Powerpuff Movie 2: Chapter 2

THE POWERPUFF GIRLS MOVIE II

CHAPTER II: YOU'RE JUST KIDS

The sun rose over the horizon, illuminating the previously dark landscape of Townsville. As the previous lunar glow of the moon faded away to be replaced by the brightness of a new day, attention was drawn to a home on the suburbs, a plain white house, with the front side of the top floor having three, huge, circular windows in it.

In the room, which was clearly a little girls' room, amidst several plush toys and a closet door, was a bright pink bed. In it were two girls, one with blond, pigtailed hair and blue eyes, and the other with short raven black hair and bright green eyes. Strangely, though, someone was missing...

'Wake up, girls, wake up,' said the Professor, coming into the Powerpuff Girls' room.

'It's the weekend, Professor,' groaned Bubbles, slowly opening her eyes. 'There's no school...'

'I know, I know,' said the Professor, getting two black-and-blue/green striped dresses out of the wardrobe, as Bubbles got out of bed, and Buttercup woke up. Blossom, surprisingly, wasn't there. 'But today's a very big day for you.'

'Is Mojo Jojo at it again?' grumbled Buttercup, as Bubbles floated over to the Professor, took her dress from him, and floated over to the corner to quickly change.

'Not that I'm aware of...' said the Professor slowly.

'Then what, huh?' said Buttercup, as she snatched her dress from the Professor's hands. 'The Gangreen Gang; Fuzzy Lumpkins; Princess?'

'No, there hasn't been any distress calls,' said the Professor slowly again.

'Then why'd you wake us up?' said Buttercup, fitting on her Mary Janes. 'It's only 9 o'clock!'

'Do the Amoeba Boys wanna play?' said Bubbles sweetly, floating beside the Professor, having finished getting dressed. The Professor and Buttercup laughed heavily at this, causing Bubbles to look confused.

'You've as much to learn as they do,' said Buttercup, floating on the Professor's other side, also fully clothed now.

'Don't you girls remember?' said the Professor, slightly puzzled that they didn't remember whatever he was about to reveal to them. 'Today's –'

'– the day!' exclaimed Blossom, flying through the door into the room, already fully clothed. 'How could you not remember?'

'Because we're not boring nerds,' retorted Buttercup. This got her a glare from her red-haired sister, but Blossom continued anyway.

'No time to explain, we're already late!' said Blossom, rushing over to the windows, and opening all three circular windows. 'You coming, Professor?'

'Yes, I'll be driving right behind you,' chuckled the Professor, jingling his keys. Blossom shook her head frantically. Knowing what she meant, Bubbles and Buttercup both lifted the Professor into the air by an arm each, and floated over to the window. Blossom opened it, and the other two puffs floated the Professor out the window, the smart one shutting it afterwards. They then headed off towards the city, Blossom leading the others.

'Well, if you insist,' shrugged the Professor, as the girls continued to float him closer to the Central Business District of Townsville for... well, Bubbles and Buttercup didn't remember, but the Professor did, and Blossom certainly remembered.
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In the Central Business District, where, strangely, no crimes were afoot, there was a huge crowd gathered in front of Townsville Hall. At the main entrance, alongside several businessmen, the Mayor stood at the podium, not paying anything or anyone any particular attention

'This is Stanley Whitfield,' said the main reporter of 5News, with his microphone in check, 'coming to you live from in front of Townsville Hall, where the Mayor of Townsville is about to announce a major event.'

'And what might that major event be?' said Talking Dog, poking his white head around the side of a nearby building, hid black ear flaps handing by the side of his head.

'Uh,' said Mr. Whitfield, pausing briefly, 'don't you know? The Mayor is going to elect his h –'

'Attention, attention!' cried the Mayor's voice over the megaphones which were placed at the top of the support columns at the front of the hall. The chatter of the crowd of humans died away instantly, and they all turned to face the Mayor.

'Welcome,' began the Mayor, his huge white mustache tickling slightly with every word he spoke, 'everyone, welcome, to our next monthly town meeting!'

There was reasonable applause at these words, which died down quickly. Unnoticed by anyone, a long silver limousine pulled up at the side of the hall.

