None of the characters are created or owned by me.
Comments and critiques are appreciated.]
A PERFECT LITTLE BUTTERCUP
by Adam Stephanides
It was a regular afternoon in Townsville. The Girls were killing time in the living room. Blossom was studying, and Bubbles was babbling to herself as she drew a picture. But Buttercup, with no monster to fight, was flitting restlessly about the room. Out of boredom, she flew over to Bubbles. "What baby picture are you drawing?" she asked with a sneer.
"It's not a baby picture! It's a beautiful picture of a horsie."
"Oh, yeah? Looks like a baby picture to me," said Buttercup, snatching it.
"Give that back!" exclaimed Bubbles.
"Make me!"
"Give it back and stop teasing Bubbles," commanded Blossom.
"Mind your own business," Buttercup snapped back.
Bubbles grabbed for the picture, seizing a corner. Buttercup tried to pull it away from her, and it ripped in two; and Bubbles burst out crying. Buttercup, who hadn't meant to go that far, tried to drown out her guilty conscience by jeering, "Look at the little baby, crying over a stupid picture."
"That was just mean of you," said Blossom. "I'm going to tell the Professor."
"You'd better not!" said Buttercup.
Blossom flew away. Panicking, Buttercup flew after her, knocked her to the ground and began punching her. "Say you won't tell the Professor!"
Hearing the commotion, the Professor ran up from the lab. "What in blazes is going on here?" Buttercup quickly released Blossom.
"Buttercup ruined my picture!" bawled Bubbles.
"Buttercup grabbed Bubbles' picture, and when Bubbles tried to get it back, Buttercup tore it. And when I went to tell you, Buttercup started beating me up," explained Blossom.
"Buttercup, I'm very disappointed in you. Why can't you ever play nicely like your two sisters? Since you can't get along with them, you can go to your room and stay there without supper."
"But--"
"No buts. I'm too angry to talk to you right now. Now go!"
Buttercup flew miserably up to the Girls' bedroom where she buried herself under the covers. "Oh, great. Even the Professor hates me now. It's not fair! Just because Little Miss Goody Two-shoes Blossom is always so perfect, and Bubbles is so cute, everybody always picks on me. It's not my fault I can't be perfect. I wish I was a perfect little girl. I wish the Professor had never spilled that Chemical X!" Her voice trailed off, still muttering.
Buttercup heard the Professor calling her. "Oh, Buttercup!"
"Wha..." she mumbled to herself. "Must have dozed off..."
"Buttercup! Time for dinner!"
"But you said I had to miss dinner."
"Why, you must have been dreaming, Buttercup. Why would I tell my perfect little girl she had to miss dinner?"
"Yeah, I must have been dreaming. Weird..." she said to herself, "I can't even remember it now." She rubbed her eyes, and had the sudden sensation that there was something wrong with her hands. She looked at them, wiggling her fingers. "Nah, they're fine."
When she got downstairs, she went to set the table, as she did every meal. She did it willingly, happy to help the Professor. She ran to the kitchen, opened the drawer and automatically pulled out four knives, four forks, and four spoons. Then she stopped herself. "Huh? What am I doing?" she thought. She put two of each back, got two napkins and set two place settings.
The Professor served dinner: roast beef with mashed potatoes and broccoli. Buttercup concealed a sigh at the sight of the vegetable. She didn't like it, but she couldn't let the Professor know she was disappointed by the dinner he'd prepared. Besides, broccoli was good for her.
As the Professor sat down, he asked, "And how was your day in school?"
"Just great! Ms. Keane let me study while the other kids were having rest period. And Mary invited me to sleep over at her house, but I told her no."
"But why? I thought you liked Mary."
"I do, but I didn't want to leave you all alone."
The Professor hugged her. "Buttercup, you're so thoughtful! We'll have plenty of fun by ourselves, you'll see." The warm feeling she got from the Professor's compliment almost made her forget her disappointment that he hadn't said, "Nonsense! I'll be fine on my own. You call up Mary, and tell her you're coming over."
