Storm
Trivia: Can you find the lyrics from a Sara Bareilles song in this chapter?
Forgive me for the horrendously long wait for this chapter. I have no excuse, outside of the usual school happened and graduating and college. There is really no excuse for my three year absence, but hopefully I will be able to rectify that now. For those who are still interested in this story, thank you and I'm sorry for the long wait.
EDIT (3/14/2020): Oh, past me, if only you knew. Fixed grammar, writing style, expanded scenes and diction.
Chapter 7: Benefit of a Doubt
The next morning, Buttercup was still angry.
However, despite her sharing an empathy link with the woman and having telepathy, Blossom wasn't sure why she was angry. Her younger sister's thoughts were rolling and raging, like waves on a stormy sea, with no clear picture of what caused her anger. Her thoughts were little more than furious red flashes of faces and words, things too brief and too disjointed for her to get a clear picture.
She sighed deeply as those irate thoughts scraped at her mind. It seemed as if she couldn't escape from the angry thoughts, especially now that they were in the Resistance. After that conference the other day, a mix of anger and uncertainty permeated the thoughts of just about everyone. Dinner had been an affair of stiff shoulders and tense backs, where she barely had eaten before she took her meal and returned to her apartment. The rebels had been more than willing to follow her and she didn't have to turn to see the looks they were giving everyone.
The thoughts that filled that room had suffocated her. There weren't as many rebels so she had been able to ignore their thoughts, but now, with so many people and so many opinions, it was hard to escape the anger and fear and suspicion. Their red darkness just made memories surface that had no shape or meaning, which worsened everything. Flashes of fury and irascibility beget more fury and irascibility, amorphous and red and confusing.
Covering her mouth as she yawned, Blossom glanced at her sister. When Buttercup had stormed into her room that morning, the redhead had expected a flood of angry insults and a rant on someone (most likely Butch). Instead, the dark-haired woman had just sat on her bed, watching her finish getting ready and then dragged her out of the apartment when she was. They were now walking down a hall and her green sister's face was still set in a deadly dark look, scaring most, if not all, of the people they ran into. She wanted to ask her what was wrong, but Blossom was unsure how to say it now. It had been so long ago since she had to soothe one of her sisters.
"Let's train."
Jumping slightly, she turned to her sister in surprised. "Come again?"
"Train. Last night, before I got back, I found the training room." Buttercup's face suddenly seemed less dark and a familiar eager glint was in her bright green eyes. "It has a training simulator. So let's spar. I want to see if those al—"
She abruptly stopped herself, glancing nervously at Blossom.
The redhead was staring ahead blankly, her mind tickling her with faded, dull memories. They were so close, just blurry enough that if she squinted maybe…just maybe she could—
She shook her head, clearing away the sudden persistent fog of those memories. She didn't know how important the memory was nor if it held anything of worth to her, but she'd rather not have Buttercup go all mother hen on her again. As much as she loved her, the woman could be a little suffocating at times.
Forcing a smile on her face, Blossom turned to her sister.
"Why not? I could use a good sparring session," she said, trying to keep the haunted look from her eyes.
Buttercup paused, searching her face, before grinning widely and taking her hand. "Come on then!"
"W-Wait!" she cried as the other woman flew down the halls with her in tow. "What about breakfast!?"
"I wanna work up an appetite!" her sister responded, skidding to a stop in front of a door. "Tadah! The training room!"
Gasping slightly, Blossom looked up at the typical gray and blue door in front of her. She frowned as Buttercup pressed a button and the door slid open. Pulling her fingers through her hair to fix it, she followed her sister through the door. She allowed herself to look impressed at what greeted her.
The room was large and full of mostly weights, treadmills, and similar equipment. The different equipment was even split into sections, with weights and weight-lifting equipment in one area, treadmills and elliptical equipment in another, and the rest in others still. The room's walls were white and bright lights shone down on the few people already there. A small second floor looked over everything, but she didn't have a good enough angle to see what was up there.
Buttercup floated through the room, letting a wide grin form on her face. She looked positively giddy at all the equipment and, eyes landing on the simulator, she let out a rather manic chuckle. It had been ages since she was in a training simulator. Well, not ages as she had been in one the other day, but ages since she used one to actually train and kick monster ass. Flexing her fists, ignoring the green energy gathering in her palms, she hovered up to the door and regarded the technician there with bright, bright lime green eyes.
"Yo! Set us up for an empty field," Buttercup said as Blossom joined her.
She gestured to the redhead with her thumb. The technician, staring at both with wide eyes, suddenly regarded something on the computer screen in front of him.
"U-Um…I-I…um, s-she's not allowed…in the training simulator," he stuttered, making a motion towards Blossom.
He cowered as Buttercup's eyes flashed.
"And why not?" she growled, the green energy engulfing her fists.
Her sister instantly gripped her arm and the green puff flinched as the sudden cold of ice hit her skin.
The techie bit his lip before swallowing nervously. He even tugged at his collar as he did so.
"G-General B-Brick's orders, m-miss," he practically whispered as she glared down at him.
Buttercup stared at him blankly for a moment, making the technician shake even more, before she bolted from the room with a snarl and Blossom on her heels.
The pink puff tried her best to keep up with her sister, fruitlessly attempting to grab her arm or shirt. Anger was billowing off her in waves and she tried to keep the red thoughts from burrowing into her mind. Try as she might, though, the anger was too strong and managed to worm its way in, making her slightly dizzy as she flew through the air. It didn't help that more memories threatened to resurface as well, filling her with a vaguely familiar hazy feeling. However, whatever that feeling was, was slammed back as a torrent of hostile emotions invaded the empathy link.
