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Chapter 2

Confrontation

Two weeks later…

"BOOMER!"

The blue ruff winced as he heard the call. Was it already time to leave?

"What?!" he answered with a definitely not so friendly tone, but the boy who had called him wasn't fazed at all by his reply.

"Stop whatever you're doing and come here! Brick's found something!"

Boomer sighed and gave a last glance to the piece of modern art he was working on before floating away towards his brothers. Brick was holding what seemed to be some type of newspaper in his hands. The nearby news-stand was completely desert of life… the newsman had probably thought better than to ask the red ruff to pay for the copy.

"Uhmm… do you read French?" Boomer asked, baffled by the sight.

"What do you think I am, a four eyes nerd? No, I don't. This is some type of international edition or whatever they call it, so it's in English… Look here you two."

He motioned him and Butch to join him at his sides and the two of them respected the order. They were curious to see if their search had come to an end at last.

The main title on the first page was quite tell-tale on its content.

'EXCLUSIVE: ULTRAPOLIS' NEW HERO!'

Brick didn't even try to read out the rest of the article. He limited himself to watch for a moment the photo of this supposed hero before tossing away the journal, much to Boomer's surprise.

"Hey!" he protested, but Brick ignored him. "Let's go. The faster we deal with the dimwit, the earlier we'll return home."

"Finally!" Butch commented, "If we had to look for him for another week, I would have died of boredom!"

"But guys! What about my-" Boomer began, but Brick shushed him.

"I don't care, Boomer. So, unless you are scared of the guy… wait, are you scared?"

"Boomer's scared! That's not a surprise, to be honest," Butch added, snickering while he and the group's leader zapped away in the air.

"Huh? I'm not scared! And I'll show you!" Boomer responded before flying away, scrambling to follow them.

So, the Rowdyruff Boys left the city they were momentarily taking a break in and headed for the east. Leaving behind them a good number of fires, screaming people everywhere, the Louvre glass pyramid turned upside down, and the metal frame of the Eiffel Tower twisted into a chaotic web of random metal beams with no discernible shape.

It's four o'clock…

It's two past four…

It's four past four…

It's-

"Donnie?"

The yellow eyed boy stopped staring at the wall-clock and looked at his aunt. The woman smiled as she already knew what he was thinking about. "Don't worry, Donnie. They will arrive in Ultrapolis safe and sound."

"But aunt, why can't they just fly their way down here from the airport?"

"Donnie, I know you are worried, but they're my guests just like they're yours, and I want to make them feel as much confortable as possible. Isn't that what you want as well?"

Donnie sighed in defeat before nodding.

"Exactly. Now relax, you'll come with me at the airport after all…"

Despite the reassuring words from the woman, Donnie focused once again his attention on the slowly moving arrows inside the clock.

To be fair, he knew he was overthinking things. They were talking about the Powerpuff Girls after all, the same girls who fought the most perilous of fights on the planet… on a daily basis. The only motive they were using a plane instead of just going in Ultrapolis themselves was the will of both Aunt Katja and the Professor, who both wanted to give the girls the most 'normal' holiday possible.

Their logic made sense even to him as much as he wasn't fully convinced. So, Donnie resigned himself to sit on the chair for another half an hour. At least, that's what he thought until he heard something beeping and vibrating at the same time.

The source of the disturbance was located on the table in front of him. The pager!

Donnie right away snatched the device and activated it. Immediately the beeps were substituted by the voice of the Mayor.

"Donnie, we're sorry to disturb you now, but we have a problem. Multiple chiefs of Police have reported a series of disorders downtown. Apparently, the officers cannot stop whoever is causing havoc, but according to the ones who tried to capture them, that's the case because they're super powered beings."

The remains of good mood inside Donnie disappeared. "This is probably something only you can solve, Donnie. I'm sending you the location of the last sighting. Be fast."

Donnie hesitated for a single second before firmly answering, "I'm on it, Mayor."

The Mayor simply said a 'good' of acknowledgement before cutting off the line. On the display of the pager appeared a series of numbers which later turned into a description of the place where his help was needed.

