* * * * * * * * *

CHAPTER 6:

"Checkpoint"

"What...is it?" Bubbles said, looking down at the horrifying thing in front of her.

"I don’t know," Buttercup said, "but it can’t be good...I say we avoid it at all costs..."

Blossom set a firm expression and declared, "I’m goin’ for it. Wish me luck."

"Be careful!" Bubbles warned.

Blossom slowly lowered her utensil towards the plate of food in front of her. The strange, vine-like thing on the plate was all coiled up, and had a bright fluorescent green color. It was covered with dozens of tiny stalks along its surface. She pulled a small piece off of it, and as she lifted it up, it was still attached by a long, stretchy substance, like melted cheese, except green and translucent.

"Ewww!" Bubbles exclaimed, cringing at the sight of it.

Buttercup stuck her tongue out in disgust, "Man, that’s nasty..."

"Now, come on, girls," Blossom said. "Xianea worked hard to prepare this...the least we can do is try it. I’ll bet it tastes a lot better than it looks." With that, she raised it towards her mouth and took a bite.

The girls waited for a reaction. Blossom held the bite in her cheeks, barely chewing it…her eyes watered a little bit, and then clenched shut. Buttercup said, "Uh...Bloss?"

Blossom managed to speak, her mouth almost stuck shut from the gooey green substance, "It...looks...a lot better...that it tastes..."

Xianea walked into the small chamber of the ship where they were eating. She noticed Blossom struggling with the food and said, "Er...you should swallow that." Blossom shook her head, but Xianea insisted, "Trust me."

With some effort, Blossom managed to swallow the bite she had taken. When she did, she smiled, "Hey, that was really good!"

Bubbles and Buttercup looked at her, completely mystified. "What?" Buttercup said. "A second ago, you thought it was terrible!"

"I did?" Blossom asked, looking perplexed.

"I should explain," Xianea said. "That was chakro vine you just ate. It’s sort of an oddity. Most organics do find it to be quite distasteful, but it contains an enzyme that acts immediately when ingested. It stimulates the memory cells, modifying the memory of its own taste and tricking the person into thinking that it tasted good."

"Whoa, that is weird," Buttercup said. Turning to Blossom, she asked, "You don’t remember how bad it tasted? You said it tasted worse than it looks!"

Blossom shook her head, "I do vaguely remember saying that, but not thinking it...it can’t be that bad, can it?" She lifted another bite of the food up and ate it. The moment she did, she grimaced, and sputtered, "Mppth! Ack!...geez, it’s worse than...bleeech!!" She forced herself to swallow it, though, and immediately licked her lips and started reaching for another bite.

Bubbles giggled a little, "This is fun to watch."

Xianea started to walk out of the chamber and said, "You two should finish eating as well. We’re almost to the checkpoint station."

Buttercup and Bubbles looked down at the chakro vine, and Buttercup shrugged, "Ah well, as long as we won't remember it anyway," and picked up her utensil. Xianea watched them beginning to eat, and smiled to herself. Considering all they’ve been through, she thought, they really seem happier now. I’m so glad I could help them out…

* * *

Xianea pointed out the cockpit and said, "There it is...Checkpoint 37." The ship was heading towards a large hexagonal station. At each of the six corners of the station, a beam of red energy extended off into space. In the center of the hexagon was a large docking port that went clear through the center and out the other side.

Blossom asked, "What are those beams for?"

"Those are to scan the surrounding region for ships that attempt to bypass the checkpoint," Xianea explained. "Anything that passes by this way has to land in the central docking bay for clearance. After being cleared, they are allowed to pass through the opposite side of the station."

"It's kinda big, though," Bubbles remarked. "What else is there?"

Xianea started moving the ship into docking position and said, "Sometimes the clearance process takes time, so there are restaurants and shops and so forth at the station, and even places to sleep. It's a lot more of a controlled environment than Paradise Fringe was, though."

The communications panel activated, and a mechanized voice announced, "Centraxian vessel, you are cleared for landing at docking bay nine. All occupants must proceed to the check-in station upon arrival. Standard inspection procedures on the ship and crew will follow." The message concluded, and a gold beam of energy locked onto the ship, guiding it down to the landing pad.

"What do we need to do?" Buttercup asked.

"Just stay close, and answer any questions the Galactic Monitors ask you," Xianea said. The girls nodded. A moment later, there was the softest of bumps as the ship docked with the station. "Let's go," Xianea said, and the four of them got up, heading for the ship exit...

* * *

There were a large number of aliens lined up in front of the inspection terminals leading further into the station. It was similar to the spectacle at Paradise Fringe, except people weren't hiding in shadows here. The line moved quickly...Xianea and the girls approached the terminal after only about ten minutes of waiting.

Two large robots were at the terminal. They were mostly featureless, with rounded green armor plating and a small head set with a single wide optic sensor, glowing with a red light. The top part of their arms and legs were fairly small, but the forearms and lower legs were large and thick. Small hatches in the arms hinted at a variety of hidden tools...or weapons.

