Hearts as One

(Open POV)

Townsville…

There is the city skyline in the afternoon. The buildings are spotlessly white.

"The city of Townsville!" The narrator chirped.

A short distance, at ground level, there is a street where people are sweeping and cleaning.

"A tidy town where the Townsville townies take pride in keeping their tiny town tidy." The narrator said.

More people are washing and scrubbing in the windows of one building, and slightly to the right, there is a punch land. Buttercup sails into view of the monster. She crashes through a building, slams into an oil tank on a roof, and is doused with the contents, which leave her tinged with gray. Wiping her eyes, she dashes back into the fray. Blossom and Bubbles, floating in midair and eyeing their adversary; The foe swipes at them with its hand, turning them a brownish-gray from the residue that came off his hand. The foe is a creature made of brownish-gray vapor. It has two holes in one of its hands, the result from swiping at them, but these quickly heal. The monster laughs evilly as Buttercup flies in. The light trail behind her is gray and sludgy. She punches into the midsection and emerges from the back, but the hole quickly seals itself. Next Buttercup spins at superspeed, creating a tornado, and moves over to the monster. It is sucked in, and the tornado takes off into outer space. When Buttercup stops flying, the vapor cloud disperses. She flies back to her sisters only to find every building in the city covered with slop. Blossom nods, satisfied, but her expression quickly changes when she sees the squalor.

"What a mess!" Blossom said, sheepishly. "Well, guess our work's done here! Come on!"

Blossom takes off.

Sky…

Bubbles is in flight, "Oh, I feel so dirty."

Bubbles looks over at Blossom and Buttercup.

"I know. Isn't it great?" Buttercup asked.

Outside Utonium Residence…

The girls fly in. 

(Jared's POV)

Bathroom…

I'm in the bathroom, placing bath bombs into the bathtub. It is a full bathtub and the Professor reaches over to check the water temperature.

"Welcome home, girls." The Professor said, happily.

The girls are at the bathroom door, and the Professor and I are by the tub.

"I ran a nice, hot bath for you." The Professor said, smiling.

"And I put in some bath bombs." I said, looking down at the girls. "I know how much you girls love them."

"A bath! And bath bombs!" Blossom and Bubbles said, happily.

"A bath. And bath bombs." Buttercup said, sullenly.

Blossom and Bubbles are in the tub in an instant; they jump and splash around, and they both start hugging and laughing, as the Professor and I lean into view of the girls. 

"Bath bombs?" The Professor asked.

The Professor's hair and my hair are soaked, and we too are happy. Buttercup is still at the door.

"Girls love them as much as bubble baths." I said, smugly.

"Come on in, Buttercup!" Blossom said, giggling.

"The water's fine!" Bubbles said, giggling.

"What flavor of bath bomb is in the bath today?" Blossom asked, sniffing the bath.

"Strawberries and cream." I said, looking between Blossom and Bubbles.

"Strawberries?"

"And cream?" Bubbles asked.

"Yeah." I said, laughing a lot.

"Yay!" Blossom and Bubbles said, giggling.

Buttercup is still not enthusiastic.

"Don't you know that only big, fat sissies take baths with bath bombs?" Buttercup asked, floating away. 

Bubbles has her head visible above the water, "I'm not fat."

(Open POV)

At the skyline of Townsville, a large, greenish-brown elephant beast with several eyes rears up, trumpeting loudly. It begins to shoot globs of snot from its trunk, splattering several buildings. Blossom and Bubbles looked at the monster.

"Ugh! This is gonna get nasty!" Blossom said, disgusted.

Buttercup flies up between them.

"It sure is!" Buttercup said, eagerly charging towards the monster.

The elephant grabs hold of the top of a building and blows into it. Snot floods from all the windows and into the street. As Buttercup approaches, it fires a glob at her, knocking her down. The other girls are hit by the splatter.

"Ewwwwww!" Blossom and Bubbles said, at the same time.

"I hope Jared got us more bath bombs." Blossom said, sadly.

"And the Professor is running the bath." Bubbles said, frowning.

Buttercup peels herself up off the ground, licks the snot off her face, and spits it away—now she is tinted yellow-green. She grins wickedly and flies up toward the sun, silhouetting herself against it in the manner of Batman's emergency signal. Now she begins a spinning descent toward the elephant, and she catches it in the eye with a flying kick. The eye ruptures and releases a torrent of goo, and the beast falls backward in slow motion, knocking over buildings and throwing up a cloud of dust. The silhouettes of the girls at a safe distance in midair, and Blossom looks over at Buttercup's back. A cloud of fumes hovers around Buttercup, and snot streaks her hair and arms.

