Our Colors are on the Rise

by reina.connected

[Formally Against the Grain] There is something dark brewing just beneath the surface of the quiet city of Townsville. [Dark crime/ romance/ mystery][multi-ship] [Rated M for language, violence, and gore.]

10. Part Ten

Uncomfortably clearing his throat the mayor stared down across his vast desk, seated before him were Chief Miranda, Lieutenant Matsudo, and Chief Peters. Outside of the windows they could hear the cacophony of reporters and citizens who were trying to push Ms. Bellum for more answers.

"Please," her voice commanded, "the mayor is currently working with law enforcement on the matter, we only ask that the citizens abide by the law and report anything suspicious."

The reporter, Cynthia, could clearly be heard leading the blame on the police department as well as The Powerpuff Girls. Something along the lines of 'ineffectual', and 'neglectful'. Miranda could feel the vein on her head pulsing with irritation. Even daring to mumble, "how are we supposed to fight something that we know nothing about?"

Chief Peters looked equally disturbed as he pulled uncomfortably at the collar of his crisp button up. Although they'd all done their best to stay behind the barriers and leave the girls to fight that creature the damage was done and to stand by practically helpless wasn't improving morale. He'd dodged several reporters that morning who were desperate to get any tidbit of information they could. Not that he had anything.

Bringing the attention back to himself the mayor posed, "I'm asking as the mayor of this city, should we put a curfew into effect?" The old man's voice was strained as he hadn't had to enact a curfew since before the girls were even created.

Rubbing her temple and leaning on the armrest of the chair Miranda sighed, "we can't just shut down the whole city, maybe bits and pieces. It's only physically attacked a handful of people, it's difficult to know if it's targeting people specifically or not."

"Wait," incredulously Chief Peters narrowed his eyes, "you've known about this damn thing and this is the first anyone is hearing of it?" He jabbed a finger in Miranda's direction, "you could've warned us."

"Warned you of what?" Barking back, Miranda shifted in her seat and ignored Alex's raised palm, "we barely know anything about this as is! We recovered a body of a gang member and then the harbor explosion in January and you think we've been holding information from you?" Crossing her legs away from the man she muttered, "if you think you can do better than go for it."

His fist tightened and the fire chief could feel his blood boiling, "so why can't the girls take this thing down alrea-," but he wasn't able to finish his sentence before Miranda snapped back at him.

"Really? You're smarter than that, they were almost torn apart, they could barely stand when I dismissed them."

"Oh my," Mr. Mayor covered his mouth in upset, "the professor didn't disclose that this morning when I called. Those girls are like grandchildren to me…" he was getting off track but it was only natural due to his emotional proximity.

Alex leaned forward in his chair, his hands in the air as he spoke, "we can tighten things down; no events in the evening, all minors must be home before dark, we can keep trying to find a trace of whatever this thing is while we rebuild that portion of the city."

Chief Peters was now leaning back in his chair, his posture slouched, "we haven't had something this dangerous lurking in the city in years, I'll have to keep all my people on-call, get more training for the volunteers…" this was something even he couldn't fully decide on his own, in fact he'd feel better if the volunteers steered clear of the whole situation.

Miranda looked carefully at her lieutenant, "you think it's only active at night then?" This was the first bit of narrowing down they'd had in what felt like ages. They'd been using Blossom Utonium's notes but that could only get them as far as she had.

Offering a look of uncertainty, Alex continued, "that's the only conclusion I can come to after this attack. It was dark at the harbor, it's been hiding underground, and it attacked well after the sun set last night."

Lifting her hand to her face Miranda bit down on her thumbnail, it made sense, there was finally a pattern of some kind. She'd have to inform the girls so they could be extra vigilant during those hours, but at the same time they were still just kids.

The click and turn of the doorknob brought everyone's attention to the heavy oak door opening, Sarah made her way in and as the door closed behind her Miranda caught a glimpse of a nervous looking Officer Morgan standing watch.

"Any progress, Mr. Mayor?" She'd been handling and filtering calls since the chaos broke out last night, her brisk tone reflected her desire for a resolution of some sort.

Shifting forward in his seat the mayor clasped his hands together and contemplated heavily, "we don't have any festivals or parades coming up in the next few weeks, correct?"

"Not until St. Patrick's Day, sir, although I will have to check on the date of the International Food Festival."

"Right, yes… well," he looked at both the lieutenant and chief as he spoke, "I think canceling all events until this matter is resolved would be for the best." That was still a month away for the parade, he addressed Miranda, "do you think this will be solved within the next month?"

She exchanged a glance with Alex and chose her words carefully, "I can't guarantee that, we are going to continue to look into this as best we can."

Sarah had come around to the mayor's side, her presence lending strength to the old man. "We'll have to revisit the budgets of all first responders coming up, we didn't exactly factor for a threat like this." Chief Peters stiffened at this but made no retort, if they couldn't work effectively within their current budget then he wasn't sure what exactly would be cut or granted in the future.

"I did want to mention," Miranda started as she handed over a manilla envelope, "that aside from the causalities and injuries sustained by the civilians we found the remains of Sedusa, or Ima Goodelady. There wasn't much left but she was the cause of the initial call that came through."

Despite her being a villain the mayor's face fell further by this news, he was so used to the girls catching the menaces of Townsville and dropping them off at the jail, this knowledge that someone who had been active (negatively but nonetheless) in his city was unsettling. Wringing his hands he shook his head, unable to go over these files at the moment.

"Theres never been anything like this before," worried he looked across the desk at the grim faces set in front of him. He'd been mayor of Townsville for 35 years, it had been his honor and joy to watch the city he loved grow and now? Just when things were really starting to look up for the citizens and jobs were coming in and tourism… he was at a loss as of what to do as they attempted to move forward.

"I'll set up a press report for this afternoon, we'll put the curfew into order for all children and request the cancellation of all events until further notice." Even Sarah's mouth was tight as she said this, knowing it was the only thing to be done. "What should I tell the girls?" This was pointed more towards Miranda than the Mayor.

"Have them run a quick scouting run around 9pm every night," in her gut she knew they were supposed to be considered under the curfew but it's not like they had any other options. "I'll need to get all the officers with night duty on their speed dial."

Quickly Matsudo added, "for confirmed sightings only," those kids had had their backs for years and dragging them out for anything suspicious would only wear them down if this continued with no answers.

Chief Peters gave a small nod in agreement, "any calls my people get I'll also make sure they're vigilant." Moving his chair backwards he stood, Miranda and Alex following suit. "I think that's all we can do for now."

"Yes, yes, I appreciate it," the mayor managed.

This looked like it could very well kill the man, he'd never appeared as fragile as he was now and it was cause for concern. Sarah just gestured with her hand and walked them to the door. Officer Morgan perked up but scooted out of the way quickly as the four people exited the office.

"Chief," though it was more of an acknowledgement versus a statement.

Miranda pulled the heavy oak door behind them closed, Sarah swallowed but sighed, "I don't think he can handle this."

It was obvious what she meant and the three nodded while Morgan stood to the side, staying out of it. Chief Peters was the first to excuse himself, walking down the long hall to the grand steps. A figure swayed by the doorway to the office that Sarah had as her own and lifted a hand high while waving a piece of paper.

"Ms. Bellum! You had a call, I took a message but the caller said you had his number," the younger woman faltered slightly in her sentence but Sarah took the paper from her.

"I appreciate it, Cathy. I need you to call the press for an announcement around 3pm today. All the news stations." This was firm and the young Cathy nodded.

"Right away!" She hustled herself to the open office of Joseph Mayor, sliding into the chair behind his desk and logging into the computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard in practiced strokes.

Peering at the note Sarah gave Miranda a significant look.

"What?" Miranda was positive she didn't actually want to know and her hands reflexively began to fiddle with the silver necklace around her neck.

"Looks like Mr. Blaine called," a soured expression came over Miranda's face and Alex shook his head without a word. "I'm guessing he has an idea or an offer," Sarah continued.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say something about the experiment he had explained to them but she did remember the legal forms she had signed… plus he had said they weren't even ready yet. "I'm still not fully trusting of him," she muttered.

Alex gave her a side eye, "oh yeah, we know," she was always asking the employees who were working the extra security hours at the location if they'd seen anything suspicious but so far they hadn't come forward with anything.

"Ma'am?" Officer Morgan stepped forward but Miranda waved her down, she knew Morgan wasn't working security but she also didn't want the rookie officer to do anything reckless.

"We need to head back to the office and speak with the officers and detectives on night duty for the next few weeks," her smile was tense as she made eye contact with Sarah, "let me know if you need anything."

"Hopefully I won't," it was a very mutual feeling, "but I'll let you know what Mr. Blaine and I discuss."

