Fusion and Iron

19. Minor Hope, Major Misery

"Good citizens of Townsville."
Surrounded by an American dream grassy front line, a bolstered and elegantly crafted building stood out amongst the large number of people crowding in front of it. The marble walls took the shape of a capital, an American flag fluttering in today's rather vicious wind. The glass windows surrounding it allowed anyone curious to peer into the professional and pristine condition of its contents. Overall, it stood righteously on the top of a dozen steps. Two enormous doors practically embroidered with a stoneworker's expertise hid the contents from within. All around City Hall, Townsville spread out in a sprawling tapestry of neighborhoods, businesses, and parks, each contributing to the city's dynamic character. The distant sounds of cars and the occasional bark of a dog added layers to the urban symphony. Despite the city's vastness, City Hall remained its beating heart, a place where decisions were made and the future was shaped.

In front of it, perched up on a mahogany wood podium, a miniature older gentleman had taken the crowd with his charm. He was so miniature that he was standing on an elevated stool to help him look over everyone!

He was rather dressed to impress, his bald head accompanied by a tiny black top hat. Just over his left eye, a singular monocle helped add a formal charm to his demeanor. With a big round nose and excellently bushy mustache, his pasty gloved hands adjusted the clown-red bowtie sitting on his neck. His plum sleeves were a tight fit, the podium hiding the brightly colored banana green shirt and orange pants. By all means did his clothes not match any sense of serious professionalism, though, for some odd reason, it added to his charm as a man of government.

Standing beside him at the same height with her hands behind her back was none other than the City Hall's favorite Powerpuff Girl (at least for the past three months that is). Bubbles had her usual addicting smile on her face, her wide blue eyes scanning the people from left to right. She had been decorated in her usual baby blue and black uniform, fists balled up on her hips to form a heroic pose. Everything about her appearance was nearly perfect, except for the couple of loose strands of blonde hair over her forehead. Unable to help this, usually she just went with it and didn't bother to fix it until later. There was a bit of tame pride, knowing about today's speech. For now, all she could do was just act cool and happy. Today was one of those rare days for her career, a perk for being someone so loved and well-regarded.

The crowd stood at the edges of his podium, judging both every move and mannerism of the Mayor and Bubbles. On one end of this large bundle of people, a handful of reporters were tirelessly snapping photos and reaching for any form of writing content they could scavenge. They were quick to get any article out by next week, even if it was deemed to be a useless one.

Citizens of all sorts of races, sizes, and humanoids had been invested in what this old man had to say. There was no telling how they were feeling other than one word: eager. Many of them had smiles on their faces, others simply focused on what he had to say.

"It is with great pride to say that I am very proud of how far we have reached as a city; with the help of your delegation, as well as our hard-working patrons, I feel joyous. Today is a very special day, you see, as we have achieved a goal I had personally never thought of reaching!"

The Mayor adjusted his monocle, turning his paper and onto the next page.

"I can say for certain that every person who stands before me today, as well as those who were unable to attend, those who have been fighting, those who have been aiding, all of you have given us a safer place. In the midst of this chaos, threatened by that green mold that tries to take away our great home, we have prevailed. Dexter's recently invented technology, as well as your help in cleaning the streets and taking care of one another, has greatly improved the way we live. I am happy to announce that all of Townsville's Terraformers have been removed!"

There was a great uproar; the people threw their hands as well as a few handkerchiefs into the air. This tumult echoed across the entire city itself; even though it stood quiet, just for a second, it bolstered its hope.

The Mayor had been received with a firm and loud applause, some handfuls of people hugging and patting on one another to relish in this beautiful moment.

"On that day, the day that Planet Fusion made itself known, I was worried. Not only had I been alarmed for the sake of myself, but for the sake of you all and for the Powerpuff Girls. Never could I believe in my many years of service to you good people that we would face such a horrific threat. I must admit, at first it was grim. Our streets were flooded with this green goop, strange monsters terrorizing us all. I thought at that moment, nearly all hope would have been lost."

He lowered his head, grabbing onto his little hat in his hands.

"Regardless, we have prevailed. To all of you, even the slightest change can make the biggest impact. We are well on track for a brighter, safer future for the city of Townsville. You have all shown courage, determination, and teamwork."

A gloved finger held itself up.

"Not before I forget one of our main models of today!" the old man turned his head, smiling and gesturing for Bubbles to come closer to the podium.

She did so, bobbing left and right while she does it. For the cameras, she struck a cute pose and held up a peace sign with her fingers.

The man continued, "Bubbles, you and your sisters have helped us so much in our struggle. Even as younger babes, without the three of you, Townsville would be nothing but dust and old history. You are our heroes and for that, we all love you."