Some Kind of Hero

by SatanSpeaks

Summary:

We know what boys and girls are made of. What ingredients do you need to make a hero? Depends on the kind of hero.

(Cross-color friendship, Eventual Reds, Greens, Blues)

Chapter 1: God Damn Heroes

God Damn Heroes

Sophomore Year - September

Buttercup crashed through a skyscraper. Shattered glass rained onto the panicking people below. Brick smirked. Soon the precious Powerpuff Girls would be defeated. Everything was going according to plan.

"How much do you think that's going to cost? A few hundred thousand, maybe a million?" he asked.

The tiny mayor was still. Brick had to give him credit, the man stayed cool under pressure.

"Probably twenty casualties. Maybe a death or two."

The mayor held his ground. "I have faith in the Powerpuff Girls."

"Girl," Brick corrected him. "Bubbles is down, Buttercup is down, Blossom is the last one left."

Below them, the lone superhero flew in circles, desperately trying to keep a colossal squid from destroying any more of Townsville. Blossom was tired, probably low on X. She hadn't made a single offensive maneuver since she lost Bubbles. She was buying time, waiting for her sisters to recover.

They had started the fight using their standard tactics, surrounding the squid and trying to knock it around. Its flesh absorbed the impact of their punches and kicks, all they ended up doing was make it jiggle. It was like trying to pop a balloon by hitting it with a baseball bat, they couldn't deliver enough physical force to actually damage it. Meanwhile, it could easily fight off each girl with two arms and still had four to spare.

Blossom had used her ice breath to try to slow it down. Too bad for her it was an Antarctic Flying Squid, it loved the cold. And at over 80 stories tall, it was way too big to completely encase in ice. Blossom's powers were totally ineffective.

Blossom had ordered Bubbles to waste her energy forming force fields to protect the town. But even Bubbles' mastery of force fields couldn't block that many tentacles at once. For each building she saved, another fell victim to the squid's wild flailing. It got the message quickly and slithered a tentacle around her waist. The long and slimy limb constricted, cutting off her air supply until she fell unconscious.

It took everything Buttercup had to free her sister, but between her heat vision, raw strength, and more than a little biting, she got it done. After he flew Bubbles to a roof to recover, Buttercup got the genius idea to ram it as fast and as hard as she could, despite Blossom shouting orders to stop. For some reason related to coming straight at a target that could see all the way around itself, Buttercup's "plan" didn't work. It slammed her through several buildings. And while Brick would give her credit for being tough, even she could only take so much.

Now, Blossom was all alone, fighting a war of attrition, one she would lose. She put up her own force field in an effort to stop the squid from destroying any more buildings. At least Buttercup had tried something. Someone should have taught Blossom what constituted the best defense.

Despite the chaos outside, the mayor's luxury office on the top story of Townsville city hall was quiet and clean. The window's thick glass muffled the screams and explosions below. A speaker on the mayor's desk softly played Delibes' Flower Duet. The music transformed the battle into a graceful dance.

The office was huge, about the same size as the abandoned warehouse Brick and his brothers had been living in, and it was much nicer. On one end, the mayor had an antique mahogany desk that must have been lifted in by a crane. A nearby refreshments table served coffee, tea, sparkling water, and an assortment of pastries. Butch had one in his mouth and one in each hand. The office was so big, it had two separate sitting areas. One must have been for decoration. Boomer looked up from the brown leather couch for a moment before going back to his phone, the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.

Brick should have felt envious of the man standing next to him watching the battle. He should have wanted to steal that taxpayer-funded luxury the mayor enjoyed. Instead, he was inspired. He was going to earn his own mahogany desk.

"Mayor," Mrs. Bellum spoke up. "Perhaps we should consider their offer." She placed a pen next to his copy of their contract. "The terms are quite generous."

"I don't care about terms. Those girls have protected this city for ten years." He took a bite of the pickle he was eating. "It doesn't matter how badly they get hurt, they always get back up again and find a way to win."

Mrs. Bellum gave him a dirty look behind his back. Something must have struck a nerve. She turned to Brick, not bothering to remove her glare. "You will make every effort to protect the town and minimize injury and damage?"

"We will do everything within our ability to protect the city in the case of a Class Two or higher monster attack as defined in Appendix One," Brick recited. "All collateral damage caused is subject to your review, but 'fault' shall be determined by precedent in past cases involving the Powerpuff Girls." That last bit constituted a total release of liability. The Powerpuff Girls were never held liable for anything while fighting threats to the city. There had been several cases. Of course, Mrs. Bellum had to know that.

"And you will cease any and all illegal activities immediately and never use your abilities to participate in criminal activity."

"As long as you're paying us, we will have no reason to commit crimes." The realization took Brick longer than he cared to admit. They didn't have to be evil, if such a concept existed. Which it didn't. Of course it didn't. No. They only called him evil because he didn't like people telling him what to do and they wanted to control everything he did.

'Breaking the law' was a matter of perspective anyway. The puny humans clung to their precious law as if it could save them. But it was designed by those in power to serve those in power. It wasn't 'breaking the law' when someone in power stole something or even killed someone. And Brick planned on getting a lot of power.

"And all it will cost the city is $10,000 per incident?" Bellum asked. She had honed in on the three most important points of their agreement. If only it could be that simple. The contract was a full 22-pages long, single-spaced.

"Or $10,000 per month to keep us on retainer in the case of no incidents," Brick said. "And that's after federal, state, and local taxes are deducted." He had them right where he wanted them. It was the perfect deal. He and his brothers would finally get paid to do what they were good at. And best of all, it was legit. Hell, they'd be heroes. As if soldiers, firefighters, and police officers didn't get paid. Why not them too? God-damn heroes.

"Mayor, the answer is obvious," Mrs. Bellum said. "We should sign immediately."

"I still think Blossom can beat this thing," the mayor said. His attention focused on the redheaded teenager below.

Blossom went low and projected a shield to block a stray tentacle from crushing a nearby garbage truck. The pink streak of light easily got the monster's attention. When she stopped moving for a moment, a beam of light shot out of the monster's huge eye.

Blossom matched it with her own eye beams. Her thin and extremely concentrated beams cut through the squid's wide and diffuse beam. She sliced all the way to its eye before she had to stop. It recoiled in pain.

Blossom wheezed through her teeth, her fists clenched, and her knees buckled. The fight was over. She scowled at the squid, as if a dirty look alone could bring a monster down.

A tentacle whipped around and slapped her down 5th Avenue.

Blossom's shoulder carved a trench through the asphalt. She knocked through streetlights and brought down telephone poles on her journey, and finally came to a stop when her body totaled an 18-wheeler.

"That has to be at least a million more in repairs," Brick said. "You could have saved the city 99% by signing with us."

"Wow," Butch said with a mouth full of food. "You're really bad at your job."

"Butch brings up an interesting point," Brick said. "When do you think the voters are going to recall you for negligence?"

"Get up, Blossom," the mayor murmured.

With his telescopic vision, Brick could see she wasn't moving. She wasn't dead, it would take more than that to kill Blossom, Brick knew that from experience. But she also wasn't getting up any time soon. The mayor expected an explosion of pink, green, and blue light, and the girls would come together and beat the thing. He was going to be disappointed. All three Powerpuffs were out of commission. The mayor had no choice but to sign.

Brick had to act on this new information. He took a pen and began marking on the two copies of their contract on the conference table. "The new figure is $20,000 per incident."

The mayor was unaffected, but Bellum was angry. "Mayor!"

"All right! All right! I'll sign!" He snatched a fancy pen from his desk and signed both copies.

"Please also initial that you agree to the new figure."

The mayor scribbled at Brick's new terms. "Yes, yes, just take care of it."

"We're always happy to help." Brick smiled as he took his copy of the contract. "Butch! Boomer! Let's go!"

"Finally!" Butch took one last bite. Boomer sighed and put his phone back into his pocket.

The three guys flew out the door to the mayor's private balcony. Outside, the air was heavy with smoke and the smell of rotting seafood. Brick held his brothers back while he came up with tactics that would actually work.

"All we gotta do is hit it." Butch dug his fist into his palm.

"No. The girls already tried that, it's too squishy."

Butch chuckled. "Like a boob-!"

"Just keep its arms stunned!" Brick should have known Butch was going to turn whatever he said into innuendo, the juvenile prick. It truly was the lowest form of comedy. "We're going to make it back up into that block of buildings it already destroyed, then we hit it with everything we have. Boomer, make it swing and miss. I'll make sure it only has one direction to go. And no causing any damage. We're 'good' now."

Butch snorted and Boomer rolled his eyes. The boys took off and went to work.

Boomer zipped around in front of the squid getting its attention. It swung right through him. He dodged with a flash of light, rolling his eyes again at how slow it was. That kid was going to sprain his face if he kept that up.

While Boomer had it distracted, instead of doing as Brick had instructed, Butch flew right up to its eye and punched it as hard as he could. A ripple moved through the squid, but nothing else happened. The squid wasn't damaged in any way. Just as Brick had told him, the force of the blow was totally absorbed by its rubbery guts. And they called Boomer the dumb one.

The squid grabbed Butch with one of its tentacles. Damn thing was as thick as a city bus. His arms were pinned by the suckers on the underside.

Butch struggled to free himself. Then, a smile crept across his face as he got a brilliant idea. His eyes glowed brighter and he shot his eye beams right into the tentacle. The stunning effect of Butch's eye beams on the squid's nervous system only made it involuntarily squeeze harder. Butch yelled for mercy.

Brick sighed. He had hung out relatively close, watching the scene play out, but taking no action. The only way his idiot brothers ever learned was to try something and get hurt a few times. It couldn't be helped.

His hand pulled back and he launched a fireball at the offending tentacle. The explosion made it loosen its grip. Butch broke free while the meat burned to a crisp.

The squid eyed Brick carefully as he rose into the air. He knew what was coming. "Boomer! Lightning in three!"

The squid unleashed its eye beam at Brick. Instead of meeting it with his own eye beams like a novice, Brick broke north as fast as he could.

"Two!"

The white beam cut across the sky in a chase.

"One!"

Before it hit Brick, a lightning bolt discharged from Boomer's fingers. The squid let loose a muffled scream. It flailed it's tentacles in all directions. One of the big ones cut through a skyscraper.

Brick winced. He didn't mean for that to happen. Sure, the Powerpuffs had let the damn thing raze seven buildings to the ground, but Brick held himself and his brothers to a higher standard. The top twelve stories listed off the main structure and Butch was floating there like an idiot who didn't know what to do.

"Butch! Catch the building!"

"For real?"

"Yes, for real! Make sure no one gets hurt!"

Butch groaned as he went to save the tower.

"Boomer, hit it with everything you've got."

Boomer let loose a barrage of eye beams that exploded on the squid's face. Streams of fire kept it from attacking to its sides. It used its tentacles to block and slithered back through its path of destruction.

After several minutes Brick's joints were burning, but they had successfully chased the squid away from anything intact.

Butch appeared at Brick's side holding a steel girder. "I got an idea."

Brick knew where he was going with it. Using the girder to impale the squid honestly wasn't a bad plan. "Where's the building?"

Butch cocked his head at Brick. "The what?"

"The building I told you to save."

A look of recognition passed over Butch's face. "Oh that. I didn't know what to do with it, so I left it in the park."

Brick shook his head. Good enough. "We kill it here."

Boomer narrowed his eyes and hit it with another lightning bolt.

Butch flew up high, raising the girder over his head. He swung it down with as much force as he could and brought the blunt edge onto the squid's head.

The squid's body squished around the incoming object, filling the sides of its head with whatever was inside. But the skin didn't break. The girder bounced back up like it had hit a trampoline and launched out of Butch's hands. He brought his fingers to his lips in confusion.

"You did it wrong." Brick dashed away to catch the girder in midair. He used his eyebeams to grind it into a point and used a stream of fire from his other hand to heat it.

The squid started moving again, flailing tentacles around, and reaching for buildings it hadn't destroyed yet. Boomer hammered it with electricity and his eye beams, but he needed help.

"Keep it where it is, Butch," Brick ordered.

Butch jetted into the squid and grabbed it. The idiot was actually going to try to wrestle it. Brick had wanted him to use his eye beams to stun it so it couldn't move, but Butch always had to do it the hard way. The squid grabbed at him right back.

Butch deftly maneuvered through the constraining mass. He pulled one tentacle over another and around again, tying some of them together.

When the girder had a sharp tip and was hot enough to glow slightly, Brick flew over the writhing monster and threw it like a javelin, straight down.

The girder pierced all the way through the monster and embedded into the rubble below, staking it to the ground. Butch pulled on the tentacle knot as hard as he could, stretching the squid out like a rubber band. They had the perfect target for Boomer.

Boomer collected energy into his eyes and blasted the squid apart. Viscera splattered over everything in a one block radius. What was left of the monster laid in a heap, finally dead. The Rowdyruff Boys admired their work.

"We're done now, right?" Boomer asked.

"We get paid now, right?" Butch followed up.

Before he could say anything, Blossom sped at Brick, coming within an inch of his face. He didn't flinch. Buttercup and Bubbles came in right behind her, fists clenched for a fight. It was all a show to look tough. They weren't going to do jack shit.

"What are you guys doing here?" Blossom hissed.

Brick smirked. He loved it when she was mad.

"Hey, Butterbabe." Butch leered at Buttercup.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and pouted.

"Hey Boomer," Bubbles said with cheer.

Boomer's sour expression dropped for a moment. "hey..."

The six of them stood off against each other like they had so many times before. If they started fighting, Brick knew who the winners would be. The girls were beaten raw from their earlier fight, all still low on X.

"Well?" Blossom narrowed her eyes at them.

His younger self would have beat her up right then and there to show her who's boss. But he was older, too mature to start a schoolyard scuffle. They weren't going to fight. That might constitute breach of contract with the city, and Brick wasn't going to give them any way out. He was going to get his $20,000 and everything that came after.

Brick crossed his arms over his chest. "We did what you couldn't."

"You guys beat the monster?" Blossom asked.

"Holy shit, they did." Buttercup looked over the carcass.

"We're heroes now," Butch said. " I saved a whole building full of people."

"What?" Buttercup said. "Yeah right."

"We have a contract with the city and everything," Brick retorted.

Blossom turned her nose up. "Why should we believe you?"

"You shouldn't," Brick said. "You should sit back and enjoy the parade."

"The what!?"

"Congratulations, Rowdyruff Boys!" The mayor appeared with Mrs. Bellum and a marching band. He handed Brick a golden key to the city. "The day is saved thanks to you."

"What!?"

---

Kindergarten

Brick rolled his eyes. Bubbles, pretending to be Boomer, had spray-painted 'Flowers are pretty'. Who did she think she was fooling anyway?

"What is that?" he asked.

Bubbles realized her mistake and quickly added 'dumb!' to keep up her charade. How dumb did she think he was?

He wanted to beat her up some more for thinking he was so stupid, giving her a black eye wasn't satisfying enough any more. It had already healed anyway. Without her sisters, he and Butch could massacre her, and Brick was planning on it, but he wanted to mess with her a little more first.

"For a second there I thought you were turnin' girly on us," Butch said.

Brick looked at his own graffiti. There were a few messed up words in it. Of course, that was the best way to do graffiti. If all the words were right, they might as well have gone to some sissy tea party. But Bubbles didn't know that. She couldn't know any of that. She was a girl, and girls didn't know about anything cool.

"Yeah, and 'Dum-buh'? Jeez Boomer, If you're gonna do graffiti at least spell the words right."

Butch laughed along like he got the joke, he was such an idiot. He didn't even know 'dumb' had a silent 'B' on the end. He thought it really was spelled 'dum'.

Bubbles looked at him expressionless. She didn't get that he was making fun of Butch either. She probably thought he was the dumb one, not even knowing he was making fun of how she had done graffiti wrong in the first place. He knew the Powerpuffs had a moronic sibling too.

Brick laughed to himself. It was the best joke in the world because he was making fun of two people for two different things at once by saying only one thing.

"Sheesh! Talk about dum-Buh!" he added, just to rub it in. He was so much smarter than they were. He was probably even the smartest. Brick was satisfied with the knowledge that his intellect couldn't possibly be understood by lesser minds.

"Yeah, what a 'dum-Bee', Butch said.

Brick had to laugh, that was actually funny. Butch may have been an idiot, but he always did have a talent for making fun of people.

He was totally going to force Bubbles to eat a cockroach once he found one.

Chapter 2: An Actual Hero

An Actual Hero

Sophomore Year - September

Blossom broke the door off of the villain’s hideout, a small studio apartment on Maker Island. She had spent the last half-hour tracking him down and had no time to be nice.

“Come on, come on,” PhotoBomber pleaded with a timer sitting on a lab counter. Among it were ingredients for making explosives and a soldering iron. A conspicuous illustration was framed on the wall above them, a print of Rubens’ The Fall of the Damned.

“It’s over PhotoBomber.” She said glaring at him. “Surrender now, and you will receive a lighter sentence.”

“When I am so close to victory?” PhotoBomber held up the timer. There were nine seconds left on it. “No. This is going to be a photo finish.”

Blossom looked around. The room was messy. There was a pile of trash on the floor. Something stood out and Blossom knew exactly what to do.

Four seconds remained on the timer. Blossom had time to roll her eyes, take care of the bomb, come back, and roll her eyes again.

PhotoBomber looked out the window toward downtown, excited for his victory. The timer hit zero. Nothing happened. No explosion, not even a puff of smoke. Villains never learned in Townsville.

“Is it a dud?” he asked, leaning around to get a better view. “I haven’t made a dud since med school.”

“Something wrong?” Blossom asked sarcastically.

Photobomber looked back up at her. “You! What did you do?”

“I took care of the bomb you planted at Matchstick Park.”

“H- How did you know? You couldn’t possibly have known!”

“When I walked in, I noticed the piece of paper there.” Blossom gestured to a scrap of card stock on the floor. “That is a scorecard from Stagecoach Gardens Miniature Golf. My father used to take me and my sisters there when we were little. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s less than three blocks from the stadium.”

“W- Why would I destroy the stadium? The TAM has a special exhibition going this weekend. It’s only two blocks in the other direction and there’s a whole crowd of people. No one is at the stadium.”

“Photo, Photo, Photo, you already gave away the game.” Blossom cocked her head. “No one calls it the TAM except art enthusiasts. Everyone else calls it the Townsville Art Museum when they refer to it at all. They have a Bernini, a Rembrandt, and a Vermeer on display right now. You’d never blow up those beautiful works of art. I know because you have a Rubens print right there.” Blossom gestured to PhotoBomber’s print above his chemistry station. “You are an admirer of works from the Baroque era. You would never destroy them. So it had to be the stadium.”

PhotoBomber’s hands shook while Blossom cuffed him. “I planned this for months. I was going to get revenge on those insolent football fans. Why, Blossom? Surely you wanted that hideous monument to a crude game gone as well.”

“Neither you nor I alone get to decide how this world is shaped.” Blossom said, leading PhotoBomber out of the building. “I appreciate that you didn’t intend to hurt anyone. I’ll have a word with the judge of your case.”

He hung his head. “No, I didn’t.”

Blossom smiled to herself. “It really is a wonderful exhibition. Isn’t it? I saw it yesterday.”

”Oh yes!” He said as she moved him into a police car. “The depth! The drama! The baroque artists were trying to convey-“

Blossom shut the car door on him. As much as she'd like to converse with a fellow admirer, she had a job to do.

“Thanks Blossom,” an officer said.

“My pleasure,” Blossom replied with a smile and a wave before taking off into the sky to resume her patrol.

“Help, Blossom, help,” someone shouted before long. There was a man sticking his head out of a car. Blossom dropped to the ground to see what he needed. “Look, I’m really in love with this girl. And she’s leaving on a train in-“

“Seriously?” Blossom asked.

“I’d do anything for her.” He had to drive forward a little bit. "But I'm stuck in this traffic."

Blossom floated a few feet forward to his window. “Then why didn’t you stop her before?”

“That’s… complicated.”

Blossom looked around at all the other cars. Each had someone in it trying to get somewhere in a hurry. It wouldn’t be fair to assist him without assisting everyone. Though, perhaps there was a solution.

“You’ll do anything?” she asked, leaning into the window.

“Anything.” The man sounded desperate enough.

“Volunteer for 120 hours of community service in the next year.”

“You got it,” he said enthusiastically. She was happy to see him agree without having to think it over. "120 hours? Gladly!" Perhaps it was true love.

“Hold on.” Blossom picked up the car and lifted it out of the traffic jam. She flew it over the city, right to the train station’s waiting area. He could find his way from there.

“Thanks, Blossom,” he said. “Here’s my name and phone number.”

Blossom smiled, taking the scrap of paper he offered her. “Thank you for helping make Townsville a better place.”

He sped off with one last wave. What an eventful five minutes.

Blossom’s phone sounded the level 1 tone. That could only mean one thing. The Townsville early warning siren echoed through the city as she looked at her phone.

[Red Alert - monster approaching]

Blossom shot up and scanned the area for the monster. She spotted something near the wharf. Tentacles razed the docks and an enormous red squid pulled itself out of the water.

She would have to hold it off until her sisters could join her. Bubbles and Buttercup would have gotten the same message.

Blossom knew just how to take care of it. She took a deep breath.

---

Blossom was tired, bruised, her head pounded, and now she had to deal with this quandary. Bubbles zipped away to perform her after-battle ritual and Buttercup started a staring contest with a snickering Butch.

Brick took the key to the city from the mayor and pumped his fist into the air for the crowd that had gathered. It had to be a trick. At any moment he was going to grab the mayor by the throat and shoot his eyebeams at innocent people. He was evil, plain and simple. Blossom had to be ready.

A news crew was filming the scene and a reporter ran up to Brick with a microphone. "This is Stacy Larson with Channel 5 News. Just minutes ago, Townsville was under siege by a colossal squid, one so massive, even the Powerpuff Girls couldn't defeat it. But now, it lays dead, in a shocking twist of events, defeated by Townsville villains, the Rowdyruff Boys. I'm here with the Rowdyruff leader. Brick, do you have anything to say?"

Brick looked bewildered at the microphone that was thrust in his face for a quarter second. Then his mouth made a half smile and his eyes did a half-lidded gaze. He was trying to look like a confident hero with a dash of vulnerability. Every petty expression was a bald-faced lie.

"We took care of the squid and will continue to protect the city from any monster attacks. Townsville can rest easy."

'Townsville can rest easy'? Did he rehearse that line?

"The Rowdyruff Boys have terrorized Townsville for the last decade. Can the people trust you to act in our best interest?" the reporter asked. Finally someone was asking the right questions. Though, it wasn't how Blossom would have worded it. It was so diplomatic, she may as well have given him the right answer in the first place.

Brick covered his mouth as if he was deep in thought. "We have a past," he admitted. "Pushed to the edge because of our financial situation. We didn't grow up with parents, no one to teach us what was right or wrong." A lie, Blossom had described right and wrong to him and his brothers on several occasions. All they did was laugh and scream at her to shut up. "Never knowing where our next meal was coming from." Also a lie. Their meals came from the mouths of whoever they came across. Whatever they wanted, they just took. "But now, we're using our talents to assist the city. I think we deserve a second chance."

That wasn't an apology. He couldn't rewrite the story. His list of crimes included grand larceny, vandalism, and several cases of assault and battery. Surely the reporter was going to bring that up.

"A true tale of tragedy and redemption," the reporter remarked.

Blossom couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was evil. Evil doesn't change, it only gets more subtle, more sinister. How could they all fall for it so easily?

"Blossom, have you heard the good news?" The mayor asked.

Blossom didn't want to hear it from him. "Mom?"

Behind the mayor Blossom's mother, Mrs. Bellum took a deep breath to compose herself. "The mayor signed a contract and I agreed their terms are very fair." She offered a stack of paper to Blossom, knowing she'd want to read it for herself.

Blossom snatched the contract out of her hand and began reading. "They've been pardoned for all of their past crimes!?"

Blossom's mom didn't react. Blossom usually admired her decorum, but she was outraged. And the fact that the woman whom she had thought of as her mother had nothing to say only annoyed her.

Blossom growled and her eyes scanned over the rest of the first page, too angry to actually read it. "Why wasn't I consulted?"

"Because you were busy fighting the monster." Blunt, but Blossom didn't detect that patronizing tone for which her mother was famous.

"We could have handled it, and now the city owes the Rowdyruff Boys $20,000 plus applicable taxes."

"The mayor only signed because all three of you were unconscious. He thought you were going to beat it."

They should have beaten it. They did everything right. The squid was a challenge, it had certain immunities she had neglected to account for. But Blossom thrived on challenges and she would have overcome this one, as she had all the others. If she had done a little better, if Bubbles and Buttercup had fought a little harder, they could have beaten it before Brick and his brothers got to it. She closed her eyes.

Blossom's mom put a hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie, you did everything you could to save the city and we would have been doomed long ago without you."

Blossom couldn't bear to look at her mother, knowing she had failed. Her body shook and she couldn't swallow the lump in her throat.

"I'm relieved you're okay." Blossom's mom took her into her arms and held her for a while. "I thought I was going to lose you this time," she whispered. Showing affection was a politically risky move with all the cameras around. It meant a lot, even if it didn't last long.

"Boom!" Butch's loud regaling to the reporter interrupted Blossom's moment. "And our leader, Brick, was like 'Save that building!' And I was like 'No problem!' And I saved the building, and then wrestled the giant squid to the ground. It was awesome."

"It sounds awesome. There you have it, from a Rowdyruff Boy himself. Looks like Townsville just got little rowdier. I'm Stacy Larson. Back to you, Tom."

Buttercup stood livid with her arms crossed and her stance wide, glaring at Butch. At least one of Blossom's sisters understood the threat the Rowdyruffs posed.

Bubbles reappeared in a new outfit and her hair and makeup redone. Every time they might be on camera after a fight, she went all the way home and got ready all over again. She wouldn't allow herself to not look cute on camera. She never took anything seriously.

Blossom kept her focus on Brick, she had a job to do. He was talking to the mayor. They shook hands.

Blossom's mom observed the scene with her. "Brick may be a pompous brat, but he's far from the worst I've ever met. Have you ever been to a Chamber of Commerce Meeting? It's a den of snakes, sharks, and rats."

Brick and the mayor approached them. "It's settled," the mayor said. "From now on the Rowdyruff Boys will take down any monsters attacking Townsville, leaving the Powerpuff Girls free to focus on crime."

Mrs. Bellum was wrong. He was the worst, even comparing him to a rat was too gracious. He was a literal demon.

"I need to get back to work, sweetie," Blossom's mom said, checking her schedule. "But I promise I'll be home for dinner." She joined the mayor in a waiting limousine and they drove off.

Reconstruction crews got to work restoring the town and the crowd dispersed. The guys flew away in a triumphant blast and Blossom let out a breath. They didn't attack this time. For the first time in her life, she felt like she didn't understand the world.

---

Upon arriving at home, Buttercup immediately peeled off her crop top and left her dirty boots in the middle of the living room.

Blossom sighed, trying to ignore the mess, and sat at the dining room table. She set her copy of the contract down, though it hurt her eyes to look at it. The sheer fact that they got the mayor to sign the document was nefarious enough.

Bubbles hung in Blossom's orbit, not bothering to actually read anything or even sit down. "What does it say?" she asked.

Blossom huffed. She always had to do all the work. "It says they have to respond to any class two or higher monster attack in a timely manner."

Bubbles still looked confused. "...What's a class two?"

"Anything bigger than 10 feet," Buttercup said getting a box of cheese crackers out of the pantry. "Bubs, you've been a superhero all your life. How do you not know that?"

"It's not like we take classes on how big monsters are, Buttercup."

"What about zombies?" Buttercup asked, munching on her crackers. She had a point, a zombie horde was a real threat in Townsville.

Blossom began to quote from the contract. "Any city-threatening, non-monster related incidents such as alien invasions and/or an army of rampaging monkey-geniuses are subject to the standard surcharge." It was written in legal language as dictated by a child, someone knows to use the word 'surcharge' but doesn't know what it really means. "In the case of zombies or other 'infection-based threats'..." Blossom flipped to the back and absorbed the information silently while Bubbles and Buttercup waited.

"...Only if the attack constitutes a minimum of 500 individuals. And worse, they reserve the right to 'dispose of' the infected and refuse to attempt to locate a cure."

"So there's a whole zombies section?" Buttercup asked.

"Appendix Three." It was barely most of a page. Again, the author understood contracts have appendices, but obviously didn't know what they're for.

"That it?" Buttercup asked, throwing herself onto the sofa.

"They have to stop all criminal activity."

"Hold on. All? As in, we never get to fight them again?"

"We never have to fight them again?" Bubbles asked. "Blossom, this is good news. No more monster guts on my cheerleading uniform. No more 3AM calls disturbing my beauty sleep. I say let the boys take care of it."

"Uhh, Why don't we get paid to save the city?" Buttercup asked.

"Buttercup!?" Blossom couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What? It sounds like a good idea."

"We're the good guys."

"Yeah, well, so are they now." Buttercup shoveled a handful of crackers into her mouth. "I wonder if they've got an open spot."

"Buttercup," Blossom stood up from the table and gathered the contract. "Clean this mess before mom and dad get home," she said, referring to Buttercup's discarded clothes. She went up to her room to finish her homework.

---

Blossom thought a good night's sleep would make her feel better, it didn't. She woke up apprehensive about the day, but it turned out to be a pretty normal Monday, teachers loaded her down with busy work, the kids were annoying, and the girls fawned all over Brick.

"I saw your interview on the news, you looked so hot," some random girl said during AP Chemistry.

He gave her his 'I'm too cool for any of this' smirk. A typical day at Townsville High School.

Blossom met Robin for lunch in the forum. Robin was talking about something while Blossom could only give shallow agreements. Her mind was somewhere else.

All that distance between them was nothing. She felt Brick's stare from across the hall. They might as well have been an inch apart. He watched her purchase a salad and pick a seat at a table close to the door. Whenever she looked toward him, he pretended to be talking to his friends. He had that stupid smirk on his face and he was doing that thing with his eyes, like he was better than her.

"Blossom, may I speak with you?" Dexter asked in that strange accent he never seemed to lose. He was holding a lunch tray and Blossom hoped he wasn't planning on sitting with them.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I wanted to speak with you about our project." Blossom had chosen Dexter as her science lab partner specifically because he also wanted to get their semester project started early. If it were anyone else, she would have had to do all the work herself while they procrastinated until December.

Dexter looked at her chest and might have tried to look down her blouse if it was open. "Perhaps we could brainstorm ideas in my lab."

"There's no need." Blossom pulled out her phone. "I'm emailing you a list of ideas. Let me know which one you like best."

"Ahh, yes," he said, pulling out his own phone and perusing the list. "I will make my decision later today." Exactly what she needed, a big strong man to make a decision for her. "Good day, Blossom."

Blossom inwardly rolled her eyes. "Good day, Dexter." After he was gone, she sighed and stirred her salad, getting that feeling again.

This time he wasn't trying to hide it. He was looking right at her, snickering. Brick's smile widened when her glare hardened.

Blossom suddenly lost her appetite. She stood up and picked up her bag. "We need more pre-SAT prep," she explained. "Let's go to the library."

Robin looked at her confused. "O- Okay." Robin got to her feet and followed.

Brick was such a contemptuous brigand, she couldn't take being in the same room as him. Especially if she would have to put up with his presence in her afternoon classes.

Walking through the halls toward the library, Blossom discovered Butch talking to Mitch Mitchelson and floating up in the air, a clear violation of school rules. There was a special clause that banned any use of superpowers on school grounds. While she wanted to call him out on it, she also wanted to walk by, unaccosted, for once.

"Hey Robin," Butch said as they passed. "Love the new hairstyle."

Robin began to glow. "Thank you!" She gave him the biggest smile Blossom had ever seen, and she blushed, she actually blushed, at a Rowdyruff boy. "What are you up to this weekend?"

Butch chanced a look at Blossom then his eyes went right back to Robin. "I was just telling Mitch, party at our place Saturday night. You should come."

"I'd love to come!" Robin brushed her hair behind her ear.

"It's on the corner of Service and Paradise."

Robin typed the directions into her phone to get the address. Mitch smiled, moving around them to block their exit.

Blossom needed to gain control of the situation. "No flying at school, Butch."

Butch scoffed. "No can do, Pinky. We got cart blanch from the mayor to use our powers all we want." He flexed.

Blossom rolled her eyes. "Do you even know what 'carte blanche' means?"

"Nope, Brick said it." Butch turned back to Robin. "And uh, feel free to bring whoever you want," he said.

Robin giggled and held her phone to her chest. Blossom groaned and pulled Robin away. They blew through Mitch.

"Later, Robin." Butch said, then he looked right at Blossom. She bristled at his gaze. "You too Blossom."

"I can't believe you did that," Blossom said when they finally got out of earshot.

"It's just a little harmless flirting." Robin stared at her phone.

Harmless? Blossom knew where the Rowdyruff Boys lived. "Yet, you're going into that neighborhood alone?"

"Rowdyruff parties are legendary, Blossom." Not that Robin had ever been to one, Blossom noted. It was a cluster of stories people told each other, each one more overblown than the last.

"Then why have I never attended one?"

"Because you hate parties."

"It's the same people standing around, doing the same thing as they do here, plus drinking."

"That's not what happens at parties."

"Right, someone also blasts some really loud, obnoxious music." Blossom spotted Jared Shapiro standing outside the library holding his clarinet, probably on a break from band rehearsal. He gave her a shy wave.

Robin giggled. "I'll see you inside."

Blossom trotted up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Hello Jared." She kept herself so busy, that was the first chance they had to see each other since the day before. He had a later lunch period being a senior while Blossom was only a sophomore.

"Blossom, my dear, my heart ached at not seeing you," Jared sang in his tenor. He was Blossom's antidote, sweet, humble, and gentle. Everything Brick wasn't. The perfect thing to cure her of his ubiquity.

Blossom pulled her boyfriend over to the grass where they could sit and enjoy the day. She fell into him, feeling like she could finally relax.

Boomer played hacky sack with a circle of people a few trees over. No matter what she did, she couldn't escape them.

"What's wrong, dear?" He could tell something was bothering her. Jared always was so caring and empathetic.

Blossom sighed. "The Rowdyruff Boys beat that giant squid yesterday. And for that one thing, the mayor not only pardoned them of all their crimes, he paid them too."

"He paid them?" Jared exclaimed aghast. "A superhero would never accept payment for saving the day. The gratification of the citizens is payment enough."

"Right! I do it for that feeling of accomplishment." An honest answer, Blossom felt like she was forgetting something. "I'm honored to protect this city and its people." She didn't forget, it wasn't that she didn't feel honored. But all the praise she had been given all her life started to ring hollow now that they were giving it to literal villains. The people had turned on them so quickly...

"That's because you're an actual hero." Jared smiled at her. "At least you'll have more time to study from now on."

Blossom fumed. "I don't want more time to study."

"I'm sorry. You're right. But what can you do..."

What could she do against a rampaging super villain? Stay the course. The Rowdyruff Boys couldn't keep it up for more than a month. Whenever they gave up or got bored, Blossom and her sisters would be there.

"Thank you, Jared." Their conversation steeled Blossom's resolve.

---

After debate practice Blossom's phone vibrated. [Grocery Store Robbery at 7th and Mission] She sped to the site without joining up with Bubbles and Buttercup. Bubbles let herself get distracted, and Buttercup didn't hurry unless it was something big. But Blossom was hyperfocused, she could handle a routine robbery by herself.

She hit the parking lot running and was inside the store within seconds of getting the text. All the patrons had huddled in the back, their groceries abandoned in their carts. All the cash registers were open and the robber pointed a pistol at the cashiers while they put the money from their tills in a burlap shopping bag.

One cashier's hands shook and she couldn't remember the sequence of buttons to open her till. The scumbag pushed the barrel of his gun into her temple.

Faster than the criminal could possibly react, Blossom drove at him, ripping the pistol out of his hand and throwing him to the ground.

After an exhale, her silent victory fanfare, she checked on the shocked cashier. "He can't hurt you anymore."

The woman tried to crawl under her check stand. She must have still been in shock from the robbery.

"Are you okay?"

Again, no answer. The cashier opened and closed her mouth like she was trying to say something, but couldn't.

Other people spoke for her. "Oh my god!"

"Is he dead?"

"Call an ambulance!"

Confused, Blossom looked at where the robber went. His body had broken through the window at the front of the store and crashed on the pavement. Blood pooled between the bits of broken glass.

Blossom couldn't resolve what she was seeing. Why would he jump through the glass? He could have tried to run out the door if he was so desperate to escape.

The obvious answer was that he didn't. Then why was the window broken? And why was everyone giving her funny looks? Shouldn't they be congratulating her?

Blossom's shoulder quivered, telling her she had used quite a bit of force. But it couldn't have been enough for a human body to shatter glass. Could it?

Blossom's heart pounded. Easily enough force. But that wasn't the story. There was the lady and the gun. And the look on the guy's face when he pushed it into her head.

"Wouldn't want to be that guy."

Blossom's rage spiked. "What are you doing here?"

Brick smirked that stupid smirk. "I got a call about a possible monster attack." He hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans and inspected the scene.

She wanted to tell him off, but settled for a keeping her composure.

"Just a robbery, huh. Looks like you took care of it." Blossom wanted to wipe that condescending smile off his face permanently. "Nice work."

Blossom growled. He wouldn't know the first thing about use of force. If Brick had to handle it, he would have killed the guy.

Brick strolled through the broken window and into the store. His shoes crunched the bits of glass.

An ambulance arrived along with police, a fire truck, and finally, her sisters.

"What happened here?" Buttercup asked.

"I foiled a robbery," Blossom said.

"By throwing a guy through a window?"

Bubbles turned toward her sister with a scolding look on her face. "Blossom, you could have killed him!"

"And he could have killed several people."

"We don't even know if the gun was loaded."

Blossom picked up the gun and pulled the slide back. A bullet popped out of the chamber. It landed on the pavement between Blossom and Bubbles.

"Well he probably wasn't planning on using it." Bubbles crossed her arms over her chest.

"That absolutely does not matter. He was holding it on someone. His finger could have slipped, he could have easily shot them by accident. It happens every single day."

That's right, the more she thought about it, the more Blossom understood that it wasn't excessive force at all. She did what she had to do to ensure the cashier's safety. Everyone could question her methods all they wanted, the results spoke for themselves.

Bubbles pouted in defeat and floated away. She'd get over it eventually. Blossom was in the right.

"Hey," Buttercup said.

"What?"

"We don't use super-strength on normal people. You know, the rules?"

Blossom sighed. As she remembered, it was her rule. She knew it better than Buttercup did.

"What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong?"

"'Cuz you threw a guy through a window, Bloss."

Blossom looked hard at her sister. "It was the appropriate amount of force for the situation. Sometimes, criminals need to be thrown through windows."

Buttercup looked away. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say." She flew back home.

Blossom stayed behind to make sure the police and paramedics were able to do their jobs in peace. Brick came back out of the store with a bag of junk food. "Did you pay for that?"

Brick pulled out a receipt. "Yeah. We have enough money to buy our food now."

Blossom took it from him and used her her x-ray vision to ensure everything in the bag was on the receipt. "Once a criminal, always a criminal," she said, handing it back to him.

He didn't take it, the smug prick.

Blossom had finally had it with him. "The instant you show your true colors, is the instant I put you back into that toilet from which you spawned." She narrowed her eyes at him.

That permanent smirk finally dropped off his face. "What?"

"You heard me."

Brick glared at her. "See you around, Blossom." He shot into the air with an annoying blast that swept through Blossom's hair. Soon, all that was left of him, was a red streak heading off to the industrial district.

Another battle and Blossom had won. Blossom's very own smirk crept over her face.

---

Kindergarten

Blossom bent down and picked up a piece of trash and deposited it into her bag. Her back ached and her hands were stiff. One of the other convicts had stolen her grabber, so she had to collect trash on the side of the highway by hand.

She supposed she deserved what she got as punishment for her crime. Not only had she stolen a very expensive set of golf clubs, she had tried to frame someone else for it. She had been sentenced to 200 hours of community service, a light sentence because of her history as a superhero.

There was an explosion somewhere ahead. Blossom tried to fly so she could save the day, but only succeeded in falling on her face. The Antidote X shot she had to get made it so she couldn't use her powers during community service. She sighed and cradled her knees.

"Back to work, number 31416." The supervising officer was referring to her.

Blossom got on her knees and picked up more trash while cars sped by. They were going so fast and she was so powerless. She had never been so afraid of them before.

The world had become so wrong since she got the shot. The pinprick in her arm didn't go away, it only dulled and spread, making her arm sore. She couldn't get a breath of fresh air and the world had turned fuzzy.

Green and blue streaks sped toward the disturbance. Blossom grimaced. She vowed to never have to sink that low again. Whatever people said was impossible, Blossom was going to do it. She would hold herself to the highest standards. She would be perfect from then on, not flawless, perfect.

Chapter 3: Wild Card

Wild Card

Sophomore Year - September

Butch focused his vision on a glass bottle, his target. He wanted to make it harder for himself this time so he turned his head to another bottle he had set up further down range, and another positioned behind him.

His eyes returned to the first one, in preparation. Butch shot a quick eyebolt at it causing it to shatter. His head turned, his eyes focused, and he shattered the other two in quick succession. "Pretty good, huh."

Boomer studied a concrete slab, then he backed away from it a few steps. A quick squint, and the blue beam came out of his eyes, exploding when it made contact with the slab. "Yeah."

Butch huffed while bits of concrete rained down on the empty lot. His eyebeams didn't do that. But it wasn't like he was jealous. Training was stupid anyway. He understood why Brick told Boomer to train, the kid was too unfocused and couldn't throw a punch for shit. But Butch had already weight-trained for two hours that day with his powers off. The strain multiplied his gains when he used his super strength again. He could have done much worse to the slab with a single punch. It was a good thing Boomer could compete somehow.

"Let's watch the game." Butch and Boomer went back into the abandoned warehouse where they lived. They sat on their places on the couch they had found in the warehouse break room and Butch set his phone on the industrial spool they used as a coffee table and leaned it up against a broken piece of concrete. He put the football game on and settled in.

A reverberating thud and a series of loud bangs announced Brick's arrival. He made a quick jab at the wall. It crumbled, leaving a hole. There were a lot of those from fighting, celebrating too hard, and one big one in the back from when Butch tackled Boomer through the wall.

Brick dumped a bag of snacks on the table and plopped down in his seat, a broken recliner they had picked up on the side of the road. Something had him in a bad mood.

"I thought you were going to get us burgers," Boomer said. Brick crossed his arms and watched the game.

Butch searched through the bags of chips and candy, but there was no alcohol to speak of at the bottom. "No beer?" It wasn't a celebration unless they had at least a six pack.

"No, I didn't steal you a fucking beer," Brick snapped.

"Dude, what got up your ass?"

Brick grit his teeth. "Some bullshit." That told Butch all he needed to know about why Brick had gone to a store.

Butch munched on a bag of chips, Boomer played with his phone, and Brick stopped being so pissed off once Townsville scored a touchdown. The guys had always had a fondness for football, there was something about a game that involved slamming other guys to the ground that appealed to them.

"Pimentel is looking good now that the season's started," Brick said.

Butch snorted. "He only looks good 'cuz Vargas can catch garbage."

"You're both wrong." Boomer piped up even though he didn't know anything about football. "Our only touchdown is 'cuz of that guy, number 73."

"Who?" Butch asked.

"Number 73."

"What's his name?"

"I don't fucking know any of their names."

"You don't know any of their names?" Brick snickered.

"And I don't give a shit," Boomer said. "What's more important, their name or their number. Look at the fucking jersey, what's bigger? Which piece of information is on both the back and the front?"

Butch snorted. If Boomer didn't know who the players were, then he didn't care about the team, a fair-weather fan. At least he rooted for the Townsville X-ers. They were named that because the players didn't want to be called the Townsville Powerpuffs. The cheerleaders didn't mind though, and wore skimpy versions of the Powerpuff Girls' uniforms. Butch loved it when the cameras panned over them when they did their high kicks.

"That guy! Rankin! Fuck!" Boomer pointed to the screen.

"Rankin gets one touchdown and you think that means anything?" Butch said. "Vargas was a first-round draft pick."

"So the fuck what if he can't get himself out of coverage," Boomer said. "He can't do anything if the defense doesn't let him do anything."

"He does have a target on his back," Brick admitted.

Pimentel hiked the ball and lobbed it at Vargas early because his blockers were shit. Some asshole on the other team picked the ball right out of the air and ran toward the end zone.

"Fuck," Butch said. His brothers hung their heads.

The player got within a couple yards of end zone when he tripped and rolled past the line.

"Down at the one," Boomer said.

"Nah, that was a touchdown," Butch said, throwing a chip on the ground.

"No it wasn't. His elbow clearly touched the ground, then he literally rolled to the end zone. That means he was down."

"Nobody touched him," Butch explained. "That means he's not down."

"Oh yeah? Then how does a quarterback take a knee?"

"What?"

"Take a knee, dumbass. A quarterback wants to run out the clock. So he hikes the ball and touches his knee to the ground and he's down. So what, he's not actually down until someone touches him? Then why doesn't the defense spear him? Guy'd be a sitting duck."

No, Boomer was wrong. He had to be touched before he was down... But that was Boomer's point.

Butch remembered the week before, during the Townsville University game, when Bruin tripped 10-yards from the end zone. The other team hadn't touched him, but he didn't get to roll it in. He was down when he hit the ground.

Wait. Boomer was right? Boomer couldn't be right, not about football. That was impossible, he didn't even know any of the players' names. Butch's brain stopped working. The green of the turf and the blue of the jerseys swirled together and reality broke. The world was going to end. Rivers and seas boiling, forty years of darkness, volcanoes, the dead rising from the grave, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! He closed his eyes trying to block it all out, his head quaked.

"That's called 'intentional grounding'," Brick explained. "You're confusing college rules with pro rules. In the pro league, they have to make contact, but the quarterback has the option to intentionally ground himself."

Butch let out a breath. The world made sense again. Boomer was wrong. Brick always made the world make sense.

"That's inconsistent." Boomer shot back. "The defense should spear him anyway."

"That would be a penalty, Boomer."

"Oh no, 15-yards for being able to knock out the quarterback for the rest of the season," Boomer said sarcastically. "I'm so scared."

"He'd definitely get suspended and fined."

"Then they should play the game instead of pulling bullshit like taking a knee." Boomer crossed his arms in a huff. "No guts, no glory, bitch."

Butch watched Pimentel set up for the next play. Boomer had a point, even Butch was fast enough to turn the guy to jelly before he could get his knee to the grass. Sometimes he wondered how he and Boomer could possibly be brothers, but there it was: the Rowdyruff killer instinct.

The game went to some old-man boner-pill commercial. Brick took their paycheck out of his pocket and a fancy pen he must have stolen from the mayor's office. He took out his phone and started doing his Brick stuff.

"Give me my cut, Brick." Butch said.

He took a picture of the check with his phone. "You don't get a cut yet."

"Why the fuck not!?"

He flipped the check over and signed the back. "Expenses."

"Expenses, like what?"

"We need a new apartment."

"What's wrong with this place?"

"It's a fucking toilet." Brick got up and flipped a light switch. Nothing happened. "No power." They had never had power before, and it didn't matter anyway. It's not like they couldn't see in the dark.

"No water either." He turned the faucet over a makeshift sink. Water came out.

Butch snorted. "There's water right there."

"I dare you to drink it, then." It was brownish, and probably had chunks of shit in it. Butch wasn't about to drink it.

"Even the bathrooms are shit holes."

"Bathrooms are supposed to be shitholes, Brick."

"There's no fucking shower."

"That's why we have the gym memberships." All three of them actually paid to use a gym. They worked out and showered there every day. And while they were working out, they charged their phones. Butch didn't see why that had to change, no matter what happened he was going to live at the gym.

"Shit Butch. I want to brush my fucking teeth without having to go to the gym. I don't want to wait at a laundromat all day to wash my fucking clothes."

Like guys had to wash their clothes. Butch had never washed his jeans and he was proud of it. "Come on, man. Where else can you put your own art on the walls?" He gestured to a concrete wall that said 'Butch' in spraypaint. He had worked really hard on it. He even got the green to fade into the black.

"Fuck that shit. Brick's right," Boomer said. "This place sucks."

"Ugh, fine," Butch said.

"Do we want a two bedroom or three?" Brick asked, doing something on his phone.

"I don't want to have to share a room with Butch," Boomer said.

"Oh, we were never going to share a room. I'm going to punch you and make you take the couch."

"And I'm not sharing the master," Brick said.

"Three then. Fuck."

"Alright, that's not going to be cheap. What else do you guys want."

"Downtown," Butch said. "Where the action is."

"It's probably a good idea to be close in case a monster attacks."

"I was thinking nightclubs, but yeah."

"Like they'd let you into a nightclub," Brick said.

"I don't want anyone complaining when I practice," Boomer added.

"Yeah, and no complaining when we have parties."

"No parties," Brick said.

Butch raised up into the air, aghast at the very suggestion. "No parties!?"

"No parties at the new place. I don't need the cops busting our door down. So we do like we do now and bring 'em here. Nobody's gonna take it when we leave. This place is a shithole, but it's our shithole. We can do whatever we want with it."

---

The next day, Brick let some realtor lady show them a bunch of apartments. They settled on a 3-bedroom on the 54th floor of a skyscraper. It was two stories, with two bedrooms downstairs and a loft upstairs with a master bedroom. It looked too expensive for Butch, but Brick said they could afford it.

"Here are the keys, Mr. Jojo." The realtor held out three keys on a ring for Brick to take.

"My name is not 'Brick Jojo'." Brick spoke through his teeth. Here we go with the same speech for the thousandth time. "My name is 'Brick'. No 'Jojo'. It is one word, a mononym."

He didn't address their relation to the ape, even though the volcano observatory was visible right through the window. Everybody in Townsville knew who Mojo Jojo was, and everyone knew he created the Rowdyruff Boys. But as Brick saw it, they didn't have a father. He resented being referred to as the son of a monkey, he thought it was beneath him. Butch and Boomer didn't care as much, but followed Brick's lead.

They had had to get birth certificates at city hall one time when they were eight. Brick had them leave the parents' sections and last names blank, they weren't supposed to have any parents.

It all happened because Brick wanted to make a point to Blossom. The girls had to stand there while a bunch of dorks in suits did what Brick wanted. He had called it irony at the time, then denied he ever said it when Boomer asked what irony was later.

"My apologies, Mr. Brick," the realtor said.

Brick's rage subsided and he took the keys. "Thank you."

The realtor left and Butch thought about how he would do his room. "What if I painted the walls black?"

Brick glared. "You can paint the walls black and I can punch you until you die."

"We're going to need furniture," Boomer said.

"I'll go get our stuff from the warehouse," Butch offered looking for an easy exit.

"No." Brick demanded. "No trash. We're leaving the shitty furniture, the cinder block bookshelf, and all our other crap. You can bring your clothes, that's it. And I want them in the wash the second they get here."

"Dude-"

"I'm serious, Butch. It's only good shit from now on." Before Butch could protest, their phone alarms rang. "Monster attack outside." Brick smoothed his hair under his cap. "Time to go to work."

Butch looked forward to taking out his frustration on something, but first he had to get outside. Usually, there was a hole in the ceiling or something Butch could fly out of. But the apartment didn't even have a balcony and the front door led to a bunch of elevators. So he did the only thing he could do, he broke through the wall in the living room.

There was a giant flaming squirrel running around Townsville. It was breaking stuff and screaming some gibberish Butch didn't understand. Butch punched it in the throat so it would shut up.

"That's coming out of your cut!" Brick yelled. He grabbed the back of the squirrel's neck through the flames and brought it to the ground.

Butch stopped. "What?"

"That hole you left in the side of the building, idiot! The cost of repairing it is coming out of your cut!"

Butch looked back to the building, a hole in the side. In the warehouse it didn't matter if stuff broke. Butch groaned. Now they had to fix stuff? "Come on, bro. How the fuck else was I supposed to get outside?"

"There's a fucking window!"

Boomer slammed the squirrel's chin with an uppercut.

"But it has a screen on it."

"Guess what costs more to replace, dumbass. In fact, you're the one who's calling contractors and setting up the repairs."

"I don't even know how to do that!"

The squirrel stopped fighting and tried talking to Butch directly using that gibberish again. It was probably begging for mercy. But Butch was getting mad. He broke its neck with a sharp kick.

"Figure it out, Butch." Brick tossed the giant dead squirrel into the ocean. "It's not that hard."

Brick made Butch go to the hardware store right after they were done. He had to buy a four-pack of temporary wall kits with his cut. He didn't even know they made those. The store only sold them in packs of four or sixteen. He only needed one, Butch had no idea what he was going to do with the other three. Keep them for the next time he needed to charge through the wall? He was never going to make money doing that.

The temporary wall installed in only 10-minutes. All Butch had to do was put it over the hole and connect a few wires that got torn out when he broke it. The kit had parts for pipes, but Butch hadn't broken any.

"We should install, like, slingshots or something," Boomer said, looking at the patched wall and drinking a soda.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Butch asked, not really meaning for Boomer to answer.

"Like catapults to shoot us into the action faster." He made a weird finger motion, pointing at the wall. Butch stared at him while he did the finger motion again and again.

Butch took a swing at him. "Quit being a spaz." Boomer scrambled away. The catapult idea was stupid, but it gave Butch an idea of his own. The contractor said it would be a pretty easy build. They worked surprisingly fast, in only three hours they had replaced the entire wall with a single pane of glass. The guys had a pretty good view of the Townsville skyline.

When Brick came back from his Brick-stuff he noticed it immediately and looked equal parts pissed and intrigued.

Butch pulled a fob out of his pocket and pressed the button. The window folded up and out of the way on a track. An entire wall of their living room opened to the outside. "It's like a garage door, but in our apartment." He spit a loogie out the open space and into the wind.

Brick inhaled in preparation to rail at him, but Butch decided to put him out of his misery. "I cleared it with the building owner. It's cool."

Brick's eyes stopped drilling into him and he let out his breath.

"It's so we don't keep destroying the wall when we leave."

Boomer came out of his room. "Huh," he said in his usual disaffected tone. He grabbed a bag of chips and sat on the edge with his legs dangling over the side. The guy did weird stuff sometimes.

"You got any more of those fobs?" Brick asked.

Butch tossed one to Brick and one to Boomer. Boomer caught it behind his back. The kid always acted like he wasn't paying attention, but he was.

Butch huffed, looking at the apartment. They had been there all day and he missed the old sofa he used to sleep on. "We need a fucking couch."

Brick looked over the side straight down to the street. "I got a couch, they're moving it up here."

Butch and Boomer looked at each other, then down to the street. Two guys were yelling at each other about how to carry a couch up 50 flights of stairs.

Butch dropped to the street. The fall took forever, so he juiced his way down and hit the concrete hard enough to shatter it. He picked up the couch with the guys watching and flew it into the apartment. It was gray suede, the perfect material for banging some chick.

Boomer flew into the window behind him carrying three boxes. "You got us mattresses?" He tore one apart and unfolded the foam mattress.

"You gotta let them air out for a while," Brick said.

Butch unboxed his and threw it onto the floor of his room. It unfolded itself slowly, growing out like a mushroom. He had to try it out. The mattress was a lot more comfortable than the old couch, it wasn't itchy at all. Butch didn't think he could get used to it. At least Brick didn't get him a pillow or anything.

Butch went back out into the living room to make himself a protein shake. Brick and Boomer we're sitting on the couch.

There was a knock at the door. Brick answered. The two guys from the street dropped off more fucking boxes.

"That's yer bed frame, yer TV stand, and yer nightstand. Gotta build 'em yourself there." He held out a clipboard and a pen. "Sign here."

Brick signed. "Thanks guys." He took the bed frame and nightstand into his room.

Boomer built the tv stand and positioned it across from the couch, looked at it, and flew out the open window. He came back a few minutes later with a 52 inch flatscreen tv and a bunch of other boxes.

"You didn't steal that, did you?" Brick asked.

Boomer slammed a receipt down on the kitchen island and Brick started helping him put the stuff together.

"Wireless internet, Playbox Gamestation X, three controllers. Butch, Boomer got the good stuff. Get over here and help us."

It really was nice stuff, too nice.

Butch sped into their old warehouse and grabbed one piece of furniture.

"We're keeping the spool." He put it in the center of the living room and glared at Brick, daring him to stop him.

"It's a piece of shit, Butch," Brick said. "I'll get you a coffee table with a fucking yin-yang or whatever the fuck."

"No." Butch shook his head, not backing down. "This reminds us of where we came from."

Brick looked hard into his eyes. Butch glared right back. It was part of who they were and had nothing to do with the monkey or the lobster.

"Fine. The spool stays, nothing else."

---

Sixth Grade

Butch couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Reading," Brick said.

"Reading? What, like a girl?"

Brick glared at him. "This book is by Sun Tzu. Its the best book on war there is, but I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"War, huh. That gives me an idea. Lets go blow stuff up!"

