Forgot to mention! A good chunk of the true-crime Jacquotte listened to in the last chapter was taken from testimonials of Ted Bundy, invading a sorority house, and going berserk. I mostly changed the names.
Sept. 04th: planning a hair/look change in my other story because new phase. Too excited about characters makeover lol
Oct 3rd: lmao Satanic temple vs Texas reference in the story because I can't help myself.
Oct 09th: I *promise* next chapters will be more reds/green packed. Especially greens.
Chapter 5: "Each suburban wife struggles with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question- 'Is this all?" ― Betty Friedan
"One thousand and two... one thousand and three... HEY! Fuck. Goddamn. You fucked it up, now I have to start all over again."
Blossom rubbed her eyes with a groan. That was not the first thing she thought she'd hear in the morning.
"Brick...?" She squinted, "Start over what? What are you talking about?"
"I was busy..." His blood-red eyes firmly stared into hers, "Counting your shoulder freckles."
The woman burst out with laughter over the seriousness of his answer.
"What?" Brick raised an eyebrow, "You're a heavy sleeper, I'm bored."
Blossom yawned over a deep stretch, "I'm not a heavy sleeper, I work and study, and..." She breathed out, with watering eyes "it's my day off. You wouldn't know how important it is because you don't work or study you punk."
He scoffed smugly, "Nah, toots. Not only do I work, but I also make a whole lot more than you."
Blossom squinted, "Crime isn't a job."
"Who told you I'm a criminal?" Brick chuckled sarcastically, sweeping a strand of long red hair from his lover's freckled shoulder.
She smirked, "Can you even talk out loud about your job?"
He buzzed his lips, "Can you?"
Blossom scowled, "It's different."
Brick scoffed, "Yeah, 'cuz your job is being a walking wanking material- OUCH!"
The PowerPuff slap came fast.
"I'm a waitress, you pig!" Blossom shouted, slapping him again, "Plus, my job is legal!"
Never mind how rough he liked it, he wasn't looking to get his ass kicked. Brick managed to grab a hold of her wrists, "Hey! Hey, babe, stop!" He shouted, holding Blossom by the wrists. She straddled him, trying to break free while simultaneously trying to land another smack right in the middle of his smug, chauvinistic face, "Hey! Watch out! The face! You love this face, you're gonna ruin it!"
Blossom sat on top of him with a scowl, "You jerk."
The jerk smirked cheekily, "So you do love this face..." He glanced down at her shoulders, "And this shirt..."
The woman shrugged at the white button-up, "It was a chilly night."
"And you have plenty of covers, yet..." He purred smugly.
"Whatever." Blossom rolled her eyes, breaking her wrists free. She nonchalantly flipped her hair to the side, "I was sleepy. Tough week at work, you know that. A lot of 20-people-parties, plus the NFL coming up next week..."
"Babe..." Brick winced at the thought of a bunch of sports bros ogling the woman on top. of him, "Babe, come on. Just quit already"
The woman glared at him, "Brick..."
"Quit your job." He insisted. They'd been over that many times already, but it didn't hurt to try, "I already said, I will take care-"
"Absolutely not." Blossom rolled away, "Don't you dare start this again. I'm not gonna become dependent on you. The only reason I work is that I don't even accept depending on Professor, let alone on a-"
"A criminal?"
"That's not even the tip of the iceberg." She muttered, "Money changes people, and that's not a power dynamic I'm looking for."
Brick never found out what she meant by that.
Townsville's all-year fair and amusement park made it to the top ten places he hated to go, especially on a breezy, sunny Saturday afternoon. Loud laughter, joyful people walking by, friends, couples, families...
Yet, there he was, sat on a wooden bench by the deck as the Sun nearly blinded him with a tween so focused on her reading, she didn't realize her friend had approached them.
"What's he doin' here?"
Brick grimaced at the petulant kid, "It is my weekend-"
"He's jealous of Blossom."
His scowl was redirected at Jacquotte, "You two are way too small to have this much nerve."
Mind you, it was his weekend of staying with Jacquotte when Mitch's kid proposed they go 'hang out at the fair, but you gotta bring Blossom.' So yeah, sue him for trying to keep his territory.
Michelle rolled her eyes, "Trust me, if it wasn't for the free ride, I wouldn't have asked." She shrugged, "But Jessie only agreed to drive me because of her."
Brick furrowed his brows in confusion, "What does that mean?"
"You'll see, Red Dad... Oh hey, Miss Utonium! Damn. Lookin' great as always!"
Blossom waved her off with a chuckle, "You're too kind, Michelle... I just left Pilates, really... Brick?" She paused in her tracks, "Y, you...? I didn't know you were coming. I mean, the girls didn't tell me-"
Jacquotte cut her off, "He wasn't invited."
Brick simply threw the girl a glare.
"That's not a nice thing to say or do, Jacque." Blossom crossed her arms in disapproval, "Brick is your dad-"
The girl shrugged, "Just makin' sure you know I'm not tryin' to 'parent trap' you like the dumb, old movie with the twins-"
"Excuse me!" Blossom glared at Jacquotte, "That movie is a classic, young lady! And for your information, the twins were actually played by one single, natural redheaded girl... who, yes, may have had her potential ruined later in life... using movie mirror tricks."
Jacquotte rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know... You needed the orange hair representation, and the predictable ending still makes aunt Bubbles emotional."
The mother adjusted the shirt over her shoulder, "An absolute classic." She remarked.
Jacquotte simply rolled her eyes.
