Fractured
Blossom sat upon the building as her wounds started to heal, hands resting in her lap as she looked towards the moon, the city was suffering right now but, much to her chagrin she couldn't help them, not in this state of mind. She figured out, or rather was shown, that the person she trusted the most that wasn't family was someone from the past that had no right being here. So many questions she wished she could've asked him, but there was no way she could, not when she was clouded by anger and sadness. With another sniffle she wiped one of the final stray tears from her eye, everything they had going felt like it was a lie, which by all right it was. John, or Butch now that he's revealed himself, was toying with her emotions to let her guard down, to try and find a way to destroy her from the inside out. But those last words he said to her kept ringing back and forth, stomping out every other reason she had to hate him.
Loving you wasn't a lie.
She could hear his dumb voice saying that, the way he looked heartbroken, a small inkling of herself believed him, but it was lost in the swirling confusion, it was painful to think about. However that was all she's thinking about, a short text between her sisters and they figured out the same thing. She wanted to be there for them but it was doubtful that they could heal each other when they're going through the same thing. She even went back to look for him but he was gone, she got one text from him, and she came close to blocking his number, still labeled as John in her contacts. The text read for her to call him whenever she wants to talk, and that was it, she dared not scroll back lest she feel the guilt overtake the grief. As she thought in circles despite her headache, she couldn't take it anymore, but she wasn't ready to talk to Butch, not yet. She still has to get over the fact that her first real relationship felt like a lie, and once that one dies with John, maybe, just maybe she can move forward. However, she has no idea how long it'll last or if it'll even go away at any point in time, taking a deep breath of the muggy summer air she stood up, not daring to look at the time.
She committed to memory that file she got when she first met John, when she ran a background check on him. There was an address and an emergency contact number, three others, two of them being Brick and Boomer, which made her want to throw up, and then the other one being unknown. With a deep breath she dialed the number, and after a few rings a woman picked up the phone "hello?" she said groggily, knowing the hour was late, Blossoms heart sank. Was she the 'other woman'? But she shut her eyes tight and exhaled shakily "look if this is about my car's warranty, please just take me off your list and stop calling me!"
"No! No, I'm sorry ma'am I was just looking to get in touch with um…" she thought about which name she would use "John, Bullion?"
"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry usually he doesn't leave my number for business, he's not here right now, in fact I don't think he'll be back for a while" her voice sounded sad over the phone. "Can I leave a message?"
"Yes, tell him that…" Blossom scrambled to find an Alias "Beatrice called, there's a building in town that might need his expertise. Can I put you down as a contact just in case I can't get in touch with him again? I'll be sure to try and reach out to him first of course."
"Oh yes I don't mind, his number is" a number she's memorized by heart, and it pains Blossom to hear it. "And this is a good number to call me back at if you need to, my name is Sandra Keane" Blossom's eyes went wide, Ms. Keane? From her preschool? There's no way it's the same person, she refused to believe it "and you're his…?" Blossom trailed off, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking.
"I'm his mother, foster mother, he wanted to keep his last name because it was 'cool' or something" she laughed over the phone, and Blossom tried to muster her own, but it was weak "oh dear you sound tired! Best get some sleep, I'll pass his message on when he comes back."
"Right, thank you Ms. Keane" Blossom said, this rabbit hole just got strange. Despite a figure that she looked up to when she was a kid suddenly appearing when she called, Sandra claimed to be Butch's mom. Was it against her will? Probably not, she didn't sound panicked over the phone, but did she really raise her arch nemesis? Did she know who they were? Who they really were deep down? She has to, she has answers, and though Blossom wasn't going to go and threaten her, she would never do that, she did want to see if what she said was true. Clutching her phone Blossom wasted no time going to the address, a small home on the outskirts of town, flying the whole way there she didn't know if Sandra knew about Blossom's involvement in her son's love life. It didn't make sense though, her son? How did they even meet to begin with? Why did they bother to stay with her? Why didn't they just leave after their final battle? Were they better off with her? Did they kill mojo and regret it? No, he was dead according to Butch, but that might've been a lie too, she started crying again before she even got to the house. She needed answers and she needed them now.
