The Powerpuff Girls: PSHAW

#26
- - - - - - -

The city of Townsville! But that is not our focus today. What is the focus is, naturally enough, the Powerpuff Girls!

At first five year old tiny titans, they have grown into beautiful teenaged girls with incredible powers and ever growing potential! But how did this happen? How did they go from Powerpuff Hands to Powerpuff Bras? How did they grow up? How did they get, you know... Fingers and so on?

Well, let us turn back the clock to when our wonderful girls were just twelve... And... Uh... Still small? What?


The Powerpuff Girls in their original forms are sitting in their room. Blossom is doing homework, Buttercup is punching her punching bag, and Bubbles is... Crying?

"Uwahhhahahaaaa! Bwaaaahhhhh!" She sobbed. Blossom sighed.

"Bubbles, what's wrong now?"

Bubbles continued to cry loudly, hands over her eyes. "UWAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Oh for crying out loud... Bubbles! Come on, what's wrong?" Buttercup asked angrily. Bubbles sniffled.

"I... I... I don't have a date... For the dance!" She sobbed.

"So? You're twelve, there will be better dances when we get to high school," Blossom said with a smile. "I certainly won't worry about being asked out..."

"But that's just it!" Bubbles wailed. "He said he couldn't take me out because... Because I look like... Like... A FIVE YEAR OLD!" Bubbles wailed.

"Well we all look that way, Bubbles!" Buttercup said angrily. Far angrily than she would otherwise. Blossom lowered her book, frowning.

"Yeah! But for how long?" Bubbles sniffled. "What if... What if we're doomed to be five years old..." Her eyes widened and her lip wibbled. "FOREVER?!"

"Well, that's ridiculous..." Blossom said slowly. She held a hand to her mouth. "... Isn't it?"

"Yeah! I mean... Then we couldn't get any stronger," Buttercup said uneasily. "Or... Or... Grow up...?"

All three girls were silent for a few more seconds, before as one they shot downstairs into the lab at superspeed.

"PROFESSORRRRRRR!" They wailed.

- - - - -

Later, after a great deal of testing and experimenting by the Professor, said scientist is sitting at his desk, his head bowed as the girls float before him.

"What is it, Professor?" Bubbles asked urgently.

"Come on, what did you find out? Tell us!" Buttercup cried.

"Please!" Blossom insisted.

"Oh girls... You know, my original formula would have allowed you to grow up normally... I mean, Little Girls are meant to grow up!" The Professor explained. "But Chemical X, while also giving you superpowers, has caused all my calculations to be thrown off. But I do know a few things..."

"What professor?" Asked Blossom.

“Not only are you not getting any more powerful,” and the Professor’s face was grim, “you are losing your powers.”

The girls gasped. “We are?!”

“Have you noticed anything different about your abilities lately? Weaknesses, failures of strength?” Asked the Professor.

The three girls promptly fell to the floor.

“OOF!” They cried. The Professor sighed.

“I was afraid of that,” Utonium said. "The energy inside of you that is usually responsible for your abilities is being diverted deeper and deeper inside. What it's doing, I don't know... But eventually, you will not have any left for your powers. You will be... Normal."

The Powerpuff Girls managed to hover again, unsteadily.

“But you can stop it right?” Buttercup asked. “Right Professor?!”

"Please?" Bubbles asked.

The Professor frowned.

“Right?!” Blossom insisted. The Professor frowned, and his fists clenched.

“I’m not going to give up, girls,” the Professor said. “In the meantime though... We’re going to have to take steps to keep this quiet. Because if anyone found out you were losing your powers...”

Mojo Jojo leaned back in his chair as he looked at the screen that was showing him the feed from one of his expertly placed surveillance drones. He blinked a few times...

"... Then that means you'd be vulnerable to defeat... Or worse."

And then... Mojo smiled. He went for his phone.

- - - - - -

To be continued!
 

whitewhiskey

Well-Known Member
#27
You know, I keep trying to think of a non-villain pairing for Buttercup, but all I can think of is either Johnny Test or, if multi-verse shenanigans are called, Finn. Maybe Kevin from Ed, Edd and Eddy, but for some reason that seems like a couple that wouldn't last too long and could end explosively.
 

scriviner

Well-Known Member
#28
I actually had a very weird Finn/Buttercup pairing in mind, but it was Ice Prince Finn from the Season 5 premiere coming as an interdimensional conqueror who just kind of occasionally kidnaps Buttercup to catch up and have dinner with since he was in the neighborhood causing chaos anyway.
 

whitewhiskey

Well-Known Member
#29
scriviner said:
I actually had a very weird Finn/Buttercup pairing in mind, but it was Ice Prince Finn from the Season 5 premiere coming as an interdimensional conqueror who just kind of occasionally kidnaps Buttercup to catch up and have dinner with since he was in the neighborhood causing chaos anyway.
That...could actually work. I just wrote in the AT idea thread, but the last we saw Ice Finn, he shot a blast powerful enough to knock out Prismo's TV, he could have possibly blasted himself into another reality. And, technically, he's not a villain, just a hero gone crazy.

Maybe he takes over Antarctica and trains/enchants the penguins...
 
#30
- - - - - -

Oh no! Mojo Jojo is aware of the girl’s vulnerability! There’s nothing more uncomfortable than a monkey shaking your tree! Oh, what will Townsville do when they hear the news?

“What do you mean the Girls are losing their powers?!” The Mayor demanded of Professor Utonium in his office at Townsville Hall. Professor Utonium held up a finger and tried to shush him.

“No, no, no! Keep it down Mayor!”

“But-But this is unbelievable!” The Mayor cried. “What’ll we do without the Girls?! How will we survive?! I’ve seen the dark possibilities that might occur if we don’t have the Girls to protect us! Without them, we are doomed! DOOMED! DOOOOMED!” The Mayor held his hands to his temples in horror, his eyes bulging.

“Uh, Mayor, there is Project Yggdrasil,” Miss Bellum pointed out dryly. “Remember?”

The Mayor was silent for a time, before smacking his forehead. “D’oh! Of course, of course! Well Professor, you do have excellent timing!”

“Project Yggdrasil?” Asked the Professor.

The Mayor dropped off his chair and hustled over to the nearby grandfather clock. He then jumped up and down, grunting as he tried to reach the hands of the clock.

“Ungh... Ungh...!”

Professor Utonium blinked. Miss Bellum sighed and stood up. She walked over to the clock, and turned the hands to 5:30. The Mayor grumbled, but nodded. Bellum pressed the hands in, and the wall behind the grandfather clock opened up to reveal an elevator.

“Come along, my boy, come along!” The Mayor said. The Professor, intrigued, rose and followed them into the elevator car. The doors shut behind them, and the elevator began to descend. It was shiny and chrome lined inside, and there were large glass windows looking out at the shaft as they went down.

“You see, Professor,” the Mayor began as they passed several levels of machinery, vents, and other equipment, “in a city with constant monster attacks and supervillains and other disasters, we have had to prepare. The Girls are our first and greatest defense, and we love them, but there was always the fear we might lose them, or they would be away during trouble, or what have you,” the Mayor went on. “Heck, we were thinking of giving them a vacation!”

“But to do that, we needed to ensure Townsville had defenses equal to the task,” Miss Bellum said as they passed several flooded levels. The Professor’s eyebrows rose as he noted that each level was divided by a several foot wide layer of solid steel.

“Thus... Project Yggdrasil!” The Mayor said, throwing his arm in an arc as the elevator descended into a vast, lit cavern. The Professor’s eyes widened and he moved up, pressing his hands and face against the glass as he beheld forests, lakes, rivers, and fields all held underneath sunlight directed in from the surface.

“I wanted to name it ‘Project Gherkin,’ but Miss Bellum wouldn’t let me,” the Mayor went on with a scowl up at his assistant. Miss Bellum sighed.

“Honestly Mayor, the mythological connotations of Yggdrasil alone-”

“Yes yes yes but honestly! All that symbolism can’t match a decent pickle!” The Mayor pouted. He smiled at the Professor’s look of wonder. “So? What do you think, Professor?”

“My goodness,” he gasped. “It’s... A geofront! Carved right into the bedrock of the city! Amazing!”

“Exactly Professor,” Miss Bellum said. “A last great refuge for mankind should the Girls or our other protectors fail-”

“Enough of that!” The Mayor said flatly. He hit the down button again. “Come on, come on, let’s get to the good part...!”

The vast, lush cavern vanished from view, and several levels later the elevator doors opened up. The Professor turned and gasped again as he beheld the massive underground command center. Huge holograms projected scenes of Townsville over everyone’s heads, and there was a command deck with three main operators. The professor blinked as he noted that the operators were all wearing bunny ears, but he focused on the Mayor and Miss Bellum as they walked out and up to a desk high above all the other stations and techs. The Mayor sat down at this desk with a grin.

“Welcome to... Uh... Er...” The Mayor scratched his head. “What was the codename for the command level again, Miss Bellum? Genesis... Er... Central Paradigm... What?”

“It’s still in committee, sir,” Miss Bellum said. She turned to the Professor. “Right now we just refer to it as Townsville Central, given the train station changed it’s name to Faust Station.”

“Capital!” The Mayor said. “From here, we can direct the vast automated defenses and supply and logistics systems of Townsville to aid the Girls in their efforts to defend the city!”

“Yes Mayor, but even with all this helping them,” the Professor began, “there’s still the possibility that their powers will fail at a critical time! And even these vast defenses might fail!”

“That is a possibility, Professor!” The Mayor said gravely, nodding his head. “But!” And here the small man stood up in his chair, “Townsville will go out fighting against the inevitable! Our greatest hour!” He sat back down in his chair, and rummaged in the drawers of the desk. He scowled.

“Miss Bellum! I do not see any pickles in here!”

“That’s what you call the food services for, sir,” Miss Bellum said dryly. The Mayor nodded.

“Of course, of course... Anyway, as I was saying Professor. Townsville stands ready to fight alongside her stalwart defenders no matter the cost! And whether we will prevail, or fail depends on the-!”

Alert sirens went off, as holographic windows filled the air. Each one bearing multiple WARNINGS. The Mayor gasped.

“What in the name of-What is all that racket?!”

Holographic windows opened and showed a scene of devastation as Mojo Jojo blasted buildings with his energy cannons, laughing maniacally as robot drones flew about aiding him. The Mayor gasped again.

“Mojo Jojo?!” He cried.

“That’s not all, Mayor,” Miss Bellum said, pointing to additional windows. “According to reports, HIM, Fuzzy Lumpkins, Princess, Sedusa, the Gangrene Gang...” She looked up at the Mayor. “They’re all on the move! All at once!”

The Mayor’s eyes widened. “Incredible! It’s as if they are all aware of the vulnerability of the girls! Well, nothing for it,” the Mayor reached for the hotline phone. “We need to call them in-”

“But Mayor! Didn’t you hear anything I said! The Girls are losing their powers!” Professor Utonium said frantically. “They can’t be called in! If they use their powers, they will lose them faster!”

