The city of Townsville…..is surprisingly calm right now.
As the sun graced the city with its rays, three boys sat on top of a skyscraper, watching the town. One boy was dressed in red, his auburn hair being covered by a cap as he observed how the city being changed into an orange hue from the exposure of the rays. Another boy with black hair dressed in green was doing pushups, finishing 100 of them before he balances himself on hand and going for another set while the other person who was dressed in blue was in a daze, his blonde hair dancing in the wind and his mind in a daze at the sight of the city when he took up a stone and start to carve it on the concrete. After a few minutes, the boy in red then starts playing with some pebbles, throwing one of them which hovers across the city and into the water.
"Hey, boys." He said, gaining the attention of the two other individuals. Realizing that he got their attention, he continued. "You ever felt tired or bored of destroying the city? Like it's not worth it?"
Hearing the question, the two brothers thought for a second before the one in blue nodded and the other in green simply shrugging.
"I like destroying the city." He said before he continued his activity. The red boy sighs at his answer before he asks another question.
"Butch. What do you like apart from destroying the city?"
"Fighting! Duh!"
"Ok. Apart from that, what else?"
Butch, unable to answer, racks and punches his head for any solution until he simply shrugs, scratching his hair while doing so. Sighing at the absence of a response from the raven haired boy, the boy with the cap simply turns his gaze from the city towards the blonde boy, looking at how he is doing a very good drawing of the city. Walking towards him and looking at his scribble, the redhead then kicks the boy which catches his attention.
"Ouch! What was that for?" The blonde asked, rubbing his side.
"What about you? Do you like anything apart from destroying the city?" The auburn haired asked, his tone becoming a slight bit melancholic which did not go unnoticed by the child in blue.
"Drawing." He answered flatly before he received another kick.
"What was that for now, Brick?"
"Anything else?" The boy in red, who was known as Brick, said with his hands on his hips. Butch snickered when the blonde kid held his side, the pain subsiding as he got up.
"Umm… I like ice cream, bugs, animals, chicken, sod-" He was interrupted as the boy in red put a hand in front of him, signaling him to stop. Walking to the end of the building and looking at the city once more, Brick said something that caused both of the boys to look at him incredulously.
"I'm jealous of the Powerpuff Girls."
Butch simply looked at him before he waved his hands and said. "WHAT? What would make you be jealous of those girlies?"
The boy simply played with his auburn colored hair, closing his eyes before he continued. "They have everything. Literally everything. When they walk out, everyone likes them but when we do it. We're booed. I'm tired of this. I know you are, Boomer."
Butch then looked at his blonde brother with wide eyes, seeing that he nodded slowly with his blue eyes on the ground, staying silent as the raven haired boy looked at him in surprise. He was about to punch Boomer before he was stopped by Brick who held onto his hand.
"Why do you want to hit him?"
"Because he's a traitor! He's just like those Powderpuffs. Soft and lame."
"What makes them lame, Butch?"
"Wha?"
"What makes them lame?"
Butch once again found himself unable to answer as he scratched his head. Brick let him go before he goes over to Boomer's drawing. He then observes the drawing before motioning his raven haired boy to come over, pointing at the sketch.
"Do you see this, Butch?" The auburn haired ruff said to his brother who nodded while raising a brow. Realizing that Butch is not understanding what is going on, the elder brother sighs before he puts an arm around his shoulder and starts to explain. "This is a drawing. A sketch. It's what these people call art. It's in museums and sometimes is the face for certain countries. And our dumb brother is able to do that. And he enjoys it. Do you know what he could do with that?"
Understanding a little, Butch nodded which caused Brick's eyes to widen before he continued.
"Do you know what they call people doing what Boomer is doing? They call them artists. They get money for stuff like this. Mojo has always had to get them out of banks and stuff. What if we just make Boomer do this?"
"Yeah! Wait! Wouldn't that get us in jail?" Butch asked, receiving a smack to the head by Brick. After he recovers from the blow, the red ruff held him again before he spoke again.
"No, you dummy! I read about this. This way of stealing money does not get us back…there. Trust me, I do not want to go back in there again." Brick said before the three ruffs shuddered at the thought of being back in jail.
"I…just want to know. Do we really need to destroy things in order to have fun? And the more I check it out, the more it gets boring. I'm starting to even lose interest in fighting the Powderpuff girls."
