Chapter Text
Part One
January 20XX
The sound of rain bouncing off of the roof of the observation tower was almost peaceful on this cool January evening, unfortunately it was not a peace in which he could revel in and relax. He had sent the boys back to their home only an hour ago, and yes he had been hasty to get them out of his own home- no doubt wounding Boomer's feelings by cutting their "family dinner" short. But now was not the time for him to dwell on that, even though he and HIM had agreed to "parent" they also wanted to hide whatever it was that was happening from the boys.
No doubt one of them would run off to those blasted Powerpuff Girls, undermining his research alongside HIM. Their efforts were not to go undisturbed until they knew exactly what they were dealing with. If it could be easily managed then that's exactly what he intended to do.
It's not that he detested the girls anymore, their relationship had petered into him occasionally causing chaos and the girls dropping him off at the jail just for him to get bailed out the next day. It was monotonous but kept him within the villains league of Townsville. It was sort of his balance with them, much like the agreement with Monster Island.
His heavy steps echoed off of the metal steps as he descended into the bowels of the tower, on the left side wall behind the stairs a pin pad with a retina scanner was embedded into the wall, the door beside it was a thick and heavy iron. Entering the code and holding his eye open wide the scanner flashed a blue light. Blinking and mumbling to himself he rubbed his eye in irritation, backing up a few steps.
Gears clicked and grinded behind the wall, the heavy door moving slowly, tapping his foot impatiently he noted that he would need to get that fixed. Once the doors opened he passed over the threshold and began descending further into the earth, the doors shutting behind him more quickly than they had opened. "Typical," he muttered.
His footsteps echoed off the metal walls and steps, the sound of beeps and a printer going on below him within his lab. Taking one white gloved hand he pulled the papers out of the printer as he entered the large base of the lab, his eyes scanning over the results. "This doesn't even make any sense!" He screeched, the chimp in him clear as day when he lost his temper like that.
"How can I, Mojo Jojo, get no clear reading on this? It's not coming up as any substance within my database. It will be pain for anyone who has fumbled with my results, for clearly tampering has occurred." Scowling he tried to figure out if any of the boys had been in his lab recently, and he had to admit that no, not since he had changed the passcode and deleted their retina scans, they would have never been able to get in.
Hopping onto one of the wheeled chairs he rolled over to one of the many supercomputers running down within his lab, jabbing a few buttons he began to analyze his formulas again, There had to be something he was missing.
His eyes were beginning to burn when the small video box popped up in the corner- someone was video calling him. Great. Marvelous. He hit the accept button as he knew it could only be one other being. And there on the screen was the sultry lobster man, a new purple boa wrapped around his neck as he applied a fresh coat of lipstick.
Giving a mock kiss to the camera he winked at Mojo, the monkey grumbling more, "what do you want?" HIM feigned mock hurt, "what do I want? You have the audacity to ask what I want? I got a very sad text from sweet Boom Boom explaining that you had cut family night short." here he held up a phone in his claws to show a short conversation, the sad emojis and "yeah, he said he had work to do," in that stupid little text bubble.
"We agreed that Tuesday is family night for you while the boys are in school. Marion said-"
"I don't care what Marion said- you told me to figure out what that specimen was and here I, Mojo Jojo, am trying to find out what exactly it is!" Nostrils flared as he stared at HIM through the monitor, of course the red devil just crossed a long leg over the other, "well that wasn't very nice, all you had to do was say that in the first place." A sly grin on his lips, knowing he was getting a rise out of the monkey.
Narrowing his eyes, more serious as his voice lowered, "now do we have any results?" They both knew this was potentially serious for the city, and more than that they knew it was lethal. Was it not two weeks ago, after winter break had come to an end, that they had discovered the mutilated corpse of one of Sedusa's lackeys? The man had barely been able to be identified, even dental records were not an option.
"Same as yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that-," pushing backwards the chair rolled and he spun to see his own formulas written on the opposite wall. Smearing the formulas written on the board he looked at his hands. "This is not good."
"Agreed. I'll keep sending my own minions out, as irritating as this is, it is… quite lucrative." Sedusa herself had hired three minor demons to be on guard and protect her, even dear ol' Fuzzy had scrounged up enough cash for one guard. News did tend to travel quickly through their network and no one wanted to end up a mangled and bloody mess. "I can send one to you, my dear friend, if you'd like. Free of charge."
Mojo snorted, "no need. I am capable of taking care of myself."
With an overly dramatic sigh HIM slouched in front of the screen, "very well. I'll follow up in a day or so. And please remember to drop off the paperwork to Marion in a day or two, she said you're terrible at getting back to her."
"Tell Marion to mind her own goddamn business!"
"Ta-ta!" And with that the call ended and Mojo was left fuming and irritated. Removing his cape he draped it on the back of the chair, he'd have to extract another sample from the specimen, the thing was already no larger than a standard sewing needle, but maybe he needed more of it in order to get finer results. A milli-fraction clearly wasn't enough, after all his formulas couldn't all be wrong.
