Title: For Lost Years
Author: SeBriar
Summary: The boys are back after having disappeared for years. They must be up to something, but what? And who's leading these random attacks on the town? It's not the boys, so who?
Pairing: RrB/PpG
Rating: T for now
Genre: Romance/Drama/Family
Details: Ruffs and Puffs are 16, and for the sake of the story as they grew older they developed fingers, toes, noses, etc.
Disclaimer: I most definitely don't own the Powerpuff girls. But man, I wish I did...
Chapter Four: I Want A Big Ass Missile Too!
Happy reading! Thanks to my Beta, Elizabeth Burke, who managed to get this back to me before Friday even though I was late sending it to her! If not for her, this would've been late. Make sure to get her cookies! ^_^
''Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute.'' ~Gil Stern
Professor Net spun sharply at the sound of the door opening, bringing light into the formerly darkened room. He tensed when the door closed again and a tall silhouette strode toward him. He turned back to the screen.
''Is it ready, Net?'' The man leaned over his shoulder, and the glow of the monitor in front of him cast over his face, heightening hard features.
Swallowing nervously, Net kept his eyes away from the man's face. ''Y-Yes, Sir. The...uh, special missiles are r-ready to launch.''
From the corner of his eye he could see the man nod. ''Good. They were spotted together two hours ago. Launch them at their current location.''
Net's hands shook over the control panel as he shakily asked, ''Des-Destination, Sir?''
The man knocked his hands away, nearly giving him a heart attack, and quickly typed in the coordinates. ''Now launch.''
Net was having difficulty breathing as he pressed the button to launch the missiles. However, that was nothing compared to how his breath caught in his throat as an image of their targets' location popped up.
''T-Townsville General Hospi-pital?'' He whispered in disbelief as the man stood up turned, his long trench coat billowing as he left the room. The brief light this action produced revealed Net's horrified face as he watched the small dots in the far corner of the screen grow and edge closer to the building. ''What did I d-do?''
The room was uncomfortably silent, not that Brick noticed or cared. He was seated barely a foot from the bed, gaze switching between the woman's face and the burn patches on the hand closest to him.
Next to him, Butch was slumped in his seat, eyes wandering the room in a bored manner before landing on Buttercup. When she felt his eyes on her she turned to look at him from where she stood by the door. He smirked and winked, and she scowled and crossed her arms, looking away.
Bubbles and Blossom were on the opposite side of the bed with Jen, she and Bubbles worriedly watching Boomer while Blossom stared at her counterpart who paid her no mind.
Boomer sat cross-legged on the bed, poking idly at Cathy's feet and looking pitifully guilty.
All in all, they were a silent and sad looking bunch, aside from the two greens who were wordlessly insulting each other from across the room.
''WELL.'' Butch said, interrupting the silence and earning glares from everyone except for the two boys too engrossed with staring at the pale figure on the bed. ''I'm going to get some food. Be back in a minute.'' He stole a quick glance at the woman resting in the bed before leaving the room.
Blossom sent Buttercup a meaningful look, and her sister rolled her eyes, muttering incoherently to herself as she followed the green Ruff out.
After a brief awkward silence Jen stood up, saying she was going to stretch her legs, and asked Bubbles and Blossom if they would like to join her. She didn't bother asking the boys, as it was clear they wouldn't be leaving any time soon.
Blossom declined, not wanting to leave the boys without supervision. Bubbles, though, quickly accepted in order to get away from the tension hovering about the room.
They left swiftly, and as the door clicked closed softly behind them Brick finally raised his eyes to meet Blossom's intense stare. ''My brother doesn't need to be watched.''
''Your brother is the reason we're here,'' she retorted.
Boomer's breathing sped up; he clenched one of his fists and rubbed it against his knee. His guilt-ridden expression still never left his face, and he continued gently prodding his mother's covered feet with his other hand.
Brick remained outwardly calm, but on the inside he seethed at how she talked so flippantly about his brothers and his mother being in the hospital. He knew that whatever they'd done was an accident, no matter how pissed off he'd been about it at the time, and that their mother would never blame them for it.
His eyes flickered again to the darkened patches on her hands.
...No matter how many times they'd hurt her.
''Um...Jen?'' Bubbles started hesitantly. It wasn't her business, but her curiosity was beginning to overcome her. ''How did Dr. Cathy become the Rowdyruff Boys' mother?'' She glanced up at Jen's more or less blank face, and immediately began retracting her question. ''I-I'm sorry! It really isn't my place to ask, is it? I just-''
''It's alright, Bubbles,'' Jen quickly cut in. The young girl sorely reminded her of a younger Boomer, who tended to ramble when in trouble. Now he just stuttered and jumbled his words. ''I don't know all the details, okay? I just know that Cathy had gone for a walk late at night in the rain, and then came back with three soaking wet and feverish boys.''
