Down in the lab, the professor was going over his notes, and writing on a large chalkboard. It was already mostly covered with a long list of numbers and descriptions. Each line included a separate set of cross-dimensional coordinates, along with a brief description of the world, for future reference. There were already thirty-six such entries, and the professor was just adding number thirty-seven. After writing the necessary numbers, he wrote, 'Contact w/Aliens, Interstellar Space Travel,' under the description column.

It had been an exciting past couple of months. If I keep this up, he thought, I may one day be able to create a formula for accurately predicting what will be in any given dimension. I'm certain there must be a connection between their coordinates and their probabilities...

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the lab door. "Come in!" he called out.

Bubbles opened the door, and flew down the steps, "Hi, Professor! I want to thank you for taking me on that last trip. It was cool!"

The professor smiled, "I'm glad you had a good time, sweetie. You need to be a little more careful in the future, though. Not all of these trips are fun and games, you know."

"Well, I didn't mean to crash the..."

"That's all right, I know you didn't." He finished writing on the board, and turned around, "It could have been a lot worse. In fact, everything turned out all right in the end, thanks to you."

"I guess so." Bubbles looked back up at the door, "If Blossom and Buttercup were there, I woulda felt safer."

The professor glanced at his watch, "Hmm...you know, it's almost time for the next trip. I've been giving it a lot of thought, and I realize now that perhaps we should all go together on this one."

Bubbles smiled, "You mean, like a vacation?"

"I suppose you could look at it that way," the professor said, climbing the staircase. "Of course, I'll still be continuing my observations, but with you three along, I'm sure we can all relax while we're there, if even for a little bit."

Bubbles followed him up the stairs. She was obviously very excited about going. The professor thought, Finally, I won't have to worry during at least one of these expeditions. With all of the girls with me, what could possibly go wrong?

* * *

They gathered together outside of the house. Blossom and Buttercup had joined them, and all three of the girls were hovering anxiously by the professor as he made the preparations on the Hyper Conduit Manifestation Device. Blossom asked, "Are you sure Townsville will be okay without us for one day?"

"Of course I'm sure," the professor replied. "Don't forget that everyone's out of town for that big Supervillains' convention in Oklahoma."

"Yeah," Buttercup smirked, "I guess the mayor and the police can handle everything while we're gone."

"Now, before we leave," the professor said, "do you three remember the rules?"

"Sure!" Blossom said. "Rule number one: don't use any of our powers unless necessary, so we don't freak anyone out by accident."

"Rule number two:" Buttercup said, "stick together until we know what kind of dimension we're dealing with."

"Rule number three:" Bubbles said, "don't forget rule number one and two!"

"That's right...so, are you three ready?" the professor asked.

"Ready!" all three of them answered.

"Allrighty then, here we go!" Raising the HCMD, he punched the button and opened up the portal. The four of them stepped through, and it closed up behind them.

What they didn't notice was that someone was watching them from afar. Over in Townsville Park, inside the volcano-top observatory, Mojo Jojo was looking into his giant telescope. "It's working! I can hardly believe that they fell for it, although watching them leave has now convinced me that it is true."

"Of course they fell for it!" said another voice. Sitting at a table nearby was Princess, and at other chairs around table were Fuzzy Lumpkins, Sedeusa, the Gangrene Gang, the Amoeba Boys, even Him. Princess continued, "When you have all the newspapers print up an advertising campaign like I did, there's no way they'd think that 'convention' is anything but real!"

"Little did they know, it was just a trick!" Sedeusa added.

"Yes," Him said, rubbing his claws together, "and now, free of those meddlesome pests for a whole day, Townsville will be all ours!"

"Yah, all ours!" Little Arturo of the Gangrene Gang added.

"Yeah! All ours!" Tiny Jr. of the Amoeba Boys added.

Mojo thrust his fist into the air, "To battle!" Everyone cheered, and everyone left the Observatory, each heading into the city in a different direction, ready to spread their evil to the citizens of Townsville...

* * *

Professor Utonium and the girls stepped out from the portal, and it sealed up behind them. They glanced around, and immediately noticed that things were slightly different. Buttercup scratched her head, as she landed on the ground with the other girls, and asked, "I don't get it...where's our house?"

Indeed, where they had been in front of their house before, it was no longer there. They were still in a suburban area, but there was a different house where theirs used to be. They saw a city off in the distance as usual, but it did not look like Townsville.