Brick stared down at the woman for a while, as if something had caught his attention, "I think I've seen this before."
"What?" The woman looked down and back up at him, fully ready for an argument.
Uncalled for. Yes, yes he has "seen it before", Jacquotte is proof of it, but first, it has been a long while since he last saw it, second-
Brick squinted as if he could read her mind, "The shirt. I meant the shirt. Think I've seen it before."
Oh.
The woman glanced at her white button-up.
It was her favorite. Another classic! She liked the style, it was nice to sleep in, stay at home, and at that moment, it was being used to cover up her gym clothes... It was a miracle it was in such good condition after so many years-
Suddenly, Blossom's eyes widened in realization, but she quickly shook her head, folding her arms as she tried to feign indifference, "I have no idea what you could possibly mean by that."
Brick dropped his eyelids.
Worst liar ever.
"Miss Utonium?"
The adults turned around to see a brunette teenage boy, who must've been about 5'6.
Blossom smiled politely, "Jessie! So nice to see you!"
The boy gave Miss Utonium a type of smile that Brick recognized from miles away. Teenage simpering boys all looked the same, no matter the year.
"Yeah, me too... Just... driving my lil cousin, y'know?" He winked, "Got my license and my dad's ride."
The woman kept smiling politely, "That's good to hear! How old are you again, 16?"
Jessie imperiously cleared his throat, "17, actually." He corrected, "But I'm turning 18 in less than 9 months, so I'm basically 18 in South Korea."
Brick, Jacquotte, and Michelle cringed in unison whilst Blossom, always Miss Everything Nice, fought hard to keep a polite smile, "That's, that's true! You know, with age comes responsibility."
"Oh yeah, totally! I'm all about the responsibility, Miss Utonium." Jessie kept going with all the confidence in the world, "I've been lookin' to do some odd jobs around to save up for trade school next year. So, hum, I know it's just you and Jacque, so, if you need a man to get some things moved, maybe grab a box..."
Blossom chose to ignore the double meaning he tried to imply in the last word, "Thank you, that's very nice of you, but as you may know, I have superpowers-"
"Or maybe mowing lawns!" The boy insisted, "My dad is a gardener, I kinda know the trade."
The woman smacked her lips, "Jessie... Jacque and I live in an apartment."
"Dude!" Jacquotte yelled, "She ain't gonna go to homecoming with you!"
"Hey, Steve!" Michelle shouted cheekily, "Didn't Miss Utonium used to babysit you or something?"
Blossom whipped her head around, "That's true, Michelle! I did do that-"
"Hey..." Brick stepped in, casually standing at the top of his height, "Blossom, if the kid wants a job moving boxes I can give him a job moving boxes."
Jessie's jaw dropped.
"Y, you can... Who are you?"
"Oh, see?" Blossom smiled to the teenager, "That'd be great, right? Your dad would be so proud, Steve... Brick, just remember he's still a minor-"
The man rolled his blood-red eyes, "Babe, he's gonna be moving boxes from trucks, I'm not going to pay the guy in beer."
"Wait, what?" Jessie seemed to recover his attitude, "Huh, I, I... Well, I, I wouldn't mind that Miss Utonium, I mean..."
Jacquotte and Michelle rolled their eyes.
"Wanna check out the rest of the fair?"
"More than anything."
"I know you didn't make me come all the way here for the flimsy prizes."
Michelle smiled, watching her friend knock yet another set of cans... which happened to be glued to each other until the baseball hit them at full force, "Nope... But I'm not complaining. The blue bear! Oh, and the Townsville Lions Jersey!"
Jacquotte blankly stared at the exasperated carnival worker, "You heard her." She told him, before turning to her friend, "So what's it?"
"Check it out!" The girl pulled a small metal box out of her bag, "It's my mom's."
The redhead raised her eyebrows, "It's... What!?"
"I know! Sick, right?" The brunette exclaimed, putting the XXXL jersey over her tank top, "I always knew Mitch had something from her. Think he was planning to wait until I turned 18... Too bad for him."
Jacquotte's mouth was agape as she followed her blue teddy bear-holding friend, wearing a jersey that reached her knees, "Did you read it?"
"Sure did!" Michelle chirped, making it to the next tent, "Guess what? She wanted to dip even before I was born, Mitch had to beg her to not get an illegal abortion because it was too late to get a legal one. Like, she wanted to go feetus yeetus on my literal, fully-formed smooth baby butt." The brunette scoffed, lightly patting her own bottoms, "Then, she left as soon as she could walk out, explains all the baby formula in my old pictures. Maybe that's why I'm hungry all the time, I had no motherly milk?"
Jacquotte blankly raised her shoulders while Michelle spent a chunk if her tickets in sour sweets and grape soda, contemplating if the motherly abandonment was the reason she was hungry all the time.
Could it be all the junk food? ...Nah.
Jacquotte simply eyed her friend, without much to say. She was a badass herself, but Michelle just learned all this about her family and just gave no fucks? What a bad bitch.
The redhead picked a cut-out piece of newspaper from the box.
"After 1 year, Femme Fatale is back... More fatal than ever!"
"Femme Fatale...?" She muttered, squinting at the card, "Holy shit, she stole a whole bank!"
"And that's just the beginning!" Michelle exclaimed, "Check out the postcard! The one from NYC."
Jacquotte sat on a bench to read the yellowed card.
On one side, it had the cliche image of the statue of liberty, on the other side, a message.
"Dearest M.,
I never asked to be a mom.