With that they parted ways, Sarah Bellum into her office to continue the damage control and the Chief, Lieutenant, and officer back onto the streets of Townsville as they searched for more answers.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

They'd been shut inside since arriving home after the fight, even the Rowdyruff Boys had been told they couldn't come over since the press had been prowling around outside despite Mojo finally waking up from his coma.

Lying on her back Buttercup scowled as she stared at her ceiling, she kept catching herself itching around the slow healing wounds, hardly used to anything that took more than 12 hours to heal up. Rolling onto her side she flicked her eyes around the bedroom, the glow of her bedside lamp created inky and shifting shadows in the deepest crevices and corners that she'd never taken notice of before. Unease filled her stomach and she scrambled up to her feet, tugging at the oversized band tee she'd thrown on with a nervous air that she wasn't accustomed to.

Bare feet padded across the floor as she opened her door and peeked out, although it was almost midnight she could hear the dull drone of Dr. Stark and Hamilton's voices as they compared notes and made plans for Mojo's recovery. Down the hall Bubbles' door was cracked open only slightly, a dim warm sliver of light seeped from the room and across the hallway floor. Although it nagged at her to seek out her blonde sister she instead opted to find Blossom.

Crossing to turn towards the other hallway Buttercup passed the empty bathroom before stopping in front of her leader's door. Faintly she could hear Blossom's voice rise and fall, she was talking to someone, and with the pauses she was making it was likely she was on the phone. Although she wanted to stand and lean against the door and really listen to the conversation, usually with the goal of teasing her easy to fluster sister, her heart wasn't in it tonight.

Turning to head back the way she came she found herself standing outside of Bubbles' room instead of her own. Her desire to not be alone was reflected from the night only a month ago when Bubbles had been the one to seek her out late at night. Hesitation caused her to lick her lips but she tried to put on a boisterous attitude.

A brittle smirk fell into place as she pushed open the door with more gumption than she actually felt, "you're still up?" She tried to sound condescending and teasing but it came out so forced that it just landed awkwardly between them.

Hitting the 'send' button on her phone Bubbles just looked up from her position on her bed before sitting up, "you are too, though?"

As eclectic and bohemian-punk rock as Buttercup's room tended to be and organized and classic as Blossom's room was Bubbles remained in another category, dreamy and romantic.

The canopy bed was decorated with white gauzy fabric that hung down loose on all of the corners, it was outfitted in an icy blue comforter and several other blankets of different textures and shades of blue. The closet doors were open beside the large mirror in the corner and above the desk piled with schoolwork was a large, framed mural of photos of their friends and family that continued to be added upon year after year. The only other décor to her walls included signed posters for one of the magic girl animes Bubbles obsessed over and a vintage travel poster from Greece that Buttercup had found during one of their family trips to Europe.

Octi was off of the shelf that oversaw the room and Buttercup noticed the old stuffed octopus was placed on top of the pile of pillows at the head of the bed. Like he'd been put there to watch out for what lurked in the shadows and keep the monsters at bay, much like when they were little kids.

"Who were you textin'?" Buttercup wasn't actually curious, but it filled the silence of the room as she walked over to the desk and peered up at the growing mural that looked like it would burst out of the frame any day now. The photo of all of their friends and Boomer was up there from Robin's birthday, he'd seemed nervous but so surprised that night.

"Oh," Bubbles pulled all of her hair over one shoulder and fiddled with it nervously, "I was just texting the guys, that's all."

A little slyly Buttercup leaned against one of the bedposts and crossed her arms, "oh yeah? Which ones?"

Rolling her eyes away from Buttercup she sighed inwardly, "you know," it was obvious, "Boomer." She could see the knowing nod from Buttercup in the corner of her eye but watched her stop dead in her tracks as she finished, "and Butch."

Buttercup narrowed her eyes, "if he's sending you dick pics I'll strangle him."

"He's not!" Still fiddling with her hair she mumbled, "he's not so bad."

"Whatever, one good deed doesn't erase all his douchebaggery."

Skeptically Bubbles just stared at her sister, she'd seen them start to get along more often but her sister was stubborn. Noticing the fidgeting of Buttercup's index and ring fingers that crossed over her body defensively, the chewing of the inside of her cheek, and the way her bright green eyes flicked across a few things prompted Bubbles to push a little, "can you not sleep because of what you saw happen?"

Scoffing and rolling her eyes, Buttercup pushed slightly off of the post, "please, that kind of stuff doesn't get to me," but the twitch in the corner of her mouth said differently. "I was just coming to check on you, Bloss is on the phone with someone so I guess she's fine."

"Buttercup," she started, "you know you can be serious with me, right?"

Looking over at her sister Buttercup just tried to hold her chin defiantly, a million excuses were going through her head but before she could land on one Bubbles followed up in a small voice.

"I know I'm not O.K." She was sitting back now, one bare leg was pulled up towards her chest and absentmindedly her fingers hovered over the healing wound that ran up her leg, the heat of it made her stomach sink and even though she knew they'd heal faster than the last time with the added concentration she didn't like the angry red marks. "I was so scared, I was scared of losing you and Blossom to that thing."

Knitting her brows together Buttercup dropped one knee onto the plush bed and reached out a hand, "ah, Bubs, c'mon it wasn't-," but she trailed off because even she couldn't admit to herself that it was fear that was sinking towards her bones.

"I know you were scared too," her voice was taking on a weepy tone, soft in the dim room.

Hesitating, Buttercup wasn't sure what to make of this moment, but her outstretched hand fell to her side and she appeared to be staring at nothing in particular. "Yeah," her voice cracked as she said it.

Unfolding from her position Bubbles leaned over and pulled her toughest sister into a hug, she didn't know if she was crying because she was constantly remembering what that thing made her feel or if it was because her sister that boasted the title of being the unflinching queen of tough was sniffling as she sank into her arms. Falling back onto the bed Bubbles kept blinking away her own tears and faintly listened to Buttercup's voice.

"I didn't know that anyone could scream like that."

A shiver ran down her spine but Bubbles just caressed the dark hair, she didn't dare say anything in fear of breaking this moment where she was being depended upon. Most sisters weren't like this; they didn't seek to crawl into their siblings beds and ask for comfort, but most sisters weren't created from a vat of chemicals and fought creatures and crime since they were five.

Drawing a hand to her face Buttercup wiped away the tears that had managed to fall and soak the collar of her t-shirt. "Don't tell anyone, or else." It was an empty threat and made Bubbles smile into her sister's hair. Buttercup's arms stayed wrapped around Bubbles's back and the small shuddering of quiet sobs began to still after a while.

Listening to her breath ease and relax proved that Buttercup had needed this as much as she had, with Buttercup finally giving in to how exhausted she actually was and falling asleep. Without moving from her position Bubbles reached over and grabbed her phone one handed before sending out two clumsy messages.

see you tomorrow

And the second one read;

in my room

Putting the phone screen down onto the sheets she went back to tightly holding onto her sister, fulfilling a role she hadn't known she could have.

Her phone screen stared at her, she'd been looking at the contact for 10 minutes contemplating if she was really going to do this or not but the tightness in her throat was unnatural and she didn't even know if she could speak if she did make the call. Blossom was so used to being sure of herself and knowing what she was doing but yesterday had thrown her completely off balance and today things were still… they were still not alright. Sure, Mojo was out of his coma and slowly managing but there had been reporters and news trucks outside all day just hounding her and her sisters for answers that they just didn't have.

Even Chief Rosa hadn't taken her call this afternoon. Her skull was ringing as she looked back up at the old crime scene photos and the map and without realizing it she was lunging forward and tearing everything down. Paper shredded, push pins went flying, photos scattered across the floor and only remnants remained. Pushing her fingers through her hair Blossom winced as she made contact with the wound on her temple, giving a small gasp she pivoted just to land a foot on one of the push pins and quickly sucked in a breath as she hopped over to her bed and fell on top of it.

This wasn't right. Frustration built within her chest and she wanted to scream, she wanted this thing to be fixed, now. Sitting up she pulled the pin out of her foot and tossed it over by the ruined board. Turning her head she felt her hair slip over her shoulder as she gazed at the cell phone that lay on her bed before ultimately reaching for it and hitting the 'call' function under the contact's name.

As the first ring came through she held her breath, and as the second one rang she felt her stomach drop, the third one almost caused her to just end the call instead of being forced into another voicemail but as the thought crossed her mind the click came through and his voice sounded uncertain.

"Red?"

There was only one person who called her that, and with her head hanging she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, the sour lump in her throat keeping her choked up.

"I can hear you breathing, Red," his voice sounded so different, like it had on the steps Friday night.

With a gulp she forced artificial cheer through the phone, "yeah, sorry about that, Brick, I uh-," she couldn't remember why she was calling him. Or why she'd needed to call him. She just knew she needed to say something quickly, "I heard the professor talked to you, hopefully you and your brothers can come by soon to talk to Mojo."

