Time
Part 3: Agonizing Deception
Chapter 9
His body twitched and shook as he sat back in the large chair. His arms and legs were strapped down to keep him from moving. His eyes were inky black, and flashes of every single awful thing that happened to him were forcibly playing over and over again in his mind. He squirmed and groaned in pain; sweat dripped down his forehead. His skin became unnaturally pale, and his veins were more prominent against his skin.
HIM stood a ways away from his pawn and studied how he reacted to his fear tactics. Jessie had an unstable and weak mind. It was almost too easy to bend and warp. All of the pain he'd suffered throughout his years made him vulnerable to manipulation. HIM was proud of himself. He picked the best person for the job. Those rotten Powerpuffs and his ungrateful sons would never underestimate his powers again.
The room was dark and only a single light hung over Jessie's head. HIM sat at a desk with three large computer screens beeping away at him. They showed the memories that HIM placed into Jessie's mind for the experiment and how well his brain reacted to his control. HIM's hands clicked away at one of the screens to document his findings.
Subject: Jessie T. Murdock
Experiment: How will subject react to newly tested fear tactics.
Notes: Jessie has an unstable mind. Easy to manipulate. Years of rejection from his own father have put him in a vulnerable state. He will listen to what I have to tell him without too much questioning. Eager to cause others pain who have "hurt" him in the past. Fear tactics are used well on him. Becomes unbalanced when questioned about his past. If I keep this up, Jessie will always do as I say no matter how much he may not want to.
Next Test Run: Five days time.
HIM signed and dated his notes before saving it and closing it up. He rolled his chair over to the computer that controlled the memories and used his mouse to cease the experiment. Jessie's eyes rapidly turned back into his pinkish-red hue as his head lolled forward. His breathing came out strained and heavy. HIM studied the last results of the experiment before shutting down the program. He stood up from his chair and grabbed the cup of water that was sitting on the desk and walked over to Jessie.
"Here, drink this. It will help with the pain." Jessie glanced weakly up at the demon before grabbing the cup. Some of the water sloshed out of the cup from the violent trembling of his hand. He brought it to his lips and took a few sips before handing it back to HIM.
"So, this whole experiment is to make those memories disappear?" HIM smirked, joyful that his lie was not questioned at all by the brunet. He leaned down and began to loosen the restraints on the chair.
"Yes, of course. That was our deal. You help me take down those "heros," and I rid you of your pain. Plain and simple. These experiments are just speeding up that process." Jessie sighed and leaned his head back on the padded chair.
"They hurt," he said, sadness washing into his eyes. HIM rolled his eyes behind his black sunglasses and moved to each of Jessie's arms.
"Of course they do! These are your painful memories that I am washing away. You didn't think you would be taking a nap then suddenly waking up all better, did you?" Jessie sighed shaking his head.
"No, I guess not. I'm glad you're doing this for me." HIM's smirk widened.
"Not as glad as I am, Jessie. Not as glad as I am." Once HIM removed the last restraint, Jessie carefully stood up on wobbly legs. He clutched the arm of the chair for support. Once he could stand on his own, he turned to his mentor and smiled.
"What's our next move? I successfully killed Vincent, Blossom is a wreck, Brick is close to getting charges pressed on him, and the team doesn't feel so much like a team anymore. Who am I going after next?" HIM smirked.
"Well, since the leaders are broken down, it's easier to get to the other four. You have Boomer wrapped around your little finger, so he won't blame you for anything. Butch and Buttercup are so busy with their own lives that caring for their siblings has taken a back seat, and Bubbles has to keep her mouth shut unless she wants to risk her niece's or nephew's life. For now, I want you to work on our toughest fighters. I don't seem to have their attention. I want them as broken down as Brick and Blossom, if not more. And the only way to get to them is through that hellspawn of a child." Jessie frowned, not knowing how much he could do to an unborn child.
"What did you have in mind?" HIM turned to the brunet, a sinister smile slithering onto his lips.
"I want you to kill it." Jessie was taken aback.
"What? But you only said to kill it if Bubbles blabbed."
"I want things to move faster, Jessie! Kill that baby. Trigger Buttercup to go into labor. She's seven months pregnant now, no one will think too much of it. It is a superbaby, after all. I want you to kill it just as it's coming out of the womb." Jessie nodded, deciding not to question anymore of it.
"Okay. I'll do it. You can count on me." HIM clasped his hands together.
"Wonderful! Now, scoot! Go, now! I'll keep watch from here." Jessie nodded and quickly headed for the portal back to his own home. He jumped through the swirling pink and red light leaving HIM alone.
HIM waved his hand and the room began to transform into another. This one was red, and fire crackled behind the single red and black throne that sat in the middle of it. A large screen sat on the wall in front of the seat, and HIM snapped his fingers. The screen switched on, and the Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys came to life on the large screen. He sat down on his throne and summoned a drink into his hand. He crossed his legs gracefully and sipped the drink delicately, awaiting the show that was about to unfold right before his eyes.
"Hey, Kitten?" Butch called from the living room of his house.
