Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z anime.
The storyline and any OCs are my ONLY property.
This merely serves as entertainment for the viewers!
(Warning: This story is rated T; it contains violence, vulgar language, and minor suggestive adult themes. Read at your own risk.)
Narrative/Third Person's P.O.V.
In the dead of the night, it was surprisingly noisy in contrast to the usual quiet and serious atmosphere of the agency. Agents began to scatter, looking all over for the so-called intruders that had infiltrated the place a while ago. Despite having a huge fuss on the ground floor, agents on the higher levels of the establishment slept peacefully without even the slightest bit of noise bothering them.
Unbeknownst to everyone, those trespassers sat down peacefully on the floor in one of their very own agent's room. Panting heavily, our heroines were all covered in sweat and dirt along with a child that Bright held close to her chest. They were all exhausted and tired. However they were all concerned about one person.
The child.
He trembled in Bright's arms as he held on tighter to her. It was obvious that he was frightened and rather shaken by what had just happened. For a child to go through what he had just experienced is truly saddening and it was a huge wake-up call for the girls.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Bright asked as she stroked the boy's hair to calm him down.
The boy looked up at her with slightly droopy eyes as he replied, "Yes… I'm just a bit tired."
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here as soon as possible." Bloom said, walking closer to him. "However, before that, do you mind if we ask you a few questions first?"
The boy remained silent. He looked at Bloom with worried eyes as his lips trembled, hesitating to speak in front of her. Despite his response, Bloom caressed his face and smiled. "You're safe now," She said, "We're not going to hurt you, we're here to help you."
Though he was still hesitant, he turned his gaze towards Bright, hoping for her encouragement. She stroked his hair gently, giving him a reassuring nod. He then looked at the raven-haired girl, Butterfly, who, in return, smiled at him while also mouthing the words: 'It's okay.'
As his gaze returned to Bloom, he looked at her for a few more seconds before finally responding, "O-Okay…"
Bloom, who was clearly relieved by his response, held his hand so as to make him feel comfortable. She gave him one more reassuring look before finally talking, "Do you mind telling us your name, dear?"
"K-Kotaro…" He said. "Junpei Kotaro…"
'K.J.? So is it actually him?' Bloom wondered. That means that they have finally rescued him. However, something in the pit of Bloom's gut was telling her that something didn't fit.
"That's a very beautiful name." Bloom replied. "My name is Momoko, it's very nice to meet you Kotaro."
As the atmosphere began to grow warmer, Kotaro finally smiled as Bloom introduced herself. She then gestured towards her teammates, making him turn around to face the two of them. "That's Miyako and the one over there is Kaoru." Bloom introduced as the former kept stroking his hair to calm him down while the latter waved at him.
"You don't have to be afraid, Kotaro, we're here to help you." Bloom explained. "But in order for us to help you, we need you to answer some questions, do you understand?"
"Yes… I understand."
Taking a deep breath, Bloom looked at Kotaro, "Do you remember how you got here?"
"I don't… know…" He replied. "The only thing that I remember was that I was with my mother, and then everything went black. When I woke up, I was already in that cell…"
"You didn't notice anyone suspicious around you when you were with your mother?" Bloom asked.
"I really don't remember…" Kotaro said as tears began to well up in his eyes. "I'm so sorry…"
Holding both of his hands in hers, Bloom gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Kotaro-kun, just tell us what you feel like telling, okay? That's enough for us."
"Okay…"
"Do you know how long you've been down there?" Bloom asked.
"I think it's been a week now…" He started. "I haven't been here for too long but it feels like it's been forever…"
"Are you able to remember who brought you here?" Butterfly suddenly asked. "Or at least can you tell us what happened when you were in there?"
Instead of telling, Kotaro suddenly froze as the tears began to flow freely down his face. Flashbacks of what had happened to him began to play in his mind. Startled, the girls try to calm him down.
"Shhh… Don't worry, Kotaro-kun, you're safe with us." Bright said as she hugged him tightly.
"It's okay, Kotaro, you don't have to if you don't want to." Butterfly said, a bit guilty for asking such a hard question. "I'm sorry for asking, it's my fault."
"T-They…" Kotaro stuttered. "…did t-tests…"
"Tests?" Bloom wondered. "What do you mean by tests, Kotaro-kun?"
"B-Blood…" He mumbled. "Our b-blood…" As he said that, he revealed the scars that tainted his pale skin. There were also multiple cuts left on his arms and hands, some began to heal while some still seemed fresh.
"Wait a minute," Bloom said. "Our blood?" Bloom asked, shocked by what he had just said.
"There's many more of us down there…" Kotaro replied. "More prisoners…"
Butterfly's eyes widened. "Why weren't they there with you?"
Kotaro's hand shook, "They were taken away… I don't know where." He explained. "When I was alone I tried calling for help. I kept screaming for hours until I heard footsteps… I thought it was the men who were going to take me away for testing, but I kept screaming until you guys rescued me…"
Looking at each other, the girls nodded. Bright wiped off the tears from his face as she smiled sweetly at him. "You're very strong, Kotaro." Bright said. "We'll make sure that those who did this to you will be put into jail."
"But for now, I'm sure that you already miss your family right?" Bloom asked, caressing his face.
Kotaro's eyes suddenly lit up, looking at Bloom in disbelief. "Wait… you mean… you're taking me home?"
