The Demons of Townsville

Chapter 2

Laplace reappeared inside of a dilapidated warehouse, destroyed long ago by a monster attack. Although it had been long since abandoned, with just a thought, Laplace was able to reconstruct the building good as new. Every broken window, every broken or missing board, and even every speck of dust and insects were suddenly gone. The broken equipment and shelves were back in working condition, including every spare part and packaging items neatly folded or packed and placed where it belongs. The one thing Laplace couldn't do was restore the building's power, leaving the building dark save for the glow of sunlight beaming through the windows.

"What now, Master?" asked Maxwell as he casually lay onto a reconstructed roll of bubble wrap.

"We are strong, but to fully rid ourselves of the Powerpuff Girls, we need more power."

"I can keep it going." Maxwell happily clutched the Professor's cylinder as if it was a teddy bear. "I could supply you with lots of energy, Master."

Laplace let out an annoyed scoff. "That dinky little tube can't do much. We need something bigger. Currently, I can only undo the recent past and modify or repair broken objects. In order to affect the changes I want, I need more power. We need a larger sample of radioactive material."

Maxwell watched as Laplace paced back and forth in front of him. While adjusting his position on the bubble wrap and picking his nose, he said, "I know of a place where there is uranium."

Laplace scoffed in disgust. "Don't pick your nose in front of me."

Maxwell casually pulled out a booger and tossed it aside with a flick of his clawed finger. With a touch of his power, Laplace redirected the booger so it flew back and hit Maxwell in the eye.

"Ah!" Maxwell rubbed his eye. "Gross!"

"I told you not to pick your nose in front of me," said Laplace. "Now tell me, where is the uranium deposit?"

#

The girls returned to the Professor's lab to tell him what had happened.

"It was so strange," said Bubbles. "We saw Buttercup pick up the Demon of Laplace and then pow," she threw a punch into the air to mime the action, "right in the wall, and he just appeared back where he was as if nothing had happened."

The Professor put a hand to his chin in thought. "That's fascinating."

"But what's really strange is their names," said Blossom. "I get the feeling I've heard the names Maxwell and Laplace before."

"Well, I think you have," said the Professor. "Both the Demon of Laplace and the Demon of Maxwell are thought experiments."

"Thought experiments?" said Bubbles.

"Yes, they were created by physicists who were—"

"Professor!" interrupted Buttercup. "Are you going to give us another one of your boring science lectures?"

"Yes, but I'll keep it brief, and don't interrupt me again, young lady."

Buttercup crossed her arms and let out an irritable humph.

"The Demon of Laplace is the name of a thought experiment created by Pierre-Simon Laplace. He thought that if a creature had the power to know the positions, masses, and velocities of every atom in the universe, the creature could see the past, present, and future.

"The Demon of Maxwell is the name of a thought experiment created by James Clerk Maxwell who thought up a scenario where a creature could violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In short, the Second Law basically states that when atoms are contained in a closed system with no energy going in or out, there would eventually be chaos. The Demon of Maxwell supposedly could get around this law by dividing the faster moving hot atoms from the slower moving cold atoms and moving them to different sides of a container. If such a being exists, he would hypothetically have unlimited power."

The girls just looked on, uncertain as to what he was talking about.

"But what does that have to do with the demons we fought at the power plant?" asked Bubbles.

"I don't know. These are all just thought experiments, the demons are not suppose to be real. I have no idea what is going on here." The Professor scratched his chin in deep thought. "If only I had more information."

"Meow!"

The girls were surprised to see a black cat standing at the top of the stairs to the lab, looking down at them.

"Where did that kitty come from?" asked Bubbles.

"I must have forgotten to close the door when we came in," said Buttercup.

"I'll put the cat outside." Blossom flew through the lab and grabbed the cat. She carried it outside and left him on the front door.

"Meow! Meow!" said the cat.

"Look, I don't need you here," said Blossom. "Now, go home."

"Meow!" The cat meowed louder, seemingly agitated.

Blossom was about to shoo the cat away, when she heard the hotline go off. She flew up into the bedroom, picking it up.

"Yes, Mayor. What is it?"

"Powerpuff Girls, help, someone is robbing the military testing site outside of Townsville."

"We're on it, Mayor."

Without another word, the girls flew out the window, heading off. At their doorstep, the cat sat there, watching them go and meowing with annoyance.

#

The alarms blared loudly as Laplace stood over the open door to the walk-in safe. Various desk and computer monitors from the security personnel were scattered everywhere. The doors were bolted and sealed shut, barring anyone from entering or exiting save through Laplace's powers. Inside the safe was the site's supply of uranium. Maxwell, unaffected by the radiation, held up the sample of uranium in his one hand while he held the Professor's cylinder in the other. The sample of uranium slowly changed from a solid rock to a greenish fog of energy, reducing it to an atomic level.

"Yes, yes, Master..." said Maxwell, gleefully. "This uranium will make a perfect sample for me to work with."

"But first, you'll need a proper container," said Laplace, grabbing Maxwell's hand.