'Now,' continued the Mayor, 'before we get to today's list of topics, 'I'd like to announce who I have chosen as my he –'

'We're here!' cried a voice from overhead. Everyone looked up at these words to see the girls appearing overhead, hoisting the Professor between the three of them. Blossom let go of the front of the Professor – in the process, Bubbles and Buttercup reaffirmed their grip on his arms, as they went down and dropped the Professor gently at the side of the crowd – and the red-headed one floated over the crowd, stopping near the Mayor, who looked a bit confused.

'Sorry we're late, Mayor. Buttercup held us up,' muttered Blossom, shooting a glare at her raven haired sister. The brunette responded by sticking out her curled tongue, simultaneously smiling as the crowd watched with awe. Her "special power" never ceased to amaze everyone, as she was not only the only Powerpuff girl to have it, but also the only Townsville citizen to possess such an ability.

The Mayor looked puzzled at Blossom's words. But just as he raised one of his hands, and opened his mouth, a voice interrupted them.

'Stand down, Blossom.'

Blossom's head whipped around at these words, while the Mayor titled his to head to see who had spoken. At the corner of the crowd was the limousine, and standing outside the open back door was... Princess Morbucks, dressed in her would-be Powerpuff outfit, with her gold royal tiara to boot.

'Why are you here, Princess?' questioned Blossom, floating over in her direction. As she hovered at eye level with the selfish brat, Bubbles and Buttercup came over and floated beside her.

'Same reason as you,' said Princess calmly, fingering her black gloves onto her hands, and then clenching them together behind her back.

'Yeah right,' snapped Buttercup, grabbing Princess by the scruff of her gold-and-black dress, and holding her up. 'What are you trying to pull?'

'Buttercup, she hasn't done anything wrong today!' said Bubbles sweetly, taking Princess from Buttercup's grasp and putting her down on the ground. As soon as her feet were on terra firma, Princess roughly brushed away Bubbles, glaring angrily at Buttercup.

'Yet...' muttered Buttercup, turning away from Princess and folding her tough arms.

'Girls!' interrupted the Mayor, waving his arms frantically. 'I don't mean to be rude, but I'm trying to announce an event here!'

Blossom doubled up at this. But she regained herself, and the three of them floated away from Princess, towards the main steps where the mayor was waiting.

'Sorry about that,' said Blossom, giving a brief curt nod. 'Continue away, Mayor.'

Like before, the Mayor looked confused briefly, but he quickly regained himself. Clearing his throat, he continued.

'So, as I was saying,' said the Mayor, looking very dignified, 'I'd like to announce who I have chosen as my heir.'

Several people in the crowd ooed when they heard these words.

'Is that was you were so excited about?' whispered Bubbles to Blossom. Blossom clutched her hands to her mouth, struggling not to giggle, and nodded.

'Wait a moment, Red,' hissed Buttercup to Blossom, elbowing her sister gently. 'You're not thinking he'll choose us, are you?'

Blossom struggled not to giggle, keeping her fingerless hands clenched over her stuttering mouth.

'That's a yes,' muttered Buttercup under her breath. The three girls then turned their attention back to the Mayor.

'Now,' said the Mayor, 'the one I have chosen is a loyal, hard person.'

Blossom started to shake in the air, which was noticed only by Bubbles and Buttercup, who exchanged worried glances.

'The natural choice for the job,' continued the Mayor, speaking with the utmost dignity.

Blossom was shaking so much as this point that some of the members of the crowd, particularly Ms. Keane, looked and saw what was going on.

'The name you all know,' said the Mayor, raising his head high, 'it starts with a P!'

At this, Blossom was literally leaking sweat, and shaking more than a pig. Bubbles and Buttercup grabbed her arms and tried to steady her, but this only resulted in them vibrating as well.

'Please welcome the one I have chosen...' finished the Mayor '– Princess Morbucks!' The Mayor gestured to Princess, who didn't look at all surprised by the Mayor's choice.

Several intensely nervous seconds passed, where the Mayor and Princess looked very happy about what had happened, but almost everyone else was shocked with opened mouths and twitching pupils. The professor looked up at the girls, as did Ms. Keane, Mr. Whitfield, Talking Dog, and several others.

Buttercup had her angriest expression on her face, which she used on both Princess and the Mayor, alternating every two seconds, while shaking her tan arms in unimaginable fury. Bubbles, surprisingly, wasn't crying, but instead looking at Blossom, waiting for her reaction.

