Allies and Rivals II
Chapter 36
Blossom's Predicament
The City of Townsville, and Blossom had just been kidnapped—again.
"Blossom!" Professor Utonium called. "Bubbles! The equipment to remove the cuffs are ready!"
But both scientists in the lab heard no answer.
"Bubbles, go carry your sister and fly over here! Blossom, hurry! Don't you want those cuffs removed?" Dr. Edwards shouted.
Still, there was no answer.
"Let's go upstairs. Maybe they can't hear us?" the Professor suggested.
"Good idea."
"Bubbles? Blossom?" asked the Professor when they reached the living room.
"Oh those two are going to be in big trouble! They left the TV on with no one watching!" the doctor said.
"Maybe they're upstairs…Wait, no. What's this? Hmmm. It's a note from Bubbles. She wrote, 'Have gone to play outside—Bubbles'," the Doctor said as he picked up a piece of paper on the table.
"What? Blossom is still tied-up! She can't play out in the snow with those cuffs on!" the Professor indignantly said as he grabbed the note.
"Let's call them," the doctor proposed. "Bubbles. This is Dr. Edwards. Why did you bring Blossom out there?"
"Um, Dr. Edwards, Professor, wasn't Blossom with you?"
"No," Professor Utonium said. "She isn't with us."
"What? I went to the bathroom, and when I came back to the living room, she wasn't there, so I thought she was with you."
"Bubbles, I want you, your sister, and the boys here, pronto!" Dr. Edwards ordered.
Outside…
"Um, guys, we need to go home. Dr. Edwards and Professor Utonium are calling us," Bubbles said.
"Ah finally! We can train!" Brick exclaimed. "Okay. Get your stuff and let's go home."
"Aw! I want to play!" Butch whined.
"We can do that later, dolt!" Boomer snapped.
"Yeah, well at least I'm not a crybaby," Butch replied.
"Will you two shut up! Let's go home! I can't wait to tease that girl!" Brick said.
The kids flew back home, and were confronted by two grim faced men.
"Bubbles, when I arrived here, Blossom is gone. And you're telling me, she wasn't with you?" asked the Professor.
"Uh huh," Bubbles said.
"So where the hell did Blossom go? She couldn't go anywhere tied up you know," Dr. Edwards asked.
"I beg to differ," Buttercup said. "We once tied up Blossom when playing, and she was able to hop up the stairs and into the room and hide under the bed."
"But that's ludicrous!" Brick said. "But why the heck would she do such a thing, hide, when she clearly wants out of those cuffs?"
"Hey, it could happen," Buttercup said. "Why else would she disappear?"
"Dad, Professor, we'll take care of this. We'll call you when we find her," Brick, who didn't think this was really serious, said.
"Hm, I don't know. I think it's better if we help you kids," Dr. Edwards said.
"Doctor, Professor, trust us! We know what we're doing. And we'll call you if we need your help," Buttercup argued.
"Yeah Dad, don't' you trust us?" Boomer asked.
"Well okay," the Doctor said. "John and I will be at the lab. Call us if you have any news of Blossom, okay."
"But William, we should, you know, because my daughter, Blossom is—"
"Come on John. I think it's better that we leave them to their devices. Don't worry. If they need our help, they'll ask us for it," Dr. Edwards said, dragging his friend to the lab. "Have faith in them."
"I hope you're right. It's just that I'm too worried about Blossom and—"
"I know. I'm worried about her too."
"By the way Dad, what time did you go up here and found Blossom missing?" asked the redheaded ruff.
"4:20. Why?"
"Just asking."
"Anything else?"
"Not at the moment."
"Just call us if you need us okay?" the Professor said.
"We'll do!" Butch replied.
"I still think Blossom hid herself somewhere in the house!" Buttercup asserted.
"In the words of my brother, that's ludicrous!" Butch said. "She's tied up, how the hell could she hide?"
"Well, remember when Bubbles and I kidnapped both Brick and Blossom for forcing Boomer and Bubbles on a date? She actually hopped up the stairs, went to our room, hid under the bed, then went back downstairs before we caught her—all while she's tied up hand and foot and wearing that gravity belt. Remember that Brick? I still have those pictures that I took of you if you don't remember," Buttercup reminded.
"Don't remind me. I shudder at the memory," Brick said after remembering all those embarrassing pictures, some of which were still in Buttercup's hands.
"What pictures?" asked a still ignorant Butch.
"That's none of your business," Brick snapped.
"But why the heck would she do such a thing?" Boomer asked.
"I dunno. Maybe a prank?" the raven haired girl replied.
"Nevermind. Okay, Bubbles, Boomer, you search the basement and the lab. Buttercup, you search this floor. I'll search upstairs. And leave no stone unturned. Search everywhere she could hop to! Every room and every drawer and every closet where she could hop into and fit!"
Five minutes later and they found nothing.
"Well so much for your theory, Buttercup. Now for mine. Butch, what time did you arrive in the house when you went to get the skates?" Brick asked.
"About 4:10."
"And did you see Blossom?"
"Heck yes. She was alone in the living room."
"Okay Bubbles, what time did you leave Blossom?"
"Well, I went to the bathroom about 4:09, and I went back about 4:13!"
"Aha! Maybe you, Butch, hid her!" Brick said, accusing his brother.
"Me? Would I do such a thing?"
