As Sedusa sat across from the Chief of Police at a small, local bar hidden away in a corner of town hardly anyone ever went to, she was careful to keep her face from showing any disdain; it was adamantly clear that he was already drunk with his flushed face and lack of filter, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Over the years she had been around enough drunk men that even the best of actors couldn't fool her, and he was no great actor.
"So, what you're saying is, is that you think Professor Utonium is the problem here?" he asked incredulously. "Sorry sweetie, but I'm not following."
"Now Jeff, I told you you could call me Justine. You'll need to do more than buy me a few drinks before you can start with the pet names," she kept her tone light, suppressing her grimace. "But yes, or at the very least, I think the way he raises his girls, or at the very least his intentions, should be brought into question."
"What are you talking about? He takes excellent care of those girls!" His voice rose a few notches above his normal talking volume, earning them both some stares from nearby tables. "Now, I don't know how they do things in Canada, but here you don't just take a man's kids away for no reason."
"Jeff," she said, her voice low and steady. "I know I'm an outsider, and I'm not claiming to know Professor Utonium personally. But from my perspective, as an outsider, don't you think it's a little… strange, that he created three superpowered little girls in his laboratory, alone?"
"Townsville is a strange place," he defended. "We deal with monsters and supervillains regularly. Besides, the superpowers weren't even on purpose. He took sugar, spice, and everything nice, but accidentally added Chemical X to the concoction-"
"I'm sorry, are you trying to tell me he's claiming he created the Powerpuff Girls by accident?" Sedusa asked, putting on her best incredulous expression.
"Well… yes. That's exactly what I'm saying," he answered, looking confused.
"I see," she said. "I'm sorry, I just find it a little hard to believe is all. I did some light research on Chemical X before coming here since Townsville has one of the highest rates of it in the world, and considering how unpredictable it can be, I don't understand why someone would keep it so easily accessible if they weren't planning to use it."
The officer opened and closed his mouth several times, making him look like a slow fish. "What you're implying, hon?"
"Professor Utonium was a scientist," Sedusa said, sharper than she intended. "A young, bright, barely out of grad school scientist yet to make a name for himself and who saw a golden opportunity to make sure his name went down in the history books forever," she lowered her voice, making it soft and disarming.
"You're a smart man Jeff, surely you can see that if was intelligent enough to figure out how to create three human beings through science alone, surely he would've been smart enough to keep such a dangerous chemical out of the way. Unless his intentions were less about wanting children to raise and more about creating children to use."
"What?! No! I… no, that's ridiculous," the officer said. "You don't see him with them, they're his world! Hell, he even built this giant robot thing to protect them while they were crime fighting-"
"The Dynamo?" Sedusa asked. "You mean, the same robot that was so dangerous it nearly got one of his girls killed?"
"Now, that was your boy's fault," the officer proclaimed, his face growing angry. "If he didn't try and attack that little girl-"
"What Ace did was wrong, I'm not gonna lie and pretend it wasn't," she said. "But what else was he supposed to do when he was being attacked?"
He snorted. "He wouldn't have been 'attacked' in the first place if he didn't take advantage of a terrorist attack and take over Townsville at its most vulnerable moment. Don't fall for his charms, that boy has never been anything but a liar."
Sedusa sighed. "Maybe you're right, I don't know him after all; at least, not like you do. But I'll admit, I have a soft spot for kids like him; the troublemakers and bad kids that were raised in the system, those that never got a chance to be good," she straightened up in her chair, the smile falling from her face.
"I've met my fair share in my line of work over the years. My own nephew, his name was Tyler, was very much like Ace in a lot of ways. My sister, god rest her soul, was never suited to be a mother and took off before the boy was ten years old," she sighed. "He got into some trouble in his teenage years, and I tried to set him on the right path, but just a few weeks before his eighteenth birthday, he picked a fight with the wrong person. He didn't know the man had a gun on him, and well…" she trailed off, casting her eyes down. "I don't like to talk about it, but there's not a day that goes by where I don't think about him."
