~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Leaning against one of the white metal cabinets Brick scowled at the three people reentering the room where Mojo was currently housed, he didn't know these people and he was trusting them with his 'father' and mentor? He'd been on edge ever since they'd walked down into the sterile laboratory, it was a beautiful lab, don't get him wrong, but he was in the Utonium's house. With a fucking fluffy green towel wrapped around him. There was nothing intimidating about him and his brothers currently, what if Professor Utonium wouldn't take them seriously? They weren't children; well, he wasn't, the case was still out when it came to Boomer and Butch.

"Hold still, you're going to get it in your eyes if you keep moving!" Blossom's voice was annoyed as she was putting some sort of antiseptic on Butch's face. She was towering above him as he was sitting in one of the chairs provided. He'd held still for his hand and leg but he was fighting her on this.

Pushing her hand away again he protested, "I'll be fine, I'll be healed up by tomorrow." Blossom rolled her eyes before pushing the damp cotton pad down on his face again.

"No, you won't be." At this he froze and seemed confused but Boomer decided to ask what was clearly written all over his brother's face.

"Why? We've been hurt much worse before, this shouldn't be any different." He was shrugging, the bright blue towel on his head and shoulders made him look like he was auditioning for the role of Mother Theresa.

Sighing heavily with the impatience as if she were talking to stubborn children Blossom turned around, now having finished 'doctoring' Butch, "Bubbles mentioned it was the same things when she was attacked last time and she took about a week to fully heal. I can only presume it will be the same for you."

With a jolt of remembrance she nodded towards Bubbles, "can you text Robin that we got home? I'm sure she saw us land but just to be sure."

Butch started in, "no offense to you girls but-" and before he could finish a package of dense cotton pads flew through the air and hit him square in the face. He wasn't hurt but it had caught him off guard, interrupting him.

Buttercup had raised an eyebrow and looked like she was teetering on the valley of pissed off.

She'd been helping Bubbles who just looked plain miserable, one side of the overalls was unhooked and Buttercup had ripped the entire arm and shoulder off of her shirt. She'd fought her on that because she was worried Buttercup was going to tear right through her bra strap or worse, she'd get exposed to the boys.

It had been almost comical with the blonde darting around while crying out, 'no, please, just be caref- just let me-' before Buttercup had rolled her eyes and just did the thing.

Stretching, Buttercup lamented, "damn, that was my favorite track jacket too…"

Blossom was scooping her still wet hair into a high and messy bun on her head, "oh please, just throw it in the wash. And stop using foul language."

Sitting criss cross in his chair Boomer leaned over to whisper to Brick while the girls were bickering, "kind of weird to see them at home." It was an observation but it did get Brick out of his train of thought. He observed the girls, still in their damp and dirty clothes, their hair was all kinds of messed up and two of them were still partially crusted in blood.

Leaning on his knees with his elbows Butch held his face in his hands, his eyes passing between his brothers. He'd caught what Boomer had said and was watching Brick observe them, he was about to say something when Professor Utonium reentered the lab and closed the door behind him. He looked mostly tired, his sleeves were rolled up and he had removed his tie.

Brick noticed the tiny splotches of dirt and blood that had embedded themselves on the once pristine shirt.

Grabbing a rolling chair the Professor wheeled it over to where the three boys were, Brick didn't move from his position of leaning on the cabinets but Boomer straightened and put his feet on the floor.

Blossom noted them congregating and excused herself, heading up the steps in a flash. A little bit of rattling and shutting of cabinets could be heard from upstairs, Buttercup and Bubbles remained where they were however.

"Now," Utonium sighed while taking a seat, "he's been sedated and we managed to remove the shards that were lodged in his brain as well as the remains left from the helmet. I'm not sure what his condition will be but I will keep him under observation and care."

Brick quickly stated, "not that we don't appreciate it," he could see Boomer's face drop from the corner of his eye and knew his brother was worried he'd say the wrong thing. "But I don't get why you'd take Mojo into your care?"

Utonium was a bit surprised by the direction of questioning but he gave a reassuring grin, self assured and honest, "Mojo and I have history, and I want to ensure proper and overall safe recovery."

Brick's posture eased up a bit, he almost didn't react to Professor Utonium's next words, "I have him on a IV drip with a small dose of Chemical X, I don't see much repair-wise for his foot but I am hoping we can repair some of the damage to his brain. Though of course, we aren't quite sure how severe that damage is exactly. Clark will be acquiring an MR-"

It was as if someone had dropped a lead weight in his stomach, Brick's words were accusatory, "you're dosing him with Chemical X?" Sparks of red crackled down his palms and fingers and lit his eyes, Buttercup and Bubbles flanked the professor immediately, Buttercup's body reacting the same as Brick's.

Coming down the steps with a tray laden with steaming mugs, a sugar bowl, and a small container of milk, Blossom sternly warned, "Brick, don't."

His own eyes blazed at her as she continued to come into the lab, she put the tray down upon the metal table closest to them and began handing out steaming mugs of tea. "I thought we could discuss things over something warm."

Relaxing slightly, "A.K.A, she can't burn tea," Buttercup mumbled to Bubbles, her sister trying to suppress a smile.

"You can't just waltz in here, Red, and act like a fucking cup of tea is going to fix the fact that Mojo is being given a dangerous chemical that could possibly kill him."

Before the professor could speak up Blossom exhaled, and placed the cup she had been holding back onto the tray. With three strides she moved past both Boomer and Butch, standing straight she lifted her proud chin and locked eyes with Brick.

Standing there defiant as his own posture arched in a more predatory manner.

"Stop using foul language in my home and sit. Down." Her voice was frosty, and Boomer could swear he saw tiny ice crystals floating in the air around her lips.

In the lab only the quiet humming of computers could be heard as Brick scowled at Blossom, he clenched his own fist and could feel his body tingling with every fiber screaming to fight her right this moment. At this moment he wanted to wrap his fingers around her throat, the impulse almost made him shudder.

Boomer's voice cracked through the angry buzzing in his ears, "leave it, dude."

With great difficulty Brick relaxed his fists and the Professor grabbed Blossom's wrist, pulling her back. "Blossom, I understand you wanted to come to my defense but just from his reaction I'm guessing Mojo never told the boys how he came to be."

Whipping her head to look at him she swallowed the sour lump that was her pride, Buttercup and Bubbles were both looking at her now. She was their leader and needed to keep calm. Pushing that sour feeling deep inside herself she nodded, retreating with her head high.

Shifting in the chair, Professor Utonium crossed one leg over his knee and leaned forward in his seat. He was clearly preparing to go in depth.

"I would never knowingly administer Chemical X to anyone without more knowledge of its effect on organic living beings; but as I am sure you young men know, all six of you are made of three ingredients with the additional component of Chemical X."

Holding the steaming mugs each of the boys did give Professor Utonium their attention, Butch not even touching the 'dirty leaf water' while Boomer had loaded plenty of sugar into his own mug. Brick just added a splash of milk, he wasn't too proud at the moment to accept it and hadn't met Blossom's eyes while doing so.

"When I was creating the girls I had, at the time, a primate assistant."

Again the loud humming of the computers was the only prominent sound in the lab, the three boys not sure they would particularly like what Professor Utonium was implying.

"I never had any intention of adding Chemical X, but with a rowdy chimp in the room I didn't get much of an option. In his frenzied activity Mojo had crashed into me, not only adding the chemical to the girls but getting doused in it himself." The boys exchanged glances when the Professor used the term 'rowdy' to describe Mojo, and since he had created them the first time around it felt rather suiting.

"I always thought he was kind of an experiment gone wrong or something," Boomer said, mostly to himself.

Butch gave him a look, "I mean he sort of is, just not how we figured." Shrugging he and Boomer both watched Brick's reaction.

Brick was pensive at the moment, wondering why Mojo would have kept that information from them. When they were a lot younger, sure. You don't want to know the being that created you also inadvertently created your arch rivals too.

Interrupting the silence a young man slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her, "Professor Utonium! Dr. Hami- ah, Clark said the monitors are all set up and he's completed resetting the foot."

Nervously he adjusted his shirt collar, offering an awkward grin to Professor Utonium. The kid was barely wet behind the ears and immediately Brick's expression dropped.

"Great, and did he als-," the Professor started but was quickly interrupted.

