Allies and Rivals

Chapter 19 - Rescue Plans

The City of Townsville, or rather in an island off the coast of Oregon…

A large masked man entered the lab where Ferguson Ckracknow was eyeing the formulas and numbers worked out by the Professor and Dr. Edwards.

"Master, I have three of the six kids you wanted," said Two, throwing to the floor an unconscious Bubbles, Butch and Boomer.

"Excellent," said Ckracknow as he inspected the two boys and one girl. "Two, watch them, but don't harm them. I have to speak to two recalcitrant scientists."

Ckracknow and a few men then went out of the lab into a narrow corridor. He walked in a proud manner, with a smirk on his face as he fiddled his hands on his pockets. Clearly, he was relishing his moment of triumph.

The corridor itself was long, with doors with bars on either side of it. The party soon stopped in front of a door that is distinguishable from all the others by a number 6 above it.

He took a key from his pocket, and opened the door. Soon, he and his party entered.

"What do you want, Mr. Cracker," Dr. Edwards sneered at the mad scientist.

"It's Ckracknow, Edwards," corrected the scientist. "God, it's been, what? Five or six days since you've been here, and you still can't get my name right?"

"Cut the crap and tell us what you want," the Professor interjected.

"Can't you see? Or are you blind? You are going to finish your research for me," declared Ckracknow.

"Why should you trust us? If we do, you won't get anything, since you already know that we'll try to escape with it," said the Professor.

"Because you won't succeed," said Ckracknow. "You have no chance of escape from my island."

"We'll see," said the Professor. "My girls and his boys will bust us out here any second now!"

"Oh, so that's your great hope, eh? Well, I have news for you. Follow me," Ckracknow said, gesturing his hand to direct the two to follow him. In any case, the choice was taken away from the two when some of the men accompanying Ckracknow shoved them.

"Okay, we'll follow, we'll follow," Edwards said after being shoved. "No need to get rough."

The two scientists then followed Ckracknow to his lab, with guards in front and behind, all holding guns, keeping them in line.

When they reached the lab, both scientists were white with shock.

They saw a big man, about six feet five inches tall, looking squarely at them. But it was not him that shocked them. On his feet, lying on the floor unconscious, were Boomer, Butch and Bubbles.

"Boomer, Butch!" shouted Dr. Edwards, as he run and tried hugging his two sons. "Bastard! What have you done with them?"

"Bubbles! Honey, please be okay," said the Professor as he cuddled his daughter, tears streaming down his eyes. "Will she…"

"They'll be alright. They just inhaled a powerful sleeping gas and they'll be only out for hours," said Ckracknow.

"But where is Brick?" asked Edwards.

"And Blossom and Buttercup?" asked Utonium.

"Buttercup was electrocuted by the dome covering this island, and is probably in the belly of some shark. She fell to the sea unconscious and when Two over here went over to pick her up, she wasn't there."

The Professor's face became whiter than ever as the implications of Ckracknow's words sank into his mind.

"No! Is she dead?" asked the Professor.

"She might as well be dead," said Ckracknow. "She probably drowned and sank to the sea, or was shark meat."

"No! It can't be!" asserted the professor with emotion. "Have you seen her body? Have you seen her being killed, or being drowned?"

"No, but its…"

"Then she isn't dead," the professor said with determination, though his voice was shaking. "I won't believe it until I see her dead body!"

"Then believe what you want," said Ckracknow.

"How about Blossom and Brick?" asked the doctor.

"They chickened out," lied Ckracknow. "Apparently, they just sent their siblings without putting themselves in harm's way. They probably are sitting their asses off at their homes." Of course, the mad scientist knew exactly what happened to the red-headed pair.

"No, Brick is not like that," said the doctor.

"I don't care what you think. You will work for me—if you want your captured children to stay alive," Ckracknow said with a calm, yet deadly voice, his hand pointing at the three unconscious kids.

"You win," said Edwards in surrender, seeing no alternative.

"We'll work for you," said Utonium, though saying it with revulsion.

"Good. Tomorrow, you will start with your new duties. Meanwhile, you two shall spend the rest of the day locked in your cell so you could think about what happened. Guards, escort these two gentlemen to their cells."