Even though he couldn't see her face he knew something was up. He'd been shocked that she'd actually called him in the first place, he'd missed the first ring but the other two… he'd been in disbelief.

"Yeah, once the press stops snooping around," he shifted in his desk chair uncertain as to why he was feeding into her obvious lie. "Is that it?" He knew it wasn't but needed to hear it from her.

Feeling the shift of his voice through the phone she cleared her throat, "yeah, yeah that's it. I just… I uh, I guess I could've told you tomorrow at school." She was floundering, "I don't know why I called, sorry about that."

But she didn't hang up. Brick didn't either.

Slowly he prodded, but not enough to cause too much upset, "if there's something else on your mind you can say it. Who am I going to tell?" He came off light in his ending question and was hoping that would be enough to entice her.

The exhale on her end surprised him, "your brothers?" She did trust Boomer though… Butch, well, he'd slowly gotten into her better graces and especially after showing up during the fight and helping them.

"Please," he huffed, "I highly doubt you'd tell me anything that your sisters haven't already told Boomer, and besides," he paused, "I'm much better at keeping secrets than they are." At least, that's what he told himself.

"Fair," he could hear the small smile in her voice and there was something extremely satisfying about that.

"So what's got you calling your arch nemesis so late on a school night?"

"I'd hardly call you my 'arch nemesis'," her tone was joking, the tension had eased up some. "But I guess I thought," the frustration was pouring out as she furrowed her brow, "I guess I just needed to talk to someone who might be able to see something I can't."

She'd caught him off guard with that one, and a self-satisfying smirk moved onto his lips as he craned backwards in his chair, "is that so, Red? Just want to make sure my ears aren't deceiving me."

Only slightly flustered on her end she gave a huff, "I know the exact face you're making right now, Jojo."

"I didn't know you liked fantasizing about my face so often," he leaned forward now, elbow on his desk as he crooned, "I bet I know the exact face you're making right now too."

Blossom's face was blazing red at Brick's very words, she was just happy he couldn't actually confirm what her face looked like but he'd always enjoyed getting a rise out of her. "You- you… are," she huffed, "you are just…absolutely-," but she wasn't sure what other name to hurl his way.

His laughter interrupted her, it sounded good. She didn't want to think about that now however, "well I was being serious, you came to me so I just figured…," it was heavily implied as to what she was referring to.

"What do you want me to take a look into?" There was still a hint of a laugh in his voice but she knew he would give her a serious answer.

"I feel like I'm starting from the very beginning again, I really don't know anything about this creature and…," she looked at the work she'd poured over that was now just scraps on the floor. "I can't let this happen again."

This attack had felt personal, even though she knew it hadn't been. A slap in her face of her ability to lead.

Mulling it for a moment on his end Brick offered, "then let's start from the beginning."

He doubted it would make her feel better, he wanted to make her feel better, but this was all he could offer in this moment. "We'll sit down and take a look at what we know about this thing, we eliminate what we absolutely know it isn't, but we will figure this out, Red." His mouth was moving ahead of his brain as he sealed it, "promise."

Standing from the bed she slowly began collecting the scattered push pins from the floor, "thanks." This whole relationship she and her sisters were building with their counterparts was so strange to her, but there was also something natural and easy about it.

Awkwardly on his end, Brick cleared his throat and asked, "how's your head?"

She'd almost forgotten these injuries while having the distraction of talking to Brick before her. Blossom moved her bangs slightly and winced as she grazed the area, "better than it was, still tender but you know how we bounce back from these things."

"Right," he wasn't completely won over by this statement but continued anyways, "and your sisters?" He hadn't heard from Bubbles and Buttercup had been vague through text.

Sighing with frustration Blossom shook her head, "I'm lucky if they're honest with me about this stuff. I guess Bubbles is taking it in stride since it's her third run-in," that made her feel awful for even saying that, "but Buttercup's been clammed up and avoiding us all day."

"You were all pretty burnt out, even Butch was unnerved this time around. Pretty sure he slept from dawn until noon, and he was less beat than you three."

"Oh," she paused while dumping the pins into a designated cup on her desk, "I'm sorry to hear that, we really weren't expecting him but I'm grateful he showed."

"Next time," his voice was firm, "call me if you need some backup."

Heavily sighing she shook her head, "you know I can't do that, Brick, you're a citizen. I can't just ask a citizen to do my job. Plus, I didn't even call Butch, he just… kind of showed up."

"I'm not exactly a regular 'citizen', Red." He felt like he had to keep reminding her of this, "I let you help us so now let us help you."

"I'm sorry, you 'let me and my sisters' help you?" Scoffing into the phone she had to admit it almost made her laugh.

He was a little red faced on his side of the phone but muttered, "you know what I mean."

This conversation was comfortable, and something she hadn't anticipated despite being the one to make the call. They'd been rivals in all ways for their entire existence and now those days of fighting or the class debates seemed like they were so much farther away than they really were. Blossom felt balanced and part of her wanted to know if her sisters felt the same… if Brick felt the same.

"Do you…," she wasn't sure how she was going to ask, "do you think-," but she was interrupted as a 'ping' went off signaling that she'd received a text message. "One second."

Pulling the notification up she was surprised to see it had been from Bubbles, but she also knew from this simple message that she was being invited, a small weight lifted from her chest knowing that they weren't simply going around ignoring one another.

"Hey, Brick?"

"Yeah?" He sounded so far away.

"I need to go but," she chewed at the corner of her mouth, "thanks for, ah- you know." She was gesturing with her other hand, not that he could see it. "Thanks for answering."

He hesitated, as he wanted to keep hearing her voice but at the same time he knew it was a miracle she'd even called him and talked this long. "Anytime, Red." His smile was clear through the phone, not his usual cocky one but more soft, warm.

"Night," she sounded a little nervous as she hung up the phone.

Sitting at his desk, Brick looked at his phone in disbelief, he still didn't know what to make of all of this but he liked this feeling. "Shit," he muttered, "I'm so fucked."

She was glad she didn't have to wait long as she heard Blossom come through the door and shut it behind her, the dimness of the room was comforting as she moved to the opposite side of the bed. Bubbles lifted her head and gave a smile to Blossom.

"Hey."

Pointing at the passed-out Buttercup, Blossom whispered, "how long has she been out?" She took a seat on the bed and her hand lifted the dark bangs off of her sister's face. She felt hot, but only in the sense that she was sucking the body heat from someone else in addition to her own.

"Not too long," Bubbles looked down briefly at Buttercup before turning her face back up to Blossom. Worry immediately lined her face as she asked, "are you alright, Blossy?"

Only tensing slightly, Blossom suddenly felt silly because for the first time since that fight started she actually did feel like she was going to be O.K. Lifting her legs onto the bed she moved Bubbles's phone and moved in close. "I will be." The small smile on her face was enough to reassure Bubbles at that moment and the blonde tucked a stray strand of hair behind her own ear.

"Are you going to stay with us tonight?" She'd never felt like she had to ask this question before, but right now she needed her sisters more than anything else. They soothed her, made her feel completely whole, the constant assurance she'd felt when they were kids was in the way she connected to them in these little moments.

Lying down and enveloping Buttercup, her hand reassuring by resting on Bubbles's arm, Blossom sighed sleepily, "of course."

Comforted by this Bubbles let her head fall completely into the blankets, her eyes fluttering closed and a sigh of relief escaping between her lips. Blossom's face began to relax, her eyes beginning to shut and her lips parting slightly as she breathed. Buttercup stirred slightly, her face contorting into a scowl before it fell into soft lines, finally unbothered for the time being.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Monday Morning—after the attack

Things were sour at the high school the next day. News had quickly spread about all events being canceled for the foreseeable future and all afterschool activities were put on hold until the curfew was lifted. Buttercup slammed her locker shut and leaned her head against the cool metal. Blossom peered at her as she placed books back into her bag, one brow crooked up.

"What's going on with you?"

Buttercup turned her head and scowled, implying that Blossom should know. When she was met with a blank look Buttercup just crossed her arms, "all that hard work for nothing."

Bubbles slung her bag over her shoulder pouting slightly, "yeah, I'm really bummed too. I was really looking forward to the Spring Showcase and Boomer and I were working really hard on that song."

From down the hall Mitch and Samson waved as they approached the three girls. Samson winced at the visible injuries that the girls had sustained but Mitch tapped a finger on Buttercup's cheekbone.

"You look like shit."

That small quirk in the corner of her lips lifted, "at least I have a reason, you look like shit every day without an excuse."

"Language, please," Blossom muttered.

Samson immediately stepped between both Blossom and Bubbles, a hand on each of their shoulders, "still as beautiful as ever, ladies," Blossom rolled her eyes and Bubbles gave a light laugh. "What?" He managed to almost look offended, "I meant every word."

