On the other end of the district where Buttercup was surveying, Bubbles darted past the commons and into the business parks.
She first stopped briefly at the printing shop, followed by passing all the accounting firms and larger municipals. So far, no luck as to where to find a clue leading to the small lady.
She let out a sigh, her baby blue eyes downcast in disappointment. "I wish this would be a little easier. I wonder... if there's nothing here in the business park, then maybe the restaurants?"
She peeked up towards the couple blocks far down the street before her. She knew that the restaurants would have to have something, especially if the girls have been desperate in getting a clue.
All she would need to do is check the local sports bars, the fast-food chains, the fancy cuisines, the diners…
Then she remembered something else upon thinking of the diners.
'Him'. The mere thought sent shivers up her spine and left a cold trail of goosebumps over her pale skin.
The blue sweetheart knew in her heart of hearts that Him was not the one behind the attacks, but she was still no dummy when it came to the evilest of evil.
For starters, Him was the embodiment of all things dark, sinister, and horribly vile. He, among the many villains that reside within their humble city, had aimed time and time again for the destruction of the PowerPuff Girls.
He set their loved ones against them, tortured them in their waking nightmares, set them on a wild goose chase to find the Professor by solving a ridiculous array of riddles that He set out for them, resurrected the RowdyRuff Boys, and that was to just name a few.
But above all that He had done to them, there was one that always caught His fancy in toying, manipulating, and downright picking on: dear little Bubbles.
"If I'm going to get past all these places to find a clue, I need to be extra careful not to be caught by Him, for now. Who knows what He'll do if He sees me like this!"
The blue Puff turned and gazed at herself through a glass wall of a municipality that she finished scanning through. She was definitely much taller than she and her sisters were in their five-year-old forms, now standing at a glamorous five foot six. Her legs were long and pale (like the rest of her), and her golden hair had a bright shimmer to it now that it was longer and fuller. Her sisters and her now had fitting forms of hourglasses and slender with subtle muscle, you wouldn't think that they'd be able to send you flying by your ass at the first punch.
In short, they rivaled goddesses in terms of beauty, prowess, and power. Maybe even ascended from that!
"I didn't think we would look this pretty. It all seems so surreal." She pondered for a bit longer before snapping back into action. "I can't just keep standing here! Any more time wasted, and I'll never find a clue that could help us to find that purple little lady! I just got to be quick and stealthy."
With such grace that could shame the most gallant of gazelles, she pirouetted and took off towards the restaurants as fast as she could, hoping that she wouldn't run into the one red devil that has crossed her mind more than once…
Yawning, the girl at the cashier droned on her phone with boredom. Millie was her name, and she couldn't wait until her part-time shift was over so she could head on out to see her boyfriend and his groupie.
She had short black hair and a couple piercings riddled down the side of her ear cartilage. So far, only a few customers rang in during the morning at the Otto Time Diner and ordered either coffee or a muffin to go. Other than that, not so productive.
From behind the back doors, the sound of a deep growling emanated and rumbled throughout the whole restaurant. Him was not pleased at the lack of customers that they've had so far in the day.
In the back, there was an office space with a fancy dark oak wood desk, polished and smoothed to perfection. Behind the desk was a large swivel chair with black and red leather, with a small pink throw pillow to accompany it, and there sitting in the chair, was none other than Him. He was jotting down the number of sales within the past few days, and it was grueling and taxing, even for a devil.
"These fools don't know the meaning of fine dining if it hit them in the face like Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball!" He growled deeply, one of His claws slamming onto the desk. So far, sales have been steady, but these past couple days have been taking a plummet. If he can get at least one more measly customer in for the day, then He would be fine for the remainder of the week.
Him may not seem like it, but He certainly enjoyed His hobby of preparing meals and running a diner on His free time if He's not busy plotting to take over the world or destroying the girls.
'Speaking of which…' He turned to face a calendar that He had hanging on the wall behind Him. "When was the last time I had a run in with those girls?" He clicked His tongue as His glowing green eyes scanned every square. Last week, to be precise.
Last week was the most current in which He had a run in with the PowerPuff Girls. They were in another battle of wits, as He put them to the test on a chase to get a list of many odd items for a treasure hunt, only for it to be a reunion for the Beat All's to destroy the girls once and for all.
Sadly, the idea failed Him, along with his other cohorts that He hoped to round up with once more.
Now they're out of prison (He got out only a few hours after the guards left to change shifts and got a few insults in on the other former members of the gang).
Princess, He knew, was bailed out almost a day later by her father Mr. Morbucks, who bribed the chief of police with some cold hard cash, of course.
He was also contributing to the Gala that would be taking place this very evening, by hosting the event at one of his most prestigious performing arts centers that he funded with the approval of the Mayor.
Everyone was invited, even the girls as by courtesy of the Mayor. He also knew that the girls would be the ones performing for the whole of the audience that would be attending the event as a celebration of Townsville's anniversary of having the little superheroines in their town.
