~THE DEEPEST LAYER OF HELL~
*SLAM*
"I can't believe he's STILL walking around without a care in the world! I said that I wanted Butch Jojo and the rest of those brats dead! WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE?!?!"
"…"
"That wasn't rhetorical. Someone answer me, NOW!!!"
"Relax HIM, we'll get 'em. These things take time and effort." One of the men said.
"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY! That blonde buffoon stole my spell book! What the hell am I supposed to do without it?!" Another shouted.
"Poor little Beelzebub. You gonna cry about it some more? It's your own fault for summoning such a weak creature."
"Grr…Shut your mouth, Abaddon! I underestimated their raw abilities. It WON'T happen again!"
"You're right…IT WON'T happen again." HIM snarled. His body was still damaged but he somehow managed to stand. "The fact that those wretched girls have lived past the age of five disgusts me to my core. Then there's the treacherous boys that I held to a higher standard." His claws dug into the round table. Steam was visible from his bright red skin. "Then there's Butch!" He hissed with hatred.
"Easy there boss. You're still not at a hundred percent yet. You might melt your skin off."
"SILENCE ASMODEUS!" He yelled at the dark-haired woman. "Lucifer! I require your aid."
The demon with the blood-red suit and pitch-black hair walked forward and bowed. "Yes HIM?"
"Are you still capable of cross-dimensional travel?"
Lucifer gave a cunning smirk and drew a large circle in the air with his glowing index finger. A portal to another universe opened up.
"What do you require of my power?"
"I want you to find the cruelest, nastiest, most evil dimension. One where despair fills the atmosphere and suffering is law. Find such a place and get us some fitting opponents for our dear friends."
"How would you like them to handle such a task? Total annihilation? Cruel manipulation? May perhaps…Slow and drawn-out torture?"
HIM smirked. "Oh, I don't care too much about the details. I only want those six teens to perish and the Earth ready to conquer. I know that you'll make it entertaining."
"Very well then. I'll be only a moment." With that, Lucifer disappeared and began developing his twisted plan.
~EARTH~
The city of Townsville…
…Was completely normal on this average day. It was a peaceful time with all of its citizens enjoying the sunshine. Well…Almost all…
*AAAAACHOOOO*
"Serves your sorry ass right! I hope all of those kisses were worth it, you dumbass."
"Dammit, Butch! I don't need your bullshit right now!" Brick barked back.
"Well that's too bad! You're sick and I'M not! Guess me not kissing Robin yesterday was a good thing."
"Of course, Robin was coming down with a cold. Of course, I ended up kissing her two more times after my idiot brothers left. OF COURSE, I GOT SICK!!! I swear the only good thing to come out of it was Blossom's sweet, sweet lips." Brick huffed.
Butch clenched his teeth. "Hey, kids! I think the letter of the day is "C", just like Brick's first kiss."
"Emphasis on first. As for number two…Easy "A" plus!"
"I bet if I went back to back, I'd have gotten an "S" no diff, bitch." Butch spat back with a huff.
"Oh really? How about you ask Buttercup what she thinks, hmm? Seemed like she stormed off after you two smooched it up. Can someone say bad breath?"
"You know what? Maybe I will ask her! I'm not the sick one! I can't wait to enjoy the fresh air and sunlight you contagious prick!"
"I despise you…"
He shrugged. "Well, it isn't ALL bad, Tweedle-Dickhead. You get to spend the whole day with Tweedle-Dumbass, aka the Five-Time Beer Pong champion."
Boomer groaned in response. The poor guy ended up in close matches every round. He definitely was hungover.
"What the hell am I supposed to do all day? I have like three tests scheduled plus a club assignment that I gotta finish with Blossom." Brick replied with a cough.
"Do I look like I care? I hardly give two shits about my own tests let alone yours! Just go jack off in the bathroom again…"
"I-I do NOT do that!"
He sent his brother an annoyed look. "If you're gonna lie about that then FLUSH THE FUCKING TOILET NEXT TIME!!!"
That was fair but Brick still wasn't admitting to it. "Go to hell, Butch."
He flipped him off. "Your mother…"
"What? We don't even have-"
He had already blasted out of the room and off to school. Meanwhile, Boomer and Brick were glued to the couch with not much to do.
"Ngh! Brick my stomach hurts!"
"As it should…moron…"
"Can you make me something to eat?"
He glared at him. "Are you insane?! You just said that your stomach hurts."
"Yeah, but my hunger isn't helping."
Brick sighed and stood up. "Don't expect more than a PB . Also, NO, I'm not cutting the crust."