The Mayor paused. He put the phone down. His eyes narrowed.

“Well then... Today is the day we justify the taxpayer’s trust in government,” the Mayor said. “MISS BELLUM! Sound Red Alert! Today, Townsville is going to save those girls!”

“Yes sir!” Miss Bellum said with a salute. The Professor frowned deeply as the scenes of mayhem became more and more grisly, displayed on the holographic windows above them.

“Oh girls... I hope we don’t need you,” he said softly.

“And someone get me a pickle!” The Mayor cried.

- - - - - -

Huh... This all somehow sounds familiar... Why do I get the sudden urge to hum a Frank Sinata song and complain about whether or not a girl is my mom or if the bus runs through here? Oh well! That’ll have to wait as the villains of Townsville are running amok!

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Cackled Mojo Jojo as he annihilated cars, trucks, and buildings with his blaster cannons. “Ah, I never get tired of the smell of burning buildings, the screams of panicking people...”

“Ahhh... Such lovely fear in the air!” HIM added, unleashing numerous demons after the screaming Townies. “I never get a chance to just CUT LOOSE like this, heeheehee...”

“Hey Monkey! Ya’ll sure this is gonna work?” Lumpy asked as he choked some unfortunates by lifting his arms to expose them to the stench of his pits. His companions covered their noses.

“Have any of my plans not worked before?” Mojo asked flatly.

“Pfft! You want that in triplicate or would the simple facts sink into your brain?” Princess Morbucks asked arrogantly. Unlike the other villains and the Powerpuff Girls, the young girl had grown and never let a chance to lord over the Girls with her extra height and developing curves. At least she could beat them in something.

But destroying them now would be far, far sweeter.

“Irritating girl,” Mojo growled. He unleashed a laser shot into an approaching police cruiser, which exploded. Thanks to the advanced technology within, the officers were ejected safely and left to flee with the other civilians towards the shelters.

“This doesn’t seem like a good plan,” Sedusa said flatly, tossing aside some other policemen with her hair. “What if you’re wrong?”

“I am not wrong,” Mojo said. “And besides, if you do not stick with us I shall remove your hair!”

Sedusa gasped as the Gangrene gang snickered. “You... You wouldn’t!”

Mojo smirked. “Wouldn’t I?”

“Ooh, it can only help you out, Girlfriend,” Him mocked. “You don’t seem to look that good with it anyway~...”

“Sh-Shut up, you!” Sedusa muttered as she went back to tormenting citizens.

“Bah! That Mayor should have called the girls already...” Mojo growled.

“Speaking of, why didn’t you bring along your boys?” Princess asked flatly. Mojo snorted and scowled at HIM.

“He sent them off to an evil summer camp!”

“Now now, they can’t learn all there is to be evil stuffed up in your crude, primitive dwelling,” HIM said. “You really need a far more open mind.”

“I don’t see why we must get outsiders involved in our family business!” Mojo snarled at HIM. The red demon growled back.

“And I don’t see why I must make every decision regarding the Boys after consulting you!”

“That’s why we continue to have these problems!” Mojo snarled.

“Boy, how long they been married, huh?” Ace muttered.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” Mojo and HIM both snarled. Ace squeaked and adjusted his pants.

“N-Nothing...!”

Snake snickered, but Ace shut him up with a smack to his face.

“When is that Mayor going to call those girls anyway,” Mojo growled.

A large jumbotron activated over the villains, and the face of the Mayor glared down at them.

“Well, speak of him now,” HIM said with a leer.

“Ahem! Attention villains of Townsville!” The Mayor began. “Your unprovoked attack and sinister plans end now!”

“Oh, what are you going to do?” Mojo asked mockingly. “Dispatch the Powerpuff Girls on us?”

“Er... Of course!”
The Mayor said, glaring again. “That is precisely what we are going to do-!”

“Despite the fact they’re all losin’ their powers?!” Ace of the Gangrene Gang called. He and his fellow miscreants laughed and high fived at the Mayor sputtered.

“Wh-What?! That’s preposterous-They can’t know-NO!” The Mayor said angrily. “Of course they aren’t losing their powers! We just decided... Uh... To warm things up for them! Yeah!”

“Oh? And what kind of warming up will you employ, hm Mayor?” Mojo asked mockingly. “We seem to have plenty of heat already! Ahahahaha!” His laughed was shared by the other villains as he fired a blast at the jumbotron. It exploded, and a smaller jumbotron rose out of a nearby manhole with the angry visage of the Mayor to replace it.

The nearest buildings sank into the ground, causing it to shake. The villains ceased their laughing as out of these new holes in the ground emerged large stacks of armored boxes, each the size of a small mini-van. These boxes began to rotate on a belt system and robotic arms, arranging themselves to surround the villains.

Then, in unison, the boxes opened up. Inside each were missile tubes, gatling guns, naval cannons, rockets, grenade launchers, flamethrowers, even beam cannons and laser turrets. Mojo blinked several times, his smile gone, as a massive amount of firepower clicked, locked, and armed itself all around the villains of Townsville.

“This,” the Mayor stated.

“... G-Golly,” Fuzzy Lumpkins muttered, dropping his musket in fright. The other villains glared at him. He shrugged. “Well excuse me!”

“This... Is a set back,” Mojo said flatly. “But not an unexpected one.”

“I suppose you have a plan, Monkey boy?” HIM asked. Mojo smirked.

“I always have a plan,” he said, just as the defenses of Townsville opened fire.

- - - - -

Well! Is this the end of the Townsville Villains? Will good succeed in the end? Or is the day doomed? Tune in for the next episode and find out!
 

Ryuugi

Well-Known Member
#31
Dexter wasn't sure what to expect as he followed after his...girlfriend? Yes, he supposed she was his girlfriend now. He would need to take take some time to precisely identify why that made him feel weird inside, once time presented itself, but for now--

Well, now he was going to meet her father, the famed Professor Utonium--the traditional meeting of one's partner's parents. Dexter had already introduced Blossom to his father and father, who had taken the fact that their son was dating a superhero in stride--as to be expected, given how they took most things. DeeDee's reaction had been unexpected, but that, in it's own way, made it expected; he had long ago given up predicting his sister's reactions and instead focused on working around them.

Still, the introduction too his own family had been a largely calm, pleasant affair.

But he was not certain how this meeting with Professor Utonium would go. He had seen the man in person at several conferences, read his papers, and so on, but that was the extent of his knowledge of the man. As such, he found himself incapable of predicting how the man would react when he brought home his daughter. Certainly, Blossom seemed worried, but that was most likely caused by her wondering how her father would react to him.

Ideally, he supposed, the famed Professor would recognize him as a fellow member of the scientific community, allowing for interesting discourse on recent topics. Sadly, it was more likely that her father would see his as just a normal boy--which wasn't bad, perhaps, but it would most likely result in something rather boring.

No, that sounded mean. Normal, perhaps, was better. Her father would see he was a nice boy, accept him in a reasonable fashion, they'd have dinner, he'd be told to treat her well and keep her safe, and there would be polite, calm discussions to end the perfectly normal night. All of that was good, of course, but rather predictable--after a few situations involving a baby from the future being sent back in time, he'd researched parenting and most of what he found seemed to derive largely from being calm, reasonable, kind, intelligent, and willing to compromise, while also exercising authority appropriately.

The Professor had most likely done the same thing, meaning what would result would probably be a boring, text-book discussion--

"Oh, no," Blossom whispered, eyes widening in horror as her house got up, revealing it's giant mechanical legs and arms.

"...Oh, yes!" Dexter said, spirits brightening as his fears of a boring night shattered.

"How did he know? Who could of--Buttercup! She must have told him! I told her to stay out of this but--" Blossom stopped, eyebrows furrowing as she turned towards Dexter. "Wait, what?"

"I ADMIT, THAT WAS NOT THE REACTION I HAD ANTICIPATED!" The Professor said through his enormous speakers.

"Oh, no, no! Don't mind me, I'm trembling, I assure you!" Dexter said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"WELL...ALRIGHT, THEN. WHERE WAS I..."

The sound of shifting paper came from the other side of the speakers.

"AH, YES; HERE WE GO. BLOSSOM, YOU'RE JUST IN TIME! LOOK AT THE IMPROVEMENTS I JUST MADE TO THE HOUSE. WHY, THESE GIANT MECHANICAL ARMS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO CRUSH A GROWN MAN LIKE A BUG, TO SAY NOTHING OF WHAT THEY COULD DO TO A BOY. SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHO IS THAT YOU HAVE WITH YOU?"


Dexter gestured dismissively, quickly shrugging out of his school clothes, revealing the skin-tight, technological-looking suit he wore beneath.

"Greetings, Professor Utonium. I am Dexter, boy-genius, and after recently being asked to go out on a date, I became your beautiful daughter's boyfriend. Yesterday, I introduced her to my parents and today she offered to reciprocate by introducing me to you. Had I know that such an elaborate welcome, I would have come better dressed and shown you the full measure of my respect for you, the father of my girlfriend. I will have to ask that you forgive me for this lapse in judgement, but as luck would have it, I don't go anywhere without my DexoSkeleton 9000. Now then..."

Trails of light glowed across his suit as it activated and it quickly began to expand into a suit of armor that covered him completely. Sleek, silver, and polished enough to be used as a makeshift mirror, it was his most recent version of his self-protection apparatus--a completely nanobot-based version of the 7000, including the best features of the 8000.

"Let us discuss SCIENCE!"

To be continued...
 

whitewhiskey

Well-Known Member
#32
A green blur shot across the Townsville skyline. Buttercup was answering a call she'd overheard from a nearby police radio, a shop was being robbed. Normally, she and her sisters didn't have to bother with such small fries unless something went wrong, but A. She was bored out of her mind and B. The Gangrene Gang was involved.

Approaching the store in question, she did notice some odd things, random patches of ice, and an ice filled crater near the scene. Either Blossom was having trouble with her ice breath again, or the gang got their weird powers again and this would actually be a better fight than they usually gave.

Entering the department store, it turned out the latter was not true...

Buttercup stared, barely keeping herself from bursting out laughing. The five green gang members were stuck to the wall with ice. Not one big solid chunk, but it looked random, almost like ice-silly string, only thinker, and they still looked to be freezing their butts off.

"Wow," Buttercup finally managed to gasp out between laughs, it really never got old, "Blossom really got you guys."

"N-N-Not B-Blo-Blo-s-som," Ace chattered out.

"P-P-Plththth-th-th," Grubber, the only one with a free arm, pointed behind her.

Turning around, Buttercup almost jumped back at the kid standing behind her. He was maybe a year or two younger than her, in torn clothes, weird hood/hat topped with a crown holding cracked jewels, his bangs hanging out of his hat, and a prosthetic arm that looked like it came out of a claw machine, and not as a prize.

And he was staring at her...

He was staring for almost a minute and a half as Buttercup tried to think of what to say, and he didn't blink...

"Alright," The Powerpuff finally snapped, "this is getting creepy, who the heck are you?"

He'd been really distracted, he didn't really fully remember what happened, or where he was or-

Whispering Snow...

