It had been less than a month.

And yet she was completely out of her element.

"Er...Bubbles you take the green one. Wait-" She bit her lip, glancing between the three monsters that were swatting aside buildings like flies as they marched forward through the city. She momentarily panicked. Three giant monsters, coming at them, school in danger, children everywhere, all up to her, what to do, what to do? 'Think, use your brain. Compare the monsters' capabilities to your sisters'' There was a smaller, scrawnier monster on the left side of the pack. It resembled a large T-Rex with human-like skin and it's back and tail were covered in projectile spikes. It was the smallest of the three monsters and a person would need to be fast in order to avoid those spikes and stop them from hitting people. She turned to her sister. "Bubbles! Take the small one, now!"

Bubbles hesitated and pointed to the T-Rex lookalike. "This one?"

Blossom nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! Go now!"

Her sister zipped off in a flash of blue and began her attack. Although...Blossom frowned. Bubbles was dodging the slashing tail and deflecting the sharp projections but she wasn't doing any damage to the monster.

Blossom eyed the T-Rex and tried to find it's weakness. It's arms were very short so if it were to fall...

"Leader girl!" Buttercup barked and rushed over to her leader's side. "Who do I go after? They're getting close!"

Two more monsters. One was green, covered in some sort of goo and had acid spit while the other was the largest and somehow also the fastest. Due to it's size, it could crush a building with no effort at all, but she hadn't seen it use any powers. However, it was running right towards them.

"Take that one, the biggest. And make sure to-!" Buttercup took off before she could finish and was nearly hit by the monster's powerful fist. "-watch out for the hands." Blossom sighed heavily and turned her attention to the third monster who was spraying acid everywhere, melting down numerous buildings. She narrowed her eyes and watched as it turned her way and spit straight at her. She ducked out of it's path but didn't take her eyes off it's mouth, where she could see it's large saliva glands located next to each cheek. Destroy the glands and it wouldn't be able to spit. She flew after it.

"AAAAAAAH!"

Her head turned just in time to see Buttercup's body come catapulting towards her. She screamed with her sister as their bodies collided and they went soaring through a window. The glass shattered upon impact but fortunately didn't cut them. Blossom rolled across the floor and smashed into the wall. Buttercup grabbed hold of the window ledge in time to stop herself. A curtain of glass rained down on them.

"Grrr, sorry Bloss." Buttercup muttered as she got to her feet, shaking the glass from her shoulders.

Blossom sat up and brushed off the debris. "Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault." She picked out a shard from her pants and frowned. "Sorry about your jeans."

Buttercup smirked at her. "Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault."

Blossom smirked back then gasped as the ground shook and she stumbled down.

"Shit!" Buttercup cursed as she too fell and turned to her leader. "Bloss, what do I do? The big ones too fast!"

Blossom stood up and hurried over to the window. Bubbles was still defending herself from the spikes of the T-Rex and the other two were rampaging towards the school much quicker than before. "You have to keep hitting him with all you got, he can't get to the school!"

Buttercup nodded and shot off. Blossom followed after and set her sights on the acid spitting monster. It was turned away from her so she shot at it with her eye beams, gaining it's attention. She picked up speed as she shot towards it. The monster turned to her and opened it's maw, it's glands filling. She sucked in a deep breath and got as close up as she could before releasing. The gust of ice encased it's mouth. The monster screeched and tried to grab her but she flew upwards. It continued to swat at the air and tried to close it's mouth. It's powerful jaws were already causing the ice to crack. She waited for it to look up.

