"Surely there’s been some sort of mistake…?”

“No. I’m afraid that there’s no account listed for ‘Ima Goodlady.’”

The white-haired beauty leaned over the counter, staring at the male teller with her large, emerald eyes. “Why would I lie to you? There has to be an account, I was sure I’d set one up…”

The teller, not wanting to disappoint the fine young lady, replied, “Well…Perhaps I should…er…go back to the safe and check personally…”

“That would be marvelous…” As he turned and left for the safe, the woman couldn’t help but wear an evil little smile, snug and tight on her face so that no one else could see it. In a few moments, the idiot would come back with what she wanted, and she would be off without a hitch. Yet another score for her. Silly men – to be persuaded so easily. They were, without a doubt, the inferior gender.

A few minutes later, the teller came back, glancing back and forth nervously. No one seemed to be paying much attention to what went on, even though he was holding a quite enormous bag – dollar sign posted clearly on its front. “Here’s your withdrawal, ma’am…”

“Thank you for being such a dear…”  The woman leaned over the counter, giving the teller a small peck on the cheek. With a definite, victorious strut, she turned and left, now drawing looks from others standing in line. But she continued nevertheless, smirking all the way to the door. Just a few more steps…

Upon exiting the Townsville bank, she wasted no time throwing off the hideous white wig and ripping the dress from its straps. Shaking her head back and forth, she let the tendrils that made up her hair have some well-deserved freedom. They seemed agitated. “Don’t worry, lovelies…Perhaps next time you can strangle a few worthless men…”

She stretched her legs, letting the fabric release itself from the cling on her skin. The red, revealing dress loosened, making the woman not only less clothed, but more attractive.

Unfortunately, she had gotten lost in her success. She had done all this right in front of the Townsville bank.

As a door flew open, she realized her mistake. But it was too late.

A man who didn’t even reach her waist in height ran out, clutching a bright red phone to his ears.

The woman cursed her absent-minded actions. Now the Mayor was onto her. And even though his brain was the size of a pea, it was who he was calling that frightened her the most.

* * * * *

Pokey Oaks Kindergarten had been relatively quiet for the entire day. Every student sat quietly, scribbling on the paper with their pencils.

The test had barely begun when the phone began to beep. The bright eyes on the front had a sort of glee to them, a subdued kind of masochistic pleasure from its nose blinking and its entire being vibrating.

Blossom reacted quickly, looking up from her paper and rushing over to the phone. Picking it up, she yelled, “What is it, Mayor?!”

“Blossom! Blossom! It’s terrible!” The voice on the other end, with its shrieking baritone quality, was none other than the Mayor of Townsville. He was short, bald, white-mustachioed, with a brain as big as he was tall – which wasn’t saying much. “Sedusa just robbed the bank, and she’s making off with the money!”

“Hold tight, Mayor, we’re on our way!” Blossom replied before slamming the phone back down (which, for some odd reason, caused the phone’s smile to grow wider). “Come on, girls!” she shouted at Bubbles and Buttercup. “We’ve gotta go -!”

“Not so fast, young ladies.”

All three turned to look at the woman addressing them. She was tall, with short black hair, and a stern-yet-concerned frown. “You have to stay here and finish your tests.”

“But, Ms. Keane!” Blossom protested. “Sedusa’s robbing a bank!”

“You’ll have plenty of time to catch her after you’ve finished,” came the teacher’s response.

Grumbling, Blossom retook her seat next to Bubbles. When Ms. Keane looked away, she whispered to her sister, “Let’s just write down answers and get out of here.”

“Blossom, we can’t do that…!” Bubbles, the blond, pig-tailed sensitive one, gasped in disbelief. “We have to do this test right, or the Professor will be disappointed. And I don’t want to make the Professor disappointed in us again.” Blossom knew all too well what had happened the last time – funny that that one involve Sedusa as well.

Muttering nonsensical frustration to herself, the redheaded leader of the Powerpuff Girls stared at her test.

What was 3 + 3…?

* * * * *
Sedusa thanked her lucky stars and good looks that the Townsville bank was located right next to a vast forest. She pumped her fist as she escaped into the green lush, leaping through bushes until she was sure no one would be able to follow her trail.

Laughing, she stopped. Her hair opened the bag tenderly, and she stared at a mass of hundred dollar bills. There were too many to count, and Sedusa’s eyes lit up. With this loot, she’d never have to resort to crime again. With this amount, she could retire to a lavish house far away from the dregs of Townsville. Somewhere like Beverly Hills was more to her liking.

The more she contemplated her early retirement, the more she lost focus. Clutching bills in her greedy hands meant she had no way to defend herself if someone were to sneak up on her. Hearing the rolling waves of Malibu meant she didn’t hear the soft yet audible crunching of twigs near her.

By the time she knew what was happening, she was unable to stop it. Someone had clutched her from behind, and she could only give a small shriek as she was sent flying away from the sack full of money.

