TW: Slight nudity
When Blossom and Bubbles were woken up at the crack of dawn the next morning to the sound of police cars and arguing, it didn't take them long to realize something was up.
"This is ridiculous!" they heard the Professor's voice shout downstairs. "My girls are perfectly safe! You can't just take them out of the only home they know!"
"I'm sorry Professor, but my instructions were clear," a female voice said. "Considering recent events, it's been determined that you might not be… well you might not be in the best mindset-"
"My mindset is perfectly clear!" he snapped. "You people! Some lady from Canada comes to Townsville, a complete stranger who's never met me or the girls, and all the sudden you turn your backs on us!"
"Professor," the woman said firmly. "I'm just doing my job."
When the girls left their room and looked downstairs, both the Professor and the woman turned towards them.
"What's going on?" Blossom asked. She turned to the woman. "Who are you?"
She gave the girls a soft smile. "My name is Maxine Wednesday. Why don't you girls come downstairs and we can have a little chat?"
Bubbles and Blossom exchanged a look before complying. They looked toward the Professor who simply looked back at them dejected and like he was ready to cry. The woman took a seat on the couch and patted the spot next to her, an obvious command.
"I've heard so many wonderful things about you girls," she said, smiling brightly. She had red hair down to her shoulders and a pair of purple glasses that kept slipping down her nose. Blossom thought that she might've passed as a kindly librarian under different circumstances. "I don't know if you remember him, but you met my brother Jack a few years ago. He's mentioned you a few times, and has always admired your bravery and commitment to keeping Townsville safe."
"You're here because you're taking us from the Professor, aren't you?" Blossom said curtly.
The woman's smile died. "Well, you see dear, it's complicated-"
"It's really not," Blossom cut her off. "It's a simple yes or no question. And don't call me dear."
The woman sighed, probably annoyed that her "kind and caring" act wasn't working. "Yes," she said. "At least, for the time being. But you have to understand, we're just trying to protect you."
Blossom scoffed. "I don't know why you and everyone else in Townsville decided I'm a baby who can't take care of myself, but my sisters and I have been running Townsville for you all since our creation. And now we're being treated like helpless children just because we don't have our powers?"
"This has nothing to do with your powers," the woman assured her.
"It has everything to do with our powers," Blossom said firmly. She kept her voice low to stop it from cracking. "You know it, I know it. Don't insult my intelligence by pretending otherwise."
"You're really taking us from the Professor?" Bubbles asked. Blossom could already see the tears in her eyes, and it broke her heart. "But I- we- we're a family!" she exclaimed. "You can't! Please!"
"I'm sorry Bubbles," the woman said sadly. "But the decision has already been made."
"What about Buttercup?" Blossom asked her. "What will happen to her?"
"Buttercup will remain in the hospital until she's well enough to leave. If and when that day comes, we'll decide where best to place her."
"Will we be able to see her?" Bubbles asked.
"Of course," the woman said. "As long as your new guardian allows you too, I don't see why not."
"What about the Professor?"
She looked over at him hesitantly before replying. "Until he regains custody, no," she said.
"She's in a coma!" the Professor snapped. "What if something happens to her, and I don't even-" he swallowed. "I don't even get to say goodbye?"
"Considering the circumstances, I can ask for supervised visits," Ms. Wednesday offered. "But… I can't promise anything."
"I'll sue!" The Professor exclaimed. "I'll take you and the rest of this damn city to court!"
"That's your prerogative, Professor," the woman said. "But I still have a job to do."
Their final goodbyes were long and dragged out. Both the Professor and Bubbles ended up crying in each other's arms for a good hour until Ms. Wednesday pulled them apart and told them it was time to go.
"Take care of your sister," the Professor whispered tearfully in her ear.
"I will," Blossom said. "I promise."
He pulled her in tighter. "I love you. I love you both so much."
After she and Bubbles quickly packed a few essentials and left, Ms. Wednesday drove them over to her house.
"It will just be for a few days," she assured them. "A week or two tops until we can find you a more permanent home. Please, feel free to make yourselves at home in the meantime."
Blossom remained silent, as Bubbles sniffled.
Blossom did not cry when she left, or on the car ride to Ms. Wednesday's house. She didn't cry when Ms. Wednesday showed them the air mattress they'd be sleeping on in the living room.
No, Blossom held in her tears for so long that she thought she might be able to hold them in forever. She, after all, was made of sterner stuff then Bubbles. Was more level-headed then Buttercup. Was gifted with her father's wisdom. But when she was unpacking her suitcase late at night to fish around for her toothbrush, she saw one of the Professor's ties had somehow got packed along with her own belongings.
