Part 8
The battle against the creature at the building site had exhausted the girls, even though the monster had, in the end, proved very easy to kill. None of them felt like returning to school, and even Blossom, who had on other occasions had to use all of her persuasive powers to prevent Bubbles and Buttercup from using their struggle against evil as an excuse for skipping classes, made no objection when Buttercup suggested that they go straight home.
'That was good,' said Buttercup, who had been reflecting on the morning's action as they flew home.
'I thought you hated it?' replied Blossom.
'No, it was exciting,' said Buttercup, bridling a little at the suggestion that she had been scared.
'Hm, yeah, exciting now,' thought Blossom; but she didn't say anything. She was feeling far too good herself. Her earlier doubts and misgivings had left her. To destroy such a horrible thing, to save the day, that was what being a Powerpuff Girl was all about, and it didn't matter if people thanked them for it. They could be happy simply in the knowledge that they had done a good thing. Blossom felt that the morning's frightening experience had lifted a great weight from her: it had made things a lot clearer, sorted out some priorities. Yes, she agreed with Buttercup: that had been good.
Bubbles was very quiet on the journey home, and Blossom put this down to the fact that she was tired and that the experience had been a bit frightening. When the three girls arrived home, however, Bubbles confided to Blossom that she was worried.
'What about?' asked Blossom.
'I'm worried about that monster we killed,' replied Bubbles, 'What if…'
At that moment Professor Utonium, disturbed by the noise of the girls returning, emerged from his laboratory. The three girls looked at him rather guiltily, knowing that they should be at school.
'Girls, what are you doing home?' asked the Professor.
'We had to fight a monster,' said Buttercup, proudly.
'It was in the centre of town, Professor,' added Blossom, 'it came out of the river and went into this building site and we had to go inside and it was all dark and we were trying to follow a trail and we lost it and there was this man there who was hurt and when we went to help him the monster jumped out on us and Buttercup nearly got hurt and we killed it with our laser vision.'
'And it was really frightening,' said Bubbles.
'And Blossom and Bubbles got scared so we had to come home,' added Buttercup, in retaliation for 'nearly got hurt'.
'You got scared too,' said Bubbles.
'Did not!'
'You were the one who suggested we come home,' said Blossom.
'Only because I could see you were scared,' taunted Buttercup.
'That's not true, Professor,' said Blossom, indignantly, 'it was scary, but Buttercup got frightened too.'
'All right, all right!' exclaimed the Professor, with a smile, 'I guess you can take the rest of the day off – sounds like you've earned it! Tell you what – why don't we go into town and get some burgers? That's just what brave little super heroes need after a tough fight!'
The Powerpuff Girls looked at one another in surprise.
'Don't you have any work to do, Professor?' asked Blossom.
'Oh, boring old work can wait!' replied Professor Utonium, with a laugh, 'Come on, race you to the car!'
The Professor drove the girls into Townsville to their favourite burger bar. A visit here was normally a treat reserved for their Saturday shopping expedition, and it was most unusual for the Professor to suggest that they make a special trip. He ordered the special kids' meals for the girls and a double cheeseburger for himself, and they sat at a table by the window to eat their impromptu lunch.
'Professor,' said Bubbles, after a short session of noisily blowing bubbles into her milkshake, 'I'm a bit worried about what we did today.'
The Professor, who had been doing a lot of fussing around, and chuckling, and making little comments to the other parents in the restaurant, and generally playing the proud father, looked up from his cheeseburger and smiled a rather patronising smile at Bubbles.
'Now, what's the matter with my little Bubbles?' he asked, winking at Buttercup, who was sitting opposite.
'I think we might have done the wrong thing by killing it,' replied Bubbles.
Buttercup let out a big sigh and pointedly folded her arms.
'What is the matter with everyone these days?' she exclaimed, looking at the ceiling in exasperation.
'Why do you say that, Bubbles?' asked Blossom, leaning forward with interest.
'Well, we know that it hurt people by just touching them. What if it just touched people by accident, or if the people who were hurt touched it without knowing what it would do to them? It might not have been trying to hurt people at all.'
'Why did it attack us, then?' retorted Buttercup, belligerently.
'It did jump out on us,' said Blossom.
'I think you were right to do what you did,' chipped in the Professor, 'I don't think you can afford to take any chances with a creature like that. You first duty is to protect Townsville, after all. And you must look after yourselves. I'd be devastated if anything happened to you.'
After this little talk, Bubbles perked up considerably, and the three little girls had an enjoyable meal. The Professor, especially, seemed to be in great spirits and insisted on the girls each having a piece of hot apple pie and ice cream.
It was in the car on the way back home that Blossom remembered Mr Matthews.
'Professor,' she said, 'there was a man today who said he was a scientist and he was studying the monster we killed.'
The Professor made a sudden, sharp correction to his steering.
'Really?' he replied.
'I thought he seemed a bit odd,' continued Blossom, 'I mean, if he was studying the monster, why didn't he warn people about it?'
