"We're gonna get in trouble..."

Bubbles was seated around the kitchen table with Blossom and Buttercup. The Hyper Conduit Manifestation Device sat in the center of the table, and all three girls were looking at it, although nobody touched it yet. Bubbles' comment prompted Buttercup to say, "You worry too much. We haven't even done anything yet."

Blossom said, "Bubbles is right...the professor told us never to mess with it without his supervision. We haven't yet, and we won't, either."

"Aw, come on...it's not like we can't take care of ourselves," Buttercup argued. "For cryin' out loud, we're the PowerPuff Girls! I say we can handle anything a dimension can toss at us."

"That may be true," Blossom replied, "but now's not a good time. The professor's out for the next few days presenting his data from our trips to a panel of scientists, and I don't think he'd appreciate us messing around with the HCMD when he's gone."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Buttercup folded her arms, "I just want a souvenir, you know? Something to bring back. The professor never lets us keep anything we find."

Bubbles rested her head on one arm and said thoughtfully, "I remember the trip where everyone in town owned a pet bunny. I wanted a bunny, but the professor said something about taking creatures outta their native env--...enviremints..."

"See? Bubbles agrees with me," Buttercup pointed out. "Lighten up a little, Blossom. We'll be fine!"

"Well...I guess one little peek can't hurt..." Blossom picked the HCMD up off the table, and added, "Besides, with the modifications on it, we can just come right back anyway if it's dangerous."

Bubbles looked concerned, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Of course," Blossom answered, "I've seen the professor do it a dozen times. How hard can it be? All you do is put some random numbers in, punch the button, and go!" She started adjusting the coordinates, setting them randomly. After this, she poised over the button, asking, "All set?"

The girls nodded. Buttercup said, "Fire away!"

Blossom clicked the button, and the device shot the electrical spark out, creating the swirling vortex as it always had. She smiled triumphantly, and said, "There, nothing to it. C'mon, let's take a look!" She was now as excited to go as Buttercup was. The three of them flew up to the portal, and crossed through it. It sealed up behind them, leaving the kitchen in silence...

* * *

They emerged from the portal, and it closed up behind them. Glancing around, the realized that they were in the middle of a suburban park, instead of their house. "Okay, so our house isn't in the same place," Blossom remarked. "Well, that's enough...time to head back..."

Buttercup snatched the HCMD from her hand, "No way! We just got here!"

"Hey!" Blossom shouted. "Give it back! You'll wreck it!"

"Nah, I think I'll just hang onto it for a while," Buttercup smirked, tucking it away, "until we have a good look at this place." Blossom looked over at Bubbles and shrugged. Buttercup continued, "Now, let's go up and see what it looks like from above."

All three of them flew up into the sky. After gaining a little altitude, they surveyed the landscape. They were indeed in a suburban area, and it was fairly heavily populated, too. There were some taller buildings way off in the distance, but not a city, just a slightly more urban area. All in all, though, it was definitely not Townsville. It was far too different; the layout of the roads, the buildings...everything was changed.

They soared well over the buildings, trying to stay out of sight of the people so that they wouldn't alarm them. Blossom glanced around and said, "Well, aside from the fact that this isn't Townsville, it all looks pretty normal to me..."

"This stinks!" Buttercup complained. "What is this, the city of Dullsville? There isn't a thing going on any--" She trailed off, and slowed down, staring at one of the buildings below.

"What's wrong?" Bubbles asked.

"I just spotted something weird...follow me!" Buttercup descended towards the building, with Blossom and Bubbles close behind. There wasn't anyone around in the immediate area, so their appearance went unnoticed. They landed on the street, and Buttercup pointed, "Look!"

They were in front of an electronics store, and there were several televisions in the window. About half of them were showing some music video, but the other half was showing a cartoon. It wasn't an ordinary cartoon, though...it was them! Animated versions of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup flew across the screen in a flurry of color.

"What the...?" Blossom said, confused.

"It's us!" Bubbles exclaimed.

They stood there and watched for the next few minutes. The cartoon PowerPuff Girls were flying towards a giant monster. They started fighting it, smashing it around and beating it up, while it feebly attempted to attack back, in vain.

The girls watched the televisions, fascinated at seeing the animated versions of themselves. "I guess we do exist here," Buttercup remarked. "They must have made a cartoon of our adventures or something."

