Villain: Redux

By: Yay Ninja Bob

Part II: Hate & War

Chapter 15

Terror Part I

A cacophony of blaring sirens, beastly howls, and panicked, screaming citizens filled the streets of Downtown, where the lone, blue Powerpuff found herself at the very center of the chaos. The flying, fire-breathing jackal beasts that had invaded the city, circled the sky above her as she guided a group of scared civilians towards safety. The winged creatures had set fire to much of the Downtown area, which caused hundreds of people to run out into the streets. The hundreds of fleeing citizens were easy targets for the mutant predators. Bubbles tried her best to meet each beast head on as they attempted to swoop up another civilian as prey, but she was just one against more than a dozen enemies. She watched as seven jackals above formed a line and suddenly swooped down all at once and carried their dangling, helpless prey into the air.

As the baby-blue eyed girl stared up, she noticed then that an eerie darkness had suddenly cast a shadow over the entire city. It was still early afternoon, yet in an instant the bright, blue summer sky had seemingly turned to nightfall. The hero had no time to wonder about the sudden unnatural darkness, however. Smoke and ash swirled round in the air, as the sapphire flames that engulfed the city continued to burn brightly, and the blue Powerpuff shot off into the sky once more in pursuit of the fleeing jackals.

Bubbles was relieved to be met with a flash of pink light which joined her at her side in the air, "Blossom! You're here!" Bubbles exclaimed at the sight of her redheaded sister.

The pink Powerpuff's gaze was narrowed on their seven opponents ahead of them, "You hit 'em from up high, and I'll go low, alright?" Blossom wasted no time in shouting her command.

"OK!" Bubbles responded quickly with a single nod.

With that, the two Puffs increased their speed, darting off in quick bright flashes. A baby blue ribbon of light bounced quickly off the top of each of the soaring beasts' heads, causing each monster to lose their grip of their prey one by one. A fast moving, glowing pink beam of light swooped below them, catching each of the falling citizens and lowering them swiftly to the ground.

As Bubbles looped back around in the sky, she was met with a sudden bright blast of sapphire flames from three of the offending jackals all at once. A sharp gasp escaped her as she quickly dropped out of the fire's path, avoiding the attack just in time. As she fell, Blossom ascended upward, and met her sister in the air. The pair of heroines halted momentarily, hovering back to back as they watched their enemies gather and circle around them in the eerie dark sky.

"Where's Buttercup?" Bubbles squeaked quietly as she watched the creepy, ghost-white eyes of their opponents lock on her and Blossom.

"She's at home," Blossom answered quickly under her breath.

"Why didn't she come with you?"

"She couldn't."

"What?"

"She had a power surge-"

"What?!"

Before Blossom could explain further, one of the winged dogs interrupted the sisters with an ear-piercing howl. The pack of flying dogs responded to the call with a collective blast of their firebreath, aimed at the blue and pink Puffs. Blossom was quick to push her pigtailed sister out of the path of the fast approaching flames. The redhead began to pirouette with hyper velocity, blowing a mist of frost in all directions, meeting the flames with a powerful, concentrated storm of ice.

As Bubbles was shoved downward by her sister, she looked up and watched as her sister spun in the air and overwhelmed each jackal with a barrage of ice. The winged beasts howled loudly as they fought against the icy storm and their bat-like wings grew stiff. One by one, they dropped from the sky, encased in boulders of ice. The frozen dogs crashed down to the ground, their ice encasings shattering upon impact, leaving them cold and defeated, littered across the roads of the city.

Blossom's twirling slowly came to a stop. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink from the coldness she had conjured and she rubbed away the chill spot on the tip of her nose with her hand as she waited for Bubbles to rejoin her in the air.

"What happened to Buttercup?" Bubbles questioned again.

Blossom frowned, "I told you. She had a power surge," she paused as she noticed her sister's baby blue eyes immediately start to glisten with tears, "She's OK," Blossom added quickly, floating towards the tearful blonde, "She's gonna be OK, Bubbles. Robin's watching over her for now." The hero's pink eyes drifted beyond her sister to the burning buildings of the city, "We'll be back home with her soon, Bubs, OK? But for now, we gotta take care of business, alright?"

Bubbles followed her sister's gaze back towards the burning fires and gave a small squeak and a nod, "...Right."

"Looks like the firefighters have started on the west end," Blossom gestured towards the coastline of the city, "You go help them with their rescue efforts, and I'll take care of the fires they haven't reached on the east side, alright?"

The blue Puff responded with a nod and shot off quickly for the west as Blossom darted next for the east.

As Blossom soared over the city, she inhaled deeply, filling up her lungs fully with cold air. Once she reached a row of burning buildings, she blew a steady cascade of flurried ice which fell upon the fires like a heavy blanket of snow, putting out the sapphire flames for good. The superheroine made it look easy, but as she glided down to the roads of the city below, she was momentarily winded from her last ice storm. It had taken a lot to extinguish several fires all at once. The tall teenager was met by a crowd of eager, grateful citizens who cheered and chanted her name as she took a minute to catch her breath.

As the hero looked over the crowd, she could see a desperate looking woman in the back trying to wave for her attention. Blossom could see she looked distraught and was pointing towards the severely scorched apartment building behind her. Blossom's super hearing immediately locked on the woman's voice and focused on her desperate plea, "Please! My kids! Please help!"

Blossom appeared before the woman in a flash of pink light, "What's the emergency, ma'am?"

"My daughter and son were upstairs when the fire started! I couldn't reach them before the stairwell collapsed! They're still inside!"

Blossom gave the woman a quick nod, "Which unit, ma'am?"

"402-"

As soon as she had the information, the hero shot off with a bright flash of pink light. It was easy to see that most of the building had been torched by the fire before Blossom had arrived. The small four-story apartment building had been reduced to a charred skeletal structure along much of its top floor where the children were supposed to be. Sheets of snow coated the exposed beams of the burnt rooftop and the melting ice dripped down from the ceiling, falling like light, cool rain. As Blossom entered the building, she could see that the fire had destroyed nearly everything inside. Her super hearing focused immediately on the distant sounds of muffled sobbing and she quickly followed the quiet crying to the fourth floor.

The damage to the top floor was so severe, there were hardly any walls or any way to distinguish most of the units from one another. The very floor of the fourth level had mostly collapsed. The patchy portions of floorboards that survived were littered with chunks of debris and charbroiled heaps of rubble. Blossom could tell that the crying she heard was coming from one of the few standing units on the top floor. Realizing that the missing children had been fortunate enough to be on the side of the building with the least damage, she felt a small sense of hope as she came nearer.

The apartment's door, as well as the flooring just beyond it had been torched to a point where only a bare frame remained. As Blossom came through the opening, she could hear on the other side of the wall the childrens' voices more clearly. They were both crying, though one sounded more muffled than the other.

As Blossom came round the other side, she found the young pair of siblings huddled together in the corner of the mostly torched room. They both looked to be no more than ten years of age. The floorboards around them had mostly collapsed from the impact of the fallen support beams above; Blossom imagined the two must have just barely survived. The girl was knelt on the ground with her brother lying across her lap. He had a piece of clothing over his face and Blossom could tell that his muffled cries were cries of pain as his sister held him and wept softly.

Blossom floated quickly over to them and knelt beside the pair, "Hey, hey," she began softly in a soothing tone of voice, "You guys are OK. My name is Blossom, and I'm here to rescue you."

"Please help my brother!" the little girl exclaimed immediately as Blossom landed beside them. "Everything came crashing down and he-he got burnt real bad! He-he's hurting!"

Blossom could see that the boy was biting down on his jacket to bear the pain he was experiencing. As she knelt over him, she carefully moved away part of his jacket and found the severe burns the young boy had sustained. The entire right side of his face was painfully blistered and bloody. The gruesome sight of the boy's burnt flesh stopped Blossom momentarily. She felt an instant wave of sickness overcome her. It was difficult for her, but the hero managed to force both her nausea and fear back down. She gently scooped each of the children in either arm, and tried to comfort them once more as they began to fly.

"I-It's OK," Blossom stammered briefly, unable to truly believe the words she was speaking, but feeling the need to say them anyway, "He's going to be OK..."

The super heroine carried the two children with her as she floated back down to the safety of the streets. Several medical ambulances had arrived on scene, and Blossom landed beside the nearest unit. She sat the little girl down first, and gently handed her brother over next to a team of paramedics.

Blossom felt an instant, deep wrenching in her heart when a loud wailing erupted suddenly from behind her. She watched the boy's mother rush past herself and towards her son as he was carried away to the ambulance. The woman's loud, hard sobbing only increased once her eyes fell upon the blistering burns on the child's face. It was at that moment, Blossom had to force herself to look away, feeling a stinging behind her eyes, as the pain in her chest tightened.

As she turned round, there was a crowd of cheering citizens still celebrating the hero's name. As relieved and happy as the majority looked, Blossom could not help but notice that the sky was still as dark as night at just 2:30 in the afternoon. Even with the monsters defeated and the fires out, Blossom could not ignore the unsettling dread that still loomed over her. Her bubblegum eyes traveled beyond the crowd of fans and settled on the burned down apartment complex in the distance once more. Sensing a pair of eyes on her then, Blossom looked up towards the fourth floor, and through one of the windows, she could see the silhouette of somebody moving about inside. Having just seen the damage for herself, she knew it was far too dangerous for anyone to be there, and so the hero shot off for the building once more in a flash of pink light.

