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Dreams of an Absolution	By : DeusExProcella Category: +M through R > PowerPuff Girls Views: 9670 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls or any related characters. All characters exclusive to this story do belong to me. I make no money from these writings.

Chapter List
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"Vacation's what I wanna do
Party on the beach,
Fun for me and you!
We don't need a holiday, it's time to celebrate!
Repeat after me: I need a vacation,"
Vacation (Vitamin-C "Pokemon: The First Movie")

Dreams of an Absolution
Chapter 30
Two days had passed since the fight. Townsville Elementary was a charred pile of rubble, quickly wrapped up in the typical post-apocalyptic reconstruction that Townsville had grown famous for. But even then, with the best construction crews in the country, it was going to be some time before class resumed for the students. Hopefully, it would be enough time.
Blossom laid back on her bed, watching the ceiling fan turn round and round. Her window was cracked open slightly letting in the chilly late Autumn air. Her door was tightly shut, but with enough focus she could hear the voices downstairs. Truth be told, she was getting frustrated with all of the red tape she had to go through just to sneeze nowadays. As difficult as the fight with Sedusa had been, dealing with General Adkinson was proving twice as aggravating.
"This is inexcusable," he said for the seventeenth time. The General hadn't taken their report of the attack well. How could a meta-human, one who had previously not even made the most-wanted list, have taken out Townsville's entire defense force before dying to someone who was supposed to be powerless? Blossom took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes.
She'd need to go downstairs soon.
'Why didn't I think this through?' She asked herself for the hundredth time. When she woke up, after the battle, things had been a mess. She groaned and ran her mitts through her hair. What had she been thinking? Was she even thinking?
XxXxX
Blossom groaned, finally regaining some kind of consciousness. She struggled to open her eyes, but what little she could see let her know it was pointless. Everything was pitch black. She tried to move, but a sharp pain shot through her. She couldn't move...she was...buried? If she tried maybe she could...no, she was too weak to use her heat rays.
'Is anyone out there? Someone?' She tried to move again, only to have another wave of pain slice through her like a knife. There was...something wedged in her side. Aku only knew just how much weight was pressing down on her. Anyone less powerful...they'd have been crushed under the weight of the entire building.
'Not that I'm faring much better...' she thought bitterly. How was she supposed to get free? She couldn't focus, not with that pain in her side. Just how badly was she injured? She couldn't move enough to know if anything was broken. Blossom went limp, a stray tear trickling from the corner of her eye. For a genius, she could be really stupid sometimes. Blast her into the boiler? So stupid!
'If I could just,' Blossom arched her back, ground her teeth and struggled to lift the stone away from her. Nothing budged, but when she relaxed again she felt new pain and her back felt warm and sticky. 'I'm bleeding...' she thought. The good news was, as long as she didn't move, it didn't hurt. Not moving, of course, meant there was no way out. Blossom took as deep a breath as she could manage, then collapsed.
Just as she was starting to drift off to sleep again, the rubble around her began to stir. After what must have been hours alone in the dark, Blossom saw a splinter of light tear across her vision, like a trickle of water. She winced and groaned, cracking one eye open. Her heart fluttered seeing the light. Someone was coming to rescue her! Maybe Boomer, or Mr Green, or...Blossom felt her cheeks heat up.
"A..k-k...Ak...Aku..." her voice was scratchy and her throat sore. She tried to help, tried to lift the rock. The pain in her side intensified and blood trickled down her waist. She didn't give up, though. She could see the light, and she wasn't going to give up yet. The crack in the darkness widened and more rocks were thrown away. She gasped and fell backward painfully when the full brunt of the sunlight hit her face. All she could manage was a tiny whimper.
"Blossom? There you are! Hang on!" That voice...she didn't...no...it couldn't be. Blossom felt someone take her hand—he was wearing gloves—and help her sit up. "You may feel a momentary sting, just stay calm," That voice, it was!
"AH!" Blossom screamed as her side erupted in pain. Her savior threw aside the rock that had impaled her and pressed his hand against the wound.
"I said relax, girl! You'll be fine!" Blossom slowed her breathing, letting him cradle her and pull her out of her stone prison.
