title: you know the rules, and so do i

AU: Powerpuff Girls/Wordgirl inspired rival superheroes AU

pairing: Raim OTP

Sugar... spice... and nothing nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the most dip shih tzu superhero of all time. But Professor Irma accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction: Crack cocaine.

Thus, Ruff Buddy was born! Using her ultra superpowers, Ray dedicated her life to stopping crime and the forces of evil!

/

The city of Fanfictionimagi Nation! And it's an ordinary Saturday. Citizens happily romp around in the newly built park. Geese swim and play in the local pond. And in a square shaped house, Ray the Shih Tzu shrieks as Professor Irma chases after her with a razor.

"Aw, come on Ray!" Irma says, setting the razor down on her couch. "Listen to your owner! You need a haircut!"

"I wouldn't trust you with a razor if my life depended on it!" Ray barks back.

"How cute," Irma coos. She grabs the furry brown and white creature, wrestles her onto the lab table, and locks her into place. She tsks. "Don't struggle against those chains, Ray. That's cuffs, buddy. They're unbreakable, and they suppress your superpowers. I designed them myself."

"** you," Ray says.

Irma whistles as she retrieves the razor from the couch. "You need a haircut, Ray." She flicks at the tangled fur around her dog's jaw. "That's scruff, buddy. And it's got to go."

Ray opens her mouth (probably to bark some more rude obscenities), but before the Ruff Buddy hotline's automated voice screams, "EMERGENCY! DIP**! DIP**! DIP**!"

Irma sighs and releases Ray's constraints. "I guess you gotta go save the world or something. We'll finish your haircut later. Make me proud."

Ray doesn't even listen to whatever Irma's saying. As soon as her restraints are off, she's soaring out the window. Thank goodness for whatever monster is terrorizing the city right now. She'll remember this and properly reward it when she becomes the Queen of Hell.

/

In the park, Rachelly screams as what appears to be a giant blob of electricty rolls through the town, frying everything in its path.

"We're doomed!" yells Hazel. All four of the Freen children - Hazel, Angel, Sophie, and Rachelly - begin panicking, running around the park in circles.

"Wait!" shouts Sydney, trying to calm her children down. "Look at the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane?"

"That's Ruff Buddy," Angel moans. Their least favorite superhero has come to save the day from the energy monster.

/

Alone with the lights off and curtains closed in his basement, Marz fiddles with the iPhone that one of his great-great-great-great-great (and who knows how many more greats?) grandchildren gave him for his 8043599273th birthday. "I don't understand... I just don't understand this technology."

The energy monster rampages outside. Marz jams a third cord into his phone, hoping that will solve his problem, and wonders why his outlets are growing strangely.

/

Ruff Buddy flies straight for the energy monster. "Take this!" she cries, punching the monster in the gut. The monster keels.

"Fear not, citizens of Fanfictionimagi Nation! I have come to protect you!" Ray says, puffing out her little shih tzu chest. "With me on the job, there's no way - "

At that moment, the energy monster stands back up and grabs Ray, nearly suffocating her in its huge fist. Thanks to her superpowers, Ray can't be electrocuted, but she still needs to breathe. Must... escape... soon...

Suddenly, the hand that was clutching her dissolves, and it's only thanks to her lightning fast reflexes that she doesn't end up as a pancake on the ground. She hovers above the ground, disoriented and confused. The energy monster is gone! But how? And is that... cheering she hears below? What is going on?

"You alright, sweetheart?" She looks up to see a snowy white dog with a black cape, flying high above the crowds. Another superhero? But no! This is her city, not his! She immediately flies up to his level and tries to clear her head. The energy monster really is gone. And the crowds really are cheering. Not for her, but for this... other thing. She looks down and even sees the Freens - the Freens, that are supposed to be her loyal fans! - cheering for her enemy. Well, Angel never really liked her very much in the first place, but Sydney and Rachelly and Sophie and even Hazel? Et tu, Brute?

"Who the hell are you?" she demands, looking back up and glaring at the dog that has ruined everything.

He winks. "I'm One Direction."

