I do not own the Power Puff Girls or the Rowdy Ruff Boys

Chapter Nineteen: Blood That Binds Us

The professor sent Brick home after taking a few more samples from him. Along with blood, he took hair, skin, and saliva. He'd do more invasive tests over the weekend when he would be able to pull favors from some of his friends at the hospital. Brick mentioned that Butch told him his blood had changed colors. His green-themed brother was sure he saw Brick's blood turn black in the midst of battle, moments before he brought Boomer down from his rage. That being said, he expected a call from Mojo about coming to look over his youngest's wounds.

Making his way to his empty bed, he sighed and flopped down on his bed, only bothering to take his lab coat off and his shoes. Peace seemed to be a hard commodity to come by these days. Before sleep overtook him, he wondered what everyone's life would be like had Mojo succeeded in keeping his sons away from his daughters. It was clear for anyone to see that Coal would not be here, but H.I.M would be. The thought alone was a tragedy to think about. When looking at Coal, one could see the results of an act meant to control and punish. Contrary to when the professor looked at Coal, he saw a chance for recovery. New relationships could be built due to his innocence and detachment from being an active participant in so much history. It would it ignorant to think that his family's history wouldn't be mentioned, but he wouldn't be pressured to be anything but himself. Whoever Blazing Coal turned into was up to only Coal.

With those thoughts, the professor drifted off into an exhausted sleep void of any dreams.

Mojo rarely had a legitimate reason these days to be angry. One could say he was angry with Brick for deciding to raise that spawn with Blossom. Another could say he was angry that Butch refused to get a divorce. However, everyone could say he was angry after discovering that Boomer was brought home after getting "banged up".

"Banged up? How are bruised if not broken ribs and a concussion reduced to just being banged up?" he yelled the next morning when he saw two out of three of his sons lounging on his couch the next morning. "And don't you dare tell me this was just you three idiots horsing around! You all know better than to cause that kind of damage to each other!"

Butch sighed heavily as he fought exhaustion. "It's too goddamn early." He groaned and then reached for his phone. Checking the time, he groaned as he stood and stretched. His joints were tight from sleeping so poorly and awkwardly. "And I've got to shower before getting to work."

As he began to head up the stairs to the bathroom he used to share with his brothers, Mojo called out to him. "You're still not welcome in this house! Leave!"

"Dad! Would you shut the hell up?!" Boomer snapped, clearing still in a Sonic kind of mood.

Mojo turned to his youngest, giving Butch the opportunity to retreat to the shower above. "What's gotten into you now?"

"Other than getting my ass kicked and then woken up on three separate occasions?" he quipped with a touch of biting sarcasm. "Nothing. Just shut up and leave me alone." He then pulled a couch cushion over his face as he tried to return to sleep.

Unfortunately, Mojo stormed over to him and yanked said pillow away and leveled a pink-eyed glare on him. "I get that you're more than worse for wear at the moment, but you've had this attitude for longer than I can take."

Cobalt so stormy, thunder and lightning wouldn't have been a surprise glared up at Mojo. Shifting painfully into a sitting position Boomer groaned and scowled as he sat up. "I'm going to my room. You're so fucking annoying."

"A-annoying!"

Boomer stood and slowly shuffled to the stair before using what energy he had to float up rather than walk. "Yeah, annoying. I'm banged up, tired, and…and—" Sadness clouded Boomer's face briefly before it contorted into a scowl. "Just leave me alone. I don't need you in my face right now."

"Boomer!"

Mojo was ignored as Boomer disappeared up the stairs and slammed his door. Unsure what was going on in his house now, he moved to the recently vacated couch and sat down. Teenagers, he thought. He idly wondered if the professor had these sorts of problems with his girls.

Lost in his thoughts he barely heard Butch as he was coming down the stairs. His hair was damp and limp from the steam and he'd put on his clothes from yesterday. He thanked his lucky stars that he still had underwear stashed in his room. Otherwise, he'd be going full commando. Not that he hadn't before, but the chaffing in a jumpsuit would get old really quickly on his more sensitive parts. "I'll be back to check on him after work."

