Dreams of an Absolution

"So keep on pretending

Our heaving is worth the waiting

Keep on pretending, it's alright.

So keep on pretending

It'll be the end of our craving

Keep on pretending, it's alright"

Pretending (H.I.M. "Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights")


Dreams of an Absolution

Chapter 18

I thought it would be over in a week

The aftermath of the September 11th attacks had an impact no one, least of all those of exceptional capability, saw coming. While conspiracy theories flew, rumors spread, and panic swept every street corner of the nation, there came a rise in national pride. An intense sensation of "Us Vs. Them" took hold in the heart of the American citizen. And with the rise of patriotism, there came a great rise in xenophobia. While the average citizen kept a wary eye on those of foreign descent, he kept a loaded gun aimed at those of "exceptional capability."

I had no idea things would get worse...I had no idea they could.

Cape-clad do-gooders and evildoers alike found themselves in a national spotlight the likes of which had never been seen before. It made no difference how clean the person's record, or how shadowy his past, if any citizen found himself deemed of "exceptional capability, exceeding that theorized possible of the common man," he was deemed an enemy of the so-called "common people." Heroes and villains became identical in the eyes of the United States of America. They became targets.

And now there's no end in sight. Octi hadn't lied to her. Something very bad had happened.

With swiftness unprecedented, the government brought to life new departments, new organizations aimed at subduing the potential threat the "Meta-Humans" posed. In the world following the terrorist attacks, terms such as "good" and "evil" became obsolete. Everything that could threaten the "common man" was deemed evil, with no exception. Labels such as "hero" and "villain" lost their power, eventually fading completely. For the safety of the American people, the safety of the free world, every last meta-human had to be dealt with. For the heroes, that meant registration and government regulation of their heroism and world-saving. For the villains...

"I can't say it to anyone. I can't let the weakness show now. If I ever want to...to know...but..."

President Signs the Meta-Human Regulation Act

In the weeks following the horrible attacks of 9-11, Congress and the President pushed a bill that would ensure the safety of the American people. On October 16th, 2001, President Bush signed into immediate effect the "Meta-Human Regulation Act." In addition to the registration of all citizens deemed "superheroes" for national service, the act requires that all "supervillains", defined as "meta-humans deemed a significant threat to the United States of America both in present and past activity", and all Monstro-Americans, defined as "Monsters originating from, but not limited to, Monster Island who have integrated into American society, displaying traits similar to those of the Human race", to be registered with a government agency, henceforth known as the Department of Meta-Human Regulation, and to be tagged with microchips that allow said department to track their location, spending habits, and, in the case of energy-proficient beings, power output level to prevent any malicious planned assaults.

"I've never been so afraid. I've never needed you more than I do now,"

XxXxX

Blossom stared into her steam-marred reflection, eyes distant and head low. As searing water buffeted her tiny frame, she softly exhaled and glanced away from her own brooding expression. She couldn't help sneering at the idea of being annoyed by her own sudden introversion. She swallowed and tensed slightly, somehow feeling the shadowy figure on the other side of the curtain move. He hummed low and rapped his long fingers against his knees.

"They've arrived, Blossom," he stated. Blossom nodded, resting her forehead against the cool, white wall. She lowered her gaze and stared at her stubby feet. Turning her head lazily, she watched the water swirl down the drain. She couldn't stall much longer...

"Do you know to which end they intend to assign you?" he asked. Blossom sighed and let her head fall back. Staring at the ceiling, she returned to her ponderings of the previous night. To be honest, she had no idea. For the greatest length of her life, she had been a hero. But, for the greatest part of her life, she had been a villain. Not just any villain...she had been...the Enemy.

"I don't know..." she whispered. Which did they think she was now? She couldn't truly blame them either way, especially when she didn't know the answer herself. Before Aku could make a comment, a heavy hand rapped on the bathroom door. Aku's presence vanished into thin air as the lock clicked and the door creaked open.

"Blossom, Honey, hurry down, alright?" Blossom nodded, forgetting for a second that Ms. Keane couldn't see her.

"Alright..." The door softly shut, leaving Blossom alone at last. She rubbed her left arm and gently brushed her feet against the shower floor. Her limbs were sore again...and so was her chest.

Finishing up with only a subtle hint of urgency, Blossom dressed, staggering a bit until finally giving up on her stockings, and made her way downstairs. The sudden tension and audible cocking of guns cleared up any remaining confusion about her position to the United States' government. A large, bald man was waiting for her at the kitchen table, sitting across from Blossom's sisters. With only minor surprise, Blossom recognized the man standing next to the bald man. While his buzz-cut brown hair and confident blue eyes were new, his bright costume was a dead give-away.