Gasping, Blossom found herself tripping into her sister's back. The raven-haired woman had stopped in the middle of a hallway, shoulders heaving as the pink puff grabbed her shirt. From the sharp spike in dark emotions, the redhead could only guess that her sister had found her target.
Taking a breath to calm and control herself, she stepped around Buttercup to see four Resistance officers standing in front of them, Brick being one. His red eyes were trained on her sister and they darkened as she stepped into his line of sight. On the other hand, Butch, who was standing next to him, just grinned even more, his dark green eyes glittering. There was a pregnant silence as neither group moved nor spoke. The two other officers, Princess and an older man that Blossom did not know, merely glanced between the four counterparts.
Eyes not leaving Blossom, Brick asked her sister, "What is it you need, Buttercup?"
"You to stop being a fucking ass," she snapped in response causing Blossom to look at her sharply. "What the fuck, Brick? So Blossom can't even let off some steam?"
"Tried the training simulator, I see," he said, turning his gaze back to the handheld computer he was holding. "I told you already. She's considered a threat." His eyes flashed to the pink-eyed woman, whose full lips had turned down in a frown at that. "Therefore, until further notice, the training simulator is off limits to her."
Buttercup gritted her teeth, her anger flaring anew as she took in the red ruff's emotionless face. Her clenched fists ignited in green energy and Butch instantly threw up a translucent green shield between her and his brother.
Despite the clear hostility in her face, Brick remained completely unruffled and sighed, gesturing for his brother to drop the shield. For a few moments, the green-eyed man didn't respond before letting the green shield disappear with a clear look of discontent. His muscles were still tense and the glowing green energy hadn't disappeared from Buttercup's fists either.
"You're doing this to be an ass, aren't you?" The green puff gesticulated angrily with her glowing hands, not giving notice to the way they sparked as she sliced the air. Nor did she notice the small air currents gathering around her and Blossom's ankles. "It's unfair!"
"You may find my choice unfair, but I'm only doing this to protect the people here," Brick explained and Blossom found herself heavily tempted to delve into his thoughts, personal morals and ethics be damned. "Therefore, until we know more or feel like we can trust her, Pinky is little more than a civilian."
"You mean prisoner," Buttercup hissed in response. "God! Who the hell died and made you the king of anything?"
There was the slightest of twitches from Brick and, as she was looking at his face, Blossom noticed that his mouth seemed a little tighter than it had a moment before. Frowning herself, the pink puff had the decency to elbow her sister for that comment, despite the fact she agreed.
However, something about the way her counterpart's eyes had darkened made a small ball of sympathy form in her stomach. Something must have happened for him to become leader so young and she doubted, for all his planning, he had been prepared for it. He was just doing his best to retain a semblance of normalcy and order in a time thrown into mayhem. She bit her lip, a nervous tick that she had apparently not grown out of, and tried her hardest not to read his thoughts.
"Buttercup," Blossom warned softly as her sister glared at Brick.
"Seriously! What the hell is with the fucking holier-than-thou attitude!? I mean, really! You're the fucking same as me or Butch! Hell, you're the goddamn counterpart of Blossom!" she snarled, continuing her angry gesticulations as she talked. She didn't care if that made little sense; she was just angry that Blossom was being treated like this. "And what's with all this 'I have to protect' and 'my choice' crap!? Is this a dictatorship here? I mean, I know power can make people cuckoo, but honestly?"
No emotion showed on Brick's face, but the way his eyes seemed to only become darker set alarms off in Blossom's head. She may have been gone for eight years and she may have not seen Brick in ten, but she could still tell when her counterpart was becoming beyond angry.
Snapping her gaze to her equally angry sister, she tried shushing her, only to have Buttercup to ignore her.
"Bu—" Blossom tried again, but her sister was well into her rant and the pink puff knew how Buttercup could get. It made Mojo look brief in comparison.
"Not now, Bloss," Buttercup growled, eyes glowing brightly. "I'm letting this bastard know how much of a dick he is! Just because you've been gone for so long, doesn't mean you've gone off the deep end and became the aliens' bitch!" Blossom looked offended at this comment as Butch raised an eyebrow and Princess coughed, covering her snort. The green puff's eyes never left Brick's face as she continued, "And y'know what? I still can't believe they made you fucking general! How the hell did that happen? You kill the old one and claim an alien did it, Bricky boy?"
Instead of darkening to black, those red eyes suddenly became a bright scarlet, which was even more alarming than they darkening were.
However, Blossom wasn't paying attention to Brick anymore; her eyes were now trained on Buttercup.
The look of pure glee and unadulterated sadism on her sister's face was just wrong. This was not how someone like Buttercup was supposed to act. She didn't care how long she was gone or what had changed; Blossom did not want to see her sister acting like a sadistic witch.
"Hey…" Butch said, frowning at her. "Buttercup, seriously. Sto—"
Buttercup completely ignored her counterpart and continued her tirade. "Really, Brick. Tell me. How di—?"
"Enough."
Brick's voice hadn't uttered the word. It wasn't Butch and it wasn't Princess. And it certainly wasn't the officer virtually hiding behind Princess, either.
