Author's Notes: My lovely fans have been requesting for me to more chapters…of other stories. LOL! I can't help myself though. When I get in a mood to write "Mr. Big", that's what I do. Out of all my PPG fics this is probably my least popular, but I just really enjoy this story because it's something different. Bubbles gets a story about overcoming her inner turmoil, and we get mob shenanigans. This is the only story where I get to write cheesy gangster stuff, and I have a soft spot for it. So, for those of you who read and enjoy this story, I'm really glad you like it. For those of you wondering when I'll update something else…give it time. It'll happen :)

Chapter 10

Memory Lane

Darkness fell over Townsville. Another day faded, and another night began. Bubbles was in her bedroom, sitting on the floor and knitting another plush for her collection. This one was an octopus, which wasn't unusual. She made many octopi this way, since they were easy and she really admired the design.

Another loop of thread, another lock, another line weaving into the next. The repetition helped Bubbles focus her mind and not think so much about her breathing. This plush was going to be purple. She intended to give it yellow button eyes with black pupils, and maybe a little top hat. She smiled wanly as she worked, aware that she was making a new Octi. It had to be done. Her childhood favorite might be gone, but that didn't mean she couldn't start again with a new one.

She felt a cramp in her hand and decided to put aside the project for a few minutes. She could use a break anyway, maybe grab some juice and some chips.

As Bubbles carefully placed her yarn and needles on the desk, she absentmindedly looked out the window. A pink streak of light could be seen darting across the night sky.

"Blossom," Bubbles said distractedly.

She wondered if Blossom was just doing a normal save-the-day kind of mission, or if she was on the trail of Mr. Big and his cronies. Bubbles heaved a deep sigh, feeling despondent all over again.

If she was actually the target of the mob boss, then her sisters shouldn't have to risk their necks for her. The professor was in danger, Blossom and Buttercup were in danger, and Townsville was in danger…all because of her. Bubbles didn't even know what she did, but she knew it probably had something to do with when she was a Powerpuff Girl. Hiding in her room feeling sorry for herself wouldn't help anyone though. She'd spent too long doing that already.

Bubbles could feel her hands shaking as she thought about going outside. She wanted to fly out there and find that evil gangster. She wanted to stop him, to save her family, to save the day. That old instinct was warring with her nerves, however. Her mind imagined everything that could go wrong. There could be hostages, there could be a car chase that ends with someone innocent getting run over, or there could be a shootout that results in mass casualties.

Bubbles started crying as she curled into herself on the floor. Why was she so useless? She was the only one who could save the professor, and yet when the moment of truth was upon her she found herself freezing up and going over every bad thing that could possibly happen.

"Get it together," Bubbles whispered to herself, "You know he's after you. Maybe there's still a way to make this okay. Maybe if I just go flying, then someone from the cartel will chase me. Then I can find out more. I just have to pull myself together and try."

It took several minutes for Bubbles to convince herself this was a good idea, but finally she stepped through her window, felt the wind on her face, and took the plunge.

She flew away from her house and toward the city. She made frequent flights during the day, but for some reason flying at night made her heart race more. The stars, the silence, the moon…the feeling was exhilarating.

After a few minutes of flying around Bubbles didn't feel quite as nervous anymore. In fact, she felt a little giddy. The stars raced past her vision as she flew with her back to the ground. Then she twirled around in a corkscrew maneuver, and felt her pigtails whip to and fro.

As she got into the groove again, a sudden thought reached her mind…she never changed out of her pajamas.

"Eep!" Bubbles stopped suddenly, realizing she was in her blue tank top and baggy pants.

She quickly found a roof and landed. Bubbles breathed out a sigh of relief. She didn't think anyone could see her from this high up. Her anxiety occasionally led to some very awkward situations, she noted.

Just as Bubbles was about to fly home, she suddenly heard an explosion and some screaming!

"Huh?" Bubbles squeaked.

