Prophecy

by Madame Fist

In their final year of high school, Team X will face unavoidable highs and lows - the woes of being super powered, and teenage. They'll share firsts, lasts, and will have to navigate their way through deception, manipulation and inevitably heartbreak. Him is still an underlying threat in their lives, as are the mysterious prophecies he lives by.. Sequel to Choices. PPG/RRB

7. I still have feelings

Sorry for me delay - here's chapter 7. Enjoy!

---

Brick's scarlet eyes clicked open. With a laboured sigh, he focussed on the glowing lights of his alarm clock which read the time: 4.45am. And on a Saturday.

These dreams were getting on his nerves now. He couldn't remember the last time he had a dreamless sleep. Every night he dreamt. Sometimes they were nightmarish. Sometimes totally boring, mundane things. Sometimes they were boring, mundane things happening to people he didn't even recognise.

He'd never dreamt so often. It was beginning to grate on him.

The dream he'd just awoken from had made zero sense whatsoever. They'd been fighting a monster, himself and his brothers and the girls. It was a purple, tentacled mess with one big staring eye. But it had been dead, in his dream. Downed near the ocean. They were beginning to attempt to maneuver it back into the sea where it had presumably come from, when suddenly Bubbles screamed out Buttercup's name. And the raven haired puff was just plummeting to the ground, no longer able to float or fly.

And then he'd woken up. And now he knew he'd probably struggle to get back to sleep. With another heavy sigh, he turned in bed and attempted to get his head down for a couple more hours.

---

With a contented sigh, Esmé placed the last dish down into the centre of the dining table. "Here we go, grubs up girls!" She hollered, reaching behind her to undo the strings of the Professor's apron on her back.

She'd really gone all out with breakfast that morning, whipping up an array of buttermilk pancakes with butter, bacon, syrup, and eggs. After all, she needed to ensure a certain someone's stomach was nice and full: prototype A of her Chemical X blocker was complete. And today would be the day she tested it out.

It was a Saturday, and she'd managed to clear the entire day. She needed herself and the girls to be at home; for she'd need to monitor Buttercup as much as she possibly could throughout the day to see if it worked - then react appropriately when the inevitable confusion for the disappearance of Buttercup's powers followed. If it were successful, anyway; if it were successful, the green puff would lose her powers and nothing would be able to restore them whilst the blocker was in her system. The scientist had theorised that within a few hours, the pills' effects would expire.

"You too, Johnny!" She called out. "Breakfast!"

A few moments later Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup hovered into the room, their father following behind them.

"Esmé, it looks amazing. Doesn't it, girls?" The Professor prompted, as they all chorused back a slightly lacklustre agreement, taking a seat at the table.

"Your father is such a sweetheart. Now, let me fix you all a drink - who wants coffee and who wants tea?" Esmé queried, guiding the Professor into his seat at the head of the table, being sure to look each Powerpuff girl in the eye as she took their drink order.

"I'm fine." Blossom murmured; the Professor cleared his throat, raising his brow at her. "Um, tea, please…" She corrected herself, not wanting to make the Professor cross. His words from the last time she spoke out against Esmé still felt as fresh as if he'd said it yesterday. She'd not told anyone what he'd said; it had felt like a huge stab in the back and she didn't think she could bear to utter the words to someone else.

"Tea would be amazing - thank you!" Bubbles chirped.

"Coffee." Buttercup grunted, rubbing at her eyes tiredly; she was the only one still in her pyjamas.

"Coffee please, Buttercup." The Professor rebuked. "And don't start eating until Esmé is sitting at the table."

"I won't be a second! Coffee for you too, doll?" Her elegant hands caressed the nape of his neck as she stood behind him.

"Yes please, dearest." He replied, his eyes soft.

Esmé darted from the room and towards the kitchen, taking the coffee pot she'd already prepared and switching on the stove to re-boil the water in the kettle for the tea.

Quickly, she made the tea, including a cup for herself, then took them through for Bubbles and Blossom, placing her own cup down at her place beside Buttercup. "Oh, please do start eating, really. I don't want it to get cold. I'll be through in a minute." She instructed as she padded back into the kitchen.

"You heard the lady." The Professor smiled, as everyone began to fill their plates.

With a quick glance behind her, Esmé retrieved the pill from its small plastic pouch that she'd stashed down her bra. Rapidly, she plopped it into one of the mug's of coffee, giving it a vigorous stir. Making a quick mental note of which hand the spiked coffee was in, she returned to the dining room.

Esmé placed Buttercup's cup down in front of her then took a seat beside her. "Yummy?" She asked the raven haired teen, who was devouring some pancakes.

"Uh huh." Buttercup replied, not gracing her with even a glance. Esmé pursed her lips, then turned and gave the Professor a look.

"Buttercup, have some manners, please." The Professor snapped.

"Sorry." Buttercup murmured, looking at Esmé, who was staring at her intently.

"That's okay." Esmé replied, her tone casual as she leant forward to fill her own plate now. "Seems to me like someone needs that cup of coffee to perk them up this morning."

As if on cue, Buttercup put her knife and fork down and picked up her coffee. "You're probably right. You make the nicest coffee too, I swear."

"Well, I don't wanna brag, but it's always got a kick." Her expression had a devious edge to it; she ensured no one else read into it too much, before adding: "A pinch of nutmeg - that's my secret."

As the green puff brought the cup to her lips, Esmé watched her eagerly. She drank a small sip from it, going to put the cup down, but Esmé mentally urged her to drink on - which she of course did, until she'd finished the lot.

"Jeez Buttercup, is it not hot?" Bubbles asked, cranking a brow. "I know you need coffee to function sometimes but god…"

"I made it a while ago, it should be at a perfect drinking temperature." Esmé commented, unable to hide her satisfied smile as Buttercup placed her empty cup down and wiped at her face.

The Professor sipped at his own cup, nodding fervently. "She's right, as always. Perfect temp for drinking. What can't you do, sweetheart?"

"I'm a woman of many talents." She oozed, an alluring look on her face.

"Don't I know it." The Professor chuckled.

Esmé felt the disgust threatening to rear its head in all three of the girls in the room. She quashed it down easily, replacing it with an at ease, happy feeling. Blossom was the hardest in the room to sway, followed by Buttercup. But that was to be expected from the Angel. Quite why the green puff was more difficult to control at times was a mystery to her though.

Maybe it was simply down to her being as stubborn as a mule naturally.

She didn't let it get to her too much. She'd soon have the upper hand even more so with the pesky puff, if her pill worked as expected, anyway.

"So, what do we have planned for the day?" The Professor asked, his question mostly aimed at Esmé - because she basically called the shots. He didn't exactly know what the plan was for the day until Esmé had decided it.

"Oh," Bubbles began, finishing the mouthful of pancake she'd been eating. "I'm meeting with Robin and Kim later, we're going to -"

"No." Esmé said firmly, cutting her off. Bubbles blinked in confusion.

"No?" She reiterated. "What do you mean -"

"No, nobody's meeting anybody today. We're going to have a family day at home - no friends, no boyfriends. I can't remember the last time we had a family day at home." Esmé said decidedly, replacing the irritated grimace she was sporting with a false looking smile.

"You can't remember the last time we had a family day at home because you're not fam -" Buttercup began to grumble until Esmé placed her knife and fork down rapidly, her deep brown eyes boring into the green puff's.

"Would you like to finish your sentence, dear? Or is it perhaps best you didn't?" Esmé questioned, her voice severe.

"No, it's fine. Family day at home sounds great." Buttercup replied, her voice sounding robotic and void of any of the irritation that had been present before. In fact, it was void of any emotion at all.

"It does, doesn't it? So, eat up." Esmé urged, looking over to Bubbles and Blossom brightly. "Bubbles, you'll have to cancel your plans."

Bubbles nodded, smiling. "Okay Esmé."

Blossom cranked a brow at her sisters. Things were getting weirder and weirder around here. Feeling as though someone was watching her, she looked to her father, who was staring at her evenly. The pink puff cleared her throat and continued to eat, looking down at her plate.

Esmé found it was easier to control the pink puff through her father. In a way, it was more satisfying too. The pain his disappointment spurred in her was almost succulent. She could hardly resist.

"It looks like a lovely day outside, too. We'll have a lovely day together." Esmé said blissfully.

Everyone agreed with her. They had no choice but to agree with her.

---

It had been about an hour since she'd popped the pill in Buttercup's drink. So far, it had seemingly had no effect - or at least nothing that Buttercup had noticed yet.

Esmé sincerely hoped it was a case of 'yet', and that it would indeed kick in soon. For the past 20 minutes, the raven haired teen had been upstairs in her room showering and getting dressed, so for all she knew she may come downstairs saying her powers were gone.

At present, she was hanging around near the stairs trying to look busy, as she awaited Buttercup coming back down.

The Professor wandered into the hallway from the kitchen, having just finished clearing up from breakfast. He greeted her with a smile. "So - a family day at home today. What did you have in mind?" He asked her.

"Yes, I thought you'd enjoy some quality time at home with all four of your girls." Esmé oozed, linking her arms around his neck and laying herself against him. "The garden could do with some tending to. And then maybe a movie later?" She suggested, her ideas interrupted by a loud banging sound in the distance which made herself and the Professor jump.

"What on earth was that?" He exclaimed, unlatching her from his front and dashing over to the nearest window in the living room to look out of it. Bubbles and Blossom joined his side to peer out too.

As though on cue, all three of the girls' hotline devices sounded off simultaneously. Blossom couldn't contain the little hiss of glee that escaped her mouth at the sound of freedom that had come in the form of a call out. Esmé heard it, her dark brown eyes narrowing on her.

"Monster attack." Buttercup read off her device; she'd just come downstairs and was now leaning against the doorway to the living room. "Near the docks side of the coastline."

"Good grief, that thing is huge, I can see it from here!" The Professor cried. "And I've seen some monsters in my time!"

"We better suit up, girls." Blossom instructed.

Esmé shook her head rapidly. "No."

Blossom flashed her a confused look. "No? What do you mean no?"

She just couldn't have Buttercup disappearing for god knows how long when she'd ingested prototype A. She needed to monitor her! She needed her here! "I mean, I - it's a family day!"

"We have a callout - a giant monster is destroying the city right now. As we speak, people's lives are at risk. Family day will have to wait, we have to go. It's our duty. Right, Professor?" Blossom asked, glancing back at her father, who looked confused.

Esmé felt she'd been backed into a corner. She knew she could very easily make them all stay. But it would have ramifications. Which would in turn take a lot of work for her to work her way around. And like a pebble thrown into a lake, it would have a ripple effect if she didn't let them go. If she made them stay, the boys would investigate their whereabouts. Boomer and Butch she could easily sway, but Brick, not so much.

And eventually, Mayor Bellum would stick her nose in to find out why they didn't show up. And when they all realised she had been the one to make them stay and allow hundreds of civilians to potentially die or get injured, they would grow suspicious of her. And she did not need that.

"What about the boys? Can they not handle this alone?" The Professor questioned. "We did say we were going to have a family day."

"Professor - it's a call out! For a giant monster destroying the city!" Buttercup cried. "Come on, you know the drill!"

"Mayor Bellum has called all six of us out. And quite frankly the more of us there to tackle it the better. Now really, we need to go. Girls, suit up, now." Blossom commanded firmly. She was thankful when after a couple of seconds of silence, they both dashed upstairs to get changed quickly.

A short stare off ensued between Esmé and Blossom as she passed her to get herself changed into her Team X protective uniform. The little, unruly voice in the back of the pink puff's mind was hooting and hollering at herself to stand firm and go. She didn't look at the Professor, she knew if she did and he looked upset or disappointed at all, she'd falter. But she knew this was the right thing to do, no matter what Esmé said.

"We have to put this first. It's our duty." Blossom informed her. Esmé huffed in response. The Professor reached for her to embrace her.

"I just care about you all so much." Esmé simpered. "I just wanted us all to spend the day together."

"I know sweetie, I know." The Professor told her gently.

Blossom rolled her eyes. "Uhh, I don't have time for this." She mumbled quietly, zipping upstairs to change into her protective gear.

---

The monster wreaking havoc on Townsville harbour had evidently emerged from the sea; it was huge, at least 200-250 feet tall, its scaly purple skin covered in seaweed and moss. It had a large mouth full of sharp teeth, one large yellow eyeball, four tentacles for arms and two wide, stomping feet.

"I've never been so glad to see such an ugly creature." Blossom exhaled lightly as they arrived at the scene. She'd rather this any day, over the day they had had in store for them at home.

"N'aww, he's kinda cute. In his own unique way." Bubbles defended, at Blossom's right side.

The creature roared, a torrent of bright pink spit flinging from its mouth in the process, covering the line of stores on the dock in the process.

"Eww!" Bubbles cried. "I take it back!"

"First things first, we should try and disable its tentacles somehow." Blossom began, watching as it raised two to hit the tall sea view apartment block that was situated nearest. "As quickly as possible, too. Bubbles - ensure that that building is or has been evacuated."

"On it - oh hey!" Bubbles was about to jet off, but had been distracted by the arrival of Boomer, Butch and Brick. "How ugly is this guy? Come with me - we're evacuating this building."

"Got it." Boomer nodded, taking her hand and disappearing with her in a flash of blue.

Brick stared at the beast, a little stumped; it looked just like the one from his dream. Purple, tentacled, one big staring eye. He glanced over at Buttercup, remembering how she'd descended from the sky in the same dream. She was hovering - and looking just as battle ready as she usually did.

"Hi - disable the tentacles!" Blossom yelled as she darted off in a blur of pink towards the creature. "Try to minimise damage to the city - direct it towards the sea!"

"My only known understanding for 'disable the tentacles' is 'slice those bad boys off'. I'm right, right?" Butch reasoned, sniggering as himself and his counterpart headed towards them too.

The emerald ruff didn't get to do a lot of slicing, though; the moment he got close enough, the monster swatted him away like a fly, sending him soaring into the sea.

Brick winced. "Okay, so it's fast with those things."

"He'll be back." Buttercup replied, holding two glowing green orbs in her hands. "Hey fish face!" She began to launch several orbs at it, one after the other. "The ice cream store on this dock serves the best ice cream in Townsville. You destroy it, I am not going to be happy!"

It screeched in pain in retaliation, blindly knocking Blossom down. She landed with a crash, forming a crater in the ground.

Brick glanced in her direction quickly to check she was okay, watching her raise her hand out of the hole to indicate she was fine. "Go for its tentacles, remember? Then it can't hit us with them!"

"I am! It's quick!" Buttercup replied, making a beeline for one of its long slimy arms.

