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 the moment
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: If I owned the PpG..I...huh. Well, I might kill off Floyd and Lloyd, but that's just me.
Chapter Seven: No Restrictions
Happy Reading!
''Mad, adj: Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence.'' ~Ambrose Bierce
''Why are we here?'' Falman asked impatiently. ''Where's Dr. Magnesium?''
Brick leaned forward in Dr. Catherine's office chair, elbows resting on the desk and mouth hidden behind interlaced fingers. ''Busy,'' he stated shortly.
''Then why are we here?''
''I called you here,'' came the blunt reply.
Next to Falman, Hopson and Smith shared knowing glances. Curr raised an eyebrow, wondering if she should be taking this seriously.
Falman apparently shared her thoughts. ''What business does a kid have calling a meeting like this? I have work to do.''
Hopson and Smith edged away from him, choosing to stand closer to Curr. She leaned in close to Smith and asked in a whisper, ''What's wrong?''
''Falman is about to learn a very valuable lesson. Pay close attention.'' Smith whispered back with an amused quirk of the lips. Hopson chuckled on his other side.
Brick and Falman stared at each other. The former's look more of a deadpan and the latter's more of a glare.
Falman averted his gaze first, scowling and turning around as he headed for the door. Brick smirked victoriously.
The tall, somewhat lanky, scientist managed to open the door about an inch before a hand reached out and slammed it shut. His eyes followed the hand to the teenage boy leaning against the wall in front of him, one hand resting on the door and the other in his pocket, a light frown settled on his face.
Who was this kid and what right did he have to block his exit? ''Move, Brat,'' Falman snarled.
The blonde did not look the least bit fazed. ''Brick's not finished yet.''
''I'm not going to let a couple of kids order me around; move you little punk.''
''I don't think so.''
Someone snorted from Jen's desk, and Curr and Falman jumped in surprise. Hopson and Smith shared an amused look.
Newbies.
The boy at the secretary's desk, leaning back with his feet resting atop it, had a hand over his mouth and was holding back a laugh. Curr could've sworn he hadn't been in the room a second ago...and neither had the blonde kid now that she thought about it.
''I called the four of you here because you all are the only group of trusted scientists Dr. Magnesium allows in her lab.'' Brick stood up, regaining their attention. He walked around the desk and stood in front of it, arms crossed. ''I have reason to believe that one of you were using the lab and its equipment to create the machines responsible for the panic at Townsville Highschool yesterday.''
''Excuse me,'' Curr interrupted, her voice strong despite the uncomfortable stare she was receiving from the redheaded teen. Brick obviously didn't much care for interruptions. ''Who are you? What right do you have to accuse us of anything? Do you work for Dr. Magnesium as an assistant or something?''
Brick scoffed. ''Assistant? No. Partner? Yes.''
Butch snorted again, and Brick sent him a scathing look. Butch raised his hands in an innocent and placating gesture. ''What? You know if you said that to her-''
''Shut up, Butch.''
''Why do you think it was one of us?'' Smith asked, genuinely curious. Smith was a well-built man in his forties. He'd lost most of his hair at an early age and now wore it in a thin come-over. It had been quite a few years since he'd first come to work for Magnesium Industries and he was a good friend of Cathy herself and was therefore privy to all the boys' shenanigans. The only one who'd been there longer than him was Hopson.
Brick turned to him and frowned. ''I have camera footage of someone building the machines in the lab, but I can't identify them. It wasn't my brothers or myself, it wasn't Ms. Carlfer, and it wasn't Dr. Magnesium. You four are the only suspects left.''
Cathy rushed out of the bathroom, hopping to pull on a boot with one hand while the other finished buttoning her tunic. Her hair was still wet from her shower and she'd yet to put on her gloves.
Once again she'd forgotten to set her alarm clock and for some reason Butch hadn't woken her up like he usually did when this happened.
All three boys were mysteriously absent from the apartment, despite the fact it was only ten in the morning. She hoped whatever it was they were doing that it wouldn't bring trouble. It was rare that all three of them would be involved in anything mischievous together these days, but she wouldn't put it past them.