Blossom didn't move (well, apart from bobbing in the air repetitively), and her expression was fully emotionless. Everyone waited for her reaction.

'WHAT?' screamed Blossom, zooming down to the Mayor, making him jump backwards. 'How could you pick Princess over us?'

'Blossom, calm down,' breathed Bubbles, floating down with Buttercup. They pulled Blossom a few inches further away from the mayor. Buttercup, like Blossom, looked angry beyond description, but didn't say anything. Her face said all.

'What gives?' rasped Buttercup finally. The Mayor, even though he seemed scared, gently put an arm on Blossom's shoulders, and brought her down to the ground. Blossom's expression softened a little.

'Look, Blossom,' said the Mayor, walking her forwards, while her sisters landed down beside them. 'You're really great superheroes, but, I choose Princess, because this position requires... um...'

'Requires what?' asked Buttercup, less roughly than normal, but still with her usual tomboy attitude.

'Well, let's face it,' stammered the mayor. 'It requires a... future.'

Blossom cringed slightly when those words came from the mayor's mouth.

'We don't have a future?' she mumbled. The mayor sighed deeply. Letting go of Blossom, he took off his hat.

'Girls, I mean this in the nicest of ways. You see,' he said gesturing to Princess, 'with everything's she got, she can have any kind of future she wants!

'You great at what you do,' said Mayor nicely, 'but I can't yet tell whether you have a future.'

There were several murmurings in the crowd here. A sly smile crept across Princess' face.

'Why?' said Blossom.

'Well,' said Mayor, 'you girls are just... kids.'

Quite a lot of gasps rose from the crowd at this. Princess came up to the podium, stopping beside the Mayor.

'And I could only give this to a kid that already has a future. You understand?'

The girls stared sadly at the Mayor for what felt like a while.

'I guess so, Mayor,' muttered Blossom, turning around and floating off slowly, with Bubbles and Buttercup doing the same. Not even Bubbles cried, but none of them needed to. Everyone could sense how they were feeling.

'Girls?' said the Mayor quietly. But they were already out of earshot. They drifted around the corner of a building, leaving a trail of power dust in their wake. The Professor looked particularly shocked, unaware that he would have to walk home, because the girls lifted him here. The Mayor scratched his head with his spare hand.

'Poor kids...' he said slowly. Princess swiped the Mayor's hat from his grasp, and walked back to her limousine, looking as stuck up as ever. She stepped into the open door, the driver shutting the door for her. Getting into the driver's seat, he drove the limousine around the corner and out of sight, back towards Morbucks mansion.

Inside the limousine, Princess had just dialed a number into her cellphone. She held it to her ear as it beeped.

'Come on, hurry up!' she yelled into the phone.

'I'm right here!' said a familiar simian voice on the other line. 'Well? Did it work? That is to say, did the next part of the plan go as smoothly as we intended it to proceed?'

'Pipe down, monkey boy,' said Princess into the phone. 'It went off without a hitch!'

'Yes, yes, yes!' whooped the voice. 'I will let the others know that everything is working as we intend it to work, and that we can continue with the next step, for now that we have completed this phase, we are able to persist with the most dastardly of deeds!'

More whopping and cheering could be heard over the phone. Sighing in frustration, Princess hung up, certain that the recipient was too busy to realize the line had been cut off. Leaning back, she secretly smirked to herself, satisfied that whatever they were planning was going as they wanted.
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Morning dawned the same as ever over Townsville the next day, particularly on the suburban Utonium household.

'Girls, wake up,' said Professor, peeking his head through the door. 'Breakfast is ready.'

'Coming Professor,' groaned Buttercup, flinging off the covers of their pink bed, as the Professor went out. She floated over to the wardrobe and rapidly got dressed, while muttering inconsistent dialogue, of which a few phrases could be distinguished.

'Stupid mayor... Stupid Princess... Stupid, stupid, stupid!'

'Buttercup,' yawned Bubbles, sitting over her side of the bed, and letting her feet fall into her kitten-themed slippers, while holding Octi by her sides, 'there's no point in wasting frustration over a lost cause.'

'I don't get it though,' mumbled Buttercup, floating over and dealing a few swift punches to her favorite ham punching bag, suspended by a chain, while the blond puff, put on her own clothes. 'Why did he choose Princess over us?'

'I get it now,' said a voice.

