Cast the Darkest Shadow
Deus Ex Procella
Momoko growled and lay on her bed, her arms behind her head and her eyes fixed on the ceiling, locked in a fierce glare. Her mother had grounded her, though she couldn't see what the problem had been. Kakiko had gotten on Momoko's case about her bombing grades at school, and Momoko had kindly told her mother what she could do with her feelings. Honestly, it wasn't her mom's business! She was a super hero, not a scholar!
"They don't even want me to do that anymore…" Buttercup had forbidden Momoko from helping them, or she'd beat her up again. Momoko snarled and clenched her teeth harshly. She'd lost to Buttercup. That burned worse than anything else that had happened over the last week. She'd been humiliated, she'd lost her job as a super hero, and she hadn't even been invited to that stupid party! Now to top everything off, she had to admit that she couldn't beat Buttercup in a fight! She hadn't even been tired when the two had fought…Buttercup had been far more winded than Blossom had been.
"It's not right! It's not fair! I should be the best!" She moaned, putting her arm over her eyes. Momoko looked up angrily as a knock came at the door and it creaked open. Kuriko poked her head into the room, looking worriedly but flinching back when she caught her sister's glare.
"Um…Momoko?" Kuriko again flinched. Momoko's glare was absolutely painful to bear.
"What?" The sharp tone in Momoko's voice let Kuriko know readily that her sister was in a foul mood. Then again, she'd already known Momoko wouldn't be in a good mood, having spoken to their mom the way she had. But this just wasn't her sister; she'd never seen Momoko so utterly bitter.
"Uh…M-Mommy said that you could come down stairs and watch TV with me if you wanted." Momoko snorted and returned her glare to the ceiling. Kuriko was visibly hurt by this reaction; the girl across the room from her just couldn't be her sister, there was no way Momoko would blow her off like that.
"Get out of my room, brat," More proof that Momoko wasn't herself. Kuriko wanted to press the issue, but fear of alienating her sister further cut that intention off at the root. Kuriko nodded sadly and closed the door. Momoko listened carefully and when she could no longer hear Kuriko's footsteps she stood up and walked to her window. She grinned when she saw a friendly face staring back at her from the tree outside. Momoko pushed the window up and leaned over the sill, sneering at the little boy who had lowered himself fully into her vision.
"What are you doing in my tree, prick? Am I going to have to beat your ass?" Butch grinned back and waved at Momoko.
"Nice to see you too Ms. Momoko! I saw you got grounded, so I came to give you some company!" Momoko growled at Butch, leaning further out the window with her left eye twitching.
"You're still spying on me? I really am going to have to beat you, you snot-nosed little bastard!" Butch scratched his head and blushed, walking to the end of the branch he was standing on, sitting now just a foot away from Momoko.
"Sorry, Ms. Momoko, I just like to watch you! So if you can't leave your house today, I'll just sit here and keep you company!" Momoko sneered and rolled her eyes, already feeling restless and listless.
"I need some action…" A wicked grin slowly came to Momoko's lips and slyly she turned a leer on Butch, who flinched back, blushing darker red. "Hey Butch…would you happen to know where I could find some jackasses to beat on?" Butch thought for a moment, then grinned and leaned as close as he could to Momoko.
"Maybe…what's in it for me, Ms. Momoko," Momoko swung her legs over the windowsill and grabbed Butch's collar, pulling his face inches from hers. Butch's face heated up like a lamp, while his eyes shook awkwardly, staring into Momoko's dark glowing ones.
"You can come with me…you can consider it a little date. How bout it, prick?" Butch gulped nervously, grinning like a crazed idiot. His cheeks heated up more as he nervously licked his lips and became increasingly uncomfortable with the closeness between the two. He didn't understand why he was so uncomfortable…or sweaty but he knew it had to do with being close to Ms. Momoko.
"Uh…y-yeah, yeah I'll help you Ms. Momoko!" Momoko grinned and shoved Butch backward. She then stood up on the sill and with a confident jump cleared the distance to the limb. She held her hand out, causing her ring to appear and grinned at Butch, who grinned back goofily.
