Drawing Attention

(A/N): English is not my language, so if you find a grammatical error let me know; 🇧🇷

Many years ago...

In front of a burning house a girl with tears in her eyes was seen holding her collapsed brother in her arms as the residence in front of her was engulfed in flames.

Elizabeth: *cries* Bastion! Wake up! Please! Wake up little brother!

The little boy breathed weakly as his eyes blinked slowly. The world around him spun as his vision grew more and more blurry and his ears rang as he began to lose consciousness. Little Bastion tried to stay awake by forcing his eyes to stay open when he realized he couldn't see out of one of his eyes.

He heard various noises, from screams and people crying to ambulance and police sirens to the sound of the house being engulfed in flames in front of him. Bastion felt something run down his forehead, it was damp and wet as a part of his face was smeared with her blood that trickled down his cheeks now covering the blue marks on his face.

Elizabeth: Bastion! Do not leave me!

He turned his face toward the voice to see his sister looking at him with tears in her eyes before his vision started to black out and he lost consciousness altogether.

Back to present times...

Today is the second day of school, the second day of Bastion's new life.

Memories of the past day swirled through the boy's head, the day before wasn't so bad. He met new people and got the hang of how things worked in the big city, that was something.

Bastion could be seen lying on his bed staring at the ceiling as his mind wandered over several things before he yawned and decided to get up. He got to his feet before doing some stretches to wake up his muscles before walking to the bathroom.

The boy stood under the shower before turning on the faucet when the water began to fall on his body, he sighed in relief when he felt the cold liquid make contact with his skin, sending a shiver through his entire body.

After taking his shower, Bastion walked back to his room while drying his blue hair before going to change into his usual clothes and with that done he prepared to leave the room, but soon stopped when he felt something was missing.

He glanced down at his neck before realizing something was missing, Bastion turned to see what he was looking for, his long white scarf which was seen resting on the headboard of his bed. He walked over to it before picking it up and wrapping it around his neck before touching the scarf affectionately before starting to leave the room.

Far away...

Bubbles opened the closet and looked around for a moment. His eyes finally landed on what she was looking for. She picked up the lotion bottle and closed the cupboard once more. She went back into the bedroom and started applying lotion to her arms.

After starting high school, the girls asked to have their own rooms. Mainly so they could have some time apart instead of being together 24/7.

There were other reasons, but it was their time apart that made them able to put up with each other most days.

Bubbles loved her sisters, that was true, but she was sure they would never let her rehearse or sing if they all shared a room after all Blossom liked to study in peace so much that sometimes she lost track of time. And Buttercup… well, it was Buttercup.

But Bubbles liked having her own space. She also liked not having to agree with her sisters about what decorations she had or what color her room was. And as expected her room was all blue. Blue blankets, blue sheets, blue walls and blue rugs. Everything else was white, but with a touch of very light blue.

On the bed were her many stuffed animals. Lions, dogs, cats, monsters, etc. But most of all, on her pillow, was her best friend since childhood, Octi, her beloved stuffed octopus who unfortunately had seen better days.

She finished applying her lotion and closed the bottle. Once she was sure it was good, she set it aside.

At the Mutaito residence...

Bastion walked down the stairs while thinking about what had been happening to him the past few days. He felt that every day he was getting stronger, faster and in the same way several of his powers grew stronger while other new ones began to manifest.

The boy made a mental note to talk to his sister and grandfather about it and maybe go visit his grandfather to have it checked out and see if everything was okay with him and if there was any danger of his abilities getting out of control.

Memories flashed through Bastion's head of the training he did to at least have the minimum of control over his powers and although he hadn't trained for a while, his body was still muscular.

Bastion: (Thoughts) Must be because of the Chemicals...

At the Utonium Residence...

Blossom frowned when she saw what the scale said. She stood there, disappointed and naked as she stared at the numbers with a disappointed look. She was working out to lose calories like crazy, but even so she didn't look any different instead the girl had gained three kilos.