The two men were escorted by more than two dozen armed men to their cells. The two were defeated, disappointed, and desperate. But they have not lost hope. They somehow knew that Brick and Blossom were still out there, and they would eventually rescue them.

Meanwhile…

"Two, I know what really happened to those two redheads," Ckracknow said after the two prisoners were out of earshot. "I want you to find them and bring them to me so they can join their siblings."

"Yes, Master," obeyed Two.

As soon as Two left, he then directed his attention to the men watching the unconscious three.

"Those three will wake up soon, so better bind them so they won't be any trouble when they do wake up with all their superpowers," Ckracknow ordered. "Do it the way I taught you to."

The men then did as Ckracknow ordered. They cuffed the hands of the three kids behind their backs. The cuffs they used aren't like ordinary handcuffs. It is made of duranium, and unlike handcuffs, it doesn't have two metal rings connected by a chain, but a single ring that is tightened by a screw after both hands are slipped through and then locked by a tiny key, though the side touching the hands is padded with rubber and cloth.

They then did the same to the feet.

They then strapped an anti-gravity belt to prevent them from flying, then strapping a special kind of goggles on their eyes.

After which, they were gagged by inserting a balled sock into their mouths, then tying a large piece of bandage around their mouths between their teeth to prevent them from spitting out the sock. That way, they can't use any of their mouth attacks, like Bubbles' sonic scream.

After that, the three kids were basically helpless when they woke up, even if their powers were undiminished and they still have strength at level 17. The only thing was, they just couldn't break duranium.

They then placed the three unconscious kids after being tightly bound inside a cell.

Ckracknow took a look at the three captured kids and smiled. 'Mr. Morebucks would be happy to know about this,' Ckracknow thought. 'In fact, it's time to inform my financier of these happy developments.'

Ckracknow, when he was sure no one was watching him, went to a long corridor. The corridor's walls were lined with abstract paintings.

Ckracknow then slightly tilted a random painting. After a few minutes, he continued walking, and turned sharply. It looked like he would deliberately collide into a wall when he suddenly went through it. The wall was just a hologram.

Ckracknow entered another corridor, and into a room. The room has a giant TV screen almost covering an entire wall. Below were a simple keypad and a keyboard.

Ckracknow dialled a few numbers on the keypad, and soon, the dial tone of a phone could be heard.

Soon, the TV screen flickered to life as the figure of Spencer Morebucks emerged.

"What is it now, Ckracknow?" said an obviously busy Mr. Morebucks.

"Well, sir, I have both Professor Utonium and Dr. Edwards in my service and researching the secrets of the monster hide that you have so coveted," declared Ckracknow. "When they do complete the research, I'll hand over the results to you, just like you wanted me to."

Mr. Morebucks was shocked. "How did you…"

"I kidnapped them and brought them over to my island to work for me," said Ckracknow.

"Really? But how would you make them work for you? I know those two, and they wouldn't easily submit to brute force."

"I captured the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys. I simply would threaten to kill them and that would keep those two in line," said Ckracknow.

"What? How the hell did you manage that feat?"

"Sleeping gas," replied Ckracknow.

"That's ingenious. Well, Ckracknow, I want you, after they give you the complete data on the monster hide, to kill both the Professor and Dr. Edwards, as well as their children."

"But it would benefit us more if they work for us, not dead!" Ckracknow protested.

"You forget, Ckracknow, that I am your financier. If not for me, you won't have what you have now. Remember, I could easily cut off your funding, and you wouldn't want that, now would you?" said Morebucks.

"No, sir," said Ckracknow.

"Now, kill them, as well the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys," said Cracknow's financier.

"Yes sir," said Ckracknow.

"By the way, how are you planning to kill the kids? My daughter hired Mojo to kill the girls. Well, he captured them using gas, but the girls were so tough that nothing he tried worked."

"Well sir," said Ckracknow, "I know what the monkey attempted, and I made plans for it. You see, the girls, as well as the boys, then as now can't break duranium. So I plan to bind them with it to make them helpless, toss them in some cell, forget about them, and let them starve to death."

"You're starving them?" asked Morebucks in pleasant surprise.

"Yup! Evil, isn't it? Simple but effective!"

"Good luck then," said Morebucks. "And remember, I don't know anything about this, and if you are caught, I'd deny any connection with you. Goodbye."