Mojo looked up and couldn't help the growl that broke through his lips. "The hell you are. Not unless I see some divorce papers."

Butch stood at the door and sighed. "You've already pissed off Brick to the point where he won't talk to you. Don't do the same to me." With that he left, leaving Mojo alone again.

The former simian villain sighed and looked around himself. His home which used to be full of boyish laughter and antics was slowly vacating. His sons were young men now. Two of them were no longer living with him, but only because he couldn't stand to have them and their betrayals in his face. Brick was hell-bent on raising a child with Blossom. Butch was staying married to Buttercup. The only son he had left was Boomer, and at the moment he was far from sure of what was going through that boy's head.

Up in his room, Boomer was lying on his bed trying to calm down. His mind was at war with his heart in what to do. In his mind, the most logical decision was to break up with Bubbles. She didn't choose him; she chose Jamie. To put his physical wellbeing over Boomer's emotional wellbeing, was a harsh betrayal. He also felt that he was being selfish, wanting to keep all of Bubbles' affection for himself—but shouldn't he? Bubbles was his girlfriend. Their first emotional priority after their family should be to each other. He at least thought so. Then his heart came into play because he couldn't deny how much he still loved her. The question then lied in if she was as in love with him as he was with her. While he and Bubbles shared their bodies with each other first, he'd be an idiot to think there were any other firsts. She was his first in so many things. Kiss. Date. Girlfriend. Sex. She was attached to all his senior year memories. She gave him a taste of the world beyond Mojo's grip. More than the few trips his brothers managed to grasp on the stolen nights to City's Ville.

Careful of his ribs, he curled in on himself and buried his head under his pillows and blankets. He'd also turned his phone off, so he'd be completely left alone with his thoughts.

"Leave it alone Bubbles," Robin told her friend as she was taking a bite of her pizza. "After what happened yesterday, I think you should give Boomer some space."

"Not you too, Robin." She moaned. "Boomer's—."

"Never had his heartbroken as we have," Robin stated around a mouthful of cheese and tomato sauce. When Bubbles turned her way, she sighed and swallowed the bite of pizza in her mouth. "Remember when you first got your heartbroken."

The memory of Allen Dewberry breaking it off with her because he was intimidated by her powers, ran through her mind. She cried for a week and watched nothing but Hallmark romantic comedies back to back. "Allen broke up with me because he was a lily liver. It's not the same thing."

"Of course not. Allen at least had the decency to not lie to you." Robin pointedly told one of her best friends. "You couldn't even be bothered to do that."

"Whose side are you on?"

"There's no side to this Bubbles. You're in the wrong, and I'm not going to tell you otherwise." Robin told her sternly. "While Jamie did the cruddy thing of kissing you in the first place, he gave you an out. He told you to just tell Boomer. You had every opportunity to do so and didn't."

The not so sweet sugar of the Power Puff Girl groaned and picked at her pizza. "I know."

"If you know, then why are you being such a baby about it?"

Bubbles stopped picking at her pizza and wiped her fingers on a napkin. "Have you ever broken someone's heart?"

Now Robin could see why Bubbles was acting the way she was. She was upset with herself for hurting Boomer and wasn't sure how to deal with her own guilt or to resolve it properly. Bubbles was performing some strange self-flagellation that was serving to only irritate everyone rather than making her come to a clear decision about what to do. It was annoying, to say the least. "Bubbles, the only thing you can do is give Boomer and yourself time. When you're both ready to talk about this you will."

"I am ready to talk about this…It's just Boomer—."

"You're no more ready to talk to him than he's ready to talk to you," Robin informed her as she went back to eating her pizza. "Don't force him to do anything right now. You know this is the most mundane problem you've had to deal with in a while. It's almost refreshing."

Bubbles let out a dry laugh as she reached for her own slice and finally began to eat. "That's both depressing and funny."

A bit of lightheartedness settled over the two friends as they caught up. They talked about their classes what their friends were doing. Tabitha moved in with Josh. Sam was crushing on her English Teaching Assistant, who she described as "romantic literacy personified". Goo and Mac were planning a mini-vacation to visit her family. Jack said he was enjoying his time in Japan, especially his demon mythology classes and his katana training. Deedee was taking time off from school to work while Dexter was just as snobby and socially awkward as he was in high school. Robin herself was barely keeping up with her calculus class.