"He also called and she should arrive in a few hours." The young man rushed through his statement, attempting to establish a positive first impression.

"Thank you, I appreciate it, mister…"

"Harlow. Jim Harlow." He flashed a gigawatt smile, encouraged that the Professor had even asked him his name.

"Thank you, ."

And with that the student retreated back into the closed back room.

His attention now back to his present company the Professor continued, "with and joining me I have high hopes for a full recovery, or as close to one as we can get."

Boomer rose a finger up, "will we be able to visit Mojo? You know, make sure he doesn't, ya' know?" His face scrunched up slightly, lips pulling into an uncomfortable expression.

Both Butch and Brick turned and stared at their brother, clear frowns etched into their faces and you could almost hear the, 'the fuck, boomer,' passing from them to the blonde ruff.

"What?" Boomer looked incredulous, "you know we were all thinking it, I was the only one brave enough to say anything."

Butch rolled his eyes and actually took an unconcious drink of the tea, his face then twisting in disgust as he sat the mug down on the tiled floor and pushed it away with his bare toes.

Brick pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, "give me strength…"

As Bubbles collected the discarded mug and gave Butch a wiry glance at his actions the Professor answered Boomer, "of course. I can give you boys my number and you can also ask the girls if I am unavailable to get back to you or away from my phone." He paused for a moment, "actually that might work best, seeing as if we are in the middle of anything that the girls will be able to notify me that you're waiting upstairs and can keep you company in the meantime."

Buttercup scowled, she wasn't a fucking babysitter or receptionist, but before she could say anything Blossom gave her arm a quick pinch. Smacking her sister's hand away Buttercup gestured at the boys while looking pointedly at her leader, Blossom just giving her a steady look behind the Professor's back.

"We will be happy to help, Professor."

With a silent huff Buttercup turned away from her sister and crossed her arms over her chest, she could see the cool and even smirks on both Brick and Butch's faces and flipped them the bird quickly while Blossom's back was turned.

Standing up and striding over to his desk the Professor leaned over and began writing on a piece of paper, as he was doing this Bubbles collected the empty mugs from everyone and started walking up the steps just as the Professor turned around and handed out to brick a notepad with several numbers on it.

"Here, I've written mine as well as the girls' numbers on it including our house phone. I'm sure Dr. Stark and Dr. Hamilton will hand you their cards as well when you meet them."

Reaching his hand out Brick took the notepad, intending to rip only the numbers off when the Professor waved his hand, "keep it, you can always jot down things you think might be important for me to know about Mojo."

"...thanks." Brick wasn't sure what he'd write to the professor but took it anyways, he wouldn't put it in his pocket just yet since the dampness was only just starting to lift from his jeans.

Blossom stepped next to the Professor and looked up at him while keeping her hand on his upper arm, "Professor, there are some things we need to go over, I need to write a report for Chief Rosa about what happened today and, well," she paused rather lamely and raised her eyebrows at her father.

Patting the back of her hand he answered sternly, "I understand, but I expect you girls to fill me in once you do hand in that report. I don't want to be kept out of whatever is going on in Townsville and with you, got it?"

Bubbles came back down the stairs and Buttercup hopped up to sit on one of the tables in the lab, all three responding, "Yes, Professor."

Satisfied for now he turned back to the boys, "my colleagues and I will need a few days in order to give you more solid information on Mojo's condition, once we have those answers please feel free to call. Dr. Stark should have more solid answers for us once she arrives."

All three of the Rowdyruffs nodded in agreement, they didn't want to wait which was clear from the expressions on their faces but they did respect that Professor Utonium was doing them a solid favor. In retrospect who else would they have brought Mojo to? HIM wouldn't have been able to do anything. Plus Mojo was a primate, not a human, so hospitals were out. It was also undeniable that a vet wouldn't know what to do with a mutated animal, so all in all they were happy to comply by the rules. For now.

The Professor turned back and entered the back room, the whirring and clicking of machines fading as the door closed behind him.

"So," Blossom took the chair that the Professor had been sitting in, Bubbles pulling up a spare one on her one side and Buttercup leaning back on her hands on the table. "We need to talk about what Boomer and I came across on our end."

At the reminder of it Boomer's face blanched, and he could feel a cold sweat beading on his brow. He'd let the mangled body of Grubber leave his mind and now was bombarded with the visual of the rat climbing out of the remainder of the skull.

"I was wondering if you two actually found anything useful," Brick remarked, now taking a seat at the chair he'd previously left unoccupied.

"You could say that…" his brother's words hung in the air ominously.

Pulling out her phone Blossom opened the photo album and scrolled to the most recent shots before handing it over to Brick. Taking it from her Brick peered at the mangled mess trying to make heads of tails of whatever it was, Butch scooted his chair loudly next to Brick's since he wanted to get a good look at it too.

Their faces screwed up as they flicked through the images, then they both became more grim.

Butch just let out a faint, "dude…"

Brick's face was set, his mouth in a hard line and brows furrowed. Those creatures were definitely the ones who had done this to whoever this was. He didn't want to study them longer than he needed to at the time.

Handing the phone back he asked, "do you know who it is?"

Buttercup and Bubbles leaned forward with curiosity as Blossom nodded with certainty and Boomer simply answered, "yeah."

"We believe it's Grubber, apparently Ace mentioned he was missing to Butch."

"Shit. Oh fuck, he's going to… goddamnit."

Blossom just shot a pointent look at Butch who caught it, he threw his hands up, "well what else am I supposed to say? That's some fucked up shit."

Buttercup had grabbed the phone and was checking the photos out herself, "seriously, Bloss, I hate to say he's right but there is no other way to describe it except as 'fucked up shit', ya'know?"

"We can't write that in the report to the chief, Buttercup." Blossom was agitated by her sister's own dirty mouth.

"What are we going to do?" Bubbles' question was simple but turned Blossom's attention away from Butch and Buttercup.

"We'll need to recover the body."

Shock rippled through Bubbles, "we can't go back down there! Those creatures-"

"We have to, Bubbles." Blossom's voice stern again, but that rippling passion for justice lingered beneath it.

Brick hated when Red started talking like that, but she was a superhero, any remark he made had always glanced off of that righteous attitude of hers.

"How would we even get to him?" Buttercup didn't want to return down there anymore than Bubbles did but tried to play it off as simply an inconvenience and not the creeping nervousness that she truly felt.

"Butch mentioned the bank entrance, we didn't barricade around there. Plus we'll have to have the coroner come and collect the remains, and the chief will want to see it for herself, plus the detectives…"

"That's a lot of people to protect, those things are really strong. The only thing that stops them is our energy bursts and Butch's shield." Bubbles was trying to keep her hysteria down, talking quietly, but that quavering note in her voice gave her away all too much.

Bringing his hands up in front of him Butch waved at Bubbles, "yo, keep me outta this, dollface."

Brick turned to scowl at his brother, "you'll do what you're told."

"But she's-"

"By me." Brick ended firmly.

Clamming up Butch sulked in his seat, and Blossom gestured at Brick, "I don't think they will need more than one or two of us as most, but the girls and I can work that out. I wouldn't be surprised if those things changed locations anyways, that wasn't anywhere near where the harbor was so they must be migrating around the city."

She thought openly, "we disturbed what would be their 'nest' so no doubt they will have to regroup elsewhere."

Brick nodded just ever so slightly, "HIM mentioned Mojo had a specimen of one of those things, they probably don't need to use conventional means to escape places like that."

"And all that damage?" Blossom asked, referring to the lab.

"We definitely can't capture and study one on our own, I guess if there is a single seam it'll be able to widen and break through whatever is containing it. Mojo would have kept something like that under serious lock and key." Brick was deep in thought.

Gesturing with his head Boomer questioned, "so when should we tell Ace? He has every right to know."

"Let me do it," Butch rose his index and middle fingers, "he told me that Grubber was missing, I'll be the one to break the news."

Wincing Boomer said, "dude, full offense but you don't exactly have a great bedside manner."

With a wave Butch made a 'pffft sound before replying, "I don't need to have one. And when was the last time you hung out with him? Brick and I catch him occasionally but I doubt Brick will wanna do it."

Brick's arms were crossed as the back and forth continued, looking over at Blossom he said, "let Butch do it."

