Speed Demon
(Open POV)
Townsville…
There is the city skyline in the afternoon.
"The city of Townsville! The happiest, cleanest, safest little town on earth." The narrator said.
Outside Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…
As the narrator continues, there is the window of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten.
Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…
Buttercup looks out, her back to the window.
"Home of the Powerpuff Girls. And the Professor, Jared, the Mayor, Ms. Bellum, Ms. Keane, Talking Dog, Mojo Jojo, and the well-meaning, but often-imperiled, townspeople of Townsville." The narrator said.
Buttercup turns her head suddenly, looking impatiently up.
"Come on, come on!" Buttercup said, thinking.
The wall clock shows the time as a few minutes before 2:00. A few seconds tick by, and Buttercup has the clock face reflected in her eyes. The clicking of the second hand is greatly magnified.
"Buttercup… Buttercup…" Ms. Keane said, behind the front desk.
Ms. Keane has her back to the chalkboard and her hands on her hips, indicating she's getting impatient with Buttercup not paying attention to the lesson and being more focused on the clock while waiting for class to be dismissed for the weekend.
"Buttercup!" Ms. Keane said, angrily.
"Huh?!" Buttercup exclaimed, quickly looking ahead.
"Please, pay attention! Now, where was I?" Ms. Keane asked, turning to the blackboard. "Oh, yes."
Ms. Keane writes the equation '1 + 1 = 2' as she continues.
"If Billy and Sally each had an apple, then that's two apples." Ms. Keane said, thinking briefly. "Hmmm…but if Billy threw his apple to Sally…"
Ms. Keane begins to fill the board with equations and figures, growing increasingly engrossed in her work.
"...at a trajectory of 1.8 meters per second, assuming an Einsteinium universe, the distance between two points remaining constant, space and time being two elements of the same ratio, those elements being the interval between two successive events…" Ms. Keane said, still working intently. "…the quantum rules that govern the subatomic level of the universe…"
Ms. Keane looks around the class, the girls in the foreground. Everybody looks absolutely mystified by this show of advanced mathematics and scientific calculations that's way beyond them for even their ages, yet Ms. Keane takes no notice as she keeps going.
"…according to Einstein's theory of relativity, times the unweighted consonatic quantity when approaching the speed of light." Ms. Keane said, while her hand is at the board. It is now filled with formulas. "Therefore as one approaches the speed of light, the distance between the two successive points shrinks to zero. However, for the people back home, a considerable amount of time would pass…" She looks back at the math equation. "…somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty years. Hm."
Ms. Keane chuckles briefly, then realizes that this is completely over the heads of her students and turns away from the board to look sheepishly and embarrassingly at the class.
"But we'll cover all that later on." Ms. Keane said, as the bell rings. "Okay, kids, have a nice weekend." The class is cheering. "And don't forget anything in the coat cupboard."
A herd of kids thunders past Ms. Keane. Just outside the door, Buttercup throws it open.
"Free at last!" Buttercup said, excitedly.
The kids swarm out the door.
"Oh, boy, a whole weekend in the Bahamas! With the TARDIS as a way for us to get there quicker! I can't wait!" Buttercup said, jumping out of the crowd, floating away.
"I'm gonna lay out and work on my tan!" Bubbles said, floating across the room.
The last kids are leaving. The skyline is seen in the distance.
"And a whole weekend away from…the city of Townsville. As we can get back to Townsville without anyone noticing we left with the Doctor's help." Blossom said, floating out of the classroom.
Courtyard…
"And the hotline phone." Buttercup said, pointing to the hotline in the window.
"Powerpuff Girls, this is the Mayor. Get over here right away. I seem to have accidentally flushed myself down the toilet!" Bubbles said, one eye screwed shut, imitating Mayor.
Bubbles and Blossom both start laughing their heads off over this joke, and they both start hugging each other while they're laughing. Buttercup flies up to them, looking quite cocky. The three girls are flying over the schoolyard fence.
Outside Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…
"So—which one of you slowpokes wants to race me home?" Buttercup asked, floating into view of her sisters.
