Endless Possibilities

Endless Possibilities

Author's Note: Here is where the story begins in earnest.

Chapter 1

XxXxX

The City of Townsville! The sun shined down beautifully on a warm Spring day. To and fro, the townies ran about in a gleeful flurry of work and activity. Even the villains of Townsville were hard at work, given new strength by the beautiful day to go the extra mile in bringing destruction and chaos to the great city. Of those villains, none was working harder than the simian genius, Mojo Jojo.

“Yes! Yes! Truly this will be my greatest, most powerful, most devious creation of all!” Mojo tightened the last screw, whistling his own rendition of “Janie's Got a Gun”. The supervillain stalked to his computer console, running a diagnostics check on his latest mechanical weapon of mass destruction.

The device itself was a fighting robot, dubbed the Ultimate Fighting Robo Jojo Mach 27.13. It took up the entire span of the room from top to bottom, with massive, sturdy legs made of silver-blue duranium, reinforced by several layers of titanium preventing any easy chance of toppling the monstrosity. The body was large and thick, packed with enough hidden weapons to take out an entire army. The arms were long and bulky, with massive hands that came down passed the Robo Jojo's knees. The head was shaped like a robotic version of Mojo's own, capped with a duranium turban.

“Yes, yes! The power levels are at optimum efficiency; energy output is nearly five times that of those accursed girls' own robot! At long last! I, Mojo Jojo, have finished my ultimate, greatest invention! The day of Townsville's reckoning has come at last!” The villain burst into maniacal laughter, arms stretched out and eyes clenched shut. Behind him the Robo Jojo loomed ominously.

XxXxX

A year in hiding is nothing to the great and mighty Aku...it was a year well spent...

A thick sludge-like substance slipped through the sewers beneath Townsville. It had grown to twice the size it was upon escaping from the Utonium residence a year before. The sludge came to a halt, trembling as it came across a foreboding presence in the distance—light pouring in from the world above.

I've grown powerful lying in wait...collecting power from this miserable planet. Hatred, agony, destruction, pain, lies, sin, and terror have all flowed into me...but something is wrong...

The sludge slid closer to the light, bits and pieces dripping off haphazardly into the sewer water. It peered up at the light, choosing instead to slide into the water and fight the current, than to do war with the sun. Its power had grown, but it had not yet grown that strong.

Something is hindering my power...the world is not the dark age it was before. This city...it festers with evil, and yet something is holding it all back...something familiar...

The sludge pulled out of the water and slipped deeper into the black sewer depths. In the distance, it feels a surge of power, and begins quivering anxiously.

Whatever it is, I shall take great pleasure in crushing it in my own two hands...it will take just one folly, just one mistake, one surge of power...and then the great Aku will rise once more!

The sewers fell empty, save for the occasional flushed goldfish and the wandering packs of vermin. But the silence was broken by a wicked, gnarled laughter. A laugh so evil, even the rats fled to the surface.

XxXxX

Pokey Oaks Kindergarten! A happy and friendly learning environment where the town's youth began their path to intellectual enlightenment! Spreading their wings and taking flight aboard the reading rainbow! And of all the students in Pokey Oaks Kindergarten, none aspired for higher learning quite like Blossom of the Powerpuff Girls.

“Now as you can see students, if we have three sets of two apples, that means we have three times two apples. And can anyone tell me how many apples that is?” One hand in the back shot up like lightning, bright pink eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. The teacher giggled and put her hands on her hips with a wry smile.

“Now class, I know she enjoys answering, but I simply cannot have Blossom answering every question. Would anyone else like to volunteer?” Not a single hand went up to join the excitedly waving hand in the back. Ms. Keane chuckled and nodded. “Alright, Blossom, what is the answer?” Blossom beamed and sat up straight and proper.

“The answer is six, Ms. Keane!” The teacher smiled proudly and nodded, writing the answer on the board.

“Very good! Now does everyone understand how she came to that conclusion? Well then let's take a look, shall we?” As Ms. Keane began to explain, Buttercup turned to her sister, sticking out her tongue. Blossom glanced at Buttercup, still wearing a smug smile.

“What?” She whispered knowingly. Buttercup just shook her head and huffed. The green puff crossed her arms.

“You think you're so smart,” Blossom giggled and grinned putting her hand to her chin.

“Well...” Bubbles overheard the two and turned to listen in. Before it could get juicy, the buzzing of the Hotline interrupted their escalating argument. Blossom just sent Buttercup a glare before flying over to the cherry red phone, answering it with a big smile.

“Powerpuff Hotline! What's the trouble Mr. Mayor?” Blossom nodded, and narrowed her eyes, “Right! We'll get on it right away! Girls, Mojo is attacking the city in a new robot! Let's roll!” The three blasted off through the roof, while Ms. Keane stared blankly. Slowly, she set down her chalk, daintily took her seat at the desk and placed her hands in her lap, staring at the ceiling. With a weary sigh she got up and walked to the class phone.

