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Chapter 11

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The crying little girl in front of Donnie lost any importance she previously had to him. Now that she was no more a threat, the dark-blonde boy could finally let himself worry about other matters, namely the current state of his friends. He ignored Doctor Porter as well, who continued to stand with eyes wide open in shock, unable to accept what had just happened.

He weakly hovered in the air, making sure not to overexert himself and risk passing out again, and quietly moved towards the location of the Powerpuff Girls. The Rowdyruff Boys were still there, standing around with awkwardness and confusion.

They couldn't decide what to do, how they were supposed to react. Despite fighting the girls for so long, this had been the very first time they had personally witnessed to their enemies almost being reduced to lifeless corpses, and from up close. They barely believed that was possible in the first place.

Bubbles was the first one of the girls Donnie checked, the only one of the three who was still awake, or at least tried to. Her sobs had gone on unstopped since the clash with Doctor Porter, and her left hand clasped the right arm, trying to soothe the pain that was oppressing her.

"Bubbles. Bubbles!" Donnie called, and right away her blue eyes were fixed on him. The sight of her face, red and covered with tears, scrunched into a pained expression, was enough to make Donnie's heart crack. Even so, it was not a surprise. The injury on her right arm was in an awful state, she had already lost too much blood, and there was no way to tell how long she could keep it up without blacking out.

She needed help.

But how could Donnie help her? He had learned something about first aid in the past few months while he tried to learn useful skills for his crimefighting job in Ultrapolis, and he was glad he did, but without proper equipment how could he do anything?

Perhaps the best decision was to bring her to the nearest hospital of the city at once, but, leaving alone the fact he had no idea how to get out of the tunnel maze built by Porter, that would have meant leaving Buttercup and Blossom alone. He doubted her could carry the three of them on his own.

I could still try carry them all together… Maybe if I-

Something fell by his side, and when Donnie turned to check it he was startled to see a medical kit, words written in Esperanto over it but the red cross tell-tale about its contents. He looked up to see an even more surprising sight. Boomer, wearing a frown.

"Do. Not. Question. Me. Just take it."

Even if he wanted, there was no time to interrogate Boomer about this unexpected action, so Donnie simply nodded and got to work, mentally thanking that despite Porter's complete lack of attention for the well-being of others, it at least was careful enough to put of these boxes inside the chamber.

He needed barely four minutes before he was done. Bubbles' wounded arm was now disinfected, patched up and all white in bandages covering it, though there was a red stain on them still. He did his best, but he knew that she needed a see an actual physician regardless.

"Bubbles. Listen to me. Can you stand up? On your own?" Donnie asked. Bubbles opened her mouth, but the words died in her throat, so she nodded her head and with some struggle managed to get back to her feet. While her face was a mask of pain, she was still able to walk on her own.

"Good. We need to check your sisters, follow me," Donnie stated. Bubbles tried once again to talk and managed to whisper out an "all right". She was possibly even more worried about the other girls than Donnie ever was.

Buttercup wasn't too far away. When the two of them reached her, they were troubled by the sight that welcome them. She was still knocked out, with a slimy substance coming out of her mouth. Before they could do anything, though, they noticed Butch just beside her, and they couldn't even believe it when he actually gave her a light, yet still strong enough kick to her side.

The action however had other results than expected, as Buttercup suddenly shot up from her back and began to cough out more of the disgusting thing that filled her mouth. The Rowdyruff Boy scoffed and moved back, leaving his counterpart alone. Not sure how to react to Butch's intervention, Donnie and Bubbles decided to let him go and approached the green puff.

"Gah!" the brunette complained, "What the-*cough*… the heck! Ew! Eugh!"

She continued protesting and groaning to herself for some seconds before realizing there were two persons right in front of her.

"G-guys…? *cough*… You o-okay?" she stuttered, trying to fight the foul taste that had invaded her mouth.

"We're good, Buttercup. What about you? What happened?" Bubbles asked.

"The Doc shoved some type of canister into my m-mouth…! *cough*… and the next thing I know is lying with this saliva-thing on my cheeks and the world's worst taste you could imagine stuck into my mouth. Apart from-eeech! I-I mean, that said, I'm okay but I feel … weak. I don't think I can fly around."

She glanced at her sister and noticed the bandages over her arm, "You found something to fix the wound on your arm, Bubs?"