"Hello?" Blossom called out as she cautiously re-entered the crumbling, charred building. The pink Puff swiftly navigated through the unstable environment, careful to not touch anything as she returned to the perilous fourth level. "Hello?!" she called out again, unsure of where exactly the remaining survivor might be. She listened intently, but all she could hear were the echoing light drips of the surrounding melting snow.

As the heroine scanned her surroundings, her nostrils flared from the sudden scent of smoke. She followed the burning smell and turned round in the air to see dark smoke seeping out from underneath one of the shut doors to a still standing apartment- 408. Blossom let out a gasp, shocked to see signs of fire when everything else had been so easily snuffed out previously by her ice storm. She zipped quickly over to the unit, and as she reached the shut door, she felt an intense heat burning on just the other side. An agonizing scream sounded suddenly from beyond the wall, and Blossom quickly reached for the door and swung it open, "DON'T WORRY! HELP IS HERE! JUST STAND BACK!"

She inhaled deeply, building the cold air within her lungs once more. However, before she could release her ice power, Blossom felt frozen suddenly by the voice that screamed out again: "BLOSSOM!"

Another gasp escaped her as her bubblegum eyes widened, "BUTTERCUP?!"

The shadowy silhouette was too difficult to clearly see beyond the burning red fire, but the horrific cries of pain were unmistakably Buttercup's. Blossom felt frozen momentarily as she watched the flames rise higher and higher around what she assumed to be her sibling just on the other side of the brightly burning room. The heroine's heart raced fiercely in her chest as she watched the relentless red flames spread fast, engulfing the shadow completely. Still finding herself unable to move, Blossom watched in horror as the floorboards beneath the shadow gave way. The ear-piercing wail of agony her sibling let out then was finally enough to snap the stunned hero out of her frozen state.

Blossom struggled in a panic to re-conjure another storm from within. It took a minute, but once she found her breath, she unleashed a powerful storm of ice from her painted red lips, snuffing out the fire in the room at last. As the whirling, snow flurry settled in the room, Blossom shot off immediately with a flash of pink light to where the flooring had just collapsed. "BUTTERCUP!" Blossom called out in desperation, frozen tears leaking from her terrified pink eyes as she dropped quickly into the opening through which her sibling fell.

There was a large pile of charred, broken pieces of floorboards and melted rubble directly below as Blossom lowered herself into the room. She rushed immediately for the burnt heap pile. Frantically tossing aside chunks of debris, she searched desperately for her fallen sibling. Only she realized soon that there was nothing there to be found. Beneath all the rubble, there was only ash.

Rapid, quick puffs of chilled breath escaped from the pink Puff's lips as she glanced about the snow covered room in scared confusion, her heart still pounding rapidly. She still sensed a pair of eyes watching her, but even scanning with her x-ray vision, she could not detect anyone else there. A chill ran down her spine, as the heroine felt the sudden urge to look up. She did, and through the darkened, crisp burnt opening above, she caught a brief glimpse of a pink mist dissipating slowly with a fading, deep, sinister laugh.


Robin sat at the bedside of the sleeping green Puff, who remained completely unmoving. The raven haired teenager was still drained from the power surge that had happened in the basement training room. Robin always heard about Buttercup's condition, but this was the first time she had been around to see it for herself. Even though it was only a simulation, seeing her friend fall powerless to the ground and left completely vulnerable to the enemy that was being battled, was a scary thing to witness. If the situation had been real, Robin could see how Buttercup's power surges could easily endanger the hero's life. No wonder everyone treated them so seriously.

It was always a difficult time for Robin whenever her friends were called into action. She had known the Utoniums practically her whole life, and she considered them very much like her second family. So whenever danger demanded a response from the Powerpuff Girls, it wasn't easy to sit by and watch the people she cared most about risk their lives time and time again. It had been so long since this was routine, that Robin had almost forgotten how nerve-wracking waiting on the side-lines was. Her stomach was in knots, wondering what sort of enemies Blossom and Bubbles had to face. She had heard the mayor's call for herself- a monster attack in Townsville. There hadn't been one of those in over six years. With Buttercup unable to fight, Robin wondered if two Powerpuffs would be enough.

The brunette sighed deeply to herself as she thought about this. Her teal eyes fell on her sleeping friend and she frowned, "Monster fights used to be her favorite calls, too..."

As Robin watched over the unconscious green Puff, she noticed the light that had shone through the circular bedroom window behind the bed suddenly went dark. It was so dark, in fact, Robin had to switch on Buttercup's nightstand lamp to see again. It was as if it had become night in an instant. Robin rose from her seat at Buttercup's bedside, feeling the knot in her stomach tighten as she stared directly ahead out the window. What could possibly be happening out there?

There was a buzzing in her short's pocket, and Robin quickly retrieved her cellphone. She saw on the caller ID that it was her mom. Not wanting to disturb Buttercup's rest, Robin stood from her seat and stepped out of the room to take the call.

"Hello?" Robin answered as she gently shut the door to Buttercup's bedroom behind her.

"Robin, please tell me that you're safe at home right now! There are monsters loose in the city!"

"I know, Mom," Robin answered. The Utonium household was dark, and it took a moment for Robin to locate the hallway light switch. "I was next door with Blossom and Buttercup when they got the call. I'm still here-"

"Well, the news is reporting that everyone should stay indoors until it's safe. So stay put until they say you can leave. The hospital is in crisis mode, so I'm afraid I won't be home till much later, Dear, but your father will be on his way home as soon as it's safe for him to be on the road again. Promise me that you'll keep yourself safe until then, Robin."

As her mother spoke, Robin descended the stairs and proceeded to the Utonium home's living room where she switched on the television. The live broadcast of Downtown Townsville looked just as chaotic as Robin imagined it'd be. It was just like the times before again. "Yeah, Mom," she gulped a little, her teal eyes still focused on the television screen, "I promise, I'll be here until they say it's safe. Love you, Mom."

"Love you, too, Robin."

Robin ended the call with her mom and returned her phone to her pocket. The news broadcast had a live stream of their helicopter coverage which displayed the many burning blue fires that had broken out throughout Downtown. In the sky, pink and blue lights zipped about in action. This live feed only occupied half the screen, however. The other half displayed a continuously looping montage of all the controversial photographs and video footage Robin and the Utoniums had been so used to seeing by that point- Buttercup and her scar. The TV set was muted, and frankly, Robin preferred to keep it that way. She could see just from the images displayed alone, that the news team on air was not discussing any details that interested her. They must have wondered where Buttercup was since only Blossom and Bubbles had arrived at the scene. They were probably discussing what her absence meant, and spinning the situation in a way Robin imagined would not benefit the green Puff's reputation. As Buttercup's friend, this treatment from the media was the most frustrating thing to witness. If it weren't for her need to know what was going on, Robin would choose not to watch the coverage at all.

Robin sat and watched the muted television in silence, trying her best to only focus on the live aerial feed from Downtown. Due to the dark lighting, the heavy smoke on scene, and the cameras maintaining safe distances from the battle itself, it was difficult for Robin to make out much of anything. It seemed for a while like the monster fight was taking place mainly in the sky. After some time though Robin hadn't seen any traces of blue or pink anywhere on screen. Eventually the fires were no longer visible and the bold message on the bottom of the broadcast reading "MONSTER ATTACK, STAY INDOORS" was replaced with "THE DAY IS SAVED."

Robin exhaled deeply with relief at the sight of this. Once it was confirmed that the monsters had been defeated, she shut off the television and rose from her spot on the sofa. As the teenager returned the TV remote control to its place on the coffee table, she was startled suddenly by a loud, hard THUNK, heard coming from upstairs. Robin's teal eyes glanced up towards the ceiling above, before she hurried out of the living room and for the home's staircase.

The noise was so heavy, Robin was convinced that what she heard must have been the sound of Buttercup falling out of bed. However, as she reached the home's staircase, she looked up to her friend's bedroom just beyond the steps and stopped suddenly in her tracks.

The young teenager's bright teal eyes stared forward in stunned bewilderment. Buttercup's bedroom door was wide open, and Robin was pretty sure that she had shut it behind herself earlier. Not only that, but through the open doorway, she could see that the light she had switched on inside was no longer shining. The room was as dark as the unnatural night that had fallen.

Robin gulped as she cautiously proceeded upstairs. It was far too dark for Robin to see inside the bedroom, and she wondered then if her friend was even still inside.
"Buttercup?" Robin called out as she ascended the steps slowly, but got no reply.

Robin's teal blue eyes glanced about the quiet home. She looked for signs of the green Puff, but as far as she could tell, there were no traces of her friend anywhere. She knew it would be strange for the super powered teenager to be up so soon out of bed. She knew for a fact that recovery took hours- sometimes an entire day- for the hero to recharge after an incident.

Robin stopped at Buttercup's doorway. Once again, it was too dark to see anything more than just shadows. Something about the air in the room felt strange. It was still. Too still. Robin felt along the wall beside the doorway for the light switch.

As the light came on, Robin discovered Buttercup exactly where she had left her- tucked safely in bed. The teal eyed girl stepped fully into the room then, and blinked in confusion for several moments. If the green Puff was still fast asleep, then what did she hear?

Robin stood in the middle of the green Puff's room and glanced around. It didn't look like anything had fallen. The table top lamp on Buttercup's bedside nightstand- the one she had been sure that she left on when she left- suddenly caught Robin's attention. She watched the dull bulb flicker for a moment, before it glowed brightly with light once more. Had it been just a faulty, old bulb?