Brick narrowly avoided being whipped by a tentacle, and darted off towards Blossom, helping her out of the ground. The two of them began to try and render the creatures' left two tentacles useless, while Buttercup went up against the right two.

She didn't actually make any progress against either of the two targeted tentacles; instead it grabbed her with one, wrapping her up tightly in it and bashing her against the ground repeatedly.

"This is why I said to go for the tentacles first!" Blossom hollered to her sister whilst trying to avoid the rapidly moving tentacles being jabbed in her direction.

"I was, oof - trying!" Buttercup grunted as the monster squeezed her tightly. The green puff shut her eyes, attempting to unleash her eye rays at its tentacle in a bid to free herself.

But nothing happened.

"What…" She muttered, bracing herself as it bashed her against the ground once more. "Why didn't anything -" She tried again, but no eye beams. Once again, nothing happened.

A flash of dark green light and a loud squelching sound ensued, and the green puff crashed to the ground, the tentacle's grip slowly uncoiling from around her. A dripping wet Butch was hovering above her, his hand extended to help her up. "Anyone else craving calamari all of a sudden?"

She smirked, reaching for his hand and allowing him to pull her onto her feet as he snickered at his own joke. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just.. Something weird happened - look out!" Buttercup yelped, attempting to put her shield up as the remaining tentacle on the right side of the beast came swooping towards them.

Butch dived out of the way, and it was a good thing he did too, as Buttercup's mint green shield didn't appear.

It all happened so fast. The green ruff watched her put her hand up to conjure her shield - but nothing happened. And the monster grabbed her with a tentacle and brought her straight to his mouth, dropping her inside and swallowing her within seconds.

"Buttercup!" Butch yelled as the monster burped in a satisfied manner. "What the fuck?!" He yelped, his head in his hands. "It just fucking ate her!"

Blossom and Brick, still wrangling one tentacle - Blossom had managed to freeze off one - looked his way in alarm.

"Don't worry!" Blossom called back to him. "She'll bust out."

"But, but - it fucking ate her! Like she's a fucking french fry or something!" Butch yelped. "Spit her out you fucker! Don't you fucking dare digest my girlfriend!"

He launched a kick at the creature's stomach; it roared in pain, one of its uninjured tentacles trying to grab at him.

A flash of blue appeared; Bubbles and Boomer had returned. "Did that thing just fucking eat Buttercup?!" Boomer exclaimed, horrified.

"Yes!" Butch cried, glad someone else was as aghast by this as he was.

"Don't worry - she'll burst out. You get eaten - it happens -" Bubbles tried to assure him with a shrug.

"'You get eaten?!'" Butch repeated as though she was crazy. "Did you just say 'you get eaten?!' Oh, hell nah!" He launched himself at the beast, missing its lashing tentacles and going straight towards its stomach.

Bubbles, Boomer, Brick and Blossom watched Butch disappear as he ripped through the beast's stomach, coming out of its back seconds later. He was covered in pink goo and god knows what else, but he had Buttercup in his arms.

"Oh thank god - I can't believe getting eaten is just the norm?!" Boomer cried as the beast's yellow eyes rolled back in its head, the large wound it now had oozing gunk.

Bubbles patted his shoulder reassuringly with a light sigh. "You get used to it."

The monster was going down; Blossom yelled for the others to help catch it so it didn't bring down a building or two in the process. Boomer and Bubbles flew down to aid them.

Butch hovered a few feet above it, allowing Buttercup to climb off his front. "Cupcake, I know you look like a tasty snack and all, but I can't be letting things eat you."

She chuckled at him, wiping pink gunk from her face. "Shut up..."

"You good?"

"I'm good."

"Good. We better help them get that thing back in the sea where it belongs." Butch said, glancing down at his siblings and her sisters.

"Yeah, I umm, I'll meet you down there - go help them." She murmured, looking down at her hands, a now drying film of pink goo still on them.

Butch cranked a brow at her.

"I'll be there in a second, I just need a minute." She muttered, too proud to say what she was thinking. She was worried she wouldn't actually be any help with lifting a 10,000lbs+ sea monster - something funky was going on with her powers.

When she was stuck inside that monster's stomach, she couldn't get out. Usually, if they were unfortunate enough to get eaten by a monster, they'd bust out immediately. No big deal. Sometimes it was a plus, the bursting out killed the creature and meant there job was done. But this time, she'd found she couldn't break free. She'd tried with no luck.

First her eye beams wouldn't work, her shield failed, then she suddenly wasn't strong enough to bust out of a sea beast.. What was going on?

"Uhh, okay.." He replied, figuring maybe he'd need a minute too if he'd just been gobbled up by a monster, before jetting off to help the others.

Watching him go, the green puff swallowed hard, glancing at her hands once more. She attempted a shield; nothing. A couple of power orbs, and once again, nothing happened. Yet she was hovering several hundred feet in the air - it didn't make sense. How could she fly but seemingly not do anything else? When their powers stopped working, they all did, not just a select few.

It was as though she'd jinxed it. In a split second, she was suddenly falling.

She'd gone from hovering in the air, contemplating what was going on, to falling, and falling fast. "Shit.. SHIT!"

Bubbles had spotted her first. "Buttercup… Buttercup?!" She yelled from the ground, before jetting off towards her.

Bubbles was the fastest of them all, but Butch had been closer. Upon hearing her yelp, then the blonde puff screaming her name, Butch had looked round, and instantly spotted his counterpart plummeting to the ground uncontrollably.

He darted towards her in a flash, managing to scoop her up when she was 50 feet or so from hitting the concrete below her. She clung to him tightly as he swooped upwards.

"What the fuck - are you okay?!"

"I don't know?! I don't know what's going on! My powers - my powers have gone! Everything was fine, but, but first my eye beams, and my shield, then my super strength, now flight - what's going on?!" She burbled confusedly.

Bubbles appeared beside them, Blossom followed not too long after.

Brick lingered by the monster with Boomer, looking aghast; this was exactly what he'd seen in his dream.

"Oh my gosh Buttercup! Are you okay?!" Bubbles hollered.

"What the hell happened?!" Blossom queried.

"You were just hovering and then - you weren't?!" Bubbles added.

"I don't know! I don't know, my powers - they've just vanished!"

"Are you feeling okay?" Blossom asked, wiping some pink goo off her cheek. "Could it be this stuff? That thing did ingest you…"

"I dunno, I guess I feel fine.. I think? But, but Butch went through the thing too and he's flying no problem!" Buttercup reminded them.

"Right… Butch, get her home to the Professor, he can give her some Chemical X. We'll deal with everything else." Blossom instructed.

Butch nodded, shifting her onto his back, so he could fly her home piggy back style.

"Don't drop her!" Bubbles called to the green ruff as they disappeared back towards Pokey Oaks.

---

Esmé could hardly contain her excitement when Buttercup and Butch came careering through the front door in a state of panic. It had taken a lot of energy to hide the exhilarated smile that was threatening to spread across her face as they explained Buttercup's powers had started to randomly fail, then suddenly just stopped all together.

Hurriedly, the Professor had ushered them all down to the lab. Since her grand arrival into their lives, Esmé had been doing what she could to keep the Professor on the cold side when it came to his daughters, but she allowed him to react naturally to his daughters sudden condition for now; it would raise less suspicion.

Anyway, she knew the tests and procedures the Professor would begin were all things she needed to know to see how effective prototype A had really been.

Once they were down in the lab, the Professor got the green puff to hop onto the examination table and got a syringe ready to extract some of her blood. He took her arm gently and inserted a needle into a vein, his brow raising when it entered her vein effortlessly.

"What?" Buttercup asked, noting his expression.

"This is a standard needle, not chromanium alloy.. It went straight in. Which would indicate you've come into contact with Antidote X somehow. I'm going to take some of your blood now, administer some Chemical X and then take another sample in about half an hour." He said, removing the needle from her arm and discarding it into a sharps box.

"Tell me more about this monster - was it emitting anything? Shooting off any eye rays or laser beams?" The Professor queried as he entered the code to the walk in refrigerator all the chemicals and antidotes were kept in. He came out seconds later with some Chemical X.

"No, nothing like that. It was this big scaly thing that came out of the sea - and it had tentacles and a big yellow eye. I mean - it ate me." Buttercup explained, and the Professor paused as he filled a syringe with Chemical X, concern etched into his features. "And I couldn't bust out of it! I was trying but - Butch burst through it and saved me."

"Perhaps it was the monster that's caused this, then." Esmé suggested. She was standing to one side of the examination table; Butch on the other side, standing nearest to Buttercup.

"But Butch was inside of it too! Butch got just as covered in its insides as I did! And he's fine." Buttercup said; the Professor noted the film of pink goo they were both covered in. "Anyway, it can't be that. My powers were failing before it ate me. I tried to use my eye beams to slice one of its tentacles up when it grabbed me, and it wouldn't work. And then I went to use my shield and.. Nothing happened." She sounded almost pained as she spoke. Like admitting this made her feel or seem vulnerable.

That was because it did. Admitting her powers, her pride and joy, her bread and butter, were failing her - it made her feel so weak.

"So it was gradual?" Esmé queried, trying to not appear as intrigued as she really was. "It wasn't instant? But bit by bit?"

Buttercup nodded in response.

"You're certain there's no way you've come into contact with Antidote X in any way, shape or form?" The Professor asked as he held the Chemical X filled needle near her arm. "Sharp scratch, sweetie."

She jumped a little as it was administered, which was odd, as it never usually hurt. "No. No I've not - Professor, can you fix this? I mean, what's happening to me? Why are my powers failing? Will they come back?"

"Buttercup dear, don't panic. I assure you, we will get to the bottom of this. I'm going to take a quick look at your levels in your blood sample. Give your body a bit of time, let the Chemical X kick in and I'll take another sample and look again in about 20 minutes to half an hour." The Professor tried to reassure her, taking the small vial of her blood over to his workstation. "Why don't you and Butch pop upstairs and get yourself a drink or something, try to relax."

"Relax? I can't relax!" Buttercup yelped. "I'm the complete opposite of relaxed right now."

Butch took her hand and held it firmly. She immediately tried to yank it away; he realised he'd held it too hard, forgetting she didn't have her powers and he did. He opened his mouth to apologise but she flashed him a look that made him feel like he was better to pretend it hadn't happened. So he did, instead taking her hand once more but trying to be gentle about it.

"BC, it's gunna be okay." He told her in a low voice.

"You don't know that!" Buttercup cried, her eyes wide with panic. It wasn't a look he'd often seen on the puff; he didn't like it.

"Your Dad will fix it! It's gunna be fine -"

They were both distracted by the Professor making a 'Hmm' noise across the room as he examined the sample he'd just pulled out of his analyzer.

"What? What is it?" Buttercup asked desperately.

"This aliquot I took, the analyzer was supposed to separate the Chemical X from your blood - but there's none there. There isn't any Chemical X to separate. Which indicates there's no Chemical X in your system right now." He looked over at her, and his brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"No, actually, I don't feel right. I think I'm gunna puke." She murmured, getting to her feet shakily. She'd gone pale, and felt a little clammy.

"Buttercup?" Butch asked, still holding her hand. She let it go, dashing towards the nearest sink and vomiting. He followed her, stroking her back a little helplessly. "Professor, why is there no Chemical X in her blood? I don't get what's going on? Nothing happened to take her powers - it doesn't make sense, I don't get it?!"

"At this point, neither do I." He mumbled. "Esmé, take a look at these samples with me - it doesn't add up."

Tossing her long hair behind her back, Esmé joined the Professor at his workstation, feigning her best 'concerned' face she could muster as she began to study the samples.

Buttercup leant her hands against the metal sink, panting as she caught her breath. "My arm, it's stinging." She breathed, before leaning forward to vomit once more. She'd thought she was done but a fresh round of sickness followed.

"What? Where?" Butch asked, as the Professor bustled over, taking her arm carefully. The injection site was red and slightly swollen.

He cranked a brow. "This is most peculiar." Reaching forward, he brushed her dark black bangs from her face to feel her forehead. "You're a little warm. Perhaps you've caught the flu or something similar… And it's interfering with your powers."

"I feel ill." She said breathily, spitting into the sink and wiping at her mouth. "Sorry for hurling in your sink."

"Better there than the floor." He said with a smile. "Why don't you come down to medical so I can run some further tests?"

20 minutes later, Buttercup was laid up in a cot bed on the medical floor of the laboratory dedicated to treating and nursing the girls', and nowadays the boys', injuries. The Professor had checked her blood pressure, monitored her heart rate, and put her on a saline drip as she was a little dehydrated. Apart from that, he couldn't figure out what was going on.

Butch was by her side looking anxious. His usually fierce and strong counterpart looked frightened and vulnerable and he didn't like it; most of all he didn't like not knowing what the hell was going on, or what he could do to make it go away.

"How do you feel now?" The Professor asked as he approached her bedside with a syringe and a vial. "Do you feel any better?"

"I guess, I don't know… Just feel drained. Like that first initial droopy feeling when you lose your powers, except it's constant and won't go away. I don't feel as sick as I did though…" She murmured, downtrodden. Truth be told, she was scared and confused, but didn't want to admit it aloud.

"Well, that's good. Let's take another blood sample and see if the Chemical X shot you had has helped." The Professor said, proceeding to extract a sample from her. "A bit of X usually resolves everything."

There was an uneasy silence as the Professor put the vial into some kind of machine - Butch had no idea what it was but it seemed to shake the blood around - he could only guess this was in order to separate it or something.

He wasn't even going to pretend he understood. He just wanted the Professor to fix whatever was wrong.

The green ruff watched his girlfriend closely as he sat in a chair at her bedside. She was looking over toward her father eagerly; likely hopeful for some good news. Carefully, he stroked down the side of her hand, the one with the IV sticking into it. He felt pretty helpless; it was an unfamiliar feeling.

But Buttercup felt the same. "How's it looking Professor? Is there X in my blood now?"

"No, I'm afraid there isn't. I really don't understand why - you had a standard 20ml dose. That's what I've always given all of you as a first dose and it's always been adequate. I've only had to administer more in life threatening situations. Usually it's enough to prompt your bodies to regenerate and begin to circulate it through your bloodstream. I don't understand how there could be none in your system when I gave you 20ml half an hour ago. It makes no sense - and completely defies everything I've come to learn about you all." The Professor looked frustrated and baffled as he spoke. He also looked worried.

"How can there be none? It doesn't make any sense - what's going on? Is that it now? No more powers?" Buttercup asked, the urgency in her voice becoming apparent as she began to panic. "I've lost my powers just like that?!" Her heart rate began to increase rapidly as she spoke, it prompted the monitor to beep at them all.