And at that moment, late at night with no one around to hear her, she broke down and wailed.
"Ace man, you up?" Arturo knocked on his friend's bedroom door. "I want to talk to you about something."
"Uh, now ain't a good time," Ace said, his voice slightly nervous. "Maybe come back in a few minutes?"
Arturo rolled his eyes. "I don't care if you're naked man, you don't got nothing I don't got. Can't you just throw on some pants real quick, this is important-"
When Arturo cracked open the door, he did see that Ace was naked, but that's not what shocked him.
"Sedusa?!" he asked wide-eyed. He opened the door all the way and stared as she sat there, topless, with only a thin sheet covering her chest, and looked startled but more annoyed than anything.
"Man, I told you not to come in!" Ace rebuked him. "Can't a guy get a little privacy around here?"
"Privacy?!" Arturo exclaimed. "What the hell are you thinking? Don't you remember what this puta did to us last time?"
"I may not be fluent in Spanish, but that's one word I know in just about every language," she narrowed her eyes. "If you're going to insult me, at least have the courtesy to do so in English."
Ace sighed. "Can you give us a minute?" Ace turned toward Sedusa.
She looked back and forth between the two men before rolling her eyes and getting out of bed to retrieve her clothes.
"Woah woah hey!" Ace exclaimed. "Not in front of the kid!"
A naked and unbothered Sedusa glared at him. "Do you want me to leave or not?"
Ace sighed. "Fine, just be quick. Arturo, cover your eyes."
Arturo simply grumbled in response, his face probably more red than green at that moment. He had already reflexively looked away when he got a glimpse of her bare white breasts. He didn't want to think about her that way again, didn't want her body to be one that slipped into his fantasies late at night. There were plenty of other women in the world, women who have not hurt him or his friends.
"I'm decent," Sedusa called out after a couple moments. When Arturo opened his eyes, he saw that she had her lawyer suit back on. She turned toward Ace. "I'm going to hop in the shower and then I'll have some work to do. It will be a few hours before I'm back," she said.
After she walked out, Arturo rounded in on Ace. "So, now we're not only working with Sedusa, but you're sleeping with her too?"
Ace sighed. "This is why I didn't wanna tell ya, you'd make a big deal out of nothin."
"Nothing?" Arturo exclaimed. "Man, we can't trust her! Don't you know she's just using you?"
"I'm not an idiot Arturo, of course I know that. We ain't headin' to the courthouse or pickin' out baby names, we're just…" he shrugged. "Havin' a little fun. And I'm using her just as much as she's using' me. The moment she stops being useful, she's outta here."
Arturo frowned, remembering the state his leader was in the last time Sedusa had promised him some 'fun.'
"Whatever man," he said. "As long as I don't have to talk you down off the side of a bridge or find you on a nasty drug binge, I don't care who you sleep with."
"That was a long time ago," Ace assured him. "I'm older now, wiser. I know better than to let myself get attached to some two-faced tart with a nice rack."
Arturo still wasn't convinced, but he knew when Ace had his mind set to something, there was little he could do to change it.
"I went over to my old boss's house, to ask him where Isaac's family lives," he changed the subject, remembering what he wanted to talk to Ace about. "Antonio didn't want to talk to me, I think he blames me for Si Senorita going out of business, but after some convincing I got him to give me their address," he sighed.
"I know you mentioned that we could give his family some cash, just to help them out, and I thought now would be as good a time as any to do it."
Ace sighed. "I don't know man, I'll have to think it over. We can't be wastin' our money willy nilly."
"It's not wasting it, it's using it to help someone out," Arturo said. "Isaac mentioned they were always struggling."
"Look, I said I'll think it over, but we got a few things we need to take care of first. Those hospital bills of yours weren't cheap."
Arturo flinched at the memory. "Whatever man," he said. "I knew you didn't really care."
"I care plenty, teenage suicide is a very serious issue," he shouted after him. "Hey, if you run into Sedusa, can you tell her to come back after she's done with her errands and shit?"
Arturo gritted his teeth and ignored him. As he walked down the hall he heard the sound of the shower from the bathroom, and glared at Sedusa through the door, hoping she could feel his distrust through it.
Nothing good will come of this, he thought to himself.
He walked over toward the end of the hall, into the room where the old Mayor's safe was, where they were keeping their money. He hesitated.
"Ace will be pissed," Arturo said to himself. "But he'll get over it."
"Welcome home, dear," Charles greeted his wife as they stepped into their house. "I must confess, I was a little surprised when I heard that you were well enough to leave so soon. You gave me quite the scare with your little stunt."