"Powerpuff." Boomer corrected before Brick threw a rock in his face. "Shut it, Boomer!"
"I mean. Why don't we try stuff that the girls do on a daily basis? Save people or something? The monkey did tell us that he made us from them." Butch suggested. This suggestion caught the attention of his auburn haired brother who looked at him in confusion before dashing over to him.
"Butch! You're a genius!" Brick shouted, shaking the raven haired ruff harshly. Upon hearing the compliment, Butch starts to smile, a bit more enthusiasm towards the plan and a little glad which did not go unnoticed by his red haired brother. After their discussion, the sun starts to become more visible over Townsville as the auburn haired kid starts to pacing around the building, thinking of an idea while his two brothers sit on the floor.
"How are we going to do this? What does the Powerpuffs really do?" Brick stated, looking at the two other ruffs for a solution.
"Be lame." Butch commented, earning a look from his red eyed brother.
"Why don't we try to help them with the buildings that we destroyed?" Boomer suggested, getting knocked on the head by Brick which was followed by another one from Butch.
"That's a dumb idea." The red eyed boy said before he snapped his fingers before he spoke. "I got it. Why don't we try to help them with the buildings that we destroyed?"
"But…that's what…I said…" The blonde brother said.
"It's better when I said it." Brick said before he looked at the city. He then took off to the skies, his brothers following as they hover over the city, watching the people going about their daily lives, smiling and enjoying themselves. As they reached one of the areas with damaged building, they landed on the ground safely as they ran over to the workers rebuilding the damaged building. As they got closer, they heard two men in a conversation, despite their distance was clear to them due to their super hearing.
"Man. Another building down. We need to find some substance that are monster proof."
"Amen to that one, brother."
"Sounds rough." The two men jumped, turning around to see the three brothers. Upon seeing them, the two men turned pale before they ran away, alerting the other workers, much to the confusion of the boys.
"It's the Rowdyruff boys! Everyone run!" The man said, running away. Hearing him, the others sprint off as well, fear etched to their faces.
"Wait! We only…" Brick let out his hand but before he could finish, everyone was already out of the area, leaving only the Rowdyruff boys. "…want to help out."
Slowly letting his hand down, the auburn haired boy turns his cap around and uses the brim to hide his face. His brothers put an arm around him before he smiled at them until Butch came up with an idea. "Hey! Why don't we show how awesome we are by rebuilding back this here building boy ourselves?"
"Yeah! That might get them to like us!" Boomer said, agreeing with his raven haired brother. Brick smiled, nodding before they all turned to look at the building before they took up the equipment and got ready.
"Let's go, boys!" The leader said before his brothers shouted in agreement as they got to rebuilding.
As the sun goes overhead which signaled noon, the boys looked in horror as the buildings that they tried to fix all turn to dust, some buried in craters. As one of the buildings crumble into nothingness, Brick got upset, throwing his cap to the ground before he started punching the ground, his frustration surfacing.
"DANG IT!" Brick yelled at the top of his lungs, his punches creating slight headaches. His brothers went beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder, feeling the disappointment and frustration of their leader. The three brother then floated into the air.
"Let's try again tomorrow, Brick. Today just may not be our day…" Boomer said, trying his best to encourage Brick while Butch punched him on the shoulder, making him glare at the raven haired boy who said. "Stop wussing out and being lame. We can try tomorrow."
The redhead simply made a small smile before nodding as they went home. Boomer flew back, drawing a sketch of the three of them bowing down and saying 'sorry' on a piece of paper which he attached by one of the machines before he hovered in the air and followed his brothers. He starts muttering before flying through the air, leaving a dark blue streak behind him as his mouth projects the final thought that came up in his brain. "Doing good things…I just hope we can do this right…"
For the past weeks, the Rowdyruff Boys tried their best, watching and helping people and observing the daily lives of Townsville's residents as much as they could in their own way. They realized that they were causing more harm than good, not understanding how to deal with people as well as how their reputation as villains often got them in troublesome situations. Fail after fail happened, wearing down the boys' confidence and at the same time increasing their frustration. No matter what they tried, nothing worked. Nothing mattered. Nothing changed.
