Powerpuff Girls V.2 IC thread.

[Iris]

"No, should a daemon even try to enter the schools of the missionaries..." Ignatius left it hanging at that, "No, I wish it was that simple. I truly wish it was because then he'd have been dealt with swiftly by the inquisition."

"As I mentioned before daemons are 'born' in the warp and this particular daemon is affiliated with one of the four heretical gods of Chaos. I believe they refer to him as Tzeentch. I care not for such blasphemy, only that the Imperium will expunge those who worship these...." Ignatius stopped realizing he was becoming a bit overzealous once more, "I apologize, I derive from the questions you have asked."

"You asked if this world is tied to my own, I believe not. Though not one with the scholarly I do know that Holy Terra never had witness... beings such as yourself or these girls before. Not too mention the oddities I've come across here.

No, I think that this is a separate universe. However that still posses the question how I came here..."

He shook his head and dismissed the thought, choosing to continue his tale, "Ever since my induction within the regiment I've seen numerous theaters of conflict and fought against unseemly aliens, heretics and traitors.

And at times, I fear it has gotten the best of me."

He paused to loosen the armor that covered his left arm, "You mentioned that suit I was wearing, honestly I've never been one with politics so I rarely dress formally." He grunted as the final strap came free, "Not too mention the fact this gets in the way of things."

As the armor slide off his armor it reveal that part of his left arm had been replaced with cybernetics, "Long story... short ending" Ignatius chuckled.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab nodded in understanding. It did make perfect sense now that someone or even something like that daemon would be annihilated before it knew what happened. He didn’t even bother to try to pronounce what others referred to the daemon as. The name reminded him of a foreign brand of toothpaste or soft drink. tFab nodded again when Ignatius mentioned that beings such as the Girls and himself would be rare in other universes. Not every planet had to have fire manipulating demons and superpowered teenage girls running or flying around.

“Ever since my induction within the regiment I've seen numerous theaters of conflict and fought against unseemly aliens, heretics and traitors. And at times, I fear it has gotten the best of me."

This statement caused tFab to perk up. Could this be what General Belkar was talking about? Making sure that Ignatius doesn’t push himself too far? He was just about to voice his thoughts when Ignatius suddenly removed the armor covering his left arm. tFab stared wide-eyed at all the cybernetic components and couldn’t believe that the guy was part android.

“Well…uh…didn’t see that coming…”

[Iris]

He smiled at tFab's comment, "Neither did I at the time, it was my fourth mission and we were to be deployed via armored transport, lucky missile blew out the driver compartment... got my arm jammed in the wreckage so I had to... detach it with the sarge's sword. Hurt like a bitch I might add."

He covered the arm once more but didn't bother to strap the armor itself, "Took me a week to get use to it, after all I still had to continue my service. It during my 3rd combat theater... two years after my initial mission that I met the general. At the time I was simply a detachment to his original regiment.

Scholarus was already with him for almost half a year at the time.." He paused before shaking his wayward thoughts off, "I'll leave that tale for another time, in short the two of us had a rivalry on who could gain the greater kill counter and unfortunately I won by default seeing as he is now deceased."

Once more Ignatius stopped to allow tFab to ask any questions.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab grimaced when Ignatius said that he had to cut off his own arm to save the rest of him.

“Yeah, I bet it did hurt like a bitch…”

He self-consciously touched his own left arm to reassure himself that it was still there and fully functional with blood, muscle, and skin. Eca would be able to heal the arm if something serious ever happened to it, but she wasn’t around and tFab didn’t know how long his ‘nine lives’ would last. His eyes suddenly widened when Ignatius stated that he and Scholarus had a rivalry at some point that led to him getting killed in battle.

“Scholarus? The same ‘Scholarus’ that I met earlier?”

He glanced at the skull in question with the red V on its forehead.

“Did you two have a friendly rivalry or was it something else?”

[Iris]

"The one and the same, he and I were from different schools. He was a member of the Arbites; charge with the duty of making sure the people followed imperial decree. He was rather good at non-lethal combat particular and was an even better interigator."Ignatius explained, "As we were from different parts of the imperial order we naturally had a mutual distrust at first. He considered me a 'Glory boy' while I considered him a 'pompus ass' that couldn't handle true combat.

Sadly I lost that bet, turned out he could more than handle himself during tough times.
Eventually we called a truce, since we had other things to worry about, than our rather petty rivalry.

We served together for 5 years and near my 26th year, we had each others back covered. We agreed on certain things while typically we disagreed on others.

Can't say much else about my brother in arms. Accept that you should never bet against him." He smiled before finishing, "Bastard had a way of fixing the odds for him."

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab figured from Ignatius’ explanation that he and Scholarus had a friendly rivalry, but only after it started out as something a lot more competitive. He did guess right though about it being the same Scholarus, but Ignatius had only mentioned one such individual with that name. Listening to him reminisce about his comrade made tFab think about his semi-rivalry with Eca. Nothing quite like a little brotherly/sisterly competition.

