Poisoned
Soul
By: Mark J. Hadley
CHAPTER 4: “Turmoil”
“It’s
almost time to eat,” Blossom said from her chair at the dinner table,
worried. “Where’s Buttercup?”
“She’ll
be along,” the professor assured her, but then gave a glance towards the front
door in the other room, worried himself.
What have you got to worry about? he thought. This is Buttercup we’re talking
about. She can take care of herself…I
only hope she hasn’t gotten into trouble…
Bubbles
scratched her head and asked, “So, do we start eating without her then?”
“Let’s
wait another five m—…” the professor began, but was cut off by the sound of the
front door swinging open. Everyone
turned to see Buttercup floating into the house…she wore an irritated
expression, and as she passed by the kitchen, they were also aware of something
else…
“Ewww!”
Bubbles said, coughing. “What’s that
smell?!”
Buttercup
glared at them and said, “Nothing…it was…”
She sighed and said, “I was, um, rescuing some animal from a tree, but
it turned out to be a skunk, okay? Now,
if you don’t mind…I’m taking a bath right now.” She continued heading upstairs without
waiting for their reply.
Blossom
wove her arm in the air, trying to wave the odor back out into the other room,
“Yeech…well, at least we know where she’s been…of course, now our dinner’s
probably going to stink, but…”
“Come
on, my pasta’s not that bad,” the professor joked, lightening the mood
for a moment. The girls giggled and,
with a shrug, started loading pasta onto their plates. If Buttercup doesn’t want to join us, the
professor thought, then I’m not going to press the matter. But still, I’m not convinced that this was
the cause of her odd behavior…
* * *
As
Buttercup ran the hot bath water, she got rid of her stinky dress, tossing it
aside with some disgust. That’s
nasty, she thought. I can handle
the stinky stuff, but man…skunk is like…ugh, rancid. Of course, this never would have happened if
it weren’t for the mistake she made.
What she thought was a golden bird she had found had actually turned out
to be a skunk…she didn’t realize this until the drug wore off, and she looked
down to see—and smell—the creature she was actually holding. How she mistook it for a golden bird, she
still didn’t know…
Without
waiting any further, she hopped into the bath water, cringing as the coldness
of the water chilled her. She turned on
the hot water tap some more, trying to make the water as hot as she could. C’mon! she thought. I’m freezing here! As things started to become nice and
warm, she still felt a deep chill, deep down in her bones…she began to feel
that nothing would get rid of it…nothing except Eden…
I
feel so awful, she thought, lounging back in the water and scrubbing to try
and get rid of the skunk smell. I
mean, I never liked baths, but at least they were somewhat relaxing…I just
can’t get comfortable here… She
knew what it was…nothing could compare to the comfort that Eden gave her, and
the longer she spent without taking the drug, the more uncomfortable she
got. She had already used a couple
cylinders today, but even that didn’t seem like enough to make up for the time
between uses of it.
Is
it even worth it? she thought. It’s
like, every time I use this stuff, it makes it that much harder to go on
without it…this stinks, this really stinks, worse than I do…maybe I should
quit… She changed her mind almost
as quickly…No, wait, I can’t quit…I-I just can’t face it…it’s too
painful…and this is so easy to get, so long as the cartel keeps running, so I’m
fine. I’m fine…I’m perfectly fine…
Buttercup
finished scrubbing, and smelled herself again.
She still stunk something fierce.
Cringing at the foul stench, she began to wonder if, like Eden, she’d ever
be rid of it…
* * *
It
was very early the next day, Saturday morning.
Blossom cruised high over the city, keeping an eye out for trucks. She spotted several of them and scanned them
with her x-ray vision.
Fish…furniture…TV sets…nothing out of the ordinary. It seemed like this search was going to be
fruitless. Still, she kept looking, but
as the hours passed, it became clear that they weren’t arriving in this way.
Bubbles
wasn’t having any luck, either. A quick
scan told her that none of the boats at the dock contained Eden either, and
though she watched the arrival and departure of boats for some time after that,
none of them had what she was watching for.
From her observation post atop one of the tall cranes by the doc, she
rested her head in her arms and just kept watching. Other than a few tiny boats that came and left, most of them took
a long time to dock, so after a while, she became bored…but she stayed at her
post just the same.