As Robin wondered to herself whether the noise she had heard might have just been her imagination, or if she truly had shut the bedroom door earlier, she heard a pair of voices speaking as they entered the home downstairs. One of the voices she recognized immediately- the Professor- but the other...

"Now, Professor," a woman's voice spoke in a sweet, tender tone, "Remember what the emergency room doctor told you: Take it easy for the next few days..."

"Ms. Shurley, I just can't thank you enough for your help today. Why, if it weren't for you, who knows what may have happened..."

Robin made her way out of Buttercup's bedroom, shutting the door behind herself, before approaching the staircase railing and peering down below. She could see the Professor standing at the open front door with a woman she had never seen before. A petite, curvaceous blonde who batted her eyelashes at the Professor as she spoke.

"Hush now, Professor, there's no need to thank me. I'm just relieved those monstrous beasts in the city today didn't do worse." Robin watched the stranger lean closer to the Professor. The teenager's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as she averted her eyes away from the adult's shared kiss. "You just be sure to call me tomorrow to let me know how you're feeling, hmm?"

"I-I-I most certainly will, Ms. Shurley-"

"You can call me Natalie, Professor."

Professor Utonium cleared his throat loudly, "Well, goodnight then, Natalie."

"Good night, Professor."

Robin returned her gaze towards the front entrance as the Professor shut the door gently. As the Professor turned round, she wasn't sure what she was more surprised to see- the Professor's dreamy eyed, love sick expression, or the bag of ice he held up to his bandaged, swollen head. "Professor?" Robin called out from the top of the staircase, "...Are you OK?"

"Robin?" the Professor blinked back for a moment, "Are the girls back from their monster fight already?" he asked as he approached the steps.

Robin shook her head, "No, Blossom and Bubbles are still out there. Professor, you're all beat up," Robin stared at the deep purple bruising above the Professor's browline and the heavy bandages fixed round his head. His face looked swollen, and as he climbed the staircase, Robin could see he had a slight limp.

"I'll be fine, Robin," the Professor answered as he ascended slowly, "Just a hard knock on the head from when a flying jackal dropped me from the sky-"

"Woah, really?"

"Well, I don't remember any of it, but fortunately Natalie was there to get me to the hospital afterwards."

"Who is Natalie?"

"She's-" the Professor paused as he cleared his throat, "An acquaintance, who is very interested in helping with our new renovations proposal for the Villains Ward- I'm sorry Robin," he interrupted himself, "But did you mention that just Blossom and Bubbles were gone?"

Robin watched as the Professor's eyes drifted above her head, before he moved past her. Robin turned around and watched the Professor walk through the open doorway to Buttercup's room.

"She's still asleep?" the Professor questioned in astonishment as he stepped inside the bedroom. Father's intuition called the scientist closer to the slumbering teenager. He sat aside his ice pack upon Buttercup's night stand as he knelt down closer. "Buttercup?" the Professor spoke softly, "Buttercup, are you alright? Sweetie, can you hear me?"

Professor Utonium gently tried to shake the green Puff awake, but after getting no response- not even a sleepy grumble- he realized then that this was more than just a nap. Immediately, he reached for one of the teen's scarred hands and felt- it was warm to the touch. "Her surges... they're back?" He turned back around and looked at Robin who stood quietly at the doorway. "Robin, do you know anything about this?"

Robin bit her lip for a moment, "No, I... I... Well, I just promised Blossom that I'd stay to watch over her, Professor. I... I'm sorry..." Robin felt terrible for admitting to just that bit of information alone, and just as terrible for hiding the rest. "She's... been OK though... Just resting, I mean..."

The Professor sighed deeply, "Thank you, Robin. You can go home now."

"OK..." Robin nodded slowly, as she turned around, "See you later then, Professor."

Professor Utonium stood over the green Puff's bedside, quiet for a long time. He watched the slumbering teenager, as his throbbing head swirled with a million thoughts. The thrashing he had endured earlier made it difficult to sort through them, however. All he knew for certain was that Buttercup had clearly suffered from an episode in his absence. He had always feared the possibility of the young hero's power surges growing stronger yet again. He really had hoped he had managed to find the right balance for Buttercup. Something that proved sustainable and long lasting, but clearly... there was still more work to be done.

The Professor gently pulled away the green comforter and bed sheets and scooped the skinny teen up in his arms. Away, he carried the unconscious Puff. Down to the first floor, through the kitchen, and down the basement steps, to the lab once more.


The small television set that sat upon the corner of his workstation was mostly background noise for Mojo as he worked diligently on one of his many ongoing projects. There was still much work to be done, and rebuilding his personal arsenal back up to what he had before his incarceration was no easy task. The news of the surprise monster attack on Townsville had the simian's attention earlier, however once the invading monsters were defeated and the raging fires in the city snuffed, he lost interest. From what he could tell, it seemed as if the team of beasts were no match against his super powered enemies. Just two of the Puffs easily handled the attack on their own. Yes, Mojo had noticed the green Puff's absence, and it appeared everyone else in Townsville had, too.

Mojo knelt before his dwindling scrap pile as he fished around the hunks of metal for something that could be of use to him. With not much to choose from, he knew another supply run would need to be carried out soon. Behind Mojo, the ongoing news broadcast continued to echo throughout the massive work room.

"And so once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!"

"Well, two of them at least!"

"Yes, the ones we really should be thanking are Blossom and Bubbles!"

"Yes, maybe I should try that again? Once again, the day is saved, thanks to Blossom and Bubbles of the Powerpuff Girls!"

As Mojo carried an armful of scrap metal back to his work station, he found the cheerful, celebrating laughter of the news team to be particularly annoying then. The chimp shut off the TV as he passed it. He made his way to the hot, glowing metal furnace just beyond his work desk, and swiftly tossed his bundle of scraps into it. The short simian stood aside and observed as the glowing red, melted metal slowly poured out from the furnace's spout and filled the specially designed cast tray Mojo had molded earlier. Aluminum was not his first choice for material, but he certainly had more of it left than anything else. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do for then.

Mojo retrieved a pair of oven mitts and slid them over his white gloved hands before carrying the completed metal mold to the cooling rack upon his workstation. He sat the tray down, where it was just one among many others that had to sit for several hours to cool. There were just a few more molds to complete before he had every piece necessary, and next assembly would begin.

As Mojo checked on his other finished pieces, he heard a beeping alert sounding from his work desk. He glanced back to his workstation and raised a curious eyebrow, before approaching his computer system. "ACTIVITY REPORTED" flashed in bold, green lettering across the central monitor, in time with the system's sounding alarm. Above the simian's main workstation, there was a collection of several different computer monitors, all of which displayed different images, however the one that signaled Mojo then belonged to his continuing espionage efforts. Still lacking any appropriate weaponry to protect himself, it was important that Mojo stayed one step ahead of his enemies.

Thanks to the hacking data drive the green Puff installed, Mojo was alerted to any activity that took place within Utonium's lab. With this technology, Mojo could access the Professor's work computer remotely himself and see any data the scientist was collecting. Because of this, Mojo was well aware of Professor Utonium's plans to renovate Townsville's Villains Ward. It was clearly Utonium's passion project, since he seemed to work on these plans day and night. Inescapable, unbreakable, and alleged even Powerpuff-proof cells- yet it was Mojo who they called mad.

Besides having the insight to new information, Mojo also had an insight to Utonium's lab itself- or at least his main work area where the scientist's hacked computer was located. Mojo reached his station and struck several keys on his computer's keyboard, silencing the alarm and bringing up the spyware's live-feed. There hadn't been much activity for that day, and as Mojo took a seat behind his workstation, he wondered just what the Professor could be up to next...

Everything displayed upon Mojo's computer monitor was what was taking place on Utonium's computer at that very moment. Mojo watched curiously as the Professor seemed to dig through a series of folders to eventually access a text log labeled "Buttercup_medicalreports" and opened it. Although the scientist scrolled fast enough to blur most of the information displayed, the length of time it took to reach the end of the text document showed Mojo that the green Puff's medical history was extensive to say the least.

Professor began typing upon a new line, starting first with the date, and the hour. Another new line, and next came the title, "POWER SURGE INCIDENT #6."

As the bold letters revealed themselves, Mojo's mind flashed briefly back to the time he witnessed Joey's 'power surge' on top of the water tower. "Hmm..." Mojo raised an eyebrow as he reclined in his chair for a moment. "Well, that would explain why the child was missing in action..." Mojo scratched his chin in thought as he observed the Professor listing the green Puff's vitals, a brief pause between each input. After this information, however, nothing else came.

After a full five minutes of inactivity, Mojo found himself growing impatient. He stood from his desk chair and grumbled low to himself, "What does this matter to Mojo anyway?" he turned his back to the monitor and began to retreat to his scrap pile in the distance, "Power surges are of no concern to Mojo, and such incident reports- as curious and intriguing as they may be- are only distractions!" Mojo huffed as he knelt down before his collection of recyclables and began rummaging once more. As the simian sorted through the materials, his mind drifted back into the recent memory once more...

"Professor calls them power surges."

"Power surges?"

"Yeah... I guess I haven't really had one quite that big before though..."

"And these surges... are they frequent?"

"Nah, I take medication for 'em."

"To keep these surges at bay?"

