Villain: Redux
By: Yay Ninja Bob
Part III: Police and Thieves
Author's Note:
Heyyyy, I heard you guys been waiting for an update, teeheehee….
Let's just get to it, ha.
I'll put an additional author's note at the end concerning updates and such.
Please enjoy! :)
Chapter 24
The Other Side
The southbound traffic on the highway had been at a complete standstill for nearly half an hour then. Professor Utonium's white station wagon was one of hundreds of vehicles parked along the freeway. Along with the rest of the commuters, he had shut off the engine to his car some time ago. There was a dense fog that late-October day that obstructed the Professor's view from seeing what could be causing the traffic delay. He had assumed some sort of accident had happened and judging from the amount of time they had been stopped, he imagined it must have been a pretty bad one.
Professor Utonium had been driving all morning and afternoon, returning from his trip to visit Blossom's university campus up north. It was an all-day venture, but he was relieved he had made the trip. With everything going on, Utonium knew that Blossom needed his support. As strong as she was, he knew there had never been a time quite as challenging as then. They had lost Buttercup not more than a year ago, and now Bubbles had been missing for four—nearly five days. Of course, there was also the disappearance of her longest, dearest best friend, Robin.
As the Professor sat in his unmoving vehicle in silence, his tired gaze drifted over to the stack of photocopied flyers that sat on the passenger seat beside him. It had taken him longer to reach the border of Townsville during the trip back, since he had made several stops along the way to pass out the Missing Child posters of his blue-eyed daughter. It wasn't much, but it was one way he could try to get the word out. Especially since every call he had tried to make to the mayor for her help on the matter—and yes, he made a new call to the mayor's office every day—went completely unanswered and unreturned. If it hadn't been made clear before, it was clear to him then: Mayor Bellum was through with helping the Utoniums.
Several vehicles ahead of the Professor's pulled off the road to the right, drove along the freeway shoulder and forced their way off via a nearby exit ramp, leaving the long line of cars behind. As a gap opened up before him, Utonium started the engine to his station wagon up once more, contemplating whether or not he should attempt the same maneuver next. After all, it really looked like nothing would be moving for some time. He wasn't more than just an hour outside of Downtown then, not far outside the Valley, so perhaps taking the streets was the better option.
"The time is now 5:03 PM. Here are the top newsbreak headlines at the start of this hour," the radio announcer spoke as the car turned on again. "Heavy traffic delays are to be expected this afternoon for all major interstate highways as law enforcement begins to comply with an emergency ordinance called upon by the mayor of Townsville, ordering an immediate, strict lock down of the entire city. This reaction follows a reported, apparent assassination attempt allegedly carried out by recently retired superhero, Powerpuff Blossom—"
"What?!" the Professor's station wagon had only begun to roll forward when he slammed on the breaks immediately upon hearing this news.
The car directly behind him screeched to a halt, narrowly avoiding a rear collision with the Professor's station wagon. The driver laid on his horn to voice his frustration with the Professor's abrupt and seemingly unwarranted stop.
The scientist's heart raced wildly as he tried to ignore the angry driver while he clumsily rushed to retrieve his cellphone from his laboratory coat's front pocket. Steering with one hand, he quickly pulled off the highway as he simultaneously rushed to dial for Blossom.
From the very top of the city's historic Downtown water tower, Blossom sat perched upon the domed metal structure in quiet, still and deeply concentrated contemplation as she gazed down at the thick layer of fog that encapsulated the city of Townsville. Her big bubblegum eyes shone brightly as she peered with her supervision through the dense, gloomy mist. Her stare was unblinking as her mind raced then. Her focus was fixed on a singular building in the not too far distance: Townsville Prison.
She had silenced her cellphone, but she felt the buzzing in her jeans' pocket nonetheless.
"Hi, Professor—" she answered the call autonomously, her intense concentration uninterrupted.
"Blossom!" the Professor's panicked voice shouted on the other end. "Blossom, please tell me that you are OK—"
Despite her father's obvious trepidation, Blossom continued to answer him calmly, "I'm OK, Professor—"
"Where are you?! What's happening?! I just heard on the news that you tried to assassinate the mayor?! What on Earth is that about—"
"She isn't the mayor—"
"What?! What are you saying—Blossom you sound—" A short pause, and then a sudden drop in his voice's tone, "Blossom," The Professor began again, speaking more slowly, his voice shaking a bit as he forced his nerves down, "Blossom, where are you? Wherever you are, just stay put, OK? I'll come to you—"
"No, Professor." The pink Puff held her cellphone to her right ear as she rose to her feet, still balanced upon the curved, rusted surface of the water tower tank—her pink eyes still set ablaze and focused on her next target. "It isn't safe here. Townsville isn't safe right now. You haven't made it back yet, right?"
"I'm just an hour outside of town—"
"Good. Turn around then—"
"What?! Blossom—"
"Turn around, Professor, and go back," Blossom repeated more sternly. "You need to stay away from the city. It isn't safe, Professor. Just try to find some place to wait, and I promise I will come find you as soon as I'm done and able to—"
"Blossom, what are you talking about?!Done with what—?" Again, a short pause as the Professor interrupted his own panic with another shaky attempt to calmly rationalize with the pink Puff, "Listen, Sweetie… I know with your sister and Robin missing, you're understandably very overwhelmed right now— It's OK— We are in this together. We don't have any answers now, but we must remain hopeful that we will find them soon. Blossom, you need to trust me now. Please. Everything is going to be alright, Dear—"
"It isn't OK, Professor. None of this is," Blossom shook her head, "And I don't know if everything will ever be alright again, but…" the pink Puff paused, taking a moment to choose her words carefully. She was fully paranoid that the enemy may somehow be listening then. "I'm going to get our answers," she nodded with determination. "Stay out of Townsville. Get somewhere safe. Go back to my dorm if you have to—Rosette will help, OK? I'll come find you. I promise."
"Blossom, please—"
"I love you, Professor."
And with that, Blossom ended the call.
The streets of Downtown Townsville had erupted into fast chaos as word spread of the rogue pink Powerpuff now dangerously on the loose. Mojo Jojo could hear the endless parade of police sirens that flooded the streets just below his secretive water tower top lair. As alarming as it was to hear that Blossom had allegedly attacked two of his closest allies, Mojo had no time to worry about the villainesses then. Junior was still in danger.
The elderly chimp quickly sprinted about his laboratory workspace, making certain that he gathered the most powerful pieces of his arsenal to bring along with him on his rescue mission to find and recover Junior. Fastening his final ray gun to his utility belt, his gaze fell briefly on the live news coverage that still play on his lab station's central monitor. At least with this much panic and confusion taking place on the streets, it might offer some camouflage as he deployed Robo Jojo. After all, the robot's grand reveal was not to take place until the villains' planned uprising. It was to be their "Battle for Townsville," as he and Junior had begun to fondly refer to it by. But there would be no Battle for Townsville if Him had managed to get his claws on Junior somehow.
Mojo switched off the news coverage as he passed by. Before he could reach the ladder steps to Robo Jojo's docking station, however, the alarm to his perimeter security monitor sounded suddenly. He stopped and turned back around to face the screen as it switched automatically to the motion detection's feed, revealing to him what had landed upon the top of the water tower's spherical tank.
The short simian's eyes widened as they fell upon the pink Puff. "Blossom?"
It seemed impossible. However, if she had indeed just gone after both Princess and Sedusa…. Did that mean she had come for Mojo next?
Mojo found himself holding his breath as his eyes darted between the curved ceiling above and the security monitor that watched Blossom. He kept one white gloved hand ready and resting upon his utility belt, as he waited for the Puff to strike. However, all she appeared to be doing was sitting on top of the tower tank while staring at something below. After a full minute had passed, she retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and had a brief call with someone. The security feed was silent, so Mojo could not hear what was being said, but Blossom appeared determined and serious in her facial expressions and as she stood from where she sat, Mojo found himself gripping the handle to his photon-blaster firmly.
But as the pink Puff ended the call she was on, he watched her toss her cellular device off the side of the tower, before diving gracefully back into the sky, and blasting away as a fast beam of pink light.
Mojo relaxed, exhaling with an exhausted and irritated huff. "What scheme of sabotage could possibly be underway by that accursed Blossom?! Not just a nuisance to our plots, but furthermore, she is causing me additional delay on my very important, vital and pressing rescue recovery mission to save and retrieve Junior from the wicked, vile clutches of HIM!"
Mojo continued to aloud to himself as he ascended Robo Jojo's docking ladder step by step. He was nearly at the top of the seventy-foot climb when the same security alarm was set off yet again.
"Grargh!" Mojo held his balance upon the ladder as he carefully glanced over his shoulder to look at the security feed, "CURSES! Now what is it that is out there?! It could not possibly be that wretched Puff again—?!" He stopped as he noticed the static on the screen—something had damaged the camera.
Before he could react, next came a hard banging on top of the tower. It was as if something very big, or at least very powerful, stomped along the tower surface outside. As Mojo followed along with his wide-eyed gaze, indeed he could see softball sized dents being left along the curved ceiling above with every forceful strike.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It seemed clear to the villain then, that his lair was under immediate threat of invasion. He continued up the ladder quickly as the entire tower lair seemed to quake with every hard, slow steady knock from above. He nearly slipped on the final step of the docking lift but managed to keep a firm grasp on the railing to keep from falling.
He wavered momentarily but found his balance as the stomping from above finally seemed to quit. Mojo halted just outside the entrance to Robo Jojo's cockpit, glancing nervously about the now eerily quiet space. He thought for certain that a pink beam of light was about to burst through the ceiling of his lair like he had experienced so many times before in the past. However, after six loud stomps… suddenly, there was nothing.
Mojo shifted his eyes about suspiciously for just a moment, before he finally entered the battle robot's cockpit. Whether an attack from Blossom was imminent or not, Robo Jojo would undoubtedly be his best means of defense. The automatic door sealed shut behind him, and the darkened pit illuminated with a green glow as Robo Jojo's power systems hummed to life.
Mojo took his seat at the central command station. Shining directly above his seat, there was a bit of outside light that seeped in through the thin tarp fabric that covered the final missing panel piece of Robo Jojo's crystal helmet. As Mojo initiated Robo Jojo's system startup, the faint light from above glimmered off the surface of his own helmet. His white gloved finger hovered momentarily over the final switch, as he sensed a shadow pass overhead. He blinked up at the tarp above for a moment, but quickly shook away his paranoia, focusing again on his determination to save Junior.
Mojo flipped the switch that was to open the tower's ceiling latch above, but only received a warning message on his command station's monitor: LAUNCH DOOR MALFUNCTION
"WHAT—?!" Mojo rose from his seat, tossing his purple cape angrily behind him as he marched for the cockpit door.
The short simian stepped out onto the raised docking platform, his eyes narrowing on the large dents along the tower ceiling. Whatever it was that was stomping about up there had managed to sabotage the mechanics to the rooftop's launching gate. Without its operation, Robo Jojo could not be deployed.
The villain's inner rage began to boil as he gritted his teeth and clenched both gloved fists. He was just about ready to curse aloud his frustrations once more but was cut short. As he turned around, he was frightened by the sudden, unexpected presence of a hovering blue Powerpuff with demonic glowing red eyes.
"How do you dooo, Daddy Number Twooo?" the floating blonde sang in a creepy, echoing high pitched tone.
As his eyes locked with her demonic stare then, his fur stood rigid as he stumbled backwards, struck by instant terror.
"CURSEEES!" Mojo shouted as he toppled backwards off from the raised platform's ledge, plummeting to the laboratory floor seventy feet below.
"What was that, Captain Toodles?"
"Hmm?"
"I thought I heard something—someone yelling—You didn't hear it?
"No, Bubbles. I didn't hear anything…."
"Oh…. Say, Captain Toodles…?"
"Yes, Bubbles?"
"…How… how did I get here?" Bubbles blinked slowly as her strange surroundings only then caught her attention, "And… where are we?"
The blue Puff found herself sitting cross legged on an invisible surface within a bright red void of space. She next blinked at the delicate baby blue porcelain teacup she held in her hand. It was empty.
Captain Toodles spoke up from behind where she sat, "My, my… would you look at that. Your little cup is empty again! Don't worry, Dear. I'll fetch you some more…."
Bubbles glanced over her shoulder and blinked in slow confusion still, "Captain Toodles… you look different…. When did you get so tall?" the blue Puff squeaked as her wide eyes fell on the slender, crimson red man with crustacean claws. He floated through the red void, humming a cheerful tune as light, wispy clouds of pink smoke followed him where he went. Bubbles still felt very confused, but she did not want to be rude to her friend, so she forced a small smile. "I really like your new outfit," Bubbles complimented as Captain Toodles returned with a teapot in claw.
"Why, thank you, Bubbles!" the crab creature gave his long pink feather boa a playful toss, "Aren't you just the sweetest?" he sang sweetly, pinching her cheek affectionately with one claw as he floated past her.
As the pink mist that had gathered in the air dissipated slowly, gradually the red void around them began to fill in with random objects. A potted fern plant, a standing lamp with a bright yellow shade, an antique looking wooden coffee table—as Bubbles watched the furniture appear piece by piece, she suddenly realized she was now sitting upon a pink cushioned wooden dining chair that sat at a two-seated kitchen table.
"Here we are!" Captain Toodles sang as he poured from the teapot, "More tea!" He set the freshly filled porcelain baby blue cup upon the tabletop surface before Bubbles. He wore an extra wide grin as he gave it a gentle push with his claw in her direction. "Drink up, Bubbles and help yourself. Now I promise, I'm nearly finished settling in here. Moving is such a chore, honestly! Thank you for being so patient! It shouldn't be much longer…."
"Oh…" Bubbles blinked back, still not understanding what was happening or how she even found herself there at all. She shook away her confusion and forced a weak smile once more, "Th-that's OK, Captain Toodles. Thank you for the tea."
Bubbles watched as he floated away again, humming a cheerful tune once more as he twirled his claws about the air, magically decorating the eerie red void further as he went. She glanced down at the darkened contents of her teacup, feeling her head spin as she tried to mentally sort through all her clouded confusion.
How did she get there? Captain Toodles definitely looked very different. Where exactly were they? Why couldn't she remember? Something… something awful had happened. Something terrible. Captain Toodles said he'd help her—She could remember that much. Help her with what though…?
Bubbles winced as she felt a sharp stomach cramp then. "Ow…" she gently sat down her teacup on the table before her, not quite in the mood for tea.
Bubbles perked up suddenly to a distant sound once more, snapping her head quickly to the right as she tuned into the muffled sounding voice. "Wait…" Bubbles squeaked quietly to herself as she rose from her chair, opting to follow the sound she just heard, "That kinda sounds like…."
As the blue Puff floated slowly through the crimson red void, the bright ruby-colored space seemed to dim little by little the further she followed the voice in the distance. They were hurt. That much Bubbles could tell by the way the voice groaned weakly.
As the scarlet atmosphere around her faded further, she could faintly make out a tiled floor surface beneath her floating feet. She touched down, feeling that it was, indeed solid and seemingly real.
Bubbles looked up again and saw that she was then standing before the shiny metal base of Mojo's battle robot. She could see then her faint reflection on the glistening crystal panel surface.
She squeaked with surprise from what she saw.
Her blonde curls were tinged with dirt and mud, littered with pieces of twigs and debris—her pigtails knotted and matting and tussled all askew. Her clothing looked tattered and worn, with her baby blue t-shirt stained with dirt and blood. Taking a step closer, she tried to find the blue in her eyes, but her irises appeared a blank white.
"That…" she gulped, "That's not me…." She inched step by step closer to her reflection, starting to tremble a little from the sudden intense dread she felt, "…Is it…?"
Bubbles stopped as she felt a stickiness beneath her bare feet. She looked down, her white eyes widening further as they fell upon the crimson-colored puddle, hearing another muffled groan coming from the other side of the robot's base. "…M-M-Mo…jo…?"
Just as the blue Puff tried to take a step in that direction, she felt a snap against her wrist. With the painful pinching, her surroundings glowed with an intense bright red light. With that searing scarlet flash, once again the tangible world around her was washed away instantly by a blinding sea of red.
Bubbles was spun around as the red claw gripped her by the wrist, yanking her forcefully back into the red void once more. "Now, now," the creepy crustacean sang again, "Where do you think you're wandering off to, hmm? Let's sit back down and have more tea—"
The dread that Bubbles had begun to feel only worsened as she felt another sharp pain in her stomach then. Wincing, she tried to reason with Captain Toodles as he led her back to his crimson void's dining room by the wrist. "Captain Toodles, I… I have to go. I-I've been here long enough—I think…. I-I'm sorry, but I- I need to go—Ow-ow-ow-ow—"
"Oh Dear, is it those awful cramps again—?"
"Yes," Bubbles grasped her stomach with both hands as she doubled with pain, "Ahh!"
"Here now, drink some more tea," Once again the claw was in her face, offering up another cup.
"N-n-no—Ah!" Bubbles' eyes began to sting with tears as her stomach turned repeatedly, "I think there's something wrong! Ow-owww—It hurts too much!"
"I know Dear, but don't you remember? The tea will help."
"N-n-no! I don't want any more tea!" Bubbles cried out in pain as she held onto her stomach, "Captain Toodles, there's something wrong! Ah—I can feel it—in my stomach—there's something really wrong—there's… there's… something inside me! I can feel it! I-It's—ah! Ahhh, I can feel it! I-It's scraping up my insides—"
The blue Puff collapsed onto her knees, her entire body heaving hard as she vomited up a puddle of thick, black bile. She moaned painfully as she trembled on the invisible floor, "Captain Toodles, there's something really wrong! PLEASE! HELP ME!"
Bubbles could hear him laughing at her then. It started as just a giggle, but it grew deeper and more sinister as he laughed harder and louder at her. With the maniacal laughter, she began to hear a ringing in her ears as his voice filled her, somehow echoing about in her own head.
Bubbles lay on the ground, cradling herself as she tried to rock through the pain. She could no longer see Captain Toodles.
All she saw was red.
She could still hear him though—his evil laughter—it grew louder and louder from within as the cramping in her guts twisted tighter and tighter.
There was something inside of her, and it was Captain Toodles.
"P-p-please…" Bubbles pleaded through the pain, "M-make it stop…. Why… why are you doing this? C-Captain Toodles… I thought… I thought you were my friend…. Please…. P-please stop this…."
As the blue Puff wept and shook, his sinister laughter stopped then but only to mock her harshly: "Stupid girl!"
Bubbles then recognized Captain Toodles at last for who he truly was, but by then it was too late. She gripped her stomach as she wailed out in pain, desperation and complete terror as it all flooded back to her then: "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"And in the dream I knew that he was goin on ahead and that he was fixin to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. And then I woke up."
Sara closed the book with a wistful sigh. It was always a good read to help pass half a day's time or so, but she had lost count on how many times she had read it since her incarceration. She only had that book along with a few others for recreation. She had a treadmill for exercise, so she supposed that was next up for the day then.
Her super cell was designed to have everything she would need to serve her full life-sentence right there in the clear crystal chamber box. Other than everything being made of the clear crystal material, the small cell was equipped like a small studio apartment. It was just like the others in the Villains Ward—except, of course, that the rest remain empty.
Sara was the one and only prisoner being held in the high security area. There were always two guards stationed outside the sealed door to her prison suite which was located within a larger sealed, secure room, and she knew from personal experience from the Ward's design that there were an additional two guards outside those doors, as well. From their stations, the two nearest guards could watch Sara and everything she did. She had given up trying to communicate with them ages ago that they had locked up the wrong person.
The soundproof barrier prevented anyone from hearing anything she had to say. Of course, even if they could, they all believed that she was Sedusa. As mayor, she was well aware of the auditory blockers law enforcement wore when handling the evil enchantress to avoid falling under her spell in any way. In fact, it was in their training to purposefully ignore the villainess at all costs.
It wasn't as if Sara Bellum was a stranger to the wicked vixen's identity thievery tactics. Looking back, she should have been on higher alert that day. Her assistant Kenny never stayed home sick without notice. When the honey blonde temp worker showed up that morning, she should have trusted her gut when she thought her dazzling green eyes looked strangely familiar. But she simply smiled and took her morning coffee and went on about her day, not realizing that as soon as she took a sip from that coffee, she would be poisoned.
She had no doubt that the hexed drink had to be the reason for the inexplicable physical alterations she awoke with when she regained consciousness. By then, she was already contained in her prison cell. Her once bronze, beige tan skin was a ghostly, pale white, and her once red auburn curls had darkened to a deep, jet black. She looked just like Sedusa, and nobody had been able to tell the difference. It was difficult to discern just how long her imprisonment had gone on for, but in actuality, it had been just a little over nine months then.
As Bellum began her walk upon the crystal treadmill, she watched the guards outside her cell casually chatting with one another. One way she tried to combat the deafening silence and loneliness she had to endure every day, was by attempting to read the guard's lips during conversations. She had gotten pretty good at it. Following the guards' talks was a good source of hope, due to how often the prison staff seemed to complain about the way things had been going within the city. From what she'd been able to decipher over time, the fake mayor was obviously doing a terrible job in her place—somebody eventually had to see the truth for what it was. It was only a matter of time, and when that happened, Sara would see to it personally that Sedusa got what was coming to her.
Just as she had increased the speed of her walk to a steady jog, Ms. Sara Bellum found herself gripping the crystal bars to her treadmill to keep from falling as the entire cell and surrounding prison area shook violently.
WHAM!
A bright pink flash of light burst through the wall of the outer room, causing both guards stationed outside to leap into action. They pointed their rifles at the intruding pink Puff as she stepped through the wall, shouting at her to get back, but she was undeterred. Blossom raised her hands, as she slowly approached them. It looked as if she were trying to reason with the officers to try to get them to stand down.
Blossom still found their weapons pointed at her, so she had no choice then but to disarm them, really. Blossom yanked both their guns away, breaking them effortlessly in two over one knee with one swift easy simultaneous snatch.
Now completely unarmed, the guards blinked dumbly at the pink Puff. She showed them each a pitying frown and small shrug of her shoulders before they fled out the room past her.
As the fleeing men ran away, she still could not hear anything, but she could see that the lights of the prison had begun to flash in a slow, steady rhythm. The alarms had been sounded. This was a prison break.
Ms. Sara Bellum's green eyes were flooded with tears at the sight of the hero then. "Blossom! That's my girl!"
Blossom's bubblegum eyes fell at last on the prisoner of the crystal walled cell. Immediately she zipped over to the sealed cell door with a flash of pink light. "Ms. Bellum!" Again Bellum read the girl's lips as she spoke: "Stand back!"
Bellum answered with a nod as she backed away from the door and watched as the pink Puff seemed to take a deep, slow breath.
If Jojo could break through it, Blossom had full confidence that so could she. After all, she was stronger then now more than ever.
Blossom blew from her lips a steady frosty breeze, chilling the surface to the prison cell's crystal door. Once it was fully frozen over, the pink Puff stepped up to it. One swift, snapping front kick to the door, and upon impact, the frozen crystal door shattered into a billion pieces.
As the door gave way, now Bellum could hear the blaring noise of the prison alarm repeating endlessly in the background as it sounded: "FREEZE. THIS IS A LOCKDOWN. FREEZE. THIS IS A LOCKDOWN. FREEZE..."
"Blossom!" the prisoner rushed over to where Blossom stood, staring with wide pink eyes.
"Ms. Bellum… is-is it really you…?" Blossom blinked at the pale, wild raven haired woman in the orange prison jumpsuit. She had been pretty sure about her theory leading up to that point—that somehow the villains had managed to switch Sedusa for Bellum—but now that she saw her there and how much she truly looked like Sedusa… had she been wrong somehow?
However, when the woman stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the tall girl in a tight, loving embrace, the genuine, comforting warmth she felt from the hug was all the confirmation Blossom needed. "Blossom, what a sight you are…."
"Oh, Ms. Bellum!" Blossom couldn't help but start crying then from the overwhelming relief that washed over her in that instant. The teenager hugged her beloved, life-long mentor tightly, "It is you!"
"I never stopped believing in you, Dear. I just knew you'd be the one to figure this out. I knew you'd come to my rescue…."
Blossom didn't want the embrace to end. She hugged Ms. Bellum even tighter, crying still from overwhelming joy. It had been so long since she felt a victory like that. Finally, she again had someone that believed in her.
"Ms. Bellum, you have no idea how good it is to just to hear your voice again…." The pink Puff pulled away. Glancing over her shoulder, Blossom's pink eyes were set aglow as her super vision locked on the fast-approaching reinforcements headed their way. She showed Bellum a single, determined nod before she took her by the hand. "Come on! Let's go!"
Alfred sat beside Princess in the mayor's office, watching the chaos unfold around them. He held an icepack gently against the heiress's bruised brow while she bickered with her villainess partner in disguise, Sedusa. Princess was sure to keep her remarks low and under her breath, so as to not alert any of the mayoral staff or policemen who were constantly in and out of the room, dealing with the situation at hand.
"Ugh!" Princess groaned in frustration as she shook her cellphone in her hand, "Still no answer from Joey!"
"Well, try the monkey again—" Sedusa replied underneath her own breath before showing the Chief a pleasant smile as he entered the office again, "Chief, yes?"
"That's what I'm doing—" Princess muttered back as she dialed her phone again, wincing as Alfred again gently patted her black eye with the icepack.
"We're setting up the checkpoints you requested, Mayor Bellum," the police chief announced as he approached the faux mayor at her desk. "I've sent the word out to all my men to be on the lookout for both Powerpuffs, as well as their father, Professor Utonium—"
"Very good, Chief," Sedusa replied, "They are to be detained at all costs. Shoot on sight—"
"Mayor, do you really think that—" as the Chief began to raise his question, he did not get far before the disguised enchantress met his gaze with her own hypnotic stare, causing the Chief to stop midway. "Yes, Mayor. Understood," he said instead with a gulp. "I'll get the word out right away."
Sedusa waited for the Chief to leave the room again before she looked to Princess who held her cellphone to her ear, seemingly waiting still for an answer, "Well?"
"UGH!" As the voicemail message began to play yet again on the other line, Princess had had enough. She ended the call and swiftly chucked her phone across the room in frustration. The black phone broke apart as it slammed against the far wall. Princess buried her hands in her face and muffled a quick scream, before she yelled finally, "THAT'S IT!" she pushed Alfred's hand away as she rose to her feet, "I'm heading over there!"
As Princess began to march across the office, once again the Chief was at the doorway. She stopped as he entered.
"Mayor!"
Sedusa's growing frustration surfaced as she saw him there again. She gritted her teeth as she forced her smile again and replied with obvious strain, "Yes, Chief?"
"There's been a sighting of Blossom!"
Sedusa stood up from behind her desk, "And?!"
"She's broken into Townsville Prison! Officers report she's headed straight for the Villains Ward!"
"WELL, STOP HER!"
"We're on it, Mayor!"
As the Chief disappeared quickly again, Sedusa looked to Princess. "Shit! We cannot let her get away with her. If that happens, this all ends now."
"Ugh, don't you think I know that?!" Princess looked to Alfred who was one dutiful step behind her, "Alfred, I need you to keep trying for Mojo and Joey on the phone. Once you get a hold of one of them tell them to come find me, OK?"
"Yes, of course, Princess," Alfred answered with a nod as he watched the teenager once again begin her march for the door.
Sedusa called after her, "Good luck, Kid!"
Alfred saw that Princess wasted no time, blasting off with her purple glowing anti-gravity boots as soon as she was out the door. A worried frown swept his face as he glanced over to Sedusa. "You aren't going with her to help?"
"How exactly am I supposed to do that, Alfred?" the villainess rolled her eyes. "I'm stuck playing the mayor in all this. All I can do is keep the cops on Blossom's tail as much as possible. Princess is the hero. If anyone's supposed to stop a rogue Powerpuff, it's gotta be her, right?" Sedusa retrieved a compact mirror to check her makeup once more as she continued with a huff, "You know, if you think about it. This is exactly what that kid has always asked for. I guess we'll see if she's got what it takes…."
Alfred walked over to the office's east facing window and looked out, watching the glowing purple beam of light shoot through the sky. "Go get 'em, Princess," he rooted quietly to himself.
There was a police helicopter ready and waiting for them as Blossom touched down on the rooftop of Townsville Prison, carrying the faux Sedusa in her arms.
"FREEZE, BLOSSOM! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! SURRENDER THE VILLAIN AND SURRENDER YOURSELF! IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, WE HAVE ORDERS TO SHOOT ON SIGHT!"
"Officers, please!" Ms. Sara Bellum pleaded, shouting desperately as Blossom set her down on her feet. She took a step towards the hovering aircraft with both her hands raised, "Shoot on sight?! This is madness! You must understand that you have everything wrong!"
"NOT ANOTHER STEP!"
Bellum halted in her tracks immediately as she watched the officers on board aim their rifles at her directly.
Blossom remained two steps behind her, her pink eyes were on fire as they darted back and forth. In her mind then, she counted her targets and calculated a fast plan of action. One commanding officer, one pilot, two gunners, one marksman on board and one on the neighboring roof to their left. Six.
Behind her, she could also hear the fast-approaching boots of more officers ascending the nearby stairwell. One—eight— twenty-seven distinct pairs and they'd reach the rooftop in thirteen seconds—twelve… eleven… ten….
Even when they managed to get past these officers, there would be more. No doubt, with the police under the influence of the villains, the entire force would be after them.