"Sweetheart, calm down. It's going to be okay." The Professor told her, approaching her bedside. Esmé stood back, holding back the little smirk that was threatening to spread across her face.

"No it's not!" Buttercup cried, her face screwing up with anger and upset. "My powers are gone and Chemical X is doing nothing to bring them back! What am I going to do?! I'm nothing without them!"

"Buttercup, no you're not!" Butch told her, but she looked at him like he was talking crazy.

"What nonsense - Buttercup you are more than your powers." The Professor brushed her words off.

"My powers are a part of who I am! I'm not me without them. I don't know who I am without them - and now they're gone!" She cried, desolate.

"Buttercup, let me try some more Chemical X. As I said before, in life threatening circumstances I have to use a hell of a lot more than 20ml. 20ml is just my standard starting point. Let's try some more before we jump to worst case scenarios. I'm going to give you 50ml. We'll wait half an hour once again and draw some more blood. Just try to stay calm honey." Professor Utonium informed her.

She nodded, exhaling shakily. "Fine, fine. Okay…"

He turned his back to get some Chemical X; Esmé handed him some, she'd been ready and waiting.

The Professor stuck her with it, then left the lab to get her a drink - Esmé was tinkering with something at the Professor's workstation.

"Cupcake, I get how super fucking important and, and integral - is that the right word? I get how integral our powers are to us. Trust me, I really get it. And I know I'd be freaking the fuck out if this was happening to me right now. But you're still the whole motherfucking package without 'em." Butch told her, and he was totally sincere.

She smiled a little, hooking a couple of her fingers around his as he continued to stroke her wired up hand. "I'm not me without them."

"Yeah you are. There's so many other things that make you you."

"You can't sit there and say you'd still think I'm a total 'badass' or whatever if I just lost my powers now and that was it. You can't act like everyone would treat me the same without them. If I was just some 'normie' from here on out.. You can't act like it wouldn't change things… It'd change everything." She mumbled quietly.

"It wouldn't change us." He replied. He didn't like the doubtful expression she pulled at his answer.

"It would - it'd change everything…" Her speech grew a little stilted. Concern flooded his features as she pushed her bangs from her face. "Is it hot - is it hot in here? It's gotten so hot…"

The green ruff shook his head lightly. "Err, not really.. Are you okay?"

She'd gotten paler, and a little less responsive. "I'm gunna be sick…"

Butch looked around rapidly for something, anything for her to vomit into, coming up with nothing suitable. Instead, he cupped his hands and held them out for her.

"Urgh, Butch, no." She groaned, as Butch tried to think on his feet. In the corner of the room he spied a small stack of disposable sick bowls. In a flash of green he grabbed one, holding it out in front of her just in time to catch the fresh round of vomit. With shaking hands, she took it from him and he rubbed her back.

Esmé watched from the workstation; intrigued. It seemed the shots of Chemical X were giving her an adverse reaction. These side effects seemed to her to be her body rejecting Chemical X when prototype A was in her system still. She glanced at her watch; it had been just over 2 hours since she'd gulped down her spiked coffee, and it was still in effect now.

"I'll go get your father." Esmé called, before dashing off.

Buttercup laid back against her pillow, catching her breath. "You'd really let me vom into your cupped hands?"

"I love you." He simply replied, holding the bowl of her vomit in one hand, his emerald eyes wide with affection. "And you're sick."

She couldn't help but chuckle at him. "I feel like fucking death. What's wrong with me? Look:" She raised her tube laced hand; it was quivering quite violently.

He reached forward and stroked some sweaty hair from her face. "I think you're burning up again. How'd you feel?"

"I feel like you've gotta get rid of that barf before I barf again." She muttered, and he smirked, taking it over to the sink.

When he came back a few seconds later, she had grown paler if possible, and had closed her eyes. "Cupcake?" He asked, stroking her hand delicately. "You gone to sleep?"

Her eyelids fluttered, like she was trying to open them but she couldn't. Butch didn't like it. He had an overwhelming feeling that something wasn't right. She murmured something incoherent softly, managing to open her eyes; he watched as they rolled back in her head and her hand grew limp. "Buttercup.. Buttercup! Professor! Professor, something's wrong!"

The Professor and Esmé had reappeared on the medical floor just as Butch had started yelling. Professor Utonium was by her bedside in a matter of seconds. Butch watched as he retrieved a flashlight from his person and shone it into Buttercup's eyes that he'd pulled open himself.

"She's passed out." He murmured. "She's got a high fever too, I can feel that without even checking it. Esmé, the gauge, if you will. I'll check her blood pressure too. She's breathing just fine, and her heart rate is steady."

Esmé handed him the temperature reader and the blood pressure cuff; he held the reader to her forehead. "104; it's extremely high. Her blood pressure is on the low side."

"She - she threw up, but she was talking to me then like, she just wiped out." Butch tried to explain in a panic.

"Buttercup," The Professor spoke, his voice urgent and loud. "Buttercup dear, can you hear me? Wake up for us. Buttercup?" Gently he shook her shoulder but she didn't budge.

"Her oxygen levels are good." Esmé noted. "She's breathing fine. She's just fainted."

"But, but she's not waking up - why's she not waking up? Buttercup! Buttercup!" Butch barked, his voice all high strung in panic and worry.

Something about his voice in that tone got through to her as she began to stir, mumbling sleepily. "Wha - what? What?"

"Oh thank god." Butch exhaled, running his hands through his spiky black hair and looking to the heavens as if to thank any god that may be up there. "Oh my fucking god. Sorry. Shit. Fuck - sorry! You're alive."

"We never had any concern she wasn't alive, Butch." The Professor smirked as Buttercup's light green eyes found focus again.

"Oh man, what's going on?" She asked. "Where's Butch? I could hear him crying."

"I wasn't crying!" Butch snapped, not being able to hide his smile. She'd been conscious for a matter of seconds and was already ripping him. "I was worried! You passed out and scared the shit out of - I didn't like it!"

"Sweetie, you're on the medical wing, remember? Your powers are failing." The Professor explained to her gently.

"Oh yeah." She muttered, downbeat.

"How're you feeling?"

"Like shit. Sorry, I know you don't like swearing." She murmured, rubbing at her face.

"Well no - but if you're cursing then you're at least sentient and with us - and behaving more like your normal self." The Professor commented before taking a step away from her bedside and walking over to his workstation where he'd discarded the glass of juice he'd fetched her. "Here, drink this. I'll get you some tylenol for your fever."

Butch got closer to her bedside then at her father's exit, taking her hand a little too roughly and releasing his grip a touch to allow for the fact she was still powerless. "You okay?"

"Hmm.." She replied, sipping her juice. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. I wasn't crying , by the way.. I was just worried - you looked like you died!"

She chuckled lightly. "You were bawling your eyes out."

"Shut up." He smirked. "I fucking will be though if you don't quit it. All this drama for a little attention." Sarcasm was rich in his voice.

"Oh yeah, I just love the focus being on me." She replied, just as sarcastically. After a light little sigh, she passed him her drink; he put it on the table for her. "So, what now Professor?"

"All I can do is continue to monitor you. We'll give it another 30 minutes or so and I'll draw some more blood - give the X a bit more time to get working. Hopefully the last shot did the trick and this is just some kind of blip, down to illness or something to do with that monster…" He didn't sound very confident in his words.

Buttercup sighed in a frustrated manner. "Okay."

---

An hour or so later Blossom and Bubbles had arrived home, both equally as worried about their sister. After cleaning up from the monster fight, they too were hanging around on the medical floor, awaiting an update.

The Professor was busy analysing the newest blood draw from Buttercup with Esmé predictably right by his side. She didn't look happy - and there was good reason for that.

"Finally." The Professor muttered, examining the tube.

"Chemical X." Esmé murmured, trying not to sound disappointed at all. Even though she was. It had been 3 hours, and Chemical X was regenerating in her system already. Which meant prototype A was wearing off.

"Good news?" Bubbles asked, peering over towards her father and his other half.

"Great news. There's Chemical X in your bloodstream once more." The Professor replied, presenting them all with the aliquot of separated blood he'd been looking at.

Relief swept over Buttercup at the sight. "So, my powers aren't gone forever?"

"It certainly doesn't appear that way." The Professor said, looking over the sample once more. "That's not the usual amount of Chemical X I'd expect to see in a sample of this size. So it's not back to normal levels. But your body is generating Chemical X as it should do once again, which is the important part."

He glanced over at Esmé, who forced a smile onto her face.

"Why don't you try your powers? See if they work?" Bubbles suggested, sitting up in the seat she'd pulled up beside her brunette sister.

Buttercup looked down at her hands, managing to produce a bright green orb in her hand. Her face lit up with a smile. "It worked!" She closed her fist and it disappeared, then she waved her hand to the side, an attempt to put her shield up.

But nothing happened. The smile fell off her face. "My shield…"

"Give yourself some more time." The Professor assured her.

"Your levels aren't normal.. So I guess your powers aren't back to normal either." Blossom pointed out.

"I guess that makes sense." Buttercup murmured, reaching for Butch's hand and squeezing it tightly. "Does this hurt?"

Butch yowled loudly in response.

"My strength's back." She grinned, as Butch nursed his hand.

"We'll test again in an hour. Hopefully your levels are back to normal by then. Do you feel okay? You look brighter." The Professor said, coming to her bedside and taking her hand with the IV in it. "We can take this out now. It's not chromanium alloy, so your body will probably try to reject it soon."

"I feel brighter." She answered. "And relieved."

"I'm relieved too." He smiled. "Small bit of pain for a couple of seconds." He warned her as he pulled out the cannula.

"Professor, I know it's good her powers have started to return, but that doesn't explain why this happened." Blossom asked, her brow furrowed. "I mean, she wasn't exposed to Antidote X. And it can't be the monster; Butch literally tore through it and it didn't happen to him. And then we all got some monster goop over us when we moved it into the sea.."

"No, you're right." The Professor said, looking perplexed. "Right now I can't explain what brought this on.."

Esmé stepped forward, hooking her arm through the Professors and looking deep into his eyes as she did. "I guess we just hope it doesn't happen again, right?"

"Right. It's all we can do, really." The Professor agreed.

Blossom didn't look too convinced. "That's all we can do?"

"Yep." The Professor replied. "I mean, it could be anything. An acceleration of hormones could mess with your X levels - anything like that could be to blame. Hopefully this is just an isolated incident."

"Hopefully." Esmé said with a smile.

---

"Oh man," Robin said, as she pushed the dress she'd been looking at to the side to get a better look at the one on the rail behind it. "That sounds scary - poor Buttercup! I bet she was freaking out."

"She was. It's totally understandable though. I'd have been freaked by it all as well." Bubbles replied, before sighing a small, discontented smile. "Why do they sell out of my size so quickly in the things I like?"

"Cos the mall is a bitch." Kim answered, unable to locate her size in the shirt she'd found too. "I can see Buttercup losing her shit over no more powers more so than you would. Her powers are like, her, you know?"

"But my powers aren't me?" Bubbles queried, puzzled by this ideation.

"No, of course they are. You're just a much more well adjusted person than Buttercup is. No offence." Kim answered, nonchalant. "You'd cope and process it better. Buttercup's world would be ending if she lost her powers forever tomorrow."

Bubbles considered her words for a few seconds. "You're probably right. They are a huge part of who we are. But, they aren't who we are completely."

"Exactly. I doubt that Buttercup is down with that idea though." Kim replied, before gasping. "How cute is this sweater? I'm getting this. Don't either of you try to stop me."

Bubbles, Kim and Robin were at Townsview Mall in downtown Townsville, browsing through the sale racks at their go-to clothes store. It was just the three of them; Boomer had opted to stay at home and hang out with Brick. Mike wasn't with them either, though he had been invited.

Apparently he was busy. He'd never actually specified what he was busy doing. Bubbles had found it a little odd. He usually always hung out with them.

Kim and Robin hadn't questioned it, which had made Bubbles feel as though she was overthinking it. She felt as though she was doing that a lot at the moment. The blue puff had a lot on her mind; all this with Boomer and Seb was driving her a little crazy.

She'd still not spoken to Boomer about it. She was well aware that she needed to.

But she knew confronting him about whether he'd lied to her would likely lead to an argument. And she really didn't want that. She just wanted everything to be okay.

With Buttercup's powers failing, and the strange inconsistencies at home with Esmé to deal with, she needed at least one constant in her life to be okay and normal… Falling out with Boomer would only make things worse right now.

At least she had her friends to rely on.

"Don't you just love an Always Maybe sale. They have the nicest stuff." Kim gushed, grabbing at a shirt that was half off.

"I do when they have my size in." Bubbles complained. "Ooh, cute! And they have it in a 6!" She'd spied a dress she liked and scooped it up. "60% off - oh I love you!"

Robin giggled at her. "I better stop before I blow all my allowance in one store. I've gotta get something to eat up here too, my Mom's out tonight."

"Yeah, I should probably stop too.. Shall we hit the food court?" Kim suggested, and they both agreed.

"Do you think Mike would have come if we'd have said we were going to the food court and not that we were going clothes shopping?" Bubbles asked as they joined the queue to pay.

"He said he was busy." Robin said with a shrug.

"Yeah, probably just that…" Bubbles mumbled. After paying for their bargains, the three teens made their way towards the food court. Until Bubbles spotted something that distracted her.

"Hey! Is that Seb?" She asked, pausing and clinging onto Robin's arm.

"Where?" Robin glanced around, confused.

"In there, in that coffee shop - look!" Bubbles answered her, pointing at him. Seb was sitting in a large vintage armchair in the window of the mall coffee shop - and he wasn't alone. She gasped loudly as she saw who he was with. "He's with Mike!"

Kim gasped now too. "What the hell?! That liar! He said he was busy at home! And he's cheating on Casper's by going to this icky mall coffee shop!"

Bubbles' sky blue eyes fixed onto Seb and she frowned. "This is because of me."

"Huh?" Robin asked, looking at her blonde friend. "How'd you get there?"

"Well, he obviously wanted to hang with Seb, but Seb won't hang with me. Because, because - well I think I know why but, but I don't really know for certain." Bubbles huffed, frowning deeply.

Robin and Kim exchanged confused expressions.

"Huh?" Kim said now.

"I need to talk to him." Bubbles said decidedly, beginning to march towards the coffee shop determinedly.

"Drama!" Kim grinned, following her. Robin hung back for a couple of seconds, glancing from Mike to Seb in the window and grimacing, before hurrying to catch up with her friends.

