Disclaimer: The Powerpuff Girls Universe belongs to Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network
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Trying not to nod off while was droning on about some stanza that was in Beowulf, Boomer tapped his eraser on the notebook in front of him. In the margins were doodles and goofy figures of his brothers and an exploding football. Boomer wished they could play sports like everyone else, but with powers that meant any time they had tried being on a sports team they'd get penalized for "cheating" even if they hadn't used their powers at all. It wasn't like they could prove it, plus they'd only been kids, it was easier for the coach to bench them than to have the whole team get disqualified.
Plus it wasn't fun sitting on the bench all the time when they practiced just as hard as everyone else on the team; Butch was still part of the soccer team but rather reluctantly. Brick had given sports up to move onto academic teams, they couldn't accuse him of using his powers for something that wasn't physical. Him though? He missed playing lacrosse in middle school but studying different instruments in band was fun too, the teacher only complained that he didn't have the attention span to dedicate to just one.
A sharp ring of the bell interrupted his thoughts and his fellow classmates began shuffling their papers as Mr. Simmons called out, "remember! Your essays are due in two weeks, and rough drafts should be on my desk by Monday."
Shoving his notebook into his backpack he slung the strap over his shoulder and hustled out the door, someone elbowed his side and he turned to see Mike Believe gesturing ahead of them, "dude," following where he pointed Boomer spotted Brick leaning by the water fountain across the hall from the classroom. He and Mike had always been cool and he'd even slept over at Mike's a few times, though it was far less about sleep and more about gaming until the wee hours of the morning.
"So I'll catch you later," Mike gave a small wave and disappeared into the stream of students in the hall.
Boomer knew Mike didn't dislike Brick, he was just intimidated by him. In fact most people were intimidated by Brick and Butch, Boomer on the other hand came off far more friendly. "What brings you over here? Aren't you supposed to be going to history or something?" Boomer stood by Brick who was holding a manila envelope, arms crossed and staring down anyone who looked over in their direction.
"Yeah, which is why I need you to give this to one of the girls." Handing over the envelope Boomer just looked blankly at it. "It's the list of names that Red asked for."
"Ah-ha, okay, well why don't you give them to her? Isn't she in the same class as you?"
"Saw her fly off towards the city alone, you have lunch with the other two next, right?" Brick sounded only slightly irritated, but it wasn't the first time the girls had been called out separately for small things before.
"Yeah, but I don't-" and before Boomer could get out of it Brick just started down the hall, "thanks, knew I could count on you." Sheepishly he watched Brick disappear, he knew how to get Boomer to do what he wanted. Play the 'I appreciate you! You're so reliable,' card and if Boomer tried to get out of it he'd get the whole, 'I'm just disappointed' talk. Sometimes his brother was more like an annoying parent that he'd seen in movies or on TV.
With a sigh he turned towards the cafeteria, he knew where Buttercup and Bubbles sat so that wasn't hard to do, but he typically went to the band room instead. None of his friends were even in the same lunch, though he knew he could've sat with plenty of people he knew. Opening the door he ignored the entrance to the lunch line and looked around for the girls, using his super hearing he caught Buttercup's voice as the door shut behind her on the opposite side of the room.
Maneuvering through the tables Boomer got to the door to the patio and opened it, his eyes immediately finding the girls sitting at a table that was shaded by one of the large trees that had been planted on the campus.
He knew the girl with the long brown hair and blue eyes sitting next to Bubbles was Robin, they had worked on some projects together before, she was tall and lean and had a bohemian look about her. Mary sat next to Buttercup and playfully smacked the hero. Everyone knew Mary. She was curvy and always dressed like she was in a magazine, in fact he was pretty sure she was a social media influencer. Pablo sat beside Robin, he was in band and had actually taught Boomer how to play guitar when he had first joined; his arm was draped around Robin's shoulder and he stole a fry off of Buttercup's tray before getting his hand smacked by Robin who laughed at him playfully. Bubbles was asking Robin a question when she caught Boomer's eye.
She flushed slightly but gave a smile and a wave, he had a feeling she was still embarrassed about last night but in all honesty he was too. It wasn't often you had a girl clinging onto you for dear life when you used to beat each other up as kids.
Walking over to the table Boomer was ready to feel unwelcome when Mary gave him a glowing smile and a teasing wink from behind her large retro glasses, "hey, Boom, I didn't know you had lunch at this time?" She was probably the second most friendly person in the entire school, right behind Bubbles of course.
Buttercup gave him a sardonic look, she didn't have to say anything for him to know she didn't exactly approve of him interrupting them, "yeah, I do actually, but I'm just here to drop this off to the girls."
Holding the envelope out Buttercup snatched it from him, he looked slightly irritated by her actions but followed up with, "it's the info that Blossom asked for." Buttercup tossed the envelope into her bag under the table, "cool. Thanks." Not even looking in his direction.
Put off and a little hurt Boomer started to turn when Bubbles jumped up, gesturing to the empty seat in front of her and next to Mary, "come sit with us," she darted a stern look in Buttercup's direction, "and we totally appreciate you bringing that. Blossom'll be really happy."
Mary scooted over a bit and pat the bench seat beside her, "I don't bite unless you ask me to."
"Now you're just gonna scare him away, Mary." Robin rolled her eyes but Pablo was laughing at Mary's innuendo. Boomer could feel a smile quirking at the side of his mouth, "you know what?" He gave a pointed look at Buttercup, "I think I will. Thanks," sitting beside Mary he could feel Buttercup's eyes on him. If she tried to beat the shit out of him after school he wouldn't be surprised, he'd just have to be faster than her.