Seven… six….
She was bulletproof, but Bellum was not.
Five….
Her heart was racing then. She would need to be precise—absolutely no room for error.
Four….
"Ms. Bellum?" Blossom called out over the wind of the hovering helicopter blades above.
"Yes, Blossom?"
Three….
"Do what they say, OK? I have a plan."
Two….
Ms. Bellum, still frozen in place and facing away from Blossom gave a nod as she answered, "I trust you!"
Just as she answered Blossom, Ms. Bellum heard another officer shouting suddenly from behind them.
One….
"ON THE GROUND! BOTH OF YOU!"
Blossom's back was towards them all as they spilled out onto the rooftop then. However, as she followed their orders and lowered herself slowly to the ground, she was careful to turn so that she faced the team of officers who all steadily lined up in formation with their guns drawn before them. As they guarded the rooftop entrance on the north side of the building, slowly the helicopter team made their landing on the opposite end. They had the prisoner and the Puff surrounded.
As Blossom surrendered, Bellum did the same.
There was a brief glimmer to the Puff's bubblegum eyes as she watched the armed men take their positions in three neatly stacked rows of nine, each man standing a foot a part—Perfect.
As the pink Puff slowly lay down on her belly, she inhaled deep and slow, her nostrils flaring as she covertly conjured the ice within her.
From where Bellum lay on the ground, she could feel the rooftop beneath her hum slightly. As she watched Blossom, it appeared she rested with one cheek on the ground and her arms behind her back in total surrender just like her. However, the ground beneath them continued to hum, and slowly Bellum began to feel a tingling tickle to her own cheek on the floor as it grew steadily colder.
"Sedusa! Blossom! You are both under arrest-!" The commanding officer stepped forward, but immediately lost his balance, slipping on the invisible black ice and falling flat on his back.
As the man slipped, Blossom was off with a flash of pink light, traveling to the first row of rooftop guards. The men had begun to waver off balance upon the ice as they dizzily tried to follow the pink light as it zipped around them then.
She bounced between each row of guards, knocking them over in quick rapid-fire succession. She moved so fast, to the naked eye, all one could detect was bouncing pink light as she executed her plan of action.
The first row, she took from its right end. Landing before the first officer, she served a graceful spinning back-kick straight to the chest, causing him to slide across the ice with enough force to subsequently take out the row of guards behind him.
As she twirled round to land this fast blow, she simultaneously kicked away the fallen commanding officer's gun before he could reach it. The weapon flew in the direction of the air team, nailing that commanding officer in the head directly and knocking him out cold.
The pink Puff shot off for the left side of the second row, grabbing the first officer in line by his collar, she hoisted the man over her head with ease as she again kicked the next officer in their chest, catapulting him against the rest of the row.
The officer Blossom held over her head let out a scream as she chucked him at the pair of gunners and pilot who had just started to take off in a charge on the other end.
The pink Puff swiftly leapt over the final row of officers, landing in the center of the line's formation. She leapt upwards, extending both legs into an aerial split kick, simultaneously striking the two officers on either side of her and causing them to soar, sliding across the ice next. Not only did they knock over their subsequent guards, but the two marksman who had taken aim on either end of the roof were also taken out. Blossom was sure to give the left side a little extra push, ensuring that it reached its target who was furthest away.
With each blow she landed, Blossom counted her moves out loud as she went:
"One—sorry! Two—sorry! Three—Oh my God, I am so sorry that look like it really hurt—Jeez…." As the pink Puff watched the final marksman get slammed into the brick wall behind him by the fast soaring body of a fellow officer, she couldn't help but wince as she witnessed the bone-cracking collision from afar. "I AM SO SORRY!" she shouted her apology from the distance, "You see, I had to use that much force to get the trajectory just right I really didn't mean to—"
"Blossom, they don't need an explanation," Ms. Bellum was on her feet again. She grabbed the girl by the wrist as she bolted for the parked rooftop helicopter, "Let's go!"
"R-right!" Blossom followed Bellum into the helicopter.
As they boarded the aircraft, Bellum sat down in the pilot's seat and started up the engine.
"Ms. Bellum," Blossom's bubblegum eyes widened a little as she watched the politician take control of the aircraft like it had always been her job to do so, "You know how to fly?"
"My dear, in this city it's a must." She flipped a switch on the control board which shut the side doors to the helicopter, encasing them safely within the bulletproof cockpit.
Blossom showed the politician a small smirk as she sat in the seat beside her and they began to lift off.
"So where to now?"
Blossom's smirk turned nervous, "Uh, well, I hadn't really gotten that far with my plan yet—" she stopped herself as an idea came to mind, "But I know of a place! It's remote and pretty hidden! It's up north!"
"OK then," Bellum gave the Puff a nod, "Let's go!"
As they began their ascent, Bellum could feel the girl staring.
"Trust me," she said with a sigh, "I've tried my hardest to get it off, but nothing I try works. It's like I'm cursed or something…."
"Cursed? Like magic, or—"
They hadn't been travelling far in the sky before they felt a hard sudden jolt as something powerful slammed into the aircraft. Immediately the warning systems on board began screeching its alert of its impending crash.
"Blossom!" Bellum shouted as they started to go down, "I can't save it—"
Before she could finish, Blossom yanked her from her seat as she carried her with her from the falling helicopter and into the sky. As Blossom hovered in the sky with Bellum in her arms, they both watched with wide-eyed horror as the aircraft crashed upon the streets of Downtown below. It landed directly upon a corner supermarket, exploding instantaneously into a ball of fire as it made impact.
Blossom carried Bellum over to a nearby rooftop and sat her down as she continued to stare at the destruction in the distance. She could hear the screams and cries of those affected by the fiery wreckage. Her instinct was to help, but… she had to protect Bellum. "Oh my God—"
"Well, well, well…"
As Blossom whipped around to face the villain, she protectively pushed Bellum behind her. Her pink eyes narrowed on her opponent as she lowered herself onto the rooftop.
"Hmph," Princess faced the pink Puff with her hands on her hips. "Thought you could get away with it, didn't you? You thought you could just bust in and free a prisoner and run off like nobody can stop you, huh?! Isn't it just like you stupid Powerpuffs to think that you're oh so above consequences! Hmph. Well, you're not! And now I'm about to win ! Not you! Me! I'm the hero!" Princess drew her blaster raygun and pointed it at both Blossom and Bellum. Her beady brown eyes narrowed on the tall pink Puff as her lips curled to a devious smirk, "You broke the law, Blossom! And now you're under arrest! You'll be going to the Villains Ward to be locked up just where you belong! This is your last chance to surrender peacefully—"
"Surrender peacefully?!" Blossom's pink eyes had turned red and were on fire again, but as she spoke she fought back tears as she gestured to the burning city behind her, "WHAT IS PEACEFUL ABOUT ANY OF THIS—"
"AW, SAVE IT!" Princess interrupted with a scream—her rage fully ignited then. She held her aim tighter as she threatened with even more venom in her voice, "All of that talk is too little too late, Blossom! How many buildings have you blown up in the name of Justice, huh? NOW YOU CARE, BLOSSOM?! CONVENIENT, ISN'T IT?! You're so full of shit…." Princess spat with disgust as she said the Puff's name, "How many people have you hurt and mangled and left physically and permanently FUCKED UP because of your bullshit missions to SAVE THE DAAYYYY, HUH?! …Hmph. I bet you never even bothered to keep track of that. You really do think that you're better than me. You always thought you were better than me…."