'Yes,' said Professor, 'that was very bad of him, if it's true. Perhaps he wasn't telling the truth.'
Blossom didn't really understand why Mr Matthews should have lied; but if the Professor said it was possible then it must be so. She sat back in the seat quite contentedly for the remainder of the journey.
When the Professor and the girls arrived back home, they discovered that there was a man waiting on their doorstep.
'Talk of the Devil!' exclaimed Blossom, 'That's Mr Matthews! He said he might come to see you, Professor.'
The Professor did not seem very pleased to see his visitor. He and the girls stepped out of the car.
'Good afternoon. Professor Utonium?' inquired Matthews, once again raising his hat politely. He was dressed as the girls had seen him before, but this time was carrying a slim leather zip-up document case under his arm.
'Yes, that's me,' replied Professor Utonium, warily.
'My name is Matthews. Perhaps you've heard of my researches? No? No matter. I have been conducting an extensive study of a very strange creature that has been inhibiting the sewers beneath Townsville for a number of years. Your, er... daughters... had something of a fight with the creature this morning. As a renowned geneticist yourself, I'm sure you would be very interested in my findings. I thought I might take this opportunity to discuss them with you? I'd be very interested to get the opinion of someone as highly qualified and respected as yourself.'
'Ah, well, I'm quite busy at present,' replied the Professor.
'I'm sure I won't take you from your work for very long. It is a unique study, of a creature quite unknown to science. Surely your curiosity must be piqued, Professor?'
Mr Matthews smiled a broad smile and looked the Professor directly in the eyes.
'Yes, well, of course, it sounds very interesting,' said the Professor, haltingly. Rather uncertainly, he extended his arm and the two men shook hands. 'Where did you say you were from?' he asked.
'I am currently attached to Hobbs Lane Community College,' replied Matthews.
'I've never heard of it.'
'It is very small, but provides me with a base and a laboratory assistant. I always think that a good lab assistant is vital to any research, don't you agree?'
'I... find I get by quite well without one,' replied the Professor.
'Yes, of course. May we go in?'
Professor Utonium unlocked the front door and he, Mr Matthews and the girls entered the house.
'Why don't you go upstairs and play while I talk to Mr Matthews?' said the Professor to the girls.
'Oh no, please,' interrupted Matthews, 'I would like the girls to stay, if you don't mind. After all, they have played a significant part in my research, if only by bringing it to an end.'
Mr Matthews beamed a wide, toothy smile upon the girls, who smiled guilelessly in return. After a little hesitation, the Professor opened the door to the living room and invited Mr Matthews to go in. The girls followed.
'Please take a seat, Mr Matthews,' said the Professor.
Mr Matthews removed his heavy overcoat and scarf and laid them over the back of an armchair. He sat down, still clutching the document case, and the girls and the Professor followed suit.
'Well, no point in beating about the bush, Professor Utonium,' said Matthews, in a rather didactic tone, 'I first discovered the creature that your… daughters… killed today some - let me see - twelve years ago. Good Lord! How time does fly! I was doing some analysis of water quality and found some very strange chemicals being discharged into the river here in Townsville. I did some investigation and, to cut a long story short, I discovered a very peculiar creature living in the sewers. You know, curiously enough back then it didn't look anything like the monster you saw today, girls.'
'What did it look like?' asked Blossom, fascinated.
'Very like a human being,' replied Mr Matthews, 'In fact, I took a photograph. Would you like to see?'
He unzipped the case he was holding and from it pulled a Polaroid. He handed it to the Professor, who glanced at it very briefly and, with some reluctance, passed it to Buttercup. Buttercup in turn passed it on, first to Bubbles, then to Blossom. The photograph was of poor quality and had obviously been taken with a flash. There was little to see, most of the picture being dark, with no obvious structures visible, just slight gradations in the blackness that hinted at the possibility of objects, but in the bottom right-hand corner there was a clear shape, highlighted by the flash, a mark that might have been part of the torso, shoulder and arm of something vaguely human.
'I don't understand,' said Blossom, handing the photograph back to Mr Matthews.
'It seemed clear to me that this creature was in fact a human being, one that had undergone some terrible mutation,' replied Matthews.
'That's horrible!' said Bubbles, appalled.
'Over the months following my first sighting, I attempted to make contact with the creature,' continued Mr Matthews, 'It was very elusive and difficult to track down, but I was able eventually to find it and communicate with it in a very rudimentary way. This was, of course, before it lost all vestiges of its human characteristics.'
'Did you discover how it came to be in such a condition?' asked the Professor.
Frowning, Blossom looked at the Professor, puzzled by the cold manner in which he had said these words.
'No, I was never able to make any sense of the creature's attempts to explain its history,' replied Matthews, 'It was in a very highly charged emotional state, and tried to avoid me as much as possible. However, with perseverance I was able to begin to understand something about it. It had already killed several times. A number of vagrants, winos and drop-outs had fallen victim to the creature, quite unnoticed by the city authorities. Perhaps you may also remember, Professor, the disappearance of a little girl around that time, last seen on wasteland near the river. What an outcry there was over that! Hundreds of people turned out to help with the search. Perhaps you were one of them?'