Spotting the house as a cozy little abode, fit enough for a mom and three bachelors, she took a deep breath and tried to repair her fractured psyche. There was no reason to be angry with Ms. Keane, she was a saint compared to everyone else she's ever met. Blossom did her best to try and smooth out her dress and make herself somewhat presentable, slowly she descended down to the street and walked to the front door. The lights were out save for one room, most likely she was up now seeing as Blossom called her. With another deep breath, Blossom lightly knocked on the door, within a few moments movement was heard, lights were coming on, and Blossom was starting to regret this immediately, the poor woman didn't need this at this time. Clouds started to come overhead, blocking the moon, rain was coming, but if Blossom leaves now, she could make it home and figure out this problem herself "do you have any idea what time it is!?" Sandra said, adjusting her glasses, then she was stunned into silence "h-hi Ms. Keane" Blossom squeaked out. Sandra put her hands over her mouth "oh-oh my god" she said finally "Blossom!?" the woman confirmed with a nod, Sandra wasted no time going in for a hug, a tight hug. Blossom couldn't hold it in anymore as she broke down, tears were streaming heavily as she sobbed into Sandra's shoulder.
All of her emotions came pouring out in one fell swoop, though she did have to mind her strength to not paralyze Sandra, Blossom fell to her knees "I-I'm so sorry for this" she begged, Sandra just held her and let her get it all out. Blossom was thankful for this despite how embarrassing it was, after a time Blossom finally got it out of her system "come inside dear it's going to start raining soon." With a crash of thunder Blossom was led inside Sandra's house, she got a good look at the place from the couch she was sitting on. There were pictures of her and the boys all over the place, them growing up, their respective sports all throughout school, it seems they turned out for the better here. "Here" Sandra handed Blossom a bottle of water and some nice hot tea, she would sit next to her on the recliner and just stare "my gosh how you've grown."
"I remember looking up at you, when I wasn't flying of course" they shared a bit of a smile as the ice was eventually being broken. Sandra wore her years well, spots of gray here and there with some wrinkles to boot, but she was still as spry and caring as she ever was "thank you Ms. Keane."
"Of course Blossom" Sandra would spin her chair a bit so they were looking more directly at her "so… can you tell me what happened? Was it John who did this to you?" Blossom went to say something, it seems she genuinely cares for him and his brothers "yes, and no? He didn't do physical damage but he…"
"He did the other thing" Blossom nodded "I know who he is, really, it… it kind of came to light in not the best way" she chuckled bitterly, very bitterly. Sandra gave a sigh as she leaned back "I bet you have questions don't you?"
"A lot of questions" Blossom said sipping her tea, it helped her relax despite this odd scenario she was in "for starters, how did you become their uh… mom, I guess" Sandra smiled as she took a picture of them from the nightstand "it was just after you fought them around ten years ago, they won but they didn't know what else to do. Luckily, they came to my neighborhood first and started writing some very obscene things on my neighbor's house. I'm sure you can imagine what preteen boys would be writing and misspelling" she laughed. Blossom found the strength to smile. "I went out there and reprimanded them. I know you've seen me get mad and, well I guess it kind of scared them straight in a sense. Eventually they kept coming back and what I thought was bothering me was just hanging out, me, of all people." Sandra sighed as she ran a hand over the picture of the boys when they were kids "to this day I still don't know why they chose me but, I've been pretty grateful they have. They were a pain in the ass to raise as I'm sure you could've guessed once they moved in, but… they just needed some proper guidance, I think. I guess they thought that I could give that to them." Blossom realized they might've wanted to change without asking for help, and that was certainly one way to do it. She smiled at the thought of a childish Butch being scolded by Ms. Keane of all people, but she hated herself at smiling at that thought. "What happened to Mojo?" She asked.
Sandra put the picture down in her lap and gave Blossom a look, it was a look of whether or not she should say what she needed to say "do you promise, to keep this between me and you?" Blossom nodded slowly "do you hear them at all, nearby?" Blossom was suspicious but she closed her eyes and concentrated to see if the boys were out and about. She couldn't hear much of anything, just Sandra's heartbeat, the night was quiet as rain started to pour "just the rain, we're safe." Sandra nodded, still, she scooted from the recliner to the sofa "Mojo is still alive" she whispered in such a hushed tone it was barely audible for her even. Blossom blinked several times, it was all over the news when his volcano lab blew up, with him in it "he doesn't want them knowing."
