In these silences, something may rise

Part 5

Hardcore

(Authors note: for the voice of Him, plain text indicates effeminate voice while bold text indicates demonic voice.)

The city of Townsville, flying high above this city the Power Puff Girls head for where it's most feared villain lies in wait. For six months this city has lived peacefully, but this had ended when the Rowdy Ruffs returned for their revenge. Three boys with powers equal to the cities protectors have now released every other criminal plunging the city back into its most chaotic time. But thanks to the work of the Power Puff Girls and the good side of the Rowdy Ruff Boys almost the entire city is safe again, only one remains and that is Him.

The red demon, which personifies evil its self, floats in the middle of an empty street awaiting its victims. Him has been nurturing its hate for the Power Puff's for a long time now, the only ones Him hates more now are the Rowdy Ruff Boys who humiliated him by forcing him to worship them like gods, and this hate is now ready to be unleashed to its full devastating force.

Three beams of colored light streak across the sky above Him's head, one pink, one green and one blue, which symbolizes the arrival of the Power Puff Girls.

'So they found me at last, I thought I would have to put up a flashing neon sign to get their attention.' Him said in his misleadingly feminine voice. 'Now the fun begins.' His eyes flashed with fire as his truer voice came out, the voice of a devil.

The three girls landed in front of Him, each looking like they had been fighting for hours and had the energy of snails left.

'Why hello girls, is been such a long time since I have seen you.' Him said. 'So how are you this fine day?'

'We're not here to play your mind games Him; we are here to kick your butt!' Buttercup shouted at the demon who just kept smiling.

'Yeah you red meannie.' Bubbles said.

'Why not make it easy on your self and give up?' Blossom said.

'Oh girls I did miss your little jokes.' Him said giggling like a school girl. 'Why would I give up when right now you three are as weak as kittens?'

'I'll show you weak as kittens!' Buttercup charged Him before Blossom could stop her. Blossom could tell Him wanted them to attack first, and now Buttercup was going off half cocked and into an obvious trap.

'That's it hit me with everything you have.' Him watched Buttercup with greedy eyes, waiting for just the right moment before rolling gracefully to one side. Buttercup zoomed past Him harmlessly; this only made her become angrier as she instantly attacked again. Him just side stepped out of the way of a flying kick which left Buttercup wide open for an attack, yet Him did nothing but taunt her.

'Is that all you have, oh dear Buttercup I do believe your losing your touch.' Him said.

'Buttercup stop it, its obvious he is trying to provoke you into doing something stupid!' Blossom yelled at her sister. 'Fall back and we can come up with an attack plan.'

'I don't need any plans from you leader girl.' Buttercup said without taking her eyes off Him. 'Devil boy is mine.' Buttercup attacked again and this time Him made his true move. Buttercup was coming at Him with a lunging punch, but the move was sloppy and Him easily grabbed the arm in his pincher. Buttercup saw she was in danger and tried to pull away but the claw dug in deep and would not let go.

'Your hate is my bread and mead little girl.' Him said, digging his claw deeper into her flesh before swinging the Green Puff round his head like a lasso. Blossom and Bubbles watched helplessly as Him threw their sister down into the ground with enough force to cause the buildings around them to shake.

'Buttercup!' Bubbles shouted as she saw Him drive Buttercup deep into the road.

'Bubbles quickly, attack pattern omega seven red blue.' Blossom had seen what was coming even if it was to late to stop it, but she had the next move figured out, she just hoped Him did not have his next move planned out.

'Oh not attack pattern omega seven red blue, whatever shall I do?' Him said in a sarcastic voice as Blossom and Bubbles started their attack. Blossom flew in from the right while Bubbles flew in from the left; both flew as quickly as they could at his sides while Him just stood their waiting. The girls instead of hitting grabbed each of Him's arms and held onto them as tightly as he had held Buttercup's in his vice like claws.

'Now we have you.' Blossom said pulling Him's arm as hard as she could.

'Do you really my sweet child?' Him said and began to laugh as his body started to grow in size. The girls had seen this transformation once before, in the alternate future where they had disappeared and Him had taken over. Now longer looking like a sexually confused demon, he now looked like a true monster strait from the pit of hell.

