The Dark Powerpuff Crusade : Epilogue.

[blossomgb]

One Year Later....

Steve was sat at his bench and for a moment he stopped work. Living with the Powerpuffs was fun, but could sometimes be tiring, but he'd not have it any other way. It was a year to the day since that battle. Bubbles and Timo were engaged now as well. Blossom and Steve's wedding was coming up, but it had been put back for a very important reason. Two months ago, Blossom had Steve's baby, and Steve had noticed how well motherhood was suiting her. She had started to Glow very early on in the pregnancy and she looked a picture now with their baby.
The little girl was named after two people in the war. Angel Felicia Utonium. She had blue eyes and could soon get anything she wanted, especially from Steve! This was also made possible by the fact that the Chemical X he took was now once a month. Dr Kulkarney was working on making it permanent.

'You coming then', Blossom broke into his thoughts.
She had the baby in a carry cot and they were taking her to meet two people. This meant travel between the dimensions, which Steve had managed with a piece of equipment that the Girls confiscated from Mojo. Steve had repaired and upgraded it.
'Coming'. He came out of the workshop, complete with stick. He hit the button and they stepped into the portal.

And came out in Viletown, right in Jomo's front room, He was shocked to say the least.
'Hello you two'. He looked at the carry cot. 'Or is that three?'
'Hi there. No emergency, but we wanted to show Angel our new arrival.', Blossom told him.
Jomo looked at them and told them to sit down. They did, and Steve took Angel Felicia out of the carry cot. She looked at him and went back to sleep. Angel and Penny came in.
'Is she yours', Angel gushed.
'Yes. Because she's named after you, we wanted you to meet her', Blossom said, Penny and Angel came over to Steve but were more interested in the baby.
'Can I hold her', Angel asked.
'What's she called', Penny asked.
'Angel Felicia', Blossom said.
There was a lot of cooing and passing the baby round, Then Angel sat down and bounced her on her knee. Angel Felicia laughed and then threw up over her. Blossom took her and cleaned her up as Steve laughed. 'You won't do that again', he chuckled, passing her a box of tissues.
'So what sort of a dad is he', Penny asked.
'He tells these wonderful stories, even at this age she seems to listen. He was on about a cat belonging to a man called Thomas last night. Thomas Edison'. Blossom said. 'And there was Uncle Albert...'
Jomo was the only one who got this. Until Luzzy appeared. He found it very funny too.

The Silver Castle in Wonder was quiet as a portal appeared in the throne room. Steve and Blossom stepped out, Steve now carrying the carry cot. Felicia was in there doing some paperwork. She turned as they came through.
'Hi Felicia', Blossom greeted her.
'Hi. You alright Steve'. Felicia responded.
'Yes. No problems. All OK here?'. Steve asked.
'Fine. Sit down', Felicia invited them. 'Who's the baby?'
Steve and Blossom looked at each other. They told Felicia the good news.
'And we wanted her to meet you', Blossom said, 'because she's named after you. Angel Felicia Utonium.'
'I don't know what to say. Can I hold her?' Felicia was a bit overcome. Steve got her out of the carry cot and Felicia sat down and took her.
'Don't bounce her', Blossom warned her. 'Messy!'
'I won't. Why, did somebody do?', Felicia asked.
'Yes' was all Steve said as he sniggered at the memory.
At that point, Iris came in.
'Is that baby yours', she asked Blossom and Steve.
They both said yes. She looked at the baby, asleep in Felicia's lap. Then she spoke to them.
'Do you remember that I said you two had to survive the war', she asked.
They both did,
'Well this is why. You've got a little girl there who will grow up to have Mummy's looks, intelligence to match, Steve's way of solving problems and' - She looked at Blossom - 'Steve's sense of humour'
'Can't have everything', Blossom said, laughing. Steve looked at her.
'At the moment, there is a child growing up in the Black Void. She is called Blackheart. How she turns out we don't know yet. But this little girl of yours will fight her one day. Don't tell her until she's old enough, but teach her well. '

Cheers,

Blossomgb

[rulerofice]

Timo and Bubbles were standing on a rooftop of the highest building in Townsville.

"It's been quite peaceful lately, hasn't it." Timo said.

"Yeah." Bubbles said. "I don't mind, though. It gives us more time for ourselves."

"Blossom and Steve are visiting Viletown and the Silver Castle of Wonder today with their baby, right?"

"Uh-huh."

As Timo looked at the horizon, all sounds suddenly quieted down and he closed his eyes.

"Honey, is something wrong?" Bubbles asked.

Timo looked at Bubbles. "Nothing really."

Bubbles knew better, however. "It's been a full year already from those battles. You're trying to listen if he's awake, aren't you?"

"You know me too well, honey." Timo said. "It's not that I'm worried, but... I'm afraid of what the future brings. I don't want our kids to go through that kind of war. Especially a battle with... him."

Bubbles hugged him as she blushed. "Don't worry, honey. He's all locked away and will never get out again."

"I wish I could believe that." Timo said. "Even though the Black Void inside me is destroyed, he's still in me, however, like a shadow."

Bubbles ignored that as she blushed so much that her face was almost all red. "Umm... soo, you mentioned that we'd have kids."

Timo smiled and gently brushed Bubbles' hair, while hugging back. "How does twins sound like?"

"A lot of trouble and work." Bubbles said.

They both giggled.

"But maybe we should get married first, unless you want the same thing happen to us as to Blossom and Steve." Timo said.

Bubbles suddenly saddened.

Timo noticed this. "What is it, honey? Bad joke?"

"No... I just remembered the last moments of the battle with Blackskull."

"You mean when you left that little baby girl into the Black Void?" Timo asked.

"I'm amazed that you remember it. You were unconcious the whole time. But yeah, I'm worried about that little girl."

"She's going to be the new ruler of Black Void." Timo said. "We can't stop that, but we can hope, that she'll be unlike Blackskull."

"Either that or our future generation will be forced to battle her." Bubbles said. "It'll be another war."

Timo brushed Bubbles' hair. "Well, like Angel says: 'one can never know the future.'"

They stayed like that for a while.

"Well, it seems today is uneventful as well." Timo said. "Shall we go home?"

By then Bubbles was smiling again. "Yes, honey."

They began fly home, side by side.

[Puff Hunter]

Hack had quickly slipped back into his routine after the battle with Blackskull. Mostly he stole electronics from Citiesville and outlying areas, though he was able to raid Townsville's stores when the Powerpuff Girls were distracted by monster attacks. He continued work on his supercomputer, expanding his reach up and down the Pacific coast. But most of his attention was taken up by a new project, a study of the supernatural forces in Townsville and beyond, an effort to prepare for a possible battle with the new queen of the Black Void.

To aid in his research, Hack even built a dimensional transporter much like the one Mojo Jojo had designed to travel to the Black Void. In fact, it was almost exactly like the one Mojo had designed, since Hack had "borrowed" the monkey's blueprints in order to make it. He didn't quite understand the physical principles behind the device, but he did understand the schematics well enough to refine it to a smaller, more efficient design that could transport one person at a time without using any more power than his existing rig. The device worked on a timer, since no one was available to work the controls in Hack's absence, and he usually gave himself a 12-hour window to work in any other world before being called back. His most common destination was the magical kingdom of Wonder, as it appeared to be the most familiar with the workings of the Black Void. He covertly studied the ancient tomes in its libraries and even tried to experiment with its artifacts, but he soon discovered, to his surprise and annoyance, that he was nearly immune to magic and therefore unable to use the enchantments that had been laid on objects.

When the one-year anniversary of Blackskull's defeat arrived, an idea came to Hack. He would send a diplomatic message to the Void as a way to determine whether it would be a threat in the future. He grabbed a metal plate and a chisel, having figured that an engraving would be more durable than a piece of paper, and wrote a simple letter. When he was finished, he dropped the message in his transporter and sent it, he hoped, to Black.

TO MINIATURE BLACKSKULL:

PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THE DEATH OF YOUR FATHER. IT WAS BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO AVENGE HIM. DO NOT CONTINUE HIS WORK. WE CAN LIVE IN PEACE, BUT ONLY IF YOU LIMIT YOUR DESIRE FOR DESTRUCTION. RAISE YOUR DAUGHTER TO RESPECT OUR RIGHT TO EXIST AND WE WILL RESPECT YOURS. FAIL TO DO SO AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY WILL BE ELIMINATED. THIS TOO IS BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY.

SINCERELY,
ANONYMOUS

[rcblazer]

Deep within the Black Void, a small girl with albino white skin with long black hair draped over one side of her face, wearing a black gown with a large red sash tied across the waist approaches a cloud of pink smoke and holds a red orb out to it.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" The girl asks him in a happy singsong voice. A lobster claw reaches from the cloud and takes the orb, forming into Him, who looks at Blackheart and smiles.

"You have helped me far more than you could ever have realized." Him says to the girl. "Is there anything I can do for you in return?"

The girl thinks for a moment, then turns her exposed scarlet Powerpuff eye to the imp with a smile. "In return for helping you, what I would like more than anything is a friend." She hugs the sentient plush bear in her arms. "Theodore and Nanny Morbucks are wonderful, but I need someone who is as strong and fast as I am to play with, and my parents are always too busy to play."

Him shrugs. "I'm sorry Blackheart, but friends I cannot give you. It is unfortunately beyond my power."

Blackheart looks hurt upon hearing this and folds her arms, frowning at Him. "Then I would like to have the orb back, for I had to steal it from Father's tower and he's going to be very unhappy with me when he finds out that I am the one who took it."

Blackheart holds her hand out, expecting Him to give her back the orb, but the imp pulls it away from her. "I cannot return what you have given me, for it is rightfully mine!"

Blackheart thinks for a long moment, then finally turns to Him, her hair having moved from her face to reveal her right eye, which is slitted and lacking any pupil or iris, a pale blue in color.

"I WISH TO LEAVE THE BLACK VOID, SO THAT I MAY FIND A WAY TO DESTROY YOU FOR YOUR TREACHERY!" Blackheart says, her voice having changed dramatically from a sweet little girl to an old hag with a deep echo!

Him is taken aback by her request, but oddly, he agrees to it! He shows Blackheart how to use her powers to open portals leaving the Black Void. As he leaves first, he explains to Blackheart the terms of the agreement. "If you truly wish to see me undone, travel across the many alternate realities and time lines to find what you seek, and you shall see me undone."

Blackheart's blue eye closes and her black hair covers it up again as Blackheart smiles brightly, curtsying before Him. "Until we meet again." She says in her innocent voice as she steps through the portal out of the Black Void into the unknown...

THE END