Just today I had a math exam, so I needed some good old fanfiction to calm myself.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls. If I did, the Rowdyruff Boys would have returned much sooner.

"Deadline"

Chapter 4:

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The Powerpuff Girls looked up in horror at their powerful nemeses, the Rowdyruff Boys. It took all they had not to tremble, let alone cry out. Brick cracked his knuckles loudly.

"All right, we'll go easy on you and finish this quickly."

Blossom tried to think of something quick. But the more she rushed to think, the blanker her mind was. Buttercup did the first thing that came to her mind; she pointed at the sky.

"Hey! What's that!"

Boomer looked back.

"Boomer, you moron! You just fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Butch exclaimed.

Brick groaned in exasperation. "Yeah. If you fall for something like that, then the girls, in fact, ANYONE, would easily escape!"

"Uh…guys…they just did," Boomer said quite bluntly.

"WHAT!" the green and red ruffs yelled in unison.

Boomer was right. The girls were long gone! The boys looked around and spotted three colored streaks of light zoom toward Townsville.

"After them!" Brick ordered. The three boys took off in flight.

Butch glared at Boomer. "Boomer, this is all your fault!"

But actually, all three were at fault; Boomer for falling for an old trick, and Brick and Butch for letting it distract them. The boys flew after the girls in hot pursuit.

The girls split up and headed in different directions; Bubbles toward the harbor, Blossom toward downtown, and Buttercup toward Tokyo Townsville. The boys also split up, each going after his counterpart. But this time, the boys kept a short distance between themselves and the girls, just in case the girls would try another KTAO attack.

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At the harbor, Bubbles zigzagged between piles of wood and metal crates in an attempt to lose Boomer. He somehow seemed to be everywhere at once, because he would always come up from around a corner and block her path. Meanwhile, Boomer was taking wild guesses of which way to turn within the maze of boxes. He would often run into Bubbles, but then lose her as she zipped around another corner.

Both blondes were getting frustrated. Bubbles figured that the only way Boomer couldn't "sneak up" on her was if they were out in the open. She shot straight up and flew over the dock to the sea. Boomer saw her and tailed after.

They zoomed over the ocean. Bubbles skimmed her feet on the water's surface, sending up a spray of saltwater into Boomer's face. And of course, everyone knows how much it stings when you get salt in your eyes. Boomer covered his eyes and followed the cool spray, knowing that Bubbles would be there. But suddenly…

BANG!

Boomer had just collided head first into a metal buoy the size of a small boat. It split in half and rocked wildly before it sunk down to the bottom. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head to get over the dizziness. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a small streak of baby blue light flying toward the forest beyond Townsville, and zoomed off after it.

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In downtown, Blossom zipped around corners and took twists and turns to avoid Brick, but he was able to stay close behind her. She looked back to see if Brick was still behind her. Brick plucked a lamppost out of the ground and threw it at Blossom like a spear. She ducked down from the pole just in time, and it jammed right through the bulls-eye on a Target billboard.

Blossom headed further down into the subway through the underground entrance. Brick followed after by busting in through the ceiling. As bits of cement fell around Blossom, she raced into the subway tunnel, her pink streak trailing behind. She felt something hot on her back and turned her head. Bright red fire was jetting after her like a rocket!

Blossom sped up and dashed down the tunnel, with the flames rushing behind her as if going through a pipe. Finally she made it to the other end of the tunnel and zipped out the exit. The fire burst out of the tunnel like a hose and Brick flew out of the subway by busting through the ceiling. Blossom headed toward the woods outside of Townsville, with Brick right behind her.

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Down in Tokyo Townsville, Buttercup hardly made any effort to escape Butch. Once she passed a few lighted buildings, she slowed down to a stop and turned to face him. Butch was quite pleased that Buttercup wasn't going to continue running away like a wimp. She was giving him a great chance to finish her off!

Buttercup and Butch charged at each other and collided in an explosion. Buttercup fired a punch, but Butch ducked and gave a low sweeping kick to her leg. Since they were in midair, the kick caused Buttercup to do somersault sideways. Buttercup landed on her feet on a building roof, and was barely able to block the rapid punches Butch fired at her.

Buttercup was guarding herself very well, but she was still weakened by the fight back at home. Butch managed to get some punches and kicks through. He gave a mighty punch and knocked Buttercup back. She tumbled over the edge, fell past a neon sign and hit her head on a thick metal pole. Buttercup got up, grabbed the pole and yanked it right off the wall, the screws popping out.

Butch jumped down from the roof to continue fighting Buttercup, but didn't see the pole until it was too late. Buttercup gave a mighty swing and sent Butch flying face-first toward a giant screen with 9:26 in digital numbers. The numbers changed to 9:27, right before he crashed into it. Sparks and pieces of the clock flew everywhere and the lights around it went out.

A singed Butch climbed out of the hole he smashed and saw that Buttercup was heading to the forest. Furious, he jetted off after her.

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Above the forest, a good distance away from the city, the girls met with each other, both tired from the long chase. They looked back to see the boys back in their group and approaching fast.

"Just great! They're still after us!" Blossom muttered.

"Oh no, we're back to square one!" Bubbles said, worried. "What'll we do!"

"We can't just keep running away, Bubbles! We have to fight back!" Buttercup replied.

"But they're too strong!" Bubbles protested.

Blossom clenched her fist, a determined look in her eye. "I have a plan, girls! Here's what we'll do…"

To be continued…