A/N: Ok, I've had a few people ask me what exactly is the state of the Powerpuff Girls life now that I'm writing for them as older. In other words what do they do for jobs and the like? Now once again I must stress that I'm imagine them as being approximately in their early twenties but please be my guest if you want to change it in your own imagination to whatever you want it.
H/N: But not too old. For the older that you make the Powerpuff Girls the older you make me Mojo Jojo, and I'm not old!
A/N: Wait Mojo, your still here?
H/N: Of course. And I am not old!
P/N: I must say though, I've aged rather well if I do say so myself
A/N: Princess!? Oh you know what, I give up. Let's just get on with the story before anyone else appears. This chapter is mostly a bunch of filler until the end, which does have something that you need to read for the next chapter, the action will finally start next chapter! Also give me some feedback please, I need reviews. It only takes a couple of seconds.
If you want even more background of my universe then go and read the one-shot 'past pains and fears' which can be found on my account. But be warned, in it I was testing to see how dark I could write so it's not really pleasant. It details the 'final' battle between the Powerpuff Girls and HIM back in Townsville years before Deal with the Devil.
By the way, if anyone of you readers want me to get rid of these idiots them PM saying they are ruining the story, or simply ignore them if you want, you choice. R&R!
P/N: Who are you calling an Idiot!?
Chapter 3
Children laughed and cheered as they ran, throwing balls or anything else that they had at one another in a huge variety of games that to anyone other than themselves. Some of them would leap up the wrong side of the slide, taking great pride in their power at climbing it. They ran in large circles around the outer perimeter of the playground, desperately trying to avoid the one they called 'it'. The entire place looked like it was in a mass of chaos that only people under the age of five could hope to make sense off.
Still Dexter found himself starring at the chaos as he stood in by the gate to the school playground, his eyes seemingly unfocussed and distant from behind his thick glasses as he watched the children playing in their own world that existed solely within their own minds. His long lab coat blew gently behind him in the gentle breeze that ran across the playground, causing his messy hair to blow about as if it were alive. Dexter ran a purple gloved hand through it in an attempt to put it back into some order as he heard the school bell sound out, signaling the end of yet another day.
A silence fell the children that had been playing on the park as they watched the doors of Megaville Elementary pulled open and children poured out, talking and yelling about everything from plans to meet up during the weekend to how much they hated whatever teacher had just given them more homework then they felt should have been legal. The younger children that had previously been playing on the playground suddenly burst into motion and ran into the appearing horde of older children, seeking at brothers and sisters among them.
Dexter remained at a reasonable distance from the horde of children and parents as he watched, utterly quite as his scanned the mass. He remained utterly silent as parents finally managed to drag their children away from their friends and out of the main school gate, nodding with a small smile in acknowledgment whenever one of the passing children waved or said hello to him, he was a familiar face to them after all.
Finally the mass of bodies that had swarmed the school yard begun to recede as parents managed to escape and begin their journey home for the weekend. When he believed it possible to get through to the school's main entrance without having to fight through a sea of bodies, Dexter slowly begun making his way forward, pushing his gloved hands into his lab coat's pockets. As he entered he gave a respectful nod and greeting to the stragglers that were still making their way out and to the teachers who could already be seen to be relaxing, simply sitting still in their class rooms as they calmed themselves after a particular stress full day.
Dexter's eyes ran slowly over the walls of the hallway as he walked; scan reading the different posters and announcements to teacher or student that proved essential to normal school life. Finally he came to stop as he looked upon a large cabinet which had been filled to the brim with different trophies, each baring a small label with a name and a brief description of whatever the trophy had been awarded to them for. There were ones for every topic imaginable, each awarded to students from many generations of them. Most of them had been Dexter's classmates but every time he saw the cabinet he would notice a new one appearing, replacing one earned by an old friend he had once learned with. Thou he himself was still only really in his early twenties, it still made him feel old.
Even so, as he looked down at the trophies he could see, there were four that he remembered playing a part in achieving, whether it had been a small part or not. For example the ones that Buttercup had won for sport or karate, tending to use him as a testing bag, even after he had built a machine to train on, having spent weeks programmed it to even learn her tactic to make her think about attacking. It was strange however that she had tended to want to practice on him whenever he was having an intermit moment with Blossom…
Below that one was the 'Flying Ribbon' award that had been awarded to Bubbles after she had come first place in a major dancing competition with which Dexter and Blossom had helped, Buttercup refusing to be at all connected to anything to do with dancing. He wasn't sure himself why he had helped out with that so much but had to put it down simply to the way that she reminded him of his sister.
