Note* Just as Powerpuff Girls Z is an alternate storyline to the original Powerpuff Girls, so is this. Please give it a chance before judging it. Criticism is more than welcome. Also, the story doesn't pick up until after you get all the introductory stuff.

June 6th

"What... is this?" Professor Utonium asked his colleague.

"It's why I called you over here." Dr. Miller answered. "Look carefully at the nucleus of this atom. What do you see?"

Professor Utonium studied the microscope image hard. "It's simply an atom with 152 protons."

"Yes, but look deeper." Dr. Miller replied. "Do you see?"

He did, in fact, see. There, surrounding the entire atom like a halo, was a slight bluish glow. This certainly wasn't normal. But then, you're bound to discover a few strange things about a brand new element, aren't you? "A glowing blue nimbus surrounds this atom." He said.

Dr. Miller nods. "Now look at this other atom." He rotated a dial on the microscope and moved away.

Professor Utonium took another look. This atom was surrounded with a slight green nimbus. Dr. Miller continued to shuffle through the images, showing atoms with glows of all colors; green, red, yellow, orange, blue, even black, white, and grey. No two atoms had exactly the same color glow. He came away astonished. "This is incredible! Every atom has its own unique properties!"

"Exactly!" Dr. Miller shouted. "And I believe I may be able to manipulate this atom in ways we never thought possible! For example, look at this red one here." He flipped the image to an atom with a red nimbus. "I've run a series of tests on this red one and found that it has a tendency to reduce the temperature of the atoms around it substantially. I placed several of these atoms in a vacuum and heated the chamber it to about 5000 Kelvin, but the temperature remained at 4500 Kelvin, and wherever a mass of these atoms gathered, the temperature in that tiny spot almost immediately dropped to room temperature."

"Why did you test the red ones first?" Professor Utonium asked.

Dr. Miller shrugged. "Red's my favorite color."

June 10th

The Professor stopped and looked out the window of his car. A massive accident has happened yet again, and now he has to turn around and take the back way to Octagon Inc. and risk being late again. He changed direction and started to drive the other way. Before he could drive too far, a deafening roar is heard. The sound was like gears grinding against each other. The poor souls behind him are already lost. Without even turning his head, he floored the accelerator and got out as fast as he could. Everyone in this town knows what that sound means.

He pulled into Octagon Inc's parking garage, finds a decent spot near the door, and walks to his station. Once inside, he goes straight to his workstation. The sooner we finish with this project, he thought, the sooner those tragedies will end. He hears footsteps and looks up. It's Dr. Miller.

"Well, I'm glad you could make it in today." He said with a sympathetic grin.

"They actually got media coverage this time?" He was genuinely shocked. "They usually die trying!"

"For the third time in history, it's been caught on tape. Not much of it though, the man filming along with the camera was destroyed in about five minutes."

Professor Utonium banged his fist on the table. "Which is why we need to finish this project as quickly as possible!"

"There's no need to shout." Dr. Miller said. "Project Beta is proceeding as planned and on schedule. We'll be finished in no time." His face was cheerful, but his eyes looked worried.

The Professor sighed. "Alright. How are we coming on the subject research?" He said, trying to change the subject.

"We're making amazing progress. In fact, we're already beginning the process."

"So soon? Has the new element been properly tested?"

"Of course. We're not idiots, you know." Dr. Miller's smile broadens. "You should come have a look." Professor Utonium nodded and got up to walk with him to the Biology Wing. "You're aware of our difficulty matching physical makeup to the atoms, right?" The Professor nods. "Those problems have been solved. Now, take this information in any way you want but... well, you'll see when we get there. Here we are." The two great metal doors slide to either side, revealing a large room with a massive central workstation and three giant glass cylinders off to the left filled with an eerie green liquid. As if that weren't strange enough, inside each of the vats floated a little girl of about 12 or 13. They were hooked up to a huge series of assorted wires. Each was fully clothed, and the Professor idly wondered how.

"But these are just little girls! They're children! Even with the addition of this new element, what can they do?" He was getting a little frantic.

"Calm yourself, Professor. These are the only bodies capable of successfully using the new element without burning themselves up." He looked up at the three vats. Each of the girls looked identical, with long, flowing hair that bobbed and floated in the liquid.

Maybe this will work, the Professor thought, let's hope so. This project is mankind's last hope.

June 12th

The scream made the professor drop his pencil. It was Dr. Miller's voice. He looked over to the room next to him and saw a menacing black glow. It was Dr. Miller's office. He got up and ran inside, kicking a desk as he did. It was Dr. Miller's desk. He saw a man on the ground with a kind of black sludge suck to his arm. It was Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller was clutching at his arm and screaming. Evidently, whatever that sludge is burned or something. Professor Utonium wasted no time. The first thing he did was alert a nearby assistant to go get help from the Medical Wing, then he grabbed a power washer from off the wall, installed for just such and occasion, and began frantically trying to remove the sludge from his arm. He succeeded, but the skin under the sludge was raw, bloody, and simmering. The blood that oozed from the wound was not red, but grey. Several people in medical uniforms rushed in to help him. They laid a stretcher down, placed the screaming doctor on it, and rushed him away. His screams died down as Dr. Miller was taken from the Research Wing.

What was he working with? The Professor asked himself. He looked around for the black sludge. It was on the floor and steaming. Obviously touching would only cause harm. He went to go look for a broom and dustpan, and came back to scoop up the sludge. He placed the dustpan carefully on the table, which is where he noticed a broken vile labeled "Chemical X-Ω." Chemical X is the liquid form of the new element we discovered: Yaxerius. This is not good. If Chemical X-Ω is so potent, who's to say it might not kill those three in the vats? It's a chance we have to take. If it does work, it will be the salvation of this town and the world.

Note* And that's the backstory. Don't worry, all questions and more will be answered in time. Also please don't fuss over scientific inaccuracies (if there are any). It's a fiction story, and I'm doing my best.