"I'm pretty sure that your family is missing you now, sport." Butterfly said as she ran her fingers through his hair. "You don't want to keep them waiting, right?"
Kotaro nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "But how are you going to take me there?"
"A friend of ours will help you." Bloom said, picking up Kotaro from Bright's lap. "We'll take you to him and he'll take you home to your mommy, okay?"
"Okay," He replied, crying.
Confused, Bloom looked at him as she began to wipe his tears. "What's the matter, dear? Is there something wrong?"
He shook his head in response. "I'm just so happy…" He said as Bloom laid him down on Butterfly's bed. "I'll be able to see my family again…"
"You will, Kotaro, you will." Bloom said as she gestured to Butterfly to come towards her. "Kotaro, once we get you to our friend, just tell him your name and who your parents are, okay? He will take care of the rest."
"Yes, I understand." As soon as he said that, all three girls hugged him tightly, bidding him goodbye.
"Stay strong, sport." Butterfly said as she patted his head.
"Be safe out there, Kotaro-kun." Bloom said, holding his hands tightly until Bright approached him to bid him goodbye.
"You be a good boy, okay, Kotaro-kun?" Bright said as she kissed him on his forehead, giving him one last smile before Butterfly came forward.
She placed both of her hands on Kotaro's shoulders. A bright green glow emitted from her hands, causing Kotaro to glow along with it. As Butterfly closed her eyes in order to concentrate, the image of Kotaro began to fade away.
As he began to vanish, his smile never left his face. With one last surge of power, Kotaro was gone. But, a second before that happened, he was able to say his own goodbye to the girls.
"Thank you…"
"Yes, Professor. We'll get to it as soon as possible." Bloom said over the ICED. "Yes, take good care of him, okay, Professor? I'll call you back later, goodbye."
"What did he say?" Butterfly asked as she got up from her chair. "Is Kotaro okay?"
"He's fine, Professor said that when he went to pick up Kotaro from the living room, he was already asleep on the couch." Bloom explained. "He took him up to their bedroom and said that he'll contact the parents when he wakes up."
Sighing, Bright was finally able to relax. "I'm glad that he got there safely."
"Yeah, well, for us, we have no time to relax." Bloom said. "After talking to him, I'm more than certain that Kotaro wasn't the one who wrote the book."
"Thought I was the only one." Butterfly commented, sitting on her bed. "He isn't a Gifted, so it would've been impossible for him to magically get the book to the library when he can't even break out of his own shackles."
Bright's face became upset. "Which just confirms Kotaro's claim that there are others there." She started, "Who knows how many others there are?"
"That is why we should know what we're dealing with," Bloom said. "We were lucky that that alarm was triggered because if not, then there would've been guards stationed at that prison. We'll save them without getting caught if we know what exactly goes on down there."
Both Butterfly and Bright nodded, listening intently to their leader as she began to explain. "In the book, the author mentioned something about monsters. One of those monsters had a crooked figure, green skin and wore shades. Does any of that ring a bell?"
Both girls looked at each other, simultaneously saying the name of the horrible creature that roams the hall of that prison.
"Ace."
"And that's our lead." Bloom stated before sighing. "However, as much as I want to go back there and free the other prisoners there, the whole building is on high alert. Seeing as we almost got caught, I want to make sure that you two are okay with holding off for a while. We'll get the information we need and we'll strike when we see the opportunity."
They looked at each other before Butterfly stepped up to speak. "As soon as everything has calmed down, we're going back straight down there."
Bright nodded. "I agree." She said. "If we don't go back as soon as it's safe for us to do so, who knows what's going to happen to them?"
"So we're all in agreement." Bloom stated, crossing her arms. "With that, we need to get back to our own rooms. They might start going door-to-door to see if the intruders are still here. You guys already know what to do when they try to interrogate us, just make sure that any suspicion on us is wiped away."
They both nodded to her instructions. As Butterfly grabbed onto their arms, they quickly teleported back to their own rooms.
Bloom's P.O.V.
3:30 AM
"I'm confused, Momoko, how did you guys find him?" The Professor asked through the ICED device.
"When we were running away from the agents, we teleported to an open area below the ground floor." I explained as I removed the ribbon that kept my ponytail up. "We landed in a prison where we found Kotaro locked up in a cell."
"Is he the one who wrote that journal?"
"No, he wasn't," I answered, sighing as I sat in front of the vanity."He told us that there were others down there in that prison. Considering how he can't get out of his restraints, we think someone else who went through the same experience wrote it."
The Professor's face had disbelief evident on it. "Where do you suppose they are now?
"I don't know. What we do know is the motive behind their need to bring in prisoners."
"Which is?" The Professor asked nervously.
"They're doing tests on them," I said. "It has something to do with their blood. For some sick reason, these prisoners are being captured and they are extracting their blood."
"Oh God." He replied. "What do you suppose they do with that?"
"Right now, I'm too pissed to even think about that. I'm more concerned about the fact that there are more people who are being imprisoned and tortured down there." I said as I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to calm myself down.
"I am too, Momoko. I'm sure Miyako and Kaoru feel that way too." He said. "But there has got to be a reason why they're doing this. Taking the blood of people, especially children? That just seems too much if they were just doing it for fun."
"I know," I sighed. "The girls and I have agreed to wait a bit before going back down there. We'll get to the bottom of whatever is happening in that prison."