She scratched the back of her neck as she sighed wondering how that was possible, she couldn't remember ever eating anything too greasy, not to mention that she always ran after school.

She then thought of something before raising her arm. She flexed and concluded that she had just gained more muscle which made her very happy.

She smiled as she got off the scale and walked out of the bathroom before walking over to her dresser and starting to pull out the clothes she planned to wear today.

But why was Blossom Utonium so concerned about her weight? As if we didn't know.

It was because she had a big dance recital coming up and she needed to be ready, not to mention that she wanted to get the attention of a certain straight A student at school. Even if a monster decided to attack, or a bandit took a hostage, or whatever.

She had been working like crazy the past few months and she refused to let anything stop her from putting on the best show possible and just like Bubbles, Blossom also decorated her room however she wanted.

Unlike Bubbles, it was more filled with shelves of books. Instead of a bunch of stuffed animals, she had pillows. Instead of a dressing table, she had a very comfortable chair with a lamp by the window.

And instead of blue, it was a soft pink, as expected. Pink blankets, pink pillows, pink bookshelves and a big pink rug. And, of course, it was the cleanest of all the rooms. Everything had a place and all the books were arranged alphabetically. Even her clothes were perfectly clean.

Blossom found the top she wanted and pulled it out of the drawer.

Far away...

Bastion came downstairs with his backpack on his back containing all the books he would need for the day. He placed a hand on his stomach when he felt it growl, before earning a disgusted look.

Bastion: (Thoughts) I know it's nice to have powers and all, but the downside of that is having a high metabolism and being hungry almost all the time... I miss grandpa's cooking at these times *laughs* .

He walked into the kitchen when his keen sense of smell caught the scent of something cooking. Upon entering the kitchen he found Elizabeth making breakfast, Bastion then stared at her for a moment before realizing something. Elizabeth's hair was tied back and she was wearing her glasses as she had small dark circles under her eyes.

Bastion: (Thoughts) That airhead hasn't slept.

Elizabeth: Good morning, little brother. Here's your reminder that you're a little brat and the bane of my existence.

Bastion: Good morning. And my reminder is that you can't stay up all night.

Elizabeth: I'm pretty silly.

Bastion: That's not what this is about. You can't stay up working non-stop, you need to take a break and rest too.

Elizabeth: Who knew, I'm the big sister and I'm getting scolded by the youngest.

Bastion: Bla bla bla, I only say that because I care.

Elizabeth: Alright little brother, I'll rest later.

Bastion: I sure have someone to look up to when it comes to stubbornness.

Elizabeth laughed at that as she set the table when Bastion sat down.

Bastion: What's for today?

Elizabeth: You'll love it. I made you waffles.

Bastion: Yessss.

The boy got a happy look with stars in his eyes while his sister laughed at the younger's childishness while they had coffee together.

About that.

Buttercup: I love waffles!

Bubbles and Blossom looked at their sister who had literally just gotten out of bed and unlike the other two Power Girls, Buttercup's hair was a more hedgehog-like mess, she was still wearing her big green pajamas and no pants while her eyes were red showing that she had gone to bed late once again.

Bubbles: Look on the bright side, at least she's up before 7:30.

Professor Utonium: Look at the pancakes!

The girls suddenly found a big plate of pancakes on the table while the scientist was wearing a pink apron while putting the syrup and butter on the table. Buttercup whimpered at this with dramatic tears.

Buttercup: No... waffles.

Professor Utonium: Come on Buttercup, it was Bubbles' turn to choose breakfast.

Buttercup narrowed her gaze at her "older" sister, in this case older by 0.1 second. It was in those moments that the brunette hated the crappy time difference in which each one was born.

Girls: Thanks for the food, Professor.

Professor Utonium: No problem. Buttercup, after you eat, go get ready for school. You three have a day of education ahead of you!

Nobody really responded to that. They didn't like school much for education like any teenager. Well, maybe Blossom did, but Bubbles and Buttercup had their own reasons for having fun.