'You three were fools to face me.' Him flexed his new muscles causing the girls to lose their grips on his arms. 'Maybe if you had tried when you were daisy fresh you would have done it, but after fighting every super villain in Townsville your no more challenge to me then aerobic exercise.' Him sent out both of his black pincers and grabbed Blossom and Bubbles with them. The two girls tried pushing out of the claws but were too weak; the razor sharp edges dug in just hard enough to stick them there but not enough to cut them in half. Him squeezed the very air out of their lungs and watched as they slowly suffocated in his grip.

'Now it is time for you to die my sweets!' Him said as Buttercup managed to crawl out of the hole she had been left in. 'Awake all ready Buttercup? Don't worry this time I will make sure you stay down, permanently.' Him lifted up his foot and brought it crashing down on Buttercup's back, his whole weight put on her.

'Buttercup…' Bubbles said in a very weak voice, she was starting to go blue as Him crushed her chest that screamed out for oxygen.

'Get off me!' Buttercup was in pain but unlike her sisters was still able to breathe. 'If you don't take this foot of me I will beat the life out of you!' Him just laughed at the meaningless threat.

'Buttercup, shout for help…' Blossom was using the last of her precious air to talk, only just loud enough for Buttercup's super hearing to actually hear. 'Quickly we need the boys help.'

'I don't need anybody's help especially those three jerks.' Buttercup tried to force Him's foot off her back and failed to even gain an inch. 'I just have to get Him off my back!'

'Buttercup please...' Blossom said with the last of the air she had in her lungs. Bubbles had now fainted and Blossom was very close to blacking out her self, only Buttercup could possibly call for help before Him killed them all.

'Ahhh!' Buttercup shouted out in a mix of pain and frustration. 'Fine… HELP!' Buttercup shouted out as loud as she could, the sound of which caused every piece of glass in a two mile radius to shatter and nearly deafen Him. Now it only remained to be seen if the boys heard it in time to help.

'That was easy.' Boomer said. They had just knocked out the Amoeba boys with little more then a light slap, Butch had refused to do even that saying it was 'a waste of his talents.'

'What did you expect Boomer?' Brick asked as he picked up the unconscious Amoeba boys and threw them into the remains of the great prison. As soon as he had done that they all heard Buttercup's scream for help.

'That was Buttercup shouting for help.' Boomer said in alarm as he looked to where he sensed Him to be.

'Buttercup screaming for help, things must be serious. Come on guys!' Brick and Boomer flew off with out any hesitation at all, leaving Butch at the prison for a moment. As much as Butch did not like Buttercup he respected her, she had some hardness in her unlike the other girls. Butch had thought her to stubborn to ever ask for help, even if it meant her own death. This thought confused him but at the same time was starting to open his eyes to something inside himself. But this was not a time for thinking, he was finally going to see some decent action, Butch flew after Boomer and Brick in a blast of green light.

'After I finish squeezing the life out of you I will do the same to those Rowdy Ruff Boys.' Him said as he felt Blossom and Bubbles heart beats drop to nearly nothing. 'Scream all you want Buttercup, no one is coming to save you… damn you perhaps but not save.' Him then saw bright colors flash before his eyes and heard bells ringing deep inside his head. The giant demon stumbled dropping Blossom and Bubbles while freeing Buttercup.

'Don't be so sure of that.' Brick said, he and his brothers had attacked from Him's blind side with a triple kick which had freed the girls. 'Butch, Boomer go and check on the girls while I keep slappy busy.' Brick charged at the demon hoping to keep him off guard while Butch and Boomer went down to ground level to check on the three Power Puff's.

'Bubbles can you hear me?' Boomer said as he turned an unconscious Bubbles over he could see she had stopped breathing. 'Oh no, Butch she's stopped breathing!'

'Well you know that CPR rubbish, use it.' Butch said, he was not really interested in the girls' health because there was a true fight waiting for him and if he did not hurry Brick would have all the fun.

'I did a half hour first aid course because of the free cookies and juice!' Boomer shouted at Butch. 'I hardly paid attention, and you were there to!'

'Yeah but I paid zero attention, I was to busy stuffing by pockets with cookies.' Butch said. 'Like it or not your going to have to do this one Boomer, and quickly… I don't think she wants her skin color to match her dress.' Butch then left Boomer's side and went to check on Blossom and Buttercup.

'Ok Boomer its time to step up… you have to remember what to do.' Boomer took in a deep breath and tried desperately to do everything he had been told at the first aid course. He hesitated for a moment and then began to perform the kiss of life on Bubbles, all the while praying to anyone who cared that it would work. After a few repetitions he was starting to lose hope, but on the fourth try Boomer was surprised as Bubbles started to cough.