“I wonder how she’s doing…” he mumbled to himself. He knew that she was a strong-willed girl and could easily take care of herself, but even demons can’t do everything on their own. “I remember how we used to bet on all kinds of things and have competitions when we were younger and she would win most of the time, partly because I let her. God, how could I be so stupid as to push her away after all that we did together?!”

He abruptly stopped with his rant and quickly glanced at Ignatius to see if he was looking his way. When he caught Ignatius’ eye, he diverted his gaze.

“Sorry… I was thinking about my sister just then. I haven’t seen her in a long time and we were really close until recently…”

[Nekoman]

Brick

"No offense, Zim, but I think we'd better go with Blossom's plan. I suppose I'll be the one to head back, considering I dragged the rest of you out here." Brick stepped out the glass door and waited a moment with the door open. "That good with everyone? Great."

Brick flew off, without even pausing for a response from the others.

Bunny

"Blossom has her cell phone with her, yeah. But I'm not supposed to call without there being an emergency, and things are still pretty calm around here.."

[TheTimeSweeper]

(I'll be taking over as Bell once again until WS returns.)

~Bell~

Bell sat at the large oval table in Black Eden absently drumming her fingers on the dark-grained wood. Girly had left with that alien Zim for what seemed to be days ago and she was incredibly bored and missed her little green dog companion. Her father, Dr. X, had been lecturing her and the rest of the Darkstar Council on what their next plan of attack should be, namely eliminating The Powerpuff Girls and taking over the world. She couldn’t believe that her father would even let Zim and her lovable Girly walk right out of Black Eden without so much as a question as to what they were doing, but they had been coming and going rather sporadically. Bell figured they were doing some kind of reconnaissance work, but she wanted to be the one to do such activities with Girly, not that egotistical Irken.

“Hmmph, he should be down here doing his chores or whatever the hell he’s supposed to be doing. And I’m sick of all this planning and lecturing shit. I want to get out and actually do something, not sit around and talk about it.”

She sighed and thought back to when she had met up with her ‘sister’ two years ago; when she met Bubbles in the forest and those damned Rowdyruff Boys that just had to appear and ruin everything. They would pay someday for it, but she really didn’t know exactly when or how. Both parties, the PPG and RRB, appeared to have been laying low for the past twenty-four months and she hadn’t heard of or seen any activity from them. Bell did wonder how Bubbles was doing; after all, it was her who suggested that she join The Powerpuff Girls and become a ‘sister’ to the rest of them. Bubbles seemed so cheerful back then and Bell now wondered what had ever become of her.

“Heh, she’s probably living amongst the squirrels and other forest animals right now. Either that or she had a personality change and is now a psycho killer or something. Someone that cheerful can’t be like that forever. It’s almost sickening.”

Bell chuckled, but it was short-lived and no one at the table seemed to notice except Dr. X.

“Something funny, Bell?” he asked in his deep, demonic, but also fatherly voice as he stared back at her from across the table.

“No. I was just thinking of something from the past. Reminiscing.” It was half-true, at least.

“Well, try to focus on the task at hand, please,” he replied as he shuffled some papers before glancing around the table at the rest of the Darkstar Council. “You can daydream later.”

Bell snorted and diverted her gaze from her father as he started talking again. This whole operation was becoming more mundane with each passing second. If she didn’t get out of here soon she was liable to crack and that was something nobody wanted to witness – an enraged Bell. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore as she abruptly stood up from the table, pushing her chair back as she did so.

Dr. X stopped his talking and quickly glanced at her. “Bell? What are you doing?”

“Leaving,” was her curt reply.

“…What?”

“You heard me. I’m stepping out for some fresh air and action. I can’t believe that we’re actually sitting around talking about destroying The Powerpuff Girls and not physically doing it. It’s ridiculous.”

“We’re not done here, Bell. No one is allowed to leave the premises until I say so. In addition, we’re talking and planning because we’re making sure that we cover all possible scenarios. We don’t know for certain what the Girls have been up to for the past few years, even though we have been monitoring them. It would be foolish to not have a plan of attack first.”

Bell snorted and indignantly placed her hands on her hips. Her long white hair, still held in place by her black hairband, billowed slightly behind her.

“Oh, yeah? Well, I’m done here and I’m leaving because I say so. I’d rather face The Powerpuff Girls head-on with no plan then spend another minute down here. At least I’ll know that I took some kind of physical initiative.”

“Don’t you use that kind of attitude around me, young lady!”

“Well, you’re not the only one here, are you?”

Dr. X’s six eyes glowed bright red and orange-yellow flames shot up around him as he stood up from his seat and stared directly at his daughter. Some of the monsters shrank back in fear and from the intense heat. When Dr. X got angry, things got scary, scarier than if it was Bell who got angry.