"Donnie did," Bubbles clarified, pointing at the boy at her side.

"I don't think you want to know how I managed, but yeah, I did it." Donnie said shyly, glancing elsewhere.

Buttercup however remained serious as she asked one last question. "Donnie, listen... What about her? The, uh… girl you fought, I mean."

He knew who she was referring to. "That crying you're hearing right now, it's hers. She won't harm us anymore. I beat her."

Only then, Buttercup let herself smile. A weak smile for sure, but a smile nonetheless, one that made Donnie more than happy. "Way to go, pal. Knew you'd show her how it's done."

The three of them stayed silent and nodded to each other before moving away, Donnie helping Buttercup out. There was still one Powerpuff Girl left… the most worrying one of the trio, in fact. And indeed, when they saw Blossom, dread overwhelmed them.

The leader of the Powerpuff Girls was still in her coma-like state. Her breathing was unstable, and every cycle felt struggled, like an enormous amount of energy was spent into the act. Both Bubbles and Buttercup let themselves fall at her sides, and they had eyes for nothing but their sister.

Soon enough, Bubbles failed to keep it cool and she started again to sniff and cry, though it was no more because of the physical pain. While she wept, she grabbed Blossom's right hand and clung on it, not having the courage to touch her sister more in fear of damaging her already troubled body.

Buttercup did her best to remain calm, but not even she could resist the sight unperturbed. While keeping Blossom's left hand firmly in her own, she felt her tears welling up in her eyes as well. Annoyed by it, she dried them off and tried to speak out. "Blossom… Please, Blossom… Say something… We're here Blossom, it's over, all over, Donnie did it… Bloss, don't you dare…"

Brick was floating a few meters away from the scene, watching his sworn enemies with an apparently neutral face. His two brothers had already joined him, but none of them got any reprimand for their previous acts of unexpected selflessness. Brick liked to think of himself as a careless villain, but saying he was indifferent to what was happening in front of him would have been a lie… even though that didn't stop him from putting up an unimpressed look, albeit a forced one.

Donnie's reaction was altogether opposite compared to the boy. His fists tightened and he began to feel an emotion that was fairly new for him, that is, hatred. For there was only one living being who was fully responsible for what had been done to his friends.

He slowly whirled his body around to watch the culprit. Doctor Porter was still fixed in his place, standing still in the same place where he was earlier, like a statue of stone. He looked vulnerable enough.

Maybe he could-

"Blossom!"

Donnie hastily turned his attention back to the girls and what he saw filled him with joy. Blossom's eyes were open. She was awake!

"Blossom! Can you see me? Can you talk? Please, say something!" Buttercup let words out without thinking, but when she felt Blossom's hand tight on her own, she stopped.

Blossom opened her mouth and weakly replied, "Hey, B-Buttercup… I'm good… Just… tired…"

Bubbles suddenly burst out crying and hugged her sister, even though her cries were no more of despair. Calmly, Blossom raised her right hand and hugged her back the best she could. "I'm here, B-Bubbles… I'm okay…"

Her eyes moved and her gaze fell on Donnie, who was already knelling by Bubbles' side. Her stare practically demanded explanations, and Donnie was quick to realize that she wanted to know.

"It's over, Blossom. I've beaten Decay, and she isn't a threat anymore. And with her defeated, I sort of beat Porter as well. It's hard to explain, but… I don't think he will try to harm us anymore for today. We won."

Blossom smiled, and Donnie couldn't help but smile back. The four of them were all quite battered up, but they were all alive and together. That was all that mattered.

Meanwhile, Brick decided that it was time to leave. Turning away, he said to his brothers, "We've seen enough. Let's get the heck out of here."

His tone didn't leave space for discussion, but neither Butch nor Boomer had nothing on the contrary. Butch's face was blank and somewhat bored, while Boomer seemed to be embarrassed, and they both didn't want to stay near the heroes more than what was strictly needed.

Thus, the Rowdyruff Boys quietly departed from the ruined laboratory, and while the girls and the boy of the other team did glance towards them, they didn't say anything. The boys had a role in that day's events, but their role was debatable and, in any case, the three wouldn't even have been able to stop them in their current state.

