Author's Note: Aw, crap…This chapter is so horrifically late. I can hear the chanting of the lynch mob thump through my computer monitor. Laziness combined with over-ambition has extended this story just a few more chapters. But don't despair! I have no intentions of pulling a "Dragon Ball Z" on the audience of readers. The conclusion will come soon. All I ask is for patience.

Of course, if you think my writing is starting to falter, be sure to point it out. Although I am my harshest critic, it is easy to not see the flaws when my egotism clouds my judgement.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Townsville cityscape was merely a blur. The clouds of the afternoon sky stretched into streaks of white. The air itself pushed like a hurricane wind. No doubt about it: Pathie Zimbogous was going ridiculously fast. But the scout had no intentions of obtaining an adrenaline rush. He was fleeing for survival.

Moments earlier, the albino extra-terrestrial had finally found the rare chemical, Estroxilium-46, within the lower sectors of the refugee's abode. The sheer amount of the chemical was staggering, for there was enough to cure a dozen planet's worth of inhabitants, even though it was stored in a container the size of a peanut butter jar. The scout could barely contain his joy, slightly chuckling as his MPSD de-molecularized the material for storage. One can easily imagine, then, the scout's shock when a mechanical monstrosity burst from the shadows to land a sucker punch into his gut. Fortunately, military training allowed Pathie to avoid loss of consciousness, and he promptly made an escape route though the floors up above and into the awaiting sky…but, as he quickly realized, eluding the robot wasn't going to be easy.

I should have known I was sneaking myself into a trap! Pathie thought, as he looked back to see the multi-tentacle machine relentlessly pursuing him.

The only saving grace in the otherwise horrible situation was that the Estrox was completely stored before the monstrosity pounced. But what good would it be if the machine won the chase? The robot certainly wasn't taking any prisoners.

Pathie looked down to the human city. "I might be able to lose that thing in the alleys,"  he said to himself, "Surely its mobility has limitations."

The scout instantly dive-bombed straight down into the unsuspecting city, as if he planned to crash into the unforgiving cement of the roads. Moments before impact, however, the suicidal trajectory morphed in a blink of an eye, plunging into the narrow corridors of the city while flying just inches off the ground.

If that robot doesn't crash into the ground, it will surely get lost through here! He thought, smiling at how his natural powers allow him to defy the laws of physics.

Left and right Pathie turned through the neglected alleys, sending trashcans, their contents, stray animals, and the occasional bum twirling chaotically in his wake. Like a true Malukian soldier, he displayed great agility, effortlessly turning on the dime at every corner. Despite all the twists in his path, however, it didn't take long for the scout to find himself on the main road once more.

Flying down the said road, Pathie turned his head. Not a single sign of the robot anywhere.

"Ha! I knew it would be-UNGH!"

Just when the scout was about to gloat, the universe decided to play a nasty prank on him when it placed a large, metal-forged park statue of the Powerpuff girls in his path. The top of Pathie's noggin collided with solid steel. It didn't stop the soldier completely, but the resulting concussion caused one of the most spectacular wipeouts in the history of spectacular wipeouts, taking out nine lampposts, three mailboxes, a few benches, numerous trees, and the smooth surfaces of several sports cars before his back smashed into the front windshield of a patrolling police vehicle.

The men inside that vehicle slammed on the brakes, launching a battered Pathie back onto the pavement.

"Holy freakin' crap! Is that what I think it is?!"

"Get your gun ready! Call for back-up!"

"Mayday! Mayday! We have a code red on North Main, I repeat, code red on North Main! Requesting back-up immediately!"

**********

In the sky, the Powerpuff Girls flew in a tight Delta formation, as they always do. Blossom, serving as the spearhead of the formation, scanned the city below them, anxious to discover the whereabouts of the Rowdyruff.

"Darn it, how could we lose him like that?" a slightly raspy voice complained from Blossom's left.

"Well, they were going pretty fast," a sweet, innocent voice replied from Blossom's right.

 "Yeah, but not that fast!" Buttercup rebutted.

Just then, Blossom's bulb clicked. "Bubbles, Buttercup, stop for a minute!"

"What for?" Buttercup asked.

"I might be able to pinpoint their location if I can use my super-hearing skills. But I can't hear much of anything far away if the wind is blowing on my face!" Blossom explained.

"Hmph! Why do that? That Rowdyruff's bound to start smashing things, so he shouldn't be too hard to spot!" Buttercup argued.

"I don't see any destruction. Do you?"

Blossom's statement effectively silenced the brunette, who grumbled to herself as the trio slowed to a halt in the air. The red-head then closed her eyes, as she focused all her attention on the intricate details of the aural atmosphere. Buttercup watched with growing impatience, while Bubbles looked on with her natural curiosity. Minutes passed, until…

"Eureka!"

Bubbles and Buttercup felt a brief surge of adrenaline as Blossom's exclamation startled them.

"What? What do you hear? What do you hear?" Buttercup asked, caught up in the impending excitement.

