Ch.5
The Rowdyruffs and Blossom from the past led the other Powerpuffs back to the Utonium Chateau. They went down to the Professor’s lab, or what was left of it. It was basically an empty room, apart from some vials of black liquid on some shelves. “You never know,” Brick said in response to the past Blossom’s look, “when a villain will take away your powers. The villains of this time have learned from the mistakes of the villains from the past.” Boomer and Butch had flown over to the vials, and had given each girl their own, which they poured over themselves. The future Blossom jumped into the air, her sisters following suit. “Awesome!” Buttercup said, flexing her arms and feeling the power coursing through her. Bubbles flew in circles crying “wheeeee!” and Blossom flew over to Brick and the past Blossom “thanks a bunch. It’s always been our dream to have these powers!” Brick nodded while Blossom asked “it just occurred to me: when you were created, why didn’t you go into town and try to find this house again?” “We don’t know the way out of the forest, and even if we did manage to get back to Townsville, we didn’t even know if this place was still here, let alone chemical X. It was safer to stay put.”
In his lair, Him stood up, quickly criss-crossed his arms and snapped his claws “time to begin…”
As they stood in the Professor’s lab, the ground suddenly began to shake. A big crater opened up beneath them. Many of the vials of chemical X either fell or shattered where they stood. Any Puffs or Ruffs who were on the ground immediately jumped into the air. “An earthquake or what?” the past Blossom asked. Brick shouted over to his brother “Butch!” who shook his head. Suddenly the roof of the lab fell, knocking them all out and sending them all plummeting down the crater…
Blossom of the past awoke on solid ground. Her head hurt, but she seemed fine. As she tried to get her bearings, she noticed Brick and Butch on her right, Bubbles and Blossom of the future on her right and Boomer and Buttercup behind her. She had no idea where they were, but it appeared to be underground. However there was plenty of light by which to see by.
As she continued to look around, she heard a voice that sent a chill down her spine. “Hello again, Blossom. Long time no see…” Blossom looked around for the source of the voice, but couldn’t find anything. Brick began to stir and opened an eye “am I alive?” He and Blossom glanced at each other and Blossom nodded. Brick sighed, “good. Butch can sense earthquakes and when I knew it wasn’t an earthquake, I knew it had to be a villain.” Him’s voice rang out, interrupting him “and now we have the first of the Rowdyruffs up. I just hope you’re ready to roll!” Brick jumped up and ran (all superpowers forgotten) over to Blossom. He looked terrified. “What’s wrong?” Blossom asked, “I mean, I know its Him, but me and my sisters beat him before, and you and your brothers can beat him as well.” Brick stared right into her eyes and replied, “not anymore Bloss. That was along time ago…” The place began to get darker and Brick hurried his speech, “awhile back Him re-created the Rowdyruffs, but Mojo gained custody of them, since he fist created them. Him was furious and when he demanded Mojo give them back Mojo refused. So Him…well, he killed Mojo. This was after you girls were destroyed. Anyway, after that the Rowdyruffs didn’t want any part of villainy, and started to become superheroes. I don’t know if it was the fact that he had killed somebody, or that his creations turned on him, but he reached a new level of evil. He’s bigger, stronger, tougher…he’s unbeatable. Me and my brothers had to fight Him on several different occasions and each time barely left alive…” He fell silent as another laugh aroused from the air about them. Blossom saw the future Blossom and Boomer wake up. Butch awoke a few seconds after, followed by Bubbles and lastly by Buttercup. Him’s voice ran out again “and now we’re all here…time to begin!” Him materialized in front of them.
Blossom of the past had only encountered this demon once in her life, and had hoped to never have to face him again. Sometimes she still had nightmares about it. It had been a normal day, and Buttercup wanted to race them home. They went too fast and wound up in the future. It had only been about fifty years, but the Him they faced in that time period had been much more powerful then the one they knew in their time.
Him rose up, many stories taller then them, glowing red eyes and razor-sharp claws in a black demonic form. Him’s true identity. It was unstoppable, and deep-down Blossom knew it. But she didn’t try to show it. “C’mon everyone!” she prompted them, “me and my sisters have taken Him down before, and now there’s more than twice as many of us!” Brick stepped over to his brothers and they all jumped into the air. Blossom walked over to the other Blossom and the Powerpuffs and they also jumped into the air. “Blossom” Blossom of the past told her other “you’ll need to be the leader. Lead your sisters to victory! Brick will be leading his brothers to victory as well. Together you two need to work together and come up with a plan to bring down this beastie. I’ll pose as a distraction and give you guys time. Ok?” Blossom nodded, and the past Blossom flew over to the Rowdyruffs and gave them the same speech, then flew over to the demon that was Him. “Hey ugly!” she teased, “I guess time didn’t help your looks!” Him swiped his claw at her, but she dodged just in time. He’s fast! They’d better come up with a plan, ‘cause I don’t think I’ll hold out very long against Him.
Meanwhile the Puffs and Ruffs had finally agreed on not just one, but several plans that they hoped would work. They turned to face the beast and Blossom of the past noticed and looked down at them…it was in this brief moment that Him struck.
One moment, Blossom was taking a quick glance at the super-powered team below her, hope filling her being, and the next all went dark.
Him had swung another claw, this one glowing red and black around it, and hit Blossom squarely on her temple. Her limp body plummeted into the ground at Him’s feet. Bubbles gasped “Blossom!” “No time for that now,” Brick said, “we’ve gotta stop this beast now! Time for plan Delta! C’mon!” Together they flew towards Him and dodged his claws as he swiped at them. They flew up and together delivered a super-powered uppercut which had enough force to knock Him down. As he got back up, the future Blossom used her ice breath and froze his feet to the ground, which made Him loose his balance and fall down again. The Puffs and Ruffs flew around Him like annoying flies, and no matter how quick or hard he tried to hit them, they managed to stay one step ahead, and one step out of harm’s way. He growled at them “annoying BRATS! I’ll show you what happens when you cross me!” He broke out of the ice and jumped up, looming over them. He appeared to have grown when he was angered, and he leered down at them from what seemed like miles away. The girls and boys could only gape as they stared up into the face of absolute evil. This may be his ultimate form, but he wasn’t using all of his energy yet. The kids knew this now, and realized with horror that this fight was impossible to win. Him had known that, which was why he had taken them to Him. He was sick of playing games of toying with them; now it was do or die, and the Puffs and Ruffs had no doubt which one of them would survive.
Brick turned to the group and said “listen up. Even if it kills us we have to beat this guy! We have to at least put up a fight! No matter what happens now, we must make sure he realizes that we’re a force to be reckoned with.” Everyone around him nodded, and above them Him appeared to be listening, almost amused with the fact that they intended to fight him. Brick continued, “You know the plan Omega. Let’s put it to action, but then add to it the finishing touches of plan Delta. Got it?” They nodded again, and he turned to lead the way “alright! Let’s go!”
They began to fly around Him’s head, separately heading in different directions. Him angrily swiped his claws at them again and again, but he always missed. Then he saw Boomer fly into view and WHACK managed to hit him on top of his head. He watched, amused, as Boomer fell to the ground a few feet from Blossom. His attention was diverted away from the others though, and wasn’t ready for the direct blow of ten fists hitting his head from different sides. He angrily turned to face them and they were gone again, flying behind him and hitting his head again, which just made him angrier. He turned to face them again and they were behind him again, using their eyebeams to burn his skin. He growled more in annoyance and rage than pain and shot another claw out, which almost hit Blossom. Butch flew down to the ground and hit it with such force that the ground began to open up beneath Him’s feet. Down below red hot lava flowed like a river. Him angrily stomped one of his feet and the gap closed again. “You brats think you can defeat me!?” He roared at them from above furiously, “this is where my power is strongest! No one can beat me!” He grew several more yards taller, his upper half now to high to see, but his voice bellowed down to them just as loud “just give up! Admit defeat!” “NEVER!” They shouted in unison and him roared back, “fine! I gave you the chance to die quickly. I gave you the option to die painlessly. Now you’re going to suffer for all the trouble you’ve caused me! I’ll torture you each until you’re screaming for death, and even then I still won’t deliver. You’ll be sorry you didn’t die earlier, like those other two!” “Brick smirked, but Him was too high up to see it. Behind him, Blossom and Boomer were waking up. Their heads hurt but apart from that they were fine. Blossom of the past and Boomer looked at each other and grinned; they had shared a dream (a common superpower among them) and in the dream they had formulated a plan.
Above them, the group flew constantly around Him, infuriating the demon to no end. Suddenly a green streak flew towards the ground. It was Butch! He hit the ground, creating another crater, and continued to punch the ground, making the hole bigger and bigger. The other Puffs and Ruffs gathered together for another attack, heading straight for Him, who was bringing a claw down on top of them. Blossom of the past and Boomer both got up and flew straight at Him’s feet, knocking him down once again. His claw missed the group, who didn’t miss their chance to defeat Him. They started to punch and kick any part of Him they could reach, and as he was injured more and more the smaller and more like his old self he began to look like. Finally he was weak enough that their attacks sent Him flying into the air and plummeting down into the fiery pit of lava. Butch pounded the ground again, and the hole sealed shut, but not before Him’s screams reached their ears. They had did it. They had finally won. Him would be back, he always came back, but for now they could rest in peace. “We sure showed Him not to mess with us anymore!” Boomer yelled as the others agreed and cheered and flew back home.