"I swear Bubbles, it's the most for the birds class I've ever taken. If it wasn't so late in the semester, I would totally switch out of the class." Robin told her. "There are numbers and then there are these symbols. Omega. Sine. Cosine. E! What does E even mean?"

"Beats me, and I have a scientist for a father." Bubbles laughed when she heard the bell jingle for the front door and saw Mitch come in. She gave a small wave at him, hoping he'd just nod his head and keep moving. Unfortunately for her, he stopped and made a beeline for her and Robin.

Turning in her seat, Robin rose a brow wondering what Mitch wanted. When the trailer park boy came to stand at their table, he fidgeted and clenched his hands at his sides. "Buttercup married Butch."

Bubbles and Robin shared a look before turning back to Mitch and nodding.

Huffing through his nose, he scowled and looked away from them. "I can't believe her."

"If you have a problem with it, go talk to Buttercup rather than getting in my face." Bubbles started before taking another look at Mitch, his posture tight with irritation. "How'd you even find out anyway?"

Mitch's face contorted into disgust as he remembered seeing the black-green metal band on that smug son of a bitch's face. "I saw the ring around that spiky-haired monkey's boy's finger." His manager called out to him and he turned away from the girls to raise his hand in acknowledgment. "What does she even see in a guy like him?"

"He's not a creep for one thing." Robin threw out there.

"Right? Like Butch isn't a creep himself." The disgruntled trailer kid said before he turned and went to clock in for his shift.

Robin watched him go as she then thought about the mentioned person's wife. "Wasn't Buttercup supposed to join us?"

Bubbles shrugged her shoulders as she bit into her pizza. After chewing and swallowing, she answered with. "We're not exactly on speaking terms right now."

"Because she told Boomer what you should've told him yourself?"

"Something to that effect, but it was more because she yelled it out to anyone who could've heard it at the hospital." Bubbles corrected.

Robin made a neutral sound. "What do you think is holding her up?"

Bubbles' nose wrinkled just a tiny bit as she quickly came to a viable conclusion. "If I were to guess, I say making up for lost time with her husband."

A loud rattling drew their attention to the drinks station of the restaurant. Mitch had set down a tray of plastic drinking cups and was now glaring in their direction. He didn't say anything, but he turned and walked off in an angry gait, fists clenched at his sides.

"I would laugh, but it's kind of sad," Robin said while sipping her drink. "We've known Buttercup and Mitch forever. It's would've made more sense for her and Mitch to get together than Butch, but Butch is a better match for her."

Bubbles couldn't disagree, and that went further than the blatant connection they had as counterparts. They matched and had a way of tempering each other. They understood each other in a way that Mitch couldn't compete with. That train of thought lead her to thinking of her relationship with Boomer. Other than their former Chemical X connection and hero-villain status, what bound the two of them together was their exploration of everything new together and the love that came from that. When they were both working on the homecoming committee senior year, she found she couldn't help but find his enthusiasm charming and his curiosity something she wanted to be part of. Coming to care for him after that was easy. Loving him was easier after the care.

There was no denying she loved Boomer, and he loved her in return. They must or else this rift between them wouldn't hurt so bad.

Their breaths mingled together in the air that was filled with the sounds of skin hitting skin, grunts, and groans of pleasure, and the creaking over their overworked couch bed. Somewhere in the back of Buttercup's mind, she was worried that the couch bed would give way under the stress of Butch's vigorous thrusting into her body that was just able to keep up. One of his hands gripped her tightly at the waist as he used it for leverage and the other was tangled in her hair, foreheads pressed together. His eyes were closed, but Buttercup's were half-lidded, so she could see how much he was trying to lose himself in the sensation of her body.

