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. If I did you wouldn't be reading these fanfics, you'd be watching new episodes.
Chapter Six: She Just Knows

Happy Reading!

''We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood''. ~William James

The second floor had been empty, so Butch went up to the third to find and possibly mess with Boomer. He was checking the bathrooms, all of which seemed to be strangely absent of the gas. There was only the faint bit of it hovering in the air above him.

As he neared the bathroom at the end of the hallway he could hear talking, and quickly recognized the voices. He opened the door, where Buttercup and Boomer were pressed up against the wall next to him while his mother peered curiously at whatever it was she was holding. It was spraying her with black mist, but Boomer seemed disinclined to go close, so he figured he should stay back as well.

''Why are you guys standing over here?'' He asked. They glanced over at him, then back to the device.

''That thing is spritzing out Antidote X,'' Boomer replied. ''Only Mom can go near it.''

''And it's not doing anything to her?'' Butch asked with bewilderment. Buttercup frowned at him in confusion.

''Why would it?''

Butch paused, knowing he'd said something he shouldn't have. Buttercup narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, and from her other side Boomer made desperate motions for him to keep his mouth shut.

''...I just thought it wasn't safe for average humans,'' He answered slowly. It was obvious that Buttercup wasn't buying it, but she didn't question him further.

''Here you go, Buttercup,'' Cathy said, dropping the device to the ground with a sigh. Buttercup destroyed it with a Fist-Beam, and they all followed Cathy as she walked out the bathroom.

''So you guys are just destroying all of those...things?'' Butch asked.

''Yes. It's best to get rid of them all first. When that's done the building should air out on its own if we open all the windows. The gas doesn't seem too thick, so once it reaches the open air it should disperse,'' Cathy replied, leading them to the next bathroom.

It took them an hour to destroy the rest of the devices, and an extra five minutes to open every window on every floor.

As they exited the school they were greeted by Brick, who leaned casually next to the front door.

Buttercup's eyes widened at the sight of her sisters propped up against the nearest wall and not moving. Quickly jumping to conclusions she angrily threw a punch at Brick, who managed to catch it with an exasperated look bordering on sour.

''So this is the thanks I get for rescuing them?'' He scowled down at her surprised face and dropped her hand. ''Next time I'll know not to bother.'' He stepped away to allow her to collect her sisters and awkwardly lift herself into the air. She tossed him a cautious glance before facing Cathy.

''You'll call the fire department for me?'' She figured her work was done now that nobody was in immediate danger, so the rest was the city's job to take care of.

''Of course,'' Cathy replied. Buttercup nodded. She threw a look at Boomer and Butch who were standing off to the side. Boomer raised his hands in innocence and stepped back, not wanting to invoke her wrath. Butch just smirked at her, and she scowled in reply.

She looked back at Brick, muttering a quick 'thanks' and sped off for home.

Brick frowned. 'I'm still never helping them again. I don't even know why I did it in the first place...'

Butch watched Buttercup's disappearing form for a moment, as if considering something. He glanced back down as a gloved hand was shoved in front of his face. Taking in that it was fingerless with its signature yellow stripe around the wearer's wrist, he verified the glove belonged to his mother just in time for her to demand, ''Cellphone, please? I left mine at home.''

Blossom stared dispassionately at the syringe as it broke the skin of her upper arm. She could feel the chemical spread through her veins and her power return; she breathed a small sigh of relief.

''Buttercup told me it was one of the Rowdyruff Boys who found you and Bubbles in that bathroom.'' The Professor spoke as he sterilized and put away the syringe. He offered her a knowing look. ''Brick, she said.'' Blossom didn't respond. She only slid down from the table she'd sat on and made her way upstairs.

The Professor shook his head to himself. He knew next to nothing about what was going on. One afternoon his daughters come home looking scratched up and oddly quiet. Then a lion rings his doorbell (and jumps him) to escort his girls to somebody named Catherine Magnesium's establishment. Then the same woman is in the hospital and that same hospital gets attacked. And a week later Townsville High is gassed with some knock out toxin and Antidote X? And two of his girls are rescued by the Rowdyruff leader? Yes, he needed some answers, and he had a moderately good idea of who to get them from.

