AN: This definitely isn't the last chapter no matter what happens in this one. Thanks to everyone who has been staying with this story, I actually do appreciate it!
Chapter 5: The Verdict
BC's POV
I was nearly seeing red, this bastard isn't even dead and I'm about to get punished for it. I'm only 16! "What the fuck! I'm literally about to get charged for your murder and you're not even fucking dead!" He stared at me with that smug look of his that made me want to actually kill him. "You thought you could actually kill me, Mojo Jojo, the genius monkey who you are convicted of killing, but is not actually dead, but alive? I simply set up one of my ingenious plans that are ingenious to frame you for killing me even though I am not actually dead! I rigged my machine to blow up with one eye beam that would explode my machine that had a realistic dummy, that was not actually me, but a fake that simply looked like me, Mojo Jojo, the ingenious monkey that you are being convicted for killing that is not actually dead!MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!" I was seething! He set me up! I was innocent this whole time! "YOU IGNORANT FUCK YOU WON'T FUCKING GET AWAY WITH THIS!" I couldn't hold back my anger, I was about to be unfairly punished for something I didn't do. He laughed the whole way out of my isolated prison. I screamed and punched a wall, breaking a finger or two. "FUCK" This wasn't one of my best times, but when my hand healed quickly, I realized that my powers were coming back. I couldn't help but let a sly smile play on my face. I could use this to my advantage.
At the trial
Nobody's POV
It was really more of an announcement than a trial since it was obvious the jury already made their mind up, she was guilty. They were really there to make up a punishment. What would happen to the ex powerpuff? "Has the jury made a decision?" Asked the judge. "Yes your honor" replied a middle aged woman. "What is your verdict?" "We will leave the punishment up to the sons of the victim. They will decide what to do with her." Blossom, Bubbles and the Professor audibly gasped and began to cry, Bubbles being the only one audibly sobbing. "NO PLEASE THEY'RE GONNA KILL HER!" Bubbles sobbed to the jury, hoping for a reconsideration. The three boys walked up to the stand. "We will save the dramatics until tomorrow when we announce what will happen to her. We want her there and we don't want any chemical X getting in the way of it either, so inject her with some of that chemical X before you bring her. We want her right near city hall, where she killed our dad, we will announce what will happen there." Brick was the one who spoke for his brothers. The courthouse erupted into chatter and sobs from Bubbles. "PLEASE DON'T HURT HER, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! SHE DIDN'T WANT TO KILL HIM!" Bubbles pleaded with the brothers but they paid her no mind. The judge slammed the gavel on the podium and dismissed everyone in the courtroom. Before the boys walked off, Blossom built up the courage to hold Brick back. "Brick please don't do anything to drastic, she really didn't mean to do anything to your dad, it was a freak accident. You guys were even friends with her before! Please don't kill our sister…" A few more tears rolled down Blossom's cheeks and she walked back towards her family. Brick stared after her in shock. Were they being to hard on her? I mean, she was their friend and seemed like a sweet girl. 'But that was all and act. The Bitch killed our dad!' A voice told Brick. He stalked over to his brothers.
Blossom's POV
We took our time going back to visit Buttercup. I hoped that Brick would listen to what I said, I really didn't want to lose my sister. "Blossom?" Bubbles called me after she calmed down a bit. "Yes Bubbles?" "Before I left Buttercup earlier, she told me to tell you that she loved you even if she didn't show it all the time." I couldn't even respond. She thought she was going to die. I started crying like actually sobbing. We got to the prison about 5 minutes later and I finally calmed myself down a little. However, when we got there, they only let the professor in to see her since we already saw her today. We knew better than to argue, so we sat outside and waited.