Buttercup had met him after work at his job, and he'd almost immediately asked to go to their cabin. She couldn't really complain as she did miss the feeling of Butch's body against her own. However, the frantic nature of his having sex was reminiscent of whenever he was irritated and needed to blow off steam. When Butch managed to pull a climax from Buttercup, his own followed with a heavy sigh of relief. Falling to his side with his arms around Buttercup, Butch kept her tight to his body wrapped around each other.

"Feel better now?" She asked him, pulling her head back just far enough to look up at him.

"Not in the slightest." He kissed her forehead and rolled onto his back. "We'll probably need to go a few more rounds."

Buttercup sat up and leaned on his chest with her arms folded in front of her. The action pushed up her breasts and created a very distracting view for Butch. "What exactly happened yesterday?" Large hands cupped her butt and pulled, forcing her to spread her legs so that his semi-hard cock was in the perfect position for insertion. "Butch." A warning clear in her tone.

"Butch talked with Jamie. He wouldn't tell me what was said, but it was enough to send him over the edge. Pretty sure my skin is still tingling from it."

"That's not your skin tingling; it's just your erection growing." Buttercup said, moving as far away from it as she can considering her position. "What's really going on and why were you worried about Brick seeing the professor?"

Mentioning his brother while naked with him was enough to soften him to half-mast. Mentioning her father was like throwing cold water, thus killing his boner all together. "Brick needed to get checked for any trace of H.I.M."

"WHAT!?" Buttercup sat up never mind that she was stark naked. "Start explaining. NOW!"

From under the glare of Buttercup's jade glare, Butch sighed and rand his hand up Buttercup's thigh. When she smacked his hand using her super strength, Butch drew his hands back and told her about his and his brothers' suspicious. From the dreams, Brick and Boomer had to the black blood that Butch glimpsed yesterday. "We're not sure of anything right now, but—"

He shouldn't have been surprised, but still, he wasn't braced for when Buttercup slapped him across the face. Dragging herself off Butch's torso, Buttercup left the couch bed and started making her way around the relatively small space to collect her clothes. Butch sat up slowly, stroking his jaw.

"Buttercup—."

"Butch!" Her voice was tight with stress as she tried to keep her temper in check. Yanking her bra and underwear on, she turned to Butch clothes clenched in a vice grip. "Don't. Just don't."

He pulled himself to the edge of the bed and reached out to his wife. This time she gripped his hand tight enough to crush fingers—would have if not for his own super strength. She threw his hand away and pulled her shirt over her head. "We wanted to be sure."

"Like you three jackasses were sure on prom?" Buttercup snapped at him. "If we were dealing with anyone else other than H.I.M then I wouldn't give a rat's ass about it. But H.I.M?"

"This won't be as bad as prom." He swore to her, despite his own nerves still being in a tempest. Buttercup scoffed as she pulled up her pants and stuffed her feet into her shoes. Grabbing her work bag, she went for the door, leaving Butch no choice but to follow her naked into the chilling night. "Would you please listen to me?"

Buttercup then reached out and grabbed his penis in a tight grip.

"Nails. Your nails." He groaned as they dug into his skin.

Her grip only tightened on him and Butch sucked in a breath at the pain. "You'd better hope nothing happens to anyone, especially our nephew. You hear me?"

"Yeah." He wheezed.

With a final painful squeeze, Buttercup released him and then took off into the air. Once she was gone, Butch braced himself on his knees and breathed deeply through his mouth. Waddling back into the cabin, he fell face forward onto the couch bed. With his face buried into few pillows there, he groaned aloud trying to get as much of his frustrations out. When his pity party was over, he moved over to his phone to check the time. It wasn't too late in the evening, so he'd go check on Boomer. Mojo couldn't do anything worse than Buttercup.

He then made the decision to give Brick a call. That way if Buttercup did confront him, he could use Coal to ward off an attack.

In Coal's nursery, he was playing with Daddy while Mommy was in the shower. He liked that he got to see Daddy after not seeing him at all yesterday. Home felt just a bit colder without him. He was all smiles now as Daddy tickled him and blew onto his tummy with his warm breath. It wasn't exactly a laugh, but his happy cooing filled the room.

"Did you miss me, Fireball?" Brick asked his son while lying on his belly. When Coal let out a sputtering answering of bubbles, Brick popped each one, much to his son's delight. "I missed you too."

