The building was about to come down. Firefighters, aided by Aqualad, worked desperately to put out the flames. Speedy, Bumblebee, and Kat worked fast to help people out of the burning structure while the twins, Mas and Menos, pointed them to where they needed to go. The short, electric-blue eyed girl carried a blanket out of the building, a crying little girl buried in the fabric. Carrying the girl to her mother who was already outside, the woman thanked her with a weak smile and a few tears.

"That should be everyone," she heard Speedy say out loud, but a sobbing woman cried out to them,

"NO! Wait…my dog! Please…he's still inside!" The police tried to calm her, but she refused to listen to their comforting words. Nobody else was standing with her except people in uniforms. She had to be living alone with that dog. "Please! He's all I have left!"

"Ma'am…please…" one of the officers said, "I'm sorry, but you're dog most likely didn't survive." That's when they all heard it. Barking…coming from inside the building.

"My boy! He's still alive! Please…you have to save him!" Kat let out a groan. She sprinted past Speedy and Bumblebee, ignoring their screams for her to come back. Speedy raced after her, but she was too fast for him. She bolted through the entry way before realizing that she had forgotten to put up her shield to protect her. The flames in front of her threatened to burn her, but she quickly activated the barrier. However, she had a new problem. The air that was trapped inside the bubble was polluted with smoke from the fire. She cursed to herself before continuing through the building.

Kat whistled, calling for the dog. It probably would've helped if she had asked what the dog's name was, but it was too late for that. She coughed; the smoke that was trapped inside her shield was filling her lungs. She whistled again. She tried to listen for barking, but there was none. It was too late for the dog. She turned around to leave when she heard whimpering coming from her left. She turned to see a bundle of golden fur curled near a corner in a wall. She slowly made her way to the dog, each step she took to get closer to him, the further he tried to push into the wall.

"It's okay…" she whispered, deactivating her shield, her hand reaching out for the golden retriever, "…I'm not going to hurt you. I promise you, everything will be alright." He stared up at her with trusting eyes before she touched the top of his head, lightly brushing her hand through his fur. "Come on…I'm going to get you out of here." She picked him up, surprised to see that he was really light. She went to reactivate her shield, so she may get them through the flames with no problem, but to her despair, it wouldn't work. She tried again…still no luck.

"Damn it…"she cursed, "…this couldn't get any worse…" Crack! The sound echoed off the burning walls of the building. She looked up to see the beams starting to give way. Her eyes widened in shock. If she didn't get out of there, those beams would fall, and she'd be trapped in there. Again she attempted to make a shield, and it worked, but it was only big enough to cover the dog. She didn't care because he needed it more than her. Holding the dog close to her body, she carried him through the building.

With each breath she took in, the more her lungs would become contaminated with smoke. The coughing worsened as she found it impossible to stop. Her throat was burning, and her eyes were watering. She was weakening with every second, but every time she heard the dog in her arms whimper, it gave her the strength to keep pushing through the flames. She was able to use her ice disks to freeze some of the flames to get through, but as soon as she'd bypass one set of flames, she'd encounter a new one. Also, the frozen flames behind her were beginning to melt, and new flames were starting to take their place, the fire licking at her back. The number of ice disks she had was withering down until there were none left to use. She was left to fend the flames by herself.

Speedy and the other Titan's waited outside anxiously. However, Speedy was the only one who was actually staring at the entryway, his gaze transfixed on the flames that Kat had disappeared into. Why did she go back in? It was just a dog…a dog wasn't important, but maybe she thought otherwise. Still, it was a dog!

"Please…" he whispered, "…please be alright…"

Kat rounded around different corners to avoid the flames that would block her path. She couldn't go back the way she had come because the fire that had overcome the hallways prevented her from going that way. She had to find a new way to get out. Time was running out for her. She was lacking oxygen, her body was weakening, and every corner she turned led to another fire. Finally, she found the exit she had come in from. She let out a sigh of relief as she started running for it. CRACK! SNAP! A beam from the ceiling finally broke off and crashed to the floor before her, a new, burning fire blocking her only way out. Kat stepped back to avoid the embers, but she didn't realize that there was a fire right behind her. Her foot landed in the flames, singeing her boot and the skin that lie underneath the rubber. She pulled her foot back out of the fire, a yell breaking through her lips as her brain registered the pain.