"Bubbles, Bubbles I really don't think it's that. I think it's actually something else, and maybe we shouldn't just go barging in -" Robin began until Bubbles interrupted her.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this. With Seb, and with Boomer."

When Bubbles approached the table Mike and Seb were sitting at, she was so passionately annoyed that she totally missed the fact that Seb and Mike were holding hands. Kim missed it too, but Robin didn't.

Were holding hands. When they realised they were no longer alone, they whipped them apart, flustered.

"Bubbles?" Mike cried, his voice coming out all strangled.

"Hi Mike - you seem busy." Bubbles muttered, her blue eyes scanning him then flicking to Seb. "Seb, I have clearly done something to upset you - I'd like to know what it is, please. Why are you avoiding me? Is it Boomer? Did he say something to you?"

The blonde puff left little room for him to reply. "What? Umm, no, I umm, I just -"

Mike sighed, running his hands through his brown hair then rubbing at his face. "Seb." He muttered from behind his hands. Seb looked at him questioningly. "Just tell them."

A small pause ensued. "Tell them? A-are you sure?"

"Yeah." Mike said, removing his hands and fiddling with them awkwardly on the table. "Tell them. It's time. Actually, it was 'time' ages ago, but I just didn't - they should know. You know I want them to know."

Kim and Bubbles were totally confused. Robin had clocked on already - in fact, she'd had her suspicions more than once over the years, particularly over the past few weeks. Her brow was furrowed with concern for her friend.

"Mike, you don't have to…" Robin murmured, her words trailing off.

"Mike, what's going on?" Bubbles asked anxiously.

"Boomer did scare me off." Seb said, looking directly at Bubbles as he spoke. "And being straight up with you, I was aterrorizado. He's a big, scary dude - so I did back off. Bubbles - you're like the sweetest girl on the planet, but I did not fancy getting beaten up by a Rowdyruff boy for speaking in Spanish with you and, and for just being your friend."

"Oh my god, Seb I'm so sorry -" Bubbles began, until Seb cut her off.

"But Boomer needn't have worried about me." He reached forward and took Mike's hand. "I've kind of had my eyes on someone else from the moment I got to Townsville High."

Mike smiled back at him, blushing profoundly.

"Oh." Bubbles said, her eyes trailing down to Seb's hands holding Mike's. The penny dropped. "Ohhh. Oh my gosh, Mike! Why didn't you tell us?! This is - it's amazing!"

Mike shrugged, still beetroot red. "I didn't know how to. I haven't known how to for awhile. How to tell anyone, not just you guys…"

"Dude!" Kim cried, lightly punching him on the arm. "We're your best friends! You should have told us, we're obviously going to support you no matter what!"

"Yeah, we love you!" Bubbles cried.

"I know, I know - I'm sorry. It's not just as black and white as knowing and telling you. I haven't known, I've been super confused for a long time. In fact, I've spent a lot of time feeling uncomfortable in my own skin and not knowing why.. Not knowing what 'box' I belong in.. But, meeting Seb.. It's just made things clear for me. I'm not weird or odd, or whatever else I've convinced myself I am. I don't need to fit into a 'box'. I'm bisexual." Mike said, swallowing hard as he said it out loud. Seb squeezed his hand encouragingly. "So is Seb. I've been grappling with this for a while now, and it was almost like Seb could just tell. Meeting him has just cleared all the fog away. I'm bi - and that isn't a problem. For some reason it was in my head for a long time.."

"Ohhh Mike!" Bubbles wailed, her blue eyes watery as she jumped on him to hug him. Kim and Robin followed suit.

"Oh we're so happy for you - for you both!" Robin cried, squeezing him tightly. "And proud. It's super brave that you were able to tell us."

"Thank you - not so tight!" Mike gasped.

"You guys are a fucking hot couple, by the way." Kim added; eliciting laughter from them all.

"Why don't you guys join us, hmm?" Seb offered as the three girls finally let Mike go from the congratulatory embrace. They pulled up chairs to their table, and Kim and Robin went to order beverages from the counter. This left Bubbles alone with Seb and Mike.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Bubbles. I just needed a bit of time…" Mike began, but Bubbles brushed him off.

"No Mike, honestly, it's absolutely fine. I totally get it. It's the sort of thing - you gotta be ready to share it. I'm just so happy for you."

"Thanks." Mike replied, smiling soppily at Seb, who smiled in an equally lovesick manner back.

"So, you were only avoiding me because of Boomer?" Bubbles asked Seb, rewinding the conversation a little for clarity.

Seb nodded, bringing his coffee cup to his lips. "Mhmm. It was nothing personal, I think you're great! He's just.. Scary. I knew of him as the 'softer' of the three of them, but that is not what I've experienced at all. I didn't wanna get mixed up in that. I mean I considered telling him I'm gay or something, just to try and assure him he had nothing to worry about - but I'm not gay. I have dated girls, so I wasn't sure telling him I'm bisexual would help.. You're beautiful Bubbles, but Mike caught my eye on day one."

Mike blushed. "Shut up…" He mumbled, but he was smiling.

"I get it, but I'm kinda sad you didn't tell us, Mike. I feel awful that you didn't feel you could.." Bubbles murmured, her eyes sad as she gazed at one of her oldest friends. "I feel like I could tell you anything…"

"It wasn't that, Bubbles. I just didn't feel I could tell anyone. My parents don't even know. For a long time I've not been sure what it was I needed to tell anyone, if that makes sense? Cos I've always found girls attractive.. I've had crushes on girls. But, also guys.. I know it might seem simple to others that I'm obviously bi if I'm into both but, I dunno, I just couldn't come to terms with it for a long, long time. I couldn't make sense of it, so how would anyone else get it? It wasn't about telling you all.. I was just confused.. But I'm not anymore. And I'm so glad you guys know, because I honestly have not enjoyed keeping it from you all, and I just feel lighter now."

Bubbles smiled warmly at him. "Well, I'm glad too. We love you Mike! No matter what!"

"I love you guys too." Mike replied. "I'm sorry all of this has gotten mixed up between you and Boomer."

"Oh, it's not your fault that Boomer did this. He lied to me. I asked him if he scared you off, he said he didn't." Bubbles said, brow knitted.

Mike frowned. "Don't be too hard on him. He's just a little insecure, that's all. He loves you so much, he gets scared it's all going to come crashing down. The way I see it with him, you're no average girlfriend for him. You're like, his everything, as corny as that sounds. Cos he's always felt like he had nothing. And now - now he's got everything. So he's keen to keep a hold of it tight."

Bubbles smiled briefly but it fell off her face fast, and she lightly shook her head. "I know what you mean, and it's great and all - and I totally get that we all have our insecurities.. I just wish he didn't lie to me when I asked. I gave him the opportunity to just tell me he'd screwed up, but he didn't…"

---

Mitch stretched languidly, his guitar wobbling against his stomach at the motion. "Can we take 5?" He asked, removing his guitar from his front and balancing it up against his amp. "I needa smoke."

"Sure." Buttercup murmured, noodling out the bass line to the song they'd just played and perching on her own amp.

Butch peered at Mitch interestedly from behind his drum kit. "You're going for a smoke?" He asked, forcing a nonchalant tone to his voice.

Buttercup looked up from her bass, cranking a brow at him.

"Mhmm." Mitch replied, retrieving a small bag of weed from the back pocket of his jeans.

"Dude, you can't smoke that near my house. My Mom isn't dumb, she'll smell it." Louie told him as he unplugged his own guitar.

"Louie - I know. I've known for the past 4 fucking years that we've hung out in your garage. I'll go for a stroll first before I light up. Like I always do. Anyone coming with?" Mitch asked as he retrieved rolling papers from his pocket too, and began to roll up a joint.

"I'm in." Harry said, getting to his feet with a stretch. "Especially if you're feeling like sharing."

"I'll come - but only to make sure you walk far enough away from the house." Louie muttered; Mitch rolled his eyes, then looked to Butch expectantly.

"Butch? You coming?"

He sent a longing look Mitch's way, his forest green eyes twinkling as he eyed up the spliff he held in his hand. But those avid green eyes trailed from the joint to Buttercup, tight lipped as she looked back down at her bass.

"Uhh, nah. I'll stay here." Butch said, sounding a little defeated.

"Oh yeah, you got those responsibilities of yours now, huh?" Mitch said with a grin.

"Uh huh." Butch murmured as Buttercup smirked.

Mitch, Harry and Louie left the latter's garage that they practised in, leaving Buttercup and Butch alone.

The green puff sighed at Butch's pouty face. "Do you wanna go with them? You can, if you want to."

"No no, it's fine." He huffed lightly, and she laughed.

"Butch, you know I don't have a problem with you smoking weed. You just can't do it all the time like Mitch and Harry do. Or get like, crazy fucking high - in case we get a call out."

"I know." He sighed.

She felt a little pity for him, and chuckled again, removing her bass from her front. "Look, it isn't to say we can't have any fun. Go catch up with them if you wanna. You haven't smoked in ages, you don't smoke half as much as you did since joining Team X. You can go if you want. A couple of drags on Mitch's joint will barely affect you anyway."

She watched him consider it for a second, but then he shook his head, throwing his drumsticks up in the air and catching them. "Naw, I'll stay here. If I go, you'll be left all alone."

Her brow arched with confusion. "So?"

He didn't wanna say it, but a tiny part of him didn't want to leave her on her own - in case her powers went all dodgy again. Not that he'd tell her that. "So, I can't leave my lady all lonesome." He teased, getting up to lace his hands around her waist, finding her round behind and giving it a light squeeze. She was the most addictive drug in existence to him as it was; staying here with her would be better than a few drags of Mitch's joint anyway.

She giggled at him, leaning against his chest. "Shut up." Her hands found his bottom and she squeezed it back. He squeaked at the action, and she giggled again. "You think I've never sat on my own in Louie's garage while they go and smoke before?"

"No, but still..." His hands slid up her waist and along her back, till he was cradling her face with them both. He angled it upwards so she was looking at him, and gently stroked the side of her face with one of his large thumbs. "You feeling okay?"

She sighed a small little sigh, unable to hold back the tiny smile that was playing about her lips. Maybe it was the pure, unfiltered affection in his eyes as he looked at her, and touched her so gently. She nodded in response. "I'm fine." He tilted his head in a questioning manner. "I am! I'm fine. I promise."

The green puff knew he was referring to her recent random power failure. Having only happened a few days ago, it had been pretty fresh on her mind too. And she knew it was still on his, as he'd been checking in on her a lot.

But she was trying to get on with things as normal, and forget about it. It was a one off, right? It would do no good to dwell on it.

"Okay." He mumbled huskily, lowering his lips to hers and catching them in a kiss. She melted against him, relishing in how those strong hands of his, often so rough and heavy, could also hold her so gently and lovingly too. "Hey," He said, pulling away to speak but then kissing her a couple of times more. She made a 'mm' noise against his lips in response. "Something you said the other day, I keep thinking about it."

"What's that?" She asked as he removed his lips from hers.

"When you said about your power loss being permanent, that it would change everything." He began.

"Right." She nodded. She remembered saying that amidst her trepidation.

"I said it wouldn't change us. And you said it would change everything. You really think things would be different between us if you lost your powers for good?"

She shrugged. "You don't?"

His lips curled in confusion and now he shrugged. "No.. So what, you think if you lost your powers tomorrow I'd lose interest in you?"

"Maybe not straight away.. I don't know - don't look at me like that! I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just being honest." He looked totally aghast at her comments. "It'd change our entire dynamic. You need someone you can square off with - someone who's equal to you. Who isn't going to let you walk all over them, figuratively and physically. And I know that, because I'm the same. If I suddenly didn't have my powers, it'd change things. It would!"

"I can't believe you think I'd just ditch you if you weren't super powered."

"I didn't exactly say that. I just think it'd change how you feel about me. I mean, one of the things that attracts you to me, whether we're enemies or whether we're not, one of the things that sucked you in is how powerful I am, right?"

His brow knotted as he contemplated her words. "Well, yeah, but -"

"So take that away and - it would change things. It would definitely change how you feel about me. Look, it'd change how I feel about me, too. I fucking hate it when I lose my powers. I feel so grey and pointless." She muttered in melancholic tones. "I literally don't know what I would do without them."

"Buttercup, you being powerful and strong isn't the only reason I'm with you." Butch said, taking a hold of one of her hands. "There's so many more reasons than that. It's one of them, I'll give you that - but that's not it. I'd actually say it's like a bottom rung reason, actually. And it kind of sucks that I'm having to spell that out."

She frowned at him.

"You are so much more than your superpowers. You're funny, and feisty, and witty. And strong minded and opinionated. In fact, you're powerful and strong without your powers! You front it like you're hard and cold, but really you're soft and warm - even though you don't want anyone to know that. But I know that." His hands coiled around her at his words. She cranked a brow at him, but was smiling. "You take no shit from anyone - and anyone who gives you shit oughta run a mile, cos you can give them a verbal lashing with that sharp tongue of yours - and damn, they better run quicker if it gets physical. You love fucking fiercely and loyally - and anyone receiving any type of your love is lucky to have it, cos it's protective and it's lasting. And do I even need to go into how fucking fine you are? This booty don't disappear when your powers go y'know!"

She laughed at him, wrapping her arms around him and holding onto him tightly. The green puff mumbled something against his chest that he didn't catch. "What was that?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, obviously." He grinned, leaning down and kissing her deeply.

"You know, you're way more than your powers too. If I am, you are." The raven haired teen informed him.

He scoffed and shook his head dismissively. "Me? Nah, I'm walking, talking trash."

She whacked him on the arm playfully.

---

He couldn't get it out of his head.

It had been a few days now, but Brick couldn't stop thinking about it.

He had dreamt about that monster. He'd seen Buttercup falling from the sky out of nowhere. And then it actually happened.

And this wasn't the first time something like this had happened recently. There had been a few minor things he'd noticed - and then decided to ignore. Small, insignificant things. Things it was easy to brush aside and put down to misremembering or just plain coincidence.

Items going missing that he could locate down to seeing their hiding place in a dream. Stopping drink spills or small accidents in the home before they happened due to some kind of strange deja vu or sixth sense.

He'd be out with Blossom or his brothers and suddenly realised he'd dreamt about the outing.

Was it just a coincidence? How else could it be explained?

The things going around in his head were borderline insane. Was he predicting things? Or just smoking too much weed? He'd tried to not do it too close to when he'd go to bed.. It wasn't like he was a heavy user anyway…

What the hell was going on with him?