"Hey! Up here!" She called out, using her eye beams to once again distract it. The beast followed her voice and she took off, straight for it's mouth. In mere seconds those jaws could come slamming down on her but she had no choice. It grabbed at her but she was too quick and the second she landed inside it's mouth, it's jaws snapped shut, sealing her inside the disgusting, humid mouth of the beast. The glands were still frozen but the acid was quickly melting the ice. She gathered energy into her hands and held them out to her sides. In a burst of pink light, the glands exploded and the jaws flew open. She hurried out and watched as the monster roared in agony, stumbling backwards into the T-Rex who fell onto his stomach and became stuck. It's spikes impaled the acid monster and both beasts went down. The T-Rex was trapped, the goo from the other monster sticking to him like glue and his arms were unable to push him up, instead they simply flailed at his chest. The acid monster's cheeks had been incinerated along with most of it's teeth.

"Blossy look!" Bubbles squealed and the red leader whipped around. Her eyes went wide as Buttercup was once again thrown into a building and the monster continued forward to the school, only one block away.

"Bubbles follow my lead! We attack it's legs!" Blossom ordered and the two went after the final monster.

Blossom stuck her leg out and kicked the beasts calf as hard as she could but it was too thick. She attempted to freeze it to the ground but it was too strong. Bubbles screamed as the monster kicked her aside and then attempted to stomp on her. Blossom screamed as well when in a flash of green, Buttercup was above Bubbles holding up the foot.

"Leader girl do something!" Buttercup yelled as she grit her teeth and began to shake from the sheer strength of the monster.

Blossom knew that the only way to stop the beast was to go after it's legs but how? She turned around and flew back over to the other monsters. The T-Rex had spikes on it's head which wasn't being covered by the other monster on top of it. She wrapped her arms around the spike and pulled. Pain shot through her limbs and she jumped back with a yelp. The spikes were barbed.

"Leader girl!"

Buttercup's face was bright red and her eyes were squeezed shut. Blossom bit her lip. Oh god, this was going to hurt. She opened her already scraped arms, clenched her teeth, and embraced the spike once again. She pulled with all her might and screamed as she did so, the spicules sliced into her skin but she held tight. There was a loud ripping sound and she almost fell back as the spike popped out of the monster. She glanced down at the bloody mess she had created and grimaced but nonetheless hurried to her sisters' aid. She held the spike up like a javelin and threw it directly at the leg that Buttercup was holding up. It hit it's target and the monster bellowed.

"Buttercup, Bubbles, get out of there!" Her sisters immediately did so and shot to her side. "Are you girls okay?"

"I'm fi-BLOSSY!" Bubbles covered her mouth, face pale.

Buttercup grabbed one of her arms and held it up. Blood dripped from her pale, ripped up skin and she flinched back. "Girls focus. I'm okay. We need to take out it's other leg, can you help me get another spike?"

They both hesitated and she grew irritated.

"GIRLS!" They flinched at her outburst. "There's a school full of children in danger! Let's go!" They nervously followed her to the handicapped monsters and Bubbles had to hold back a whimper at the sight. "Okay one of us has to go into the hole created by the missing spike and get underneath the spike next to it and push it up and out of the skin. Someone else will have to hold onto the tip and pull it out."

Bubbles nearly vomited. "G-go in...there!?"

They'd fought many disgusting monsters and gotten covered in many unknown substances before but Blossom had to agree that this monster was a bit more...human like when it came to it's flesh and blood. So she looked at Buttercup expectantly. The green puff made a face but did as told and dove into the cavity. Bubbles' cheeks puffed and she turned away.

"Bubbles! Bubbles I need you to grab onto the-" Her sister was out, currently on the road vomiting. She sighed and went to grab the spike herself. It began to move upwards and she helped pull it out. In no time it was torn from the monsters neck. At this point, the monster's screams had become a background noise. She focused her attention on the final threat. The largest monster was still on it's feet, hobbling forward quite quickly. She lifted up the weapon, aimed, and-

ROOOOOOAAARRRR

It fell from her hands. Her face went white.

"Oh god, no."

The T-Rex was no longer on the ground beneath it's friend, but rather in the sky soaring straight towards her and it's stolen spike. She had nowhere to go, anywhere she went it would follow. 'Shit Shit Shit.' She tried to cover herself and shield off the attack but instead Buttercup tackled it from it's side and threw it to the ground. Blossom blinked as both of her sisters appeared in front of her.