Morebucks then cut off the connection. Ckracknow then left the room and went back to the lab.

Meanwhile…

Blossom was sitting at the wall of the cave, staring at a sleeping Brick and Buttercup. She had, in the meantime, twisted and pulled her hands behind her in an effort either to slip off the snug and tight cuffs from her hands, or to break the cuffs. However, it held, and the only thing that it did was give Blossom sore hands.

'Darn it! I can't get these things off me,' she thought.

She heard some footsteps. Blossom then saw a guard, clutching some kind of gun, and carrying three gas masks!

'How lucky could you get!' thought Blossom.

The man quickly saw Blossom, but before he could do anything, the pink puff quickly flew and kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold.

Blossom then with great difficulty picked up the masks, but was unable to put them on her because her hands were cuffed behind her.

"Guess I'll have to wait for them to wake up,' thought Blossom.

However, she heard more footsteps from outside. She peaked from behind a rock, and saw…Two!

'Oh no!' she thought. 'He must not see Brick or Buttercup.'

Blossom then looked around, and saw some dried seaweed. With great difficulty, she used it to conceal Brick and Buttercup. Blossom then hid behind a rock, and peeked at the oncoming Two.

Two entered the cave. 'Where is the bitch? I saw that redheaded girl enter this cave before I delivered those three brats to the Master. She probably won't be much of a problem. Her hands are cuffed behind her after all and there's no way for her to get it off.' asked the genetically-enhanced clone. He slowly entered the cave, walking cautiously, trying to avoid making unnecessary sounds.

He noticed a pile of seaweed by the wall of the cave as he rounded a corner. He slowly walked towards it.

Suddenly, he was zapped from the side. He then turned to see who was responsible. It was Blossom. She then gave him another zap with her laser-eyes.

"You!" shouted Two. "You'll join your siblings soon enough!" He then prepared to release pinkish gas that has so effectively immobilized Bubbles and Brick's brothers.

"You'll have to catch me first!" shouted Blossom, as she turned and flew deeper into the cave. She knows she can beat Two in a fight, but he has sleeping gas, and she can't wear the gas mask that she clutched in her hands behind her.

Two chased the leader of the alliance deeper in the cave.

Blossom saw an intersection—a fork in the cave, and she flew on the left fork. Two saw it and followed her. As it turns out, it led to an exit to the sea. The large man flew out of the cave—but Blossom seemed to have disappeared.

He scanned the area. He inspected the cliffs, the beaches and the coves of the island, but he didn't find her.

After ten minutes of futile searching, Two was becoming frustrated.

"Hey bitch! Come out or your sister will really get it! What's the matter, afraid? Yeah, you're a just a little girl that can do jack sh!t!" Two insinuated in an attempt to draw out Blossom.

But Blossom did not take the bait.

Blossom had been hiding behind a crevice near the entrance of the second cave. When she saw Two fly past her, she waited a bit, then flew back in.

Blossom then decided to explore the caves. 'Maybe the cave leads to a secret entrance to the base?' she thought. She slowly flew back to the fork, then took the right cave. The pink puff then slowly flew into the cave, inspecting every crevice and every detail that might give her a clue.

'But should I just leave Brick and Buttercup alone?' asked Blossom. 'No, I can't carry them with my hands cuffed. And those seaweeds do a good job at concealing them. Besides, I'll get a lot more done if I just find a way into that building than if I just watch them sleep.'

Blossom spent the next three hours exploring the networks of caves near the island.

A couple of hours later…

Boomer shook his head as he regained consciousness. He tried stretching out, but realized he was kind of restricted. 'What the heck is going on here,' he thought as he tried to get up. He stumbled on his first try. It is then that he noticed he was tied up and gagged. Then, he remembered everything that happened. 'Man, that pinkish gas must be some kind of sleeping substance,' Boomer thought.

He looked around and saw that he is in some kind of dark cell with only a tiny window with bars on the top. He tried flying towards it but he suddenly can't.

'Crap, they must have strapped on some anti-gravity belts on us,' thought Boomer. He then scanned the rest of the cell. They were lying on a large bed, thought the rest of the room was empty with only a table as the other furnishing. He then noticed felt a kick on his back.

He was pushed a little, but he turned, and saw Butch with him, in exactly the same way as he was. And he was laughing!