"Oh I don't know, Butch! As recently as a few days ago, you and Boomer left us tied up when the Professor and Dr Edwards gave you those super shades!" Buttercup said.
"Well, yeah, I could have done it, and I would have done it, but that doesn't mean I did it? Why would I do it?"
"The same reason we would have done in any other day—to pull a prank and have some fun at the expense of the girls!" Boomer said.
"But honestly, I didn't do it! Heck, I don't like the girl, and I'd have done it any other time, but not this day! I was having fun in the mountains snowboarding for crying out loud! Why would I do it?"
"Like when you and Boomer said they were busy when I asked where the girls were when they failed to show up?" Brick said to Butch. "How do I know you're not lying and pulling another prank at Blossom?"
"Honest! I didn't do it! Look, I've never lied about anything this serious, and if you have pressed me further on that day, I would have told the truth!" Butch countered.
However, the looks on the rest of them said that they didn't believe him.
"Honest! I didn't play a prank or kidnapped anybody this day!" Butch protested.
"So if not you, who else?"
"Maybe Alpha and Delta did it, you know! They did it before, so why wouldn't they do it again?" Butch argued.
"That's ludicrous!" Buttercup said. "They know kidnapping Blossom failed, so why would they do it again?"
"Yeah! Besides, there are no upcoming fights between any of us, so they wouldn't need a hostage to insure that we don't cheat," Boomer added.
"And they would have figured out by now that kidnapping Blossom would do no good for them, since her last rescue demonstrated that since she isn't the only brains of this outfit, we wouldn't be paralyzed without her. Instead, they would've kidnapped me, 'cause by now, in spite of our deception, it would be evident that I, not Blossom, am the leader. It wouldn't make any sense that they kidnap our second-in-command, would it?"
"Besides, even if they did try to kidnap Blossom, they couldn't have!" Brick continued.
"And why is that?" his black haired brother countered.
"Because, during the only time that Blossom was alone was for about five minutes, from 4:10, when Butch left the house, and 4:13, when Bubbles returned from the bathroom. That's three minutes in which she was alone, and the only time when she could have been kidnapped," Brick reasoned. "Three minutes! Three freakin' minutes? And those kidnappers show up in those three? That's a freakin' coincidence if you ask me! Those teen-agers would have to be incredibly lucky to arrive here at precisely those three minutes. If they hang around the house for more than ten minutes, they'd be detected because of the security system of this backyard. So they have to arrive at least at four in the afternoon at the earliest. And they have no way of knowing that during that time, Blossom will be alone during this period because I am sure that they wouldn't know that Bubbles will need to go to the bathroom at exactly 4:09! So it could only happen if they happen to be incredibly lucky! And such luck doesn't exist! It's too improbable! You see where I'm going?"
"Well, it could happen!" Buttercup countered. "Improbable is not impossible, and no matter how far fetched, it still could happen."
"But it didn't! And it couldn't happen," Brick replied. "You see, there are no signs of kidnapping. There are no broken furniture, no signs of struggle, no nothing! Besides, the door has an automatic lock. Aside from the regular key, it has an identification system, by which anyone who was not programmed into the house's database can't open the door even when it's not locked. Dad, the Professor, me and my brothers, you and your sisters, Ms. Keane, Ms. Bellum, Mr. Clark, Mr. Shippe, and a couple of others have been registered on the data base of the computer controlling this house hence the door, and it certainly does not include Mr. Ckracknow, Alpha and Delta! Furthermore, even in the event that Dad forgot to close the door, there are infared rays that scan the house, and would give alarm if any unidentified person would enter three feet into the house. Not only would the door have to be wide open, but Blossom would have to be standing right by that open door, even while she's tied-up, for those teen-agers to be able to kidnap her without setting off any alarm! That would be a lot of coincidences that they wouldn't even know about in the first place. Nobody can be that lucky, you know! Gimme a break!"
"Well, yeah, it sounds crazy, but still, it could happen!"
"Only if you left the door open and Blossom hopped to it. Well, Bubbles, did you open the door?" Brick asked.
"No."
"How about you, Butch, did you close the door when you left?"
"Um, I don't recall."
"Great! Really great!" Buttercup sarcastically said.
"Well, the door was closed when I came from the bathroom, so I guess he did close the door."
"Well, case close!" Brick said. "Those teen-agers couldn't have taken Blossom! So that leaves only you, Butch! Okay, cough it up! We know that we like to play these tie-up games, but play time is over. Where did you keep her?"
"I didn't do it!"
"If not you, then who?" Brick asked.
"Maybe Bubbles did! Okay, that's far fetched. She would never have done so. But still! Blossom was still watching TV when I left the house! So maybe, Bubbles hid her so she can go play with us!"
"Hey, I wouldn't do that!" Bubbles said.
"Really?" Butch teased.
"This is ridiculous! This is Bubbles for crying out loud! She does not lie! And she couldn't if she tried! She's too sweet and innocent for that. She wouldn't do so!" Boomer said, defending Bubbles.
"Thanks Boomer," the blonde puff said.
"Well, it's her word against mine, and you can't prove she didn't do it!" Butch said.
"So we narrowed it down to Bubbles and Butch. I personally believe that Bubbles couldn't do such a thing, but heck, the evidence points to Butch and Bubbles equally!"