"BUUUUT BRIIIICK!!! What if I choke on it?!"
Brick smirked. "Then we'll probably meet again in Hell my dear brother."
"That's not funny! Plus, I'm more of a heaven guy."
The two continued their back and forth completely unaware of the looming figure watching them.
"So they're both currently ill? Quite the opportunity…Unfortunately, that's far too boring for me much less HIM. I'll spare them for now and check on the green devil himself." Lucifer said with a grin.
He snapped his fingers and opened a portal. Two figures came and stood beside him.
"Is it time?" One spoke. Her crimson eyes were longing for destruction.
"Have patience my darling. There would be no fun for anyone if the festivities were to begin now. Instead, I want you both to study their habits. Look for any cracks in their camaraderie and break it from within. If you can turn them against each other, the fallout will be even better."
"And the green one?" The other girl asked while twirling a strand of blonde hair with a finger.
"Only one of you needs to keep tabs on him. According to the other demons, he's quite dangerous. Don't press your luck alone. He might be allied with the heroes, but he's no stranger to murder. If he awakens, you'll likely die."
She giggled uncontrollably. "Sounds like my kind of man."
"Just keep your guard up and your intentions hidden. Underestimate these fools and you'll pay dearly for it."
"Very well. We'll gauge the situation and decide from there. I don't care how it happens so long as bloodshed follows." The first girl spoke.
"In due time. Now, where is the third girl? She should be aware of the plan as well."
"She's doing a little reconnaissance for herself. It's been a while since we had a meaningful challenge. I'm sure she's just itching for a fight."
Lucifer grinned. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense. You three DID end up wiping out humanity after killing the Earth's last hope. How long ago was that?"
"Four years ago…"
The demon couldn't suppress his maniacal laughter. "It seems like your resumes check out quite nicely. This will be perfect! You are dismissed!" He said before vanishing away.
The two girls looked at one another. "The green one is strong in this universe. Quite the mix-up from the one in ours."
"From what the demon told us, he's the complete opposite. While ours was a virtuous leader, this one was a ruthless villain that's still capable of absolute chaos. I'd like to see him for myself."
"Oh, I'm so with you on that! I bet he's way hotter in this dimension too."
"Enough fawning over the soon-to-be dead. It's time to assess the situation. We'll see the green one first. The other two are powerless anyway."
They both took off towards the school that just so happened to be where the remaining heroes were.
~AT TOWNSVILLE HIGH~
Butch had been sitting at his desk with an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. He could feel a sharp stare from behind him.
He had a feeling that he was gonna have an off day and so far, he wasn't wrong. Between Buttercup acting strangely around him and Bubbles constantly gazing at him, he wasn't sure which was more annoying.
"Dammit Bubs, stop glaring at me! It isn't that deep."
"Hmph! I think it is. Do you think I'm not worthy of you or something? I'm still just the weak little sister? Huh?! The stupid blonde?!"
He sighed. "What do you want from me?! I'm sorry that I wasn't fully prepared for my first-ever kiss! I was kinda nervous and you caught me by surprise. I'm sorry, okay? You don't have to take it the wrong way."
A few seconds passed before she poked his back. "I'll forgive you IF you agree to a couple of things."
"Oh boy…What do you want?"
"For starters, I'll take half of your lunch."
He groaned. "Of course you will. What else?"
"…Let me train with you." She said, timidly.
His eyes widened a bit. He hadn't been expecting that. "What gives? Why ask me that all of a sudden?"
She puffed her cheeks and pouted. "It's because I know that I can be strong. I want you to see me as an equal so I'll show you how hard I can work!"
"I don't know what your deal is but fine. Be warned, I'm not gonna treat you like a little girl. You train with me, you better be ready to get hurt." He grunted. "Don't waste my time with any whining or complaining."
"Like I said, I can work hard! Even harder than Brick does."
"Brick? Why him specifically?"
She gave him a confused look. "He didn't tell you? He's been at our place training in the Danger Simulator. He stops by like every day."
Butch grits his teeth. "That red motherfucker! His sorry ass SHOULD be getting a goddamn job!"
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Look…We can start tomorrow after work."
"Isn't that a bit late?"
"Already complaining?" He asked with a raised brow.
"No! I'm just saying…Fine!"
"Good. Have a change of clothes and some water ready. We'll do this at your place."
"Mine? Why's that?"
"Because I said so now deal with it." He said before his focus shifted back to the class.
Most of Butch's classes went on about the same way that they usually had. There wasn't much out of the ordinary. That was until he got an odd chill up his spine. He pondered on what was happening for a moment before continuing his walk to the cafeteria.
