Wow - that was a long author's note, wasn't it? And now, on to the
Disclaimer: see chapter 1.
Additional disclaimer: I also do not own any of the following films/TV programmes for which I have created fictional sequels mentioned in this fanfiction: "Spy Kids", "Spiderman", "Harry Potter", "Star Trek", "The Simpsons", "The Terminator", and "2061: Odyssey Three".
Him was pacing around in the living chambers of his home on Earth. He had had a brilliant idea for breaking up the Powerpuff Girls once and for all, and had immediately gone to his dear friend, Mr. Quackers, for advice on how to proceed with this new plan.
That had been almost two weeks ago; he was still thrashing out the finer points of his latest piece of deviousness. After all, just because he was evil, it did not give Him an excuse to be sloppy in his work.
"So, once more from the top", he muttered, both to himself and Mr. Quackers, absent-mindedly squeezing the little yellow plastic duck. "Curse...telepathy...deepest, darkest secrets...they either split up, which will make them so much more vulnerable to attack, or they will go at each other's throats, which would make my work even easier!" The duck, just being made of plastic, stared implacably back at him.
"Yes! It'll work! This plan is foolproof", he squealed, still using his high, feminine voice. Then he switched to a booming bass pitch instead, as he got caught up in his own hyperbole. "I do believe I have finally found the perfect plan to drive those meddlesome children apart and into my waiting claws! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Meanwhile, in Pokey Oaks cemetery, it seemed as though most of the citizens of Townsville had gathered for a sad, but nonetheless truly memorable, occasion.
Among the people attending this special service were members from far and wide across the city, and from all walks of life. The Mayor, being a man of few inches was one of those standing nearest to the burial pit, wondering where his pickle jar was; his lovely but eternally exasperated assistant, Ms. Keane, was standing next to him, alternately wiping floods of tears from her eyes, and trying to keep the Mayor quiet, which was no mean feat under the circumstances.
On the Mayor's other side stood the graceful and always composed Sara Bellum, Principal of the Utonium Academy for Young Adults. She, too, was busy wiping her eyes, for not only was she worried about the effect that the death of someone would have on all those close to them, but also the effect that it would have on the whole city for such a prominent townsperson to be killed in such a manner as this.
Next were Robyn and her parents; Mr. and Mrs. Snyder didn't really know that many people in Townsville - they were always kept too busy with business trips or social functions in and around the city of Snobsville in the next state, that they had never really taken the time to get to know anyone where they now lived, not even most of Robyn's friends. Robyn, on the hand, had been close to the entire Utonium family - they were almost like her second family after being friends with the girls for the last 6 years or so - and so this death had had what could only be described as a shocking effect on her.
She had steadfastly refused to talk to a counsellor about her feelings since the incident, which had been fortunate not to have witnessed personally, even though her parents, her teachers, and the school bereavement officer had all told her time and again that she should talk to a qualified professional. Yeah, and what would a "Qualified Professional" know about what I'm feeling? Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup have been like the sisters I always wanted!
Then, surprisingly, came most of Townsville's most notorious villains. Sedusa, with her long tendril-like hair consisting of snakes, had her head bowed and her drooping in honour of her ex-husband (she may have been running a scam at the time, but he HAD been a proper gentlemen to her, unlike most, and she respected that). Femme Fatale, for similar reasons, had sent her regards to the Utoniums even though she was busy fighting for equal rights for women in New York.
Mojo Jojo was obviously unable to attend, as he had last been seen vanishing into a time tunnel that closed with him still in it. He was officially declared missing, presumed dead.
Then came the Gangrene Gang, minus Ace, who had come to pay their last respects because they Ace was busy ripping off the K-Mart a couple of blocks away, and they were hoping they could use their being at the funeral service as an alibi for Ace as well as themselves.
Even Princess Morebucks had decided to turn up for this special occasion; over the years, she had blossomed into a beautiful, intelligent young girl and had even started up her own computer business in an attempt to gain power over others by using the law to her advantage instead of going against it like she had done previously. The company was called QuantumTech, had an annual income of over $60 billion dollars, and had only 6 months earlier begun the process of buying out the now self-destructing Microsoft Corporation (which is very impressive for a 12-year-old). However, she still had a chip on her shoulder the size of New York about being turned down by the Powerpuffs as a fourth member; she admired the Professor's technical expertise though.
