The next morning, Ace was in an even more surly mood than normal. He had passed out on the couch just as Snake knew he would, with a beer bottle in his hand, the remainder of what he didn't drink spilled all over his shirt.

When he knew he couldn't put it off any longer, he tentatively shook him awake.

"C'mon Ace," he said gently. "You gotta get up, we're gonna be late."

To his relief, Ace opened his eyes and didn't thrash around or tell him off as he often did when woken up. All he did was groan, and when he saw the stain, cursed under his breath.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Ace threw the now empty bottle on the table, stomping towards his bedroom.

"Ace?"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Just give me a minute to change and then we can go."

Snake didn't bother bringing up that Ace hadn't showered or even brushed his teeth. He didn't half the time anyway.

"Okay. I'll meet you outside."

Super Savings, the store they worked at, was just close enough from their apartment to be considered walking distance, but far enough away to make that walk long, boring, and to aggravate his already blistered feet something fierce.

Ace was quiet, and that made Snake all the more nervous. The only time his bombastic leader wasn't going off about one of his get rich quick schemes or ranting about whatever coworker, customer, or gang member that had pissed him off that day was when he was pissed off at him. He gave him a few nervous glances but Ace's green, pointed face was as hard as stone, locked in the direction of their destination.

"Hey, Ace?"

"What?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Just peachy. Why do you ask?"

"I just-" Snake swallowed his apprehension like bitter whiskey. "I just want to make sure, you're still planning on giving the motorcycle back to Tommy, right?"

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"I know, it's just that-"

"What? What is it? You don't trust me now?"

Ace's stony gaze was locked onto him now, and Snake found that he preferred it when Ace wasn't looking at him at all.

"I've worked my ass off to get us where we are today, if it wasn't for me you'd all still be living in the dump, eating out of trash cans and pissing in port o potties. So I thought I deserved a bit of a reward after years of pulling myself up by my bootstraps, so what?"

"We've all worked hard Ace, and that money you spent was ours, not yours," Snake felt himself growing defensive. "I'm just trying to look out for the gang."

"Yeah, and we all could've used that motorcycle. Instead of walking everywhere like chumps."

Snake took a deep breath. Starting another argument wouldn't get either of them anywhere. "I know. I hope we're able to get one someday. Maybe in a few years after we save some money and can afford lessons from someone who actually knows what they're doing."

Ace scoffed. "You know as well as I do 'in a few years' means never."

They spent the rest of the walk in silence. The first thing Snake saw when they reached the supermarket was the giant heads of Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup over the store logo, staring down at him with mocking smiles. He could tell Ace was glaring up at them through his sunglasses.

"C'mon. If Larry chews my ass out for being late again I'm blaming you."

They walked into the pink, blue, and green store. It wasn't without irony that the only place that would hire them was also the one store on the entire planet that was Powerpuff Girl themed. Everywhere along the walls were pictures of the three girls flying around, their respective signature colors flashing behind them. Even their uniforms fit the theme, with each employee required to wear a pair of khakis along with either a blue, pink, or green polo shirt with a small picture of one of the girls in the corner. He stared down at his blue shirt in disdain.

After Ace and Snake walked over to punch in their timecards, they checked the daily clipboard to see where they were going to be assigned.

"Stocking?" Ace said after he saw the word by his name. "I'm always on the register."

Snake glanced at the clipboard. What worried him the most was not that Ace was assigned to the back, but the handwritten note beside it that said "Come to the office during lunch."

"You don't think the boss found out about yesterday, do you?"

"Eh," Ace shrugged. "Melinda just probably just wants some special Ace time, if you catch my drift," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Gross," Snake gagged. "And you shouldn't be talking about that out here anyway. What if someone overheard you?"

"So what if they did? The only one who doesn't know by this point is that oblivious crusty husband of hers."

"Yeah, the owner of the store. Who could have us both out on our asses in two seconds flat."

Ace rolled his eyes. "You worry too much."

But as Ace headed for the stockroom, Snake couldn't stop the sinking feeling in his stomach that something bad was about to happen.

"You're doing it wrong."