She used her super-vision to try to get a grip on the situation. She could see Blossom was fighting a horde of robots with Mojo Jojo's face on them. Oh, right. Blossom was saving the day right now. Oops.

Blossom was surrounded, but didn't look too worried about the situation. She dodged and ripped through the robots with the precision and professionalism of one trained from birth to fight. Bubbles enjoyed watching her sister in this state, as she hadn't actually accompanied Blossom on a mission in a long time.

Before Bubbles could get too settled in the moment however, she heard screaming behind her. Bubbles turned and saw that one of Mojo's robots broke away from the group. It was terrorizing a group of teenagers near the 1st National Bank. So, that was what their goal was.

Bubbles turned to warn Blossom about the rogue robot, but her sister's hands were too full to deal with this at the moment.

"Oh, man," Bubbles moaned, realizing this was her problem now.

Steeling herself for what she had to do, Bubbles bolted away from the roof and flew toward the danger. The robot's foot was mere inches from the group of scared civilians when Bubbles crashed fist-first into its metal body.

The robot started to fritz and malfunction, and before it could recalibrate itself Bubbles started tearing away at the automaton piece by piece. She gritted her teeth at the pain of being cut into by the sharp metal edges, but didn't stop until there was nothing left but a pile of inert robot parts.

"Whoa…" One of the teenage boys gasped, "That was awesome!"

Bubbles huffed and puffed with exhaustion, but managed to say "Just…doing…my job."

The kids thanked her profusely for her help, and she smiled at finally being able to be a hero for once. She hadn't felt this kind of pride in her work in years, and frankly didn't think she ever would again.

As they left, she couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into her. Did she just call this her job? She hadn't saved the day in 10 years. This wasn't her job anymore. And yet…

Bubbles turned to where Blossom was fighting the other robots, and while she wasn't in danger she wasn't exactly finished with her task yet. Bubbles could go home, could quit now. No one would have to know. She could go back to knitting her new Octi and forget this ever happened. It wasn't too late.

There was still a loose end, however. Mojo Jojo was using his evil robots to rob banks and hurt people. He still needed to go to prison. Bubbles could take him there and save Blossom some time and energy. Blossom saved the day every night and then returned to her schoolwork during the day. Bubbles could handle this one tiny problem for her and make Blossom's life a little easier.

Bubbles quickly flew to the volcano observatory where Mojo Jojo lived, ready to bring the evil chimpanzee to justice. When she broke into the laboratory however, she was somewhat surprised by the sight that greeted her.

Bubbles hadn't seen Mojo Jojo in so long that she didn't really know what his residence looked like anymore. There were so many pieces of machinery and random bits cluttering the place that it was hard to find anything. Bubbles remembered Mojo as being so clean and orderly. This…didn't look right.

She used her X-ray vision to locate Mojo Jojo, and found him sitting in his easy chair eating a bowl of soup. His fur had a lot more gray than Bubbles remembered, and he was very wrinkly. His uniform and helmet looked mostly the same, however. An evil ensemble frozen in time.

"Your robots have been defeated, Mojo Jojo," Bubbles announced to him.

"Eh?" Mojo put a hand to his ear, "Is that Bubbles? I haven't seen you in years. It has been far too long since you have visited my domicile."

"I'm here to arrest you, Mojo," Bubbles said as if she needed to remind him, "Why didn't you have another doomsday weapon planned for when someone came to arrest you?"

"Blossom always figures those out," Mojo waved away her question, "Besides, my soup would get cold. Nobody wants to eat cold soup, unless of course it is gazpacho or tarator. Spaghettios do not taste good cold however, but in fact would taste terrible. Have you ever eaten cold Spaghettios?"

Bubbles just sighed from boredom. She forgot what a wind-bag Mojo Jojo could be, and age didn't seem to make him any less chatty.

"It's time to go to jail, Mojo," Bubbles once again reminded him.

