A/N: Yes, Hello.

While Mojo's Away
Chapter Sixteen: Mr. Rudy and Officer Baxter

Blossom's question had caught Butch's attention. He paused the game and peered over to try and better see the front door, but his angle made it too difficult. Curiosity won him over and before he knew it, he was standing next to the Powerpuff Girl.

The visitor was down on one knee to make eye contact with the two children. His thin, wired glasses magnified his eyes a little bit, giving him an owl-like appearance that harshly contrasted with his enormous, creepy smile. A smile that showed too many teeth and with teeth that were too big for his mouth. His clothes were bland and boring. Khaki pants, white shirt, grey tie—not a single thing on him was attractive and Butch subconsciously took a step forward, placing Blossom a bit behind him in a way that could easily have been seen as protective. His new position drew the man's attention to him.

"You must be one of the boys," The man said, his smile that had already appeared forced looked even more strained. Behind the boring man stood a police officer who, upon Butch's arrival, had done the same thing as the Ruff; taking a step forward to stand next to the visitor. His demeanor was aggressive—as if he was trying to intimidate the Rowdyruff Boy in front of him.

Probably is, Butch mused to himself, a smirk on his face. The boys did have that reputation, after all.

"What do ya want?!" He snapped. He was already annoyed at the interruption and secretly hoped that the vibe he had created with Blossom didn't need to be reestablished in order to get the girl to keep playing with him. He soon added, "And who are you?"

"Botch, is it?" The man asked, standing up and peering into the house as if looking for somebody.

"Butch," Butch corrected, narrowing his eyes. He wasn't particularly fond of being ignored and his patience was already nonexistent. "Who. Are. You?"

"What happened to your eye, Butch?"

Butch gritted his teeth in irritation while cursing Buttercup in his head for the millionth time that day. He stepped backward into Blossom, forcing the girl back with him as he traded places with her, grabbed the door she had been holding, and swiftly slammed it shut.

"Come on, Puff. I got the character you wanted."

Blossom blinked in confusion until her brain caught up with present time.

"I… What?! Butch! Why did you do that?"

"Cause… it's the character you asked for?"

"Not the game! The door! You just slammed it right in their faces!"

"And…?"

"And?! That was so rude!"

"No! What's rude is not telling me who the fuck you are after being asked three goddamn times!" Butch shouted, marching back up to the Puff, though his anger was not at her in the slightest. "He was a creep, Blossom. Leave it alone."

A knock at the door caught her attention and she turned to look at it with hesitation. Butch snatched her wrist.

"Don't."

"But he had a police officer with him…"

"All the more reason not to answer it."

"It could be important."

"It could be a molester going door-to-door to tell you he's moved into the neighborhood."

"That doesn't seem likely."

"Did we see the same guy?! It's very likely!"

Blossom let out a slow breath and rolled her eyes. The people on the other end of the door knocked again, this time a little louder.

"Blossom. Don't."

The Powerpuff leader looked at the door, then Butch, then the door again before finally deciding to walk towards it. She reached her hand out for the handle, but Butch quickly smacked it away.

"Ow! Why?"

"I said no! Don't open it!"

The doorbell rang.

Blossom reached out only to be smacked again.

"Butch!"

"Don't do it, Puff. It's not worth it."

They stared each other down, neither one giving in before Blossom quickly dashed for the door. Butch snatched at her hand, holding on this time, and began pulling her into the opposite direction.

"Just let me open the—"

"NO! He's a creep! Just let him leave!" Butch had managed to wrap his arms around the girl's stomach and was now yanking her towards the living room. Blossom squirmed in his grip.

"But it's so impolite! Let me just dismiss them properly!"

"What's going on?"

Both the Puff and Ruff stopped and turned to look at the Professor who had just appeared from downstairs. Boomer was standing behind him, curiously peeking out from behind the Professor's legs. The two had come back from the lab and not even two seconds upon entering the living room, did they hear the scuffle from the green and pink-clad children.

Blossom was about to answer her father, but the doorbell cut her off again. Professor Utonium's attention shifted from the children to the door.