"That's boring. We did that yesterday."

"So what, are you gonna read your dumb books all day?"

"If I want to, yeah."

"Fine! Whatever." Butch stomped away, kicking a piece of concrete through the wall on his way outside.

Boomer was on a skateboard, going back and forth across the street. Every once in a while he'd try a trick, but he kept getting stuck hovering a few feet off the ground while his skateboard rolled away. Then he'd have to go get it and start again.

"Hey, Boomer. Let's go blow some stuff up."

"I don't want to."

"Don't want to? You love blowing stuff up."

Boomer jumped into the air. His skateboard fell back to the ground, but Boomer hung there in midair, looking at it.

"First Brick, now you. What the fuck is wrong with you guys?"

Boomer grabbed his skateboard and went up and down the street. Suddenly he looked up and put his hand to his mouth. "I wonder if I could skateboard on the clouds..."

Butch growled and took off. If his brothers didn't want to do anything fun, he would go by himself. He wanted to break some cars on the freeway.

Chapter 4: Rebel Girl

Rebel Girl

Sophomore Year - September

"Oh shit! It's Buttercup!"

A bullet bounced off of Buttercup's forehead and fell to the ground. It was followed by a hailstorm of gunfire. The bullets may as well have been marshmallows. She didn't have to expend much X to make herself bulletproof. She could go all day, and she would have kept it on while she slept if she didn't have to turn off all her powers to recharge.

Buttercup sighed. Taking down bank robbers was boring. They always did the same thing when she showed up, shot at her and maybe try to hit her with a car. They couldn't actually hurt her, not like fighting a monster where she would be low on X and have to choose between holding her body together and getting a good hit in. Her fingers twitched at the thought.

She strode up to the closest robber. Instead of reloading when he ran out of bullets, he tried to whip her with the gun. The metal bounced off of her skin, she barely felt it. A quick throat strike later, and he went into the fetal position, trying to open his windpipe.

Somehow, the Rowdyruff Boys had killed that stupid squid and two questions ran through Buttercup's head. How? And even more importantly, why was everyone saying they were heroes all of a sudden?

The next two robbers stood closely together, unloading every bullet they had into Buttercup. She walked up to them calmly and caught a bullet out of the air to show them. Her fingers flattened the piece of lead easily. The robbers looked at her dumbfounded before she slammed their heads together.

It was all that idiot mayor's fault. Buttercup and her sisters had a tough time defeating one monster and now they can only take care on petty crime. It was such bullshit. She wasn't fighting anymore, it was effortless. Buttercup needed a real fight.

The fourth robber unloaded a shotgun on her. Buttercup had never understood the mindset behind them. Several tiny marshmallows didn't equal one big marshmallow. She snatched the gun out of the robber's hand and snapped it in half. The robber's head slammed into the wall.

As Buttercup made her way to the back, the final robber stopped drilling the vault door and turned the power tool on her. The diamond-tipped drill bit went into Buttercup's palm and broke. He watched his weapon transform into useless scrap, and his frustration dropped. He looked like he was going to shit his pants.

Buttercup glared at him, not moving yet, waiting to see what he would do.

He got to his knees with his hands behind his head, surrendering without her having to do a thing. She smiled with satisfaction.

That was all five, way too easy. Buttercup scanned the building with her x-ray vision to make sure it wasn't a diversion. You never knew if someone was hiding in the vents. While she was busy checking the upper floors the first robber bolted for the door. She stayed behind to finish her task, he wasn't going anywhere.

He made it outside, bounding down the steps of the bank, and looking over his shoulder for Buttercup. He fumbled with the keys to his getaway car. He had pulled open the driver's side door when Buttercup landed on hood, crushing the entire front of the car. The door blew off from the force and the robber went with it.

Buttercup felt the front axle break under her boots and the car's guts spilled out onto the road. "Going somewhere?" she asked the cowering man.

He didn't answer, but tried to block her with his hands in front of his face.

Guys like that, guys who thought they could somehow survive her, needed to be taught a lesson. She grabbed him by the back of his shirt and flew to a 10-story antenna in the suburbs. She left him at the top, clutching onto the thin structure for dear life as it swayed, creaking in the wind. "Now you're not going anywhere."

"Are you fucking crazy!?"

"Stop crying. Someone will be by to pick you up." Buttercup ripped the ladder off the side so he couldn't get down and made it back to the bank to find the other four already in handcuffs.

"No injuries, minor damage," the lieutenant in charge noted. "Thanks, Buttercup."

Buttercup's hands curled into fists. "It was easy." A waste of her time. At least it got her out of first period.

School was only a short flight away. She waved to the robber on the antenna and flew to the back of the school, behind the Ag equipment shed, where she knew Mitch and the guys would be.

Mitch was sitting on a crate, smoking a cigarette with Harry and Pablo. The instant Buttercup saw her boyfriend's dumb face, she remembered she was mad at him.

"Hey babe," Mitch came over and threw his arms around her. Buttercup shrugged him off. "Woah, why so frosty?"

"Shut the fuck up, Mitch."

"Okay, babe. What happened?" He asked, trying to placate her.

Buttercup side-eyed him. "What do you mean 'what happened?' I saw you hanging out with Butch."

"Butch?" Mitch acted all innocent, like he didn't understand. "What's the matter? The dude is cool."

Buttercup stopped mid-breath. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Blossom had texted her. [Do you need help with that bank robbery?]

Buttercup typed in a reply. [No]

[Let me know when you finish]

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Do not hang out with him."

"Come on, Babe. Even Blossom can't tell that guy what to do. You should've seen it. He was telling me about a band he saw in Megaville..."

Buttercup squeezed her fists. She wanted to wring Mitch's neck until he saw it her way. She wanted to yell and scream, but she didn't. She shouldn't have had to. Her idiot boyfriend should have understood.

"Besides, he's a hero now-"

"He's not a fucking hero!" How the fuck could he call Butch a hero? He didn't deserve the title. She was so mad at her boyfriend, her entire being shook.

Then Buttercup heard the sound of impending doom. A classroom door opened on the other side of the school. No escape, even if she ran. She was fucked.

"Thought so," Blossom said, appearing in an instant, her chin all high and mighty.

The guys scrambled away to whatever class they should have been in. Buttercup huffed. She wasn't about to move just because her sister had caught her.

"I take it the robbery has been handled?" Blossom asked.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "It was a robbery, Bloss. It's not like they're hard."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Buttercup twitched. She could punch her sister in the face. "Why are you always trying to control me?"

"I am not trying to control you," Blossom said in that controlling tone.

She could do it, Buttercup could punch her sister in the face. She'd catch hell later for fighting, but Blossom wouldn't die. She might even fight back. "So you aren't about to tell me to go to class?"

Blossom scowled. "Do whatever you want." She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and walked away.

---

School took forever like it usually did. After it was over, she could do what she really wanted. She was the first one to practice. She got her pads and skates on, grabbed her stick, and hit the ice.

Buttercup's skates slid over the ice, propelling her slowly. Her body throbbed at holding itself back. The hockey team rules said she had to wear a special bracelet with Antidote X to keep her powers off, but her body screamed her to give everything she had, plus a little more. It wanted to fly, it needed to fight.

Pablo shot the puck to Mitch. He spun and went for the goal, trying to pick up speed.

Buttercup shot at him, slamming his body into the boards, stealing the puck and sending it to Floyd.

Mitch glared at her, his lips became a thin line.

The only thing Buttercup cared about was that her body had tensed for the impact, then come away disappointed. Even without invincibility, those pads kept anyone from doing her any real damage. She felt empty without that threat, something that could destroy her, someone she could hit with everything she had.

That need built to a point that she couldn't stand it. Once practice was over, she burst into the sky. There was someone who could give her everything she wanted.

A burst of far off explosions told her the boys were in the hills outside of town. Buttercup followed the signs, craters, a few leveled areas, and gashes in the ground, signs of a heated training session.

She found them at the end of the trail. Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, and Needle Dick were busy yelling at each other in an open area with no trees or anything. Butch wasn't wearing a shirt, probably to show off his muscles to no one. Brick and Boomer had kept their shirts on, thank god.

Apparently, she had missed the action. They were busy yelling at each other about some stupid thing. Buttercup figured she'd let them air their balls out and see who could piss the farthest before she said anything. Boys were stupid.

"I want a rematch!" Butch demanded at Boomer.

"Seriously?" Brick said. "Butch, you're too slow to hit him. You need to work on your speed."

"Fuck you! Just 'cuz I'm the beefy one doesn't mean I'm slow."

"No, the fact that I can run circles around you does," Boomer said.

"Come here and say that!" Butch lunged at Boomer, only for him to narrowly avoid Butch's grasp.

"Hey, fuckers," Buttercup said over the noise.

They didn't hear her and kept arguing.

"Idiots who could never satisfy a woman..." No answer again.

Buttercup grabbed a boulder and threw it at them.

Boomer zipped out of the way to avoid it. Butch punched it, shattering the rock. Brick didn't move, even when a piece of the rock broke on his shoulder.

They all looked at Buttercup, realizing they had a spectator.

Boomer glared at her. "What do you want?"

Butch smiled and cracked his knuckles. "Finally, a fucking challenge." He took a wide stance and put his fists up. "You want to play?"

Buttercup ignored him and the feeling in her chest that wanted to fuck him up. She handed a piece of paper to Brick.

Brick raised an eyebrow reading it. That got his brothers' attention. They looked over his shoulder at what it said.

Resume
Buttercup Utonium
555-542-5227
Age: 15
Experience: 10 years of fighting monsters attacking Townsville

The rest was blank.

"Do you have any references?" Brick asked.

"Yeah, I got references." Her eyes narrowed at him and she raised her fists.

Brick huffed and gave her an interested smile.

"What!? You're going to let her join the Rowdyruffs!?" Butch said.

"Thinking about it."

Buttercup eyed Butch. His head twitched subtly. He wanted a fight. And she couldn't deny that she wanted to fight him too. But she was out for bigger fish: monsters. She needed a steady supply to fight.

"Aren't you with that 'other' superhero team?" Boomer asked.

"Doesn't mean I can't freelance."

Brick cocked his head and considered it. "What can you bring to the Rowdyruff Boys?"

"I can run circles around Butch and I can fold Boomer in half."

"No you can't," Boomer said.

Buttercup bent her knees and opened her hands like she was going to grab him. "Want to wrestle for it?"

Boomer pursed his lips and snorted, but didn't follow up with anything. Smart boy.

"How about a try-out?" Brick asked.

"Sure," Buttercup said, looking to Butch. She was about to get the best of both options.

Butch had a shit-eating grin bigger than his whole face. A wave pulsed through her. Buttercup vs Butch, a war of arch-rivals. Butch was Buttercup's only equal. He would try to kill her, and unlike everyone else in the world, he had a shot at succeeding.

They squared off against each other. Buttercup's heart pounded. She loved the moment right before the action. The breeze waved through her hair. The sun beat down on the battlefield. The anticipation of a great fight, Butch. She had only beaten him in a fair fight a few times.

The thing about Butch was that he was ridiculously strong, those muscles weren't for show. No one threw a punch like Butch. And if he got his hands on you, he could unscrew your head.

Butch had three weaknesses. The first was that he was slow, still super-humanly fast, but Buttercup could outmaneuver him. The second was that he only had one ranged attack: his eyebeams. Butch's eyebeams had evolved to attack the target's nervous system. They didn't hurt much, but stunned whoever they hit for a few seconds, giving Butch the chance to get in close. His third weakness was that he was all offense. He hardly ever blocked, and when he did, he would meet Buttercup's fist with his own. It was more like punching punches than actual blocking.

Get in close. Don't let him use his eyebeams, but don't let him grab you. Make him swing and miss. Get your shots in around his defense. Hooks and uppercuts so he can't block effectively. Speed and coordination over strength. He was tough, so it might take a while. If the worst should happen, she could always use her own eyebeams.

Buttercup was ready. She dug her foot into the ground.

"No." Brick unbuttoned his overshirt and rolled up the sleeves. "Me."

Buttercup's eyes went wide for a split second. Her heart fell out of her chest. Fighting Brick was nothing like fighting Butch. Butch was all striking and grappling, standard stuff, stuff she was used to. Brick was totally different. He kept an entire arsenal behind his back.

"Great."

Buttercup kept her gaze on him. He glared at her with blood red eyes and hands open and at his sides, casual as could be. He could do almost anything. Brick was Blossom's problem. Buttercup had no idea how to fight him.

Brick dashed toward her with his arm cocked and ready, his fist blazing.

Buttercup blocked and countered with a series of punches that Brick blocked. He was much more coordinated than Butch. She came around with a spin kick trying to circle him right, but he grabbed her ankle and came at her with his own kick.

It was like being hit in the side with an ocean liner. She told herself it didn't hurt and used the momentum to spin backward, forcing him with her. He let go rather than lose his footing.

The instant she hit the ground again she threw up her forcefield to block the hit she knew was coming.

Brick slammed her shield so hard it cracked. Her boots slid back through the dirt. She kept it up to buy time to figure out what to do next.

He smirked at her through the translucent green energy, studying its size. It wasn't anything like what her sisters could create, only a small shield on her forearm.

Brick knocked on it a few times. "How strong is that thing?" He dashed a few yards back, collecting fire in his hands.

Buttercup hated using her shield, it was a huge Chemical X suck. She only ever used it when she absolutely had to. Right then she kicked herself at not training as much with forcefields as her sisters had. Whatever Brick was planning, it was going to be bad.

The flames collected into a blinding point of light and Brick unleashed a beam of fire.

Buttercup's shield survived the initial hit, but she couldn't keep it up. It shattered within a second. She was already out of there, circling through the flames, around his left.

Brick saw her and spun his leg to where he thought she was going to make contact.

Buttercup held back, out of range of his kick. She spun behind him and took an elbow to the head. Her fist went into his side with at thunderous 'crack'. She smiled through the pain, breaking the sound barrier with that beauty. Brick and Buttercup's hits forced them away from each other again.

Buttercup pressed her fingers into the side of her head. Her skull felt like it had split open, she savored the sensation.

Brick glared at her with barely-concealed rage, trying not to show she had hurt him. She remembered something Blossom once told her about Brick. How did she put it? 'Pain is an insult to his ego.' A fancy way of saying he had a glass jaw. A few really good hits would take him down. Thing was, she'd never get the chance to actually hit him. Brick was hitting hard and fast. She was going to have to do something crazy and survive a few hits so she could get a couple more good ones.

His eyes began glowing as he forced Chemical X into them.

Imagine getting dunked into a vat of acid, your skin ripping off and your flesh dissolving the longer you're submerged, not being able to move because of the agony while your life leaked out of you. That's what Brick's eyebeams felt like. He could grind even a superhuman to nothing.

Buttercup charged in close and rammed at him before he could get the shot off.

Brick slammed her in the head again and kneed her in the gut. She managed to get a pair of jabs in, but they bounced right off him, tiny marshmallows.

In desperation, Buttercup aimed at his chest and unleashed a heat beam out of her eyes.

Brick exploded. Fountains of fire licked her face while the force knocked her into a boulder. She sucked in a breath.

Brick strode through the dust. Fire blazed over his clothes. He cocked his head at her, totally in control.

Ever since Buttercup could remember, her eyebeams had been permanently set to heat. They were great for melting steel, but she should have known it was a long-shot using them against Fire Incarnate.

Buttercup grabbed both halves of the split boulder on either side of her, took off into the sky, and hurled them at him from above.

Brick came at her and punched both out of his way with an easy confidence. Buttercup took advantage of the distraction to kick him in the head, pounding him into the ground.

All she had to do was finish him. Buttercup came down like a meteor with a drop-kick.

He grabbed her leg before she could connect and spun her into the dirt with him. He forced her into a hold. The flames engulfing him scorched her skin. It wasn't the exhilarating jolt of being hit really hard, it was agony.

Pure adrenaline let Buttercup jerk him off of her and escape.

He didn't give her a single instant, Brick's next punch was already tracking her. Buttercup got her arms into position to block, planning to muscle through the hit and counter. She could still outlast him.

Brick's punch broke her defense and he hit her in the eye with a loud 'boom'. The world blinked out and three more hits, two in the gut, one in the jaw, came in, Buttercup never saw them coming.

She hit the ground tasting blood. Her legs wouldn't get her back up and she didn't have enough X to do anything. Her hand grabbed a clump of dirt but she couldn't lift her arm to throw it at him. Something on her face was wet. Her body throbbed in pain.

Buttercup was done, no second-wind, no burst of rage to grant her victory. It was over, Brick had won.

Brick stood over her and crouched down. He studied her smirking. The fire went out. "Pretty good."

It took a few seconds before Buttercup realized what was going on. She rolled onto her back to catch her breath, and for some reason, he let her. Every part of her hurt. Not all of it bad, most of it not good.

"We'll keep your resume on file and call if we need you." Brick looked at Boomer and Butch. "We're done for the day." He took off toward town with Boomer right behind him.

Butch didn't watch his brothers leave. He glared at her, jaw clenched.

Buttercup staggered to her feet. She couldn't take him, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. He could end her right there if he wanted to and if he did, she wasn't going to be helpless on the ground.

There were burns on his hands and a discolored spider web pattern on his chest. Pain, courtesy of his brothers, though the wounds were already healing.

He strode up to her, smiling. She scowled, not giving him an inch.

"Next time, I get to kick your ass," Butch said.

"Fuck off."

Butch's shark-toothed grin got wider. He took off following his brothers, leaving only a green streak behind him.

With her ass thoroughly kicked, Buttercup collapsed. She focused on healing while she watched the sun go down over Townsville. It got quiet and cold, but Buttercup didn't care.

She got home an hour later. Blossom was on the couch, doing homework, Bubbles rested her head on Blossom's shoulder, texting like a madwoman. Buttercup kicked her boots off, grabbed a bag of marshmallows from the pantry, and turned on the TV. She found a recap of the MMA fight over the weekend. Buttercup didn't get to watch live, the professor wouldn't spring for what they were charging.

Bubbles leaned against her on the couch. It wouldn't be long before she had her head in Buttercup's lap. And sure enough, within a minute, Bubbles stretched out, taking the entirety of Buttercup's personal space. Blossom stood up to let Bubbles fully extend herself over the couch, never taking her eyes off of her textbook, then sat on her back. Buttercup draped her arm over her sisters and leaned against Blossom.

"I'm still upset with you," Blossom said, resting some of her weight into Buttercup. She could be mad, it never lasted that long anyway.

They curled up together for awhile, each doing their own thing. Buttercup's heart finally calmed. There was no way her sisters couldn't have noticed the bruises and burns still healing on her skin, but neither said anything. They let her be Buttercup.

The sound of the garage door opening and then closing droned through the house. Buttercup's mom stepped into the living room after parking her car. Her heels clicked across the hardwood.

"Hey mom," Bubbles said. Blossom smiled at her.

"Buttercup," Mrs. Bellum said in that soft authoritarian tone. "I think we need to have a talk."

Great, another one of these. Blossom and Bubbles untangled and excused themselves, leaving Buttercup alone with her mom. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Mrs. Bellum sat on the ottoman and clasped her hands. "The police said there were five assailants at the bank robbery today, but they only arrested four. The fifth was found on an antenna. The ladder was badly damaged near the top, as if it had been ripped off. He couldn't get down."

"Oh yeah?" Buttercup asked, tossing a marshmallow into her mouth.

"He was up there for over eight hours before an emergency crew was able to retrieve him."

Buttercup snickered to herself.

"This is not funny, Buttercup."

She had been an inch from death earlier that day. Yeah, it was pretty fucking funny.

---

Brick leaned on the sink in the bathroom of the burger joint the guys stopped at for dinner. He had ordered them there, using the meal as an excuse. There was no way he was going to make it all the way home, he would have fallen right out of the sky.

Buttercup sure as hell knew how to kick ass. It was one thing to hear about it on the news, and quite another to actually feel it. Definitely faster than Butch and a fair bit stronger than Boomer. He was pretty sure she knocked his brain loose with that kick.

He didn't get a chance to test his eyebeams on her. She saw what he was about to do and pressed the attack. Smart too, smart enough not to let herself get blasted anyway, plus the fact she made him waste most of his X charging that shot. Brick could use that.

He had managed to end it quickly and keep himself composed. That was one thing he had to do, make it look like he was invincible. His brothers couldn't know she almost had him. And she absolutely couldn't know.

He swallowed, using the last drop of X he had to heal a little. He'd feel a lot better once he got something to eat.

When he got back to the table, the food was waiting for him. Butch and Boomer were mostly done with their meals. Brick sat on his side of the table and took a bite of the burger.

"She kick your ass or what?" Butch asked, ribbing Brick.

Brick snorted. "I don't know why you have such a tough time with her."

"Fuck you, bro."

"She's not actually going to be part of the team, is she?" Boomer asked.

He had hit her so fucking hard over and over again and she would not go down. She took hits that would have laid Butch out. 'Toughest Fighter', fuck, she earned that one.

"I don't know." Brick dipped a bunch of fries in ketchup and ate them. "Probably not." If one of his brothers missed a call, it was good to know she was an option.

---

Kindergarten - November

"And your name will be... Buttercup. Because it also begins with a 'B'."

She crossed her arms. 'Buttercup'!? What kind of dumb name is that? She didn't want to be 'Buttercup'. She wanted to be... she didn't know, but something else, something cool.

Well she wasn't going to answer to 'Buttercup'. That wasn't her name. She wasn't some stupid flower.

If Blossom was Blossom because she opened right up, and Bubbles was Bubbles because she was bubbly, what did being named Buttercup make her? Her name didn't have to start with a 'B' just because her sisters' did.

Ugh! Fine! They could call her 'Buttercup, but she was going to make it her own. She was going to be her own person. She was going to do whatever she wanted, no matter what anyone said. Everyone would know 'Buttercup' meant 'tough' from now on.

Chapter 5: Paper Tiger

Paper Tiger

Sophomore Year - September

Boomer ignored his phone alarm, rolled over, and tried to go back to sleep. Whatever the hell Butch was doing made too much noise for that to work, so he laid in bed, wrapped in his covers, doing nothing.

"Boomer! School!" Brick shouted through the door. "Do not make me come in there." Brick wasn't kidding, he would drag Boomer out of bed and make him go. It was better to do what he said, it made things easier. He smelled cooking bacon anyway. Someone was making breakfast and that had never happened.

Boomer pulled on the nearest clothes, grabbed his backpack, and went out into the kitchen. But there wasn't any food on the counter. "Someone make breakfast?"

"No," Butch snorted from the couch, putting a spoonful of cereal into his mouth while reading something on his phone.

"Ready to go?" Brick asked, stepping down the stairs and stuffing a book into his backpack. "You better wash that bowl and spoon before we leave."

"It's cool, Brick." Butch put the cereal away and took his dishes to the sink. "We have a dishwasher now."

"Isn't there bacon?" Boomer asked.

"You want bacon? Get your ass out of bed earlier than 30 seconds before school and make it yourself," Brick said.

Boomer rolled his head away. His brothers were never thinking about anyone but themselves. "So what do I get to eat?"

"I don't fucking know, but make it quick." Brick looked at his phone.

Boomer opened the pantry. All the good food was gone. Whatever was left he would have to make.

"He didn't make me any bacon either," Butch said, loading his spoon and bowl into the dishwasher.

Boomer rolled his eyes and went back to the nothing in the pantry. It was all bullshit food. Why did they even have three boxes of rice and a bag of potatoes?

"Dude, just grab something," Butch's hand wrapped around a bag of bread and he gave it to Boomer.

Boomer inspected the bag's contents. There were only four slices left and two of them were end pieces. "Bread? That's it?"

Butch huffed and grabbed a jar of peanut butter. He forced it into Boomer's other hand. "There."

"What am I gonna spread it with?"

"Your finger, I don't care." Butch waved him off.

"Let's go." Brick hit the button opening the living room wall. He and Butch flew out of the apartment. Boomer stuffed the bread and jar of peanut butter into his backpack and followed.

Boomer met his friends under a tree before school started. They were wasting time playing hacky sack before classes started. Boomer was hungry, so he dipped the bread into the peanut butter rather than spreading it with his finger like Butch had suggested. He wasn't an animal.

When he ran out of bread he got himself into the circle his friends were standing in. The hacky sack passed back and forth between them and came toward Boomer. He kicked it straight up and caught it on top of his head. He floated up so everyone could see.

They weren't looking at him, they looked everywhere else but at him. One person groaned. Everyone was mad.

"Come on, man. Pass it to someone."

"This isn't about showing off, we just want to play."

Boomer turned his head to drop the sack. It plopped onto the ground. He wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. It's not like he used powers or anything, and he wasn't showing off. Why were they all mad? He had been new to their group, but he thought they were friends. Why didn't they want him around? Why didn't anyone want him around? He stared at the deflated bag of beads.

The bell rang and everyone scrambled to first period, Boomer wandered the halls. His eyes panned over flyers posed on the walls announcing clubs, events, and whatever else was going on that Boomer didn't want anything to do with. He wanted to go home so he could do whatever. No one ever wanted him around anyway. Everyone liked Butch and Brick, but Boomer never got to hang out with anyone. Everyone thought of him as the screwup brother.

Down the hall a big guy in a letterman jacket had some kid in a headlock. It was a strange thing to happen, everyone was supposed to be in class.

"Alright, loser," the jock said. "Pay up or get beat."

The kid didn't struggle, he pulled some money out of his pocket and gave it to the bigger guy, his hand shaking the entire time.

"Homework too!" The bully tightened the hold. For a moment, he looked like Butch, but even bigger.

The kid pulled back tears, straining to get air. "I need to get it out of my backpack," he managed.

The bully released the lock and slammed the kid into the lockers. "Get it then."

"Hey!" Boomer stepped forward scowling at the bully. "Leave him alone or I'll..." He trailed off. Boomer was never good at playing hero. What was he even doing? No one wanted his help. His mind dissociated from whatever his body was doing. He was outside of himself, watching.

The bully turned toward Boomer and a menacing smile formed on his face. "You standing up for him, you little bitch?" He dragged his victim along the row of lockers toward Boomer. The kid's head banged on the padlocks as he went. "I think I'll take your lunch money too."

The bully towered over Boomer. "Lunch money. Now." He held out his hand.

That guy would have never even messed with Butch. Butch would have kicked his ass without a second thought. Brick might have killed him. He visualized Brick pushing the bully's head into the lockers until one crushed the other. But, then again, Boomer could do that too...

His mind slid into someplace comfortable, like he remembered who he was. The world came back, sharp and visceral. "Why don't you give me your lunch money?"

The bully mentally recoiled, as if he had never considered it could happen to him. He quickly recovered. "You're asking for it." He released the kid he was holding and puffed up his muscles.

Boomer stepped forward and got in the asshole's face. "Give me your lunch money. Now."

Boomer didn't feel much when the guy's knuckles broke against his cheek. It felt like a strong breeze.

He went down like a bitch, clutching his devastated hand, laying on the floor, shocked at what had happened. "You broke my fucking hand, you piece of shit." He spoke in a half whisper to keep the pain down.

"I wasn't kidding." Boomer held out his hand, their positions reversed. "Money. All of it."

The bully was totally focused on himself. To him Boomer wasn't even there.

"Hey!" Boomer punched a nearby locker without his super strength. It didn't do any damage, but it was loud. "Money."

The bully reluctantly pulled the money he got from his victim out of his pocket and handed it to Boomer, his good hand shaking.

"I said 'all of it'."

"I- I- don't have any."

Boomer growled. Wasn't that what Butch did? No. Butch would have choked him.

"Okay, okay. Here." The bully took his wallet out of his pocket. Before he could get the money out, Boomer snatched up the whole thing.

He looked in the cash pocket, there were a bunch of bills, including a couple of 20s, and slipped it into his own pocket. "Cell phone."

The guy looked equal parts offended, terrified, and in pain. Pathetic. Was that how his brothers saw him?

The guy waffled a bit, having to give in to the demands of someone much stronger than him but still not wanting to give up his phone. He had never had that happen before.

Boomer reached into the boy's pocket and took his phone. "Tomorrow, you're going to have 20 for me or I'm taking your car keys. Got it?"

The boy looked away, then nodded.

Boomer rolled his eyes and walked away. He studied the phone and wondered how much he could get for it. Then he remembered they got paid for taking down monsters. Taking the phone was stupid. It was like one of those principle things Brick liked to talk about, but not worth the effort. What had he been thinking?

"Hey," a voice came from behind Boomer. It was that kid the bully was beating on before Boomer had stepped in. "Thanks for..." the kid was taller than Boomer, but had even less muscle. He was acting all meek for some reason.

Boomer had no idea what to do.

"...helping me." The kid stood weird and he wouldn't look up from the floor. "You're Boomer, right?"

"Yeah."

He finally looked up at him. "I'm Mike Believe." He held a hand out to shake.

Boomer thought it was weird, guys didn't shake hands, they fist-bumped or head-butted each other. Old men in business suits shook hands. It was weird, but he shook the guy's hand anyway. "Oh right." Boomer gave Mike his money back. It was only a five anyway.

"Thanks, man." Mike took Boomer's offering. "Look, I gotta get to class. But I'll see you around?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Is this what it felt like to be cool? It was uncomfortable, but Boomer liked it. "See you around."

---

Boomer went to his first-period class. They were watching some nature thing where a fancy narrator talked about "the majestic snow leopard". He yawned and went to sleep. In his dream, a cat led him across the tundra and he finally felt free.

"Boomer." Boomer jerked back into reality. The teacher was staring at him holding the class phone. "They need to see you in the principal's office.

"Okay." Boomer got up and walked out of class. Why would they need to see him at the office? It had to have been a monster attack or something like that. His phone didn't have a message from Brick though. He was almost to the administration office door, when someone slammed him into a locker.

"What did you do?" Brick demanded.

"Nothing!"

"Do not lie to me, asshole. You did something in the halls twenty minutes ago."

"Oh yeah, that. This huge guy was robbing this other guy, Mike. Took his money and homework, and..." Boomer hung his head. "Then I took his wallet and phone."

Brick squinted at him like he was thinking something. "You robbed a guy who was in the middle of robbing a guy?"

"...Kinda..." Boomer handed Brick the wallet and phone. "I haven't taken any money out of it, I swear."

"Who are you, Crime Man?" Brick looked into the wallet. "You didn't hurt him did you?"

"...yeah, kinda. He punched me and hurt himself."

"He punched you?"

"Yeah."

"Did you punch him back?"

"No."

Brick took off his hat, ran his fingers through his hair, and put the hat back on.

Boomer cocked his head. "How did you-"

"Shut up," Brick demanded. "Let me do all the talking. Do not say a word." He turned toward the principal's office and sighed. "Blossom's in there." He looked through the door.

Boomer took a look through the walls with his x-ray vision. Blossom stood next to the principal with her hands on her hips.

Brick set his eyes hard at Boomer. "Give me your phone."

"What!? Why!?" Boomer reached his hand into his pocket to protect his phone. "No."

Brick's eyes narrowed. He reached into Boomer's pocket. Boomer tried to stop him by jerking away, but Brick kept on him. Boomer squirmed against Brick's strength, desperately trying not to get his phone crushed. Brick pried it out of his hand and held it out of reach. He opened the camera and set it to video.

"Record this whole thing." Brick gave Boomer his phone back, forcing him to hold it horizontally. "Eyes on the screen, try to capture the action, like you're filming one of your dumb skateboard tricks."

Boomer groaned at having to do more stuff. Whatever that was about, Brick had a plan and Boomer had to follow. He kept his phone up and Brick led him into the office.

"Name?" the office administrator asked.

Brick walked right by, ignoring her and opened the door to the principal's office.

"If you boys are done roughhousing, we should begin," Blossom said before they had entered, smirking at Brick. "And yes, I would encourage you to record this meeting on camera. Wouldn't you agree, Principal Butte?"

"Absolutely," the principal agreed.

The office was big with a window on the back wall. There were filing cabinets along another. The desk was big and there was a lot of stuff on it, papers mostly, but also an open laptop. The screensaver showed highlights from the last X-ers game. A football sat near it.

"This is a matter between Boomer and the school," Brick said. "Why is she here?"

"Any time there is an incident at the school involving superpowers or technology enhancing the abilities of normal humans to super-human levels, I act as an advisor to the administration," Blossom said sweetly and smiled. "And why are you here?"

"Boomer is allowed representation."

Blossom rolled her eyes, still smiling. "Great."

"Let's begin." Principal Butte took a breath. "There was a fight in the halls. It seems Boomer injured another student, Tyler Shoe, at 8:04 this morning. We have it on the security camera. Tyler has been taken to the hospital so that the doctors can put his arm into a cast. Boomer will be suspended for three weeks for fighting with a review of his possible expulsion."

Brick tilted his head. "Is it possible for us to review the video?"

"Of course." Principal Butte tapped the laptop and the video played.

The video started from the point just before Tyler punched Boomer. There was no sound, it was in black and white, and it was picture was grainy. Boomer tried to capture as much of it as he could, per Brick's instructions. It played until Boomer took Tyler's wallet and phone and walked away.

Once it was over, it went back to the first frame with Boomer and Tyler standing across from each other.

Brick nodded his head. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Principal Butte," he said. "And yes, we will be pressing charges."

Principal Butte shook his head. "Boomer is the one who-"

"Boomer is the one who was punched, I'm well aware of that." Brick smirked. "That constitutes assault and battery."

Blossom's face became a scowl. "He clearly stole Tyler's wallet and phone."

"I believe the proper term is 'confiscated'," Brick said placing the items on the principal's desk. "He had planned on returning them when the school decided to settle the bullying matter."

"Clearly Tyler shouldn't have punched Boomer." Blossom said. "However, the situation does not constitute bullying. Boomer was not injured in any way. At worst this could be called attempted-bullying."

"There's no such thing as 'attempted-bullying'," Brick explained. "If I made fun of another student for their weight issues, I would be bullying even if the victim wasn't embarrassed about it. But I was referring to the other student, of course."

Principal Butte crossed his arms. "What other student?"

Brick pointed to the computer monitor. In the paused video, Tyler's arm was wrapped around Mike's head and crushing him into the lockers. "That student." There was an entire person sticking out from behind Tyler. Boomer got it on camera.

"That's Mike. Tyler stole his money." Boomer said. "And he wanted to steal his homework too. I can show you. Does the video go ba-" Brick's hard glare told him to shut up.

"Why was that part of the incident not included?" Brick asked Blossom directly.

"Because it did not involve Boomer," Principal Butte said. "Boomer decided to involve himself."

"Much like the Powerpuff Girls decide to involve themselves when they beat people up. Those people just so happen to be in the middle of committing a crime, like Tyler was committing a crime in this instance."

Blossom growled.

"The school seems to have these cameras everywhere. If I checked the footage from the past few days, would I find this same student stealing money and homework from Mike?"

Principal Butte shook his head. "I'm not letting you see that footage, Mr. Jojo."

It felt as if someone had turned on the heater in the middle of summer. Brick's expression and stance didn't change, but the principal had pressed the 'Jojo' button.

"It's 'Brick'," Blossom said. "He doesn't have a last name."

"Is that some kind of 'identity politics' thing?" Principal Butte asked.

"No, its a legal name thing," Brick said. He tightened a fist. "Tyler complained about the incident with Boomer, didn't he. That's why the administration acted so quickly." Brick turned around and looked through the open door, at the office administrator in the hall. "And it happened exactly four-minutes after class started. It's almost like it was planned. But that would be impossible to prove," Brick mused. He turned toward the office administrator through the open door. "Has Mike ever filed a complaint about any incidents with Tyler?"

The administrator looked down her glasses at Brick.

"The incident happened at 8:04. Perhaps we should go through the attendance records to see if Mike has been marked late to first period lately. Though, I doubt Tyler has."

The administrator's scowl deepened.

Brick bored his eyes into Blossom. "The only reason you wouldn't let me review the attendance records is because you have something to hide."

Blossom took a step forward. "This school has nothing to-"

Principal Butte rubbed his beard "I think we should all..." He didn't say anything more, even though it felt like he should have.

Brick smirked at Blossom. It was that one he gave right before he took someone down. Boomer had been on the receiving end many times. Brick palmed the football that was sitting on the Principal's desk. "So, the school has had evidence for bullying this entire time and done nothing?" Brick asked to no one in particular. "Why, oh why, might that be?" he threw the football at Blossom using super strength.

Blossom caught it and gave Brick a dirty look. Was that supposed to mean something? She placed it on a nearby filing cabinet.

"Would anyone care to tell me when the administration planned on doing something about Tyler's reign of terror?" Brick asked. "Because it's seems to me that the school was perfectly content with theft going on within the halls, as long as the perpetrator was the school's precious quarterback."

Tyler was the quarterback of the football team? Boomer had no idea who the guy was.

"Look, everyone's fine. I sure Tyler has learned his lesson." Principal Butte rested a hand on his desk. "No punishments need to be handed out."

"You were about to hand Boomer a three-week suspension for theft before this examination, not to mention the possible expulsion. And now you refuse to do your job." Brick smirked. "Perhaps I should inform the superintendent, or better yet, Mrs. Bellum."

Principal Butte snorted. "As if you could actually get a hold of-"

He was interrupted by a ringing coming from Brick's phone. Boomer finally got it, that's why Brick wanted Boomer to record it on his phone, because Brick knew he might need his own phone. It was smart to plan ahead like that.

"Good afternoon, Brick." Mrs. Bellum's voice came through. "How can I help you?"

"Hello Mrs. Bellum. I'm in a meeting with the principal. There has been an incident at the school. One of the varsity football players punched Boomer in the face."

"Is Blossom with you?"

"Yes," Blossom said. "I'm here."

Brick mouthed something to Blossom. She gave him another dirty look.

"Blossom, have you reviewed the incident?"

"Yes. The camera footage shows that Boomer was not at fault."

"Then why am I receiving a call, Brick?" Bellum asked with venom in her voice.

"My issue is that when we entered this meeting, Boomer had been deemed 'at-fault'. Principal Butte planned on handing Boomer a three-week suspension before we reviewed the footage. Now, he is refusing to punish the football star for ongoing bullying and theft."

"Mom, you should know this is being recorded," Blossom said hastily.

"I want him fired immediately, or the recording on Boomer's phone of this entire incident will be published on the internet."

Mrs. Bellum sighed. "Are we having a tantrum, Brick?"

Principal Butte chuckled.

"Quite the opposite Mrs. Bellum. I insist that this school employ an effective principal, who deals with these types of incidents without bias and can hand out punishments fairly. After all, if individuals are allowed to abuse their power, this city could very well descend into..." Brick chewed on the last word, his gaze finally settling on Blossom. "Chaos."

There was a long pause on the other end. Everyone in the room, except Brick, stared at the phone. The call timer counted the seconds.

"Consider it done," Mrs. Bellum finally said before she hung up.

Principal Butte looked aghast at what had happened. His office phone rang.

Brick smirked at Blossom. "We're done here." He pulled Boomer out of the office.

A few words and Boomer was spared three-week suspension. Was Brick a miracle worker? Or did he make some kind of deal with the devil?

When they got back out into the halls, Brick punched Boomer's shoulder. It didn't hurt, Brick wasn't using his super strength, but Boomer flinched anyway. "Next time you're cleaning your own mess."

Blossom retreated from the office with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed.

"Get back to class," Brick said before turning toward her.

---

Butch took a drag of his cigarette and blew a puff of smoke into the air. "Hold up, some douchey football player thought he could beat up Boomer!?"

Boomer swallowed the pizza in his mouth. "Yeah. I mean, he punched me."

"But you're Boomer!" Butch laughed. "That's awesome. Plus, you got that asshole principal fired?"

"Yeah, well, no. Brick did that."

"He pissed me off." Brick took a bite of his own slice. "He wasn't even the first. Fuck him."

"Aww man, I'm gonna miss making fun of that guy. Heh, Principal 'Butt'. He threw me in detention every time I called him 'Seymour'." Butch flicked his cigarette off the side of their building. It glowed all the way down it's journey to the street where it finally burned out. "Yeah. Fuck him. His replacement can't be any worse, right?"

---

Kindergarten - April

"You let yourself get captured?" Butch punched Boomer in the stomach.

Boomer sucked in air but his lungs wouldn't let him. He doubled over.

Butch stood Boomer up again. "AND you got beaten up by a bunch of girls?" Butch punched him twice.

"You couldn't figure a way out? Really?" Brick said. "Just fly away."

"There were three of 'em," Boomer pleaded.

Butch kicked him. "It don't matter how many there were! You're supposed to be a Rowdyruff Boy!"

It wasn't fair. Boomer was always 'the dumb one' 'the weak one'. He hated being called that.

"Be stronger," Butch said.

"Get smarter," Brick said.

But he would never be as strong as Butch or as smart as Brick. He wasn't good at anything. He could cry and that was it.

"You're pathetic," Brick said. "Put some clothes on."

Chapter 6: Free Spirit

Free Spirit

Sophomore Year - September

Bubbles floated cross-legged above a vineyard overlooking the valley. Townsville sat at the center, a yellow-tinted statue on a under a big blue sky.

Her supplies rested on a small force field that drew near. Bubbles swirled her brush through the yellow on her palette, blending with white and the slightest bit of black. Yellow was such a weak color, if she had used more, it would surrender to the black immediately and she'd be left with a rotten banana mess.

When she was satisfied with the range of yellow she had, she experimented with the lime green and hot pink. Those two always found themselves in her work.

Bubbles began painting on her small canvas in long horizontal strokes. She captured the morning sky with a little wave, giving the background a wind-swept feel. The blue and yellow hadn't mixed, giving her sky an otherworldly glow without falling into green.

The pink-yellow and the green-yellow made up the hills in front of the sky. They flowed into each other like two rivers meeting.

When the background had dried, Bubbles used a straightedge to get the skyscrapers square and in perspective. They stood out against the curves and swirls that made up the sky and ground. Canary gave the buildings a glare and balanced the dijon shadows.

One or two pops of purple and she was finished. It was perfect. Townsville was always monochromatic like that, the glass and white concrete of the buildings reflected the atmosphere. It could be a somber blue, or an electric orange, or a vibrant green. Today it was yellow, and Bubbles preferred to think of it as reflecting sunshine instead of the dry, late summer air.

"The city of Townsville!" Bubbles proclaimed, holding her painting up. She admired her work for a moment before her alarm went off.

Shutting down the chime, she packed up her paints and sighed. No more time to enjoy it, she only had a few minutes to get to school.

A few seconds later and she was in her room swapping her art supplies for her school bag. After rinsing out her brushes and a quick check of her makeup, she floated downstairs to grab breakfast.

Buttercup, dressed in a pair of loose-fitting jeans, a band tee, and those clunky boots she wore every single day, leaned against the counter waiting for the toaster.

Bubbles gathered berries, chopped walnuts, and a scoop of granola into a bowl.

"Blossom leave early?" Buttercup asked. The toaster popped and she spread a copious amount of butter on her toast.

"Must have," Bubbles replied, adding a scoop of yogurt to her breakfast.

Buttercup checked their surroundings to make sure their parents weren't in earshot. "You going to that thing tomorrow night?"

Bubbles' friends tended to stick to their own parties. She knew what kinds of things happened on the other side of town. "I hadn't planned on it."

Buttercup crossed her arms and huffed. "Mitch is going."

"Okay..." Bubbles rolled her eyes.

"And apparently he's friends with Butch now."

"They hang out in the same circles. What's the problem?"

Buttercup pursed her lips. "Butch." The word ground itself out of her mouth, like she didn't want to let it go.

She wanted Bubbles to engage, but Bubbles was already over it. "Blossom knows more about boyfriend troubles than I do."

"I can't talk to Blossom, she's always on me for ditching."

"She's not 'always on' you," Bubbles said, washing out her bowl. Buttercup needed everything said out loud. "She wanted to know that you got the job done. And, yes, she is worried about your future. But she was not going to tell mom or dad."

"Yeah, but I still have to deal with her 'I'm disappointed in you' look." Buttercup finished her breakfast and grabbed her bag. "It's worse than dad's."

Bubbles took a breath. She had let Buttercup drag her into Blossom-drama too many times. No more, she wasn't their mediator. She refused to be a part of Blossom and Buttercup's childhood issues. She would leave it there and pick up her own bag for school.

They took off and flew side-by-side. Buttercup always wanted to fly faster than was warranted. Bubbles kept pace with her, using a force field as a windscreen so her hair didn't get messed up.

When they passed close to downtown, they heard commotion below. "Help!" A thief ripped the purse off of a woman's arm.

"Your turn," Buttercup said, flipping her hair out of her eyes and she sped off in school's direction.

The thief ran up the sidewalk.

This was the perfect chance for Bubbles to get some good karma in. She reached her hand out and envisioned grabbing the thief's leg. A ball and chain made of force fields clamped around his ankle.

The thief tripped and hit the sidewalk. He lumbered back up and tried to run. The ball and chain, still around his leg, stopped him from getting very far.

Bubbles landed. "Are you alright?" she asked the lady who had her purse stolen.

"Yes. Thank you, Bubbles."

"Don't thank me yet! We're not done." She strode up to the thief with the lady in tow.

The thief pulled with all his might, dragging the heavy ball up the sidewalk about an inch at a time.

"Nuh uh uh. You're not going anywhere. Not until you apologize."

The thief scowled and tried to pull Bubbles' force fields off of his ankle.

"Apologize," she demanded.

"No, it's okay. He doesn't need to-"

"Oh yes he does. Otherwise, this is where he's going." Bubbles closed her fingers over an open palm and prison bars formed around him.

"What the f-"

"Language!" Bubbles stomped her foot and made his cell smaller. "Now are you going to apologize or not?"

The thief took in his situation, a glowing cage he'd never escape, a superhero right in front of him. He had no way out. He lowered his head and mumbled, "sorry..."

"That's it?" Bubbles turned to the lady. "I don't think he's actually sorry."

"No. I am." He looked at the lady he had stolen the purse from. "It was wrong to steal your purse. I needed-"

Bubbles glared at him. He recoiled.

"I was bad. I'm sorry."

"Now give it back."

He offered her the purse through the bars. She took it and made sure everything was still inside. "Thank you." She waved before leaving.

Bubbles waved and smiled back. She strode up to the thief still trapped in the cell. "Now don't you feel better?"

"Yes," the thief said with hope in his eyes. "Now can I go?"

"Go? I thought you were sorry?"

"I am!"

"Then why don't you want to make it right?"

"I thought I did. I gave the purse back and said 'I'm sorry'."

"You're only part-way there. You still need to make it right with society." A police vehicle pulled up to them and two officers got out. "You caused harm to all of Townsville by trying to steal that sweet lady's purse. That's why you're going to do community service."

The prison cell disappeared and the officers put the thief in handcuffs.

"But I can't-" he pleaded, one of the officers leading the him to their police car.

"It's called 'being a good citizen'."

"Thanks, Bubbles," the other officer said. "You're making this city a better place."

Bubbles arrived at school wondering if Buttercup had actually made it there. There were still 15 minutes before the bell for first period. She leisurely strode down the hall with a song in her heart to a chorus of "Hey Bubbles" following her. She smiled at her adorers in turn.

She didn't know why they were giving her so much attention. Sure, she looked cute and smiled at everyone, her makeup was immaculate, and her mom let her get that expensive purse, but it's not like it was Prada or anything.

The cheer squad was at their usual table in the forum. A few of the popular guys hung around to be near girls they liked.

"Hi Bubbles," Dee Dee said, as if they hadn't been texting all night.

"Hi!" Bubbles chirped to everyone, but mostly to her best friend, Dee Dee.

"I heard some new guy beat up Tyler in the halls during class yesterday," Dee Dee said. She was always saving the good gossip until they were all gathered.

"Really?" Marcie said. "I know he went home early."

"Who beat him up?" Lee Lee asked.

"My sources tell me it was some nobody," Dee Dee explained. "But I do have a name."

"Who?"

"Tell us!"

Dee Dee loved dragging it out, keeping them all on the edge of their seats.

"Boomer."

"Boomer?" Marcie asked. "Who's that?"

"Yeah," Mee Mee said "I've never heard that name."

"Like I said 'some nobody'. Apparently no one knows."

"I know who Boomer is," Bubbles offered.

"You do!?"

"Yeah, it's weird that you guys actually don't know who he is."

"Why?" Lee Lee asked.

"He's a member of a very popular group." This time it was Bubbles' turn to draw out some information. Her friends were practically drooling with anticipation. Dee Dee looked like she wanted to murder her. Bubbles loved every moment.

"He's a Rowdyruff Boy."

The gasps could be heard from across town.

"There's a third Rowdyruff Boy!?"

"Oh my gosh!"

"Is he as hot as the other two?"

"That's impossible," Dee Dee said. "I would know if there was a third Rowdyruff Boy."

"There is. And I'll prove it." Bubbles began leading the squad down out of the forum. She had no idea where Boomer hung out, he wasn't part of any popular group. In fact, he never usually stayed in one place for very long, and he always hung out by himself. But Bubbles did notice that he was with Mike Believe at lunch the day before.

Bubbles hadn't talked to Mike since sixth grade, but she did happen to know where his group usually congregated before school. She led the squad to the science and math building and peaked her head into the computer lab. Mike and his friends stood around talking about something that didn't matter. Boomer was with them.

Bubbles swayed toward Boomer. "Hey Boomer." Mike and his friends gawked at her. The girls gathered in the doorway to watch.

"Hey... Bubbles." He was so cute when he was shy and confused.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Uh... Yeah..."

"Do that thing with the lightning real quick."

"Right now?"

Bubbles moved aside so her friends could see. "Yeah, real quick."

"Okay..." Lightning jumped up his arm and collected itself into the palm of his hand.

She looked back to her friends. They were all giggling in a tight clump. "Oh, that guy. I keep forgetting about him," Mee Mee whispered.

"Dude, there are computers in here," Mike said.

"Oops," Bubbles giggled. "Sorry." She turned back to Boomer and smiled at him. "That's all I needed, thanks."

The lightning dissipated and he tilted his head. "No problem."

Bubbles brushed a bang away. "I don't usually do this, but do you want to go on a date?"

"Y- yeah." He looked at her skeptically, but smiled none the less.

"Cool. Pick me up tonight at 7?"

"Yeah, Cool."

"Give me your phone." Bubbles snatched it right out of his hand, programmed her number, and took a silly selfie to attach to it. She handed it back to him. "Text me."

"Y- yeah."

She laughed. "See you then." Bubbles turned to rejoin her friends. "I promise not to trap you in a weird force bubble thing this time," she said over her shoulder so everyone could hear.

He laughed. His friends gawked. Perfect. She walked right back to Dee Dee's side.

"Didn't you used to fight that guy?" Dee Dee said. "Now, you're going out with him, huh?" The other girls giggled again.

"He's a an old crush. You never notice the younger guys."

"What, like my dorky brother and his weird friends?" Dee Dee asked. "No thank you."

---

"So Blossom plops down at the table, totally mad, and starts reading that contract you guys signed with the mayor. So I ask 'what does it say?' And she gets all mad at me. Like I didn't listen to a lecture she hasn't given yet. Like I'm too lazy to read it myself."

Boomer snorted and shook his head. "Sounds familiar."

"She would be so outraged if I snatched it out of her hands to read it myself, though she would do the same to me without a second thought. Blossom understands that legal stuff way better than I do anyway. And I don't care what it says, I only care what it means. All the tiny little details don't mean anything to me. So why read it when she can just tell me? Blossom has a need to always be in control anyway, and explaining the situation to me helps her think through it. I'm not lazy and I'm not disinterested. Listening is important and takes focus too."

Boomer nodded and gave her a half-smile.

"Oh! Did I-" Bubbles moved a strand of hair out of her face and beamed a smile at him. "Sorry about the tirade."

"Don't be. It's so nice to hang out with someone who gets it. You should think about becoming a... uh..." He squeezed his eyes shut trying to remember the word.

Bubbles knew exactly what he was going to say. She had heard it a thousand times, especially from her dad. 'Psychologist.' Everyone thought she'd be good at listening to other people's problems. It was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Criminal profiler! That's the one, because you'd be good at figuring out why people do stuff."

Bubbles blushed. She had been thinking about studying to become a programmer, but everyone always wanted her to get into a more girly profession. Becoming a criminal profiler would show them. She had always liked playing detective as a kid. Boomer understood her. That was so rare among all the guys she had gone on dates with.

She looked back up at him and sipped her drink.

He got embarrassed all of the sudden and looked away.

Bubbles giggled. "You're really cute."

Boomer couldn't stop himself from smiling. "Sorry, Ive never been on a date before."

"This is your first date? You're doing so well. You're such a good listener."

They quieted for a bit when their food came. Bubbles had ordered a meatless spaghetti while Boomer got a cheeseburger and fries. Bubbles' meal was so delicious and the conversation was so pleasant that she almost forgot to warn Boomer about herself.

"So, I should probably tell you," Bubbles started. "I have this thing about dating."

Boomer looked around like he was in trouble. "Oh?"

"I never go out with the same guy twice." She needed to say it out loud to set their expectations, even though it never stopped them from building expectations anyway.

"uh... okay." Boomer tilted his head. "Like, ever?"

"Never." That was Bubbles' rule and she was sticking to it.

"Huh." Boomer furled his eyebrows. "Why?"

Bubbles swirled her pasta looking for a way to explain it. Not enough guys ever asked her 'why?'. They always tried convincing her to rescind her rule without understanding why she had it. "I love love. I'm such a sucker for a romantic comedy, you know. But there's stuff I want to do before I fall in love."

"Wow. Okay..." Boomer looked at his remaining fries. "Like what?"

Bubbles smiled. No guy had ever actually asked her that one. "After graduation, I want to adopt a dog and drive around the country, seeing what there is to see, going wherever I feel like." Bubbles' chest fluttered, she could hardly wait.

"...Do whatever you want," Boomer said, wistful. He sighed. "I bet you're going to fall in love with someone great somewhere on that trip."

"Maybe," Bubbles said. "I don't think so."

They finished their meals at the small restaurant downtown. Boomer paid and they got back out to the busy Townsville streets. People walked by, looking at their phones, engrossed in whatever they were doing. Bubbles looked up from the bottom of a canyon of glass and steel and light. Starbursts, white strings adorning the light posts and red brakes on the cars that passed by, flowed around them in the dark blue night.

Boomer took a long breath looking at it with her.

"So, what do you feel like doing now?" Bubbles asked.

Boomer thought for a moment. "I want to watch a sunset."

"It's already nighttime." Bubbles kept her voice nice and sweet so he didn't get offended. "Where are we going to find a sunset?"

Boomer rose up into the air. He smiled with contentment at the sensation. "Come on."

Bubbles had momentarily forgotten he could do that too. She launched upwards to join him. The air rushed over her skin and for a moment, she was weightless, spinning through the sky. She felt alive.

Boomer swirled around next to her as he went faster and faster. They went over the ocean, breaking the sound barrier and went even faster. Bubbles had no idea where they were going and she liked it.

They found a sunset only a few minutes away and watched while sitting on a tropical island, orange and green on a black ocean.

Boomer looked off into the distance and spoke pensively. "Sometimes, I like to go as fast as I can. None of the bullshit can keep up and time slows down. For a few seconds, I'm free."

"Yeah! I feel like I've been fighting crime for so long, I forgot how good it feels to just... fly."

Boomer smiled for a moment, then it dropped right off his face. "Then you make it all the way around the world and you're back exactly where you started." He looked at the ground.

"That's not true." Her eyes caught his. "You guys aren't exactly bad anymore."

"Pretty sure I am. Kinda stole from that guy, Tyler."

"Yes, but you knew it was wrong and gave it back. That's progress."

"Hey, yeah. You're right." He smiled again.

"Weird what happens when you get away from your supervillain parents." Bubbles laughed and hugged him. He hugged back. He was strong, stronger than any guy she had gone out with before, but he was also gentle. He didn't squeeze like Buttercup always did. His embrace was gentle and kind.

The world fell around them. Bubbles held on while Boomer took them into space and around the moon. It got really cold, but she couldn't have cared less. Boomer shot faster, them both becoming rays of light. Saturn swirled around, rainbows shot through its rings. The stars twinkled and time really did slow down.

They landed in her driveway, still holding hands.

"I had a really good time," Bubbles said.

Boomer smiled. "Me too..." He ground his shoe into the concrete. "Do you want-"

"But, I don't want to give you the wrong idea."

"Oh..." Boomer deflated. "I thought we were having such a nice time..."

"We are." Bubbles touched his arm. "Best date I've ever been on." She took a step back. "But like I said, there's a lot of stuff I want to do, and a relationship is only going to get in the way."

"Yeah... Stuff." Boomer gave her a melancholy smile. " I get it."

Bubbles' heart ached for him. He was a great guy and it would take someone very special to truly appreciate him. That person just wasn't her.

She put her hand on the back of his head. "Don't explode."

"Wha-"

Bubbles gave him a good smooch. Then, to her surprise, she gave him another, and another. "Wow..." she said when they finally separated.

"Yeah..." Boomer whispered back.

