Chapter 2: Discovery

Earlier that day…

The Powerpuff Girls were busy watching the news. They had stopped a mass robbery earlier, and the local news had caught some of it on tape and was planning to show the clip. The problem was, they weren't able to find out exactly when they would show it, and therefore they had to watch the whole thing, lest they might miss it. When deciding this, Buttercup was annoyed that they would have to sit through "boring news junk", while Blossom saw it as a chance to catch up on current events. Bubbles honestly didn't care either way, as long as she got to watch her cartoons afterwards. The weather had been going for a few minutes when they heard something that sparked their interest.

"-and for you night owls, a meteor shower will be at approximately 8:30 tonight, and I'm sure this will be a event no one would want to miss! There'll be clear skies tonight, too, so everyone should be able to get a good look! " As the weatherman went on about the meteor shower, the girls were already asking if they could stay up, just long enough to witness it.

"Please, Professor, please? It won't take that long!" Bubbles.

"It's not that far away form our bedtime, and besides, it's Friday!" Buttercup.

"Yeah, and I think it would be a great opportunity to see a cosmic event as rare as this. How many times have you seen a meteor shower in Townsville, of all places?" That had been Blossom.

When faced when these facts, it was hard for the Professor to say no. "Well, it is a rare happening…" he thought, "And I wouldn't want to deprive the girls of something as interesting as this… I suppose so." The girls cheered as one.

"However, only if you promise to go to bed right after." the Professor stated.

"We promise!" the Girls chorused. The Professor smiled, and then noticed something. "Oh, Girls! Your clip is on!"

As one, the girls gasped, turned around, and zoomed back to their seats to watch their news story.

That Night at 8:25…

The three girls were outside, standing in the driveway, eager to see the cosmic event. However, some were more excited than others, so to speak.

"Oh, man, I can't wait! This is going to be so cool!" Bubbles could hardly contain her excitement. Not only was she actually getting to stay up past here bedtime, but she was planning to make sketches of the shower as it happened.

"Yeah, I guess it'll be good," Buttercup said, "but I hope it lasts for a while. I like staying up!"

"Maybe so, but don't get your hopes up." Blossom said. "I heard that while some can last for a while, others are over real quick." Buttercup simply frowned at her. "Spoilsport. I still hope that it last for at least fifteen minutes." "Hey, quiet! The shower's starting!" said Bubbles. "What?" said Blossom, and looked up. Sure enough, there were streaks in the air, showing the path where the meteors were falling, but quickly dissipated. "Professor! Come out here! You've got to see this!" Blossom yelled.

"Hold on, hold on, I'm coming!" yelled back the professor. It still took him at least five more minutes before he came out, however. When he did, he was awestruck.

The meteors were glowing brightly in the moonlight, and as they streaked past, they seem to have an ethereal sense around them, and even though they knew they were thousands of miles away, they seemed close enough to just reach out their hands and grab them. It was both exciting and mystifying. However, while the people down here were amazed at the sight the saw, a certain alien above seemed to have bit off more than it could chew…

High above the atmosphere, a certain fighter ship was having trouble in the same meteor shower, as the size of the meteors was far bigger than what it had anticipated. It took every ounce of skill and energy to weave in and out of the racing projectiles.

"Come on…just a little further, and I've got it!" thought the pilot as it saw the planet enlarge. Just then…

SLAM! And a small, sharp explosion came from the back of the ship. A quick damage scan from the computer revealed that a stray meteor had slammed into the right thruster, putting it out instantly, and the ship began to catch on fire and lose altitude, caught in the Earth's gravity. The pilot hurriedly began to activate the stabilizing flaps, which stopped it from going into a spin, but it did nothing to stop the fall. As the pilot realized that a crash was imminent, it made one last ditch attempt to save itself. It diverted all unnecessary power to a special personal force field that would take some of the hurt. At most, it figured, the shield would protect it from the main crash and fireball, but after that…

The pilot simply closed its eyes and hoped for the best.

"Whoa! Check that one out!" Buttercup pointed to a big fireball in the sky. Blossom looked where Buttercup was pointing. "Hmm…that one seems awful close…"

Buttercup took a closer look at it. "Say…you're right. In fact, it looks like-" Just then, there was a loud explosion, and a small fireball could be seen for a second in the Stony Mountain regions. "Whoa! …I don't think that was a meteor at all!" said Blossom. "I think we should check it out…what do you say, girls?"

Buttercup nodded enthusiastically, although Blossom couldn't tell whether that was from the prospect of finding something cool, or just getting to stay up later. Probably a bit of both, she reasoned. Bubbles seemed nervous about breaking their promise, but nodded as well. "Professor…could we go? Please? Just to check it out?" Blossom asked.

"Well…I guess. But be careful, now. You don't know what that could be." "We'll be all right." said Blossom. "Let's go girls!"

The figure couldn't even stand up; it was in so much pain. The ship was in ruins, that was for sure. That force field had probably saved its live, it reasoned. However, the real problem wasn't the ship; it was that if it had crashed near a populated area, the entire mission could have been compromised. A searing pain ran through its back, yet it made no sound. It had learned to hold the sound of pain in a long time ago. From its face up position, it could see that it had been somehow thrown from the ship, probably another contributing factor to its survival. "Dang!" It thought. It was starting to black out, as its vision was getting fuzzy.

"What the- take a look at this, girls!"

"Whoa! What is it? Look like something from a space movie…"

Voices. It was in deep trouble now. It had been discovered. Everything was getting fuzzier and darker.

"Hey, girls, come quick! There's something over here!" It barely heard footsteps, and then, "What in the world is it?" They were near it, but it couldn't see who or what was talking.

"I dunno, but it looks awful hurt. What should we do?" Another one. Now its vision was fading in and out.

"Let's take it to the professor…maybe he can do something…anything." A third.

"Come on, help me lift it up." That was the second one again.

Then…a glimpse of red, and next, darkness.