9. Battle for the Earth
Blossom stood up and positioned herself on the balls of her feet, ready for action. "Whenever your ready sis," she sniffed, "give me your best shot!"
Bubbles was about to oblige but something held her back. Even though she had not been around her for very long, Bubbles knew from childhood that Blossom was almost unnaturally smart. She was going have to very careful around her; to make sure she fought this battle with her brains as well as her fists.
"What's the matter Bubbles," Blossom mocked. "I thought you wanted to protect the pathetic vermin that make up this planet!"
Anger surged in the Blue Puff, but she quickly checked it. Thanks to the chemical X and an overflow of adrenalin, Bubbles brain was working overtime and it quickly turned up a conclusion. Being a soldier commissioned to commit mass genocide, Blossom was used to fighting very angry creatures, beings who were motivated by the sight of their friends and family being obliterated by her seemingly endless power. The thought made her blood run cold, but then it hit her. If you were fighting with such anger in your heart, it was bound to make you more violent, aggressive and irrational. Hence Blossom must be used to being attacked, so it was only natural for her to try and make her strike first, preferably while as angry as possible. It was not a trap Bubbles was going to fall into.
"Actually, I'm fine here," she said sweetly, playing with her hair. "If you so bored, why don't you start us off."
"Don't play around with me Bubbles," Blossom snapped. She was clearly irritated. "I have a tight schedule to keep to and I'm already behind it! So let's get on with your slaughter." Bubbles merely raised an eyebrow. Blossom sighed. "Obviously you have no faith in your abilities and are trying to delay your inevitable defeat. Here, I'll give you a hand." She turned her back to Bubbles, and closed her eyes. "Have a free shot," she chuckled.
Bubbles didn't move a muscle. Blossom waited for a moment, but soon she became even more annoyed. "Why won't she attack," she thought. "I didn't think Bubbles was this reserved." She swung back round again. "Alright, if you're not going to fight me, I shall get back to work." She fired up a large energy ball and launched it into the air. "That's just about on course for Townsville I believe!" She laughed.
"No way!" Bubbles cried. She blasted off into the air, and palmed the ball upwards, sending it crashing off course. Blossom was upon her immediately, hitting her square under the chin. Bubbles' head flipped back, but as Blossom allowed her self a brief smile, she rocked it back forward again and unleashed an eye zap straight into Blossom's chest. As Blossom reacted to the impact, Bubbles reared up above her and smashed her with both hands down into the planet's surface.
Blossom jumped straight back to her feet, nursing a few bruises. "Impressive," she muttered, before turning slowly back to where Bubbles had been, "but it'll… What! Where… where did she go?"
In the short time she'd had, Bubbles had scooted away. She hid behind a rock, hoping to get a moment to come up with a strategy. To her surprise however, Blossom seemed completely lost.
"Maybe she can't sense my energy," Bubbles mused. "I would have thought that a technique Boomer had mastered would be possessed by anyone as talented as Blossom, but maybe they don't teach that in Freeza's army." She focused for a moment. Maybe with the extra chemical X injections, she could manage the technique herself.
Blossom has had enough. "Right, that's it Bubbles!" she roared, loosing her cool at last. "If you don't come out right now, I'll blast you out!" She started randomly eye blasting the surrounding area. The distraction was sufficiently large enough to allow Bubbles to rock up behind her and kick her hard in the back of her head. Blossom was sent spinning forward again, but she stopped her self quickly enough to turn round and deflect Bubbles' follow up blast. She also kept her eye on the Blue Puffs movement this time, so Bubbles stopped.
"Face it Blossom," she said determinedly. "You're no match for me anymore."
"Anymore?" Blossom queried. "How did you become so powerful so quickly! When we last fought I dealt with you in one punch, and that can't have been more then a few hours ago."
Bubbles tittered to herself. "Let's just say that my father and a certain Monkey are geniuses."
Blossom grimaced. "Fine, be cryptic," she muttered. "I shall be straight with you though; so believe me when I tell you that I haven't even begun to use my full strength!" She let out a high pitch scream, releasing a surge of pink energy that nearly blinded Bubbles, before charging in at unbelievable speed.