"Why?" Blossom asked, in a slightly smaller tone, Sandra shrugged, "I think he knows that their lives are for the better now that he and… the other one are out of the picture." The other one must be HIM, a pure essence of evil "you mustn't tell them, you take this secret to your grave. They would be heartbroken if they figured it out, their only dad just… not being there for them" she managed to get out. Blossom looked at the carpet, memorizing the pattern as she thought about it "don't you think they deserve to know?"
"I'm not sure if he's even still alive, I heard from him once and that was it, never again" Sandra leaned back on the sofa next to Blossom. She looked at the tv, staring at her reflection "I see, I won't tell them anyway. It's… it's not my place to speak on it" Blossom would vow to keep this secret, much to Sandra's benefit "thank you Blossom."
"Of course" she said, solemnly looking at the tea as she took another sip "did he tell you what happened these past few months?"
"He did, and, I was hoping it wouldn't turn out the way it has," Sandra gestured to Blossom's torn dress, Blossom shook her head "no he didn't do this."
"Really? Who did?"
"It's a long story" Blossom filled her in on the details that mattered, the doppelgangers specifically. No telling if these criminals knew about her or not "and when she went to hit me that's when Butch stepped in, and he beat her" come to think of it he did it so easily. Granted, Berserk was already worn down, but his attacks were devastating enough to damage everything around him, if Blossom wasn't superhuman she's sure she would've gotten hurt by them. Even if they weren't directed at her "I see, he… oh these boys" Sandra said, in her motherly tone "he did want to tell you, they all did, they wanted no secrets on the table. After everything they've been through growing up, they're changed, they're good boys" she said "and I'm so, so sorry he did that for as long as he did" Sandra started to tear up "it broke my heart to hear that you two split in such a way. He came home everyday talking about you with the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. Bragging about you" Blossom felt heat rise to her face, but she portrayed no such emotion "he loves you, Blossom. He never said it but I could see it, I know my sons, and he's obsessed with you" Blossom gulped hard after hearing that "I thought I was obsessed with him too."
"I know, it's hard to not forgive him" Sandra put an arm around Blossom "he still loves you with all of his heart, he only hid himself because he, and the rest of them, knew that if they came back. They would never be accepted here" Sandra sighed "this is their home as much as yours and mine" Blossom sniffed again, nodding along, she understood Sandra's thinking. Glad she came here instead of home to brood about it all "it's going to take a lot of time to forgive him, Ms. Keane."
"If there's one thing both of you have it's time" Sandra said "did you want to sleep here tonight? It's raining awfully bad." Blossom smirked, downing the rest of her tea and setting the cup off to the side "if that's okay? It's going to be draining trying to fly back to the house" Sandra nodded as she went to fetch Blossom some blankets and something comfier than a ruined dress to sleep in "Butch won't be back for a while so, don't worry about any awkward encounters in the morning."
"Did he tell you that?"
"This isn't the first time he's screwed up, every time he does he disappears for a bit and comes back as if nothing had happened."
"That's not very healthy."
"It's up to you to knock that out of him" Sandra teased "let me know if you need anything Blossom, get some good sleep, okay?"
"I'll try… Ms. Keane?" At the mention of her name, she turned around "thank you, for everything" Sandra only gave her a smile "you girls were always my favorite students. There's not a thing I wouldn't do for you" once the lights were off Blossom changed into an oversized shirt, but she couldn't sleep on the couch with how much noise it made every time she tossed or turned. Slowly she got up and drifted up the stairs, quietly opening doors to hopefully a guest room, instead she got her old beau's room. Butch's bedroom was a mess, decorated on the walls were cars, scantily clad girls and motorcycles. Along with some heavy metal bands whose logos she couldn't even read properly, there was a bed, and while it may not be clean the scent of it brought her a cold comfort. Like he was still here despite who he was, Sandra was right, after some time he deserved a second chance, but she has no idea how long that would take. Blossom took one of his clean shirts and put it over herself, it was his old long sleeve he used to wear with the stripe in the middle. He must've gotten one when he was older for nostalgia's sake. Blossom decided to take a tour around the room and see what his adolescent self was like, knowing what he enjoyed when they were both kids, nothing but destruction and chaos, it was a miracle this place was still standing above all else.