Normally, he would have sprinted right through the kitchen's window, but it was not a day like others. Donnie gazed at his aunt with a look full of worry.

"Donnie, go. I'm going to pick the girls myself, and when you return you'll find them here waiting for you. Is that okay?"

The boy smiled. He probably would never have had the chance to fully repay the woman for what she had done for him.

"Thanks, Aunt Katja!" he said before zapping away through the fortunately already opened window and flying towards the city centre. Katja watched him for some seconds before returning to her current task of cleaning the floor of the kitchen. She wasn't worried… after all, Donnie had already been called in the previous months to aid the city, and he had always returned home sooner or later.

Neither Donnie nor Katja knew about the real danger the little boy was getting himself into.

Donnie spent five minutes to reach his destination. Afterwards he spent only two seconds to realize the gravity of the 'problem' the Mayor had talked about.

Around him, down in the streets, people ran in panic. Various buildings had multiple fires blazing inside them, and the firefighters were both busy in trying to put out them and the ones burning some unfortunate cars abandoned on the asphalt of a street. Some of these were patrol police cars, and Donnie didn't fail to notice that some of those in particular were standing on a side, extremely damaged or with abnormal dents on the body.

For a fraction of a second, an image of Townsville passed over Donnie's mind… the one similar to the current sight in front of him. The boy shook his head, shooing the memory away. This time, he was in control, and he was the one who was putting a stop to this mess.

No matter who was responsible.

The yellow puff hovered forward, keeping the surroundings under strict control. He didn't want to be found unprepared, even though he had no idea how to deal with the problem as of now.

He had not the chance to think over a plan as something exploded on the street next to the one he was currently located in.

Donnie immediately dashed forward, and at the first intersection he began circling around a skyscraper's base in order to get in the street where the detonation had come from.

In mere moments he landed near the site. Something had exploded inside the apartments on the right side, as the panicking people and the smoke coming out were proof of.

He would have marched into the building it if it wasn't for the fact that the three culprits for the events went outside themselves.

"I didn't even know you could make explosions that powerful in boring skyscrapers!" Butch exclaimed, visibly enthusiast. Boomer was in a similar mood, given the big smile visible on his face and the sparkle in his eyes.

"A simple hit at the gas implants can do wonders, Butch. I have another idea about that-" Brick started.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The Rowdyruff Boys finally noticed the similar-looking boy standing in front of them, blocking their way. They put on hostile faces on instinct, but that was not Donnie's reaction as he realized who was standing there.

He knew of course of the Rowdyruffs thanks to the girls' stories, and he also knew how they looked like, so he had no problem in comprehending who they were. The problem was, it was the actual first time he met them face to face, and there was also the fact that this happened in Ultrapolis.

"Huh?"

The Rowdyruff Boys were at first surprised by the evident startled look on the boy's face. Then, Butch burst out laughing, almost maniacally.

"Well, looks like the monkey's lost some cogs in his brains, given how he's asked for your help…" Brick commented dryly, not as amused as his brother.

Boomer would have wanted to add his two cents, had it not been for Donnie, who right away responded, "What, a monkey? What are you talking about?"

Brick raised an eyebrow. "You're even stupider than I thought. C'mon, I know Mojo's kind of a butt, but you just can't have forgotten someone like him."

Donnie pondered over it for some seconds before raising an eyebrow. "I still do not understand what you're trying to tell me here. Mojo Jojo has never asked for my help… and I definitely don't want to see him again after last time I met him."

Suddenly, Donnie realized that probably this was all a trick of some sort. "You know what? I don't care. The only thing I'm interested in now is stopping you and send you right where you came from!"

"Oh, wow! The little girl here is mad at us! Let's get out of here before he hurts us!" Butch said, the ironic tone not hidden.

"Like you actually can stop us!" Boomer said, feeling disgusted by the fact he could even only fathom the possibility.

"Wait, guys… I'm kinda interested on how our hero here is going to try to beat us. Might be fun as well, won't it?"

Butch clapped his hands in agreement. "I want to get him first! I really need to beat someone up who does not pass out after the first two punches!"

