Chapter Text
A dark, shadowed figure sat on the train with a paper bag filled with very important chemicals and such. Everyone on the train was worried about the figure but ignored it the best they could. The train stopped at the station and more people entered the train. A woman entered and took the seat next to the figure without looking at him, staring at the screen of her ipod. She ran a hand through her hair, pulling out a hair, and dropping it on the edge of the figure without noticing. The figure also didn’t notice, getting to their feet and quickly making their way off the train at the next stop.
The figure made their way all the way to the Townsville volcano where Mojo Jojo’s laboratory was situated right on top. The figure closed the door to the building and walked to the very center of the laboratory, whipping off the cloak when he stood next to a large cauldron, attached to a large ray gun by a long black hose. Unbeknownst to the figure, when the cloak came off, the lone, innocuous hair flew through the air and landed in the bottom of the cauldron. The figure was none other than Mojo Jojo, laughing maniacally with his revelation.
“At last! Since the creation of those blasted Powerpuffs and my own marvelous sons ten years ago, I will be giving my boys the edge they need on those girls to finally put them out of my hair! For I, Mojo Jojo, have plotted a brand new plan! I shall create brand new Rowdyruff boys but they will not be boys! No, they will be men! My machine will take the concoction that I am creating of my boys DNA and many other ingredients, including chemical X, and implant that into three of the citizens of this pathetic town! And, to make sure that these new Rowdyruffs do as I say, I will mix in tiny microchips of my own brilliant making into the concoction and they will be implanted in my targets.
“Oh ho! My boys will be so pleased and excited and grateful when I tell them the news! They are coming soon so I will finish this quickly.”
He had mixed the ingredients together as he monologued, not even knowing his unexpected, extra ingredient that mixed together almost immediately with chemical X. Lastly, the monkey pulled out three hairs; one blonde, one black, and one long red. Each was dropped into the bubbling liquid, being melted on contact.
The monkey grinned evilly as the color of the mass turned autumn purple. He walked over to where the tube connected the cauldron to the ray and shoved down a lever, watching the liquid rush into the tube to his amazing machine. He made his way to the machine and got into the seat right as the three boys broke through the door.
“What did you want, monkey butt?”
Ignoring his green son’s blatant disrespect, he grinned at them, some kind of homicidal love in his eyes. “My boys! Welcome home. I have a surprise for you three. I have thought up a plan that will finally rid us all of those dreadful, horrid girls.”
The boys grinned just as evilly. The boys were fifteen years old and yet still had the mindsets of troublemaker five year olds. Or living out their terrible twos right now. The boys still looked like when they had been brought back by HIM; Brick with his red theme clothes, low tied ponytail and his cap stuck messily on his head, his red eyes glittering in anticipation with many unspoken plans. Boomer still had his blonde hair winging out to either side of his face, blue themed clothing and ocean eyes grinning from the childish thought of his long time goal being met. Butch still had his black hair spiked messily as he stood in his green themed clothing. His eyes were completely malicious with the thought of what new powers he would be getting to finally beat that stupid powderpuff into the ground permanently.
“So what plan is it, pops,” Brick asked, slightly more respectfully. After all, their initial creator was giving them a gift. Best to show him his due respect until they had their powers and could blow him off.
Mojo Jojo’s grin widened into one of cruelty and he launched into his explanation of what he was planning, mixed in with lots of monologue about his greatness and supreme genius. Of course, he conveniently left out the bit of the microchips within the mixture. Butch’s grin faded once he figured out he wasn’t getting new powers and his ‘help’ would be from some other person entirely. He wanted to beat Buttercup on his own terms, dang it! Boomer looked slightly guilty about it. Without his brothers’ knowing, he had followed Bubbles a few times and he knew more about her than they did about their counterparts. Brick, however, saw possibilities with this. New brothers to help them terrorize and older ones, undoubtedly more powerful than they were currently and definitely more powerful than their girly doubles. It was definitely an interesting thought.
“So who do you have in mind, father? Anyone in particular?”