Bubbles and Buttercup looked over to see Blossom staring out the window, looking at the rising sun half-visible past the city's skyscrapers.

'You do?' said Bubbles in her squeaky voice.

'Why didn't he choose us then, Red?' said Buttercup angrily, swatting the suspended ham with a hard blow.

'We already know why,' said Blossom sadly. Swinging her hair around, she looked at her two sisters. 'He told us why.'

There was a brief pause.

'Wait,' said Buttercup slowly. 'You're not actually saying you believe his explanation about us having no future, are you?'

'Not that part,' said Blossom quietly. 'I don't why he choose Princess, but I do know why he didn't choose us, though.'

There was another brief pause, this time broken by Bubbles.

'Because we're just... kids?' said the blond puff.

'Exactly,' said Blossom. She slowly went over to the closet, and got out one of her own Powerpuff dresses. As soon as she was dressed, she took her leave out of the room. Buttercup and Bubbles gave each other confused looks before they followed suit.

The three of them ate their breakfast in silence. While Buttercup wolfed down one butter soaked pancake after another, and Bubbles ate reasonably fast, Blossom only took one nibble at a time, and still had three pancakes left by the time the other two were finished. This was mostly a result of her staring out the window, and not paying her sisters any attention whatsoever. Bubbles seemed to understand, judging by her affectionate look, but Buttercup threw her pink-eyed sister a glare every few seconds that did not go unnoticed, but which received no reaction.

Afterwards, they found themselves sitting in front of the television in the main lounge of their house. Buttercup was channel-flicking, while Bubbles watched Blossom, who was staring, not at either of her sisters, but at the hotline. Eventually, Buttercup threw aside the remote, and booted up the video game console located at the base of the DVD player.

'Girls, what's wrong?' said the Professor, coming over. Buttercup continued to flick away at the game controller in her hands. Blossom didn't give any sign she had heard him.

'Blossom's a bit down,' said Bubbles, gesturing to her sister. Looking affectionate, the Professor sat down next to Blossom.

'You okay there, Blossom?' he said, holding her in his lap. She turned to face him, looking sad.

'No...'

The Professor responded by further cuddling her, while Bubbles patted her arm.'

'Come on Blossom, talk,' said Buttercup, not taking her eyes off the screen. Blossom was silent for a moment, but eventually spoke up.

'Why... why didn't he do what I thought he would?'

'Well...' said the Professor, 'maybe you're a bit young to handle that level of responsibility.'

'Yeah,' said Bubbles enthusiastically. 'Would we have been able to do that alongside saving Townsville every other day?'

'Maybe he'll change his mind when you're older,' said the Professor to Blossom.

'Doesn't make me feel any better...' mumbled the red-haired puff.

At that exact moment, the hotline stared beeping. Unusually, Blossom didn't move, and neither did Bubbles or Buttercup. The Professor, after glancing at the girls for a few seconds, gently put Blossom down and picked up the hotline phone.

'Yes?' he said into the phone. There was some mumbling on the other end.

'OK, I'll tell them,' said the Professor. He then placed the white phone back down.

'Girls, Fuzzy Lumpkins is robbing the downtown bank!' said the Professor to the girls. Buttercup instantly paused her game. Dropping the controller, she floated over to the door, followed by Bubbles. At the red door, then turned around, realizing that Blossom was still sitting on the couch.

'Come on, Blossom,' exclaimed Buttercup. 'Fuzzy isn't gonna wait for us to stop him!'

'Go on without me,' she muttered. 'We don't need all three of us to stop Fuzzy.'

'But it'll be easier and quicker with you there,' reasoned Bubbles.

'We've beat him before separately,' countered Blossom. 'Only one of us needs to go.'

Buttercup shrugged, and made to go. But the Professor motioned for her to hold for a moment.

'Blossom...' he said slowly. 'Maybe some crime-fighting will cheer you up.'

Blossom perked up straight at these words. She smiled at the Professor, and then floated over to her sisters.

'Come on girls,' she said in a forced happy voice. 'It won't take him long to rob a bank!'

'That's the spirit, Blossom!' said Buttercup. The Professor watched happily as they zoomed out the door in the direction of downtown Townsville.
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In the lobby of the bank, Fuzzy Lumpkins had his bulky musket aimed squarely at the clerks, who were friskily loading the cash from the safe into a simple robbing bag at their feet.