Boomer would have protested, but once again, much to his displeasure, Donnie interjected into the boys' discussion. His tone was unexpectedly calm. "Hmph, your reputation is real then. I once thought that Blossom was exaggerating about you, but I now think that-"

"WAIT!" Boomer shouted, making both his brothers and Donnie jump. "Did you say Blossom?"

"Yeah, the Powerpuff Girl. Aren't you three their enemies or something?"

Brick was finding it hard to believe it. "That's true, but… but, you know her? How is that possible?"

"Of course, I do! She's my friend, just like Bubbles and Buttercup!"

For five seconds the Rowdyruff Boys remained motionless and dumbfounded. Then, they fell to the ground in the same instant, laughing histerically.

"Oh my god! I can't-I can't believe it!" Butch said through the chuckles.

"I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" Boomer tried to say as he rotated on the ground.

Brick was the first to recover some demeanour… sort of, and he directly spoke to Donnie. "This outweighs everything I could've expected. Being a superhero and being nice, I can understand. But a boy… being friends with the Powerpuff Girls? I… I just… hahaha!"

Donnie shook his head. They were beginning to annoy him, but unbeknownst to them, he still had in mind why he was there and what was his goal. He had no idea why the boys were in the city and decided to cause havoc there, but he would have to think about it later.

The primary objective now was protecting Ultrapolis and his inhabitants… a task that required him to someway bring the upcoming battle elsewhere. He had a feeling that he couldn't beat the three of them together, no matter how dumb they acted. The girls had told him about some of their abilities as well… They could be fearsome fighters, when they wanted.

Maybe hitting now while they were too much occupied trying to insult him and get under his skin would have been a good idea.

Thus, Brick, Butch and Boomer were completely taken by surprise.

Boomer in particular was taken by surprise… quite literally.

He could only gape as something yellow in colour zapped towards him, two pairs of arms grabbed his waist and he was kneed right in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs.

A moment after, Donnie flew upwards, bringing with him the momentarily stunned Boomer, and darted away in direction of the countryside around the city. At least the few of it that there was, given the fact that Ultrapolis was mainly surrounded by thick coniferous forests.

The boy glanced behind himself while still moving fast, and he found out that the other two Rowdyruff Boys were already in hot pursuit. They looked quite angry.

Before he could make the next move, however, something punched his face. He had underestimated Boomer's recovering speed.

The Rowdyruff Boy, furious for having been caught and carried around like a doll, freed himself from his grasp and proceeded in storming him with a series of punches, ending the attack with a final kick that sent Donnie directly towards the ground below.

However, Donnie recovered in mid-air and didn't even touch the ground. He quickly gained height until he found himself at the same level of the three boys. He looked around, trying to see if he had at least succeeded in his goal of luring the boys away from the city centre, and was glad to find out that he did.

Boomer had literally the fire in his eyes. He was particularly offended by what had just happened.

Therefore, Butch didn't lose the chance to tease him as he and Brick joined him. "Enjoyed the ride?"

Boomer grunted something in response that Butch did not catch, but Brick evidently did as he hit the poor boy on the head.

"Ouch!"

"Cut it off, you two," Brick ordered before turning towards their new adversary. "Seems like you actually have guts, sissy. Well, I suspected that this was going to be boring at first, but maybe you can actually resist for more than one minute against us."

"You will see I'm full of surprises…" Donnie replied, putting himself in battle stance.

Brick limited himself to grin at this tease. "At least we now know you're not a dressed-up girl or somethin'. Boys, let's show this hotshot who's the best fighter!"

With that, the Rowdyruff Boys prepared themselves for a coordinated attack. Donnie waited patiently as he studied them: he had the advantage as they had no knowledge of his skills, while he at least had an idea of theirs. But it was also true that he was outnumbered… three to one.

He needed some type of tactic in order to keep the three of them at bay, but unfortunately he was out of time. The Rowdyruff Boys darted away in three different directions, and Donnie moved back, an attempt to maintain all three colours in his line of sight.