Buttercup
headed to the airport to look, trying to get it over with as fast as
possible. Johnny would be meeting her
soon, so she figured she could just leave in the middle of her watch, and be
back before anyone noticed. At least
she didn’t stink anymore; a tomato juice bath given to her by the professor
fixed that. But it didn’t matter…no
flights would be arriving or leaving for another hour anyway. She spotted a small plane arriving, passing
over part the ocean nearby, but she didn’t give it much consideration, since it
wasn’t coming in for a landing, and decided it was probably just passing through. After a quick glance, she took off, heading
for the meeting place.
The small plane Buttercup had spotted flew over the ocean, heading near one of the small boats that had left the docks…as it flew along, it dropped several small packages, which landed in the water below and floated to the surface. A man on the boat leaned out with a small net, easily scooping up the packages as they dove by them, then headed back for another small pier, out of the way of the main docks, to deliver their cargo…
* * *
“Oh man,
where is it, where is it?!” Buttercup exclaimed, digging through the
room. After her meeting with Johnny,
and delivering her report about the lack of activity at the airport to Blossom,
she came back and had hidden her second cylinder in her room. Then, she went off instead to the woods to
use her first cylinder. But it was
hours later now, and upon her return and a quick search, it wasn’t there.
She tried to think…I thought I
put it under the bed like last time, but did I really hide it there? Or did I hide it somewhere else and just
forget? I’ve gotta find it! I…I hafta…have…
“Buttercup?”
came the professor’s voice from downstairs.
“Could you come here for a moment?”
Sighing
wearily, Buttercup shouted, “I’m kinda busy!
Can’t it wait?”
“I’m
afraid not,” he shouted back. “It’s
important…”
“Can’t
you get help from Blossom instead? Or
Bubbles?” She was starting to sweat a
little, her eyes darting across the room.
If only I could remember…there can’t be too many places it can
be! Think!
“They’re
both out at the police station right now…” came the reply.
Buttercup
clasped one of her hands to her chest with the other, trying to steady it, as
it was shaking now. Stay cool,
Buttercup, she thought to herself…Just go see what he wants…when you get
back, you can keep looking for it…just hang in there… She finally said, “Coming!” and left the
room, heading for downstairs.
The
professor was seated in a chair in the living room, waiting for Buttercup as
she flew in and landed in front of him.
She immediately said, “Okay, what?
I’m really busy…”
“I just wanted to have a talk with
you,” the professor said, easing back in the chair. “You haven’t been yourself lately…at first, I thought you were
just being a bit stubborn, maybe just going through a phase, but I know it’s
not that. The girls are worried, and
frankly, so am I…especially now…”
Buttercup
threw her hands up in frustration, “Will you guys cut it out already? I told you all before, I’m all right! What makes you think anything’s wrong
with me?”
Wordlessly,
the professor reached into the pocket of his lab coat and withdrew
something…Buttercup gasped as she realized it was one of the cylinders of
Eden. The professor held it up and
said, “While I was cleaning up the house earlier, I found this hidden next to
your corner of the bed.” He gave a firm
stare, the kind that demanded an explanation.
“Wh…I…”
Buttercup stammered, sweating heavily.
She took an involuntary step backwards, and the professor stood up,
walking over to her. She tried to think
of some way of explaining it, but drew a blank, “I-I…just…th…”
“Buttercup,”
he said, kneeling down and looking her directly in the eyes, “please tell me
the truth…have you been using the drug?”
“I…”
Buttercup hesitated…the professor knew she would be lying now, and she couldn’t
do it anymore. She hung her head and
clenched her eyes shut, a few small tears escaping them, and said, “Y-yes…”
“Listen
to me!” the professor said. “This isn’t
good for you, not at all. You need to
stop…”
Buttercup
shook her head, “No, I won’t! You don’t
understand, it’s…”
“…the
best thing that ever happened to you?” the professor interrupted. Buttercup fell quiet as he continued. “It may seem that way, but trust me, it will
only get worse from here on. If you
keep this up, it will start affecting everything you do, until eventually,
there’s nothing left for you but the drug.