Striding over to a wall lined with glass and steel cabinets Mojo pulled on the handle, jerking it up, down, then up again before the door opened. This was where he kept the more dangerous components. Most locked away in lead lined boxes, a few left in glass jars, this is also where he kept a small supply of chemical and antidote X. For emergency purposes only of course.
Picking up the newest lead box he began to carry it over to the table in the center of the room when he noticed a small hairline crack. No. Nothing should have been able to do that! Quickly slamming the box onto the metal table, the echo ricocheting off of the smooth metal walls, Mojo didn't have time to worry about the intense ringing in his ears as he punched in a code on the top of the box.
The seconds felt like hours as he could hear the mechanism unscrewing itself to release the lid, the ringing growing louder in his ears he grimaced and as soon as he felt the lid pop he wrenched it off and went to grab the glass capped vial he had been keeping in there. However all he was met with was shattered glass and the saline solution he had put inside.
"Curses!" Flinging the box to the floor it bounced off and slammed back into the legs of the table, but Mojo was already on top of the cabinet again, flinging out boxes left and right, moving to the other cabinets where binders and safer specimens lay. Quickly these things went flying, the papers scattering and sliding under foot, loud bangs and shattering glass as these objects were tossed carelessly.
His breathing was labored, the ringing in his ears fading away, now all he could hear was the vast quiet as papers fluttered to the ground and liquids dripped slowly into quickly forming puddles. Trying to concentrate on his own breathing he closed his eyes, Mojo was trying to run through a list of possibilities, perhaps he had taken it upstairs at some point?
A faint sliding of the sound of punctured glass screeched behind him, followed by two quick whistling sounds as two large fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling shattered. He went to half turn, his hand reaching to his belt for one of his ray guns when an insect-like clicking started from the shadows, a gloppy sound that could only be perceived as movement coming from the shadows.
Gulping he knew he could never get up the stairs in time, whatever this was, it was incredibly fast, his eyes darted to the grate in the wall. It would be tight, and he thought it might lead to the underground but it was much closer than the stairs. Only 6ft away. With one last deep breath Mojo whipped around, the laser gun in hand, he fired off two shots quickly. Sparks flying from the computer monitor as he hit it and a screeching sound bellowed out that almost brought him to his knees.
Scrambling he pulled at the wall grate, shooting three of the screws out, one side tipped open, but before he could climb in something wrapped itself around his boot and pulled. Crashing down, chin first, he grunted and his hands scrambled to grab anything and pull himself away. The clicking continued with a hiss, whatever this was he didn't want to look at it. Clawing at a heavy cabinet he pulled himself, desperately trying to kick the boot off using his other foot.
With a pop his foot was free but the large cabinet began to tip with the struggle occurring, it began to fall but instead of a loud bang it sounded more like it had fallen in soft mud. Diving into the hole he was flung forward in the tight space by the force of the cabinet being slammed back into the wall, his foot felt like it was probably mangled but he continued to claw against the smooth walls, the screeching growing more agitated.
But his biggest fear was that it was louder.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
"Girls, I know it's late but the mayor wants us to tighten things up around here before the police switch shifts. Let's meet back in 30 minutes." It wasn't a question. Blossom was already hovering a few feet above where Buttercup and Bubbles stood on one of the roofs in the local downtown area. Buttercup gave an exasperated groan, "he didn't have to pick a Saturday night though…"
All three girls were clad in their newest uniforms, the pretty pastel dresses were long gone; they now wore bodysuits that more closely resembled more breathable and flexible wetsuits, shades of their darker colors respectively. A dark maroon, navy blue, and nearly black olive green, the only differences were the girls personal styles and tastes.
Blossom had chosen a mock neck top with a brighter and more reflective pink skimming down the sides, her suit was short sleeved and completely one piece up until her ankles where she wore black sneakers that resembled modified combat boots.
Buttercup had chosen a boatneck style, and while she too had the reflective green on the sides her midriff was bare (which had been much to the professor's dismay), short sleeves, and her bottoms more closely resembled joggers. She wore on her feet a broken in and worn pair of combat boots, stubbornly refusing to wear the sneaker styles, at least until the boots crumbled apart anyways.
Bubbles of course had gone a more feminine route, a sleeveless mock neck style and the suit ran to roughly two inches above her knees with a skirt around her waist with the signature blue from her old look on the inside and the outside matching the rest of the suit, the reflective bright blue running from pit to end. She sported the same sneaker-like boots that Blossom had chosen as well.
