Chapter Thirty: Back In Town

As the blinding light receded, three out of four of the figures were standing. Their heads were raised to the sky and their eyes were closed. The only sound anyone could hear was the slow and steady beating of their hearts. When the sound lowered to nothing, three pairs of eyes opened, but instead of the usual red, blue, and green, there was yellow.

Brick's body was the first to regain control of himself and he stretched his arms over his head and let out an exaggerated groan. "Hmmm, it's about damn time." Rather than his own voice, it was of a creature neither boy had hoped to ever hear again. Brick's possessor noticed it too and cleared his throat a few times, testing his voice. When he was sure he sounded like Brick, he turned to his brothers". "Well, how does it feel to be back?"

Butch's body rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "Damn good. This one was the last, and surprisingly the most difficult to rouse."

"Not surprised." Boomer's body said as he looked over Butch. "He's always been the most afraid of me, and therefore the most guarded."

A moan a little ways away drew their collective attention. Buttercup who's been caught in the blast was thrown into a tree. She'd just come to when and was rubbing the back of her head, wincing she felt the lump that was forming there. She hadn't yet noticed the boys and didn't know that something was amiss. Brick and Boomer turned to Butch and watched as a wicked smile came over her face. He blinked once and his eyes were the familiar emerald green he was known for. "This should be fun."

Buttercup tried to move, but her head was killing her. She knew she'd asked for Butch to give her his all, but she wasn't totally ready as she thought. When she managed to open her eyes, she saw Butch walking toward her. He looked pretty smug with himself and it served to only irritate her. "Don't think this means it's over."

Butch crouched in front of Buttercup and reached out to brush the stray hair from her face. "I'm just getting started." He then brought his hand down and wrapped it around her neck.

"Bu—Butch! What are you—?" He cut her off with a squeeze to her windpipe. She looked over his shoulder to his brothers who strangely weren't making a move to help her.

"Don't kill her yet," Brick ordered with a smile. "Make her suffer a little bit first."

"Oh, I intend to," Butch said before he turned and threw Buttercup through the trees. "What's our plan for the others?"

Boomer riffled through the memories in his head and saw that Bubbles would be getting out of class soon. "I don't see why we can't do the same. Bubbles will be getting out of school soon, and Blossom is at home with his little one, right?"

"Right." A searing pain cut through Brick's head and he reached up to press his fingers to his temple. When the feeling passed, Brick dropped his hand and exhaled a thin cloud of smoke. "This body has such strong attachments to his little 'family'. It'll be all the more pleasurable when it's torn apart."

Buttercup was slowly pushing herself up when she looked at the boys. "What in the hell are you…doing?"

Butch turned to his wife and walked over to her. "You guys go. I can handle her."

"As you say. First the girls, then the chimp." Boomer reached up to adjust the bandana on his head. He then groaned and rolled his eyes. "Once they're taken care of, I suggest we get these new bodies of mine cleaned up. They've truly let themselves go without my influence."

Butch reached Buttercup and waved his brothers away. As they flew away, he grabbed her by her hair and yanked her up. Buttercup looked up at him and glared at the image of her husband. He cooed and pulled a sympathetic expression on her face. "Oh, my darling dear. Don't give me that look. I thought this was what you wanted. Right?" His voice changed then and his eyes flashed a brilliant yellow as he looked down at her.

Buttercup's eyes narrowed with pain, widened as she looked up at him. "H.I.M!" Lips touched her nose in a kiss and she growled at him.

"I really ought to thank you. Butch, despite being the strongest of his brothers, was the most afraid of me. Especially since that night, I had to remind them of their failure." Butch whispered into her face, coming as close as he dared. "You see, Brick and Boomer already tapped into that vicious dangerous power of theirs, but not Butch. He came close when you were on your Vegas adventure, but he's kept a tighter than usual grasp of his temper. However, you kept pushing and pushing until…now here I am."

The realization of what she'd done made Buttercup's blood run cold. "No." She tried to pull away from Butch's fist tightened in her hair to the point of pain. "Ah!"

"Oh yes." He stood to his full height while pulling her up with him. "And now…" he threw a punch to her upper stomach.

Buttercup's breath escaped her and she tried to bend over, but her husband's grip was unrelenting. He held her upright and wrenched her head back so she could see the one she loved with his face contorted in repressed rage.