"They look pretty tough," Buttercup whispered to Blossom.

"Xianea said they were built to enforce galactic law all by themselves," Blossom whispered back, "so they're probably as strong as they look."

Xianea stepped up to the terminal first. One of the Galactic Monitors, with a large 622 printed on its shoulders, stepped forward and spoke in a deep mechanical voice, "State your name and world of origin."

She answered, "Xianea. Centraxia."

The other Monitor, with a 481 printed on its shoulders, had a radar-like device sticking out of one of the hatches on its left arm. It scanned Xianea with it, then motioned for her to pass through. Xianea stepped past them and waited on the other end of the terminal.

As the girls stepped forward, Monitor 622 said to them, "State your names and worlds of origin."

Blossom spoke up, "Blossom. This is Bubbles and Buttercup. We're from Earth."

Monitor 481 had just completed scanning them, and said, "Planet Earth is not on record. Please state the identification number of the planet." Xianea, on the other end of the terminal, gave a worried look...she obviously wasn't expecting this, and probably thought Earth existed in their records.

"Uh, I don't think Earth has an identification number..." Blossom explained.

Monitor 622 pointed in the direction of a lift off to the side of the terminal and said, "Proceed to new species classification immediately." The girls glanced at Xianea. She looked back at them and held her hands out at her sides in an expression of helplessness. It looked like they had no choice.

The girls floated over to the lift slowly and entered it. As it carried them up to another portion of the station, Buttercup said, "Great, just our luck, they’ve never heard of Earth."

"It’s okay…I’m sure this happens a lot," Blossom said. "After all, we can’t be the first new species to come along. They’ll probably put us through some tests to find out more about us."

"What kind of tests?" Bubbles asked. "There won’t be any needles, will there? I don’t like needles…"

"Don’t be silly, Bubbles," Blossom replied. "They’re probably just going to ask us a bunch of questions."

The lift slowed to a stop, and they flew out from it. The room they entered had two more Galactic Monitors, numbered 71 and 680. There were several examination tales nearby, and Blossom cringed a little, thinking, Maybe I was wrong…

Monitor 680 was reading data on a screen, and said, "A new entry has been created for this planet in the records. Identification number E-371977-A1 has been assigned."

"More data is required to complete the entry," Monitor 71 stated. "You planet is called Earth, correct?"

Buttercup said, "Sort of…see, Earth was destroyed a while ago by a…"

"A simple yes or no will suffice," Monitor 71 interrupted.

Scratching her head, Buttercup said, "Well…yes, but…"

Before Buttercup had a chance to finish what she was saying, Monitor 680 stepped over next to 71 and said to them, "State the preferred name of your species."

Blossom said, "We’re human, but we’re not really typical…"

"Species record ‘Human’ has been added," Monitor 680 interrupted. "Proceed to examination tables for physical data acquisition."

Bubbles murmured under her breath, "You coulda at least said ‘please’…" She folded her arms and drifted over to one of the tables, lying down on it. Blossom and Bubbles did the same. As they did, the Monitors went over to a computer panel on the wall and pressed a few buttons.

Restraints immediately snapped out from the table, holding down their arms and legs. This took them by surprise…they struggled a little bit, and Buttercup exclaimed, "Hey, what gives?" The Monitors didn’t answer; they were too busy at the computer panels.

Bubbles’ table tilted forward, bringing her up to a forty-five-degree angle. A large device descended from the ceiling, aiming at her. It tapered to a point, and had about twenty small needle-like projections encircling it. Monitor 680 said, "Now initiating physical data acquisition."

Bubbles looked frightened, and stammered, "It-it’s not g-gonna hurt, is it?"

Neither Monitor answered. Blossom craned her head to one side, just barely able to see what was going on, and thought, I guess they weren’t programmed for social graces. I hope, for Bubbles’ sake, they were at least programmed to take people’s comfort into account…

The device moved over, getting closer to the top part of the table and aiming for Bubbles’ head. Electricity started arcing between the needle projections. Bubbles cringed and clenched her eyes shut, shaking. A moment later, though, the device stopped it’s approach. A beam of green energy shot out, surrounding her head like a spotlight. She opened her eyes curiously…whatever the beam was doing, she couldn’t feel it.

As she watched, the device lowered down slowly, moving completely across her. She breathed a sigh of relief…it was just a scan. Blossom and Buttercup’s tables both inclined, and the device moved over to their tables to scan them as well.

"Heh," Buttercup said. "That wasn’t so bad. Just a quick scan, and we’re out!"

Blossom smiled, "Yeah…they really had me worried there for a minute…."

Monitor 71 said, "Surface scan completed. Species is classified as standard organic. Proceeding with organic DNA sample acquisition." The scanning device went back into the ceiling, and three robotic arms came down to take their place, one heading for each table. They were tipped with a needle and vial, like something used to draw blood.