Behind him, a short, crotchety old woman glared at him as he was halfway through stocking the bags of chips onto the shelves.

"They're fine, Susan," he said, not sparing her a glance.

As he worked to finish the task at hand, she came up from behind him and started removing the chips he just put away.

"Hey, what's your problem?" He cried.

"You're doing it wrong," she repeated. "You're putting the pink bags with the greens. You're not even facing them the right way. No one's gonna buy them if they're disorganized like that."

"It's fine. They're chips. They're all the same. Who cares what color the bag is?"

"Of course you don't care, you grew up in a dump. But anyone half civilized would see that mess and walk straight out the door."

"Do it yourself then if it matters to you so much," he shoved the bags back into Susan's arms, ignoring her complaints that half of them were falling on the floor.

He headed back towards the stockroom to grab something else, ignoring Susan's muttered comments about "youth these days."

He hated Susan. He hated his job, he hated this whole damn store with those creepy blue, pink, and green eyes following him wherever he went. But most of all, he hated how no one would just leave him the hell alone and give him a break.

It was then that he remembered Tommy, and how he had to talk to him about giving back that motorcycle otherwise Snake would never let him hear the end of it.

Well, maybe he's outside, Ace thought. Anytime the manager on duty was busy, Tommy figured out some way to slip out of work. If it was possible, Tommy was an even bigger slacker than he was.

"Excuse me, sir. Can you help me get that soup can up there? I can't seem to reach it."

"Look lady, I'm busy. Maybe you can find someone else-" the rest of his sentence caught in his throat when he turned around and saw the woman who spoke.

She was about a head shorter than Ace, even in the glossy black heels she was wearing. Her dark, curly red hair fell into a curtain down to her chest, which, as Ace noticed, was very full. It was only emphasized by her form fitting red dress that was just low cut enough for him to see the top of her cleavage.

"My apologies ma'am, I thought you were someone else," he instantly put on his most charming smile. "Now, what do you need help with?"

She smiled with the warmth of a sunrise. "Well, aren't you a sweetie? I was hoping to get that last can of Super Soup off the top shelf, if you don't mind. It's pretty high up, but I bet a tall fellow like you wouldn't have a problem." She pointed at the nearby aisle.

"Your wish is my command," he bowed. As he led the way into the aisle, he turned back toward the woman.

"So, do you got a fella at home waiting for you, or are you taking applications-"

He fell to the ground in surprise when the beautiful woman in front of him transformed into none other than-

"No, but I prefer to fly solo these days. Relationships, feelings, touching? Ugh, I don't know what you mortals see in it," HIM grimaced.

"What the hell, man?! What are you doing here?"

"I have errands to run, just like everyone else," he said. He crouched down to Ace's level grinning like a Cheshire cat. "And I have a deal that I think you'd be interested in."

Ace pulled himself up off the floor, and glared at the demon with suspicion. "Whatever it is, I ain't interested. No one ever makes a deal with you and comes out better for it."

"Call it a favor then, but trust when I say it will benefit us both quite nicely. How would you feel about taking down the Powerpuff Girls, once and for all?"

Ace snorted. "You must be really desperate if you're coming to me for help."

HIM glared down at him. "Excuse me?"

"Didn't you hear? Me and the boys are on the straight and narrow now. We've got jobs and everything, hence the name tag," he pointed toward the little square engraved with his name pinned to his shirt.

"Yes, and that's going so very well for you."

Ace glared at him. "It's going excellent, thank you very much."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah, for your information it is," Ace said, as he turned to walk the other way. "Now, you can go back to buying whatever the hell it is creeps like you eat. Though we don't sell pickled fetuses last time I checked."

"Please, I'm on a diet. I haven't had a fetus in ages, pickled or otherwise." HIM replied. "Though they are quite delicious, especially when dipped in the blood of sinners. Adds just the right amount of spice. I'd give you my special recipe, but it's top secret." he chuckled.

"Haha, that's hilarious," he deadpanned. He hoped the demon before him didn't notice the hairs on his arms standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should really get back to work-"

"I saw how that killjoy you call a friend turned everyone against you when you were just trying to have a little fun. It's sad that even after all this time, after everything you've done to better your life and theirs, they won't even let you buy a motorcycle from a dear friend."