He picked up the phone in his lab with the same phone line as the one upstairs, and scrolled through their recent calls they'd received.

''I think they're trying to appear as if they've become heroes to get into the good graces of us and the citizens,'' was the first thing their sister said when she came into the living room. It didn't take much to figure out who she was referring to.

Bubbles was facing a lot of conflicting emotions at this point. How could she not? The boys fight them, then they help them, then their potential suspects, then they help them again. She tried to believe in the good in everyone, but it was hard with her sister shoving facts down her throat.

Buttercup had no real thoughts on the matter. She'd been faced with evidence from both sides and would go along with whatever their leader had in mind for now as she reserved her judgment.

Blossom walked in front of the couch, blocking the television. With a quick roll of her eyes Buttercup clicked it off and tossed the remote next to her on the couch.

''We need proof. To get this proof we will sneak into the security room of Magnesium Industries and look at the tapes to see if there's anything we can go on.''

Bubbles shifted uncomfortably. Buttercup crossed her arms. ''Great,'' She drawled. At Blossom's indignant look she waved a hand to stall her from arguing. ''No, really, it's great. I just wanna know how we're gonna do this. It's a very important place right? Won't they have, like, maximum security?'' They could be stealthy when they had to, but Buttercup knew that wasn't really her area of expertise. What if they were caught?

Blossom calmed. ''I've considered this. I took the liberty of scouting for guards during our visit there; there were none. It's very likely that there will be very few, if any at all, during the later hours.''

''How come?'' Bubbles asked quietly.

''When you think about it, they wouldn't have much need for actual security beyond camera's and systems. They have the Rowdyruff Boys living under the same roof; anyone trying to infiltrate would be finished off in seconds.'' She paused, taking in her sisters' skeptical expressions. ''We'll go late tonight when the boys will most likely be asleep. We're fast enough to avoid being seen clearly by the cameras, which would've been the only alert the boys would have at such a late hour.''

'I don't like this,' Bubbles thought in regard to the plan, but she didn't voice it. She glanced at Buttercup, who was entirely deadpanned about the situation, where as usually she would be freely voicing her own opinion. She couldn't imagine Buttercup simply having nothing to say about this. It just wasn't like her sister.

Buttercup could feel Bubbles' eyes on her profile but decided to ignore her. She knew she was acting strange and she knew Bubbles would be the first one to pick up on it. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything she could do about that.

Jen blew her bangs out of her face and let her head drop into her folded arms, heaving a deep sigh. It seemed like there was always something new for her to do, be it supervising the repairs on the building (which were only just finished this morning) or having to deal with the other duties being a secretary to a million dollar military industry such as this one entailed.

Cathy didn't want to work her this hard but Jen insisted on taking up all the duties Cathy herself was too busy to do. The blonde was always either working on one of her projects or dealing with her wayward sons, both of which took a lot out of her friend.

Jen frowned into the cushion of her sleeves at that thought. Cathy had been held up in her lab a lot more than usual lately, and she could see it starting to take a toll on her friend's energy.

Cathy chose that moment to enter the office she shared with Jen, and gave her friend a pat on the head as she walked by. Jen peaked out from her arms, giving Cathy an exasperated look. ''Where have you been?''

Cathy sat down at her own desk, sighing tiredly as she slumped in her chair. ''Nowhere special,'' She murmured, closing her eyes and massaging her temple.

Jen sat upright, watching the younger woman worriedly. ''How bad was it?''

''Ugh,'' Cathy breathed, leaning her head back on the chair. ''Bad. I was jumping rooftops.''

By this time Jen knew not to ask about the things Cathy did, but couldn't help herself this time. ''Why?'' She asked incredulously.

''Faster,'' Was all that was said in reply.

''You didn't get worked up, did you?'' Jen felt the need to ask. Cathy seemed okay...