"Very strange," the professor remarked. "Everything seems to basically the same, yet nothing's really the same at all." He examined the HCMD and added, "This dimension has a differential index of twenty-two percent! Amazing, that's the highest index yet; usually, it's between two and three percent."

"Twenty-two percent doesn't sound like much..." Blossom said.

"It's enough. The odds that any of us exist in this dimension are extremely slim." He glanced at the HCMD's readout, perplexed, "That's strange...I'm picking up a very strong energy field nearby. Several, actually..."

A loud horn suddenly alerted them to the fact that they were standing in the street. A car skidded to a halt just before hitting them. A man leaned out of the window; he had sandy yellow-brown hair, and wore a shirt, tie, and glasses, like he was just coming back from work. "Whoa, there!" he said, in a friendly tone rather than angry. "Good thing I saw you!"

"Oops...sorry!" the professor said, stepping out of the car's way so that it could drive past them. The girls followed his lead. The car pulled past them, and turned into the driveway in the house they were in front of.

As the man stepped out of the car, the professor asked, "You live here?"

"Why, of course!" he replied. He looked down at the PowerPuffs, and said, "Aww, aren't those just the most adorable little girls you've ever seen?"

Bubbles giggled, blushing, "Thanks, mister!"

The man looked back up at the Professor, "So...I haven't seen you around here before. Are you from out of town?"

"You might say that," the professor nodded. "We were just going to be in town for the day. In fact, the place we were hoping to stay at doesn't seem to be around, so maybe you can help us. Do you know of any good hotels in the area?"

"Why spend the money? I'd be happy to put you four up for the night if you'd like."

"Hm? Well, I'd rather not impose. You don't even know us..."

"Nonsense!" He waved a hand in dismissal. "I almost ran you down back there. It's the least I can do to pay you back. Besides, like you said, it's only for a day."

"Well," the professor thought about it. "What do you think, girls?"

Buttercup said, "Hey, it's a free room. I say, go for it!"

The man walked over to the front door and opened it, "Okay! It'll be no trouble at all, really. And, I'm sure you girls will get along just grand with my two children..."

* * *

Mom was in the kitchen, when she heard the front door open. She came out to see who it was, and saw that Dad had come home from work. "Hi!" she greeted him happily. She saw the professor and the girls behind him, "Who's your friends?"

"Hi, hon!" Dad said. He motioned to the others, "These people are new to town. I said they could spend the night here if they wanted to."

"That's nice, dear," she smiled. Then she turned and called upstairs, "Kids! We have some visitors!"

Upstairs, there came the sounds of arguing. A boy's voice was heard, "No, give it back! You'll ruin it!"

A girls voice laughed, and said, "What does it do? What does it do?"

"No, don't push th--..."

There was a brief flash of light that came from upstairs, and the sound of electricity. After a few moments of silence, the girl's voice said, "Oops. Sorry! Hey, c'mon! Last one downstairs is a rotten egg!" This was followed by grumbling from the other voice.

The two children emerged from one of the upstairs rooms, and came down the stairs. The girl was tall and thin, and wore a small pink dress. Her blonde hair was in pigtails, much like Bubbles'. She was followed by a boy, much shorter, with red hair and glasses, and a lab coat. He also wore a pair of purple rubber gloves and a pair of thick black boots.

Mom introduced them as they walked down, "These are the kids...that's my darling little daughter, DeeDee, and her younger brother, Dexter."

"Hello!" DeeDee said, waving.

Dexter had stopped halfway down the steps, looking curiously at the PowerPuffs. He rose an eyebrow. How strange, he thought...they are like nothing I have ever seen before! Those giant eyes, the lack of digits on their hands...very peculiar...

The girls smiled, and the professor said, "Nice to meet you! I'm Professor Utonium, and these are my three girls...Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup."

Dad added, "They're going to be staying here for the day. I want you to make them feel at home here, okay?"

Dexter looked at Professor Utonium, and scratched his chin. Hmm...a professor? he thought. Well well! Maybe now I'll have some intelligent conversation around here for once. I shall have to put off my studies of these three until later. He smiled and said cheerfully, "Okay, Dad! No problem!"

"Great!" Dad said. He said to Mom, "Come on, let's go get the guest room ready." The two of them left the room, while the Professor and the girls sat on the couch.

DeeDee said, "Wanna play a game? I have some board games and stuff in my room!"

Bubbles said, "Sure!"

"Can we, Professor?" Blossom asked.