Fuzzy Lumpkins had turned up because it had mentioned free food on the invitation. Unfortunately, a few years back, he had accidentally used his patented meat-gun on himself, and now only had his left arm down to the elbow joint. On the up side, he could still play 'Jo, his trusty old banjo; on the down side (for him at least), he could no longer work his new gun, an MP5 he'd traded for his antique shotgun. Which meant the rabbit population was booming for the first time in decades.
The Amoeba Boys hadn't turned up; Bossman had undergone cell division earlier that day, and was in hospital with his new son. His two sidekicks were still lost in the hospital parking lot.
Him was conspicuous by his absence.
Last and most importantly, 5 of the 6 members of the Super Squad were seen hovering just to the side of the minister, their heads bowed, and eyes close; Boomer had his arms around Bubbles' shoulder and was trying to console her, while she was wracked with dry sobs; Butch and Blossom floated on either side of them, next to their respective sibling; and Brick had doffed his baseball cap as a sign of respect.
Finally, the minister was informed that all guests who were attending had arrived. He cleared his throat before beginning to read the order of service from the Common Book of Prayer.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God, to commemorate the life of one of this town's most loved and respected citizens. I am, of course, talking about...."
"So, what are we all gonna for our last day before starting school?" asked Brick, through a mouthful of toothpaste, at some ungodly-early hour one Saturday.
"We-ell," said Blossom, "us girls have a parade to go to today, and technically..."
"Parade?"
"Yeah Boomer, there's a parade held in Townsville every year" said Bubbles, as she made herself some waffles, "to celebrate us being created." Suddenly, she noticed smoke coming out from the waffle iron. Blossom zipped across the kitchen as fast as she could, and just barely managed to prevent Bubbles' breakfast turning into Waffle Flambé, before taking up where Bubbles had left off.
"And to celebrate all the times that we've saved the day here in Townsville."
"Oh right. Cool." Brick poured himself out some cereal, and started munching on it. "How many times have you saved the day, anyway?"
"Dunno..." At that moment, Professor Utonium came down the stairs, wearing a very smart suit and tie for the Powerpuff Day celebrations.
"Morning girls, boys...where's Buttercup?"
"Err, I think she's still upstairs getting dressed, Dad" said Bubbles, through a mouthful of burnt waffle.
"What?!? You think you've saved the day THAT many times?" said Boomer. Brick's jaw dropped. Butch slammed his head into a nearby cupboard by accident. And Buttercup chose that moment to appear downstairs.
When I say "appear", I do of course mean that her dress and shoes appeared, floating above the staircase of their own accord. They made their way down to join everyone else in the kitchen, and sat down at an available chair.
"Mornin' everyone," Buttercup mumbled to all present.
"And how's your head this morning, young lady?" asked the Professor.
"OK, I guess", she said, rubbing a small - invisible - lump on the back of her neck. "Though I still don't know why Bubbles had to hit me so hard in the first place."
"I told you, BC" Bubbles said, ashamedly, "you were...out of it, from the roof collapsing on your head. Someone had to knock some sense back into you somehow."
"Yeah, but that was still no excuse for lobbing a bowling ball at my head, bubble-brain." The Professor put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Buttercup. "And are ya absolutely sure that there's no way to make me visible again, Pro....OW!" A small arc of electricity shot out from Buttercup fork and hit her in the palm.
"Still getting stung, eh babe?"
"Yeah Booger, and don't call me babe again, or I'll shock YOU!"
"Buttercup, be nice to Butch." At this comment, Butch stuck his tongue out at her. She stuck two fingers up in return, and then concentrated really hard. A fork of lightning arced from her hand and struck the chair Butch was sitting in, leaving a large burn mark there.
"Yaboo! Missed me!"
"And you certainly seem to be gaining more control over this new power of yours," the Professor added, with a disdainful glance towards Butch's now burnt chair. "After the parade is over, I'd like to test your gift in the danger grid, to see just how effective it is."
