The City of Townsville. Once upon a time, back in the tumultuous s two thousands, this place had problems. Crime was on the uprise, all manner of monstrous menaces would come to shore and inflict their own unique brand of chaos. Even the devil himself was in residence, tempting innocent men, women and children with the delights of the dark side.
Something had to be done, and someone had to do it. That man was Professor Drake Utonium. His vision for the perfect world would lead to the creation of three perfect little girls. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. Together, these three were destined to save the world.
Blossom was the commander and the leader, a real go-getter.
Buttercup was the toughest fighter, and the one with the wildest, most unpredictable of tempers.
Bubbles was the sweet, innocent one, most of the time.
"Come on guys, he's getting away" Blossom uttered, taking flight in her impractical pink dress.
"Please, we always catch up with them, take your time, grab a soda" Buttercup responded, seated at a picnic table in the back garden of the girls Townsville home, taking a sip of a drink.
Bubbles, playing a little with her blonde pigtailed hair, an adoring smile on her face, took notice of something as she rose in the air.
"Wow, look there, in the bushes, cameras! The Pufferazzi strike again, we're gonna make headlines tonight, better let them see my best side" Bubbles observed excitedly, touching her dimples with her index fingers.
"Uh oh, rumbled" bemoaned one of the most nefarious news hounds.
Buttercup was not amused.
"The Pufferazzi and their cameras again? That tears it, this is the sixth time this month, I'm not chilling while they're turning up the heat for headlines" Buttercup spoke, utterly repulsed by the intrusion of privacy, and, in a green blur, shot off into the sky after Blossom.
Bubbles turned to the camera crew, and gave them a little curtsey.
"Sorry guys, better luck next time" she said, and shot into the air in a blue blur, following her sisters to the scene of the crime.
The three girls dipped down together as they dived towards a marauding three-headed Pegasus, as big as a building, wreaking havoc on the city and its citizens.
"Time to kick some beastly butt" Buttercup announced, war fever coursing through her body.
Buttercup shot ahead of the other two, hooking swiftly across a 'Welcome' billboard that read 'TOWNSVILLE: HOME OF THE POWERPUFF GIRLS'. Buttercup's mean right hook connected with the jaw of the Pegasus, this was followed up by Bubbles tying it up and Blossom utilising her ice breath to imprison it within a block of ice.
As the citizens of Townsville cheered and applauded their heroic efforts, the girls took a well earned bow.
And this was but a typical scene for many, many years in our tidy, vulnerable community. Where every day that was saved made us feel just a little more invincible.
Through it all, the Utonium family could not be tighter. A well-oiled machine, with the gears rarely ever clogging. The girls had learned well from the lap of their father, and had ultimately played a hand in securing his own happiness through their friendship with the Mayor of Townsville's top aid Sara Bellum, who they introduced to the Professor, setting the two onto a rollercoaster romance that saw Sara welcomed into the family.
The girls were beloved fixtures in Townsville, but often wondered just why the vilest of villains and creepiest of creatures always laid siege to it. Scientists, religions and even conspiracy theorists have all had one or two 'hot takes' in regards to the how's and whys, but not one of them truly knew for sure. All that mattered was they were kept safe and secure, and that was enough to satisfy them.
But not everyone in Townsville was as easily satisfied with the girls' saintly reputation as you would be led to believe.
Long before Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercups were a twinkle in Professor Utonium's eye, Drake had someone else to try and take care of and mother in his fatherly way, his pet monkey Jo Jo, and 'try' was the operative word, for Jo Jo was maverick, a loose cannon, and difficult to keep subdued and behaved.
It was through one of his wilder temper tantrums ransacking through the lab one night that Jo Jo accidentally caused a chemical explosion in Drake's lab, the chemical in question being a mix of assorted mutagenic strains that heighten the pleasure, testosterone, and mental centres of the mind and body, and an untested quantity alien to the bloodstream known as Chemical X.
The resulting explosion transformed Jo Jo, making him vastly more intelligent. Having discovered he had a bit of a 'mojo' afterwards, spurring him to be more ambitious and creative, the Professor rechristened his pet Mojo Jo Jo in an affectionate nod to his turn in character.
A partnership was formed, and from there, Mojo Jo Jo helped the Professor perfect the mutagen strain, applying Chemical X when necessary. Shortly after the Professor adopted Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, he treated them with the hybrid strain, and the ensuing side-effects bestowed the girls with their incredible metahuman gifts.
But as the Professor's family grew, his attention became so divided that he had no further time for Mojo, who became increasingly envious of how much attention he gave the girls. To add to the insult, the Professor in various media interviews did not credit him with helping him to discover the remarkable benefits of Chemical X.
The Professor, wrapped up too much in the limelight, had soon long forgotten their decade-long partnership.
Mojo had hoped for years to be given an additional boost of the Chemical X strain so that he may gain powers himself, but the Professor never even attempted it, and so Mojo took his leave of the house of Utonium.
As Mojo Jo Jo gazed out of the window of his observatory lair just on the outskirts of Townsville, three glittery streaks of colour appeared in the sky, it was the girls.
A boy ran up from behind him, nose pressed against the glass, Mojo's son, Jo Jr.
"Pa, is that the Powerpuff Girls? I wish I could fly, they're all so cool, especially Blossom"
Mojo was left seething and stewing.
Now was the time for swift action, for the sake of his son, and for his own sanity.
Back at the Utonium household, the girls and Drake were watching a live televised rally, where Mojo stood before a podium in front of a lively crowd of people. The chryon underneath the broadcast read: 'Scientist's 'Pet' Student Goes Ape Over Powerpuff Girls'
"I worked with the Professor for many years, for a cycle of twelve month periods, twenty four hours per day. He was a power hungry cad. Selfish. In it only for himself. A man minding his own business and leaving the rest of us out of it. He stole Chemical X from me, took it from me, deprived me of that which I helped him to raise awareness of, and I believe he has used it for nefarious, even criminal, purposes. He is to blame for the frequent monster attacks on our fair city"
The crowd audibly gasped.
"How else did the Powerpuffs achieve their fame at such a rapid rate by being in the right places at the right times? It is an n increasing likelihood, a strong belief, that the girls have been in on this the whole time do. We do not need their protection; we should be protecting ourselves from them"
Blossom was quick to protest.
"We'd never do such a thing"
"He's a sad, bitter monkey, don't worry, your popularity rates are through the stratosphere in the courts of public opinion" the Professor assured her.
The Professor was correct, the girls had a national fan club, licensed merchandise, even an animated series based on their adventures, as well as an unflattering live-action adaptation, there was little room for doubt, these days belonged to the Powerpuff Girls.
However, Mojo and his followers would not be their sole concern in the days and years that would follow, they were about to face a far more formidable force, a force that has, in the past, defeated many innumerably gifted children.
For as we pass through each phase of life, every girl, every child, has to eventually grow up.