As the realization who spoke set in, five sets of eyes turned to Blossom. The pink-eyed woman's face was set in an expression that made Buttercup stiffen. That expression, with those pink eyes dark in anger and disappointment and those full lips set in a frown, was so much like the one that would adorn her face when Buttercup would disobey a direct order from long, long ago. The memories of all the times that she had done just that surged in her mind, a collection of disobedience and disappointment, of recklessness and righteous anger. She hadn't seen an expression in a long time.
If she had to be honest, Blossom would confess that she liked the way everyone had fallen silent at the tone of her voice. It gave her the familiar feeling of control that felt oh so nice and also made her realize just how antsy she was to train her strategies and work on the ones that were floating amongst those bleary images. Of course, as she couldn't use the simulator, there was really no way for her to work on them besides writing them down, which put a sour taste in her mouth. If she had learned anything from living with Buttercup, it was that sometimes doing something was better than just sitting there and thinking about doing it.
"I understand where…Brick…is coming from with his caution," she said, eyes locked on Buttercup. "I may not like it and you…well, you certainly don't like it, but as the leader of the Resistance, it is his opinion that matters."
"…I can't believe you said that with a straight face," Buttercup said, eyes wide. "Did…you just…acknowledge that Brick has more power than you do?"
Blossom frowned at her sister, a look of annoyance plain on her face.
"It's clear in this situation. I am the pariah here and he is the honored general," she admitted with as little distaste in her voice as she could manage. Glancing at her counterpart, her lips twitched into the semblance of a half-smile before the frown took over. "You're welcome."
"What?" Buttercup asked in confusion.
"It's nothing," Blossom responded. Crossing her arms, she gave Brick her full attention. "Would I be correct in saying that I am not allowed to join the Resistance army?"
"As much as I hate saying you're correct, you would be," Brick answered. He glanced down at the tablet in his hands. "Now, excuse me. I have matters to attend that do not involve bitchy hissy fits from pissed off rebels."
He inclined his head to the stunned Buttercup and annoyed Blossom before gesturing for Princess and the other officer to follow him. The sisters watched them walk away in silence.
As soon as the trio turned a corner, Buttercup let out an aggravated screech, thoroughly scaring a few pedestrians. Cursing colorfully, she made throttling motions in the air in front of her as Blossom watched impassively. The red-haired puff crossed her arms, frowning at her sister.
"You need to control your temper, Buttercup," she scolded lightly, looking at her with worried eyes.
"'You need to control your temper, Buttercup'," her sister mimicked in a bad imitation of her voice. This received a narrowed glare and she threw her arms up. "I know, I know! I have a bad temper! It hasn't changed!"
"Well, anger management courses are a little…sparse when you're living in a post-apocalyptic world," Butch chimed in, startling both women. He smirked, eyes glittering when they turned to him. "Forget about me?"
"…I thought you left with…" Buttercup pointing down the way Brick had gone and her counterpart just continued to smirk.
"There were only three people going down that way," he pointed out. His smirk dropped at he looked between the two sisters. "So he really put Blossom on the black list for the simulator?"
Grimacing, the green sister nodded, crossing her arms. "Ugh. Honestly. What the hell is with Brick?"
The Resistance sergeant mimicked her posture, eyebrows furrowed.
"He's stressed. He's the leader of the whole fucking Resistance, Butters," Butch said, frowning. "He doesn't have a partner to co-lead with like you did."
She glared at him for that and looked ready to make a retort when Blossom silenced her with one look. The raven-haired rebel took to grumbling under her breath and shooting glares at both her sister and counterpart. Despite her sour attitude, the pink puff knew that Buttercup recognized that Brick indeed have a lot on his shoulders.
Blossom herself understood the responsibility with which the red ruff was shouldered. While being the leader of a trio of superpowered girls wasn't the same as being the leader of an entire Resistance organization branching out all over the world, the same basis of responsibility was there. Brick had to act accordingly and be a paragon of trust and fairness…just like Blossom once had to be.
Ignoring the sudden throbbing in her chest, the red-haired woman turned her attention to Butch.
"You're very protective of your brother," she noted and the green-eyed man blinked at her in surprise.
"Exactly. He's my brother." He shrugged before giving the two puffs a half-smile. "I take it Bubs is being cold?"
"The Antarctic is warmer than that bitch," Buttercup snapped, now scowling at the wall. It was clear that she was still angry about the cold shoulder her little sister was giving her and Blossom.
"Buttercup!" said older sister chastised as Butch raised an eyebrow. "She's our sister!"
The green puff snorted in response. "Ha! She hasn't been acting like it."
Blossom frowned. She reached out to touch her sister's shoulder, but she twisted away from her.
Hurt, the redhead sighed shakily before murmuring, "It's only been a day…and we both did abandon her."
Both green-eyed superhumans snapped their attention to Blossom at that.
Buttercup mouthed helplessly, looking somewhere between shocked and angry. She hadn't expected Blossom to feel as if she had abandoned Bubbles. Blossom had been taken by aliens! She didn't have a choice of leaving them behind! It wasn't like the aliens had asked her if she wanted to be swept up by them and do...whatever they had her do. Why should she feel that way?
Buttercup clenched and unclenched her fists, floundering for an answer to that. Nothing came to her mind and she swallowed thickly. Years may have passed, but she still wasn't that good with words when it came to situations like this.
"I…I didn't…I mean…" She bit her lip, before trying again. "…you didn't abandon her…I did. I was the one who didn't join the Resistance."
The redhead looked at her, analyzing her face and the emotions coming from her before she sighed softly.
