Author's Notes: Hi everybody. Sorry I took so long to get to this update. I was afraid it might take some time, but on the bright side at least I'm able to give you a long chapter :)


Chapter 2

Found

The walk to where the Gangreen Gang lived took hours. It wouldn't have taken nearly as long, but the roads and many buildings were totaled. The gang complained the whole way home, but fortunately for the girls they didn't watch the news or read current papers, so they had no idea that the culprits were the very girls they were leading to their home.

"Yeesh! Somebody did a number on this town," Ace remarked sourly as they climbed another crumpled access road.

"Dah, was it us?" Big Billy asked in confusion.

"No it wasn't us! Geez Billy, it feels like you're gettin' stupider by the day!" Ace snapped before he held out his hand to help the girls jump over a road block.

"ACHOO!" Buttercup sneezed loudly, causing the gang to freeze just in case some citizen looked out their window and saw them, "Sorry. I think the rain is giving me a cold."

"Eh, you get used to it," Ace replied dismissively before the gang continued on their way.

Blossom stayed close to Buttercup since no one else seemed willing to help her. She wondered if they had made the right decision following this group of scary strangers to their home. If something happened to them no one would ever know, and she was certain that no one would miss them if it did. Buttercup kept up despite how poorly she was feeling. The professor hated them, the school hated them, and the entire town hated them. She wasn't about to give these guys a reason to hate them.

"In here," Ace announced as he pointed a thumb at an open gate.

The girls followed the gang inside and instantly recoiled from the horrible stench of wet garbage. The sign read CITY DUMP, and it seemed like nothing could actually live there, yet the gang continued to walk inside. Bubbles, who was still being carried by Big Billy, felt like she was going to pass out from the horrible smell.

"What is this dump?" Buttercup asked in disgust.

"Exactly," Ace replied with a smirk, "Dis is the Gangreen Gang's secret hideout. No one knows we live here, and we're sharin' this secret with yous. You should feel honored, by the way."

"Oh, um, we do. We do," Blossom quickly told him to avoid offending him, "So, um, where do we sleep?"

"Good question," Ace replied as he touched a hand to his chin.

"We could get them some garbage bags," Arturo suggested, "When they're really full they make good bean bag chairs."

"I don't wanna sleep on garbage!" Bubbles cried miserably.

"Look around, Bubbles. Everything is garbage!" Buttercup shouted impatiently.

"Alright alright, we'll handle it," Ace assured her, "Geez, does she always sound that shrill when she cries? 'Cause I'm startin' to think maybe Grubber should've eaten her."

That only made Bubbles cry even louder, and Big Billy started patting her head to calm her down.

"Daw, it's alright little blonde girl," Billy said soothingly as he rocked her back and forth, "The garbage is fun. You'll like being here with the Gangreen Gang. It's fun."

"Pfft!" Grubber blew a raspberry as he pointed to an old jalopy.

"Good idea, Grubber," Ace replied approvingly, "Yo Big Billy, put the kid down and go grab the back seat outta that car."

"Dah, okay boss," Big Billy replied compliantly.

He set Bubbles down with her sisters, and they both hugged her once she was safely on the ground. Billy then stomped over to the rusted out heap of a car and tugged on the bench seat in the back until it snapped off the car. He held it over his head and looked back at the gang for further instructions.

"Put it in the den," Ace ordered.

Billy then went inside the clubhouse with the car seat and dropped it in the middle of the floor. He scooted it over to a wall that had some space. The gang and the girls went inside to see the results and came in just in time to see Big Billy laying a ratty moth-eaten green blanket over the car seat.

"Tada! Instant guest bed," Ace proclaimed as he gestured to the car seat.

"Um, thanks guys," Blossom replied awkwardly; not liking the bed but not wanting to complain, "This really means a lot."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ace waved away her words of praise, "We're gonna play cards. You girls go to sleep, and try not to snore. It ruins my concentration."

"Um, okay. Goodnight guys," Blossom called out uncertainty.

"Goodnights, girlsss," Snake called after them.

"Pfft!" Grubber added.

"Don't let the cockroaches bite," Arturo teased playfully.

"Goodnight little girls," Big Billy smiled placidly and waved at them before joining the card game.

The girls waved back weakly before going over to inspect the bed. Blossom climbed in first, with the others joining her after. The blanket was small, thin, and was full of holes and stains from who-knows-where. Still, it was better than nothing, so the girls wrapped themselves tight in the worn piece of cloth and tried to ignore the sounds of shouting and laughter from the gang.

