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“Would you live your life all over again?”
It felt like only yesterday that his girls were little five-years-old girls in kindergarten, spending their days coloring, playing tag— saving the city of Townsville before bedtime.
Now? Now they were grown beautiful, strong, independent women with lives of their own.
How time goes by so fast…
Professor Utonium stared quietly at the ceiling, letting the memories come one after another. There were so many moments he still remembered so clearly.
Like the time, Blossom had that terrible haircut. Even now, he still had to fight back a laugh whenever he thought about it. Who could blame him? It was awful. Of course, Bubbles, Buttercup, and the whole town teasing her relentlessly hadn’t helped matters. Now, he didn’t condone violence but he did let Blossom get even with her sisters—they were the one responsible for that horrible hairdo.
At least, Blossom’s hair grew back quickly. Now it fell past her waist, silky and healthy as ever.
He could see so whenever she visited him at work when he was still working. Just like him, Blossom had devoted herself to science. She had gone on to create breakthroughs of her own and eventually inherited Utonium Labs!
Of course, she wasn’t the only daughter he was proud of.
Bubbles, the joy and the laughter, was now a kindergarten teacher! It suited her perfectly. Her inspiration had always been Ms. Keane. Sandra was so happy when Bubbles announced she wanted to study early childhood education. And even more happy once she found out that she was going to work at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. The little classroom they once knew had expanded over the years and was now a full elementary school!
Professor smiled faintly to himself, another memory popping up in his head.
He had always been grateful for Sandra Keane and Sara Bellum. His girls never truly had a mother figure growing up, and the two women had stepped in without hesitation whenever the girls needed them. Especially during… certain moments. Professor decided he did not want to revisit the memory of all three girls getting their first periods. Nope.
What did he want to think about?
Oh, right. Maybe the time when Bubbles had those big glasses she used to wear when her vision suddenly became blurry. He didn’t understood why Blossom and Buttercup made fun of her so much. Personally, he found them adorable! Somewhere in the house there was probably still a photograph of her wearing them. Too bad he wasn’t at home right now.
And how could he forget his Buttercup?
Professor’s smile softened.
Most people probably wouldn’t describe her as cute, but to him, Buttercup had her moments. He still remembered the green blanket she secretly relied on to feel she has the strength to fight crime. It should still be somewhere in their closet…
Even now, she was still the toughest fighter out of the three.
While her sisters chose different paths in life, Buttercup never stopped protecting Townsville. But instead of fighting monsters and villains, she now solved crimes as a detective. And she was incredible at it!
All of his girls were.
It didn’t stop there. Of course, a lot has happened since then. Professor was 64 now, after all.
His girls had grown up, fallen in love, and eventually married their respective partners and counterparts—the Rowdyruff Boys.
To this day, he still wasn’t entirely sure how that happened. If someone had told him years ago that the loud, troublesome little boys created by Mojo Jojo would one day become his sons-in-law, he probably would have laughed in their face.
He admitted he hadn’t been thrilled about it at first. The boys had caused his daughters far too many headaches growing up for him to immediately approve. But over time, he began noticing the little things.
The boys had grown up too and they were much better people than before. Professor supposed opposites really did attract.
And then came the best surprise of all: Grandchildren!
He still remembered the exact moment Buttercup told him she was pregnant. The poor girl had looked more nervous than when she fought monsters as a child.
Professor had certainly experienced multiple emotions at once. At first, irritation. Mostly toward Butch because while he liked the boy now, that did not stop him from getting a bit angry that his daughter had gotten pregnant right after college. Second was confusion because how? The girls weren’t exactly ordinary people. For years, he quietly wondered whether they would even be capable of having children because of how they were created. Guess they had the answer now. Lastly… Happiness. Just so much happiness. The moment he held baby Bruce for the first time, tiny and wrapped tightly in a green blanket, something in Professor’s heart melted completely.
After that, more grandchildren followed. So naturally, there were many tiny laughs filling the house again, tiny footsteps running through the halls, and tiny voices calling him “Grandpa.”
It reminded him so much of when the girls were little that sometimes it physically ached.
Professor loved every single one of them more than words could ever explain.
And more than anything, he hoped he could live long enough to watch them grow up too.
If only…
Beep… beep… beep…
The hospital room was quiet except for the soft, steady beep of the heart monitor next to the bed. Professor Utonium lay still, thin wires trailed from his chest to the machines nearby, and the oxygen cannula beneath his nose shifted every time he breathed.
The girls sat around him silently.
Professor’s tired eyes slowly drifted toward them. Even lifting his head seemed exhausting now. “Girls…?” he whispered weakly. Talking was also hard still… the stroke almost six years ago really took a toll on him, huh?
The three of them immediately moved closer.
Bubbles gently took his hand first, careful not to disturb the IV taped to his skin. “We’re here, Professor,” she said softly, though her voice trembled near the end. He hated hearing that tremble. He hated seeing all three of his girls look so afraid. “Need anything?” she asked, already crying despite her attempt to smile through it.
Professor opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. There was so much he wanted to tell them.
That he loved them. That he was so so proud of them. That no matter how old they became, no matter how many years passed, they would always be his little girls. His greatest creation and his family.
Tears welled in his eyes before he could stop them.
And so did the girls.
“Oh, Professor…” Bubbles cried quietly, squeezing his hand tighter.
Blossom lowered her head against his left hand, holding it carefully between both of hers like she was afraid letting go because she was. “Please don’t leave us,” she whispered.
Buttercup had buried her face near his side, her shoulders shaking violently as tears soaked into the fabric of his hospital gown. Seeing her cry like this shattered him more than anything else. Buttercup rarely cried. And if she did it wasn’t like this.
Professor weakly lifted his fingers, trying to comfort them the same way he used to when they were children frightened by nightmares.
He wished he had more strength… more time.
Just a little more… please.
The monitor continued its slow rhythm through the room.
Beep… beep… beep…
Professor looked at each of them carefully, silently memorizing their faces one last time.
How lucky he had been… how impossibly lucky.
“We love you, Professor.”
Beep… beep… beep…
“I love… you… too.”
Beep… beep…
Beep…
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP—
If given the chance, I would live my life all over again just to be with my girls.