Then he saw some bad people hurting good people, like the Destiny Gang, and he-

The Power of Frost...

Then this girl, this beautiful girl, showed up, and he...He couldn't look away, she was entrancing...A beautiful Princess...or a queen...

"HEY!"

The pale skinned young man finally blinked, shaking the cobwebs from his head.

"You're starting to creep me out, who are you?"

"Oh, s-sorry," the boy apologized, "I'm-" The Hand of Madness "I'm Finn."

--------------------

Might continue it later, but the Crown Power Gems are craked, so Finn isn't as crazy, but still a little coo-coo, and a little amnesiatic, and his powers may be a bit off.

On a side note, did any other AT fans notice Finn's nose got shorter and less pointy when he wore the crown, the opposite of Simon?
 
#34
zeebee1 said:
"his father and father"?
Well, you see, when a man loves a man...

Or:

Well, you see, when a man loves a hermaphrodite...

Or:

Well, you see, when a man loves a tomboy...
 
#35
- - - - -

Back at the Girls' house, we find our heroes in their room, pensive and unhappy. And who can blame 'em?

“Oh no... What are we going to do?” Bubbles sniffled. “I mean, without our superpowers...!”

“Don't be such a baby, Bubbles,” Buttercup said, still punching her punching bag furiously. “Mmph! W-We've lost our powers before!”

“And look how well that turned out,” Blossom said flatly, looking through the Professor's notes. Buttercup scowled as Bubbles cried harder.

“Hey! I'm doing your job and trying to keep her spirits up!” Buttercup growled. “Mind helping out a little?!”

“I'm trying to find out if we're going to explode, thank you very much!” Blossom growled back. Buttercup glared angrily, as Bubbles clutched at her octopus doll.

“Well? Are... Are we going to explode?” Bubbles asked.

Blossom did some calculations on her abacus, before shaking her head. She smiled uneasily. “Oh! N-No! We're not going to explode!”

“Are you sure?” Buttercup asked flatly. Blossom sniffled.

“No,” the leader of the Powerpuffs cried. “WE'RE GOING TO EXPLODE TWICE!”

“NOOOO!” Bubbles screamed. “I DON'T WANT TO EXPLODE TWICE!”

“OR ONCE!” Buttercup wailed.

“No, wait, wait, wait!” Blossom shouted as her sisters ran about the room in a panic. She waved her hands frantically. “I did the math wrong! I did the math wrong! WE WON’T EXPLODE!”

“What about exploding twice?!” Bubbles squealed.

“WE WON’T EXPLODE EVEN ONCE!” Blossom yelled. Bubbles and Buttercup smiled and sighed in relief. “I think,” Blossom added.

“YOU THINK?!” Buttercup and Bubbles shouted.

“STOP SHOUTING SO MUCH, I CAN’T THINK!” Blossom shrieked back.

“YOU STARTED IT!” Buttercup yelled, shoving her sister. “WE’VE GOT ENOUGH TROUBLE WITHOUT YOU SCARING US TO DEATH!”

“I’M NOT TRYING TO SCARE YOU! I’M TRYING TO HELP!” Blossom yelled back, shoving Buttercup away.

“Stop it stop it STOP IT!” Bubbles screamed, getting between her sisters and hold them apart. “We can’t just tear each other apart like this!”

Buttercup and Blossom glared at each other. Blossom looked away first and sighed.

“I’m sorry Buttercup... I’m just-”

“Yeah, I know,” Buttercup said. “I’m... I’m scared too.”

Blossom and Bubbles both looked at their sister in shock. Buttercup sighed, and rubbed the back of her head.

“Hey... Might as well confess everything if we’re at the end, right?” She asked.

“This isn’t the end, Buttercup!” Blossom insisted. “The Professor will save us! He always does!”

“Don’t be so cynical!” Bubbles cried. Buttercup sighed, and looked up at the ceiling.

“I’m not,” she said. “But I am... At peace with it, now that I’ve admitted I’m scared...” She looked to her sisters, frowning deeply. “If... If this is it... I want you to know I love you guys, and the Professor, more than anything else!”

“Oh Buttercup!” Bubbles cried. She hugged her sister and wailed as tears poured from her eyes. Blossom sobbed as well, and hugged Buttercup on the other side. Buttercup sighed.

“See why I don’t get mushy often?” Buttercup managed. She screwed up her face to try and keep from crying. “Oh darnit... I’m doing it... Too! UWAHHH!”

All three Powerpuff Girls cried, hugging each other tightly. They felt like they were already going out of the world the same way they came into it: Together.

Then they heard it. Booms. They looked out the windows at Townsville in the distance. Bubbles sniffled and wiped her eyes.

“Why is there a lot of explosions and bright lights over Townsville?” She asked. Blossom went to the hotline, and picked the receiver up.

“Hello? Mayor?”

The phone rang for a bit, before it was finally picked up.

“Yes? Hello? Mayor of Townsville speaking!” The Mayor answered.

“Uh, Mayor, is everything all right?” Blossom asked. There was a great deal of background noise-Mostly voices shouting. Blossom tried to make it out but it was difficult without her super hearing.

“Oh! Oh sure! Everything’s fine! Nothing out of the ordinary!” The Mayor said. Buttercup looked at Blossom from the window.

“There’s missile and gunfire!” Buttercup said. Blossom scowled at the phone.

“Mayor, we can see a lot of gun and missile fire from the city.”

“Oh! It’s just uh, fireworks! For a celebration!”
Said the Mayor. “Just a wonderful, peaceful celebration!”

“I can see blaster fire from Mojo’s cannons!” Bubbles cried, squinting at the city.

“What about that? There’s a lot of blaster fire from Mojo’s cannons!” Blossom said.

“Uh, oh! We just busted those out from storage! I’ll have to speak to the police about that! How uh, um...” The Major trailed off.

“What kind of celebration?” Asked Blossom angrily.

“We're expecting you guys to get better soon, of course!” The Mayor said nervously.

“He says it’s a celebration for us,” Blossom said dryly.

“Ooh! How nice!” Bubbles said cheerfully. Her sisters glared at her, and she coughed. “What?”

Buttercup pointed out the window. Bubbles looked, and then frowned in realization. “Oh...”

“Er... oh! Uh... someone needs to get punched-- I mean refill the punch. Talk to you later, girls!” The Mayor said quickly.

“What was that explosion just now?” Blossom said. “It looks like Townsville Tower just went up!”

“Uh... we're taking it down to make room for... uh... a NEW Townsville Tower! The old one was getting kind of nasty anyway, right, Miss Bellum? Oh, I'm sorry girls. You can't hear Miss Bellum. Here... you should talk to her!” The Mayor said quickly.

“I’m going to get you for this, Mayor,” Miss Bellum muttered. “Hello girls! How is every-INCREASE FIREPOWER FROM SECTOR A! INDIRECT FIRE BATTERIES, NOW NOW NOW!”

“Uh huh,” Blossom said wryly. “How’s the celebration going?”

“Just fine, just-I'm doing-MORTARS! MORTARS! NOW!”
Miss Bellum shouted.

“... Mortars... Right,” Blossom said dryly.

“We have a lot of things to grind-” Bellum tried. A technician shouted in the background.

“AIRSTRIKES INCOMING! ALPHA SQUADRON IS ENGAGED! BETA SQUADRON COMING IN!”

“INCREASE LASER FIREPOWER!”
Bellum shouted back.

“Miss Bellum! We can see the battle right from here!” Blossom growled. “In fact... An ejected pilot just parachuted in on the front lawn!”

Said strike fighter pilot waved awkwardly from the lawn. Bubbles waved back. Bellum sighed.

“Fine... We’re currently engaged in battle with all the villains of Townsville who somehow learned you’ve lost your powers and are trying to lure you out.”

“You mean... You’re trying to keep us from saving the day?” Blossom asked in disbelief.

“We’re trying to protect you girls because we love you! And we can’t bear to lose you!”
Bellum cried. “We’re launching enough firepower to make the last couple of alien invasions look like wet firecrackers!”

“Oh! Well uh... Is it working?” Blossom asked.

“Well, HIM teleported the villains out of the range of our first barrage and they’re launching random assaults thanks to that but so far we think they’re-”

There was the sound of a massive explosion in the background and lots of people screaming.

“Miss Bellum? MISS BELLUM!” Blossom cried.

“I’m sorry, the number you have reached has been disconnected. If you’d like to make a call-”


“Ohhh!” Blossom snarled, slamming the phone down. She looked at Bubbles and Buttercup. “We’re going!”

“Yeah!” Buttercup said, slamming her fists together.

“But... But what if our powers run out?” Bubbles asked worriedly.

“We’ll save as much as we can,” Blossom said. “And hope that Townsville’s defenses softened them up enough we can take them!”

Bubbles narrowed her eyes. “Let’s... Let’s do it!” She cried.

“And I know just how to do it!” Buttercup said with a grin.

Five minutes later, in the underground laboratory center of Professor Utonium...

“Um... Buttercup? Wasn’t there supposed to be a giant fighting robot down here?” Bubbles asked. Buttercup scowled.

“Where the heck is the Dynamo?!”

“Where could it have gone?” Blossom cried.

Uh oh, Dynamo! Back in Townsville Central...!

“You what?!” Professor Utonium shouted at the Mayor as they hid underneath the Mayor’s desk. The command center had been breached and the supervillains were engaging in battle with numerous robots and security personnel. The Mayor winced.

“Er... Well... After all the trouble it caused last time, I thought it would come in handy... And keep that blasted thing from destroying the city again!”

“But now how are the girls supposed to help us?!” Miss Bellum demanded. The Mayor scowled at them both.

“Are you saying unleashing that mechanical monstrosity on the city would make things better?!”

Utonium and Bellum stared at him. Bellum looked at Utonium.

“I hate to say it, but he does kind of have a point,” Bellum said. “That thing does cause nothing but trouble.”

“Hey!” Utonium objected.

- - - - - -
 
#36
- - - - - -

Mojo Jojo cackled as his blaster guns rang out, downing numerous robots and security troops. HIM was letting loose his acid blasts and magical energy blasts throughout Townsville Central, devastating the interior of Townsville's mighty command and control fortress.

“Such a shame none of them are wearing red shirts,” Mojo commented, “because that would be a funny reference to how expendable they are and the show Star Trek-!”

“You really wonder why I question your parenting skills?”
HIM asked dryly. “How is that supposed to teach them anything evil?”

“Two words: Prime Directive,” Mojo said. “The ultimate method of allowing inferior civilizations to die out!”

“... Okay, you have a point,” HIM admitted. He grew to enormous size and grabbed a desk. He tossed it aside, revealing the cowering Mayor, Miss Bellum and Professor. “Peekaboo... I SEE YOU!”

“RUN FOR IT!” Mayor shouted. “BWAHHHH!” The little Mayor screeched as he ran furiously, far faster than he usually should be. Professor Utonium and Miss Bellum joined him, running into the nearby elevator. The Mayor slammed his fists on the double doors.