Landing with a hard thud on the ground, she brushed off her cheek and got to her feet, swaying slightly from the impact. When she could see clearly, she focused on the person who had thrown her.

It was a man, not much older than herself (meaning he was in his early 20’s). He had shoulder-length, jet black hair with a glossy shine. That same shine was in his eyes, light green like mint leaves. He wore a sort-sleeved black shirt – nothing but black – and long blue jeans. He was very professional-looking. Upon further investigation, Sedusa saw he had two wristbands that…were those things metal? They had to be, as they gleamed.

Sedusa took a step forward. “Who…who are you?”

The man smiled. “Just someone who happened to be out for a walk in the woods. Or you could call me a lucky man, because not many men get to see an angel.” Sedusa’s cheeks, at this point, went the same color as her outfit. She put a hand to her mouth, chuckling slightly.

“But, you know, you did steal all that money.”

“What’s it to you, gorgeous?” Sedusa put on her innocent girl face. She made her eyes fill with tears, and her voice warble. “You…you wouldn’t…wouldn’t turn me in, would you?”

“You? Never,” the man said. “But I can’t allow you to keep that stolen money. Such a shame – though it could do nothing to enhance your beauty.” Once again, Sedusa felt herself blush.

“Sorry, hun, but I’m not going to allow anyone – even you – to stop me. I worked hard to steal this money, and I deserve to keep it!” She leapt at the man, her hair brandishing itself. The man braced himself for the impact.

It never came. Sedusa landed in front of him, her long tentacles going the rest of the distance. He was surprised, and let his guard drop. Because of this error, he was sent flying back into a nearby tree.

There wasn’t a sign of pain on his face – instead, it resembled more of annoyance. Inconvenience.

He got to his feet, rubbing away dirt that had flown up, wiping away the small bit of sap that had found its way onto his shirt. When that was finished, he almost flew at Sedusa, shaking his head. Perhaps in disappointment.

As Sedusa’s hair began to catch up with him, he snapped his fingers on both hands. Golden blades flew out of the wristbands. Each one was short, but the attacking woman got the feeling they were sharp. Instinctively, she pulled away, jumping out of the path of the man’s attack.

Rolling on the ground, she stopped on her stomach. Rolling back over, she found her nose at the tip of a gold blade. She stopped moving, and, momentarily, stopped breathing. Her eyes fixed onto the sharp tip of the blade, then to its owner – the man she’d been battling with. His face was slightly red, from a bit of tiredness.

Her face, on the other hand, was flushed.

“You’re not going to…You wouldn’t hit a lady!”

The man smiled, and slightly withdrew the blade. “Of course I wouldn’t. Especially not you.”

Sedusa felt her heart beat faster, but couldn’t tell if it was leftover from the short, but intense, fight. She breathed heavily.

“Run now.”

“What?”

The man brought the blades back into the wristbands – they retracted. He crossed his arms, saying, “The Powerpuffs are sure to arrive at any moment. I’ll let a beautiful woman like you go, but I’m not so sure they’ll give the same offer.”

Shaking her head, Sedusa realized how much sense this made. Getting to her feet, shakily, she turned to retreat. But something stopped her. Spinning her head around, she said, “Before I go…I absolutely must know your name.”

The man smiled, and a breeze floated through the forest. It blew through his hair. “My name’s Blade. And you are?”

“Sedusa.” That was the only answer she gave, before she quickly fled into the expanse of trees.

Not three minutes after, there was a multi-color beam of light that zoomed right past Blade. It stopped at the bag of money.

When the beam subsided, it revealed three little girls. They were bent over the bag, examining it. They muttered amongst each other, before getting to their full height. Each turned to face Blade, odd expressions on their faces. “Who’re you?” The one wearing green asked rather bluntly.

“Buttercup, don’t be rude!” Bubbles said.

“Um…” Blossom raised her hand. “Did you happen to see someone coming through here?”

The man was emotionless, his face lacking in expression. His eyes stared dully at her, not moving, not blinking. “No, I didn’t.”

“She has long hairs that are kind of like octopus tentacles, and she wears a red and fishnet dress. Kinda form-fitting. That doesn’t ring a bell?”

“Can’t say that it does.” The man immediately fell silent after answering.

“Then what about this bag of money?”

“It was already here when I got here. Just a minute ago.”

Blossom muttered under her breath. “Well, thanks anyway.” She turned to the other two. “We’ve got the money back. Let’s get it to where it belongs, girls!” Buttercup picked up the sack, and the Powerpuff Girls flew off.

When they gone, Blade smiled to himself. Whistling softly, he, too, turned and left.

* * * * *

Sedusa sat alone in her hideout. She bit her lip. She absolutely had to know more about this Blade person! Even in her thoughts, he didn’t leave her alone. Even in her entire body, he was all that was thought of.

And she began to formulate a plan. A plan that would surely result in him coming again.

Sedusa smiled evilly. No man on Earth was resistant to her feminine wiles. And she was going to use that her advantage.