"Lead the way, and make it quick or I'll beat the hell out of you, prick,"
"Snapdragon Plume!" Blossom thrust her hands out, causing a burst of flame to rise from her palms and incinerate the man who had been standing in front of her. Butch snickered and watched the small group of triads back away from Blossom, who was grinning dangerously. The flames on her hands seemed darker, more deadly than anything Butch had seen before. Blossom turned away from the frightened triads and sneered at Butch.
"Hey moron, you know how to fight but do you actually have a weapon worth carrying around?" Butch snapped out of his revere and grinned up at Blossom eagerly. He held his hand out and rays of green light began shining from his palm. Butch brought his fists together and pulled them apart, causing a forest green boomerang to appear in his left hand. Butch grinned at Blossom, but his face quickly fell when he saw the droll expression on Blossom's visage.
"That's it? You trade in a sock for a little pussy boomerang?" Butch grinned and approached the triads, grinning while his black aura began to glow fiercely. Blossom watched indifferently, her eyes widening when Butch snapped his left wrist, causing the boomerang to begin glowing with a bright green light.
"Tornado Slice Boomerang!" Butch arched his back and flung the boomerang at the triads. The boomerang began to spin so fast that it became like a buzz saw and when it rammed into the lead triad, it released a surge of wind that knocked them all across the streets. Butch caught his boomerang and grinned back at Blossom, who was now grinning back just as evilly.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! Let's finish these dicks!" Blossom held her hands up and gathered a huge dark flame in her palms. She brought both hands up and threw them down grinning.
"Flare Ion Blitz!" A wall of flame shot out and painfully bowled over the recovering triads in its path. Butch rushed a few of the others, kicking one in shin and jumping up, kneeing him chin when he doubled over and then spinning around and kicking him in the temple. Before the unconscious triad even hit the ground Butch spun in midair and flung his boomerang downward, smashing it into his partner's head, and sending him sprawling across the ground like a rag doll.
"Well, we certainly cleaned them up neatly!" Blossom grinned and put an arm around Butch's shoulders, causing the little boy to blush and beam with pride. He looked up at her then turned a wicked glare at the broken gang.
"So what now Ms. Blossom?" Blossom held her hand up, chuckling as it began to burn. She led Butch away as she turned around, holding her hand up like a gun with her two extended fingers pointed at the triads.
"Napalm Blast!" Butch's eyes widened in horror when he saw the sphere of searing light slam into the ground, releasing a dome of pure heat that consumed the fallen thugs. His eyes shook and nervously he looked back at Blossom, who was grinning wildly. Her aura was showing brightly, almost completely black now. All that remained were thin strains of white light throughout the black, desperately struggling to maintain their hold on Blossom. Butch frowned as he and Blossom left the scene of the murder. Blossom was so different. This wasn't the Ms. Momoko he'd met three days ago. This was a monster! The black light was…intoxicating; it was what initially drew him to Ms. Momoko. But now it was just…choking the life out of her, turning her into some kind of wicked puppet.
"So what do you want to do now, Butch?" Butch snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Blossom, blushing darkly when she sneered back at him. True, he did like her rough attitude. He liked nothing more than to annoy her and make her yell, or even hit him. But…oh God, forget it! Ms. Momoko had said they were going on a date! He was going to live this up no matter how bad he felt about it!
"Uh…" Butch blushed and looked down at the ground, grinning and looking up at Blossom. "Maybe…we could get something to eat? Maybe? What do teenagers do on dates?" Blossom prepared to respond then froze and stared off in confusion, cringing nervously.
'Oh shit…I've never been on a date; I don't know what people do on dates! Uh…quick! Think fast, you've got him wrapped around your little finger, he'll believe anything!' Blossom shook her head and leered at Butch, quickly formulating what she believed was a reasonable response.
"Well we can't do everything that teenagers do on dates…but I'll humor you and we can go eat somewhere. But what will your brothers think about you eating with Burning Blossom, the leader of Powerpuff Girls Z?" Butch sneered and waved his hand dismissively. He then looked bashfully back at Blossom and grinned.
"Uh…well maybe I could have lunch with Ms. Momoko?" Blossom rolled her eyes and in a flash of fire Momoko replaced her. Momoko glared at Butch and held her arms out.
