A/N: Currently the story is still in the past. In about 2 more chapters we are going to have a time skip into the future.

**Bricks Pov

I was still smiling. I had trouble controlling it now, but whenever I got into the mood of the chase I'd always feel so alive. Maybe it was the way the wind glided through my locks of hair, billowing it in the wind behind me.

Or maybe it was the excitement that oozed out of my pours from the intense atmosphere. Maybe it could have been the way Blossom loathed and hated me with those hypnotic pink eyes. Or maybe I just craved the attention?

It was hard for him to admit, even in the recesses of his own mind, but he loved the attention Blossom gave him. The way she singled him out, pretended like he was the most evil thing in existence. She gave him her undivided attention and used every fiber of her being just to defeat him. Secretly, that made him more than happy, it left him ecstatic.

He shook his head with a scowl and tried to clear his mind. Suddenly in front of him he saw a blue and green streak turn the corner around a very tall building and start making their way down the street in his direction. He didn't even need to check to know if they were his brothers or the other two puffs. But when he did look he noticed Bubbles determined face and Buttercups cocky smirk. He could read their thoughts just looking at their faces.

Aw shit, this is the hard part. By the looks of it, tonight seems to be the night they think they're going to detain me and my brothers and send us to the slammer.

**Third Person Pov

Brick let the grin fall from his face and racked his brain to get ready for a confrontation. Fighting the girls head on would be stupid, but he needed to show them he was tough or else they wouldn't take him seriously in the future. Brick displayed his expert maneuvering and began flying in an extremely erratic and unpredictable manner. He was bouncing off the ground, and the sides of the buildings in rapid succession, and twisting his trajectory in the air to make his streak tangle around itself in a translucent knot of light.

His red streak almost gave off the appearance of running headfirst into a field of lasers, the illusion almost made the streaks appear as if they could be alive.

The girls were confused and trying to keep up. Blossom was still behind him and although her eyes never lost sight of him she was not attempting to follow his actions. His strategy was to clever and their was no way she could have kept up. She was getting ready for the moment he tried to make a move and run away just hoping her sisters would do the same.

Brick studied the other two Puffs and grinned when he got the reactions he desired. Well, they were exactly what Brick was hoping for and expected, but for Blossom they were shameful.

If they were not in the middle of a serious situation she would have immediately began a long winded lecture reprimanding them on how to act smart during battle simulations. Bubbles stopped flying and hovered in midair, perplexed and a little intimidated by his confusing pattern. She wasn't even trying to catch him, nor offer support for her siblings. She was acting like a dead weight in the middle of the air.

Buttercup however rushed forward with increased vigor and blindly swung her fist in the direction of every red streak near her. Needless to say her fist met nothing but air. Blossom palmed her forehead at her sister's obvious lack of tactic or wit.

Buttercup scowled and quickly swiveled around in a 180 degree spin and was ready to dash after him until she realized his red streak was nowhere to be seen. She gasped and did a double take in front of her to figure out he wasn't their either.

Brick couldn't help but chuckle at her confused and perplexed face. Aw, she looks just like Butch when she acts stupid.

Buttercup heard his chuckle from above her, but the only thing she saw when she looked up was the sole of his shoe flying straight towards her in a flying dragon kick formation. She squeaked in surprise and covered her face with her arms to brace for the inevitable pain.

Instead it was Brick who let out the pained gasp when Blossom had finally caught up with Brick and delivered a strong right to his jaw. The sudden attack sent him spiraling and she prayed it left a bruise. Blossom smirked proudly at her handiwork. The single strike did wonders to relieve some of the pent up frustration she was accumulating for her counterpart over the night. But just one punch wasn't even close to releasing all her aggravation.

Brick held his cheek and used the inertia from the attack to propel himself into flight once again. He continued along his original path and bubbles squeaked when he passed by her. Buttercup had recovered at this point and was the first to return to the chase. Blossom was second and angrily tugged their blonde sister along with her when she continued to stare in a perplexed daze at nothing ahead of her.