'Why does my throat hurt?' Bubbles asked as she started to open her eyes again. 'And why are my lips tingling?' Boomer went a deep red as the blood rushed to his head.

'Err… um… well you see… ah I will tell you later, I am just glad you're ok.' Boomer said.

'Well of course I am ok; I have my lucky charm with me.' Bubbles pulled out of her dress a small teddy bear tied to a thin piece of string, Boomer smiled as he saw the old toy and surprised himself by laughing.

'Well looks like boss lady is all right, in a few minuets she will be giving me more stupid orders.' Butch said after checking Blossoms pulse. 'And how about you Fluffy? Need me to take you home so the Prof can kiss your booboos better?' Butch asked Buttercup.

'When this fight is over I am going to kick your butt Butch, so help me I am going to do it.' Buttercup said.

'Well looks like Fluffy is still feeling feisty.' Butch said winding Buttercup even more, he would have gone on like this but he saw a flash of red light land next to him.

'This guy is tougher then I thought, I've hit him with everything I have and he still won't go down.' Brick said, he now looked like the girls had done when they had gone after Him in the first place.

'That guy?' Butch asked looking at Him.

'I don't understand how but he's much faster then I am, every time I try to hit Him he's all ready out of the way.' Brick had wasted all his energy fighting Him and knew he was losing, you could have all the strength in the world but it did no good if you could not hit your target. 'I think he moved all his power into speed, he's weak as an old man but his defense is impervious.'

'Stand back and let a pro show you how it's done!' Butch moved Brick to one side and attacked Him head on, flying head first for his gut.

'Butch no!' Brick shouted but was to worn out to go after his brother. 'Boomer help him!' Boomer nodded, taking one last concerned look at Bubble before he went after Butch.

'Do you think you can stop me little boy, then come on and try.' Him said. Butch was like a torpedo and if he had hit would have surly killed Him but the second he was about to hit Him moved gracefully to one side. Such a large monster should not have been able to move so quickly and gracefully but this was no ordinary monster.

'What the matter Butch?' Him said. 'I thought you were the toughest, even Bubbles did better then this, perhaps you should take fighting lessons from her?' Him knew Butch was too like Buttercup for comfort; it was child's play to manipulate his ego. Butch did not even think about what he was doing when he fired his green energy blast from his hand. The large wave of energy flew strait for Him's head but the demon just cocked it to one side letting the beam pass him harmlessly. The blast in fact was now heading for Boomer who had to barrel roll quickly to the side to avoid been hit by it.

'Come on you little brat, fight me like a man!'Him said to Butch, he needed the green Ruff to hurry or else Boomer might save him. 'Hand to hand, or are you afraid of me?' Butch roared like an angered lion as he made another charge at Him, just like Buttercup he had fallen into the trap and would have been killed if Boomer had not stopped him in time. The Blue Ruff flew at his own brother grabbing him by his arms and pulling him away from Him.

'Don't do it Butch, he wants you to attack him.' Boomer said as he struggled to hold Butch back.

'Let go of me, I am going rearrange his face!' Butch squirmed around trying to get free but Boomer kept an ironclad grip around his mid section now.

'I am not letting you go until you cool down Butch, going headlong like that will just get you killed.' Boomer said as he pulled Butch back down to ground level where Brick waited with the Power Puff Girls.

'He's right Butch.' Buttercup said. 'I did the same thing and look what good it did me.' Butch sopped struggling when Buttercup spoke, he did respect her but more then that he did not want to make her mistakes… he was better then her after all.

'Butch I order you to stay here while we come up with a plan.' Blossom said in a slightly croaky voice.

'See I told you, stupid orders as soon as she woke up.' Butch said, he sounded calmer now so Boomer risked letting go of him but kept primed and ready to grab him if he tried to rush off again.

'Ok now that we are all awake maybe we can get some where…' Brick said.

'I say we attack Him all at once, he can't out match us all.' Butch said, his tactical knowledge consisted of hitting with everything you had and nothing beyond that.

'No Butch…' Brick did not get a chance to give his reasons, out of the corner of his eye he could see Him had stopped waiting for them to attack and was making his move. The demons mouth had opened wide and out of it a stream of fire blasted out, just like Bricks own ability, and it was going for Boomer.

