Chapter 2

An Actual Hero

Sophomore Year - September

Blossom was tired, bruised, her head pounded, her clothes were dirty, and now she had to deal with this quandary. Bubbles zipped away to perform her after-battle ritual and Buttercup started a staring contest with a snickering Butch.

Brick took the key to the city from the mayor and pumped his fist into the air for the crowd that had gathered. It had to be a trick. At any moment he was going to grab the mayor by the throat and shoot his eyebeams at innocent people. He was evil, plain and simple. Blossom had to be ready.

A news crew was filming the scene and a reporter ran up to Brick with a microphone. "This is Stacy Larson with Channel 5 News. Just minutes ago, Townsville was under siege by a colossal squid, one so massive, even the Powerpuff Girls couldn't defeat it. But now, it lays dead, in a shocking twist of events, defeated by Townsville villains, the Rowdyruff Boys. I'm here with the Rowdyruff leader. Brick, do you have anything to say?"

Brick looked bewildered at the microphone that was thrust in his face for a quarter second. Then his mouth made a half smile and his eyes did a half-lidded gaze. He was trying to look like a confident hero with a dash of vulnerability. Every petty expression was a bald-faced lie.

"We took care of the squid and will continue to protect the city from any monster attacks. Townsville can rest easy."

Blossom sneered. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"The Rowdyruff Boys have terrorized Townsville for the last decade. Can the people trust you to act in our best interest?" the reporter asked. Finally someone was asking the right questions. Though, it wasn't how Blossom would have worded it. It was so diplomatic, she may as well have given him the right answer in the first place.

Brick covered his mouth as if he was deep in thought. "We have a past," he admitted. "Pushed to the edge because of our financial situation. We didn't grow up with parents, no one to teach us what was right or wrong." A lie, Blossom had described right and wrong to him and his brothers on several occasions. All they did was laugh and yell at her to shut up. "Never knowing where our next meal was coming from." Also a lie. Their meals came from the mouths of whoever they came across. Whatever they wanted, they took. "But now, we're using our talents to assist the city. I think we deserve a second chance."

That wasn't an apology. He couldn't rewrite the story. His list of crimes included grand larceny, vandalism, and several cases of assault and battery. Surely the reporter was going to bring that up.

"A true tale of tragedy and redemption," the reporter remarked.

Blossom couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was evil. So what if he did one good thing? Evil doesn't change, it becomes more subtle, more sinister. How could they all fall for it so easily?

"Blossom, have you heard the good news?" The mayor asked.

Blossom didn't want to hear it from him. "Mom?"

Behind the mayor, Mrs. Bellum took a deep breath to compose herself. "The mayor signed a contract and I agreed their terms are very fair." She offered a stack of paper to Blossom, knowing she'd want to read it for herself.

Blossom snatched the contract out of Mrs. Bellum's hand and began reading. "They've been pardoned for all of their past crimes!?"

Mrs. Bellum didn't react. Blossom usually admired her decorum, but she was outraged. And the fact that the woman whom she had thought of as her mother had nothing to say only annoyed her.

Blossom growled and her eyes scanned over the rest of the first page, too angry to actually read it. "Why wasn't I consulted?"

"Because you were busy fighting the monster." Blunt, but Blossom didn't detect that patronizing tone for which Mrs. Bellum was famous.

"We could have handled it, and now the city owes the Rowdyruff Boys $20,000 plus applicable taxes."

"The mayor only signed because all three of you were unconscious. He thought you were going to beat it."

They should have beaten it. They did everything right. The squid was a challenge, it had certain immunities she had neglected to account for. But Blossom thrived on challenges and she would have overcome this one, the same as all the others. If she had done a little better, if Bubbles and Buttercup had fought a little harder, they could have beaten it before Brick and his brothers got to it. She closed her eyes.

Mrs. Bellum put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Sweetie, you did everything you could to save the city and we would have been doomed long ago without you."

Blossom couldn't bear to look at her mom, knowing she had failed. Her body shook and she couldn't swallow the lump in her throat. It built until it choked her.

"I'm glad you're okay." Blossom's mom took her into her arms and held her for a while. "I thought I was going to lose you this time," she whispered. Showing affection was a politically risky move with all the cameras around. Blossom shivered in her mother's warmth, her heart quaking.