Bubbles moved toward the front door. "I'll be sure to let all the girls know what a good kisser you are."

He looked at her dreamily. "Goodnight, Bubbles."

She blew him one last kiss and disappeared into the house.

None of her family was up, so she tried to be quiet and floated up the stairs. She first went into the bathroom where she washed off her makeup. She got into her nightie and quickly brushed her hair. As she pulled back the covers on her bed, she found someone already in it.

"Where were you? I've been texting." Blossom asked, groggily.

"I was on a date. I'm not even that late."

"Bubbles, it's 4AM."

"It is?" That couldn't possibly be right. She looked at her phone. She had three texts from Blossom, a bunch from Dee Dee, and the clock said 12:18. "No it's not, it's barely after midnight."

Blossom pointed the screen of her phone at Bubbles. It said 4:07.

"That's not right."

"It is, Bubbles." Blossom sat up. "Who were you out with?"

"A guy."

"Must be some guy if he had you out that late without you realizing it."

Bubbles smiled. "Yeah."

Blossom glanced at Bubbles' phone. "Why does your phone have the wrong time?" Her voice was deeper, awake.

Bubbles hid her phone from view. "I don't know."

"The only way that could happen is if-" Blossom sprang up. "You went into space, didn't you?"

"You know what, I guess I did."

"Who were you with, Bubbles?"

"In... space?"

"Yes."

"No one."

"Bubbles..." Blossom groaned.

Bubbles sighed. Blossom was going to find out either way. Someone was going to tell her. Even the geekiest geeks and nerdiest nerds heard all about what the popular group was doing. They had no privacy. But that was the burden of being popular. "Boomer," she admitted.

"Boomer!?" Blossom took a big breath to really let Bubbles have it. Then she let it all go, looking to the side. Her lips crumpled not really knowing what to say. She buried all the criticism, truly not needing to control her sister's every action. Bubbles was her own person, a person Blossom trusted.

"He's a really great guy and I had a lot of fun."

"But you're not going to go out with him again?"

Bubbles sighed. "No."

"Good." Blossom finally settled back into Bubbles' bed. Apparently, she was going to stay the night. They hadn't regularly shared a bed in the last few years and Bubbles always missed the company.

"No dating Butch or Brick."

"Barf and yawn." Bubbles rolled her eyes. "Brick has one of those faces you want to punch, you know?"

"Thank you for that." Blossom gave Bubbles a short hug and rested into her, falling asleep almost immediately.

Bubbles cuddled into her sister. She hadn't realized how tired she was. It had been a magical night. She wondered what the next day would bring.

Minutes later, despite her sleepiness, Bubbles lay awake. She couldn't shake the tingle of Boomer's lips on hers. Her heart fluttered anxiously.

---

Kindergarten

"If you would have stayed out of the way, my plan would have worked," Blossom pointed a finger at her sister.

Buttercup pointed right back. "You were in my way!"

"Your way won't work."

They went back and forth about who's way wouldn't work. Bubbles looked up at the monster with her hands on her hips. Neither of their ways was going to work, but she knew something that might.

The monster roared at her. Bubbles held her breath so she wouldn't have to smell it.

When it was finished, she looked up at it and took a breath. "Excuse me, Mr. Monster. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to stop destroying Townsville. We like our town very very much and I would appreciate it if you would just leave. Pretty please with sugar lumps on top?"

The monster looked at her for a few moments. Without another roar or act of aggression, it turned and went back into the ocean.

"Thank you!" Bubbles waved to the retreating monster. She twirled through the air and flew back down to her sisters. "There, that's how you get rid of a monster you big fat doodoo-headed wieners!" She turned had headed toward home.

"Jeez, I could have done that." Buttercup said.

"True," Blossom agreed. "That's the easy way."

They argued about who's way was better all the way home.

Chapter 7: Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf

Fifth Grade

Brick climbed up a pile of broken concrete to get to a skyway that connected two buildings. The old industrial district was a maze of abandoned factories, empty warehouses, and rusted equipment. Old people said the factories used to be the lifeblood of Townsville, whatever that was supposed to mean. The businesses left when the monster attacks intensified back in the '70's. Several buildings had rotting floors and caved-in roofs, lots of ways to get around without being seen and lots of nooks and crannies to hide in. Even the lead-based paint worked against x-ray vision.

He could feel them above his head buzzing around like hornets. They were on their routine patrol, splitting up to police the suburbs, wharf, and university, then coming back together above downtown. They left trails of light in their wake, visible even during the day, to remind everyone they were watching. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were looking for a fight, petty crime, unusual creatures, a random villain, anyone they could beat up.

Brick jumped off the roof of a factory into a storage yard. His feet hit the ground harder than he meant to. A resounding 'boom' echoed through the space. Brick chided himself, begging them not to notice.

Bubbles broke away from her sisters and flew down the alleys where old ladies got mugged by guys like him. She zig-zaged through them like she didn't care who she ran in to, and for the most part, it wouldn't matter.

Brick ducked between some crates and trash. It smelled funky and there was something sticky under his shoe, but he couldn't get caught, not alone and not right now. It wasn't that Brick couldn't take Bubbles, he could quickly beat her to a pulp if they went head to head. The thing was she'd immediately scream for her sisters. And even if he could incapacitate her before she could do that, Bubbles wouldn't rejoin the other girls when they went back into formation a few seconds later. Then, Blossom and Buttercup would retrace Bubbles' path and in an instant Brick would have two more Powerpuff Girls to fight. He was good, but not that good.

He held his breath, the smell was starting to get to him. Pressed into literal garbage, he didn't like it at all.

Bubbles twirled between the buildings in sweeping loops, humming a song to herself. Brick felt his hair sweep back in her wake and some of the crates fell over when she passed. She looped down another street and away from him.

Brick continued on his way. He shrugged his shirt out and scraped his shoe on the asphalt to get off whatever had stuck to it. His destination was up ahead, it wouldn't be long.

Word had it that the Gangreen Gang had discovered an entire train car full of pharmaceuticals buried in the dump. In fact, about half of what they found were opioids. Brick didn't know if it was true, but either way, the gang's drug business had suddenly taken off. Brick didn't want to talk to one of their street-dealers, he needed something special.

They had relocated to the old abandoned pickle factory. Nobody ever went down there anymore. There was no crew outside, too obvious. The Powerpuffs would have seen a bunch of low-lifes and investigated the area.

Brick knocked on a rusty steel door on the side of the building.

Big Billy opened the door. "Hello."

"I need to talk to your boss," Brick said.

"Okay. " Billy didn't move out of the way. He stood there with a ridiculous smile on his face. Brick didn't know if it was a power move or if the guy was that stupid. All Brick knew was that he was in a hurry.

"Who is it, Billy?" Arturo asked, coming up behind Billy.

"Red-hat boy want to see the baws," Billy said.

Brick stepped around Billy. "I need to talk to Ace."

"Shit!" Arturo nearly jumped out of his skin, then quickly recovered. "He's not here."

Brick took a few steps toward Arturo. "Look, I ain't here to start shit, but I can if I have to." He towered over the guy as much as Billy towered over Brick, but Brick didn't have a dumb smile on his face.

"Fine," Arturo led him to the back of their hideout. "He's back here." He opened a door. "Ace, we've got company."

Ace and Snake were sitting at a table playing cards. Grubber was at a chemistry station in a corner. Snake jumped on the table when he saw Brick. He drew a knife like he was ready to fight. Grubber pointed a propane burner at him, as if either could actually hurt him. Billy and Arturo kept behind him. There was a gun on the table in front of Ace, a toothless threat.

Ace remained exactly where he was with outstretched arms. "Brick, my old friend. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"I need something. I think you have it."

"Oh, what could the great Brick possibly need from us?" Ace laughed tauntingly, and his crew laughed with him, mocking from all directions.

Brick ignored it and placed a slip of paper in front of Ace.

"Sylo- Cyclo- Buter- Metha-" Ace stammered, sounding through parts of the word. "Doesn't matter. Yeah, I got it. I mean, I don't have any on me, but I can get it for ya's." He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Thing is, you gotta get me somethin'."

"I can pay you."

"Nah. See what you're asking for is special, I only got a limited supply." Ace pulled Snake off the table and motioned for the rest to chill, snapping his fingers and pointing in various directions. His crew went back to what they were doing and he sat back down.

Brick grimaced. Ace wanted a favor. He should have seen that coming. More shit to do, more time, and he still couldn't use his powers. "What do you want, Ace?"

"See there's this... uh, phone book..." Ace rolled his hand.

"Why do you want a phone book? Planning on making some prank calls?"

"Heh, nah. This one's more like a client list. One of Townsvile's biggest suppliers, he got himself pinched by the Powerpuffs. And the cops, they got his phone book. It's a list of all the people he was supplying for, High-rollers and such. It sure would be nice if we got our hands on that book."

"I get you the phone book, you get me the stuff I need?"

"It's being held at the courthouse evidence locker. I'd get it myself, but them Powerpuffs got this city locked tight. Someone with superpowers could probably get in."

If that was what it was going to take, Brick didn't have a choice. "When I get you the book, you better have the pills for me."

"Yeah, I'll grab 'em while you're out."

"You know what I'm going to do if you don't have actually have them, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, superpowers. Go," Ace said waving him off.

Brick turned and walked past Billy and Arturo. Snake eyed him on the way out.

---

There was some kind of parade or whatever in front of city hall, so there was a huge crowd. The Powerpuff Girls were there, talking to the mayor and the mayor's assistant.

Since they were distracted, Brick could blend into the crowd, then do whatever he wanted once he was in the building. He went in and dashed past the metal detector.

The evidence locker was on the fourth floor. Some recruit-level officer sat at a high desk typing something into his computer. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I need to get in there." Brick stood on his toes to look taller. He could barely see over the edge of the desk.

The peon looked down at him. "Sorry little boy, are you looking for your mommy-"

Brick jumped onto the desk, took the guy's face, and pushed it down into the plastic top. No one told him what he could and could not do. He let the guy take a couple ragged breaths before telling him what he wanted. "Open the door."

The officer reached for something on his belt. Brick broke that hand, snapping the bones. He didn't care what he was trying to do, it pissed Brick off that he wasn't immediately doing as he said. "Try something else, and I'll break your spine. Open the door. You have three seconds."

The guy whimpered, realizing the shit he was in.

"One."

"I need to type into the computer!" The peon interrupted.

"Fine."

The officer pressed a button and there was a loud 'buzz'.

Brick opened the door, dragging the whimpering peon with him. Brick wasn't leaving anything to chance. They went into the locker together, and Brick threw him onto the floor.

"Where are the drug cases?" Brick asked, pushing his weight into the guy's chest.

"I don't know! I've never been in here!" the peon pleaded.

Brick let his eyes glow. "Then you're useless."

"What's going on here?" An elderly officer in a police uniform strode down the stacks like he owned the place. The second he saw Brick, he drew his gun.

Brick lunged forward and crushed it in his hand, then he slammed the officer's head into the ceiling. He fell limp onto the floor. Bits of plaster rained down onto him, what a pathetic sight.

Two other officers appeared, their guns already drawn. They fired a single bullet each before Brick dispatched them. Their bullets bounced right off of him.

Brick punched the first in the head. Her skull slammed on the metal racks that held the boxes of evidence. The second he decided to get creative with. He twisted the officer's arm, pulling the hand that still held the gun to the officer's head. She hissed, weakly trying to pull it away.

Her eyes were terrified, but Brick had known worse. He didn't even want to be there. They had brought all of it on themselves by forcing him by getting violent first.

He wrapped his finger over hers and pulled the trigger next to her ear. 'BANG'

The bullet went into the radio on her shoulder, yet they all flinched. Brick never understood that, like guns were scary or something. Bullets were nothing. He shot all their radios and threw them into a pile on the floor. They huddled around each other.

"I'm looking for a phone book, he explained, "a list of drug buyers."

They all looked at each other, bewildered by what had happened.

Brick took a cleansing breath to regain his composure. Normal people scared so easily, but it was hard for scared people to think. One last breath, readjusting his cap and he was ready to continue.

"If you tell me where it is, I won't have to look for it. If I have to look for it, I might get frustrated." He narrowed his eyes at each of the officers. Their mouths and eyes moved but they didn't say anything.

"Fine." Brick picked up the old guy. his name tag indicated he was a captain. "I like to start at the top. The peon didn't know shit. But you look like someone important." Brick let his eyes glow with intensity.

"There." The captain pointed to a box on the rack. That always worked, every single time. "It's in there."

Brick opened the box and found a book wrapped in a plastic bag. It was a black leather composition book with strange writing and a bunch of numbers. He stuffed it into his shirt and went back to the captain.

"You have what you came for. Now go," he said.

"Fucking coward." Brick punched the captain in the gut for it. He went down like a bitch and Brick didn't even punch him very hard.

"Why are you doing this?" One of the other officers, one who's nameplate designated her as a sergeant, asked.

"I have my reasons." Brick punched her too, almost feeling bad that they went down so easy. "You should have let me in," he told the peon.

"None of you know who stole this thing," Brick explained. "Could have been anyone. Understand?"

The officers that were still conscious nodded meekly.

Brick left without another word, breaking the door handle so they couldn't get out. He quickly got back to the lobby, he had already wasted enough time.

Through the big windows of the courthouse building, Brick could see the Mayor and his squeeze were gone, as were most of the Powerpuffs. Only Buttercup stood there with her arms crossed, watching the crowd.

Buttercup, the best option. She'd want to fight him one-on-one and she wouldn't call her sisters for help. Though, once they started fighting her sisters would come see what was going on.

Too risky. No, he needed to get those pills. That was all that mattered. She'd see him if he tried to run and there was no back exit, but he could still blend in to the crowd. He pulled off his cap and shoved it into his pocket as far as it would go. It was a big red bullseye on his head.

He ran his fingers through his hair. It was long and shiny. Like his cap, it was his signature. He took really good care of it and nobody could take it away from him. It also made him stand out in a crowd. He had to get rid of it if he was going to get by Buttercup.

He went into the lobby's bathroom. There was a mirror with a crack on the corner. He broke it off and went into a bathroom stall. The base of his long hair went between his fingers. With a deep breath, Brick pulled the length of his hair against the edge. The strands came free and he dropped them into the toilet.

A quick check in the mirror and his hair still shined even in the dull florescent light. Brick swallowed, there was only one thing to do and he had to do it fast, he was in enemy territory. He scraped the edge of the glass against his skull and took off all the hair. He went as quickly as he could without attracting attention. In mere seconds, he was done. He looked like a kid with cancer, but totally different from how he usually did.

Buttercup was still there when Brick made it outside. He went into the crowd, so many adults towering over him. It was annoying, but he could deal with it for a minute.

Brick felt Buttercup's eyes scan over him. He kept walking like nothing was going on. None of the normal people even looked at him. Buttercup's vision passed through him and moved to the next section of the crowd.

Brick high-tailed it back to the Gangreen Gang's hideout, putting his cap back on before he knocked. Some new kid Brick didn't recognize answered instead of Big Billy. There were even more people inside, probably for protection. All had that same pale green pigmentation in their skin.

Brick found Ace right where he left him. "I got your stuff. Do you have mine?"

"Yeah, I got it." Ace shrugged. "You go first."

Figuring he had them all dead with a snap of his fingers if they didn't deliver, Brick pulled the book out of his shirt and placed it on the table in front of Ace.

"Oh! He did get it! Look boys!"

"Yep, that's it alright," Arturo said, thumbing through the pages.

"Now give me mine."

"Give it to him, Snake."

Snake appeared behind Brick and produced a bottle of pills.

Brick took it and unscrewed the top, inspecting the contents. There were 30 of them and from Brick's research, the pills looked right. Of course if they weren't, Brick would hunt down each and every one of them. "What am I supposed to do next month?" he asked.

"Brick, if this pans out you just made me a shit-ton of money. I'd offer you a partnership, but we're full up. So, how's about this, next month I'll give you my entire supply of that stuff. Should last you a good five years. Deal?" Ace stuck his hand out to shake.

Brick shook his hand. Five years of not having to worry about this. By then he could figure something out.

Ace leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Nice doin' business with yuz'. Now if you don't mind, we got a card game to get back to." he said with a half-smile.

Brick started on his way back. It was getting late and he was hungry, but he had what he needed, that was what mattered. He couldn't see or hear the Powerpuffs flying around, they must have gone home for the day, but he didn't want to press his luck. The sidewalks were probably fine as long as he didn't do anything to stand out.

He walked down Mercer Street toward the hideout. The buildings felt huge. It was like he was seeing them for the first time. He was always so used to seeing them from way above, but from the ground, they were so tall. Brick wondered if the normal humans ever felt like that.

"Well, well, well, What do we have here? Looks like I caught me a Rowdyruff."

Brick sighed, the voice breaking through his thoughts and giving him a headache. This was what he was trying to avoid by not using his powers. He put the pill bottle into his sweatshirt pocket and turned around to meet his challenger. "What do you want, Blossom?"

Blossom stood tall and raised her chin with a smile. "Nothing."

Buttercup and then Bubbles flew in from wherever they were to join their sister. Brick didn't take his eyes off of Blossom while they surrounded him.

"Uh oh. Too late." Blossom chuckled. "We got you. You're going to jail."

Brick growled. He was not going to jail, not ever. There'd be no one to break him out.

"Ya gonna cry?" Buttercup taunted. Bubbles and Blossom giggled like girls always did, like they were making fun of him.

Of course it would take all three Powerpuff Girls to take him down. They were always weaker than him and his boys. If they were going to fight, he was going to make sure it hurt.

"It didn't work that time," Blossom said.

"Doesn't matter, we're still gonna beat you up," Buttercup said.

"W- why?" Bubbles asked. "Why are we beating him up?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes and put her fists on her hips. "'Cuz he's a bad guy."

Brick couldn't argue that. He was bad, bad as they come.

"And he needs to be punished." Blossom spoke in that high and mighty voice, god he hated her.

"We don't beat up Mojo or Princess despite all they've done..." Bubbles argued weakly. "It's not right."

Blossom squinted and Brick felt the familiar tingle of being scanned by x-ray vision.

"Not doing anything, huh? What's that?" Blossom pointed to the bottle in Brick's sweatshirt pocket.

"None of your business!" Brick snapped. Flames shot out of his nose and he pivoted his sweatshirt behind his back so they couldn't see it. The girls recoiled. He lost his cool for a second. Brick took a controlled breath. He needed to get back to the hideout, and getting beaten up wasn't going to help him do that.

"The only reason he wouldn't tell us is because he has something to hide," Buttercup argued.

"It's obviously drugs," Blossom said. "And having drugs is against the law."

"I say we confiscate them." Buttercup came at him first with a kick. Brick sidestepped and punched her into Bubbles.

Blossom's fist broke across his face before he could react. Reality itself split through his skull.

Brick saw pink and unleashed his eyebeams, barbecuing Blossom.

Buttercup came back with a gut punch, Bubbles kicked him, and he went down. He couldn't breathe and used his arms to block their hits to his face.

They stopped beating on him for Blossom to reach into his sweatshirt pocket. Her fingers were like a claw ripping him open. She grasped at the pill bottle.

Brick gripped her wrist to stop her when Bubbles punched him in the face. Buttercup pinned his arms and Blossom reached in.

They were going to take it. He couldn't fail. Not now, not when he was so close.

The sky was red. Every part of his body hurt and the pain wouldn't stop. A demon stuck her claw through his belly, ripping him apart, over and over and over.

Brick cried out. Chemical X collected in his chest. Everything was fire and his skin exploded. The Powerpuff Girls were blasted away.

He was back up, floating above a crater. Smoke rose into the darkening sky. Dirt and chunks of asphalt rained down around him.

One chance, Brick made sure the pills were still secure and took off toward his brothers. He had no idea how he did that explosion thing, but he didn't have time to think about it. It was a straight line to the old car factory and the red streak he left in the air was a dead giveaway. He made a hard left and landed to double back. He made it to his hideout in time to see the girls hot on his trail.

"Where'd he go?"

"Search for him!"

"Quick! He could be anywhere in the city by now!" They used their x-ray vision to look for him in the wrong direction.

Satisfied they weren't going to find him, he descended the steps into a monster bunker that had been built under one of the factories. It was made of steel and concrete, x-ray vision wouldn't work there, the Powerpuff Girls would never find him. It was dusty and the floor was always wet, but it was safe.

The door scraped open. Butch and Boomer were huddled in a corner.

Butch shook, his head swung back and forth, and his shoulders were permanently tensed at his ears. Boomer held him from behind, bite marks on his arms where Butch tried to chew his way out of his grip.

"I got your medicine, Butch." Brick opened the bottle and fished out a pill.

"What took you so long?" Boomer asked.

"I got held up by the Powerpuffs. Hold him still."

Boomer held on tighter while Brick put the pill near Butch's lips. "Butch, open your mouth."

Butch swung his head the other way. "NO! STOP!" He thrashed around trying to get Boomer off of him, chewing his tongue. He kicked at Brick.

"It's over, you're okay," Boomer said.

Butch bit into Boomer's arm as hard as he could. Boomer saw it coming and made his skin tougher. Butch's front teeth cracked and broke right out of his mouth. He screamed with jagged bits of bone sticking out of his face.

"Calm him down!"

"What do you want me to do!? Sing him a song!?"

Brick clenched his jaw and pinched Butch's nose.

"BRICK! HELP!" Butch pleaded, blood pouring out of the empty holes in his gums and partially chewed off tongue. "MAKE THEM STOP! PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!" He sucked air in rapid breaths, like his lungs couldn't get enough.

Brick stuck the pill into Butch's mouth and closed it. He squeezed Butch's jaw shut with one hand and massaged his throat with the other. "Swallow, Butch, fucking swallow."

Butch swallowed, one eye half open, pleading with Brick to make the torture stop, as if Brick could have stopped it. He and Boomer held Butch down.

Butch finally went limp and Boomer and Brick let go of him.

Brick collapsed and squeezed his temples. Boomer walked around to get some distance from what had happened. What a fucking day.

"Did they beat you up?" Boomer asked.

Brick turned away, he could probably see the bruises. His body still hurt from from the fight, but he shrugged it off. "Yeah."

"We thought you ditched us for good."

Brick's teeth clenched and his hand went to the bald head under his cap. He reminded himself to kick both their asses for thinking that he would leave them. "Fuck you."

"Is it going to work?" Boomer asked.

Butch sobbed in the corner, his shakes calmed to a persistent shiver. The pill was starting to affect him.

Brick wished he could make Butch forget. He wished they could all forget. But it was finally over. They could all forget again, at least until the next time they died. Hell would always be waiting for them.

Chapter 8: The Winner

The Winner

Fifth Grade

Blossom was sick of this game. Brick had disappeared into thin air somehow. For an hour she and her sisters had been combing through abandoned buildings in the old industrial district. Their x-ray vision wasn't really helping. It didn't work very well through all the concrete.

He had to be somewhere close, Blossom would have noticed if he had flown or run away. She would search all night if she had to.

How did Brick create that explosion? He wasn't supposed to be able to do that. The Rowdyruffs didn't manifest new powers every day.

The sun had already set below the horizon. They would have to get home before the light faded.

Blossom rose high into the air to do one last check before calling off the search. Brick was right there, standing on the sidewalk a few blocks north looking at her, watching. He casually waited for her to notice him, as if he wasn't on the run.

"Girls!" Blossom called to initiate the attack. While they were catching up, she couldn't help but descend to confront him, landing gracefully on the pavement.

His injuries had disappeared, his black eye had vanished. He kept his stance relaxed, like nothing had happened. If he was going to act like she wasn't even there, she would have to make the first move.

Blossom charged at him with her knee poised and ready.

Brick dodged at the last moment and followed up with a punch at her head.

Blossom blocked and Buttercup charged in from the side. They finally had him, and he wasn't going to get away again.

Butch came from out of nowhere and grabbed Buttercup by the shoulder, slamming her to the ground. He had a crazed look in his eye, at least, more crazed than usual.

Buttercup broke free of his hold and they started fighting, screaming curses and savagely beating each other like wild animals.

Bubbles took a deep breath and let out a sonic scream, trying to stun Butch. She was cut off before reaching full volume when Boomer gave her a quick strike to the throat. Bubbles gasped on her own breath.

Blossom grit her teeth. Brick smirked. It was a trap, and she had fallen for it. Her overconfidence had gotten the better of her. She needed to come up with a plan.

The best way to beat Brick was to stop him in his tracks. Blossom launched into the air and blew a chilling frost.

Flames erupted out of Brick's mouth.

Ice met fire. Blossom blew harder. Steam and smoke burned her face. Brick's breath was too intense. Before Blossom could even push out all the air in her lungs, the fire overwhelmed her frost and she was engulfed.

Blossom waved her hands around to clear the air so she could take a breath without coughing.

Brick stepped through the smoke and punched her in the head. She smashed into the pavement, crumbling the street and burying her in asphalt.

Before she had the chance to defend herself, Brick slammed his knee into her chest, crushing her further into the ground.

Blossom rolled her head, trying to keep moving through the pain. Something rolled in her mouth and she spat out a tooth.

Brick picked her out of the rubble by the collar of her dress and punched her in the face. A burst of pain exploded out of her cheek and then her head hit something hard.

Blossom whimpered. She could hardly move her arms, her legs gave out, and she took rapid deep breaths that did absolutely nothing.

Brick had her. He stood there, still. A passive look on his face, except for his eyes. Those eyes hated her.

"Do it," Blossom croaked. "Kill me."

"What?"

"Come on, do it." Blossom glared at him with all of her remaining strength. "Kill me."

"I'm not gonna kill you." Brick's eyes narrowed. He dropped her into the crater their fight had made.

Blossom pulled herself up so to a sitting position, though she had to lean on a pile of broken asphalt. "Then why are you beating us up?"

"Hey! You jumped me! Twice! Not so tough when you aren't fighting three-on-one."

Blossom tongued the gap in her teeth where a small replacement was already regrowing.

Brick took off his hat to smooth his hair, but all the hair on his head was gone. There were a few patches where it was not totally clean-shaven, but the rest had disappeared. Did he cut it off? Why would he do that? His hand didn't find the hair and he curled his fingers into a fist. "None of this would have happened if you had minded your own business!"

It was quiet after Brick's outburst. Blossom couldn't hear Bubbles and Boomer, much less Butch and Buttercup. And Brick hadn't attacked, that didn't bode well.

"From now on, you leave me and my brothers alone, and we'll leave you alone."

"I'm not going to stop if you continue to commit crimes."

"Then you're gonna get your ass kicked a lot."

Blossom spit out another tooth. "You're a criminal. That's all you'll ever be. Not killing me won't change that."

He glared at her, knowing it was true. "See you around, Blossom." He took off with his brothers following him.

Blossom let the Chemical X finish its work. The cracks in her bones mended, her arms remembered some of their strength, and her vision began to normalize. She climbed out of the hole and found Buttercup beaten to a pulp, unable to move, but still awake. Bubbles was nearby, crouching in a corner with her arms crossed over her face and her head turned away.

She pulled Buttercup over to Bubbles and they held each other there, healing. The boys had only won because they had set up an ambush. Blossom didn't know Brick was that smart. It wouldn't happen again. Blossom would only come back stronger and smarter.

---

Sophomore Year - September

"I think we're done here," Brick said, strutting out the door. Boomer followed behind him.

Principal Butte plopped down in his office chair, his eyes fixated on the ringing phone. It was already settled. Blossom's mom was going to fire him.

Blossom decided it was best if she removed herself from the situation. She shared a look with the receptionist on the way out of the administration office.

Brick was outside the office door with Boomer. "Get back to class," he said and Boomer zipped away.

Blossom wanted to pass, but Brick would think that meant he had won. And Blossom wasn't okay with that. She put her hands on her hips and confronted him. "You think you're so smooth, don't you."

"What?" He said in that patronizing tone. "Justice was done, I thought you'd be happy."

"That was as far from justice as you are from being a hero."

Brick got in Blossom's face. "Do you believe everything an authority figure tells you?" he taunted. "Did you really not see Mike when you watched that video?"

Blossom shook, her fingers curled, and her lips pursed. Mike wasn't in the video when she reviewed it with Principal Butte before the boys had arrived, he had appeared out of nowhere.

"Or did you just not want to see him?" Brick asked.

Blossom walked away, not dignifying that with an answer.

"Yeah, walk away. Is that what a hero does?"

Blossom turned back. "As if human excrement like you could ever understand what a hero does." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and didn't care what he said while he followed her back to the class they shared.

He didn't say anything and they took their seats in AP European History, Blossom in front and Brick in the back.

Blossom wouldn't let Brick's presence bother her any longer. She sat straight in her seat, ready to learn. Their second unit of the year was ancient Greece, a subject she absolutely adored, though Mr. Luzinsky was near retirement and had a habit of going on tangents.

Blossom started writing, noting every little detail. Her pen skated over the page in fluid strokes. The strokes got shorter as the instructor made a joke in Greek. Blossom wrote the phrase phonetically to translate later, she wanted to catch everything.

Brick shifted his weight in his chair, leaning back with his arms crossed. The imbecile wasn't even taking notes. He was so full of himself he probably thought he didn't need to. And Blossom had to share all four of her AP classes with him. She should have been enjoying the pleasure of a rigorous education, instead her life had become a living nightmare.

While Mr. Luzinsky had his back turned, busy diagramming Plato's methodology on the whiteboard, Soyun Chen leaned toward Brick and whispered something into his ear.

Blossom's notebook ignited like a match when she crossed a 'T' a little too quickly. She hadn't realized she was using super speed to keep up with the teacher.

She sighed and iced the page before any more smoke could waft into the air. The page itself was ruined, which meant the entire notebook was ruined. That tiny burn mark would eat at her as long as she had to stare at it. Her perfect notes were no longer perfect. Brick chuckled behind her.

Blossom did the only thing that could be done. With her eyes closed because she couldn't look, she ripped the page out of the book. She crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the trashcan from where she was sitting on the other side of the classroom. Everyone was watching her of course, the teacher had paused his lecture. But Blossom was accustomed to having an audience. She sat, back straight and chin up, with her pen ready for him to continue.

Mr. Luzinsky started talking again, telling a small tale from the history of the Second Persian Invasion of Greece and how the Greeks heroically defended their homeland from the barbaric Persians-

"Hold on," Brick said, not bothering to raise his hand and have the teacher call on him. "Hadn't the Persians outlawed slavery and given women equal status to men?"

"Y- y- yes," Mr. Luzinsky stammered. "It is true that Zoroastrianism forbid slavery, so it was nearly unheard of among the Achaemenids. And it is also true that women in the Persian Empire could own land and received equal pay." He adjusted his bow tie and regained his composure. "However, the Greeks gave us Sophocles, Plato, and Aristotle and formed the foundation of western civilization-"

"But not science, though, right?" Brick said. "We saw what they did to the Ionian Greeks."

The instructor's hands balled into fists as he ramped up to his point. "Brick, you must understand. Democracy might well have been strangled in its crib."

Brick snorted. "Then Alexander the Great would conquer all of Greece and they wouldn't see democracy again for two thousand years."

"Yes but-"

"Democracy kinda sucks anyway," Soyun said. "What's the mayor on, like, his tenth term?"

"Twelfth," Hanout corrected her.

"Does that even count as democracy?"

"Yes," Suzy said impassively.

Soyun turned to her. "You're going to tell me he won twelve straight mayoral races without any profiteering, backroom deals, or anything?"

"The mayor hasn't done any of that," Blossom said.

"As long as everyone gets to vote, it counts as democracy," Suzy said.

Soyun rolled her eyes.

"Children, let's return to the topic." Mr. Luzinsky said.

"My favorite takeaway from Ancient Greece is by Thucydides." Brick cracked his knuckles. "The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must."

Mr. Luzinsky closed his eyes in exasperation. "...indeed." He sat at his desk, holding up his head by his temples.

He couldn't hijack the teacher's lecture like that. Someone needed to take Brick down a peg. "So why don't you?" Blossom asked, turning back in her seat.

Brick squinted his eyes at her. "Why don't I what?"

"Do what you can. It should be easy." Blossom cocked her head and smiled. "Unless you don't actually have the power."

Brick glared at her, caught between always needing to get the last word and not having anything to say. "Because..."

Her victory in their latest skirmish made Blossom smile. For someone who didn't like being called a child, he sure did act like one. She sat forward and motioned for the teacher to continue.

"Of course, we all know where real power comes from. Money!" Princess declared. "Money can buy armies. Money can buy politicians. Money can even buy love. Money is the only real power."

"French Revolution, Princess," Robin said.

"That only happened because the ruling class was bad at using money. If you do it right, it never runs out."

"It doesn't matter how much gold a person possesses when another is rich in technology," Dexter said. "One cannot transmute gold into a fusion reactor. It must be formulated, molded, and manufactured. The keeper of these skills has more power than their patron simply because they cannot create it themselves. They are forced to purchase it."

"Is there a smarter class I can transfer into?" Suzy asked, holding up her head with her hand pressed into her cheek.

"What about blackmail?" Mordecai asked. "Like if I had dirt on you that you didn't want to get out, but I didn't accept money. Knowledge is power."

"That's foolish, Morty. Everyone has their price." Princess smiled sadistically. "And, even if you don't, I'll pay Brick to destroy the evidence."

Brick crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"And if the evidence is on the internet?" Mordecai asked. "Good luck trying to figure out what server it's on. You could totally hold anyone in check with the right information and a good internet connection."

"There is power in numbers," Robin said. "Especially when those people are poor. The rich rely on them for cheap labor. So even if the upper classes could eradicate the lower classes, who would work the fields? Who would scrub the toilets?"

"Robots," Dexter said.

Robin groaned. "Robots aren't that good yet. If they were, why hasn't all physical labor been replaced already?"

"It is only a matter of time," Dexter said.

The class fell silent at that. The teacher sighed with his head still in his hands.

Brick stood up. "Dex is right. It is only a matter of time." He walked to Blossom's desk, grabbed the sides of the wood, and glared down at her with that self-satisfied smirk. Not again. How many tantrums could he throw in one day? Blossom watched him, bemused by his attitude.

"Let's do it, right now, me and you." He gave her an actual smile. "No more games. Why don't we finally have the battle that will destroy one of us and probably all of Townsville?"

Soyun laughed from her seat in the back. Dexter eyed over his glasses at the situation. Suzy groaned loudly. Princess grinned with anticipation. Robin looked off into space and made a weird face at no one.

It was a lie. He didn't mean any of it. He was mad at her getting the better of him earlier, an attempt to prove that he does do what he can.

Then she felt his hand shake. It was so subtle, a normal human would have registered it as a normal flutter of muscle, but Brick wasn't a normal human. Another twitch reverberated through the desk, then another in the other hand. She could feel his fatigue, he wasn't at 100%. There must have been a monster attack in the middle of the night. He didn't get enough sleep and he was probably still down a significant amount of Chemical X.

Blossom had enjoyed a full night of undisturbed sleep. If they were going to fight, she would beat him. She could even destroy him. He knew that, even Brick wasn't arrogant enough to think he could beat her at half-power. Yet his eyes dared her to make a move.

The bell for next period rang. "Class dismissed," Mr. Luzinsky said, still not having stirred from his desk. "Pick up your tests on the way out."

Blossom stood and slung her bag over her shoulder to go to her next class, bumping him as she passed. Brick didn't move.

There was a small table next to the door with the graded tests they had taken earlier in the week. Blossom found hers near the end. A big red 100 was written on it, a perfect score. Blossom never settled for anything less.

Brick picked up his with Soyun right behind him. There, in the same red marker, was an impossible 102.

What!? It was literally not-possible. There were no extra credit sections of the test. How could he get extra points? Whatever grading system Mr. Luzinsky used was far too loose.

Blossom kept her chin high. She was already on track for her A+ and two measly points wasn't going to stop her from earning her spot as their class valedictorian.

Her next class included most of the same students, including Brick. In fact she'd have to put up with him for most of the day, an annoyance she could not escape. She had to spend four hours a day, five days a week within twenty feet of him.

He was the reason she was always pushing herself further. As childish as he could be, he always kept her on her toes. Brick was also on-track for becoming class valedictorian.

She sighed, moving through the throngs of students. She could have done it, she could have ended it right there and won for all time. So why didn't she?

"Because, what would the winner do tomorrow?"

Notes:

I got a question about powers from VoraciousSquire in the comments about what exactly their powers are. If you want a good rundown of how the main six have evolved since kindergarten and why they have the powers they have, you can read my far-longer-than-it-should-have-been answer there. It is in the comments section under chapter 5.

Soyun Chen is a character from an episode of Dexter's Lab. She created the Unified Theory of World Domination and Destruction.

Mr. Luzinsky and Douglas Mordecai are recurring Dexter's Lab characters.

Chapter 9: Party Girl

Party Girl

Sophomore Year - September

Bubbles pulled on a comfy pair of pajamas, made herself a hot cup of tea, and fired up her laptop for a nice romantic comedy. It was the rare Saturday when she didn't have a date, and she was looking forward to some 'me-time'.

She had just started streaming 'The Diary' and wrapped herself up in her blanket when a pair of texts chimed on her phone. Both were from Dee Dee.

[We're going to the party]
[I'll pick you up in an hour. Be ready.]

Bubbles typed out a response. [I thought you didn't want to go. Why the change of heart?]

[Beau will be there]

Bubbles should have expected that. She opened her closet to pick an outfit with a sigh. Now she'd have to spend the next two hours getting ready to go to a party she didn't want to go to anyway. She texted back and forth with Dee Dee to coordinate.

There was a light knock at her door that indicated either Blossom or her mom. "Come in."

Blossom entered her room and threw herself onto Bubbles' bed.

"Yes?" Bubbles asked, pulling a knot-front crop top over herself to see how it might look paired with shorts.

"I have nothing to wear," Blossom mumbled into Bubbles' sheets.

"Yes you do, you have tons of stuff."

"And Jared has already seen me in all of it."

"Would you like to borrow something?" Blossom and Bubbles regularly shared clothes, being nearly the same size and shape was awfully convenient, it was almost like doubling your wardrobe.

"He's already seen me in your stuff too."

"You could try Buttercup."

"She wouldn't even let me look," Blossom grumbled. "I don't want to wear her drab punk clothes anyway."

Bubbles took a breath and hung up everything she knew she didn't want. She rolled onto her bed and came face to face with her sister. They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments.

"Here's what you do, find a top you haven't worn in a while and pair it with a skirt that you have never paired it with. Go with something daring, really knock his socks off." She bounced off the bed again and went back into her closet. "And use an accessory you save for special occasions."

Blossom sat up like she had had an epiphany. "I'll do just that. Thank you, Bubbles." She laid back down. "Looks like you're getting ready for a date."

Bubbles made sure her door was locked. "No date," she whispered, just in case. "I'm going to that party with Dee Dee."

Blossom's nose wrinkled knowing exactly what party Bubbles was talking about. "Gross. Why?"

"Because she wants to go and I need to keep her out of trouble."

"That guy right? What was his name?"

"Beau. It's an on-again off-again thing with them."

"How so?"

"She only likes him when he doesn't like her. If he shows the slightest bit of interest, she is already over him. Then, she gets jealous if he even talks to another girl."

"Sounds toxic."

"Yeah..." Blossom didn't know the half of it, but DeeDee was her best friend and she wouldn't leave her. "I need to save her from herself."

Blossom sighed. "That shouldn't be your burden."

"We're superheroes, its what we do."

---

Blossom came down the stairs slowly, letting her boyfriend take in the view. She had decided on a striking pink skirt with a black blouse and a pair of black heels. At Bubbles' suggestion, she had a black purse that had a rose gold plated chain strap around her shoulder. She had spent the last hour and a half on her hair and makeup. The combination must have had the desired effect, he stood up from his seat on the couch with his mouth hanging open. Bubbles did tell her to knock his socks off.

"Hi Jared."

He was wearing his usual pastel shirt with a tie and khaki chinos. "Blossom, you look incredible," he said, breathless.

"Thank you."

"He is right, you look immaculate, honey," Blossom's father said with a proud smile. "And where are you taking my daughter tonight, Jared?"

Jared's hand rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhhhh..."

"Jared, surely you have something planned for my lovely daughter." Blossom's mother said, advocating against male laziness.

"Well, I have reservations at Brannigan's and I thought we could see a movie."

Brannigan's was more of a family restaurant than a couple spot. Reservations were not required. It wasn't like Blossom expected to dine at the Moonlight Room, but Brannigan's was a little uncultured.

She swallowed the thought down, determined to have a good time. She had had a difficult week and deserved to enjoy herself.

After saying goodbye to her mom and dad, they retreated to Jared's car, an old silver sedan. Jared was a perfect gentleman and opened her car door for her. The short drive was pleasant enough, though they didn't say much to each other. The Brannigan's was located in a shopping center only five minutes away.

They got to the restaurant and took their table. Jared ordered the chicken parmesan, while Blossom ordered a walnut chicken salad. The waiter took their menus and left them alone again. Blossom felt overdressed sitting among the tacky memorabilia on the walls.

"So..." Jared smiled with unease. His fingers drummed on the table while he looked for something to say. "How has your week been?"

"A living Hell," Blossom said.

Jared looked at her sympathetically. "Is he really-"

"You know what, Jared, I don't want to talk about it."

Jared straightened his tie and cleared his throat. "Of course not."

Blossom sighed silently. Jared fidgeted with the silverware.

Blossom decided to break the silence. "What movie did you want to see?"

"Oh, I think there's a romantic comedy in theaters."

"The Promposal. We saw it last week."

A look of recognition ran over Jared's face. "Right," he pursed his lips in disappointment. "Right..."

If Blossom was honest, she preferred something with more action. She was a secret fan of the Rapid and the Raging movies. She, Bubbles, and Buttercup made it a point to see all of them together. Each one was more ridiculous than the last, but somehow, also more relatable. Even a serious drama would have been a good choice. Anything but another bland story about a girl falling in love with a guy.

"Um," Jared said, getting her attention. "How has crime-fighting been lately?"

"Lighter than usual. A jewelry store robbery, only two random muggings, and I've been tracking what I think may be some white-collar crime." She couldn't say any more about her investigation, though she doubted anyone involved would willingly dine at Brannigan's.

"Wow, Blossom, that's amazing. You're so talented. I admire your dedication to the city."

"Thank you." She gave him a smile and tried to make it as genuine as possible. Jared's unique brand of praise always made her uncomfortable for some reason. He said all the right things, and he said them in the right way. It really did make Blossom feel seen and validated. Why did it feel wrong?

The waiter served the food with a garish "bone-appeteet" that grated on Blossom's nerves.

Blossom poked her fork through the food on her plate. The salad tasted fine. The lettuce wasn't as crisp as it could have been and the dressing left something to be desired.

"What have you been up to this week?" she asked, looking up at Jared.

She caught him mid-fork-in-mouth. He looked around, chewing slowly, finally swallowing. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Not nearly as exciting as protecting Townsville."

"I think I could use a little boring in my life. How is your robotics club?"

"It's great. Mandark has been leading a series of lectures on his custom AI scripting language."

"AI, interesting. Tell me more about that."

Jared started describing what he had learned and Blossom stopped listening after the first few sentences. She felt distanced from him for some reason. He talked between bites while she finished her meal. The waiter asked if they wanted anything else. Jared looked like he was considering something for dessert.

Blossom squeezed his hand over the table to catch his attention. "I have an idea. Let's skip the movie and go to a bookstore."

Jared gave her a genuine smile and squeezed back. He paid and they made their way to a bookstore in the same shopping center.

Blossom looked through the new releases at the front, mostly current events and inspirationals, nothing caught her eye. Jared hovered behind her while she looked them over. She could feel his unease at not knowing whether to stay with her or go off on his own.

"Jared, you can go to the sci-fi section if you want. I'll meet you in the reading section in 20 minutes."

He gave her a weary smile "Okay." And he was off.

Blossom made her way to the history section, wanting to find something to round out her study of Ancient Greece. The section was separated by time period, she found the Classical Antiquities around the corner, near the board games. She scanned the authors, running up the alphabet, when she bumped into someone.

"Sorry, my fault," Boomer said.

---

Some people had parked their cars in the empty lot and had their stereos blaring, each trying to outdo the others, creating a cacophony of noise. A whole group of people were throwing empties, watching the glass shatter on the concrete. A steel drum had a fire going. A bunch of people had gathered around throwing things in, seeing what they could burn. Clouds lingered over clumps of people smoking weed.

Mitch pulled Buttercup closer to himself. His arm felt oddly protective on her waist. It was annoying considering if anything happened, she would be the one carrying him out.

They got inside and Mitch started looking around for his new boyfriend. It took literal seconds for them to find each other.

"Dude!" Butch said with his arms outstretched, and an open beer in each hand. Harry and Pablo flanked him on either side.

Mitch bumped his fist and took the beer that was offered to him. Buttercup was livid.

"We got beer pong set up over here." Butch waved for them to follow.

Mitch tried to follow, pulling her with his arm still around his waist.

Buttercup wouldn't budge. "I'm not hanging out with him."

Mitch shook his head. "Then why are we here?"

"To drink and have fun. And we can do that with literally anyone else."

Mitch threw up his arms. "Come on, babe. He's not a bad guy."

"Yes," Buttercup said flatly. "He is."

"Mitch, what's the hold-up?" Butch came back and walked right up to her. "B-Cup's being a bitch?"

Buttercup clenched her jaw. "Fuck you."

Butch smiled. "Sure. You want it on the couch?"

Buttercup growled. "How about we have that fight instead?" She stepped up to him, getting in his face. "I've been itching to make someone my bitch."

Butch rolled his eyes. "Catch me tomorrow." He turned back toward the beer pong table. "You coming, Mitch?"

Mitch gave her a strange look. "Do you mind, babe?"

Buttercup crossed her arms over her chest. "Whatever."

"Cool." Exactly the wrong answer. "Go grab a drink. I'll come find you after the first game." Mitch practically ran to catch up to Butch, Harry, and Pablo. That fucking asshole was trying to steal her friends. Even worse, he was succeeding.

Buttercup had one mission: get shit-faced. There were a few beer cases scattered around and there was a keg. But Buttercup wanted to get drunk and she wanted to get drunk fast. All the hard stuff was in the kitchen, and the 'kitchen', if a moldy break room could be called a kitchen, was too crowded with people looking for drinks.

She wandered through the crowd for the next few minutes and seriously contemplated leaving when a shotglass full of brown alcohol dropped into her vision, Brick was holding it.

"Thanks," Buttercup said before taking it to her lips. She slammed the glass onto a makeshift table, wincing at the burn in her mouth.

He leaned on the wall across from her with a beer in his hand, surveying the party. There was a bottle of Jim Daniels on the table in front of him.

"So, are you ever going to call me in?" she asked.

"Maybe." Brick took a drink. "Nothing to call you in for yet. Took out the last monster by myself."

"How many is that now?"

"Counting the squid, three." Brick poured two shots and placed one in front of Buttercup.

"That's a heavy week and a half."

Brick snorted. "Yeah."

They took their shots together. The whiskey tasted like piss, but it would eventually get her drunk, that was all she cared about.

"This party sucks," Buttercup said.

Brick snorted. "What more do you want? There's free booze, a dance floor down the hall, and Butch set up beer pong."

"Your asshole brother can suck a dick."

Brick smirked at her and poured another two shots. "I knew I liked you for a reason." He handed her one and they drank.

Buttercup hissed. The liquid in her mouth made her dry heave. She pushed it down and didn't spit it out.

If he noticed, Brick didn't say anything about it.

It was weird. She didn't hate him for some reason, but they were still far from friends. They had fought each other, one on one. And even though he won, he didn't act superior to her or anything. Butch would have been gloating. Hell, Buttercup would have been in the middle of reminding him of how much he sucked at fighting if she had won.

The alcohol hit her like a freight train. The floor tilted and Buttercup felt lighter. She needed to brace herself on the table to keep from falling over.

Brick chuckled. "This your first time?"

"No. I just did three shots real quick." Buttercup couldn't explain it any better than that.

"You'll get used to it."

"Brick!" Butch waved over the crowd at him.

"Looks like it's my turn to kick Butch's ass at beer pong." He started walking toward where the tables were set up.

He was quickly stopped by an older guy whose stretched out shirt didn't completely cover his bulging belly. His beard went all the way down his neck and merged with his chest hair. Buttercup could smell him from where she stood, he smelled like he hadn't showered in a week.

"Uh, hi. I'm Leo." He held his hand out for Brick to shake.

Brick looked at him like he was offering him garbage.

He dropped his hand when he realized Brick wasn't going to take it. "Look, I wanted to say, you are the coolest guy."

Apparently Brick had a stalker. Buttercup couldn't help but laugh.

Brick glared up at him. "Fuck off before I kick your ass."

"Oh please," he said, breathing heavily. "It would be an honor."

Brick set his jaw and ignited his fist in a dim red flame. "Do you have a death wish?"

The creepy stalker licked his lips. "Yes."

Brick's eye twitched. He was really thinking about killing him. Buttercup tensed at the thought that she might need to stop him. The guy was creepy, but that didn't mean he needed to get sent to the ER. The booze was making her head fuzzy. While she felt lighter, her fists felt like they had steamrollers attached to them and she couldn't see for shit.

The guy took a step forward, reaching his fat fingers out.

Before he could do anything, a white cloth wrapped itself over his face. The stalker struggled, screaming into it. His stubby arms flailed uselessly for a few seconds before falling limp.

He fell to the ground revealing Soyun Chen standing behind him. She held the cloth in one hand. There was a purple stain at the center. The stalker writhed on the ground at her feet.

Soyun crouched down over the shaking boy. "Hey little piggy. Why don't you run around and 'oink' for me."

The stalker got to his hands and knees and started snorting like a pig.

"What the fuck!?" Buttercup backed up a couple of steps, not being able to fathom what she was seeing.

The stalker crawled around on all fours, sniffing the ground and snorting. He wandered into the crowd with everyone laughing.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Buttercup didn't like that someone could have that effect on a person's mind.

"My own formula." Soyun held up a vial of purple liquid. "It makes whoever breathes it open to suggestion. I like to use it on creeps."

"Do you guys know each other?" Brick asked.

Soyun Chen. Buttercup eyed her, remembering the series of riots she had instigated. It took Blossom a week to figure out who it was and how they were doing it. Soyun was never actually arrested because spreading misinformation through the internet was apparently not a crime. "Yeah, we've met."

Soyun raised the whiskey bottle at her, then took a swig from it.

Buttercup tapped her shotglass onto the table before sliding it at Soyun. "That effect wear off?" she asked, glaring.

Soyun chuckled, pouring a shot. "He'll wake up with a wicked hangover and a lot of embarrassing videos." She slid the filled shotglass back to Buttercup. "But he will be fine."

Brick squinted into the crowd. "What the fuck was with that guy?"

"I know, right." Buttercup took the shot. "He didn't even try to grab your boobs."

---

"Aren't your brothers throwing a party right now?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah, so?"

Blossom remained passive, like she expected him to continue. Eventually, he would. It was the best way to get someone to elaborate. Most people subconsciously found silence uncomfortable.

"Just because they do something, that doesn't mean I have to too."

"Fair point. Why are you here?"

Boomer put his hands in his pockets and lowered his head. "I don't know. We have money now, so I went to get some food at Four-Guys and I saw the bookstore. And Brick's always telling me to read more books, so I came in to look at some guitar books. I wanted to learn Free Bird, but all I could find was books on birds, you know, the ones that fly, and I was like 'maybe Bubbles would like an animal book.' But they were all for kids or something. Plus, it sounded weird when I thought about it. So I was looking at the games."

"Candid." Blossom was quite taken aback by the torrent of information she had received.

Boomer looked confused for a moment. "What do you think of this game?" He picked up a dice game box. It was titled 'Elements'. "I thought it might be fun."

Blossom focused on his face. "Why does it interest you?"

"I don't know. It looks cool, easy to play." He studied the back of the box. "Do you want to play it with me?"

After he made his purchase, Boomer sat at a table in the attached coffee shop and familiarized himself with the rules while Blossom ordered a decaf iced coffee. He gave her on overview when she arrived at the table. The object of the game was that you had a certain number of dice and you risked them by rolling against the other player. It used symbols of the four classical elements in addition to lightning and ice instead of the dimples regular dice had. Certain 'elements' overcame others. The outcome meant you either had to forfeit your dice or received them back. The first player to run out of dice lost the game. It was highly simplistic for Blossom's taste, but Boomer seemed to enjoy it.

"Do you play board games often?" Blossom asked, rolling her first move.

Boomer rolled after she did. "Not really. Butch and Brick only like poker." He studied the results of the roll and took two of Blossom's dice out and handed them to her. The rules stated that he would roll next. He considered how many dice he should gamble. "Well, there is one game Brick does like to play." He rolled two dice.

"Oh," Blossom played conservative and only rolled one. "What is it?"

"Chess." He took one of his dice out of the box. "Never play it with him."

Blossom took a sip of her drink. "Noted."

"He told me how the pieces move." Boomer rolled again, then looked at her. "So the knight can move all weird, but the queen is supposed to be stronger?"

"Yes, knights can be tricky, but the queen is useful in more situations."

"I don't know. I figure the best way to kill a queen is with a knight, and if the rook and bishop are weaker versions of the queen..." Boomer looked up at her. "Seems like the knights are the most-powerful." He may have been on to something. Blossom would need to look up a comprehensive analysis when she got home.

"That's very perceptive." Blossom rolled one of her dice. It came up with the snowflake symbol.

Boomer took his dice and moved Blossom's out of the way.

"I got an ice. That beats your fire."

"Uhhhh..." Boomer brought his fingers to his lips. "Okay, so, its like a 'Rock Paper Scissors' thing. Fire melts ice. Ice freezes water. Water extinguishes fire."

Blossom studied her remaining dice with their little colored symbols. It made a certain kind of sense. Most things were couched in diametric opposites, up and down, heat and cold, thesis and antithesis. However, all of these were abstractions, intangible concepts. Boomer's game illustrated something significant, something Blossom hadn't considered. Real things were filled with these simple abstractions and formed something much more complex. Fire was hot but it needed to breathe.

She was considering the relationship between the lightning, air, and earth symbols, when Boomer asked a question. "Did Bubbles say anything about me?"

"She told me you went on a date. Why?"

Boomer closed his eyes. "I thought it was great, and she said she had a good time. But I don't understand why she doesn't want to..." He didn't finish the thought, but Blossom understood nonetheless.

Blossom put her hand over his. He fixed his eyes on her.

"Bubbles..." Blossom didn't know what to say. She wanted to comfort him, but there was no true thing that could make him feel better. Boomer was one of hundreds of guys, none of which had changed her sister's mind about how she went about dating. Blossom truly felt sorry for him, strange for her considering he was a supervillain.

"Um, Blossom?" Jared had come up to their table.

"Hey," Blossom pulled her hand back and rested it in her lap. "Did you find anything interesting?"

"Um... No." He looked at each of them. "What is happening here?"

"Absolutely nothing. This is Boomer. He purchased a game and wanted to play it with me."

Boomer got up and stuck his hand out for Jared to shake. "Hey man, I'm Boomer."

"Hi..." Jared tentatively shook Boomer's hand. "Blossom, I thought we were on a date."

"We are."

"Well, then, I don't understand because you came here with me, but you're sitting here with him."

Blossom stood and took his elbow. "Nothing is happening, Jared." Sometimes he had low self esteem and needed to be reassured. "Thank you for the game Boomer. I had a surprisingly nice time." She turned back to her boyfriend and squeezed his arm. "Jared, please accompany me to the history section."

---

Dee Dee had been talking to some guy for an hour with Beau in her peripheral vision. She was trying to make him jealous and doing a very bad job of it.

Between everyone yelling constantly and the music blaring from the dance floor room Bubbles found the noise unbearable. She walked outside for a minute and rubbed her temples resisting the urge to scream. If they wanted loud, she would make their ears bleed.

When she came back, Dee Dee, the boy she was talking to, and Beau were all gone.

She spent the next hour looking for Dee Dee but had to stop every few seconds when someone wanted to talk to her. Lee Lee and Mee Mee roped her into a drunken conversation about cheerleading routines. Robin pulled her onto an old couch with a bunch of other girls for awhile. She stopped to say 'hi' to Buttercup who was talking to Brick of all people. But she couldn't find Dee Dee anywhere.

"Bubbles!" Mitch said, coming up behind her. Her skin crawled up her back at the sound of his voice. "How's it going?"

"Hey, Bubs." Butch handed her a red cup filled with nothing Bubbles was willing to ingest. "Drink."

"Thanks." Bubbles locked eyes with him and poured it on the floor, well away from her shoes. "You guys are the best," she said in her sweetest tone, crushing the cup and throwing it away.

"Woah, why so hostile?" Butch asked. "We're just trying to be friendly."

"Yeah." Mitch tried to give her puppy-dog eyes. "You're my girlfriend's sister. We're looking out for you."

Bubbles narrowed her eyes at Mitch. "Where is my sister again?" She looked over his shoulder into the crowd. "Oh, talking to that guy."

Mitch's head shot around. "What guy?" He wandered into the crowd. "What fucking guy?"