“Come on, come on, OPEN UP!” The Mayor yelled. “MISS BELLUM! WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?!”

“The main power must have been cut!” Miss Bellum cried.

“Then why isn’t the backup system engaging?” Professor Utonium asked.

“We cut those too, hehehehe,” Mojo cackled. He grinned and held up his laser cannon. “HIM! Get down and activate the self destruct!”

“How do you know this place has a multi-megaton self destruct system?” The Mayor asked. Mojo’s grin widened, and the Mayor clenched his fists and winced. “Shoot!”

“Awww... I wanted to TORTURE them a bit first,”
HIM chuckled darkly. A few automated gun turrets opened up from above the elevator, and both supervillains had to duck the fire.

“WOW! THOSE THINGS ARE LOUD!” The Mayor shouted as he covered his ears.

“WHAT?!” Professor Utonium shouted back over the gunfire as it roared in Townsville Central.

“I SAID THOSE THINGS ARE LOUD!” The Mayor bellowed.

“WHAT?! I CAN’T HEAR YOU, THEY’RE TOO LOUD!” Utonium screamed back.

The weapons ceased fire as Mojo was driven down to a lower level.

“THIS IS HOPELESS!” Bellum shouted. “THE GIRLS ARE ON THEIR WAY!”

“WHAT?!” Utonium shouted. “HOW ARE THEY GOING TO FIGHT?!”

“THEY COULD USE DYNAMO!” Shouted the Mayor.

“WELL HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GET DOWN TO IT?!” Utonium bellowed.

“THERE’S A SECRET ENTRANCE FOR THEM TO GET RIGHT DOWN TO THE DYNAMO!” Miss Bellum shouted.

“WELL HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO FIND IT?!” Utonium shouted back.

“WHY ARE WE STILL YELLING?!” The Mayor shouted.

“BECAU-- Because we... nevermind that! The girls don’t know about the secret entrance to the Dynamo!” Professor Utonium pointed out.

“Oh... Ohhh!” The Mayor smiled and snapped his fingers. “We had a... What do you call it, Miss Bellum?”

“A contingency?” Miss Bellum asked. The Mayor nodded.

“Yes! In case of massive destruction and fall of the command center, a trusted associate of the Mayor’s office is to immediately find the Powerpuff Girls and direct them to the secret transit system down to the DYNAMO!” The Mayor smiled proudly and crossed his arms across his chest.

MIss Bellum’s eyes widened. Well, probably. It was hard to tell through her hair. “Wow Mayor... That was great planning!”

“Yes! I’m impressed!” The Professor said with a bright smile. “So... Who is this trusted associate of yours?”

“Funny you should mention that, eheh,” the Mayor said, rubbing his cheek.

- - - - -

Even in the midst of a massive battle for the fate of the city, the municipal services continue their valiant service! From the police, to the firemen, to... The city buses?

“Um, how much do we owe you?” Asked Blossom, counting out change. The bus driver shook his head and waved his hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I wasn’t going to make fare anyway, the way business has been.”

“Still, I really should-UWAH!” Blossom was dragged out of the bus by her sisters.

“THANK YOU!” Buttercup and Bubbles shouted.

The Powerpuff Girls came out of the bus just outside Townsville City Hall. The street was filled with chaos-Screaming people running every which way as fire rained down from the sky.

“This isn’t good,” Bubbles observed.

“What was your first clue?” Buttercup snorted.

“We need to find a way to get to the Professor!” Blossom cried. “Come on, get up the stairs!”

They ran up the marble stairs of City Hall, trying to keep from using their powers... Despite how short their legs were.

“Man... I hate having to use my legs!” Buttercup grumped. “This is like when we were sent back in time all over again!”

“It’s okay! We’re almost there!” Blossom shouted. “Just keep running! We’re almost-!”

Townsville City Hall exploded, sending the Girls flying into the street. They looked up, their faces falling in dismay at the flaming wreckage. They somehow managed to stand despite the fact it felt like the bottoms of their stomachs were falling into the core of the Earth.

“Oh now what do we do?!” Bubbles shouted.

“We’ll think of something else!” Blossom shouted. “We just need to stay focused and-”

“Excuse me,” came a voice from their feet. “But if you need some help, you could just ask me. It is my job.”

They all looked down. Buttercup’s eyes widened.

“Are you kidding me?” The toughest Powerpuff Girl asked in disbelief.

The Talking Dog grinned up at them. “Nice to see you again too, Buttercup.”

“PUPPY!” Bubbles cried happily, gathering him up into a big hug. She looked back and forth as her sisters as they scowled at her. “Um, sorry...” She put him down.

“You really should get out of here, Talking Dog!” Blossom said, pointing towards the way out of the city. “This is going to get ugly... Well, uglier...”

“You mean like your unsightly pores?” The Dog asked. At the glares from the girls, he winced. “But no! I’ve actually been sent by the Mayor and Miss Bellum to help you guys to the Powerpuff Dynamo!”

“Really? The Mayor trusted you?” Buttercup asked skeptically. The Talking Dog raised an eyebrow, as City Hall burned behind him.

“You have met the Mayor before, right?”

“Lead on, pooch,” Blossom sighed.

Talk about the blind leading the blind... Or in this case, a dog leading the powerless... The metaphor doesn't work as I thought, all right? Hang on guys, next bit is coming up! So hold onto your posteriors-You're going to be in the hot seat!

- - - - - -
 
#39
And now a general catch up with the characters of Dexter's Laboratory:

As in Fusion Fall, Dexter has founded his own company Dex Labs, which he is the nominal CEO of. However, he allows his Computer, (now known as Computress) to run the business aspects of the company while he can focus on the science. He still goes to High School as legally required but at this point it is little more than an exercise in social interaction. Despite being a boy billionaire he still has trouble figuring out how to have fun... Which is where Dee Dee comes in.

In her first year of college, DeeDee can still make it back home with the push of a button thanks to Dexter's personal teleporter array. The technology isn't refined enough for mass production, but Dexter does keep such systems locked onto his loved ones at all times. Not out of fear for their safety, of course, but to "save kidnappers the trouble of tolerating DeeDee". Having grown into a more spiritual girl, DeeDee is always concerned about her younger brother being social and happy. And thus she does what any concerned older sister does: She meddles and annoys Dexter until he gets out to have some fun.

In college she is studying psychology as well as ballet, and is already accomplished at both.

Leelee and MeeMee are still DeeDee's best friends, though rather than ballet MeeMee has pursued education in anthropology (and frequents night clubs) while LeeLee has gone into business studies and has a great love of painting. Both of these women are often put into situations with Dexter by DeeDee for the purposes of getting him to loosen up... But more often they both find excuses to hang out with him of their own volition. LeeLee in particular is rather taken with the young boy genius and is interning with DexLabs. MeeMee just sees him as a little brother she can tease.

The Creepy Eyed Girl (CEG) is a teenager and goes to Dexter's High School. Where invariably she shows up around him, sometimes offering cryptic advice and other times flirting with him. Dexter is really not sure what to make of it.

Mandark is now an out and out supervillain, frequently ending up in jail and busting out. He tangles with Dexter, the Powerpuff Girls and numerous other foes, intent on becoming as well known and feared a villain as Mojo Jojo and others. But he still cares very deeply for DeeDee, and whenever he has a chance he just goes to see her in civilian guise. DeeDee never betrays whether or not she knows about his feelings, but is always kind and cordial to him, and genuinely warm. She also always sends him Christmas and birthday presents, which does nothing to cool his ardor for her. In all the world she is a point of normalcy for him. But, much like Dexter, he's about as knowledgeable about women as he is about fashion and haircuts, so he's never sure how to react.

He is pretty sure that when he takes over the world, DeeDee is going to be his queen. He's just not sure how to actually ask her... Especially since taking over the world will probably involve destroying Dexter first...



Olga "Lalavava" Astronomonov has grown into a beautiful young woman with a great talent for ballet and academics. And after all the times Dexter stood up to and defeated her idiot older brother, she's developed something of a severe crush on the Boy Genius. But she's picked up the Astonomonov weakness towards loved ones: Being unable to spit out what she actually says. So she duels with Dexter in words and in studies, being rather tsundere which just flies right over Dexter's head.

DeeDee though is happy about this and encourages Olga to keep it up. Anything to loosen her little brother up is gravy to her.

Dexter's parents are as happy and oblivious as ever, though there might be a third member of the family on the way with how Mom and Dad carry on now that their children are out of the house more and more often.

Alas, the Astonomonov family is a different story. Windbear, Mandark's father, has blamed his son's turn to evil on science and Dexter in particular. OceanBird is more reasonable about Dexter and sees him (strangely enough) as ideal son-in-law material. So the hippie family finds this to be a particular thorny issue...



Monkey and Agent Honeydew are still together and still fighting evil with Global Justice, though Agent Honeydew is now Chief Honeydew. Monkey remains Earth's mightiest hero (for now), and Dexter still remains oblivious to Monkey being his experimental monkey in the labs. Computress is very much aware but finds it too funny to simply tell her creator.
 

whitewhiskey

Well-Known Member
#40
Hey, you know what I just remembered was shown in re-runs a few times on Cartoon network a long time ago?


Maybe a college friend for the spiritual DeeDee?
 
#41
- - - - - -

Even for a master of evil, a creature of darkness whose name can not even be spoken, the defenses of the lower levels of Townsville Central were ferocious. Laser cannons, machine guns, and armored barriers attempted to stymie his advance at every turn! But alas, despite the brave defenders, HIM got through, one after the other. Until at last...

“Ahhh... There we go,” HIM crooned, descending through the last armored door to the massive hangar bay of the Powerpuff DYNAMO. It was fashioned like a huge missile silo, just one massive shaft leading up to the surface and down below to the core of Project Yggdrasil.

“Just what I was looking for...” HIM tapped his claw against his pointed chin and floated up to the massive machine. He hummed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony under his breath, before looking the machine over.

“Turning the fighting weapon of the Powerpuff girls, and their last hope, into a beacon of EVIL... Yesss, that will do nicely,”
the demonic lord chuckled sinisterly, each word burning into the air. “Perhaps I shall even make it over in my own, glorious image afterwards~!”

HIM stretched out his arcane powers, his essence extending into the controls of the mortal weapon. He held up his claws, and the top half of the mighty super robot’s head lifted, the main hatch opening. HIM cackled.

“Ah... Now to take this honey for a joyride, activate the base self destruct, and just see the looks on the faces of those Powerpuff Girls as their city is reduced to a MOLTEN NUCLEAR WASTELAND,” HIM laughed devilishly. “The living shall envy the dead, the dead shall wish they were otherwise, and as for those girls... Oh! If only they were actually... “

The hatch finally slid open, revealing three familiar little girls sitting in the cockpit of the DYNAMO... And smiling at him.

“Here?” HIM finished in disbelief. The super robot’s right arm lashed out, slamming HIM into the side of the armored shaft he had descended down. “OOF!”

“I think you should know by now, HIM,” Blossom said with that infuriating smirk.

“That you should always,” Buttercup grinned.