"Well yeah, but... I guess it hasn't been working as good as it used to..."

"Medication often needs readjustments. You should tell Utonium that you require a higher dosage."

"Yeah, he's increased it before- a couple times actually... but ... last time he had to do it, he said that it was getting to be too much or somethin' so... I dunno... He said somethin' about if my current dosage isn't enough to maintain a proper power balance, then it would be unsustainable to continue my treatment like that, and he'd have to consider trying somethin' else..."

"Did he mention what alternative he had in mind?"

"Yeah... Antidote X."

Mojo suddenly stood and dropped the few pieces of metal he had collected, turning back around to face the computer system once more. He quickly returned to his workstation and struck several keys upon his computer and the feed upon the monitor changed. Now, Mojo could see into the Professor's lab itself. Professor Utonium stood with his back towards the spyware's camera, blocking much of the background as he fiddled with something.

Mojo sat again behind his work desk and strained to make out what was just beyond the Professor's shoulders. There was a bright light shining down from the ceiling, fixed on something in front of him. As the Professor moved forward, Mojo finally could see the passed out green Puff, lying on their back, unmoving, on a white cushioned operating table. As the Professor approached the medical bed, Mojo's eyes widened as he noticed the large syringe the scientist held in his right hand. He found himself holding his breath as he wondered whether this was it. Was Professor Utonium truly about to administer Antidote X, thus ridding the green Puff of any super powers?

Mojo stared intently at the screen and watched as the Professor held the injected needle steady for several moments, before pulling away. As the Professor came back towards his work station, Mojo oddly enough found himself breathing a sigh of relief when all he saw that all the scientist held was a freshly drawn blood sample from the green Puff.

As Professor Utonium continued his analysis of the blood sample he collected, Mojo stared at the motionless raven haired teen in the background for a long time. The mutant chimp could not help but wonder how much time the green Puff had left before Antidote X was declared the only solution. If the child already had another incident following the massive explosion he witnessed not more than a week prior, then these "surges" had surely increased greatly in power. Of course, judging from the tone of his conversation with Joey that day about the Professor, Mojo doubted the scientist was aware of that particular incident.

Realizing it would take some time for the Professor to complete his current research, Mojo forced himself to turn off the monitor and return to his work. There would be no answers any time soon. As the simian turned round and began to walk away, he halted for a moment as the overhead lights of his work room flickered on and off briefly.

Slowly, the short villain turned round to face his workstation. He saw that the central monitor's footage of the Utonium lab had been switched back on, and so he marched back to his computer to shut it off once more. The screen went black, but only for a moment, before the monitor's feed returned suddenly again, switching back on seemingly by itself.

Mojo glared momentarily at the screen before he forcefully hit the "off" switch again. Off it went again, but right back on it came. Mojo's frustration only worsened. He held his gloved finger against the monitor's power switch for a full minute, thinking this would surely be enough, but as soon as his finger was lifted, the monitor shone brightly again once more.

Off and on, and off and on again. It went on like that for some time. The stubborn simian only stopped when he noticed suddenly that the displayed feed on the monitor had gone fuzzy with static.

As Mojo stared at the screen of grainy black and white noise, he watched as the feed of the Professor's lab began to slowly return to focus. Only this time when the feed resumed, things looked slightly different than before. For one, Mojo could see that the greys in Professor Utonium's hair had vanished and he looked at least a decade younger. The bandages Mojo had noticed earlier on his head were gone also. As the scientist moved out of view of the camera, returning to the medical bed behind him, Mojo's eyes widened as he noticed last that the patient on the table had changed.

"Alright Jojo, now I need you to sit still for just a moment," Professor Utonium's voice spoke through the monitor which showed him approaching a young, black-coated chimpanzee who bounced where he sat upon the medical table.

Mojo blinked back at the monitor, confused as to what he was seeing. "This is..." his voice trailed off as he stared at the scene, bewildered, "What is this...?"

The short villain continued to watch the monitor in stunned silence. The tiny primate on screen seemed to wear an eager expression as the Professor turned round to face him, but as the scientist came nearer, a look of panic swept the baby chimp's face as he noticed the syringe the Professor held. The young simian attempted to leap away from the Professor, but he was caught by his hind leg.

"Now, Jojo," the Professor struggled to keep a hold of the flailing chimp who tried to shove the Professor away with his hands, "If there's any chance of you being a responsible big brother, well, we need you to do some growing up fast, Jojo! Now today is your last dosage, OK? So just hold still! This will only help-"

As the syringe's needle finally made contact with the non-cooperative patient, the Professor let out a yelp as the chimp fought back with a hard bite to his forearm. This caused the scientist to finally let go, and with that the primate fell quickly to the ground and scurried about on all fours as he bolted out of frame.

"Jojo!" the Professor called after him, "Jojo, come back! Oh, where did he go...?"

The monitor's feed slowly became distorted after that. Soon, it was just static on the screen once more. Mojo continued to stare at the monitor, blinking back in confusion and wondering if madness had taken over. It certainly had been a few days since he last stepped outdoors for a breath of fresh air.

Mojo watched as the static slowly faded once more, and the live-feed to the Utonium lab resumed to normal, present day. The Professor was back at his work desk, and the green Puff was fast asleep on the table behind him. Mojo shut off the monitor and rose from his seat. Fresh air was definitely what he needed.

As the short simian marched across his lair, the lights above his work room flickered briefly once more, and he felt the fur on his forearms go rigid as a sing-song voice taunted him from behind.

"Well, well, well... Look who was finally released from their cage..."

Mojo halted in his tracks. Of course the demon meant to scare him, but the moment he realized who it was, Mojo only felt anger. He gritted his teeth and grumbled low to himself before he turned round to face the red-faced creature. "Him... I should have known..." He crossed his arms as he glared up, "How is it that you found my new lair?"

Him ignored the short chimp's unwelcoming attitude and answered with a sly smile, "Ohhh, I have my ways..."

"Hmph," Mojo huffed. He turned his back on the demon and began to walk away, "Well, I have no wish to speak with you. You may show yourself out, however it is that you got in-"

Him let out a gleeful laugh, "What's this? The monkey has nothing to say? I am shocked!"

Mojo glared at the demon who suddenly stood before his path once more. He pushed past Him without a word and proceeded to the staircase which led from his work room, down into his living area.

"Oh, come now, Mojo. Don't be so sour! I thought we could catch up..." Him's voice echoed again from behind.

"Catch up?" Mojo huffed as he marched down each step, "I have no desire to catch up, for as I said, I have no wish to converse with you. No, Mojo chooses not to pleasantly chat with someone who so cruelly betrayed his fellow villains- not bothering to lift a claw while the rest of us rotted away in prison..."

As he entered the next room, he found Him already waiting there. "Prison? Really? Everyone you say?"

Mojo gritted his teeth, holding back his urge to explode, "You know exactly what happened! You cannot fool Mojo! You even came to Mojo's cell in that accursed Villains Ward! Taunting me time and time again! Making a mockery of Mojo's misery! You held the power to free me- or anyone- but did you? No! So again, I ask that you leave my lair at once! For you are not welcome here, and Mojo has much to do!"

Him smiled deviously at the short simian who glared at him with a fury behind his eyes. "Ah yes, so much important work like destroying the Powerpuff Girls, hmm?"

"Somebody has to, and yes, that somebody is to be I, Mojo Jojo," Mojo grumbled as he continued to his home's "back door" which led out onto the deck of the water tower's metal landing, "Six years with no one else in your way, and somehow in all this time you've done nothing!" the simian huffed as he stepped outside, "I am beginning to doubt whether you truly have the power to be more than just an annoying, giggling puff of smoke-"

Mojo stopped as he saw Him appear before him once more. The demon sat along the railing of the tower, and raised an offended claw to his chest as he let out a small gasp, "Doubt me?" Him repeated. He lowered his claw once more as a sly smile swept his face, "Why... you should know better than to doubt me, Mojo..."

With those words, Him slowly disappeared before Mojo's eyes, fading into a cloud of pink mist which blew away with a sudden gust of wind. Mojo approached the railing to the tower and grasped it as he looked out over the city. He watched the trail of mystical smoke swirl far away into the distance with a deep, sinister cackle.

The moment it faded out of sight, Mojo turned back around and retreated for his lair once more. He had only taken two steps before he felt a hard jolt, as the earth beneath the tower began to shake violently from a powerful, rocking earthquake.

The initial jolt was enough to forcefully knock Mojo off his feet. He bounced backward and with another hard rock, he found himself thrown over the side of the high tower's railing.

The short simian dangled off the side of the water tower, gripping the metal railing with his gloved hands. It was a two-hundred and fifty foot drop to the ground below- a fall that would surely kill him. As the earthquake continued for several seconds, it took every bit of strength he had to keep holding on.

When the quake finally ended, Mojo exhausted the last of his strength to pull himself back up over the railing. He fell against the tower's metal landing and turned onto his back. He lay there with his heart beating fiercely, struggling to catch his breath. As his chest heaved up and down, he stared up at the unsettling darkened afternoon sky, and made a mental note to himself then to never do that again.


Even though the Downtown fires had been put out, the summer air was hot and thick with smoke. The amount of ashes that fell down still from the sky were enough to coat nearly the entire city in a layer of blackened sut. The blue Powerpuff was still on the west end of Downtown, just finishing her last safety sweep. As Bubbles flew through the streets, the world felt surreal. Although the streets had grown more quiet, as citizens slowly began to resume their everyday lives once more, it felt as if something still wasn't right. Bubbles couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was just the lingering adrenaline from the monster fight, but she still felt very much on edge... like something was about to happen.

