Chapter 4 New friend or foe?
(As the girls walk further into the parking lot of the Maple Market, they had been wandering here and there, not even getting one bit closer to home, and the sky looked more grey than usual.)
Feeling frustrated, Buttercup muttered tiredly in annoyance, "Well, it's official. I have no idea where we are".
"Well, I can't say it's been the best day," Blossom mumbled tiredly in a raspy voice while raising a hand to Buttercup.
Bubbles added sorrowfully yet quietly with her head down and with her arms slumped, "But it probably couldn't get any worse".
"I must say that I do hope that it doesn't get worse. We are lost, cold, and starving. Not to mention that we don't even know where we are! The only thing that I could think that could be worse for us is if the heavens strike us down!" Bell added sadly yet a bit loudly with a concerned look on her face as she wiped a tear from her eye while she and her sisters were all standing there quietly.
KABOOM!
(Almost immediately after Bell said that a flash of lighting occurred followed by thunder rumbling as it signaled an incoming thunderstorm. Just as the thunder crashes, the rain came pouring down on all four girls like their hair drooped upon impact.)
"Why did I say that?" Bell asked tiredly in annoyance to herself while face-palming herself.
(Buttercup yelled loudly in frustration afterward as Bubbles sobbed in fear. Bell was just tired as she shook her head in disappointment. Meanwhile, Blossom glanced between the three quickly, searching for a solution.)
Blossom then replied calmly yet a bit brightly in encouragement with a hopeful smile on her face, "Hey, it's okay. Uhh... Maybe there's a box that we can get in around the back. Come on!".
Bubbles started to get even more afraid as she exclaimed in worry while following Blossom, "Umm, girls, I don't know about this place! What if we get caught?! This seems to be a bad idea!".
"Don't worry, Bubbles! I am sure that Blossom knows where she's going!" Bell reassured brightly to her while a cheerful look on her face as she walked with her and Blossom before looking towards Buttercup as whispered with a worried look on her face, "I hope".
(The girls walked behind Maple Market before Blossom ran a bit once she spotted what she was looking for.)
Blossom exclaimed cheerfully in optimism with a hopeful look on her face while pointing ahead, "See?! There's a whole bunch of boxes lying around!".
(As the girls catch up to Blossom, they looked surprised and a bit relieved to see some type of shelter, even if it's rather weak. They kept following Blossom while she ran towards the boxes in glee.)
(...However, suddenly...)
"BAH!" a green-skinned, Hispanic midget burst out of the boxes with no warning while shouting to scare the intruders.
"Aaaah!" Blossom yelled in surprise as she tripped backward from Little Arturo and stumbled.
Suddenly, the dumpster behind Bell, Buttercup, and Bubbles opened that revealed a green-skinned, snake-like teenager hissing loudly about, "Ssss!".
"Aaaah!" Bell, Bubbles, and Buttercup yelled in surprise as they whipped their heads around in shock.
Bell stepped beside the rest of the boxes when the pipe burst and exposed a green-skinned colossus while he shouted to terrify her and her sisters, "GAAAH!"
"Aaaaaaah!" Blossom and the rest of the girls yelled in fear together while they drew back from Big Billy.
(While the girls huddled together, they soon saw the backdoor of a truck slowly opening as the main gang leader lift it with one hand. The girls saw the devious smile on his face as he got down to the ground and stared menacingly down at them. His mischievous friends surrounded them at all sides while looking devious as well.)
"...Aww, what's the matter? Did somebody get wost?" Ace asked the question with mocking care as he leered down at them while pronouncing "lost" in a belittling way.
(He started cackling maliciously. Big Billy chuckled too, and Snake hissed in a laughing way without even moving. The girls were almost parlayed by this. They looked to the side of Arturo, laughing like the Mexican that he was while the rain was dripping off his hair and was swept over one eye. The girls then looked towards the one side that wasn't blocked altogether rain was still coming down. However, if that didn't terrify them yet, then this one instance did the trick.)
"Pbbbbth!" Glubber suddenly dropped in front of the girls and blew a loud raspberry at them, scaring them out of their wits.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" the girls screamed in unison while huddling each other much tighter than before.
(Glubber then deviously walked towards them with his hands stretched upward as if he was a zombie. But just as when he was about to reach them, he was then suddenly hit hard by something metallic and fell to the ground.)
CLANG!
THUD!
(How this had happened was answered instantly. A trash can lid flew through the air, knocking off a bricked wall before hurting down towards Snake.)
CLANG!
(A white light flashed, and he got knocked down too just as the lid rebounded off of a wire container up towards Big Billy's head. He didn't have time to dodge before it clubbed him unconscious too.)
CLANG!
(The lid hits the brick wall again before spiraling down toward Ace. His shocked look didn't vanish until he too was on the ground.)
CLANG!
(Finally, it ricocheted off the lorry Ace has leaped out of and headed straight towards Arturo. The lid sailed over his head and bounced off the wall then back at him, clubbing him down with another white flash.)