This was going to be hard.

"You said Donnie left off to deal with some problem in the city? What kind of problem?"

"Hey, what are we waiting for then? Startin' up a holiday with some action is just what I need!"

"Please, Miss Cunningham, we would really like to go and help our friend. I know he wouldn't be upset if we did!"

Katja couldn't help but roll her eyes at the childlike stubbornness of the three girls following her through the airport main hall, towards the entrance. She had imagined the Powerpuff Girls with many characteristics, but there was one thing she was sure about: the fact that despite all they were still little girls and acted as such, though in their very unique way.

Just like Donnie did.

"Yes, I did. And I will repeat what I said earlier; Don't worry, girls. I'm sure you know Donnie has been quite busy during the last months, and he's no novice at it. I'd even say we'll arrive home with him already there waiting for you."

She heard the brunette girl, Buttercup if she recalled correctly, mumble in disapproval, but apart from that the three of them remained silent, clearly acknowledging her reassurance.

She smiled. She believed in what she said, and she sure didn't want them to feel lonely, worried or tense, even if only for ten-twenty minutes. Thus, she tried to change subject and began talking about the city and possible landmarks they could visit. The girls were immediately entrapped by her speech.

"I don't know if you have already watched on the news or the internet how our Town Hall looks like, but in any case, I suggest you to go inside at least one time to check it out. You won't regret it!"

Blossom immediately began making a mental program of the next few days, actually requesting her sisters' help in her planning task. The request was not fulfilled at first, more so by Buttercup, who just wanted to live it day by day and decide on the moment what to do.

The beginning of an argument was already in the air, but instead of getting uncomfortable Katja had to restrain himself from giggling while she put their luggage into her car (she had insisted in bringing those herself). She found their arguing too cute.

"Gimme a break, Bloss! We've just landed on Europe and you're already planning this and that and also this and also that! Jeez, relax for a second!"

"Buttercup, you know that a correct and effective planning can maximize our chances of having a good time?"

"All I see is a maximization of your chances to make us fall sleep at midday out of boredom!"

Bubbles seemed to be lightly enjoying the show as well. This was far from being one of their most serious fights anyway… this time the two of them were most likely just teasing each other.

Eventually, the girls got into aunt Katja's car and the woman drifted away from the large airport car park, heading for her flat.

While the girls were talking about their first impressions of the city they were finally able to see with their own eyes, Katja's thoughts fell on the car's radio. It might have been a bit uneducated to turn it on while the girls were confabulating with each other, but she wanted to prove them that Donnie was okay somehow.

…and she had to admit, she was beginning to get worried… just a little bit. But hey, she had lived with the boy for six months, it would be strange if she wasn't!

She finally decided to tune in the electronic device while they waited for the red light of a traffic light to turn green. She maintained the volume low, letting the girls continue on their talk if they wanted to.

Yet, the girls immediately stopped speaking as the voice of the announcer came off. Not just they were interrupted, but also because of the subject… and the seriousness of it.

"Are you with us, Marie?"

"Yes! We're contacting you from the north side of Ultrapolis. Even though we're still located in the outskirts, the sounds of battle are still audible from here!"

It was true: there were the typical whoosh sounds that Donnie usually emitted when he flew around at high speed. Far too numerous to be caused only by him. And along with those, explosions, impacts and other unrecognizable noises in the distance.

Katja thought of herself as an optimistic person, but in this case, even her couldn't help but bit her lip.

The most worrying part of it had yet to be shared by the newscast, though Katja wasn't going to realize why. The girls were.

"Donnie, our recently accepted defender, is fighting what appear to be three super powered beings comparable to him in appearance and powers… roughly speaking. He has been able to hold them out for now, but it seems like he's-hey, what's that? NO, WATCH OUT-!"

The journalist didn't even have the time to finish the phrase as the four occupants of the car heard the radio emit the noise of something big crashing on the ground.

"Marie…? Are you all right?" the announcer asked, visibly shocked and momentarily unaware of being on a live radio transmission.