''No. I know what would happen.'' Cathy's Chemical X may be more under her control, but it still wasn't stabilized. If at ANY time Cathy ever got too worked up about anything it could prove disastrous. That was why Cathy always kept a relatively calm demeanor.

They both started in surprise when the phone rang, and Jen quickly answered it if only to get the noise to cease.

''Magnesium Industries, secretary Jennifer Carlfer speaking.'' Cathy watched as her friend frowned into the phone before presenting her with it. ''Professor Utonium is asking for you.''

Cathy took the phone with a raised eyebrow and pressed the receiver to her ear. She listened for several seconds before responding. ''No, I don't mind. What time?'' A short pause. ''Alright. I'll see you there, Professor.'' She handed the phone back to Jen for her to hang up, and shook her head warily.

''What did he want?'' Jen asked.

''He wants me to meet with him at his home tomorrow morning. He says he has some 'concerns' regarding the girls' visit here.'' She made the physical air quotes where appropriate. ''I can guess what this is going to be about, and I better not here one word about my precious babies,'' She murmured crossly. Jen chuckled.

Those boys were never precious.

Well maybe...-no, not even Boomer.

'Three in the fucking morning,' Buttercup thought angrily as she threw on a green hoodie and loose black jogging pants. Her hair stuck up at odd angles from the hour and a half of sleep she managed to catch. 'And I still have to get up at seven for school. Dammit, Blossom.'

She exited the room and met Bubbles coming from the bathroom as they headed down the stairs together. Her sister was dressed similarly, with her blonde hair pulled back into a quick ponytail. She looked exhausted and ready to get this over with as they reached the living room where their sister waited for them.

Blossom, who'd never gone to sleep, looked far more cleaned up then they did, aside from the dark circles beneath her eyes. ''Ready to go?'' She asked.

''Yes,'' Bubbles mumbled tiredly.

''No.''

Buttercup was ignored.

Reaching the expansive building was no problem, and neither was entering it since the doors were still open. Apparently the place was one of those 'twenty-four hour' companies.

Nobody was in the hallway, so they quickly zipped down the hall, avoiding the cameras. They assumed the room they were looking for would be on the first floor, and they were proven correct when they eventually came to a door labeled 'Security Room.'

Blossom opened the door slowly and peaked in. There was surprisingly nobody watching the large set of monitors, so they quickly entered and closed the door behind them.

Blossom and Bubbles walked up to the pile of tapes off to one side, and Buttercup stayed by the door as a lookout.

''I found the tape for Dr. Cathy's lab,'' Bubbles whispered and handed the tape over to her sister.

''Good job, Bubbles.'' Blossom pushed the tape into a nearby VCR, and watched as the previously dark screen in the middle lit up with the recorded image.

For several minutes they watched Dr. Cathy work on projects in her lab and every once in a while the boys or Jen would come in, but would leave soon after. Blossom had to wonder exactly how much time Dr. Cathy spent in her lab, for she only seemed to leave it for short intervals.

After a while, Blossom pressed fast forward so they wouldn't waste time watching the mundane comings and goings. A few times a group of people would enter the lab with Dr. Cathy and help her with her projects, but they far in between.

Soon, the tape began getting closer to date, and Brick began to show up more often.

He would change into some kind of suit and he and Cathy would enter into a room adjoining the lab. Hours later they would exit and go upstairs, then Cathy would come back down again.

Suddenly the tape went blank, but only for a few precious seconds. Blossom paid close attention when the image came back. This was another camera at a different angle, and wherever this person was standing they could only see black gloved hands and the edge of a table.

The hands disappeared for a moment, then returned with an object that Blossom immediately recognized. So did her sisters, if Bubbles' gasp and Buttercup's enraged growl were any indication.

''So it was her,'' Buttercup said harshly, though she remembered to keep her voice low. ''All this time it was her! And to think I- God damn it.''

''No, not Dr. Cathy. She was so nice...'' Bubbles whispered in disbelief.

''I should have suspected such. You simply can't adopt the Rowdyruff Boys and not be involved with criminal activity.'' Blossom muttered, shaking her head.