"Major Glory," Blossom muttered in greeting. The superhero nodded, keeping his eyes focused on the red-haired little girl.

"I'm sure you understand why Major Samuel Garrison has joined us?" the bald man asked. The girls nodded; Buttercup moved closer to Blossom. The man nodded and folded his hands in front of him, staring the girls down. There was no mistaking it, this wasn't a social call; this man wasn't here to make small talk.

"I am General Steven Adkinson, Commanding Officer in charge of the recently established Department of Meta-Human Regulation. We're traveling around the country, tracking down various 'meta-humans' as you call yourselves, to ensure that you perform your duty to your country by registering with the appropriate agencies," General Adkinson gestured and Major Glory passed him a document. The General unfolded it and laid it in front of the girls. Even Blossom was confused trying to make heads or tails of it.

"It's actually a very simple process. For you two," General Adkinson pointed at Bubbles and Buttercup, "You merely fill out a form that registers your home town, base of operations, secret identity, and occupation with the government. Given your age, you'll continue to attend school as per usual, but there will be a government agent stationed in Townsville who will...let's say direct you. Rather than answering your Hot Line to receive your orders, you'll receive them from this officer. As for you," The General turned to face Blossom, who fearlessly met his gaze...for a brief period before self-consciously touching her bracelet.

"Yes...sir?" She responded after a tense moment of silence. The General smirked and leaned forward once again.

"You are an interesting case. Now, historically speaking, you've acted with the Nation's best intentions at heart, just like your sisters here. I can't deny that, the paperwork and research shows it. But see, we have an issue with this tiny little seven hour period of time about..five months ago. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Blossom grit her teeth, but slowly nodded. Her chest was tightening, her pulse was raising, her bracelet was starting to hum as a pinching electric current dug into her skin. The General nodded. Unaffected by her intensifying glare, his own gaze darkened as he folded his fingers and rested them against his chin.

"So...we were in quite a pickle. Here's a kid who was, at one time, one of the greatest heroes in the country, probably the world. One slip up, one little 'mind control' I believe was the excuse, and suddenly she's calling herself a god and damn near rips the entire planet in half. Now, as I understand it, you're all better, you got your slap on the wrist, and it'll never happen again, is that so?" Blossom's lip twitched. She barely managed to suppress a snarl. Who did this man think he was? Sure...he had Major Glory and a small unit of armed soldiers backing him, but what could they really do to stop her?

"That's...correct...sir..." She whispered, her voice trembling. Blossom nearly jumped when Buttercup grabbed her hand. She glanced at her sister, expecting to see a reassuring gaze. Instead she caught the broadside of a fiery death glare, aimed directly at the General.

"Blossom was being controlled by a monster way scarier than you've ever fought! I saved her!" Buttercup stated bluntly. The General glanced at Buttercup, who, unlike her sister, didn't falter. Blossom's gaze drifted down to Buttercup's hand, her bare wrist. She had no reason to. She was the most powerful person in the room.

"So I've heard...and since your testimony seems to carry a bit of weight in this area, we've agreed on a compromise. You'll register as a hero," Bubbles sighed in relief and Buttercup gave Blossom's hand another comforting squeeze, "But, your father has agreed to install the supervillain tracking microchip into that bracelet of yours. We want to know where you are, and just how much juice you're giving off. If the microchip ever loses signal, we're going to be there to find out why," Blossom trembled, staring blankly at the table. It was better than she had hoped, but what about...

"Uka-sensei..." she whispered, clamping her mouth shut the moment those wonderful words passed her lips. Buttercup raised her eyebrow, but no one else seemed to have heard.

"So, if you'll just take the time to fill out these forms, we'll get our tracking device installed and be on our way. You'll meet your new coordinating officer later this evening, after school of course," The girls nodded, grumbling inwardly and outwardly as they set out on their first adventure in the arduous task of filling out government paperwork. And they still had the school day to look forward to.

XxXxX

"My mom said that the monsters are being tracked now! That's so cool!"

"I heard all the villains have to wear like dog collars!"

"There's a lot of soldiers in town! I feel so much safer,"

"What about the Powerpuff Girls?"

"I heard Blossom has to wear a dog collar now!"

"Oh I wanna see that!"

Blossom ground her teeth, taking another vicious bite of her peanut butter sandwich. She wasn't wearing a dog collar, but knowing that some fancy government lackey was tracking her every move, down to how many calories she took in to how long she showered, made her sick nonetheless. She glanced to her left at Boomer, who was staring at her, tomato sauce on his face and half a banana poking out of his mouth.