It took Bubbles all her strength to parry the first blow, but she managed to catch Blossom's hand as the pink Puff swung in a second. The two of them grappled briefly, Bubbles' face twisting with the exertion required. As she briefly managed to look up, she could see Blossom was smiling.
Bubbles broke free and drifted a few yards away, as Blossom laughed with an almost insane joy. "That's great," she said patronisingly, "for a pathetic earth rat, your doing amazingly well. But not well enough."
Bubbles mopped her brow. "The Professor won't like this, but I think I'm going to need level two!"
Boomer gently nudged Mojo's front door open with his foot. Fortunately it was unlocked, so he beckoned for Brick to follow him in.
Mojo and the Professor had been waiting in an awkward silence for news. They both rose to their feet as Brick and Boomer entered with the two bodies.
"Oh my…" gasped the Professor, clutching his face. He tried to hold back the tears, but as Boomer respectfully lay Buttercup's body down on a lab desk a few began to slip out. Brick placed Butch down hurriedly before dashing over to his adopted father, releasing all his pent up grief.
Boomer watched and the two of them hugged each other tightly as they stared at Buttercup's punched body. Then he looked at Mojo. The monkey was looking quizzically at Butch's body, in the way that someone might examine a mysterious dent they'd just found in their car.
"Lucky kid," he muttered as he looked back to Brick. The Professor was gently repeating to the red ruff that everything was going to be alright which seemed like hopeless optimism to Boomer. That didn't stop him being jealous though.
There was the sound of snapping plastic. Mojo was carefully fitting a pair of latex gloves.
"Err, what are you doing?" Boomer asked.
"Autopsy." Mojo withdrew a scalpel. "It is clear to me how Buttercup died, as in perished due to the large gap in her chest that may be more commonly described as a hole. However it is less clear as to how Butch died as there appears to be no such obvious wound or injury, other then the missing arm which in itself should not be enough to induce a fatal injury. So, having discounted the missing arm as the cause of death, as I have just discussed, I am going to conduct an autopsy on the Ruff that you know as Butch, so as to maximise our knowledge on the nature of the threat that Blossom poses and to perhaps calculate how much damage we need to cause to her to achieve the desired fatal results."
"Oh," Boomer muttered. "Your not going to cut him open are you?"
Mojo didn't reply, he simply sliced through Butch's jumper and pulled it off. An attempt to cut through his skin only broke the scalpel.
The Professor composed himself and lent over for a look himself (while still keeping Brick close.) "Very heavy burns," he murmured. "Surprisingly heavy. He must have died of internal burns, damage to vital organs etc."
"Poor Butch," Brick sniffed sadly. "And that cow Blossom didn't even seem to be trying."
"What!" Mojo went pale. "That is impossible. If it wasn't a challenge for Blossom to produce a blast this powerful, then Bubbles is going to need a higher flow rate of Chemical X, which means it won't be long before she runs out!"
Boomer spun round. "You mean that her power boost is only temporary?" The Professor and Mojo nodded sadly.
Brick stood up determinedly. "We've got to go back Boomer!" he declared.
Boomer shook his head. "No, at the moment we'll only get in the way. Besides, right now I can sense her power and it's… incredible. She might just win this before she runs out of Chemical X."
"Boomer's right Brick," the Professor added sadly. "Our Bubbles' is brighter then she lets on, she'll be aware of the situation. You rushing back in there will not only distract her, it might also tip Blossom off to the fact that all is not as it seems."
Brick looked at his feet angrily, but he didn't resist further. "Alright, fine," he muttered. "But the moment Bubbles' power starts to drop Boomer, we're off okay?"
"No problem," Boomer replied bravely, but inside he was terrified. He really didn't want to die today. He glanced nervously in the direction of the battle. "Come on Bubbles," he muttered. "Just this once I want you to win!"
Despite the wasteland that surrounded them, Blossom and Bubbles' battle was not completely free of spectators. In fact, cowering behind the remains of one of Cityville's once might skyscrapers, there were five unwilling viewers.