Pulling out his brown paper bag he unpacked two sandwiches and a bottle of lemonade, kicking his backpack under the table a bit. He hadn't eaten lunch with friends since his sophomore year, it felt kind of weird sitting here among an established group but he didn't want to overanalyze it.
Pablo took a bite out of his cafeteria burger, "so I didn't see you in the cafeteria at all last semester, where've you been hiding out?"
"Oh, well," Boomer started unwrapping his first sandwich, "I just hang out in the band room, it's usually empty since is teaching chorus and has office hours." Pablo pointed at him in a teasing manner, "so that's why you got so good at the bass so quickly. Cheater!" But they both laughed at it, Boomer would happily take credit for the time he had worked on learning how to play the bass.
Mary was digging into her fruit salad, "so you wanna explain the two sandwiches thing?" Gesturing with her full fork before popping it into her mouth. Boomer just matter-of-factly answered her after he had taken a few bites of his sandwich, "if I'm still hungry chips aren't gonna fill me." For the first time since he'd sat down Buttercup exclaimed, "but that's the whole point of chips! They go on the side of your sandwich! A sandwich is a meal, not a snack!"
Almost taken aback by how mock-angry and actually friendly she sounded he just closed his eyes before taking another bite, "you're just mad cause you know I'm right and you'd rather have two sandwiches too." She scoffed and threw a fry at him, he chuckled to himself as it bounced off his head. "Yeah right," sticking her tongue out at him before digging back into her own sandwich.
Bubbles was watching with a grin on her face, a genuine one at that. Looking for more conversation she turned to Robin, "so how was the concert you and Mitch went to over the weekend?" Clapping her hands Robin animatedly began telling them all about how they had to jump around the club all night to avoid a bouncer who was looking for Mitch since he'd snagged one of the 21+ wrist tags to get served at the bar, and how she'd caught one of the drummers drumsticks when he threw them into the audience.
Conversation seemed to flow rather naturally, much to Boomer's relief, he was actually kind of bummed out when the bell for next period rang. Gathering up their things everyone started to head out. "See you tomorrow, Boomer!" Robin called as she and Pablo walked hand in hand down one of the halls. Buttercup had her hands jammed into the pockets of her black jeans as she walked by, "try to pack a normal lunch, wouldya?" She joined a few of the guys on the volleyball team and headed off with them.
Mary gave a wave, "See you later, Boom. I'll text you tonight, Bubbles."
Standing next to each other rather awkwardly Bubbles and Boomer just glanced at each other as they walked down the hall side-by-side. Even though it had been so easy to talk at the lunch table she still felt some embarrassment; as if he could read her thoughts Boomer said quietly, "ya know you don't need to be embarrassed or anything with me."
Whipping her head around Bubbles wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly, "what?"
"You know," he gestured awkwardly with his hands as if sifting through the air for the right words, "about the whole incident in the lab."
"Oh, right." Turning her face forward again she kept pace with him, ignoring the chatter of the other students in the halls. "No, really!" Boomer said this with a low intensity that made her flush and she looked into his own ocean blue eyes, "we were really stuck without you and your sisters yesterday, and whatever freaked you out in there must have been pretty scary. After all, you've fought me and I'm terrifying."
Stifling a giggle she smiled behind her hand, as much as she didn't want to think about that familiar sound in the ducts she had to admit she was relieved to hear someone make a joke about it. Her sisters hadn't broached the subject at all once they had gotten home last night.
Boomer tried smirking like Butch did when he made those kinds of jokes and waggled his eyebrows but that just seemed to make Bubbles laugh harder. He wouldn't admit it to his brothers but making one of the girls laugh felt pretty good. For all their years of fights and rivalries not once had they had a goofy conversation together, if they chatted it was usually about school or a remark about their dumb siblings.
"Oh you're totally ghastly!"
"Isn't that a pokemon?"
She gave him a playful shove as they joked and without even realizing it Boomer was outside of his next class. Butch was leaning in the doorway waiting for him, a stern look on his face as he watched the interaction. 'What was he up to?' Eyeing up Bubbles he was rather insulted at being ignored; lately she had been as timid as a barn mouse around him but here she was, living up to her title of the Joy and the Laughter, and being all buddy-buddy with his brother.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Boomer. Thanks again." Giving him a little wave as she passed Butch in the doorway she barely glanced at him before continuing on her way.
Boomer entered the classroom with Butch stalking behind him, they sat at one of the shared tables together and Boomer began taking out his notebook. He could feel Butch's eyes practically burning holes into his skull so he just turned to look at him. "What?"
"Nothin', just didn't know where you were hiding your half of the 'BFF' necklace is all." Butch pulled his own notebook out, and as much as he knew his brother didn't have a necklace he was also certain that Bubbles definitely had some. Yikes.
"Don't be stupid." That was all that Boomer was going to give Butch right now, he had every right to talk to whomever he pleased.
Crossing his legs at the ankle beneath the table Butch just leaned back in his chair, "whatever, man."
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Walking down the hall to the mayor's office Blossom's heels clicked off of the marbled floors announcing her arrival to the offices on the same floor. She hadn't been expecting a call, and although the school allowed her and her sisters to jump out of classes as they were needed she had still been looking forward to the days lesson. Now if this had dragged her out of an exam she'd be stalking down the hall instead of her current calm pace, something she'd done several times.
Noticing the mayor's door was cracked she just knocked on the frame before entering. "You requested to see me, Mayor?" The elderly gentleman practically jumped out of his seat and gestured to the last open chair, "yes, yes, Blossom! Please, do sit down."
