Author's Notes:

First, I would like to thank those who have read and posted reviews for Gauntlet: Crucible and Gauntlet: Lies! 'CnC makes my day!' I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it continues...

And now, the third installment in the 'Gauntlet' series (yes, they are gradually diminishing in size) ... But first, a rehash of characters - The Powerpuff Girls are largely the same... Blossom has her confidence back, but it is tempered by the fact that she still allows Brick to take overall command. Buttercup's insecurity is waning, but being replaced by a sort of need for vindication (from her own enemies, oddly), and her impulsiveness is also tempered by the experiences of the past. Bubbles is the most stable and untraumatized of the group (except for the nightmares she had for a time and still think about). She also feels a sort of obligation (and pity) towards the Rowdyruffs, and especially Boomer, who she 'killed.'

Other characters, notably the Professor, Mojo and Miss Bellum, will be further elaborated on as the story continues.

The three big ones that need to be put down are the Rowdyruffs themselves. So, to put things together, I wrote up three character descriptions for them containing a good deal of information, but no real spoilers (95 of it is stuff you could pick up and know from reading the last two parts of the story).

-The Character Analysis-

Name
Brick

Persona
Brick is the leader of the Rowdyruff boys, and the mastermind behind the majority of current events. He is a cold and heartless individual, who cares only for himself and his brothers, and feels no direct moral imperative towards others who do not benefit him in some way. He carries deep psychological scars from his death and 'rebirth' (Revelation), and with them a heavy sense of responsibility. He is manipulative, and when not in control of a situation, his anger begins to break the surface. Brick intrinsically dislikes others, as well as the secrets he feels obliged to keep bottled up.

Strengths
Brick is highly intelligent and keenly aware of his surroundings. His foresight and ruthlessness are both a great strength and flaw. Physically, Brick is not especially strong, fast, or powerful, but he possesses an excellent sense of timing and execution on and off the battlefield.

Flaws
Brick's confidence borders on supreme arrogance, at times, and his ruthlessness can easily alienate others. His sense of responsibility and obligation also translates to a habitual inability to tell the total truth, and to keep information that would weaken his position and himself from even his closest associates - his own brothers. Mentally, Brick's lack of empathy and inability to truly love or trust another person, coupled with his perfectionism and avoidance (fear) of emotional bonding can be interpreted as both a growing psychosis and a symptom of an abusive and neglected childhood.

Ability
Brick is an absolutely deadly fighter. He tends to avoid being struck, luring and leading his opponent and reading their moves, before striking quickly and decisively. His passive style is the perfect counter to aggressive attacks, and coupled with his patience and experience, it makes him a unique and dangerous opponent able to hold his own against those far more powerful than himself. Of all the Rowdyruff Boys, Brick is the only one willing to follow through an attack with an actual act of murder, should he deem it appropriate. Brick's 'special ability' is the ability to project and control an intense swath of flame in a column, or around his body, as a shield.

Relationship
Brick's relationship towards the Powerpuff Girls is complicated. He both loves and hates them, for conflicting reasons. More importantly, in his mind, they are an integral part of his plans for the future. Through this reasoning, he is willing to work with them, or more accurately, have them work for him. Towards Blossom, he sees both competition, and the potential for a co-conspirator with which he can finally divulge his secrets. This clashes sharply with his ability to trust, his need to keep secrets, and his contempt towards others.

Name
Butch

Persona
Butch is the muscle in the Rowdyruff Boys, and he is also the most 'normal' of them. Butch is a fighter, first and foremost, and he is proud of that station. Unlike his brothers, who are both innately deceitful (Brick lies to others, Boomer lies to himself), Butch is in touch with who he is, and honest with himself and others. He sees planning and cunning as a substitute for honest strength, and the Test of One against Another.

Strengths
Butch is strong. 'Butch is the strongest there is.' The brunette Rowdyruff is an avid lover of boxing, kickboxing, and other brutal pugilistic arts, and he constantly hones his body to be as powerful as possible. He is also quite intelligent, but not in the mindset of a schemer or planner - rather, he has more 'street smarts.' Butch's raw power serves him well, and he can easily work himself up into an anger-induced fury. Butch has the potential to be a leader, but not the patience or perseverance. He is akin to a 'good soldier,' more than willing to follow Brick's orders to the letter, even if they trouble him, or even if he doesn't know the reasoning behind them.