They didn't know what they were going to do the next day, especially since the gang was likely going to kick them out, so sleep came with great difficulty for the stressed and scared little girls.


Jojo entered the Utonium house and looked around for any sign of the professor or the girls. The door had been left open, so that indicated the professor might have been taken against his will. Of course those ungrateful brats had not returned to check on the well being of their creator, even though flying to the house would have taken all of two minutes. Jojo snorted in disgust at such disrespect.

He went down to the lab and felt a pang of sadness inside his simian heart. He had only been in this room a few days ago, but it felt like a lifetime. When last he entered the lab he was a primitive juvenile ape in a diaper, and now he was a super genius ape wearing clothes he dug out of the trash and a paper bag to shield his exposed brain from the elements. He had never felt so alone as he did in that moment.

"What to do first?" Jojo pondered out loud as he looked around at the chemicals and the computers.

He decided that work on his master plan must come first, so he began to gather the materials he would need to transform the primates of Townsville into super geniuses just like him. He ripped apart machines and used the parts to make containers for the chemical X fusion generator. Most of the floor was taken up with his machine and the leftovers of his work. He set aside chemical X as well so that it would be ready when he was.

Jojo took a break after several hours and went upstairs. The sun was shining now, so it was obviously morning. The professor still wasn't back. That was strange, and Jojo wondered if something horrible happened to his surrogate father. He shook the thought away. It didn't matter, since he did not yet have the power or ability to locate the professor, so his time was best spent in the lab.

He went back down and started sanding down rough edges on his machine and connecting wires. He was so engrossed in his plans that he neither ate nor slept. He might not be able to find the professor or manipulate the girls, but he could still make the world a better place for simians everywhere with his brilliant new machine.

After morning turned to evening however, Jojo realized that he was indeed hungry. He finally stopped working on the chemical X transfusion device and went into the kitchen to get something to eat.

He didn't know what he wanted, so he found a cookbook the professor kept on the kitchen counter. Jojo always liked the professor's cooking, so he was sure he'd be able to make something good by following the same instruction manual as the professor. He settled on the section entitled 'The Perfect Breakfast' and read about how to prepare eggs and sausage.

"Hm, according to this, the perfect breakfast requires exactly two eggs," Jojo read off as he searched the fridge for the necessary ingredients, "Alright then, the pan must be greased with either cooking oil, butter, or margarine. Hm...ah, here is the cooking oil."

Jojo made a royal mess of the kitchen as he prepared his meal. Random food was scattered all over the place, he spilled several spices onto the floor and counter, and he spilled orange juice into the sink when he reached for the milk. Overall it was quite an ordeal, but it was worth it when he finally had a beautiful looking plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns.

He ate quickly and then was about to leave the kitchen when he realized that he had left the place a complete mess.

"It does not matter," Jojo reasoned with himself, "The professor is not here. Then again, if he were to return to his place of residence only to find that his home has been soiled by the preparation of my dinner he might become upset. Hm, perhaps I should at least do the dishes before returning to my work."

Sighing at the prospect of such a tedious task, Jojo set about cleaning up his home. Despite running away part of him still thought of this house as his home, and right now the place felt empty and cavernous. He just hoped the professor was alive and well...wherever he was.


The next morning Buttercup was tossing and turning in her sleep having a nightmare about the town coming after them with torches and pitchforks. In her dream the professor was leading the charge to run them out of town and send them into a deep dark hole forever. Buttercup felt the hands of the townspeople grabbing for her, and she bolted awake screaming!

"Buttercup, calm down! It's just us!" Blossom exclaimed as she held onto her sister's arms.

Buttercup looked around at where they were. It was the Gangreen Gang's tiny clubhouse that was located in the heart of the City Dump. They were still on the car seat where the gang had left them, and everything smelled rotten and old.

"I think I liked the dream better," Buttercup groused with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Keep it down," Blossom hissed, "The guys are still asleep. We don't want them waking up angry at us."

"Hey girls, I just remembered something," Bubbles whimpered, "I left Octi at the professor's house."

"Who?" Buttercup asked.

"Octi. My stuffed octopus," Bubbles sniffed as she curled further into herself, "I want my Octi back. I want my old life back. I want the professor! Waaaah!"

"Shh!" Blossom and Buttercup both shushed Bubbles, but it was too late as the gang started to wake up.

"Ow, my head..." Ace moaned as he rubbed his temples, "Oh man, I think I had too many beers last night..."