"It's always harder when it's family," he said in a low, sympathetic voice. "My own boy got himself into a few sticky situations in his teenage years, but I straightened him out. Told him he better clean up his act and get a job or he'd be living on the streets. Thankfully he saw reason and decided to follow in my footsteps."
Sedusa nodded. "Sometimes when you really care about a child, you have to do what's best for them, even if they don't like it," she said. "There's nothing I can do for my nephew now, but there is something I can do for the girls. I believe it's in their best interest to be taken out of Professor Utonium's care and with someone who can give them the normal, stable childhood they deserve."
He shook his head. "It's not the same thing."
"Now Jeff," she said. She leaned over, putting her hand over his. "I know it's hard, but you can't let your affections for the Utonium family blind you. If anyone else aside from the acclaimed Professor Utonium built a robot that had been previously banned, intended for their children to use it to fight crime, and then nearly got themselves killed in the process, wouldn't you at least want to look into that family?"
He stared at her hand for a moment, dazed, before looking up. "I would," he admitted hesitantly. "I care about those girls like they're my own flesh and blood, and I want to do right by them."
"So do I," Sedusa assured him. "And that's why I think they'd be better off in the hands of someone more responsible."
He looked at her for a moment in a drunk haze. "I hope it's not unprofessional to say so, but you remind me so much of my late wife. She looked just like you, and she always had great instincts when it came to kids."
"That's very flattering," Sedusa said, smiling. She could feel his lust for her, to the point she could almost choke on it. "Perhaps we should discuss this further tomorrow-"
"It's getting late, and I couldn't let you go back to your place alone, especially not at this hour," she felt his hand brush her thigh, right over her burn scar. "Please, let me take you home."
Internally, Sedusa sighed. So it's going to be another one of those nights, huh? Well, I've done worse for less…
"My place is a mess right now, but if you're insistent on escorting me out of here, I wouldn't mind staying at your place for the night," she smiled shyly. "But my schedule is quite busy at the moment, so we'll need to come to a decision on what to do about the girls as soon as possible."
A sloppy grin appeared on his face. "Of course," he said. "Anything for you. And the girls."
When Professor Utonium and the girls found out that Ace and the Gangreen Gang had not only gotten out of jail, but had been officially named Mayor of Townsville, he felt a deep sense of dread that he hadn't felt since Buttercup's accident.
"Miss St. Claire," Karen Carlson, the news anchor for Channel Four asked the lawyer that Ms. Bellum had supposedly hired. The Professor's lips pursed as he remembered how that woman had given him and his daughters a hard time on live air, back when their secret was still under wraps.
He, Bubbles, and Blossom were glued to the TV in Buttercup's hospital room. She had still not woken up. "What would you say to the people of Townsville who are wary of a vicious group such as the Gangreen Gang rising to power, especially with one of their former members facing charges of murder and terrorism?"
The young blonde woman sat facing Mrs. Carlson with her back straight and legs crossed, a solemn expression on her face.
"I do not pretend to understand the fear and horror the residents of Townsville have faced in the past couple of months," she said, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "What happened to the previous mayor was an awful tragedy. I sat with Sara herself as she cried in my arms and mourned over the loss of such a great man. But Mojo Jojo and Sanford Ingleberry, the two individuals responsible for the tragedy, are no longer a threat. Mojo is deceased, and I can promise all the folks of Townsville that Sanford will remain exactly where he belongs, behind bars. The bombing of City Hall was horrific, but it was a horror committed without influence from Mayor Copular or any other members of the Gangreen Gang," she said.
"'Mayor Copular,' huh?" Mrs. Carlson snorted. "Is that what the gangster is calling himself now?"
"That's who he is, regardless of any past criminal activity," Justine St. Claire said firmly.
Mrs. Carlson's mouth twitched in distaste, and the Professor felt himself do the same. "Regardless of his official title, one thing can't be argued," Mrs. Carlson argued. "One of our own heroes is currently fighting for her life after that green hooligan you call mayor brutalized her. If you ask me, and I think most of Townsville will agree, is that fact alone is reason enough to lock him in the same cell as his former friend and throw away the key."