The Professor was reading in the living room when he heard a crash from his office. He ran in quickly to see Buttercup in tears. On the floor in front of her were the broken shards of a piece of lab equipment he'd used to decorate his office. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Buttercup sobbed. "I just wanted to look at it and I tried to move it closer and it fell down! I'm sorry!"
"Buttercup," said the Professor sternly, "I thought that you knew better than--" Then he stopped as he saw how grief-stricken she was. "Oh, well, it's not that bad. I know it was an accident. I just don't understand how you can do things like this sometimes when you're normally such a good, smart girl." Buttercup just kept sobbing. That the Professor forgave her so quickly only made her feel worse at having disappointed him.
It was the end of a normal schoolday at Pokey Oaks kindergarten. All the pupils ran out to play except for one, a normal-looking but beautiful little girl who approached Ms. Keane, smiling.
"Do you have those calculus problems I asked you to check, Ms. Keane?"
"I certainly do, Buttercup. By the way, I was very proud of you today, when you defended Elmer when the other kids were teasing him for eating paste."
Buttercup blushed. "It wasn't anything, Ms. Keane. I just thought of how I'd feel if I were teased."
"Well, it was very brave of you. And your father would be very proud too."
"If anybody deserves the credit, my father does, not me. After all, he's the one who created me perfect."
Ms. Keane's expression became serious. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that."
Buttercup looked alarmed. "Why? Did I make a mistake on those calculus problems?"
"No, of course not. They were perfect as always. But if you did make a mistake, it would be all right. You don't have to be perfect for people to love you. Your father and I would love you if you weren't perfect."
"You don't understand, Ms. Keane. I'm all my father has. I know he would love me anyway, but if he thought I wasn't perfect he would be so disappointed. I could never do that to him."
Ms. Keane sighed. "Well, you'd better run and play now. But think about what I said."
"If you say so, Ms. Keane. Goodbye." As Buttercup walked away, Ms. Keane watched her with concern.
"Daddy?"
"What is it, Buttercup?"
"I had a strange dream."
"Did it disturb you, sugar?"
"Yes, Daddy, it did."
"Then tell me all about it, precious."
"I dreamed I had two sisters, and their names were Blossom and Bubbles. And Blossom had red hair and Bubbles had yellow hair. But they looked really strange! They had huge heads, and really big eyes, and really short arms and legs with no hands or feet. And I looked just like them!"
"Oh, my!" said the Professor. "That must have been terrible."
"It wasn't so bad," Buttercup said. "We could still walk, and hold things, but I don't remember how. And in the dream I felt perfectly normal, even though nobody looked like us but us. But that wasn't the strangest part. We had superpowers. We could fly, and we were really strong, and we used our superpowers to beat up villains! And there was a name we called ourselves, but I can't remember it."
"Well, pumpkin," the Professor said, chuckling, "I'd say your dream means that you have quite an imagination!"
"But it seemed so real!"
"Sometimes dreams do seem very real."
"But Professor, how come in my dream I liked beating people up? I don't ever get mad or angry, or want to hurt people. I was even mean to one of my sisters!"
"Well, Buttercup, that's just the way dreams are. Sometimes when we're dreaming we do things we would never do if we were awake. But it doesn't mean anything. No matter what happens in your dreams, you'll still be my perfect little girl."
As he said this, the Professor picked Buttercup up and kissed her. She threw her arms around his neck and snuggled against him. After a minute, she asked: "Professor, who protects Townsville?"
"Protects Townsville? Against what, sweetie?"
"Against anything bad."
"Why, the police do. And they do a darn good job."
"But what if a monster attacked the city? Or an evil super-genius built giant robots to destroy Townsville?"
The Professor burst out laughing. "Were those in your dream?"
"Uh-huh. And me and my sisters saved the day every time!"
"Silly little girl! No monsters or giant robots have ever attacked Townsville, and none ever will. And if one did, it wouldn't be the job of a little girl to save the day. So don't worry your pretty little head about it." The Professor hugged her.