"Yeah?" Buttercup called back.
"When should you hear back from the realtor?" Buttercup waddled into the living room with a bowl of fruit in her hands.
"I think around next Thursday. I think that's when Justine said she'll call us back." She slowly sat herself down on the couch next to him, snuggling into the blankets for the movie they were about to watch. Butch reached into her bowl and grabbed a slice of watermelon, popping it into his mouth.
"I'm so happy we found the perfect place. Not too far from everyone else, good neighborhood, plenty of space for the kid and Psylocke. It's just…the perfect place." Buttercup giggled. Seeing Butch being this excited about settling down and starting a proper family made her filled with unadulterated joy. In her younger years, she couldn't see Butch being a family man, but he'd matured quite well after all this time.
"I can't believe we actually got it. There were a bunch of other people who wanted it, too. I guess we made the best impression," Butch scoffed playfully.
"Well, no shit! We're superheroes. Of course we made the best impression." Buttercup giggled once more, poking her fork into the bowl as Butch clicked play for their movie.
What the two didn't realize was that Jessie stood right outside the house. His lips pulled back in a dangerous smirk, and his eyes glowed sinisterly. He raised his hand slowly towards the living room and focused all of his energy. He could feel the tiny heartbeat from the child inside Buttercup and shook his head. Bye-bye, baby. Jessie flexed his fingers and clutched them into a tight fist.
Back in the house, Buttercup gasped as she felt pain shoot up through her body. She groaned as she clutched her protruding belly and set the bowl down on the floor. Another jolt of pain shot through her, and she yelled out in pain. She felt liquid slowly trickling out of her into her underwear and onto the couch under her. Butch quickly paused the movie and placed a hand over hers, frowning in concern.
"Kitten? Buttercup? What's wrong?" Buttercup leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling in disbelief.
"It's too early… it's too early.. I-AH!" Another wave of pain shot through her. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched at her belly tighter. "Butch… I think the baby's coming!" Butch turned pale.
"What? But you're only-"
"I know, I know, I know! But it's happening now! We have to get to the hospital!" Butch nodded and quickly stood up. He placed his hands on Buttercup's elbow to help her up. He lead her to the door and told her to wait there. Buttercup leaned on the wall, and Butch ran upstairs to his room, rummaging around for his Go-bag. He reached into his pocket and sent a text to the group chat.
-Buttercup's in labor. Going to the hospital.
Butch stuffed his phone back in his pocket and pulled out his bag, quickly exiting his room. He ran back down to his groaning girlfriend and slipped on his shoes. He made sure he had his keys before opening the door and leading Buttercup outside.
Jessie was halfway down the street, on the way to Boomer's house. A satisfied smile plastered on his face. This was almost too easy. He was one step closer to completely tearing apart the team from the inside out. He would get his revenge, and it would be sweet.
Buttercup squeezed Butch's hand again as pain coursed through her. Sweat began to accumulate on her forehead. She still couldn't believe that she was going into labor so soon. She was only seven months along. She still had a lot of time before the baby was supposed to be born in August. Maybe superbabies don't have to stay in the womb so long? Buttercup had a hard time trying to justify why she was in the hospital so soon, but there was nothing she could do about it. This baby was ready.
"Ugh, it's been two fucking hours! When is this child coming out?" Buttercup asked after another contraction pulsed through her. Butch kissed her knuckles and smiled at her.
"Regretting not taking those drugs, Kitten?" Buttercup giggled tiredly.
"No, the doctor said I was too far along. Now I'm not so sure he knows what he's talking about." Butch chuckled.
"Don't worry. He'll be here soon." Buttercup smiled.
"Still convinced it's a boy?" Butch nodded with a smirk.
"Hell yeah, I am." Buttercup was faced with another harsh contraction when the doctor walked in. Buttercup groaned and fell back on the pillows once it passed before glancing up at the doctor.
"Is my family out there yet?" The doctor nodded.
"Yes ma'am, and so is yours, Mr. Cromwell." The doctor checked Buttercup's vitals and nodded to himself. He looked to see if the super woman was dilated enough and grunted in approval. "Alright, Buttercup, you're ten centimeters dilated. Looks like you're ready to start pushing." Buttercup took a deep breath and clutched on harder to Butch's hand. He glanced over at her and kissed her forehead.
"I'm right here, Kitten." The doctor called over some of the nurses and situated himself at the end of the hospital bed.
The group of super-powered adults sat in the waiting room along with Jessie, Mojo, Rachel, and The Professor. All of them clutching at their hands or messing with their disheveled clothing, trying to keep their nerves down. Bubbles bit at her nails and decided to occupy herself with a magazine that was sitting on a small side table next to her seat. She picked it up and mindlessly flipped a few pages, staring blankly at the photographs and too small to read text.