'I can't remember that at all,' replied the Professor.
'All that was ever found of her was the little knitted toy rabbit she had been carrying. Suspicion, if I recall correctly, did fall upon one man, who was hounded out of town and, I believe, committed suicide. Nothing was ever proved, though. The reason being, of course, that he had nothing whatever to do with it. The child fell victim to the creature, sad to say. I imagine the parents are still waiting for their little girl to come home.'
'Why didn't you say something, if you knew what had happened?' asked the Professor through pursed lips, all the while directing a steely glare at Mr Matthews.
'It was some time after the abduction that I found out for certain what had happened. And I had good reason for keeping quiet, as you will see. As I began to contact the creature more and more, I began to understand something of the horror that had overtaken it. It had indeed once been a man, a human being, until this blight or plague descended upon it. As he slowly succumbed to the infection - or whatever it was - the man inside that deformed body could only look on with mounting horror and disgust as his own actions began to appal him. An unstoppable, base lust for human flesh seized him whilst his moral conscience remained intact. He was in torment as these inhuman desires controlled his actions whilst his human mind was repelled by what he had become.'
'That's just awful,' said Blossom.
'Do you think he was still... in there?' said Bubbles, asking a question Blossom had feared to express.
'The man, the human being, still inside the thing you destroyed today?' answered Mr Matthews. 'I couldn't tell. Eventually it became impossible to communicate. Whether there was still a human mind trapped in that obscene body I suppose we shall never know.'
'How on earth'd he get like that?' asked Buttercup.
'It is difficult to say,' replied Matthews, 'I'm inclined to think there must have been some sort of accident. Of course, we have an expert here! Professor Utonium, you must have some ideas on how such a thing might happen?'
'I couldn't really say,' replied the Professor, 'without genetic material from the creature to examine.'
'You cannot make any suggestions? No hypotheses?'
'I prefer not to speculate,' said Professor Utonium, folding his arms, 'Speculation without adequate evidence can lead one into serious trouble.'
'The course. A tenet that I'm sure you've taught your pretty... children.'
'Unfortunately, the girls tell me that they destroyed the creature completely. Not a trace left.'
'Yes. Yes, that is unfortunate. A mystery, then, that perhaps will never be solved. Well,' Matthews zipped up his document case and got to his feet, 'I mustn't detain you any longer, Professor. I had hoped that you might be able to shed some light on a strange affair - with your expert knowledge - but as you say, it's best not to argue in the absence of facts. Thank you for your time.'
Mr Matthews put on his coat and scarf, picked up his hat and prepared to leave.
'Do you intend to pursue your research any further?' asked the Professor, as he held open the front door.
Mr Matthews, who had paused on the doorstep to muffle himself against the cold, turned to face the Professor and the girls.
'Oh yes,' he replied, 'it's far too interesting a subject to abandon. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to find some of that genetic material. I shall certainly let you know if I do.'
He stepped outside.
'Thank you again, Professor. Perhaps we'll meet again. I hope you'll peruse my paper when I finally publish. I don't know whether the world is ready for such a startling story, but I'm sure you will find it interesting. Goodbye.'
He tipped his hat and walked away.
'What a horrible story!' said Bubbles, as the Professor closed the front door.
'We killed him,' said Blossom, rather sadly, 'We just went in and killed him, just because we were frightened.'
'He was killing people,' said Buttercup.
'Now girls,' interrupted the Professor, 'don't take what Mr Matthews said too seriously. Don't forget that even if this monster was a person once, it obviously wasn't a person when you saw it.'
'But it might have been, on the inside,' piped up Bubbles.
'Yes, Professor,' said Blossom 'You said we shouldn't kill things just because they're yucky on the outside. But that's what we did, really.'
'It was killing people!' repeated Buttercup.
'Yes, but it didn't want to,' replied Blossom, 'You heard what Mr Matthews said. He said the man hated what he was doing but couldn't help it.'
'That assumes that what Mr Matthews said was true,' interjected the Professor, 'We don't have any evidence for that. And don't forget, girls, it's your duty to protect Townsville. It doesn't matter even if what Matthews said was true - the monster was killing people, and that's the most important thing.'
Blossom looked at the Professor in surprise.
'But if he didn't want to kill people, Professor...'
'He did kill people, Blossom, and that's all that matters,' retorted the Professor, sharply. 'Now,' he continued, looking very sternly at Blossom, 'I really think we've heard enough about Mr Matthews and his unsubstantiated theories. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?'
With that, the Professor turned on his heels and marched off to his laboratory. As Blossom watched him stomp away she felt her heart start to pound and she began to shake. She had upset the Professor and she didn't understand why. Distraught, she looked at her sisters. Bubbles smiled a wan little smile.
'See,' said Buttercup, 'A monster is a monster.'