"Not a bad idea, really," Blossom said. "It's a way to get extra money, I guess."

"I think we did our own voices, too," Bubbles added. "Didja hear it?"

The show completed, and the credits to the show started to roll by. Blossom suddenly said, "Hey, wait! Did you see that?"

"See what?" Buttercup asked.

"The voices...they weren't us!" Blossom explained, "I saw the name 'Catherine Cavadini' where my name was supposed to be...someone named 'Tara Strong' was listed next to Bubbles, and 'Elizabeth Daily' was next to Buttercup!"

"But...but it was us!" Bubbles said. "I'm sure it was! It sounded exactly like us!"

Buttercup said, "Maybe that's what our names are here..."

Blossom shook her head, "No, that can't be. The characters in that cartoon all had our regular names. What's going on here? This is really odd..."

At that moment, a group of children came around the corner of the street. They were carrying backpacks and lunch boxes, obviously just coming home from school. They were all talking to each other, but stopped when they saw the girls. One of them pointed over and said, "Hey look! Some people dressed as the PowerPuff Girls! They must be advertising something at the store."

Another said, "Let's go see!" They walked past the girls, smiling at them, and entered the store. Something caught Blossom's attention: one of the children was carrying a lunch box that had a picture of the PowerPuff Girls on the side, but again, it was the cartoon version that they had just seen. A moment later, they disappeared into the store.

The girls, in the meantime, stood there quietly, looking more confused than ever. Bubbles was the first to say something, "What was that all about?"

"They knew us," Buttercup said, "But...if they did, why did they just walk past us without saying anything to us?"

A look of dawning appeared on Blossom's face, and she said, "I think I know...watch..." A girl came out of the store, and Blossom waved to her, saying, "Hi!"

"Hello!" the girl said, laughing a little, "That's a cute costume, it almost looks real. Bye!" The girl continued off down the street.

Blossom nodded, "Just what I thought..."

Folding her arms, Buttercup said, "Spit it out, already! What's going on? Why are all the people like that?"

Blossom looked back at Buttercup and said, "Girls...I don't think we'll actually find counterparts of ourselves living here. I think that cartoon we saw is all there is. To these people, we're just cartoon characters."

After a brief moment of silence, Bubbles spoke up, "That's really weird..."

Buttercup said, "You're actually suggesting that we're not here, but they have a cartoon of us? Are you serious?"

"Think about it," Blossom said. "It explains a lot. You know the Puppet Pals, right? What if you were walking along, and saw Puppet Pal Clem and Mitch standing on the sidewalk? Would you think it's really them?"

"Yes!" Bubbles answered.

Buttercup shot Bubbles a look, and shook her head, "No, of course not."

Blossom added, "...and you'd probably just walk right past them, right? Maybe you might say something, but you're not too excited, 'cause they're not the real Puppet Pals. Just like they did with us right now."

"Well...yeah..." Buttercup admitted. "I think you're right. Man, this is freaky..."

Blossom continued, "I think it might be a good idea if we laid low and didn't do anything to startle anyone. These people have probably never actually seen anyone with superpowers before--"

All of a sudden, the three of them picked something up with their sonic hearing. A lot of police car sirens sounded in the distance. Buttercup exclaimed, "Sounds like trouble...c'mon, let's go!"

"No wait!" Blossom shouted, stopping Buttercup from taking off. "Let's go, but quietly. Fly high, so that no one will see us." She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and said, "Okay, let's go!" The three of them shot into the sky, disappearing amongst the clouds...

* * *

It was a bank robbery. Several police cars had just poured into area, surrounding the bank, and they were all behind cover, weapons drawn. Blossom, from their safe position in the clouds, listened carefully to their speech from a distance. One of the officers was speaking into a radio, "Suspects are heavily armed, and have hostages."

Buttercup quietly said, "We can't just sit by and watch...we gotta help them!"

"No, Buttercup!" Blossom said. "We wait right here, okay?"

Bubbles pointed, "Look, they're coming out!"

Indeed, the bank robbers were coming out of the front doors of the bank. They were wearing body armor and helmets, and were armed with sub-machine guns, looking like they were well prepared for this robbery. They held hostages out in front of them as human shields as they edged out of the doors. "Hold your fire!" the officer with the radio shouted.