"We're-we're all right… Ahem. The fight is getting serious minute by minute… We all hope that Donnie will be able to solve the situation as soon as possible," the local journalist replied stoically, ignoring the fact she had been inches from being smashed.

"Uuuhh… we sure do, Marie. Stay tuned with us to know all about the last updates on the-" the following words lost their importance, the girls' minds already racing with what the news meant.

"Miss Cunningham, I'm afraid we have to go," Blossom stated. It wasn't a question.

Katja went against a notable struggle to ask otherwise, but she still tried to reassure them. "Girls, I know it seems serious, but-"

"It's not about the fact it seems serious," Blossom explained. "Considering how Donnie's enemies were described, we have an idea about who they are. We have to check out if it's true, because in case those three beings are the ones we think they are… Donnie is in trouble. No matter how much strong he's become, he needs us."

"And if we're right, then it's personal, and we have to deal with it ourselves," Buttercup added fiercely.

"It's very important. We're sorry, but we must go now!" Bubbles finished. Then, with a simple wave as last salute, they flew through the back windows of the car they had previously opened.

In that moment the traffic light became green, and Katja mechanically pushed the accelerator on when she heard the first angry horn behind her. Things had happened too fast and she couldn't concentrate on driving and the present problem at once.

She had felt the seriousness in the girls' tone. They were superheroes: they meant it when there was something hazardous to deal with.

She hoped with all her might that the four of them would be all right.

Donnie lifted himself from the ground, spitting out the dirt that had made its way into his mouth after his hard landing. He cleaned his mouth from the extraneous material before finally standing up to retake his battle stance.

Three meters away, Butch chuckled. "Is that all you've got, sissy?"

Donnie did not answer but instead launched himself towards the green ruff, fists forward. However, the green-eyed boy was faster than he had thought about at first. He easily avoided the incoming attack, and when Donnie began to storm him with a flurry of punches from all directions, he dodged every hit without a single mistake.

The exchange kept going until Butch decided he was bored by it and that he wanted to retaliate. Suddenly, he attacked by directing a powerful kick into the boy's stomach. Unprepared, Donnie found himself winded and unable to move; thus, he was completely helpless as Butch finished the combo off with an uppercut who sent the yellow eyed boy spinning in the air.

This time Donnie was able to recover while flying and he stopped his movement before he ended up in another close encounter with the grass under him. He narrowed his eyes as Butch laughed at his supposed weakness.

These guys weren't just unbearably annoying with their constant taunting. They were fast, fearsome fighters, and dangerous foes. When Donnie had used the first force field to protect himself from an energy blast, the boys were unsure of what to do for about twenty seconds. Afterwards, they had already found a way to render his technique less effective by teamwork, revealing that if they wanted to do it and the situation needed it, they could be pretty smart.

And now they were literally making fun of him. Boomer and Brick, in fact, were waiting in the distance away from Donnie, and it didn't look like they were not going to join Butch anytime soon. So confident they were of themselves, they had evens stopped fighting together.

This was of course a chance he had to exploit, if he wanted to win against these guys.

Or survive, depending on the point of view.

Ignoring Butch's taunts, Donnie glared at the other two boys and decided which one would become his current target. While Boomer looked with interest at the fight, Brick had completely lost interest in it and was by now trying to find something worth his attention, in the opposite direction. He was vulnerable.

In the blink of an eye, the yellow puff dashed away, heading for the red ruff. Boomer had only the time to say "Hey-!" before Donnie reached his objective. Yet, Brick was somehow aware of the approaching danger all along, because he darted away a second before Donnie could catch him.

The attacker persisted in his action and pursued the escaping ruff. Brick tried at first to fire a series of eyebeams at the yellow streak that was right behind him, but Donnie had already created a frontal force field that absorbed all the hits. Huffing, Brick stopped his attacks and lowered his speed, waiting for the other to engage in melee combat with him.

But Donnie modified his path just before encountering Brick. What the red ruff didn't expect, however, was the fact that the yellow puff charged up a standard energy grenade and threw the thing at him. This was a move he had not used against the Rowdyruffs yet, so Brick did the only thing he thought was right. Evading the projectile, but without caring for the actual distance between himself and it.