A/N: I will be giving all of this history a more detailed examination in the story 'Coulrophobia'. Which will start after Deal with the Devil finishes
P/N: Coulrophobia? Fear of clowns? Who's the villain going to be in that? Some stupid clown?
A/N: Begins laughing uncontrollable
M/N: He's lost it. He no longer has any sense in his head…Not that he had much before…but whatever he did have he has lost…
A/N+P/N: SHUT UP!!
Dexter could remember each and every award ceremony as if they were yesterday. He could remember the way the whole school had cheered when the awards were handed over to the winners, the way that the teachers had shaken hands with them individually and stated how proud they were in that well scripted way. Whenever they were permitted, Dexter smiled to remember that each of the girls had managed to fit him into their acceptance speeches, even Buttercup had managed to slip him in, though he had only called him that helpful nerd.
"Taking a trip down memory lane?"
Dexter jumped in surprise as someone appeared beside him, breaking him out of his daydream. Looking round he instantly recognized the long red hair and beautiful face and relaxed as he turned back towards the cabinet.
"Just remembering the good old days Bloss"
"Good old days?" Blossom grinned at him, giggling slightly "How far back are we going? Our first day when you decided to beat the hell out of my sisters and me and we owned you?"
"Yes ok" Dexter grinned back, mocking an annoyed impression "You three always were the best in the year, each of you with your own area of expertise. Buttercup was sport, Bubbles was dancing and the like and you were smart"
"Smart? Ha. Most of what I knew I learned from you. Sure I was always the smartest of my sisters and always took learning more seriously but it was you that really helped me. And besides, it's not like you never won anything, look right there"
Dexter couldn't help but grin with pride as he looked down at the last trophy that lay in the corner of the cabinet, right next to Blossom's as per her request if he remembered correctly. It was a trophy for first place in the global science competition, bearing his name below a small figure of Albert Einstein, perhaps one of his greatest achievements.
"Well. I don't know about you Dex but I want to go and get some dinner. You coming?"
"Huh? Oh yer sure"
Dexter gently folded his arms as he watched Blossom walk across to the nearby classroom, pull up her bag from her desk and lock the door, commentating about how stressful the children had been that day so quietly that Dexter wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to herself. When she reached him again she grinned a warm smile and the two turned to leave, Blossom wrapping her arms around his tenderly as they left.
M/N: What did any of that have to do with the story's plot!?
A/N: Wait…I'm supposed to be following a plot?
P/N: Get back to the story!
A/N: Err…yes sir
……………………………………………
"Here ya go…"
Otto Osworth grinned to himself as the small mouse climbed gently on to his hand, cutely nibbling away at the food he had resting in the centre of his palm. Turning around, he carried the small animal back towards the large maze like table which lay resting beside the main lab computer.
A/N: Just in case you're wondering, this is Otto from Time Squad…man I used to love that show
Usually he would have been working with his partner, Dexter, but today he had asked to go home early in order to go and meet his girlfriend for some 'personal' time and, hell, Otto wasn't going to stop him. So, Otto had been left to manage the lab himself, running through the last few experiments for the day before heading of home, probably only to end another fight between Larry and Tuddrussel.
The lab he stood in was filled with every type of machinery imaginable, everything from the basic microscope to a giant computer (of Dexter's own design) that followed the flight patterns of the Powerpuff Girls and measured every minute change in the amount of power they had to put into flight for every maneuver. The girls had effectively become Dexter's hobby.
Otto's hobby however, lay on the far side of the lab, lying motionlessly against the wall. It was a humanoid robot, covered in a suit of titanium steel shaped into the form of a teenage girl covered with shining metal skin with a pale blue outfit. Her metallic head had been covered with an extra layer of metal that had been painted to represent hair, even haven been completed by two large fin-like shapes that formed something along the lines of 2D pigtails. Her 'skin' was covered with a long series of large circular lines that ran along her body widthwise where her metallic plating would be permitted to bend and move once she became active and long circuits could be seen tangled and knotted together through the gaps in her plating. Beneath her 'top' was a large series of complicated circuits and metallic poles that ran through her body, her creator obviously seeing no reason in placing and outer 'skin' beneath her metallic clothes, instead fusing them to her as replacement.