Coal looked at Daddy with matching red eyes and smiled wide. Waving his arms, he reached out to him showing he wanted to be picked up. When Brick obliged, he warmed up nuzzled his face into his Daddy's chest. Brick rubbed his hand over Coal's back in comfort.

Brick reached for one of his toys, a stuffed red bulldog, and gave it to him to play with as he got lost in his thoughts. Last night, he had a dream—nightmare really—about his final battle with his mother. His brothers fighting for their lives rather than for the sake of destruction. Almost being killed by the weapon given to protect them. H.I.M thinking he had the last laugh. Being stabbed in the gut. Then darkness until he woke up in the hospital. The only difference between his nightmare and the reality was that in the nightmare after he cut off H.I.M's head he still wouldn't die. He just kept taunted Brick as he kept hacking at his headless body, hoping that one of the strikes would be the final strike. All the while he was losing blood and consciousness. Blossom had to wake him up and use her ice powers to cool him down.

A soft retching sound and a wet and warm sensation started in the middle of Brick's chest. On pure reflex, Brick sat up, remembering that he was holding his son and looked down at the bile. Considering the dark place his thoughts were, seeing white spit-up from his son's dinner rather than black H.I.M essence had Brick sighing in relief. "Oh, man."

"Brick?" Turning around, Brick noticed Blossom standing in the doorway of the nursery dressed in one of his shirts and toweling her hair dry. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine." He said before turning back to his innocent-looking son. His chin was messy from residual vomit, but the young Ruff was undeterred from his play with the stuffed animal. "He's perfectly fine."

Coal begged to differ as Daddy wiped his chin with his bib, distracting him from his play. As he tried to wriggle away, he dropped his toy, further upsetting him and making him heat up. The heat didn't bother Brick at all, but he couldn't do anything to temper it either. Blossom feeling the heat rising in the room stepped in brought herself to sit beside Brick. Taking Coal from Brick she blew a cooling breath over him and rocked him slowly. Coal calmed in Mommy's arms, but was still a bit discontent and fussed hoping one of his parents would give him his toy.

Brick reached for the dropped bulldog toy and handed it back to Coal, who eagerly took it into his mouth. Brick smiled at his son tugged on his foot which he kicked, before turning to look at Blossom. Her gaze was pensive as she stared at him. "What?"

"You looked scared for a second. When he puked, your face went pale and you sat up so quickly, I thought you were going to drop him." Blossom told him, watching as his face tightened. "Were you thinking about H.I.M?"

"Yeah, and the battle that night." Brick said. "To think we almost died that night." He reached out to run his hand over her knee where Coal was resting.

A rare shiver ran down Blossom's spine as she thought about that long night. Wondering if she would see Brick again and if her son would ever see him. "What did the professor say?"

"My blood did look a bit strange, so I'm going back for more testing." He answered her. "You and Coal should get tested as well."

Blossom looked up from Coal, pulling his toy from going too far into his mouth. "Why me?"

Brick sat up and moved to sit closer to Blossom and cupped her face. "You were spitting up that bile the same as us that night. It could've just been because of Coal, but I don't want to take that chance."

"Okay." She whispered. "But no needles with my baby. He's barely two weeks old."

Coal let out a piercing shriek filled the lab before turning into indignant and pain-filled cries.

"Professor! Brick, I said no needles!"

The Rowdy Ruff boy flailed his arms and legs in angry protest against the offending needle. The professor was mercifully done withdrawing blood and was pressing a cotton swab to the drop of blood that formed there. It was a small miracle that his super strength hadn't come in. The same couldn't be said for his temper as he radiated intense heat. Thankfully before he could set off the alarms, Blossom brought free from Brick's hold and zoomed over to retrieve Coal from the examiner's table.

"It's okay. You're okay." She then glared up at the man who created her. "Did you really need to draw blood from him?"

"If you want to be thorough then yes." The professor told her as she held his hot-blooded grandson. "It's the only way to know for sure with him."