Upon hearing of the destruction of Cityville, the Gangreen Gang had done what any group of petty crooks would. They'd sped of to the scene to see what they could loot. Sadly for them, not only was the damage to the city so extensive that not much of value had survived, but now they were pinned down by the fight.
Snake nervously poked his head round the side of the wrecked building. There were two puff's alright, scuffling together high in the sky above them. It was difficult for him to tell what was going on though, something which was annoying Ace.
"Come on Snake!" Ace barked. "Tell us who is winning?"
"I don't know," Snake hissed back. "They're moving too fast?" He squinted for a moment, and then screamed. The rest of the gang took he hint and pulled him back in as a defected energy blast raced through the place where his head had been a moment before. It smashed into the ground around ten yards away from them.
The gang stood in silence for a moment as the dust settled, perhaps reflecting on the potential proximity of their deaths. Eventually Ace spoke. "Right, stick you head out again Snake."
"You must be mad!" Snake had his back pressed up against the wall and was sweating profusely. "I'm not going out there again!"
Ace thought about arguing with him, but chose not to. "Coward," he said instead, while (with much checking and delaying) he slowly poked his own head out.
Unfortunately, Snake had been right. To Ace's eyes the combatants were just a blue and pink blur. He knew that the blue energy belonged to Bubbles, but the owner of the Pink energy was a mystery to him. "It must have been that thing that destroyed this city!" he concluded suddenly. "I wonder if who ever it is would be interested in joining our side."
"I don't think that's very likely Boss," Billy drawled calmly. "According to the T.V, she's here to destroy the planet."
"She?" Ace pulled his head back into a position of safety. "Interesting."
"So who do we want to win?" asked Snake. Ace thought for a moment.
"Whoever isn't going to kill us, which I suppose means Bubbles…"
"Do we go and help her?" asked Billy.
"Nah," Ace replied coolly, "I think its best that we leave her to…"
Another energy blast smashed into the ground a few feet away, blowing Ace off his feet and into the wall.
"On second thoughts," Ace continued as he readjusted his sunglasses, "we should stay put for a while."
Bubbles ducked and weaved with all the speed she could muster as Blossom slung a barrage of punches and kicks at her. Now that she wasn't holding back, Blossom was proving that she was a seriously good fighter. Finally Bubbles understood that Buttercup hadn't stood a chance. If only she'd waited like she'd suggested, Buttercup might have this power now too and Blossom wouldn't have had a chance.
However, while they'd been preparing more cities would have been destroyed. Buttercup had been right, Bubbles thought, and now it was up to her to make sure her sister didn't die in vain.
Currently she wasn't getting a chance. Blossom was not over extending her attacks, which not only meant she could continue to swing at her continuously, but also that she never left an opening for Bubbles to exploit. She still hadn't managed to turn the belt up to level two as for now it was taking everything she had just to avoid getting hit.
Blossom watched determinedly as Bubbles dashed between her strikes. "Your quick Bubbles!" she grinned. "Very quick, I'm impressed! But it is nothing I haven't dealt with before." She fired a quick eye blast that surprised Bubbles just enough to allow Blossom to finally land a hit. She kicked her hard in the chest and then punched her hard in the face, sending Bubbles tumbling away. Blossom immediately set of in pursuit, overtaking Bubbles and zipping back in behind her before punching her in the small of the back.
Bubbles stopped, yelping in pain. Blossom let her float in the air for a moment, just hanging in front of her, before elbowing her back down into the ground below.
Bubbles bounced twice on landing, rolling on to her back as she did. As she lay on the ground, groaning in pain, two things occurred to her. Firstly that Blossom had chosen not to follow up her attack; she was just hovering smugly in the air above her. And secondly, that she wasn't as badly hurt as she expected. There was no reason to let Blossom know that though.
"Ahhaga!" she wailed, letting some tears of agony flow down her checks (something that had never been much of a challenge for her.) Above, Blossom allowed her self a smile.
"Dear Bubbles," she said sweetly. "I don't know how you became so much stronger, that's for sure, but I do know that it still wasn't enough to beat me."