That night in bed, Buttercup couldn't stop thinking about her dream. The thing she kept thinking about was how good it had felt to have sisters. She'd always wanted a sister, as far back as she could remember. But in the dream it was more than wanting. It was the way things were meant to be. When she'd woken up and realized she had no sisters, she'd almost burst out crying.
But she hadn't told the Professor any of this. She'd told him once that she would like to have a sister, but the Professor had just said, "Now, darling, a bachelor like me living alone just couldn't take care of two little girls. Besides," he said, hugging her, "you're all I need."
Buttercup knew that this was true, that she was everything to the Professor. And she knew that he wanted to be everything to her. She could never disappoint him by letting him know that he wasn't enough, that as much as she loved him, there was something missing. Also, it was a strain being perfect all the time, but the Professor was so unhappy when she did anything wrong. Maybe if she had a sister, she could be imperfect some of the time and the Professor wouldn't be so unhappy because he'd have another little girl to love.
Downstairs, the Professor chuckled as he watched the evening news. Monsters and giant robots! Maybe Buttercup was watching too much TV. Then his face became thoughtful for a moment. It was undoubtedly just a coincidence, but Buttercup's description of her misshapen "sisters" had been almost exactly like the results of his experiments on the effects upon mammalian embryos of Chemical X.
In his office, the Mayor pressed the intercom button. "Oh, Ms. Bellum!"
"What is it, Sir?"
"I'm ready to save Townsville with my decisive leadership! So what urgent crisis do I have to tackle today?"
Ms. Bellum sighed. "There is no crisis, Sir."
"No crisis? But how can that be?"
"There never is a crisis, Sir. You haven't had a crisis since you've been Mayor."
"Oh, that's right. I forgot. You know, Ms. Bellum, Townsville is a nice city, but it seems like there's something missing. Nothing ever happens."
"I know what you mean, Sir."
"It's so boring, I even look forward to the Gangreen Gang causing trouble. Maybe I should run for Governor. Then I would have a chance to apply my leadership abilities! What do you think, Ms. Bellum?"
"I think that might be too big a leap for you, Sir."
"Oh? Well, maybe you're right. Since there's nothing for me to do, I guess I'll play a few rounds of golf. There isn't anything for me to do, is there, Ms. Bellum?"
"No, Sir."
Buttercup continued to dream about her "sisters," but didn't tell the Professor, so as not to worry him. One day she was looking through one of the Professor's scientific journals when she came across an article by him and decided to try and see if she could understand it. It was called "The Effects of Chemical X upon Mammalian Prenatal Development." When she saw the pictures of the Chemical X-deformed baby animals, she was stunned: with their big heads, huge eyes, and stubby limbs, they looked almost exactly like her and her sisters in her dreams. When she next saw the Professor, she asked, "Daddy, what's Chemical X?"
The Professor's smiling face turned serious. "Chemical X? Where did you hear about Chemical X?"
"I read about it in one of your papers."
"Oh. Well, Chemical X is a compound I discovered a few years ago. Since then, I've been doing research on it. But I keep it stored away in my lab, downstairs, because it's extremely dangerous. Why, when I was creating you, my lab assistant monkey, Jojo, nearly caused me to spill some Chemical X into my solution. Anything might have happened then. But thank God it didn't," he said, hugging her.
"A lab assistant monkey named Jojo? I don't remember that."
"No, I was so upset at what he'd almost made me do that I got rid of him right after you were created, and I never said anything about him to you. But the point is that Chemical X is very dangerous. That's why I want you to promise me that you will never touch my supply of Chemical X."
"I promise, Daddy."
"Good girl. And I know you'll keep that promise, just like you keep all your promises."
But Buttercup was thinking of something else. She'd never heard of Jojo before today. Yet in her dreams with her sisters, one of the recurring figures was a super-intelligent monkey named Mojo Jojo.
Buttercup was taking a nap. She felt someone gently shaking her, and opened her eyes. It was the Professor.
"What is it?" she asked sleepily.
"Time to watch the President's inauguration."
"Can't I sleep a little longer? I'm tired."