Blossom would go to his dresser first, adorned with many products and crumpled notes and receipts. There was a silver necklace that was hanging up on his mirror, she didn't find anything too exciting, bits and bobs here and there. As she went through it all she was cleaning up the room out of habit, something to tire herself out and keep herself thinking at the same time. His dresser was clean and she started a dirty pile of clothes, which she was going to assume they all were dirty. Blossom pushed the drawers in and moved onto his closet, which was a mess in and of itself. Fine dress shirts and pants as well as a sparkly pair of shoes that were still fresh in the box, not a crease to be found in anything, she shook her head, all this fine clothing wasted. Either way it didn't take much for her to clean it up, seeing as it was already clean. Blossom went to the other side of the room, picking up and tossing some clothes behind her until she rounded to the nightstand. Bending down to get some clothes peeking from under the bed, she found a box, an old box by the looks of it. Blossom bit her lip, unsure of whether or not to pry where she knew she shouldn't.
She winced as she thought about it for too long, reaching for the box and carefully putting it on the bed. There was no label or anything indicating what it was, she carefully opened it in case something leapt out at her. Rifling through it, it was certificates, good grades from past teachers, and pictures of when he was a kid. As he was a preteen, he had his hair spiked all the way up, the stereotypical eighties bad boy with a leather jacket and jeans tucked into combat boots. Blossom couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it, remembering the scar he got from fighting Blossom and her sisters, she held her shoulder, remembering it was blown out of its socket at that time. Regardless she sat on the bed as she continued looking through old photos of him and his brothers.
Blossom found him and Brick and Boomer with a fairly large shark on their fishing hook, though the pole was snapped. She can see that they probably dove in and hunted the thing themselves. Rolling her eyes at the picture, she passed by a math test with a bright red A on it. Blossom was partially surprised; she didn't think he was one for math or even academics. Though her money was on him paying Brick to do it for him, which Buttercup tried to do several times during high school. She then saw a picture of him and Ms. Keane at his birthday party. His face was pelted with paintballs but he had a smile on his face despite the ignorance for rules. Sandra however stood proudly next to her son, it warmed Blossoms heart right up, it seems he really was a well-behaved boy, with the right direction of course. Blossom moved on down the timeline and he was in high school. That's when his sports prowess started to show, star quarterback on the football team, she wondered if he used his powers. Knowing him he probably did, she stopped, she doesn't know him, and she doesn't know why she's doing this in the first place.
Blossom shook her head, putting down the pictures and looking at what she was wearing, what room she was sleeping in, what house she was visiting. Blossom would give a vibrating breath, tears filling her eyes once more, she's supposed to hate this man, she's supposed to never want to see him again. Despite all he's done to her, namely the lying, there was never once he actually threatened her, Butch made her feel safe. Thinking about it on a deeper level, she's not sure she would be with him if it was Butch that came forward, how could she with their history? She understood how it happened, she understood that it wasn't ideal but they made it work regardless, what she thought was a power imbalance was just a coverup, for all of them. There was a part of her that wondered, when they were together, what would happen if she left Butch alone. Would they still be tied by fate? Would they finally be divided? Or even if they left each other to their own problems, would there still be a way that they just couldn't escape each other? A lot of 'what ifs' and variables she didn't like, Blossom looked back into the box and spotted a notebook, with his name written on it in sharpie and an attempt at some threatening font.
Blossom inhaled as she grabbed it and opened it, expecting notes but obviously, that wasn't what was filled with books. Flipping open the first page, the notebook was stiff, and smelled of dust and time gone, Blossom saw some smudged doodles of skulls and chains and other boyish things. Of course, there were more of these sketches all over the book, looking at the dates he carried this all throughout high school. Blossom felt another smile creeping up on her face, until she flipped to a certain page, it was a page full of the names of girls he went to school with. Probably the closest thing to notes he'll ever get, quirking an eyebrow with an unamused look, next to each of the names was one pro and several cons. The one that was common across all of them was 'she's not Blossom' and that made her heart skip a beat, going to the next page it was her name over and over again, it seems he loved her first before she even thought about him. Blossom saw a few spots forming on the page, realizing she was crying again the further she went. Damn it all, she was supposed to stay mad at him, and here she was, crying over how hurt he was, how painful that was for both of them.