Mojo Jojo shook his head. “My machine here will randomly pick out three of the citizens who are the most compatible with your own DNA and then shoot them. They will then have the chemical enter their body and will automatically change and become your new brothers.”
“How exactly will we find them then? To get them... initiated, that is.”
“That monitor will pick up the signature of the chemical X once it is active in them and will tell you exactly of their location. You can go to them at that time.”
Brick glanced at either of his brothers, smirking at the battle strategies that formed within his mind, not seeing his brothers’ displeasure. This would be interesting.
Mojo Jojo let his machine warm up then hit the big red button and fired. The machine’s ray, however did not split into three bursts of light, locking onto three male targets, instead the one enormous ray arced in the sky and fell toward Townsville park, toward one female citizen.
The female from the train, unbeknownst to the four super villains in the observatory, was hit with this ray, screaming aloud with a voice like a banshee’s cry as she arced with the electric current that coursed through her until she couldn’t physically take it anymore and fell backwards onto a grassy mound just to the side of the park trail, unconscious.
Back at the observatory, Mojo Jojo was irate at the failure of his machine. All four of them could clearly see the lack of separation that hadn’t occurred and Mojo Jojo was complaining and ranting about the infallibility of his plan and his lack of understanding why it hadn’t worked the way he had carefully planned out. Brick figured something had happened in the monkey’s preparation while he wasn’t paying attention, though he didn’t speak his thoughts out loud. Instead, he turned his attention to the monitor, studying it carefully.
The woman at the park opened her eyes, staring blankly at the branches above. What had just happened? It was like she had just been completely electrocuted. She groaned and rolled onto her side tenderly, sitting up even as her body complained loudly. She carefully rubbed her head, trying to rub away the migraine that had suddenly appeared.
She heard running steps and the out of breath voice right above her. “Hey, miss, are you alright?”
The woman opened her eyes and smiled at the kind man in running sweats above her. “Yeah, I think so. Thanks for asking.”
The man’s eyes widened and he stood stock still. Not that the woman noticed. She glanced at a watch and gasped, quickly getting to her feet. “Thanks again,” she called as she ran to the edge of the park, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket.
Upon reaching the road, the woman unfolded the paper, studied it, then glanced around at the surrounding buildings in confusion. “Now where...? Ah, excuse me, ma’am!”
She hurried up to a woman in her mid forties, smiling. “Hi! Sorry to bother you! I was wondering if you could help me? See, I just moved back here recently and I was wondering if you could show me in the direction of this building... what?”
The older woman just stood there gaping. The one asking for directions glanced around her, trying to see if there was anything that would cause the woman to stare. There wasn’t so she quirked an uneasy smile. “Do I have grass on my face?”
The older woman floundered a bit. “H-hon, a-are you wearing contacts? Colored contacts?”
The woman’s eyes flicked to the side in confusion and back before she shook her head. “No. I’m not. I mean I have some cool purple contacts just for comic con but those are at my place, stored away. Why?”
The older woman just couldn’t get words to form from her mouth and after a moment, the woman being gaped at started feeling this foreboding in the pit of her stomach. She glanced around and stepped up to a parked car, looking into the reflection. An initial look over didn’t do anything but then she looked at her eyes and her heart stopped. Her eyes, primarily chocolate brown for the majority of her life, were now dark purple, autumn purple, which was indeed cool but that thought didn’t register. The woman swallowed hard and stepped away from the car until she ran into a wall.
“Th-that’s impossible! Wh-what’s going on?!”
The older woman stepped toward her, holding out a hand to try and soothe the young lady, though she didn’t know how. The young lady’s eyes flashed to her, wide with fear. “No! Don’t!”
The young woman raced away from the woman, racing out into oncoming traffic at the corner. Horns blared as the girl stared at the car. At the last second, she shut her eyes and threw her hands in front of her to protect herself. There was a horrendous crushing sound and the woman opened her eyes to see that her hands had crushed the front of the car, smashing it up to the front window like an accordion. She took her hands away and looked at them in horror. Tears pricked at her eyes and she gasped. This wasn’t happening!!
