Leads to Shadows

Blossom was in her bed most of the night looking over the one file that happened to be brought up about John Bullion, the man who seemed to have a lot of interest in what happened. Rightfully so she's assuming, his life was in danger, his men's lives were in danger, and his job was in jeopardy, but that doesn't excuse how crass he was. Almost as if he was looking for an excuse to harm someone, or worse. She asked her father to do what he could concerning the chemical compound of the bomb that went off yesterday. It was all over the news, as well as the girls doing what they did best. It was the middle of the day, and while she should be out on patrol with her sisters, this is something that couldn't be helped. Most of the morning her thoughts wanted to know what was in these files, and as soon as she heard the police were done doing a background check, she got home as fast as she could.

Guilt racked her somewhat, she felt as if she should include her sisters in what's going on, but with what happened yesterday it was the duty of the feign oldest sister to shoulder these burdens alone. She couldn't possibly ask them to divert any attention from protecting this city with a hidden threat. Once her shoes were off and tucked away, she cracked open the file, thin, meaning that there wasn't a lot of meat to go through, it seemed like it should only take a few moments. Blossom looked through the identity page, social security as well as some more personal information lining the page. Seems he's been in and out of the system since he was about seventeen, then started working for a construction company, the very same that was hired to build the medical center. Working there for nearly a decade, his previous charges were theft, assault, extortion, and a whole list of physical crimes and their counts.

Blossom respected him for turning his life around, even growing up in a cesspool like Chicago, seems he's carried that aura all the way from Illinois, to the east coast. Figuring he'd be a better fit for Citysville, rather than here. Either way he must've wanted a change of scenery, which again she can commend. But other than his address and his charges, there was nothing else of note, not an incredibly long list of criminal history like she anticipated. He was a nobody who wanted to make his work his life, good for him, and as much as it irritates her, he must be relatively clean of what's going on around Townsville. Despite his vigilantism, she'll let him go out of her radar for now.
As she tucked the file away under her bed she decided to see if her dad made any progress on the samples she gathered. Going all the way to the garage, it was oddly silent, her father was never silent. A light knock on the door "dad?" she called, before opening it slightly "everything okay?" with no answer she assumed the worst immediately and came in. There was the professor, looking over the formula of the samples, with a look of what one would call borderline horror, he gave a shaky sigh. "The chemical you found? It's… it's some different strain of chemical x" he said plainly, no use sugarcoating it is there? Blossom recalls that he sold the formula for the chemical years ago, a trusted group of friends back in his college, promising to make good use of what the professor gave them. Blossom figured that this would never happen, but, in the back of her head, she always feared the worst when it came to such a powerful element, eventually someone will want it, and they'll do anything they can to get their hands on it.
She can't be too surprised, in all of her hero career Blossom deduced that Townsville was in its most peaceful era for about ten years or so. When they were thirteen or fourteen years old, Townsville's villainy ceased to exist. With the death of Mojo JoJo, HIM's sudden disinterest in Townsville, and the rest fell like dominos. All of them either go into hiding, turning themselves in, or remaining a lesser nuisance to everything. Even still, it was a scary thought to have some unknown harboring possibly one of the most dangerous man-made elements, she wished when she was a kid that it didn't exist. Then again if it didn't, she wouldn't be here, and have such a loving family to boot. "Blossom?"
"Huh? Sorry, just thinking" Blossom approached her father as they looked at the isolated sample in the beaker, lurching and grabbing at everything it could. Particularly Blossom, the stuff looked like a parasite more than a chemical, seeing the raw material made her feel queasy knowing that it was a part of her. "Did your friends say what happened dad?"
"They said that someone snuck into the lab they had the X in. For a long time, what they thought was the right stuff was just a copy, synthetic, nowhere near as potent as the real thing" the professor would watch the X go haywire alongside his daughter. "It could've been days, weeks, maybe even months before an experiment was conducted and they figured out the X was taken" Blossom watched her fathers hand go through the salt in his hair, almost matching the white in his signature coat. The woman frowned; how could they be so careless? Then again, it's an institute, not a fort.