"I found her!" He shouted back to the others. Blossom swallowed and looked up, squinting to get a good look at him.
"Thanks, Dexter..." she muttered. The boy genius nodded and darted back to the others.
XxXxX
The arguing downstairs was escalating, she noticed. Blossom climbed out of her bed and began to wander around the room in a daze, running her hand absentmindedly through her hair. She wasn't ready to go down yet...she was still trying to figure out how she was going to explain everything.
"I should have thought this through, I'm supposed to be the smart one!" she chastised herself. Blossom stopped to look at herself in her mirror. Her stringy hair, the bags under her eyes, she was a mess! But, there was a part of her that just hadn't wanted to get out of bed. She had excuses, of course, such as injuries, no real responsibilities, and a lack of sleep; they were just excuses, though. Even if she was jumping through mental hoops to solve her dilemma, Blossom felt fine.
Better, it seemed, than the General thought she should. That argument was coming up again. How could a near-powerless meta-human recover so quickly? Well, the Professor explained again, her powers grew uncontrollably stronger when her life was in danger. Yes, yes, Blossom thought, she'd heard this argument three times in the last hour.
Blossom grabbed a fresh set of clothes and sneaked out of her room, slipping into the bathroom. They were going to come get her eventually, and a shower would probably help her think. She made sure to lock the door as she cranked the hot water all the way up and waited. Blossom sighed and held her side. It was a stupid mistake, that was for sure. She should have waited, but...
XxXxX
The group sat on the outskirts of the wreckage, watching the firefighters rush around looking for any possible survivors. Thankfully, it seemed most everyone had escaped the building before the explosion took it. Blossom was laying on the ground, taking slow, deep breaths while Dexter sat next to her, treating the long tear in her side. At the other side of the clearing, Butch was stretching and trying to get his body to move correctly. Apparently, it was an after-effect of being turned to stone because next to him, Bubbles was trying to kick feeling back into her legs.
"How long was I down there?" Blossom croaked. Dexter brushed sweat away from his brow and looked up. Buttercup was rushing around in a panic, trying to help the firefighters. Brick was crawling around in the rocks, like Dexter had been before. He had a radio and was talking with Agent Honeydew. The Global Security agent was meeting with the acting police chief. Blossom noticed that she seemed to be growing increasingly frustrated with her cell phone.
"It has been three hours since the explosion, Buttercup insisted we drop everything to find you," Dexter finally explained. Blossom groaned and tried to sit up, only to be forced back down by her C.O.
"I'm fine..." she insisted, again trying to sit up. Again, he forced her back to the ground. Were she not feeling so weak, she'd have been angry.
"I'm sure you'll recover, but I must insist you remain still to make it quicker," He explained. Blossom felt a searing heat on her side and flinched. Then, just as quickly, it was over. "There, that should stop the bleeding. I must say, Miss Utonium, I am impressed with your resilience," Blossom finally sat up, with Dexter's help. He gently laid her up against a somewhat sturdy piece of stone.
"What do you mean?" She whispered. Her throat was so sore...Dexter seemed to notice, taking a canister from his side and holding it to her lips.
"Here, drink this," He said. Blossom nodded and gratefully accepted a few sips. Dexter wiped a dribble of water away from Blossom's cheek and capped the canister. "My apologies, what I meant was...the amount of damage you had to have sustained, given your power limit..it's quite impressive that you managed to survive," he pointed out. Blossom chuckled.
"I guess so...I hate to admit it, but that wasn't my smartest idea," She sighed and shook her head, wincing and rubbing her neck, "Ow...next time, I won't shoot someone into a stressed boiler, I promise, sir," she said with a tired grin. Dexter chuckled and peered at her over his glasses.
"I would hope not...but, I am grateful you were able to deal with that woman," Dexter glanced back at the rubble, "I underestimated just how much energy I had absorbed. When I used my Reverse Kinetic Field, I..." Dexter blushed and scratched his head, "I shorted out my own suit,"
Blossom blinked in confusion. As the realization slowly dawned on her, she began to giggle. Before too long, she fell over, only a brief moan of pain breaking her wild laughter. Dexter chuckled and looked away, still blushing.