Ace stopped in the middle of his stride, turning back. "How do you know about that?"

"Oh, you poor simple fool," HIM bared his gleaming shark-like teeth. "I see all."

Ace suppressed a shudder. He walked back toward the towering demon, crossing his arms. "If you're so powerful, then why do you need me?"

"I thought that you might like the opportunity to improve your pathetic situation. We both know that civilian life isn't for you." He leaned in so close to Ace that he could smell the scent of fire and brimstone.

"It's been slowly killing you from the inside, I can see it. The restriction, the boredom, the look in everyone's eyes when they see you." HIM snapped his claw and suddenly they were both in a pitch black void. But before Ace could cry out and demand to know where he was, the scenery changed again. Suddenly, he was in an old back alley, watching a teenage version of himself and his gang holding a man up by knife point. The man in question was being held in a headlock by Billy.

"Give us your wallet or I'll cut your throat out," he warned the man. "And you better do it quick since we don't got all day."

"Please," the man gasped. He looked up at Ace with the terror of a man who knows that whatever he said next could lead to his release or his death. "My wife is pregnant with our third child, and she's a stay at home mother. Her and the kids only have me to take care of them and this is all I have-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. I didn't ask for a sob story, I asked for your wallet." Ace grabbed him by his shirt, pulling his face right next to him. "And I'm going to get it one way or another."

Tears started falling from the man's face. "Okay," he said shakily. "Okay, it's yours. Just please don't hurt me." He reached into his pocket, and handed the item over to Ace.

"Well you see, that wasn't too hard," Ace said, putting it into his back pocket. "Alright Billy, you can let him go now."

"Whatever you say boss!" Billy said cheerfully. He dropped the man onto the floor. He tripped over himself a few times in his panic to get away, but ran off as fast as he could as soon as his feet hit solid ground.

"They were afraid of you," HIM said, pulling Ace back to the present. "The leader of the infamous Gangreen Gang. If you wanted something, all you had to do was take it."

"Yeah, I remember that night," Ace said. "We hadn't eaten anything in over two weeks that wasn't out of the dumpster."

"And why was that?"

"Because we were a bunch of homeless losers without a dime to our names."

"No," HIM said. "It was because of a certain three little nuisances who had just been created and decided it was a good idea to start playing superheroes."

The scene changed to the morning after. Ace watched as the younger version of himself and his friends sat in the shack they called home, gorging themselves on the pile of candy they had bought the night before.

"Fuck," his teenage self said. "Has chocolate always been this good, or had I just forgotten what real food tastes like?"

"Oh mio dio," Arturo muttered as he collapsed to the ground, his stomach a small mountain. "I don't think I could eat another bite."

"More for Billy!" Billy grabbed the rest of Arturo's portion, shoving it all into his face.

"Billy," Snake scolded. "You can't just take his food without asking-"

"Stop right there!"

Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup smashed their way in through the roof causing the gang to cry out in surprise.

"Oh, shit."

"We know what you did to Mr. Coleman!" Blossom accused.

"Yeah!" Buttercup said. "He called the police and told them you robbed him blind."

"He was so scared," Bubbles sniffled. "Poor Mr. Coleman, he doesn't know how he'll pay his mortgage now."

"Wait a minute, girls!" Ace cried. He held out his hands in defense. "You've got the wrong guys! We're innocent I tell ya!"

"Oh yeah?" Buttercup said, raising an eyebrow. "Then where did all this come from?" She gestured toward their pile.

"We, uh," Ace watched as his younger self quickly tried to come up with an explanation for their ill gotten goods. "It was a gift?"

"Idiot," Ace muttered.

Of course, it did little to convince the girls of his innocence. He cringed as he was forced to watch the three girls beating him and his friends senseless before dragging them off to jail.

"Alright alright, I get it! I remember that well enough, I don't need to see it again."

HIM snapped his claw once more and again they were in the void.

"You realize this just proves my point, right?" Ace said. "Those days sucked. You might think my life is pathetic but at least I can say I eat everyday and haven't gotten my ass kicked by a trio of overpowered kindergarteners since I turned my life around."

