Chapter 15
The doorbell let of a light chime before the Professor could open the door. The front door opened with an annoying squeak and he found himself face to face with a strikingly beautiful redhead. Two strands of crimson hair fell in front of her eyes as the rest was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked rather shy, but her beautiful bright green eyes shown alluringly. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a light green tee. The Professor found himself unable to speak clearly, blinking several times.
"I...I…I…I…" He stuttered as the woman gave him a strange look.
"Um…hello, Mr. Utonium?" Red asked stroking her fingers through her red hair nervously. He was a lot handsomer then she thought he'd be. Another string of "I…I…I"'s followed Red's question. But she assumed it was him anyway. "Mr. Utonium, my name's Banka Robins. We spoke on the phone last night." She smiled politely.
The Professor found it hard to respond and she seemed very worried. Suddenly, he heard some giggling; he looked down and saw three little girls laughing. One was a little blonde in pigtails who was putting her hands over her mouth giggling. The other was a redhead with long hair in a ponytail who hand one hand over her mouth politely stifling a laugh; and the last one was a brunette with short hair who had a hand on her stomach while laughing hard. His first thoughts were Darn it! She's got kids.
But, when the Professor looked at them again, something inside him clicked. Their sweet innocent faces looked up at him and he saw them more than just three little children, but as his own. His own three little girls. Professor Utonium's head stung, his heart raced, but his eyes remained fixated on them, and theirs on him.
"Oh here we go." Red sighed as she watched the recognition happen again. The recognition and the realization as the Professor discovered that these girls were his darling children. She could almost mouth what they said.
"Girls?"
"Professor?"
The brief conversation ended in an unanimous scream of joy and a hug. All three tiny girls squeezed into the Professor's loving embrace. The girls' minds swam with memories and realizations. The talking all began at once like it had back at Red's apartment. Red grinned softly. They did look happy. The family began to head into the house and Red slowly followed suit, her presence barely recognized.
The house was semi-clean. The surfaces and the floors were cleared off, but it was in need of some careful scrubbing under and in some particular places. The abstract art on the walls only confused Red as she noted the old, beat-up, reclining chair the Professor had in the corner. Yep She thought, there's no doubt about it, this man is definitely a bachelor. She considered seeing how comfortable that chair was when she felt a tight hug practically lift her off the floor.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" The Professor cried hugging her tightly. "Thank you for bringing my girls back to me!" He flipped her around to face him. Red's eyes were wide with surprise and almost fear. The Professor wasn't a very strong man, but his happiness seemed to overwhelm the logic. "How can I ever repay you?" He asked.
"Uh…by putting me down?" She asked.
"Oh yes, of course." He put her down on the ground. The girls were giggling behind them. The Professor turned back to them spouting all sorts of comments like "I missed you girls so much", and "I'm never letting you girls out of my sight again", and other worried/relived parent babble. Red decided to step in for a moment though.
"Um…Professor?" She questioned. He didn't seem to hear her at first. "Professor…?" Red asked again. He seemed too distracted. "PROFESSOR!" She yelled. He turned around suddenly and she smiled sweetly. "Yes, um…Professor, I think that there's something else going on here…" Before Red could finish the Professor nodded.
"Yes, Banka. I think I see where you're coming from." He stood up seriously and the PowerPuff Girls stared at him affectionately. "Everybody, follow me down to my lab." Everyone looked at each other and shrugged. They then followed the Professor down the gloomy steps to his laboratory.
The lab was filled with bigger better equipment than it had ever been. Large machines littered the floor of the lab humming and beeping in a sort of mechanical ruckus. Every machine bigger and more sleek as they went on. It appeared that since the Professor did not have to feed and clothe three little girls, his income gave him enough to afford all the necessities for a more advanced lab. Plus the fact that he didn't have to repair numerous holes in the roof did help.
The lab seemed better kept than the rest of the house. Everything was labeled and in neat, secure containers. The pipe cleaners were kept in a drawer marked "Pipe Cleaners Drawer". The mortars were safely stowed in a drawer labeled, "Mortars Drawer". Even the goggles were placed securely in a drawer named, "Eyewear Protection Containment Unit". There was a place for everything and everything in its place. A great contrast to the living quarters upstairs.
Bubbles ran a hand over the tiled floor and studied her mitt carefully.
"Wow! It's so clean! Not even any dirt on my hand!" She showed Blossom. Blossom nodded and looked around.
"Not even a scuff mark. Wow, Professor, you really keep this place clean!" Blossom awed. The Professor smiled proudly and seemed to grow a bit taller.
"Yeah, too bad the upstairs is such a mess." Buttercup noted while poking a beaker with her mitt. The Professor hunched down a bit and gave a flat look.
"Yes well...now getting back to the fact of how this all happened. You see, I have a theory that it has something to do with the story of the magic pebble. You see--"
"STORY TIME!" Bubbles screamed excitedly and sat Indian style on the floor. Blossom eagerly sat down and looked up. Buttercup stopped poking different beakers (for different sounds) and joined her sisters on the floor. They all gave him very wide grins and squirmed in anticipation.
"Ah...well...um...you see, girls. Back before I came here, I remember looking for you girls. I was so worried, I...I didn't know what to do. Well, Bubbles, I found this...this little marble or ball thing on your drawing table and took it with me. I ended up making a wish on it and--"
"Your wish came true!" Bubbles cried.
"Yes, my wish was to know where you girls were. And suddenly, just then, it showed me. Quite oddly actually, it was fascinating."
"Yes well, this is all very interesting, Professor, but what does it have to do with what we're doing here?" Blossom inquired.
"Well, honey, I'm getting to that. You see I have reason to believe that us being here has to do with the legend of the magic pebble. One makes a wish and the first wish comes true just as you like it. But, the second one-"
"Blah, blah, blah." Buttercup boredly rolled her eyes, "I've heard this one before."
"No wait, Buttercup. I think there's a part of this we have to hear. Remember when I was reading you the story and before we finished we decided to do something else? Well, I think that part may be important to our situation." Blossom reasoned she looked back at the Professor. "Right?"
"Well, yes. See the second wish someone makes is…how do I put this? The wish comes true but wrong." The Professor finished.
"Wrong?"
"Wrong?"
"Wrong? What do you mean by wrong?" Blossom asked.
"The pebble's magic is based on pure wishing…or so the story says. That man in the beginning, the one that was deep in debt. When he wished on the pebble the first time he got all the money he needed to get out of debt. Well, the man became greedy, and he wished again for more money." The Professor paused, "When he got his money he began to spend it like water. But, the money was counterfeit and he…um…was severely punished." The Professor didn't want to mention the poor man's hands getting chopped off, not to Bubbles anyway. "The other one that wished to be a king, he got his first wish exactly like he wanted. But, he made a second wish for a beautiful wife to rule by his side. While he got his wife, she was not the sweet woman he had expected and eventually murdered him and over took the kingdom."
"What a bad lady." Bubbles frowned sadly.
"Wait, so I get it. It's based sort of on greed. I made a wish to have all this money, and it came true perfectly." Blossom felt a sting of regret for such a greedy wish. She thought it wouldn't count! But what was done was done, she continued, "But when I wished for…" Blossom trailed off a bit looking at the Professor. She didn't want him to know she had wished for a mother. It might've hurt him. "Er…I mean…when I made my second wish, it came out kind of…wrong."
"Yeah, me too!" Said Bubbles excitedly. "So that's why she's not like I pictured her." Bubbles thought out loud. She also felt guilty for her selfish wish. If only she had just wished for a mother right in front of them. It wouldn't have mattered; they were all sisters anyway. Why did she always have to prove she wasn't just some little baby?
"Who's not like you pictured who?" The Professor questioned.
"Uh…no one." Bubbles gave a weak smile.
"It makes sense. Buttercup, you only made one wish and it came out perfectly. Did you make a second wish?" Blossom questioned. Buttercup's cheeks turned a little red but she looked away quickly.
"No, that was the…only one." She muttered.
"I understand Professor." Red began. She was also sitting on the floor cross-legged. She looked at him seriously, "I've read the story too but none of them were ever transported to a different universe. From what I read, they remained where they were. But, I'm certain the girls are in a different…world." Her eyes met the Professor's for a moment. There was a silence between the two as a light blush spread across Red face. The Professor couldn't seem to say a word.
The girls looked between the two and Blossom and Bubbles began to giggle. Buttercup's eyes narrowed angrily and she clung to Red quickly attracting her attention. Buttercup was used to trying to hold onto her mother. She didn't want to share. Red cleared her throat and began again.
"Um, yes, well, this just seems to be so different for them. I've raised Buttercup since she was a baby, yet, I also remember you being her sole creator, and she was born as a five-year-old. It doesn't make sense." Red finished rubbing Buttercup's back lightly. The Professor chewed on the end of his ebony pipe in thought. The young woman's theory had its valid points, but the Professor was having a hard time of piecing it together.
"Maybe we went back in time too." Bubbles suggested. Everyone stared at her. She grabbed her feet nervously and looked from one face to the next. "You know, cause we all were babies and stuff."
"That's it! I've got it!" The Professor yelled. Everyone leapt up a little. "It all makes sense now." The Professor dashed off leaving the four females confused and then he returned with a white board. "Okay, see if you can follow me." The Professor coughed and then began. "You see, I believe that the legend of this pebble is true, and that actually the pebble was granting you girls' wishes. Blossom, you and Bubbles made two, and Buttercup made one, correct?" Blossom was barely able to nod before the Professor happily continued. "Well, according to the legends, the pebble only had to grant one wish at a time. But you girls made five wishes on it in one night, sending it into a sort of overdrive. So much so it could not grant all of your wishes and remain in the same…same universe!" The Professor threw his hands toward the ceiling in emphasis. The girls all looked up while Red stared straight at the white board. Professor Utonium had all ready (very sloppily) doodled a pebble and three stick-figured PPG as well as the number five.
"Professor," Red began, "in the legends the pebble is supposed to grant a wish overnight. But, you said that the pebble showed you the girls after you made the wish. How is that possible?"
"Glad you asked Red." He smiled; Red suddenly felt back in high school. "You see, the pebble was processing the five wishes and wasn't able to fit mine into the same…same mold as the others. To 'lighten its workload', it granted my wish immediately. Now, going back to the subject of the girls, since the pebble had never delt with five wishes before at a time, it spread a great deal of it's power into creating a new universe, or sending the girls to an existing universe, in which the girls would reside in. But it couldn't leave it at that." The Professor had a slightly crazy tone to his voice and the girls huddled around Red. "It couldn't simply transport you girls to a new world. It had to create something more." The Professor drew on the board one long black line. Then he broke the line into two parts creating a "y". The right side of the "y" being notably shorter than the other side. "You see, the pebble split the time lines in two. The normal time line," He circled the left side, "continuing on as usual. But you girls were transported not only into this new time line," He circled the shorter right side of the "y", "but back in the timeline." The Professor jerked the black felt-tipped marker back. The shorter part of the timeline moved backward. The figure looked almost like a very jutty lowercase "h". The girls looked at it.
"But why Professor? Why would we go back in time?" Buttercup questioned.
"I suppose because…because." The Professor was drawing a blank. "I guess because of whatever it was you wished for." The Professor looked at them. "What did you wish for?" The girls grew silent.
"We wished for…a…a mother." Blossom whispered sadly. "It's not like we don't love you Professor it's just sometimes you're trapped in that lab for days and days and we get kind of lonely and it really is a stupid wish but we were just kind of down because it was Mother's Day and no one was a round to celebrate it and we ruined dinner and we didn't mean to and it's not that we don't love you." Blossom ran on trying not to make him feel bad. The Professor seemed unfazed.
"So…did you all wish for this?" He interrupted. They nodded.
"Blossom and me wished for it second and Buttercup wished for it first." Bubbles coyly added.
"That settles it then." The Professor stated with less enthusiasm, "The pebble corresponded with you two girl's second wish, but mostly with Buttercup's first. Her ideals for a mother were brought through to create this world where they could both exist in sync with each other. In other words, the pebble had to make everything connect with that wish, and brought it together as such."
"Um…what?" Bubbles inquired. Everyone nodded. The Professor sighed.
"You girls all wished for a mother…right?" The girls nodded. "Well, if you had all wished for a mother as your second wish, you would've all remained in this world because you all, essentially, would be asking for the same mother. But since two of you asked for it second and one first, the pebble had to create separate individual mothers for the individual wishes. That's why you all had separate mothers. And if you all had separate mothers, you couldn't be raised as sisters, right?" They nodded again. "And that means one could have riches and the other couldn't and so on. So, the pebble created a new world in which you girls were never sisters. In which you were born as individual children." He let out a deep breath. "Understand now?"
"But that still raises other questions Professor." Blossom stated. "Like, how come we were found on a doorstep and not born like normal children?" Red gave off a little snort.
"Sorry, but child birth with heads that large would be more painful than anything else I can possibly imagine. Maybe the pebble was just being merciful." Red shrugged.
"Okay, then why do we remember everything from our past…life now?" Blossom asked, feeling weird to say "past life".
"Yeah!" Bubbles piped up. "Why do I remember bein' a tiny baby when I never was one? And how come I also remember bein' sisters with my…uh sisters when we never were?"
"Well, if my other theory is correct girls, then you are going back up through time." He made a little "up" arrow next to the right side of the "y". "That means that you girls are overlapping on the day you were sent back. So, your consciences are remembering what they remembered on the day you were transported. You girls are recalling the memories you used to have because, well you always had those memories as well as your powers, they were just stored away, and today is possibly the only day you can cross back over into your original world." All three little girls gasped at the statement.
"But why?" Bubbles had her mitts to her mouth in fear.
"See how the figure looks kind of like a jutty 'h' or like a 'k' missing the top part? Well, today we are on the bridge of where the world's meet. The…middle part of the 'h'. If we were to go back to our own reality now, we would arrive perhaps at the exact second you girls left, or actually, when I left. It would be like sliding down that little bridge, sliding through time, into our appropriate places. But, if we don't do it today, this timeline will continue to go forward making this whole thing look more like a capital 'h' and we will be trapped in this reality for the rest of our lives." The Professor raised the last few words for more emphasis.
"Oh no! Then we better get going now." Blossom got up. "Uh-oh…well first Professor, I'd like to wish my family a good-bye. I don't want to just leave without saying anything." Blossom said responsibly.
"Me too! I gotta help my Mommy before I go." Bubbles clasped her hands to her chest. "I just gotta."
"All the better girls. I still have yet to test the equipment in this lab. I do have something here that I was working on in the past universe: A Transdimentional Time Reverser. It should be able to send us back through time and into the right dimension, but I have yet to test it." The Professor chewed the end of his pipe in thought.
"What do you mean?" Buttercup spoke softly, kind of monotone. It was the first thing she had said in a while.
"Well, I mean, this equipment is all very new to me and I-" The Professor was cut off.
"NO!" Buttercup yelled and turned her eyes toward her "mother". "What do you mean it 'would be more painful then you can possibly imagine'? What do…do you mean?" Buttercup's eyes looked angry and hurt. Red put a hand over her mouth. "You…you never had me did you? You found me on the doorstep just like Bubbles and Blossom." Her breaths seemed that of a distressed child. Being five-years-old and the most important person in her life had been lying to her; it practically had destroyed her. Red tried to speak but Buttercup wouldn't let her. "You lied to me! You lied to me my whole life!"
"No, Buttercup honey I just didn't want-" Red tried to put a comforting hand on Buttercup's arm but she knocked it away.
"YOU'RE A LIAR!" She angrily screamed, hiding back tears. Buttercup's big green eyes looked more hurt now. "You're a liar and I…I hate you!" Buttercup screamed. She was too emotional to care and turned away from her mother, choking back her tears. "I wanna go home now, Professor."
There was a long silence in the room and Red tried to take in a deep breath. Bubbles looked like she was about to cry and Blossom seemed a little stunned. The Professor coughed lightly.
"Um…well…you girls should probably say good-bye to the people you care for. Unless…you wanna stay." He stated briefly.
"Oh God no." Blossom said shaking out of her trance before she thought. Then she blushed. "Sorry Professor, I just miss you and really don't like this place."
"Buttercup are you oka-" Bubbles began
"Just go save your mother. Say your good-byes." Buttercup was turned away.
"Come on Bubbles, lets just go." Blossom grabbed Bubbles's arm. "You sure you'll be okay, Buttercup?"
"Fine." She said acidly. The two sisters looked at each other and then to the Professor. He nodded toward them and they began to fly off.
"Wait! Don't crash through the-" Before he could finish, pieces of plasters fell on his head from the ceiling. "-roof." He sighed. I hope they hurry. Professor Utonium thought looking at the giant ragged hole they'd left in his ceiling, If they don't not only could be trapped in this world, but this universe may collapse! Or even our own. He looked hopefully to the sky. God speed, girls. Hurry.