“Talk quietly amongst yourselves, class. I have to call the contractor...” The last part of her moan was drowned out by the cheer erupting from the students.

XxXxX

In Townsville, the new mechanical monster, at the command of its maniacal master, was stomping down the streets and knocking over buildings. The typical ploy to lure the girls into battle. But this time, things would be different.

“This time...those girls don't stand a chance!” Mojo laughed wickedly, watching as the rainbow began to come over the horizon. Mojo turned up the sound system, and heard their accursed cry.

“Not so fast, Mojo Jojo!” Mojo snickered as the girls came to a halt a few yards from the robot. They wore varying looks of wonder and amazement. Blossom shook her head and swallowed hard, pointing her mitt at Mojo.

“That's enough Mojo!” Mojo's eyes narrowed, and the Robo Jojo's fists clenched tightly. Buttercup was the next to snap out of her awe. She brought up her fists and hit her chest hard.

“Yeah, no fancy robot is going to stop us!” Bubbles swallowed and looked at her sisters, then back at the Robo Jojo, her hand covering her mouth.

“Uh huh...” was all the blue puff could manage. Mojo laughed and pulled the microphone close, his voice echoing from the loudspeakers.

“Oh is that so? Well, why don't we find out! Let us fight, do battle, engage!” Mojo's voice, rising with excitement, suddenly became a fierce whisper, his eyes narrowed dangerously, “Let's do this,” The Robo Jojo sprung into action, swinging one of its massive arms at the girls. All three snapped into action.

“Scatter!” The girls split up, breaking into what appeared to be a completely random series of swoops and twirls. In reality, it was a carefully planned and meticulously practiced maneuver. Buttercup came out of the scatter formation first, throwing a powerful punch right at the Robo Jojo's chest. The force of the punch did nothing to even move the robot, but the recoil of the strike was enough to render Buttercup immobile for several seconds. Just enough time for a duranium tendril to lash out and snare her.

“No! Buttercup!” Bubbles swooped down, spraying the robot with her heat rays. The robot lashed out, slapping Bubbles through a building. Blossom gasped and faced the cockpit of the Robo Jojo. Mojo flung Buttercup down into the pavement and turned his full attention to the remaining Powerpuff Girl.

“Now you see, Powerpuff Blossom! This day you shall not win! You shall be defeated! You shall fall! You. Shall. Lose.” Blossom swallowed and narrowed her eyes. She tensed up her muscles, afraid to look away from the Robo Jojo to check on her sisters. Below the two heard rubble shifting. A few seconds later, Buttercup joined Blossom in the sky. The wall of the building to the other side exploded and Bubbles joined the other two.

“Okay this robot is really powerful,” Blossom muttered, talking more to herself than the others.

“Really powerful!” Bubbles repeated, nodding her head. Buttercup scowled and flexed her arms.

“It ain't so bad, we can take it,” Blossom nodded, looking around. The streets were thankfully cleared. The three heard mechanical whirring and quickly launched a counteroffensive. The robot fired a slew of missiles from its arms, while swooping a blast of lasers from its eyes through the air.

Blossom fired her ice breath at the robot, but a heat wave rose up from it and sent all three flying back.

“Woah! That was mean!” Blossom cried, picking herself up off the ground. Bubbles took a deep breath and let out a sonic scream, which was quickly negated when the four tendrils from the robot's back began to spin around like propellers, emitting a kind of forcefield. Bubbles gasped and Blossom groaned in frustration. Buttercup snorted and flew high into the air.

“I'll take this sucker down! All the way down!” Buttercup dove down and slammed her fist into the ground, causing a split to travel along the pavement. The robot stepped back, avoiding the crumbling ground. In response, the robot fired dual lasers from its arms at the girls.

“Scatter!” The girls dodged, flying back in quickly to try to surmount the robot's insurmountable defenses.

XxXxX

That sound...oh what a sweet sound it is! The sound of violence, bloodshed and war!

The sludge crawled out of the darkness. A split had appeared through the ceiling of the sewer it had chosen to inhabit. The sludge stalked toward the sunlight, sizzling and hissing violently. Above, however, came sounds that gave the sludge new strength. A great battle was taking place. The sludge shuddered, yearning to be part of the conflict. Yearning to drink in the hatred radiating from them.

Such power...it is truly a magnificent sight...if only there was some way to take advantage...yes...YES!

The dark sludge crept into the sunlight. Although the light burned, the thirst was too great. The rush, the desire, the necessity to become complete. To...be reborn. The sludge peered up through the cracks as a feminine scream echoed overhead. The sludge heard two voices yell a name, and watched as blood rained down from the sky. The blood dribbled down through the crack onto the substance.

This...this power is mine! It is MINE! YES! This! Is! It! I need more! More! MORE!

The sludge began to glow even darker, and started to crawl up the wall. There was a massive explosion and a great mass fell over the crack.