"Have any idea who might've wanted it?" Blossom took a shot in the dark, the professor shrugged "with Mojo gone there's no one else I can really think of. No one that would have a use for it or to sell it." Blossom and her dad continued to stare at the beaker, in disbelief mostly "what about you? Find anything on your John fellow?" Blossom shook her head "he seems legit, normal. Did some stupid stuff as a kid and then straightened himself out. Maybe he was in a gang or the mob and some… old habit kicked in; I don't know" John wasn't her top priority now. Whoever had the X was using Townsville as it's personal experiment, she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "We'll get it sorted Blossom, don't worry. Everyone in the city is probably working together to find these guys or whoever did this."
"Yeah but they shouldn't have to" Blossom countered, fed up with the whole situation. Pushing herself away from the bench, she felt an irritating headache coming on "I'm going to take a shower and go back out on patrol" a good wash would probably get her thoughts in order. "I'll keep you posted if I find anything" Blossom told her dad, which he nodded, just as her hand touched the knob to the door, the professor grabbed her attention "oh uh! Sorry but, hot water's out. I called someone and they'll have it replaced later today" Blossom groaned and gave a raise of her hand as a response. Hearing her dad chuckle made it a bit worse, but she decided to just get on with the day so a fresh one could start later on.

Flying out of the door her brain was wracked with what was going on. Someone had something they shouldn't and they're obviously up to no good with it. She decided that she would be more vigilant in her survey of the city. Any strange activity will be immediately dealt with, from jaywalking to a man holding up a bank, she can't take anything for granted anymore. While the incident may have been a one-time thing, there's no way her or her family should take this lightly, not that they would in the first place. She was on high alert for anything that might be happening, her built-in sonar picking and choosing decisive words. Anything that might help further this investigation and hopefully nip this in the bud before something deadly starts blooming. She took an unspoken oath, and she's going to be sure to keep it.
Blossoms patrol would be one of order, nothing would slip through her fingers this time.

Blossom was up in the sky once more, twilight hours were closing in on her as the sun was about to set once more. Though she expected crime to be through the roof, most everything was quiet, it was odd. What usually filled the air was joviality, a pat on the back after a hard day's work and earning some relaxation. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as it was before, most people were walking from home, to work, back home, and it was the weirdest sight she'd ever seen. The café's that were usually packed and the bars that had songs reverberating in the walls were silent, barely a handful of customers. It was obvious to anyone that didn't have a bird's eye view that Townsville was shaken to its core, and her heart went out to everyone affected.

Knowing that there was nothing anyone but the Powerpuff girls could've done to stop it must've been humbling in a sense. If not reminding them of who they are, and how fragile they were. Hard to believe that one's fellow man would even do that to each other, Blossom chewed at her lip at the silent uneasiness of everything. After one more round of surveying, it seems that the city was going to bed early, and it was a sign that Blossom should retire as well. After her last round she made her way home, her family already ready for tomorrow it seems.

Blossom touched down on the sidewalk and listened to the neighborhood, usually kids were out and about talking about school, crushes, parents that grounded them. But it was eerily silent now, most kids burrowing in their homes seeing as school was canceled today. Playing video games or spending time with their loved ones, she took a deep breath of spring air, and it seemed the first cut of grass made its way around. A sad smile formed on her face as she went to walk to her home, but when she turned around there was an unknown truck in their driveway, and the family car was out on the street. Figuring it was the repairman, Blossom was looking forward to taking a nice hot shower after a long, seemingly arduous day out. Though, she slowed to a stop when the truck came into view.

It was an old, beat-up pickup that had tires several times the original size, the bed was replaced with toolboxes and equipment. Black as night save for the chipped paint and the rust spots showing on the wheel wells, still, it ran, and she guessed that's what the owner was most concerned about. Upon closer inspection though it was oddly familiar, she's certainly seen that roaming around the roads on more than one occasion. She would walk up the driveway, and see the man she didn't want in her home. John had just managed to disconnect the hoses of the old one, and was taking the rivets out of the ground. Hearing the pop of metal from concrete, she cocked an eyebrow, the man must've had a sixth sense himself as he turned around, not offering more than a few seconds before he was working on the other four rivets.