The red ruff was distracted by a clanking sound; Boomer was at the front door with a heavily rattling backpack on his back. He knew what that sound meant.

"Where're you off to?" Brick asked him.

"Just out." Boomer muttered, opening the door and making to leave.

"Out where?" Brick pressed, his red eyes surveying his standoffish demeanour.

"Out. I'll be back later." Boomer said, once again trying to leave, but Brick spoke again and he halted with a sigh.

"Boomer."

"What?!" He all but growled.

"I thought we got over the graffiti phase?" Brick questioned, eyeing the bag on his blonde brother's back. He knew by the familiar sound it was making that it was likely full to the brim with spray cans. His blonde brother had had quite the penchant for graffiti when he was younger.

Boomer pouted a little, rearranging his rucksack - which clinked in response. "I'm not doing graffiti."

Brick cranked a brow at him.

"It's not graffiti! It's art!" Boomer insisted.

"That excuse didn't exactly fly last time, Boom." Brick commented, unable to hide the smirk that had appeared on his face.

"Whatever." Boomer muttered, shutting the door behind him and promptly leaving the apartment. Brick let him go, his mind wandering back to his own strange problems.

---

When Buttercup got home from band practice later that evening, the smitten little smile she'd struggled to wipe from her face was still there. Butch's words lingered in her mind, and prompted a seemingly never ending supply of red cheeks and soft smiles. How could someone who routinely flew into walls come out with such touching, moving words?

Butch Jojo sure was an anomaly. In the best of ways.

But the secret little smile playing about her lips soon disappeared when she entered the kitchen to find her blonde sister sitting at the table, looking extremely downtrodden.

In fact, she could see tears pooling in her sky blue eyes threatening to spill.

This wasn't hugely out of the ordinary; a particularly sad news story could set the blue puff into fits of tears. She was the most sensitive of the three of them without a doubt - but seeing her sister upset still got her back up, she was her sister after all. And she still had the natural urge to know what was wrong and to try and help her fix it.

"Bubbles, what's up?" Buttercup questioned, hovering over to the table she was sitting at.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Bubbles mumbled, sniffing and wiping at her face. Buttercup sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"That's not very convincing. What's the matter?"

"I'm upset with Boomer." Bubbles said simply, her voice mournful. Esmé wandered into the kitchen and began to reheat the coffee that was in the pot. Neither of the puffs greeted her or paid her any mind.

"What's he done?" Buttercup asked, sitting down beside her sister.

"He's not being honest with me." She whimpered, wiping at her eyes. "Do you remember what I told you about before?"

Esmé made a 'tsk'ing noise from behind them; they both turned to look in her direction. "Oh dear.. Does this happen to involve your dear sister?"

"Blossom?" Bubbles asked, looking at Esmé, who was staring into her baby blue eyes intently. "No, it's not about - what do you mean?"

"About her and Boomer.." Esmé said, her expression confused - as though she was certain they'd been talking about the same thing.

Blossom hovered into the kitchen, drinking the last of her mug of coffee as she approached the sink. Esmé sent a disapproving look the pink puff's way and spoke quietly. "Blossom and Boomer's little secret.. I'm guessing it's out, right?"

"What secret?" Bubbles asked, looking from Esmé to Blossom speculatively. The pink puff looked confused.

Esmé covered her mouth with the side of her hand, as if to block Blossom from hearing what she was about to say. "The secret hugging and kissing.. Oh, I'm so glad this is out in the open now and you're finally coming clean and clearing the air."

The redhead promptly began to choke on her drink.

"Wha - what?!" Bubbles shrieked as Blossom tried to catch her breath.

"What?!" The pink puff cried, flabbergasted.

"Oh, you weren't coming clean? Oopsy, my bad. Well, it's certainly all out in the open now!" Esmé grinned.

"Blossom.. What is she talking about? What is she saying?" Bubbles asked her sister, hesitant and becoming increasingly on edge.

"There was no 'secret hugging'! And certainly no kissing!" Blossom exclaimed, placing her mug down on the side.

"Umm, Blossie, that's not exactly true. I spied you two down the side of the house, all snuggled up pretty closely. It sure looked like you were kissing... I couldn't see much but you were pretty entwined in one another. You both seemed like you were pretty familiar with one another, too…" Esmé murmured, smiling wickedly as both Blossom and Bubbles' jaws dropped.

"Blossom…" Bubbles mumbled nervously.

"No! No! That's not what happened at all!" Blossom yelped.

"So you admit something happened?" The shit eating grin fell off of Esmé's face and she sighed, pursing her lips in a judgemental manner. "Listen girls, I wasn't going to say anything, your private affairs aren't anything to do with me -"

"Affairs?!" Blossom shrieked, but Esmé continued on.

"However, when I heard Bubbles was upset with Boomer, I just assumed it was about that. My goodness, whatever happened to girl code, hmm? Or more, sister code.. Maybe you should do the decent thing here and come clean, Blossie." Esmé stared deeply into Blossom's pink eyes, doing her very best to get the redhead to admit defeat and bend to her will. She tried extremely hard to sway her mind, and get her to own up to what Esmé had accused her of.

But she wouldn't budge.

She was so difficult to manipulate, and quite frankly it was exhausting. Esmé could only push her so far, minor things were much easier to manipulate her over. But if she felt too strongly about something it was useless. The filthy Angel just seemed to be able to beat her on certain topics, or more the feelings they elicited.

"Blossom…" Bubbles' bottom lip was wobbling now, a couple of big, wet tears dropping onto the blonde puff's cheeks. "Is what she's saying true?"

"Bubbles, no! No! It's not like that at all! Honestly, it's really nothing - I was a little upset, and, and Boomer was there, and he just kind of gave me a brief hug to make me feel better. There was absolutely no kissing!"

Esmé made a little scoff noise; the pink puff glared at her.

"Blossom you're not lying too, are you?" Bubbles wailed.

"Bubbles, no! I would never do that to you! Or to Brick! Why would I kiss his brother?!"

Esmé smiled all the more, intensifying the blue puff's response.

"It doesn't make sense. I mean, why were you alone with Boomer? That like, that never happens! And you're not a hugger, you don't hug anyone except for Brick and sometimes us. Why would you hug Boomer? You're not even close to Boomer. Not really... Is this why he is lying to me? Is this why he threatened Seb? Did Seb know? Does he like you now? Like everyone does? What is going on, Blossom?!" She'd gotten angrier as she'd asked more questions.

Blossom's jaw dropped again. "What?! No! Bubbles - this is getting wildly out of control - and everyone does not like me!"

"I have to ask, why on earth were the two of you tucked away down the side of the house if it was so innocent?" Esmé piped up. "I mean, it certainly looked like neither of you wanted to be seen…"

"Yeah Blossom, that is pretty suspish." Buttercup joined in now, after Esmé managed to catch her glance and gaze into her lime eyes for a few seconds. "If you were hidden away somewhere hugging Butch I'd wanna know why. What are you hiding? Spill!"

"Is something going on between you two?! Are you having some kind of weird, twisted little affair?!" Bubbles cried, an agonised whimper escaping her lips at the idea. "Just because he's never fallen at your feet like all the boys usually do, you have to ruin what we have!"

"What?! No! Bubbles listen to what you're saying! Of course I'm not having an affair with Boomer! And boys don't fall at my feet -"

Bubbles scoffed a little now, as did Buttercup. Blossom looked like they'd slapped her; she felt like it too.

The pink puff ran her hands through her hair in exasperation and took a deep breath. Losing her temper with them both right now wouldn't help at all. "I promise you it wasn't anything like that! Look, I had a letter from Melvin. And a visiting order. He wants me to go visit him in juvie."

Bubbles blinked, big tears hitting her cheeks as she frowned deeply; Blossom carried on talking.

"And after everything he did to me, everything he's done to me, it just got to me a little… Boomer found me upset and reassured me. My ice had gone haywire, and, and I was a little distraught. He hugged me, if you can even call it that, it was more… Holding.. Just to help me calm down.. But it was brief! That was all that happened. Nothing else."

Feeling that Bubbles' anger and anguish was dissipating, Esmé spoke up once more - she wasn't quite done having fun yet.

"And then afterwards, Blossom? You went off to Boomer's house. Together. I watched you go, hand in hand. And none of us can account for what happened while you were both there… Alone." Esmé murmured.

Fiery pink eyes flashed onto the brunette. She wasn't sure she could resist losing her temper with Esmé, however. "Nothing happened at their apartment! We did not fly off hand in hand - and we weren't alone. Brick was there, I was going there to see him! Because he is my boyfriend, and I was upset. Boomer was taking me to Brick! Bubbles, can you please hear what is being suggested here?! I am with Brick, you are with Boomer, do you really think, after everything, I would jeopardise two relationships?"

Bubbles swallowed hard, folding her arms across her chest. "Where are the letters?"

Blossom blinked. "What?"

"The letters, where are they? You said Melvin sent you letters. So show me them." The blonde's voice was cold; Esmé was really working her magic.

"I, I don't have them anymore. Brick burnt them." Blossom said, realising instantly how that would look.

Bubbles cranked a brow at her. "The only evidence you had, you don't have anymore?"

Blossom's jaw dropped.

"That's convenient." Esmé scoffed.

"Bubbles!" The redhead cried. "I don't need evidence! I am telling you what happened - I'm telling you the truth!"

"If you were upset, why didn't you just tell us?" Buttercup queried. "We were inside the house, right? Why was Boomer the only one to know? Since when do you go to him for comfort?"

"It wasn't - I didn't go to him! He found me, and I -"

Bubbles looked displeased. "Blossom, can you tell me what is going on? I don't appreciate being lied to. Actually, I'm getting pretty sick of being lied to by everyone."

"Bubbles! I'm not lying - I have told you what's going on! Come on!" Blossom cried, exasperated.

"Well, this is awkward…" Esmé muttered, folding her arms across her chest and blowing her hair from her face with one puff of air.

Blossom glowered at her. She retrieved her phone from her person. "I'm going to call Brick, and he will tell you what I am saying is true. He read the letter from Melvin, and he saw the visiting order."

Esmé's face fell. If Brick came over, that would spell the end of her fun. She hated his presence, he was the biggest roadblock of them all, she couldn't touch him. "Don't call him over." She snapped. "I mean - you don't need to drag him into this, do you? He won't be pleased to hear what you've been up to… It could get ugly. Plus, it's almost time for dinner."

The more Brick was around, the more difficult controlling their thoughts and feelings was. If her pot stirring - and entertainment - was going to continue, she needed that ruff to stay away.

"I have been 'up to' nothing! And you'll see that when you talk to Brick." Ignoring Esmé's demands, Blossom placed the phone to her ear and called her boyfriend.

---

Brick couldn't hold back the chuckle that had burst out of his mouth as he held his cell phone to his ear. Boomer, who was watching TV, peered at him curiously. As he did, the red ruff looked directly at him, and laughed once more. "She says you did what?!"

The blonde ruff sent a questioning look his brother's way as Brick listened to Blossom speaking to him down the phone. He scoffed, eyeing his brother, who was beginning to look confused. "And Bubbles seriously believes that?"

Boomer definitely looked confused now. "Bubbles believes what?"

Brick ignored him, continuing to listen to Blossom.

"Am I right in thinking Esmé is there, and getting involved in all this?" There was a pause. "Right, I guessed as much. Why don't you come over here, rather than me coming over to you. Then we can explain to Bubbles - away from Esmé - and make her see that that's absolutely ludicrous. Okay, see you in a moment. Bye." Brick hung his phone up, staring at it for a moment as a little incredulous noise came out of him before he pocketed it.

Boomer was hanging over the back of the sofa now, peering at him. "What's going on? What's up with Bubbles - what were you saying?"

"It appears that Esmé saw you comforting Blossom when she had a panic attack recently. She's told Bubbles she saw you 'hugging and kissing.'"

Boomer's cobalt eyes nearly fell out of his head. "What?! Are you fucking kidding me?! I didn't kiss her!"

"I know you didn't. As if you'd dare." He muttered, nonchalant.

"Brick, I wouldn't!" Boomer spluttered.

"I know."

"And Bubbles believes her?!" Boomer asked, getting to his feet.

"It would appear that way at the moment. Blossom said she was pretty upset by it all. I wouldn't take it to heart.. I think Esmé is trouble. She's clearly lying to cause shit between the girls."

"Why would I - I wouldn't -" Boomer spluttered until Brick cut him off.

"Boomer, I know. Don't worry - we'll sort it out. They're on their way over now."

A couple of minutes later and there was a buzz at the door; Brick let all three of them in - why Buttercup had tagged along he didn't know. But what he did know, was that just from looking at Bubbles, it was clear to see she was not happy. Her apparent anger looked unnatural on her.

Butch emerged from his bedroom holding his cell phone and looking confused. Buttercup had sent him a rather cryptic text message seconds ago alerting him to the drama. "We're kissing each other's girlfriends now?" He asked curiously, eliciting fresh rounds of chaos. "I didn't realise we had swapsies going on."

Bubbles gasped in dismay, her sky blue eyes flashing onto Boomer, who looked dumbfounded.

"What?! No! No! That did not happen! He was making a stupid joke! Nothing happened!" Boomer cried, looking from Butch to Bubbles then Brick - who was looking pretty amused by the entire thing and not one bit perturbed. He knew it wasn't true, so he didn't feel like he needed to be at all worried.

Blossom joined the red ruff's side, shaking her head vigorously. "Of course it didn't happen. This whole thing is ridiculous! As if I would kiss my sister's boyfriend - who is also my boyfriend's brother?!"

But Bubbles didn't look at all swayed. "I can't believe this! I can't believe I'm here having to have this conversation!"

"Bubbles, please -" Boomer began but she cut him off, turning on Blossom furiously.

"No! How could you kiss my boyfriend?!" She pointed an accusatory finger at the pink puff.

"Bubbles! Come on - I didn't!"

"And how could you kiss my sister?!" Bubbles asked, her finger now pointed at Boomer.

"I didn't kiss her!" Boomer cried. "Bubbles, you gotta believe me! Why would I do that? I love you! "

"Why would I kiss Boomer?!" Blossom asked, her face screwed up in confusion at the very notion of it, her index finger pointing at him as if to prove her point.

Boomer frowned. "Okay, I still have feelings."

Blossom rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. Bubbles immediately began to make her outrage known, and a back and forth between herself, Blossom and Boomer continued for a good 10 minutes, until Brick had had enough of it.

"All right, all right - LISTEN! Nobody fucking kissed anyone they shouldn't have - right, Boomer?" Brick spoke, silencing them all, before looking to his blonde brother for definitive clarification.

