Butch was sat on the ground with his back to the wall as he watched them. His wound wasn't healing fast enough for him to be able to even walk by himself. The pain was agony but there wasn't much else they could do for it at the moment as they were hiding.
The only relief was seeing Buttercup and her father together.
Buttercup hugged her father for the first time in years. Taking in the clean linen smell on his coat that always made her think of home. Her childhood home used to have the same smell whenever the Professor did the laundry and had his weekly cleaning spree when she and her sisters were younger.
That'd been so long ago, she'd forgotten all about it. About that smell that made her feel more at home in her father's arms than since... she couldn't remember when.
''Buttercup,'' the Professor murmured her name softly into her hair, his voice choked with tears. ''I've missed you girls so much.''
''I know, dad,'' Buttercup felt her lips wobble, ''But I missed you more, I promise.''
He let out a choked, wobbling laugh. He laughed because that used to be his line he'd tell the girls every night when he tucked them into bed and when they flew off to save the day and fight bad guys.
No matter how many fights the PowerPuff Girls had gone through, or how bad, or even when they messed up-- the Professor had always been there waiting for them to come home. And had always told them he missed them more than they missed him.
This--this is home, Buttercup thought as she hugged her father harder. I'm home again.
Butch, for his part, didn't want to interrupt the father and daughter reunion. It was a shame that it had to be in a dirty, abandoned warehouse on the edge of the City, but it was a reunion that brought tears to his own eyes.
Tears for Buttercup. The toughest and strongest person he knew, who deserved so much more than she'd gotten and a safe place to go to. She was able to finally see her father again, something she thought she'd never have.
An eerie CREAAAKK sounded throughout the warehouse, making the hair on the back of Butch's neck stand up.
Buttercup and the Professor kneeled down on either side of where Butch was resting, trying to not make a single sound as they searched for the source of the sound.
Nothing moved in the darkness around them, not even wind through any of the broken windows across the first floor of the building.
Butch felt Buttercup's fingers find his and tighten. He squeezed back.
He wasn't any good to fight right now, but he'd make sure that at the least Buttercup and the Professor could get away no matter what he had to do.
THUMP THUMP
It sounded as if it was coming from the second floor, Butch peered up at ceiling but still saw nothing except some dust particles in the air.
There was an utter stillness in the air that made him worry to exhale his own breath.
Another CREAKKK sounded. This one right above him.
He knew.
He wasn't sure how he knew, but he just knew. Maybe it was all the years he'd been fighting and his experience, maybe it was just a ironic terrible sort of luck, but whatever it was-- he knew without a doubt they were going to come crashing down on them within seconds.
If Buttercup and the Professor were going to survive and get away, they needed to get out now. And they'd be able to get further if they were without him.
Butch kept a hand against his poorly wrapped wound and despite the pain, carefully moved to a crouching position.
He glanced over to Buttercup as she reached out to hold his hand, her jaw tense and her brow furrowed.
Just as their fingers grazed, chaos rain down on them from above in the form of bodies with sharp claws and horrible black eyes that glinted in the dark.
Butch launched himself over the Professor to cover the old man as best he could. His laser eyes shooting up at the shadowy people as they descended.
It was like a murder of crows mixed with a tornado somehow, they came all at once and all in one spot, directly over he and the Professor.
He could hear Buttercup screaming, but he couldn't see anything besides the shadowy limbs with claws as long as an arm reaching towards him. His lasers couldn't stop as many as there were and definitely couldn't upkeep with how quickly they got back up and lunged again.
They're healing quicker than me with my super powers, he thought. How are we supposed to beat them?
And also, how have they been able to find us every single time we got away?
One of them got past his lasers and drove their claws through his sides as he tried to catch his breath, rearing back it hit the Professor and knocked him out cold.
Hitting the monster away, Butch snarled, ''A scratch won't stop me from tearing you to pieces."
A scratchy chuckling left it's throat and it's eyes glinted.
''We don't need you, we only need what we want-- what we've been waiting for, for years.'' It said.
''And what's that?" Butch asked, glancing warily to the side as he realized the others had stopped bombing him and were sitting, perched at the top of the hole they'd made in the ceiling as they looked down at him.
They were all shadows, not one of them could he tell apart, there were 13 in total.
''What we're owed,'' the one across from him said simply.
''Owed?"
''Those girls were never meant to have what they do. Those CHILDREN were never meant to have the gifts that Utonium gave them!! WE were his partners a long time ago, it should have been us he shared their powers with, instead we had to try to mimic from the shadows and now...now, we're this.''
''They don't owe you shit,'' Butch spat at him. ''They were created on accident, and they were kids!! Kids you then attacked, fucking possessed, and tried to kill!!''
It shrugged at him.
Fucking shrugged at him.
And that, that was what sent him into a blind rage.
All of this was because they had wanted the powers of little girls who hadn't asked for them? They weren't owed shit as far as Butch cared. Except maybe a blast to the face.
''So what, you forced them to play a stupid game to give them false hope they could beat you at your own game?''
''Children understand games, children believe they have a chance in games, it was a mercy. But they are children no more.''
In the blink of an eye, Butch punched the shadowy figure all the way across the room and broke the wall.
''Well, you haven't played with me yet.''
He looked to the Puff slightly behind him, still trying to stand her ground as much as she could.
Buttercup was crouched down by her father who was beginning to stir and awaken from getting knocked out, panting and cut up from the attack before. She met Butch's eye and nodded her head in understanding.
Grabbing up her father and as Butch distracted the monsters, she super ran her father as far as she could away. Not stopping until she was almost halfway across the City.
''Dad,'' she gripped the Professor's shoulders, ''I love you, but I'm not leaving him to fight alone, not now and not ever.''
Before she could hear anything more from her father, she raced back to Butch's side just in time to slam another monster off him.
He glared at her, ''What are you doing back here?! You need to--''
''I'm right where I belong Butch, fighting with you.'' She cut him off, ''There's no where else I'd rather be.''
His face melted from anger to pride and so much love it took her breath for a moment.
''Alright, Butterbabe.''
And just like that, they put their backs to each others and fought off the monsters as they swarmed over and over again. Protecting and defending each other as best they could as they fought.
Buttercup spat out a handful of blood as one slammed a hit against her skull.
She couldn't stop herself from wondering: Can we win? Just one last time?