''But the boys weren't-!'' Bubbles started, but Blossom cut her off.

''They had to be in on it Bubbles. Did you see how often Brick went into that room with her? It was probably large enough to hold the missiles. And I know you just saw her creating that device that released the gas and Antidote X. Dr. Catherine built those things and unleashed them on the town, and then the Rowdyruffs came and helped us save the day. It makes sense.''

''No...'' Bubbles moaned in despair. ''What about Jen?'' She was almost afraid to ask.

Blossom hesitated, thinking for a moment. ''I...don't think Jen was part of it. She never entered the room, and she was hardly ever in the lab.''

''So what are we going to do?'' Buttercup asked impatiently. 'I can't believe I ever believed for a second that Butch...God, I'm so stupid.'

''We can't take her to jail ourselves; I have no doubt that would end up in an all out fight with the Rowdyruff Boys, and we're going to avoid that in light of what that could do to the city. We'll have to go to the police and allow them to take care of it.''

''And how exactly would the police handle this?'' Buttercup asked skeptically.

Blossom stared blankly at the screen. By now the scene had changed again and Cathy was rummaging around in a file cabinet. ''I saw what happened the day Boomer and Butch destroyed most of the first floor. If presented with enough evidence I believe Jen would come to reason and side with us. Boomer and Butch listen to Brick, and Brick listens to Jen.''

''This doesn't seem right, Blossom,'' Bubbles argued. ''I know people, and Dr. Cathy most definitely isn't a bad person; I can tell! She would never have-!''

''Bubbles,'' Blossom interrupted solemnly. ''I know you liked Dr. Cathy, but you can see the evidence. Nobody else around here wears black gloves but Dr. Cathy. And nobody goes into her lab without her.''

''Lets get out of here,'' Buttercup hissed. ''It's been over an hour; we're pushing our luck as it is.''

'It wasn't her, Bubbles thought fiercely. She knew people; it wasn't her fault that her sisters never listened to her about these things. 'It wasn't her. Or the boys. I know it!'

Their eyes glowed in the darkness as they watched them rush out the room; fast enough to normally avoid detection, but slow enough not to leave a visible streak of color.

They waited until they just barely heard the front door swing shut before coming out of the shadows and entering the room previously invaded.

If those girls thought they'd be stupid enough not to have any security they were dead wrong.

Boomer pressed a button on his watch to stop it from vibrating. It was courtesy of him that they'd managed to catch the girls trespassing.

Boomer's specialty was electronics and security. Setting up a system to warn you when any of the doors leading into the building opened inward after one a.m. was very practical. People only left after that hour; nobody ever came in.

He'd decided not to alert the security staff they had on hand and just woke his brothers so they could check it out themselves.

''What's out of place, Boomer?'' Brick asked, gesturing around the room.

Boomer gave the room a once over, eyes immediately landing on the pile of tapes. He walked forward, picking up a tape that was haphazardly put back into it's original place. It was turned slightly to the left, which wasn't the way he'd left it. He popped it into the VCR, standing back and watching the screen.

''Why would they want to watch Mom's lab?'' Butch asked after a moment of watching their mother go about her daily activities.

''They think she's involved with all that's happening,'' Brick replied, narrowing his eyes. The girls hadn't rewound the tape before putting it back, so it was currently playing from where they'd left it. He pressed the 'rewind' button, going back several hours before pressing 'play.'

It was silent as they saw the image of their mother go black and be replaced with hands working on the devices from earlier in the day.

''What the hell...?'' Butch asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. ''Who the hell is that?''

''Well, it's not Mom,'' Boomer said definitely. ''Mom's gloves are fingerless, and they have a yellow stripe on the wrist. These are regular gloves and they're completely black.''

Brick nodded. ''But the girls don't know that. They've probably never paid attention to her gloves; they just know she wears them.''

''So they think Mom made that?'' Boomer asked worriedly.

''Probably.''

It was silent for a few seconds as they mulled that over, until Butch spoke up. ''Wouldn't it be cool if she did though?''

Boomer gave Butch a distressed frown, and Brick raised eyebrow.