Each girl also carried a slim belt bag around their hips, usually where they kept their phones and a small dose of chemical X in case there was a serious life-threatening injury. So far they'd been lucky to only have to use it twice in the last three years, each time on Buttercup as she had a tendency to go harder than Blossom felt was necessary.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll take the Northside and you," Buttercup turned to Bubbles and pointed a green painted fingernail at her, "take here over to the harbor and the Westside. It's quieter there." Blossom nodded in agreement, but to this Bubbles pouted and crossed her arms much like she did in their childhood years. "I can handle the Northside too, ya know," she muttered.
Buttercup gave her what looked like a sympathetic smile as she too began to hover in the night air, "eventually, but let's make this a quick night." Her dark bob blowing away from her face as she took off across the city, the green beam fading in her wake. Blossom looked more serious, "the people over there feel safe when they see you." Bubbles knew it was meant to be a compliment but she couldn't help but feel like she was being chided. Sighing she too drifted into the air and put on her happiest smile. Her mouth hurt. "You're right, I'll meet you back here in 30!" And she too took off, hearing the piercing sound of Blossom going off to her own area as well.
Clenching her fists as she moved up and down the city streets Bubbles felt her forced smile tearing away at the corners of her mouth, yet anytime she noticed someone wave to her excitedly from their window she kept that grin plastered onto her face and waved right back. Here she passed long closed storefronts and restaurants with fancy drinks and people leaning on bars. The cars were nicer, the streets were cleaner, and the evidence of any crime was practically nonexistent.
Actually when she thought about it did this area ever get hit? When was the last time a monster came barreling down and smashing these buildings up? Probably not since the Morbucks family had set up a hotel-like facility five years ago, the building was sixty floors and practically all glass except for the marble base at the lobby.
She remembers seeing the building for the first time, the gold tinted glass looked like it was constantly being hit by a sunset, the private garden on the roof being the most booked up spot for weddings and special events, and it quickly became clear that this was going to be the grand ballroom of hosting any and all elegant guests and events. Princess did nothing but brag about it anytime a movie star or celebrity came to stay.
Maybe that had something to do with the lack of crime in the area. Money really could buy anything.
Slowing once she reached the harbor area Bubbles unclenched her fists, tiny crescent moons had been dug into her palms, swollen and red. She knew there was blood and just wiped her hands on her skirt, trying to stop the damage as quickly as possible. She knew she'd be healed within a day or two but still, she didn't know what was wrong with her.
Before she could start introspecting a high pitched whistle sounded off twice, two wet sounds following, and then the clattering of what could be a set of keys. Moving as quickly and as silently as she could she crept between a few stacked shipping containers. Trying to use her super hearing to the best of her capabilities, but whoever it was was making a strange clicking noise.
And then she heard the unmistakable sound of something heavy being dragged. She knew what she needed to do, and this was her chance to prove to Blossom and Buttercup that she was capable of taking over other parts of Townsville too.
"Stop right there!" She hoped her voice sounded stronger than she thought, still hovering and coming around the shipping containers she spied an awkwardly bent man. But, it wasn't a man? This thing was tall, maybe 8ft, inky black, and seemed to be… dripping. But it's like the liquid ran down the body and didn't stay on the ground, but this figure was clearly in motion at all times. It turned a blank but smooth rippling surface of a face in her direction, and Bubbles felt her knees go weak. She had never seen anything like this before.
With jerking steps, as if it was possibly mechanical under all that black it whipped its body around to face her, a strange bubbling beneath where the face would be before it ripped open a grotesque and beak-like jaw, screeching in such a way she could feel it in her bones. Inside were long and spined teeth, its tongue lolling around as the mouth became larger. It was at this moment she realized it's body was changing, a long tail coiling around newly formed back legs. It screeched at her again, launching one dangerous arm in her direction, the hand now a pointed looking tip.
Diving out to the side Bubbles had thought she had avoided it but then felt the warm trickle of blood running down her arm before she could even register pain. This thing had sliced her upper arm, just grazing it, but the pain wasn't like the dull pain she felt when battling in the streets. This was acidic pain, searing and making her slightly dizzy. Below her the creature crouched, its massive jaws continuing to rip open to screech that bone rattling sound, it now stood on all fours as if it were a giant lizard.
Bubbles knew she had a way with animals but this, this was no animal. This thing frightened her. She was about to cry out for her sisters when it launched another arm at her, then another, and another. Dodging and weaving out of the way she knew if she shot straight up she could get high enough that the creature wouldn't be able to reach her.
Before she could do that though it wrapped one of those inky limbs around her ankle, Bubbles didn't have time to even register her shock before it smacked her down onto the pavement of the loading docks. Chunks of concrete flew up into the air, gasping she turned onto her side trying to desperately suck the air back into her lungs, but the creature's limb slithered off quickly and in its wake left another tear in her flesh causing her to let out a gasping scream.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see it starting to move into a pouncing position, she was going to die. She was going to die! She was a Powerpuff Girl, she wasn't supposed to die! She was barely 17, she still had so much she needed to do, she couldn't just die here!