“Be careful what you wish for!” Bubbles finished. The Powerpuff DYNAMO’s main hatch closed, and HIM felt and heard electrical generators spin up around him. Voltage crackled across the surface of the robot and the shaft, and the DYNAMO grinned.

“Ohhh dear,” HIM said, as faintly through the armored hull of the DYNAMO he heard the girls shout:

“POWERPUFF DYNAMO: LAUNCH!”

The DYNAMO ascended on electromagnetic rails, the same catapult system employed on the Navy’s latest aircraft carriers and rail guns to accelerate aircraft and projectiles to extremely high speeds. In the case of the DYNAMO’s launch system, they were the large such ever built and pushed the mighty fighting robot to a speed just under Mach One as it rose. Pushed against the armored interior of the launch shaft, HIM caught fire from the voltage and the sheer friction, screaming all the way up to the surface almost a mile above.

The burning demon was tossed up into the air, leaving one of the DYNAMO’s fists... Only to be met by her twin a second later, punching him higher into the air. Hundreds of holes opened up in the skin of the mighty fighting robot as high energy particle accelerators went to work, using the massive energy reserves DYNAMO had to bear to turn her into one massive particle beam cannon.

HIM saw this development, sighed, and once again cursed the day he’d ever heard of Mojo Jojo or the Powerpuff Girls. He may have been immortal... But he was pretty sure this was going to hurt.

And as the massive beam discharged, shooting him into the sky on a blast that outshone the sun, HIM realized once again he was right.

“GEEEEEEEYYYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

- - - - - -

Far below, Mojo Jojo had felt the rumbling in his current hiding spot within Townsville Central. He checked his hack into the city security systems, and grinned as he saw that the Powerpuff DYNAMO was on the surface. His hacks into various orbital satellites confirmed that a HIM-shaped object was now on its way to the moon, unless the Demon teleported back to Earth.

Given how those brats had sent him off though, Mojo doubted the demon would return anytime soon.

“Yes, yesss... All is going according to plan,” Mojo chuckled to himself. He held up his wrist, upon which was a special wristwatch. He cleared his throat.

“Big Jojo: Now is the time for action! By that I mean... IT IS SHOWTIME!”

- - - - -

The blast energy died down, and the three Powerpuffs felt their tension lessen by just a bit.

“Finally, this thing does what it’s supposed to!” Buttercup said, thumping her armrest.

“We just had to make sure the weapons weren’t pointed anywhere near Townsville,” Blossom observed in amusement. “Thanks again, Talking Dog, for... Uh... Dog?”

Said canine was cowering in fear behind Bubbles’ seat. “N-No problem...”

“You okay, Puppy?” Asked Bubbles.

“O-Oh yes... Just fine... Being inside a super powered robot fighting a giant demon is just not my idea of a comfortable place to be,” the Dog whimpered. Buttercup made a face.

“You didn’t wizz on the floor, did you?”

“So what if I did?!” Talking Dog demanded. Blossom checked her sensors and frowned.

“Girls, we’ve got bigger problems than the Talking Dog wetting himself.”

“Kind of hard to think of anything bigger than...” Buttercup trailed off as she felt rumbling. Outside, the Powerpuff DYNAMO turned her head to focus on a single building in Townsville that was shaking violently. It soon crumbled, falling apart as a massive object rose from within it. Said massive object then flexed it’s huge arms, and the building exploded outward like a hand grenade. The DYNAMO raised her arms to defend herself, the shrapnel bouncing off her hull like hundreds of bells.

“What... What is that?” Bubbles gasped.

“Well, judging from the headpiece,” Buttercup said as she pointed out the half-pill shape dome decorated in purple lines atop the head of the giant robot, “and the giant M on the chest...”

“YES!” Mojo Jojo cackled from atop the fist of his mighty giant robot, “I, MOJO JOJO, have devised this gigantic robot for the purposes of destroying you girls! ONCE AND FOR ALL!” He leaped dramatically from his robot’s held up fist, landing on a hatch that opened from the robot’s mouth. He was dumped into the cockpit of the robot as the hatch sealed, and he grinned maliciously as he took hold of the controls.

“So then, Powerless Girls... We finally meet! Steel to steel! Weapon to weapon! Giant robot to giant robot!” His mighty Big Jojo posed dramatically. “Do you think you can handle it?”

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup’s eyes all narrowed. The Talking Dog whimpered.

“Powerpuff Girls... LET’S GO!” They shouted, as DYNAMO leaped forward to meet the charge of the mighty Big Jojo!

- - - - - -

Another cliffhanger? Geez, I am getting exhausted by all this! Come on guys, finish this up! There’s other stuff to write but nooo, you have to be slow, unmotivated and lazy by splitting this up into pieces! Ah well, at least we get ourselves an old fashioned giant robot brawl next chapter!
 
#43
- - - - - -

The Powerpuff Dynamo and Big Jojo clashed together, the evil simian robot stopping the Powerpuff mecha by gripping its stubby arms. The two robots pushed towards each other, grinding against one another, crushing the ground underneath them into rubble. Little by little though, the Big Jojo was pushing the Dynamo back.

“Nnngh...!” All three of the Powerpuff girls were struggling through the neural interface to try and regain traction, but even a ruined skyscraper did not stop them.

“We’re being forced back...” Buttercup growled. “Actuators are at full power!”

“Maybe we should try something else!” Bubbles suggested. Blossom nodded.

“Right! EYE BLAST!”

The Dynamo’s laser eyes were unleashed, blasting Big Jojo in the face. The Big Jojo reared back, and with a rocket assist it threw a haymaker that sent the Dynamo flying through another skyscraper.

“He has rocket punches? Why don’t we have rocket punches?” Bubbles demanded. Blossom narrowed her eyes.

“We’ve got something better than rocket punches!” She declared. “Missiles, online!”

The Dynamo stood back up, and across it’s body opened dozens of missile silos, each sprouting a huge missile.

“Locked on target!” Buttercup cried.

“FIRE!” Blossom shouted. With a mighty roar, every missile launched in a continuous barrage that streaked for the Big Jojo. The mighty evil robot raised its huge arms over its face, forcefield generators spinning up. Blue energy shields appeared and the missiles impacted on it, exploding and dispersing their killer energies across the skyline.

“Nuts! What kind of forcefield is that?” Blossom demanded.

“Let’s find out!” Buttercup growled, slamming her fists together. Dynamo emulated her, before the robot leaped across the city. Dynamo landed in front of the Big Jojo, and raised a leg to kick through the forcefield. The Big Jojo was knocked off its huge feet and sent crashing into another historic landmark of Townsville: The Art Museum.

“The answer is, not the kind of forcefield that stops kicks!” Buttercup grinned.

The Big Jojo rose and held out it’s mighty arms. Rockets exploded from around its fists, and launched the huge projectiles at Dynamo. Bubbles eeped and commanded Dynamo to jump, evading the flying fists.

“They’re coming back at us!” Bubbles warned, and the rocket fists were indeed circling back for Dynamo.

“Defensive missiles, online!” Blossom shouted.

The missile silos in Dynamo’s pigtails opened up and launched dozens of smaller missiles, which exploded into dozens of smaller projectiles that exploded in the flight paths of the rocket fists. The force redirected the fists, which flew around the Dynamo and were caught by Big Jojo’s arms.

“Not bad,” Mojo Jojo commented over the radio, “But what can you do against this?!”

Big Jojo’s mighty arms transformed into heavy laser cannons, and giant heat radiators emerged from the back of the evil robot. The laser cannons glowed as they charged.

“Oh man... What do we have to stop giant laser cannons?!” Bubbles cried. “Don’t we have a forcefield generator or a super awesome energy absorber or something?”

“We just have the deflectors!” Blossom shouted.

“There’s always the direct approach,” Buttercup suggested.

The Dynamo’s rocket boosters roared to life and sent the mighty fighting machine crashing into the Big Jojo. They tumbled across the skyline, demolishing more buildings in their struggle.

- - - - -

Far below in Townsville Central, the command deck was being put back together. Enough functionality remained to monitor the battle above though, which lead to the Mayor groaning as he saw the incredible devastation being wrought across Townsville.

“I can’t believe this! Whose stupid idea was it to keep that horrible mechanical monstrosity intact?!”

“I believe it was yours, sir,” Miss Bellum said dryly.

“Oh yeah,” the Mayor said, rubbing the side of his face. “Professor! You having any luck with getting the main computers back online?”

Professor Utonium was bent over a computer console he had cobbled together out of the many spare parts lying around. His brow was covered in sweat as he labored over the connections, typing furiously.

“No! I had to hook up to the supercomputer back home at my lab,” Utonium said. He hummed and stroked his chin as several data windows opened up on the screen. “That’s odd... My data on the girls’ latest examinations is showing up...” His eyes widened. “Incredible...!”

“We’re a little busy with other things, Professor!” Miss Bellum reminded him testily.

“Oh, right, right...” Utonium said. He hit a few keys, and the control systems for the city’s remaining automated defenses were restored. Miss Bellum and the Mayor looked at the restored controls and systems, and then stared at the Professor.

“... What?” He asked.

“... You could have done that at any time?” The Mayor growled.

“Well there was all that shooting and destruction and my girls to deal with!” The Professor defended himself.

“Oh, well, that’s fair enough,” the Mayor said.

“If you weren’t so sexy and smart I’d kill you right now,” Miss Bellum growled. Professor Utonium blinked.

“Wha...?”

“Ooh! Look! Giant robots smashing each other up!” The Mayor cried, pointing at the nearest holoscreen. Miss Bellum took the distraction for what it was worth, sitting at another computer station and typing furiously.

“The Big Jojo and the Dynamo seem to be evenly matched,” Bellum said. “Professor, any suggestions?”

Utonium blinked, still stuck on the “sexy” part but he decided to save that for later. Or never, whichever came first.

“Hrm... Well, she could engage the heavy particle cannon weapon again,” Utonium suggested.

“Which one was that?” The Mayor asked.

“Well, it was the one they employed against HIM-”

“No!” The Mayor cried. “No no no!”

Utonium sighed. “Well aside from that, there’s only one thing I can think of... But it is extremely dangerous.”

“What?” Asked Miss Bellum.

“It’s the-”

- - - - - -

“Self destruct system” Blossom said. “That’s all we’ve got left at this point!”

“But if we use it, we’ll destroy Townsville too!” Bubbles warned.

The Big Jojo tried to fire its laser cannons again, but the girls used the Dynamo to kick him off his feet. The Big Jojo rolled again, coming back up.

“We can’t keep this up forever!” Buttercup replied. “If Mojo gets one shot off-!”

“But-But blowing up Dynamo?” Bubbles asked with a sniffle.

“Why do you even like this thing?” Buttercup growled, firing off the eye beams of the robot again. Bubbles sniffed.

“Well, just blowing her up... It seems so cruel...!”

The Big Jojo leaped over the blast, taking to the air with rocket jets in it’s feet. Blossom’s eyes narrowed.