The situation seemed tense, and then all of a sudden, the hostages, spun around, drawing their own guns. Blossom thought, They must have been undercover officers...the fact that they had gotten to the bank so quickly probably meant they were tipped off about the robbery. They didn't get fully around, though, as the robbers kicked them over, down the steps of the bank, and immediately started running around the side of the bank, spraying bullets towards the police cars. The officers all ducked behind cover, and the undercover officers laid flat, crawling as fast as they can towards safety.

"I can't take it anymore!" Buttercup shouted. "I'm goin' in!"

"Wait!" Blossom began, but Buttercup had already flown out of the clouds. Blossom and Bubbles, realizing that they wouldn't be able to keep their powers a secret now, gave up and followed right behind her.

The four bank robbers were just about to make it to their getaway van, when something startled them. Three small shapes shot towards them from the sky, leaving a rainbow-like trail of color behind them. The lead robber lowered his weapon slightly and said, "What the..."

A moment later, the girls reached them...with three quick punches, they knocked the weapons out of the front three robber's hands. In another quick set of punches, all three of them were knocked out, and landed in a pile on the ground. The lead robber, panicked now, raised his sub-machine gun and opened fire on them. He was even more alarmed when the bullets harmlessly bounced off.

In two fluid movements, Buttercup shot a brief blast of her eyebeams, slicing his weapon in half, and immediately followed it up with a kick to the chin. The robber was sent flying back into the wall of the bank, where he was knocked cold.

The police officers, in the meantime, were staring with a stunned silence, and had not yet lowered their weapons. The sight of these three small, strange-looking girls floating over the unconscious bank robbers was so mind-boggling that they didn't know what to think. "Uh...chief..." the one officer spoke into his radio, slowly, "We, uh...have a situation here. I'm...not even sure how to explain it..."

Blossom looked at them, and smirked, "I think they're impressed. What do you think, Bubbles?"

"They look scared," Bubbles said.

As it started to dawn on some of the people that the situation was secure, a few reporters and officers crept out cautiously from behind cover, and started heading towards them. Blossom shouted out, "Don't worry, it's safe!"

They approached faster now, more sure of themselves. The reporters reached them first, but stayed at a safe distance, since they were still hovering ominously. One of them whispered to a cameraman next to him, "Keep rolling!" and stepped out in front of the camera, speaking into a microphone. "Uh, we've had an amazing conclusion to the shocking drama you've just witnessed. It seems that these three 'girls' have single-handedly stopped the robbers' getaway."

He glanced nervously at them, then back to the camera, and continued, "But as to who they are, and how they did what they did, this reporter hopes to find out." He thrust a microphone out towards Blossom, and said, "Miss? I'm sure our viewers would like to know, who are you?"

As the camera turned towards them, Blossom smiled, thinking, Oh well, they're gonna find out anyway, so I might as well tell them. She said, "Well, my name's Blossom...these are my sisters, Bubbles and Buttercup.

"We're superheroes!" Bubbles added, flying over to the microphone.

"Yeah," Buttercup said, joining them, "We're the PowerPuff Girls!"

Unknown to them, across the state, kids were pointing at their televisions and screaming with joy, barely able to believe what they were seeing. Not only did their favorite cartoon characters turn out to be real, but also they were here, saving the day, just like in their adventures! The news spread out to the rest of the country like wildfire...

* * *

It was later on, at the steps of the city's City Hall, that a large crowd had gathered. Everyone from the reporters in the front to a group of onlookers in the back, and an inordinately large number of childeren as well, had come to listen to what the PowerPuff Girls had to say. They had already given an explanation to the police, and felt it was time to let everyone else know, as the curiosity of the people began almost to get out of hand. As the press waited, the girls came out, accompanied by the mayor and several head police officials.

Blossom flew up to the podium, and spoke into the microphone, "People of America...we come here today in a rather unusual situation. As many of you know, we look exactly like the superheroes from one of your television programs. I am here to tell you that we are indeed those superheroes. It is very strange, I know, but I will try to explain exactly what's going on."

She took a breath and continued, "You see, my sisters and I have traveled here from another dimension. In this dimension, we are the PowerPuff Girls. We live in the city of Townsville, USA, and protect it and the world from all kinds of unimaginable disasters. Anyway, to make a long story short, our creator, Professor Utonium, invented a device which we used to travel here, to your dimension."

