Axis of Evil
By The Steel Angel
Part One
Conflict
The center of the Earth was a lonely place. Full of white-hot
magma, burning iron, and various metals hotter than the surface of the
sun. It’s amazing how anyone or anything could survive in this
place, but yet someone, or something, did. It wasn’t a bacterium,
or even a virus. All of them were killed in the immense
heat. No, the object that lived at this depth was the epitome of
evil itself.
He has
many names. Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, the Dark Prince… but
many just prefer to refer to him as, well, Him. It was
him alone, who lived among the burning metals of the center of the
Earth. Days were like minutes to him. He’d been there since
before time, and would remain there long after it was over.
Mankind was his latest game. He’d spend countless years, decades,
centuries, scanning the planet for the perfect weakness, and then he’d
expose it. Another notch in the belt. Until… until THEY
were created. They couldn’t kill him, he knew that. You
can’t kill someone who’s immortal. But they had managed to foil
some of his best plans. So he’d shifted from trying to plague
humanity, to focusing in on the destruction of those three girls.
Power puffs, they called themselves.
For ten years, they’d been frustrating him. Never aging, never
growing a day older. They were mortal, however. They could
be killed, that he was sure of. But nothing on earth had enough
firepower and stamina to do the deed. It had become a game of cat
and mouse. And as much as he hated to admit it, the girls were
tough opponents. But even super hero’s had weaknesses.
Superman had his kryptonite, after all.
Recently, though, his attention had shifted. Sure, the Powerpuff
girls were his number one enemies, but another tri iad of girls had come
to his attention. The Powerpuff girls merely defended their own
home city. But this new set of teenage girls were foiling his
little side plots all around the globe.
They were almost like a teenage version of the Powerpuff girls
themselves. There was a girl in each group who played the role of
the intelligent leader, the peacemaker, and the short tempered
firecracker. The only difference was, this group of girls were
very, very, very mortal. But why simply kill them when he could
have so much more fun toying with them first?
A new game, he decided. A new game that will rid the earth of
both of these nuisances. A game that could possibly take
decades. But who cared? He wasn’t going anywhere, and this
just might be the end for both the Powerpuff Girls, and for the girls
of WOOHP. He chuckled lightly to himself as he began to put his
plan into motion. “Six blind mice, Six blind mice, see how they
run, see how they SQUIRM!”
“Now be careful, Blossom…” Professor Utonium said as he watched
the red-headed prodigy gently tip the test tube to pour the bubbling
white liquid into a flask perched above a small flame. “Sodium
Tetranitride is a very, very acidic compound.” He said. No
sooner were the words out of his mouth, a few drops of the compound
spilled from the test tube. A few drops landed on the lab table,
which ate through the wood almost instantly. Another few drops
landed on Blossom’s hand.
“Stupid Sodium…” Blossom muttered, and floated over to a nearby sink
to wash her hands. The Professor was still astonished at how the
most dangerous things in the scientific world could barely have an
effect on his three daughters. He shook his head slightly to
clear his mind. Blossom floated back over to the lab table a few
minutes later, smiling at him. “Has anything happened
yet?!” She asked excitedly. He smiled. It was great
to have at least one of his daughters so interested in Science.
Bubbles wouldn’t understand even the basic elements of Chemistry, and
Buttercup simply wouldn’t want to understand. It was times like
these when he was thankful that he had Blossom.
“Just watch, sweetheart.” The Professor said. Blossom
leaned close to the burning flask, and the bubbling white liquid
inside. The professor reached over and took what looked like a
container that medication would come in, but was filled with an
assortment of silver crystals. He pulled out one of the crystals,
and dropped it into the flask. The mixture began to bubble wildly
for a few seconds, then it turned black almost instantly.
“Whoa!” Blossom exclaimed, and looked back up at the
professor. “How did you do that?!” She asked
excitedly. He smiled down at her.
“When you add an Alkali metal to a nonmetal salt compound under the
catalyst of heat, you produce a far more stable compound.” He
explained.
“Far more
stable?” She said, thinking. She looked back at the
flask. The heat was on full blast, but the mixture didn’t
bubble. “Is this…..Chemical X?” She asked. The
Professor shook his head.
“No. Chemical X is a very unstable compound. That’s why it
was so eager to merge with the things that created, well, you.
When a compound is stable, it doesn’t want to fuse with anything.
This would be the improved version of Chemical X. I call it,
Chemical Double X.” He said proudly. Blossom rolled her
eyes.
“Way to be
cliche, Professor.” She said. The Professor smirked and
started tickling her. “What was that?” He asked.
“He….Hey! Stooooooop iiiiiiiit!!!” She squealed.
She could have easily pushed him away, but rather enjoyed the feeling
of being a normal little girl, if even for a few moments. She
kept giggling, until the Professor stopped the tickling a few minutes
later. Blossom, however, still latched onto him, wrapping her
arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder. The
Professor patted her back softly.
“I think I’d better go start dinner, before your sisters get too
impatient. You know how they can be.” He said.
“They just need to grow up.” Blossom said. The Professor
smiled sadly. They’d never grow up. He knew that.