"Who's here?" he asked just as Blossom broke away from Butch. The green Ruff straightened out his shirt before reaching out and grabbing Blossom by her upper arm. He yanked her towards the living room.

"A pedophile," Butch called over his shoulder as he continued to drag the Puff towards the kitchen. They marched past Boomer without even a glance in the blue Ruff's direction.

"WHAT?!" The Professor gasped, darting towards the door in a panic. He swung open the door, a mixture of anger and fear enveloping his entire frame.

"Uh…" The man started, clearly startled by the Professor's sudden appearance. He shook off the shock and let out a sigh. "Hello, Professor Utonium I presume? My name is Ralph Rudy. This is Officer Baxter. We're with Child Protective Services—"

"Oh, thank God!" The Professor all but slumped against the doorframe in his relief. "Please, please, come in." He ushered the officer and CPS agent inside, shutting the door behind them. Ralph turned to the Professor with a curious look.

"Has it been that rough with them?"

It took Utonium a moment to fill in the blanks to that question.

"Oh, no… it's just… I thought you were… It's nothing." He waved the question off, not wanting to offend anyone with Butch's statement that caused him to panic while opening the door. "I'm sorry it took so long for someone to let you guys in."

"It's perfectly fine, Professor." Ralph smiled, once again, his teeth taking up nearly half his face. He let out a laugh that sounded a bit nervous as he added, "To be completely honest, I was kind of expecting—Oh… hello, there!"

The Professor looked down to see what had caught the man's attention. Boomer was still behind him. The curiosity had gotten the better of the blue Ruff, so he hadn't followed Butch into the kitchen, opting to stay with the Professor instead. If he had known a police officer was about to walk into the house, he might have reconsidered the idea.

The man that wasn't the officer crouched down next to him and offered a toothy smile. He smelled of cigarette smoke, but his teeth were white. Boomer's face scrunched in both disgust and confusion at that odd thought.

"You must be Boomer, that right?"

Boomer didn't answer nor did he leave the Professor's side. The quiet was starting to enter awkward before the Professor cut in.

"Forgive him, Mr. Rudy. There was an incident yesterday and Boomer has sustained a mild concussion as a result. He is normally very well-mannered."

In truth, Professor Utonium had no idea if Boomer was well-mannered or not, but he felt a little obligated to give the boy some slack. Boomer had to know what CPS was and what these two were doing here. He vaguely remembered Ms. Bellum mentioning an on-going investigation to Brick yesterday. He wondered how much Brick had relayed that information to his brothers.

"Yes, I'm sure he is…" Ms. Rudy said, just barely above a mumble. He stood tall again to address the Professor, his knees cracked and popped as he stood.

"May I ask why there's an officer present?" The Professor asked, much to Boomer's relief. He didn't like being in the presence of law enforcement without his powers.

The officer, Officer Baxter, spoke up.

"In cases where the child or parent could be considered a threat," he explained, "It's not uncommon for the CPS agent to be accompanied by an officer. Especially given whom the case involves."

The Professor nodded in understanding, absent-mindedly looking down at Boomer while doing so.

"They're really not much of a threat at the moment," he said. "None of the boys currently have their powers. They've been ill the past few days after… what happened." He glanced at Boomer again to gauge the boy's reaction, hoping he wasn't bringing up unpleasant memories, but Boomer seemed more annoyed at the Professor revealing their weakness at the moment. Despite his obvious discomfort, the Professor continued, "Not that I don't understand your presence, sir. But I think you'll find you might be a little over prepared for nothing. They're just children."

"Super-powered children, Professor Utonium," Rudy explained, putting emphasis on the first part of that sentence. "I don't think we could be 'over-prepared' for anything."

Professor Utonium hummed in acknowledgment, although he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that statement. The boys really had been well-mannered during their stay with him. It was the girls that had been giving him trouble.

"May I offer you gentlemen something to drink?" The Professor asked, realizing they had been standing in the walkway for quite some time now. Mr. Rudy held up a hand to decline, but it was the officer who answered.

"No thank you, Professor. We weren't planning on staying too long."

