Here's the next chap everybody! Hope you enjoy it :) ..(sorry its not action-packed,..don't worry.. more action to come :P)
Chapter 12: Revelations
Blossom's consciousness returned slowly, like warm, thick molasses, a feeling of security and comfort all around her. Alone in eternal darkness, she longed for light.
Am I dead? She thought to herself, her mind still in a daze.
She tried to open her eyes, but found them to be tired and heavy. She felt a cool cloth being pressed on her forehead, and began to sense a presence very nearby. She managed to open her eyes slightly, and was met with the blurry image of the Professor as he tended to her wounds. She felt a surge of joy at seeing him again, and had she had the energy, would've jumped up right then and given him a hug. But instead all she could do was lay in bed, sighing with contentment.
As her eyes quickly adjusted to the light, she began to inspect the bandages on her hand, forehead and face. She looked over to her sleeping sisters and saw that they, too, were covered in bandages but still okay.
Finally Blossom called out to the Professor, her voice scratchy and dry.
"Professor?" She said slowly, surprised at the raspy sound of her own voice, and the taste of gauze and blood in her mouth.
"Yes, Blossom?" He said as he ran his hand through her dry, lifeless hair which was plastered to her feverish skin.
"W-what happened?" She said, her rough voice causing her to stutter.
"You're safe now." Professor Utonium assured her, though he averted his eyes unconvincingly.
No longer was she the stronger being than him. He was now truly a father, protecting his children from danger and telling them that everything was going to be okay.
"But what happened?" Blossom asked incredulously.
"Antidote X." He said simply, but still sadly.
Blossom's eyes lit up as she heard this.
"We should've thought of that long ago!" Blossom exclaimed, despite her weak voice. "Now he's gone for good!"
But Professor Utonium didn't act so excited. He instead looked towards the ground and sighed.
"..Right Professor?" Blossom asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not Blossom. The only sample of Antidote X I found was too small to do any significant damage." He said dismally. "It was only enough to buy us a little more time to think of a plan."
"Oh." Blossom said, disappointed.
There was a moment of silence, as both of them pondered the sheer hopelessness of the situation. What plan could they come up with? How long did they even have before Quasi had recovered enough to attack again?
"Professor?" Blossom asked again after a long time, "Where DID you find the Antidote X? Where have you been?" She said, a hint of annoyance and impatience in her voice.
Professor Utonium looked visibly hurt when he heard the irritation in her voice, and Blossom too was surprised at her own reaction. He cringed as he thought about the awful memories, causing Blossom to recoil in surprise, and bring tears to her eyes.
"I'm sorry Professor.. I.. I didn't mean it.. its just.. we were so worried.. once we realized it was just Quasi in disguise... we were so scared about where you were.. "
"I understand Blossom." He smiled at her sadly and wiped away her tears.
".. But what happened Professor?" Blossom inquired again as she eyed the bruises and cuts on the Professor's face.
Although he seemed to dread telling the tale, he sighed and slowly began to speak, his voice depressed and soft.
"Well ... After you girls when to school the other day, I was working on some samples of certain chemicals when I ...I suddenly felt a strange presence behind me. I turned around and saw Quasi standing there, plain as day, staring me down with that awful evil smile." He said with a shudder.
"He was half black, half white.. and his whole body seemed to be a liquid, dripping and oozing onto the floor. He looked so strange when I first saw him.. and yet also familiar." He explained thoughtfully.
"Strange.." Blossom said in awe.
"So he started to attack, lunging at me again and again. I managed to dodge most of his attacks though, I guess out of pure adrenaline and will to live. He kept changing his size, I guess to try and throw me off guard, and attacking me from all different directions with incredible force."
"Then what happened Professor?"
"Well, he did manage to hit me a few times, but luckily he didn't knock me out... otherwise I would've been a goner for sure. He kept asking me where the chemical X was, and I refused to tell him. I don't know what I was thinking.. I could've gotten myself killed by refusing him... but I still don't believe what I did next. As he was about to attack again, I threw any glass bottle or test tube I could get my hands on at him. It didn't distract him for long, but long enough for me to dash up the stairs, and out the front door."
"Wow.." Blossom said in wonder.
"When I first laid eyes on him, I could tell right away that the black substance was quite obviously chemical X, because there was no other way he could be so powerful. But then I thought 'where did that chemical X come from?'"
"Yeah.. I've wondered that too.. Where did Quasi come from?" Blossom echoed.
"Well, as I was running down the street, trying to put as much distance between me and Quasi as possible, I thought through all of these things and finally came to the conclusion that the only other person who ever had chemical X besides me was Professor Hardly."
"Of course!" Blossom exclaimed.
"So I did the only thing I could do: I ran all the way to the edge of town, and to the very source of Quasi's creation: Powerpuff Xtreme Industries. How I even made it, I don't know.. I was barely conscious by the time I got there, but luckily I made it inside before nightfall and before the rain. I was so dizzy, and the pain was so great, that I just collapsed right there on the dusty floor..."
"I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to I started to search the factory, looking for just the thing I needed to stop Quasi, if only temporarily. When I looked around inside I found all the clues I needed... All the money from the bank.. every piece of merchandise missing from Cole's Diamonds.."
"Amazing.." Blossom said, fascinated. "So I guess Hardly's old factory was kind of like Quasi's headquarters?"
"Exactly. And not only that, but I also found the antidote X I needed to stop Quasi for now and some other things as well. I was disappointed when the only sample of antidote X I found was so small, which Hardly stole from me I'm sure..."