Professor's POV
I walked in to visit my middle daughter. I was trying to hold back tears. I got into it with her a lot, but I don't know what I'd do if they killed her. It took all I had not to break down when I saw her sitting there looking defeated. "So what's the verdict prof?" I hesitated, I didn't know how I was going to tell her. "Well?" At least she was still herself, impatient as ever. "The Rowdyruff Boys are choosing your punishment tomorrow in front of city hall." "Mojo isn't even dead you know." That shocked me. I couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or if she was trying to avoid punishment. "What?" "I know you heard what I said. He visited me a while ago. I can't tell how long ago, but he told me he rigged his machine to explode upon contact with eye beams and he put a realistic dummy of himself in it." I was beyond shocked. "Buttercup, I know this is a bad position to be in, but I taught you to never lie and I expect you to abide by that rule!" There was no way what she was saying was true. She looked up at me, her now chestnut bangs moved to reveal her angry lime green eyes. I flinched at their intensity. "You think I'm lying? Well, I shouldn't be surprised, you never fucking believed anything else I ever said." I flinched at her word choice and the dangerously calm voice she spoke in. "Buttercup, I've told you not to use that kind of language-" "DOES IT EVEN FUCKING MATTER ANYMORE? ISN'T IT FUCKING OBVIOUS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO KILL ME? NOBODY THINKS I HAVE A GOOD CHARACTER ANYWAYS! THEY THINK I'M A FUCKING MURDERER!" To my surprise, her eyes started to overflow with tears and her voice started to crack. "You never wanted me did you Professor? I was always the problem child to you. I bet you're glad to finally get rid of me. I always was the one who caused problems." I felt a familiar feeling of guilt rush through me. How could I have made her feel like this? "Buttercup, you know that's not it!" I tried to explain to her, but she wasn't listening. "It's ok professor, I wouldn't want me neither, I'm nuthin' special, never was. I'll be gone tomorrow and you won't have to worry about me or my attitude problems." I started to cry because I know now that she's felt this way for a while. "Buttercup, I'll always love you no matter how many problems you cause." "I love you dad." She whimpered quietly and never looked up at me. That was the first time she ever called me dad, and I couldn't stop the sob that escaped my throat. I would probably never hear that again. I walked out of the prison to see my two other daughters looking concerned and all I could get out was, "she called me dad." Before breaking down. Needless to say, Blossom had to drive home.
BC's POV
I was crying. I hate to admit it but I was. I finally called the professor dad. I would miss him even if he always punished me for the pettiest of things, I would miss Blossom even if she always ragged on me and lectured me, and I would miss Bubbles, she was always there for me. I don't know when it happened, but somewhere in my thinking I fell asleep and only found out when I heard hateful voices yelling at me to wake up. "Wake up bitch!" "Who the fuck said you could sleep!" "You better wake your ass up bitch!" I slowly opened my eyes, honestly wondering who would be visiting me. I turned around and saw the ruffs, all three of them staring at me with hatred. "Didn't you three already let me know how much you hate me? Or did you come here to tell me that you'd be killing me today?" "You got that right bitch! You're gonna die today, just like how you killed our dad!" I was surprised that Boomer was the first to speak up. "Yeah, I can't believe you ever felt the right to even try to be our friends! You must have some nerve!" I grew numb to their comments eventually, it's not like I expected any less. I was surprised that Butch hadn't said anything. "I believe it's your turn to let me know how much you hate me Butch. Go ahead, say it!" "You're a fucking monster you killed my dad and then tried to act like our friends as if nothing was wrong. Don't think we'll have any pity on you in an hour. That's when you die." I'm not going to lie, the word monster cut deep, it hurt especially coming from the boy I came to love. Yup, I admit it, even though he wanted to kill me and wasn't even going to feel bad about it, I still found myself in love with him. "I never asked for the pity Butch, so why would I expect it?" I stayed surprisingly calm through their visit. I didn't want to die. I was only 16 and despite my tough exterior, I do sometimes dream of my future. I do want kids, I do want to get married, and surprisingly, I do want to go to college. Well at least Blossom and Bubbles could live their lives, I hope my leaving won't affect them too much. It was about an hour later when the guards came in with a needle full of antidote x. I let them drain my powers and walked along with a smile on my face. I probably looked scary to the guards. My bangs were covering my eyes and I kept a grin on my