Hey hey hey!
Oh my gosh, all the reviews were amazing! Thanks a bunch, you guys; you're the reason I continue writing! :)
(In response to "person" 's anonymous review – Thanks so much! :) And, I'll do my best to answer your questions without giving away any spoilers… ~ Yeppers, Brick is in both the CIA and the Mafia, but as the CIA is sending him to meet with the Mafia, they obviously know about this. Whether he is good or not (and which he is more loyal to) is really gonna have to be your personal opinion until proven in the story :P. ~ Heh, how did I come up with that scene? *sheepish look* Well, I know my villain and his techniques, so I just worked from there really. As stated in earlier chapters, he kills with fear…and anything I tell you would be a big spoiler, so you'll just have to wait! ~ Good question! I guess she just didn't consider them that important, or suspicious enough. *shrugs* - Anywho, thanks again for reviewing!)
Oh, and just wanted to remind you, each POV of each puff/ruff have their own opinions…and biases. Just keep that in mind while reading.
"ARGH! This is all your fault! You're impossible!"
"Me?"
The weary Greens were slumped on an abandoned bus stop bench just on the outskirts of Beijing. They had arrived there this morning by plane and promptly set out to locate one of Butch's old agent friends, who was stationed here in China. But they quickly discovered, despite Butch's fluency in Japanese (which, although she would never admit it to him, Buttercup was impressed with) he was seriously lacking in the Mandarin department. Their day in a nut shell, they had fruitlessly wandered the city, Buttercup had been pick pocketed, Butch had gotten them lost on the wrong bus, and now they were exhausted and annoyed, the sun was setting, and the old ladies they had just asked for directions had spat on them.
"This is not all my fault!" snapped Butch irritably, slouching even lower onto the graffitied, rotting bench, glaring at the children across the street who were chasing chickens back into their pen.
"Then whose is it? 'Cause it's certainly not mine! I voted we went onto the other bus line, but NOO you just KNEW whatever the hell that random prostitute babbled!" Buttercup threw her arms into the air, beyond frustrated with the entire situation, "And NOW look where we are!"
The young children stopped their giggling chase and stared curiously at the screaming Buttercup. She made a nasty face at them and they ran shrieking inside their family's apartment. Butch rolled his eyes.
"And, I'm supposed to be the impossible one…" Butch groaned and shook his head, tilting his face up to the sky, watching the growing dusk.
Buttercup growled, folded her arms across her chest, and turned her back on him.
But, if she was to be completely honest with herself, Butch's lack of suitable companionship or ability to navigate Beijing wasn't the only reason she was so put out. Oh yes, that was certainly one of the bigger factors in her bad mood.
But she was also homesick. They had received notice of Blossom and Brick's discovery of a body and the following chase this morning from Sherry, and ever since, Buttercup had been in an even more foul mood. She was jealous that they had seen the first real action, and the thought of her 'older' sister, running after the bad guy, long red hair flying behind her, determination etched on her face, brought back bittersweet memories of their childhood, of the days when they were still the Powerpuffs…still keeping Townsville safe, beating up the countless villains that plagued their little city…
Speaking of villains…or, now she might grudgingly have to admit, ex villains…
Buttercup shot her counterpart a sidelong glance, her mouth twisted into a scowl. His large emerald eyes gazed unseeingly into the pink-gray sky, spiked hair brushed against the back of the bench, mouth a gentle line, arms spread on the rim of the bench behind him, backpack flopped dejectedly beside him. Physically, he had changed over the years, and yet…so not. She could still clearly see that battle-anxious little brat of a super powered boy taunting her, driving her to the brink of insanity…
No, in that regard, not much had changed.
"So what do we do now?" she spluttered, waving her arms spastically again.
Butch rolled his head lazily to the side, his deep green eyes gazing peacefully at her, no expression on his blank face. He merely contemplated her like a bored angel.
And then he shrugged nonchalantly.
Buttercup grit her teeth.
"Excuse me?"
He sighed and sat up, rubbing and hand across his face.
"Look, I don't know…I'm tired, you're obviously tired – "
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know where we are, I don't know how to contact my friend – "
"Apparently!"
"So, we're just gonna wait here for the next bus."
"What, and just hope it's the right one?"
"You have a better idea?"
Buttercup paused, not sure, but her blood was boiling, and she didn't want to spend another minute staring at his apathetic, egotistical, self-assured mug. The past few days had been full of bickering, endless squabbles, dead ends, no clues…
She wanted a lead in the case. A battle. A real villain to face.
ANYTHING but constant quarreling with her infuriating counterpart. Over the past three days, she had reached the end of her rope and was now itching for a fight. Only fitting it should be with him, the first and only being who could single handedly give her a beating…and she despised that. And him. And these last three days of hell with him.
And she was soo done with it.
"That doesn't count as an idea! We're going in CIRCLES! I am fucking done with following you around, relying on you and your arrogance for everything. I'm so done!"