As the people in the crowd were reacting to her words, she added, "Believe me, it came as a huge surprise to us to find out that everything we do in real life back in our dimension exists only as stories in yours. So I can imagine what kind of shock this must be to see what you know as fictional characters in the flesh. I assure you that we come only in peace, and hope that you will accept us." She paused, and said, "Any questions?"

A large number of reporters thrust their microphones out, and one of them asked, "Blossom, is it? Why have you come here to this dimension?"

"Actually," Blossom answered, "we've been visiting a lot of dimensions. The professor's running a study."

Bubbles moved over to the microphone and added, "It's a lot of fun, too! Not just all that science stuff." There were chuckles from the crowd, particularly from the children. Bubbles smiled, and waved to them.

Another reporter said, "How long are you planning to stay?"

Blossom cleared her throat and said, "Actually, I'm not sure. We can't stay forever, 'cause we have to get back. Townsville needs us, after all."

There were choruses of "Awww..." coming from the children in the crowd. Bubbles frowned a little sadly, and whispered to Blossom, "We can stay for a little while, can't we? The professor's not due back for a couple of days..."

Before Blossom had time to answer, another reporter said, "Okay, this question isn't from me, exactly...it's from my daughter; she's a fan of the show." Some people chuckled, and the reporter continued, "She wanted me to ask her favorite, Buttercup...are you really the toughest?"

Buttercup laughed. She moved in front of the microphone and said, "You know it! I'm the toughest of the tough! Also, let me say that wherever you are, you have good taste, kid!" More people laughed, and Buttercup smirked. I didn't realize how popular I must be, she thought. Not that I'm surprised or anything.

A man in a suit walked up to the mayor and whispered something to him. The mayor nodded, and stepped over to the microphone, saying, "PowerPuff Girls...I've just been informed that several top executives of Cartoon Network, the network that produces the PowerPuff Girls cartoon, would like very much to meet with you. They have told me that they wish to offer you lodging for this evening, and you can meet with them tomorrow morning."

The crowd cheered at this. Blossom was taken by surprise, and turned to the other girls, "What do you think? We really shouldn't be staying here very much longer..."

"Give it a rest, already, Bloss!" Buttercup said. "We'll go back when we're ready. Right now, let's just enjoy ourselves...these people love us!"

Bubbles nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! We're famous!"

Blossom didn't need much convincing, however. She was already enjoying being a worldwide celebrity, and wanted to spend more time amongst their fans. "All right," she exclaimed, "let's do it!"

* * *

After the media had completed all their questions, they made their way to the hotel. Cartoon Network had furnished them with a luxurious room, and lots of extras that they figured the girls would enjoy. A huge pile of toys, a refrigerator stocked with ice cream, a satellite TV, a computer with Internet access, the works. Blossom was lying down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She said, "Whew! I'm beat...I thought they'd never finish with all those questions! We were there for hours..."

"I had fun!" Bubbles said.

"Me too, but it was still a little tiring..." Blossom answered. She sighed happily, "Ahhh, this bed is really soft...not like the one back home, huh?"

Bubbles was too busy playing with the toys to reply. She was particularly engrossed with one bunch of toys, doll versions of themselves. She held up the Blossom toy and said, "Townsville's in trouble! Let's move out! Wheeeee!" and started flying the dolls around in the air.

Buttercup, in the meantime, was messing with the computer, browsing the Internet. She remarked, "Man, look at all this stuff! A lot of the fans like to write their own stories..."

"Hey, Bubbles," Blossom said, "isn't this great? We work like mad trying to save the world back in our dimension, and yet, here, we're worldwide heroes just because we're counterparts of characters from a TV show."

"Uh huh," Bubbles said, lowering the dolls for a moment. "It's like all the fame, and none of the work."

"You bet!" Blossom agreed.

Buttercup was busy reading one of the many fan fictions she downloaded from the net. "Huh? The Rowdyruff Boys?" she said, as she read. "What are they doing in the story? We destroyed them, for cryin' out loud!"

Bubbles ignored this, and continued, "Do you think we're taking it too easy, Blossom?"

"What do you mean?" Blossom asked.

"Well, I mean like how we're not really saving the world over here. We're just stars. I miss saving the world and stuff..."

"Bubbles, it's only been one day! Not even a whole day yet!"

"I know, but it seems like a long time."

Buttercup, who was still reading the fan fiction, interrupted the conversation, exclaiming, "What?! Me and Butch?! Yeech...you gotta be kidding!"