"Go right ahead, girls," the professor replied. "This is a vacation, after all. You go and have fun with...DeeDee and Dexter, was it?"

Dexter nodded, but said, "Actually, you four go on ahead, as I will be staying right here. I would much rather talk to Professor Utonium, as I have a higher probability of learning something useful than I would playing one of your stupid games."

"What's the real reason, Dex?" DeeDee taunted, "Afraid you'll lose?"

"No!" Dexter said, slightly annoyed, "I just don't want to humiliate you with my brilliance in front of our guests."

"Sure, whatever. C'mon, girls!" The four of them walked upstairs, and disappeared into DeeDee's room. Dexter, in the meantime sat down in a chair across from the Professor.

"So, ah..." he said. "Professor Utonium, is it?"

"That's right," the professor answered. "You seem to be a pretty bright lad, for your age, I can tell."

"Well...heh..." Dexter said modestly, "I am a boy genius, after all." He brightened up, "So tell me...what do you study? What do you do?"

"All kinds of things. I enjoy every aspect of science, and I like to use it to create and invent. Why, just the other day, in my lab back home, I--"

Dexter interrupted, "You have a laboratory?"

"Of course," the professor shrugged. "How else would I conduct my experiments?"

Dexter nodded, "Yes, of course...so, I was wondering, what is your take on the theory of diversified quantum fluctuations as a controllable form of matter manipulation?"

The professor's expression brightened, "My, you are the little genius, aren't you? Well, I think that the theory is sound, but there is no concrete evidence that such a procedure would provide a fine enough amount of control to be..."

The two of them continued talking about their own scientific theories. Dexter was overjoyed by such a stimulating discussion, and the Professor was enjoying himself as well. They exchanging their ideas and concepts well into the next couple of hours...

* * *

Up in DeeDee's room, the four girls were gathered around, playing 'Puppet Pals: The Board Game'. They had already played several games, because they were having so much fun. Buttercup was in the lead on this game, and was rolling the dice, shouting, "C'mon, baby! Gimme a nine!"

As she rolled, Bubbles looked around the room, and said, "I like how you decorated your room, DeeDee!"

"Thanks!" DeeDee giggled. "You three are way cool! I think you have the cutest matching outfits!"

"You really think so?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah! I wouldn't change a thing!"

Buttercup moved her piece across the board, and said, "All right! Only three spaces away from the finish! Ha ha! Prepare to be beaten!"

"Shhh..." Blossom said suddenly, cocking her head to the side slightly, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" DeeDee said, confused.

Bubbles and Buttercup were listening intently, too, though. Buttercup said, "You're right...what is that?"

"I'm not sure," Blossom replied, "but it sounds like something big..." Bubbles nodded

DeeDee just blinked a few times, then said, "You're crazy, I don't hear a thing..." Then, suddenly, there was a low rumbling sound, like heavy footsteps. It started off softly, then got louder and louder. Eventually, the whole house started to shake with each sound.

"Trouble! Let's move!" Blossom ordered.

The PowerPuffs flew over to the window, opened it, and looked out. Buttercup turned and said, "We'll be right back, DeeDee...uhh, DeeDee?"

DeeDee was staring at the girls just hovering there. At first, it looked like she was staring in shock, but a tiny smile crossed her face, and she said, amazed, "Ooooooo..."

"Oops...we forgot rule number one, didn't we?" Bubbles observed.

"There's no time," Blossom said quickly, "DeeDee, we'll explain everything when we get back. All right, let's go!" They shot out of the window in a flash. DeeDee, with her hands on the sides of her face, gave a scream of pure joy.

* * *

While Dexter and the professor were discussing particle mass acceleration, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps in the distance. The professor exclaimed, "What in blazes is that?"

Dexter turned away from the professor. He glanced down at his watch, and whispered into it, "Computer! Analyze the source of these tremors!"

The watch brought up a picture of some large crocodile-looking creature, and said, "Sensors are picking up a giant monster attacking the town. Shall I prepare the Giant Dexter Robo?"

"Affirmative! I will be down in a moment." He turned back to looked at the professor, and said sheepishly, "Well, we've had a good talk, but I really must be going..."

"But..." the professor began. Before he could say anything else, though, Dexter had already hopped out of his seat, and ran up the stairs towards his room. He slammed the door behind him. The professor rubbed his chin, perplexed.