Buttercup got to see her friends and play her sports, Bubbles had her own friends and the Drama Club.

Professor Utonium: Speaking of which, how was your day yesterday? I didn't get a chance to talk to you.

Blossom: No problem I guess.

Bubbles: A couple of monsters appeared. One in the morning that crossed the shield and another that didn't even get inside.

Buttercup: Yeah. We didn't even get a chance to fight each other. Like, out of nowhere it looked like a masked guy threw a punch that sent the monster flying away from here.

The professor seemed interested in this when he gained a curious look.

Professor Utonium: Really? There was no reading that anyone exited or entered the shield. But tell me girls, what was this boy like?

Blossom: He was wearing a mask, we couldn't even see his face.

Buttercup: He arrived like a rocket, defeated the monster and disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

The professor mused about this as he began to have an idea who the masked one might be.

Professor Utonium: Um... this masked man, did he look the same age as you?

The three girls looked at each other at that before nodding.

Bubbles: They did.

The Professor earned a small smile upon hearing this as he thought about it.

Professor Utonium: (Thoughts) Looks like he's already here.

Blossom: Why that smile Professor? Do you have any idea who the masked man might be?

The man broke out in a cold sweat at this as he stuttered.

Professor Utonium: N-No, of course not *nervous laughs* I'm just glad this masked man did something good for that alone.

The three girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows when they saw how nervous the Professor looked before shrugging at it.

Professor Utonium: Anyway, I'm sure he'll reappear sooner or later. And with the school?

Bubbles suddenly slammed her hands down on the table causing everyone to jump at the sudden action, but it was clear that Bubbles was excited about what had happened.

Bubbles: I met a new boy! He said maybe he'll join the Drama Club!

Buttercup thought about this before asking with a raised eyebrow.

Buttercup: Wait, was that newbie over there? The one who's kind of nerdy?

Bubbles: Did you meet him too?

Blossom: That newbie everyone's talking about? Did he just move here?

The Professor then gained a curious look at this.

Professor Utonium: Does this new student happen to have different colored eyes, messy two shades of blue hair, blue fin-shaped markings on his cheeks, and wears a long white scarf?

The Powerpuffs looked at each other with the exact description their father had just given of the new student before Bubbles asked.

Bubbles: That's an exact description of him. But how do you know what he looks like?

The Professor hummed and laughed happily at this while clapping his hands before speaking happily at the news.

Professor Utonium: *laughs* It's pretty simple girls, I know this boy. Surely it must be little Bastion.

All the girls looked at him confused as the Professor ate his meal with a smile on his face.

Bubbles: Do you know him?

Professor Utonium: But of course girls, I always tell you about him. Don't you remember?

The three girls looked at each other hoping that at least one of them had at least paid some attention when their father brought up the boy's name at some past event, but unfortunately none of them had paid attention to what the Professor had said about the boy.

The professor earned a downcast look before sighing at that before speaking.

Professor Utonium: Girls, Bastion is Elizabeth's younger brother. I've told you about him before, when I was raising his older sister Bliss, I would visit Bastion often and he and his sister were very close friends.

The scientist's gaze then wanders to the window as he remembers when he watched Bliss and Bastion as small children playing in the gardens of the boy's grandfather's laboratory.

Professor Utonium: Bastion was 6 years old when Bliss was born and as she had the mindset of an 8 year old the two soon became good friends and always played together. If I'm not mistaken, Bastion must be the same age as the three of you by now. I heard he was coming to live with Elizabeth. He must have just arrived.

Blossom: Does Elizabeth have a brother? Was he friends with Bliss? And is he on our show? Why didn't we know about this?

Professor Utonium: I've already told you about it several times, but it seems that someone forgot to listen to me.

The three girls then looked away while whistling absently.

Professor Utonium: *sigh* Anyway, I hope the three of you are kind to him. Bastion is a golden boy, I really like him, so help him if he needs it.