Sighing, Blossom started walking down the hall, Mitch and Buttercup falling right into step with her. "We know," on her tip-toes the blonde gave his cheek a quick peck before tailing after the rest. He always meant well.

Only stunned for a moment he immediately dashed after them, "hey, wait up!"

It should have been just a regular Monday morning of teens stumbling blurry-eyed into their first period classes but the tension in the air signaled that something was definitely off. Crossing the quad, Buttercup was chatting with Mitch when her arm was violently shoved. Coming to an immediate stop Buttercup whipped her head around, "watch where you're going," but the sneer she got was unexpected.

Jenner narrowed his eyes, "maybe I'll think about it once you can do your fucking job." Two of his buddies stood only a few steps in front of him, caught off guard that he was picking a fight at this time.

That just pissed Buttercup off even more, "what was that?" Blossom was red-faced, embarrassed and unprepared for the conflict while Bubbles held her dark haired sister's arm.

She whispered frantically, "Buttercup, please, he's not worth it." Flexing her fist Buttercup leaned forward slightly, she could feel Mitch's hand on her shoulder as he tried to call her off.

Indicating with his head, Jenner didn't have a kind look to spare for the blonde, especially since Brick had gotten involved over the weekend, "you and your sisters are probably too busy riding that Rowdy dick to take care of a little monster."

Flinching backwards Bubbles released her grip on Buttercup's arm, even Blossom whipped around to scowl with illuminated rose colored eyes at the football captain. They could hear the other students in the quad react to that comment, Samson on the defense, "hey man, knock it off!"

While Mitch chimed in, "watch it!"

The sounds of the other onlookers didn't add anything positive to the situation, a few people were heard taking sharp inhales, a smattering of 'fuck' and 'oh shit' moved around the quad, and the few that whispered loudly to their friends, 'are they dating-' and 'which one do you think it is?'

Those bright lime colored sparks danced down the length of her arm and Buttercup jerked her shoulder away from Mitch, "I'm gonna give you 5 seconds to apologize before I kick your ass." For once Blossom wasn't stopping her, equally as pissed at Jenner's words.

"Fuck you," he spat.

In two steps Buttercup was already winding up a punch to connect with this asshole's jaw when someone butted in front of her, the dark red curls that were tossed over the girl's shoulder caught her by surprise and she stopped in her tracks.

"Oh please, you just want to bitch about something since no one wanted to touch your nasty dick at my party." If anyone could pull of haughty it was definitely Princess, "and besides," she looked him up and down unimpressed, "the only thing different now will be that you won't be getting rejected for dates nearly as often since there's nowhere to go."

Jenner opened his mouth when one of his buddies yanked him back, "dude, someone notified a teacher, just drop it."

Unimpressed, Princess turned on her heel and linked her arm through Buttercup's to force the superhero backwards, "some people have absolutely no class." She scoffed, releasing Buttercup's arm, Mitch turned Buttercup around and held his arm over her shoulders, pushing her away from the conflict.

"Jesus Christ…, he muttered, looking a tad bit wary at Blossom who had composed herself, her eyes no longer illuminated. It was freaky to him how she could control herself that quickly.

"Now then," Princess stopped once they'd covered a bit of distance, "try not to get into any fights, I can't be there to handle all of them." Her lips curved into a confident smirk as she waved and walked down a different hallway to her first class.

Still stunned Buttercup pointed, "what the fuck was that?"

Bubbles seemed to pull herself together as she smiled and took Buttercup's arm, pulling her to their first period English class, "we can catch up on it later, c'mon, we'll be late."

"Language, Buttercup! Language!" Blossom called out but shook her head. Looking at Mitch and Samson she gave a relieved smile, "thanks guys." She turned and walked over to the stairs and up to her lab class.

Mitch elbowed Samson, "we better get going too."

Things were already all over the place, teachers were dipping in the halls whispering amongst themselves, coaches were making calls to other cities and towns, and the students were left in an awkward lurch as adjustments were made.

Pens scribbled across paper as students answered the prompts written on the whiteboard in the front of the room, the teacher excusing himself only minutes before. Kids were talking quietly amongst themselves for the most part, Mary took this time to lean over and tap Robin on the shoulder with her pen.

Flinching rather comically Robin began rubbing her shoulder gingerly, she turned towards Mary and gave a poignant look, "hey, I'm delicate."

Lifting her eyebrows Mary gave her a once over, "please. I've seen you way more bruised before, but something tells me this wasn't from your little tête-à-tête with Pablo this weekend."

With faux chagrin Robin at least had the decency to blush just a bit, it didn't mask the dark bruise on her cheek, and she'd forgone makeup that morning so the swollen bruise on her chin was fully on display as well. "If only," but her expression fell and she sighed, "we were right in the line of fire during the fight. Kind of ruined our romantic evening."

Several classmates overheard her and immediately jumped into their conversation.

"Were you really there?"

"How bad was the fight actually? The news said it should've been handled quicker."

"Did you see what the monster looked like? There was barely any good footage of it online."

"Honestly, my parents said The Powerpuff Girls aren't pulling their weight and after that disaster I agree."

Instead of her warm smile Mary was thin-lipped and narrowed her eyes at the three interrupters, not enjoying their tones in the least. She didn't need to say anything though, Robin was quick to silence them as she twisted up from her seat and jabbed a finger in the direction of the last person to speak.

"That thing could've killed them, I don't see you or your parents out there trying to stop it."

The student narrowed his eyes as he turned away in his desk, "last I checked I'm not a superhero or have superpowers."

"Exactly." The firmness in her voice was like a slap in a silent room. Although known for her bohemian and relaxed vibe Robin looked down her nose with a mixture of contempt and disappointment. Sitting back in her chair she cast one last side-eye at her classmate, "you should know better by now."

The other two students returned to speaking amongst themselves, scrolling on their phones and searching for any additional videos they could find. It was better to ignore the bright redness of their classmate's ears after he'd been scolded.

Mary and Robin turned their attention back to one another, their own voices joining the quiet murmur. Mary crossed her legs at the ankle and rotated more in her seat. "So what happened?" Other than the obvious, that always went unsaid when any of them were caught up near the chaos.

Giving her head a shake Robin sighed, "it was absolutely crazy, you'd think people wouldn't act completely out of their minds but it's totally a herd mentality." Tapping the paper with her pen she continued, "Bubbles offered to get us to safety but I told her we were fine- which we were!" She quickly followed up with.

"Uh-huh," Mary nodded almost sagely, "but you're still bruised and I didn't see Pablo this morning."

Sucking in her breath Robin explained, "yeah… he got a pretty bad concussion, he's gonna be stuck in the hospital for a few days." The pout on her lips wasn't childish as much as it was sympathetic, "once we got the kitchen staff to lead us to the loading dock some asshole was so desperate that he shoved Pablo and his head hit the concrete pretty hard."

"Oh my gosh," Mary's hand flew to her red painted lips, "did he get an MRI? Nothing is broken, right?"

Giving a wave the brunette gave reassurance, "yes, he was checked into the hospital, some swelling on his brain but that's why he's been there since. His mom called me and I'll be going there after school for a bit." Leaning her head gingerly onto the palm of her hand, avoiding the bruised spots Robin mused, "it's petty of me but I'm just really… I just wanted to have a nice romantic evening, you know?"

Mary gave a reassuring pat on Robin's thigh, "I know, but I'm just glad you two are safe."

Reluctantly Robin smiled, "yeah, me too." She knew it was the truth, she was allowed to be bummed about the evening not going as planned but she would take their safety over that any day. "I don't think we should bring the monster thing up to the girls though."

Agreeing, Mary nodded, "thank goodness we're on the same page with that," however Mary noticed a particular look cross her friend's face. "Don't you dare, Robin Snyder, I know that face you're making and whatever it is- I don't approve."

"You haven't even heard what it is," huffing hard enough that her bangs blew upwards.

"I don't need to hear it to already know," Mary pointed her pen in Robin's direction, "if they ask then we can try to help but until then- zip."

As she was about to make a retort the door of the classroom clicked closed and their teacher was walking across the classroom while loosening his tie. "Sorry for the delay," but the response was just more grumbling as the class turned their attentions back to the front of the room.

Much of the day had gone at a crawl due to the distraction Saturday night had caused, unless of course the guidance office, principal, and vice-principal were involved. Students and parents alike were coming in and complaining, many of them seniors as their college careers relied on these extracurriculars. Butch had listened to several of his teammates during lunch, most of them were safe as far as soccer scholarships were concerned but any other activities such as basketball, baseball, or band were on a serious hold.