"No kiddings Acce," Snake replied as he slowly slunk upright, "Remember thossse?" He asked as he pointed to the girls.

"Ah, crap," Ace muttered as he remembered bringing the little girls back with them, "Alright ladies, fun time's over. Get out of our dump, now!"

Bubbles was still crying and it was making Ace's hangover worse. He still didn't understand why he brought a group of little girls back with them. To be fair though, he didn't really remember much of anything after robbing Malph's and downing a few cans of store brand beer and a half a bottle of gin.

"Um, Ace, sir?" Blossom spoke up for the group, "We don't have anywhere else to go. Can we join your gang?"

"Octi!" Bubbles continued to cry.

"Bubbles! Shut up!" Buttercup screamed at her crying sibling.

"You three crybabies wanna join the Gangreen Gang?" Ace laughed, "You're kiddin' right? Do you have any idea who we are?"

"Um...no," Blossom admitted.

"We're the toughest group of hoods in this whole stinkin' city!" Ace declared proudly, "We practically own this town. We take what we want, mess with whoever we want, and do whatever we want. Our lives are full of turf wars, binges, and fights the likes of which you've never seen. You girls ain't ready for that, even if we were lookin' for new members, which we ain't!"

"Hey boss?" Big Billy yawned as he sat up from his spot sleeping on the bare floor, "My head hurts. We got anymore tomato juice?"

"Yeah, we could all probably use some of that," Ace replied as he slowly made his way to a crate they were using for a pantry, "Hey Billy, throw those girls out, would ya?"

"No, wait!" Buttercup interjected, "You say we're not good enough, but I say we are! What do we have to do to join the gang, huh? Just give us a chance and you'll see, we can do it. We'll be perfect!"

"You're serious, eh?" Ace replied with an amused smile, "Well, I like your spunk kid, so I tell you what. I'll give you the exact same test I gave the boys, and if you and your pretty little sisters can handle it, then I'll let you in."

"Uh, am I still supposed to throw them out?" Big Billy asked in befuddlement.

"No Billy, they're gonna go through our initiation," Ace replied conspiratorially, "Snake, get the camera."

Snake left the clubhouse, and the girls looked at each other wondering what in the world they had gotten themselves into. Who knew what kind of sick twisted hazing ritual the Gangreen Gang went through? Blossom was starting to get nervous, and Bubbles was downright scared. Buttercup looked tough on the outside, but inside she was also afraid they would fail and be forced out onto the cold unforgiving streets of Townsville with nothing but each other.

Snake returned with a small silver camera in his hand. It was just then that Lil' Arturo and Grubber woke up and saw what Snake was carrying.

"Hey Ace, we got new members coming in?" Arturo asked as he eyed the camera.

"Sort of," Ace replied easily, "The powderpuffs over here think they're tough enough to get into the gang. Since I'm such a fair guy I decided to give 'em the test."

"Oh cool!" Arturo bounced up excitedly, "Hey chicas, you wanna see the photos from my initiation? I keep it in my wallet."

"Yesss, Arturo iss the sssentimental type," Snake chuckled.

Arturo then pulled out his wallet and held up the pictures for the girls to see. Much to their shock it was a series of pictures of a slightly younger Arturo punching a man in a blue uniform, beating him with a large bag, and then finally standing over the man's unconscious form.

"Oh my gosh! You beat up a Boy Scout?" Bubbles asked in horror.

"Tch, puh-lease, that's no Boy Scout. That's a mailman," Arturo scoffed at her naivety, "If I remember correctly he had to get stitches. Big Billy's victim had to drink his food through a straw, and Snake's victim muttered about evil reptiles all the way home. It was hilarious! Grubber was first, so I don't know who he beat up."

"Pfft Pfft Bbtt!" Grubber told the story, though the girls didn't understand what he said.

"Oh yeah? Cool," Arturo replied to Grubber, but the girls were totally lost.

"You mean we have to beat someone up to get into the gang?" Blossom asked dubiously.

"Yep," Ace replied nonchalantly.

"Who did you beat up, Ace?" Blossom asked out of morbid curiosity.

"My dad," Ace replied shamelessly, "I also beat up Grubber the first time I met him. And Snake. So, you up for the challenge, or do you wanna go home cryin' to your mommy?"

"We don't have a mommy," Bubbles replied; missing the point.