They’d remain little girls forever…. The chemical X in their bodies
constantly renewing the flesh, and the brain cells. They didn’t
know that they’d been alive for ten years. It made the Professor
even sadder to think about what they’d do, once he passed away.
“Well, regardless. What do you say to…Spaghetti and
Meatballs?” He asked. Blossom responded by rubbing her
stomach and licking her lips. He smiled. “Then pasta it
is.” He said, and headed upstairs. Blossom floated away
from the Professor, and zipped upstairs to where her two sisters were
waiting. Bubbles was playing her new Puppet Pals video game, and
Buttercup was lying across the couch, snoring.
Blossom floated over to Buttercup’s sleeping body, and shook her
lightly. Buttercup grumbled and rolled over. “Go
‘way…” She said almost incoherantly. Blossom smirked, and
took a deep breath. When she exhaled, tiny subzero particles made
their way out of her mouth, and onto the warm flesh of Buttercup’s
face. Buttercup’s eyes snapped open. “Jesus!” SHe
said, then sneezed. Blossom giggled.
“The Professor’s making dinner.” She said. Buttercup growled.
“You iced my face to tell me THAT?!” She said irritably.
“What are we havin’, Blossom?” Bubbles asked, looking up from her
video game. For the life of her, Buttercup couldn’t figure out
why Bubbles was so damn cheery all the time. She’d only seen
Bubbles actually get mad a couple of times, and to be honest, it had
scared her. Not that she’d admit it, of course.
“Spaghetti and Meatballs.” Blossom answered.
“Wheee! I love Spaghetti!” Bubbles squealed happily, and
zipped into the kitchen to wait for the Professor to finish
dinner. Blossom smiled at her, then sat down on the couch next to
Buttercup, who was sitting upright and staring straight ahead
now. She had a blank look on her face. Blossom quirked one
of her eyebrows. As much as her and Buttercup fought, she still
loved her just as much as Bubbles and the Professor.
“Buttercup? Is something wrong?” She asked. Buttercup
shifted her blank stare to focus on Blossom. She kept the pose
for a few minutes, then shook her head.
“What am I, a baby? I’m fine. Or I would be, if you hadn’t
blown ice on my face and an inevitable cold.” She said.
Blossom rolled her eyes, but still felt concerned. Why had
Buttercup’s face been so blank? “What? Why are you staring
at me?” Buttercup asked. Blossom shook her head.
“Nothing.” She said. Buttercup rolled her eyes.
“Weirdo.” She said, and began to float toward the kitchen.
“Hey, Buttercup?” Blossom asked. Buttercup turned her head
toward Blossom, stopping in mid-flight.
“Yeah?” She asked.
“I know I don’t really say it much….. but I love you.” Blossom
said, expecting some rude retort from Buttercup, and was surprised when
it didn’t come.
“And
you think I’m the one who’s acting weird?” She said with a smirk,
but kept her voice low. “But yeah yeah, love you too.” She
said, and floated into the kitchen without another word. Blossom
blinked. That was about as close as Buttercup had ever come to
being affectionate toward her. She chose not to dwell on it,
however, and floated into the kitchen after them for dinner.
“Careful…..careful….” Sam whispered as Clover carried one of the
test tubes back to their lab station. Clover rolled her eyes,
swinging the test tube back and forth.
“Relax, Sammie. It’s just chlorine. We swim with this
stuff.” The blond said.
“Clover, that’s Chlorine GAS!” Sam exclaimed. Clover just
looked blank. Sam slapped her forehead as the younger hispanic
girl read from the chemistry book.
“Chlorine, in its solid and liquid form, is relatively harmless, while
Chlorine in its natural gas form is highly flammable and toxic.”
Alex read. Clover shrugged.
“So? It’s corked.” She stated. Sam just shook her head.
“Just gimme the tube.” She said. Clover handed her the test
tube, and she placed it carefully in the test tube rack, inside the
small, airtight chamber. She picked up the lab instructions, and
read down to the line at which they were at. “Take a small piece
of solid sodium and place it inside the chamber with the chlorine
gas.” She stated. “Alex, can you go get the sodium?”
She asked. Alex nodded and walked up to the front desk.
“Um…. um…” She stammered, looking at all the different
containers. They weren’t labeled with the names of the elements,
but rather, their symbols as they appeared on the periodic table.
There were four containers, each with a different symbol. There
was a container marked “S-“, a container marked “Na”, a container
marked “St3”, and a container marked “Cl-2”. “Hmm… Sodium
starts with an S…. so it can’t be Na or Cl…. and there’s no t in
Sodium…. so this one!” She said, grabbing a crystal as big as a
bottlecap from the “S-” container. She walked back to the lab
station.
“Did you get the Sodium?” Sam asked. Alex nodded.
“Yep!” She said.
“Good.” Sam said, and reached in through the small container with
the built-in latex glove, and uncorked the test tube of Chlorine,
letting the green gas fill the small chamber. She unscrewed one
of the valves on the outside of the box. “Who wants to put in the
Sodium?” She asked. Alex raised her hand, while Clover was
paying little attention, just leaning against the lab station, filing
her nails. “Clover, try and at least APPEAR interested.”
