble-drawn son...
She heard the front door fly open with a bang against the wall, followed by a familiar enthusiastic bellow.
"MAMA!"
Olivia raised her elbows up as a hurling hump of teenage boy zipped into her lap, manifesting as Butch himself. "This movie is so fucking sick isn't it!?" He said, looking up from the TV to his smiling mom as she combed her fingers through his hair.
"I don't quite understand why he's using a giant fork as his weapon," Olivia answered.
"That's the crazy part! That way he punts like, five of 'em at once!"
Olivia chuckled as the rest of her sons shuffled into the living room, Bear plopped down next to her—not before throwing Butch's legs off the sofa—and heaved a sigh.
"The hell man!" Butch groused as his legs hit the floor, Bear ignored him.
Brick sat on the long sofa opposite his mom and brothers while Boomer stood in their middle, facing Olivia with a triumphant smile.
"You're looking at the newest member of Townsville High's Choir," Boomer preened, jocularly posing with his hands on his hips while he whipped his hair.
"You might as well cut off your penis at this point," Butch mocked, Olivia smacked him. He gave her a solemn look that dissolved at her hard eyes. "Okay. Okay. That's... agh. That's, cool Boom," Butch said, audibly struggling to do so.
Boomer sniggered, "Like I give a fuck what you think. You're gonna be the one begging me to buy you a house in a few years."
"Did you boys make any friends?" Olivia asked, adjusting as Butch opted to sit on the floor, right beneath her so she could still pet his hair.
"Tons!" Boomer exclaimed.
"Think I've got a whole partner now." Butch laughed.
Three sets of eyes shot at him.
"Partner?" Olivia, Brick and Bear echoed in suspicion.
Butch blanked, eyes flicking between the three of them, before settling on Boomer. "Wanna go rip those Call Of Duty zombies a new one?" He smirked.
"Hell yeah!" Boomer shrieked.
And with that they both bolted up the stairs to Butch's room.
Olivia shook her head, though her smile lingered. She turned to the less jovial half of the Rowdyruffs, Brick's gaze seared into the the cubical cushion between the sofas, like it had done him some great disservice.
"How was your day sweetie?"
"I hate this place," he immediately said. Olivia's smile fell, Bear looked down from the ceiling to his scowling brother. "I hate it." He repeated, his frown deepening.
Olivia adapted a similar expression, genuinely concerned. "Brick, honey, you have to—"
"I know, mom," Brick cut her off, gently. "I know."
They'd already discussed this two weeks ago, he didn't quite desire another lecture. He understood that he would just have to suck it up, but understanding aggravatingly did very little for his anger.
He hastily stood, adjusting his cap as he exited the living room without sparing his mom or brother a glance. Olivia watched him amble up the stairs, sighing once he went beyond her field of vision.
"He'll be fine," Bear said. "Brick's always pissy when he doesn't get what he wants, he'll get over it." He tried to assure her.
Olivia gave him a dainty smile, resting her elbow on the top of the sofa and pulling her legs up on it.
"Well, you're up. How was your day?" She inquired.
Bear shrugged, returning his gaze back to the ceiling. Olivia waited for a response, but he just continued to gaze upwards, as though counting the bulbs on the chandelier.
She considered her next question carefully. "How about... did you talk to her?"
"Bunny?" He said. Surprising her as he spoke her name, she studied his features, but even she could never precisely decipher his expressions all the time.
"Yes." She opted to answer simply. He inhaled slowly, and exhaled even slower.
"No, I didn't." He replied.
"Did you want to?"
"Not particularly,"
"Did she want to?"
That stumped him, he tore his eyes away from the glimmering lights and looked at her. She was looking right into his eyes. He thought back, when they got to school she was staring at him unabashedly, which had unnerved him somewhat. He couldn't see her once he sat down in French class, they didn't even look each other's way doing lunch.
There was no... the time was just never right.
Bear blinked, then blinked again, before averting his glance, to his knees this time.
"I'm not sure," he said, "I don't think so."
Olivia wasn't sure why, or how. But his response had given her the real answer. She smiled, reaching for his shoulder and massaging it gently.
"Oh, honey. For all your intelligence, you still have male nescience."
Bear whirred an offended look at her, to which she laughed.
She retracted her hand, placing her head against her now closed palm, "Talk to her, okay?"