Blossom looked over, "Buttercup, that's enough of that...let's just get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Buttercup shut down the computer, and Bubbles put the dolls back into the pile of toys. All three of them headed over and climbed into bed. The three of them were too excited to sleep for a while, though, as they stared up at the ceiling and talked to each other. Bubbles stared at the ceiling, saying, "I have always wanted to be famous...do you think they'll put us on TV?"

"We already are on TV," Blossom answered. "I'm sure people will want to interview us some more, though."

Buttercup said, "It's great! We're on easy street now. We can come back here and visit all our fans anytime we want!"

"I really don't want to leave," Blossom said, "but I know we have to. I wish I could just stay here forever. We have everything we could possibly need..."

They continued talking for the next hour, but their weariness eventually got the better of them. After a while, the three of them finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming about their fans, and the fame and glory they were anticipating for the next day, completely unaware that someone was watching them from outside their window...

* * *

A limousine brought them to Cartoon Network's headquarters the next day. As they were ushered into the building, a huge line of fans cheered them on. The girls loved it; they never got quite this kind of attention back home, and it was better than they had dreamed.

They were finally brought into an office by one of the executives. They approached a desk at the other end, where a man was seated. The executive said to him, "The PowerPuff Girls, as you requested, sir."

"Great!" he said, a little excited, and waved off the executive, "That'll be all. Thanks!" The executive nodded and walked out of the office, leaving the girls hovering in the center of the room, waiting to see what this man wanted.

He got up from the desk and crossed the room, holding his hand out to Blossom to shake it, "My name's Craig. Craig McCracken. I'm the creator and lead animator of the PowerPuff Girls cartoon."

Blossom shook his hand, and said, "It's an honor to meet you, Craig."

As he shook her hand, he replied, "No way, the honor's all mine! This...this is just too cool. I never would have thought I'd actually be standing here, talking to you three! I mean, I created you...now, to find out that you actually exist in another dimension? It's awesome!"

Blossom said, "This is all good for us, too! I can't believe how popular we are here..."

"Merely the first step, girls," Craig laughed. "I want to take this thing to the whole world! And now that you three are here, we can do it!" He grinned.

Blossom nodded, "Sounds good."

"What did you have in mind?" Bubbles asked.

"Well, let's just say I had some 'public appearances' planned." He changed the subject, "Say, I was wondering...did Professor Utonium ever tell you the formula for Chemical X?"

Blossom was taken aback by this sudden change of topic, "No...he hasn't...why?"

Craig's face fell a little, and he said, "Is there any way you can find it out? I'd like to see it. I assume that he kept all the other stuff the same? Sugar, spice, and everything nice?"

"Yes...well, I guess we could ask--" Blossom began.

"Hey, wait a minute," Buttercup said, frowning slightly. "Whaddaya need to know that for?"

"Uh..." Craig hesitated, then continued, "I was just thinking that you girls will have to go back sometime, so if I knew how to make the PowerPuff Girls here, you wouldn't need to come back unless you wanted to..."

"We already said we'd help." Blossom reminded him.

"I know, but this way you don't have to," Craig said. "Aren't you eager to get back home? It's just a measly little formula..."

Blossom shook her head, "It's Chemical X, not a measly little formula. We've already learned that it can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. And we've already said we'll help, so giving out such a sensitive secret would serve no purpose."

"Yeah, so what's the real reason?" Buttercup asked, glaring.

Craig fell silent for a few moments, then he turned around and walked back to his desk, sitting down in his chair. His whole demeanor seemed to change; instead of easygoing and laid-back, he was suddenly very serious. He stared at the girls, and said, "I should've figured you'd be too smart for the casual approach. All right, then, I'll tell you. Everything."

He clicked a button on his desk, and a panel slid open on the wall, revealing a monitor. A video began showing on it, of a group of people in a science laboratory. Craig spoke, "For the past ten years, I have been pursuing a goal, something that I dreamed of long ago. My dream told me that if I was able to create a certain formula, I could end up with an unstoppable weapon, a super soldier capable of defeating any army it faces single-handedly."

As the girls watched the screen, the scientists on it were mixing various chemicals together, and working on formulae. Craig continued, "Not just any super soldier, though. I knew that I could create them in the form of the perfect little girls. Then, they would first win the world's charm and affection, before finally, at my command, they would suddenly strike, and be able to conquer the world with no obstacle to stand in their way."

