I've finally finished Chapter 3. Took me long, eh? I hope you like it.
The roars and cries of cats, bears, and, oddly enough, rabbits fused together and thundered through the mist as Bubbles trudged through a shallow yet vast sea of glowing purple mud. She didn't remember how she got there, but she knew she had to keep moving. Her next step brought her to a tropical island where everything was blue, including mountains that almost resembled bulbous noses. The scent of burning marzipan danced through the air. She looked down at the sand to see a road with an arrow painted on it. Bubbles went in the same direction it pointed. As she walked, the island became a dense green forest surrounded by mountains shaped like clenched fists and grasping hands. Eventually, she came to a massive pillar of gray-brown stone with two nubs resembling horns or ears at the top. She walked up to it and placed her hand on it, and a mirror materialized from nothing. She gasped when she saw that inside was not her reflection, but a squat old woman with purple hair wearing a mushroom for a hat.
"What is this?" Bubbles wondered.
"Radda radda." the stone structure answered.
"That doesn't make any sense." Bubbles objected. "My name isn't Truffles."
"Radda radda radda. Radda. Radda radda." the stone structure continued to explain.
"Oh!" Bubbles smiled. "Now I get it. Thanks, Schnitzel!"
"Radda radda. Radda." the structure replied.
Bubbles then woke up from her dream with her young mind in a haze of confusion. It was the middle of the night and the room was shrouded in darkness, with only a couple thin rays of moonlight peeking in through the window. She tiredly turned over to see both Blossom and Buttercup sleeping soundly. She had woken up more slowly and noiselessly than usual. Bubbles smiled and climbed out of her part of their large shared bed. Even after years had passed they had still neglected to get separate beds. Obviously that would have to change someday, but Bubbles figured she could handle it when the time came. As for the time being, she decided to go downstairs to get a glass of milk to drink. As she opened the door to the hallway though, the hinges produced a squeaking sound.
"Hey...what...was that?" Blossom asked as she began to have her sleep interrupted.
Bubbles flew back to the bed and next to Blossom's ear.
"I'm thirsty. I'm just going downstairs. Please sleep." Bubbles whispered.
"Hmmm...okay, but leave the porch light on for that Hawkeye guy…" Blossom yawned before setting her head back down.
Francis had elected to sleep in the new shed that the girls had built in the backyard a few weeks back. As for the other Next Avengers, Torunn had decided to sleep in the attic, while James, Azari, and Pym had decided to bunk together in the basement.
"Okay. Sweet dreams." Bubbles whispered.
She went out the door and closed it softly.
"Hopefully less freaky than mine." she said to herself.
Bubbles quietly walked down the stairs and headed to the kitchen, where she took a glass from the cabinet above the sink and then began to pour herself a drink of water from a full pitcher she took out of the refrigerator. As she poured the water in, Bubbles heard the creaking of the door to the back yard.
"Must be Francis." Bubbles murmured.
With her glass now full, Bubbles walked into the living room to sit down and drink her water, only to see that the door to the yard wasn't being used by Francis, but by Torunn. She was wearing just her black undersuit and looked quite awake.
"Torunn?" Bubbles asked.
Torunn, surprised, spun around from the door she was closing to Bubbles. She produced a large smile.
"Oh...greetings, Bubbles." Torunn uttered.
Bubbles sat down on the couch and motioned for the older, taller blonde to come sit next to her. Torunn understood the gesture and sat down to Bubbles' left. Bubbles sipped her water and there was a pause of silence for a brief juncture.
"So, Bubbles...why are you down here?" Torunn asked.
"I was getting a drink." Bubbles answered. "I should be asking you the same question though."
"Um...I don't what do you mean." Torunn grinned.
"You were outside, Torunn. We both know you chose to sleep in the attic, so why?" Bubbles asked properly.
Torunn sighed and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.
"You're just a child. You wouldn't understand my answer." Torunn stated.
Bubbles rolled her eyes. She didn't like when people assumed she was ignorant about everything. Just because she wasn't the one to snark at people, and tended to stick to compliments, didn't mean she couldn't read the room from time to time.
