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"of Ale"
The night had been very tranquil and forgiving, which was something to say about a city that never knows peace. The crime in Townsville had been growing every day, it seemed. Most of the citizens had grown accustomed with police sirens blaring in the middle of the night, waking up in time to catch the three unmistakable stripes that cut through the darkened sky. The Girls had done a wonderful job at keeping the monsters and more dangerous madmen at bay; there were no assaults from Fuzzy Lumpkins in the forests, Mojo and Him had disappeared more than a decade ago with those troublesome boys of theirs, and the Gangrene Gang were parts of a dying breed. But while the town's greatest, infamous criminals were nothing to speak of, it did nothing for the reputation of petty thieves and merciless assailants that prowled the streets at night this town seemed to achieve over the years.
Tonight happened to be one of those rare nights where the peace welcomed the quieter parts of town. The citizens did their best to make the most of the serene silence while they had it.
Ms. Edna Keane slumped onto her couch once the clock struck 10:30, relishing in the comfort the lush eats gave her cramp muscles. Certainly grading so many papers couldn't have given her such an ache in her shoulders? She didn't even want to think about the upcoming tests she had in store for her classes; THAT would surely kill her if these measly assignments didn't. Nevertheless, she let herself relax, the television switched onto her favorite late night gossip channel and a hot cup of tea easing the knots in her fingers.
Her small kitten, a white little thing that served as a birthday gift from her girlfriends at the office, hopped up onto her lap and purred contently at being close to his owner. Keane stroked his fur, taking note to wash him in the morning, and sipped her herbal tea. If it were up to her, she'd had thrown the damned tea away and soothe herself with a steaming mug of coffee. However, the lateness of the hour and the earliness of her alarm clock were not on equal terms, preventing her from doing so. Despite not having the bitter taste of her worrisome addiction (straight black, as she liked it), Keane reveled in the burn that followed down her throat and nestled in the pit of her stomach, bringing her much needed warmth.
These kids are going to be the death of me, she remembered thinking to herself on the start of the third week of the first semester. OF course, her initial dislike of grading paperwork was overwhelmed by her unearthly desire to teach. She could also remember her father warning her that her kindness would be her downfall if this troubled city didn't get to her first. Keane remembered swatting her father's insistences away and stood firm on her decision to switch from Pokey Oaks to Townsville Memorial High School. While she will always be partial to her days with the children, Keane was all too aware of the limits that kindergarten held and knew that it was better to say goodbye to the children and focus herself on the table of teenagers she's grown to love today.
So, as a sigh escaped her lips—one of blissful tranquility—Keane smiled down at her pet, who had peered up at her with his sterling eyes. "Just an hour, honey, then it's off to bed." The kitten merely rested his head on his paws and snuggled closer. A pang hit Keane and she frowned wistfully. Odd should it sound like she was speaking to a husband.
Her eyes stared off into the TV, not necessarily paying attention to the latest, flashy reports of today's modern celebrities. At 46, Keane would have figured she'd have found a kind man to settle down with. Well, her parents certainly thought so. But her problem was, and she figured it always will be, her commitment to her work. Every and all men will come second to her children and that's just the way it was, but it still didn't make nights like these any easier.
She prepared herself for nights like these, however. Sure, she may have had a blind date or some, but she knew very well that this was where her life was headed. While not steady on becoming the neighborhood's Cat Lady, she made herself value solitude as a young woman so to avoid disappointments. She wouldn't expect a lifelong companion if the thought of marriage or romance never crossed her mind. And it didn't. Keane stared down at the fluff of a feline and smiled delicately. She had all the comforts of a companion in her pet, who had yet to be named after three weeks of keeping her company, and this was not to say the ladies from the school who enjoyed her company and often invited her out for a night in the town.
While Keane felt she was missing something, a certain newsflash article caught her immediate attention.
"Buttercup Utonium, one-thirds of Townsville's own Powerpuff Girls and Mode's Bachelorette of the Year at only 20 years old, was discovered in the chaos of a house party that was raided on Thursday night with ex-beau Mitch Mitchelson. A little worse for wear, Buttercup was completely out of it when our guys went to catch footage of the scene."