“Don’t you DARE talk back to me like that! Talking fresh to me will get you grounded until you’re eighteen and on top of that I’ll even take away your…cell phone and iPod.”

Bell gasped as her eyes widened. Would he really ground her for a year and take away her cell phone and iPod? She couldn’t live without her unlimited calling and texting plan and upbeat music. She narrowed her eyes at her father.

“Fine. I apologize for that, but I’m outta here. I have Powerpuffs to find.”

Bell didn’t wait for her father to respond as she suddenly rose into the air and flew out of Black Eden, leaving behind a white streak of light. Dr. X calmed down and the flames died away. The monsters still kept their distance until they were sure he wasn’t going to lash out at them or something. He sighed and sat back down before shuffling a few of his papers again.

“Kids these days…”

[Iris]

Sorry… I was thinking about my sister just then. I haven’t seen her in a long time and we were really close until recently…

Ignatius quietly contemplated on his response after hear tFab's explanation, "Men and women of the Imperium do not live out happy lives... many die far from home, killed by xeno bio-weapons, tormented by traitors blade and seared by daemon's flame.

We cannot choose our deaths. Not the manner or by whom. Only where and when..." He said averting his eyes for a moment as he looked towards the sky before looking back at his ally, "We are expected to honor our creed and fight to defend the god-emperor's realm and there is no greater purpose than that.
But had it been different, had I that chance, I would stay closer to my family, to my friends...

My advise is to look her up without hesitation and talk."

He halted for a second, his eyes brimming with conflicted emotions, "As a soldier of the Emperor I AM expected to go forth unto battle until my dying breathe. And in that moment I WILL cry out my defiance one last time.

You however have no such obligation."

((Pardon the late post))

[TheTimeSweeper]

(( S'alright. ))

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab drifted in and out of his thoughts as he half-listened to Ignatius explain how death can claim the lives of so many people through different ways. He nodded at how deaths cannot be chosen, only where and when they occur. That was definitely true. He had been exposed to deaths of nearly every kind, most at the hands of demons or paws in his case. He vaguely caught Ignatius’ wish that if things had been different in his life he would have gladly stayed closer to his family and friends.

“My advice is to look her up without hesitation and talk."

That statement caused tFab to look at Ignatius with a slight gleam in his eye. He then took out his cell phone from his jeans pocket and stared at it, but the gleam faded away.

“I have tried nearly every possible way I can think of to contact her – in person, by phone, texting…” He sighed and kept his gaze transfixed on the phone. “The only thing I haven’t tried yet is e-mail, but she said she was getting a new laptop the last time I talked to her. Her e-mail service might not be set up yet and even if it is, she might have changed the address. I really need to get to a computer so I can at least try to reach her. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?”

tFab brightened and smiled slightly, but Ignatius’ last statement caused him to glance up sharply and he quickly stuffed the phone back in his pants.

“Wait, are you saying that I’m no longer helping you? What about what General Belkar said? I think he wanted you to not push yourself too far and have me make sure that you don’t do something reckless.”


~Bell~

Bell flew over the skyline of Megaville trying to locate any trace of her ‘sisters’, especially Bubbles. Even though she had mocked the blonde Puff earlier, she still was curious about any changes that might have taken place in the past two years. What had become of The Powerpuff Girls? Bell was determined to find out and when she did, she was either going to make peace with them…or destroy them.

“Let’s see… The first place I would look for Bubbles would be the last place I saw her - the forest.”

Bell increased her speed to the forest and when she landed there she found a most unusual sight.

“What the hell happened here?”

The trees in the area had been completely incinerated and a deep trench had been cut in the dirt, like something or maybe even someone had crashed there.

“Damn… Who or what could have caused this…? Hmmph, maybe it was Bubbles. I always had a feeling there was more to her than meets the eye. Well, seeing that she’s obviously not here, I might as well see if I can track her aura.”

Bell honed her senses and could faintly detect the presence of Bubbles downtown somewhere. The aura had significantly changed since when Bell had last detected it, but it was still Bubbles.

“I’m coming for you, dear sister.”

And with that, she took off into the sky.

[Iris]

Ignatius gave a wicked grin, "You have no obligation to aid me, after all you completed the job I gave you. With that you are free to pursue your own personal agendas.

But, should you be free for another job, I'd be able to give you an.... incentive to continue our steady partnership. After all you have to have some form of income." He was careful with his words, he had observed his master when he had to deal with mercenaries when they went deep behind enemy territory, "We wouldn't want the competition to think you've gotten soft and gave a shady man, such as myself a free deal, now do we?"

As tFab mention Belkar, "I will be perfectly honest with you, my Lord; General Belkar was a man of many skills, he did not shy away from hard choices, he did not mind bearing terrible burdens nor did he forsake his post when the battle had turned against us.