"Sure dad, but don't we have to be leaving for the parade? It starts at 9."
"Oh good lord, you're right! Hurry up girls, we're leaving in 5 minutes!" Professor Utonium shouted at all 3 of them while searching for his car keys.
5 minutes later, they'd left, leaving the boys to finish their breakfast in piece in the newly rebuilt Utonium residence.
"So, what ARE we gonna do today?" asked Brick. His brothers merely shrugged.
"Could go and watch this parade for the girls."
"Nah, I wanna do something more exciting. What about a movie?" asked Boomer. The other two nodded. "Alright, what's on?" he asked no one in particular, as he began scanning the local paper.
"Spy Kids 4?"
"Too babyish" said Butch.
"Spiderman 3: Revenge of the Green Goblin?"
"Puh-lease. Bringing back dead villains? That's gonna suck."
"Harry Potter and the Goblet..."
"Just opened. It'll be packed with 6-year-olds."
"How about Star Trek XII: Armageddon, then?"
"Cool!"
"Sorry, advanced private screening only this week."
"Aww, dammit!"
"Simpsons: The Movie?"
"Maybe, but they'll be hard pushed to stretch a plot to cover an hour and a half."
"OK, that settles it. There's no way I'm gonna see 2061: Odyssey 3, so it'll have to be Terminator IV then."
"Excellent. And it starts in half an hour, too. Let's get going!" So they left a note on the kitchen table, saying where'd they gone, and headed off to the cinema for 2 hours of death and destruction.
The parade had been going for 2 hours already and had, fortunately for all it's participants and spectators, stopped for a 10 min break. The Professor was enjoying this time with his girls, in the relative quietude of a nearby No-Name's Burger Bar (A/N I told you the No-Name company would show up again eventually!" :-P).
"Girls, I know this isn't how you'd liked to spend the last-but-one day of your vacation, but it IS in your honour, after all."
"We know, dad, and it's not like we don't appreciate it." Blossom replied between sips of her cola.
"Yeah, but do they have to make it so darn long every year?" added Bubbles, which drew a snort of laughter from Buttercup.
"Never mind long, the worst part is when the Mayor makes a speech. His first sentence last year was 'Welcome, Farmsville!'"
"I don't know how Ms. Keane puts up with him, I really don't" added the Professor, and took a big bite out of his deluxe burger.
Suddenly, a man appeared out of the nearby gent's toilets. Normally, this would go almost unnoticed in a restaurant, and it did this time too. Following him out though, was a man wearing a smart black and white pin-stripe suit and a black fedora, who had not entered the loos previously. It was Sutekh.
He walked straight up to the Utonium family' cubicle, and said "Greetings. I wonder if I could talk to you in private for a moment, Professor Utonium?"
"Of course, err..."
"O, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me. My name is Seth."
"Well Seth, what would you like to talk about?"
Taking hold of the Professor's arm, he said "your imminent demise." He'd been keeping a careful eye on both girls' the whole time, in case either of them tried to launch a surprise attack on him. Unluckily for him, he'd forgotten about Buttercup's invisibility, and back straight into a lime green dress suspended in mid-air.
"Going somewhere, Mr. SUTEKH?"
"What?! Blast, I'd forgotten about you. Here, I'll be kind enough to make you visible again." And with those words, Buttercup became once again visible. "That'll make it easier for me to keep my eye on all three of you in future."
While Buttercup and her sisters were overjoyed at Buttercup's sudden re-appearance in the middle of the busy restaurant, Sutekh, with Professor Utonium in tow, had simply vanished into thin air.
He reappeared, still tightly gripping Professor Utonium's arm, in the royal palace that he'd recently created for himself in DownTownsville.
"Now, time to pay them a call..."
Meanwhile, at the burger bar, the three girls were rather discombobulated to find that their father had mysteriously vanished, along with their latest, and seemingly most powerful foe. Suddenly, a squeaky voice that belonged to one of the many high school students who worked in the place piped up, snapping all three of them out of their individual thoughts.
"Call for the Powerpuff Girls! Says his name's....Sue-tech?"