"Okay, I'll update you on Kotaro's condition after a while, you need to rest."
"I really do, thanks Professor."
"Sleep well, Momoko."
As I turned off the device, I leaned back against the chair. Today really wore me out. Seeing my very disheveled self in the mirror, I immediately went to the bathroom to wash up.
As I wiped all the smudged makeup on my face, I heard something fall from my belt. I leaned down to see a small pink plastic tube on the floor.
Picking it up, I couldn't help but smile.
"Haven't used you in a while," I said, inspecting the peach lip balm I had in my hand. " Could never really leave the house without you."
As I tucked the lip balm back in my belt, I went back to my room. Placing my belt on my drawer, I quickly jumped on the bed. A few moments later, I found myself starting to drift asleep.
Brick's P.O.V.
7:30 AM
"Brick Jojo, you are being summoned by the Captain of the Security Division.
"Brick Jojo, you are being summoned by the Captain of the Security Division.
"Brick Jo—"
As the stupid watch kept beeping and talking, I immediately slammed it against the desk. All the other things that were on it shook as the table rattled. Fortunately, the watch didn't crack, but it did shut the annoying thing up.
What the hell do they want now?
Closing all the tabs on my computer, I immediately shut it down. I stood up from my seat and wore my MDP. Pressing the little side button, I held the watch right next to my lips. "Message received."
And with that, I immediately left the room.
As the elevator went down to the ground floor, I caught a glimpse of what was happening. Multiple agents were scattered all around, seemingly searching for something. They were all flustered, walking around while taking multiple calls and questioning one another. Amidst all of this chaos, I approached the Captain who was surrounded by some of his members.
"What's going on here, Captain?" I asked as I squeezed through the sea of agents. Startled, he looked around as he tried to find me. Once his eyes landed on mine, he sighed in relief.
Pushing through the other agents, he stood face-to-face with me. "Sir, there has been an infiltration."
"An infiltration?"
"Yes," He answered. "All agents who were patrolling last night are missing, as well as test subject 073."
"All of them are missing?" I asked, stunned by what the Captain had just said. "Have you checked the security cameras?"
"We have, Sir, but nothing was found." He replied. "I have consulted with the ones that were looking over the security feed last night but they said that nothing was out of the ordinary."
Scoffing, I began walking towards the Intelligence Division Office with the Captain following suit. There was no way that these intruders could have done this without being seen by the security cameras. It's just impossible.
Opening the door, I immediately sat at the main computer's desk. As I unlocked it, I began to look at the security feed of the cameras on the ground floor, watching it with the Captain carefully. "If there is an intruder, then they must have been seen by at least one of these cameras." I said as we began to watch.
As both of us looked over the videos of multiple cameras, we remained silent as we watched over it. There was nothing unusual, and there was no sign of any intruders either. They were all patrolling the area and no one was missing.
I switched the security feed to another floor but again, there was nothing there. Looking over the other floors, I thought that there would be something, anything that would give us a lead.
But there was nothing.
Frustrated, I pressed another button on my M.D.P.
"Contact: Agent Jirou Kimura and Agent Daichi Noshitani." I said as I turned off the computer.
"Contacting agents…" After three beeps, two male voices emitted from the watch.
"Anything you need help with, boss?"
"I need both of you to look over the security footage from last night." I commanded. "Multiple agents are missing from the agency as well as a test subject. Nothing helpful came up when I looked over it, there has to be something wrong with it. I expect results within this day, got that?"
"Understood, Sir." As a long beep came, I looked over towards the captain.
"Have you told your boss about this?" I asked as both of us began to walk towards the door.
"I have contacted Sir Butch about this, but he hasn't responded."
Groaning, I replied, "Figures." As we were walking on the ground floor, I looked over towards him. "I'm not taking any bullshit from these so-called intruders. There must be someone who saw something."
"After the alarm rang, agents immediately came and scanned each room." He said. " The intruders somehow ended up in the dungeons and evaded detection as they took away the prisoner. Agents sent to inspect the dungeon during the alarm were then alerted when they heard an explosion."
"How could they have escaped?"
"I was told a huge hole was left in the cell of the test subject. Agents suspect that they may have gone through there. But as they looked over it, it was another dead end."
"And where is the entrance to the dungeons?" I asked, making him stop in his tracks and point eastward.
"Over there."
Following his directions, the Captain left early due to being summoned by someone else. Heading over towards the east corridor, I pushed through the crowd of agents while I held the M.D.P. next to my lips again.
"Contact: Agent Butch Jojo."
"Contacting agent…"
After a few beeps, I was finally met with the voice of my brother. As expected, his tone was somewhat sleepy and tired. "What do you want, Brick?"
"Get your ass over here, some of your men are missing." I ordered, annoyance flooding my voice with each word.
He groaned on the other end as the sound of shifting was heard. "What do you mean missing? Did they leave or something?"
"They were captured, idiot, agents say that we have been infiltrated." I answered.
"Bullshit, what do you need me for?" He asked in an annoyed tone. "Aren't you supposed to be the one who looks over the security feed? Just run their faces through the database, problem solved."
"Guess what genius, there was nothing on the security feed." I said angrily, he clearly wasn't taking any of this seriously. "I already have my men analyzing the footage. These are your men so you better hurry up and get over here!"
