In a deserted alley in downtown Townsville, far from the site of the battle with the orange monster, Bumblebee sat down on a pebble. She hung her head sadly and thought about what had just happened.
How could she have been so ineffective, she wondered. She'd punched and punched that creature and it hadn't even noticed; she'd given it a super-speed flying punch and it had just barely noticed. Oh, sure, she'd zapped it with laser power and distracted it. But there was no way she could have beaten that monster by herself. She remembered how much bravado she'd shown before the fight had started. "What a joke!" she thought.
"My dear, tell me what is wrong." Bumblebee looked up to see Florina standing beside her. Just as she had imagined earlier, the fairy godmother looked as big as an ordinary adult to the shrunken girl. Bumblebee stood up and gave Florina a long hug. After being in a land of giants all day, it felt good to be in the arms of someone near her own size.
Florina stroked the back of the girl's head. "I watched you fight that terrible creature with the other Powerpuff Girls," the woman said, "and I thought you did very well. You saved Blossom and helped the other Girls save Townsville."
"But, Florina," Bumblebee replied, "with all my Powerpuff strength I couldn't fight that thing! My punches had no effect on it, and even my flying punch didn't do much!"
The "vertically-challenged supernaturally-empowered female emergency caregiver" smiled at Bumblebee. "Perhaps your problem is not so much of a problem as you think it is, my dear," she replied gently. "You have not been a Powerpuff Girl for long, only a few hours now. Perhaps there is a lesson you can learn from this."
"What lesson am I supposed to get from it?" the newest Powerpuff asked. "That I'm too little to really be a Powerpuff Girl?"
"You're being too hard on yourself, Bumblebee," Florina answered gently. "But it is not for me to tell you what lessons you might learn. Your sister Powerpuff Girls will be here in a moment. Learn from their experience."
The girl looked surprised. "You called me Bumblebee!" she exclaimed.
"Was there a reason I should not have?" Florina replied with a twinkle in her eye. Then she looked up and added, "See? Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are coming now. I'm sure they will help you."
Bumblebee looked up to see the Girls flying down toward her. "Florina!" she said, "Let me--" But as she turned her head to where the fairy godmother had stood, Bumblebee saw that she had disappeared.
"I see her! She's right down there!" Bubbles called. The trio landed around Bumblebee and sat down cross-legged around her. It gave the Micropuff Girl a start to see them towering over her. In the short time she had been with Florina, she had forgotten just how tiny she was.
"Bumblebee!" Blossom began, "You really looked upset when you flew off a moment ago! Did we do something to make you sad?"
Bubbles put her hand on Bumblebee's back and said, "I'm sorry if I shouldn't have hugged you like that. I was just so happy at how well you did that I guess I got carried away."
Bumblebee held up her hands. "No, no, Girls!" she said, "I'm the one who should be sorry, worrying you like that. No, you guys have been so great to me ever since I got here." She sat back down on her pebble and continued, "Did you see how I fought against that creature?"
"Yeah, did we ever!" Buttercup said. "You hit it with both fists and didn't let up, even when we got knocked away! And to you that thing must've looked about a mile tall! Your body might be small, but you've got the heart and courage of a giant!"
Bumblebee had to chuckle at the green-clan girl's tirade. "I really appreciate that, but what I meant was... didn't you notice that my fists didn't affect that thing? It didn't even feel my punches; it stopped roaring when you three were knocked away, so it couldn't even feel me hitting it. And then I slammed into it with a flying punch to the face, and it only barely noticed."
"But, Bumblebee," Bubbles replie, "that monster was HUGE! None of us could hit it hard enough to knock it down by ourselves!"
"At least the thing felt you three fighting it!" the smallest Powerpuff retorted. "I have all this Powerpuff strength, and then when it came time to use it I was too small to be noticed. It made me feel like... like I'm not really a Powerpuff Girl."
The other three Girls were shocked by Bumblebee's statement. "Bumblebee, no!" "That's not true!" "Don't even think that!" they replied.
Blossom picked up her downhearted comrade and held her to eye level. "Bumblebee," she said, "being a Powerpuff Girl is more than flying and being strong and having freeze breath and stuff. It's doing the right thing, it's standing up for what's good, it's not backing down when the going gets rough. You've proven yourself twice now, where a phony would have turned tail and run away. As far as we're concerned, you ARE a Powerpuff Girl!"
