A Blight Upon the Land ch.22

"A Blight Upon the Land"
Chapter 22: Romp of the Rapscallions 


Clay and Raimundo had already showered and dressed, with Omi just stepping out, himself, when Buttercup burst into the room, startling the three boys. 

"Get your magic tools and get moving! There's trouble in the city!"

"Right!" Clay and Raimundo answered, rushing to the guest bedroom to grab their Shen Gong Wu and Wudai weapons. 

"Raimundo, Clay! Wait! I must fight clothed!" Omi cried. Struggling to pull on his robes before following them. 

While the boys grabbed their Shen Gong Wu and Wudai weapons, The Powerpuffs were already finished dressing and we're waiting outside with Dojo for their friends. 

"Come on, come, on! What's taking them?!" Buttercup grumbled. 

"they're getting their Shen Gong Wu," Dojo answered, slithering around the front yard, "After all, they don't have super powers, so they have to fight somehow." 

"All the same, we really do need to hurry," Blossom said, floating around nervously. 

"At last, the Xiaolin warriors rushed out of the house, armed with their Wudai weapons and various Shen Gong Wu. 

"Sorry 'bout the delay, ladies," Clay gasped as Dojo transformed into his giant dragon form.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Bubbles reassured as the four climes onto the dragons back.

"Who's ready to go out and do what Powerpuff Dragons do best?" Raimundo smirked. 

"I am!" Came the unanimous reply. 

"The, let's get to it," blossom smiled as the Powerpuff Dragons took to the sky.



"So, girls," Dojo asked, flying towards the city, Xiaolin Warriors riding on his back, "what's happening in the city that's causing all this commotion?"  

"The mayor said that a bunch of villains were attacking Townsville," Blossom explained as the Powerpuff Dragons flew towards the urban area of Townsville, "but he wasn't very specific. So we need to be ready for anything." 

"I just hope it's not those jerks in the Mascots of Anarchy again," Buttercup put in, "I've had enough of them to last me years." 

"You can say that again," Kimiko agreed. 


Meanwhile, in the city of Townsville... 

"WHERE'S MAH BANJO?!?! Where did ya'll take Joe?!?" Fuzzy Lumpkins, the pink, fluffy hillbilly monster that lived in the forest outside of Townsville, yelled as he chased a terrified group of teenagers through the city, firing his boomstick into the air and snarling angrily.  

"Yo, boys!" Ace Copular, leader of the gangrene gang, shouted out, grabbing a middle-aged businessman by his tie, "this here blue-collar called me a greasy, no-good street punk. And, personally, I find that quite offensive." 

The other four members of the gangrene gang, Snake, lil' Arturo, big Billy and Grubber, surrounded the businessman, who was beginning to panic. 

"I ssssay we teach him a lesssson," snake hissed. 

"Daaah, yeah," Billy smiled as Grubber blew a raspberry in agreement. 

"So, what are we gonna do with him, boss?" Arturo asked. 

"I say we give him the ol' hot potato beat down!" Ace grinned, viciously as he and his green-skinned thugs began to assault the businessman. 

As if the hillbilly fluff creature and pickle-skinned hooligans weren't bad enough, a giant turtle monster was attacking the city.

 Back in the skies above the city, Blossom had observed the situation and was developing a strategy. 

"Any ideas, Blossom?" Bubbles asked. 

"Call it, sis," Buttercup said in an urgent tone. 

"Alright. Omi, Clay, you two take the gangrene gang. Kimiko, Raimundo, try to subdue Fuzzy Lumpkins," Blossom ordered, pointing her nub hand at each respective troublemaker. 

"Understood!" Omi said. 

"Longi Kite!" Clay called as he placed the winged Shen Gong Wu upon his back, then turned to Omi. "Hop on, I'll' partner!" 

"Let us punch some buttocks!" Omi exclaimed as he hopped on Clays back. 

"'Kick some butt,' Omi," Clay corrected as they flew down onto the city. 

"Time to teach that yokel some manners," Raimundo grinned, summoning a gale of wind as Kimiko rode down to the earth on a trail of fire. 

"Bubbles, Buttercup, you're with me! We're taking the turtle-monster!" 

"Why the monster?!" Buttercup asked, as the Powerpuff Girls flew towards the behemouth, "We could easily take 'em all!" 

"Because emotion can cloud judgement, Buttercup. I've seen it happen between you and Ace before," Bloosom answered. 

"Come on, Buttercup, Omi and Clay can take them. We can take this monster down the fastest," Bubbles agreed. 

"Fine," Buttercup sighed. She hated to admit it, but her sisters were right. 

The turtle monster roared loudly as it rampaged through the city, swinging it's spiked tail against buildings and bridges as it went. 

"Bubbles, draw its attention! Buttercup, get underneath it! I'll go and freeze its tail!" Blossom ordered.

"Please, stop!" The businessman cried, now beaten and bruised. 

"Stop?" Ace asked, grinning, "but, we don't wanna stop, do we, boys?" 

"No!" They all agreed, "let's hit him some more!" 

"Someone help me!" 

"Now just what do y'all think yer doin to this poor man? He done anything to you?" 

The gangrene gang turned sharply to find a young man in western apparel and a small boy with a round head. 

"And just who might you and your deputy be, sherif?" Ace asked. 

"We are Omi and Clay, the Xiaolin Dragons of water and earth!" Omi exclaimed. 

"Now, there are two ways this ends," Clay began, "first way; You and your goons surrender now, an' nobody gets hurt. Or, second way; You try to tango with us. And I can guarantee that you'll get hurt." 

"We're gonna go with the third option; Kickin' you shmuks inta da dirt! Get 'em, boys!" 