"Fine, I'll be right there." And with that, he was gone.
Groaning, I continued pushing through until I reached the corridor that led to the stairwell. After some annoying traffic, I finally made my way towards the switch. However, as I was about to open the entrance, something caught my eye,
Looking over my shoulder, I saw something gleaming. Stepping away, I followed the shining object. As I saw what it was, a sudden surge of anger came over me.
I picked it up, looking at it very carefully. It was something that was very unusual, but very familiar.
A ruby necklace.
Narrative/Third Person's P.O.V.
Finishing her lunch at the exact stroke of twelve, Bright immediately went to her roommate's room, which was surprisingly empty, to leave her dish for the butler to pick up later on. With that, she went back to her room to freshen up. As she began to re-apply her make-up, her watch suddenly lit up.
"New Mission Acquired: Please head to the Mission Acceptance Room immediately."
'Odd, I wonder what I am needed for?' Bright wondered as she began to clean up herself. 'Isn't it too soon to get a mission considering they're trying to investigate the infiltration?'
After taking one last look in the mirror, she swiftly exited her room and made her way downstairs.
Moving through the hallways, she finally made her way to the room. Opening the door, she immediately went to one of the automated scanners for the S-Rank agents, scanning her M.D.P., hand, eyes, and the rest of her body.
"Agent I.D.: 1513, Name: Bright. Please proceed to section A12 to accept your mission."
Before she moved from her spot, Bright pressed the question button on the computer. "Agent: Bright. State mission details."
"Mission details: Unknown. Members involved: Unknown. Please proceed to section A12 to accept your mission."
Raising her eyebrow, in confusion, Bright wondered, 'How come they didn't input the mission details?' Curious, she immediately went to the room to find out just who was going to be with her and just what this mission was about.
Cautiously, she opened the door with her M.D.P. watch. Peeking inside, she caught a glimpse of the room. As usual, it had the tv, some tables, a table, and a bunch of computers and chairs. Besides herself, no one else was in here.
Before she could sit down, a voice came from behind her.
"Quite an early bird, aren't you, Bright?"
Turning around, she was met with the familiar face of her roommate. "Oh," She said, sighing in relief. "It's just you."
"Why? Were you expecting someone else?" Boomer asked, closing the door behind him.
Strangely, he wasn't wearing his usual attire. Instead, he wore a white shirt under a blue jean jacket with a pair of black jeans and white sneakers. He sat beside her, comfortably leaning against the chair,
"I wasn't expecting anyone in particular considering the fact that I knew nothing about this mission." Bright answered. "Care to tell me?"
Not even bothering to open the tablet he had, Boomer looked at her straight in the eyes. "I need you to assist me."
"Assist you?" She asked. "In what exactly?"
"I'll tell you once we get there." He answered, pressing the spacebar on the computer. "Mission 18320: Agents complete, start mission."
"Mission 18320 Successfully Accepted: Agent Boomer Jojo and Agent Bright are now officially active."
As Boomer turned around to face Bright, he gave her a smile before he began walking towards the door. "Follow me." He said, opening the door.
Bright, who was seemingly in a daze after catching a glimpse of his smile, finally snapped out of it as she began to trail behind him.
Keeping up with his pace, she couldn't help but get lost in her own thoughts. She hadn't been talking to him much, or at least, not as much as before. She needed to get along with him if she was to make sure that she could evade suspicion.
However, even just being in the same room as him reminded her just how foul he could be.
She wasn't sure herself if he had noticed it. But the more she spent time with him, the more she grew confused on how to deal with him. She almost laughed at herself for being a hypocrite when she recalled what she said to Butterfly.
Because right now, she really couldn't fake being upset with him.
"Where are we going exactly?" She asked as they began going through the hallway of the ground floor.
"I already told you, I'll explain everything once we get there." He answered while both of them stepped into the elevator. "I'll answer your questions later, okay?
After nodding in agreement, she sighed, making Boomer confused and rather intrigued. "You okay?"
Startled by his sudden question, Bright whipped her head to the side to face him. "Who? Me?"
"Well, there's no one else in this elevator."
"Oh… Uh, yeah." Bright said, mentally slapping herself for asking such a stupid question. "Sorry, I guess I'm just not feeling like myself today."
"Did the commotion downstairs catch you off guard?"
"Maybe…" She then looked at him. "Aren't you supposed to be helping with what's happening?"
He chuckled. "Nah, my brothers got it covered." He said. "There's a lot of people investigating the supposed break-in. That and I've got different things to worry about."
As they exited the elevator, neither of them said a word. They briskly walked until they reached a door that was marked 'A.D.' in which Boomer immediately stopped in his tracks. Raising his hand, he placed it on the scanner next to the door. The scanner turned green, revealing a new area that consisted of six doors.
Moving in, Boomer approached the second door from the left, a keypad right beside it. Inputting the necessary numbers, the doors opened to a wide office space. There was a desk in the very middle which had a computer and multiple writing materials. On the left side, there was a large architect's table with multiple drafts on it while a few shelves with a large leather coach beside it were on the right side.
As Bright walked in, Boomer gently closed the door and immediately moved towards the desk. Bright, seemingly confused, looked over at Boomer. "Where exactly are we?"
"We're in my office." He replied nonchalantly as he removed his jacket, hanging it on one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"Your office?"