"Yes, well...ahem...I need to meet with Agent Honeydew. Will you be alright?" He asked. Blossom pulled herself back up and sighed, nodding.
"I think so," She assured him. Dexter nodded, trying to hide his shock. It, unfortunately, didn't go unnoticed by the Powerpuff girl.
"Stay out of trouble, I'll let Buttercup know you're doing well," Blossom nodded and watched him go.
XxXxX
Seconds ticked by and turned into minutes. The bathroom was hot, filled to the brim with steam. The only sound breaking what could have been utter silence was the sound of the water falling. Suddenly, a voice pierced the silence.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I haven't figured that out yet,"
"Surely you must have something in mind?"
"For once...I haven't thought that far ahead,"
"Hm...that..."
Downstairs, the argument was beginning to quiet down. They hadn't reached an agreement. How could they agree? On one side, a daughter, a sister, a friend had only tried to protect herself and her loved ones from a monster. On the other...a creature classified as a weapon of mass destruction had been unleashed, devastating an already staggering city.
"What is it?"
"That is so unlike you, child. I am...unsure how to respond,"
"Just believe in me,"
"You are doubting yourself?"
"I'm not sure what to think right now. Everything I've gone over in my head, every possible scenario...they all turn out bad for me. Bad for us. I don't...think I can rely on myself to get out of this mess. I'm in so much trouble, Aku..."
What was Blossom Utonium?
A sister or a terrorist? A citizen or a weapon? A hero or a villain?
What was she? Rather, what would they decide she was?
"How then would my faith in you change this, if you don't believe yourself?"
"I believe in you...and...maybe I don't believe in myself right now, but I could believe in the me you believed in,"
"Is that wise?"
"Maybe not...but right now, it's all I have,"
"Very well, Aku will believe in you, Blossom,"
XxXxX
It was half past four in the afternoon when Blossom finally descended the stairs to the family room. Just around the corner, she heard the heated discussion come to an abrupt end. Taking a deep breath, she brushed her hair from her face, straightened her dress and walked into the kitchen.
"The prodigal daughter finally decided to join us, hm?" General Adkinson remarked. The twitch in his eye and the flush in his cheeks let Blossom know he'd long exhausted any patience he'd set aside for this meeting. A number of responses flew to her lips, but she kept them tightly locked and merely nodded, taking her spot at the only vacant seat.
Professor Utonium, Bubbles, Buttercup, Dexter and the General were all seated around the table, with the General directly across from Blossom. As soon as she sat down, Buttercup quickly grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze under the table. Blossom didn't smile, but nodded subtly. The General waited for her to say something, anything, but as it became clear she wasn't going to speak, he leaned forward in his seat and fixed her with an unwavering stare.
"You know why I'm here. I'm sure you've been listening," he began. Blossom nodded, no sense arguing it, "Then you understand the mess you've caused me," he continued. Again she nodded. The General shook his head and stood up, walking over to the sink to stare out at the back yard.
"No, Blossom, I don't think you do. I don't think a single one of you understands the severity of the situation we're in now," the General's voice was low, tired, and holding back a tightly kept anger. Blossom noticed Buttercup start to respond and shook her head. Her sister begrudgingly stood down.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You're too smart for that, and that is something we can all agree on. Blossom Utonium, you are classified, under Section 13 of the Meta-Human Regulation Act, as a Type U-S meta-human. Do you know what that means?"
"Ultra-Super, sir," Blossom answered, lowered her eyes to the table.
"Ultra-Super, the highest classification a meta-human can receive. A classification so specific, it was made just for the three of you and the Rowdyruff Boys. Do you understand where I'm going with this, Blossom?" the general asked. Blossom shook her head, "It means the six of you aren't just powerful. You're too damn powerful. So damn powerful we had to make a special class code just to describe you,"
"What it also means, is that we have to keep the absolute strictest restrictions on the six of you. If we don't, what could happen?" before Blossom could respond, he continued, "We've seen what could happen! Your 'incident' earlier this year showed us what happens if we don't take the six of you seriously. If we don't keep you under control. Do you understand the politics we had to go through after that 'incident', Blossom?"