Blossom sat next to her father and crossed her arms over her chest with an agitated look on her face. Being in the same room as Brick was something she wasn't a fan of. She aimlessly leaned over into her father's shoulder as a means to get away from the Rowdyruff even though he sat across from her next to his mother and Boomer. He had his chin in the palms of his hands as he sat leaned over on his knees. He could feel a burning sensation in the side of his face. He glanced up and quickly looked back down when he saw the loathsome eyes of his counterpart glowering straight at him. The tension between them could be felt by everyone else in the group and didn't help their already worried moods.
Bubbles scoffed and slammed down the magazine once she realized that a distraction wasn't going to help. She sighed and glanced over at Boomer. On one side of him was Rachel, but on his right side was Jessie. She frowned and sneered at the brunet. Nothing good could come out of him being there with them.
"Is there a good reason why you're here?" Bubbles suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Jessie glanced up and looked over to the frowning blonde. He slapped on the most innocent face he could muster before answering her.
"I was just on my way to see Boomer, and he rushed out the door before I could knock. He's the one who invited me. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable." Bubbles chuckled humorlessly.
"No, you're not. You're enjoying this." Boomer looked across to stare at Bubbles.
"Bubbles, please. Don't do this today, okay?"
"Today wouldn't even be happening if your dumbass brother never touched my sister," Blossom chimed in. "This is all his fault." The Professor glanced down at her with a frown.
"Blossom, don't you start." Blossom stared up at him and rolled her eyes.
"No, you know it's true! If it wasn't for Butch none of us would be here right now. Hell, if it wasn't for this one," she jabbed her finger at Rachel, "none of us would even be associated with them."
"Hey, Rachel saved our lives from both of our fathers! If it wasn't for her, we could be living out on the streets doing who knows what." Boomer growled, glaring at the fired up Powerpuff. Mojo huffed from his spot on the other side of the small table between him and Bubbles.
"For the last time, I only did what I had to do to get you away from HIM." Brick chuckled and crossed his arms.
"There he goes again. Thank you so much father for abandoning your only sons. Thank you so fucking much! You are our guardian angel! Round of applause for the good samaritan, everybody!" The redhead clapped his hands together slowly with a smirk. Mojo grumbled before pointing a gloved finger at the redhead.
"Don't you start with me, boy." Blossom chuckled and leaned over to glance at the ape.
"No, no, let him keep going. If you fly off into an uncontrollable rage, Brick here will just snap your neck!" Brick whipped his head towards her.
"Blossom, I've told you a thousand times; that was an accident!" Blossom laughed.
"Tell that to my dead boyfriend, asshole! I'm going to take your sorry ass to court, and you will be left with nothing! Not even that stupid, childish ass hat on top of your head!" Jessie sighed, having enough with the Power-Brat's screeching.
"Blossom, calm down, Jesus..." Bubbles jumped in quickly.
"Shut up, Jessie! You're not in this. You never were." The yelling began to slightly overlap between the two reds with Professor and Boomer chiming in at odd points. Rachel frowned sadly at the bickering heroes and raised her voice over everyone else.
"Please, please, stop this! Blossom, calm down-" The redhead quickly shot out of her seat as her eyes went wild glaring down at the older blonde.
"Bite me, BITCH!" The Professor stood up to pull Blossom back from straight out attacking Rachel. The others' voices sounded loudly as they argued with one another, standing up from their seats. Accusing fingers were being pointed at one another, and it seemed that only Rachel and Professor were trying to be the voices of reason.
As the group was fighting amongst themselves, none of them noticed when a figure walked slowly into the waiting room. The Professor glanced over his shoulder and saw a paler than usual Butch. His eyes were red and puffy, and his hands were stuffed into the pockets of his light jacket. He sniffed as he stared up at The Professor, snot dripping from his nose and tear tracks stained his ghost colored face.
"Butch?" he asked. The rest of the group ceased their yelling and looked over to the Rowdyruff. "Butch, what's wrong?" Butch wiped under his eye before glancing at the group.
"T-the baby… he d-didn't… Oh, god…" He broke down into sobs once more clutching his face. Boomer quickly ran over to his brother and placed a comforting arm around him. He brought Butch closer to the group as he rubbed his back with a worried frown.
"Butch, what happened? Is Buttercup okay?" Boomer asked. Butch sniffed harshly before removing his hands from his face.
"The baby… he… he didn't make it…" The group was stunned. No one moved; no one even seemed to breathe. Bubbles' eyes began to water as she clutched her mouth with her slim hands.
"What? W-what happened?" Boomer asked, clutching his older brother closer to his side. When Butch didn't answer, he prodded him again. "Butch, you gotta tell us what happened-"
"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?! She was pushing! I-it seemed like it was going well. When the kid came out the nurse took him and tried to get him to cry! Nothing worked! Nothing! He was laying limp, and he was… so pale… The doctor has no idea what happened... Everything was fine... He was breathing… I-I don't know what happened…" Sniffs came from Bubbles and Rachel. Butch glanced up at Blossom and Bubbles and jabbed a thumb behind him. "She wants to see you. And… uh… you too, Professor." The three quickly broke off from the group and scurried towards Buttercup's room. Mojo and Brick enclosed the circle around Butch, grabbing his hand and patting him on the back, expressing comforting words. But deep down they all knew it wouldn't matter. A loss like that would sit with him for the rest of his life.
"Where are my sisters?" Buttercup asked weakly, her tear-covered face glistened in the dim light of the room. She had requested that they turn them down. One of the nurses placed a hand on her shoulder.
"They'll be here soon, sweetheart." Just as she said it, the girls and Professor burst into the room. The nurse moved away just as Bubbles ran to her sister and slammed into her, sobbing along with her. Bubbles could feel the waves of guilt wash over her with every shuddering breath coming from her sister. It was all her fault. She knew Jessie wouldn't keep his word. He would kill that baby even if she didn't tell anyone about it.
"I'm so sorry, Buttercup," she whispered. "None of this should'a happened…" Bubbles moved away and sat on the bed wiping at her eyes. Blossom moved to the other side of the bed and leaned down to hug her sister. The Professor sniffed and pulled up a chair at the head of the bed.
"Butch kept saying 'he.' Was it a boy?" Professor asked, clutching Buttercup's hand. Buttercup pulled away from Blossom and sniffed. She nodded her head with a small chuckle.
"He was right all along…" She placed a hand over her eyes before sobbing once more.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm so, so sorry."
Just then, the door opened once more. The rest of the group stepped inside, gathering around the bed. Professor moved out of the way for Butch and took his place next to Rachel. The blonde laid her head into the tall man's chest, crying softly. The Professor pulled her close and laid his head over hers. Butch clutched to Buttercup as they both cried into each other at the loss of their son. The nurses all left the family to grieve and closed the door behind them.
It was well into the night, and Buttercup was sat up in her bed, staring down at the food that Rachel made for her and Butch. The two were left alone at the hospital as the others began to trickle away during the evening. It would be a couple of days before she would be allowed back on her feet to go home. But she was grateful that Butch was going to stay with her.
Buttercup glanced over at Butch who was in a similar state she was: blank face, slightly hunched over, staring at the food. Buttercup examined him. She couldn't think of one time when he looked so broken. Not even when Boomer was in the hospital. She glanced back down at the food and picked up her fork, poking at the mashed potatoes and peas that sat in front of her. She couldn't eat. Not with everything that happened only a few hours ago. But she would feel bad if she didn't eat Rachel's food. Buttercup scooped some of the potatoes onto her fork and brought it up to her lips. She slightly hesitated before huffing and placing the fork back onto the tray.
Butch looked towards his girlfriend in the hospital bed. Ever since their baby was taken away, he'd been pondering what could have caused him to die. Was it just bad luck, or was it something the doctors did? Or maybe it was Buttercup. Maybe she pushed wrong. Maybe she wasn't breathing right. Maybe… Butch could suddenly feel himself become more and more agitated as he stared at his girlfriend. She did something wrong. She had to. Or else his son would be here right now, sleeping next to him. This was all her fault.
You should've never slept with a Powerpuff…
"Alright, Miss Utonium. You are all set to go. I am truly sorry for your loss," the nurse said as she stood in front of the two super-powered adults at the entrance. Buttercup nodded her head with a small smile.
"Thank you. For everything." The nurse nodded back and bid them farewell before turning back down the hallway. Butch grabbed the back of the wheelchair Buttercup was in and wheeled her out of the hospital. He walked out of the building and towards his truck. He opened up the passenger door before grabbing Buttercup's hand and helped her sit herself in the passenger seat. He slid in the driver's seat and started up the car, driving into the busy city streets.
The car ride was silent. Only the noise coming from one of Butch's rock CDs was penetrating the unspoken words between the two. Buttercup glanced down at her boyfriend's hands. They gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white. She couldn't blame him. He was so close to being a father to the son he wanted, only to have it end up being taken from him in a matter of moments. She knew Butch expressed grief with anger. She just hoped that this would only bring them closer. She needed him, as he did her.
"Justine," Buttercup squeaked before clearing her throat, "Justine called. She left a voicemail yesterday. I think I was out when she did. She told me that we got the house. We can start moving in whenever we're ready." Butch said nothing. He kept his emerald eyes trained on the road ahead. Buttercup decided not to say anything more, fearing he would blow up at her. She sighed and stared back out the window.
Butch pulled his truck into his driveway and shut it off. He slid out of the car and slammed the door behind him, causing the truck to shake violently. Buttercup stared at him as he walked up to his house, not even helping her out of the vehicle. She unbuckled herself and stepped out of the car following after him. Butch left the door open for Buttercup and threw off his shoes and jacket. After Buttercup walked in he quickly jumped up and headed for the kitchen, pulling out a soda from the fridge. Buttercup eyes him. He had something to say. She could tell by his body language. She kicked off her shoes and decided to find out what it was he needed to get off his chest.
"Butch?" No answer. Buttercup moved over towards the island in the middle of the room which he was slumped over. "Babe, talk to me. You have something to say, so say it." Butch glanced up at her, his green eyes slightly glowing. The two stared at each other before the intensity in Butch's eyes washed away. Tears filled them up before streaming over his cheeks.
"My son… I promised myself that I would do better than Mojo and HIM. Now… now it doesn't matter anymore…" Buttercup frowned and leaned over clutching him to her chest.
"You would've been a great dad, Butch." The Rowdyruff sniffed before continuing.
"Why did you let him die…?" Buttercup frowned. It was only a whisper. Perhaps she heard him wrong?
"What?" she asked. Butch pulled away and wiped off his face. He glanced up at her with red eyes.
"Why did you let him die? Did you push wrong? Were you breathing right?" Buttercup couldn't believe what she was hearing! Was Butch really blaming her for their son's death?
"Butch, what are you talking about? I did everything the doctor was telling me to! I can't control whether or not the baby survives once it's out of the womb, at least not that soon. I did everything I had to do. He just… didn't make it." Butch sighed rubbing a hand down his face.
"You could've done something, Buttercup! Babies don't just die like that when they're being born! He was our son! You should've made sure he was fucking okay!" Buttercup scrunched up her face.
"Butch, there was nothing, nothing I could do! I know it sucks, but I had no control over it. Please don't blame me for this-" Butch suddenly stood up straight and threw his soda can across the kitchen. Buttercup jumped and backed up to the counter.
"You should've fucking done something, Buttercup! Who else should I blame for your inconsideration? You let him fucking DIE!" Buttercup frowned and pushed the towering man away from her with a shove.
"I'm not going to stand here and let you blame me for this! I loved him way before I even told you I was pregnant! How fucking dare you!" The Powerpuff quickly ran out the room towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Butch stood in the middle of the kitchen with his hands clutched into fists. Buttercup was to blame. He was right. She should've prevented it. She was plotting this from the beginning. She's lying about loving his kid. She never wanted to have a kid with him. Each accusation made the anger swirling within Butch bubble more violently. No matter how much he hated getting into a fight with her, he couldn't help but put blame on the Powerpuff for the death of his child.
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Jessie, you've done so well!" HIM stood from his seat in the middle of the room and clapped his hands together at the young brunet. Jessie was called back into HIM's plane after his mission was completed. Jessie smiled to himself, proud that he could make his mentor happy. "It turns out you didn't even need to threaten Bubbles! Too bad, it would've been nice to see her self-destruct because of all of that guilt. But it seems you have made her feel guilty enough, and that's all I asked for. You deserve an award. But more on that later. Now, we move on with our plan. As you can see, Butch's mind is already reverting back to his anti-Powerpuff ways. He thinks Buttercup killed his child. We have to manipulate that as best we can. Butch has never been the most paranoid out of the boys, so it might be slightly more difficult, but I'm sure you can handle it.
"As for the rest, well, the reds are practically at war. Perhaps a fight will break out because of them. Hmm, maybe our little goody-two-shoes Blossom could be exposed to some of that power you have. An uncontrollable rage would be enough to break her completely. Perhaps the fight could happen right in the middle of town with hundreds of unsuspecting civilians out and about, if you catch my drift. Brick is so emotionally whipped by her that he'll break down along with her." Jessie nodded, taking all of the information in. But one question still burned at the front of his mind.
"What about Boomer? I mean, you talk about the others and their downfall, but I haven't really heard you talk about him." HIM grinned suddenly, showing off his pin thin teeth.
"Oh, I have my own plan for him, don't you worry. Oh, and before I forget," HIM waved his hand over the side table that was next to his throne. A black box with red rubies imprinted on it fazed into existence. HIM leaned over and carefully picked it up. "You deserve this award. It will make things a little easier for you." HIM opened it up and lifted it towards Jessie. The brunet was amazed! He'd never seen anything like it before.
It was an amulet. The chain was thin black leather with some kind of language embedded on it in cryptic etchings. The language was colored in a darker golden color. The amulet itself was a large gem that swirled with color. It swished from red to deep magentas to brighter pinks to dark blacks. It was absolutely mesmerizing. Around the gem was a cuff with the same kind of etchings that the leather had on it. Jessie wished he could speak it, whatever it was. The brunet slowly picked it up out of the box to twirl it around in his hand for a closer examination. HIM really outdid himself with the necklace. It was beautiful!
"Wow… This is… Thank you." HIM chuckled with a nod.
"For by best student, anything." Jessie pulled the amulet over his head and set the gem over his chest. It glowed in the dark brightly with all of the different colors moving around each other.
"Now, I want you to come with me. Your powers are amplified with that amulet on. I have to train you on how to properly use it. Come." HIM flicked his wrist and motioned for Jessie to follow him. He walked towards the wall on the left, and a door seemed to come out of nowhere and creaked open, leading down a hallway. Jessie couldn't contain his excitement. With the amulet, he would finally be strong enough to take on one of the Powerpuffs or Rowdyruffs if the need arose. Now, nothing could stop him.
Boomer gasped awake and shot up in bed, almost tumbling onto the floor. His chest heaved as his breath quickened. The horrifying images still playing in his mind from his nightmare. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down completely. It was that dream again. Bubbles told him that Jessie was lying to them all, Jessie attacked her, and he was left alone with HIM taunting him about not knowing what Jessie was. It gave him the same feeling as it did when HIM possessed his mind all those years ago. Even though it was only six it was still a feeling he could immediately recognize.
The blond Rowdyruff wondered what it meant. Why was Bubbles telling him that Jessie was lying to them all? Why did HIM insist that he didn't know what Jessie had become? Was there something wrong with his friend? Was it a warning for something more? Boomer groaned and rubbed his temples. It ached thinking about another person he cared about going down the wrong path. His little family was already falling apart at the seams.
Boomer decided to wash away his thoughts and doubts with a nice shower. He lifted himself from the bed and walked into his bathroom to get ready for the day. He took a nice shower and brushed his teeth. After he was done, he grabbed some khaki shorts and one of his Marvel themed graphic t-shirts. When he was dressed, Boomer went downstairs for something to eat.
Once he entered the kitchen, he noticed his fluffy white dog Sasha standing perfectly still, leaning over her food bowl. Her head was leaned down towards the food though she made no move to eat it. Her shoulders were hunched over, and her ears twisted rapidly on her head. Boomer glanced down at her and squatted next to his dog.
"Hey girl, you okay?" Sasha continued to stand stiff. Boomer raised a hand and patted her back, rubbing the fur gently. "Sasha? What's wrong, girl?" Just then, a distant thunder came from outside. The house shook a bit soon after the sound. Another thunder rumbled through the house along with the distant thunders. Boomer looked around the room before he heard Sasha began to growl deeply. The white dog finally moved from her spot and dashed off towards the unusually large doggy door. "Wait, Sasha, hold on!" Boomer stood up and raced after her throwing open the door. Sasha was standing in the middle of the street with a few onlookers barking wildly.
Boomer jogged down the stairs and looked towards the way in which the other people were pointing. He stared at the distant downtown area of Townsville and saw the horrifying sight of glass and rubble crashing down. His super hearing could pick up the distant screams from the civilians. Sasha continued to bark wildly as she could also hear what he was hearing. He glanced down at his dog and patted her on the head.
"So much for easy on Sunday morning, girl. Let's go!" Boomer shot off down the street with Sasha at his side, producing her very own white colored streak behind her. Boomer tried to think of what it could be. It couldn't have been any of the villains from his younger years. They were all old and tired. Most of them moved out of the city. It could've been a monster from Monster Isle. But even they gave up on threatening Townsville a while back.
Mojo?
No, Mojo was too hellbent on getting onto him and his brothers' good sides to do anything to Townsville.
As the two reached the bridge that connected the downtown area from the suburban area, Boomer slowed down to a steady pace. Police, firemen, and several ambulances were on every single bridge around the lake helping the screaming civilians along. One of the officers Boomer recognized turned to him and gave a sigh of relief. The booming from inside the city shook the ground violently.
"Boomer, thank God!" Boomer jogged over to the aging Italian officer. The captain glanced down at the large dog and patted her on the head.
"Hey, Sasha." The white dog yipped in a greeting. Boomer placed a hand on the officer's shoulder.
"Officer Crowley, what's going on?" The older man huffed and placed his hands on his hips.
"Boomer, it's bad! It's gotten way out of hand. I had no idea that she could be this angry! I mean, I know she lost someone close to her, but putting the whole city in danger? That's just not like her." Boomer frowned more confused than he was before.
"Crowley, who are you talking about?" The captain sighed.
"Blossom Utonium." Sasha whined, suddenly recognizing the name. Boomer was stunned. Blossom was doing this?
"Blossom is doing all of this? Is she fighting a villain?" The captain scoffed.
"Well, if you could call your brother a villain now."
"Oh no. She went after Brick… What happened? Tell me everything you can so I can try to stop it." The captain nodded and led Boomer and Sasha towards the back of a large, black truck. He stepped inside and grabbed a clipboard from one of the tables amongst the men and women stationed there. He stepped back down and pointed to the reports he made from a few civilians.
"I got word that Brick was in the middle of the city, seemingly waiting for someone near a cafe. No one, of course, knows who that someone was. Blossom flew into the city and started yammering on about how everything was his fault and that he was going to die by her hand." He flipped a few pages and pointed to another report. "This woman here said that Blossom's eyes didn't look right." Boomer frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"She said that the pink in her eyes seemed to be changing from pink to red to like a magenta color. Is that what they call a reddish-purple mix? I dunno, I was never good at colors. Anyway, she said that Blossom flew into a rage and attacked Brick out of the blue. Your brother's been trying to hold her off for at least an hour now. The problem is that we don't know how many more people are still stuck in the city with them. We fear that there are people in office buildings that can't get out. I already sent so many of my men and women in there, and only a few of them came back out. I can't risk more lives, son." Boomer nodded, trying to take all of this newfound information in. Blossom was on a rampage. She was going to kill Brick if he didn't stop her.