"Bubbles, can you hear me?" Blossom's voice came through the baby blue wrist communicator watch the blonde Puff wore.

"Yeah, Blossom," Bubbles answered back quickly. "I'm here."

"How are things on your end?"

"Everything's clear as far as I can tell."

"Good. Let's reconvene then at City Hall, OK? We still have the matter of figuring out just where these monsters came from."

"Right," Bubbles nodded as she spoke into her watch, "Be there in a flash."

"OK, see you soon."

Bubbles was just about to take off for the center of the city, when she was stopped by a sudden cry for help.

"Help! One of the monster dogs is still loose! Somebody help!"

Bubbles turned round and looked towards a woman across the street who ran, screaming as if something were chasing her. There was a team of officers directly across the street as well, and as the woman reached them, she hid behind them as she pointed down the road in fright. Bubbles looked further down where the lady pointed. She anticipated another monstrous jackal, but instead she saw a scruffy, grey-coated dog walking along the sidewalk, sniffing the ground as he went. Just as Bubbles recognized the yellow-eyed coyote herself, she heard another voice shouting from behind.

"Killer!" Bubbles turned round and saw Mitch Mitchelson running up the steep sloped road with a black dog leash in hand, "Killer, there you are! Come here, Boy!"

At the same time, on the other side of the road, Bubbles heard the frightened citizen still screaming at the officers, "It's getting closer! Do something!"

Bubbles looked across the street and gasped as she noticed the pair of guns drawn on unsuspecting Victor in the distance. With a flash of baby blue light, she shot off across the street, appearing before the officers within a blink of an eye, "No!" she shouted as she held her hands out to her sides, actively protecting the coyote behind her. "Stop! He's not a monster! He's good!"

The two policemen lowered their guns. As they did Mitch had finally reached the scene. The teenage boy sprinted past the officers and Bubbles. "Shit, don't shoot 'im! He's my dog!" He shouted, "Come here, Killer!"

Bubbles turned around and watched as Victor greeted Mitch instantly with a wagging, happy tail. The coyote pranced about in place as Mitch knelt down to fix his leash to the dog's spiked collar.

"Calm down, Boy! Lemme just get your leash back on ya and we can head back home, alright?"

"He says he's so happy to see you again," Bubbles said to Mitch as she came behind him. "And he's sorry he got scared from the fires and ran off..."

As the blue Puff spoke, the coyote noticed her for the first time then, "Bubbles?" he whimpered a little, still feeling shame from the last time he saw the blonde girl.

Mitch stood again with his attached leash in hand and faced Bubbles, "Huh?" he blinked, "Oh yeah, I forgot you, uh, can talk to animals and shit, right?" Mitch watched as the tall blonde walked past him, approaching Victor with noticeable tears in her baby blue eyes. He noticed his pet's ears go flat as his tail dropped low. The dog looked timid in the Powerpuff's presence.

Bubbles fought back her tears as she watched her old friend instinctively cower away from her as his yellow eyes fell upon her. She quickly knelt down in front of the coyote as she returned a whimper, "Victor... it's OK..." she reached out her hand towards the frightened dog, speaking in his language, "I'm your friend, Victor... Remember...?"

As Bubbles felt for Victor's muzzle, the large coyote seemed to instantly melt underneath the girl's touch. He nestled his head against her hand, before rolling onto his back as the blue Puff returned a smile and began to pat his belly.

Mitch stood aside, confused as to what exactly was happening. He watched as his pet wagged his tail happily once more as he rolled back onto his paws, giving the blonde a big, slobbery lap across her cheek as she giggled and barked in return. It was strange, but then again, Mitch had always thought the Utonium sisters were pretty strange growing up.

Bubbles gave Victor one last loving scratch behind his ear, before she stood to face Mitch again, "Take good care of him, alright?"

Mitch blinked back, "Um... OK?" He glanced back down at Killer who seemed to give the blue Powerpuff a happy howl in response. Mitch raised an eyebrow, "Do you two know each other or somethin'-" but before the boy could finish his question, the super powered girl was gone with a flash of blue light.

It was a straight shot to City Hall from there, and within seconds the blue Puff arrived with another flash of light, landing just beside her sister on the steps of the capitol building.

"There you are!"

"Sorry," Bubbles smiled weakly, "I had to help somebody real quick." Blossom returned a weak smile, but Bubbles could immediately sense something. "What's wrong?"

Blossom frowned as she looked up at the darkened summer sky, swirling still with falling ashes, "Did you see anything strange while you were on the west side?"

Bubbles blinked back at her, "Strange like what?"

If she had to ask, then clearly she did not experience anything like she had earlier, Blossom thought. She looked at Bubbles again who looked back at her with concern. The pink Puff didn't want to frighten her for no reason. "Nevermind..." her voice faded as she looked about her surroundings, nervously biting her lip. She whispered low to her sister, "I just... have a bad feeling about all of this, Bubbles. With Monster Isle closed off, I don't understand how these creatures got into the city. Not to mention, what the heck is going on with the sky right now?"

Bubbles watched her redheaded sister slowly lift off the ground, as she drifted upward. The blue Puff followed after her, "Well there were a lot of fires," she spoke as they ascended, "And so there's still a lot of smoke in the air-"

"It isn't just the smoke, Bubbles," Blossom interrupted. "It's literally night right now when it shouldn't be. This isn't normal... There's something going on... I can feel it."

The blue and pink Puff rose high above the city and hovered in place over the capitol together. Bubbles could see that Blossom's pink eyes glowed brightly as she peered into the far away distance beyond the coastline. "We're going to have to investigate Monster Isle."

"Monster Isle?" Bubbles returned a fearful squeak, "Do... do we have to?

Blossom looked at Bubbles and nodded with a frown. "I don't want to go back there either, Bubbles. Believe me," she gulped, "But, it's our duty to get to the bottom of this. Besides, maybe it's for the best that you and I go alone while Buttercup's recovering. She... doesn't even like to go to the beach anymore as it is. I definitely don't want her to feel obligated to have to go there."

Bubbles frowned, "Yeah... I guess you're right."

Blossom rested a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, "Let's go get clearance from the Mayor first, OK?"

Bubbles gave a single nod, and the two descended once more to the ground together. Shortly after they landed upon the municipal center's steps, both Blossom and Bubbles felt a sudden light trembling beneath their feet. The pair of sisters looked at one another at the same time and said their realization out loud together, "Earthquake!"

Once again, the streets were filled with chaos as everything in the city shook. Bubbles and Blossom ascended into the air together once more. Their eyes were wide as they observed the shaking ground below.

Bubbles spotted a nearby tree topple over where a group of citizens stood. She shot off quickly and swooped the people up with flash of blue light, pulling them out of danger.

Blossom remained in the air, straining her eyes for any more signs of need as the quake continued. As her glowing pink eyes scanned the distance, something caused her to look out over the coastline once more.

The hero's super vision focused on the island forty miles off the coast, surrounded by giant steel walls. She could see that the island itself looked to shake even harder than the streets of Townsville. As her super vision locked tighter on the island, she could see the steel walls that encased it seemed to wobble about. It felt as if time moved in slow motion then as she watched as the walls of the steel cage broke away from one another. Slowly, the island walls collapsed, toppling over into the sea.

Blossom let out a sharp gasp before she shot off for the coastline with a flash of pink light. The hero raced as fast as she could to the west end, her pink eyes still glowing bright as she observed the steel barriers splash into the ocean water. The hard impact against the sea created a series of massive tidal waves in all directions- the biggest wave heading straight towards Townsville's coast.

The pink Puff kicked up a large cloud of sand as she skittered across the beach to a fast stop. Her bright red sneakers dug deeper into the sand as she steadied herself, and inhaled deeply through her mouth, taking as big a breath she could. Her entire body stung from the piercing cold storm that built up fast within her, as her bubblegum eyes locked on the fast approaching tsunami.

What came next, was the biggest ice storm Blossom had ever conjured. The powerful blizzard collided with the impending tsunami wave, freezing it in place, like an ice sculpture. As the massive snow storm flowed forcefully from the super heroine, her glowing pink eyes strained to see through her own power. Both eyes stung so painfully from the surrounding, swirling blizzard, it was difficult to keep them open. However, Blossom feared that if she closed them, her eyelids might just freeze shut. Without any visual on the impending wave, she had no idea if she had managed to stop it yet, and so she just gave everything she had for safe measure.

Blossom could feel her very body sink deeper and deeper into the sand from the sheer force of the powerful storm that escaped her lips. Eventually, she began to feel the sand rising past her neck and as she finally exhausted her last bit of air. By the time the storm fully quit however, the pink Puff had managed to bury herself completely beneath the beach's surface.

A flash of baby blue light appeared on the beach, "Blossom!" she shouted as she fell to her knees and reached through the sand where she had just seen Blossom disappear. Sure enough, she felt her sister there and she pulled her back up to the surface by her shoulders, "Blossom, are you OK?!"

As Blossom's head popped out, she immediately spit out a mouthful of sand, "Did I do it?!" she asked as Bubbles continued to help her up further. "Did I stop the tidal wave?" The redhead was covered with sand and it took a moment to shake enough away to reopen her eyes. When she did, they fell upon a massive, towering iceberg not far from the beach's coastline. The chilled ocean water along the shore had slushy chunks of ice in it, and Blossom could see there were mounds of snow upon the beach as well.