She said.
“Why
bother? This whole experiment is stupid. Why do we have to
make salt when we can go to the store and buy a pound and a half of the
stuff for three bucks?” She said. Sam just shook her head,
and nodded to Alex. Alex smiled, and dropped in the
crystal. Sam saw way too late, that the crystal leaving her hand
wasn’t that of a Sodium crystal, but that of a Sulfur crystal.
“Noooo!!!!” Sam cried. No sooner then the long scream was
out of Sam’s mouth, the dynamic reaction began to occur. Sparks
were flying around inside the box as the highly combustable sulfur
crystal came into contact with the even more hyperactive chlorine
molecules. “DUCK!” Sam screamed, which Alex obediantly
did. Clover, on the other hand, was mesmorized by the
sparks. “Clover!” Sam cried, but it was too late. The box
exploded, sending a shower of sparks, propelled by pent up pressure
inside the airtight chamber.
“Wah!” Clover yelped, and tried to scramble out of the way, but
to no avail. One of the blusish sparks landed on Clover’s head,
amidst the quarter can of hairspray that she used every morning.
The fire spread across Clover’s head almost instantly, leaving Clover
screaming for dear life. Alex quickly grabbed a nearby fire
extinguisher, and aimed it straight at Clover’s head, sending a gray
stream of carbon dioxide foam at her, which stopped the fire.
Clover was still hysterical. “M….my….my HAIR!!!!” She
screamed.
The rest of
the class was silent during Clover’s hysteria, except for one shrill
laugh. “Don’t you know that you shouldn’t play with fire,
Cuh-loser? You’ll always get burned,” A voice said.
Clover locked her death gaze on a certain purple haired witch.
“You think this is funny?! I’ll kill you!” Clover screamed,
and ran straight at Mandy, slamming her fist into Mandy’s face.
Mandy flew back, helpless to fend off Clover’s far superior physical
strength. Sam and Alex both rushed over.
“Clover, knock it off!” Alex yelled, and pulled Clover away from
a bleeding Mandy. Clover shrugged her off violently, pushing her
away.
“Don’t touch
me! This is all YOUR fault! If you weren’t so stupid, you’d
have put in the right fucking chemical, and I’d still have my
hair!” She screamed.
“Now that’s enough, Clover! It isn’t fair to put all the blame on
Alex. If you wouldn’t use a gallon of hairspray every morning,
and if you’d have ducked, none of this would have happened.” Sam
explained.
“What-EVER!” Clover growled, and stomped out of the science lab
angrily, leaving the rest of her classmates shocked, leaving Mandy
still bleeding from the nose, and leaving Alex wimpering.
“She’s right…. it is my fault…” Alex, said, sniffling.
Sam put an arm around Alex comfortingly.
“Hey, don’t listen to her. She’s just upset is all. You
know how she can get.” Sam said. Alex sighed, and laid her
head on Sam’s shoulder, as Sam rubbed Alex’s back softly.
“She hates me…” Alex whispered.
“Oh she does not.” Sam said. “Remember that time I actually
got David to agree to go shopping with me, and Clover said that she
hated me?” Sam asked. Alex looked up at her drolly.
“Yeah. And she didn’t talk to you for three weeks.” Alex countered.
“Point is, we’re friends now. Just give her some time to cool
off.” Sam said.
“…Kay. I trust you, Sammie.” Alex said. Sam nodded,
as the class began to come to life again with soft murmurs. Sam
sighed, as she looked over at Mandy, still clutching her nose.
She walked over to her, and extended her hand to help Mandy up.
Mandy looked at her strangely.
“What are you doing?” She snapped.
“Trying to help you up, maybe?” Sam snapped back. Mandy
stared at her hand for a few moments, then grasped it, letting Sam lift
her to her feet. “I’m really sorry about this…. Clover has a
short fuse, as I’m sure you know.” She said, almost
friendily. Mandy rolled her eyes.
“Are you telling me that if those pretty sunset locks went up in
flames, that you WOULDN’T punch someone, Sammykins?” She said
with her usual arrogant tone. Sam looked at her strangely.
She’d never seen Mandy look vulnerable, but right now, with her
clutching a bloody nose, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for
her. Then again, she’d never seen Clover punch anyone in the
face, unless they were on a mission. Sam smiled.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to the bathroom so we can get you cleaned
up.” She said, and started to walk with Mandy out of the
classroom, leaving Alex and the rest of the class to clean up the
experiment gone wrong.
“I think I know how to wash my face.” Mandy said sarcastically,
but didn’t protest being walked tot he bathroom. Once they were
out of the classroom, and alone in the hallway, Sam noticed a slight
change in Mandy’s demeanor. There was a sort of slouch in her
walk, like she was relieved about something. “Geeze, it felt like
getting hit by a truck,” She said softly.
“Clover’s no ditzy airhead. She took self defense classes a few
years back. Guess they come in handy.” She said.
Mandy smirked.
“Did you take them too?” She asked. Sam nodded.