Donnie only had to release the mental block to make the ovoidal energy sphere detonate just as it passed beside the red ruff's side. The shockwave hit Brick with its full force, and it took him only three seconds to crash on the ground below.

"Are you sure we shouldn't help him?" Boomer inquired, unsure about his brother's idea of taking on Donnie one by one.

"Relax! This is the part where it gets better!" Butch assured, eager to see the outcome of the last event.

The green ruff was right. Brick slowly floated away from the crash site. He was gritting his teeth and his glare would have frozen a hungry bear in fear.

"Uh oh…" Boomer couldn't help but say. And strangely enough, a similar thought passed through Donnie's mind as well.

The mad ruff charged forward and when he made contact with Donnie, he unleashed a series of punches that were too fast for Donnie to react to. He failed to avoid one punch, then he missed two punches, then a punch and a kick in succession. Whether he was evading or blocking didn't matter as Brick had no mercy; he continued to beat him up even after he lost control of his body.

Finally, Donnie became so weak that he couldn't even maintain himself in mid-air, and he fell away from Brick. The red ruff did not chase him but remained where he was as he regained his breath. His brothers joined him after they were sure he was safe to approach.

Donnie struggled to maintain his eyes open and forced himself to stand up from the ground, again. He felt dizzy all over and there was more than one source of pain in his body, but he couldn't stop fighting now.

He had to somehow win this. If he failed, Ultrapolis would be at the mercy of those three. There had to be a way to…

He stopped his thought when he heard the voice of their leader shout an 'ahem'.

He raised his head and watched as the Rowdyruff Boys glared at him.

"We've had enough of you…" Brick snarled, "You don't put up a good fight, and when you do you can't seem to do it straight forward, always resorting to cheating with weird powers… Well, now we'll give you a lesson you won't forget that easily."

With that, he pointed at him before uttering, "Let's get him, boys!"

The Rowdyruffs took off in three different directions... again. Donnie floated up in order to have more freedom of movement, even though his main goal right now was trying to remain calm. They were making another coordinated attack, and the first one hadn't ended well for him.

He acted instinctively and began charging up energy grenades which he threw repeatedly at the red and dark green trails. He tried to predict their paths, but the Rowdyruff Boys had already learned about the function of his power and kept their distance from the powerful energy globes.

They're closing up! I need to do something, before-

Wait, there's only two of them!

He had realized the lack of the third ruff too late. Something hard hit his back. At first, Donnie didn't feel anything, not at all. That was, until the electrical shock made his entire body twirl in protest.

This was too much for him, and he screamed in pain just before Brick and Butch reached him from the sides. Without waiting for him to recover, they began to beat him down, again and again.

Despite the dire situation, Donnie wasn't going down easily. He bit down the bullet for the pain and tried to counterattack.

One of Brick's punches reached for his face and he tried to block, succeeding. He right away snatched the opportunity and grabbed the ruff's arm, much to his surprise, and he rotated the arm 180° degrees, effectively smashing Brick into Butch's head.

But Boomer was still in the surroundings, and the electrical baseball bat hit him again. Another electric shock went through Donnie's body and once again he screamed out against his will, but differently from before Boomer did not wait for his brothers to join the party. He reached out and grabbed Donnie from behind with all four limbs, basically blocking every possibility of movement of the yellow puff. His grip was steel-like, and Donnie's attempts to free himself did nothing but annoy the blue ruff.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted, phrase that only made Boomer scoff in response, "What, like you did with me before?"

He stopped struggling when he realized that Butch and Brick were already in front of him. He was utterly defenceless.

"I bet I can make him cry in less than thirty seconds!" Butch challenged, his fists shivering as he was eager to begin the punishment.

"Hmph, think as you like, Butch, but I got my doubts. This sissy will last ten seconds tops…" Brick commented.

Butch laughed out loud as he put himself in front of Donnie and the first punch began its brief travel towards his cheek. The yellow puff closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

But the punch never reached his destination as something hit Butch dead centre. When Donne reopened his eyes, what he saw was a flying Butch and the red particles left from an eyebeam explosion.