"Who you calling a slowpoke, fathead?!" Bubbles exclaimed.
Buttercup is crouched on the ground, "On your mark!"
Blossom jumps down next to Buttercup, "Get set!"
Bubbles does likewise, "Go!"
The Powerpuff Girls take off.
Ms. Keane is at the fence, waving, "Bye, girls!"
Townsville…
The girls flash down the street. A car in their path is cut cleanly in two when they slice through it due to being in their way. A man on the corner watches them go.
"Slow down!" Man 1 yelled.
The man's warning to them goes unheard as we see them rocket past Townsville Hall and down a street with a clock tower. The time is just after 3:00. The second hand slows down slightly. The image of the block begins to stretch and warp as if the center part of it is being pulled down a sink drain. It becomes a tunnel, with flashes of light all over its walls. The girls fly along this. Blossom pulls into view first, followed by Bubbles. A moment later, Buttercup roars past them, and Bubbles puts on an extra burst of speed to catch up. The girls fly on, deadlocked. Buttercup is sweating and straining to get out in front. After a few moments, her body begins to elongate slightly. All three girls are still in a dead tie. Freeze frame, the light trails disappearing. Silence. Bubbles has a determined look on her face, with her looking down at Blossom's feet, then looking towards Blossom's head. It appears as if the Girls have gone so fast that they've unintentionally caused the very thing Ms. Keane had discussed back at the end of class before dismissing them for the weekend and entered some sort of time tunnel.
"I told you I'd win!" Buttercup said, her voice echoing through the time tunnel.
Blossom and Bubbles looked over at Buttercup's face, then the girls looked behind them and accelerated to "normal" time. They race away from the city and disappear in a flash of light. The girls are nothing but three brilliant streaks barreling down the tunnel.
Outside Utonium Residence…
An opening appears, with the girls' house just visible through it. Above the fence in the yard, a funnel depression appears, and the girls blast out of this to land on the front lawn. Buttercup is first, then Blossom and finally Bubbles. Behind them, the house is a wreck—the windows are smashed, and there are cracks in all the walls, but they take no notice of this sudden change in the appearance of their home.
Bubbles she stands up.
Buttercup starts laughing loudly and she is at the front door, opening it, "I told you I'd win!"
Blossom ducks inside behind Buttercup and she follows.
Utonium Residence…
The three girls are floating down the hall.
"You already said that!" Bubbles said, angry.
"No, I didn't." Buttercup said, smiling.
"And besides, you cheated!" Bubbles said, shaking with anger.
Buttercup is crossing her arms, smirking.
"I didn't have to cheat." Buttercup said, straightening her hair. "I'm just more aerodynamic than you. I don't have big powder puffs to slow me down."
On the words 'powder puffs', Buttercup thumps Bubbles' hair. A little bit of dust rises from it. That proves to be the last straw as what Bubbles shouts next causes Buttercup to realize too late she took her taunting and teasing too far.
"PROFESSOR!! JARED!!" Bubbles said, crying.
Lab…
The lab is darkened and towards the door the equipment is in a state of disrepair, and there are cobwebs in the corners. The next two lines echo slightly across space.
"Professor! Jared!" Bubbles said, from the hall, crying.
In the distance, the door opens and the silhouette of Bubbles' head pokes in. She stops crying, and her sisters peek in next to her.
"Professor? Jared?" Bubbles asked.
The equipment sparks and crackles, clearly having been left to fall into disrepair for some time now and never being fixed or kept up-to-date, and in the room to the far end. In the distance, there is a work table and the silhouette of a man behind it. At the corner of the table; a box of sugar and a jar of spice are there, along with a beaker and a few flowers. A cracked voice begins to speak, and as it does, pan slowly along the table to show an old man dressed in rags. He is mixing a concoction in a cauldron and holding a flask of some chemical. The man can be seen from the shoulders down. His face and head is hidden by his back.
"Sugar, spice, and…powdered rice?" The Professor asked, pouring the contents of his flask into the cauldron, and after a moment, thick gray smoke boils up and obscures him.