Flaws
Butch is honest with himself, but that doesn't mean he likes what he sees in the mirror. While the most brutal and vicious of the Rowdyruffs, at heart, Butch is also a loner and a dreamer, who looks for another way to walk, separate from Brick's guidance. This leads to an obsession with his physical appearance and hygiene, as well as a craving for passion and intensity in situations and feelings. Naturally, Butch likes his food hot, and his showers hotter: the better to burn away the acts and actions of the day. His pride often keeps him quiet, but when he talks, Butch often does so with a dirty mouth, a counterpoint to his always-neat appearance.

Ability
Butch is incredibly strong, and very skilled, though not particularly fast. He is the slowest fighter on the RRB team, but compensates when he gets up close and personal with his opponent. A master of the grapple, once he gets his hands on an opponent, it is child's play (literally) to snap that target in two. Butch is also fond of throwing very heavy things "hella far." Unlike his brothers, Butch does not play with his opponent, and he does not believe in holding back. Butch will always fight at full strength, and with the objective of ending a fight as quickly and efficiently as possible - he does not really derive joy from battle, only a sense of release and professionalism. He does not kill, however. Butch's 'special ability' is a form of body hardening that magnifies his ability to take and resist energy (kinetic or otherwise).

Relationship
Butch doesn't particularly 'like' any of the Powerpuff Girls. To him, Bubbles is too oblivious and naive, Blossom is too demanding and overbearing, and Buttercup is too much of a tomboy. Of them, he prefers the company of Buttercup, with whom he can talk and relate.

Name
Boomer

Persona
Boomer appears to be a happy-go-lucky character. Quick with a smile, and not particularly mean spirited, he seems to be the perfect Rowdyruff counterpart to Powerpuff Bubbles. A deeper look, however, shows inconsistencies. Boomer is always quick with a joke, but the joke is always mocking and hurtful, aimed to anger and inflame. He seems to be the most likely of the Boys to get along with others, and yet he prefers to spend time alone. Of all the Boys, Boomer was most deeply traumatized by his death, and unlike Brick, never experienced a Revelation as to what happened to them. Boomer's kindness and outgoing personality are constantly at war with the darkness that lurks just under his skin. It is a conflict that even he is not completely aware of, but manifests itself in a sort of self-loathing that few get any hint of.

Strengths
Boomer's greatest strength is his generality. He is not as strong or skilled as Brick or Butch, but he is notably faster, and possessed of a keen wit. His taunts and speed serve to infuriate his opponents, leaving them open for his attacks. Boomer prefers to fight at range than up close and personal, whereas Butch greatly prefers fighting up close, and Brick has no real problem with either. Of normal intelligence, Boomer can easily lead an opponent to underestimate him, which, of course, was the idea in the first place. Boomer is also highly observant and sensitive to the moods and actions of those around him, though he normally pretends not to care.

Flaws
Boomer's greatest flaw, besides his lack of social graces and big mouth, is his fear. Boomer constantly tries to keep together his immediate family (Brick, Butch, Mojo, and himself), and deeply desires something approaching a more normal life. Despite Brick's words, he silently feels unloved and unwanted, and sometimes falls into deep bouts of depression when alone. In battle, his stress atavism can lead him to snap under dire circumstances when his greatest fear - death - becomes untenable.

Ability
Boomer is a master of the dodge and weave, but at heart, he isn't a fighter. He is not a specialist in any particular feature of combat besides speed, and doesn't really revel in the causing of violence, though he enjoys outsmarting and outmaneuvering his opponents. Secretly, he plays the piano and sings very well - he is the only Rowdyruff boy who is musically inclined. This is doubly odd, because he has no fingers...

Relationship
Boomer is deeply envious of the Powerpuff Girls, and the family they were created into. He also harbors a measure of resentment towards them for his death, but always fights not to think of things that happened in the past. Of the three Boys, he is closest to the Girls, sometimes watching them in school, but never really participating in any of the games. He derives some measure of satisfaction by vicariously living through them, and their lives, and is inwardly very bitter that he has to keep a certain distance from them and their happiness. In Bubbles, he finds both friend and confidant. While he enjoys teasing both Blossom and Buttercup, he feels more comfortable around the former than the latter.