A/N: Yer, I'm not very good a describing things. It's XJ-9 from 'My Life as a Teenage Robot', here by request from TibbyKitty. Those who read Bleedman's comics will know that she was at the facility that was training the RRB. So how is she here? Wait and see. BTW, if you have any request of people you want to see, then PM me and I'll see what I can do. XJ-9 will have her part to play, but not a big one admittedly
Her body had been perfectly designed, but it had also been perfectly destroyed. Large portions of her 'skin' had been ripped cleanly from her arm and chunks of wires had been torn and sliced in two, long wires hanging uselessly against the outside of her arm. One of her Pigtails had been shattered and now hung loosely against her head and her left arm was missing from below her elbow. Dexter had said that it would take something as hard as Diamond, if not harder, to cause such a clean cut through the metal that covered her body, but he couldn't name anything. To make matters even more interesting, the cut areas had all been fused by some great heat, also far beyond any natural powers. Judging by the heavy damage that had been inflected on her, whatever had happened to her, it had been horrific.
She had been discovered by one of his co-workers, Dib, whilst he had been on one of his 'alien watches'. He had been going along the desert that begun about two hours drive away from the outer perimeter of Megaville. Dib had been going there at least twice a week for longer than any of them cared to remember, watching the skies for aliens and searching for a legendary military base that supposedly dealt with illegal chemicals, a sort of Area 51 of the chemical world.
When the mechanical girl was active, it was clear that when she was activated, this robotic girl would be a scientific marvel beyond anything even Dexter could predict. She had, however, gone into a sort of lockdown that prevented any of the people that worked with from accessing any of her memory files or programming, removing any identity or AI that she may have had, she was just an empty shell.
But that was Otto's aim in his work with her; he was determined to find a way to access those memories and to find out what had caused her to go into lockdown. He didn't know why but he felt like there was something important in her memory, something that was essential to the future.
Bowing his head towards her in a strange show of respect to the motionless robotic girl and returning to the table, Otto cleared away the empty drink cans and food boxes before sighing as he found a single A4 piece of paper labeled, 'Otto Speech'. Glancing over it, he couldn't help but roll his eyes as he recognized Dexter's handwriting, detailing to him, word for word, how he should report the experiment. Usually, it was Dexter who did the talking; his own form of OCD forcing him to speak in perfect scientific language and the like as he recorded even the most trivial things into the recorder that always lay on the table next to the experiment area.
"This is Professor Osworth speaking for tape number twenty-two and the date is the fourth of February of the year 2010" He spoke as he flicked on a small recorder he had next to the maze, his eyes glancing back and forth between the mouse and the script that Dexter had written for him. "After several…failed…experiments we believe we have managed to fuse the powerful but unstable substance known as Chemical X into small creatures such as mice, altering them slightly to have enhanced senses of sight, sound and smell. Before I continue I must remind whoever listens to this that no animal are mistreated in this lab, our animal treatment is over seen by perhaps the biggest animal lover in existence, Bubbles Utonium. She has declared us safe and beneficial for the animals" Otto shivered slightly as he added under his breath "And god help us if she changes her mind"
Regaining himself, Otto chuckled slightly as he placed the mouse gently at one end of the maze and tossed a small piece of food on the far end, quickly glancing at his watch as the mouse's ears and nose were raised into the air and the small mammal shot into movement, running perfectly through the complex array of paths in the maze with flawless skill, never slowing or taking a wrong turn. It was as if it had run the maze hundreds of times before, but Otto made sure to always run it through a different set, changing which paths were dead ends and which would simply lead the mouse round in a big circle.
"Test number twenty-two has proven yet another complete success" Otto beamed as he reached down and picked the small mouse again, giving it a gentle stroke across the head. "Subject has proven itself powerful enough to detect its objective from great distance and also to home in on it though completely alien environments, never seeming to lose its sense of direction. I believe that the test is a success and that the administration of chemical X is…"
Otto froze as he heard the sound of a window shattering break the silence. He glanced around the room, slowly placing the mouse back within the maze, providing it with another pile of food in order to keep it quiet and still as he begun slowly walking into the room, searching for the source of the sound. Sweat begun to trickle down his face as he saw one of the labs windows now stood in a shattered ruin, the ground around them being covered with broken glass. Wind was pouring through it fiercely, sending years worth of research notes flying away and scattering across the lab, knocking test tubes and other containers of their desks, shattering and boring dozens of different chemicals across the ground, some burning large scorch marks into the floor. Slowly beginning to step back, Otto's hand begun to reach for his watch, his eyes scanning the room around him for movement.
Suddenly, in the space of what seemed to only be a second, the lights flickered off and a long, white gloved hand reached out and wrapped around his mouth….