"And stay down, sucka!" Buttercup yelled, turning around. "Let's go!"

Buttercup takes off as the others do likewise.

Sky…

Buttercup is in flight, trailing fumes, and she looks over at her sisters. They fly behind her, covering their noses.

"Is it me, or does Buttercup stink?" Blossom asked, looking at Bubbles.

They fly towards home.

(Jared's POV)

Bathroom…

There is a small tugboat floating on the water. Behind it, something large breaks the surface—it is Bubbles, doing her best Godzilla impression in the tub and attacking a toy boat. She stands up to her full height and roars down at the boat; Bubbles and Blossom enjoying another bath; both have their hair loosened, and Blossom has removed her hairbow. Blossom and Bubbles are both splashing and laughing. 

"What flavor of bath bomb is in the bath today?" Blossom asked.

"Sakura." I said, happily.

"Sakura? Like those cherry blossoms?" Bubbles asked.

"The very same."

Buttercup floats into view at the doorway with a lazy grin on her face over how much she doesn't care about reeking and stops short, glaring. The other two stop splashing and laughing at the sound of her voice.

"What are you doing?!" Buttercup exclaimed, looking at her sisters. "Don't you know you're just gonna get dirty again tomorrow? Sheesh!"

Buttercup floats away.

Blossom, Bubbles, and I are exchanging a worried glance, then I look over at the Professor as he walks through the living room.

"When will Buttercup get a bath?" Bubbles asked.

"When a monster calls out that she stinks." I said, happily.

"And when will that happen?" Blossom asked.

"When Buttercup gets run out of Townsville. Because of her stench."

"Oh." Bubbles said, tears in her eyes. "What can we do to help?"

"Nothing. We can't interfere." Blossom said, letting out a sigh.

The Professor passes behind Buttercup, seated and drawing papers at the table and still emitting fumes. He gets a whiff and spits out his pipe, and his eyes glaze over. The Professor quickly runs outside and taps the window. It is now nighttime.

"Buttercup, you stink. Take a bath." The Professor said, looking out of the window.

I looked between all three girls: Buttercup at the table, Blossom and Bubbles still in the tub with me still in the bathroom with the girls that are clean.

"What's the sudden interest in my personal hygiene?! And Jared, don't you dare think of squirting me with soap and shampoo! I'm NOT taking a bath! And if you don't like it, THROW ME OUT!" Buttercup said, groaning.

(Open POV)

Outside Utonium Residence…

Buttercup is at the edge of the street—she has been ejected. The front door slams. The Professor, her sisters, and Jared made good on Buttercup's little ultimatum and kicked her out of the house until she changed her mind and agreed to clean up and take a bath.

"Fine. Who needs 'em?" Buttercup asked, floating away.

The sky fades into morning as a rooster crows. Blossom and Bubbles fly out the front door and across the city. Blossom has put her bow back on, and Bubbles has her pigtails tied again.

"I just hope Buttercup remembers to get to school on time. Jared did tell us when Buttercup will take a bath, but who knows how long that will take." Blossom said, looking over at Bubbles.

Townsville…

Blossom and Bubbles fly past their sister, who has enraged a large Cyclops. It throws two punches, but Buttercup dodges and it hits buildings instead. Roaring, it throws another punch; Buttercup jumps onto the fist and runs up the arm toward the head. She throws several punches and finally knocks it off with a right hook. The head sails away in slow motion; it hits the ground and bounces a time or two. The eye opens and looks back nervously, and the head sprouts a pair of small legs and runs away. From her perch on the shoulder, Buttercup watches it go, but her reverie is interrupted by a great shaking and cracking. The body is splitting down the middle. The hands slam together and turn her into a pancake, and she crashes to the ground. When she comes to, she sees each half of the body open a pair of eyes at the shoulder and a mouth under the arm. They begin slamming their fists down to try to crush her as she dashes away, and they hop after her in pursuit. One half spots a tanker truck parked by a row of portable toilets; the side reads 'BOB'S SEPTIC WORLD—We're full of it!' A septic worker in a hazmat suit watching the detail soon notices the half of the Cyclops' body that saw the tanker truck approaching and runs for his life. It smashes the tanker, releasing a gush of sewage that knocks Buttercup flat. When she stands up amid the muck—now with a brownish tone all over her—she looks back and sees one of the halves bearing down on her, with the other close behind. She dodges swing after swing in midair until the two arms are tied in a knot. Buttercup is hovering above them; they pull at each other in an attempt to get free, but end up tearing their arms off instead. Buttercup has a good laugh about this as they hop away in retreat.