The boys tried again, which for another month and the result they get is failure, much to their dismay and frustration. It was a rainy day, the boys tried to help with beating a monster however the damage that they have done was bigger than usual. They could only watch as the ambulance pick up a big number of people and driving them off to the hospital. They were about to help but as they took one step, everyone cowered away from them, some of the individuals screaming at the top of their lungs which hurt the boys. After everyone was driven to the hospital which left the boys in quietude, Brick descended to his knees before he smashed the ground angrily, roaring at the top of his lungs.
"Is destroying our only purpose? Are we…only made to be villains?" The redhead whimpered as his cap fell to the floor, the raindrops dampening the fabric. He then continued punching the ground before he continued ranting. "What are we here for? Why are we here for?"
"WHY WERE WE CREATED?!" He yelled, tearing coming at off his eyes. Boomer simply crouched and sobbed while Butch just hid his face with his wet hair, punching the unconscious monster to let out his anger. They stayed there for a while to calm themselves down, thinking that the rain would soothe their pain. Seeing that the storm got worse, the blue ruff walks over to his brother and about to pick him up and go home before he notices something in the distance, immediately groaning as he recognize the people.
The Powerpuff girls.
The girls landed on the ground, immediately in battle stance which got the blonde ruff worried as he stepped in front of his redheaded brother, looking at him to see if he has moved. Butch has also landed beside them, having a glare that caused the Powerpuff girls to be unnerved.
"What on earth are you three doing here?" Blossom said, making sure not to drop her guard.
"Yeah. What pranks you idiots trying to do now?" Buttercup interjected, keeping her eyes on her counterpart who she thought would've attacked her already. Bubbles also shared her raven haired sister's suspicion as she saw the green ruff not attacking, the blue ruff looking anxious and their auburn haired brother on the ground. Boomer was about to speak until a voice interrupted as both him and Butch turned around.
"Nothing…in fact we're leaving now…" Brick said in a broken voice, his eyes tired as he slumped, flying in the air and getting ready to leave, his brothers following.
"Not so fast!" The leader puff exclaimed, getting the boys' attention as they turned to her, Brick looking at her emotionally exhausted. "What do ya want, pinkie?"
"What were you doing here?" The auburn haired girl asked stronger and clearer, her eyes squinting at her counterpart who looked away from her. "In fact, why did you destroy this place?"
Hearing her assumptions caused Brick to be angered as he clenched his fists and tried to bite his lip to calm himself down. Boomer recognized this, a chill coming up his spine as he looked at the redhead with worry in his eyes, trying his best to soothe his anger while looking at his raven haired brother who nodded, understanding the situation.
"We were trying to beat that monster into the ocean!" Butch answered with a shrug, pointing towards the monster. The girls looked at the unconscious being laying on one of the building before the ruff continued. "Things got a bit out of hand."
"A bit? The street is nearly destroyed. What is wrong with you three?" Bubbles said, observing the destruction of the place. Seeing some animals hurt, she got angry as she glared at the ruffs, her eyes glowing.
"We didn't mean for this! We were trying to lead him into the ocean." Boomer protested.
"Really? How can we believe you?" Blossom stated with her arms folded, waiting for an answer.
The boys were at a loss for words as they looked around, seeing the destruction they caused and seeing the rest of the population who were uninjured hiding and cowering from them. Seeing them, Butch smiled and said. "Why don't you ask them? They can tell you everything."
"THOSE MONSTERS DESTROYED HERE! THEY KEEP DESTROYING OUR CITIES, HURTING PEOPLE! THEY HAVE BEEN TORMENTING US FOR THE PAST MONTH AND WE WANT THEM TO STOP!" One of the people yelled, some of them crying and others nodded in agreement. The Rowdyruff boys simply look in shock, literally speechless as they heard the words from the townspeople as they continued speaking. Their efforts of trying to change, all come to naught. They all simply looked down, glad for the rain for hiding their tears until they floated off, ready to grant the people their wish.
That would be the case.
As they flew off, the boys were attacked by their counterparts with Butch being first as Buttercup punched him into the air and slammed him into the ground, causing a crater. Boomer was about to help his brother before he was kicked by Bubbles, making him hit the floor as he was thrown through a few buildings before she landed in front of him, pummeling him viciously. Brick looked at his teammates, his body instinctively moving him to save them before he was hit by a heat laser by Blossom which only got stronger despite the weather as it started to burn the boy's cap and part of his shirt. As he endured the blast, he got closer to his counterpart, his mind remembering everything that he has been doing during his struggle to know who he is.