However he was not a man able to... how can I explain in a way that does not lose its meaning... ah, communicate telepathically or create illusions of himself. Nor would he be able too...

As I mentioned before he died, choosing to become a martyr and fulfill his duty to the god-emperor than die like coward 50, maybe 60 years from now."

[charli]

~Blossom~

"Brick, wait-!" Blossom called, but it was too late. "I wanted to be the one to go," she grumbled.

"And leave us hear all alone?" Jules asked, his eyes wide with feigned injury. "Don't you like us?"

Blossom rolled her eyes into the condescending glare all teenagers do so well, and Jules couldn't keep a straight face. "Relax, PowerPuff. Nothing's happened there. Max'll call as soon as something does. If Brick isn't back by tomorrow, though, you should probably go after him."




-Demongo-

Demongo lurked in the alleyway besides the apartment building. HIM had given him explicit instructions not to claim any of the people who resided there, but it had been Demongo's experience that a single powerful warrior always either attracted or found other powerful warriors. A concentration such as the one gathered in the building... It was only a matter of time until a train of warriors appeared. Warriors who hadn't been protected by his master. Demongo was itching to fill the void left by the essence he had donated to Berserk.

He didn't have to wait long. Demongo felt the boy before he saw him. Another X-ite, though of this plane, not a mirror universe. A few minutes later, the boy flew over, leaving a red streak through the sky. Teleporting from shadow to shadow, Demongo locked onto his essence and tailed him.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab blinked at Ignatius. So that was it? Was he free to pursue his own agenda now until Ignatius needed him again? Somehow he didn’t think it would be that simple. When the man brought up the prospect of future jobs though, tFab was somewhat excited. He didn’t know how long that case of gold bars was going to last him. He might even buy all those things he listed off in his head when he first got it.

"We wouldn't want the competition to think you've gotten soft and gave a shady man, such as myself a free deal, now do we?"

That statement snapped tFab out of his wealth-laden thoughts and he chuckled.

“No, I guess not,” he replied, smirking. “I’ll probably always be your right-hand man, but there’s always a chance that things could change.”

From what tFab could gather from previous conversations and Ignatius’ explanation about the general, both parties could thoroughly take care of themselves, or in General Belkar’s case, used to be able to. He didn’t want to press the matter any further, out of apprehension that he might annoy Ignatius and that the reasons were perfectly clear enough already.

“Well, if that’s the case then, I guess I’ll be seeing you around, Ignatius.”

[Yetisarge]

"Why do I get the feeling that no one here trusts me still? Even though I've proven to you that I am trustable?" Zim said looking around at Jules and Blossom. "Fine I'll just leave then if that's what is wanted apparently." Zim said as he headed off in a different direction.

[Iris]

I guess I'll be seeing you around Ignatius
The words made him appreciate the fact he had allies once more, "Yes, it does look like it. But if you ever need a helping hand, just use this" He tossed a small earpiece, its design seemed simple enough; an earphone with a small microphone attached, "It's a comm-link that covers the whole city, more or less and its frequency is unique to my own. You never know."

He chuckled, "I have to say the people here really jump for that tech, some of the junk I salvaged from the crash sold quiet well on the... shall we say black market?" He composed himself, "Take care, tFab my the god-emperor guide your pathway with his light."

He smiled as he said that, knowing full well the irony of his words.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab easily caught the device that Ignatius tossed his way. He said that it was something called a comm-link; a device tFab took to be something related to a Bluetooth, a way for the two of them to be in contact with each other. He quickly placed the device in his ear and adjusted it for comfort. He figured that Ignatius was going to leave with the skulls soon and go track down that daemon. Better not hold up the wheels of progress.

“Well, if you need me, you know how to find me. You always seem to have a way.” He grinned at the black market comment. “I guess we’ll be able to talk to each other a bit more easily now with that device you gave me. Later, Ignatius, and thanks for everything.”

tFab turned to take his leave from the park. If the man wanted anything more from him, now was his chance to speak up.

[Iris]

Ignatius gave a small wave before he too took his leave, making sure that no-one followed him as he and his familiars returned to his car.

"It would appear that our 'ally' will indeed be a great friend during these coming dark days Mar-"II began to say once they were nearing the car, his augmented voice was perfectly monotone due to his state.

"You seem to be quiet silent during that talk... And I do recall YOU saying that the gav-engine was stable." Ignatius interrupted in annoyance, heading to the driver compartment, "I've yet to see his warrior spirit but I believe he can handle himself with any situation tha-"

"My aren't we trusting, considering that the local tongue refers to him as a demon, which is closely related to the religious aspect of hell. Can we truly tru-"

"Yes we can trust him, if you want technical then we are to over look the religion upon this world and assume that its all superstition. Only the Church of The god-emperor is the true cult. It is the only faith I follow and every other is but droplets that lead to heresy and blasphemy." Ignatius spoke hotly as he slammed the door closed once the two skulls were in.

