Villain: Redux Chapter 10: Humiliate Torture Destroy, a powerpuff girls fanfic

Villain: Redux

By: Yay Ninja Bob

Part II: Hate & War

Chapter 10

Humiliate. Torture. Destroy.

It took two veterinary assistants to help hold the hyper young chimpanzee still on the scale as they tried to get an accurate reading. As they held onto him, the small primate bounced excitedly as he watched a short woman in glasses draw near. "Let's see here," the veterinarian peered at the numbers on the scale as she adjusted her eyeglasses, "Twenty-eight pounds, and four ounces-" she stopped as a pair of tiny hairy hands grabbed for the glasses on her face.

The thick lenses reflected a sparkle of light from the lighting above the exam table, and the curious chimp could not help but immediately reach for it. He snatched the pair of glasses off her face, and made a quick leap for the counter space across the room. He bounced excitedly once more as he held the glasses above his head and watched the light reflect off the lenses with wide curious eyes. The two veterinary assistants came towards him and tried to retrieve the glasses from their mischievous patient, however he was too quick for them. They chased him about the small exam room as he happily played keep away with them both.

"I see what you meant by 'copious amounts of energy,' Professor," Dr. Weaver chuckled a little as her assistants continued to struggle to retrieve her stolen glasses.

While the veterinarian seemed amused by the young chimp's antics, Professor Utonium sat in the corner of the exam room with his face red from embarrassment. He sighed heavily as he watched his "lab assistant" taunt the veterinary staff from the top of a tall shelf, still grasping the pair of glasses in his hands. "Jojo, please," the Professor began as he rose to his feet and walked over to him next. "That's enough, Jojo."

Upon hearing his owner's voice, the toddler-like chimp leapt from his spot on the high shelf and landed swiftly upon the back of the Professor, looping his long arms around the scientist's shoulders. Professor Utonium quickly retrieved the pair of glasses from young Jojo's grasp. He grunted with small protests in the Professor's ear as he watched him hand the item back to Dr. Weaver. While the vet returned her eyewear to her face, the little chimp seemed to grow impatient as his tiny grunts grew louder in the Professor's ear.

"No, Jojo," Professor Utonium struggled to pry the primate from his back as he lectured, "You cannot just take things that are not yours."

Jojo pulled at the Professor's white lab coat as he fell onto the tiled floor and stomped his feet angrily in a bit of a tantrum.

Professor Utonium reached into his lab coat and fished around for something as he shook his head and frowned, "Alright, here then," he paused as he retrieved a multi-colored Rubik's cube from his pocket, "Play with this for now."

Jojo stopped as soon as his eyes fell on the brightly colored puzzle and he snatched it immediately from the Professor. The tiny chimp remained curiously focused on the plastic toy as the Professor picked him back up and sat him on the exam table once more.

"I am so sorry for all of this," Professor Utonium frowned as he looked to Dr. Weaver.

"No need to apologize, Professor," Dr. Weaver responded with a polite smile. She reapproached the exam table and fixed her stethoscope around her ears. While Jojo was distracted by his puzzle toy, she continued her examination of him. "So, you mentioned you've had him for close to a full year now?"

"Yes," Professor Utonium answered with an exhausted sigh as he sat back down in his seat at the corner of the room, "Just about."

"A chimpanzee is not a common pet, Professor," Dr. Weaver continued as she retrieved Jojo's patient record from her assistant. "May I ask how you acquired him?"

"Well, you see, the research facility I worked at was closed last summer. Many of us had to move our work to home, and an associate of mine who worked with Jojo here had some difficulty taking him with him, and so I volunteered to take him."

"I see," Dr. Weaver smiled again as she continued to observe the small chimp work quickly with the puzzle in his hands.

"I imagined that I could train him as a new lab assistant of sorts- since the state cutbacks, I haven't been able to afford one any longer- however, in the last year, I'm afraid we haven't made much progress." As the Professor finished his statement, Jojo began to chatter excitedly from where he sat on the exam table. The small primate had completed the puzzle and looked to the Professor with an eager expression as he held his hand out for something. The Professor reached into his lab coat again and handed Jojo a large peanut butter cookie in exchange for the finished Rubik's cube.

"Very impressive, Jojo," Dr. Weaver smiled as she watched the young primate chew down on his earned treat. She glanced at the Professor, "What leads you to believe that the little guy isn't progressing well enough?"

"Well, of course I knew it would take some time for him to learn how to behave, but he's three now, and well, even though he is very bright, he can also be-" Professor stopped mid sentence as his eyes fell on Jojo's hand that inched closer to Dr. Weaver's eyeglasses once more. "Jojo, stop it," Professor Utonium said as he rose from his seat once more and reached for Jojo's hand, stopping him from grabbing the eyewear again. "You see, I can't seem to leave him alone for more than fifteen minutes without him destroying everything in sight," the Professor frowned. "The other day I tried to run a few quick errands without him, and when I came home it looked as if a tornado had torn through the entire house!"

"Well, that's completely natural. Infant chimpanzees are used to twenty-four hour attention from their mothers. So yes, you leaving him all alone at home for any length of time is bound to cause him some distress."

"Infant?" Professor Utonium repeated the word with confusion, "But he's three."

"He is still just a baby chimp, Professor. In the wild, they aren't fully weaned from their mothers until about four or five years old."

"Five years old?" the Professor's eyes widened. He frowned a little, "I had no idea it would take that long for him to fully mature. So he won't begin to settle down until then?"

"Well, if you mean fully mature, that won't be for quite some time still, Professor," Dr. Weaver replied with a light hearted chuckle. "Independence won't come until puberty, and with the males that won't begin until at least about seven years of age. Perhaps closer to ten, if he's a late bloomer."

"I see," Professor Utonium stepped back as he scratched his chin a little and watched Jojo closely. The black coated chimp continued to chomp away at his cookie treat. He curiously blinked back at the Professor as he stared at him.

"As for 'the settling down,' well, that will depend mostly on you, Professor," Dr. Weaver continued. "As he matures, he will eventually become more self-sufficient, sure, but his environment and upbringing is what will ultimately shape his personality. If you're going to care for and raise this young chimp, you will need to devote more time and attention to him. Much like human children, they learn in a social context- by watching and imitating what the adults in their life do. It's important that you give him the care he needs now and address these bouts of misbehavior while he is still young. The temper tantrums are cute at this age, but an adult male chimp possesses five times the strength of a human."

Jojo finished his cookie and was once again fascinated by the glint of the veterinarian's glasses. With one quick swipe, he snatched the eyewear from her face and quickly leapt from the exam table.

Professor Utonium caught the flying primate mid-leap by his hind leg. As he dangled Jojo in the air by his back leg, the little chimp only hooted with amusement as the scientist tried to wrestle the eyeglasses from his tiny tight grasp. "You don't say?" Professor muttered under his breath as he managed to yank away the eyewear at last.

"Jojo appears to be a very healthy, young chimp, Professor. You should be proud of that," the veterinarian gave him an encouraging smile as he returned her glasses to her. "Before my practice, I worked at Townsville Zoo for some time. I know from experience that this last year must have been quite the challenge for you both."

Professor Utonium smiled weakly, "A challenge is one way to put it." He held Jojo in one arm as he used his free hand to keep the chimp from snatching another cookie from his lab coat pocket. "You say you worked for the zoo? You wouldn't suppose they might have room for Jojo there, would they? Sometimes I wonder if the little guy would be happier with his own kind."

Dr. Weaver watched the scientist struggle with Jojo for several moments. The tiny primate's nostrils flared as he puffed and pouted and fought for another cookie. Eventually, Professor Utonium surrendered and allowed Jojo to help himself to the treats he kept in his pocket.

"Well," Dr. Weaver cleared her throat a little before beginning, "The zoo does not usually accept ex-pets, unfortunately. You see, a chimp raised by humans will not fit in well with the others. Jojo will lack all the social skills he would have picked up from other primates by this point. Honestly, a young thing like him might get ripped to shreds."

Professor Utonium frowned a little, "I see... Well," he sighed. "I suppose we'll just have to keep trying then. Won't we, Jojo?"

Jojo looked up to the Professor, and held a cookie up for him to take.

Professor smiled weakly as he took the treat from him, "Thanks, Jojo." He looked to the veterinarian. "Thanks for your help."

"Good luck, Professor."

Mojo sat on a purple cushioned armchair and held a white and gold porcelain teacup and matching saucer between his hands. The warm beverage's sweet aroma slowly drifted upward and teased his nostrils. Truthfully, a warm cup of tea was something he had missed terribly while he was locked up at the Villains Ward. However, there was a strange feeling in his gut that kept him from freely enjoying it. He glanced to the seat beside him where Princess sat. She held her own cup to her lips as she delicately sipped. Only after seeing this did Mojo feel safe to do the same. Slowly, he raised the tea to his lips and sipped. He would never admit this to Princess, but it was the most magnificent cup of tea he had ever tasted.

"Alfred?" Princess called out, and within moments her faithful servant was at her side. "Would you turn on the TV for us? I'd like to see if the news is reporting anything about our little victory today."

"Of course, Miss," Alfred responded with a nod. He stepped in front of Princess and held out one hand, "First, of course..."

Princess blinked up at him for a moment, before giving a small laugh, "Right. Of course."

Mojo watched curiously from behind his cup of tea as Princess reached behind her and suddenly produced two small, golden-plated pistols. She handed them off to her butler, who took them and turned to leave, "I will return shortly with the remote then."

Princess watched Alfred disappear down the corridor before she turned to face Mojo again. The green faced chimp looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and Princess once again laughed off the situation. "Oh that?" she placed a hand to her lips as she giggled. "Just a silly rule. 'All firearms must be locked up before TV time.' It's silly, isn't it?"

Mojo did not answer her, but continued to stare at the girl with a curious expression. He hadn't known Princess too well before, but from what he remembered he doubted the spoiled girl had ever had any rules in place for her. 'All firearms must be locked up before TV time.' Mojo imagined that she must have done something pretty significant to warrant a rule like that.