'Huh?' Boomer felt heat coming at him and thought he could hear someone shouting a warning to him then he went flying. Boomer's senses seemed to all shut off apart from sight which seemed to become perfect, he could see every tiny detail as he went hurtling across the street. He saw his brothers moving for him as quickly as they could, he could see Blossom as she tried to get up, he saw Buttercup already up and shouting something he could not hear. The very last thing he saw in this moment of sensory clarity was Bubbles; she was standing where he had been with her hands outstretched looking right at Boomer. Then there was only fire.

The others had seen it all, Boomer had been daydreaming and now Him was about to barbeque him. Brick and Butch both tried to get to him in time but both could see the fire was moving faster then they were able to move from a standing start. Blossom saw Bubbles run to Boomer's side and push him with both hands, sending him out of the path of the flaming vortex. Buttercup shouted Bubbles name as if that could somehow help her sister. Then the flames hit, Boomer missed them by a few feet but Bubbles was struck dead on by the fires of hell.

'Damn it we're too late!' Brick said as he slid to a stop just as the flames died away. Bubbles was lying on the smoldering ground, smoke rising from her burned body and tiny fires still blazing on and around her.

'Bubbles!' Buttercup was the first arrive beside Bubbles. 'You have to be all right Bubbles, you just have to be.' Tears were welling up in her eyes as she saw how badly hurt her sister was.

'Not quite who I was aiming for but I will take it.' Him said as he looked down on his victim. 'Now who is next to burn?'

'Ok we are taking Him down, Butch go left and Boomer you go right while I try to get behind him. Got that?' Brick asked, he got a yes from Butch but heard nothing from Boomer. 'Hey Boomer did you understand the plan? Boomer?' Brick could see Boomer was standing a few meters from where Blossom and Buttercup were kneeling next to Bubbles. His eyes were locked on Bubbles but had that empty look he had whenever he was thinking on something difficult.

'Oh great Boomers off with the fairies, we are on our own Brick.' Butch said.

'Crap, this was hard enough with three of us but two… I need a new strategy.'

Boomer was not in the zone as he normally saw it, he could still see the real world and could vaguely hear what was going on around him, but his thoughts were too many to be bothered with it. His eyes seemed to black out everything but Bubbles, his counterpart and the one who had just saved him and paid the price for it.

His thoughts ran though his mind getting louder and louder, he thought of the past when he had been a whole and tried to kill the Power Puff Girls, he thought of his brief time in an orphanage, he thought of his life on the streets, he thought how Butch would tease him, he thought how Brick kept telling him to suck it up and act like a Rowdy Ruff Boy, he thought of the students at school and how they bullied him, he thought of Him and what he had done and above all he thought of Bubbles. All the emotions inside of him were screaming, the thoughts and feelings he bottled up trying to breakout, it was like a caged beast pushing against the door of its cage trying to escape. The final thought that went through his mind was an image, he could see round Bubbles neck his teddy bear and now it was on fire, the small bear was turning black as it became ash and this was it.

Snap

Boomer felt and heard the snap and that was it.

'Blossom have you got any ideas on what we could…' Brick looked to see Blossom and his attention was grabbed instead by Boomer. 'What on earth?' Seeing the look of astonishment on Bricks face everyone looked a Boomer and everyone fell silent.

Boomer was no longer looking blankly at Bubbles but now looked at Him with anger radiating off him like heat. His eyes no longer blue had gone a shade of red brighter then Bricks, fire danced behind those eyes as from his throat came a growl that made even Him shiver. Boomer started to glow with a mix of blue and red light as he focused all of his hate, all of his anger at Him.

'Boomer-vicious…' Buttercup said under her breath, Boomer had snapped like Bubbles had done and now was hardcore.

'Kill…you…' Boomer's voice was no longer soft but now sounded like the voice of some long ago hero, a demon slayer.

'Did I upset you?' Him asked, a trace of fear running through his voice. 'Well go off and cry about it.' Boomer answered this taunt with an earsplitting howl before he seemed to disappear. No one saw Boomer jump from where he was and reach Him, he moved so fast that even the super vision of the other Ruff's and Puff's could not see the move, all they did see was Him fly off his feet and crash into a building. Boomer just seemed to appear floating where Him had been, his hand outstretched.

'Where did that come from?' Butch asked as he looked up at Boomer.

'I have no idea…' Brick said, slightly in awe of what his brother was doing.

'You were lucky you little brat.' Him said as he climbed out of the rubble of the building Boomer had punched him into. 'Now it's my turn.' Him threw his open claw at Boomer intending to cut him in two, but Boomer stopped Him with both of his own hands. The claws were wedged open by Boomer and no matter how much strength Him used he could not close them, they were actually been opened wider and wider.

'This is not possible.' Him said as he put all of his energy into the strength in his pincer but still Boomer pushed them back. Now Him felt pain bolt through his arm as Boomer pushed the claws back past where they were meant to go, the creak of tendons and cracking on bone filled the air as Him screamed in a voice of both a demon and his effeminate self. Boomer then flew forward turning into a human spear, he went in the gap of Him's claws and right through his arm. Out of Him's shoulder came a beam of red and blue light as Boomer finished his attack.

'My arm!' Him screamed in agony as black blood flowed freely from the holes on both ends of his now useless right arm. 'What are you!?' Him asked Boomer who looked down with the same expression of fury.

'I am rage, I am vengeance, I am hardcore and I am your death!' Boomers voice bellowed out and caused his brothers spines to shiver.

Boomer attacked Him once again, this time rapidly firing his eyes lasers down on Him. The red beams struck Him with the force of a nuclear explosion, the red fiend was sent back by the barrage unable to stand against the power Boomer had gained.

'Mercy, please show my mercy!' Him said in a weak voice as Boomer stopped firing his eye beams. For a moment Him thought Boomer was going to stop and let him go, but when he looked from behind his arms he could see Boomer coming right at him like Butch had done earlier. Him had easily avoided Butch's head butt earlier but Boomer was much faster and Him was far too weak to move out the way. Just as Boomer had done through Him's arm he now drove through Him's midsection. This time when Boomer came out Him made no sound, he just shrank instantly back to his original form. Boomer floated down to where Him lay, he was badly beaten but would live if given time. Boomer picked Him up by his throat and held him close to his face. The blue Ruff looked at Him and thought that it would be best to kill him, to take his vengeance, but a small voice told him not to do it. The voice was a mixture of his own and Bubbles, do not kill him, if you do then you become just like him Boomer. If the voice had been just his own Boomer may have ignored it, but with Bubbles voice as well he took notice of it.

'You can thank Bubbles for your wretched life.' Boomer said to Him as he tossed him to one side, then closed his eyes and fell backwards. He was caught by two pairs of hands; Butch and Brick had stopped his fall and gently lay him down.

'What happened to him Brick?' Butch asked as he looked at the sorry mess that was Him.

'I don't know, but it might be the single coolest thing I have seen in my life.' Brick said as Boomer started to come around.

'Eck, what happened?' He sounded like his old self and when he opened his eyes they were back to their original deep blue. 'Is Bubbles all right?'

'She's been better bro but I think she's going to make it.' Butch said.

'Hey who beat Him up?' Boomer asked when he saw Him lying in a pool of his own black blood.

'Don't you remember, you went berserk and beat the snot out of Him… it was awesome!' Brick said punching the air, but Boomer just shook his head confused, the last thing in his memory was seeing Bubbles after Him's fire breath hit her.

Boomer stood up feeling light headed and a little sick, he could not believe he had beaten Him on his own no matter what. But both of his brothers swore that he had done it, and why would they lie to him?

'Guys we can celebrate later, right now we have to get home.' Blossom and Buttercup had picked up Bubbles as carefully as they could. 'Bubbles needs medical attention, school will have to be missed today.'

'Oh what a pity and here I was looking forward to been in the company of those tolerant open minded students and teachers.' Butch said sarcastically as he snapped his fingers by his side.

'Shut up jerk and start flying.' Buttercup said, Butch reacted with a snappy salute.

'Yes sir commander Fluffy.' Butch said and then flew as fast as he could to make sure he got the last word in.

'One of these days, bang, zip strait to the moon Butch!' Buttercup yelled after him.

Blossom sat on one of the medic-beds while professor Utonium lightly dabbed a small cut with a ball of cotton coated in iodine solution. Blossom winced as the cut sang out with pain, but she bore through it knowing making a noise would only encourage Brick or more likely Butch.

'You girls are just going to have to go back into training, honestly making such stupid mistakes.' The Professor had given them all a grilling, Buttercup for been so headstrong, Butch for teasing Buttercup and also for been headstrong, Blossom for been careless and leaving the boys behind, Brick for not thinking through his plans and Boomer for day dreaming during a fight.

