Chapter 11. Something in the air

Buttercup was supposedly her name. When one didn't have a memory, it was hard to tell if people were lying, when not given a base line to what was right. She could tell the difference between what was right and wrong, but not when it came to human credibility. The redhead with these odd, pink eyes that seemed to intelligent for normal and the smooth skin claimed to be her sister, but from what she could tell, they looked nothing alike. If anything, she was a relative of the redheaded man standing at the back of the room. His crimson eyes bore their way into her soul, making her shiver and avert her eyes in uncertainty. It felt like he as well could see every small detail and even knew what she was thinking before she did it.

The blonde girl had jumped her with a glee she couldn't fathom where came from. The small frame, height barely reaching the shoulder of the other woman, and her sun kissed hair was dangling straight with her bouncing form. It surely seemed like they were acquaintances, but she couldn't place her. The woman could be another walker down the street, quickly blending in and lost in her subconscious hadn't she introduced herself as her other sibling. Even she had a male version of herself. Were they sure she was their sibling, and they weren't something else? Friends from school or something like that? Not to be offensive, but they looked nothing alike.

Her confused face must have been what gave her away, because the sharp carrot top railed her in on it and started asking questions. How many fingers did she hold up? Stare at the finger and follow it with your pupils, please. What is your name? How old are you? What is the last thing you remember? Does your body feel odd in any way? Any cold spots? Anything hurting? So many questions, and she did her best to answer them without seeming rude and interrupting. Whatever was wrong – she later found out it was the amnesia – it seemed to affect the smaller one the most. The girl stormed off with an apology. That seemed to be one thing they had in common; they both said sorry a lot.

Then, to her biggest surprise, a male came waddling in the door. He was insecure, his shoulders broad, but hanging low, his eyes glued to the floor. By the way he dragged his feet, she would say he had a 'sorry' aura about himself. The raven hair, the green eyes. No doubt, this had to be her brother. They were pulling her leg.

«Butch,» the man with the long, flaming hair said. His voice was hostile, as if he wanted to rip him a new one.

«Brick. Pinky.» A playful smile was aimed at her supposedly sister, but she ignored him with a lift of her chin and staring hard at the brunette in bed. She didn't like the stare, and her grip around the blanked tightened. What had she done that made all of these people so angry and tense? What kind of person was she?

Instead of focusing on the scary, levelheaded woman, she focused on the new man. He finally lifted his gaze and meet hers, and she felt a slight thud in her chest. It wasn't much, it wasn't hard, but it had spiked the beat and left her a little short out of breath. So not a brother then, or she was a sinner aimed for hell.

«This is all your fault,» Blossom growled at him, the name sounded odd to her, but she watched as his innocent posture turned hostile and strong at her. The man leaning against the wall rose an eyebrow and slid off it, ready to jump in if it went south.

«That she's awake?» he defended himself. Instead of explaining the situation – which she would gladly do herself simply because she couldn't blame it on anything other than memory loss – the woman snarled and cut him off. As if simply seeing him grossed her out. Her tongue wetted her lips, she opened and closed her mouth like a fish. She wanted to say anything, something, but she couldn't. What was she suppose to say? These people were foreigners to her.

«You have no idea, do you?» Blossom broke the silence and gave him one last hard stare. The hurt, anger, wrath was all there, enough to make the man have the decency to look shamed, confused. He glanced at her, and she felt like there was no other time than the present at such, and exploited the given chance.

«Uhm, I'm so sorry, but who are you?» she murmured hesitant, pulling the covers closer. It felt odd seeking comfort from texture, but she didn't see any other means. The room was alien to her – admitted, it was a hospital – and she had no idea who these people were. They popped up up right, left, and were gone before she cold shout them a 'hold on' and get an explanation. This is the truth, accept it. What? No. She couldn't.

The silence lasted a pinch too long, and she was just about to pull back the statement when the raven haired man burst out laughing. Oh, god. Did she talk funny? Maybe she was acting odd. What did she say? Why was he laughing? That was so mean!

«Good one, Butters. Almost had me there,» the man flashed her a heart throbbing smile while wiping a tear from his eye.

«Butch,» Brick, the rough voice she had not heard enough of, drew his attention. It was dark like chocolate and had her dreamy. «She's not joking. The puff doesn't remember squat. Not bossy, not blonde, our idiot brother or me.»

«What?» The outburst had her blush. Were they close? Did they know each other? God, the loss of memory was killing her. Who was this guy? Who were they all?

«I'm so sorry,» was the only thing she could say. There wasn't much else to spit out, besides all the questions. Who was she? What did she like, how did they know her? Staring at her own hands, she felt the roughness of the skin. From what she could tell, they were hard working. What type of job had she been doing?

«WHAT?»The over-reacting yell was loud enough to shake the walls, and she winched.

«Calm down,» the redheaded male pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes with wrinkled eyebrows, as if he was physically holding himself back from punching the huge male. Funnily enough, the female counterpart was massaging her temples with a displeased drag around her mouth.

«The doctors said it could very well come back naturally and quick, and sometimes never,» Blossom broke the silence, and the brunette wanted to thank her. The dark, handsome man was staring at her with such intense eyes, she wanted to crawl under the blanked and wait for those memories to return. With the voice, he broke his gaze off her, and she thought she was going to melt in that moment. Who was he? What were they to each other?

«Wait, back up. Never? She'll be like this forever?»

«Might be,» a sigh left her pulp lips as she let her soft, pink orbs rest on her sister. There was such affection from such a stern and head strong person, she couldn't help but believe her words. This was her sister. Even subconsciously, she knew that was the truth. «And that's why this is all your fault. What were you thinking, placing her in such a dangerous, attractive position for Him?»

«Bloss,» Brick warned, but he did nothing that indicated he would step between them. Just stood there with his hands folded over his chest, glaring at everyone while an obvious migraine was working its way up.