Blossom wanted to protest but admittedly she knew that was the wiser choice. It gave Ace time to process things and get his head together before the chief would undoubtedly ask him to come down to the station.

"Alright, but you tell him that the chief will be in contact and he will have to come down to the station. He can't cause any trouble, we can't be chasing him and his gang around while these monsters are hunting in the city. Got it?"

"Crystal clear, babycakes." Giving Blossom an 'O.K' symbol with his hand as he leaned back in his chair.

Before he could react Brick's hand was out and slapping the back of his head. Wincing Butch put his hand on the back of his head, "c'mon, dude, don't you think I've been beaten enough for one day?"

Ignoring his brother Brick looked at Blossom steadily, "are you going to tell her about Mojo? About where he is?"

Hesitating Blossom wondered about that but with a quick glance at both of her sisters she replied, "I have to tell her that Mojo was found, especially since that is why we went down in the first place. However, I won't tell her where he is recovering, especially since he is in no clear condition to be interviewed. Right now he won't be of any use to her so we will keep his location hidden in the meantime."

Her 'meantime' caused a fighting anger to begin heating his chest, but he knew he was being irrational and overprotective of his mentor. "Fine."

The Professor suddenly peeked his head out of the door, "girls! Could you please prepare the spare room for Dr. Stark?"

Jumping from her chair Bubbles volunteered, "I've got it!"

"Thanks, honey," with a courteous smile to the boys he closed the door again.

"That's our cue," Brick stood followed by Boomer and Butch. All six teens walked up the steps together and back onto the push carpet.

"I'll let you know Monday if we have talked to Chief Rosa," Blossom said to Brick, then turned to Butch, "so do not tell Ace until Monday at the earliest."

Butch waved her off as he grabbed up his shoes, dumping the towel onto the floor.

"I'll jus' carry them." He said, surprised his brothers were doing the same. Squeezing their feet into cold and damp shoes wasn't high on their list of things to do. Opening the door they noticed the rain had slowed, thunder no longer rolling across the sky in waves.

"Thanks, again." Brick sounded like it pained him greatly to say that to them, he was so used to relying on only himself and his brothers that trusting the Powerpuff Girls felt kind of like a weakness.

Butch and Brick quickly jumped off, Boomer gave a friendly wave, "see you guys at lunch!" He only trailed slightly behind them as the three streaks disappeared through the night.

Closing and locking the door with a finality Blossom sighed in her world-weary way she often did, "thank goodness that's done with."

Buttercup rolled her eyes while Bubbles dashed to the linen closet on the first floor, "wait! Bubbles you're filthy! Don't touch those yet!" A pink streak dashed through the living room leaving a triumphant Buttercup to climb the stairs and claim a hot shower before anyone else.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

"Yes, please follow me, Mr. Blaine has been expecting you." The pert secretary led Chief Rosa and Detectives Marley and Bryant over to the glass tube elevators. As the young woman entered in a passcode and swiped a badge she had around her neck she turned and grinned, "the elevator will take you right up to his office so need to worry about getting lost down a hallway."

With a low 'ping' the glass doors drew open and the three of them stepped inside, "Thank you." Chief Rosa barely got the sentence out before the doors slid back into place and the elevator gently brought them skyward. The base of the elevator looked like different pieces of seaglass melded together, Miranda only noticing due to the fact she didn't particularly like heights and opted to stare at her shoes instead.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught Detective Bryant looking at his reflection and scratching at his face, "your face is fine, detective."

Startled, the tall man glanced down at Miranda and gave a sheepish grin, "ya caught me."

He dropped his hands and stuck them in his pants pockets, his button up was pristine and the rosy color complimented his dark skin, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His matte gray tie was a nice touch as well. Miranda was relieved that Bryant had understood when she stressed that he dress presentably. Normally she didn't mind his penchant for jeans and simple t-shirts as long as he was doing his job, but today was different. He'd even had his shoulder length dreadlocks braided and secured behind his head.

Cosmo Bryant was one of the youngest detectives that Townsville PD had but he was organized, personable, and damn good at his job. He'd been under Detective Marley for three years now and Miranda had hopes to assign Bryant one of the rookies applying for an open position as a detective.

Although intimidating at 6'4 and muscular Bryant was a complete teddy bear when it came to his personal life, she'd seen it when they had talked after he returned from his mother's funeral in Louisiana, but once he was back on the clock he shut the door right down on his personal life and carried on as a professional.

Miranda wished that Detective Marley was as personable, but his predatory nature was why there were so many closed homicide cases. Although less than twenty occurred a year in this overtly peaceful city it always put the citizen's minds at ease to know the force worked hard to protect them from "bad" people.

With the slightest hop the elevator came to a halt, straightening up and holding her chin high Miranda stepped out as soon as the glass doors opened with both detectives flanking her. She'd dressed for extra confidence today, her tailored forest green suit, a silk blouse, and tan heels with her hair loose. And by the look on Norman Blaine's face she was satisfied in surprising the mogul.

His surprise was only briefly on his face before he widened his grin and stood up from a beautifully polished desk, "Chief Rosa, I'm so glad you and your colleagues could join me today."

Coming around the desk now he gestured at another man who was pouring over data on a tablet, lines and charts reflecting in the glasses that sat perched on the bridge of his nose.

"This is my right hand man, Jules Barton."

At the sound of his name Jules placed the tablet down on the glass coffee table beside him and pocketed his glasses. Striding over he extended his hand to the group and began his own introduction.

"Just call me Jules, everyone does. I'm glad I'm finally getting to meet you, Norman informed me about the meeting and I knew collaborating with you would be a wonderful opportunity." Another toothpaste ad was standing right before them, it was hard not to squint at the blinding charisma he exuded.

Miranda shook his hand with a polite firmness but was secretly thankful for Bryant who turned up his own charm and flashed his pearly whites at Jules Barton.

"I'm Detective Bryant, I didn't have the pleasure of meeting your boss."

This got Jules to steer the detective over to Norman Blaine and the relieved sigh that left Detective Marley entered Miranda's atmosphere easily. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, it was a warning to not let the energy of these men drain him. It was true that Jake was more of a solitary creature and did better in one-on-one situations but she needed him here and they needed to be a united front.

Turning away from Bryant and Norman's introductions Jules gestured to the sitting area around the glass coffee table, "please take a seat. Would any of you like coffee? Tea? A water?"

Taking a seat on one of the gray modern chairs Miranda shook her head, "nothing for me, but thank you."

Perhaps it was from years of questioning perps but any time she offered a drink it was to attempt to collect saliva from the individual. Bryant and Marley followed suit in refusing the offer but Norman had that smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes again. "Oh well, I'll just have a whole tray brought up just in case."

Striding over to his desk phone he hit a button, "Emily?"

A minor beat was skipped before a clear voice sang, "yes, ?"

"Could you bring a pot of coffee and some cups up to my office?"

"Of course, sir, any preference?"

"Surprise me," with that he let go of the button and returned over to sit on another free chair. "I hope you don't mind, I find discussing things over a drink to be most productive."

"Does that include alcohol?" Marley quipped, but Jules leaned forward from his position on the couch, picking the tablet back up and scrolled through the emails that had cropped up.

"I didn't peg you as a cliche, detective."

At Jules's comment a hardness fell over Marley, his upper lip curled in an unbecoming sneer before he quickly dropped it and gave a hollow chuckle.

"Oh you can find me passed out on the countertop of O'Malley's every Tuesday starting at noon. In fact they pull out a sleeping bag and everything, real hospitable folks."

The look that Miranda was shooting at Marley went fairly ignored and she was about to intervene when Jules gave a chuckle, his lips spreading into a wide grin. Shaking a finger at the detective he leaned back into his seat.

"I'll be sure to send them a box of mints for your pillow then."

Bryant just watched Marley ease back into his seat some and lace his fingers together with a nod.

"I'll hold you to it."

Clearing her throat Miranda turned back to and stated, "I saw your request for the weekend guard, and although I cannot send them out under the department's direction I am sure if you offered to pay that many of the men and women would be more than interested in picking up additional shifts when they aren't on the job."

Without missing a beat Detective Bryant jumped in right after, "of course we will need to know more about the facilities here so they know what exactly they are applying for. And since the explosion at the docks we want to ensure that coming into contact with that chemical won't be anything they have to deal with."