"The acid guy is getting back up, the big ones still heading for the school, and now this one can fly! What do we do!?" Buttercup threw her arms in the air.

Blossom looked them both in the eye. "Do you remember Cosmic Cannonball?"

Their eyes went wide.

"We haven't done that since we were kids!" Buttercup retorted.

"Remember how much damage it caused?!" Bubbles questioned.

Blossom shook her head. "Not as much damage as these monsters are going to cause if we don't destroy them now." She crossed her arms. "Which is more important; a few buildings or a school full of kids?"

They glanced at each other and sighed. "Fine."

"Alright then. Bubbles lure the big one over here. Buttercup do the same for the acid guy. I'll take care of the flying one." They all shot off in their separate directions. Bubbles fired her energy beams at the monster repeatedly, hitting it in the face and injured leg, until it became annoyed and chased after her. Buttercup gave the acid guy a boost up then started circling it, forming a tornado that ushered him towards the target spot. Blossom flew forward towards the flying beast when it turned and threw the spikes off its tail at her. She deflected all but one, which she caught by the tip. She turned it around and launched it at the monster's wing. It cried out and began to fall to the ground so she swooped under it, carrying it to where her sisters had the other two beasts. They grouped the monsters together by Buttercup and Bubbles creating a 2-tornado around them. Blossom stepped back and inhaled all of the air she could.

"Now Blossom!" Buttercup called as her and Bubbles separated. Blossom exhaled and the monsters became covered in a thick sheet of ice, frozen solid for the time being. She gasped for air and had to take a moment before joining her sisters.

"Follow my lead!" She commanded and they took to the sky, shooting upwards until the blue ether transformed into a black one. They floated in space, surrounded by stars and satellites. Blossom pointed down. "Come on they're still in position! Drop on the count of three! One!" They brought their knees up to their chests. "Two!" The ice around the monsters began to split. They brought their arms around their legs. "THREE!" They fell in sync, quickly gaining speed and gravitating towards each other. They connected and morphed into a fiery black ball that hurdled towards Earth. The ice broke with an ear piercing shatter. The monsters fell apart from each other. They were coming in fast...too fast. They hit the ground and in one solid BOOM the Earth shook and a blinding white light filled the atmosphere.

Blossom's ears were ringing when she broke away from her sisters and hovered in the air. She groaned and her eyes fluttered open. What she saw was no doubt horrifying, an entire street had been blown apart. Buildings, cars, billboards, they had all been turned to ash and were carried away by the wind, leaving behind a huge black stain. But there was no trace of the monsters.

"WOOHOOO!" Bubbles and Buttercup slapped their hands together in a victorious high five and Blossom smiled.

"Good job girls. We were able to control it enough to restrict it's area damage. Much better than last time." She opened her arms and gave her sisters a proud hug.

"You still got your touch leader girl." Buttercup chuckled.

"Blossy you did so good!" Bubbles squealed.

Blossom waved away their compliments. "No, no. We all did good today." She rested a hand on either of their shoulders. "And now we can finally become even better and begin train-"

"Who's that?"

"Blossom?!"

"It's Blossom!"

"BLOSSOM!"

"BLOSSOM IS IT REALLY YOU!?"

"POWERPUFF GIRLS!"

"BLOSSOM UTONIUM!"

They all looked down. A large crowd had gathered beneath them, oblivious to the fact that they were standing in a fresh crater. More people were running over and pointing up at the trio, shouting the pink puff's name. She flushed with embarrassment.

"Okay, I think it's time to go." She tried to take off but her sisters' caught her.

Buttercup grinned. "Oh no, this is your return you've gotta put in a few words for the people."

Bubbles had a malicious glint in her eyes. "Yeah Blossy, you have to be respectful remember? Prove you're still deserving of a spot on the team."