Now, to the fic!

Like a good communist, I own nothing.

"Gauntlet: Pain"
Part 1

June 2

The Doctor was a harsh looking man, his head and face scoured of any trace of hair. The Laboratory was typically immaculate, and white suited assistants and colleagues roamed its open expanse quietly, going about their business. The catwalk suspended over the labs gave Burnsday and his associates a superb view of everything below them.

"The information we procured from the Jackal was of tremendous aid, as you will soon see." The Doctor gave the little tour group that he was leading a wiry grin. "Our technology has progressed one, perhaps two, full generations."

"It better have been." A shrill voice from the youngest of the group made the Doctor wince. "It cost enough."

"I... want to see some return for this investment." A deep base rumble echoed the other voice's concerns. "I am not running a charity."

"With the fusion we've brought together, how can there not be a fruitful return?"

Burnsday lolled his head to the side of the railing. Down below, he was watching a rather attractive woman in a lab coat toting some sort of weapon. Which of the two got his attention was unclear.

"Mr. Morebucks. Miss Morebucks. This way."

The Doctor left out the mercenary in their midst, but Burnsday was hardly offended enough to make light of it. The Doctor led them down a flight of steps, to a large open area: a weapons testing range, currently silent. Handing from one side, a certain something caught and kept Burnsday's eye.

"Ah. You've repaired it!" He said, and walked up to the separate sections of body armor. They weren't exactly in the same shape that they had been when he'd first gotten them from Professor Utonium, and the fact that they'd undergone a fair degree of modification was obvious.

"We've improved on it." The Doctor corrected him, with a somewhat contemptuous sneer. "After the damage it took, we had to almost reconstruct it from scratch. This provided us with an opportunity to better study the design and components. The resulting melding of our technology with Utonium's and that recently acquired is far more efficient, versatile and durable than the... modified model we had built previously. As per our agreement, no expense has been spared, however, there has been a minor setback..."

"What?" Mr. Morebucks asked. "Given the money spent..."

"Money, unfortunately, cannot solve every problem." The Doctor's sharp eye cut off the indignant younger Morebucks' child, who seemed about to contradict him. "Especially a technical problem."

"Which is?" Burnsday pressed, growing somewhat concerned.

"We... could not replicate Chemical X." The Doctor admitted, and adjusted his shirt nervously. "The Synthetics we also attempted to engineer from the sample given to us were not stable in any way. Chemical X is... rather unique. Rather unusual. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it."

"How can that be?" Princess Morebucks finally spoke up. "That monkey could make it, and he's... he's poor!"

"Mojo Jojo... also has it coursing through his veins. He is a sample of the Chemical, in a way." The Doctor closed his eyes and frowned. "He also has a point of reference and far more experience with the Chemical. Regardless, the problem has not been solved - our supply of Chemical X is incredibly low."

"I need that Chemical to be effective, Doctor." Burnsday realized he was starting to breathe heavily, another sign of the withdrawal he was suffering from. He'd been bailed out of jail quickly enough, but the lack of Chemical X was starting to make him nervous and impatient. His skin was scratchy, and his fingernails had turned black. He'd seen medical doctors about what was happening to him, but they couldn't pin down the problem.

It was X.

He needed it. His body was screaming for it.

Just a drop, directly into the bloodstream - that was all he needed. Then he'd feel the power rush through his veins. The world would be like slow motion; the universe would feel almost malleable. It felt like a slice of godhood, and simply losing that was beyond horrible. Princess Morebucks had been exposed to the Chemical as well, but not in the same manner, and her partial symptoms were trivial: headaches, mostly. Burnsday shook his head, cleared his mind, and shook a fist at the Doctor.

"Without that Chemical, even with this suit... it won't be enough!" He growled.

"That is a situation to be remedied later." The Doctor seemed anxious to get off the Chemical X topic. "I know that you... all of you will be pleased by the advancements we've made, especially in the field of ballistics."

"Bullets?" Princess scoffed. "Bullets won't hurt the Powerpuff Girls ...or those stupid boys!"

The Doctor just smiled.

June 5

"You look very nice, Professor!"