Every now and then, he'd get the strange feeling of someone watching him. He wasn't sure who, but he was more interested than before.
As time passed, he ultimately decided to ignore the feeling for a bit. After his last encounter, he was a bit more confident in himself. Little did he know of the true threat that was on the horizon.
It was lunchtime and that meant he could finally press Buttercup on her recent mood. It was almost like she was trying to avoid him. She'd look at him for the briefest of moments and then walk away without so much as a word.
It made him feel uneasy. He wanted her to talk to him. Even if it was just her usual insult. He was looking forward to it, oddly enough. He didn't know if he'd done something wrong. His suspicions led him to believe that it had something to do with the kiss that they shared.
"Finally! Took you long enough to get my food." Bubbles said while reaching for a chicken tender.
Butch pulled his tray back. "You said half! I have SIX tenders and you just ate one. That means you have TWO left! Got it?!"
She rolled her eyes. "I can do simple math Butch."
Butch looked over to his counterpart. She had a distant look on her face. It was as if she was lost in thought. Somewhere far away from the lunch table.
"What's up with you?" He asked.
"…Hmm?"
He tapped her arm. "Butters?"
"…"
He stared at her for a moment before balling up his fist.
*WHACK*
"FUCKING-" She rubbed her arm and sent a look of death to Butch. "What's your problem?!"
"My problem? What's yours?! Why are you all zoned out like that?"
She blushed and turned her head away from him. "Just shut the hell up and leave me alone."
His annoyed scowl grew deeper. "Did I do something wrong?"
"It's none of your business so just drop it."
"You're giving me the cold shoulder and I wanna know why." He said back.
"…Just stop it." Her lips trembled as she spoke.
Butch looked towards her sisters. Both of whom were also confused as to what was going on.
"Buttercup? What's the matter?" Blossom asked.
The green heroine stood up and walked out of the cafeteria and away from the table. This left the three of them confused.
Butch decided to follow after her. He needed this to stop. He did NOT like her acting this way towards him.
She ended up flying off campus, unaware of Butch's pursuit. A deep scowl of frustration decorated her face.
He was confused. SHE made him confused. Why was he even bothering to chase after her? Was it to grill her about her attitude? To continue getting on her nerves? Maybe it was to make sure she was okay. He wasn't certain of his actions but he knew that he wanted to catch up with her.
She flew for about fifteen minutes to the outskirts of the city and landed at an old and abandoned scrapyard. This was where she'd always go to clear her head. Nobody would bother her and not a single soul would question her blowing up the scrap.
She found the tallest pile of destroyed debris and sat there with her head on her knees. A long and drawn out drawn-out groan.
Butch landed next to her and gave a mixed look. One he couldn't even explain. After watching her slight movements for a few minutes, he decided to sit down next to her.
"…Why are you here? Go away!"
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong."
She shook her head. "Why do you even care?"
"I don't know! It's just annoying to see you tryna brush me off! D-did I do something wrong?"
"…" She didn't say anything to him. She just stayed quiet and shrugged.
His face had fallen. "…Was it the kiss? It was bad, wasn't it? I know I'm not good with this kind of romance stuff. I've gone most of my life without so much as a hug. I guess I got a little carried away. Did I move too fast or do too much?"
"You're such an idiot." She mumbled. She lifted her head and stared into his forest-green eyes. "Is there something wrong with me?"
He flinched at that question before tilting his head. "What do you mean?"
"I wish you would stop being so…GAH! I don't know! Sometimes I just wish you'd understand me!"
"Well, I'm sorry that I can't read fucking minds! How about you tell me what the fuck is going on?" He said aggressively.
"What's going on is that you're the most frustrating person in my life! Every time I feel like something is happening between us, things just end up the same. It's like a big fucking circle with you!"
"Yeah?! Well, YOU are the most unsure chick that I've ever met! You bash me, you fight with me, then we just end up all chummy like things have always been peachy. I don't get it!"
"Maybe you're just overthinking things OR you're not thinking hard enough. I can't tell. You're equally stupid regardless."
He shook his head. "Are you serious?! Take a look in the fucking mirror! Just be straight up with me! You're the boldest person ever yet it's like I'm the only one you give the runaround to."
"You want me to be straight up?! Fine!" She grabbed him by his school shirt and pushed him down against the jagged metal.
"The hell are you doing?!" He asked as her head hovered just above his.
"That kiss…It was amazing! I can't stop thinking about it! I can't get it out of my head. I'd never felt that way after someone kissed me. Especially considering that it was with you!" Her grip tightened against his shirt as the red on her cheeks spread even farther.