Hayate slept on the couch in the living room, stretched out on his back with his little paws stuck up in the air. So adorable.
She walked briskly into her room, grabbing her gloves from her bedside table and tugging them on. She then went back to the bathroom to dry and comb her damp tresses.
Once finished with the ends of her hair curled at her waist, her bang curving around half her face, and headband resting atop her head she made her way to the elevator. She decided to leave the little lion cub on the couch to sleep instead of taking him with her today. After yesterday he'd probably had enough adventure for a while.
Cathy was sure she was already late for her meeting with Professor Utonium. Perhaps one of her boys would be willing to give her a lift?
She stopped just short of pressing the button to go down when it buzzed sharply, indicating someone without a key was trying to get into the suite. Assuming Butch had simply forgotten his key again she opened it.
''FREEZE!'' Cathy stepped back, flabbergasted, as police officers invaded her apartment. Hayate twitched from the couch.
'I swear, if this has anything to do with them-'
''PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!'' One of the officers commanded, the barrel of his gun pointed directly at her. She did as told, hesitantly raising her hands over her head so as not to provoke them.
'-those boys are so grounded.' Then, as an afterthought, 'I guess I'll be missing my meeting with the Professor then.'
As she was escorted roughly into the elevator she saw Hayate out of the corner of her eye. The cub jumped down from the couch, glaring silently at the men surrounding her, but smart enough not to make a scene about it.
'Find the boys,' she mouthed to him and Hayate nodded sharply to show he understood. Then the doors closed in her face, cutting off her view of her apartment and little friend, who was sprinting toward the large window in the kitchen that led to the fire escape.
Bubbles stared forlornly at the top floor from outside Magnesium Industries, very much wanting to turn her gaze away. Buttercup paced impatiently behind her while Blossom discussed something with an officer nearby.
She sighed, deactivating her X-Ray Vision with a blink. ''They got her,'' she mumbled, just loud enough for Buttercup to hear. Her sister scowled down at the ground and came to a stop beside her.
''Good.''
Bubbles did not agree with that sentiment, but knew her opinion would be overruled by her sisters'. ''The boys weren't there; I don't think they're aware of what's happening yet.''
''Good.''
It was most definitely NOT good. They were sending an innocent woman to jail and taking away a parent! Bubbles wanted to scream at her sisters. She was torn.
It was an unspoken rule that she was supposed to go along with whatever Blossom ordered, but this time Bubbles knew her sister was wrong, despite how rare an occurrence their leader thought that was.
On the other hand, could she really going to go through with this? Could she really do something that she knew with every fiber of her being was the wrong thing to do?
She took another look inside, spotting Dr. Catherine who stood in the slowly descending elevator with her wrists cuffed behind her back and a solemn, yet confused frown. She was swarmed by angry police officers and if Bubbles was correct, one of them had his gun trained on her.
No, she couldn't. She wouldn't go through with this.
She walked quickly to the front door of the building and went inside, ignoring Buttercup's disapproving look.
When she turned left Dr. Cathy and Jen's office was at the end of the hallway. She could see the woman step off the elevator across from it, guided by a handful of police officers.
As she neared them she heard a commotion and what sounded like growling from the office. She was several feet away from the elevator when the office door slammed open, revealing Butch looking quite feral, followed by a tense Boomer, and lastly Brick, who lacked any kind of expression.
The police officers raised their guns at them, but the boys' focus was trained on the one officer whose gun was firmly planted in the small of Dr. Cathy's back.
''What's going on?'' Came Brick's steady voice. Despite his more or less blank look his eyes were hard; understandable if your pet lion suddenly busted -fully grown- through the window from the fire escape and began growling and snapping anxiously in the direction of the door.
Well, she had come to help, so the least she could do was give him a bit of an explanation. ''Blossom believes that Dr. Cathy is the one responsible for the gas leak at the school, so she's having the police arrest her.''
Brick did take note of how she said 'Blossom believes,' implying that she herself did not share her sister's view.
''Where's her proof?'' He asked.
Someone other than Bubbles answered his question, her tone flat and face mirroring his own detached expression. ''I have video evidence.'' She held up a tape that was no doubt confiscated from their security room.