"Oh, you've finished your tea already?" Princess remarked, "I'll have Alfred bring you more." She paused to inhale deeply before shouting loudly over her shoulder, "ALFRED! MORE TEA!" As her command echoed throughout the mansion, she turned back to Mojo and gave him an innocent smile, "He'll hear me."

"I was not doubting it," Mojo muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Hmm?" Mojo hadn't realized he vocalized his thoughts out loud. "Oh, I was merely saying 'thank you,'" he forced a smile, "Yes, more tea would be greatly appreciated."

Princess smiled, "You are very welcome." The short girl kicked her feet from where they dangled off the purple cushioned loveseat as she took another sip of tea. "You know, Mojo," she continued as she delicately balanced her teacup on its saucer once more, "I meant it earlier when I said it was nice to see you again." She looked at him and for a moment Mojo swore he saw the slightest frown briefly sweep the girl's face, "Things haven't been the same since that stupid Villains Ward was built, you know?"

"I suppose that is why you finally decided to blow it up then?"

"Blow it up?"

"Well, not you, yourself, but your... what would you call him?" Mojo sat his empty cup of tea down on a small table beside him and crossed his arms as his eyes narrowed slightly on Princess. "Your contract kidnapper?"

Princess smirked from behind her cup of tea, "My lackey?"

"Fine. Your lackey," Mojo repeated the word with a huff, "Yes, I was minding my own business- very important business at that- crucial work- tactical planning which required my utmost concentration- when suddenly my entire cell was rocked by a shaking in the earth so forceful I believed it to be at last the long awaited, legendary Big Quake. But no, it was your lackey who blew the door right off my cell, ruining my latest evil scheme in the process."

Princess sat up in her seat, "But now you're here." She leaned towards Mojo and smiled, "And now you can help me with my latest evil scheme!"

Mojo Jojo rolled his eyes. There it was. "Your evil scheme?" he repeated. "And that would be...?"

Princess sat back in her seat and raised her teacup to her lips once more. "To destroy the Powerpuff Girls, duh," she answered with a sly smirk before taking a small sip. As she rested her cup on its saucer, she looked to Mojo and saw that he held one hand cupped over his mouth. As she looked at him, the short simian could not hold back any longer.

He burst into uncontrollable laughter, "You? Destroy the Powerpuff Girls?" he roared as he held onto his sides.

Princess sat her teacup aside and her eyes narrowed on Mojo as he continued to laugh in her face. The redhead rose to her feet and her immediate reaction was to reach for the weapons she normally kept ready at her waist, but she realized there was nothing there. Princess clenched her fists and shouted at Mojo. "What are you laughing for?!" she demanded. "I will destroy the Powerpuff Girls!"

Mojo's hysterical fit only continued as Princess stood before him. Her freckled cheeks grew red from the anger that built up inside of her. Through gritted teeth she continued, "I will do it! I have a plan!"

"A plan!" Mojo repeated with more maniacal laughter, "And it is an evil one you say?"

"Yes! Very evil!" Princess stomped her feet as she shouted, but it was no use. Mojo's cackling was so loud then, it echoed throughout the grand corridors of the manor and even she could not shout above it.

Princess stood before Mojo with her hands crossed across her chest. She continued to grind her teeth in frustration and anger as she waited for the villain's loud laughter to stop. It wasn't until Alfred returned with a tray of cookies and tea when Mojo finally began to settle. Alfred handed a fresh cup of tea to Mojo and he took it, wiping a tear from his eye as he chuckled lightly.

"Are you done yet?" Princess glared at Mojo while he sipped from his teacup.

Mojo finally noticed the death stare the redhead gave him. He cleared his throat a little as he forced his laughter back down at last. "Forgive me, Princess, if I am assuming too much, but," he began a little more seriously. "I suppose step one of this evil plan of yours was to free me from the Villains Ward?"

"That's right," Princess' eyes were still narrowed on him.

"And you hired your lackey to do that for you?"

"Yes," Princess answered through gritted teeth.

Mojo sipped from his teacup before continuing, "So," he sat his cup on its saucer dish, "Step one: Hire somebody to free Mojo Jojo. Step two: Hire Mojo Jojo..." he smirked a little. "So far, I fail to see what role you have to play yourself in any of this. As somebody who claims to want to be the one to destroy the Powerpuff Girls, tell me: Will your victory against them be at your own hands, or mine, or your lackey's or perhaps someone else's entirely?"

"Mine of course!" Princess stomped her feet again.

"And how will you do it?"

"With the blaster rays you build for me!"

"Hmm," Mojo scratched his chin, "That is peculiar. That is to say, it is very strange for you to mention blaster ray guns. The reason for why it is so odd is that I could have sworn that I already designed a pair for you in the past-"

"Yes, but they took them from me!" Princess pulled at her hair as she stomped her feet once more. Alfred stood behind her, dutifully waiting with the TV remote control in hand. She snatched it from him and switched on an enormous flat screen television set behind them.

A live news broadcast of the ongoing prison break was projected on the screen. The aerial coverage was a wide shot of City Square where hundreds of orange jumpsuited men crowded the streets. The inmates pushed and shoved one another as they fought to evade capture from the bright neon pink, blue and green streaks of light that swooped down upon them.

As Princess watched the multicolored beams of light whip across the television screen, the growing rage inside her finally broke through as she screamed, "THEM! THOSE STUPID SUPERPOWERED BIGHEADED BITCHES!"

Both Mojo and Alfred had to physically duck as the teenager whipped around and hurled the television remote in her hands across the room. Mojo could not see where it ultimately landed but he heard a crash in the far distance as something broke. He watched Princess with wide eyes as she continued her rampage.

"THOSE FUCKING POWERPUFFS WHO THINK THEY ARE SOOO MUCH BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE!" Princess continued to scream as she grabbed a nearby flower arrangement next and set it flying across the room. "NOOO WAY THEY COULD EVER HAVE ANYBODY ELSE WITH ANY SORT OF POWER THAT MIGHT MATCH THEIRS!" She found another vase and threw that next. "THOSE DO-GOODERS THINK THEY OWN THIS CITY AND HAVE EVERYONE FUCKING BRAINWASHED! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Princess forcefully kicked over the coffee table which held the tray of treats Alfred had just delivered. The porcelain tea set crashed against the floor, and instantly shattered. The hot liquid stung her ankles a little as it splashed against the marble floor at her feet. The sudden quick burn was enough to finally snap the wild redhead out of her enraged state. She stood over the broken pieces of fine china and felt the pressure finally begin to subside slowly from her head. She breathed heavy as she clenched her fists and shook, "They took them from me... They took my blasters... They took..." Princess stopped as she forced herself to take a deep breath.

Mojo watched as the short girl stood silent for several moments, physically shaking with her settling rage. Slowly, she turned to face Mojo. In the midst of her fit, she had managed to undo her previously perfect pinned up hairdo, and her red ringlets were now disheveled and in her face. As she straightened her posture and drew another deep breath, she swept the hair from her eyes and looked at Mojo once more.

"They took my blaster rays from me, Mojo," Princess said with a sudden calmness in her voice. "And now I want you to make me new ones." She raised her chin and placed her hands on her hips as she continued with business, "In exchange for two new blaster ray guns, I will give you your freedom. That would include a one-way ticket to any destination of your choosing, and one large sum of cash to take with you."

Mojo raised an eyebrow. "How much cash would that be?"

"Name your price." The teenager held an unwavering stare.

Mojo studied Princess for a moment. Her little tantrum had certainly caught him off-guard, but what really surprised him was how she behaved then. She stood before him with her hands on her hips and her gaze unblinking as she waited for his answer. Her expression was serious- far more serious than he ever imagined was possible for the spoiled brat. She was determined- that much was clear to him. Mojo wondered what she might do if he refused. His eyes traveled to the broken tea set on the ground, and noticed the bright red marks the scolding tea had left on Princess's ankles.

"Well?" Princess stepped closer to Mojo and crossed her arms. "How much?"

Mojo looked up at Princess. He still did not wish to do the heiress any favors, but it was not as if he had much of a choice then. At least he might get something out of it, and if Princess managed to destroy the Powerpuff Girls, it would still be ultimately at the hands of his own brilliant technology.

"Very well," Mojo cleared his throat, "I want five hundred million dollars."

A devious smile swept her face as Princess held her right hand out for Mojo. He reached for her hand and took it. The girl's grasp was firm as they shook.

"Deal."

Daylight began to slip through the small opening of the drawn curtains to Buttercup's bedroom window. The green-eyed teenager had been staring at the same spot on the ceiling above her bed for the entirety of the night. Try as she might, she had been unable to get any sleep. To her right, there was the repetitive tiny chirping from her new feathered roommates. To her left, Bubbles snored softly in her ear as she slept peacefully beside her. The tall blonde was wrapped fully in her sibling's green colored comforter, and left only a small portion for Buttercup throughout the night. There was hardly enough room for the two of them on her twin sized mattress, but Buttercup couldn't say no to her sister's tearful blue eyes when she said she had woken from a nightmare and begged to spend the night with her. Bubbles didn't mention what the nightmares were about, but Buttercup imagined they had something to do with what had happened the day before. In her sleep, the blue Puff occasionally made the smallest of whimpers as she nestled up beside her. To Buttercup, the noise she made sounded like a sad, wounded puppy dog.

It wasn't until the sunlight crept in and illuminated the fist sized patchy, uneven spot on the ceiling, that Buttercup realized it was already the next day. The mark she had been focused on was left behind by she and Blossom during a fight they had many years ago. They had to be just about eight or nine then. Buttercup could remember that she had intended to throw a fast uppercut against Blossom's jaw, only she moved just as she swung upward and her fist broke through the ceiling instead. Buttercup also remembered that that particular brawl between them had left so many holes in the walls of their room that day, the Professor hired a team of contractors to fix it all. He asked them to section off their previously shared room into three, believing that separate bedrooms might stop the fighting between her and Blossom. It didn't stop them from fighting again, but Buttercup remembered how happy Blossom seemed to be when they learned they would each be getting their own rooms. Even though she poured over the distant memory countless times that night, Buttercup still could not remember exactly what it was that started that fight that day. As she stared at the spot on her ceiling, it bugged her all night long.