You see, the time spent with you was precious, but I'm not meant to be anchored into the patriarchal lifestyle that motherhood brings. I aim to do more things in life than a new family portrait for every Christmas, playing dollhouse and dressing up a baby girl, hoping she'll be a more independent woman than me...
Take this as our goodbye.
F. F."
"Ok, wow. That's... cold, even for me, and I literally blow ice." Jacquotte's eyes widened at the postcard, "Did Mitch ever tell her it was like, totally ok to maaaybe send a postcard for your birthday? A $10 bill, once a year? I bet she could send you $10 with all that money she robbed. Maybe even $20!"
"Or a Suzy Party Beach House."
The redhead squinted, "A what?"
Michelle shrugged, "I was crazy about them."
"That's more shocking than your terrible mom, dude." She muttered, opening her soda, "So, what you're gonna do now?"
"I'm gonna find her."
The brunette watched her friend nearly choke on soda.
"Wh- what!?" Jacquotte spluttered, "What the fuck, what the hell are you talking about?"
Michelle shrugged, sipping on her cola, "You found your dad, I'll find my mom."
"I didn't find him!" The redhead yelled, exasperated, "Blossom found him because Mr. Keane forced her to, 'cuz I wanna drop outta school."
The brunette rolled her eyes with a sigh, "Well, I want to drop out too, but I'm not as determined, so Mr. Keane let me slip under the radar." She gulped on the cola, "Look, all I'm saying is, the woman doesn't give a damn, I don't give a damn. There's nothing to lose. I just wanna throw a huge 'fuck you I turned out completely fine' in her face. You know? 'Fuck you, you didn't want me to exist, I'm here, hope you die alone.'"
Jacquotte stared at her friend for a while before glancing down at the metal box.
"What if it doesn't work...?" She muttered.
Michelle grinned triumphantly, "That's the fun! I don't give a rat's ass. I never cared about her, like you never cared about your dad. It's not serious, it's just an adventure."
The redhead sighed, "But my mom was created in a lab... So, in kindergarten, I just assumed I never had a dad."
Jacquotte was raised watching her mother be capable of doing anything, and everything on her own. It was fair for a small child to assume her 'invincible' super parent had always done everything on their own... Until said child grew up and realized such parent wasn't invincible and it was all a front.
"And I assumed parents were randomly assigned to kids by the government." Michelle pointed out matter-of-factly, "Dude. We became friends 'cuz we were the only ones with only one parent, and now look at us! We are awesome! Jay, do it with me, please."
Jacquotte kept glancing down at the box, "And if I don't..."
"I'll just do it on my own, it'll be awesome and you'll regret not going after the witch with me."
The friends shared a knowing smirk until Jacquotte raised her can.
"A toast... to our crazy families!"
Michelle giggled, "Cheers, bitch!"
"Holy shit, I can't believe I just got a job!" The teenager exclaimed as he excitedly shook Brick's hand.
"Language."
Brick threw Blossom a weird look, "Where's that attitude with Jacque? Even shorter than him... pirate name, talks like a pirate?"
The woman sighed, "I'm mostly giving him a bit of career advice. Most bosses don't like swearing, Steve."
The boy nodded vigorously, "Absolutely Miss Utonium, I know that. I just, I just figured Brick, hum, Mr. Jojo wouldn't mind, and I'm so excited-"
'Mr. Jojo' rolled his eyes, "I don't give a shit if you cuss, Steve, as long as you can move boxes out of a truck without fucking breaking your spine, you start on Monday."
Jessie smiled widely, thanking the unimpressed man once again, promising to be at 3 in the afternoon sharp at 310, Main street, yes Sir, right by the liquor shop with the guys from the Duffy truck. Sure, he could deadlift weight, the boxes would be no problem.
Blossom sighed, watching the tiny teenager happily march into the distance, "I don't think he can lift 25lbs..."
Brick shrugged, "Heh. Most kids start with six-packs... What?"
The man raised a confused eyebrow at the dimple-y grin the redhead was throwing at him. Her freckled, prominent cheekbones were red from the Sun, very few strands of bright orange came undone from her high ponytail.
"You actually did a very nice thing, Brick."
He groaned in response, "Don't."
"You just gave a teenager boy a chance to pay for his education..." She stated in a playful tone, "That's something not even I could do."
Brick rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure Jacque would've loved a horn-puppy humping on her mother's leg day in, day out."
"Ew!" Blossom shouted, "Don't say that, he's a minor!"
"So? He wants to get laid with a woman twice his age, we've all been there."
The woman in question narrowed her eyes at Brick. Mitch Mitchelson breaking the news he was a father swiftly flashed before her eyes.
Some impregnate a woman twice their age...
"First, absolutely classless of you to bring up my age. Second, don't repeat it near Jacque." Blossom warned, "It's just a boy. I don't want her to get weirded out."
Brick stopped in his tracks.
"What do you mean, weirded out? Do you think he's the only one humping on your leg?"
Blossom pursed her lips in disapproval, "Again. Class. And yes, it's just one boy. It's not like her classmates and their fathers are like Steve."
The man fought the urge to roll his eyes all the way to the back of his skull.
Typical. She was still as clueless as ever.
"Did Hooters fuck up your perspective on horny men that bad?"
"Excuse me!" Blossom shouted, "What did I just tell you! Do not absolutely do not, repeat any of that near Jacque. I don't want her to have any... damaging mental images involving me, she's too young for that."