"Why thank you, Blossom." The man in question fixed his tie. He was running a tad late. "You wouldn't happen to have my..."

"Hat?" Blossom reached behind her, and handed it to him.

"Thanks. Now, you three listen to your babysitter while I'm gone." He talked while heading for the door. Buttercup and Bubbles were already there, holding it open for him. "I don't want to hear any horror stories when I get back, ok Buttercup? The Mayor should be here in a few minutes."

"Ok, Bye!" The three girls intoned, waving, as he drove off.

Closing the door, Buttercup continued to look out warily.

"I wish we could follow. Find out who he's seeing," She grumbled, arms crossed.

"Just some colleagues." Blossom shrugged.

"A collie?" Bubbles asked.

"Colleague. People he works with." Blossom explained enthusiastically. "College friends and stuff."

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "We all know how well it went the last time one of his college buddies dropped in."

Before Blossom could say anything to the effect of that mess being as much their fault than anyone's, the doorbell rang at the same time someone started knocking. As she answered the door, Blossom quickly realized that the Mayor had weaseled his way out of babysitting them again. He always knocked - he just couldn't reach the doorbell. Opening the door with some measure of trepidation, her eyes widened when she saw who had dropped by.

"You again!" Blossom started.

"Mojo!" Bubbles continued.

"Jojo!" Buttercup finished.

"Yes. Once again it is I, Mojo Jojo - your babysitter." Mojo didn't seem as excited about the circumstances as he had last time.

"You've got a lot of b... a lot of guts trying this stunt again!" Buttercup barely caught herself and made a mental note that she'd been spending too much time with a certain three shady characters.

Mojo struck a pose, one hand forward, fingers splayed. "I didn't come alone! I am not doing this solo, because this time I brought reinforcements, I brought assistance, I brought..."

"The Rowdyruff Boys!" Brick, Boomer and Butch said, as one, and zipped out from out of view. They took three different poses next to Mojo. Brick was holding the bill of his cap and looking down with one hand out. Butch has changed out of his normal arms-crossed pose to a sort of 'in your face' rapesque pose. Boomer had ruffled up his hair, stuck his tongue out, and made himself out to look like someone caught in one too many mosh pits.

A moment of silence passed.

Blossom sighed. "Are you clowns going to stand there like that or come in?"

"We'll come in." Brick stood up straight as he said it. Boomer quickly started straightening out his hair and Butch went back to crossing his arms. Mojo just pushed past the girls and made himself at home on the couch.

"So this is the Utonium place?" Butch looked in, crossed the threshold, and nodded to himself. "Not a bad pad. TV could be bigger, though. Smells weird, too."

"Not everyone can afford an 84 inch television, you know. Especially when they PAY for it!" Buttercup had seen the Rowdyruff's TV. It was stolen, of course, in the sense that the Rowdyruff Boys had walked into a store and asked for it, and fearing for their lives and property, the people had handed it over.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Green eyes." Butch sat down on the couch next to Mojo. "So, what're you girls cookin' us for dinner? I could sure go for some Cajun style catfish!"

"Steak." Brick licked his lips. "Medium rare. Ohh... with a side of golden potatoes!"

"I'll have the..." Boomer rocked back and forth on his feet, thinking it over. "Do you have any pheasant or kangaroo dishes?"

"We're not cooking anything!!" Blossom raged. "If anything, Mojo or one of you should be cooking for us!"

"You three do not appreciate fine gourmet cuisine." Mojo flipped through the channels. "Your tastes are neither capable nor worthy of the delicate and exquisite flavors evoked by the cooking of Mojo Jojo! Immature..."

"I think they get the point, pops." Brick cut Mojo off. "We'll just order a pizza then. That more to your liking, Bloss?"

"Whatever." Blossom 'hmfed' and looked away.

"Sounds good." Boomer chuckled. "I'll have a 'triple meat threat.'"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Buttercup echoed.

"Eww." Bubbles didn't much enjoy the 'piles of meat' that Boomer and Buttercup liked.

"Hot peppers on mine. And I'll have some buffalo wings. Lots of wings." Butch nudged Mojo. "You gonna have Banana and anchovies again, pops?"

"Ugh!" Everyone groaned.