Exterior of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…

Buttercup flies into view. 

Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…

Ms. Keane is at the blackboard, which shows a bunch of grapes.

"Now, grapes are green…" Ms. Keane said, writing the word 'green' below the picture. "…and what else is green? Grass, that's right."

The top of Buttercup's head passes behind her; fumes rise up.

"Now an apple is red…" Ms. Keane said, drawing an apple and writes 'apple' and 'red' by it. "…who can tell me what else is re—ewww…"

Ms. Keane gets a nose full of the fumes, stops short, and turns around to find the source. Buttercup floats across the room, a pleased expression on her face. Every kid's eyes pop wide open at her approach. 

Buttercup sits down, "Sorry I'm late, Ms. K. I was just stopping an evil monster."

Ms. Keane is now standing by the fire alarm switch with a twisted grin frozen on her face. It is clear that she wants to have nothing to do with Buttercup in her stinky state. She punches out the glass cover, and the alarm goes off.

"Well, what do you know, kids, a fire drill. I guess we all better get out of here." Ms. Keane said, happily.

The kids cheer and rush for the door. Ms. Keane goes with them, holding her nose.

"Buttercup, you stay." Ms. Keane said, nasally.

Buttercup is alone in a roomful of empty desks. She's completely shocked by what's just happened, but realizing this is, more or less, the same thing her sisters, Jared, and the Professor did to her, her mood quickly darkens in disgust.

"Who needs 'em?" Buttercup asked, groaning.

Townsville…

Two dogs are sniffing each other's hindquarters in the park. Several other dogs are all doing the same thing. Buttercup comes towards the dogs and they run like mad. She surveys their reaction angrily, then Buttercup flew towards a couple of bums sleeping in an alley. They are fairly ripe, but her approach is too much even for them to bear and they run off. She groans and takes to the air, trailing fumes.

The sky darkens into the evening. As she flies across the city, the stench settles on the buildings and causes their inhabitants to cough and choke and plants to wilt. 

The Mayor's office…

Ms. Bellum is there, looking out the window, watching Buttercup's flight. The sounds of ringing telephones and the Mayor is coughing. The Mayor is at his desk, fielding several calls at once.

"Yes…Yes, I know…I smell it too!…Do you think I'm blind? Of course I smell it!" The Mayor cried, hanging up one receiver. "Yes…Yes…Uh-huh…I know, yes…" He hung up another receiver, coughing. "Something must be done!"

Suburbs…

Buttercup flies overhead and lands in the street. She looks around, but no one else is nearby. 

"Hey…where'd everybody go?" Buttercup asked, scratching her head.

"THERE SHE IS!!" The Mayor yelled.

Buttercup starts in surprise.

There is an angry mob carrying torches and led by the Mayor. It advances slowly on Buttercup, and she begins to back up nervously. One of the men looks like Don Shank.

"Buttercup! Thank goodness we found you. As Mayor of Townsville, I feel it is my sworn duty to tell you that…YOU STINK!! YOU SMELL!! YOU REEK!! You're stinking up the whole town! So either take a bath or take a hike!" The Mayor said, angrily.

"Enough talk!" A man growled.

"It's bath time!" A woman said, determined.

The mob shouts its agreement as they prepare to resume their advance. Buttercup flees the scene, running through the woods with the mob on her heels. 

Woods…

Buttercup jumps over a pipeline and ​tears her dress on a hanging branch, then looks back to see that they have brought a team of attack dogs along—and they are closing in fast. A puddle is splashed, first by Buttercup and then by the mob. Finally, she skids to a stop in a clearing.

"Wait! What am I doing?" Buttercup asked, taking to the air, leaving the mob wondering where she went. 

Buttercup looked down at the mob in an overhead view, in the middle of the woods. 

Cliff…

Buttercup flew over to a cliff overlooking the water at sunrise the next day. Buttercup is sitting at the edge, moping. 