Professor Utonium sat in the chemistry lab alongside his old buddy Dick Hardly at Townsville University. The year, 1971. Professor Utonium was eagerly working on a bubbling red chemical, an antidote for a recent chemical he created and he had still been testing. His eyes lit up with joy and excitement as he stirred the chemical again and again.
Dick yawned and stretched, eyeing a couple of girls across the room with a smirk. He was shaken out of his though when a short, middle-aged man slapped a ruler on the desk and glared at idle Dick.
"Hardly, get to work now." He said sternly, and then turned to the whole class. "I want the antidote to each of your original chemicals ready by the end of class. And it'd better work too, unless you all want a big, fat F."
He shot a look at Dick who was smiling nervously. Once the teacher had passed, Hardly scowled and grumbled to himself.
What am I gonna do? He thought. I don't even have any of the original project done.. So there's no way I can come up with an antidote by the end of class...
He turned his attention to the ecstatic Professor Utonium, who was still playing around with his project, and smiled menacingly to himself as he came up with a plan.
"Hey, Utonium, I think one of those girls over there is lookin' at ya!" He said excitedly and pointed.
Professor Utonium's head shot up, and he looked over at the girls who were working on their projects across the room. He blushed and smiled nervously, even though the girls weren't even looking.
In that split second, Dick poured a bit of Professor Utonium's chemical into his own flask, and chuckled to himself as the Professor continued his work the next moment, completely unaware.
Blossom stared at the now glaring Professor quizzically, who was obviously off in another world. She waited for a few minutes, and then tried to get his attention again.
"Um.. what else did you find Professor?" Blossom asked slowly.
Professor Utonium's expression changed to that of surprise, but soon found his voice and started to explain.
"Well I also found a broken flask of chemical X on the floor, and some definite signs of a powerful explosion."
"Huh.. I wonder.." Blossom trailed off. "... how did Quasi even come to life?"
"Well an X-powered being can't be composed of just chemical X alone... at least I don't think... It needs a stimulus of some kind.. or.. a chemical reaction to create life."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that chemical X and antidote X wasn't all that I found there. I took back with me another chemical, that still has yet to be studied. I'm almost positive that its this chemical that surely started the chemical reaction that brought Quasi to life."
"Wow..." Blossom said again.
They sat in silence again, with nothing more to say. After a few minutes Professor Utonium stood up and walked to the bedroom door. Blossom's eyes followed the Professor as he walked slowly to the door. Before leaving he turned to her, a look of deep sadness in his eyes.
"I'm going to go take a look at that other chemical...see what I can find out... we don't have much time."
Before Blossom could answer, he was already out of sight.
Professor Utonium sat in silence in the middle of his now-destroyed X-lab, conducting various tests on the tiny sample of the mysterious white chemical he found in Hardly's old factory.
He studied it closely under a microscope, discovering it to be radioactive in nature. He was surprised to find it to have similar properties to chemical X itself, but only without the defects. He stared, astounded, at the impossible and seemingly nonexistent chemical.. right before his very eyes.
This new chemical was absolutely perfect. Not a single defect.. but still extremely reactive. He began to contemplate the sheer multitude of the discovery he had made.. the perfect chemical? He would be laughed right out of a job.. but there was no mistaking what he'd found.
As he inspected it closer, he began to come to a horrific and surreal revelation. He'd seen this chemical before. But where? He thought hard.. until the memory came back to him in a flash...
Townsville University, 1970. It was Professor Utonium's first semester at college, and he had already made what he thought was the greatest breakthrough in modern science. His college buddies had mocked him for his constant studying, and howled when he told them of his great achievement.
None had believed him, all but buddy and roommate Professor Dick Hardly. Dick knew of Professor Utonium's genius from day one. He watched curiously as Utonium spent hours on end perfecting his newest creations, all of which were great successes.
Dick was jealous of Utonium. So much so that he even stole from Utonium to get higher grades and honors at school, right under Utonium's nose. While all the others laughed at Utonium for his ambition about his latest creation, Dick knew that it was surely true, and he'd better cash in now while he could.
One morning, while Utonium was still asleep after a long night of studying, Dick quietly crept out of bed and over to Utonium's lab tools and experiments. He found the white glowing chemical, the nameless chemical, except for the strange letter X written on the test tube.
He quietly poured a tiny sample for himself, chuckling silently at his luck.
Who'd have thought I'd be living with a genius? I'll be a millionaire! He thought gleefully to himself.
Once the task was complete, he hid the small tube in his backpack, and turned to head back to bed.
He froze suddenly, the thought that was coming to him making him grin from ear to ear. He wasn't done yet, oh no. He tiptoed back to the experiments, and proceeded to dump all sorts of chemicals into the once pure white nameless chemical. He even grabbed a few slices of half eaten pizza, and dirty socks! With each new ingredient added, it slowly changed from white to red to green to blue and then finally to black. He chuckled as he scurried back to bed, leaving Utonium to wake up hours later to discover his greatest creation, ruined.
This resulting chemical, that would later be called chemical X, would still result in Utonium's success, despite Dick's attempts to thwart it. From that ruined creation, the Powerpuff Girls were born, a wonderful gift to the seemingly cursed city of Townsville.
But the original pure chemical was long lost, and what had happened then would still mystify the Professor to this day. What would have come of this pure chemical X? What kind of power could it contain?
Professor Utonium assumed he would never know.
Until today.
Dun dun dunnnn.. ! thanks for reading!