'Hurry up dere!' barked Fuzzy in his southern accent. 'Ma fire at home ain't gonna wait!' The clerks loaded the last of the money into the bag and stepped worriedly back. Fuzzy swiped it up with his spare hand, and took a step towards the front doors, keeping his purple musket loaded.

'I won't be seeing y'all later –'

Bubbles hit Fuzzy from behind, knocking him into the wall, the bag and musket falling out of his grip. After falling down, Fuzzy looked up and cringed when he saw the blue puff. Noticing his musket on the ground, Fuzzy dived for it –

But Buttercup whizzed in, sending two parallel laser eyes at it first, cindering it to smoke. Realizing he was trapped, Fuzzy stood up, looking worried as Blossom floated in between Bubbles and Buttercup, while the bank clerks ducked behind the counter.

'Don't you ever learn, Fuzzy?' questioned Bubbles to the furry pink Lumpkin.

'Bu...' he stammered, 'Everyone's gotta have dosh, right?'

'I'm gonna make you eat those words!' shouted Buttercup. She launched herself at Fuzzy, who cowered in fear. She was almost at him when –

Another green blur hit Fuzzy from the side, slamming him into the opposite wall, which he slid down and lopped onto the adjacent floor. Buttercup skidded to a mid-air halt, widening her eyes at the person now present in front of Fuzzy.

Butch whipped around to face the Powerpuffs, as Brick appeared on his right, and Boomer on the red ruff's right.

'The Rowdyruff Boys!' exclaimed Blossom.

'No way!' said Buttercup loudly.

'What are you doing here?' questioned Bubbles timidly.

'Well, you can't keep away a good thing, babe!' chuckled Brick. Boomer laughed rudely, while Butch vibrated his characteristic vibration, smirking at the girls.

'Get outta it!' cried Buttercup. 'We'll kick your butts some other time!'

'Shut up!' fired back Butch. 'We're not here to fight you anyway!'

Blossom crossed her arms and eyed the boys suspiciously. While they were talking, Fuzzy crawled his way on the ground towards the bank doors, keeping his head low so he wouldn't be noticed.

'And what are you here for, then?' asked the red puff. Brick laughed at this.

'Glad you asked, sissy!' He then gestured, in turn, to himself, his blond haired brother, and his black haired brother.

'Meet Townsville's latest, and best, protectors!' said Brick. 'Brick, Boomer, and Butch – The Rowdyruff Boys!'

There was a brief pause.

'What are you trying to pull?' spat Buttercup at the boys.

'Nothing,' shrugged Boomer. 'Watch!'

'Stop right there!' yelled Brick at Fuzzy, who had just reached the door. He froze, looking at the boys.

'Boys,' said Brick to his brothers,' its Fuzzy beating time!'

'Beating time!' chimed Butch, hopping back and forth on his feet, with his tongue out of his mouth. 'Beating time! Beating time!'

'Let the beating begin!' commanded Brick. The three boys whizzed past the girls, straight at Fuzzy. He jumped in fear, and ran out the door and down the street, yelling out in fury.

The girls floated out the door, watching. Down the street, there was an assorted dust cloud, out of which various parts of Brick, Boomer, Butch and Fuzzy could be seen brawling. The girls exchanged confused looks with each other, before looking back at the brawl.

Brick flew out of the dust cloud, carrying an unconscious and badly beaten Fuzzy on his shoulder, with Boomer and Butch flying behind him. The girls followed behind at a distance as the boys zoomed in the direction of the prison, leaving the dark trails in their wake of red, blue and green.

Arriving at the prison, Brick flew in and dropped Fuzzy at the feet of the officers, who looked shocked.

'All yours,' he saluted to them, before flying out again, and off into the distance with his brothers. Leaning against the outer prison wall, the Powerpuffs watched, shocked, as the boys vanished against the horizon.

'What was all that about?' asked Bubbles, scratching her head.

'Has all that mindless destruction unscrewed their tiny brains?' added Buttercup.

'What do you think, Blossom?' said Bubbles.

'They're probably trying to trick us into letting our guard down,' said Blossom thoughtfully. 'Then they'll strike when we least expect it!'