He realized that he's not enjoying the fight anymore, just annoyed. He felt stupid for thinking it was cool to destroy the city. He actually liked to learn new things. He liked to read books. Everything that he knew and was taught by Mojo is not how it was shown when he was observing. He is tired of destroying cities. Tired of being in jail. Tired of barely having anywhere to live. He is tired of being a villain.
Brick has had enough.
His eyes glowing with anger, the redheaded ruff starts to shrug off the blast, landing a punch on Blossom's face, sending her to the ground and causing her to stagger when she tries to get up. He then turned his glare to Buttercup who was charging a blast at the crater, dashing towards her and tackling her into a car before picking up Butch from the crater. Gritting his teeth at the black eye in his brother's face, Brick started to realize something before he heard punching sounds in the background, ascending into the air holding his raven haired teammates before he saw Bubbles beating Boomer, speeding off towards them. The blue puff hardly had any time to react before the redheaded ruff kicked her, letting her fly down the street until she hit a stop sign, uprooting it when she collided into it.
Brick looked down at his blonde brother, anger oozing from his body as it started to glow when he saw the state of his face. He then tried his best to hold it back as he put the blue ruff over his shoulder and flew away, leaving a red streak in the sky. The Powerpuff girls got up, grouping together as they witness the people cheering for them, glad that they drive away the boys. They look towards the direction that Brick left in, Buttercup ready to chase them before Blossom stopped her.
"What the heck? We're not gonna go after them?" The green puff asked, her foot tapping on the ground quickly, signaling her impatience with Bubbles wondering the reason as well. Blossom glanced at her two sisters before she answered the question. "I don't think we will be able to win."
"What makes you think that?" The raven haired girl said, crossing her arms and glaring at the leader.
"Did you not see Brick? He was glowing. We don't know what that mean or what powers he was using but it nearly knocked us all out in one hit." The redhead mentioned, noticing that Bubbles was shaking in fear when she said that. "You know what? Let's just call it a day, Buttercup. You can get them next time. Plus, it's raining. I don't wanna be any wet than I already am."
Buttercup then grunted in annoyance as the three of them retreated home, Blossom taking one last look to the direction Brick went as a thought came across her mind.
'What was that about with Brick?'
Returning to their home, Brick came face to face to Mojo Jojo who looked at him and his brother with a disappointed expression on his face. Brick and Butch are conscious however Boomer is still incapacitated as Brick laid him on the ground. "I, Mojo Jojo, am disappointed in you boys. You have brought shame to me for far too long. Being beaten by the Powerpuff girls time and time again. You have proven time and time again to be failures. How did I even make such failures? Where did I go wrong with being your father?"
Hearing the words from the monkey's mouth caused the redhead to be enraged as he stood up, glaring at Mojo.
"SHUT UP!" He yelled, surprising Butch and even Mojo looked at the auburn haired boy with his outburst. "Father? We were never your children! You never treated us like your 'sons' unless it benefitted you! Do you know what is the meaning of a parent? Do you know what a parent does for their children? Cause if you do, you did none of those for us! Not a single one! If you did, we would not be so incompetent! Yes! Incompetent! I had to learn that word in a library! You did not teach us anything! You don't even school us! We sleep on the floor for goodness sakes! If you were half the hardworking parent you said you were, Boomer wouldn't be on the floor with his face bleeding! I don't know what you are but a parent ain't one of them!"
Brick simply panted, his knees on the ground as he punched the metal floor, causing a shockwave that shook the place. His head started to descent to the floor, causing his cap to fall as he silently spoke, exhaustion present in his voice. "I'm tired of this. We're tired of this."
Butch went beside his brother and put a reassuring arm on him which surprised Mojo Jojo who only knew the child as incapable of showing any emotion apart from rage. The monkey simply watches at them, disgusted at what he seeing as his mind reminds him of the times when he spended as the Professor's pet. Witnessing this caused him to feel anger towards the Rowdyruff boys, his mind descending to that of his primal instincts as he rushes the two boys, catching them off guard as he brutally attacks them. Brick tried to escape however Mojo held him in place by his foot as he savagely beat up Butch, scratching and pummeling the raven haired kid until he throws him across the room.
"Butch!" The redhead yelled, using his laser vision to move the monkey only to realize that he is unable to do so. "Huh?"