"I suppose you're right…but I still feel like I have sometimes…" she murmured and Buttercup made a weird noise in her throat, something between a whimper and snarl.
An awkward moment passed between the three. Blossom and Buttercup merely stared at each other as Butch looked between the two, unsure as to what to do. He wasn't good with situations like this. He couldn't comfort someone; that was beyond his pay grade. (Not that he had a pay grade, but it sounded nice.) Looking away uneasily, the green ruff bit the inside of his cheek in thought before sighing. God, he hated atmospheres like this.
"Well! This is getting too heavy for me!" he suddenly declared, clapping his hands. "So I'm going to—"
"Oh, no you don't," Buttercup said, grabbing his arm. "I'm enlisting for the Resistance."
Looking shocked, Butch stared at her unabashedly. Even Blossom looked surprised.
Both said, "You are?"
"How the hell else am I going to be able to kick Narcassian ass?" she snapped, before turning to her sister. "See? I remembered what those jackasses are called!"
Lips quirking, the redhead chuckled lightly. She looked like she wanted to remark on that, but instead she said, "I didn't say a thing."
"Ah, but you were thinking it!" Buttercup responded, before bringing her attention back to Butch. "Okay. Yeah. The aliens are called Narcassians. Yes, Blossom knows that. She was held prisoner by them, remember. And you are going to help me enlist." Hooking her arm around Butch's, she started dragging the sergeant down the hall, despite having no idea as to where she was supposed to go. "Now let's go."
"Jesus. Pushy, aren'tcha?" Butch grumbled. Before his counterpart could take him too far, he tossed something to Blossom. She looked at the little pad in her hand before giving him a confused look. "Those are some pass codes for those public places!" The pink puff looked alarmed as Buttercup practically pulled his arm out of the socket. "FUCK OW! Christ, woman!"
"Come on, jerkwad!" the raven-haired woman snarled, receiving another yelp of pain.
Blossom watched them go with a look of concern on her face.
That night, after a long day of suspicious and awed looks, Blossom sat on her bed, playing with a pencil and staring blankly at the three objects on her comforter. The objects consisted of her list of pass codes, an open sketchbook, and the communicator she had received that day. The communicator was really like a cell phone, a flat device with a simple black and white screen. The Professor had proudly given it to her when she had visited him in his lab; his name had been first on the list of contacts she found, a little star next to indicating that he was on her "Favorites" list.
Sighing, she dropped her pencil and picked up the list of codes. She flipped through them, reading the numbers there and beginning to memorize them. There were maybe twenty codes there, maybe a little more, and each was a specific number combination that varied in length depending on what it was used for. Such as the one for the cafeteria, it was simply three-six-six-three.
The first thing she had decided to use her handy list of pass codes for was to enter the cafeteria and grab something to eat. Brunch had been a quiet and awkward experience as everyone had stared baldly at her, though it became less awkward when Jocey had bounced over and joined her. The second thing she had used the list for was to enter the Professor's lab. He had had stopped her on her way to the cafeteria, telling her to drop by whenever. She had done just that, but aside from getting the communicator, she had not been able to talk to her father because of his fussing over the state of Emmons.
A dull throb filled her chest at the memory of Emmons. She hadn't seen him, but there were muffled screams coming from one of the rooms off the main lab. Her guilt flared anew.
Dropping the list of codes, she wrapped her arms around herself. She still felt as if it was her fault that Emmons had been turned into that thing. The memory of delving into his mind surfaced and she shuddered.
"And you…will find Blo…ssom…and…ki…ll…"
The Narcassian had told him to find her. It had used him to get to her. Maybe Brick was right. Maybe she was a threat…but not for the reason he thought. Shifting so that she was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees, she rested her chin on them and stared down her list without seeing it. Brick thought she was a threat because he believed that she would be the one to attack people. He didn't realize that she was a threat because the aliens would use people to get to her.
Pressing her face against her knees, she groaned, grumbling lowly, "Now I want to train."
As she sat there grumbling to herself, a thought struck her and she sat up with wide eyes. Her mouth dropped open and she slapped her forehead. How could she not have realized it?
Jumping off her bed, she pulled on a pair of pants and traded her baggy sweater for a regular long-sleeved shirt. Quickly slipping into a pair of flats, she crept to her door. Opening it a bit, she peered out into the main living area. The living room was dark and she crept towards the door, her glowing eyes casting pale pink light. With a quick glance around, she slipped through.
It took her a few minutes to find her way after leaving the living quarters, but about fifteen minutes later, Blossom found herself in front of the door to the training room. She smiled to herself. Brick said she couldn't use the training simulator, but what if there was no one there to stop her? After all, it was well after hours now and there was really no reason to have a 24/7 watch on the simulator. That would just be a waste of manpower.
Pulling out her pad of codes, she flipped to the second page and quickly found the code next to "Training Room". She quickly typed it in (two-eight-eight-two-four) and the door slid open with that familiar pneumatic hiss. Walking into the room, she glanced about, despite knowing that no one would be there at such an hour. It had to be at least midnight, after all.
Shaking her head, she floated over to the training simulator controls. She took a breath to steel herself and quickly pressed the blatantly labeled "on" button. The monitor in front of her beeped and a blue monochrome screen came on asking for a code.
Frowning, not expecting this, Blossom looked through her codes, but couldn't find one that said it was for the training simulator. After a moment or two of staring blankly at the screen, she tried the code for the training room.
Access Denied.
"Okay…let's try…" Blossom typed in the code to the Professor's lab, but came up with the same screen.