Blossom and Buttercup both paled…they didn’t like needles any more than Bubbles did. "Now, hold on a second…" Buttercup protested, but the Monitors didn’t listen. As the needles descended towards their arms, all three of the girls screamed together, "Aaaaaaaah!"

* * *

Xianea waited in the checkpoint station’s main hall for the Powerpuff Girls to return. She hadn’t considered the possibility that the Galactic Monitors had no record of Earth. After all, the Centraxians knew about it. Only vaguely, but they still were aware of it.

At least this gave her some time to observe some of the species passing through the station. As she did, she caught sight of a familiar face. It was Alyxk; he was just emerging from a checkpoint terminal. Xianea waved to him, and he caught sight of her. Walking over, his telepathic message buzzed, "Ah! Good to see you again, Xianea."

"You as well, Alyxk," Xianea said. "Where is Ykrsk?"

Alyxk pointed deeper into the station and replied, "He’s gone through the checkpoint already…he’s ahead, preparing the ship." Looking back to Xianea, he said, "How did your trip back to Centraxia go?"

Xianea was momentarily confused, "How did you know about that?"

Grinning slightly, Alyxk said, "Well, I am telepathic, you know. You were just thinking about it."

"Oh, of course, I almost forgot," Xianea said sheepishly. "Well, the trip went well. Right now, I’m taking the girls to Hkratth space."

"Really…isn’t that dangerous?" he wondered. "Especially with what’s going on in that region right now…"

"Why, what’s wrong?" Xianea asked.

"A couple of days ago, the Hkratth broke out in yet another territorial dispute with the Sanhreni," Alyxk told her. "I’d recommend staying clear of that side of Hkratth space, because those two are nearly at war this time."

Xianea knew of the Sanhreni; their planets were very close to the Hkratth’s borders. They had fought over territories before, and there had been some violence in the past, but a lot of people figured it might break out into war one day. The Galactic Monitors never interfered with these struggles…although they could handle small problems, a war would require much larger intervention. "Thank you for the information. We’ll be sure to stay clear of that area."

"I’m glad I could help," Alyxk replied. "I have to get to my ship now, we’re just about ready to depart. Have a safe voyage!" He waved, and started off towards the doors leading for his ship. Xianea waved back. I’m glad we helped him out back on Paradise Fringe, she thought. An informant in this area is most helpful. If we had stumbled into that war by accident, we could have been in serious danger…

The doors to one of the lifts off to the side opened, and the Powerpuff Girls hovered out from it, followed by a Monitor, numbered 682. The girls were each clutching their shoulders, and they didn’t look very happy at all.

Concerned, Xianea walked over and said, "I apologize. I thought that…"

"Don’t worry about it, Xianea," Blossom said, waving it off, "It wasn’t your fault, you didn’t know."

"Yeah," Buttercup said. "At least we got this whole exam thing out of the way. We won’t have to go through that ever again."

Xianea nodded. She cast a glance at Monitor 682 and asked, "Er…why are you being escorted?"

Blossom smiled slightly and said, "Heh…well, apparently we’ve been classified as ‘potentially dangerous’, because of our powers. Right, 682?"

Monitor 682 spoke, "The Humans named Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup represent a potential threat to galactic peace and security on account of the extremely powerful natural abilities they possess. Until such time as they demonstrate that their actions can be trusted, this unit is assigned to observe them."

"At least he’ll be travelling in his own ship," Blossom said. "I don’t know about you, Xianea, but I’m about ready to leave, what do you think?"

"I agree," Xianea said, nodding. The four of them started heading in the direction of the outbound docks, Monitor 682 sticking close behind them. Xianea noticed that Bubbles was still clutching her arm, and asked, "Are you all right?"

Bubbles shook her head, "I don’t like needles…" She still had a few tears rolling down her cheek.

"It’ll be all right," Xianea told her, gently brushing her finger against Bubbles’ cheek, wiping her tears away. "I have a salve back at the ship that I can put on your arm. It’ll help sooth the muscle pain. You’ll be good as new in no time, you’ll see."

Bubbles sniffed, and smiled, "Thank you. You’ve done so much for us…why?"

"I don’t know," Xianea confessed. "I guess…I just felt there was something special about you three. It was something I felt even when we first met, and I knew I had to help you in any way that I could."

Before Bubbles could say something in return, they had reached the doors. Monitor 682 declared, "You will board your ship and leave the station only when this unit has given you clearance." It stomped off towards another door, undoubtedly leading to its own ship.

Bubbles gave Xianea a silent glance, but she didn’t need to say anything…her expression told her how she felt. She flew on ahead through the door, entering the ship. Xianea smiled happily, and stepped into the ship as well. In all of my travels, she thought, I can’t recall any place I’d rather be than right here, helping these girls in their time of need…