Bear had done a lot of blinking in the last few minutes. He stared at her silently, then allowed himself slide down the sofa so he could stretch out his legs and resume bulb counting.
John tensed as he observed Blossom dig into her pasta, literally. She was making no attempts to scoop it into her mouth, and was instead repeatedly stabbing into the plate of sauce topped, slithery noodles.
The rest of her sisters also furtively watched her in silence, the constant clinking of her fork as it met the marble was hard to ignore in any case.
'What's wrong with your sister?' John asked once he felt the link established. Blossom being the only one exempted, for obvious reasons.
'Anybody got any ideas?' Buttercup asked.
'Usually she only gets like this if she bombs a test,' Bunny said.
Buttercup scoffed. 'When was the last time that happened?'
'Did she have run-in with any of the boys or something?' Bubbles pitched in.
John's face contorted in anger. 'Boys? What boys?!'
'The Rowdyruff Boys dad,' Buttercup rolled her eyes.
'No, she couldn't have. None of them are in the AP classes, and the boys all have the early lunch,' Bunny answered Bubbles.
'Well,' John said in a strained voice, refraining from his constantly nagging impulse to forbid his girls from being within ten feet of any and all boys. 'Then what could possibly be wro—'
"The nerve of that bumptious... DELINQUENT!" Blossom griped, actually cracking the plate with the clink that punctuated her outburst.
Her family looked from her, to the nearly split plate, and back. "Who does he think he is?!" Blossom shrieked, discarding her fork on the table. "He stalks around like he's some sort of Providence! And the way he looks at you, like you're something he scraped from under his shoe!" She continued to yell, clenching and releasing her fists repeatedly.
Her sisters simply stared, cautious now, she looked on the verge of breaking something. John's palm tightened around his mug.
"Nobody wanted him back here, he made that decision himself. So he doesn't exactly have the license to complain about it!"
It was fair to say they all knew who she was talking about—there went Bunny's theory—at this point. If so, it would be ill-advised to highlight the fact their arrival was due to Olivia's promotion, John thought with a grimace.
"I just want to... RGH!" She growled. An abrupt silence permeated the room as Blossom ceased yelling. So quiet that the sound of the ticking clock became very prominent.
Her sisters and father looked between each other, electing who would be the one to poke the beast. Eventually, three pairs of eyes landed on Bunny. She glared at them as they collectively jerked their heads in Blossom's direction.
Her face fell in capitulation, she turned to her bristling sister. "Um... Bloss, who are you talking about?"
Blossom muttered an unintelligible response. "What?" Bunny pushed.
"Brick," she said, coherently. "I'm talking about Brick." She practically spat out his name. She finally looked to see their heedful looks and heaved an apologetic sigh. "I'm sorry, he's just so..." she paused, then shook her head with a frown. "Nothing, I'm sorry."
Buttercup scoffed, "You don't have to be. If he's anything like that brother of his, your reaction is completely warranted." She suddenly leaned over the table, shadowing her food in the process as she faced Blossom, her expression utterly grave. "Wanna pummel 'em?"
"Buttercup!" John reprimanded.
"They deserve it!" She defended, swiveling to him. "Butch sure as hell does."
John's reproachful expression only hardened at her language, and Buttercup settled down, frowning in apology.
"You know, I'd have put my money on Buttercup being the one to throw a tantrum at dinner," Bubbles said conversationally. Blossom had resumed picking at her food, though less violently.
"You can thank Dr. Bunny for that one," Bunny said, raising her hand for emphasis.
"Besides, I don't throw tantrums sister. I break skulls." Buttercup corrected, envisioning it. Her hands grabbing either side of Butch's head and compacting it until it popped like a wine filled, meat stuffed pinata. She almost exhaled a moan. Beautiful.
"Girls."
John's voice carried an End-All-Conversation-And-Listen tone that was usually reserved for scolding. With this in mind, they ceased their conversation and looked to him obediently, "I don't want you girls getting into any trouble with the Rowdyruff Boys," he said, oddly somber as he did so.
"Dad, we have better things to do than—"
"I'm serious." John interjected, and Buttercup clamped her mouth shut.
"But dad, they could be hatching something sinister! Let's not pretend like we don't know—"
"No, they're not," he cut off yet another one of them, Blossom's expression was somewhere in-between a pout and a frown.