"What the heck?!" Brick bellowed, but he before he could keep shouting at whatever was attacking he was hit as well.

Boomer, startled by the sudden attacks, lost his grip, and Donnie easily dispatched him with a back knee and a kick in sequence. Before he could continue on, a third eyebeam hit the blond ruff as well. Now that he was free, the boy could finally look at who had just saved him from a very bad situation… though he already had an idea of who they were.

"Girls!"

"Donnie!"

"Powerpuff girls? Powerpuff Girls!? What in the world do we have to do to not see your ugly faces for more than once in a week!?" Brick roared, visibly not happy to see his sworn enemies here, and also because he was struggling to free himself from the concrete wall he was stuck into.

All the three Rowdyruff Boys were momentarily out of commission, and the girls decided to ignore them and meet with their European friend fist.

"Donnie! Are you all right?" Blossom immediately asked, evidently worried for his state.

"I'm fine, Blossom. They beat me up pretty hard but I'm still good…" Donnie said, trying to sound convincing. There were various bruises visible on his body, his clothes had seen better days, and there was a single trail of blood coming out of his mouth.

Instead of waiting for them to say otherwise, the boy gave them a gloomy look. "Girls… I'm sorry for all of this, I should have known better and-"

"What? Gimme a break!" Buttercup interrupted him. "There is no way you could've figured out that those punks were coming here. They're our enemies, so if there's anyone who has to be accused, that's us!"

"Donnie, just rest for some time while we deal with them," Bubbles continued. "Those meanies will never come back here again after we're finished with them!"

"I… oh, okay, you're right," Donnie answered, "but I'm not letting you fight them alone, period. They may be your enemies, but the city they've attacked is my city. It's my duty to protect it."

"Oh man, you sound like the Mayor when he's doing a speech to the citizens, Donnie…" Buttercup commented, rolling her eyes, "…but if that's your wish, we won't stop you."

Blossom was not so keen on letting Donnie join them in the upcoming fight, but Bubbles patted her on her shoulder, and the redhead immediately gave in at the sight of her pleading eyes.

So, the Powerpuff Girls, along with their yellow eyed ally, put themselves in line formation and waited for the Rowdyruff Boys to come after them.

The above-mentioned supervillains didn't spend much time to free themselves, anyway. Moments after, Brick, Boomer and Butch flew to put themselves in front of the superheroes' group. All the three of them were quite angry at the newcomers.

"I'm sick of fighting you, Powerpuff Girls," Brick started off, "and I surely didn't like you stopped us while we were havin' fun with your sissy friend there…"

"What, am I getting it right? You wanna run for it now that we're here, Brick?" Blossom teased. "I have always known you were a coward, but not this coward!"

"Well, I have always known you were a twit Blossom, and you attempting to taunt me this way just confirms it without a doubt," Brick retorted. He smiled as he saw Buttercup and Bubbles catching their leader in an attempt to stop her from charging at him. "Regardless, no, we ain't escaping from anyone. I don't care if we have to fight you and the dimwit at the same time, we can beat the four of you together without a flinch!"

"You say that, but how about actually trying it?" Buttercup challenged.

"I'm just waiting for you, Butters!" Butch responded, his body shuddering in excitement.

"Ahem, Brick," Boomer timidly said, "you sure it's a good idea? Because, you know…"

Brick shushed him, or to be more precise, stopped his speech by hitting him on the head. "Of course it's a good idea, stupid. That sissy there is as good as a sloth in fighting, he's probably going to slow down the Powerpuffs rather than helping them. C'mon, let's show them what we got!"

With that said, Brick and Butch darted forward, with Boomer who followed them after a moment of hesitation. Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup and Donnie charged forward as well, and the two groups encountered each other in no time.

Mojo Jojo observed the scene visible on the display as the clash took place in front of him. He scratched his chin in thought at the new situation, unsure of what to do about it.