Look at yourself, you’re already slowly turning into a complete
wreck…”
Buttercup
protested, “I’m fine, I-I just…” Still
being held by the professor’s arm, her eyes were drifting over to the
professor’s other hand, which still held the cylinder of Eden. It was right there, and she started
sweating heavily…she really needed it, right away…
Noticing
she was looking at his other hand, the professor held it further away, and
said, “Buttercup, no. You’re not
getting this…it’s time for you to quit…”
“No,
please…” Buttercup begged, reaching out for it, even though it was well outside
her grasp. “…just this one more, then I
swear I’ll stop…”
“You’ve
got to stop now…” the professor told her. “Not one more…”
“NO!”
Buttercup yelled, suddenly breaking free of his arm and flying towards his
other hand. Startled, he tried to keep
it away from her, but she grabbed hold of it, and without thinking, backhanded
him across the chest to get him to let go of it. The blow knocked the professor off of his feet, and he crumpled
to the ground, landing in a heap.
Buttercup, in the meantime, smiled widely with delight as she looked at
the cylinder, which she now held tightly with both hands. It’s mine, she thought…I’ve got it
back! It’s mine!
She
looked over where the professor had landed, and realized he wasn’t moving. Her blow had knocked him out. She looked at him shakily and called out
hopefully, “P-Professor?” When he
didn’t answer, and she realized what she had done, she hovered back in shock at
her own actions, and suddenly caught something out of the corner of her
eye. Swiveling to face it, she saw the
mirror that was hanging on the wall in the living room, and her reflection in
it. Her hair was messed up, dark
circles were appearing around the edges of her eyes, and her whole body was
trembling…she was exactly what the professor had said she was: a
complete wreck…
With
a cry, Buttercup flew for the front door, flying outside and taking off towards
the woods, gaining as much distance from the house as she could. As she flew, she glanced down at the
cylinder in her hands, and her eyes filled with tears. The professor was right…pretty soon, this
was all she’d have left…
* * *
Blossom
and Bubbles were heading back from the police station. They had just finished interrogating one of
the capture pushers for a second time, and this time, he was more willing to
talk. Blossom smiled and said, “Well,
that little negotiation went smoothly, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,
and we didn’t even need Buttercup this time!” Bubbles nodded.
“Exactly,”
Blossom agreed. “Muscling info out of
people isn’t the only way to do things.
I knew that offering this guy police protection in exchange for the
location of their main distribution point was a good idea. Let’s let the professor know, then we can
find Buttercup and head out for this place at once.”
“Do
y’think Buttercup’s still out?” Bubbles
asked.
“Probably,”
Blossom nodded. “I wish she’d tell me
where she’s going before she does, though.
How do we get in contact with her if there’s an emergency? We’re going to have a long talk when we get
the chance…”
The
two of them descended toward the front door of the house. Blossom thought it was odd that the door was
left wide open…as she went inside, she called out, “Buttercup? Professor?” but received no replies. Buttercup must not be home yet, she
thought, but did the professor go out, too?
And if so, why he leave the door open?
Going further inside, she saw something in the adjoining living
room, and gasped, “Oh no…”
Bubbles
saw him as well, and cried out, “Professor!!”
The two of them flew over to his side where he lay on the ground and
checked on him. He was unconscious, but
he still looked to be in bad shape, doubled over. Whatever he had been hit across the chest with, it must have hit
him hard. He might have cracked ribs or
any number of other complications…
“C’mon,
Bubbles!” Blossom ordered quickly, “We’ve got to get him to the hospital!” Bubbles nodded, and the two of them picked
him up carefully, heading back out the door at towards the hospital.
As
they flew, Bubbles asked incredulously, “Who could’ve done this?”
“I
think I know,” Blossom said. “It was
the cartel…had to be. Maybe they
did it to send a message to us, to scare us off and leave their little business
alone…” Narrowing her eyes, she added,
“…but forget it. Now it’s personal. After we drop the professor off at the
hospital, you and I are going straight for that distribution point. It ends now.”
* * *
The
man with the sunglasses at the end of the table smiled as his two aides went
around to the pushers around the large table, sliding a small package to each
of them. “There it is, boys,” he said
as this was done. “The shipment that
was airdropped earlier today. Make sure
it hits the streets, but quickly this time.
Those superheroes the boss warned us about won’t be fooled for long.”
The
pushers all nodded as they picked up their packages from the table, replacing
them with envelopes containing the money they collected from the previous
shipment. The aides scooped these
envelopes up as they continued around.