"Oh, yes, right," Mojo nodded, putting up no resistance, "It is good to see you though, Bubbles. It's hard to make phone calls when constantly scheming for more power. I know I probably should have called you though. You were always my favorite Powerpuff Girl."

"I was?" Bubbles asked, surprised.

"But of course," Mojo replied fondly, "Out of all my creations, you were always the one with the most potential. Buttercup thinks she's tough, but in reality is the weakest of the three of you. Blossom is a hard worker and highly intelligent, but she has to push herself to achieve many of the things you would often accomplish by accident. The only thing that ever held you back was your own sickening sense of morality and restraint. Pah! I never understood superhero work. You three girls could have ruled the world. Such a waste of potential…"

Bubbles was rather surprised by these words. Mojo sounded almost paternal in the way he spoke about the girls. Almost. In the old days Bubbles would beat up Mojo Jojo before arresting him, but she knew he was old and frail now. She didn't know how long chimps lived, or how old Mojo was, but it was clear that he was slowing down considerably. So, Bubbles carefully grabbed him and flew away with him to the county jail.

She flew slowly to keep Mojo from getting dizzy, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry to escape. Given how many times he had broken out of that place, Bubbles realized she shouldn't be too shocked.

She handed Mojo over to the cops, and the elderly ape actually waved at her as she left. She looked down and saw the contented smile on his face. She felt a little sad, realizing he was probably just lonely in his old age. Still, that wasn't a good enough excuse to hurt people with giant robots. She made a mental note however that she should probably visit him in jail…if he actually stayed there for longer than a day.

The house that once belonged to Rudolph Mann seemed empty and lifeless despite how much fancy furniture and works of art were inside. The funeral was short, and not many mourners attended. The visitation was conducted in the home, a tradition among his family.

Major Mann and his wife Needa were still there long after most of the guests had gone home. Major was Rudolph's older brother, and had barely said a word during the proceedings. Needa knew that wasn't like her normally attention-hungry husband, but these were extreme circumstances. When he finally did speak to her, it wasn't exactly the sentiment she expected to hear.

"You think we can return the casket if we vacuum up the remains?"

"Honey, if you didn't want a casket for the service, then you shouldn't have paid for one," Needa said as gently as she could manage.

"His insurance paid for it. He always knew something like this could happen, so he was prepared. I tried to warn him to not get involved with the Saga Cartel, but he wouldn't listen to me. He was just as ambitious and conniving as Cousin Frankie."

"With all these family members you have in, um, the business, I'm surprised you ever tried to be a superhero," Needa couldn't help but chuckle, "I'm just glad you know when to quit. Your brother didn't know, and that's why this happened. I'm sorry you have to deal with this, honey."

"Thanks, Needa."

Major hugged her, and she hugged him back. When they pulled away she went to kiss him, but then noticed he was staring at something. Amid the row of pews set up for the wake, there was still one person left sitting in the back row. A rather large man with a bushy red beard and fancy black suit. He might've been staring at the casket, but it was hard to tell past his fedora.

"Who is that, Major?"

"I don't know, but he's been here all day. I think he might be one of Rudolph's…contacts."

Major whispered the last part, shifting his eyes back to the spectator. Needa understood that criminal types made her husband nervous. He was a stunt man and prop designer. He was someone who could fake bravery in the face of danger, but when confronted with real threats immediately backed down. Needa, however, knew how to handle men with that kind of background.

"Excuse me, sir," Needa approached him without fear, "The wake is over. You need to leave now. Major and I have a lot of cleaning up to do."

The large man turned to Needa, and managed to say the one and only thing that could catch her off guard.

"Hello, Sedusa."

Needa recoiled, and Major ran to her to see what was wrong.

"You!" Needa hissed, "Of all the people…what are you doing here?"

"Moose was Mr. Big's best friend," Mr. Big explained, "I needed to be here."

"So you are with those ruffians," Major deduced, "Are you his old mob boss? Or perhaps one of his flunkies."