Girls: Okay, Professor.

Buttercup took a bite of her pancakes as she thought about the boy, thinking he was a bit like Elizabeth and although he had only met her a few times, Buttercup liked Elizabeth as well as her sisters.

Buttercup: (Thoughts) So the newbie is her younger brother, huh?

Buttercup put down her fork and got up to go get ready.

Bastion finished his breakfast when he looked over at his sister to see her watching him, he then asked confused.

Bastion: And what happened now? Did you sleep with your eyes open?

Elizabeth flicked her tongue at him as the boy laughed at that.

Elizabeth: Haha funny guy. In fact, now that I see it, you still have that scarf.

The boy then looked at the scarf around his neck before running his hand through it.

Bastion: But of course I do.

Elizabeth: You adore him, don't you?

Bastion: He's special to me, he's the last memory I have of the two of them...

A moment of silence fell between the two before the boy cleared his throat before getting to his feet.

Bastion: Well, I'm coming.

Elizabeth: All right. See you later. Have a good day.

Bastion: You too.

He opens the door, but pauses for a moment before speaking.

Bastion: One more thing. See if you sleep.

He left the house and put his backpack while checking if he had everything he needed and seeing that he had everything in his backpack the boy put his skateboard on the ground before getting on it and starting his way to school, he could go flying, but he liked it the feeling of being able to act like a normal teenager.

As he continued on his own path, Bastion heard a noise cut through the air. He stopped walking before looking around when he heard the noise again and upon recognizing what it was he quickly started running towards the source of the sound already knowing what it was.

And as he expected, upon arriving at the scene he found a restaurant that was being robbed by a gang of armed thugs. Bastion got an annoyed look at this as he saw the various customers on the ground as the thugs fired on a police car while the officers took cover from the gunfire behind the vehicles.

The gang of outlaws continued to fire at the police car while having smiles on their faces and mocking the police.

Bandit 1: So! What's with you cowards?!

Bastion watched this from afar before speaking.

Bastion: But what about this one, I arrived here not long ago, but I can already see that this city is hopeless, something always happens.

He then walked into an alley to make sure no one saw him before grabbing his mask and hero outfit. Bastion donned his uniform before putting his mask on his face when the mask's technology activated when the boy's hair changed from blue to gray and gained a different hairstyle so that he had a better disguise.

Bastion: (Thoughts) Thanks for the mask grandpa way.

In front of the restaurant, the bandits continued to fire wildly with their weapons while challenging the police.

Bandit 2: If you're the police, come and arrest us!

Bastion then jumped in the air, drawing the attention of everyone in the area, before kicking one of the thieves in the face who was on top of a car carrying a machine gun, causing him to drop the gun, drawing the attention of the other thieves.

Bastion, however, wasted no time before advancing towards another of the outlaws and delivering a powerful punch to the thief's face, knocking him to the ground in one fell swoop.

The people around looked at the boy with surprised and shocked looks on their faces as they saw the masked man attack the bandits.

Cop 1: Oh but what is it?!

Bastion landed on his feet on the back of the thieves' car before one of them turned his machine gun on the boy and started shooting at him.

Bandit 3: Who do you think is an idiot?!

The gun's shots went towards Bastion who just moved his left arm at a great speed catching all the bullets with his hand. The thug stopped shooting wide-eyed when he saw that none of the shots had hit the young man before Bastion straightened up and held out his left hand before opening it as several of the bullets fell to the ground fully mashed as the young man showed that he had caught them. each of the shots.

The thug earned a surprised look at this only to be met with a kick to the face delivered by Bastion that earned the thief some broken teeth and a large bruise on his face before falling unconscious to the ground.

The last two thieves that were inside the car looked at it in shock before one spoke in fright.

Bandit 4: H-He's a monster! V-let's run away!!!