“We won’t have a better chance than now!” Blossom shouted. She activated the thrusters of the Dynamo, and the mighty fighting robot flew from the ground leaving shattered windows in in her wake. Dynamo tackled the Big Jojo, sending both giant robots tumbling through the air. Blossom pushed the thrusters to full power, and they gained altitude rapidly.

“Dynamo! This is Blossom, commander and team leader! Self destruct authorization one one two two zero alpha!” Blossom shouted. The computer screens all turned red, with SELF DESTRUCT blinking across them.

“Dynamo! This is Bubbles, th-the joy and the laughter!” Bubbles cried a bit shakily. “Self destruct authorization three nine six two one eight pony!”

Blossom mouthed ‘Pony?’ but didn’t let it distract her as she struggled to keep the Big Jojo above the city. Buttercup took a deep breath.

“Dynamo! This is Buttercup, the toughest fighter! Self destruct authorization three three three three three three kaboom!”

“Authorization accepted,” the Dynamo’s main computer answered. “Final authorization code required.”

“Nngh,” Blossom grunted as the Big Jojo struggled more furiously. “Final self destruct code: Zero! Zero! Destruct! Zero! A! One! Destruct!”

“Countdown?” Dynamo’s computer asked.

“ZERO!” All three girls shouted.

“Wh-What?!” The Talking Dog yelped. All three girls held the dog between them protectively, and they all winced. The Dog whimpered.

Outside, the Dynamo’s skin glowed brightly, red lines running through the mighty fighting robot’s skin. Big Jojo struggled even harder, and almost got free...

When the self destruct went off, wiping Big Jojo away in a massive burst of light. The ground shook as the blast wave shot through the air, blowing out windows across Townsville. Tumbling out of the explosion, a three colored streak of light shooting for the ground. It hit the ground and bounced, before splitting apart into three exhausted Powerpuff girls, and one badly shaken Talking Dog onto a ruined street in the center of town.

“Haa... Haa... Haa... Haa...” Bubbles panted. “Hey... Puppy... You okay?”

The Talking Dog was reduced to whimpers. Buttercup scowled.

“Oh don’t be such... Woah...” She stumbled as she tried to get to her feet. “D-Dizzy...”

“Careful girls,” Blossom coughed, lying on her back. “I think... I think we used up... Most of our powers...”

“I hope Mojo got out... Okay,” Bubbles panted. “He is our... Enemy... But-”

The buzz of an electron weapon rang out three times, blasting all of the Powerpuff Girls away and into a nearby wall.

“AAAHH!” Blossom cried.

“ERK!” Buttercup grunted.

“EEEP!” Bubbles yelped.

“Your concern is admirable, young Bubbles,” Mojo Jojo said with a malicious chuckle as he walked up the street. “But unneeded...”

“What...? But how?!” Blossom cried, but her eyes widened in realization. Mojo continued to smile brightly as he walked towards the downed girls.

“Yes,” he said with an almost magnanimous beam, “I was never in the robot to begin with.”

“That’s... Cheating!” Buttercup growled, staggering up to her feet. Mojo shrugged.

“What can I say... It’s what I do,” he said. The Talking Dog looked up at him, trembling... And then he opened his mouth.

“So... You’re even more cowardly than I am? Wow...”

“I think he’s okay,” Buttercup said wryly. Mojo scowled, and then kicked the Talking Dog away. “Well, he was okay...”

“Puppy!” Bubbles wailed. Mojo smirked.

“Be more concerned for yourselves, young ladies,” he growled. He fired his electron gun repeatedly, blasting the Powerpuff Girls into the wall of the building again. He then tucked his electron gun away into his backpack, and cracked his knuckles.

He then grinned. “No no... I shall do this as I should... With my bare hands!”

Blossom summoned enough strength to shoot for Mojo, swinging wildly. Mojo caught her, and tossed the little girl back against the wall.

“As well as a bit of power suit strength augmentation,” Mojo said cheerfully. Buttercup and Bubbles shot for Mojo next, and he caught and dispatched them just as easily. Buttercup slid down to the ground, and coughed. She wiped her mouth, and her eyes widened at the blood she saw.

Blossom was rubbing bruises all over her head. Bubbles took deep breaths as she held a cut on her cheek. Buttercup closed her eyes and struggled to ascend... But her feet wouldn’t leave the ground. She shared a look with her sisters. Bubbles winced and tried to fly as well. She dropped back down. Blossom saw this, and closed her eyes as she focused... Nothing happened.

All three girls looked at each other, and then at Mojo. Their oldest foe smirked.

“Aw... Running a bit low on power? I might be persuaded to let you live... If you were to bow down to me in my new, glorious order. I won’t have as much use for you without your powers, but... I could always use the entertainment you will provide as pathetic underlings for my amusement. What do you say?”

“... Go,” Blossom growled. She got up and charged. “YAAAAAH!”

“YAAAAHHH!” Bubbles screamed.

“GAAHHHH!” Buttercup bellowed.

Mojo grinned. “I thought so...”

- - - - - -

Townsville Central had become silent as the feed from the battle was projected onto the holoscreens. Every punch, every kick, every bit of abuse suffered by the girls was seen in gut wrenching high definition.

Aside from mutters, sobs and quiet exhalations of disbelief, three figures worked furiously on the main command deck.

“Come on! There must be something you can do!” The Mayor cried into his phone. “Isn’t there a protective bunker or shelter nearby you can open to get people to help those girls! Come on!”

“Redirect defenses to 6th and 7th street! I don’t care if you have to get them there on bicycles, get them there! And paramedics, now! NOW!” Miss Bellum shouted into her own phone.

Professor Utonium too was working... But silently. He was poring over the data of his personal work station feverishly.

“We can get there in ten minutes!”
A rescue pilot said over the radio to Bellum.

“That’s not good enough! You need to be there in one minute!” Bellum shouted.

“We can’t do it!”

“Come on, come on! You need to save those girls!” The Mayor shouted.

“Sir, look!” One of the bridge bunnies pointed out. The Mayor and Miss Bellum looked at the screen as Mojo Jojo cackled over the bloody, badly injured little girls. All three were struggling to get back up on their feet, and every time they got on all fours the chimpanzee kicked them down.

But they never stopped. Not even for an instant.

“Well well well,” chuckled Mojo. “I must admire your resolve! Your determination is incredible, even here at the end of your life! Which is to say, it is FUTILE!” Mojo rose up on rockets, and pointed his laser cannon down at the helpless Powerpuff Girls.

“It is only appropriate that I, MOJO JOJO, who was responsible for your creation and was present at your birth, will be the cause of your destruction and be present for your demise! Symmetry gives purpose to the universe, and so here we are, just as we should be! I brought you into the world...” He held the laser gun sight up to his eye and smirked as he locked on target.

“And I will take you out of it!”

“GIRLS!” Rang out across Townsville Central in dismay, as Mojo fired his laser.

- - - - - -

Blossom could barely find the strength to open her large eyes. Mojo was flying above them, laser gun at the ready. He was babbling something or other, but she couldn’t make it out. She slowly turned her head to her right. Bubbles laid prone next to her, eyes closed. Blossom turned her head the other way, ignoring every scream of pain it caused in her nervous system.

Buttercup was laying face down, but managed to raise her head. Green eyes met pink. Buttercup opened her mouth, trying to say something... But all she could do, in the end, was push her hand to Blossom’s. She took it, gripping between them with the strange force that let them hold things. She felt another hand against hers on the other side, and looked back. Bubbles had reached for her, and the bubbly girl managed a sad smile. Blossom smiled back at her sisters, and closed her eyes as she felt the heat of the laser.

At least... We’re going out... Together...

The beam struck them, and her vision went white.

- - - - - -

The camera feed showed it all in gruesome detail. A crater filled with smoke and debris obscured the Girls, or what was left of them, as Mojo landed on the street with a broad smile.

Crying and sobbing filled Townsville Central. The Mayor in particular was blubbering. Miss Bellum cried even as her face glowed red in rage.

“All... All firepower... I want it all directed at that site!” The Mayor shouted. “We will avenge those poor girls! We will flatten that monkey! We will!” He turned to Miss Bellum. “MISS BELLUM!”

“Right sir,” Miss Bellum said grimly. She held up the phone. “All batteries... Lock on target and-!”

“No!” Professor Utonium cried, grabbing the phone and throwing it away. The Mayor and Miss Bellum stared at him.

“But Professor,” Miss Bellum tried, “He... He just... The girls...!”

“Wait,” Professor Utonium said with tears in his eyes... And a smile on his face. He pointed up at the holoscreen. “Look...!”

Ohhhh! Who could look at a time like this? The horrible carnage of our wonderful girls being brutally destroyed! Killed! Mojo Jojo is victorious! I cannot believe it! I... Wait a minute... What’s going on...?

“OH YES! I, MOJO JOJO, AM AT LAST VICTORIOUS!” The dastardly villain cackled, the smoking crater a backdrop to his celebration. He threw his hands up, filling the air with his maniacal laughter. “Mwahahahahaha! MWAHAHAHAHAHAH! MWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Ha...!”

Mojo slowly looked over his shoulder at the crater. Light was shining out of it, pouring a beam into the overcast sky. The beam became three, each of a different color: Green, pink, and blue.

“No,” Mojo began, his face dropped. Forms began to rise from the crater, outlined by the bright light. Growing, stretching, but plainly humanoid forms. Lightning shot forth from the crater, as stars shined around the light beam.

“No no no,” Mojo said, eyes widening. The forms became clearer, more distinct. Fingers, toes, hair, legs, hips... Which was quickly covered by clothing that materialized out of the air. Dresses, long white stockings, and Mary Jane shoes to clothe the three figures...

“No! NO! NO!” Mojo cried. “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!”

The clouds parted and the sun shone down upon the ruined Townsville. And hovering just above the crater were three girls, each about twelve or thirteen in age. They slowly opened their eyes, blinking at one another.

In Townsville Central...

“Did anyone else hear levelling up music?” Asked one of the techs.

“I thought I heard Vale Decem, myself,” another tech commented.

"NERD!"

Back with the Girls and Mojo...

“What... What happened to me?” Blossom asked. She held her hands up and stared. “I... I...!”

“What happened to you? What happened to us?!” Buttercup gasped. “We’ve got fingers! And-And noses, and...!”

“And... And... Oooh!” Bubbles gasped, running her hands over her hips and then up her chest. “We... We grew up!”

“NOOOOOOOOO!” Mojo Jojo screamed. “YOU! MUST! DIIIIIE!” He opened fire with his laser gun. Blossom gasped, and held her hands up to protect herself. Buttercup and Bubbles ducked... Only to see the beam bounce off Blossom’s hand. The leader of the Powerpuff Girls blinked and stared.

“And our powers are back!” She looked up at the gaping Mojo, and grinned. “And you know what that means...”

“Ohhh yes,” Buttercup said with a smirked, pounding her fist into her palm.

“We could avoid this if you wanted to surrender and join us,” Bubbles offered. Mojo blinked.

“Really?”

“HECK NO!” Bubbles snarled.