"Shocking, huh?" He asked, chuckling. "Didn't expect somebody like me to work in a place like this, did you?"
"To be honest, this was the opposite of what I expected when you were out on your missions." Bright answered as she looked around. "No offense."
"None taken."
"But why do yo—"
"And the answer as to why I have my own personal office, I am the Head of the Architecture Division." He interrupted. "I specialize in designing the equipment and machinery needed by the agency, specifically the Robotics and Engineering Division."
"Okay, I guess that explains that," Bright said as she sat down on the leather couch. "But why exactly did you call for me?"
"Seeing as though you could at least draw, I need you to help me with a few of these." He answered as he walked towards the drafting table.
She walked over to his side, looking over the multiple drafts of machines that he had on display. "So, that's all I have to do?"
"Pretty much, yeah." He answered, handing her the necessary tools she needed, along with a chair for her to sit on.
"I'm not really used to this kind of thing."
"You'll figure it out, never a bad thing to learn, right?" He said as he pinned pictures of gears and equipment for reference. "Just get it started and I'll come back to you later."
"And what exactly do I have to sketch?" Bright asked as she grabbed a mechanical pencil.
"There should be a piece of paper there that has a list of things that Mojo needs." He said as he sat in front of his computer. Almost instantly, he was already preoccupied as the sound of typing was heard all over the office.
Searching through multiple sheets of paper, Bright finally found the list that was labeled 'New Projects-Mojo." Reading through it, she couldn't help but sigh in frustration at the very first thing that was on the list.
1.) Project Name: Mojo Jojo Robot, Fire, Fire, Fire! Destroy Powerpuff Girls with Robot breathing fire! Burn, Powerpuff, Burn!
'...Is it too late to back out?'
After three long hours, Bright's dainty hands began to ache as she began to finish up on her work. Despite the pain, she remained unfazed. Each and every single line and curve was made with precision. Though it was such a simple task, Bright remained concentrated with each stroke.
Unbeknownst to her, someone was carefully watching. From the very beginning, he silently observed every sketch she made. Every sigh, every hum, and every look of satisfaction, Boomer has heard and seen it all.
As he stood up, he steadily walked over to her, being extra careful with each step as to not to startle her. Concentrated on her work, Bright began to mumble as she looked somehow annoyed.
Amused, Boomer placed a hand on her shoulder. As expected, she was suddenly taken aback by his touch, breaking her line of concentration. Chuckling, he asked, "Need a hand?"
Sighing, Bright turned around to look at him. "Did you really have to scare me?" She asked, "I was just about to finish, too."
"From what I see, you're struggling with the finishing touches." Boomer said, taking the mechanical pencil from her hand.
As he hovered the pencil over her sketch, he pointed out parts that seemed odd. "How come you angled the robot's legs this way?"
Looking at her sketch, Bright squinted her eyes a bit before answering, "It'd be much easier for it to move if angled in such a way." She said but her mind said otherwise. 'Because it'd be much easier for us to defeat it once Mojo uses it to attack the city.'
Raising his eyebrow at her, Boomer began erasing some lines in her work. "Yeah, well, do it like that then the legs won't be able to support the weight of the torso, which, you took the privilege of making it pretty big."
"I was just considering Mojo's personal preferences when it comes to robots." She said. 'I was just considering the fact that it's easier to hit a bigger target.'
"Okay, then how come you're missing the main part of the robot?"
"The main part?"
"The fire machine?" Boomer said, pointing over towards the picture that he pinned on top. "Wasn't he asking for a robot that breathes fire?"
"I was just about to get to that." Bright replied, trying to seem as convincing as possible. "I wasn't even finished, remember?"
Raising her eyebrow at her, Boomer walked on over to the desk to take one of the chairs. "Do you mind scooting over there?" He said as he placed the chair beside hers.
Obliging, Bright moved a bit to the side so as to give him room. As he looked over her draft, he pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket, sliding it carefully onto his face. Surprised by his sudden change in appearance, Bright couldn't help but giggle.
"I didn't know you wore glasses."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"I didn't mean it like that, I was just a bit shocked."
"You'll get used to it eventually." He said as he began to focus on fixing Bright's own drawing.
With his statement, the room became silent. The faint sound of the pencil skidding across the surface of the paper kept Bright occupied for a while as she kept staring at him. If he were anything like his brothers, he would have already made a comment about his counterpart's gaze at him. However, being the so-called 'nice yet dumb' one out of the three, he remained concentrated at the task he had at hand.
As for Bright, she can't help but feel drawn once more to his presence. Deep down, she knew that there was so much to him that she wanted to understand. Even after her encounter with him in her hero form, she unknowingly still hopes from the bottom of her heart that the way he acts towards her when she's in disguise was the real him.
The fluttering feeling in her heart began to grow. She brushed off that feeling hours ago when he first touched her hand as he gave her the pencil. But now, with each passing second, she began to fall deeper and deeper into his spell.
Up until the silence was broken.
"For someone as chatty as you, you're being awfully quiet." Boomer suddenly said as he started to clean up his work. "Want to tell me what's on your mind?"
Taken aback by his question, Bright nervously cleared her throat. "Now that you mention it, I've been thinking..."
"About?"