Blossom shook her head and attempted to pull away. "No, no. Miss Bellum is already taking care of tha-"

"Oh no leader girl, you gotta speak for yourself. You're the leader after all."

"Come on Blossy, show some respect."

Blossom stiffened at how large the crowd was getting. It had been less than a month but she was nervous. As she had said before, who knew how they would react? She shook her sisters away from her and slowly lowered so that she was a mere few feet above the crowd's heads. She cleared her throat, put her hands on her hips, straightened her back, and took on her commander voice. It was almost too natural at this point.

"People of Townsville, I know I have been away for some time but do not worry, I am safe, I am alive, I am here to continue to protect you as is my duty. The threat today has been dealt with and erased, you are free to return to your day as it was." She glanced at her sisters who motioned for her to go on. She grit her teeth. "I have missed you all dearly and will not leave again. Fear not, Blossom Utonium is here to stay. The Powerpuff girls will uphold their promise to dedicating their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil!" She raised a proud fist into the air, hoping her words weren't too...well, cringey.

Her lips curved into a relieved grin as the crowd exploded into applause. She returned to her sisters and they smiled at her.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" Buttercup teased, fist bumping her.

Blossom chuckled. "I suppose not. Now come on, let's go home."

Home.

Her room.

Her clothes.

Her bed.

She collapsed onto the pink comforter and inhaled the familiar floral scent with a huge smile. Her phone rested beside her hand, her open laptop sat in front of her face, she could talk to whoever she wanted, go wherever she wanted, she was free. The joy, solace, serenity, and utter delight to be here with her sisters, all of them safe, her life back in order, it was almost too much to handle. She rolled onto her back and sat up, pulling the computer into her lap. It was opened to the story she had been writing. She took a moment to go back and read it from the start. She had only just started writing it, so there wasn't much to read, but the bit that was there exposed all of the emotions she had been feeling at the time and it filled the void in her chest. She had been in the same mindset as she was now, grateful for everything she had and completely content with life. The wind slipped through her window and caressed her face, calling her to it. She walked over and rested on the ledge, gazing out at her small neighborhood and the city standing behind it. Spring was in full bloom and the lilac bushes beneath her window were growing taller. Her and her sisters had separated their one room into three smaller sections for themselves. It was divided so that each room had one of the three circular windows in it. Beneath each window, they planted their favorite flowers. Most would think that her preferred flower would be cherry blossoms, but she had instead chosen lilacs because of their delightful scent and durability. Next to her lilac bush was Bubbles' thickets of babies breath. Blossom had been extremely happy that her sister chose those flowers because the combined scent of the two bushes and the white beside the purple was perfect. And then on the end was Buttercup's- wait. She frowned and leaned forward, swinging her legs over the ledge. Where was Buttercup's cherry blossom tree?

"I saw it while I was out one day."

No way.

"They said they followed the...uh...dirt?"

She slapped her forehead. Of all the stupid things to do...why would Brick take a tree from her house and think that her sisters wouldn't notice? She was going to grind him for it later. It appeared as though they would have to get Buttercup a new tree. Both her and Bubbles and the Professor had been shocked at Buttercup's choice of flowers until she explained that she wanted to make sure that her flowers were a tree because it...er, looked scary at night? Apparently the tree was so tall that it cast shadows into not only her room but Bubbles' as well and she enjoyed terrifying their innocent sister. Maybe now she'd be a bit more mature with her choice and decide on something that didn't keep Bubbles up at night screaming about monsters.

Her door creaked.

"Hey Blossy!"

Blossom spun around and smiled at her beaming sister who walked over to her. Her golden locks gleamed in the sunlight, but were put to shame by her glistening white smile that stretched from ear to ear. Bubbles took Blossom's hand.

"I still can't believe you're actually here. I don't know if I've ever been happier." She reached up and began to play with her sister's copper hair. "I missed being able to braid your hair and pick out your outfits. I missed watching romcoms together with our face masks and robes while Buttercup pouted in the corner. And our rainy day adventures. You know, Buttercup still has that dinosaur costume."

