The Scent of Mint Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The clock was ticking as nighttime fell over Townsville. Everyone was fast asleep...Except for little Berenice. She was wide awake, looking around the dark room. She heard voices outside and walked to one of the huge oval-shaped windows of their house. She heard the snickering grow louder as she walked downstairs and put her ear on the front door. She then felt a huge hand break a hole in one of the front windows, and another through the door. She backed away as she noticed that the Rowdyruff Boys were right outside, trying to get her. They were ten times her original size and Berenice tried finding a better hiding place to avoid being nabbed.

"We know you're somewhere in there....you can't hide forever, little girl."

Berenice covered her non-existent ears to try and wear out the boys' taunting, but it wasn't working. She then realized that it was best to try and wake up.

She pinched herself. Nothing.
She slapped herself. Nothing.
She splashed water on her face. Nothing. She felt Brick's hand tugging on her nightgown, dragging her towards the window. Berenice, infuriated by his action, bit him.

"GYAAAAOW!!" Brick pulled away and looked at his bitten hand. "That girl can really bite! Grrrr..." he tried again, only this time he was looking inside the house.

Berenice checked to see if Brick's hand was gone. So far, all was quiet. She quietly tiptoed towards the stairs, but was cut off when Butch's hand was trying to grab her!

"Heh heh, two hands are better than one!" Butch chortled as he attempted to kidnap Berenice in his grip, but no success. Berenice flew up the stairs and noticed that the boys were trying to tear the roof of the house off.

-NO!- she panicked. -I gotta lure them away from it!- Berenice flew out of the house, right above the boys.

"Hey, dumbbells one through three! Up here!" The boys looked up and saw tiny Berenice. They grinned to each other and started gaining altitude. Berenice managed to loop around them and flew towards an old factory.

Brick stopped his brothers as Berenice hid inside the first building. "Let's have a little fun with her, shall we, boys? This calls for a new game!" Eyes towards Butch, who was anticipating the name of the game.

"Terrorize the Towers!" Brick declared. He then brought out a huge crowbar and tossed Butch and Boomer theirs.

"Terrorize the Towers! Terrorize the Towers!!" Butch chanted wildly as he started hitting the roof open with his brothers. They peered inside as they saw Berenice covered in soot and tried nabbing her. Berenice dodged their hands and gained altitude. Unfortunately, she noticed that she was starting to lose oxygen very quickly and started falling downwards towards the boys. Her mind slipped into darkness as she heard the boys over her, snickering as she was unconscious and beaten beyond description.

Berenice woke up and looked around the room. She blushed and opened a light in the hallway, heading for the bathroom. She washed her face and kept telling herself that it was just a nightmare. She rubbed her eyes and went back to sleep.

On the other side of Townsville, Brayden was having a nightmare of his own.

He was in Him's lair, shivering as he noticed that his brothers were sitting across from him. He tried so hard not to feel like a scared little boy when he saw Him come out with a sinister pink liquid.

"Now Brayden," Him soothed with a sinister grin. "I gave this cootie vaccination to your brothers, so this shouldn't hurt at all for you...just relax~"

"B-but...I don't think I would need one! I never ran into a girl that would try and kiss me...!" Brayden panicked.

"Oh, there's no need for that attitude, my dear boy~" Him coaxed. "Especially since the girls have a fourth addition to their team, I figured I would give you a vaccination, just in case~"

"Wh-when will I ever run into her..?" Brayden managed to gasp as the needle got closer to his arm.

"In time~" Him whispered as Brayden felt a pin prick hit his arm and pass out.

Brayden screamed and woke up. He looked around the room as he felt a searing pain in his right arm and realized that he wet his bed. He heard footsteps running towards his room as the door swung open.

He managed a small yelp as his brothers came in with crowbars. He covered up the wet spot on his bed as Brick and Butch stepped towards him.

"What happened?! Did something come out and attack you?" Brick said, holding up his crowbar. "I'll smack 'im real hard for ya!"

"N-no..." Brayden said shyly.

"Nightmare of a giant snake?" Butch asked. Boomer and Brick looked at their brother, unamused.

