The next morning, when everyone came down for breakfast, and saw Beth sitting on the sofa with Blaine, they thought that they'd gone crazy.
"Everyone, meet the Super Powerpuff Girl, Beth," said Blaine as he brought the new girl to meet the others.
"H-h-hello, everybody, I'm Beth, and…I-I'm happy to m-m-meet you all," she said shyly, clinging to Blaine's arm. Being so close to him, Blaine was suddenly aware of her scent.
'Holy cow, she…she smells really good!' he thought, his blood starting to race. 'She smells like…like mint leaves! Go figure!'
The others introduced themselves in turn, and now Beth felt more at ease around them. The others were thrilled to have new siblings, especially very powerful ones.
"Hey, do you know where Dad is, Blaine?" asked Blossom, noticing that the Professor was not there with them.
"He left early this morning. He said he and Miss Keane had plans today," said Blaine, tying his hair back into a ponytail. "In other words, don't expect him back anytime soon," he continued, giving them a "you-know-what-I-mean" smile.
"Oh, we get it," chorused the others with mischievous looks on their faces.
Beth, however, was totally in the dark. "Who is this Miss Keane?" she asked them. "Is she Daddy's girlfriend or something?"
"Yes, you might say that," said Brick, putting his arm around Blossom's shoulder.
"Yeah, for the second time, and she's soon to be Mrs. Utonium," said Butch with a chuckle, which earned him a playful elbow nudge from Buttercup.
They all explained to Beth about how when they were little kids, Miss Keane and the Professor had almost become an item, but due to the Professor's extreme dislike for cats, and the fact that Miss Keane had one, the whole thing had gone straight to Hell. However, after a while, they had made up and become friends, very good friends. They had actually been dating since the kids were in the sixth grade, and they had become very close.
"Wow, they sound just perfect for each other," said Beth.
'Boy, if you guys only knew how close they are, 'thought Blaine with a sly look on his face as he remembered an event that had transpired some weeks ago. Quickly replacing it with a look of bright enthusiasm, he said, "Hey, since it's Saturday, I say we all go out and see Townsville!"
"Yeah, that would be great! You and Beth should see your new hometown!" said Bubbles, leaning against Boomer, who had his arm around her shoulder.
"That sounds wonderful! I'd like that a lot!" said Beth joyfully.
With that, eight colored streaks flew from the Utonium residence towards Townsville.
Somewhere on the outskirts of Townsville, a large mansion stood on a large, flat-topped hill. At least, the outside and the inside looked like a mansion to the casual observer. However, in the miracle of last night, Drake had turned this abandoned mansion into a top-class hideout, loaded with top-grade technology equipment that you'd expect to see in a sci-fi movie. Of course, Drake had only been able to get this stuff through…"ugly" means. At the moment, he was seated in the primary control room, seated in a black swivel throne, gazing at a large screen. On it was an image of the kids, being recorded and transmitted to him via a satellite he had hacked and taken control of.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I can't believe this city is guarded by a bunch of kids!" he laughed, resting his chin on one of his fists. "GAMMA, display Data File 32605," he said, addressing the mansion's main computer AI, which he had programmed himself.
"YES, SIR, DISPLAYING FILE NOW," said the computer. Immediately, the film footage of the kids was replaced with the contents of the file, which was basically information on every villain in Townsville. Drake looked at each of the villain's data, and shook his head condescendingly.
"Of course, with enemies like this, it's not really a surprise," he said with disgust. He stood up out of the seat and snapped his fingers. GAMMA obediently switched back to the transmission of the kids. "However, I think I might be able to put a little bit of excitement in their dull lives," he said, glaring at the screen.
He turned and looked at a picture he had set on the desk of the computer terminal. In it was a young woman wearing a white lab coat with a nametag that read LAVENDER. She had long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail with a blue ribbon, blue eyes, and wore round glasses. She was smiling and waving cheerfully. Drake felt a twinge of pain in his heart as he looked at her, and his eyes began blurring up.
"I won't stop until I find him, even if I have to destroy every person in this city, as well as the city itself," he said, clenching one of his gloved hands into a tight fist, and putting the other over his face in an attempt to stop himself from releasing his tears. "What meaning does life have for me if I have nothing to be happy about, or have no one to love me and receive my love in return? Why should I care about a world that couldn't possibly understand my suffering," he sobbed, kneeling in front of the terminal and looking at the picture, "Mother?"
He stood again and looked at his hand, suddenly glaring. "I will find him and punish him for his crimes, Mother!" he growled, tensing the muscles in the hand. "I promise you! I promise you…REVENGE!"
"Sweet mother of God!" exclaimed Brick. "He really did a number on this place!"
The puffs and ruffs had been enjoying their flight when they had found themselves near the Federal Reserve district. Curious to see how things were in the aftermath of last night, they had descended to check in with the military personnel who were trying to clean things up.
