Powerpuff Girls V.2 IC thread.

[upsilon]

Katz looked at the ring in the candle light, watching as it streamed a red glow on the table cloth. "This ring...holds a sentimental value to me. I don't know why...it's a family heirloom though." He slowly slipped it back into his pocket and got up from his seat. "I understand that as well however. I am delighted you accepted my invitation though." He quickly pushed in his chair and went over to Blossom, giving her his paw to help her from her chair. "Anywhere in particular you'd care to go dear girl?" He was unphased by her rejections, focusing only on what she had accepted and maintaining a very calm, very kind demeanor.

[charli]

"A movie, perhaps?" Blossom suggested, standing. "I've had a bit too much of reality these past few days. A non-horror movie would be perfect." She felt like he was keeping something from her - from himself, perhaps? - but said nothing.

[upsilon]

"Excellent idea." Katz replied as he walked her over to the door. "Oh. But I have to get something in my office, I'll be right back Blossom." He quickly walked over to a door in the corner, opening it and stepping inside as Cajun walked over to her. "That ring has been passed down through his family for a long time miss Blossom...he lost all of his family...now he only has people like us..."

The fox looked away, sniffling for a second before solemnly walking to the door, holding it open for her as the door to the office opened again and Katz came walking back. "Sometimes I'm glad I wear such big glasses..." Cajun said in almost a whisper to her before Katz reached them. "Shall we go then?" The cat asked as motioned to the door to allow Blossom to exit first.

[charli]

It was a sad story, and Blossom's heart went out for Katz, but she simply could not accept a ring the first night that they knew each other. She stepped out into the night and walked towards the car, asking Katz, "So, have you been an entrepreneur long?"

[upsilon]

Katz slowed down just a bit as they reached the car, opening the door to let her in before getting in on the other side as it had been earlier. He was a bit blank in the face, at a loss for words as he thought of her question. So Cajun decided to answer for him. "Old Katz here has been a business man his whole life...he grew up in some...more than tough times little lady...times I wouldn't wish on anyone. Everything he has now he got through struggle after struggle. But the one thing I admire the most about Katz is that he never gave up after all that." The fox said as he answered Blossom's question. She already knew of his family so it should be easy to put together the pieces as Katz shook his head, snapping back to reality. "Now you're the one flattering me Cajun...but thank you miss Blossom. Thank you greatly."

[charli]

Blossom was taken aback. "Um, you're welcome...? Wait, why are you thanking me?"

[upsilon]

Cajun decided to answer this one as well for the cat. " Well now. Let me test my Katz knowledge..." He said as he thought about the ring for a second. "I'd say he's thanking you for doing something...but what...hmm..." He pondered the question for a minute before coming to a conclusion. "Aha!" He exclaimed, raising his right index finger in the air. "He's thanking you for not accepting the ring." Katz chuckled at Cajun, nodding and looking over to Blossom.

"He's right dear girl. I'm immensely grateful you declined the ring. It showed me you were more than a material girl, that you like to be sure of things, and that you take love seriously. It was quite a relief that you declined it. It proved to me I was right about you." He smiled happily crossing his legs and moving closer to Blossom, looking at her closely for a second before raising his finger up to her face, wiping off a stray drop of Alfredo sauce from the corner of her mouth before settling nonchalantly beside her, his action causing him to be closer than he was originally. "You're beautiful..." He said without thinking as he looked at her eyes. "With more than just physical beauty...you have inner beauty."

[charli]

"Thank you," Blossom murmured, looking down and blushing. Could this be love at first sight? Katz was so kind and charming. He was successful and had good friends. But Blossom remembered her hair clip in the pocket of Brick's hat, what he had said about trying to be good. She felt like she was betraying Brick by going out with Katz so suddenly. But when she looked into Katz's eyes, everything felt alright, and she couldn't help but shift closer to the cat.

[upsilon]

Katz opened his mouth to speak again, but a phone ringing interrupted him. He dug into his pocket again, pulling out a cellphone and flipping it open. "Hello?" He answered the ringing before blinking a few times at the response. "Ah, Professor..." He said with a relieved voice as he recalled why the person on the other end was calling. "Tomorrow? Of course. See you then." Flipping the phone shut again he slid it back into his pocket, trying to recall what he was about to say.

[charli]

Blossom knew better than to pry, but she was curious. "What was that about?"

[upsilon]

"Oh...an old...acquaintance. Professor Zaloft. He'd like to have a meeting with our board of designers tomorrow. Something about a quick sublimating iron." He blinked, realizing what he was going to say before the phone interrupted him. "Oh yes, I do have something I'd like you to keep though." He quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a rose gold necklace with a rose gold medallion on the end, having what appeared to be a ruby in it, a large cursive letter K behind it, hinting that it wasn't a solid ruby.