As the Professor speaks again, it is clear he is trying to recreate the Powerpuff Girls, but has been unable to remember the everything nice ingredient that came after the sugar and spice steps and before the addition of Chemical X, and this latest attempt has been another failure.
"No, no! Darn!" The Professor said, looking at the girls.
Bubbles stares in surprise. Buttercup's hair is back to normal.
"Why didn't I write it down?! Why didn't I have Jared write it down?!" The Professor exclaimed.
The smoke clears around the Professor. The Professor is bald on top, with long white hair around the edges. He wears glasses and has lost most of his teeth. The eyebrows give him away—this is a greatly aged Professor, who gasps in surprise and looks around himself.
"Wha…who's there?!" The Professor exclaimed, reaching towards his glasses, adjusting them and bringing his view into focus so he can see clearly at his surroundings.
Now the Professor sees the girls.
"No!" The Professor said, moaning. "It can't be!" He is clapping his hands to his head. "Oh, my mind playing tricks on me again! Why won't you leave me alone?!"
Blossom and Buttercup fly into the Professor's view across from him.
"But, Professor, it's us, the Powerpuff Girls!" Blossom said, worried.
Bubbles flies up behind the Professor.
"Stay back! Leave me alone!" The Professor said, swiping at the girls a couple of times, then rummages around under the table and comes up brandishing a broken cane that has been taped back together.
It is clear that time has done a number on the Professor and rendered him senile and delirious, thinking the Girls are just a hallucination from his decaying mind.
"I'm warning you!" The Professor said, angrily.
Outside Utonium Residence…
At the front step, the girls duck quickly out through the door, slam it, and lean against it, panting with their eyes tightly shut.
After a moment, the girls look around and gasp in shock. The girls look at the subdivision, which now lies in ruins under a blood-red sky—absolute desolation as far as the eye can see, like the end of the world has occurred.
"Wh…what happened?" Bubbles asked, looking at their house.
The girls take to the air.
Sky…
The girls fly across Townsville, which has also been ravaged.
"Is this what Jared meant? When he went to the alternate 1985 with Marty McFly and Doc Brown?" Buttercup asked.
"Maybe." Blossom said, sadly. "That world was ruled by Biff Tannen. After Biff got the Gray's Sports Almanac from his future self. But Jared managed to reverse it by him and Marty McFly burning the Almanac with the help of Doc Brown. How did the world end up like that again?"
One block after another sports nothing but gutted, smashed buildings that stand at crazy angles. After several blocks, the girls stop short.
"Look! The Mayor's office!" Blossom said, pointing at Townsville Hall.
Half the dome and one whole wing of Townsville Hall have been demolished.
Townsville Hall…
The girls fly inside only to find the office in the same shape as the rest of the city. Another cracked voice, this one belonging to an old woman, begins to speak, catching them by surprise.
"I told him, you know." Ms. Bellum said, while she is partially into view, her hands folded. "I—I told him to make the call." She stood up. "'Call…Call the girls', I said."
On the other side of the office, from behind the girls, the old woman stands in front of a shattered window, her face not visible in her tangled hair of gray curls.
"'CALL THE POWERPUFF GIRLS!!!'" Ms. Bellum cried.
The word 'girls' echo twice, and there is the hotline, lying broken on the floor, and a portrait of the Mayor. The girls look at the sight of it.
"But they never came." Ms Bellum said, her head in her hands. "Why wouldn't they come?! It doesn't make any sense. And now it's too late."
There is the Mayor's top hat, with his sash draped over it.
"He's…GONE!!!" Ms. Bellum said, crying, breaking down.
"Ms. Bellum…?" Blossom asked.
The old hag was indeed the late Mayor's assistant. Ms Bellum is slumped over the desk and fondling the hat and sash.
"What happened here?" Blossom asked, looking at Ms. Bellum.
"Huh?!" Ms. Bellum exclaimed, snatching the hat and sash to herself. "Keep away! He's mine!" The girls looked at her as she held a hand out to stop them and continued. "Don't come any closer! He's mine! Mine!"