Bubbles added, "And super powers aren't what makes you a Powerpuff, either! You know all of our secrets. Remember how Princess kept giving herself super powers with all of her money? She's not a Powerpuff Girl and she never will be! And how about Major Man? He faked saving Townsville so he could look good, but then he chickened out when a real emergency came up!"
"There's one more thing, Bumblebee," Buttercup commented. "All of us have had a real challenge, something that all our powers couldn't handle. Remember when we had to use Dynamo to beat that one monster? And how about that one really big monster that none of us could beat until Bubbles asked it to leave?" Buttercup reached for the Micropuff Girl and took her in her own hand. "THAT'S part of the test of a true Powerpuff Girl," she concluded. "Anyone can pick a fight with someone weaker or slower than they are. A real hero stays in the fight even when her enemy is stronger or faster!"
Bumblebee looked at her heroes. Maybe it was the pep talk, or maybe it was just because they believed in her, but she felt better already. She stood up and told them, "Thanks for not giving up on me, guys! Sorry I made such a big deal about it!"
"All right!" shouted Bubbles as the three sisters got up.
Blossom stepped over to Bumblebee and said, "I hope this doesn't sound mean, but... We probably beat that monster today because of you. Because you're so tiny, that is."
Bumblebee floated up to Blossom's face and asked, "Really? How do you figure that?"
"Well," Blossom explained, "none of us could've taken care of that thing by ourselves. We could hurt it, but it could grab us or slap us away before we could really put it away. But since you were too small for it to see, you could keep attacking it without getting knocked down. I think that thing wasted so much energy trying to swat you that it was all worn out and we could finish it off." Then she added, "I didn't mean to insult you or anything..."
Bumblebee laughed. "Oh, I don't mind being about as big as a real bumblebee! As long as I'm a Powerpuff Girl, there's nothing wrong with being kinda small!"
The four Powerpuff Girls all laughed at their newest member's silly comment. Then Blossom reminded them, "Well, we'd better get back to Pokey Oaks. We've still got an hour or so of school left!"
Bubbles looked up and remarked, "Uh, Blossom? I don't think we'll be making it back to Pokey Oaks today." The other Girls looked up to see the Powerpuff Signal in the sky. "The Mayor must need us!" Bubbles added.
"Let's go!" Buttercup shouted, and the four Powerpuff Girls headed for City Hall.
How could she have been so ineffective, she wondered. She'd punched and punched that creature and it hadn't even noticed; she'd given it a super-speed flying punch and it had just barely noticed. Oh, sure, she'd zapped it with laser power and distracted it. But there was no way she could have beaten that monster by herself. She remembered how much bravado she'd shown before the fight had started. "What a joke!" she thought.
"My dear, tell me what is wrong." Bumblebee looked up to see Florina standing beside her. Just as she had imagined earlier, the fairy godmother looked as big as an ordinary adult to the shrunken girl. Bumblebee stood up and gave Florina a long hug. After being in a land of giants all day, it felt good to be in the arms of someone near her own size.
Florina stroked the back of the girl's head. "I watched you fight that terrible creature with the other Powerpuff Girls," the woman said, "and I thought you did very well. You saved Blossom and helped the other Girls save Townsville."
"But, Florina," Bumblebee replied, "with all my Powerpuff strength I couldn't fight that thing! My punches had no effect on it, and even my flying punch didn't do much!"
The "vertically-challenged supernaturally-empowered female emergency caregiver" smiled at Bumblebee. "Perhaps your problem is not so much of a problem as you think it is, my dear," she replied gently. "You have not been a Powerpuff Girl for long, only a few hours now. Perhaps there is a lesson you can learn from this."
"What lesson am I supposed to get from it?" the newest Powerpuff asked. "That I'm too little to really be a Powerpuff Girl?"
"You're being too hard on yourself, Bumblebee," Florina answered gently. "But it is not for me to tell you what lessons you might learn. Your sister Powerpuff Girls will be here in a moment. Learn from their experience."
The girl looked surprised. "You called me Bumblebee!" she exclaimed.
"Was there a reason I should not have?" Florina replied with a twinkle in her eye. Then she looked up and added, "See? Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are coming now. I'm sure they will help you."
Bumblebee looked up to see the Girls flying down toward her. "Florina!" she said, "Let me--" But as she turned her head to where the fairy godmother had stood, Bumblebee saw that she had disappeared.