"You're still not an adult either." Bubbles stated. "...but I bet that didn't stop you from doing things with Francis."
"How did you…?" Torunn blushed. "It...it isn't what you think. We weren't...we were just kissing. We...we tend to do it alone is all. The others are like brothers to me, so we keep it private."
"I see. So do Azari, James, and Pym know you two like each other?" Bubbles asked.
"It's not exactly a secret." Torunn continued to explain. "James isn't the most supportive about it, but he doesn't try to stop us. Pym doesn't really mind and Azari seems to approve. They all just want me to be happy."
"They sound like good brothers then." Bubbles said just before she took one last sip of her water before setting the empty glass down. "...we'll find a way to get you home, you know. The Professor told me he's even willing to reach out to this 'boy genius' named Dexter if he needs help."
"Thank you, Bubbles." Torunn beamed. "I think Azari will be happy to hear that. He was the one who thought it'd do us good by befriending you."
"That's nice." Bubbles said as she got up from the couch to head back upstairs. "I'll see you in the morning, Torunn."
Townsville Hall
Even though it was very late at night, the Mayor was awake and in his office. The diminutive, elderly man had a determined expression on his face, a jar of pickles in his hands.
"This will be a matter of life and death!" the Mayor exclaimed. "Right, Ms. Bellum?"
When he received no response, he looked over to the couch where Ms. Bellum had been sitting. The tall, redheaded woman was indeed still there, only now asleep with her face covered by a throw pillow.
"How could Ms. Bellum not be taking this seriously?" the Mayor wondered aloud. "We have to open these pickles now, and here in my office, or the Evil Pickle Hating Society of Evil Pickle Haters will win!"
There was no such group. He had been misled about that. Just then, Bruno Horgan, the Melter, walked in, now clad in a black trench coat.
"It is I, Lyle I. Brarian, the leader of the Heroic Pickle Loving Society of Heroic Pickle Lovers!" Horgan announced while fighting back the urge to laugh.
The Mayor hopped up on his desk and excitedly began hopping around and clapping.
"Thank you for calling me and recruiting me, Lyle I. Brarian!" the Mayor cheered. "We will save all the pickles!"
Horgan chuckled a bit while trying to keep a straight face.
"Very good, my child!" Horgan said to the man who was the same age as him if not even older. "Now, if you want to stop the war on pickles, you must do exactly as I say."
Horgan then glanced over at the snoozing Sara Bellum and rubbed his hands together in anticipation for his coming fun. Outside of the building, Joseph Manfredi, the one also known as Blackwing, was sitting in the driver's seat of Horgan's car. He popped a peppermint candy into his mouth and let it dissolve, the flavor cascading throughout his mouth. He then got out of the car and leaned on its side as he watched many, many bats begin to land atop Townsville Hall, smiling as he saw them grow in number.
"Soon, my creatures of the night, you'll finally be able to show the world how powerful." Joseph uttered. "We're gonna drive Townsville...bats!"
Manfredi then chuckled to himself. He had always wanted to use that line.
The Utonium Residence
Pym yawned as he felt his body opening up the big red sleeping bag he was laying inside of. He shook his head a bit and realized he had just woken up from his slumber. He looked over at James, who was sound asleep in a dark gray sleeping bag only a few feet away. Just a few more was another sleeping bag, a dark purple one, which Pym recognized as the one Azari picked to use before they all went to bed. Only Azari wasn't in it, and was instead sitting on the stairs to the basement they had adopted as their room for the night in complete silence, his morose expression recognizable even from the other side of the room. Pym, who was only in his comfortable black bodysuit, walked over to the stairs and smiled at his surrogate older brother.
"Hey." Pym greeted him softly.
"It's still dark outside, Pym." Azari said in return.
Pym walked up and plopped down next to Azari.
"Do you look like you could use some company." Pym observed. "How about you tell me what's on your mind? Then I'll try to go back to sleep."