**Blossom POV

I wasn't very surprised because I had grown to expect the unexpected from Brick. But as I watched the precision and well-timed movements he made, I couldn't help but notice how easily he flowed around them.

The intersecting red streaks of light looked mildly confusing but Blossom wasn't fooled. She did however notice that he must have practiced a lot to perfect this. She wouldn't admit it, but she felt a mild amount of admiration for the tactics he was using. Ones she had never thought of before. No one but Brick could imagine using something as trivial as the constant light they exhorted during flight to one's advantage.

Blossom of course, took his new technique as a challenge. There was absolutely no way she would allow Brick to show her up.

I was still scolding Bubbles and her lower lip began to quiver at my tone. I loved Bubbles, but sometimes I couldn't stand the way she cried so often. I huffed a sigh and returned my attention to Brick.

I analyzed the street paths he was taking and the direction he was looking at, and quickly deduced he was hoping to fly in the direction Bubbles had just come from. Presumably where she left her brother lying in a bloody mess.

"Bubbles do you remember where exactly you left Boomer?" She nodded eagerly and Blossom smirked. "Good, take whatever shortcuts you can to get their before Brick does. Then be ready for him and we will trap him like a rat in a birds nest."

Bubbles uneasily looked over at Blossom, her excitement was getting the better of her. Oh Blossom, you get way to into these little games.

Bubbles quickly left and the remaining trio continued there endless game of chasing and running.

**Buttercup Pov

I was becoming positively livid. I was hot on Brick's trail, but he was impossible to catch. Occasionally when I thought I was close enough to get a clear shot with my eye lasers, he would divert his course.

Several times Brick would trick her as she sped in the wrong direction, her rocket steps did not let her count for error. Brick was using this against her, making precision turns that at the speeds she rocketed at she was unable to perform.

Buttercup was practically seething watching him elude her grasp, he wasn't even flying at the same speed as her half of the time but the way he turned so swiftly and evasively made it impossible to catch up.

Brick looked back at her and she expected some form of retaliation at this point. Buttercup normally never left the head to head struggle with Butch long enough to encounter Brick. Brick seemed to be reading her like an open book, and she was getting furious. But instead of setting a trap for her to fly straight ahead into, he smirked at her. He chuckled and smirked at her as if saying "Your making this too easy."

Normally Buttercup thought Butch was the only person who could make her that angry. She was dead wrong as she chased Brick endlessly through the night air. The night was dragging on further and it was becoming even chillier. Buttercup didn't even notice as her cheeks burned red with frustration, guarding her from the chilly air.

Brick eventually came to an intersection where he darted right and slowed down his pace to perform a quick maneuver. Buttercup smirked, thinking this was her chance.

When she reached the turn she stopped in her tracts and rocketed towards the right path, knowing she would travel at a faster speed then Brick. She was sure that her boost in speed would have been enough to catch up with Brick, but just as she thought she was going to grab him she realized she had already passed him. Brick was already flying in the opposite direction.

Buttercup stopped and Rocket stepped again in a 180 motion. Moments later, she realized Brick was even further ahead of her then he previously was, and that made her furious.

That had been possibly the 5th time he had tricked her with similar stunts throughout the night. Shortly after though the worst part happened.

Before she could clear the intersection and resume the chase she caught site of a pink streak cross by in front of her. As the eldest sibling passed the younger, she gave Buttercup a look of exasperation that said "did you seriously just do that?" Blossom, who was behind Buttercup, had passed her up now. Buttercup was stunned and then remembered a conversation that they had a few days earlier.

Buttercup: You know Blossom, I really think we should switch. They were currently in pursuit of the Rowdy Ruff Boys and hot on their trails.

Blossom scoffed, "Buttercup no offense but I don't trust you to fight Brick."

Buttercups eyes grew to the size of saucers "WHAT!"

Blossom rolled her eyes, "you heard me. I know the way you fight, there's no way you could match Brick. In fact, I'm not even sure if you could match up with Boomer to be honest." Blossom gave a disdainful look and then turned to Buttercup with a sympathetic and belittling smile. "Why don't you just leave the hard stuff to me, the capable one, and continue beating the snot out of that meat head Butch."

Buttercup was more furious then she had been at any other point that night. Nothing made her angrier then Blossom proving her wrong. Buttercup had let Brick get the upper hand, and she was being forced to let Blossom take care of it. Buttercup was growing livid, just thinking about how Blossom was going to do something for her because she couldn't do it, and their was nothing she could do to change that.

**Butch Pov

I had finally found Boomer; thankfully he wasn't that far away from me. He was lying motionless in a deep crater, and I flopped on the ground in the same crater when I finally got to it. I was exhausted and had limped for 2 miles before getting here. All I could do was feel my muscles protest in agony and pray for sweet relief after the amount of energy I used just to limp over here.

So here I was just catching my breath inside this dumb crater. Boomer didn't move at all except for the rising and fall of his chest as he rested.

After what feels like hours I finally see something happen. I catch Brick flying towards us with two Puffs behind him, the blue one had been hiding somewhere above us for a few minutes now. When I used my super hearing I could hear her teeth chatter in the cold from some unseen place. Her sister must have gave her orders to rendezvous here ahead of them, although I doubt Bubbles could be capable of a sneak attack taking down Brick. Then again…

I moved my gaze over to my blonde brother only a few feet away from me. His chest was burned and his shirt ripped to shreds. He looked like he was mauled by a demon. I grimaced and shivered thinking about how she could have dealt so much damage to my poor brother.

I returned my attention to the fight.

Brick is dodging their attacks left and right while snaking his way towards us. It seemed like he was effortlessly avoiding Buttercups grips, but Blossom was always slowing him down just enough for her to get close. Without her I don't think my counterpart would have kept up.

That made me frown because if she could beat me, I would have hoped she stood a chance against Brick.

I couldn't help but notice the most amount of damage he had was some burnt clothing on his back and what looked like a swelling cheek. I felt furious realizing how he was acting even more pansy then the blues. He was running away from the Puffs, and the amount of damage he was taking was proof of that.

Then I looked over to his counterpart, and my anger skyrocketed in an instant when I noticed she was in perfect condition still.

What were they doing, playing PATTY CAKE!?

Suddenly when he had snaked close to us he was caught off guard. I couldn't tell for sure, but from where I was sitting it seemed like he was traveling slower because at that moment Buttercup and Blossom finally caught up to him.

They both gave him a push towards their blue sister, and he gasped out in what I assumed was fake surprise.

Bubbles suddenly came out of nowhere and charged him with two energy balls above her head. Brick feigned surprise, and I could have sworn I caught Brick smirking. I noticed him swivel in the air just before bubbles impacted him so his trajectory landed in the crater me and Boomer were in. Boomer gave out a groan at the sudden shock he felt but besides that didn't budge.

He must be in a lot of pain.

The dust was collected around us and I saw Brick sitting next to us, the sleeves of his sweatshirt were burned and his forearms crispy, but besides that he looked fine from the collision.

Brick took this chance to be the cocky bastard he was. "So guys, did you have fun with our little play date?" I looked over at him incredulously and he had the most annoying smirk on his face.

If I could, I would have gotten up and punched his face in. That comment just made me even angrier, and by the way his smirk turned into a toothy grin I'm sure he noticed. Boomer groaned again from the other side of Brick and caught both of our attentions.

Boomer called out in a whiny voice "Briiiick. I don't like playing with the girls, it's not very fun. Can we do something else tomorrow?"

Brick chuckled and patted his blonde brother on the head. He was always complaining about something, but this was the majority of his complaints. Most of the time his whining centered around the fights they had with the Puffs, especially when they followed the same routine. Boomer usually was left exhausted and beat up, same as Butch.

