WHO:Blossom & Bubbles WHEN: End of March WHERE: UCI Chemistry department WHAT: Blossom is distracting Bubbles with a scavenger hunt for Chemical X RATING/WARNINGS: None STATUS: Complete
Blossom was no secret agent. Really, she wasnât, but no one would mistake her for one.
Still, in an attempt to at least look like she wasnât up to no good, sheâd opted to not where the black leotard and ski mask, it seemed a little iffy if they did get caught. Sheâd at least braided her hair though, flat shoes and shorts, nothing too âlook at meâ in the way of clothing. Secret agents probably knew to blend in than to look like cat burglars.
This was it, the chance to root around the store room for the chemistry department on campus and maybe find something that was Chemical X. Of course it might not be called that, âDo you think the X stands for something?â
Since it was just what the Professor used, in their dreams, to create them (which wasnât weird at all) it was entirely possible that it wasnât an actual chemical too. âLike⌠xylene or xylol or⌠xylylenediamine?â Blossomâs eyebrow rose as she attempted to pronounce that one. âWonder what that does.â
Bubbles was a little down still, but she was excited about trying to find the Chemical X. She wanted things to be simpler, easier to deal with and figure out, but that wasn't happening. If things were going to be awkward and complicated elsewhere, then this might as well be as not complicated as it could be. Like Blossom, Bubbles had taken care to dress as normally as possible and that included a pair of simple shorts and a blue top with her sneakers.
As they walked around, Bubbles peeked in a few places to see if she could find anything. Blossom's voice broke through her concentration and she looked up. "I don't know. I've only ever seen it called Chemical X. If the dreams know more about it than me, I haven't gotten that far yet." She frowned in thought, trying to figure out what it could be. She understood science, but she also hadn't spent as long with the chemicals as Blossom had. She looked at a few more things.
"I don't know. We could probably look it up on our phones." She had a feeling that it would probably give them the complicated explanation, but it was better than no explanation.
âThat might lead a trail right back to us! And I would not look good in prison orange.â Sheâd seen Orange is the New Black, she would not do well in prison at all. And she didnât speak Spanish! But still, looking at the fact that this one was out, with all the others, Blossom doubted it was used to make superpowers. âIt begins with an âmâ anyway.â Or at least it was hyphenated to begin with an m, chemicals! Sheesh.
âLetâs look further back.â All in all, Blossom was mostly just curious to see if maybe the Chemical X had made itâs way over to this world, since Bubblesâ octi had made it from the dreams, it seemed possible. âWhat would be the first thing youâd do if you did have super powers?â Since if they were going to become heroes, theyâd need to remember to balance it properly with every day life.
Bubbles wanted to argue, but she decided not to. She didn't think that she'd look particularly attractive in prison orange either. Hopefully they weren't going to get into any sort of trouble for this. But so far, no one had even come around. "Well, that's disappointing." Were they ever going to find the Chemical X?
"All right. We'll find it. I mean, it's got to be here somewhere." At least she hoped so. What else was there? Part of her wasn't sure if it even existed in this world. The thought made her pout. It was possible that it could always come through like Octi had. Bubbles wouldn't mind more things coming through if it was like Octi or the Chemical X. She wanted the super powers that she had in her dreams. Maybe it'd make things easier. "I think I'd have to try to figure out how to use them. I don't want to hurt anyone because I don't know how to fly or use the laser beam eyes, you know? But I guess once I knew how to use my powers, I'd want to help people." There was a pause before she said, "What would you do?"
Hopefully thereâd be some kind around there, even if it was just to keep Bubbles occupied, and Blossom was nothing if not prepared to go the extra mile to help her sister not think about this if thatâs what she wanted. Even if it was a pointless search for a chemical that didnât exist. âProbably the same,â it would be important to learn how to use their powers, important that they didnât hurt anyone and the were in control. âBut, weâre five in the dreams and weâre saving people, I think weâll manage to learn them really well.â
It would be all about dedication. They were clearly dedicated in the dreams; to their studies (in pre-school, but still) and saving people too. But she was sure theyâd be able to do it all. âMaybe though we wonât even really need to find this compound in a sea of compounds. Imagine, maybe weâll just get our powers.â Which really made more sense, since they were much older than five and werenât made here, they were born like normal children and adopted.
It was a good answer. They had to be able to control whatever they got from the dreams and be able to make sure that it went well. Bubbles was glad that Blossom agreed. "You're probably right, but I still don't want laser beams coming out of my eyes without expecting it." Because that sounded like it was a very serious mess. One that might end with people getting hurt.
The idea of just getting the powers and not having to ingest a lot of strange chemicals was definitely far more exciting than the idea that she wouldn't get any powers without ingesting a strange chemical. "That would be nice. If injuries and powers and everything can come through from the dreams for other people, it shouldn't be any other way for us!" It was better to think positively. She hoped they would come through. She wanted to be able to talk to animals and fly and help people. She peeked into another cabinet, reading the names of all the chemicals. "No Chemical X here," she said with a sigh. "I guess it would be nice not to have to drink any strange chemicals to get powers, though."
Learning how to use their abilities would definitely need to be the first step, theyâd need to do it safely too. Itâd be terrible to just wake up and suddenly have laser vision though, because that could hurt or destroy so much! They seemed to do it like all the time in the dreams, but this was the real world and itâd be terrible to just level a building one day -and potentially devastating to people. âHopefully, by the time we gain our powers, weâll be suitably aware of how to use them.â Or how to at least turn them off. She was pretty sure it took a little bit of concentration to use those powers.
