Author's Note: This was edited and posted on July 30, 2009. Changes include rewrites and sections with completely new events, including the temporary presence of a baby girl. Word Count: 3009

Tamaran; in an underground facility, there is a great amount of chaos as the many workers hustle about.

"Watch the door!"

"Call for reinforcements!"

"Someone get the masters!"

"Damn – where's our back up?"

And with a loud crash, the armored door they'd been guarding fell open, and the girl, raven-haired and athletic slim, escaped. Unfortunately, however, she wasn't someone they were willing to release so easily. There was a great variety of shouts that day, and quite a few explosions. Most notable, though, would be the terror that occurred once the subject had rid herself of the outer encasing of her shackles, destroying the limiting device that contained her bolts of power. At that point, she'd simply blasted her way through to the exit, no longer bothering with martial arts.

Earth; in a city now protected by a single team of heroes, quiet reigns supreme as the night settles.

"Hey, guys – d'ya wanna hear a joke?" one particularly green fellow asked his friends. Smiling cheerily, he poked and prodded at their collective patience. "Do ya? You know you do! So d'ya wanna hear a joke?"

This casual prodding continued for several more minutes before the others found themselves giving into his constant voice.

"Fine!" another said. His body was part human, part machine. It was quite the intimidating sight to behold. On the other hand, though, aside from Beast Boy, he was the most easygoing of the group. "Tell us this joke, already!"

"Yes, tell us this joke," one of the two teenage girls encouraged him, casually floating over to him. She was distinctive in her bright purple clothing and vibrant hair… You know, just in case the ability to fly wasn't enough to identify her.

"Please," the other female said, exasperated. "If it means I'll be able to get past this paragraph, tell us." She was just as dark as Starfire was bright. While Starfire had brightly colored hair and clothing, Raven was dressed in deep blues and had hair so dark that it looked blue when light reflected off of it.

And though the last of their group, Robin, said nothing, it was obvious that he, too, was paying attention, despite the fact that he was casually looking over a manual for the basic laws of physics.

There was a moment of expectant quiet as they turned towards the shape-shifter. That moment turned awkward when the hero paused before looking down, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I… I forgot."

The response to that single statement was enormous. Of course, it could be blamed on both the boy himself, and his companions, for getting their hopes up.

"For the lo – " Whatever Robin had been about to say was cut off by the sound – and sight – of a great streak of dark pink as it flew past the Titans Tower. All of them had frozen, astonished, but just a moment later, the alarms went off, jolting them back into reality.

"What in the – " They never found out what Cyborg had wanted to say because Robin, who had already darted to the computer panels, cut in.

"It's an unknown source, and it's heading for the center of the city!" He took a single moment to look at the others. "Let's go, Titans."

And as if a switch had been flipped, everyone moved to get to the city square. Cyborg and Raven were in the T Car, but Beast Boy had shifted into a bird of prey to fly to the center of the city along with Starfire. Robin, though, was perched on the seat of his motorcycle.

Although it had been announced that the T Car was to be treated as an ambulance or fire engine – essentially, it had the right of way in any situation – Robin made good use of back alleys and hazardous grounds to quickly get on the scene. He found he'd been beaten by Starfire, who'd had no such impediments, and saw Beast Boy arriving. Beast Boy promptly shifted back to his natural state, panting for just a bit.

Robin spoke to Starfire, who had been there first. "What happened?"

The alien only shook her head. "I do not know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Robin asked, frowning. He twitched as the T Car squealed to a halt just beside his motorcycle – almost hitting his favored method of travel.

Starfire pointed in the direction the chaotic – something, anyways – had seemed to have left behind. "But please; look at the way that everything has been smashed to pieces."

Robin took in what she was saying as he gazed at the intersection and quickly understood her point. "You don't think…?"

The alien nodded. "I do. I thought I should wait before continuing onwards in order to gain your opinion."

Robin nodded thoughtfully before turning to gesture at Cyborg and Raven. It would be much safer for the T Car if they left it behind. Who knew what could happen to it? He mentally winced as he remembered what Starfire had done to the first several cars she'd run into.

"What's the situation?" Cyborg asked as he unhappily got out of his beloved vehicle.

"We think it might be another Tamaranean." Robin said simply.

"Oh." Cyborg paused to digest the information. "Well, what're we waitin' for? Let's go get her!"

