Serena was in astonishment as she stared at the 8x10 picture attached to the sheet of paper with basic information. Yet, it was the name that catches her off guard.
'No way…it isn't possible!' She thinks in disbelief. The orange head hears General Malone's cough bring her out of her thoughts.
"Let me make this clear Special Officer Shaw. Before I start to tell you about B.E.L.L. history, I'll have to disclose a personal story." He forewarns her.
"Bell is a codename that we assigned to her but her real name is…"
'Tia B. Gardner.' She mentally fills in the name as it emits from the Malone's mouth.
"Are you alright, Special Officer Shaw? You look a little pale." The general inquires after he examines the expression on her face.
"I apologize sir. It's just that she looks quite familiar to me." Serena admits as she avoids lying to the general.
"I can understand that. We did have to fake her death due to the fact that we entered in the most crucial portion of the surgery. So we needed for her human identity to be erase from the face of the world. We chose the media as the main source to broadcast that message." He explains to her.
"Oh now I remember… she was a senior from Pokey Oaks High, who was supposedly kill because someone poisoned her drink during some senior tea party. If I recall, a lot of people were heartbroken at the fact that someone as nice as she was, was killed." Serena ran down the fact as if she saw it on the news rather than personally check it out.
"That's because we didn't actually poison her. We subjected her to a comatose status with a newly developed mixture that when administered it render whoever consume it in a near death state." General Malone concludes up that portion of the story.
"If I'm correct about the process of how Bell is pieced together then it would have been nesecary for her to be in that phase in order for the surgery to be successful…that is." She claims after she listens to what he told her.
"Yes, you're right. The chances of the operation being successful was low even if she was induced by anesthesia or morphine. Her heart would've given out and died on the table. We tried to maintain a high survival rate with this projects. Plus, it would have jeopardize everyone's hard work." General Malone states.
"What I don't understand is who could have volunteered their child's life for such a risky procedure? Who would be so cruel to that child? I mean did they even let her choose what she wants to do with her life?" Serena wonders out loud now.
She realizes that General Malone grows quiet quickly after he listens to her statement and his eyes were somewhere else.
'That look on his face…he couldn't have possibly did that…' Serena inwardly assumes while she masks her true feelings from the general.
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As the final bell rung, the students at Pokey Oaks High was thrilled to head home just so they could wake up the next day for more excitement.
"I've never seen the students act this crazy for Sports Fest." Bubbles claims while at her locker. She then selected some objects that needed to be taken home.
"What do you expect when people are given an entire week to enjoy no school work and play all day? Hell, even I would be pretty fired up about that too if you asked me!" Buttercup asserts with one of her foot against her locker door.
She giggles at her sister's answer because she is consider the athletic one in the family.
Buttercup glances down the hallway and beholds Flash along with his newfound attachment their sister, Blossom.
'So it seems as if they were serious about this then…' She surmises before she returns her focus back on what is front of her.
"You know Butter, I don't like the look of it either. It puts my dear brother Brick through so much turmoil." Butch's voice interjects. Her eyes cut to the left of her to see him in a similar stance.
"You know popping up on me isn't such a great idea. I have killer reflexes." Buttercup advised him after he blocked her forearm that was intented for his face.
"I'll keep that as a reminder. The same should go for you as well." He warns her when she pins his arm against the locker.
Bubbles leans backward for a good look at the two before she responds with a "Wait a minute, what did you just tell Buttercup, Butch?"
"Oh Bubbles, I didn't see you there. Ah, you mean that the sight of the new couple on campus has Brick in a dilemma." Butch answers her question as she repeats his previous statement.
"So wait a minute, you claiming that Brick has some feelings for Blossom?" She asks Butch.
"Come on Bubbles, I know you and Butter seen that look he had on his face! Trust me on this one, that isn't one of Brick's typical facial expressions." The raven head teen expresses in a serious tone toward her.
His statement pacifies the two sisters' before Flash and Blossom stop at Blossom's locker.
Brick veers around the corner of the hallway where Bubbles, Buttercup, Butch, Blossom and Flash were.
"Thanks for walking me to my locker Flash. I appreciate it. You didn't really have to do that." She conveys with no signs of infliction in her tone.
"Oh it isn't problem at all! You know you should probably get use to this since we're going out together." He declares with his hands inside of his varsity lettermen jacket pockets.
Blossom nods her head before she agrees with, "Yeah, you're right. It's still a little new to me. I'll try to remember next time."
"Aw your just so adorable! How can I ever stay mad at you?" Flash voices while he reaches out to rub her head where her bow sits on top of her crown.
Buttercup refuses to watch the scene in front of them, advances forward and snags Flash's wrists in her grasp.
"Don't ever speak nor talk to my sister as if she was a dog. Do I make myself clear?" She threatens him while she narrows her gaze on him,
He expected Buttercup's action and harsh tone toward him but he refused to bend at her will so he defends himself.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you Buttercup but you have to accept the fact that your sister has a boyfriend now! How about you loosen your sisters' off your own short leash?"
Buttercup tightly squeezes Flash's wrist without thinking while her mind absorb what Flash just tells her.
'Is it true that I keep them on a short leash?' She ponders to herself oblivious to Flash's yelps of pain.
Buttercup suddenly feels another hand on top of hers when she identifies Butch's hand. She peers over to the side of her to see a grin present on his face.
"Butter, are you listening to me?" Butch mutters to her before she nods her head a yes after she listens to the question.
"Flash isn't worth it. Don't let his words get to you. You obviously have the upper hand in this situation." He conveys with sincerity in his tone.
"Humph" she utters after she releases her grasp on Flash's wrist, "You're certainly not worth it."
Buttercup pivots her head only to catch a glimpse of red spiky hair underneath a red cap, 'Why does he have to see this as well?'
0000
An eerie hush enshrouds the room that contains Serena and General Malone as she inspects his facial features.
"If I stepped out of line with my comment just know that they are words from the feelings that I feel." Serena verbalizes.
Since she assumes the reason why he was taciturn because Tia was someone special to him.
'So what exactly is your relation to her? You did say that it was a personal story to you right? The fact that you're the only General with the rights to have access to this confidential material is leery. But it's all adding up now.' She deduces from the information she was provided.
She was his…' Serena mulls over to herself.
"For some reason, there's something about you that makes me sense that I can trust you with this private and sensitive information." He asserts to her in a grave tone.
"She's my daughter as a product of an illicit afair. She was born out of wedlock, which I was able to conceal..." General Malone communicates while he stares at her in a questioning manner.
"At least let me promise you this before you even start, I won't reveal this secret to anyone. I'm grateful that you deemed me as a worthy solider to learn of your history." Serena assures him while she expresses being highly honored.
He nodded his head as a gesture to seal a silent deal exchanged between the two of them.
"Sixteen years ago I handled some business for this fort, I ran in to this attractive young woman, who asked for directions. I thought it was just a way of helping a civilian out."
"It turned out that she didn't need any directions but rather she tried to figure out a way to ask me for my name and number. I eventually found out that I knew her father because he held the position as my commander at the time."
"I relished her company more and more that I developed a physical relationship with her. That was after I got to know her better." He adds in on the story.
"So you didn't protect you or your secret and as a result she became pregnant. Did your wife ever figure out about the affair or the baby?" Serena poses while she tries to process his story.
She observes the General shakes his head "no" and divulges, "My wife never did. When the woman insisted that I should sign my last name on the birth certificate, I convinced her that if she gave the baby girl my last name then my wife would become suspicious."
There was just one question that General Malone had not addressed during the entire of his story.
"Why her? Why not someone else?" Serena inquires with a confuse expression on her face.
She realizes that the subject is still a soft spot for him but if he did not have a just or legitimate reason as to why he permit his illegimate child to undergo such a dangerous procedure. Serena could never forgive him as a commander, a man, a father and most importantly a human being.
"The answer to your question…"
0000
"Are you alright Butter?" Buttercup overhears someone asks her before she identifies whose voice it is.
She halts and whirls around to spot Butch still hot on her trail after the whole Flash and Blossom incident.
"I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" Buttercup questions more to herself then toward her raven head male companion.
He examines her face to confirm whether or not she was serious about what she just said and poses, "You can't be serious! Are you?"
She knew what he hinted at but she just wanted to simply forget the whole ordeal. Personally, right now she would be laying down and taking a nap.
Buttercup sighs while she slumps her shoulders forward and replies, "As much as I don't like them as a couple, I can't control my sisters' personal choices."
Her response did not resonate well within him. She was his last hope in the ultimate riddance of Flash from Blossom by any means necessary.
"If that's your decision then I won't bother you about it anymore, but I do have one more question." Butch mentions to Buttercup.
She rolls her eyes at his statement, "Make it quick…the sooner I get home the better the chances are that I won't burn down this hell hole."
He unintentionally tensed up after he heard her statement. Images of a transformed Buttercup from Bell's pool party swiftly flashed through his thoughts.
"A little birdie told me that you attended a special meeting this morning. All the heavy hitters of each school had assembled to discuss the format of the Dragon Fist Martial Tournament, right?" Butch asks her.
Her eyebrow raise as she starts to wonder how he was able to come across that kind of information.
"Yeah, I did. What is it that you wanted to ask me?"
Butch weighed it for a moment, he recalled that he has not revealed that part of him and his brothers' lives to them yet.
"Are they still going by the team score or are they doing individual fights?" He questions in order to avoid the real question he wants to ask her.
Buttercup shifts so that she can stand erect and spiels, "This year, they planned to compact the lengthy tournament bracket to a shorter version. The team members will complete three individual fights between the two. We will still record the individuals scores so they can issue out certain awards.
"Does that answer your question?" She challenges as her face contorts to display annoyance.
He registered from the tone she used to answer his question that she was ready to go. She was really irritated.
Butch flashes her a friendly smile and claims, "You know they say if you keep your face like that it's going to get stuck like that...permanently."
Buttercup rolls her eyes again, swings her weight to her right foot, and retorts, "If that's all you wanted to ask me then I'm leaving."
"Yo! Whatever happened to Boomer and Bubbles?" He poses more for the sake of the location of his brother's sake rather than Bubbles.
She was peering over her shoulder and verifying that the two blondes were indeed missing from the group.
"I trust Boomer with her. He seems to be the sweetest out the three." Buttercup discloses to Butch.
"What!" He shockingly proclaims because he could not phantom what she said about his baby brother, Boomer.
"What about me? You don't trust me with your sisters?" He questions with a pout evident on his face.
"Are you kidding me? Don't ask me such a silly question Buttercup expresses before she head in the direction of the parking lot.
'Hey…she still didn't answer my question!' He realized after he processed what she just told him a couple of seconds ago.
0000
Author's Note:
07.26.16 Major editing revision