Chapter 22 Extended ending to Buttercrush
Opening shot: the city skyline at peace. Car horns honk in the background.)
Narrator: The city of Townsville. A pleasant place to live. Unless you run into—
(Cut to five green-skinned, disreputable-looking fellows (The Gangreen Gang) walking down the street. On one side, one is a dwarf who looks as if he just jumped out of a Picasso painting (Little Arturo); another is big and fat, with a shock of orange hair covering the top half of his face (Big Billy). On the other side are a bug-eyed hunchback with an enormous chin, ragged clothes, and a long tongue hanging out (Grubber) and, behind him, a skinny guy with a long, pointed nose and a cap turned backward (Snake). The one in the center is tall and slim, has straight, greasy hair and a scraggly mustache (Ace). He wears sunglasses and a life-preserver jacket.)
Narrator: —the Gangreen Gang! The biggest bunch of belligerent bullies this town's ever seen!
(They continue along the street for several seconds; cut to a dodgeball lying on the ground in the park. The Gang walks into view from the right; all except the one with the shades keep going until they move o.c. left. He stops at the ball and clears his throat loudly, and the others quickly back up to join him. When he speaks, he sounds like your typical juvenile delinquent—mean and disrespectful.)
Ace said Well, well! (Turn down to the ball at his feet.) What do we have here?
(He picks the ball up and holds it. Three little kids come up and look up at the group pleadingly.)
Kid: (stammering) Excuse me, mister…but…can we have our ball back?
Ace said Mister? (spinning ball on finger) You're talkin' to Ace, kid. There are no Misters here…at least, I don't think so. (to dwarf) Um, Lil' Arturo, is your name Mister?
(Lil' Arturo sounds very much like Señor Wences when he opens his mouth. He laughs for a moment, then cuts himself off sharply.)
Lil' Arturo said No.
Ace said (to the fat fellow) How 'bout you, Big Billy?
(As soon as Big Billy speaks, it instantly becomes clear that he will never get into MIT.)
Billy said Duh—no.
Ace said (to hunchback) Grubber?
Grubber: Pbbbbpppppbbbbbt! (Loosely translated: "Not a snowball's chance.")
Ace said Yeah, I thought so. (to the pointy-nosed fellow) Hey, is your name Mister, Snake?
(Snake speaks with a pronounced hiss and a forked tongue.)
Snake (laughing) Yes-s-s. (Ace punches him for giving the wrong answer.) I mean no.
Ace said Sorry. You three are way off track. (Long silence.)
Kid said Well…can we have our ball back anyway?
Ace said Oh, sure. (holding it out) Why not?
(Instead of handing the ball back, he bounces it off the faces of all three of them, knocking them to the ground. They lie shaking fearfully in the Gang's shadows.)
Ace (mock pity) Hey, boys!
Snake, Arturo, Billy: What is it, Ace? (Grubber blows a raspberry with them.)
Ace said I don't think these kids are havin' fun.
Lil' Arturo: (laughing) You want us to show them how to have fun?
Ace said Yes, Lil' Arturo. Let's show them how to have fun…Gangrene style!
(Snake grabs hold of a merry-go-round with two kids on it and spins hard, sending them flying. Grubber sinks his teeth into a tire swing and shakes it and its occupant back and forth like a dog worrying a bedroom slipper. A jungle gym is crushed when Big Billy falls on it.)
Big Billy said Jungle gym.
(Lil' Arturo is in the sandbox with a kid.)
Lil' Arturo said Hey, look at this!
(He throws sand into the kid's face, causing him to cry. A girl on the swing set suddenly finds herself in Ace's hands. He pushes hard enough to wrap the swing's ropes around the top crossbar and tie her to it. Close-up of a kid playing with a toy airplane; a hand—Snake's—reaches into view and gives him an incredibly painful wedgie. He is hauled into the air, screaming for mercy and getting none. Pull back to show the entire Gang laughing over this and the rest of the chaos they have caused.)
Blossom said Let the underwear go! (They stop laughing at the sound of her voice.)
Wedgie kid: (strained, relieved) The Powerpuff Girls!