At that moment, Mom and Dad came back into the room, as another rumble shook the house. "Whoa!" Dad remarked. "Sounds like a storm's brewing!"

* * *

Back in the other dimension, the villains had all collected in City Hall, after having easily taken over the city. The Mayor was nearby, tied to a chair. Mojo Jojo unfurled a map on the Mayor's desk triumphantly, and said, "Behold! The new Townsville!" The map was indeed Townsville, but was now divided into several sections, each labeled with a different name.

Ace of the Gangrene Gang spoke up, "Lookin' good, there. So, whaddaya got fer us?"

Indicating a portion on the map, Mojo spoke, "Section A will now be known as Gangreneland. As requested, it includes most of the important...ahem...'cool hangouts' in the city." He pointed to another, "Section B will be torn down and replaced with the Princess Palace."

"I suppose Section B will do," Princess scoffed. "Why can't I have D? It's closer to the river, and you know I want the best scenic view from my palace!"

"You know Section D was reserved by Him," Mojo replied, "and he had first pick, fair and square." Him nodded at Mojo, who continued, "All right, moving on...Section C will be known as Amoebaville."

There were some suppressed snickers across the room. "Hey!" Bossman of the Amoeba Boys said, "So what if we got last pick? Section C isn't so bad..."

"Yeah, right!" Princess declared. "Way too low-class for my tastes."

"All right, all right, continuing..." Mojo pointed to another section on the map, "We have...let's see...Lumpkin Park...Sedeusa Central...that's everything!"

"Wait," Sedeusa said, examining the map, "Where's your cut of the town, Mojo?"

"Why, I'll be in City Hall, of course..." Mojo answered.

"What?" Him said, angrily, "That's preposterous! You actually think you're going to be running the city?"

Fuzzy slammed a fist down on the map, smashing the desk in the process, "Ah am not gonna be takin' no orders from no monkey!"

Mojo held his hands up protectively in front of him, and says, "Now, hold on...what makes you think any of you are more fit to run this city? I, after all, have superior brain power, and as such it would be more productive for the burden of leadership to be on my shoulders, being the most intelligent among us..."

"You?" Him hissed, "You're only an ignorant mortal...only one such as I deserves to rule over this city and it's people..."

Princess hopped up on the remains of the desk and yelled, "Now wait just a minute here! Who set this whole thing up? If it weren't for me spending my money on that advertising campaign, we wouldn't have won in the first place!"

"Pfft," Ace said. "Yeah, right...don't you mean your daddy's money? 'Sides, the town won't be no fun anymore with a spoiled brat like yous runnin' the city."

"What?" Princess shouted, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!"

"'Aht does it!" Fuzzy growled, and leapt at the others.

All of them ran towards each other, and started fighting. They were barely visible beneath the cloud of debris that was kicked up as their fight nearly tore the room apart. As the fight continued, the Mayor, still tied up in a chair nearby, hesitantly suggested to no one in particular, "Ahh...well, I could run the city..."

* * *

The monster was stomping down the streets of the city, smashing into buildings and knocking over cars. Everyone was running as fast as they could, even the police. The monster had just picked up one of the skyscrapers and was about to take a bite out of it, when it caught something out of the corner of its eye. Three tiny shapes were flying towards it. Thinking nothing of it, he chomped down on the side of the skyscraper. A moment later, though, they struck him in the side of the head, knocking him down.

The PowerPuff Girls hovered above the city, watching the monster topple over to the street below. "Keep your eyes open, girls!" Blossom warned, "I don't think he's licked yet..."

She was right, because at that moment, the monster spit out the skyscraper he was holding into his hand, and suddenly swung it at them. It slammed into them like a baseball bat, sending them soaring through the air above the city for several miles before they regained control.

"Man! That thing packs a mean punch!" Buttercup said, rubbing her jaw.

"Okay, let's regroup and..." Blossom began, but then she trailed off. She noticed something way off in the distance, and pointed at it, "Wait, what's that?"

At the other side of the city, the Giant Dexter Robo flew into view. Dexter slowed the robot's velocity as he approached the site of the monster. The computer spoke, "Now arriving at the battle site."

"Excellent!" he said. "Ready all weapons. I'm taking the beast down."

"Affirmative." As green lights lit up across the weapons panels, the radar beeped, showing three more dots. The computer added, "Dexter, my sensors are picking up three unusual power readings nearby."

"What? Onscreen!" he shouted.

