VIII

Somewhere in the distance, a police siren screeched as the cruiser zoomed through the streets. It was joined by one—two more vehicles and, together, the three swerved between cars on the highway. Taking an exit, the three continued their pursuit as a conspicuous black van drove recklessly to evade its pursuers.

The speed chase passed Lambert Ave. and Kathryn Douglas jumped in her sleep.

With a heart pounding erratically inside her chest, and a thin sheen of sweat coating her body, Kat let her wide, dilated pupils scan the room—her room—with a sense of fear causing her to shake. It didn't take her long to calm herself and her body stopped shivering. "Jesus," she mumbled to herself. Heaving herself upright, Kat felt her head tremble and ignored the bile approaching her throat. When was the last time she had such a shit night? Not long enough, she mused to herself bitterly. Oh how she begun to loathe the psychologists her mother insisted on her visiting. Every visit was the same problem, the same story and the same prescription. Throwing her arm over the night stand, she pulled open the drawer and took out the near-empty bottle of sleeping pills, each little tablet enhanced to the maximum degree. Even if they could put a rhino down, it did shit for her. Just was what is gonna take for her to sleep like a baby again?

With a sigh, she dumped the bottle back in her drawer and promptly closed it. She didn't need Buttercup to see the extent of her issues. Speaking of which, Kat glanced over at the once barren part of her room and narrowed her brows. Where's Buttercup? The woman roughly flicked her toes together in irritation. That bitch. Left off to a party without me. Of course where else would she go? In the short time Kat has known the Powerpuff she knew that she thrived on the party scene as a getaway. She just didn't know how bad. "Whatever," she mumbled to herself, much too drained to be playing the mother hen tonight. Buttercup will get back when she gets back.

Stumbling to her feet, Kat stood still for a moment to regain her balance and what was missing of her consciousness. She's hungry as fuck, a typical yet unusual side effect of her sleeping pills. Slumping to the kitchen, she ignored the dark figured standing in the corner of the living room, instead preferring to rummage through her cabinets for some chicken soup. It more often than not helped put her to sleep, especially when she was under the influence of codeine. "God shit," she whined. She forgot her brothers had been cooking—and subsequently burning—what was left of her noodly goodness before she had Buttercup kick them out.

Kat's eyes narrowed. There was that name again.

Yet another roommate who runs in fear of you. Good job.

Kathryn busied herself by taking out a can of ravioli, figuring that a name brand was better than the generic shit her mother dropped off every Wednesday, even if it was manufactured noodles and sauce.

Poor Kathy. Not a friend to call genuine, not a woman to love her back. My, my, you sure have got some problems.

"Piss. Off." Kat grumbled tiredly to nothing in particular. She dumped the contents of the can into a pot and turned the stove on high, finding satisfaction at the crackle of the gas oven as it ignited a flame.

But I suppose I'll always be your biggest problem. The annoying stick up your ass, the thorn in your side, the knife in your throat. Just how long will it be before you snap?

Kat's back stiffened. Looking over her shoulder and through her thick curtain of hair, she found nothing. The ominous mass that once stood in her living room was gone as it always was. It never stuck around long enough to be detected.

It was her imagination. Everything was against her, every element moved to bring her down. Even her mind, who longed to see her succumb to insanity like her grandmother, worked against her. Just how long did she have until she became a jabbering mess like Grandma Doug? Her mother may have been bordering on psychotic, but that was Ravina Douglas every day.

You and I will be together forever, sweet pea. Nothing can tear us apart.

Even though the medication helped her sleep, it didn't take away the demons that haunted her during the day.

Before she could focus on the tumultuous thoughts that swarmed her, a distant ringing snapped her back to reality. Kat's head snapped to face her bedroom door, set ajar, where the noise originated from. Glancing at the clock hanging over the stove where her smoke detector should be, Kat's lips downturned into a scowl. Who the fuck was calling her so late?

Pushing herself off the countertop, she took long, slow languid steps into her and Buttercup's shared room. She snatched her phone from the floor (she forgot why it was there in the first place) and answered without meaning to check the caller ID. "Business hours are from 8 to 12."