She jumped up from her spot on the bench and glowered dangerously down at him. Passively he gazed up at her, obviously not giving a crap. This just drove her over the edge. Her mind went fuzzy, every nerve in her body screamed to attack, to shred, to rip, to wipe that…him…off the face of the earth! Despite countless warnings to remain under cover, chemical X roared through her veins and her hands began to glow a faint green.
Butch mutely glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, looked to her trembling hands, and sat up, scowling darkly.
"Hey, idiot, the words 'low profile' mean anything to you?"
"I. Am. Not. An. IDIOT!"
"Well you sure act like it! I swear to God, you are the most immature, self absorbed – "
"AM NOT!"
"Well you ain't giving me any proof against it!"
Buttercup flexed her fingers, and willed the glow to die. Butch was also now on his toes, in an intense face off. She closed her eyes, clenched her jaw, and pictured the people she actually cared about. Her sisters, the Professor, her skating buddies, her friends on the soccer team, her best friend Mitch Michelson…
For them, stay calm for them…
She reopened her eyes with cold, dead detestation for Butch burning in the pit of her stomach. Less aggressive passion, but still very much alive.
"Let's just get this over with," she snapped flatly.
Butch narrowed his eyes, freshly awoken hate now clear on his face.
"You always were too proud…" he snarled through grit teeth.
The anger flared up in her veins and a vivid mental image of her own hand smacking him to Kingdom Come flashed across her vision.
Instead, she turned and sat back on the bench, staring frigidly in the opposite direction. Butch remained standing, fists clenched and brows drawn together. Just then, a crickity, smog-choking, old bus rounded the corner and lurched to a halt in front of them. The driver opened its door for them and Butch began to ascend the stairs. When Buttercup made no move to follow, he turned around and glared.
"Get on. Now."
Buttercup snapped her head around to glower at him, the urge to pick a fight surfacing yet again.
"You know, for a government agent, a supposed defender of the American way and solider for justice and all that, you sure don't have any manners."
"Way to scream that to the world."
"Yep, no manners."
"What, do you want me to bow and say pretty please, Miss Princess?"
By now the driver was glaring irritably at them and waving his hand for them to both pay and get on, but neither paid him any attention.
"Just a 'please' would be nice, for once."
"Fine. Would you pleaseshut the fuck up and get on the damn bus?"
And, there it was.
The final proverbial straw.
Boom.
With that, Buttercup stood up, slung her pack to the ground, raised her fist and bashed her watch with all her might, green glow of power and all. There was a bright flash of lime green, the shattering sound of metal, and she was rid of the horrible tracking device which marked her as bound to this mission, to him, and the responsibility to stay.
Butch stared wide-eyed at her, while the driver cowered backwards into his seat and the few passengers shrieked.
"What? You surprised? Well, don't be, I've had ENOUGH and you should've seen it coming!" Buttercup ranted, casting the last remains of her watch onto the sidewalk, scooping up her pack and rushing down the street, not bothering to cast Butch a backwards glance, but his voice followed her.
"SO THAT'S IT, HUH? WELL, GOOD RIDANCE! AND GOOD LUCK ON YOUR OWN!"
For a second, Buttercup hesitated, one foot in the air.
This isn't my style…running away from a fight.
But working with Butch wasn't her style either. And, although she refused to cooperate with him, she couldn't deny that he and the others had a mission of great importance to complete. The CIA still needed him, in one piece, with his alibi as a human in tact. If she egged him into a fight, or attacked him, that'd be it: they would both be shipped back to the U.S.
So, she stomped her foot back down with bitter determination and took off at a full sprint, leaving Butch and the bus stop in the distance. Blindly, she whizzed around several corners, desperate to remain hidden to him. As the fire of adrenaline and chemical X cooled in her veins, her breath became ragged and short, and she was thoroughly lost in the maze of Beijing suburbs, she slowed to a despondent walk. A few locals gave her odd looks, but quickly resumed their day-to-day lives, not casting her forlorn figure a second glance.
While she puttered aimlessly in the general direction of downtown Beijing, Buttercup had plenty time to reflect and consider. She came to two noteworthy conclusions:
She had just committed a rash, stupid, and un-premeditated action which was probably causing Butch a good deal of trouble right now. Not that he didn't deserve it. But Buttercup was willing to bet anything that the watches had GPS tracking devices. In her mind, she could clearly visualize Sherry and countless faceless government agents laboring over a digital world map, and having a spaz attack as her little lime green blip suddenly vanished. She smirked at the idea of frustrated Butch being spammed with HQ's demands as to why she had supposedly been wiped off the face of the earth.
As satisfying as these thoughts were, they did not better her situation. She had no money of any kind, no way of contacting anyone back home, she didn't speak the language, she was utterly lost, and the sky was getting blacker and blacker by the second. Wandering the streets of Beijing all night long was becoming a more and more dangerously looming reality.
It was now very dark. Buttercup no longer had a watch, but she knew that it was really late. Not that it would have helped her tell what time it was, but she couldn't even see the stars because of all the lights of the city. The streets were barren of anyone, and a few of the streetlights kept sputtering. The whole atmosphere was a little eerie.
Finally, as ironic as it may be, she settled down on another bus stop bench, this time with no money to pay for passage. Buttercup had never been the pitying type, (that was Bubble's department) but at this moment, she began to understand how lonely and dejected homeless people must feel as they settle down for the night. Grimly, she wrapped her arms around herself and hunkered down to wrack her brain for any other options.
Just as she was about to maybe, even, perhaps, possibly start regretting her decision to ditch Butch, a small voice interrupted her.
"Excuse me, Lady, but why are you sitting there?"
Buttercup jerked her head up to see a small Chinese boy, no older than a year and a half, gaping innocently up at her with enormous, adorable black eyes full of wonder. Buttercup's jaw dropped a little.
"Uh, you speak English?" she spluttered in surprise. "And where are your parents?" she questioned, looking up and down the empty road. Not a single living thing stirred in either direction. Buttercup sat up and looked at the child more directly. The tiny thing gave a small giggle.
"Yes, silly lady, I speak English. And, don't worry about my parents…" the boy trailed off peculiarly and gave her a lopsided grin. Buttercup continued to eye him with growing suspicion.
"So, um, what's your name, Kid?"
"I'm Lee. But, you still haven't answered my question, Buttercup, why are you here?"
"Whoa, whoa, wait, how did you know my real name?" she stammered, now completely alarmed. She and Butch had been passing off as twins, taking advantage of their remarkable physical likenesses, and their names had changed with each new location.
"Questions, questions, BC, you have so many, yet you still haven't answered my one and only. Why are you here?"
His lopsided grin disappeared, replaced with a look of intensity and manipulation belonging to a much older person. Buttercup stood up now, grabbing her backpack, completely freaked out. She knew that if it came down to a fight, he would be no competition, but this tiny human was scaring her on another level – how did he know all this?
"Ok, ok, Lee, um, I'm here because I'm waiting for my twin."
Lee smiled again, but not the cute, crooked grin of an innocent toddler. He sneered up at her and laughed an ice cold chuckle.
"Oh ho, ho, your twin," he leered mockingly, a disturbing combination with his young squeaky baby voice, "Come now Buttercup, let's not lie to each other. You and Butch never were the best of friends, hmm?"
"Okay, okay, Lee. How 'bout you go run along home and forget everything or I'll tell your mommy and hopeful she can transform you back into an cute normal little toddler who isn't freaking me out, m'k?"
"My mommy? Really? A little respect, Buttercup. No one gets anywhere in this life without some ass kissing. So, tell me, are you starting to reconsider your bold decision to part ways with your counterpart and partner? Because, I got a secret to spill: he is worried for you. Now isn't that sweet?"
There was no mistaking the malevolence in the Lee's round face. Buttercup shouldered her pack and stared fearfully down at the unnerving creature, who she was considering less and less human as the seconds passed on.
"You know what, Lee; I'm outta here. So, yeah, bye, and I've never said this to a kid before, if you even are a kid, I'm not sure, but I hope you drown or something in the near future."
"Now, that – was just plain mean. Geez, even I wouldn't expect something that cruel to come out of a Powerpuff's mouth, even considering it is you."
Buttercup turned on her heel and began walking away as calmly as she could, resisting the urge to break away in a sprint.
"Okkkaaaayyyy, yeah…not talking to you anymore, bye."
As she reached the end of the block, she dared to take a quick peek over her shoulder. Lee was standing motionless where she left him with an absolutely terrified expression. She stumbled in step and turned to look back, unable to ignore how small and defenseless he looked. But as soon as she had come to a full stop, he lit up with a grin so sadistic and evil, Buttercup didn't know how his baby face could form it.
"Bye bye for now, Buttercup, but we'll meet again," he called after her in the voice of a full grown man, before spinning around and stumbling away as fast as his chubby little legs could take him. He turned a corner and was lost to sight.
Buttercup was frozen in place, watching him go, but as soon as he disappeared from view, she snapped out of her trance and chased after him.
"Wait, get back here! What are – "
She zipped around the bend and once again came to a stand-still. A couple of loose flyers, fluttered in the night breeze. The deathly silence of the deserted, dead ended alley hit her like a brick wall.
"…you?" she whispered, an ominous feeling of dread creeping upon her.
After examining the area, finding no escape routes possible to a normal kid (emphasis on "normal"), the green puff began walking urgently and with purpose towards the ever-lighted downtown of Beijing sparkling on the horizon. But now, she had a new goal in mind: relocate Butch and warn HQ, because something was going on.
Butch groaned inwardly as Buttercup took off down the street. Still burning with fury, he jumped back to the sidewalk and waved the bus on. The frightened driver didn't need to be told twice before he slammed his doors shut and screeched away.
Butch dropped his bag to the ground and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"SO THAT'S IT, HUH? WELL, GOOD RIDANCE! AND GOOD LUCK ON YOUR OWN!"
As he suspected, Buttercup faltered at such an open invitation for a fight. Butch cracked his knuckles eagerly, positive she would turn around and come racing back, screaming foul names at him. He tensed, ready for a fight. Out of everyone he had ever fought, none so evenly matched him as Buttercup. Even nine years later, he could still remember the rush of a full on, rage driven, head to head brawl with his counterpart. A predatory grin slid onto his face in anticipation.
Despite his livid and battle-hungry state, a faint, sane voice echoed in his head.
Not here, not now…you'll blow your cover. Innocent civilians could get hurt…focus on the mission…
Impatiently, he pushed the voice away, his eyes never leaving Buttercup's back. Then, she stomped her foot back down and zipped away, turned a corner, and vanished. Butch's jaw dropped a little.
Really, Buttercup? Wow, that was weird…eh, all for the better, she was a pain in the ass, and maybe I'll finally get some work done with her whining.
Still fuming with rage against the puff, he snatched up his bag and re-flopped back onto the bench, folding his arms tightly across his chest, when finally, the enormity of her departure struck him.
She was gone. His partner, a guest agent, had ditched him. That had to break, like, every rule in the handbook. They had no rendezvous point, no reason to spilt…no way to reconnect. Not that he wanted to find her, but technically it was true. Her watch was in pieces around his feet.
Stupid, stupid, stupid Buttercup…oh shit, Buttercup! What the hell? Argh, you are so frickin' kidding me!
Just at that moment, his watch began to vibrate. Butch rolled his eyes, pressed the button, quietly stated his full name, and glared as Sherry appeared on the screen.
"Hey," he snapped grumpily.
"Agent Butch, what has happened? Where is Buttercup?" Sherry growled, leaning into the camera so close that Butch could see up her nose.
Butch sighed in exasperation.
"She ran away."
A second of silence.
"What? Why? Why didn't you stop her? What happened to her watch?" she spluttered.
He grit his teeth and resigned himself to the conversation.
"We've been wandering Beijing, she got frustrated, we argued, she refused to cooperate, smashed her watch in, and took off."
Another second of silence. Butch rolled his green eyes up to the now black sky and waited for the explosion. And, within a moment he received it.
Bingo.
"WHAT? Didn't you realize that it is your responsibility to stay together? Now she could be anywhere in the city! A loose end with too much information for her own good! Did you even pause to consider that she might be captured and tortured for said information?"
Butch kept his eyes on the sky in a bored manner throughout the rant, although this new suggestion (which he had not, in fact, considered) pricked at his conscience. But, not that he was going to show it.
"Yeah, yeah, like I could have stopped her without revealing my powers. And she's a big girl; she made her choice. Let's not cry over spilt milk, ok?"
"Agent Butch," murmured Sherry in a dangerous voice, "you are to go out there right now, find her, and call me when you do. Do. You. Understand?"
Butch turned his gaze back to the watch screen, and sighed.
"How am I supposed to find her?"
Sherry gave him a dark, don't-cross-me-now glare.
"Yeah, yeah…" he grumbled.
"10-4."
"Roger."
Sherry's scowl disappeared behind the digital numbers of the watch. It was 8:01. The street lights flickered and glowed a bleak yellow, faintly illuminating the shadowy street. Butch groaned, ran a hand through his short, spiked hair, slung his pack over his shoulder, and trudged off in the direction Buttercup had fled to.
In a city crammed full of 19.6 million people, how on earth was he supposed to find a single one who was desperate to avoid him? His task was bleak and virtually impossible. How many days, even weeks, would he be forced to scour Beijing for her?
Okay, okay, let's be positive here…try to predict what she would do…argh, but when I did that before, she didn't come to the fight, she just left! But it's still the best I can do…think, think, we're counterparts, that has to count for something. What does she have with her? A backpack, a change of clothes…but no money. No language…
Guilt and concern were not emotions Butch was used to or comfortable with. But now, as his fury slowly began to ebb, he was forced to deal with them. Buttercup was certainly not in a good situation, most probably very lost. At night. Alone. In some slum of Beijing.
For at least the fourth time, he groaned resentfully. She wasn't even with him and she was still a pain in the ass…
Two hours passed. Butch could see his breath. Having escaped the relatively silent suburban area they had parted in, he was surrounding by honking cars, flashy neon signs, and the loud chatter of the Chinese people. But still, no sign of Buttercup.
Finally, at 1:00 am, as he passed a motel, Butch was ready to throw the towel in and start again in the morning, but before he had fully yanked the door open, his conscience started nagging at him. Buttercup was still out there, alone, no money for her own room…
ARGH! GOD DAMN IT, BUTTERCUP!
Furious at her, and himself for actually caring, Butch stormed down the street, pushing roughly past stumbling drunkard. The confused man fell roughly to the sidewalk with a grunt, before shouting back at Butch.
Now, Butch had never claimed to be completely fluent in Mandarin, but it was similar enough to Japanese that he could understand quite clearly when someone swore at him. He rounded on the dirty-mouthed scoundrel and grabbed him by his shirt collar, holding him off the ground with one arm.
"什么 * ?" he growled fiercely, unable to form a more threatening sentence with his limited vocabulary. [* "What?" ]
"近义词 美洲人 **…" slurred the man, blinking blearily into Butch's angry face, and swinging his legs pathetically above the sidewalk, trying to reach back to earth. [** "Ugly (bad-tempered) American" ]
Butch rolled his eyes and was about to throw him back down when he continued mumbling.
"你看起来像意指别的女子 *** …" The dismal man writhed in Butch's grasp now, clawing in a disoriented fashion at the ruff's hand on his shirt front. [ *** "You look like the other mean girl…" ]
Butch's eyes widened and he shook the man slightly, a surge of hope leaping up in him.
"地点女子 **** ?" he stumbled over his words and the accent, but snarled them angrily to make sure the half-conscious man understood he meant business. [ **** "Where girl?" ]
But instead of responding, the intoxicated fool began to snicker and hiccup, showing off a display of rotted teeth.
"Aheeheehee, Aheehee, heh," he wheezed, blasting Butch with his dry, alcohol-filled breath.
Butch dropped him in disgust and anger. He glared down at the crumpled mess, still chuckling.
"I…I…I do not know…" he rasped, still drunkenly sniggering, until something choked him and his hoots morphed into strangled coughs. "She not like me too, ahuemp, arhumph."
Butch bit the inside of his cheek, and turned from the shuddering waste of a human. He looked up and down the traffic-filled, noisy street. Buttercup was no where to be seen.
"When?" he snapped.
The miserable wretch struggled to his feet a pointed a shaking finger at Butch, a crazed smile plastered on his dirty face.
"Uh...uh…three, zero…minute!" he stuttered proudly
"Thirty minutes," muttered Butch looking back up and down the street. "Okay, um thanks." Like this man was in any state to be judging time…Buttercup could be long gone…or perhaps, just perhaps, he would get lucky.
Of course he didn't.
Dawn came and went, and Butch was still on the streets. A very cranky, exhausted, starving, desperate Butch. Butch who hadn't slept in thirty five hours. Butch who was seriously ticked off at his elusive quarry.
His soul consolation was that she most assuredly did not pass a more comfortable night than him. She too was somewhere, freezing cold, worn out…
Gotta stop thinking like that…can't be rightly furious at her if I…urgh, hate to say it, but…I'm worried about her…She's just so clueless, how can she be ok; how is she handling this?
His stomach growled disturbingly loud and he wavered in front of a Starbucks.
Coffeeeeeeeee…mmmmm
Giving in to temptation, Butch eagerly hurried into the warm interior. Impatiently, he waited in line, his gaze roving over the sweet-smelling room, filled with people enjoying an early morning, caffeinated drink before a long day at work. In his distracted, fatigued state, Butch was taken completely by surprise by a light tap on his shoulder. He jumped a few inches into the air and whirled around on a tall, middle-aged and elegant-looking Latin American man. Butch stared wide-eyed at the man for a second, trapped like a deer in head lights, while the other's mouth slowly stretched into an amused smile.
"Well, well, if dis isn't lucky, I dun't know whad is," murmured the man softly in a thick accent.
Butch slowly broke into a wide grin, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Oh my God, Adriano , you have NO idea how great it is to see you right now!" chuckled Butch in weak relief, thrilled to have found his old agent friend whom they had been fruitlessly searching for all of yesterday.
Adriano smiled pleasantly and put a hand on the younger male's shoulder.
"No, no, I dink I do know. I imagine you must be in great distress."
Butch's smile wavered and his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
"How do you figure that?"
"Your friend has explained da whole siduation to me."
"My friend? Huh?"
But Adriano shook his head and removed his hand from the green ruff's shoulder.
"Come, wid me. I will explain all."
Coffee-less and confused Butch followed the other agent out of the Starbucks and down the street. As they mingled with the crowd, Adriano began leading him on a very specific route.
"If I assume correctly, you are searching for a certain someone, no?"
"Yes, but how do you know – "
"Because she is looking for you too. I found her late last nighd. It took me a while to convince her dat I was who I said I was," Adriano spoke quickly, winding through the crowds with ease.
"Wha? How did you know she was with me?" stuttered Butch, taken aback.
Adriano chuckled melodically.
"My dear Butch, she is, how do you say it in da Americas? Da spidding image of you?"
"Spidding image of – oh, the spitting image of me!"
"Yes, yes, of course. And once I approached her," Adriano laughed quietly again, "her fiery temper and sharp tongue quickly assured me beyond a doubt, she was da one you told me about a few years ago when we first met – your counterpart, mm?"
Butch's mouth dropped a little.
"So…you are telling me you randomly found Buttercup, knew her on sight, and convinced her that you were with me?"
Adriano threw him a playful smile over his shoulder and gave a short nod.
"Where is she?" he exclaimed, now doubly thankful to have run into Adriano.
And, now that he knew Buttercup was safe and in good hands with Adriano, he was ready to irately confront her for the headache she had caused him. He cracked in his knuckles in anticipation, but even his frustration at the puff for this nightmare, he couldn't ignore the watery feeling of immense relief in the pit of his stomach.
"Az soon az I realized who she waz, I of course offered her to rest ad my place, but," the Latino man gave a small wry smile, "I dun't believe she trusted me. She refused to give up looking for you. I provided her wid a cellular phone and my number, so we can call her now and she will meet us back ad my apartment."
Butch couldn't keep the smug little smile from his face.
"She wouldn't stop looking for me, eh? Heh, she missed me that much?"
Adriano chuckled yet again.
"Az you Americans so aptly say 'dream on.' She said she had very important information for a mission dat she would only give to you."
Butch remained silent for a minute, as he and Adriano swerved off the main road onto a smaller side street packed full of apartments.
"Here," stated Adriano simply as he unlocked the front door to a small lobby, which consisted merely of a flight of winding stairs. Butch followed him up four flights until they reached the very end of the staircase.
After fumbling with the keys for a second, the ruff's host let them into a tiny living space. Exhausted, Butch threw himself face first onto the miniature couch, his long legs dangling over the edge.
"I will call her now," said the other with a grin, and moved into the kitchen space and started punching numbers into a landline phone.
"Nnnnuuuuhhhhh….thanks a million, Adriano…." mumbled Butch from his stifled position.
"Anytime. I can never repay da debt I owe you for my life," said the older agent seriously.
Butch waved his hand in his general direction.
"Would you just shut up 'bout that already? We're more than even."
Adriano smiled ruefully at the face-down teenager, holding the phone up to his thin face.
"Never, Butch," he then turned his attention to the phone in his hand, "Ah, yes, Buttercup? I have found him; we are ad my apartment. You remember where it is? Ah, ok, good, good. See you soon."
He hung up, walked over, and gave the still collapsed ruff a friendly slap on the back. Butch groaned resentfully and rolled over.
"She'll be here in den minutes."
"Den, den, den…" mimicked Butch, yawning and rubbing his hand over his face.
"Yah, yah, let's see you speak Spanish. Or Mandarin."
"Japanese?"
"Still got you beat by one."
Butch stared at the ceiling, contemplating.
"I got laser eyes."
"Let's not even go dere."
Butch grinned in amusement, until Adriano hit him in the face with a bag of chips.
"Thanks, man," he said before speedily ripping open the defenseless bag and gobbling down the entire contents. Just as he was licking the last bits of salt off his fingers, there was a few loud knocks on the door. Adriano quickly moved to open it and Butch looked up from his 'meal.'
The Latin American agent opened the door and stepped aside, leaving Butch in Buttercup's line of sight. Butch stared at her from his completely reclined position on the couch, eyes wide, his index finger still in his mouth. Buttercup returned the stare. She looked…just like he felt. Beat up, worn out, weak from hunger and dehydration, dark circles under her eyes, and her black hair rumpled. Her iridescent lime eyes remained silently locked with his own deep forest-green orbs for a few second before they both sprang to life in the same instant.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"
They both bellowed in unison. Buttercup stormed into the apartment, slung her bag to the side as she ranted, but Butch couldn't hear what she was saying because he had sprung up from the couch and was shouting at the same time. The two reunited Greens stood nose-to-nose, turning red in the face from screaming.
"I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!"
" – YOU PIG-HEADED JERK, LISTEN TO WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY!"
" – NO IDEA HOW MAD SHERRY IS, WHAT POSSESED YOU TO EVEN CONSIDER SMASHING YOUR – "
"AND OH MY GOD, ALL NIGHT LONG, FREEZING COLD, LOOKING FOR THAT FREAKY KID AND – "
CLANG.
Both stopped abruptly at the loud noise next to their ears. Shocked, they turned their heads to see Adriano wielding a pot and a spoon, still vibrating from the tremendous whack he had given them.
The puff and the ruff blinked a few times before sheepishly turning to face their cringing friend.
"Uh, sorry…Adriano, I mean, not you," grumbled Butch, throwing Buttercup a dirty look.
Buttercup rolled her eyes in disgust at him and blew some breath out of her nose.
"Yeah, sorry…I guess we got…carried away…"
Adriano shook his head knowingly.
"It is all right. I guess dis is whad happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object."
The Greens swapped a quick, awkward look, and shuffled back a step or two.
"So, let's get dis straight. Butch, is dere something you would like to say nicely to Buddercup?" asked Adriano, folding his arms across his chest and arching an eyebrow.
Butch twitched his mouth disdainfully, but with a sigh, turned again to face Buttercup who was glaring defensively at no one in particular. For Adriano's sake, Butch took a deep breath, calmed himself, and lowered his voice.