Blossom put the notebook back and looked to see a stuffed bear, very well loved over the years. Stitched and restitched over and over again, she gave a weak smile as she hugged the bear. She wants him back, but she knows when Butch comes into view again those feelings are going to swirl and backfire on both of them. Maybe he was right in that regard, they were made for each other and there's nothing they could do to fight against destiny. She would hold the bear close after placing the box on the ground, slowly she would clamber under the covers and wrap herself in a blanket cocoon, glancing at the nightstand however. There was a picture of her. Confused, Blossom sat up a bit and got a good look at it, it was during their stakeout in Citysville, an impromptu photo of her looking out of the window with Miles in her lap. She felt teary eyed again, hoping the puppy is okay at Elmers house. Blossom held the shirt close to her as her eyes grew heavy, eventually she would drift off into a heavy but dreamless sleep. Every so often she would shock herself awake with images of Butch, but eventually those would turn into dreams, and those dreams were tolerable all things considered.
It was midday as Blossom and Sandra caught up on the past few years. Granted it was easier for Sandra to keep tabs on her then it was for Blossom to check up on Sandra, either way it was a nice distraction. Blossom learned that Sandra was working as a realtor now, though obviously business has been slow with all of the things happening in Townsville. Once she retired from her preschool teaching career, that's when she made the change, and that's when the fearsome RowdyRuff Boys decided to make her their mom. Not that she minded of course, three super powered children to protect her and care for her. She never regretted that decision according to her, and it was evident with every smile she gave when talking about them. Blossom admired her dedication, figuring that most other adults would give up fairly quickly, but then again Sandra had tons of experience in dealing with super powered kids. "And this is when Boomer decided to pick up cooking, nearly burnt the kitchen down and that turkey was… crispy, to say the least" Sandra showed a picture of a proud Boomer with a burnt turkey "and… this is when Brick decided to show us his painting finally, though it was after some very colorful choices in his language." Brick sat there triumphantly with an easel, it was a picture of a setting sun, that signature red cap on his head since the day he was born was the cleanest part on him.
Blossom leaned back in her seat as she looked outside, the rain still came down but the thunder had ceased "seems like they were quite the handful, couldn't pick a hobby, could they?" Sandra cackled as she showed Butch finally. Though he didn't have anything that would define his future in this picture, she tilted her head looking at it "what's he doing here?"
"He's watching a movie actually, for whatever reason he's just been so into them when he was young. He still is, but they have to really be good by his standards." Blossom nodded along as she drank her tea, never thinking he'd be one for the arts of all things "I didn't think he liked movies."
"Oh he adores them, especially those old horror films. Well, I say old but I remember the day they came out" Sandra said. Blossom took the picture "I don't think I've ever seen him so calm."
"Right after that movie ended, he was knocked out" Sandra put her head in her hands, reminiscing about when they were little "hard to believe they were that little once upon a time."
"And a huge pain in the ass" Blossom finished, Sandra laughed alongside her. With that, she would grab Blossom's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze "it's been so good seeing you Blossom, I'm so glad you decided to stop by" she gave a long winded sigh "although I wish it was under better circumstances."
"I'll make it a point to visit more often, Ms. Keane."
"Oh please call me Sandra, it doesn't feel right to have you call me that anymore" Blossom shrugged in response "I'll do my best but, no promises" with a shared air of comfortable silence, Sandra glanced at the clock "I don't want this to sound mean, and you can certainly stay longer if you want but, isn't your family worried about you?" Blossom nodded, the music she didn't want to face "yeah, especially dad" Blossom buried her face in her palm, unsure of how to explain to him that he let all three of those dreaded men into his house. Much less the intimacy they shared, to which she still doesn't know if she regrets, either way that will be a problem when the questions arise. "How are your sisters?"
"No doubt feeling as awful as me" Blossom sighed, Sandra ran her hand up and down the poor girl's arm "thank you again for everything, I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"Don't think of a way to repay me, just keep doing what you do best" Blossom would take that to heart. She's a thinker, a problem solver, a leader and a commander, who just so happened to be caught in a relationship hiccup, she's still not over it but, time heals all wounds as they say "I'll get out of your hair." Blossom stood up, and it was a bittersweet goodbye. After so long and some time spent together, they gave each other a nice embrace "come back anytime sweetie" Sandra said, fighting back tears. Blossom only smiled in response and gave her a hearty nod, she wouldn't cry anymore, she felt like she ran out of tears. Sandra would wave Blossom goodbye as she headed out to the awful weather, taking Butch's raincoat which was more of a cape at this point, she studied it as she stood at the doorstep. With a deep whiff, she couldn't help but smile, even if it felt like she shouldn't. Donning the coat, she began to fly slowly, protected from the rain.
