Disclaimer: None of the characters from either "Kim Possible" or "The Powerpuff Girls" belong to me.
Chapter 10 - The Birthplace and the Resting Place (06.23.04 / 02.14.05)
The quiet solitude of the laboratory room was disrupted when the doors into it were opened with a loud slam of the door against the wall. A group of diverse, though mostly out-of-shape, henchmen entered.
"We're here, boss!" one of them, a bulky, yet tall individual stated aloud.
Stepping out of the shadows of the dark recesses of the back of the room, Doctor Drakken reached over and slapped the burly henchman upside the head.
"Are you TRYING to blow our cover?" Drakken yelled. "What part about 'secret laboratory' don't you understand?"
"Uh..." started another, "if this is supposed to a 'secret laboratory,' then what are they doing here?"
This henchman was referring to the lab assistants he had 'enslaved' to create the lair itself.
"I'm an evil genius! Evil geniuses don't do petty things such as constructing a lair! That's for henchmen to do!"
"So," the first spoke up again, "what are we to do with them?"
Drakken shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno... tie them up and throw them in a utility closet or something. Do I look like the type of evil genius who tries to eliminate a few pesky college graduates?"
The henchmen all looked at each other, trying to come up with an answer. But their stationary movement angered Drakken even more.
"What did I just say? Get them out of here already!"
"Oh... yes sir!" all the henchmen replied at once.
"Once you've finished," Drakken began, as the hired help went to complete the task at hand, "we'll begin construction on the ultimate device that will ensure complete world domination!"
Meanwhile, the six heroes were just arriving at the Powerpuff Girls' house. Professor Utonium had already returned from Townsville Technical Institute, as his station wagon was sitting idle in the driveway. The girls came to a stop and landed right by the front door. Kim and Ron each pick up one of Monique's arms and pull her up until they were able to carry Monique's weight on their shoulders.
"You okay over there?" Kim, on Monique's right, asked her best friend.
"Heh... you know it," Ron replied confidently, though it was obvious that he was struggling just a little bit.
Blossom opened the front door and then led the group in.
"Is that you, girls?" the professor called out from the kitchen.
"Yes!" the Powerpuff trio replied.
Professor Utonium walked out... only to stop when he saw Kim and Ron trying to lug Monique's lifeless body over to the sofa. He immediately ran over to help.
"What happened?"
"Just a little misunderstanding," answered Kim, as the trio managed to get Monique's body onto the sofa, lying face-up towards the ceiling.
"She looks alright," the professor noted, before heading back towards the kitchen. "Let me see if I can find some smelling salts."
"So..." Kim began, "nice place you have here."
"Thanks!" Blossom said in reply.
"So, when can we start?" an excited Bubbles asked Ron. "I wanna learn more about you and your cute little pet!"
"First off, Rufus isn't a pet!" explained Ron, as he took Rufus out of his pocket. "He's family!"
"Hands off!" Rufus shouted, still apprehensive of the big-eyed Bubbles.
"Wait... I know!" Bubbles exclaimed.
The blonde-haired girl zoomed out of the room and back in less than a second. But she hadn't come back empty-handed... she had a swiss cheese wedge the size of a doorstop in her hands.
"I bet I know what you like!" Bubbles said with a smile.
Rufus instantly jumped from Ron's palm to Bubbles', and immediately began rubbing his paws in delight over the tasty treat he was about to devour.
"Cheese!" Rufus chirped happily as he started to munch away.
"Hey, no fair!" Ron cut in. "How'd you know Rufus' weakness?"
"Bubbles..." Professor Utonium shouted as he came out of the kitchen. "Remember the talk we had about 'no snacks before dinner?'"
"But Professor, it's not for me! It's for Rufus!"
"Rufus?"
Bubbles nodded. "He's Ron's pet!"
"He's not a pet!" Ron screamed.
"Interesting specimen," the professor observed as he moved in for a closer look at Rufus. "A naked mole rat, right? I've heard so much about these."
"Sorry to interrupt," Kim cut in, "but could you revive Monique so we can see if she's alright?"
"Ah yes, your friend. Let's see now..."
The group watches as the professor waved the smelling salts back and forth in front of Monique's nose. It didn't take long for the raven-haired girl to awaken.
"Ooohhh..." Monique muttered, raising a hand to massage her aching head as she sat up. "What hit me?"