Perfect...now come to me...restore me...

The sludge slipped inside the machine, crawling deeper and deeper into its core. Toward the very source of its awesome power. The substance wrapped itself around every bit of the robot's circuitry. Poured into every energy cell and computer processor. Silent and undetected, the sludge became one with the Robo Jojo.

Revive me! Revive the great and powerful, AKU!

XxXxX

“Blossom! Blossom are you okay?” Bubbles hovered close to her sister, hands pressed tightly to her mouth. Her face was sheet white, her eyes big and terrified. Blood streamed down Blossom's arm, where a duranium blade had nearly cut it off.

“I'm...I'm fine...we need to stop this thing...” Blossom winced, knowing that it wasn't true. She was hurting badly, and the action was keeping her body from healing. If Buttercup hadn't pulled her out of the way...Blossom shook her head and fixed the Robo Jojo, badly dented and beaten, with a determined glare.

“What do we do, Leader Girl?” Buttercup floated up dizzily. Her face was badly bruised, and her fists were bright red from trying to pierce the robot's armor. Blossom swallowed and turned to Bubbles. One of her pigtails had been sliced off, her dress was charred black and cut. She had a few scrapes and bruises, but was still in fighting form.

“I...we need something big...let's try our heat rays!” The three girls powered up their laser eyes and fired them at the robot. Mojo cackled and watched as the heat rays caused the robot's armor to begin glowing and trembling.

“W...What's happening?!” Mojo leered at the girls, pulling his microphone over.

“This Robo Jojo is immune to your pathetic energy attacks! It takes your power and separates it! Weakening it and using the negative energy to increase its power!” Bubbles licked her lips and looked at her sisters, then looked at Mojo.

“What about the good energy?” Blossom's mouth fell open. She already knew the answer before the robot's chest opened, revealing a giant cannon.

“Girls! Duck!” The cannon glowed for a few seconds before firing a massive wave of light at the three. They managed to avoid the attack, but just barely. The girls turned and faced the robot. The chest closed quickly, bringing them back to square one.

“Wow...that's not fair!” Buttercup growled, spitting at the ground. Blossom nodded, looking over at Bubbles, then back at Buttercup. She narrowed her eyes and steeled her nerves.

XxXxX

Yes! That is wonderful! Do it again! More! I need more!

The sludge tightened its hold on the Robo Jojo's inner workings. A great force overtook the robot as dark tendrils clenched its energy cells tighter and tighter, drinking in the negative energy from the Powerpuff Girls' attack. A pair of glowing red spots appeared near the center of the sludge.

Give me all of that wonderful power! Return me to my former glory so that I may once again crush the world beneath my unimaginable EVIL!

The red dots suddenly burst into flames. A mouth began to appear, and twisted fangs began to grow. The newly formed lips curled into a demonic grin.

XxXxX

“Girls, we have to use the Mega Blast! We'll see just how much power this thing can take!” Blossom floated into the air, her sisters following closely behind. Blossom nodded, holding out her hands, “We have to give it all of our power!” Bubbles and Buttercup nodded, assuming matching positions. Mojo swallowed nervously, turning up the defense grid to its maximum power. He clutched his controls tightly...unaware that they'd become completely useless.

“Draw, Powerpuff Girls!” The girls fired out beams of energy. Blossom's pink, Bubbles' blue, and Buttercup's green. The three attacks converged into a glistening point of searing white light. The sphere of white light glowed for a scant few seconds, before erupting in an enormous display of might.

The ground split, windows shattered, entire buildings began to crumble in the face of the Powerpuff Girls' strength. The clouds began to spiral overhead, thunder exploded in the air, and lightning arced through the sky. The Mega Blast collided with the Robo Jojo. The robot's defenses proceeded to pull in the energy, pulling apart the positive and negative energies. The negative energy flooded into the robot's energy cells.

The city rumbled as a violent tremor shook the Robo Jojo. The girls stopped, staring in horror. Inside, Mojo was losing his cool, staring at the readouts around him.

“No! This is impossible! It's...it's not responding! The robot is ignoring my commands, the controls are refusing my input! This...this is bad! Horrible! Awful! I've...I've...I've got to get out of here!” Mojo slid back into an escape hoverpod, blasting out through the roof of the robot. The girls saw him, but were too much in awe of the trembling robot. Sparks of electricity crackled around it. Above, the clouds began to pour down, a violent thunderstorm, on the city.

“What's...happening?” Blossom whispered. The robot sank to its knees and fell on its face. The city stood still, no sound but the wind, the rain and the thunder. Suddenly the back of the robot exploded. Once more the city stood still. The girls looked at each other. Mojo peered out from behind a building in horror. Suddenly, a great pillar of darkness, like a gnarled and wicked tree, began rising up from the back of the robot, into the sky, above the clouds. All of Townsville watched, awestruck.

“Once again...I am free to smite the world as I did in days long past!”