Keane's gentle blue eyes were wide as she saw a replay of a clip presumably taken the night before. It was hard to forget her own students. Mitch was jogging out of the front door, maneuvering through the hysterical mass of teenagers and young adults, his arms holding up what Keane knew to be Buttercup. The heroine's head was lolling back and forth and her eyes were half-lidded and dazed. The sleazy cameramen were sure to zoom in on her to catch this.
"Mitch! Mitch! What happened in there man?!"
"Piss off!" Mitch's scratchy tenors was not easily forgotten. Keane could recognize his smoker's choke in her sleep.
"A little much to drink, Buttercup?!"
"You look high there, hero! How can we trust you to protect our city like that?!"
On the footage, Buttercup was muttering and slurring what Keane presumed were obscenities to the cameramen, but she appeared too belligerent to form proper words or phrases. The older woman leaned forward in her chair, careful not to upset her pet, and gripped her cup tighter in her palms. The footage ends abruptly and returns back to a group of four reporters: one male, three female. They were all sitting in lavish couches, notecards in their hands, and were positioned so that each could face each other as well as have a clear view of the camera.
"Mitch puts her in his truck, they take off and that's the end of that. Word says that she was drugged, some sources say that she was taking drugs." Says the not-so-shabby blonde, a woman by the name of Jane.
"Obviously she's been drinking, that we can all agree on." Comments Nicole, a petite woman who tended to wear extravagantly high heeled wedges to appease her short height.
"So Buttercup has a darker side, huh?"Gina, another brunette with a fierce nose job, remarked snidely, one leg crossed over the other.
"I don't blame her! She's protecting this city day and night. I'm sure it's not a walk in the park. She deserves to let loose!" Jane interjects defensively. From the previous segments of this program, Keane understood that Buttercup was Jane's definite favorite of the three Powerpuffs.
"Yeah, but she's what, 20? She's shy a year, but that's no excuse to be out drinking and doing God knows what else. She's setting a bad example to the people who look up to her." The last speaker, a man named Trenton, stated, barking down Jane's defense.
"Oh, come off it. It's not like she's parading the streets hammered every night. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time and it's not like any of us haven't been in her shoes." Nicole added with a roll of her eyes.
"The Powerpuff Girls are definitely in trouble now." Gina says and she tapped the heel of her stilettoes against the hardwood floor of the stage. "Buttercup really is bad press, isn't she? Wasn't it just a week ago she sent a man to the hospital?"
"Oh, you mean the bank robber who held thirteen civilians as hostages?"Was Nicole's sarcastic response.
"Maybe it's time for our green Powerpuff to clock out. If this is how she wants the city to see her as a super heroine then the city surely doesn't need a bad influence like her. She'll certainly cause more trouble than she's worth."
"You guys are forgetting that this is a woman who, at only five years old, was protecting this city with her life! Are you all really going to cut her out of the Powerpuff Girls because she's human and made a mistake?"
"No human was created in the laboratory like she was. Normal humans are allowed mistakes. Freaks of nature aren't."
The television was shut off immediately and Keane fell back into her seat. Her lips were downturned in a foreign frown that looked out of place on her otherwise kind disposition. Her eyebrows knitted together in both concern and agitation. Perhaps she was biased on the whole story, but Keane knew the Girls when they were barely tall enough to reach her knees. Buttercup may have been the black sheep but she was no bad seed. And she certainly wasn't a freak of nature.
With a determined glimmer in her eye, Keane reached over to her home phone and quickly began to dial.
I don't think I've ever known what true betrayal felt like. I was never really one to put myself out there and make nice with everyone I meet. I had been good up until this point in choosing who my friends were.
They had to be honest. No one is as honest as Kat.
And accepting of who I am. Who you were. And nobody is as accepting as Kat.
And they had to keep their knives to themselves. How does your back feel?
I ground my teeth together as I came to the final realization. While no knife was apparent in my back, the pain was evident. Staring into the wild crazy eyes of my roommate, one of my few good friends, who had her hands wrung tight around my neck, I felt a dark cloud shroud my sensible judgment.
First Ace, the Professor… Blossom, and now you!