Bubbles could feel the tears running down her face, every hair on her body stood on edge as she whipped over on her back in an upright position just as that damn mouth ripped its way open and the creature launched itself at her.
Pulling her arms back she could feel that humming blue glow building around her fingertips, and she began to launch blue energy projections in a frenzy. One after another in succession, she had never done this before and felt like she was staring into the abyss. To her relief the inky creature separated and fell to the side when each beam hit it, the remains quivering on the pavement.
She knew she needed to get up, pushing her sweaty hair out of her face, her hands chalky with the cement dust, she pulled one leg up beneath her, her body trembling with the adrenaline and fear this thing had manifested in her. Before she could get her other leg beneath her she heard it, gloppy liquid sounds coming from her right. One low pigtail blew over her sticky shoulder, and she squeezed her eyes tight, willing her legs to listen to her.
The sound was growing louder, like bones moving around in slow sticky liquid, the burning in her leg and arm were growing stronger as if any remaining particles embedded into her skin were being called back to their master. A rattling, like the clicking of an insect was settling in the air and when she turned her head back to the right the creature was shaking its mangled face into place. A whimper escaped her lips and the monster became still, large pointed ink quills bristled along its back and its jaws opened, its head was poised at her as it gave a growling hiss.
So now this thing thought she was a threat. Bubbles could practically hear herself gulp, her mouth dry, eyes wide open now as she looked upon what would be the end of her. Her fingers twitched and she could feel the blue pulsing energy building. It stood roughly thirty feet from her, that eerie clicking sound continuing to emanate from what would be its throat while its tail flicked back and forth in a predatory manner.
How long had it been? Seconds? Minutes? Were Blossom and Buttercup looking for her? Did they hear her scream? Bubbles flexed her hands as the energy pulsed stronger, the tears had stopped but her eyes were still watery, the trail from where they had left running clear down her dust covered skin. She wiped at her running nose with the back of her arm as she stifled a hiccuped sob.
In the last few seconds she had Bubbles felt like she was mentally sending out a telegram to her father, her sisters, and her friends. ' Iloveyou. Iloveyou. Iloveyou' . Gritting her teeth she rocked up and back onto her other leg just as the creature began whipping those spines back at her, her fists opening as she pushed out the energy projection at each attack it launched at her. Over, and over, and over again.
This was already too much, her breathing was becoming labored and twice it had flicked her shoulder, causing her to cry out. She was inching back, trying to get further away but it kept shuffling forward, the clicking continuing with its attacks. It was toying with her. Mocking her weakness. Buttercup would have smashed this creature to bits at this point and Blossom would've figured out a strategy and found its weak points by now.
Without even realizing it she had started to exert sound with each blast she sent it's way, the physical effort draining her into a primal survival she didn't know she even had. What she did notice was it wasn't sending those spines as quickly as it had been, but before she could hope she was tiring it out she realized that it was coiling up those spines and twisting them high above its head. It was going to strike her full force.
It kept slowing down until there were only two spines trying to hit her now, she couldn't fly away, if it caught her in the air it would just slam her back into the dock. In all honesty she didn't even think she could fly.
Now it was only sending one spine to flick at her, gulping she pushed both hands together and pulled back out, a crude energy projection between the two.
The force slammed down on her so suddenly she let out another scream, this projection acting as a barrier, just barely keeping it away from her. It jabbed twice in quick succession before pulling back for additional momentum. The blue between her hands began to flicker, "nononononono," her words merged together in a jumbled panic.
Smack once, twice, flicker. Once, twice, three times, flicker. The last one had hit with such force she was brought back down to one knee, desperately trying to keep the energy still going and her hands above her head. It smacked down again, and as it recoiled to strike once more the energy flickered twice and was out.
Throwing her arms over her head she gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes tight knowing this was the end for her, but she had tried, right? She'd done her best. Right? Right? And she waited for that final blow to come.
But it didn't. There was a humming in the air, a green glow emitting as she began opening her eyes. Instantly she realized she wasn't dead, but she also quickly realized that this wasn't Buttercup.
Standing in front of her in torn up black jeans, a dark t-shirt, and with wind ruffled hair blown back was none other than Butch Jojo. A Rowdyruff had come to her rescue. He was tall, at least 6ft and his piercing green eyes glanced down at her. "Go."
Struggling to get back to her feet she stumbled a few steps then hit the dock on all fours. "I can't," her voice was tiny, barely a whisper, but she knew he caught it. They were the same. They were different but they were the same too. He furrowed his brow and turned his eyes back to the angry creature that was now screeching at him, slamming its coiled spine into his barrier over and over.
Barriers were his speciality, his gift some might say. His eyes were darting around checking their location, and an idea clicked in his brain. "Hold onto my leg. Don't. Let. Go." Bubbles didn't have to be told twice, scrambling closer her arms felt heavy and weak but she wrapped them around his braced leg.