Butch chuckled. "Seriously though, it was clean."

Bubbles rolled her eyes and thought about flying home. It was out of the question. She couldn't leave her best friend in such a horrible place.

"You don't look like you're having fun."

"Hard to have fun at a drinking party when you don't drink."

"That's not true." Butch nodded toward the beer pong table. "Come on, I need a partner since you chased mine away."

Bubbles didn't know why but she found herself following him. "What are the rules?"

"Throw the balls into the other side's cups. If we make it in theirs, they have to drink it. If they make it in ours, we have to drink."

"I'm not drinking."

"Don't worry, Baby Blue Eyes," Butch said, arranging their cups. "I'll do all the consuming of the dreaded alcohol." He poured a little bit of beer into each of their cups. The other team, two people Bubbles didn't recognize, did the same on the other side.

"I'm subbing this chick in for Mitch." Butch dunked the ping pong balls into a cup of water, like that was going to get them clean. Luckily, that wasn't her problem. He held one out to her. "You any good?"

Bubbles took the ball and tossed it right into the center cup.

Butch cheered, hopping up and down. "Aw man, I'm gonna go thirsty for a while."

He tossed his ball. It bounced on the rim of one of the back cups and the other team caught it. They 'cleaned' the balls.

The other team took a shot. It went right into the front cup. "Guess not," Butch said downing the beer in one drink.

The second guy shot short. The ball bounced on the table and Butch slapped it out of the air.

"Nice try, genius." He turned to Bubbles. "Oh yeah, when they throw, if it bounces off the table, we can block it. Otherwise, if they make it in, we lose two cups."

Bubbles nodded.

Butch cleaned the balls and handed one to her. Bubbles tossed her ball right into the back left cup. Butch's ball bounced off of the front cup and over the side.

"You missed two in a row?" Bubbles shook her head, letting a slight chuckle get through her mouth. "I thought you'd at least be good at this."

"Trash talk from Baby Blue! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were having fun."

Bubbles shook her head. "Maybe a little."

The other team took their shots and they went back and forth a few times. Bubbles missed a few and Butch drank the cups the other team made.

Finally, Bubbles and Butch were down to three, the other side had only two left. Unfortunately, it was the other team's turn. The first shot went way over the table.

Butch caught it. "Look, if you don't drink, I respect that, but you gotta-"

Out of the corner of her eye, Bubbles saw the guy try to go for the bounce shot again. She swiped it right out of the air.

"Hey, no powers!" A guy on the other side said. For some reason, they didn't think it was 'powers' when Butch did it.

Bubbles felt her power energize her muscles in rage. "When I use my powers, you'll know it." She flicked the ping pong ball into the concrete wall behind them. It broke a hole straight through to the other side. "Go get it."

The two of them ran away, which was just as well. They had ruined the game anyway.

Butch chuckled, wobbling from the alcohol. "Yeah. They have no idea how much we actually hold ourselves back."

"No they don't." Bubbles sighed, surveying the crowd. "Any of them."

"Can I be honest with you Bubbs?" Butch asked while combining all of the leftover beer into one cup. "When my powers are off, I don't feel like myself." He started drinking the contents of his cup, looking at her profoundly the entire time. "You know what I mean?"

"I guess I never thought about it." Bubbles flexed her fist, feeling the power weave between her fingers. There had only been a few times when she had lost her powers, through Antidote X or whatever other means. She hated when she couldn't summon it. It made her feel like that weak little girl everyone had always assumed she was. "Yeah. I do know what you mean."

Butch wiped his mouth. "It's like... philosophy and shit." It wasn't, but Bubbles wasn't about to argue with a drunk person.

Bubbles took a breath. "Hey, I'm looking for my friend and you seem a little more helpful than usual. Will you help me find her?"

Butch grabbed another beer, snapped the cap off the bottle with his thumb, and led Bubbles through the crowd. "There's one place chicks always end up." He opened an old wooden door that had splintered in several places. There was a bathroom on the left. A blonde-haired girl was throwing up in one of the toilets.

"Dee Dee!" Bubbles went to help her. She brushed her hair back and held it in a clump.

"Bubbles, I didn't know you had a sister." Butch said, obviously noticing the similar hair and eye colors between the two girls.

Bubbles eyed him through holding Dee Dee's hair back while she retched.

Butch swayed back and forth with a dumb smile on his face, expecting her to say something. "...wait..." He laughed through the sounds of Dee Dee spitting the last bits of gunk out of her mouth.

When Dee Dee was done, Bubbles helped her to her feet. "I need to get her home."

They pulled her out of the building to the empty lot where all the cars were parked. Dee Dee's car was totally blocked in. "Ugh, what are we going to do?"

"It's a car, Bubbs. I can lift it."

"You're drunk."

"And I have a lot of experience being drunk." He opened, then emptied a fresh beer in a few gulps. "Just gotta be fast and know where to hold it." Butch slipped his hand under the car. In one swift motion he lifted it off the ground quickly enough that that gravity couldn't pull it down. He re-positioned his hands under it to get better balance. He was still wobbling though. It made Bubbles nervous. "Let's go."

Bubbles rolled her eyes, taking off anyway. Butch followed close behind.

When they touched down in the suburbs, Bubbles looked toward Dee Dee's house, thinking of a way to get in without her parents knowing.

A 'Boom' reverberated through the neighborhood. Bubbles looked behind her to find Butch had placed the car back onto the street. He smiled at her as several bedroom lights in nearby houses flicked on.

Bubbles hid behind a nearby bush so they couldn't be seen. Butch followed, clumsily jumping behind the branches. "How're we gonna get in there?"

"Tree," Dee Dee croaked. "The- the tree."

Bubbles braced her as she guided them to the tree. Dee Dee reached inside of a hole and the three of them dropped through the ground.

They slid down a slide with Butch yelling "Whee!" the entire time. He didn't seem to notice that he was facing backwards.

They came to a stop in a huge open space. Bubbles looked around. There were machines whirring and robots flew around above them. This must have been Dexter's lab. Dee Dee had told her about it. It looked a lot like the professor's, but much, much bigger.

"Aww man. Did we go to the future?" Butch said.

"It's my brother's lab." Dee Dee pulled herself out of Bubbles' grip and dragged herself across the floor.

Dexter came around a corner to see what all the noise was. "Dee Dee! What are you-"

"Fuck off, Dexter."

He took a step back and studied her. "Wait a moment. Are you inebriated?"

"Yes." Dee Dee pushed a button on a nearby panel and a gateway opened to a boy's bedroom. "If you tell mom and dad, I'll tell them why the family computer always has so many viruses."

Dexter's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. "I- I- I certainly never-"

Dee Dee turned around, her body completely through the portal. "Hey, Butch. Call me." She put her hand to the side of her head in the shape of a phone and the gateway closed behind her.

Dexter sighed turning to her. "Greetings Bubbles, and..." He readjusted his glasses. "Bubbles' friend. Please see yourselves out." He pushed a button and, in a flash of silver, they were teleported back outside.

Bubbles took a breath, letting the night air bring her back to center, even if it was only a little. "Thanks for your help tonight, Butch."

Butch swayed back and forth, smiling drunkenly. "No prob, Bubbly."

There was a bird feeder nearby with a lawn gnome perched on it. It had a floppy red hat. Butch put his arm around the gnome. "Dexter, right? Dude, don't download that shit. You gotta stream it on Porntube. I'll give you my login."

Nausea built in Bubbles' stomach. "Butch-"

Butch's smile turned sinister. "What kind of shit you into?"

---

"Fuck you, Busscup. I could kick Thanos' ass," Brick slurred.

"How you-" Buttercup burped. "How you gonna kill him, huh?" She took another drink of her beer, stretching out on the couch. Time had lost all meaning. Everyone else had either left the party or was passed out on the floor. "Punch him real hard?"

Brick had sunk into the recliner like he was heavier than he should have been."Eyebeams. Mine could crack a planet in half."

"Fuck you, No way. Never gunna happen."

"Yup."

"Prove it!" Buttercup thrust her finger at him to emphasize her point. "Prove it!"

"Nah."

"'Cuz you can't."

"'Cuz I don't want to die of starvation on some burnt out rock in space with your sister scholding me for destroying the world."

"Ugh, that sunds like a nightmare."

"Yeah, and you'll probably still be alive too."

"You fuckin' know it!" Buttercup pumped her fist in euphoria.

"Heh, yeah, me, you, and my dumbass brothers."

"Ugh, gotta put up witsh Needle Dick and my sister yellin' at you."

Buttercup heard Brick get up from his chair, then fall back into it. He must have been pretty drunk. She couldn't see him and realized that her eyes had been closed since before she could remember.

"This is weird, right?" Buttercup asked. "You and me hanging out together."

"S'not weird."

"Good guys and bad guys don't really hang out."

"Ha! We're the good guys too now."

Buttercup started laughing. "Bullshit! and you know it. 'Shou guys are still bad. Dumb people'll believe anything."

Brick laughed with her. "Yeah, people are stupid."

Buttercup laughed so hard she fell off the couch. Luckily, she hadn't spilled any of her beer. The ground was all hard and covered with sleeping people, so she got back on the couch.

"And tha' fake-ass speech you told tha' one reporter." Buttercup curled her toes. "'We din't know where our next meal was gon'ta come from'," she said quoting his interview from the news.

Brick stopped laughing. "Fuck you."

Buttercup opened her eyes. There were two Bricks and both had straightened up in his chair and scowled at her. One spun up into the ceiling and the other went to the right. She should not have opened her eyes. "Wha?"

"We were fuckin' kids and we gotta eat." Brick shook his head. "What were we supposed to do?"

Buttercup groaned. "There's like soup kitchens and stuff."

"How's a five-year-old kid supposed to know that? Plus, they wouldn't'a served us anyway. Not after what we did." He reclined in his chair. "Fucking monkey. People hated us back then."

"People hate villains, it's not science."

"We were little kids all on our own. Didn't get to grow up in that nice warm house of yours."

Buttercup snorted. "I'd rather be all on my own."

"That's stupid. Why?"

"I always gotta do things I don' wanna do." Buttercup's head started to hurt. She didn't want to think about shit. "Christmas, Thanksgiving, God! Fucking Easter Sunday! 'Wear this frilly dress, Buttercup.' 'Mind your manners during dinner, Buttercup.'" she said, imitating her father.

Brick pulled his hat off and smoothed his hair. "Oh yeah, a good home-cooked meal? What's that like?"

Brick couldn't understand. He didn't have a family with all the shit she had to live up to, and her sisters always being better than her. "My dad always making me wear frilly dresses and ugly stuff my gramma bought me for Christmas or my birthday or whatever."

"Fine, you hate frilly dresses." Brick rolled his eyes in the exact same way Blossom always did. "Cry me a river."

For some reason that set Buttercup off. "You know what? Fuck you! I'll kick your ass!" No one got to dismiss her like that. "I want my fucking rematch!" She stood up, but fell right back into the couch. Her legs wouldn't support her and her head was so heavy.

Brick laughed. "We're not gonna fight, you can't even get off the couch."

"No, it's 'cuz you're a scardey bitch." It came out as barely a murmur, she didn't have the energy.

Brick said a bunch of things Buttercup didn't catch. Everything started to go dark.

She slapped herself in the face to get herself to wake up. It only worked for a moment.

"Wish I had a gramma..." That was the last thing she heard before blacking out.

---

Blossom woke to a quiet knock on her window. She scrambled to her feet and put her fists up. A pair of glowing red orbs hung behind the glass, Brick. Her power spread through her muscles in preparation for a fight.

He knocked again, slightly more insistent.

Blossom opened the window to him holding her unconscious sister by the ankle like a fish he had caught. Buttercup hung upside down, vomit clinging to her lips.

Brick re-positioned Buttercup to a bridal style carry and extended his arms to give her to Blossom.

Blossom took her sister, her eyes never leaving his. When she had accepted Buttercup's weight, Brick let his arms drop. Neither said anything.

Silently, very out of character for Brick, he floated back and away, taking off in a red streak when he was far enough not to make a sound.

Blossom set Buttercup on her bed and wiped her mouth with a tissue. She went to the hall bathroom retrieving her sister a glass of water and a dose of ibuprofen, knowing she'd want it the second she woke up, and placed it on the nightstand.

She had probably told their parents she was staying at a female friend's house, Buttercup didn't have many of those. Their parents weren't stupid, they knew something was up. But since Buttercup was virtually indestructible, they let it slide unless they had proof.

Blossom sat on the other side of the bed. She loved her sister, but didn't always agree with every decision she made. She felt torn between telling their parents and helping her keep it a secret. On one hand, her parents could help Buttercup with her more self-destructive activities, on the other, she didn't want Buttercup to get in trouble. While she knew Buttercup could do better, Blossom wasn't a tattletale when it came to her sisters.

She got under the covers and tucked them both in. She'd know what to do in the morning, it all depended on how bad a hangover Buttercup was about to have. And she had better not vomit on Blossom's clean sheets.

Chapter 10: Some Nobody

Some Nobody

Fifth Grade

Bubbles was scanning a dirty train yard when she got Blossom's call. "Girls!" It was their 'muster at my position' order. She rushed out of the building and traced Blossom's movement.

Blossom was already charging at Brick, a clear breach of their standard procedure. If it had been Buttercup, Blossom would have given her a lecture on how their protocol and formations effectively countered the boys' disorderly behavior. And Blossom would have been right. It was only because they were organized and found unorthodox ways to defeat them that they were able to stave off the Rowdyruff Boys. Blossom had let her frustration get the better of her and was making a big mistake.

Brick avoided Blossom's attack and punched her in the side of the head.

Buttercup barreled at him from the side. Butch burst through a concrete wall and grabbed her before she could get to Brick. They rolled on the ground, punching each other recklessly, screaming curses.

It was all so dumb. Bubbles took a breath to prepare her sonic scream. It was the best way to get them all to stop.

Before she could get to full volume, Boomer zipped in and gave her a quick strike to the throat.

Bubbles choked, not being able to force out the huge block of air caught in her throat. She couldn't breathe in either. Her lungs felt like they were about to burst.

Boomer glared at her, squeezing his fist. He came at her with a punch aimed at her tummy and Bubbles couldn't stop him. Instead of actually hitting her, he hooked his arm around her midsection and flew her away from their siblings.

Bubbles was still struggling to open her windpipe when he dropped her onto a roof. She finally let out the breath and lapsed into a fit of coughing on her hands and knees.

He didn't hit her again, he just stood there with his arms crossed, an angry look over his face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I wanted to make it look good for Brick."

Bubbles' heart pounded. Boomer looked away but let her cough it out in peace. She eventually stopped and caught her breath.

"Why did you guys attack him anyway?" Boomer asked. "He wasn't doing anything."

Bubbles took a few more breaths before answering. "Brick had some pills and Blossom said-"

"Butch needs his medicine, okay!"

Bubbles held his gaze, took one more deep breath, and stood up.

As mad as he was, he wasn't threatening. His stance was more guarded than anything. Boomer usually didn't try very hard when they fought. It had started the year before. She didn't notice it at first, but over time all the missed punches, the underpowered lightning bolts, and maneuvering around her attacks without countering had added up. This time he wasn't attacking at all.

"I don't feel like fighting," he said.

Bubbles sighed. "Me neither."

Something had happened with Butch's medicine. Medicine wasn't illegal. She wondered why he needed it.

Boomer brooded, looking off into space. "You beat us up, we beat you up." He scoffed.

Bubbles' fingertips tapped together. "Maybe we could talk it out."

Boomer looked over the side of the roof. "They don't want to talk."

Their siblings were still fighting below them. It had been a near constant in Bubbles' life. The Rowdyruff Boys were always making trouble. Usually, they were stealing food from fast food joints and supermarkets. Blossom said it was because they weren't smart enough to understand the concept of money, which was why they had never tried to rob a bank. But Boomer, at the very least, didn't seem dumb, not anymore. He was almost like a normal boy.

Why was Blossom so ready to attack Brick? And why did both her sisters dismiss her objections? It was like they didn't give Bubbles any credit. She knew there was a reason they didn't attack any villain on sight, they saw Princess every day in school. And then Bubbles had to go along with Blossom and Buttercup's accusations, all because she felt like she had to do what her sisters told her. Boomer wasn't doing what Brick told him to do.

Boomer took a quick glance over the side of the roof to see what their siblings were doing. "We should get down there." He turned toward her. "Just make it look like I hit you or something."

Bubbles looked at the floor. "okay..."

Boomer grabbed the collar of Bubbles' dress and rose into the air. When he got high enough, he tugged lightly on it twice, like he was asking for her permission. He wanted her to fly with him so he wasn't pulling on her clothes. It was a nice gesture.

"If you want it to look good, you have to drag me," Bubbles said, her eyes downcast.

Boomer grumbled and pulled her into the air. Bubbles let her body go limp.

Back on the street, Brick and Blossom were discussing something inside of a crater, but Bubbles was focused on Buttercup. She was gripping at the ground and had several bruises on her arms, legs, and neck. Butch stood over her, daring her to get up.

Boomer dropped Bubbles next to her sister. Bubbles pulled herself up and checked her cautiously. She didn't put it past Butch to hit her while she was on the ground.

He taunted them but didn't hit them, saying things Bubbles paid no attention to. Boomer didn't say anything.

Bubbles' cursory examination revealed all of Buttercup's damage was superficial, no broken bones, just scrapes and bruises.

Brick and Blossom finally finished talking and the boys flew away.

Bubbles shuffled to a sitting position and covered her body with her arms to hide the fact that she hadn't been beaten up.

---

Sophomore Year - September

Boomer had trouble concentrating while surrounded by the clanging of weights and everyone grunting. He flipped through memes, chuckling to himself every now and then. Every few minutes he'd find a good one and send it to Mike. They traded memes back and forth.

Nearby, Brick glared at himself in the gym's mirror while curling a weight very slowly. Butch finished loading the squat bar and positioned himself under it. "Brick, spot me."

"Fuck off," Brick said, not looking away from himself in the mirror. "You know you could lift something while we're here."

Boomer looked up from his phone. "Why'd you even make me come anyway?"

"Training."

Boomer rolled his eyes. "This isn't training, this is weight lifting."

"Super strength is a straight multiplier. The stronger you get without powers, the stronger you are with them." Brick lifted the weight obnoxiously slowly. "That's why Buttercup can kick your ass."

Boomer scowled at him. "I'd like to see her try." He let an arc of electricity shoot up his arm.

Brick dropped the weight. "What the fuck man? Not in public."

Boomer sneered, but stopped anyway. "Why do you give a shit?"

Brick pointed to an outlet on the wall. "You don't see me setting off all the damn fire alarms. Don't go giving our gym a blackout."

Boomer grumbled, going back to his phone. Mike had sent him another meme. Boomer chuckled at it.

He felt Brick's hard stare on him, like he expected Boomer to do something. "You want to train?" Brick put down the weights and turned to the boxing ring in the back of the gym. "Get in the ring with Butch." Brick looked over to Butch who was mid-squat. "Butch, come fight Boomer."

Butch arched an eyebrow, lifted the weight and reset it on the machine. He walked over to them with a smile growing on his face. "You want me to kick Boomer's ass?"

"Kickboxing." Brick handed both of them pairs of padded gloves. "No grabs, no powers."

Butch beamed, practically jumping through the ropes, excited for the fight. Boomer put on the padded gloves and stepped into the ring after him. Butch jogged around the ring, punching his fists together.

"Quit that," Brick said.

"I'm excited," Butch said. "I finally get to take my revenge for last week."

Boomer huffed. During their last training session he had blasted Butch around with his eyebeams and electrocuted him with lightning before Buttercup had shown up. It was a lot of fun. But, on Brick's order, he couldn't use his powers. And that was a problem. Boomer was nothing without his powers. All he could do was avoid Butch, maybe tire him out or something.

Boomer got into the ring and squared up with Butch. Butch stood with his head leaned back, grinning at him. They were about the same height, but Butch had a lot more muscle and probably weighed a lot more. Boomer was a skinny guy, not that he didn't have muscle, it wasn't very much. He put his fists in front of his face like fighters did in movies.

Butch tilted his head and his smile got wider. He didn't put his fists up, he held them near his hips.

Brick looked at Butch, then Boomer. "Go."

Butch took two steps forward.

Boomer got lower, he didn't know why, but it made sense at the time.

Butch came at him with a right.

Boomer blocked only to be hit in the chin by an uppercut he didn't see coming. He fell to the mat, cushioning his fall with his elbow.

"Break," Brick said. "Reset."

Butch walked back to his position shaking his head with restrained laughter.

Boomer winced and let his regeneration power take care of the pain in his arm and chin. It didn't make him feel much better. Butch wasn't going to win without getting hit at least once. He got to his feet and squared up with Butch again.

"Go."

This time Boomer stepped left, circling around Butch out of his reach.

Butch pivoted with a jab then lunged with a punch that hit Boomer in the gut.

Boomer doubled over at the pain, but he didn't let himself fall again.

"Break. Reset."

Butch came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, annoyingly pressing his weight down into him. "Nice try." He went back to his starting position.

Boomer growled and got into his position.

"Go."

Butch immediately came at him with a fist. Boomer took a step back to avoid it, but Butch threw another punch. Boomer had to take another step back.

Butch kept coming forward throwing punch after punch. After a few steps, Boomer's back hit the ropes.

Boomer tried to step around to get more space, but Butch had him blocked in. He took a fist to the temple and went down again. The only thing keeping him up was holding onto the ropes.

"Break!" Brick shouted. "Boomer! Corner!"

Boomer hobbled to the corner where Brick was standing and plopped down.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Brick asked.

"He's bigger than me."

"So the fuck what? You're faster than he is."

"Only for like, long distances." He tried to scratch his head, but the padded gloves stopped him. "Dodging those punches, it's harder."

"That's because you're twitchy. Stop being scared of him."

"I'm not scared." Boomer squeezed his hands tight. "Why are we even doing this?"

"So you get better at the shit you're bad at."

Boomer sighed, looking away. "We use powers when we fight. It's not like we're going to have to fight without them."

Brick crossed his arms. "When you fight him, what's he doing?"

Boomer shook his head. "I don't know. Swinging?"

"Does he ever not swing?"

"No."

"And how hard does he swing?"

"Like he wants to punch my head off."

"So, hard. Maybe figure out how to get a shot in when he finishes a swing?"

"I heard that," Butch said.

Boomer looked back at Brick. "By the time he finishes a swing, he's already on the next one."

Brick made a face at him. "Figure out a way around that." Like it was supposed to be that easy, like he could avoid two punches and give one of his own. One punch probably wouldn't even affect him and Butch would be on him with another series of punches.

Brick squinted at Boomer. "Why do you let him do that to you?"

"Do what?"

"You let him make you think you can't beat him. You've already lost. Size doesn't matter. This is all a mental game and he's winning."

Boomer sighed, abashed. "Then why are there weight classes?"

Before Brick could say anything, a reminder chimed on his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked it. "We're going to be late. Let's go."

Boomer had forgotten their plans for later in the day. He typed out a text to Mike. [Hey, do you want to play football?]

---

Trevor and Dave, two of Brick and Butch's friends, stood in the middle of the field as the team captains. The rest of the guys got into a line so the captains could pick teams. Boomer didn't know most of their names. It looked like there were a few middle-schoolers there too, probably a few of the older guys' little brothers.

"All right, so this is gonna be full-tackle," Trevor said. "No two-hand touch bullshit. Anyone covering the QB has to count 10 alligators before rushing, but you do get one blitz for every 4 downs. First down on two completions. Everyone got it?"

Most of the guys grunted some form of agreement.

"And no superpowers," Trevor said, looking at Brick and Butch.

Butch chuckled and nudged Brick.

"You heard him, Butch." Brick said.

Boomer stood in the line a few guys down from them, next to Mike.

The two captains looked over the line of guys. Trevor chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking between Butch and Brick. One of them was going to be picked first, as usual. Boomer had never been picked first in his life.

"Butch."

"First!" Butch jumped up and down running to Trevor's side. "Suck it Brick!"

Brick flipped him off. "Yeah, yeah. I bet that's the highlight of your year."

Boomer wondered what getting picked first felt like, probably really good. He had never been picked first for anything his entire life. It was okay though. As long as he didn't get picked last again. Boomer hated getting picked last, it happened all the time.

"I'll take Brick," Dave said.

Brick walked to Dave's side.

The order the guys got picked meant something. When you got picked was an indication of your status among the guys. Usually Brick was a captain, and when he wasn't he was almost always picked first. Butch was usually first or second, almost never third.

"I'll take Mitch."

"Todd."

"Floyd."

"Lloyd."

"Andrew."

"Pablo."

"Wes"

"Joey"

"Harry."

Dave looked toward Boomer. Could this be it? Was he about to get picked?

"You." Dave pointed at Mike. "Don't know your name."

"Uh, it's Mike," Mike said, running to Dave's side.

Boomer had been sure he would have been picked before Mike. It didn't matter. Everyone else who was left was small, much shorter than him. A bunch of peons to fill out the ranks. Boomer stood up straight, knowing he would be picked next.

"Nick." A little kid ran to Trevor's side. There must have been some mistake. The kid had to have been thirteen at most. What the fuck was going on?

"Billy." Another little kid ran to Dave's side. There had to be some mistake, Boomer was better than some little kid.

"Jake." Did they think he wasn't playing?

Dave looked over the rest of the guys without acknowledging the fact that Boomer was over a head taller than the rest. Was that what they really thought of him? That he was the worst? That he wasn't even as good as some middle-schoolers?

"Boomer," Dave said. He hadn't been picked last, but the damage was already done.

Boomer's throat closed completely. He could walk away and nobody would care, nobody would even notice. He was just there to take up space. But he wanted to play, and maybe he could get the ball. He would have liked to have touched it at least once in an actual game. They clearly didn't want him there and he didn't want to be there either.

Even worse, they might make fun of him if he left. They'd think he was scared, call him names while he walked away. He didn't really have a choice, he was there, he had been picked, he had to play even though they wouldn't really let him.

He walked over to Dave's team while Trevor made his next pick. He couldn't look any of the guys in the eye from the shame.

Once the captains had finished picking teams, Dave's team stood in a big circle while Dave explained what they were going to do when they got the ball. They didn't let Boomer into the circle. Mike seemed to be the only one to know he was there.

Trevor's team kicked the ball. Dave caught it. Brick and some of the other guys screened him before he got taken down. Boomer stood there, watching and chewing on his lip. His throat was so tight he could barely breathe and swallowing only made it worse. He wanted to go home.

The guys got in line. Boomer took a position on one of the ends. Nobody bothered covering him, not that being wide open would matter.

Boomer didn't want to go home, not really. What he wanted to do was get the ball, even once in the whole game. If he could touch the ball once, it would all be worth it. But no one ever threw to him and Dave didn't let him run it.

Several plays went by. Each of the teams scored a few touchdowns. Todd kicked the ball down the field after he scored.

They lined up for the next play. Boomer hung out on one end, not sure what to do on defense.

Trevor hiked the ball, and the other team cleared a lane. Butch slammed into Brick, other guys slammed into each other. No one slammed into Boomer.

That little kid, Nick, had the ball. He looked right into Boomer's eyes, the first one to even notice he was playing. "I'm gonna cream you!" the little kid shouted, running right at him.

Boomer widened his stance and outstretched his arms, determined not to let him by. The kid kept running right at him.

Something happened the moment before they collided, Boomer stepped back, turned, and let him pass. It all happened so fast and the instant after, Boomer couldn't believe he let him do that.

Someone else took him down before he got to the end zone.

Boomer's heart sank, knowing someone else had to do the job he was supposed to do. He was no good at football. Even a little kid could get past him. That's why he was always picked last. He wanted to run away and never see any of them again.

The teams mulled around a bit while the captains talked to their top guys about how the next play would go.

"Hey, if you can take down Tyler, you can take that little guy," Mike said.

Boomer looked at him. "I used superpowers on Tyler."

Mike nodded. "Yeah, and your superpower right now is that everyone underestimates you."

Boomer looked back downfield and found the little shit. With his super-hearing, he could hear Nick bragging to his friends about how he took down a high-schooler. His friends laughed.

Boomer didn't get taken down, he had let him by. And the kid was making fun of him for it. He clenched his teeth. He searched for why he had flinched when he could have made a difference for his team. The only thing he could come up with was that flinching was what everyone expected him to do, so he did it.

Boomer had fought monsters way bigger than himself and he kicked their asses. If he could take down monsters and Nick could barge right past him, Brick had to be right, size really didn't matter. It was what everyone assumed was going to happen. Nick took down Boomer because that was what was 'supposed' to happen. Boomer got picked last every time because that was what was 'supposed' to happen.

But that wasn't it at all.

Neither Brick nor Butch had scored a touchdown, and that was why you got picked first, because you scored touchdowns. They all said it was about who was good, but it wasn't about that, it was about something else. Boomer didn't know what, but he felt himself slide back into that place, the place he went to when he had fought Tyler.

All of these guys didn't care about him, so he didn't care about them. He didn't like thinking like that, but it did make him feel better.

When they got back into the line, Boomer took a few steps back to watch what was going to happen.

Trevor hiked the ball and handed it off to Nick while his team cleared a lane.

Nobody was covering Boomer or even knew he existed, so he broke left and stopped right in front of Nick.

Nick crashed into him like he hadn't seen him coming, but he didn't fall down. He looked up at Boomer confused.

Boomer reached down and snatched the ball right out of his arm while pushing Nick to the ground with his other hand. He snorted at the little shit before jogging past everyone, right into the end zone.

He turned around to see everyone else trying to figure out what had happened. Boomer smiled and held up the ball. Everyone was still confused, Mike was the only one who looked impressed.

Trevor clenched his fist and growled, stomping up to him. "You can't do that!"

Boomer cocked his head. "Do what? Score a touchdown?"

"Nick had the ball, and you took it from him."

"Yeah..." Boomer side-eyed Trevor like it was obvious. "He should keep a better grip on it next time."

"Brick." Trevor turned around to look at Boomer's brother.

"Perfectly legal play. What's the problem?"

"The problem is..." He gestured to Boomer. "Who even is this guy?"

"That's Boomer," Mike said.

Trevor recoiled. "Butch, you're with me right?"

"With you on what?" Butch outstretched his arms. "You gonna cry 'cuz he pushed your little brother?" A few of the guys laughed.

Trevor turned back to Boomer. "Your kick." He walked to the other side of the field with the rest of his team following him.

Boomer smiled.

"Gimme the ball," Dave said, like they all expected him to do whatever they told him.

"Nah, I'm gonna kick it," Boomer said. It was his right as the guy who scored a touchdown.

Dave grimaced. "Whatever."

The way they played, when you 'kicked' the ball, you also had the option of throwing it. Boomer and his brothers threw the football around every once in a while and he didn't know if he would be very good at actually kicking it, so Boomer opted for throwing.

It was a long way down the field. He looked at his team. They were watching him, waiting for him to go. Would it matter? If he juiced it, just a little, enough to make it look like he could throw a ball, would it matter? Strength was an all or nothing, but not speed. No one really knew how fast he could run without his powers, not even Brick or Butch.

Still in the end zone, Boomer got a good running start, ramping up to a full sprint. He squeezed the tiniest bit of X into his legs for only two strides. When he got to about the 25-yard line, he jumped and threw the football as hard as he could. It didn't make it the whole way, but he hadn't embarrassed himself.

He landed and kept running, picking up speed to regain a full sprint.

Trevor grabbed the ball and while he was bigger than Boomer, Boomer was going much faster. And again, no one was covering him.

Boomer plowed into Trevor at a slight angle with his shoulder, tackling him to the ground. Trevor slid through the wet grass with Boomer on top of him.

Trevor looked at him, shocked and more than a little offended. Then Boomer showed him who had the ball. In the middle of the tackle, Boomer had managed to wrench it out of Trevor's hand. He had used a little X to speed his reaction time. No one would be able to tell, anything could happen in the middle of a tackle. The guy was livid.

Pablo offered Boomer a hand up. "Good job, man."

Boomer took his hand and let him pull him upright.

Either Floyd or Lloyd helped Trevor up. The guy had mud and grass stains running down the right side of his jeans.

"He fuckin- he fuckin' did something!"

Dave was laughing. "Are you guys blind?" That got a few of the other guys on their team laughing. "You seriously didn't see this guy coming?"

"Yeah, Boomer's a sneaky fucker," Butch said.

Trevor was so mad he couldn't speak. But that didn't matter, Boomer had the ball. He had stripped it twice in two plays. And it was all because none of them knew who he was and what he could do.

They were all watching now though. And Boomer wasn't about to let it go, he was going to be the quarterback for the first time ever.

Trevor pulled Butch away. "You watch him. I don't want him doin' anything."

They all got back into line for the next play. "Yeah, yeah," Butch said. "I got him." He came over, opposite Boomer, and grinned that same grin from earlier in the gym. With Butch watching his every move, he wouldn't be able to use his powers. But size didn't matter, they weren't in a tiny ring anymore. Boomer had a whole field to play with.

Boomer hiked the ball and everyone sprung into action.

Butch started counting alligators. "One alligator. Two alligator..." He had to get to ten before he could try to tackle Boomer.

Boomer didn't move. The guys were scrambling around, but none were really open.

Butch stared at him like he was doing something wrong. None of the rules said he needed to go anywhere. "Six alligator. I knew you were a pussy. Seven alligator."

Boomer still didn't move.

Butch finally got to ten and charged.

Boomer pivoted on his foot and launched himself away, able to cross the line now that Butch was on him.

All eleven guys on the other team were watching and scrambled toward him. Trevor had an enraged look in his eye.

Boomer clutched the ball tight in his arm and kept moving.

Trevor was almost to him when Brick slammed him to the ground with his shoulder from upfield.

Boomer jumped over them and plowed right through one of the little kids, he didn't see or care who it was. The rest of the field was clear and he ran it right into the end zone again.

The rest of the team cheered him on, dog-piling him. They all whooped and laughed. Three plays and two touchdowns. Brick stood over them with his arms crossed and a weird look on his face, but Boomer didn't care. Nobody could deny him ever again.

Chapter 11: Rich Bitch

Rich Bitch

Fifth Grade

Princess heard a glass shatter while she was on her way to her father's office. "I will leave," her mother said, in a shrill tone. They were arguing, as usual.

"Daddy," Princess called once she had reached the office.

"After everything I do for you? Fat chance!"

"I will walk right out the door. I swear it!" They fought at least once a month, usually when they had to see each other. Princess never knew what it was about, adult problems she guessed. But it never made sense, they had all the money in the world.

"Daddy," Princess called again.

Princess' father smiled at her mother. "You remember our prenup. You'll leave without a scrap of fabric to your name."

"Daddy!" Princess screamed.

"Then you can kiss my bare ass for the last time." Princess' mom turned away from him with her hands on her hips.

"DADDY!"

Princess' father reached into his pocket and pulled out the Praetorian Black credit card. "I love you," he said with his hand extended to Princess.

Princess loved him too. He always knew exactly what to say.

---

Sophomore Year - October

Princess woke to the sound of birds chirping and waves crashing into the shore. She arose and put on a dressing robe to let Juanita in. Juanita was waiting outside her chamber with a pot of hot tea and a single teacup as usual.

She took her morning tea on the balcony overlooking her private beach. Juanita dutifully filled and refilled Princess' cup until she was done enjoying a relaxing morning.

When she was finished, she dismissed Juanita and inspected the three outfits Gwen had laid on her bed for her to choose from for the day. The first was a dress, a variant on one some movie star had worn to an awards show Princess didn't care about. The second was a safe but drab number. Sure, it was classy, but it was also boring, like she was some pretentious socialite from Megaville. The last was much more casual, skinny jeans, layered tops, and a pair of Louis Vuitton d'orsay pumps.

"I like this one," Princess said, running her hands over the fabric of the last outfit. "But we need to make some changes. I have someone I need to seduce today."

Gwen subtly arched an eyebrow. "Are you thinking of a low-cut top or short skirt?" she asked in her vaguely European accent.

Gwen knew Princess far too well. "Why can't I do both?"

"You need to leave a little mystery, darling. Give him something to work for."

Princess thought for a moment. "How about a thigh length jean skirt and only the outermost top." She separated the flowy gold crossover from the rest of the layers.

"This will make you look like a common trolop, dear."

Princess tilted her head and tapped her heel. "What do you suggest, then?"

"We can keep the jean skirt if you're married to the idea," Gwen said, retreating to Princess' closet. "Why don't we find you a top larger than a bra."

"So help me Gwen, if you come back with something with ruffles-"

"Of course not, darling. You are not hosting a fundraising banquet for old ladies."

Princess relaxed. She was probably Princess' best friend. Not that Princess had many actual friends. Most people were only useful as servants. Gwen, however, had a keen sense of style and could be super bitchy when she wanted to be.

Gwen came back with a sequined sleeveless top with a low neckline. "I assume you like the gold." It sparkled in the light as she slowly let it spin in her fingers.

"It's passable. Barely."

"For anyone else I would suggest something mundane, but you can afford to be bold." Gwen went to Princess' bathroom and returned, having prepared Princess' makeup. "How to create the drama without speaking it out loud." Gwen tilted her hip. "One cannot go wrong with the smokey eye."

"I'm not a whore, Gwen."

"Says the girl who wants to attend school in her underwear."

"Do something else," Princess demanded flatly.

"Fine. You will wear the winged eyeliner under something that will match your top."

Princess sat down in her makeup chair and Gwen went to work on her face. "Tell me about this boy."

Princess smirked. "He's smart and he knows it."

"Is he cute?"

"He has a certain boyish charm I find appealing."

"The boyish charm is fine for a while, but it can become so irritating rather quickly. With a boy this young it must develop into..." Gwen waved the applicator in the air, looking for the proper English translation from her native tongue. "...Rugged suaveness. Or are you looking for something more sophisticated?"

"Sophistication can wait. I'll take rugged suaveness any day."

Gwen left when she was finished, unlike the rest of Princess' servants, she had an actual job as a designer in Citiesville. Princess' hair stylist came in next with a flat iron and curler. She straightened Princess' hair with the flat iron and curled the ends to give it a little bounce. Her work was technically adequate, so she wouldn't be fired, at least not that morning.

Princess retrieved a pair of elbow length gloves and went downstairs to go to school. Juanita bowed, offering Princess her loaded Prada purse and she stepped into the car. Milo drove like one of those old ladies Gwen was talking about, but she didn't mind with a mimosa to keep her company.

---

First period went as usual. The teacher wouldn't stick to any one topic for more than a minute. Suzy kept sighing. Brick and Soyun whispered back and forth, knowing Mr. Luzinsky couldn't hear them. Princess joined them with a few snide comments here and there. The rest took notes on the lecture. Blossom was the only one who was off. Usually she was taking her own notes using super-speed, but today she kept looking at her pen. She studied it, spinning it in her hand like she had never seen it before. That made Princess smile. It was going to be a good day.

She arrived at her second period Chemistry class before her lab partner. There was equipment assembled on their tables, probably for something gross that she would be able to pass onto him.

Speaking of her lab partner, Brick walked in and set his backpack down on their table. It was time to make her move. He usually hated when someone talked to him for no reason, it annoyed him. Princess never modified her behavior around him, he could deal, but this time she needed something. "I need to switch lab partners."

Brick swung his head toward her and gave her that knowing smirk. "You want to partner with Hanout again? I keep telling you, he's gay." He sat down and got comfortable in his seat.

Princess shook her head, that jawline with that complexion, talk about rugged suaveness. Princess had had a crush on Hanout the year before and insisted he be her lab partner. "No, I'm not switching with Suzy. She can drool all she wants. He's gay. Can confirm."

He turned and squinted at her. "Who do you want to switch with then?"

Princess pouted, knowing he was about to hate it. "I'm sorry."

He pursed his lips. Dragging out the torture would only make him hate her more, but Princess relished the power. "If it's not Soyun, I will take Hanout, Dexter, even goddamn Mordecai. Do not tell me..."

"I'm afraid so." Princess arched her back and gave him the puppy-dog eyes.

"Robin. At least she's not-" Then he got it. Brick's eyes widened as he finally understood what Princess was saying.

"Sorry." Princess gave him her best head tilt and concerned look. She really hated doing this to her future husband, but it had to be done. He would understand when they sat on their thrones at the top of the world.

"No." Brick chuckled and shook his head. "I would never agree to that."

Princess looked him in the eye. He looked right back. "You will or I'll inform her about those three little jobs you pulled for a Mr. Winthrop Mangrove."

Brick snorted. "Go ahead. We've been pardoned for all of our crimes."

Princess tilted her head. "And your priceless reputation in the upper-class underworld will be tainted before it even began. No one in high-society will risk working with a known lawbreaker, pardoned or not."

Brick jerked in his seat, took off his hat, smoothed his hair, and put it back on. "You're a fucking bitch, you know that?" he seethed.

That was all the consent she needed. She really did have to send Mordecai a thank you gift. The right information really could hold anyone in check. Still, they had chosen to be partners on the first day of class. She owed him at least a little explanation. "I need Dexter. Dexter is Blossom's partner. That means you get Blossom."

"Why the fuck would you need Dexter?"

"That's for me to know, cutie." She rubbed his jaw and sauntered toward Dexter.

"I hate you."

"You'll be over it by next week." She said over her shoulder.

Dexter sat at his table writing notes in his lab book before he and Blossom began the experiment. Blossom had arrived early then removed herself from the classroom for one reason or another.

Princess bent at the waist, resting her elbows on the table and giving him a good look. "Hey Dexter," she said in a breathy voice.

Dexter froze like time had stopped completely. He stared at her with wide eyes.

"I really like your lab coat." She caressed the lapel. "It's like you're ready for anything."

"Gree- Greetings Princess." He managed to give her a half-smile. "Thank you. I am prepare- prepared for any eventuality."

"I bet you are." Princess tilted her head, letting her hair cascade all over his table. "I bet you even have a lot of great ideas for the semester project."

"Yes." He coughed. "I have many grand ideas for science fair projects. However, Blossom and I have already begun planning a relatively mundane project-"

"What!? A serious scientist like you would never settle for something mundane. You must have so many life-changing ideas."

"Well yes, but-"

"If you were my lab partner, we could change the world."

Dexter took another peek down her blouse. "We could indeed."

"Let's ask Mr. Chryniszzswics if we can switch."

His eyes went wide at the prospect. "What about your-"

"Brick? He doesn't like me very much and I think I can do better." Princess turned to look at him, focusing Dexter's attention.

Brick was sitting back in his chair giving them the finger without looking.

"So you'll switch? I think we'd work really well together." She laid it on thick, pressing her hand on his chest.

"What will Mr. Chryniszzswics say?"

"Why don't we find out?" Princess pulled him by his upper arm to the teacher's desk.

The teacher was engrossed in whatever was on his computer. "Mr. Chryniszzswics, Dexter and I would like to work together as lab partners. May we be allowed to switch?"

Mr. Chryniszzswics looked up at them, blinking several times like they had appeared out of nowhere. "I suppose it's fine. As long as your current partners agree. Brick is this alright with you?"

"Yeah," Brick said from his desk. The situation clearly wasn't fine given his tone. "Whatever."

"Excellent. And Blossom..." The teacher looked over the classroom. "Where is Blossom?"

"She needed to take care of something," Princess said.

"Oh that's right. Well, she is so agreeable, I'm sure she will be okay with the change." He went right back to his computer, forgetting about them.

"Let's go to your table, Dexter." Princess took her bag from her former table while Brick flipped her off the whole time. Dexter must have noticed, but he didn't say anything.

At Dexter's table, Blossom's stuff was in her way. Her notes were neatly arranged on top and her gaudy backpack leaned against one of the table's legs. Princess decided to kick them away and refused to give them any more attention.

She smiled at Dexter and they read through the assignment together. Blossom paraded into the classroom like she owned the place, her chin high so she could look down her nose at everyone.

Blossom took a haughty breath and tried to act disaffected. "Princess, care to tell me why my things are scattered all over the floor?"

"Are they?" There were books and papers scattered on the floor where Princess had kicked them. "I hadn't noticed."

"I'm sure." She walked up to Princess and Dexter's table. "Why are you in my seat?"

"You're mistaken. This is my seat. Right next to my new lab partner." Princess rested her hand on Dexter's arm. "That's your seat." She looked over to the empty chair next to Brick.

Blossom crossed her arms over her chest and leaned down. "Pick up my things and place them where they belong."

Princess leaned forward to get in her face. "No. Maybe next time you shouldn't put your things where they don't belong."

Blossom glared at her. Princess gave her a shark-toothed smile knowing she couldn't do anything.

Blossom went up to the teacher's desk. "Mr. Chryniszzswics, I need to speak with you." They talked briefly, not loud enough for anyone else to hear. Princess winked at Dexter.

"There must be some mistake." Blossom lost her composure. "I cannot be partners with Brick. I need to switch."

"You already switched once today," Mr. Chryniszzswics said.

"I didn't-"

"You can't switch again. It wouldn't be fair to the other students. Please move to your seat so that we can begin today's lab."

Blossom straightened, pushing her chin into the air again. She marched over and picked her things off the floor.

"How was the prude convention, Blossom?" Princess sneered.

"Princess." Brick glared at her. "Shut up."

Princess gave him an innocent look. Poor angry baby. She'd make it up to him eventually.

Blossom and plopped into her seat. She and Brick read the assignment, turned slightly away from each other, not speaking. The situation was quite satisfying.

---

The second part of Princess' plan required a little more luck. Boys were so easy to manipulate, girls were a little more difficult, though not by much.

Princess' chef met her in the cafeteria at lunch. His offerings were shredded brussels sprout on ricotta toast, as if Princess needed the carbs, endive cups with beet, persimmon, and feta cheese, the most bland food on Earth, and lettuce wraps with filet mignon and water chestnuts. Honestly, Princess was beginning to believe everyone was offering her two terrible options, so she'd have to settle for the third.

Princess took the lettuce wraps and let her lackeys have the rest. Julie scooped up the ricotta toast much to Princess' amusement. Julie Smith was Princess' 'friend' Not a person she actually gave a second thought to, but Julie hated Blossom almost as much as Princess did. That made her useful.

They sat in the cafeteria near the cheerleaders. The girls gabbed back and forth about nothing, but Princess' target had super hearing. After a few minutes of chatting, Princess made her move.

"God, if only we could get a competent quarterback. Tyler's replacement is a joke."

Bubbles turned around in her chair. "What?"

Princess rolled her eyes and turned toward Julie. It only made Bubbles want to hear what she had to say all the more. "You know who they should get, Butch."

"Mm hmm." Julie nodded her head with a mouth full of food. She finally swallowed. "He'd make a great quarterback."

With the seed planted, Bubbles turned back toward her group.

---

After school, Princess arrived at Dexter's minuscule house as planned. She couldn't understand how people lived like that, but she was glad they could. He showed her inside and into his room. It was a typical boy's room, Princess was glad it didn't have much of a smell.

Dexter tilted a book out of his bookcase. Princess expected it to swing open. Instead, a remote control dropped from the ceiling. He pulled on the string it was attached to and the ceiling fan folded out, surrounding them. They began moving down at a high speed and a door opened.

"Behold! My Laboratory!"

"Wow!" Princess let herself take it in. The equipment was uniform with an off-white casing. Bright sun lamps were spaced in a hexagonal formation on the ceiling. The lab had a pale blue atmosphere. "So you built all this?"

"Indeed. I had completed construction before I was six."

"Take me on a tour."

Dexter bent his elbow for Princess to take, and she held very loosely. "This front section is a showcase of my latest inventions. My Lead Zeppelin." He gestured to a blimp made of a dull gray metal. "My Iron Maiden." It was a fighting robot. Such a shame that Princess couldn't take her for a spin. "My Guns and Roses." It was a pile of assault rifles and long-stemmed roses on a table. "My Twisted Sister-"

"Hey Dexter." A blonde girl said.

"Dee Dee! What are you doing here?"

Dee Dee rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Dexter. I'm looking for an extra phone charger." She waved the charger in his face, dangling it by the cord. "Who's your friend?"

Dexter shook his head. "No one you need to concern yourself with. Now, please give us some-"

"Is this your girl-friend?"

Princess tilted her head.

"Not at all. We are simply lab part-"

Dee Dee pulled a beaker filled with a green fluid out of a nearby stand. "Oops," she said, before dropping it on the floor. And they called Princess a brat. "Does your girlfriend know you watch Pony Puff Princess?"

Dexter strobed like he had been electrocuted. "Dee Dee! No! I certainly do not-"

"Don't they have a special name for guys that watch Pony Puff Princess? Pony-boys?"

Dexter stomped his foot. "Princess, please take a look around and let me know if you see anything that would make for a winning science project." He walked up to Dee Dee and yelled at her. Princess didn't care.

She meandered through the lab, careful to not get lost. She found the power generator, an armory full of ray guns, and the particle accelerator. She must have been in the physics section, not what she was looking for. She saw some green and figured it was hydroponics.

A few aisles down and there it was, between the biology and chemistry sections, all Princess had ever wanted, Dexter's genetic modification plant. A quick perusal confirmed he had plenty of compounds they'd need. Though he was missing the most-important one.

"I apologize for my rude sister's interruption. Now, where were we?"

Princess stifled her excitement. "What's that?"

"This? Ahhh, this may be too advanced for a rudimentary science project."

"Not at all. It looks like you could..." Princess didn't know how much she should allow Dexter to know how much she knew. He probably liked smart girls, as long as they weren't smarter than he thought he was. "modify an organism's DNA."

Dexter puffed up his chest. "Indeed one could."

Princess studied a nearby hologram and took her notes out of her bag. "To make our project compelling, we need to pose a captivating question, then provide a solid answer."

Dexter paused, considering her words. Princess resisted rolling her eyes. It was basic method. "I believe I am following. In that case, what do you propose our question should be?"

Princess turned to him and smiled. "How could we give someone superpowers?"

"Superpowers?" Dexter thought for a moment. "The super-being I am most familiar with is Major Glory. He was a normal man once, who was enhanced with a blast of concentrated energy while defending the Statue of Liberty." He rubbed his chin. "A thorough study of this incident would be most intriguing-"

"It needs to be more consistent, something that could be replicated. I know, what about the Powerpuff Girls? The procedure that created them was repeated on two separate occasions."

"The Powerpuff Girls? They famously use Chemical X to fuel their powers, as do Brick and his brothers. However, I am unaware of any other-"

"And as I recall, they successfully infused Chemical X into a squirrel. If they could do that, you and I can infuse it into a human. Okay. So all we need to do is get some Chemical X."

"Only Professor Utonium knows the formula for Chemical X, and it is a closely guarded secret."

"There's got to be another way." Princess tapped her heel. It was becoming tedious leading him by the nose for this long. "Isn't there something that counteracts Chemical X?"

"Ahh yes, Antidote X. If we could obtain some Antidote X, we could study its properties to discover how it reacts with other compounds. In that way we could design a substance very much like Chemical X. Although..." Dexter rubbed his chin. Princess tapped her heel. "It is as unobtainable as Chemical X itself."

"Don't be so sure. You'd be surprised how often people leave it laying around."

---

Sophomore Year - September

Some bald-headed old man simpered his way out of Princess' father's office. "I'm sorry, Reginald," he said before running down the hall to the foyer.

Princess didn't take any more notice of him than that. She opened the heavy oak door and started talking like usual. "Daddy, I need-"

"Who gives a fuck?" He hissed pouring himself a drink.

Princess blinked. Her father had never spoken to her like that. He stood on the other side of his desk with his back to her. A cloud of cigar smoke built over his head. "You do not get to speak to me that way," she growled.

He only turned his head to speak over his shoulder. "I'll speak to you in whatever manner I choose."

Princess grit her teeth. "Daddy-"

"You need! You need! You need! That's all I ever hear from anyone these days!" He balled his fists and began to pace the room as he ranted. "All anyone cares about is what I can do, what I can give, how I can help them." He took a long drink. "I didn't ask to wield this much power."

Princess crossed her arms. Something must have happened, a bad business deal, a falling out with one of her father's contacts, another fight with Princess' mother. Where was her mother anyway? Why should she have to endure his tirades? Princess wasn't the one refusing to fuck him.

"And now, in my hour of need. You are going to start doing things for me." He pointed the cigar at her. "You, Princess, are my newest employee."

"I don't work for-"

"Quiet! Stop interrupting your boss if you know what's good for you." He sat in his chair, the leather squeaking at his weight. "You are sixteen, aren't you."

Princess tapped her heel. Her upcoming birthday party was the very thing she wanted to talk to him about. "I'll be sixteen in six months, not that I should have expected you to know that."

"I can legally employ you then. But I will be relinquishing your allowance and trust fund immediately." He stood up again, letting the ash from his cigar fall to the floor. "You will be well-compensated and hopefully you won't turn out like your whore of a mother."

Princess's heart went cold. She understood what had happened without her father needing to say any more. A quick glance at the stack of papers on the desk confirmed it. Her mother had threatened to abandon them for years. She had always used it as her ultimate threat against her father during their arguments. Her father was always so giving, so loving. Princess never thought her mother could give up everything her father provided for them, the ungrateful bitch.

Princess sat in a chair in front of his desk, crossed her legs, and set her hands in her lap. Her fingers felt strangely naked, making her want a pair of gloves. "What do you need me to do?"

Chapter 12: Enemies

Enemies

Sophomore Year - October

Blossom straightened herself. She may have been defeated, but she wouldn't let Princess demean her. With a grace Princess didn't deserve, Blossom picked her books and notes off the floor.

"How was the prude convention, Blossom?" Princess asked, snidely inflecting her name.

Blossom rolled her eyes, as if she had never been called a prude before. She wouldn't react any more than that, it would only provoke an escalation.

"Princess." Brick gripped the side of his desk like he wanted to break it. "Shut up."

Strangely enough, Princess did. Though she still had that condescending smile on her face.

Once she had gathered her things, Blossom inspected her new seat for any nasty surprises. She wouldn't put it past Princess to cover the chair in grease or something equally disgusting. There didn't seem to be any traps, so she sat. Her new partner sighed while reading the lab assignment. She sat as far away as possible, her skin crawled at having to be near him.

Blossom took a breath and began arranging her notes on the table. Brick, for his part, actually began to prepare the materials for their lab assignment. He had a scowl on his face, but didn't look at her.

"I don't need you to defend me."

He finally looked up at her and his scowl deepened. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You told Princess to shut up. I don't need you to do that."

He looked back down at the assignment. "Whatever."

"Do not 'whatever' me." Blossom didn't like it when Buttercup said 'whatever', and she absolutely hated it when Brick said it.

He looked back up at her again, those red eyes boring into hers. "Whatever."

"You are the absolute worst person I know." Blossom winced at all of her memories of him. "I still remember you holding me down and spitting in my face."

Brick pounded the table. "Would you like to know what Hell is like? Because I can tell you."

Blossom wouldn't so much as dignify that with a response. "Whatever." Much to Blossom's chagrin, HIM had resurrected Brick and his brothers a few months after that particular incident. He was a literal fire demon, Blossom was sure of it. He was probably hiding horns under that hat.

Their lab assignment was a simple titration demonstration. Blossom had performed the same experiment with her father. Blossom reached for a beaker. Her hand found the glass at the same time as Brick's and their fingers touched. She pulled her hand away as if she had touched a hot stove. He pulled his hand away too. Her stomach turned upside down. She had actually touched him, the mere thought made her want to throw up. Brick glared at her, his lips practically curling into a snarl. They bore into each other for a long time, each coming to terms with their situation. They were lab partners, stuck with each other.

Brick opened his mouth to say something when his phone alarm blared. "Yeah?" The mayor's voice came from the other end, it was muffled, but Blossom could pick out his signature style of speech.

She received a text from her mother. [I have a bad feeling about this monster. I need you on stand-by]

Without a word of acknowledgement or anything affirming that he was on it, Brick pressed 'End Call' and jetted out of the classroom. Blossom was quick behind him. They both typed out messages summoning their siblings.

A giant glob of metallic ooze squirmed around the abandoned industrial district, it pulled itself forward like an amoeba standing on four protrusions it used as legs. She winced at the screech of metal moving against metal.

Brick noticed Blossom behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Ensuring you don't screw up."

"Whatever." Brick went back to studying it and Blossom fought the urge to smack him in the back of the head.

Boomer and Butch arrived with Blossom's sisters close behind.

"Hey Blossom," Boomer said with a half-smile.

"Hello Boomer." Blossom tilted her head at him.

The boys floated above the monster while one of its legs demolished an old structure. Brick concentrated very hard on the blob while it was still destroying the town. The buildings were empty and unused, sure, but being demolished nonetheless. Blossom couldn't understand the screeching. That had to mean it was solid, but it had a liquid-like flow to its movement.

"What do you think?" Butch asked pulling on a pair of fighting gloves.

Brick craned his head over toward Butch mulling the question over. "Hit it."

Butch gave him a shark-toothed smile. "Thank you." He dove toward it's center mass, fist cocked and gaining speed. The impact of his punch warped the metal and left a twenty-foot crater in the blob's body. It slammed into the ground with a deep 'boom'. Those facts leaned to her hypothesis that it was, in fact, solid. Butch had punched it so hard, holes ripped in the knuckles of his glove. The monster itself didn't seem all that bothered by the wound and proceeded on it's merry way.