"...that actually sounds nice." Azari replied, his face becoming softer and more welcoming.
The two sat in silence for just short of a minute before Azari continued.
"There's something I haven't told any of you about." Azari stated. "Not you, not James, not anybody."
"Hey, it's cool if you're gay." Pym said reassuringly.
"Wh-what?!" Azari gasped before remembering the sleeping James and lowering "Pym, what made you think…?"
"You're not?" Pym asked.
"I...well...I was talking about...about something else." Azari awkwardly stammered.
"Okay, I'm sorry. Seriously. Now please tell me what it actually is." Pym pleaded.
"Okay…" Azari sighed. "Tony told me there are a pocket of survivors in Wakanda. It's just twenty one people."
Pym, while clearly surprised, plainly nodded for Azari to continue.
"I'm my father's son, Pym. I'm the last living person who can be their leader." Azari explained. "I was going to tell you all after we helped bring those people back to the city. I was going to tell you...that I need to leave the team."
"Wh...what…why?" a shocked Pym sadly began to ask. "Why can't they just come live in the city?"
"Wakandans can't just be reduced to some minority. We need to be a country again. Or at least a city of our own." Azari answered as he clenched his fist. "I'm…I am not excited about taking on this burden, but it has to be there, with me as king. It's what my father would have wanted, my friend."
Pym began to tear up. He grabbed Azari's arm.
"I'll miss you though. No one can just take your place." Pym wept.
"You are right." Azari said as he hugged the boy. "That applies to being the Black Panther too though. If I am truly to take the name, I have to live up to it. What kind of son would I be if I didn't?"
"You never even knew him." Pym said, as if to object. "Not really."
"Tony told me about who my father was. He told me about my mother as well. They were leaders, the both of them. Even my aunt's son Evan was apparently a leader and protector of some mutants." Azari said as he then looked over at James in his sleeping bag. "I can't be that among my...my siblings."
He looked down at Pym and wept the tears from his eyes, before standing up and walking down the stairs, motioning for Pym to follow. The younger one did so.
"I know I can't stop you, Azari." Pym whispered as both got back inside their sleeping bags. "I'll let you be the one to tell the others. I'm so not happy about this though."
"I wouldn't ask you to feign happiness. I am thankful that you're trying to understand though." Azari replied. "I will tell everyone about my duty when we return to our universe. It wouldn't even be possible for me to go to Wakanda until then."
"Mmmm...yummy borscht…" James moaned in his sleep while licking his lips.
Azari and Pym both looked at each other and began to laugh.
"Borscht?! Has he even had that?!" Pym cackled.
"Must be from his Russian side of his brain!" Azari laughed.
James somehow failed to wake up despite the noise. He just laid there dreaming of a delightful sour soup from his late mother's homeland. He also dreamt of a naked blond girl running through a field in slow motion. It was mostly the soup though.
"I guess we didn't have to keep quiet." the younger lad chuckled.
"He's got the right idea though." Azari yawned as he set his head down. "See you in the morning, Pym."
Pym watched as Azari quickly fell to sleep and sighed to himself.
"I...I won't lose this family too." the boy whispered to himself.
Townsville's Jail
Ace couldn't sleep. While the other members of his Gangreen Gang were out cold, he could only stare up at the dark, bleak ceiling of their cell. No, it did not make any sense that they put the entire group in one cell together, but that's just the way the police did things sometimes in Townsville.
"I always end up back here." Ace murmured to himself. "Getting old."
He looked over at the snoring Grubber and shook his head to himself, clearly growing frustrated.
"This is a hero's world. This is a status quo world. How the hell is someone like me going to do what they like if they always get thrown in the slammer? This bites." Ace grumbled to himself.
Ace got up and walked over to the lone small window in the room. Naturally, it had bars that could keep him from climbing out of it even if he broke the glass. He stared out into the night, the stygian sky broken up only by the all too brief flickers of light. Perhaps they were fireflies. None of the members would know if Ace asked. None of them had ever gotten a proper education. Something soon changed though. Ace was surprised when a green light began to appear in the sky a short distance away. It soon grew closer and closer, and Ace could begin to make out that the glow was from some breed of glowing green figure capable of flight.
