* * *

The Powerpuff Girls arrived at the museum. The telltale hole blasted in the main doors was proof enough that it had been broken into, so they flew inside immediately. Nothing seemed to have been from the main hall, so Blossom quickly ordered, "All right…spread and search. They might still be here."

Each of them headed off into a different wing of the museum. Buttercup cut through part of the modern art exhibit, and shook her head. Nothing taken, she thought. Not that I blame 'em. Who'd want any of this? One painting caught her eye, though, a depiction of a series of explosions. She glanced around for a minute, then went up close and admired the painting. Well, she thought, I guess some of it's pretty cool.

Blossom wasn't having any luck, either. As far as she could tell, as she passed through the sculpture exhibits, not a single thing was out of place. Everything remained completely untouched. "Very strange," she said aloud. "Who breaks into a museum but doesn't steal anything?"

A loud, high-pitched scream came from the distance. That sounds like Bubbles! Blossom thought…she quickly dashed off in the direction of it, calling out, "Bubbles! What's wrong?"

"Townsville's gone!" she called back.

Blossom passed a window on her way over there and glanced through it…outside, the city looked all right to her. Confused, she finally reached the room where Bubbles was hovering, staring at the wall. Buttercup came in from the other room and said, "What do you mean?"

Bubbles pointed at the empty spot on the wall, "My drawing…'Townsville'…it's gone!" Sure enough, she was pointing at the place where her drawing had been unveiled earlier that day. Buttercup shook her head in frustration.

"That's awful…" Blossom said.

"Yeah," Buttercup remarked sarcastically. "Really awful."

Bubbles spun to face her and shouted, "Hey! Cut it out! How'd you like it if you worked a long time on something, and someone stole it?"

"Look, Bubbles…" Blossom said. "We know you're really protective of your art, and I'd be angry if something of mine was stolen, too…but it's only a crayon drawing. You can just make more, right?"

"But that one was the museum's!" Bubbles said, "They haven't paid me yet for it, an' if I don't get the picture back, I'm not gonna get the money for it!"

Buttercup cringed a little, "Ouch…well, that's a bummer…"

"All right," Blossom said, "look for clues…do we have any idea who might have taken it?"

"No idea, except…wait a minute…" Buttercup said, cutting herself off. She flew down and picked up something from the ground nearby, a long black hair. She held it up for the others to see and said, "Look familiar?"

"That looks like one of Mojo's," Blossom remarked. "But…what's he doing stealing art? That's not like him…"

Bubbles looked pretty upset and shouted, "Who cares? If he's got my drawing, let's go over there, beat the stuffing out of him, and get it back!" She looked over at Buttercup, who shrugged back at them with a 'sounds-good-to-me' look.

"Welll…" Blossom said reluctantly, "I guess it is the next logical place to look. All right, then…to the observatory, on the double!" The three of them quickly dashed out from the museum, on their way to Townsville park…

* * *

Arriving at Mojo's hideout, the girls wasted no time in diving towards the roof. Just before they crashed through it, though, a panel on the roof slid open, and they ended up passing through the opening harmlessly instead. Mojo was standing next to something draped in a purple curtain, and as Blossom was about to speak, he said, "Save your breath…" and clicked the 'PLAY' button on a tape recorder nearby. The recorder broadcast the girls' voices, saying, 'Not so fast… / …Mojo… / …Jojo!'

Buttercup smirked a little and said, "Looks like you were expecting us…"

"Naturally," he said, "and as such, I had taken proper precautions to avoid further damage to my roof, and to hopefully put an end to your annoying and monotonous entrance phrase that you always speak when barging into my lair, which is to say that you repeat the precise words time and time again, in repetition, and thus…"

"Look who's talking," Blossom interrupted.

Bubbles pushed her way past her sisters and pointed at Mojo, "All right, you! You stole my drawing, and I want it back!"

"Ohhh, you want it back, do you?" Mojo said in a mocking tone. "Well…I'll have you know that I enjoy art as well…"

"Really?" Blossom asked.

Mojo nodded, and the curtain he was standing next to slid open, revealing Bubbles' drawing, attached to some machine with a dozen small flamethrower jets pointed at it. He continued, "…I enjoy how easily it can be destroyed!"

Bubbles gasped, and shouted, "NO! You wouldn't!"

"Ahh, but I would!" Mojo said with an evil grin. "I know just how much this is worth, and I demand the money you'd get for it immediately if you want it back!"

"Forget it, Mojo!" Buttercup shouted. "We're not giving you a cent!"

Bubbles hesitated, and said, "No…no, we're not, but…don't destroy…"

"Is that your final answer?" he said, hand poised over a button on the device.

"No! I…" Bubbles began, then hung her head slowly and said, "Okay…I'll do it…" She turned around and started hovering back up towards the opening in the roof, while her sisters just stared at her.

Mojo grinned, "Yes! Have the money to me at once, Bubbles, and I shall then turn the picture over to…"

Bubbles suddenly made a surprise move: she spun around and darted towards Mojo while he wasn't expecting it. Mojo's eyes widened as Bubbles sped in his direction, and snapped out of it at the last second…just before Bubbles impacted into him, he swung his fist down at the button with a *click*…

"NOO!" Bubbles cried out, knocking him out of the way just an instant too late. The jets turned on, spouting flame across the drawing, and Bubbles watched in shock as it was instantly incinerated. Blossom and Buttercup flew past her, each grabbing hold of one of Mojo's arms to take him into custody, as Bubbles just stared at the pile of ash that was left behind and finally whispered, "…why?…"

"How stupid," Mojo grumbled to himself aloud, "to think that you'd part with an exorbitant about of money just to protect one of your pathetic drawings."

Bubbles whirled to face him in anger, and shouted, "Pathetic?! It's art!!"

"Oh, puh-leeze," he huffed. "I've seen better art stuck to the bottom of my boot." He wrenched one arm free from Blossom's grip and pointed at her, saying, "Your so-called 'art' is ugly, unimaginative, useless, and furthermore, not at all pleasant to look at! Save that pile of ash…it's worth more!"

"That's enough, Mojo," Blossom said, grabbing his arm again and lifting him into the air with Buttercup, "It's off to jail for you, for breaking into the museum. C'mon, Bubbles…" They soared out of the observatory, but Bubbles stared blankly for a few seconds before finally following. Is…is my art really that bad? she thought. No, he's just a villain, he'd say anything to make me mad…but…what if it's true…?

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