"Why don't we just search the entire house? Bubbles, Butch would stay here, guarded by one of us, while the remaining two will search the house thoroughly," Boomer proposed.
"Okay. I'll guard the two. You, Boomer, and you Buttercup, search every room and every nook and cranny where she could have been hidden, from the highest place in the attic to the deepest crevice in the basement. Now go!" Brick ordered.
Both Buttercup and Boomer did as told, and ten minutes later, returned, having found nothing.
Meanwhile, at about 4:30 p.m…
"Mission accomplished, sir," Alpha reported, presenting Blossom, cuffed hand and foot, and gagged, before Ckracknow and Harry Shippe in his office in his skyscraper. "Could you believe, Blossom was still tied-up when we caught her?"
"Yup! And the funny thing is, the door was wide open, and she actually hopped to the door while she was alone," Delta added.
"You have been blessed with the best of luck, haven't you? If what you say is true, then our enemies would have no idea she's ours," Ckracknow said.
"So what do we do with her? Kill her?" Delta asked.
"Oh no! Come here. I have prepared a special rescue-proof room for our little captive," Ckracknow said. "Follow me."
'Great! What's in me that kept getting me kidnapped? First by Mojo, then by the boys when we were still enemies, then by Buttercup, then by both my sisters when they were playing, then by the boys again, then by Ckracknow twice!' Blossom thought. 'I hate this. I should be the one making the rescue instead of playing damsel-in-distress,' Blossom thought as she was being carried by Alpha while following Ckracknow and Harry. 'And it looks like they would have a harder time rescuing me this time.'
They walked to the 57th floor, where they opened a metallic door using numbers punched on a keypad besides the door. "You see, this is a room made entirely of duranium," Ckracknow said as they entered a metallic corridor. They then were presented with another metallic door with a numeric keypad at its side. Ckracknow opened the door after punching some numbers. They were greeted by another corridor. Crisscrossing the room were red laser beams. Ckracknow punched a couple of numbers on another keypad besides the door they just entered, and the laser beams disappeared. When they reached the door on the other side of the corridor, Ckracknow punched a couple of numbers, then the door opened and revealed another corridor with laser crisscrossing the room and another door at the end of the corridor with another keypad. They went through the same procedure five times. Finally, the last door revealed a room with a bed, a table with food on it, a TV, a bathroom, a vent, and a chair.
"Put her on the chair, and remove her gag," Ckracknow ordered. "Blossom, it would be well advised that you won't use your ice breath when that gag is gone, as you can't escape, and it would only result in pain for you."
Blossom only nodded as Delta removed the six strips of duct tape crisscrossing Blossom's lower mouth. After which he pulled the large saliva soaked sock from her mouth.
"Why did you kidnap me?" Blossom asked.
"Isn't it obvious? You're the leader, and getting you will paralyze the group!" Ckracknow said. "Plus, Brick and Butch made a fool of me when they rescued you from right under our noses. It's a matter of revenge. Harry, go and feed our captive."
"Please, water first. My mouth is dry from the gag," Blossom asked.
Harry complied as he helped Blossom drink from the cup of water besides her. He then spoon fed her with the chicken, and the vegetables that was present. She was hungry and after ten minutes, finished everything.
"You are going to untie me, aren't you? I mean this place is duranium, and I couldn't escape even if my hands and feet are free. Please. My hands have been tied up continuously for nearly twenty-four hours, and I need to stretch," Blossom pleaded.
"Perhaps. But since your sisters and the boys cheated at Epsilon's fight, I won't give you the privilege. No, those cuffs will remain until the end of your captivity. Gag her," Ckracknow ordered.
"No, not another gag, pleammmpphhhh…"
Delta inserted a clean white rag into Blossom's mouth despite her pleas. The cloth was so large that when it was inserted, Blossom mouth was bulging. He then wrapped around Blossom's open mouth and head a long piece of bandage, knotting it after several curls, keeping the rag in her mouth. He then ducttaped the bandage to her face. He then took a large scarf, and tied it around Blossom's mouth twice, knotting it tightly around her head.
Blossom screamed as loud as she could, but the she could barely hear herself as only a faint sound penetrated the layers of gag.
After that, they placed Blossom on the bed lying on her stomach, and hogtied her by connecting the cuffs in her wrists with the cuffs on her ankles with a short duranium chain, keeping her knees bent backwards and her ankles able to go only a couple of inches from her wrists at her back.
"Of course, if I untie you, smart as you are, you'd find a way to open all this doors and escape, and I can't let that happen," Ckracknow said.
They then left, putting off the light, then closed the duranium door, shrouding Blossom in darkness.
Blossom just closed her eyes, still defiant, her sole hope that the others would rescue her.
After the two men and two teen-agers navigated their way into the corridors and duranium doors and were out of the prison, Ckracknow revealed to his colleagues his plans.
"You see boys, the rest of them will quickly figure out what happened, and will attempt another rescue. But when they arrive, they will have to find the where Blossom is. And even if they figure out where Blossom is, they would have to know the codes to be able to open the door, as destroying it would not work as it is made of duranium. Anyway, in half an hour, this entire building outside of our rooms will be filled with sleeping gas. We will, of course, have our gas masks by our side, and we'll wear it whenever we go out of our rooms, okay?"
"Yes sir," said the other three simultaneously.
