A/N: Yo! This is a revision of the story, "A Brighter Future and a Better Life" by King of Ramen. The story has been on the site since 2008 or so, and I finally decided to come back to it. You got it, folks. It's-a-me! King of Ramen! Under my new pename, King of Infinite Space, I intend to revisit my old story and make it into something awesome. I hope that you guys like the new writing style I've adopted as I've grown these past several years. It's been a hectic time for me. School, got married, dad died, and some other junk. Anyway, enough about me! This story will eventually blossom (Tee-hee!) into a romance between Brick and Blossom. I'm not exactly sure how that's going to happen yet, but it will. Also, this story is not for the faint of heart. Buttercup and Bubbles are dead in this time-line. I mean really and truly dead and gone. They're not coming back, no one is going to meet their ghost, and there's not going to be a flashback. They're just not in this story because they are stone cold dead. I don't hate them, it's just how things went when I was writing this. That's it for me! Enjoy the story! (Leave a review? Flames and praise welcome in equal measure. )

Brick found himself pondering the meaning of his existence, while he and his two brothers burst through the glass display window in the front of Electric Dreams. The store had just opened last week and Boomer, the blonde airhead, had seen a massive plasma screen that he just had to have. So, here they were, breaking and entering for the hundredth time in their criminal careers. Boomer went straight for the T.V. on display, instead of taking one still in the box.

Brick heaved a mighty sigh, his broad shoulders slumping downward and his arms drooping at his sides. The red-haired villain shook his head from side to side, his long ponytail swinging back and forth through the air. He really did think of his brother as an idiot, sadly, but he did care enough not to tell him so. Well, at least most of the time.

Boomer had a huge grin on his face, his eyes sparkling with excitement from both the robbery and the new T.V. Brick had almost forgotten about the clerk behind the counter and hadn't seen any of the sales assosciates anywhere in the store. Just as he began to grow suspicious, he saw something that he wished he hadn't. Blossom, the red-haired bitch, was standing behind the counter with a bemused expression on her face.

Brick had to admit, if only to himself, that she looked pretty when she wasn't chasing him and his brothers through the city. He had to wonder how she could of known that they would rob this place, but then, she'd always been 'the smart one.'

"Hey, boys. So, you were planning to pay for that, right?" Her voice was lilting and melodic, and it was all Brick could do to just shake his head in a negative response. Of course they weren't planning to pay for it, but she knew that. Brick's dumbfounded expression and sudden halt eventually managed to get the attention of Butch.

The dark-haired and muscular teenaged boy let his emerald gaze move slowly from Brick's shocked expression. He tracked his leader's line of sight until his eyes landed on Blossom. Immediately, he released a frustrated scream of anger before shouting at her. "You bitch! How did you know?! You always know!" Butch was clenching his fists and his thick arms shook with rage and tension from his coiled muscles.

Boomer, always late on the uptake, finally realized who it was that Brick and Butch were looking at. His cerulean orbs grew comically large on his rounded face as he stared at something that, to his mind, should be impossible. There was a long and pregnant pause that followed, but was broken by Boomer. Blossom's red gaze had gone from bemused and playful, and was now hard and unflinching as steel. "That's not fair, man! No way! No way she knew! We even waited a whole week, just to make sure!" Boomer whined pitifully, like a spoiled child being denied what they so desperately craved.

Brick zipped his red windbreaker up over his simple white tee and set his mouth in a grim and determined line. He turned his head slightly so that he could look behind him with his peripheral while still keeping an eye on Blossom. "Butch. Boomer. Run." They ran. More to the point, they took flight. Streaks of light lingered in the air from their travel, a dark green and a deep blue, before dissipating seconds later. Blossom began to shake her head slowly from side to side, a smirk growing upon her soft, pink lips. Was that gloss? Brick wasn't sure, but he was certain that the next few minutes were going to be very painful.

"Oh, Brick... You know you can't take me on your own. I'm going to beat the snot out of you, and then I'm going to kick the crap out of your stupid brothers." Blossom spoke with an ease and confidence that chilled Birck to his core, then stepped out from behind the glass counter, taking her time and moving with a casual grace. She was dressed in the usual manner, which was a sexy red number with a plunging neckline and a hem that only just made it a few inches below her hips. Of course, she was sensible enough to wear some black leggings under it. Further down her long, toned thighs and strong calves, she wore black Mary Jane's on her dainty feet.