The Professor tilted his head in confusion and Rudy continued.

"This was more or less a meet and greet. We wanted to see the boys, see how they were adapting. Make sure they weren't causing you any trouble—"

"They aren't."

"—and mainly make sure we're all on the same page with everything." Rudy continued, not even acknowledging the Professor's interjection.

"I'm not sure I follow," Utonium said and he meant that. He wasn't entirely sure how this wasn't going to just be a simple case. They stay with the Professor until Mojo or HIM can collect them.

"Which is exactly why we're here. To answer any questions you or the boys may have about what to expect down the road and how we plan on orchestrating everything." He looked down at Boomer and offered another wide smile. The light caught just right on the lenses of his thick glasses, causing a white glare to reflect back instead of his eyes. The shadows that caught under the sharp angles of his face made his smile more creepy than reassuring. Despite being powerless, Boomer was rather proud of himself for not outwardly showing how intimidated he felt.

Butch didn't let Blossom go until they entered the kitchen but he pointed towards the table and commanded a firm, "Sit." The Powerpuff leader felt the need to obey. From her seat, she watched the green Ruff look around the kitchen before deciding on something in the corner on the countertop. He stood there for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as if trying to decide on something, a low hum emitting from his throat in his thought process before he came to a decision and headed back towards Blossom.

He grabbed a chair from the table and dragged it to the counter before climbing it to reach the countertop's surface. Blossom watched him curiously but didn't think to ask him what he was doing until he reached for the coffee machine and his intentions suddenly clicked her mind.

"Oh, I don't drink—"

"You do now," Butch said, leaving Blossom's mouth to hang open with dead words on her tongue as he cut her off. Again, she felt the need to obey and listen to him. It had to chalk down to her state of utter exhaustion, honestly. Her current incompetency made perfect way for someone who was alert and confident in their actions. Maybe she really did need some coffee.

At the counter, Butch was relieved to feel the warmth of the coffee pot. The liquid in it must have just been brewed by the Professor, making Butch's steps a lot easier. He scanned the countertops for a mug or cup before turning back to Blossom.

"Cups?" He asked. She responded by pointing to the cabinet overhead.

Great, he thought. More climbing. He had to actually climb up on the countertop to reach the mugs even though they were on the bottom shelf and to open the actual cabinet that opened out towards him took a bit of balance. He grabbed a mug, hesitated, and then grabbed another, setting both on the counter by his feet and then climbing back down to the chair, slamming the cabinet shut behind him.

Blossom watched the boy curiously. Her sleepy mind told her that was unusual. Climbing, walking… but the fog in her brain couldn't remember why. She wouldn't make the connection that he wasn't using his powers anytime that morning, and by the time she finally got enough rest, she would have forgotten the incident entirely.

Besides, there was something else her mind kept pointing out to her about this situation and a devious grin tugged at the corner of her lips the more she thought about it.

"Are you making me breakfast, Butch Jojo?" she asked teasingly. He froze at the accusation in the middle of pouring the second cup, but the result was only temporary and when he reanimated he let out a snort.

"Don't be stupid," he said. "Coffee ain't a meal. Or so I've been told. Many, many times."

Blossom giggled behind him and he felt his cheeks reddening at the sound, but he forced a cough and asked: "Black or sweet?" to try to derail his embarrassing thoughts on his actions.

"Sweet," she said with very little thought (though, if she was being honest, she didn't know what he meant but anything to drink with 'sweet' in the title had to be good, right?). He grabbed half and half and sweetener that was conveniently left by the coffee maker poured what looked to be a very specific amount in each as if he were concocting a chemistry experiment.

"How do you know how to do this?" she asked, as that thought occurred to her. He stopped and looked over at her, a bit unsure of her question.

"Make coffee? It's not exactly rocket science."

"Well… Yeah, I get that, but that doesn't explain how you know how to do it."

"Well, you may not believe this… But I'm not exactly a 'morning person'." He added the air quotes with his finger causing both of them to giggle. "I have a hard time waking up in the morning. Mojo showed me how to make coffee 'cause he's not a 'morning person' either."