«I was hit too, you know.»

«Yeah, but she could have di-» The woman had risen from her seat, stormed at him with wild eyes and bawled fists, so ready to give him a reason for an ice pack, but she stopped herself and straightened her back instead. Taking a deep breath – frustration and anger washing off her – she opened her palms and brushed him off.

«The memories can also be triggered with familiar environments or certain known actions. Muscle memory is never forgotten when these things happen, so if she is exposed to places with strong emotional attachments or objects, it might work.»

«I have no idea what that means,» Butch stupidly said, giving her a risen eyebrow.

«Take her to places she likes and show her things she knows, and the memories might come back.» The strong voice of his older brother saved the dumbass.

«Oh, why didn't you just say that right away, Pinky?» Turning to her, or rather looking down at the firecracker, he flashed her a toothy grin that should not have stirred these stomach flipping feelings inside the brunette. What would she do if he did that to her? Probably scream and run away with a lit face.

«Listen, you moron. I don't have the time to do it, and Bubbles just stormed off so I'm going to – I can't believe I'm saying this – put my faith in that you will get the job done.» From listening, the man cracked another handsome smile and placed his hands on his sides with an approving nod.

«Leaving her in my care, are we?»

«Just -» she held her hands hovering in the air, the fingers twitching in lust to strangle him, but her self control was stronger. «Just take her to these places to see if anything happens, if not, then straight back home. No detours, no monkey business, no illegal stuff. I will bail her out and make sure you never see the light of day ever again, mark my words.» A list was handed to him – when had she had the time to make it? Buttercup couldn't even remember seeing her with that or something to write with – and he took a quick glance over it.

«These places only, then back home,» was her last warning at the tip of an index before she stormed past him.

«I'll come by tomorrow, Buttercup. Maybe later tonight, but no promises. If anything happens, call me. I think you saved me under Bloss. Anything, right?» she turned to Brick and gave him a very stern look, which he just clicked his tongue and turned his head away from.

«Okey,» the confused brunette nodded while glancing between them. She couldn't tell which one was the boss. They were each so stubborn and bullheaded.

«These places only, Butch,» she glared, before hasty walking out with a hearty goodbye to her. The stunned girl in bed could do nothing but wave after her.

«Braindead,» Brick acknowledged his brother while passing.

«Brickhead.» The change of words weren't hostile, if anything, they seemed to bask a faint smile on their lips before he was gone. As if it were their way of saying 'this is in your hands, don't fuck it up, bro'. The small pause couldn't last long enough as the raven haired man turned her way and folded his arms. It made him look twice as big. What was the deal with these ridiculously fit guys? The blond had been tall and slender, the redhead a tad more muscular, but this man was basically Arnold Schwarzenegger. Don't ask how she knew that, but she did.

The smug drag on his face and those half open lids had her wanting to squeal like a fan girl and giggle at him, but she couldn't. Her core was holding her back, begging her to act normal. What was normal? He was handsome, funny, obviously they knew each other, and she was pretty sure it wasn't her brother. Couldn't be. So, fair game, right?

«Let's go,» he nudged with his head. When she hesitated, he took a step closer, almost killing her in the process. Wasn't like she couldn't see him in high definition already, didn't need it up close and in 3D. Not to talk about personal, her body reminded her with a tingling feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. Whatever they were to each other, it was something intense.

Scrambling clumsily about, because she frankly couldn't stand the thought of his well tanned skin, those broad shoulders and the intense stare up in her face and behaving at the same time, the brunette found herself falling out of the comfortable bed and landing face first on the hard floor. Groaning with pain, both from the throbbing knees she had earned and rubbing the sore spot on her left palm, her eyes stared upwards as he stood there on the other side, waiting for her with an amused smirk. The worst part about it was how he didn't even try to hide his pleasure with her discomfort.

It only added fuel to the fire, made her face blaze up with a darker shade of red as she averted her gaze and did her best to rise from her vulnerable position.

«Alright,» he broke the silence as his dark forest eyes scanned the paper given to him. The completely turn around from giving her too much attention to not even acknowledging her was fascinating had it not been for her plain t-shirt and hospital pants. They were an out washed, light blue color and slumped around her body with the least care in the world. The brunette had barely taken a look at her face – oddly how aged she was compared to how foreign her caged flesh felt – but she looked like shit. Dark bags under her eyes added to the hostile, lime color and the barely visible wrinkles dragging the corners of her mouth down. It told her she frowned and snarled more than laughed and smiled. What kind of person was she?

Buttercup was her name. Who named their daughter after such a boring flower, seen as a weed by the eyes of experts? Mostly unwanted where it went, spreading like a disease in the purest of meadows, and pulled up by it's neck, root dangling and holding on for dear life. Did it mean she wasn't special, just another face in the endless sea of crowds? She was not given a great start, and would rather have a mundane name. Like Mary, or Anna.

«Boring, can't do. Nu-uh. What's your sister thinking these places will do to you – the freaking library? The school? - other than bore you to death? It's not like any of us enjoyed them, if even went at all,» Butch finally turned his attention to the flustered girl with a risen eyebrow, as if wanting confirmation from her to take the lead and go against the given order. She wasn't capable of giving him what he wanted.

«Any of us?» she asked him instead, wanting to switch the focus away from what she was suppose to be, and rather wanting to learn about herself and the people around her. Maybe a story would jug her memory? Something known, she could relate to.

«Yeah, you and me, Butters,» the raven haired pointed with a thumb between them as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. When she didn't give him anything past her confused look, he cocked his head and twisted his grin.

«Right. Memory loss. Keep forgetting. You're one though bitch, so it's too weird to get used to.» The harsh language had her wrinkle her nose and dodge his gaze. Bitch? Didn't sound like she was a very nice person.

«Where to begin,» he muttered to himself, the paper already bawled inside his fist and resting fingers at his chin to support the thinking phrase. «We're superhumans. The flying, super strength, laser out of our eyes, all that jazz.»