Butch shrugged with a sheepish grin. ''I just thought it would be awesome to have a mom who was also a secret criminal mastermind on the side. She'd be building all kinds of dangerous weapons so she could-''

At his brothers' dry looks he broke off, crossing his arms in irritation.

''Fine. Whatever. Take away all the joy from my fantasies.''

''This is serious Butch; they think Mom is the one who sent the missiles and gassed the school,'' Boomer pointed out.

''So?''

''She could get in trouble.''

''Soooooooo?''

''Give it a rest you two. I'm going back to bed; I don't have time for this shit at four-thirty in the fucking morning.'' Brick turned on his heel and left. Butch rolled his eyes and followed him out.

Boomer began leave too after putting the tape in it's proper spot. Then, as an after thought, pressed a button on the VCR to show the image of the camera in the security room. The girls probably hadn't noticed it, since not many people would bother to put a camera in this particular room, but Boomer was nothing if not thorough.

After rewinding it he watched the girls for the duration of their visit, easily reading their lips to pick up their on conversation.

''So it was her. All this time it was her! And to think I- God damn it.''

''No, not Dr. Cathy. She was so nice...''

''I should have suspected such. You simply can't adopt the Rowdyruff Boys and not be involved with criminal activity.''

Boomer frowned at that one. Granted, they weren't saints, but just because the rules of society, manners, and the other things he'd lacked when he was younger had taken him quite a long time to fully grasp didn't mean he wasn't a better kid now.

''But the boys weren't-!''

''They had to be in on it Bubbles. Did you see how often Brick went into that room with her?''

Boomer would admit, he didn't really know all of what Brick and their mother did in there, but he was fairly sure they weren't building missiles or anything of the like.

''So what are we going to do?''

''We can't take her to jail ourselves. We'll have to go to the police and allow them to take care of it. If presented with enough evidence I believe Jen would come to reason and side with us. Boomer and Butch listen to Brick, and Brick listens to Jen.''

He scowled, and at this point he couldn't say he was very fond of the Powerpuff leader. They weren't dogs trained to act on Brick's beck and call, and Brick would never let anyone take their mother, no matter what. For that matter, Jen's their mother's best friend; she wouldn't be persuaded to go against her so easily.

''This doesn't seem right, Blossom. I know people, and Dr. Cathy most definitely isn't a bad person; I can tell! She would never have-!''

''Bubbles.''

It would seem Bubbles was their only ally in this situation. Perhaps with her help...

''Boomer!'' Butch called, poking his head into the room. ''Brick said to get your ass upstairs because it's late. You can update your security protocols or whatever after the sun rises.''

Boomer sighed, stopping the tape and glancing at the paused image of Bubbles defending her opinion against her sisters'.

'Yes,' He thought, 'Maybe she could help.'

I somehow managed to get this out in time, but I make no promises for chapter 7. This was self beta'd, so I hope there weren't too many mistakes. Please tell me if you saw any.

Fun Facts!: (Not really, but I was bored)

Chapter One: I'm terrible with fighting scenes. I had to watch the PpG movie and the Rowdyruff episodes four times before something clicked and the fight started to play out in my head by itself.

Chapter Two: I hardly had to do any research for the stem cells explanation for Hayate. We can all thank South Park for doing their homework.

Chapter Three: Throughout the chapter I was thinking about the booster seats. I honestly couldn't resist. Like I said, I was watching the PpG movie over and over. The girls' seats were cute, and I had to have them.

Chapter Four: Surprisingly, the entire chapter came from one five second scene in an old Batman episode. Joker has a rocket with a clown face with a creepy smile. This somehow got me thinking missiles and...yeah.

Chapter Five: This was the result of pushing through writers block, so I didn't have much in mind other than, 'Okay, only a thousand more words. Make some conversation. Tense situations. Oh no, my mind is going blank! Must. Make. Progress!'

No facts for Chapter Six, but I will say this is currently my favorite chapter out of all of them, because I believe it's the best I've written so far. Correct me if I'm wrong. :)