Outside Townsville Hall…
The girls fly out through the dome as Ms. Bellum shouts again.
"Mine, I tell you!" Ms. Bellum said, from inside the Mayor's office.
Sky…
The girls' shadow cast on the ground as they flew along.
Bubbles sobs quietly, "Who could have done this? If it wasn't Biff Tannen."
"It's…our school." Blossom said, pointing at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten.
Outside Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…
Pokey Oaks Kindergarten has been reduced to rubble, just like the city proper itself. It is clear not even Townsville's suburbs were spared whatever cataclysmic apocalypse struck the heart of the city and tore it apart.
Playground…
The girls land on what used to be the playground. After a moment, the front door blows open and falls off its hinges due to time having done its damage to it.
Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…
The girls advance inside into the darkness. Another old woman's voice is heard in the background.
"Ms. Keane?" Buttercup asked.
"…waving goodbye…I just stood there waving goodbye…" Ms. Keane said, in a monotone voice.
At the end of this, the classroom's walls have crumbled away. They are at the near end. A figure stands at the far end, its back to the girls and its hand upraised in a wave. This hand from the front has the girls in the background, looking on. As the voice continues, the speaker as Ms. Keane, her eyes wide and bloodshot and her hair and clothes long since have gone ragged, looking as if she had been through the wringer just like the Professor and Ms. Bellum.
"I just stood there waving goodbye, and they raced off…" Ms. Keane said, while the girls are behind her. "Just stood there…" The girls move to face her. "Stood there waving goodbye…" The girls are now in front of her. "…and they raced off…and raced off…"
"But, Ms. Keane, we're right here." Blossom said, sadly.
"…and vanished for 50 years…50 years…50 years…50 years…" Ms. Keane said, as the girls' looked at her face each time she repeats herself, ending with an extreme close-up of her bloodshot, wrinkled eyes.
The girls are completely floored by this pronouncement that they've been gone from Townsville for half a century.
"50 years…?!" The girls exclaimed, softly, horrified.
"It took Biff Tannen to change the world in thirty years." Blossom said, frowning.
"How could someone change it in fifty years?" Buttercup asked. "It doesn't make any sense."
'Him''s effeminate voice is laughing triumphantly in victory, and the camera turns up from the girls slightly.
"How is that possible?" Bubbles asked.
Behind the girls, the mist begins to swirl around the wreckage, an early warning of 'Him' making his presence known.
"Don't you know, the faster you go…" 'Him' said, as a voiceover, causing Blossom to sweat. "…time slows down."
The mist swirls at Blossom's feet as 'Him' continues.
"Your time stopped for 50 years whilst you were out racing around." 'Him' said, as a voiceover.
The girls turn around.
"I know that voice…" Blossom said, her eyes widening.
As 'Him' speaks again, the mist gathers behind Blossom and becomes a lick of flame, from which he emerges and floats up.
"Seconds, minutes, hours, days, and nights crawled by on hands and knees as you raced the speed of light." 'Him' said.
The girls have their backs to 'Him'. They turn in surprise.
"Look!" Bubbles said, gasping, pointing up at 'Him'.
"Yes! Coming back now? Remember...?" 'Him' asked.
Buttercup's schoolyard challenge to her sisters' echoes in her head, possibly to taunt her due to 'Him' influencing it.
"So—which one of you slowpokes wants to race me home?" Buttercup asked, as a memory.
"No!" Buttercup said, cussing her hands to her head.
"YES!!" 'Him said, in his evil voice. "As you raced through time, the whole world went to Heck!" He flew up; speaking in his effeminate voice to his evil voice. "Symphogear, the Puella Magi Holy Quintet, Team Mikazuki Villa, the Sanshuu Middle School Hero Club, Cardcaptor Sakura, the Sailor Guardians, and the Time-Space Administrative Bureau couldn't stop me!"
"You lie! Don't believe him, girls!" Blossom yelled.
The girls take off and rush 'Him'.