Scared, she ran; only this time, she shot away with a dark purple streak racing behind her. She only meant to run away from the mess she made, she didn’t mean to run all the way out of town into the forest far beyond that. She jerked to a stop and looked at her surroundings in confusion. “W-where the heck I am? W-wasn’t I just in the city? Since when was there a forest anywhere near Townsville?!!”
After a time where she tried to pull her hair out in mass hysteria, she was able to calm down when she listened to the quiet sounds of the forest. That calm was just what she needed to slow down and think about what needed to be done. After all, humans are generally good problem solvers, when they want to be.
“Alright, I just need to find a road back to town then I should be alright. Yeah. I’ll figure out my next step from there.”
She started off in a random direction, not knowing that she was about to find more trouble.
“Are you sure the signal came from here, Brick?”
“The signal shot in here, Butch. We’ve just got to find our new brother.”
“Are we even going the right way,” asked Boomer, slightly hopeful that they wouldn’t find this new brother.
“Yeah. I made a copy of Mojo’s machine and we’re currently tracking the chemical X now. I think our new brother is trying to come our way. It’s moving back our direction, slowly.”
“Whoop de do for the freaking machine,” grumbled Butch.
“According to this, we should be right on top of—”
“Wha da heck are ya doin on mah propartie! Get out!!”
“What the freaking heck are you supposed to be?! Stay away from me!”
All three boys peeked through the bushes to see Fuzzy Lumpkins and a random girl facing off, Fuzzy advancing while the girl retreated.
“Ah don know who ya are but get offa mah propartie!!”
“I would, dang it! I’m just trying to get back to Townsville! Just tell me which way is Townsville and I’ll get out of your hair!!”
“Ah don have hair!!” The pink monster roared. “Ah have fur!!” He charged the woman and she gasped, throwing out her hands right before Fuzzy collided with her.
The boys expected Fuzzy to turn this woman into mincemeat, as that was what he was good at, the stupid hill-billy, but when the woman’s outstretched hands met with Fuzzy’s chest, he blasted backwards about thirty yards, slumping over in a crater. The boys’ eyes all widened. No one could take on Fuzzy Lumpkins when he was enraged like that except the Powderpuffs, the villains never caring about the hill-billy’s antics. The girl looked up and gasped.
“Oh shoot! Not again! What is wrong with me?!” Her hands went to her head and she looked like she was going to have a meltdown right then and there. She managed to calm down though by repeating meaningless words to herself. She lowered her hands and gulped, slowly walking the path of destruction to the crater that Fuzzy was slumped in. “H-hey, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Here,” she grabbed one of his hands and pulled him up to his feet as his eyes opened, looking a lot like swirls from the cartoons. “Sorry about that. Today’s been a weird day for me. I didn’t mean to hit you, honest. Will you be okay?”
Fuzzy’s sight was obviously returning because he latched onto her hand and held it between them, staring at the woman intently. “Yah’re a Power-puff, aint’cha?”
The woman recoiled a bit. “H-huh?”
“Yah’re a gurl but yah’ve got dark purple ayes. Are yah a Puff or a Ruff?”
The woman started jerking on her arm, not getting anywhere. “I’m neither. I’m a freaking citizen who is trying to go back home. Now let go before I punch you and not care if you end up in China!”
Fuzzy didn’t hear her as he continued rambling. “No one’s ehver cared about Fuzzy afore. Cept the Puffs but thehir so little. Yah’re pretty too. Now wha? I gots an idea! Yah’re gonna be mine!”
“Say what?! No!! Back off pink, fuzzy bug-thing!! Screw you already!!”
Fuzzy went right into the woman’s face, smiling all dream-like. “Yah said mah name.”
The woman’s face went to horror struck and she whipped her head all directions, looking for a way out.
“Come on guys, let’s finish this stupid conversation,” Brick muttered, standing up and walking through the brush into the clearing. Butch and Boomer glanced at each other and followed the eldest out, taking up poses. Brick then called out, “Drop her, ya hill-billy!”
Fuzzy flinched and turned to face the Rowdyruff boys. They sure did look menacing after they had gone and grown up. They were even more intimidating than they had been as children. But Fuzzy’s mind was made up. The purple eyed girl was his now. He pulled her into his big chest and squeezed her to him, making her sink into his fur as he did. She made this completely disgusted face that Butch couldn’t help laughing at. “No! She’s mine now! Yah cant have her! Now get offa mah propartie!!”
The boys smirked and a chill raced down Fuzzy’s spine. It’s like they had been waiting for him to say that. “Looks like it’s the hard way, guys.”
Before anyone could move though, the girl brought her elbow forward and then rammed it back into Fuzzy’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to let go.
She scrambled away from her captor quickly, looking at the lump on the ground with a little disgust. “Why do I not remember this guy? He’s one of those bad guys here in town, I should remember this!”
The boys looked at the girl with varying degrees of skepticism then Butch sighed and went up to Fuzzy, looking the guy over. “Brick, the hill-billy’s unconscious. What should we do?”
Brick grinned sadistically. “Butch, wake him up and teach him a lesson about messing with our family.”
Butch, Boomer, and even the woman looked at Brick in confusion. Boomer quietly voiced his opinion. “Um, Brick, we’re looking for a guy, remember? Mojo said he gave us a brother.”
“The monkey messed up, Boomer. That ray hit her. We’ve got a sister instead.” Brick moved over and held out his hand to the purple eyed girl, which she visibly flinched from. “Welcome to the Ruffs,” he greeted, though it was a sinister greeting in the eyes of the woman.
She leaned away from the hand then jumped to her feet, backing away slowly. “I’m sorry, there’s been a slight misunderstanding. I’m not a ‘Ruff” and I’m not a ‘Puff’. I’m just a plain Jane citizen who doesn’t have a clue as to what’s going on. Sorry to trouble you but I’ve really got to get home now. Bye!”
She made to run past the boys through the empty space but Brick filled it, put a hand on her stomach and pushed her back to where she was. “Look, lady. We’re not exactly ecstatic about this either. We were supposed to get three new brothers today so that we could end the Powderpuff girls but unfortunately, the monkey messed up and we got you. So just work with us because you don’t have any other choice.”
The woman looked at Brick with disgusted horror. “Um, no, and your negotiation skills suck.”
Brick twitched angrily. “What?”
“First off, that’s not how you get someone to team up with you! You have to give them some kind of positive incentive, tell them the things that they’ll get in return! Second, I don’t want to be evil! I don’t want to end anybody! Heck, I don’t even want these powers!! You say a monkey messed up? Well, take them back then! Take the stupid powers back and let me be normal!!”
Brick looked at the woman dully. “That’s not how this works. Chemical X has already fused with your DNA. There’s no way to extract it from you. At least, none that I can think of that won’t kill you in the process.”
The woman’s face paled before she threw her hands in the air. “Oh isn’t that just peachy?! My first real day back to this town and already I’m as good as dead?! What else could go wrong?!”
Butch muttered something too quiet for the rest to hear but then a thought came to the woman. She acted on it quickly, interrupting Brick. “So, before this argument escalates any further, could you tell me, just offhandedly, which way the city is?”
Boomer pointed over his shoulder, behind him, not letting his brothers see the movement as he was the furthest from everyone. The woman grinned. Her eyes twinkled their thanks and Boomer sent a small smile back. Yeah, he knew what he had done, somewhere deep in his mind. He liked this lady. She had the courage to talk back to Brick! Butch would talk back but that was because he was hard-headed and stubborn. She was actually calculating, trying to find weak points.
Brick saw the direction of which the woman’s simple question led and his eyes grew dark. “If you won’t come with us willingly, we’ll take you by force.” With that, he shot at her, aiming to knock her out.
The woman’s eyes widened and she jumped out of the way, automatically bringing her knee up into Brick’s stomach and causing him to fly back into a tree, knocking him out cold. Both Boomer and Butch stared at their slumped brother in shock before turning that to the woman. Her expression was frightened, apologetic, and, above all, serious. She had done that on purpose.
Butch growled and launched himself at her, ignoring the fuzzy, pink lump he had been in charge of, and sending a barrage of kicks and punches her direction. She neatly blocked them then punched Butch in the gut, making him keel over her arm with the force and sending him out cold as well. She dropped him on the ground and took a couple steps away.
Boomer, though he knew what her intentions were unconsciously, didn’t know it consciously, so when he saw his brothers go down by this woman’s hand, he had to step up and defend them. He launched at her but she merely stepped to the side of his flying punch and hit him in the back of the head, deftly knocking him unconscious.
She carefully propped the boys up against the same tree then stepped back and faced the town. She never thought her kick boxing classes would come in handy like this. Oh well, keep herself safe or whatever. She didn’t want to risk the boys waking up while she was still in the vicinity though. She’d have to risk that super fast running.
She closed her eyes, trying to recall how that had worked, then shot forward like a purple bullet. She eventually did find herself in town but by the time she stopped she had made it to the docks, or more importantly, on the very edge of the pier where she teetered then fell over into the water. She came up spitting out the salty mess of the harbor and managed to pull herself up on the dock, though her legs still dangled in the water.
“Well that was both successful and pointless. I’m back in the city but now I’m soaked through.”
The woman made to pull herself up the dock but that didn’t work. She tried again but again, no dice.
“Oh dear! Are you alright, ma’am?”
The woman looked up to see three girls. The first girl with blonde hair tied in pigtails and wearing a blue dress came up and helped pull her onto the dock. The other two floated nearby, one dressed in a pink dress, with like eyes, and long auburn hair tied in a high ponytail with a big red bow, the other dressed in a green dress with short black hair that was layered down to her shoulders. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
“Another victim of this crazy purple streaker,” muttered the girl in green, darkly.
“Ma’am, if it’s alright with you, can you tell us which way the person with the purple streak went?” asked the girl in pink.
The woman couldn’t quite meet the girls’ eyes when she heard the ‘purple streak’ bit and started bawling right then and there. It was such a stressful day! The girl in blue carefully rubbed the older woman’s shoulder, trying to soothe her but the woman shrugged off her hand. “Don’t touch me! You’ll get hurt!”
The one in green snorted. “Hurt? By you? Lady, do you have any idea who we are?”
The woman flipped around and stared down the girls with fear and desperation in her eyes. “Do you have any idea who I am?!!”
The green girl blanched then whispered to the one in pink, “Blossom, she—”
“I can see them, Buttercup,” she stated matter of factly.
The woman was already ranting about her day now, not hearing the small exchange between the two eldest girls. Bubbles sat on the dock by the woman, looking at her with sympathy. The woman ranted and raved about how her day had been normal one minute then she was racing around and meeting strange creatures that claimed ownership of her and boys that called her their sister and on and on.
Blossom touched down on the dock and knelt in front of the older woman. “You’ve been through a lot today huh?”
The woman nodded, tears streaking her cheeks. “And it’s only my first day back! Why is this happening to me?!”
Blossom only looked at her with sympathy. “You know, the professor might be able to figure out what happened. Why don’t you come home with us and we’ll have the professor look at you?”
The woman looked at the girl, her lower lip trembling. “Pr-professor?”
“Yeah. He’s our dad.” Pink eyes gave a small, warm smile.
“Oh yeah! And he’s really smart too! With him and Blossom working on it, they’ll be able to figure out what happened to you in no time!”
“Bubbles!!” exclaimed Buttercup in exasperation.
The woman looked between the three girls then bit her lip and nodded. Bubbles clapped excitedly and Blossom smiled encouragingly. Buttercup just huffed, rolling her eyes.
“Good. Here let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Blossom Utonium and these are my sisters...”
“Bubbles!!” called the one in blue excitedly.
“Buttercup,” came the gruff reply of the green.
The woman gave a small smile. “Natasha. Natasha Berry Thorn.”
“Good to meet you, Natasha.” The three of them stood and Blossom looked up to the older woman. “So can you fly?”
The tears weren’t gone but the woman gave an empty look. “Do I look like I can fly?”
“Guess that’s a no,” Buttercup muttered.
Blossom shot Buttercup a dark look then she and Bubbles took either of the woman’s arms and they shot away, flying to Pokey Oaks Acres.