The laboratory became empty on the screen, and Craig commented, "Unfortunately, our funding ran dry before we could discover the formula for the final ingredient needed: Chemical X. In a desperate attempt to raise funds, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I pitched the PowerPuff Girls cartoon to Cartoon Network, and they accepted it, making it into a series. This worked all too well for my plans. Not only did it supply me with a large cash base with which to continue my research, but the 'perfect little girls' that I wished to create were already being endeared to the public eye ahead of time. Then, once I could create the actual PowerPuff Girls, they would be accepted instantly."

Before the girls could say anything, Craig stood up and continued, "Although we made many incredible advancements, we never did find the formula." He slammed a fist on the table in anger. "I had all but given up, using the research funding to gather a personal army instead, so at least I'd have something out of all of this. But then, you three showed up, and this presented me with an excellent opportunity. Now, I'll eventually have you retrieve the formula from Professor Utonium, but that can wait. For now, you will instead help me to directly reach my ultimate goal: becoming ruler of this world!"

"What?" Buttercup exclaimed. "Are you crazy?"

Bubbles nodded, "Yeah, we aren't helping you!"

Blossom agreed, "That's right! The PowerPuff Girls would never help out an evildoer such as you! We're going to take this right to the police, and then we're going to go back to our dimension."

Craig just grinned evilly, "That's what you think. You aren't going anywhere without your precious dimensional travel device."

"What are you talking about? We've got it right h--..." Buttercup reached for where she had tucked away the HCMD, but couldn't find it. She searched some more, "No! Where is it?"

Craig calmly clicked on the monitor once again, showing a live feed from his laboratory. The HCMD was sitting on a workbench. He asked, "Looking for this, are you? Come now, girls, I didn't pay for your hotel room just for nothing. I had an additional key, of course, and naturally, you didn't suspect a thing."

Bubbles flew over and grabbed Craig by the shirt. She said, upset, "That's not very nice! You give it back!"

Craig was completely unfazed by this, and said, "Ah ah ah. All in due time, Bubbles. But first...you'll help me take over the world, or you'll never return to your own dimension again." He punched another button on the desk, and on the monitor, a robotic arm picked up the HCMD, holding it precariously over an incinerator.

Blossom was concerned when she saw this, but then ignored it, "So you want us to help you, just so we can get back home? Forget it. It's a small price to pay."

"Of course it is," Craig said, sarcastically, "I'm sure that all your friends and family back home won't worry about your absence for too long. Of course, they won't have the chance, once Mojo Jojo destroys the city, or Him takes over. But that's all right. They'll understand that you'd forsake them all just to help out a completely different dimension."

The girls hovered quietly, thinking this over. This hadn't occurred to them, what would happen to Townsville without their protection. Buttercup, looking anxiously towards Blossom, asked, "What do we do?"

Blossom was at a loss; she whispered, "We have no choice, girls. All right...we'll do it..." The three of them hung their heads sadly in defeat, Craig's maniacal laughter being the only sound they heard...

* * *

The first task assigned to them was to go out and capture all of the world leaders from each nation, one by one. This was, of course, not a problem for them to do, but they felt terrible about it. Here they were, all prepared to take the world by storm with their fame, only to have to tarnish their own names by doing the work of an evil mastermind. The news was beginning to spread quickly that these three superheroes had "evidently lost their minds." In a span of a few short hours, every world leader had been rounded up and delivered. Once the first task had been completed, Craig coldly told them to wait out in the lobby of Cartoon Network until he needed their help again.

The girls did so, depressed. Bubbles sat with her head in her arms, and pouted, "I want to go home..."

"I know what you mean, Bubbles," Buttercup said. "I can't stand it here anymore either."

Blossom stared up at a television in the lobby, which was playing one of the PowerPuff Girls cartoons, and said, "We were going to be so happy here. The people all loved us...but now, they probably hate us." She frowned, "We shouldn't have let them down. They're real people, just like the ones back home."

Buttercup hung her head, "I wish..." She sighed in frustration, "I just wish there was something we could do...but that guy knows our every move. He's probably prepared for us in case we try anything."

Blossom was distracted by something on the television, "Hey, did you see that?"

Surprised, Buttercup looked up, "What?"

"That!" She pointed at the fight that was taking place in the cartoon, "Remember that? It was the giant blob monster that attacked the city. The one that was looking for his cat..."