The tomboy's nagging thoughts were interrupted by the muffled, rapid beeping noise of Blossom's alarm clock in the next room over. She sat up in her bed a little, and her emerald eyes shone as she switched on her x-ray vision. Blossom's bed sat along their shared bedroom wall, and on the other side, Buttercup could see her sister spring up in bed just as soon as her alarm clock sounded. She reached for her nightstand and promptly shut off her digital pink alarm clock. There was an eager smile on her sister's face as she slipped on her furry pink slippers and hurried immediately for her bedroom door.

Buttercup shut off her x-ray vision and soon heard a gentle knocking on her door. Bubbles still lay beside her in bed, and as Buttercup tried to get up she felt a slight tug on her arm as Bubbles still clung to her in her sleep. The raven haired teen gently pulled away and the sleepy blonde grabbed her sibling's pillow to cuddle with next instead. Buttercup floated over to her bedroom door and opened it.

"You are up," Blossom wore a surprised smile. "So you still wanted to come to the meeting with the mayor then?"

Buttercup blinked at Blossom for a moment, forgetting momentarily what she was referring to. "...Yeah," she responded finally after a long pause. "Yeah, I'll come. Sure."

Blossom's pink eyes drifted beyond Buttercup and softened a little as they landed on Bubbles in bed. "Did she spend the night here with you?"

Buttercup nodded, "She said she was having nightmares. I think about the whole Fuzzy thing." Buttercup explained through a tired yawn as she stretched a little. "Shit, it's kinda hard for me to get it out of my mind, and you know how big a baby she is with the littlest stuff- we should probably just let her sleep in today, you know?"

Blossom wore a frown as she peered over Buttercup's shoulder and looked at her sleeping sister. "Oh, I see." Blossom felt the slightest sting as she wondered why Bubbles would turn to Buttercup for comfort before her, but it faded soon after. "Wait," Blossom paused as she looked at Buttercup. "It's hard for you to get out of your mind too? I thought you had said you weren't there?"

"Huh?"

"Yesterday, you and Bubbles said that you got there after she called you for backup, and that while she waited for you, the wolves attacked Fuzzy." Blossom raised an eyebrow, "So did you get there before or after the wolves attacked?"

Buttercup stared at Blossom for a moment. "I... I got there when- Look, I dunno, Blossom! I got there when I got there, OK? Why does it matter? It all happened so fast! All I know is that there was a lot of blood shootin' up from his neck, and I tried to stop it, and Bubbles was freakin' out, and-"

"OK," Blossom interrupted her, "OK. No need to get so defensive... I was just trying to understand what happened," Blossom frowned as she looked her up and down. "Look, I know just from the amount of blood you were covered in yesterday that whatever happened was... obviously traumatic. You sure you don't need a day off today? I can just take notes at the briefing if you-"

"No, no," Buttercup interrupted next. "I want to go."

Blossom studied Buttercup for another moment before she gave her another small smile. "OK then. I'll make us some coffee and meet you downstairs in twenty, 'kay? The meeting is supposed to start at six sharp."

Buttercup nodded, "OK."

There was a sickening knot forming fast in Buttercup's stomach as she watched her sister descend down the stairway outside her bedroom door. Blossom's easy catch of her previous white lie had her immediately on edge. Even though that cover up was for Bubbles' sake so that Blossom would not have to know about her secret coyote pack, that accidental slip up was a fast reminder to Buttercup of how meticulous Blossom naturally was.

While she didn't truly want to attend the briefing that morning, Buttercup knew that she could not afford to not be there. They were supposed to go over all the evidence they had on the prison break, and Buttercup had to be there to know exactly what that evidence was. Most importantly, she had to be there so that she could know what Blossom would be piecing together, and somehow... she'd have to figure out a way to stay one step ahead of her.

Buttercup clenched her side as she leaned up against her bedroom door and tried to brace herself for the day ahead. It was going to be a rough one.

There was a lot that could happen over a course of six years, and Mojo felt as if he was only beginning to scratch the very surface of his research as the morning summer sun began to rise. Although the mutant chimpanzee had been locked in his guest room for the night, it wasn't as if a simple door lock could stop him from venturing out once everyone else was asleep. There were far too many questions on his mind that needed to be answered, and Mojo could not rest until he found those answers.

After trying many doors within the manor, he managed to find an office suite with a computer. He imagined the large work space belonged to Princess's father. Mojo had quickly gone through every drawer of every filing cabinet there and discovered it was all mainly architectural blueprints pertaining to the businessman's construction company. Nothing seemed particularly interesting. However, when Mojo stumbled across a folder labeled "Discovery Dome," that quickly became the new focus of his night-long investigation.

Learning that his home had been destroyed during his absence was one thing, but when Mojo Jojo learned that his former evil lair had been converted into a marketing attraction for the masses- a Powerpuff themed one at that- it was almost too much for him to fully process at first. Even as he held the architectural designs of his volcano top observatory's drastic renovations in his hands, he just could not bring himself to accept it.

Denial argued against reason still even as he began to scour the Internet for more information on the matter. That night, he combed through hundreds of articles concerning the Discovery Dome and its history. While his true aim was to find out whoever was the one responsible for this careless injustice so that he could be sure to add them to his mental hit-list, Mojo was caught off guard by the abundance of gossip columns that centered around one particular event at the children's science museum. It was not long before he found himself lost in a sea of salacious rumors.

It took some digging, but eventually Mojo was able to find some apparent archival footage of the museum's grand opening. As Mojo waited for the video to buffer, his eyes fell on the stacks of blueprints he had scattered about on the massive mahogany work desk. Throughout the night, Mojo only used a small desk lamp for a small reading light. It was enough light to see what he was doing, but it hadn't been bright enough for Mojo to catch one particularly curious detail. Now that it was daylight though, he could finally see what he had previously overlooked.

There was a faint, reddish tint to the blue prints that lay upon the desk. Mojo took one in his hands and turned in the swivel desk chair so that he could hold it up directly against the light that shone through the window behind him. As the light shone through the thin blue paper, the red stains that seemed to splatter across the architectural designs showed themselves. Mojo could not be sure, but to him, it looked an awful lot like blood.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... the Powerpuff Girls!"

Mojo turned back around so that he faced the computer screen once more. The video of the premiere had begun to play, and Mojo sat aside the blueprint as he focused on the raw footage once more. Professor Utonium stood upon a grand stage with a brightly colored blue, pink and green backdrop as he addressed a massive crowd of people. The scientist was dressed in his traditional white lab coat and stood behind a podium with a cheesy grin on his face as he spoke into the microphone, "The commander and leader of the Powerpuff Girls- Blossom!"

Mojo watched as the pink Powerpuff walked across the stage. The redheaded girl was supposed to be just thirteen at the time of the event, however as she stood upon the stage beside Professor Utonium, Mojo noted that she was almost as tall as him. The crowd at the event roared loudly for the super heroine and Mojo quickly lowered the video's volume as he physically cringed from the enthusiastic response.

"The joy and the laughter- Bubbles!"

Mojo rolled his eyes as Professor Utonium made his next announcement. It took a full minute for the pigtailed girl to find her way onto the stage. The blue Powerpuff was also greeted by thunderous applause and cheers from the audience. As Bubbles waved to her fans from the stage as she girlishly giggled, Mojo could tell that, at least at the time of the video, the young girl hadn't changed much.

"And lastly, our toughest fighter- Buttercup!"

Mojo's eyes widened as they fell upon the skinny framed teenager that stepped out onto the stage next. The short simian quickly reached for the computer mouse and paused the video as the camera shot focused on the green Powerpuff. As he stared at the screen with his jaw agape, he found the sight to be just as shocking as the video's description had claimed it would be. The thirteen-year-old had a dark colored 'v' shaped mark branded across the right side of her face. As Mojo traced the gruesome disfigurement that stretched across her right eye, he noted that her green eyes looked unnervingly empty as she blankly stared out into the audience before her.

"What on Earth happened to you?" Mojo breathed out loud to himself as he stared at the frozen image on the screen with intense curiosity.

"What the fuck are you doing in my office?"

Mojo looked up from the computer monitor and saw that Princess stood at the doorway to the office with a rather mean scowl on her face. The redhead had her hair pinned up in her traditional two poof buns, and she wore a similar attire as she did the day before- a mustard yellow turtleneck, dark purple dress slacks, and black heeled boots. He noticed a pair of reading glasses rested on her forehead and she held a stack of folders in one arm and a bundle of neatly rolled blueprints in her other. "Your office?" Mojo repeated back to her. "I thought this was your father's office-"

"No, it's mine!" Princess shouted as she stepped into the room and the door snapped shut behind her. "What the fuck have you been doing in here?!" she shouted in disbelief as she looked about the room and saw the mess Mojo had managed to make. The filing cabinets that lined the walls of the office had all clearly been searched through, and drawers were left open or missing altogether. The royal blue and red carpeted floor was completely littered with scattered documents and paper. Every inch of her desk was covered completely by a disorganized collection of blueprints. It was astonishing to her that anyone could go through so much in just one night, but her stunned state did not last for long. Princess's dark brown eyes narrowed on the monkey that sat behind her desk, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

The teenager's temper had clearly been ignited, but Mojo was still too distracted by what he had discovered in the video to really care. He ignored her demand and instead returned his attention to the computer screen. "Yes, yes," he waved his hand at her, "I will be out of here soon enough. First, I must get to the bottom of this. There is no way I can depart until I have discovered what the story is behind this deformity. I did not think such mutilation was possible! To physically and permanently damage a super powered Powerpuff in such a way... I must know what it is that did it! I must know what happened-"

"What?" Princess blinked back at Mojo from across the desk. His rambling was fast and she noticed a strange glint in his eyes as he studied the computer screen. To her, he looked absolutely crazy. "Just what the fuck are you rambling about, Monkey Man?"

Mojo turned the computer monitor so that Princess could see the still frame of thirteen-year-old Buttercup's scarred face.

"Oh," Princess rolled her eyes a little. "That."