"We shall speak of this on a later date."

[Nekoman]

Brick fled over the city, his eyes flicking in and out of X-ray vision, scanning above and below for any sign of trouble. An old woman, a stray cat, and a homeless man begging for change from a few brutish teenagers, nothing big.

He was about to land when a blue light in his peripheral caught his eye, but as soon as he turned around to see it, the light was gone. He continued, but the blue light kept flickering in and out of sight. Stopping abruptly, he yelled:

"Who the hell are you!?", spinning in the air, looking for the light again.

[charli]

-Demongo-

Stalking lost all fun once the person knew they were being followed. They stopped acting naturally, and actually became rather predictable. So Demongo teleported to the rooftop closest to Brick. "Tell me," he smiled, "how powerful do you think your essence is? I think it would fit in perfectly in my collection."

[Nekoman]

"Collection?" Brick asked, turning around so fast he almost broke his neck.
"What are you talking about?" But Brick's answer came quickly, the wind tore at the person's cloak, revealing a number of skulls jammed onto his form.

"That's kinda creepy.." Brick whispered to himself.

[charli]

-Demongo-

"But perhaps you don't know how to use your power... You'd be worthless to me then... I suppose I'll have to test you..."

As he spoke, Demongo floated up into the air, his legs folded like a genie. He pulled a skull out of his chest deftly and, with a few hand signs, shot it with an energy blast. Smoke issued forth from the eye sockets and whirled on the rooftop for a moment before taking the form of a large insect-like creature.

Mantis like in appearance, though he stood as tall as Demongo, the obsidian exoskeleton glittered with diamond strength, and various weapons covered his body. Hissing, the warrior drew a crossbow with lightening speed and let of three bolts of electricity straight at Brick.

[TheTimeSweeper]

-tFabikcalcer-

tFab glanced over his shoulder and saw that Ignatius had departed with his skulls. A dark sedan was parked nearby and he heard one of its doors slam sharply, which he took to mean it was Ignatius finally leaving.

“I guess he didn’t need anything more from me then… Alright. So now what…? Wait, I was going to try to e-mail Eca, but I’m just realizing I don’t have a computer or e-mailing device on me right now; all of that is back in my apartment in Townsville.”

tFab swore and mentally slapped himself. Just when he thought he could get in contact with her other than by visiting or calling her, he had to come up against another obstacle.

“Great… Just fuckin’ great…”

He was about to consider going back to the apartment building to check on his case and maybe see how events were unfolding there as well when a white streak of light suddenly flew overhead. It wasn’t the light that caught tFab’s attention though; it was the sound that accompanied it. The –chiu- sound that he remembered Bell always making whenever she flew. But that couldn’t have been her…right? He followed the light with his eyes noticing that whatever or whoever it was looked to be heading straight for the apartment building. At this point, he was sure it was Bell and ran after her.

“Bell! Hey, Bell!”


~Bell~

As Bell continued flying towards the faint source of Bubbles’ aura, she thought she heard a noise below her, like someone shouting her name. She slowed to a stop in mid-flight and looked to where she heard her name called. A young man ran out of the park and continued running in her direction. She slowly descended to get a better look at him and saw that he was no one she recognized, yet he knew her name somehow. Bell was slightly curious about this person and decided to test his knowledge about her. After all, if she got bored with the whole situation she could just kill him. She then landed on the pavement and stared hard at his approaching form.

“Who are you and how do you know my name?”

[Nekoman]

Brick bolted to the left, dodging two arrows, but the last firmly lodged in his shoulder. He swore loudly and grabbed the arrow, yanking it out of his arm and nocking it on his own energy bow. He fired, a streak of flame following the bloodied arrow as it headed back to it's owner's chest.

[Yetisarge]

Gir took a moment to look up from his television show and noticed something out of place. "What the... YAY LIGHT SHOW!!!" He said switching between moods for a moment.

However an automatic function in him started to record and sent a live feed to Zim. The quality wasn't perfect but it was enough to possibly attract a bit of attention in the hands of someone who could understand it.

Zim

Zim's watch beeped and he opened it up to recieve a live video feed from Gir's camera. "What the.. that attack looks like something Brick might do.. perhaps... perhaps we have had this all wrong?.." He said watching to see if there was more

[TheTimeSweeper]

~Bell and tFabikcalcer-

tFab kept running until he saw Bell land in front of him on the street. At least she looked like Bell; this girl in front of him looked like she was three years younger than the Bell he remembered. tFab did a quick mental calculation of the events before and after the time fuck and figured she was about seventeen years old.

“Bell…?”

Bell didn’t know what to make of this guy who stood only eight feet away from her. Everything that he wore was black with orange and yellow flame designs on them. Even his spiky hair was black with the same colors. It drastically contradicted her all white attire with some grays here and there.