"But what if they were out of the picture permanently?" HIM said, circling around him. "It would be a new golden age of crime. You could do whatever you want, take whatever you want, and no one would be able to stop you. And as the one who took down the infamous Powerpuff Girls? You'd be royalty. Never again would anyone disrespect you, from the mayor to the police to the lowest, scummiest gutter rat."

He got right up next to his ear. "Who knows, maybe even Sedusa will want a piece of it."

Ace flinched as if he was hit. "Sedusa can go fuck herself. I don't give a shit what she wants."

"Hmm, you say that, but I know that's not what you really feel," HIM said in a sing song voice. "Remember, I see all."

"You know what, I'm done. This was a great little trip down memory lane, but I'd rather go back to my shitty current life now."

"You want to go back to this?" HIM snapped his claws and the scene changed once again.

"Hey boss, check this out," one of the Amoeba Boys called out pointing towards where Ace was stocking shelves, his arms full of cans of Super Soup. "It's that guy from the Green Gang or whatever."

The largest of the three turned around and broke out into an amused grin. "Ha! I can't believe it! Man, the higher they rise the farther they fall huh?"

"Yeah, can you imagine being desperate enough to work in a place like this?"

"You know I can hear you bozos, right?"

The three looked up at a glaring Ace without a care in the world.

"Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?"

Ace moved toward the pathetic blobs to show them exactly what he was going to do until he saw a man in a suit walking towards him.

"Is there a problem here?" Larry, the store owner, asked.

"Well you see sir," the largest said. "This fellow was harassing my boys. All we did was ask where we could find the milk." He pointed directly at Ace.

"You little shit-"

"Ace!" Larry gave him a death glare. He turned toward the three with an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry about that, sir. The milk is in aisle three, right around the corner."

"Thank you so much," The large blob gave what he probably thought was an endearing smile.

As soon as he walked away, his gaze turned mocking once again. "Well, see you around, loser." They laughed as they slithered away, the smallest of them shoving Ace and making him drop the merchandise all over the floor.

The scene changed again. He was dressed in an outfit nearly identical to the one he often wore in his gangster years, from the yellow tattered jeans to the blue and orange vest. But this memory was from a more recent time period.

"Oh Jesus Christ," he mumbled, hiding his face in his hands. "Not this again."

But he was helpless to do anything but watch the humiliating scene in front of him. Both he and Snake were standing in front of a camera crew, behind a food stand filled with various prop foods. Susan was beside him, wearing a gray wig that made her look even older, along with a bag of groceries in her hands.

"Larry, come on," Ace looked toward his boss beseechingly. "Do we really got to do this?"

"It will be good for business," he said, his eyes never leaving his clipboard.

"But why do you need us? Why not hire some real actors? Come on, this is humiliating."

"I agree with the kid," Susan spoke up. "Who the hell wrote this? Only an idiot would be convinced by this commercial."

"I was the idiot who wrote it, but thanks for the feedback Susan, as always." Larry narrowed his eyes. "And either way, we already bought all the equipment and the air time. If we canceled now, we'd be losing money."

"Whatever," Ace sighed. He knew Larry well enough to know that once he had his mind set on something, it was damn near impossible to change it. He turned toward Susan with a tired look. "Let's get this over with."

"Annnd, action!"

"Oh my," Susan said, in a deadpan voice as she looked down at the price tag. "Fifteen dollars for a bag of oranges? This is practically robbery."

"Robbery? I'll show you robbery," Ace said. Both he and Snake pulled out identical rubber knives and pointed them at the older woman. "We're the Gangreen Gang. Now, give us all your money."

"Oh no. If only there was a better way to shop."

"There is!" Tommy cried out. He was wearing the most ridiculous Buttercup costume Ace had ever seen, only exaggerated by the fact that he was a nearly fifty year old man playing a little girl. The green dress was about the same quality you'd find at any discount Halloween store, and the short black wig barely fit onto his head. Trailing behind him were two new hires dressed in a Bubbles and Blossom costume respectively, looking much less enthusiastic.