That had to be the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, and she was quite wounded by his mocking of her dysfunction. He thought he was being funny and could prey on her like the predator he was. A knotting feeling behind her rib cage had her swallow hard.

«Superhumans? Right. Could you leave, please?»

«What the fuck. You never say please. No, Butters, we really are. Was even made in a lab, or I was made in a toilet with my brothers, but that's beyond the point.»

«Don't tell me what I do and don't, and don't call me that. It sounds alien. I don't like it. I don't know you. And now you're pulling my leg. Picking on the mind blinded girl. Really mature.» He was taken aback for a split second, before he collected himself.

«Never expected to hear something like that from you. Memory loss. Quite confusing, and I'm not pulling your leg. We really are superhumans. You and your sisters used to save the day when you were younger.»

«Then prove it. Show me this super strength of yours, or float, right here and now,» she was quite surprised at her own feisty reaction to his stupid prank, but something flared inside her stomach, making her brave enough to go up against him. Hell, she didn't know him and maybe he wasn't as though as he was trying to be. Could be a mask.

Butch opened his mouth a spit second, his body ready to prove something, but he licked his lower lip before tilting his head the other way. The inhale was quick, the exhale was long and lasting. A wrinkle formed on his forehead. One of frustration and defeat.

«I can't anymore.»

«Hah! So it's all lies. Get out. I'll get the redhead to help me instead.»

«Anymore! My powers were stolen from me in the crash -» and he bit his own tongue, staring down at her with a change of eyes. It was so sudden she snapped for her breath, but held her posture. It didn't matter how handsome he was or what they were to each other; she didn't like him. Something was off; something he wasn't telling her, and it was driving her crazy and beyond. There had been a terrible accident, and she could have died, she got that much, plus the coma for a month, and the memory loss, but why were they all so secretive about it? How did the accident happen? Who was this him they talked about? A boyfriend, nemesis?

«Wait, you were there when I had the accident?» she asked. If she was going to he honest with herself, she actually knew that much from the way they had all treated him and the hostility from her redheaded sister upon seeing him, adding the bits and pieces of conversations she could pick up.

«Yeah,» he crumbled the paper some more. «I was sitting in the backseat, you were in the front. That's why your wounds are more severe than mine. Got myself some nasty scars, thought. Glass can cut quite deep,» he talked while flashing her the outer side of his forearm, displaying a couple of pink, soft skin in patterns across the skin. A terrible thought hit her.

«Who was driving? Did he -» Her voice was cut off by the terrible imagination her brain was giving her. Bloody, meaty, death. Shaking from left to right, she pushed the images back.

«Him was driving and he's fine. Thought it's his fault the car flipped,» Butch shrugged.

«How can it be his fault if it was an accident?» Buttercup furrowed her brows.

«Long story. I'll tell you when your memories are back. Now, about the places, we can't go where Pinky wants us to go. It's a dead end already. I have a couple other places in mind,» the mischievous smile on his face sent shivers down her spine. Not the kind that made one freeze up and wanting to turn back, but the kind that formed a deep warmth in the abdomen and encouraged the daring.

«But Blossom said,» she went against her instincts. Butch laughed and cut her off.

«Listen, Butterfly. We're the green ones. We do whatever we want, and we don't listen to the leaders. They know that, we know that, so le'go!»

«But she said,» the protest came weaker this time, a part of her mind was agreeing with him. How could she agree without knowing herself? This was so confusing.

«Or you know. You can stick around the hospital, do absolutely nothing and wait for the memories to maybe return. Doesn't sound too promising, if you ask me. The better choice would be to chase them and get back to the normal day.»

«But I don't know what's normal. I don't know myself or anyone.»

«Don't worry about that,» he flashed her his billion dollar smirk as he took a step closer. «We're pretty close, I know the normal you.»

Boomer was trying. The blonde was giving it his best, his all, everything; but sometimes giving away everything just wasn't enough. That was the blasted keyword. Enough. A satisfying amount, making one back down and sigh in unspoken relief and feel content with the given amount. As things were now, he wasn't capable of doing that.

Ocean blue eyes followed the figure as it more than paced back and forth. Calling it running would be over exaggerating, but the aggressive movements were far too animalistic to be walking. Somehow, it helped being there, but a good twenty feet away from ground zero. He was taken aback quite a lot by how much power she still possessed, seeing her sisters were completely drained.

In a horrifying mutual cooperation had Brick and Him managed to make the little glass ball, empty of everything but the mucky, black tar that seemed to magically appear there. Was never easy to know when his father was involved in the mess. Promises had been made, that it would save Bubbles from herself and everyone around her at the cost of her powers, but he couldn't understand how.

The flask was filled almost to the crest, yet she had enough power to pull the defeated tree out of the ground and hurled it across the wood, instantly regretting her actions in hope someone didn't get hurt. Remorse had barely lingered at the surface before her eyes had clouded over with rage and she had gone back to her rampaging of the innocent oaks. None of them went flying, though.

«That, that, I ought to go back there and, I can't, his stupid face, and,» she let out a scream by the lack of insults – because she wanted to call him every insulting known to mankind, but she was still too polite to – and her whole body seemed to pulsate with her breathing.

As the outburst echoed between the snow-coated mountains in the distance, the birds held their breath and the forest was ever so silent in hope to thread carefully around the landmine. Leaves twirled around her like a romance movie, and she took a moment to take in the landscape around her.

They had rushed out of the hospital – more like she had decided to do a sprinting marathon then and there, and he had to jump on the wagon – and eventually ended up in the outskirt of town. It hadn't been that long of a run, and neither had been tired. Bubbles had then proceeded to satisfy her blood lust with bark and dirt.

After verbally biting him, the blue ruff kept his distance until he was sure it was safe to get close enough. Everyone needed time to blow off some steam, and he granted her that. Boomer would always grant her that.