“Yeah…? You didn’t answer my questions yet – who are you and how do you know my name?”

tFab didn’t know what to say. The very girl he had been trying to find since the whole time fuck thing happened was standing right in front of him. His search was over, but he didn’t know how to respond to her questions. Should he flat-out tell her everything that happened to him and see if she believed him? No, that would be too stupid; she would either leave out of confusion or blow him to pieces. He might as well play it safe for now.

“Uh…my name is tFabikcalcer, or tFab for short, and I know your name because we’re old friends.”

tFab hoped that this would work; his explanation was at least partially true. Bell raised an eyebrow at him. Old friends? He didn’t look like any person she had ever met, but then again he might be someone familiar with her father. Maybe they know each other somehow and that’s how she knows him.

“Tell me; are you familiar with my father, Dr. X?”

tFab blinked in surprise. Dr. X? Bell had never mentioned anyone by that name to him. Dr. X’s name reminded tFab of some mad scientist and in actuality he really wasn’t that far off.

“Uh, not really… You’ve never mentioned anyone by that name to me.”

Now it was Bell’s turn to blink in surprise. She was sure she met this man through her father. So, what were the alternatives?

“Alright, if you don’t know who my father is which I’m guessing is one way we would know each other, then how exactly are we old friends?”

tFab started to sweat a little. He should have expected questions like these, but they still threw him off-guard.

“Uh, we know each other from a long time ago, back when your father was working on his multiple experiments. We used to play together in his laboratory by the cloning machine.”

tFab had no remote knowledge of Bell’s past. She never talked about it much and he had no idea she had a scientist father, but it made sense now considering how The Powerpuff Girls have a scientist father and Bell always talked fondly of them. She frequently made mention of Professor Utonium, if he remembered the name correctly, and how she had come so close to becoming a sister to his daughters. tFab sure hoped he got the parts about the experiments and cloning machine right. What kind of laboratory didn’t have a cloning machine of some kind? Unfortunately, his assumptions were incorrect. Bell narrowed her eyes and flew over to tFab so fast he didn’t have time to react even with his feline reflexes. She grabbed him by the throat and pulled him close to her face.

“That’s a lie,” she hissed, brilliant white irises staring directly into tFab’s yellowish-green ones. “My father never worked on multiple experiments, only one, and that experiment turned out to be his greatest creation ever – me. And we don’t even have a cloning machine despite the fact that he could easily build one, buy one, or steal one, whichever he prefers.” With her other hand, she formed a glowing sphere of energy and held it up for tFab to see. “Now, if you don’t tell me how you really know me, I’ll just blow your face apart.”

tFab strained under Bell’s grip and his eyes were wide with terror. He forgot how strong she was and if he didn’t say something to her liking, he was going to have to shop for a new face. Only one thought edged its way to the front of his mind and he knew it was the craziest idea he could ever think of, but at this point he didn’t have much of a choice.

“Alright, alright,” he wheezed through her tight grip. “We were not childhood friends. We know each other because three years from now, I’ll be working for you. You will be the head of a major fashion corporation and I will be your personal assassin that you send out to destroy your competition. As daunting as it sounds, Bell, I am from the future and through some kind of weird means, I traveled back in time and have been searching for you for the past few days. In the future, you send me here to Megaville from your headquarters in Townsville to carry out a job for you. Your company makes a huge amount of money and that’s how you’re able to pay me so well. After I completed the job you wanted me to do, you called me again and told me that you would raise my pay if I located The Powerpuff Girls for you.”

At the start of this explanation, Bell’s gaze was penetrating, but now it had softened considerably. Her grip loosened on tFab’s throat, but her fingers remained there as her eyes grew wide with each passing second. At the mention of The Powerpuff Girls however, her eyes widened so much they might as well have popped right out of her head and she let the hand with the glowing white sphere drop to her side.

“…What?”

tFab stopped his explanation and stared back at her before continuing.

“Yes, you wanted me to find The Powerpuff Girls because you wanted to check on them, see how they were doing. You wanted to know their current location and any activities that they were doing at the time, which would be three years from now. I tried to find them here in Megaville, but there were forces at every turn trying to stop me or impede me – other demons, necromancers, even The Rowdyruff Boys, until I became friends with Butch. He said he had unfinished business with Buttercup, but I think he had other agendas with her. I never did find the Girls and I got this curse put upon me by some damned demon thing and the next thing I know, I’m back in my apartment in Townsville, only now it’s three years in the past.”

At the mention of The Rowdyruff Boys, Bell’s fingers curled into a fist, but the ones around tFab’s throat did not. She hated The Rowdyruff Boys for what they did in the forest that day, but there was always the chance that they had changed since then. Sure, they could still be the annoyingly destructive boys she remembered, but maybe they channeled all that energy into something else. There was no need to beat the crap out of them for doing that unless they were planning to take over the world before the Darkstar Council did. Bell was intrigued by tFab’s explanation and she listened to him continue.