Jules just glanced over at Norman and gave a short tilt of his head. Bryant had done his research and knew that these two men had been working together for close to 15 years. In fact the articles written about their work and partnership were always glowing, not a disagreeable photo had been taken of the two nor a social media war. They were two very synchronized men with the same goal in mind, a wonderful or dangerous combination.

Norman opened his hands in a placating manner, the smile on his lips was softer and no longer a press worthy grin. "I wouldn't mind hiring them out at all, I just know I promised to bring more jobs to Townsville and that's exactly what I plan on doing. If I can get a summary written of the job details and have the paperwork handled to pay out through Blaine Industries, this would be something you would share with the station?"

"I would." Her voice was firm, and even though she'd hate to see good people work for someone who made her feel slimy all over she also didn't want to deny these good people the ability to provide more for their families.

"I would also require a tour of the facilities that they will be patrolling." She didn't want to leave out anything important.

Before Norman could answer her, the elevator gave a low chime and out stepped the perky secretary with a tray laden with mugs, a glass menagerie of cream and sugar, and a steaming pot. Placing it almost ceremoniously onto the glass coffee table she quickly gave the sitting group instructions.

"Now be careful, it's pretty hot." Straightening up she turned eagerly to Norman, "is there anything else I can get you, ?"

With a smile he shook his head, "no, that will be all, Emily. Thank you."

Detectives Bryant and Marley both noted that the girl was almost walking on air as she excused herself from the room. Fixing himself a cup and handing another one over to his associate, Norman kept his eyes on the chief.

"As soon as we finish up here I will gladly have Jules give you all a tour. Since this facility is still fairly new I'm afraid I haven't figured out all the nooks and crannies yet."

"You'd think he would, considering he helped design it though," Jules gave a short chuckle before sipping gingerly from his mug.

"I am curious though," Norman started, "I know there are so many villains working around Townsville as well as many other metropolitan cities and they all have superheroes designated to them. I find it odd that the Powerpuff Girls are the only ones with powers in the city limits."

Marley practically snorted through his nose and exchanged looks with Bryant before saying, "you clearly haven't been here long."

"What do you mean?"

"Detective…" the chief's voice was warning. She wasn't sure why he was being so nonchalant, he had been there when Blossom had turned down the money to guard them privately, the last thing she needed was for Norman Blaine to hire out a supervillain or try to contact those Rowdyruff Boys.

"Nothing like that, you'll see the girls have everything handled the more you settle in." Marley quickly covered his tracks, he'd seen the fights between the kids when he was still a beat cop, he'd also seen some of the insane weapons that the villains had come up with over the years. When fights broke out and blood was drawn there was no way to get away from the scene quickly enough.

"I might not've grown up in Townsville but I can tell you for a fact that when visiting heroes come they don't really compare." Bryant had his legs crossed, a polished loafer gleaming as it rested over his knee. "In Louisiana we had Liberte Bele, Grey Falcon, and Harlequin moving around, and as good as they are I think I trust the Powerpuff Girls more."

Miranda could feel the exhale of her chest, glad they had been able to steer things in another direction, as Norman didn't look as curious now. She didn't like the way he fished for information. "I can assure that anyone you hire from our department for additional security will be an excellent worker, they know protocols in addition to having a direct line to the Mayor."

"He's the only one that calls the girls?" Norman's curiosity was piqued once again.

"Something like that," Miranda simply stated, "the department has a connect with them as well, but the mayor loves doing it himself. And of course there are some things the girls don't miss."

"Like a giant squid monsters downtown?" Jules quipped.

Bryant nodded, "exactly."

"Now, ," Miranda started.

"Norman, please, Chief Rosa."

With an impatient sigh internally she began again, "Norman, as you know my duty is to protect the people of Townsville, and although you gave us information on the gist of what was in the shipping container it is still raising red flags for me. Could you elaborate further on this?"

The silence that settled upon the group was practically screaming with tension as Norman took another sip of his coffee before placing it back onto the glass coffee table and settled back into his seat with his fingers interlaced. Even though Bryant and Marley were on the more tense side, Miranda was steadily looking at Norman, she looked completely unphased by the silence met on the other side of the table. Jules on the other hand was sipping his tea, a gleeful glint in his eyes as they swung back and forth between the two.

Finally Norman spoke, "of course, I was hoping to break most of the information at our grand announcement party in March but I understand your concern." He tilted his head slightly, hands resting elegantly over the chair's armrests. "I'm sure as someone in law enforcement you have had close calls or knew someone who had been gravely injured while out in the field, correct?"

Shifting forward just a bit in her seat Miranda quirked an eyebrow with curiosity, "yes. I understand what you mean." She wasn't willing to volunteer any specific information however.

"Oftentimes on the battlefields during war, or on missions where there is gunfire exchanged or hand to hand combat someone can be caused enough bodily damage where getting them to a hospital just simply isn't an option. Many good people lose their lives because a medic cannot properly close a wound, or emergency surgery is needed because a vital organ is punctured."

Miranda nodded with a solemness that Marley had seen in only the most dire of straits.

"It's true that Israeli Bandages and XStat applicators have certainly saved people but they are only so effective. They slow the bleeding or seal a wound but thats all they can really do, they cannot truly fix the problem and sometimes the person is incapacitated and in great pain. "

Pausing here for a moment Norman glanced at both detectives who were also closely paying attention and taking mental notes.

"Before I proceed further I will need you three to sign an agreement stating you will not discuss this information outside of this conversation here, you will not sell it, or write it down. We will be announcing what it is in due time, but until then, for legal purposes I am sure you understand this information is classified."

Jules immediately brought the tablet back up to his face and with a few quick motions pulled up a document and pushed it across the table to their guests.

"You can sign your name with your finger."

Picking up the tablet Miranda scanned the document, it was simple and straightforward, plenty of legalise but he had made sure it was all something that could be referenced.

"We can send an emailed copy to each of you for your records as well," Jules was quick to reassure.

She only flicked her eyes over to the two men who followed her very briefly before nodding, "yes, I would appreciate that."

As she began signing with her finger and punched out her work email address on the line beside it Norman noticed Marley had a queer look on his face.

"You don't have to sign it, but if that is the case then I must request you leave this room at once and we shall rejoin you once this discussion is complete."

With a sense of surprise Marley realized he was the one being addressed, as Bryant was now signing the document as well.

He gave a quick cough to clear his throat and waved his hand, "I have no problem here."

Taking the tablet from Bryant, Marley signed his own name, silently cursing the digital contraption. Everything was digital these days, and even if he sounded like a grumpy old man he didn't care. Pen and paper were just fine with him.

Handing the tablet back over to Jules, the detective settled back into his seat but was surprised by a sharp intake of breath. Looking up at Jules he was pretty irritated to see the man holding back laughter.

"Got a joke you want to share?"

Clearing his own throat now Jules just marveled, "not at all, but did I read this right? Your name is Jacob Marley?" He sounded incredulous at the prospect.

Humorlessly the detective blankly stared at the man, "my parents were big Dickens fans."

He was used to people making the connection and giving him shit about it. Especially if they had read the classics.

"Can we continue?" Miranda just raised an eyebrow over at Jules who just simply started working on the tablet again, she assumed emailing them their copies.

"As I had been saying before," Norman continued, "these methods are temporary at best and not always lifesaving. They are, in short, unreliable."

There was a biting tone under his normally relaxed and charismatic cadence as he spit out that last word, and Miranda of course knew there was something underlying there.

"Currently my colleagues are working on developing a solution to this; What if one could simply apply a soft and pliable matter that not only sealed the wounds but also secreted a numbing agent? This matter would have to be both chemical as well as organic, as it does not have a timeline to be taken off before it is useless and the person bleeds to death while waiting for surgery."

He was gesturing in an excitable manner, his smile wasn't manic but it lit up his features. Now Miranda understood why so many people liked him, even if she didn't 100% trust his motives. He was passionate and that passion could easily set fire to the hearts of those who shared his vision.

"We are developing this substance that does not need to be kept at any particular temperature, a substance that adheres and reforms capillaries and excises damaging chemicals or objects that have penetrated the human body. It could spit out an entire bullet when poured into the wound while sealing it at the same time. Because it's so pliable it can form into anything, it would be a goo, something that would pour out of a sealed pouch."