Butch was pulling the barrier backwards toward him, whatever this fucking creature was, it was nasty. There was no overconfident smirk on his lips, no showboating, he needed to do this and do it right.
As he continued to pull back now with one hand he used the other to pull the rest of the barrier around them and then guided his hand back to join the other. With all the concentration he could muster Butch was a powder keg about to explode, and with that he pulled apart his hands with such force the barrier pushed out to annihilate whatever was in its path.
The creature certainly wasn't expecting that and flew back with such force it slammed into the freighter beside the dock and broke away into tiny pieces, scattering into the ocean below. Rocking out and back the freighter slammed back into the concrete dock, the sound of tearing metal echoing off the neighboring ships as pieces of the dock crumbled and went flying.
The shipping container that the creature had been beside tipped onto its side, the sound of rolling metal along with liquid was heard and with no warning an explosion erupted out of the container once it slammed in a rolling motion back onto the ground. The flames carried upwards, the falling debris lighting anything made of wood or tarped on fire. A few other shipping containers nearby could be heard crashing into one another, some tumbling down a good 60ft.
Bubbles screamed again as the chaos erupted but felt Butch crouch down beside her, he was shielding her and covering his own eyes with his arm. The world was suddenly eerily quiet, save for the sound of the crackling fire, the water crashing up and around the dock and the groan of settling metal.
"That was a bit overly dramatic." Butch's voice was more curious than the bored indifference that was his usual cadence, he stood up and dusted his hands together. He was about to offer his hand to her when he noticed Bubbles was already standing, shakily she took a few steps, trying to straighten up. He noticed for maybe the first time before how tiny she really was, petite and barely over 5'4 when her sisters were at least 5'7 and 5'8 respectively. Her skirt was tattered and her golden pigtails were a tangled mess around her shoulders.
Sirens started sounding off in the distance and he could hear that piercing sound coming that signaled the other two girls were on their way. Pushing his hair back he hovered and was about to take off when he felt a soft hand grab his. "Please stay." He looked down to see Bubbles had moved to his side and was pleading with him, her eyes were wet but so far no tears.
He didn't do crying girls. He shook his hand free and Bubbles terror was clear in her voice. "What if it comes back?" He'd never been impressed before by the blue puff, she'd never been the hardest hitter, and she didn't direct any tactical plans but he saw something tonight when he came across her fighting that thing, because although he'd made it look easy that creature had nearly broken his barrier a few times, and here she had been having a full on fight with the fucker.
But instead of giving her comfort or words to show he was impressed he went with what he knew would be a blow to her already sensitive ego. "Your sisters can handle it." He saw her face blanche and empty as she backed away a few steps. Before she could attempt to stop him he sped off in the other direction, keeping low and disappearing into the city just as her sisters touched down and came running at her.
"What happened? Bubbles, you didn't come back! What did you do?!" Buttercup's words were frenzied as she held her sister's face between her hands. Although she wasn't known to be soft there was clear panic in her eyes and voice. Blossom came up on Bubbles' side and inspected the cut across her upper arm and the cuts on her shoulder, only giving the leg wound a glance. She noticed that whatever this was had torn through her suit and left its mark.
Calmly Blossom rested her hand on the back of Bubbles' head and pressed her lips to the side of Bubble's head. She was covered in sweat, concrete dust, and now ash, Buttercup backed to the side for a moment, her hair windswept and looking like she had been running her hands through it in worry, trying to give their leader the space she needed. Blossom slid her hand onto Bubbles' cheek and her sister's blue eyes fluttered closed, softly she asked "what happened?" But that was all Blossom got out before Bubbles crumpled to the ground, her face in her hands, sobbing.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
Quickly the firefighters battled the fires down, Blossom had taken to righting the shipping containers while Buttercup stayed with their distraught sister. Blossom was now attempting to handle the chief of police who was stalking around muttering to herself about being dragged out bed for a damn fire.
She was nothing, if not professional and cool while dealing with this woman. Chief Miranda Rosa was from Citysville, further up the coast, and she hadn't seemed to have anything too positive to say regarding the girls in the last two years. "I'm sorry, but my sister isn't ready to explain what happened, but I can assure you that this wasn't her fault."
Chief Rosa scoffed, tying her long wavy hair into a ponytail as she inspected the damage and stepped over debris. Blossom scowled at the back of the chief's head but breathed deeply and let her face fall back into it's calm and controlled mask. "I'm sure if we look around we'll find what caused this," but before Blossom could continue the chief interjected, "oh I know exactly what caused this. Don't think I didn't take this job without knowing what kind of damage you girls cause. This is exactly what I warned the mayor of with you three, this isn't the standard battling the bad-guy damage, this is-" and her words petered out as she gestured around her.
A hazmat crew had been called to the scene to handle the chemicals that had spilled and caused the explosion, the bomb squad was already there handling what they could. She had officers taking photos of damage and the little blonde girl wouldn't even let the medics get close enough to document her injuries, but it was also clear she was too weak to fly away.