'Yes Professor.' Blossom said through clenched teeth as the professor Utonium finished cleaning her cuts.

'Excuse me sir but will Bubbles be ok?' Boomer asked sheepishly.

'Boomer you can call me Professor if you like, and yes Bubbles will be as right as rain in a few more hours.' Professor Utonium had worked on Bubbles for a long time but had managed to keep her stable; her wounds were now healing thanks to her super powers.

'That's great!' Boomer said cheerfully, his face beaming with a smile that seemed to fill his whole face.

'Nah bro, you were great.' Butch said. 'You totally kicked butt out there; I couldn't have done better myself.' Boomer now beamed with pride as well as happiness, he felt a hundred feet tall and better then he had his whole life.

'Now I have to go and write out excuse notes for all six of you to take into school tomorrow.' Professor Utonium said as he packed away his medical equipment.

'Aw, we don't have to go back there again do we?' Butch asked.

'Well of course you do, education is very important after all.' The Professor said. 'I know no one likes school but it's the happiest time of your lives, believe me when I say that… why I remember when I was in school…' At this all of the children instantly zoned out the Professor.

'I hate this place.' Brick said as the six Ruff's and Puff's arrived at the school for yet another day.

'Tell me about it, but what can we do?' Butch said walking up the stairs that lead to the main entrance of the school.

'Come on boys, we are going to be late if you don't get a move on.' Blossom shouted through the doors of the school. Buttercup ran past her, if she was late one more time this term then she would be in detention for a week.

'Yeah, yeah we're coming don't get your skirt in a twist.' Brick said as he slumped his shoulders and half heartedly walked into the school. Butch took a brief look at freedom and seriously considered making a run for it, but running was for sissies so he followed Brick into the school. This left only Boomer and Bubbles outside.

'Boomer wait a second.' Bubbles said as Boomer was about to walk up the stone stairs into school.

'What is it Bubbles?' Boomer asked.

'I wanted to say thank you.' Bubbles said sitting on the steps. Boomer was taken back by what she said and for an instant stood stock still, but then sat down beside Bubbles.

'Thank you? What for?' Boomer asked her.

'For what you did yesterday, Blossom and Buttercup told me all about it and I have not had the chance to thank you for it.' Bubbles said.

'You don't have to thank me, I should thank you after all you saved me from Him's fire breath.' Boomer said feeling the blood rush to his head as embarrassment filled him.

'Yeah but you saved my life remember?' Bubbles said. 'I had stopped breathing and you gave me the kiss of life, and then when I was hurt you went hardcore which means you care for me!' Bubbles said causing Boomer to go into the stutter.

'I…I…I...I… it was…err… I don't… I mean I do… but I…I…I…I um… you see…' Boomer could not get his thoughts in order and may have rambled on much longer if Bubbles had not interrupted him.

'We can talk about it later Boomie, right now just remember that you're my knight in a blue shirt, and if they start bullying you in there…' She cocked a thumb back to the school. '…Just remember you're hardcore.' Bubbles got up and turned to face Boomer who looked flabbergasted. Bubbles managed to hold back the giggles that built up in her throat at seeing him looking so stunned, then leaned forward and kissed Boomer on the cheek. As soon as she did Boomers face went so red he looked ready to explode.

'Come on Boomie, or else we'll be late.' Bubbles ran up the stairs leaving Boomer on the steps, baffled by what had just happened. Part of him was disgusted, the Rowdy Ruff Boy part which saw all girls as icky and full of cooties. But another part of him was overjoyed, this part was quite but over time would grow in him; it was what he was becoming.

The school bell woke him from his stupor and he felt ready to face school now, though he was not sure if it was pride from his brothers or something Bubbles had said which gave him this new confidence. He would think on it later, if he spent any more time out side he would be late and so Boomer put it in high gear as he flew through the school to get to class.

He reached the door of Miss Keane's classroom just a few seconds before the tardy bell would ring giving him a moment to collect himself before the day started. With a deep breath, as if he was about dive into a pool of water, Boomer opened the door and walked into the classroom.

'There he is, the man of the hour!' This was from someone in the class and for a moment Boomer thought there must be someone behind him. The class for once was not looking at him like he was Hitler and like he was one of the Power Puff girls.

'Hey Boomer there's a seat next to me, come on over!' Mitch shouted across the room.