As the short teenager screamed at Blossom then, the hero could detect tears welling up in her beady eyes as she ranted. It sounded personal, Blossom could tell, although she wasn't exactly sure what specifically Princess could be getting at.
"Princess if I hurt you in the past, I'm sorry. When I was a kid, I made a lot of mistakes when I just didn't know any better—"
"I SAID SAVE IT!"
Blossom held her hand out, shielding Bellum as Princess pointed her raygun and gritted her teeth with a crazy twinkle in her brown eyes.
Blossom gulped as she tried reasoning one last time, "OK, OK…. Please, Princess. I'm sorry. Can we just put this aside for one minute, please, and go save those innocent people—"
Princess interrupted her with a laugh, "Ohh, Princess, let's please put this aside to go save those poooor people—Are you kidding me?! Come on!" she lowered her weapon for a moment as she paused in her fury to mock the Puff. "No, seriously, Blossom. You gotta take a look over your shoulder right now. Go on, look. I promise, I'm not going to try anything sneaky—I'll wait till you turn back around! You just have to look!"
Blossom blinked at the short villainess for a moment, before reluctantly glancing over her shoulder. In the distance, the wreckage's fire was being extinguished by a team of firefighters as ambulances gathered outside the collapsed supermarket.
"What am I looking at, Princess—"
"Uh, duh! Firetrucks! Ambulances! Don't you see? They're fine, Blossom! Nooobody needs you to come to the rescue! Got it?!"
Blossom looked at Princess again as the girl continued to laugh wickedly in her face.
"You're not needed, Blossom. You never were. In fact, they'd all be better off if you never even existed. You know the ones burning alive right now sure wish you never did."
Blossom gritted her teeth as the short girl hovered before her, challenging her with her beady brown eyes.
"Don't listen to her, Blossom," Bellum spoke low from behind. "I need you."
Blossom clenched her fist as she bit her tongue, refusing to lose to Princess' staring contest, "Are you done yet?"
"Hmph," Princess smirked. "I'm just getting started!"
"Ms. Bellum, duck!" Blossom shouted as she leapt into defense mode as Princess made her charge.
The golden suited heiress pointed her raygun and fired. Bellum ducked, and Blossom blew and shaped a shield of ice to hold up over herself and Bellum, deflecting the purple blaster rays away from their target.
Princess was struck by her own fire after it bounced off the glistening ice shield and came right back at her. Her specially designed super suit absorbed most of the impact, but still, it stunned her in place just long enough for the pink Puff to make her escape.
Blossom scooped up Bellum in her arms once more and shot off towards the north as a fast beam of pink light.
Princess growled as she shook off her shock and faced the fast retreating light with a furious scowl. "Oh no you don't!"
She returned her blaster raygun to her left holster and reached then for the golden pistol at her right side and took quick aim.
"You're not getting away that easy. I may not be able to stop you, Puff, but I've been training for this moment for years—"
A wide, devilish grin swept the girl's face as she found her shot.
"I told you I'd win."
She pulled the trigger, and out flew one golden bullet.
By then, they were too far away to see, but Princess heard the moment when it happened.
"OH GOD, MS. BELLUM, NOOOOO!"
The pink light may have kept going, but Princess was no longer concerned. Without Bellum, what proof did the Puff have on anything? She got away, but this was still her victory.
Princess wore a satisfied grin as she playfully twirled her pistol gun in hand, "Karma's a bitch, huh?"
As Princess returned her gun to its holster, she was too busy celebrating her little victory to notice the stampede closing in behind her. The parade of monsters had just entered the city from the outskirts of Townsville Forest. Princess was lowering herself down from the sky, expecting to hear the praises of her citizens as she descended, but instead was met by panicking screaming.
She blinked dumbly at the running people, wondering what their deal was and as she turned around, it was too late.
As a giant lizard ran past her it swatted the floating girl with its tail, slamming her into the side of a nearby building.
Princess groaned as she sat up from the rubble of the wall she just demolished with her body. "What the—" she stopped as her brown eyes widened as they looked up.
As her eyes fell upon the demonic pigtailed Puff who rode her winged demon dog in the sky laughing manically, Princess could only gawk and stare. "…Fuck…?"
The terrified screaming of the citizens of the city intensified as the monsters tore through the streets. The hellish creatures had no mercy with the people in their path. They gobbled up people and cars as they rampaged all of Downtown—their pigtailed leader soaring over them as she celebrated in high pitched giggles.
"HELP!"
"SOMEBODY SAVE US!"
"THE POWERPUFF GIRLS ARE ON THE LOOSE!"
Princess rose from the rubble and watched still in stunned shock. She hadn't seen the blue Puff in years. Everyone said she had lost her mind. It looked like they were right.
The short villainess again was filled with teaming rage, "Those Powerpuffs! ALWAYS RUINING EVERYTHING!" Princess screamed at the top of her lungs before she took off with a fast flash of purple light.
The ground was wet and cold as Joey still lay in a puddle of his own blood. As the fallen Puff slowly regained consciousness, his blurred vision opened to the starless evening sky above. His super healing abilities had slowly done their job as he lay there abandoned in the forest. His wounds were closed, but he had lost a lot of blood and was still very weak. He knew that if he was going to be able to get up, he was going to need a bit of a boost.
The green Puff groaned as he forced himself to roll over on the ground and lay on his belly. Slowly, he pulled his knees beneath him and shakily propped himself up once more. Sweat mixed with blood on his brow as he faced the surrounding forest and shakily held up one hand.
The green electricity fizzled for a moment as he struggled to conjure the power in his scarred palm.
As Joey strained himself, in his mind he could hear his father: "Come on, Son! You have more within you than this! You must push further! You are almost there…."
An electric green blast shot forth at last and quickly stole the life in its path. As Joey collected the energy in his palm, he grasped his fist closed again firmly as he felt his body grow strong again at last and he leapt onto his feet.
The young villain fixed his cape as he ascended slowly into the air, "I gotta get back and warn Mojo that Him's returned—"
He shot off into the sky quickly, zooming directly for the water tower. He was almost there when he heard her:
"LET ME GO, YOU BLONDE FUCKING SASQUATCH!"
Joey skidded to a stop in the sky, his emerald eyes set aglow as he followed her voice. "Princess?!"
"I shoulda known it was you sabotaging our villainous plans by planting monsters, you freaky little forest hippie!" Princess flew up and met Bubbles in the sky. "Will you get your mangey mutts outta here?! They're ruining my reputation and they just stole my fucking spotlight!"
The blue Puff dismounted from her flying fur friend as she noticed Princess then. She gave the creature a loving pat on the head before sending it on its way.
Princess remained floating in the sky with her arms crossed as she watched the blue Puff, annoyed by how casual she seemed to act. All this panic about Him possibly returning, and the whole time it was her.
Princess had truly had enough of Puffs for that day.
"I just ran your sister outta town, so you better get going with her if you know what's good for you, alright?!" she huffed.
As Bubbles watched the winged beast fly away towards Monster Isle, her back was towards Princess then as she spoke. Slowly, she began to turn her head around without moving her body.
As the Puff's head unnaturally spun backwards to creepily flash Princess a smile, her eyes were glowing a bright demonic red then.
Princess stared back with wide eyes, "Holy shit they weren't joking when they said you were fucked up now— AHHH!"
The blue Puff zipped forward with no warning, snatching Princess by the throat with one hand within the blink of an eye.