"Kathryn Douglas," Kat's eyes narrowed and she got a sudden crippling suspicion that she was being watched.

"You've got the wrong number."

"It's a little late to be playing games." Her throat constricted painfully and her teeth caught onto a sliver of her bottom lip. Her words died in her throat and she stared, quivering in her spot, at the dark figure in the corner of her room. A row of glittering white teeth formed a dark grin, and Kat took an unsteady step back.

"Who the hell—"

"Where is my brother?"

Despair. That was what Bubbles was feeling as she locked on her home. With two extra bags dangling from her hands, the blue Powerpuff eased onto the ground, slumping her shoulders as she went. It was habitual, if not expected, for Bubbles to fly to the nearest retail store to vent out her frustrations. While Blossom lost herself in the Professor's work and Buttercup went off "patrolling" (searching for the next criminal to look her the wrong way), Bubbles took her anger out on designer clothes and the littlest of knick-knacks she happens to stumble across. The Professor surely didn't mind, being that Bubbles was his undoubted soft spot, and the girls enjoyed her little spontaneous gifts. Especially Buttercup who, even though she says she doesn't, Bubbles knew kept all of her gifts under a floorboard in the closet.

Bubbles' eyes lowered. There was that name again.

"Why did you have to go?" She murmured softly, staring into one of the bigger bags and finding the combat boots sitting snug inside. It seemed that was the question of the day. Bubbles repeated it at every register like a mantra. Buttercup won't get to see her leather jacket, her fine point pens, or these boots she's been wanting since last spring.

"She didn't die Bubs." Bubbles frowned angrily and promptly flew into the windows of their bedroom, Blossom following in suit.

"Oh, what do you know? You've been locked up in the Professor's lab since we were twelve." Bubbles bit curtly. "You don't know what it's like to have Buttercup as a sister."

Blossom knitted her brows together. "You're not being fair, Bubbles. She's just as my sister as you are."

"Which isn't much, is it?"

The eldest pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a heavy sigh. Bubbles was understandably upset. Years ago she lost her father, followed by Blossom and she just lost Buttercup today. A guilty pang hit Blossom again. In Bubbles' eyes, she was losing everyone. "I just wanted to say—"

"How the Professor has been doing wonders to your resume since our freshman year? That the Professor was only offering you opportunities you couldn't refuse? How you wanted to be this and that and that and this, you forgot all about us over the years? Don't tell me. I know!" Bubbles snarled, her baby blue eyes stinging with tears and cheeks turning red with her frustration, pent up from years and years of neglect. Blossom bit her lower lip, which had begun to quiver at her sister's outburst. She never knew Bubbles to be so angry, but then again she hadn't spent enough time with Bubbles to learn of the outspoken nerve she undoubtedly obtained over the years. She also knew how influential Bubbles was and if she was spending her time with Buttercup, her nerve must be strong.

"—I'm sorry." Bubbles blinked wildly, unsure and lost. Had she heard right? Was Blossom… apologizing? Blossom looked down at her feet, her eyes catching the green blankets strewn on the floor. "I haven't been much of a sister lately. I've put the Professor and my work first. I wanted to get accepted into Valleyview University and I did. I wanted to get that interview at the office and I did. I wanted a lot of things, Bubbles, and you can't say I haven't gotten them."

Bubbles looked away angrily when Blossom tried to meet her eyes. "But I'm still here, Bubs." This caught her. Bubbles risked a glance at her sister. "I turned down the university because you girls wanted to go to TCC. I turned down the job at Citiesville because you girls wanted to stay in Townsville. You may not know it but I've let a lot of opportunities pass me by just to stay here, with you and Buttercup." Bubbles winced. "I knew I would never make it home for our Sundays. I knew that work would've caught up to me and I would have had to call and say I'm sticking around and can't make it. I knew that would've hurt you."

