CHAPTER TWO BOILING POINT

Later that night in the Utonium's bedroom all four Powerpuff Girls were fast asleep after having a fairly easy day of it. After school they had helped the Townsville Fire and Police Departments with a few minor problems, but as far as super villians were concerned, it was a no show. That was soon to change, although it would be some time before all four girls realized what had happened.

Bunny had fallen into a deep sleep almost immediately, blessed rest being her only respite from her sisters real, and imagined, lack of feelings. Her dream was pleasant at first, she was playing on the swings with Mitch, and she was smiling in her sleep. Her expression began change as a deep frown creased her features. She appeared to be in pain and nearly scared her sisters to death as she kicked out violently, and screamed! The shriek was so loud it over stressed the windows, and Bubbles, who wound up sprawled on the floor after Bunny's kick, quickly rolled over for cover as the windows shattered into a billion, tiny fragments!

"GET THEM OUT...OF MY HEAD!" Bunny blanched, turned chalk white, and fell over stiff as a board! Her last words made absolutely no sense! Who, or what, was in her head?

Blossom rolled Bunny over and drew back in horror. Her large, purple eyes had rolled back into her head showing nothing but ghastly white!

About that time the Professor dashed into the bedroom, noticed the shattered windows and urgently asked, "WHAT HAPPENED, IS EVERYBODY OK?" He tippy-toed rapidly, but carefully, through the broken glass. He had his bedroom slippers on, but they were old and not very thick.

We're fine, but something's very wrong with Bunny, look!" Blossom pointed to her paralyzed younger sister.

Bubbles added, "Just before it happened, she screamed, "GET THEM OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Buttercup finished, "Yeah, that's it Professor, could someone be attacking her mind? Are we next?"

Blossom make a quick decision, "We'll use our Dream Powers to help her!"

"You'll do no such thing, girls!" The Professor's response shocked them all into a momentary silence.

"Not until I hook you up to a biomonitor. I have such a device in the lab."

The girls looked at the Professor's firm expression and decided to follow him to the lab. When they arrived he quickly strapped them each into a reclining table after placing Bunny on a separate table. On their arms and chest he placed a set of biometric monitors, and on each of their heads he placed a headband with an ear microphone. Finally, he connected them all together.

Leaving them briefly, he hooked up Bunny's monitors and was shocked to see how high the readings went. All bodily functions were nearly off the scales!

"Girls, it's no guess that I'm really concerned here. I'll be watching from the outside world, and offering encouragement if I can via the ear microphones. Make no mistake, I'll disconnect you all if your life monitors go critical!"

"We understand, Professor." Blossom acknowledged. The girls exchanged uneasy looks. Sure, Bunny was a trial at times, but she was their little sister, and she was in trouble!

The Professor spoke one last time. "The cuffs on your arms have a mild sedative designed just for you and the Rowdyruff Boys." About that time each girl jerked slightly and peered at the cuff.

"That's the pressurized injection. You'll be drowsy soon, afterwards your natural sleep will kick in and then you'll enter REM dreaming. Once there, hopefully you can help Bunny!"

Right then the girls realized something. There was no need to be angry at Bunny or jealous of her, or each other for that matter, because it was readily apparent and completely obvious that the Professor loved each and every one of them deeply and completely without reservation. Bunny was no threat, what were they thinking? There was a great wrong that had to be corrected!

The sedative was quick acting, "We will Pro...fessor. We...will."

The first thing Blossom said when they entered their subconscious was alarming, "This isn't the Dream World! What's wrong here?"

Bubbles exclaimed, "Yeah, it looks like something Salvadore Dali did!" Bubbles was an art lover, and while her talent was minor at her age, her knowledge of art and artists were impressive.

Just like Bubbles said, the landscape, if it could be called as such, was twisted and distorted. It was a testament to surrealism with numerous gates, stairs, and doors appearing out of nowhere, and beckoning beyond infinity. Seemingly, they twisted in on each other like some convoluted Gordian Knot of a maze in a black, endless backdrop.

Outside, in the real world, the Professor kept vigil over his dozing daughters. So far the older girls were fine, all readings were nominal. He hoped this would end quickly, and calmly.

Back in their subconscious Buttercup took one long look around and told her sisters, "This is where HIM lives, isn't it?"

Bubbles began to whimper, "Oh, poor Bunny, what is he doing to her?"

"Gabbing here won't help us find out, Let's go, girls!" Blossom sped off towards a purple haze in the distance. Noticing that Buttercup and Bubbles had seen the same thing gave her confidence. Sometimes, being the leader was such an ordeal. She noticed that the shade was the same shade as Bunny's purple uniform. Surely, that was her, but there were streaky black highlights flickering around the edges, and that caused her some concern. She wondered what was going on, and what was creating them.

They flew closer and closer towards the purple haze which got darker and more scary as they closed in. HIM was definately there, his presense was unmistakeable to the girls who recognized it instantly!

As they approached HIM their progress began to steadily slow. It was hardly noticeable at first, but as they got closer and closer it was a definate strain to just maintain altitude and stay airborne. Blossom noticed the Sandman and the Boogeyman standing next to HIM and thought that they were helping HIM put up some kind of psychic barrier. She looked at her sisters, relieved that they had detected the extra help HIM had employed!

Outside in the Professor's lab he watched in concern as the monitors for the girls began to climb. So far all was well. He watched closely, and hoped that they would climb no higher! He spoke into the microphone, "Girls, if you can hear me, remember that you're more powerful as a team, and that I love you."

At the same time Blossom was urging her sisters on, "Give it all you got, girls! We have to get past, the three of them are blocking us!"

