TW: Gore, Psychological Horror

To say things had been stressful since Ace decided to take over Townsville would be an understatement.

Or at least, his attempt to take over Townsville.

Unsurprisingly, the reaction to Ace's demands were mostly a mix of shock, anger, and disbelief. Arturo himself wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation.

"Come on," he coaxed. "We used to talk about takin' over Townsville all the time back in the day. Why are you bein' such a sourpuss about it now?"

"This shit is serious, Ace," he told his friend. "By threatening Townsville, you put a huge target on our backs!"

Ace raised an eyebrow. "You mean we didn't have one before?"

In the end, the most Officer Samson, the Chief of Police was able to offer them was temporary immunity until Ms. Bellum came back to Townsville, and even that much was only under the condition that the Gang hand over a huge chunk of Mojo's cash to "the city."

"Townsville belongs to her now," he told them. "And only she has the authority to sign it over. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you boys. More likely than not you guys will be spending the rest of your life behind bars and then some for all the mess you caused."

After Ace begrudgingly agreed to the terms and signed the paperwork at Arturo's urging, he went over to Mojo's vault, looking through the amount of cash they had left after giving his father enough to make his way across the border and provide for their family, and for the deal.

"That asshole robbed us, but man, I still don't think I've ever seen this much dough in my life," Ace mused. He turned toward Arturo and Billy, smirking.

"Ya know, after everythin' we've been through, I'd say we need a boys' night out. There's a new strip club that opened on the other side of town; they'll even give you a private room if you can pay the price." He glanced toward the cash. "How about we make use of this dough and celebrate our newfound freedom?"

And, not knowing what else to do, Arturo tagged along, as did Billy.

The entire way there was unnerving. Arturo was used to the citizens of Townsville looking at him with indifference at best or disgust at worst, but this was… different.

It had been a while since he'd been truly up and about in public, but nearly every person he passed on the street had a dead look in their eyes, as if they had slept in years but were too out of it to even notice. The streets that were once filled with chatting and laughter were now dead silent. Ace as usual walked in front, not paying them any mind.

"Man, it's been forever since I've actually had a chance to blow off some steam," he remarked casually. He grinned at him and Billy. "You guys are gonna love this place. I'll make sure they treat you right."

When they got there, Arturo looked at the outside, the name Pleasure Island up high in neon lights. By all accounts it looked like any other run down strip club he had been to; a small, brick building with the silhouette of a naked woman on the outside, and the pathway littered with cigarette butts and a couple of broken beer bottles.

As soon as they stepped inside and they were seen, everyone froze, girls and guys alike.

"Ace?!" A familiar sounding voice called them over.

Ace turned toward it and immediately broke into a grin.

"Hey, man!" he walked over to Tommy and clapped him on the shoulder. "You got yourself a new gig?"

Tommy looked at his security jacket and shrugged. "Told Mom I'm workin' at the movie theater," he grinned. He looked toward the stage, where the girls were slowly going back to dancing. "But they don't got shows like this."

Ace laughed. "I'm happy for you, man. You were the only guy worth a damn from that place."

Tommy nodded, and his grin slowly started to fade. "From what I've heard, you and your buddies have been making some waves around town," he shook his head.

"I still can't believe Snake of all people did that. Blow up City Hall, rat you guys out…" he trailed off, noticing how Ace grew stiff.

"Yeah, well Snake has never been nothin' but a spineless bastard. We're all better off without him, if you ask me."

Tommy just nodded, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Well, anyway. If you guys need anything, don't be afraid to hit me up. Well, anything legal, at least. No offense, but I don't want to get wrapped up in…" he gestured at them wildly. "All of this."

"Thanks, man," Ace nodded. He grinned. "Now that you mention it," he said. "Me and the boys are lookin' for some private sessions, if you know what I mean. Who'd you recommend?"

Tommy smiled wickedly. "I've only looked myself, but Raven over there," he pointed toward a tall woman with long, wavy dark hair. "Seems like your type. If you squint you can almost pretend she's Melinda."