Frowning, she tried a few more codes and even tried just a bunch of random numbers, but each try came up empty. Now more than a little confused, she crossed her arms and stared down at the screen. She hadn't expected that a password was needed to get into the simulator.
If she weren't so wound up with energy, she would have just given up and let Brick have his way. However, seeing as she was in need of a good training session and she recognized her own stubbornness, the pink puff found herself glaring at the machine, hoping to cow it into letting her in.
"Well…this is unexpected."
Eyes widening and letting out a surprised squeal, Blossom literally jumped a foot into the air and hovered there. She turned and found Butch standing ten feet behind her.
"H-How did you get in here?" she asked, placing a hand over her heart. She hadn't heard the door hiss open and she reluctantly landed as a Butch raised an eyebrow.
"Scare ya, did I?" he said, smirking. "I used the door in the pool room. It was closer to where I was."
"O-Oh…" She nodded, wringing her hands nervously.
The green ruff watched her, taking in her expression, and his smirk grew as he realized why she was in the room. "You tried to sneak into the training simulator."
It wasn't a question and her cheeks heated up in response to the statement. It was true, but she didn't have to let him know.
Stuttering, she said, "N-No!"
"Then why are you here?" he asked, grinning widely.
Blossom gulped and shifted uncomfortably.
"I…um, sleepwalked here?" she tried and the painfully incredulous look she received made her wince.
"Bullshit," Butch responded, crossing his arms. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Wow. I never realized how bad at lying you were."
She frowned and pouted, mimicking his stance. "Okay, so I tried to sneak into the simulator. It's not like I can do it during the day."
"Mmm. I know how that is," he murmured, walking over to her. He bent slightly and typed something into the simulator controls. It beeped and a screen denoting Access Granted appeared. Winking at the stunned puff, he jovially said, "Wanna train with me?"
She gaped at him for a moment before regaining her composure. "Sure, but how did you…?"
She let herself trail off as Butch strode over to the door, stripping off his jacket. She followed him, still looking confused and grudgingly impressed. How had the raven-haired man managed to open the simulator? He had typed in a code, that was obvious, but what code had he used?
Stopping in the middle of the room, Butch faced her. She found herself blushing as his green eyes looked over her and she squirmed a bit. His thoughts were thankfully not as bad as Ace's had been, but they were still steamy enough to make her uncomfortable.
Coughing into her fist, she gave him a pointed look and he only grinned in response. They were silent for a moment or two before he stretched his arms over his head. She found herself staring at his torso and the little bit of stomach that had been exposed from his stretching. Really, it was ridiculous how good these Rowdyruffs looked. She and her sisters had been the perfect little girls. They had just been…well, they had just been weapons, hadn't they?
Shaking her head, she bit her lip and averted her gaze. What nonsensical thoughts to be having now of all times!
"Shall we begin?" he asked and she whipped towards him as he called out, "Computer, arena four-dash-thirty-two, Townsville, mid-morning. Start!"
Immediately the white tiled room disappeared and the two were standing on Main Street, Townsville. Despite herself, Blossom found herself looking around, feeling tears bead in her eyes. It had been so long since she last seen Townsville in its glory and not the gray shell it was now, with the black nest growing in its center. She could almost imagine the hustle and bustle of the city, even with the lack any simulated pedestrians or cars. She had flown through these streets too many times to not perfectly recreate each friendly citizen, each bright smile and wave.
She was so focused on taking in her surroundings that she completely forgot that Butch was standing only four feet from her. It wasn't that she was unaware of him; she still could sense he was there, but her mind wasn't focused on the here and now. It was miles away in the past, back in a time that was so much simpler. Back in a time where she had been a hero.
There was movement in her peripheral and she twisted, just narrowly dodging Butch. She whirled towards him but found nothing there. Eyes widening, the pink-eyed woman glanced around before glancing left and holding up her arms to block his swift kick. The force of his attack sent her back multiple feet, her shoes skidding across the virtual asphalt.
Lowering her arms, she ducked. She swung her fist up and successfully delivered a sharp uppercut to his chin. The ruff flipped once in the air and rubbed the wounded body part, grinning widely.
She glared up at him, frowning. Her stance shifted to battle ready, feet spread and fists raised.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" she snapped. "And you still haven't answered my question!"
Butch didn't answer, however; he just dived at her, slamming his fist into the street where she had been standing a moment earlier. Straightening, the young man idly brushed dust off his hands and gave the pink puff a wide grin.
This action caused a dull throb to begin in her head as a memory fought its way to the surface of her mind. Wincing, she took an involuntary step back, fighting back the memory and simultaneously watching him warily.
"Less talk, more fighting," he finally said and lunged forward.
Blossom tensed and though she kept her eyes on him, a moment later she lost sight of the green ruff.
Startled, she furtively looked about, but found no sign of her training partner. Feeling panic set in, she had little time to react to the barrage of punches delivered to her torso. With a gasp, her body flew into one of the buildings, effectively destroying the exterior wall. The debris covered her entirely, leaving her under a pile of rubble.
Butch flew over to the hole, looking idly inside and using his x-ray vision to see through the debris. He found no trace of the redhead, however, and, before he could feel worried, he found himself propelled backwards. The force slammed him into the building across the street, leaving a Butch-shaped crater in the wall. He shook his head and found the pink puff standing mere feet away.
The look she gave him was almost frighteningly similar to a look Brick often had whenever he could convince him to train with him. An excited shiver shot up and down his spine. This should be fun.