"Yes. That. What is that?" Mojo flipped the monitor once more so that it faced him again. He sat up in the desk chair and began to type on the keyboard, "What caused that?! I want to know what happened!"

"Huh," Princess gave a short laugh. "You and everyone else in the world."

Mojo halted in his typing as he looked up at Princess.

"Don't bother," Princess rolled her eyes again. "You're not going to find any answers on that one. That freakshow's a complete mystery."

"How so?" Mojo shook his head. "There must be some sort of explanation behind it-"

Princess shrugged. "They say it was a 'training day accident,'" she made air quotes with her fingers, "But they've never gone into detail about it, except to say that she was scarred from whatever happened."

"Scarring?"

"That's what they say," Princess shrugged again. "The official story at least. There are loads of other theories about it though," Princess paused as she began to count on her fingers, "Let's see... there's the zombie theory by some doctor who wrote a book about it- that's probably the most popular. There's the demon conspiracy, some weird alien abduction story, hmm... oh yeah the one about her being an evil clone now, and, well my favorite one to think about is the one about how Professor Utonium was experimenting on her one day and cracked her skull in half!" Princess laughed a little, as Mojo stared back at her with a befuddled expression. "One thing's for sure though; it's pretty obvious that they're hiding something. The villains had all been gone for three years before she randomly showed up to that premiere looking like that. I mean... why would they still be having training days when they hadn't had a need to fight in all that time? It makes no sense." Princess shook her head. "But that's their story apparently and no matter how many holes get poked in it, they always stick to it."

"And what are these holes?" Mojo raised an eyebrow.

Princess rolled her eyes. "Monkey Man, I do not have time for this!" she placed her hands on her hips as she glared at Mojo once more, "You know, you're lucky you caught me when I'm in a good mood." She pointed at the door to her office, "Now, get the hell out of here! Alfred should be returning with your supplies soon, and when he does, you better get to work on my blaster rays, got it?"

"This is you in a good mood?"

Princess's eyes narrowed even more on the chimp. She sat down her collection of work for the day on her desk and retrieved the newspaper that sat on top of the pile. She held it up for Mojo to see, "I made the front page today," she smiled proudly.

Mojo's eyes fell on the bold black lettering of the news headline: "Unidentified Flying Outlaw Unleashes Chaos." Below the main headline was a still photograph of the alien masked individual who had broken Mojo from his cell the day prior.

"You made the front page?" Mojo huffed a little as his eyes quickly scanned the article text.

"Well yeah," Princess handed the newspaper to Mojo who took it in his hands as he continued to study it, "That's my lackey after all."

"That is funny for I do not see any credit given to you anywhere here-" he looked up at Princess as he began to snicker, only he saw that she glared at him with even more intensity than before. Mojo sensed that he might have been playing with fire, and quickly retracted his statement, "I mean," he hopped off from the desk chair and casually strolled past Princess as he made his way towards the office door, taking the newspaper with him, "Yes, congratulations, Princess. That is to say, you've certainly had your victory against those Puffs, and I commend you for it. Good job!"

Princess rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and get out of my office."

There was a tense energy felt on the steps of Townsville's capitol building as Blossom and Buttercup touched down that early morning. The streets just beyond the capitol steps were packed with rows of parked police cars, and there was a steady line of officers who marched up the sidewalks, towards City Hall. It was just ten minutes before the scheduled conference with the mayor was set to begin, and every cop in the city was asked to be in attendance. The massive crowd of officers gathered around the entrance to the white bricked building. Among them were teams of cameramen and news reporters. They all were waiting for the doors to the municipal center to be opened, and anxiously spoke about the events of the day prior.

As Buttercup followed Blossom up the capitol steps, her eyes fell on the entrance to the white bricked building and she stopped in her tracks. "Shit."

Blossom stopped and turned to face Buttercup, "What?"

Buttercup slipped on her baggy jacket's hood over her head, and pulled the drawstrings tight as she nodded her head in the direction of the media cameras, "I didn't know the circus was gonna be here too," she muttered low.

Blossom hadn't noticed the news crews until then, "Oh," she frowned. "Well, the mayor said it was a closed meeting so they won't be allowed inside." She looked at Buttercup and saw that she wore a scowl as her eyes narrowed on the media teams. If her sibling considered anyone an enemy, it was most definitely them.

"Won't stop 'em from trying, I bet," Buttercup muttered low again. She looked at Blossom, "Isn't there another way to get inside?"

Blossom looked from Buttercup, to the news crews, and back to Buttercup again. Her sibling didn't have her scars covered that morning, and it was probably best to try to avoid any media attention just for her sake. Blossom nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure the mayor won't mind if we just use her office window," she suggested. "Come on."

The two shot off for the back of the building, and Blossom led them to the window of Mayor Bellum's office. As the super powered teenagers hovered outside the window, they could both see that the mayor's team was hard at work as they hurried about the office in preparation for that morning's meeting. Blossom forced open the window pane with her hands and held it open for Buttercup, before slipping inside after her.

As the two floated through the office, they went unnoticed by the staff at work, but soon heard a familiar, warm voice. "Oh, Good morning, Girls," Mayor Bellum greeted them both. "First ones to our briefing today, I see."

Blossom smiled big as soon as she saw Mayor Bellum, "Good morning, Mayor. I hope you don't mind us being a little early."

"Of course not," Bellum smiled. "We will be beginning shortly in the conference room," she motioned towards a set of double doors to her right, "Feel free to wait in there."

"Thanks, Mayor."

Blossom and Buttercup made their way into the designated room. The large space had been set up with rows of chairs for the hundreds of officers that would be in attendance. The mayor's staff was setting up a large projection screen at the far end of the room. The chief of police sat in the front row with a few other officers at his side. Blossom led the way down the center of the room and joined the chief and his men in the front row.

"Good morning, Chief," Blossom grinned as she approached them.

"Ah, good morning, Blossom," the large man smiled from behind a cup of coffee.

Blossom took a seat beside the chief, and sat her book bag down at her feet. As she retrieved a pencil and notebook from her bag, Buttercup slowly lowered herself into the seat next to her. She lowered her hoodie as she watched Blossom fish around her book bag. "Here," Blossom handed her a pencil and small spiral notebook to take. "For note taking," she grinned.

Buttercup rolled her eyes a little, but took the supplies from her. As she flipped open the notebook to its first blank page, she could hear the bustle of the crowds of policemen beginning to file into the room behind them. Buttercup glanced over her shoulder and watched the room become filled within a matter of minutes. Beyond the double door entrance to the room, the media was barred from entering, but they crowded around the doors anyway. As the mayor made her way past them, there was a series of bright flashing lights as they photographed the politician. Once Bellum made it past the doors, her staff shut and locked them behind her, and a sudden quiet fell upon the room.

"Good morning, everyone," Mayor Bellum began as she stood before the blank projection screen. "First off, I would like to thank you all for being here so very early in the morning after what I know was a very long day for us all yesterday. Each and every one of you swore an oath to protect this city, and it brings me great pride as your mayor to see so many committed men and women here in one room today. Yesterday, an attack was carried out on our beloved Townsville, and I've asked you all here so that we can work together to bring this senseless anarchist to justice. Unfortunately, we still do not have all the answers as to who exactly was behind this terrorist act, but today we will present to you what we do know. So with that, let's get started."

The lights to the room were dimmed low then as the projection screen behind the mayor began to glow. Security footage taken from the prison began to roll, as the mayor began her detailed breakdown.

"At exactly 2:37 PM, our unknown intruder enters the prison lobby, surpasses the visitors station, and proceeds directly to the main detention center's level one housing..."

As the security footage played, Buttercup felt a twisting in her gut the moment she saw herself. The time clock in the bottom left of the screen began at 2:37 and rolled on from there as the recordings played out. The camera angles were all from above, and the dark attire she wore made her look like a fast moving shadow on the captured video. It was difficult to see her throughout much of it, and the video had to be replayed at a slower rate in order to see anything besides just a black blur that darted from one edge of the screen to the next.

The mayor continued to narrate the events that played out, while everyone in the room gave her and the screen their full focus. Buttercup tried to keep her attention on the projection like everyone else, but she was also sure to watch Blossom from the corner of her left eye. Her pink eyes darted quickly between the notes she scribbled furiously in the notebook she had rested on her lap, and the security footage projection.

There was a collective gasp in the room as the footage reached the 2:39 mark and the first round of shots were fired at the dark figure on tape. "Officer Hernandez fires thirty rounds, successfully hitting his target, but..." Bellum paused as the video froze for a moment, "The target is unaffected by this."

Buttercup gulped nervously as she glanced to her left at Blossom. There was a sparkle in her pink eyes as she sat up in her seat a little, and watched the previous segment replay again in slow motion. "Bullet proof," Blossom breathed to herself as she stared up at the masked crook on screen.

There was a rapid growing nausea in Buttercup's stomach which made her physically cringe then as she felt herself beginning to sweat. She glanced down at the blank notebook she held in her hand and as she tried to write with her pencil, her hand shook as her nerves began to steadily climb higher and higher. It took her a full minute to concentrate enough to simply write down the words: "bullet proof."

"2:41 PM, the tower guards and level three enforcement arrive at level two and assemble, meanwhile the intruder appears to speak with detained villain, Arturo de la Guerra."

Buttercup's head immediately snapped up at the mention of Arturo's name and she saw that the security footage had been stopped. Arturo's mugshot was projected onto the screen next as the mayor rattled off a brief descriptor, "Arturo de la Guerra. Age twenty-seven. Four foot, seven inches. Former member of the Gang Green Gang, and sentenced to life in Townsville Correctional's Villains Ward. He is one of six villains still currently at large."

The churning in her stomach intensified as Buttercup blinked up at the image of Arturo. She hadn't meant to drag him into any trouble with her, but it wasn't until then that she began to realize that maybe she had. She thought back to the day before when the short man begged her not to get him involved for the sake of his daughter. She thought she was doing a good thing at the time, but now...