Right after the boys left, someone let out a loud, almost frightening bellow. The Powerpuff Girls and Donnie watched in awe as Doctor Porter finally let his fury loose not too dissimilarly to how his chimp ally lost his patience.

He swore, in his own language, stomping into the remains of the destroyed laboratory and obliterating whatever was still in one piece with the power of his mutated hands, all while shouting out more and more curses.

Donnie stood up, every one of his muscles stiffened, and he waited. If for whatever reason the Doctor decided to go after them, he knew he would have to defend himself and the girls, because even if he was far from being ready to fight again, he was the only one able between the four of them that could at least try to fight again. And there was no way he was going to let that madman get close to his friends again.

The girls could only wait while sitting on the ground, observing with apprehension the angry scientist.

After two minutes of rampage, Porter's entire head had changed colour to a greenish shade and the resemblance to his own mutants had become uncanny to say the least. Even so, he suddenly stopped his path of destruction by landing a fist on the floor right in front of himself, kneeling down.

He remained in this position for an entire minute, heaving fast and hoarsely, until he had gone back to his usual level of self-control. Fighting the random twitches that shook him, he stood up and revealed that his face had partly recovered its normal colour, even though it had clearly taken a toll on him to do so.

"The test… is over," he selected his words as he faced the heroes, "and you've managed to pass it against all odds, infra-human. I… cannot ignore such a result, despite the fact that it means my plan didn't come to fruition."

Porter paused, but Donnie didn't reply. He wanted to let him talk, since Porter had the habit to tell everything he wanted to do. If he decided to do something crazy, he would at least know it before he did.

"This means that I've failed in creating a foe able to not beat you but also surpass you. I'm tempted to repeat the same without the meddling of you and the other infra-humans in the way, but I know that if it had to work, it would have worked anyway even this way."

He raised his hand and made a denying gesture as he continued, "Do not however think this is over, infra-human. I might not be able to personally achieve a greater height, compared to your design, but I know you won't resist forever. One day, I will succeed in my quest to find your weakness, and once that will happen… my struggle will end."

He raised his chin and faced the ceiling, "You hear me, Bronislav? One day, I will win. I will finally demonstrate how erroneous and pathetic your attempts were! How your delirious works were-"

Donnie was already fed up with Porter's ramblings, but bringing up his creator again? He couldn't take it anymore. The logic of Porter was something he didn't want to pay attention to anymore.

Because he now knew that he was wrong.

"Shut up!"

Porter looked at Donnie with annoyance, but the boy maintained his angry scowl. "Just stop talking, Porter! I don't care anymore about what you think, what you say… anything! Your line of thought is flawed from every point of view I look at it from, and I don't want to hear about it!"

"Hmm. Please, infra-human, I'd be happy to hear more about your opinion on the matter," Porter asked with fake interest. While Donnie wouldn't have wanted to satisfy him, the emotions prevented him from stopping.

"So, it might be true that I am not perfect… no, I'm not the so called 'perfect little boy' or whatever the original recipe was aimed at. But that doesn't matter, because no one is perfect, but everyone can get better. That's what I did! That's why I crossed the ocean looking for help when I felt alone! That's why I returned to Ultrapolis to make things right for the wrongs I had done! That's why I'm not going to let your lies mess my head ever again!"

Donnie would have continued but he was surprised to hear Blossom's voice, who was visibly exerting herself to speak. "More so if the evil plans and thoughts you have, Doctor Porter… are all nothing but crazy, twisted ideas… based purely on your pride and a rivalry you could never get over with!"

"You are a poor excuse for a scientist, let alone a man," Buttercup added, "since you cannot even accept your own mediocrity, Porter! I fought a lot of villains but you by far are the most pathetic of them all!"

Bubbles joined in as well. "And while trying to reach your goal you did all of… this, causing pain all around you, creating monsters which shouldn't even exist and putting the entire city of Ultrapolis, if not the world, in danger with your doings, and with no care for anything but you wanted! You are MEAN!"

"That's why, Doctor Porter,we will always be able to beat YOU!" the four of them yelled together.

Porter looked stunned at first. But then, he simply chuckled.

"You should look at yourselves… four infra-humans, powerless and vulnerable, with one barely standing on his own feet and the others forced on the ground, and they try to actually threaten me? Amusing."