"You kinda look like an old Johnny Bravo," Mr. Big commented offhandedly, "That's Mr. Big's favorite show. You don't look so good, Sedusa. You get sick?"

"Seducer?" Major repeated in offense, "What exactly are you trying to say about my wife?"

"Nothing," Mr. Big shrugged.

"He's an old friend," Needa tried to smooth things over.

"We ain't friends," Mr. Big corrected, "Mr. Big hates your guts."

"Now hold on there!" Major shouted.

"It's okay, honey," Needa held him back, "I'll make sure Mr. Fat knows where the exit is."

"Hey!" Mr. Big yelled.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Major asked somewhat nervously, "I mean…he's a mafioso." Major whispered the last statement, but worried Mr. Big still heard him.

"He won't hurt me," Needa assured him, "Just start putting away the leftovers, and I'll be back to help you in a moment."

"Well…okay," Major replied uncertainly, "Just call me if you need me."

"I always need you," Needa purred into his ear, "I won't be long."

Major wasn't convinced, but he was also too much of a coward to stick around. After all, being seen with this guy for too long could mark him as fair game for a rival mob. Major might have been muscular, but he wasn't very strong or capable. He could talk his way out of almost anything, but he didn't feel like putting that 'almost' to the test.

When he left, Needa waited for Mr. Big to get up. When he didn't, she growled in frustration.

"Can't you take a hint, tubby?" Needa said sharply, "Leave!"

"Mr. Big came to collect some of Moose's old gambling debts," Mr. Big explained, "Mr. Big covered a lot of his tabs."

"I can't believe you're actually Mr. Big," Needa chuckled mockingly, "Rudolph would tell us about his boss from time to time, when he felt at liberty to discuss his business affairs. I was expecting you to be a bit…well, not older exactly. Just…smarter."

"…Mr. Big has a busy day ahead," Mr. Big said, an edge to his voice, "If you don't have the money, Mr. Big is willing to take some items from the house."

"You do realize I could easily turn you in to the cops?" Needa pointed out, "If anyone here is paying money today, it's you. If you don't want me to inform Townsville PD about your recent activities, you'll pay me $100,000 and forget we ever had this conversation."

"Sounds fair," Mr. Big replied matter-of-factly, "Townsville PD likes to hear about criminal activities. They're gossips like that."

"Good boy," Needa said smugly.

"Of course, other people like gossip too," Mr. Big added, "Like the papers, and maybe your husband. Remember what you did to me under the Olde Townsville Bridge? What we drank when you showed me stuff I wasn't supposed to know?"

"That…that was a long time ago," Needa stammered, her face somehow turning whiter than it already was, "I'm not a criminal anymore, and I have never cheated on Major. He doesn't need to know about that. It's ancient history."

"If Mr. Big recalls, you liked being the one in charge in relationships," Mr. Big sneered, "I didn't know what to do, but you knew how to teach me. There's a word for what chicks like you do. What is it again…? Stage territory?"

"Now that isn't fair!" Needa practically screamed at him, "I didn't know you weren't- I mean I thought you were-"

"Not older exactly," Mr. Big threw her words back at her; bitterness dripping from every word, "So, about the money…"

"Follow me," Needa sighed in defeat, "You'll probably find some valuable pieces in Rudolph's library. He liked to collect art."

"Yeah," Mr. Big smiled, "Moose was real smart. Mr. Big is gonna miss him."

Needa just harrumphed and stepped aside for Mr. Big to squeeze out of the pew row he was sitting in. She couldn't help but wish this guy had been whacked instead of Moose.

Together the pair walked through the house to get to where Moose stashed his art collection. Mr. Big looked around at the marble pillars and red velour-covered stairs. Everything screamed wealth, and Mr. Big found himself smiling. Moose also helped Mr. Big decorate his own house. Tasteless splendor was a motif they both enjoyed.

