Howdy everyone! Just a little thank youfor the reviews, glad you enjoy it so far. I've been wanting to write a fic for a long time, but I've never done it til now. This idea just popped in my head one day and I decided to go for it. Thanks for the encouragement guys!

So anyways.. before I go off on a tangent..

On with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls and all that good stuff :P

Chapter 1:

Shattered Diamonds

It had been a strangely quiet day in the city of Townsville. This sleepy, relaxed setting was a striking change from the usual chaos and destruction that plagued this unfortunate little city. But as the evening hours approached, ominous black clouds began to loom over Pokey Oaks County and a chill hung in the air.

Things were very quiet in the humble Utonium home as well. Professor Utonium sat in his big recliner, smoking a pipe, reading the paper, enjoying the warmth of his living room, and most of all cherishing a rare moment of peace with his girls. Blossom sat on the sofa, relaxing and reading a book alongside her father, while Buttercup sat on the floor, seemingly glued to the TV.

"TV Puppet Pals! TV Puppet Pals!" Just as expected, minutes before seven o'clock, Bubbles came bouncing down the stairs singing her daily chant, her trademark grin upon her young face.

The Professor chuckled as he got up from his chair and went into the kitchen. He returned shortly with the usual big bowl of popcorn and a smile. Bubbles squealed and stuffed a handful of popcorn in her mouth. Buttercup and Blossom joined her, and soon a battle ensued over the possession of the tasty snack. The Professor laughed thoughtfully and continued reading the paper.

A still quiet fell over the room when the theme song began playing and then Bubbles began to sing along in a high-pitched, off-key voice. Buttercup rolled her eyes and groaned while Blossom and the Professor smothered a laugh.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately for some) this moment of family togetherness was short-lived. They had only been watching for a minute or two when the hotline phone once again began buzzing in protest. Blossom groaned and answered it.

"Yes Mayor?... A robbery? ... We're on our way!" She hung up with a sigh.
"Come on girls.. We'd better go.." Blossom said reluctantly and the girls once again flew off into town.

Professor Utonium sighed, switched off the TV and sat alone in the darkness. Why couldn't they just have been a normal family?

"Soo.. Which place was hit this time?" Buttercup asked.

"The mayor said it was a small jewelry store on the other side of town... I think I know where it is..." Blossom said with an exasperated sigh.
"Can we hurry up? I wanna be back before Puppet Pals is over!" Bubbles whined.
Just as soon as these words were spoken, a downpour of rain fell from the dark clouds above.
"Great.. Just great.." Buttercup complained.
"Don't worry, a little rain never hurt anybody." Blossom said as she tried to ignore the fact that it was becoming increasingly harder to see where she was going.
"We'll just take it slow, that's all." Blossom said as she cautiously led Bubbles and Buttercup blindly into the rainy night.

After much searching, the girls finally came across a small store with a little sign that read 'Cole's Diamonds.' They arrived at the same time as the a couple of police cars. The rain had begun to pour harder; nearly drowning out the old Townsville clock tower as it rang seven thirty.

"Finally!" Buttercup shouted as she quickly sought refuge from the torrential rain in the store, Blossom and Bubbles at her heels.

"Darn this stupid rain! He's gotten away by now for sure!" she protested as they entered alongside two policemen.
Once inside they all gasped simultaneously as they took in the sight before them. The entire store was in ruins; every glass case was broken, and every piece of merchandise was missing. The broken lights flickered creating eerie shadows amidst the destruction. The store had been completely wiped out, not even the cheapest jewelry was left.

"Impossible... He didn't leave anything!" Buttercup said in disbelief.
"But... how? How did he do that so fast?" Bubbles wondered aloud.

Bubbles, Buttercup and the two cops inspected the damage while Blossom flew over to a couple of terrified employees that were huddled in the corner of the room, both pale and shaken up from the horrific experience.

"Sir?.. Ma'am?.. Do you know who did this?" Blossom calmly asked the frightened couple.
They remained motionless and speechless for a few minutes.
"We don't know.. We were just about to close up the store, and suddenly the lights went out..." Said the man.
"Yes.. I-I don't know how it happened.. B-but when the lights came on again.. Everything was g-gone...." Said the woman, her voice shaking.
"Powerpuff Girls!" The girls turned and saw the Mr. Cole, the old jeweler, in the doorway. He looked up with tired red eyes and slowly walked into the room, out of breath, his balding white hair, grey shirt and brown pants soaked and dripping puddles onto the floor.

"I'm sorry girls.." He gasped. "I tried to catch him... but he was too fast.." He fell to his knees with exhaustion.
"Are you okay..?" A policeman asked as he rushed to his aid.
"Don't worry about me... just go and catch that thief, girls! He couldn't have gotten too far!" He said between heavy pants and coughs.
"Don't worry! We'll catch him!" Blossom said, that old confidence in her voice again.
The girls wasted no time as they zipped out of the store and into the rainy evening.
"I think its best if we split up.. we'll cover more ground that way." Blossom ordered. With that the girls zoomed off in different directions to search for the unknown robber.

Blossom flew at a breakneck speed, searching for any sort of clue that would lead her to this mysterious criminal. As she searched furiously, she completely lost track of time. She was shaken out of her frantic search as the Townsville clock tower rang eight-fifteen.
Frustrated, Blossom met up with Bubbles and Buttercup near the jewelry store, where there was now plenty noise and activity. The rain had started to fall so hard that the blinking red and blue lights from the multitude of police cars that now lined the curb could barely be seen.

"Have you found any clues officer?" Blossom asked as they flew over to Officer O'Hara. He turned around and looked at the girls with a sad look on his face.

"I'm afraid not girls.. This villain left without a trace.... Well, almost."
"Really? What do you mean?" Blossom asked hopefully.
"Well.. We were responding at first to a robbery, but then we made a terrible discovery." He said with a sigh. "Its not only a theft, but also a murder. Mr. Cole is dead."
"What?!" Bubbles yelled. "But we were talking to him just a half hour ago!"
"What about the employees? Did they see anything?" Blossom asked hopefully.
"No.. Unfortunately they didn't... and neither did the two officers that were sent earlier. They said that Mr. Cole said he was going home...later we discovered he had been beaten to death in the alley." O'Hara said sadly.
All three girls gasped in shocked horror.
"Who could have done this? ...Who would steal everything in a defenseless old man's store and kill him in the end; even after the he'd gotten away with it!?" Blossom asked incredulously. "Why? Why would anybody do such a thing?"
Officer O'Hara casually looked at his watch."Well... that's the strange thing girls.. We have seven witnesses, including you girls, that say he was seen in the store around seven-forty-five... Right now its eight-twenty ...but according to our medical examiner, the time of death was a over an hour ago."

Dun dun duunn.. I hope y'all like it, thanks for reading!