Since it seemed that things as unbelievable as vampires happened, Blossom was willing to bet that powers would come, and mostly just looking for the chemical would be a way to keep it from the wrong people, or to avoid something bad happening. âConsidering the side effects of consuming certain chemicals, and how toxic they can be, not having to drink a mixture would be nice. Besides,â looking through one of the refrigerators at the compounds, Blossom stopped to look at Bubbles, âI totally see how we could put sugar and spice into it, but what would be âeverything niceâ?â Their dream creation didnât seem terribly logical.
Bubbles nodded at Blossom's words. She was sure they'd have at least figured out their powers by the time they got them. Hopefully. She wasn't really sure what to do if they hadn't. She guessed try to focus even more on what was happening now in the dreams and try to get a sense for everything. "We should probably find a safe place to practice them where no one will get hurt." Bubbles' mind immediately thought of the beach...probably when there were less people around. There was plenty of space and you couldn't really hurt the ocean.
"I have no idea. I guess nice things? Sunshine, flowers, happy thoughts...like Peter Pan!" Bubbles' expression lit up at the idea. "And we can fly!" Which clearly meant pixie dust could be part of the whole thing. Why not? There wasn't much else that made sense anyway. Why couldn't there be such things as pixie dust and happy thoughts? Who said that when it mixed with Chemical X it didn't just make them able to fly? "I don't really know what else everything nice is."
With the number of people in Orange County that seemed to have peculiar powers or abilities, there would probably be a few places that people did that sort of thing. Maybe itâd be good to find out, before they started getting their powers, just as a safety measure, so that if they did get that at an unfortunate time, the others knew where to whisk them off to.
âThen I really hope they just cross over. How do you make a mixture with sunshine and happy thoughts?â The flowers would be bad enough, since theyâd need to find nice, non-poisonous ones. Nice things tended to not be items, more like⌠Just things. Like friendship, sisters, love. Those were nice things. The Professor clearly was not a normal chemist in their dreams. Making children with nursery rhymes.
âIâm sure things will work out, without us needing to hospitalise ourselves with some strange mixture weâve consumed.â And potentially destroy their stomachs. No thanks.
Bubbles shrugged. "I'm not really sure how you'd do that, but pixie dust and happy thoughts make you fly!" She really liked the idea, but that was probably because she was always looking for happier things. That and her tendency to get excited about things that others found childish or ridiculous. She couldn't help it. She liked fairytales and still colored and watched kid's movies.
"Probably," Bubbles replied. "Especially since people have gotten all kinds of things from their dreams. I doubt we'll have to worry." She paused for a moment. "But if we're not finding Chemical X to drink it, what are we looking for it for?"
There likely wasnât much to worry about, when it happened it happened. And Blossom was fairly sure that it was a âwhenâ and not âifâ. Since there were people who had superpowers and turned into vampires because they dreamed it, she was certain that theyâd gain their powers with little involvement on their end. Which was scary and good at the same time -theyâd just need to be extremely cautious with what they did so that they never hurt anyone.
âWell, it seemed like something very important to you. And I thought this was probably the best time to try it out, and also because you needed distracting from⌠well, you know. The boy. And the fangs. And stuff.â
Blossom was fairly certain that few things could really make Bubbles sad for a prolonged time -other than animals getting hurt. So trouble with a boy would probably indicate that it was a serious something. And Blossom would always try to help, even if it was just distracting her sister. âI wasnât sure if youâd wanna talk about it some more or just do something else?â
It was moments like these when Bubbles was overcome with a strong desire to hug her sister. Blossom was always great at distractions and finding ways to help her whenever she needed it. Buttercup had her moments, too, but they weren't exactly the sort of moments where she was overcome with the urge to hug Buttercup. Buttercup did better without people flinging themselves at her or clinging. Bubbles didn't mind.
"You're a very good sister," she said quietly giving in and hugging Blossom despite their top secret mission. She still felt sad about Stefan, but the search for Chemical X had made her feel better and Blossom had made her feel happy enough just by being herself. "Just one more minute," she said, answering a question that she was anticipating as she kept her arms wrapped around her sister. It wasn't really a full moment before she let go. "I'm a little less sad now. Do you think we're going to find Chemical X here?"
Blossom didnât mind the impromptu hug, really. It was easy to just smile and hug Bubbles back for as long as she needed. They might not be blood sisters, but they were sisters in any way that mattered, and Blossom didnât like when either of them were feeling down or sad. Bubbles was just easier to cheer up than Buttercup.
âWell, you deserve the best.â Bubbles was a rare breed, especially considering the world, and as the oldest (even if it was only by a few months) Blossom tended to want to make sure Bubbles stayed that way, still in awe of everything in the world and so very carefree. âI really donât. If itâs as powerful as we think, since it can make us superheroes, then I think someone wouldâve written something about it.â Or it would be some big controversy about how they could use it to make the military stronger, or people paying to have super powers because they were rich and famous and wanted them.
âBut I really do think weâll get our powers from the dreams anyway.â It just seemed far more likely.
It was true that Bubbles was probably the more innocent of the three of them and the easiest of the three to cheer up. Usually you gave her a stuffed animal or a hug or just did something nice and she would cheer up right away. She nodded sadly, pretty sure that Blossom was right. Still, it had been fun looking around to see if it was around. "The Professor would probably know something about it if it existed," she said quietly, looking around the room again. She didn't know if it was a good idea for people to be able to get their hands on the Chemical X anyway. Not everyone would do good with super powers.
Bubbles nodded again. "Okay. I guess we should go if we're not going to find it here. We can get a snack or something before we go home."