“Clover, Alex, and I took them. I still don’t know how she got
Alex and I to agree to it.” Sam said, as she pushed the bathroom
door open for Mandy, and leaned against it while she went inside to
wash her face. “Let me see your nose to make sure everything is
all right. Wouldn’t want you to walk around with a broken nose
all day.” She said, and put both her hands on the side of Mandy’s
head, inspecting her nose.
“This feels degrading,” Mandy commented. Sam didn’t say anything
until she was done inspecting.
“Looks like you’re good to go. Just don’t piss Clover off in the
next week or two.” She said. Mandy smirked.
“Oh, whatever will I do? I guess I’ll just have to pick on you
and Alex.” She said, with a mock sigh. Sam giggled.
“Come on, let’s get back to class.” She said.
“Sure… hey, Sammykins?” She asked. Sam turned her head to
look at her.
“Hm?” She asked.
“Do you wanna come over to my house sometime, or something?” She
asked. Sam looked unsure.
“What for?”
Mandy shrugged. “I dunno. Hang out, watch movies, go
shopping.” She said. Sam still looked unsure.
“Well…. sure… I guess. I’ll give you a call.” Sam
said. “Or you can call me. My cell number is
554-1184. Call me any time.” She said. Mandy nodded,
as they both walked back into the science lab.
“Hoh hoh! This is going better than planned!” He squealed
in a soft, dulcet tone, as he leaned against his couch. “None of
them suspect a thing, and yet I’m tearing both groups apart by the
inside. All it takes is darkness in one member’s heart to destroy
a team. And once the team is destroyed, the individuals will fall
like paper dolls!” He said excitedly.
His gazed focused on the television in front of him, which showed a
split screen. One focusing on Buttercup, and the other focusing
on Clover. “The weak links of any group might often be percieved
as the strongest, and the percieved weak links of the group may in fact
be the glue that holds the group together… these two. Yes,
these two are the weak links. Target the darkness in their
hearts, bring it to the surface, exploit it, and then the group will
crumble.” He said, still chuckling. Then, in his evil tone,
“And once that happens, nothing will stand in my way! Nothing!”
“Bubbles! Circle around from behind!” Blossom yelled as she
began to implement one of her strategic plans against the current
monster of the week. Bubbles did as she was instructed, and
circled around behind the monster, as Blossom zoomed straight at its
belly. Buttercup, on the other hand, was aiming straight at the
monster’s head. “Buttercup! Stick with the plan!”
Blossom commanded.
“Bite me, Red!” The brunette shouted, and aimed her foot at the
monster’s snout. Blossom growled and changed direction, zooming
straight up, and into Buttercup’s stomach, knocking her out of the
way. “What the hell are you doing?!” Buttercup demanded.
“I’m the leader here! You do what I say!” Blossom yelled.
“You’re not the boss of me!” Buttercup retorted, and aimed her
eyebeams at the Monster’s head, which nearly disentigrated it.
The rest of the monster fell backwards, which Bubbles lifted into the
air, and flew out to the water to dispose of. Blossom got right
back in Buttercup’s face.
“You do as I say, or you don’t do at all!” Blossom screamed.
“I said bite me! Why the hell should I listen to you? All
you are is a power-hungry control freak with the personality of a text
book!” Buttercup retorted.
“And you’re a bloodthirsty lunatic who’s going to get us all
killed!” Blossom countered.
“I don’t have to take this garbage from you!” Buttercup growled,
and fired her eyebeams at Blossom from point blank range. The
beams struck Blossom in the side of the face, which left a smoking scar
across her face.
“Buttercup! Stop it!” Blossom yelled. But Buttercup
was in a rage now. There was no stopping her.
“No! I’m sick of always taking orders from you! You’re not
my master!” She screeched, and took off into the city.
Blossom stared after her. There were few times when Buttercup
worked herself up into a frenzy, and the only thing that anyone could
do, was wait for Buttercup to tire herself out. That could take
hours. Days, even. Blossom just stared into the city as
Bubbles returned to join Blossom after disposing of the monster.
“All done. Hey, where’s Buttercup?” Bubbles asked
cutely. Despite the entire battle, Bubbles had remained cheery,
bubbly, and above all else, nice. Why couldn’t Buttercup be more
like Bubbles?
“She got
worked up again. She’ll come home later on tonight.”
Blossom said, still staring into the city.
“I hate it when she gets like that.” Bubbles said. “Does
she even care ’bout you an’ me?” Bubbles asked innocently.
Blossom smiled slightly, and put a hand on Bubbles’ shoulder.
“Of course she does. She just has a hard time showing it.”
Blossom said, and started back toward home, with Bubbles floating
silently behind her. She brought a hand up to rub her cheek where
Buttercup’s eyebeams had grazed her. She was bleeding.
“Damned eyebeams,” Blossom said, wiping the blood off of her
face.
“Are you
okay?” Bubbles asked, looking concerned. “I’ve never seen
you bleed before.” She said.
“Buttercup’s never fired her eyebeams at me from two feet away before,
either.” Blossom said with a slight smirk. Bubbles shrugged
slightly, and floated into their house, followed by Blossom. The
house was lit up, since the evening had already settled in. The
professor would be down in the lab until around eight, when he usually
came up to make dinner. Bubbles settled down onto the couch,
finally getting a chance to relax.