"At Super Savings, you can feed your family for half the price you could at any other store in town, guaranteed!"

"Oh no." Ace and Snake said simultaneously. "Not the Powerpuff Girls."

"That's right!" Tommy said. "And we're here to get you the best deals before bedtime!" Tommy and the rest of the "girls" rushed towards the pair to attack.

Or rather, it was Tommy going full in on Ace while the other two stood back at least a foot, making unconvincing air punches in their general direction.

"Ow! Tommy, you son of a bitch!" Ace cursed, holding his nose. He looked down at his hands and saw he was bleeding. "You actually hit me!"

"Well, I had to make it look convincing," he said unapologetically. "This might be my big break. My mother always told me I was born for the big screen."

"Okay, cut!" Larry called out. "That was awful, we're going to have to do the whole thing again. And Ace," he said, giving him an exhausted look. "You're going to have to at least try to make it look convincing. None of us are going home until we finish this."

The scene faded just like the others before it and Ace sighed. "God. I didn't think Larry could get any worse but the man must've been some serious sadist to come up with that."

"Why, thank you," HIM bowed. "It turned out even better than I expected when I planted the idea in his head."

Ace looked at him with wide eyes. "You really are an evil son of a bitch, aren't you?"

"It's part of the job description," he said. "Now, about that deal…"

Ace sighed. "What exactly is the plan?"

Him pulled out a vial out of thin air.

"This," he said. "Is a little formula I invented, designed to take away superpowers from those who got them from Chemical X permanently. It works by dissolving the section of DNA that was created with the chemical, along with the ability to reabsorb it-"

At Ace's glazed over expression, HIM cut himself off.

"Anyway, the specifics don't matter. All that matters is that if the Powerpuff Girls consume it, they will lose their powers and never be able to get them back."

"Okay," Ace said. "And how exactly do you expect me to get it to them? Invite them to dinner?"

"Your friend is a line cook at Si Senorita, correct? The midget with the underbite?"

"Arturo," Ace corrected firmly.

"Yes, him. Well anyway, the girls are going to be celebrating their twelfth birthday soon, and Si Senorita happens to be Bubbles's favorite restaurant. As she is the Professor's favorite and the other two's preferred sister, it would take little for her to convince them to have their celebration there. Especially with my influence," HIM said.

"All you have to do is make sure your little friend is working that night and get him to sprinkle some of this onto their food," he gestured toward the vial again. "And they'll be made as harmless as any other little girls."

Ace stared at the vial apprehensively. "Are you sure this is, y'know, safe?" he asked. "I don't know much about DNA or whatever, but having it disintegrated doesn't sound too good for you."

"And here I thought all of this talk about turning your life around was done for show," HIM rose an eyebrow. "Has Ace Dean Copular gone soft?"

"Gone soft my ass," Ace said. "I just don't want to get 25 to life for murdering a couple of little girls."

"Their powers are already starting to weaken," HIM said. "Or haven't you seen the news?"

Immediately, Ace's mind drifted back toward last night. Being as drunk as he was, the memory wasn't crystal clear, but he remembered seeing the damage that The Amoeba Boys were able to wreak on the superheroes.

"So that's how those losers were able to nearly beat them," he mused.

"Yes, and the Professor is trying to come up with a cure as we speak. Unfortunately, he's very close to the answer too," HIM said, his voice deepening in annoyance.

"All this will do is accelerate what's already happening, and stop him from reversing the process."

"But… why?" Ace asked. "How are they losing their powers? What happened to them?"

"My best guess? It's a side effect of puberty," HIM said. "Never before have any children like The Powerpuff Girls existed, and generally Chemical X isn't compatible with human DNA. As their bodies start to change-"

"Woah, woah, hey! I don't need to hear about all that," Ace raised his hands in surrender. "But, basically what you're saying is," he said. "I'd be like… saving them from themselves?"

"That's one way to look at it, yes."

Before Ace could respond, HIM snapped the vial in his hand, and he was back at the grocery store. HIM had once again taken the shape of the red haired woman he was before.

"Think it over, won't you hun?" she said, patting his arm. "It might be the only way to get what you've always wanted."