"Oh, shut up man," Ace punched his arm, and Tommy laughed. He looked over at Arturo and Billy.

"How about you guys?" he waggled his eyebrows. "See anything you like?"

"She's pretty!" Billy grinned, pointing at a busty blonde that Arturo had to admit was pretty fine.

Tommy chuckled. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. How about you, man?" he asked Arturo.

Arturo looked toward the dancers. He had never been too picky when it came to his taste in women; if she could see past his green skin and height he was almost always game. And frankly, he had too much on his mind to care much either way.

"I don't know, man. They're all hot," he shrugged. "Dealer's choice, I guess."

"I'll talk to the manager," Tommy said. As he walked away, Ace shook his head.

"Lucky bastard," he mused. "Workin' in a place like this."

Arturo said nothing.

The girl that Tommy chose for him, Cherry, was pretty enough; she had long, dark red hair, and freckles on her cheeks. She was short, only taller than him by a few inches and probably even less without her heels. She looked to be around his age, maybe a year or two older, and she undeniably had a nice body. Under any other circumstances, he would've been thrilled to be getting attention from a girl like her, paid or not, but she looked about as miserable as he felt and the whole situation just made him feel… wrong.

"Why don't we take a break?" Arturo suggested as gently as he could. She stopped mid lap dance, giving him a confused look.

"You'll still get paid for the full hour," he assured her. "I just…" he sighed.

"You don't want to be here right now, do you?" he asked. "At least, not with me."

She swung her legs to the side and pulled herself up, looking at him for the first time. Now that he could finally see her eyes, Arturo noticed they were a deep, warm shade of brown.

"You're trying to take over Townsville," she said. "Your gang killed the mayor."

"We didn't kill the Mayor, that was all Snake and Mojo," Arturo defended himself. "I didn't have anything to do with that."

She looked at him cautiously, as if she didn't believe him but was too nervous to say it outloud.

"If we're taking a break, do you mind if I go grab a smoke?" she asked.

He nodded. "As long as you don't mind sharing."

He waited as she left to go to the back, and returned with a box of Marlboros, a lighter, and an ashtray. She handed him one before taking one herself, and lit both. He took a drag, and felt the familiar taste of tobacco and nicotine.

"I'm not much of a smoker to be honest with you. It was always more Ace's thing. But lately…" he sighed, offering her a sad smile. "It helps. Thanks."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the pair before Arturo finally got the courage to speak up.

"Can I ask you something?"

She looked at him out of the side of her eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "Depends on what it is."

"Do you have kids?" he asked. "An older brother or sister you look up to?"

She furrowed her brows together in confusion. "No and no."

He sighed. "Okay, forget I said anything then."

"What is it?" she asked, whether in irritation or genuine curiosity Arturo couldn't quite tell.

"A friend of mine died a few days ago," he said. "And I'm pretty sure it's my fault."

"How are you 'pretty sure?'" she asked him. "Did you kill him?"

"No!" Arturo said. "I mean, not directly. He killed himself."

"Why would you think it's your fault, then?" she asked. "Was it because of something you did?"

Arturo's eyes began to fill with tears. He took a drag of his cigarette. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was." He turned to look at her.

"If someone you loved offed themselves because of a rumor someone else made about them," he hesitated. "What could that person do to make you forgive them?"

Cherry took a drag from her cigarette and flicked it over the ashtray. "Honestly?" she asked. "Nothing. Nothing at all. There's no way to make something like that right."

Her words made his stomach drop. His face began to feel warm, and it was all he could do to keep himself together.

"You know, this is stupid," he put his cigarette out and made his way to the door. "This was all a waste of time. I'm telling Ace that I'm leaving-"

"Wait!" Cherry called behind him. She sighed. "Look, I don't know your situation, maybe it's complicated. Just… don't leave all pissed off, okay? If my manager sees you he'll blame me and I'll never hear the end of it."

Arturo looked back at her, and relented.

"Fine," his eyes glanced over to the ashtray. "While we're here, you don't happen to know where I can find anything stronger than cigarettes, do you?"

When Buttercup opened her eyes, the world was dark, and she felt a pressing weight on her coming from several points. She heard voices from above, but they sounded distant, muddled, and unclear. When she tried to get up, she found that the weight was too much; she was buried under something.

"Hey!" she cried out. "A little help here!"

The voices continued as if she didn't speak at all.

She tried once again to move her arms, and found that she was just barely able to slide her arm through the spaces between whatever she was under.

She began to feel for anything, anything at all that she could grab onto to move, but everything was too heavy.

"Hey!" she tried yelling again. "Hey, it's me, Buttercup! I can hear you guys up there, so I know you can hear me down here!"

The voices from above stopped. Finally, they must've heard her this time. It was good timing too, because the worst of the weights, the warm thing on her chest, was starting to make it difficult to breathe.

A few moments later, she heard rustling noises from above, and a few rays of light began to show through. Above her, she saw two tall figures working to free her.

"About time you guys heard me! Man, I thought I was about to suffocate down there-" she froze when she saw that the two figures had green skin, faces that had changed slightly with age but were still as familiar as the day she first met them all those years ago.

They were none other than Ace and Snake from the Gangreen Gang.

"Aww, what's the matter?" Ace taunted, his face a mock pout. "Did somebody get wost?"

Buttercup narrowed her eyes. "You," she snapped. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but you better get lost if you don't want me to beat the stuffing out of ya!"

Ace broke into a fit of laughter, as Snake followed his lead. "What are you gonna do without your powers little girl?" He asked. "Call the Professor? The cops?" He smirked. "Well, I guess you could try, but since Townsville is mine now, I don't think it would do ya much good."

"Oh, go screw yourself! I don't need my powers or anyone else to teach you a lesson!" Once again Buttercup tried to get up, but still felt the weight on her chest.

"What the hell…?" She pushed at it, whatever it was not much bigger than her.

After a few more strained pushes, she managed to get the thing to roll over to the other side. When she was finally able to sit up, she looked over to see what it was, and instantly went pale.

"Holy shit," she whispered.

Lying next to her, in the debris of City Hall, was the dead body of the mayor.

His entire face and body were burned, almost badly enough to be unrecognizable, but his monocle and most of his top hat were still intact enough for her to be sure of who it was. She turned her gaze toward the gangsters and glared at them with more fury than she had ever felt in her life.

"I'll kill you!" she screamed. She threw herself up on her feet and ran towards the pair, aiming the hardest punch she had ever thrown right at Ace's stupid sunglasses.

Though when she hit her target, instead of him collapsing in pain and begging for mercy like he always had before, she heard a crack and a sharp, intense pain. Ace grinned back at her, completely unharmed.

"Ow!" she screamed. She cradled her injured hand in her other, and looked in shock at her broken hand.

"Your days of runnin' this town are over, Buttercup," Ace stepped toward her, Snake following close behind. "Now, this is Gangreen Gangsville!"

He threw his fist back, and punched her square in the face, and then there was nothing but darkness.

Buttercup woke up in a cold sweat in her and her sisters' room. She felt her heartbeat racing in her chest, and felt nothing but panic as she looked outside at the dark night sky.

It had been a mere few days since it was revealed that Snake, that spineless slithery freak from the Gangreen Gang, bombed City Hall and Ace had been the one responsible for taking away her and her sisters' powers.

The mayor was dead. Mojo was dead. And if she was being honest, Mitch was most likely dead too.

The entire house felt like there were nothing but ghosts living there. Bubbles's nightmares got worse by the day, and more often than not she'd wake up in the middle of the night crying. The Professor spent more time than not holed up in his lab, only coming out to check on the girls or to go to bed. He hadn't even attempted a "homeschool lesson" in days. The night of the broadcast, Blossom told her and Bubbles in private that she caught him holding one of Mojo's old baby toys and crying when she went to check on him in the lab. As weird as she thought it was that anyone could mourn someone like Mojo, she and Bubbles both agreed to not mention it.

As for Buttercup herself, she mostly tried her best to avoid her family and everyone else, taking her rage out on her old punching bag that the Professor gave her years ago for her birthday. Every now and then, Bubbles would try to talk to her, but she would just brush her off. What was there to even say? That everything would work itself out eventually? She doubted even Bubbles could be that naive. The Professor sure wasn't.

"I think we need to start being realistic, girls," the Professor told them just the night before. "I don't know why your powers are gone, and I don't know how to bring them back. Whatever the Gangreen Gang did…" he swallowed. "I don't know if it's reversible."

"But Professor," Blossom had protested. "We can't just give up! Townsville needs us!"

"I'm not giving up Blossom, I'd never give up on you. Any of you," he looked toward the three. "But, we need to start thinking of alternative options." He motioned for the girls to follow him down to the lab, and stopped when they reached the very lowest floor. Buttercup's eyes widened when she saw the weapon she and her sisters hadn't used in years.

"Do you remember her?" the Professor asked. He gestured towards the giant, pigtailed robot that he named the Dynamo.

It had been years since she had seen the thing, much less used it, and its lack of use showed. The ancient thing was half covered in rust, and in the places it wasn't, the glossy finish had faded to a dull gray.

The Professor patted the thing with his hand, and gave the girls a small smile. "She needs some work, and a few test runs before she's ready for battle, but I've been working on her for the last couple weeks," he said.

"You… you want us to start using the dynamo again?" Blossom asked. "But the last time we used it we almost destroyed the town!"

"She can be quite destructive, and I'm working on making her easier to control," he said. "But once she's ready, you girls can be back in business!"

"But we still won't have our powers," Buttercup muttered.

The Professor gave her a sad look and Blossom quickly spoke up again.

"Thanks Professor," she smiled politely. "Anything we can do to help Townsville, we're willing to do."

"I'm glad to hear that Blossom," he smiled back. "Like I said, she's not quite ready yet, but I promise I'll let you girls know as soon as it's time to test her out."

Buttercup looked over toward her sleeping sisters, and over toward her cracked bedroom door. She thought about the angry reporters all over the news, the dead-eyed citizens, and most of all, Ace's smug face.

They'll never go for it, they don't have the guts, she thought to herself. Blossom never breaks the rules, ever, and Bubbles is too chicken to woman up and do what needs to be done.

She sighed. With the Professor finally out of the lab, it was now or never. The Gangreen Gang already killed the mayor and are trying to take over Townsville; if she waited until the Professor checked and double checked everything, Townsville would be nothing but a pile of smoking rubble before they were allowed to act.

As quietly as she could she snuck out of bed, and went to the closet, pulling out a random pair of clothes she could change into. She then tiptoed out of the bedroom, not noticing Bubbles stirring behind her.

As Sara Bellum drove back from the police station to report her brother and sister-in-law as missing, her anxiety was not eased much at all.

"Can you please send someone to check on them, at least?" she had asked the officer she had spoken to. "It's an emergency. I haven't heard from them in days and I need to get back home as soon as possible."

"Would you say that this is common behavior for them?" he asked. "Do they often go without contact for an extended period of time?"

She gritted her teeth. "Yes, but like I said, it's an emergency," she sighed. "You must've heard about the bombing in Townsville, and the death of the mayor?"

"Townsville?" the man raised an eyebrow, before his eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, yes! That's the little town in the States where those superpowered little girls live, right?"

"Yes, it is," she said, her patience running thin. "And like I said, there has been a bombing and the mayor has been killed; one of our local gangs has even tried taking it over. I need to get back there as soon as possible to sort things out. But I can't do that until my brother and sister-in-law are back home safe and I know my nieces will have someone looking after them."

"I'm awfully sorry to hear about your situation, ma'am," the officer said in what he probably hoped was a sympathetic tone. "We will send someone to check on them as soon as possible. It might take a few days though; we're pretty short handed at the moment and especially with no evidence of foul play…" he trailed off. "Just keep doing what you're doing and keep a positive attitude. This is all likely some huge misunderstanding."

It was hard to believe that just a couple weeks ago, her brother called and begged her to look after his daughters "for just a few days" when he and his wife had a business trip they didn't bother preparing for until the last minute. She reluctantly agreed, like she always did when he asked her for help. She felt terrible leaving Townsville, especially in such a vulnerable state, but she knew her brother and sister-in-law well. They would go on that business trip whether or not they were able to find a babysitter.

And her guilt over leaving Townsville grew exponentially when she saw the smoked remains of City Hall online, and the Gangreen Gang's attempt to take over. She managed to hold it together in front of the girls, but as soon as she was alone, she sobbed harder than she had in years.

She spent the next few days calling, emailing, and texting both her brother and sister-in-law, demanding they come home immediately, only to receive excuse after excuse, and for the past few days, nothing at all.

As much as she loved him and hoped he was safe, she couldn't help but feel exasperated with her brother more often than not.

As the elder of the two, she was always expected to be the responsible one, the one cleaning up his messes. When he moved to Toronto for college a decade and a half ago and soon after met his wife Mallory, the first and only woman he had ever been serious about, she was so proud of him. She hoped against hope that his new career and family would make him finally grow up, though to her disappointment, she had found that that was not the case.

After she parked her car in their driveway, she pulled her cellphone out of her purse. She went through her contacts and sighed when she got to her brother's name.

"Well," she said to herself, "It's worth a shot, at least."

She selected his number, and waited anxiously as it rang, fully expecting it to go to voicemail once again.

So when she heard someone pick up the other line, a wave of adrenaline ran through her.

"Jamie?!" she cried. "Oh, thank god you're safe! Do you have any idea how many times I tried to get ahold of you and Mallory-"

"I'm sorry, your baby brother isn't available at the moment," a sickly sweet voice answered. "Neither is his little wife, I'm afraid."

Her stomach dropped. That voice, something about that voice, she had heard it before…

"Who is this?" she demanded. "How did you get my brother's phone?"

"I can see you in the driveway," the woman answered. "Your car is such a pretty red, just like your hair. If nothing else, I can say that at the very least, you've always had good taste."

She looked toward the house, and saw the curtains move. Her thoughts immediately went to her two nieces inside.

"I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing," she said, grabbing her purse and exiting the car. "But you should know that I will be reporting this and filing charges-"

She tried to unlock the door, but to her horror, she found it was already unlocked.

When she opened the door, she saw Sedusa, still bald and in her signature red outfit, holding her brother's cellphone to her ear and grinning back at her from the living room couch.

"So sorry to hear about whittle Jamie," her voice reverberated both in person and through the phone. She snapped it shut, and walked over until she was a mere few inches away.

"Sedusa," she whispered. Her heart raced, and she struggled to keep her breathing under control. "W-What did you do to my brother? Where are Sammie and Sadie?"

"Right now? Safe in their beds, enjoying a peaceful night's sleep." Sedusa tossed the phone up and down in her hand. "Their parents, on the other hand…"

Sara rushed past her and made a beeline toward her nieces' shared bedroom down the hall. When she opened the door and saw that both girls were, by all accounts safe, she exhaled.

"I'm calling the police," she whispered, starting to dial 911. "Whatever you did, you can explain it to them-"

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sedusa said. She pulled out a long, sharp knife that appeared to be stained with dried blood. She glanced toward Sammie and Sadie. "You wouldn't want to wake those poor little girls, now would you?"

Sara Bellum stared at the knife in her hand and before she could register what she was doing, she closed her phone.

"Good," Sedusa smiled. "Now, hand it over, and I'll answer all your questions about Baby Brother."

Sara swallowed her pride, and did as she was told. She watched helplessly as the villain threw her phone onto the ground and smashed it with her foot.

"You see how easy this can be?" she mocked. She walked back toward the living room and took a seat on the couch, patting the side next to her.

"Now sit, sit. I have some pictures to show you."

Sara Bellum felt like she was in a daze as she took a seat next to the villainess. She wondered briefly if the woman had some supernatural abilities beyond her now gone hair, but decided it didn't matter regardless.

Sedusa pulled out a digital camera, and began scrolling through to find something she was looking for, and smiled. She leaned over and showed it to her, and instantly Sara Bellum felt the need to vomit. An image of Jamie, the baby brother she had held in her arms a mere few hours after his birth was shown to her. His eyes were open and throat slit, his entire body, completely naked, was covered in his own blood.

"It wasn't difficult to convince him," Sedusa said. "Now don't get me wrong, I never once doubted my abilities, but I figured with him being the brother of the Great and Honorable Sara Bellum, he would've put up some sort of fight," she said. "But no such luck. I barely got the words out, asking if his wife would be busy long before he was following me upstairs to his hotel room like some lovesick puppy dog," she grinned. "He was on top of me at the time when I made my move. That was my fault, I really should've planned better. The blood, dear god the blood; it took forever to wash off. But, what can you do?"

Sedusa pulled up another image, this time with her sister-in-law. Unlike her brother, she had multiple stab wounds, including to her face. When she saw that her left eye was missing, Sara nearly lost her composure.

"And this one, I can't lie, I'm proud of this one. As soon as I was done with little Jamie, I called up his wife and told her exactly what her husband had been doing behind her back. To say she was taken off guard an understatement. She was a fighter, I'll give her that," Sedusa chuckled.

"And this," she said, showing her the last pic, "Is one I took of them together when all was said and done. Romantic, isn't it?"

The image of her brother and sister-in-law's bloody bodies lying on the hotel bed together, both of them pale as snow and mutilated, was enough for Sara Bellum to finally lose her lunch. She leaned over, vomiting on the ground.

"Ugh, disgusting!" Sedusa flinched, looking down at her now ruined heels. "If a few measly pictures are enough to make you lose it, I have no idea how you managed to run a city."

And that's when Sara snapped.

She slapped the monster across the face as hard as she could, applying enough force to knock Sedusa onto the ground. She landed in the puddle of vomit, and her face twisted in rage.

"You bitch," she snapped. She lunged at her with the knife, and Sara winced when she slashed her on the arm.

"Aunt Sara?" a small voice pricked her ear. "Aunt Sara, is everything alright?"

Sara, now pulled out of her rage, looked toward the direction of her niece's voice with wide eyes. "Stay in your room, Sadie!" she cried. "Don't come out here!"

"Why not? What's wrong?"

The distraction was enough for Sedusa to get the upper hand. She pulled herself on top of her and held the knife to her throat.

"I cut myself while making a snack, that's all," Sedusa called out in a perfect imitation of her voice. "Go back to bed sweetie, we can talk in the morning."

"I heard a crash," Sadie asked from the hallway. "Did you hear anything about Mom and Dad-"

"I said go back to bed!" Sedusa snapped.

Sadie, already a timid girl, let out a surprised squeak at hearing her "aunt" be so harsh with her, and Sara felt her heartstrings tug as she heard her bedroom door close.

"Now listen and listen good," Sedusa hissed, holding the knife to her throat. "Tomorrow when they wake up, you're going to tell those brats that their parents are going to be extending their trip, or decided to take a detour in Europe, or Japan. Hell, you could tell them that they are never coming home and decided to dump them on you, I don't care," she said.

"But tomorrow, you will call and request a press conference, where you will announce your indefinite stay in Toronto, and are signing over all rights to Townsville over to Ace and the Gangreen Gang," she grinned. "Otherwise Sammie and Sadie will end up just like their parents."

PPGGuy06: You'll see ;)

GGGFan: Haha yeah, Ms. Bellum definitely made an appearance lol. But yes, HIM and Sedusa will definitely be spicing things up in Townsville, for better or worse.

Anon: Yeah, I was definitely trying to incorporate some more horror elements into the story lol. I do plan for the story to get progressively darker and darker as it continues on. But yeah, poor Arturo is just trying to do the best he can, and doesn't really know what that is.

Visitor: HIM works in mysterious ways lol, but it will be revealed in time. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

Thank you to everyone for reading! Let me know what you think!