Giving a slight chuckle Norman followed up with, "now it won't be able to remove bones if they have shifted into other places, but the plan is to have it wrap itself around the problem areas and keep them protected and from continuing further damage until that individual is taken to a surgeon."

"This sounds like a living thing on it's own, surely if it's able to live in the human body and never be removed… you don't think that's dangerous?"

"Not at all, people get metal replacements all the time, but this substance will slowly, overtime, become real, breathing tissue. It seems like it will have a mind of it's own but in reality it is the chemical make up of it that will take in nutrients and slowly become more organic over time."

"We are still in the middle stages, of course," Jules said, "but we have come to find a few new sources that we believe will give us the last bits and pieces we need."

"The FDA is also closely involved, we don't continue anything without their approval."

"But what will become of the disposed…" Miranda searched for the correct word, "bandage? It doesn't sound like something that should end up in a landfill, and it sounds like it should be hazardous waste, but will it be disposed of the same way?"

"Disposed?" Norman sounded almost insulted, "no, no, no. Each facility and hospital will be provided a containment capsule that will be addressed to return to the main facility. From there the plan will be to cleanse the substance and make sure there are no impurities before sending it out in another batch."

Bryant winced slightly, "that doesn't sound very sanitary."

"In a world where we should stop adding more waste, trust me when I say I would rather have everything return here and be renewed. Sustainable and life saving."

Miranda leaned back into her seat now, she had to admit it was all impressive as a whole. If this really did work, well it would absolutely make a metropolis out of Townsville. She understood why Ms. Bellum had been so serious earlier in the week about this opportunity. However she still didn't trust or like Norman Blaine, there was an odd air to the man.

"Thank you for being transparent with us." She pushed as much sincerity into her tone as she could.

Nodding, Bryant agreed and Marley simply gave a grunt of satisfaction with the whole spiel. His fingers were fidgeting on the arm rest next to him, the tips tapping out a rhythm. Norman leaned forward and took his cup from the table, taking a sip he smiled over the brew. Jules was back to looking over his tablet when he leaned over the chair arm and pushed back into place a silvering curl.

"Why don't I take them on the tour, Norm? I think you have given them plenty so when I show them the facilities they'll be fairly impressed."

He rose his eyebrows at his colleague, Jules was clearly just as charming as Norman was and it was as if the men communicated telepathically with the way their facial expressions changed. Norman and Jules both began to stand, the detectives and chief following suit.

"I think that would be great, Jules," he stopped for a moment and looked at Miranda, "if we're wrapped up here, of course."

With a nod and stiff upper back Miranda answered, "yes, we are quite finished. I'll be in touch about the job posting."

The group shook hands with Norman as Jules held the elevator door open for them, it was true Marley had squeezed a little harder than was necessary but honestly Norman Blaine wouldn't have expected anything less from the man. He walked over to his desk as he could hear Jules's voice fading as the elevator doors closed and took them away.

"-we even have special facilities for the employees so tha-"

Staring out the large glass windows out to the ocean and the city that lay only 7 miles away, Norman held a more serious expression now. They had sparked an idea within him earlier, he just wanted to make sure that an outcome he agreed with would surface. Pulling his cell out of his pants pocket he tapped the screen a few times before holding it up to his ear.

"Burke?" He paused, "I need you to get me some information; I need a list of only the most deadly and significant villains that the Powerpuff Girls have fought, I also need to know where they are currently."

The office was quiet while Norman listened to the reply on the other line. A confident and satisfied smile on his lips right before he turned back to take a seat at his desk.

"Excellent, you have 48 hours."

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Parking outside of the dated 60s home Miranda checked the address once again to make sure it was the correct one. 69 Yodelinda Valley Lane, right in a chic Townsville neighborhood. It wasn't anything like her small townhouse in the city, it was much, much quieter here. Miranda didn't like when things were too quiet, it always sent a signal to her lizard-brain that something bad was about to happen, kind of like when the birds stop chirping right before a monster comes storming downtown.

Getting out and locking the door behind her she climbed the long staircase, her waves scooped back up into a ponytail that bounced around her shoulders with each step she took. Approaching the door she could subtly hear voices somewhere out back but didn't want to just look for the gate and walk right in. Pressing her index finger to the doorbell she could hear the loud buzz, and her finger was barely off the button when the door swung open quickly.

"Chief Rosa, I'm glad you came."

Blossom's smile was soft, but one look at her face and Miranda knew she was tired. Her long hair was over her shoulder in a loose braid and there were circles under her eyes. She stepped backwards and indicated that Miranda should cross the threshold. As Miranda stepped in the door quickly closed behind her and Blossom was at her elbow.

"Everyone is in the back."

"Thank you for getting the door." Miranda was just pondering how the day before had gone, she had heard people felt the ground moving under a few blocks but that also wasn't uncommon for the area.

"I have a report filled out about yesterday, Bubbles informed me that it was required." It was as if Blossom was reading her mind and Miranda narrowed her eyes at the girl slightly.

"You can't read minds, can you?"

Blossom looked startled for a moment and then chuckled, "no, nothing like that. But there is something I want to tell you before we go outside."

She stopped in the center of the living room, and looked seriously at Miranda. From their place in the house in front of the massive windows Miranda could see under a pergola that Sara Bellum and the other two girls were sitting around a patio set. Something seemed off about their energy, they seemed just as tired as Blossom, and that was an observation from afar.

Looking at the young woman, Miranda crossed her arms and nodded, "I'm guessing it has something to do with yesterday."

"Yes, and we appreciate you confirming the location and allowing us to go down there. But there was a problem, I have everything documented with photos and everything and it's in my bag outside. I just need to warn you now."

"Warn me? About what exactly?" Lifting her head slightly, she was already regretting letting them down there.

"It's not what you think, ah- well," here Blossom paused, "there was some damage-"

Miranda's face began to darken but Blossom was quick to continue.

"It was absolutely necessary, the creature that Bubbles fought is down there, and she said there are more of them. We had to block them off so we could get away and sealed the doors so they can't escape the way we came."

Miranda wanted to sit down. More of those monsters? She felt like the girl had downplayed it when she had reported it after the destruction at the shipyard but for Blossom to even admit they had to run away from whatever this was, this concerned her.

"We found a body."

With that statement alone Miranda's head snapped completely towards Blossom who just looked grim but continued with her verbal report.

"We were able to identify the body as a member of the Gangreen Gang who recently went missing. He'll still need to be identified by Ace Copular though."

Quietly Miranda questioned, "how do you know?"

With a light sigh Blossom admitted, "the member of the Rowdyruff Boys I was with confirmed Grubber Gibberish had been missing, and we recognized the remains of the clothes. He's also the one that realized the color of the body wasn't from decomp."

As much as Blossom had been able to keep it together in front of Boomer she still didn't like recounting gore. Miranda shifted and looked at the floor for a moment, pressing the side of her fist against her mouth with thought. They stood like that for a moment before Miranda shifted back into her previous stance.

"Thank you for telling me, I'll get a group together to retrieve it."

"I need to be there when you do."

"We can handle this, Blossom, I appreciate your perseverance to see this through but really, we-"

"No, Chief Rosa, I mean no disrespect but if you run into that creature down there I don't think any of you will come back."

Now this, this wasn't something she expected to hear from a Powerpuff Girl. Always the girls were the positive light the city adored and looked up to, they reassured the citizens and overcame villains and monsters of all sorts. To be told flat out that she thought they were dangerous enough to warrant that they not go without her was worrying.

"I can also show you exactly where the body is as well, and hopefully it's still there."

Begrudgingly Miranda agreed, "very well. I'll call my people today and have them begin to gather." She hesitated as she realized something, "you said you sealed the way you came in, will you be able to get us back there without trouble from one of the other entrances?"

"Yes, it's a tunnel over from the tunnel with the bank entrance, so we will have to go in through the vault."

Miranda pulled out her phone and grumbled, "the president of that bank is going to be a pain to deal with, I'd rather do this without a warrant."

"If we go tomorrow after the bank closes that should give us plenty of time, and time to get the right supplies as well. I was informed it's a tall ladder that drops down, there are no steps so we will need something level to pull it straight up."