"I figured that since he was afraid of snakes, I thought that would be the reason he was so scared!" Butch said defensively.

Brayden wanted to tell his brothers about Him and the cootie vaccination. But it was best to save that for a better time, he was too tired to even explain anything.

"I-I'll tell you guys later...go back to bed..." Brayden groaned.

Brick grew skeptical of his little brother, but shrugged the feeling off as he, Butch and Boomer walked out the door. "Good night, lil' bro." he whispered as he closed the door behind him.

Brayden waited for them to walk away from his door and breathed a sigh of relief. -Now to get rid of these wet sheets...- Brayden carefully pulled off the previous sheets, placed them in a hamper and pulled out new sheets on his bed. He even made sure that he wore dry pants this time. "There...now I can finally fall asleep..." the boy said as he drifted off into slumber.

The sun rose the next day as the girls got up for breakfast. Bubbles noticed that Berenice was feeling exhausted and went to help her up. "Berenice...? You feeling alright? You look like you fell down the stairs!"

Berenice nodded. "Y-yeah, Bubbles, just a little tired..." She floated over to the table and laid her head down. Buttercup carefully poked her with her spoon. "Berenice?"

"AAAH...!" Berenice gasped as she started shaking a little bit.

"You look terrible, sis." Blossom said, feeling her forehead. "I guess we might as well wait till tomorrow to go to Tokyo Townsville..."

"NO. I'm FINE." Berenice snapped.

"You don't happen to look fine, Berenice..." the Professor agreed with concern in his voice. "Did you get a good night's sleep at all?"

Berenice shook her head sadly. "No."

"Then that must be it...did you have a nightmare?" Blossom asked sitting next to her.

Berenice nodded. "Y-yeah...there were these giants right outside of the house...and they were trying to get me. But I dunno why though..."

"Well, what did they look like?" Buttercup asked, nodding over at Bubbles to get her drawing materials. "Bubbles can probably sketch out who or what these giants are."

Berenice cleared her throat. "Well...they looked like you guys, except the colors and styles were different than normal...and they were boys." When the one word hit Bubbles, she quickly finished her sketch. "It was the Rowdyruff Boys you saw in your dream?"

Berenice nodded. "Are they...friends of yours?"

"Not necessarily." Blossom bit her lip. "They're our classroom bullies and enemies whenever Townsville is under attack."

Berenice then felt herself grow a little tense as she clung to Bubbles, her grip getting tighter and tighter. Bubbles stroked her hair and soothed her like a mother would her child. "Don't worry, Berenice, we won't let them do anything to you." Bubbles coaxed.

"Even if they did, they'll regret it for sure! We'll give 'em a good beating for ya!" Buttercup piped up.

"That's just the problem!"

The girls and even the Professor were puzzled.

"I...I'm completely unaware of my own powers. I didn't know I had any..." Berenice said.

"Of course you do," the Professor said, clearing his throat. "I remember the first day your sisters learned about their powers...and when they were through with a very destructive game of tag, half of Townsville was destroyed..."

Berenice giggled a bit.

"Then if that's the case...should I undergo training?"

The girls looked at each other, then back at Berenice. They were more than happy to help her with fighting and controlling her powers.

"ABSOLUTELY!"

Over on the other side of Townsville, Brayden was drooling on one side of his pillow and heard footsteps running towards his door. "Ohhh noooo....gooowaaaay..." he groaned as Brick kicked the door open. Butch and Boomer pulled Brayden off of his bed and held him by each arm. "Wake up, Bray." Brick said, gently lifting his brother's head with his hand. But Brayden was half asleep.

"Oh brother, he's still dead tired from last night!" Butch groaned trying to shake him awake.

"Stop that!"

Butch stopped. Brick then let out a heavy sigh and felt the front part of his long hair stick out. "Hand 'im over." Butch handed Brayden to Brick as he placed his brother in the tub.

"What're you up to, bruh?" Boomer asked as Brick adjusted the water temperature.

"Waking this boy up." Brick grumbled as he turned the shower nozzle on, then he managed a small laugh. "Wait for iiiit~"

Brayden then felt himself get goosebumps all over his body and bit his lip, then without hesitation, he screamed really loud that all of Townsville could hear.