"Yeah," Bubbles gave her sister a smile, "You stopped it."

As Blossom returned a smile to her sister, both girls were startled by the sudden loud noise that came from behind. An eruption of wild cheering from a crowd that had gathered upon the beach's pier. They all lined the wooden dock some several hundred feet away from where Blossom and Bubbles stood. As they each gave the smallest of waves to the collection of fans, the group of people boomed even louder.

"Bubbles?" Blossom spoke low to her sister, behind a plastered smile as she continued her shy wave.

Bubbles kept waving also as she answered, "Yeah?"

"I vote we deal with Monster Isle tomorrow."

"Agreed."


The shards of glass that littered the tiled basement floor crunched beneath the Professor's shoes as he retrieved a broom to begin cleaning up the mess caused by the earthquake. He had been in the lab when it happened. Luckily he was there to keep the medical cot the still unconscious green Puff lay upon from tipping over. Unfortunately, as he held his daughter during the quake, he was unable to keep anything else within the laboratory from crashing down- including the several glass containers of newly refined Chemical X he had just managed to complete.

Professor Utonium hobbled about on his injured leg, sweeping up the fallen debris. He sighed deeply to himself, realizing just how much vital resources were lost to the quake. With Buttercup's power surges back, he couldn't afford to lose anything, but now...

"What am I going to do now?" Professor Utonium frowned to himself as he carried a dustpan full of broken glass to the disposal bin within the basement lab. As he tossed the shards away, he heard a low mumbling coming from the operating table to his left.

Professor looked towards Buttercup and was startled momentarily from the sight of the skinny teen sitting up suddenly upon the cushioned table. The green Puff still had both eyes shut, and appeared to be still asleep despite sitting up rigid in bed. The child was prone to sleepwalking at times, the Professor knew this. He walked quickly over to the medical table and gently tried to push the skinny teen back down, "Lay down, Buttercup. You still need your rest, Dear..."

Buttercup fell backwards again, but not without a sleepy, grumbled protest first. It was a good sign that the hero was recovering, but in order to heal fully, a proper rest was necessary, and sleepwalking would only interrupt the recovery process. Professor Utonium retrieved the sedation he had prepared for the tomboy and returned to the bedside.

As Professor Utonium injected the serum into the slumbering teen's arm, he gently pat his daughter's short raven hair, and spoke in a low, soothing voice, "This will help you rest deeply for the night, Sweetie..."

Wanting the quickest recovery for his daughter, he thought keeping her in the lab for the night would be best. Upon the medical cot, the green Puff was affixed to a monitor system to ensure all the hero's vitals remained in check. The steady IV drip of fluids also made a difference. However, Professor Utonium imagined Blossom and Bubbles would be returning home soon, and he knew how upsetting it could be for them to see their sibling in such a state. It would be for the best to meet them upstairs to avoid such heartbreak, and ease any fears they might have.

And so Professor planted a loving kiss upon the sleeping green Puff's forehead before retreating for the basement steps. He hit the basement light switch, causing the lab to go dark, "See you in the morning, Buttercup," he said before ascending the stairs with a slow, injured hobble.


There was a heavy weight felt in every limb which kept the green Puff from moving. The dreaming world in which the slumbering hero found themself was not unlike the real one. The skinny teen lay upon their back upon the medical table within the Professor's laboratory, staring up at the darkened light fixture which hung from the ceiling above. After some time, the weakened hero found enough strength to turn their head to one side. Both emerald eyes fell upon the steadily beeping monitor to their right which tracked their heartbeat. Beyond the machine, their eyes noticed next the shut doorway to the basement's training room.

"Robin, careful, OK? My sister should be back any second now..."

"Sorry..."

"I... I'll come by once everyone's asleep, OK?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

As the memories of what had led to the green Puff's latest power surge returned to them slowly, they could feel the palms of their scarred hands begin to tickle with heat. "No," the hero groaned in frustration with themself, exhausted even in sleep, "Please... not again...."

"Need some help?"

The sudden voice in the dark was familiar, yet strange. The powerless hero struggled to see where it came from. Forcing their head to turn left, they could see a skinny shadow in the corner watching them from afar. The green glow that radiated from the searing acid that dripped from the blood soaked apparition's fingertips was the only source of faint light in the darkened laboratory. As the hero watched their younger self step closer to where they lay, they blinked back, "Something's... different about you..."

The ghoulish looking child only responded with a laugh, or rather two. The layered laughter was somehow a snorting chuckles much like their own, and yet also a shrill and echoing giggle at the same time. As the kid approached the operating table, she wore a grin that was wider than the green Puff had ever seen themself smile. "Come on," she spoke again, and again two voices escaped her at once- the first her own and the second was still the high pitched, echoing, "Let's trade places, hmm?"

The green puff's eyes widened as she noticed the red glow behind the kid's eyes as she stood directly above themself. "H-hey!" they stammered as a burnt, glowing hand reached for them on the table, "Back off!"

But they were still unable to move. The bloody hand grasped the collar of their hooded black jacket and yanked them forcefully from the medical cot, tossing them onto the ground below. As the skinny teen fell against the basement's tiled floor, an overpowering white glow filled the room as the overhead lights of the lab hummed with a sudden, bright, blinding light.

As the green Puff winced and looked up from where they landed upon their belly, they were shocked to see someone step over them- an unknown woman in medical scrubs rushed past them in a hurry. Behind them, the fallen hero could hear a multitude of voices shouting back and forth.

"Still no pulse, Doctor!"

"Dammit where is that defibrillator?!"

"Right here, Doctor!"

"Hurry! Quick! We're losing her!"

The green Puff realized they had the strength then to stand, and pulled themself onto their feet. They turned around to face the medical table, and both emerald eyes grew wide as they watched the medical team surround the unconscious, blood soaked kid upon the operating table. A burst of electricity came through the paddles held against the thirteen-year-old's chest and jolted the skinny framed teenager several inches into the air.

As the hero looked on, they saw the monitor attached to their younger self displayed a flattening line as the machine screeched with a long, drawn out beep. "This..." the green Puff muttered low to themself, "What is this...?"

A pump was affixed next to the nonresponsive kid's bloody, beaten face as chest compressions were resumed. The monitor still had no sign of a heartbeat, however, and the medical team continued to scramble about the room in a panic.

"I need everyone clear again!" the doctor in baby blue surgical scrubs shouted as he readied the defibrillator once more. "3-2-"

Another rough jolt, and this time the green Puff felt a sharp pain hit them in their own chest at the same time. The hero fell down to one knee and grasped their chest with their scarred hand and groaned, "Urrrgh... what the fuck is happening?"

As the skinny teenager winced in pain, another nurse rushed past them. "Professor Utonium is on his way, Sir!"

"Well, he better get here fast! We don't have much time!" the doctor's face behind his surgical mask dripped with sweat as he pressed repeatedly against his patient's chest. But as two more minutes passed, and still no pulse, another shock was determined necessary.

"Everyone back again! 3-2-"

Another sharp pain as another shock jolted their unconscious body double, and the green Puff groaned again, clutching their chest, "Fuck- what the fuck?!" They stumbled backward a little, feeling their own heart throbbing in worsening agony, "I gotta get outta here!"

Rushing up the basement steps with a flash of green light, the superpowered teenager was too panicked then to wonder how their strength had returned. As they quickly fled the basement, they tripped over the last step, slamming face first against the ground. Normally the basement steps led straight into their family kitchen area. However, the flooring underneath them was a plush, beige carpeting, not the white tiled floor of their home's kitchen. The lingering sting against their face felt incredibly real, however, and it was then that the Powerpuff realized that they were no longer dreaming, but awake once more.

It was dark wherever they lay and it took a moment for the green Puff to recognize their surroundings. But as they looked up and noticed the framed Blondie poster on the wall, they realized where they were. Robin's room. But... why? How?

While they had just felt completely powerless, for some inexplicable reason, the hero felt strangely rested then. They pulled themself back onto their feet, and saw that it was clearly late at night. As their green eyes fell next on the girl in bed, they felt their heart stop as instant dread washed over them.

Robin looked to be fast asleep in her bed, tucked gently underneath her lavender colored bedsheets. However as still and peaceful as she looked, the green Puff had a sinking, terrible feeling about the situation. Slowly, they lifted a trembling scarred hand and reached out for the sleeping girl.

Just as their scarred fingertips gently brushed against one of Robin's arms, she responded by turning over in her sleep, pulling her bedsheets tighter around herself as she murmured softly.

The green Puff exhaled deeply, feeling relieved that Robin was, in fact, just sleeping. Just to be certain, however, they lingered over the slumbering teenager for a full ten minutes, watching her closely. For some reason, the dread they felt- although not as intense- was still very much there. They traced their scarred palms, detecting a faint, fading heat. It was strange. They felt... energized.

As confusing as the situation was, Robin appeared to be just fine. And so the Powerpuff took their leave, disappearing through the bedroom's open window with a quick flash of green light.


A crippling weight of pressure bore down on Blossom's tired body as she forced herself to sit up in bed the next morning, shutting off her 7 AM alarm. There hadn't been much rest for the pink Puff, and most of the night was spent wide awake in bed. Despite the local news celebrating she and Bubbles' victory against the invading monsters, and successfully stopping the destructive tsunami, Blossom could not help but dwell upon what the destruction of Monster Isle's walls truly meant for Townsville.