''Why would she go for a walk in the rain?'' Bubbles asked. Jen snorted beside her and shook her head.
''No idea. Cathy is strange like that.''
They walked on in silence before another question popped into Bubbles's head. ''So...what were the boys like? I haven't seen them in so many years; have they changed much?'' To her, Boomer had seemed more or less the same when they fought; still obnoxiously boyish and a tad arrogant. He'd become quiet since they'd arrived at the hospital, but she supposed that was to be expected.
Jen smiled. ''Yes. Quite a lot actually. Some good, some bad.''
''You do know I'm not going to go batshit crazy and start a killing spree in this hospital, right? I don't need a chaperone.''
Buttercup kept her mouth set in a thin line as they walked into the food court. Butch shrugged and rolled his eyes, going over to a table where there were desserts laid out. Buttercup stayed where she was, watching him.
Butch was in the mouthwatering process of deciding what type of cake he wanted when he suddenly felt a tug on his jeans. He glanced down to meet two big hazel eyes looking innocently up at him.
''Hi!''
Butch stared at her.
''What's your name?'' The little girl, barely coming up to his knee, wore a lime green hospital gown with matching slippers. Her slightly shaggy dark brown hair made her appear even more pale than she already was.
''Uh...Butch?''
''My name is Mimi! It's very nice to meet you, Butch!'' She thrust her hand out for him to shake, and he did so, feeling slightly foolish. ''How old are you?''
He blinked, wondering what about his baggy clothing, spiky hair, and dark green eyes made him come off as a perfect conversationalist for toddlers. ''...Sixteen.''
Mimi thrust out four fingers. ''I'm this many!'' ...So she could say 'It's very nice to meet you' clear as a bell, but not 'I'm four?' He thought to himself.
''That's, er, nice.'' He was so not good with kids. That was more Boomer's thing.
From where she stood Buttercup kept her eyes on them, ready to jump in if Butch decided to go 'batshit crazy' and hurt the young girl. She continued to watch as the girl chatted animatedly with Butch, who surprisingly indulged her and answered all her useless child questions. (''What's your favorite color?'' ''Green.'' ''Mine's red!'' Smirk. ''You'd like my brother then.'' Beaming smile. ''Your brother is RED?'' ''Yep.'' ''COOL!'')
The next thing Buttercup knew there was a green streak shooting past her and out the door leading outside, accompanied by little girlish shrieks.
It took her a second to actually understand what had just happened, but when she did she cursed under her breath and hurriedly followed.
She followed his trail as he shot up the side of the building, not understanding what he was planning to do with the girl.
Butch touched down on the hospital roof, the child he was holding in his arms giggling hysterically in delight. He smirked when Buttercup landed in front of him. ''Hey, what's up?''
She ground her teeth together before the last of her control flew out the window. ''What's up? WHAT'S UP? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?''
''Mimi said she'd always wanted to fly.''
Buttercup shifted her gaze to the girl, who was covering her mouth to stifle the giggles. She shifted it back to him, about to yell at him again because that was so not an excuse for taking a four-year-old on a joy ride eighty feet in the air, but Butch cut her off before she began.
''What's that?'' He was pointing somewhere in the distance behind her, squinting his eyes to get a better look. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
''I'm not about to fall for that.''
Butch shook his head, adjusting his grip on the girl in his arms. ''No, I'm serious. There's something headed straight for this place. Two of them actually.''
''Not. Falling. For. It.''
Mimi began squirming in his grasp, and he had to tighten his hold to keep from dropping her. She was staring up at the sky too. ''Hey! There are big dots in the sky...''
Trusting the child more then the teen, Buttercup finally turned and narrowed her eyes. Then they widened in disbelief. ''Are those...?''
''Missiles? Huge ass missiles? Why, yes; yes they are.''
''Missiles are dangerous?'' Mimi asked fearfully.
Butch glanced down at her. ''Yep.'' He said bluntly. Buttercup felt like smacking her forehead.
Mimi stared up at him for a second, but then smiled toothily. ''Well, that's okay. You guys are superheroes! You'll save us!''
Buttercup watched him closely as he furrowed his brow. Mimi continued to look at him with true faith that he was going to protect her, and Butch hesitated before breathing a heavy sigh. ''Yeah, right.'' He went to the edge of the roof and jumped off, floating downward to the ground. ''But just for you,'' he whispered in her ear, making her giggle, then sent her back inside.