Sharon got that nervous look on her face that she always got whenever she was hiding something. She turned her face away from him, putting down her things before making her way to the couch.
"Well, Dr. Compton is an excellent psychologist. I felt like she was really able to heal under her guidance."
Charles raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And you believe that Dr. Compton came to the conclusion that you're healed without any outside influence?"
His wife got an exaggerated confused look on her face that he supposed was supposed to be convincing. "What do you mean, Charlie?"
"Sharon," he said firmly. "I know Ivy came to visit you. Do you not think I would've let you leave without speaking to your psychologist myself?"
Sharon stiffened. "She's my daughter, Charles. I'm allowed to see her."
"Not in this state, you aren't!" he snapped. "Sharon, why would you put yourself at risk like that? You know she stresses you out! If it wasn't for that stupid phone call you never would've tried to hurt yourself in the first place!"
"Well, that's a little hyperbolic, don't you think?" Sharon asked, her own voice rising. "I would've found out regardless if she told me or not!"
Charles sighed, and rubbed his temples. "Do you have any idea how much money your 'accident' is costing me? How long it's going to take for all those repairs?"
"Money," Sharon shook her head. "That's all you can ever think about."
"Of course I'm thinking about money," he spat. "Do you know how hard I've worked to give us this life? To make sure that you never have to think twice about it?"
"Charlie," Sharon said. "Ivy told me she hasn't been able to contact him in weeks! That means he's either hurt or in solitary confinement. He's in serious trouble."
"Sharon," Charles lowered his voice, trying to stay as calm as possible. He walked over to her and sat by her side, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Of course I know this is upsetting. He's my son too. But, he's made his choices. He's killed people. Whatever happens to him is on him."
Sharon shook her head. "I know he's made mistakes, but Ivy told me he did what he did because he was trying to save her, that this was all one big horrible misunderstanding. I just want to know he's safe. That's all. Maybe you could call one of your lawyers, and we could at least set up a phone call-"
Charles fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Sharon, I know you. It won't be just "one phone call." He'll suck you back in and manipulate you into believing his lies, just like he clearly manipulated our daughter. You can't trust him."
"But what if he wasn't lying?" Sharon said. "If he didn't hurt those people on accident, why would he turn himself in?"
"Accident or not, he's still a killer," Charles said firmly. "And what do you think is going to happen if and when Sanford is sentenced to life in prison? Or, god forbid, the death penalty? What will you do then?" He put his arm around her, and kissed the side of her temple. "You have a soft, gentle heart. I don't want to risk losing you again."
Sharon scoffed. "You make it sound like I'm a child, Charlie."
That's because you act like one, Charles thought to himself.
He looked over at his silly, beautiful, overly sensitive wife, and pitied her. She was one of the kindest people he had ever met, smart even in her own way, but strong she was not.
When he had met her nearly three decades ago now, she was a paralegal, just a few months out of school. He remembered watching her, running around waiting on those lawyers hand and foot, never speaking unless spoken to. On their first date when he asked her what her plans for her future was, she simply smiled and shrugged.
"I like what I'm doing now well enough," she told him. "If I'm not settled down in a couple years I might go back to school to become a lawyer."
Needless to say, he did her a favor by marrying her as soon as possible.
The poor thing would've been a horrible lawyer. The moment the opposing counsel made their case or she heard some sob story, she'd burst into tears or turn on her own client. Of course, this wasn't her fault; some women were natural born leaders, able to carve out their own paths and face the harsh realities of the world, but Sharon was of a more delicate nature. It was a simple fact he always needed to stay mindful of.
"You're not a child, just a mother," Charles responded tactfully. "You love your children, and when they hurt, you feel it tenfold."
"Charlie," Sharon hesitated. "Can I ask you something?" she turned to him with her wide brown eyes and he immediately tensed.
"What is it?"
"Do you love me?"
"Sharon…"
"Do you love our son?"
He hesitated. "What are you asking?"
"I'm asking you, as your wife and the mother of your children, to call a lawyer. I know no matter what, it's gonna be bad, but I at least need to know that he's safe right now. That if the worst does happen, that we at least tried to help."
"Sharon," he said firmly. "It's a bad idea. He's a murderer. Him and his friends broke into our house and tried to kill us."
"The gang leader tried to kill you," Sharon corrected him.
"Yes, the gang leader tried to kill me," Charles said. "And Sanford was right by his side."