'Him' laughs effeminately and stands his ground as they approach, ready for a fight with the Girls as they strike first, quick, fast, and hard. They deliver a swift series of punches, after which—with tears streaming from their eyes and silently screaming in anguish—they land a triple strike that sends him tumbling to the ground in a backwards barrel roll. A cloud of dust and rubble flies up when he lands, and he quickly jumps up to face them again, none the worse for wear and not a scratch on him. He snaps his claws a few times, taunting them to come at him again with another beatdown he is welcoming to take as if it won't hurt him in the slightest like the first one did. Punches are being thrown by the girls. Tattered posters decorate the remnants of the buildings and show various disparaging comments about the girls, the Professor, Jared, and the city as a result of their disappearance for half a century. The last two read 'Mayor Gone at 83!' and 'Who Is Him?' The demon's shadow is steadily knocked back across the signs before he is seen being knocked off-screen.
The girls are now exhausted and breathing heavily, standing over a supine 'Him'. After a long moment, 'Him' raises his head and smiles. He still shows no signs of injury whatsoever and appears completely unharmed, actually having enjoyed the beatings the Girls gave him due to being seemingly invincible as evil incarnate.
"Are you finished?" 'Him' asked, in his effeminate voice.
Buttercup looked over at Blossom and Bubbles. All three are sweating from the adrenaline now pumping through them from attacking 'Him' so much.
"No, but you are!" Buttercup said, determined.
"Don't you know…you can never beat us!" Blossom said, panting.
"Beat you?" 'Him' asked, standing up, his eyes glowing. "But, girls, don't you see? Your super powered friends from the future couldn't beat me! And Jared, one of your best friends, ran away in shame, to travel with the Doctor and Clara!" He leaped into the air, switching to his evil voice. "I've already won!"
'Him''s arm turns into black steel as his claw clamps several times when it is done, his legs thicken, and his body fades briefly into blackness—the only features visible are his grinning mouth and glowing eyes. Lightning cracks across the sky, illuminating his new physique. He now stands many times taller than before, the pink tulle at his collar and hemline replaced by fur, and he now appears more muscular, stronger, and ripped in place of the coat he normally wore. He leans down to address the girls, his voice taking on a new tone of sheer evil to accompany his new, and possibly true, demonic form.
"The beauty lies in the blame. Because it's your fault for leaving!" 'Him' said, and there is a group of haggard heroes emerging from behind some ruins. "Just ask your friends."
"Powerpuff Girls…" Hibiki, Tsubasa, Chris, Shirabe, Kirika, Maria, Serena, Kanade, and Miku said, in monotone voices.
"You did this." Cardcaptor Sakura said, while her shriveled, elderly hand points at the girls with a long, jagged fingernail.
"You did this." The Sanshuu Middle School Hero Club said, at the same time.
"No!" Blossom said, her voice shaking.
"All I did was take over. And drag your super powered friends from Japan and what they normally fight to focus their attention towards me. It was easy!" 'Him' chirped.
"Why'd you leave us, Powerpuff Girls?" Sailor Moon asked, looking at the Powerpuff Girls. "Why? You weren't here to protect us."
Sailor Mercury points at the girls again to drive home what they say next.
"You weren't here." Nanoha said, looking at the Powerpuff Girls.
The Powerpuff Girls are now surrounded by a forest of pointing fingers.
"It's your fault. Your fault." Symphogear, the Puella Magi Holy Quintet, Team Mikazuki Villa, the Sanshuu Middle School Hero Club, Cardcaptor Sakura, the Sailor Guardians, and the Time-Space Administrative Bureau said, while the Powerpuff Girls has more fingers from their friends pointed at them and the faces of the former heroes take on more angry and disappointed expressions as the mantra continues. "Your fault. Your fault."
The Symphogear, the Puella Magi Holy Quintet, Team Mikazuki Villa, the Sanshuu Middle School Hero Club, Cardcaptor Sakura, the Sailor Guardians, and the Time-Space Administrative Bureau repeat this mantra continuously as they look at the girls. They are visibly distraught by the accusation as the guilt and shame start to take hold.
"Wh…wh…" Blossom said, looking down at her hands, her voice breaking. "What have we done?! We broke the world Jared tried to keep safe after he broke it last time with Marty McFly."