Kat tried not to cry as she attempted to set her foot back down on the ground, but the pain went from unbearable to agonizing. Another cry ripped past her lips. She collapsed to the ground; the dog still held firmly in her arms. The tears escaped her eyes as she hugged the dog closer to her arms. Coughing non-stop, she was finding it harder to breathe. The dog started barking and whimpering, bringing her back to reality. She had to get him out of there. She promised that everything would be alright, and she intended to keep him safe. Getting up with the strength she had left, she lifted the dog. She activated her jets before her flying board became functional. Hovering in the air, she readied herself. More sounds echoed off the walls. The building was close to collapsing. She stared at the flames, the beautiful red, yellow, and orange colors dancing across the fallen beam. She let out a yell before advancing on the flames that led to her only exit.

Everyone outside the building watched as a beam fell in front of the entryway to the building. Speedy couldn't believe it. The only exit…blocked. That's when he heard the scream. Kat…He started running for the fire when two firefighters grabbed him and pulled him away.

"Let. Me. Go!"He exclaimed," My friend is in there!" They refused to let him run towards the building.

"You can't go in! The building is on the verge of collapsing!" one of them said, "We can't risk allowing you in there. The building could collapse onto you…" Speedy still didn't stop his struggles. Another scream sounded through the air, but this one didn't stop. A figure jumped through the flames, and he and everyone else around watched as an electric-blue eyed girl landed on the ground, a bundle of fur in her arms.

The building finally gave way, and it toppled down. Beam after beam, wall after wall, the structure crumpled in a fiery mess. Kat stood up, the shield around the dog disappearing. She set the dog down, and he ran towards his owner who stood a few feet away.

"Oh, Sonny!" the woman exclaimed before wrapping her arms around the dog's neck. He licked her face in happiness. It warmed Kat's heart to see them together once again. The warm feeling disappeared fast though when her team mates came into view. They look worried and upset. Aqualad led her to an ambulance and started tending to her burnt leg and made sure she got the oxygen she needed that she was so desperately deprived of. When she seemed better, Bee exploded.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" she screamed, causing the young girl to jump. "You could have easily been killed!" Kat narrowed her eyes at the winged girl before jumping down from the truck, pushing past her. She didn't want to her leader rant on and on. "Where do you think you're going? You come back here right now!" She ignored her.

"Excuse me…young lady?" Kat turned around to see the woman who owned the dog walking up to her. Not only that, but the deadly glare from Bumblebee.

She looked at the woman, "Yes?"

"I want to thank you…for saving my dog," she explained, "Sonny is the only piece of my old life that I have left. You see, my husband got me Sonny when he was a puppy, and not long after that, my husband died. I didn't know how I'd go on, but Sonny showed me how. That dog has been with me through everything, and I appreciate you for going in there to get him. It was so brave of you. You knew that the building was on its way to falling, but you still gone in. That took courage…" Kat smiled at the woman.

"It was no problem…just a few burns. No big deal," she replied.

"No…it was a big deal. If you hadn't gone in, Sonny wouldn't be here right now." At this point, the woman was crying, "…I don't know how I'd live without him." Kat couldn't take it anymore, and she wrapped her arms around the woman in a hug. They stayed like that for several minutes before the woman pulled back, wiping her eyes with her index finger. "I'm sorry…I'm just getting all choked up about what would have happened if you hadn't run in there."

"Well, it'll never happen because Sonny is safe out here, with you," Kat said kindly, "and it'll stay that way." The woman whispered one last thank you before walking away. Suddenly, Kat felt something deep down inside of her that warmed her soul. She never felt it before. It was satisfaction…she was pleased. She actually felt appreciated…valued. Hearing that woman say what she said, Kat felt like she finally did something right, something good. Yes, everyday she fights criminals and takes down bad guys, but not once has anyone personally told her that she did a good job, not even her own teammates. All injuries forgotten, she made her way to the T-Car, and the others followed behind her.

The ride back to the tower was unbearably silent. Kat refused to make eye contact with her team mates as she stared out the windows of the car. Mas and Menos spoke non-stop in Spanish with Bumblebee who nodded her head every now and then to act like she was listening, when she was really gazing at Kat through the side mirror. Speedy would look at her too using the rear view mirror. However, Aqualad was the only one who was actually trying to talk to her.

"Kat…how's your leg?" he would ask, but she would remain silent. "Kat…how's your breathing? Are you breathing alright? I mean, you sucked in a lot of smoke," or maybe, "Kat, how are your other burns? Are you in any pain right now?" He was the only one who was showing her compassion, but Kat still wouldn't respond.

Finally, they made it back to the tower. Kat was the first one up the stairs to the main room, but before she could escape back to her own room, Bumblebee and Speedy stopped in front of her, preventing her from exiting the room.

"Okay…now talk to us," Speedy said, his arms crossed in front of his chest, "Why did you run back into that building? I mean, come on! It was a dog! His life is not more important than yours!"