CLANG!
(Now, it was heading toward the girls. They shrunk back from it, but thankfully, it bounced off the ground near them as they look up at it with relief, confusion, and delight as it soared overhead.)
"What in the world?" Bell asked calmly yet quietly to herself in confusion with a bewildered look on her face while her sisters looked delighted.
(The lid acceleration was promptly stopped when a green hand reached out of a trench coat and grabbed it.)
(Atop the truck, cloaked in shadow and revealed by lightning, it is a figure wearing a billowing scarf, a trench coat, and a grocery bag covering his brain. The girls stood there while looking stunned as they were surrounded by the unconscious Gangreen gang members.)
After a few tense moments of anticipation, the girls opened their mouths and cheered in gratitude, "Wow! Thanks!"
(However, the figure leapt off the truck as it ran away from the girls.)
Blossom cried in surprise with a shocked look on her face, "Hey, wait! Come back!".
(As he kept running away from them and turned around a nearby corner, his shadow had only just vanished. The girls pursued him down the rainy alley while he sought after refuge in a box.)
"Just where is he going?!" Bell exclaimed in confusion with a worried look on her face as she ran along with her sisters.
"I don't know!" Bubbles exclaimed back in confusion as she looked at Bell and shrugged to her.
"Well, we better find him and thank him then! We owe him that much at least!" Buttercup exclaimed in determination with a solemn look on her face as she kept running beside her sisters.
"Buttercup's right, girls! Let's keep moving! He's got to be around here somewhere!" Blossom exclaimed back brightly with a solemn frown and with a nod as she kept running forward in front of her sisters.
(Bubbles, Bell, and Buttercup nodded in agreement to that and kept searching in the mysterious figure's direction. Blossom looked up and down left and right while Bell, Buttercup, and Bubbles look everywhere else. But soon enough, Blossom finally slowed down and looked into the shadow of the box. She swung her arms as she closely approached it and squinted into the darkness of the box.)
"Hey, guys! Over here!" Blossom called to Bell, Bubbles, and Buttercup while beaming cheerfully as she gestured them towards the box.
(All three of them jogged a little closer to the box while Blossom greeted the kind stranger.)
"Hi, what's your name? I'm Blossom," Blossom greeted gently with a little smile as she patted her chest lightly for emphasis.
"Buttercup!" Buttercup exclaimed brightly with a little smile as she nodded her head in conformation and folded her arms in her distinctive way.
(I'm Bell. Hello. It's very nice to meet you," Bell greeted next in politeness with a little smile and with a small bow as she stared into the box with Blossom.
"And I'm Bubbles! How are y-?!" Bubbles greeted lastly yet enthusiastically with a sweet smile as she threw her arms wide.
"Go away. Please. Do not look at me," the figure muttered quietly yet lowly in gloominess from the depths of the large boxes.
(He was crouched so back that nothing of him could be seen.)
"But we just wanted to thank you for saving us from those green gangsters back there," Blossom replied calmly yet gently in a reassuring tone while smiling a little.
(The girls may not know who the kind stranger was in the box, but they do know that they have no reason to be afraid of him.)
"Yeah! That was amazing what you did with the trash can lid! It was all bang! Crash! Bam! Boom!" Buttercup added enthusiastically in amusement with a huge smile as she gestured around, mimicking the lid's action as it took out the Gangreen gang.
"I must say that agree completely with Buttercup's rambunctious yet true statement there. You, sir, are much stronger and braver than you look. I really do commend you on your kind, bold actions towards us," Bell added calmly yet politely in amusement with a gentle smile and with a nod while having her hand out as she stared at the figure.
"Yeah, you rock!" Bubbles added brightly in amusement with a cheerful look on her face as she gestured her arms.
(The girls kept looking into the box, hoping for answers from the mysterious figure.)
"No, please. Even if you speak kind words, I will dare not listen. For I have been lashed by harsh tongues for far too long. Alas, my little ones, I do not rock. For I, Jojo, am...a monster," the figure replied quietly yet lowly in gloominess from the back of the box as the rain continued to fall and as the girls leant a bit forward to listen to him.
KABOOM!
(After he spoke that last word, a bolt of lightning flashed, illuminated his face with his scarf with thunder booming afterward. Now, the girls were able to briefly see a mouth surrounded by black, body hair and the deepest of angry, sorrowful expressions.)
"You're not a monster. Monsters are evil," Blossom reassured calmly yet gently with a little smile and with a wave as she dismissed the notion without hesitating.
"Yeah, and anybody who would save us as you did is so not evil," Buttercup agreed calmly yet casually in amusement with a little smile as she folded her arms yet again while glancing at the sky.
"You're no monster, mister. You're just really dirty," Bubbles added calmly yet innocently with a gentle smile as she had her own hands behind her back.
"Umm...What Bubbles was meaning to say is that you are good on the inside despite looking bad on the outside. As our dad had always said, it's what's on the inside that counts. In other words, you're good, kind sir. You are good," Bell added calmly yet a bit awkwardly in consolation with a gentle smile and with her hands out as she stared inside the box.