"Now, Chief Rosa, I don't think that's exactly fair-" Blossom started when the chief turned to stare at her incredulously, now if the chief had powers as well then lightning would have been crackling between the two women.
"You think life is supposed to be fair? Well let me tell you, first of-" the chief couldn't even start because there was an officer screaming her name.
"Chief! You gotta come over here, and quick!" panic was in his voice as he ran out from an area that had been obscured by part of the chemical laden shipping container as well as twisted metal and a downed lamppost.
Another officer was stumbling out of the same area, his face white as a ghost and his hand covering his mouth, a few chunks of what Blossom could only assume was his dinner flew between his fingers before he completely stopped to retch.
"Oh c'mon, Marks! Are you serious? You just contaminated a crime scene! Now we have to document that too," one of the other officers was yelling at the puking man.
Chief Rosa signed heavily but looked at the officer who had called her over, "What is it, Santiago? A gull get crushed or something?" She clearly wasn't in the mood, but she still knew she needed to take a look for herself.
"No, ma'am, I wish." He shuddered, looked at Blossom and gave her a nod before turning with his flashlight to head back into the dark section. Chief Rosa pulled a mini mag light from her jacket pocket and flicked the light on, stepping over the broken section of the dock that jutted up awkwardly, she moved her light up to where Officer Santiago was standing, his beam illuminating something that smelled coppery and burnt.
As she approached Chief Rosa sucked in air, her face immediately grim. Well, this certainly wasn't a Powerpuff Girls doing. The red haired leader of the group paled and her hand shot up to her mouth, "my god," she whispered. The chief turned to Santiago, "we need to call this in, get the coroner over here right away along with detectives Marley and Bryant. They'll want to see this."
The group had backed out of the area and the chief called for it to be taped off while they waited for the coroner and detectives. "Those men," Blossom was saying to no one in particular, maybe to the chief since they were standing side by side now, "they were eviscerated. I've never seen anything like that."
Lighting a cigarette Chief Rosa stared off into space, "I can send you the coroner's report when it's in. The little blonde one will need to come in and give a statement once she's recovered some."
"Bubbles. Her name is Bubbles."
"Yeah, sure, make sure she comes in sooner rather than later."
Blossom and the chief looked at each other now for a long moment, there was a sort of understanding between the older hispanic woman and the young superhero. Whatever had done this, it wasn't something good. "I need to get my sisters home," Blossom turned away and walked from the chief, her long legs taking her quickly to the two others.
The chief watched as the dark haired girl lifted the blonde onto her back and the three slowly flew away, if she didn't hear from them in two days she would call them in, she had a city to protect and she would need all the information she could get.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
While Blossom was dealing with a frantic Professor, Buttercup helped Bubbles to the bathroom, she'd fallen asleep on their way home, something she hadn't done in ages. "You'll feel better when you're clean, you always do." Then trying for some humor, "plus you smell like the wrong end of Fuzzy Lumpkins on a hot summer day." That got a small smile from Bubbles, "yeah," the bathroom door closing behind her and seconds later the sound of the shower turning on.
Satisfied for now Buttercup came down the stairs and sat on the second to last step, working on taking her combat boots off. Standing before her in the foyer was a clearly worried father, he'd embraced Bubbles as soon as they walked through the door and he saw her condition, then forcefully pulled the other two into his arms while asking a million questions. While the girls knew they were far stronger than he was, sometimes they didn't mind giving him what he needed, and at that moment he just needed to hold his girls tightly.
Blossom had already kicked off her shoes, her arms were crossed and her hair was down from it's red ribboned ponytail. "So…" Buttercup started as she pulled one shoe off and tossed it into the coat closet across from her. "So we give her time," the Professor commented, "she needs to rest, Blossom mentioned that Bubbles' powers were practically drained." Blossom nodded, "plus she will still need to go fill out a statement at the station. I told Chief Rosa she would."
Tossing off her other shoe Buttercup mimic'd Blossom, crossing her eyes and pitching her voice higher, "Oh,'I told Chief Rosa she would', blah, blah, blah." Blossom scowled at Buttercup but Buttercup didn't flinch as she stood up, "the Chief can eat shit."
"Language!" Both the Professor and Blossom corrected her.
Leaning against the railing Buttercup rolled her eyes, "you know what I mean. The woman hates us, but whatever." Sighing Blossom turned to the professor, "is there anything you can do?" His hand up by his chin he gave it a moment, "yes," and now both girls were paying attention, "I need her uniform. I noticed there were rips and tears in it but maybe there is some trace on it. I can swab and take a look under my microscope if there is anything."
Now he didn't want to give them false hope, "that's a big 'IF' by the way." Sighing he looked past them, "I'll have to let Edna know something was able to tear through her material. She's not going to be happy."