He was not in his observatory. The room where was currently located looked similar to the interior of his lair, alright, with the metal basically covering every corner and surface, but the design was far from being comparable. It lacked the perfection Mojo Jojo liked to think was his trademark.

His host was currently somewhere else. When the two of them had assisted together to the first encounter of the Rowdyruff Boys with Donnie, the man looked like he wasn't happy about it at first. He then left without a word a quarter of an hour before the Powerpuff Girls joined the show.

Mojo Jojo wondered how the scientist could possibly not be happy about seeing what he told him was his main target being beaten up by the boys, but as long as he didn't try something foolish like trying to stop them, he couldn't care less.

The genius was actually more curious to know about the reasons that brought him in this surrogate of a laboratory. The man had told him that he needed his help, and that the results would have benefited the villain as well, more specifically about his fight with the Powerpuff Girls. He had promised him to tell him every detail when the time would come, but Mojo Jojo was not a patient person.

"Did you expect that to happen?"

Mojo Jojo turned around to face his new colleague, annoyed obviously by his presence. "No, I did not. This may be a problem, as I expected the Rowdyruff Boys to be able to annihilate that pathetic superhero effortlessly. With the appearance of the Powerpuff Girls, I believe that this won't be the case anymore, as they were never able to destroy the Powerpuffs when they were on their own. Now though that the boy is helping them in the fight… curses."

"You don't need to worry, Mojo Jojo. I knew this was going to happen."

Mojo Jojo at first believed he had heard it wrong, but then he corrected himself, his colleague must have chosen the wrong words. Thus, it was natural for him to utter, "What?!"

"You need to understand, Mojo Jojo, that I have specific, very specific plans about Donnie. Plans that require him to be still alive by the time my experiment will be completed. But do not think that I'll help him or the other infra-humans because I'm secretly on their side, or similar tomfoolery."

Mojo Jojo grunted something that may not have been meant to be heard, but the man didn't react to his rude grumbles of exasperation. Then, the mutated chimpanzee growled, "If that's what you wish, then, what are we supposed to do now? Wait until the boys get defeated again?"

"No, of course not. Actually, the arrival of the Rowdyruff Boys, as you call your creations as, may provide us with a solution to put the other infra-humans under control. Which consequently gives us a chance to begin the test right after the experiment is done."

The scientist approached Mojo Jojo and looked directly into his eyes. He was completely at ease even under the hard glare the monkey was directing at him. "I'm leaving to capture Donnie and bring him here. When you see, well… a sudden change in the situation on the stream your drone is capturing, use it to advise the boys about our presence and lead them here."

Mojo Jojo was beginning to get tired of this fanfare. He was not one to just execute orders like a worthless human!

"Your behaviour is making my nerves hard to control, colleague. Why should I do as you rudely requested, treating me like puppet in your hands?"

The figure sighed before replying. "I ask you forgiveness for my behaviour but remember what I promised you. Your fight with the infra-humans known as the Powerpuff Girls will benefit from what is going to happen today, and you have my word for it. Be patient for a few additional hours, and everything will become clear."

That said, the scientist left without even waving at him, leaving the villain alone in the control room. Mojo Jojo wasn't completely happy with his explanation, and by all means he should have already left this stupid and inferior laboratory by now and return to his personal, and better, plans.

Yet, he stayed where he was.

He felt something about this man. While he was indeed hard to tolerate, as a human, he knew what he was doing. In all honesty, he was curious to see what he had in mind for Donnie.

After all, he had all four of his enemies right here, and all the scientist was giving him was a hypothetical occasion to destroy the four of them together. Though he still didn't know what he had exactly planned for the European puff, he resolved that this guy had no interest in the Powerpuff Girls' wellbeing at least. It was worth a shot…

He decided to give his colleague three to four hours to convince him that he wasn't completely wasting his time here. He returned his focus to the battle his drone was filming; as he had expected, the boys were having a bad time. He probably would have liked to leave them at their destiny, but his colleague was already going there… moreover, they would have left without doing anything useful if he didn't intervene.

Thus, Mojo Jojo stood ready near the controls of the drone, waiting for the first sign of the presence of the Doctor.