"Whatever. You're still clueless..." Brick shrugged, "and a goddamn awful liar. I know that's my shirt."
Blossom grimaced indignantly, "It's a white button shirt Brick, not exactly one of a kind."
"Photographic memory, babe. I'm sure it is the same one you stole from me." Brick accused.
"If you insist... let's suppose it is, in fact, your shirt." The woman stated, folding a sleeve up to her elbow, "What would that change? Have men's white shirts gone extinct within the last decade?"
Blossom smugly watched Brick squint.
"You stole it."
"You're a baby." She scoffed, looking away, "As far as I remember you only started dressing up as an adult because of me, so, you're welcome. A fine button-up is the least I can have."
Brick raised an annoyed eyebrow, "Yeah? Well, d'you wanna know what I think, I think-" He was cut off by the shirt being hastily thrown at his face.
"Hey! I-"
He tried to complain as Blossom's pink streak zoomed towards the fair's rollercoaster, as a screaming kid seemed to have fallen off his seat.
The crowded fair fell in silence for a moment until...
"She got him! She got him!"
A round of cheers and applause.
Brick pursed his lips at the sight.
"Every single time."
The man looked over to find a grumpy-looking Jacquotte and friend, holding ice cream cones, teddy bears, counterfeit sports apparel, and bags of candy.
Michelle stared at Blossom, who was nicely asking for people to give the traumatized kid some space, "Well," She nibbled on ice cream, "she did save-"
"She saves a life every single time we leave the house." Jacquotte rolled her eyes, "Because safety in this scammy place is a joke, but no one will do anything about it. These people are spoiled."
Michelle didn't seem to share the same opinion.
"Hum, your mom is spoiling people by... saving their lives?"
"Yeah! I mean, stop doing everything for them." The redhead scoffed, "C'mon, get 'em movin', get 'em workin', get 'em suin' millions out of this park until something is done... Oh, thank fuck, you saved it!"
Brick looked down at the shirt, hanging from his index finger with a questioning gaze.
"It's her favorite." Jacquotte explained, nibbling chocolate ice cream, "Falling from faulty rollercoasters messes up with people's guts."
"She just tossed it at me-"
"Brick, just keep it safe, please, or she's gonna have a fit. You had to see her the day we moved, she almost lost it because she thought the moving people had lost it. This is like, her comfort shirt."
The man's blood-red eyes lit up.
Comfort...?
Brick looked over his side see Blossom walking towards them in a skin-tight gym set. He hastily looked away, silently extending his arm.
Blossom took the shirt hanging from Brick's finger with a tight-lipped grin, "Thanks... Hey, girls! I see you two have... enjoyed yourselves..."
"Yeah..." Michelle shrugged down at the girls' bag of sour candy, the gigantic jersey, and the blue teddy bear, "Jacque makes three months of allowance totally worth it."
The red-haired girl shrugged, "Everyone is a hero in their own way. Right, Blossom?"
"Amanda is coming over to look after you this weekend." Buttercup shouted over her shoulder, "And before you ask, she is super cute for a 13-year-old. Safe to assume you don't stand a chance... yet."
The green boy remained silent. As always.
"Yeah, I know..." She groaned, flipping the pancake on the frying pan, "I know, you'll miss me very, very dearly. But don't worry. I'll be back soon enough. Will I be sober? Probably not. A lot more fun? You bet, kid."
Silence. He kept blankly staring at the wooden kitchen table.
"Tough crowd..." Buttercup buzzed her lips, setting the pancakes down on the table.
The green kid stared at them, and then at Buttercup with a permanently blank expression.
"What! These are for you!" The brunette shouted, "Pancakes... Can you say it back to me? Pan... ca...ke-sss..."
Despite the woman's efforts, there was no reaction, and she simply resorted to placing a pile of pancakes on his plate, causing the boy to ever so silently, ever so blankly, finally grab a fork to eat it. Buttercup crossed her arms with a frown.
The kid was not mute nor deaf. Perfect vision. Absolutely able-bodied, as confirmed by many police reports.
The brunette gawked at the ink-haired boy: thick, coarse, failed-bowl-cut hair, bushy eyebrows, asparagus-colored skin, hollow under-eye bags that looked even darker against the tone of his skin.
Asparagus green...
It was much different from the plain green the Gangreen Gang had. That was something she needed to get a doctor to look into since she was momentarily in a charge of the kid. Oh yeah, and him not speaking, but she was fairly convinced he was just a 'weird' kid, and who could blame him? He lived with a sick mom and a sleazy uncle.
"White."
Buttercup froze, slowly looking up from her pancakes, "What...?" She breathed.
The kid already had syrup all over his blank face. He slowly lifted a finger to point at the top of her head.
"White."
The brunette's bright-green eyes and hands followed his gaze all the way to the middle of her head and... she paled. Buttercup slowly pulled a strand of her pitch-black hair to see one... one single, lonely tiny strand of...
"White hair."
"Kids! Stay next to momma... Don't wander off!"
Bubbles kept shouting, but it was no use, the twins were in their own little world.
The blonde rolled her eyes, adjusting the groceries in her arms. Usually, she'd have Mike buy them, but things just ended up that way.
She had started the day by planning to work out at the park, maybe do some yoga... then the twins did their puppy-eyes because they wanted to go with her... so, instead of yoga, Bubbles decided it'd be good to bring the kids for some outdoor activities with momma while dad drops his no-good of a brother at the airport.