(Cut to the girls, looking very upset with the situation, then shift to each Gang member in sequence.)
Arturo said The Powerpuff Girls?
Billy said The Powerpuff Girls?
Snake said The P-P-Powerpuff Girls-s-s?
Grubber Pbbbbpppbbbt?
Ace said The Powerpuff Girls? (Pull back.) Snake! What are you doing to that poor child?!
Snake said But—but—you-s-s said— (Ace punches him for trying to speak the truth.)
(The tension is broken by soft giggling from Buttercup. Close-up of her behind Blossom's shoulder. Pan slightly left to bring her into view; she glares back at her sister.)
Blossom said Buttercup!
(Buttercup's expression hardens as Blossom looks disapprovingly back at her, still wary of her laughing at Ace punching Snake in an attempt to save face with the Girls. Close-up of Ace, looking rather perplexed by all this. After a moment, a sly smile spreads itself across his face. He just had a great idea. Pull back; he steps up to address the girls.)
Ace overwrought) Oh, Powerpuff Girls— (kneeling) —please forgive my foolish friend for his foolish act. For he did not know what he was doin'.
(Close-up of the girls, panning across as he continues. Bubbles and Blossom are still angry, but Buttercup is smiling with tears in her eyes.)
Ace said And I know deep inside my heart that he would never do anything like that ever again. (Back to him.) What do you say, girls? Will you forgive him? (taking Buttercup's hand) Will you? (Extreme close-up.) Please?
(Pull back. Buttercup looks beseechingly at her sisters, who still seem unconvinced. Long pause.)
Blossom said reluctantly) Okay.
(Buttercup smiles at Ace. Extreme close-up of him again as he tips his shades.)
Ace said Thank you. (He winks; Buttercup's face softens as if she has just found Mr. Right.)
Narrator: Oh, no! (Cut to behind her as the Gang departs, hearts fly above Buttercup's head.) Looks like Buttercup is looking for love in all the wrong places.
(Cut to the city skyline.)
Narrator: Next day… (The exterior of the museum.) Townsville Museum of Natural History.
(Inside, a guard is leading the Pokey Oaks kindergarten teacher and her students around the galleries. The girls float along at the back of the group.)
Narrator: Oh, look! The Pokey Oaks [sic] Kindergarten class is on a field trip. And so is… (Pan quickly to the Gang.) …the Gangreen Gang?! This can't be good.
(Side view of a painting on the wall. The camera shakes as Billy walks into view and starts throwing punches at something o.c. right. Pieces of debris fly back at him. Cut to behind him; what he has been assaulting is a soda machine.)
Billy said turning around, sadly) Big Billy no get soda. (Close-up of Snake at the coin slot.)
Snake said I think she needs moneys-s-s. (Cut to Arturo, pointing up at a vase on a stand.)
Arturo said This Mesopotamian vase is probably worth a couple of bucks.
(Extreme close-up of the coin slot.)
Ace said Slip it in right here, Arturo.
(Side view of the machine; Arturo walks into view, carrying the vase over his head, and smashes it against the slot. Back to the tour group; the camera shakes. The girls turn around to look; back to the Gang. Arturo is now holding a mummy and making as if to insert it.)
Ace said Now this has gotta be worth at least one soda.
Blossom said Drop that mummy! (Close-up of the girls.)
Ace, Snake, Arturo, Billy said The Powerpuff Girls! (Grubber blows a raspberry with them.)
(Once again Buttercup's fierce expression melts into affection.)
Blossom said All right, girls. Let's show these creeps how to respect other people's property!
(She and Bubbles start laying into the four underlings. Cut to Buttercup, who watches the pounding as it goes on Ace steps into view.)
Ace said Hey. (She smiles; he kneels.) Buttercup, how come you guys always pick on us, huh?
(Pull back; in the foreground, Blossom and Bubbles are kicking Arturo back and forth. Close-up of Ace and Buttercup again.)
Ace said W-We was only tryin' to get a soda. (Her expression hardens and she zips away.)