Blossom's voice hitched uncharacteristically and she sought refuge in the empty bed diagonal from her own. Bubbles' eyes softened despite herself and she watched her sister, regretting her harsh words. She hadn't known Blossom to get so choked up like this. She used to be so strong and hard-willed. Crying… wasn't an option. But here she was, the super heroine that kicked major ass as the leader of the Powerpuff Girls, crying. "I know I haven't been a sister to you. But everything I've done to stay here was for you guys. I couldn't imagine a life without you being there at the end of the day. I couldn't go on with life knowing that if I did, I'd be losing some pretty amazing girls."

"You could've been a lot of things." Bubbles whispered. Blossom shrugged. "And you gave it up? For… for us?"

"I'd give up anything for you girls. I gave up the Professor's program for you. I'll give up this life for you, my powers for you. Everything that makes me me, I'd give it up if it was for you. My future means sh-shit to me if my sisters weren't around to share it with me." Bubbles felt a trickle of tears fall down her cheek in unison with Blossom, who sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

Grabbing a hold of the discarded blanket, Bubbles carried it over to where Blossom sat and, with one fluid motion, took a seat beside her and threw the blanket around the both of them. "This was Buttercup's favorite blanket." Bubbles commented.

"Idiot. She left it behind." The two shared a chuckle, the first natural laugh that promised the start of a sisterhood. A well-overdue sisterhood.

Just then, the emergency line blared in the room and the girls were back on their feet.

"Mayor?" Bubbles answered, voice quick and steady as she listened to the blubbering Mayor on the other line. Blossom waited rather patiently for Bubbles to transfer the message over. "A… a fire?"

Blossom blinked. "Where?"

Bubbles quietly put the phone down and stared uneasily at Blossom. "Who did you say Buttercup moved in with again?"

"I have to admit, Buttercup. You've changed quite a bit since we were kids." I rolled my eyes.

"I haven't changed a damn bit, and you know it." Boomer chuckled quietly under his breath.

"Can't blame a guy for a trying." I snorted. That wasn't much of a compliment. You have a lot to learn when it comes to talking sweet to a Powerpuff, Boomer. Nevertheless, I let him drone on about his life since his onslaught on Townsville. Apparently the boys had a falling out with Mojo and Him and they ran off to Burgsville near the Capital. Lived pretty low-down for a while before trouble found them again, mainly Butch, and they had to split up. Butch went off to Valleyview, Brick stayed at the Capital, and Boomer found himself in the slums of Citiesville. After wandering into Townsville's borders, Boomer found out that remotely nobody remembered him from fifteen years ago so he ended up sticking around. But since his house is back in Citiesville, he's gone back and forth every so often, but he's mainly been bunking with a friend (whose name he smartly did not give me).

"Butch and Brick won't come into Townsville because of what's hiding out here." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What are they afraid of?"

Boomer shrugged, looking just as confused. "I don't know."

"They're not exactly the type to stay away from trouble."

"I don't think it's the trouble they're trying to stay away from."

What? "What are you saying?"

Boomer looked uncomfortable. "Well, I think they didn't want to cross paths with you girls again."

"What, they're afraid to get their asses handed to them again? I'll be glad to look for them if they won't look for us."

"You're not gonna want to do that." Boomer warned as he heard me crack my knuckles. "Listen, I'm here because I'm like you. I want out of the life I never had the choice of. I wanted normality just like you did, and I think I finally have it. I mean, I start fucking college on Monday! I've… I've changed. We all have. The boys, Butch especially, they're… they're not interested in changing course. They're super freaks and they love it—well, Butch loves it. Brick puts up with it because it eases our lives as far as money was concerned."

I frowned. "What did you do for that money?" Boomer looked pained and stepped away.

"I'm not proud of myself, Buttercup. I can't take back fifteen years just like I can't take back yesterday. I wish I hadn't been so influenced by Mojo or Him or my brothers, and I wished I would've gotten to you first before Ace—"

"He wasn't going to do a damn thing." I hissed, scowling at that damned name.

"You don't know that. Drinking isn't something we should do lightly. And whatever he put in… drugs aren't our friends either. I've seen it firsthand. Believe me when I say Ace would have had you bent over the can if I hadn't come in when I did."