"Now, Buttercup, this is a historic occasion. Years from now, you'll be glad you saw this. Harrison I. Martindale is a brilliant man. I'm sure he'll be the best President this country has every had. Why, he's promise to quintuple the budget for scientific research!"
Seeing the Professor's enthusiasm, Buttercup smiled tiredly for him, and during the ceremony she did her best to hide her boredom. Eventually the new President turned to the microphone. The Professor nudged Buttercup, saying, "Pay attention now, Buttercup. This should be a great speech." Obediently Buttercup prepared to do so.
"Thank you, thank you," Martindale said in a warm, resonant voice. When the applause had died down he began, "I'd like to start by saying that I owe this all to a little girl named Buttercup."
"That's my name! That's my name!" Buttercup squealed excitedly. "Do you think he means me?"
The Professor laughed. "I doubt it, pumpkin."
"Yes," Martindale said. And suddenly his voice was no longer warm and resonant. It was high-pitched, almost womanly, but somehow sinister at the same time. "A stupid little girl named Buttercup."
"Something seems to be wrong with the President's microphone," the announcer said. "However, the President is going on with his speech."
"You see, this little girl was a Powerpuff Girl."
"Daddy! That was the name in my dreams! How could he know that?"
"Shh," said the Professor, looking very worried. "I need to listen to this. What is Martindale doing?"
"And her two sisters were also Powerpuff Girls, and together they kept ruining all my beautiful plans to take over Townsville. But one day, just because her father had sent her to her room, Buttercup wished that the Powerpuff Girls had never been created. So I granted her wish, and now her sisters don't even exist. And she's just a helpless little girl, who could never do anything to stop me. With the Powerpuff Girls gone, Townsville wasn't a challenge anymore. So instead I decided to take over the world. And thanks to you gullible voters, I have." His voice turned to a deep bass as he said "FOREVER." With this, his body began to swell. First, Martindale's "skin" was revealed to be just a plastic covering, and split to reveal a bizarre figure with red skin, pointed ears, a goatee, a fur-trimmed suit with thigh-length high-heeled boots, and lobster claws instead of hands. Then this figure grew to monstrous size, its feminine accoutrements disappearing, as demons emerged from the ground and the crowd ran screaming in panic. In front of the TV screen the Professor was paralyzed with shock, while Buttercup, who had been sitting slack-jawed since Him mentioned her sisters, screamed "NOOOOO!"
"Buttercup, what is it?" She heard the Professor's voice, and found herself lying in bed in her room. "Did you have a nightmare?"
"Daddy! Is someone named Harrison I. Martindale running for President?"
"Why, I didn't know my little girl was interested in politics!" the Professor chuckled.
"This is very important! IS HE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?" For the first time in her life, Buttercup yelled at the Professor.
"Why yes, he is. But why--"
"Is he going to win?"
"Nobody can be absolutely sure, but he's way ahead in the polls, so unless something big happens he'll undoubtedly win. He's a brilliant man, and should make a great President. He's promised to quintuple the budget for scientific research."
"When is the election?"
"Tomorrow. But why were you screaming earlier?"
"It's alright, Daddy." Buttercup forced a smile. "I had a nightmare, and I was upset. That's why I yelled at you, and I'm sorry. But now I'm all right. I've forgotten what it was, even."
"Well, if you're sure--"
"I'm fine, really."
"Alright," the Professor said dubiously, and bent down to kiss her.
When he'd gone, Buttercup said to herself, "Now I know what I have to do. But I gotta work fast." After a few minutes, she cautiously peeked out of her room. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she tiptoed out the hall, downstairs, and past the Professor who was engrossed in his newspaper, then down the stairs to the Professor's lab. Climbing onto the lab table so she could see inside the chemical cabinets, in a few minutes she had found the Professor's beaker of Chemical X. She was about to grab it when she stopped and said to herself, "I've never broken a promise to my father before." Then she shrugged, said, "But there's a first time for everything, right?" and reached for the bottle.