Motion caught Brick's attention and snapped him out of his daze, a curling finger that indicated he should look up. Flushed red with embarrassment, the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys quickly brought his crimson eyes back up to meet Blossom's own. A coy smile pulled at the corners of her lips, and for a moment, he thought she would let it slide. It was the casual nature of the encounter that had put him at ease, making him think that maybe he could talk his way out of this. "Look, Red... I just want to say that this wasn't my idea. It's all Boomer's fault. I was just-"

Blossom cut him off suddenly, her voice taking a quick turn toward sharp and cold. "Taking care of your brothers, right? Just like you guys took care of them?" There were tears forming in the corners of Blossom's big eyes, and Brick knew they were not tears of pain or sadness. These were tears of rage, as only women can make them. Blossom leaned forward slightly, then was gone. In the next instant, faster than Brick's eyes could follow, the red-headed wonder was right in front of him.

"Shi-" Brick didn't even manage to utter the entire curse before her fist collided with his abdomen. Brick released a massive whoosh of air from his lungs, spittle flying from his lips. Brick, in that brief moment, wondered if she might kill him this time. In that single blow, Blossom had decisively declared her dominance in this fight.

Blossom wasn't completely in her right mind, her normally calculating personality overided by her rage and her pain. Bent at the waist with her right fist buried in Brick's stomach, it was an easy thing for her to spin about on her heels and deliver an upward arcing roundhouse to Brick's chin as she rose. Brick was lifted into the air and off his feet, slamming up through the ceiling of the store and high into the air above the city. The impact into his chin would have taken a human's head from their body, but Brick was no human.

Brick could, however, taste blood, and he knew right away that he was missing a tooth, if not several. She'd never hit him that hard before it had happened. That fateful day had changed everything in the city of Townsville. Brick found himself still sailing through the air, his back facing the ground, when Blossom seemed to materialize from thin air in front of him. He knew she hadn't teleported only because of the loud boom that followed almost immediately after her appearance. She was just that fast. Blossom flipped forward through the air above him, and her heel came down into his sternum in a high-arcing moonkick that sent him crashing into the ground at incredible speed. The very pavement gave under the force of his landing, a crater forming around him so deep that he could not be seen at the bottom of it until he pushed the rubble off himself.

By the time he had moved the half-ton slab of asphalt off himself, Blossom was already hovering over him. Her arms were folded under her large bust, heaving them upward a little. He would of admired the view further, but Blossom was far from finished. Her eyes began to glow with power, the red light becoming brighter and brighter. Even under the noon-day sun, Brick felt that her eyes put the daylight to shame. This was to be his sentence. Only in death, could Brick atone for the sins of his murderous brothers. The red-haired male closed his eyes and released a long, choking sigh. Blood poured from his lips and down his chin. "Do it." Long gone was the arrogant, cocky tone he once held in every word. Now he sounded ragged, beaten, and lost in self-pity and despair.

Brick waited and waited, searing agony arcing through his entire body as he laid in the rubble of his future grave. He waited for the sensation of burning. He waited for the finishing blow. Instead, what followed was the most shocking moment of his entire life. "I can't." Blossom whispered. Despite all her rage and her deep despair at the loss of what she once held so dear, she could not bring herself to finish him. Blossom, unlike Butch and Boomer, would not kill. "I want to... I just can't." Brick, cautiously, opened one eye.

Blossom was crying. More than that, she was openly weeping in silence. Deep sobs wracked her body, causing her to shake visibly. She held in her cries of anguish and emotional turmoil, but only just. Brick, unsure of what to do, could only watch in awe. Finally, after several tense seconds, he managed to stand himself up. His red jogging pants were ripped to shreds from the knees down and his windbreaker was little more than a smattering of rags over his white tee-shirt. He was bleeding in several places over his body, and in one case, quite severely. Brick turned his attention, slowly, from the weeping heroine to his left arm. There was a piece of steel rebar buried in his upper arm, piercing all the way through.