"Yeah, we got our work cut out for us," said James, the captain who was overseeing the work. He was a young Korean man, still in his twenties, but every bit worthy of his rank. "At least we didn't have any casualties in this."
"What do you mean, James?" asked Blossom. "Drake must have killed a ton of people last night, especially with that blast of his!"
"Actually, believe it or not, there weren't any human casualties in this incident," said James, scratching underneath his cap. "There were a truckload of injuries, especially broken bones and severe burns, but surprisingly enough, there weren't any fatalities. Also seems he stole a ton of stuff while he was here."
"Stole some stuff? What kind of stuff did he steal?" asked Butch, glancing at some of the other military personnel who were loading debris into trucks.
"It was mostly computer hardware, as well as all of the equipment and supplies you'd need if you were building a secret base or something. One of the units was storing that stuff here before shipping it out today," explained James. "Don't know what it is that guy would want with that stuff, but it's thankfully not my job to figure that out. That stuff is being handled by the intelligence department."
"Oh, James, we almost forgot, we have some people we want to introduce to you," said Bubbles, bringing Blaine and Beth forward to meet James. "James, these are our new members, Blaine and Beth," she said, gesturing to them as she named them.
"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you," said Blaine and Beth in unison, as well as bowing.
"Well, it's a delight and a pleasure," said James, shaking their hands. "Well, I've got to get back to work. You guys take care of yourselves, now."
"Okay, just let us know if we can help you with anything, James!" said Brick as he and the other Rowdyruffs began to fly off.
"Yes, have a nice day, James!" said Blossom as she and her sisters followed the boys.
"Yeah, I'll see you all later," said James, waving good-bye. "And God bless you guys, too," he said to himself.
As the kids flew, something suddenly zipped up in front of them, causing them to stop in their tracks. The PPG's and RRB's were shocked when they saw who it was that was now floating in front of them.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Townsville's greatest heroes and heroines!" said Drake, his arms crossed, his smile containing an air of condescension.
"Drake, what are you doing here!" demanded Brick, his muscles tense and his nerves alert.
"Well, just out and about, and I thought I should see what you were all doing out here," replied Drake in a not-too-convincing voice. "By any chance, were you looking for me?"
"No, you were the last thing we wanted to see, you monster!" snapped Butch, glaring daggers at the other boy. "But now that you're here, I have a score to settle with you, and so do the rest of us!" Everyone except Blaine and Beth voiced their agreement.
"I swear, you'd think once would be enough, but I guess you guys just have trouble getting the hint," said Drake, shaking his head. "I've put you boys in the house of pain, and I tore up Miss Butter-Cheeks over there, and yet you still think that you can beat me."
"Not to interrupt, but I don't believe we have been introduced," said Blaine, coming forward as if he were going to greet Drake.
Drake raised an eyebrow as he observed this new face. "No, I don't believe we have met," he said. "I am Ultimate Weapon D-9057, created by Dr. Michelle Lavender, but you may call me Drake."
"I am Blaine, Super Rowdyruff Boy created by Prof. John Utonium," said Blaine, regarding the other with cold concentration.
"Well, now that we all know each other, I believe we have some business to attend to, Powerpuffs and Rowdyruffs," said Drake, once again turning his attention to the other six. "You say you wish to have a little payback for what I did to you."
"That's right, and this time you have all of us to deal with!" said Boomer, cracking his knuckles as he glared at Drake.
"If that is a challenge, I shall accept, but this is no place for a mindless brawl," said Drake, pointing over to an empty field just outside the city limits. "I'm not quite in the mood to make life hell for these humans, so let's go somewhere that won't have us dragging them into the middle of our spat."
Everyone agreed, and followed Drake to the field, where they landed. Once they had done so, Drake explained the way the fight would be carried out.
"Since I am a fair fighter by nature, I won't take you on one at a time," said Drake. "Therefore, I will take you on in pairs, in which you will be paired with your counterparts. Should one partner fall, the other will have the option of forfeiting the fight or continuing on his or her own. Every time a pair is defeated, another will come after them." He turned to look at Blaine and Beth. "Don't even think about coming to the aid of any of the others, you two. This is between me and them, and I will not allow interference," he said coldly.
"As you wish, Drake," said Blaine. "I will not interfere in their fights, but I would like to spar with you if you feel up to it, should you win."
Drake smiled his serpentine smile and nodded. "Okay, Brick and his counterpart will be the first to face me," he said, looking at the said individuals. "I'm giving you a sporting chance, so don't disappoint me, you two."
"Believe us, we're going to teach you a lesson in pain and punishment," said Brick as he and Blossom shot forward, ready to attack.
Drake leered at them and grinned wickedly. "All right, then, bring it on."