"You know, I honestly didn't expect you to live this long," Needa said as she walked with Mr. Big behind her, "Let alone to be running your own criminal enterprise. Frankly I assumed you'd die with something stuck to a flagpole or whatever. To be fair, it can be good to be underestimated. That was one of my favorite tactics when I was a jewel thief. No one ever expects the sensual petite woman to be the crook. Those were some good times."

"So why'd you quit?" Mr. Big asked, "You was good at being bad."

"I quit because of Major," Needa explained, "He has a lot of crooked family members. A lot of people to worry about. I didn't want him to worry. I know that sounds ridiculous, but…there were so many men in my life who only wanted one thing from me. Major started out that way too. He was as fake as I was, and yet for some reason we made sense together. I wanted to rob him blind, but then…there was the fire."

"Fire?" Mr. Big asked curiously.

"You've probably noticed that my face isn't what it used to be," Needa pointed out.

"Yeah," Mr. Big nodded, "You look kinda like that monster in the movie with the creepy little girl."

"As I was saying…" Needa ground her teeth as she spoke, "I was disfigured after a house fire caused by a faulty wire. It could've been a jilted lover committing arson, I don't know for sure. All I knew was that my beautiful hair was singed off and my face was uglier than it had ever been. I was sure my life was over, but Major stayed by my side. Men gave me things all the time, but no man ever really gave themselves to me the way he did. That was when I knew…it was true love."

"So true love can start out as fake?" Mr. Big asked.

"I…I guess it can," Needa had to admit, "The sad thing is, I've used so many aliases in my life, and now I'm stuck with one of my worst ones for the rest of my life just so Major doesn't find out who I really was. I admit, I got a thrill out of my crimes, but it isn't worth losing what I already have to keep going. He doesn't know about Sedusa, and I hope he never finds out."

"I won't tell," Mr. Big assured her, "Mr. Big still hates what you did to me, but…you did make me a better criminal. Mr. Big needed that. I won't thank you, but I also won't rat you out."

"If I did make you better at your job, then I damaged you more than I realized," Needa replied, a hint of regret in her tone, "Sometimes it pays to know when to quit. Major knew when to quit, and I knew when to quit. We're still alive. Moose kept going, kept trying his luck, and look where that got him."

They made it to the library, and Mr. Big stared up at the large collection of books on the shelves. Paintings lined the walls wherever there weren't bookshelves. Very little space was left barren, and the sheer amount of stuff was a little overwhelming, even for the seasoned gangster.

"Just try not to take everything," Needa said dryly, "Major and I still have bills to pay, after all."

"Uh, Sedusa?" Mr. Big's voice sounded smaller and more vulnerable as he spoke, "Can Mr. Big ask a favor?"

"What?" Needa replied in exasperation.

"Tell Mr. Big how to turn a fake love into a real one," Mr. Big requested.

"Why?" Needa asked, suspicious.

"Mr. Big is engaged," Mr. Big explained, "But my fiancée don't like me very much. She's gonna kill Mr. Big after the wedding. How can Mr. Big make this into true love?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Needa smiled humorlessly, "How do you know she's going to kill you?"

"Mr. Big told her she could," Mr. Big confessed, "It was the only way to get her to say yes."

Needa blinked for a few awkward seconds, but then she suddenly burst out laughing at him.

"Wow! I knew men were stupid, but you take it to a whole new level!" Needa chortled, "She must be really hot for you to make that kind of deal!"

Mr. Big pulled out his phone and showed Needa a picture of Femme Fatale.

"Hm…I think I remember seeing her in the women's prison," Needa mulled over, "Ah yes, I remember now. Greta Blimpkin. She was this incredibly annoying feminist type. A real man hater. I'll say this at least, you knew how to offer her what she wanted. Hahaha!"

"So Mr. Big should just let her do it?" Mr. Big asked.