“Ahhh…. I’m tired…” She said with a long yawn. Blossom
floated to the other end of the couch, picking up the remote to turn on
the TV, but was interrupted by the hotline. Blossom sighed.
“Not again…” Bubbles whined, as Blossom floated over to answer
the phone.
“Yes
Mayor?” She asked. But it wasn’t the Mayor on the phone, it
was Ms. Bellum.
“Girls,
you need to get down here quick! Buttercup is destroying City
Hall!” She said urgently. Blossom blinked. Did she
just say that Buttercup was destroying City Hall? “Please
hurry…. the Mayor is…. is…” The connection was cut before Ms.
Bellum had a chance to finish her sentence. Blossom slammed the
phone down.
“Bubbles, we gotta go. Now.” She said.
“What’s happenin’?” Bubbles asked, floating up.
“Buttercup’s gone haywire, that’s what.” Blossom said, and
streaked out the window before Bubbles had a chance to respond.
There was a large dust cloud forming above the city, made from the dust
of concrete being crushed. Blossom stopped just above City Hall,
or what was left of it. The building had been totalled, which is
what had cut the connection to the hotline. She spotted Ms.
Bellum hiding in a small alcove of uncollapsed concrete.
“Bubbles, go get Ms. Bellum and help any survivors… I’ll look for
Buttercup.” Blossom said. Bubbles nodded.
“Be careful, Blossom…” Bubbles said worridly, then swooped down
to help out the people inside City Hall. Blossom turned to look
at the city, scanning for Buttercup. Her clue came when her
ultrasonic hearing picked up the faint sounds of a scream, coming from
the direction of the mall.
“There!” Blossom exclaimed, and shot toward the mall as fast as
she could. When she stopped, she opened her mouth in an
expression of horror. Buttercup was perched above the mall,
firing her eyebeams into the support pillars of the mall, causing the
ceiling to collapse in different places. “Buttercup!”
Blossom shouted. Buttercup turned around, and stopped her
destruction.
“What do you want?” She asked simply.
“What do you mean, what do I want?! Why are you doing
this?! You’re hurting people!” Blossom cried.
Buttercup just chuckled.
“So what? They deserve it. Ungrateful bastards have it
coming.” Buttercup said coldly.
“What are you talking about?!” Blossom demanded.
“All they do is depend on us! They don’t see us as people, they
see us as a can of raid. As something to help them. And I’m sick of it! I’m sick of them! I’m sick of everything!” She screamed.
“You’re wrong, Buttercup. We’re people, just like everyone
else.” Blossom said with a cool tone. Buttercup laughed,
and held up one of her fingerless hands.
“Does this look normal, Red? How how about these soccer ball
sized eyes? Yeah, I’m sure NORMAL people can fire lazers out of
their eyes and fly. Don’t you get it? We’re freaks to
them. Freaks!” She yelled.
“That’s not a justifiable reason to go on a murderous rampage!”
Blossom yelled, just as loud. Buttercup just looked at her with
an icy glare.
“You’re a
tool, Blossom. That’s all you are. You and Bubbles and
me. We’re tools. The only difference is, I’m not going to
take it anymore. You know what happens to tools? They get
worn out. They chip. They break. And what do people
do? They get new tools.” Buttercup said coldly.
“What’s happened to you? This isn’t the Buttercup that I
know. The person talking right now isn’t my sister. This
isn’t the person that said that she loved me last night.” Blossom
said. Buttercup laughed.
“Save your breath, Blossom. Just go home.” Buttercup
said. Blossom stood her ground.
“No. If you keep hurting people, then I’ll have to stop you by
force.” Blossom said.
“You? Stop me? By force?” Buttercup said, suppressing
a laugh. “You couldn’t fend off a cough with a bottle of
NyQuil.” Buttercup said, and went back to firing her lasers at
the mall ruins. Blossom growled. She wasn’t going to stand
idly by and let Buttercup do this. Even if it meant taking down
her own sister, she’d do it to save the city. She streaked
foreward, slamming her head into Buttercup’s chest. “Ooof!”
Buttercup cried.
“Stop it right now and come with me quietly.” Blossom ordered.
“Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m not your average bank
robber.” Buttercup said, dropping into a fighting stance.
Bloossom reluctantly assumed a fighting posture as well. As much
as she wanted to end this without violence, it didn’t seem as if it was
an option right now.
The two girls streaked at each other, leaving a trail of pink and a
trail of green in the sky. People in the city stared up in awe as
Powerpuff squared off against Powerpuff. Each one of them let
loose a barrage of punches to the body of the other, trying to wear
them down. Neither one bothered to try and block the
punches. Each blow that was landed made the other girl even
madder, and made her swing even harder.
This is getting us no where, Blossom thought. She swung her elbow
upwards, connecting squarely with Buttercup’s chin, which knocked her
off balance. Blossom took the window of opportunity, and let
loose a rapid fire series of punches to Buttercup’s stomach,
effectively knocked the wind out of her. Tough love, Blossom
thought. She grabbed Buttercup around the waist, and sped toward
the ground, only to release Buttercup at the last moment, sending her
brunette sister plowing into the asphalt. Blossom floated back
up, looking down into the massive crater that the impact had
caused. “Maybe that knocked some sense into her.”