"Buttercup…?" Ace wondered to himself.
Ace wouldn't have to wait long to have his guess be proven false. In just under a minute the figure landed outside the window. It was a man. A glowing green man with no hair. He wore a darker green leotard-like garment that became more like a tunic around his waist. On the chest was a yellow, eight pointed star symbol. He also wore dark green boots. His facial features were slightly obscured by the glow.
"I see I don't have to wake you up at least, boy." the man said to the confused Ace through the window. "You have no idea who I am, so I suppose I should tell you that I am Radioactive Man!"
"Um...Hey. I'm..." Ace began.
"I already know who you are, Ace." Radioactive Man informed him. "Wake your pals. Now. I don't have all night."
Ace ran and jostled all the other members of his gang awake.
"What's going on, man?" Lil Arturo asked as they all got off of their bunks.
"I'm figuring that out." Ace answered as he ran back to the window.
"All of you better stand back." Radioactive Man said to him as his hands began to glow even brighter.
Ace then pushed his partners in crime to all back up to the cell bars.
"Sssso what sssshould we be waiting for?" Snake asked.
The wall of their cell was then blasted into rubble, a flash of green energy forcing the Gangreen Gang to shield their eyes. When they looked up, their cell was mostly destroyed, with Radioactive Man standing in the middle of it all in front of them. Grubber made a slobbering noise in approval.
"You boys all work for me now." Radioactive Man stated, folding his arms confidently.
"Why?" Big Billy asked in a childish tone.
Before Radioactive Man could answer, a massive swarm of armed prison guards appeared behind him.
"Stop in the name of the saw!" one of the male guards shouted.
"I think you mean law." a female chimed in.
"Shut up and make me a sandwich!" another male guard boomed at her.
Radioactive Man then unleashed a massive wave of green energy from his hands. It hit all the guards, sending them flying back. Their skin became hot and their uniforms tore up as they all fell to the ground. Radioactive Man walked up to a random guard and stomped his foot down on his head with such force that it instantly killed him. A small squirt of blood hit Radioactive Man's right cheek. He turned back and smiled at the Gangreen Gang in a way that looked right out of a nightmare.
"Does that answer your query, William?" Radioactive Man rhetorically asked.
The gang members all gulped and began to shiver in fear.
"Um...sure. We'll help ya out." Ace nodded as he nervously pulled on his shirt collar. "What...what do you want us for?"
Radioactive Man walked up to Ace and cupped the younger man's angular chin in his left hand and proceeded to say nothing. Another figure soon appeared, stepping over the bodies of the injured or killed guards. He was an older man, but still in decent shape, but it was his outfit that caught the Gangreen Gang's attention; he was wearing a half forest green, half light orange bodysuit with a large purple mask that covered most of his head, with holes for his mouth and eyes. He wore matching purple gloves and boots. He carried a large see through sack on his back filled with shiny balls of various colors. He plopped down the sack and then took out several red, blue, and yellow balls that he then somehow made cling on to his chest, waist and thighs.
"Took you long enough, Oddball." Radioactive Man joked in a faux whiny voice. "Would you mind telling these hooligans what we intend to do with them?"
"Oh, but of course!" Oddball laughed as he began to juggle a couple of his balls.
"Just get to it!" Lil Arturo complained.
Oddball strode up to the diminutive gang member and stared down at him.
"Well, whether you like it or not, you're gonna be...bait." Oddball coldly answered.
"For who?" Ace asked as Radioactive Man finally let go of his chin.
"You'll see, my boy." Radioactive Man said dismissively. "All in due time."