Mojo just snorted and ignored them. In a flash, Brick was out the door, crossing the city and suburbs in a blur of red light. In just under three minutes, he came back with twin armfuls of piping hot pizza. And wings. He was tempted to get the food locally, but the city simply had better food overall. By 'the city,' of course, he meant New York City.

"Dude!" Boomer greeted him. "What took so long?"

"My good brother, I had to fight off three different superheroes to get this food. I was shot at, blasted by some weird cosmic rays, and some big green thing tried to smash me into paste." Brick put the boxes down on the kitchen table. "Do NOT complain about it being late."

"Gotcha." Boomer started opening the boxes.

"FOOD!!" Butch yelled, and in a green blur he swept up the box of buffalo wings and a pizza pie. It quickly turned into a messy melee, as every one of them lunged for their food and threw their siblings aside in the search. Mojo's, in particular, got manhandled before he calmly walked by, picked it up, and went back to the couch.

He ate slowly while the orgy of violence and devouring of foodstuffs took place behind him. He wasn't particularly happy about being hooked with babysitting the terrible trio of Powerpuffs again. He wouldn't have done it at all, normally, but Brick had quickly decided that it was a golden opportunity to get into the Professor's Lab. Mojo didn't enjoy taking orders from his young former protégé, but for the moment it was necessary. Brick's words from almost a month ago had proven true under empirical study, and so he would play along. At the end, however, only one of them would walk out on top, and Mojo had been growing confident that that one could be him. Brick had outmaneuvered and outsmarted him once before, but as Mojo observed the boy more closely he started to see flaws that could be exploited in the future.

He wasn't out of the game just yet.

"Hell YES! That's some good ass hot wings! Eee... yah! You got any damn soy milk in this joint?"

"Butch! Watch your mouth!"

"What the hell are..."

"There is no cursing in this house!"

"Just yelling at the top of your lungs, right Red?"

"Shut up, Boomer!"

"Sassy! Me-ow, girlfriend! Don't claw my eyes out or nothin! OW! Hey, what's the idea?!"

"Stop being so mean!"

"Dude, Bubbles just smacked you. You're like a little bi..."

"I said no cursing!!"

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!!" Mojo roared, teeth gnashing and eyes flaring wide. All of them, except Brick, seemed totally surprised by the outburst. Mojo slowly deflated, calming down, and he caught Brick's eye motioning towards the Lab. Neither of them had forgotten why they'd come.

"Just... go upstairs and play. Something." Mojo hissed under his breath, and went back to watching his WW1 documentary on The History Channel. The death and destruction always helped soothe his nerves. Human tragedy in general always gave him a warm glowing feeling deep inside. And the banana and anchovy pizza was just wunderbar.

"Good idea pops." Brick agreed, and rallied the group. "Let's go."

Blossom was the only one to hesitate. She trusted Mojo about as far as she could throw Manhattan, and only a little less than Brick himself, but he seemed placated, and the mad monkey hadn't caused an incident in Townsville in almost a month. For that matter, there hadn't been a monster attack in that same timeframe. It had been, oddly, very quiet. She figured a lot of construction crews had likely been laid off in the little lull that the city was having.

"All right." She differed to Brick. As they floated upstairs, with what little food was left, Bubbles suddenly started laughing.

"Mwhat?" Buttercup asked her, mouth still full.

"Let's play 'Truth or Dare!'" She laughed. Brick frowned at the title, and Blossom noticed it.

"What a good idea!" Blossom seconded Bubbles' proposal. Inwardly, Brick was smiling as well. The game would provide an opportunity for gathering more information then revealing it. Of course, out of everyone, he had the most to hide, but he was also the best at hiding it.

"I dunno..." Buttercup grumbled.

"...It sounds kinda like a sissy game." Butch continued, also grumbling.

"We could always play the spin the bottle instead!" Boomer laughed. Brick and Butch quickly turned on him, glowering.

"Don't even think about it!" Butch growled.

"I'd rather not." Brick said, eyes narrow.

The three Rowdyruffs entered the Girls' room warily. Of them, only Boomer had seen it before. The blonde Rowdyruff had started spending more time with them, Brick knew, no doubt seeing them as a sort of surrogate family. It wasn't something that Brick had planned, but he'd let it continue without any dramatic confrontation. Boomer's loyalty to him, and to the Rowdyruffs, was absolute. Any attachment he felt for the Powerpuffs could be just as easily turned to resentment, if the need required.