“I thought so,” Mojo whimpered. The three girls vanished, and an instant later he was punched up into the air. A superpowered kick sent him flying through a building, while another girl caught him and swung him down into the ground. He crashed into a fire hydrant, his powersuit being rendered a shattered, splintered mess by the force of the impact. He trembled as he tried to push himself back to his feet, but he was slammed back into the pavement by a powerful strike from above.

“Ohhhh,” Mojo moaned. He slowly managed to look up. The Powerpuff Girls floated before him, smiling in the radiant sunlight... Once again... Triumphant.

“Give it up Mojo,” Blossom said.

“It doesn’t matter what you do, or what you plan,” Buttercup added.

“We’ll always stop you!” Bubbles declared. “No matter what!”

Mojo would have said something else, but his teeth had been shattered and he felt faint. He collapsed onto the pavement with a moan.

“Ah, Mojo?” Bubbles asked. “Are you all right...?”

“Er... I think we overdid it a bit,” Blossom said.

“Oh come on! Just because we can see his brains is... Oh yeah, that looks bad...” Buttercup winced.

The three girls got the fallen super criminal to a nearby prison hospital.

Some time later, our girls were standing in the center of Townsville Central. Much to the shock and amazement of the Mayor and Miss Bellum and the citizens of Townsville. But the important question is: How did this happen?

“PROFESSOR!” The Girls cried as they tackled Utonium into a hug.

“Girls!” The Professor laughed, hugging them back. “I’m so happy to see you! And... And now you’re...!”

“Grown up!” The Mayor cried.

“How did that happen?!” Miss Bellum gasped.

“Yes! How did this happen, Professor?” Blossom asked.

“Yeah! Did we like, go through a Quickening like a Highlander?” Buttercup asked eagerly.

“No way!” Bubbles said. “I bet we regenerated like Times Lords!”

“Time Ladies,” Buttercup said. “Duh!”

“No!” Blossom said with a smile. “I bet it has something to do with our powers failing!”

“Actually yes!” The Professor said with a bright smile. “It seems that the Chemical X made your growth stages like those of a metamorphosing insect, such as a butterfly.”

“You mean, we’re like butterflies?!” Gasped Bubbles. She grinned and threw her arms up in the air. “AWESOME!”

“I suppose Sensei would have something to say about that,” Buttercup sighed, but she snuggled up to her Professor anyway.

“Indeed!” The Professor laughed. “The energy of Mojo’s laser actually helped you reach the critical point to transform!”

Somewhere, in a prison hospital, Mojo Jojo groaned thanks to a new agony-This one in his blackened excuse for a soul.

“So,” Blossom said, “does that mean we’ll have to go through another transformation to reach our twenties?”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Professor Utonium said with a laugh. “You should probably continue to grow up normally...”

Buttercup sneezed, unleashing a burst of green flame. The Professor took it in the face. Buttercup’s eyes widened.

“Professor?!” She gasped.

“Are you all right?” Blossom cried.

The Professor coughed, and reached up to feel his bald head. He shrugged.

“Well, I needed a haircut anyway,” he said.

“Wow! He is square all over!” The Mayor gasped.

Miss Bellum eyed the Professor speculatively. No one else noticed.

“Yes, yes,” the Professor said with a smile. “Now... I think I should get to the hospital.”

Everyone had a hardy laugh.

“... No, really,” the Professor said earnestly.

Ahahaha! Oh Professor. Well, Townsville may be a wreck, but from the ruins of destruction arises the flames of hope for a better tomorrow! And it’ll all be thanks to those wonderful girls!

And so, once again the day is saved thanks to...

THE POWERPUFF GIRLS!
 

jaredstar

Well-Known Member
#44
personally i heard the instrumental version of disgaea 2's sinful rose
 

scriviner

Well-Known Member
#46
- - -

"I know it's around here somewhere!" Buttercup complained bitterly as she flew through the living room, sweeping her gaze through the furniture.

Her two sisters looked up from where they were playing the Powerpuff Girls Z fighting game on the TV.

Blossom shivered uncomfortably on the couch as her sister's X-ray vision passed over her aura, "Will you stop doing that? It feels creepy!"

Bubbles giggled, "I think it tickles."

"What are you looking for anyway?" Blossom asked, pausing the game.

Her character, Rolling Bubbles, was in the middle of unleashing a devastating finishing combo on the character Bubbles was using Hyper Blossom, little realizing that Bubbles had just finished entering the counter combo code and would be turning that beating back on her sister. Of course, that wasn't too important to what was actually happening.

Buttercup held up a colorful green and white striped sock. "The pair to this is missing. I need to find it. I've got a date later. Can you guys just help me look? Please?"

Blossom heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes, "Fine. Come on." She nodded to Bubbles who in turn smiled.

Bubbles floated up off the couch and drifted around, using her own X-ray vision in a slow turn.

Buttercup made an inquisitive noise as she stared at the door to the Professor's lab. None of their vision powers could see through the thick metal of the door. The walls were likewise treated to prevent them from seeing in. It was the only part of the house that their X-ray vision couldn't see into.

"Hey, you know we're not supposed to go in there." Blossom admonished, waggling a finger at Buttercup. "There's usually science going on in there. It's not safe."

"But my sock could be in there!" Buttercup said with frustration.

"Why would it be in there?" Bubbles asked curiously. Her eyes widened and she thumped a fist into the palm of her hand. "It must have snuck in while our backs were turned. How sneaky!"

Blossom gave her blonde sister a dubious look.

Bubbles smiled back, "It's as good an excuse as any to peek. You know you've been dying to see what he does in there."

Blossom replied primly, "I have not."

Buttercup shrugged and punched the code in causing the door to slide open.

Blossom stared. "How did you know the Professor's private code?!"

"It's our birthday." Bubbles replied brightly.

"It's always our birthday," Buttercup said with a small smirk. "He uses it for his bank card PIN too."

Blossom gasped, "You didn't--!"

Buttercup gave a dismissive wave, "Oh, come on. I've never used it. But it's good to have in an emergency."

Blossom continued to give at her sister a long, hard stare. A sisterly stare of disapproval the Buttercup was invulnerable to due to continued exposure.

During that moment of mutual distraction, Bubbles had already floated enthusiastically into the Professor’s laboratory.

“Hey! We really shouldn’t be in there!” Blossom called after her sister.

That was all the distraction Buttercup needed to float in herself.

“Aw, man. Still no sock.” Buttercup groaned.

"Did you guys know there's a hidden switch in the back of that closet over there?" Bubbles asked, pointing out the closet in question.

“Guys! We’re going to get in trouble!” Blossom fretted, but found herself also floating in. Purely to make sure her sisters didn’t do anything they weren’t supposed to. Not to get a look at anything. No sirree.

Buttercup moved to where Bubbles had pointed and squinted, “Hey, you’re right. The switch opens another closet around...” She pointed, “Here.”

“What are you two doing?!” Blossom asked.

Bubbles giggled, “I think we just found where the Professor hides our Christmas presents!” She opened the closet, revealing a wide selection of cleaning products and reached into its darkened interior to flick the switch that was disguised as a coat hook.

Blossom looked towards where a section of wall was sliding into the floor and covered her face in her hands, “We are going to be so grounded.”

It is important to note that she was peeking through her fingers.

If she was going to get into trouble anyway, it may as well be worth it.

Buttercup, her missing sock now forgotten, made a dismissive noise. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll just take a quick peek and put everything back exactly like it was. The Professor won’t know anything happened.” She ducked her head into the now open alcove.

Then came a shocked gasp.

“What? What’s the matter?” Bubbles asked excitedly flying up to join her dark haired sister. “Does he already have presents in there? Are they cool? What am I getting?”

Blossom snorted in frustration and grabbed both of her sisters by their collars and jerked them sharply out of the revealed alcove. "Will you two get out of there?"

She frowned when she caught sight of the expressions on her sister's faces. Buttercup was in complete and utter shock. Bubbles looked... very confused.

She turned her attention towards the alcove. The alcove opened up into a second lab, which if Blossom calculated the space right seemed to open entirely into an area that would be more or less below their yard. There was some equipment and half-finished experiments lining one wall, which seemed innocuous enough, but then she noticed the boxes.

The entire wall lined with large white long boxes piled up to the ceiling. She frowned as she noticed that one of the boxes had been pulled out and was open on the table directly in front of the door. That was probably what Bubbles and Buttercup had seen.

The open box was filled with magazines.

Several magazines, obviously pulled out from the open box, were scattered on the table.

Glossy, full color magazines.

With a lot of photos.

Photos taken with an... exquisite attention to the smallest detail.

Blossom gasped in shock, covering her mouth with one hand, "Are those...?"

"Yup." Buttercup murmured as she floated in and snagged the topmost magazine. She seemed to be trying to pretend nonchalance even as she flipped to a centerfold and tilted her head to one side. "Wow."

Bubbles still seemed confused as she took one of the magazines as well and began thumbing through one, "These look like they've been read... like... a lot."

Blossom looked over to the box covered wall, "Are all of those..." She turned her X-ray vision back on and found that yes. They all were.

Buttercup put down the magazine she'd been flipping through and checked out another one. "Wooo... that's naughty."

"Put those down!" Blossom snarled. "That's disgusting."

Bubbles' lower lip trembled as she looked through the magazine she'd picked up, so full of photos. "Does... does the Professor like this sort of thing?" She sniffled.

"No, no he doesn't." Blossom put an arm around Bubbles' shoulders trying to comfort her, but the girl's blue eyes stared into hers and she couldn't keep it up, "I don't know. Considering how many of these magazines he has..."

"Hey, there's some vintage stuff here." Buttercup pointed out. "Some of these were from when the Professor wasn't much older than we were."

Blossom winced. "I'm sure there must be a rational explanation for--"

"The fact that he's been collecting this stuff for years?" Buttercup interrupted, jerking a thumb at the boxes.

"Bu-bu-but... he's the Professor. He... he can't like this kind of thing." Bubbles sniffled harder and it was obvious that she couldn't stop herself from crying. She dropped the magazine and began wailing as she flew out of the secondary lab. Their sensitive hearing continued to follow the sound of her soft crying to the living room.

Blossom winced.

"Oh man." Buttercup winced at Bubbles, before she turned back to the magazine in her hands and tilted her head, "Wow... that is just... whoa... nasty."

"Why are you still looking at that stuff!" Blossom exploded at her sister.

Buttercup gave a snort. "It's not like it's that bad."

"Yes it is!" Blossom said flailing an arm towards the boxes. "He has thousands of these... and he's obviously read them all!" She pointed to the magazines on the table. "Multiple times!"

Buttercup nodded, "Yep. So the Professor's into some freaky stuff. It's cool." She tilted her head once more as another photo caught her eye, "I didn't even think that was possible."

"It is not cool--!" Blossom began, but their enhanced hearing caught the sound of the front door opening and a cheerful voice calling out.

"Girls, I'm home!"

"Uh-oh." Blossom said.

"Hello, Bubbles--" The Professor began to say, but Bubbles wailed aloud once more.