"…Really?" Butch muttered softly with heat rising to his facial features.
She nodded. "I'm so confused right now, Butch! I need you to tell me…"
"Tell you what?"
"Blossom…" She said, shakily.
Butch's heart stopped. "W-what about her?" He asked. He could feel his palms sweating as his breathing grew heavy.
"Do you like her?"
"What?! W-why would you even ask me that?"
She sighed before loosening her grip. "I'm not blind. The way you and Brick argue over her, the way you get flustered around her. Even the way you talk to her is different from me and Bubbles. That's why I want to know…Do you like her?"
"I don't understand! Where is this even coming from?! I mean...Brick and I always argue and I for sure don't treat Pinky any differently-"
"Don't you dare lie to me! I want the truth, Butch! Do you have feelings for my sister or not?" She held her breath as she spoke, nearly choking on each word.
"..."
Her eyes held a bit of concern as well as bitter hope. She already had a feeling of his answer but she wanted to hear him say it. She wanted to know if there was a point to this little game that they kept playing.
As the wind blew, it hid the young man's eyes from his counterpart, and at that moment, she couldn't read him.
"I do. I do like Blossom. I've had a crush on her since we got locked up. She's everything that I wanted to be and I guess...I just wanted her to know that I'm grateful to her." He said bluntly.
Buttercup let out a deep breath. "Yeah…Well, that's that…Thanks for keeping it real with me." Her tone was rigid and dry. She slowly made an effort to move but couldn't. "Butch…Let me go."
"I'm not done."
"I've got my answer, Butch. Let me go."
"No!" He flipped the two of them over and stared at her with a certain fire in his eyes.
"W-what? What are you doing?" She asked with mildly wet eyes. She squirmed around, trying to fight out of his grip.
"Butters, I think that…I might, sort of like you too…" He mumbled the last part.
She stopped her squirming and stared back up at him with brightness in her eyes. "Huh? What did you say?"
Now his face turned red as well. He took a deep breath before trying again. This time, more sure of his words. "I said-"
*WHAM*
Before he could repeat himself, a fast kick made contact with his face. He smacked against another wall of scrap before hitting the ground with a thud.
"BUTCH!" Buttercup cried out. She turned to see the attacker and came face to face with an unfamiliar girl who looked about her age.
"Sorry, that was rude of me. Probably should have let you two finish your little moment." She said while moving her short black hair away from her dark, green eyes.
"Who the hell are you?!" Buttercup asked with her guard dialed up.
The girl gave an evil grin before taunting. "You just gonna let me punt-kick your boyfriend like that?"
Buttercup launched off of her lead foot and gave the mysterious girl a backheel kick across her jaw. The girl's head snapped dangerously to the side as the spit flew from her mouth.
"Don't make me ask you again!"
The girl turned her head back and smiled. "You call that a kick? Please…" She spun on her lead foot and whipped out a kick that sent Buttercup spinning to the ground. She landed next to her counterpart with a large bruise on the side of her cheek.
Butch lifted himself off of the ground and growled angrily as his counterpart lay next to him. He jumped up and tackled his attacker into a pile of destroyed cars.
"You made a mistake coming here you rotten bitch!" His eyes were giving off a dangerous glow.
"Oh?! Why is that? You gonna hit me, tough guy?"
"Fuck you!" He slammed his fist into her face in hopes of shutting her up.
She licked the blood from her lips. "Mmm, hit me harder baby!"
"With pleasure." He gave her an even stronger punch. One that rattled the entire scrapyard.
"Yeah…Just like THAT!" Her glowing fist flew forward and buried itself in his face. He flew back a few feet before catching a second punch to his abdomen.
The impact shook every organ in his body. His entire skeleton seemed to tremble underneath his skin. He couldn't control the blood that seeped from the crevices of his eyes and eventually his nose.
It was the hardest punch he'd ever felt in his life. It felt even worse than the hole that was in his chest. Never had he'd been hit like that.
He dropped to his knees, struggling to catch his breath. Every desperate gasp for air burned his stressed-out lungs.
"What…the hell… was that?!" He asked in between coughs.
"Aww, you're done already? It was only two punches." She said with a teasing tone.
"No…Those hits…weren't…normal…"
She lifted him by his jet-black hair. "How do you figure?" She sent a hook to his ribs followed by a knee to his jaw.
He fell back and glared at her. He noticed that those two hits had way less power to them.
Was she randomly pulling her punches? He thought to himself.
He swept her legs as she got closer and threw a swift jab to her face as she stumbled. She responded with a jab of her own that stunned him out of consciousness for about three seconds.