Just about all the infamous villains would be making their appearance there as well, minus Fuzzy Lumpkins, who much preferred to not leave the safety of his precious property. Princess made sure that they would be attending, probably to later stir trouble when the citizens would least expect it.
Him smiled at the thought. "Oh, how wonderful it would be to see the citizens of the city tremble in fear, while the girls would face us all in one large brawl." They would be slightly outnumbered, and should they play their cards right, then the girls would be as good as done for.
Blossom with her wits, only for the strain of the role of the leader to finally get to her head and cause her dismay and panic.
Buttercup with her headstrong personality, getting brutalized after she had many times played the role of the brute herself.
And Bubbles…
His train of evil thought stopped there. Him reclined further into the chair, His mind wandering at the thought of the blue puff.
"Sweet, little Bubblessss. You were always such a puzzling little one. Just when I think I had you, you slip from my grasp and manage to somehow…"
He inhaled sharply as He couldn't bring Himself to get infuriated at the many times that she had thwarted Him.
He woke from His reverie at the sound of Millie shouting from up front. "We got another order! One Boba blueberry tea and a round of Belgian waffles with powdered sugar and berries!"
Him shot upright in His chair with eyes wide. 'I know that order from anywhere.'
It was Bubbles. He raced up and out to the kitchen, already setting the preparations for the meal. Him stopped briefly as he got the waffle iron out. 'Maybe if I poisoned her?'
He shook the thought away. That was beneath Him, and He knew He could be far more creative than that. For Bubbles?
'I'd go beyond for that one.' He finished the thought with one last swipe of His claw, gathering the blueberry flavored milk tea and boba tapioca pearls.
Bubbles swept through all the restaurants with a breeze. However, it left her with a pit of disappointment. The townsfolk were a little surprised when they saw a streak of blue, but they were in for the shock of their lives when they saw the joy and laughter herself in person.
Bubbles bitterly bit her lower lip. "No luck. At this rate, I'll never find anything. That just leaves one place left now." She looked at the building across the street from her at the Right on Time Diner. The Otto Time Diner welcomed her with foreboding.
But as she glanced around the area, she then noticed the smell of food wafting its way to her nostrils, follow by the sound of her stomach grumbling.
'Might as well fill 'er up!' she thought to herself with gusto and flew to the front doors.
Millie was still glued to her phone as the blue puff floated in. "Um, excuse me?"
Millie didn't glance up but replied. "Yeah?"
Bubbles twiddled her fingers together. "Yeah, uh, can I place an order? It can be for here."
"What'cha buying?" The punk girl still glued to her phone while texting her boyfriend, not realizing who was in front of her.
"I'll have a blueberry boba tea and some Belgian waffles with powdered sugar and berries on top, please?"
The cashier slash waitress took no time and shouted the order to the back. Shortly after, Bubbles was able to hear her order being prepared in the kitchen behind the doors. She surprised that Him didn't even bother to come out yet.
Then something caught her baby blues in total awe. She glanced at the wall and noticed a clock that had a broken tick to it. Glancing over to be sure that the cashier was not looking (she totally wasn't), Bubbles carefully lifted the clock up and off the wall. She felt something tucked beneath and pulled it out. It was a long sheet of paper. A scan on paper, to be exact, with a flower Christmas treed on it. Her name was on the top corner.
She was slightly speechless at this, and yet confused. "Why would Him keep this?" She whispered to herself. She noticed that the paper was originally stuffed in the clock where the cogs were, but the broken tick kept clicking against something. Her eyes scanned the inside of the clock with her x-ray vision, and she gasped.
There was something glowing inside.
Bubbles carefully flipped the clock over and opened the compartment. Inside was a crystal flower that fit perfectly in the palm of her hand and had a bright white glow, despite being blue.
The crystal then floated in the air and slowly flowed towards her, disappearing into her chest. "Oh, my goodness!" She cried.
It felt so warm suddenly, then it stopped. She blinked a few times then noticed the clock stopped it hiccupping and started ticking normally. She looked at the scan on in her hand then the clock in the other. She placed the scan on down on the table and placed the clock back on the wall.
Suddenly, she felt the earth shake. It shook for a good minute or so before stopping.
Frantic, Bubbles turned around to see if anyone noticed. Millie was still on her phone, frozen in place and Him still didn't emerge from the back. It was all quiet. Then it hit her.
The clock stopped ticking too. Time was essentially frozen.
Then she heard a loud shriek coming from the front outside. She turned just in time to see an odd-looking bird like thing flapping its featherless wings from outside. It looked almost skinless, as it had black veins all over and ashy colored skin. Its eyes glowed a venomous yellow and its razor-sharp teeth were barred at her.
"What is that thing?!" She gasped in horror. Then, without warning, the deformed bird lunged at her in full force. It shattered the glass window and swooped to try and take a bite out of her.
Thankfully, she dodged the attack. But soon was paralyzed in fear as the bird turned its sights on Millie. "Oh no! Leave her alone, you giant expired butterball turkey!" Bubbles quickly zapped it with her laser beam, stunning it. It let out another shriek and threw its massive body over the counter and towards the puff.