"Look kids, it's real simple," Ace explained as he took the camera from Snake and handed it to Buttercup, "You find someone on the street, it don't matter who, and you beat 'em up. You take pictures with this camera so you can show me you did the job right. Since you're little kids I'll let you all beat up the same victim, but I wouldn't do that for just anyone. No matter the results I want that camera back, by the way. If you succeed, then you become official members of the Gangreen Gang. If you fail, then you are forbidden to ever come near us again on penalty of a beat down. Got that?"

"Got it," Blossom replied apprehensively.

"Good, now get out," Ace ordered as he pointed to the door, "Make me proud, powderpuffs."

The girls ran out of the hideout with the camera and left the dump through the gate. They stopped at a crosswalk and looked at all of the people walking and driving around the part of Townsville that had been spared the carnage from their game of tag two days prior.

"We really have to hurt somebody?" Bubbles asked in despair.

"You wanna have a family again, don't you?" Buttercup retorted, "Well, this is what we gotta do. Besides, Townsville hates us. What do we care if one of them gets a bloody nose?"

"As much as I hate this, Buttercup has a point," Blossom said ruefully, "The Gangreen Gang might not be the warm loving family we thought we'd have living with the professor, but at least they haven't lied to us or treated us like monsters just for being alive. The professor only loved us when things were easy. He wanted perfect little girls, he said so himself, and we're not perfect. We were a mistake. The gang at least doesn't know about our powers, so they won't reject us."

"Oh, crud!" Buttercup suddenly exclaimed, "How are we supposed to beat somebody up without our powers? If the guys catch wind of our superpowers they'll hate us! We'll be back on the streets fighting with dogs over scraps and getting chased by angry mobs and have to go back to that stupid school full of kids who want us dead! What do we do, Blossom? What's the plan?"

"Well, it's not a video camera, so we could just..." Blossom hated this idea, but it was the only one she had, "We could...beat up the...person with our powers, but then take a picture that makes it look like we didn't use our powers. That could work, right?"

"I don't wanna beat anybody up!" Bubbles complained, "We're good little girls. I don't wanna be bad."

"Newsflash Bubbles, being good little girls got us abandoned by the professor, and being bad is going to get us a new family," Buttercup replied harshly, "Remember when you got tired in the rain and couldn't walk anymore? Was it the professor who helped you and kept you dry under his arm? Huh? Was it?"

"No," Bubbles admitted shamefully, "It was Big Billy."

"And who let us stay in their house when we were soaked to the bone?" Buttercup continued, "Was that the professor?"

"No, it was the gang," Bubbles replied defeatedly, "Fine, I'll do it, but only once."

Their inner resolves rising, the girls looked around to find a suitable target. They saw a mother tending her baby, and gave each other an apprehensive look. Obviously none of them wanted that to be their victim. They saw a man buying a hot dog. They looked at each other again and considered it, but none of them were willing to make the first move.

"This is harder than I thought," Blossom commented after a few minutes, "How are we supposed to do this if everybody is so...innocent?"

"Innocent? Bah!" Buttercup scoffed, "These are the people that want us dead and gone! They hate us, and they just want us to go away!"

Just then, an alarm rang out at the bank and a man wearing a ski mask and a black outfit ran out carrying two large burlap sacks and waving a gun. He ran close to where the girls were to get to his getaway car, and the girls watched him attentively.

"He's fast," Bubbles remarked.

"Yeah, like a challenge," Buttercup replied with a sinister grin.

"So, him?" Blossom asked for clarification.

"Him," The other two girls confirmed in unison.

With a nod to each other, they used their super speed to catch up to the bank robber's car. They were too young at this point to realize they were going after a criminal, and it probably wouldn't have mattered to the desperate girls at this point anyway. The Gangreen Gang wanted fighters, and therefore the girls would become fighters. Anything to avoid being cast aside.

Buttercup grabbed onto the back bumper of the car and stopped it even as it continued to try to speed away. The robber didn't know why he had stopped, so he looked behind him, but didn't see the problem. Blossom and Bubbles ran up to the car door and ripped it off the car with ease. The robber gasped when he saw the tiny menaces that had destroyed so much of the city with their freaky powers, and he saw the way they were looking at him.

"Hey, hey, come on girls, let's talk about this!" The robber pleaded, "Hey, you like nice things, right? Why don't you take some of this nice money and get yourselves some candy or little dollies or something, huh?"

"He talks too much," Blossom commented coldly.

"Let's just hurry up. I don't like this," Bubbles whispered as she held onto Blossom's arm for assurance.

