A/N – I figured it was better that I, you know, explained some things. I like to cuss like a sailor; this is why this is rated M. Seriously. There will also be one scene that includes sex, although – you – see – nothing. I didn't feel it was necessary. It is implied sex, and the event will later be talked about, but not in graphic detail.

So, because of the rules here, this is rated M. I would rather rate it T, seeing as I think most teens can deal with a lot of strong language and implied sex, but prefers it otherwise. Sorry.

And of course, all characters and specific places belong to Craig McCracken. "Harvard" belongs to Harvard, and if New York is like Kentucky and decided to copyright their name, I suppose "New York" belongs to New York, too. Other than that everything is pretty much mine.

Oh! And this is first draft. Please excuse minor grammatical mistakes. Any questions or comments, feel free to read and review.

Enjoy!

EDIT: This chapter may not run as smoothly at first, due to this scene being written before anything else. I might have made a few continuity errors. I'm too lazy to correct them, so feel free to let me know if you spot any. AND, if you're lame and can't figure out what happened between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 – The PPG flew to their old house. They are now standing on the sidewalk. Okay.

Chapter 3

The three stood before the old white house, with the three round windows the girls remembered making. Although the house looked a bit older, the bushes in the front were still green and trimmed. The path to the door was spotless, and the driveway might have recently been redone.

"Has anybody been here since we graduated?" Blossom asked. Bubbles and Buttercup looked at her, then at each other. Nobody replied. They stood a few more moments, staring at the old house.

"What are we waiting for?" Bubbles said. She hurried up the path and to the front door. Blossom and Buttercup followed. Bubbles knocked on the door. "Come in!" said a voice within. Bubbles looked at the others, smiled, and opened the door.

It seemed the inside of the house had changed about as much as the outside. The same maroon and plum furniture was spread around the living room. The floor and the counters were spotless, and the carpet did not have one speck of dust.

"Maybe the Professor needs us back here to keep him busy," Buttercup remarked. The three shared a quick laugh.

"Girls?"

The three looked up at the staircase, where there stood a tall man in a lab coat, with graying black hair and a pipe. His forehead had been wrinkled from years of straining his brain, and his eyes had given in, and were framed by a pair of small square glass. The girls glanced at each other and grinned.

"Professor!"

The three sped forward, embracing their creator. Professor Utonium hugged each of them, surveying them as the came forward.

"Blossom, you're hair is beautiful," Professor complimented.

"I take care of it a lot," Blossom said with a smile.

"Because she still has no life," Buttercup commented.

"Buttercup… you're still--"

"Here?"

"…My Buttercup," Professor corrected, smiling warmly.

"Professor, I was in the news last week!" Bubbles exclaimed. "My picture is on the front page. 'Powerpuff--'"

"…Protests Pokey Oaks Pound,'" Professor finished. "I still read it in the morning with my coffee." Bubbles grinned. Professor stepped down the stairs.

"Now, I really would love to sit and chat, but unfortunately, we have some business to take care of. Let me take you to the lab."

The girls followed the Professor to the laboratory door. The Professor turned around.

"Now I must warn you. The one who will be joining us for this meeting is important in all of this. Do not be surprised, and please," Professor glanced at Buttercup, "Be respectful."

"Why'd you look at me?" Buttercup asked, but Professor held a finger to his lips and entered the lab. They descended down the stairs to the brightly lit laboratory. For the first time the girls could remember, none of the burners were on, and none of the complicated machines were rumbling. Test tubes were not bubbling, and the smell of chemicals did not seem as strong. Blossom looked at Bubbles and Buttercup curiously, but they both shrugged. They soon reached the bottom of the stairs, and saw an arrangement of chairs. In one of the chairs sat…

"Mojo Jojo!" The girls exclaimed together. The monkey with the striped helmet sat in the chair, glaring at the girls. His fur was grayer, and the green in his face seemed faded. He still wore the same blue outfit, with the white gloves and boots, and the purple cape.

"Powerpuff Girls," he said with a nod.

"Professor, what's going on?" Buttercup demanded, with Blossom and Bubbles agreeing.

"Please, take a seat, and we will all discuss this."

The three girls apprehensively took the seats in front of Mojo Jojo. Professor took the seat before them next to Mojo. He collected some paperwork strewn across his desk. He sighed, and faced the girls. There was an intense moment, filled with tension.

"What's going on, Professor?" Bubbles whispered.

"Well, girls, have you heard about any strange, um, news lately? Anywhere?" Professor began.