(She flies to a hanging tapestry and pulls it off the wall, then carries it back to the fight. She drops it over the combatants as if smothering a fire with a blanket; they continue brawling underneath. Ace stands up and whistles and his four buddies poke their heads out from the edge of the tapestry and pull free to join him.)
Ace said Come on, guys, let's am-scary!
(The others walk o.c.; before Ace can follow them, Buttercup flies up behind him and taps him on the shoulder. He turns around to find her smiling shyly at him.)
Ace said Hey? (She produces a can of soda from behind her back and holds it out to him. He takes it and tips his shades.)
Ace said You know, kid? You're not so bad. You can hang out with us anytime.
(Cut to the exterior of the girls' house at night.)
Narrator: That evening…
(Inside, the girls are fast asleep. Zoom in slowly. After some moments, Buttercup opens one eye and looks over at her sisters to make sure they are not waking up.)
Narrator: Oh, no!
(She gets out of bed and tiptoes across the bedroom.)
Narrator: She isn't!
(She reaches the window and opens it.)
Narrator: She is.
(She climbs through and closes the window. Cut to the outside it and follow her as she flies across the city.)
Narrator: I hope she knows what she's doing.
(Stop on the Townsville Dump, its incinerator visible in the distance. Buttercup lands amid the mountains of garbage, looks around herself nervously, then flies o.c. Pan across the dump to a green shack; she lands in front of its door and knocks. Cut to behind her on the porch. There is no sound but the chuffing of the incinerator. The door opens, revealing Ace's feet inside; turn up to his head.)
Ace said Hey.
(His perspective of Buttercup, looking up and smiling. Back to him. The other Gang members quickly gather behind him. They are visibly nervous.)
Snake said W-W-W-What-What she's doing here-s-s, Boss-s-s?! (Ace rounds on them.)
Ace said Back up! (They do so. Cut to them. Ace continues o.c.) Relax!
(They instantly collapse to the floor. Billy reads a book while Grubber plays the violin. Cut to outside the door, the camera pointing in.)
Ace said Buttercup. Please, come in.
(She floats up to his eye level; the door closes on them. Dissolve to inside the shack, where Billy is seated at a table with his back to the camera. He looks right Pan in that direction to show Arturo seated across from him, then Grubber and finally a very worried Snake next to Buttercup. Except for the crickets chirping, there is silence. Snake breaks this after a long moment; pan right slightly to bring Ace into view on Buttercup's other side.)
Snake: said (frantically) I's-s-s can't take it anymore! She's a Powerpuff Girl! She's good, we're bad! The museums, punchings, hittings, hurtings! (Buttercup socks him.)
Ace said Sweet move, Buttercup. (Back to the other three.)
Arturo laughing) Yeah! Smooth move! You should hang out with us! (Back to Buttercup and company.)
Snake woodenly) Yes. Please. Hang out.
(Dissolve to the Gang pounding on a junked car. Billy punches at the hood, Arturo jumps on the roof, and Snake fools around behind the wheel. Pan to the rear end, where Ace is getting ready to hit the car with a bat. He does so a couple of times and then offers a chance to Buttercup, who is standing next to him. She jumps in front of Snake, holding the bat; he tries desperately to wave her off, but she pays no mind. She hits the car; the others watch as it sails over the horizon, carrying Snake.)
(Dissolve to the Gang and Buttercup, clustered around some piece of work. When they back away, laughing, we see that they have tied paper bags onto the feet of a hapless alley cat. It shakes its paws and looks pitifully at the camera. Cut to Snake, being hit alternately by Ace and Buttercup and bobbing back and forth like a punching bag. The camera pans quickly from side to side to follow them.)
(Cut to Ace and Buttercup, bouncing into view and then falling o.c. again. Turn down to show them jumping on Billy's gut, using it for a trampoline. Dissolve to a long shot of the shack; the moon sets and the sun rises to the laughter of the Gang. Close-up of the door as it swings open, showing them and Buttercup.)
[Note: Until the sunrise occurs, this sequence plays out as a sort of silent movie.]
Ace said Oh, Buttercup! (kneeling) Last night was a hoot! (taking her hands) So will you please be my guest again tonight? (She nods and takes off.)