Buttercup was watching him from above. He smirked up at her.
''So, we doing this or not? Those things are only getting closer you know!''
She scowled but took off toward the large dots that continued to grow bigger. He took off after her.
Brick was now making an effort to simply ignore everyone in the room. He was just ready to get out of there, since they'd been told his mother had a bad knot on her head, but was more or less okay. They were just waiting for her to wake up, which would be any minute now.
A low whistling invaded his senses, and he turned his head to the direction of the window behind Blossom. She turned too, wondering what he could be looking at that would suddenly catch his attention. When she didn't see anything she turned back to him, opening her mouth to question him, but he raised a hand indicating for her to listen.
They sat silently, waiting.
There! She could here it now too, and it was getting louder.
Boomer also glanced up when he began to hear the whistling. ''What-?''
''Arrrrgh! IT'S TOO FUCKING HEAVY! I CAN'T-UGH!''
''WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS MADE OF?''
Their voices were far away, unable to be heard by anyone without their super hearing.
They glanced at each other quickly before rushing out the room.
''Do you think Dr. Cathy has woken up yet?'' Bubbles asked as they rounded the corner going back to the room.
''I hope so,'' Jen replied.
''Me too. It's been hours already. She should have-'' She broke off in surprise when Brick, Boomer, and her sister suddenly came running out of Cathy's hospital room. ''What's going-''
Blossom didn't falter a step as she grabbed Bubbles' arm and dragged her along with them down the hall.
Jen blinked in surprise as they disappeared around another corner. ''What is going on?'' She continued into her friend's room, and smiled when she saw her stir.
She walked quickly to the bed just as Cathy's bleary eyes opened. ''Jen...?'' She nodded, and Cathy turned her head to the window, frowning. ''Something's wrong. Where are my boys?''
Jen frowned at Cathy's worried look. ''They just ran out of here in a hurry. Why? What's wrong?''
Cathy began to struggle to sit up, and Jen scrambled to help her. ''I..I can hear them, and the girls, faintly. They're shouting. And something's...whistling.''
''Holy SHIT!'' Boomer shouted as he rammed into the missile behind Buttercup, followed immediately by Bubbles, the booming sound of the missile shooting through the air nearly drowning out his voice.
''THEY'RE TOO HEAVY!'' Bubbles shouted.
''YES, I THINK WE'VE ESTABLISHED THAT BUBBLES!'' Buttercup replied as they struggled to even slow down the projectile which was half the size of the hospital itself. Near them, Butch, Blossom, and Brick struggled with the other missile. ''YOU GUYS ARE THE SMART ONES! COME UP WITH SOMETHING, DAMN IT!'' She called over to them.
''TRYING!'' They called back.
''NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING,'' Butch started from in front of them, ''BUT WE'VE GOT ABOUT FIVE MINUTES 'TILL THESE HIT AND KILL EVERYONE IN THAT BUILDING! IF YOU GUYS COULD TRY A LITTLE FASTER IT WOULD BE REALLY APPRECIATED!''
Hair whipping wildly around her face, Blossom found it extremely difficult to think.
''HEY!'' Brick said suddenly, ''IF THREE OF US ARE ABLE TO SLOW THEM DOWN, ALL SIX SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO STOP IT!''
''NO! THEN ONE OF THEM WILL BE SPEEDING FULL FORCE AND MIGHT HIT BEFORE WE CAN STOP THE OTHER ONE!'' She retorted.
''WE'RE A LITTLE PRESSED FOR TIME FOR ANY ACTUAL WELL THOUGHT OUT PLANS OF ACTION! DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA?''
''I'M SURE I CAN COME UP WITH ONE!''
''THEN DO IT!''
''STOP FIGHTING AND FUCKING THINK! WE'RE BREAKING OUR BACKS OVER HERE!'' Buttercup yelled at them.
Brick stared at the metal he was struggling to keep hold of and lightly tapped it. It was hollow inside, and had it not been shot off like it was would have been quite light to them. The way missiles were designed, if they were bent or misshapen in any way it would throw them off track, depending on how misshapen they were. This type of metal would be hard to bend on its own.
''LET GO OF IT!'' He commanded suddenly. Blossom and Butch looked back at him like he was crazy.
''WHAT?'' They yelled in unison.
HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?'' Blossom asked incredulously.
''LET GO AND USE YOUR HEAT VISION SO BUTCH CAN DENT IT! THAT SHOULD MAKE IT SPIRAL OFF COURSE! ONCE THAT HAPPENS IT WILL BE EASIER TO STOP SINCE IT WON'T JUST BE SHOOTING STRAIGHT AT THE HOSPITAL!''