"Okay. Buttercup, what the hell were you thinking?" said Butch in a dry monotone, but his words alone were more than enough to convey his real attitude towards her.
"I was pissed, sick and tired of you, and, really, if it wasn't for a piece of information important enough to the mission that I will disregard our personal spat to come give it to you and Sherry, I would be halfway back home by now," she replied in an equally fake passive tone.
"All right, I'm sure Sherry would love to hear this oh-so important news, because she sent me out on a wild goose chase for you and now we have to call her to let her know you're okay."
"Fine."
Adriano let out a breath of satisfaction and went to the kitchen to put away his cooking utensils. Butch help up his wrist and Buttercup moved to look over his shoulder, watching him push the few buttons.
"Butch Strogoy Jojo," he stated in a bored voice.
"Second face detected – name?"
Butch looked expectantly to Buttercup. She put a hand on his left shoulder and pushed down to get a clearer view.
"Buttercup Utonium."
Butch shook her hand roughly from his shoulder and Buttercup blew a raspberry in his ear.
"Ugh," he snapped, rubbing his ear on his shoulder.
Adriano smirked.
"I will make something for us to eat," he called from the kitchen.
As if on cue, the Greens' stomachs rumbled loudly together. He chuckled and set about with some pans. The tiny screen of the watch flickered.
"Please wait, connecting…"
Sherry's face came into focus.
"Got her," said Butch briefly and irritably while Buttercup scowled.
"And I got news," the puff snapped.
"All right then, spit it out. And, you better have a damn good reason to have abandoned the mission and smashed your watch in!"
Buttercup glared, but not strongly enough to hide her ever so slight fear of the angry woman on the other end. The corner of Butch's mouth twitched upward in amusement and self righteousness.
Time to face your own, sweet music, BC…
"Okay, okay…I'm sorry for destroying my watch…and ditching Butch. It was irresponsible and reckless," said Buttercup sullenly. Butch titled his head briefly to look at her, a bit surprised to hear the proud and spunky girl apologize. If Buttercup noticed his side-long glance, she ignored it.
"But, it's almost a good thing that I did because I discovered something important because of what I did."
Butch half-rolled his eyes and refocused on the screen. Shoulda known better than to believe she actually meant it…
Before Sherry could interrupt her, Buttercup rushed on.
"So, while I was just wandering around, still blowing off steam from – "
At this moment, they both turned their heads, knowing the other was thinking of their aggressive goodbye, but finding their faces a little closer than expected. Butch shifted his weight to his other foot, and Buttercup cleared her throat.
"…from a disagreement. Um, I sat down on a bus station bench to think – "
Butch barely suppressed a snort of laughter at the irony of the situation. Buttercup discreetly kicked him in the back of the knee. He winced and made a sour face. Sherry either didn't notice or didn't care.
"…to think," repeated the green puff darkly, "and then, all of the sudden, this little boy, I mean, the kid couldn't have been older than two, appeared out of nowhere and started talking to me. It was really creepy. He was like a normal little toddler in the beginning, being all cute and dumb and stuff, but as he went on, it got weirder and weirder. He knew my name, my real name, before I said it. He knew I had separated with Butch, he knew his name too, he knew we weren't twins, and that we didn't get along…and the way he laughed…"
Buttercup shuddered. Butch was taken aback: as much as she irked him, he couldn't deny that she was one of the bravest people he knew.
"It wasn't normal at all…he said…he said Butch was worried about me and – "
Butch's eyebrows flew up and he gave the girl beside him an odd look.
WAS NOT!...well….erm, okay, maybe a little bit…but how would a kid…that doesn't make sense…?
"…and then I got freaked, and tried to leave, but when I looked over my shoulder, he looked so friggin' innocent and scared, I stopped again. He smiled really evilly and said, in an adult man's voice, that we'd meet again for sure. Then, he ran away and disappeared into a dead ended alley. There was absolutely no way any human could've gotten away in there. He just…vanished."
Silence filled the room. Even Adriano stopped bustling about his small kitchen to pause and stare speechlessly at Buttercup.
"Well, this is a development, indeed. Apparently, you agents are no longer secret to the enemy."
"Enemy?" spluttered Butch, "A psychotic little kid?"
"No normal kid," growled Buttercup menacingly.
"No, actually…I don't think this child is our killer…nor is the woman the Reds were chasing. Today, two more bodies were found…Blossom has identified one as the woman she saw in the hotel and later pointed out to Brick in Switzerland, one Hilary Gregory. Except the body of Mrs. Gregory was found in Berlin, time of death dated to about two days ago."
"Huh?" chorused the Greens.
"Didn't they chase her down last night?" questioned Butch.
"So they reported. And the second body becomes just as puzzling with Buttercup's report. This morning, we received word of the death of a very young Chinese toddler. His time of death – late afternoon, yesterday. His name was Lee Wan-Jing."
Buttercup's mouth hung open in pure shock. Butch faced her with mounting confusion and apprehension.