This was going to be more intricate than Miranda anticipated, this would require more calls and paperwork than she wanted to do. She'd have to get her lieutenant to assist. Punching in a text to them to call her in 30 minutes, Miranda didn't even look at Blossom as she questioned the situation.

"Why hasn't Mr. Copular come in to report his friend missing?"

Glancing up at Blossom as she slipped her phone away Miranda noted the deadpan expression on the girl's face.

"Nevermind, not sure why I even bothered asking that."

She'd encountered all of the men in that gang numerous times in the last two years since she came on as Townsville's chief. It was always revolving around petty crimes, warrants, nothing all that dastardly or devious.

"Have you been in touch with him?"

Shaking her head Blossom explained, "no, I haven't. One of the boys who came with us is… friendly with Ace and had volunteered to break the news to him and then tell him to get down to your office."

Blossom was having a hard time letting this fall into Butch's hands but she did have to agree that Ace was more likely to lash out at her or the chief directly. Or not even believe them and suspect it is a trap of sorts.

"I told him not to say anything until I spoke with you."

Nodding, Miranda agreed that was a better call, but she wanted to make the decision.

"How do you know he won't run? That he didn't do it? Do you really trust that he will come down to the precinct once we recover the body."

"Trust me," and Blossom's voice was deathly serious, "he did not do this. When you see the photos you'll understand. The Gangreen Gang might be a lot of things but they aren't whatever did that."

Miranda noticed the dark haired sister turning and beginning to stand up, looking in their direction, indicating with a pointed finger at it to Blossom, Miranda gestured with her head.

"We've been too long, we can continue this conversation later."

Blossom nodded in agreement and showed her the way out through the sliding door. They walked past the pool, which was closed for the season, and over a stone path to join the others.

"Sorry about that, , we were just talking." Blossom was quick to apologize to their host for their tardiness.

"Not a problem at all, please," she gestured to one of the empty cushioned chairs, "have a seat, Miranda."

Taking her place she nodded towards the other two girls, "it's good to see you again."

Crossing her arms across her chest, Buttercup settled into her seat more, just a grunt of acknowledgement coming from her, while Bubbles smiled a little too brightly and gave a small wave.

"It's good to see you too, Chief Rosa."

Sara Bellum poured Miranda a tall lemonade out of an icy pitcher on the table, the warm air causing the glass to perspire, a large water droplet sliding down the side. There were some pastries and a bowl of pretzels on the table, she noted the girls must have been here for awhile with the crumbs on their plates, and in Blossom's case a half eaten cannoli.

Now that she was up close she knew the girls were tired. They all sported the dark sleepless circles and from what she could tell they were also a bit bruised and marked up. Not heavily so, but enough for her to take notice. She took a sip from the glass before putting it down on the table, Blossom was asking Sara Bellum a question but Miranda wasn't fully paying attention at this time.

She was trying to be sociable but she'd just been handed a great amount of information and her list of things to do was piling up right in front of her. Not to mention what she had learned from Norman Blaine earlier that day… Sundays were supposed to be relaxing and this was proving to be anything but.

"So, what did you end up doing today, Miranda?"

Startled out of thought Miranda turned towards Ms. Bellum, "I'm sorry?"

Her smile was kind, and as the mayor's right hand for so long there was no doubt the red headed woman knew when someone wasn't all there.

"You seem distracted." Leaning over the table slightly, resting her chin on her right hand she seemed to be guiding the chief into engaging more.

At this even Buttercup and Bubbles seemed to sit straighter, curious, although they knew that Blossom had planned on giving the chief a run down of yesterday's events they also didn't expect her to talk about it in front of them. They weren't the 'leader'.

Waving it off slightly, Miranda just said, "just a lot on my list, that's all. Plus I spoke with Mr. Blaine today and was given a tour of the facility."

Blossom stiffened slightly at the man's name, and Buttercup's eyes darted to her sister. She recalled that Blossom hadn't gotten the best vibes from the guy. Was the chief getting buddy-buddy with the dude?

"How did it go?" Ms. Bellum was casual in her question.

"It went surprisingly well, have you met his associate Jules Barton?"

Shaking her head Bellum replied, "I haven't had the opportunity."

"He's…" searching for the right word, her eyes landing on Blossom, "eccentric. To say the least."

Piping up Bubbles said, "did he really convert all those old warehouses and that old factory? I read about it online, he said he's really into sustainable resources. I was just glad he didn't end up clearing more land. The animals have it hard enough without their habitats being uprooted."

She seemed to pout towards the end of her statement, but before Miranda could respond Buttercup gave a snort in her sister's direction.

"Oh please, we already saw that huge tower that went up."

"Yeah but-"

"You can't be sustainable if you build more things on top of the old things."

Clearing her throat, Blossom interrupted, "actually, Buttercup-"

. . .

Once her phone started ringing Miranda took one look at the caller ID, standing she shook 's hand.

"Thank you again for the invite, I'm sorry I can't stay longer."

Standing as well she shook Miranda's hand, "I appreciate you coming. We'll have to do this more often."

Blossom shot up from her seat and grabbed a stuffed file out of her bag, quickly handing it over to the chief. Taking it in her hands Miranda gave a curt smile.

"I'll be in touch tonight or tomorrow morning."

Answering her phone she spoke into it, "Matsuo, I'm walking to my car now." She gave a short wave before turning her back to the group and walked back through the house and down to her car.

Blossom turned to , "can we help you clean up anything?"

Buttercup shot her sister a look and Bubbles felt her own shoulders slump, it's not that they didn't enjoy helping one of the most influential women in their lives, they just really, really wanted to go home and crawl into bed.

"I'd love that, if you can just help bring everything in and load the dishwasher I'd appreciate it."

Before Blossom could say anything Buttercup just gave a mock salute, "already on it."

Snagging all the glasses onto the tray before shooting back into the house, Bubbles on her tail with a small stack of plates and the empty pitcher.

"Wait, hold the door for me, Buttercup!"

This left Blossom and to continue gathering up the uneaten goodies and begin walking back down to the house.

"You girls are being careful, right?"

"What? Of course, you know us."

"Exactly," a humored smile lifted the corner of her red painted lips and Blossom flushed. She was forever a child when it came to adults like Ms. Bellum, , and the Professor.

"I know you want us to like but I just have a weird feeling in my gut."

Stopping outside of the sliding glass door looked carefully at Blossom, "it's important to listen to that. I'm not asking you to like him, politics are hard and you girls are getting old enough to be part of them now. He might be overly confident and a bit of a mogul-stereotype, but he has done good things."

Looking at her white sandals Blossom chewed the corner of her lip, she knew she wasn't being scolded, and even though she always positioned herself as an adult she still was a child when it comes to matters like this. She had to have the cool head, to be polite and sit in on meetings. Sure, she had Bubbles handle anything that was press related and politics had only been brought up once or twice but her child-like innocence usually caused people to change the subject.

Things had been good in Townsville for so long, they'd been able to just save the city and the world and go to school without any huge concerns. But the last two years were proving that there was a lot more going on.

"Listen," and Ms. Bellum's voice was soft, "I will always trust you girls and your judgement, but I also ask that you trust mine."

"We always ha-"

But Ms. Bellum continued, "if some serious concerns do come up I want you to call me immediately, if you think he's doing something wrong I will trust you and look into it. But I need you to have an open mind as well."

Sighing Blossom agreed, "I will."

Pulling the door open for her had Blossom enter in before her, locking the door to the backyard behind them. She could hear bickering between Bubbles and Buttercup from the kitchen, and although it didn't sound like there was any actual anger behind it she was prepared for there to be a broken dish… or dishwasher. Again. Thank goodness for warranties.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Lacing his sneaker back up Butch jumped slightly when he felt a hand connect with his upperback. Humorlessly he looked over at Harry Pitt who was grinning at him and the smugness that rolled off of him was palpabile. Harry had already given Butch shit about his face when they'd arrived for early morning practice but now the kid was looking like the cat that ate the canary, and who had gotten away with it too.

"God, I hate when your face looks like that," Butch remarked. He stood up and put his foot on the ground before snagging his deodorant and applying it, he just wanted to drop his gear off in his locker and maybe find Elmer.

Harry recoiled in mock offense, "you're a brute, Butch Jojo! And here I was about to tell you about the best date of my life!"

Samson pulled his shirt over his head and quipped, "you mean second best, right?"

Quizzically looking at Samson, Harry said, "uh, what?"

"Yeah, didn't you take your sister to homecoming this year?"

"Joke's on you! She's my cousin." Harry crossed his arms in a victorious stance, not even thinking about what he had said.

"That makes it so much better," chucked Butch as he pulled on his own t-shirt.

Harry threw his sweaty towel at Samson who attempted to dodge and screeched, "that's nasty, man!"

"Oh fuck you guys, she's a freshman and didn't know anyone!" Harry was obviously put out by his buddies.

With a wiry grin Butch gave a nod with his head, "we know, dude. It's just more fun to give you shit." Samson was laughing but Butch continued, "tell me about this date at lunch, alright? I gotta run to my locker."

Swinging his backpack over one shoulder and grabbing his duffle with his sports gear he started to walk out but when he got to the end of the isle he smirked, "by the way, Harry, you better take a shower before you leave here or that'll be the last date you ever have."

He rounded the corner as Harry flipped him the bird and he could hear Samson and one of the other guys joking around with Harry some more. He passed a few more team members, most gave a nod or friendly wave and Butch could genuinely say he liked these guys, but there was that bitter pill of resentment that he had to swallow everytime they had a game and they got to play while he hung out on the sidelines.

Exiting the boys locker room Butch walked steadily back to his own locker. Brick and Boomer would probably arrive in the next ten minutes, especially with how the hallways were starting to look. They'd been deserted at 6 am but now students were starting to stumble in, bleary eyed after a weekend that was never long enough.

He cut through the quad in the middle of the school, he noticed Mary was snapping a few photos for her photography class. He had english with her but oftentimes her photography played a part in her presentations, not to mention she'd won some awards last year. She stopped and looked up at him, giving a small wave and a friendly smile. Caught off guard he just lifted his hand and then walked faster to open the door and get back into the school.

Mary was notoriously friendly, much like a certain blue Powerpuff he knew. Approaching his locker he nodded at his neighbor before starting on his locker combo and opening it. Swinging his duffel inside the cramped space (why did high school movies always show kids getting shoved into lockers? A kindergartener wouldn't fit in this thing) he dropped his backpack next to his feet and rummaged for his first period textbook, quickly tossing that inside the bag.

His face fucking itched. Sure he'd be scabbing up right now anyways but it didn't usually hurt anymore. This thing radiated heat and pain. Finding himself scratching at his right brow he was trying not to rub or apply too much pressure, that only made it sting more.

"If you keep scratching like that you're going to scar."

Whirling to his left he was surprised to see Bubbles standing there with a poignant look on her face, her arms crossed across her chest. Throwing his bag over his shoulder he slammed the locker and started walking with her right at his heels.

"Babes love a guy with scars, stop trying to cockblock me."

Gaping at him she huffed, "you do that just fine on your own, Mr. Jojo."

Actually amused she had bitten back at him he slowed down and rested a thumb in his pocket, he gave her his most charming smile and tilted his head slightly, "if you wanted my attention all you had to do was ask, sweet cheeks."

Sighing she rolled her eyes, "I just wanted to let you know Blossom talked to the chief yesterday and they are planning on recovering… you know."

That was his cue that he was green lighted to tell Ace tonight, well at least he knew what his plans were going to be. Straightening back up again he gave her a solemn nod that he got her message. Dead bodies were not a topic of conversation that most high schoolers had between one another.

"Also," her voice was softer, "you don't need to help me out anymore, you did more than enough this weekend." She seemed embarrassed to say it again but she looked up at him and he wished she'd stop with the 'thank you's. "So thanks, again."

She was about to dip down to another hallway when he stopped, Bubbles just barely caught her own feet beneath her at a three way intersection. He shrugged, and the corner of his mouth quirked up.

"Nah, I'll still teach ya."

"Really!?" There were the stars back in her surprised eyes, an unexpected smile worked it's way onto her lips and she was grinning. They got a number of odd looks from passing students, the pastel princess and the baron of berserk talking! He took both his hands and pushed the air in front of him, his eyes searching side-to-side.

"Take it easy, will ya? People will start to think we're friends or some shit."

"Oh, right!" She lowered her shoulders and tried to stay unassuming but she kept bringing her hands up to her mouth to stifle her grin.

"Oh my god…" Butch grumbled, slapping his hand to his forehead.

"I appreciate it," she whispered somewhat loudly.

Shrugging he went to push his hair to the side, "it's whatever, and that way I don't have to keep saving your ass." His smug smile made her scowl almost playfully, and even though he thought she was annoying maybe she wasn't the most annoying.

"Saturday at dawn," Bubbles was about to protest when Butch continued, "on Northville Beach there's a small surfers cove. If you fly you can't miss it, plus you have to climb rocks and go through a woodsy area just to get there so it should be quiet."

Without waiting for her reply he started walking off and gave a dismissive wave, "and don't be late."

Watching him melt into the surge of bodies that were now populating the school Bubbles hesitated. Yanking her phone out she opened her map app and typed in 'Northville Beach' and checked it out. Typically they hit the beaches that were more south of them so she wasn't exactly familiar, just checking it out she knew it would be about 20-30 minutes for her to fly there. Internally screaming she turned down the hall and began setting her phone alarm for 4:30 am that Saturday.

. . .

Irritated, Buttercup gave the heavily frosted glass to the private room a knock. She'd been sitting in the councilor lobby for the past 10 minutes waiting, it wasn't exactly something she expected to be pulled out of her free period for. Plus Mitch and Samson hissing, "ooooooo," at her when she was called down wasn't something she would easily forgive but she would have to plan her revenge later on.

"Come in," the voice on the other side of the door sang.

Sighing heavily Buttercup opened the door and before anything could be said to her she blurted, "whatever it was I swear it wasn't me!"

"You can sit down now, Buttercup."

Sitting behind the desk was none other than the sweet face of , she had become a high school guidance counselor roughly seven years prior and the girls were actually relieved when they had been assigned to her. She hadn't changed too much except for the wisps of silver hair that began to spring over her head and a few deeper wrinkles as she aged, plus the short pixie cut and more mature wardrobe.

Slumping into the chair across the desk and putting her backpack on the floor Buttercup noted that didn't sound angry or disappointed, but she still wanted to stick her toe into the pool before jumping in headfirst.

"Soo… what can I do for ya, Ms. Keane?"

Clearing her throat and looking at a few papers in front of her Ms. Keane asked, "why didn't you tell me you were having trouble with your math class this semester?"

Buttercup's cheeks flushed red and she immediately sat forward in defense, "It's only January, and it's not like it's a big deal or anything."

Sliding a pair of readers down her nose, Ms. Keane dryly retorted, "it will be February on Friday and you've failed all four quizzes. That just isn't like you."

"Well yeah, but-" Buttercup felt like she was floundering, "it's just this one section. I'm sure I'll do fine when we change to something else."

"You know that this section is a majority of the semester, right?"

Deflating Buttercup just slumped back into her seat and muttered, "I know."

looked at her levelly and gave her an encouraging smile, much like she had when she and her sisters were kids. In fact she was one of the adults in her life that had always been consistent and the word of reason when she felt like she was lost at sea.

Plus she'd seen Buttercup bawl her eyes out in 8th grade when Lily Peterson, her first girlfriend, had moved across the country and ended their relationship. It had sucked, but had always been someone she could be honest with and she'd guided her through the woes of first heartbreak.

"So what do you think of a student tutor during your free period on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

Stiffening at the thought of Blossom tutoring her, Buttercup was about to say something when put her mind at ease.

"And no, not Blossom. I spoke with Mr. Bateman and he recommended one of his best honors calc students, I believe he should be arriving shortly."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth did a knock come at the door. Buttercup started straightening up in her seat a bit and walked up and over to open the door. Even if wasn't so short there would still be no hiding for the towering and shaggy haired blonde Ruff.

"Thank you for coming by, I know I'm dragging you out of english-"

"No, trust me, it's fine," Boomer mumbled.

Closing the door behind him, Ms. Keane walked back over to her desk chair and gestured at the open seat.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Jojo."

The utter shock on Buttercup's face was evident, and if Boomer didn't feel so awkward in this situation or wasn't a part of it then he would've laughed. However he could see the emotions running across her face as he sat down and scooted his chair away from her.