"Effective," Blossom said, sarcastically.

"Let's go, Boomer," Brick said before he and Boomer charged in. The three of them flew in circles around it. Their punches left dents in its body. Brick shot a stream of fire at one of the legs. But nothing they did so much as slowed it down while it destroyed another piece of Townsville history.

"Get ready, girls," Blossom said. "If they can't do it, we take over."

"Why won't this thing go down?" Butch asked, ripping off his ruined gloves.

Brick whipped his head toward Boomer. "Lightning. Butch, get clear."

Boomer pulled his hand back, charging a large ball of electricity, and threw it at the monster. The sky turned black while streams of light arced through the metal and into the ground.

The monster staggered and collapsed. Clumps of metal fell apart rolling away from each other. It wasn't a blob after all. It was solid, like a bunch of pieces all held together by magnets.

The pieces began moving backwards. They glided over each other and came together, reforming the monster. The reconstituted thing charged Boomer. He managed to zip away and up into the air to rejoin his brothers.

"I knew they couldn't handle it," Blossom said, earning a scoff from Brick. "What was your plan anyway?" She giggled at him. "Punch it to death?" Of course, he couldn't. It was apparently immune to physical force. And that took away all of the advantage he and his brothers had. They had always been stronger, which meant Blossom and her sisters had to figure out alternate ways of beating them. But raw strength meant nothing to this monster.

"If only you had someone who could slow it down by say... freezing it. And someone who could scoop it right up with... I don't know... a forcefield." Blossom giggled again. "Admit you can't beat it and I'll do it for you." Blossom honestly didn't care about the money, she wanted the confession. She wanted him to say the words.

Brick clenched and unclenched his jaw. Blossom could practically smell the smoke in his throat.

"Why don't you go back to class and leave this to someone who can do the job."

Brick raised his fist like he was going to hit her, fury in his eyes. Blossom readied herself to avoid his strikes. Fire curled up his arms and built in intensity, growing more concentrated. Blossom could taste the X he was expending. He didn't strike. Brick flew down and blasted the monster with two yellow streams of flame.

The monster didn't seem to notice at first, but it soon began to glow a deep red. Brick didn't stop, he wouldn't stop until he had used all the X he could muster. The monster dripped molten metal like sweat. It shouldn't have been doing that, Brick couldn't make fire hot enough to melt steel, at least not that much steel. Cracks in the joints and weak sections glowed brightly. This only seemed to encourage Brick and he further concentrated his fire, bringing it to an almost white jet.

"Shit..." Buttercup said in an awed tone.

"Yeah, this is why we don't piss him off too much," Butch said. Blossom noted the oddly casual exchange between Buttercup and Butch. It was an impressive display of power, but any one of them could accomplish something equally destructive.

The monster lurched, large sections of it became liquid and splashed on the ground. Even when it collapsed, Brick didn't let up. He circled it, hitting all the spots that weren't melted.

Finally, the monster had been reduced to a boiling puddle of metal on the ground and Brick stopped. He hunched, his forearms resting on his thighs and out of breath, inspecting his work. He flew up only to get in Blossom's face again. He wheezed and couldn't close his hands all the way. She could feel him tremble with weakness. "And that's how you do that."

Blossom rolled her eyes. He was such an insufferable bastard.

"Uh, guys," Bubbles said. "Where's it going?"

"What are you talking about?" Buttercup asked. "It's dea-"

They all looked at it. Bubbles was right. The metal was soaking into the ground. "You don't think..."

"Yes," Blossom flicked her hair over her shoulder to shame Brick. "Yes, I do. It's still alive."

"Ugh." Brick dropped out of the air, landing on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Blossom asked.

He crossed his arms. "I need to recharge." That was it, another chance to kill him. In order to recharge he couldn't use any of his powers, including invincibility or heightened reflexes. Blossom could take him out and he'd never see it coming. All of her problems would be solved. As he had pointed out, she had done it once before.

Fountains of metal spurted out of the ground. They pooled together and the blob reformed itself. Steam wafted up from it's body. What was worse was that it was even bigger than before. Jagged spines had formed all around it where bits of metal had cooled.

"It's using groundwater to cool itself," Blossom said.

"But it's growing," Bubbles said. "How is it growing?"

Brick concentrated very hard on the blob while it began destroying the town again. "Now that's interesting. Could be useful..." he trailed off watching it plow through yet another building. "We need to let it get bigger-"

"No." Blossom spread her arms in front of Brick. "Absolutely not."

"That thing, its not steel. It's a mix of metals," Brick said. "Chromium, palladium, mercury, and a shit-ton of lead. It's absorbing more contaminants when it goes into the ground, that's how its growing."

"All that shit is in the ground?" Buttercup asked grimacing.

"This area used to manufacture microchips, semiconductors, and all kinds of stuff until the ground got too polluted and started poisoning the workers. That's why they never rebuilt here. Let's get all that shit in one clump and be done with it." Brick took off after the monster before Blossom could rebut him.

He caught up to it and blasted another jet of fire. It was already hot and the section he was heating melted easily. Once again, it seeped into the ground.

Blossom grabbed Brick's arm and pulled his palm away from the monster. "The buildings are supposed to be empty and unused, but there could still be people living in them. Plus, they mean something to Townsville's history. Letting it go on a rampage is a risk we don't need to take," Blossom said, putting as much authority into her voice as she could.

Brick wrenched his arm out of her grip. "They'll rebuild. They always do."

"I will not let you endanger this city or anyone living in it. Now do your job and destroy it."

He got in her face again. "One, I don't take orders from you. Two, people around here are poor, not stupid. They know to run when a monster attacks. Three, I don't give a shit about this city's fucking history."

Blossom grimaced. "You don't care about this city? Fine. People do irrational things at times, desperate people most of all."

"Need to plan ahead." Brick lifted his hat, ran his hands over his hair, and put it back on. "How do we kill it?"

"It's like gray goo," Boomer said. "I wonder what it eats."

"Boomer, I am trying to think," Brick said tersely.

Blossom circled, floating around Brick. The city depended on her ending the situation quickly. "Last chance. Say the words and I'll end it for you."

He looked at her like he wanted to say something, then looked back at the monster, then at Boomer, then at Bubbles. He was planning something. Whatever it was, it was going to be bad.

"Butch, Boomer, get it to chase you. It's trying to get to that building," He pointed to a brick building with a collapsed roof. "The old watch factory. Buttercup, make it melt a few times in different areas. Keep it nice and hot."

Buttercup tilted her head. "You gonna pay me?"

"Yeah."

"What!?" Blossom and Butch said together.

"Let it go underground and do its thing. I'll be back." Brick flew off toward nowhere. He couldn't just leave in the middle of a monster fight.

Blossom had had enough. She was taking initiative before the boys could act. It wasn't like they could stop her. "Alright, girls. Time to test our mettle." She launched into the air to engage the monster. Bubbles followed, but Buttercup hesitated. Blossom used her eyebeams to cut the monster into four equal sections, separating each of the legs. At the very least, that would slow it down.

The sections rearranged themselves. The main bodies split themselves. Three more legs formed on each. The four smaller blobs ran in different directions, much faster than when they were one creature.

"What are you-"

"Stay back, Butch," Blossom demanded. He and Boomer hung in the air. A quick burst of ice stopped one of the things in its tracks. They were much easier to handle when they were small.

Bubbles formed a dome around another with her forcefields. That was two down. They were going to make quick work of them.

Blossom felt a warmth coming from her right. Buttercup was using her eyebeams to melt one of the divisions.

"Buttercup! Stop!"

Buttercup did stop, but only momentarily. "Brick said to keep it hot. Besides, I don't have ice powers or forcefields. Not like Bubbles can make anyway."

"Throw the frozen one into the Sun."

Buttercup blinked with a blank stare like it hadn't been obvious.

Bubbles tossed hers into the sky. At least one of her sisters could keep up with her. At least one of her sisters was loyal.

Brick returned holding a huge municipal water tank that he had cut open. "What are you doing?"

"We are defeating this monster. What are you doing with that?"

Brick looked at her incredulously. "It's a mousetrap."

"How is that thing a mousetrap?"

"Those old disc batteries used to have a very small amount of uranium in them." Brick flew ahead and tossed the tank to Butch. "Multiply that over 60 years and it makes a good energy source."

"An energy source for what?" Bubbles asked.

He gave them a cocky smirk. "The nanobots." He pointed to a row of buildings that hadn't been destroyed yet. "Boomer, get it over there. We need to clean that section."

"'Clean the section?' You clearly haven't even checked to see if anyone is in danger."

"No one is here. And if you want to check so bad, then check. I'm not going to stop you."

He was such an arrogant jerk with a foolish smirk. Being a hero wasn't supposed to be about pride. It was about doing what was right. He could take down the monster and get all the money and glory he wanted, Blossom needed to stop standing around. And if Brick wasn't willing to take innocent lives into consideration, Blossom would.

"Bubbles, Buttercup. We're looking for civilians." Blossom took off. "Bubbles, you check southwest. Buttercup, you-" Buttercup wasn't with them. She was back with the boys, actually doing as Brick said.

"Buttercup!"

"What!?"

"I gave you an order."

Buttercup put a hand up. "I've got work to do."

Blossom was so mad, her entire body shook. "When this is over, we are going to have a talk."

Blossom scanned the area with her x-ray vision. She remembered how difficult it was in the industrial district. Fortunately, they could narrow their search to the areas between the monster and the watch factory.

She saw something near a creek bed. A man with a large beard and dingy clothing was standing there with his arms behind his back. Perfectly still, he stared at a singular point in the distance. The building next to him rattled ferociously, blue and red streaked above, and he didn't react in the slightest.

"Sir, we need to get you to safety."

He did not react. Blossom may as well have been talking to a statue.

The building rocked off of its foundation. The telltale screech of Buttercup's eybeams rang out and a waterfall of molten metal was about to rain down on them.

Blossom kicked off the ground, using superspeed to grab the man, and she ran him to the safe zone. She placed him on the ground. "You're safe now."

He still didn't react. He kept the same standing position, only now he was staring at a different spot in the distance. If not for the fact that she had felt his body heat through the coat and the layer of fat around his belly, she would have actually been convinced he was a very lifelike sculpture.

Blossom still had a job to do. She finished scanning the area and rejoined with Bubbles. "Did you find anyone?"

"No. The place is abandoned."

"I did. We need to search the destroyed buildings for survivors."

"Right," Bubbles said.

It took longer than it should have without Buttercup. They lifted debris and used X-ray vision to find anyone they could. They confirmed no one needed assistance and watched the monster climb into the water tank being held by Butch. He and Boomer lifted it into space.

Blossom's shoulders slumped. At least it was over.

The mayor's limo pulled up on the road. A caravan of news vans followed it. The door opened and the mayor hopped out with Blossom's mom in tow. He walked up to Brick while a microphone stand was set up. The news crews went about the business of preparing for the mayor's impromptu press conference. Butch and Boomer landed next to their brother and the mayor.

"Congratulations, Rowdyruff Boys. Not only did you defeat the monster, you cleaned up the soil in the area and paved the way for redevelopment of the old factory district. Why, I remember when I was a boy..."

The mayor started telling a story about how it was a bustling community long ago. Blossom didn't want to hear any more. She took off back to school. Bubbles and Buttercup followed her.

Almost immediately, her phone buzzed with a message from her mother. [The mayor is only spinning this as a win. The city's water system is at 70% capacity]

Blossom sighed. The monster was gone, someone was saved from certain doom, and she had the better plan. She should have been contented with that. But she wasn't.

---

The bell for the end of sixth period went off. Blossom packed her things quickly and caught Brick on his way out of the classroom. "We need to talk about our science project."

"Getting a little ahead of yourself."

"I also like to plan ahead."

He gave her the slightest of nods, recognizing his own words. The best person to convince Brick of anything was Brick himself.

He followed her as she led him to the library, maneuvering them through the throngs of students in the halls.

"Are you going to apologize?" Blossom asked, when they had left the math and science building.

"For what?"

"You put the entire city at risk by letting that monster go on a rampage."

"No one was in danger-"

"Yes! There was, Brick! There was a man!"

"There was no man."

"How would you know!? You didn't even check!"

"I did check. There was no man. My plan worked perfectly."

Blossom couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It was irresponsible, reckless, not to mention idiotic-"

"Shut up," Brick demanded, giving her that death glare again.

Blossom got in his face and gave him one right back. "Make me."

"Is there a problem here?" Jared asked. He stomped up to Brick and pulled Blossom behind himself. He stared Brick down with an unearned bravery. Blossom's sweet boyfriend was cute trying to stand up for her, but he was going to get himself hurt like that.

Brick's face, to his credit, turned placid, knowing he could crush Jared at any time.

Blossom took Jared's hand. "No, Brick is my new lab partner."

"And what nefarious scheme did he use to pull that off?"

"Jared, that isn't his fault. Princess-"

"Well I don't like it," he said, pointing a finger, almost touching Brick's chest. "This villain probably has some kind of plan."

Brick looked at him, confused.

Blossom squeezed Jared's arm. "He and I need to talk about our science project."

"Then I will accompany you to make sure-"

"Jared, I will call you at 3," Blossom said sternly.

His lips scrunched up like he knew what to do, but couldn't bring himself to do it. "Alright." He walked away, looking back no less than five times.

Blossom sighed and resumed their trek to the library.

"So that was your boy, huh," Brick said, walking behind her.

Blossom suppressed the deep rage building in her chest. "Yes."

He chuckled. "I always pictured you with-"

"Wow." Blossom turned and clenched her fist, digging her nails into her palm. "I did not ask for your opinion."

Brick snickered. "I'm going to give it to you anyway. He doesn't deserve you."

"'Deserve' has nothing to do with it."

"Guy's like steamed rice on milk-toast. What's that like?"

"What is what like?"

"Being a god dating an insect?"

Blossom rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond to Brick's toxic point of view. She opened the door to the library and headed for the study tables.

"Doesn't your dad have a lab we can use?"

"A lab I can use. You will never be allowed in."

"Fine." He placed his backpack on a table and retrieved a notebook. "I'm sure you have an idea for a project."

Blossom flipped through her own notebook. "I want that blue ribbon, and we're not going to get it with a baking soda volcano."

Brick scowled at her, probably contemplating the most entertaining way to end her life.

Blossom ignored it and found the page where she had written the ideas she had sent to Dexter.

"You know." Brick scratched the peach fuzz above his upper lip. "Geothermal energy isn't a bad idea," he said, extrapolating from Blossom's comment like he had with Boomer's. The more she thought about it, his mousetrap idea had also come from her own 'forcefield' comment. He didn't have a single original thought. All of his ideas came from someone else.

She let it go only because he actually did acknowledge that he had taken her idea and spun it in a different direction. "How are we going to build a working geothermal plant?"

"We convert Mojo's observatory."

Blossom pursed her lips. It actually was a good idea and would greatly help the city. Though it was strange him bringing up his parentage. He never did that. Most of the time he acted like Mojo didn't exist. "Have you talked to him lately?" she asked.

"No. Have you?"

"He tried to blow up the dam a few months ago. Since then, he's been in prison."

"You have such a soft spot for the old ape."

Blossom crossed her arms. "Yeah, because you know me so well."

"I do. I know exactly who you are and what you're made of."

"Yeah, well I know where you came from too."

Brick closed his eyes and shook his head. "I love our little talks."

"Maybe we shouldn't talk, then."

Brick took a long breath looking at her. "Agreed."

She ripped the page out of the notebook and slid it to Brick. The subject of Mojo was dangerously proximate to the subject of Brick's other parent. Blossom had always wondered about the source of the nanobot swarm that plagued Townsville when she was in kindergarten. HIM was certainly powerful enough to create it.

He took a look at the list and nodded. He slipped it into his notebook and packed it into his backpack. They both got up to leave.

Blossom stopped herself from opening her mouth. They had a ceasefire, and she didn't want to break it. They would have to work together for an entire school year. Still, she needed to ask. The city could have been at risk.

"That monster," Blossom said, lowly. "Do you think HIM sent it?"

Brick looked at her with a slight glare that softened suddenly. "No."

"Why not? He is certainly capable of it."

"Sending a monster isn't his style. Besides, he wants something specific."

"Doesn't he control you or own your soul or something?"

"Is that what you think?" Brick rolled his head on his shoulders. "We sold him our souls to him and became demons?"

"He took you with him the day you came back. How'd you escape?"

"You've been to Limbo. The same way you did."

Limbo, the Chaos Realm. HIM's ever-changing nightmare playground. Blossom and her sisters had been trapped there once during their sleep. Blossom remembered the evil version of Ms. Keane and the disorienting terrain.

"What does he want?" Blossom asked.

"He always asks for the same thing, and it doesn't matter, because I'm not giving it to him."

"What is it?"

Brick looked at her, but said nothing.

---

Brick poured a can of soda over ice and added a double shot of rum. It bubbled to the top as he carefully filled the glass. He took a sip and set it on the table next to his work chair to let the foam settle. He had several analyses on Plato's Republic open on his laptop.

He had to admit this was more philosophy than history and usually it would be outside the scope of the class. But Luzinsky had a hard-on for Ancient Greece and Brick needed to keep his lead. Brick himself despised the material. The central question, 'what is justice?' struck him as profoundly naive. Of course Plato didn't have the benefit of 2,300 years of philosophical progress to render the question meaningless.

He reached out for his glass of soda without looking, but his fingers didn't grasp anything. A quick glance at the table confirmed it was four inches away from where he had set it. No one but him would have noticed.

"Go away."

"Brick, Brick, Brick," came a disembodied voice. "Is that any way to speak to your father?"

The words hit like a punch to the chest. "You are not my father," Brick growled.

A cloud of purple smoke gathered and formed into HIM. "Of course I am." He spun around, trying his hardest to get Brick's attention. "I did correct all of those little errors involved in your creation and return you to life after all." Brick kept his attention on his laptop. "Don't I deserve a little paternal involvement?"

"What's it been, five months?" Brick took a gulp of his drink. It was finally reaching the perfect temperature and dilution point. "I told you when we first met. You can't control us."

"I never wanted to control you. I'm just making suggestions like any good parent would. Is that so wrong?" HIM crossed his arms.

Then why do you only ever show up when you want something? Brick didn't ask the question aloud. He went back to his laptop, wondering what Plato would say about HIM, justice, and whether his association with chaos really makes him happy.

HIM tossed the end of his boa over his shoulder. "I heard you and your brothers have given up your life of crime and become..." He sneered to himself. "Superheroes."

Brick didn't look up. "Is that what you call fleecing this city for all it's worth?"

"It isn't wholesale slaughter, but it does have an elegance to it that, I will admit, makes me proud." HIM clacked his claws with a sadistic smile.

"That's why I did it, to make you proud." Brick took a long breath, he wanted to get the conversation over with.

"Fine. Fine." HIM waved off Brick's sarcasm. His placid expression slowly became barely restrained rage. "I saw you... with her," he hissed.

"Still out to destroy her? That's the thing I love about you. You never change."

"Get to be as old as I am and see if you don't find yourself set in your ways." HIM stalked across the carpet. His gaze never left Brick. "I want you to kill her."

Brick rolled his eyes. "No-"

"Kill her and I'll give you whatever you want."

"Oh good, I didn't want to face any challenges in my life ever again. That won't get boring."

"You are the only one who can."

"Then I don't need to kill her in order to prove it."

HIM crossed his arms and pouted. "You kill monsters all the time. Kill this one for me!"

Blossom characterized as a literal monster, interesting take. "No."

HIM came really close to him and growled in his face. "You really are my greatest disappointment," he hissed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Finally left in peace, Brick could go back to Plato.

---

The chunks of metal finally made it to the surface of the sun. Silico's nanite swarm went with it. One by one, every last signal went to static. He took one final breath to lament the loss of his nanites. It had taken ten years for the last one to rebuild its brothers. With the material they had collected Silico would have had a swarm capable of remaking the entire world.

Channel 5 news was doing an evening recap of the events. "Another monster attacked Townsville today, marking the 14th this year. It was defeated by Townsville's resident monster-destroyers, the Rowdyruff Boys." Beside the anchor's head was an image of the three of them beating against the lead artifice.

"Brick, Boys, We could have been such friends," Silico mused to himself. Brick had been more cunning than Silico had anticipated. He didn't bang his head against it like a simpleton as Silico had suspected. He saw the possibilities. He was powerful as well, even more powerful than any of the Powerpuff Girls. The ability to do anything with the intelligence to do it right. It was quite impressive.

The anchor continued. "This time, though, our Boys were assisted by long-time crime-crushers, the Powerpuff Girls." The image changed to Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup using their powers on Silico's creation.

Silico tapped his fingertips together. "But now you've aligned yourselves with those females."

The anchor turned to his female companion. "Could this be the first sign of a superhero team-up?"

"I think the Girls are doing just fine on their own," she said, condescendingly. She turned to the camera. "Later this evening, Powerpuff leader, Blossom Utonium, uncovered a fraud scheme allegedly led by real estate developer, Winthrop Mangrove..."

No, it would never happen. The Rowdyruff Boys had sinned against him, especially their leader. Brick had to die.

Chapter 13: All Star

All Star

Fifth Grade

"School!?" Butch couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What do you mean 'we have to go to school'?"

"Because she will be there and I want to annoy her." Brick crossed his arms.

"If you want to annoy Blossom so bad, just beat her up," Boomer said.

"Yeah, we already annoyed her yesterday when we beat them up." Butch punched his fist into his hand, remembering beating Buttercup to a pulp. "That was fun."

Brick got that look in his eye. "She wants me to start a fight with her so she can call me a villain. So we're going to do the opposite."

"We're going to fight crime?"

"Shut up, Boomer!" Brick and Butch both said.

"Of course we're not gonna fight crime." Brick folded his arms. "But we are gonna go to school."

"What's in it for us then?" Butch asked.

---

Sophomore Year - October

"Hey Butch." Bubbles and a bunch of other cheerleaders surrounded him during lunch. They bounced around in their cute outfits. Butch didn't know what was going on, but he liked it. "We're kind of friends, right?"

Butch couldn't help but smile at her. "Bubbles, you and I got drunk together. That is a bond of friendship that can never be broken."

"I wasn't drinking," she said in a low voice. She touched his arm. "Look, we need you." Music to his ears.

"We need you to be the football team's quarterback," the blonde from the party said.

"Yeah, the team sucks without Tyler and we heard you're pretty good," one of the other cheerleaders said. He really needed to give them all nicknames.

Butch had thought about trying out for football, but when tryouts came around getting high felt like a better option. He totally spaced it and the decision was made for him. Things in Butch's life tended to work like that. Brick always took care of the complicated stuff and the rest just happened. And now an entire squad of cheerleaders was begging him to join the team.

They smiled at him, clutching their hands. "Please," they all simpered, knowing exactly what they were doing.

Butch didn't need to think. When a bunch of pretty cheerleaders ask you to do something, you do it every time. "Yes. This is what I was created for: to throw balls far."

Bubbles made a weird face, but Blondie was totally into it. "Wow, Bubbles, you were right. He really is perfect," she said.

After lunch there was more boring school, Butch could hardly pay attention. After the last bell, he got a good workout in, people liked it when his muscles were swollen from a good lifting session.

He touched down on the field where the team was practicing. He stood next to the head coach. "And here I am."

"Who are you?" the coach asked.

"Your new QB."

The coach snorted. "Fuck off."

Butch chuckled looking at the formations the team was making. The quarterback hiked the ball and looked around, not knowing who to throw it to. He got sacked easily.

Butch chuckled again. "I wouldn't have fucked that up."

"I said-" The coach stopped himself, probably not wanting to repeat profanity.

"Fuck off?" Butch huffed. "I bet you twenty bucks he fucks up this next play too."

The coach didn't say anything. The backup QB decided his play and the rest of the team got into position.

After a bunch of words he finally hiked the ball. His blockers did their job. One of the receivers broke from the defense, but he wasn't looking that way. His chosen receiver had double coverage. He couldn't see the rest of the field and waited so long for the receiver to break free, a lineman tackled him from the side.

Butch ripped into a full laugh. "Yep, fucked it up again."

"God damn it." The coach blew his whistle and started berating his players, trying to get his QB to do his job properly.

Butch followed and picked up the ball while the coach was busy yelling.

The coach noticed him and stopped yelling. "Look kid, I don't know who you are or why you think you can-"

Butch looked at the receiver. "Go out for a pass." The receiver took off down the field.

"-interrupt my practice. But I will not have you-"

Butch gripped the ball in his right hand while he watched the receiver. A slight tingle shot up his arm telling him where the receiver would be when the ball got there and exactly how much force to use. His arm moved back and he launched the ball downfield.

"...Shit," was all the coach could say as it soared in a perfect spiral.

The receiver turned and caught the ball exactly where Butch had meant to throw it.

"Can you do that under pressure?" the coach asked.

Butch smiled. "Give me a tryout."

"I already did."

"Cool. I don't even need pads."

The coach crinkled his nose. "It's football, kid. You wear the damn pads."

"Nah man, I'm Butch," he said, rising into the air. "Unstoppable superhero who fights monsters."

"You got superpowers?"

"Yeah, but I didn't use them for that throw or anything. The ball would have gone to the moon if I did."

"Shit. Like an even better Buttercup." The coach shook his head. "Where have you been hiding? Look, I'm gonna have to talk to the principal."

"Aww man." Seymour was never going to let him play on the team. And becoming the team's quarterback was his life-long dream. He had had it all day.

"Come to my office in fifteen minutes. Until then, I don't know, run some laps."

Butch rolled his eyes. "Cardio..." he muttered and started running. The coach put one of the assistants in charge and went to his office.

Butch ran for a while, he didn't know time. Once he got bored, he went into the locker room where the coach's office was. He was surprised to recognize the old lady standing near the desk. "They hired you!? Aww man."

Ms. Keane put her hands on her hips and took a breath. "Butch, would you like to go outside and try that again."

Butch sighed. He forgot, Brick had gotten ole' Seymour fired. He walked out of the office with his shoulders slumped, then came right back in. "Hi Ms. Keane."

"Good afternoon, Butch. I understand you want to join the football team."

"It's my dream."

Ms. Keane crossed her arms and sighed. "While I am glad you are willing to participate in extracurricular activities, I do need to ask, why the sudden interest?"

Butch thought about it. They probably had drug tests. He wouldn't be able to get high as much, but he would get to play football. Then there were the cheerleaders. Honestly, not being able to smoke was the only downside. He couldn't tell Ms. Keane that. His head started to hurt. Did he really want to give up pot to play football? The sound of fans chanting his name, 'Butch! Butch! Butch!' Him, looking awesome with a girl hanging off him, no, two girls. He pictured it and nodded his head.

All he said was "football."

"I'm convinced," the coach said, swiveling in his chair and turning to Ms. Keane.

"Indeed." Ms. Keane looked over her glasses at Butch.

"Put this on," the coach said. He reached out to give Butch something.

Butch could smell the Antidote X from where he was standing. He unleashed all his power immediately. Green energy ripped off of him. He surged with the power to break steel like a pencil between two fingers. "No." To hell if he was going to get dosed with AX.

The coach recoiled back in his chair, but Ms. Keane didn't move. "You have to wear it to participate in school sports," Ms. Keane said.

"You make Buttercup wear that shit?"

Ms. Keane locked eyes with him and stepped forward. "Yes, that is why we have them. And watch your language."

Butch growled. The AX made the hair on his arms feel like it was going to rip out of his skin. "You need me at my best at all times. Never know when a monster might attack."

"If you accidentally use your strength or speed you could easily injure someone," Ms. Keane explained. "Even using your durability could injure someone who tries to tackle you. It also ensures you don't cheat."

"I'm not gonna use my powers." He charged his eyebeams but didn't fire. "If I use them, you'll know."

"Butch, I can assure you I understand how your powers work." Ms. Keane did that thing with her hands that always drew Butch's attention. "That's why you need to wear this." Ms. Keane took the bracelet from the coach and handed it to him.

Butch's gut flipped inside of him. He dropped it and took a step back on reflex. "Look, I can use my powers all I want. Brick's got-"

"Former Principal Butte may have let that slide," Ms. Keane took a step toward him. "But unauthorized use of superpowers will not be tolerated in my school."

Butch glared at her. He didn't like to be told what he couldn't do. "Oh yeah? I'll-"

"Butch," Ms. Keane said with a terrifying calm. "Pick up the bracelet."

Butch skin went cold while his insides were burning. Even Brick did what Ms. Keane told him to do when she used that voice. He crouched down and reached at it. He wanted to throw up. It was like sticking a hand in a monster's mouth. His fingers curled around the band and he picked it up.

Ms. Keane put her hand on Butch's shoulder. "Why don't you use the rest of this week to get used to it. You can even try it on. I promise, when you take it off, your powers will return in less than a minute."

Butch realized he was taking huge breaths while staring at it. Ms. Keane's words had barely registered in his mind. "Okay."

"You can come to my office if you have any concerns and the school counselor is available."

"Practice is after school Monday through Thursday," the coach said. "Game days are on Friday. If we lose, I call in a double practice on Saturday, 5:00 AM." He stood up, like it mattered. "Don't lose."

That was a lot. Butch hadn't realized how much time football was going to take. He really didn't need all that time to get pads on. And he really didn't like anyone telling him what to do and when to do it.

"There is also the matter of your academic record," Ms. Keane said. "You are under the grade requirement to participate in school sports." Coach took a breath like he was going to say something. "However," Ms. Keane preempted him, retaining control of the conversation. "I will waive that rule if you enroll in tutoring and bring up your grades to the acceptable level within one month."

Butch sighed. He didn't even want to know if he even wanted to do it anymore. He was really tired all of a sudden. If it would get him out of there, he would just go along with it. "Okay."

Butch looked at the bracelet while walking the halls. The smell was putrid and there was this needle he could see, it was partially hidden, but he found it. He was thinking so hard he almost ran into someone.

"Butch, I'll pay you a thousand dollars for that thing," Princess said, holding out a wad of cash.

Butch shoved it into her open hand and took the money. "Sorry coach, I lost it." He folded the money into his pocket, relieved his problem had solved itself. Everything was going to be okay after all.

---

When Butch got home Brick and Boomer were playing a video game on the couch. "Guys, we're in huge trouble. Did you see who they replaced Seymour with?"

Boomer looked at Brick. Brick rolled his eyes. "Who?" Boomer asked.

"Ms. Keane, our old 5th grade teacher."

"Oh." Brick shrugged. "That makes sense." He and Boomer went back to the game.

"Why would they make a grade-school teacher the principal?" Boomer asked.

"I can't believe you guys aren't more worried about this," Butch said. "That woman is a taskmaster!"

Brick sighed.

"I remember her being really nice," Boomer said.

"That lady is gonna chew us up and spit us out."

"No, just you," Brick mumbled.

Brick and Boomer stopped their game. Boomer went to the kitchen looking for a snack. Brick headed upstairs.

"Hey man. I joined the football team,” Butch said to Brick. “Are you going to come to the game?"

"Why the hell would I go to a high-school football game?"

"I'll be playing, and it's football."

"But I don't get to play."

"The coach really wanted me on the team. I bet you could get on as a running back."

"Pass." Brick tucked a pair of books under his arm and floated up toward his room.

"Bro," Butch called. Brick stopped and looked down at him. Butch pursed his lips. "Come on, man."

Brick stared at him for a long moment. "Do exactly as Ms. Keane says, and I'll be there."

Shit.

Butch's room was a mess, and that was how he liked it. No furniture, he didn't want a fancy dresser or anything. He always knew where his stuff was because it was all out in the open where he could see it. He had a bare mattress on the floor, no bed frame. Everything he needed was on the floor, his bong, empty bottles of Jim Daniels, and his keyboard.

Butch sat on his mattress and leaned against the wall. His hand automatically found his stash of pot, his bong, and a lighter. He didn't get as far as opening his window before he remembered he couldn't smoke until he passed that stupid drug test.

That reminded him, he hadn’t taken his pill. Years before, Brick had given him a box full of bags of pills. They looked like drug cereal. He had said to take one a day, and Butch had ever since.

He looked into the closet and dug through the pile of crap in it, clothes and whatever. Under the random clothes, weights, and other stuff, he found the box completely empty. He found empty pill bottles and torn up bags but no pills. He was out. Must've meant he didn't need them anymore.

He smiled to himself, finally done with it, and fell asleep.

---

"Butch, I'll be sitting in on your first few sessions," Ms. Keane said, ferrying him to the library after school was over.

Butch's heart sank. There was no getting out of it. Any other teacher would get sloppy, leave the classroom to 'take a call', which really meant they would go have a smoke behind the building. Ms. Keane would watch him like a hawk. She knew every trick and never gave anyone any leeway. Her word was law.

He opened the big book they gave him for English class for the first time. It was stupid, he already knew English. Why did they want him to study it?

What was he doing? Learning stupid school junk? He didn't need any of that. He wasn't going to college, he wasn't some nerd. So why was he even there? Why did the school need him to get good grades, all he needed to do was play football. As long as he threw balls where they needed to go and won games he should have been fine.

Maybe he could talk to the coach and see if he could get him out of it. Not like he was some goody two-shoes anyway. His brothers might've forgotten who they were, but Butch hadn't. He was a bad guy.

Ms. Keane stalked down the row of chairs. Butch's neck twitched.

---

Ms. Keane had arrived at the office early on her first day. She showed her ID to the overnight security guard and he let her into administration. She took the next hour to arrange her desk, set up her computer, and familiarize herself with the budget.

The secretary lumbered in an hour before the school opened.

Ms. Keane went to greet her. "Good morning. I am Margaret Keane, the new principal." She extended her hand.

She took her hand and shook. "Linda Ratchet," she said in a rough voice. The smell of cigarettes lingered around her tired eyelids.

"Ms. Ratchet, I have been brought in because this school has special needs."

Ms. Ratchet snorted. "You got that right."

Ms. Keane thought she should get to the point of her request. "Please give me any information you have regarding the children with superpowers in this school."

"You want a rundown? Here's all you need to know, there are these boys, the Rowdyruff Boys-"

"Yes, I am familiar with the boys. What can you tell me about the others?"

"No, no, lady. These Rowdyruff Boys are unlike anything you've ever seen."

"Ms. Ratchet, I was their fifth grade teacher. I can assure you, I know who they are and what they are capable of."

Ms. Ratchet looked at her flatly. She ducked behind a filing cabinet and searched through it. File after file fell onto the counter with a heavy 'slap'. Each was a different color.

"Alright then." Ms. Ratchet picked up the goldenrod file. "Let's start with Princess Morbucks. You know her?"

Ms. Keane took a step toward Ms. Ratchet. "Yes. She is much more difficult to handle than the boys."

"Yeah, well, she's Queen Bitch around here."

Ms. Keane understood faculty needed to blow off steam, but this type of mindset toward the children was unproductive and fostered an 'us versus them' mentality. She would need to lead a series of seminars to reverse the damage Butte had done. "Has she brought any weapons to school?"

"No, but her father bought her way into the AP classes. All of them are being paid off. No one will ever admit it, mind you. The situation isn't discussed. Sounds like a super to me."

Princess Morbucks had always exhibited an intelligence beyond her peers, much like Blossom. However, she hid it from her fellow students, though never from her instructors. Ms. Keane had no doubt Princess had earned her place.

"You want to talk weapons." Ms. Ratchet picked up the white file "Dexter McPhearson, so called 'boy-genus'. He's known for bringing weapons to school. He's never hurt anyone, but he has caused damage to the school when he clashes with..." Ms. Ratchet held up a black file. "Mandark Astro-whatever." More disrespect toward the students. She owed it to them to at least try to pronounce their last names. "Same as Dexter, but worse." She picked up the white file. "Don't put these two in the same room. They'll either end up fighting, or working together. Either one is bad, both is worse."

She picked up the violet file. "Soyun Chen. She was caught with a bottle of what she told us was 'grape soda'. It weren't no grape soda. That same day we found a student acting like a chicken and wouldn't snap out of it. We can't prove it, but we think they're related."

Ms. Ratchet picked up the magenta file with the last name obscured. "Suzy. We don't know, but there is something about that kid. I watched her walk through a collapsing building during a monster attack, not a scratch on her." She slapped more files on her desk. "Telekinesis, invisibility, control over water." She dropped a file onto the desk for each one. "Take your pick." She picked up the aqua colored folder on top. "You have no idea how much the janitors hate this kid."

She assembled a stack. Red, pink, goldenrod, magenta, white, violet, and orange. "These seven share most of their classes. I suggest you start there."

"Seven children share most of their classes?"

"They're all AP and Butte wanted the animals corralled together to limit the damage."

"I see." Ms. Keane spied the side of the pink file, 'Blossom Utonium'. She wondered why Blossom had a file, Blossom had become the perfect young woman. There must have been some strange reason Butte had treated her differently, and Ms. Keane had a hypothesis. She made a mental note to schedule special training for the AP teachers.

Ms. Ratchet flipped her fingers through the other files, there must have been over twenty. "These are the minor threats."

Ms. Keane focused on those files. Boomer was in there somewhere. He had started the mess by not being able to control himself, and Ms. Ratchet considered him a 'minor threat'. She had a lot of work ahead of her if she was going to change the school's student culture.

Chapter 14: Hothead

Hothead

Sophomore Year - October

"Pool," Mitch said, chalking his stick. "The great equalizer."

Buttercup looked at him with a smile. The cue ball and the two ball had lined up nicely.

"Powers won't help you here."

Buttercup leaned down and held her stick in position. She hit the cue ball into the two ball. The two went right into the left corner pocket. Five balls down, three to go. Mitch had only sunk three of his. "Doesn't mean I won't beat you anyway." She set up for the seven next. "When are the guys getting here?" She hit the ball and it bounced off of the right corner right outside the pocket.

Mitch came up from behind her and put his arm around her waist. "Soon," he said into her ear. "I wanted some alone time with you first."

Buttercup smiled. "Finally." She kissed her boyfriend on the lips. "I feel like I never get time alone with you."

"Well all that's gonna change." He kissed her again, then grabbed his stick to take his shot. "Now, watch me make this." The fifteen was lined up well and he lined up his stick. With a jerk, his stick hit the cue ball, it missed the fifteen entirely and bounced off the rails without hitting anything.

Buttercup burst into laughter. He hung his head, as he should have. Her boyfriend was cute but not coordinated in any way. He could only huff at her.

To placate him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged. "Don't be sad."

"Guess who's your new quarterback!" The voice was a screech across Buttercup's brain. Butch strutted into the pool hall with Pablo and Harry.

"Dude, that's awesome!" Mitch said, his demeanor completely changed. He gave Butch a high-five. When he looked over at Buttercup his smile faded.

Butch pulled out his wallet. "Food's on me tonight, boys."

Buttercup silently glared at him. Asshole thought he could buy friendship with food.

"I'll get you too, Buttercup." He looked her up and down. "You aren't a half-bad monster-killer." He set his feet and cocked his head. "When are we gonna throw down?"

Buttercup growled. "Whenever you're ready to take my entire foot up your ass."

"No, no, no," Butch said shaking his head. "You gotta buy me dinner before you try something like that." He went to the counter to order food. Harry and Pablo went looking around the pool hall for sticks that weren't warped, leaving Buttercup alone to have a word with Mitch.

"I thought you weren't going to invite him," Buttercup growled lowly.

"I didn't. It must've been Harry or Pablo."

"Look, I can't stand that guy."

"He's not that bad once you get to know him."

"You know he tried to kill me, right?"

"You know you actually killed him, right?"

Buttercup glared at her boyfriend. She couldn't believe he didn't understand. It was like she couldn't make him, couldn't find the words.

The other guys came back with plates of sliders and fries and hands full of drinks. "I call break," Butch said, setting the balls up. Everyone but Buttercup helped themselves to the food he bought.

"Can't use superpowers on this one," Mitch said, dipping a fry into ketchup.

Butch, still bent over the table, let a little smile start on the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, no. Definitely not."

Something was up. Buttercup watched his arm and shoulder closely, letting time slow down. It wasn't a jerk motion like Mitch used, it was forceful and fluid. The cue ball hit slightly off center and the balls broke. Three went into separate pockets, two stripes and a solid.

"Course, I don't need powers for this game," he said, beaming.

Pablo shook his head smiling. "This fucker, right." He hooked a thumb at Butch stalking around the table to look for his next shot.

"You crushed us in beer pong," Harry said. "How did you do that, by the way?"

"All in the wrist." Butch pantomimed throwing a ping pong ball. "Oh man, I tell you I got Bubbles to play?" He smiled at Buttercup.

Buttercup's fists tightened into balls of pure rage. "That is the first and last time you speak about my sister."

Butch finally decided he found the right shot and bent over the table again. "Bubbles was pretty good. Kicked my ass. 'Course I was fuckin' wasted." He laughed and took the shot sinking another solid. "She let me lift her friend's car. Should not have done that."

The guys broke into laughter, like he was so funny. "Shit! Really?" Pablo asked.

Mitch leaned near Buttercup, but he was still listening all the same.

"Oh yeah, I don't remember much after that." Butch took another shot and sunk a stripe. "How about you guys?"

"Oh man, you should have seen it." Harry said. "Pablo did a keg-stand."

"It was a keg-flip!" Pablo said, pointing at Harry with a cluster of fries. "They are very hard to pull off."

Mitch and Harry laughed while Butch took yet another shot. He sunk a stripe.

"Think you're hot shit, huh?" Buttercup crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Butch glanced at her. "It's pool. Hit the balls and make them go into the pockets. It's not hard."

"Well, you don't have to be an asshole about it."

"We're all having fun." Butch sat on the side of the pool table and sucked on a soda. "You're the one being bitter." He turned his head to glance at the other guys. "In fact, we should change your name to Bittercup-"

"Butch," Mitch said, actually growing some balls for once.

"And how about we replace the 'U' in your name with an 'I'?" She stomped up to him. "How about it, Bitch?"

"Play me for it." Butch stood up. "Loser leaves."

Buttercup glared at him. "Deal."

Butch smiled and set up the balls. "I'll even let you break." He placed the cue ball onto the table with a patronizing tilt of his head.

Buttercup leaned down and focused on her target, the cue ball. Time slowed down. Perfectly spherical, the cue ball was meant to be hit. That was all she could come up with. That wasn't working. She focused on Butch, remembering his break, smooth and forceful. The chaos of clacking balls leading to the result he wanted. If he could do it, she could too.

Buttercup grit her teeth, not noticing when a tiny bit of X slipped onto her shot.

When the stick struck it, the cue ball exploded into a fine powder. The stick itself broke, shooting splinters in every direction. The guys ducked below the table as if their two-seconds-late reflexes could save them from something that had already happened. The only one who didn't duck was Butch.

"I think that's a scratch," Butch said, laughing and waving away the cloud of dust.

Mitch, Pablo, and Harry looked at her like she might do something else. Her own friends were afraid because of what she did.

"It wasn't- The ball-" She was so angry but her mouth wouldn't form the words. "And the stick-" Her lips pressed together. Butch was smiling at her. "He makes me so-" She tasted copper.

"Come on," Mitch said, standing up. "Let her retry that."

"Heh, yeah." Butch swiped the cue ball off another table. "Go ahead." He offered it to her. "A little advice, you're overthinking it."

Buttercup swiped the ball out of his hand and placed it on the table with more force than she meant to. He was trying to rattle her. She set up her shot and took a breath. Superpowers weren't going to help her. And she had been playing so well until he showed up. She could beat him, she knew it.

She hit the ball and the cue broke the other balls' formation. They bounced off of the rails, but none went into any of the pockets.

"Good break." Butch beamed at her again and bent over the table. He hit the cue ball and two stripes went into two different corner pockets. He leaned back up with an even wider shit-eating grin.

That was it. Buttercup grabbed her shit and walked out the door.

"Buttercup!" Mitch called after her, trying to follow.

"Aww, come on," Butch said. "Don't be like that."

With not a look back, Buttercup rocketed into the air. The shockwave left several bystanders to deal with her dust. She didn't care.

---

Buttercup refused to look at her phone for the next day. She wouldn't answer any calls or even look at a single text message. They were probably all attempts at an apology from Mitch anyway.

She avoided her locker at school the next morning. She knew Mitch too well. He would wait at her locker, but he wouldn't be able to find her. Hopefully Fuzzy Lumpkins would try to walk into city hall with his gun claiming it was run by shapeshifting squirrels and she'd get called in to take care of it.

"We need to talk." The one person Buttercup didn't want to talk to most. She had been so careful, she made herself scarce, but Blossom had tracked her down. "But not right now."

That didn't make sense. Of course Blossom would have wanted to talk right then. "Why not right now?"

Blossom cocked her head, her face totally deadpan. The bell went off right then. "Because you should get to class," she said the second it was over. Was that a superpower, or part of her being a nerd? It was honestly hard to tell.

Brick passed them in the hall and extended a folder to Blossom without looking. She took it in one fluid motion without looking.

"That was weird."

"If we don't talk, we won't fight. Again, you should get to class." Blossom started walking Brick's direction.

"Yeah, sure, mom."

"With mom it would be a command, with me it's merely a suggestion," Blossom called over her shoulder.

Usually, they'd hit their spot and be late to first period, but Buttercup didn't want to see her boyfriend and she sure didn't want to run into Butch. There was no Fuzzy Lumpkins call and math was whatever anyway, so she went to class.

---

After school, Buttercup leaned against the wall in a building on the other side of school from their spot. No chance of Mitch finding her there, he'd actually have to get off his ass and make an effort.

"Hey." Brick leaned against the wall right next to her. Her rage spiked and she didn't know why. Maybe she wanted to be alone, but she also didn't.

It was fine. They were not really friends, but not exactly enemies either. "Hey." Buttercup wouldn't have been able to stand the sight of him only a month before. If the same situation had happened then, they might have started fighting. No, Brick had more self control than Butch. Fucking Butch. "Your brother is an asshole."

"There is no way he's worse than your sister."

"Blossom? What's she doing now?"

"She's all up in my shit. 'What evil, nefarious, plan are you concocting?' 'You're subhuman excrement that should have been flushed years ago.'"

Buttercup snorted. "Heard from her you weren't talking."

"I can see the derision in her eyes."

"Sounds about right. She's about to be all up in my shit too. Plus I gotta deal with your needle-dicked brother hanging out with my friends."

"Punch him until he stops. That's the only language he understands."

"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you. Get Blossom off your back and all the way onto mine."

"It'd be nice."

"No deal, Red. In fact, I never got my rematch."

Brick smirked at her. "Bring it."

---

"You gonna chicken out, Red?"

Brick smirked. "Let's see what you got, Spice."

"These are our spiciest wings, drenched in our Madhouse sauce." A very nervous server set a plate of wings down in front of each of them and explained the rules. "You cannot remove the sauce. You have to eat all of the meat on the wing. You can't have anything to drink. You can't eat anything else during the contest. First to eat all of their twelve wings, wins."

Brick and Buttercup's eyes bore into each other.

"Oh right, no superpowers," the server added.

Brick and Buttercup snorted.

"Go!"

Buttercup took a wing in each hand and bit into one. The sauce actually was pretty spicy, but she could take it. She finished her first wing in only a few seconds and started on the second one while scoping out her third.

Brick was taking his sweet-ass time, sitting back in the booth. He was finishing his first after Buttercup had already started on her third. She was going to win. The heat wasn't getting to her, she was sweating because of the competition.

Who was she kidding? By her fourth wing, her mouth was a volcano. Not only were the wings spicy, but they were just-out-of-the-fryer hot. She tried to ignore the minor burns that were forming on the roof of her mouth.

She slowed down on her sixth wing. Her lips were on fire and magma boiled in her stomach. With a wing sticking out of her mouth she stripped her jacket off to release the heat. It didn't help.

"Hot, Buttercup?" Brick asked. He was four in, gaining on her lead. She needed to stay focused.

Buttercup barely felt the seventh or eighth. At the ninth, she couldn't take it. She had to drink something. Sewer water, Tabasco sauce, anything. She yelled, surprised actual flames didn't shoot out of her mouth.

"Man, these things are spicy." Brick placed another bone on his pile.

"Shut the fuck up!" She stomped her foot. "I'm gonna kick your ass!" Only three left. She could do three more.

One bite into the tenth wing made her stop. The spiciness had built with each bite and had become unbearable. She should quit so she wouldn't throw up in front of a bunch of people.

No. She was Buttercup Utonium. She was a winner, the best. She wasn't about to lose a dumb eating contest, especially not against her arch-nemesis/only-friend-right-now.

She looked at him with that weird thought. He was holding one away from his mouth, wincing at the inevitability that he would have to eat it. His entire face was pink. He actually was feeling it too. She wanted to laugh at his dumb expression, but she had a contest to win.

Buttercup finished her tenth wing and picked up the last two. Brick had two on his plate. He picked one up. Buttercup cringed and took a bite. It tasted like what Hell must have felt like. Buttercup couldn't imagine anything worse than what she was voluntarily doing to herself. She was begging for death. Tears fell out of her eyes.

One more. Last one. She wanted to throw up at the mere words. It would kill her if she ate it. She was absolutely certain she would die. Buttercup bit into it. She squeezed her eyes shut. Someone pounded on the table, rattling the plates. She stripped all the meat off and swallowed.

"Done!" Buttercup yelled. She shot her hand forward with super speed. The glass of soda almost shattered from her grabbing it. The liquid fell into her mouth slowly. She wanted it now and didn't want to have to wait for gravity to catch up with her. And there was a bunch of stupid ice in the way.

Only after she gulped the entire thing down, she realized people were cheering.

Buttercup shot up, fists in the air. "Yes! I beat you! You suck!"

Brick smiled at her from across the table. He should have been hunching at his failure, but he wasn't. He clapped, he actually smiled and clapped for her.

There was a solitary wing on his plate. She jumped on top of the table and pointed to the last wing. "Eat it!"

A chant started among the rest of the customers. "Eat-It! Eat-It! Eat-It!"

Brick shook his head with that dumb smile and ate the last one. Everyone cheered.

"Our winner!" The server handed Buttercup a t-shirt and another soda.

She chugged it so fast she barely tasted it through the spice clinging to her mouth.

Everyone went back to their own table, leaving them alone. Brick gave the server his credit card.

"That's right. Pay up," she taunted.

"Yeah, yeah. Get your gloating over with."

"Over? This will never be over, Red. This victory will stand for all time."

"Until next time."

Buttercup got in Brick's face and met his smirk with one of her own. "Bring it."

Brick leaned back in his seat again and looked around the restaurant with an easy confidence. The server brought them an order of fries and a bunch of sauces to try. A few minutes of honest to god silence passed between them.

Buttercup was absentmindedly munching on a fry slathered in buffalo sauce when her phone buzzed. Before she could remember she was trying to avoid everyone in her life, she looked at the screen. The dumb pic of her and Mitch at the county fair came up. He was trying to call her again.

Buttercup slammed her phone on the table with a roll of her head, not wanting to look at it any longer. Brick didn't react. That was probably the thing she liked most about him.

"How do you do the shield?"

"Huh?" Buttercup asked.

"The shield." Brick gestured in a circular motion around his forearm. "How did you do that?"

Buttercup looked at her left arm. "I dunno, It kinda happened one day. Me and Bubbles could create forcefields, Blossom did it too a few days later." She flicked her wrist and the green forcefield manifested. Her fingers squeezed the grip. "Once we got over the initial hype, I never used it much, except for this shield thing."

"You ever try a weapon?"

"Blossom wouldn't like that." She flicked her wrist again and her shield disappeared.

Brick tilted his head. "Fuck Blossom."

Buttercup snorted, more amused than she should have been. She didn't like it when other people talked like that about her sisters. It was an interesting idea though.

"When I was a kid, I always wanted to make a fire sword. Should be possible, Boomer can do it with lightning." A small flame formed at the end of his finger. He looked at it wistfully.

"Fire sword, huh. That actually sounds awesome."

Brick squeezed his fingers into a fist, extinguishing the flame. "Never did get it quite right."

"Now I want to see it."

"Not inside." He smirked at her. "You should try yours."

Buttercup acquiesced and mimicked holding a sword with her right hand. Brick noticed what she was doing and watched intently. She formed the forcefield slowly. It came out as her standard circle. She flattened and stretched it out, quite the exertion since she hadn't tried changing it in a few years. It was like working a muscle that had been left to atrophy, stiff and a bit painful. The forcefield passed between her fingers and hand. She lengthened it until she got the shape she wanted.

Buttercup admired her work. It was relatively short for a sword. She couldn't get any more out of it than she had, but it was vaguely sword-shaped. Satisfied, she gave it a swing and considered what she could do with it.

"Cool."

Chapter 15: The Heart

The Heart

Sixth Grade

Buttercup twitched in her sleep. She called it 'sleep fighting', but whatever it was she was doing on her end of the bed woke Blossom up. When Blossom woke momentarily, she would turn over and that would wake Bubbles. It was a never-ending cycle that kept Bubbles from getting her beauty sleep. When they were little, the bed felt huge and they had plenty of space. As they had grown, their bed had become smaller.

Bubbles needed her beauty sleep. And if she kept getting woken up every time Buttercup kicked or Blossom turned over, she'd never get it. They needed their own beds.

"No, we need our own rooms," Buttercup said, taking over the conversation when Bubbles brought it up at breakfast. "I don't like it when you guys touch my stuff."

"We wouldn't touch your stuff if it wasn't constantly in the way," Blossom said.

Bubbles pouted, not that anyone cared.

"I like my stuff where it is. You can float over it."

"We shouldn't have to."

"Exactly. Which is why we need our own rooms."

Their dad started drawing up plans to section off their one big room into three smaller rooms. By the time they got home from school, it was already done. He had spent the whole day putting up the framing for the walls. He even found space for two extra closets.

Bubbles' room was the one on the left, just at the top of the stairs. Blossom's was in the middle and Buttercup's was on the end next to their parents' room. She stood in the center, getting a feel for her new space. The walls felt wrong, close. They gave her a lump in her tummy.

Bubbles didn't want her own room. She wanted to be close to her sisters, All she had asked for was her own bed. But, as usual, no one was listening.

---

Sophomore Year - October

Bubbles was looking at local used cars on her phone. She had bookmarked pages of old Bumblebee models. She loved how people back in the '60s made them their own and she adored the free artist lifestyle they symbolized. But she knew she would need something with more room. She was planning on living in it for a year or more after all. So she had settled on their minibus siblings, Caterpillars.

She had watched internet videos on how people had modified them to live on the road and fell in love with it. They would camp in state parks where overnight parking was both legal and usually free. They used propane stoves to cook meals. If they didn't like a place, they'd leave. They went wherever they wanted whenever they wanted. That was exactly what Bubbles wanted to do.

Buttercup peeked her head into the living room. "Blossom isn't here, is she?"

Bubbles rolled her eyes and paused the video she was watching. "No, she's out."

"Cool." Buttercup plopped onto the couch, resting her legs on Bubbles' lap and grabbed the TV remote. "I've been avoiding her," she said, flipping through channels.

Bubbles resisted the urge to look up. "Clearly." Lately Buttercup always seemed to want to know if Blossom was around. She went back to looking at local used cars and intermittently texting Dee Dee.

They were together, but each doing separate things. It was inevitable that they'd develop different interests. They were still sisters though. Bubbles still wanted to know what was going on in Buttercup's life.

"So, Brick paid you for that metal monster thing?" she asked.

"Yep! Five thousand bucks. I don't even know what to do with it. Dad says I should save it for college. But I could buy an amazing bass or a really crappy car."

That piqued Bubbles interest. "What are you thinking about as far as a car?"

"I dunno. I haven't even seen what's out there."

Bubbles pulled herself over and showed Buttercup her phone. "What do you think of this one?"

"A Caterpillar? That's a little too much flower-power, even for you."

"Yeah, but I could put a bed and a living space in the back."

Buttercup looked at her strangely. "You're really going to do it, huh."

"I said I was. And I will."

Buttercup crossed her arms. "Why in a car though?"

"Cars mean freedom, you know?"

"No. We can fly. Cars are for the sake of having a car."

"They can also be a home. A home that can move. If I don't like a place, I can leave. You know, freedom."

"Oh, that's what you mean. Okay, yeah. We're here in a nice warm house, but it's all wrapped up in duty and obligation. We can't even do what we want on our birthday. We have to do what the town wants 'cuz they made it a city holiday."

"Yeah, I feel sorry for all the people who share our birthday. They deserve their special day too."

"It's not like a car makes all that go away though."

"It will when I leave."

Buttercup looked over at her, bothered. They needed to leave the nest eventually. Obviously, Blossom was going to a prestigious university, she had been talking about Bromwell or Raft. Raft was hundreds of miles away and Bromwell was on the other side of the country. So it wasn't as if the three of them wouldn't be broken up anyway.

"I mean, you're coming back for Christmas, right?"