Butch never said it out loud because he liked thinking he was the toughest one, but he agreed with Boomer. Fighting the Puffs just wasn't fun. Don't get Butch wrong, he loved the mayhem and exercising his powers was a thrill like none other. But what he would rather do is just play some sports with Boomer and Brick. Throwing a boulder back and forth or making some baskets into the volcano… that was the life.

"Don't worry guys, were going home now." I looked over at Brick like he had grown a third head. All three girls were on top of us, our only protection being the pillar of dust shielding us from their view.

There was no way we could just get up and call a time out while we ran away. Boomer and I are both down for the count and all three of them are ready for action. This was a horrible situation and Brick was taking it so nonchalantly.

Suddenly the dust was being picked up and torn away from us as if being caught in a tornado. I looked up and realized it was being sucked up by a blue tornado, Bubbles was spinning so rapidly the air around her was becoming visible. I started searching for my counterpart and when I found her my eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets.

Buttercup was lugging a large automobile above her head. No, not something manageable like a jeep. She was handling a full sized bus over her head and chucking it at them furiously. I saw fire in her eyes and knew she was out for blood. I paled as I looked forward, the bus was big enough to cover the entire crater and at the velocity it was traveling at it looked ready to flatten us into pancakes.

I was too tired and could not muster up the energy avoid the hunk of metal and Boomer was not going anywhere either. I looked over at Brick and prayed to see him moving Boomer and me away. Instead I was greeted with him stupidly placing two fingers over one eye and shutting it tight. If I wasn't so afraid I would strangle him for not doing anything. He wasn't even moving, and it didn't look like he cared. I was having a panic attack just watching him.

We're going to be pounded into mush!

Suddenly Brick acted and shot a high intensity laser that he channeled through his uncovered eye, my eyes bulged at the sight.

The beam wasn't like any of the normal lasers my brothers or our counterparts fired. It looked like Brick had put a lot of power into it somehow, charging all his energy through a single eye. It was still in his signature shade of red, but it looked like it was made of magma instead of energy, I realized he was secretly imbuing part of his flame attribute into the laser, enhancing its power. The laser hit the bus with a lot of force and it burst into chunks of metal and burning leather. The girls eyes widened considerably but before anyone could act he aimed a second laser that smacked straight into Buttercups shoulder.

My counterpart cried out in pain and I could see blood mixing with intense burns as she lost her balance in the air. Her sisters cried out in concern and flew over to her. I was too surprised by Brick's new display to say anything.

Brick Pov

I grinned when I successfully distracted them. I could make out blood mixing with intense burns as she lost her balance and fell back. Her sisters cried out in concern for her and flew over to aid their hurt sibling. I felt mildly concerned for the Puff, but shook it off quickly. We all knew the chemical X would heal her wounds, probably in a week tops.

I took the opportunity I had created and scooped my brothers over my shoulder before taking off in the opposite direction. I heard my counterpart release a gasp when she realized they were letting us get away. We were going to make it out free and without any resistance, save one final cry of frustration. "BRIIICK!" Blossom called my name for the last time that night, while simultaneously blasting the highest intensity eye laser she could muster in our direction. Needless to say it missed by a mile and chased ahead in our direction as we left.

Jeez Blossom seriously has a stick up her ass doesn't she? Brick grinned at the thought and released a chuckle into the cool night air as the Ruffs made their escape under the cover of darkness.

**Bubble's Pov

"They got away! AGAIN!" Buttercup was fuming over another unsuccessful and exhausting night of chasing Ruffs.

Blossom didn't seem to be any happier, her pretty pink eyes were glued into a steady glare directed at every portion of the room she glanced at. Her glare seemed to transform her pretty eyes into sharp pools of intense fire. Blossom was definitely upset, and that unfortunately meant she was much more likely to argue with Buttercup.

Buttercup swiftly turned around and pointed her arm in their sisters direction. Her elbow was bent and her shoulder down, being restricted by the large bandage that surrounded the burn she was given on her shoulder. "Maybe if you weren't such a pansy and actually finished Brick off instead of helping me, he wouldn't have got away!"

Blossoms eyes grew wide with shock before narrowing dangerously. "Are you suggesting I was acting foolish by checking on my sister after she got hit by an unforeseen and possibly lethal attack by Brick. Who I might remind you is one of our trickiest, deadliest and most unreadable enemies."

At this point Buttercup faltered but didn't want to give her the satisfaction. "No matter what kind of attack it was, I would have been fine! I'm not as weak as you and Bubbles are so don't expect the same things to affect me."

Blossom started growling and grinding her teeth, she was opening her mouth to start a new round of arguments that would ultimately lead to a fight. "STOP IT YOU TWO!"

Buttercup and Blossom stopped their fighting for a moment to look at me incredulously, most likely forgetting I had been present through the entire exchange. "Why are you guys even fighting about this right now? We should be glad Buttercup wasn't seriously injured tonight and the boys were pounded into fruitcake! How can you two be so hostile?"

Buttercup and Blossom didn't fail to notice the glassy look on Bubbles cerulean eyes, and there surprised looks turned guilty and sheepish. After a few moments Blossom sighed, "your right Bubbles. I'm sorry Buttercup, that wasn't right of me to offend you like that."

Buttercup sighed and rolled her eyes as well, "Nah I shouldn't have questioned your actions leader girl. I mean you were seriously looking out for my best interest, how can I be upset over that?"

The three Puffs grinned, remembering once again they were all family. Being family means you are prone to start fights with each other regularly, but you can always count on making a happy reconnection and apologies to follow. Family never hurts each other for long, and they always forgive.

"So girls," Blossom started looking serious again. "I was just thinking and for strategic purposes I believe we should exchange our gathered information on each insufferable counterpart of ours and regroup our tactics for maximizing strategic output in future encounters." A varied amount of hand gestures accompanied her speech, as she paced around the room like a general in the tactician tent.

Bubbles and Buttercup blinked, then glanced at each other. They sighed heavily, knowing how Blossom became when she was getting way to into her leadership roles.

"So I am going to start a chart of each boys strength and weakness and preferred fighting style so we can better match ourselves accordingly in the future."

Buttercups eyes widened and she smirked, "Blossom, you don't have to act so pompous right now. I get what your really trying to do, you just want one of us," she gestured to herself and Bubbles, "to fill in for you so you can get away from Brick."

Blossom hung her mouth agape and her cheeks reddened, she felt caught in the headlights and couldn't deny it. Buttercup chuckled and Bubbles giggled.

"Okay Blossom! We can do that easy, why don't we just skip all the boring stuff and you just go ahead and explain what you know about your counterpart alright?" Bubbles smiled cheerfully, she was always prepared to do whatever it took to make their siblings happy.

Blossom returned her smile, "well alright. Brick is easily the most prideful of the trio," Buttercup snickered and mumbled about counterparts acting alike. Blossom gave her a glare and continued "he is also the most coolheaded. In a fight, he rarely acts on impulse and plans out almost all of his strategies before engaging. This ability lets him read opponents with much more ease. Brick is also the most unpredictable, and seems to always be pushing the limits with his abilities. As you noticed, he displayed two never before seen moves tonight."

Buttercup and Bubbles were nodding, not sure of what to make of the praise (could you call it praise?) Blossom was giving her counterpart. "Besides that he is the most experienced flyer of their trio and possibly ours. He displays coordination and practiced perfection while he executes aerial maneuvers." Blossoms expression was very serious, almost as if she was talking about the plague.

Buttercup and Bubbles were waiting for their sister to continue, but after a minute they realized she wasn't going to. Buttercups eyes grew wide and she shouted incredulously "That's it!? What about attack patterns? Fighting style? Anything else?"

Blossom scratched the back of her head sheepishly "Well, when I think about it I don't know anything else besides that. In a normal fight, he spends most of his time running around in circles and just pissing me off." Her expression grew thoughtful and she placed her fingerless hand on her chin "maybe he is too intimidated by my vantage over him? I mean I do have ice powers while he doesn't seem to have any special powers at all, and I'm so brilliant and capable…"

Buttercup was about to respond how utterly worthless that little information she gave them was. But suddenly her face contorted into confusion. "Wait, that can't be right. He's your counterpart so he should have powers like you right? I mean Bubbles and mine counterpart share the exact same special abilities as us…"

The three girls grew thoughtful, realizing they had never seen Brick's power, or even knew if it existed…

Ruff POV

Brick forcefully kicks their front door open. He didn't damage anything, because the door was missing a lock for quite some time, and they had cleverly placed padding on the back side of the door to avoid damage when it smacked the wall. Needless to say the door was slammed open quite often.

Brick unceremoniously dropped Butch onto the living room couch and Boomer was more gently placed into a recliner. Boomer had passed out a while ago but Butch was wide awake and furious. Butch let out a hissing noise when he roughly made contact with the sofa. "Brick…"

Brick was turning around to stalk into his room for the night before Butch caught his attention. "Yeah?"

Butch sat up to give his brother a hard glare, his forest eyes seemed to illuminate with spite. "Why didn't you fight them? I saw what happened; you were running away and letting them push you around without a fight. How can you call yourself a Ruff when you let our enemies go like that?" Butch was hissing and lacing venom and spite with every mouthful he uttered.

Brick glared back but with a much more calm composure. The glare looked almost forced and his facial expressions relaxed, his normally haunting carmine eyes were a mesmerizing pool of wine red. "I was minimalizing damage while having some fun, not like your kind of irresponsible and destructive fun."

"Bullshit!" Butch growled out. Butch was feeling sleepier with each passing moment and the fire lit inside the pit of his stomach was flickering out. He wasn't prepared to pry Brick for an answer, so he moved on to another subject. "How come we never seen you do that stuff you did back there before? I mean what was that with the laser thing?"

Brick sighed exasperated, "it was just a little something I practiced not too long ago. I was thinking about how to use my element powers effectively to enhance my abilities and that was one of the fruits of my training." Brick spoke with detached supremacy and apathy. If Butch was bothering him he wasn't going to show it, he refused to even hint at what emotions were under that façade just like a parental figure humored their child.

Butch chortled, "you mean the powers you've been keeping secret? I'm surprised; I always thought you were too chicken to ever use that fire of yours." Butch snickered hoping to have pinched a nerve on what he knew was a touchy subject.

Brick stiffened slightly, but besides that the comment did not affect him. Brick grunted disdainfully and responded "look if I feel like hiding my special abilities I can OK?"

Butch eyes widened and yelled back "Brick! They think your weak!, they think we're weak! You can't fight back because you don't have any special powers; you make us look like chumps!" Butch was seething in his uncomfortable position on the couch.

Brick growled out and clenched his fist in anger, he turned around and brushed Butch off without another word. He was reaching for the doorknob when Butch called out one more time.

"You know Brick, the puffs don't know but me and Boomer do. You are the strongest of all three of us, if you lead us like a real leader we could take this town." A dangerous glint was present in Butch eyes. He looked reminiscent of their denounced father, HIM. The scariest part was Brick was thinking he started sounding like HIM to. "With your powers we could do it all Brick… We could burn this entire city to ashes in just a single night. It would be easy, and imagine how much fun we could all have." Butch was grinning like a sadistic animal, and Brick was wondering for the thousandth time.

Butch, where did I go wrong? How much influence did HIM really have over all of us…

Brick didn't respond. There was no sign of him even registering what Butch said except for the clouded over look that spread across his face. He didn't move but Butch had certainly struck a chord somewhere inside Brick's core. A few moments felt like hours before Brick finally left the house and softly slid the door closed. Butch huffed and let sleep take him over…

I wish, more than anything, I could know what's happening to you Brick…

A/N So how was that? Sorry if you don't like the way Brick and Blossom are talking… I wanted to try my best to make them sound sophisticated and stuff.