As Butch pondered the similarities, she held up a fist that glowed. She released a barrage of pink blasts at him and he threw up a shield, cutting them off. From the frustrated look on Blossom's face, she must have forgotten that he could do that. Smirking, enjoying the fight more than he probably should, the green-eyed man let loose a few fist-beams himself before flying towards the woman.
Her eyes narrowed and she tensed her muscles before she soared into the air. She surveyed Butch a moment before shooting off. From a short burst of colorful thoughts, the pink puff knew he was following her. A small smirk formed on her face as she swerved among the buildings. Her favorite thing to do when fighting the ruffs was Cat and Mouse. Though admittedly only Brick shared her love for it (as they did fight that way most of the time), Blossom found herself hoping that Butch would play along with it. As soon as she thought this, she felt something slam into her with enough force to throw her through a window, only just noticing a warm body on her own as she hit the ground.
They landed heavily in an office, if that was what it was, as both were too focused on the other. Twisting under him, the pink puff threw her elbow into his clavicle and then eyebeamed his chest. His breath left him in a horrendous cough, but he still had her pinned.
He winced, but grinned salaciously causing her to blush. Scowling, she managed to grip his collar, jamming her foot into his chest, and threw him off her. He slammed into a wall, causing most, if not all, of the artwork and assorted awards to fall. Blossom stood, panting deeply, and leered at the man grinning at her.
Her body thrummed with energy, thrummed with excitement. It had been a while since she fought like this, fought with fists and energy and superpowers. At least, as far as her foggy memories could tell her, this had been the first time in a while. The wispy remains of a memory, of the image of Butch dusting off his hands returned, and she scowled.
Fists igniting, she zoomed towards him and slammed her fist into his force field. Teeth gritted, she narrowed her glowing eyes at him.
"Someone's getting angry~," Butch sang, manipulating his shield to wrap around Blossom.
Noticing the sudden curvature of his shield, the young woman jumped back, her scowl still blazing. He just continued to smirk, dropping the shield and lunging towards her. Aiming a punch at her face, the redhead dodged it and retaliated with a swift kick to his side.
Butch hissed in pain, biting out an angry "FUCK". He jumped backwards, sending multiple fist-beams at her. She twisted in a way that reminded the Resistance sergeant of a dancer and she was suddenly in his face, delivering a sharp roundhouse kick to his temple. The force of her kick was enough to send him flying through the wall and into the next room.
He tumbled across the floor before managing to regain his balance. He skidded on his toes and one hand, gathering dark green energy in the other one. He threw the energy ball when Blossom appeared in the hole, hitting her in the stomach. Her breath left her in a gasp and she herself was thrown back. The green-eyed man had to bite back a sadistic chuckle and shot into the other room. He found Blossom lying in the remains of a desk, her eyes tightly closed.
For a moment, he felt some worry that he had used too much force, but he was too fired up to let that thought gain any traction. His skin sparked with his power and a faint tremor shook his hands. It felt good to go all out. Being recalled from the field sucked and Brick and Boomer were way too busy to give him the time of day. Simulations could only go so far before he got bored. There was just something about fighting a live person, fighting another superhuman that was just so, so rewarding. If he had his druthers, he would love to spar with Buttercup, but Blossom was proving to be a delightful substitute.
As he neared the young woman, he noticed the room temperature severely drop. Before he could react, Blossom breathed out a gust of frozen air, freezing him from the waist down.
Without skipping a beat, the pink puff was on her feet and delivering another roundhouse to Butch's stomach. The ice around his legs shattered as the force of the kick sent him flying across the room. He slammed through a desk, wincing as the wood splintered around him. Before he could push himself up, there was a sudden weight on his body and a glowing pink object was shoved in his face.
"Give up?" Blossom growled and Butch blinked, moving his head to see her face. Despite the dark look on her face, he had to admit that the way her nose scrunched up in anger was rather cute.
"Give up? Ha!" In the next moment, he had her pinned underneath him. "Really. You should know me better, Blossy~."
She eyebeamed him, but he was already off her, dancing backwards. He grinned cockily at her and then he was gone.
Blossom cursed softly, eyes darting around, trying to catch sight of him or any semblance of thought. The most she was getting were flickering images and some nasty thoughts that made her simultaneously uncomfortable and furious. She didn't want to stay where she was in the office, despite the protection it served. The precise moment she blasted out of the building was the same moment Butch slammed a fist into the ground where she had once being standing.
Gasping, eyes wide, the pink puff managed a smirk as the ruff narrowed his eyes at her. She waved cheekily and twirled in the air, dodging an eyebeam. She dropped several stories before flying close to the street, breathing out softly and creating a trail of ice for Butch to follow. Turning sharply around a corner, dodging another beam, Blossom let out a much larger breath of ice. Her fingers danced through the air and, when Butch came rocketing around the street corner, he slammed straight into a thick wall of ice.
Colorful curses filled the air and her mind and she laughed lightly. She almost couldn't believe he fell for that, but he had been going pretty fast, she presumed. Ice twined around her and she melted into her wall.
Butch began melting the ice with his eyebeams, but the pink puff blindsided him by literally blooming from the ice wall and kicking him sharply in the side. He went flying, but managed a fist beam that slammed into her gut. The two superhumans crashed into opposite buildings, debris falling from their matching craters.