He'd already explained the whole thing to Harry, his friend just glad that he was alright, but the fact that the girl wanted to go on another date… it made his stomach sink just thinking about that. Luckily with the curfew he could get away with avoiding it at all costs. He was chewing on the corner of his lower lip when a small ball of paper hit him close to his eye. Humorlessly he turned to see Samson looked exasperated.

"What?"

"You've been in la-la land all day, what the heck?" Crossing his arms Samson gave Butch the eye.

Rolling his eyes Butch just retorted, "there's a lot that's been on my mind and going on lately, that's it."

Elmer muttered from his seat, "I'll say," he glanced at Butch and followed with, "with things going on, I have no clue what goes on in that dome of yours." He gave a small laugh.

Flatly Butch said, "ha-ha, very funny." Glancing at the clock at the front of the room Butch was counting down the minutes until he was released and could go home. He still wasn't allowed to see Mojo yet, and that irritated him. Plus he'd acted so dumb the last time he'd talked with Blondie. 'you can make it up to me,' he'd actually fuckin' said that. He didn't want to date her. Probably. Definitely. Yes, he definitely didn't want to date Bubbles… but-.

Smacking his head into his hands he groaned, he felt like slimy snail he was.

Elmer just gave the dark hair a reassuring pat and grinned as a dark green eye looked out between his fingers, scowl in place.

"You're acting so weird, dude," shaking his head Elmer looked at Mike who nodded in full agreement beside him.

It wasn't long until the final bell rang and the students began surging into the hallways, some even trying to linger back to avoid heading home already. Mike walked beside Butch, he was saying something about gaming online all together, "-Boom already said he was down, he was talking a lot of shit on your game." The dark blonde stumbled a few steps as Mitch threw an arm around his shoulder, he looked amused as he realized who it was.

Butch just nodded in acknowledgement, digging his hands into his pockets, "yeah, maybe."

Giving a wave as they parted ways Butch headed straight to his locker, he took the shortcut of crossing between the garden area and avoiding any of his friends for the moment. He was so distracted he didn't have the ability to even hold a proper conversation lately. Looking up he almost froze in place, his mouth suddenly very dry.

Standing at his locker, twirling the end of a blonde pigtail around her finger was someone he'd also like to avoid at the moment. Just as he was wondering if he could change direction without her noticing her eyes moved up and locked with his. A tiny smile moved over her lips and she gave a little wave. Shit. Fuck. Pushing through his hesitation he walked over to where she was standing, noticing the slowly healing injury on her leg.

As she scooted out of the way he began fiddling with his lock and remarked, "you should keep that covered."

Puzzled, Bubbles looked at him and then down, realizing he was talking about the injury that disappeared under her dress hem. Tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear she chose not to address that directly, "that's not why I came over to talk to you."

"You miss me that much?" He gave a devilish grin but it felt so tight on his features, he was just hoping she wasn't paying too close of attention to him. "You could've just texted me."

"Yeah, but," her fingers were twisting together nervously, "I thought it would be better to hear it from me in person."

Stopping from swapping out texts and copy books Butch paused, "what's going on?" Something in his gut hitched, unsure of where this was going when she sighed and crossed her arms.

"We can't train tomorrow night," she sounded disappointed and a little irritated as she continued, "Blossy is making us train in the simulator after school for the 'foreseeable future'." The air quotes just solidified her disagreement. She'd made it sound so much worse than it was, he'd almost been expecting her to say she didn't want to be around him anymore.

Zipping his bag he agreed with her disappointment, "Well, that sucks," the corner of his mouth twitched and he gave an absentminded scratch to his cheek.

Bubbles grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away, "it's a stronger formula, the Professor told you that you shouldn't be picking at your injuries." Her grip wasn't loosening, in fact it only tightened and those big eyes of hers were the cherry on top of the anxious expression she was wearing.

Butch's expression softened as his free hand gave her a pat on the head, leaning forward he felt her hand begin to slowly release, "got it, doc, I won't pick at my face. You might have to remind me though." He wanted to face palm the second those last few words were out of his mouth, it was the exact shit that kept getting him into the mess he was trying to figure out.

She grinned, holding two thumbs up, "oh I will." He thought she looked a lot more natural when she smiled like that, thankfully he didn't get a chance to open his big, dumb mouth as Boomer came over with Brick's keys clutched in his hand.

Boomer at the moment wore an expression that was sour and Butch jerked away from the petite girl who just blinked, however she recovered quickly as she pointed to Boomer's hand, "aren't those Brick's keys?"

He took this moment to lean on his counterpart's shoulder, "Brick is freaking out, like, way more than usual. He's super pissed. Blossom said she'd already talked to him but he's still acting like a rabid dog."

Immediately Bubbles knew exactly what he was referring to and her entire demeanor became tight, "yeah." She glanced briefly at Butch who didn't seem to have a reaction except staring intensely at his brother, and she wasn't sure if he didn't know or didn't care. Giving a more forced smile she patted Boomer's cheek, "if it's still an issue later let me know." She was met with a tired nod and he pulled his weight from the smaller girl. Giving a small wave she met Butch's eyes only briefly, though she wasn't sure what to make of his expression at the moment. "I'll see you guys later." She dismissed herself from them, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder.

Butch was abruptly interrupted from staring into the thinning crowd by Boomer shoving the keys into his hand. "I don't have the energy to deal with traffic." He was zipping up his backpack, already having retrieved his books and Butch felt like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have been. Typically he liked doing things he wasn't supposed to so whatever this was… he needed to get it sorted because he felt like he was going crazy.

"So wait- where's Brick exactly?"

They began walking down the hall that led to the student parking lot, Boomer pushed his hair out of his face, "he flew off, he'll probably be knocking down some trees in the woods. Somewhere. Better those than us."

Butch had to admit to himself that he agreed, if Brick really was as pissed as Boomer said than he and Boomer were much better off with the responsibility of the car. The lost was only mildly buzzing with students, many reluctant to leave simply because their parents were putting them on house arrest before the curfew.

"I hope we can see Mojo soon," Boomer added as he tossed his bag onto the floor of the passenger side of the car.

"Mmmhmm," Butch threw his bag in the backseat, feeling selfish for not thinking of their father and instead of his own personal drama. If they were going to be seeing Mojo though that meant seeing the girls, specifically a blonde who was making him say and do stupid shit. He was red faced as he backed out of the parking spot, eager to focus on anything else.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Sitting on the cold metal table, Mojo scrunched his nose with distaste. He'd been in denial at first that he was in the lab of Professor Utonium and had been convinced he was kidnapped but after a day and some real food (however bland it may be) he eventually accepted it and was just relieved that he could put his mind to rest. His speech was still off though, and he didn't like the way that this Dr. Stark was coddling him.

Elizabeth finished the rotation of his limbs and nodded, "your muscle mass isn't as diminished as I had feared, and you seem to be keeping food down."

He scowled, of course not! I am Mojo Jojo, a far superior specimen than any scientist has come into contact with- that is to say, I am an excellent lifeform, and it cannot be denied that my recovery as well as my near demise should be anything other than remarkable. It came off more as, "mm—cellen… remar-ble," the pauses in between difficult as only some words were making it to actual speech.

Frustrated, he crossed his arms, hating the look on the woman's face. It wasn't quite pitying but it was clear she was used to this sort of work. She looked too nice. Not the way Bubbles did, all childish cheer and joy, but anyone would be frustrated with him. He was frustrated with himself.

Clark was reading into the data extracted from the device that had encased Mojo's brain for the past few weeks, his student by his side was taking notes from what Elizabeth was doing with the patient. "Do you think he'll regain cognitive speech?" The student was genuinely curious and awkwardly avoided the radiating gaze of Mojo.

Confidently Elizabeth began jotting down a few notes on Mojo's progress, "in time, it's just important he doesn't rush himself, trying to push too much too soon can be just as damaging as not doing enough." She gave her patient a notable look, however he was still staring holes into poor Jim.

"There's that inventor who made a Monkey Thought Translator… Flynn Lockwood? Finn? Clint? I can't remember his first name but maybe you could get him to send you one."

Before they had time to react Mojo ripped the chart out of Elizabeth's hand and hurled it at Jim's head. How dare he! Does he not know who Mojo Jojo is? I will burn your institution to the ground and gift your decapitated head to your mother in a neatly wrapped box, you absolute moron! "..re-. Mo..—jo..? …-urn.. ins-ion…oun—ift..—apit…-ur…-ther—ap…-oron!"

Jim hit the floor as he flung himself backwards, however Clark wasn't as lucky and the man ended up clutching the side of his head. "What the heck..?"

"Mojo!" Elizabeth gave him a stern look, as Mojo gestured angerly at Jim Professor Utonium came out of the simulator control room, his eyes sore from entering formulas to update the training system.

"What's going on here?" He took a look at his colleagues for an answer.