He was down on all fours wondering how this girl was so strong. Where did she come from?! Was she another demon? That was the only explanation that he had for her insane strength and her random attack against him.
He glanced at Buttercup who lay motionless on the scrapyard floor. "Fuck…What do I do?" He asked himself. He pondered for a moment before a thought came to him.
He needed to transform! He wasn't strong enough to beat her like this. He didn't understand her powers.
She stopped in front of him and smiled. "You two are supposed to be the strongest on the planet? What a joke. All the hype for a challenging adversary. Turns out you're even more of a pushover than Lucifer led us to believe."
He sprang upwards and clocked her with a brutal uppercut that knocked her off of her feet. She recovered with a backflip and dodged his follow-up attacks. Butch threw a cross only for her to sidestep it and land her own uppercut. A vicious one that felt like it would decapitate him five times over.
He dropped down once more. His body slid towards his counterpart. His jaw was swollen and he could've sworn a few teeth were loose.
"It's no good…" He grumbled to himself. He grabbed Buttercup and looked at the girl one last time. "I don't know who you are, but stay the hell away from us!"
"Oh don't worry. You're free to run away. Not like we won't catch you. Go on and cower somewhere else." She said with a shrug.
"We?"
She nodded. "I expect more of a fight next time, devil."
"Fuck you…" He shot a blast at the ground, creating a smoke screen. He then took off without hesitation. He flew as fast as he could to his apartment.
The other two girls who were watching the encounter from afar had landed next to their sister.
"Hope you two enjoyed the show." The green one said.
The blue sister sighed. "That wasn't what I was expecting. Running away like that was SO not hot!"
The green one massaged her jawline. "He does hit hard as shit though!"
"Guess that makes your ability a good matchup." The red sister added. She stared up at the clear blue sky. "If he was supposed to be the strongest, then the demon was paranoid about nothing. This world is as good as finished."
The blue one pulled her sisters close. "Now hold on a sec. We might not necessarily have to destroy it. I mean, look at what happened to OUR world. We've been bored with nothing to do for four years! This is our chance to have a little fun. At least do some of the things that we missed out on."
The red sisters scoffed. "You want us to indulge in mediocrity? We are the three strongest creatures on the entire planet. We are conquerors and destroyers. Why would I take part in a society that I've already wiped out of existence once before?"
"Because we might not get this chance again! Shopping, eating new foods, checking out the newest music, dating…"
"All sound more mundane than fun." The green one said with a disapproving look.
"Brute is right. I don't want to waste my time amongst these humans. We are the apex predators here. We don't mingle with our prey."
The blonde scoffed at her sisters. "YOU TWO WON'T EVEN CONSIDER IT?!?!"
"No! This discussion is over! Now come along, Brat. We need to find Lucifer and see what comes next."
"Berserk, please just give it a chance! I don't want to live in our bland world anymore!"
Brute looked down at her sister. "Are you going soft on us now?"
Brat glared at her. "NO! I'm just sick of living the same life! We're the only three left on the planet aside from Professor Plutonium! We killed everyone else before we got a chance to actually BE teenagers. How are you both okay with that happening AGAIN? Waking up to nothing?!"
"Don't tell me you want to spare these miserable cockroaches…" Berserk challenged. Her threatening gaze left Brat unfazed.
"I'm not saying to spare them. I couldn't care less about them! We could just enslave them and force them to serve us. We'd be three queens for like, all of history!"
Berserk pondered it for a moment. "…So when you say queen what do you mean?"
"What do you think?! I'm talking about luxury! Having the world bend to our every desire! Instead of pointless killing, we could have everything we want!"
"I need to think about this. You know I love destroying things more than anything else."
Brat pouted. "Well, I love not being bored."
Brute folded her arms and turned from her sisters. "I just want another fight. Let's get moving already."
The three sisters took off in search of the demon. All three, thinking of the chaos that they were about to unleash.
-THE RUFF's APARTMENT-
Butch had used up the last bit of his reserved strength to bring both him and his counterpart back to his home. All while slipping in and out of consciousness.
*CRAAAAASSSHH*
"What the hell was that?!" Brick asked with a cough.
"Is it aliens?" Boomer asked. He was still sprawled out on the couch with his face pale.
"No, you moron!" He looked out the window. "I think Butch just crash-landed!"
The two walked outside and saw the deep crater with the green duo sprawled out inside of it.
"Woah! What happened?!" Boomer asked.
Butch slowly lifted his head. The damage was definitely apparent. The swollen jawline, the black eye, the broken nose, and various bruises.
"Dude…We've got a problem."