Dexter frowned as he felt his mobile vibrate in his pocket, jumping at the sudden feeling. Ignoring Blossom's dissatisfied face he roughly pulled it out and glared at the name which glowed across the screen at him, the black text in green light reflecting from his glasses
Otto Calling…
"Damn it Otto" He muttered as he hung the phone up and turned back to Blossom, trying to ignore the way that she was gently tapping her foot in annoyance at their time being interrupted. "Sorry about that…I told him not to phone me for the next few hours because I was out with you so I don't know what could be wrong with him"
New Text Message from Otto…
Exchanging an apologetic look with Blossom he flicked the message open, it was so unlike Otto to ignore him when he asked not to be disturbed. Blossom gave a sigh as she watched him read the message her ruby red eyes glancing around the park so that she could fight the annoyed look she knew she had on her face without Dexter seeing. She only looked round when she picked up a slight gasp from the boy genius beside her.
"Blossom…" He muttered as he placed the phone back into his pocket "There's something going on at the lab, Otto wouldn't have connected me like this if it wasn't important. I'm sorry but I've got to go and…"
"Typical" The leader of the Powerpuff Girls sighed in annoyance as she stood up "We finally get some alone time and you go off and get yourself called to work. This always happens"
Dexter sighed himself as he looked at her. It was true that the two of them very really had any time alone together, someone else somehow always seeming to get in the way, be it another monster attack or Buttercup deciding she was bored enough to cause them trouble or even, more recently, Brick seeming to miraculously appear. He had hoped that today he could have enjoyed some time with her, but it seemed it was his best friend that had gotten in his way this time.
"You better go" Blossom finally muttered as she begun to walk away "I'm sure whatever Otto wants it must be important. I'll see you later"
Dexter couldn't think of anything to say as he watched he disappear into the crowd, leaving him alone on the park bench. He sat in silence for a few minutes before standing and beginning to make his way back the way he had come with Blossom, towards the industrial areas of Megaville where his lab stood among other museums and similar industries. Trying to ignore the in a suit who looked down at him from the balcony of a nearby building, the man straightening his tie before disappearing into the building without another glance.
He didn't realize the passage of time as he made his way through the complex network of streets that he traveled every day, leading him straight to the front door of his 'work' lab. It wasn't as good as the lab that he had built beneath his own home (As well as beneath nearly the entire neighborhood) but working there allowed him to be with his friends, have an income and work on some of his smaller projects.
"Otto" He called as he walked into the lab, his lab coat blowing slightly in the breeze that seeped from the inside of the building as he entered. He frowned as he saw the deactivated lights swinging almost solemnly in the darkness, the small amount of light coming through the windows casting cruel shadows across every surface. Otto should have still been here at this time whether he had called Dexter or not, so where was he? "Otto"
Squeak
Dexter jumped in surprise as the small form of a mouse shot out from the darkness and ran across the room before disappearing beneath a crack in the ground. The small black streak across its brown body was unmistakable to the small animal that Otto kept and, Dexter knew, he would never let it run around the lab on its own accord.
Something was wrong….
"Hello there"
Dexter screamed as he felt something sharp stab into his back, a huge electrical current coursing through his body and sending him crashing against the ground, paralyzed by the electrical current. His blurring vision barely managed to make out the form of a green face, surrounded by black hair before and baring a jaw filled with a row of pointed teeth looming over him.
His ears were filled with the sound of cruel laughter before everything around him went black as he slipped from conciseness.
……………………………………………
The doors of the lab flew open as a streak of red light flew through and landed in the centre of the room, sending papers flying into the air in a tornado of displaced air and movement. A mouse could be heard to give a squeak of fear as Blossom stepped out from the light and folded her arms, shouting out with her eyes closed in a look of annoyance.
"All right Dexter" She shouted "I know I was a little harsh with you before, it wasn't your fault you had to come to work but that's no reason for you to ignore my calls. I mean it's not like I said anything that bad…Dexter?"
Blossom frowned as she finally opened her eyes, expecting to see a surprised Dexter surrounded by his colleges, gathered around some experiment that he was showing off. However all she saw a dark room that seemed to have been torn apart, as if someone had been frantically looking for something before she had arrived. All of the papers and notes that had been years in gathering were missing from the folders and several instruments had disappeared. There was no sign of life anywhere. The only piece of paper that she could see lay on top of the main computer desk, the words 'To the Powerpuff Girls' written in bold writing across it.
A chill ran through Blossom as she read it before she exploded into pink light a shot into the air, vanishing into the distance…