Blossom narrowed her eyes as Buttercup reappeared. She didn’t
appear to be scathed at all. This fight could go on for
hours. But there was a certain fire in her eyes that she’d never
seen before. It was like there was an all consuming rage going on
right behind her eyes. She looked almost…. evil. “Back
for more?” Blossom asked.
“Heaven itself couldn’t keep me away from killing you.” Buttercup
answered in a deep tone. Both of them took off toward each other
at the same time, leaving the skies shaking at the force of their
attack.
“Excellent job, girls. As usual.” Jerry complimented as he
rode inside one of the WOOHP jets back to Beverly Hills, sitting across
from a smiling Alex, a grinning Sam, and a frowning Clover.
Clover wasn’t frowning because of the mission, but because of the blond
wig she was wearing until her hair could grow back from the fire.
“Aww, it was nothin’. Bad guys don’t stand a chance against us,
right girls?” Alex said, putting an arm around Clover and
Sam. Clover grumbled and shrugged her off, and Sam gave her a
peace sign with her fingers.
“Correct amundo.” Sam said, causing Alex to smile even
more. She was happy that Alex was so giddy after the disaster in
the science lab earlier that day, but she couldn’t help but notice a
subtle change in Clover’s personality during the mission. She
didn’t once mention her latest squeeze of the week, nor did she comment
once about any kind of fashion designer, or anything. She was
like a business woman. Cold and ruthless.
“When are you gonna stop moping, Clover?” Alex asked
good-heartedly. Clover glared at her like a death incarnate.
“When my hair grows back!” She snapped. Alex wimpered
slightly at the verbal abuse, and moved slightly closer to Sam’s
seat. Sam chuckled lightly, and then felt something against her
thigh. Her cell phone was on vibrate. She took it out of
her pocket, and answered.
“Hello?” She greeted.
“Hey Sammykins.” A voice answered. It was Mandy.
“Hey Mandy. What’s up?” Sam answered, getting a death look
from Clover. She was appalled that Sam had actually given the
Wicked Witch of Bev High her cell phone number.
“Nothing really, just wanted to see if you were still up for coming
over tonight.” Mandy answered. Now, Sam thought. How
to answer this with Clover sitting just two seats away…
“Sure thing. Eight?” Sam asked.
“Come any time. I’ll have the butler and valet ready for
you.” Mandy said, then hung up before Sam had a chance to protest
the special treatment. She sighed and hung up the phone.
“You’re going to see MANDY?!” Clover exploded.
“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” Sam asked calmly.
“Duh! It’s like, treason!” Clover protested.
“No it isn’t. It’s the least I can do after you nearly broke her
nose this afternoon.” Sam said. Clover growled.
“Hey Jerr? Can you take me back to WOOHP Headquarters? I
need to finish a few things in the Science Lab so I don’t totally fail
chemistry.” Clover said.
“I don’t see why that would be a problem.” Jerry said, and
nodded. Alex and Sam exchanged glances. Since when did
Clover care about her school work?
“Well, I need to get home. And Alex…. you go do…whatever it
is you do at night.” Sam said with a chuckle. Alex giggled.
“For your information, I
have a date tonight. So hmph to you.” Alex said
proudly. Sam smiled.
“Oh yeah? Who’s the lucky guy?” Sam said.
“Ladanian. From Home-ec.” Alex replied.
“That hunky black guy on the baseball team?” Sam asked.
Alex nodded happily. Sam patted her shoulder. “Well good
luck on that. I want details tomorrow.” She said.
“Hey, I don’t kiss and tell….much.” Alex said. Both girls
giggled at the jet dropped them off. It was cloaked with a
stealthg shield of course. “See you later, Clover.” Alex
said with a wave. Clover gave a faint wave back, but didn’t look
at them, as the jet lifted off again. “Is it just me, or is
Clover acting weird?” Alex said, once the jet was gone.
“No, it isn’t just you…but I can’t figure out what’s wrong with
her.” Sam said, as they began to walk home.
“Maybe she just needs a good nights rest.” Alex said. Sam
nodded, knowing that a good nights sleep probably wouldn’t help matters
much. “I’ve gotta get home to get ready. So I’ll see you
tomorrow, Sammie.” Alex said, and gave Sam a hug. Sam
hugged back, and made her way down the street toward Mandy’s mansion,
still lost in thought on what was wrong with her best friend.
There had been something missing in Clover’s eyes. Her usual
spunkiness and passion were gone. Certainly losing her hair would
cause Clover to lose those things.
She held up a vial of green gas, held in place by the stopper on top of
the flask. She looked back and Jerry, and walked over to him with
a smile. “Amazing what chemistry can teach us.” She said,
holding up the vial. Jerry looked at it for a few moments.
“Chlorine gas?” He inquired. Clover nodded, twirling the
flask in her hand.
“Isn’t it hypnotic? The way the gas flows, even though there’s no
breeze? It’s like a lava lamp.” Clover said, admiring the
gas.
“Quite.
Chemistry is all around us, whether we realize it or not. Once
you learn how to understand chemistry, you have a better understanding
of the world around you.” Jerry said philosohpically.
Clover kept twirling the flask. “Clover, you know Chlorine gas is
very deadly.” Jerry said fatherly.
“I know.” Clover said, and pulled the stopper out of the
flask. Before any of the gas could escape into the air, she
grabbed Jerry’s head, and forced the top of the flask into his
mouth. The green cloud of death made its way into Jerry’s mouth,
throat and lungs. He started gasping when Clover removed the
flask.
“Cl….Clo…..Sam….” He gasped, reaching for his master
compowder. Clover stepped on his wrist before he could reach
it. He looked up at her in horror, as he began to feel the pain
of the gas. The cells in his lungs and throat were
disolving. He was melting from the inside out.
“Why….?” He gasped in his final breath, and collapsed on the
floor, deteriorating by the minute.
“Sorry Jerr, but you’ve got the keys to the gadget room.” Clover
said, and reached down to take the keys off of Jerry’s belt. She
stuck them into her pocket, and calmly left the WOOHP science lab, and
walked down the narror corridor to the Research and Development
facility. She took out Jerry’s keys again, and opened the
door. “Jackpot.” She whispered to herself.
The room was stacked to the ceiling with new prototype gadgets.
Some she’d used before, others she hadn’t. Some, she’d never even
seen. She grabbed a few of the backpacks that the three always
used from the corner, and began stuffing them to the brim with
gadgets. She didn’t care what they were, or how they
worked. All she knew, was that this would give her an advantage
over the others. Sam and Alex, that is, if they tried to stop
her, which they most certainly would.
“Stop right there!” A male voice shouted. Clover’s head
jerked toward the door. Three large men brandishing automatic
weapons were standing there. She discreetly picked up a tube of
laser lipstick, and slipped on one of the backpacks. “Clover
Debois, you’re under arrest for the murder of Jerry McCleanan
Lewis. Now put your arms up.” One of the guards
ordered. Clover did as she was told, raising her arms slowly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, guys…. but getting arrested
would seriously get in the way of my plans.” She said, and
flipped the top off of the lipstick tube. She squeezed, sending
the deadly laser right through one of the guard’s head. He fell,
dead, without a twitch.
“Oh my god!” Another guard screamed. The third guard was
more alert, however, and noticed Clover initiating the built in jetpack
on the backpack.
“Open
fire! Don’t let her escape!” The guard shouted, and the two
remaining guards let loose with their machine guns. Clover began
to burn a hole in the roof, then pushed her jetpack into overdrive.
“Toodles.” She said, and took off through the hole in the
ceiling. She blasted into the sky, almost sure to be trailed by
WOOHP personel. Never the less, she turned south, and pushed her
jetpack as hard as it could go. Surely, it would have enough
juice to make it past the Mexican Border.
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” A voice said, apparently out of
no where. Clover stopped, hovering in place. She looked all
around her, then up, then down, but saw no one.
“Who said that?” She asked.
“What, you can’t see me? Let me give you a peek.” The
duilcet voice said. Then, right in front of Clover, he
materialized. Clover instantly knew who this was, but was a
little surprised. She was picturing more of an evil looking being
for Satan. This creature looked almost friendly. He was
red, but had lobster-like claws, a harmless face with a little goatee,
and a very friendly voice.
“Y…You’re…” She said fearfully.
“Oh come now, Clover. I’m not such a bad person….” Then uin his
deep, evil voice, “Once you get to know me.” He said.
“Wh…what do y…you….wa….want?” Clover asked.
“You must know by now, that you can’t go back. You’re a
muuuuuuurderer.” Him said. Clover closed her eyes, and
tried to take off, away from this creature, only to find that her
engine had been cut off. Yet she was still hovering.
Probably by his will. “I know the hate and rage you’re feeling
now. It’s not a bad thing to let it come to the surface.”
He said, rolling his head to one side.
“Shut up! I still love my family. My friends…”
Clover said, trying to blockt he Satanic figure from her mind.
“Of course you do. But they don’t love you, Clover. Would a
friend that loves you, burn off all your hair?” He asked.
Clover gritted her teeth.
“That was an accident.” She said.
“But did she apologize? Did she offer you anything as
compensation?” He pressed.
“…No.” Clover said.
“And would a friend that loves you, betray you by going to “hang out”
with the person on Earth that you hate more than anyone else?” He
asked.
“…No.” Clover repeated.
“And would a mother that loves you keep things from you? Things
that you have every right in the world to be aware of? Would
she?” He asked. Clover blinked.
“What are you talking about?” She asked, opening her eyes to look at him.
“The truth about your father.” Him said, with a huge smirk on his face.
“What truth?” Clover asked.
“Your father was an evil, evil man, Clover.” Him said.
“…How?” She asked. Him smirked again, and a scene began
to roll just over his head. In the scene, there was a video
studio. Couches, lounge tables and a camera. A man stepped
into the scene, behind the camera. “That’s my dad…”
Clover said. Him nodded as the scene continued. Two other
adult males stepped into the Camera’s view. Actors. But
they were naked. “My father directed porn? That’s not THAT
bad.” Clover said, then gasped in horror. A cute little
smiling girl joined the two adults. She must have been three
years old. She was blond with blue eyes. “Oh god
no…” Clover whispered as the scene transpired.
“Yes. Your father exploited you in his adult movies. Grown
men had sex with your supple little three year old body.” He
said. Clover was crying now.
“Oh god…. why…?” She whispered. Him moved closer to
her. Close enough to whisper in her ear.
“Because he didn’t love you. And neither does your mother.
She knew about the whole thing, but never did a thing to stop
it.” Him said. Clover wiped the tears out of her
eyes. “Human beings are selfish, selfish creatures. They
don’t care about anyone but themselves. Not their friends, not
even their own family. Except for you, Clover. You were in
the right here. It’s the human race, that has betrayed
you.” He said.
“How could I have been so stupid…” She whispered.
“Everyone makes mistakes. But there’s still time to make it
right. To make them know that they betrayed you.” He said,
putting one of his claws on Clover’s shoulder. She looked up at
him, a tear still in her eye.
“How…?” She asked.
“Put them through the same pain you went through when they betrayed
you. Then everything will be right again.” He said.
“I’m just a regular girl…” She said. Him smirked, and
started laughing. He held up his other claw, which held a small
test tube.
“Drink
this. It will give you powers far beyond anything you could
imagine.” He said. Clover hesitated for a moment, but then
took the test tube.
“What is it?” She asked.
“It’s a chemical that has no name. But trust me, the end will
justify the means.” He said. Clover nodded slightly, and
downed the test tube. Almost instantly, she felt a wave of
physical strength well up underneath her own. “Now you have the
strength of a hundred thousand men…. along with other powers.”
He said. Clover blinked, then dropped her backpack. She
floated by herself.
“I
can fly…” She said. “How does my brain know how to do
this…” She whispered to herself.
“It’s the nature of the chemical.” Him said, smirking as Clover
tested out her laser eye beams.
“This is awesome….” she said. Him grinned.
“Then go. Go take revenge on the people that’ve betrayed
you.” Him commanded. Clover simply nodded, and took off
back toward the city, followed by a red streak. Him chuckled to
himself. His plan was playing out perfectly, and by giving her a
sample of the imperfect chemical X that he’d obtained from Mojo-Jojo,
he could simply kill her when he was done. Other things were
happening though. Things that he needed to be witness to.
“Don’t kill her yet, my precious little Buttercup.” He said
dulcetly, and dissapeared.
Sam blushed slightly as she stepped out of the changing room and into
the room that contained Mandy’s huge, luxurious indoor pool, in a
shining green bikini. “You know, you didn’t have to get them to
tailor me a custom bathing suit, Mandy.” She said, looking at
Mandy, who was floating on a raft in the middle of the pool.
Mandy put down her drink in the cup holder, and lifted her sunglasses.
“That’s what they get paid for, Sam.” She said. Sam
shrugged slightly, causing Mandy to giggle. “Now get in the
water. It isn’t cold or anything.” She said. Sam
smirked, and took a running jump into the pool, splashing Mandy.
“Augh!” Mandy cried, surprised. Sam rose to the surface,
laughing.
“YOU get in
the water. You’ve been lying on that raft for an hour.” Sam
said. Mandy smirked, and slid into the water. Her bikini
was similar to Sam’s, only jet black with purple stripes. Sam
smiled, and swam over to her. “Can I ask you a question?”
She said.
“Shoot. I’ve got nothin’ to hide.” Mandy retorted.
“Why did you REALLY invite me over?” Sam asked, noticing Mandy’s
blush. She stammered for a few moments, before answering.
“Well…. I don’t really have any friends.” Mandy said
quietly. Sam stared at her drolly.
“You have your own fan club.” She reminded. Mandy rolled her eyes.
“I mean REAL friends…. those people are just in love with my
image. My popularity. I don’t have anyone that I’d trust a
secret to, let alone someone that I’d call a best friend.” She
said. Sam put a hand on Mandy’s shoulder, earing a deeper blush
from Mandy. Sam smiled.
“Well, I’m your friend.” She said with a smile. Mandy’s
blush faded, and she smiled slghtly as well.
“Thanks, Sam…” Mandy said softly, then looked into her
eyes. “Um…. actually… there’s another reason…” She
said, biting her lip slightly. Sam looked curious.
“Oh? What is it?” Sam asked.
“Well…. it’s because I’m-” Before Mandy had a chance to finish
her sentence, both girls were dragged underwater by a massive suction
force. When they could finally breathe again, they were sliding
down a long tube.
“Ahhhh!!!! Not nooooooowwwww!!!!!!” Sam screamed.
“What the hell is going on?!?!” Mandy demanded, as they landed on
the floor at WOOHP headquarters, and were greeted by a young asian girl
in a blue jumpsuit.
“Hey girls.” Brittany said with a smile.
END PART ONE OF TWO