"Why did you specifically call for me to assist you on this mission?" She asked, "I mean, you must have other agents that are under this division who are more skilled in this type of thing. And why assign it as a mission? You could've just contacted me, you know. We're roommates, remember?"
"I don't know, I just assumed that you would decline."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you've been acting differently these past few days." He said, giving her a very serious look. "You've been acting differently towards me."
Bright's eyes widened, replying with a simple, "What makes you say that?"
"You barely talk," He started, "And when we do talk, you seem uninterested and you try to cut the conversation short."
Bright tugged the hem of her skirt, facing away from him. She was aware that from his perspective, her suddenly avoiding him made no sense. She didn't know how to respond because she was afraid of saying something that would jeopardize their mission.
Why did she have to make it so obvious, she asked herself. She knew that she wasn't supposed to act suspicious. But what shocks her is that she didn't even try to hide the fact that she was upset at him. It was almost as if it was on purpose.
Like she wanted him to be aware about what she was feeling and for him to comfort her about it.
Seeing her become quiet all of a sudden, Boomer put the pencil down, "It's actually not the only reason I had you assigned on this mission." He said, his eyes still on her. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What did you want to talk about?" Bright asked, her face still not coming up to face him.
"Don't worry it's nothing about work or anything technical like that." He said, "I just wanted to talk about you."
"Me?" The question left her lips in a soft voice.
"Well, there's no one else in this room." He chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood. "So yeah, you."
Bright was confused. Was he suspicious of her? Was this his way of catching her in the act?
Whatever his reason is, she needed to resolve this as quickly as possible.
"What do you want to know?"
"So, uh, where did you grow up?" Boomer asked, making Bright let out a small laugh.
"Seriously?" She asked. "Is it really that important?"
"It's just a simple question, is it not?" He said in a playful manner. "If you want to know someone better, I mean you have to start small."
Just before she was about to spit out some random answer, Bloom's words from more than a week ago suddenly replayed in her mind.
'If we don't want to get caught telling lies, then we all have to have the same answer once they start questioning our background. When that happens, just answer this. If they asked us where we lived or grew up, tell them that we lived…'
"In a forest." She answered. "We didn't really have any money so we just lived in a small cottage."
"Did you go to any school?"
'If they ask anything about our education, answer back…'
"Like I said, we didn't have any money and we lived in a forest." Bright said. "We only relied on our father's knowledge. He basically home schooled us."
"What did he do to make sure that all four of you would survive in that forest?"
'When they ask about our "dad", just tell them that…'
"Given our difficult situation, he basically taught us how to survive at a young age." Bright answered. "He was a brilliant scientist, but he didn't have any money. So he stole. He thought it was going to be enough but it wasn't.
"So one day, he left us to join this place. He assured us that it was for us, and sure enough, he kept sending us money with the money he earned. We've kept in contact with him for years when suddenly…"
"What happened after that?" Boomer asked again, seemingly getting more and more intrigued by each answer that Bright gave him.
"He stopped talking to us." Bright said, trying to mask sadness in her voice. "We found out that he was placed in jail after he was caught robbing a bank, leaving only the three of us in that little hut. I'm pretty sure you already know the ones who arrested him."
He didn't respond, so she continued with her story. "With him gone, we had to do whatever we could to survive. But with each passing moment, our resentment for his captors grew stronger. Eventually we joined this place to avenge him."
Boomer remained silent, looking at her with pity. She kept her head hung low as she told her story, not even catching a glimpse of her face. Gently, he placed his hand on top of hers.
He expected her to pull her hand back, but she just remained still. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked in a soft voice. "You've been avoiding me, Bright. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I feel like I'm losing my mind trying to find out the reason why."
"Have you been pretending?"
Boomer's eyes widened at her sudden question, looking at her confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"Is the way you're behaving towards me just a front?" She asked, her voice louder as she finally looked up to face him. "Are you being a hundred-percent honest and genuine with me right now?"
She knew that she was in no position to ask that. Whether or not he was being honest with her, she knew that she was way worse. Selfishly, she just wanted to know if he was what she thought he was.
Instinctively, he moved his head closer to hers, their foreheads touching. A sudden bolt of electricity ran through their bodies at the sudden contact. Their breathing seemingly in sync as Boomer closed his eyes.
"Whenever I'm with you, I feel free." He said, "Not having to be someone else, not having to put a mask on to protect myself. Even though we haven't known each for long, I feel comfortable around you. Your presence… It's not suffocating, it's almost inviting."
Bright's eyes softened, her insides felt like it was burning. How come she found comfort in his words? Why did his words calm the raging sea of worry and doubt within her?
Why him?
"You listen to everything." He began again, "Even when I just start talking about stupid shit, you just listen and laugh so innocently. And when you began to act cold towards me, the thought of you avoiding me began fucking up my mind.
He opened his eyes, looking at her with a devastated look on his face. "How? How are you doing these things to me?"
"Boomer…"
"I... have just one more question to ask you."
Bright locked eyes with him, her heart beating faster. One hand came up to cup her cheek, the other tugging a strand of her golden locks behind her ear. With one final sigh, he asked, "Why did you have to be so damn beautiful?"
Closing the distance between them, both of them found comfort and bliss in one thing,
A sweet, passionate kiss.
As the night became dark, a tall man with raven locks began to roam the halls of the agency. Making a sharp turn, he opened the door to his left, revealing another man inside with dark auburn hair. As expected of his brother, Brick remained focused as he began to type furiously.
