Momoko's POV:

"I wonder what the professor wants now" I thought as I entered the lab.

Suddenly, I realized everyone was there, including Miyako. Kaoru was no longer wearing her crutches. That made me a little happy because I thought that the team was back.

"Welcome, Momoko. Come over" the professor saluted me.

I approached them and took a seat near Peach.

"Now, everyone's here. Why did you called us over, professor?" Yûsuke asked.

"Ryu, Kaoru, explain" the professor said.

"Remember when Kaoru asked the villains about Sorato and they all turned nervous?" Ryu asked us.

"Yes. That was very suspicious" Yûsuke said.

"Well, Ryu thinks we should go and ask them about it" Kaoru added.

"What for?" I asked.

"To find out what they know about our disappearance" Yoshito answered me.

"Plus, they must know something about HIM's plan. I have the feeling they are hiding something" Miyako explained.

"They were asking me permission to go on that mission" the professor pointed the greens and the blues, looking at me and Yûsuke, "but I called both of you just in case you wanted to go or say something."

"Sounds good to me" Yûsuke accepted, "I'm coming with you."

"So that means you're back to the team?" I asked Miyako.

"I am, but not because of you. It's thanks to Yoshito's support and to Yûsuke, who is now our leader" she explained to me.

I instantly glared at Yûsuke.

"He's what?!" I exclaimed with anger.

"We all voted, so it's fair" Ryu shrugged.

"I didn't vote!" I complained.

"We all voted for Yûsuke. Even if you vote for someone else he'll still win" Yoshito told me.

"Are you serious?! I can't believe you!" I was furious.

"What did you expected?! You haven't come to train or to spend time with us like you did before! You don't deserve to be our leader anymore! Yûsuke's the one who has been coming, who has been leading the missions and doing all the job! Your job! So don't act like you're surprised or incensed because that's what you get for not doing your job and going after some scumbag!" Kaoru told me.

"Kaoru!" the professor and Miyako scolded her, but it was too late.

I clenched my fists with anger. Her words really hurt me, but most of all, it made me angry. I knew she was right, but I didn't want to hear the truth. I pushed her away from me, not thinking of what I was doing. I just wanted to shut her mouth.

"Hey!" Ryu interfered.

"You know what?! I don't care! I don't need any of this!" I shouted and took off my belt, "And neither I need you!"

I threw my belt directly to the wall. They tried to stop me, but it was too late. I was too angry to think about what I was doing. Now, my belt was broken, and so were my dreams. I've always loved superheros and also being one. But I ruined it all, as always.

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no, no!" the professor started shouting and rushed to see the belt.

He was almost crying, and so were Ken, Peach and Miyako. Kaoru and the boys were surprised. The only thing that came to my mind in that moment was to run away.

"Momoko, wait!" Miyako called me, but I ignored her.

I just ran as fast as I could.

Kaoru's POV:

Maybe I was too hard on her, but someone must open her eyes at once. I didn't expect her to break her belt! The professor was checking it out after she left without saying a word.

"Can you fix it?" Yoshito asked the professor.

"Yeah, I-I mean, it's not broken, fortunately" he replied and laid his eyes on me, "Kaoru, you shouldn't have been so hard on her."

"I know, I know! I'm sorry, but someone had to say it!" I responded.

"So what now?" Yûsuke asked.

"Let's give her some time alone" the professor suggested.

"What about the mission?" Ryu asked.

"Go if you want. You have my permission" he answered.

"Great! Who's coming with me?" Ryu asked us.

"Me!" Yoshito exclaimed.

"Count me in!" Yûsuke raised his fist.

"I'll go with you" Miyako said.

"Kaoru?" Ryu questioned me.

"Fine" I shrugged.

Bubbles' POV:

"We're here" Buttercup told us once we reached the alley.

"Are you sure we're in the right place, Buttercup?" I asked her, terrified.

"Of course I am!" she snorted and knocked the door.

A few seconds later, someone opened the door. It was Ivy. She was surprised to see us all in there. She tried to close the door again, but Buttercup stopped it with her foot.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked us, trying not to look so scared.

"We have some unresolved pending issues" Buttercup responded her and pushed the door.

Ivy backed off to let us in. Soon, the rest of The Gangreen Gang appeared.

"Ivy! Why did you let them in?!" Bobby scolded her.

"We came for answers" Brick finally spoke.

"Lately that seems to be the only reason to have you here" Weevil crossed her tiny arms.

"And who are you?" Big Boy asked, glaring at Butch.

"We're The Rowdyruff boys. Does that name sound familiar to you?" Butch glared back to him.

"W-what? What are you talking about?!" Bobby asked in shock.

"Yes, Bobby. This are The Rowdyruff boys" Buttercup assured him.

"B-but-but... but that's impossible!" he exclaimed with disbelief.

"Why? What do you know?" Brick asked him while showing his weapon.

"N-nothing" Bobby backed off.