"I normally am…" She mumbled more to herself, but Butch obviously heard her because he snorted again.

"No… you?" He was climbing down from the chair now and taking the cups in each hand.

"Hah. Hah." She said, matching his tone before propping her head up on her hand like a kickstand. He placed a mug in front of her and she immediately smelt the sweet aroma. "I've never had coffee before."

"I could have guessed that." He was fetching the chair he had pulled up to the counter and brought it back over to the table. She still hadn't tried it by the time he reappeared above the table's surface next to her. "Try it."

She inhaled again, breathing in that smell. The cup Butch had made for her was lighter in color than the coffee the Professor normally walked out of the kitchen with. The smell wasn't as strong either, enough for her to notice it, but not enough to cause her nose to wrinkle. She tentatively picked up the mug and took a sip.

A smile stretched across Butch's face.

"You like it?"

"Maybe," Blossom said, smiling against the rim of her cup. "Why'd you make this for me anyway?"

Butch shrugged and looked into his own cup, avoiding his gaze as he answered.

"You were dozing off on your combos. I ain't gonna play with an unconscious person."

"Why do you want me to play in the first place?"

Butch stared at her for a while, his brain wracking for an acceptable answer to that question.

Because he wanted to play with someone who was a challenge? Because she was very noticeably getting better? Because he was tired of losing to Boomer? Because he was actually having fun?

"I like beating you, Puffs." He chose instead of all of the above, a smug grin sweeping across his face as he poured the girl her cup of coffee. "Either in real life or in a virtual one. You always lose! Feels great!"

She made a point to roll her eyes enough for him to notice, but in her exaggeration, she noticed the mess by the stove that Buttercup had made earlier.

"God, I'm hungry…" she mumbled into her cup. To Butch, she teasingly added, "You wouldn't actually know how to cook would you?"

Butch snorted, "God, no! I'd burn this place down making cereal." They both laughed at that, Blossom agreeing. She couldn't cook something to save her life, but she had asked because Buttercup was decent at the oven. A trait the greens obviously didn't share.

"Brick makes the best food outta all of us," Butch said, surprising Blossom. Apparently, it was a trait the reds didn't share either.

"Brick can cook?" Blossom asked. She tried to keep the skepticism out of her tone but failed. If Butch noticed he didn't comment on it, simply grunting an affirmative.

"When he wants to. Which means when we make him. No one beats Mojo's meals, though. God, that monkey makes such good food…" he trailed off after realizing he had mentioned a positive trait of Mojo's, but couldn't create a convincing enough cover for his faltered mood. Despite her exhaustion, Blossom must have noticed.

"I'm sorry we sent him to jail…" she mumbled. Her features softened and she looked down at her coffee, unsure if she should even be sorry for something like that. Butch had the same idea. He scoffed and said nothing—dismissing the conversation before it could even really start. He didn't want to talk about Mojo. He was mad at him. There was nothing more to it than that.

He picked up his own mug and pretended to drink it. It was the only tactic he could come up with that would effectively hide his frown from the girl. The warm liquid swished back and forth against the ceramic walls as he played with it in his hands and tried so very hard to ignore the growing understanding that he wasn't mad at Blossom—or any of the girls—for locking away Mojo. His anger in this situation had never been directed at the girls. He wasn't sure why that bothered him. He wasn't sure why Blossom apologizing for it bothered him.

He wanted to tell her that. But what came out instead was: "I'm hungry."

Blossom smiled, "I'm sure the Professor will be in here soon to fix us something to eat. I don't see those two guests staying here for very long."

"I hope not! I hate cops."

"Surprise, surprise…" the Puff rolled her eyes, but she agreed with the Ruff on one thing. Police visiting your house was rarely a good thing.

The sight of the officer made Brick stop in the middle of the stairs.

"Why is there a cop here?" He asked in just above a whisper. The question wasn't addressed to Bubbles, but it caught her attention and she quickly backpedaled up the stairs to match the step he was on.

"Relax," she tried to reassure him. "He's not here for you."

He shot her a doubtful glare.

"Okay, he probably is here for you. But not because you're in trouble."