Her hair was standing on ends, prints and dashes of mud was smudged all over her face, the sweater was hanging loosely around her hips and she had a crimson hole in her left jeans. When had she hurt herself? Despite the upbeat image, she was a beauty, with her fair skin and long, blonde lashes framing those emotional eyes. She was like a hurricane, but not the kind like Buttercup that took you with storm and brought you to the end of the world or Blossom that calmly snuck up behind before throwing you down the shaft of endless wonders. No, the youngest Utonium sister was a curious sight with the capability to rise ones emotions to the limit and blow through the boundaries.

Boomer wasn't aware he had snapped for his breath with a tingling sensation behind his rib cage as he was lost in her presence, before she stood before him, neat in size. If she lifted herself up on the tip of her toes, she wouldn't reach to his shoulders. Funny how alike, yet different they were. The ruff was the tallest of his brothers, but the least muscular one at that.

A finger touched his chin; it was surprisingly warm in the cold wind. Louder than it should have been, a red hue spread across her cheeks as her stomach uttered its displeasure with the situation. Her finger moved away, but the heat lingered upon his skin, making him want to touch it to make sure it was actually gone. The ghost of the contact felt so real.

«I have an idea,» he leaned a little over her, not enough to seem intimidating, but just a pinch enough to appear smug. «We could eat out today.»

«Boomer, no,» she pulled further away, but the blond was not giving up. Moving after her, he didn't let her escape.

«How about takeout? We'll go to the store, wait for the food, then go home?» A twitch around the corner of her mouth suggested she was thinking. Averting her eyes, a tounge softly dabbed er bottom lip before she shook her head stubbornly. He could also play that game.

«Look at it as another step in the right direction.»

«No.»

«Can I bribe you with chocolate?»

«No.»

«How about -»

«Boomer, I said no, please leave it,» she dodged around one of the surviving trees, forehead connecting with the hard texture. A fist held against her chest, she let the blonde hair cascade around her face and hide the expression. Like a curtain.

«If we do this, I'll leave you alone for a week,» he bargained. Brick would have smacked him across the head for starting the negotiation with such a high offer, but Boomer didn't mind. This wasn't some business where he would come out on top as the victorious over the poor and hard working. Everything he did, was in the favor of his counterpart. He owed her that, after everything she had done for him.

«Tell you what. I'll even buy one of those boxes of your favorite ice cream. The one with brownies bits and caramel sauce, vanilla ice and an odd mixture of light and dark chocolate.» Peaking up at him through the strands of hair, she seemed to be glowering, something that meant he was winning. The girls sweet tooth was her only weakness. He was glad to see that something had not changed since she had been little.

«Limited offer.»

«I can't keep taking your money like this. It's not right. The food is fair game, because we split the costs there, but all the other stuff?»

«Bubbles, I want to,» he insisted, nudging closer. In his attempt at being sneaky and bewitch her, he had managed to get close enough to reach an arm out and touch her. Just in case. The ruff liked keeping her close enough to be indulged in the thought of touching her.

«I won't. I can't. The answer is no.»

«C'mon. I'll buy the ice cream anyway. Might even take a phone call to the factory and order a personal size big enough to fit in a freezer. Which reminds me, want a new freezer?»

«If I - ? Stop, no. Is this how you usually get your way, wave around your golden card and everyone does as you ask?» she turned to him with a furious face. A smirk unfolded on his lips, making him lean against the tree and fold his arms over his chest. At least she was looking at him now.

«Normally that's how Butch does things, and it seems effective,» he shrugged. Before she could protest any further, the brief silence was cut short as her stomach let out another loud meow. It was deep and hollow, yet two octaves over her voice. If Godzilla roared and a small bird chirped at the same time, it would be somewhat close to the sound.

«Takeout, Bubbles. We can eat home. Maybe Buttercup will be there, so we can take some with us to her too. Hm? Free ice cream and a week off from my bullshit.»

«I,» she bit the inside of her cheeks. «Something quick, then straight home,» she said hesitant with a warning, pointed finger at him, and the smile melted to a huge grin as he nodded his head eagerly.

They talked about what they were going to watch when they got back, maybe play something on the Playstation. Darkness wrapped it's cold claws around them in the tight space, and Boomer wished there was any other way he could take to spare her the nervous biting and clenching of her fists. He painfully well knew how little she appreciated tight spaces, but she managed to walk beside him with a straight back, even if her shoulders were propped into her ears and her turquoise eyes darted back and forth to make sure the coast was clear.

Boomer had no idea what or whom she was so scared of, and he had no idea how to find out without asking her; and there was no way he could do that. Both because he wasn't sure he wanted to despite his curiosity getting the better of him from time to time, and Boomer had no guarantee he would understand. Everyone reacted differently to things, and whatever had traumatized her could be a walk in the park for him. On the other side, this was Him. His father was nothing close to a walk in a park.

Ever since he was little, the blue ruff had watched his older brother work his intelligence to get his way with adults and in arguments; he always left with a smirk and either a confused opponent or raging puff. Now, he was never going to be as wise and witty as his brother, but he had picked up a couple things here and there. It was especially helpful when handling his counterpart. Bubbles loved pushing things to the side and forget them as long as she could, and he had developed quite the silver tongue.

By the time they were on the same street as the Italian and Chinese, his counterpart had a playful twinkle in her eyes and the occasional twist upwards she so desperately pushing back. They were hedonists, and light at heart, and he could tell the trait was still dominant but she was denying herself. Somehow, this was as best as it got, but Boomer always hoped for more. It wasn't like she would wake up one day and be herself again, no, that was not what he expected, but she was getting better. She really was.

«Buttercup?» Bubbles gasped breathless as she suddenly stopped. Following her gaze across the street, he took notice of his brother. Oh dear. He was walking broad shouldered like he always did, a cocky grin on his overconfident face and gestured while talking loud. Why were they together?