The man in the sunglasses sat back down in his chair…despite the few
small hits they’ve taken from various attacks by those Powerpuff Girls, things
were proceeding smoothly…
Or
so they thought, because in the next moment, the ceiling suddenly crashed in,
large chunks of wood and plaster landing on the table. Everyone backed up as two shapes flew in through
the newly-created hole in the ceiling…Blossom and Bubbles. Both of them looked extremely upset. The man stumbled out of his chair and
shouted, “Stop them!”
All
the pushers drew their guns and tried to open fire, but in a fast circle of
motion, Bubbles sped around to each one, knocking their weapons out of their
hands. Blossom few around in the other
direction just as fast, slamming a kick to the side of each of their heads to
knock them out. It was over almost
before it had begun.
The
man in the sunglasses quickly ran for the door, while his two aides drew
automatic rifles and opened fire at the girls.
Blossom flew up to one, grabbing the rifle in his hands and ramming the
stock of it up into the aide’s chin.
Bubbles approached the other one, hands outstretched to deflect bullets
away, and grabbed the barrel of his rifle, swinging it and the aide overhead to
slam him into the ground on the opposite side.
Running
as fast as he could, the last man tried to make it to the other end of the
hallway that lead out of the building, but he only made it half-way. Blossom and Bubbles both grabbed onto his
back, holding him in place. He
struggled and said, “Lemme go, you little…”
“Forget
it!” Blossom shouted, then pulled him to the side, slamming him face-first into
the wall. They released him and let him
slump to the ground, as Blossom said, “That…was for the professor. The police will be here any time now to
round you thugs up. Although it’s
better than you deserve.”
“Yeah,”
Bubbles agreed. “You big…jerks…” The two of them flew out from the building
as they heard the approaching sirens. We
got rid of the distribution point, Blossom thought, but it’s not
enough. We’ve got to bring the head of
the cartel down, and for that, we need to find out where he is. I’ll have Buttercup try to interrogate it
out of this guy later…once she finds out what they did to the professor, she’ll
be their worst nightmare…and either way, at least we’ve gotten rid of all the
pushers…
* * *
One
of the pushers wasn’t there, however, as he was across town, waiting for a
pre-planned meeting with Buttercup.
Right on time, she descended into the alley, and Johnny looked up with a
smile. “Buttercup, there you are. How are you?”
“Lousy,”
Buttercup said, still thinking about the whole incident with the
professor. “Things are going really
bad…I…”
“Don’t
worry, I’m sure it’s nothing a little Eden can’t fix,” he said, pulling out a
cylinder of it. “I’ve got it right
here, as always…”
Buttercup
just frowned, knowing he wasn’t about to give it away for free anymore, and
said, “What is it you want this time? As always?”
Johnny
laughed and said, “Not me…” He
pulled out a cellphone, already open and dialed, and handed it to Buttercup,
saying, “There’s someone who wants to speak to you…”
Buttercup
curiously raised the cellphone to listen, and a voice came from the other end,
“Buttercup…my name is Anthony Gorassini.
A pleasure to speak with you at last.”
“Uh,
sure,” Buttercup said in confusion.
“Who are you?”
Gorassini
answered, “Why, I’m your supplier. I
provide the paradise you so seek, the paradise that many in Townsville seek…”
Buttercup
tensed up, “You’re the leader of this whole thing, aren’t you?”
“That’s
right,” came the reply. “I have a
proposition for you…consider the cylinder my friend has for you as down
payment. I have set aside for you a box
of Eden…fifty cylinders in all, enough to last you for a long time…”
Shifting
the phone slightly, Buttercup was allured by the prospect of that much Eden…she
said, “Go on…”
“And
all for a simple task…” Gorassini told her.
“Just bring your two sisters to a certain location at a certain
time…we’ll have a little surprise for them…”
“Lead
them into a trap?!” Buttercup exclaimed.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
“Up
the stakes then?” he asked. “Very
well…if you do this for me, then I promise you a lifetime supply. Anytime you need more, just come to me, and
I will give it to you, for nothing.
And Anthony Gorassini always keeps his words in matters such as
these.” There was a silence, and he
asked, “Do we have a deal?”
Buttercup
waited, thinking about it…Blossom, Bubbles…I…I… She closed her eyes for a moment and took a
deep breath…finally reopening them slowly, she said, “All right, we have a
deal. Tell me when and where…I promise
they’ll be there…”
TO BE CONTINUED…