His face was again serious as he continued, "However, I'm not really interested in what you four think of me. My plans might appear non-sensical to others, but as long as they make sense to me, I will not stop at nothing to make them happen."

Before the puffs could reply, Porter walked away. Letting him escape wasn't something neither of the four heroes would have wanted to do, but they weren't exactly in the best state for another fight.

"Before I leave, though, there is still something I have to do, regarding what happened today."

Until that moment, Decay had been lying on the ground where Donnie had left her, crying and trying her best to stop the bleeding. She didn't pay any attention to what was going on in the chamber, thus she was startled by the sudden utter of her name.

"Decay."

Decay hastily turned to who had called her, and her face went white.

Porter approached her while he talked. "You are one of my utmost failures, Decay. Nevertheless, it is true that from errors we can learn, and that's what I'm going to do. I do not feel resentment towards you for that reason. Not contempt, or regret."

Perhaps there was hope for the injured girl. Maybe her creator was going to forgive her?

"That said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel some… annoyance, when I witnessed your defeat in first person. You should know, 'my beautiful daughter', that in my workplace nothing is wasted, and everything is reused and recycled as long as I see fit."

One of the pair of mutated hands of Porter twitched slightly, and Decay saw the claws coming out. Her heart rate gained in speed.

"So, I'm afraid to say that I cannot let you go, since I have to revert you to your previous state, and save your original components for possible, future you fail to catch on what my words mean, let me rephrase it. I'm going to kill you."

The blunt news made her freeze for a second. Then, she screamed and tried a pitiful attempt to move back, but her escape was stopped by the remains of a wooden shelf and the enormous pile of debris behind it. She halted, lying her back on the wood while realizing there was no escape for her from this in her state.

Porter raised the same mutated arm, claws clearly visible and drawn out. "Not as sharp as Duranium, not even comparable to my porcupines' spikes, but the mutation has still made them quite sharp. And since you're already wounded, it will be more than enough to finish you off."

Decay shrieked. Her cries echoed in the laboratory, and her eyes, tired and red, stared wide and desperate, almost begging for forgiveness

Doctor Porter was impassive.

"So, this is just business for me, in theory… but I will be honest with you. I might be able to swiftly kill you by targeting your heart, but the way you served me was far less than ideal. Thus, I believe you deserve a slower death. Enjoy the present of your 'dear father', Decay."

Before he could make a step further, the Doctor heard a whoosh sound and he raised an eyebrow when he saw Donnie in front of him, blocking his path.

"I warn you, infra-human, to not to cross my path. I warned your friend about it and she paid the consequences," Porter growled. "Do not think it will be any different with you. Step aside."

Donnie, glaring at his nemesis, did not move.

"Huh. I suppose I can add this to the list of your defects. Mental deficiency. Maybe, that is enough to demonstrate how worthless you-"

"Cut it off, Doctor Porter! I do not care what you think, don't you remember?" Donnie interjected, gaining an annoyed glare from the doctor. "Yes, Decay has tried to kill me, and wanted to do so as painfully as she could. And there was no way to tell what she would have done afterwards, to everyone else in the city. But she's still a living being, and I won't let you end her life… because I'm better than you."

Porter brought a hand over his forehead and chuckled again. "You don't even begin to realize how ironic that is, I understand? Oh, well. If you care so much about that leftover waste, do as you please. Losing more time than needed here would be a mistake for me… and that is particularly true now."

There was a new ambience noise that had been getting louder and louder as the minutes passed, and Porter was aware of it. Only now, though, Donnie and the Powerpuff Girls had come to realize what it was.

Sirens, and some rare gunshots.

Those must be the security squads the Mayor talked about, Blossom remembered. That's a relief… it wouldn't have been easy to travel back to the city by ourselves. He was right, after all.

She was by now sitting on the floor, after arguing with her other two sisters, who still weren't letting her try to stand up. He wanted to get a hold of her body, but she had to admit that whatever had been done to her it was not wise to inspect further about it by herself. When she turned back to where Donnie and the Doctor were, she found out that Porter had disappeared. Footsteps were heard in the surroundings, then they slowly ceased to be hearable.

Donnie sighed. He knew that he would have to deal with Doctor Porter again in the future, be it in a direct fight or through one of his 'tests', and he might have to do it alone. Even so, he wasn't frightened by the thought.