The lawyer, Justine St. Claire, smirked slightly at this. "I have no doubt in my mind that Buttercup was doing what she thought was the right thing, but at the end of the day, she's a child. With all the recklessness and shortsightedness of one that we've come to expect," she said. "I've discussed the situation extensively with Mayor Copular, and he's adamant that he believed his life was in danger during the ordeal. Nonetheless, he deeply regrets the pain and suffering he's caused Miss Utonium and her family."
The otherwise quiet room was interrupted by Blossom. "Yeah," she snorted. "I bet he just feels awful."
"I see," Mrs. Carlson said, clearly not believing her either. "It's interesting that he hadn't been able to show up himself to apologize to the Utoniums, considering he feels so horrible about it."
"The last few weeks have been quite hectic for Mayor Copular and his associates, I'm sure you can imagine. But he plans on scheduling a publicized interview as soon as possible, along with an apology. I, as well as some of the local police force, have been discussing how to best handle such a delicate situation, and the ultimate cause of why this happened in the first place, and it all led back to one person: Professor Utonium," Justine St. Claire said.
"What?!" Bubbles and Blossom shrieked simultaneously.
"I'm sorry, are you saying this is Professor Utonium's fault? The man who gave us the Powerpuff Girls and rescued our city from being overrun by villains and criminals alike?" Mrs. Carlson asked in indignation.
"Like I said before, Buttercup is a child. She only does what her first impulses tell her to do, and listens to the guidance of the adults around her," she said. "Who built this Dynamo in the first place? During my research, I've read reports about how destructive it was in the past. What sane man would put his child in one of those things? Especially a mentally unstable child with a past of behavioral issues and no powers to protect her? Why would Buttercup even feel like it was her responsibility to stop a gang of adult criminals in the first place?"
The next day, the Professor and the girls got a visit from the Chief of Police himself asking them to come with him downtown to answer a few questions.
"Just to clear things up," Officer Samson assured them. "Very informal."
As the Professor sat in the empty interrogation room by himself, he felt his hands get clammy.
"W-Where are Bubbles and Blossom?" he asked Officer Samson.
"They're just fine," he assured them. "We brought them some snacks."
"Officer, you know I'm willing to help you in any way I can, especially with a madman in office," the Professor shook his head in disbelief. "But I don't want to be away from Buttercup for too long. If her condition worsens or she wakes up-"
"How long have you been building the Dynamo?" Officer Samson asked.
The Professor blinked. "Uh, well, I already built it years ago. I was just making repairs-"
"But you were planning to bring it back into use," he said it like a statement, not a question.
"Well… yes," the Professor said. "We were running out of options. I was unable to figure out a way to get the girls their powers back and Townsville was- is- falling to chaos."
"I see," Officer Samson said, writing something down on his notepad. "But you were aware that we were handling the situation with the Gangreen Gang."
"Well, no offense Officer, but you weren't doing a great job," the Professor quipped.
"At least our way hasn't caused additional harm," Officer Samson said. "You were aware that the Dynamo was not only a weapon of mass destruction, that it wasn't ready for use, and yet you kept it in a place where your children had access to it and didn't even run its use by authorities?"
"I… I," the Professor stuttered. "I was trying to do right by my girls and this town. That's all."
"I understand perfectly, Professor," Officer Samson said. "If you would just follow Officer Jensen over there, he'll escort you to the waiting room. We have a few questions for your daughters as well."
When Blossom saw the police ask the Professor that he, along with her and her sister, would come down to the station to answer a few questions, she wasn't too worried. After all, they didn't do anything wrong. But as she and Bubbles walked into the interrogation room, and looked back at Officer Samson who often talked with her like a beloved niece but now stood straight, with a stern look on his face, she felt uneasy.
"Officer Samson," she held out her hand in offering. "It's good to see you. I know you and your fellow officers must be busy with all the trouble the Gangreen Gang has been causing."
"Blossom," he nodded towards her. He turned toward her sister. "Bubbles. Why don't you two take a seat?"
Bubbles and Blossom exchanged a look, and Blossom could instantly tell that Bubbles was nervous. She gave her a reassuring smile and walked over to sit on the opposite side of the officers, her sister by her side.
"So, Officer Samson," Blossom said, trying to keep her voice light. "What do you need our help with?"
"We just had a few questions for you two about your dad," Officer Samson said.
"Our dad?" Bubbles asked. "What about our dad?"
"Do you know how long he's been working on the Dynamo?"
Blossom blinked in surprise. "Does this have something to do with the interview that the Gangreen Gang's lawyer gave?"
"We just want a more accurate picture of the situation," Officer Samson tried to reassure her. "You and your sisters' safety is our utmost concern."
"My sisters and I are perfectly safe," Blossom said defensively. "And if we're not, then it's because of the Gangreen Gang, not because of the Professor."
"I understand this situation is… not ideal," he said. "But we're not here to talk about Mayor Copular or his associates today."
"Mayor" Copular? Blossom thought. Not him too…
"Why do you want to talk to us about the Professor?" Bubbles asked. "What did he do?"
"Like I said, we're just trying to get to the bottom of the situation," he said. "According to him, he'd been working on the Dynamo for the last couple weeks, is that correct?"
"Yes…" Blossom answered.
"And he told you that he intended for you to use it at some point in the near future?"
"Yes, to help us defend Townsville," she explained. "Buttercup took it without permission, it wasn't ready yet-"
"But he gave her, and assumingly, you two as well, full access to his lab at all times?"
"We're superheroes who have been fighting monsters our entire lives," Blossom clipped. "We're not a bunch of toddlers who need baby locks."
"Former superheroes," Officer Samson clarified. "But still children. Children who are vulnerable to making rash decisions, especially when they feel pressure from their parents to do so-"
"The Professor never pressured us to fight crime!" Blossom exclaimed. "We do it- did it- because we love this city and want to make sure everyone stays safe. Including you, Officer."
"Blossom!" Bubbles grabbed onto her arm. "Calm down!"
"Young lady," Officer Samson admonished her. "I understand you've been going through a rough time, but it's important we keep this conversation calm and focused on the facts. As the leader of the Powerpuff Girls, I'd expect a better attitude."
"So what is it? Am I a child who can't handle her emotions, or a leader whose job it is to set an example?"
"Right now, you're not making a very good case for your father is what you're doing."
Blossom froze. She sat back in her seat, fearing to contemplate too deeply on the meaning of those words.
"Is… is the Professor in trouble?" Bubbles asked for her. "Are you taking us away from him?"
Officer Samson looked over at Bubbles, and his face softened.
"I am looking out for your best interests," he said. "Your sister is very, very hurt right now. You don't want something like that to happen again, do you?"
"But it wasn't his fault," Bubbles defended. "The Professor is a good dad, everyone knows that! His biggest, most important dream in life was to have a couple of daughters on his own that would grow up to make the world a better place! Everything he does is to help us help others!"
"That's a lot of pressure to put on you girls, don't you think?" he asked. "Having to save the whole world, all the time?"
"Well if we didn't do it, who would?" Blossom asked. "You've seen what Townsville is like without us around to defend it."
"The well-being of Townsville is our job to think about," Officer Samson said. "And for the sake of Townsville, and for you, we will do what we need to do. Even if you don't like it."
As Blossom and Bubbles were escorted out of the interrogation room, Blossom exchanged another look with her sister and knew she was feeling the same cold terror that she was.
"This plan of yours better work," Ace grumbled as he sat with his arms crossed on the couch in front of the former mayor's flat screen TV. "Apologizin' to the Powerpuffs? What kinda villain do you think I am?"
"You're not a villain, you're the mayor. At least as far as Townsville is concerned," Sedusa quipped. She reached over to grab the remote and turned off the TV. "And you better start acting like it if you actually want to rule Townsville."
"I took over Townsville without your help, thank you very much. I don't need your help keepin' it."
"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow. "Is that why I had to bail you and your friends out of jail?"
Ace glared at the infuriating broad, and snatched the remote out of her hands.
"Hey!"
"Let's get one thing straight. I'm in charge here. Me. Not you. This ain't gonna be like last time; I ain't some dumb kid who's gonna be wooed by cheap words and a few cleavage shots."
She glared back at him, but after a few moments her face softened as she looked him up and down. "Well, you've certainly changed, I'll give you that. The old Ace would've never snapped at me like that."
"If ya wanted the old Ace, ya shoulda thought about that before you threw me out like last week's trash."
"Who said I wanted the old Ace?"
"Don't blame me for your own idiocy," Sedusa sneered at him through the phone behind the shatterproof glass that separated them when he confronted her in jail. "I can have any man I want with a snap of my fingers. Why would I want a homeless teenager who lives in the dump?"
Her green eyes filled with mocking amusement and her red lips were twisted into a smirk. He knew his Ma would never forgive him for hitting a lady, wherever she was now, but in that moment, he was tempted.
"I don't give a shit what ya want," he snapped. "All of this is strictly business. You're my assistant, or lawyer, or whatever the fuck you wanna call yourself. And ya do what I say."
"Look," she sighed. She brushed part of the blonde wig she still wore off to the side, and Ace couldn't help but feel some satisfaction that she never did get her real hair back. "What happened between us, as far as I'm concerned, wasn't personal. There was something I wanted, I needed help to get it, and I took the opportunity I saw in front of me. Just like you did with that idiot mayor's death. And with a certain green Powerpuff," she looked at him knowingly.
"That doesn't have to do with nothin," Ace said. "And it ain't like I sought the chick out! If anything, she sought me out. If she wasn't makin' googly eyes at me all the time-" he stopped, realizing how bad the words coming out of his mouth sounded.
"My point is," he said. "I just wanted me and the boys to live our lives without worryin' that it would lead to a hospital visit every time we swiped somethin' or was out havin' a little fun, and all I promised her was pizza and music. But you," he shook his head, his voice steadily rising in anger. "You hunted me down when I didn't do nothin' to ya. Made me and the boys all these big promises, promises ya never intended for one second to keep."
In response, Sedusa stared at him unimpressed. "If you're looking for an apology, you're not getting one."
"I don't want no damn apology!"
"Then what do you want, Ace?"
"Nothin' from you!" he snapped. He hated her, hated how calm she was and how she still looked at him like he was no more significant than a bug on her shoe. He wanted her to get angry back; yell at him so he could dish it back even worse, or cry so he could laugh in her face. React, get upset, do something.
"You think that just because youse can open your legs and get whatever ya want from dumbasses who don't know better that you're this genius mastermind or somethin', but you're nothin' but a whore."
To his surprise, Sedusa only laughed. "You think you're the first person who has called me a whore? You think I'm ashamed of what I do or how I do it?" She stepped closer to him until she was a mere few inches away, and shook her head.
"You men are all the same. I might be a whore, but even I have my limits. I don't recall ever opening my legs for you."
Ace spluttered in anger. Adrenaline rushed through him, and it took all of his self-control to hold him back.
"Fuck you!" he spat out. "Get the fuck out of here! I don't care what HIM promised ya or why he wants ya to help me at all. He can get fucked too."
"Ace-"
"I said leave!"
She rolled her eyes. "This is why I hate working with previous marks. Always so emotional," she muttered. She looked back at him, tired and frustrated as if he was a toddler throwing a tantrum. He probably looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but at that moment he was too angry to care.
"Look," she said. "You hate me, and I find you incredibly irritating. And frankly I don't care if you do crash and burn and you get beaten to death by a mob. But I really do miss my hair, and if anything happened to you it would annoy HIM. And one thing I don't want is to get on His bad side. So I'll make you a deal."
"What? Are you gonna fuck me?" Ace snapped. When Sedusa stared back at him without correcting him, he blinked in surprise.
"You really think I'm dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice?"
"It will be just another part of our business arrangement," she said. "Purely transactional and nothing else. You promise to not try to bite my head off every time I try and help you, and I'll give you what I know you've been wanting all these years."
Ace snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. I've gotten plenty of chicks, many of who were beggin' to sleep with me. I haven't thought about you since ya came back and showed your ugly mug."
To Ace's satisfaction, Sedusa's mouth twitched at the last comment.
"Well, if that's how you truly feel," she shrugged. "Then you can tell HIM yourself. I'd try to break it to him gently though, if you make him mad you might end up dangling over a pit of hot lava. And as fun as that would be to see, I wouldn't want to get caught in the crossfire." She walked over to the coffee table and picked up her things.
"In the meantime, I'll ring up Richard and see if he's down for another rendezvous. He may be annoying, but he does know how to treat a lady right."
As Sedusa walked towards the door and reached for the handle, Ace felt a wave of panic in his chest.
"Wait!" he called out before he could stop himself. At the sound of his voice, she stopped, but didn't turn around.
"Strictly business," he said. "No tricks; that means none of that fake lovey-dovey shit. And I swear, if I ever hear ya bring up my Ma and what happened-"
"No 'lovey-dovey shit' and no talking about your mommy issues. Got it," Sedusa agreed, turning around. "It will just be sex. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Good," Ace said. "And, uh," he started, feeling awkward for the first time. "Since Billy and Arturo are out-"
Sedusa rolled her eyes. She walked back towards the living room and put her stuff back down, and walked up the stairs.
"Well?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you coming?"
In silence, Ace followed her up the stairs and towards the old mayor's bedroom.
It's just sex, he told himself. I've had a million meaningless one night stands before. This will be just another one.
When Sedusa shut the door behind them, he felt like a virgin again; excited, horny, and not the least bit terrified.
The Utonium household was somber that evening, even more than usual. After their ordeal with the police and a quick check on Buttercup, the Professor decided it would be best to take the girls home so they could sleep in their own bed for the night.
"The police aren't going to take us away, are they, Professor?" Bubbles had asked him, teary eyed.
"Oh honey," he looked at his daughter with an ache in his chest. "You know I'd never let anything bad happen to you or your sisters."
As he bent down to give his shortest daughter a hug, he looked eyes with Blossom and wordlessly he knew that she knew as well as he did that something bad was indeed on the horizon.
That night, he tucked both girls in before bed, something he hadn't done in years. Neither of them complained about being "too old for that sort of thing" or when he put them to bed an hour before their normal bedtime. In fact, nobody said much of anything at all.
"I love you girls," he said. "I'm sorry I've been… withdrawn lately, but it's nothing to do with you. You and Buttercup are my everything, I hope you know that."
"Of course we do, Professor," Blossom said.
"Yeah, we love you too Dad," Bubbles piped in.
In response, the Professor smiled and patted her on the head before shutting off the lights and closing the door. As soon as he was sure the girls were asleep, he grabbed his keys and drove to the hospital to spend the rest of the night by Buttercup's side. He sipped on the stale hospital coffee, knowing he wouldn't be getting any sleep.
In the early hours of the morning he drove back to the house to check on Bubbles and Blossom, and found police cars in his driveway. His stomach dropped.
"Professor Utonium?" A strange woman came up to him.
"Yes?" His mouth felt dry.
"I'm here with Social Services. I've received a request from the Chief of Police to remove Bubbles and Blossom Utonium from your custody."
Anon: Thank you! I hope so too. Poor dude has been through it.
GGG Fan: Thanks! Yes, it is fun to write her in all her delicious wickedness lol. And yeah, hopefully Mrs. Ingleberry can pull herself together for Snake's sake.
K: That indeed she is lol
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and if you do, feel free to leave a review and let me know your thoughts! :D