Boomer frowned as he stared at it. He didn't much care for people messing with his things and this was the second time she'd broken in there, and this time she'd even taken his property.
Bubbles looked warily between her sister and the three boys. Going by their body language, none of them seemed ready to listen to reason.
Buttercup came to stand next to her a moment later, arms crossed and gaze directed unwaveringly at Butch. He snarled at her in return, feeling as if this were some form of betrayal. He would of thought that after saving the hospital at least she would have seen that they'd changed.
Blossom strode confidently to stand directly in front of Brick, blocking his view of his mother, who was remaining oddly silent given the circumstances.
All Brick could think was, 'This is what I get for doing a fucking good deed.' He knew should have just left her in that damn bathroom.
Butch looked ready to spring, be it at Blossom, Buttercup, the police, or anyone else who got in his way. The first two tensed in preparation, but Brick held his brother back with a firm grip on his shoulder. Butch fought against the restraining hold but stilled when he caught sight of his leader's face, hardened in anger and eyes bleeding a dark red; unnatural compared to its usual lighter shade.
The red Ruff somehow managed to keep his voice level despite his barely concealed irritation. ''It wasn't her.''
''Of course it wasn't,'' Blossom immediately deadpanned.
''Blossom,'' Bubbles mumbled in warning when Brick stiffened, but the former villain didn't hear anything else after that; blood had rushed into his ears.
That had set him off. He was perfectly prepared to give a list of facts explaining why it was impossible for his mother to be the criminal, if not for that statement; the way she'd mocked him. The way she mocked his intelligence with that simple play of words and tone of voice. He could never again stand for her mocking his intelligence like she had when they were children.
He removed his hand from Butch's shoulder. The action was deliberately slow, and the underlining meaning did not escape either of his siblings.
All previous restrictions lifted. Go fucking psycho.
Blossom furrowed her brow in confusion as Brick broke eye contact with her, allowing his bangs to shadow his face as he turned away. She felt a cold shiver go down her spine, as did her sisters and many of the officers. Everyone shifted their attention to Butch.
Butch's grin was inhumanely feral, and his body began to convulse as he set his sights on the redheaded Puff. It had been years since he'd felt this way; the true need and want for carnage was present and the silent order from his leader was undoing the years of rationale Cathy had (somehow) managed to instill in him.
To put it in lesser words: Butch was returning to his old crazy self -as proven by the return of his habit of violently twitching with blood lust- and he'd just been given permission to go crazy.
He lunged at Blossom before it even registered in anyone's mind that he'd moved, slamming into her with such force that it sent them both crashing through the recently repaired wall; Blossom dropped the tape.
They landed far out in the middle of the street and Blossom gasped as the breath was roughly forced out of her when Butch smashed her back into the black concrete. Cars swerved around them desperately and fearful shouts could be heard from the pedestrians surrounding them.
She struggled fruitlessly under his grip, eyes wide with a tinge of fear when she realized just how much stronger than her Butch was.
Butch grinned as he raised a fist with the intent of doing damage to her face, but was suddenly shoved off her and into a nearby parked car.
Buttercup's scowl was full of unchecked malice as she stood over her sister. She offered her a hand but kept her eyes set on Butch, who was raising himself out of the automobile wreckage.
Blossom took the offered assistance and pulled herself up to her feet. Instead of glaring at the one who had knocked her down she directed her hateful gaze to the red Ruff, who she could clearly see through the hole their impact had made.
She suddenly caught sight of Butch charging at her from the side in an attempt to catch her off-guard, only to be intercepted by Buttercup.
The two went down in a tumble of punching, biting, and scathing retorts, rolling further into the street and startling drivers who tried to avoid them.
Butch ended up on his back with Buttercup straddling his waist as she attempted to bash his face in. He easily overpowered her and switched their positions, holding her arms down and using his body weight to keep her legs from kicking him off. She stared up at him in a brief moment of shock before scowling, twisting and turning as she tried break free.
Butch smiled down at her, the glint in his eye clearly showing his amusement at her struggling. With a growl, Buttercup tried to blast him with an Eye-Beam, but he simply leaned out of the way.
Back inside, the officers stood around dumbfounded, unsure of what they should be doing. One officer held his hand firmly over Cathy's mouth as if afraid she'd bark some sort of command that would send her sons into even more of a destructive frenzy, at which she rolled her eyes.
At this point, perhaps ten minutes after the fight started, Hopson and Smith calmly strode out of Cathy's office, followed closely by the wide-eyed Falman and Curr. They led the younger scientists down the hall and out the front door, where the rest of the building's occupants were evacuating slowly and efficiently, as if this were an everyday occurrence. Hayate excited last, small again, and simply padded over to Boomer. The blonde Ruff lifted him up and deposited him on his head. The lion cub looked frustrated as his gaze settled on Cathy, who was still at gunpoint.
Brick watched Blossom, tensed and prepared to fight if she expressed any desire to do so. She, in turn, glared back at him. He was tired of the way she thought she was superior to him and was ready to prove her wrong now that the chance for such a confrontation had arrived.
''I was right,'' she said, as if it were impossible for this not to be so. She was several yards away but he still heard her as clearly as if she were five feet in front of him. ''You three are just no good criminals and will always be such. It's obvious you lack the capability for anything else.''
That last bit was directed specifically toward him, he knew, and it pissed him off. He ground his teeth together in a show of trying to hold back his temper and not fly completely out of control like Butch had.
Blossom lifted an eyebrow at his constraint, suddenly seeming very confident. ''But of course, it's always been that way. Hasn't it Brick?''
Bubbles and Boomer, who were standing mere feet away from the red Ruff, could feel the waves of anger pouring off him before he snapped completely, disappearing from their side in a flash of red. The police officers flinched in surprise. Cathy couldn't help herself and again rolled her eyes.
The entire situation felt like a joke taken way out of context and she just wanted to leave. She also found herself wishing that Jen was there. 'Really, Jennifer! Of all the days to go grocery shopping. Since when do you go shopping this early in the morning?'
''This will not end well for your sister,'' Boomer mumbled to his silent counterpart.
Bubbles glanced at him worriedly, ''Why's that?''
''Brick rarely loses his temper, so when he does not much registers in his mind other than what set him off.''
True to form, Brick shot forward at Blossom with a single-minded conviction the likes of which none of them had ever seen the redhead display in the past. He more or less used his body as a battering ram and simply flew straight into her. They ended up going through the wall of a building across the street from Magnesium Ind.
Blossom hit the tiled lobby flooring roughly as Brick stood over her, his knuckles white from clenching his fists
By now, the streets and most of the buildings in the area had emptied. No citizens wanted to be out and about in this section of the town where the irate super powered teenagers were trying to duke it out.
''Take it back,'' Brick growled, sounding menacing.
Blossom raised herself onto her elbows, staring up at him defiantly.
'Oh, this is not good,' Cathy thought to herself since she still couldn't voice her concerns with the hand covering her mouth. 'Butch has lost all sense of reason and Brick is in a rage.' She looked over to Boomer, who was stiff and ready to help if his brothers needed him, but otherwise held no interest in participating in the battle.
Cathy evaluated her options. She could try to break free, but there was still the issue of the gun pressed against her back. They thought she was a criminal so they might not hesitate to shoot her if she resisted. 'Damn.'
''TAKE IT BACK, DAMMIT!''
Why couldn't the stupid girl just take it back? Did she truly consider him to be the same idiot he had been when he was six? He had changed! He had worked his ass off until he considered himself her equal, and then went BEYOND that!
''No,'' she said with conviction.
Blood leaked from his palms as his fingernails dug deeply into his skin. He began to shake.
He had no idea how much he apparently wanted her to see how much he had improved. He wanted her acknowledgment that he had become just as smart as she was.
She, however, refused to give him this. Instead, she mocked him and implied that he had not changed at all. She thought he was still the stupid kid who couldn't even spell 'dumb!'
Brick audibly ground his teeth together, his face burning red from anger. ''Fine!'' He snapped. ''I'll show you how much I've fucking changed!''
He pulled back a fist, and Blossom tried to scramble to her feet in order to dodge, but he moved faster then she had anticipated.
He landed a brutal punch to the side of her head. Not only did it knock her unconscious on the spot, it sent her hurtling through the building's lobby and crashing into a desk on the other side of the room. The force caused the desk to split in half and scatter documents all over the floor. The phone and computer fell with a noisy clatter, the monitor shattering and spreading bits of glass. Blossom was completely buried beneath it all.
Brick panted with leftover frustration and began to stalk toward the mess with the intention of dragging the Powerpuff leader out, smacking her back into consciousness, and demanding she take back her words.
''ENOUGH!''
Brick stilled in surprise, the shout cutting through his thoughts like a knife. Outside, Butch and Buttercup froze, the latter still trapped beneath the former.
Cathy looked up as best she could with the hand covering her and practically anchoring her head to the officer's chest. Boomer winced and rubbed an ear.
Everyone looked at Bubbles, who was seething. She'd stepped forward to stand directly in front of the gaping hole in the wall of Magnesium Industries to glare out at the three teens.
''I'M SICK OF THIS!'' The officers, Cathy, and Boomer winced again, being the closest to her.
''Bubbles, we're kind of in the middle of a fight,'' Buttercup murmured, and Butch nodded fervently in agreement, half-crazed smile still in place. It was enough to take Bubbles' anger up to an even greater height.
She still wasn't really listening to her. Buttercup still thought that whatever she had to say was inconsequential, and she was sure Blossom would have thought the same if she'd been awake.
The blue Puff half snarled at her sister. Buttercup's eyes widened. ''YOU. WILL. LISTEN. TO ME,'' she bit out. Bubbles let her gaze slide to Butch, then over to Brick meaningfully. ''ALL OF YOU.''
The redheaded Rowdyruff leader looked particularly peeved and Butch just looked amused, but all three nodded collectively. The girl looked pretty pissed off herself.
She nodded sharply, glad she had their undivided attention, and turned to the officers.
''Release Dr. Cathy. She is innocent.'' They scrambled away from the blonde haired woman in fear of the blue Puff's wrath, the one holding her even shoving her away from him in his haste.
Boomer growled in warning at their mistreatment of his mother. Cathy herself only sighed with relief now that the weight of the gun had been removed, and moved to stand next to Boomer. ''Thank you, Bubbles,'' she said sincerely as Boomer fussed over her, checking for injury. Hayate also mewed worriedly.
''Bubbles, no!'' Buttercup protested, struggling again against Butch's grip, but he refused to relent. She was inwardly surprised by his strength. 'Is...he stronger than me now?' Granted, because Butch was male and built to be stronger he had always had a slight edge, but this was different. It felt like he was miles ahead of her now.
''Yes.'' Bubbles replied, her anger simmering down somewhat. ''Dr. Cathy is innocent; neither she nor the boys are behind the attacks.''
''You don't know that!''
''I do know that!'' Bubbles snapped. All at once the bit of resentment she had been feeling for her sisters as of late crawled back up to settle uncomfortably in her chest. ''You always doubt me; you and Blossom! You never believe me when I say I'm sure of something. You think because I act naive all the time that I must be too dense to understand anything, but I do!''
''We don't...'' Buttercup began halfheartedly, but Bubbles immediately cut her off.
''I'm TIRED OF IT!'' She shrieked, a little of her Sonic Voice seeping unintentionally into her tone. It was enough to not only make those in the hall with her cringe in pain, but Butch and Buttercup also flinched. Even Brick, who was the farthest away, grimaced slightly.
''On that note,'' Cathy cut in swiftly before anything had the chance to escalate again. She'd most definitely seen enough fighting and anger in the last twenty minutes than she was ready to deal with. ''We should probably get going.'' She looked pointedly at Butch and Brick as she said this.
''Aw, damn,'' Butch whined. Bubbles' outburst had taken some of the edge off of his bloodlust, but he still wanted to continue his fight. Buttercup glared up at him, still pinned down.
Brick glanced back to where Blossom was buried, then stepped silently through the large whole he'd made and out into the street.