HIM just bellowed a scornful laugh that made the girls pull up short, and quickly halt. He sneered, and spoke, "We aren't doing a thing, my dear damsels. We're just watching." In reality, HIM, Sandman, and Boogeyman were augmenting Bunny's anger and manipulating her emotions, but they didn't know that yet.

Buttercup snapped, "Well, GEE, tall, dark, and gruesome who else is here?'' The answer to her question was both shocking and familiiar!

"It's me...and I'LL THANK YOU ALL TO LEAVE!" It was Bunny, an outraged and totally livid, dressed in black, Bunny to be precise. Waves of black hate rolled the girls back as she advanced on her sisters! A loud clanking sound distracted them for a moment and they looked up and gasped. Why was Mitch here, and why was he suspended in a cage like an animal? Before they could determine what was going on with Mitch they had to deal with a very angry, and very hurt, Bunny. She screamed at them!

"WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO ME?"

Buttercup was confused, "What do you mean, mean? We created you, remember?"

"YEAH, and you couldn't even do that RIGHT!" HIM showed me how you botched the Chemical X formula, you just put in whatever you wanted. You didn't want me to be pretty like you...SO YOU MADE ME INTO AN UGLY MONSTER!"

HIM made a gesturing motion and an expensive looking plasma screen television appeared out of thin air. It showed the girls creating Bunny in the Professor's lab using all sorts of ingredients, but no sugar, spice, and everything nice.

"Bunny, it wasn't like that, we weren't doing it to be mean!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! You didn't even try to teach me right, you just sent me out to do your jobs while you turned into couch potatoes! Some big sisters you turned out to be! I don't want to be a Powerpuff anymore! I have my own uniform now, thanks to HIM!

HIM continued showing scenes from Bunny's past. The girls admonishing her for putting the good guys in jail by mistake, them laying on the couch watching TV, and finally, her explosive death! HIM continued on with more recent events such as the girls giving Bunny a hard time at home, and their displeasure about her being friends with Mitch. It was apparent that HIM had been spying on them for some time!

"You didn't even TRY to save me, you just let me die! You didn't LOVE ME AT ALL!"

Bubbles answered, "But, you were unstable, there was nothing we could do."

Bunny snarled, "UNSTABLE because you screwed up from the get-go you mean!"

Blossom tried to take responsibility, "It was my fault, Bunny. I should have paid more attention. I should have been more careful, and not so over confident." Blossom was beginning to realize the enormous implications of creating a life. "Maybe if I'd been more afraid of making a mistake this wouldn't have happened."

Bunny snarled, "AFRAID? Dear sisters, I'll show you afraid. She smiled at HIM, who in turn smiled at Sandman, and Boogeyman.

Bunny wheeled on Buttercup, "Her first, and make it slow, this one has tormented me from day one practically!"

Buttercup looked about but saw nothing at first, nothing until HIM, Sandman, and Boogeyman began to attack her in her mind. She broke out in a shivering cold sweat almost immediately! In her subconscious mind the three of them were sacrificing Buttercup to her greatest fear. She was powerless, weak and flightless, bound in a silken cocoon and in the presense of the largest, hairiest, hungriest, angriest spider she had ever seen! Terrified near to death, Buttercup couldn't speak, but tried to mouth something...

"Maake it gooo awaaaaayy, pleeeeeeaseeeese!"

Bubbles was presented with her own worse fear. In her mind, her and sisters had just broken up after a tremendously violent argument. Afterwards, each sister had struck out on their own leaving Townsville to the mercy of countless villians and monsters. Seeng the Professor so distraught and hurt caused Bubbles to cry openly! Bubbles was dealing with her own trials now, she sat down, and began to rip out chunks of blond hair in anguish and was bawling as if the world had literally ended!

"WAAAAAAAAH, WE BROKE UP! WE'RE NOT SISTERS ANYMORE! WHY COULDN'T I STOP IT?"

Blossom's worse fear was realized as she faltered during a crucial moment causing the death of her sisters. Her intellect had totally failed her and she felt no better than a slack-jawed country bumpkin. With Bubbles and Buttercup gone, Blossom had lost all will to fight, and as such, left Townsville to the mercy of come what may! Blossom looked at the broken and bloodied bodies of her dead sisters, sadly shook her head, took off her bow, and ripped it in two! Frustrated with the whole situation she then began to pound her forehead with her balled fists!

"WHAT was I thinking, Major Glory was right, I'm NO GOOD at this, now my sisters are DEAD! It's all MY FAULT! I QUIT!"

Back in the real world each girl arched upwards on their tables and took a deep, rasping gasp! The Professor turned in horror as the monitors blared in urgent fury! The readings were pegging off the scale, and it scared him to death. Whatever the girls were doing, he prayed they did it fast!

"Where is it, WHERE!" The Professor was ripping the lab apart for a stimulant to help the girls! He was hoping it would stabilize their readings, and give them more time. Pulling a drawer out, and spilling its contents on the floor, he found a small vial he was so desperately looking for!

"HANG ON, Daddy's here!"

Rushing over to his distraut daughters he began to open their cuffs, but was interrupted by an unexpected touch at his shoulder!

"What tha...?" He turned at looked directly at the Sandman and the Boogeyman! Quickly, the Sandman blew sleepsand into the eyes of the Professor causing him to drop into an immediate slumber! Boogeyman ripped the microphone from the console and tossed it aside. He grinned as it made a satisfying crunch! "There'll be no more of that!"

"The girls need help, oh dear! Rest easy Professor, they'll be no aid here!" He cackled his glee and pointed to his fearsome companion. "Your turn."

Boogeyman motioned over the prostrate Professor and whispered into his ear. "Your greatest fear you'll dream right here. No more puffs to brighten your day, your girls will die, and pass away!"

The two laughed horribly as the Professor entered his own nightmarish dream world!