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?! I WAS GETTING SOME REALLY GOOD HEAD REST UNTIL YOU WOKE ME UP!" Brayden hollered at Brick, then covered his mouth in embarrassment.

Brick managed a laugh. "Yup, he's awake! Good to see that you're still breathing!"

Brayden shivered in his now cold, wet pajamas. He tried climbing out of the tub, but slipped.

His brothers roared with laughter and started rolling on the floor as they continued their little moment of merriment. Brayden quickly flew back to his room, locked his door, and quickly changed into his usual attire, a mint green sweatshirt with a black stripe across it and a pair of black pants and sneakers. He even made his bed without any trouble.

Brick got up off the floor and wiped his tears away. "Aw, man! That was the best! We gotta save that for another time!" Then he noticed that Brayden was no longer in the room with them. He was now downstairs, making skull-shaped pancakes and serving V8 juice for an extra boost.

"Ho, boy. You've really outdone yourself this time, baby bruh!" Brick exclaimed as he sat down with his brothers.

"Boy, am I hungry!" Butch was licking his lips at the sight of breakfast.

"And you even got the skull and crossbones right!" Boomer pointed out.

"W-well, I don't know what to say...I..." Brayden stuttered as he hung his apron on the rack.

"Geez, you're so nervous and stuttery! Relax and eat with us!" Brick pointed to the seat next to him. "It's real comfy~"

"Yeah, Brayden. Join us!" Boomer piped up.

"OK..." Brayden sat down, realizing that Brick was right. The cushioning was really comfortable and he started loosening himself up.

"See? What'd I tell ya? Pretty comfy, ain't it?" Brick said as he gulped some of his V8 juice.

"Yeah." Brayden said as he cut his pancakes with the fork and knife that was placed in front of him. He noticed that Brick gave him a stopwatch. "What's this for?"

"The boys and I are gonna see who can finish his breakfast first. When you're done with yours, you cue us on when we can start." Brick explained.

"Hear ya loud and clear." Once Brayden was done, he took his breakfast dishes into the kitchen and came back in to see his brothers waiting on him.

"On your mark...."

Forks were at the ready.

"Get seeeet...."

Juice glasses were raised.

"GO, GO, GO!!"

Soon, all three were either gulping down their juice or chewing their pancakes really fast and swallowing, aiming for their next bite or gulp.

Brick finished first, of course. His time was 2.6, Butch finished second with 3.9, and Boomer finished with 4.2.

"Brick wins."

"Yeah-hah!" the red Rowdyruff flew all around the room, then landed on the table. Brayden couldn't hold back his laughter any longer, he then burst out, rolling on the floor as he noticed that his brothers were confused as to why he was laughing.

"What a bunch of 'Hungry Hungry Hippos!'" he teased as Brick felt himself twitch. Brayden started tearing up from laughter as Brick kicked him in the stomach.

"A-aaah...wh-what was that for?"

"The next time you go as far as to mocking us, we won't be so nice." Brick replied in a soft but deep voice through gritted teeth.

"O-OK..." Brayden replied weakly as he held his stomach. "S-sooo...what do you guys wanna do today?"

Brick thought for a moment. "Hmmm...I know! Why don't we go see if those sissy Powerpuffs are home? We're really gonna beat 'em this time!"

All four boys high-fived and flew out.

Meanwhile, with Berenice...

"Man...that sure was a lot of training, and it even made me burn some of those breakfast calories!" Berenice exclaimed as she drank some of Buttercup's gatorade.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Blossom said as she wrote Berenice's results on a piece of graph paper. "Now you have better control of your powers! And we know that you'll make an awesome crime fighter, like your big sisters!" The girls grinned at Berenice, then they heard the Rowdyruff Boys coming towards their house. "Bubbles, get Berenice inside!"

Bubbles picked Berenice up and hid her in the closet.

"What's the big deal? I wanna help!"

"These guys are no picnic, Berenice. And besides, if they saw you, who knows what they'd do?" Bubbles shuddered. "Just keep your head low for now, and once they come back for a rematch, Blossom will comply and let you fight. You must be tired out..."