Bubbles felt conflicted at that. That was why Buttercup didn't want her going in a car. If she didn't have one, she could fly home for movie night in minutes. But then she'd still 'live' at home, and that was the point of her trip. Of course, they'd always be sisters and probably still see each other all the time.

But it wasn't Bubbles' job to regulate Buttercup's mood. Buttercup needed to regulate her own mood. Bubbles wasn't everyone's therapist. It shouldn't be her burden to fix everyone. All she had ever wanted was to make a genuine connection with the people in her life.

"Remember when we used to fly around the world?" Bubbles asked, instead of answering Buttercup's question.

Buttercup smiled. "Yeah, good thing dad never found out about that."

"It was like our very own secret act of rebellion. Why did we stop doing that?"

The front door opened. Buttercup blanched and looked for a way out. Blossom floated into the house and her face went sour when she saw Buttercup.

"Hey Bloss," Buttercup said when she realized she couldn't escape.

"Buttercup, I think it's time we had that talk." Blossom set her book bag near the stairs.

Buttercup groaned, throwing her head back.

"We do not accept payment for saving Townsville." Apparently, Blossom was jumping right to the point. She must have been tired and she did have patrol that evening.

"The guys do. And so do police officers."

"Police officers are experts in their field. The Rowdyruff Boys are not."

"Uh, yes, they are. And so are we."

"It is not the same. We are teenagers-"

"Who can be employed at sixteen. It's only a month away. Besides, we're going to need money for college and cars and stuff."

Bubbles flipped over to her other side so she was facing the couch. She was in the living room first and wasn't going to move just because her sisters were fighting.

Blossom caught the action and took the opportunity to drag Bubbles into their fight. "You agree with me, right Bubbles?"

Bubbles squeezed her fist and enclosed herself in a reinforced force field. Blossom's muffled voice made a chastising noise, but Bubbles didn't care.

Another minute went by without either of them letting up. They began screaming at each other so loudly, Bubbles could hear muffled yelling through her forcefield. She found DeeDee's contact in her phone and called her directly.

"Bubbles," Dee Dee said, concern clear in her voice. Bubbles would never have actually called her if nothing had been wrong.

Bubbles fell back onto the couch. "Can you hear them fighting?"

"No."

"At least I didn't throw a grocery store robber through a pane of glass!"

"He had a loaded gun. I apprehended him according to our rules of engagement."

"Kinda," Dee Dee said.

"Well they are."

"What is it this time?"

"Same thing they've been fighting about all our lives."

"Yeah, that's pretty toxic."

"Thank you."

"We gotta get you out of the house."

Bubbles sighed.

Something on Dee Dee's end snapped and there was the sound of something powering down. "I bet if we got the girls together we could get the football team to buy us food." Bubbles could hear Dexter yelling in the background.

Bubbles did need a distraction. "That could be fun."

"Leave it to me," Dee Dee said before hanging up. Bubbles immediately saw plans start to develop on the groupchat.

---

Brannigan's was a kitschy restaurant right around the corner from Bubbles' house. She arrived fashionably late with DeeDee and the other girls. The guys had already connected several tables in the back and were jovially pushing each other around in that way guys did with their friends. It was a welcome change from Blossom and Buttercup's argument.

It wasn't the entire team. Most of the popular guys were there, led by Butch. His distinctive laugh loomed large in the crowd. They calmed down a bit when the girls got there.

Dee Dee immediately started her scheme with Beau, falling into the same pattern as always. Bubbles rolled her eyes, at least there wasn't any alcohol.

Off to the side, Bubbles saw Boomer hanging out in a corner booth with Mike Believe, Wes Goingon, Joey Finklemeyer, and Julie Bean. They were playing some kind of game with dice. Boomer waved at her. She gave him a smile and a wave back.

After a few minutes that turned into half an hour chatting with the other girls, she went over to Boomer's table. She sat next to him to a chorus of "Hey Bubbles".

She gave them all a smile. "Hey guys! It's been forever since we have gotten to hang out!"

"Yeah, it's been a really long time," Mike said. They had drifted apart after sixth grade when their subjects were split among different teachers and classrooms. Mike, Wes, Joey, and Julie were all able to keep close. Bubbles had heard Wes had started the computer club at their middle school. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know," Bubbles said in a singsong voice. "Cheerleading, fighting crime, playing drums, a whole bunch of stuff."

"Wow, are you the coolest person ever?" Joey asked.

"Maybe," Bubbles said, giggling. "How about you guys?

They told her about computer club and a few other things. Boomer wasn't saying anything. Though he would look at her from time to time and smile the cutest smile ever when she caught him. She smiled back and thought of a way to bring him into the conversation.

"And how has monster fighting been going?"

He beamed at her. "We took down that metal monster together. That was cool." He was so humble, answering her question in a way that didn't make it about him.

"It was." She rested her chin on her hand. "Who do you think was right, Blossom or Brick?"

"Oh man, I don't even know what they were fighting about."

Bubbles giggled then gave Julie a look. She leaned in and Bubbles whispered in her ear. "He's an amazing kisser." She shifted her eyes to Boomer sitting next to her so Julie would know who she was talking about.

"Really?" Julie asked.

"Mmhmm," Bubbles said, nodding her head.

Julie pursed her lips and Bubbles giggled.

"What's going on?" Mike asked.

"Oh, nothing," Bubbles said. "Just a little girl-talk."

Julie looked innocently at anyone but Boomer.

Bubbles hopped out of her seat. "I should go, but it was great catching up with you guys."

A chorus of goodbyes followed. Boomer had that adorable dreamy smile on his face.

Bubbles started back to the girls when she was stopped by one of the football players.

"Hey Bubbles," one of the guys on the team said with a wave to get her attention. She already knew exactly what he wanted. Bubbles hadn't been looking for a romantic connection, but guys always had other plans. He could have been worth a date. She decided to grill him.

"Hi! I don't think we've met. How do you know my name?" That question always threw guys off. Most didn't know how to answer.

"Everyone knows your name, superhero, but no, we haven't met yet. I'm Block. I'm new to the team this year."

"Really? What position do you play?"

"I'm a lineman."

"Oh, that sounds fun. How many points did you score yesterday?"

"Uhh…" He looked away but smiled more. "I don't get to touch the ball. My job is to defend the quarterback while our receivers move into position. If I score a touchdown, something's gone very wrong."

Bubbles knew that of course. She wanted to hear how he explained it to her. You could tell a lot about a guy by how he explained something to a girl. While he should have expected she knew the rules of the game she was cheerleading, she hadn't asked her question in the cadence of a joke or sarcasm. Block was nice enough, she supposed. At least he wasn't talking down to her.

He looked into her eyes. "It's about being part of a team, you know. I'll never get to score a touchdown, but it's not about the glory of getting points." He dug a shoe into the carpet in the cutest way. "Everyone contributes. I have my job on the team and I'm happy with it."

That did it. He understood something profound about the world. He was both humble and thoughtful, definitely worthy of a date.

"Don't let K-Pop here fool you," Butch said, walking up to them and throwing an arm around Block's neck. "His job on the team is to dance like no one's watching."

"You dance?" Bubbles asked.

"I uhhh." He smiled and his hand went to the back of his head.

"Show her that thing you did, the one right before I threw that touchdown."

Block laughed and shook his head. "When your quarterback gives you an order…" He pulled out his phone and played a K-pop song Bubbles didn't recognize. He launched into a perfect dance routine. The other guys and girls stopped everything they were doing to check out his performance. Everyone was cheering while he danced to words Bubbles was sure she was the only one who could understand.

When he finished and everyone clapped for him, Bubbles zipped to the server's stand, found a pen, and zipped right back. She wrote her phone number on his arm and gave it a kiss so that her lipstick gave it a stamp. "Text me."

He smiled at her and looked at his arm. "It's upside down."

Bubbles winked at him. "You'll figure it out." She skipped away, leaving him wanting more. He'd ask her out by the end of the week if he knew what was good for him.

"Butch, buy me a milkshake." Bubbles said, pulling him away from the rest of the group. They found an empty booth and sat down across from each other. "Hey, congratulations. I knew you'd be perfect."

"Ha! Yeah, the hottest beefcake in school turns out to be a pretty good quarterback." He smiled then it faded and he rubbed his wrist. "Hate wearing that thing."

"They're making you wear one of those awful bracelets!?" Bubbles hated that they made Buttercup wear one for hockey.

"Yeah. I lost the one I had, but they have a ton more." Butch ordered two milkshakes from a passing server. "Did you know they had that much AX at school?"

"Blossom told me it was watered down or something."

"Still though. They have a gallon of it somewhere." It bothered him for the same reason it bothered her. She had been born with her powers and he with his. Taking them away was a violation of her body. They had no right to take them away from her.

"Why would they want it anyway?" Butch looked off in some direction. He did that when he was thinking. "The only people it'll work on is me and my brothers or you and your sisters, and we're all heroes."

Bubbles looked away, then felt guilty about it. Butch and his brothers risked their lives to fight giant monsters. They hadn't caused any major trouble in years. And Boomer turned out to be a really nice guy. Butch deserved another chance, maybe Brick did too. Maybe they really were heroes. Heroes didn't deserve to be threatened.

"You're right," Bubbles murmured. "It's like, what are they afraid of?"

"We're gonna kill 'em or something?" He looked off into the distance again. "Like we're the monsters."

Bubbles' phone buzzed with a text. She unlocked her phone to the used car screen. Quickly switching to her text app, she saw it was from Blossom and didn't care to read it.

She looked back up at Butch, remembering how he handled DeeDee's car. He knew exactly where to lift it without damaging it. She wondered if he knew more.

"What's that?" Butch asked, gesturing to her phone. She didn't realize he could see the screen.

"Butch, do you know about cars?"

Butch leaned back in his seat and grinned. "Yeah, I know a bit."

Bubbles got out of her side of the booth and sat next to him. "I'm thinking of buying a caterpillar and setting it up for a long-term road trip." She showed him the ideas on her phone.

He leaned in to get a good look. "Now you're talking my language. What's this road trip? Cross-country?"

"Yeah." She pulled up her map with all the stops she wanted to make.

"That's awesome. A caterpillar though, I wouldn't suggest it."

Bubbles moved back in her seat, aghast.

"Don't get me wrong, they've got the whole 'hippie-energy' thing that fits what you're going for. But if you're doing something long-term, like you're living on the road for a long time, you need something more reliable and with more room." He took out his phone and started searching for used vans. "There's an old guy I know, used to customize vans back in the '70s. We'll go see him. He's gotta have something. Might have to fix it up."

Bubbles looked at her hands. It was all happening really fast. Butch was helping her once again, he was really good at it too. She was starting to realize he was such a helpful guy. Weirdly, of all the people in her life, she could count on him most.

"How much do you have?"

"That's the other thing." Most of what Bubbles had her parents had collected for her from Birthday and Christmas money from her grandparents. It was supposed to be for college, but three thousand dollars didn't go very far against tuition. "I don't really have any money."

Butch took a sip of his drink. "My guy can probably help you there too."

---

"Come on, Wrench. You can't apprentice her, why?"

Bubbles peeked around an old fence to where Butch and an older gentleman were talking.

"'Cuz I ain't got time for that. I got shit to do."

"You're retired. You got all the time in the world."

"I got all these vans I'm working on." He gestured to a line of vans on his lawn. Most were covered in rust and cobwebs.

"Perfect, she'll help you fix 'em up."

"Butch-"

"Um, hello, I'm Bubbles," she said, approaching them. "I know I'm young, but I work really hard and I want to learn."

The older gentleman took one look at her and shook his head. "Shit…"

Chapter 16: Rookie

Rookie

Sophomore Year - October

"I don't get why we needed her." Boomer's guy on the tv screen went through a series of kicks.

"Buttercup has heat vision and I needed someone to keep the thing hot." Brick's fighter threw a fireball at Boomer's.

Boomer mashed some buttons. He was never very good at fighting games. "Then, why didn't you do it and tell me to get the big metal thing?"

"Boomer, I don't-" Brick winced like the question was so hard. "I do not have the time to tell you every little detail when we're fighting a monster."

Boomer grumbled. Brick had the time, he just didn't want to. Their guys smacked each other around. Boomer wasn't very good at fighting games, he mostly mashed the buttons until he found some combination that worked.

"You have time now. You said she was the enemy."

"When?"

Boomer shook his head, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Years ago. It's been the thing since Mojo-"

Brick scoffed. "Not everything is black and white, Boomer." Brick's guy summoned a pillar of fire and roasted Boomer's guy. A big 'Player 1 Wins' splashed on the screen in blood. "I need to study." Brick got off the couch and started up the stairs.

Boomer realized he was hungry. He opened the refrigerator to look for something to eat.

Butch burst out of his room. "Guys. The cheerleaders want us to take them out."

"I don't give a shit," Brick called from his loft.

Butch rolled his eyes.

"Why would we care?" Boomer asked.

"Uh, cheerleaders. They're all hot as fuck. There's Blondie, Short Skirt, Legs, Bubbs, That Girl With The Ass. Now, I'm not usually that into butts but this girl man, she got a booty like 'Pow!'"

"Bubbles?" Boomer said under his breath. "I gotta see this girl with the ass."

---

Boomer's friends talked and rolled dice from the game he had brought. They sat in a booth in the back, away from all the football players and cheerleaders. Boomer didn't say much, he was distracted. He had waved at Bubbles when she came into the dining room. She waved back and gave him a smile he couldn't get out of his head.

He thought about going up and talking to her. They had gone on a date, he should be able to do that without it being weird. But she was talking to the cheerleaders and he wondered if she had even told them about him. Maybe she was keeping it a secret and she would be mad if he went up and talked.

"Boomer," Wes said, trying to get his attention back on the dice game. "Wind beats lightning, right?"

Boomer glanced at the table. "Uh, yeah."

"Nah," Julie said, looking through the instruction booklet. "Lightning beats air. It's in the rules."

"There's no way a bolt of lightning beats a whole tornado," Wes said.

"You okay, man?" Mike asked. "You've barely touched your fries."

Boomer shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine." He took a clump of fries and ate them.

His friends went back to the game and Boomer took another look toward Bubbles. She was still talking with the other cheerleaders and football team.

"Just give her a little time, man," Mike whispered.

"What?" Boomer asked.

"She'll come when she's ready."

Boomer grumbled. What if she never did? That was always a possibility. He wanted to know where they stood. She had told him, but he was discovering people said a lot of things they didn't mean. And she said she really enjoyed their date.

As he was thinking about it, Bubbles got up from the table, turned and looked right at him. Boomer's heart pounded while she walked toward him.

Bubbles put her hand on his shoulder and nudged him. "Scoot, Boomer, scoot." He slid further into the booth as much as he could. She squeezed in next to him. It was a heavenly feeling. "Hey guys! It's been forever since we have gotten to hang out!" she said.

Boomer took a long breath. Her perfume smelled so good.

"Yeah, it's been a really long time," Mike said. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know," Bubbles said. "Cheerleading, fighting crime, playing drums, a whole bunch of stuff."

Boomer didn't know Bubbles played the drums. He really wanted to know what the whole bunch of stuff was. He wanted to know everything.

When Mike and Wes started talking about what they had been doing, Bubbles took a fry from Boomer's plate and ate it with a wink at him.

He wondered if she thought about him as much as he thought about her. They had a really awesome date. Maybe she changed her mind and wanted to be with him.

"And how has monster fighting been going?" she asked, breaking Boomer out of his reverie.

He was so glad she remembered he did that. She had such a good memory. "We took down that metal monster together. That was cool."

"It was." She rested her chin on her hand. "Who do you think was right, Blossom or Brick?"

Boomer thought back to Brick and Blossom arguing about how to take the monster down. "Oh man, I don't even know what they were fighting about." It really was stupid the more he thought about it. All that mattered was that it was gone.

Bubbles leaned forward and whispered something into Julie's ear. Julie's eyes got wide. "Really?"

"Mmhmm," Bubbles said, nodding her head.

Julie pursed her lips and Bubbles giggled.

"What's going on?" Mike asked.

"Oh, nothing," Bubbles said, sweetly. "Just a little girl-talk." she hopped out of her seat. "I should go, but it was great catching up with you guys."

Boomer watched her leave. Their time together was always too short. He really wanted her to give one last look back, but she never did. Some football guy got her attention before she got the chance. He started hitting on her.

Boomer looked down at his hands and studied his fingernails. She was a beautiful girl. Guys were going to talk to her. He couldn't stop them.

He couldn't watch, so he turned away, only to turn back again because he couldn't not watch. Whatever the guy said must have made Bubbles happy.

The guy talking to Bubbles started playing some music. He launched into some weird complicated dance routine. Everyone cheered, especially Bubbles.

A lump built in Boomer's throat.

When the song was over, Bubbles wrote her phone number on his arm. Boomer's mouth went dry. He knew exactly what that meant and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Then she kissed his arm with absolute glee shining in her eyes.

Boomer's tongue swelled in his mouth and he wasn't hungry anymore. There was the mark of her lipstick on the guy's arm, marking him as her chosen boy. Not Boomer. Images of them dancing flashed through his mind. Bubbles laughing and having a great time, all with this other guy.

The lump in Boomer's throat choked him. She had moved on so quickly like she barely thought of him at all. Did their date really mean nothing to her?

Boomer sat, an empty shell. He didn't dare to breathe.

"Hey, guys," Mike said, getting everyone's attention. "It's loud all of the sudden. Let's get out of here."

"What do you want to do?" Julie asked.

"Boomer, you live near here, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Boomer said, trying to keep his composure. He needed to be anywhere else. "I mean, no. I live downtown. Do you guys want to check it out?"

---

Brick was gone when Boomer and his friends got to their apartment. He gave them a tour of the downstairs, not letting them look at Butch's disaster area of a room. They gravitated toward the window and took in the full view of the city.

"I don't think I've ever been up this high," Joey said, pressing his face into the glass.

"Yeah," Mike said. "Good thing we can't fall off."

Boomer got an idea and chuckled to himself. "You guys want to see something cool?"

"Uh, yes!" Julie said. Mike and Joey nodded in agreement.

Boomer smirked. "Hang on to something."

Each of them grabbed onto the nearest piece of furniture, looking at him with concern and excitement.

He clicked the button on his keys and the far wall folded up, opening to the afternoon air.

"What!?"

"That's awesome."

They crept up to the edge like the floor was going to crumble away.

"Did you guys build that?" Julie asked.

"Nah, Butch hired a guy. He said it gets us into the action faster."

"That's so cool," Wes said. "I'd keep it open most of the time."

"People would rob you though," Julie said.

Mike chuckled. "Who would be dumb enough to rob the Rowdyruff Boys?"

Joey mustered the courage to go right up to the edge and look down. He was hanging on to a handhold for dear life. "Man, superpowers, fighting monsters, awesome apartment. You must be the coolest guy I know."

Boomer couldn't help but smile.

---

After an afternoon of video games, Boomer's friends left. He had felt good, really good, for the first time in a long time. Now he was alone again. The sun was down and the feeling was gone, leaving an empty hole in his chest.

He thought about Bubbles. She would have loved the sunset. He knew from the way she had talked about the colors on the buildings, she would have said the purple represented something profound Boomer wasn't smart enough to think of. She was probably out with that guy. The lump in Boomer's throat returned. That lipstick smear on his arm burned itself into Boomer's memory.

A beam of pink light rushed past the building and stopped in front of Boomer. Blossom hovered in place over the street looking at him. She stayed in place like a statue despite the wind.

"Hey, Blossom," he said, raising a hand to cut the tension.

Blossom's face softened. "Hi." She floated closer to the building. "This is where you guys live?" She gave it a scrutinizing look.

"Yeah, this is our place." Boomer looked back and realized how messy it was. He hadn't cleaned up after his friends. "Butch is kinda a slob. Brick's part is upstairs."

Blossom floated in close enough that her feet almost touched the floor. She peered in to give it a cursory inspection. She even looked up toward the loft. When she was done, she backed away, but didn't leave.

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"I'm on patrol."

"Oh, that's cool." Boomer felt his face scrunch up. He tried to relax, but he was sure he still looked awkward. Blossom was intimidating when she had that look in her eye. "How is that going?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Blossom tilted her head.

"Oh, yeah, cool." Boomer put his hands in his pockets. "It must be exciting, being a hero and all that."

"It has its moments." She tilted her head and stared into him with a steely gaze. "Boomer, if I ask you a question, will you give me an honest answer?"

"Y- Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Boomer remembered his brothers after the words came out of his mouth. They might want to hide stuff from her. He might need to lie after all, which made his agreement a lie too. He really couldn't escape it.

"During that incident with Tyler, you didn't have to help Mike. Why did you?"

"I uhhh- I don't know." Boomer didn't really have a reason at the time. "Tyler was being a bully and Mike needed…" He stammered trying to remember what had happened, dumb fliers taped to the walls of the school, Mike's red face with Tyler's arm around his head, Tyler's mean smile.

"I just wanted him to stop," Boomer finally said.

Blossom seemed to relax. "Sounds like you wanted to be a hero."

"I don't know about being a hero or anything like that." Boomer blinked. Wasn't he already a hero? He took down monsters and saved the city after all. Or did that not count?

"Boomer, would you like to come patrol with me? I can show you what it's really like."

"Y- Yeah." Boomer realized he sounded maybe a bit too eager. He took a step back. "But- I mean, I don't want to bother you."

Blossom seemed to study him for a moment. "Keep up with me. And don't interfere with my work."

"Okay." Boomer floated out of the building and closed the wall. Blossom took off and he followed. He positioned himself behind and slightly to her left, not knowing why other than that was where he felt the most comfortable.

Blossom dove between the buildings, Boomer followed, trying his best to match her speed. Then she slowed way down. Boomer had to slam the breaks to match what she was doing.

Blossom scanned the buildings they passed on both sides and then stopped dead. Boomer stopped too and was about to ask why when she turned and stared into him in that intimidating way she did.

"Boomer. While I commend you for holding yourself back compared to your brothers, you are causing a shockwave that does damage to the city. Please streamline your flight."

Boomer had no idea what she was talking about. "St- Streamline? How do I do that?"

"I want you to slide through the air as opposed to bulldozing into it."

He wasn't 'bulldozing' into the air or anything like that. He was flying like he usually did, and not even all that fast. Blossom was flying a lot slower than he would have.

It was like everyone was always keeping secrets from him, not explaining themselves all the way like they didn't want him to know basic stuff for some reason. Probably so they could get mad at him for screwing up. They always did that, got mad at him for them not explaining themselves right. He never understood why they wanted to get mad at him, but everyone always did.

"You don't understand," she said.

Boomer nodded. "No."

She tilted her head. "Do you see how I fly without making the buildings shake?"

Boomer had noticed that, but he didn't realize he had noticed it until Blossom had pointed it out. She flew all fancy and delicate. Boomer's brothers flew however they wanted, Boomer guessed he followed their lead. He nodded. "Yeah, okay. You want me to fly all girly-"

Blossom raised an eyebrow. He had said something wrong.

He straightened his back and screwed his mouth shut before he could say anything else. "I mean, you want me to fly like you."

Blossom's eyebrow lowered. "Yes."

Boomer felt like she was telling him what to do. It felt bad, like he wasn't good enough being himself. Like he had to be better than himself. He couldn't explain it any more than that. Brick almost never told him what to do, usually only when they fought monsters. And even then, he didn't order him around like Blossom was. It was like he was doing something wrong without knowing it was wrong in the first place.

But she had invited him on her patrol. She didn't have to do that. So he guessed Blossom made the rules. He sighed. "okay."

Without saying anything else, Blossom shot across the city again. Boomer followed. He scrunched his shoulders in and kept himself streamlined. The power he was using for flight pulled in and concentrated. While he was going slower, he quickly found it took way less energy to fly like that. He could corner around buildings and make tight turns in a smaller space like Blossom. It had never occurred to him that he could fly that way. It was different and pretty fun.

He swirled around the Sky Pin in tight loops. Tourists waved to him and took pictures of him on the observation deck on top. He waved back.

Blossom flew up next to him and slightly ahead. "Looks like you're getting the hang of it."

He smiled at her and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess."

"I'm glad you're having fun, but if you're going to participate on this ride-along you need to abide by our rules of engagement."

"Okay. Rules are good."

Blossom blinked at him. She was about to say something when her phone beeped. "This is Blossom Utonium." There was a pause while she listened to a voice on the other end. "I already have back up. We're on it." She hung up the phone and caught Boomer's eyes. "Let's go." She launched herself at a higher speed than she had before.

She led them to one base of the tallest buildings in the city. A group of police officers was gathered outside. A crowd of people watched from behind some barricades.

They landed in front of an officer who was talking to another officer holding a shotgun. "Blossom Utonium present and reporting in. Lieutenant, give me a sit-rep."

The officer narrowed his eyes on her. "Server room. Someone knocked out security and broke in. Cameras are down."

"Thank you. I'll take it from here." Blossom turned and started walking toward the building entrance. Boomer wasn't sure if she meant for him to go with her or- "Boomer, you're with me."

Boomer zipped over to catch up with her. They went into the lobby where more officers had guns pointed at a wide elevator door.

"Stand down, officers." The officers lowered their guns and Blossom pressed the call button. Boomer was confused. Wherever the server room was in the building, it would have been faster to fly there. But he figured Blossom knew what she was doing, so he didn't say anything.

The elevator took a long time to arrive. After a while, Boomer looked around at what was going on. None of the officers said anything, they stood around, looking anywhere but toward them. Blossom stared at the door and crossed her arms at some point.

The elevator arrived with a 'ding'. The officers raised their guns again. The doors opened, revealing an empty car. Boomer had expected a bomb or something with the way everyone was acting.

Blossom stepped into the car and turned back toward the officers. Boomer did the same, standing beside her. The police officers kept their guns up for some reason, pointed at them. It didn't make any sense, there weren't any bad guys around.

The doors closed and the car started moving down. This server room must have been underground. The elevator thing made sense. Blossom really did know what she was doing.

Blossom turned to Boomer. "You said 'Rules are good'. What did you mean by that?"

"I dunno." Boomer slipped his hands in his pockets. "Rules tell you what to do and what not to do. So you don't… uh." Boomer scratched his head. "So you always know how to do whatever you're doing… or something."

"That's true. Rules provide procedure while also protecting the other party's rights. It's strange to hear that coming from you."

"What? Why?"

"Because you are a Rowdyruff Boy."

"Oh, yeah. I guess we kind of have a history." Boomer had to chuckle to himself. "Me and Bubbles haven't actually fought each other since, like, fifth grade."

Blossom eyed him skeptically. "You haven't?"

"Nah. I just didn't feel like fighting most of the time."

"That's…" Blossom looked away for a moment. "Good. I can work with that. I don't have time to explain the rules. I want you to not engage at all. I know you can fight, but leave all of that to me. Understood?"

Boomer nodded.

"Good. I want you to be my second set of eyes and ears."

The elevator slowed and came to a stop. The doors opened to a concrete corridor. There were police officers and security guards laying on the ground. Blossom checked on a few of them, they didn't look hurt. She led them down until they came to a big metal door.

Boomer shivered when the cold in the server room hit him. Blossom didn't seem to mind at all. There was a loud hum of a thousand computers running at once and the air was heavy, like all that dirt they had passed through was pressing down on him. The space was dark, only lit by blue and green LEDs on a series of huge black towers. There were rows of them that went a long way back. Each of the towers had three feet of space between all of them. The ceiling was a spiderweb of cables and pipes.

"Boomer, don't get distracted," Blossom said, scanning the space. "It's probably a trap."

"Oh yeah," Boomer scratched his head. "Probably."

"We need to search. I want you to go four columns down and scan for anything unusual. Can you do that?"

"Four columns that way?" Boomer pointed in the direction he assumed Blossom meant.

"Yes. I'm going to take this column And we will check row by row. When you have cleared a row, I want you to say 'clear'. We will not move on to the next row until both of us have confirmed 'clear'. Do you understand?"

That was a lot all at once. Blossom was the best. He figured she had already thought of everything. "Yeah, I look around and say 'clear' if I don't see anything." He described it as much as he understood it.

"Correct." A wave of relief washed over Boomer when she said that. "Be sure to stay in my sight line as much as possible. Begin." Blossom marched down her column.

Boomer jogged, counting four server towers and started down his designated column. There was a wave of heat between the towers that didn't mix well with the cold. The blue light got more intense. There were green, yellow, and a few red lights on the towers. Some of them were blinking, some were steady. He wondered what they meant.

"Clear," Blossom called out.

He shook his head. Blossom had told him not to get distracted. He was looking for something. He didn't see anyone and he was pretty sure they were looking for a person. Then he remembered Blossom had said something about traps.

"Boomer?"

"Uh, what does a trap look like?"

"Anything out of the ordinary."

Boomer kept looking at everything, it all looked out of the ordinary. "I mean, I've never been in a server room before."

"Please do your best."

Boomer really didn't want to fail Blossom. She was trusting him to do a job and he was already screwing it up.

She was expecting him to say 'clear', and he didn't see anything. He stepped forward and saw Blossom casually looking toward him.

"Uh, clear."

Blossom turned and walked further down her row. Boomer followed and walked down his. Everything looked exactly the same as the last one. He felt relieved. It would help him find anything out of the ordinary now that he had a standard setup to compare against.

"Clear." Man, Blossom was fast.

Boomer took one more look and stepped forward so she could see him. "Clear." He was much faster that time.

They moved on again.

This row had a step stool next to one of the servers. Boomer looked up and discovered what he thought had been the ceiling wasn't actually the ceiling. There was metal grating that held up bundles of cables. The spider web of wires reached through it, probably so workers could fix the computers easier. The racks were hanging from the actual ceiling much higher up.

Boomer got the idea to take a look with his super vision, but regretted it when he turned it on. Loops of red and green power ran through the cables making everything too bright. The server towers glowed like big yellow lightbulbs. He could see even less. "Ugh."

"Boomer? Are you having an issue?" Blossom asked, calling from her position a few rows away.

"Yeah, No. I looked at the electricity."

"You can see electricity?"

"There's a lot in here."

"It is a server room. There must be a lot of data running through here. What did you see?"

"I didn't see anything."

"Sounds like you saw too much."

Boomer laughed.

"Clear."

Boomer stepped into Blossom's sight line. "Clear."

They both moved on to the next row. Again, it looked exactly the same.

"Clear," Blossom said.

"Clear." Boomer was getting the hang of it. He smiled at Blossom.

"You guys are real cute." The voice came from somewhere behind them. "Is this your first date?"

Blossom looked at Boomer, pointing in the direction they had come, and took off. "Good evening, Soyun."

Soyun? Brick had a friend named Soyun. She had been to their apartment a few times. It couldn't be the same person.

"Hey Blossy."

Boomer headed toward the source of the voice, careful not to bump anything.

Blossom slowed when she got close. "What are you doing here?" She asked, floating a few inches off the ground.

"Nothing illegal." The voice came from further in, somewhere close to Boomer.

Blossom broke toward him, searching every direction. "Breaking into and hijacking private property is absolutely illegal."

"The taxpayers built the building and paid for the servers. Then that corrupt mayor gives it to a rich man and that's not illegal?"

"Why don't we discuss that face-to-face." Blossom pulled Boomer behind one of the towers. She indicated her plan by pointing to either side of the tower. She wanted to close both sides.

Boomer nodded. They moved and swung around the tower.

"You're under arrest-" There was no one there. On the floor there was a small device connected to a walkie talkie.

A tiny pop went off at their feet, with barely even the force of a firecracker. Usually, Boomer liked explosions, and he loved the really big ones. All this one did was puff some smoke into their faces.

Boomer took a sniff, expecting that sour smell of gunpowder he liked. But this smoke had a sweet tang, like candy.

"Your mind control gas isn't going to work on me," Blossom said, covering her nose and mouth.

Soyun chortled. "That's not what that stuff does."

Boomer felt like his face was being attacked by a swarm of flies. His entire body itched and tickled. He scratched, wanting to scrape the skin off his body. The red and green lights he could see with x-ray vision bleeding through his eyelids. He could see too much and he couldn't stop it. The low hum of the servers became a jackhammer in his ears. He could smell metal and electricity and plastic all at the same time. For the first time ever he wanted to turn his powers off and he couldn't. He fell to the floor covering his head and making himself as small as possible to get some relief.

Blossom covered her face with her hands growling. "I will catch you." She slowly crouched to the floor.

"Calm down. I'm almost done." Soyun's voice echoed from every direction at once.

"Boomer, remain calm. You could easily fry every server in the building."

Boomer realized electricity was bleeding out of his hands. He did his best to suppress it.

"We need to find her."

Boomer coughed. His throat was so dry. Everything was flashing and roaring and shaking. "She's probably up above," he choked out.

"What?" Blossom grit her teeth and looked up. He was squeezing his eyes shut, but he could still see everything she was doing. "What's up above?"

"The metal grating above us, with the wires." Boomer rubbed his eyes. They were so itchy but so were his arms. He was frustrated at not being able to scratch both at once. "So the workers can fix the servers."

"There's a catwalk." Blossom finally saw it. "Stay here." She rose up, slowly and shakily. Boomer couldn't blame her, he could barely move with all the annoying sensations. She told him to stay where he was, but he did his best to keep watching her in case she needed help.

Boomer was starting to get his senses back when a wave of bitter cold slammed into him when Blossom used her ice breath.

"Trouble, Blossom?" Soyun snickered. "Feeling a little overstimulated?" There was the telltale sound of some cables being ripped out of a laptop. "I'm finished anyway."

"Yes, you are." Blossom managed to find loops and loops of extra cable. With her eyes still shut she bundled it up, wrapping it over itself again and again. It got tangled like a pair of headphones in a jeans pocket. Within seconds she had a makeshift net and threw it out wide into the space where Soyun should be.

Whip fast, Blossom pulled back and Soyun got tangled in the wires. She pulled free but her legs and one arm were caught by the web.

Blossom zipped around her, tying her up with the rest of her net of cables.

Soyun sprayed some gas toward Blossom out of a metal canister in her free hand. "You're too scared to fight me. You want to run away."

Despite breathing in the gas Blossom only hesitated for a moment. "No I don't," she said, shaking her head. She snatched the spray can out of Soyun's hand and broke it. "I told you it wouldn't work on me."

The colors and itching had mostly abated by the time Blossom carried over a tied up Soyun. Soyun was wearing a gas mask over her nose and mouth. It had vents on either side, probably to filter out her own gas so it wouldn't affect her.

They rode back up the elevator, Blossom restraining Soyun. The doors opened to the officers still pointing their guns.

"Clear," Blossom said, passing through them and pulling Soyun with her. There was a lot of movement and chatter after that, officers giving orders Boomer guessed. They and a few people in civilian clothes went into the elevator.

Blossom opened a police car door and directed Soyun into the seat. "You're going away for a long time."

Soyun rolled her eyes. "I'll see you in class on Monday."

Blossom closed the door on her. She set a wide stance with her hands on her hips in a silent victory.

"That was really cool, Blossom," Boomer said. "You're a good hero."

Blossom gave him a small smile. "Thank you. You're not a bad sidekick."

Boomer couldn't stop himself from smiling.

Blossom giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

An officer walked up to them pulling at the gun strap looped around his shoulder. "Good work, Blossom."

Blossom's smile changed. She was still smiling, but there was something weird about it, like she didn't mean it. "It was my pleasure," she said with a small shake of her head. She lifted into the air a few feet and looked at Boomer. "Let's go."

They took off, up high over the clump of police officers wrapping up the scene. The lights on their cars flashing red and blue. Blossom crossed her arms hovering high above them. She had that serious look on her face again as she watched them move back and forth. Boomer had a feeling something was wrong.

Blossom sighed. "We could use a break." She flew toward Matchstick Park, the football stadium down the shoreline. It was lit up even though there wasn't a game going on. "We're going to see a concert."

She led them to the stadium. They sat at the edge of the open roof with their legs dangling. The Fried Green Tomatoes were playing. Alternative rock was Boomer's favorite genre and FGT was a classic band. Blossom started singing along to 'Jimi Nevada'.

Boomer laughed to himself.

"What's funny?" Blossom asked.

Boomer blanched. "I uh- I didn't think you'd know..." He scratched his head, trying to think of the words. "You're so serious about uh..."

Blossom wrapped her arms around a leg and set her head on her knee. "Didn't think I took breaks or liked good music, huh?"

"Well, you are a Powerpuff Girl."

"I am." Blossom smiled. "I'm also a person. I like alt-rock. I watch action movies. I eat junk food."

Boomer laughed again. "You're so good though."

"I wish people didn't reduce me to 'good'." Blossom pushed off the roof and floated up a few inches, still in a sitting position. "'Everything nice'. I'm not some prim and proper schoolmarm."

Boomer blinked. That wasn't what he meant by 'good'. Though now that it was said, he realized he wasn't treating Blossom like a person. He was treating her like an ideal, a prefect angel of justice. Other people always wanted to be seen as infallible gods, right? So why didn't Blossom want that? It would be weird if anyone treated him like that, but the way Blossom conducted herself certainly gave the impression.

Boomer peered down into the concert. "We didn't really pay for tickets or anything."

Blossom leaned back. "We're not inside the stadium and we'll only stay for a few more minutes."

This had to be one of those 'not everything is black and white' things Brick was talking about. Boomer didn't like it. It was so confusing, impossible to know anything for sure. Blossom did know things though and she probably wouldn't mind if he asked.

"Blossom, you know how to do stuff. Can you teach me how to do stuff?"

"What kind of stuff?"

"You know, like Brick-stuff." He looked around sheepishly again. She kept her placid expression. If she was mad, she didn't let it show. "Or Blossom-stuff."

"What kind of Brick-stuff?"

"I don't know. You and Brick, you guys know how to do things and I have no idea even what those things are."

"Leadership?"

"No, more like..." He thrust his hands forward and looked at her. He spread his fingers out and then thrust his hands forward again. It was impossible for him to put into words.

"I'm going to need more to go on than that."

"So like, say I started a band. And I bring some band mates together and we have all the equipment. How do I get us a gig? Like one gig leads to another gig, right, but how do we get the first one?"

"You mean, literally, how to do things."

"Yes!" His palm slapped the roof.

"I think what you actually want is how to find solutions to your problems on your own."

He jumped into the air. "That! That's what I want."

Blossom regarded him with a raise of her head and a smile. "Yeah, I can teach you that."

Chapter 17: Peon

Notes:

Here is a rundown of the OCs that appear in this chapter:
Anna List - Detective in Townsville Police Department
Lou Tenant - Lieutenant in TPD
Sara Gent - Sergent in TPD
Cap Tan (Not featured) - Captain in TPD
May Jour (Not featured) - Major in the military
Jen Roll (Not featured) - General in the military

Peon

Sophomore Year - October

Anna sat in a desk chair, tapping the side of her laptop. She knew diagnostics could take quite a bit of time, but it had been over four hours. All the security guards and police officers in the building had been examined by medical professionals. The medics had discovered they had been rendered unconscious by some kid with a dart gun and a penchant for chemistry.

It had taken two supers to take the suspect down in the server farm, but the entire Townsville police force was still unable to determine what, if anything, she had done. A person with that much processing power at their disposal could use it to destroy NSA tracking data, download corporate biotechnology specifications, or create a backdoor to manipulate the nation's power systems. The list of vulnerabilities was innumerable.

The technicians started mumbling to each other. Apparently, they weren't too keen on letting Anna in on what was going on.

"Do you have something?" she asked.

"Officer List, the logs don't show anything out of the ordinary. No uploads or downloads. No instruction packages. We even checked for changes in the code. Nothing."

"I assume she wiped the logs."

"Don't you think we would have thought of that!?" The technician took a breath to calm himself. They were all tired and hungry. He ran a hand through his graying hair. "A log of her wiping the logs would have been automatically created. Don't ask me if she could have wiped that one. Even if she did there would be a log of that as well. Everything that happens in the system is logged."

"List? Are you still here?" Anna's commanding officer had returned, leaning on the door frame to the control room.

Anna stood. "Lieutenant, the perpetrator directly accessed this port. The chemical residue found near it matches the substance used in the IED that went off between servers 8D127 and 8E128."

"Whoever broke in here may have touched around the port," the lead technician said, barging into the conversation. "But I can confirm she didn't do anything in the system."

"What was she doing here then?" Lt. Tenant asked.

"We must assume she broke into this server farm to access this server farm." There was one other alternative, but the thought wouldn't occur to the lieutenant nor the technician. Anna decided to keep it to herself.

The lieutenant crossed his arms. "Alright, let's assume she did."

The lead technician straightened his glasses. "She would have to be actively interfacing with the system at the start of every cycle, quadrillions of times per second, and actively erasing the log data created by her previous intrusion, deleting the log of her deleting the log of her deleting the log, infinitely."

"That sounds impossible," Tenant said.

The technician threw his hands in the air. "This is what I have been saying. They would need their own bigger, faster server farm to handle the job."

"List." Tenant looked at her with derision. "Alternatives?" The oaf didn't even bother to speak in complete sentences.

Anna sighed, she'd need to give him the only other plausible one. "I cannot rule out that the break-in was a misdirection for another crime somewhere else in the city."

"That is infinitely more likely," the technician said.

"Then why here?" she asked. "Why deal with the heavy security? Why go through the setup of all of this when she could have…" She grasped at the air, looking for an example. "Called a bomb threat? Robbed a bank? Went on a rampage with these tranq darts?"

"Because," the lieutenant pointed a finger at her. "This is a highly sensitive area. She knew we wouldn't go into Morebucks Tower guns blazing. And even more importantly, it's something we couldn't ignore."

Anna pulled up the TPD system for any other incidents at around the same time. There were the usual amount of break-ins, domestic disturbances, and robberies. "Sir, there are no major incidents that occurred at the time." She showed him the screen.

"Then it's something we haven't found out about yet. There's no other plausible alternative." He looked her over. "Go home. Get some rest."

Anna closed her laptop, no doubt to the delight of the technicians, and walked out of the lab without saying anything. The discussion had proven it was useless. Soyun Chen had done something. She didn't know how she knew and with everyone writing her off, she had no evidence to defend her position. Whatever it was, it was big.

---

Anna heated some leftover pizza in the microwave when she got home. She plopped down on her couch and turned on the TV. A comedian was doing a set on whatever channel had been on the last time she had been home, though she couldn't recall when that was.

All her life Anna had wanted to help people. She had never been a good speaker, numbers came to her easier than words. Before dropping out of med school she had been a paramedic. She worked closely with police officers and firefighters and came to admire some of them.

Everything they were doing, medics, officers, firefighters, politicians, and community organizers, all of it only treated the symptoms of the bigger problems. Even after the Powerpuff Girls began protecting the city, conditions hadn't really improved. The monster attacks were less frequent and less damaging, but Townsville had never had a single supervillain until the the day the Girls appeared. Ten years later, they were a weekly threat.

Where was it all coming from? Anna had to figure it out. Pizza grease had soaked into the paper plate in her hand. She wasn't paying attention to her food or the show. She forced herself to take a few bites and rolled over. She fell asleep in the glow of the television while gunshots rang out somewhere in the city.

---

After another night of restless sleep, Anna was back at her precinct. She made a beeline for the coffee, after she checked her emails of course.

"List! There's no time for coffee!" Lt. Tenant snaked the pot out of her hand and poured what was left into his mug. "We've got a villain holding up the old toy factory, name'a Mirror. You got anything on 'em?" He took a long sip of the coffee that should have been Anna's.

"If it's a supervillain, call the-"

"Normal villain, no 'super'."

"I'll pull their psych profile and-"

"Meet the team in the briefing room in five." He walked away, taking the coffee with him.

Anna sighed and went back to her desk. She pulled up everything the system had on Mirror. She skimmed, zeroing in on the most-important pieces of information. There wasn't much time.

Sara sat at Anna's desk with a to-go cup of coffee. "Detective, you look like you could use this."

Anna took a gulp. It wasn't too hot and had only a little sugar. Sara knew exactly how Anna liked it. "You're my guardian angel."

"Lou pulled you into his thing?" Sara asked, though she already knew the answer.

""Normal villain, no 'super'," Anna repeated.

"He wants to take him down himself. You know why he pulled you in, right?"

"Because I'll do whatever he says without protest even if he doesn't give me any credit."

"Because you're good at what you do and he can count on you. More than anyone can say about the rest of those muscleheads." Through the windows of the briefing room the lieutenant and several other officers were already giving each other high-fives. "I know it's hard to see, but it's actually a compliment."

The sergeant meant well. If anything Sara was well-suited to managing the well-being of everyone in the precinct. She might have even been right. But Anna was right too.

"He wants to make a name for himself. He wants to make captain and he's going to use me to do it." Anna gave her a smile. "Thank you for the coffee." She took the cup and headed for the briefing room.

---

Anna adjusted her flack jacket, she was unacquainted with wearing one. Her seat at the back of the SWAT van was cold and hard, very unlike her office chair. She felt restless with nothing to do but wait as they made their way to the old toy factory.

She looked around at the other officers' hardened faces. They were all looking at the lieutenant standing near the door and hanging on a handhold. He went over the plan for the nth time. Anna knew every moment by heart, after all, it was her plan.

Anna had analyzed every aspect, checked and double-checked every fact. All of that information told her exactly how to handle the situation, no casualties, clean and efficient. Every preparation she had taken led her to this moment.

"And then we bring him in," Tenant finished reciting.

"Sure, Lou. We'll bring him in," one of the officers said in a joking tone. The others in the truck laughed, even the lieutenant cracked a smile.

Anna waited a few seconds for him to correct the officer, but after a few moments it became clear he wouldn't.

"Let's do this one right," Anna said.

The smile fell off the lieutenant's face. "Affirmative. No screw-ups. Stick to the plan."

There were mumbles among the officers, but no one argued. Anna settled back into her seat. Judging by the turns the truck had made, they were only a block away.

When they stopped, the officers filed out of the truck with their tranq rifles ready.

"I don't like it," the lieutenant said almost immediately. There was no way he had enough time to assess the situation. "Get snipers on those rooftops."

"Sir, if Mirror sees we are deploying lethal force against him, he will retaliate using lethal force."

"He's deployed lethal force against us in the past. He'll do it again."

"Sir, according to his psych profile, Mirror will not use lethal force if we don't use it first. His MO is that he will use equal force against us. We should stick to the plan."

"That's exactly my point, our officers need to defend themselves."

"How are sniper rifles going to 'defend' our officers?"

The lieutenant eyed Anna. "Detective List, who is the commanding officer here?"

"You, lieutenant. However, I have studied-"

"Move!" Tenant shouted into his radio.

Anna closed her eyes for a moment reminding herself that she was a small cog in a political machine she was powerless to so much as nudge. She had to work within reality. The officers grabbed their weapons and got into position around the entrance pointing them at the front door to the factory.

"Door's locked," Tenant said. "Perez, grab the ram."

Anna went to the door and pulled it open. It was, in fact, unlocked. "Stick to the plan," she said into her mic.

"Affirmative," Tenant said after a moment's hesitation. "We have your feed. Proceed."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Affirmative."

She walked into a waiting room of sorts. The walls were dilapidated and moldy. There were rows of old chairs, rusted by time. The air was musty.

She walked through another set of doors and down a hallway. There were a pair of bathrooms and a breakroom.

"List, keep moving."

Anna was aware of the body camera pulling on her chest. She used it to cover her ass in her reports. She did not like the thought of Tenant using it to direct her. "Affirmative."

Through another set of doors she found the factory floor. Rows of assembly lines had been picked clean, everything of value taken and probably scrapped.

"Over here, officer." Mirror's voice was a mocking tone.

Anna walked in the direction she heard, her eyes scanning across the lines and ahead.

"You're not even armed, are you?" Mirror asked from the other side of the assembly line. He was wearing a blue and red jester's outfit complete with bells on his hat.

"No. I have no weapons."

"But you are wearing a bulletproof vest."

"So are you. Yours is just in the form of hostages."

He chuckled. "Interesting."

"That is one sick fuck," Tenant said.

Anna ignored it, thankful Mirror couldn't hear the com in her ear. "If I take mine off, will you take yours off?"

Mirror tilted his head.

He needed a show of good faith. Anna released the velcro holding her vest together.

"List! What are you doing?"

"This is the plan," she reminded him, taking her vest off and setting it on the floor. She made sure her camera was pointed at them. "I am unarmed and unarmored."

"You actually understand, don't you?" Mirror smiled. "Alright then. I'll let them go." He led her further into the factory. There were three homeless people tied up near a ruined desk.

"He's vulnerable!" Tenant yelled. "Move in and take him down!"

Knowing she had only seconds to get them to safety, Anna untied Mirror's hostages. Mirror grabbed a pair of bolt cutters and cut the chain holding down a receiving dock door. When the hostages were free, he lifted it and stepped aside.

"You know you're the first officer to be foolish enough to-"

"List! Get down!" Officers barreled in with shotguns pointed and ready. The first one took a shot.

Anna threw herself to the ground. Gunfire rang out on both sides. A pair of automatic shotguns had appeared in Mirror's hands. The hostages ran through the receiving door.

"Fuck! Get cover!"

Mirror ducked behind a shipping container while the officers reloaded their weapons. He opened a box and pulled out an RPG.

Anna jumped between them, spreading her arms to plead with the officers. "Stop! He won't-"

A pink blur slammed into her and she landed behind a concrete barrier that hadn't been there before. The rest of the officers piled behind it. An explosion thundered through the area accompanied by flashes of light. Anna kept her head down until all the noise stopped all at once.

"Clear!" a young female voice called out over Mirror's grunts.

Anna looked over the barrier. Through a cloud of dust Blossom Utonium stood over Mirror holding him to the floor with her foot. Anna sighed, adjusting her cracked glasses.

"Excellent work, Blossom," the lieutenant said, puffing out his chest like he hadn't been cowering like the rest of them.

Anna had to quell the rage in her heart. She had accounted for everything, her plan was flawless, she had contingencies upon contingencies. Yet these officers hadn't listened to her and bungled the execution of their own plan.

Blossom shook the lieutenant's hand with a forced smile. Anna couldn't be mad at her, she had saved them. Without her superpowers, they would have all died. These officers had grown complacent. They didn't, couldn't possibly understand that they had become so reliant on the Powerpuff Girls that they were totally incompetent.

The lieutenant wanted her on his team, he wanted her tactics. But he couldn't get out of his own way and let her apply her research. Something in him couldn't contend with the idea that there could be a solution that didn't involve shooting up the place.

She had to escape the trap so many others fell victim to. Anna resigned herself to searching for a new way to beat the supervillain problem. Whatever it was, she'd have to do it on her own.

Chapter 18: Reformer

Reformer

Fifth Grade

Brick scanned the aisles of the grocery store. He grabbed bags of chips. His boys liked chips, the spicier the better. And salty, Butch liked pretzels.

"Why isn't anyone calling someone!?" some lady screamed. People always reacted like that when Brick and his boys were out. He never understood why. All he was doing was shopping, same as them.

"Who would we call!?"

"The Powerpuff Girls!"

Brick ignored them and looked at the meat section. While there wasn't a way he could figure out how to make burgers without equipment, he did see turkey and ham cold cuts. He got bread and cheese to make sandwiches. Then he saw the rotisserie chicken. The other food would be fine as long as it stayed cold. The chicken was hot and the three of them could finish it that day.

Satisfied with his selections he skipped the line and put his stuff in two paper bags.

"Not so fast, Brick!" Blossom stood blocking the exit with her hands on her hips.

Brick hefted the bags and walked right up to her. "Hey babe."

"Do you have a receipt for those groceries?"

"Nope."

"Then you're breaking the law."

Brick shrugged. "Yup. Me and my boys are hungry after kicking your asses yesterday."

Blossom huffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm taking you in. Cuff him, Danno."

Brick thought about beating her up again, but he'd never get what he wanted that way.

The cop standing next to her shrugged. "Two bags of groceries, probably totaling less than fifty dollars. Plus he's a minor. We'd let him off with a warning and call his parents."

"He doesn't have parents," Blossom said.

"Yeah, and I doubt child services is going to want to deal with this. Just let 'em go."

"What? He's stealing. And stealing is…" Blossom paused to search for the right word. "thievery."

"Yeah, but people shoplift all the time." the cop said. "They usually aren't this brazen about it, but yeah. Let the insurance company handle it."

"Doesn't matter to me," Brick said. "I'm taking this stuff either way."

"I told you I'm not going to stop if you continue to commit crimes." Blossom raised her chin. "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

The officer took a step toward Blossom. "Yeah, I get that, but-"

"Please step aside, officer, for your own safety." Blossom squared up with Brick in a karate stance.

Brick needed a distraction. Blossom always prioritized the safety of others over fighting. It was one of her many weaknesses. The store's customers were watching the confrontation from the sidelines, each an easy target. He looked at the display of 24-pack sodas next to him then at the customers huddled at the back of the store.

"Don't even think about it." Good. She understood exactly what he was about to do.

Brick grabbed a 24-packs and threw it at a customer with enough force to break their bones.

Blossom pivoted to catch the pack of sodas before it hit the customer. He knew she would. She couldn't stop herself.

Brick flew out of the exit, slamming into the cop on his way. "Got a surprise for you tomorrow, babe."

---

Sophomore Year - October

All Blossom's life she had wanted to do good. Not 'well', Blossom would never have made that grammatical mistake. She meant literal good. She had stumbled, as much as anyone else she supposed. But her actions had more consequence than most.

On only her second day of life, she had destroyed Townsville. Her sisters were guilty too, but Blossom blamed herself for not seeing the consequences of their little game of tag before things got out of hand.

Ever since that day she had made it her mission to make it right in any way she could. It seemed only natural to take the initiative and reform a villain.

Blossom had misjudged Boomer. She had thought him a bully, like his brothers. He had wanted Tyler Shoe to stop picking on Mike Believe. And he had defeated Tyler without laying a hand on him. Those were good instincts, something that couldn't be taught. It was possible Boomer had the ability to become a great hero. What he needed was direction, a proper leader.

The coffee shop clerk pressed a few buttons. "That'll be 9.03."

Blossom opened her purse to retrieve her debit card.

"I don't think you understand, dude." Boomer said, placing his fingers on the counter. "We don't pay-"

"Yes. We do." Blossom held his gaze and gave him a stern look to match her tone.

"Oh… right." Boomer looked away. "Right! Yes, we do pay now." He reached into his pocket

"I got it, Boomer," Blossom said.

"No. No. I just forgot." With an electric zip he pulled a loose debit card out of his pocket and offered it to the clerk.

"Uh, you're going to want to use the machine." The clerk sheepishly pointed to the point-of-sale device on the counter.

"Right!" Boomer inserted his card and paid for the refreshments. "Sorry, man. I'm still getting used to… uh… this." Blossom held back a chuckle. He had a long way to go.

They found a table in the back and Boomer took an eager sip of his drink. He grimaced and looked around. "Where's the cream and sugar?"

"You will find it on the credenza."

"The what?"

"The table next to the wall." Blossom gestured to the credenza with various creams, spices, and sweeteners.

"Oh, okay." Boomer walked up to it and considered his options. "So this is a credenza, huh." He added way too much sugar and vanilla creamer into his coffee. "Do you know more old-timey words for stuff?"

Blossom blinked. The look he was giving her indicated he was serious. "I suppose."

"What's a davenport?" he asked.

"It's a style of couch."

He covered his mouth in thought. "Okay, then what's a chesterfield?"

"That would be a different style of couch. Chesterfields are upholstered with leather and studded with metal rivets. Though, in the past 'davenport' and 'chesterfield' were interchangeable, like 'couch' and 'sofa' are today."

"Huh." He looked around, embarrassed. "What's a divan?"

"Another style of couch. Has one of your brothers been messing with you?"

Boomer slumped his shoulders at the realization. "I guess."

Butch, Blossom doubted Brick would have bothered. "You could have looked those words up on the internet."

"Brick won't let me use his laptop." He sat in the seat across from her.

"You could buy your own or use one in the computer lab at school."

"Oh yeah, I didn't think of that." He took a long drink, looking uncomfortable in his seat. "So, taking down villains, you do that all the time?"

Blossom smiled. "Yeah."

"It was really cool! You were so in control. And when that gas hit us, I couldn't see or hear or anything. Or, no, it was like, too much. But you were totally fine. Then you took that girl down without even being able to see."

"Thank you. Honestly, it was good to have you with me."

Boomer beamed. "You used the cables as a net. That was totally smart!"

"I have my moments." Blossom took a sip of her coffee. The beans had been burned, resulting in an acrid tinge on her tongue.

"But I have ideas like that, you know?"

"Like what?"

"I had this idea. What if you had a catapult in your house? That way, when a monster or something attacks, you can use it to get you into the action faster."

Blossom laughed. "You sound like my dad."

"What?"

"He had the same idea a few years ago. He even installed a prototype catapult in our bedroom. It didn't help. The loss of control doesn't make up for the extra speed."

Boomer crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling. "I guess that's true. I was thinking it would look cool."

Blossom laughed again. "That's exactly what he said!"

Boomer laughed with her. "So uh, you were going to teach me how to do leader stuff."

"Yes. Let's start with planning and execution."

"Okay."

"Plan what you're going to do in advance and execute that plan."