Blossom hesitated.
''OR WE CAN JUST LET IT KILL A TON OF-''
''ALRIGHT! FINE!'' She didn't like putting her people's safety in the hands of a known criminal.
He nodded, turning to the other three. ''BUTTERCUP!''
She glanced at him, squinting as the wind rushed at her face.
''DO WHAT WE DO!'' He told her. Butch and Blossom let go, and he had to hurry and release his hold. They aimed their Heat Vision at it. It wasn't enough to melt it, but it did make it more malleable. ''Now Butch!''
Butch rushed in front of the missile and punched it dead on, denting the nose of it inward and sending it spinning toward the ground. All three of them rushed to catch it, and set it down on the ground heavily, mere yards away from the hospital parking lot.
Buttercup, Boomer, and Bubbles landed next to them, dropping their own metal load harmlessly to the ground.
Panting with exhaustion, they all dropped to the ground and sighed with relief. ''Damn, that was awesome. Can you make me a missile, Brick? I promise I want attack anyone with it.'' Butch pleaded.
''Hell no.''
''Okay, just what was that?'' Buttercup asked once she'd caught her breath. ''Why would somebody target a hospital? And with two giant missiles?''
''They were probably targeting the three of you,'' Brick answered, lying on his back and staring up at the clouds. ''I can't think of another reason. Unless it was just a terrorist attack, which I doubt.''
''Why would anyone want to attack us?'' Bubbles asked. She received five deadpanned stares and blushed. ''Sorry, stupid question.''
Blossom turned her head to glare at Brick. ''What I want to know,'' Blossom said, ''Is why you would help us out? I doubt you've suddenly decided to become an upstanding citizen.''
Brick glared back at her. ''Our mother and Jen were in there. But back to the main point here; whoever was attacking you indirectly attacked us, which is not okay. Any ideas as to who the guy is?''
Blossom frowned at him.
''What now?''
''I don't think I should be discussing this information with criminals.''
Brick arched an eyebrow. ''And exactly what kind of criminal activity have we partaken in during the past eleven years that concerns you so greatly?''
''You nearly destroyed Dr. Catherine's building!''
''It was a god damn accident!'' Butch defended.
''What were you even doing that caused a yellow blast to rip who knows how many wholes through the walls?''
''Playing with a blaster, but-''
''You were what?'' Brick seethed, sitting up. ''Tell me you did not just say you went into the storage room, where you're not supposed to be without permission, and used Mojo's three ton robotic blaster.''
''...Uh?'' Shit.
Butch jumped up and tried to fly back to the hospital, but was tackled out of the air by his redheaded brother. ''And you want me to build you a fucking missile? Are you mental?''
''Hey, I hate to interrupt your brotherly bonding, but what about Dr. Cathy?'' Buttercup pointed out. She and her sisters blinked as the three boys were replaced with streaks of color, quickly heading for the building.
''I don't trust them...'' Blossom muttered as they went back to the hospital on foot.
''I honestly couldn't care less what they do as long as nobody's getting hurt.'' Buttercup said, shrugging with a frown. ''So far, they've yet to hurt anyone.'' She thought for a minute. ''At least not purposely.''
Bubbles stayed silent, thinking over her earlier conversation with Jen.
While Boomer squeezed the life out of the woman and Butch grudgingly allowed her to ruffle his hair, Brick stood off to the side just watching. He was glad for the natural understanding Cathy seemed to have; she knew 'Public Displays of Affection' was not his thing. There had never been a time when he'd had to tell her not to touch him, because she would just know. It was one of the things he appreciated most about her.
Unfortunately, there had also never been a time when he could appropriately express this appreciation. And no matter what, when she wasn't wearing her gloves his gaze could not stray from her burnt hands.
A/N: Thank you very much to those of you who read the story and those who reviewed. I wasn't sure if too many people would like this story, but I've been getting a pretty decent amount of visitors in Story Traffic, so that's a good sign! :)
My friend pointed this out to me, so I thought I should clear this up now. Butch has most definitely NOT suddenly decided to go good and help save the town. He did it for Mimi, for who knows what reason. The other boys haven't either. They just heard their brother struggling and when they saw the missile they helped stop it because Cathy and Jen were still in the building.
It will be a while before the boys show any real interest in the girls, and likewise, because you can't just wake up one morning and decide your previous mortal enemy looks really hot. It's a process.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway, despite the fact that I don't like it, especially the second to last segment. I tried, but it still could've been done better.
I should have the next chapter out in a week. Review please! I could use the feedback! ^_^