Blossom rushed to the phone so fast that several meals went flying and landed SPLAT! on the rather questionably clean floor tiles. "Hello? Sutekh? What have you done with our dad?"
Her sisters floated up behind her to better listen in on the conversation. "Downtown? The abandoned Ford factory? Yeah, we know the place, we'll be right there." She hung up and turned to face an equally anxious Bubbles and Buttercup. "Well, you heard that, so let's head out!"
"That'll be 18 dollars and..." the squeaky-voiced teen said to the girls' afterimages. "Bother! That's gonna come out of my wages."
"So, why'd he take dad only to tell us where he'd gone to?" asked Buttercup, as they flew through the air.
"The only thing I can think of is that he wanted a face-off on his terms, so he picked what he thought would make a more suitable arena than a fast food joint," answered Bubbles. "What? I can't have the occasional brainwave, too?"
"Never mind." There's our factory now!" pointed out Buttercup, and the three girls dove towards it, crashing straight in through the roof as usual.
"Where are we......?" asked Bubbles, when she could clearly see their surroundings.
"If I'm not mistaken, this looks like an....Egyptian Palace?" said Blossom, confused.
"Correct. And really girls, did you have to come in through the roof?" boomed a voice from the far end of the giant hall.
"What can I say? We like to make an entrance," shot back Bubbles, sticking her tongue out at the approaching shadow of Sutekh.
"How glib. Not that it matters." As the girls all looked up at the hole they'd made in the roof only a minute before, it began to seal itself, much like a cut would heal over time.
"Girls," began Blossom, "I think we might be in over depth here."
"No, you don't say," said Buttercup. Her usual caustic wit was back, and on top form too.
"Give us back our daddy," said Bubbles. "We don't want to have to fight you for him."
"And I don't want to fight you either. Yet."
"Oh goody! So you'll give him back then?"
"No Bubbles, I won't." As the girls made to fly at him and begin attacking, he added, "And you won't be able to fight me anyway, seeing as you are now immobile." And indeed, they were. All three were suspended 3 feet above the ground, totally motionless; they tried to use their eye lasers and other attacks, but found that they too had been disabled.
"What do you want with us?" yelled Buttercup.
"The answer to that, Buttercup, is quite simple." The Professor appeared, kneeling, in front of Sutekh. He had not apparently been harmed in any way, and yet looked nonetheless defeated. "I wish to make you suffer."
"How?" Blossom asked, apprehensively.
"By forcing you to watch your creator die."
"Wrong again, pal. You can stop us from saving him, but you can't make us watch." Blossom nodded to her sisters (all three could still move their heads freely, hence being able to talk as well), and they all closed their eyes.
"Actually, I can." Each girl's eyes opened again, as if of their own accord. "Now, how to kill the illustrious Professor Johnathan Utonium...tell me, Professor, what is the maximum temperature the human body can withstand?"
"Well," began the Professor, taking off his glasses and cleaning them slowly, "some biologists believe that it may be able to function in temperatures as high as 50ºC for extended periods, or even up to 120ºC in the very short term....why do you ask?" he said, loosening his tie and collar slightly.
"Are you feeling....warm yet, Professor?" Sutekh said, a small, thin-lipped smile forming on his cold features.
"Now you come to mention it...yes, I am feeling a bit warm. Must be the lack of ventilation in here." He took of his jacket and tie, and started undoing the buttons of his shirt.
"Professor, he's gonna burn you up! Run!" screeched Blossom at the top of her lungs. A look of horror came over his expression as he realized the gruesome fate he was about to experience, and simultaneously found that his feet seemed to be fixed to the spot, as though he had turned into a tree, and planted roots in the floor.
"Right now, Professor, you are feeling a temperature in excess of 75º. You will reach the point of total dehydration in about another 2 minutes, and will then die. However, I'm feeling merciful..."
"Yeah, right" said Buttercup out of the corner of her mouth.
"So, I'll make your death quicker than that. Unfortunately for you, it will also be far more painful.
