Experimental Powers

Alternative Options

With the agents behind them, they were led outside of the headquarters and herded into an unmarked car. Because of their franticness to get the potential victims out, one of the Men in Black just squashed the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys into the backseat, while the other gave Professor Utonium extremely specific instructions about where to go.

Once that was done, Professor Utonium slammed on the accelerator and raced through the streets.

Normally, Professor Utonium was a very sensible and level-headed man, but when his daughters' safeties were involved, especially when the vulnerability was very real, he completely chose to forgo the road laws and crisscross the different cars in traffic despite the risk.

"Professor, what're you doing?" Bubbles cried as the six metahumans braced themselves in the back. "You might crash the car!"

"Bubbles, not right now," he said tensely. "I need to get you all to the safe house before that creature gets close."

"Speaking of the safe house," Buttercup yelled, "what were you boys talking about in the examination room? Why'd you guys look so distraught or whatever?"

"Fuck off and mind your own damn business," Butch snapped. Then Professor Utonium narrowly dodged an eighteen-wheeler, and Butch gave a yelp as his ribs flared in pain from bumping into Boomer.

Almost instinctively, Boomer threw his arm across Butch's chest, hoping to keep him from hitting anything else.

"The secret behind this is the changes made to the Chemical X in our bodies," rationalized Brick. "Whatever that man did to us, we have to find a way to get our powers back. It's the only option we have—that is, unless we have a way of putting them into things we can use."

All of a sudden, Professor Utonium slammed down on the brakes, throwing them all forwards.

"Jesus Christ, Utonium!" barked Butch. "You said I heal in fucking half an hour, not five minutes! So take it easy on the brakes, why don't you?!"

"Putting powers into things we can use," the professor murmured to himself. Then his eyes lit up. "That's it!"

Grabbing hold of the gear shift, he drove forwards, then pulled a U-turn, heading back the way they'd come. He raced towards his home neighborhood, pulling into his driveway and leaping out of his car.

"Everyone, out!" he ordered.

The six looked at each other, exchanging perplexed looks, before following after him into the Utonium house.

"Professor, what's going on?" Bubbles wondered as they headed into his laboratory. "I thought we were evacuating."

"Not anymore." His jaw set, Professor Utonium headed straight for the bookcase and reached up to the top shelf, pressing down on a hidden button. Almost instantly, it began to tremble, and slowly, it slid towards the side, disappearing into the wall to reveal a steel door.

The door seemed about ten inches thick, and a keypad was set into its center. After putting in a code, they heard a distinct hiss, and the door slid open.

"Oh my God," Bubbles whispered.

Inside was a small square room, lit by three small bulbs set into the ceiling, each shining a column of light over three glass cases, all of which bore three pre-teen mannequins. Professor Utonium unlocked them all, and beckoned them closer.

The three seemed surprised to find the mannequins wearing white belts, hanging loose on the mannequins' hips. At a closer look, they had three buttons on the right-hand side, colored in the Powerpuff Girls' signature colors, with a circular buckle accented with small yellow studs. The buckles were also in the girls' signature colors, with one big letter P.