"It's a long story," Kim said, parking herself down next to Monique. "And don't worry about the pills... you won't have to worry about those things anymore."
"Pills?" The professor raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Kim sighed.
"I guess I'd better fill you in on all the details."
"Can we help too?" Bubbles asked sweetly.
"Not if we have to sit through your poorly-drawn crayon drawings," muttered Buttercup.
Meanwhile, Drakken was up to his usual no-good antics, as he was hard at work concocting the blueprints for a device, one that would help him achieve his life-long dream of world domination. But something was bothering him. It wasn't that he had yet to get adapted to his fairly new surroundings. It wasn't that his henchmen were acting like the bumbling buffoons he hired them to be.
It was that someone was knocking. Knocking on something. Knocking very loudly. And Drakken couldn't talk it anymore.
"Shego!" Drakken yelled, calling for his right-hand woman. "Shego, go answer the door!"
No movement. No witty remarks. No Shego. Yet, still even more door-knocking.
"SHEGO!"
This time, Drakken got out of his seat and looked around. He didn't see her anywhere in the laboratory. It was then that he remembered where she was.
"Blast it! Why did I let her have that 'two weeks paid vacation' clause in her contract? Or the 'no cloning' clause, too! I can't get anything done without her around!"
Even more door-knocking. Constant to the point where they had formed into a beat of some sort. A beat that was angering the evil genius with each passing pounding of the door. Unable to take it anymore, Drakken did the only thing in his power to stop it.
He opened the door.
"Is Bill here?" asked the man who had been knocking, a stout brown-haired grad student in a lab coat.
"No!" Drakken answered before slamming the door shut.
Drakken walked back over to his seat and went back to drawing up his plans... or start on them anyway, as the paper in front of him had a picture of an ice cream cone on it.
"Darn it!" he yelled as he crumpled it up and hurled it at the nearest wastebasket, not caring that the 'ball' had bounced off the far side of the rim and had fallen to the floor.
"So that's what happened!" the professor exclaimed.
"Yeah! So hopefully once Monique here's back on her feet, we can start anew," Kim said aloud.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," reassured Monique. "As long as I never see another pep pill for the rest of my life!"
"You and me both!" agreed Kim, reaching over and hugging her friend.
"Now that we've got things settled... I'm Professor Utonium. I'm the girls' creator."
"Everyone's spilled the beans on me... I'm Monique!"
"Ron Stoppable and Rufus, the Naked Mole Rat!"
"Ta-da!" Rufus added.
"And I'm K..."
Suddenly, the Powerpuffs' telephone was buzzing off the hook. Blossom raced over to answer it.
"What is it, Mayor? Uh huh... you don't say? Alright... we're on our way!"
"Who is it this time?" Buttercup asked, ready for a fight.
"He's not sure," Blossom replied. "He can't see out his window."
"Why not?"
"Because his windows are dirty, and the window washer doesn't come by 'til noon."
"But isn't it almost twelve thirty already?" Bubbles asked, pointing to a nearby clock.
"They must've taken an extended lunch break," deduced Ron. "You see, that's why you can never trust union workers..."
"Unless something's happened to him," Kim broke in. "He must be in trouble."
"That's good enough for me!" chimed Bubbles.
"Right!" Blossom nodded. "Let's roll, girls!"
In an instant, the Powerpuff Girls flew out the front door, which they had managed to open in their hasty exit, and head towards the downtown area. Kim ran out the door to see which direction they had flown off in.
Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a helmet and strapped it on.
"I'm going after them!" Kim yelled as Ron and Monique came outside.
"Why?" Ron asked. "To record their exploits as part of your class report?"
"No! To prove to them that I'm capable of saving the world too... just like them!"
Kim reached for a button on the right side of helmet and pushed it. In an instant, elbow and knee pads appeared on her person, and her shoes turned into rocket-powered rollerskates. Kim immediately blasted off down the road.
"Hey Kim, wait for me!" Ron yelled as he located his helmet and followed his best friend down the street... kicking, screaming, and steering wildly all the way out of sight.
Coming in Chapter 11: "Townsville's Least Wanted"
- Just what dangers await the Powerpuffs at the Mayor's office?
- Will Kim and Ron help out, or just take notes on the sidelines?
- And because we've been waiting way too long... this day comes to an end! Finally!