"Well? Is this good enough for you?" Butch, with hearts popping above his head and little stars in his eyes, grinned wildly and nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah! C'mon I want a cheeseburger!" He grabbed Momoko's wrist and began to drag her off. Momoko cringed and glared at the little monster dragging her.
"Slow down you bastard! I'll kill you!"
Momoko and Butch sat at a rather cheap restaurant. Butch was wolfing down a cheeseburger he'd coerced from the owner—in other words he'd threatened to destroy the building if they didn't feed the two of them for free—while Blossom sucked down a strawberry milkshake. She stared out the window, knowing that in the distance, the party she hadn't been invited to was probably about to start. She instinctively tightened her grip on whatever she was holding, which happened to be her cup. It promptly exploded sending strawberry milkshake all over the table. Butch blinked and looked at Momoko in confusion.
"Ms. Momoko? Is something wrong?" Momoko nodded and turned her glare to Butch. He flinched back, actually becoming afraid of Momoko for the first time since he'd met her.
"There's a big party today that I wasn't invited to…" Butch cocked his head in confusion, trying to figure out why that should matter.
"Well…who cares? Go anyway and sock the jerk that didn't invite you!" Momoko's eyes widened and slowly a grin spread across Momoko's face, causing Butch to blush brightly.
"Why didn't I think of that? Thanks Butch…I'm going to do that," Her grin hardened into a glare, "I don't want you following me," She pounded her fist on the table and cut off any opposition he may have voiced. "I swear on your life Butch, if you follow me I'll transform in front of everyone and rip your heart out then feed it to you before I burn you to death!" Butch cringed and slid back in his seat. Previously he'd have scoffed and gone against her wishes anyway. But her aura was burning so dark, so black; he had no doubt that now she really would act on her threats. Butch nodded and nervously took another bite out of his cheeseburger, his voice lost.
"Good boy," Momoko rose from where she'd been sitting and walked over to Butch. He looked up at her nervously, fearful that she was going to strike him or even kill him. Momoko leaned forward, Butch closing his eyes and cringing back fearfully. His eyes snapped open and a heavy blush colored his pale cheeks when he felt a soft wetness on his cheek. He looked up at Momoko, who smirked as she pulled away and left the diner. Butch watched her go, his cheeseburger falling to the floor uncaringly. He felt a sharp chill in his spine, something big was about to happen and he had a feeling it was his fault.
The party was amazing—to say the least. Everyone who was anyone was dancing and enjoying themselves. There was a stage set up for various bands to perform, countless snacks, even less morally upright activities were taking place—it was debatable whether the host, Gunsho Shiamura, was aware of this. Momoko stood in shock, her jealous and anger burning furiously, seeing that she hadn't been invited to this party. How did she not make the guest list? Was she really that pathetic?
"Oh my God…please God no…" Momoko shoved her way through the crowd until she could clearly see the stage. If there was any way she could feel worse about not being invited to this party, her worst nightmare had officially come true. The band currently occupying the stage wasn't what had caught Momoko's attention. Miyako was playing piano, with Shou Matsubara—Kaoru's little brother—playing the drum set and Kaoru she playing a bass guitar. That part of the band meant nothing to Momoko, what hurt the most was the lead guitarist.
Dai Matsubara, the eldest child of the Matsubara family, was strutting his stuff across the stage. His fingers were flying across the frets of his guitar, strumming out the amazing solo to their locally famous song "Jessica". Momoko had admittedly always had the largest crush on Dai, which had made trading bodies with Kaoru both wonderful and incredibly painful. Now seeing him in action at a party she'd never even been considered for, her rage bubbled over and she angrily made her way through the crowd trying to find Gunsho. He was easy enough to find, seemingly the largest attraction at the party after Dai himself. Upon spotting Momoko he raised an eyebrow and approached her in annoyance.
"Momoko? What are you doing here? I don't remember inviting you," Momoko straightened the elbow length, spike covered gloves she wore, glaring at Gunsho with a look that could shatter steel.
"Yeah, about that Shiamura, I was curious about why I wasn't invited," Gunsho snorted and completely without tact shoved Momoko's shoulder, forcing her to take a step back.
