Wow! *is blown away by the pure awesomeness of reviewers* Thanks so much you guys!
Sorry this update is late again, but I went on yet another camping trip. Yay Disneyland/San Diego!
Resolutely, Bubbles bit the inside of her lip, turned and walked calmly away from her sisters.
I will not cry. No, I will not. It's not like I'm never going to see them again…I'll see them soon. Right now, I'm going to go have a look at New York, dig up this horrible murderer, fight him, win, and throw him in jail. Exactly. Then, everyone will all get back together and celebrate. Maybe even the ruffs will turn out to not be so bad after all.
Bubbles continued her brave internal thoughts, willing herself not to cry in front of Agent Daves and Boomer. And besides, her inner monologue was correct, if all went as planned.
Ok, so maybe Bubbles knew it would take a little longer than she made it sound, and perhaps celebrating with Sherry and the agents was a little far fetched, and if memory served, the ruffs weren't the most pleasant people to spend time with, but other than that, there was no doubt in her mind that after a few weeks, she and her sisters would be together again.
The trio walked to the train station, where Daves abandoned them with a brief 'good luck.' Wordlessly, Boomer pulled out his train pass thingy-ma-hooey and gave her an expectant glance. Bubbles reached into her pocket and pulled out her own, before following the other blond through the turnstiles.
On the other side, and out of the swarms of people squeezing through, they paused, slipped their passes back into place, exchanged a glance, and swiftly glided through the crowds, finally stopping on a platform with a sign decreeing the next train was headed for New York.
Awkwardly, they faced each other, no longer having something to do to avoid contact.
"So…" murmured Boomer, switching his dark blue gaze from her face to the wall of the station and shoving his hands deep into his jean pockets, insecurity scrawled across his face.
Bubbles bit her lip and also glanced away, before returning her eyes to Boomer.
What was she supposed to do? Make small talk?
So, Boomer, how have you been?
Long time, no see, eh?
Working for the CIA been fun?
'Sup?
Seriously, there has to be something I can say! Maybe we can talk about the murderer? Too many people around…gr, I hate situations like this!
She shifted her weight to the other foot. He adjusted his pack. She watched a screaming child get dragged around by its tired mother. He pretended to be fascinated by piece of graffiti. Together they watched a train pull up on the other side of the station, heading south.
Bubbles swallowed, willing the train to please please get here and relive the tension. But, alas, the train didn't appear. Instead they continued to stand there, along with a couple dozen other people waiting on the platform.
The minutes ticked by. Bubbles's hands found their way behind her back, anxiously fidgeting and twiddling, and nervous habit of hers she had been trying to break. She yanked them away, instead grabbed the straps of her pack, letting out a small sigh of impatience and stress.
Finally, at long last, a faint screech echoed through the tunnel. Simultaneously, the Blues perked up and craned their heads around to try to see the oncoming train. Sure enough, after a couple seconds, the sound repeated, louder this time, and a pair of lights emerged out of the gloom, before the train followed. It braked and the doors creaked into their sockets, allowing Bubbles, Boomer, and everyone else who was waiting to cram in to mingle with the throng of people rushing to escape the loud hunk of metal.
With a clang, the doors slammed back together and the train jolted to life, moaning out of the station. Bubbles surveyed the seating as they clanked away. This compartment was packed, most people preferring to stand then to squeeze next to their fellow humanity, although a few individual seats were available.
Boomer caught her eye and shrugged, discreetly gesturing to the scattered empty chairs. Bubbles also shrugged and flicked her gaze to the poles. The blue ruff gave a slight nod, grabbing onto the sliver bar. Bubbles did the same, before the 'partners' again chose to avoid contact.
Clack clack clack clack clack clack…
The monotonous sound of the train bouncing on the rails at high speed consumed her mind and Bubbles retreated into inner dialogue once more.
I wonder what Blossom and Buttercup are doing…
A swift glance at her watch told her them time was 8:36.
Well, Buttercup and Butch should be on their flight. Heh, I pity the rest of the people on the plane with them…I wonder who's dead yet…
What are Blossom and Brick doing? They have a long wait until their plane takes off, like, two and a half hours…at least they won't kill each other, they'll just glare, size each other up, and just be plain distrustful…
Speaking of those two, what did Sherry want with them when she dragged them aside? She gave them extra boxes, what could those be? Weapons, perhaps? Nah, that doesn't make sense. And Brick looked angrier…than usual. Hm, what was so special she couldn't say it in front of us?
The train gave an extra lurch, which snapped Bubbles out of her thoughts. She readjusted her grip and flung a glance at Boomer, who was looking out the window at the tunnel wall speeding by.
Feeling eyes on him, Boomer turned to see Bubbles, who cocked her head slightly to the side, evenly returning his look, before sweeping her eyes out across the mob of smelly train people.
He returned to watching the brick wall rushing by in a blur of red. Brick wall. That made him think of Brick.
Man, I hope Sherry didn't pull him aside to tell him to visit his 'family. He hates doing that, why do they keep sending him? We were already suspicious when they sent him and Blossom to Europe. I bet she did.
Poor Brick, he's dreading it. Poor Blossom, never thought I'd say it, but I pity her. She'll probably go with him, heh, won't she have a blast. She's never even gotten her hands dirty, now she'll be thrown head-long with Brickster. Ah, well, I can't help that, not my choice.
Besides, they are not the only ones with problems. Butch and Buttercup have a nice, twelve hour flight to tick them off, then they'll land in – wait, what country were they landing in? Whatever, they'll land and want to crash, but it will be daytime, so they'll have to stay awake to adjust to the time zone. All that equals two really short tempered and pissed of Greens ready to rip each others throats out. Lovely.
Boomer shook his head, grinning slightly at the vivid mental image of grumpy Butch and Buttercup, two lighted time bombs, waiting to set each other off.
As a matter of fact, that was a really good way to describe them. Hm.
Just then, the train popped out of the dim tunnel and into the bright, cheery, and intrusive sunshine. Boomer blinked, eyes squinting in the suddenness of the change of light, startled by the appearance by trees.
Well, look at that. We're already out of D.C.
I know, I know, this isn't a very long or exciting update, but I have to get everyone to their places before the crime fighting begins. Only one more chapter like this to go!
So. 19 days. 'Til I leave. *gulps*
Just warning you…
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