«That -» his counterpart hissed before he stepped in front of her and prevented her from rushing across the road. If she did get a hold of him in her mad state of mind, she would kill him. She had the power and will to, and there was no returning from that.

«Don't do anything rash. I'm sure there's a logical explanation to all of this.»

«Bullsh- Blossom would never leave her with him after what he did!» Bubbles accused him.

«Maybe they had work to do? And I'm sure Blossom made sure Butch wont do anything stupid, and behave. Maybe Brick had a talk with him,» he suggested to her while moving in her way as she tried to bypass him.

«And you believe Butch would listen?» Damn, she got him there. Butch never listened to anyone aside from a couple of occasions with Him and Brick. He had seen his brothers butt heads and taken a couple buildings with them in the process before coming to a somewhat mutual agreement. Brick liked to talk, Butch liked to brawl. Usually his redheaded brother would tell his brute one to wreck havoc or cause chaos, which was fine by the violent ruff, and anything beside those orders were seen down upon. Brick always came out as the top man in all of their fights, but that didn't prevent the brunette from repeating his uproar.

«Fair point,» he had to admit to her. «But how about we just follow them to make sure? For all we know, they could be grabbing a bite. Hospital food isn't exactly what I would enjoy. Maybe they're stretching their legs? He could be taking her to places to see if she remembers something?» His brain was working its hardest to find reasonable cause for their siblings to have come here. It was one of the streets with most restaurants and food stores around, so at least that did make sense.

Boomer could not help the creeping feeling up his spine as she lowered her chin and gave him the darkest, most haunted stare she was capable of. With the dark circles under her eyes and the pit of doom in her irises, he could not prevent himself from swallowing hard. The split second she made up her mind, he wasn't sure Butch was the closest one to visiting their father in Hell.

«Fine, but if anything happens, you can't prevent me from -»

«I'll kill him myself if he doesn't behave.» Oddly enough, the promise wasn't too hard to make, and he could tell she believed his serious face. He believed it so much himself he wasn't sure he wouldn't go through with it if Butch couldn't pull his shit together. Damn. Looked like he wasn't the only one influencing her.

«Pasta or Chinese?» he broke the silence with a shrug of his shoulders to break the awkward silence. Taking her orbs off him, the puff stared at the couple across the street, as Butch opened the door and gestured her sister inside the burger shop.

«Chinese,» Bubbles' chilling voice fluttered in the air as she passed him and went right. The only reason she had picked it was because it was across from their shop and she could stare into the window without standing on the street like a creeper. Boomer sighed.

Fishing out his wallet, he asked her what she wanted. The girl was so focused on the pair she didn't take her time to even peak at the menu before answering. He should have known. 'I'll take whatever you're having'. Lining up in the queue, he kept a close eye on his counterpart and brother. Any sign of foul play, and she would be out of there before he could say 'It isn't like that' and he would be one brother down.

The greens were chatting away. Butch was talking loudly – he could picture himself hearing the moron – and moving his body to further prove his points while the girl was following his gesturing and giggling at his silly jokes. The puff didn't look anything like her self, with the light heart and broad smile. He wasn't saying she didn't use to smile wide or that she couldn't, merely that he had never seen her do it before. From what he saw, he could fully support and understand why his brother was so attached to his counterpart. Buttercup was beautiful where she stood with her tight-hugging pants, a green tank top under her leather jacket, a bedazzling smile on her face and shining eyes.

As it was their turn to order, so came his. The cashier blushed at him before taking his order, making small talk he was polite enough to dance along to. She never seemed to understand when to end, because she kept her mouth going as she took the orders from the rest in the queue, and Boomer wasn't sure when to cut her off. Luckily, the food came faster than anticipated, and he could finally break her off with a bye, but froze as he turned to his counterpart.

Bubbles was missing. Shit. How long had he been turning his back to her? What had Butch done? Stupid, he should have paid better attention. Almost breaking the door on his way out, the blond drew a deep breath as he caught her form standing leaning against the wall. She turned to him, and he felt himself snap after his breath as their eyes met.

«Did I scare you?» She sounded concerned and apologetic, but her lips were telling another story as they pointed upwards like horns.

«What? Would I be scared? Maybe,» he handed her the carton of the steaming food, and she happily took it. Drawing in the delicious smell, she flipped it open and dug in. Never had he seen her eat so happily. With a calm soul, he followed her lead while glancing at their stakeout prey.

Butch was just getting the burgers, handing one to her while taking a huge, very messy bite of his own. The girls eyes became round and huge as she probably realized it was her type of food. The kind she loved so dearly.

When they came out, he could hear Butch and Buttercup arguing. It wasn't the kind they had in the past where she had ended up either kneeing him or sending him crashing through the earth, but the loud type where both had their own side they supported, and the fight was purely satisfaction and flirting. Butch was obviously flirting, but the green girl was responding to it.

Boomer could then see the old Buttercup in the blank girl. She was opposing Butch, arguing with him, and she hard the spark of a fresh fight in her eyes.

«She's enjoying herself,» Boomer commented.

«Yeah,» Bubbles answered him with a calm smile on her lips.

They followed them for the next blocks, listening in on their conversation. It consisted of Butch mostly telling her about their past, how they used to be enemies but grew up and started tolerating each other. Most of it was a lie, Boomer knew, but it was better to tell the brunette that the brute was someone she could trust, rather than the one who placed her in danger.

When they entered a clothing store painted in fashionable black letters Lonetch, Boomer was hesitant to follow, but had to when Bubbles threw the almost empty box in the trash bin and stalked inside. The sound of plastic rattling around was switched out with the beat of the hit list and talking people.

Bubbles was lost to him, but he could hear Buttercup laugh in the distance.

«Where are you taking me?»

«Won't be much of a surprise if i tell you, Butterfly.»