"What do you know about our disappearance?" Brick insisted, approaching the gang.

They were all being intimidated by us. I thought they were finally going to speak, but they didn't. Butch started to get impatient.

"Alright! I'm done with playing the good guy! Speak now or I'll cut your throat!" he yelled, full of rage.

The villains gulped.

"Listen, it's obvious to me you're hiding something! You better start speaking unless you want us to kick you butts!" Buttercup threatened them.

"What do you know about HIM?" Brick insisted.

"We-we don't know anything!" Bobby replied.

Buttercup raised her hammer over his head.

"We can't tell you anything! I swear!" Bobby yelled with desperation.

"What?" I stopped Buttercup.

"He threatened us not to say anything!" Weevil cried.

"He said he would hurt our families if we said anything about it!" Ivy added.

"If you said what?" Boomer asked.

"His plan" Big Boy said.

Buttercup lowered her hammer.

"He won't hurt your families, I promise. We will protect you and them. But first we need to know about his plan so we can stop him. Please" I told them.

They looked at each other, thinking about my offer.

"Okay, but you didn't heard it from us" Bobby warned us.

"Fine" Yüsuke accepted.

"So what happened with us?" Boomer asked.

"It was four years ago. We were playing some poker with the rest of the villains when he appeared. He was one of us, so we accepted to let him hang out with us. Suddenly, he started talking about this new plan of his. He was furious because he lost against The Powerpuffs, so he decided to steal the black z rays from all the villains of New Townsville to become stronger and more powerful. Of course we told him how insane his plan was and tried to face him, but he stole all our energy and threatened us. A few days later, we heard about The Rowdyruff boys disappearance. We were so terrified of HIM that we decided to hide here and stop causing trouble. Although now that we don't have powers, we can't do much" Bobby explained to us.

"That's so sad" I cleaned some tears from my eyes.

"But what about Mojo? Didn't he stole his powers?" Brick asked.

"Mojo wasn't here that day. I suppose Mojo isn't so valuable for HIM for some reason" Ivy shrugged.

"That doesn't explain how we ended up with an adoptive family either" Butch said.

"We don't know about that, sorry" Weevil admitted.

"But that does explain why your superpowers were gone" Buttercup told him.

"Yeah, but we're still so far from the truth" Boomer said in a sad tone.

I placed my hand on his shoulder to gave him some support.

"Alright, guys. We were never here, okay?" Buttercup told them and they all nodded, "let's get back to the lab."

Third Person's POV:

A few minutes later, The Puffs arrived to the professor's lab to explain what they discovered.

"If what the villains said is true, the whole New Townsville is in grave danger!" Ken said.

"Indeed, Ken! If HIM has so much accumulated energy it means that he is even more powerful than before!" the professor said.

"What are we gonna do?" Bubbles asked.

"For now, keep training. Leave the rest to me. I'll make sure you're all prepare in time to face HIM" the professor answered.

The kids nodded. They all trusted Professor Utonium, but they were also worried. They didn't feel prepare to face HIM yet. They transformed back into their regular forms and headed outside to talk before leaving.

"What now?" Yoshito asked.

"We have to be prepare in time to face HIM" Yûsuke closed his fist.

"I wish Momoko was here" Miyako lowered her head.

"Yeah, me too" Kaoru admitted.

"Me too" Yoshito said.

"Yeah" Ryu shrugged.

"Did you missed me?" they heard a voice behind their backs.

"Momoko!" Miyako exclaimed and jumped to hug her, "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Momoko! I-I-!" Kaoru said, still shocked, but then sighed and spoke in a serious tone, "I'm sorry for everything I told you, it wasn't my intention to make you feel bad. It was never my intention that you leave."

"No, I regret that I have distanced myself from all of you. I've been thinking better these past few days and I think I owe you an apology, especially to you, Yûsuke. I'm sorry, for everything I did. Would you forgive me?" Momoko said, containing her tears.

Yûsuke was surprised to hear those words coming from her, but it also made him happy.

"Of course we forgive you!" Miyako and Kaoru exclaimed and they all hugged each other.

Seconds later, Momoko separated from her friends and approached Yûsuke slowly. Suddenly, she hugged him. Yûsuke's heart leapt with happiness. He didn't want that hug to ever end, but he pretended not to be excited. Momoko was also happy, but her feelings for him were different. She didn't see him in a romantic way.

"Great! Now that we're all back together we should celebrate!" Miyako exclaimed, interrupting their moment.

"To Sakurako's place!" Kaoru exclaimed.

************************************

Few! Fortunately Momoko is back to the team and also Miyako! Now that they finally founded out about HIM's plan everything seems to be getting better and better! Still, there's another mystery to solve! What happened to The Rowdyruff boys four years ago? Who are their parents and where did they came from? Will they be prepared in time to face HIM? Add this story to your reading list to find out on the next chapter! Don't forget to vote and leave your comment!