"Did your agents have any luck on figuring out what was wrong with the footage?" Butch asked, going towards Brick's side.
"They found out one thing." Brick replied. "The footage was from last week."
"What do you mean?" Butch asked.
"It means that someone has hacked into the agency's computer and security system." Brick answered with an annoyed tone. "Which means that we're at risk if we don't find who the hacker is."
"If our whole security system has been hacked, then that just means you're fucked."
"Do you really need to point out the obvious?" Brick asked, looking over his shoulder to glare at Butch.
Chuckling, Butch placed his hand on his shoulder. "I thought that your system was, so you say, impenetrable." He said, adding in air quotes on the last word. "Looks like we're both going to get our head on a silver platter."
"You better just tell me what you found out so far if you don't want to get your ass kicked on your way out."
Crossing both of his arms over his chest, Butch quickly became serious. "They somehow escaped through the hole they made in the test subject's cell. Through that, there was enough space for someone to fit in. The lab analyzed the dirt that was in that space but nothing was found. Not only that but everything in that hole seemed untouched, almost as if nobody went through there."
"So they flew their way out."
"Exactly." Butch said. "The hole they went through led to many exit points and we're working on investigating those now, but we still don't know how they got in or out of this place."
As he stopped typing on his keyboard, Brick turned around to face his brother as he leaned against the chair. "That means that these intruders have powers."
"That's what we're thinking." Butch replied. "I've sent the re—"
Suddenly, Butch got cut off as Brick's M.D.P. began to beep and light up. As the name of the agent calling was displayed on the screen, Brick answered.
"What's up, Boom?"
"I'm done talking to her." A male voice said on the other end. "Seems to be the same story as Bloom said to you."
"Took you long enough, Boomer." Brick said. "I was expecting an update hours ago and you were ignoring my messages."
"I… got caught up with something."
Snickering, Butch replied, "Doing it in the office seems a little too kinky for you little bro, don't you think?"
"We didn't do anything, asshole." Boomer said angrily. "Stay out of this, would you?"
"I'll try my best." Butch said sarcastically as he began to laugh.
As Brick stood up from his seat, he asked. "What exactly did she tell you?"
"Same thing as Bloom told you. Lived in the forest, didn't have any money, used to steal, got their powers from their father who was later arrested by the Powerpuff Girls."
"Well, did something feel odd while you were questioning her?" Brick asked. "I swear that they are just bullshitting us."
"Not really." Boomer replied. "Maybe something's off? I don't know, it seems real to me."
"They're just hiding something, I'm sure of it." Brick replied.
"Well, can't say that I agree." Butch suddenly said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, sure, no one knows or have heard about them and they bear an uncanny resemblance to the Puffs, but what of it?" Butch asked. "Just because they're new doesn't mean that they are hiding something."
Shocked at his statement, Brick began to get angry. "You don't have the slightest bit of doubt that they are up to something?"
"No fucking clue." Butch said, "I mean, every time I open my mouth to say anything we end up fighting so how am I supposed to give an opinion?"
Letting out a scoff, Brick said, "Whatever, you're just as dense as ever." Looking at his watch, he asked his other brother, "You get what I'm talking about, right, Boomer?"
"Sadly, I agree with Butch."
"What?!"
"I mean, what would they hide exactly?" Boomer asked on the other line.
"How should I know? There's a reason why it's called a secret."
"Still, are you even sure that they're hiding something big? Or is it all just an imaginary secret?"
"W-well…" Brick said, suddenly taken aback by both of his brothers' comments. "What if—"
Brick was suddenly cut off when Butch placed his hand on his shoulder. "Dude, this is nothing to get so worked up about." He said. "Plus, we have something more important to do. If something happens that further proves your statement, then we're going to do something about it."
The green-eyed man gave his brother a smirk before patting his back, reassuring him that nothing bad was going to happen. "It's already getting late, I need to go back and check back with the others at the lab." Butch replied as he began to walk towards the door. "I'll talk to you guys later."
"I need to go too, I still have to finish the robot that Mojo's requesting, see you guys later." Boomer said as he turned off the call. With Boomer gone, Butch immediately left the room, leaving Brick alone.
He sat back in his chair, sighing as he raked his hand through his hair. His brothers may not believe him, but he trusted his gut. The way they act just seems too odd, too weird.
'Everything seems wrong about them, especially her.' Brick thought. 'Her aura is off. Her personality is off. Even the look in her eyes when she talks is off.'
Brick wasn't the type of person that trusts so easily. He's been trying different tactics to get her to crack. Whether it be the intimidating approach, the charming approach, or even the kind approach, he still couldn't get through her.
Sighing, he turned off his computer and began fixing his things. As he was in front of the door, he looked back to check if there was anything out of place. After looking thoroughly, Brick opened the door. However, as he stepped foot outside, he remembered something from earlier.
"If something happens that further proves your statement, then we're going to do something about it."
Taking out the necklace he had in his pocket, his glare intensified as the ruby's gleam shone on his own bright red eyes. Clenching his fist, he slammed the door shut before heading out towards the elevator.
'Time for you to prove your innocence then, Bloom.'
"Do you think they've caught onto us?" Butterfly asked on the other end of the line.