Nodding they both climbed the steps while the professor left to head into the ground floor master, typing up an email on his phone while he shut off all the lights downstairs except the kitchen.
Although the girls now had separate rooms, small but having their privacy was something they insisted on as they got older, they all shared one bathroom. Blossom's was across the hall from there and she stopped in the doorway. "I'll take the uniform to the professor, you can hop in the shower first."
"Fine, but I'm not washing my hair," Buttercup retorted and stuck her tongue out at her sister. Leaning into the bathroom and snatching the uniform from the hamper Blossom gave a little laugh, "oh, you'll want to once you get a good look at it."
Buttercup scowled as Blossom began to descend the steps, then walked into the bathroom herself. She stared at her reflection in silent mortification. Her hair was sticking up all over the place, it looked like she had a little ducktail hanging off the back of her head, "ugh!" she hated admitting when Blossom was right.
Stepping out of the bathroom, wrapped in her designated towel Buttercup walked back to her bedroom and tossed a night shirt on and a pair of boxers her last boyfriend had left behind. She liked them, they were soft and comfortable and it's not like he asked for them back. Sitting on the floor in front of her mirror she ran the brush through her dark hair and bangs, fluffing them up ever so slightly. Satisfied, she put some leave in conditioner in and then grabbed the jar of body lotion she kept in her room and rubbed it into her arms and legs.
She was too proud to admit it but sometimes these little pampering rituals were her saving grace at the end of a long night. Buttercup actually enjoyed being a girl, and although her walls were covered in funky flea market art and a few posters from a Norwegian metal band she liked she still had a bag of makeup on the floor next to her mirror and dresses and skirts in her closet.
Looking over at the clock Buttercup was just relieved that it was only 2:30 in the morning, which on a Saturday wasn't too bad. Even if she had missed out on going to see a band with Mitch and Robin. Standing up she walked over to her unmade bed, the comforter askew and bunched up to the side, she flopped onto the sheets and sighed.
Turning her head and opening her eyes she gave a yelp, scrambling to the edge of the bed, "Jesus Christ, Bubbles! Do you want me to have a heart attack? Because that's exactly how you give a person a heart attack."
Underneath the bunched up blanket Bubbles laid there in her pajamas, a simple white tank and a borrowed pair of Blossom's lounge pants. Her hair was practically dry at this point, loose waves plastering her neck and back, and in a small voice she said, "can I sleep with you tonight?"
With a sigh Buttercup shifted back into her spot and leaned back onto her hands, pretending to give a reluctant smile, "I guess, since you're already here and all." Bubbles crawled out from under the blanket and threw half onto her sister, her smile both relieved and genuine. Buttercup waved her hand jokingly, "I know, I know, I'm the best." Smirking from ear to ear before she stuck her tongue out at Bubbles and leaned over to shut off the bedside lamp.
Like a burr, Bubbles practically wrapped herself around Buttercup's strong torso, just wanting to feel her sister close to her. As Buttercup started to get settled there was a small knock on the door before it creaked open just a bit, the night light in the hallway backlighting Blossom's tall form, "room for one more?"
Huffing Buttercup gestured with a free arm, "alright come on in, I guess we can try to fit you in." Closing the door behind her Blossom floated over to the other side of the bed and crawled in next to Bubbles, smiling over at Buttercup, "thanks." It had been a long time since all three had voluntarily slept in the same bed together, Bubbles shifted up in the bed and took both her sisters hands in her own, holding them tightly.
She was surrounded by two of the people she loved most in the world, the smells of their shampoos was comforting to her, peonies and amber musk blended well together in the dark room. Lying awake and staring at the ceiling, her eyes followed a scattering of small stars across it, the glow-in-the-dark stars she had put up there years ago still holding on.
She remembered she did that because Buttercup was too proud to admit in 5th grade that she was scared to sleep out in a field for her club trip and Bubbles wanted to show her how pretty it was. To think Buttercup still kept them up there all these years later made her heart feel warm, but she knew her sister would just say she was too lazy to remove them.
Both Blossom and Buttercup's breathing was even and slow, signaling they had quickly drifted off to sleep. She squeezed both their hands again, and Bubbles could faintly make out the outlines of the profiles from the light of the moon coming through the windows when she tilted her head to look at both of them. Tears were slowly trickling down the corner of her eyes, she almost lost this tonight. She almost lost this because she wasn't strong enough to protect herself. Maybe she was the childish crybaby everyone always said she was.
Closing her eyes tight she could see in her mind Butch's face, his intense eyes when she looked up after he first saved her, he had been so calm and collected. He was strong. He was strong and he had saved her life even though he knew she was weak. She needed to thank him, she wished she had but she had been so terrified to be alone and practically powerless. Why had he saved her anyways?