Beast Boy, having regained his breathe, shifted into an elephant and trumpeted his approval before returning to human form once more. "Yeah, you said it!"

Raven, rolling her eyes, only said, "Did you ever stop to consider that it might be a guy?"

And with that, they followed the trail of broken concrete, smashed cars, pillars, and walls.

Earth; in the center of a city that was once quiet, but is now filled with chaos, the public learns that they have been cheated of their taxes as they watch yet another street being totaled.

"Son of a – "

"Oh, my god!"

"What the hell?!"

"Help!!"

The many citizens that happened to be visiting the area were quickly toppled. The screams annoyed her – why were these mortals screaming, anyways? It wasn't like their wounds were lethal. Kagome didn't particularly care, but her instincts led her against lethally harming anyone. As a result, she'd only slammed her restraints against more inanimate objects than Starfire had, but with fewer injuries.

Kagome was just about the beat her captured hands against yet another steel bar, but paused as she heard the cries of a child. She looked around, puzzled, and found what she was looking for. It wasn't a child, but a babe that was crying out so piteously. She moved towards the child, curious, and concerned. Was the baby hurt?

As she got closer, she realized that it was not, in fact, injured. It had been left in the open back seat of a convertible, still strapped into the car seat meant for their very safety. As she got closer, the baby – she was unsure of whether it was male or female – quieted. She hovered in the air in front of the baby, curious. Most babies were ingrained with instincts – typically, the instinct to run when a predator is near. On the other hand, babies couldn't run – perhaps it was quieting with the hopes that she didn't see it? Kagome shook her head. She doubted it – she could see the babe clearly, just as it could see her. Besides, children and babies typically believed that if they could see someone, that someone could see them back.

Which still left the question of why the baby had quieted in the air for her to ponder.

Kagome, who had become lost in her musings, was quickly returned to reality when she heard the baby begin to squall again – loudly. She winced as she listened to the baby abuse her ear drums. Definitely a girl, then, she thought. The only things I know that can get that loud are girls. And guys when they've been kicked, but this one obviously is female.

"It's okay," she said to the baby in her native language. "Shhhhh. It's alright. No one's going to hurt you."

She hovered just above the child and a horizontal slant so that her torso was lower than her legs. She reached out, bound arms and all, and undid the straps that held the baby hostage. The baby girl lifted her arms towards her and Kagome instinctively opened her hands.

With the baby in her arms – held securely with the lock as a safety net in case she did, somehow, drop the baby – she righted herself and moved towards one of the many pockets that people had immediately run to for cover.

"Who is the parent of this child?" she called out, wondering if anyone would claim the baby girl. She hadn't even realized that she was speaking a foreign language yet.

"Hello? If no one comes for this child, then – "

Kagome was cut off by a gruff boy's voice.

"Then what?" Kagome whipped around, holding the baby close so as to not drop her.

"Who are you?" she demanded of the newcomer. She didn't know who he was, but he looked foolish standing atop the dented roof of a dented car. She admitted to herself that he looked a bit less foolish when his friends moved to stand behind him. One was… green, oddly enough. Another hid herself behind a dark blue cape – Kagome only knew the bearer was female because of the high waist and comfortably sized hips. There was a cyborg – one who was half human and half machine – and… another.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at the red-haired girl. She was Tamoranean. There was no doubt about it. But the question was whether the girl was an inhabitant of the city as she appeared, or someone that was leading these… others… in her attempts to recapture her.

"Put the baby down," said the cyborg, "And we can be nice about this."

"Who are you?!" Kagome demanded once more, moving backwards a bit, even as she floated higher. Higher ground was always an advantage in a fight. Her eyes glowed vibrantly.

"Please, we mean you no harm!" It was the raven-haired Tamoranean.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her. "Then why have you come to me, all bearing weapons, be they of fang or tool?" She spoke formally, a habit that came when she was irritated.

"We are the guardians of this city."

And Kagome lowered herself to the ground, her concerns lessening. Tamoraneans did not lie without good reason to. Kagome doubted that capturing her was a good reason.

Besides, she could respect protectors, having had so little of her own protection in her childhood.

"What do you want?" she asked, relaxing a bit.

The other Titans looked on in awe as the two conversed.

"We can free you of your restraints," Starfire said, gesturing towards Kagome's captive arms. "But you will need to answer to justice for your crimes."