"His life is just as bit as important as mine!" she retorted.

"But you're still part of this team," Bumblebee cut in, "and that dog was not! It wouldn't matter if the dog died, but if you did, this team would be devastated!"

"You'd do just fine if I died…" Kat murmured, "…you seemed to be doing a great job before I showed up and joined the team."

"Well, you're wrong," Speedy said, "we wouldn't do fine. If you ever died, well…it would just kill us, and when you go pull stunts like the one you did tonight…I just…I don't know! You can't do things like that! You made a poor choice last night…I mean, it has to be the stupidest thing you've done in your entire life, or at least the time that you've been a Titan…"

"You think it was stupid?" He nodded his head. "Well, that woman who owned the dog didn't think so…"

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really! You know what she told me…" Kat looked at every single one of her teammates, "…she told me that what I did was the bravest thing that she had ever seen. She told me I had a lot of courage, and it made me feel good to hear those words come out of her mouth! You guys, that dog was all she got…he was the only piece of her family that wasn't gone yet! What I did today, was good…it was great, and if you don't think so, too bad!"

"Kat, look…" Bumblebee lightly touched the girl's shoulder, but she shrugged her hand off, "…we understand that what you did was very heroic, but you could have easily been killed in those flames. I mean, what's one less dog in this world mean anyway?"

"The end of the world for a very lonely woman…" Kat snapped.

"Come on Kat," Speedy said, "you need to think of this team!"

"All I ever think about is this team!" she exclaimed, "I think about how you guys never seem to appreciate what I do! I clean this tower, I cook for you, and I even put up with all your damn bickering! Never once have I heard a 'thank you' or 'you're the best Kat'! Not once! Even today, I did something, that I believe, was a really good thing, and I don't get a 'great job.' No…all I hear is, 'What were you thinking?' as well as, 'Are you insane!' and most importantly, 'You aren't thinking about the team!' I didn't even get a, 'Are you alright? Are you hurt?' Except Aqualad…thank you by the way for actually showing that you care!" The Atlantean smiled weakly before Kat continued as her eyes began to fill with tears,

"When that woman talked to me after I saved her dog, I felt great inside, and all you guys did was try to break me down. You yelled at me…I just…you guys don't treat me the way I want to be treated. Yes, we have great times together…but now I'm just so frickin' sick and tired of this team!"

"Kat…you don't mean that…" Bumblebee interrupted.

"Oh hell I do!" she screamed, "I mean every word I am saying right now! I can't stand living here anymore…" She began to stalk away, making her way to her bedroom.

"Wait…KAT!" Speedy grabbed her arm, "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving…I'm going to pack, and I'm leaving the tower…"

"What?" Everyone's attention was now plainly focused on her. She ripped her arm out of the archer's grip before walking out of the room. Speedy looked towards the others. Bumblebee sighed.

"We have to let her go…" she stated.

"We can't…she's part of this team!" the redhead replied, glaring at his leader.

"Look, it's not our choice…it's Kat's, and we have to respect it, even if we don't want to…" Bumblebee took a seat on one of the chairs in front of the island counter in the kitchen, Aqualad taking a seat on the counter in front of her.

"But…but-"

"Speedy, Bee's right." the Atlantean cut in, "We can't keep her here forever. If she wants to leave, we have to let her…"

"But maybe we can convince her to stay…" the archer suggested, "…we'll show her that we do appreciate her by doing things differently…give her what she wants." Speedy thought desperately for more ways to keep Kat from leaving, but he knew nothing they could say or do would change her mind. They learned in the past three years as a team that when Kat made up her mind, it was made up. There was most likely no possibility of changing it. Aqualad and Bumblebee eventually stopped listening to Speedy as he rambled on and on, and the twins just sat quietly on the couch as they tried hard not to cry.

Kat walked into her room, grabbing the duffel bag she used for traveling from under her bed. She opened it and started folding her clothes before placing them neatly in the bag. Grabbing other necessities for living, she stored them in the bag with her clothes. She packed her computer into her backpack, as well as her other electrical equipment: cell phone, chargers, I-Pod, ect. She looked around her room, checking to make sure she had everything. She was just about to leave her room when she remembered something she had forgotten, but she didn't know if she should take it with her or not. She dug through the drawer of her desk before finding what she was looking for.

In her hand, she held a picture that she had taken while she was at the beach with the team. Speedy was halfway in the air as he jumped while Kat and the others rolled over laughing. It had been one year since she had joined the team when she took it. She could still remember the day she took the picture.

"Speedy get over here now!" Kat exclaimed as she readied the camera on the tripod.