"How do you figure that, goodie-goodie?" He honestly wanted to know. He wouldn't get far if he bolted. Hell, without his powers, Professor Utonium could probably catch him. Besides, he couldn't and wouldn't ditch his brothers.

"Why would Ms. Bellum – assistant to the Mayor – have been here all day yesterday if you were wanted criminals?"

Good point. A point along his line of thinking if his subconscious grab at his pant pockets for a cell phone he had left in the drawer upstairs had anything to say about it. Instead, he clenched his fists, worrying his fingers into the palm of his hand to try to push back the oncoming anxiety attack.

"Come on, you'll be fine." She said that last part almost jokingly, but Brick was too wound up to find any humor in it. His mind was racing with all the possibilities and outcomes that could come from this. He jumped back to reality at Bubbles' touch. The girl was one step below him now. She was holding him by the forearm and tugging him gently to encourage him to move.

"I'm sure it's fine, Brick. Come on," she repeated and some strange and foreign part of him believed her enough to follow. A single step was all it took for him to realize she hadn't let go and he snatched his arm away with a scoff.

"Don't freakin' touch me, Puff!" He snapped and stormed down the rest of the stairs. Bubbles skipped after him, no offense taken from his sudden mood change. All three adults turned their attention to the two new faces. Boomer was hiding behind the Professor's legs, peering out from behind them with a fist to his mouth in that worry-habit of his. Upon seeing his leader, though, he stepped a little more into view and tried to make it seem as if he wasn't just hiding behind the father of his enemies. Brick didn't really care at that moment. He secretly felt safer with Bubbles behind him.

The strangely thin man readjusted his glasses and crouched down to see the super-powered children.

"Why hello there, children!" He greeted. Brick reeled back a bit, stopping only when he pressed into Bubbles. She was grabbing the back of his shirt in an odd form of support, despite the no-touching rule he literally just implemented, but he found he didn't want to shove her away this time. Not in the presence of the towering adults. For the first time in Brick's entire life, he felt intimidated.

"You must be Brick Jojo! And who's that behind you? Ah! Is that your preciously little Bubbles, Professor?" The man's smile took up his entire face and looked painfully wide. It didn't falter when his eyes darted from Brick to Bubbles, but he readjusted his circle glasses as if he couldn't see her. "Well, aren't you just the cutest little thing I've ever seen!"

Even Bubbles seemed a little put off by him. She hadn't let go of Brick's shirt yet and she had her free hand up to her mouth, mimicking Boomer.

"Bubbles, Brick, this is Officer Nathan Baxter of TVPD and Mr. Ralph Rudy from Child Protective Services," Professor Utonium explained. "They're the ones handling your case, Brick. Because you boys are minors, they need to ensure you're getting everything you need until we can sort all this mess out."

Brick noticeably relaxed. He heard Bubbles giggle behind him and then felt a playful 'I-told-you-so' punch on his back before she let go of his shirt entirely and stepped out from behind him. He turned away from her to hide his burning cheeks but kept his eyes on Ralph.

"Butch and Blossom are in the kitchen if you three wanted to wait with them. I was going to be in there to finish up breakfast after I speak with these gentlemen," the Professor said. He stepped aside, fully revealing Boomer to include him too, and then motioned towards the kitchen.

"Thank you, Professor. We were on our way there," Bubbles said. She started skipping the rest of the way, an enormous smile stretched across her face. Brick took the out too, only stopping to give Boomer a pointed look and a tilt of the head towards the kitchen. It was an order to follow.

Boomer was tight on his heels, even causing Brick to trip a few times as they crossed the living room, but Brick refused to stop walking or turn around to yell at his brother. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself, unnecessary or otherwise. His cheeks were still red at the thought relying on a Powerpuff Girl for support. Emotional support no less.

That thought left him rather quickly at the sight of his brother and pink counterpart sitting at the kitchen table.

Butch jumped off the chair and headed over to his brother, offering a nod in greeting and seemingly ignoring Brick's obvious annoyance.