Kagome, who had relaxed at the idea of possible freedom, immediately stiffened, preparing to lift off once more. The baby whimpered in her arms.

"What crimes?" she snarled. "I left no dead."

At this, Starfire, surprised, looked towards Robin. "She says she had not killed anyone."

Robin was taken aback – how could anyone cause such destruction without killing anyone?

"Cyborg!" he called on the team's trusty mechanic.

"I'm on it!" the other responded, already starting a heat scan. After a moment, he spoke up, "I don't believe it! She really didn't kill anyone!"

"Are you sure?" Beast Boy asked, cautiously looking at the scanner at a position that made Kagome wince. "This thing could be busted, right?" He tapped his friend's metal arm.

"No, man – I'd be picking up some signals. Bodies are warm, and within the time span that she's been here, they wouldn't have gone cold yet. There's nothing in between. She really hasn't killed anyone." Cyborg was obviously amazed.

"Are you sure?" Robin repeated Beast Boy's question. "There could be some severe repercussions if we just let her go."

"There are no dead within the area. Unless you count a few rats in the sewers." Raven said, her voice daring the others to object. She would, after all, know. "And there are already going to be some repercussions from injuries."

Robin nodded, and then spoke to Starfire. "Tell her we'll let her go, but she has to promise not to attack people." The team's Tamoranean nodded in understanding and was just about to speak when Robin continued. "And if she has no place to go, she can come with us."

There was an awkward moment of silence in which each of the Titans had their respective thoughts on the sanity of their leader. Fortunately, that moment passed quickly and Starfire got to business.

"We can free you," Starfire said once more, "But you must promise to harm no one. And – "

"Done," Kagome hissed out before the red-haired girl was done. She would've happily cut off her arms to get rid of the restraints, but this was a much, much better alternative. Besides, she wasn't the type to purposefully harm people or things.

Relaxed, she casually moved towards the team of city defenders, her arms held out before her.

"Raven, the baby." Robin spoke, wanting the girl out of the way in case their opponent suddenly became violent.

Without any particular motions, the psychic acquiesced. As the dark energy massed around the baby, Kagome hissed, before pulling her arms towards her chest, careful not to crush the child. She glared at them, unsure of what had happened, realizing only that one of them had released dark energy. A moment of careful analysis showed that it was the girl who hid behind her cloak.

"You will not harm her!" she exclaimed, holding the baby to herself protectively.

"We do not want to harm her," Starfire said quickly. "We only want to take her from you – she will be returned to her parents!"

Kagome watched them warily, stopped roughly five or six meters away from them. "Then take her from me without your tricks."

Starfire frowned, then nodded. "She says she will give the baby to us, but we must not use our powers to take the girl from her."

Robin, shaken by the sudden change from peaceful to angry, nodded. "That's fine."

And without another word, he moved forward until he stood before her, accepting the baby from her.

"Starfire, take her and try to find her mother. Since you can fly, you'll be her best bet at finding her mother," he ordered. Starfire floated towards them, landing with a slight tap as her boots met the ruined pavement. She took the baby from him and immediately flew to the closest lamp post, scanning for any possible matches.

"Cyborg, take Beast Boy and help her." Robin said, watching as the two he'd commanded wordlessly did as he'd bid. His peripheral vision allowed him to see that Starfire had passed the child to Beast Boy who had, apparently, become amazed by the fact that he was holding a baby. Fortunately, he was quite still without his usual bouncy movements. Cyborg converted his arm into a loudspeaker, and Starfire lifted him. Robin knew that Cyborg would broadcast as Starfire flew, and Beast Boy would follow with the baby.

He himself focused on the lock. It wasn't too complicated – the same, in fact, as the one Starfire had worn upon her entry to their planet.

With a subtle click, the lock fell open, and, remembering the impact the last one had made, Robin moved his foot just before it was crushed by the weight. As it was, he winced when he realized that it had dug itself into the pavement. He doubted he'd be able to move it without help.

"There," he said, satisfied. He took another step back, planning to get a better view of the girl before him. He was mistaken, however, in believing she would remain still long enough for him to do so.

The girl immediately launched herself into the air. Once she was about ten feet into the air, she spoke, eyes glowing. "Do not follow me." Then, before Robin could even begin to ask himself what she'd just said, the girl took off, long gone before he could say anything.