Bubbles flew over, and studied the television, "Hey, you're right. Um...so?"

"So," Blossom said, "the cartoon is playing out exactly like it happened back home...except, they left out when I tried using my ice breath on it."

"So it's not exactly the same," Buttercup remarked. "What's the big deal?"

"There's something strange...how could they get everything else right, but..." Blossom broke off as something else caught her eye, "Look! It's different again!"

They watched as the cartoon PowerPuffs tried to get rid of the Blob monster by throwing a giant statue of a cat from the park at it...which it promptly scooped up and hugged. "Wait a minute," Buttercup said, "That's not how it happened at all!"

A slow smile spread over Blossom's face, and she said, "If I'm right, this next part will be different, too..."

"What part?" Bubbles asked.

Indeed, something was different, as Blossom expected. Instead of the cartoon Bubbles calling out to all the cats like she had actually done, the three girls darted through the city instead, gathering up all the cats by hand. Blossom smiled, "I knew it! This changes everything. Girls, listen up, I have a plan, but we have to be very careful about it..."

* * *

The world leaders were all gathered together down in Craig McCracken's laboratory, deep underground beneath the Cartoon Network headquarters building. They were all tied to chairs, and arranged in a large semicircle in front of a large monitor, which flickered to life, showing the image of Craig. "Greetings, former world leaders," Craig spoke, his voice laced with evil, "So nice of you all to drop in."

"What do you want from us?" one of them demanded.

"Why, your countries, of course," Craig replied. "Once I have complete control over them, I shall release you. Otherwise, I will just have to take them by force, and I'm sure you'd rather not put your people through that kind of torment, would you?"

Another one of the world leaders shouted, "We will never give in to your ultimatum!"

"If that is what you wish. However, I will give you time to think it over." In his control room, Craig switched off the monitor, and said, "Ahh, yes, it's only a matter of time. The world will soon be mine!"

One of his aides ran over suddenly and said, "Sir, the PowerPuff Girls have left CNHQ."

"What? Track them!" Craig growled. He switched on the radar monitor, and saw them flying high up into the upper atmosphere. He raised an eyebrow, studying the screen, "Hmm...what are they up to? Well, it doesn't really matter. We're so deep underground that if they dared to try anything, I can have their precious dimensional travel device destroyed before they even get halfway to us."

His smug expression suddenly changed to one of shocked confusion, as he saw them descending back towards the Earth at an incredible speed. So fast was their reentry that the air around them began to catch on fire. "What in blazes..." he began.

That's when the flames around all three of them seemed to merge together...for a moment, it was just a huge fireball shooting towards the ground, but in the next, it took the shape of a cat. Craig gaped...he couldn't believe his eyes. What power is this? he thought. They're not supposed to be able to do that! What's going on?

The Furious Fiery Feline plunged into the ground, ripping straight through it like a hot knife through butter. In almost no time at all, they had closed the distance between them and the laboratory. With an explosion of flame, they burst into the room where the world leaders were being held. The flame flickered off almost as quickly, and Blossom immediately shouted, "Grab the device!" All three of them shot towards the mechanical arm that held the HCMD.

Craig narrowed his eyes, pounding a button on the control panel. The arm quickly started to lower towards the incinerator, but Blossom was prepared. She had already taken a deep breath, and blew a cloud of freezing cold air across the arm, surrounding it with ice and freezing it in place. Buttercup flew over and easily pried the HCMD from its grip.

Watching this happen, Craig's face appeared on the monitor in the room, and he snarled, "How can this be? You don't have powers like that! You can't!"

"Maybe not our counterparts in your cartoon," Blossom answered, "but we certainly do! It's too bad that your own vision of the PowerPuff Girls conveniently left out all of our abilities. I knew they would give us the tactical advantage."

"Very clever," Craig said leaning back in his chair, and punched a button. An alarm sounded, and Craig shouted across the extents of the laboratory, "Attention! The PowerPuff Girls are to be destroyed at once! Attack! Attack!" Soldiers from Craig's personal army started pouring into the room from several doors. They raised their weapons and opened fire, but the girls were too fast. They ducked out of the way and took cover behind some of the tables.

"Bubbles!" Blossom quickly ordered, "Get the world leaders to safety!" Bubbles flew over to where the world leaders were tied up and tunneled into the ground underneath them. After a few moments, she reappeared, lifting the entire section of ground they were all sitting on, and flying them up and out of the hole they originally came through. The guards fired a few shots after her, but missed, and she disappeared from view.