I grabbed a hold of her arms and stood us both up effortlessly. "You did this." Kat hissed darkly, a cold change from the lackadaisical attitude I've grown accustomed to.
"Get your fucking hands off me." I growled back, yanking her fingers off my neck and pushing her back. She stumbled but still stood steady on her feet, if not hunched.
Boomer was at my side in an instant, making his annoying presence known by standing a little ways ahead of me and a little too close for comfort. His broad shoulders were meant to give the illusion of a wall but I stepped up to his side. He wasn't going to be doing any rescuing tonight.
"You have some kinda nerve comin' back." Kat spat, taking an uncoordinated step forward. "Look what you did!" She threw her arm back to what remained of her apartment, the flames long gone but the heavy smell of smoke still clouded the air. I took a threatening step forward and Boomer immediately held me back by putting his hand on my shoulder.
Then I saw it.
The wild, dangerous look in her usually wily eyes. They were bloodshot and I recognized that crazy snarl. It's been years since I saw that look. My muscles relaxed immediately but my guard was still up in case she came too close. Boomer kept his hand on me in case I charged and I didn't bother to shrug him off. I watched my roommate warily, "Kat, you did this. I was gone all night."
She laughed. It was manic and bone-chilling. "The hell you were. I saw you! I recognize those damn eyes anywhere! You're the only bitch I know with 'em!" Blossom was slowly approaching me from my side while Kat continued to screech. "Green and glowin'… I know it was you! You were there!"
I looked back at Blossom, who had a brow raised questioningly. "Kat, look at me. My eyes aren't glowing."
"I saw 'em! I know 'em! You were there in my room! I saw it!" Kat shouted hysterically, now being held tightly by Henderson and Chief. The EMTs approached with caution, guarding a paramedic who held a syringe filled with what I could only assume with some sort of sedative. One burly officer followed suit with a stretcher.
Disappointment settled in when Blossom whispered the c word in my ear. "I thought you were clean…" I'll take that back. This stung worse than any betrayal.
Kat continued to scream obscenities, completely lost in the psychedelic luster, as they injected her arm with the "feel good" needle. Her words gradually dwindled down to nothing and she was slumped against Chief, who held her steady. Her eyes fluttered shut but her heavy breathing assured us that she was still semi-conscious. Together with Henderson, the two officers helped Kat onto the stretcher. I frowned when Chief put handcuffs on just one wrist and let the other hand off her like a makeshift bracelet.
He turned to me and frowned, weary lines lacing his aged face. "We'll detain her in the hospital."
"Detain her?" I asked incredulously. "For what?"
"Illegal possession of paraphernalia, possible drug distribution and drug activity."
"She doesn't… I—she told me she was clean."
"We found cocaine in a safe we found in her apartment, Buttercup." I kept my mouth shut but deep inside I was screaming. If only Kat knew this is where she would be. If only she knew the dangers of messing around with something she shouldn't have.
If only you stuck around a little longer, the apartment would still be in one piece.
Get the fuck out of here.
Chief offered me a weak shrug and stepped away to finish his duties. I felt my body slump, the events that happened tonight now taking its toll. Boomer let me lean on him and put both hands on my upper biceps to hold me firmly. "You're all right, Buttercup?" He asked me in a quiet whisper.
"Thank you for holding me back." I murmured, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "I wouldn't forgive myself if I hurt her." He patted my shoulder and didn't comment. It was understood already between us.
Blossom and Bubbles approached the both of us. "Where do we go from here?" Bubbles asked quietly.
"I don't have a home anymore. I don't know where I can go."
"I'm sure the Professor will understand. You can stay the night with us." Blossom assured and I nodded. I didn't know what I was feeling but it didn't sit well in my stomach. Next thing I knew, I was pushing Boomer away and hurling on the ground. Bubbles immediately pulled my hair back while I puked up what little I had to eat this morning.
In the midst of emptying the contents of my stomach, I heard Blossom speak to Boomer in that stern voice of hers. The tone she usually saved for me whenever I came home late without letting her know.
"We need to talk."
It was a tone that promised a lecture and I did not envy Boomer at all right then.
Copyright © 2013 by scorpialin
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