"A police officer is chattering on his radio about a "code-red" situation, and he sounds absolutely terrified! The Rowdyruff's gotta be near him!"

"Well, what the heck are we waiting for!?" Buttercup cried, "Let's get going already!"
"Follow me!" Blossom commanded, blasting off in the direction of the Rowdyruff, her sisters following suit.

**********

How convenient…I escape one predicament only to land myself in another!

Down on the streets of the city, Pathie Zimbogous faced an ugly situation. The barrels of two Nine-Millimeter Glock pistols aimed at his heart and forehead, held in the shaking hands of two policemen taking cover behind the doors of a marked patrol car. One of the cops was already shouting at Pathie to place his hands behind his head.

I don't know how powerful and accurate those guns may be, and I can't understand them…How am I going to defuse this? Pathie thought.

The shouting grew in amplitude as the faraway wail of sirens began to close in on the scout.

Protocol dictates that I can't use lethal force on indigenous life unless I have no other choice…yet if I'm not quick enough, I could be killed. But taking these humans out for certain would bring the planet's whole army upon me...I will get nothing out of a massacre.

One of the cops suddenly fired a warning shot, marking the asphalt near Pathie's feet with a newly formed bullet-hole.

Then again, living wouldn't be such a terrible idea!

The scout charged forward with ludicrous speed, catching one of the officers completely off-guard as he grabbed the hapless human by the collar and flipped in mid-air, slamming his first target into the ground in the process. The second hostile tried to fire his weapon, but two stumps of albino flesh crushed the dominant hand into the gun's blocky grip, shattering bones as well as the pistol itself. The man's resulting scream ended abruptly as a tiny foot smashed into his diaphragm, forcing all the air out of the lungs as he crumpled to the ground, losing consciousness.

That should pass for non-lethal force, Pathie thought, observing his handiwork, Although the ease of that execution is a bit of a surprise to me. I guess their guns aren't very well-developed. Now, to get to safety…

"Hold it right there, you big meanie!"

Pathie's eyes grew wide in surprise. I recognize that voice…

He turned around and looked upwards towards the direction of the voice. Up in the sky, the blonde he had inadvertently terrorized glared down on him with eyes that bore into his conscience. The other two refugees floated by her side, bearing the same expression.

Bloody hell…

**********

"How can these humans find their way through all this molded rock? It's like a beehive in this settlement!"

Bullet, the super-powered female squirrel, found herself to be hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of the concentrated human habitat, much in the same way that a man or woman would be lost in the depths of her sylvan landscape. It didn't help that the streets below swarmed with the chaos of panicked city-dwellers, running in mindless, twisting paths like sheep chased by wolves.

Well, at least I know I'm in the right place…these folks run around whenever there's serious trouble nearby. But is that "trouble" the people I'm looking for? Bullet thought.

She continued her search through the city, flying just above the streets to avoid the numerous stampedes.

What am I going to do when I find them? If they got to each other first, they'll be fighting for sure. Based on what Pathie said, none of the Malukians would want to talk this out. I'll be forced to take sides. That would be awful!

If things get out of hand, Bubbles and the others might end up destroying everything. The humans' settlement could be reduced to rubble. And if they move to other regions, my own home could be destroyed! So many could become homeless…or hurt...or dead!

What am I going to do?!

So heightened was the squirrel's sense of anxiety that she nearly ignored the fact that a gigantic pachinko pellet with metallic squid tentacles opted to ram head-on into her tiny frame.

What th-?!

Bullet could not finish that thought, since the force of the blow shot her through the air and into the concrete of a nearby building. Moments later, she felt tubes of steel wrap around her furry body as the mechanical monstrosity assumed dominance. The squirrel's eyes looked into the artificial lens of the machine. She saw the green hues of death on the other side, preparing to burst forth from the lifeless sight of the hunter.

NO!

Like the lead projectile from which she derives her name, Bullet shot skyward, tearing off a piece of the tentacle in the process. The metal tentacle returned to its over moments later, smacking the "body" of the machine with the force of an incoming train. The robot barely flinched, and snapped its view directly towards the squirrel. She watched in horror as the machine picked up its tentacle and snapped it back in perfect place, melding it to its artificial frame in seconds. Then, it continued on its mission as the tentacles shot towards Bullet. The female mammal barely had enough time to dodge the second strike as the hostile extensions of the machine demolished everything else they impacted.

Fright sent Bullet zooming through Townsville as the robot began its relentless chase.

**********

"Well, what do we have here…"

Well…what do we have here…

"You've been doing very bad things."

You're still pretending to be like them.

"Leaving a crater in the park…"

Have you lost hope in your own race?

"Harming police officers…"

The façade cannot hide your suffering. I can sense you're not truly happy.

"And harming our own sister."

You know why I am here. You know what I have to do. And I am not going to sacrifice myself for the sake of three when I can save the millions who cannot flee, even if they wanted to.

"Now it is time to end this."

I have no choice but to end this, however tragic the outcome will be.

"Get ready to fight, Rowdyruff!"

"…"

**********

The battle commenced with little hesitation.