Jim looked embarrassed, "I uh… I may have upset Mojo." Clark's brows raised as if to say, 'you think?' Scrambling to the chart Jim handed it over to Elizabeth, cautious not to get too close to the primate who was clearly unhappy with him. Especially the way his nostrils were flared.

Taking the chart, Elizabeth began making additional notes, the expression on her face was rather satisfied, "that's the most words we've been able to somewhat hear him utter. So I'll call that a win for now." She gave Clark a small smile, "sorry."

Professor Utonium sighed, "well why don't I get you an ice pack and I can make us all tea." Clark looked relieved at this and Elizabeth nodded in agreement. Giving Mojo a significant look the professor asked, "would you like tea, Mojo?"

Despite frowning and his arms crossed Mojo gave a single nod, any flavor other than oatmeal, crackers, or flavorless baked chicken was welcomed. He did enjoy tea however, he very much doubted they had his favorite but he'd take what he could get at the moment.

"Oh, let me do it, Professor, if you don't mind." Jim stood awkwardly, "I feel bad for Dr. Hamilton taking that hit."

"You do know where everything is…," last week the student had assisted him in doing so, "that's fine. There should be an icepack on the freezer door."

Eagerly Jim chirped, "yes, sir!" Quickly hurrying up the stairs and out of the lab. As he entered the kitchen he filled up the kettle and set it onto the stove, noting it was a little before 3pm. Opening the freezer he grabbed one of the icepacks, bare, and was about to walk it downstairs when a strange voice interrupted him.

"You'll want to wrap that in a dishtowel or something, humans are terribly sensitive."

Jim practically jumped out of his skin and noticed the red demon sitting elegantly at one of the kitchen chairs. Leaning against a clawed hand, HIM raised an eyebrow at the young man, "well?" The voice climbed and fell in strange patterns.

"Uhm.. ah- um…," Jim's hand groped behind him for the dishtowel he'd seen on the counter, unable to string a coherent sentence together in the presence of one of Townsville's most notorious villains.

"Now, now," HIM stood and crossed the linoleum in impossibly high heeled boots, the iridescent magenta pants and the white billowy blouse lending a romantic drag queen vibe to the devil creature, "if you could show me to the lab," the voice deepened threateningly, "I'd be very appreciative."

Unable to speak Jim nodded vigorously, his back straight as a ruler as he opened the door to the lab and began to climb down the steps. The small group didn't at first notice him but as soon as he opened his stammering mouth he had their attention. "Um… P-p-professor? You uh," his voice cracked, "you h-h-have a guest."

He did everything in his power not to trip over his own feet as he pushed the covered icepack into Clark's hand and retreated behind his mentor.

Professor Utonium was surprised, although maybe he shouldn't have been, knowing this creature for as long as he had. Elizabeth was warily staring at HIM, but Mojo had a whole mix of reactions. Surprise, relief, realization, irritation all flashed over his face and he gave a huff of displeasure as he waved the co-parent over.

Observing their surroundings as they waltzed over they mused, "huh, I thought it would be bigger in here." Shrugging it off HIM now sat in the air as if they were on a chair so they were eye-level with Mojo. The black lips were grinning, and for anyone other than the primate it may have looked sinister, however Mojo could see the relief pulling at those bright green eyes. "We have lots to catch up on, mon amie."

Feeling as though she needed to interject Elizabeth stated coolly, "he's still regaining his cognitive functions, so I am asking you not to stress my patient out. He's already making progress in less than two days, it will take time."

HIM raised their brows and looked at the unfamiliar woman before turning towards Utonium, "is that correct? Can you do nothing to speed this up?" HIM was still trying to respect the wishes of the boys to not go rummaging around Mojo's skull, and now that Mojo was conscious it was doubtful he could get away with it anyhow.

Crossing his arms in a stand-off posture he replied, "we've done what we can, Mojo is still flesh and bone. If you want him sane and back to his usual self I'd advise that you give him time."

Mojo waved a hand in irritation, then made a gesture as if he were typing on a computer. My notes! Where are my notes! If you have my notes then perhaps what we do not know will finally be discovered and we shall find a solution to our problem. Our problem being that creature which we could not identify previously. "—es! …..ve my…..hap—lly…vered—ind…-olut...blm—blm-ture…dent.."

"Ah," HIM nodded, "I see." The full extent of Mojo's injuries coming to light. The boys had been worried, turns out they had every right to be so. "This isn't good," HIM murmured to themselves.

The whistling of the kettle grabbed their attention and Jim scrambled up the stairs, eager to get away from the awkward situation. "I've got it!" The door shut behind him and the accredited adults were left to deal with the unexpected guest.

Mojo seemed to be stewing that his words were not coming out as they should be, although HIM seemed to get the gist. "Your lab was completely trashed, our darling sons took a look around- they even brought the girls in." HIM lifted their eyebrows as if to say 'how scandalous'. Mojo was between agonizing despair in the loss of his lab and fury that the boys had trespassed where they knew they weren't allowed. Plus, the Powerpuff Girls didn't belong there! Who knows what they confiscated?

"Not that they tell me anything directly," the Professor interjected, "but from what I've gathered they haven't found anything useful. That creature is just getting stronger, bigger, and more deadly." His mouth formed a serious line, he rarely involved himself in their job as far as safety was concerned but he was wishing he could force them to stop when it came to whatever this thing was.

An accusatory look was shot at HIM from Mojo, his hands thrown into the air in exasperation but Him waved a claw, "even I can't stop or track it directly. And trust me," HIM's expression was fully tired at this point as it made direct eye contact with the professor, "I've tried."

This didn't bode well, even Clark and Elizabeth looked worried as they exchanged glances. Uneasy, the professor held his chin within his hand and tapped his foot, "something strong enough that the creature cannot break out of…," his eyes looked at Mojo and then to HIM, "but something we can still access in order to subdue it and run tests on it's biological makeup."

Clark suddenly stood from his seat and was scrolling on a tablet, "this could work," pulling up the news article he'd read just a few weeks ago and handed the device to his colleague.

Narrowing his eyes the professor studied the article until he noted what Clark was referring to, "you think this new polycarbonate hybrid could be the solution?" Curious, Mojo craned his neck and with one green finger he tilted the screen towards him, the article flipped and his eyes scanned the information.

"They've been testing it at several space stations, it's been the most effective material to contain unknown microbes and once it's activated it seals shut completely. We'll never be able to fully release it but we'll be able to scan it." Clark's eyes were bright with excitement as he suggested this.

"But," hesitating, he was thinking more as a father and not as a scientist, "that means the girls will have to get extremely close to it again." This thing was causing more damage in it's brief encounters than most monsters did in six months.

Thinking on it Elizabeth remarked, "you mentioned Edna was working on new materials for their uniforms, correct?" He nodded so she continued, "see if she can create gloves and covers for their faces, if it's been successful of course." He was still uncertain and wanted to protest when Elizabeth added, "I know you love them, John, but you also know that they will keep going at this until the very end. Give them the tools they will need to survive it."

At that moment Jim came down the steps with a tray laden with all the fixings for tea, stacked mugs, and a steaming teapot. He placed it on one of the tables and looked at HIM, "uh, I did bring an extra mug but I didn't know if you could hold it with… uh… those?" He indicated at the demon's claws. "So I brought you a straw."

Amused, HIM crossed their long legs and smirked, "cheeky."

"This is going to bother me if I don't say something now," the professor turned and looked seriously at HIM, "why are you willing to help the girls? To help the city? What's in it for you?"

Mojo rolled his eyes before gesturing to the tray and Elizabeth moved over, "only one sugar," but the primate held two fingers to which she shook her head, "we'll try two in a few days."

HIM wasn't as deadly serious as they should have been but they wanted to lay everything out there for the group. "Well at one point I thought I'd have to avenge a fallen comrade," gesturing to Mojo, "but! Since he's in capable hands I figured I should lend assistance when applicable." HIM shrugged before adding, "plus the enemy of my enemy is my friend, or something along those lines. I can't continue to conduct business with this thing out there, I need it gone."

There was also the unspoken reason that they didn't want their sons involved in this any further. Butch had gotten hurt twice and the effect the three goody-two-shoes were having on their boys was cause for alarm. At least in terms of villainy. Brick would never take over the family business if he stayed involved with the Powerpuffs… he also wouldn't take up the mantle if he died while in pursuit of this monster, so there was that to consider as well. HIM wasn't completely heartless, they cared for the boys in their own way.

The Professor took a sip of his tea and mulled it over for a moment, it did make sense why HIM was willing to lend assistance when they laid it all out like that but that didn't mean he was keen to just let HIM waltz about his home whenever the demon pleased. Sternly, Professor Utonium addressed HIM, "I'm sure you understand my equivocation, we haven't exactly had the most amicable of relationships."