Buttercup's eyes drifted back to her sister. Blossom turned the page to her notebook and continued to transcribe everything the mayor said, taking down every bit of detail that was presented to them. She watched as Blossom wrote down Arturo's name in large, capital letters and underlined it.

As Blossom glanced down to her notes, out of the corner of her eye, she could see her sibling's knee bouncing repeatedly beside her. She looked at Buttercup and saw that she had sat down her notebook and pencil, and appeared to wrap her arms around her stomach as she stared ahead at the projection before them. She looked pale, even for Buttercup, and Blossom noticed a drop of sweat above her brow as she clung to her sides.

"Buttercup," Blossom whispered to her, and the tomboy's head snapped quickly in her direction. "Hey," she frowned as she spoke softly, "You OK?"

Buttercup slowly nodded, "Yeah," she whispered back. "Yeah, I... just need to pee." She rose to her feet, "Be right back."

As much as Buttercup didn't want to miss the ongoing briefing, her nausea had become too much for her. Clearly, Blossom could tell something was up with her, and so that alone was enough of a reason to get out before she managed to draw any more suspicion to herself. But the main motivation behind the teen's quick departure was definitely the rising vomit she fought to keep down.

As Buttercup stepped out from the conference room, the media still waited outside, but the super powered teenager managed to zip out of the area before anyone could notice her. There was a public restroom just down the hallway and Buttercup rushed inside with a quick flash of green light. She locked the door behind her and flew for the first stall. She stumbled inside the stall and flipped up the toilet seat as she fell to her knees and immediately regurgitated all of her morning breakfast cereal.

Buttercup groaned miserably as she hung her head inside the toilet bowl and felt her stomach turn over painfully. She hadn't felt that sick in a long time, and her head began to throb terribly as her vision seemed to double while she stared at the chunky soggy cereal marshmallows that she had thrown up.

"Dude. Fucking pitiful, Man. Didn't they used to call us the toughest fighter?"

"Oh God," Buttercup moaned with her head still inside the bowl. She recognized the voice immediately. It was her own, after all. The strong stench of burning, cooking flesh was also always a dead giveaway. "Please, not fucking now..."

Even though Buttercup knew who she would face, as she lifted her head she was still startled by the unexpected mask she wore.

"Boo!" the alien mask greeted her face to face as Buttercup looked up.

Buttercup fell backwards and knocked the back of her head against the shut stall door behind her. "Fuck!" she cursed as she rubbed the spot behind her head, "What the fuck?!"

The child casually sat on top of the white toilet tank and slapped her knee as she gleefully laughed from behind the alien mask. "Oh Man, I love this thing!" the thirteen-year-old continued to laugh as she pulled away the Halloween mask and revealed her gruesome, bloody face.

The forever fresh acid burns on the right side of the kid's face sizzled for eternity and the edges of her wounds had a faint green glow to them. Her short raven hair was soaked with her own blood, as well as the shredded sleeves of her hooded black jacket. She held onto the green alien mask with her blistered and bloody beaten hands as she grinned down at herself.

"Seriously, Dude," she shook her head as she laughed, "What's your deal? What the fuck you pukin' so much for? Quit being such a little bitch! I thought we had fun yesterday!"

Buttercup used her sleeved hand to wipe her mouth as she blinked back at her younger self, "You," she began as she rose to her feet, "Are not here."

"Man, I'm always here," the kid rolled her eyes. "I mean... I'm you, aren't I?"

Buttercup shook her head as she shut her eyes and held her throbbing head, "No," she answered as she winced a little from another pain in her stomach, "No, you're just... my imagination."

"Whatever you gotta tell yourself, Dude."

Buttercup kept her eyes shut for several minutes as she took a series of slow, deep breaths. She swallowed hard before opening her eyes again.

"Still here," her younger self stared back at her with her ghostly opaque, white right eye as she grinned.

"Ugh," Buttercup held her head as it continued to throb from her dizzying headache, "I thought I finally saw the last of you." Buttercup reached for the toilet's flush lever, but her hallucination reached out and stopped her.

"Guess not- Hey wait!" she grabbed Buttercup's arm and pointed inside the toilet bowl, "You puked your meds up, Dude. Better fish it out first. You promised Ms. Keane, after all," the kid laughed as she pursed her lips together and taunted herself with a kissy face.

Buttercup's green eyes narrowed on the annoying child as she flushed the toilet. She left the bathroom stall, slamming the door behind her, but her younger self was already waiting for her on the other side. Buttercup refused to look at her as she floated over to the sink counter and began to wash her hands.

"Hey, for real," the kid continued from behind her, "I just wanted to tell you to chill out. You're seriously that afraid of gettin' caught? I mean, if that happens, it'll probably suck, but... Dude, what's the worse they can do to us?"

As Buttercup rinsed her hands in the sink, she looked up at her reflection. Even though her younger self stood just behind her, she did not possess a reflection like her, and so Buttercup kept her eyes focused only on herself in the mirror as she still tried to ignore the nagging illusion.

"I didn't get any sleep last night. That's why this is happening," Buttercup muttered to herself as she tried to rationalize the situation out loud. "I just need to go home... get some rest... and everything will be... fine."

"That's the spirit! Everything will be fine! Trust me, Dude! And just relaaax!"

Buttercup walked past herself and yanked a paper towel from the towel dispenser on the wall. As she dried her hands, her blood-soaked self stood beside her and continued to offer her more unwanted advice.

"If I were you- well, I am, but- if I were you you, and I got caught, the first thing I'd do is throw THIS in their face!" she pointed at the right side of her face and laughed. "Seriously! Who the fuck are they all kidding?! So what we caused a little prison break?! Big deal! That goody-goody Blossom's out there right now, being the teacher's little pet with her studious little note takin' and ass kissin' ways! Just sittin' pretty and smilin' with nothin' buggin' her at all! And she's the one that did this!" she again motioned to her burnt and bloody face, "She's the one with the real shit to hide! Don't you see?! That bitch like literally got away with murder! Dude! You and me? We're gonna be fine!"

Buttercup glanced briefly at the apparition as she tossed her wadded paper towel into a trash bin. "Huh..." She had a point.

The thirteen-year-old grinned big as she watched as Buttercup seemed to pause over this. "Feel a little better now?"

Buttercup did not answer out loud, but the slightest smirk swept her face as she gave a single nod.

"Cool," the kid laughed again. "See ya, Dude."

As Buttercup slowly floated back towards the mayor's office, she saw that the hallways were crowded by groups of police officers. The meeting had ended and they all gathered to discuss the findings that had been shared with them that morning. At the far end of the hall, Buttercup spotted flashes of bright lights from the rapidly firing camera work of the media who crowded around her sister Blossom. The tall redhead stood outside the mayor's office, and searched over the heads of the people around her. Her pink eyes fell on Buttercup and she quickly zipped towards her.

"There you are," Blossom breathed a sigh of relief as she reached Buttercup. "I thought you said you'd be right back."

"Sorry," Buttercup answered with a weak smile, "I got lost lookin' for the bathroom." Blossom raised an eyebrow, and Buttercup could tell that she did not believe her. She forced herself to shake off the last of her lingering nerves and tried again. "Alright, yeah," she sighed heavily. "I was waitin' out the meeting in the bathroom," she shrugged. "I just didn't wanna have to deal with them comin' back, you know?" Buttercup grumbled as she nodded her head in the direction of the media who now circled around Mayor Bellum down the hall.

Blossom looked from Buttercup to the news crews and frowned a little. "Sorry, Sis."

"Not your fault," Buttercup shrugged. "You took notes though, right?"

A smile swept the nerdy girl's face, "Of course! I have everything there is to know right here!" she patted her book bag that hung at her side. "Come on," she floated beside Buttercup and looped her arm around the tomboy's, "When we get home, you, me and Bubbles can go over everything! Just you wait, Sis! I bet with the three of us on the case, it's only a matter of time before we catch this masked freak!"

Buttercup wore a smirk, "Cool."

The short simian still wore his bright orange, prison jumpsuit as he sat at the desk within his guest room suite and worked. The jumpsuit was the only clothing he possessed, but at least that morning he had been able to enjoy a much needed, revitalizing warm shower, and the first real meal besides prison gruel in over six years. It was just enough nourishment to get him through the task at hand. It had taken him six hours in total, but soon it would be done.

Normally, Mojo Jojo would devote much more time to his craft, but it was suffice to say that his heart was not truly invested in his current endeavor. Besides, it wasn't as if blaster rayguns were difficult to make. Plasma ray technology had been something he mastered very early on in his villainous career, after all. Morbucks had provided everything he needed, and all he had to do was just piece it all together. Princess had asked him to work quickly, but that was not why he did so. No, for Mojo Jojo, he worked tediously all morning and afternoon to achieve one goal: To get the hell out of there.

"So, how's it going in here, Monkey Man?" Princess asked as she stepped into the room. "Are you finished with my blaster rays yet?"

Mojo gave a short huff from where he sat at his workstation, "Huh. Am I finished yet? How many times are you going to ask that of me today, and how many times will I have to explain it to you? This is precision work! My craft is a careful one, and it is not something to be rushed, hurried or hastened! You cannot simply expedite a process such as this! What I am doing, is not something that can be done with just a snap of your fingers! This is not instant oatmeal!" Mojo turned in his seat and glared at Princess for a moment, before turning back in his chair and adding, "With that said: Yes, I am done."

Princess gasped, "Really?!"

"Really."

The teenager squealed loudly as she rushed over to the primate who held out two freshly crafted, golden-plated blaster ray guns. She snatched them immediately from him as she jumped with joy and celebrated. She took one in each hand and aimed for a spot on the far wall of the room and fired them both at once. Two blinding white blasts shot from the pair of ray guns and seared through the wall like bright laserbeams. Princess allowed the blast to shoot out for several seconds before she stopped.

Princess lowered her weapons and observed the damage that had been left behind by her blasters. She could see that they had not just burned through that room's wall, but the next room's as well. In fact, as she peered through the soft-ball sized holes, she could see that the blasts had carved their way straight through her entire mansion.

A giant, devious grin swept her face as Princess began to cackle maniacally, "Yes! Yes! This is going to be amazing!" she skipped about the room as she loudly celebrated, "Finally! I have the power to destroy those Powerpuffs once and for all!"