"Okay, so let's say I have a good plan, or maybe just an idea. How do I execute it?"

Break it down into small parts. Then finish those parts in succession. First one thing, then the next, and so on until you have accomplished your goal. That's execution."

"That sounds too easy."

"It's actually very difficult. You need to focus on one thing. It has to be the one thing that drives your life forward. It must become who you are."

"One thing, huh. And you have one of those?"

"Of course. I want to preserve justice in Townsville and beyond." Blossom squared her shoulders like her mom had taught her. "Give some thought to what yours would be."

Boomer nodded slightly and looked to the side. "There is something I want, I guess."

"You guess or you know?"

"No. I know."

"Then you should make a plan and pursue that goal. Do not let anything stop you."

---

As she closed her locker before first period, Blossom turned to see Soyun Chen, in school, as promised. "You shouldn't have come here." She laughed. Soyun's tricks wouldn't work twice. She grabbed her arm. "I'm taking you back to jail."

"How?" Soyun asked, condescension dripping from her mouth. "The prosecutor dropped the charges."

Blossom gripped harder. She only wished Soyun had actual powers so Blossom could use her full strength on her. "What did you do to him?"

Soyun turned her head. "Nothing." She gave Blossom a shark-toothed smile. "He and the judge realized that they didn't have any evidence."

"You were arrested in Morebucks Tower for trespassing."

"And the prosecutor dropped the criminal charge."

"Morebucks will press charges at the very least."

"That's between me and Morebucks, isn't it?" Soyun pulled her arm out of Blossom's grip.

"You poisoned twenty officers."

"No, I didn't," Soyun said. "They were Morebucks security guards. Technically, legally, they were not police officers."

"You used mind-controlling chemicals on them," Blossom said, pointing a finger at her. "I'll expose you."

"Go ahead. See what good it does you." Soyun spun, whipping her hair and walking away. "Until then, see you in class."

---

Blossom retrieved her key to Robin's house and opened the door. The instant she had inserted the key she heard Max's paws tapping on the hardwood floor. By the time she had it open, he was jumping for pets.

"Hi Max. How are you?" Blossom asked, crouching down to rub his face and especially focus on behind his ears.

He licked her cheek several times in response. Clearly he was doing much better now that she was there. She let him lick her face until he was satisfied.

It was a rare day when Blossom was home and Robin wasn't. Blossom was always at debate practice, at a competition, or on crime patrol. Robin was visiting family on the other side of the country and had asked Blossom and her sisters to take care of her golden retriever, Max. The three of them loved to take care of him when Robin was away. Since their dad wouldn't let them keep him in the house, they shared the responsibility. Though Blossom had to keep Bubbles from giving him too many treats. And she had to remind Buttercup to play with him in the evening or she would forget altogether.

She gave him all the love and attention he wanted until he calmed down to a reasonable level. "Do you have food?" Blossom looked toward his bowl. There were a few kibbles left, she could always count on Bubbles to take care of an animal. She topped off his food and water dish. He ate a bit and looked up at her expectantly. "Do you want to go on a walk?" she asked. He barked and ran around her, so cute with his tongue hanging out of his mouth with excitement.

Blossom retrieved his leash and clipped it to his collar for a walk. He pulled on the leash, suddenly wanting to smell everything. Blossom was glad she could anchor herself in space, Max could throw Robin around on their walks. With her superpowers Blossom had complete control of her position leaving her alone to her thoughts while he smelled everything and anything. Blossom had a moment to think introspectively. But there was only one subject she could think about.

Brick. The outcome was always the same.

Buttercup had come home once with bruises and burns streaked across her face. They healed within minutes and she never said anything about it. A few days later Brick brought her home from a party. A few days after that he hired her for a job knowing exactly what she could do. The evidence pointed to a clear conclusion. They had fought each other.

Buttercup wouldn't have surrendered. She would have fought until one of them died. Brick wasn't exactly known for mercy either. Yet, neither was dead. In fact, judging by how they interacted, they were practically friendly with each other.

Max ran around Blossom's legs after smelling a bush. She gave him reassuring pets, and they continued onto their trek.

She thought back to her encounter with Soyun. At the time Blossom had been sure Brick was with her. They were friends after all. It was only a matter of time before he showed his true colors and turned on the city he claimed to defend.

Blossom needed to develop a strategic advantage. She had her intellect, of course. The issue was that Brick had a near-peer intellect as well as his own advantages. He was stronger and faster while she was tougher. He couldn't take a hit, he used his agility to avoid anything that came at him. Blossom could take a beating and get right back up, one good hit would bring Brick down.

She also had her ice. But Brick's fire always trumped her ice. He was better with fire than she was with ice despite all of her training. Plus the heat of thousands of degrees mathematically overcame mere hundreds of degrees of chill.

She thought about the times she had beaten him. During their first encounter, she had paralyzed him with a display of beauty and kissed him on the cheek. The confusing emotions in an unstable body made him explode. The second time she turned his own toxic masculinity against him. A simple demonstration of weakness diminished him mentally and physically. Brick adapted quickly and neither tactic would work after being used against him the first time.

It did point to something though. Every time she had beaten him, it hadn't been through physical force. He was so arrogant. He considered himself to be practically a god. Everything and everyone was beneath him.

"Hey there, Maxey," Bubbles said, landing in front of them and petting him. She lowered down, rubbing his face, giving him even more love and attention. Max was ecstatic.

"Going on a walk? Let's walk together!" Bubbles fell in with Blossom and the two of them walked side by side until Max found another thing to smell.

"Something wrong?" Bubbles asked.

"The usual."

Bubbles sighed. "Did you fight with Buttercup again?"

"No, it's Brick. It's always Brick."

"Brick has you this worked up? Why?"

"Because he's always there, always jabbing at me. And now he's my lab partner so I can't even avoid him anymore."

Bubbles hummed. "Remember like a month ago, when he wasn't driving you crazy?"

"He's been driving me crazy practically all my life."

"That's not true. Last year he hardly came up at all."

Max pulled left, sticking his nose into a lawn.

"Remember when they showed up at our fifth grade class out of the blue? It was tense at first, but after about a week we found a kind of coexistence. The boys were annoying and we had to fight them sometimes, but he wasn't driving you crazy like he is now."

"I… guess…" Blossom admitted.

"Well, what changed?"

"The town started calling him a hero. But he's not! And Buttercup-"

"That's not the point, Blossom. They stopped committing crimes and started fighting monsters. They're taking care of the monsters. That's so much stress we don't have to deal with anymore. You're torturing yourself."

Blossom could only blink. "No, I'm not," she said, unsure if she even believed herself. Blossom had principles. Brick did not. Brutal efficiency wasn't the Powerpuff way. There was always an ideal solution. He'd never achieve an ideal solution because he wasn't looking for it in the first place.

“Maybe you guys have been competing so long, it became impossible for you to think of him as anything but an enemy.”

The realization hit Blossom like a punch to her cheek. "You're… right." It wasn't like the boys had become actual heroes, but not being villains anymore was better than nothing.

“They are who they are and we are who we are. You can’t change that, but you can change how you feel about it.”

“How would one do that?”

“In your case, stop reacting to anything he says or does.”

“I’ve been ignoring him for years.”

“Ignoring is how you react to how you feel about him being around. Stop feeling it in the first place. Do nothing. Feel nothing.”

Max ran back to them and wrapped his leash around their legs. Blossom resolved herself to make a real effort to stop looking at Brick as an enemy. They were on similar sides after all. The boys weren’t exactly good, but they still protected Townsville.

They shouldn’t just be forgiven of all their crimes. At the very least they shouldn’t be paid to fight monsters. They should consider it community service.

She didn’t have to like him after all. But she might be able to nudge him in the right direction, like how she was teaching Boomer but more slowly. He always thought he was on her level. She could raise her expectations of him, assume he will be better. Then, when he inevitably screwed up, she didn't have to be mad. She could show him a better way.

"You're absolutely right."

---

Princess stepped into her limo. Soyun followed her.

"This limo is soundproof, right?" Soyun asked when the door closed.

Princess poured herself a glass of champagne. "Of course. It's also opaque to their so-called x-ray vision." She was too focused on the Powerpuff Girls, everyone else was too far below her. She couldn't perceive anyone else as a threat, but that was her problem. "What do you want?"

"We're friends. Can't friends talk amicably?"

"I suppose we are. Daddy is still pressing charges."

"Why? I guarantee no one will notice whatever it is I did."

"As he would say 'it's the principle of the thing'." Princess took a long sip of her drink.

"I see." Soyun leaned forward and steepled her fingers. "Why does he want Chemical X?"

Princess almost choked on her champagne. She refilled her glass and poured one for Soyun. "I suppose you know everything, don't you?"

Soyun didn't take the glass. She knew better than to drink something she didn't prepare herself. "His secret is safe with me, as are all the others."

"What do you want?"

"I want the charges dropped."

"And?"

"And nothing else."

"That cannot be it."

"Actually, it is. We are friends. I'd hate to cause a friend any trouble."

"Daddy isn't going to like someone he doesn't know monitoring our activities."

"My employer doesn't give a shit about what Morebucks Industries is doing. This person wants access to your server farm in case they step out of line."

Princess turned her head to the side. "He can use it to contain them?"

"Think of it as a free fail safe on top of the fail safe."

"You should charge millions for that service."

"Yet, he is charging nothing. What does that tell you?" Soyun straightened her eyes at Princess.

"That our interests are aligned." Princess looked warily at her. "I'll find a way to smooth things over with daddy."

Soyun smiled. "Thank you Princess."

Princess smiled back. "Anything for a friend."

Soyun grabbed the door handle but didn't open it yet. "And let me know if you're successful with recreating Chemical X. I'd love to get in on that."

Princess raised her glass. "I will."

Soyun opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Princess' limo sped away. Once Soyun confirmed no one was around who could hear she took the com out of her pocket and tapped it three times.

"You spoke with her."

"They're dropping the charges and they don't care that you're in their system."

"Payment is being sent now."

Soyun looked at her phone. A wire came in for the amount they had discussed. It was risky. He could control most things that happened through the internet. She would have to convert it to raw cash as soon as possible.

"Our business is concluded," Silico said. "Thank you for your services." The com in Soyun's hand disintegrated.

Chapter 19: A God

A God

Fifth Grade

"They're the scum of the earth! And they'll come to this school over my dead body!"

"I'm afraid that is out of anyone's hands."

Brick sat outside the principal's office next to his brothers. He didn't need super hearing to know what was being said inside.

Butch sat low in the seat with his arms crossed. He'd be outside of the principal's office a lot in the coming years, at least until he learned to restrain himself. Boomer stood, looking at a cluster of colorful signs announcing various events and activities taped to the wall.

"Why are we doing this again?" Butch asked.

"It's simple," Brick said. "We already proved we're better fighters than them. Now we're going to prove we're better than them at what they're best at. I'm going to be top of the class over Blossom. Butch is gonna dominate Buttercup at every sport there is." Butch grinned at that. "And Boomer is finally gonna learn to read."

"I know how to read!" Boomer pouted while Brick and Butch chuckled. He went back to looking at the signs. Brick couldn't tell if he was actually reading the words or just looking at the pictures.

Brick didn't know how Boomer would beat Bubbles. Probably at art or some other useless subject.

"They're delinquents!" Someone in the office pounded on a desk. "Arrest them!" Whoever the guy was inside the principal's office was loud. The noise was giving him a headache. Brick wanted to squish him like an annoying bug.

"No one can arrest them."

"Call the Powerpuff Girls! They're in room 306, I'll call them myself."

"The Girls don't want to fight the Boys if they aren't-"

"THEN WHAT USE ARE THEY!"

"Excuse me? Use?"

"Yeah. 'Use', ever heard of it? It means-"

"If you do not regulate your tone, I will be forced to remove you-"

"From my own office!?"

"Yes."

"If you're letting those criminals into this school, you won't have to. I quit!"

The door to the principal's office opened and some old man stomped out. He glared at Brick as he passed. Brick glared right back. He didn't appreciate that and spit right in Brick's face.

The wad of spit landed on Brick's forehead. He didn't react. Brick just kept his eyes on him all the way out. The door to the building closed and the two ladies still in the office, the school's secretary and the one with the boobs, talked much more quietly.

Brick wiped his face on Butch's shirt.

"Eww! Dude!" Butch pushed him away while Boomer laughed. The spit made a wet patch on Butch's shirt. Butch didn't care much after it was done.

The women in the office talked about how it would all go down. They debated putting them in the same class as the Powerpuff Girls. Apparently, the teacher was good at handling kids with superpowers.

"I can't believe you didn't beat that guy up," Butch said.

Brick snorted. "That guy doesn't matter. He's gone and nobody even remembers his name."

Butch thought for a moment. "Huh, I don't remember what his name is."

"Who's name?" Boomer asked, looking around.

"See? Who gives a shit what he thinks."

---

Sophomore Year - October

"Burgers later?" Brick asked Buttercup when he saw her in the hall before class.

"I have hockey practice."

"After?"

"You paying?"

"Since you don't have a job, yeah, I'll pay."

Buttercup opened her mouth like she was going to say something. Instead, she blanched and took off in another direction, her boots skidded on the floor. Brick was confused until he turned around.

"5,000 homes still have no water thanks to your little stunt." Blossom pressed a newspaper into Brick's chest. "All to redevelop an area no one actually wants to redevelop, whatsoever. Congratulations."

Brick burnt the paper in his hand without looking at it. "With all the monster attacks, they should have built extra capacity."

"The city built extra capacity. Some jerk went and destroyed it for no reason," she growled.

"One tank counts as 'extra capacity'? Sounds like I discovered a bottleneck in the city's water system."

Blossom ground her teeth. "You do not understand. It is our job, as those with power-"

"It was my job to destroy the monster. It was someone else's job to plan and build infrastructure."

"Do not interrupt me."

Brick crossed his arms and glared, daring her to continue.

"You should strive for better."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, I do not appreciate you corrupting my sister."

Brick's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Buttercup. Do not fraternize with her."

"I'll do as I please."

Blossom grit her teeth. "I will not tell you again." She turned, missing Brick's eye-roll, and walked away.

---

The burger joint was downtown. Brick landed a few blocks away and decided to walk the rest. He looked up at the skyscrapers like a tourist. They went up so high he couldn't see the tops. He was used to seeing them from the top down. The flimsy concrete rattled when he flew through the canyon.

Among the sirens, jackhammering, and people yapping at each other, the sound of something rumbled toward him. A pristine white Kord Stallion screeched through the intersection. The driver misjudged the turn and careened onto the sidewalk and into Brick.

The engine of the car, three hundred pounds heavier than Brick should have weighed, broke against his back. Metal sheared like it was paper and the scrap came to a sudden stop.

Brick removed himself from the wreckage. He didn't have any scratches or bruises though his overshirt was ripped and the lower part of his jeans were shredded. Nothing to be done about it, he threw the overshirt into a nearby trash can.

A cop ran over, asking for an ambulance on his radio. He inspected the driver with Brick right behind. The airbag had gone off for all the good it did. A man was slumped over it unconscious. Going from sixty miles an hour to zero in less than a second will do that, to a normie anyway.

"Sucks to be that guy," Brick said.

The cop looked at him incredulously. "Do you know who this is?"

The driver was around college-aged wearing a light blue polo shirt with the collar popped, beige cargo shorts, and goddamn boat shoes. He had to be some trust fund kid. There were a million more like him.

"No. Do you know who I am?"

The cop sighed. "Yes."

"There you go then." Brick went on his way.

"Hey. I need your statement," the cop called to him.

"My statement is I was walking on the sidewalk. He came barreling around the corner and slammed into me." Brick took another step away.

"Do you have any idea who this guy's father is!? He's gonna sue."

Brick stopped at that. He turned slowly, eyes hard on the cop. He could practically feel the cop's heart rate skyrocket. Brick walked up to him and took a good hard look at the badge on his chest.

"Then you should probably get the footage from that camera." Brick gestured to a cluster of cameras on a bank wall. "Also, images of the scene. He drove onto the sidewalk after all. The tire marks will tell you his path and how fast he was going." Brick got really close to the cop's face. "He was most-likely on something, so have a tox-screen done, Menendez."

The cop started breathing heavily in fear.

"And do you know what I'm going to do if you don't?"

The cop nodded, panting.

Brick gave him one last hard glare. And walked toward his destination.

"You didn't-" the cop shouted once Brick had gotten a ways away. "You could have moved out of the way."

"Then he would have slammed into this innocent car." He leaned his head toward the car parked on the curb. "He got hurt because of his own reckless behavior. Sounds like justice to me."

"I don't think that's…" the cop, Menendez, trailed off.

Brick shook his head, not caring to continue the conversation, and went to the burger joint.

Buttercup was waiting for him outside the entrance. She laughed when she saw him. "What's with the jeans?"

"Decided to go retro today. Haven't you heard? Early '90s grunge is back."

"Whatever you say." Buttercup shook her head. "Where are we going?"

"Right here." Brick nodded to the building on the corner, a dingy joint where they served anything and everything. It was the kind of place where a surly old man worked miracles on a grill.

"Super Burger," Buttercup said, reading the sign. She looked at him skeptically.

"Dumb name, but the best street food in the world." Brick went up to the window while Buttercup looked at the sun-faded menu next to it.

They got their food and sat at one of the few tables. Buttercup's phone chimed before she could take a bite of food. She typed at it and set it down. As soon as she picked up her burger it chimed again.

"Ugh, my boyfriend is being an asshole." She typed on her phone again.

Brick shook his head. "Oh yeah? What's his power?"

"Nada, he's a normie."

Brick couldn't believe it. But given Blossom's love life, he shouldn't have been surprised. "What's that like? Being more powerful than your BF in every way?"

"I dunno. I guess I never thought about it."

"And if you did?"

"He's…" Buttercup didn't finish her sentence for too long a time. "Cool, I guess. He gets me."

Brick stopped and looked at BC. "None of the normies, and most of the supes, can never really 'get us'. Know what I mean?"

Buttercup looked up at him. A simple, clean rotation of eyeballs conveyed her agreement. She did do it with superspeed after all. The booth they were sitting in rattled at the weight of the small movement. To almost anyone else it would have been terrifying. To Brick it was the most natural expression in the world.

"I mean…" Buttercup collected her thoughts. "Don't you think people still have inherent value, or something?"

"Most of them won't do anything more with their lives than convert oxygen into carbon dioxide." Brick leaned forward with a playful smirk. "People want to believe that we're all equal. The thing is it's glaringly obvious we're not."

Buttercup gave Brick a glare that meant several things at once. "Isn't Soyun your best friend? She doesn't have superpowers."

Brick scoffed. "I don't know about 'best'. Soyun understood how far down she was, and decided to do something about it. I respect that."

"Respect, huh?" Buttercup sucked on her soda like she was thinking. "What'd she do to earn that?"

"She developed real skills. Made herself into a supe."

"Like your other friend, Princess."

"Or Dex. Some of these normies are actually worth a damn."

"Worth a damn? Princess is a stuck-up bitch with no real skills or talent. If she wasn't rich, you wouldn't think she was worth anything."

"Fair enough. She's rich. Hasn't had to actually earn anything. But even without all that Princess will surprise you."

Buttercup huffed. "She hasn't tried to kill me in a while, that surprises me."

"It's like you. I thought you were going to be all bark and punches. Then you pulled out that shield."

"Admit it, I almost had you."

"Almost," Brick admitted. "Next time I'm not going to underestimate you."

Buttercup smirked. "I bet I can still surprise you."

"You damn well better."

---

"Alright, both of you versus me." Brick took a wide stance.

"You think you can take both of us at once?" Butch laughed.

"Yeah, we're going to cream you," Boomer said.

"You sure about that? Strength and speed only, no eyebeams, flying, or anything else."

"Your funeral." Butch got into a boxing stance. Boomer set his feet like they were going to race. Brick faced both, keeping an eye on each.

Boomer charged. Brick jumped up and over as he passed under him. Missing the target he was aiming for, Boomer tripped over his own feet.

Butch cocked his fist and threw a hard punch at Brick's head.

Brick titled his head out of the way and slammed Butch in the solar plexus as hard as he could. Butch flung back at the speed of sound. He broke through a rock along his way.

Boomer stood back up. Brick cocked his head. The kid didn't stand a chance without Butch. He zipped up to him with a foot already in a kick at his head.

Boomer blanched, backing away and avoided Brick's swipes. He didn't even put any power behind them. A sweep of Brick's leg made Boomer back up and look for a different way inside his defense.

Butch zipped back in. "I'm gonna waste you."

"To do that, you actually have to hit me."

"Oh, I'll hit you alright." Butch threw two jabs and a punch. Brick sidestepped.

Boomer tried moving in. Brick invited the opportunity. He spun on his foot, grabbed Boomer, and pushed him right into Butch.

"Boomer!" Butch complained. "What the hell!"

Boomer pointed a finger at him. "You got in my way!"

They scowled at each other.

Fighting monsters was fine, though Brick felt like they should be making more money off of it. They had saved the city literal millions, even billions of dollars in damage. But market forces always came down to supply and demand. There was just too high a supply of superheroes in Townsville. Maybe he should think about branching out.

Stay focused. Boomer rushed in while Butch held his fists to block. Brick grabbed Boomer and Butch's heads and slammed them together. "Are you guys learning anything?"

Butch and Boomer looked at each other, blinking. "We're not here to learn," Boomer said.

Brick took a breath. "I'm not stronger than you and I'm not faster than you, yet I'm still beating you. How?"

"Boomer keeps getting in my way," Butch said.

"Right, so what are you going to do about it?"

"He's trying to get us to work together." Butch growled. "How fucking precious."

"I thought we were working together," Boomer said. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"I work alone," Butch said.

"That's a great idea, Butch," Brick said. "You're so good at it."

"Fuck you!" Butch swung wildly at Brick, his eyes barely open. Brick avoided them easily.

Other cities had crime issues, though that didn't interest Brick. Crime fighters had too many rules.

"Come on. You two don't have a Boomer/Butch combo? A one-two punch that would send me into the stratosphere?"

Boomer's forehead crinkled, deep in thought. Butch wasn't listening."

Eventually, Townsville's monster supply would run dry. No other place had the steady stream of monster attacks outside of Japan. Then there was college. Expensive, and Brick wasn't going to take a loan. They had to make as much money as possible.

The static in the air told Brick to move. He sidestepped Boomer and pushed him into Butch.

"Seriously Boomer, try something else. Butch, open your-" Something miniscule caught his eye, a mote of dust in the air.

Time to end it. Brick charged his eyebeams and Boomer and Butch stopped. Before they could backpedal, Brick let out a quick burst. The red beam cracked through space between Brick's brothers. The sheer shockwave tossed them apart.

"What the fuck, Brick!? You said no eyebeams."

"Calm down, Boomer." Brick flew up to the drone. It retreated for a split second in an attempt to conceal itself. Brick plucked it out of the air. "Someone likes to watch."

The fly-sized drone unfolded, revealing a screen. A metallic figure with glowing green eyes appeared on it. "Hello Brick." The voice was nasally and robotic, a digital filter probably pitched it down from squeaky.

"Hello." Brick let his power blaze over him. "Do you like what you see?"

The figure turned his head but didn't say anything. He wanted Brick to ask him who he was so he could have the opportunity to introduce himself. Brick wasn't going to give it to him. Villains in Townsville were laughably predictable. It didn't take much to throw them off balance.

If Brick had said 'You have me at a disadvantage,' he would have yielded the ground. No. Better to press harder so this guy knew who was in charge.

"You're no doubt wondering who I am," the figure said, losing his patience.

Brick shook his head. "It doesn't matter who you are."

"Then you discount what I can do," he said in reference to Brick's conversation with Buttercup. This fly had been stalking him since at least the burger joint.

He had to be some tech genius. Nanobots didn't create themselves, at least not the first one. And while tech geniuses were a dime a dozen in Townsville, Mojo and Utonium came to mind, nanobots didn't fit their M.O.s. Brick chuckled to himself at the absurd thought Mojo could be capable of subtlety.

"Tungsten-plated nanobots, right? I couldn't melt them, but that meant you couldn't completely shield them from Boomer's lightning. They did have a quick reset. Not bad."

"Coming from you, I'll take that as actual praise." The guy thought he was on Brick's level. He needed to be disabused of that notion.

"Still got sent into the Sun though," Butch said. Brick hooked a thumb to emphasize Butch's point.

The figure glared at him. "You know my work, you should know my name. I am Silico."

"That doesn't answer my question," Brick said.

"And that is?"

He wanted Brick to ask about his plan, what he was doing spying on them. Brick flexed an arm. "Do you like what you see?"

Butch snickered.

Silico glared through the screen. "What I see is a former potential colleague capitulating to an inferior authority. I am disappointed."

"Yeah, but the city had to pay us, so who's really the inferior one?"

"I am not talking about the government," Silico snarled. "I am talking about you working with those… females." He said the word with such derision.

Brick broke into laughter. "Alright, you got me. I don't even know what to say to that." He rolled his shoulders. "They piss you off that much? What kind of mindset is that? I mean, I don't like interacting with them, but you…" What was the guy even thinking? "Speechless. You have me speechless."

"You don't understand-"

"Nah, you don't understand."

"Not going to let me speak? I should have expected as much." He slowly turned his head. "From Mojo's progeny."

Brick laughed. As if he was going to let an insult he had heard thousands of times get a rise out of him. "Alright, this has been fun, but we don't like spectators. Boomer."

Electricity arced out of Boomer's hand and the drone exploded.

---

They got home through the window. Brick looked at the front door. He couldn't remember the last time he had used it, even to get the mail. Every once in a while Butch came up with a good idea.

Without their window, during a monster attack they would have had to go out the real front door, fly down the stairwell, into the lobby, out the entrance to the building, and back up into the sky. Butch had installed a door more conducive to their physiology. Butch was probably the most-inadvertently intelligent person Brick knew.

The loft apartment was built for humans, normal ones. Brick and his brothers were something else. The warehouse they had lived in for years had no electricity, no water, and holes in the walls and ceiling.

The posts on their new apartment's second floor railing had a brushed nickel finish. They held panes of plexiglass. The railing was there to keep him from falling. He didn't need it, it was only in his way.

The stairs were made from the same finish as the railing. They awkwardly jutted into the living area. He didn't need them either, he could fly.

"Something's bothering me," Boomer said, pulling Brick out of his thoughts. He always was good at that.

Brick sighed. "What is bothering you, Boomer?"

"What are we doing? It's been almost two months."

"What are you talking about?"

"What's the plan with all this?" Boomer gestured to their apartment. "Do you even have one?"

"We're keeping our options open."

"That's not a plan."

Brick squinted at him. "Since when do you care?"

"You need to have a goal and stop at nothing to achieve it," Boomer said out of nowhere.

Brick held Boomer's eyes. "And where did you hear that?"

"One of my new friends." Boomer thought he was so smooth. Brick knew he was hanging out with a new crowd. But Brick also knew exactly who he was talking about. He got a whiff of her perfume when he had come home a few days ago.

"It's foolish." Brick shook his head. "'Achieve' is one of those buzzwords hucksters use to sell you a get-rich-quick scheme. Same with 'success' and 'self-made-billionaire'."

Boomer blinked and looked away. The kid was too smart to not see the obvious when it was pointed out to him.

"We have a contract with the government to make good money. All our crimes were expunged. We can do anything we want." He held Boomer's gaze. "We achieved that. But we're in high school. You're not supposed to know exactly what you want to do. You're supposed to try a bunch of different stuff and find something you like. We're learning hard skills for now, as many as we can. Don't worry about finding a career until you're twenty-four."

"Whatever," Boomer said, heading to his room.

Brick grabbed Boomer's arm. "Blossom may have decided what she wants to do at age five, but don't let her pressure you. You have time. She's going to hate whatever she picks anyway."

Boomer glared at him. "Blossom's good at everything. She's going to like whatever she picks."

"No. She's going to work herself to death, never so much as taking a vacation, and let her career slowly kill her."

Boomer leaned his head back. "You don't know her."

"You don't know her," Brick retorted. "Not like I do."

"Oh yeah? What's her favorite band?"

"The Vienna Philharmonic." Brick doubted Boomer had ever heard of the orchestra, much less listened to any classical music. "I would say the London Symphony Orchestra, but the Vienna Philharmonic is more pretentious. And we all know how Blossom loves pretense."

Boomer snorted. "She really gets to you doesn't she?"

Brick glared at his strangely confident brother. "Shut up."

"No one ever gets to you. Why does she?"

"Because she thinks she can look down her nose at everyone." Brick said through his teeth.

"Heh, including the great Brick."

"Do you know what she said about us?"

Boomer side-eyed him.

"She called us 'human excrement'. She literally said, 'the instant you fuck up is the instant I will throw you and your brothers back into that toilet you spawned out of.'"

"She didn't say that."

Brick rose into the air and lifted toward his room. "Ask her. She remembers very well."

"Blossom doesn't say 'fuck'. That's how I know she didn't say that."

Brick floated over the railing and onto the floor of his mezzanine. He turned back and leaned on the railing. Boomer looked up, smirking like he had actually made a point. "She does when she's mad. Ask her. She will not lie."

"Whatever." Boomer walked toward his room.

Chapter 20: Hellspawn

Hellspawn

Sophomore Year – October

Boomer knocked on Mike's door. He waited for someone to answer, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. The music pounded through the house's walls and the air was still warm despite it being October.

"Dude!" Mike exclaimed when he opened the door. "You didn't wear a costume!"

"Wearing a costume is lame." Boomer looked into the house. Everyone else was wearing costumes. Mike was wearing a lab coat and stethoscope. "Right?"

"No! That's the fun of it."

"Yeah, if you're some fairy princess who talks to birds and squirrels," Boomer remembered Butch saying that once.

Mike blanched. "That sounds like one of your brothers talking. Come on in, man. We'll get you one." He pulled Boomer in and led him into the living room.

"Boomer! Why aren't you wearing a costume?" Julie asked, dressed like a cat.

Boomer scratched his head. "I thought we grew out of that or whatever."

"Nah man, it's fun," Joe said, dressed as a soldier.

"We'll get him sorted," Mike said, leading Boomer down the hall to what he assumed was Mike's room.

Boomer had expected Mike's bedroom to have Townsville High pennants on the walls and when he actually saw it he didn't know why. There was a messy bed in the center with blue striped bed sheets. A bookshelf was on one wall with a slinky and some books Boomer didn't get a good look at. But the main feature was a computer tower and three monitors on a desk in the corner next to the door.

Mike pulled two costumes out of a box. "Alright, we got devil or surfer dude. Which one do you want?"

Thinking about those fuzzy boots and boa HIM always wore made Boomer cringe. The actual costume didn't have those, it was just a red jumpsuit with a pitchfork and a headband with horns. "Surfer dude."

"Alright, just put on this muscle suit and Hawaiian shirt. Your shorts will work as is."

"Okay." Boomer got changed in the bedroom. When he came out Mike was just outside the door extending him a pair of oversized neon sunglasses. "Uh, what are these for?"

"The glasses complete the look, and the beach towel over your shoulders." Mike set the glasses on Boomer's head and hooked a neon beach towel around his neck. "Nice. I won't make you carry a surfboard around all night." He held up a foam boogie board.

Boomer chuckled. "Thanks."

"Ok let's introduce you to everyone." A girl and two guys were talking with Wes. Mike got their attention. "This is Brie." She was dressed as a witch. "And these are the Jack brothers, Colby and Monty Ray." The two guys were dressed as a pirate and a ninja. "Guys, this is Boomer."

"Cool to meet you, Boomer," Colby said. Brie waved nervously.

"Yeah, same."

Mike dimmed the lights. "Okay you guys ready for scary stories?"

Everyone gathered around the coffee table. "How should we start?" Wes asked.

Brie pulled out a flashlight and illuminated her face from under her chin. "Did you guys ever hear the one about the mad scientist here in Townsville?"

"Which mad scientist?" Joey asked. "There are like three off the top of my head. There's one at our school!"

"This particular mad scientist liked to make animal-human hybrids. He would combine their DNA in a special chamber he built. They say once he had a person inside and he added a bear and a ladybug." Brie pulled a blanket over herself. "His victim grew monstrously big and hairy with the bear DNA and the ladybug made it grow antennae and turned its fur pink."

"Sounds like uncle Pepper," Monty Ray said, nudging Colby.

"They say the victim escaped and this is the cryptid we now know as…" Brie shot up holding her arms out so she looked big with the blanket still over her. "Fuzzy Lumpkins!"

Everyone laughed. "Oh man," Joey said through laughter. "Please tell me that's how it happened!"

"Does anyone know an actually scary story?" Julie asked.

Brie handed the flashlight to Colby. "How about I tell you what Hell is like."

"Oh, this should be good," Wes said.

"You think Hell is all lava and brimstone," Colby started with the flashlight on his face. "But it's not. It's much, much worse."

"What's it like?" Julie asked.

"When you go to hell, the demons put you in a room and the tortures begin. Whether they slice into your flesh or burn you with lava doesn't matter. They torture you for a 24-hours never letting up. Then, when the day is up, they give you a choice. You can have a full 24-hour reprieve where they won't torture you at all or you can continue the torture."

Julie shuddered.

"Why not just take the break then?" Mike asked.

"That's the thing. If you take the reprieve after the 24-hours they'll start something much worse. And if you keep taking it the torture you end up with will make the Hell you started with feel like a tickle. It goes on and on like that for eternity, never letting up. And the worst part is you'll have to endure it knowing that it is the Hell you choose for yourself."

Everyone shuddered. Julie clasped her hands over her mouth. Wes looked away. Brie had her hands over her eyes.

They were all so afraid. But Boomer didn't understand.

"That's not what Hell is like," Boomer said.

---

"They say it's haunted," Pablo said looking up at the old house in the middle of nowhere.

"Who says?" Floyd asked.

"You know, them."

Butch chuckled. "Well if it is, we better find out."

They walked up to the front door and Pablo knocked.

"Why are you knocking?" Lloyd asked. "You said it was abandoned."

"It is," Pablo said. "I just don't want to piss off any ghosts. You're not supposed to disturb them."

"How are we going to get in?"

Butch used his x-ray vision. It didn't work well. The house's outer walls were made of brick. One of the windows on the third story had been broken.

"I got it." Butch flew up and through the open window. He landed in the attic. There was a bunch of stuff on the floor, piles of blankets, stuff Butch didn't recognize. A few open suitcases were piled in a corner.

He found the opening, a ladder lowered onto the second story. He dropped down with a thud. The house was dark and the wood creaked under his shoes. He and walked down the stairs to the front door. "That's why you always carry a Butch."

"That's right," Floyd said. He touched the wall looking for a light switch. Finding one he flipped it but nothing happened. "Lights don't work."

"That's why we got the flashlights," Lloyd said. He, Floyd, and Pablo clicked theirs on. Butch didn't need one.

The front room was musty. A layer of dust covered everything so thick it was hard to tell what most of it was. There was an old grandfather clock, a stained sofa that looked wet despite it not having rained in months, and a vase with dead flowers in it.

"What do you think is here?" Pablo asked, his flashlight finding an assortment of bells on an end table. "Zombies? Aliens? An evil chainsaw family?"

"I bet it's a ghost," Floyd said, inspecting the fireplace.

"I bet it's a guy pretending to be a ghost to scare people away for some inheritance thing," Lloyd said.

"What? Like on Scooby Doo?"

"Yeah."

"That's just a cartoon, dude. Inheritance schemes don't happen in real life. It's gotta be a ghost."

Butch laughed. "I hope it's a ghost. I've never fought a-"

Something breathed into Pablo's ear. He flinched at what he thought was nothing, but Butch knew what he saw.

"Where is it?" Butch's neck twitched.

"Where is what!?" Pablo said. "It was just a cold spot."

"Don't lie, I saw it."

"There was something here!?" Pablo, Floyd, and Lloyd stepped closer together shining their flashlights in every direction. Butch smiled. "Don't mess with us, Butch."

"Who is that?" A woman asked from deep inside the house. "Is it someone new?"

---

Everyone looked at Boomer like he had grown a second head. At least they weren't afraid anymore.

"No, Boomer," Colby said. "That's what Hell is actually like."

"I mean, you're kinda right. There is torture. But you can also walk around and there's also buildings and stuff."

"There are!?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, a whole city too." Boomer scratched his head. "I forget what it's called."

"Wait, how would you know?" Wes asked.

"I've been there."

"What do you mean you've been there?"

"Just that…" Boomer rubbed the back of his neck. "I died once. I've been there."

"Oh, right," Mike said. "You died… that… time."

Boomer winced. "Uh, yeah." They were going to think he was weird. He shouldn't have said anything.

"Wow, I can't believe it." Brie said. "That's so cool!"

"So what's Hell really like?" Julie asked.

"I dunno, weird. It's hard to remember. There was a great big pit of mud, and a huge tree that had beating hearts instead of apples or whatever, rivers of hazy green ooze." Boomer chuckled. "There's also this guy who comes by and makes fun of you. He appeared out of nowhere and called Brick an inferior facts-simile or something. He kept going on and on about how worthless Brick was and Brick tried to fight him. It was hilarious."

A lot of people chuckled.

"So, they let you guys walk around? There are demons there, right?"

"Yeah, we didn't have our powers and there were weird creatures everywhere but they didn't really bother us much, except..." Boomer looked away. "Like I said, it's hard to remember. It was kinda like a dream. There's all kinds of parts too. Like the cave maze. And there was this ocean, it was colder than ice, colder than anything. Someone told us Heaven was on the other side, but Brick said it was just a trick."

"Woah."

"You want to know the weirdest thing about Hell?" Boomer asked.

"Yes! Tell us!" Julie said.

"There's no cars, only trains. But there's no train stations. They don't stop, they just slow down and you jump on them."

"What's the worst thing about Hell?" Colby asked.

"Uhhhh…" Boomer looked up. "We lost Butch for a while, he uhhhh…" Boomer looked down remembering. Flashes of Butch and his screams ran through his mind. "It uh, makes you forget… everything. Who you were, who your family was, what you wanted, kinda everything."

---

"I'm going to get you," it sang from deep in the house, taunting the group. Pablo, Floyd, and Lloyd shook.

"Not if I get you first," Butch growled back with glee.

"Oh, a brave one." The voice came from a different direction. "Those are most tasty."

"Eat me then."

"Oh, human, I intend to." It laughed. Butch laughed right along with it. They both bellowed through the house.

"What the fuck," Pablo repeated over and over in a barely audible whisper.

Butch smirked. "Bitch thinks I'm human."

The lights came on revealing a dazzling display. Everything was shiny and new. The grandfather clock ticked with the swing of it's pendulum. Flowers had found new life in every color. There was a feast in the dining room. But what grabbed Butch's attention was the woman looking down on him from the second story loft.

Whether it was a ghost, zombie, or alien, she was tall. She looked glamorous, like an actress in an old movie. Her face was pale but she had deep red lips. She descended the stairs toward him with a hungry sashay. Those legs swung with every step, her thicc hips bumping in the night. Butch couldn't move without being captivated by this MILF.

MILF drew close and raised an elegant hand. Butch knew she was up to something and he was more than happy to let her go through with whatever she had planned. She lunged with a sexy grunt. Obsidian claws scraped against Butch's face and came away dull and empty.

Butch was completely unharmed but had a sadistic smile on his face. "Kinky." He ran his tongue across his teeth.

She took a step back, disgusted at the comment. "I never, in all eternity-" The glimmer faded and he could see her for what she was.

Butch's vision unblurred. The house returned to its dingy state. The legs and lips couldn't hold him anymore. All he could see were those eyes, black eyes, demon eyes.

At just under the speed of sound, Butch grabbed at her. She recoiled falling to the floor, disgust replaced by terror. He stepped off the ground, letting his eyes glow and his power spark off his body.

The demon hissed and flew back deeper into the house. Butch flew out the window, around to the other side, and back in through the wall to punch her in the back of the head. She broke through the floor in a shower of splinters.

"Where'd she go?" Lloyd looked around frantically.

"Leave!" the milf demon seethed from everywhere in the house.

"You can't hurt me, bitch." Butch tightened his fists with satisfaction. "But I can hurt you."

The demon growled, rising back to the ground level and disappearing down a hallway. Chairs, lamps, and whatever else flung themselves at him. They broke against his body. He barely felt anything. "Curse you!"

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Butch punched a brick wall. A crack ran up the side of the house "Come out or I'll bring this place to the ground."

The milf appeared from behind the guys and grabbed Floyd. She pushed her claws into his neck. "I'll kill him."

Faster than she could react, Butch grabbed her upper arm and squeezed. Like a hydraulic cylinder, Butch's hand snapped the demon's arm right off. The hand and whatever arm that was snipped turned to dust. She screamed. Floyd fell to the floor and scrambled away.

The demon screeched and clawed at Butch's face with its intact hand. The nails shattered on his skin. "What are you?"

"You don't know?" Butch shrugged. "Don't remember me?" He let his eyes glow. His power blazed through his body.

"I've nev-" The demoness breathed heavily with sudden realization. "How are you- It- it wasn't- was not-"

Butch's neck twitched over and over again. He palmed the demon's head in one hand. "When you get back to Hell, tell HIM I said 'hey'." Butch pulled, the demon screamed. Her head came off of her body and he crushed it.

Everything fell to the floor. After a loud crash of random junk, a booming silence followed. Pablo, Lloyd, and Floyd were afraid to so much as breathe until Butch wiped his hands.

"Is it over?" Lloyd asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. I smoked the demon." His hands were still sooty. "Bitch got what she deserved."

"Holy shit," Pablo said.

---

The party got going again after the horror stories. Some people started a parlor game based on murder. Others were playing a racing video game. Boomer picked some fruity candies out of a bowl.

"Boomer, you don't have to answer if you don't want to but I thought I'd ask." Mike couldn't look at him.

"What?"

"How did you and your brothers get out of... Hell?"

Boomer looked down. "I don't remember..." He didn't like lying to his friend.

---

Kindergarten

If these creations were the best he could come up with, Mojo truly was an idiot. They were cheap knockoffs at best, bad replications of a quality product. Magic, so imprecise and capricious in the hands of an amateur, was a poor substitute for cold hard science.

The monkey had used the position of the moon to bind the ingredients together!? Moron! The moon had feminine energy, no wonder they exploded at the exact moment they did.

Still, these three boys had dispatched those wretched Powerpuffs with only moderate difficulty. They were already stronger and faster. Take away their weaknesses, and they could become unstoppable.

HIM studied their components, snips, snails, and puppy dog tails. Snips? He remembered the rhyme being 'snakes'. Which was the correct ingredient? A quick search on the humans' internet confirmed it was indeed snips. At least the monkey got one thing right.

He took a look at their ingredient permutations. They were far too similar. Three of the same mediocre boy wouldn't be nearly as effective. Thankfully they were young and diversifying them wouldn't be a problem. HIM differentiated them, making one smart, one strong, and one fast. He swirled them apart and bound them with Chemical X. The boys' molecules came together and took on the form they should have been created with.

"Hey!" Brick clenched his fists and rose into the air. "Don't do that, ya overgrown lobster!"

"Oh, silly me. I've gone and perfected you."

Brick looked down and noticed he was hovering. "We have our powers back?"

"Yes, I'm going to send you back to Earth. In return I want you to do something for me."

"You can't tell us what to do. No one can."

"Aww. I wouldn't dream of it. All I want is for you to get revenge on those wretched Powerpuff Girls."

"What's in it for us?" Boomer asked indignantly.

"Shut up, Boomer!" Brick smacked him on the back of the head.

"We'll beat 'em up," Butch said. "As long as they don't try to kiss us again."

HIM smiled, thinking of a way to turn their weakness into their greatest strength. "Nooooo. Not at all. You want them to kiss you." It was, after the humans' greatest invention.

"We do!?"

"Let me clue you in on the one real truth of the universe. Power is good. And if you have enough power, you can do whatever you want. What use is an entire army if you have the power to destroy it with a few energy blasts?"

Brick looked at his hands with a grin. From the look in his eye, he already understood.

"That doesn't have anything to do with kissing," Boomer said.

"Yeah," Butch said. "Those gross girls have cooties."

"Not at all!" HIM sang. "Boys are the ones with the cooties. And you want to give your cooties to as many girls as you can. With every kiss you get more and more powerful."

"Yeah!" Butch said. "They kissed us, that means we're manly!"

"If they kiss us again, we're gonna be even more big and powerful!" Boomer threw his fists into the air.

"Exactly! So powerful you can force them to kiss you. Or make them do whatever else you want."

"We're stronger and smarter and better than them at everything."

"Yeah!" The boys all high-fived.

Lastly, HIM needed a failsafe. He fashioned a demonic tether so he could pull them out whenever he needed to-

No. HIM's work made them perfect. To add anything else would only diminish their perfection. Plus, it went against HIM's principles. He loved that humans were free from control. That liberty allowed them to inflict unimaginable harm on each other. They would even try to control each other using hypocritical rules based on ridiculous moral standards. And they executed harsh punishments for violating those rules. The boys were free of all moral conviction. They could do anything. They would succeed in killing the Powerpuff Girls.

What could go wrong?

Chapter 21: Counterpart

Counterpart

Sophomore Year - November

Bubbles looked up into the gray and gloomy Townsville sky. Thick layers of clouds threatened to rain over the city, but they never did. They sat there like a blanket of smoke darkening Bubbles’ day.

The girls chatted at their spot in the forum at lunch like nothing was different. Bubbles could honestly say she tried to be cheerful, that it wasn’t a sign. She really believed it. Her fork bunched up the leaves of kale in her salad, though she couldn’t bring herself to eat it.

Boomer came up behind her, a determined look on his face. “Bubbles, can we talk?”

Bubbles sighed. She knew exactly what he wanted to talk about. She needed to remain strong. “Okay.” He led her out of the building. The girls whispered back and forth behind them. Bubbles didn’t care to listen. They went outside, away from the girls and under that lifeless sky.

Boomer took a breath to gather his courage. “Look, someone told me I have to go for what I want and not let anything stop me. I uh- I want to be with you. I want to be your boyfriend more than anything."

Bubbles turned away, shuddering. She couldn't look at him.

"Do you..." He took a step toward her softly, carefully. "...want to be with me?"

"Yes,” Bubbles said in barely a whisper. “I do."

"Yes!" Boomer jumped into the air and threw a fist up in celebration. "This is the best day of my life. I think about you all the time, we had this amazing date, and the kiss, I dunno, I just felt like there was something between us, like destiny or something."

Bubbles took a breath.

"Do you feel it too? Destiny?”

“I…” Bubbles clutched her heart. “Yes. I feel it too.”

Boomer wrapped his arms around her waist. He was so warm, her body fell into him.

“I can’t be your girlfriend.”

“What!?”

Strength. “We can’t be together. Not yet.”

"I feel like, if we're supposed to be together, we should be together right now. Why wait?"

"Because..." How could she explain it to him? Her own feelings warred inside of her heart. She wanted to be with him so bad, but doing so this early would ruin everything she had planned. “Because, once we get serious, we’re going to fall in love. We’ll get married three years later and have kids two years after that. But I have things I want to do before my ‘happily ever after’.”

Boomer looked at her with wide eyes. “Wha-“ Glee swirled into disappointment on his face. “Why wouldn’t you want to have your ‘happily ever after’ right now?”

“That’s just an expression. A relationship pulls you into stability and structure. I can’t have that. I need to go on an adventure first, a real one.”

“I want to go on an adventure. Let’s do it together.”

The problem with a relationship was that it limited your options. More than the fact that you couldn't explore romance with anyone else, she would always have to take his feelings into account. That limitation would stop her from following her heart. 

Maybe she would find a forest she loved and become a park ranger for a while. Maybe she wanted to crew on a fishing vessel for a season. Or maybe she’d just want to be alone and wander. She couldn’t do those things with Boomer’s dreams and desires constraining her. She would always wonder 'what if?’.

"...I can’t.”

He held her tighter. If he let her go, she feared she would lose him forever. Bubbles hated the thought of him letting go. “I feel…” Boomer’s mouth crumpled and his head bobbed back and forth like he couldn’t find the words. “...Like I matter.”

“You do matter.” Bubbles touched his face. “You matter a lot. But…”

“No.”

"I can't," she repeated. "I need to do this on my own.” She couldn't stop the tears. She tried to dam them up, but they broke through in torrents. She sobbed into his chest. He didn't say anything, even when, between tears and slobber, she soaked his shirt.

"You can't do this to us."

"I know."

He finally let go. He looked at her with those sad ocean eyes for a long time. Finally he took a step back, then another, then he turned and walked away.

Bubbles had never felt so cold and lonely in her life. She supposed she would have a lot of those days in the future.

---

The first paragraph of Brick’s written  section of their science project was an absolute nightmare. Blossom groaned. “Would you please stop ending your sentences with prepositions? It isn’t proper.”

Brick scoffed. “I’ll be sure to tell Shakespeare and Chaucer they’re using English wrong.”

“Improper language makes us both look foolish.”

“It flows better and it's easier to understand. That’s what I care about.”

“Then you have specious priorities. Your tone should match the content. This is an academic paper.”

“My priority is to communicate effectively.” He dropped her section onto the library table. “Look at this. ‘Superfluous’, ‘Ergo’, ‘Indubitably‘,” he said, pointing to each word. “Using big words then acting smug when people don’t understand you isn’t intellectual, it’s pretentious.”

Blossom laughed. “You don’t understand the words then?” She prided herself on speaking in a very precise manner. An extensive vocabulary was merely the byproduct of that endeavor. “I’ll try to dumb it down for you.”

“An actual intelligent person can explain quantum mechanics to a 5-year old.” Brick glared at her. “And look at these plans. This reactor is over-designed.”

“It isn’t over-designed. It exceeds the limitations of current models and-“

“It’s impractical-“

“Do not interrupt me.” Blossom glared down hard at him. Brick crossed his arms and waited for her to finish. “It will optimize the output of the resource, shielding it from obsolescence.”

Brick waited a moment to make sure she was done. The silence was annoying. Blossom couldn't discern whether he was mocking her or going too far in his acquiescence. They could converse like normal adults, he didn’t have to throw a silent tantrum. “It isn’t impractical, it’s ambitious,” she said to let him know she had made her point.

“No city, state, or federal government will ever approve it. Much less dole out the cash.” He gave her a smirk. “I’ll explain it so you can understand. It’s thoroughly quixotic.”

“It is completely practical,” Blossom said with her own smirk. “I should know, I have already built a power plant just like it.”

Brick’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“Mojo didn’t tell you? My sisters and I built his entire observatory.” She allowed herself a little bragging while Brick could only look at her flatly. “I remember putting together every piece. Not bad for only four days old.”

“So these’re Mojo’s plans, not yours.”

“I made a few of my own improvements.”

“You mean your dad did.”

“I consulted my father, yes. He is a preeminent expert in power generation.”

“Entitled…“ Brick muttered. “I’m going to kill Princess.”

Blossom took a breath to compose herself. She wouldn’t let him get to her. “I want that blue ribbon. And to get it we have to work together. Neither of us has to enjoy it.”

“So that’s it. You want another gold star?”

“Achievement is the key to-“

Brick scoffed, interrupting her again. “Try spending ‘achievement’. You’ll notice the powers that be are generous with their gold stars but stingy with their dollars.”

“You don’t understand what achievement really means. And how could you? I was created to protect and you were created to destroy. Everything I have done in my life has been to make the world better. I started mere days after being born. One day I’ll use it to change the world. You’re going to watch me from your feckless mediocre life, having peaked in high school because you tried to keep up with me. You are incapable of understanding. That’s why you never will.”

Brick crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. “I like you so much better when you’re not talking.”

Blossom whipped her hair over her shoulder. “Just sit there and look pretty. It’s the only thing at which you’re remotely competent.”

---

Buttercup leaned against a locker with her headphones in her ears. Butch’s head shook. Someone needed to rattle her cage.

"Hey, Resting-Bitch-Face," Butch shouted, issuing the challenge right in the middle of school. Everyone else in the hall opened a lane in between them, anticipating the coming showdown.

Buttercup's constant scowl deepened. Her fists tightened. She wanted a fight. She needed a fight. This one was inevitable. Nothing could stop them. “What do you want, Needle-dick?”

He stepped through the open space close to her. “You and I have unfinished business.”

She stared him down. “Where and when?”

“Same place as last time. After practice. No brothers. No sisters.”

“At least they’ll know where to find your body.”

---

Butch touched down at the rock quarry where he and his brothers sparred.

Buttercup waited at the center with her arms crossed. "You're late."

"Who are you, my history teacher?” Butch started stretching. "You accepted the challenge. How you want to do this?"

"No rules."

Butch smiled. Oh what two little words could mean to him. "Stakes?"

"Loser gets his ass kicked."

"So, not to the death, then?"

Buttercup narrowed her eyes. "No."

"'Cuz, if you remember our first fight-"

"I remember, Butch."

The smile dropped off Butch's face. One of them had gotten her ass kicked. It was the other who had died. There was a twitch in his neck that made his head shake.

A claw ripped him open again and again, deep cuts through his body, the cold. “You’ve been a bad bad boy.”

He stepped forward, setting a glare on her. "I don't think you do."

She glared right back and dropped into a fighting stance.

"But you will." Butch raised his fist.

Buttercup charged in with a right hook aimed at Butch's head.

He moved his head to dodge the punch and grabbed her wrist.

She struck his cheek with her other palm, forcing him to let go.

Buttercup pressed harder, throwing jab after jab, no real power behind them. Butch took a step back with each one. His fists were still in a defensive position to let her think she had the advantage. Finally, she came at him with a punch aimed straight at the center of his chest.

He set his foot and threw a punch aimed at her fist. Their knuckles crashed together in a shower of green sparks.

Buttercup hadn't put enough force into her attack, Butch’s raw power knocked her back. Her boots slid back through all the ground she had gained. When she finally came to a stop, she went to one knee to regain her footing. Butch smirked at her, letting his power blaze out of his hand.

She growled at him and charged again, her feet cutting into the dirt. She made a leap and extended her leg way too early to be a jump kick. Butch jumped and Buttercup hit the ground, sweeping under him. He flipped over her and turned.

Already on him, Buttercup slammed Butch on the side of the head and into the wheel of a dump truck.

Butch knew which way she was coming and spun himself between it and an excavator.

Buttercup landed a kick on the dump truck an instant after Butch moved. The steel rim bent and the tire broke.

She jumped off the dump truck onto the side of the excavator, then back to the side of the dump truck, trying not to telegraph the kick Butch knew was coming. Her power was all in the legs.

Butchcame at her with a midair roundhouse that forced Buttercup to block. He put a lot of force into it and slammed her into the excavator. Its front tore apart.

Buttercup regained her footing with a perfect setup to give Butch a straight up kick to the chin. He grit his teeth through the pain, but didn't expect her to bring her heel back down on top of his head.

Butch's head jerked down and, seeing her get her footing, realized Buttercup had the perfect opportunity. She came at him with a haymaker.

Butch jerked forward, coming inside her defense, and blocked with his wrist going to the inside of her elbow. He jabbed her in the cheek.

They traded punches until Buttercup ducked under Butch's hook that slammed into the dump truck. It jolted with enough force to fall on its side.

Buttercup charged into Butch grabbing onto his stomach. She forced him into the air and slammed him on the ground. Bouncing off of him, she thought she got away.

Butch reached out and grabbed her ankle out of midair. He swung her around, slamming her into crates and construction equipment. He let go, aiming her at the destroyed excavator.

She landed on it with grace, fully stopping her momentum before she could do any damage. Twin lines of dust kicked up, one on each side of her path. Butch smiled. It was beautiful.

She glared at him and before gravity had the chance to pull her down, she pushed off.

She broke the sound barrier and caught Butch's face with her hand. She pushed it into the ground, grinding a trench through the dirt with his head.

Butch flipped his body over hers and slammed her into the ground. An explosion of dirt forced them apart again.

"Fuck yeah." Butch spit out a wad of blood. "Nobody hits like you."

Buttercup wiped blood off her lip. “No more games!”

One more jerk forward sent Buttercup back and broke her defense. Butch kicked her in the gut.

Buttercup growled. A small shield made out of a green force field appeared on her left arm. She slammed him in the head with it.

Butch shook off the pain. “I knew you’d use some cheap trick.”

“I’m full of surprises, needle-dick.” She hit the ground and charged forward. Butch was ready and grabbed at her.

Buttercup deflected the grab at the last moment by sidestepping and sliding her forearm against his. He pressed against her, their bodies the only wall between them.

The pushed off from each other, each ready to continue the fight. Butch set his shoulders. Something green flashed in Buttercup’s other hand. She swung across his midsection way too far to hit him.

Butch took a step back thinking she was up to something. She stared at his abs, first squinting, then her eyes got wider. It gave Butch a good look at what was in her other hand. It looked like a sword made of the same force field as her shield. Then he felt the sting.

Looking down at his abs there was a red line. Blood started spilling out of it. He put his arm across it, doubling over.

She didn’t say anything. The sword in her hand folded up and disappeared like it never happened, like she hadn’t just tried to cut him in half.