"Good. Plus, if they did manage to enter the duranium corridor with us not knowing, then the laser would promptly alert us, and permanently lock the doors and freeze the codes until I opened it with my emergency codes. And the corridors themselves are filled with sleeping gas. So sooner or later, whoever will attempt to make a rescue would themselves be caught in our web," Ckracknow said.
Later, at about six in the evening…
The five kids still haven't figured out what happened to Blossom. They couldn't believe that Blossom had been kidnapped by the teen-agers, since all evidence points out the impossibility and the improbability of it. But the other possibilities seemed just as impossible and as improbable. They searched the house six times, and found nothing.
At this moment, the phone rang.
"I'll get it," a disappointed and obviously frustrated Brick said. "Hello."
"It's me, Mr. Shippe."
"How are you, Mr. Shippe?" Brick greeted.
"Listen, Brick, I ain't got much time. Ckracknow, as you know, got Blossom—"
"What, Blossom was kidnapped by those teens-again? But how? It can't be. I mean—" Brick said, hardly believing his ears.
"Listen. An hour ago, I saw her tied up. I ungagged her, fed her and such. I don't know how they did it, but they got her," Harry Shippe said. "Now do you believe me?"
"Yeah," Brick said.
"Okay. Remember this. The entire building, except our rooms, has sleeping gas. There isn't any color, it's like air, you won't smell anything different, and you'd only know you inhaled sleeping gas when you feel drowsy two seconds before you pass out. Bring ordinary gas masks, since that will negate the effects of the gas," Shippe said. "You still listening, Brick?"
"Yes," an embarrassed Brick said.
Mr. Shippe then told him about Blossom's location and description of the Blossom's prison on the 57th floor, including the gas inside, the red lasers crisscrossing the corridors, and the duranium composition of the prison and corridors.
"What about the codes? The codes of the doors and the laser?" asked Brick.
"Oh yeah. It's rather long and complicated," said Mr. Shippe. "I wrote the instructions on how to safely navigate the corridors and the codes of all the keypads in the prison so you can reach Blossom, and the instructions on how to get out of the prison without letting anyone know, and emailed it to you. Check your email, Brick, and print it. And carry it with you when you rescue Blossom."
"Anything else I need to know?"
"Oh yeah. Ckracknow expects you to rescue Blossom some time tonight. I advise you to go and do the rescue at about one to two in the morning, since Ckracknow, Alpha, Delta and myself would be asleep at that time. Nobody would be expecting an attack at that hour. Plus the fact that they aren't very alert since everyone expects that all the precautions they made will alert them. In fact, you wouldn't have a chance if I didn't make this call. Anyway, good luck!"
Brick was stunned at the information he received. In a few minutes, it crumbled his theories about Ckracknow not kidnapping Blossom to dust. But he was relieved that he actually knew what happened to his counterpart, and was equally thankful that Shippe ratted out his master.
"Dad, Professor, Bubbles, Buttercup, Butch, Boomer, I have found out where Blossom is," Brick shouted at the top of his voice.
It took thirty seconds for the rest of the kids to come to the living room where Brick was, and another five minutes for the two men to come.
"Well?" asked his father.
Brick was nervous, embarrassed to be wrong. "Harry Shippe called. Blossom was kidnapped by Ckracknow!"
"Ha, you're wrong! You're wrong! I'm right! Ha, Brick! You owe me an apology!" Butch said.
"Apology for what?" asked Dr. Edwards asked.
"Well, he blamed Bubbles and me for Blossom's disappearance!"
"Yeah Brick, you owe us an apology," Bubbles demanded.
"Okay, so I was wrong, and it's my fault for blaming both of you, and I shouldn't have dismissed the possibility of Blossom being kidnapped by Ckracknow, but I repeat, I will not apologize for my mistakes and I will not say sorry!"
"And why not?" asked his father.
"Well, isn't it enough that I admitted I was wrong, and that I took responsibility for it? Me giving an apology is just too much. No, I am not sorry that I accused them of it!"
"No it's not. You should apologize because it's the right thing to do!" Buttercup said. "Face it, you're wrong. You know it. So why not end it and say you're sorry?"
"Because I'm not. Look, it's just a mistake, and all leaders make such mistakes, and I am not perfect. So I will not apologize for making a mistake. So there!" Brick said. "I will not grovel before you begging for you forgiveness. Nope, it won't happen!"
"Brick, I'm afraid I'm with Butch and the girls on this. Making a mistake in judgment and accusing Bubbles and Butch of kidnapping Blossom are two very different things. Please apologize to them," Boomer said.
"Et tu, Boomer. No, I will not apologize!" he shouted at the other four kids. "I admitted I was wrong, and that is enough. Now we can go on to the business of rescuing Blossom? Okay, first of all, Blossom is…"
"You must say sorry first Brick, before we can proceed with anything else," Butch said. "Didn't you know that I was hurt by your accusation? I'm your brother for crying out loud!"
"Yeah, me too," Bubbles said.
"Brick, I think you should apologize," Dr. Edwards. "Admitting your mistakes is all very well and good, but in this case, you need to say you're sorry, because you accused them of something they didn't do."
"But Dad, I can't. I won't!" Brick said. "I will not say!"