"I only keep track of the animals. The pound is still selling cats and dogs to testing facilities," Bubbles said.

"I try to keep track of the news in Massachusetts," Blossom said. "As far as I know, the government has been wasting money on something we don't know about. But that's not surprising, of course there's a bit of corruption over there." Professor nodded in agreement.

"Good, Blossom. Bubbles, your information is relevant, too. Buttercup?"

"I don't hear about anything in New York," Buttercup replied. She watched Mojo Jojo, waiting for any sudden movements.

"For the record, I am not going to try anything," Mojo said.

"He won't, girls. We'll explain as we go. Trust me," Professor assured. Buttercup sighed and looked away from Mojo. She decided to only peak on him every now and then.

"Anyway, that's fine, Buttercup," Professor said. "But believe it or not, Blossom's information and Bubbles information are connected, along with a lot of other evidence. Girls… There is another scheme."

"A scheme?" Blossom repeated. Professor nodded.

"Yes. There have been some interesting things happening in the world lately. Money has been disappearing from all over the world; mysterious disappearances of both animals and people. And I've noticed a disturbing change in my Him-dar…" Bubbles winced.

"Him-dar? You're… Him… tracking device?"

"Yes, the Him-dar," Professor said. "I know the location of... Him… if he's in one of two places – here in Townsville, or in his world. He is not in either location."

"How is this all connected? Couldn't it just be a coincidence?" Blossom questioned.

"I can answer this one," Mojo said. He cleared his throat and continued. "See, for past few years, since you three retired, I needed something to do rather than try and take over Townsville. It's no fun when there is no challenge. Instead, I got a job creating and selling, er, supplies to other countries, including our own. I made a pretty penny and I was content. And then a few weeks ago, they started getting interesting requests: mind control devices, big enough to fit in elephant brains, small enough to fit in pigeon brains. So I made them for a while, and soon I made the mistake of asking what they were for. Suddenly, the requests stopped, and the funding I was getting for creating my products stopped as well. Soon, I decided to do some investigating, and found out my clients have been sending their business elsewhere. And this, of course, infuriated me. I decided, using my keen criminal mind, to sabotage those other manufacturers, and get my clientele back! Mwuahaha!"

Mojo Jojo stopped, and saw that he was standing in his chair, all eyes staring at him curiously. He cleared his throat again and sat back down.

"Where does Him play into this?" Blossom asked.

"I was getting to that. Throughout my investigation, I found some interesting information in the files of the United Nations…"

"That's illegal!" Blossom interrupted. "You're infiltrating governmental documentations!"

"So what else is new, Blossom? Let the monkey finish," Buttercup said. Mojo raised his eyebrow at Blossom. She sighed.

"Continue."

"As I was I saying, there seems to be a lot of disagreements within all the countries. England is arguing with Russia about weapons, Kenya is arguing with India about cultures, et cetera, et cetera. But right now, everyone country is at odds with every other country. No allies. That is simply not possible. There are always allies with somebody. But not this time. Everybody is enemies, and nobody is allies. It does not make sense. What this all means that we are preparing for global warfare."

"So we're approaching another world war? Nice." Buttercup commented.

"Not nice! It's war!" Bubbles exclaimed.

"But it's more than just another world war," Blossom said thoughtfully. "We're all against each other this time." Blossom moved uncomfortably in her seat. "I still don't see where Him plays in all of this."

"We believe that Him has corrupted the minds of all the world leaders," Professor concluded.

"What proof?" Blossom asked. Professor cleared his throat.

"Obviously, where is Him on my Him-dar? And how does every world leader coincidentally all decide to hate each other? What evil could provide such hatred?"

"That's pushing it," Blossom said. "As likely as it is, that is all speculation and no stone-cold proof. And what about the money and mind-control equipment? Since when did Him need money or equipment to do anything?"

"Here is your 'stone-cold proof,'" Mojo said, handing her an envelope "I received the note in there two weeks ago." Blossom opened the envelope and read the note:

"Sorry for the business change, but you

are a bit nosy, my dear.

Prepare for the worst, my love.

The game has soon begun.

Sincerely,

The Other Father"

"Couldn't get any gayer, could it?" Buttercup chuckled, reading over Blossom's shoulder.

"Shut up!" Mojo shouted.

"It still isn't stone-cold, but I'll accept it," Blossom said. "But what about…" Professor held up his hand to speak. Blossom looked at him.