The Professor was sitting in the living room, still wondering about his daughter's uncharacteristic behavior, when he heard an explosion from his lab. Remembering with dread Buttercup's question about Chemical X, he raced downstairs. The lab was in a shambles. There was no trace of Buttercup, but suspended above the wreckage was a bizarre-looking little girl with a huge head and eyes and no hands or feet, wearing a green dress. The Professor rubbed his eyes and looked again. Yes, she was really flying.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Buttercup. The real Buttercup."
"What are you talking about? What's going on?"
"Can't stop to talk, Professor, gotta boogie." Buttercup zoomed away, but then turned back for a moment. "Sorry, Professor, but a girl can't be perfect all the time, y'know. Especially when she's got to save the world!"
Harrison I. Martindale had just given the last speech of the campaign, and the crowd had just finished applauding enthusiastically. Somehow, a little girl had gotten past the Secret Service men and run up onto the stage. She was the cutest little girl imaginable, with a Shirley Temple frock and masses of blonde curls. The only incongruous detail was the huge sunglasses she was wearing, which hid her eyes completely. The Secret Service men were about to grab her, but Martindale, realizing how bad this would look to the audience, waved them away, saying quietly, "She's no danger." Bending down, he shook the little girl's hand and said loudly for the audience's benefit, "What's your name, little girl?"
"Woberta," the girl replied in a childish voice.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Roberta. And how old are you?"
"I'm five."
"Only five and already interested in politics! What an intelligent little girl you are." Seeing that the audience was loving this informality on the part of the great man, Martindale added, "What did you think of my speech, Roberta?"
"It was weally good." Martindale was about to turn away, but the girl continued, "But I thought your inauguration speech was even more powerful." As Martindale looked bewildered, Buttercup said in her regular voice, "Too bad you'll never get to deliver it!" She threw off her sunglasses and wig, leapt into the air, and ripped off the candidate's disguise to reveal Him.
The crowd gasped in horror, and Him's face twisted with rage. But then he laughed, saying in his effeminate voice, "Meddling little girl! You may have spoiled my plan to take over the world, but at least I've eliminated your sisters. And without them to help you, I'll soon--" modulating into his bass voice "--eliminate you!"
Him's lobster claws grabbed Buttercup, but Buttercup easily burst out of them. "That's what you think, creep!" Landing an uppercut, she yelled, "Now give me back my sisters!"
"Never!" Him roared.
"You asked for it!" Buttercup launched herself at Him, who grew to gigantic size and aimed fireballs at Buttercup as the crowd screamed and scattered in panic. But Buttercup dodged them all, and landed punch after punch.
Finally, Him shrank back to his regular size. His face beaten to a pulp, he groaned in his treble voice, "Stop! You're killing me!"
"Do I get my sisters back?"
"Yes!"
"Promise?"
"Yes, yes, I promise!"
"Okay," Buttercup said, pulling back. "But no tricks! Because if you break your promise, whatever you do to me, I'll find a way to come back and kick your butt again."
"I don't understand it. You were never able to beat me on your own before."
"Hah! To get my sisters back, I'd defeat a hundred Hims! Oh yeah, one more thing," she added as the scene began to fade, "never underestimate the power of a little girl!"
Blossom heard the Professor's voice calling, "Oh, Buttercup, you can come downstairs now." Looking around, she saw that she was in the room she shared with her sisters. Zooming into the living room where her sisters were playing, she shouted, "It's so great to see you again! You don't know how much I've missed you."
"Geez," Blossom responded, "it's only been three hours."
Buttercup flew to Blossom and Bubbles and hugged them. "I love you guys so much!"
"And we--uh--love you too!" answered the surprised Bubbles. "Right, Blossom?"
"Uh, yeah, right."
Buttercup flew to the Professor. "Professor, do you ever wish that you'd succeeded in making a perfect little girl instead of us?"
"Of course not!" the Professor laughed. "I love all of you just the way you are, even if you are sometimes naughty. Besides, this way I have three of you to love, instead of just one."
"As if you could ever be perfect!" Blossom snorted.
"Oh, yeah?" Buttercup replied, launching herself at Blossom.
"Girls, stop that!" the Professor ordered as they rolled about in midair. "Girls!...Girls!..."