She knew the rivalry had turned more into toleration and only on occasion they'd try to best one another. Butch would ambush Buttercup every so often and even though she complained about it she still called it the 'best work out money can't buy,' and then she'd call Butch stupid or something. Brick and Blossom had developed a rivalry in their studies, and she could probably bet they would go to the same college and work in the same field just to get under each other's skin.
But Boomer? They didn't really have a rivalry, on the rare occasions the six were bickering and decided to fight for show she and Boomer tended to stay out of it. The last two times they had sat on a bench where he showed her how to tune a ukulele while their siblings were throwing punches and flying around each other. They weren't friends but at least friendly?
With Brick they had had a few classes together throughout the years, and the rare times they partnered up they'd been civil. He mostly looked awkward and was always on edge as if Buttercup would kick his ass if he made her cry. Butch though, she'd probably never even said more than 10 words to him before tonight. Bubbles knew she admired his strength, but that was all. She didn't really know him. She didn't know him and yet he still saved her.
Swallowing a lump in her throat to push down the guilt that was lingering there she knew she needed to thank him, he was slightly terrifying now that she had seen what he could do when it wasn't her sisters, but she knew he deserved to know how grateful she was. With a light sigh coming from Blossom and an unintelligible mumbling from Buttercup, Bubbles finally felt her eyelids grow heavy and the relief of the whole evening swallowed up her conscious mind to sleep.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
The phone on the desk beside her was ringing loudly in the station and Bubbles just stared at her balled up fists in her lap. Why wasn't this officer going to answer it? Flicking her eyes over at the young man typing up her statement she resisted huffing in exasperation. She'd been here for three hours already, she'd told the chief what she had seen, Ms. Bellum and the Mayor, and now this rookie officer. Although she had omitted little details such as the whole fight in itself and Butch's involvement, nothing says thanks for saving my life like, 'here are the police to ask you questions! K. Thx. Bye!' Not to mention she just tried to casually pass off the explosion of the creature getting away from her.
Not that she even knew where the boys lived in the first place, but with their reputations she had a feeling that the Chief could easily find them. Pulling at her white sweater she covered her hands with the sleeves, she didn't want anyone taking photos of her arm or shoulder and so opted to stay covered. But the Professor had told her the leg wound needed to breathe more and so she left it exposed, opting for a pair of denim shorts and short white sneakers.
They had taken photos of that and even asked to swab the area but she had hastily shut that down. It was already Monday and her cuts still pulsed with pain if they were touched. Typically she was healed up by now, the bruises she had developed were already gone, but for some reason the cuts were taking longer. The Professor had let her stay home from school today, which was actually kind of a relief. News about the double homicide and explosion at the docks were plastered on every tv and newspaper around.
"Okay, I think that's all we need for now." Surprised she lifted her face to the young officer, he was kind of handsome (for an older boy) and his smile looked strained and relieved at being done asking her questions. "Oh! Well thanks, I can leave now, right?" And so easily that bright smile slid into place on her face, the corners of her lips still felt strained though. She didn't feel like smiling.
"Sure, just sign out at the front desk."
Standing up she pulled her purse over her shoulder, the non wounded one, and was about to turn and leave when she heard a woman's voice, "Bubbles," looking to her left she saw Chief Rosa standing in the doorway to her office, "tell your sister I'll be emailing her the reports in the next day or two." Giving an awkward nod Bubbles turned on her heel and speed walked right out and down to the front desk to sign out.
Looking at the clock behind the receptionist she noticed it was already 1:30pm, most of her day wasted by Townsville's finest. She could have slapped herself, why did she feel so angry? They were just doing their job. With a little wave Bubbles exited the building and started walking on the sidewalk with the rest of the citizens. She had opted to fly today to flex her powers after being out cold for 13 hours straight yesterday, and with two quick steps she sprung up and was lifted into the air.
Exhaling with relief she could hear people calling out her name, she waved politely and graciously before taking off above the clouds. The sun felt warm on her skin, and she felt calm for the first time in hours. She'd gotten through the interviews, she hadn't exactly lied but she hadn't omitted the entire truth either, and overall Chief Rosa didn't seem too angry anymore about the destroyed freighter and dock.
Her pace was slower than it had been to get into the city, every so often the clouds would part and she would catch glimpses of the world below. Cars speeding along, dogs playing in the yard with their owners, and even a few children at the local elementary schools enjoying recess in the school yard. When she got to look at the city from way up here it almost felt like it was okay if she was only ever a superhero. This is what she was protecting, people were living their lives in ignorant bliss of what terrors were truly out there. They even looked at the occasional monster attack as just a mundane event in their ordinary lives.
Shifting her position in the air she began to descend feet first through the clouds, home below her, her sneakers hitting the walkway as she walked a few couple steps and up to the door. As she went to open the door her cell phone beeped, pulling it out she sighed at the entire cracked corner of her phone, she had a new one on the way but she could still answer messages for now.
Surprisingly enough it wasn't a message but an invite for later today on her shared calendar with her sisters, "the observatory?"
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~