"Listen girls, I know I've never been quite... thorough about Olivia Venus, but..." he paused, taking time to look all of them square in the eyes. "I know the woman, she's not an evil person. Nowhere near it... she gave those boys a life, it wouldn't be fair for you to still treat them like criminals." He said.
After meeting Olivia this morning, he'd done a lot of ruminating. As well as talked to Helen over the phone. And as much as he was distrustful of the boys, he trusted Liv. Given that she had parented them for a little over five years now, his trust should have naturally extended to the Boys. But, he wasn't quite inclined to do that yet.
The girls stared at him, not knowing what to make of his attestation. "Alright?" He asked to ensure.
They looked between each other briefly, then collectively said "Okay, dad." Though, Blossom's voice distinctly came in last.
John looked down at his plate, almost empty. That would take him for the night. "Okay girls, I have a bit of work to catch up on," he said, standing. "You girls remember to clean up alright? Goodnight."
"Goodnight," they echoed as he left the table, taking his mug with him. The girls watched as he disappeared around the kitchen door, and a few seconds later they heard as the door to the lab clicked closed.
"Why is he so... why does he get like that every time he talks about that chick?" Buttercup said, tearing her eyes away from the door.
"How are we supposed to know? He never tells us anything about her," Bunny answered in a low voice, her expression unreadable, but her tone carried a faint lick of ire.
Bubbles was very aflutter all of a sudden, like the rest of her sisters, she'd taken note of how Olivia Venus's name alone was a trigger for their father's despondency. Her eyes were still at the door he'd exited through.
"Hey, are you okay Blossom?" She heard Buttercup ask. She turned to see both Buttercup and Bunny looking at Blossom, who's eyes were riveted to her still full plate.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."
They decided to change the topic, Bunny took the initiative and launched into her day at auditions, and how they still hadn't found anyone good enough, especially with Wes as the standard. Buttercup pitched in as she had been present, Bubbles talked about cheerleading tryouts as well, Blossom offered little to nothing to the conversation.
In a few minutes they were done with their food, for the most part. Blossom immediately retreated to her room, Bunny offered to clean up but would only do so with help, then Bubbles and Buttercup proceeded to engage in a K.O game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, which the former lost.
Buttercup cackled as she made her way upstairs, rubbing salt in the wounds. Bubbles frowned as she stood in-front of the sink, sponging circles on the plates. Bunny worked behind her, scrubbing the island.
"You never said if you ran into any of them," Bubbles said, sparking conversation. Bunny looked up, "Oh. Well, I had one class with Bear and one with Butch," she grimaced as she recalled History with the latter, who'd spent virtually the whole period openly gawking at her. "Buttercup's not exaggerating by the way, he's a pig."
"His name's Bear?" Bubbles asked—ignoring the second part of Bunny's statement all-together as a form of assent—as she racked up the dishes.
"Yeah," Bunny said, momentarily dropping the towel rug as she lifted glasses off the island and headed for the cabinets.
"That's cute." Bubbles chuckled, killing the water.
Bunny responded with a noncommittal chuckle of her own, closing the cabinet that now encased the glasses. "How about you? You're not throwing any tantrums so I guess you successfully avoided them."
"Actually," Bubbles said, ripping out of the paper towel to dry her hands. "I had Choir with Boomer."
"He's already in your ensemble?" Bunny said, unmistakably impressed. She hopped up and onto the island, sitting and facing Bubbles.
Bubbles turned, expertly hurling the crunched up paper towel into the bin at the corner of the kitchen table. "Yeah, he's really good. Kinda shocked me to be honest," she looked up at Bunny, gripping the edge of the sink she leaned against. "You know he paints his nails?"
"Oh?" Bunny arched a brow, Bubbles nodded.
"Well, I bet those boys are full of surprises," Bunny said almost yonderly, looking past Bubbles at, well, nothing.
The blonde let out an audible breath, her eyes dropping to her shoes. "Things just took a crazy turn didn't they?"
Bunny found herself back in French class, trying to will her words into existence as she stared into Bear's back, no, the back of his head.
"Yup," she nodded, refocusing on Bubbles who simultaneously looked back up at her.
"Gonna be one hell of a school year."
~End: Ch. 1~