Sharon turned quiet for a moment, and looked at him hesitantly. "When Ivy told me that you purposely lied and said it was Sanford, I asked you about it. You told me it was too dark and it happened too fast to tell who did what, and only realized later it wasn't him," she hesitated. "Were you telling me the truth?"
Charles let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course I was telling you the truth, how could you even ask me something like that? Besides, how am I the one who gets shot and still somehow the bad guy?"
"I… I just…" she hesitated. "Sometimes, I think you want to see the worst in him. And you want everyone else to see the worst in him too."
"That's ridiculous," Charles snapped. "You're letting Ivy get into your head again."
"I want to make sure our son is okay," Sharon pulled herself up from the couch. "I'm going to go look for my old boss's contact information, and try to set up a meeting."
"Sharon," Charles stood up after her. "You're making a huge mistake getting involved in this."
"How?!" she snapped. "I just want to help our son, while I still have a chance. How is that a mistake?"
Charles rubbed his temples and sighed. "You know what? Do what you want. Just don't expect me to fit the bill for it."
Sharon looked at him, shocked, and shook her head. "Why do you have to be so obstinate?"
"I'm just trying to look out for your best interests," Charles said. "For both of ours. I don't want our son to drag you down with him."
"Well, you don't have to worry about me Charlie, I can take care of myself," Sharon said.
Charles couldn't help but snort at that. "I'll believe it when I see it."
Sharon's eyes grew wide again as if they were about to fill with tears, but they soon narrowed as she stormed over to the coffee table and picked up her cellphone.
"Sharon," Charles said in an exasperated voice. "What are you doing now?"
"I'm calling Ivy," she said. "I'll be staying with her until I figure things out."
"Figure things out? What the hell do you have to figure out?"
"A lot of things," she snapped. "A lot of things I should've thought about a long time ago." As she began to dial, Charles ran over and grabbed the phone out of her hand.
"Charles!" she exclaimed. "What is wrong with you?"
"Look, let's just think about this for a minute, alright?" he said. He looked over at his wife, and knew she had her mind made up. It was rare for her to put her foot down on anything, but on the rare occasions she did, she could be quite stubborn about it.
"If it means that much to you…" he sighed. "I'll give my lawyer a call and see what he can do, if anything. Now, I'm not going to make any promises, but if it will give you peace of mind, I'll try."
"Really?" she looked at him, surprised.
"Yes dear, really."
"Oh, Charles!" Sharon ran over to him, and embraced him in a hug. "Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!"
"Anything for you," he said, reaching down and kissing her. "Now, why don't you head upstairs and get ready for bed? It's been a long day and I have a few important phone calls to make."
"Okay dear," she stood up on her tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek before walking toward the staircase. "I love you!"
"I love you too, honey," Charles called after her.
After she was gone, he pulled his own phone out of his pocket and went through his contact list.
The thought of doing what he was considering made him nauseous. But, he was a man who knew how to put his feelings aside when there was a job to be done, and it's not like he hadn't worked with men nearly as loathsome as him.
He dialed the number and when it went to voicemail, he left a message.
Arturo stood outside of the apartment building with the address Antonio had given him in one hand, and a bag of ten thousand dollars in the other. Big Billy stood by his side.
"Now, remember what I told you, big guy?"
"Duh, let Arturo do all the talking?" Billy turned to Arturo for confirmation, and Arturo nodded his head.
"Exactly. And we don't say a word of this to Ace until I figure out how to approach the topic… gently."
"Aww, but Big Billy no good at keeping secrets," Billy protested.
"Well man, you're just gonna have to try," Arturo said. Off in the distance, they heard the sound of glass shattering and an alarm go off, and exchanged a glance.
"Come on," Arturo said. "Let's hurry up before we get mugged."
Since the Powerpuff Girls have been out of commission, and especially after the mayor's death, it seemed as if crime was everywhere in Townsville, worse than it was even before the girls' creation. Luckily for Arturo, he knew how to take care of himself in sketchy situations and how to prepare ahead of time. Billy, while not the brightest bulb, was big and strong enough to take out any regular human they came across and loyal to a fault, which made him an excellent bodyguard.
It was late at night, after Ace and their new partner in crime went to bed. By the creaking noises that came from the mayor's old room he knew Ace would be distracted until tomorrow afternoon at least.
I wonder if he realizes he's having sex in the same bed the mayor did it with his wife, he thought briefly. He considered bringing it up to him, until he realized that would probably just turn him on more and immediately brushed the thought aside. Ace did not need any more encouragement to have sex with Sedusa.
He still couldn't believe Ace was fucking Sedusa.