Bubbles wasted no time at all and blocked. She was no sooner finding herself flying out to the front and onto the hard concrete. The bird took flight again and flew after her. She got back up and let out a small growl of frustration. "So, you wanna fight rough, huh? I'll show you rough! I'm hardcore, you sonnova biscuit-eating bulldog!"
Taking a deep breath, Bubbles let out her sonic scream, aiming upwards so that the soundwaves don't affect the building directly, or the residents within it.
The supersonic waves were so strong, the flying fear let out a bloody and unearthly howl of pain. Bubbles then shot up into the air and with a loud resonating slap, smacked the featherless massive pigeon back into the building. In went skidding and crashing into the back and into the kitchen… where Him was.
Fear then pitted into Bubbles' stomach. Real fear finally registered and took over, all adrenaline drained from her body.
"Him!" she bolted right after the menacing creature past the doors. She stopped as she saw the disgusting deformity rising from the floor as it oozed heavily of spraying black blood and glancing its evil, crazed eyes at Him.
Him was in the process of getting a tray to place all the food items that He prepared for Bubbles when He was frozen in place. The food rested on the far end of the counter closest to the backdoors where the front of the restaurant and the back meet.
Bubbles gasped as her eyes flickered to the meal then to Him's frozen self then the gross bird.
As she was about to step in to attack the bird before it could do any damage, she was petrified at what else she saw. The effects of time were slowly fading and Him was the first to demonstrate. His head slowly turned towards the demonized fowl and His demonic eyes glowed eerily bright. Bubbles knew what this meant. She acted and grabbed her food and drink before zipping back out the front, not wanting to stay for what was to come.
As the blue puff left, shutting the back doors behind her, Him broke free of the timeless spell that was cast upon the surrounding area. He glanced around and noticed everything was still minus the creature writhing in front of Him. He then looked down at His apron and noticed black blood smeared on it. The fowl apparently hit the counter next to Him and was heavily damaged, with a spray of blood spewing from its gullet.
Grimacing, He raised a claw and with one swipe, obliterated the whole side of the counter and the abomination to nothing but cinders. "That was my favorite apron, you little turd!"
Flames ruptured from around Him and the whole kitchen turned up like a furnace, burning anything and everything until not even the smallest microbe was left alive. After a good minute or so, the fires died down and all returned to pristine and normal appearance.
Taking a few moments to get His bearings together, Him waved His claw in the air and restored the whole counterspace and flooring as if it was good as new. Another wave of His claw and His apron disappeared with a new one that read "Eat it or Starve".
Once satisfied, He smiled and turned to get the meal, only to His surprise that it was not there. Him then cast a glance at the doors. Curiosity got the best of Him.
He sprung out from the back, startling Millie with a loud "What the f-", but what cut off abruptly by her boss. "Forget that! Where is she?!" Him had to stop Himself at once. He noticed that time was no longer frozen in place.
Millie didn't utter a peep but pointed a finger towards the space in front of her. He looked and saw on the counter a place with silverware neatly arranged in a finished manner, the glass of boba tea completely drained of blueberry milk tea and pearls altogether, and a note.
He lifted the note and realized it being familiar to Him. It was Bubbles' scan on. "How did she find this?" He looked up at the clock and saw it was working again. He scowled. 'Strange…'
On the back of it, Him felt handwriting. He flipped it over and read the message. It was very tidy and mature for the owner, but He knew the energy and signature left on it all too well.
"Interesting." He raised a brow. This deserved answers, and Him knew just where He would get them. He glanced at the clock again and noticed the time was now ten to three.
Folding the note and neatly placing it into His front pocket, Him dismissed His employee. "You're free for the rest of the week, Millie."
Millie's eyes nearly bogged out but said nothing more. She grabbed her bag and sped right out the front doors. "Thanks, boss!" she shouted from outside as she headed to the bus stop further down the street, while Him reflecting in His own thoughts.
"Dearest Bubblessss…. Leaving without saying "good-bye" properly, and after I prepared you one of your favorite meals? That's simply unforgivable."
Him then changed from His everyday attire to a red pantsuit with white fur at the collar of the blazer and cuffs, His shoes an elegant black and back tie. He was dressed to kill, making the term 'handsome devil' to proper justice.
"Seems like we will have some catching up to do, dear Bubbles. And although this isn't a devil's soiree, I believe there's a need for my… presence to be involved."
Him took one last look at the newly renovated kitchen before stepping out and locking up the diner. He flipped the sign with a wave of His claw to "Closed" and procured some shades for His eyes. He can't remember when the last time was that a Hellion made itself known on earth, let alone in Townsville of all places. But what stunned and confused Him more, was that without a doubt, Bubbles is somehow involved.
"Time to see you girls tonight at the Gala, and Bubbles… We definitely need to talk."
In a swirl of red smoke and mist, the devil was gone to make headway to the Gala, as well as to find the company He seeks: The PowerPuff Girls… and the other invited villains.