Princess wrapped both her hands around the Puff's grasp as she choked for air and struggled to break free. All the while Bubbles stared her down with that demonic glowing gaze and a freakishly wide, devilish smile.
As Princess beat at the super girl's grasp with one hand, the blue Puff grabbed her attacking fist and squeezed it within her own.
Princess screamed as her bones cracked within her suit, "AHHH! WHAT?! HOW?! MY SUIT IS POWERPUFF-PROOF!"
A deep, sinister echoing laugh suddenly erupted from the blue Puff as he released her aching hand. "Silly girl…" the Puff's voice was still unnaturally deep—not like Bubbles at all- as she used one finger nail to slice through the once unbreakable crystal suit, slicing it open from her collar and all the way down her front side. She still grasped Princess by the neck as she fought still to break free, choking as she felt her super suit slip off from her body and crash to the streets below. "…I am no Powerpuff…."
Dangling by her throat in just her underwear, her brown eyes were wide with terror then as she cried out: "LET ME GO, YOU BLONDE FUCKING SASQUATCH!"
"As you wish, Princess—"
"AHHHHH!" Princess plummeted from the sky as the blue Puff released her.
Quickly, a fast moving shadow moved in to catch her.
"Gotcha!"
"Joey!" Princess threw her arms around her masked savior and hugged him tightly as they flew down to the safety of the streets below.
As they touched down, Joey could see that Princess was shaking terribly. He blushed a little from the sight of the girl in her bra and panties, but the heiress could not see it from behind his mask. The green Puff swiftly removed his black cape and draped it around her, and she quickly accepted the coverage. As her right hand grasped the darkened cloth, she winced in pain and Joey could tell then that her hand was swollen three times its normal size, blue, battered and obviously broken.
"Princess your hand—"
As Joey reached out for her, his cape fell a little and he for the first time noticed the darkened scarring along the back of the short girl's shoulder blades. Princess quickly pulled the cape on tighter with her remaining good hand as it slipped. Normally she would have been mortified then, but she was still trembling with fear as she searched the sky above.
Joey looked up, too, and saw her. "Bubbles…" He felt a tug on his hand and looked down again at Princess.
The redhead's eyes were narrowed on the retreating blue Puff in the sky as she soared towards Monster Isle. Without giving up her hateful glare she voiced her command to Joey then: "Kill her."
Joey gave a nod and was about to take off, but she stopped him again.
This time she tugged on his hand hard enough to pull him down to her level, directing his masked face to look at her then as she spoke.
"I mean it, Joey," she spoke low and serious as she brought her face in closer. "Kill her now."
Joey remained still as the villainess raised her left hand and carefully lifted the bottom of his mask then. Slowly and tenderly, she planted her lips on his.
Behind his mask, Joey closed his eyes and savored their first kiss.
Princess pulled away, gazing deep through the masks' darkened eyesockets and into the glistening emeralds behind them. "Kill her fucking dead. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good. Go."
And with that, the green Puff was on the hunt for the blue Puff once more.
Trapped still on the other side, Bubbles lay still on her back, floating amidst the endless sea of red around her. Her blank eyes stared forward, unblinking, but still she could not see.
In the far away distance, she could hear them though. The voices on the other side. They screamed and wailed in terror and pain as the world around her only grew more deep and crimson. As hard as it was to listen, she tried to focus on their cries, still. It was the only thing left connecting her to the physical world.
"MONSTERS! MONSTERS HELP!"
"OH GOD PLEASE NO!"
"SOMEBODY SAVE US!"
"IT'S BUBBLES! SHE'S GONE MAD!"
"HELP US!"
Bubbles could feel the twisting of her insides growing tighter and tighter. "I'm so sorry…" she squeaked sadly to herself as she floated aimlessly, "I-I wish I could help you all, but… I… I just can't see anymore. I can hear, but I can't see and… I don't know how to take control anymore… He just won't stop…. I don't know what to do…."
"LET ME GO, YOU BLONDE FUCKING SASQUATCH! AHHH!"
Again, Bubbles winced from pain as she cried out, "I'm sorry!"
The blue Puff had reached the snowy icy banks of Monster Isle by the time Joey caught up to her. As he soared over the ocean water, there were flocks of monsters migrating towards the island as well.
He darted between the various beasts as he chased the pigtailed girl through the sky. All the while, she giggled and laughed as if it were all just a game.
The deeper they soared into the landscape of the island, the colder and more desolate it became. The island was still an empty perpetual winter thanks to the lingering effects of Blossom's ice dome.
Joey gritted his teeth as he balled up both fists at his side and charged his death ray double. He was determined to get her this time.
Closing in on her, he shouted as he took aim, "You're dead now!"
"You're dead now!"
Bubbles could hear his voice then. She turned round in the sea of red and floated on her belly as she sunk her head into the crimson waves.
She could hear him, and now with her head submerged, her blank eyes began to shine a bright baby blue as they faintly spotted him deep below her.
"Joey!"
The red sea was thick like sludge and Bubbles used all her strength to swim deeper towards the faint green glow of her brother's aura.
"Joey! I see you! Ohmigosh, I can see you!"
The blue Puff's entire body ached against the mounting pressure of the scarlet ocean as she dove deeper and deeper, desperate to get to her brother on the other side.
The nearer she drew, the clearer things got.
It was her brother. She could see him then. He pointed a glowing green fist at her as her physical body halted in the air and faced him. His emerald eyes were on fire and focused so intently on her, he ignored his blind spot on his right side then, but Bubbles saw it for him. She screamed so loud, she was able to break through.
"JOEY, WATCH OUT!"
"WHAT THE FUCK—" Joey whipped his head to his right as he received the warning, but it was a second too late.
WHAM!
The green Puff was swatted from the sky like a pesky fly by the giant's right hand.
It was still difficult to make out through all the red that still drowned her, but the aura's teal light still shone bright enough for the blue Puff to recognize it.
"Robin?!"
Joey's head spun dizzily as he lay stunned in the snow. He had been buried deep enough by the unexpected smackdown that he couldn't see the monster that struck him. He could hear it though, roaring loudly as it stomped closer to him. The green Puff groaned as he fought to regain his senses so he could get out of the beast's path. However, the monster had really nailed him good.
As he struggled to resurface from underneath the heavy piles of snow, he could hear his sister's voice speaking to the monster as it roared back in return.
"Stop! Don't hurt him! I know you're mad! You think you want to eat him, but that's not you! You're trapped! Trapped like me! But I can see you! I see you! I know you're there! You just have to hear me! I know it's you!"
"ROOOOOOOARRR!"
As Joey popped his head out from the snow at last, he could only see the fading silhouette of the giant as it retreated deeper into the island, disappearing behind a dense wintery storm.
The green Puff rose into the sky again, his emerald eyes narrowing on the blue Puff once more. He clenched his fists as they became set ablaze with electric green fire.
He took aim.
Bubbles turned around.
Joey opened his scarred palm, and out shot his death ray.
The blue Puff let out a small gasp as she watched the green electric fire shoot forth without hesitation, her heart breaking the instant she saw it.
Her love for her brother and best friend might have been just enough to pull her out of Him's clutches for that short time, but the heartbreak she experienced then—the ultimate betrayal of her beloved brother—well, that was all Him needed.
Her spirit destroyed again, Him took control once more.
Just as his death ray erupted, the blue Puff's eyes lit up a demonic red. She snapped her fingers with a wicked smile as Joey unleashed his power.