"Seems you do a bit of everything, don't you?" Blossom inquired, John nodded in response as he was focused on the rivet, but going on autopilot "little of this, little of that, jack of all trades" with a pop, the second rivet was out "master of all."
"So, it seems" Blossom watched him work as she leaned on the frame of the garage door, looking back at the truck "how are your guys doing?"
"Well…" another crack and a pop "the ones that aren't in the hospital I found them jobs across town. We're more backed up than a broken toilet, and the guys that are in the hospital" the last pop, the tank could move now "are gonna be there for a while. Don't know if they'll work for me again, or at all" John shrugged "that's life though." Blossom tilted her head, that's it? That's life? Seems kind of cruel in her eyes "why, you want a job? Could use a Supergirl in my crew"
"Thanks but, I think I'll decline" Blossom being upped to Supergirl was something she'd never heard before. Sure, she was super and, last time she checked, a girl, but it was strange being labeled as such. She was either Blossom or a Powerpuff, nothing else. John shrugged "alright, well, your loss, easiest money you'll ever make."
"There's a little more to life than money"
"Easy to say when you practically own this city" John challenged, moving the tank off of its pedestals gently "but who am I to say anything? I'm just a handyman."

"Excuse me?" Blossom said, now a little more irritated, it didn't help with the past few days she's had. "I don't own this city, the only thing I own is a laptop, and a bed"
"Sounds like lonely nights, huh?" John quipped, laughing at his own joke. Blossom rolled her eyes, aghast at how vulgar this man is. "Just fix the heater, get paid, and leave"
"Sure thing princess" Blossom ignored the comment and immediately went into her house. Practically tearing the door handle out of the door, he did quite well to get under her skin. Bubbles peeked behind the kitchen door, with Buttercup looking up from her phone, scrolling through some such nonsense. Both girls looked at their eldest, silence filled the room, Blossom took the time to adjust her jacket and smooth out her skirt. "You, okay?" Buttercup asked, Blossom gave a nod "I am going to my room for now, call me if anything happens" Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged glances as they saw their sister float up to her room. Blossom shut the door behind her and took the bow out of her hair, thinking that was the source of her headache.

John doesn't need to have any of her attention span at this point, there's more important things to worry about. Still, she couldn't help but grab her pillow and scream into it, thankfully she doesn't have the resonance that her sister Bubbles has. Then she tossed her pillow back on the bed and felt a bit better, but only a bit. Kicking off her shoes she went to her laptop and started listening to some music to try and calm her nerves. Smooth jazz seemed to work wonders compared to anything else. As she got in the zone, outside of the noise canceling she heard a knock at the door, Blossom huffed some and made herself appropriate. She was as appropriate as she always is, Buttercup was the one that entered "you aren't alright, are you?"
"Was it that obvious?" Blossom scoffed, bitterly, it seems like the events of today stacked way too high for her to carry, she was way out of practice "yeah, it was." Buttercup went and sat at the end of the bed "you wanna talk about it?"
"There isn't much to talk about," Blossom sighed "there's, a lot, to talk about, where's Bubbles?"
"Here" she squeaked from behind the door, peeking in on her sisters, slowly she came in and closed the door behind them. Her bouncing blonde curls seemed to have a mind of their own no matter what. Blossom took a deep breath and looked between her family. "I asked dad to take a look at that bomb, well, what was left… it was X"

"Like, chemical X?" Buttercup asked, Bubbles took a seat on the floor and hugged her knees to her chest. "Why… how, who has that?" Bubbles asked, her voice soft and shaky, there wasn't a lot she was afraid of anymore, but somehow X had power over all three of them, it was like a demon that saved them. It was no secret that the PowerPuff girls owed their entire life to Chemical X, the concoction made by their father after it accidentally poured into their serum. After some internal struggle that they were artificial humans and not biological ones that lasted years, they eventually realized that they wouldn't be who they are if it wasn't for that special vile looking entity. Even after they could control their powers, and any extra doses only added to their power level for a day or two, there was nothing that it could do to them that was negative, but there was a lot of evil it could do.