Banishing the unholy couple from his mind, his heart began to pound in his chest as he stood outside Isaac's old apartment, the brass 22 shining dully on the door in the hallway light. After exchanging a look with Billy, he knocked on the door and then immediately started having second thoughts.
Maybe I should just drop the bag and run, he thought to himself. But his feet stayed frozen on the ground. He knew a bad neighborhood when he saw one, and he knew it would only be a matter of time before the money would get stolen. He sighed.
"Hello?" the slightly raspy voice of a tired woman answered through the door. "What do you want?"
"M-My name is Arturo," Arturo stuttered. "I, uh, I worked with your son. Do you mind if we talk?"
She opened the door slightly, revealing herself to be a blonde, middle aged woman with deep bags under her eyes, which narrowed the moment they fell on Arturo's form.
"I know exactly who you are," she snapped. "Get the hell out of here before I call the police."
"I, uh, I have something for you," Arturo held up the bag. In a whisper he said, "There's ten thousand in cash."
The woman glared down at him as if he was a cockroach. "My daughter found my son's dead body hanging in his room, and you think money is going to make it better?"
Arturo felt his mouth get dry. "I… n-no, of course not, I just… I never wanted him to get hurt-"
"And I didn't want to have to bury my son," the woman snapped. "I'll say it again: Get the hell out of here or I'm calling the cops."
Arturo swallowed. "I'm sorry," he choked out, backing away from the door. "I- this was a mistake-"
"And don't ever come back!" she slammed the door in his face.
"I…" Arturo whispered, feeling his face grow hot. "I just wanted to help."
"That lady was mean," Billy said. "Billy no like her."
"Come on," Arturo muttered, trying to fight back tears. "Let's just go."
Arturo ran off half blind, not even bothering to check to see if Billy was following him.
He stopped by a nearby bench and threw the bag of money down. Before he could stop himself, the tears came through in full force.
"Oh mio dio," he whispered to himself. "How could I have been so stupid?"
Off to the side, he heard footsteps approaching and didn't bother to look up. "We can go home in a minute Billy," he said. "I just need a second."
"My name ain't Billy," an unfamiliar voice responded. Arturo jumped and froze when he saw three unfamiliar men in front of him, all sickly pale with red eyes and packing heat.
"Now," the man who spoke the first time and who Arturo assumed was the leader aimed his gun right at him. "Why don't you give us that bag of cash and no one gets hurt?"
"Billy!" Arturo screamed. "Billy, help-"
"Shut your mouth," the man put his gun right to Arturo's head. "Unless you think your friend can run faster than a bullet."
"Arturo!" Billy's voice rang out through the night. "Oh no, oh no! Arturo's in trouble!"
The ringleader turned to see Billy trudging straight for them, and jumped in surprised.
"Holy shit," he exclaimed. "He's even bigger in person."
While he was distracted, Arturo kicked him in the nuts as hard as he could before running toward his friend.
"You little asshole!" The man screamed, dropping his gun and grabbing his crotch. "Joe, Alfred! Don't just stand there, do something!"
As his two lackeys raised up their guns, Billy knocked them both out in one swoop. As Billy headed toward him next, he looked back and forth between the half giant and the bag of money.
"Fuck it," the man hissed, running over to grab the bag before running off in the opposite direction at an almost unhuman speed.
In response, Billy immediately darted after him, causing Arturo to follow.
"Billy!" he cried. "Billy, wait for me!"
Arturo was fast for his size, but even still, it was hard to keep up with Billy's much longer legs.
"Sorry Arturo," Billy apologized, stopping just for a second to pick Arturo up and put him on his shoulders before continuing the chase.
As they dashed around through alleyways and between buildings, the duo chased the man around Townsville for what felt like hours before Billy came to a stop.
"He's getting away!" Arturo cried.
Billy stood still covered in sweat, trying to catch his breath.
"Billy… Billy don't think… I can't run no more!" Billy panted.
Arturo watched helplessly as the man turned a corner and was no longer within eyesight.
"Well shit," he said. "Ace really is gonna kill me now." He looked again toward the direction the thief took. "How the hell is he still going?"
"Billy… can't go…" Billy panted. "Billy tired."
Arturo sighed, exhausted and defeated. "Let's just go home."
PPGGuy06: That's an interesting theory! Only time will tell ;)
GGG Fan: Sedusa is a hard woman to resist, lol. Especially with their history. If there was a "most dysfunctional couple in Townsville" award, they'd definitely be in the running.
Anon: Ah, thanks! Yeah, I try to keep you all on your toes ;)
Thanks to everyone reading this! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, let me know what you think!