"I don't even know you anymore!" She cried out, followed by the distinct zooming sound of someone flying away at high speed. Followed closely by the slamming sound of a door closing at close to the speed of sound.

"What's that abou--" The Professor began to say, his voice puzzled and concerned.

And getting closer.

"We should probably get out of here." Buttercup said, putting the magazine down and beginning to float out of the room. She stuck close to the ceiling, hoping to hide her escape on the well-known principle that most people rarely looked up.

On the other hand, most people hadn't raised superpowered children.

Blossom stuck her chin out mulishly and crossed her arms. Buttercup noted that there was distinct lack of 'getting out of here-ness' to her sister's stance.

Professor Utonium stepped through the door and looked at Blossom. Embarrassment coloring his face. "Oh. I guess that's why Bubbles was so upset."

"Professor!" Blossom said sharply, "How could you read this kind of trash?"

"Now, Blossom, it's not what you think--"

Blossom picked up one of the colorful, well-illustrated magazines and shook it under his nose, "You're not going to tell me you read it for the articles!"

"Well, obviously." The Professor said, trying his best to sound sincere.

This attracted at snicker from Buttercup who was still hovering right above him. She did want to leave, but the Professor blocking the door.

Blossom pinched the bridge of her nose trying to stave off an oncoming headache, "No wonder Mojo Jojo turned out the way he did, if you kept leaving this kind of stuff lying around!"

"Now, I didn't leave anything lying around! This was all safely put away--"

"Professor, we found this... stuff... on the table." Blossom said with exaggerated patience.

"Oh." He paused, the embarrassed flush on his face deepening, "Well... that is..."

Blossom's eyes grew wide, "Oh my God. You... you were showing these to Dexter, weren't you?"

"Well... he... that is..." He rubbed the back of his neck, "You know how it is."

"No, I don't. Why don't you enlighten me, Professor." She glared.

"Your boyfriend is very curious. He and I came down here to experiment a little and well... one thing led to another..."

"So you decided it was a good idea to show him these magazines?!" Blossom's voice was almost a shriek. "You snuck my boyfriend into your lab and let him see all of... all of this?!"

"Just the tamer stuff," The Professor admitted sheepishly.

Blossom sputtered, “Bubbles is right! It’s like I don’t even know you!”

“Come on...” The Professor took a step into the room, which Buttercup took as her cue to sneak out. She really didn’t want to get in the middle of this. “I’m sorry you girls had to find out this way, but you’re almost adults now.”

Blossom continued to glare.

“I’m a grown scientist.” He fidgeted uncomfortably and tugged at his collar. “I have needs.”

“Needs you are trying to inflict on my boyfriend, I couldn’t help but notice.” Blossom said, her tone hostile.

“A boy as bright as Dexter should get some exposure to this sort of thing... it’s the only way to help him fight temptation when the time comes.” Professor Utonium said almost primly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Blossom looked confused.

“I mean those magazines saw me through some very bleak times in my life.” The Professor said, his voice warm and nostalgic. “Why, that very magazine you have in your hand. That was the Winter Special. Just knowing that Doctor Goodbody had managed to make an ice-based nano-swarm rampage through downtown Detroit helped me overcome the temptation to build my own snow-based engines of destruction."

Blossom glanced at the magazine then all but whined, "But they're evil magazines, Professor."

"Well, maybe a bit amoral and ethically dubious," The Professor admitted, "But they're all long-running magazines and are perfectly reputable publications."

Blossom looked scandalized, "But... Mad Science Weekly? Evil Entrepreneur? The Overlord Lair Companion? These aren't reputable!"

The Professor put his hand on Blossom's shoulder, "I hope someday you'll understand. Just because I read the magazine doesn't mean I want to do what it talks about. And it certainly doesn't mean I don't respect your heroic work, either, sweetheart."

Blossom gave her father a doubtful look then asked with only just a touch of suspicion, "You're not going to turn evil on us are you, Professor?"

"Of course not!" He smiled, trying to put her at ease, "Believe me, the only time I use anything that I've learned from those magazines is when I'm trying to terrify your boyfriends." He frowned slightly, vexation clear on his face, "Except Bubbles' boyfriend doesn't scare and yours just seems to take it as a challenge and keeps trying to impress me."

"And you're sure you're not trying to steal my boyfriend?" Blossom asked.

"Of course not! I just wanted to share my experience in the evil sciences with him." He replied.

"You're sure?"

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Of course, I'm sure. Tell you what, why don't you join us in the evil lab next time he comes to visit? Maybe you'll like it."

"Er..." Blossom blushed a little, "Well, I guess... some of those articles looked kind of... um... interesting."

"Wonderful! Now, I should go upstairs and talk to your sisters and make sure they understand I'm evil because I have lifetime subscriptions to evil publications."

"You mean NOT evil, right?"

"Oh, right. Not evil. Of course, sweetheart."

- - -
 
#49
- - - - - -

The shot opens up on a beautiful mountainous land in the Himalayas, and a small bar in the tiny community. It is as though the mountains and sky were painted with broad, beautiful brushstrokes, here at the top of the world.

The ci... Er... Town of Lukla, Nepal. Where the peace and solitude of the highest place on Planet Earth is sought by those who have lived long... And fought long.

Within this bar, brightly colored Nepalese prayer flags hang around the creaking rafters. A few foreign tourists drink and laugh as a TV blares in the background, a pair of old men play Bagh-Chal under an old gas lantern's light, and local workers trade stories and drink hard after a long day. In a shadowed corner, a man in nothing more than a simple white kimono, a woven straw hat, and a sword sits. His hat shadows his face, as he slowly brings up a cup of tea. He sips it, eyes staring out at nothing.

"Hello." The old man looks up, eyes locking onto nothing but air. "Ah... Down here, sonny."

He looked down and saw a small, American woman. Her gray hair was done up in a bun, she wore large glasses over a face covered in wrinkles from smiling. She approached him and sat on the stool opposite his, pleasant. Jack slowly nodded back to her.

"Hello," he said.

"You seem a bit lost," she said softly. The man was unable to help a smile at the woman's kindly disposition.

"I wander... And I do not know where next I will go. I suppose... That is the definition."

The woman continued to stare at him. The man stared back.

"... May I have some of your tea?" She asked. She produced a mug, decorated with a picture of a rabbit in a top hat and monocle. The man reached into a pouch in his kimono, and produced a small amount of tea leaves. He ground them up in his hands, and let them fall into her mug. She smiled at him, and took hold of the hot water sitting atop the table. She poured it, and swirled it around. She sniffed the tea, and sighed.

"Ah... Wonderful. My favorite teas back home all carry particular scents... Memories." She looked up at him. "There's a tale in every cup, I find."

"Oh?" The man asked softly. The little old woman nodded, looking into the tea.

"Yes... Yours is a long tale. Full of struggle, tragedy... Loss," she said. "And triumph... But..."

"Yes," he said softly. "But..."

"Not the victory you expected?" The little old woman asked. The man nodded slowly.

"... My quest was victorious, and yet... The world I knew is gone." He sighed. "And I can never return to it."

"Was your victory completely hollow?" The old woman asked. "Is there nothing in this new world for you?"

The man was silent for a long time.

"... I had a wife... And child, back in America," he said at last. "But when I lost her... I left."

"And your son?" The old woman asked. The man sighed, looking down at his tea.

"... I do not know," he admitted. "I have... Heard things, but..." He looked back up. "I do not know if I deserve to return. If he will even..."

The old woman sipped the tea. She then reached into her bag... And whapped the man's knuckles with a walking stick. The man's eyes widened in shock and a bit of pain.

"How... Why...?"

"For being a darn fool, of course, heeheehee!" The old woman cackled. She shook her head at the man with a smile. "It is shame that keeps you away... Your shame that keeps you wandering. Not hatred, not resentment from your son..." She looked up at him. He frowned.

"But if he turned me away..."

"Then you would be no worse than you are now," the old woman said plainly. "At least you wouldn't be torturing yourself like an old fool."

The man stared for a long time at the old woman, who finished her tea. She sighed happily, and smiled up at him.

"Thank you for your tea," she said with a polite bow. "And the conversation."

"No," he said softly. He rose to his full, tall height, and bowed to the old woman. "Thank you." He set some coins on the table and smiled at her before he slowly turned and left. The little old lady giggled, and checked her email happily.

"Ohohoho! Looks like Frankie is enjoying herself... Poor Mac. Sooner they give me some grandkids, the better..."

- - - - - -

The city of Townsville... And unfortunately, it is raining again. No crime because it is raining, no fun, no joy... And especially no crime fighting for the Powerpuff Girls, who sit watching the rain fall.

"Man, this stinks," Buttercup groused. "Nothing to do, nowhere to go...!"

"And there's nothing on YouTube I haven't seen like fifty times already!" Bubbles huffed, floating in mid air. Blossom was busy reading.

"You could just meditate," suggested Blossom, eyes scanning the pages of her tome quickly. Buttercup scowled.

"I tried that a while ago," she said flatly. "There's only so much I can do..." She trailed off as she saw a figure approaching the house. "Hey look! We've got a visitor!"

"Oh?" Bubbles asked, looking out the window. "Who is it?"

"I don't know," Blossom said with a frown. "He looks almost like..."

- - - - - -

The doorbell rang. Professor Antonio Utonium looked up from his television watching, and looked at the door. He rose, his pipe smoking from his lips, and walked to the front door. He slowly reached up to the doorknob. He turned it, and pulled it open.

"Hello?" He asked. The dark figure slowly looked up as lightning flashed above him, revealing a weathered, square face. Lines of white cut through his dark hair across a square head. His hair was tied into a short topknot, and his eyes were as black as coal.

At the obi of his white kimono hung a katana that, even sheathed, seemed to glow with an inner light. And on his feet were plain wooden shoes.

Professor Utonium's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. His pipe fell to the floor, clattering and spreading ashes across the threshold.

"... D-Dad?" Utonium gasped. The aged samurai very slowly nodded.

"Hello, my son," he said softly. "It... it has been a long time."

"I... Y-yes, it has," Utonium said quickly. The samurai bowed his head.

"I... I do not know how to ask your forgiveness... For leaving so long ago... But if I can make amends-"

The samurai's eyes widened as he felt Utonium's arms around his shoulders. He looked to his son, his chin on his shoulder. Utonium's eyes were barely holding back unshed tears. Jack's eyes then slowly softened... And his arms wrapped around his son's shoulders in return.

"Professor? Who is it?" Asked a young girl's voice. Utonium wiped his eyes, and removed one arm from his father. His other arm stretched around his shoulders, and he turned them to face the speaker. The old samurai's eyes widened as he beheld three young girls, floating on the staircase.

"Girls? I'd like you to meet your grandfather... My father..." Utonium smiled brightly. "This is your Grandpa-"

"Jack," the old samurai said, with a small smile. "They call me Jack..."

Oh wow... Looks like this is going to be a nice Father's Day after all!

For... The POWERPUFF GIRLS! And the Professor!

And Jack! Who will be back

(Jack Jack)
 
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