He was unable to find an answer as Mojo slammed him across the room, colliding into the wall before he was on the floor coughing up blood. Brick could not even react before he was mauled, the monkey broke his arm which resulted in a cry of pain from the red ruff along with tears threatening to come out of his eyes. Looking ahead, he saw Mojo Jojo yelling before he turned his attention towards Boomer, walking towards the unconscious blonde.
"Wait! No! Leave Boomer alone!" Brick said, stretching his good arm out and trying to form a blast from his hand only to fail. He could only watch as the monkey savagely beat up the blue ruff, leaving the boy on the floor, bleeding with his arms twisted in a weird position. As he finished, Mojo Jojo started to calm down, panting as he walked towards his chair. Brick looked in disbelief as the monkey is checking himself and his gloves that were stained in his brothers' blood, not even batting an eye on any of them before he heard it say one thing that caused him to glare at the villain in anger and frustration.
"Leave. I have no use for you failures."
Brick could only worry about his brothers as he picked them up and got their stuff which was not much and was manageable with this super strength even though he has one working arm. Walking out of the tower, the red ruff turns his gaze back at Mojo Jojo, sighing before he asks a question.
"I want to know one question." He said, biting his lip before he continued. "Did you ever once in your life see us as your children?"
"No." Mojo said without missing a beat and emotionlessly, not bothering to look at the boys.
"I knew it." Brick simply let out a breath as he quickly took off into the skies as he looks for a place to stay for the day as a thought came across his mind.
The red ruff flew around the city before he went into one of the alleys, attending to his and his brothers wounds before looking up to see that it is already night time. He looks around to find some ripped sheets by the garbage cans and put them over his brothers before he gaze at the stars, laying down by his brother and trying to get as much of the sheet as possible as a question came across his mind.
"What are we going to do now?"
As the next day came, the boys tried their best to survive, learning, doing good deeds however nothing ever worked out. They were ridiculed by both the people and the villains. No one wanted them. No one cared about them. It was two months since they have been kicked out of Mojo's lair and the three boys have been living on the streets, going from alley to alley to avoid police, the Powerpuff and the villains. They have tried everything but in due time, they all started to realize one thing.
They had no place anymore.
Before the sun hovered, the boys took up their belongings, making their way to the outskirts of Townsville, the wind being specifically cold causing the three to shiver under its embrace. Butch realize that Boomer was having problems holding his bag due to both his arms still being bruised from their encounter with Mojo, taking the bag from the blonde and putting over his shoulder which made the blue ruff look at him in confusion. He simply turned around, not allowing his brother to look at his face before he looked at Brick, asking a question.
"So what's going on? What are we gonna do today?"
"We're leaving Townsville." Brick said, causing both his brothers' eyes to widen. They have never been outside of the place before which caused mixed feelings of curiosity and longing between them. They never know much about anything and in fact, one could say that their world was Townsville. Boomer walks forward, looking at the ruff leader before he asked a single question.
"What are we looking for out there, Brick?"
Brick simply looked at the blonde in disbelief, realizing that he had not stuttered and prouf of how much he had changed these past few months to the point that he would speak to him and ask a question without a hint of his low self-confidence. The redheaded brother then smirked as he put his arms around both his brothers until he went up in the sky, carrying them with them before he shouted. "There is so much out there that we don't know and we're gonna check them out. There are places that snow all year around. Bigger libraries than the one here! Other countries and islands! Huge jungles and different animals! Anything that we can think is out there and we're gonna go and see them! We're gonna have fun!"
He then ascended further into the air, anticipation and excitement rising within them as Brick shouted one last phrase before they flew off into the horizon.
"We're looking for a purpose! Our purpose!"
This took a lot longer than it should have to be put up. To be honest, this was the first fanfiction story I wrote up and Tale of the Scarlet Hero was one of my last projects. I was always a fan of the Rowdyruffs Boys and honestly to me, they were one of my first villains that I wanted to see redeemed but I never got that. I feel like out of the entire rogue's gallery for the Powerpuff girls, their transformation to good would make the most sense. Tell me what do you guys think. I didn't know if I should've put this as a prologue or not. Hope you guys like the first chapter so far. The second chapter will be coming soon, possibly later if everything goes well. Tell me how you feel about the chapter so far and how the story goes. Please stay safe out there. Enigma out!