Bubbles looked down at the drawings she had left abandoned. She realized what today's animal must have been. She was right from the beginning. Today was definitely a cat. A black cat. Now, Bubbles knew plenty of black cats, and liked them a lot. None of them ever brought her bad luck. Until now.
The Utonium Trials
is a The Powerpuff Girls fanfic by Ergoemos.
Four years have passed since the Powerpuff Girls were created yet the sisters have not grown an inch. This leaves them alienated amongst their peers. After the government becomes aware of the girls existence, their father Professor Utonium is arrested for creating them. The girls are then taken into custody and put on trial. Can it be proved that, in the end, they're just normal children trying to live average enough lives? Or are they inhuman dangers to society?
The Utonium Trials is a Powerpuff Girls tale set in a darker universe that deconstructs elements of the cartoon.
The Utonium Trials provides examples of:
- Acting Your Intellectual Age: Blossom deals with the frustration of being treated like a 5-8 year old when she is mentally an adult (and then some).
- Alliterative Family: Beatrice shares the "b" letter scheme with the girl's. She's, in essence, their mother.
- Alliterative Name: There's one character whose name has three "b"'s in a row: Beatrice/Bethany Behira Bedford.
- All of the Other Reindeer: The girls are bullied at school because they don't look a day over five, despite being in third grade.
- Ambiguously Human: The ambiguity of the girls species is a reoccuring theme. It comes up when Blossom is asked if she's a human or not. She is unable to answer it. It later turns out they were made with human DNA and thus do count as human.
- Bittersweet Ending: The legal charges are dropped, but Bubbles dies fighting off Him.
- Creepy Child: Due to their precociousness combined with the fact they still look like kindergartners, the sisters (especially Blossom) have gone past being Adorably Precocious Children and straight into "unnerving" territory.
- Deconstruction Fic: The Utonium Trials deconstructs the setting of the show, how the girls are treated, and the characters themselves.
- Escapism: Buttercup finds escapism in writing stories about a talented athlete who was left in crutches due to an accident. In Buttercup's case, this reflects her desire to be a normal kid.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Bubbles dies trying to stop Him from destroying the town, or worse.
- Limited Wardrobe: A reporter asks why Bubbles and her sisters almost never change clothes. Bubbles' answer is that they were born in their attire and that their clothes are ultra-resilient, thus they're the best choice for superheroes who can be asked to fight crime at any time.
- Named by the Adaptation: Professor's name is "Gary/John Utonium".
- Never Grew Up: The girls are unable to age past five. This led to ostracism and bullying in school. It also complicates things more when they're taken into custody for being Artificial Humans.
- Most Writers Are Writers: Buttercup secretly writes fanfics.
- Parental Title Characterization: The girls usually call their dad "the Professor" or "Professor". This is abnormal, so when forced to prove their normality, they're asked to use more conventional terms:
- Blossom switches to a more common (but still formal and mature) "Father".
- Bubbles, being The Cutie and the most childish of her sisters, uses both "Daddy" and "Dad".
- Buttercup is the "typical" middle ground between Blossom and Bubbles. She just uses "Dad".
- Precision F-Strike: Professor tells Blossom, "I know I am damned to hell for even thinking about sending Buttercup back to school." The fact he rarely curses is lampshaded afterwards.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Blossom is called "demon-eyed" more than once thanks to her abnormally red eyes.
- Sudden Name Change:
- Professor Utonium's name was originally "Gary" but was changed to "John".
- The girl's Missing Mom is either named "Beatrice" or "Bethany".
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: The main theme of the fic is where Artificial Humans stand in society and in the eyes of the law.
- Would Hurt a Child: In court, Buttercup is asked if she beats up five year olds often. She isn't seen as a child herself, so her answering "A few times?" is a strike against her.
