By Gary Curtis
Story concept by B Locke
Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken
One - The Green-eyed Terror
The City of Townsville. A city that lies in a valley between huge mountains and a huge ocean. A city in the Valley of the Dolls...three adorable little super-powered ones known as the Powerpuff Girls. But there are other dolls in Townsville, too, and this tale is about one of them...a simple child's toy that once belonged to one of those little crime-fighters.
If toys could think and talk, Octi would have screamed, "No! Keep it away from me, Bubbles! Please! Keep it away!!!"
The purple stuffed toy octopus with the sleepy-eyed smile and the little removable black plastic top hat would have clung in fright to his blue-eyed, blonde-haired keeper. The one who had lovingly cared for him since that very first day the kindly tall, dark-haired man in the white coat had rescued him from the noisy, frightening world of the store's toy department and brought her into his life. His plastic eyes would have witnessed many wondrous things in her care since then, and in return he would have gratefully danced and played with the little girl; had long, interesting conversations with her about anything a young child's imagination could create, comforted her when she was sad and watched over her at night as she slept. But he would have also seen some not so wonderful things, and another one of those was taking place right now.
The green-eyed terror called Buttercup was snaking out one of those deadly-looking hams it called an arm toward him, unseen by his friend and protector. The grinning face surrounded by the black bob hairdo as it grew closer would have looked to him like an evil stingray. Octopi knew to stay away from those. That Bubbles' arms appeared the same but had never once given him cause for fear was something that would have been beyond his comprehension.
But of course, Octi could not think and talk, except for the day the evil demon called Him had briefly made the most innocent and trusting of the three Powerpuff Girls believe so. The stuffed toy was just that, an inanimate object. One that was, at the moment, in great peril.
Bubbles loved her toy as only a child can. Her spunky tomboy of a sister claimed to love Octi, too, but in reality she wanted only to use him to tease with. Buttercup loved to pick on the sister she saw as a big baby. That impression was often reinforced by Bubbles' whining protests that Buttercup could not have her toy, and a brief tug-of-war would ensue. Their other sister, Blossom, the redhead with the unique dark-pink eyes, was the leader of the trio. Supposedly the smartest, she had more than once exercised her authority by demanding that Bubbles share, and more than once been duped by her other sister when the grinning prankster then took the toy and gave Bubbles a violent whack across her blonde head with it.
This time, though, Blossom was right on the ball. For she and her superhero sisters, this late April day had been another busy one of saving Townsville from monsters, evil super-villains and pickle jars that refused to open. They had had dinner with Professor Utonium, their creator and father, and now Blossom was just happy to have a little quiet time to relax before bed. As she sat in a child-sized chair in the bedroom they shared, studying maps of Townsville's underground utilities systems that her friend (and assistant to Townsville's mayor) Ms. Sara Bellum had let her borrow, Blossom could see that her quiet time was about to be disturbed.
Bubbles lay sprawled on her stomach on the neatly-made bed the three shared, with the cover in the three wide stripes in their three colors of green, pink and blue. The little girl was quite the artist and at the moment was engrossed in coloring a picture of a pony in her coloring book. She had taken up all of her side of the bed and most of Blossom's space in the middle. Her beloved Octi was right there at her right side. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth as she concentrated on exactly what color crayon to use and she briefly looked back at the toy, smiled, and chose a different color crayon.
Buttercup sat on her side of the bed, propped up against her pillow. Her tiny body moved in time with her character on the small screen of the hand-held video game, no doubt handing out some sort of punishment to some other graphic image. Occasionally her gyrations would cause her head to smack against the wood headboard with their initials, 'PPG', carved into it. She didn't seem to notice but the sound would cause Blossom to glance over the top of her reading briefly, give her head a shake and go back to her studying.
But this time, Blossom's concentration was derailed. A disgusted-sounding "Rats!" came from the mouth of her sibling and she looked up to see the game bouncing off the bed.
Blossom said, "What's your problem?"
Buttercup crossed her arms and scowled. "This stupid game is too easy. I'm bored!"
"Well, find something else to do, then." An annoyed Blossom looked back down at her material. Bubbles only looked up for a second at Buttercup, not really aware of anything. Her contented smile never wavered as she returned to her coloring. But a little voice told Blossom she should be paying attention. She peeked over the top of her maps just in time to see Buttercup's green eyes shift slyly toward Bubbles and narrow, the dark eyebrows slanting downward. A mischievous grin formed on the brunette's face and she leaned over onto her left side, her right hand going for Octi.
Blossom cried out, "Buttercup, no!" But she was too late. Two of Octi's eight stuffed legs were firmly in Buttercup's grip. Bubbles turned at the sound of Blossom's voice, saw what was going on and grabbed for her doll. She squealed in protest, caught Octi by two legs herself and the battle for control began.
"Leave Octi alone!" cried the little blonde, her coloring forgotten. She got to her knees, trying to gain leverage.
"Aw, you weren't playing with him." Buttercup complained, tugging harder. "So why can't I play with him?"
"Because he's helping me color!" Bubbles snapped. "He helps me decide what colors to use next."
"Oh, brother." muttered the tomboy in response to that ridiculous assertion. "Blossom, tell Bubbles she has to share!"
Blossom scowled over at her sister, who was looking right at her for the help she knew was going to come. "Oh, no, Buttercup. You've pulled this one before. You're just trying to cause trouble."
Buttercup was shocked, mostly at being caught. "I am not! I just wanna play with Octi!" She pulled even harder.
"So you can hit me again!" The blonde Powerpuff growled and she tugged even more mightily. Buttercup wasn't going to do that to her, not this time.
Blossom dropped her maps to the floor and jumped up from the chair. "Girls! Stop fighting! Can't I have just one quiet evening without the two of you getting on my nerves?"
"Just tell her to let go!" Buttercup shouted.
"You let go!" Blossom ordered, punctuating it with her hand thrust out toward her sister. "He's Bubbles', not yours!"
"He's mine!" screamed Bubbles. "LET GO!!"
Two-on-one only served to make Buttercup even angrier than she already was. "NEVER!"
The doll's four unclaimed legs swung back and forth violently and inside the big white eyes, the little black eyeballs spun around in a way that would make anyone staring at them go dizzy. It was a very good thing Octi couldn't think or talk.