"What?" he somehow managed to mumble through his mouthful. Blossom shook her head and returned to staring at the table. Uka-sensei wasn't in the lunch room and Baku was nowhere to be seen. Odds were, he wouldn't be popping up any time soon. Across the way, she saw Mr. Green, the friendly monster teacher, wearing a rather humiliating collar around his neck. Thankfully, the collar on his cape hid it for the most part, but Blossom couldn't help growling as she watched her peers point it out.

"Sorry...I'm just a little uneasy," Blossom mumbled. Boomer nodded, gurgling down another mouthful of food with a cleansing blast of chocolate milk.

"Yeah I know, this is a bunch of suck and fail," Boomer pointed out plainly. Blossom's eyes got wide; she turned and stared at her best friend. Boomer stared back, shrugging.

"What? It is..." Blossom lost it, and collapsed in a fit of giggles, holding her aching sides. She fell against Boomer, who laughed along with her. Somehow, she was sure he had no idea why. Blossom wiped her eyes and snickered, giving Boomer a gentle kiss on the cheek. Like always, he tensed up violently, though the blush and smile seemed to argue with his initial reaction.

"Boomer, I love you...you're the best," Boomer blushed brighter red and chuckled stupidly, scratching his head. Blossom sighed and leaned forward on her mitts, staring at her sisters from across the cafeteria. Boomer leaned closer to her, lowering his voice to only slightly too loud.

"So where's Aku? And did you see that army guy this morning?" he asked. Blossom nodded, looking over at the doors.

"Yeah...I don't know where Aku is, but we met with General Adkinson. I'm guessing you guys are registered now too, huh?" Boomer nodded, sighing.

"I don't know what it means, can you explain it?" Blossom took a deep breath and slowly went into a deep, lengthy explanation.

"It means they tell us how to be heroes..." was all she said. Boomer swallowed and shook his head, taking another bite out of the abomination he called a sandwich.

"I don't like that..." Blossom nodded. She didn't either...and she wasn't exactly on pins and needles about meeting her new boss. It was bad enough having a complete idiot call them to tell them what being a hero meant they had to do. Having some government tool tell them what to do was just going to be...humiliating. Blossom sighed and looked at the door again. If only she could talk to him in private. Maybe he could help her again.

XxXxX

"Girls, he's supposed to be here any time. Now, I want you to be on your best behavior. If you...he is technically...your..." the Professor stumbled on his words, sighing and fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Our boss?" Blossom said for him. The Professor turned a bit red and nodded. The girls sighed and slouched deeper into the couch. They'd been waiting for over an hour now. He hadn't given them a specific time, except that he was going to show up some time in the evening. So far, it had been a painfully long wait for a painfully long meeting. When they heard a knock at the door, all three sat up quickly and braced for the worst.

"I'll get it...hell...hello? You are..." The Professor was cut off by a rather young sounding voice with a thick accent.

"I am the Powerpuff Girls' new coordinating officer," The Professor chuckled and sighed.

"Well alright um...right this way..." The girls traded a confused glance...then shared an incredulous look as their new boss walked in. He was only slightly taller than they were, maybe only a few years older, with neat red hair and thick glasses. Dressed in a white smock and purple gloves he was...not at all impressive to look at.

"Greetings Powerpuff Girls, I am your new Coordinating Officer. You may call me Dexter, Boy Genius," The boy, Dexter, began to pace in front of the girls, staring them down as if sizing them up. He frowned as he and Blossom made eye contact. She couldn't help returning the expression.

"Very well, that is enough for stupid introductions. I'll make this very brief. When disaster strikes, I will contact you. You will act immediately and exactly as I instruct you. Is that clear?" Bubbles turned and looked at Buttercup to make some kind of response. The green-eyed Powerpuff girl was still flabbergasted, staring in disbelief at their alleged officer. Blossom raised her eyebrow and cleared her throat. Dexter turned to her, his glasses gleaming in the light.

"And what if your way is wrong?" Dexter chuckled and shook his head.

"It won't be," The two continued to stare each other down, until Buttercup broke the silence.

"Fine, whatever..." she muttered, defeated. Dexter nodded, turning to Professor Utonium. Before he could speak, Blossom jumped up from the couch.

"Are we done? I'm going to my room," Blossom strode away from the living room without waiting for a response. Downstairs, she could hear a brief argument between Dexter and Buttercup, which ended in the older student establishing a set training schedule for the girls. Blossom shook her head and rubbed her left arm. She wanted to care...she honestly wanted to try, to get back on the right track. But...she couldn't. Her arm was throbbing, her head was swimming. Blossom barely made it to her room, failing to even shut the door before collapsing into a restless sleep, alone in the dark.