(Everybody except Ace waves goodbye and calls after her. This goes on for some moments before he rounds on them, suddenly very angry.)
Ace said Shut up! (They are stunned into silence.)
Billy said Gee, Boss, we's was just sayin' goodbye to our new best friend.
Ace said She is not your new best friend!
Snake said Hey, then why did we hang out with her, Boss-s-s?
Ace sighing, slapping forehead) Don't you realize that with Buttercup on our side…WE COULD CONTROL TOWNSVILLE?!
Arturo said Gee, Ace, what about her sisters?
Ace said Sit for a spell, fellas, 'cause I've got a plan. (He chuckles.)
(Pull back to show the shack, its door now closed and no one outside. As the Narrator speaks, the sun sets and the moon rises.)
Narrator: Well, that sounds awful! Evil people with evil plans? I hope the Powerpuff Girls can get out of this one— (Buttercup flies into view and lands at the door.) —especially Buttercup!
(Inside, Ace is addressing the Gang.)
Ace said She'll be here any minute. You all remember what to do?
(Snake, Arturo, and Grubber wink. If Billy does the same, his hair hides it. A knock is heard.)
Ace said Showtime!
(Cut to just behind Buttercup, the camera pointing up at the door. Ace opens it.)
Ace said Hey. (Side view.) Please, come in. (She floats inside and lands in front of the Gang. There is a long silence, which is broken by Ace clearing his throat. The others react to his cue, walking past o.c.)
Snake: said Huh? Oh, right. See you two a little bit laters-s-s. (The door creaks shut o.c.)
Ace said kneeling) They'll be back... with pizza!
(Cut to the girls' bedroom, where Bubbles and Blossom are fast asleep and snoring softly, then to Grubber at a pay phone. His raspberries sound as if he is laughing. Pull back to show Snake, Billy, and Arturo around him.)
Snake: said Come on, s-s-stop laughing! Do it rights-s-s!
(Back to the bedroom. A telephone rings , rousing the two girls from sleep.)
Blossom said nudging Bubbles, pulling covers over head) Bubbles…get the phone.
(Pan left slightly to show the phone on the nightstand by Bubbles' side of the bed. She picks up the receiver.)
Bubbles said (sleepily) Hello?
(Back to Grubber. He clears his throat a few times before speaking.)
Grubber said high voice) Oh, hello. I'm Buttercup, and my foot got caught in a conveyor belt at the city dump. I'm afraid I'm stuck. Help me! (He hangs up. Back to the bedroom.)
Bubbles said sleepily) Okay. Bye-bye. (away from the phone, top volume) BUTTERCUP'S IN TROUBLE!
(This wakes Blossom up in an instant. We see the two girls in flight, then at the dump, looking around warily. A conveyor belt stretches across the screen behind them. Zoom in between them; Buttercup's figure is on the conveyor, facing away from the camera. Its arms are tinted green, indicating it could be a member of the Gangrene Gang in disguise.)
Grubber said high voice, from " Help me! Help me! My foot is stuck!
(Blossom and Bubbles land next to the figure and reach out to pull it loose.)
Blossom said Don't worry, Buttercup.
Bubbles said We've got you!
(The figure stands up and turns around—it is Grubber in a Buttercup dress, with his hair done up to match hers. He has lured Buttercup's sisters right into the Gang's trap.)
Grubber: Pbbbbbppppt! (The Narrator cries out in surprise.)
Narrator: That's not Buttercup!
(Cut to Snake at the controls of a machine. He pulls a lever; outside, two cars are released from an electromagnet attached to a crane and plummet toward the ground. The girls take notice just before the cars land on top of them; we see their heads poking from the roofs. Now the conveyor begins to move, carrying them screaming toward a large piece of equipment with pounding pistons and flames glowing inside. Close-up of them as they emerge; the cars have been crushed into cubes, rendering the two girls stuck inside of them, unable to move. Back to Snake at the controls.)
Snake said S-S-Say goodbye, Powerpuffssss. (He pulls the lever.)