“So then I drive to Megaville again trying to find the younger versions of the Girls in the hopes that you still want that information even though you wouldn’t know me until three year’s time. I think I know where Buttercup is and Bubbles is certainly near her, but I have absolutely no idea where Blossom is. I’m starting to think that she’s not even in the city right now. Oh, and there are these superpowered girls from a mirrored parallel universe walking around by the names of Brat and Brute who I’m assuming are punk versions of the Girls considering how they dress. If there are three Puffs and only two Punks, then there has to be a third Punk somewhere, but I haven’t run into her yet. Brat is a punk version of Bubbles and Brute is a punk version of Buttercup, whom Butch has apparently fallen for, but I don’t really know why. What I can gather from what Brat told me when I met her is that their universe is perfectly mirrored to this one, which means that there are alternate versions of everyone running around there, including you. I asked her about you because at the time I thought she was Bubbles and she claimed to know you, which I later found out was really the alternate you from her world.”

All this talk of time travel and punk versions of the Girls running around in Megaville were making Bell dizzy. She released her hold on tFab’s neck and took a few steps back. This explanation was getting stranger by the second and Bell really didn’t know what to make of it. Countless questions swarmed through her mind and she could only pick out a few from the group to focus on. Her primary objective had been to find The Powerpuff Girls and possibly destroy them, but now with other people in the mix, her task got more complicated. She didn’t know what to do now.

“Bell…?” She glanced at tFab who was still standing in the same spot with his head now tilted slightly. “I know my explanation must sound absolutely crazy to you, but you have to believe me. I’m from the future and I’ve been trying to find The Powerpuff Girls ever since you told me to that day. It was you who said that they meant more to you than anything. Something about family and…sisters.”

“Sisters…”

Bell sank to her knees and stared at the pavement. Memories came flooding back to her about that day she met Bubbles in the forest. About how the blonde Puff had invited her to join her and her sisters and become a family. A family that Bell never really had. Sure, she had Dr. X, Girly, Zim, and all the monsters and even Samantha for company, but she had never been with a true, loving family before. A family with sisters who were just like her. It was at that moment that Bell made a decision; a decision that would decide her fate and the fate of The Powerpuff Girls. She was going to try one last time to be accepted by them into a family and if they refused, then she would kill them, and no one, not even The Rowdyruff Boys, would stand in her way.

[charli]

-Demongo-

The bolt hit the warrior square in the chest, but instead of knocking him back, the electricity dispersed across his chest plate evenly and harmlessly. It cringed a bit from the flames, but they did little other than singe the exoskeleton a bit. Demongo snickered. "The Toukiri learned long ago to avoid weapons that could be turned against them. You'll have to do better than that."

As he spoke, the Toukiri unfurled his gossamer wings from beneath the shell on his back and leapt into the air, buzzing. Zooming towards Brick, zigging and zagging erratically, he pulled out a mechanical handle and with a push of a button, an electric whip issued forth wich the Toukiri lashed out at Brick with.




~Blossom~

Zim had walked off, but he wasn't quite out of earshot when his watch went off. "What is it?" Blossom asked, walking over. Looking over Zim's shoulder, she saw the video feed. Her eyes widened. Jules wasn't sure what happened first, the strong wind, pink after image, or Blossom's call, "We're going back NOW."

[Yetisarge]

"I'm way ahead of you..." Zim said closing his watch sending it to his vehicle and jumped in just getting it buckled before he sped off and hit a jump and got the vehicle to transform into a jet fighter.

[Kat]

(AH! WHAT?!)

Buttercup

Sprawled on the floor in the hall of her apartment building, Buttercup watched as Brat stalked away. Her head was spinning and she could barely see a thing, but Brat's silhouette was burned into her eyes.

"Brat... w- wait, I.." Buttercup tried to call after her neighbor, but she couldn't find the energy. Briefly, she wondered where it was going, but she even lacked the energy to hold onto the thought for long.

She tried to sit up, finding the strength to pull herself up against the wall, but standing or sitting without leaning against anything seemed out of the question.

Buttercup knew she had heard Arken call her name at some point after her fall, but her eyes swam and her head was pounding. She just vaguely felt Bruce's head butting against her hand. She tried to pet her feline friend, to reassure him, but her hand laid limply against his ears.

[TrickyLA]

Bubbles and Brat

Bubbles nodded, staring at the subordinate intently as he left. Watching the process was interesting to say the least, and she briefly wondered if perhaps Berserk did feel a little pain from it. Not that she really cared either way, Berserk could handle a little pain. Hopefully now Berserk would be back up to par with everyone else though, and when they actually decided to steal back some Chemical X perhaps she'd be even more powerful. They'd have to see she supposed. She ruffled the girl's hair again, a small smirk on her face. Things were finally starting to come together somewhat, with more allies for their cause things were sure to develop much more smoothly. Hand still on the red head, Bubbles turned to stare at her doppelgänger. When she'd run in she'd looked very visibly upset, this interested her. Looking closely, she could still spot signs of exhaustion and tears on the other girl. Why was she so upset?

Brat blinked a few times, noticing Bubbles turning her attention to her. Her lip quivered slightly, unsure of how to go about telling her such important things. Buttercup is....is..... She shook her head furiously, slapping a large smile on her tired face. She didn't want to think of that now, so instead she thought of Berserk. She was worried for her sister while Bubbles and the Demongo restored her powers, afraid that something horrible might happen. The whole process looked a little weird but thankfully nothing seemed to be wrong with Berserk yet. She let out a sigh and blinked tiredly. She just knew there'd be an interrogation soon, and she just wasn't ready to deal with Bubbles knowing this secret.

Not to mention what else she could find out about today. The incident with the checkout boy.....tFab......

She inwardly jolted in realization as she went over that fact in her head. Bubbles could see it...she'd know! What would she even think? How would that go over with her own little mission? If she saw Brat slipping then Bubbles may never return to her former glory. Brat didn't want that.

It has to do with Bubbles that I'll keep it from her, not because its embarrassing or anything...

Her face heated without her realizing and a small curse escaped her lips.

Bubbles stared at the girl, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Maybe she was more tired than she thought? Perhaps she would hold off on sharing some information then, she doubted that the girl could handle anything else today anyway. She moved away from Berserk and gave Brat a small hug. She pet the teen's hair gently in a sort of comfort before gesturing to Berserk.

"Keep her company for me okay? Rest." She ordered simply, making her way out of the room. She had business to attend to.

Brat was confused by Bubbles' little display but smiled at the girl, oddly comforted by the hug. She nodded, moving over to her sleeping sister and sitting with her. She hugged the girl close, heavy lids falling closed slowly. She'd been interrupted from her previous slumber before and was dead tired. She couldn't stop Bubbles from leaving, she decided, so she didn't even try. Yawning, she cuddled closer to her sister and fell asleep.

[TheTimeSweeper]

~Bell and tFabikcalcer-

tFab stared at Bell as she stood in the street, appearing to be deep in thought. His lengthy, detailed explanation seemed to have been understood by her, but she still probably had a whole bunch of questions. Still on her knees, Bell clenched and unclenched her fists, still thinking of The Rowdyruff Boys, her supposed sisters, and what tFab had just explained to her. The mirrored Punk versions of the Puffs were of no concern as long as they didn’t get in her way. She nodded to herself about what to do next and a grin spread across her face, but it was neither devious nor sadistic in any way. tFab noticed this and tilted his head confusedly, figuring that she had come to a decision about something but not having the slightest clue as to what it was. He briefly wondered if he should move her out of the middle of the street so that any cars coming along wouldn’t run her over until she climbed to her feet, a determined look on her face.

“Well, it seems as though your search for me has finally come to an end, tFab.” She brushed some dirt from her dress and looked him directly in the eyes. “How about we form an alliance? After all, it seems as though we’ll know each other a bit more personally in three years time. Why not start now?”

tFab blinked at her several times at this proposal. Become friends with Bell? He was hoping something like this would happen. After all, he needed someone he was familiar with as a friend in this time period besides Ignatius and Butch. He hadn’t seen the green-wearing guy in a while, but the cat demon figured he had his reasons, one of them probably being alone with Brute. He grinned at Bell and nodded silently.

“Very well. I can sense the power signatures of at least two of my sisters in that building.” She motioned to the apartment complex behind her and crossed her arms. “That is the first place I shall look for them.”

“Fine by me. What should I do in the meantime?”

“I want you to keep a lookout down here for any Puff and Ruff activity. If you see anything, just make a mental note of it and tell me later. I’ll be busy with some interrogation and persuasion as you can probably guess.”

tFab didn’t fully understand what she meant by that, but figured it had something to do with Bubbles, Buttercup, and maybe Brat. He didn’t have time to question the matter as Bell slowly rose into the air and flew quickly towards the building. She focused in on the power signatures her ‘sisters’ were giving off and hovered in front of a window, which just so happened to be the window of Brat’s room. She could see someone who looked like Bubbles asleep with someone else who looked like Blossom who was also asleep, except with extremely long bows. The signature of Bubbles still lingered in the room, so Bell figured she had just missed her. She was curious about the two sleeping girls though; briefly wondering if these were the Punk versions of her ‘sisters’ that tFab had talked about. Right now though, they weren’t really something that she should be worried about. What really mattered to her at the moment was finding either Bubbles or Buttercup and explaining her little proposal to them. Bell knew she needed to get inside, but smashing the window would only cause unwanted attention. Luckily for her, it wasn’t locked so she slid the window up and quietly flew inside. The door to the hallway was still open and Bell left the room as quickly as she had entered it.