'Well, that's not gonna happen!' assured Buttercup, raising her fingerless fist. 'We'll just bash the criminals before they can next time!'
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Sedusa, using her newly resurrected snake-like hair, was rapidly snatching all the objects actually worth something in a jewelery shop. A police car lay nearby, two cops slumped out cold by the rear tires, having been no match for Sedusa's hair.

Suddenly, the three Powerpuffs zoomed down from the air, rapidly approaching the heist. Blossom shot forward a beam of ice straight at Sedusa –

Which shot right through the air before evaporating, for a red streak had tackled Sedusa to the ground. Brick kicked her down, followed by a punch to the jaw from Boomer. Butch finished it off by spitting on her neck. The three of them then flew off in the direction of Townsville jail with her. As they left, the girls looked frustrated, with Bubbles' lip trembling, Buttercup letting out a yell of fury, and Blossom shaking her head.

The jail door slammed shut on an unconscious Sedusa, and the boys went out the door before the guards could ask any questions. Across from her cell, Fuzzy noticed the new captive, and smirked to himself, chuckling in his usual hillbilly accent.

The next day, by a market stall, the Amoeba Boys snuck off around the corner, having evaded detection. Junior carried several oranges, Slim only a few, and Bossman about 15. They chuckled silently to themselves, when –

They noticed the Powerpuff girls heading straight for them; Blossom for Bossman, Bubbles for Slim and Buttercup for Junior. The three single-celled amoebae dropped the oranges in surprise, and cringed up. The girls were about to hit them, when –

The three Rowdyruff Boys slammed dunked the three boys first, stopping the girls dead in their tracks. The girls watched with open mouths as each blow Brick, Boomer and Butch dealt to the Amoeba Boys made them ooze with as much pain that could be dealt to organisms with no touch receptors. The girls watched in frustration, wearing the same expressions as last time.

Another jail door was chained shut on the Amoeba Boys, who weren't out cold, though they did now possess a sore black eye each. Watching from his cell, Fuzzy Lumpkins chuckled again, for reasons unknown, as the boys vanished into the sunset.

The following day, in the Townsville mall, the Gangreen Gang were stuffing down as much sweets into their mouths as possible – with the exception of Billy, who kept the cashier pinned down, and Arturo, who was keeping a lookout.

Suddenly, the Mexican midget jabbed his finger frantically to the sky, where three small dots were approaching from the distance. The rest of the gang looked, and panicked. Grabbing some beverages from the counter, they ran out the automatic doors and around the corner, the girls right behind them.

Then, the gang found themselves at the end of an alley. Looking around, they saw the girls approaching them, fists raised. But just as Buttercup shot a ball of green energy from her mouth at Grubber –

Butch beat her to it again, knocking the grotesque hunchback straight into Snake, tangling them up hopelessly. Before any of the girls could even move, Boomer grabbed Ace and Billy by an arm each, and spun around at tornado speed, knocking the two out cold into very dizzy dreams.

Arturo was left, Brick glaring at him, as he smiled nervously.

'You wouldn't hurt a fellow bad boy, would you?' mumbled Arturo, struggling to look happy, albeit nervously.

Brick knocked Arturo flying, paying no attention to the words that came from the small guy's mouth.

All five members of the gang were tossed in Fuzzy's cell, which was instantly locked. Once the guards were gone, Arturo opened his eye that wasn't covered by his black hair, and winked at Fuzzy, who winked back.
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The girls were lounging around in their room. Buttercup was practicing fighting moves; doing dive rolls, flip kicks, and more on the air. Bubbles was drawing some doodles on her paper, but her usual energy for this activity was missing. Blossom, on the other hand, was trying to piece something together something from various noted on the pink desk.

'Aargh!' she yelled, flinging aside another ball of crunched-up paper into the wastepaper bin, which was already overflowing with said objects. 'There's no logical reason as to what the boys are doing!'

'Never mind that,' said Buttercup, finishing her moves, and floating above her sister. 'What really bugs me is that they always get there before we do!'

Blossom stopped short upon hearing those words, and paused in thought.

'Buttercup, that's it!' exclaimed Blossom.

'What?' asked Bubbles, looking up.

'Think about it,' said Blossom, pacing back and forth in the air. 'The one similarity between all these cases is that the boys always beat us to the crime! First with Fuzzy Lumpkins, then Sedusa, along with the Amoeba Boys – even with the Gangreen Gang!'

'You're right!' said Buttercup. 'But how?'