'Him' cackles maniacally in triumph as the chant continues. His victory is complete. The world is his forever thanks to the Girls having disappeared for half a century, everyone having turned against them because the Girls left them to be conquered and enslaved by 'Him', and the Girls are left to drown in the guilt and shame of failing in their duties to protect Townsville and the whole planet from evil like 'Him'.
"No…No!…" Buttercup said, pausing, and then suddenly burst into tears as she screamed. "NOOOOOO!!"
Bubbles is sobbing, pulling on her pigtails, "WHYYYYY?!?"
Bubbles breaks down.
The girls, now all screaming, take off and head straight into the sky.
Space…
The girls float away from Earth for a long moment, the whole planet having turned blood red to symbolize 'Him' having conquered it and made it his new domain. Next, the Powerpuff Girls back away from each other slightly, point themselves down toward the planet and hit the gas.
Townsville…
The Powerpuff Girls jam it across the remains of Townsville and disappear in a flash of light and a clap of thunder.
There is a patch of peaceful sky, the girls appear from nowhere and skid to a stop face first in the grass. Blossom is the first to regain her wits. She stands up and looks around herself in puzzlement. Her sisters come around a moment later, and all three gasp, smiling. Above them, the sun shines down on a subdivision that is completely intact. They have managed to travel back in time from the bleak future 50 years from now and arrived back in the present, with Townsville completely intact, unharmed, and not under the control of 'Him'. The man from the street corner is walking his dog.
"Hi, girls." Man 1 said, waving.
"Hi!" The girls said, flying past the man.
The girls pass Ms. Keane in the schoolyard.
"Hi, girls." Ms. Keane said, waving.
"Hi!" The girls said, at the same time.
The Powerpuff Girls pass the Mayor and Ms. Bellum outside Townsville Hall. Both wave.
"Hi, girls." The Mayor and Ms. Bellum said, at the same time.
"Hi!" The girls said, at the same time.
Sky…
The girls are in flight.
(Jared's POV)
Outside Utonium Residence…
The Professor is on the driveway, next to the fully loaded station wagon. He waves to them. I am standing outside the TARDIS, with a bunch of luggage, ready to go on the vacation that will never happen.
"Hi, gir…" The Professor said, happily.
The Powerpuff Girls plow into the Professor and I and knock us to the ground, talking rapidly about being glad to see us and everybody else as our normal selves after having seen that apocalyptic future caused by 'Him'.
"Speed Demon." I said, while the Professor regards the girls with some unease. "Of course it was this episode."
"Yeah." Blossom said, sadly.
"Uh huh." Buttercup said, nodding her head.
"Why didn't you tell us about that alternate timeline?" Bubbles asked.
The Powerpuff Girls back off after several seconds.
"I did. How bad was it?" I asked, looking at the Powerpuff Girls.
"Very bad." Blossom said, frowning.
"It was horrible." Bubbles said, letting out a lot of tears.
"All of our friends were against us." Buttercup said, crossing her arms.
"Okay, okay, okay. You girls can talk to Jared about what happened. But if we don't hurry, we'll miss our flight to the Bahamas." The Professor said, smiling.
"Yup. Or as a lift through the TARDIS." I said, opening the TARDIS doors with the snap of my fingers. "Now come on. This is the scenic route."
"Sorry, Professor, Jared, but we can't leave Townsville." Blossom said, looking between the Professor and I.
"Even for one weekend!" Buttercup said, angrily.
"Can you imagine what would happen if we weren't here to protect it?" Bubbles asked.
"Well, Heck, if I know." The Professor said, laughing.
"EXACTLY!" The girls said, at the same time.
"You're not wrong. And I've been to 'Hell Valley'. It was as bad as a world ruled by 'Him'." I said, looking down at the ground.
(Open POV)
The standard end shot comes up.
"So once again…" The narrator said, talking in an old voice. "Psych!" He switched to his normal voice, laughing. "So once again the day is, was, and forever will be saved—thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!" He spoke under his breath. "I'm never gonna drive over 55 again."