"We believe Him is using them as pawns. He is probably using his powers to influence the leaders, and manipulate them to do his deeds. The leaders buy the mind-control devices to control people and animals, probably to aide in war. The animals are useful to them as easy weapons, but the devices need to be tested…" Bubbles gasped. Professor frowned grimly. "The money will continue to go to testing, the devices, and other dangerous equipment. They are all pieces of a puzzle… a game. Everything is a game. Him has pretty much said he was the one up to it, and he is leading everything and everyone to a global warfare."

"Is this why you need us? To stop global warfare?" Blossom asked.

"To stop the animal testing, and the mind-control devices?" Bubbles added.

"To stop Him?" Buttercup finished.

"Sounds simple enough. We've done this before," Blossom said. Bubbles and Buttercup nodded in agreement.

"But it's not that simple," Professor said. He sighed. He sat there quietly a moment, looking rather tired and worried. He sifted through his paperwork and found an envelope, about the same as Mojo's. He handed it to Blossom.

"And the super-powered children

of monkey and men,

Will exist no longer

as they have been.

100 days, past December.

Sincerely,

Your Tracked Friend"

The girls stared at the note. Professor sighed and buried his face in his hands. Mojo sat quietly in his chair, his fingers laced in front of his face.

"Are we… are we going to die?" Bubbles asked quietly. Blossom looked at the Professor.

"I don't know," Professor whispered. "If it's not death… you're going to lose your powers."

"That's bullshit!" Buttercup cried.

"Buttercup! Language!" Blossom hissed. Buttercup ignored her.

"No! Him can't take away our powers. He can't just kill us either. We've been through this before. He's turned everyone we loved against us, he's made us face our biggest fears, he's single-handedly tried to ruin our lives, and never succeeded! You think he can do it now? I don't! It's an empty threat! It's complete bullshit!"

There was a long moment of echoing silence. Buttercup was half-angry, half-surprised at everyone. Blossom looked very deep in thought as Bubbles looked extremely worried. The Professor and Mojo looked grimly at one another.

"Did I ever tell you that Chemical X can expire?" Professor said. The girls looked at him. "No? I probably should have said something. After I received this letter, I did some tests on the remaining drops of Chemical X that I have. It turns out… it… it expires on April tenth, twenty-one years after it is used." The girls were silent.

"Our birthday," Bubbles stated.

"We're going… to expire?" Buttercup asked fearfully.

"I… I don't know if that means death or just… loss of powers," Professor said. He covered his eyes.

"Funny enough, the chemical I used expires fifteen years after use," Mojo stated. Blossom looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The Rowdyruff Boy's will expire as well, only a few days or so later than you," Mojo revealed. "That is why when you go on your mission; you will be working with them."

"No!" The girls shouted simultaneously.

"Professor, why do we need to work with them?" Blossom asked.

"Because this is bigger than all of us, and the more power we have, the better," Professor Utonium explained.

"Neither I, or any of my boys, wish to associate with you, either," Mojo added. "But if this gets any further, everything I have will be destroyed. The whole world may be destroyed. And I suppose I'd rather work with you than have that."

"And we need to stick together as much as possible," Professor said. The girls glanced at each other.

"Do we have to?" Blossom whined.

"Yes, Blossom. Fortunately, you'll be working in pairs, in each of the three teams we have figured out for you. We have done a lot of investigating, and made several discoveries, which we will explain to you later." Professor said, grabbing some paperwork nearby. "Blossom, we will be sending you and Brick to Chicago--"

"Why Me and Brick?" Blossom interrupted. "I don't want to go anywhere with him."

"You're both wonderful investigators," Professor replied. "Together, you two will associate with those underground, especially since Brick has – er – good connections. You'll need to find as much more information as possible."

Blossom sighed. "I'll do what I must."

"The rest of you will be investigating some potential evil hotspots," Mojo explained. "Bubbles, you will go with Boomer to a remote island in the Pacific, and explore until you find something, if anything. Buttercup, you will go with Butch underground – literally – until you find something."

"I have always wanted to go to an island," Bubbles said with forced optimism.

"I've always wanted to submit myself to torture," Buttercup said, also with forced optimism.

"That's the spirit, girls," Professor said, smiling.

"Have you told them yet?" Blossom asked.

"We're meeting with the boys in about an hour," Professor answered. "In the meantime, I will give you your instructions and uniforms."

"Uniforms?" Bubbles asked, excited.

"Oh, no," Buttercup muttered to herself.

"They're not terrible, Buttercup. And they actually provide necessary armor. I've been working on them," Professor tried to reassure. Buttercup chuckled.

"I'll let you know how I feel as soon as I see the length of the skirts."