"Dude, I already told you, I didn't kiss your girlfriend!" Boomer exclaimed; Brick smirked, he'd mostly only asked to get that reaction from his blonde brother once more.

He ran his hands through his golden waves, finally turning towards Blossom. His cerulean eyes were desperate as he peered at her. "If you tell them, I will too."

With a light exhale, Blossom nodded. "Fine."

A pained whimper escaped Bubbles' lips as she began to cry some more. "Oh my god - I can't believe this!"

"No, Bubbles, - it's really not that -" Boomer began, approaching her, but she stepped away from him and towards Buttercup for comfort. "I have panic attacks." He spoke loudly and clearly, so he was heard over Bubbles' yelps. A small silence ensued, he carried on speaking. "Or more, I did - I haven't had one for a long time, like a year or something, but I do suffer from them. I used to a lot. And Blossom -"

"I had one in the Cayman Islands. When Melvin kidnapped me.. Brick was there, I'd never experienced something like it before. I've never felt so out of control. Brick comforted me, because he knew how to - he'd helped Boomer with it in the past and fortunately he was able to help me too. Recently, I opened the mailbox and found the letters from Melvin. And all the stuff he wrote - he wants me to visit him, and he spoke as though we were in a relationship and being kept apart - it was insane, and it just got to me. It took me right back there, and I had a panic attack. I tried to get down the side of the house to hide the fact it was happening so I could handle it on my own. But Boomer was coming to pick you up to go to school together." She looked to Bubbles directly now, who looked more upset than she had done before. "He found me down there, completely freaking out. My ice had gone haywire - and yes, okay, maybe there was a little bit of hugging - but it was not romantic. Purely platonic hugging. He just helped me calm down and come back to Earth. I would have probably passed out if he wasn't there, I couldn't catch my breath, and my ice was going insane. I completely lost control." She looked as though it pained her to admit it. Probably because it did.

Bubbles sniffed. "Oh. That doesn't sound like a big deal at all."

"It's not!" Both Blossom and Boomer spoke at the same time now.

A little silence filled the room.

"So, he just hugged you and helped you calm down, and then took you here to Brick?" Bubbles queried, her voice small.

"Yes!" Blossom and Boomer spoke in unison once more.

"No kissing?"

"None!" Blossom cried.

"No kissing whatsoever - Bubbles, why would I kiss someone else? Much less your own sister?!" Boomer asked her, approaching her now and taking her hands in his - relief flooding him when she actually let him.

"I know you wouldn't, I don't know why I thought for even a second… I just got scared… I guess I panicked too…" Bubbles mumbled, her baby blues flashing him an apologetic look.

"I should have just told you about the panic attacks. Both of you." The pink puff said, looking from her blonde sister to her brunette one. "I felt stupid, and weak… We've dealt with things of a similar nature in the past and it hasn't elicited this reaction in me. I guess that's why I feel like it's an irrational reaction."

Bubbles looked over to her sister with wide eyes, approaching her. "Don't be so silly, Blossom! It's not irrational at all! Melvin has terrorized you for years! It's no wonder what he did has left a mark."

"Yeah, and what with how fucking hysterical he is, anything could have happened.. Anything probably would have happened eventually if you'd not managed to escape as soon as you did. So it's no shock at all it spooked you. It would freak anyone out. We're all just glad anything didn't happen, and you got out of it okay." Buttercup added, all of them knowing what she meant by anything.

Brick's vision had clouded with anger at her words. If the 'anything' Buttercup spoke of had happened, he'd likely be the one serving time right now. And Melvin would be dead.

"I guess so.. But still -" Bubbles cut the redhead off.

"No buts, okay? You went through trauma and this is how your body is trying to process it." She looked at Boomer then. "It's normal. Not weak or stupid. And I wish you'd told me. Both of you."

Both Blossom and Boomer mumbled out a sorry.

Vibrant blue eyes locked onto cerulean blue ones. She folded her arms across her chest. "Boomer, do you have anything else you need to tell me?"

Boomer paused, thinking deeply. He looked very much like a child, caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Swallowing hard, he slowly shook his head. "No… I don't think so.. But I feel like you're gunna tell me that I do…"

Bubbles' blonde brow arched, and she nodded firmly. "Okay. Okay, fine. We're doing this. I know you're not being completely honest with me about something, Boomer Jojo." He swallowed hard, half enjoying her firm tone and half feeling fearful of it. "I haven't been completely honest with you about something, either. And now, that's going to change."

The blonde ruff blinked in confusion. "What? Bubbles what do you -"

She put her hand up to stop him from speaking. "I'll be back in a minute."

With that, she left the apartment. After a couple seconds of stunned silence, the five remaining teenagers made a beeline to the balcony to try and see what the hell was going on.

They immediately spotted the blue puff to the side of the apartment building, crouched down by a dumpster. They had to crane their necks and hover to see her around the corner and in the dim light of the evening.

"Bubbles! What are you doing?! Come back up here so we can talk!" Boomer called down to her, but she ignored him.

"Err, is she in the trash?" Butch asked.

"Umm, yup. It looks like she's in the trash. And uhh -" Buttercup paused briefly for confirmation. She could hear her sister squeaking. "Yup."

"Oh no." Blossom groaned, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What?" Boomer asked, panic rising in him.

"She's really not told you about this?" Buttercup questioned the extremely confused blue ruff.

"What? About what?!"

"Yeesh." Buttercup muttered. "This'll be fun."

"Oh no," Blossom groaned as she watched her sister open her hands and allow a small grey rat to hop onto them. "Bubbles not a rat. Something else, not a rat."

"She's got a rat?!" Boomer asked. "What the hell is going on?!"

Bubbles disappeared, and a couple of seconds later she was back upstairs in the apartment, the rat still cradled in her hands.

"Bubbles, why are you petting a rat?! What the hell does this have to do with anything?" Boomer asked, baffled.

"This is Regina." Bubbles said firmly. A small, perplexed silence ensued, which Brick broke.

"I don't give a fuck what it's name is, get it out of my apartment!" The red ruff hollered. But Bubbles was undeterred.

"She lives in the dumpster at your apartment building, and surrounding areas, but mostly there. She likes it here because you leave a lot of pizza leftovers in the box which she enjoys to eat, particularly the pepperoni meat feast." Bubbles explained.

Butch, Brick and Boomer cranked a brow at her, thoroughly confused.

Buttercup groaned, as did Blossom, covering her face in her hand.

"Umm, okay - Bubbles, sweetie, do you need to sit down?" Boomer asked, touching her arm gently.

"No, I don't. I'm fine - I know all this because I can speak to animals. I can understand them." Bubbles said plainly.

Boomer blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

Butch rubbed at his face. "I have not smoked anything today, I swear down. I said no when Mitch asked."

Bubbles bent down to place the rat onto the carpet.

"Oh my god can we not with the rat in my apartment?!" Brick cried once more.

The blonde puff, still crouched down beside the rodent, frowned. "Please ignore him." The rat squeaked a couple of times. "I know, he's very rude." Brick scowled; Bubbles cleared her throat. "Regina, could you stand up on your back feet for me?"

The rat did exactly as she asked. "Do a little twirl? Maybe jump up and down? Oh my god Regina, you are so clever! Thank you so much! I'm really sorry to disturb your day. You can go back to your home now."

Regina squeaked in response, and Bubbles nodded. "Oh yeah, I wouldn't visit inside here again either. It's full of smelly boys. The dumpster is safer. Bye Regina! Thanks for your help!"

The rodent squeaked as she scampered out of the open front door.

Without looking anyone in the eye, Bubbles hovered over to the kitchen and began to wash her hands with soap.

She knew all eyes were on her, or at least the boys' were.

"Bubbles that is fucking amazing!" Boomer cried, breaking the silence.

The blue puff turned to him with a small, concealed smile as she dried her hands on the dish towel. "Really?"

"Yes! Why have you never told me about this?"

"I don't know…" The blonde shrugged. "It can freak people out."

"Why would it freak me out? I can make water fall from the sky -"

"It's called rain, dude." Butch interrupted with a smirk.

"I know!" Boomer snapped, before continuing. "I can hold electricity in my palms! Which isn't normal, is it?"

"I know.. But the animal thing creeps some people out. I've learned to tune it out as I've gotten older.. When I was a kid, well, it could get pretty loud. Now I don't often hear it unless I'm trying to find it." She explained with a small shrug.

"Bubbles.. It's fucking awesome. You shouldn't have kept this from me." The blue ruff muttered, downtrodden.

"I'm sorry that I did. I had planned to tell you at some point.. But the right time never arrived.."

"You should have, it's fucking amazing!" Boomer's face had lit up, she could tell his words were sincere.

She couldn't not smile back at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah! I mean knowing what is going on in an animal's mind - how sick is that? Can we find a turtle and talk to it? One that's old as shit - imagine all the stuff it's lived through!" He looked truly mystified by the idea. "Imagine having a conversation with a fucking turtle. Ooh! Or an axolotl!"

She giggled, approaching him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I wonder if I can do it too and I just haven't unearthed it yet - Buttercup learnt about her shield late, surely it could be a possibility that -"

"Boomie." Bubbles spoke, interrupting him.

He looked down at her. "Yeah?"

"Do you have anything to tell me in return - that you've been keeping from me?"

The awed smile fell off his face. He looked over at his brothers and her siblings, wishing they weren't privy to this conversation. "This is about Seb, right?"

The blue puff flashed him a knowing look, and he sighed.

"I did warn him off. I don't know why I did it, I was just - I was jealous." The blonde ruff admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Because you think he has a crush on me?" Bubbles asked, and Boomer shrugged.

"Well yeah - because he does have a crush on you! He's always staring at you -"

Bubbles shook her head and cut him off. "Boomer, you're way off. He doesn't have a crush on me! He has a crush on Mike! All this staring you think you were seeing was probably aimed at him!"

Boomer looked shocked. "He's - he's gay?"

"He's bi."

"So, so he could have had a crush on you…" Boomer reasoned. Bubbles looked unimpressed.

"He wasn't trying to get close to me, he was trying to get close to one of my best friends, Mike - whom by the way has been my super close boy best friend for years and you have never gotten funny about. Mike is a boy, yet you've never seen him as a problem!"

"Because I know Mike is like your brother, you'd never date him." Boomer brushed it off.

Buttercup burst his bubble. "She did date him."

Boomer looked mortified. "WHAT?!"

"In Junior high!" Bubbles cried, whacking him on the arm lightly. "For like a week!"

"Did you kiss?!" Boomer asked.

"Yes! Innocently, but yes!"

"Oh my god!" Boomer howled; Bubbles rolled her eyes.

"Boomer please! You have got to stop with this!" She clutched at his face and forced him to look at her. "I love you!"

"I love you too." Boomer promised her.

"And I don't appreciate being lied to." The blue puff scolded.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied, I don't know why I did any of it. I was just scared you'd leave me for someone better… It just feels inevitable that at some point -"

"I don't want so-called better! I want you, you idiot!" Bubbles shrieked at him.

He couldn't hold back the smile that spread across his face. "I'm sorry." He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her.

"Apology accepted." She mumbled against his chest.

"So, Mike is.." Butch murmured, his words trailing off.

"Yes, Mike is bisexual. He only just told me the other day, and granted me permission to tell you all, to put an end to all this." Bubbles explained.

"Good for him, man." Butch nodded.

"I've had a feeling for years." Buttercup chipped in; to which Blossom rolled her eyes.

"You did not."

Bubbles gripped at Boomer's shirt, making him look down at his plucky girlfriend once more. "You're going to apologise to Seb."

Boomer huffed. "Fine."

"And you're never going to lie to me again!"

"I won't, I won't! You could do me a solid and not so easily believe I'd actually kiss one of your sisters, too." Boomer added, not being able to sidestep the hurt that she had initially believed he'd do that had caused him.

The blonde puff suddenly looked guilty now. "I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me. I know you wouldn't do that…" She turned towards her redheaded sister, her bitter words from the kitchen at home coming to her mind. "Blossom, I said some awful things -"

"It's fine… You were upset. You should know I'd never do that though…" Blossom brushed her off.

"No, I was way out of line! What I said about boys always falling at your feet -" Bubbles began but Blossom cut her off.

"It's fine."

"But it's not fine… I was really nasty. I was so angry. And in that moment, when Esmé started saying all that she thought she saw, I really thought you'd do that to me. What is wrong with me? Why did I think for one second you'd kiss my Boomie? I know you'd never do something like that, plus you're so super in love with Brick, you wouldn't mess things up with him like that..." Bubbles muttered, extremely irritated with herself.

Blossom's cheeks went bright red at her sister's words, and Brick felt a smirk spread across his face. He nudged her foot with his own, and she smirked now too, nudging his foot back. She cleared her throat to compose herself a little, but Brick could still see her blush. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Bubbles. Esmé seems to have a way about her…"

"By that do you mean she's shady as hell?" Brick queried, all eyes flitting to him. "You don't agree?" He continued. "Everything is weird when she's around. You guys were super pissed at Blossom and Boomer when you got here. Because of shit she said. She had you believing they'd cheat with each other. But now you're away from her you can see how stupid that whole thing was."

Nobody spoke at first, everyone mulling over his words.

"What are you saying, that she can control minds or something?" Boomer asked, laughing midway through his sentence, well aware of how silly it sounded.

Brick shrugged. "I don't know, I don't know what it is that she does, but I'm starting to see a pattern. Everyone likes her, or at the very least tolerates her when they're with her; you're all polite and civil - and then when she isn't around, you hate her. The things she says and does, you all agree and go along with it in the moment, and then when you're apart from her you're all pissed at her. You're going against things she said that before you agreed with her about. It's fucking weird."

Buttercup's jade eyes darted across the room and met Butch's forest green ones. They exchanged a glance, both of them thinking about what had happened between them and Esmé. It made sense. What Brick was saying made sense for what happened to them.

The green puff thought back to how angry she was at Esmé for flirting with Butch, how she'd been adamant she was going to tear her off a new one for behaving so inappropriately. Yet she'd walked away having apologised to the woman. And she was unable to explain why.

And before that, how they'd both disappeared upstairs to the spare bedroom at Esmé's say so, the spare bedroom beside her father's room, that they were strictly NOT allowed to share with their boyfriends. The one she'd never dream of sharing with Butch knowing full well her father was sleeping next door, let alone being so bold as to have sex with him in it - without protection!

And yet… That's precisely what happened. And neither of them felt they could explain it.