"Ok! I'll start!" Bubbles looked across the rough circle they'd formed, and her eyes fell on Boomer. "Boomer, I choose you!"

"Pika?" Boomer piped up.

Butch groaned. "Was that really necessary?"

"I've got nothing to hide." Boomer smiled widely. "Truth."

"What... is your favorite color?"

Buttercup sighed loudly. "That is SO lame..."

"Hmm." Boomer cupped his chin. He was obviously deep in thought, and legs crossed, he slowly started to float into the air, looking much like a Zen master, deep in meditation.

"I think..." He said, after almost twenty seconds. "A metallic shade of Cobalt Blue, followed closely by hmm... Midnight Azure."

"So the answer is 'blue.'" Brick clarified.

"Yes. Essentially." Boomer got a wicked grin, and pointed to Buttercup. "Truth or Dare, B-Cup?"

"Truth." Buttercup answered, defiantly. "And don't call me that!"

"When was the last time you took a bath?" Boomer wafted his hand in front of his nose. Buttercup's scowl deepened.

"Well?" Boomer asked, chuckling.

"A... A week ago."

"DUDE!" "HOLY!" Its true." "Eww! What about yesterday?"

"I just left the water on..." Buttercup shook her head, defeated. "And dipped my towel in the sink."

"That's sick, man. Just sick." Butch inched away from her.

"Oh yeah?" Buttercup pointed at him. "When was the last time YOU took a bath?!"

"I've never taken a bath. But I took a shower before I came here." Butch answered, plainly. "I take a shower every morning to wake up, and every night before I go to sleep. My hair requires three different conditioners to stay healthy, so every other morning I alternate..."

"What conditioners do you use?" Blossom asked, actually interested. "It does have a very healthy glow."

"Oh, well, thank you." Butch smiled, pleasantly. It was an odd sight; especially given that normally he only smiled in a vicious and cruel manner seconds before pummeling someone. "To start with, I use a medium strength moisturizer to improve the body of the hair, then I focus on follicle nutrition, and..."

"Can we get back to the game, by any chance?" Brick made a big show of walking up to a snoozing Boomer and kicking him awake, before getting back to his spot next to Blossom.

"OH. Ok." Butch's smile slowly dissolved into a neutral frown, and he looked around. "Blossom! Truth or Dare?"

"This better not be a question about her hair." Boomer warned.

"Dare!" The Powerpuff Leader answered, boldly.

"Hmm. Ok. Dare... um... er... well... I can't really think of anything." Butch admitted, and frowned more deeply. Arms crossed, he waited for everyone to laugh at him.

"Dude." Brick leaned over. "It's not too tough. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you imagine her doing something?"

"Er..." Butch looked at Blossom intently. "Take off your..."

Buttercup quickly cut him off with a right hook. He fell backwards, holding his face. "What the bloody hell was that for?!"

"That's for being such a... sicko!" Buttercup snarled.

"I was going to say 'take off your bow,'" Butch explained, and slowly got back into a seated position. He got into Buttercup's face. "BUT some crazy LUNATIC decided to punch first and ask questions later!!"

"Ok, ok." Blossom reached up, and unclipped her red bow. She put it down in front of her with a flourish.

"OH my god!" Boomer gasped. "Red? Red, where are you?! She just... disappeared! It's a miracle... an ACT of GOD! I believe! I believe!! Tell it on the mountain!!"

"Ha. Ha." Blossom rolled her eyes. As was, perhaps, inevitable, she turned to Brick. "All right, you: Truth or Dare."

Brick smirked. "Truth or Dare... I think... Truth."

"You have to tell the truth now. Ok?" Blossom said, making sure he knew.

"Of course, of course. The truth, and just the truth."

"How come our kisses didn't defeat you guys?"

"You mean the second time around?" Brick leaned back a bit, a faint blush to his cheeks. Blossom looked around and saw that Boomer and Butch were blushing too, and trying to hide it.

"Yes," She pressed for the information. "Why didn't it work?"

"Well..." Brick began. "If you really want to know..."