(As the Narrator speaks, the girls reach the end of the conveyor and are pulled onto the electromagnet, now over their heads. They stick to it upside down.)
Narrator: This is unbelievable! Is this the end of our beloved girls?
(As he continues, the crane swings them, still screaming, over to a vat of boiling liquid and begins to lower them toward it.)
Narrator: Can no one save our heroes from this impending doom? Can Buttercup not hear her sisters' cries for help?
(Inside the shack, the stereo is cranked to top volume. Heavy metal blasts from all the speakers; the two girls' screams can be heard only faintly through the noise. Buttercup is dancing like crazy—she could easily hold her own in a mosh pit—while Ace throws the bullhorns.)
Narrator: Oh, no! (Back and forth between the two girls and the shack.) Blossom and Bubbles' screams are being drowned out by this rogue Romeo's rambunctious rock!
(Inside, Buttercup watches Ace thrash and kick about, then does the same herself. In doing so, she knocks a hole in the wall of the shack. The music stops abruptly, and the screams can now be clearly heard. She starts in surprise; cut to outside the hole and pull back to show the other girls now in her line of sight. Ace takes no notice. Close-up of her, infatuation giving way to pure anger on her face; pull back to bring a very uneasy Ace into view next to her.)
Ace laughing nervously) Aren't we having' fun?
(Outside, she flies through the hole in the wall. Cut to Snake at the controls.)
Snake said Adios-s-s, dos amigos-s-s! (He pulls the lever.)
(The crushed cars fall free of the electromagnet, carrying their screaming prisoners toward the boiling liquid. Just before they splash down, Buttercup flies in and carries them to safety. She sets the cubes on the ground, and hatred and revenge write themselves all over her face. Cut to the Gang, looking very nervous; Ace ducks around behind the others.)
Ace stammering) Now listen, Buttercup, it's not what you think!
(She charges in; with a single blow, she lays the four out flat. Now she moves in on Ace.)
Ace said Buttercup, I'm innocent! The boys, they put me up to it! Honest!
However, Buttercup saw through those lies, having exposed her "crush" as a bad guy. Without thinking twice, she gave him the beating of a lifetime, and it's painful as hell! As Ace got his just desserts, his shades fell in front of Buttercup and her sisters, who were still trapped in car cubes.
Blossom said Buttercup... what's been going on?
At first, Buttercup just stared at her sisters as if she was like a speechless statue or something. She knew in her mind that her irresponsible decisions, such as bullying Bubbles, would lead to trouble. But, as much as she is a tough tomboy, she still cares for her sisters through thick and thin. That is when she finally gave in, wrapping her arms around the car cubes her sisters were still trapped in.
Buttercup giving a shameful sigh] I developed a crush on Ace, just because, not only was he green just like my dress and my eyes, but because he was... interesting. Only when I saw you guys about to be dropped in the burner that I knew I had been duped! I'm so sorry. I hope you're not mad at me.
Blossom responded with a gasp of surprise, not because Buttercup told the ugly truth, but because she did so with a sincere tone. She replied warmly.
Blossom said That's okay, Buttercup. We forgive you. Now let's go home, [yawns] our bedtime isn't over yet.
Bubbles said One question. [struggling from her car cube] How are we gonna get out of these stupid car cubes?!
Buttercup said I've got this.
Aiming her eyes at the cubes her sisters were still stuck in, Buttercup got to work burning them with her optic lasers. It was quite long and difficult, but in a minute her sisters were free and the car cubes were nothing but ash!
Bubbles said jumps triumphantly] Woo-hoo! We're not stuck anymore! Thank you, Buttercup! [hugs her sister]
The resulting hug left Buttercup with a tear flowing from her eye and a joyful smile. She returned the favor by hugging Bubbles. Just then, Blossom took off to the sky.
Blossom flying back home]
Blossom said Girls! You coming?
Buttercup hears Blossom as she and Bubbles stop hugging]
Buttercup said Okay! [she and Bubbles fly after their leader sister]
Narrator: (laughing a bit) Aww, we forgive you, Buttercup.
(The standard end shot comes up.)
Narrator: And so, once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls.