It was far fetched, she knew. But seeing her sisters had reminded her that the number one priority of a hero is to have hope. Never give up. Never back down. Make things right. And she knew that giving the ruffs a second chance was what was right. It was just a matter of how. How could she give them a second chance? What other place for them was there but to be a hero? The government certainly wouldn't accept them as normal citizens. The media would never see them as anything other than villains...unless they became heroes. This was the chance she would give them and she only hoped that they would at least consider her offer.

"I don't know much about being a hero..." Butch began as he leaned forward, resting his arms on the counter. "...but hell, I'm game for beating the shit out of monsters and getting praised for it!"

Her face lit up. "R-really?"

Boomer bit his lip and slouched back in his chair. "But aren't there a shit ton of rules to follow? And I don't wanna work along side the police, those assholes treated us like dirt our whole lives. Not to mention the government, blah, fuck them."

Brick tapped his fingers against the marble impatiently. "They treated us like dirt because we blew up their city and beat them up."

Boomer scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah that's true...but still, the rules?"

"We follow less rules then the citizens and we have ways to get around them, seeing as people constantly owe us favors." Blossom answered simply, then added, "But obviously you can't take advantage of the system just because you're a super hero. It's just not as strict as you might think."

Butch tousled his brother's hair. "Come onnn Boomer, stop being a pussy."

Boomer pushed back his chin length locks and grumbled, "Fine."

Brick nodded at Blossom with a proud smirk. "See? I told you they'd agree."

Her mouth was agape. 'That went so much better than I expected.' She cleared her throat. "Alright, excellent. Now all you guys have to do is wait for me to talk with the government, I'll settle things with the mayor about you guys being heroes and getting a house, then you'll each just have to sign a contract, we'll help you move into the house, and everything will be set." She smiled brightly and then went pale as a realization hit her. "Shit, I forgot that I'm supposed to be dead." She covered her mouth. "Oh my god..."

Brick gave her an encouraging smile. "Hey, one step at a time. While you're working that out, we'll start practicing on being decent human beings, who don't put their feet on kitchen tables." Brick shot Butch a warning glare and said ruff immediately set his feet back on the ground.

Blossom beamed at her counterpart. "I appreciate it, Brick." She looked to his brothers. "I also have to add that in becoming heroes, you'll have to interact with my sisters."

Butch threw his head back with a groan and Boomer opened his mouth. Brick cleared his throat, silencing both of them.

"We all learned to get along with you I'm sure we can do the same for your sisters." Brick stated firmly, addressing his brothers more so than Blossom.

She chuckled. "I hope so."

She gave Brick a nod and he turned to his brothers. "That's it for now, get out of here."

They hurriedly scuffled out of the kitchen, leaving Blossom and Brick.

"Okay, so I'll give you the basic rundown of how things work." She began, pulling out a piece of paper and pen for him to jot down notes. "My sisters and I didn't always have rules to follow, besides what our dad told us, until crimes got more hectic. With the destruction of property, injuries, and unsolved cases, the government decided to create a sort of constitution for us. Each 'ruler' from every country initially agreed on the terms of this constitution, it went into effect five years ago, when we were twelve. It was confusing as hell back then, but I'm going to simplify it for you." She motioned for him to start writing and he grudgingly did so. "We have ten strict rules to follow. 1. We are not allowed to kill, harm, or mistreat any innocent beings. 2. We can not destroy public property without due reason. 3. Powers are not prohibited on school grounds without proper reasoning. 4. We may not be known as exceptions to the law unless there are special circumstances..."

"Special circumstances?"

She smirked. "Well, the law still applies to us on a regular day, but not when we're in 'battle mode'. Say there was a monster who had just stepped foot in the city but not yet destroyed anything. Naturally, we would go to take it down. But the law says "the right of self-defense is the right for the people to use reasonable force or defensive force, for the purpose of defending one's own life or the lives of others." At that moment no lives are being threatened, there technically is no just cause. However, this is an example of an exception to the law because our job is to prevent harm to the city, not minimize it. So we can't wait for the monster to start destroying things, we have to take action immediately. So we become an exception to the law. Make sense?"

He blinked and nodded slowly.

She brought her hands together. "Good, let's continue..."

"Holy shit." Brick massaged his temples and let his head hit the table.

Blossom laid her head down on the counter next to him and smiled. "It's really not that much once you get used to it. And my sisters and I will handle the political stuff while you guys adjust."

He turned to face her, head still on the table. "But I don't know hardly anything about...politics and this whole media things is going to be tough. I never knew how influential cameras and newspapers were."

She sighed. "Yes, that is one of the downfalls. The media isn't the 'friendliest' at times. But there are positives about it. People will respect and admire you, you won't be treated like villains anymore. Of course, some will still distrust you, but there are plenty of people who still hate my sisters and I and believe we should be killed or put in prison, stricken powerless, because we're a 'danger'. That's the thanks we get for saving their sorry asses." She narrowed her eyes at the thought.

Brick snickered. "Not a fan, huh?"

"You have no idea." She groaned, rolling her eyes. "I've been called a bug eyed freak, monstrosity, mutated mistake, criminal, and so many other despicable names yet the only one that's really stuck is 'the alien from Antarctica'. Every single fucking newspaper has at least one line about it. And you know why it bothers me so much?" He furrowed his brows. She grit her teeth. "Because of a stupid mistake I made when I was five, a mistake I made before saving everyone."

"What was it?" He pried.

She buried her head in her arms. "I had just discovered my new power; ice breath. I was a child, I was excited, it was fun and cool. So when we got called in to a robbery, I figured my special power was the perfect solution. Unfortunately, the weather that day was so blisteringly hot that the robbers' tires melted off and without the rubber, the tires can be like skates. So when I froze the road, their car slid off faster than we could follow them and they got away. It was a simple mistake. Just a stupid, childish thing. And then, being the dutiful leader that I was, I swore not to use my ice breath again. Few minutes later and an asteroid was headed for Townsville, so who does everybody go crying to? Me. And of course I did what I had to do, froze the damn rock and destroyed it. But to this day people still hang on to that little mishap and use it not only as an insult, but as an example. An example of why they should take away our powers. It's ridiculous, I know it is, but that's just how some people are, how they'll always be." She looked at him again. "I just want you to know that not everyone will love you but it's better than everyone hating you...w-which I'm not saying everyone hates you now but I-!"

He smirked and shook his head. "No I get it. My brothers know it, too. It's not necessarily love that we want but rather...a place to belong."

She nodded. "I understand. And I'm going to help you get to that place. We'll do it, together." She smiled.

He smiled back and rested his hand atop hers. "I can't wait."

Her heart was hammering against her chest. These were people she knew, this was her town, this was her life and yet she couldn't push back the nerves. Because she had no idea how they would react and quite frankly, she was concerned about her speech. Of course she couldn't tell the everyone that Brick had nearly killed her sisters and taken her hostage, but she also wasn't going to lie, she was simply going to...beat around the bush. The lines were in her head and she had recited them countless times, imagining that those cameras were flashing before her eyes and microphones were being shoved in her face, but no matter how many times she practiced, there was no telling how things would turn out.

She had stayed with the ruffs for three days after reuniting with her sisters. Brick had gotten the basic gist of how things would work and the boys also understood. Her sisters had come to the decision to give the ruffs a shot, but in Buttercup's words, "If they make one wrong move then I'm shipping their asses back to the fucking hell hole they came from and they ain't never coming back out." She was endlessly grateful for her sisters' consideration. She knew they were only agreeing to giving the boys a chance because she asked them to, and that the road to 'getting along' was going to be very long and very difficult, but it was a start. And things got even better, the very large, three story house across the street from them was up for rent. It was all going so smoothly so far, she could only hope that her return would be the same.

"You're going to do great." Bubbles reassured her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Aw man, Bubbles, come on we just finished getting the wrinkles out of her blouse." Buttercup sighed heavily as she tried to tug Bubbles away. "I still don't understand why you don't just wear your puff uniform."

Blossom glanced in the mirror and tucked back a stray piece of hair. "Because we have no idea what they'll think. What if they don't accept me back? What if they want me off the team? Can't take any chances."

Bubbles crossed her arms with an angry huff. "That's ridiculous! Theres no way you're leaving the team, who cares what they say. You're our sister and we stick together. You can have all of us or none of us."

Buttercup nodded in agreement.

Blossom chuckled. "No, that's not what I meant. Of course I'm staying, I just don't want to anger anyone. Wearing my uniform right away, even though I only just got back and haven't explained myself yet, could look disrespectful to some people. You girls know better than anyone how the media can be."

Bubbles sighed solemnly. "I guess you're right...at least this outfit is still cute!" She said as she tugged lightly on the rolled up sleeve.

Buttercup scoffed. "Well duh it looks good, she's wearing my jeans."

"I don't have many pairs." Blossom shrugged simply.

"Weeeelll, jeans aside, I think it's time to go." Bubbles chirped excitedly, throwing open the door and taking hold of her sister's arm.

Blossom glanced at her raven haired sister who gave her an encouraging nod. She took a deep breath and strode out the door, waiting for her sisters to join her before they all took off into the sky, their signature rainbow once again marking their trail.

Things...turned out different than she expected.

Firstly, there was only one camera and no microphones. She was brought to the City Hall and they decided to make it a private meeting, so none of the press was allowed. The single camera was simply for record and documentation, 'strictly political', reasons.

Secondly, Ms. Bellum, the mayor, and the governor were the only people in the room besides her and her sisters. The governor, a middle aged rotund woman who had been elected around the time of the puff's birth, had been called to the hall by Ms. Bellum two days ago. Blossom's sisters had notified Bellum of a serious matter that would require them to all meet up and now here they were.

Lastly, no one looked ecstatic to see her. They didn't even offer a polite handshake or wave. The mayor was busy prying open a jar of pickles, Ms. Bellum was flipping through a stack of papers, and the governor was contempt with shooting nasty glares at the girls.

"So, what you're telling me is you had a moment of self entitlement that made you choose to desert your duty and run away into an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods for almost a month?" The woman spoke in a sharp, bitter tone and her dark eyes creased as she narrowed them.

Blossom folded her hands in front of her, maintaining her composure despite the tension. "In a sorts, yes. I was horrified and devastated by my vulnerability and decided the best way for me to regain my stability was to take some time to think."

"So you ran." The governor spat. "You abandoned all of us. Like a coward."

Blossom opened her mouth to offer a polite counter when Ms. Bellum cleared her throat. The tall, busty woman rested her stack of papers in the crook of one elbow and walked over. "I'm sure we can agree that the leader of our brave, selfless trio of heroes is not quite a coward. After all, a coward never would have returned."

The governor was silenced by this and Blossom was reminded of why she had always looked up to the mayor's assistant. She gave her childhood idol a smile.

"Well, now. Your time off may have given us all a scare, but things will be put back in order quickly, I assure you. The next time there is a robbery or monster attack, you'll be on the front lines. Once everyone sees the pink powerpuff girl in action, they'll welcome you back with open arms. Then we will inform the press of your return and blur some of the...details, for privacy reasons. Everything will be as it was in due time." Ms. Bellum handed Blossom a piece of paper. "This is a consent form, ensuring you are completely on board with what we tell the press. This-" Another paper. "-is to provide proof that you're not dead, we'll need to snap a quick picture. This packet is all of the updated policies and anything you may have missed while you were away. And finally, here is a work permit."

Blossom took the last paper with a frown. "Work permit?"

Bellum nodded. "Your sisters need one as well,-" She handed the two girls their own permits. "A new law has gone into effect, now even superheroes must fill out a work permit before being allowed to 'work'. In other words, you can't fight crime without filling these out."

The governor had a sly smirk on her face. "It ensures you can't abandon your duty."

Bellum crossed her arms in an elegant manner. "Yes, but it wasn't made because of you Blossom."

The pink puff shuffled the papers together and smiled. "Thank you Ms. Bellum. I suppose it is necessary to-"

BZZZZZZ

"Fighting crime, trying to save the world, here they come just in time: the Powerpuff girls!"

With a surprised squeak, Bubbles pulled the ringing phone from her pocket and blinked. "It's Ms. Keane, she's calling from the hotline."

Ms. Bellum held her hand out and the phone was quickly placed in it. "Hello? Yes, this is Bellum. Really...? Hm, yes we'll fix that immediately. Ms. Keane? Are you still there?" She tried to turn the volume up. "Ma'am? Yes, I'm still here, but you're breaking up. Say that again. Wait, am I hearing you correctly?...There's a WHAT heading straight for the SCHOOL?!"

The puffs' eyes went wide.

Ms. Bellum turned to the girls and with a deep breath, she regained her professional ensemble. "Apparently our hotline is broken, that's why she called your phone Bubbles. But it is indeed an emergency." She gathered the papers back from them. "I'll have these mailed to your house, right now there's a bigger issue at hand. Blossom, this is your opportunity." She looked towards the young girl who immediately straightened her back. "A trio of monsters are tearing through Townsville, following a direct path to the school. They'll be there in a mere five minutes. Take them down and in the meantime I'll prepare the news report for your return."

Blossom gave her a curt nod then turned to her sisters. "Alright girls, it's been a minute since we've fought together but we have a pledge to uphold and we aren't going to let those beasts destroy the school. Now stick to my orders and be alert, remember our number one goal is to protect the citizens. Are you girls ready?"

"Hell yeah!" Buttercup pounded a fist into the air.

"EEEEE I'm so excited!" Bubbles beamed.

Blossom grinned. "Then let's go!"