Chapter 11
Battle of Tech Square

Buttercup was joined by Blossom once the SCAMPER she was escorting landed on the ground. She could see her sister, Bubbles, and Kyle along with some other KND agents running inside to Infected Zone towards the reactor.

"Kick some Fusion ass for me, guys!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm.

They couldn't hear her due to her altitude and the Infected Zone barriers, but they all knew Buttercup and many others were counting on them.

"Buttercup!" Blossom exclaimed. "Pay attention! We have Tech Wings coming!"

"C'mon! That's no big deal! I'm on it!"

"Do I have to remind you about-"

Buttercup flew off before Blossom could finish her sentence. The green Powerpuff Girl was always the fastest out of the three. As Buttercup came closer to the Tech Wing flock, she held her arms towards them and began to spin them rapidly, her right clockwise and her left counterclockwise. In seconds, her arms produced large, green tornadoes with their tails still attached to the end of her hands. A majority of the flock was sucked inside where they thrown around in a circular motion endlessly. Buttercup then clapped her hands to combine the two tornadoes into one, giant twister. Any Tech Wing who hadn't crashed into another and exploded upon impact continued to be chaotically spun until they finally did. Buttercup finally sent the twister on its own, towards an area unoccupied by ally forces which only just sucked up more of Fuse's monster. She was always known as the powerhouse of the trio so this kind of power and destruction was expected from her.

Blossom, being the smarter one, preferred to take advantages of enemy weaknesses. She mainly used her laser vision to clip the flock's wings and render them flightless. They would either die upon hitting the ground or get killed by the many KND agents below fighting many Fusion Spawns. If any monster got close enough to her, she resorted to the usual physical beatdown.

As Buttercup was clearing the last remnants of the Tech Wing flock, Blossom's phone had begun ringing. The screen displayed Dexter's name as the caller.

"D-Dexter?"

She hesitantly replied with suspicion. Blossom knew Dexter had been kidnapped. He must've at least still had a communicator with him.

"Hello?"

"Blossom." Dexter answered. "Listen, I'm not going to make it. Even if I'm freed from this jail cell, there won't be enough time for what I need to do. Please don't tell anybody, not even your sisters. It will only result in unneeded deaths."

"But-But why are you telling me this?"

"Heh. I guess I just wanted to tell. But there is something else that you must know. I can't reveal my sources, but make sure Buttercup gets out of here alive at all costs. You understand?"

"Y-Yes, but why Buttercup? Is there some secret or something special that she's hiding?"

"Like I said before, I can't say. Just do it. I have to go now. The Fusion is going come in soon once she's done using the intercom and I don't think my communicator can resist this cage's interference any longer. Goodbye . . ."

Dexter's last words were followed by static before the call finally disconnected. Blossom remained silent and put her phone away in her pocket. She landed on the ground and began helping Buttercup and the KND agents defeat the remaining Fusion forces.

"Blossom!" a voice exclaimed.

Blossom turned to see Bubbles flying towards her with a group of KND members following her. She stop to talk to Blossom while the rest joined the battle.

"Bubbles! What are you doing here! Where's Kyle!"

"I'm sorry, Blossom, but Fusion Buttercup knew we were coming. She demanded that only Kyle would go inside. If we didn't follow, something probably would've happened to Dexter."

"What about Kyle? Fusion Buttercup's Cyberus could get to him!"

"We took care of them, but I sealed the door with our heat vision in case more showed up."

"Well, the doors are heavily sturdy. Sealing them like that should buy more than enough time."

"Hey, ladies." Buttercup interrupted as she punched a hole into a Cyberus' core. "We could really use some help here!"

Bubbles nodded, but was stopped by Blossom when she tried to leave.

"Whatever happens," Blossom told her, "don't let Buttercup die."

Being sisters, Bubbles knew what Blossom meant. She and Blossom flew inside the crowd to join the others. The trio mainly stuck together, breaking formation when it was called for. Each of them used their signature moves, Blossom with ice breath, Bubbles with her supersonic screams, and Buttercup with her static lightning. This strategy worked until a fireball was suddenly fired at them. The girls looked to see Fusion Ben a safe distance away. It was obvious to tell by how Fusion Ben's Ultamatrix symbol looked like Fusion Matter was running through it, indicated by the visible air bubbles flowing downwards.

The Fusion was already transformed into a darker version of one of Ben's aliens. He took the shape of a humanoid plant-like being. He had a Fusion Matter body with green roots wrapped around it. Dark red petals pointing upwards grew on his head with a large, dark yellow one growing from the center. The formation of how the petals grew looked like a flame. This transformation was nicknamed Swampfire, an alien who could command both plants and fire.

"Nice to see you three here." the Fusion said with a stuffy voice due to the transformation.

"I thought Ben would be dealing with you." Blossom told him.

"He's . . . going to be occupied pretty soon. What matters now is the destruction of Tech Square!"

"Quit talking with him and start beating him!" Buttercup exclaimed as she flew past the other two girls.