/

One Direction. What a stupid name for a stupid dog. She hates him, but she agrees when One Direction offers to take her on a stroll through the park because she needs to interrogate him. Yes, she must find out more about him so that she can exploit all of his weaknesses and drive him out...

Also, she doesn't want to go home because Professor Irma will be waiting with that razor.

"What's your name?" One Direction asks.

"Ruff Buddy," Ray replies.

"No, I meant your real name," he says.

Ray sniffs. "That's top secret."

"Well, I'll tell you mine. It's Aim." He chuckles. "Get it? Because aim and direction are synonyms according to thesaurus dot com." When Ray doesn't say anything, he adds, "Aw, come on. You don't want me to call you Ruff Buddy for the rest of your life?"

Goddammit, he's got her there. She hates the name Ruff Buddy. Screw Professor Irma, the one who came up with that name. "It's Rayna," she says with a sigh. "Ray for short."

"Ray," says Aim. "That's a beautiful name. For a beautiful dog." He blushes.

What the **? Is he trying to flirt with her or something? She narrows her eyes warily. "Listen up Aim, we need to settle this. This is my city. There can only be one super puppy. I was here first, so you have to gtfo."

"We can share the city," Aim offers.

Ray scowls. "I don't share!"

Aim raises his paw to his chin, pondering. "Well, I don't want to gtfo just because you were here first. I did fight that energy monster, and the people love me." He slams his paw onto the ground. "There's only one way this can be settled. A chess match."

Chess? She laughs maniacally inside. She's absolutely brilliant at chess, but Aim doesn't know that. "Alright then," she says coolly. "Winner stays, loser leaves." This is going to be easy.

Aim smirks and takes an entire chess set out of his cape. An entire chess set! Who keeps an entire chess set in his cape?

Maybe this won't be as easy as she thought.

/

Playing chess with Aim is surprisingly... enjoyable. She goes first as the white team. The game moves slowly (frustratingly slowly; why does Aim take so long to think?), but they chat along the way. He's actually an interesting person to talk to.

Okay, she did not just think that.

She looks up from the chessboard and is surprised to see that the sun is setting. Had they really spent that much time playing chess together?

Aim seems to have noticed the same thing as she because he says, "I think I have to go. My roommate is waiting for me. We'll finish this game tomorrow?"

She's actually disappointed, but she acts chill. "Yeah, we'll finish this game tomorrow. I'm busy tomorrow morning summoning demons, but I think I'm free for the evening. You better come here at 6 PM sharp, in this exact place."

"I won't be late," he promises.

/

He's late.

It's 6:00, and the boy is not here.

Damn that boy. And she was winning, too! She scratches at the ground angrily. She hadn't endured Irma's razor and all of Irma's teasing just for Aim to be late.

Is he not coming?

He's not here.

Has he forgotten about her?

He's not coming.

How could he do this to her? How could he make her care about him enough, enough so that she misses him, and then abandon her?

She'd thought he cared about her too.

He's not here, he's not coming, he's betrayed her just like the Freens -

"Ready to play?" Aim asks, ambling into the park. He's walking. He has the nerve to walk? He should be running, huffing and puffing, and apologizing!

"You're late!" she screams. "It's 6:01!"

"I'm sorry," Aim says. "I didn't mean to make you wait."

The genuinity in his apology makes her pause. "I thought you weren't coming," she says, her anger dissipating.

"Ray," Aim says, his voice soft. "I would never do that. I would never give you up, never let you down, never run around and desert you."

She's not crying, she's not crying, her eyeballs are just sweating. She wipes off her tears with her paw.

"By the way, I like the haircut," Aim says, with another wink.

This dog is going to be the death of her. "Let's share the city," she blurts out. "We can be superheroes together."

Aim grins, and God, he's just so cute. "Only if we get to be a battle couple."

"Alright." Did he - did he just ask her out? And did she just agree? What was she thinking? But Aim presses his paw against hers, and all those thoughts go flying out the window. Aim just asked her out, and she just accepted. The chess game forgotten, she and Aim run off into the sunset.