Under a tree she took out her phone, it was dead, forgetting to charge it overnight. No doubt the professor was worried sick, she understands, but she's quite tired of it. Blossom huffed as she continued her journey back to her home, ready to get an earful or a lecture or something, but all she wanted to do was continue to sleep. She questioned why she was so tired all of a sudden, granted there's been a lot draining her as of late. But still, even overthinking like this never exhausted her, she excelled at it, and the one thing that she can't stop doing is making her fatigued. Blossom continued on until she stepped down outside of her house, with a deep inhale and a steadied mind she walked right into the living room. Looking around her sisters were here before her, which was an odd sight, all eyes were instantly on her, not a word was said as Blossom scanned everyone's reactions. As expected, Bubble's eyes were puffy, like she had been crying nonstop, Buttercup wore a hideous expression as she merely glanced at her sister. Bubbles only offered a weak smile and an even weaker wave, Blossom stood by the door going to hang up the jacket "throw that away, Blossom." Looking at who said it, her father, he had bags under his eyes, cracked iris and looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. Blossom sighed as she went to the trash can, jacket hovering over the opening. Turning around to look at the professor, eye to eye she put the jacket back on "I said throw it away."
"It's a jacket, dad" Blossom challenged, and that got his attention. There were few things that scared Blossom, one of them being the target of her father's ire, it was very seldom he did it. Blossom understood why he was angry, they all were, this house was depressing when it was usually so upbeat "it's not just a jacket, Blossom" he said, standing up "it's a reminder of who walked into this house." Blossom did her best to remain calm "it's not, it's a green jacket that covered me from the rain" Blossom went over to charge her phone on the nightstand "why's your phone dead?"
"Because I forgot to charge it" Blossom answered, her melancholy demeanor irritating the professor, she could hear his blood running wild in his veins "where were you last night?"
"I was seeing someone"
"Blossom I swear to god if it was that asshole-"
"No, dad" She cut him off, Blossom was putting her foot down. She had neither the patience nor the energy for a fight like this "it wasn't that asshole, it was Ms. Sandra Keane, my preschool teacher."
"Why were you seeing her?"
"Because I was heartbroken" Blossom said, her face turning to a sneer "the man that I love-"
"Oh you love him do you!?"
"Yes I do!" Blossom shrieked; her poor emotions couldn't handle it. She didn't think she'd admit it in this state, and she's thankful that Butch isn't here to see this. Buttercup and Bubbles looked over to their sister with shocked expressions "the man that I love isn't someone that I thought he would be. He's an asshole, you're right, he's a diabolical person that I shouldn't be thinking about."
"But you are, aren't you!?"
"Yes dad! Yes, I'm thinking about him, he's all I've been thinking about since I met him" Blossom cemented her point by taking a few steps toward her dad "he's not who I thought he was. But that doesn't mean that what he did, what we did together, wasn't genuine."
"Blossom, he lied to you, he lied to all of you!"
"You think we would like them if they just, fuckin' showed up and said some stupid poetic bullshit!?" Buttercup chimed in, Blossom watched the interaction between the professor and her sister "I'm sick and tired of being told, over and over, that he's not right for me."
"You're telling me you actually like these guys? Both of you?" The professor laughed, though it was devoid of joy "oh my god this is… something else."
"Yeah I do pops. I love him, he makes me happy, he makes me laugh, he makes me feel like I'm allowed to be who I am."
"You could do that from the start Buttercup, no one stopped you before"
"You think it's easy putting up a front to the public!? Maybe sometimes I wanna be held, I wanna be able to let my guard down with someone I love, I wanna be able to enjoy someone else's company that isn't a part of this family. I want a husband, I want kids, I want someone I can spend the rest of my fucking life with. And… and that's him" Buttercup snapped; Blossom glanced down to see the blue bandana sticking out of her back pocket "there are other men that will do a way better job Buttercup" the professor tried to defuse her. Out of all of them Buttercup might be the closest to exploding "no they won't. Boomer gets me! He gets what I want! Remember that I tried, Mitch, you remember him? He was so scared of me after one time together that he moved to another country. It's not easy for us to find our happy ever after!" Buttercup quickly wiped the tears away "I didn't think we ever could."
"Then look for anyone else besides them! I won't allow you to do this to yourselves!" Their father screeched back, Buttercup and the professor kept going at it.