"BRICK, APOLOGIZE NOW BEFORE YOU MAKE ME REALLY ANGRY!" Dr. Edwards suddenly shouted at the top of his voice, terrifying all the kids, especially Brick, but also the girls, who for the first time ever, saw Dr. Edwards's explosive temper. His eyes were burning with rage, his breathing heavy, and his face frightening to look at. Butch and Boomer, even though they were not the subject to their father's temper, shook in terror. But Brick was the worst off. He was positively shaken to the core. "HAVEN'T YOU LEARNED, BOY, THAT YOU MUST NEVER COMPROMISE YOUR POSITION AS LEADER BY BLIND PRIDE, WHICH YOU ALREADY DID? BESIDES, WHAT YOU DID WAS WRONG, SO APOLOGIZE! YOU'RE THE LEADER! ACT LIKE ONE! OR DO I HAVE TO SPANK YOU, BRAT, TO FORCE YOU TO?"
Tears dropped from Brick's eyes as his very soul was shaken by his father's words. He quickly dried his eyes before anyone could notice. Those painful words struck deeply into him, as it goes to the very premise of his abilities as leader, something in which Brick was very proud of and which he flaunted at his father with pride.
"O-o-o-o-k-k-k-k-kay Dad, I wa-wa-was wrong," he stuttered, unable to speak a coherent sentence because his mouth was shaking. "Butch, Bubbles, I'm sorry for falsely accusing you of causing Blossom's disappearance. Please forgive me. I'm very sorry, really, I am," Brick pleaded, looking at the ground, unable to see the look on his brother's face.
"Now Butch," his father said, "accept his apology."
Butch felt sorry for Brick, but felt that Brick deserves it. "Yes Dad," Butch said. "Brother, I accept your apology."
"And don't cry, Brick," Bubbles said. "I accept your apology too. See, it would be easier if you just said sorry in the first place."
"I AM NOT CRYING!" Brick lashed out, "but thanks anyway, Bubbles."
"I hope you learned a lesson, from this Brick," Dr. Edwards said.
"I did."
"Good. I expect this incident won't be repeated. Brick, I'm glad you apologized, since this proves that you are a good leader," Dr. Edwards said with a calm voice. "Now that this apology business has been taken care of, Brick, tell us what else we need to know about Blossom's kidnapping."
Brick, his confidence going back after he was forced to apologize, then told the rest of them what Harry told him by phone.
"So we're going to have to rescue Blossom early in the morning?" asked his father.
"Yes Dad. At that time, they'll be asleep, and they'll be relying on the gas and the alarms to tip them off if we attempted another rescue," Brick said. "So what do we do?"
"Why ask me Brick? Do you have an idea?" his father replied.
"Well, yes, but I think you should—"
"Then off with it boy! Just because I scolded you doesn't mean that you can't make decisions for the group," Dr. Edwards said. "I only want to have Blossom safe and sound, and I'm leaving to you kids the details on how to do it. You have done well in the past, and I have faith that you can deliver again without our advice."
The Professor and the others during this time just watched the drama between the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys and his father.
"Well, first of all, I think only two of us should go and rescue Blossom. We need to make the rescue as discreet as possible so we won't attract any unwanted attention. It is imperative that Ckracknow, Delta, and Alpha would not wake up, or if they are already awake, not be aware of our presence while we attempt the rescue. Thank God that Harry gave us all that we need to know to successfully stage the rescue. Now, those two who will rescue Blossom will be my brothers, Boomer and Butch."
"Hey, why us?" Butch whined.
"Yeah! I want to rescue Blossom," Bubbles whined.
"Because I said so, and I am the leader of this Alliance," Brick asserted. "Anyway, why not them?"
"Okay, I'll go," Butch finally said. "You're still our leader, and I respect that."
"Me too! You know you can depend on me!" Boomer enthusiastically said.
The loyalty of Butch and Boomer to Brick, however strained, remained unchanged by this incident. Bubbles just assumed that Brick's apology was sincere, and her respect remained undiminished. Buttercup, however, was a different story. Her respect of the leader plunged, though there was enough left to enable Buttercup to follow Brick's orders.
But it could not hide the fact that Brick hit a new low in his reputation among the members of the alliance.
After that, Brick printed the email sent by Mr. Shippe, making ten copies all in all.
They then spent the time until dinner talking among themselves. After which, Buttercup spent the night mocking Brick for his mistakes and his humiliation, while Boomer, and amazingly, Butch, defended their brother against the green clad puff, while Bubbles just watched TV, avoiding the conflict. Brick just sulked in a corner, deep in thought.
After dinner, the boys told the girls and the men to sleep, because tomorrow, when they woke up, Blossom would be alright.
It was one in the morning, on the 23rd of December…
Brick saw his watch, and stretched from his bed. Even though he was still in a bad mood, he was filled with energy at the prospect of Blossom's rescue, with a chance to regain his prestige that he had lost earlier in the night. He, still in his pyjamas, sneaked to Butch's room, and woke him up. The still groggy and sleepy Butch made petty complaints, but nonetheless woke up, dressing up in his green clothes. Both of them then went to Boomer's room, where they sneaked up on him and pounced on him and tickled him to wake him up. Boomer complained, but he too woke up and dressed. All three boys knew they had a mission—to rescue the pink clad leader of the Powerpuff Girls.
After Boomer and Butch were fully dressed and fully awake, Brick directed them to go to his room.