Her stomach turned at the memory; the lack of birth control, the pharmacy in Citiesville, the lack of thought that had gone on… She pushed it all to the back of her mind, that uncomfortable, unsettling feeling taking over as it did whenever she thought of that troubling incident.

She'd felt totally out of control of the entire matter. Was that because Esmé had been in control?

Buttercup and Butch weren't the only ones contemplating what the red ruff was saying. Everyone in the room was going over weird scenarios in their head that Esmé had somehow commandeered.

No one could disagree with him.

"God, you're right.. What the hell do we do?" Bubbles asked. "Try and talk to the Professor, maybe?"

"That, and stay the hell away from her." Butch added. "She's bad news."

"How exactly do we do that? She lives in our house!" Buttercup replied in exasperation.

"Stay here." Butch shrugged; she smiled at him. "At least, as often as you can, anyway."

"But what about the Professor?" Blossom asked. "What if she is up to something and she's, I don't know, warping his mind or something? What if he has no idea?"

"Doesn't help that they're always together." Boomer said. "Since the moment he met her they've literally been joined at the hip. And that's coming from me." He emphasised his point by gripping Bubbles tighter - she was quite literally joined to his hip; she giggled in response.

"I guess the only thing we can do is split them up and see if there's a change in his behaviour. And stay the fuck away from Esmé as much as you possibly can." Brick suggested with a frown.

---

Brick had arrived at school the next morning feeling somewhat assured by the conversation himself, the girls and his brothers had had at their apartment about Esmé. Everyone had seemed on the same page. They'd all been in agreement that something fishy was going on.

He was quite keen to hear how things had gone down when the girls had gone home the evening prior, especially after the whole 'kiss' episode. But he'd had to wait to properly get to talk to his counterpart; what with school and lessons going on. Fortunately, they had a study session in World History in their first period. But Blossom Utonium wasn't exactly one to put learning aside to chatter. Whether she would be willing to stop studying to talk to him was another matter altogether, knowing how dedicated his girlfriend was to her education.

He was going to try anyway.

Glancing over at their teacher briefly, the red ruff lowered his head slightly and peered at his counterpart. "Hey," He murmured. She didn't pause her writing but made a 'hmm' noise in response. "How did things go when you got home yesterday evening? With Esmé?"

At the word 'Esmé', she looked over at him.

"Oh - it's fine, all sorted now."

The red ruff cranked a brow at her. "It's fine?"

"Mhmm." She nodded, her rose eyes finding her workbook once more.

"Bloss, she accused you of kissing Boomer." His voice lowered considerably, not wanting someone to hear and start spreading that across the school. As if they needed that to contend with as well at the moment.

"I know, but she apologised." Blossom shrugged.

"That's it? Just, 'she apologised?'"

"Everyone makes mistakes, Brick. We can't all be perfect beings like yourself." She murmured with a sarcastic smirk.

He smirked back at her briefly. "Ha ha. Seriously, she says she's sorry and everything is cool?"

"What can I say, she misread things and thought she was helping by telling Bubbles." Blossom said, her pencil finding her paper again, jotting down the first few lines of a sentence.

"Yeah, who in turn really laid into you about it." Brick reminded her.

Blossom rolled her eyes lightly. "She wasn't that bad."

"She said so herself - she apologised for how mad at you she was. She said she said some horrible things - something about boys falling at your feet?"

Her pencil hovered over the next word; Brick noticed she'd paused. Her expression had turned from relaxed to troubled. "She said something along the lines of me having to ruin what they have because Boomer's never fell at my feet like all the boys apparently do."

Brick's brows rose slightly. "Jeez…"

He watched her attempt to hide her distress, a little smile appearing on her face. "She didn't mean it. The Professor has said worse to me since Esmé moved in, anyway... Home's not a fun place to be at the minute." Her tone was bordering on facetious; as though she was only joking around, but he could tell there was meaning behind every word. As though hiding how she was truly feeling behind humour made it easier to speak about.

It was something he and his brothers had done their entire lives to cope with various traumas they'd faced over the years; he was more than familiar with the coping mechanism.

But as they say, many a true word is spoken in jest.

"What? What has the Professor said?" He asked her.

She looked up at him, sensing his serious tone.

"Oh, it's silly, really.. It was like, a little while ago too, it's silly to still be holding onto it. I was only kidding when I said -"

"What did he say?"

"It was when Esmé moved in. I was freaking out, for obvious reasons... And I commented on how fast it was, and he got really cross. Like, he was mad at me and said I was making it a problem. He said he didn't make our relationship a problem - when he apparently had good grounds to." Blossom told him in hushed tones. The red ruff's brow cranked in response. He hadn't expected it to be about him in any way.

"Oh."

"And then he just said some horrible things."

"Like what?"

"It doesn't matter, he was just upset, and -"

Brick cut her off. "If it upsets you, it matters."

She sighed lightly. "I had a little hickey on my neck."

The guilt grew on his face. "Uhhh.. My bad?"

She smirked briefly. "It was tiny, I thought it was hidden. It's not like they stay there for weeks on us either, because of the X.. But he saw it, and was calling me out on the fact he was okay with me dating 'the boy who tried to kill me for 12 years, who likes to leave marks on my body.'" Brick was visibly surprised by her words. "He called it my ugly scar." She whispered, clearly hurt.

"He said that?"

She nodded, and a small silence followed.

"Was Esmé there?" The red ruff queried.

"Standing right beside him."

Brick grew quiet again, and Blossom watched him intently. She could see his mind whirring over, contemplating and configuring. The pink puff couldn't decide if it was out of anger or confusion.

"Brick, I didn't tell you because I didn't want things to be awkward around my Dad.. I don't want you to think that's what he really thinks about our relationship. He was just mad and, and -"

"It's her." Brick said decidedly. "Things weren't like this before. It's definitely her."

She looked unsure. "He said it, not her…"

But Brick was sceptical. "It's fucking her. She's up to something. She does something."

"I don't know.. He's got a point." Blossom murmured. Brick's scarlet eyes snapped onto her.

"He's got a point? He calls your scar ugly, something he knows bothers you -"

She butted in. "It doesn't bother me that much anymore…"

"He'd never speak to you like that before." Brick said, shaking his head.

"Before what?"

"Before her." He answered bluntly.

"I didn't mean he was right about my scar. I meant about Esmé, and us. He could have kicked up a fuss about us dating. And about Bubbles and Boomer, and Butch and Buttercup. But he didn't." She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "He supported us. Without question. So, we have to support him back."

Brick didn't look that convinced. "But don't you think what I said before -"

"I know she can be a bit much. She's a pot stirrer, and sticks her nose into everyone else's business. But she makes the Professor happy. We have to let it go." He couldn't help but notice how pained she sounded saying that.

"I still don't trust her."

She sighed lightly, but smiled. "Well, you're not a people person. And that's okay."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her. She turned back to her work, and he watched her rose eyes scanning what she'd already written for a few seconds, before exhaling lightly.

No, he really wasn't convinced by all this. Something fishy was most certainly going on. The red ruff couldn't help but feel like his other half had agreed with him whilst away from Esmé's company, and then when she'd been back in it for a period of time, she'd come back with a different mindset.

If anything, it just proved his theory of sorts even more. She seemed to have some kind of influence over people. He knew that sounded ridiculous, but he didn't know how else to explain it… Whether it was something magical or mystical he didn't know. But he couldn't discount it, given that he himself was a super powered teenager, originally created in a jailhouse toilet, killed by a kiss, resurrected by the Devil, whom he'd subsequently sold his soul to, then been saved by his also super powered girlfriend, who apparently had Angelic powers.

Yeah, nothing was impossible in their world.

Even your dreams could potentially predict what would happen…

Pushing those thoughts aside, he went back to thinking about Esmé. Was she capable of some kind of magic? Able to coerce you to her whim? Or was it literally just her good looks and apparent charm? He didn't like to admit she was a beautiful woman, but she was. Not that he'd make that opinion known to anyone. That alone shouldn't be enough to completely change a person, could it? Surely not.

Esmé Savino certainly had a way of working people. And Brick knew for sure that he didn't like or trust it.

---

"Buttercup. Buttercup, come on, it's 7.50am. You're gunna be late if you don't get your butt out of bed." Blossom said, nudging her sleepy sister's shoulder a couple of times. "Look, Esmé made you coffee, come on."

The green puff grunted in response, but she did move. Blossom placed the mug of coffee she'd been holding down on her sister's bedside table. Once she was sitting upright, Buttercup took it and began to drink from it. "How does that woman make such nice coffee?" She queried, as though it pained her to compliment her father's girlfriend.

Blossom smirked as she sat at her vanity and began to brush through her long, red locks. "I have no idea. Come on, you better get ready."

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered, taking another large gulp.

A soft knock on the door distracted them both. "Come in!" Blossom called, the same time Buttercup grunted out a "What?"

"Only me." Esmé said, opening their bedroom door. Buttercup clutched at her bedding to cover her dignity a little. She did have pyjamas on, but the strappy vest top didn't leave a hell of a lot to the imagination. Esmé had noticed her attempt to cover herself. "Oh, nothing I haven't seen before!" She winked. Buttercup blushed a little, sipping some more of her coffee.

Esmé smiled in a pleased manner as she watched the raven haired puff drinking the coffee she'd made her. The coffee laced with prototype B of her Chemical X blocker. Since she'd drugged the unsuspecting Powerpuff with prototype A a little under a week ago, she'd spent every waking hour in the lab perfecting her second try.

Prototype B should last longer in her system, and take even less time to break down and be absorbed. Theoretically, anyway.

But, after having popped the pill into the coffee she'd made for the green puff, Blossom had appeared out of nowhere and offered to take it to her; whisking the cup from her hand before she could protest. The scientist had almost snatched it back from her, but resisted, unsure if Buttercup would even accept the wake-up-call coffee from her - without some persuading, anyway.

She was content at the sight of the brunette sipping the coffee like it was a lifeline. But then she realised both Blossom and Buttercup were glancing at her with expectant looks.

"I was just checking you were up - time's ticking by! You don't want to be late for school. Drink your coffee, then you better get yourself downstairs for some breakfast. I've made french toast!" Her dark russet eyes stared deeply into Buttercup's light lime ones, and she nodded in reply, knocking back the rest of her morning coffee.

"K." She muttered, wiping at her mouth and throwing her covers back to get up and do as Esmé had instructed.

"Shouldn't you get dressed first? We have to leave in like half an hour, Bubbles has already left to meet Boomer, you should really -" Blossom asked as she began to weave a section of her hair into a braid.

Esmé interrupted her sharply. "She's fine. You know what they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eat first, then get dressed."

Buttercup shrugged, following Esmé downstairs. Blossom sighed lightly, before continuing to finish doing her hair.

---

"Yo, this french toast is tasty as hell." Buttercup said, her mouth full of said french toast.

Esmé smiled warmly as she dunked Bubbles' plate into the hot soapy water in the sink. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. There's nothing like a hearty breakfast. 'One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast.'"

The Professor smiled soppily at Esmé. "Robert A. Heinlein." He commented.

She nodded with a flutter of her lashes at him.

"You really are my dream woman, Esmé." The Professor sighed, before looking down at his newspaper once more. She giggled as she continued to wash dishes.

"I did not request a side order of sap with my french toast." Buttercup said, getting to her feet. "So I'm gunna just go get dressed before I barf -" She stopped herself short, glancing down at her legs.

"Is everything okay dear?" The Professor asked, removing his reading glasses slightly to look at her.

"No. No, no no - not again! I can't hover! I can't fly! No, no this can't be happening again!" Buttercup yelped, immediately going into meltdown at the realisation that her powers had seemingly stopped once again. She clutched at her head in despair as the Professor jumped up to be at her side.

Esmé sucked her lips between her teeth to hide her smile. Prototype B had worked fast. It had been just shy of 10 minutes, if that. She was feeling pretty impressed with herself. But she couldn't let them see that.

She cleared her throat and placed the plate she'd been washing down into the hot water, drying her hands on the dish towel and approaching the Professor and the distressed puff.

"Buttercup, calm down sweetheart." The Professor said, placing his hand on her arm, but she shrugged it off, taking a step away from them both.

"I can't calm down! Why, why?! Why is this happening to me?" Buttercup hollered.

"What's going on?" Blossom asked, appearing at the door. Buttercup glanced at her and immediately noticed she was hovering. It made genuine pain pang in her chest.

"Oh my god, what is wrong with me Professor?!" Buttercup cried, removing her hands from her head and holding them out in front of her, looking at them as they did absolutely nothing she wanted them to. Her super powers had gone again. "They're gone, they're just gone - no gradual loss this time just, just everything - gone!"

"This is most perplexing - try to calm down sweetie -"

"Perhaps we should go down to the lab, Johnny?" Esmé proposed, placing her arm on the Professors and looking into his eyes. He nodded, managing to drag his gaze from hers back to Buttercup.

"Come on Cupcake, let's go down to the lab - Blossom, could you let school know Buttercup won't be in today, please?" The Professor instructed the pink puff as he guided Buttercup towards the lab.

She nodded in response, looking stricken.

"Let Butch know too." Buttercup called to her, before disappearing into the lab. Brow furrowed, Blossom turned towards the front door. Trying to ignore the heavy worry in the pit of her stomach, she left for school alone, wishing she could stay and be of some service to her afflicted sister.

---

The grim look on the Professor's face as he stood at his desk was enough for Buttercup to know that whatever it was he was looking at wasn't showing him what he wanted to see. He turned slightly so his back was to her, holding her blood sample up to the light to get a better look at it.

"Let me guess, no Chemical X?" She asked, struggling to hide the anguish in her voice.

"Not at the moment, I'm afraid." He replied with a light sigh. "How are you feeling?"

"Pointless." She grumbled, folding her arms across her chest as she sat on the medical cot.

The Professor frowned. "Don't be silly, sweetie. Are you feeling at all ill?"

"No. I feel fine, besides the all consuming depression not having my powers brings me." She muttered mirthlessly.

"Here," Esmé said, holding a syringe filled with jet black Chemical X aloft. "50ml of Chemical X as a starting point."

"Do you think that's a good idea, Esmé?" The Professor asked.

"When this happened before every time you stuck me with X I felt like death." Buttercup muttered, eyeing the syringe warily.

"Well, what else are we to do?" Esmé queried, resting her hand on her hip, still holding the needle.

"I suggest we monitor and test her blood regularly. Her observations are all as they should be at the moment. And she says she feels okay generally. There is one other thing I would like to test for…" He'd gone a little quiet at his last sentence. Buttercup opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about, but sudden, rapid banging on the door distracted them all.

