Thank you for your reviews. I have a lot of upcoming BubblesButch fics for those of you who love this couple. And one oneshot that is already up, which is called Blue-Green. If you ask super nice I might post one of the other fics I have in the works with this couple. ;) Keep the reviews coming and I'll keep going with the stories.

Mucho loves to you all.

Chapter 2: Sleeping Beauties

I awoke the next morning and my sisters were still sleeping. They were in a comatose state that the Professor seemed puzzled by.

"There's no logical reason…"

I sighed as he mumbled to himself and shuffled out of the room. It's is my fault. It is. It is.

Blossom's hand was clammy as I clutched it in mine. She had bruises ranging in all sorts of colors, from the lightest green to the darkest purple. Her beautiful face was a mess. Her arms, legs, torso… the marks reached everywhere.

There was dried blood on both of them. I set to work cleaning off Blossom, then Buttercup. Buttercup looked about the same except one side of her face was completely swollen.

There were deep gashes all over them from the monster we had fought. They weren't healing like we normally did. At all. I wondered if I should tell the Professor…

Nah, he probably already noticed.

As for me, I had a bruise or two, but no other injuries. I had spent most of the time flying around trying to show off.

The guilt clawed at me. I was supposed to be the one injured, not able to wake up. Not my two beautiful and talented sisters. How was I going to handle saving the town alone?

I froze. I was going to have to save Townsville all on my own until Blossom and Buttercup got better. There was no one else who could do it. Maybe I could ask… No. The Rowdyruff Boys had already helped me out once. It was a rare show of kindness I appreciated and wouldn't mind seeing again, but they were no better than my sisters when it came to tearing down my confidence. They probably didn't think I could handle being on my own either.

Looking at my helpless sisters I realized I still had something to prove. To myself and to everyone else. This time I wouldn't screw up.

I couldn't possibly let myself do that twice.

I grabbed a pair of Buttercup's pants and one of Blossom's shirts. If I wanted to be taken seriously I had to look the part. Black workout pants and a light pink t-shirt. It was form fitting for hand to hand combat and it made me look like I was in my twenties. It was anything but cute and I scrunched my nose up because I liked being cute. A messy ponytail and sneakers completed the look.

I guess later I'd have to work on my fashion sense as a solo superhero.

I was out the window in seconds. The Professor would probably freak once he noticed I was long gone, but the less he knew the better.

It was time to protect him from the big, bad world for a change.

XXX

I seem to be one step behind him. I had let the monster wander away yesterday and the boys didn't go after him, so today everywhere I flew there was wreckage and injured people. The ambulances were working on overdrive. The hospitals were probably a mess.

I tried to shake off my guilt; I knew it wouldn't get me anywhere. My thoughts felt muddled as I tried to figure out what to do next.

What would Blossom do?

Tactical, what would be tactical about chasing down a monster that was as big as a building that had ruined half of Townsville? Maybe following the trail of rubble? Making a commotion to lead him to me? Should I help the citizens and ignore the monster? What would be the best choice? What would be her choice?

I mindlessly followed the broken buildings and unending stream of injured and sad people. I am the one who did this to them. And I will fix it.

I finally reached the end of Townsville. The damage continued on, but it seemed like the threat that had been here yesterday moved on. I briefly eyed the trail before turning back.

Everyone was safe for now. It was my job to make sure they would get the medical help they needed as well as help however I could with reconstruction. Those were two things I was the best at. Everyone always called for me whenever they needed help to make a new building or get them the proper help. I was fast and I was strong and I was really good at putting things together.

What I really needed to be good at was kicking bad guys' butts.

XXX

Hours later I flew tiredly into our bedroom. The girls were still asleep. There had been no change. The Professor hadn't seemed to notice my departure. The phone started to ring. It startled me to see the red light whirl around the room.

"Hello?"

"GIRLS!" The mayor shouted. "We need you!"

With a shaky hand I hung up the phone. Something had already happened again? I had just been in the city! I sniffled as I ran to the window and soared into the sky once more.

I hoped this was something I could handle alone.

I heard their laughter before I saw them. The Gangreen Gang. Ugh! Didn't they ever grow up? They were in their thirties now and still as juvenile as ever.

"Hey, you guys! Knock it off!" I shouted towards them. They froze from stealing before they started to laugh again. This time at me.

"Hey it's the blue priss! What's going on little blond? Think you can take us all on by yourself?"

Anger coiled within my stomach. "You know it!"

I slammed into Big Billy first. I flopped off of his belly and onto the cement as they laughed harder. I growled before going after Grubber. One hit and he was down. Lil' Arturo was next. He was just as easy. I squared off with Snake and Ace. I tried to grab Snake, but he kept slipping away from me.

Ace was even harder. Every time I went for one of them he was stepping into the attacks, getting in my way and messing up my hits. They managed to land their own hits on me. One hit nearly broke my nose and the other gave me a nasty black eye. My other wounds had healed hours ago and it annoyed me to have more sprout up from these guys.

Big Billy came at me from behind and I didn't see it coming. He landed on my small body and I couldn't help but expel all of my air. I tried to breathe in, but couldn't. I could feel the scrape of my ribs as they bent. Soon they would crack.

Panic hit me. I was going to lose and they would run off with the snacks they had grabbed. Townsville was going to be a mess because I couldn't hold it together.

I couldn't save the day on my own.

Something slammed into Big Billy and sent him rolling off me. I gasped in air. I saw the green blur hunt down Ace and Snake next. A big smile broke out on my face. Buttercup!

"What do you think you're doing? Wasn't one reckless day enough for you?" I cowered under the dark eyes as Butch's arm muscles flexed briefly before he crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not a hero, okay? Why am I cleaning up after you two days in a row?"

I squirmed as he ranted. I had never heard him speak this much. I liked the timbre of his voice. The way it deepened when he emphasized words rather than heightened like mine tended to do.

"Blossom and Buttercup aren't waking up. I'm the only one who can." I admitted. He had been nice to me before, though it had been briefly. Would he be there for me again?

I started to cry before I could tell myself to stop. There was so much going through his eyes, but I couldn't name one thing he was thinking about.

"Butch."

He sighed before pulling me towards him. "I don't like hugging."

"Then why are you holding me?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Because I know it's something you would like. You've always been…a girl like that."

"Thanks."

"I'm not a hero. I'm not going to rescue Townsville just because your sisters are out for the count."

"Why can't you? You helped me before."

"Don't confuse one moment of kindness for a complete change of character. I like being the bad guy. I like fighting and going to jail only to break out not even a day later."

"No." I stated. I shook my head at him. "No, you don't."

"Don't try to tell me how I feel, Bubbles." I shivered when he said my name and he pulled away from me quickly. "Don't get any ideas."

"Help me protect the city." I said, even though that's precisely what he was telling me not to do. It had to be what he had been telling me not to say.

"No." He stated as he floated upwards.

"Just until my sisters get well!"

"Don't you know what no means? My brothers are going to take down this town." Butch replied as he shot out of where we were at full speed.

I watched after him. I know it was stupid to expect him to say yes, but I did. So I continued to watch, even after his dark green trail faded away.

For some reason I just couldn't bring myself to think he really meant it when he said no.