"How long did you know?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me-"

"But-"

"Now, settle down, Buttercup. He was only informed this morning before class and he didn't know it would be you."

Grimacing, Boomer shrugged at her, waiting for her to drop her shoulders and relax. But instead just the opposite happened. Standing and slamming a fist onto the desk, he could hear the wood splinter as Buttercup gestured at him with her free hand.

"This has to be some sick joke, right? There is no fucking way he's in honors calc. He's dumber than the dumbest!"

Snapping at her Boomer barked back, "I'm not the one failing, now am I?"

Snapping electricity pulsed between both Buttercup and Boomer, small cracks of blue edging around his fingers while her own eyes began to blaze green.

's gaze was icy as she fixed both of them with a glare, "I will have none of that in my office. Now. Sit. Down."

Buttercup relented and sunk back into her chair, crossing her arms stubbornly. To her this was just adding insult to injury. Not only was she bombing her math class already but to have Boomer be the one to teach her? She'd let him into her group of friends and had been nice to him and this was the thanks she got?

"I will not tolerate that language, Ms. Utonium," and Buttercup winced at her last name being used.

continued, "detention after school today, and no 'but's about it." She held her finger up when the teen started to shift forward to argue, "you're lucky that one detention is all you're getting." Now she gestured to the splintered wood in the desk and Buttercup went back to sinking in her chair.

"Now if we can get back on track here." Folding her hands in front of her looked at Boomer, "would you still be willing to give up two days a week to tutor Buttercup during her free period? I heard you're doing well in english so your teacher has already approved it as long as it doesn't affect your grade and it's only until midterms."

Leaning forward and resting his chin in his hands Boomer gave it some thought before straightening up and giving a tiny shrug and head tilt.

"Sure, I don't see why not."

At the moment Buttercup didn't know if she was floored more at the fact he had actually agreed or by the fact that Boomer was in an honors math class. Her pride was stinging, she normally kept up just fine remembering what her shop teacher said, 'C's get degrees!' So if she landed in the middle she was satisfied that she would still get into a good college and overall fly under the radar.

"Buttercup?" 's voice snapped her out of her momentary shock and she looked at the older woman.

"Yeah. Fine." Her voice wasn't weighed down with malice or anger this time, just overall shock. And maybe a tinge of embarrassment.

"Wonderful," looked satisfied as she opened the laptop on her desk and started briskly typing, "I recommend the library or the quad, as both are quiet during this time of day. Obviously if there is a call you may go, Buttercup, and, Mr. Jojo, you may return to your class for the rest of the period."

The tension that was rolling off of the two teens in waves made Ms. Keane take a quick glance at both of their hands before she turned back to her laptop, "well, off with you two, the period will be over soon. I'll see you after school, , you can come back here."

Quickly they both seized their bags and booked it out of the office, trying not to trip over one another while pushing their way through the doorway.

Buttercup was tense as she realized that she and Boomer were both walking in stride towards the cafeteria, of course she then remembered why they were. They sat at the same fucking lunch table. Clenching the straps of her backpack she was aware she'd be stuck waiting with him for the period to end and the other students clear out and then subjected to the torture that was looking at his stupid face across the lunch table.

Suddenly Boomer took a turn down another empty hall and Buttercup found herself skidding to a halt, her sneakers echoing off the walls.

"Where are you going?"

Boomer froze in the middle of the hall and half turned, she almost stepped back because she hadn't seen that look on his face in a long time. Since they were kids out to kill each other. His normally wary or cheerful blues were icy, if she were to dive into them she'd drown or freeze from hypothermia.

"I can't fucking be around you right now." His voice was so low, had she not had her super hearing she would have never caught it.

She was left standing in place while he continued to walk away and down another hall, nothing but the emptiness of cold tile and lockers were privy to her humiliation and shame. She'd fucked up. Putting on a stiff upper lip she shrugged her backpack up higher and trudged forward, it's not like they were really friends anyways.

. . .

Writing down the dates on the board, even though she already had them memorized, Blossom was enjoying the peace that note taking was bringing to her brain. With Mrs. Helfer's voice moving in a rhythmic drone and the sound of pens scratching ink into paper it was the perfect time for her to just let her mind stop spinning for a while. She hadn't slept well the last two nights, not to mention with Dr. Stark in their home she wanted to ask a million questions but knew at the same time that the doctor wasn't there to listen to her babble incessantly. And she had to go to the bank at closing time to meet the chief… she had to agree with Buttercup that they needed a break.

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear she very faintly could hear someone trying to get her attention. Puzzlement ran over her face as she looked at the classroom door and didn't see anyone peering through the glass, sitting a bit straighter she moved as if she were stretching for a moment before leaning down to unzip a pocket in her bag. Running her eyes across the students as she bent down and then quickly fished out another pen she thought maybe she was hearing things when she noticed that diagonally and a few rows back that Brick was intently staring at her.

Flushing with embarrassment she quickly turned back to her notebook and started pretending to jot down more notes and with her freehand cupping her mouth and chin partially she hissed back to Brick, positive he would hear her.

"What do you want? You're going to get me in trouble."

Now that she knew she was listening for a very quiet voice she had that super hearing of hers tuned into him. He was notorious for not taking notes and yet acing all his tests, so him leaning forward with his elbows on his desk and his hands folded in front of his face was nothing new.

"You'll get yourself in trouble if you keep acting suspicious, Red."

Swallowing her irritation Blossom exhaled, watching her pen scrawl nothingness onto her notes she didn't know why she was humoring him. Her eyes flicked over to Mrs. Helfer, who was still monotonously explaining how the renaissance and the revolt of peasants ran concurrently despite the focus primarily being on one over the other, obviously the woman wasn't paying much attention as this was more of a lecture and less of a participating lesson.

"Did you talk to the chief?" Brick's voice was probably not even audible to anyone around him, so Blossom knew she couldn't glare at him. She felt like he was being nosey! Although… he was involved.

"Don't ignore me-"

"I'm not!" Her irritation was clear in her voice to him so he backed down, he knew he'd get nothing if he kept pushing like that.

"Yes, I did."

"And…?" His eyes were focusing on the swirl of her pen, knowing there was no way she was having a conversation with him and still taking notes. Blossom Utonium never needed to take notes in class.

"We are retrieving the body tonight."

"What do you mean, 'we', Red? Who is going with you?"

Brick watched her shoulders tense under her sweater as she shifted in her seat.

"It means I'm going down there to show them where to go and protect them just in case those things are still down there. Now mind your own business."

"It is my business."

He could see the indignant look in her eye as she peered over her shoulder slightly before returning to her notebook.

"Listen here," Brick was almost amused with how pissed off she sounded, "I know we just teamed up to find Mojo, and I'm happy he's been recovered but-"

"You're not gonna get Bubbles back down there and I doubt Buttercup wants to go."

Deep down Blossom knew he was right. She was quiet for a few minutes. Buttercup acted like it hadn't been frightening when those creatures were behind the barricade, but Blossom had seen how she had moved cautiously at home on Sunday, and had even slept with her door open. Bubbles had climbed into bed with Blossom this time and had pleaded with her not to go back down there. They were so on edge, she wasn't even all that confident that she wanted to go herself.

Brick tilted his head slightly, Red had been quiet for a while now, but her pen was no longer moving. He was about to say something when he faintly caught her voice.

"Fine. Come to the Townsville City Bank tonight at closing. You want to be involved so bad then here's your chance."

Brick could have fallen over with the shock of her relenting. Was she really relenting though? Or maybe she thought she was calling him out, hoping that he wouldn't show up. She had completely shut herself off from him now, her body was rigid and her pen was flying across the paper.

Until he could actually talk to Mojo again he needed to do something, anything. If they ran into those creatures… he wanted to get a good look at them, he'd hear Butch's description but he needed to see them for himself. To know what they were up against. Watching Butch wince yesterday when he was checking out his cuts told him that even though he shouldn't have been in pain anymore that he still was. Whatever could do that to them, it had to be made with some formulation of Antidote X, it couldn't be natural.

Satisfied for now he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Red over there would get the shock of her life when he actually showed up tonight. So while waiting to get his mentor to start talking again, or destroying those creatures, he'd get his satisfaction where he could for now.