As he passed by the two green super powered teens he snagged Butch by the collar and began to pull him behind him and off of Buttercup. She didn't look especially grateful when she sat up and scowled.
Butch, despite his disappointment that he wouldn't get to finish her off, grinned at her much like a lion would a a tiny deer, even going so far as to lick his lips. ''To be continued, Bitch,'' he said cheerfully as he was dragged to the other side of the street, giving her a farewell salute.
''Up yours, Bastard!'' She yelled back. She clenched her fists but otherwise didn't make a threatening move. She only stood up and continued to scowl and glare at their retreating backs.
They stepped past Bubbles, who offered them a brief glance, and continued on to their mother's side.
Cathy pinched the bridge of her nose and looked up to the ceiling in an attempt to keep calm as they stopped in front of her.
Boomer watched her worriedly. ''Are you alright, Mom?''
''Fine, Hun,'' she murmured. ''Just more than ready to go. The place I have in mind isn't too far.''
With a slight frown Boomer floated behind her and lifted her by her arms a few inches into the air. Brick followed their example, keeping a firm grip on Butch's shirt should the green Ruff decide to break off and go after his counterpart again.
''Wait!'' They turned back to Bubbles, who's features were set with determination. ''I want to go with you.''
''Bubbles, NO!'' Buttercup shouted with disbelief. Her sister ignored her.
Cathy's expression took on a stressed look. ''Bubbles, I would love it if you came with us, but what about your sisters and your father? Won't they be concerned?''
''I'm a big girl,'' the blonde said bluntly. ''I can take care of myself.''
Unsure how to debate that, Cathy sighed mentally. This was truly one of the most demanding days of her life. At least number five or six on the list, she was sure.
''Alright then,'' she relented. ''You're free to come along if that's what you want.'' She felt as if the side of her face would burn from the angry glare Buttercup was shooting her.
'If looks could mutilate...'
Bubbles went to hover in the air beside Cathy and Boomer. The latter of the two offering her a grin before taking off at full speed with his mother in tow. Bubbles followed without a moment's hesitation.
Brick cast the silently seething Buttercup a sideways glance. ''Tell your sister this isn't over.''
''Bastards,'' Buttercup growled, unable to say anything else with her teeth clenched so forcefully.
Brick followed the dissipating streaks of blue, still holding on tightly to Butch. The green Ruff stared intently at Buttercup as they flew away, still smiling somewhat creepily. Brick shook his head in exasperation. It had been a bad call on his part to lift all the restrictions. It would take some serious work to get Butch back to normal again.
Buttercup was hit with a wave of hopelessness that just made her want to tear something apart as she watched her sister disappear into the distance. She warred with herself over following and attempting to bring her back, then decided it was probably pointless.
Bubbles wouldn't come back unless she wanted to, and nothing Buttercup could do would change her mind.
Anyway, she had to go dig her unconscious sister out from under that broken desk. Blossom was going to be so pissed.
..She didn't even want to think about what The Professor would say.
A/N: I hope we all enjoyed that. I tried to make it a bit longer to make up for the long wait. I had family issues when I got back from my vacation that prevented me from writing much.
Now, I would like to ask everyone again to please pop over to my profile to vote on my poll about which story I should focus on next if you haven't already done so. I've added new story summaries to the list. Here's a brief bit of those summaries:
1) Brick attempts to take over the world. RrB/PpG, Rated T-M for gore
2) Prequel to FLY detailing the lives of Cathy and the boys in their earlier years. Rated T for language
3) Post apocalyptic Townsville (of an unconventional sort). ButchXBubbles, Rated T
4) Blossom dies in child birth, leaving Brick to raise their child with the help of their siblings. Minor Greens and Blues, Rated T for language and probable violence
5) Three girls are accidentally gifted with Project Rowdyruff, a set of AI (Artificial Intelligence) programs. RrB/PpG, Rated T. Girls have no familial relation
6) Him prays upon Boomer's secret want to be as strong as his brothers to take over Townsville. Blues, Rated M for gore, violence, language, ...alot of bad stuff. An expansion of 'Emotionless' from Idiosyncrasy.