Brick grunted as the extreme pain of his injuries suddenly caught up with him and he swooned. Black spots danced in his vision and his knees quivered. He thought that surely he would black out at any second, but the supervillian was not one to give up easily. Blossom's eyes were closed as she wept, tears pouring down her cheeks and running off her chin. Her fists were still clenched tightly at her sides, so Brick felt uneasy about what he was going to do. Still, he knew he had to do it. If he didn't, who would?

Blossom's weeping halted suddenly and her breath hitched in her chest. Warmth flooded her core as two strong arms wrapped around her upper body. She felt herself being pulled forward, and her eyes opened to see what was happening. Brick slipped his arms fully around the teenaged girl in front of him and, finding no resistance yet, pulled her firmly against his chest. He grunted in pain as the steel rebar in his arm poked against Blossom's side. He wanted to lower his arm, but he couldn't afford the risk. "Brick... What?" Blossom muttered quietly, her voice soft and child-like in her dazed state.

Brick didn't answer her, but instead moved his good arm upward until his hand was able to rest against the back of her head. His hands slipped into her dark red locks, so lusterous and perfect, and he cradled the broken-hearted girl against him. He could feel her breasts pressed to his muscular, hard chest. He could feel her heartbeat and the rise and fall of her breathing. The entire city seemed to go quiet in that moment, frozen in time. "Blossom... I'm sorry." Brick spoke so quietly that if Blossom didn't have her super hearing, she would of missed it.

Blossom stopped breathing. She found suddenly that she had forgotten how to perform even the most basic life functions at that particular moment. Her mind, however brilliant, went blank. The lack of any response didn't last long. To the shock of the teen boy holding her against him, Blossom didn't yell, scream, kick, punch, or laser him with her eyes. The lonely, broken girl could only lift her hands and grab at his shirt. She held the fabric tightly in her fists and while her tone was angry, it seemed not to be directed precisely at him. "You didn't do it. They did it. Those bastard brothers of yours... They... They took my sisters from me!" Blossom wailed that last word, her cry long and keening. Once again, she fell apart into wracking sobs and a seemingly endless stream of tears.

Brick shook his head and Blossom could feel the motion, even as she buried her face in his chest, letting his shirt soak up her tears. "I didn't kill them myself, but that doesn't make me any less responsible. I should of stopped them. I should of realized how far they were taking things, before it got out of hand. I'm their leader. It's my job to keep them under control. I should of tu-"

For the third time that afternoon, Brick was interrupted. This time, he wasn't silenced with words, but by Blossom's sudden iron grip on his throat. Her eyes were burning with fury and hatred, and Brick finally understood, just a little, what it was that she was going through. With ease unexpected of her slender frame, she lifted the boy by his throat until his red sneakers were held above the ground. "I should kill them both. You don't quite deserve to die, but they do. You're going to tell me where they are hiding, Brick. I already know that you will. Save yourself some pain, and just tell me now."

Brick's dark red eyes widened as he looked into her lighter red gaze and saw murder. He recognized the look as soon as he saw it, because he'd seen that same look on Butch's face on several occasions, and once in Boomer. Brick tried to speak, but found that Blossom's grip was too tight. Actually, he wasn't breathing so good either. Brick found, with some amount of panic, that he couldn't even cough or gag. Blossom was already crushing his windpipe, and while he could hold his breath for a lot longer than a human, he couldn't hold out forever. Blood was still dripping from his mouth and his left arm, and once again he began to see spots in his vision.

Blossom dropped the boy to the ground, watching him crumple into a pathetic heap at her feet. Her rage made her strong, but she knew she wouldn't kill Brick. She didn't have it in her to kill, with two exceptions that would soon be dealt with. Brick surprised her, however, when he spoke against her. She'd always thought him to have a very self-serving nature. "Blossom... Shit..." He coughed a couple of times, and blood spattered onto her legs from his kneeling positon at her feet. He looked up at her, wincing in pain as he spoke. "Blossom, no. You can't. Once you kill someone, it only gets easier. You'll start to think of it as a permanent solution to your problems. First them, then Him for bringing us back? Maybe Mojo after that? He created us, so why not? Maybe next you'll kill the Proffessor? He made Mojo. Is it his fault too, then?"