'I have a better seat, its right next to the window!' Mike Believe shouted to Boomer.

'Boomer my man, sorry for teasing you the other day but it was all just a laugh you know?' This was Tom, one of the three bullies from Boomers miserable first day. Now Boomer was left dumbfounded, had somebody poured happy gas into the classroom?

'Boomer if you please take a seat.' Miss Keane said. 'Oh and thank you for yesterday.' Boomer walked as if in a dream, sitting down next to Brick and Mike Believe.

'Brick what's going on here?' Boomer asked.

'Dude they saw us yesterday, when we beat MoJo up.' Brick said.

'Saw, MoJo's roboJoJo was about to flatten us all before you stopped him Boomer.' Mike said.

'It looks like they finally got the idea that we are not evil anymore.' Brick said. 'That psychotic monkey did something good for us for a change, everyone thinks were the best thing since sliced bread.'

Boomer leaned back in his seat and started laughing, he did not know what was so funny to him and felt a bit of an idiot doing it, but he laughed anyway. It was the first time he had laughed in school, and one of the few times he had smiled while he was there. Maybe things were going to turn out all right for them after all.

The dart went right between Blossoms eyes, a perfect hit, Blaze then threw one for Bubbles but missed the target by a few inches.

'Hah that sucked!' Blaster said, he had managed to get all three dead on which meant he was in the lead.

'Laugh it up blue boy, soon as I get these darts back I am aiming at you.' Blaze said getting out of his chair and walking over to the wall where pictures of the three Power Puff Girls had been stuck up. He moved his hand across and collected the three darts and made a fake throw at Blaster.

'Are you two done playing games?' Brimstone asked as he walked into the old sky box.

'Sure Boss, whatever you want.' Blaze said.

'Good, now we have to talk boys… we need to talk about our little problem.' Brimstone pulled an old chair out of the corner of the room and sat down. 'Now what did we learn from our little experiment?'

'That those guys in prison were losers.' Blaster said.

'We kick butt, that the best they have just 'aint good enough to stop a Ruff.' Blaze said.

'Both very true, but we knew both of those facts before we got here.' Brimstone said. 'What we did learn was very important; it was about those wannabe Rowdy Ruff Boys and also about our main goal, The Power Puff Girls. You see watching them run all round Townsville we have learned that whatever those other Ruffs are they have power… for a while I was hopeful it was minimal but that fight with Him… Boomer showed the same strength that we have, and that is dangerous. I was right to fall back, if we had fought them I don't think we would have survived.'

'Ok so Boomer went nuts and beat Him, I could have done that with my eyes closed and in half the time.' Blaze said. 'I still think we are better then the six of them combined.'

'Blaze if I want your opinion I will ask for it.' Brick's glare on Blaze reminded him that he was talking to a madman. 'We can not risk everything on a maybe, we have to use our heads and get through this.'

'Well that rules Blaster out then.' Blaze said.

'Hey I am smarter then I look.' Blaster shouted back at Blaze.

'Well you look like a village idiot.' Blaze said laughing at Blaster.

'You take that back!' Blaster did not give him a chance as he got ready to plow his fist into Blaze's face. He was stopped by Brimstone's hand as he was yanked back to his seat.

'If either one of you two says anything else without been asked I will break both your arms.' Brimstone said looking back and froth between his brothers. 'Now that is clear we can get back to our business. The Power Puff Girls are easy pickings, they don't seem to trust our duplicates and are too confident of their own abilities, Him would have crushed them if given a few more seconds, so we can discount much more challenge from them. But if they do combine with the other Rowdy Ruff Boys we might struggle, even lose against them. So we must split them up, try and get the girls to come after us recklessly like they did Him. If we can get them to leave the boys behind and come after us alone then we could kill them, which would leave the copies of us as easy targets.'

'So how do we do that Brimstone?' Blaster asked, Brimstone thought of punishing him for speaking when not told to but the question was valid so he gave him mercy… this time.

'Brother if you can not attack the body then where is it you must attack your enemy?' Brimstone asked and just got blank looks from Blaze and Blaster.

'Err… we could attack their house!' Blaze said after a while.

'What about their school?' Blaze said, they both fought Brimstone meant that they must attack a physical thing.

'No you idiots we don't attack buildings we attack something much more important then that.' Brimstone said. 'Their hearts. We attack their hearts Brothers.'