A small viewscreen popped up on the heads-up display, showing a close-up of the girls. Startled, he said, "Hey, it's those weird girls! What are they doing here?" He looked at some gauges, and whistled. "Those power readings are off the scales!"

The robot slowed to a stop, and landed in the street. It looked up at the girls, and Dexter's voice broadcasted from it, "Hey, who are you?"

Bubbles, confused at the new arrival, whispered, "Do we answer it?"

Blossom remarked, "Hey, I think I know that voice..." She said, louder, "Dexter? Is that you?"

"Yes, it is," Dexter answered. "Now, if you don't mind telling me, how are you three just floating there like that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Buttercup replied, "We're superheros!"

"Yeah," Blossom added, "We're the PowerPuff Girls!"

The robot rubbed his head in confusion, as Dexter said, "Yes, but..."

Blossom interrupted him, "Look out!" The monster had crawled over, and suddenly grabbed the robot from behind with it's jaws, claming down across its chest and lifting it into the air. The girls gasped, and quickly flew down to help...they grabbed hold of the monster's jaws and tried to pry them apart.

Inside the robot, Dexter was frantically punching buttons, and quickly broadcasted, "Girls! Back off, and hurry!" They let go and backed off, as Dexter hit the last button. The surface of the robot was surrounded by an energy field, which briefly electrocuted the monster, forcing it to let go. The robot jumped free and landed back in the street, spinning around to face it again.

The girls flew over in formation by the robot's shoulders. Buttercup said, "Way to go, Dex! But now what do we do?"

Dexter thought for a moment, as the monster climbed back to its feet and roared. He raised one of the robot's arms, which sprouted a large gun barrel. He said, "Let's see how it likes this!" He opened fire, and a bright crimson beam shot forth, striking the creature in the chest. It was forced back a step, but it stood its ground against it. The beam continued to push, but the creature edged forward against it, little by little.

"C'mon, let's help!" Blossom ordered. All three of them opened up with their eyebeams, striking the same spot. The Monster was knocked back some more. "Keep pouring it on!" Blossom shouted.

The monster braced itself, and roared louder, pushing against the four beams, and starting to advance forward once again. To make matters worse, the beam from the robot was slowly getting smaller and dimmer. "Oh no!" Dexter exclaimed, "The laser's running out of power...I can't hold keep it going for much longer!"

Blossom noticed this, and shouted, "Buttercup..."

Buttercup replied, "Way ahead of you, Blossom!" She stopped firing her eyebeams, and flew down to the robot. She ripped into the side of the arm, climbing into the core of the laser. Grabbing hold of the cables leading to the power supply, she channeled her own power into it, and bright green energy flowed across all the systems.

The gauges maxed out on Dexter's control panel, and he shouted, "Yes!", punching the weapon's firing trigger once more. A huge ball of green energy built up at the barrel of the gun, and traveled down the length of the beam, turning it green as it went. It struck into the creature in the chest, and in a loud blast, it exploded, showering the area with little more than blobs of green goo.

The girls cheered, as Buttercup flew back out of the robot's arm to join them, "We did it!" Bubbles exclaimed happily. "That was a great idea!"

Blossom said, "Actually, I was going to tell Buttercup to fly over and attack the creature head-on...but I guess that works too!"

The top hatch of the robot popped open, and Dexter ascended out of it on a small lift. As the girls flew down to meet him, he said, "Hey, that was pretty good! Why didn't you girls tell me you were superheros?"

"Well," Blossom said, giggling a little, "Why didn't you tell us you have a giant robot?"

Dexter hesitated, then grinned, "Touché. Why don't we go back to my house, and we can all talk about it there? Ahh, one thing though..."

"Anything. What is it?" Blossom asked, smiling.

"Don't tell my parents about all this," he said, laughing nervously, "They, ah...they don't know about it..."

Buttercup waved it off, "No prob."

"Okay then! I'll see you back there!" Dexter went back into the robot, and its jets ignited. It lifted off the ground, and flew off into the sky, back towards his house.

Blossom watched it go, still with a huge smile on her face. Buttercup said, "C'mon, Bloss...Bloss? What's the matter?"

Her eyes drooped, half-closed, but the smile remained on her face, still watching as Dexter disappeared in the distance. She sighed happily, and said dreamily, "Nothing...nothing..." The other girls looked at each other quizzically, and shrugged.