Such activities resulted in a very tired, very sweaty momma Bubbles. She didn't realize how hot it was out there, and the kids sure had plenty of energy...
For any other less patient woman, this would've been the end of their day, but Bubbles had run out of whole flour and she was in charge of making the vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, all-organic cupcakes for the playdate with the Smiths later that day. It merited a trip for groceries.
Busy morning, busy Saturday... Maybe she could squeeze in sometime after the playdate to work on her next video. She was falling behind on her channel's uploading schedule, and the algorithm gods were not happy about it.
...And they say YouTubers don't have bosses.
"Daddy!" The twins jumped up and down by the closed door, "Daddy! Daddy!"
"Daddy isn't home yet..." Bubbles didn't even bother knocking, "He's with uncle Jason."
The blonde used a hand to balance the groceries while another skillfully searched for the keys. Superpowers do come in handy, when...
"Oh my God, is that Bubbles? How's she doing that!?"
Her superhearing caught a chit-chat at the other side of the white picket fence.
"Yeah, she's... one of them."
"Oh, I thought their powers had been banned. For national security. I mean, my brother's in the military-"
"Oh, it sure has, but I think she didn't get the memo..."
The blonde took a deep breath, and turned around with a huge smile on her face, "Hi girls!"
The women froze in place.
"...Bubbles! Hi!" One of them waved meekly, "H, how are you doing?"
"Working! Working a lot, doing so, so many things! As you can see, I'm a very busy bee!" She chirped.
Too busy to talk behind people's back...
"As you two can see..." Bubbles giggled, to which the women exchanged uncertain glances. Finally, she opened the door, causing the kids to run inside, "See you girls later at the playdate! Buh-byeeee!"
The blonde took a deep breath and rolled her eyes as she stepped in, shutting the door behind her.
"Mikey! I'm home!"
"Bubbles?" A male voice, that wasn't Mikey's replied. She struggled over the bags of groceries to see a man much taller, much more tanned.
Her hands immediately weakened, "Boomer...?"
Bubbles' hands went limp and in a dark blue flash, her counterpart was holding the groceries.
"Whoops!" He chuckled, trying to salvage as many items as he could, "That's on me! Sorry for the surprise!"
Mike's head peered from down the corridor, "Bubs...?" He walked into the kitchen, "Hey... Look who I found at the airport!"
Boomer stood up with the groceries, "Yeah, Butch is a dick and won't pick up any of my calls." He shrugged, with a grin, "I was also kind of high on mushrooms back there."
Mike laughed, "C'mon, lemme help you with that... Bubs? Bubs, you ok?"
His wife was gaping like a fish at her towering, tanned counterpart, with shiny golden hair and ocean blue eyes in nothing but a denim vest and jeans.
Bubbles-exe had stopped working.
"Baby?" Mike touched her shoulder, "Are you ok?"
The woman blinked at her worried husband.
"I... I think it must be the heat!" She exclaimed, "I, I didn't have any water, huh... Excuse me, you two!" The woman chirped, zooming towards the nearest bathroom.
Bubbles panted as she shut the door behind her.
She immediately frowned down at, what could possibly be, the worst she'd ever looked in months. Ratty, sweat-drenched tank top, and stained yoga pants. She looked into the mirror. Her usually bouncy hair was unwashed and had been pulled into two low space buns that were nearly falling apart; the Sun had made Bubbles' rosacea break out, which explained why her cheeks looked so puffy, so red, and so... gross.
The woman's face fell. She looked nothing like the fashionable artistic cheerleader from High School.
NO.
The blonde vigorously shook her head.
You know what? She looked fine... Great, even.
Bubbles had grown out of her teenage years. Yes, Sire, she had grown into a woman with responsibilities and a life she built with the man she loved.
She splashed cold water in her face, deciding she should be over the shock from suddenly seeing Boomer again, after all those years.
She didn't care.
She should be thinking of Mike... Mike, her shorter, much less tanned husband that, in his own words, could not lift over 10lbs with his noodle arms. She'd laughed when he said that instead of disagreeing because it kinda was true, and he didn't seem to mind, but...
The woman shut her eyes, gritting her teeth.
Mike was her husband.
He was sweet, responsible - very good looking, mind you - on top of being a great father, husband, and generous lover. They loved each other very much, had beautiful twins, and a third kid (maybe) coming very soon (they were trying their best, they both had very busy schedules)!
That was all that mattered.
Bubbles decided to redo the space buns because yes, she was in her mid-thirties, but she liked them and she'd never - not even once - double-guessed her style choices, go back out there, host their childhood friend, and nicely introduce him to the beautiful home she and Mike had built together, of which they were very proud of.
Hmpf!
Honestly.
A vest?
Pft.
Bubbles had a wide-mile smile when she exited the bathroom, "Hi boys! Sorry about that, I was just..."
She looked around the empty, perfectly tidy kitchen. Then, she followed Mike's chuckles to the living room.
Mike sat at their 4-piece lilac couch whilst Boomer sat in the single chair.
The brunette looked over at her, "Hey baby!" Mike greeted her as she gingerly sat by his side. The man planted a kiss on her cheek, "Mini heatstroke?"
The blonde smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, you know how the kids can be, and I always forget to drink water... Mikey, where are the groceries?" She pointed to the kitchen in confusion.
Her counterpart raised a hand, flashing a pearly smile, "Guilty as charged!" He chuckled, "Thought the least I could do was to put those away for you. Mike saved my butt at the airport."
The brunette grinned with a shrug, "I do my best."