But what about Blossom's eyes? He never knew her to be able to change her eye color even when she was angry. Wait. Magenta eyes. A flash from Boomer's past crossed his mind. He remembered looking in the mirror seeing those eyes looking back at him with a slimy smirk attached to his face. No, it couldn't be. It couldn't be happening again.
"Where was it you sent your officers?" Boomer asked, suddenly realizing that those people were in more danger than anyone knew.
"I sent them to the office buildings on Bridgewater and Parkview right across the late Mayor's statue." Boomer's eyes widened. Crowley placed a hand on Boomer's shoulder.
"Don't worry, we got Mayor Bellum out just in time. Her and her whole office are safe." Boomer let out the breath he'd been holding and nodded, feeling better. He glanced down at Sasha and nodded once.
"Alright, girl. I want you to see if you can find those officers on Bridgewater and Parkview. And save every civilian you can on the way." Sasha barked proudly before taking off across the bridge. Boomer lifted himself into the sky and stared towards the broken down city. "Don't worry, Crowley; I'll stop them."
"Be careful, son!" Boomer shot off towards the rumbles and thunders of the falling buildings quickly. He zoomed down the broken city streets towards the sound of the two redheads.
Suddenly, a large object crashed into him causing him to shoot towards the ground. He landed with a grunt, and the object rolled off him. Boomer looked up and saw the unmoving body of his brother laying a few feet away from him.
"Brick!" Boomer quickly stood up and ran over to his older brother. He plopped down next to Brick and rolled him over on his back. Brick's eyes were closed, and one of them was covered in a black and blue splotch where Blossom must have hit him. "Brick?" Just then, Brick's eyes shot open, and he shoved Boomer away. Boomer grunted as he skid to a stop on the sidewalk. He looked up and saw Blossom throw down what looked like the front half of a semi-truck towards his brother. Brick quickly moved and shot out of the way just before the truck could hit him.
"YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, BRICK!" Blossom flew after him, hot on his heels. Boomer lifted himself back into the air and quickly followed. Brick bobbed and weaved through the city blocks trying to lose Blossom. He didn't want to fight her. He knew what she was going through, and he didn't blame her one bit. But no way in hell did he know that Blossom would go full rage mode and put the whole city in danger just to get to him! She was a superhero. She would've taken the fight outside the city. Either what he did really messed her up, or someone else got to her because the Blossom he knew would never do something as destructive as this.
Brick picked up speed and decided to pull an attack. He rocketed towards the ground and landed hard. He locked onto Blossom's coming form and focused. He could feel an energy beam form in his hands. He raised his hand towards her and waited. Blossom swooped down and zoomed right for him. Once she was dangerously close, Brick let the beam go. The red ball of energy hit Blossom square in the face and violently pushed her back into a building. Blossom crashed through it before tumbling on the ground several times, flipping into a car. She groaned as she peeled herself from the dent she made and slumped to the ground, grabbing at her head.
Voices…
So many voices…
Who should I listen to…?
Why am I doing this…?
"Blossom, stop!" The Powerpuff glanced up and saw Boomer walking towards her with his hands raised carefully. "Stop this, Blossom. I know you're angry, but putting civilians in danger is wrong!" Blossom frowned and glanced over at the large hole in the building she made. Several civilians peeked out at her. Fear swimming in their eyes as they looked towards their hero. Brick swooped down in front of the building and huffed staring down at Blossom.
"YOU!" Blossom stood up as her eyes burned bright orangish-red. Laser beams shot off from her eyes towards Brick. The Rowdyruff jumped up into the sky just before they could hit him, but Blossom's continuing stream of energy blasted off into the building. Boomer looked on in terror as almost all of the civilians were eradicated from existence from Blossom's power. Their gut-wrenching screams slowly faded away as one by one they fell into nothing but a pile of wretched smelling ash. Without remorse, Blossom took off into the sky after Brick.
Boomer stood staring at the building. The dirty floor was now covered in the ashes of the fallen. Blossom Utonium had actually killed civilians. He couldn't believe it. Now he had a good reason to believe that this was not Blossom attacking his brother. She would never do something like this. Blossom loved her city too much to destroy it. Even if she was engulfed with rage, she would take the fight away from her beloved city. Boomer had to do something. But what? Boomer snapped his fingers and moved into the sky taking a different route towards the two warring reds.
Brick came crashing through two buildings, crashing into a coffee shop on the corner of the street. He smashed through the glass and rolled to the rubble covered ground. Boomer quickly moved inside before Blossom could find them and helped Brick up.
"Brick, I need you to listen to me. I want you to distract Blossom. That's the only way I can have a clear shot at her." Boomer could hear the raging Powerpuff Girl flying closer to their location. Just as he was about to leave Brick grabbed his arm. He glanced up at the blonde weakly clutching his abdomen.
"You're not going to hurt her, are you?" Boomer smiled slightly and shook his head.
"Of course not. I just need a clear shot. Talk to her, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Boomer zoomed out of the coffee shop and hid himself behind a car, preparing for his attack. Brick groaned in pain and limped out of the coffee shop just as Blossom landed with a thud. Her eyes went wild as she saw him.