The Professor darted up the stairs and opened the sealed lab door. "Oh, Butch - how did you - shouldn't you be at school?"

"Professor, I'm sorry, I did knock on the front door, but no one answered - I couldn't stay at school knowing Buttercup isn't okay. I just want to see her - hey, are you okay? Are you alright? Blossom said your powers went again - are you okay? What's going on?" Butch's emerald eyes were frantic as he glanced over the Professor and spied Buttercup sitting on a medical cot.

"I'm fine, I guess." Buttercup replied with a defeated sigh. "We have no idea what's going on.. But they just vanished again. No slow fading this time just -" She clicked her fingers. "Gone. Professor, can he stay for a bit?"

"I suppose he can stay for a little while." The Professor agreed, allowing him to walk down the laboratory stairs before following behind him.

Esmé was re-administering the Chemical X back into its beaker a little sullenly. She had quite enjoyed watching the puff suffer before. But she'd drop it, after all, she could still monitor how long prototype B was effective for via the recurrent blood samples. And it didn't take a genius to see how miserable having no superpowers made her feel without the symptoms the Chemical X brought her before.

"This is quite baffling." The Professor murmured, brow crinkled. "If this continues, you'll have to come off duty."

Buttercup suddenly looked heartbroken. "What?! Why?!" She asked, as Butch scooped her hand up and gave it a gentle squeeze briefly - the Professor had also approached her bedside, prompting him to let it go and keep his hands to himself.

Professor Utonium cranked a brow at her. "Because if this keeps happening it's going to put you in potentially fatal danger. What if you're mid monster fight like last time, or even a bank robbery? Imagine your powers go and you get pelted with bullets, or stood on by a monster? Sweetheart, you could be killed."

"But, but - they came back! My powers did come back, all by themself!" Buttercup cried.

"It took 4 hours, Buttercup."

"But they did come back! It's probably random! Probably uhh, hormone related, maybe? Like you said before, hormone acceleration, or something - I'm a teenager, my hormones are rampaging, right? Maybe it's that? Maybe it'll just stop soon…" She sounded more as though she was trying to convince herself than them.

At her words, the Professor suddenly looked uncomfortable. He frowned, straightening his lab coat out and murmuring under his breath.

Not being able to make out what he said, no super hearing, Buttercup watched her father intently.

"Professor, what else was it you wanted to test?" The green puff questioned, watching him walk up to his workstation, Esmé joining his side as he continued to mutter to himself. "Professor?"

"Everything okay, Johnny?" Esmé asked him.

"Oh yes, yes. Just, just something that could be worth… Hypothetically, it's worth testing. I didn't test for it before - didn't want to face that possibility. Didn't want to even consider it but.. But maybe, maybe it's worth, maybe I'm being old fashioned or, stubborn, maybe I should -"

Buttercup flashed Butch a look of concern.

"Professor, what is it?" Butch asked, but he didn't answer him, he was muttering quietly to Esmé, who had placed her hand on his upper arm. His expression was as though he were embarrassed.. And he'd gone very red.

"What are they saying?" Buttercup asked him, knowing if he zoned in on them he'd at least be able to hear them.

"Johnny, honey - are you thinking maybe it could be hormonal in a different manner?" Esmé spoke in a low voice. The Professor nodded, looking abashed. He wanted someone else to address this because he just couldn't bring himself to do it. "Are you thinking she could be.." She leant forward and whispered in his ear. The Professor nodded mournfully in response. With a knowing smile, she nodded. "Let me."

With that she turned and approached Buttercup's bedside; both Butch and Buttercup looked thoroughly confused.

"Buttercup, doll - the Professor's a bit too embarrassed to ask… When was your last menstrual period hon'?" Esmé asked softly.

Buttercup froze, feeling her cheeks heat up immediately at the question. "My last period? Why do you need to know that?" Her eyes bugged as realisation of what they were insinuating hit her. The penny hadn't dropped for Butch yet, he still looked confused.

Esmé smiled encouragingly. "I think you know why, dear. So can you remember when it was?"

"Uhh, I dunno, like a month ago or something. Maybe a bit longer, or less - I don't know off the top of my head. But, but - you think I'm pregnant?! " Buttercup cried. Butch went pale as a sheet.

"It's certainly worth ruling out, right? It could be why your powers keep failing.. Perhaps your body is focussing on keeping someone else going." Esmé shrugged, turning to the Professor, who had his back turned to them still.

"What?! I can't - I can't be - I'm 18!" Her lime eyes darted to the white lab coat on her father's back. "Plus, you have to have sex to get pregnant and I don't - we don't do that. Right Butch?" She nudged him, her voice forced as she blatantly lied.

Butch didn't appear to be present in the room.

Esmé cocked a brow at them both, placing her hands on her hips. "Come now, do we look like fools? Of course you're both sexually active." She looked from Buttercup's eyes to Butch's.

The Professor gripped at his workstation surface hard.

"But, but - we use protection!" Butch muttered. Buttercup's mouth fell open. If looks could kill, Butch would be dead on the ground. Was he even aware that her Dad was right there?!

The Professor turned rapidly, his expression dark, fists clenched into tight, angry balls. Stiffly, he stalked over towards them, angry chestnut eyes boring into the green ruff. Butch swallowed as Esmé stepped in front of him and placed her hands on the Professor's chest.

"Johnny, I think you need to calm down! We've talked about this! You're a father of teenage girls! They're 18 years old, they're going to have sex whether you like it or not. You mustn't be so uptight, what do you expect they're up to, hmm?" Her hand reached up to his cheek, stroking it gently as she forced him to look into her eyes and stop staring a startled looking Butch down.

Buttercup covered her face in her hands. "This is a nightmare. Wake me up, somebody please ."

The Professor visibly calmed, little did the puff and ruff know it was only down to Esmé's influence. Had she not intervened, Butch may have had a chromanium alloy syringe filled with Antidote X hanging out of his arm by now.

"Yes, I know you're right. I know. Sorry for my reaction. I'm glad to hear you're both practising safe sex."

"Oh my god, oh my godddd - kill me. Butch, please just do it now, it'll be easy without my powers, this is unbearable." She reached for her counterpart's hand and placed it around her neck momentarily. He pulled it away - and that was when she noticed he was trembling.

He was trembling because he was panicking. Because they did have unprotected sex, just under a month ago.. Had it gotten her pregnant? Had he gotten her pregnant? But they'd gone and got the morning after pill. He thought that had meant everything would be okay. Surely she wasn't pregnant. She couldn't be!

"Butch?" Buttercup asked, noting the state of shock he seemed to be in.

"I don't think he's present in the room." Esmé murmured, walking up to him and placing her hand on his cheek. Buttercup felt her hackles go up instantly. "Butch, sweetie, calm down. If she is pregnant, it'll be okay. I promise, it'll be okay." Her voice was soft and warm as she spoke to him; Butch looked at her and the feeling of annoyance that she was standing so close and touching him disappeared as he looked at her, replaced with relief.

"You're right. Yeah.. I guess it'll be okay…" He didn't sound too sure as he spoke, but he certainly felt calmer. Esmé smiled in a satisfied manner, before returning to the Professor's side at his workstation; he was looking over Buttercup's blood sample.

The green puff flashed her other half an irritated look. "Be okay?! Are you crazy? It'd be a nightmare! I'm not spitting out no kid!"

Butch shrugged, running his hands through his black spikes.

Glancing at her father, Buttercup pulled Butch's sleeve to bring him closer to her. "How effective is the morning after pill? I mean, I took it not even 24 hours after our little 'accident'. That should have worked right? They're grasping at straws here, aren't they? I'm not pregnant. I can't be pregnant. I know we did have a mishap but, but I'm not. Right?"

He held her hand tightly and shook his head - but it quickly changed into a noncommittal shrug. "Well, I would say it's more likely that you're not, but -"

"Oh my god." She interrupted him. "What if I am? What if thats why my powers are going all fucking crazy? Cos my body is growing your demon fucking spawn - oh my god! I don't want a screaming Bruce, Butch! I don't want one! "

Before Butch could try to console her, the Professor sighed rather loudly from his workstation.

"There is no HCG present in your blood." He announced. But neither Buttercup nor Butch knew what that meant.

"What does that mean?" Butch asked.

"It means I'm not going to be a Grandpa."

"Oh thank god." Butch cried, collapsing into the chair at Buttercup's bedside.

Buttercup wilted with relief. "Jesus Christ, that was terrifying." She scraped her hand through her choppy black hair. "So, why did this happen again? If it's not that, what is it?"

"I don't know. All we can do for now is continue to monitor you. But I don't want you fighting crime, Buttercup. In case it happens again." The Professor informed her. She looked crushed.

"What? For how long?!"

"I'm not sure. We'll start with a few days, I suppose. And see how you go. I'll speak with Mayor Bellum, she'll understand. And the city will be fine with 5 Team X members instead of 6 for a little while."

"This isn't fair." Buttercup mumbled, glaring into her lap.

"I'm trying to keep you safe, Cupcake. I need to figure out why. If your powers regenerate but then fail for a third time, I may have to keep you down here in the lab for some proper long term monitoring." He muttered with a sigh. She didn't reply, only continued to scowl at the injustice of it all. "Let's test your blood again in an hour, and see how you are. If you're feeling okay in yourself, let's go back upstairs and put on the TV, perhaps."

Buttercup grunted in reply, begrudgingly taking Butch's extended hand as he helped her down off the cot bed - not that she'd needed his help.

"Butch." The Professor bit out, making the green ruff jump and let go of her hand instantly. His expression was steely as he looked at the young teen who had not that long ago admitted to having sex with his precious daughter. "Maybe you should get back to school. We'll keep you updated."

"Professor, can't he stay just for a little -" Buttercup began but he cut her off.

"No. It's a school day." He answered curtly.

Clearly he wasn't as okay with them being sexually active as he'd previously played it.

---

Prototype B had lasted for 7 hours. Meaning it was almost doubly effective as prototype A. Professor Savino was pleased to say the least. 7 hours was more than enough time to kill someone, right?

Especially if you knew what you were doing.

No, the gift of time wasn't what was needed to aid Esmé in her mission. 7 hours was of course a welcome bonus, but what she really needed was a weakened Powerpuff girl - she could now tick that off her checklist - and a distraction large enough for her to accomplish the task she'd been given. Or at least a way and means of getting her alone, without anyone else knowing.

Now she just needed to orchestrate the perfect scenario in which she could slip her a Chemical X blocker, assassinate the green puff and get away with it. Buttercup wasn't her only target, after all. She was just her first one.

Slowly, she sat up, tossing her wavy locks behind her and glancing at the sleeping form beside her.

John Utonium was tucked up in bed, sleeping soundly and deeply. At least, that's usually how people drugged on sleeping pills slept. She needed him to be preoccupied tonight, as she had a very important meeting to attend.

Peering at the time on the alarm clock nearby, she carefully pulled the covers back and slid out of bed. Draping her robe around her, Esmé made her way downstairs as silently as she possibly could, making a quick detour to the bathroom to grab her table top mirror.

The Professor's office seemed the most sensible venue; she could lock it, meaning if someone tried to interrupt, she'd be alerted to their presence prior. All she needed was a mirror, and to wait for his call.

At 3.33am on the dot, lilac smoke began to form in the mirror. Esmé sat upright in the Professor's desk chair. She blinked hard and concentrated. When she opened her eyes, they were no longer mahogany brown, but now a strikingly evil red; a shade so intense it almost glowed. Two small and pointy crimson horns appeared upon her head amongst her dark hair, and an alluring smile fixed itself onto her face.

"Him, your Darkness, how are you?" Esmé oozed, peering at Him's reflection in her mirror. He had just enough strength to hold up a compact mirror, which was how he was communicating with her.

"We've no time for pleasantries, Esmérelda. Or am I to call you Esmé?" Him asked her, a playful little smile appearing on his withered looking face.

She chuckled. "My lord, you know you may call me whatever you please!"

"Hmm." He murmured with as fervid a grin as he could muster in his weakened state. "I hope you have some good news for me?"

"Yes my lord - I tested all of their blood just as you asked. And I saw their very essence - it was just as you suspected. It looked pretty angelic to me, I'm afraid. The fire opal could detect their qualities." She told him in hushed tones.

"Yes, well I knew it would be the case, I foresaw it. But I'm not afraid at all, Esmérelda. Because you are on the case - and you won't let me down now, will you?" Him purred; Esmé shook her head rapidly.

"Of course not, your majesty! I would never! I live and breathe to serve you!" She cried passionately, her enamoured eyes sparkling with dedication and adoration. "I've perfected a Chemical X blocker - prototype B lasted 7 hours on my first target."

"So now you've made this blocker drug, how are you going to use it?" Him queried. "I don't doubt that toying with dear Buttercup by rendering her suddenly and mysteriously powerless was entertaining, but where do you plan to go from there?"

Esmérelda swallowed. "Well, that's the next part of my mission I need to devise."

Him arched a brow at her.

"The thing is your majesty - every time I've slipped her a blocker pill, she ends up on that damn medical wing. And at first I didn't mind, I needed to monitor her for research purposes, to perfect the pill, but then it just began to get frustrating! Her being there, it makes killing her so much harder." She complained. "And yes, I could easily make the Professor behave coldly, and decide to not treat or monitor her once the blocker is in her system - but it'll give the game away completely."

"Hmm." Him said with a laboured sigh. Esmé couldn't decide if he was becoming irritated with her, or the situation.

"I considered slipping her one before bed and creeping into her bedroom - but she shares a room with her sisters - including the Angel. If they caught me -"

Him interrupted her. "You need to get her alone. Separate from her sisters. Once they are separate, and away from the Professor, it should be child's play for you. Get her alone, get them both separate, get the blocker in her system - then it'll be easy. Or at least it should be for one as skilled as you. You could have her sit nicely for you so you can, I don't know, slit her throat, stab her in the chest, whatever takes your fancy."

Esmérelda smiled wickedly. "Of course my lord. Of course, I can do that. I can orchestrate a scenario to get her alone and isolated -"

"But you need to stay focused, Esmérelda. Don't get distracted from the task at hand. And hurry things along. Brick is getting suspicious - my sources say they are starting to listen to him more. And you know he could fast become a problem for you if you let him."

"Yes my lord, I know." Esmé sneered at the thought of the red ruff.

"Don't worry about dear little Bubbles for now. If an opportunity to deal with them both simultaneously presents itself to you, go at it gung ho. But if not, focus on Buttercup. Get her alone, finish the job." Him instructed, his voice growing more hoarse as he spoke.

Esmé nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, my lord."

---

r&r (: