Three Ways to Cope: Part Two
by Martial Arts Master
The Powerpuff Girls and all related characters are copyrighted by Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. Although I don't normally like doing alternate universe fanfics, this idea simply would not go away. Plus, I have some spare time on my hands. Anyway, those who didn't see the Powerpuff Girls movie should probably think about not reading this, or it won't make sense. For those who did see the movie, I'd like you all to answer one question: What if, during the moment where Mojo Jojo grips the Professor, the Powerpuff Girls didn't overhear this, and therefore didn't go rushing back to Earth from the asteroid to save the day? This fanfic shows what might have happened if that had been so. By the way, I realize my earlier Powerpuff Girls fanfics were sub-par. That was only because, let me assure you, that they were written back during the days when I didn't double-space anything except my homework. Unfortunately, I wrote 60 or so fics like that before I finally wised up. Well, this will be double-spaced, so those who read my earlier Powerpuff Girls fanfics, rejoice. Now, on with the story!
***
Professor Utonium eventually woke up from his faint.
"Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup are here?" the Professor asked.
The hermit nodded.
"And you said they are now rulers of three cities?" the Professor asked.
The hermit nodded again.
"Where did you say I can find these cities?" the Professor repeated.
"Just keep going southwest," the hermit advised. "You'll run into Hower eventually, and if you keep going southwest from there, you'll run into Mesuvius, and if you keep going southwest from there, you'll run into Vepiquack."
After a thank-you, the Professor continued southwest. He was taking pains to remember his trail so he wouldn't get lost on the way back.
Eventually, he ran into a city whose looks certainly surprised him.
The place was a pig-sty. There was dirt and grunge everywhere, with apparently no one bothering to clean it up.
Professor Utonium noticed a sign that said, "Welcome to Hower."
The hermit had said that this as the city that elected Buttercup as its ruler.
That, Professor Utonium noted ruefully, must be the reason it's such a mess. Buttercup always did seem like the feisty one.
As Professor Utonium headed into the city, he noticed the usual grocery stores, and other buildings that provided the necessities of daily life.
But he also noticed that there were heavy metal bands everywhere. And they were loud. Professor Utonium almost had to cover his ears, but not quite.
There were also prositutes everywhere, although whether that was a good thing or a bad thing depends on one's point-of-view.
There were fighting championships taking place all around the city.
Since Professor Utonium had plenty of time on his hands, he decided to watch one. Besides, after the fight he could probably ask one of them for where Buttercup was.
There was a big, hulking brute of a woman in an orange costume fighting against a small, but wiry man in a red costume.
The match lasted for five minutes.
Initially, the small, wiry man was able to pepper the hulking brute of a woman with multiple hits while dodging her slow attacks.
But his very speed turned out to be his downfall, as he wore himself out eventually, so the hulking brute of a woman was able to knock him out with a single punch.
After the match, and after the crowd had settled their bets, Professor Utonium asked the woman, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find Buttercup, your new ruler?"
"The palace at the center of the city," the woman told him. "You can't miss it."
Looking at the palace in the center of the city, Professor Utonium wondered how he had missed it before.
Nevertheless, he headed towards the palace.
At the entrance, he was stopped by three guards.
"What is your business in the palace?" the guards asked in unison.
"Well, I'm here to see Buttercup," Professor Utonium explained. "I created her, you see. I'm Professor Utonium."
One of the guards went inside the palace, presumably to confirm Professor Utonium's story.
Then, the guard came back.
"You can go in," that guard says. "Buttercup says she'll see you now."
Professor Utonium sighed in relief and went inside the palace.
Once he was inside the main room, Buttercup's voice, sounding exactly the same as the day she was created despite years having passed, called down, in an angry voice, "Stay right there, jerk, and I'll be right down."
Professor Utonium wondered why Buttercup had called him a jerk.
Then, a green flash of light barrelled into him, knocking him over.
The green flash of light stood still, and there stood Buttercup, not having changed a bit, even in size. Professor Utonium theorized that this must be because, since the girls were created at age five, they must age more slowly to compensate for the early maturity.
"You have some nerve, coming all the way here after what you and Townsville did to my sisters!" Buttercup shouted, seething in rage.
"What did we do?" Professor Utonium wondered, still rubbing him back from where Buttercup had knocked him over.
"First, Townsville arrested you simply because of our playing tag, and Townsville made us think you'd left us for dead!" Buttercup screamed. "In fact, we were getting all sorts of discrimination because of simply who we were. That's why Mojo Jojo was able to trick us."
"You didn't have to knock me over," Professor Utonium protested.
"And once we were tricked, did you tell us to save the town? Did you believe us when we told you we wanted to make the Townsville a better place?" Buttercup asked rhetorically. "Noooooooo, you just had to tell us instead, 'I don't know who to believe. I thought you girls were good...' You rejected us!"
Then, Buttercup began pummeling Professor Utonium's face with punches.
With each few punches, Buttercup screamed, "You rejected us! You rejected us! You rejected us!"
Professor Utonium tried in vain to protect himself from the punches.
"You apparently lied to us before!" Buttercup shouted. "You told us we were special! Well if were so special, then why, when Townsville was attacked by the monkeys, did you reject us when we needed you the most?!"
Professor Utonium theorized to himself that the shock of Professor Utonium's insensitive remark was so great that Buttercup had apparently never gotten over it. Buttercup used to love Professor Utonium, but Buttercup must have been brooding for a long time, and then, to make herself feel better, she must have painted the Professor and Townsville in general as her enemies, at least in her mind. And she did have some right to do that, if not a complete right.
"All we wanted was for Townsville to accept us," Buttercup said, kicking Professor Utonium in the groin.
"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Professor Utonium squeaked, falling over.
"Instead, they treated us like vermin," Buttercup seethed bitterly. "Well here's what happened to me, not like you actually care, judging by what you said. When you rejected us, we went off to sulk on an asteroid. Then, after about a day, we got hungry. So we flew around through space looking for something to eat, and finally discovered what we later knew to be the planet Worgoria."
As Buttercup was talking, Professor Utonium had finally recovered from the kick to the groin.
"We split up and each went to a different city," Buttercup explained. "And the funny thing is, because we had superpower, the cities elected us as their rulers! So, how do you like them apples, Professor Utonium and Townsville?"
With that, Buttercup kicked Professor Utonium in the nose.
"But Buttercup," Professor Utonium tried to explain as he covered his nose in pain, "I didn't actually reject you. I just made an insensitive remark when I said, 'I don't know who to believe. I thought you girls were good.' True, I thought you were villains at the time before Mojo Jojo told me he tricked you, but that didn't mean I didn't love you."
"Liar liar liar!" Buttercup screamed. "When I was sulking on the asteroid after you rejected us---"
Here Buttercup put the emphasis on "rejected".
"I was regretting the day you created us," Buttercup continued. "But in a way, if it hadn't been for you and Townsville rejecting us, I never would've gotten to be ruler of a whole city. I would've been stuck on Earth, leading a boring, normal life with you always telling me what to do. So maybe I should be thankful about you and Townsville---not!!!"
With that, Buttercup landed a punch so forceful that it knocked Professor Utonium out of the palace.
"And don't come back, you lousy good-for-nothing!" Buttercup called after him as he sailed over the horizon and toward the city of Vesuvius...
***
To be continued...
***
Well, now you know how Buttercup reacted to seeing Professor Utonium again, and it wasn't pretty. In case you didn't get it, Buttercup coped with her troubles by cloaking herself in anger, convincing herself that Professor Utonium and Townsville both rejected her and treated her like vermin. She's half-right, Townsville did treat her like vermin, but not the Professor. This'll probably get you wondering how Blossom and Bubbles will react upon seeing Professor Utonium again. Well, you'll know soon enough for one of them. E-mail all questions and comments to bleifer@comcast.net
by Martial Arts Master
The Powerpuff Girls and all related characters are copyrighted by Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. Although I don't normally like doing alternate universe fanfics, this idea simply would not go away. Plus, I have some spare time on my hands. Anyway, those who didn't see the Powerpuff Girls movie should probably think about not reading this, or it won't make sense. For those who did see the movie, I'd like you all to answer one question: What if, during the moment where Mojo Jojo grips the Professor, the Powerpuff Girls didn't overhear this, and therefore didn't go rushing back to Earth from the asteroid to save the day? This fanfic shows what might have happened if that had been so. By the way, I realize my earlier Powerpuff Girls fanfics were sub-par. That was only because, let me assure you, that they were written back during the days when I didn't double-space anything except my homework. Unfortunately, I wrote 60 or so fics like that before I finally wised up. Well, this will be double-spaced, so those who read my earlier Powerpuff Girls fanfics, rejoice. Now, on with the story!
***
Professor Utonium eventually woke up from his faint.
"Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup are here?" the Professor asked.
The hermit nodded.
"And you said they are now rulers of three cities?" the Professor asked.
The hermit nodded again.
"Where did you say I can find these cities?" the Professor repeated.
"Just keep going southwest," the hermit advised. "You'll run into Hower eventually, and if you keep going southwest from there, you'll run into Mesuvius, and if you keep going southwest from there, you'll run into Vepiquack."
After a thank-you, the Professor continued southwest. He was taking pains to remember his trail so he wouldn't get lost on the way back.
Eventually, he ran into a city whose looks certainly surprised him.
The place was a pig-sty. There was dirt and grunge everywhere, with apparently no one bothering to clean it up.
Professor Utonium noticed a sign that said, "Welcome to Hower."
The hermit had said that this as the city that elected Buttercup as its ruler.
That, Professor Utonium noted ruefully, must be the reason it's such a mess. Buttercup always did seem like the feisty one.
As Professor Utonium headed into the city, he noticed the usual grocery stores, and other buildings that provided the necessities of daily life.
But he also noticed that there were heavy metal bands everywhere. And they were loud. Professor Utonium almost had to cover his ears, but not quite.
There were also prositutes everywhere, although whether that was a good thing or a bad thing depends on one's point-of-view.
There were fighting championships taking place all around the city.
Since Professor Utonium had plenty of time on his hands, he decided to watch one. Besides, after the fight he could probably ask one of them for where Buttercup was.
There was a big, hulking brute of a woman in an orange costume fighting against a small, but wiry man in a red costume.
The match lasted for five minutes.
Initially, the small, wiry man was able to pepper the hulking brute of a woman with multiple hits while dodging her slow attacks.
But his very speed turned out to be his downfall, as he wore himself out eventually, so the hulking brute of a woman was able to knock him out with a single punch.
After the match, and after the crowd had settled their bets, Professor Utonium asked the woman, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find Buttercup, your new ruler?"
"The palace at the center of the city," the woman told him. "You can't miss it."
Looking at the palace in the center of the city, Professor Utonium wondered how he had missed it before.
Nevertheless, he headed towards the palace.
At the entrance, he was stopped by three guards.
"What is your business in the palace?" the guards asked in unison.
"Well, I'm here to see Buttercup," Professor Utonium explained. "I created her, you see. I'm Professor Utonium."
One of the guards went inside the palace, presumably to confirm Professor Utonium's story.
Then, the guard came back.
"You can go in," that guard says. "Buttercup says she'll see you now."
Professor Utonium sighed in relief and went inside the palace.
Once he was inside the main room, Buttercup's voice, sounding exactly the same as the day she was created despite years having passed, called down, in an angry voice, "Stay right there, jerk, and I'll be right down."
Professor Utonium wondered why Buttercup had called him a jerk.
Then, a green flash of light barrelled into him, knocking him over.
The green flash of light stood still, and there stood Buttercup, not having changed a bit, even in size. Professor Utonium theorized that this must be because, since the girls were created at age five, they must age more slowly to compensate for the early maturity.
"You have some nerve, coming all the way here after what you and Townsville did to my sisters!" Buttercup shouted, seething in rage.
"What did we do?" Professor Utonium wondered, still rubbing him back from where Buttercup had knocked him over.
"First, Townsville arrested you simply because of our playing tag, and Townsville made us think you'd left us for dead!" Buttercup screamed. "In fact, we were getting all sorts of discrimination because of simply who we were. That's why Mojo Jojo was able to trick us."
"You didn't have to knock me over," Professor Utonium protested.
"And once we were tricked, did you tell us to save the town? Did you believe us when we told you we wanted to make the Townsville a better place?" Buttercup asked rhetorically. "Noooooooo, you just had to tell us instead, 'I don't know who to believe. I thought you girls were good...' You rejected us!"
Then, Buttercup began pummeling Professor Utonium's face with punches.
With each few punches, Buttercup screamed, "You rejected us! You rejected us! You rejected us!"
Professor Utonium tried in vain to protect himself from the punches.
"You apparently lied to us before!" Buttercup shouted. "You told us we were special! Well if were so special, then why, when Townsville was attacked by the monkeys, did you reject us when we needed you the most?!"
Professor Utonium theorized to himself that the shock of Professor Utonium's insensitive remark was so great that Buttercup had apparently never gotten over it. Buttercup used to love Professor Utonium, but Buttercup must have been brooding for a long time, and then, to make herself feel better, she must have painted the Professor and Townsville in general as her enemies, at least in her mind. And she did have some right to do that, if not a complete right.
"All we wanted was for Townsville to accept us," Buttercup said, kicking Professor Utonium in the groin.
"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Professor Utonium squeaked, falling over.
"Instead, they treated us like vermin," Buttercup seethed bitterly. "Well here's what happened to me, not like you actually care, judging by what you said. When you rejected us, we went off to sulk on an asteroid. Then, after about a day, we got hungry. So we flew around through space looking for something to eat, and finally discovered what we later knew to be the planet Worgoria."
As Buttercup was talking, Professor Utonium had finally recovered from the kick to the groin.
"We split up and each went to a different city," Buttercup explained. "And the funny thing is, because we had superpower, the cities elected us as their rulers! So, how do you like them apples, Professor Utonium and Townsville?"
With that, Buttercup kicked Professor Utonium in the nose.
"But Buttercup," Professor Utonium tried to explain as he covered his nose in pain, "I didn't actually reject you. I just made an insensitive remark when I said, 'I don't know who to believe. I thought you girls were good.' True, I thought you were villains at the time before Mojo Jojo told me he tricked you, but that didn't mean I didn't love you."
"Liar liar liar!" Buttercup screamed. "When I was sulking on the asteroid after you rejected us---"
Here Buttercup put the emphasis on "rejected".
"I was regretting the day you created us," Buttercup continued. "But in a way, if it hadn't been for you and Townsville rejecting us, I never would've gotten to be ruler of a whole city. I would've been stuck on Earth, leading a boring, normal life with you always telling me what to do. So maybe I should be thankful about you and Townsville---not!!!"
With that, Buttercup landed a punch so forceful that it knocked Professor Utonium out of the palace.
"And don't come back, you lousy good-for-nothing!" Buttercup called after him as he sailed over the horizon and toward the city of Vesuvius...
***
To be continued...
***
Well, now you know how Buttercup reacted to seeing Professor Utonium again, and it wasn't pretty. In case you didn't get it, Buttercup coped with her troubles by cloaking herself in anger, convincing herself that Professor Utonium and Townsville both rejected her and treated her like vermin. She's half-right, Townsville did treat her like vermin, but not the Professor. This'll probably get you wondering how Blossom and Bubbles will react upon seeing Professor Utonium again. Well, you'll know soon enough for one of them. E-mail all questions and comments to bleifer@comcast.net