Bubbles continued to writhe in pain, while slowly moving one of her hands down to the belt. She prayed Blossom didn't notice.
In fact, Blossom was too busy enjoying her victory to suspect anything. "You know I ort to leave you here now to die slowly and painfully, but since you are my sister I'll strike you a deal. If you tell me exactly how you increased your power so quickly, I'll end your suffering in a painless and dignified manner. How does that sound?"
Bubbles gave another brief cry of pain, but her hand was now on the buckle. She gave it a twist. The flow of Chemical X increased rapidly and suddenly it felt like molten lava flowing into her veins. Hence the next cry was genuine. It was an earth shattering sonic scream that broke the tops of the near by derelict skyscrapers and knocked Blossom completely of balance.
"What the Hell?" Blossom gasped, as she tried to steady herself against the vibrations. Down below, Bubbles was beginning to stabilise. The powerful black liquid was flowing through her arms, her legs, her chest and finally through her brain. The poor girl's body could barely cope initially, threatening to brake apart, but then it seemed to begin to adapt to this new power flowing through it. The pain died down and Bubbles could feel her muscles tightening and her blood vessels relaxing. Perhaps, given a few minutes she'd have changed enough to cope with this, but Bubbles didn't have that time.
Rolling back on to her shoulders, she propelled her self onto her feet with her arms and then rocketed into the air. Blossom only had enough time to look surprised before Bubbles ploughed into her stomach with both fists.
Winded and surprised, Blossom was left coughing up blood and bile, or would have been if Bubbles had given her the chance. Instead she launched herself into a spin and kicked Blossom hard in the side of the head, which send her sister flying into the remains of a skyscraper. What remained of the building promptly collapsed to top of her.
Bubbles drifted cautiously down towards the rubble. Blossom had taken a big hit but surely she was tougher then that. For a couple of moments however there was silence, but with her over-charged senses Bubbles could tell that all was not as it seemed.
Sure enough, there was a burst of pink energy as rubble flew into the air. The dust from the explosion temporarily blinded Bubbles allowing a furious Blossom to charge straight at her. The blue puff still wasn't looking when Blossom swung a punch but she still ducked instinctively under it, before jumping over the next attack too. Bubbles was able to open her eyes in time to doge Blossom's next strike so was able to see the burning hatred in her sisters eyes. It was the look of a person that was being roundly beaten by someone they knew they were better than. Bubbles' ability to avoid every attack she launched was driving her crazy.
"Stand still for a second!" she roared. Bubbles did so immediately, choosing to grab Blossom's approaching fist, stopping it dead. Blossom struggled, but she was unable to break free to her increasing (but Bubbles' diminishing) surprise. Changing tack Blossom attacked with her other arm. Bubbles saw it coming and swung herself away using Blossom's arm as leverage to launch a flying kick at the outside of Blossom's chest and then throwing Blossom away into the air and flowing up with an eye blast.
Blossom steadied herself in time to stick an arm out to block the blast but not with out considerable pain. When she glanced at the palm of her hand and saw the burn flesh, she started to teeter on the verge of a complete mental breakdown.
Bubbles touched down gently on the ground, staring intently at Blossom. She had her, that was for sure. It was just a matter of finishing her off before the supply of Chemical X ran out. A brief brake to work out how won't hurt, or so she thought.
Moments later, there was a slight pain in her stomach followed rapidly by a burning pain in her chest. Her legs buckled slightly under her. Bubbles tried to keep a straight face but there was no way she could avoid clutching her chest with a small grimace. Fortunately Blossom was too enraged to notice so Bubbles took the opportunity to roll up her sleeve; through her arm she could see her blood vessels were throbbing blue and that her skin was going pale. "Dam it!" she muttered as her legs buckled slightly again. "I think I over did it!"
The delay had allowed Blossom to get some form of a grip of her self, although she was still mad. "Alright Bubbles!" she roared with anger. "This ends here! You may think your winning this battle but that's only because you're too fast for me to hit…" She leant backwards to force a curve in her spine, clicking a few vertebrates back into place. "But I assure you," she continued sinisterly, "you won't be dogging this next attack!"