"Shimo Staff!" Omi cried, drawing his Wudai weapon and extending the cylinders length, swinging it underneath the gangrene gangs feet, tripping them mid-charge. "Orb of Tornami!" The yellow boy summoned a jet of water from the orb and blasted the hooligans back to the ground just as they had regained their footing. Only bigs Billy remained standing. 

"I got this one, partner," Clay grinned, brandishing a Shen Gong Wu, "Fist of Tebigong!" And Clay slammed the metal fist Shen Gong Wu into Big Billy's stomach, sending the large thug reeling back into his unconscious comrades. 

"Now to make sure y'all don't cause any more trouble," the Texan said, readying his second Shen Gong Wu. "Lasso Boa Boa!" 

"Clay, now that these troublemakers have been subdued, perhaps we should assist our comrades?" Omi suggested. 

"Believe me, it's temptin', Omi, but there's a saying where I come from: 'gotta keep your eyes on the livestock, or else they'll scamper off,'" Clay sighed, then lit up. "But I do know of one way we can at least check on them." 

He he pulled out his phone out of his pocket and dialed in a number. 

"What are you doing, Clay?" Omi asked, confused.

"Callin' up our friends, little buddy," Clay answered.

Meanwhile, over by the turtle monster... 

Bubbles had held the beast at bay with her sonic scream, while Buttercup threw a few punches its way, disorienting the colossal reptile. 

While her sisters kept the turtle monster's attention on them, Blossom had flown over to its tail and frozen it. The beast, feeling the sudden and painful drop in temperature, quickly withdrew into its shell, shattering and destroying the frozen section of its tail.

 "Now, girls! Let's finish this!" Blossom commanded. 

While Buttercup flew underneath the turtle monster and picked it up, Blossom and Bubbles flew behind and began to push. In less than a minute, the girls had flown the beast all the way to Monster island, and returned to a cheering crowd. 
While Bubbles and Buttercup began to remove some of the larger debris created during the skirmish, Blossom felt her phone ring. Answering it, she was slightly surprised to hear Clay on the other end. 

"Hey, Blossom, Omi an' I are finished with those grass-skinned varmints. We're standing no more than ten feet away; wouldn't want 'em skedaddlein' on us. How are you an' your sisters?" 

"We actually just took care of the monster," Blossom answered, we'll regroup with you guys, then check on Kimiko and Raimundo." 

"Sounds good, we'll be waitin for ya till then," Clay said, hanging up.

"Good news, girls," Blossom smiled, turning to her sisters as she pocketed her phone, "Clay called: He and Omi just beat the gangrene gang and are waiting for us right now."

"Sweet!" Buttercup exclaimed, "now all that's left is fuzzy, then we can finally chill out for once!"

"I could use some peace and quiet, myself," Bubbles agreed, "plus, I haven't had any time for my drawings." 

"Come on, girls, let's go find them" Blossom said as she and her sisters took to the skies.

They had only been searching for a minute when the sight of police lights and their blaring sirens caught their attention. Zipping down to investigate, they found Omi and Clay standing on a sidewalk as the gangrene gang was escorted into a police van by three cops. The cowboy and the yellow monk appeared to be in conversation with two different officers whose backs faced the Powerpuffs. Bubbles recognized them almost immediately. 

"That hairdo...that worn-down fedora hat," the blue Powerpuff whispered, "...Selina! Jake!" She exclaimed, dashing over and pulling the two officers into a tight hug

"You are familiar with these enforcers of local law?" Omi asked, along with Clay, somewhat at a loss for words.

"You know these kids?" Officer Brown queried, once Bubbles had let her and her partner go, readjusting her police cap.

"We sure do," Blossom put in, floating down beside them, "Omi, Clay, this is Police Officer Selina Brown..." 

"Yo," Officer Brown smiled, giving a small wave. 

"And this is Police Detective Jake Eisenberg," Blossom finished.

"Hey," Detective Eisenberg greeted, tipping his fedora hat, to which Clay responded by tipping his own hat.

"You ladies come to take these schmucks away?" Eisenberg asked, pointing a thumb at the gangrene gang as Buttercup touched down.

"No, we're just here to give Clay and Omi a lift home," Blossom answered. 

"We're in an alliance with the Powerpuffs," Clay explained, noticing the slightly confused looks on the officers faces. 

"That explains it," Officer Brown shrugged, then looked at her watch. "Crap! It's almost noon! C'mon, Jake, let's haul these guys in, then go get lunch. I'm hungry as-"

"Okay! I get it, Selina!" Detective Eisenberg quickly interrupted, "no need for cuss words: there's children present. Not to mention, we gotta take Fuzzy Lumpkins back to his cell." 

"Wait, you guys have Fuzzy, as well?" Buttercup asked. 

"Yeah, he was taken down by these two kids calling themselves 'Xiaolin Warriors,' was it?" Officer Brown said, "oh, that's them now." Kimiko and Raimundo arrived on the scene, riding on trails of fire and wind, respectively. 

"Kim! Rai! How's it going?" Buttercup smiled. 

"Going great, Buttercup!" Kimiko smiled back. 

"So, how did you beat Fuzzy?" Bubbles asked. 

"Well, first, Kimi and I got his attention with a gust of hot wind. Then, when we had the yokel's attention, Kimiko used her sweet Wudai Mars move to melt his shotgun, then I knocked him out against a brick wall using my Wudai Star move. Then, Kimiko made a quick call to the cops, and the rest is history." 

"Nice," the green Powerpuff grinned. 

Once the Powerpuff Dragons wrapped up their conversation with the police, and headed home, they couldn't help but feel that something dreadful was going to happen....

TO BE CONTINUED...