The Professor's head was swimming from the intense heat he was being subjected to, and it was becoming difficult to focus on what he was seeing and hearing. He tried to cry out from the pain, but his throat was too dry to allow little more than a harsh rattling sound. He lost his balance and fell facedown on the ground.
"This whole situation is too...sombre for my liking. I think some laughter is in order."
"Laughter? At a time like this?" asked Blossom, astounded by this man's cold-heartedness.
"Yes, laughter at a time such as this. You three will laugh now," he said, dismissively.
"You can't make us..."
"It seems you need to be constantly reminded Blossom. I can make you do anything I want."
"So how are you gonna....make us...hehe...laugh?" spluttered Buttercup, striving to keep a straight face.
"Easy. I will something to happen, and it happens."
"So, why....hehe...don't....hahaha....you just....****giggle****....think thehehehe Professor dehehehead?" Blossom gasped out, in between involuntary giggles.
"Blossom! Don't hahahaha give hihihihihim ideas. HAHAhahahahaha!!"
"Actually, a good question, Blossom. You see, I am not a god, in spite of my powers. And only gods have the power to give or take away life. I can merely...force the issue, by causing fatal injuries."
Bubbles and Blossom had, by now, totally succumbed to the laughter, whereas Buttercup was still fighting to remain in control, in the vain hope of being able to break free and save the Professor.
Meanwhile, the Professor wasn't feeling so well. Sweat was literally pouring off of him, and his clothes were distinctly singed around the edges. There was a loud ringing sound in his ears, as a result of the pain overload Sutekh was forcing him into. He did not even have enough strength left to lift his head up and witness the torture that his girls were being subjected to.
"Your body temperature, Professor" said Sutekh, just as calmly as before, "is now passing 140º, and you should be feeling as though your blood is beginning to boil in your veins. That is because it is boiling. Your skin is beginning to shrivel up from lack of moisture, and some of your smaller blood vessels should be starting to burst under the internal pressure."
The Professor's face had become dried and slightly shrunken, and he had finally stopped sweating, but only because there was no water left in his body to sweat out. Large bruises were forming all over his body, as blood vessels erupted underneath, one by one. His once jet-black hair had been singed grey all over, and finally ignited, along with what remained of his clothing.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaargggghh! Help me!!!"
"Wehehehehehe're sorryheheheheee Profess....Professor.....hahahahahahaHAHAHAHAhahahaha....we can't help you hahahahahahahahahat the moment. Heeheeheeheeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!.......EEEEEeeeeeeeeeeehehehehehahahahahehehe........" Blossom managed to just barely make out through a fit of uncontrollable giggling.
"Now you are at 200º, and fast approaching the body's flashpoint. Any moment now, the vapour left in your blood vessels will ignite, and you will simply explode.
The Professor's screams were by now almost deafening, even to the three still-immobilised puffs who could not stop laughing; Buttercup had finally surrendered to it as well. The Professor looked less like a human now, and more like a giant raisin with what could be arms and legs. Then, there were a series of small, muffled explosions, and what had, up till then, been his body, was flung in all directions. The still burning pieces of flesh, muscle, and various other types of bodily tissues made some loud SPLAT! Sounds as they hit the sides of the massive chamber, and as the roar of the explosion quickly died down, all that was left was some bone fragment, which turned to dust as they, too, hit the ground.
The girls were still all laughing their heads off, as Sutekh had not yet freed them from this.
"Hahahahahahaha..........***giggle***......heheheheheeeeeeeeeEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeehahahahahaha..........please.........hahahahaha.....stoppit!! Plehehehehehease, we can't take much more hohohohohohoho......" giggled Bubbles, almost incoherently.
Sutekh decided to relent, for now, and let their laughter slowly fade away, until all that could be heard was violent gasping for breath from all three of them. Then the image of their surroundings faded back into that of their own home, and they gratefully collapsed.
That was the last thing they remembered from that terrible afternoon, one week ago to the day. For the last week, they had all, and without question or argument between them or with anyone else, been living with Mr. and Mrs. Snyder and with Robyn.