"Wait! I'm still fixing my hair!" the redhead replied as he continued patting down his hair while gazing at himself in his pocket mirror.

"If you're not here in front of this camera in five seconds, I am going to zap you like there's no freaking tomorrow!" she threatened him, her hand beginning to charge up with electricity. Speedy, true to his name, bolted towards the group in front of the camera in a matter of seconds. While Kat continued working with the camera, Mas and Menos found a lonely crab on the sand before picking it up carefully, but no one seemed to notice. They looked at each other, devilish grins plastered to their faces. Aqualad continued talking with Bumblebee, and Speedy carried on with his vanity session.

"Okay…the camera's set," Kat said aloud before pushing the button on the camera. She ran over to Speedy, grabbed the mirror out of his hand and threw it to the ground. He glared at her before she kissed him on the cheek which immediately brought his spirits back up. As the camera continued its count down, the six Titans smiled at it. Actually, four of them were. The other two were sneaking a crab into the archer's pants.

"You know…that was my favorite mirror," Speedy said, "A little peck on the cheek isn't going to make up for it." Kat smiled. When they leaned into kiss, the crab decided at that moment that it wanted out and began pinching at anything. Speedy let out a yelp, and they all burst out into fits of laughter. Snap! The camera took the picture.

Kat chuckled at the memory. She had kept that picture and every other picture that she took with her teammates. She pocketed the picture in her jacket and made her way out the door of her room. Walking into the main room was hard for her, but she did it. She gave Bee a hug goodbye, and Aqualad got a peck to the cheek as well as a hug. However, Kat practically broke down when she hugged the twins. They started crying along with her, and it broke her heart, but she still was fixed on leaving. She loved the twins, but she was sticking with her choice.

"¡Por favor, no deje! ¡Te necesitamos aquí! (Please don't leave! We need you here!)" they cried.

"I'm sorry," she replied, "but I have to go. You two will be just fine. You're my brave little soldiers right?" They nodded their heads, weak smiles spreading across their faces. "Good…take care of yourselves, okay?" The twins gave her one last hug before she stood up. She looked around, hoping to find Speedy, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Well, I guess I'll be going now…" she said before walking towards the staircase that led to the garage.

"Take care of yourself," she heard Bumblebee say, but she didn't turn around to respond to her. Kat continued down the stairs until she reached her motorcycle. She placed her duffel bag in the case on the side of her bike before mounting the two-wheeler. However, she soon realized what else she was missing…her keys. She dropped her backpack onto the ground before running up the stairs to the main room. Everyone in the room turned to look at her, and their faces seemed to brighten.

"¡Estás de vuelta! ¿Significa esto que no te vas? (You're back! Does this mean you're not leaving?)" the twins exclaimed, hoping that she would say yes, but she shook her head.

"I'm sorry…I just forgot my keys." She crossed the room to the table where she knew she had left her keys, but they were no longer there. "Umm…have you guys seen my keys?" They shook their heads before they all heard something jingling. Speedy stood in the doorway to her right; her keys held firmly in his hand. She looked from the keys to his face, and he wouldn't make eye contact with her. "Speedy…can I please have the keys?" He shook his head.

"No…not until you promise that you'll stay."

"Speedy, I can't…now, just give me the keys…" Again, he shook his head.

"You can't leave us Kat! You just can't! We need you here…I need you here! We're sorry, okay! We didn't mean to hurt you or make you feel underappreciated, but we really care about you! We've had great times as a team…you can't just throw it away! You can't quit the Teen Titans!"

"I'm not quitting the Teen Titans…I'm just leaving this team…" she mumbled, her eyes beginning to brim with tears, "…now, will you please just give me the keys?" He didn't say anything, and the grip he had on the keys tightened. "Speedy…please…just think about me right now. This is what I need to do…"

Speedy stepped closer to her, his free hand lightly caressing her cheek, "But is it what you want to do?" She grasped his hand as the tears began to fall. She shut her eyes tight.

"Please…just give me the keys…" she begged, her palms up, so he could put them in her hands. He did. Her fingers curled around the metal before she walked around him to leave, but she stopped. Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. "I'll miss you…" she whispered before pulling away and running back down to the garage. Speedy followed her, but when he got downstairs, Kat was already driving off, away from the tower.

He felt a tear slip down his cheek; the first tear he had ever cried in ages, and as she disappeared into the misty fog that had settled around the tower that morning, more and more droplets fell from his eyes. He didn't hide his tears this time. He let them fall, and it seemed like they would never stop. He looked up to see the last remnants of her shadow disappear, the sounds of the motorcycle fading into nothing. She was gone…