Blossom watched as the family was at each other's throats, she was unsure of what to do now. There was nothing that could console anybody, looking back at the jacket on the hanger, she took a deep breath, going to say something. Slowly the yelling died down and Bubble's cries overtook the room, she was sobbing, tears pouring right down her pinked face. Blossom's chest tightened seeing her dear, sweet sister in such a state, noticing that she had a bright red belt hidden under her jacket. No one knew what to do at this point, emotions were strained and Bubbles cracked under the pressure "I don't like this!" Bubbles said, scraping away her tears only for more to appear "I-I didn't think that this could happen to us! Look at us!" She begged, everyone exchanging looks at each other, Blossom only found solace in the floor "this isn't us; we don't argue! We sit down and try to talk it out!"
"This isn't the time for that Bubbles" the professor's tone was smaller than it was with Blossom or Buttercup, but it still held firm "what do you mean!? What changed!? He didn't hurt me! They didn't hurt any of us! We-"
"They did this to us," the professor said, gesturing to his daughters and all of the infighting "they made you guys this screwed up to break you apart."
"That's a fucking lie dad!" Bubbles shrieked, her emotions tying in with her powers, everyone covered their ears when she belted "if they wanted to-to-to do that then they'd already be tearing this house down with us in it!" She cried, eventually standing up, albeit shakily "they had so many chances to kill us, but they never laid a hand on us! In-in fact! They protected us from those… those… clones!" Blossom's gears started turning, clones were an apt name for them, maybe that's what they are, a twisted mirror version of themselves. Tapping into the darkest recesses of their minds, but how? "Bubbles you have to understand that-"
"I understand everything! How could they talk to us when they're them, and we're… we're the fucking powerpuff girls" Bubbles was defeated "I'm not a little girl anymore! I know what I want and I want him… he makes me happy" she sat back down on the sofa and blocked the world out. The only sound now was the sound of Bubbles' sobs, Buttercup and Blossom went over to comfort her. Their dad was fed up with the whole situation, and he went to his garage, slamming the door shut which made every girl jump. As they looked all around at each other, the only ones that understood this predicament were themselves, they would slowly start to cry into each other.
For what felt like hours they continued to sob and distress themselves over what had happened, deducing they all felt the same way about their respective partners. They hoped and prayed this wasn't a scheme, that the boys were genuine, and they certainly felt like it when they were convinced under their alias. "Did you guys want to go for a walk?" Blossom asked, the day was still young, and maybe some fresh air away from this claustrophobic house would do everyone some good "can we go to the park?" Bubbles asked, her voice was hoarse from sobbing and yelling "hopefully they got that hotdog cart there, even if the weather is pretty shit" Blossom could go for something with nothing good in it and loads of calories. Blossom hugged the coat close to her as her sisters went to get their own coats, taking a deep breath, she missed his scent above all else, if she closed her eyes tight enough, she might think that he was here giving her a hug. But as she thought about it her brain spiked some reassurance in the back of her eyes, she's not allowed to forgive him this easily "Princess?"
Upon hearing that nickname she looked around the house wide eyed, was he here? Did he have the gall to beg for her forgiveness? In her own home nonetheless? Blossom found herself clenching her jaw in both worry and fury, until her gaze landed on Buttercup and Bubbles looking at her "what did you say?" Blossom said she was deathly serious, if this was their form of a joke it was a cruel time to do it. Bubbles gave a weak exhale "I just called your name" Buttercup eased. Looking at her it was obvious Buttercup cried in the solace of her room, proudly wearing that blue bandana around her neck, Blossom would release the tension in her shoulders "sorry I.. I just thought."
"I get it," Bubbles said, putting the belt around her waist properly, a shocking contrast to her usual colors "I hear things sometimes too, it's been an awful couple of days."
"The understatement of the century" Buttercup attempted to make her anxious family loosen up some "don't worry, though, it'll pass, one way or another" she planted the seed in everyone's mind. One way or another they'll forget or forgive, there will be no in-between with what they went through. The girls would exit the house with a mist covering the city, the rain lightened up quite a lot, however it didn't help the muggy weight covering all of them. They went into their usual formation, Blossom in the middle and slightly towards the front, with Buttercup on her left and Bubbles on the right. The walk to the park was silent, agreeing telepathically that walking would be more therapeutic than flying there like usual. Blossom would pull the hood up over her, watching her fiery hair spill out, zipping it up, her pink clothing was hidden under the emerald jacket.