"Huh—?" Joey felt an invisible force knock his aim just one centimeter to the side. "AHH, SHIT—"
The green Puff's death ray missed its target and plowed through the snowy rocky mountainside of the island instead. Just as quickly as he was able to steal the life from others, his death ray without fuel could just as quickly backfire and drain him instead. Sure enough, it only took three seconds before the superpowered teen was drained of everything.
He fell from the sky and dropped back into the snowbanks below like a stone.
Mrs. Snyder was home alone for the evening since the entire city had been locked down and her husband was forced to shelter in place for the night at work. It had been four nights since her only daughter had disappeared. It had been difficult to keep hope that Robin was still OK, but it was even more difficult to believe with the latest news of Evil Puffs and monsters on the loose.
Of course, she didn't believe a word of the Evil Puff bit.
As she attended to the dishes in the sink that night, she received a knock at her home's front door. Again, with the city on lockdown—this was a surprise. Even more of a surprise was who stood on the other side.
The short woman had to stand on her tip toes to look through the door's peephole well enough to spot the pink Puff. "Blossom…?"
She opened the door and found the tall girl standing there with a blood-soaked body in her arms.
"I-I'm sorry, Mrs. Snyder," the young girl's voice shook, "I-I didn't know where else I could go— I-I know what this must look like, but I swear this is really the mayor! She's been hexed or something somehow and now she's been shot—Please, I just need to get her some help—"
Mrs. Snyder blinked at Blossom and then at the wounded, orange-suited prisoner she held. The dark-haired woman groaned painfully in Blossom's arms and clearly needed medical attention fast. She motioned for Blossom to come inside and quickly shut the door behind her.
"What happened?" Mrs. Snyder asked. She led Blossom over to their living room sofa, propping up a throw pillow and motioning for Blossom to set her down there.
Blossom quickly followed the nurse's lead and laid Bellum on the sofa, "She was shot," Blossom answered. "I-I can't get the bleeding to stop, and I know she needs more help than I can give her, but I can't take her into the hospital myself—"
"Go to my room and find a change of clothes for her," Robin's mother instructed next. "She needs to get into surgery. I can take her to the E.R. for you, Dear, but they'll figure out she's a fugitive in no time wearing this—"
"You're right," Blossom nodded. She was a little taken aback by how fast Mrs. Snyder seemed to snap into action. She was an emergency room technician though, so she must have been used to it. "Th-thank you, Mrs. Snyder." She took off with a flash of pink light as she left Bellum with her then.
Mrs. Snyder wasn't sure what the situation was, but all she knew was that if Robin had been there, she would want her to help.
As Blossom returned with a fresh change of clothes, Mrs. Snyder helped her change the prisoner out of her jumpsuit. The gunshot wound was just below the right side of her ribs and the injured woman held Blossom's burgundy university sweater against it to slow the bleeding. As she was forced to move her hand for a moment, the wound gushed profusely.
"You can stay here, Dear, while I take her in. The entire city is looking for you now. It's not safe, so you should stay inside—"
"Mrs. Snyder, thank you—"
"Here, help me take her to the car first, would you?"
"O-of course…"
"I'll call you on our home phone once I have got her checked in and keep you posted. Mr. Snyder won't be home until the lockdown is lifted—whenever that will be—but I'll get in touch with him in the meantime to let him know that you're here. The roads are closed with exceptions for medical emergencies so I shouldn't have any trouble getting to the hospital fast—"
As Blossom helped Mrs. Snyder load the unconscious Ms. Bellum into her minivan, she was still in awe of the woman's selfless generosity. "Mrs. Snyder, thank you so much—"
Mrs. Snyder shut the passenger side door and showed Blossom a small smile, "You've always been a part of the family, Dear. I told you: You will always have a safe place here."
Blossom threw her arms around the short woman and hugged her tightly. "Please be safe out there, Mrs. Snyder."
"Thank you, Dear. I will…" she pulled away from Blossom and reached for the driver door. "For now, just make yourself at home."
Blossom gave her a nod as she watched her climb into her vehicle. She waited until Mrs. Snyder was far down the road before she turned around and began to walk up the driveway and to the Snyder Residence's front door.
As Blossom stood upon the home's front porch, she glanced to her right to where her own family home stood. Her bubblegum eyes glistened with tears as they fell upon the darkened windows to the empty, stone-quiet residence.
As Blossom stared next door, her gaze slowly drifted along the fencing. She perked up to the sight of a large, shadowy silhouette that looked to be standing in her home's backyard. She blinked for a moment, wondering what it could be before she took off with a flash of pink light to investigate.
It was as if the moment she shot forward, whatever it was, ran away fast.
Blossom slowed to a stop as she cautiously halted on the other side of the shared fence between Robin's home and her own. Mrs. Snyder had just warned her that she should stay inside and stay safe, and instead she was chasing shadows into the night. She could hear whatever it was though, retreating fast with big, booming steps as it fled.
"I guess there really are monsters out there on the loose again—" the pink Puff muttered quietly to herself. She sighed deeply as she turned back around, "Well, forget it. I have enough going on as it is—"
As the pink Puff began to retreat back to the Snyder's, she heard a hurt groan coming from the other side of the fence.
Once again, she stopped and turned around.
She just couldn't ignore it.
Slowly, the pink Puff floated high enough into the air so that she could take a curious peak over the fencing and see for herself what lay on the other side.
Her bubblegum eyes widened as they fell upon his green-faced mask.
"…Jojo?"
Author's Note (Pt2):
SO.
Yeah, shit happened that got in the way of writing for a LONG time. Trust me, I wasn't happy about it either, but… well, that's life.
Big apologies to everyone whose been waiting and checking for updates to resume probably wondering WTF happened to my little organized schedule- IT WENT TO HELL, SORRY. It was a long time before I was finally able to scrap a little writing time back together for myself. Unfortunately, that writing time has been cut down to about a third of what I used to have to devote to this fic. So 'cause the chapters have been taking so much longer to write, I wanted to get ahead of myself by a LOT behind the scenes before resuming updates/posting. I would have preferred our hiatus to wait another couple chapters haha, BUT since it happened when it did I just really wanted to avoid another break in the story again if I could help it somehow. The only way really to avoid that was to have the rest of the story pretty much done before posting again SO with life as WILD as it has been for me in this lovely 2023.. that became the new plan.
It's taken nearly a whole damn year, but I'm finally done with 24-27… One chapter left to finish. SO. NOW I'M READY. AND SO….
Here we go again! :D
I will have our next chapter up in 3 weeks and I plan to post every 3 weeks till we end on 28. You have my word on that when it comes to everything up to 27 at least lol.
With 28 still very much under SERIOUS CONSTRUCTION I definitely can still use the motivation/encouragement to get this DONE and so, I once again thank you for any reviews/comments/feedback that any of you so AWESOMELY take the time to leave behind for me. They definitely help fuel the writing fire and keep me going. :)
But yes, if I can keep that fire going, we should be wrapping up this whole adventure come November. :')
A big HUGE and sincere THANK YOU to all of you reading this now who have come back to resume this crazy ride with me again. I can't believe I've been working on this thing for about 4 years now, ha. PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU'VE BEEN A PART OF THE JOURNEY THIS LONG WITH ME DUUUUUDE— Longtimers, I consider ya'll the godparents to this wild child, OK? They gonna be 4 this November, like Wow~
Seriously though, this story is so special to me. Now that I'm wrapping it up- it's bittersweet, really. I can't wait to see it finally completed after ALL this time and ALL this work. But I will definitely also miss working on it, too. :')
Thank you all SO much for reading. I really hope you guys like what's coming. :)
All my twisted love,
Bobby