Bombs being a small part of the equation. The literal antithesis of who they are and what they stood for was created from X, lawbreakers and criminal syndicates wanted their hands on it for so long because of its potency. There was just a tiny amount in the bomb yesterday, and it damn near leveled the whole building, causing a nuclear level threat with just a bit more. The room was silent, heavy air and uneasy breaths "shit this… this got serious quick, huh?" Buttercup said, her eyebrows were raised the entire time, tracing the intricacies of the carpet. Looking at Bubbles, she too was in slight shock, who could blame them? Blossom wanted to keep them out of the loop and end this quickly, but in hindsight she would be handicapping herself and her sisters if they ever came across it. However, things didn't quite turn out that way "so… what do we do?"
"What we've been doing, just be a bit more vigilant, ears open at all times, anything and I mean anything to do with X. Investigate it if you can, and keep an eye out for a symbol like this" Blossom would sketch up what she saw earlier in the alley way.

"I don't know what it means, but if my hunch is serving me right this has got to be connected with the people that planted the bomb" Blossom presented it to her sisters, both of them nodding "I seen something like that towards the dock. Maybe it's for them to mark safehouses or dead drops?" Blossom nodded "I found this in an alley, dumpsters everywhere. I'll go back to check soon but, as far as I know there wasn't the slightest hint of X to be found anywhere" Blossom was kicking herself for not thinking about that earlier, but it's too late now. It would be a miracle if she could find something now "I saw that at fuzzy lumpkins cabin too, I-It looked abandoned, he probably moved further into the woods away from everyone. I'll… see if there's anything there next time." Blossom nodded along, and it seems they've been underneath their noses for a long time, probably planning this for months, maybe even years.

"Aside from that, are you guys doing, okay?" Blossom has been caught up with this fiasco, she forgot to check in on the two people that are helping her save this place, possibly even more than one place at this rate. "Yeah I'm, I'm good, well, now I'm not, but, I'm moderately okay, I think" Buttercup argued with herself a bit then eventually agreed with herself. Bubbles shrugged "I'm fine, just been tired a lot lately"
"Been getting enough sleep?" Blossom asked, Bubbles pouted some "I'm not five anymore"
"I know but, you, me, and Buttercup know that it's easy to just go on for a while with stopping and resting" Blossom would kneel down next to Bubbles "I know you can take care of yourself, but as your sister it's my duty to make sure you remember to do that when you forget, both of you." Despite being practically the same age, Blossom was born to take the role of Eldest, being set in stone ever since their creation. Watching over her sisters, as well as challenging them to be better versions of themselves, was the first thing on her mind when she saw them. Bubbles leaned on Blossom's shoulder as their sister joined them on the floor, enjoying a group hug for the first time in what felt like forever. "We should get some rest and get an early start on tomorrow, it's going to be a long day again"

"Yeah that's… that's a good idea" Bubbles couldn't help but yawn at the mention of sleep, Blossom kept her mouth shut for the time being, both of them knew that an 'I told you so' was around the corner. Nonetheless they disbanded for now, and decided to retire for the evening, but Blossom couldn't go another minute without a shower. Gathering some fresh clothes for the night, sleep did sound good considering she hasn't been doing a lot of that thanks to her powers. Her pile neatly folded it was time to get ready for bed, heading down the stairs to see if John was gone, it seems that he and the professor were too busy talking in the kitchen to notice her. Well, John noticed her first, it seems they were having a grand old time talking about whatever it is they talk about.

"Oh! John I want you to meet my daughter, Blossom" her dad enticed Blossom over, pulling her lips tight together she mustered up a smile nonetheless "we've met before, Tony" first name basis already? Here she thought it was strictly business "oh you have? Where at?"
"He was actually, working on the building that got destroyed" Blossom said, going on the other side of the island as she put her clothes down "did you manage to get the hot water up and running?"
"Yep, nice and toasty, tuned up the car too but uh, don't think you'll be needin' it" John smiled, credit where it's due he seems to be a premier handyman. "I want to know how you lived through that!" Blossom quirked an eyebrow, two beers, and her father was lighter than a lightweight. Blossom then furrowed her brow some "yeah how did you, John? You were on the seventh floor practically"
"Just got lucky I guess" John shrugged, looking to the tile to the professor, to Blossom "I was heading down to get, somethin' from somebody, can't remember what. Halfway down I heard the bomb go off and the whole building shook."