A few seconds of focused healing later Butch wasn’t bleeding anymore. He could heal the rest later. Buttercup hadn’t moved. Butch didn’t know why and he didn’t care. It was time to end her.

He launched himself at her. She readied her shield to block. Knowing she was going to, he rammed it with his shoulder. It shattered.

Buttercup’s other hand blazed with energy. She pulled her fist back for the killstrike.

The opening was exactly what Butch needed. If she could use a dirty trick, he could too. He fired his eyebeams and hit Buttercup in the chest.

Buttercup staggered, her arms and core muscles contracting involuntarily. Paralyzed, she wobbled mid-punch, trying to keep her balance.

Butch got behind Buttercup and wrapped a hand around her throat. His other hand grabbed her shoulder. Demons slashed their claws across his face. He pushed uselessly, too weak to do anything about it. His neck twitched over and over. He pulled, wanting to tear Buttercup apart.

"Butch!" Buttercup nudged at him with her elbow. She was already regaining control of her body, the paralysis was wearing off faster than he thought. He needed to do his work and pulled harder. She screamed.

He got close so he could whisper in her ear. "I'm going to fucking kill you."

She turned her head to look at him. Fear, nothing but fear. Good. Butch couldn't stop twitching. Buttercup’s shoulder went 'pop'.

Buttercup grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again they glowed like the sun.

Heat, burning, fire, all concentrated on Butch's face. He lost vision in one eye, the other went red. He had to let go. A line of fire streaked down his body. Everything was pain.

Hell’s lava licked at his legs. A monster held him down while it got closer. His neck twitched, throwing melted bits of flesh off of his face.

His vision came back with a haze. Buttercup was on her knees a few feet away, shaking and holding her dislocated arm. There was a bruise in the shape of Butch's hand on the throat. She coughed, struggling to breathe.

Butch's heavy breathing sped up.

She glared at him and shot into the sky, leaving a sonic boom in her wake.

Butch fell to his knees, his head still jerking around. The demon was gone. He almost got her. He blinked, trying to make his eyesight return to normal. She was afraid of him. They would all be afraid of him.

Chapter 22: Leader

Leader

5th Grade

The school secretary led Brick and his brothers to their new classroom. The teacher stood up when they came in. "Class, we have three new students joining us."

Brick looked over the class and found all three Powerpuff Girls glaring at them. Their shoulders were hunched like they were ready for a fight. The spoiled rich girl was there too, smiling.

"Boys, I am Ms. Keane," the teacher said. "Welcome to fifth grade." She waved for them to stand at the front of the classroom. "Why don't you introduce yourselves and tell us a little about you."

Butch looked mad and Boomer was looking at the floor, so Brick went first. He glared right at Blossom. "I'm Brick." He raised his hand and let a small burst of fire flash out of it. "And I have fire powers."

Blossom grit her teeth at him and the spoiled girl's smile got wider.

"Brick, please refrain from using your powers while at school," Ms. Keane said. She had said 'please'. Brick heard it. No one had ever said that to him before, much less in the nice way she had. "Next."

"I'm Butch and I like to blow stuff up," he said, crossing his arms.

"I'm Boomer..." Boomer said, still not looking up. "And... I don't know. Skateboarding is fun..."

"Thank you, boys. Please take your seats so I can keep an eye on you." She gestured to three empty seats in the front row.

Butch crossed his arms. "The front row is lame. I want to sit in the back."

Brick smacked him in the back of the head. "I TOLD YOU TO DO WHATEVER THE TEACHER SAYS!"

The entire class gasped. Buttercup snickered.

"Brick!" Ms. Keane strode up to him like she wasn't afraid of him. "Never use violence on your classmates or anyone."

"Oh okay. Sorry, Ms. Keane." He looked back to Butch. "DO WHAT THE TEACHER SAYS OR SHE'S GONNA HIT YOU!"

"No, Brick." She knelt in front of him so they were eye to eye. "We do not use violence in this classroom."

"Then how am I supposed to get him to do what I say?"

---

Sophomore Year - November

The level 1 alarm on Brick's phone went off. He took it out of his pocket and stepped out of class to read it. It looked like a standard rock monster coming over the mountains from the southwest. The level 1 alarm went off again. Brick swiped it away figuring it was a duplicate.

Butch and Boomer showed up. "Do you even need us, or-" Boomer started.

Brick's phone went off, getting a call from the mayor. He answered it. "Mayor, yes, I know about the monster." He didn't need this many alerts for one thing. "We're already on it."

"That's good, Brick. I wanted to inform you that there's also a giant robot that looks like Gort from that movie that came out a few years ago."

"Two attacks at once?" Brick lifted into the sky with his brothers following. A giant old-fashioned looking robot stomped toward the airport. The Day the Earth Stood Still had come out in '51, before even the first monster attack. It felt like that was supposed to mean something.

Below him, Bubbles and BC went into the classroom to join Blossom.

Brick growled. "Probably that techy asshole trying to trip me up."

"Brick, it's two attacks at the same time. And your contract states-"

"I'll take care of it." Brick hung up the phone and looked at the giant robot. Silico wanted him to take the bait. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. He probably made it out of tungsten again. Fire would be all but useless unless he could concentrate it into a tiny point. Brick had more than one trick up his sleeve, and if Silico was anything like Townsville's other supervillains, he hadn't learned from last time.

Boomer tapped his jeans. "What are we gonna do?"

"Shit." Brick walked back into the classroom. Bubbles and Buttercup were there watching the situation on Blossom's phone. BC glared at Butch. Something must have happened there, but Brick didn't have time to deal with it.

Brick took a breath to speak. Blossom beat him to the punch. "Nope."

"A couple of weeks ago you were begging to help. Why the change of heart?"

"Maybe I want you to solve this one on your own. I'm giving you a chance to show me you can do better."

"I'll give you 20,000 dollars."

Blossom crossed her arms. "We will not fall to bribery."

Buttercup groaned.

"It's not a bribe," Brick said. "It's the full amount the city will pay us. I'm subcontracting you."

"You wrote that you can subcontract into your contract?"

Brick raised an eyebrow. "Of course I did."

Blossom sighed and shook her head. "Of course you did."

"Blossom, there is no time." Brick decided to appeal to her savior nature. "Will you help me save this city?"

"Fine." Blossom lifted her chin. "Girls, we'll take the-"

"BC and Bubbles are with me," Brick said. "We'll take the rock monster."

"What? No!"

"You've got the robot. Take Butch and Boomer."

Blossom lowered her chin and glared. "Absolutely not!"

"I can't take the robot. He's trying to bait me. It'll work better if you catch him off guard. Or are you not up to the challenge?"

"I am prepared for any challenge."

Brick was almost out the door before Butch spoke up. "I'm not taking orders from her."

Brick craned his head over his shoulder. "Yes you are. Or-"

"You'll do exactly as I say the instant I say it." Blossom stood, back perfectly straight, her eyes daring Butch. "Do you understand?"

Bubbles gave him a pleading look.

Butch smiled. "This is kinda working for me. So…"

Bubbles leaned in. "He means 'yes',"

Brick took off with Buttercup and Bubbles behind him. The monster was climbing down the mountain, nearing a residential area. It resembled a turtle but the shell was a mountain itself, covered in trees. They hovered above it.

"Looks like it came from the south." Brick pointed to a hole in the ground.

"It's alive somehow?" Bubbles said.

"Gotta be quick," Buttercup said.

"I want to know what's under there." Brick said. "Bubbles, get me a crack in its armor."

Bubbles looked at him expectantly. "How do you want me to do that exactly?"

"Force fields, sonic screams, just punch it. I don't care, dealer's choice." He looked over at BC. "Buttercup, once Bubbles cracks the armor, hit the exposed part with everything you have. In the meantime I'll direct it away from town."

"You want me to just go all-out?"

Brick tilted his head. "Bring the fucker down if you can."

"Language, please," Bubbles said.

"Awesome."

"Go." Brick descended and got its attention with a quick fireball.

Bubbles flew down and formed a giant mallet with her force fields. She brought it down doing no damage, though her hits managed to get its attention.

It swiped at her, flinging rocks that loosed themselves from its claw.

Bubbles blocked them with force fields. She formed a pair of drumsticks and beat into the monster. "I could use some help here."

"Try something pointy," Brick said. "That'll break through the rock easier." He started leading it back up the mountain.

"Right!" Bubbles formed a thumbtack and brought it down hard on the monster's back. It glanced off. She tried bringing it down again and again. The monster was hard and rounded. She wasn't going to get anywhere.

Buttercup came down with a punch. It left cracks but was otherwise ineffective as far as Brick could tell. Taking down an entire mountain was going to take more power.

It started to notice Bubbles and Buttercup. Brick threw a few more fireballs where he assumed its eyes were located to get its attention back on himself.

It threw a volley of rocks toward Bubbles and BC.

Brick pointed at the rocks. "Bubbles, do what you need to do."

She growled and unleashed a sonic scream into them. They shattered into sand in midair, protecting the homes from damage. Brick figured she would have used a force field but the result spoke for itself. She turned and used her scream on the monster.

The monster vibrated, the rest of the loose rock sloughed off. Brick covered his ears, it only blocked out the worst of the noise.

Buttercup beat her fists into the monster. "This thing won't go down!" She blasted it with her eyebeams. Trees burned wherever she looked. The rock started to heat up.

"You got another one of those in you?" Brick asked BC.

"Yeah," Buttercup growled.

"Bubbles, how's your voice?"

"I'll manage."

"Eyebeams, sonic scream, eyebeams." He pointed to BC, Bubbles, and himself. "Bubbles start us off."

Bubbles took a deep breath and started screaming. Brick charged his eyebeams. Buttercup unleashed hers.

He opened his eyes on the spot Bubbles and Buttercup had been attacking. He ground a hole into the monster. It roared in pain.

"That did it," Bubbles cheered horsely.

"BC, you gonna use that sword or what?" Brick asked.

Buttercup's force field sword appeared in her hand. "Oh, I'll use it."

---

Blossom eyed her charges. Butch and Boomer were more of a liability than an asset. Boomer may have been compliant, but he barely knew the rules of engagement and had a scant amount of experience. Butch was a rabid dog. She was not about to trust someone who couldn't control himself. Diplomacy was her best option at the moment.

The robot plodded north from the industrial district. It was clumsy, almost crude. The design was nothing like what Mojo Jojo would build. She decided to confront it head on and stopped its march. The eye structure was actually a windshield. Someone was at the controls.

"I told you I would make-" The strangely familiar voice stopped when he saw who it was. "Blossom."

"Silico," Blossom said, scowling at the green eyes on the otherwise featureless chrome face. "Been a long time."

"Oh, much less time than you'd think. I've been watching you." His eye lights narrowed.

"Creepy." Blossom crossed her arms. "Power down this robot and surrender."

"Not before I settle a score." He typed into his control console. "Where is that coward?"

"Look, I am not-"

His console beeped and he turned his robot toward the rock monster. "There!"

Blossom extended her hand and created a force field to block him. "Stop!"

"Out of my way, Powerpuff." Silico's robot raised its hand and fired a series of pulsating rings at her forcefield that broke through it.

"Let's get him." Butch shot at the robot, fist readied for a full attack.

"Butch. Stop." Blossom ordered.

Butch did stop and begrudgingly floated to her. Boomer looked like he didn't know what to do. Butch looked at her with a look she had seen many times before on Buttercup. "Fine. What do we do, oh fearless leader?"

Blossom considered her team's capabilities. She was at a disadvantage from having to work with amateurs, but she would succeed regardless. Nothing could stop her.

"Boomer, I need a lightning bolt, a big one. Hold it, do not use it until I say 'Mark'. Butch, Hold a position behind the robot. The second Boomer uses lightning, swing around low counter-clockwise and hit the knee joint as hard as you can on the inside left."

"What's counter-clockwise?" Butch asked.

"The opposite rotational direction of a clock."

"What? Like an old-people clock? I can't read those."

Blossom repositioned herself to show him with her hands. "I want you to position yourself there. Then go this way and hit the inside left knee."

"Oh. Why didn't you just say that?" Butch said.

Blossom resisted the overwhelming urge to sigh. "You have your orders," she said, looking at Boomer and Butch in turn. Boomer nodded once and Butch gave her a smile she didn't appreciate. "Prepare your attacks and execute on my 'Mark'."

Boomer charged his lightning and Butch moved into position behind it while Blossom blocked the robot's disintegration eye beams with her force field.

All of the robot's weight shifted to the right leg and it took a step, preparing to shift it to the left.

"Mark!"

Boomer blasted the robot with a lightning bolt. Electricity arced into the armor, finding its way inside. The sensitive electronics had to compensate for the overload making it stagger.

"Perfect Boomer!"

Butch slammed into the robot's knee joint. With the system dealing with the effects of Boomer's lightning, it couldn't rebalance itself and fell over. They had executed her plan surprisingly well.

"Boomer, keep electrocuting it so it doesn't get up. Butch," Blossom gave him a smirk. "Fly up as high as you need to and crush it's head."

Butch smiled and launched straight up.

The robot began to push itself upright despite Boomer hitting it again.

Blossom used her ice breath and froze an arm to the ground. She moved from the fingers up to the elbow to lock it in place.

Boomer collected another bolt of lightning and hit it with a continuous surge. Small explosions rang out under the armor.

Butch came down at mach one and crushed the robot's head like an empty soda can.

Blossom ripped through the destroyed head to the cockpit. "You didn't even see us coming. Why are you so focused on-" As she should have expected, the cockpit was empty. There was no trace of Silico. He must have escaped somehow.

She sighed and rejoined the boys. "You perfectly executed the plan, boys. That was excellent work."

Boomer's impassive face broke. "What?" he asked, clearly confused.

Blossom kept her decorum. "You're clearly a lightning master."

Boomer's hand went to the back of his neck. "I've been uhh…"

"You did well, Boomer." Blossom put a hand on his shoulder. "You should be proud."

Boomer's eyes went wide and his cheeks reddened. He looked away, embarrassed. "You're welcome," he muttered, barely audible.

"Butch, thank you for following my orders so closely."

"Of course we won!" Butch pointed a fist at the destroyed robot. "I'm surprised it took two hits. Next time just tell me to go right for the head."

---

"Slowly spin it clockwise." Blossom pointed west. "That's this way, Butch." Blossom and Brick's siblings spun the dead mountain monster in the air above its proper place. "Okay. Stop. Now lower it, carefully."

Brick flew up to her while the rest of them were completing the job. He offered her a check. Blood money for doing what any decent person would have done for free. Blossom didn't want to touch it.

"Come on. Don't sulk. It worked. We saved the city." Brick glared at her. "Your problem with it is that I gave you orders."

"That is completely untrue. I enjoy taking direction when it comes from an honorable source." She took the check from him and mulled over how she would put it to good use. "You certainly took your time with your assignment. And I notice half the trees have been burned."

"I had to get creative."

"You mean you were struggling."

"Failure is a better teacher than success."

"I prefer to never fail in the first place."

"That explains a lot."

---

"You actually liked working with him?" Blossom couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Bubbles sighed. "Leave it alone, Blossom."

"I will not leave it alone, I want to hear what you think."

"You can want to, but you aren't ready to."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you don't respond well to criticism."

Blossom shook her head. "Yes, I do."

Bubbles put her brush down. "I love you, but even you have your flaws. Yours is that you expect yourself to be perfect the first time you do something. What you don't realize is that certain things, like leadership styles, are not a one-size-fits-all thing."

Blossom took a breath internalizing what Bubbles had just said. It couldn't hurt her as long as she approached it logically. "What did you get from him that you didn't get from me?"

Bubbles held Blossom's hands and looked into her eyes. "I asked for guidance and he didn't give me an order. He gave a suggestion and distracted the monster so I could carry it out. It didn't work out but he gave me a chance to express myself through combat."

"I give you that."

"Blossom, you have a set of predetermined shapes I can make and don't allow me to venture outside of those boundaries." Bubbles went back to brushing her hair. "It was hard but for the first time in a long time I actually had fun fighting a monster."

"We can expand what you can make. I'm fine with that. We should talk about it."

"No." Bubbles cupped Blossom's face in her hands. "I wouldn't change our dynamic. Brick just has a different leadership style."

Blossom stepped back and took a breath. "Butch and Boomer enjoyed me leading them."

Bubbles looked at Blossom through the mirror. " I don't really know about Boomer, but Butch craves the structure he doesn't get from Brick."

Blossom took it all in. It made a certain sense. She knew she could combine the best leadership tactics into her own style and resolved herself to do so. "And Buttercup? I'm sure she could benefit from more structure."

Bubbles giggled. "He let her off the leash and told her to figure it out herself."

Blossom guffawed. "A terrible decision."

"Actually, it worked really well. Did you know she can form a sword with her force fields?"

"Damn right I can." Buttercup appeared in Bubbles' doorway. "Brick paid you. When do I get my cut?"

Blossom took a breath. "After school tomorrow you and I are going to finish our talk."

Buttercup crossed her arms. "I think we said everything that needs to be said."

Blossom gave her a stony look. "Meet me in the simulator."

---

Blossom moved through her kata enjoying the controlled movements and breath work. Shotokan Karate used hard stances that enhanced the student's power. At the higher levels there was a zen to it. A student could effortlessly flow from one strike to the next. Her father had begun teaching her at an early age. Practicing always put Blossom in a proper state of mind.

One of the walls dematerialized, revealing the training room's door. Buttercup came in, drinking a soda through a straw. The squeak of her adjusting the straw and the suck of her trying to inhale the last dregs of liquid made the most annoying noises. "Alright. I'm here." She kicked her boots off and got into her fighting position on the mat.

"You may want to warm up before we get started."

Buttercup groaned. "I just got back from practice. I'm already warm." She jumped around, kicking her legs like she was in a hurry. "Let's go."

"Come on, Buttercup. You aren't even wearing the proper equipment." Blossom tightened the belt on her gi to emphasize her point.

"Unlike your master, my master lets me wear whatever makes me comfortable." Apparently she thought a pair of spandex shorts and a sports bra was comfortable. "Quit nagging."

Blossom ignored the comment and got into Kokutsu Dachi, a defensive stance that would draw in an aggressive opponent. Buttercup assumed a general kickboxing stance. She had always balked against Shotokan’s structure. Their father had come up with teaching them karate as a bonding exercise, though Bubbles preferred to do anything else.

Buttercup started with a pair of testing jabs. Blossom turned both away, then moved her head back just an inch to dodge Buttercup's side kick.

"You wanted to talk. So talk."

They both lowered their fists and took a few steps, circling each other.

"We don't fight crime for payment, Buttercup."

The look in Buttercup's eye indicated she was doing what she called 'combat mode', looking for weaknesses. "I was doing a job."

Blossom attacked with a pair of strikes. Buttercup blocked both. "So that's all protecting Townsville has been to you, a job?" Blossom swung the movement and finished with an elbow strike.

Buttercup tilted her head away from the attack and they separated again. "A job we've been doing for free when they could have paid us the whole time." She jabbed. "Doesn't that make you mad?"

Blossom circled Buttercup counter-clockwise. "Townsville is our home. We should be honored to defend it."

"Maybe I would have been if they hadn't replaced us so fast."

"You are working with those same replacements." Blossom saw her opening and kicked.

Buttercup was knocked back. She pounded the floor and got back up. "Money feels like more gratitude than the single piece of candy the mayor gave us when we were kids."

"That candy turned us into monsters. Remember?"

"Not really. We've saved the city how many times?" Buttercup kicked low, Blossom had to avoid it. "The least they could do is pay for our college."

"How do you know they aren't planning on just that?"

"Because then we would go off to college, and not be here to protect them." Buttercup kicked low again.

Blossom didn't let that move get her again. "You don't give them enough credit." She pivoted and realized her mistake at the last instant.

Buttercup kicked her in the back. "You give them too much."

Blossom shook off the pain. "You sound like Brick."

"This isn't about him."

Buttercup took a step forward, forcing Blossom to back up. She put her fists up and smiled. "Let's take it up a notch."

Blossom took a breath to keep her focus. "Okay."

"Computer, render environment Showdown Forest."

The projectors shifted and constructed the new environment, a cloudy autumn day in a deciduous forest. Leaves fell from the trees and the ground was uneven. They'd need to watch their footing for rocks and logs.

"Showdown Forest?"

"It's a cool name, Bloss." Buttercup hopped onto a rock. "As long as we're here, we might as well make this even more interesting. Computer, render weapons." The computer dematerialized a section of the simulation and revealed a wall of various guns and swords. Buttercup took two katanas off of the wall. "How about a duel?" She threw one to Blossom.

Blossom caught it by the hilt. Buttercup spun hers around, finishing by holding it out in front of her. Blossom took a more defensive stance.

Buttercup smirked. "Admit it. You're jealous he's a better leader than you."

Blossom unleashed a flurry of practiced strikes. Buttercup deflected two then sidestepped the third.

Blossom got back in control of herself to block Buttercup's counterattack. "No he's not."

"Heh, yeah. Sure. That didn't strike a chord or anything." Buttercup swiped at Blossom's hips.

Blossom spun her sword down to block. "So you like his leadership style because he lets you be as reckless as you want."

"Reckless!? Is that what you think of me?" Buttercup swung her sword right at eye level.

Blossom blocked and got inside Buttercup's defense. "Prove me wrong."

"I didn't endanger people. Brick made sure the monster never got near town." Buttercup pivoted her wrist and their swords locked. "Leadership doesn't look that hard."

"It's incredibly hard." Blossom pushed her sword into Buttercup's.

Buttercup pushed right back and used superstrength to break the lock. "You're stiff today. More than usual."

Blossom dropped her stance. "Computer, render environment 271828." The simulator shifted. Blossom and Buttercup were standing on a cluster of small stones surrounded by lava. Blossom threw the sword away and rose into the air, letting her power blaze over her.

Buttercup threw her own sword away. It dematerialized before it hit the lava. "That's a terrible name for such a cool setting." She rose to meet the challenge.

They glared at each other. They had had this fight before, many times.

"Leadership doesn't look hard, huh? What are you trying to say, Buttercup?"

"I don't want to take orders anymore." Buttercup charged at Blossom.

Blossom formed her forcefield to block her. "Orders are important, as are formations and plans. They keep us organized."

Buttercup hit it hard enough to crack. "You're always so bossy." One more punch and it shattered.

"I am the leader." Blossom burst forward with a punch.

Buttercup turned it away. "Yeah, well, maybe I want to be the leader."

Blossom narrowed her eyes. "No you don't." She used her eyebeams to drop a cluster of stalactites onto Buttercup.

Buttercup punched through them. "Don't tell me what I want."

"You don't know you don't want it. You want the recognition, but it comes with a lot of extra work." Blossom came at Buttercup with a high kick. "You want to be on your own, a renegade."

Buttercup grunted. "What's wrong with that?" She came at Blossom with her forcefield sword in her hand.

"The authority of a queen and the accountability of a toddler, that's what you want."

"You hold me accountable even when it wasn't my fault!" Buttercup recklessly thrust her sword at Blossom.

Blossom avoided the thrust and punched Buttercup away. "Most of the times we've messed up, it's because you didn't follow my orders." She took off for Buttercup to chase.

Buttercup took the bait. "Shut up."

"Do you know why I always beat you?" Blossom blew a wall of ice between her and her sister.

"Because you're a know-it-all show-off." Buttercup used her heat vision to melt the ice. Blossom wasn't behind it.

Blossom appeared behind Buttercup and kicked her into the lava ending the simulation. "Because I always have a plan."

Buttercup grit her teeth, no doubt preparing a scathing comeback.

"How is your eyeliner still perfect?" Blossom asked.

---

"Your eyes always pop. How do you do the smokey eye thing? Is it Black eyeshadow?" Blossom took a single pretzel from the bag and ate it, doing her best to stay perfectly still while Buttercup did her work.

"Well for one, Bloss, it's the eyeliner that makes your eyes pop. And it's not black. It's dark gray metallic." Buttercup grabbed a handful of pretzels and ate them while carefully applying eyeliner with her other hand.

"Really!?"

"Yeah. dark gray brings down the contrast and adds a little sparkle."

Notes:

This is the end of Act 1. The next chapter is mostly written. I'll get it out by the end of the year.

I also have a short chapter, mostly filler, complete right now. It doesn't serve the themes of the main story. I was thinking I should make it its own side-story like Two Questions. Should I post it outside of the main story or should I drop it in whenever I have a lull in Act 2? Let me know in the comments.

Chapter 23: Baby Sister

Baby Sister

Sophomore Year – October

"We're gonna start with a basic skill - how to change your oil," Wrench said, offering Bubbles a tool. "Get under there, find the oil pan, and loosen the bolt."

Pulling herself under the van Bubbles was immediately glad she had tied her hair and was wearing old clothes. There were tubes and parts she couldn't describe, all of them were covered in gunk. She had no clue what she was looking at. "What does it look like?"

"Should be a tank with a bolt sticking out the bottom."

There were a lot of parts that looked like that. She tried fitting the tool he gave her around anything she could. After a few parts that didn't fit, she found the part he was talking about. "What do you call this tool?"

"That's a socket wrench. Turn the handle left and that'll loosen the bolt."

Bubbles fitted the socket wrench over the bolt and applied steady pressure, loosening it. That reminded her of a burning question she had. "Why does Butch call you Wrench?"

"My name is Rich. He was a little shit when we first met. Sorry for the language. They all were. Brick's the only one who ever said it right. Though he used to call me 'pops', not sure why. Butch and Boomer always went with Wrench." He chuckled. "I'm still not sure if Boomer knows it's a nickname."

Bubbles couldn't believe the boys had a cordial relationship with a normal citizen. "How did you meet?" The socket wrench in her hand clicked away.

"Found the boys fu- messing around the garage one day. Used to own a mechanic shop, so I had all the cars I was working on sitting around. They were talking about which ones they liked. Tried yelling at 'em to go away. Didn't have a clue who they were at first. They weren't bad kids. Gave 'em some food and talked about cars. I've even taught 'em a thing or two over the years. Reminded me of my sons."

The bolt came off the tank and a stream of black oil came out. Bubbles used super speed to get the pan under it without spilling. When she was satisfied the oil was all going into the pan, she pulled herself out from under the van. "You have boys?"

"Two. Vera and I, we raised 'em back in the '70s. Musta been '79 when Eric was about your age. We lived in Countiesville back then. Back before uh…" He scratched his nose. "But, uh." He took off his hat and looked wistfully off into the distance. "You know, Vera…"

Bubbles' heart sank for him. "Vera was your wife?"

"Yeah, you look like… uh…" He put his hat back on. "Well, we married back in '62. Had a tiny apartment in Townsville back then. Vera wanted some open space and there was always work. Everyone needed cars fixed so we moved before Ryan was born. Ryan always wanted to play baseball. Now he does something with computers."

Bubbles wondered if he knew he was rambling. "Do I put the bolt back on now?"

"Oh," Rich said, throwing up his arms. "Yeah, you put the bolt back on, then the new oil goes in."

Bubbles pulled herself back under the van. The wrench just clicked but didn't tighten. "This… socket wrench isn't working."

"It isn't?" He laughed. "There's a switch on the back. Remember 'lefty-loosey, righty-tighty'."

Bubbles found the switch on the back. She flipped it and recited the rhyme to herself to make sure she was doing it right. The bolt tightened. "So, what was Townsville like back then?"

"Oh, a lot different than it is now. Didn't have all this crime and drugs. You used to be able to leave your door unlocked when you went to work. People weren't in such a hurry all the time like they are now. Not to mention the monster attacks. 'Course the last few years that changed too. I wish Vera would'a got to see it."

Bubbles finished tightening the bolt and pulled herself out from under the van. Rich had a smile on his face, looking toward the city. She let him remember for a while and retrieved the cartons of new oil. "Where does the oil go?"

"Oh," he said, snapping out of his thoughts. "It goes in here." He tapped a cap that said '710' with his finger.

"710? What does that mean?"

Rich laughed. "It's 'oil'. It's just upside down."

Bubbles looked again and shook her head for being so foolish. She unscrewed the cap and grabbed a carton.

"Oh, not yet now," Rich said, slapping his knee. "You gotta change the filter first. Forgot to tell ya."

There was a lot he wasn't telling her, tiny little things he took for granted. He had been fixing cars for most of his life. The entire process of changing a car's oil must have been so automatic, he could do it in his sleep. Of course the filter needs to be changed, he didn't even have to think about it.

He knew so much more than he could possibly tell her. His job, his wife, his children, his own childhood, years of history hid in the ramblings. It was, at the same time, absolutely wonderful and deeply sad.

---

Block got out of the car to walk Bubbles to her door. "So, uh. I had a really good time."

Bubbles gave him a smile. "I did too."

"I don't know if you're free next weekend, but I was thinking we could-"

"Block, I did tell you. I have a one-date only policy."

He slipped his hands into his pockets. "I know, I remember. I was just thinking since you had such a good time, you might make an exception."

"Sorry Block. I might get attached to you."

Block shrugged. "Isn't that the idea? Find someone you like and be with that person?"

"Not right now."

"Come on, though. It doesn't make sense."

Bubbles turned on her heel and floated toward the door. She really should have seen it coming.

"Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles," Block said, running across the lawn to catch up to her. "We could just go as friends."

Bubbles sighed. "Do you really think you can keep it platonic?"

He looked at her with that smile, cute, but that lower lip wanted more than she was willing to give. "...yeah, sure."

"You think you can wear me down. You can't." Bubbles shook her head. "I don't want to do that to you. Here's what I will do, Marcie was asking all about you this week. You should ask her to go out with you."

Block shook his head. "Marcie's great, but…" He crumpled his mouth. "She's no Bubbles."

After years of boys fawning over her, Bubbles was immune to their disappointment. She eyed him and moved to open the front door.

"She said 'no'." Bubbles' heart sank. Buttercup had appeared in the doorway with her arms crossed. Blossom floated behind her and lifted her chin in derision. They must have heard the entire exchange.

Bubbles sighed. They thought they needed to protect her and nothing Bubbles could say would change their minds. Bubbles waited to let the scene play out so she didn't make it worse for Block.

"Take a hint," Buttercup said.

"Worth a shot," Block said, backing up to his car with his hands in the air.

Buttercup burst into laughter when they were back inside and the door fully shut. She and Blossom landed on the couch.

"Oh man, Bubbles. Where do you find these guys?" Buttercup asked.

"I didn't need you to do that…" Bubbles mumbled. They might have heard her, but they weren't listening as usual.

"I think we figured out why she never has a boyfriend," Blossom said.

Bubbles sighed again, knowing what Blossom meant. "Are all guys that self-centered?" she asked, sitting in her dad's chair.

"No," Blossom said. "There are good ones out there. Jared for instance."

"Mitch," Buttercup said. "Sometimes anyway."

"Dad."

Buttercup burst into laughter all over again at Blossom's suggestion. "Dad!?"

"Objectively, he is the ideal romantic partner. Confident, ambitious, and loving. Mom lucked out that he was available."

Buttercup threw her head into Blossom's lap, still chuckling to herself. "Not to mention he's sappy and a total nerd." She stretched her legs over the rest of the couch.

"You mean thoughtful and intellectual?"

Buttercup lifted a foot into the air. "You say tomato, I say total nerd."

Blossom rolled her eyes with a smile. Then she looked at Bubbles "There's also Boomer."

Boomer. Bubbles' heart fluttered at the mention of his name. Cute, sweet, and smarter than anyone gave him credit for. All of the dates she had been on had shown her what she didn't want in a partner, except his. Her date with him really did show her the qualities she did want in a partner.

She looked at Blossom and realized her sister was watching her with a tiny smile at the end of her mouth. Bubbles felt herself blush at the thought Blossom knew.

Buttercup blew a raspberry. "I'll have to take your word on that one. The guy has that deer-in-the-headlights look all the time." She unmuted the tv and went to her phone. Apparently they had been watching some drama about doctors.

"I've been spending time with him," Blossom said.

"You have?" Bubbles asked. "Why?"

"He wanted a mentor." Blossom smiled. "Boomer isn't so bad."

"No, he's pretty good, actually."

"He might even make a great hero one day." Blossom leaned forward and her smile deepened. "I can see why you like him."

Bubbles tore her gaze away from Blossom beaming at her. "I don't-" She couldn't bear to look at her sister.

"You should think about giving him a cha-"

"What!? It can't be!" Buttercup slammed her phone down, grabbed the remote control, and changed the channel to football. She stared for a moment before she blew up for no reason. "No! Fuck that!"

Bubbles sighed at her sister's use of foul language.

"Hey!" Blossom reached for the remote back. "It is my turn to pick-"

"Two months!" Buttercup floated into the air holding the remote out of her reach.

"What, Buttercup?" Blossom asked.

"That's how long it took!" Buttercup pointed to the TV. "Look,"

The Rowdyruff Boys stood in the Townsville football stadium. Beams of light shot everywhere, fireworks swirled into the sky, and people spun flags. Butch was wearing his Townsville High jersey. The whole crowd cheered their names.

"The boys? What are they doing?" Bubbles asked.

"You're focusing on the wrong thing. Look at the jerseys," Buttercup said. "The colors. The words on the screen."

The players, coaches, and cheerleaders were staged in an entire procession. The players' jerseys looked exactly the same. Maybe a bit darker.

Blossom sighed. "At least the world is exactly the same as it was yesterday." She plopped further into the couch.

"I don't get it..." Bubbles still didn't know what Buttercup was mad about.

"They changed the name," Buttercup said through grinding teeth.

"...of?"

"Of the team, Bubbles," Blossom said. "They used to be the Townsville X-ers. Now, apparently, they're the Townsville Rowdyruffs."

"And we care because?"

Buttercup exploded. "THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE THE POWERPUFFS BECAUSE IT WAS TOO GIRLY!"

"Oh." Bubbles shrugged. "None of the players are women though-"

"We defended Townsville for ten years and they didn't-" Buttercup growled. "We didn't get anything!"

Three jet fighters flew loud and slow over the stadium.

"They built a statue of us in front of city hall," Bubbles said even though her sisters weren't listening. "They've held parades and-"

"The cheerleaders are still the Powerpuffs!" Buttercup stomped her foot. "Is that all we are? Is that all we're supposed to do? Just cheer for the boys and look pretty?"

Bubbles decided not to take Buttercup's tirade personally. She didn't know how hard the squad trained or how football and basketball games were just an excuse for extra practice. Though explaining that to her was useless when she was angry. "We still fight crime. That's arguably more important than fighting monsters, and more difficult. Butch is a nice guy, but I don't think he'd be able to restrain himself."

Buttercup slowly turned to Bubbles and looked at her like she was crazy. "Did you just say Butch is a nice guy?"

"Yeah."

"How could you-" Buttercup shook her head. "How could anyone possibly-"

"He helped me get a job at-"

"Butch!?" Buttercup yelled with a deep scowl and wide eyes. "How can you say that misogynistic asshole is anywhere near nice!?"

"The way he talks about women isn't exactly enlightened," Blossom said, stepping toward Buttercup.

"Well, yeah, sure," Bubbles said. "But you know that he's going to be a little crude. That's his whole brand."

"A little crude?" Buttercup put her hands on her hips. "He is absolutely disgusting and it is not okay."

"You can take it the wrong way," Bubbles said. "But if you understand he's just being flirty and fun-"

"So misogyny is flirty and fun now?"

Bubbles lifted her chin. "He has helped me more than once, never once tried to make a move on me, and never talked down to me." Bubbles looked at both of her sisters. "Which is more than I can say about some people."

"Whatever all that means," Buttercup said, Bubbles' point going right over her head. "Fine, he hasn't tried to take advantage of you. Let's give him a medal, the 'Not-As-Much-Of-A-Jerk-As-He-Could-Have-Been' Award!"

"That's not your issue with him anyway."

Buttercup folded her arms. "Oh yeah? What is my issue with him?"

"Bubbles," Blossom murmured.

Bubbles knew she was on thin ice with her sister, but it needed to be said. "You're too similar to him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Buttercup crossed her arms. "I don't do anything! He's always the one that starts shit!"

Bubbles growled. Her lips mashing together and her hands balled into fists.

"Bubbles, you cannot spend time with Butch anymore," Blossom said. "In fact, you should avoid him at all costs."

"You guys are always ganging up on me!" Bubbles needed to get away from them. She stomped upstairs, deliberately not floating.

Blossom and Buttercup looked at each other, then back at her. "Calm down, Bubbles," Blossom said. "We aren't ganging up on you."

"Oh really?" For once Bubbles was going to stand her ground. She looked down on them from the top of the stairs. "You weren't telling Buttercup to calm down! You aren't telling Buttercup not to hang out with Brick!"

Blossom set her hands on her hips. "I have told her. He and I have been forced to work together in Science and we reached a detente. Buttercup and I agreed that as long as he does not cross any line she may continue to associate with him. Butch is different-"

"And since you guys are clearly having eyeliner parties without me, I will hang out with whoever I want to hang out with!"

"Not Butch," Blossom said. "I wanted to spare your feelings of this." She looked at Buttercup. "May I?"

"We fought," Buttercup said. "And he…" she looked away.

"He what?" Bubbles asked forcefully.

Blossom grabbed Buttercup's hand and gave it a squeeze. "He nearly killed Buttercup."

Buttercup shook her off and crossed her arms. "He really only dislocated my shoulder," she mumbled. "The point is he tried."

"We've all agreed," Blossom said. "Boomer is fine and Brick is… tolerable." She rolled her eyes at the last word. "But if Butch is going to hurt any of us, we need-"

"Oh, and I bet you hated every minute of it didn't you Buttercup?" Bubbles didn't believe a word they were saying. That wasn't the Butch she knew.

Buttercup glared at her.

"You didn't antagonize him at all. It was all him. Because you never antagonize anyone!" They were probably just fighting and both of them took it too far.

Buttercup said something but Bubbles didn't hear. She floated into her room and closed the door.

Even if what they said was true, there had to be more to it. They didn't know Butch like she did. Blossom couldn't let anything be out of her control and Buttercup-

She didn't need to be coddled. Neither of them cared about her feelings.

---

Brick waved to the crowd. "You know, for the last few years I've hated the name 'Rowdyruff Boys'. But right now it feels pretty damn good."

Butch nodded. "Yeah. Yeah it does." There were so many people cheering for them. His head shook without him doing it.

Chapter 24: Subject / Object

Notes:

I should have finished this chapter long ago. But I wanted to give it the proper care it deserves.

This chapter deals with a sensitive subject that I myself did not go through. I had people close to me read it and ensure I wasn't being gross. This one is really important to me, and it is one of the most important chapters in the story. You'll see why at the end.

Subject / Object

Seventh Grade - September

Blossom sat on the edge of her bed while her mom's expert hands applied eye shadow to her right eye.

"You can dress professionally, but if your makeup isn't right, you can come off as low-status or send a message you don't mean to send. You don't want to look like a raccoon like your sister did the first time she tried this." Blossom's mom switched to her other eye. "In a professional setting, less is more, though none can be worse. It's about balance. See?"

Blossom's mom stepped aside so she could see herself in the mirror. Blossom had never looked so sophisticated before. Her face was more angular somehow, strident.

"You should dress for the job you want, yes, but you should also dress for your body shape. Clothes must be professionally tailored. Every detail regarding your appearance determines how others will treat you."

"How so?" Blossom asked.

Blossom's mom thought for a moment. "Let's say you go to an investment firm. You see two women. One is wearing a tasteful jumpsuit and flats. The other is wearing a full pantsuit including a jacket and high-heeled shoes. Who is in charge of the other?"

"The one in the pantsuit."

"Correct," Blossom's mom smiled in acknowledgement. Blossom had returned the answer clearly and confidently as her mother had taught her. "Now you see three men. The first man is wearing a full suit with a jacket. There is also a man with no suit jacket and his dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The last man is wearing cargo shorts, a stretched-out t-shirt, and he isn't wearing shoes. The other two are not behaving as if this is strange. What is the status between these men?"

"The man in the full suit is clearly in charge and the man with his sleeves rolled up is his subordinate." Blossom thought for a moment. There was a trick she couldn't discern. "And the man with no shoes…" Nobody would be allowed to work in an office without shoes. Which was why he didn't work there at all. "Is the client!"

"Very good, Blossom! People with the highest achievable status can dress as they please. For the rest of us the normal rules apply." Blossom's mom touched her hair. "Which is why we need to talk about your bow."

"My bow?" Blossom touched the bow she had worn every day of her life. "What's wrong with it?"

"There's nothing wr-" Blossom's mom stopped and shook her head slightly. "No, I shouldn't have said that. There was nothing wrong with wearing it when you were a girl." Blossom's mom took her hands and looked into Blossom's eyes. "You are a young woman now and it doesn't communicate professional elegance. It makes you look like a child and tells everyone you are not to be taken seriously."

Blossom had been born with her hair clip and the bow attached to it. It was one of the things that differentiated her from her sisters. Her bow was her crown. It signified her place as the leader. Everyone understood that when they saw her. "How are they supposed to know I'm…"

Blossom's mom rested her hands on Blossom's shoulders and looked at her knowingly in the mirror. "Your posture. The way you speak. The way you walk. The way you shake hands. Everything you can control must communicate that you are a leader. You must find other ways to tell them without telling them."

Blossom sighed internally. She was no longer a little girl. Just like the dress, tights, and mary jane shoes she had already outgrown, she needed to move on from the bow. Her mom knew these things having had to fight throughout her career. Sarah Bellum was the epitome of professional grace.

With as much dignity as she could muster, Blossom reached behind her head and unsnapped her hair clip. She held it and the bow in her hands, comforted by the silk in her fingers while her mom brushed her hair.

"I am very proud of you."

---

Sophomore Year - November

Blossom had to lower her invincibility to get dressed. She hooked her bra around her waist, spun it forward, and let out a breath. She'd need to suck in as much as possible for the next bit. She pulled it up over her chest. It protested against the move. The band dug into her skin and still she pulled it up.

Finally, she got the cups into position over her breasts. They didn't fit all the way around, which, like every day, was something she told herself she'd worry about later. She pulled the straps over her shoulders. With the hardest part done, she walked to her closet to find a top. Halfway there, she made herself invincible again.

Her breasts pushed and the bra hooks bent under their weight. It broke and hung off her shoulders, useless. She inspected the ruined undergarment. The hooks had broken, totally unsalvageable.

Blossom had two others, but being even smaller, they would, no doubt, suffer the same fate. She needed a new bra.

She picked out her poofiest sweater to hide the fact she was unsupported and crept to the stairs, peaking into the living room. Thankfully, only her mother was there. She had her laptop out, feet on the ottoman, and was finishing some weekend work.

The fact that her mother was alone gave her the courage to say what she needed to say. "Mom, I need a new bra."

Blossom's mom looked up at her, noticing she had her arms blocking her chest and the anxious look on her face. "Of course you do, Blossom. I've been so wrapped up in work, I should have noticed." Setting her work aside, she stood and hugged Blossom. "We can go to the mall today. Just let me get ready."

Blossom sighed with relief and plopped onto the couch.

Halfway up the stairs Blossom's mom turned and whispered so quietly, only people actively using super hearing would have been able to hear. "Is it okay if I invite your sisters?"

Blossom nodded.

Her mom knocked on Bubbles' door. Bubbles invited her in. There was some whispering, then a loud "Yay! I'd love to come."

Blossom's mom knocked on Buttercup's door. "Buttercup-"

"Sleeping," Buttercup groaned.

"We're going shopping-"

"Sleeping!" she reiterated.

---

"Let's get you properly fitted," Blossom's mom said, directing the salesperson.

The Elizabeth's Mystery at the mall was practically empty, another favor for which Blossom was thankful. The salesperson used a measuring tape on her. She measured Blossom's bust and underbust. "Three inches and then some," she announced. "Congratulations, you're a full C-cup and a little more." It was so official, it had a classification and everything. "What did you say you were wearing before?"

Blossom hid her face.

Blossom's mom put her hand on her shoulder. "Don't be embarrassed, sweetie. It's just us girls here."

"Yeah, I'm only a B-cup," Bubbles said confidently. "I'm super jealous, Blossom."

"I was wearing an A," Blossom said into the neck of her sweater.

"It's ok, we're going to get you your actual size," Blossom's mom said. She and Bubbles walked over to a table and looked through the various colors and styles.

"Ohhh, this one is nice." Bubbles presented a lacy pink bra to her. It was embroidered with white flowers on the tops of the cups.

"It's okay…" Blossom was sure she did not like the flowers. They seemed a little childish to her.

"I like this one for you." Blossom's mom presented a red silk bra to her. It looked clean, had diagonal stitching, and no-nonsense classic style, exactly what Blossom was looking for. "Why don't you try it on."

Blossom took the bra from her mother and headed to the changing room. She pulled off her sweater and sat down. She held the bra in her hands, looking at the insides of the cups. It felt like a ceremony, like she was donning armor for the very first time.

She hooked the bra around her waist and turned it around. She pulled it up over her chest. It did its best to accommodate her, though after some adjustment, it still didn't feel quite right. It hung down, failing in its primary function to support her.

"Tighten the straps sweetie," her apparently omniscient mother said from outside the door.

Blossom did just that and suddenly everything fell in place. She turned to face the mirror.

"How do you feel, Blossom?" her mother asked.

There wasn't a large gap between the cups and the underwire rested comfortably on her ribcage. "Um… It definitely fits."

"Of course it does, sweetie. How does it make you feel?"

Blossom looked in the mirror. They were out and proud and for the first time ever. She arched her back, letting her breasts rise to their full prominence. She felt beautiful and sexy. She looked at herself from every angle, captivated by what she saw. She could take on the world. Blossom felt like a woman.

"Powerful."

"Great!" Her mom reached over the door. "Give me the tag and you can wear it out of the store."

Blossom gave her mom the tag and did a few more poses before pulling her sweater over herself.

"We'll get you a few more so you have options," her mother said when she had come out of the changing room. "How do you feel about white, beige, and black?"

"Thank you," Blossom said.

"And Blossom should get the matching bottoms too." Bubbles winked at her.

Blossom was aghast.

"Of course we should," her mom said, flashing her a knowing smile. "I think new lingerie calls for a few more outfits. What do you think, Bubbles?"

"Yes! Yes!" Bubbles bounced up and down. "More outfits! Eternally 22! Pepper Bush! Francines!"

"Dad is going to kill us," Blossom said, thinking about what kind of bill Bubbles could rack up given the time.

Blossom's mom ran her finger across a sheer black teddy. "Let me handle your father."

---

With a little help from Bubbles, Blossom had chosen to wear a black pencil skirt, her classic pink blouse and the three-inch heels her mom had let her purchase to school the next Monday. She was ready to kill at debate and kick a monster's ass.

She touched down at the front of the school as usual, but that was where 'usual' ended. Everyone seemed to be staring, and not just the boys. It wasn't the usual staring, as one might a hero or leader. It was gratuitous, practically wanton. Princess was glaring murder at her. At least one thing remained normal.

Finally, she got a free moment alone with Robin at lunch.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Blossom asked.

Robin laughed. "No, Blossom. You're doing something right."

"I know I look good, but I don't see-" Robin peeked at her chest, then back to her eyes. "What? My new bra?"

"Yes, Blossom, obviously."

"My mom took me to get a new bra. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You realize you're sticking them out, right? Seriously, do you not have back pain with those things?"

"What!? No I'm not." Blossom brought her voice down to a low whisper. "It's a product of good posture. They're only a C-cup."

"You sure? Because they look like-"

"Yes I'm sure. I got fitted and everything. The salesperson said I'm a little over a C."

Robin looked left and back at Blossom. "And your mom got you a D because you're about to turn sixteen and she knows you'll grow into it."

"That's not-" Blossom gasped to herself at the realization. She hadn't checked the size. She had trusted her mother to get the right one. "She couldn't have-"

"I think she did."

Blossom dashed to the nearest restroom and locked herself in a stall. A quick check confirmed what Robin had speculated. The size was printed on the tag next to the washing instructions, 36 D.

Her mother must have known, she must have done it on purpose. Were her breasts going to keep growing? When would they stop?

Judging by her mom's own bust, Blossom supposed it was prudent to purchase a larger size than she needed right then. Though she didn't exactly share genetics with her mother, she had always hoped she would develop in a similar way. And apparently she already was. It was a lot to take in all at once.

When she was in the changing room her mom had asked how the bra made her feel. The restroom stall wasn't too dissimilar from the store's changing room after all. She slipped her bra back on and straightened her back. The bra held her up comfortably. Powerful, she felt like she could take on the world again.

The door to the restroom opened and some girls giggled on their way in. Blossom rebuttoned her blouse.

"Hey Blossom." Princess started whatever routine she had no doubt already discussed with her cronies.

Blossom exited the stall, looking at Princess with a sigh.

"I heard you're a slut now."

Blossom washed her hands. "One day I'm a prude, the next I'm a slut. Are you having trouble keeping it straight, Princess?"

"No. I'm just extending my congratulations. It should be a lot of fun."

"How am I a slut?"

"You know, your new knockers. I bet they were expensive."

Blossom blanched, completely flabbergasted, she couldn't say a word. She stood there with her mouth hanging open.

"Just between us girls, how much did daddy pay for those?"

"They're not-" Blossom growled inwardly. Princess was trying to get to her and succeeding. She straightened herself and bore her gaze into Princess' eyes. She needed to fight back.

Then she got the slightest whiff of something acrid, sickening. "What's that smell?" Blossom asked. She had smelled it before somewhere. It lingered somewhere around Princess.

"That's the massive dump you just took, bitch," Princess said leaving the bathroom with her cronies.

Blossom had to endure. She knew she looked good. She endeavored to rise above it all. She just didn't feel like she could. Stares and whispers she both didn't and did want to hear, the weight of the girl's jealousy pulled her down.

After her last class she found her boyfriend talking with his friends. He could make her feel like herself again.

She pulled Jared into an empty hallway. One moment of privacy with him was all she needed, a few words of understanding. He was always good at that.

Jared smiled at her. "Blossom."

"Jared. My day has just been awful." She crashed herself into his body.

He held her in a loose grip. "What is awful?"

"Everything. Everybody's looking at me all the time, treating me like… like…" She looked at him. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking downward. "Jared?"

He looked back up at her. "Uh, yes, Blossom?"

Blossom crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "You too?"

"I'm sorry!" His hand went to the back of his neck. "I mean, I am your boyfriend, right? Shouldn't you want me to-"

"Not right now. Right now I want you to support me."

"Okay. Okay." Jared shook his head. "I think I have a sweatshirt in my car-"

Blossom turned on her heel and walked away from him.

Blossom didn't have anything to hide or be ashamed of, she just wanted one moment of solitude. She could at least take a breath in the library while she waited for-

Brick was already there at a table with their science project plans spread out.

Blossom sighed and sat across from Brick with her arms crossed.

He didn't say a word for the first few seconds or even look in her direction. Typical of him to disregard her.

Blossom noticed a blueprint under the arrayed papers, the original blueprint Mojo Jojo had drawn for the volcano lair. She hadn't seen it in such a long time. "How did you get this?"

"I asked," Brick said, still not looking at her.

"You didn't demand? You didn't steal?" Blossom knew how deals between people like them went. "What did he want in return?"

"He didn't ask for anything. Last time I asked for something and he didn't give it to me, I hit him. So…"

"Sounds like a demand by another name." Blossom picked up the latest draft of the project. They had everything worked out. "I find it difficult to believe you didn't hatch some scheme with him."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"I'm assuming your aims are similar."

"If I wanted to take over the world, the last monkey I'd do it with is him."

Blossom sighed. "What is your plan exactly?"

Brick shook his head. "Go to college. What was it you were clamoring on about last time? Achievement?"

Blossom laughed. "I love how you don't see any value in it. You know you need to achieve something in order to be accepted into a good college in the first place, right?"

Brick tilted his head, finally deigning to look at her. "Right. Start a school club, go to exactly one meeting, just so I can get my signature on some paperwork saying I was its founder and first president, and then do that a bunch more times so I can get a bunch of fancy titles on my college application. Never mind I didn't care about what those clubs were or how they folded right after I left. Gotta beat those legacy applicants and trust-fund babies somehow. The entire process is bullshit built on a foundation of bullshit."

Blossom rolled her eyes. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'm sure the powers that be love you enough with your sudden conversion to heroism. Besides, you're a man. Which is the only reason they suddenly love you after the last 10-years. If you were a woman…"

"They'll turn on us just as quickly the instant we cease being useful. They're no different from Mojo or HIM." Brick sat back in his chair and folded his arms. "Unlike you. You're a woman. You'll get infinite chances, infinite screw-ups, as long as you play your part."

Blossom cackled. "Infinite chances!? I'll have to work four times as hard to achieve the same position as you'll be handed. I am under expectations you clearly do not understand."

"Expectations, sure. Four times as hard, that's doubtful, trust-fund baby. That's not what I'm talking about. You could get pregnant and all of Townsville will be behind you with food, support, and baby clothes. You could develop a drug problem, and the second you're willing to give it up, they'll welcome you back with open arms. Commit a few crimes. Statistically, they'll let you off with a lighter sentence than they would with me. There are support systems in place for you that are not available to me."

"They're available, you're just too arrogant to use them."

"Weren't you crowned Lollipop Teen Princess last year? Or was it Ice Cream Queen?"

"I was Miss Teen Townsville, thank you very much."

Brick waved her off. "I can't keep up, they crown you with something new every week. They love you unconditionally. All you have to be is you. I'm only loved for what I bring to the table, for what I'm about to do for them at any particular moment. And the instant it's done, their gratitude is gone. I can only imagine what unconditional love is like."

"They wouldn't let me lead them, even before you brainwashed them. And they'll always see me as a bossy bitch now that they can compare your leadership to mine."

"That's 'cuz you micromanage. Do you know what we call men who need to control everything a person does? A fucking psychopath. Worse than being a bossy bitch."

"We let those men run companies all the time. How many bossy bitch CEOs can you name?"

"Honestly, none. Maybe there's a reason for that."

Blossom leaned forward to glare at him. "And what reason would that be?"

Brick glared right back. "What do we think of those psychopath male CEOs? Maybe women are just better people."

That was not the direction she had expected him to take. Blossom winced. The movement made her chest bounce. Brick didn't look.

She found herself suddenly aware she was leaning forward, definitely offering him an eyeful right down her blouse. But he hadn't looked. He had to have noticed it, everyone else had. Maybe he thought she was trying to bait him. Maybe from his perspective, he wouldn't take the bait.

Either way, she hadn't felt uncomfortable during the entire discussion. Clashing with Brick had made her feel normal again. Of all the interactions she had had that day, a frivolous argument with her arch-nemesis had been the best. He treated her as he always had, as a threat, an equal at the very least. He respected her in a way she hadn't appreciated.

She sat back into her chair with her natural posture to test him, carefully following his gaze.

He kept his eyes on hers. He wasn't looking at all.

The best way to beat him was to use his hormones against him. Psychological warfare, attacking his masculinity, only from a different direction. She could win if she got him to look at her chest. He knew it. She knew he knew it. She wanted to break him.

Blossom arched her back, making her intent very obvious, and bounced in her seat.

Brick's eyes immediately dropped for the show then went back to hers. There was the slightest purse of his lips.

She turned her head and smiled. She got him to look. She had a kind of power over him.

Brick huffed and gave her not-quite-a-smirk. He didn't stare. He didn't say anything rude. She could have said he admitted she was better than him, but she didn't. It all felt so normal, like they could just be. He was him and she was her and they hated each other and it was normal.

---

Sarah knocked on Blossom's bedroom door. "Blossom?" She came all the way in and shut the door behind her. The red bra was splayed out on her bed. Blossom stared at it lost in thought. "How was your day?"

Blossom looked up from her desk with hard, tearless eyes. "Is everybody going to be staring from now on? Are people going to be talking about me?"

Sarah's heart dropped for her daughter. "Oh sweetie. I'm so sorry. I should have prepared you for it."

"What could I have done differently?" She was so critical of herself.

Sarah took her hands. "Nothing. They're going to stare, and say rude things about you behind your back. It can be intense, disorienting. It takes time to get used to it and even more to learn how to properly use their attention against them."

Blossom pulled her legs up in the chair and wrapped her arms around them.

They should have had the conversation a while ago. Sarah felt like they had talked about it. Blossom was always so put together, so ready for anything, even from a young age.

If Sarah was honest, she saw too much of herself in Blossom. Sarah wanted to protect her from the things she had to deal with at that age. She wanted to be, for Blossom, what she herself needed when she was young.

Blossom was rigid and idealistic, a black and white perspective. It made her an effective leader, but it wouldn't help her understand. She was going to be so focused on how things should work and resist the way things really did.

Sarah had to be explicit about sexual dynamics. She needed to tell her everything from wanting to be an object of desire to taking charge of your own sexuality. How she shouldn't be ashamed of any of it. Communicating with Blossom required candor.

Sarah crouched down in her heels and put a hand on Blossom's shoulder. "The first thing to understand is that you should expect men to talk to your chest. When they do that, it diminishes them, not you."

Blossom's eyes softened suddenly. She let go of her knees and stretched out her legs.

"Actually, something did happen today."