"Because, Akatsutsumi, you're a loser! I wouldn't be caught dead inviting you to the biggest party of the year!" Gunsho grinned in satisfaction seeing the angry look on Momoko's face and gestured towards the stage, "Did you see? Kaoru got her brother to show up! About the only way this could be better would be if Powerpuff Girls Z showed up!" Momoko sneered and clenched her fists. Part of her badly wanted to introduce him to Burning Blossom, and show him just how pissed off she was. Unfortunately if she wanted back in the hero game she'd have to keep her temper somewhat under control.
"Oh gee, thanks for telling me to my face the day of the party you jackass! You could have at least had the balls to tell me in private. What were you afraid I'd beat your snotty ass?" Gunsho snickered and waved Momoko's harsh tone off casually.
"You beat me? I don't see that happening, loser." He sneered and flipped Momoko's hair, making her growl and glare at where he'd touched. "And what is up with your new look? You look like a bigger loser than before!" Momoko glared and cringed. The sharp, heavy cold in her stomach had become unbearable in the last twenty-four hours. She tried gulping down ungodly amounts of candy but it hadn't abated the coldness. Now that cold was making her increasingly irate, to the point where her skin was crawling like a million insects were skittering over every inch of her body. She wanted badly to lash out, to show him just how bad he'd hurt her…
"I happen to like it, you tight ass bastard. And if you touch me again I can't promise you'll walk away from your own goddamn party!" Gunsho, testing the waters, shoved Momoko again. That was all it took to snap her control. The air around Momoko seemed darker; like it was sucking away the light as her fist lashed out and sent Gunsho sprawled on the ground with a bloodied nose. Everything stopped when a few nearby teens cried out and rushed to Gunsho's age.
"I told you not to touch me!" Momoko screamed, her fists clenched so tightly she could feel her fingernails painfully pressing against her skin.
"Momoko!" A hand touched her shoulder and without thinking her fist lashed out again and came into contact with a soft surface. The haze in her vision cleared when everything went silent and she saw Miyako curled up on the ground holding her eye. Momoko growled and ducked out of the way when a fist nearly collided with her face. Her eyes shot up and she saw a very, very angry Kaoru snarling at her. Something deep inside her, that unbearable cold was taking over and Momoko nearly had to double over and hold her stomach to abate the pain. She glared at Kaoru then threw another glare at Miyako who was being tended to by several of their classmates.
Miyako, with tears streaming down her face and her left eye already showing the signs of a large black eye looked up at Momoko. The hurt in her gaze was too much for Momoko to bear and she quickly took her leave, clutching her stomach and trying to ward off the cold. Dai caught Kaoru's arm to keep her from pursuing Momoko, shaking his head and turning his sister's attention to Miyako.
Momoko doubled over the moment she fell into her room, leaving the window open carelessly behind her. She barked a harsh scream; the pain in her stomach was absolutely unbearable! The cold was spreading everywhere! The numbing pain was horrible and it was getting worse with every second. Momoko's teeth chattered, her skin grew clammy and her bodily functions began to slow. The cold was horrible! The pain was unbearable! Everything felt so wrong! She needed something to warm her!
Looking down she stared at her transformation belt, glaring at it and reasoning that it was the cause of her cold. Momoko threw it across the room without looking up, shattering her full body mirror and knocking the frame to the ground. Tears began to stream down her face and her black aura, laced with thin white lines, became visible.
"Make it stop! Someone make it go away! God help me!" Momoko heard a tiny voice; something wicked in the back of her mind.
The white light is what's making you cold, Momoko. Get rid of the white light and the cold will go away.
"I can't!" Momoko cried, doubling over and sobbing hysterically, "If I get rid of Blossom, Kuriko will never love me the most! I'll never be her hero!" The little voice giggled and Momoko felt warmth budding in her stomach. It felt incredible and she desperately hoped it would spread to the tips of her toes and to the roots of her hair. It didn't move, and Momoko began sobbing pathetically.
Blossom can't win Kuriko's love, Momoko. Blossom can't even beat Buttercup. But if you get rid of Blossom, you can start over! You can become a hero that Kuriko will idolize above all others.
Momoko bawled like a small child, trembling and moaning in pain. She nodded fiercely, desperately trying to do as the voice asked. Momoko screamed as a mind-numbing pain ripped through her body. Unbeknownst to her the black light began to radiate darkly, sucking away all color and sound in the room, save for a deep, low hum. Momoko glowed brightly and with a heart wrenching scream a ball of white light tore free from her body and was thrown across the room. Momoko doubled over while the black light completely consumed her.