"Tish-tosh," a claw dismissed, "wouldn't you say we've had some fun times together? Hm? You, me, Mojo, the girls, the burning city of Townsville." The creature sighed wistfully as if it truly was regaling a harmonious gathering where they held hands and sang.

Mojo and the Professor exchanged a look, very much on the same page when it came to handling HIM's shenanigans. Genuinely curious as to what assistance would actually be granted the Professor questioned, "so what assistance would this be? I'm speculating that you would have destroyed it on your own by now if that had been possible."

The forced cheer on HIM's face stretched into uncanny valley territory, "now, John, that's very rude of you to say." The tight and high voice strained as HIM did their best to keep their temper under control.

"Don't hurt my girls." That was all he was asking, he needed to know they would be safe from this creature should it take the opportunity to attack them while they were recovering.

Tilting their head in a manic manner they quipped, "fine."

There was much that was changing within these dynamics, and it caused HIM to want to look into the relationships their sons were forming with the Utonium girls and their father. "Well, lookie here," poofing an upside down clock into the room, "I have some business to attend to, but you'll be hearing from me soon." A wave of the claw and the clock dematerialized into red smoke. "I'll see you soon, my dear friend," they cheerily said to Mojo who just waved unenthusiastically. A curl of lips was made and in a grand swirl of crimson smoke the devil disappeared.

Slumping back and into a rolling chair the Professor sighed, ignoring the smug air wafting off of Mojo at that moment. He had no idea how the primate dealt with that character when it came to the Rowdyruffs, it was exhausting just having small talk with them. Looking towards the clock in the lab he knew the girls should be home soon, however he knew he couldn't keep them in despite the curfew. The city never saw them as the actual kids that they were.

Moving from his position Clark plopped a tablet into Jim's hand, "alright we better get to it and try to contact NASA about the material."

Holding a hand up Elizabeth chimed in, "I have a contact who works there, let me see if I can reach her."

As his colleagues threw themselves into work he hadn't even dreamed of asking them to do John Utonium could only marvel at how he'd lucked out to know these people as well as he did. Turning to Mojo he added, "I think Blossom documented your lab, let me see if I can get that stuff to you." Unexpectedly Mojo gave a nod, surprised that he was even being considered in this chaotic situation. He knew however, that without those notes these men would just run the same tests he did on the creature, he needed to guide them and they didn't have time to waste.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Landing with a heavier thud than she'd anticipated Buttercup pushed her bangs out of her face, she'd been the one to offer to take the patrol tonight and was regretting it immensely. There was something eerie about the city now that a curfew was out, patrol vehicles were everywhere, and the normally bustling nightlife had been snuffed out. Townsville felt like it was a bird in a cage and it's owner had thrown a blanket over top of it.

Pulling her phone out of her zipped hoodie pocket she checked to see if she had any notifications, but things were quiet on that front for now. Her sneakers crunched across the gravel on the top of the roof as she made her way to the opposite edge, there was usually more activity in this area and she'd been looking for a fight. A fight with someone she could defeat, not that… thing. A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the way it pulled Sedusa into it's mouth, the crunch of bones, the gloppy noises it made as it changed it's form crowded her senses.

Rubbing her arms through her sweatshirt she put her phone back into her pocket. Getting goosebumps wasn't something that happened often to them, it's true that they'd become a little more sensitive to heat and cold in their teenage years but it was impossible that they'd be as sensitive as normal humans. Giving her cheeks a couple of invigorating slaps Buttercup jumped in place and shook her hands, she needed to get out of her head.

Hopping off of the edge of the building she felt her body fall through the air before igniting her own powers and peeling out, that freefall feeling would've felt way better on a larger scale but she also knew how much it made her sisters worry when she did do that. Well, it made Bubbles worried and it irritated Blossom… but Blossom was all about being in control while Bubbles was cautious. Bringing her hands up towards her face Buttercup clenched them, ignoring the ugly puckered skin that was healing far too slowly around her wrist, her powers were such a big part of her identity that if she couldn't stop this creature then why bother even having these abilities?

That shook her more than she meant for it to. Gritting her teeth she surged forward, avoiding streetlights and illuminated windows. Moving upwards she skimmed the glass corporate tower around the downtown area, the floors fell quickly by as she emerged at the top and hovered for a moment. A faint streak of light caught the corner of her eye and she whipped her head in that direction, but it was the same quite city as before. Narrowing her eyes she waited to see if anything would emerge but of course it didn't. With suspicions high she turned and continued her route, moving past the wreckage of Saturday and the emptiness of City Hall.

Her feet touched the smooth dome of the building and she swore she could hear a piercing through the air, the whipping of the flag quickly drowned it out and she swung around with anticipation of one of those heavy vine-like whips heading her way. But there was nothing there.

"You're freaking yourself out," she mumbled to herself, "get a grip."

Fearing the dark had never been her thing, there had never been a time in her young life where she'd felt panic settle so comfortably in her chest before, it's as if it had been on standby for this very moment. Embarrassed she rolled backwards, letting habit and nature be her guide as she continued to move through the crisp February air. Something itched at the back of her skull though, like she knew something was off. All her senses were screaming at her to just 'turn around,' but she felt like that was the paranoia talking.

A small skittering of stones echoed in the neighborhood she was passing through now and she pulled a hand close to her chest, building an energy ball within her palm. It would be small but it would get the job done. Dipping downwards she heard another streak cut through the night and she made a choice. Going off route she saw the old church with it's tall spire and made that her destination. Her feet landed on the roof and she ran up the shingles to the peak, as she reached the spire she cocked her head slightly knowing she'd definitely heard something that time. Her other hand grasped the spire and she whipped herself around, launching the bright green ball into the offending direction.

She didn't let go as her sneakers balanced her on stone and wood, from the building she'd heard the noise come from and launched the attack at she managed to catch the culprit, just not who she'd suspected. A barrier whipped up in time to hit the sphere, the shimmering dark forest green contrasting with the bright chartreuse of her own ability.

Sparks danced and smoke cleared, the barrier was still up but quickly snapped out of existence with her counterpart on the other side. Shocked, Buttercup felt her jaw drop only slightly before a roiling heat began to move through her entire body. She was pissed. What the fuck was he doing here? With practiced balance she swung back onto the main part of the roof, walking down the slope of the shingles with fists clutched.

He knew he'd fucked up, but he needed to go to her. As Butch closed the gap in the air it was as if he could feel the anger pouring off of her in waves, and with her eyes glowing intensely he knew he was walking into something dangerous. His feet hit the roof but before he could casually throw on a casual grin she was stalking over to him fuming.

"What the fuck!" It wasn't a question, she roughly shoved him and he stumbled back a few steps, awkwardly staying on the roof.

Raising a hand, "listen, Butterboo-," but that only pissed her off further as she took a swing at him, nostrils flaring. He knew keeping an eye on her wasn't a good idea and he was silently cursing Brick as he worked on dodging and blocking her hits, wincing and stumbling when she did connect. "Buttercup! Jeeze! Will you listen?"

"I can't believe-," there was only embarrassment and resentment, "-you of all people! I should fucking bury you in that graveyard down there!" Had his mind been on a one-track focus he probably wouldn't have checked to see that, yes, there was a small cemetery next to the old church. That brief distraction was enough for her to get a strong kick to his chest and send him skidding backwards.

He slid partially down the roof, his forearms scraping the rough material beneath him, but his senses came back enough for him to float in the air and avoid crashing into the ground below. Butch looked up and could see Buttercup's chest heaving slightly, like she was trying to keep all of her anger from escaping at once, and he raised a hand again, "will you just stop for a minute?" Shit, if she was like this from him keeping an eye on her after the fight then how would she be if he ever dated…- no, now was not the time to worry about all that.

"Talk fast, I have no qualms rearranging your face," cracking her knuckles she added, "which one of my sisters told you I needed babysitting? I don't." Better to find out which of her sisters was doubting her… it was probably Bubbles. That's exactly what she got for being 100% vulnerable in front of her baby sister, that'd be the last time she did that.

"What?" Butch was confused for a moment, "no, neither of your sisters know we're out here."

He'd said 'we're', not 'I'm'. That was a red flag. "Who's all here?"

Frustrated Butch angrily gestured out towards the city, "who do you think? Boomer and Brick are out here too."

"I never asked for your fucking help," she didn't ask now and she hadn't asked during the fight but here he was, here they were. Prying into her life.

"I know that!" He'd been very against this plan… but after Brick returned home from his little temper tantrum he'd ordered them to do this, one of them keeping an eye on whichever girl went out tonight. Butch had drawn the short straw, clearly. "Trust me, this wasn't my fucking idea." He grumbled, but his feet returned to the roof and he stalked upwards, not too far from where she was standing and plopped down on his butt. "Christ, I told Brick it'd be better to send Boomer to follow you."