He carefully reached over, slipping the necklace around Blossom's neck and clasping it. "Excellent fit. Ah, but before you rejecting it allow me to tell you what that is. You see, it may be solid rose gold with a pure ruby housing at the medallion, but it was designed by my manufacturing team. Behind the ruby it houses heavily miniaturized technology. After being worn for an hour it memorizes the brain waves of the wearer, allowing it to be activated by thought of the user, and it can only be used by thought of that first person to wear it. It's impossible to reset it without changing the hardware or wiping it with an EMP."

He chuckled, realizing he'd been rambling. "But what exactly it is. I almost forgot to tell you. When activated, it produces a bubble-type ballistics energy shield easily capable of deflecting bullets and most weak to moderately powerful energy attacks." He smiled softly, brushing a stray hair out of her face. "I thought it would suit someone in your line of work. And it looks better on you than it would me."

[charli]

"Thank you, Katz," Blossom said, her voice awed. She laughed. "Forget diamonds. Force fields are a girl's new best friend." Cocking her head to the side, she asked, "But what about you? If you had this before I came along, then you must have thought there was a need for it."

[Yetisarge]

"So what you are saying that the only way to beat Aku is if the sword of your family is weilded by someone who is worth enough to use it?" Zim asked from the floor of the living room.

"Yes that is exactly it, but I never would have imagined that Aku could come back so I never thought about him." Jak said with a sigh

"So where is this sword?"

"Oh it is hidden in my house where only I would find it." Jak said "Now I kindly ask you to leave." Jak said getting up and opening the door for Zim

"Alright well thank you Mr. Jak for helping me with my questions." Zim said waving to Jak as he left and began to wonder what had happened to Blossom and what purpose she served to that man.

Zim decided to head back to the pizzaria to see if he could find out some answers to what happened to Blossom.

[upsilon]

Katz giggled a bit at her question. "Well my design board sends all of their successful prototypes to me. I didn't really have a use for it myself and I don't look good in necklaces as you could probably imagine." He shook his head, laughing a bit at the thought before looking over at her face again. "Really, I have to say, you have the most beautiful eyes. They're such an uncommon shade." He of course wasn't mentioning the fact his eyes were a deep purple. But he hadn't thought of that anyway.

[charli]

"Th-thank you," Blossom stammered, feeling her face flush again. "You're eyes are awfully beautiful, too..." From such close proximity, Katz's red fur looked impossibly soft, and Blossom couldn't help but reach up hesitantly and stroke his cheek.

[upsilon]

Katz blinked twice, surprised at her hand on his cheek. After the initial shock was over he let out an involuntary purr before reaching up with his own hand with a bit of a pause, before running his soft furred paw down her cheek as well, stroking it softly. He couldn't exactly find words to speak, so he simply gazed into her eyes, his hand caressing her cheek gently. Cajun looked back in the mirror briefly, not so much as making a sound but simply smiling to himself and looking back at the road.

[charli]

Blossom jerked her hand back and recoiled, immediately missing Katz's warmth. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "That was too forward. That was..." Her voice trailed off as Katz's eyes captivated her. "It was really nice..."

[upsilon]

"I..." He was trying to think of how exactly to reply to her. His mind was getting a bit foggy as he did so, making it harder to think clearly. "It...yes it was...really nice..." He stammered, a bit embarrassed but still drawn in by her . "Your hands are so soft...so gentle..." He blinked with a slight hesitation before continuing. "I...don't mind you doing that...if you'd like to..." He was far too shy about the whole thing to be blunt about it, but he really enjoyed it as much as she had, immediately missing the feeling of her hand on his cheek as well.

[charli]

Blossom reached up again to scratch behind Katz's ear, when her phone buzzed in her pocket startling her. The caller ID read "Boss". "Shit," Blossom hissed, opening the phone. "Utonium," she answered.

"One of the field agents stationed in Megaville just saw Brick. And not you. Care to explain yourself, Utonium?" Max Bhagat snarled on the other end.

Blossom glanced towards Katz. "Would you believe I was abducted, sir?"

"Don't even try joking, kid."

"I'm not, sir. I really was abducted, although, there really is no excuse why I'm not back on the job, now."

"And just what job do you think you have?"

Blossom sighed. "Find my sisters. Find that x-ite that shot those police officers. Find the guy that killed the ninth. Maintain general order."

"Have you done any of that?"

"No, sir. There was a suspicious looking guy eavesdropping on me and Brick, but I was... abducted... before I could tail him..."

"Who are you with now?"

Again, Blossom looked to Katz. "An entrepreneur named Katz, sir."

"Kid, get to work. Don't make my life any harder than it already is."

He hung up, and Blossom was left holding a silent piece of technology. Sighing, she shut the phone and put it away. The other agents always insisted that Max wasn't usually like that, just when something was really stressing him, and Blossom knew that right now, she was one of those stressors. "Could you please drop me at the corner, Katz," she asked softly. "I've got an assignment to take care of."

[upsilon]

Katz frowned a little but tilted his head, intrigued by the call. "You heard the lady Cajun." He said, glancing off at the fox before looking back at Blossom. "But I have to ask. You're looking for people dear girl? I know it may be a bit classified to give me details, but who are they exactly? I have connections after all. I found you without much trouble, I'm sure I could help you in some way."

Out of concern for the girl, and distrust for the general area, the fox driving took the car around, headed for a safer part of town. Cajun was forced to prolong the car ride for probably two more minutes in doing this however, giving her plenty of time to answer Katz before they could reach their destination.

[charli]

"Well..." Blossom debated for a moment whether or not to actually tell Katz, but she finally settled on yes. "A few nights ago, some field agents reported a guy in armor coming out of a portal. I originally came to make sure he didn't do anything out of line, but he hasn't popped up since. Then stuff started blowing up thanks to Brick - the RowdyRuff Boy - and some other x-ite who looks like my evil twin. Max, my boss, told me to go find my sisters, but on the way I found the scene where the x-ite injured six police officers and killed eight. I went after her and teamed up with Brick against her, but she got away. Then Max called and said that the casualty numbers were nine and six, which means that someone else has come into the mix. I was actually about to tail a suspicious guy who was eavesdropping on me and Brick when you came."

Blossom took a breath, realizing for the first time just how convoluted the past few days had been for her. "I have Buttercup's address, but no one's seen Bubbles for two years."

[upsilon]

"Bubbles you say? Hmm...I'll do my best Blossom. I'll contact you if I find anything. Somehow...My team always finds a way to do such things." Cajun pulled up to the curb just as Katz finished, the cat getting out and once more going around the car, opening the door and helping Blossom out. "Oh, and before you leave I have something else for you. I think you may find this useful as well."

Reaching into his pocket of infinite wonders again, he quickly took out a small silver card that, in all honesty, looked like a credit card. It had his name written at the top, the K capitalized in elegant cursive, and below that it listed the addresses of all of his businesses open so far and his cell phone number. It looked very techy for some reason. He handed it to her with a smile.

"That card is made of light weight titanium. It's battery is amazingly large for it's size and recharges via body heat. The face is an LCD display, the things you see listed are used to disguise it as a normal business card. If any new businesses open up, that card will update."

Katz laughed at himself for being so talkative."I must sound like such a geek right now. Anyway, all major members of my team have one of those. Basically, it's used most extensively because it's what my production board refers to as an E-Mag. Insert it or swipe it in any mechanical device that has a card slot or reader and it will emit a special electromagnetic pulse that will override it. In the case of a door, this would open it for example. After that the reader is disabled and the door or other device would remain open for roughly a minutes time."

After his lengthy explanation of the card was finished, he gave her another smile, his deep purple eyes gazing into her's for a second before he leaned forward slowly, kissing her cheek then pulling back. "I'll see you around Blossom. Hopefully soon." He flashed her another quick smile before almost turning, stopping before he did and turning back to her. "Oh, would you mind giving me your phone number in case I find anything?"

[charli]

Blossom rattled off the numbers for him as she pocketed the card. "Thank you again, Katz. You've been incredibly kind and generous." Blushing, she gave him a brief kiss on the cheek as well before smiling, "I hope to see you around, too." Launching herself into the air, she waved to him as she flew off to find the green skinned stalker.

[upsilon]

Katz waved back happily, smiling and turning to get in the car, but before he could a voice interrupted him. "Katz! Katz, Katz, Katz! I finally found you, you elusive little pussy cat." A voice suddenly called just after Blossom had taken off into the air. The cat looked in surprise to a nearby rooftop to see what but...a clown? "I've been searching this town upside and down for you my furry friend." It exclaimed with glee before jumping from the roof and landing softly on the sidewalk. He was brightly dressed, overly happy looking, and just screamed setup.

"Who are you...?" The cat answered as Cajun got out, eying the clown himself in case he decided to be a threat. "Why, I'm your newest partner my friend!" The clown quickly removed a red and purple device from it's pocket, tossing it over to Katz, who caught and examined the thing curiously. "What...is it? And partner? What are you talking about clown?"

The clown merely laughed, his charade ending in a second as he faded into view as a much more menacing appearance. Swords strapped to his back and a mask covering the upper part of his face, his colorful clothing getting darker, more evil looking as he smiled sinisterly.

"Oh, don't worry Katz. I'm not here to hurt you. If I were you'd already be dead. On the contrary, what you hold in your hand is a digivice. A special contraption owned by all digidestined, which is what you are now Katz, one of those chosen to be partnered with a Digimon. Oh, that's me! Hahahahaha!"

The clown bowed respectfully before standing back up, looking at Katz and his friend. "I don't know how I got to this world, and I don't know why I had a digivice when I came here, but I know that you're my digidestined, and that's about all I know. And now that I've finally found you, I am at your service." He finished, walking closer to the two and looking down at them, easily about a foot taller than either. "You can call me Piedmon."

[Yetisarge]

"Alright Gir can you sniff her out or find anything that would lead to her?" Zim asked letting Gir look around through his dog costume.

"I don't know." Gir said just looking around.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this? I thought I put a tracking chip upgrade in you?"

"Yeah i made room for a cupcake and a taco!" Gir said opening his head and eating the taco

Zim just rolled his eyes and looked around himself and let his backpack look around the area to try and find something or anything that would lead to where Blossom might be, though he would probably be killed by the brat.

[charli]

Blossom's phone buzzed again as she flew. "I'm working, sir, honest!" Blossom answered after checking the caller ID.

"Then you're not with Katz right now?" Max's voice was just as tense as it had been a few minutes ago, but it was a different type of tension now.

"No. Sir, what is this about?"

"Entrepreneur, my ass. Blossom Utonium, you really know how to pick 'em. First Brick and now Katz? Utonium, do you have any idea who he is?"

"Uh, not really, sir. We haven't known each other long."

Max's next words turned Blossom's blood to ice. "He's a criminal. All of his enterprises in the past have been fronts for various schemes. His current businesses haven't been open long, but it few of his schemes have fallen apart by this point; there's still time."

"S-sir, I didn't know," Blossom stammered. That 'old aquaintance' of Katz's, was his work illegal as well?

"Don't let on that you know about this," Max warned sternly. "You now have another job: find out what you can about Katz's business."

"Aye, sir."

"One more thing, Blossom."

"Sir?"

"Be carefull."

[upsilon]

Katz slumped back against the car, looking from the device in his hand to the clown. "Well isn't this...Hmm...Cajun?" Cajun chuckled as he answered for Katz. "I believe the proper phrase to use would be, ain't this a bitch?" The cat sighed, nodding before clipping the device at the center of his shirt, the meeting place of his collar. He'd have to find out about it later.

"Well then...get in clown. We have to be off. Zaloft is expecting us in an hour." Cajun raised an eyebrow at the comment, getting in the car as Katz and Piedmon followed suit. "Katz, I thought Zaloft wasn't coming until tomorrow." The fox commented as they took off again. "Zaloft said tonight. I was going to let him wait if miss Blossom didn't have to go, I simply said tomorrow to throw her off from figuring that out."

The clown crossed his legs, a crystal goblet of fine wine appearing in his hand. "Well. You do like this goody two shoes don't you? Ah, how I used to hate them. Now there's really no reason to." Katz nodded his head in agreement, slumping back into his seat.

"How long has it been since we were all villains? Seems like years...it's only been a few months though. That damned dog brought us all together in mutual hatred, but in the end we realized we would always fail at evil. The only logical choice was to become good. And it certainly has profited us...I do need to tell Blossom about that too...better she hear it from me than someone else."

Cajun flipped out a CD, quickly putting it into the slot on the dash. "For old times sake Katz old boy." Seconds later Mad World in an acoustical version began playing on the speakers. "My theme song? Ah, I do love this song...I haven't heard it in ages." The car rolled off into the night, to some undisclosed location, music blaring in an eerie tone as the city slept. What an interesting night this was turning into.

[charli]

Blossom slowed her flight to avoid leaving a tell-tale pink streak in the sky. Methodically, she wove up and down the streets around the pizzeria. Finally, she stumbled across the green skinned stranger who was currently berating his odd green dog. Then the dog... opened its head?! The fuck?! Silently, Blossom set down on a nearby rooftop to spy on the creatures. What were they up to in this neighborhood. Wasn't this where Jack-sensei had moved after retiring from teaching?

[Yetisarge]

"Hey was that?" Gir asked finishing that taco

"What was what?" Zim asked looking around feeling like he was being watched

"I don't--" that was all Gir got out before he threw up right new Zim

"What the hell?!" Zim asked moving way from the food "I thought you fixed that Gir!"

"I guess I didn't.. wait..." Gir said and then immediately his eyes turned Red and he began to scan the rooftops as his SIR instinsts took over.

"Damn I knew I was being watched somehow." Zim said putting his backpack back on.

[charli]

Blossom saw the dog's eyes change and begin scanning the rooftops, and there was nothing for her to do besides try to dodge his scan as best as she could. God, I hope he doesn't find me before I can learn something from him, Blossom mentally prayed.