Dexter sat in his room, staring out the window. He had no inspiration. Nothing was coming to him to help him defeat Fuse. It had been a year or two since the war started, and neither side seemed to yield in the least. "Maybe someone else can give me a muse."
Attempt 1: Mandy
"Just get to work," she snapped, yanking Billy off her desk for the third time in the last two minutes Dexter had been in her office.
Attempt 2: Ben
"Wow! The amazing Boy Genius can't think of anything to work with?" Ben awed. Dexter wasn't quite sure if Ben was being sarcastic, genuine, or just plain stupid. So he assumed all three and nodded. "...If you can't come up with anything, I doubt I'll be able to," Ben finally concluded. Dexter's head fell and his shoulders slumped.
Attempt 3: Dee Dee
"It should be pink!"
He ended that chat in about a second.
Attempt 4: Bubbles
"It should be blue and cute!"
He ended that chat with a curt, "Thanks, goodbye."
Attempt 5: Buttercup
Buttercup shrugged, hitting a sandbag roughly with bandaged knuckles. Her black hair flared around her head when she spun and kicked it with her heel. "Power. Think sixteen elephants charging at you full force with semi-trucks behind them pushing them in full throttle. The elephants and drivers hyper off energy drinks," she offered. "A LOT of energy drinks."
She turned to him. "That what you're looking for?"
Dexter shivered. "Um, not really, but thank you, anyway."
Attempt 6: Blossom
He caught Blossom reading in her room, scanning over a strategy book and flipping pages, as if trying to find a certain chapter. When asked, Blossom's reply was, "Something practical and convenient. Something Fuse won't expect to be a weapon. Like, for a girl, a hair clip or a necklace, and for a boy, a belt or shoe lace or something. The zipper of a jacket. Something small and simple, yet potent with concentrated power. That way, even if the bigger weapons are gone, the person can lure the Fusion into a trap and use their hidden weapon." Her eyes darted across a page. "Even a cell phone would do."
Dexter nodded. "Thank you."
Well, now he had the size of the muse. Something anyone could fit in a pocket.
Attempt 7: Juniper Lee
"I'm busy!" she yelled, slamming her fist into a punching bag. "I have to beat Buttercup's record of consecutive punches!"
Attempt 8: X-J9 (Jenny)
"I don't know." She grumbled to herself under her breath, and he couldn't hear her. "I'm a little busy."
Dexter winced. He had given several missions to keep her busy. He nodded in a jerky movement and turned on his heel.
At the end of the day, all he came up with was a very, very, VERY dangerous pink, blue, cat-shaped, button-like explosive that ended up being extremely popular among girl espionage experts. He quickly designed a belt with the same design and power.
And he came up with an adrenal energy drink for quick escapes called "Elephant". Buttercup took a quick liking to those.