"'Sup, dude?" Butch asked, ignoring Brick's attitude entirely. He chalked it down to Brick's odd mood from yesterday and just left it at that.

"What are you doing?" Brick asked. Butch pulled back a bit, unsure if he really did hear the accusation in his brother's tone. He must have looked confused because Brick nodded his head at Blossom, giving the sleepy Puff a pointed look and then turned his glare back on his brother.

Butch growled in irritation before mocking his brother by mimicking the action with Bubbles.

"Same as you, apparently." He said with a fake smile and cheery tone, daring his brother to question him about it again. Brick clenched his jaw, his fingers coiled into fists.

"If I didn't know any better," Brick started with a sneer. "I would think you were enjoying her company."

Normally Butch would defend himself against a statement like that, but the blatant hypocrisy of the situation made him want to piss off Brick more than preserve his own pride.

"If I didn't know any better," Butch said, his tone threatening and low so only Brick could hear him. "I would think you were doing the same damn thing."

The two glared daggers at each other, silently daring the other one to strike first, and causing an uncomfortable tension in the room.

"I'M HUNGRY!" Bubbles shouted, causing both boys to jump and look over at her. She smiled innocently after gaining their attention but said nothing else.

"I'm hungry too," Boomer added absent-mindedly. He glanced longingly over at the stove where the Professor had discarded the pancake mix and batter in favor of stopping the fight the boys had gotten into earlier.

"BRICK!"

That was Blossom. Brick's head whipped to the side to look at her, confusion written all over his face. The Powerpuff leader wore a goofy grin. Her eyes were droopy and glazed over and she giggled a bit at the expression he was giving her.

"Brick," she started again, much quieter now that she had his attention. "Brick, make us breakfast!"

Bubbles and Boomer both perked up at the suggestion and looked over at Brick expectantly.

"Are you out of your—!"

"Butch said you could cook!" Blossom pointed to the green Ruff. Brick looked at his brother, feeling almost betrayed before turning back to the Puff.

"That doesn't mean that I'm going to—!"

"Breakfast! Breakfast! Breakfast! Breakfast!" Bubbles, of all people, started the chant, and for reasons that Brick cannot explain, Boomer and Blossom joined in shortly after, the latter even started pounding her fists on the table in unison with the cheer.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! FINE!" Brick shouted, silencing the room. "Whatever gets you all to shut up!"

He stormed over towards the stove where the discarded pancake mix rested beside it, stopping only to drag a chair from the table over to let him reach the countertop.

"I'm a little impressed that worked," Butch said, sliding back into his chair next to Blossom. He glanced behind his shoulder to better see Brick as the Rowdyruff leader angrily threw pancake mix into the bowl and started mumbling curses under his breath. Bubbles giggled, but didn't say anything about how she wasn't surprised that worked because she knew (after noticing several times) that Brick would do anything to get away from an embarrassing situation. Especially one that he could not control. The fact that she got the other Ruffs to join in was just an added bonus.

"Butch?" Blossom asked, her voice was both muffled and echoed and Butch looked up to realize that she was talking into her coffee mug. "I think I'm going to need another cup of this…"

A/N: I owe you an apology in that this took me over a year to update. For that I am sorry. My reasoning why I am not. I have a son. He is a toddler. He wants to do everything I do. He wants me to watch his TV shows, he wants me to play with him and his toys, and he wants me to take him to the park. He wants me and my attention and he will ALWAYS get it before fanfiction. Always.

There is NO amount of pleading, begging, threatening, or nagging through my reviews that will make my updates move any faster. I'm honestly sorry for that. I myself hate when a story I've fallen in love with remains in update limbo. I really do understand your pain. I'm sorry for that.

But I'm not inactive. I'm on this site almost every day. If you ever think that I've gone dead or given up on a story, or just have any questions (minus spoilers, of course) just PM me. I'll always answer.

I'm not going to lie, though, this was really hard to write. Two factors were missing aside from toddler-distraction. First was interest which my fandom-interests tend to hop-hop-hop around and second was not quite writer's block, but it might as well have been. Hopefully, it'll be smoother from here on out…

Hopefully.

- Redd