Allies and Rivals II
Chapter 8 - Hiking and Camping
The City of Townsville, and at the edge on of the lake in the middle of the forest of Dr. Edwards' property…
"Brick, let's gather firewood in the forest," Dr. Edwards suggested.
"Okay Dad!" Brick said.
"Dr. Edwards, I'll help too!" volunteered Blossom, jumping and waving her hands in a show of enthusiasm.
"Thanks Blossom," said the father of the Rowdyruff Boys, "But Brick and I can manage being alone."
"Aw! Is there any way I could help?" asked Blossom.
"Well, if you want to help, you and your sisters could peel, slice and dice the potatoes and other vegetables over there," he said, pointing to a mound of vegetables that he had earlier gathered.
"Um, okay," said Blossom.
"And tell Butch and Boomer when they wake up to clean the fish!"
"Clean the fish?" asked Blossom in bewilderment, scratching her head.
"They'll know what it means," Dr. Edwards curtly replied.
"Okay," said Blossom.
"Good luck!" Brick said, and he and his father disappeared into the forest.
"Girls!" shouted Blossom to her sisters swimming in the lake. "We've got some chores to do!"
"Huh?" said Buttercup, who was enjoying herself.
"I volunteered us to slice and dice those vegetables," explained the Powerpuff leader.
"You what?" Buttercup disbelieving said.
"I said we would help Dr. Edwards prepare our lunch by slicing and dicing those vegetables," Blossom explained.
"Okay, Blossom," said Bubbles. She quickly went to shore, dried up, wore her dress, got a nearby knife, and began to do the work effortlessly.
"Aw shucks! You know what a party pooper you are, Blossom!" Buttercup protested. "Here we are, Bubbles and I, enjoying a swim celebrating our win, when you had the audacity to find work for us to do, and on a weekend even!"
"Oh pshaw, Buttercup," Blossom said, dismissing her criticisms. "It's a good way to thank Dr. Edwards for saving us. We owe him, after all."
"Well, if you put it that way, I guess we have no other choice," Buttercup said. "At least you could've waited until he orders it, not volunteer."
So Blossom and Buttercup joined Bubbles.
"So how does it feel to be the new leader of the Rowdyruff Boys," Bubbles asked in admiration.
"Actually, I'm not the leader—yet!" Blossom asserted. She then explained what earlier happened with the agreement.
"You sneaky devil! So that's why you dragged us out here to do this!" Buttercup said, half in admiration and half in irritation. "You wanted to impress Dr. Edwards so he would pick you as leader tomorrow!"
"Now, why would I do that?" said Blossom in false disbelief. "I'd never do such a sneaky and Machiavellian thing! I only did it out of a sense of gratitude and responsibility! I will let Dr. Edwards choose who in his mind is the best leader and I won't do anything to influence him into choosing me instead of Brick!"
"Keep saying that and you might believe it yourself!" Buttercup said. "I know you and you'll do anything to be the leader."
"I believe you Blossom," Bubbles said, defending her sister. "I believe she was sincere. After all, we're the Powerpuff Girls."
"Well, forget about it," said Buttercup. "There's no way he would choose you over Brick. I mean he is his son for crying out loud! Dr. Edwards is nice and all, but why would the Doctor choose you over his own flesh and blood? Listen, Blossom, I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but you don't have much of a chance, especially since that monster alliance incident."
"That was long ago," Blossom said. "Besides, he and the boys forgave us, and I have as much chance as Brick in being chosen as leader!"
"You're dreaming!" Buttercup said.
"No she's not!" Bubbles said. "I think Blossom has been a great leader and Dr. Edwards know that!"
"Oh you two are impossible," said Buttercup.
Meanwhile, Dr. Edwards and Brick were walking deeper and deeper into the woods.
"Dad, I think we've come too far. I think that the firewoods o…" Brick said, but stopped when he saw the expression on his father's face. Whereas earlier, it had been pleasant and calm, it was now terrifying. The angry fire in his eyes could clearly be seen, and his mouth was holding a scowl.
And Brick knew he was in trouble.
"Brick, didn't I tell you to not let those girls know about the sunball?" his father asked said in a very loud voice.
"Yes Dad," Brick could only say.
"Then could you explain why those girls used the sunball against you?" asked the doctor.