When the boys had been told of what had happened after that Saturday's breakfast, they had tried to comfort their counterparts, with varying degrees of success. Bubbles had turned to Boomer for love and support, Buttercup had continually lashed out at Butch every time he, or one of his brothers (but mostly Butch), tried to go near her, and Blossom had just shut herself away from all the others, only ever coming out of the room that the four girls (Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup and Robyn) were sharing in order to answer the Super Squad hotline, which had been moved to the Snyder's house especially. Brick, meanwhile, had spent a lot of time comforting Robyn, who did appreciate it; her own parents were too busy with their careers to notice any problems she may have.
"...and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother, Johnathan Utonium; and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord blesses him and keeps him, the Lord makes his face to shine upon him, and be gracious unto him, and give him peace. Amen." Finished the minister.
As the congregation began to file out of the cemetery, the Mayor and Ms. Keane approached the members of the Super Squad who were present.
"Girls, I'm really sorry to have to meet you in such a manner," she began, "and that Buttercup couldn't be here today. How IS she doing against that monster, anyway?"
"Oh, she probably beat it to a pulp about half an hour ago, Ms. Keane. If I'm right, she'd just venting steam now, probably at it's mangled corpse."
"Blossom!"
"What, Bubbles? You know I probably am right, so why argue?"
"True."
"Anyway, the Mayor and I are also here in a more official capacity today."
"Ms. Keane?"
"As you have no living...relatives, and no-one would be capable of looking after 6 super-powered teenagers, the office of the Mayor of Townsville is hereby granting legal custody of you to...yourselves."
"What? But we can't earn money - how will we be able to look after ourselves?"
"Well, Blossom, it appears that over the years, Johnathan amassed quite a fortune from various patents he took out, on all manner of items. You'll be given immediate access to that cash, and it should easily see you through, until you all graduate from high school at least."
"how much are we talking about?"
"We don't have all the figures exactly, but at last audit, there was in excess of $50 million." At that, all five kids' jaws dropped.
During this conversation, Brick had snuck off in search of Robyn. "Hey Robyn, how you doing?"
"OK, I guess. It's getting easier - I've stopped crying in my sleep at least, according to Buttercup," she said with a small, slightly uneasy grin.
"Wanna talk about it? We could go and get a soda while we chat. "
"Sure. But won't the others miss you?" As they walked out of the cemetery, hand in hand, they passed a newspaper stall, selling the USA Today, with the headline "Homo Sapiens to be reclassified as bacteria: Sign peace treaty with all other bacteriological life-forms", and in the corner, in far smaller lettering, "Latest calculations show asteroid "will hit, early next year".
"Probably. But they've got each other."
"And I've got you." Robyn smiled. Her first truly happy smile in over a week.
"HA HA! The spell is complete! From now on, those accursed Powerpuffs will know all each others deepest secrets!" Him roared through his cavernous home.
Suddenly, Sutekh appeared in front of him.
"Who are you? Begone, pathetic mortal," bellowed Him, and spat acid towards Sutekh. The acid flew towards him, but stopped in mid-flight.
"What sorcery is this?" Him screeched, just before the acid spit flew back in his face, causing him to scream out in agony.
"I'm going to enjoy this..." said Sutekh, in a low, quiet, but above all, menacing voice. And began beating Him senseless.
Hours later, Him had been beaten to a bloody pulp all over the carpet. However, he was still alive, and also in great pain.
"Who...who are...you?" he choked out through a partially crushed oesophagus.
"My name is Sutekh."
The look on Him's face said it all. He bowed down to his new master, realising when he was beaten beyond all hope.
"But you were...killed...four thousand years ago..."
"No, merely entombed in an asteroid. But that was then, and my power has grown. Now I can leave freely, and as it nears Earth, leaving at will becomes even easier. But I am still tied to it."
"What do you wish of me, master?"
"Pathetic worm. I wish you to die. Then, I will begin preparing the ritual to rid me of my tomb forever, and then...the next phase."
Sutekh threw a giant energy ball at Him, which exploded upon impact, with the force of several million nuclear weapons. Him, and all of Him's caves were destroyed in the process, leaving Sutekh standing, alone, in the middle of the desert, surrounded by pieces of dark red, meat; the remains of Him's rotting, demonic carcass...
To be continued...