Blossom quickly shouted, "Good! Buttercup, plan gamma-theta-twelve, now!" As the soldiers turned their weapons back to them, both of them quickly grabbed hold of the legs of the table they were hiding behind, and flew forward with it, ramming into the first rank of soldiers. They spun around to face the other half of them, and a set of quick blasts from their eyebeams melted the soldiers' weapons before they could get any more shots off. In a flurry of motion--and punches--they knocked all the soldiers out.

Bubbles rejoined them, and they started flying through the rest of the complex. They located the control room with little difficulty, bursting in through the door, but before they could approach the main computer station, Craig quickly punched a button and was sealed behind a heavy pane of glass. The girls punched at it, but it wouldn't give.

"Ha!" Craig shouted, "That glass is actually a powerful transparent titanium alloy! It should easily withstand even your levels of strength, giving me enough time to prepare my getaway..."

Blossom wasn't worried, she turned to Bubbles and waved her arm, saying, "Bubbles, if you will..." Bubbles nodded and took a deep breath...she let loose a high-pitched sonic scream that caused the whole room the shake. As Craig grabbed his chair to hold on, he watched in astonishment as the pure force of the soundwaves caused the glass to crack, then shatter.

Craig lifted his arms up protectively in front of himself and laughed nervously, "Hey, hey, you all know I was just kidding back there...You three are the coolest! I'm sure you can find it in the goodness of your heart to--..." He didn't get the chance to finish, as a moment later, the girls started throwing punches and kicks at him. After being knocked about by them, he collapsed to the ground, out cold.

"C'mon, Girls," Blossom ordered, "Let's bring him to the police...and bring all those world leaders back to their homes!" They each shot off in different directions with earnest, finally prepared to set things right...

* * *

They were gathered in front of the same City Hall that they had the day before. There were many more people now, including the President, and the press had been asking them questions about what had happened. They had explained everything to them, and the people understood. What was prevalent on everyone's mind, though, was the fact that it was time for the girls to travel back home.

One of the reporters said, "Some people are wondering what will become of the cartoon now that Craig McCracken is in prison." He held his microphone out for an answer.

Blossom stepped forward and said, "I am told that the Cartoon Network had no knowledge of Craig's activities and evil ambitions, and that their staff will continue to make more cartoons of the PowerPuff Girls in honor of what's happened."

The President stepped forward, "Words do not begin to give justice to your great deed. All of us will look upon you three in a different light altogether from this point forth...no longer as a fictional embodiment of the good in each of us, but rather as true heroes, who have saved the people of the Earth from the tyranny of an evil megalomaniac. Without your help, we would surely have been doomed. I'm certain I speak for us all when I say that the world will miss you, girls, and that we will always have a special place for you in our hearts."

The crowd cheered enthusiastically in agreement. Bubbles smiled, and said, "Thanks! I promise we'll try to visit again someday!"

Buttercup picked up a sack that was lying next to the podium, and threw it over her shoulder, floating back to where the other girls were. She nodded to Blossom, "Okay, we're all set."

Blossom nodded back, and lifted the HCMD, punching the button. As the crowed watched in awe, the electricity jumped from the end and opened up the swirling vortex back to their dimension. The girls moved over and paused by the vortex, waving one last time at the crowd. "Goodbye!" all three of them shouted together, and the crowed cheered them on as they disappeared through...

* * *

The three of them reappeared on a rooftop somewhere in Townsville. Blossom looked around, as they stepped out from the vortex, gazing across the city, and said, "Ahh, it's good to be back again..."

The vortex closed up, and Bubbles looked back where it was a moment ago, and said sadly, "I wish we didn't have to leave, I really liked being famous..." Her eyes caught sight of the citizens of Townsville in the street, who looked back at her, waving. She smiled, and added, "...but I guess we're still famous here, too!"

"It's a start, anyway," Blossom said. "Well, we'd better get back home before the professor returns from his trip. I don't have any regrets about going, though."

"Me either; I'm just glad we came back with something this time," Buttercup exclaimed, setting down the sack she was carrying. She rummaged through it, and pulled out the souvenirs from their trip: three small, plush dolls of the PowerPuff Girls. It served as a reminder of the legacy they left behind, and the world that would forever remember them.