"Okay, here are the instructions on how to go to Blossom's cell, with the number codes needed to open the duranium doors, and to remove the laser beams to disable security. Follow the instructions to the letter, and you should be fine," Brick said.
"Thanks Brick," Butch said.
"You're not mad at me for accusing you of Blossom's disappearance, and me refusing to apologize till Dad shouted at me, are you?" Brick asked.
"Nope. After all, you apologized in the end, and that's all that matters. You're my brother after all. Besides, I can't stand Buttercup mocking you. She doesn't have the right. Only I have the right to mock you, my brother!" Butch asserted.
"Yup! We're the Rowdyruff Boys, and we always stick-up for each other!" Boomer said.
"Anyway, here's the gas masks you'll need," Brick instructed. "Remember, whatever you do, don't remove it, or you'll go to dreamland and wake up in the same cell as Blossom. And put this extra gas mask on Blossom's head so she won't faint when you take her out of her cell."
"Anything else we need to know?" asked Booomer.
"Nope! I think I told you what you needed to know. Just follow the instructions in the paper I printed. Go! And good luck!" Brick said, lightly punching both his brothers on the elbows as a friendly gesture.
Boomer and Butch then went to Citiesville to do their duty, while Brick went back to bed.
Butch and Boomer slipped on their gas masks as they flew over the lake surrounding Citiesville. They quickly dropped to the ground when they reached Citiesville to avoid being spotted, and they ran as fast as they could towards the base of Ckracknow's skyscraper. They quickly flew to the fifty-seventh floor, hugging the wall as they did so. After reaching the floor, they searched for an open window. Finding none, Boomer got from his pocket a glass cutter and carefully made a circular hole in the glass windows, and inserted his hand in the hole to open the windows from inside. Once in, they, using the instructions on the paper, they disabled all alarms and found the duranium door.
The floor was deserted, except for a few guards who were quickly dispatched by the two. They saw the keypad besides the door, and using the code written in the paper, Butch opened the door.
Butch and Boomer entered, and Butch, using the second set of codes on the paper, punched another set of numbers on another keypad, making the laser criss-crossing the corridor disappear. When they reached the other end of the corridor, Butch punched another set of numbers, and the laser behind them reappeared. He then punched another set of numbers, and the second door to open, revealing another corridor with laser criss-crossing the room.
So they repeated the procedure five times until finally, the boys were thrilled to find out not another corridor behind the next door but a cell with a TV, a chair, and other comforts. But what really greeted their eyes was when they switched the light on, and saw Blossom hog-tied and gagged, sleeping soundly on the bed.
Boomer was about to remove Blossom's gag when Butch shook his head. "She might wake up, be startled by us, and scream!" Butch whispered. "Leave it on just to be on the safe side."
Boomer nodded as he quickly put on the spare gas mask they carried on Blossom's head. It woke Blossom, and she was indeed startled and screamed at the sight of two people wearing gas masks. Luckily, the gag made the scream very faint that even the boys could barely hear it, and she recognized Boomer and Butch afterwards. She breathed a sigh of relief on the thought that she was finally being rescued, though annoyed that they wouldn't remove her gag.
The boys tried undoing the hog-tie; finding that they couldn't, Butch carried her, and they slowly left the cell. Boomer punched the numbers on the keypad to close the cell, then slowly, they used the codes written in the paper to navigate their way out of the prison. Finally reaching the final door, Boomer punched the last few numbers on the keypad to shut the door. Boomer crumpled the paper with the instructions, and deposited it in a nearby trashcan. They then quickly flew out of the building and into Townsville, reaching their home a few minutes later.
"Phew! That was close! And exciting too!" Boomer said as he removed the gas mask from his head.
"Yeah, it was smooth!" Butch remarked as he removed his gas mask and that of Blossom's.
Blossom was wide-eyed staring at both boys, trying to get their attention, but failing miserably.
"So what do we do with her?" asked Butch.
"What else? Let's wake Brick and Dad and announce our success," Boomer said. "And remove her gag. And go to sleep! I'm bushed, and want to go to bed."
"Nah, you go on to bed. I'll let Brick know about it," Butch said.
"Really?" Boomer yawned.
"Of course. You're my brother, and I wouldn't want you to be deprived of sleep," Butch said.
"Thanks a million Butch," a sleepy Boomer said before going to bed.
Butch grinned evilly at Blossom, and a wicked thought came to his mind. He picked up the pink puff, and sneaked into Brick's room. Brick was sound asleep, and if experience was to be the guide, like when Buttercup and Bubbles took Brick while he was asleep in the forest, he was a heavy sleeper. He sneaked besides Brick, and noticed that Brick was leaning on one side of his wide bed, with a wide space on the other. With a chuckle, he placed Blossom on her stomach besides Brick, and laughing to himself, left the room. 'I can wait to see the look on his face when he wakes up and finds Blossom besides him. 'I really evil!'
Blossom, though awake and aware of all of this, and mad at Butch, was helpless to remedy the situation since her hog-tie rendered her immobile, and her thick gag rendered her unable to protest or to wake Brick from his dreams. So Blossom just turned her head away from Brick, and slept. She was happy that she was safe, and that the sunlight would see her body free of the cuffs and the gag, but angry with Butch for his prank. Oh she would get revenge on Butch, that she will, but for now, she was happy that at least she was safe.