The first to recover was Butch, who again rocketed at her. Expecting a punch, Blossom let herself fall again, but released a surprised gasp when she felt another body adding weight to her descent. Twisting, she tried to grab Butch by the face, but only succeeded in spinning them. Neither corrected themselves and both slammed into the ground with enough force to make yet another crater, the green ruff cushioning Blossom.
Hissing, she squirmed out of his grip and used his thighs to propel herself out of the crater. As she landed, body tensing for another go around, Butch held up his hands in a calming manner as he sat up. Frowning, she reluctantly relaxed, though she still eyed him suspiciously and watched him as he stood.
"So you concede defeat?" she asked and he raised an eyebrow.
"Well…no," he began, grinning at her narrowed glare. "But we've been fighting for well over an hour now. And as much as I love fighting, I technically can't shirk my duties as an officer."
Blossom looked surprised at this. "Really? But…no, that can't be r—"
He held out his communicator to her, its screen denoting the time as 1:44 AM. It didn't feel like they had been fighting for almost two hours. If anything, it felt as if they had been fighting for only a few minutes.
Mouth moving up and down uselessly, she noticed that she was indeed panting heavily and her bangs were sticking to her forehead. She pushed said hair off her face and took notice that Butch himself was sweaty, though not as much as she was.
Pocketing the handheld device, he then gripped the edge of his shirt and brought it to his face to use as a rag. There was a faint shaking to his hands, but she couldn't tell what that was from. She was a little distracted ogling his toned stomach despite herself.
The blush couldn't be fought.
Releasing his shirt, the sergeant said, "Computer, simulation fifty-three dash oh-seven. My island, real time."
The pink puff looked confused until the scenery changed. Instead of the wrecked street, they were now standing on a sandy beach at night. The moon hung above them like a grin, whispering of secrets that it knew and no one else did. Dark blue waves lapped at the pearly sand and a cool breeze tickled her neck.
Blossom found herself looking around at the island with large eyes. There were palm trees just behind her and a small hut nestled in a little grove of said trees. Leafy bushes of some kind served as shrubbery around the half-door and the soft call of some kind of nocturnal bird cooed from the trees.
"W-What is this?" she asked, turning to Butch. She made a strangled noise in her throat as she realized that said ruff was shirtless.
He was oblivious to her staring as he answered, "My island. It's just a replication of some island I saw in a movie, but, hey, what're you gonna do? I can't exactly go flying willy-nilly to the Pacific, so I have the computer make this whenever I need time to think."
Tearing her eyes from his naked chest, she looked around and murmured, "It's beautiful." She let her eyes rest on the glistening waves for a moment before turning back to Butch. She frowned at him. "Now, I have some questions for you."
Shrugging, he walked past her towards one of the palm trees. He roughly elbowed it and he caught the two coconuts that fell.
Sliding to the ground, he tossed her one and said, "Shoot."
Catching the fruit, she continued to frown at him before sighing and joining him at the base of the tree. She leaned against the trunk and delivered a sharp chop to the coconut, cleanly splitting it in two. Peeling the two halves apart, she stared idly at the clear liquid in one before speaking.
"How did you get into the simulator?" she asked, deciding to cure that curiosity first.
Butch rolled the coconut in his hands before answering. "The simulator locks after nine at night. You need a code to enter it after that time. Most of the commanding officers have one."
Blossom hummed in response before nodding. That was logical, though it also had the sound of a curfew for the subordinates of those commanding officers. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. In a roundabout way, a curfew did assert order and they needed that, but the Resistance base was also underground and the tunnel leading to it was long. It wasn't like there was the chance of an alien getting in without them knowing.
They sat in silence after that, neither making a move to speak. The puff let out a soft sigh, unsure what else she could ask. It felt rude to ask him why he and his brothers had joined, because this was their world too. Why wouldn't they try to help it? Even if they had spent a good part of their childhood helping a megalomaniac monkey try to take over their city. Then there was the question of Mojo himself, but she really doubted that Butch would know. Mojo had always seemed to like Brick best of the Rowdyruffs, even if she had witnessed plenty of arguments between the two.
Her head hurt a little, but she wasn't sure if it was from memories or from Butch tossing her around. Her muscles sang with a pleasant soreness that felt right. This fight had been exactly what she needed, even if fighting had brought on more murky memories. Certainly, there were things that jumped out at her from the murk, but most were still unclear. The strongest being the memory that Butch dusting his hands off had caused.
She rubbed her forehead as the memory suddenly rushed out, as if her just acknowledging it was enough for it to come forward. It assaulted her mind, almost overpowering her with its contents. She could see everything, hear it, could practically feel it.
Her coconut fell from her grasp as she curled up, hands gripping her head. Butch was at her side, asking her if she was all right, but the memory had already taken over her senses.
She panted, trembling as she forced herself to stand. How long had she been at it? How long had this fight gone on? She was so tired, but she didn't want them to see her as weak. She wasn't weak. She would prove to them that she wasn't, that…whatever made her feel foggy and muddled wasn't enough to curb her power.
Lifting her clenched fists, she prepared herself for the next attack. There was an aggravated huff and someone was kneeing her stomach at a tremendous speed, sending her flying into the gilded wall. Gasping, she peeled herself from the crater, only to fall to her hands and knees. Her breaths were ragged now, her eyes impossibly wide.
"Are you really this weak?" a cold voice asked and she lifted her head to see a creature decked out in an intricate set of gold bracers and arm bands staring down at her. "Pathetic. I can only hope those punks of Hardly's are better than you."
"…'m…not…we-weak," she growled, pink eyes flashing.