I shoved him away. "You don't know a damn thing about me!" How fucking dare he assume that I'm some helpless pansy who needs saving everywhere I go?!

"I know more than you think!" Boomer shouted back, his cobalt eyes flaring. "God dammit, you don't think I've never seen that before? How long do you think I've known Ace and his little gang? The shit he uses… it kills people who don't wake up the next morning. You're fucking lucky your dad's a goddamn doctor!"

I glared hatefully at him. But what did I hate him for? For telling me the truth? For telling me what I didn't want to hear? "He's a professor."

Boomer's face softened and he lost the tension in his posture. He was getting comfortable again. "I want to clear the air between us, Buttercup."

"It's not foggy."

He smiled humorously. "I'm not your enemy anymore. I'll take the heat from your sisters later. You're the only one I'm pretty afraid to approach. I wanted us to be alright."

"It's kind of hard to expect us to be cool when you tried to kill me… twice." Boomer sighed.

"Then how about this? I'll give you one hit. A free one. No hit backs, no repercussions. Hit me with all you have. Take out fifteen years of frustration right here," he tapped his cheek playfully. "Prove to me that Buttercup Utonium is just who the papers made her out to be."

It wasn't a hard decision. I punched him with all I had and he stumbled backwards. I stared at him in surprise as he hastily regained his footing before he fell to the ground. "Jesus," he grumbled and spat blood out from his mouth. I watched him curiously as he staggered and reformed his previous stance. "Those papers weren't fucking lying."

"You're durable now." I commented strangely. It's been a while since I've met someone who can take a hit. My hits.

Boomer looked at me and wiped his split lip, shrugging. "With brothers like mine, you kind of have to be." He moved his jaw around and winced at certain areas. "This will hurt in the morning." He muttered and rubbed his cheek, flinching the slightest at his own contact. Then he met my eyes, "Are we good then? Did you get out what you wanted?"

"A gist."

Boomer looked at me with disbelief and then sighed. "Then go again if you want. I got another cheek." I smirked slightly and quickly raised my leg. He caught my knee before it reached his crotch and threw me off. "Whoa! I said my face, not my balls! You're taking easy shots!"

"Can't blame a girl for trying." I mimicked his earlier words. Boomer rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Is that it?"

I contemplated everything he told me in the past hour or so. He opened up his entire life since his 7th birthday (claiming he couldn't remember anything from when we drove him out two years prior) and was easy to spill information about his brothers, which was both useful but unnecessary since he made it apparent that they wouldn't be coming anywhere near Townsville. Boomer may be stupid, but I know from Bubbles that he's exceptionally honest. If I were Blossom, I wouldn't trust him. If I were Bubbles, I'd buy him a car.

But I'm Buttercup, so I stuck out my hand. He looked at it and then at me, and then back. "You sure?" I shrugged. He took this as a yes and grasped my hand in his, giving a firm shake. A truce.

I pulled him in and he bumped into me unsteadily. His eyes stared into mine, wide and somewhat fearful. "I may not be a Powerpuff, but I do have what it takes to run your ass into the ground and out of my life for good. Don't think I believe everything that comes out of your mouth. You have a lot—a lot—to make up to me. You're lucky I believe in second chances. Don't fuck it up."

His eyes turned hard and he nodded. "I expected as much. We're going to be classmates after all." I would've gagged.

I almost did. But then the thick cloud looming over the buildings caught my attention and nerves wracked my body. Was that… smoke? "Fire." I murmured. Boomer followed my eyes and looked equally alarmed.

"What the fuck?"

Without a moment's hesitation, we both took to the skies and followed the trail of smoke.

Kat sat outside her apartment building, watching the flames flare and grow. She faintly heard sirens approaching and the screams coming in from the unfortunate souls still trapped inside. The paramedics were calling to her, as well as the officers on duty. Her body shook with the sobs that never came and she was paralyzed with fear. She couldn't feel the hands that jostled her, looking for a reaction, and she couldn't feel the burns marring her body. All that was going through her mind was one thing.

She woke up in her bed. How did she get there?

Copyright © 2013 by scorpialin
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