The villains were all still free, and now the monsters were loose, and yet nobody seemed to pay much attention. They called it a day of victory. They even especially highlighted Blossom as the star of the action in all of their evening news stories. The mayor herself also seemed overjoyed by her work for the day, and yet... she still felt like a failure. After all, there was still so much she had yet to solve. Where were all the villains? Where was the Alien? What was going to happen with her sibling's power surges? How was she going to help Buttercup be a hero in the eyes of Townsville again? What could be done to fix everything that had spiraled so quickly out of her control?

On top of everything, there was the lingering guilt of having to cancel on Robin another night- she would have to find a way to make it up to her somehow. More and more, she felt like it was all becoming too much to handle, and every morning, it was just a little bit harder to get out of bed.

The pink Puff floated over to her bedroom window and opened the blinds. She was relieved to see the sun again. Perhaps yesterday's nightmare had finally, truly ended.

As Blossom traveled down her home's staircase, she noticed the smell of cooking bacon. "Professor?" she blinked in surprise, "Why are you up cooking breakfast?" The redhead entered the kitchen and her pink eyes fell on the Professor in an apron as he stood before the stove. It was then that the teenager's tone changed as she placed her hands on her hips and frowned disapprovingly, "Professor, Mrs. Snyder was in the E.R. when you came in, you know? She told Bubbles and I that the doctor told you to take it easy-"

"Oh, well, there's nothing hard about a little breakfast," Professor Utonium interrupted her with a lighthearted chuckle. The scientist turned around with a plate of buttermilk pancakes, topped with whipped cream and freshly cut strawberries. He sat it down on the island top behind him, smiling at Blossom as he slid the plate in her direction.

Blossom couldn't help but return a small smile as she sat upon a stool at the central kitchen counter. As the Professor filled her pink mug next with coffee for her, Blossom could see that the bruising on the Professor's head had deepened in color since the day before. She still found it a little strange that neither she nor Bubbles had seen the Professor out in the streets during the monster fight. Especially when he was apparently attacked by one of the monsters himself.

"Professor," Blossom began, "About yesterday..."

"Yes, I've wanted to talk to you about it, but I didn't want to overwhelm you, Sweetie," The Professor continued as he added the sugar and creamer to Blossom's cup of coffee.

"I'm OK, Professor-" Blossom watched as her father walked with a limp still, as he struggled to keep her filled cup steady and she stopped to zip over to him quickly. "Got it, Professor!" she said as she took the mug from him, "Thank you."

"It's no problem, Sweetie," he smiled weakly. "Now, about yesterday..."

"Yeah," Blossom returned to her seat at the counter top, "What exactly happened?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to ask you-"

"What?"

"Yes, what happened yesterday? Did you see the surge for yourself?"

"Oh," Blossom paused, realizing they were on different topics. "Buttercup? Uh... well..." the redhead bought herself some time as she sipped quietly from her coffee, "Well... No, I wasn't exactly around to see it..." she avoided looking at the Professor as she spoke. She hated lying to him, and even though the Professor discovered Buttercup's condition on his own, Blossom knew if Buttercup awoke to find out she had told him everything she knew at that point, well... she had just finally managed to get her sibling talking to her again, and she wasn't ready to ruin that.

Blossom cleared her throat a little as she sat down her coffee mug and looked up at the Professor, "It was pretty much like the other times. I heard a noise, checked on her and she was... well, down... I was gonna call you, but then the monster attack happened..."

"I see," the Professor scratched his chin a little before he returned to the stove once more. Blossom quietly ate her pancakes as she watched him remove the finished strips of bacon from a pan, and placed them next on a plate filled with scrambled eggs and toast. She noticed the plate sat upon a tray that already had a stack of pancakes much like her own, a small bowl of mixed fruit and a tall glass of orange juice.

"Is that for Buttercup?" Blossom asked.

"Yes," the Professor replied. He glanced at the digital clock above the stove, "The night sedative I gave her should be wearing off right about now," he continued as he began to carefully lift the breakfast tray up from the counter top. "A big breakfast should help restore a bit of her energy, I hope-"

Once again the Professor struggled to keep balance upon his hurt leg, and so again the pink Puff stepped in, "Here," she took the tray from him, "I'll come down with you."

"Thank you, Blossom."

"No problem, Professor."


The green Puff's knee bounced with energy as they sat upon the white leather desk chair at Professor Utonium's work desk. Their tongue stuck out from their mouth as they leaned closely towards the monitor, their emerald eyes narrowed in deep focus on the screen. Finding themself far too awake to sleep, they had to occupy their time stuck in the basement somehow. It had taken almost six hours to reach the final level of the shoot-em-up space themed computer game, and they had almost defeated the final mothership when the game got the upperhand. "YOU LOSE" flashed in bright neon purple across the screen.

"Dammit!" The teenager grumbled angrily, "I was really on a roll there..."

The tomboy then noticed the time in the corner of the computer screen. Now that it was morning again, the Professor would probably be returning to the lab soon. They closed out the running computer game, and began to clear the browser history just to ensure their tracks were covered. The green Puff knew if the Professor had found out they had left the lab that night sleepwalking, he'd make a big fuss over it. It sucked enough to be caught when they were down from a surge. They only hoped that the backstabber hadn't blabbed about too much to the Professor. As long as he didn't know about the multiple surges- or how big the last one was- then maybe the green Puff might be able to convince him this was just a one time, freak occurrence, and there would be no need to get carried away this time with all the poking and prodding. Most importantly, they hoped he wouldn't be concerned enough to consider... the final treatment.

When the computer returned to its desktop, the green Puff noticed a minimized screen of something the Professor had left open overnight. They could read the text file's label which read, "Buttercup_medicalrecords." The curious Puff didn't think there would be any harm done just taking a quick peek for themself, and so they opened the document.

At first, as they scrolled there was nothing of interest that caught their attention. Just a bunch of summarized reports of pretty much every broken bone or injury the young hero had sustained throughout their lifetime, beginning at age five. Because of their early superhero career, naturally sprains and fractures had always been a pretty common occurrence. It wasn't as if anything took longer than a few days to heal up on its own though.

As the green Puff kept scrolling further down the document, they halted suddenly. Their emerald eyes grew wide as they fell upon the collection of photographs underneath a report titled, "POWER SURGE, INCIDENT #2."

The pictures were of themself at age thirteen, only the green Puff had no memory of such photos being taken. The first was an image of the young hero's face, taken from the shoulders up. Clearly, taken after their accident on Monster Isle, the kid was blood stained, with their burn wounds fresh, and their face swollen. They looked to be laying upon a flat, white surface with their eyes shut. Their chin length raven hair was stiff with traces of blood and sand, and where their skin hadn't melted off completely, they noticed that their complexion had a faint, grey hue to it. The following photographs focused next on the burns they had sustained to their forearms and hands. Exposed bone could be seen upon at least three separate fingers.

The gruesome, detailed pictures were difficult to look at, but it was the final, full length photo of the battered thirteen-year-old lying still upon the medical cot that caused the green Puff to feel instantly sick to their stomach- or rather, it was the caption underneath the last photo that caused them immediate distress.

The caption read: "Time of death: 5:54 PM."

For a long time, all the green Puff could do was just stare back at the monitor's screen with a stunned, dropped jaw. They could see there were more photographs just beyond the time stamp, but it took a while for them to build up enough courage to keep scrolling. Slowly, they reached for the computer mouse as they felt their head beginning to spin from a nauseating dizziness that had befallen them.

The next series of photographs were much like the previous ones. They would have been completely identical actually, save for one difference. Where all their injuries were, now there was thick, dark scarring. Their 'V' shaped scar across their right eye was bold, looking like fresh blackened paint. Their skin was pale still, but no longer tinted with the color of death.

The next caption: "Time of revival: 6:06 PM."

A longer period of silence as the green Puff stared blankly at the page, unblinking. "He... lied to me..." they spoke out loud to themself as they actively processed the information they had just discovered, "I...I-I asked him if this shit was true, and he... he told me that he got there in time to save me, but he didn't! He lied! And... I... I... died...?"

Confusion, doubt, fear, betrayal, and of course, anger, all battled for control of the teenager's building emotions. They reached for the computer mouse again and continued to scroll, their emerald eyes wide and frantically scanning for more information. They came towards the end of the document where the Professor had last been taking notes. "POWER SURGE, INCIDENT #6."

The last thing typed out were lists of numbers and chemical symbols, and lengthy written equations. All of which, the green Puff could not interpret on their own. "What's this stuff?" they questioned out loud.

As they studied the document closely, their green eyes widened a little as they noticed the mouse's cursor seemingly moving on its own. The green Puff watched curiously as the cursor opened a new text document. Next, the computer typed out the following: "They are recalibrated equations for Antidote X." There was a pause before a new line continued, "He appears to be adjusting the formula to fit your current age and power level."

The green Puff only stared back at the screen, blinking still with confusion.

After a minute of nothing but stunned silence from the teenager, more words appeared: "Hello, Joey."

More blinking, and still a loss for words.

"Do you not recall the data drive you installed upon this very computer?"

The green Puff stared directly at the monitor, leaning in a little closer and speaking low, "...Mojo?"

"Yes, it is I."

"You... you can see me?"

"Yes."