* * *

Not much later, back at the house, they had all gathered in Dexter's room, which Dexter had decided would probably be a safer place to talk, so his parents wouldn't hear. The professor was still downstairs talking to them, so it seemed safe enough. The girls, in the meantime, were seated in various places across the room, while Dexter sat in the chair from his desk.

"I must admit, you three took my by surprise," he said. "It's not everyday that a couple of strangers stop by, and then turn out to be superheros. So, where do you come from?"

"Well, uh, it's kinda hard to explain..." Bubbles said, from her position on one of the bedposts.

Buttercup, who was leaning up against the wall, shook her head. "It's not hard," she corrected. "The professor invented some remote control thing that he uses to travel to other dimensions."

Dexter looked even more interested than before, "So...you are from a parallel universe? Absolutely fascinating! Does everyone from there have powers like you?"

"Nah, just us," Buttercup said proudly.

"Yeah, the professor created us!" Bubbles added.

"Hmm..." Dexter adjusted his glasses, and said, "You mean to tell me you were created in a laboratory experiment?" He thought, Incredible...perhaps I can find out how to duplicate the procedure, and create a super formula that can give anyone superpowers!

"Uh huh," Buttercup answered. "Isn't that right, Blossom?"

Blossom, who was lying on the ground, resting her head in her hands, merely nodded, her gaze never leaving Dexter for a second. He didn't notice this, and instead continued, "Do you suppose I could run a few...ahh, tests on you? I could always use some data on powers like yours..."

"Tests? Um, I guess so," Bubbles said, scratching her head, "but where?"

Dexter wordlessly hopped down from the chair and crossed the room to the bookcase. He pulled a book down from the shelf and opened it, pressing a concealed button inside. The bookcase behind him slowly rose, revealing a passageway. The bright light from his laboratory spilled out into the room, over the girls' amazed looks.

"Whoa..." Buttercup remarked.

"Girls," Dexter said, with a dramatic wave of his hands, "welcome to my Laboratory!"

They floated through the doorway, into the cavernous laboratory, which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, filled with computers, flashing lights, and all sorts of complex machinery. All three of them said breathlessly, "Wow..."

Dexter walked past them, saying, "Okay, come on, time is money...let us proceed directly to the tests, shall we? Computer...prepare testing chamber one!"

Several large machines folded out from the walls and the floor. The girls looked around, startled, but didn't move. Dexter, in the meantime, walked over to a contraption with a punching-bag-like pad on one side. "This device will measure your strength. Just give the pad a good punch."

Bubbles floated over, and looked at the pad. She glanced questioningly over at Dexter, who nodded. She looked back, and shrugged, pulling a fist back and socking it. The force from the punch, however, not only caved in the machine, but sent it sliding across the ground, where it smashed through two other machines before embedding itself in a computer console nearby, which exploded in a shower of sparks.

Bubbles just smiled and asked, "How did I do?"

Dexter tried to contain his temper, as he said, "Girls, could you please tell your sister to be more careful with..." He glanced over, and noticed that only Blossom was floating there, who was still staring at him with the same grin. "Wha? Where's Buttercup?"

"Hey, over here!" Buttercup shouted from a distance. She had found a huge set of speakers, and was fiddling with them, "Awesome stereo, Dex! What kinda music do you have?"

Dexter started to run over, "No! Do not touch the..." A moment later, the speakers started blasting dance music loudly. The force of the sound waves from the speaker bowled him over, knocking him back into the wall with a *thud*.

Buttercup in the meantime, landed on the ground and started dancing, "Yeah! This is cool!"

Dexter heard a high pitched, "Wheeee!" and looked over...Bubbles was near a set of thick cables coming from a bank of computers. She had pulled one cable free, and was swinging back and forth from it. Dexter cringed, thinking, Oh no, my machines! What are they doing to my lab?

While this was happening, Blossom flew over and landed near Dexter. She shuffled her feet slightly and said, "So...Dexter...uh, how are you doing?"

"Not very well at the moment." Dexter replied angrily, through his teeth,

"Oh," she said, dropping her eyes...then she added, "Hey, you know, I want to be a scientist when I get older too, like the professor..."

"That's nice..." Dexter said, not really paying attention, focusing more on his lab. Buttercup was shadow boxing while she was dancing to the music, and her wild kicks and punches started to strike various things around the lab, knocking them over. Dexter waved his hands wildly, trying to signal her to stop.

While this was going on, Bubbles had dropped free from the cable, and suddenly spotted a cage off to one side, the one with Dexter's monkey. She gasped, and screamed happily, "Monkey!" flying across over to the cage to look in. The monkey looked back at her and waved. She waved, giggling.

Dexter started to walk over towards the computer, in an attempt to shut off the music and the live cable that Bubbles had left behind, which now threw arcs of electricity up onto other machines. Blossom, however, flew in front of him to get his attention, inadvertently blocking his way. She said, "I'm starting to learn a lot of science stuff myself! Really!"

"Blossom, I have no time to..." Dexter began.

"C'mon, let me show you!" Blossom grabbed his hand and flew across the area, dragging him with her. She stopped at a table filled with chemicals and beakers, and started mixing some of them, "Look, I know the formula by heart...a little bit of this, a little bit of that..."

"No, don't...!" Dexter tried to say, but the mixture she was making abruptly exploded, showering them both with sticky green slime. Blossom blinked a few times, then laughed nervously, "Well, I'm still working on it..."

Dexter ran away from the table, screaming, "Auugghhhh!! Stop it! Stop it!" Despite his running around and waving arms, Buttercup was still smashing things with her dancing, and Bubbles was now flying around the lab with the monkey on her back, ramming into things in the process. Blossom, concerned about the damage they were causing, started gathering up loose pieces of junk in an attempt to straighten things up, involuntarily adding some of the still-functioning machines to the pile, which of course ceased to function once they were ripped from the wall. Everything was in total chaos.

Then, all three of the girls stopped together, their attentions drawn to a huge button on one bank of computers, nearly ten feet across. The three of them said at the same time, "What does this button do?"

Dexter cried out, "Noooooo!" but it was too late; all three of them pressed it together. The lab was bathed in red light, as a warning buzzer went off...a few seconds later, everything exploded in a tremendous blast...*KABLAMMM*!

As the smoke slowly cleared, there wasn't much of the laboratory left, only a few scattered devices. Dexter stood there silently, covered with soot; the girls hovered nearby, in a similar condition. Dexter finally spoke up. "That's it! You three are worse than DeeDee! Now, get out of my laboratory!"

Bubbles lowered her eyes and said, "We didn't mean to wreck the lab..."

"Yeah," Buttercup said, "We're sorry."

Blossom glanced at Dexter hopefully, "Can we still be friends?"

Gritted his teeth, Dexter was about to say something, when the door to the lab opened, and DeeDee wandered in. "Hello!" she said brightly, then looked around at all the destruction, "Geez, what happened in here?"

Dexter frowned, "I do not want to talk about it. I just want these stupid girls out of my sight!"

"Dexter, I'm surprised at you," DeeDee declared, shaking her head, "These three helped you fight the monster, didn't they? They didn't even have to; they were just visitors. And this is how you repay them?"

"But they wrecking my lab..." Dexter said, pouting slightly.

"...and the monster would have wrecked more that that, right?" DeeDee added. "You aren't treating them like friends, or guests, or even people. They're just another experiment to you, aren't they? Another test subject..."

"You're right," Dexter said sadly, trying to hold back tears. "I'm so sorry...girls, can you ever forgive me?"

"That's ok," Bubbles said, "We deserved it...we did get out of hand a little..."

Blossom said, "We can help you fix things up, if you want. I'm sure the professor wouldn't mind if we asked him."

"Really? That would be great!" Dexter exclaimed, "If it's no trouble..."

"No trouble at all." Blossom said, waving it off. "It's the least we could do!"

Dexter grabbed Blossom's hand and kissed it, "Oh, thank you thank you thank you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do!" He reached over onto a table, picking up a wrench, and started tightening a bolt on one of the machines.

Bubbles flew out of the lab following DeeDee to go find the professor, while Buttercup scooped up a broom and dustpan to help straighten up the place. Blossom, in the meantime, just hovered there and stared at her hand. She sighed softly, clutching it to her chest with the other, and smiled, whispering to herself, "I'm never washing this hand again..."

* * *

After the situation was explained to the Professor, he was more than happy to give a helping hand. They had spent the last few hours fixing up the lab; now that all their hard work was done, they stepped back to admire their handiwork.

"Wow, it's perfect!" Dexter said, shaking the professor's hand, "Thank you, Professor Utonium! My laboratory will be even better than ever with your own tweaks and modifications!"

"I'm glad I could help out such a bright young lad," the professor replied.

"Yeah," Bubbles added. "It was fun, too!" Buttercup and Blossom nodded in agreement.

"I only wish there was something I could do to repay you." Dexter thought about it for a moment, then said, "That's it! Professor...if you would be so kind as to allow me to examine your Hyper Conduit Manifestation Device?"

The professor rose an eyebrow, but said, "Uh, sure..." and pulled it out of his lab coat, handing it to him.

Dexter walked over to a table and flipped open a panel on the back. As the girls hovered behind him to see what he was doing, he carefully removed the battery, holding it up to the light, "Hmm...a high-yield miniature fusion cell. Effective, but ultimately inefficient..."

He set it aside, and picked up something else from the desk, another similarily-sized battery-like device. It was transparent, however, and a tiny green atomic-shaped molecule could be seen floating in the center, "My latest invention...the new Miniature Travel-Sized Neurotomic Protocore! Sadly, only a fraction of a full-sized Neurotomic Protocore's power output, but more than enough to make sure this baby never runs out of juice!" He installed it into the back of the HCMD.

"Are you telling me that I can use it as often as I want, now?" the professor exclaimed. "Without having to wait a day between uses?"

"That is a big affirmative, professor!" Dexter answered.

"That's incredible! You are a true genius, Dexter...I wish you well in your scientific endeavors." He picked up the HCMD from the table, and said to the girls, "What do you say? Head home?"

Bubbles and Buttercup both said, "Yeah!"

Blossom, however, said, "Can't we stay a little longer? I was really beginning to like it here..."

"Don't worry," the professor reassured her, "we can come back and visit again sometime."

Blossom brightened, and flew down, landing in front of Dexter, "Can we?"

Dexter leaned back slightly, and said, "Uh...uh, yeah, sure...I guess so..." He forced a smile, "But you know, I am usually quite busy..."

"I'll write you!" Blossom quickly promised. "I'll drop a letter here once and a while, okay?"

"Okay..." Dexter said, reluctantly.

The professor announced, "Time to go, girls..." and punched the button on the HCMD. It operated flawlessly, opening the portal up as always. The four of them gathered around the portal.

"Bye, Dexter!" Buttercup and Bubbles said together, and disappeared into the portal with the professor. Blossom waited by the entrance to the portal for a few extra moments...she smiled, and waved, before finally entering the portal. It sealed up behind her.

Dexter breathed out a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead, "Whew! I'm sure glad that's over with." He started walking towards the lab exit, and said, "Computer...alert me if there is any sign of cross-dimensional disturbances detected in the future."

"Yes, Dexter." replied the computer. Dexter walked out of his lab, the door slamming shut behind him...

* * *

City Hall was an absolute mess. Everything was torn to pieces. Even the roof had been mostly blown away. The villains, all beat-up and bruised, were sitting around the remains of the Mayor's desk. The Mayor was still tied to a chair nearby, probably the one unscathed thing in the room. Mojo Jojo had a fist-full of straws, and thrust it out angrily, "Okay, this will be the actual decision. Him, you will not use your powers to cheat this time!"

They all drew the straws. As they glanced around to find out who drew the short straw, Bossman of the Amoeba Boys spoke up, "Hey, that's not fair! I didn't get a long straw like you guys did!"

As everyone growled in frustration, Sedeusa hissed, "You idiot! You're supposed to get...rrrgh! Why do we even bother?!"

Princess folded her arms defiantly, "All in favor of the Amoeba Boys not being in charge of the town, say 'aye'!"

Everyone chorused, "Aye" together, including the Amoeba Boys themselves. After a brief moment of silence, everyone except the Amobea Boys facepalmed at the same time.

"At this rate," Him frowned, "we'll never decide."

Ace waved it off, "Ah, lighten up. We'll have this done way before the PowerPuffs come back anyway..."

A loud *AHEM* suddenly made all the of them turn their heads. Above them, from the hole in the roof, the PowerPuff Girls hovered there, arms folded across their chests. Blossom said, "Did you miss us?"

Before the villains could answer, or even really react, the girls exploded into action. Not that they had any problems, since they were already in bad shape as it was. As they fought, the Mayor said, "Oh, hello, girls! How was your vacation?"

Blossom paused for a moment, arm poised to punch Fuzzy in the face, and answered, "Oh, it was a blast, Mayor!" She thought to herself, That was a pretty fun trip...I'll have to go back sometime to visit Dexter again...but man, it's good to be home! She resumed the fight with earnest, happily returning to her job of saving the day...