"Yes, sir," she responded with a murmur.
"Do you really? Did you know that practically every sovereign nation in the world wanted you dead? They didn't just want you punished, they wanted to make sure it would never happen again. And it wasn't just you. After what you did, they wanted your sisters taken care of as well. And the Rowdyruff Boys, too! Just one slip up, one moment of insanity, or brainwashing, or whatever excuse you can come up with, and suddenly we have the rest of the world demanding we get rid of all of you!"
"It wasn't her fault!" Buttercup finally screamed.
Blossom shook her head, "Sit down, Buttercup...it was my fault. I screwed up then, and I screwed up now. The reason doesn't matter. What's important is that I, an extremely powerful, extremely dangerous meta-human, screwed up and put everyone around me in danger." Blossom opened her eyes, finally meeting the General's gaze. "That's right, isn't it?"
The General sighed. He had crossed his arms and was leaning back against the sink. After a moment of pause, he nodded, "That's...the size of it. As cold-hearted as it sounds, the rest of the world just doesn't care about reasons, or excuses. They care about what they can see. And...you're right. We swung a heavy deal when we offered to simply...limit your powers the way we have. They didn't see a child who had a temper tantrum, they saw a monster and wanted it dead,"
Blossom nodded, "I understand, General," she paused, biting her lip, "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. I just wanted to protect my friends and my sisters from Sedusa," The General sighed and ran his hand through his short, gray hair.
"I can understand, Blossom, but, that doesn't excuse what happened. You used power that shouldn't have been there. You managed to defeat a monster that the rest of your friends and family couldn't, and they, allegedly, should be much stronger than you," he was cut off, this time, by the Professor, who cleared his throat.
"To be fair, General Adkinson, as I explained before, in dire situations where the girls may, accurately or not, perceive their lives to be in danger, biology simply takes over and they become far more powerful," The General tried to cut him off, but the Professor continued, "Yes, Blossom is wearing her Restrictor Cuff, but, you have to understand, I designed the Restrictor Cuffs two years ago as a training device, not a kind of restraint."
The Professor rose from his seat and drew their attention to a blackboard that had been positioned next to the kitchen table. It had various diagrams drawn on it, and there were numerous reports tacked to every side and corner, "As Dexter and I have pinpointed, the only time where Blossom's power rose above an acceptable level was the moment before the boiler exploded. The amount of stress she had to be under, seeing her sisters, her C.O, her mentors, her friends all hurt and defeated, and fearing for her own life, that kind of adrenaline rush isn't something the Restrictor Cuff can account for,"
The General interrupted him, "But it needs to! What's to stop her from simply overpowering it by sheer force of will?" This time, Dexter cut in.
"Actually, General, if I may, from a realistic viewpoint, the chance of Blossom, powerful and willful though she may be, simply concentrating the bracelet to uselessness is possible, but so implausible it's laughable!" Now Dexter jumped from his seat and pulled a report from the blackboard.
"You see, General, for the Powerpuff Girls, power suppression is a very complex process. Without outside influence, the girls need to actively force their power output, or Chemical X Radiation Levels, to lower rates. It would be like...having to flex your muscles with various degrees of force to perform a task you are simply too strong to do. This is why the Powerpuff Girls become more easily fatigued while holding back their power, their bodies are already being stressed. Blossom's Restrictor Cuff works as if every muscle in her body is being forced to flex as tightly as they possibly can, with no way for her to relax. To try to overpower the bracelet's effect is both physically and mentally draining, and painful," Dexter trailed off scratching his chin, peering over his report.
Bubbles chimed in, "Also the bracelets start to shock us if we try too hard," Dexter and the General looked incredulously at the Professor who blushed and held up his hands defensively.
"Hey, now! It's not some kind of electric shock therapy. It's actually unintentional. When the girls try to overpower the Restrictor Cuffs, they increase their own power output to put an increase strain on the girls. If they keep fighting, the bracelet will start to shock because it's being overloaded," he explained. Bubbles nodded.
"Yeah! That's what I meant," Bubbles finished. She couldn't help blushing and smiling apologetically to the Professor.