Blossom inhaled sharply and blew out an icy breath. Coal had yet to calm himself in Blossom's grasp, but his yells had lowered to soft crying against Blossom's skin. "I know. I just don't like seeing him in pain."

"Neither do I Cherry, but imagine what could happen to him if my brothers and I are wrong about H.I.M being dead." Brick said from the far side of the lab. "I'll do anything to keep you both safe."

"I know." She repeated, before checking on the puncture wound in Coal's leg. Aside from the small bead of blood, there was no indication that his skin had ever been pierced. "He's healed already."

A spark of interest filled the professor's face, but he was prevented from acting on it by a glare from Blossom. Instead, he stayed back as Blossom walked past both men out of the lab with her baby held protectively in her arms. Brick watched her go while the professor moved to his table to prepare a slide to look under a microscope. "Just tell me that there's nothing in his blood, so I can justify to Blossom sticking our son with a needle."

The professor didn't say anything as he finished prepping the slide with Coal's blood and began his examination. There was nothing out of the ordinary with the same he took. Bright red blood cells free of any of that black bile. When the professor added a drop of sanctified water to the same, nothing happened. The professor hummed appreciatively and wrote his findings down. "Well, rest assured Your son isn't infected with whatever I found in your blood."

"That's a relief."

"You should tell your brothers to come so I can test them as well." The professor looked up from his notes and hesitated before voicing his next thought.

"What?" Brick stood straighter in worry.

"We may have to speak to Mojo." The professor told him. When Brick bristled and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, the professor stood up and raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Aside from you three, Mojo would know that most about H.I.M. Can you tell me otherwise?"

Brick tried to think of someone—anyone that could possibly know more about H.I.M than his brothers or Mojo. Fuzzy Lumpkins was so far at the bottom of the list, Brick wasn't even sure why the name crossed his mind. Sedusa, probably not. She'd never had any dealings with the demon. The Amoeba Boys were the same as Fuzzy Lumpkins. The same could be said for the Gang Green Gang. Even if they did know something, those green-skinned freaks had long since left Townsville. For greener pastures, Ace had mentioned, thinking he was clever with that parting line. That only left Princess and Mojo who could know about H.I.M. Between the two of them, he wasn't sure which was the worst choice. If he spoke to Mojo, he might lose his temper and never get the answers he needed before resorting to a screaming match. If he spoke to Princess, who knows what she might want in return if only to get Blossom riled up. The last thing he needed was to restrain the mother of his child and girlfriend from attacking his ex-fake girlfriend.

That's going to be hell, he thought to himself. Wait. Hell? Hell. HELL! His eyes went as he looked up at the professor. "Hell."

"What?"

Brick opened his mouth about to tell the professor his plan when at the last second, he thought against it. If the professor knew what he was planning, he'd most definitely tell Blossom and she'd do everything in her power to stop him. She wouldn't be wrong to stop him, but if the boys wanted to be sure that H.I.M was gone they had to do the unthinkable. He and his brother had to try to get to H.I.M's realm. "Nothing, just thinking aloud."

While the professor didn't say anything, it was clear that he didn't entirely trust what the Rowdy Ruff Boy was telling him. Whatever idea that had passed through his mind had most likely been a bad one. For Blossom's sake, he hoped Brick would at least run it by her before executing it. If he decided not to say…the professor glanced at the footlocker that was just barely peeking out from under the desk where his super suit lie. He also wanted about throwing Antidote X his way if need be. "Hmmm, well I still think talking to Mojo would be the best bet at figuring out any surprises regarding H.I.M."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Brick grumbled. "H.I.M beat us within an inch of our lives and Mojo didn't know until last year. That was only one of many things Mojo didn't know about H.I.M."

"There could still be something he knows that you don't. Parents aren't the same as children as they are with each other."

Brick was inclined to disagree, but when he was younger there were times he saw H.I.M and Mojo speaking to each other on friendlier terms. At least before the courts forced Mojo into retirement, lest he forfeits custody of the boys. Brick often wondered what would've happened to them. Would they have been bounced from foster home to foster home? Would they have been thrown to the streets? Or would they have just been left to the mercy of their mother? Either situation would've changed the boys for the worst. Still, he doubted that Mojo could reveal anything pertinent the boys didn't already know about H.I.M. "It'll be worth a shot."

Brick pushed himself off the table he was leaning against and started to make his way up the stairs out of the lab. He needed to get something to eat and discuss with his brothers his plan. As he was coming out of the lab, he heard Coal gurgling and low voices coming from the living room. Floating so as not to be heard, he inclined his head to listen to the hushed voices of Blossom and—surprise, surprise—Buttercup.

"I'm telling you they're doing it again, Blossom. They're lying." Buttercup practically hissed at her sister over Coal's gurgling.

"About what, Buttercup?"

"About H.I.M. He might still be alive," Buttercup told her. The silence was broken up only by Coal making his soft baby noises. As Brick couldn't see, he figured something must've shown on Blossom's face for Buttercup's next words was an accusation. "You knew already?"

"I don't know anything Buttercup. I just know Brick has been having nightmares and feelings." Coal let out a soft sound of protest, meaning Blossom must've shifted her position. "We're just being cautious."

Buttercup snorted and something was set heavily onto the coffee table. "Right cautious. Listen, Blossom, we need to do something."

"We are."

"No, we are not. Just because H.I.M is the guys' mother or whatever we've been letting them half-assedly deal with this. We need to get more involved with this."

Setting himself down onto his feet, Brick came from around the corner and glared at Buttercup. "You really know how to run that mouth don't you?"

The girls turned to face Brick. Blossom's face was filled with exhausted resignation while Buttercup's was with contorted with indignant rage. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips as she prepared to confront Brick. "No better than you Brickhead."

"Buttercup, please don't," Blossom said while Coal looked on wide-eyed, body still hot from his earlier tantrum.

Turning to her elder sister, Buttercup's scowl deepened. "Don't what? Tell him that he and his brothers are about to fuck up again?" She then turned to Brick with jade daggers directed at him. "That because they thought they could handle H.I.M by their own fucking selves, they almost died? That they aren't capable of getting the fucking job done?"

Brick couldn't help it as he blew fire into Buttercup's face. He was tired of always having to defend his actions and those of his brothers to Buttercup. She was by far the most antagonizing of the girls and was a master at getting under someone's skin and staying there like a goddamn splinter.

Stumbled back, more startled than hurt, Buttercup wound up tripping over the coffee table. She crashed to the ground, breaking off part of the table. Blossom stood abruptly, jostling Coal and startling him into another crying fit. "Brick!"

"Reign in your sister." He said without taking his eyes off Buttercup, who was looking more than ready to fight.

It didn't escape Blossom's notice that Brick used words similar to her own from a lifetime ago it seems. Radiating a frigid air, Blossom stepped to Brick and passed Coal off to him. She turned to her sister and held out her hand to prevent Buttercup from charging at Brick. "Enough. Brick take Coal up to my room and try to get him to calm down."

The leader of the Rowdy Ruff Boys nodded his head and left to do you that. All the while Buttercup kept her eyes trained on his retreating form. Once he was out of sight, jade clashed with pink diamonds. "Are you honestly going to keep going along with their boys' club only bullshit?! You don't have the fucking excuse of being pregnant anymore."

"Maybe not, but I am a mother still. I can't just take off as I would before with you and Bubbles. I have to think about my son. He's not even a month old yet, Buttercup. I can not afford to be reckless." Blossom told her. "The reason you and Bubbles don't know anything is because Brick, his brothers, and I don't know anything. The minute we do, we'll tell you."

Buttercup brushed Blossom's hands off her. She was more than a little angry that she and Bubbles were being kept in the dark about whatever was going on. "I don't believe this. It's going to be prom night all over again."

"No, it won't. Not if we have anything to do about it." Blossom promised her sister with unwavering resolve. "The boys beat H.I.M already. We're just making sure he stays dead."

Buttercup exhaled sharply as she snatched her bag and water bottle from the floor. "For all our sakes, you'd better hope he's dead." She then shoulder checked Blossom as she passed.

In retaliation Blossom allowed her ice powers to leave a heavy sheet on Buttercup's shoulder once the contact passed. "I'm warning you Buttercup. Don't question how Brick and I are deciding to handle this and stop finding a reason to fight him."

Silence followed the order as Buttercup made her way to her room. She made it a point to ignore Brick's soft murmuring to his son as he tried to lull him to sleep.

Downstairs, Blossom ran her hands over her hair and sat back down on the couch. Closing her eyes, she thought back to the days when they were juvenile crime fighters. Taking out petty criminals, fighting gargantuan monsters, stopping so-called masterminds from fulfilling their shallow desires. It seemed all so easy back then, or maybe she just thought things were because she was a child. There were bad guys. She and her sisters were good guys. Good guys defeated bad guys. They won. It was as simple as that. They fight. They win. Every time. Except with H.I.M.

Sure, he was bested in games of wit and when it came to matters of the heart, but physically subduing him was something they never did. H.I.M always disappeared in a puff of red smoke either in shrieking anger or maniacal laughter. He always came back. For five months they had relative peace. Now it was being threatened once again, and they had so much more to lose this time.

Standing up, she went to her room to see Coal drowsily sucking on his pacifier while Brick rocked him and kept up a soothing heat. Brick looked up at her not stop his rocking motion. "Your sister can really be bitch incarnate."

"Watch it," Blossom said as she came to sit on the bed beside him. She then looked around her old room and sighed. "Back at the beginning of the end."

"Huh?"

Blossom ran a hand over the red comforter of her bed, remembering the morning she awoke to Brick wrenching his body from hers, leaving a hollowness and soreness she didn't have before. "This is where Coal was conceived. You know I still can't remember that night."

"Neither can I." Brick said as Coal let out a yawn. His red eyes were half-closed at this point and his sucking was shallow around his pacifier. Using his flight capabilities, he shifted further up on the bed, so he was reclining against the pillows. Coal was shifted on Brick's chest, curled on himself as he succumbed to slumber. Brick rubbed his back soothingly, before adjusting his red baby beanie. "The professor said Coal's blood was clean."

"Thank god." Blossom murmured. Lying on her side and reaching out to rub Coal's back before twining her fingers with Brick's.

He squeezed her hand and let it rest on his son's back as they relaxed into the mattress. "The professor suggested talking to Mojo about H.I.M. He might know something we don't."

"Plausible." She agreed before she felt the tenseness in Brick's body. "But you don't want to, do you?"

"I will if I have to. I just don't want to." Brick sighed. He dared not mention that his plan to go travel to H.I.M's dimension—should it still be intact. "I just don't think there's anything that Mojo knows that we don't already."

"You never know," Blossom said as she snuggled into Brick's side and closed her eyes. Brick wrapped his arm around her and held her tight to his body as the trio got comfortable. "You're so warm."

"You're so cool." Brick murmured with a smile. "I remember the first time I spent the night over here."

"Yeah, you were supposed to make sure Boomer didn't get caught by the professor," Blossom began to giggle as she remembered falling asleep in Brick's arms for the first time. "Yet you fell asleep and scrambled to get him after him."

"Hmmm. Yeah." His own red eyes closed much like they did that first time, comfortable as he was. "Now I get to sleep with you in my arms every night."

Blossom murmured incoherently as she nuzzled her face into Brick's shoulder. Soon enough, she herself was asleep, with Brick quick to follow.

A few hours later after the professor finished his analysis of the samples taken from the red-haired family, he sought them out to tell them his findings. When he saw Blossom's care still in the drive, he figured they were upstairs when he didn't find them elsewhere. The first place he looked was Blossom's room and he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at the simple image of his daughter asleep with the two men she loved most beside her. Closing the door behind him, he left them to their small reprieve.

Hello, my lovelies. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The boys are going back to H.I.M's dimension. What will they find there? Find out next chapter.

Also, writing for my original story will starting soon. Posting for it won't be for another while though, so stay up to date, by visiting signing up for alerts so that you all can know when those chapters drop. If you're signed to receive alerts for me as an author you will automatically receive an alert when I post on . I'll include the link to my FictionPress page on my profile page.

Until Next Time