"Darkest…" She began to giggle crazily, maniacally while the warmth spread to every inch of her body. Her toes, her fingers, the tips of her hair all felt as if they were bursting into flame. Momoko stopped laughing and clenched every muscle, feeling a thick substance rushing to every nerve ending. Her eyes closed and when they opened again, she spoke in a sarcastic, evil voice.
"Darkest Blight!" The black light around her flared up and wrapped around Momoko entirely, hardening into a solid state. It then shifted form and became a new armor for Momoko, transforming her into a new, vastly more powerful being. The room's conditions returned to normal and in the darkness of the night the new figure stood. A dark ninja-like mask covered all but her fierce pink eyes. Her hair hung free and wild, devoid of her hair bow. She wore a thick, black wet suit that covered every bit of skin from her neck down, connecting to the mask that covered the lower portion of her face. She wore a dark violet varsity jacket with a blood red "K" etched on the left breast. On her hands were black leather gauntlets whose backs were laced in spikes. On her waist she wore a violet pleated skirt, with black lace. And on her feet she wore violet elf-like shoes, whose tops ended just below her ankles.
The newly formed Powerpuff Girl Z looked at her hands and the mask slid away from her face, almost liquid-esque and living in nature. She grinned, revealing a pair of elongated fangs while the black light around her flared up completely free from any trace of the white light. She snickered and looked around her room in disdain. Giving a primal cry she went on a rampage, tearing her room apart, throwing her bed and knocking over anything and everything that would move. Satisfied and thirsting to test her newfound freedom, the new monster approached Momoko's window. With a swing of her hand she knocked the entire window out of the wall and flew off, black jets coming from her elfin shoes, into the night.
"M-Momoko? Are you alright?" Kuriko stumbled into her big sister's room and stood in absolute horror. Something had completely destroyed Momoko's room and had apparently taken Momoko with it. "Momoko! Momoko where are you? Sis? Momo? Momoko answer me!" Kuriko looked down and saw Momoko's favorite belt lying on the floor. She reached down and picked it up, looking over the white leather and inspecting the strange pink buckle. "What's up with this thin…huh?" Kuriko looked up just in time to see a white light come flying from the knocked over dresser. The light slammed into her and the belt came to life, latching itself onto Kuriko's waist while a pink ring appeared on her finger.
"Kuriko? Momoko? Oh my God, Kuriko!" Kakiko ran into the room, watching her baby girl become bathed in a beautiful light. Kakiko stared in amazement when Kuriko's voice came from the light.
"Hyper Blossom!" There was a brilliant flash and now her youngest daughter stood, fully adorned in the uniform of Hyper Blossom, the leader of Powerpuff Girls Z, complete with her magical yo-yo.
"Oh Kuriko…" Kuriko stared in horror, looking down at herself. Finding the largest shard of Momoko's mirror that remained she stared at her reflection and all of the pieces finally fell together.
"Hey Kuriko! What do you think about Blossom? Isn't she cool?"
"Kuriko! Did you see Blossom today? Wasn't she awesome?"
"Do you like Blossom's new form? Isn't it the best?"
Kuriko's lips began to quiver as she looked up at her mother, who approached her and knelt down to Kuriko's level.
"M-Mommy…Momoko was…Momoko was Blossom…Momoko was Hyper Blossom!" Kakiko pulled Kuriko into a tight hug, staring into the dark. Her oldest daughter, her first baby was the super heroine who had fought alongside Rolling Bubbles and Powered Buttercup to save the city. She'd fought all of those monsters; all of those nightmares and Kakiko had been completely ignorant to it! She hadn't…she hadn't raised a hand to help Momoko bear the responsibility…and now Momoko had…something had happened to Momoko and she wasn't Blossom anymore…
"Oh my God Kuriko…Kuriko…oh God, my baby…" Kuriko turned and hugged her mother tightly. If Momoko was Blossom…that explained her strange behavior. Something had happened, something horrible…now Momoko was missing…and Kuriko was the new Hyper Blossom.