In revenge, Boomer tried to kick him back. Soon, they were engaged in a playful game of who can kick the other most.

After a while, they stopped. Bubbles soon regained consciousness. However, helpless as they were, unable to communicate with each other, a feeling of dread overcame them. They tried getting free, but failed. After a few futile tries, the three tried to entertain each other by hopping around the cell.

Meanwhile…

'My head, that gas was nauseating,' thought Brick as he woke up. He noticed he was covered with seaweed. He removed it with disgust and saw Buttercup still sleeping.

He gently kicked her in the side.

"Huh, hey, what's the big idea kicking me," Buttercup said in a drowsy voice.

"So you're awake," sneered Brick. "And I have to wake you up!"

"You don't have to kick me, you jerk," Buttercup sharply replied.

"Well I do, and that's the thanks I get for saving your life!" said Brick.

"Since when did you save my life?" asked a skeptical Buttercup.

"Well, after you got electrocuted by that dome," explained Brick, "you fell unconscious and fell to the sea. Well, I could have saved you or I could let you drown or get eaten by sharks, well, I must have been crazy that time since I actually saved you. That sleeping gas that I've inhaled must have messed up my brain as well because I actually picked you up from the ocean, even if I'm feeling drowsy and weak from the gas at the time!"

"Well, um, I don't need any saving!" Buttercup proudly countered. "I'm a Powerpuff Girl. I can take care of myself." Then in a less hostile tone, she said, "well, thanks anyway, I owe you one. Well, you aren't that much of a jerk at all. I never thought you would actually save me."

Brick was surprised by Buttercup's reaction. He thought she would actually shout at him or something. "Well, that's nothing. I'm just doing it because we need all the help we can get in this mission."

"Thanks anyway!" said Buttercup. "Hey, it's that Two! Let me at him. Hmmpphh!"

Buttercup saw Two floating around the island, seemingly looking for something. She was about to shout to him when Brick stopped her.

"Will you shut up!" Brick said, clamping his hand over her mouth. "We don't want that goon to hear us!"

"What gives! If you are too afraid…" Buttercup said in a loud whisper.

"No. We can easily beat him in a fight. But he has lots of sleeping gas and you'd be out cold before you could say 'damn it!' And you would be captured, just like Bubbles, Boomer and Butch."

Buttercup wanted to fight Two. "I don't care. I want to kick his behind!"

"I do too! But use your mind, damn it! How will you fight him if you're unconscious?"

"Well, I don't intend to be knocked out! And I don't intend to inhale sleeping gas, duh!"

"Neither did my brothers and Bubbles," said Brick. "And you know what happened to them. You have a good chance you'll join them if you go out there."

"I'll take that risk!" Buttercup said, determined.

"And I won't let you risk our entire rescue mission just to satisfy your ego. You won't go there. I won't let you!" Brick sharply replied.

"You're not my leader, so you can't order me around!" Buttercup asserted.

"No I'm not! I'm telling you as your colleague, not as anybody superior to you. And you'll have to fight me first before you can get past me and fight that Two!" Brick threatened. "And I might tie you up too."

"Really?"

"Don't try me, Buttercup. Don't try me," replied Brick.

"Since when did you care for somebody else other than yourself, your brothers and your father?" Buttercup said.

"I don't care for you at all, if that is what you're thinking, but I do know that if you go out there, we would have less chance of rescuing my brothers, my father, your Dad, and Bubbles, not to mention you because you'll probably be captured along! Look, I'm not saying you can't beat up that moron, all I'm saying is that he has a powerful sleeping gas that would immobilize you before you could even touch him and you'll be just another burden that would need to be rescued instead of being a great help for us," Brick reasoned. "If you want to be captured, that's your business, but since it affects the rescue of those close to me, it's my business too, and I won't let you make a fool of yourself. I do care about the success of this mission, and since that mission involves you being safe and not captured, then yes, I do care if you are captured!"

"Well, we have got to take some risks," Buttercup argued back. "If we want to succeed, you sometimes have to gamble!"

"Yeah, but only if there is no other way you to get around it. Right now, attacking Two is very foolish since we can't possibly win without one of us getting knocked out by his gas. No, there are other ways to complete this mission with much less risk," Brick replied. "You can't just attack and just hope for the best. We can't just attack blindly considering all his advantages and pray to God that we get lucky!"