"God that must've been scary" the professor shook his head as he chugged the last of his beer. Blossom looked to her dad "alright dad, let's get you to bed, I think you've had enough"
"Sleep sounds good, it's important, and we need it! So, I am going to take some… s-some sleep" with a yawn Blossom went to guide her dad to the garage, but he jeered off course and went straight to the couch. Blossom grabbed a blanket and draped it over her father, fast asleep he was, Blossom looked back to John, now would be as good a time as any to send a stranger home. But there was an opportunity, and she was going to take it, as she went back to the island "I have questions for you"
"Better make 'em quick, got an early day tomorrow" John would then go to the garage, following him, Blossom saw that the new heater was installed. Thanking the stars above, he would start gathering his tools, Blossom closed the door behind her "you weren't moving down the stairs on the building, you were on the twentieth floor"
"Like I said, I got lucky, managed to outrun it before the place came all the way down"
"You're lying"
"Oh? Am I?" John stopped what he was doing, Blossom listened to his heart beat, as calm as ever, she shook her head "you're hiding something"
"I don't know what kind of powertrip you're on princess, but I'm just a guy livin' in a world that's been trying to kill him since he was born." John would put his toolbox together and go to his truck bed "if I was hiding something, I'd be worried, but I'm not"

Blossom felt her skin crawl, something about this man was just telling her that he's not who he says he is. Clenching her jaw as she watched him gather his things, she convinced herself that it was in the effort of making sure he stays gone. "I've made it obvious that I'm very suspicious of you, so if I see you conversing with anyone in my family again, or any of my friends outside of business that is. We will have words" Blossom approached John, he was pinned between the truck and herself, and she can tear through a truck. "And they will not be pleasant" she saw the reflection of her eyes on his own, and yet, he wasn't worried, knowing probably that this threat was in vain. It wouldn't behoove a public figure like her, doubling as a superhero, the public would hate her for it, and even though she wouldn't go through with it, she can still scare this man.

"You get one more question, then I gotta leave" John said, going to clean up all of the dirt and debris he caused. Blossom looked down at the concrete, then to him as he was sweeping out the garage. She had to pick carefully it seems, probably going to avoid her like the plague after this, and that's even if he'll tell the truth in the first place. "Have we met before?" John didn't hesitate in the slightest, however she was purposefully listening and looking for any differences in his demeanor. John shook his head, his hands were steady, his voice was calm as he defiantly told her 'no', but his heart rate spiked for a millisecond. "you're lying"
"I'm not, lying, I don't fucking know you, we've never met, we've never even breathed the same air as each other" John was started to get irritated, and it was showing, crumpling the aluminum broom he carried with him "fuck, now I gotta buy a new broom!"
"Screw the broom! We've met, who are you!?"
"No one god dammit! We've never met so fucking drop it already!"
"What's going on!?" Buttercup and Bubbles came down in front of the garage and looked inside. "The whole neighborhood can hear you guys!"
"Sorry we were just… discussing, some stuff that happened at the tower" Blossom looked back at John, as their eyes met, he got the message. "Got a little, heated, sorry, lost a lotta good guys" the two looked at Blossom for confirmation, she put a hand on John's shoulder. "It'll be okay, sorry again about your losses"
"They're strong guys, they'll live through it."

Taking that as an answer, Bubbles and Buttercup retreated back to their room. John clenched his jaw "you stay out of my way; I stay out of yours. We don't know each other, so let's go back to that."
"Fine" Blossom said, she'll get nothing out of him, and he's nothing but a distraction from the greater picture "hey" he called, putting the last of his things in the truck "nice panties by the way"
"Leave… now" Blossom warned. John laughed all the way to his driver's seat, once his truck left the driveway, Blossom nearly crushed the garage door remote. She was now madder than ever, looking at her pile of clothes, like an idiot, her underwear was the one on the top. Letting out a defeated sigh she grabbed her clothes and headed straight for the shower, letting the water run and get warm as she began to undress. Blossom looked at herself in the mirror before it fogged up, giving herself a bit of a spruce up, straightening her bangs and getting rid of any smudges. She let out a heavy sigh as she got in the shower, and let the warm water wash her woes away, John an arrogant man, terrorists on the loose, and John that arrogant man. Never before has she met someone like him, and it's going to irritate her for the rest of the time she has to deal with this whole thing.

Now she's going to go to bed angry, which above all, was probably the worst thing to deal with.

PPG belongs to the soul devourer Cartoon Network & Craig McCracken