«Is it really necessary to switch clothes? What's wrong with what I'm already wearing?» Following them as his brother roamed the different textures and held them up against his counterpart as she grimaced at him, he caught sight of his. Ducking down and moving quick, he caught up with her.

«Nothing, but you'd want to look nicer for where we're going.»

«Do I now?» the laughter filled the store.

«Try this,» Butch handed her a set, and she glanced up and down from it to him.

«How do you even know I'll like, if it fits?»

«We used to date, so I know quite a lot about you,» and there it was. The handsome grin he would show any girl he was interested in. Boy he was going to tease him about it when they got him, Boomer snickered to himself.

«All lies, though,» he whispered to Bubbles, in case she got the wrong idea.

«I know, but I used to ship them.» Instead of being furious, the blonde was amused. This he had not been expecting.

«Really?» he teased her.

«Yeah,» she turned to him. They looked rather silly, hiding behind pants and blouses, crouched on the floor and sticking their curious eyes out from behind their cover. «They've always had spark, so I figured they would eventually turn it to love.»

«Blossom and Brick then?» He asked curious.

«Never,» Bubbles turned to her sister as she came out of the changing room. The jeans were torn and showed just enough skin to be teasing, and the top clung to her fit form with torn lashes and laces. To be fair, Butch had picked the exact outfit that matched his counterparts rough personality. Picking a spray of the shelf he fluffed her hair while she protested and glanced around like a naughty little child. His brother assured her it was fine. And it was. Just send the bill to Mojo, and he wouldn't even bat an eyelash as he paid the silly little sums.

«Under normal circumstances, yes. But the pride will eventually ruin it,» Bubbles finished her sentence. Boomer had to agree as he caught her jealous stare. A thought formed, and the idea was too much to keep to himself.

«Want to dress up too?»

«I don't have the money, and you cant -»

«Look at it as our last day together for a week. Spying on our siblings like true heroes! I feel like I should have the pleasure of giving you some stuff. In fact, I would be offended if you didn't accept.» Boomer was joking, but it was working as she nodded her head, a small pink hue on her cheeks. Buttercup wasn't the only cute girl on the block.

Blossom lay her face on her palms, elbows resting on the table. Something was wrong. Very wrong, and she hated not knowing what. Don't misunderstand, she was glad her sister was up and ready for action, even if it was at the expense of her memories; but she didn't like the fact that the girl was awake when they got there. The redhead and Brick – why he had insisted on tagging along was beyond her – had arrived there before the rest, and to their utter surprise, was she sitting in the bed and blinking at them, a smile falling off her lips.

Why had she been smiling? There hadn't been anyone there, not that she could tell. What had triggered her awakening? What was going on?

Groaning, she let her head fall, the sound of hollow wood being hit and the beginning of a lump was forming on her forehead, throbbing painfully. What she wouldn't give to get the day off and tend to her handicapped sister instead of leaving her in the hands of danger itself. It was a bad idea. Fuck. She should have just told Brick no and taken the day off.

«Giving up?» his patronizing voice found its way into her head, and she turned to glare at him through her sun kissed hair.

«Why aren't you dressed?» she commented at his lack of a shirt. Brick was well toned and lean muscled, the biceps and triceps sprung tight up even when resting, the packs on his stomach – if it was six or eight, she couldn't tell – and the lines down his abdomen drew her eyes before she managed to pull herself back and stare at the blank wall instead.

«It's hot, and unless you're doing something about it, you're going to have to live with the sigh of my half naked body,» Brick answered without taking his concentration from the microscope and its content. «Besides, shouldn't you be mixing something?»

Shoot, yes, she was. Scrambling her tools back in place, she tried her best to focus. For a short while, it worked. Nothing exploded and she got the results she was aiming for, but then her thoughts started wandering off again. Buttercup never listened to her. Why would Butch? He was probably dragging her do horrible places and doing whatever he was – and her sister was a recovering drug addict. Did the rough man know his counterpart had been in a tight spot and gone to rehab to fix it? He had to know. But Butch never listened. Lovely. She should not have placed it in his incapable hands.

«Blo- Fucking hell,» Brick cursed as he drew the chair away from the table and her along with it. To her surprise, it was on fire. When had that happened? Jumping out of the piece of wood to get the fire extinguisher, she was a split of a second too late as the redheaded man rushed past her and sprayed the whole room.

Blossom was blinded by the sand and foam, coughing hard, before a window opened and light streamed in and lit up the room. The shadow of her counterpart fell upon her, and she scratched her arms while biting her lower lip. To say the male was angry, would be an understatement. Before he exploded with rage, his body steaming from the heat, he drew a quick breath and forced his mouth close in a sour grimace.

«I'm sor-»

«Just get me a coffee down at Daniel's,» Brick dismissed her while his hands shook his hair in frustrated motions, the man pacing back and forth while muttering curses and formulas to himself. Wanting to protest to his bossy attitude – she was fine with him 'owning' her, but she hated him thinking himself over – some fresh air and personal space sounded nice. They were practically up in each others face all day long, and she was getting tired of it. Even if he was pretty good looking with the sweat running down his back. No, not again. Bad Blossom.

She took the time to drop the lab coat and fetch her jacket. Why they still used them was more for show than anything else. Brick didn't bother with it anymore, and wore a t-shirt when he bothered – the baby complained about the heat even if they had been doing the nasty just a couple hours ago – and for her it was most out of habit than necessity. It felt like they had hit the wall with the experiments a couple weeks back, but lately they were just shooting in the blind. Whatever idea came up, was a desperate attempt of something unknown.

Johanna met her gaze as she was leaving, but the brunette turned away with her nose in the sky and a sour look as the redhead began waving to her. The previous weeks had not been a problem, where the girl had greeted her in the morning, taken her time to chit chat about nothing, mostly the weather and plans, but the last days had somehow made her cold. What could have changed for her to take such a spin on her heel? Blossom wasn't sure she wanted to know. People seemed to have the most silly reasons to act emotional and expect others to know and understand without saying a word about the issue. It was probably one of the reasons she had shun away from making friends at work. Too complicated.

Speaking of sour, clouds hung low on the sky, heavily induced with water and threatened to cry out at any moment. A cold wind bit after her steps, making her pull the jacket closer around her chill body. Lately, the hunger for her counterparts warmth had become more obnoxious. It came under a long list of reasons they were working so hard; to become independent of each other, because as it was now, they were getting closer to live together. Blossom wasn't delusional, she could see the grim ending of this.

The thought of seeing Brick in the morning with a cocky grin and a towel around his lower waistline was making her heart beat behind her rib cage. Strong and hard. God, she needed to get away from him, or things would become dangerous. Have feelings for Brick? Pff, not if she had a say in it.

Just as her nose was going numb and irritate, she broke through the door of the small coffee shop, rubbing her arms and breathing hot on her hands. They were slightly shaking and the silhouette of them were turning blue. Clattering her teeth, the puff approached the small line and looked for the cashier. Daniel had a son with the exact name, a Jr. attached to the end. If taking a guess, she would estimate his age about hers, and they usually settled for a couple minutes of talking before she had to rush back to her boss. It was nice, getting other people in her life.

«Blossom,» the brunette waved at her with a huge smile, and she gave him a quick greeting back before he turned to the costumer, apologizing for that. It didn't take long for the queue to shrink and she was faced with his dark, brown eyes and the white smile.

«The usual?» he was already making it, adding a shot of mocha and chocolate.

«Make me a triple, please,» she smoothed out her eyebrows and suppressed a yawn. The male took a slight pause, giving her a sympathetic stare before executing the order.

«Long day?» he asked, shoulders bobbing up and down, arms slithering around like acrobatic snakes. He knew his job inside out.

«Yeah, very,» Blossom answered him in a sigh. She didn't want to bother him with it, god knew how many times she had ranted and let her anger slip, and he always seemed to be able to cheer her up. The magical coffee was probably the reason for that. Much like Buttercup – minus the grinding of her teeth – she had a huge craving for that delicious caffeine.

«Wanna talk about it?» Daniel Jr. was standing with his back to her, but she heard the nice concern in his voice. The boy was too good for his own. He probably listened to all the problems of the regulars and knew the exact words to say to make their days a little brighter. Just having him ask was enough to make a phantom of a smile appear on her face.

«It's just Brick again,» she exhaled long, the mere thought of that red head of his invading her personal space and being so overly confident about it made her want to punch something. But she wasn't Buttercup. Instead of hurling herself at the closest, strongest furniture, she knotted her fists and swallowed the anger as best she could. Every time she had to, it was getting harder and harder to turn the other cheek. If only she could have remained a superhero and didn't have to succumb to the enemy. Even if the boys wanted to take their father down together.

«Seems like your boss is quite the firecracker,»

«That doesn't cover the half of it,» Blossom drew a deep breath and gladly accepted the warm cups he handed to her. It was a blessing to her cold fingers.

«God, you're freezing,» he commented as he removed his hands which she didn't know had lingered on her skin. Oddly how she had missed that, she thought. There wasn't a linger of heat after him, and she knew Brick was the only capable one of making her warm, and not in the good way. Maybe in the good way sometimes, but mostly just for survival. Right?

Blossom wasn't sure what to tell him. I'm really a superhuman whos powers aren't exactly normal right now, making me a walking popsicle and the only way to do something about it is sleeping with the human touch, which is my boss. Her life was so messy.

Something fell on her, grabbing at her wrist with a hard pinch, and she turned to stare into the most wrinkled face she had ever seen. The woman could easily be over a hundred, a pair of huge glasses on her crooked nose, gray locks corking its way around her humped back and fashionably old clothes in green and purple wrapping her small form. The hand was spotted and creased, holding on for dear life like a soar claw.

«I'm sorry my dear,» the older croaked. «I've seen to have lost my way to the florist, I'm going to see my grandson. Could you please point me in the right direction?»

«Which one?» she asked baffled, glancing from the small eyes to the man behind the counter. He leaned in closer, his knowledge over the street was probably better than hers, and gave the woman a warm smile.

«Was it Smiths or The great haven?» the woman pondered with a long finger scratching at chin.

«Doesn't sound like any I know. Could it be Flurs Florist?» Daniel asked, drawing the squinting attention. Somehow, it had an invisible claw tickle her back and the tight grip around her wrist was starting to hurt, but she couldn't just ask the woman to let go in case she was her only support. If the woman fell over, it would be all her fault. So she bit the pain back, balancing the cups and weight.

«Indeed it could be, young man. Do you know the way?»

«Yeah, it's just around the corner to the left and two shops over.»

«Left? When?» The woman turned both ways and they shared a look. She was in no condition to be on her own, let alone leave with just directions.

«I could show you, Ma'am,» Blossom volunteered. Brick could wait, and maybe she would cause him some distress for a change.

«Oh, that would be lovely, my dear,» the elder flashed her yellow dentures and took her small steps around as she turned to lead her out of the shop.

«Have a good day, Blossom,» Daniel Jr. said behind her and she waved at him as best she could with her busy hand. The grip on her wrist was not loosening, and it felt like the woman was holding on to her for dear life. It was starting to both itch and hurt a lot, but luckily the trip around the corner wasn't too long.

«There it is,» she waved at the sign in the distance, the woman came to a halt before giving her head a slight nod.

«Thank you my dear. You have been of invaluable help,» she gave her a creeping smile before her hand finally let go, leaving Blossom with a wish for the best. Somehow, she felt like it wasn't as nicely intended. She must be getting very tired and paranoid. What could an old woman do? She was probably just lonely and lost. Maybe even scared.