"YOU HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO RUN!" Blossom began to stomp towards the Rowdyruff, hunched over like an animal. Brick sighed and raised his free hand.
"Blossom, please stop. This isn't you. The Blossom I know would never put her city in danger just to get to me. Look around you. How many civilians have you hurt? How many do you think you've killed?" Blossom halted her advance on him and glanced around her. The voices in her head overlapping erratically. She placed a hand on her forehead, her eyes began to slowly glow pink. She shook her head and looked up at Brick. All intensity from before lost.
"Brick?" Suddenly, the magenta replaced the pink once more, and Blossom gave a roar before charging towards Brick. Boomer raised his hand and shot a charged electric blue ball of energy at her. The ball of energy slammed into the side of the Powerpuff's head, causing her to be thrown to the ground. Her body convulsed violently as surges of electricity coursed through her body before she went completely still. Boomer got up from his hiding spot and sighed in relief. He walked over to his defeated brother and placed his arm over his shoulder. Boomer lifted his hand and levitated Blossom into the air. Her arms were close to her straight body, and her long auburn hair swished around her gracefully with the energy from Boomer.
"You okay?" Boomer asked as he lead the way out of the mostly silent downtown area. Brick sighed yet nodded.
"She broke a few things, but… I'm okay. For the most part. I just don't understand how this happened."
"What actually did happen, Brick? I talked to Officer Crowley, and he said that he got a report from someone saying that you were waiting for someone near a cafe or something." Brick nodded once more wincing at the pain that rocketed up from his right leg.
"Yeah, Jessie called me and said he wanted to hang out. He wanted to make sure I was doing okay." Boomer's eyes widened. He could hear HIM's taunting voice play in his head.
You don't know shit about him. And that is what will get you killed.
Could Jessie really be the one behind this? No, no that was crazy! Jessie went missing for years! Something terrible could've happened to him. He went through so much. But what if…? Could Jessie be working for HIM? That was a question Boomer never thought he would be asking himself. But as he walked along with an unconscious Blossom and his battered brother, he couldn't help but to actually think about it. Ever since Jessie came back, things had been getting out of hand. First Vincent, then Bubbles' paranoia, the fire, Buttercup's deceased child, and now Blossom destroying the city. And her eyes… He felt like he was staring into a mirror when he saw them. He had that same rage filled look on his face when HIM used him to do his dirty work. Did Jessie have those eyes? Could he hide them from everyone else so no one would know? Was he willingly working with HIM? If he was, why? He had to find out.
Boomer walked onto the bridge with a crowd of police staring at them. Many of the officers nodded their heads in thanks to him.
"Blossom! Oh my god!" The Professor rushed over to them with Bubbles and Buttercup. Rachel, Butch, and Mojo quickly followed, moving towards Brick. Butch took him from Boomer's arms and led him towards one of the ambulances. Boomer slowly set Blossom down into Bubbles' arms. Bubbles nodded towards him before carrying her along with Professor towards another ambulance. Buttercup glanced over to him and noticed the distressed look on his face.
"This can't be a coincidence. Either we are having a streak of bad luck or someone is messing with us. And since you have that face, I'm guessing you think the same thing." Boomer moved next to her and eyed the medics and police at work. Some of the officers were ordered to scout the city for any more survivors. Sasha was to go with them. He huffed and frowned at the scene. If all of this really was Jessie, he had some serious explaining to do.
"I may know who's behind this, but I'm not sure. Don't say anything until I'm sure." Buttercup glanced up at him and nodded.
"I won't tell a soul. Just be careful. If someone is messing with us, I don't want you to be his or her next target. Bubbles needs you. Hell, we all need you." She raised a hand and rubbed his shoulder gently with a soft smile. Boomer glanced down at her and smiled back.
"Um, Buttercup?" he asked, his smile dropping.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry. About… you know." Boomer sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that it was a tender subject for the Powerpuff. Buttercup nodded her head and pulled him down for a hug.
"Thank you," she whispered. Boomer hugged her back and pecked the top of her head comfortingly.
"I'm going to find this guy, Buttercup. Don't you worry. And when I do," Boomer looked around at every single broken person being attended to, "I might just kill him myself."
Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter.
Wow, this is probably the most intense chapter in this story. This is when shit really hits the fan. Jessie is so close to completely breaking up the team. He's taking names and getting shit done! But HIM... Oh HIM has a plan. I actually feel bad for dearest Jessie. He has no idea what HIM is really playing at and these Fear Tactics that HIM is using will basically make him a slave. Kind of like The Winter Soldier if you guys have seen that Cap. America movie. Not really where I got the idea from, but it's pretty close. And HIM lied to Jessie saying that these tests will cleanse him of his pain. That's just not cool!
So much happened and I hope you are all excited for more. We are getting to the climax of this story and I'm sure I will make some of you happy and some of you sad, but I want you to enjoy it anyway!
I'll see you in the next one! Bye guys!
~TheRedWolf