"Oh, saved you?" Bubbles blinked at Boomer, "What do you mean?"
It was ok to look at him. It wasn't like she was looking directly at the Sun, he was good-looking but not that much.
"Yeah, you see..." Boomer scratched the back of his head... drawing attention to his unnecessarily muscled, tattooed arms.
Bubbles squinted a bit. The tattoos looked familiar. She'd seen them in a documentary about an island tribe overseas with a specially interesting, natural method of caring for their autistic kids. She decided Boomer had probably seen the same show, even though he was never the type to watch Discovery Channel.
"I landed in the US at 6, not sober at all..." Boomer trailed off, to which Mike chuckled with a head shake, "And I think I wandered around the terminal, trying to call Butch, Brick, anyone, you know?"
"You were starving, man. Not even my brother had been in such a state before."
"Tell me about it..." Boomer laughed, sitting back in the cream chair, "And that's when your hubby pretty much took me under his wings, Bubs. Mike, your brother was there? Seriously, just realized it was you after the coffee."
Mike laughed, "You kept calling me Butch!"
"See!" His friend shouted, "I was so out of my mind. Thank you for taking me in. You too, Bubbles! You know, since my brothers are two, huh..." He looked into Bubbles' eyes with a pearly smile, dimples forming in each side of his stubbed jawline, "Poo-poo heads...?"
The woman took a while to realize what he meant. Not that she had become lost on his unique ocean-blue gaze or anything like that.
"Oh... Oh! Doo-doo heads! They're two doo-doo heads." She chirped.
"That! Well said!" Her counterpart agreed, causing the three adults to giggle.
Bubbles eased down, scooting over Mike. It was ok, they were friends from art class catching up, nothing serious. Tell funny stories, hear funny jokes.
"Damn, where in the world were you?" Mike asked, to which Bubbles nodded in agreement. "You said you landed in the US at 6. Where have you been?"
Boomer ran a hand through his hair. He squinted, deep in thought.
"Oh, man. Huh. Sorry. Lemme think... So, I've been doing graffiti, right? Like, professionally-"
Bubbles jumped in her seat, "Really?" She beamed, darting a glance at Mike, "Can we see-?"
Her counterpart grinned with a shrug, "Only you two!" He winked playfully, and no, it did not make Bubbles stomach flip. Those were... gases. Yeah, exercising made her gassy. That was definitely it.
The man handed the couple a semi-professional camera, "Feel free to scroll."
The couple looked down at a picture of Boomer painting a large street wall with vibrant color over a psychedelic, half-done design.
As the couple skipped through, Boomer's scattered brain started remembering the last places he'd been to, "I first landed somewhere in India for a graffiti gig. Then, I met this group of artists in New Delhi, and they were kind of just touring in Asia, so I took off with them."
The couple nodded, looking down at a specific picture of Boomer grinning next to a group of alternative-looking, tanned people. A lot of tattoos, dreads, and shaggy hair.
Bubbles noted the girls looked somewhat French... Carefree-looking, sun-kissed wavy hair, perfect skin. She looked up with a nod, fingers automatically touching the rosacea in her cheeks.
"Did you stay with them much longer?"
Boomer shrugged, "For 3 months, I think? Then I met this girl in Thailand-"
Like clockwork, the next picture was of Boomer with a girl on a heavenly beach. The girl had her arms around his shoulders.
"Oh, is that her?"
Boomer peered over the camera display, "Oh yeah, that's her, Bhoomi. I think she was doing some model work."
The woman gave her counterpart a tight-lipped grin.
A model. Of course she was a model, just look at her with those deep almond eyes, tanned olive skin, glossy dark hair, perfect body. And she was tall! So yeah, sure, makes perfect sense. A model. It was a job like any other.
"So yeah, then we hopped on a plane after she was done there."
Mike raised his eyebrows, "Wow. To where?"
"Well, it's hard to say." Boomer scratched the back of her head, "We went to New Zealand, Australia... Then we went to Fiji, and some other Islands."
Bubbles lifted her head, "Wow... Wait. So, you got those tattoos there...?" She curiously pointed at his arm.
The man shook his head, "Oh, no... No. These were from the first time I went to Oceania, a completely different island... Different gig, different girl." Boomer squinted at his arm. He then pointed to the tattoos on his other biceps, "I had those done this time, I think some sort of shaman did it? I don't know, it was a very old dude, and I had drunk their weird tea. Got super sick after the tattoo was done, though. Only time I called Brick and he still gave me shit, like I was supposed to know that tribe used Snake venom on their ink!"
Bubbles and Mike gawked at the man's arm.
"What...?"
"Totally worth it, though. The designs are awesome!" Boomer chuckled, "Anyway! Enough about me. What about you, guys? What have you been up to?"
The couple exchanged dumbfounded glances. What have they done...? Neither of them toured Asia and got tattooed by a shaman, that's for sure.
"Well... We got married!" Mike grinned, "We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, right baby?"
"Huh, yes... Before we got married Mikey went to college, in New York-" Bubbles grinned awkwardly.
"For architecture." Mike nodded, "And now I'm an architect!"
"Yes, he's the best!" Bubbles giggled, "Mikey won a lot of awards. Like, from..." She frowned at Mike as if seeking help, "...many groups... in Townsville-"
"In the state!" Mike added.
"Yes! Last year Mikey got an award from Tartarus, Inc., in Metroville! We met their CEO."
"Dude, awesome!" Boomer beamed at the smiling couple, "I mean, it's in your blood! Your dad was an architect, right?"