Fusion Ben simply sidestepped out of the way and let Buttercup crashed into the elevated piece land that was behind him. Fusion Ben wasn't one to be taken down easily. Everyone knew he was one of the main leaders in Fuse's army. That kind of position automatically marked him as extremely dangerous.

"Let's go, Bubbles!" Blossom commanded.

The two charged at the Fusion. He responded by hurling two fireballs at them. They dodged, but the after throwing the fireballs, Fusion Ben placed his hands on the ground. The concrete below the girls broke apart as large vines grabbed hold of them in a tangled mess. The Fusion then severed the root and grabbed the base of the vines. He chucked the vines with the girls still inside towards the open area to his left. As he smiled in delight, Buttercup suddenly kicked his head off which soon disintegrated. The body still stood, unfazed by Buttercup's surprised attack. Small roots then started to appear and quickly regenerated a new head in its place.

"Always as rash as ever." Fusion Ben remarked. "You should already know you can't kill me while I'm in this form. I'll always grow back."

Buttercup flew off over to her sisters and helped them untangled the vines. Fusion Ben appeared behind, grabbing her shirt collar, and tossing her behind him. She landed in a bed of vines that the Fusion made which instantly restrained her and covered her mouth, preventing her from speaking. Fusion Ben walked towards Buttercup, producing a burning fire in the palm of his hand. He was preparing to incinerate the girl.

"Stop!"

Bubbles kicked the Fusion on his side causing him to fly towards Blossom. Blossom then proceeded to follow it up by kicking the Fusion's chest while backflipping which sent him over her and made him land near the edge of a cliff, an edge of the world. Despite being unable to be killed in this form, Fusion Ben could still feel pain.

"Blossom!" Bubbles exclaimed. "These vines holding Buttercup can't be cut for some reason!"

Fusion Ben laughed as he stood up again.

"Hahaha!" It's a little special thing that Fuse modified with my alien forms. You can't break those vines unless I do it myself or if you defeat me."

The ground underneath them began shaking. Some even began to break apart. It was an earthquake. Buttercup tried to break free, but it was no use. She was just wasting her strength.

"Oh, and you better do that fast." Fusion Ben continued. "Tech Square is being sinking as you know it."

"B-Blossom!" Bubbles exclaimed. "How can we beat him that fast if he's taking Swampfire's form! Blossom?"

"Protect Buttercup at all costs." Dexter's voice said in Blossom mind.

She came to realization and solution. The look on her face obviously meant she didn't like it, but it was the only way she could think of to free Buttercup.

"Bubbles . . . we'll grabbed him and pulled him to the bottom of the sea, the deepest we can go it doesn't matter."

"B-Blossom. You don't mean-."

"We have to. The water pressure will eventually kill him if we go deep enough. It's what Dexter ordered . . . It's for the sake of the world!"

"What are you girls talking about?" the Fusion asked. "If you don't something, your sister's gonna be in deep trouble. I mean, I would love to-"

Bubbles flew at him in an incredible speed, grabbed his waist and pushed him off the cliff, still holding on.

"I'm sorry, Buttercup." Blossom said with her back turned towards the restrained girl. "Please. As a last request, don't go after us when you're free. You're still needed in this war. I guess this is goodbye . . . I love you . . ."

Buttercup was pulling against her restraints with all her might, desperate to stop her sisters. All one could hear was the muffled and unintelligible language coming from her covered mouth. It was the first time Blossom had seen her cry this much. She flew off to join Bubbles and grabbed a hold of Fusion Ben. She used all of her remaining energy to encase the three in one block of ice, cold enough to reach absolute zero. The ice hit the Fusion Matter ocean with a large splash as it quickly dove to the ocean floor.

"You have to live . . . Buttercup . . ."

Back on the surface, the vines lost their extremely strong hold on Buttercup as the Fusion Matter water levels reached a few inches beneath her. A flew up as gazed at the bubbles left behind the ice block. Her eyes were flowing with tears at the loss of her sisters. She clenched her fists in anger, anger that she wasn't strong enough to save them, anger that she always blindly rushed in the face of danger without thinking of the possibilities.

"Damn it!"

"Buttercup?" Kyle asked. "What were you saying? Tell what to who?"

Buttercup regained her senses as she awoke from her dazed state. She was a little panicked at how long she was like that.

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something and I tend to lose myself when that happens. How long was I acting like that?"

"Like ten seconds."

"Felt a lot longer than that . . ." Buttercup said to herself. "Oh, never mind what I said. I have to get back. The others might need me. Say hi to Numbuh 2 for me."

Buttercup flew back to the in a hurry. Kyle wondered what caused her to space out, but he decided to leave to issue as it was. He went inside the candy store and started to stock up on candy. The place was in a wreck. Traces of Fusion Matter were left in a couple containers. Kyle tried to find containers that uncontaminated and still fresh. There weren't that many, but he luckily found unopened storage boxes in the backroom. There was than enough needed, so Kyle stored them in his Nanocom. He headed back to the encampment and asked the Monkey Skyway agent to take him back to Candy Cove.