The alien grabbed her by her scalp and lifted her, causing her cry out in pain.
"Really now?" the alien sneered, dropping her and dusting off her hands. "And this is what the Earth had protecting it? No wonder we took it over so easily."
"Blossom!" Butch's voice cut through her memory at the same time the sharp slap to her cheek registered.
Hissing out an angry "ow", Blossom punched the ruff automatically and clutched her cheek. She glared at him, rubbing the sore area.
"Did you really have to hit me?" she snapped, the memory still buzzing around her head.
"How the hell else was I supposed to snap you out of your fucking trance?" he responded, also holding his cheek. "You certainly weren't answering when I called your damn name."
Making an undignified noise, she turned away from him and glared out at the sea. A part of her knew she was acting childish, getting annoyed at him for hitting her, but another part also knew that there were other ways to snap her out of it. And then, there was a whole other part that felt touched about the fact he was even worried enough to try to snap her out of it.
Wrapping her arms around her knees, she stared at the dark sky, dusted with virtual diamond-like stars. She sighed softly, hugging herself tighter. She was confused as to why Butch would do that for her. He was Brick's right hand man, wasn't he? He certainly acted like his brother's bodyguard at least. However, if he was…then why was he acting like this?
"Butch," Blossom said and then continued, not waiting for a reply, "why are you doing this?"
He didn't pretend not to understand her. She was surprised by that show of maturity, but was even more surprised by his response. His voice was low as he said, "Because you deserve the benefit of a doubt."
Eyes widening in surprise, she turned to him. He wasn't looking at her, just staring up at the sky. Had he really said that? Her eyes glistened with tears and she swallowed thickly, averting her gaze. Of all the people to say that, Butch was one of the ones she had least expected.
Shifting closer to him, she gently bumped her shoulder against his.
"Why would you say that?" she asked and Butch snorted.
"You make it sound like I said something bad," he remarked, glancing at her before letting out a breath. "God. I fucking hate this sensitivity shit. Okay. Basically, when me and my brothers first came back to Townsville, no one pretty much trusted us. Like, even though we had helped out your sisters, they still didn't trust us. Expect your dad and Mrs. Cavadini. For some reason, they trusted us despite the fact we were known villains. So, if anyone deserves to be trusted, it should be you." He turned fully to her then, his dark green eyes delving into hers. "Even if you were held by the aliens."
Maybe it was the intensity of his gaze, but Blossom found herself blushing helplessly as she took in what he had just said. She knew he was being sincere, as she had unwittingly entered his mind when he had explained his reasoning. The memories that had filled his mind were enough proof for her to believe him. Memories of the Rowdyruffs Boys standing before sneering adults, before trembling children, before a grim-faced crowd. Memories of a gentle smile in an elderly face, of a familiar hand held out to them and a tired, fatherly face looking down at them with a warmth they had never known.
Her heart hurt from those memories, memories she shouldn't be seeing and couldn't help but see. She dropped her gaze from his and tightened her hold on herself. A bubbly feeling began in her chest, a similar feeling to the one she had had from Buttercup three weeks ago. For whatever reason, she liked the fact that he did maybe trust her. Sure, it bothered her that he did, considering who he was, but at the same time, it comforted her that someone besides her close friends and family trusted her.
It...made things bearable.
"…thank you," she murmured. He gave her a lopsided grin in response.
For a few more moments, they sat in silence, but unlike before, it was rather comfortable.
Blossom sat close to Butch, not leaning on him, but resting close enough that there was a slight pressure on his shoulder. It was actually nice, sitting there with him, and she could almost laugh at that. If you would have told her eight years ago that she would be sitting on a virtual beach with the rowdiest of the Rowdyruff Boys, she would have laughed in your face. Nevertheless, here she was sitting close to a man she had once considered the most psychotic of her and her sisters' foes.
It was pleasant sitting there under the stars. The soft sound of the waves mixed together with the whispering of the palm fronds and simulated birdcalls were making Blossom sleepy. This natural lullaby combined with the energy she had expended in her fight with Butch was proving too much for her. Yawning, she leaned more heavily on said ruff's shoulder and blinked blearily.
He shifted and chuckled lightly, nudging her.
"C'mon, Red," he said, grinning widely as she just grumbled at that. He stood, his shirt thrown over his shoulder, and held out a hand to her. She looked surprised that he did so, but took it anyway, pulling herself up. Once she was on her feet, Butch said, "Computer, end simulation."
In the next instant, the island was gone and they were back in the rectangular white tiled room.
Already, Blossom missed the simulated paradise. It had been so much nicer than the sterile white walls around them and the ones that waited for them outside of it. She almost didn't want to leave, not knowing when she would next be able to use the simulator. At least she had been able to use it. She hadn't really been able to work on strategies, but she did enjoy it.
However, as they left the room, she found herself still antsy. Tired though she was, she could feel energy already starting to bubble under her skin. It wasn't as bad as it had been earlier, but it was still there and that made her frown.
Butch must have noticed her frown because he turned to her, a knowing look in his eye. She frowned at him, eyes narrowing at him as he chuckled.
"Tomorrow night. Same time, same place?" he asked, winking at her.
She stared at him for a moment, torn between being unimpressed and amused. Then what he said registered and her mouth formed an O shape.
He just stood there, watching her gain her thoughts, and then, just as he opened his mouth to remark, she beamed at him. Whatever Butch was going to say, he choked on and just stared at her as Blossom gave him her answer.
"Yes!"