Suddenly Mike's face fell, "Yeah... Yeah, he actually got my first job... With him."
It was daddy. Daddy... got him his first job... and a lot of connections... Suddenly, the man wanted to set his diploma on fire and felt as if everything he'd ever done in his life was a fraud.
"Awesome! Youngblood, man. That's right, you show 'em!" Boomer chirped with a grin, "...And I've seen your channel, Bubbles! You're an influencer, right?"
Bubbles' jaw dropped.
"I... I am..."
The man, the graffiti artist standing in front of her, who'd been to exotic places abroad... with stunning French Asian hippie model women... had seen her channel.
'Hi kids, this is Bubbles! Welcome to another episode of...'
'I want to thank our amazing buddies at Toys R Us for sponsoring the show!'
'What have you learned today? Give us a thumbs up and let us know!'
The woman wanted the earth to swallow her.
Boomer frowned, "Huh, I mean, that's how you guys say it, right? Influencer.
Bubbles nodded slowly.
Influencer.
A former Powerpuff turned housewife and 35-year-old influencer.
Mike took the wheel of the conversation, "Oh yeah! Bubbles used to work as a social assistant, but we had the twins, so..." He grinned, "Yeah, and the twins and us, we're happy. Right, baby?"
Bubbles gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Yes! Yes, we're so, so happy."
Boomer kept beaming, "Dude! That's awesome! Look at us, three artists, just hanging out together! Like old times!"
The pile of work at the kitchen table wasn't the warmest welcome but she'd have to resign to it. Yes, Jacquotte wasn't the most affectionate kid, but she sure was more welcoming than extra work.
Jacquotte's absence, however, made it easier for Blossom to work since she wouldn't need to sneak around, pretending she wasn't working overnight. It sounded weird, but researches proved kids tend to feel some sort of unjustified guilt.
Plus, the woman wasn't a fan of letting people know she was struggling.
When talking investment, Blossom never let anyone in on just how much the firm needed it. It had become a top national firm for class lawsuits, workers' rights, environmentalists, anything minority-related, and there were cases they simply couldn't say 'no' to
Dylan had nearly quit (not really, but he was dramatic like that) that week because the Satanic Temple wanted to file a lawsuit against an entire American state, but it was a unique opportunity for the firm.
Again, some things you just can't refuse to do.
The partners weren't too keen on the idea of overworking their staff... for matters of principles and irony, so the top dogs often folded their sleeves and put in the labor, playing paralegal roles on top of being typically overworked lawyers.
Blossom decided to take a couple of nights without sleep. She used to go two nights in a row awake, followed by a night of sleep when Jacquotte was a baby until she entered kindergarten.
She could totally do it regularly again.
The woman sat down at the kitchen chair, placing a gallon of water, a thermal bottle of coffee, and a cigarette package on the round, large wooden table. She sighed while her gaze slowly scanned the pile of binders.
Just because she could do it didn't mean it'd be any easier.
"So your mom is fine with you sleeping here?" Michelle asked, without taking her eyes off-screen, "They're after you, watch out."
"Shush!" Butch waved the girl away, "I'm miles ahead of you. Watch and learn." He smirked, as the soldier on the TV screen left his hideout and directly attacked the enemy, bringing a row of opposite soldiers down.
"Damn, you're good!"
The man smirked.
"...I never knew adults had enough free time to get this good at a videogame."
Butch glared at her, "Remind me why you're here?"
The girl gave him a wary look, "My dad is going through a new post-breakup stage with dating apps. There'll be things going on tonight that I don't need to hear." She grimaced while Butch simply turned back to the videogame, "Plus, I want to crash in at the Harrington's tomorrow."
Jacquotte didn't even look up from her (dad's) manga, "Knock yourself out. It'll be boring, I can already tell."
"Not if I can help it," Michelle smirked, not taking her eyes off the screen.
Her other cousin, Janette, worked as a waiter in a country club during the Summer of junior year and found out that rich people never finish their drinks... resulting in tons of leftover booze for whoever could reach it.
"What about Blossom?" The brunette skillfully pressed the buttons on her controller, an explosion popped up on the screen, "Like, is she just okeydoke with you here?"
"Why, you thought she was gonna be jealous of Brick?" The redhead scoffed, "She's relieved I won't be there to call her out on her bullshit."
Michelle turned around, with a raised eyebrow, "Your mom is a workaholic, what's new?"
The girl buzzed her lips, "Skipping sleep and smoking. Hypocrite. You'll see, tomorrow she'll have a full face of makeup and mint gum, thinking we're too stupid to notice-"
"Hey!" Butch cut the friends off, frantically pressing the buttons on his controller. The soldier on the screen was being rounded by the enemy group, "A little help here!?"
Michelle jumped up, "Oh shit! I thought you were good at it!"
The man growled, not taking his eyes off the screen, "We were supposed to be a team!"
The sound of keys rattling against the door was followed by a fourth voice, "Butch, drop that shit now."
"Nice to see you too, man," Butch mumbled without taking his gaze off the screen.
Brick glared at him, briefly glancing at Michelle and a distracted Jacquotte, who didn't even bother looking up.
"Come on in, Boomer-"
"Hey!" Boomer stepped in. His glance immediately fell on Jacque "Holy shit. She's just like-"
"Like Brick." Jacquotte mumbled from the couch, "So I've heard."
Boomer scowled, entering the apartment with a backpack over his shoulder whilst Brick snickered, "That's no way to talk-
"Believe me when I say: I don't care." She cut him off again.