"Boom!" Butch's loud regaling to the reporter interrupted Blossom's moment. "And Brick was like 'Save that building!' And I was like 'No problem!' And I saved the building, and then wrestled the giant squid to the ground. It was awesome."

"It sounds awesome. There you have it, from a Rowdyruff Boy himself. Looks like Townsville just got little rowdier. I'm Stacy Larson. Back to you, Tom."

Buttercup had her arms crossed and her head tilted, staring Butch. Anyone else may have interpreted her stance as placid, practically curious. But Blossom knew when her sister was on-edge. At least one of Blossom's sisters understood what a threat the Rowdyruffs were.

Bubbles only then appeared in a new outfit and her hair and makeup redone. Every time they might be on camera after a fight, she went all the way home and got ready all over again. She wouldn't allow herself to not look cute on camera. She never took anything seriously.

Boomer was off on the periphery of the action. His shoulders were slumped, and his hands were in his sweatshirt pocket. Not much of a threat, but still.

Blossom kept her focus on Brick, she had a job to do. He was talking to the mayor. Then they shook hands.

Blossom's mom observed the scene with her. "Brick may be a pompous brat, but he's far from the worst I've ever met. Have you ever been to a Chamber of Commerce Meeting? It's a den of snakes, sharks, and rats."

Brick and the mayor approached them. "It's settled," the mayor said. "From now on the Rowdyruff Boys will take down any monsters attacking Townsville, leaving the Powerpuff Girls free to focus specifically on crime."

Mrs. Bellum was wrong. He was the worst, even comparing him to a rat was too gracious. Brick was a literal demon.

"I need to get back to work, sweetie," Mrs. Bellum said, checking her schedule. "But I promise I'll be home for dinner." She joined the mayor in a waiting limousine and they drove off.

Reconstruction crews got to work restoring the town and the crowd dispersed. The guys flew away in a triumphant blast and Blossom let out a breath. They didn't attack this time. For the first time in her life, she felt like she didn't understand the world.

Upon arriving at home, Buttercup immediately peeled off her crop top and left her dirty boots in the middle of the living room. "So what if they beat the fucking squid, it doesn't mean anything."

Blossom tried to ignore the mess, she fully understood Buttercup's state of mind. "I know! 'Townsville can rest easy'? What, did he rehearse that line?" She sat at the dining room table. She set her copy of the contract down, though it hurt her eyes to look at it. The sheer fact that they got the mayor to sign the document was nefarious enough.

Bubbles hung in Blossom's orbit, like an itch she couldn't scratch. She wasn't bothering to actually read anything or even sit down. "What does it say?" Bubbles asked.

Blossom huffed. She always had to do all the work. "It says they have to respond to any class two or higher monster attack in a timely manner."

Bubbles still looked confused. "...And what's a class two?"

"Anything bigger than 10 feet," Buttercup said getting a box of cheese crackers out of the pantry. "Shit, Bubs. You've been a superhero all your life. How do you not know that?"

"It's not like we take classes on how big monsters are, Buttercup."

"What about zombies?" Buttercup asked, munching on her crackers. She had a point, a zombie horde was a real threat in Townsville.

Blossom began to quote from the contract. "Any city-threatening, non-monster related incidents such as alien invasions and/or an army of rampaging monkey-geniuses are subject to the standard surcharge." It was written in legal language as dictated by a child, someone knows to use the word 'surcharge' but doesn't know what it really means. "In the case of zombies or other 'infection-based threats'..." Blossom flipped to the back and absorbed the information silently while Bubbles and Buttercup waited.

"...Only if the attack constitutes a minimum of 500 individuals. And worse, they reserve the right to 'dispose of' the infected and refuse to attempt to locate a cure."

"So there's a whole zombies section?" Buttercup asked.

"Appendix Three." It was barely most of a page. Again, the author understood contracts have appendices, but obviously didn't know what they're for.

"That it?" Buttercup asked, throwing herself onto the sofa.

"They have to stop all criminal activity."

"Hold on. All? As in, we never get to fight them again?"

"We never have to fight them again?" Bubbles asked. "Blossom, this is good news. No more monster guts on my cheerleading uniform. No more 3AM calls disturbing my beauty sleep. I say let the boys take care of it."

"Uhh, Why don't we get paid to save the city?" Buttercup asked.

"Buttercup!?" Blossom couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What? It sounds like a good idea."

"We're the good guys."

"Yeah, well, its not like that seems to matter to anyone else." Buttercup shoveled a handful of crackers into her mouth. "I wonder if they've got an open spot."

"Buttercup," Blossom stood up from the table and gathered the contract. She needed to regain a sense of control in her life. "Clean this mess before mom and dad get home," she said, referring to Buttercup's discarded boots. She went up to her room to finish her homework.

Blossom thought a good night's sleep would make her feel better. It didn't. She woke up apprehensive about the day, but it turned out to be a pretty normal Monday, teachers loaded her down with busy work, the kids were annoying, and the girls fawned all over Brick.

"I saw your interview on the news. You looked so hot," Blossom heard some random girl say from across the forum during lunch.

He gave her his 'I'm too cool for any of this' smirk. A typical day at Townsville High School.

Robin was talking about something while Blossom could only give shallow agreements. Her mind was somewhere else.

All that distance between them was nothing. She felt Brick's stare from across the hall. He was sitting on a table, like he was playing 'the rebel'. He thought he was so cool. They might as well have been an inch apart. It wasn't all the time, but she could feel his eyes on her. Whenever she tried to catch him looking, he pretended to be talking to his friends. He had that stupid smirk on his face and he was doing that thing with his eyes, like he was better than her.

"Blossom, may I speak with you?" Dexter asked in that strange accent he never lost. He was holding a lunch tray and Blossom hoped he wasn't planning on sitting with her.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I wanted to speak with you about our project." Blossom had chosen Dexter as her science lab partner specifically because he also wanted to get their semester project started early. If it were anyone else, she would have had to do all the work herself while they procrastinated until December.

Dexter glanced at her chest. "Perhaps we could brainstorm ideas in my lab."

"There's no need." Blossom pulled out her phone. "I'm emailing you a list of ideas. Let me know which one you like best."

"Ahh, yes," he said, pulling out his own phone and perusing the list. "I will make my decision later today." Just what she needed, a big strong man to make a decision for her. "Good day, Blossom."

Blossom inwardly rolled her eyes. "Good day, Dexter." After he was gone, she sighed and stirred her salad, getting that feeling again.

This time he wasn't trying to hide it. He was looking right at her, snickering. Brick's smile widened when Blossom's glare hardened.

She suddenly lost her appetite, stood up and picked up her bag. "We need more pre-SAT prep," Blossom explained. "Let's go to the library."

Robin looked at her confused. "O- Okay." Robin got to her feet and followed.

Brick was such a contemptuous brigand, she couldn't take being in the same room as him for long. Especially if she would have to put up with his presence in her afternoon classes.

Walking through the halls toward the library, Blossom discovered Butch talking to Mitch Mitchelson and floating up in the air, a clear violation of school rules. There was a special clause that banned any use of superpowers on school grounds. While she wanted to call him out on it, she also wanted to walk by, unaccosted, for once.

"Hey Robin," Butch said as they passed. "Love your new hairstyle."

Robin began to glow. "Thank you!" She gave him the biggest smile Blossom had ever seen, and she blushed, she actually blushed, at a Rowdyruff boy. "What are you up to this weekend?"

Butch chanced a look at Blossom then his eyes went right back to Robin. "I was telling Mitch, party at our place Saturday night. You should come."

"I'd love to come!" Robin brushed her hair behind her ear.

"It's on the corner of Service and Paradise."

Robin typed the directions into her phone to get the address. Mitch smiled, moving around them to block their exit.

While they didn't constitute a threat, it was highly annoying. "No flying at school, Butch."

Butch scoffed. "No can do, Pinky. We got carte blanche from the mayor to use our powers all we want." He flexed.

Blossom rolled her eyes. "Do you even know what 'carte blanche' means?"

"Nope, Brick said it," Butch said. "And Robin, feel free to bring whoever you want,"

Robin giggled and held her phone to her chest. Blossom groaned and pulled Robin away. They blew through Mitch.

"Later, Robin." Butch said, then he looked right at Blossom. She bristled at his gaze. "You too Blossom."

"I can't believe you did that," Blossom said when they finally got out of earshot.

"It's a little harmless flirting." Robin stared at her phone.

Harmless? Blossom knew where the Rowdyruff Boys lived. "Yet, you're going into that neighborhood alone?"

"Rowdyruff parties are legendary, Blossom." Not that Robin had ever been to one, Blossom noted. It was a cluster of stories people told each other, each one more overblown than the last.

"Then why have I never attended one?"

"Because you hate parties."

"The same people standing around, doing the same thing as they do here, plus drinking."

"That's not what happens at parties."

Blossom was going to respond, but she spotted Jared Shapiro standing outside the library holding his clarinet, probably on a break from band rehearsal. He gave her a shy wave.

Robin giggled. "I'll see you inside."

Blossom trotted up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Hello Jared." She kept herself so busy, that was the first chance they had to see each other since the day before. He had a later lunch period being a senior while Blossom was only a sophomore.

"Blossom, my dear, my heart ached at not seeing you," Jared sang in his tenor. He was Blossom's antidote, sweet, humble, and gentle. Everything Brick wasn't. The perfect thing to cure her of his ubiquity.

Blossom pulled her boyfriend over to the grass where they could sit and enjoy the day. She fell into him, feeling like she could finally relax.

Boomer played hacky sack with a circle of people a few trees over. No matter what she did, she couldn't escape them. Blossom bristled at the thought.

"What's wrong, dear?" He could tell something was bothering her. Jared always was so caring and empathetic.

Blossom sighed. "The Rowdyruff Boys beat that giant squid yesterday. And for that one thing, the mayor not only pardoned them of all their crimes, he paid them too."

"He paid them?" Jared exclaimed aghast. "A superhero would never accept payment for saving the day. The gratification of the citizens is payment enough."

"Right! I do it for that feeling of accomplishment." An honest answer, Blossom felt like she was forgetting something. "I'm honored to protect this city and its people." She didn't forget, it wasn't that she didn't feel honored. But all the praise she had been given all her life started to ring hollow now that they were giving it to literal villains. The people had turned on them so quickly.

"That's because you're an actual hero." Jared smiled at her. "At least you'll have more time to study from now on."

Blossom fumed. "I don't want more time to study."

"I'm sorry. You're right. But what can you do..."

What could she do against a rampaging super villain? Stay the course. The Rowdyruff Boys couldn't do half of what Blossom and her sisters did for more than a month. Whenever they gave up or got bored, the Powerpuff Girls would be there.

"Thank you, Jared." Their conversation steeled Blossom's resolve.

After debate practice Blossom's phone vibrated. [Grocery Store Robbery at 7th and Mission] She sped to the site without joining up with Bubbles and Buttercup. Bubbles let herself get distracted, and Buttercup didn't hurry unless it was something big. But Blossom was hyperfocused, she could handle a routine robbery by herself.

She hit the parking lot running and was inside the store within seconds of getting the text. All the patrons had huddled in the back, their groceries abandoned in their carts wherever they were left. All the cash registers were open and the robber pointed a pistol at the cashiers while they put the money from their tills in a burlap shopping bag.

One cashier's hands shook and she couldn't remember the sequence of buttons to open her till. The scumbag pushed the barrel of his gun into her temple.

Faster than the criminal could possibly react, Blossom drove at him, ripping the pistol out of his hand and throwing him to the ground.

After an exhale, her silent victory fanfare, she checked on the shocked cashier. "He can't hurt you anymore."

The woman backed away from her and tried to crawl under her check stand. She must have still been in shock from the robbery.

"Are you okay?"

Again, no answer. The cashier opened and closed her mouth like she was trying to say something, but couldn't.

Other people spoke for her. "Oh my god!"

"Is he dead?"

"Call an ambulance!"

Confused, Blossom looked at where the robber went. His body had broken through the window at the front of the store and crashed on the pavement. Blood pooled between the bits of broken glass.

Blossom couldn't resolve what she was seeing. Why would he jump through the glass? He could have tried to run out the door if he was so desperate to escape.

The obvious answer was that he didn't. Then why was the window broken? And why was everyone giving her funny looks? Shouldn't they be congratulating her?

Blossom's shoulder quivered, telling her she had used quite a bit of force. But it couldn't have been enough for a human body to shatter glass. Could it?

Blossom's heart pounded. Easily enough force. But that wasn't the story. There was the lady and the gun. And the look on the guy's face when he pushed it into her head, eyes filled with anger. Blossom had to do something.

"Wouldn't want to be that guy."