"Well Dad, we originally planned to use it against the Powerpuff Girls in the fight but…"
"WHAT!" Dr. Edwards shouted, blowing up, his face suddenly turning red. "DIDN'T I GIVE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS THAT YOU WOULD ONLY USE IT WHEN IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY? WHEN YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO USE IT? And since when did your last fight become a life and death struggle? The only thing that that fight was supposed to decide is what kind of alliance you should have! AND YOU ARE WILLING TO ADVERTISE IT TO THE GIRLS JUST BECAUSE OF SUCH A SHALLOW REASON?"
"But Dad, why should it be secret," asked the absolutely terrified Brick.
"Because, it is a top-secret project that I was working on for months! And I don't want anybody else to know about it cause of what might happen if they get their hands on this! Especially the professor! And you know what, those girls will babble it to them!" Dr. Edwards said, lecturing his son.
"Anyway, just how did the girls get their hands on it?" asked the doctor.
"Uh, well, uh, we were bathing naked in the lake, and they hid our clothes. The sunball and the shades are in the stolen clothes," explained Brick.
"Not only are you reckless in using this ball in the fight, you're also careless! Imagine if it was a real life and death battle, and this happened! Do you think that they'll just say I win and let it go at that? No! You'll be dead before you can even say Rowdyruff Boys!"
"But Dad, if this is so important, and if you want to keep this as I surprise, why did you give it to us?" asked Bricked.
"Because I TRUSTED you," Dr. Edward said in a softer voice, calming down a bit. "And still do. But I'm very disappointed in you. I gave you the sunball in the hopes that you would use it wisely and sparingly. I also gave it to you because someday you might need it, example, when there is a new and powerful unexpected enemy, and this might give you some kind of advantage. But that is why you shouldn't use it until you need it! Also because I don't want anybody else knowing it so that when you do use it, it'll be a complete surprise! And only when you needed it the most! I gave you clear instructions that you on when to use it. How can you be the leader of the Powerpuff Girls if you could be so irresponsible?"
"And now, it's an open secret! The girls will probably tell the professor, and from there, who know till the sunball will appear on CNN or on the latest edition of Popular Electronics? And the irony is, you could have won if you didn't bring the sunball along."
"One more question," said his father. "What are your brothers' roles in this?"
"They just followed orders Dad," Brick said, defending them. "It's all my fault, since I was the one whom you trusted with the ball, and I was the one who made the decision."
"Is that so?" Dr. Edwards said.
Brick was looking at the ground, unable to look his father in the eye. He knew his father is right. Worst of all, he let his father down. 'He trusted me, and I failed because…now there's no excuse. I failed him, I let him down! After all he's done for us, I failed.' He now clenched his fist, breathed heavily, tears in his eyes struggling to burst forth, yet he somehow mustered the will not to cry his heart out. "I'm sorry Dad. I have no excuse. Please forgive me," he finally blurted out.
His father dropped to his knees and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Son, of course I forgive you. You're sorry, and that's what matters. And I'm sorry if I blew up on you," he said in a firm, yet comforting voice. "Brick, I still trust you. I'm proud of you. You're an excellent leader Brick, and you just showed it by not blaming your brothers for your mistakes. Yet you have still much to learn, but I know you're a quick study. Come on, let's go and gather the firewood, okay?" he said. This time, his face is back to his old pleasant demeanor, and this time he smiled. It amazes Brick on how his father could change external emotions as quickly and as flawlessly as he could. But it shouldn't amaze him that much, because Brick could do the exact same thing except when facing his father. The two spent the next half hour or so talking and telling stories and swapping jokes, as if Dr. Edwards didn't give a very scalding scolding earlier to Brick.
Meanwhile…
"Um, what happened," said Butch as he groggily awoke. He removed his bandage and stretched. At the same moment, Boomer also woke.
"What happened?" asked Butch.
"We lost," Boomer simply said. "Now Blossom is our leader." He didn't know about Brick's word manipulations.
"Yup, that girl is our leader," Butch said with disgust as he and his brother went out the tent to see what was happening.
"Hey boys, clean those fishes over there!" Blossom shouted.
"Um, so cleaning those fishes are your first orders as the new leader, Blossom?" Boomer said, hardly concealing his disgust, not on cleaning the fishes, but on having to do orders from Blossom.
'So they think I am the leader already,' Blossom thought. 'This could be fun.' And conveniently, Brick and his father was gathering firewood. "Of course! We won the fight, and therefore, I am the leader! Right Bubbles and Buttercup?"
Bubbles and Buttercup looked at each other, and grinned. "Yup, you lost," Bubbles said. "Now Blossom is now your leader, not Brick!"
"Now listen here…" Butch began.
"Forget it Butch. Let's just wait for Brick. In the meantime, let's clean those fishes. It's not like we haven't done this a million times before," Boomer advised.
"Yeah, but Dad's the one who told us so, not her," Butch argued as he got a knife and slashed opened the throat of the fish. He then passed it on to Boomer who with his hands removed the guts, gizzards and liver of the fish, and threw it in a bucket. He then washed the fish in another bucket of water.
"Hey Bubbles, could you bring those sliced vegetable over here," Boomer asked.
"Okay," said Bubbles. She gave it to Butch.
Butch then stuffed the vegetables inside the fish-in the place where the guts and other organs were removed. He then took a barbeque stick and forced it into the fish's mouth and through the tail. He then put in a nearby metal pan that was earlier prepared by Dr. Edwards. And it was all neatly and efficiently done, like a professional.
The girls, needless to say, were completely grossed out by what they saw. The boys hands by this time was very dirty. "Eeew!" Bubbles said. "How can you do something as disgusting as that!"
"We have too!" Boomer simply said. "Dad taught us how to do this, and the fish would be much tastier! Believe me, this is a delicacy after you've cooked it! You want to try it?"
The girls shuddered at the thought. It was disgusting. Still, they admired the clean job the boys were doing.
Soon, about a hundred fish-cleaned and stuffed-neatly piled in a large flat metal pan. "Now all we have to do is wait for Dad and Brick, and we could cook it and eat it all up!" Boomer said, his mouth already watering.
"Now what does leader girl wants us to do now?" Boomer asked Bubbles, even if Blossom was already in front of them, which only infuriated Blossom. Boomer simply couldn't stand Blossom.
Fortunately, Brick and Dr. Edwards arrived.
"How are you, Butch, Boomer," their father greeted as he saw his sons recovered.
"Great Dad!" Boomer and Butch said, though their tone obviously belies it.
"Now why the long face," asked the doctor.
"Well, we lost and we're now taking orders from Blossom," Butch explained, "because she's our leader."
"Yeah, she ordered us to clean those fish," Boomer said as he pointed out the neat stack of fish.
Dr. Edwards chuckled, attempting to suppress a guffaw, but quickly regained control. Brick just angrily glared at a smirking Blossom, then smirked at his brother. He then fell down on the ground laughing.
"What's so funny!" asked Boomer and Butch
"Well…Blossom is not the leader!" Dr. Edwards explained.
"How could that happen?" asked Butch. "We lost."
Brick then explained what happened. "It seems those girls pulled one over you!"
The girls just watched quietly, thought they were laughing in their heads.
Both Butch and Boomer were by this time red faced, embarrassed. "How should we know about that? I mean, I thought you agreed that if they won, Blossom would be the leader?"
Soon, the girls just collapsed in laugher at Blossom's trick.
Boomer and Butch were embarrassed, and looked angrily at Blossom. They now dislike the leader of the Powerpuff Girls more than ever.
"Boys, cook those fishes," Dr. Edwards ordered. The boys then cooked it with their laser eyes. After a few minutes, they ate lunch, with Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles eating two each, Dr. Edwards eating five, Brick eating fifteen while Boomer and Butch eating thirty each. The girls just watched in amazement as the boys ate all of it in just under half an hour.
"I still couldn't believe that this family could eat so much," Bubbles said to Blossom.
"I'm with you," said Blossom.
After lunch, the boys cleaned up the fishbones by incinerating it, while the girls cleaned up the kitchen utensils that the doctor brought along.
"Well, you kids have some fun now!" Dr. Edwards said as he prepared a hammock besides the lake. "I'm going to have a siesta. We'll do the hike at three, okay?"
"Okay," said the kids. The girls scrambled to the lake to swim, while the boys disappeared into the forest, exploring it. Bubbles tried finding the boys, but they simply disappeared. Disappointed, she just joined her sisters.
Three hours later, at three o'clock in the afternoon…
"Where are those boys!" shouted Dr. Edwards. The girls were packing their bags for the planned mountain hike, and the doctor packed the boys'.
Thirty minutes later…
The doctor and the girls were talking about the planned hike when the boys finally arrived.
"You're late," the doctor simply said. "What took you so long?"
"Well, see Dad. Um, ahh. Well we went, um, some part of the forest, and, uhh, we went to the tree house, and we lost track of time, and well uh…" Brick began, stuttering, clearly trying to find an excuse, but failing miserably.
"But you have watches, you lost track of time?" Blossom asked
"Well, 'cause the batteries went dead," Boomer said, giving a tortured smile, though it's obvious he doesn't even believe it.
"But those watches are still working," said Blossom, catching a glimpse of their watches. "Are you telling us that when you were in the forest it went dead and when you returned, it went back again?"
"Yeah, that's right, well I never knew that this watch…" Boomer began.
"Can it Boomer," Brick suddenly said, utterly embarrassed. "To tell you the truth, we fell asleep, and we well…just overslept?" he lamely offered, scratching the back of his head and snickering.
"Didn't you set the alarms in your watches?" Dr. Edwards asked.
"We forgot," Butch lamely offered.
"You know," Buttercup whispered to Bubbles, "if they keep this up, I think Blossom might after all be the leader."
Bubbles just nodded.
"Never mind," said the doctor. "I already packed your bags. Anyway, since you know this parts so well, and made so many hikes up the mountain to boot, I don't think I need to remind you what you should do."
"Yes Dad," the three said.
"And remember, no using of superpowers!" said Dr. Edwards. "It wouldn't be as much fun if you use it. Don't worry, the boys are experts at this!"
So the boys and girls hiked up the mountain. The girls were a little unsure and stumbled a lot, since they were not used to hiking up a mountain using their feet and not using any superpowers. And the fact that they had heavy bags on their backs. But the boys, even while grumbling, helped them so it wasn't so bad.
However, they can't help but admire the sure-footedness of the boys. They hopped and jumped around the very narrow and sometimes steep paths like they were walking in a flat road, and they didn't even use their superpowers. But it was offset by the boys' continuing taunting of the girls.
"So how did you learn to do all this stuff?" Bubbles finally asked.
"Simple, Dad taught us everything! He's simply the greatest!" Boomer replied. "Now, even if our superpowers are taken away, we'll still be number one!"
A few hours later, the seven reached their destination. It was a plateau at the edge of the mountain. There was clump of trees at its side, and the flat ground was covered with grass and dirt. There were a bundle of chopped firewood near the middle, with an ax nearby. And if you stand at the edge of the plateau, you would see all of the forest below and Dr. Edwards' house and several suburban houses. They could even see the girls' own house from a distance. And the fact that there always was a cool breeze blowing in summer made it even more appealing.
'It's beautiful!' Blossom thought. 'The boys are so lucky to live in this place—and have Dr. Edwards as their father.' She felt a tinge of jealousy at the boys, but quickly dismissed it.
A few hours later…
It was dark, and the boys, the girls and Dr. Edwards sat around a bonfire, eating the last remnants of their dinner. Basically, they ate less this time, eating hotdogs and marshmallows on the stick.
The doctor could sense the tension that was building between the two sets of superheroes.
"Hey. How about we do a sing-along?" suggested Boomer.
"Not that!" Butch shouted. "Anything but that!"
"Hey, how about Truth or Dare?" Bubbles suggested.
"Truth or what? What's that?" asked Brick.
"Truth or Dare, Brick," Dr. Edwards said. "Basically, one of you would ask the other whether you would choose truth, or dare."
"If you choose truth," Blossom continued, "you must answer all questions TRUTHFULLY."
"And if you choose dare, you must do anything I tell you," Buttercup concluded.
"So what do you think guys, are you game?" Bubbles asked.
"Well, I don't know," Brick said.
"What are you, chicken?" taunted Buttercup.
"Well, okay, I guess," Brick said.
"I'll start," Dr. Edwards said. "Butch, truth or dare!"
"Dare!"
"Okay, I want you to sing a nursery song in your loudest voice."
"Okay," Butch said. "ABCDEFG…HIJKLMNOP…QRSTUV…WXYZ." He sang at the top of his voice, his bad tone eliciting laughter from the others.
"Okay my turn. Buttercup, truth or dare," he asked.
"Dare!"
"I dare you to punch Bubbles hard in the face!"
"Hey," Bubbles protested, "that's…"
But before she could finish, Buttercup proceeded and punched her, sending her near the edge of the woods.
Bubbles angrily flew back to the camp.
"Hey, it's only a dare, sorry," Buttercup said.
"It's okay," said Bubbles.
"Now, Brick, truth or dare!" Buttercup challenged.
"Truth," he said.
"Okay, tell us your greatest failure as leader of the boys," asked Buttercup with a sly grin.
Brick shuddered at the question, especially since his Dad is going to choose the leader the next day. Basically answering the question would amount to telling his Dad not to choose him. But he was caught, and had no choice.
"Well, my greatest failure is when…just before the second fight. Butch boasted that we're in alliance with Mojo. It was a big colossal mistake on my part, and I shouldn't have backed Butch on it, and I should've apologized sooner to you," Brick said in a soft voice that lowered the mood of the entire group. "Blossom, truth, or dare!"
"Dare!" Blossom said.
Brick smirked. "I dare you to make a grand speech telling why I am such a wonderful and great leader."
Blossom stared wide-eyed at Brick. The rest looked at Blossom, everyone knowing that both are rivals for leadership.
"Okay. I want to say unto you all what Brick is one great leader of the Rowdyruff Boys! He's smart, clever, sneaky! He's a great strategist and tactician, and is proud of his brothers and his family. That is why Brick is such a great leader."
'Did you see the look on Blossom's face?' Buttercup whispered to Bubbles. She had a pained facial expression that belies the words. Not because she doesn't believe it—she does—but the timing of her saying it.
"But even though Brick is such a great leader," Blossom concluded, "I know I am greater still!"
She then triumphantly sat down, smirking at Brick. "What? I did as you told. And you never, never said I couldn't praise myself while I'm at it!"
Soon, the rest of them laughed, even his brothers, as Brick's mouth fell out and he got a disappointed look. Blossom clearly had outfoxed him there.
"Bubbles, truth or dare!"
"Dare!" Bubbles said.
"I dare you to kiss Boomer in the lips!" Blossom dared.
Bubbles blushed. Boomer got absolutely hysterical.
"Oh no, I'm not going to get myself cooties!" Boomer said, and attempted to run away, but he was blocked by Brick.
"Get out of my way Brick!" Boomer shouted.
"Why? I don't intend to be the only one to be embarrassed this night!" Brick said then gabbing him by the arm.
"Let go of me!" Boomer shouted, as he tried to shake off Brick's powerful grip. Butch joined and grabbed his legs. They then dragged Boomer kicking and screaming-literally, over to Bubbles!
"Let go of me! I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to be kissed by Bubbles! Let me go! I promise to do anything, anything! Just let me go! Please! Let me go, or I'll hate you forever if you don't! Aaaahhhhh! Damn you Brick and Butch, what kind of brothers are you! Let go of me! You are the two are absolutely the worst brothers in the world! No wait I mean you are the best brothers in the entire universe…get off of meGrrr….Get off me! Don't let that girl kiss me! I might explode! Dad, help me! Bubbles is the one who was given the dare, not me! I'll get back at you, Brick, Butch, just you wait!"
"Oh shut up!" Butch snapped. Dr. Edwards just watched, not wanting to interrupt their fun.
Buttercup then held Boomer's head to prevent him from shaking it.
"OKAY, OKAY!" Boomer shouted. "I'll let her kiss me in the lips, but that doesn't mean I'll like it! In fact I'll hate it! Now let go of me!"
"Okay, but don't try and escape this time, or else," Brick warned. So the let go of him, but the four ruff and puffs stood around him just in case he tried anything.
"Okay Bubbles," Blossom said. "Time to do your dare, or are you chicken like Boomer?"
Bubbles was by this time red with blushing. She slowly floated over to Boomer. Boomer watched in dread. He just closed his eyes. Soon, he felt Bubbles kiss him.
Now, older boys and men would probably feel terrific after being kissed, or feel high, but Boomer is just a six-year-old boy, and like most boys his age, hate being kissed by a girl. He was disgusted, and he promptly wiped his lips. He then ran towards the tent, shouting, "Oh no, I have cooties!" drank water, and spent the next three minutes spitting on the ground. "Yuck, yuck, yuck! I have been kissed by a girl! I'm dooommmmmeeeeeeddddd!"
The red and green puffs and ruffs just looked at Boomer, and collapsed in laughter. Even Dr. Edwards laughed at his son. Bubbles was embarrassed by Boomer's reaction. 'Am I that ugly?" she asked herself.
Ten minutes later, after all the laughter had subsided…
"Um, Brick, truth, or dare," said Bubbles.
"Truth," Brick said. Nobody would pick dare after what happened to Boomer.
"Okay, um, what do you really think about Blossom?" asked Bubbles.
"That's easy. She's my rival, plain and simple. She's a brilliant leader and tactician, but short on tact. She's sneaky, devious and downright underhanded. And I think I'm better than her," Brick replied.
"My turn. Blossom, truth, or dare!"
"Truth!"
"Okay. Now tell me Blossom, why did you have a criminal record at the police station? You were sentenced to community service right?"
"Is that true Blossom?" asked Dr. Edwards. Even though all of Townsville knew about it, Dr. Edwards didn't know it, so he was surprised.
"Yes Doctor," said Blossom, glaring at Brick for digging dirt at her. "You see, it was father's day, and the Professor wanted golf clubs worth $1000, or is it 2000? Anyway, I was so desperate to give it to him, and to have a better present than my sisters, and I have no money, so I stole it. And I got the Professor jailed because of that, and I tried to frame Mojo for it. Finally, my lies caught up with me, and I was caught. Yes, I was sentenced to do community service, and I deserve it too." Blossom looked to the ground, not able to look the doctor in the eye. "I'm sorry doctor, I should have told you earlier."
Blossom felt down. "But I want to tell you that I've learned my lesson from it, and I would never do that again."
Dr. Edwards was overwhelmed and surprised by it all, but Blossom's narrative only generated sympathy for her. "That's all right, Blossom. You have no obligation to tell us what happened, and I'm glad you put it behind you. Brick, that was very mean of you to bring this up! I want you to apologize."
Brick looked at his father, and Blossom and her sisters, and they were giving him dirty looks. His plan backfired spectacularly. "I'm sorry Blossom. I shouldn't have dug it up," he said, and he sounded sincere too.
"It's okay," said Blossom, a little more upbeat. "Now you know that slinging mud doesn't work."
"Okay, Butch, truth or dare?"
"Truth!"
"When did you last take a bath?"
"This morning," Butch easily answered.
"Buttercup. Truth or Dare!"
"Dare!"
"I dare you to chew this chilly pepper and act as if it's nothing for two minutes,"
Buttercup took it, and chewed. Butch took a stopwatch and began counting. Soon, they could hear Buttercup breathe heavily, and her face getting twisted.
"Okay, the two minutes are up!"
"WATER!" Buttercup shouted, running towards the tent. She soon consumed two bottles of water.
"Brick, truth or dare!"
"Dare!"
"I dare you to remove your cap! Don't look at me, I haven't seen Brick without a cap yet!"
Brick removed his cap, and the girls saw for the first time Brick short red hair that is neatly combed and hidden under the cap.
"Blossom."
"Dare!"
"Okay, take off your bow!"
"Sure!" Blossom said. She then removed the bow, and let her long red hair hang loosely from her back.
"Wow! I've never thought that girl has so much hair," Butch said.
"Yup. She's got as much red hair as she's got hot air," Boomer cracked, and that caused a few laughs from the others.
Before they could continue, Dr. Edwards cellphone rang.
"Hello," Dr. Edwards greeted.
"Hi William!" said the Professor.
"John? How are you? How's the conference?"
"I should've listened to you!" the Professor said. "It's an utter bore. I spent more time sleeping than listening to all those blowhards who call themselves scientists. By the way, can I talk to my girls? I was only gone a few days and I already miss them."
"Sure thing. By the way, I want to talk to you about something important. Could you spare me your time after talking to the girls?"
"Of course."
The call terminated the truth and dare game. The doctor gave his cell phone to Blossom and began preparing the sleeping bags. The boys began to play and talk among themselves. Brick told them about his Dad scolding them because of the sunball.
All agreed that the day was a disaster for them.
The girls talked to the Professor for half-an hour. After that, they gave the phone to Dr. Edwards.
"John, I'd like to ask you something. You see, I have some things in my lab that I couldn't figure out. How would like to work for me? I'd promise I'll give you fat juicy salary, of say, a hundred thousand dollars a month?"
The Professor balked at the offer. "Um, thanks, but no thanks. I consider you my friend, and whatever work that I do with you, I wouldn't take money for it. I'd help you, but not as your employee. I want to be a full and equal partner, William."
"Is that all? Of course you'll be an equal partner. Tell you what. Go to my house after you return and we'll talk about it further. I've got so many things that I must know, and I need you to help me."
"Sure, William," Professor Utonium said.
"Thanks John. One more thing. Well, I've got to ask you, how is Blossom as a leader of her sisters?"
"Well, Blossom is an excellent, great leader. She's responsible, a brilliant tactician and strategist, has great moral character, loves her sister, always fights for what's right. She is a great inspiration to her sisters and she's nice and kind too. She's smart too, and always tops her class. The only thing is that she's cocky, but it's not too bad. Why?"
"Oh nothing, just curious," said the doctor. "Thanks, and bye."
He hung up the phone and called Ms. Bellum and Ms. Keane to have their opinions on Blossom. All of them sang praises on how great Blossom is as a leader.
He soon slept.
It was Sunday, September 7.
It was two o'clock in the morning, and most of the gang are asleep in their sleeping bags. Except for Brick and Boomer, who was standing besides the cliff, wearing thick jackets as the cold wind blows against him and his brother.
They were just standing there, staring at the suburbs below and their land, saying nothing to each other.
"What are you guys doing?" Bubbles suddenly said as she appeared between the two boys.
"Huh, oh it's only you," Brick said. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"I can't sleep," she simply said. "Then I saw you guys and decided to join you."
"Okay," said Brick as both he and Boomer resumed their gazing.
"Just no kissing," Boomer added.
"Um, I never told you this, but your land is beautiful!" said Bubbles, trying to open up a conversation.
"Thanks," Boomer simply said, before resuming his gazing.
"Um, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Bubbles suddenly asked, for a second time trying to start a conversation.
"To be whatever Dad wants me to be," Brick simply said.
"Yup! Whatever ambition Dad has for us is what I want to be!" Boomer said.
Bubbles was surprised by their answer. "You love your Dad that much, don't you?"
"Love him? Yes, we love him," said Brick. "How could we not? He recreated us and gave us everything. And we can't ever repay what he's done for us."
"Yup! Dad's the greatest man on earth, or the universe. When I grow up, I just want to be a scientist just like him!" Boomer said.
"And when I grow up, I want to have as much power as he has! I want to be the next President of Edtech Corp.," Brick said with pride. "And all we have to do is to make him proud of us! We know we love him, but we want to make it all worth to him! That is why I can accept it if Dad chose Blossom leader. Because if Dad chose her, and that is enough for us."
"Yup, Dad's my hero, and my role model."
Bubbles listened to the brothers. "You know, I've never met anyone who praises or admires their father as much as you have. Well, I guess Dr. Edwards deserves it, since he is a nice man. You're lucky to have him."
"Yup, we are," Brick said.
A few hours later, at about seven in the morning…
"Well, let's see if we can settle this by ourselves," Brick said. "I suggest you bow down to me as leader!"
"No! I should be the leader!" Blossom countered.
"I guess we wouldn't be able to settle it by ourselves, huh?" Brick said. "Well, I guess we have to ask Dad what he thinks."
"Promise to abide by whatever ruling he makes on this?" asked Blossom.
"Promise," Brick said.
So each of them called on their respective siblings, and the six of them floated to Dr. Edwards.
"Dad, we can't settle it. Could you decide who among us will be the leader?" asked Brick.
"Okay," said Dr. Edwards. "But first, I want to know why each of you wanted to be the leader. You first Brick."
Brick didn't expect this, so he was unprepared. "Well Dad, I think I can do a better job than Blossom."
"And why do you think you can do a better job?" asked the doctor.
"Because I'm better than her!" Brick answered defiantly.
"Okay, Blossom, why do you think you should be the leader?" asked the doctor.
"Well, doctor, I think I'm better than Brick because I have a years experience at crimefighting and monster-fighting. I know all the places in Townsville, the villains, most of the criminals, and know the mayor. I also can guide Brick and the boys to be better superheroes because of our experience," Blossom said, saying it in a humble manner.
"Okay. Now as to who I think should be the leader. Sorry Brick, I think Blossom's better qualified leading this alliance. Blossom, you'll be the new leader of the alliance!" Dr. Edwards decided.
The boys' mouth fell open, not believing it, but finally manage to say, "Yes Dad."
Blossom grinned. "I told you my plan would work!" she shouted, and began hopping around with Buttercup, gloating. She achieved her objective, an alliance with the boys with her as leader.