face the entire way to city hall. "What the hell are you smiling at?" So it seemed one guard was brace enough to speak up. I decided to get back at Townsville in the best way possible. Guilt. Once they killed me, they would realize that nothing was solved and Mojo would eventually be exposed and they would have to live with what they did to me for the rest of their lives. It didn't take that long to get to City Hall, and when we got there, I could already see all of Townsville gathered around. As they roughly yanked my from the car, I looked around at all the faces that once smiled at me when I passed by scowling at me. The guards harshly yanked at my bound wrists when I wasn't keeping their pace. It felt like a mile hike to the large glass chamber I was going to be killed in. I kept direct eye contact with Butch the whole time I let them strap me to the chair. Butch was glaring daggers into my calm, wide eyes. I saw his glare falter for a small moment but he turned away before I could read into it. "Hello Townsville. As you can see, we finally have the murderer, Buttercup, in our grasps and we will now announce her punishment." Brick spoke with authority and confidence and I could only prepare for the worst. "She is going to die the same way my father did. That little box she's in is an explosion proof box. We plan on planting 3 explosives in that box, and once we start it, she will have about 5 minutes to talk before she's dead." I could hear Bubbles' screams and cries as he was talking. "We'll even give her the mic now. We will start your five minutes at your first word Buttercup." He spat my name out like poison. I was determined to look strong even though it hurt to see everyone I ever loved against me. Well except my family. I pulled out a piece of paper. "My bucket list." I heard a few chuckles, surprisingly there was also one from Butch. "Go undercover, check; get my own house, check; get a dog, not check; go to the olympics, not check" I hesitated for a moment to compose myself. "Go to college, … not check;... Get married, … not check; …. have-" I couldn't say that one, I would cry, it kinda sucked that I wouldn't be able to have kids. Nobody knew I wanted them and now they never would find out. "I'll skip over that one… find my secret power…, not check. Well that's my bucket list, it's kinda short, but what do you expect, I'm 16. Well anyways I just wanted to let my family know I love them and hope my leaving doesn't affect them too much. Honestly I'm not sure where I'm gonna go after this, but wherever it is, I hope it's not too hot." A few sad laughs. I always was able to lighten a tense mood. "Man I really didn't plan a speech, how much more time do I have to run down?" I turned around and saw I still had 4 minutes and 20 seconds. "Wow this clock is pretty slow…. what else can I say, I don't want this to be an awkward silence… I always hated those, they were awkward. Ugh this is awkward can someone just talk to me and tell me when I have 30 seconds left because I already planned my last words. So who has any questions?" I actually saw a few hands raise to my surprise. "Well I can't point with my hands tied up so… you in the back with the Hawaiian shirt." "Why aren't you begging for your life?" "Well, I only know three people who don't want me dead, so what's the point, plus I don't want to look like a sissy begging for my life. Ugh this is gonna sound corny, but I wanna die being myself, ya know?... next?" There were less hands than before. Guess he asked a popular question. "You in the back with the brown hair in the ponytail." "What was it like being a different person?" "Well it was kinda tough since I was so used to being myself. I hated having to wake up extra early to put on makeup, which was also awful, and I kinda miss my old hair color. It feels like a part of me. Plus, I'm not that good at acting so I had plenty of character slips, but since I was at a different school, nobody really noticed until Mitch transferred…. anyone else? I got about 2 minutes left." A little girl who reminded me a little bit of bubbles raised her hand. I couldn't help but smile. "The cute little girl with the blonde pigtails. What can I help you with sweetheart?" I always had a soft spot for little kids. Everyone seemed a little shocked, I haven't really showed this side before. "Why are you getting punished, you don't look bad?" "Hahahaha" I had to laugh a little at her innocence. "People who aren't bad sometimes do bad things, and even if they aren't bad at heart, they need to be punished to show that what they did isn't right. Understand? Now make sure you follow the rules sweetheart, you don't want to end up like me." I finished with a sad smile. I turned around and looked at the clock. 1 minute and 10 seconds. "No more questions? Oh one more? Ok you with the only hand up." A few people laughed. "How are you so happy right now, aren't you like about to get exploded?" "That's a good question. It's always been my job to make Townsville feel safe and my sisters and I vowed to protect the city with our lives. I'm just sticking by our promise." The crowd was silent. I looked behind me 45 seconds. "Well I'll start my last words now since it's kinda a mouthful." A few people laughed. "Well I'll start with this, Blossom and Bubbles, I kinda took some of your clothes for my disguise, but I left the key and my address in my soccer bag, I saw you pick it up before the SWAT team got me. Umm I wanted to apologize for making you guys feel uncomfortable and scared, I'm sorry to the ruffs, I didn't mean to upset you guys, and I actually did enjoy our time as friends. However, I'm not sorry for killing Mojo because I never did." A lot of people gasped and started talking. "I don't expect you to believe me, but Mojo is still alive, he visited my own little prison cell and explained his whole plan to me. Well I got about 10 seconds left before I take my leave, sooo yeah that's all I got, I'll miss you Townsville and ummm, shoot I didn't want to say this, but I fell in love with you Butch and I think I still lo-" I saw a look of panic cross his face as the bombs went off. I was used to being exploded, but it hurt a hell of a lot less when my powers weren't drained. I couldn't help but let out an agonized scream. I felt my strength start to come back as the antidote started to wear off, but suddenly everything stopped hurting and I found myself watching the whole scene from a nearby tower. Was I a ghost? I felt myself and realized that I wasn't dead and that I wasn't even harmed aside from a few burns, but what shocked me more was when the explosion ended, I saw my own body laying there. What was going on? I was surprised to see the ruffs rush into the chamber in a panicked state. I saw Butch crouch down to check my pulse while Boomer checked if I was breathing. Then I heard a heartbreaking wail "SHE'S DEAD!" It was Butch. I'm surprised he cared, I figured he would sound a little bit happier since he wanted me dead. I could hear Bubbles sobbing, which was expected, but what caught me off guard was the fact that everyone in Townsville, including the ruffs were crying. How am I here? Why am I seeing this? At the moment, I just wanted to get away from there. I wanted to find Mojo, this was his fault. When I closed my eyes, I felt a weird sensation and when I opened my eyes. I was standing right in front of a terrified Mojo. I smirked as the pieces started to click together, I finally got my special power, I could teleport. The other me must have been a clone! I could have fun with this. "B-B-Bu-Buttercup? I just saw you die on television! The body that was you was not breathing and had no pulse, meaning you are confirmed dead, as in not alive, which is why it makes no sense that you are here, in my house, the house that belongs to me, Mojo Jojo!" I smirked and teleported behind him. "I'm a ghost Mojo. You didn't really think you could get away with your plan did you?" "You are just a vision, something that I am seeing that is not there in reality!" I turned invisible. "No, Mojo, if I were a vision, you wouldn't be able to hear me or feel me." I blew on the back of his neck. "And I will continue to haunt you until you admit to Townsville what you did!
Butch's POV
"shoot I didn't want to say this, but I fell in love with you Butch" My eyes widened and I saw the clock at 2 seconds and started to panic. What was I doing? I loved her too! "and I think I still lo-" the explosions went off and I felt my face lose color, and if it was possible, I paled even more when she screamed in agony. She has no chemical X! Shit she's gonna die without knowing how I feel about her, she's gonna die thinking everyone hates her. I don't know how Brick and Boomer could still feel any resentment toward her! This isn't solving anything, and the worst part is that I could see that it didn't give anyone any closure. We did this. We killed her. We killed our friend. I killed the girl I loved. The explosion died down and she was covered in burns, but remained intact. Somehow her hair and clothes were still on, crazy cartoon shit. Even with her all burnt and lifeless she was one of the most beautiful things to me. I hurried to check her pulse and Boomer checked to see if she was breathing. He shook his head and looked to me to see if I had any luck. I didn't. I felt something in me break and I didn't even realize when I let Townsville know the condition of Buttercup. I let tears fall down my face for the first time in forever. "SHE'S DEAD!" Everyone in Townsville obviously was hoping for a different answer. All we could do now was set her up a respectable funeral. It was already pretty bad and everyone in Townsville sat vigil around the deceased Buttercup as we waited for the paramedics to bring back their emergency vehicles, but the only thing that could've possibly made it worse happened. A feral screech made its way into the street. Nobody really knew what was going on, but my brothers and I could identify that scream from anywhere, and I felt a strong surge of anger flow over me. She was telling the truth! Mojo really was alive.
Professor's POV
My heart was already crushed, I had just lost one of my daughters and to make it worse, Mojo, the monkey she was punished for killing ran into the City Hall confessing his whole plan! Exactly what Buttercup told me he said, exactly what I didn't believe. I regretfully remember reprimanding her for lying. She never did anything wrong. She's right, she really was blamed for everything. The death penalty was banned and Mojo only got a life sentence in the prison she was kept in. My 16 year old little girl never got to really live. I walked over to her and kissed her burnt forehead and started crying "I'm so sorry sweetheart, I should have believed you. I love you so much. I couldn't help but cry over my lost daughter. I would miss her jokes, her attitude, even if it did cause trouble sometimes, her sports, she was the only one who played sports and I did truly enjoy watching her play, and most of all, I would miss her presence. She was always there even if she didn't act all sappy and comforting. When I was down, she knew just what to say. I looked down at her and saw the little five year old that she started as. When did she grow up? I looked down and saw her bucket list still intact somehow. I took it from her hands and saw it written in her five year old handwriting with a surprising family picture on the back. Obviously a sub-par drawing, but to me in this moment, it was the most beautiful picture I've ever seen. I read Down the list Go undercover, check; get my own house, check; get a dog, unchecked; go to college, unchecked;(I always wanted her to go to college) go to the olympics, unchecked (this one hurt to look at, she always practiced her soccer so hard, she got plenty of college letters for a soccer scholarship, but she wasn't old enough to go, she really was an amazing player, I honestly believe she could've made it.) get married, unchecked; (It hurt to think that I would never get to walk her down the aisle and hand her off to the man she loved) have kids, unchecked (she never said this one, but that only choked me up even more. She must have really wanted this. I started openly sobbing at this. She would never feel the pride I felt when I looked at her and her sisters.) find my special power, unchecked. ( I always knew she was insecure about her lack of special power, and for some reason I always felt responsible, I did create her after all. It really did feel like a stab to the chest to see that box unchecked.) that was the end of her list. It was hard to believe how short her list was. She didn't want that much and her wishes weren't to unreachable, but she didn't have nearly enough time to fulfill them all. She was only 16 how could they have just killed her like that? But in the end, I couldn't help but feel responsible. I could've said something. The paramedics showed up to take my baby girl with them. I had to look away as they put her in a body bag. I looked to my other two daughters who were hysterical, both sobbing uncontrollably. I looked up to see the RRBs walk up to me and to my surprise, they apologized. "We are so sorry sir, we let our anger get the best of us. We thought she killed our dad, and we would like to pitch in on the funeral, and if you wouldn't mind we would like to speak." I wasn't surprised that Brick was the one that spoke, but I was shocked to see Butch unable to hold in sobs. "She wouldn't want me to be mad at you guys, she still liked you guys, you know. I think she would've liked for you guys to speak at her funeral." I don't know how, but I somehow choked it out. I looked to Butch, he played on her team. I held up the bucket list. "Do you think my baby girl would've made it to the Olympics?" I watched his face scrunch up and big tears escaped his eyes. His voice was squeaky. "Yes s-sir, sh-she was better than I-I'll ever be." His brothers only cried with him and I could only watch.
The next day
Butch's POV
School was cancelled, even if she was only there for 2 months, the whole school loved her. Her funeral was today and I was the last speaker. My brothers and I stayed in Townsville in Mojo's lair, so we didn't have too far to go. I got up early to go for a walk and when I go outside I could've sworn I saw her, but when I looked back, she was gone. Everyone decided on a closed casket funeral, nobody wanted to see the damage done to her beautiful face. It was about two hours later when the funeral started. I arrived and saw a closed casket covered and surrounded by buttercups, a rare picture of her sporting a perfect, infectious, white smile. I could see the happiness shining in her vivid lime green eyes that would never look into my forest green ones ever again.
BC's POV
I saw Butch on the street but quickly went invisible. Nobody could know I was alive yet. My entrance needed to be better than that. I saw something going on at my old church, so me being the curious person I was looked through the window and saw it was my own funeral. This could be interesting.
AN: I kinda spent the whole day writing this story so please review! Thanks again to all of you who are faithfully reading and following my story. It's possible that the next chapter will be the last, but it really depends on my ideas and where they lead me. Thanks again!