The Utonium Residence
Professor Utonium had tried to get some sleep, but had given up on that early into the night. He had a band in his bed in favor of going to his lab. He stood in front of a very sizable computer monitor which was showing video footage of various locales across the planet, from the capitals of foreign nations like Addis Ababa, Hanoi, Beirut, and Ciudad de Guatemala to even burgs of various sizes there in the United States such as Aron City, Orchid Bay City, Bellwood, and Endsville. On a table nearby were several online articles that Utonium had printed out, which talked about various odd phenomena, like stories of a giant robot with a car for a head battling monsters in New Jersey, people claiming to have been trapped on a mysterious phantom train with cars that contained entire civilizations inside, and, of course, various talking and even humanoid animals, such as upright, intelligent bears causing commotions in San Francisco. In spite of all these things, Professor Utonium was stumped.
"Darn it!" he shouted at the screen before falling back into a nearby swivel air.
Professor Utonium propelled himself over to a smaller computer which showed a map of Townsville. He sighed and shook his head as he looked over it.
"I just can't get a good grasp of this on my own." Utonium said to himself. "It was silly to think I could find a way to get those Next Avengers kids home in just a night."
"Good, Professor Utonium." the disembodied voice of an unknown woman said. "You should get some sleep before the sun rises."
"Huh? What was that?" Utonium asked himself as he looked around the room.
No one was there except for himself, just as he had thought. He then yawned.
"I must be so tuckered out that my mind must be playing tricks on me." he said to himself before yawning once more.
With that, Professor Utonium got up from his chair and walked out the door, turning out the lights as he exited to head back to his bedroom.
Morbucks' Manor
It would have been a silent night at the luxurious home of the Morbucks family if it hadn't been for Princess and her tantrums. This was true of many nights there, but this night's ranting from her was especially loud and especially angry. Princess could be heard from anywhere in the large estate that she called her place of dwelling
"Stupid, stinky Powerpuffs!" Princess screamed as she stomped around her room.
Princess went to her closet and ripped up a giant poster she had of Blossom in there for reasons we will not get into here. Just be assured that it wasn't there for purposes Princess would want to be revealed to anyone, let alone the heroine it depicted. Yes, she would be quite happy if no one ever knew she had been keeping it before she tore it to shreds. Unfortunately for her happiness a figure in a suit of bulky, shiny green armor was flying and place and watching it occur in silence through her bay window. The armor covered his entire body, and only had a thin slot where one could see his eyes. Otherwise, he almost looked like a sort of robot thanks to his attire. Princess, in her childish rage, failed to notice him at all.
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" the little heiress repeated at the top of her lung.
"Damn, she's really trying to sound like Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith, Egghead. Six out of ten." Whirlwind quipped into the small microphone of a headset built into his helmet.
"I'll have to take your word for it, David. In the meantime, I'm moving in." Egghead replied through his own headset as he walked up to the front door of the mansion.
"Are you sure I can't just snatch the little brat up now?" Whirlwind asked while he flew away from the window to avoid being spotted.
"No, at least not yet." Egghead answered, rejecting the idea for the moment. "Let's just try my approach first."
Whirlwind landed behind a couple of nearby trees.
Egghead then rang the doorbell, which set off a loud chime that echoed through the house. After a few seconds the sound of a very annoyed Princess screaming in anger could be heard.
"Man, we really got the raw deal having to deal with this part of the mission." Whirlwind sighed.
"I know." Egghead agreed. "She's basically the opposite of your daughter. How is Amy lately?"
"Oh, she's an angel, just like her mom." Whirlwind beamed. "I don't know what I did to deserve them."
Egghead rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but be happy for David. He really did love the little family he had made for himself in the years since they arrived in this universe. A part of him almost envied him, but Elihas Starr knew he would always be married to his work.
"Who the heck are you, ugly?!" Princess screamed as she aggressively opened the door.
"Oh, hello, Miss Princess. I'm Dr. Starr." Egghead greeted as politely as he could in the face of such rudeness.
"Get outta my face, old man!" Princess snapped at him. "I'm busy!"
Egghead took a deep breath before continuing the plan.
"You're father sent me to get you, ma'am. He's waiting for you at my office." Egghead lied.
"Ha!" Princess chortled. "Nice try! Daddy is on a very important business trip, moron!"
Billy's house, Endsville
A fat man clad only in his boxers with a sack over his head was knelt on the kitchen floor.
"Please, please let me go! I'll give you anything! Please!" the man begged.
Standing over him were a giant nosed boy in a red hat and an a walking skeleton in a hooded black robe.
"Spank him, Grim! Spank him!" Billy cheerfully commanded.
"Fine, fine. If it will shut you up." the Grim Reaper complied in his thick Jamaican accent.
Grim proceeded to smack the captive Mr. Morbucks with a large tennis racket. He cried out in pain at the force of the spankings.
"I still don't get how this is going to help Mandy with her school assignment though." Grim said as he turned to the open door nearby. "Hey, Mandy! How does this help with your school assignment again?"
"It just does, Grim." Mandy answered coldly from the living room. "Also, bring me a milkshake when you're done if you know what's good for you."
"I'll make you a milkshake alright…" Grim grumbled.
"What was that?" Mandy sternly asked.
"That I would make you the milkshake, man!" Grim answered.
"Good." Mandy said back.
Mr. Morbucks tried to crawl away, only for Billy to then attack him with a rolling pin.
"I'm a cookie boy! Let's get cookin!" Billy screamed.
Mr. Morbucks' screams rang throughout the night, but none of the neighbors came to help.
Morbucks' Manor
Princess started kicking Egghead's ankles, which he didn't find fun at all.
"Stop it!" an annoyed Egghead demanded.
"Go kill yourself, you dummy!" Princess screeched at him.
"Whirlwind! We'll do it your way!" Egghead cried out.
"...who in the world is Whirlwind?" Princess asked.
Whirlwind suddenly flew up to them from behind the trees, wind sending leaves flying everywhere.
"That would be me." Whirlwind answered.
Princess gulped at the sudden presence of a costumed man with superpowers and tried to run back into her home, but Egghead grabbed her by one of her poofy red pigtails and tossed her up to Whirlwind, who grabbed her tightly.
"Let me go, dipstick!" Princess screamed.
"No, you brat. We need you for our plan." Whirlwind growled.
"Unfortunately." Egghead added.
The Utonium Residence
Buttercup rubbed her eyes and yawned as she woke up from her sleep. The light coming in from the windows allowed her to quickly deduce that the night was over and that the morning had come. She looked over to see that Bubbles was also just waking up, while Blossom was gone. Buttercup got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she did, she couldn't help but think about how she had yet to change her personal style. It wasn't that she didn't like how she looked already, but more about how she wanted to express her individuality. She wondered how she could do that while still a Powerpuff Girl. Blossom probably wouldn't like anything particularly extreme. After she was done brushing her teeth, she returned to the bedroom to change out of her pajamas, doing it in a flash thanks to her incredible speed. Bubbles had also just changed.
"Good morning." Bubbles said to her sister.
"Mornin', Bubbles." Buttercup returned.
"Where's Blossom?" Bubbles asked.
"Don't know." Buttercup shrugged. "She wasn't in the bathroom."
"Wanna head downstairs?" Bubbles asked.
Buttercup nodded yes and the two flew downstairs to go to the kitchen and get some breakfast. They bumped right into Blossom, who had woken up and went downstairs before they had. She smiled at the two. Buttercup smiled back, but was secretly hoping that she didn't want to talk much. They still had yet to speak to each other about what Buttercup has said to Princess the other day and the last thing the green eyed Powerpuff Girl wanted was to be lectured about it. She had meant what she said.
"Hey, you're up." Blossom chuckled. "How did you sleep?"
"Like a log." Buttercup told her as she walked to the fridge.
"I had a weird dream and got up to get a drink." Bubbles answered. "Other than that it was good."
"Good to hear you two are well rested. We have a lot to do." Blossom said as she went to the table and poured herself a glass of pineapple juice.
"Really? Like what?" Buttercup asked.
She walked over to the table with a carton of milk and sat down across from Blossom.
"Helping the Next Avengers get home, obviously." Blossom answered.