"BUBBLES! WHAT'S THE HOLD-UP?!" Buttercup hollered. "THEY'LL BE HERE ANY MINUTE!"

"Coming!" Bubbles hollered back. "Now stay here, we'll be back faster than you can blink twice." Then she was gone, leaving Berenice all alone.

-Outside-

"Well, well, look who's been workin' out!" Butch snickered as he had his aim locked on Buttercup. "What's it to you?!" Buttercup snapped. "At least we beat you more times than you can even count!"

"Buttercup, focus!" Blossom said through gritted teeth. Then she turned to the Rowdyruff Boys, ignoring the teasing glare that Brick was giving her. "What do you three think you're doing here, anyway?"

"Oh...just...VISITING!" Brick replied, throwing a punch at Blossom who tumbled to the ground. "You're only asking for yet another butt-whupping, Blossy~" He lunged at her, but she gained altitude and threw pink-pointed arrows at her opposite. Brick grabbed one of the arrows and threw it back at her. "Coming at ya, Pinky!"

It was a direct hit!

Meanwhile, Bubbles was throwing blue orbs of electricity and managed to kick them at Boomer. However, Boomer absorbed the energy and shot it out of his mouth like a laser beam and managed to hit Bubbles in the forehead, she fell to the ground next to Blossom.

"Soooo....did ya miss me, Butterlips?~" Butch teased her.
"How's about a kiss for lil' ol' Butchy? Heh heh..." Buttercup was fed up with Butch's romantic taunts, then she felt herself glow a neon green and charge at Butch as he gained altitude. She followed him and tried to get a hold of him, but he only feinted her hands from grabbing him. Buttercup was now starting to lose her patience as she let out a war cry. She then started charging after Butch as he parryed her blows, grabbing her instead. "Urgh...get your grubby hands off of me!!" Buttercup screamed as Butch circulated a fair amount of electricity to Buttercup's body, paralyzing her. He then dropped her right next to her sisters as he stood next to his brothers.

Berenice heard her older sisters in pain as she looked out the middle window. -Blossom! Buttercup! Bubbles! Get up! GET UP!!- she screamed in thought as Brick stepped closer to her. Blossom's vision was blurry as Brick was over her, about to strike her again...he felt a white mint shard tear part of his red sweatshirt and stick to the ground. He then noticed and saw that there was a scratch on his right arm.

"Alright! Who shot that white mint shard?!" He then glared at Brayden. "Bray, was it you?!"

Brayden quickly shook his head. "I-It wasn't me! Honest!"

Brick then turned to Blossom, and pulled her up by the neck of her dress. "Where is this fourth Powerpuff I've been hearing about from my younger brother?"

"I don't know what you're talking about..." Blossom spat back. "I won't let you hurt her..." Brick was starting to lose his patience with Blossom, then said, "Don't play dumb, Blossy. Obviously there must be a fourth addition to your team, unless you, as a leader, are too afraid to admit it."

"Yeah, redhead!" Butch chortled. "Tell us where she's hiding or Butterlips here gets a beating!"

"N-NO!" Buttercup managed to cough.

"Don't tell them, B-Blossom!" Bubbles said in tears as Boomer was pulling on one of her pigtails.

Blossom was torn between protecting her youngest sister and getting Brick off her back about the subject. She had to make a choice and fast.

"She's..."

"Blossom! NO!" Buttercup hollered.

"Shut up! Let her finish!" Butch ordered as he held Buttercup's arms around his.

"Blossom! Don't give in to them!" Bubbles pleaded.

"Finish what you need to say, redhead!" Boomer egged her on as he pinned Bubbles on the ground with his foot.

"She's what, Blossy?~" Brick retorted. Blossom gulped. "She's...in the closet in our room..." -I'm sorry, girls...forgive me...- Tears welled up in her eyes as Brick dropped her.

"Easiest said than done." Brick then turned to his brothers. "Just one more to go." The boys entered the house as Berenice flew out of one of the windows.

"G-girls...? A-are you OK??"