"They've been investigating the ground floor since this morning." Bloom replied, laying down on her bed. "Since they're on high alert, it'll be ten times harder for us. We need to be more cautious with everything we do now."
"Then how long are we going to wait?" Bright wondered.
"I'm not sure, which is why we need to observe the agency for now. After that, we move but we're still going to lay low. I'm not risking anything anymore after the past few missions we did where we almost got caught. Frankly, I think we got lucky."
"Seems fair enough,." Butterfly said. "At least we're starting to learn the ropes of this place. Once we see that opening, getting those prisoners out of here should be easy enough."
"However, something isn't right, don't you guys think so too?" Bright asked, making both girls confused.
"What do you mean, Miyako?" Bloom wondered.
"It's been bugging me for a while now, but Sedusa kind of slipped about something, something they're waiting to be finished." Bright explained. "At first, I didn't really think about it that much. However, after Kotaro's story, I couldn't help but feel like it's connected somehow."
"Now that you mention it, it does seem odd." Bloom replied. "I mean, if they just need blood, they could just use their own, why would they need to imprison people and get theirs?"
"They must do something with the blood afterwards." Butterfly suggested. "Maybe they put some chemicals and other stuff in it?"
"If they are doing that, the question is why would they do that?"
"Well, what the heck do I know?" Butterfly stated. "It's just a theory after all."
"It may be a theory, but it does seem to make sense."
"Considering that possibility, do you have any clue as to what they would put in the blood?" Bright asked.
"Not really," Bloom answered. "Since we don't know the reason or the result they're trying to get with that blood, there's no way of telling as to what they're adding to it or if they're even putting anything in it."
"But then again, we're not sure if that's really the motive." Butterfly said. "Do you think we could get some clues in the book?"
"I hope so, I've already left it on the desk a while ago so that the moonlight will shine on it properly. We might be able to get some results tomorrow morning."
"Okay then, if that's the case, then I'm going to hit the hay now, I'm still pretty tired." Butterfly replied, giving out a yawn.
"Me too, I haven't had that much sleep myself." Bright added.
"Okay girls, sleep tight." Bloom said.
"Get some rest too, Momoko." Butterfly replied. "Don't stress about this too much."
"I will, I'll just fix some things first."
"Good night, everyone." Bright said.
"Night."
"Sleep well, you two." Bloom said before turning off her compact. Letting out a sigh, she gently massaged her neck. 'I'm getting too worked up lately.'
After they had rescued Kotaro, Bloom immediately began looking for reports of missing persons in Tokyo. To her shock, she was able to find only little records detailing any kidnapping or missing persons cases. Kotaro was reported missing nine days ago, but as she tried to search for any more reports on children within his age bracket, she came up empty.
After knowing this, she contacted the Professor to look into any strange deaths of children within the Tokyo area in the past few years. Strangely enough, he came up empty too. And on top of that, investigations about these missing persons cases eventually grew cold fast.
She found it odd for these things to happen. The fact that nobody had found anything that could help solve these cases nor did they even try to investigate the R.I.D. further to make sure they weren't behind these angered her.
Why weren't they finding the suspect? Why aren't they helping these families? Do they even care?
The R.I.D. has been getting away with this for god knows how long, so why isn't LUX tackling this case? It just doesn't make any sense.
As soon as they get those prisoners out, she's going to make sure that the three of them will do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this.
As she fixed her stuff, Bloom began getting ready for bed, a knock was heard which made her whole body tense. She looked over her shoulder, confused. 'He's still up?'
She quickly hid the book back in her vanity. Opening the door, unsurprisingly, there was Brick who intensely glared at her the moment their eyes met. Furrowing her eyebrows together, Bloom asked, "What do you want?"
Crossing his arms over his chest, he replied, "It's getting kind of late now, Red," He said, a cold icy tone in his voice with every word he said. "Is something keeping you up?"
"I was just about to go to sleep." She said, a bad feeling creeping up to her. "Why are you here?"
"I can't help but ask you the same question." He replied, stepping in her room carefully, making Bloom slowly walk back as she stared into his fiery red eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you come here, Bloom?" Brick asked. "What's your purpose here?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bloom retorted, getting irritated.
"Let's just say that some things are still left untold."
As he said that, he held up the necklace, its silver chain tangled in his fingers. A flash of red caught Bloom's eye, the heart-shaped pendant shining brightly at her. Shocked, Bloom let out a soft gasp.
"W-Where did you get that?"
Chuckling, Brick moved in forward, grabbing her chin and tilting it upward. Plastering a smirk on his face, Bloom's eyes widened as his eyes continued to burn in fiery red anger.
"Don't play dumb." Brick spat, "You're hiding something."
Gritting her teeth together, Bloom wasn't able to say anything. She was too nervous to even think of an excuse. She couldn't believe it, she fucked up!
Brick gripped her shoulder hard, his voice getting deeper. "Start talking."
Her eyes began to beat faster and louder. In her mind, she cursed herself over and over again. However, it wasn't going to help in getting her out of this situation.
Bloom knows she's in for it now.
Author's Note: Damn, Boomer sure moves fast. And Bloom's in trouble now that she lost her necklace. Makes you wonder, why does Bloom carry a ruby necklace with her everywhere she goes? And what are your theories about the R.I.D.? I would love to know so feel free to express your thoughts and opinions!
As always, don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!
Stay safe everyone!
~Disastress