"Hmph. First my family, then my friends, and now Townsville. I mean, what does being clean have to do with being a superhero anyway?!" Buttercup exclaimed, angrily. "Who needs 'em?! As long as I can fight monsters and stuff, I ain't never coming clean!"

Behind Buttercup, something very large rises to the surface and begins to emerge, throwing a long shadow over her. Buttercup looks up, then she turns around and up from the level of the cliff to reveal the source of the shadow. It is a huge serpent-like beast, and it sucks in a huge breath and belches out a cloud of fire. 

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Buttercup said, ecstatically.

Buttercup flies up to take on the monster. Again it inhales deeply and spits fire, pushing her back. 

"You…gonna have to do…better than that!" Buttercup said, with effort.

Buttercup beats back the fire until she reaches the mouth. The monster inhales again, more deeply than before. We see trees and the roof of a nearby house torn loose. Buttercup does her best to resist being sucked in, but to no avail; she disappears into the nose. The monster's eyes open wide in surprise, fumes issuing from its nostrils. It shrieks in pain and begins to pick at its nose.

"Get it out! Get it out! Get it out!" The monster cried.

Monster's nose…

Buttercup is stuck at a turn in the nasal passage. A claw snakes into view and hooks her. 

Cliff…

The monster snorts in a big breath plug one nostril and blows. Buttercup flies out amid a shower of snot and skids across the clifftop face first. She gets up and flies back to the edge.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Buttercup asked.

The monster is on its way back into the water.

"Uh… I was gonna go home." The monster said, turning around.

"Why?" Buttercup asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because… YOU STINK!"

"WHAAAAAATTTT?!"

That's the last straw for Buttercup. If monsters are no longer willing to throw down with her because of how badly she stinks and simply give up rather than fight to the death, she's lost her only reason to continue refusing to take a bath and get clean. She throws a fit, yelling incoherently and punching and kicking at the air. When it runs its course, she finally gets ready to face the inevitable, no matter how much she hates doing it.

"All right! I'll do it! I'll take that stupid…" Buttercup said, angrily.

(Jared's POV)

Bathroom…

Buttercup is in the tub at home. Her sisters and I are standing over her and wearing gas masks, looks of smug satisfaction on all of our faces at finally teaching Buttercup a lesson about keeping clean between their battles, while Buttercup simply glares at me in glum annoyance at having to go through with it after all.

"…bath." Buttercup said, sullenly. "Jared, did you know this would happen?"

"Yup." I said, laughing a lot. "I even told Blossom and Buttercup when you'd come home."

"So they knew because of you."

"When a monster at the cliff said that you stink." Bubbles said, giggling.

"And that you'd get kicked out of Townsville." Blossom said, giggling.

Soap, sponges, and scrub brushes are applied to every square inch of Buttercup's filthy body. Buttercup does not enjoy the experience a bit. Blossom and Bubbles dunk Buttercup's head under the water, and I placed more bath bombs into the bath.

"This is why I started applying bath bombs to the baths. Because you'd stink so bad, Buttercup, the bath bombs would lessen your stench as much as it could." I said pulling the drain plug to empty the tub. "I chose Twilight tonight. Because Friendship is Magic."

Now several towels come into play. Blossom dries Buttercup's body, standing behind her and pulling the towel taut as if shining a shoe, and Bubbles blow-dries her hair with enough force to knock her off her feet. At this point, Blossom, Bubbles, and I have removed our gas masks, now that Buttercup no longer reeked of oil, mucus, or sewage. When the bath is finished, Buttercup stands before her sisters and I, wrapped in towels and still looking very put out.

"Now, then. See, Buttercup? Don't you feel better now that you're all squeaky clean?" Bubbles asked.

"'Now that you're all squeaky clean…'" Buttercup said, imitating Bubbles. "SHUT UP!" She went back to her normal voice. "I only took this stupid bath so I could fight monsters again."

Bubbles, Blossom, and I cross our arms in disapproval.

"You know, Buttercup, you may be clean, but your attitude still stinks." Blossom said, scoffing.

"It really does. Twilight, the last resort bath bomb for me." I said, rolling my eyes. "Never thought I'd use it on you, Buttercup."

(Open POV)

The standard end shot comes up.

"Ripe you are, Buttercup, I mean... right you are, Blossom, Jared. And so, the day is bathed thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!" The narrator cheered.

The End!

We'll see you again soon!