"Hey!" Boomer angrily stomped, "I'm your uncle!"
Jacquotte sighed nonchalantly, "...What have I just told you? Plus, expected much. Brick and Blossom, Butch and Buttercup..." She blinked up at the man, and down, "You fit the pattern."
Boomer gaped at her like a fish, "For fuck's sake, who raised you?"
Brick held back his laughter the best he could, "Blossom did. Crazy, right?"
"Look how she turned out!" Boomer motioned a hand towards the aloof girl, "Why would Blossom want to bring you in the picture, it's just gonna make it worse- Ouch! Hey!"
Butch chuckled lowly, "Oh yes... The good ol' sound of a smack on the back of Boomer's head. Damn, I missed that."
Mike grinned awkwardly, "So... Boomer, right!?"
Bubbles adjusted her blue nightgown, "Yeah." She sighed, "Looks like he's been doing a lot of things in many places, meeting a lot of new people."
"Yeah." The brunette feigned interest in the book by his bed, flipping through the pages, "What was that girl's name again?"
"Bhoomi." Bubbles responded fast and sharp, "I looked her up."
Mike frowned, "Oh."
"Yep, she's a real model, and well, you know it, right?" She chirped, pumping up a face cream, "You remember back in high school... You remember what it was like, right?" Bubbles started making circling motions on her cheeks, "When the PowerPuff girls had to shoot a commercial or be on some fast fashion, catalog, whatever."
Bubbles' mind went back to when she was a skinny cheerleader with perky cups, the photographers loved shooting her. The more she thought about these things, the more intense she rubbed the cream.
A couple of decades and kids had changed her body... naturally. She'd changed, they all had. Buttercup had grown stronger over the years due to the heavy police training and Blossom had, somehow, thinned down a (worrisome) lot while Bubbles didn't mind sizing up to an 8. She even liked Mike's crappy jokes about her 'oranges' becoming 'cantaloupes'.
It'd be foolish to obsess with looking the same after so many years, like those weird people stuck in their glory days, but something about seeing her childhood crush hurt.
Boomer had changed too, in a different way. He was doing the things Bubbles and Mike used to say they'd do 'after High School', 'after college', 'as soon as the kids are born', 'as soon as the kids grow older', etc.
Bubbles loved Mike, the kids, making videos, and being part of the community, but when was the last time they did something different? Their biggest romantic trip was for their honeymoon. After that, they'd simply spent the holidays in either New York or Florida because of Mike's family or Professor's extended family. It was easy, convenient.
Then the twins came, and it took a while until she started making money, so they only traveled every two years to see the families, meaning staying at Mike's obnoxious brother's place... Which made the trip a chore in itself.
Now, their situation was more stable but they had the holidays with the other families, and friends gatherings every other week. There simply wasn't any time left to do something or go somewhere, even if they wanted.
"Yes, it's crazy how he went to all those places." Bubbles looked at Mike's reflection in her vanity to see her husband looking down at his book. He carelessly flipped through the pages, "And... all that talk about touchless stuff..."
Bubbles squinted for a moment, "Touchless? What do you mean?"
The brunette looked up, red in the cheeks, "It was something he told me. Sorry, baby. I didn't mean to, I was just thinking out loud."
"Still," the blonde curiously turned around, "tell me. I'm curious. I'm not a child, Mikey!" He looked up at her unsurely, making Bubbles roll her eyes with a sigh, "I'm not going to nag you over locker room talk either."
Mike shrugged, "Yeah... there was this thing with the girl, and, I didn't get it right away but I think she knew some exotic sex stuff, like, making a woman orgasm without touching her, just by kinda waving your hands around." He looked up at Bubbles, who nodded as a sign for him to carry on, "And yeah, they tried it... But Boomer has all these energy powers, you know."
Bubbles raised her eyebrows, "Did he electrocute her?"
"No! No, no, no... Well, kinda."
"Mikey, what do you mean?" She frowned curiously, "What, it didn't work?"
Mike started chewing his bottom lip. He really regretted letting it slip, it was not something he wanted Bubbles to know of... ever.
"It worked." He sighed, "But it worked too well, she basically went unconscious from... so many..."
Bubbles' cheeks flushed pink, "Oh."
Mike looked down at the book in his lap. His wife looked at him for a minute, before turning back to her vanity to brush her hair, "Well, it's good nobody was injured."
Mike mumbled in agreement while Bubbles nodded.
He definitely did his best to make sure she was pleased... in all the three positions they knew of. He didn't make it every time but he succeeded often! Bubbles also had to hold back a lot because of him having no powers, so maybe they'd have more luck in this department if it wasn't for this detail.
The blonde diligently worked on each hair strand while her mind went back to Boomer's tattooed biceps.
That was quite a story. Touchless, multiple orgasms. Bubbles briefly wondered how that'd pan out with a super-powered person in the other end...
"TIME FOR BED!" The woman hastily put the hairbrush down, "I mean, wow! What a day."
Mike grinned, "Yeah..." He furrowed his brows, "Hum, what about-"
"I'm not ovulating, baby." She sat on the bed, landing a kiss on his cheek, "Don't worry about it. We'll have a long day tomorrow with the Harringtons."
The man nodded, turning the lights off.
A/N: Wink wink at Tartarus, Inc from The Contract! Couldn't resist. Plus, I know it's taking forever to get to the party but I had to get through Michelle's mom bit and Boomer coming back.