An elegant hand rested on his shoulder, easing him back to the chair, "now, Mayor, your doctor ordered you to take it easy." The calm and cool voice of came out from a cascade of copper curls. For a woman in her 40s she still managed to be the most mesmerizing and beautiful woman in the room, not that that was the only thing to admire about her of course. Already in the three other chairs were Chief Rosa, one of her detectives, and a very unfamiliar man.
Blossom took the remaining chair as went to close the door, the small semi circle collective before the mayor sat patiently waiting for him to speak. "Before we begin," the mayor started, "is everyone familiar with one another?" As he aged he began to become more serious, only three years ago he had lost his wife to an illness but his son and daughter-in-law had moved into his home with their children shortly after. No doubt his grandchildren were what kept him in office and as active as he still was, Blossom knew she and her sisters were dreading the day that someone new was elected into office.
Blossom crossed her slim legs, glad she had worn a pink pencil skirt that morning, however she wished her white t-shirt was a bit more elegant. Her hair was only half up today but still tied with that signature red ribbon of hers, the long red strands falling over one of her shoulders as she straightened up more. She would not be considered a child when it came to meetings like this.
"Chief Rosa and I are quite familiar with one another," no malice in Blossom's words, just straight facts that anyone should expect of a superhero and a police chief.
Chief Rosa gestured to the man sitting beside her, "this is Detective Marley, he's working on the case from this weekend." The man was around his late thirties or early forties, it was hard to tell with his brown hair beginning to speckle with silver; he had a sort of long face with a strong and defined jaw and piercing gray eyes. To Blossom he just looked really, really tired. Straightening in his chair he nodded at the group, "my partner is currently in the field doing some legwork."
Blossom eyed up the chief for a moment, she had gotten the email yesterday afternoon but between the events of searching Mojo's lab in addition to completing her assignments for school she had only given the file a cursory glance, and although she had a photographic memory she would have enjoyed doing further detailed research beforehand. She didn't like coming unprepared to a meeting. The chief gestured to the man sitting in the last seat, "and this-"
"I'm Norman Blaine," he stood and stretched out a hand for Blossom to shake, "it was my shipping container that set fire to the shipyard." Chief Rosa was clearly holding in an irritated remark as her lips pursed, and Blossom shook his hand but felt he was being far too charismatic for the situation. As he sat back down he unbuttoned the jacket of his navy suit blazer and crossed a leg, showing highly polished cognac leather brogues.
Norman Blaine had a smile that a toothpaste commercial would die for and the looks of younger Henry Cusick. He seemed completely unfazed by the whole situation even though two men had died on the scene. To be so nonchalant about having a shipping container full of chemicals that had cost thousands of dollars in damage was downright disrespectful in Chief Rosa's opinion.
"I apologize for the damage that was caused during the fight," Blossom began, "unfortunately my sisters and I can only control a situation to such an extent." To this Norman Blaine waved his hand rather dismissively, "of course, I understand completely." Flashing his winning smile at the group, his hands draped the arms of the chair with a practiced grace.
Chief Rosa and exchanged glances and gave the hispanic woman a nod. Leaning forward in her chair the chief began, "now, ," he chuckled and interrupted her again, "please, call me Norman."
His nonchalant attitude was beginning to irritate her greatly, she wondered if tonight was the night she'd take up the offer from her assistant chief to go to the firing range. Her smile was tense and brittle but she continued, "Norman, we are waiting for the results from our lab but you can save us any additional time if you could just explain to us what exactly that chemical was and why there was such an extensive amount of it?"
Blossom too had been wondering about this, "it isn't dangerous to the citizens who were down at the docks, correct?"
Easing back slightly Norman Blaine turned and grabbed a briefcase that was beside his chair, opening it on his lap he pulled out a dozen or so papers before returning the briefcase back to the floor. "I thought this would be brought up so I came prepared."
Handing out a few documents to the Mayor, Chief Rosa, and Blossom returned to his chair before leaning towards Detective Marley, "I figured you can take a look at the Chief's copy once we are done here." Looking at him steadily Detective Marley just nodded and leaned over towards the chief to peer at the papers.
"Although it was slightly unstable," and the scoff from Chief Rosa as he said 'slightly' went fairly ignored as he continued, "the chemical is perfectly harmless unless combined with an activating agent. We are calling it Project Osiris and once we are in our final stages I guarantee the results will be," he gazed almost wistfully into space, "life altering."
Holding up a finger Blossom carefully scanned the paper before her, "isn't Osiris the Egyptian god of the dead? Why would you want to name anything after that? You explain the base of the chemical composition in these documents but only vaguely. I understand this is your business and so you must have to get patents out but what exactly is it you are trying to accomplish with a potentially unstable chemical? And in that much volume?" Never had she been afraid to be upfront when it came to the safety of the city of Townsville, Chief Rosa gave an approving look and the tenseness in her features began to ease.
"My, aren't you clever, ," he sounded genuinely impressed but the kind smile on his lips didn't meet his eyes. "You're exactly right, and our work is to- in a sense, extend life, especially for those on the battlefield. I'm afraid I can't go into further details, I'm sure you understand," now addressing the Mayor, "this will be quite revolutionary and as we discussed when I purchased that property, it will bring many more jobs to the city in addition to making Townsville a far more popular tourist destination."
Nodding as if he had received a compliment on his brilliance Norman Blaine continued, "with Blaine Industries hosting our most ambitious project in your city people will come from all over just to get a glimpse of what we do. We outgrew our Dallas office far too quickly and we were quick to offer office rentals in addition to creating a green space; people are flocking there to begin their own startups."
"But that still doesn't explain the quantity, and why it was in the shipyard," Blossom pointed out.