Converting an object to a past or future state is easy, but to completely alter it into something new requires more energy and more time. Although he didn't yet have a large enough container for the dividing cloud of uranium atoms, Maxwell was still able to generate enough power from just his hand for Laplace to reshape the Professor's container into a larger container. In a blink of an eye, the container was twice its size and thickness. The cloud of uranium was phased inside of it, so Maxwell could psychically work his will into it.

Maxwell held up the cylinder by his tail, which was only long enough to reach 2/3 of the way around it. "We should begin remaking Townsville."

"Not yet," said Laplace, "we still have to contend with the Powerpuff Girls." He looked up at the ceiling. Even though he couldn't see or hear them, he knew the Powerpuff Girls were there. He could feel their atoms coming closer.

"What should we do with them, Master?"

Laplace walked over to the nearby computer monitors. He put a clawed hand to the monitor, and grinned evilly. "Tell me. How much do you know about computers?"

"Not much," said Maxwell. "Why do you ask?"

"The funny thing about computers is they're a separate reality in and of themselves. A virtual world that is also made of atoms, and one I can sense and control. It'll be the perfect trap for the Powerpuff Girls..."

#

The Powerpuff Girls flew high over the base, looking down on it for any sign of damage or destruction. Blossom remembered how Laplace was able to undo any damage, so she knew he was probably covering his tracks.

"What do we do?" asked Buttercup, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.

"We should find someone here who can tell us..." Before Blossom could finish, the three of them suddenly felt an inkling. They all looked down at a spot in the center of the site. Located several levels below ground, they inexplicably knew that Laplace and Maxwell were down there. They could see Laplace and Maxwell breaking into the safe to steal uranium, almost as if they were recalling a forgotten memory.

"Do you guys suddenly get this strange feeling that the demons are down there?" asked Bubbles. "You know, like you can see them in your head?"

"Yeah, it's like I suddenly know where they are," said Buttercup. "What should we do?"

"We should be cautious," said Blossom. "Remember, these guys can control reality itself. I think they want to lure us into a trap. We'll go down there, but not all at once. I say one of us should take the lead and the rest of us should stay behind. If this is a trap, at least only one of us will fall for it."

"Are you sure that's a smart idea?" asked Bubbles.

Blossom let out a troubled sigh. "I don't know. We're up against very strange and powerful villains. If I knew more about them, I might come up with a better plan, but I don't know what else to do."

"Well..." Bubbles paused, not sure what to say. "Who's going down first?"

"Since this is my idea," said Blossom, with conviction, "it's only fair that I go in."

"No way," said Buttercup. "If anything happens to you, you won't be able to take charge. I'll go in. If it is a trap, I'll probably be more likely to muscle my way out."

"But..." Blossom stared at Buttercup. She didn't like the idea of endangering Buttercup, but as she thought about it, she knew she was right. "All right, but be careful."

"Hey, I may not know anything about physics," said Buttercup, "but a fist in the face works just as well."

With a confident smile, Buttercup dove down, descending toward the building, plowing through its roof with a loud bang, and burrowing deeper and deeper. Bubbles and Blossom trailed behind her, keeping her within eyesight, but not getting too close. Buttercup smashed through the room where her inkling had led her, scattering dust and debris everywhere as she came to a stop.

"All right, Laplace," she shouted, "where are you?" To her surprise, she only saw an empty lounge room with a desk and table nearby. "What the..."

"Buttercup, help!" shouted Blossom and Bubbles.

Buttercup flew up through the hole in the ceiling, but as soon as she did, she instantaneously found herself stuck in a void. It was as if she was ripped from her current plane of existence into another one. All around her were endless lines of binary numbers streaming in a torrent of code. Buttercup could see Blossom and Bubbles, also paralyzed and unable to move. Laplace and Maxwell materialized beside the girls, grinning evilly.

"What...?" stammered Blossom. "What did you do to us?"

"I needed you close enough to work my power upon you," said Laplace. "As you correctly deduced, I was the one who gave you that vision to lure you into a trap. It was the most I could do at such a long distance. You thought the trap was in the room I was luring you into, but it was just a distraction. Once you're backs were turned, I was able to implant you in a computer."

"A what?" asked Bubbles.

"The digital world of computers follows its own laws of physics," said Laplace. "All I did was simply transplant your bodies into the world of the computer. However, unlike your world, the world of a computer is not conducive for a living thing. In fact, the only thing that is enabling you to breath and talk is by my doing. However, once I leave, you'll be trapped inside the computer forever, nothing but nonsentient digital code."

"No!" said Blossom, struggling desperately to move.

"Don't worry, Townsville is in good hands," continued Laplace. "With my powers, I'll be able to reshape and remake this town into a utopian paradise. Of course, that will mean the destruction of all of Townsville and its citizens, but you can't have a beautiful garden without pruning a few branches."

"Please don't," whined Bubbles.

"I'm afraid I must go," said Laplace. "Enjoy your prison here."

Laplace vanished, and just as he threatened, the Powerpuff Girls found themselves frozen in time, reduced to digital code. Their minds preserved as part of the code, but they couldn't act or think. They were trapped there, unmoving...