"Was his name – "
"Lee. He said it was Lee."
"…here's a photo of him, provided by his family, before his death."
The screen abruptly changed to a photo of a cute Asian child, with large black eyes and a lopsided grin. He had a mop of wispy black hair and was in the arms of a young and pretty woman, who Butch assumed to be the deceased child's mother. Looking at the happy kid, barely old enough to not be called a baby, Butch felt his heart squeeze in pain.
What sort of monster could kill an innocent child?
Buttercup bit her lip and turned abruptly away.
"That was the kid," she muttered through clenched teeth, eyes cast downward.
Thickly, Butch swallowed, rage building up inside. This villain had to be stopped. How many murders was this now? And how many more undiscovered corpses were there?
"But…he wasn't the same one I talked to. The…thing wasn't a kid. Wasn't normal. It was far too corrupt and evil."
"No, we know. They body of the child had been undisturbed for many hours before his parents found him. Can you remember when you spoke to…it?"
"Late last night. I…don't know what time it was. Midnight?" she guessed, slowly facing Sherry again.
"Ok. We're working on this day and night, so keep faith, ok? We'll get to the bottom of this."
For the first time, Butch realized how haggard Sherry looked. Bags under her eyes, lines of worry creased on her forehead, the coffee cup she sipped…she wasn't lying, HQ was working overtime, like them.
"Anything else?" asked Butch quietly.
"Not on this end. Where are you two now?"
"Agent Adriano Hasdeo's apartment, old squad-mate and friend of mine. He found Buttercup, then bumped into me, and brought us back together."
"Very well. Rest for a while. I'll call again as soon as we have anything new. 10-4."
"Roger," replied Buttercup.
It was now 7:45 A.M. Disheartened and confused, the two wandered over to the kitchen, where Adriano had two steaming bowls of micro-waved leftover white rice, and two sunny side up eggs each.
"Thanks," they murmured before gulping down the strange breakfast, but they were too hungry, too sleepy, too angry, too dispirited to care. Adriano sat down solemnly, put his elbows on the able and rested his chin on his hands. The meal was eaten rapidly and without conversation.
As Butch scraped the last bits of rice out of his bowl, Adriano broke the silence.
"Well, I insist you two sleep here for da day, at least, and den you can decide your next move," he glanced at his wrist watch, which Butch knew on sight to be a CIA device, "I am already late for work, so I must leave now. Buddercup can have my bed, and Butch seems to like my couch well enough."
Despite the situation, Butch couldn't help but crack a bit of a grin. That was one of Adriano's best qualities; like Boomer, he could make anybody feel better.
"I feel like I've been saying this a lot, but thanks," he said, standing up and putting his bowl and plate into the tiny sink. Buttercup followed in suit.
"Yeah, thanks, Adriano," she said, giving him a small smile. Butch paused to notice it. He rarely saw his tough and feisty counterpart sincerely smile. It made her look more…friendly.
Their host showed Buttercup his room, closed all of his shutters, darkening his miniature apartment into a fake night. Butch was already sprawled out on his couch again. Adriano threw a blanket over the ruff's head, picked up his keys, and left quietly.
Butch dragged the blanket off his face and rolled over with it. His legs dangled off the end of the small sofa, but he fell asleep within minutes, glad to be dead to the world, even for a few hours.
Wowzers! (yes, I really did just say that :P) Definitely my biggest chapter yet! And now we're getting to some serious action…
So, lots of emotions for the good ole' Greens...hate, frustration, betrayal, worry, concern, bonding, fear…What'd ya'll think? :) Love to know how you think all of this will affect their already strained relationship!
And for Lee... Personally, I was kinda creeped out while proofreading. I guess that's good; that's what I was trying really hard for with him. Also love to hear your interpretations on him! Is he a zombie, ghost…maybe possessed…what other guesses? The other woman, Hilary, who was dead in Berlin the whole time?
Teehee, with Adriano, I wasn't planning on making a big deal about him, but as I wrote him and Butch interacting…well, I thought their relationship was sorta sweet! It was hard figuring out how to write his accent, but I just had to think like Ricky Ricardo from "I Love Lucy." Anybody else know what I'm talking about? :P
IMPORTANT THING: Yeah, yeah, I have Chinese above, but don't get all impressed with my languages skills or anything! Honestly, I just used an online translator! I have no clue if what I have up there is correct or what… If any of my readers speak/write/understand, etc. Mandarin and know how to correct my surely flawed attempt above, that'd be awesome! =3
IMPORTANT THING NUMBA 2: Ok, I'm really starting to be ashamed of my title…I came up with "Rejected Retried, Return," in two minuetes at 1:00 A.M. last year, when I was exhausted and just wanted to get out a prologue…back then I wasn't even sure if I would get past chapter one, but now, I want to change it to something less cheesy…:S anybody have any suggestions? The help is greatly appreciated! :D
Phew, with the length of the chapters, my AN seems to grow too…anywho, thanks for reading! Please review! Peace out! :)