Buttercup has got no reply to his arguments and she suddenly realized how selfish she was.

"Okay, you win! I won't go after Two now, but only because you saved my life and I owe you one. Jeez, I'm not going to win an argument against you! You're smart, and you probably know what you're doing. So there. I won't fight Two now, but you better make me fight him later. You talk just like Blossom! In fact, you're just like her!"

"Is that a compliment, or is that an insult?" asked Brick.

"Figure it out for yourself. But you're less irritating than her, that's for sure. So what's your brilliant plan? You better have one since you sank mine," Buttercup said.

"We'll first find Blossom…"

"By the way, where was Blossom, and what exactly happened to you guys?"

"Blossom and I sneaked into a hallway that seemed unguarded. We split up when we saw a fork in the corridor. I came upon a few thugs with gas masks. I attacked them, and knocked them all out, but before that, they released a green kind of gas. I inhaled a considerable amount of sleeping gas during the fight, and when the fight was finished, I already was feeling kind of sleepy and tired..."

"See, even you can finish them off after you've inhaled gas, so if we finish Two off before the effects of the gas—" Buttercup trailed.

"Will you stop interrupting me?" Brick snapped. "Anyway, I saw you get electrocuted and fall unconscious. Now, the gas Two used is different. It is color pink and much more effective. Well, you know what happened to Bubbles, Boomer and Butch. They quickly got knocked out by gas after you were electrocuted. The effects of the pinkish gas, unlike the greenish gas, would take effect only seconds, not minutes. I saw you floating in the sea, used the last ounces of my energy to pick you up, then fell unconscious when I reached this cave. It's a good thing Two didn't look for us while we were asleep."

"Well, he did look for you. That is why I covered you with seaweed so he wouldn't see you," Blossom explained. "Then I lured him from you guys."

"Blossom!" shouted Brick. "Since when did you arrive?"

"Oh, only a while ago, but long enough to hear your conversation," Blossom said. "Well, Brick's right, Buttercup, I saw him pick you up from the sea."

"I know, I know," Buttercup said. "I didn't say I didn't believe him, you know."

"And he's right about the folly of attacking Two, you know," Blossom continued to lecture.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Buttercup said, by now tired of all the lecturing.

"So where were you?" asked Brick.

Blossom then told the two what happened while they were asleep.

"Thanks Blossom," said Buttercup.

"Your welcome. Now could you please get this things off me!" Blossom ordered, referring to the cuffs still binding her hands.

"I don't know Red. Those cuffs seem just you," teased Buttercup. "You look fab with those on, maybe we should leave them on. Oh Blossom, you know you're too young for jewelry!"

"That's a good one, Buttercup," Brick said, then both of them laughed at Blossom's predicament. "And I thought Butch was a terrible planner!"

"Very funny," said Blossom, though the tone of her voice and the expression on her face belies her words. "Now get this off me!"

"Okay, okay," said Brick. "Turn around so we can take a look at it."

Blossom turned around. Blossom dropped the three gas masks from her hands as Buttercup picked them up.

"Alright! Now we can crush that bastard without worrying about sleeping gas," Buttercup exclaimed.

Brick quickly examined the bonds. "I'm afraid this is exactly like the cuffs you that Mojo used on you."

Brick then tried breaking the cuffs using brute force, but he failed. Buttercup joined too but both of them couldn't break the duranium cuffs on Blossom's wrists.

"Well, we can't break it," Buttercup said. "I'm sorry Blossom."

"Well, the good news is, Dad still has that device he invented a few weeks ago that could cut duranium like a hot knife through butter," Brick said.

"And the bad news is…" said Blossom.

"We can't waste time going back home just to remove those cuffs. They would have to stay until the mission is over and we can all go back home," Brick explained.

"Great, just great," said Blossom. "You're right though, we can't afford to go back home."

"So, how about Brick and I slip on these masks, and show to Two what pain is really all about, then bust the Professor and the others out and we can go home?" suggested Buttercup.

"No. We'll rescue Dad first, then you and Brick will fight Two. The rest of us will destroy the lab and the entire island. Most probably, they also tied them up like me," Blossom instructed. "But first, let's put these gas masks on so we won't fall asleep the minute we encounter another group of those men."