"I'm going to do to you what I did to them years ago." With that, he drew his fist back and threw it towards Buttercup's face.

"I don't know what's going on," Blossom said into the phone, trying not to be too loud. Coal had finally gone down for his nap after his nerves settled. Similar to when his daddy and other uncle had gone into a rage, his Rowdy Ruff genes had reacted. He was too little for the surge that course through his body and wouldn't settle. Brick had gone to deal with whatever was going on with his brothers, but that was hours ago. "I can't leave Coal by himself."

On the other end of the call, Robin sighed. "Have you been able to get in touch with your sisters?"

Blossom's skin was like ice as her worry grew. "No. Bubbles is in class, and I can't get in touch with Buttercup. Her phone's disconnected."

"Do you think she was involved?" Robin asked worriedly.

"God, I hope not." As far as any one of them knew, Buttercup was potentially pregnant. She didn't think she was, and knowing her she was bound to do something reckless. While it was too much to hope, she wasn't going to hold her breath. The turning of the locks drew Blossom's attention. Not a second later Brick came through and locked eyes on her. Blossom gave him the once over, looking for any damage. Thankfully there wasn't any, but they're something she could feel that was just…off about him. "Robin, I'll call you back."

Brick closed the door behind him and slowly approached Blossom as she got off the phone. "Miss me?"

"What happened?" She asked Brick as started making his way toward her.

When he looked her over and hummed in approval, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Motherhood certainly became you."

"Are you seriously talking about my breasts and butt right now?" Incredulity laced the anger that came through her voice. "What the hell happened with that power surge that you and your brothers were no doubt caught up in?"

Brick shrugged his shoulder as he leaned over Blossom, making her back into the bar. "You can thank Buttercup. She pushed Butch over the edge."

It was a rare occurrence for Blossom to feel the cold, and she felt it now as the blood drained from her face. "Buttercup was there?"

Brick nodded with a light chuckle. "You can always count on that stubbornness of hers."

Blossom braced her hand on the bar as her stomach rolled with the thought of her sister being caught in that blast. Despite having happened in the more mountainous side of Townsville, she and Coal were not only blinded by the light but felt the residual energy crackling through the air. If Buttercup was there in the eye of that blast. "Oh my god."

"I know. It was brilliant." Brick said as he braced a hand on either side of Blossom. With her trapped between her arms, she barely had room to stare incredulously at him. "That look of pure rage on his face was everything and more."

"You don't understand," Blossom gasped out as she struck him with a closed fist sideways across the chest. "She might be pregnant!"

Brick's eyes widened before he started laughing. His arms dropped from around her and he raised his head back and brought his hand up to knock his hat off his head. His mirth bordered on the hysterical as his voice changed and his head dropped back down. His eyes were closed, but she could see the tears of glee leaking from the corners. "Oh my, my, my. That's just great. I had Brick impregnate you and now I have Butch beating the living daylights not out of just Buttercup, but his own child!"

Horror washed over Blossom before she pulled on her ice powers and raised her hands to blast Brick's possessed body with it. Her boyfriend let her freeze him to the wall of their apartment. When all but his head was free, she walked up to him and grabbed him by the neck with icicles coating her fingers. "H.I.M! What did you do to my sister?"

"I've done nothing." The voice chuckled, unbothered by the ice claws in his host's neck. He then looked upward as if considering the truth of his words. "Well, not in this body. Who knows what Butch's body is doing to that girl."

Blossom squeezed tighter and brought her fist up to punch him. Brick's head snapped to the side, but rather than a grunt in pain, he laughed again.

"That didn't even hurt."

That was the only warning she received before he inhaled and breathed pure fire into her face. Blossom felt the flames lick at her skin with their heat, but she was impervious. She just jumped back and threw out her arms while Brick burst through the ice she'd made to contain him. Chunks of ice flew past her and crashed into the walls and floor of their apartment. The security deposit just went down the drain, but she couldn't have cared less about it as she flew towards Brick and brought her knee up to his stomach, When he bent over, she brought her elbow back and cracked him in the skull. He went down and she grabbed him by his hair and turned him over. Her fist was drawn back to strike his face when she threw it forward. Rather than finding impact in his face, her fist was met with the palm of his hand.

"My turn."

Brick forced their arms back and struck her in the face. The shock of it drew her back and he swept his leg under both of hers and brought her down. When she landed on her back, Brick straddled her and gripped her neck with a burning fist. Blossom tried to bring her ice up, but Brick's fire was hotter and only continued to rise in temperature.

Her breath was harder to come by as the heat choked her. Blossom figured if she tried to speak then her voice would be nothing but a hoarse rasp. With great effort, Blossom curled herself up and wrapped her ankles around Brick's neck, and then pulled down. Brick's head crashed into the floor and did so hard enough that he and Blossom went through the floor of their apartment to the unit below. While it was fortunate that the apartment below was vacant, the supervisor was going to lose his mind when he saw the damage. Blossom didn't have the luxury of caring as Brick was soon on top of her and trying to pin her to the floor.

"Tell me if you remember. Did Brick do this when he came to your room that night?" H.I.M taunted through Brick's lips. "Did he hold you down like this as you cried for him to stop? Or did you like how he ravished you like the animal he is? Like they all are?"

The pink Puff's eyes glowed red before she blasted Brick in the face with her laser vision. Her aim struck true as she got him in the eyes. While he was blinded, Blossom brought her fist up to punch Brick in the face. Once he was off her, she pounced on him and proceeded to pummel him. "Brick was never that person." Her vocal cords felt raw, but she forced herself to say the words to negate that belief.

"Wasn't he?" H.I.M sneered as he pulled Blossom's hair forced her to fall off him. When he stood, he maintained his grip and swung her through the wall forcing her outside. Blossom slid across the ground, leaving a scar on the turf. "My sons were brought back bigger. Badder!" H.I.M spoke through Brick as he jumped from the opening in the wall to land over Blossom.

Blossom tried to blow out a wall of ice, but her throat was too hot. She was then caught up in a wave of Brick's flames. Normally her ice would provide her with added protection, but with it burned out her resistance to heat was low. She felt her skin pucker as it burned. Overwhelmed by the heat, Blossom dropped to her knees and tried to shield herself from the flames.

When H.I.M closed Brick's mouth and relented on his attack, Blossom dared to look up. He kicked Blossom in the face throwing her back and pressed his foot to her neck when she landed. "They should've destroyed you then." His voice dropped from the effeminate tone of playfulness to that dark menacing growl that foretold unparalleled danger. "Now I'm here to finish the job." H.I.M then raised his hand and set his fist ablaze with white fire.

Blossom inhaled, ignoring the burning of her throat as she braced herself for the impact as he dropped his fist down. She felt the heat surround her but no pain of a fist going through her chest. She did feel her clothes catch fire and go out from the few flames that landed. When the roar of the flames died down, she heard what stopped H.I.M from breaking through her ribcage to her heat. It was faint, but her super hearing just barely made out the sound of crying.

Coal, Blossom thought as Brick's body moved off her. "No!" she rasped. "Not my baby."

"The baby." It was Brick's voice that spoke, but it was lost on Blossom as she used what strength she had left to push herself onto her knees. "The baby."

"No H.I.M! You won't get my baby!" With that Blossom used her flight powers to propel her forward and clamp onto Brick's back. The two fell to the ground, but H.I.M or Brick threw an elbow back and caught her in the nose hard. Tears stung her eyes and liquid heat poured from her nostrils, staining her skin and the top of her shirt. Blossom's hands came up to cradle her face as blood filled her palms.

Pushing Blossom off, Brick stood up and started making his way to the apartment. He could hear the cries of the baby and couldn't bring himself to stop. However, he wasn't sure as to what he would do once he saw him. He flew over to his apartment and heard the cries get louder. He put a hand to his head and groaned as the cries pulled at him.

No. You are mine, the voice in his head said.

"No, Coal." Brick's mind was trying to come back to the now. Blossom hadn't been able to reach him, but he heard Coal.

NO, you will return to me, The voice was louder in his head and more forceful. It sent a shock through Brick as he found himself back in the mostly destroyed apartment.

The cries were angry and wanting and Brick felt them in his heart. "Blazing Coal. My—my son." He had to go to him. See him. Comfort him. Reassure him that his daddy was there and wasn't going to leave him.

NOOO! You belong to ME now!

Brick staggered down the hall until he found himself in the nursery. Coal was lying on his back wailing for all he was worth. Red in the face a near perfect match to his hair, and big, fat tears ran down the sides of his face. "Coal."

The grip of the foreign entity was loosening, but it wasn't about to release him without a fight. Pain paced through Brick's mind as it was nearly torn asunder by his late demon mother. It tried to purge anything that wasn't pain, misery, and destruction. The crying he heard was the only thing that was helping to keep him grounded. His attachment to the insignificant creature rivaled the demon's.

Kill him.

The command rang like a bell in Brick's mind and for a few briefs moments he was inclined to obey. Then a dream he had months back flashed through his mind. He heard the crying but mixed in were whimpers and pleads. He heard cries for Daddy to stop. Daddy, no. Daddy, please. Brick was now standing over the crib looking down at Coal as he raised his little chubby arms up to his daddy, unaware of the danger. All the little boy wanted was to be held and he couldn't understand why his daddy wasn't picking him up.

"NOOO!" Blossom screamed right before she jumped onto Brick's back. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she fell back, pulling Brick away from the crib. As she didn't have the weight advantage, she had to use her super strength to force him back. Brick didn't struggle for the mental fight was more crucial than the physical one. "DON'T YOU TOUCH MY BABY!"

Brick's hand reached behind him and he gripped Blossom's hair in a vice lock. She moaned in pain, but only tightened her very dangerous grip on his neck. She flexed her muscles and put as much strength as she could muster into the hold. Beneath her, Brick began to struggle to breathe and she almost relented her hold, but she knew she could. Even as tears blurred her eyes at what she might have to do to stop him.

"Brick, please come back to me." She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him to her while her arms were still around his neck. "Please, baby."

Kill her.

Brick yanked at Blossom's head, but she was braced and didn't budge, so all Brick managed to do was tear out a chunk of her hair. With the tension off her head, Blossom tightened her grip on Brick. "Brick! Please, don't make me do this! Coal needs you. I need you. We love you. Fight it."

Coal's crying only got louder and his prolonged frustration made his little body heat up. Smoke and embers started to come from his mouth as his agitation grew. "Coal. He's…crying. He needs…"

KILL HIM!

"No," he shook his head if only a little from under Blossom's grip. "I…won't." With great effort, he stood up with Blossom still clinging to him and ran back into the wall. Their force left a body sized crater but Blossom held on. Her grip did loosen and it was enough for Brick to dropped his head and then throw it back in a headbutt. He caught Blossom in the forehead, temporarily dazing her. She slipped from his back and fell into a heap on the floor. Brick then stalked over to the crib.

Blossom saw where Brick was heading and tried to get back up, but her head was still spinning. "No, no, no! BRICK!" she screamed.

There was a sound of breaking, and Blossom's voice died in her throat. The silence that followed was so loud that it took her a moment to realize that Coal was still crying. The wailing was as it was before, nothing to signify that he was in pain. Blossom looked to Brick, just as he took a knee and was clutching his side. "Blossom…hurry."

"Brick?" She struggled to get to her feet and stumbled around Brick to Coal. She quickly wrapped him in her arms and held him protectively as she stared at Brick who was holding a hand to his ribs.

"GO!" he screamed at her before punching himself in the face hard enough to draw blood. It nearly splattered across Blossom's feet and she jerked back as she ran around him. She left the ruined apartment through the front door, not even bothering to close it behind her as she immediately took to the air. She knew her pink streak was trailing behind her—a perfect way of following her—but she needed to get her baby safe before doing anything else.

As the young mother tried to soothe her baby during the flight, she wondered how her sisters were fairing. She knew Bubbles could handle herself despite her adorable appearance. It was Buttercup she worried the most for. Her green themed sister might not have believed she was pregnant, but Blossom couldn't shake the possibility.

In the midst of flying, the pink Puff heard a loud crash and turned in the air just in time the plume of dust rising from the Townsville University campus. Hovering midair, she looked toward the mess and then saw a sky blue streak making its way across the sky. "BUBBLES!"

Her baby sister turned her way and flew at supersonic speed. "Blossom! H.I.M he's back."

"I know. We just got away from Brick." Blossom said while holding a squirming Coal in her arms.

"I probably just flattened the UC, but Boomer should be down for a minute, so we don't have much time. What about Buttercup?"

Before either girl could say anything, they heard a scream echo from the mountain range. It was where the Gang Green Gang used to hang out in their crummy cabin, and where Buttercup would go when she wanted to be alone. "That was Buttercup." Bubbles didn't hesitate to fly off in her sister's direction.