"Hey, it'd make my life easier," Needa replied shamelessly, "It's not like you offer much to the wider world anyway. You're just a fat thug that probably couldn't read half the books in this library. Not that Greta's much better. She always assumed she was smarter than me just because I'm not afraid of using every asset in my arsenal. I beat her in every game of gin rummy we ever played, and she still thought I was stupid. Maybe if you kill her I'll pay you the $100,000. Hah!"

"Femme Fatale is a far better woman than you'll ever be!" Mr. Big replied angrily, "She lives by a code and sticks to it. You say whatever you need to so you can get what you want. You pretended you loved me only to try to kill me. She hates me yet saved my life! Mr. Big would never hurt Femme Fatale. Maybe if Moose had shown that kinda loyalty he'd still be alive."

"You…you killed Major's brother?" Needa asked in shock, "I must admit, I didn't think you had it in you. And yet, I can tell there's still a piece of you that believes loving someone enough will keep them from hurting you. Well take it from me big boy, that's not how life works. Even if you have everything you need to live a good life and be a good person, people will find a way to screw you over. I've seen it all my life. I was beautiful, I was smart, and I was athletic. Yet everyone in my school hated and feared me because of my monster heritage. My beautiful yet powerful hair, my fangs, and my ethereal glow made people hate me. We monster mixes don't get a fair shake in Townsville, do we?"

Mr. Big didn't reply, and didn't even pull away when she squeezed his oversized bicep to demonstrate.

"Do you know why I called myself Sedusa?" Needa inquired.

"Because you slept your way to the top?" Mr. Big guessed.

"That's only one part of it," Needa snapped, "When I was young I was obsessed with Greek and Roman history. Mythology, government, architecture…it was all an escape from my boring suburban life. The Greek version of the character Medusa was a fairly standard 'evil monster woman gets killed by hunky hero' type. The Romans did something interesting with their version of her, however. In their version of the story, Medusa was a beautiful woman who got caught sleeping with Minerva's husband, and then Minerva turned her hair to snakes and made it so any man who looked upon Medusa would turn to stone. This forced Medusa to live a lonely life despite being a beautiful and gifted woman. That was how having my hair powers felt to me, like I was both empowered but doomed to be alone. I can't be Sedusa anymore, because I no longer identify with that character or situation. Life changes people. I'm finally happy in a place I can call home with a man I can call more than my lover."

"Uh…can Mr. Big take the stuff now?" Mr. Big asked awkwardly.

"You weren't listening to a word of that, were you?" Needa flatly speculated.

"Uh…Mr. Big remembers the word Roman…" Mr. Big sheepishly replied.

"You know, thinking about it, I can think of a Roman historical figure you remind me of," Needa pondered.

"It's not the one with the blue fire on his head, is it?" Mr. Big asked nervously.

"That was a Disney movie, you dope," Needa replied dismissively, "No, I'm actually talking about a Roman emperor from the Julio-Claudian dynasty."

"Huh?" Mr. Big scratched his head in confusion.

"I'm going to assume you've never heard of Emperor Claudius," Needa asked patronizingly, and Mr. Big nodded, "Well, Claudius was, for lack of a better word, a joke. He could barely walk, barely talk, and was considered to be an imbecile not even worthy of being killed by his relatives. They abused him, humiliated him, and kept him away from any sort of real power."

"So you think Mr. Big is a joke?" Mr. Big groused.

"Let me finish," Needa replied impatiently, "Claudius was a joke, until he became emperor. When he took over he was actually one of Rome's best leaders up to that point. He won wars, gave marginalized groups new opportunities, and listened to his advisors. People loved him, though some still couldn't stand to see a supposed 'moron' succeed. His own people kept trying to assassinate him, and he was ultimately killed…by his own wife."

"Oh," Mr. Big gulped, "Mr. Big gets where this is going. Femme Fatale won't change her mind."

"No," Needa said frankly.

"Oh. Okay," Mr. Big replied, slumping to the point where he almost looked smaller, "Then tell me which paintings you think she'll like…"