Blossom chuckled. "Let me guess, she's stashed it away with her blanket to try and hide it from us."

Bubbles nodded with a giggle. She always closed her eyes when she laughed. "Yep, but I found it anyways. I know all of her hiding spots from when she used to hide Octi." Her bottom lip popped out in a frown. "I still don't know where she hid him last time, it's been five months. What if she lost him? Or destroyed him?"

Blossom's eyes went wide and she bit her lip, holding back a laugh. Bubbles blinked. "Do you know where is?"

She quickly shook her head. "Nope not a clue."

Bubbles furrowed her brows. "Did you...take him?"

The pink leader shook her head again. "No, never. I would never do that to you dear sister. Me? Hide Octi? Not in my worst nightmare."

"BULLSHIT!" The door slammed open and Buttercup stomped in. She pointed an accusing finger at Bubbles. "I've told you HOW many times that I didn't take your damn stuffed octopus but you wouldn't believe me! Well here's your proof, leader girl clearly hid him."

Bubbles crossed her arms. "Blossom!"

Said puff put her hands up in defense. "I didn't. No way. Not me."

Buttercup strode over, a sly smirk replacing her furious expression. She put her hands on her hips and purred, "But weren't you the one who went upstairs to 'look for something' that night at the party, the same night Octi disappeared?"

Bubbles gasped. "You're right! I remember now. You said that you forgot something in your room so you went upstairs but when you came back down you had nothing with you. So what could you have forgotten? And then the next day I'm searching everywhere for my Octi but he's gone!"

"Coincidence? I think not." Buttercup's smirk only grew as Bubbles leered in Blossom's face.

"You're an Octi-snatcher."

The pink puff couldn't hold it back, she burst into a fit of laughter, rolling off the window and collapsing at Buttercup's feet. Tears built up at the corners of her eyes. "Oh god! Five months! And you only just figured out it was me! Hahaha!"

Bubbles stomped her foot down. "Blossy, that's not funny!"

Buttercup chuckled. "Karmas a bitch eh Bubs?"

The blonde frowned at her sister.

Blossom grinned. "Well I guess it's been long enough. I'll tell you where he is." Bubbles raised an eyebrow expectantly. "He's been eaten."

Her face fell. "WHAT!?"

Buttercup blinked. "Wait what?"

Blossom's grin grew. "Your teddy bear got hungry."

The blonde puff stood still for a moment before she was able to process her sister's words. In a flash of blue, Bubbles disappeared into her room and her sisters followed. She picked up her teddy bear. There was a new seam along it's back which she carefully cut through with a pair of scissors. Pieces of stuffing fell to the ground and Bubbles pulled something out with a gasp. Buttercup's eyes shot open.

"AAAHHH NO FUCKING WAY!" She dropped to the ground and howled with laughter, Blossom joined her. Bubbles clenched her fists, one of them containing Octi. "OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. LEADER GIRL PUT OCTI INSIDE OF YOUR TEDDY BEAR. AHAHAHA HE 'GOT HUNGRY'! OH JESUS THAT'S AWESOME!" The two girls mustered up enough sensibility to high five before rolling into another round of howls.

Bubbles only glared at them. "Jerks!"

Buttercup slapped Blossom's arm, talking through her hysterics. "B-Bloss, you hearing this? Sh-she called us jerks!"

Blossom gasped for air. "N-no I missed that part, I couldn't hear her over the sound of Teddy's stomach!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Buttercup threw her head back and clutched her stomach for dear life.

Tears streamed down Blossom's face. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

Bubbles chucked the teddy bear at them. "You get to fix him!"

"Fix him? How? YOU TOOK AWAY HIS DINNER!" Buttercup called.

Bubbles growled and stormed out as another wave of laughter sent both the girls tumbling.