Experimental Powers

The Crushing News

"This should do the trick." Professor Utonium walked over to where Butch was lying on an examination table, a syringe in his hand, which he tapped to remove any air bubbles in the colorless liquid.

"What is that?" Butch demanded.

"It's okay. This will just rapidly speed up your body's healing, so that your ribs can heal." Firmly holding his arm, Professor Utonium quickly found the vein and inserted the needle. Butch clenched his fist when he felt its tip penetrate his skin, but otherwise said nothing.

Sitting in a chair next to Butch was Bubbles, who was declared to have a sprained ankle and was being given the same serum by Dr. Weasel. Meanwhile, Dr. Brisbaine had taken the other four about two hours ago, trying to find out what on earth happened to their powers.

"There we go," Professor Utonium assured Butch. "You'll feel better in about half an hour or so."

"Half an hour. Great." With the professor's help, he slowly sat up and got off the table. "The hell am I going to do now?"

"Sit down and heal," Dr. Brisbaine said firmly, returning with the metahumans behind him. "Currently, we have more pressing matters than fractured bones."

The three Powerpuff Girls looked at each other, bewildered by his words. The Rowdyruff Boys weren't the most agreeable young boys out there, but breaks in their skeletons were a serious thing.

"We drew blood, and ran a genetic test on their DNA to compare with previous blood samples. However, we have only the Rowdyruff Boys' blood samples, as Professor Utonium refused to allow us access to the Powerpuff Girls' medical records."

Thank God you didn't let them, Professor, Blossom sighed. While there wasn't much too importance with those records, they weren't comfortable with the Men in Black poking their noses there—and after all, they were entitled to some privacy.

"Fortunately, as the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys are nearly identical in genetic makeup, the dissimilarities shouldn't make much of a difference."

"Don't genetic diagnosis tests take a week, at the very least, sir?" Brick asked neutrally.

"New equipment, Brick." Without even looking at either of the metahumans, Dr. Brisbaine opened the folder in his hands. "Subject 1 – Brick Brisbaine presented with no mutations to his genetic structure, and Subjects 2, 3, and 4 – Boomer Brisbaine, Blossom Utonium, and Buttercup Utonium present the same way. But when Subjects 1 and 2 were compared to their previous genetic information, there had been changes."

Bubbles coughed, interrupting him before he could go on. "Can you not say Subject this and that? They're boys, not science experiments."

Boomer caught her eye and lifted a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. Unlike the others, Bubbles and Boomer were civil, at the very least. They talked sometimes, usually when Boomer didn't understand some of the school material, but he was a nice conversationalist and very personable—something his brothers didn't have much of.

"In short," Dr. Brisbaine continued, "the Rowdyruff Boys, and presumably, the Powerpuff Girls, have no powers."

Silence followed his announcement. Professor Utonium looked shocked; the metahumans appeared dumbfounded; and Dr. Weasel's expression was unreadable from behind the reflection of his glasses.

Then Boomer began to tremble, and he grabbed Brick by the arm, pulling him closer to whisper in his ear. He was so quick, Brick didn't even have time to breathe before Boomer grabbed him.

Brick listened silently as Boomer talked, and the more Boomer went on, the tighter Brick's fists became.

How the hell did he think of all this so instantly? Either way, he was right. Damn it, he was extremely right. Being powerless wasn't bad. It was downright frightening, and for all the wrong reasons.

"Brick." Boomer gripped his arm even harder, and when he looked directly into his brother's cobalt blue eyes, Brick saw... actual fear. Breathless crippling fear.

He wasn't just scared. He was downright terrified.

And somehow, it was a little infuriating. No matter how much Boomer made him mad or made him question their kinship, he'd never ever seen him be so scared.

Before he knew it, he gripped Boomer's hand, as if trying to ensure that they'll be alright. They were powerless, but they'll be alright.

That kind of thing didn't pass over the Powerpuff Girls' heads.

"So... what does that say?" Bubbles asked. "For all of us, I mean."

Dr. Brisbaine kept his eyes on his file. "In essence, nothing has been changed, except for the components of Chemical X. While it holds their ingredients together, it does nothing but that."

Bubbles looked at her sisters, then turned to Professor Utonium. "Professor, can everybody leave for a bit? Please?"

Professor Utonium seemed a little confused by the request, but agreed and shepherded both Dr. Weasel and Dr. Brisbaine out.

Once they were gone, Boomer and Brick immediately went straight for Butch, starting a hushed conference, too quiet for even Bubbles—who was right beside Butch—to hear. She stood up from her seat, and after testing her ankle, she walked without difficulty to her sisters.

"You saw their reaction?" Buttercup demanded quickly. "What do you think?"

"It sounds weird," Bubbles murmured. "The fact that they're powerless seems to have hit them hard. Why do you think they're like that?"

"I hate to say it, but you can't blame them," Blossom told them. "I mean, their very lives depend on their powers."

The two sisters looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Bubbles whispered.

Blossom opened her mouth to speak, but before they could, Professor Utonium burst back in, followed by two agents of the Men in Black. The Rowdyruff Boys instantly broke up their circle, and straightened their spines, as if prepared for battle.

"I'm sorry," he said breathlessly, "but we need to go, right now!"

"What is it, Professor?" questioned Buttercup.

"Megaville's being attacked! We need to leave the Men in Black headquarters right now! They're here to escort us out to a safe space."

"Not to be disrespectful, sir," Boomer said, "but the Men in Black headquarters is very secure. In all likelihood, this is safe."

Butch shot Boomer an odd look, but Brick waved at him dismissively, telling him to leave it alone. Now was not the time.

"Not when it's a hundred-foot-tall reptile that the Powerpuff Girls subjugated five years ago, when it was still thirty feet tall. Of everyone here, the six of you are the most vulnerable. You don't know how to operate any of the weapons here, that creature is at least a thousand times bigger than all of us, and that thing has a sense of smell that ranges five miles long—and we're within a mile of it."

"We've wasted enough time," snapped one of the agents, and both he and his partner corralled everyone in the room outside.

At the moment, they had no choice but to comply.

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Oh no, it's been confirmed! They're powerless, and what's more, a beast has come to—in all likelihood—seek revenge on what happened to it.  What're they going to do now? Who's going to stop that thing if not them? ¯\(o_o)/¯

I'm glad that people are very interested in this story, even without the cover. I'm still trying to think of one, but I promise, I'll get it done.

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- BlackAndWhitePersona