"You can hear me too?"

"That should be obvious."

The green Puff stared back at the monitor, fidgeting somewhat nervously in their seat for a moment. They then remembered what Mojo had just said, "Wait..." they looked again at the equations at the bottom of the screen, "So... so he's already planning to make the antidote?!"

Mojo answered on a new line: "The calculations he has here aren't quite finished yet, but yes." A pause, and another new line: "I suppose you were correct. It does not appear that he has any other ideas to solve your affliction than this one."

The skinny teen's wide eyes narrowed then as their face turned into a scowl. They rose from the computer desk chair, kicking it over as they tore at their short black hair, "I can't fucking believe him!"

The green Puff paced back and forth as they wrestled with what to do next. There was so much running through their mind then, but what mattered most was the definite realization then that they could no longer trust the Professor. Any minute, he would be returning to the lab again. They could run then before he came- they definitely needed more time to process everything they had just learned. However if they fled, where would they go? Blossom and Bubbles would come looking for them, just like before. No... they were trapped there- forced to do whatever the Professor said- and soon they would be forced to go along with whatever treatment he was planning...

Stopping in their tracks, the young hero's emerald eyes fell on the computer monitor once more. They turned and faced it directly. "What... what do you think I should do?"

As the teenager asked the question out loud, across the city, Mojo watched intently from his own computer monitor within his tower lair. The green Puff seemed to stare through the screen right at him. The short simian reclined in his seat and scratched his chin in thought. "The child is waiting for an answer? Asking Mojo for advice?" The villain leaned towards the screen once more, "Hmm..." he muttered his thoughts aloud, "You must be very desperate, but... I suppose for good reason..."

The chimp held his fingers over the keyboard, but before he could type up a response, he saw that the green Puff's head suddenly snapped to their right as they heard something. With a flash of green light, the super powered teen picked up the Professor's fallen work chair and returned to their medical cot. Lying upon the white mattress again, they quickly re-affixed themself to the Professor's monitoring system and shut their eyes as they pretended to sleep once more.

Professor and Blossom descended the basement steps together, and by the time they reached the green Puff, nothing seemed out of place. As Blossom waited off to the side with a breakfast tray in hand, the Professor approached the operating table with a hobbled walk. He reached out for his daughter's arm and gave it a gentle shake, "Buttercup? How are you feeling, Dear?"

The green Puff opened their eyes and stared up at the Professor. It took a moment to find some words other than the two the teenager really wanted to say to him then, but somehow managed to keep playing the role of "sickly, sad daughter." Rubbing their eyes with a scarred hand, and "weakly" sitting up, the skinny teen finally answered with a "confused" stammer, "Wh-what happened?"

"Careful now, Buttercup," The Professor warned, "You had a power surge yesterday afternoon. You won't have your full strength back until the end of the day at best. So you're going to have to take it easy for now and stay in bed, alright?" The Professor glanced next at Blossom who responded by stepping forward with the breakfast tray.

As the pink Puff rested the tray of food upon her sibling's lap she showed a weak smile, "Here you go."

Nothing upon the breakfast platter looked appetizing as the tomboy stared at the spread. "But I'm not hungry-"

"It will help, Buttercup," the Professor encouraged, "Just try a few bites, please."

The unsettling truth the super powered teen just learned had them completely on edge. To the green Puff, both the Professor and Blossom looked too suspiciously eager as they waited for the hero to begin eating breakfast. Just how was this breakfast supposed to help exactly? Did they put something in the food? Were they just trying to knock the green Puff out again, or maybe the orange juice was actually a liquid form of Antidote X? Sure, Blossom had said she would make sure the Professor didn't do it, but that Goody-Goody was always a suck up. Not to mention the fact that she was also nothing but a liar.

As all their paranoid thoughts raced through the scared adolescent's mind, they finally thought of a temporary solution. They reached for a piece of bacon, but as they did so they ensured that their elbow slammed against the edge of the tray. This caused the entire thing to fall then from their lap, spilling everything to the ground. "Oh, shit!" the green Puff acted as if it were just an accident, "Sorry!"

"That's alright, Sweetie," Professor answered as he quickly knelt down to begin cleaning up the mess, "There's more upstairs, so I'll just make you another plate." He gathered everything that had fallen back onto the breakfast tray and stood again with it in hand. He looked at Blossom before he left, "Blossom, why don't you help your sister upstairs and get her set up in her bed? Now that she's a little more stable, she might be more comfortable there."

"Sure thing, Professor," Blossom answered. She waited for her father to reach the basement steps, and turned to her sibling only once the Professor was out of earshot. "So..." she began quietly, "Do you really not remember anything, or is that just something you told the Professor?"

The green Puff sat silent for a moment, waiting for the wave of rage inside them to subside before forcing themself to play innocent once more, "Nah, I... I don't remember anything from yesterday."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nope."

"Not even our talk in the bathroom?"

"...Nah."

"...Oh." Blossom frowned, "Well... I'm glad you're up again at least."

"Yeah," the green Puff muttered low, "Whatever..."

Blossom could sense the hostility in her sibling's voice. But then again... if the green Puff had no memory of yesterday then that would mean the progress Blossom had managed to make with their relationship had all been lost.

As Blossom talked, the green Puff kept their gaze averted. Just looking at the redhead made their blood boil then. Their emerald eyes drifted over to the computer monitor as the pink Puff spoke.

"Say," Blossom continued with a weak smile, "What if we set you up in the living room for the day instead, huh? Bubs and I will be busy doing some investigative work so that means you'll have the TV all to yourself, you know? Then when we get back later, we can invite Robin over for some movies or something! How's that sound?"

Ignoring their sister's question entirely, their attention was on the words typed out on the screen in the distance:

"Come to the tower."

The green Puff nodded slowly, "Yeah... Sure. OK."

Believing the reply was directed at her, a small hopeful smile crossed Blossom's face as she began to help her sibling onto their feet, "OK. Let's get you upstairs then."

As the tomboy leaned against the tall redhead for "support," Mojo watched from his surveillance footage as the pair made their way across the laboratory. He watched as Blossom scooped her skinny sibling up in her arms as they reached the basement steps. As she carried the green Puff up the staircase, they soon disappeared off screen.

The green Puff certainly gave a well enough performance, considering their recent distress. The child's family was none the wiser to the knowledge that had just been learned, or the fact that a full recovery had appeared to already have happened. Mojo did find it curious to see the super powered teen had managed to heal so soon after an incident. He had experienced for himself just how long it took the hero to recharge. Clearly, there was much to be discovered still when it came to the Puff's "power surges."

Mojo shut off the monitor's screen displaying Utonium's lab. The short simian rolled with his desk chair further down his long, work station to the task he had been working on prior to the activity alert he received. Silver, polished pieces of metal of various sizes and shapes sat upon his desk, waiting for assembly. After the earthquake, there were many damaged bits to replace, but it would not take long now to put it all together.

The mutant chimp's fingers worked quickly as he began to snap each piece into place. As he worked, his mind still lingered on everything he had just witnessed. "It is truly a regrettable notion- a shame- a pity that Utonium would rob their own child of their natural talents," he muttered his thoughts to himself as he fiddled with his craft. "Yes, the Puff is clearly damaged, maybe a little broken, and quite possibly beyond repair even but... Really, it would be unfortunate- letting all that power seemingly go to waste. So much power... So much untapped and unused potential..."

As the final piece snapped into place then, a satisfied grin swept the villain's face as he held up his completed project for inspection. One silver coated, blaster ray gun. Mojo held the weapon in his right hand, taking aim at nothing in particular, but just testing out the feeling of it.

"Well, as they say," Mojo smirked again, lowering the finished piece and admiring his own craft once more, "One man's trash, might just become another ape's secret weapon."


A/N: I'm sure some of you have guessed it, but next chapter will be "Terror Part II." The original draft of this chapter was just over 30k. I know a lot of you mentioned you don't mind the lengthier chapters, but I thought it was best this time to split this one up. So I shifted things around a bit to make this a two parter.

God, if Princess were a real person, she would be PISSED if she knew she got cut from this chapter entirely. PRINCESS, I WANT YOU TO SHINE AND THERE WAS A LOT GOING ON ALRIGHT? Anywho yeah, I saved Princess for next chapter. What else to expect next time? More action, more spooks, more drama and one of my favorite Mojo/Joey scenes I've written so far haha. As the author, I'm pretty excited, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy the next. :)

The good news of course is that this means Chapter 16 is like 90 percent done! I have some editing to do on it for sure, and I might wanna pull some scenes from 17 so give me a couple weeks to figure things out. But yes, the next chapter will be posted sooner rather than later. 2-3 weeks is my goal! :D I'm taking some time off this week for my wife's bday, but once our mini vacay (or staycay really lol) is over, it shouldn't take too long to get the chapter finished.

In the mean time, if you're curious as to how the story is coming along, I'm always sharing my chapter progress on my tumblr - yayninjabob dot tumblr dot com

ALSO I recently got an instagram where you can check out all the awesome fanart I've collected so far of the fic. I also try to draw some stuff when I got the extra time - just look up 'yayninjabob' - and there I've also been sharing quick pics/small vids on my story of all the various music, art, movies, books, etc that I use as inspirational fuel~ before sitting down for my writing sessions. So if you like that behind the scenes sorta stuff, there's that too.

Anywho. Once again, thank you all SO much for reading!
Stay safe, and take care everyone! :D