Leaning his elbow onto the chair arm and resting his chin in his hand the man managed to look thoughtful, "no, but I assure you there is no malicious motive to what we do. In our preparation to move cities we began developing in a lab overseas, and so ship transport was necessary." Grinning he gestured to the group, "you have full transparency as long as I have knowledge. Any other questions?"
Blossom looked over to and the Mayor but the Mayor was staring intensely at the paper in front of him, his brow furrowed. Although the Mayor wasn't exactly… bright, he was a kind man, and so secured his seat so often. on the other hand met Blossom's gaze and gave a reassuring smile, "we wanted you to meet, not only because of the accident but because as the company transfers they have been requesting more security."
A pit in her stomach seemed to open, the last thing she and her sisters needed was more security rounds as they tried to finish high school. It's true that since Chief Rosa had been hired that the competency of the police force had risen significantly, but when it came down to it the girls were the first call the Mayor would make. He'd even called them when they had been on a family vacation over the summer in Europe when the city was in the plenty capable hands of Val Hallen and Miss Spell.
Her hands were balled in her lap as Blossom looked at , "the girls and I have our hands full as-is, we can add the location to our rounds but as things currently stand we can't devote any extended time to one singular location."
Still looking at Blossom stepped around the Mayor's desk a bit, "and that is what I told over here," gesturing at the man who was still sitting smugly before them. "He even wished to hire you out for paym-"
"No."
Leaning forward in his chair and looking a bit dubious Norman Blaine responded, "no? Are you really sure tha-"
"I said no." Blossom's voice was firm, "We do what we do because we love the city and its people." With this she looked at the Mayor who was smiling at her. "As a part of the city we will add it to our patrol- which we have increased, and once you have security up and running I expect you will comply with Chief Rosa's specifications."
Miranda Rosa could feel the relief in her chest, she'd been so sure that she'd be undermined when it came to security in the city but to have Blossom express 's need to follow the law and not get special treatment was satisfying.
"Very well. I'll speak with the chief later on then." Norman Blaine did not like being refused but he hadn't been in the company of the chief or the hero for long. He still had time to win them over.
Chief Rosa gave a nod at him, "yes, we can discuss this in my office after this meeting. I believe Detective Marley has a few questions as well since we would like to wrap this case up." Blossom couldn't help but notice an almost predatory gleam in the detective's eyes as he leaned forward in his seat, clearly this man was hungry for information. She knew that feeling all too well, but she had a feeling that Norman Blaine was just as much of a predator as the detective here.
"Would you like a ride there, ?" Detective Marley rose from his chair, keys already in hand. Norman Blaine took one look at him and waved him off, "no need. My chauffeur is already here." He turned to look at the mayor, "I assume we're done here for now?"
"Yes, yes, we'll be in touch. We are also beginning to plan for the 's Day parade in March!" This clearly raised the old man's spirits as he clapped his hands together, "will you be participating this year?"
Standing up Norman Blaine buttoned his suit jacket back up, "wouldn't miss it for the world, Mayor. It was a pleasure speaking with you again." His eyes turned to Blossom, "and it was a pleasure meeting one of the Powerpuff Girls," he held his hand out to which Blossom rose up out of her seat and firmly shook his hand, "likewise."
As he exited the office he was followed closely by Detective Marley, gave a look to both Chief Rosa and Blossom before stepping out of the office herself. The mayor stood and walked around his desk, he was barely 4'11 but he still had a warm smile and the blue of his eyes hadn't faded in all the years he had known the girls. Taking Blossom's hand in both of his own he patted the top of her hand, "I know he's a little odd," pot meet kettle, "but I think he's just what the city needs."
Blossom couldn't help but notice how thin his hands were, the soft skin nearly translucent. He really had aged quickly after the death of his wife. Smiling genuinely and warmly at him Blossom said, "I'll keep an eye on him, Mayor. I'm sure he's a very smart man." She didn't say kind because she didn't want to lie to the old man, it was clear to her that Blaine was a wolf to the mayor's sheep.
Nodding his head, "good, that's wonderful." He released her hand and turned back to Chief Rosa, the woman was standing straight and had pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail, "thank you for hosting this meeting, , I appreciate it." She shook his hand and the mayor began to return to his desk, "marvelous, I think this will be an excellent year for the city of Townsville!"
Once outside the door and walking down the marble halls Chief Rosa said, "I don't like him." Neither she or Blossom were looking at one another but Blossom gave a raise of her chin, "I agree." stepped out of one of the offices on the floor, a young intern jogging down to the mayor's office. "One moment, ladies."
Both stopping they were quickly joined by who easily towered above them in her heels, neither Chief Rosa or Blossom were short women at 5'9 and 5'8 respectively but when you had a woman who was nearly 6ft in heels there really was no comparison. "Tread lightly with this one, might be a bit of a braggart and a wordsmith when it comes to evasiveness," at this Chief Rosa scoffed, "you think?" But under 's steady gaze the woman adjusted her necklace with a rather chastised air. "My apologies, please continue."
"Right now the city needs his business. From his interest alone we have now had two large national banks looking to relocate to the city as well as several Fortune 100 companies that will remain undisclosed in the meantime." Blossom nodded, "we understand." Chief Rosa even agreed, the more jobs that were available it was very possible less crime would be happening in the city. This was good for all of them.
Smiling casually, brushed a ringlet off of her face, "wonderful. I'm glad we are in agreement." She joined them as they continued to walk down the hall to the large marble stairs that lead to the front lobby area, "it's been awhile since I've seen you girls, Blossom, at least when it wasn't an emergency. Please, feel free to stop by this weekend," she looked over at Chief Rosa, "you're welcome to as well, Miranda."
The chief stiffened and flushed slightly, "ah, yes, I will have to see how things are, maybe I'll stop by for a few minutes."
Raising her eyebrows smugly as the chief said this, Blossom smiled to herself, no one could resist 's charms. Turning and waving Blossom called back, "thank you, of course we'll stop by, I'll text you this Sunday." Waving as the two women descended the stairs replied, "wonderful, I'm looking forward to it." Then she turned and walked back down the hallway to her office.
Stepping outside of city hall Blossom couldn't help the slightly smug look on her face as she glanced over to the chief. Closing her eyes for a moment the chief just said, "not a word."
With a small wave Blossom rocketed into the sky, hands firmly on the papers she had been given. Below her and next to her as she flew through the city she could hear people calling out her name. This was her life, a lot of happy citizens waving and trying to get her own or her sister's attention any time they flew by. She gave a few waves and plenty of smiles before going above the clouds and shooting back to school.
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This was possibly the longest week of Buttercup's life. She was exhausted from going over information with Blossom and Bubbles the last two nights; Between reading over the files from the incident at the docks, following up on the leads Brick had supplied, looking into this new fancy pants business dude and the fact that Boomer Jojo was sitting at their lunch table, she was over it all. She kind of regretted yelling at her sisters this morning but it's not like it wasn't justified!
She still wanted to work on her activities, do the things she liked doing.
Since she was banned from playing on sports teams competitively she'd been actually enjoying being a sort of assistant coach to both the volleyball teams and for the ladies varsity soccer team. Wasn't that the point of high school, to have some fun? But she hadn't been able to attend any of their practices the last two days and these were her teams. She wasn't always allowed to attend certain games that were too far out of the area but she loved coming up with a good strategy and seeing them win.
Feeling the gaze of someone she slowly turned her head to look at Mitch and Samson making goofy faces at her. "Don't you guys have anything better to do than annoy me?" She lifted an eyebrow and put her pen down, she'd never get these plays finished by the end of study hall with these two assholes distracting her.
"It's about time you looked over, I swear our faces were going to freeze like that 'cause we were doing it so long," Samson laughed and ran a hand through his thick black hair as he elbowed Mitch.
Leaning her hand on her cheek she quipped, "that would've been an improvement."
Mitch feigned mock hurt, "oh no, Butterbutt doesn't think we're cute!" Even though Mitch was her friend she felt herself bristle a bit, he knew she fucking hated when people did that. Flipping him off she continued jotting down the play she had in mind for the weekend. Her pen slid in the wrong direction as she felt Mitch clap her on the shoulder, "you must be losing your touch since it took you so damn long to notice."
Sighing, she crumpled up the paper and threw it at Mitch's face, "bite me, asshole." Turning back to the fresh new page in her binder she started making the marks again. Samson just pulled Mitch back into his seat, "dude, she's gonna stick you on top of another tree, ease up."
Buttercup smiled to herself remembering Mitch practically pissing his pants at being so high up. "Yeah, whatever," Mitch made a motion as if he was dusting off his shoulder, "so, you still coming to the movie tonight? Or are you leaving me with the children?" He made a face as if it was the worst possibility out there. And maybe for Mitch it was.
"Yeah, at 8 o'clock, I know you'd be beside yourself without me." She glanced over from her paper and smirked. "Aw, he's never alone, he's got me, don'tcha, babe." Samson clasped his hands together and made kissy faces at Mitch, but paused and looked over at Buttercup, "unless your sisters are coming…"
Rolling her eyes Buttercup gave him an exasperated look, "you wish." Samson shrugged, "well yeah, that's why I said it."
Closing her binder she tossed it into her bag, "it's Robin's birthday. I think they're meeting up after the movie with cake." It was easy to see the perturbed looks on both their faces, Mitch had been friends with Buttercup since 7th grade so he'd been around for celebrations like that. Samson on the other hand had transferred to the school earlier this year and had accepted the Christmas cookies Blossom handed out before winter break.
"Relax, Blossom isn't making the cake." The two boys exhaled with relief and the bell rang, it was off to lunch for Buttercup.
Grabbing his bag off the ground and slinging it over his shoulder Samson quickly tried to save face, "not that her baking is bad or anything." Mitch snorted and pushed his buddy into the hall, "it's your funeral, bud."
Turning down the hall Buttercup made her way to her locker first to change out her books and then grab her lunch, she barely caught Blossom as she was leaving her locker. "Hey."
Blossom turned and looked at Buttercup steadily. "Hi." With a sigh Buttercup scuffed the toe of her sneaker on the tile as she opened her locker door, "listen, I didn't-" but Blossom held up her hand to stop her. "We'll talk about it at home." She turned and briskly walked down the hall to her AP history class. Buttercup may have slammed her locker a little harder than she should have.
She was just going to apologize for freaking out this morning; she could see it on all their faces, they were tired and just wanted things to be normal for a bit. And by normal she meant a few monster fights a month and no surprise quizzes. Maybe a date or two. Not that there was really anyone she wanted to go on a date with.
Since the weather was still nice she knew they would be eating outside again, pushing the door open she immediately saw them sitting at their usual table. Two blonde heads were practically bumping together over a large white paper, Robin was sitting beside Bubbles with a large flower crown perched on her head, and Mary was sitting across from her chatting animatedly.
"Happy birthday, Robin," Buttercup tossed a brown paper bag on the table, she wasn't really a hugger except for her family and she knew Robin would understand. Clapping her hands together Robin grabbed the bag in front of her.
"It's your birthday?" Boomer looked over Bubbles' head at Robin and Mary chuckled, "love your gift wrap, Buttercup, it's very environmentally aware of you." Bubbles held up one finger to Boomer, "shhh," but her face was friendly. Buttercup plopped down across from Bubbles as Robin squealed, "put it on me, put it on me!" In her fingers she had an old retro yellow daisy broach, it was a little scuffed up but for the queen of bohemia that wasn't an issue.
Bubbles began fastening it onto Robin's denim jacket as Robin continued on, "you found one! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She was positively beaming and Buttercup felt pretty satisfied, "yeah, so be more careful this time." Obviously she was teasing as she leaned forward for Robin to give her a high five.
Boomer shifted to get a better look at it and Robin just proudly showed it off, "it's just like the one my nana gave me. It broke a while ago at a concert. I can't wait to show my mom!"
There was a twinge of jealousy inside of Boomer. He didn't have momentos to get passed down to him, no normal family like that, his hand-me-downs were more along the prank side from Butch or Brick. "It looks great, happy birthday, Robin."
While Boomer and Mary admired the pin, Buttercup looked over at Bubbles, "hey, so I-," but Bubbles stopped her. "I know. I think tonight is just what we need." That was one thing Buttercup loved about her sister, she got her. She got Blossom too. She'd always been the glue to keep them from flying off the handle, even if they did have their differences. "Thanks."
"But you hafta say the thing," a mischievous grin on Bubbles lips as she leaned forward on the table. Buttercup just groaned, "here? Really?"
"Yup." She looked so smug, Buttercup could've punched that grin off her face.
Mumbling Buttercup started pulling her lunch out of her bag. "I didn't hear you!" Bubbles' sing song voice floated across the table. Crossing her arms Buttercup again mumbled, her face turning red with frustration and embarrassment. "What was that again?" Her hand was up by her ear and she was leaning forward. Buttercup knew damn well that Bubbles could hear her just fine but she knew she was going to concede.
"Ugh, fine! Love you." Her face was red and Mary gave a smirk, "awww, Buttercup, I never knew you were so sensitive!" Burying her face in her hands Buttercup gave a grunt, "you guys suck. I'm never sitting here again with you assholes."
Boomer tried not to laugh but this was a different side of the girls he wasn't used to seeing, he wasn't looking at them with contempt or anger. He didn't want to fight them. That was probably the weirdest part about this. If Mary, Robin, and Pablo hadn't been there as buffers the last few days then he doubted he would've been as comfortable talking with Bubbles the last few days on their way to their classes, in fact he knew he would've just kept to himself as per usual.
He was still a little nervous about Buttercup though. She was intimidating as fuck.
With a mouthful of sandwich Buttercup gestured over at the paper that Bubbles and Boomer had been hovering over, "what's that anyways?" Bubbles practically jumped out of her seat, "Oh! Boomer found the construction plans for the park!" Buttercup just looked confused for a moment, "I thought you guys said there were too many changes for the plans to be correct."
"Yes," Boomer started, "to the observatory, but not to the park. That hasn't changed. We can see the different paths flowing beneath it."
"We wanna check it out tomorrow," Bubbles was actually excited but then in all seriousness she quickly followed up with, "I'm not going in anymore dark places by myself though." Mary and Robin just shrugged it off, they were used to 'hero talk' at this point in their friendship. "Cool, cool, how about afternoon? Bloss is teaching and you have your thing, plus there's a game here tomorrow morning soooo…" She took another bite of her sandwich as Bubbles turned to Boomer, "that should work, you think your brothers plan on coming?"
Starting to fold the copied plans up he just said, "probably," and left it at that.
As they were digging into their lunches Buttercup paused for a moment, "wait, Robin, why isn't Pablo here?" Robin glumly replied, "he woke up with a fever, I probably won't see him until Monday or Tuesday." Pulling out her phone she continued, "buuuuut, he did send me all these cute pics and promised to schedule a special birthday dinner next weekend." The girl practically had hearts in her eyes when she talked about him, Buttercup hoped to god she hadn't been like that with any of her ex boyfriends.
"Wait, that means we have an extra ticket, doesn't it?" Mary cast a look over at Bubbles who just waved her hands in the air, "I can't, yoga and patrol tonight." Sighing dramatically Mary said, "fine," drawing the word out until a coy expression slid onto her face, "what about you, Boom?"
Caught off guard Boomer choked on his drink and he and Buttercup both spit out a simultaneous, "what?!" Mary shrugged, "why not? What do you think, birthday girl?" Robin gave an enthusiastic nod of her head, "that's a great idea."
"It is?!" Still in sync Buttercup and Boomer looked like open mouthed fish, but they went ignored as Robin was quickly sending a text from her phone, "yeah! C'mon, Boomer, it'll be fun! It can be like my birthday present from you." She laughed but Boomer stumbled over his words, "well- uh, Bubbles didn't get you anything and she isn't going." Smugly Robin and Bubbles both pointed to the intricate flower crown on Robin's head.
Now it was Robin's turn to be dramatic and sigh wistfully, "it's okay, it's fine if you don't like us." A bit flabbergasted Boomer held up his hands, "wait, wait, wait- I never said that."
"Then you'll come?" Mary and Robin leaned over the table towards him.
He knew he wasn't winning this battle, plus he actually, kind of, maybe wanted to go too. "Fine, you ladies have won this round, when is it?" Robin and Mary exchanged triumphant looks, "the movie starts at 8 o'clock, so we're meeting at Pokey Oaks Town Center theater by 7:30 so we can get good seats."
"Cool, I'll be there then."
Boomer continued digging into the rest of his lunch, but Buttercup was trying to disguise a disgruntled scowl. It was true he wasn't as annoying as his brothers but she had never planned on spending any additional time with him outside of lunch or the whole Mojo-thing. Now he was crossing into her actual personal life. Looking at Bubbles for some sympathy she was somewhat surprised to see her acting so normally, she was much more at ease than she had been in the beginning of the week, which in truth was a relief to see.
The rest of lunch passed as it usually did, except for a few people coming up to wish Robin a happy birthday, talk resumed to normal things like classes and additional plans for the weekend. As the bell rang and they gathered up their bags Boomer walked around the table and quietly said, "are we cool? I don't have to come." It was like someone had dropped a huge cut out of 'FUCK' on her brain, she turned to look at him but he was looking past her. Bubbles and Mary were hugging Robin goodbye so she knew she had to say something quickly.
"Yeah, we're cool." Shrugging awkwardly, but when his eyes met hers she saw something like relief in them. Now she felt like a jackass but he smiled at her and Bubbles waved at Buttercup as she and Boomer made their way towards the same hall. As much as she knew in her own head that the guys hadn't tried anything malicious in years there was still part of her that felt like it needed to watch her back when it came to the Jojo boys.
Walking back into the building and rounding the corner she nearly collided with Mike, Mitch, and Samson. "Jeeze, can't you watch where you're going?" Mitch held up his phone, "who did Robin say is taking the ticket?" Squinting at his screen she noticed that Robin's phone must have autocorrected Boomer's name and now he was 'Boozer', with a short laugh she pushed his phone away from her face.
"It was supposed to say 'Boomer'." She was working on passing them to head to the gym but Samson stopped her, "who the hell names their kid 'Boomer'? Like who is that anyway?" Buttercup crossed her arms impatiently, "Uh, Jojo?"
"You mean Butch?"
"No, not that douche rocket, his brother."
"They're brothers?" He sounded rather incredulous at that, but Buttercup just pinched the bridge of her nose, "oh my god…"
Mike laughed, "we got this. See you tonight!" Mitch and Mike ushered Samson into the cafeteria quickly leaving Buttercup to book it to the gym, a pale green streak in her wake.
. . .
Bumping Boomer's arm with her elbow Bubbles said, "she's just in a mood." Caught off guard for a moment Boomer just stared at her and then jammed his hands in his pockets. "Right, yeah." Dealing with girls, and especially the girls, in this capacity was a weird experience. It's not that he hadn't dated before but there was a reason he never carried on for more than a few dates, he just didn't get them.
Approaching his class Boomer was glad not to see Butch looming outside the door for the first time this week. "Here," Bubbles stopped and handed him her phone. Boomer took it and looked at her, "uh, thanks? What do you want me to do with this?" Rolling her eyes she gave an amused giggle, "you're supposed to put your number in it? Just call your phone from mine."
Flushing at this forwardness his thumbs felt numb for the moment, but it seemed that Bubbles caught on to the swift mood change, "oh my gosh," another laugh, "I'm not asking you out, not that you're not cute or anything! I'm saying this way we can stay in contact about tomorrow's plans, confirm our meet up spot, you know?"
A wave of relief hit him but he was still red in the face, "sorry about that, guess I'm just out of it today." He was trying to ignore the comment where she had mentioned he was cute but he still felt like his face was burning up. Punching his number into her phone he hit the call button, pulling his own phone out of his pocket he saw the unfamiliar number flash up. "Thats me!" Taking her phone from her hand she gave another small chuckle, "you might want to cool down a bit before you walk in there." Turning she continued down the hall to her own class.
Still mortified by his own reaction he pressed his hands onto his burning face, walking into the classroom and plopped down next to Butch.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Butch was balancing on the back legs of his chair, his feet locking him in place under the table.
"You're gonna tip over," unpacking his notebook and staring directly at the tabletop, he didn't know why he was so embarrassed. She didn't do anything weird, she wasn't hitting on him or anything. But even if she had been hitting on him he probably wouldn't have noticed. Even thinking of being friends with a Powerpuff girl felt like he was betraying his brothers. Friendly was fine but… friends?
Narrowing his eyes at his brother Butch rocked onto all four chair legs, "dude, you're acting weird." Boomer knew he wasn't going to share what exactly he was thinking, "I'm seeing a movie with some friends tonight."
"Is that all? God you're lame." Turning his attention back to the front of class as the teacher walked in he mumbled, "whatever. You're a shit liar." Exhaling and looking at his brother from the corner of his eye he had to agree with Butch. He really was shit at lying.
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Pulling the warm chocolate cake out of the oven, Bubbles inhaled deeply, placing it on the cooling rack next to it's twin. She went to retrieve the last layer from the oven, once these finally cooled all there was left to do was frost and decorate. Buttercup was sitting at the kitchen table with a scowl on her face and arms tense on the table, Blossom had just come through the door and told Buttercup to stay where she was. They both knew what was coming.
Stepping back into the kitchen Blossom didn't even hesitate, "I don't know why you're acting so selfish, Buttercup. You know this is our job! It can't always be about what you want. I'm just so disappointed with how you're acting." Bubbles gulped and moved in front of the cakes protectively, she knew what was coming. Slamming her fists on the table Buttercup jumped up, "what!? Excuse me. Selfish?" Her voice echoed in the small room.
"What else would you call this? I don't know why you're acting like such a- such a-" Blossom was looking for the right word, her hands on her hips.
Getting up from the table Buttercup practically rounded on her, "oh just fucking say it already!"
"You're acting like a spoiled brat!" Electricity was pulsing through the air as the sisters locked eyes with one another. Buttercup gave a hard and sarcastic laugh, "oh yeah, I'm a regular ol'Princess! God forbid I want to do normal teenager shit, because wow, Bloss, I am a teenager! You need to learn to act like one instead of a stuffy old lady with a stick up her ass." Whenever they started fighting insults were the norm, no matter how childish Blossom claimed them to be it's like all sense went out the window during these arguments.
Nostrils flared as Blossom pointed a finger in Buttercup's direction, "we don't get to be normal teenagers! In case you haven't noticed, people depend on us!"
Crossing her arms defensively Buttercup locked eyes with Blossom, "well then maybe I don't want to be a Powerpuff anymore." The room stilled and Bubbles breath caught in her throat, caught off guard Blossom just uttered a simple, "...what?"
"You don't mean that, Buttercup." Bubbles' voice was small as she walked over to her sisters, standing between them. With a deep frown Buttercup just tightened her arms more and looked at the floor. This was supposed to be an easy talk, she had been planning on apologizing.
Blossom's shoulders sagged, "you've never…" her voice was lost, this was the first time any of them had said this in a long time. From time to time the pressure did get to them individually and they had hinted at it before but never flat out said it. Buttercup's eyes were glassy but she was still refusing to look at either sister. Bubbles grabbed Blossom's hand and grabbed the hem of Buttercup's shirt, "I know you don't mean that."
Flicking her eyes to look at her Buttercup wasn't surprised to see tears rolling down her sister's face and a choked sigh escaped her lips. "I don't but," she looked up at Blossom and dropped her hands to her sides. "I'm just so tired of you getting on my case, Blossom. I know I shouldn't have yelled and wanted to apologize earlier but you wouldn't let me."
In frustration she pushed her hands through her hair and gritted her teeth. This sucked. "You always act like we're adults and we don't have lives outside of being heros. I'm just so tired that you won't let us get away from this shit for more than a few hours at a time."
With a gulp Blossom looked at the floor, "I didn't know you were going to, I just- I can't do this without you and I know we have a lot going on but," she was looking for the right words. "I feel like I…" her words faltered again and she balled her free hand into a fist.
"You can be frustrated too, Blossom," Bubbles piped up, "I get frustrated. We're only seventeen." Squeezing her hand tightly until Blossom's eyes met her own. "Everyone expects a lot from us, and that's okay, but sometimes I think you expect more than they do."
Biting her lower lip Blossom knew it was true, she always expected more from herself and putting those expectations onto her sisters just felt like that's what she was supposed to do.
"I'm sorry I got angry, Blossom." Buttercup still wouldn't look at her leader and sister. "We'll get through this shit." Blossom felt numb but she nodded, her voice tiny, "I know. I'm sorry too. I just, you know, I just feel-" Noticing she was having a hard time getting the words out Bubbles wrapped her arms around her sister and held her tightly. "We feel it too." Hesitating Buttercup was trying to take this all in, no one could get her temper more flared than her sisters, but no one understood her like her sisters did too.
Taking the final steps separating them Buttercup put both her arms around her sisters, their heads all touching in the middle. With arms that no longer felt numb or heavy with the reassurance of her sisters, Blossom wrapped her arms around them too and squeezed tightly. Right now she didn't need to say anything, they knew she would try harder to remember exactly what they were. They were sisters and they were still just kids. They would do their best but she needed to remember to give herself permission to get away for awhile too.
Footsteps moved from the hall into the kitchen and he wrapped his arms around the three, or at least did his best, "it's alright girls." They all stepped back from one another and looked at the professor, he was smiling warmly at them but his eyes looked tired, "you can walk away from this at any time, and if the citizens don't understand right away they eventually will."
Shaking her head Blossom said, "no, I'm not ready."
"Neither am I," from Buttercup as she forced a cocky grin onto her lips.
"Me too," Bubbles joined in.
Blossom smiled at her family, "one day we will be, maybe someday soon but for now we'll keep going." The professor nodded in solidarity, "just promise you girls will take it easy on yourselves too. I worry about you every single day."
Simultaneously the three replied, "we will."
Trying to lighten the mood Buttercup playfully pushed at the professor's arm, "ugh, don't get all mushy on us. Gross." Blossom let out a small laugh and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "give him a break, Buttercup." She just made a 'pffft' sound at her family and backed up a few steps, "you're all gross."
Glancing at the stove clock Buttercup gave an uncertain look at Blossom, "so… we're still okay with tonight?" Giving a dramatic sigh Blossom responded, "yeah, tell everyone 'hi' and we'll be there after the movie. Bubbles and I have tonight under control." Nodding in agreement Bubbles gave a small jump, "ooh! Before you get ready, can I borrow your uniform tonight?"
Blanching at the thought of yet another daughter showing off her midriff the professor quickly interrupted, "nope! No need, Edna sent a replacement and I hung it in your closet. She's taking a look at your other uniform, she's not too happy something broke through her material." Cocking a hip in Bubbles direction, Buttercup gave a salute, "you're not cool enough to wear my uniform anyways." Giving a laugh she flew up the stairs.
"Are too!" Bubbles hollered back, turning to the professor and Blossom with a pout, "I could totally pull that off." Blossom glanced at a flustered professor and gave a small chuckle, "I don't think we should talk about this in front of the professor." He just waved his hand at the girls and sat down at the kitchen table, "it's alright, I just keep seeing you three as my perfect little angels. I can't believe how quickly you're growing up." Snickering at her sister Bubbles said, "except for when someone gets picked up for a date."
The word 'date' brought the professor's full attention, "what's this about dates? Who is the boy? What's his name? When will he be here?" Blossom gave him a kiss on the cheek, "you're such an overprotective dad. She's just kidding." Bubbles gave a coy smile, "this time anyways!"
"You girls will be the end of me." An obvious joke and conversation that had come up a million times in their teen years, it was kind of the standard that came in different forms.
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Note: Planning on more action next chapter, please feel free to reach out with any comments or questions!