"Hey, where are they?" Bubbles asked as she joined them at the table.
Blossom simply pointed towards the window showing their backyard. Bubbles and Buttercup looked out to see Francis and James sparring with each other. Both were topless, showing off their physically fit bodies as they trained together.
"Oh my." Bubbles blushed.
Buttercup wordlessly got up from her chair and walked towards the door that led outside.
"Buttercup…?" Bubbles wondered aloud.
"Let her go, Bubbles." Blossom said, setting a hand on her sister's shoulder.
Outside, Buttercup watched the two continue to counter each other's moves with great precision. She liked watching other people fight and it wasn't every day she got the chance to watch other superheroes train with each other. After a few minutes, the two guys looked over, noticed her, and stopped.
"Hey." Francis greeted aloofly.
"Didn't know you were up." James said.
"Well, I am." Buttercup said as she walked up to them. "So are my sisters. We were just getting breakfast."
James stomach growled at the mere notion of having some food.
"Time for a break!" James smiled.
James quickly put the rest of his clothes back on and rushed inside to see what there was to eat.
"Somebody's hungry." Francis smirked.
"I guess so." Buttercup. "So...where are the others?"
"Azari and Pym went up to the attic to hang out with Torunn. Probably won't be up there too long." Francis explained.
"Hey, I meant to ask you something." Buttercup voiced "Why do you prefer being called Hawkeye?"
"It was my father's code name. I'm his legacy. That's why." Francis answered.
Francis went over to his folded up coat and shirt and started putting them back on.
"What about your mom?" Buttercup asked.
Francis paused. He clearly wasn't expecting her to ask about that. After some silence, he decided he better not hide anything.
"My mother was a hero too." Francis explained. "They called her Mockingbird."
"So...she didn't have powers?" Buttercup asked.
"No. No she didn't." Francis answered. "A lot of the heroes Ultron killed did, but a lot just relied on their skills or fancy gadgets."
Buttercup realized she was making him sad and decided to change the subject. That hadn't been her intention.
"Uh...so, do you want me to give you a tour of Townsville today?" Buttercup asked.
"I'd rather you tell me about your enemies." Francis replied. "It'd be nice to know what I may be dealing with soon. I don't know how long we'll be here. No offense to Professor Utonium."
Buttercup smiled and briefly looked back at the open door. She could see her sisters and James greeting the professor and the other three Next Avengers as they walked into the kitchen. She turned back to Francis.
"How about we talk about it over breakfast?" Buttercup suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Francis grinned.
The two then walked into the house to join the others. For the first time that morning, Buttercup truly felt happy with everyone pitching in to help make a nice meal while she regaled the Next Avengers with tales all about fighting Fuzzy Lumpkins and the Rowdyruff Boys. All the joy became interrupted though, when the phone up in the three sisters' bedroom began to loudly beep. The mayor was calling and he had nothing but bad news. Bad news that, though he didn't know it, would soon change Townsville forever.
Alright, a lot of this was more about character interactions than fighting, but I feel it's necessary for a story to have setup. A lot of character decisions that'll be happening later wouldn't make sense otherwise. There'll be a lot more action next time. Now let me break some things down.
Some notes:
- Bubbles' dream is a reference to Chowder. The character of Truffles was also voiced by Tara Strong, so I thought it'd be fun to reference that.
- The stuff with Azari is going to be a major factor as the story goes on. The idea of him being influenced by his status as the heir to the throne came to me before I learned of Chadwick Boseman's death. I just liked the idea.
- Yes, Earth-192 does indeed have versions of the characters from all the Cartoon Network shows I referenced. I hope flat out having Grim and Billy appearing for a "cutaway" gag made it more obvious.
- The mysterious woman's will not go unrevealed.
- Yes, Whirlwind has a wife and kid. He married a woman in Townsville who has no idea about his being from another universe. His daughter will appear in the future and...let's just say one of the Next Avengers is on for a shock.
I hope everyone following the story has a nice day! Please feel free to let me know what you thought of it. I value any input you may have.