Dexter cleared his throat, "Ahem, so yes. You see, General, this unintentional shock, combined with the amount of fatigue the Restrictor Cuff induces naturally, means that for Blossom to have overcome it for even a moment, kind of adrenaline rush she'd need would have to come from an immediate threat to her life,"
"Like an exploding boiler..." the General muttered. Dexter and the Professor nodded. The General took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"This doesn't solve the problem...the reports you've sent to me, Dexter, show that Blossom is fighting against the Restrictor Cuff on a regular basis. If she has successfully overpowered it once, we have to assume she could again," he pointed out. Now it was Blossom's turn to blush. She tilted her head, causing her hair to fall over her face to hide her expression.
Dexter finally relented with a sigh, "This is...true. Since Halloween, you've put an increasing amount of stress on your bracelet, Blossom..."
"I just feel stressed, lately..." Blossom said slowly. There was an inkling of an idea in the back of her mind. If she could just... "Staying at the head of class, trying to keep up with my sisters in crime-fighting, trying to deal with bullies at school, taking my advanced courses and assignments, strict training schedules...it's just a lot to try to keep up with, and it doesn't help that I just feel exhausted all the time,"
"How can we help? What's wrong?" Buttercup asked, speaking up for the first time in a while, "It's my fault isn't it? For picking on your boyfriend?" the two made eye contact and blushed. Blossom quickly looked down and closed her eyes.
Blossom shook her head, "It's...not just that. I just...think I need a break, or..." Blossom's eyes shot open. Her heart began to pound. She struggled to keep her composure as the idea blindsided her, "I need a vacation...to relax,"
"Hm...actually..." Dexter scratched his chin and looked over his report, "That could explain why you're fighting the bracelet more often," The Professor nodded, lighting his pipe and taking a few puffs.
"Yes, for a Powerpuff girl, a state of 'rest' would actually be a far higher power than the one you're being restricted to," he explained. The General nodded.
"I understand. So, because you're feeling stressed, in trying to relax, you are subconsciously trying to increase your power level to a more 'comfortable' level." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"That...makes sense," Buttercup said. Bubbles nodded once more.
Still hiding behind her hair, Blossom spoke up, "If it would help me relax and get my power back under control...I would really like to take a vacation. My...my boyfriend mentioned that he would be going back home to Japan to visit his mother while school was out,"
There was a sharp intake of air from both Buttercup and the Professor, but the two wilted when they saw the fire in Bubbles' eyes. The blue-eyed sister took Blossom's hand and smiled brightly.
"That sounds like a great idea! You guys could spend some time together and have fun without worrying about school! Ooh, and I just know you'd love Japan, Blossom!" she began to ramble about all the fun things Blossom could do in Tokyo alone. The Professor sighed and took another puff of his pipe.
"I suppose if...it would help..." he muttered.
Buttercup stared at Blossom, her eyes twitched, her lips trying to curl into a snarl. But, with great effort and all the love in her heart, she managed to force the bile out of her throat and sighed as well.
"Is...that really what you want, Blossom? Would that make you happy?" she asked. Blossom licked her lips and nodded.
"Yeah, I think I would really enjoy a chance to get to know Ikra-san, and just...get away from Townsville," she explained. Buttercup nodded. She smiled when Blossom's hand found hers under the table. Buttercup gave it a tight squeeze and smiled.
Dexter nodded, "I have a contact in Japan, I could make arrangements, with your permission, General?" The boy genius held his report to the General, turned to a specific page. The General took the report and browsed over the highlighted section, swallowing the lump in his throat. After a moment of painful silence, he finally nodded.
"...Fine, you have my permission. We'll iron out the details, let's go Dexter," Bubbles and Buttercup cheered and gave their sister a tight hug. The Professor smiled and patted her head. He made his way to the phone in the family room. They had skipped lunch, why not do something special for an early dinner? Dexter and the General cleaned up and made their exit, saying a few goodbyes and discussing other, surely important matters.
Hidden behind her crimson veil of hair, no one saw the wicked, wild grin on Blossom's face.
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Dreams of an Absolution