The girls concentrated for a moment, thinking hard.

'Maybe the Mayor has a hotline for the boys as well?' said Bubbles thoughtfully. Buttercup stared at Bubbles as though she thought her sister was insane.

'Bubbles,' said Buttercup through gritted teeth, 'if that was true, then why would he bother calling both them AND US?'

'Sorry,' said Bubbles in a barely audible voice.

'What I think,' said Buttercup, 'is that the boys spy on the Mayor's office, so they know there's a crime afoot whenever he calls us, which gives them a head-start!'

'Buttercup,' said Blossom, 'you know better than I do that they would never have the patience to watch the Mayor's office all day!'

'Hey, it was worth a try,' shrugged Buttercup. 'You got any bright ideas, Red?'

Blossom was silent for a moment.

'Why don't we just confront them and force them to tell us what's going on?'

There was a brief pause.

'Yeah, that might work,' said Bubbles brightly.

'And if it doesn't,' added Buttercup, 'we'll just embarrass them so they shrink, and we'll only stop if they tell us!'

'Excellent!' exclaimed Blossom. 'Let's go!'

Outside the house, the girls zoomed out the window, and towards Townsville, in their usual tri-color formation. As they approached Townsville, Blossom in particular looked very determined.

Flying over the city, they moved their eyes left and right, searching for the boys. And within seconds –

'There they are!' cried Blossom, pointing. Sure enough, the boys were on the top of Townsville hall, unnoticed by any of the nearby civilians. They appeared to be sunbathing, judging by the sunglasses.

'Boys!' cried Blossom, making them look up and take off their glasses. 'Why are you cutting in on our territory?' demanded Bubbles.

'You'd better have a good explanation!' rasped Buttercup.

The civilians, by this point, were looking at the scene, as the Rowdyruff Boys floated off the roof of Townsville hall, and paid attention to the girls. Also, The Professor's car skidded to a halt at the side of the road, and he got out, looking up frantically. Clearly, he had followed the girls as soon as they had left the house.

'What are you talking about, gal?' cried Butch towards the girls, his fists shaking much like Buttercup would shake hers.

'THAT TEARS IT!' screamed Buttercup. She charged up a beam of green, powerful, fast energy. Butch, although briefly surprised, did the same. They were just about to launch the beams, when –

'Stop that.'

There was Princess, hovering in the air by her yellow jetpack, again in her would-be Powerpuff uniform.

'Stay out of this Princess,' said Blossom to her. The puff leader's anger towards the rich brat did not go unnoticed. However, instead of Princess doing as Blossom ordered, she instead spoke to the watching civilians.

'Citizens of Townsville,' said Princess loudly to the watching people. 'Most of you have noticed by now that we have a second set of protectors: The Rowdyruff Boys. And ever since they started fighting crime in our town – The Powerpuff Girls haven't been able to stop any criminals!'

There were some murmurs of assent from the crowd. While the girls, particularly Buttercup, glared at Princess, the Rowdyruff Boys just watched the scene that was unfolding before their eyes.

'So maybe the girls aren't fit to protect our city anymore,' said Princess. The girls gasped in shock.

'Wha... wha...' stammered Bubbles inconsistently.

'Princess,' said Blossom with forced calm, 'even with your... new power –' Blossom forced out those last two words '– you can't dismiss us from our duties without proper proof.'

'And where's the proof that the Rowdyruffs are better then what we've done for ages?' interjected Buttercup.

Princess fingered her hands, thinking. Everyone watched, waiting, with anticipated breath.

'All right then,' said Princess calmly.

'To decide which team is truly more suited to protect our fair city,' she said loudly to the crowd of people. 'I propose... a challenge!'

Many people took sharp intakes of breath upon hearing this.

'What kind of challenge?' asked Blossom suspiciously, floating in the air with folded arms.

'Yeah,' asked Brick, 'what will we have to do?'

'A race,' said Princess dramatically. 'Team who gets there and back first protects Townsville from now on. Team that loses... leaves Townsville forever.'

'And where do we have to go?' asked both Boomer and Bubbles simultaneously. They then blinked, surprised at that one similarity between them.

Princess curled her hands around each other, smirking in a very snobbish way.

'Well?' asked Butch and Buttercup loudly.

Princess chuckled before she answered.

'The Planet of 1000 Hells.'