Blossom held her peace, surprisingly, until Brick paused in his attempt at reasoning. Her eyes still shone like two hard and unforgiving rubies. Her red bangs shaded her eyes slightly as she looked down at the teen now at her mercy, making her look even more menacing and dark. "No, Brick. Just them. They're the only ones that deserve to die."

Brick, angered by the threat against his brothers, stood up and glared at her with fierce determination, despite his condition. "If you want them, you'll have to go through me. They're my brothers. You'd do the same if you were me." Brick nodded once, as though to agree with his own words. Unfortunately for Brick, that nod threw off his equilibrium. His head swam and his vision blurred. The spots returned with a vengeance and he swayed a bit on his feet.

Blossom knew he was losing too much blood. It wasn't life-threatening just yet, but it would be soon. She watched him sway on his feet and saw his lids fall half-closed. The whites of his eyes showed for just a bare half of a second, but he recovered through sheer will-power alone. Blossom watched, slightly impressed, as he fought off the darkness clouding the edges of his vision. He was already beaten, but still he refused to give her what she demanded. How much more would his body tolerate before he lost consciousness? The red-headed girl wasn't sure, but felt that it wouldn't be much. She almost laughed at the absurdity of his actions. "Brick... Just tell me. I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have. You need to go the hospital, and then to jail." Of course, she would have to add that second part about jail.

Brick winced at the word, spoken aloud. He hated prison with a deep passion. Blossom had never managed to land all three of the Rowdyruffs in jail at once, and so they'd always been able to break each other out. Still, Brick didn't care for prison one bit. At that moment, the supervillian was struck with inspiration in a moment of epiphany so profound that it gave him a bit of a headache. Or, was that an actual head injury? He wasn't sure, but he felt confident that he had a plan. "Blossom... I'll cut you a deal. Hear me out. If... If I help you bring my brothers in, they're going to jail. You can't kill them if I help you, got it? I'm not breaking them out, this time. They deserve to spend the rest of their lives in there for what they've done." Brick paused to see if his words were having the desired effect, and from the shocked expression on Red's face, he was pretty sure that they were.

Blossom opened her mouth, said nothing, and closed it again. She did this two more times in the span of roughly a minute, seeming to be at a loss for words. She hadn't expected Brick to actually be willing to help her take them down. She didn't feel like she really needed the help, but it would be a much tougher fight without him for sure. Her mind raced through a hundred calculations and differing paths that she could take, but ultimately, she had to admit that his offer sounded like the best plan she'd ever be able to come up with. The only problem was that little promise he wanted her to make. "Don't kill them? Are you joking? After what they did, a thousand years wouldn't be long enough. They need to die."

When had Blossom become such a cold-blooded person? Brick realized immediately that it had happened at the exact moment that her two sisters had stopped breathing. Brick shook his head in a negative response to her words, making sure to move his head as slowly as possible so that he wouldn't pass out. Blossom rolled her eyes before clapping her right hand over her nose and dragging it down her face until it passed down over her chin. She was frustrated and torn between her desire for vengeance and her hesitation to torture Brick for the information she wanted.

It was several seconds before Blossom spoke, and when she did, her voice was quiet and laced with venom. "Fine. You win, Brick. I don't have the stomach for torture anyway. That's a whole different game from simple killing." Brick nodded his head, again being ever so careful, in agreement. "We'll get you patched up over at Townsville Medical, and then you're coming with me to bring in Butch and Boomer. If you bust them out, I'll kill all three of you myself. I'll level mountains, drain lakes, boil the oceans... There will be no place on this Earth for you to hide. You hear me?"

"Yeah, Red, I hear you. You're uh... Gonna have to carry me, though. I'm standing, but I think that if I take a step, I'm just going to fall on my face." Blossom rolled her eyes at Brick's apparent weakness, but in truth she was impressed with his fortitude. The pool of crimson on the ground where he stood, testified to his strength and resolve. Blossom sighed and slid her left arm around behind his back and placed his right arm over her shoulders to support him. To the shock and awe of the city, the two of them floated steadily toward the hospital.