Donnie now knew his enemy, and he knew that he wasn't completely invincible. When the time would come, he would be prepared. They would be prepared.

Only one thing left to deal with.

Decay gulped when Donnie's eyes fell on her. His gaze was a mixture of a lot of feelings and the girl couldn't decipher it. In her doubts, she did the only thing she could think of doing. Smile.

It was no more the annoying smile that she kept while fighting the Rowdyruffs first, and Donnie later. It was no more the demented smile she wore when she was inches away from annihilating the yellow puff. The boy knew that Decay's smile this time was sincere. It made sense… he did save her life.

But it wasn't enough to let him forget about what had happened, about what this girl had tried to do. Not only about the little problem with the fighting to the death, and the deathball of energy…

No, her very existence was a problem for him. The fact she was a creation of Porter, the very goal that was in his mind when she came to the world.

And yet, Donnie didn't know what to do with her. He scowled while he pondered over his options. Well, she had saved her… but now?

Finally, he gave out an irritated groan before uttering out his decision. "Go away, Decay. Leave Ultrapolis and do not ever return here. If I see you again in the city, or I happen to find out you committed any type of evil deed here… I won't be this generous again."

His words were hard, but he felt like he needed to make himself clear. Decay had a chance, but if she ever returned as the fierce super-powered girl he had met today, he knew he had to end the threat she posed for good.

Decay's smile disappeared, but she didn't get angry. Her look got somewhat… sad. She stood up, then with an evident struggle she managed to hover a bit over the ground. Keeping one hand on the wound, she slowly floated away, leaving behind herself a trail of red stains.

Donnie stared at her until she had effectively disappeared behind one of the portals. Only then he let himself turn back and he went to join the girls, again.

"Girls," he started, "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry… I'm very, very sorry, for what happened today. I just wanted you to have a good time here in Europe and here you are, injured this bad. I-I'm really sorry!"

"Donnie, please, don't mention it. There was no way for you to know about what was going to happen today," Blossom reassured, giving him a stern look. "You couldn't know of the Rowdyruff Boys coming here, and you certainly couldn't know of Doctor Porter and his plans. We… we were all just very unlucky, and I'm just glad we've come out of it somewhat all right."

"Yeah, Donnie. We're still happy to see you, and we're happy that we're all alive. If we knew this beforehand, we would have come to aid you all the same, because there is no way in the world we would have left you alone against that mad scientist!" Bubbles affirmed.

"So, get that pout out of your face and cheer up, because you still have a whole lot to show us around here!" Buttercup affirmed. "…After we recover, that is. But still!"

And the three of them smiled.

That was the last time Donnie was surprised by the bright attitude of the girls. He now knew for sure how much he was lucky to have the Powerpuff Girls as his friends.

Before he could reply, though, a red dot appeared over his front, followed by an evil laugh.

"Fools! Do not think that we're finished yet! For I, Mojo Jojo, am far from being beaten!" Mojo Jojo threatened as he approached them with the laser rifle at hand, aiming at the yellow puff.

"Make one step towards me, little boy, and I'll make sure to drill a hole in your head with this powerful weapon! You are at my mercy, and nothing is going to stop me! Not the Powerpuff Girls who are weak and vulnerable! Not you, who are under my sight! Not the failing plan of my ex-colleague Porter, who forgot about one thing! No mere human in this world has a chance to replicate and achieve than what Mojo Jojo has already tried to do!"

And Mojo's monologue was terminated when four Spec Ops policemen appeared out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. Seconds later, he was in shackles, grumbling under his breaths. "Curses…"

"He never changes…" Buttercup said, rolling her eyes, before turning back her attention to Donnie along with her sisters. They were waiting him to say something, and Donnie had just a few seconds before the rest of the local special forces would reach them.

"Uh, girls, it might sound weird to say it now, but I believe you still need a proper introduction. So, well… welcome to Ultrapolis."

AN: I used to think this chapter would have been easy to write, but I was proved wrong. Trying to make something coherent with the rest of the plot was more difficult than I expected, but I probably should have expected it since most of this story was written more than a few months ago. I hope that everything wrapped up clearly for you, I tried to do my best.

One chapter is left, and I'll try to complete it as soon as possible for various reasons. Target is publishing it before April comes, but it might come much sooner, so stay tuned!