Without further warning Blossom grabbed the robber and punched him hard in the gut. She then twirled him around over her head and slammed him against his car. She passed him to Bubbles, who then smacked him against a store's brick wall. Buttercup peeled him off and punched him a few more times before letting him fall to the ground groaning, bloody, and bruised.

"Buttercup, the camera!" Blossom ordered.

Buttercup then grabbed the camera and set the timer. She placed it on the car roof and went to stand next to her sisters, who were standing next to their victim. They got their picture, but before they left Bubbles decided they should get a souvenir for their new leader Ace. The others agreed, and they settled on taking a little bit of the money out of the bag. After all, the robber did say it could buy things. Maybe it could also buy their way into the gang.


Jojo heard a commotion coming from upstairs. He bounded out of the laboratory and peered around the corner to see what had happened. He couldn't believe his eyes when he took in the scene before him. It was the professor, handcuffs behind his back and his body roughed up. Jojo didn't know exactly what happened, but it had obviously been bad. Stupid humans...

"Girls! Girls, where are you? Are you okay?" The professor was calling out for his girls in near panic, and that was enough to make Jojo's blood boil. How dare those little monsters attempt to replace him?

"They are not here, Professor," Jojo said in an eerily calm tone of voice as he stepped into the room to face his so-called owner.

"Wha-! Who are you? What are you?" The professor asked fearfully as he backed away and sat against the wall.

"Relax, Professor. It is I, Jojo, your former lab assistant," Jojo reintroduced himself, "As you can see, your girls are not here. I saw them in town with a group of hoodlums. It gives me no pleasure to say this Professor, but they have abandoned you and left you to rot. You will receive no further love or help from them. They require your parental care no longer, and will likely use their powers for evil. I am sorry, Professor. It is with deepest regrets that I inform you of your creations' cruel abandonment of you."

The professor couldn't believe what was happening. The past few days felt like some sort of surreal dream. He had finally created the perfect little girls he always wanted, but it turned out they had super powers and were adept at causing destruction. His pet chimp was now green and could talk. His girls were gone, likely off to a life of crime.

"This town is insane," The professor whispered morosely, "Everything stinks here. Crime is everywhere, the citizens are forming angry mobs, I was arrested merely for creating three little girls, and now my precious creations are out there somewhere, falling into the same pit of corruption most of this town's youth falls into. Oh Jojo, what am I going to do?"

"We must prepare," Jojo replied simply.

"Prepare? Prepare for what?" The professor asked nervously.

"We must prepare for the girls' next move," Jojo explained ominously, "Are you familiar with a gang of green skinned thugs that lurk around Townsville?"

"The Gangreen Gang?" The professor replied softly as the implications sank in, "They actually robbed me a few nights ago...the night I made the girls. I guess I was lucky to get away with only getting punched once, but boy did it hurt! Wait, you mean the girls are with those evil men? Jojo, those guys are the most notorious gang in Townsville! If the girls join them..."

"Then Townsville will be even more doomed than it already was," Jojo finished the professor's unspoken thought.

"How do we get the girls back?" The professor asked desperately.

"I do not know if they will return to you," Jojo replied gravely, "However, I do know that your original goal was to find a way to combat the injustice in the world. You wanted to do your best to be a good person in the hopes that your kindness would rub off on others. You rescued me from the black market, you dedicated your life to science, and you attempted to create three morally righteous little girls to make the world a better place. You can still fight injustice, professor. However, I feel we will need to take a more proactive approach."

"How do we do that?" The professor asked.

"By joining forces," Jojo replied; his stance energetic and eager for the challenge, "Together we can save those who are truly oppressed. I am in the process of inventing a device that can help save the underclass of Townsville. Join me Professor, and we can be heroes!"

"Will this invention save my daughters?" The professor asked; a slight skepticism seeping into his tone.

"Trust me, Professor. I have always had your best interests at heart," Jojo replied with a grin that he hoped didn't give away his deceptive intentions, "Help me, and we can be a family again and save Townsville."

"Well...if it'll get the girls back, then I guess I'll help you," The professor replied, "Can you get these handcuffs off me now? I think I keep a lock pick in my junk drawer downstairs."

"Of course Professor, I'll be right back," Jojo said with a smile as he turned away and walked toward the lab.

He couldn't believe how easy this was. The professor didn't even question why his former beloved pet chimp could suddenly talk, and he had no problem trusting said chimp completely. Jojo wanted to laugh at his adoptive father's stupidity, but the anger inside him wouldn't allow it. Even now, when the girls had abandoned the professor and Jojo stayed behind, it was the girls that occupied the professor's thoughts and concerns.