He was brushing off his forearms, dislodging debris of stray rocks and dried tar, he looked to see Buttercup now inwardly fuming. At least, that's what it looked like; she was clearly flushed as she pulled her hood over her windswept hair. "Brick is a fucking moron," She muttered.

This garnered a snort and a laugh from Butch, "tell me about it."

Begrudgingly she plopped down near him on the roof, with a sigh she asked, "why are you guys here?"

Unsure as what to say Butch pulled out his phone and waved it, "I'm not really a 'talk it out' kinda dude, can't Boom come over inste-," he was abruptly cut off.

"No!" She buried her face in her hands, "no."

Unsure what to make of that he inhaled sharply and grimaced, "O.K. then… thought you two were buddies?"

"We are friends, it's just, ah, I'm still mad at you and I'll just want to punch him in the face if he shows up too."

"I wouldn't mind seeing that," Butch mused but Buttercup shot him a look and he shoved his phone back into his pocket, "fine! Fine, just chill." He noticed one of his laces was coming undone so he began to retie it, "Brick just decided that this is what we'd be doing, so here we are."

Skeptical she lifted a brow, "seriously? God, if Bubbles is right and Brick is trying to fuck Blossom I am going to fucking scream."

"I doubt blondie used the term 'fuck'," in fact he was pretty positive. But even Butch had to admit to himself that Brick acted different when it came to Blossom, and it wasn't the usual 'rivals' thing it had been for 12 years. "Anyways," he shrugged, "Brick was still worked up after he got home so this was all his idea."

"Really?" Something about Brick being worked up made her want to laugh, he was much more collected as they'd gotten older so seeing these cracks was rather amusing. "What got his panties in a knot?"

"Beats me, I had to drive the car home." He and Boomer still hadn't gotten the full story. "Apparently Bloss told him to 'chill' or whatever about something at school today and he lost his shit."

Just the mention of school earlier today made Buttercup scowl, "I know exactly what it was, and I'm still pissed myself."

"Oh?" Interested Butch leaned over, "do tell, I'd love to make fun of him."

"It's not," she sighed, "jeeze don't sit so close." She scooted away before continuing, "Brick went to that party with my sisters this weekend."

"Yeah, I heard it was pretty fun." He might've been a little jealous but he'd had a mission to complete and getting paid was pretty important, meant he could afford to have fun later down the road.

"I guess Jenner," she practically spat the name out, "got pissy that Bubs and Bloss were with Brick. He crossed a line." Her fist flexed and she remembered how close she'd come to splattering him all over the quad. "He made an asinine comment about what we do, he's a fucking jackass."

It was on the tip of Butch's tongue to mention that Bubbles had made a similar remark Saturday morning, but he quickly realized that would be a goddamn disaster. As far as anyone was aware they didn't 'talk' like that. Plus he didn't need to relive the relief when she'd been disgusted that he'd even suggested she was going on a date with the football captain. "You're not wrong." That was a safe enough comment.

Rubbing at one of her eyes, pushing the irritation she'd felt down, Buttercup finished, "a lot's been changing."

To her this meant not only the creature and today's debacle, but it fully encompassed becoming friends with the Rowdyruffs, Princess coming to their defense and being friendly (in her own Princess-ish way), searching for and saving Mojo Jojo… things were changing, and quickly. God, the thought that Brick liked Blossom… or that Bubbles had a crush on Boomer (probably), she didn't get it. Glancing over at Butch who was scratching the back of his head she thought, 'so I am supposed to fall head over heels and make out with this dork?' It caught her so off guard she actually laughed so hard she snorted.

"Uh… you alright there?" Butch was uncomfortable to say the least, thinking maybe she'd lost her mind for a second there.

"Y-yeah," stifling her laughter Buttercup stood up and dusted off her leggings. "Promise that if I ever start making googly eyes at you that you'll put me out of my misery, alright?"

"Pft," he joined her in standing and leered, "I'd be shocked if you didn't fall for my dashing good looks and charm- but I'm way out of your league."

Rolling her eyes she shoved him, "whatever, asshole." She was floating now, crossing her arms she shrugged, "I still don't know how I feel about the whole 'stalking' thing you and your brothers are doing but I'm going home before I get mad all over again." Before Butch could retort she shot off, getting the last word in.

Toweling off her dark hair, Buttercup sat on the floor and stared into the mirror. She hadn't mentioned the Ruffs being out to either Blossom or Bubbles, figuring she'd give Brick an earful at school the next day and save him the embarrassment of Blossom lecturing him. When she'd actually taken some time to think about it she was shocked at the realization that a part of her had been relieved that she hadn't been all alone out there, and her sisters wouldn't be either as they rotated duties.

Her phone began vibrating across the floor, interrupting the playlist she'd picked out. Holding it up she made a face, however she decided to answer it despite not being in the mood.

"Hel-," she was quickly interrupted by Boomer's voice rattling off.

"I am so, so, sorry, Butters, I didn't mean for you to find out like that. Actually, none of you were supposed to find out about it at all, it's just that Brick made a call and we've all been pretty worried and-," she had to hold the phone away from her ear.

"Slow down, jeeze, Bubbles will be able to hear you through the wall and I don't even have you on speaker." She could hear him exhale as he worked on easing himself down. "You good?" She asked this almost sarcastically.

The forehead smack was clear as day through the phone and he grumbled, "not really. Butch and I told him it was a bad idea. Especially someone tailing you, but he said it would keep us from getting caught." The dry laugh that escaped him wasn't like the Boomer she'd slowly gotten to know, "so much for that."

"Yeah," not even trying to sugar coat their fluke, "Butch isn't exactly the 'king of stealth'."

"Butch told me to do it but I felt like you'd be more pissed if it were me."

This caught her off guard and she tentatively asked, "why?"

"We're friends," to him it was so simple to say, and the matter-of-fact way he said it came out like it was obvious. "We're building trust, you and me." His smile came through the phone clearly.

He was right and they had both had a lot of fun Friday night, no cares about who they were supposed to be or holding back with their powers. There was a pout in her voice as she leaned backwards onto her palm, "which means you should've told me."

"I was going to," pausing, "but not right away." He sighed heavily, the sound felt like it was vibrating through her bones with how close to her ear it was and she reddened and cleared her throat. "You were in such bad shape when you got back, we just- I just… I want to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"I'm a superhero, dude, it comes with the job." Although the stinging fear and anxiety shouldn't be riding so close to something she'd been doing for the majority of her life.

"That doesn't mean I can't worry." His voice raised an octave, flustered somewhat on his end.

"Listen, pretty boy," Buttercup stared at her own reflection as she spoke, "if we need you we'll call you." It felt firm, plus it was a statement that Blossom would undoubtedly make. Leader approval was important at times like this.

"And what about you?"

"Huh?" She wasn't sure what he meant.

"Will you call me if you need to?"

Now she scrambled to her feet and sucked in her cheeks, she didn't like this. She didn't like this feeling, the fact she saw him be stony and serious, goofy and childish, and now he was being caring… and sweet. He was freaking her out and they weren't even in the same room together.

"Friends are supposed to be close," Boomer said and she exhaled in control. "Talk to me. You ended up talking with Butch, I didn't think you two got along so well."

"Are you-," she wasn't sure but it clicked in her mind quickly, "are you jealous that I talked to Butch and not you?" Buttercup expected him to deny it fully, that's what his own brothers would do, it's what she would do too.

"And what if I am?" He caught her by surprise. "Hm?"

"Well… uh," how was she supposed to interpret that? "Guess you better start sucking up to me then. You need to make up for your betrayal and all."

Somehow Boomer's grins found a way to shine through a phoneline with ease, "ha, deal." She wasn't sure why she laughed at this, but she'd gotten two good laughs out tonight and that felt way better than crying. "Buttercup?"

"Hm?"

"I'm just relieved that you're O.K." She hadn't laughed during lunch, none of the girls had seemed like themselves today and he could tell by the way her laugh didn't come out forced that she did mean it.

Plopping down on her bed she pulled one leg up to her chest and tried to sound boisterous, "of course I am, I'm the toughest fighter out there."

"Yeah," he gave a breathy laugh, "I'll see you tomorrow, and you'll be blown out of your socks. I'm gonna make you two sandwiches!"

"Wait a sec-," but he laughed and just clicked off the phone. She was left staring at her home screen, a goofy photo she and Mitch had taken in his uncle's garage that summer. They'd found so much old punk memorabilia, it'd been a blast. That summer felt so far away, and a part of her wondered if she'd get to do it again… maybe she could show Boomer the old instruments he'd stockpiled, he'd love that kind of stu-. "Oh fuck." She was doomed.

It's times like this that the green counterparts didn't realize how similar they truly were, and how much they had in common with a certain leader as well.