Mojo still sat at his work desk and rolled his eyes. He still was not convinced that Princess had what it took to defeat the super trio. If all it took was a couple of simple rayguns to destroy the Powerpuff Girls, Mojo would have been able to do it himself ages ago.

Princess twirled her new blasters in each of her hands as she admired them and their power. "Great work, Mojo. They're just like my old ones, you know?" she giggled girlishly, "Ah, it feels great to just feel them in my hands again..."

"Yes, yes, I know. I am very good at what I do." Mojo cleared his throat, "Now. About my payment?"

Princess faced Mojo and wore a smirk. "Of course," she said as she tucked her new rayguns into her waistband. "But first," she began as she approached Mojo again. "I was hoping you could help me with just one next, quick little step to my brilliant plan before you go?"

Mojo could not help but produce a short laugh, "You mean your evil, brilliant plan that will ultimately destroy the Powerpuff Girls?" he rolled his eyes. "Firstly, I do not recall me agreeing to help you any more than what I have already done for you. Further assistance was not a part of our initial deal. Secondly, no offense to you, Princess, but so far I have yet to see any evidence of you having any plan whatsoever other than you playing shoot 'em up with your former classmates." Mojo smirked a little, "If you ask me, you are all talk and no action. All bark, and no bite. I doubt you even really truly have a plan at all."

Mojo had intended to get under the annoying brat's skin, but Princess wore a rather calm smile as she placed her hands on her hips and looked back at him. "Oh," she smirked. "I have a plan."

"And that would be the evil one, right?" Mojo snickered a little, still not taking her seriously.

"That's the one," Princess still smiled as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Color me curious," Mojo began, "But what is this next step to your evil plan exactly?"

The girl's devious grin only widened before she answered with dark, narrowed eyes, "This."

Princess swiftly removed one of her blaster rayguns from her waistband and gave the chimp a quick zap. The white plasma ray struck Mojo and the powerful, electric shock stunned him immediately upon impact. With just that one small zap, the villain collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Buttercup shut herself inside her closet to ensure that nobody could see what she was doing. She had been waiting for her sisters to leave the house all day for the opportunity to do this, and she wasn't going to let those birds snitch on her a second time. She rummaged through the clothing she had scattered on the floor and pulled out a black cellular phone. She dialed the one number that was programmed into it and held the device to her ear as it rang. As she waited for an answer, Buttercup retrieved a black backpack from her closet shelf and tossed her alien mask inside of it along with the rest of her disguise. She slung the backpack over her shoulder and stepped outside of the closet.

"Well, well," Princess's voice finally answered on the other end. "I was wondering when I would hear from you again, Stranger."

Buttercup smirked as she floated across her bedroom. "Sorry," she said as she lowered herself onto her bed, "I've been kinda busy today, I guess."

"Same here, so it's fine," Princess replied with a ho-hum sigh. "So," Princess began again, "Will you still be coming by to claim your reward tonight?"

"Yeah," Buttercup answered as she reclined against her pillow, "Are you free now?"

"I am actually."

"Cool." Buttercup smirked again, "I'll be there soon then."

"See you soon then."

"Cool. Bye-"

"Wait," Princess interrupted before she could end the call. "Say..." she paused for a moment. "What is your name anyway?"

Buttercup blinked for a moment as she sat up in bed. "My name?"

"You do have one, don't you?" Princess giggled girlishly on the other end.

"Yeah," Buttercup faked a laugh as her emerald eyes darted about her bedroom. They settled on the book on her nightstand. "It's... Joe...y."

"Joey?"

"Yep."

"Alright, Joey. I'll see you soon then."

"Alright. See ya soon." As she ended the call, she felt a stinging in her cheeks. At first, she couldn't fathom the source of the sudden, pinching sensation, but as she rose to her feet, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on her wall. The incredibly wide grin she bore was the reason behind it, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not get rid of it. The grinning teenager quickly shut off the lights to her bedroom, and swiftly descended down the stairs and out the front door of her home.

Princess smiled to herself as she hung up her cell phone. She placed it back down on top of her office desk, beside the newspaper article she had been staring at for the past hour and a half. The redhead rested her chin on her hands as she propped her elbows on her desk and kicked her feet from where they dangled off her swivel chair. She hummed quietly to herself as she gazed at the black and white image with a dreamy sort of expression on her face. "Joey," she repeated the name to herself as she smiled at the photograph of her lackey caught in action.

Perhaps it was still her heightened euphoria from all her recent triumphs, but Princess felt a growing excitement within her as she anticipated Joey's visit. She rose from her desk and walked over to a mirror that hung on the wall. She checked her reflection, patted her hair poofs and hummed happily to herself. "Oh, Alfred?" she called out.

"Yes, Miss?" Alfred appeared in the open doorway.

"My lackey, Joey, is on their way over now," Princess began as she walked towards him. "Will you make sure that their reward money is ready for them?"

"Yes, of course. I have it all prepared." Alfred answered.

"Hey!"

Princess turned her head and looked behind her to Mojo who she had tied up and bound to a chair with ropes in the corner of the room. "What do you want? Ugh, I thought you were unconscious!" she snapped at him.

"And just where is my reward? Morbucks, you and I had a clear agreement- a deal- a business arrangement! I gave you what you asked for and instead of giving me what was owed, you turn on me?! With my own technology no less! What sort of thanks is that?! And why is it this lackey of yours gets his reward and not Mojo?!"

Princess glared at Mojo, but stopped as soon as she heard the doorbell to the manor's main entrance ring out. A smile then swept her face once more as she plucked a handkerchief from Alfred's vest pocket. "Go and get the door, Alfred."

"Right away, Miss."

As Alfred left, Princess turned back to face Mojo as she approached him with the handkerchief in hand. "Well, Monkey Man, that would be because I actually like Joey. So, I really don't mind paying them what they're owed." She stopped before him. "You on the other hand? Blegh!"

Mojo's eyes narrowed on the girl. He opened his mouth to say something, but Princess silenced him immediately by stuffing the balled up handkerchief in his mouth.

"Now," she smiled deviously as she gagged her prisoner, "You just sit here, and keep your annoying mouth shut."

As the simian struggled to break free from his restraints, he glared at the redhead as she skipped merrily out of the room with a wild glow in his eyes. Mojo was absolutely furious, and if he had been able to, he would have tried to rip her to shreds with his own hands. However, Princess paid him no more attention. Right then, she felt her heart a flutter as she hurried down the corridor to meet Joey.

As Princess entered the manor's grand foyer, her brown eyes shimmered as they landed on the tall, raven haired teen in the alien mask. "Joey," she greeted them with a sweet smile, "You sure got here fast." She giggled, "What? Did you call me from outside the gate or something?"

Joey stood with their hands in their jeans pockets and shrugged, "Or somethin'."

Princess laughed. "Well, I don't know how you did it, but," she smirked, "I have to hand it to you, Joey. You went above and beyond with your mission yesterday. Nice work, Lackey."

"Thanks." Joey tilted their head over their shoulder, "By the way, did you know you got like two big holes burnt into the side of your house?"

"I know," Princess said as she reached for her waistband. She pulled out her brand new blaster rayguns and smiled innocently, "Oopsies."

"Woah," Joey stepped back a little. "Did Mojo make those for you?"

"Mmm-hmm." Princess gave the blasters a twirl as she showed them off proudly.

"Jeez, that was fast."

"Actually," Princess stepped towards Joey with her blasters in hand. "I was just going to go practice a bit in my private shooting range. You wanna join me and give 'em a try for yourself?"

Joey looked at the rayguns in Princess' hands, and then her. "Sure. ...Sounds fun."

"Great! Let's go!" Princess yanked Joey by their arm and began to lead them down the hallway to their left.

Even though the short girl's grip was nothing compared to Joey's natural strength, Joey allowed her to pull them along anyway. As they walked quickly down the long, winding cooridor, Joey glanced to their right and spotted a peculiar sight through an open doorway. They stopped in their tracks as their green eyes fell on the mutant chimpanzee, tied in ropes with his mouth gagged by a handkerchief. "Woah. What the-?"

Princess stopped with Joey and followed their gaze. She raised a hand to her lips as she giggled a little. "Oh. That."

"I'm confused," Joey looked from Princess, to Mojo, to Princess again, "I thought he helped you out?"

"He did," Princess shrugged. "And soon, he's going to help me again."

"But... you got him all tied up."

Princess laughed again. "OK, I normally don't like to share my plans, but... I guess I can let you in on a bit of it." Princess placed her hands on her hips as she faced Joey. "You see. My plan has several stages to it. One of which involves dragging those no-good Puffs' good names through the dirt!" Princess made a fist as she smiled deviously, "I plan to humiliate those bitches by beating them at their own game. Right now, they're probably driving themselves crazy looking for the stupid monkey. But they won't be able to find him, because, duh, he's here!" Princess giggled wickedly. "And once everyone realizes they're all complete failures as superheroes- tada!" Princess cheered, "I'll be the one who saves the day!"

Joey blinked at Princess, "So... you made him make you some new rayguns, and now that he's done with them you're just gonna turn around and turn him back in?"

"Yes! That's it!" Princess clapped her hands. "Can you believe that monkey actually thought I was going to pay him for his work and buy him a ticket to Cancun?"

"That's..."

"Evil?" Princess asked eagerly.

"Well... yeah," Joey answered.

Princess turned her head slightly and narrowed her eyes at Mojo as she smirked, "Thank you."

Mojo returned a mean gaze from where he was bound, before Princess shut the door.

"Anywaaays," Princess sang as she closed the door to her office. She took Joey by the arm once more, "Let's go! My private shooting range is right over here!"

Mojo listened to the sounds of Princess and her lackey running along the corridor outside the room. He spit the gag from his mouth and grunted angrily as he continued to struggle with his restraints, "I knew I should have never trusted that Morbucks! As if that child could be capable of being anything beyond her selfish, self-serving and self-centered self! Graargh! I should have foreseen such a betrayal! Rotten, vile little brat! Ooh, when Mojo gets out of here, mark my words, Morbucks! You will have to pay for this some day!" Mojo shouted loudly, but nobody was around to hear him.