"Cold?" Bubbles asked, Blossom just shrugged "does depression make you cold?" Blossom questioned, both of them looked forward, genuinely thinking about the question. With mixed answers it was a sour smile across everyone's face. Eventually as they wandered through the city, crossing busy streets and lively restaurants and bars, summer break just started and everyone was celebrating. Blossom didn't know whether or not to feel sorry for these people, but their resilience is unmatched, despite a part of the city being almost leveled, here they were, enjoying their time. She stopped as she looked inside, finding it unfair that these people should be so happy when there were lives lost that day, when she, one of three protectors, is having a miserable existence. She's served them for well over twenty years and this is how they are? They should be thanking them; they should be out here carrying them inside and celebrating them. "Guys?" Bubbles' voice brought Blossom, and apparently Buttercup, back to reality. She gestured to her eyes, getting the hint, she looked at her reflections.
Blossom's eyes were warbling, threatening to shoot out the precision lasers she's used to without even realizing it. Quickly she covered her eyes in shame, Buttercup would continue to walk past the window and just lean up against the wall, Blossom eventually got her episode under control, realizing that's probably where Berserk is. In the abyss of her mind where she feels as if every loss she's experienced is washing over her all at once. She felt Bubbles' hand on her shoulder, gathering Buttercup. She continued to walk down the sidewalk with an arm around each of them "we'll get through this" she solemnly said, walking her sisters to the park. Which was just in view now, the volcano lab that was still a monument to Mojo Jojo, who more often than not put his life on the line for a lot of things despite his evil nature. She regretted not getting to know him more, maybe one day of her own volition she'll look for him, in the back of her mind she wondered if Buttercup and Blossom knew Mojo was still alive. Eventually she'll tell them, but she dragged Bubbles along who was busy staring at it, together they sat at a wet bench, Blossom letting down her hood, letting the mist run over her skin.
The girls sat there quietly, all of them working out what happened in their heads still, at separate times they looked at their phones and contemplated sending the first text. Buttercup even spotted Boomer trying to type something, but those text bubbles disappeared fast. Hearing the click every so often, Bubbles was trying to type something out, but as she hovered over send, she deleted everything only to type it all out again. Blossom just stared at the pictures that were sent of their night out at the bowling alley, hiding the lower half of her face underneath the collar of the coat. Blossom found herself scrolling up past their conversations, her chest was tightening something fierce with each message she passed. Eventually going to her gallery and looking at all of the other images, including the first one she was sent, a picture of Miles when he was smaller. Blossom couldn't fight the smile creeping up on her face, zooming in on the happy but curious puppy, Blossom only looked as she processed how she felt about everything. Seeing that this is what they wanted and needed all along, just a few moments of peace to think about all that they've been through "I don't say this enough but, I love you guys" Blossom said finally. Buttercup and Bubbles looked over at her "you don't need to say it, we know you do." Bubbles would rest her head against Blossom's shoulder, Buttercup did the same, Blossom only slinked down into her seat "boys are stupid" Buttercup spat. For the first time everyone emitted a genuine laugh which turned into a fit of giggles.
The trio started walking around the city and enjoying their time with one another, new clothes, good food, a few proper drinks, all the while slowly pushing everything to the back of their minds. Blossom was happy that her sisters were coming back to their usual selves, herself included, chastising Buttercup for her choice in revealing clothing, and making sure Bubbles doesn't spend more than she was supposed to. Their older sister slowly came back, she never ditched the coat no matter the temperature, getting used to the scent and mixing it with happiness. Blossom couldn't help but wonder if Butch was going through something similar, most likely he was, albeit in his own twisted and demented way. She bit her lip coupled with smirk, finding it easier to think about him, which was a step in the right direction she feels, the next being confrontation, and that wasn't something she was looking forward to, but if she wanted to heal it needed to be done. However, it would be a while before she made the first phone call, making sure that she wasn't going to flip out whenever she saw him. Blossom looked at Bubbles, putting a skirt up to her waist, something to match her new belt, Buttercup was trying to find some more accessories to go with her new bandana. Blossom was cozy in this coat, perfect for any weather especially way up high above the clouds.
It wouldn't hurt to replace the frayed strings though, she went around looking for a pink tightener, thinking it would pop nicely against the deep green jacket.
PPG belongs to the soul devourer Cartoon Network & Craig McCracken