"Please. You're just trying to make me feel better. But my pain is not for you to understand," Jojo's voice moaned a little before muttering quietly yet lowly in sadness while the rain dripped from the box.
(The girls stared curiously yet innocently into the box while listening to Jojo's somber speech.)
"Besides, how could you? For you are too pure and innocent to understand. How could you know what it is like to be cast out into a world that only offers misery? How could you know what it's like for people to fear and despise you for the very things that make you special?" Jojo continued quietly yet gravely in sadness while the girls looked at each other with shameful, downcast looks on their faces.
"Because you don't fit in! Because you are...A FREAK!" Jojo finished boldly in anger as he emerged from his box, took the paper bag of his head, and stared at the girls while lighting flashed again just as his bright, pink, repulsive, brain-stretched out of his skull came into view.
(The figure was revealed to be a mutated chimpanzee as he had green skin and he had pitch, black fur while having the ability to speak. He stood very still watching the girls for a reaction. They stared back at him sadly. They hadn't run or even flinched when he had revealed himself. They just stood there with sad looks on their faces for they were not intimidated. Because they sympathized with him.)
Blossom then muttered calmly in understanding with a sad look on her face, "Because...".
(Blossom and her sisters fly upwards in unison for emphasis to the astonishment of Jojo.)
"...we're freaks, too," Blossom finished calmly in sadness.
"What amazing powers!" Jojo praised in surprise as jerked his thumb upwards in approval since he found their abilities quite impressive.
"No, they're terrible!" Blossom objected in frustration with a deep frown after thinking of what happened the day before with their game of tag.
"I bet everyone hates them," Jojo replied quietly in understanding as he lowered his hand back down.
"Yeah!" Buttercup agreed sourly in frustration with a deep frown as she crossed her arms in confirmation.
"And they hate you, too?" Jojo added calmly in realization as he pointed up at the girls.
"Yes," Bubbles agreed sadly yet weakly with a sniffle and a deep frown as she did her best not to cry.
"I...really wished that we weren't born with superpowers at all..." Bell added sadly in agreement with a downcast look on her face while covering her eyes with one hand.
(A rather upset Jojo turned away from the girls as tears were welling up in his eyes. It was the saddest look seen on his face for a very long time.)
"I am in the same boat. This brain is full of brilliant ideas! But will anybody listen? No. Nothing in this gray matter matters. So, what's the point?" Jojo replied quietly yet slowly in sadness with a slow moan and with a deep frown as he pointed at his big brain before slumping forward.
(With his back slumped, he returned to his box. The girls flew back down and tried to encourage him.)
"Oh, Jojo. Don't be sad," Bubbles encouraged sweetly with a sympathetic look on her face as she and Buttercup leaned around his right side while Blossom and Bell poked around his left side.
(He faces away from the them while his outline is visible.)
"Our dad says that sometimes people get angry when they don't understand something special or unique," Bubbles continued calmly yet sweetly in wisdom with a caring look on her face while having her hands out.
(Jojo opened his eyes after hearing Bubbles.)
"And if you just give people time, they'll start to understand your specialness," Blossom continued gently where Bubbles had left off.
"Yeah! You just gotta believe in yourself!" Buttercup agreed brightly in encouragement as she raised an arm for emphasis.
"What they're saying is true, sir. You won't know if your ideas will work or not if you don't try. So, try it out and see what it does for everyone!" Bell added calmly yet brightly in encouragement with a gentle smile and with a nod as she crossed her arms while staring at Jojo's back.
(As the girls speak, an evil grin slowly grows over Jojo's face, seen only by his visible eyes and mouth. He had gotten the girls, hook, line, and sinker. His very first master plan has already started to surface, and the girls don't even know it as they encourage him. He soon quickly popped back out of his box after hearing those encouraging words.)
"You mean, if I take the time to construct my most ingenious plan, the-help-the-town-and-make-it-a-better-place-machine, then people will come to understand my specialness?!" Jojo asked excitedly yet very quickly with a hopeful look on his face as he stared at the girls.
(He waited there in anticipation of girls' response with his fingers clenched against each other. As the girls remained rather nonplussed, Blossom, Bubbles and Bell subtly glance at Buttercup in confirmation.)
"Uhh..." Buttercup muttered awkwardly yet slowly in confusion as she doesn't know how to answer that question.
"Okay! I'll do it! But I'll need your help!" Jojo exclaimed excitedly yet quickly with his arms out-stretched and his eyes widened before narrowing them again with a determined look on his face.
"O-Oh! Great! ...Umm...Heh...Well, what is it? What is it that you need help for?" Bell replied brightly yet awkwardly in confusion with a sheepish look on her face as she rubbed the back of her head.
Jojo chuckled a little deviously in amusement as he answered coyly, "Heheheh! Oh, you will see soon enough. But I'll warn you though that it'll be rather...hot".
(And boy, it sure was hot. Too hot to be more precise.)