Jojo seethed with rage as he grabbed the lock pick and slowly made his way back up to the living room. If he could just hold out until they had finished the invention, then every monkey and ape in Townsville would be as intelligent as he was, and then the human race would bow before his might or die. Then he would force the professor to acknowledge his superiority before ending his life. Yes, revenge would be sweet indeed. Jojo just had to bide his time...


The girls flew most of the way back to the Gangreen Gang's hideout, but then landed a couple blocks away and walked the rest of the distance. They didn't want the gang to find out about their powers, because they were sure the guys would hate their powers as much as the professor and the town did.

When they returned they saw Big Billy lying flat on his back while Grubber, Arturo, and Snake jumped up and down on his gut like he was a trampoline. Ace stood off to the side and watched; his sunglasses hiding whatever facial expression he had.

"Hey guys!" Buttercup called out eagerly to the gang and waved the camera in the air, "We're back, and we got the photo you wanted!"

The bouncers got off Big Billy and Big Billy got up so they could walk over to the girls. Ace followed suit, though at a slower pace. Blossom could see that the teens looked incredulous, and she wondered why it was so hard to believe they could succeed when three of them ganged up on one person.

"So, you got the pic?" Ace asked almost mockingly, "Let me guess, you convinced some poor sap to pretend to get knocked out for yous? Oh, or maybe you just took a picture of a homeless bum. Yeah, real cute powderpuffs, but that don't work here."

"But...but...we really did beat a guy up!" Bubbles whimpered defensively.

"Yeah, and we can prove it!" Buttercup snapped as she thrust the camera in Ace's face, "Look at that and tell me we're lying!"

Ace looked down at the camera's digital display, and was shocked to see a bloodied and beaten bank robber with three proud little girls standing in front of him.

"And in case that ain't enough," Buttercup added smugly, "Here's something else."

Bubbles then handed Ace a wad of cash they had taken off the bank robber, and the guys' eyes lit up at the sight of all that dough. Ace whistled approvingly at their gift, as well as at the photo they took of their victory.

"Okay, I gotta admit, this is pretty impressive," Ace told them appraisingly, "That bein' said, one thing still bugs me. Yous three are what, five years old? Six?"

"We were born last week," Bubbles replied helpfully.

"Um, technically we're 4 days old," Blossom supplemented.

Ace raised an eyebrow at this, assuming the little girls were just exaggerating as kids their age so often do.

"Yeah, anyway, I just can't help but wonder how yous three managed to beat up a grown man with a gun and a fast car," Ace pondered, "Very strange..."

The three girls all looked at each other nervously. They knew then, they had been caught. The Gangreen Gang would soon find out about their powers and then they'd be in real trouble. Blossom, not knowing what else to do, decided to face their turmoil head-on.

"Um, actually Ace...there's something we need to confess," Blossom said sheepishly; unable to even look the other gangsters in the eye.

"Yeah, I thought as much," Ace replied knowingly, "Yous three faked this, didn't ya?"

"No sir," Blossom replied mournfully; sure their chance at another family unit was blowing away in the wind, "You see..."

The girls then floated up in the air, and all five gang members looked up at them with wide stunned eyes.

"We're freaks," Blossom finished saying after their little demonstration.

The girls landed, and four of the guys took a step away from them in shock, but Ace just stood there looking down at the little mutants.

"We know we should never use our powers," Blossom said solemnly, "But it was the only way we could do what you wanted."

"Yeah, and if you let us stay we'll never use our powers again," Buttercup added for good measure.

"Please don't kick us out," Bubbles sniffed as she hugged herself miserably.

"We're sorry!" All three girls shouted in unison.

The other Gangreen gangsters finally grew curious enough to step closer to the girls and stare at them. The girls were sure this was the calm before the storm that would lead to them being chased out of the junkyard. They waited for the final word that would force them away from their new lives, but much to their surprise Ace knelt down and put a hand on both Blossom's and Buttercup's shoulders.

"Girls," Ace addressed them as a smile crept up his face, "I am so proud of you."

"You...you are?" Buttercup ventured to ask.

"Yep. You powderpuffs are gonna make us the richest and most powerful gang in all of Townsville," Ace replied encouragingly; already picturing the mayhem such power could cause, "Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles. Welcome to the Gangreen Gang."