Brick and Buttercup easily put their masks on, while Buttercup's the one who strapped Blossom's mask on the Ruff-Puff leader.

"I've been exploring these caves a few hours, and there is a huge pipe, about six feet in diameter, that ends in one of the caves. It is an exhaust pipe, I can tell, since there was a strong wind blowing out the pipe. I flew in and sure enough, there was this huge fan sucking the wind out of the building. Beyond the fan is a corridor in the building," Blossom explained.

"I get it! We would go in through that pipe so we can sneak in the building without being noticed," Brick said.

"Yup! Glad you've been using your brain," Blossom replied. "Okay, follow me."

Blossom then flew at top speed towards the interior of the cave. Brick and Buttercup followed her. They then went through a maze of caves. Soon enough, it was pitch black, but they can see each other's light trail.

Soon, they felt a strong wind blowing against them. 'We must be near the exhaust pipe,' thought Brick.

After a few more minutes of flying, they finally reached their destination. The hum of the wind blowing and the distant fan spinning was very loud and annoying. Curiously, there was a bulb attached at the roof of the cave, illuminating the cave where the exhaust pipe ends.

"Okay, Buttercup, you go first," ordered Blossom. "I'll go next, while Brick, you cover our rear."

"Way ahead of you, Red," Buttercup said, and plunged ahead. Blossom followed. And Brick.

The exhaust pipe was long and tall, about 50 feet in lengtt. It soon turned 90 degrees and they soon were flying horizontally. At the end of the tunnel, they saw a large fan, about six feet in diameter, rotating at a very fast speed, making the spinning of helicopter blades seem like a turtle. Buttercup smirked, and plunged into the blades.

"Buttercup needs to wear a helmet," said Brick.

"Don't worry. Buttercup's head is strong enough," Blossom assured.

"I'm not talking about your sister. I mean I feel sorry for the fan," Brick snickered. "Buttercup needs to wear a helmet to protect the fan from Buttercup's head."

Soon enough, there was a large and loud crash, and soon, the mangled blades of the fan were lying on the floor of a large corridor.

Buttercup stood in front of the mangled fans, with her hands on her hips. "You may applaud!" Buttercup said with relish.

Blossom and Brick just looked at each other.

They then started to cautiously fly along the corridor that they had just entered. It was a different corridor, with doors with prison bars on it. Soon, they saw about a dozen guards guarding a single prison door with the number six above it.

Meanwhile…

"Two, have you seen those two red-heads?" asked Ckracknow.

"Well, sir, um no," said Two.

"Why the hell can't you find them?! That girl has her hands cuffed, while Brick inhaled sleeping gas!"

"Well, she seemed to disappear. I chased after her, but she eluded me," Two explained.

"Well, go back out there and find those two! Spencer Morebucks will kill me if I don't kill all six ruffs and puffs! I have three of them in one of my cells, and they will starve. Buttercup is probably dead, either drowned or eaten by sharks," Ckracknow said. "But I need to have those two killed or Morebucks will be very upset. And if I go down, I'll drag you down with me! So go out there and find those two! And don't come back without them! You are strong enough, and you have a powerful sleeping gas, so you shouldn't have too much trouble getting them once you find them."

"Yes sir," said Two, and he went out again, looking for the two kids, leaving Ckracknow alone in the base with a few hundred bodyguards.

Meanwhile…

"Nah, the Yankees are the best!" Professor Utonium explained, as both he and the doctor talked about a variety of things to pass the time in their cell and to keep them from feeling too depressed.

"Well, I'm a fan of the Mets, I say they are the best," Dr. Edwards explained. "Hell, the Yankees couldn't even…wait a minute, is it me, or do I hear a scuffle outside?"

"Hm, maybe our guards are having a boxing match," suggested the Professor.

"Wanna bet on who's gonna win, John?"

"You're on, William!"

But before the two could rush to the prison door to play spectator to the fight outside, the prison door suddenly opened. The locks on the door were destroyed.

Soon, the two scientists were treated to a sight of unconscious bodies of all their guards, and three kids with gas masks on floating over their guards with their fists clenched.

Suddenly, they realized who they were.

"Brick?" said the Doctor.

"Buttercup, Blossom," said the Professor.

I was their first meeting with them for nearly a week, and it was an emotional moment.