"I see her! She's right down there!" Bubbles called. The trio landed around Bumblebee and sat down cross-legged around her. It gave the Micropuff Girl a start to see them towering over her. In the short time she had been with Florina, she had forgotten just how tiny she was.
"Bumblebee!" Blossom began, "You really looked upset when you flew off a moment ago! Did we do something to make you sad?"
Bubbles put her hand on Bumblebee's back and said, "I'm sorry if I shouldn't have hugged you like that. I was just so happy at how well you did that I guess I got carried away."
Bumblebee held up her hands. "No, no, Girls!" she said, "I'm the one who should be sorry, worrying you like that. No, you guys have been so great to me ever since I got here." She sat back down on her pebble and continued, "Did you see how I fought against that creature?"
"Yeah, did we ever!" Buttercup said. "You hit it with both fists and didn't let up, even when we got knocked away! And to you that thing must've looked about a mile tall! Your body might be small, but you've got the heart and courage of a giant!"
Bumblebee had to chuckle at the green-clan girl's tirade. "I really appreciate that, but what I meant was... didn't you notice that my fists didn't affect that thing? It didn't even feel my punches; it stopped roaring when you three were knocked away, so it couldn't even feel me hitting it. And then I slammed into it with a flying punch to the face, and it only barely noticed."
"But, Bumblebee," Bubbles replie, "that monster was HUGE! None of us could hit it hard enough to knock it down by ourselves!"
"At least the thing felt you three fighting it!" the smallest Powerpuff retorted. "I have all this Powerpuff strength, and then when it came time to use it I was too small to be noticed. It made me feel like... like I'm not really a Powerpuff Girl."
The other three Girls were shocked by Bumblebee's statement. "Bumblebee, no!" "That's not true!" "Don't even think that!" they replied.
Blossom picked up her downhearted comrade and held her to eye level. "Bumblebee," she said, "being a Powerpuff Girl is more than flying and being strong and having freeze breath and stuff. It's doing the right thing, it's standing up for what's good, it's not backing down when the going gets rough. You've proven yourself twice now, where a phony would have turned tail and run away. As far as we're concerned, you ARE a Powerpuff Girl!"
Bubbles added, "And super powers aren't what makes you a Powerpuff, either! You know all of our secrets. Remember how Princess kept giving herself super powers with all of her money? She's not a Powerpuff Girl and she never will be! And how about Major Man? He faked saving Townsville so he could look good, but then he chickened out when a real emergency came up!"
"There's one more thing, Bumblebee," Buttercup commented. "All of us have had a real challenge, something that all our powers couldn't handle. Remember when we had to use Dynamo to beat that one monster? And how about that one really big monster that none of us could beat until Bubbles asked it to leave?" Buttercup reached for the Micropuff Girl and took her in her own hand. "THAT'S part of the test of a true Powerpuff Girl," she concluded. "Anyone can pick a fight with someone weaker or slower than they are. A real hero stays in the fight even when her enemy is stronger or faster!"
Bumblebee looked at her heroes. Maybe it was the pep talk, or maybe it was just because they believed in her, but she felt better already. She stood up and told them, "Thanks for not giving up on me, guys! Sorry I made such a big deal about it!"
"All right!" shouted Bubbles as the three sisters got up.
Blossom stepped over to Bumblebee and said, "I hope this doesn't sound mean, but... We probably beat that monster today because of you. Because you're so tiny, that is."
Bumblebee floated up to Blossom's face and asked, "Really? How do you figure that?"
"Well," Blossom explained, "none of us could've taken care of that thing by ourselves. We could hurt it, but it could grab us or slap us away before we could really put it away. But since you were too small for it to see, you could keep attacking it without getting knocked down. I think that thing wasted so much energy trying to swat you that it was all worn out and we could finish it off." Then she added, "I didn't mean to insult you or anything..."
Bumblebee laughed. "Oh, I don't mind being about as big as a real bumblebee! As long as I'm a Powerpuff Girl, there's nothing wrong with being kinda small!"
The four Powerpuff Girls all laughed at their newest member's silly comment. Then Blossom reminded them, "Well, we'd better get back to Pokey Oaks. We've still got an hour or so of school left!"
Bubbles looked up and remarked, "Uh, Blossom? I don't think we'll be making it back to Pokey Oaks today." The other Girls looked up to see the Powerpuff Signal in the sky. "The Mayor must need us!" Bubbles added.
"Let's go!" Buttercup shouted, and the four Powerpuff Girls headed for City Hall.