Every inch of Buttercup's body hurt, and she was sure that it showed through the bruises that would no doubt show up in the following days. Her mouth was flooded with her blood and she couldn't see out of one of her eyes that had swollen shut. Her breathing was hard and shallow. When she looked up through her bloodied bangs, she saw Butch making his way over to her again. She used a tree she'd crashed unto to brace herself. Butch stopped just a few feet from her and examined the blood that coated his knuckles.

"Is that all…you got?" Her legs were unsteady and her voiced wasn't nearly as strong as it could've been.

H.I.M laughed through Butch's lips at her and she hated it. "Blossom has ice. Bubbles has an affinity for animals. Then there's you, nothing but mouth." He came to stand in front of Buttercup and shot his hand out to grab her by the chin. He hauled her up and slammed her down to the ground. "One that my son took the utmost pleasure from I see. All their memories are now mine. The good, the bad, the intimate."

He brought his foot up and down onto Buttercup's leg right below the knee. The snap was heard before she felt the pain and then she screamed.

"Yes, please scream for me. Like you do for Butch." H.I.M just before he was tackled to the ground. Before he could gather himself, Bubbles was upon him and laid a short succession of punches to him before jumping back and preparing herself for whatever he might do next.

"Buttercup! Speak to me!" Bubbles yelled out with her fist raised.

Shifting carefully so as to not disturb her leg, she winced and ran her hand through her hair. "I'm fine. Just get out of here Bubbles."

"Not a chance," Bubbles said before calling out to all the animals in the area. "I've got to get you out of here."

"I mean it Bubbles!" Buttercup, grunted as she tried to hold back and scream and failed when the pain lanced through her. "I've got a handle on this."

Mountain wildlife flooded the area. Wolves, all types of Rodentia, birds, and reptiles all converged on Butch while Bubbles turned to her sister. Despite her sister swatting at her, Bubbles yanked Buttercup up into her arms bridal style. "Just shut up and let me help you."

The cries of animals in pain made the two sisters turn. A wolf was grabbed by the neck with the other creatures writhing in pain or dead. It broke Bubbles' heart to see them, but she had to save Buttercup and her potential niece or nephew.

Butch threw the wolf to the side and began stalking toward the girls when Bubbles inhaled. She then let out her sonic scream at full force. The shock of it was so loud that Buttercup threw her hands up to protect her ears. Still, she felt the blood run as she was right against Bubbles' chest. Butch was thrown back and by the blast and send careening through the trees. When Bubbles could no longer see him she stopped and sucked in a deep breath.

She then took to the air and flew in the direction of the Utonium house with Buttercup. Suddenly she felt the wind get knocked out of her as Buttercup checked her in the stomach. "Bubbles!"

"Shut up, Buttercup!" She snapped at her sister when she was able to breathe again. She shifted her arms to readjust Buttercup and heard her gasp in her ear. Looking down at her leg, she did a quick X-Ray and saw that the bone was completely shattered. It would take weeks to heal and no doubt wouldn't be the same. "Your leg."

"I'll be fine in a few weeks."

Worried as she was for her sister, her bravado even in this situation was grating on her last nerve. Quickly and silently, Bubbles flew until she made it to her childhood home. Landing outside the red door, she didn't hesitate to go in. Following the sounds of her nephew making a fuss, she, with Buttercup still in her arms, made her way to the lab. "Professor!"

Looking up from his examination of Blossom's injuries, the professor blanched at the side of the battered Buttercup. One of her eyes was practically swollen shut. Her lip was split. He could hear her wheezing so some ribs were no doubt broken. One glance at her leg in its awkward unnatural angle told him it was broken. All over her skin were large fist shaped bruises that would get worst before they got better. Her skin was cut from where whatever she crashed through. Clothes torn beyond repair. "Oh, Buttercup."

"I'm fine." She insisted before Bubbles led her to the empty lab table. She was deposited on the cool metal surface and didn't hesitate to recline back. The coolness of the table brought a sigh to her lips as its touch did some to soothe aches. "It's nothing."

Sparing Blossom a glance, she nodded once and took the ice pack he was holding to her face. The professor then made his way to Buttercup and fluttered his hands over her not sure where to begin. "Sweetheart."

"This isn't nothing!" Bubbles snapped at the end of her patience with her sister. "You know he meant to kill you, and you can't afford to be this damn stupid! If I hadn't come, you'd both be dead."

"Both?!" The professor's eyes darted to his second daughter with horror etched deep into his features. "Please don't tell me you're—."

"I'm not fucking pregnant!" There was more than enough venom to sting with that statement.

"Are you sure?" Blossom asked as she got up to tend to Coal. He'd yet to stop crying, and she couldn't exactly blame him. His home was destroyed, and his daddy was possessed by a demon. She picked up her fuming baby and tried to tap into her ice powers to cool him. Unfortunately, she was still too burned out to cool them down.

"I took a test, and it came back negative," Buttercup announced turning just enough to see Blossom. "I'm not pregnant. It was just the sporadic fucking that's delayed by period."

Blossom could only shake her head at her sister before she and Coal went to the simulator. She turned some buttons on the control pad and went inside with her irate baby. As soon as the door closed behind them, the crying was lessened. Still, he could be heard through the glass.

"I'll…run some tests." The professor said weakly, not taking his eyes off his daughter. "Blossom tried to tell me what was going on, but I'm not following. She said it was Brick, but it wasn't?"

Bubbles leaned against the professor's desk and folded her arms over her chest. "It's H.I.M. "

"H.I.M? How can that be?"

To that, the sugar Puff shrugged. "I can only guess. Maybe it had something to do with whatever caused that quake and bright light earlier today." A thought occurred to her and she looked up towards Buttercup with a suspicious look in her eye. "It was close by to where I found you, Buttercup."

The accusation hung in the air, but the following silence was more than enough. Bubbles' leg slammed into the desk leaving a hole in its frame. She then stood up straight and left the lab without so much as a backward glance at Buttercup. It was a testament to the spice Puff's stubbornness that forbade her to flinch at the slamming of the door.

When the professor looked at his daughter, she completely avoided his gaze. "Buttercup," he began with an almost choked voice.

"Dad, don't," she groaned as she rolled onto her lesser bruised side.

"Honey, please," The professor begged as he looked again at her haggard state. He pulled up a stool beside her and placed a hand on her cheek. "This had gone on long enough, and I can't bear to see you like this anymore."

Bristling, she was about to retort when she noticed the high level of pain in his eyes. This man was more than just her creator. He was her father. Her daddy. Aside from Butch and maybe her sisters, Buttercup couldn't imagine that anyone loved her more. There was also no denying that he was hurting right now because she was. That look alone was more than enough to convince her to tell him how one issue evolved into something else entirely. When she got to the end after telling her how her actions tipped things in H.I.M's favor, she waiting for him to berate her as she figured he would. Her sisters would no doubt do it. That's why it surprised her when he gently wrapped an arm around her and embraced her. Her sore body protested even from his touch, but the tears that welled in her eyes were for his unconditional love.

"I'm not going to beat you when you're already down Buttercup. You're more than capable of doing that yourself. Right now, let's get you fixed up." He then let her go and stood up to grab his medical supplies. When he turned to see her reach for her stomach, his brow furrowed. "You're certain you're not pregnant?"

"The test I took today was negative." She wiped some of her tears away and winced at the smarting bruise forming on her abdominals. She noticed with professor watching her motion intently. "He got a lucky punch in."

The bag slipped from his hands and glanced off the edge of the table. It hit the floor and its contents spilled. Some of the glass bottles of rubbing alcohol and other pain medication shattered against the tile.

Buttercup didn't have to guess to know he thought. "Dad, I'm not pregnant."

She could be as adamant as she wanted that she wasn't. Yet until the professor took a test for himself, he wouldn't be convinced otherwise.

Brick was in a dark void, but he wasn't alone. Standing across from him was the demon that made his and his brothers' lives hell. Yes, he brought them back from the dead, but his motives were far from altruistic.

"H.I.M."

"Brick," the demon answer looking at his eldest. "Nearly a year since I've seen you last. Since you murdered me."

"What pit of hell were you waiting to spring from?" Brick asked as his mother made his way toward him. Clawed hand behind his back and boot heels clicking against the stone.

"Closer than you think, but mostly dormant."

"Mostly?"

H.I.M came to stand before his son and smiled a slimy smile. "I was mostly dead, and would've stayed so, but you three have tempers." One claw came forward and came very near to touching Brick. When his son didn't flinch, he drew his hand back. "Remember when I brought you back some of my essences was used to do it. When you killed me, a majority of it was killed off. When one of you three lost your temper that anger and negative energy fed into my being. Unfortunately having only one of you three idiots get angry wasn't enough. I need you all. Surprised Butch took so long to anger."