As the simian slowly settled down, his eyes fell on a circular cut hole in the wooden paneled wall of the office. It was one of the many craters left behind by Princess's blasters. The edges of the hole looked sharp- sharp enough to cut through rope, Mojo imagined. Mojo rocked his body until he managed to force the chair he was bound to close to the spot on the wall. It took several minutes, but by rubbing his wrist restraints against the sharp edges of the wall's cavity, he eventually broke through the rope.

Mojo tore off his restraints as soon as he felt the snap of the rope behind him. "Aha!" he giggled to himself maniacally as he leapt off from the chair. "Foolish Morbucks! They had to design Mojo a titanium cell to keep him locked up! Rope is no match for Mojo!" He quickly made his way to the door of the office. "Now," he said as he carefully cracked the door open and slowly peered outside. His eyes searched the empty corridor thoroughly before he stepped out into the hallway, "To make my escape..."

The skinny butler carefully placed the final watermelon on its stand and stepped away. The three striped green, large melons had a paper photograph of each of the Powerpuff Girls taped upon them; each sat upon their own individual stands, spaced evenly apart from one another. Princess stood with Joey on the opposite end of the white, marbled room. As Alfred moved out of the path of their shooting practice, Princess clapped with joy.

"Ooh!" the girl wiggled with excitement as she readied her blasterrays in her hands. "This is so exciting! It's been so long since I've been able to practice with my blasters!" She raised a single blaster up with her right hand, and licked her lips as she took aim.

Joey stood just behind Princess and watched. "You really wanna kill them that badly, huh?"

Princess halted just before her finger reached the trigger to her golden raygun. "Kill them?" She paused to smile at Joey with a devious twinkle in her eyes, "No, murder is just too simple. What I want is to destroy those Powerpuffs."

Joey raised an eyebrow from behind their mask, "I don't get it. What's the difference?"

Princess laughed a little. "Well, killing is just killing," Princess answered with a smile, "But destroying involves so much more..."

Joey watched as the redhead returned her focus to her targets across the room. Slowly, she raised her weapon once more. "In order to properly destroy your enemy, you must make them suffer before having them succumb to their final fate. You see, that's why I have devised a plan with three distinct phases..."

"Which are...?"

The young villainess narrowed her dark brown eyes on the first target on the left with Buttercup's face. Her lips curled slightly as she pulled the trigger. "One: Humiliate." A bright blast shot from the raygun and struck the watermelon target. Bright, red chunks of melon flew in all directions as it exploded immediately upon impact.

Princess aimed for the Blossom target next, "Two: Torture." Another quick burst of red juices splattered everywhere.

As Princess aimed for the final Bubbles target her devious grin only widened, "And finally... Three: Destroy!"

Joey stared with wide eyes from behind their mask as they watched the red fruit stain the marble white floors and walls of the room. Princess maniacal giggling echoed throughout the massive room. The short girl skillfully twirled her blaster rays in her hands. "That's the difference."

"Oh," Joey squirmed a little. "...Cool."

"Alfred, another round please," Princess instructed with a snap of her fingers, and the butler began to replace the wasted targets with fresh ones. While Alfred readied the range, Princess turned to Joey again. "So. You wanna give it a shot?" She held out one of her rayguns for Joey to take.

Joey reached for the weapon and took it in their right hand. The golden raygun was a lot lighter than they had expected. If Joey hadn't known that Mojo was the one who made them, they would have believed it to be a fake. Of course, after witnessing the destruction for themselves, Joey knew that they were very much real.

"Now," Princess began, "We're not shooting actual Puffs here, so go easy. All you need is a light tap on the trigger there. Don't press down all the way and definitely don't hold it down for more than just a split second. That's all the power you'll need. Anything more and I'll have more holes in my mansion. And well, if that happens, I'll have to deduct the damages from your pay, got it?"

Joey nodded, "Got it." They turned to face the shooting arena across the room. There were three new Powerpuff faced targets in place and as Joey faced them, they hesitated a little.

"You know," Princess studied Joey a bit, "You'd probably have way better aim if you take your mask off-"

The short girl stood on her tiptoes as she reached for the Halloween mask, and Joey quickly stumbled backwards as they swatted her hand away, "No!"

Princess blinked at them for a moment. "But you'll be able to see better-"

"No, I-" Joey gulped nervously as they took another step backwards and away from Princess, "I... can't."

"Oh, come on," Princess placed her hands on her hips, "Of course you can. Just take it off! I know you said you're ugly, but you can't possibly be that ugly!"

Princess took another step towards Joey, but they responded by taking another step back. "N-no... seriously, I... I can't. I just... can't, OK?"

Princess looked them up and down as she wondered what was the reason behind Joey's sudden strange behavior. Her eyes fell on Joey's fingertips that peeked out from the baggy long sleeves of their jacket. In their right hand, they still gripped one of her rayguns and she could see the dark marks on their hand then. She thought back to the other day when they shook hands and she had discovered the severe scarring on Joey's palms and fingers. A sudden wave of sympathy swept Princess as she stared up at the alien mask. She could faintly make out a pair of soft, emerald green eyes that stared back at her from behind the mask. They looked desperate and... sad.

"OK," Princess said after a while. "...Sorry."

Joey looked at Princess, surprised that the spoiled girl didn't press any further. They could not tell what Princess was thinking then as she stared up at their alien masked face, but the longer their eyes remained locked with one another's, the more Joey felt like somehow... she understood.

Princess stepped towards Joey and gently took them by the arm. "Come on," she gave them a small smile as she led them back towards their target practice, "Let's see what you got, huh?"

Joey stood before the targets. Slowly, they raised the blaster gun in their right hand and took aim. With just a slight tap of the trigger, a bright white beam of light shot out and obliterated the green Powerpuff target across the room. Joey watched the melon erupt into a bright red shower of raining fruit pieces.

Princess clapped, "Good shot!" she cheered. "Go on," she grinned big, "Take out the others now!"

Joey laughed a little from behind their mask, "Thanks, but," they turned to Princess and handed her back her raygun, "I kinda should be going..."

"Oh..." Princess frowned a little as she took her blaster back from them. She tried to hide her disappointment with a small laugh, "Very well," she began as she looked to Alfred and snapped her fingers, "Alfred? Joey's payment please."

Alfred stepped forward and produced a black, leather briefcase. He handed it to Joey who took it eagerly.

"Hell yeah!" Joey snapped the briefcase open and looked at the stacks of crisp bills inside, "Thanks!"

"Thank you," Princess smiled. She watched as Joey removed their backpack and began to transfer the money from the briefcase to their own bag. "Say... here's an idea," Princess began. Joey zipped up his backpack and slung it over their shoulder. They looked at Princess, and she continued, "You know, you kind of have a knack for this."

"A knack for what?"

Princess shrugged. "Villainy."

Joey laughed from behind their mask, "You think so?"

"Yeah," Princess smirked. "Maybe you and I... can team up some time?"

"Team up for what?"

Princess giggled a little. "Destroying the Powerpuff Girls, duh."

Joey chuckled nervously. "I, uh... I'm not sure about that..." They reached into their pants pocket and retrieved the small, black cellphone that Princess had given them the day before. They held it out for Princess to take, "Here ya go-"

"Keep it," Princess interrupted as she cupped her hand over Joey's and gently pushed the device back towards them. Her hand lingered on top of Joey's for a moment and her dainty fingers lightly traced the scarring on Joey's hands. The unexpected soft touch was enough to make Joey blush, but Princess could not see it from behind their mask of course. "Just... take a while to think about that team up, you know?" Princess playfully fluttered her eyelashes. "Then... you can call me."

The look Princess gave Joey then only made them blush harder. "Yeah... Ok..." they gulped nervously as they returned the phone to their pockets, "Well... see ya."

"See you around, Joey."

The sun had set and it was late into the evening as Mojo made his barefooted track across the city. The heavy bundle of stolen supplies clanked loudly as he carried it over his shoulder. The white pillowcase was stuffed with whatever he could find during his speedy ransack before he fled the mansion. Ideally, Mojo would have hoped to find a safe containing cash during his robbery efforts. However, with his former captor still in the manor with him, he could not risk getting caught and so a fast five-minute sweep was all he could afford.

He was fortunate enough at least to stumble across the billionaire's bedroom suite. There, he managed to finally ditch his bright orange prison wear for some real clothes. He knew if he stood a chance out in the streets, he would have to disguise himself well. The mutant chimpanzee hid his exposed, pink brain matter with a large, dark purple wool cap. When he discovered the winter beanie, he also found a matching long scarf. With the scarf wrapped carefully around his neck, and the cap pulled low, it was just enough cover to hide his leathery, green chimp face. Most of the clothing in Morbucks' closet were just suits, and all entirely too big for Mojo to wear. He settled for a simple white button down shirt, which fit him almost like a dress, but he tucked it into a pair of black shorts he found. The cargo shorts fit him like a pair baggy pants, but he kept them up with a black leather belt he quickly altered. Mojo also grabbed a dark grey windbreaker jacket. The dark color was the perfect finish for blending into the shadows, but it fit him like a long, oversized trench coat which dragged along the ground behind him as he walked.

It was a downhill path from the Hills to Downtown. The neighborhood of Boil Heights sat directly beneath the gated hillside community. Mojo always found it ironic that the glitziest and most glamorous estates of Townsville sat just above the city's most neglected, downtrodden streets. As he reached the border of the east side, his eyes fell on the main river bridge which crossed into the heart of the city. The tall iron lamp posts that ran along the cement bridge flickered with low, weak beams of light. There were two tall billboards that hung in the sky on either side of the arched bridgeway. The one to the right featured an annoyingly bright display of his three former enemies. Mojo scowled at the girls' smiling faces on the billboard before turning his attention to the advertisement on the left. The electronic screen flashed between several different images, but the bold red headline remained constant: WANTED. Mojo watched as the mugshots displayed made their slow rotation: Sedusa, Grubber, Big Billy, Snake, Arturo and lastly himself.