"I'm sorry, Berenice..." Blossom said. "I should've lied to them of your location, but soon they'll be looking for you out here...you need to hurry out of here!"

"No! I'm not leaving you three!" Berenice replied sharply. "I'm not gonna run away just because they pulverized you! I'm gonna stand up to them!"

"So brave yet absolutely stubborn..." Buttercup muttered. "All I can say is, be careful. You may never know what they'll pull. Just be on your toes..."

"And don't let your guard down if they try to gross you out..." Bubbles added.

"R-right...thank you, girls...umm.." Berenice felt herself give off a mint white glow, healing the girls as she teleported away.

"She...healed us." Bubbles said, noticing that the scratches were gone.

Then Blossom got an idea.

"OK, girls. Let's give her some backup while we're at it. But only when it's necessary!" Blossom added. "We're gonna test her skills and see what she has what it takes to be a Powerpuff Girl!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"

The girls turned to see the boys behind them.

"Besides, our younger brother just went after her! She won't stand a chance!" Butch smirked.

"True, but they'll be evenly matched. Just like the six of us are." Buttercup replied.

Butch felt himself regret what he said.

Meanwhile in Townsville, Brayden was searching high and low for Berenice. Then he turned a corner and noticed her with her back to him.

"There you are, ya lil' sissy!"

Berenice then turned around and smiled. "Why, you must be the new boy." Brayden then started feeling his heart race the moment he laid eyes on her. -Sh...she's so cute! B...but...why's my heart racing?!-

"You don't need to be nervous. You can trust me." Berenice offered her hand. Brayden carefully put his hand on hers and winced. Then he relaxed as he held her hand tight.

"I'm Brayden."
"Berenice." The girl said sweetly.
"S-so...Where do we go from here?"

Berenice could hear her sisters and the boys nearing Townsville. "I have an idea...why don't we fake a fight?"

"That's an awesome idea! And we'll be able to pull it off!" Brayden agreed. "Let's do this!"

"Bring it on, pretty boy~" Berenice blew a kiss to him.

When both the Powerpuffs and Rowdyruffs reached Townsville, they were shocked to see that both of their younger siblings were beaten, therefore, it counted as a draw.

"I don't believe it..." Blossom gasped as she flew down to Berenice.

"This is...impossible. Boys are much stronger than girls!" Brick breathed as he flew to Brayden's side.

"And we girls aren't as dimwitted as you~" Buttercup taunted.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" Butch growled.

"Both of you, stop." Boomer said, calmly. He and Bubbles were worried for their younger siblings and wasn't in mood to get caught up in another fight.

Then, a raindrop pelted Boomer's bangs as he looked up. "Uhhh, guys? We'd better find cover from the rain!"

"I know just the place! Follow me!" Bubbles exclaimed as Blossom picked up Berenice and Brick with Brayden.

Bubbles led the group to an old bedroom with a comfortable bed and lamp. The oldest of the two groups put down their younger siblings and stared down at them, trying not to give up hope...

Brick tried so hard not to show that he was actually crying...but since his brother got hurt, he had to be there for him.

Everyone was silent for a few brief moments, then Boomer noticed that Berenice and Brayden were slowly coming to.

"Guys! Look!"

Brayden opened his eyes as he coughed up some dust that fell into his throat, then he gently shook Berenice awake and hugged her.

"Looks like you came back to the world of the living!" Brick managed a friendly smirk as he went up to noogie his little brother.

"We thought you would be gone for good!" Blossom cried as she hugged Berenice, then she glanced over at Brick. "Don't think this is over, we still have a rematch to look forward to."

"Agreed." Brick chortled. "You better come at me with everything you've got next time, Blossom~" He gave her a teasing wink as he and his brothers flew home.

"Until next time! We'll be waiting!" Blossom yelled after them, then blushed. -He NEVER calls me by my full name...what is up with that?!- She couldn't stop thinking about what Brick had just told her.

"Yo, Blossom! We gotta go before the storm grows harder!" Buttercup shouted as Bubbles held Berenice in her arms.

"I'll take care of that." Berenice piped up. She then whispered something, then in a flash, the girls were back in their room.

End of Chapter Two