As he landed, Kyle saw the pirate from before patiently sitting by the tent. He was staring intently at a burning campfire. He noticed Kyle when he heard the Skyway agent's thrusters.

"Hey." Kyle greeted him. "I'm sorry, but your candy got lost. I did manage to replace it with the candy at the candy store though if it makes up for it."

"It be perfectly fine." the pirate responded gratefully. "Thank you me bucko. I recall you wanted this trinket? Take it."

He opened a nearby treasure chest and handed Kyle a strange glowing device from it.

"Thanks a lot, um . . . "

"Captain Brock Candy of the Candy Pirates." the pirate informed him.

"You're the captain?"

Kyle knew who the real captain was, by appearance and by name. He just wanted to find out why a boy of this age is calling himself captain.

"Aye, me matey. At least . . . I am now."

"Now?"

"Aye, our former captain was sent to Davy Jones' Locker. I took over after then."

"I'm sorry . . . were you close?"

"Hm? I guess ye could be sayin' that. We never spoke that much, but listened to every order he gave. What be causin' ye to ask a question like that?"

"Oh . . . I was just curious. By the way, where are the other members of your crew?"

"They be salvaging the coastline what we can use for the battle for that scoundrel Fuse. It be how we found the trinket you hold in yer hands."

"I see . . . Well, good luck. There's no telling what Fuse will plan ne-"

An earthquake resonated throughout the entire area. It wasn't powerful enough to knock someone off his feet so the origin was somewhere farther away.

"What the?" Kyle wondered aloud. "An earthquake?"

"I have no idea." Brock replied.

He suddenly pointed of in the northwest direction. In the distance, over the mountains, one could make out smoke coming from somewhere. It was small from where Kyle and Captain Brcok were, but taking distance and perspective into account, one could tell it was a massive amount.

"What be that over there?" Captain Brock asked. "Smoke? Be it a town on fire? What could be producin' all that smoke?"

"The treehouse!" Kyle thought. "Hey, Brock. I need to get over there to Sector V ASAP."

"Robert! Take the lad back to Cul-de-Sac! This be a top priority order!"

Robert quickly awoke from his nap, grabbed Kyle's arm, and flew off north without any questions. They two reached Cul-de-Sac in record time. Kyle quickly gave his thanks and he rushed to Cul-de-Sac's SCAMPER as fast as he could. He reached it just in time as the pilot was about to leave. He too was curious about what just occurred in Sector V. Within a short period of time, the SCAMPER landed in a nearby street due to a terrible sight.

The platform that held up the treehouse has plummeted to the ground. Fire was raging from the smashed anti-gravity plates. A large portion of the treehouse was on fire as well. KND agents were doing their best to douse them out. Some broken rubble was scattered around the treehouse due to the force of the impact. A few wooden bridges had been set up to reach the platform due to the large gap.

Kyle quickly exited the SCAMPER and ran to the treehouse only to be stopped by two agents guarding the bridge. They demanded that Kyle stay away and wait at the emergency medical station they set up in Hero Square. Kyle desperately wanted to get inside. Not because of the Time Machine possibly getting damaged. He didn't care about that right now. He was worried about Numbuh 2.

"What about Numbuh 2!" Kyle exclaimed. "Is he alright!"

"Everyone in the treehouse has been evacuated and rescued." one of the guards calmly replied. "As we said, go to the emergency medical station. He should be there."

Kyle ran as fast as he could to Hero Square. Many red and white medical tents were set up to treat injured agents and civilians. Doctors and nurses or various ages were scrambling to treat the many patients. Computress, who was nearby, detected Kyle's presence and approached him.

"Greetings, Kyle. I assumed you are here to see Numbuh 2? Follow me."

Computress let Kyle inside a tent near the monument. Numbuh 2 was lying on the bed, bandaged up. He didn't seem to be fatally wounded, but Kyle was positive he sustained some serious injuries. Numbuh 2 was still holding on to the little bit of consciousness he still had. It didn't help he was coughing heavily from inhaling plenty of dust and smoke.

"Kyle?" Numbuh 2 asked. "Thanks for coming."

"It's what friends do, isn't it?"

"Hehe . . . It's gonna take a lot more than that to kill me."

"I'm just glad you're okay. I don't want a repeat . . . Not again . . ."

"He-Hey. Are you crying?"

Kyle hadn't even noticed. He quickly wiped the tear from his face.

"Oh, um . . . this just reminds of something . . ."

"Hehe. Whatever you say."

"What happened?"

"Ugh . . . some Fusion Spawns raided the treehouse's power generator room and stole the Gravity Decelerator, the main component that keeps the platform afloat . . ."

Numbuh 2 immediately fainted as he tried to continue.

"Numbuh 2!"

"Don't worry." Computress told Kyle. "He has merely fallen asleep. You should let him rest. You're welcome to use one of the empty tents to rest tonight until the treehouse is safe again."