The thug at the wheel stomped his foot on the accelerator as hard as he could as the car burned tires on the ground before sprinting forward at full speed. Bastion glared at this before reaching out with his right hand as an orb of energy formed in his hand before he shot towards the car. Orb of energy cut through the air chasing the fleeing vehicle like a missile after its target before hitting it causing a small explosion causing the car to flip over a bit before coming to rest upside down with the bandits passed out inside.

The cops and people alike looked at it in shock to see that the new masked hero had just stopped the robbery.

Cop 1: T-That's awesome!

Everyone looked around looking for the masked boy only to see that he had disappeared from the place leaving everyone perplexed.

Cop 2: H-Hey, what the hell happened here?!

Far away Bastion was now seen in his normal clothes running on his skateboard as fast as he could to not be late for school. He skipped across the sidewalks and dodged people as he ran through the streets before reaching the school just in time when the bell rang signaling the start of classes.

Bastion: Just in time.

He walks through the busy halls while glancing at his schedule to see that his first class was one he wanted to try and avoid.

Bastion: (Thoughts) Physical Education, great.

Soon the boy was seen on the school's football field along with the other students when Professor Freddy chose the team leaders.

Professor Freddy: All right, today we are going to continue with the Football match, so get ready. Mitch, Buttercup, split the teams

Buttercup who had the same class was choosing her team to play against Mitch's, that's when she saw Bastion in the middle of the students before having an idea.

Buttercup: Hey Mitch, why don't you let the newbie play on your team?

Mitch raised an eyebrow at that before speaking.

Mitch: The nerdy newbie? Of course not.

Buttercup: Not a bad idea, as he's smart maybe he'll come up with a plan that will at least help his team survive at least until the end of the first half.

Mitch: You think too much, don't you? But okay, maybe the rookie is good for something.

Mitch then beckons Bastion to join his team which makes the boy sigh in relief for being chosen. The two teams then get together on their own side of the field while discussing strategy and the position each would be in.

Mitch: So guys, who's going to be the goalie?

The other students gave each other uncomfortable looks while claiming that none of them were fools to be guarding the goal when Buttercup was on the opposing team. Bastion looked confused at this before asking.

Bastion: Hey guys? Is it so bad to be a goalkeeper?

Random Girl: No beautiful, the problem is not being the goalkeeper...

Random Kid: But save goal from Buttercup's shots.

Bastion: Is she really that good?

Mitch: That good? For you to have an idea, the team she plays for has never lost a match around here, no one can ever defend a shot on her goal.

Bastion: Really?

Mitch: Let's just say she's very competitive.

Bastion: Since that's how I stay in goal.

The other students looked at him with shocked looks upon hearing this as he turned his back on them walking towards the goal while putting on his goalkeeper gloves.

Mitch: Dude, are you sure about this?

Bastion: It shouldn't be that hard.

Mitch: You know what you're doing, right?

Bastion: Of course, I just have to defend the goal.

Mitch: I'll bring flowers to your funeral.

Bastion: Someone here has to be brave and be a real man, right?

The other boys on the team snarled at this while the girls had hearts in their eyes admiring the new student's courage.

The game started and Bastion put himself in the goal while he was distracted by thinking if it had been a good idea to have done that.

Bastion: (Thoughts) Now that I think about it, being in goal was pretty dumb for someone who wants to blend in and not draw attention. Well done Bastion, well done...

Without him noticing Buttercup took possession of the ball and started running towards the goal past all the other students to score. Mitch tried to catch up with her, but as expected, she was faster than he was. When seeing the goalkeeper of his team traveling in mayonnaise Mitch screamed.

Mitch: Bastion! Look at the goal!

Bastion blinked at this before snapping back to reality when he saw the brunette already in front of the goal. The boy blinked in surprise at that when the girl kicked the ball which scored spinning at full speed towards the goal.

Bastion: Oh damn!

At the last moment the boy jumped in front of the ball's path before reaching forward and gripping the ball tightly as it spun in his hands to a stop.

Bastion: Haha I did it, cool!

