Far out across the harbor, the battle was over.
A massive iceberg drifted through the center of the bay, nearly the size of three or four football stadiums.
Frozen deep within the thick layers of ice—
the dragon-snake remained trapped in suspended stillness.
Its enormous body curled tightly beneath the frost while navy ships cautiously surrounded the frozen mass from a distance.
Military helicopters circled overhead.
News reporters screamed excitedly into their cameras.
"The creature has officially stopped moving!"
"We repeat—the monster has been neutralized!"
"The harbor is secure!"
Above the frozen ocean—
three figures hovered in the night sky.
Buttercup cracked her knuckles.
"Tch. Took long enough."
Bubbles floated beside the iceberg, panting slightly.
"That thing was REALLY heavy…"
Blossom wiped sweat from her forehead before looking toward the approaching military aircraft.
Several armored helicopters descended carefully onto a nearby carrier ship.
One of them opened.
General Monger stepped out.
The older military officer looked exhausted.
His uniform was stained with seawater and ash, but his expression remained sharp as ever.
The soldiers around him immediately saluted the girls.
Blossom straightened slightly before leading her sisters down toward the carrier deck.
The moment they landed—
the surrounding soldiers erupted into applause.
Cheers echoed across the ship.
Some looked relieved.
Others looked outright awestruck.
After all—
they had just watched three high-school-aged girls overpower something that nearly destroyed an entire harbor.
General Monger crossed his arms as the girls approached.
For a moment—
he simply stared at the frozen monster in the distance.
Then he gave a low whistle.
"After the fifth missile failed, I started having my doubts that we could get rid of that thing," Monger admitted dryly. "But thanks to you girls, Americans can sleep a little easier tonight."
Bubbles raised a hand innocently.
"Sorry about the ships…"
The General looked toward the half-destroyed harbor.
"…We'll bill the Mayor."
Blossom adjusted herself slightly before speaking more seriously.
"The creature is alive, but its body temperature has been lowered enough to force hibernation. We recommend keeping it contained somewhere isolated until we understand what it actually is."
General Monger nodded immediately.
"I'll have research teams mobilized by morning."
Then his eyes shifted toward Blossom.
Something about his expression changed slightly.
Less military.
More official.
"You girls did good today," he said firmly.
"Honestly? Better than some of the trained government response units they send us every month."
Buttercup snorted proudly.
"Heh. Obviously."
Bubbles smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head.
Blossom blinked once, slightly caught off guard by the praise.
The General reached into his coat before pulling out a sealed folder.
"The Mayor finalized the authorization during the evacuation."
He handed it toward her.
Blossom carefully took it.
Across the front—
a gold government seal gleamed.
OFFICIAL METAHUMAN RESPONSE AUTHORIZATION
Designation:
THE POWERPUFF GIRLS TASK FORCE
Bubbles gasped.
Buttercup leaned over Blossom's shoulder immediately.
"No way…"
General Monger gave a small nod.
"Effective immediately, the three of you are now recognized as Townsville's first officially sanctioned emergency superhuman task force."
The surrounding soldiers began clapping again.
Even Buttercup looked caught off guard this time.
Blossom stared down at the document quietly.
Then slowly smiled.
The General crossed his arms again.
"You girls aren't just fighting bank robbers in secret anymore," he said.
His voice lowered slightly.
"There are things out there people don't understand."
His eyes briefly shifted toward the frozen dragon-snake.
"Things that shouldn't exist."
The wind howled softly across the harbor.
Then General Monger looked back at them.
And for the first time—
he spoke to them less like children…
and more like soldiers.
"Welcome to the fight against what goes bump in the night."
Silence lingered briefly afterward.
Then Buttercup grinned.
Bubbles smiled brightly while hugging the folder against her chest.
"Heh. Sounds awesome."
Blossom gave the General a respectful nod.
"We'll do our best."
"I know," Monger replied.
A soldier approached from behind him moments later.
"Sir, containment teams are ready."
The General nodded once before looking back at the girls.
"You should head home. Townsville's already stabilizing."
Blossom immediately thought of the Professor.
And Ben.
Her expression shifted slightly.
"…Right."
The three girls exchanged glances.
Then, without another word—
FWOOOSH!!
They shot into the night sky like streaks of colored light.
Red.
Blue.
Green.
Flying back toward home.
Back toward Professor Utonium's laboratory—
completely unaware that the man waiting for them inside…
was no longer their father.
—
Townsville Suburbs
At the end of a quiet neighborhood stood a large, two-story building. Pure white, with three round windows and a sleek marble pathway leading to a red oak door.
Beneath it an underground basement housed a stressed professor preparing his smoking pipe.
He could tell that despite becoming officially recognized heroes, the girls still had something weighing heavily on their minds.
"I have some good news and bad news."
Professor Utonium lit his pipe, taking a slow puff before exhaling.
"First, the good news, Buttercup—it seems your friend wasn't involved in the rage-filled outburst you thought he was."
He turned toward the girls as they finally arrived home.
"So far, it's more likely that what you experienced was a figment created by a student named Tommy—meant to pin the blame on the Tennyson boy."
He paused, his brows furrowing.
"I haven't determined why yet, but it appears that during your original encounter, he gathered some kind of information…"
His gaze sharpened.
"Information that all of you care deeply about Ben."
He tapped his pipe lightly.
"And used that to manipulate you—placing you under a deep hypnosis that erased your initial confrontation…"
A thin trail of smoke curled upward.
"…and replaced it with someone you wouldn't want to attack."
"Is that true, Professor?" Buttercup asked, a hint of hope in her voice.
"It is," he nodded. "I've spent time analyzing what happened at your school. I can confirm Ben wasn't anywhere near the field."
Bubbles was the first to sigh in relief.
"Phew~"
She floated upside down while hugging her stuffed octopus.
"I was so worried Ben turned bad…"
"The way you described it, I thought so too," the Professor admitted.
He typed on the keyboard, and the screens behind him lit up again.
Buttercup clenched her fists as two pieces of footage appeared with the same timestamp—
a classroom recording of Ben.
And a fight that completely contradicted their memories.
"I can't believe it… It really wasn't Ben," she muttered.
"It was someone pretending to be him! I should've known… the real Ben wouldn't act like that!"
Blossom placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's no use getting angry at something we couldn't control."
Her eyes shifted toward the Professor.
"If he could alter our memories of the fight… we need to ask what else he changed."
"You're right," the Professor nodded.
"That's the bad news."
He inhaled from his pipe.
"We don't know how many of your memories may have been altered."
"That means we'll need to run a full scan," he continued.
"To identify inconsistencies."
He stood, adjusting his lab coat.
"It may take a month or two to build the equipment—and another week to analyze everything."
"So until then, you'll be under stricter surveillance."
His tone grew more serious.
"This Tommy—his origin, goals, and motives are unknown."
"And the fact that he infiltrated the same school I enrolled you in… is concerning."
"I'd like to believe this was a coincidence," he admitted.
"But I can't ignore the possibility that it wasn't."
A new image appeared on the screen—
the girls… and a figure in gold armor.
"One more thing. It seems it wasn't just the three of you involved."
"In your original encounter, there was another girl—one who could match your abilities through technology."
"Oh! I know her!" Bubbles said, pointing.
"She's the one who trapped me in that suit! She must be working with Tommy!"
The room fell quiet.
Blossom sighed, facepalming slightly.
"We thought you were going to tell us something useful… like her identity."
The Professor chuckled.
Buttercup smirked.
"Hah—shows you weren't paying attention," Buttercup teased, ruffling Bubbles' hair.
"We can't trust that memory," Blossom explained calmly.
"She might've been helping us… or stopping us."
Bubbles blinked.
"Wait… so she might be a good guy?"
"Maybe," Buttercup shrugged.
"But right now… I'm just glad Ben's okay."
"He is alright, right, Professor?" she added, just to make sure.
The Professor nodded.
"Though he was injured and taken to the hospital, he only suffered a small fracture in his right leg."
"That should heal in a few weeks."
Buttercup blinked before flying closer.
"What? How did he get hurt?" she asked, staring intently at the Professor.
He reached forward and patted her head.
"Don't worry. Like I said, it wasn't serious. He's in no immediate danger and will probably leave the hospital in a cast within a few hours."
Bubbles giggled.
She leaned in teasingly.
"See? Your boyfriend's safe, and we're officially heroes—mmph!?"
Buttercup turned red as she covered Bubbles' mouth.
"Professor—don't listen to her! She's joking!"
Blossom shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. He'll see everything when we run the scan."
"Yeah!" Bubbles added. "And I'm sure the Professor will be supportive!"
"Girls…"
The Professor's voice turned serious.
They all looked toward him.
Buttercup stiffened slightly.
"I believe…"
He paused dramatically—
Before smiling.
"I might have to… have dinner with his parents soon~"