It was seven in the morning…
Brick turned around on his bed and clutched the pillow that lay on his side. But it was odd that the pillow was warm, and seemed an animate object, instead of the lifeless mass of linen and cotton that it was. Opening his eyes, he saw a mass of red hair faced him, and he staggered back, his face full of surprise.
"What the…" he gasped, and on closer examination revealed that it was Blossom, sleeping.
"BUTCH! BOOMER!" Brick shouted, and he angrily marched out of his room in his pyjamas. He first burst into Butch's room, then dragged the poor ruff out of the room by his collar to Boomer's room.
"What the hell is going on here? And whose bright idea was it to put that ugly girl besides me on bed?" Brick angrily demanded of his brothers.
"Huh. What?" A groggy Boomer said as he emerged from his slumber. "Oh, we rescued Blossom. It was a cinch going through all those security apparatuses using the instructions you handed us."
"Obviously, you did your job well. But why the devil did you put Blossom in my bed? I should have locked my room when you left!"
"Um, I didn't. I went to bed when we returned and left Blossom to Butch," Boomer said.
"So it was you, Butch," Brick said in an angry manner. "And what possessed you to make such a prank?"
"Well, I figured, since you like her so much—" Butch began.
"How many times do I have to tell you, how many times do I have to drill it in your head, that I do not like that ugly girl! Heck, our neighbor's dog even looks better than that mass flesh with long red hair with an annoying personality! She, like all girls, have cooties, are disgusting, are too picky, plays dolls and wears dresses! Yuck! Yuck! Heck, I'm six years old, and I don't like girls at all! They're too nice, and they're too proper!" the six-year-old Brick asserted. "So there. I don't like Blossom, just as you don't like Buttercup! Your prank is not funny Butch! I demand an apology right now!"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry for that prank," Butch said. "Sheesh, it's just a prank! We have been doing pranks to the girls and to each other for months, so be a sport about this!"
"Whatever! Just glad you saw the light," Brick muttered before he left the room. As soon as the door closed, both Butch and Boomer exploded their suppressed laughter.
"Did you see the look on his face when he entered?" Butch asked.
In truth, both boys just knew that it got on Brick's nerves to say that he likes Blossom, and they just said that as revenge for the incident the previous day. Butch also wanted to get back at Brick for accusing him of hiding Blossom the day before.
Brick went to his room, where he saw Blossom still on his bed. "You won't tell anybody of this, okay?"
Blossom nodded.
"Okay, I'll carry you to Dad, where hopefully, he can cut off those damned cuffs and we can train!" Brick said. "The only thing I'll regret about is that you'll be able to use your big mouth again to yak!"
Brick then picked up the pink puff. He first went to his father's room. It was empty. He then went to the kitchen, were the Professor was cooking breakfast while Dr. Edwards was reading a paper.
"Dad, Professor, Blossom—"
"Blossom!" the Professor shouted, and immediately grabbed her from Brick's hands. He hugged her as tight as he could, and then he removed the gag from Blossom's mouth, which took a while, then kissed her in the cheek.
"Oh I miss you, Blossom, my little girl, did they do something terrible to you, oh Blossom, I'm glad you're okay, I'm so glad the boys were able to rescue you! Oh I miss you I miss you I miss you! And I'm glad you're okay!"
"I miss you too, Professor, I miss you too. You don't know how lonely it is to be alone, to be held captive with no way of escape from by those who hate you! Oh Professor, I'm so glad to be here! I'm so glad to see you! I'm so glad to be among loved ones again!" Blossom replied, then kissed the professor on the cheek.
Brick was disgusted by the display of emotion. But he noticed he was hungry and began eating the breakfast that the Professor had cooked. Boomer and Butch, still snickering at their brother, joined Brick.
"And could you remove these cuffs from me," asked Blossom. "I had been tied-up continuously for nearly forty hours, and my arms are aching. And give me water. That rag in my mouth so dried my mouth!"
Dr. Edwards then helped Blossom drink a glass of water. "Don't worry. The equipment is ready. Come on now, let's remove those cuffs."
"Thanks. And boys, thanks for saving me," Blossom said. "And Butch, I'll get you for that prank you pulled!"
Butch just ignored Blossom as he chomped on the sandwiches the Professor prepared.
The Professor picked up the leader of the Powerpuffs, and with Dr Edwards, went to the lab.
Meanwhile, at the same time…
"How the hell could she escape?" shouted Ckracknow at Alpha, Delta and Harry. "I made every precaution that she not escape, and yet, the bird had flown the coop! Oh get out of my sight! Alpha, Delta, patrol this city. Harry, do whatever you want."
Alpha, Delta and Harry left Ckracknow alone in the 57th floor. By this time, all sleeping gas had been removed.
In his rage, he walked rather clumsily, and accidentally tipped over a trash can, and its contents spilt on to the floor. Instead of shouting for a maid, he decided to pick up the trash himself. Out of curiosity, he began to unravel all the crumpled pieces of paper to see what those were. Most are private letters, newspaper clippings that are of no interest to him. After a couple of crumpled papers, he picked up what looked liked an ordinary piece of crumpled paper, and read its contents.
He was shocked.
The first part of the paper read.
To William B. Edwards,
And it gives precise instructions on how to get pass all the security apparatus that Ckracknow had installed to guard Blossom. And it gave all the number codes on all the doors.
'No wonder they were able to rescue Blossom. They know the codes and the traps and the gas and the alarms, and how to avoid all of those,' the small scientist thought.
He scanned the entire letter to see its author.
He was shocked to read the name at the bottom of the paper.
Harry
'That traitor will pay,' Ckracknow thought.
Meanwhile, at about eight in the morning…
Brick was in his room, reading one of the books he traded from Blossom in exchange for his forcing Boomer to take Bubbles to the amusement park, when Blossom suddenly entered the room, this time, with the cuffs and gravity belt completely taken off her body. She had taken a bath and had changed into fresh clothes and fixed her hair and had chatted for a time with her sisters and eaten breakfast before she went to Brick's room.
"So you're free? What do you want? And make it quick. I'm reading," Brick said.
"Hey, that's mine!" Blossom said.
"Yup it's yours, but you loaned it me and it hasn't expired yet," Brick said. "Now what do you want."
"First, I want to thank you for rescuing me."
"Thank Boomer and Butch. I have nothing to do with your rescue. In fact, I would have been happier had you remained Ckracknow's hands," Brick snapped.
"Anyway," Blossom said, who by this time was used to Brick's insults, "You had a lot to do with my second rescue, and you even came in person and rescued me the first time. Thanks."
"Don't thank me. It was just part of an overall plan to defeat Epsilon, and to enhance my image as leader of this group. Your safety is only a secondary consideration," Brick replied.
"Anyway, you ugly, arrogant jerk, do you have anything planned this afternoon?" asked Blossom.
"We'll train the entire afternoon," Brick replied.
"And do you have any plans on defeating the remaining two teens?"
"Well, if you have to know, I plan on dispatching Delta on December 26, after Christmas, and Alpha soon after that. But as for exact plans, I still have to make one," Brick replied.
"Well, I have a plan," Blossom said.
"Really? How the hell could you make a plan given your recent predicament?" Brick asked sceptically.
"There isn't anything else you could do if you're hog-tied," Blossom said. "And you have to promise me one thing first."
"What?"
"That you would make no modifications of it, and would do exactly as I say you would under my plan," Blossom said.
Brick looked at Blossom. "And why the hell would I do that? I am the leader of this alliance for crying out loud, and you, who in recent days were too busy being kidnapped and playing damsel-in-distress to be of any use to us, are in no position to make a demand like that!"
"Well, you let me be kidnapped in the first place. You're the leader, and you should have given me sufficient protection," Blossom argued back. "So ultimately, it's your responsibility. And besides, I know your big blunder yesterday, you know, about blaming Butch and Bubbles for my disappearance!"
"Don't remind me. It's too embarrassing. So I slipped up! Big deal! At least I wasn't tied-up for more than thirty hours and didn't need to be rescued twice!"
"And it's your fault that I was!" Blossom countered.
"Anyway, why should I prefer your plan to what I will device in the future against Delta?"
"Because my plan would have Delta dead this afternoon," Blossom said.
"Okay, you got me there. Tell me this plan of yours," Brick said. "And if it's good, I'll agree to follow your instructions."
"Okay, here it is," Blossom said as she began telling her plan to Brick.
Later in the morning…
Ckracknow was in his office, browsing among his papers.
"You called for me, sir?"
The mad scientist looked at the trim young man who just entered his office, standing by his door.
"Forty-Five, or as we call you, Harry Shippe, yes, I need you to examine this papers," Ckracknow said, handing Shippe two pieces of paper. One was crumpled and the other was not. Harry froze when he read both papers. It was his email to Brick, printed.
"The crumpled one I saw on a trash can, and it would explain how they were able to rescue Blossom," the creator of the five teenagers said. "They knew exactly what to do to avoid the pitfalls, and know exactly the number codes that they need to be enter in order to open the duranium doors. So it was not lack of security that caused us to lose Blossom for the second time, but treason. And do you know who the traitor is? Look at the name on the bottom to find out. Yes, I found out this morning that you are the traitor."
"After I found out this paper, I decided to check out your emails. After all, I know all the passwords of emails of all my creations, you know. Plus, the password on my website was confidential to all but myself. I checked the email sent box, and voila, I found out that you indeed sent an email to Brick telling him the secrets."
Ckracknow then stood up and began walking around the sweating and frightened Harry. "Then I began thinking. All of my other plans, the disappearance of Cychaela and Beta, the death of Epsilon, the failure of the riots, the failure to frighten them, and many other failures since my return, were not failures because the plans were faulty, or that the enemy were brilliant, but because all my plans were upset by a traitor who gave the enemy information needed to win against us."
"IN OTHER WORDS, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR US LOSING, AND FOR UPSETTING MY MOST BRILLIANT PLANS!" Ckracknow shouted, completely losing his temper. "You are a disgrace! You do not deserve to live! You are lower than rats! You are worst than feces! Tell, me, why did you do it?"
"Because it is the right thing to do," Harry said, though his face was white with fear.
Ckracknow then took a .45 pistol from his pocket and in a flash, shot Harry in the chest. The bullet hit his heart, and he died right there and then, collapsing on the floor. Ckracknow, in his rage, emptied the cartridge of the gun, firing bullet after bullet into Harry's body.
Ckracknow then spit on his body. "Ha, so much for traitors!"
Luckily for the consciences of Boomer and Butch, they never will know that their carelessness with the printed instructions was the cause of Harry's death.