He then gained a smile on his face at this before looking over to the other students to see that they were all staring at him with surprised expressions.

Bastion: (Thoughts) Oh, I think I overreacted.

Professor Freddy looked at him with a bead of sweat on his head before walking over to the boy and speaking.

Professor Freddy: Oh boy! You really do have an excellent physique, you just stopped Buttercup's kick who is a Super Powerful Girl! This is amazing, no one has ever done this before!

Bastion stuttered at this before speaking nervously.

Bastion: N-No no Professor, I think it was a miracle!

Random Boy: Hey, I don't call that a miracle.

Girls: He's so awesome!

Random Boy 2: This guy is a phenomenon!

Random Boy 3: Damn my brother, how jealous!

Bastion broke out in a cold sweat at the murderous looks the boys gave him while the girls didn't take their eyes off the boy who blushed at all the attention he received.

The game ensued with neither team scoring thanks to Bastion blocking every shot and Buttercup not letting anyone even reach his team's goal area.

Professor Freddy: Alright class, time to switch players.

That said, some students who were on the field left to make way for others who were waiting their turn on the bench. Bastion was about to do the same, but stopped when the Professor called out to him.

Professor Freddy: Bastion, you were in goal for the whole match, weren't you? Come play the line a little boy.

Bastion: Um are you sure professor?

Professor Freddy: Of course, I want to see how you do off the net. Mitch, can you be the goalie in Bastion's place?

Mitch grunted a bit before nodding and walking to his seat while glancing at Bastion before speaking.

Mitch: Hopefully you're as good on the line as you are in goal.

Bastion: It will take even plate.

Random Boy: Hey, how do you think this phenomenon will fare playing on the line?

Random Boy 2: I don't know, but we'll see.

The ball was bowled and play resumed, Bastion trying to pay more attention. Not long after the ball rolled to his feet as he mastered it before looking up to see that all the boys on the opposing team were coming at him to steal the ball and perhaps the attention of the girls in his class.

Bastion became aware of this before starting to run and dribble his opponents one by one giving hats, skirts or just tricking them with the ball before passing it to another of his players on his team.

Buttercup watched him closely with the thought that he had beaten her match before smiling as the ball rolled to her feet. She dominated the ball before starting to run towards the opposing goal and smiled when someone stepped in front of him to prevent him from continuing.

Bastion saw Buttercup run to her goal before stepping in front of her as the brunette earned a determined look. The two soon began a fierce dispute for the ball fighting for supremacy without anyone daring to let themselves be won.

Buttercup, seeing that he couldn't dribble the boy, tried a bold move when he tried to throw the ball over Bastion to give him a hat. The girl just didn't count on him jumping high enough to dominate the ball in his chest and avoid being passed backwards.

The girl was taken aback when she saw the boy's feat and while she was distracted by it Bastion started to run towards the opposing goal before kicking the ball from midfield straight for a shot on goal.

Buttercup turned just in time to see the lad kick the ball which flew into the goal spinning through the air past everyone before doubling around to escape the keeper's hands straight into the net.

Bastion: Receive dude!

The boy smiled and jumped with it as he celebrated his goal by exchanging punches with his teammates while other students looked on in disbelief as they saw the nerdy rookie had scored a goal from midfield.

Boys: But who is this phenomenon anyway?!

Bastion: (Thoughts) Great. I'm doing very well. It was supposed to stay in yours and not draw attention Bastion Mutaito!

The boy didn't have much more time to scold himself when the bell rang signaling the end of the class and with that all the students started to leave with each one going to their next classes.

Bastion was about to leave the field when he paused for a moment, sensing that someone was watching him, but he quickly ignored it when he saw a group of girls eyeing him before retreating from the spot.

Unbeknownst to him, a brunette with green eyes was watching him with curiosity in her eyes.

Buttercup: (Thoughts) Gotta admit, he's a good player. Maybe he wants to be part of the team.

The girl decided to put that aside at least for now before heading to her next class.

To be continued...