Blossom's rage spiked. "What are you doing here?"

Brick smirked that stupid smirk. "I got a call about a possible monster attack." He hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans and inspected the scene.

She wanted to tell him off, but settled for keeping her composure.

"A robbery, huh. Looks like you took care of it." Blossom wanted to wipe that condescending smile off his face permanently. "Nice work."

Blossom growled. He wouldn't know the first thing about use of force. If Brick had to handle it, he would have killed the guy. No second thoughts, no remorse.

Brick strolled through the broken window and into the store. His shoes crunched the bits of glass.

An ambulance arrived along with police, a fire truck, and finally, her sisters.

"What happened here?" Buttercup asked.

"I foiled a robbery," Blossom said.

"By throwing a guy through a window?"

Bubbles turned toward her sister with a scolding look on her face. "Blossom, you could have killed him!"

"And he could have killed several people."

"We don't even know if the gun was loaded."

Blossom picked up the gun and pulled the slide back. A bullet popped out of the chamber. It landed on the pavement between Blossom and Bubbles, confirmation staring them both in the face.

"Well he probably wasn't planning on using it." Bubbles crossed her arms over her chest.

"That absolutely does not matter. He was holding it on someone. His finger could have slipped, he could have easily shot them by accident. It happens every single day."

That's right, the more she thought about it, the more Blossom understood that it wasn't excessive force at all. She did what she had to do to ensure the cashier's safety. Everyone could question her methods all they wanted, the results spoke for themselves.

Bubbles pouted in defeat and floated away. She'd eventually come to see Blossom was in the right.

"Hey," Buttercup said.

"What?"

"We don't use super-strength on normal people. You know, the rules?"

Blossom sighed. As she remembered, it was her rule. She knew it better than Buttercup did. Buttercup was the one who had the problem following the rules.

"What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong?"

"'Cuz you threw a guy through a window. You don't do that unless it's Mojo or Brick."

Blossom looked hard at her sister. "It was the appropriate amount of force for the situation. Sometimes, criminals need to be thrown through windows."

Buttercup backed away. "Fine. Whatever you say." She flew back home.

Blossom stayed behind to make sure the police and paramedics were able to do their jobs in peace. Brick came back out of the store with a bag of junk food.

"Did you pay for that?" she asked.

Brick pulled out a receipt. "Yeah. We have enough money to buy our food now."

Blossom took it from him and used her her x-ray vision to ensure everything in the bag was on the receipt. "Once a criminal, always a criminal," she said, handing it back to him.

He didn't take it, the smug prick. He always thought he was better than her, better than everyone. He may have had the entire city fooled, but Blossom hadn't forgotten who he was and where he came from. "The instant you show your true colors, is the instant I put you back into that toilet you crawled out of." She narrowed her eyes at him.

That permanent smirk finally dropped off his face. "What?"

"You heard me."

Brick glared at her. "See you around, Blossom." He shot into the air with an annoying blast that swept through Blossom's hair. Soon, all that was left of him, was a red streak heading off to the industrial district.

Blossom's very own smirk crept over her face.

Kindergarten

Blossom bent down and picked up a piece of trash and deposited it into her bag. Her back ached and her hands were stiff. One of the other convicts had stolen her grabber, so she had to collect trash on the side of the highway by hand.

She supposed she deserved what she got as punishment for her crime. Not only had she stolen a very expensive set of golf clubs, she had tried to frame someone else for it. She had been sentenced to 200 hours of community service, a light sentence because of her history as a superhero.

There was an explosion somewhere ahead. Blossom tried to fly so she could save the day, but only succeeded in falling on her face. The Antidote X shot she had to get made it so she couldn't use her powers during community service. She sighed and cradled her knees.

"Back to work, number 31416." The supervising officer was referring to her.

Blossom got on her knees and picked up more trash while cars sped by. They were going so fast and she was so powerless. She had never been so afraid of them before.

The world had become so wrong since she got the shot. The pinprick in her arm didn't go away, it only dulled and spread, making her arm sore. She couldn't get a breath of fresh air and the world had turned fuzzy.

Green and blue streaks sped toward the disturbance. Blossom grimaced. She vowed to never have to sink that low again. Whatever people said was impossible, Blossom was going to do it. She would hold herself to the highest standards. She would be perfect from then on, not flawless, perfect.