Mojo lifted the brim of his scarf high up over his face, before he continued towards the bridge. As the short villain traveled along the paved sidewalk of the crossway, he peered over the sides of the bridge to the river basin below. Townsville River cut through the east side, only Mojo could see it was anything but a river anymore. Even before his incarceration, he recalled how sparse the trickle of water was that ran along the cement banks. However, now there was no water left at all. Mojo stopped at the center of the bridge, and stepped onto a heightened piece of curbside to get a better look below.

All along the cement walls of the empty basin sat rows of tents and tarp covered shacks. The makeshift shelters stretched as far as Mojo could see from where he stood upon the bridge. At first, he mistook the collection of camp-like housing to be nothing more than some hippy-themed event taking place in the city. However, as he looked more closely there was clear evidence that the these tents, plastic tarps and canopies were permanent housing fixtures.

The people below moved around the tents as if it were just another neighborhood within Townsville. They parked their bicycles outside their canopies, as if parking their minivan in the driveway. There were rows of planters growing fresh vegetables and herbs which resembled community gardens. Most of the shelters were dim, but many others were illuminated somehow with electricity. The closer Mojo looked, he could see a thick line of electrical chords that ran along the tent city; he traced them to the very bridge he stood on, and saw that the homeless had managed to tap into the electricity of the bridge's lamp posts. This was not the first time Mojo found himself homeless and on the streets, but it was certainly the first time he ever saw anything such as this.

"Clearly," he muttered low to himself, "This cursed city has befallen a serious drought, but I wonder..." Mojo cupped his hand over his brow as he strained his eyes to see as far as he could in the dark, "Just how serious?"

Mojo looked ahead and spotted the Townsville Water Tower just beyond the bridgeway. As his eyes settled on the tall landmark, he thought back to his younger days. The first time he found himself out on the streets with nowhere to go, the water tower had been one of his few places of refuge. Back then, to be homeless was already considered a crime within itself. In order to not be hassled with by law enforcement, Mojo could never stay in one place for long. Alley ways, underpasses, park benches- he had many places to sleep under the smog filled skies of the city. However there was never a bed as permanent as the one he used to keep tucked away within the crawlspace underneath the Townsville Water Tower's water tank. After all, the access ladder stretched for over two hundred and fifty feet from the ground up, and was way too difficult a climb for the average person. Mojo, however, had always been a pretty gifted climber. For him, it had always been easy.

Mojo stepped off from the curb and began his hike once more. He had been traveling for no more than an hour, but already he felt several painful blisters beginning to form on the soles of his feet. As he began to limp along the last portion of the bridgeway, Mojo glanced at the tower in the near distance and wondered how his aging body would do with the same climb that night.

The short villain approached the base of the tower, sat his sack of goods at his feet and looked up. The watertower's white paint was chipped, old and yellowing, and the city's name in black and blue was too faded to read anymore. He knew that it was empty; it had been dry years prior and only remained as a historical landmark for the city. Even though it no longer served any real purpose, Mojo questioned why Townsville had let it get so run down over the years. If they were just going to let it deteriorate slowly, then why not just get rid of it all together?

Mojo reached for the tower's ladder with his hands. He drew a deep breath before gripping the bars of the ladder firmly and hoisted himself upward. Mojo relied on his upper body strength for the climb. The simian held onto his knapsack with his feet, as his long ape arms carried him steadily upward.

Years ago, he would have been able to scale the tower swiftly in under a minute. That night, his muscles quivered terribly as he struggled more and more the higher he reached. It took him ten minutes to reach the top, and when he did, he barely had enough strength to pull himself up and over the metal railing. Once he managed to, he landed with a thud on the hard, cold surface of the metal landing.

Mojo lay on his back, catching his breath for several minutes as his chest heaved up and down. He gazed up at the heavy white beams that supported the massive water tank above. The labyrinth of rusted metal beams formed a pattern of giant x's from how they criss crossed one another. While the landing space was just as wide as the massive tank above, the dip of the spherical water tank limited the area there. Of course, it's not as if it was a place intended for living. But for the four-foot chimp, it would do for then.

As Mojo rose to his feet, he lowered his scarf. A cool, night breeze blew through the air as he approached the metal railing and peered down at the city. His eyes fell on the basin below, and from where he stood he could see that the tent city he discovered earlier stretched for miles and miles along the cement river bank.

"Hmph," Mojo shook his head as he tried to count the hundreds of tents he saw. "Things have certainly gotten much worse."

As he followed the stretch of homeless shelters, his eyes fell on another structure in the west- his former volcano top observatory. Even miles away, he could see how it had been changed. Of course he had learned of the changes earlier, but then he did not want to believe it. Seeing it for himself in person then, he still did not want to believe it. But there was no ignoring the bright green, pink and blue that stained his former lair. It was real. Very real.

Mojo's eyes narrowed on the brightly colored museum, "Much worse."

As he glared at the girlishly themed abomination, Mojo felt a steady rage beginning to surface within him. He clenched his hands as he shook and began to breathe heavily through his nostrils. Just as he was about to loudly curse the Powerpuffs' name out loud, he stopped himself.

High up on the water tower, he did not expect to find anyone else. But then, as another light summer breeze blew past him, he caught a peculiar scent in the air. It was a strong skunk-like odor. Mojo looked about the crawlway, but he saw no one. The stench was powerful however, and he knew the source could not be far. As he searched behind every heavy beam, he tried his best to follow the scent and to figure out what it was. It was earthy, yet it stung his nostrils like gasoline. It smelled like... marijuana?

Buttercup lay against the cool surface of the water tower's spherical tank. The teenager propped her head up with her backpack as she reclined with a rolled joint in her left hand and a book in her right. It was the book she had gotten from Robin on her birthday. She had yet to have a chance to read any of it, and as much as she tried to then, she was finding it difficult to concentrate. Her mind kept wandering back to the visit she had just had with Princess. The way she looked at her, the way she laughed and how she smiled... Buttercup was not used to that sort of attention. Was she really flirting with her? Or maybe it had all just been in her head? After all, who could like somebody in a mask?

The super powered teen sat up and returned her book to her backpack. She took a long drag from her burning marijuana cigarette as she gazed down at the city lights below. As she released the large puff of smoke from her lips, the night wind carried it back towards her. As she held the burning joint, her eyes fell on her scarred hand. She took another quick puff before balancing the roach between her lips as she rolled up her sleeves for a moment. The tomboy held out her scarred left arm and hand as she traced the dark markings with her fingertips, beginning from her elbows. She repeated the same for her right arm next. As her fingertips reached her right palm, the flame of the burning joint reached her lips and she jerked suddenly from the quick burn. "Shit!" she cursed as the joint fell between her legs and she fumbled to catch it. The steep curve of the water tank's surface carried it quickly away from her however, and Buttercup was frankly too stoned to chase after it. "Dammit." She sighed heavily, "Oh well. Guess there's more in the stash..." The teen's head fell backwards and she lay flat on her back once more. She relaxed her body and lazily slunk off the water tank's surface, and slipped into the tight crawl space below.

Buttercup hovered along the tops of the metal beams that criss crossed underneath the tank. She reached up for a wedged place between two beams where she kept an old shoebox. Inside the box she kept all the things she could not keep at home which was mainly all her weed related paraphernalia. As she fished around for her rolling papers, she felt a buzzing in her jeans pocket. She returned the box to its place and reached for her cell phone, only when she pulled it out, she realized that was not the source. She returned that phone to her pocket and pulled out her second, black cellphone that rang and answered it, "Hello?"

"Joey!" Princess shouted on the other end, "You didn't happen to see that stupid monkey at all when you left my mansion earlier, did you?"

"Uh..." Buttercup was caught off guard by this. "Uh, no," she answered.

"Well, he's gone!"

For some reason this made Buttercup laugh, "Oh shit. Really?"

"Yes! He's ruining my perfectly evil plan, Joey! I need him back!" Princess pouted on the other end. "Will you help me find him?"

"Uh..."

As the teenager floated in the air and carried on with her phone call, unknown to her Mojo was just below her feet. The short chimp had ducked behind a nearby metal beam the moment he saw the teenager zip into the crawlspace. He watched her from the shadows.

"If you're able to find him and get him back to me, I'll give you another twenty five grand. How does that sound?"

"Really? Sweet!" Just then, Buttercup felt a buzzing again in her jeans. It was her personal phone this time. "Shit," she muttered to herself as she fumbled awkwardly with both phones, "Uh, sorry, Princess, I gotta go!"

"OK well if you see any trace of that smelly ape, call me! OK?"

"Sure-OK-bye!" Buttercup rushed to answer her next phone just as she hung up the other, "Hello?"

"Buttercup! Where are you?" Bubbles' voice squeaked on the other end.

"Uh..."

"Look, the mayor called. Blossom said they got an anonymous tip that Mojo was spotted somewhere in the Hills. We're gonna go search the area now. Will you be home soon?"

"Shit, yeah," Buttercup muttered, "I'll be there right now."

"OK, bye."

"Bye." As Buttercup ended the call she looked at both phones in her hands as she shook her head. She wasn't sure if it was just the weed but she felt dizzy as she stared at both devices. "Shit... How am I gonna do this?" she muttered to herself again.

The tomboy reached for her backpack and tossed the black phone inside. As she zipped open the black bag, her green alien mask slipped out and fell down to the metal ground below.

Mojo Jojo's eyes widened as they landed on the Halloween mask on the floor. "It... can't be..." he breathed low to himself as he looked on with his jaw agape.

Buttercup lowered herself onto the floor and knelt down for the disguise. She picked it up and promptly returned it to her backpack before darting upwards once more.

Mojo Jojo watched curiously as the teenager wedged her backpack high up on a space between the metal beams. As soon as the bag was securely stashed, the Powerpuff shot off into the night sky with a bright flash of green light.

The villain then stepped out from his hiding place and quickly rushed for the edge of the tower's metal railing. He looked out over the city and watched as the streak of green light faded into the distance. His eyes were still wide with disbelief as he breathed to himself once more, "It was you."