Brick was not about to agree with H.I.M, but it was a surprise. The amount of patience Butch had for Buttercup was astounding, and still. Because of her, H.I.M had returned. When they got out of this—he dared not think of an alternative—he was going to have some words with his sister-in-law.

"It should've taken a few times, but a certain trip to my old stomping ground exacerbated my return."

Fuck, Brick thought remembering that failed trip he and his brothers took. Nothing was accomplished, and he scared Blossom, and right after she had Coal no less. The size of the barricade that was going to have to keep him from Buttercup was growing in his mind's eye. "What are you planning to do?"

H.I.M lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant manner. Brick wasn't fooled. "Cause some chaos here. Wreak a little Havoc there. Swat a few annoying pests." His voice dropped and the menace in his tone wasn't to be missed. Nor was who he intended to attack.

"You stay away from my family."

"I'm not the one that needs to be watched," H.I.M said before giving him access to his eyes.

Brick inhaled sharply through his nose as he watched from his eyes as he fought Blossom. She fought back and he was glad to know that birthing Coal didn't make her soft. Blows were exchanged and he winced when his body landed a particularly nasty blow to her. Then he heard it. Coal's crying.

"No!"

He'd stepped forward enough to take a semblance of control over his body. H.I.M latched onto him and tried to pull him back. Soon he was engaged in a battle with the demon in his own mind. All the while he could hear Blossom screaming for him and Coal crying.

"Kill them!"

"NO!" Brick screamed before he made his body hurt himself so that he could buy his family time to escape. When he saw them escape, he held on just for a while longer to ensure that H.I.M wouldn't be able to find them. When he couldn't hold on to his body any longer, H.I.M pushed him under. He felt as if submerged in water, and his mind was in a fog. The urge to close his eyes overpowered him and he lost all semblance of consciousness. The last thing he remembered was H.I.M standing over him.

"You only saved them for a short time, Brick. I will find them, and I will kill them with your hands."

Brick wanted to tell him that he wouldn't let that happen, but his throat was stopped.

"Sleep, Brick. Just like before."

Brick's body came under H.I.M's control again. Standing up from the wreckage, he called out to his other selves in the other boys. He needed to reconvene with them. Walking back toward the door, gingerly cradling his side, he then took to the sky. Feeling the closest of his other selves, he flew in the direction of the university. He found Boomer sitting amongst the rubble of a building. Brick floated down ad crossed his arms over his chest. "Comfortable, are we?"

Boomer ran a hand through his hair and shook the dust from it. "Bubbles is stronger than I remember."

"So is Blossom, and Brick for that matter." Brick said rubbing the sore spot that was healing quicker than usual. A combination of Chemical X and the demon's innate healing aided in the repair of the shattered ribs.

"Trouble controlling your host?" Boomer asked as he stood up.

Brick shook his head. "His feelings for his little family are disgustingly strong, but not stronger than me."

"So you say." He and Brick both looked up when they heard the sound barrier change. Not soon after that, Butch dropped down looking a little worst for wear. "What happened to you?"

"Your body's little girlfriend called some friends while she snatched Buttercup and got away." His scuffle with the forest animals was a short, but fearsome one.

"You let her escape?" Brick asked turning to Butch with a raised brow.

"You two didn't fare much better it seems. Besides, Buttercup was practically broken by the time Bubbles arrived." He sent an accusing look to Boomer, that was pointedly ignored.

Brick let a disgustingly evil smile cross his face as he turned to Butch. "Was she now? However, practically broken is not broken enough. I have an idea."

Boomer and Butch turned to their leader and listened, their smiles matching their brothers with each word. Once the plan was laid out, they took to the skies and parted ways. If all succeeded, there would be no more Power Puff Girls and everyone will know that the Rowdy Ruff Boys three point oh were truly back in down.

Hello, my lovelies.

If you didn't hate Butch before, you might now. Or at the very least what H.I.M had Butch do. I'm neither confirming nor denying any ideas about Buttercup's "pregnancy". At least not yet or ever. I know it's wrong to do so after such a long time, and I know you're all waiting, but I can't resist. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Oh, a do check out a short I wrote on my Wattpad Page. Reflection by A D Michaelis. Link is on my profile page, so go read, vote, and comment.

Love you all.

Until Next Time