Brick was having the worst influence on her and she was going to crush it before it could spread it's ominous seed inside her. If she could help, she would. Even if she wasn't labeled a superhero and saved the city anymore, the smaller things mattered just as much.

Her cup was empty on the way back, and the sound of the paper hitting the table brought her counterpart out of his world and turn to her. Scooping it closer, he took a long sip before setting it down, his chest heaving.

«What took you so long?» He muttered. The tone wasn't as harsh as when she had left, and she wasn't the only one whom had blown off some steam in the break.

«An old lady needed directions.»

«Fine, don't tell me then,» Brick shrugged, but the hurt was clearly there. Hanging her coat up, she rose an eyebrow at him.

«It's the truth,» she defended herself.

Brick turned to her with a wrinkled forehead. «Sounds like an excuse for being late.»

«She was lost and needed to find the flower shop to meet her grandson.»

«So you spent more time with Jr. at the store?» He crossed his arms over his chest in disapproval.

«Brick, the older woman? Gray hair, huge glasses? She needed help? Geeze, why would I lie to you about this,» Blossom slumped down on her chair in frustration. Why wasn't he listening to her? Always doing whatever he wanted.

«Jr. got himself new glasses?» The curl of his lip was a mock, and it took every piece of her willpower not to give him her best right hook.

«I'm telling the truth!» Extending her arms to prove her point, even if it didn't. «And he doesn't wear glasses,» she added.

«No? You sure?» Brick snickered as he was suddenly at her side, with the help of his elbow, taking up most of her view. God he was playing with her. Or bipolar.

«The older woman seemed to be very old, yet her grip was very strong. She had green and purple clothes and needed directions to the flower store. I lead her around the corner, because she was hanging on to me, and pointed her to it. It barely took ten extra minutes.»

«Wait, green and purple?» Brick straightened his back and his eyes darted back and forth staring at nothing. It was his thinking look, and it was creating a knot in her lower abdomen. Storming from his chair, he scratched his scalp.

«Did he touch you?» he asked, a spark lighting up his face with dread.

«I – what? Daniel Jr? No, he didn't. Well, maybe graced my fingers, but -»

«No, no, the older woman. Wait, he touched you?» There was a fire in his voice.

«She,» Blossom laid huge weight on the pronoun, «did. You'd known had you been listening. She had problems standing so I supported her.»

«Where?» Brick rushed to her and glanced under her sweater and stared at her shoulders, before moving to her hands.

«My left wrist, but I don't see how this is relevant -» He tore her sleeve up, and she came to a halt as the red skin came into view. A red hand print bruised her wrist, and she could feel the pain as Brick touched it. Hissing, she pulled away.

«Fuck,» Brick cursed as he pulled the skin on his face with his left hand.

«What? I'm not following,» she angrily said, hating it when he kept things a secret just to spite her.

«That woman in the coffee shop? Wasn't an older lady. It was Him.» They both stared at the print, Brick with anger and Blossom with horror.

«I don't understand. He's been hurting us for as long as I remember, what does this mean?» she asked him, a slight panic on her she managed to choke.

«I have no idea, but it's not good,» Brick said. «This means you can't leave my side. If he's doing this, it means something worse is just around the corner.» A horrible thought hit her.

«What if he's after Bubbles? Or Buttercup?» Rising from her chair, she backtracks toward the door.

«They'll be safe. Boomer and Butch is with them.»

«Butch doesn't have any powers,» she screamed at him. How could he disregard her sisters like that? As if they could help themselves? Buttercup was already hospitalized twice, a huge leak in her memory making her vulnerable toward strangers like Him had become, and Bubbles was just so gullible. If someone was in distress, her blonde sister would rush and try to help, and then he would have her.

«Of course he does,» Brick folded his arms over his chest like a parent. «He just doesn't know it. Him could never take our powers away, but as long as he believes they're gone, they are.»

«Then he's useless! He can't protect Buttercup,» Blossom was hyperventilating, black and white dots dancing in front of her eyes.

«Blossom,» Brick tenderly said as his palms landed on her overarms, making a heat gnaw at her pelvic and chase the unease in her away. «If Buttercup or Bubbles is in danger, my brothers will protect them.»

«How? They hate each other.»

«Please. Boomer has been a puppy dog for your sister ever since we were made, and Butch has too much of a hots for Buttercup – no offense – to let her die before he can get her.»

«He, WHAT?» she angrily exhaled and the mans laughter roared in the room.

«Punishment later. Now we know what Him is after, let's found out how and a way to stop it.»

There it is! Thank you for reading, and remember to leave a comment on your thoughts. What's gonna happen next? How soon will Him attack? Where is Butch taking Buttercup? Guess you'll just have to see next time!

BlossomxBrick11: Thank you for returning to the story and leaving a faithful review! Makes me so happy! Glad the lemon wasn't as bad as I first thought, so I might add in more later.

Demonic dragon blade: Thank you so much for the review! Happy you liked it.

Miss Nay: The review was really nice, thank you! As for Bubbles and Boomer; no, he hasn't told her, and this will cause complications later on, as you might have guessed.

Blossom782: Thank you for the review! Here's the update, with a some build up for the next chapter and future events.

Guest: Glad you like it! Thank you for the lovely reviews and kind words! I will go at it as long as the imagination is present, probably twice the chapters we're at now.

SomethingHereAndThere: Aw, thanks! It's really nice of you to say, and here is the long awaited update! I do love rambling, hearing what people think inspires and affects some of my writing and ideas, making it a better plot, so thank you so much for that.

CuteVyper: It does, doesn't it? Thank you for the review!

Massive thanks to Demonic dragon blade, Fishy Senpai, SomethingHereAndThere and BNANINE for following this story, and another massive thanks to Demonic dragon blade, Fishy Senpai, SomethingHereAndThere, BNANINE and Jr3301 for favoring this story. It means a lost to me, guys.

And all you silent readers out there! You're all awsome!