To Lyger 0: A vampire hunter, you say? I've been thinking about incorporating more vampire lore into here…

To HopefulPhoenix: Thanks! That's actually the approach I've taken with this series, hence using "anthologies," "volumes," and "special events," as well as long-running series like the Heroes of the UK or Lukagami interweaving with the other stories. Unfortunately, I'm not an artist, so I wouldn't be able to draw this as a comic book myself. :(

To armadas: These five are a lot of fun to write together! "The Colossus Saga" actually has 2 separate stories focusing on them. And yeah… it's definitely going to hit the fan eventually…

To yellow 14: Their relationship takes some inspiration from my sister and wife – they were really close. And Kagami would definitely be the type to use her cast as a weapon if necessary!

Kagami rested her arm on the table next to her plate, staring at her fingers and flexing them in disbelief. Longg had chosen not to sit with the circle of Kwamis in the middle of the table and had instead brought his sushi roll over to sit on the edge of her plate, as if afraid that if he wasn't right there she might disappear. She stroked the top of his head with one finger of her newly-freed hand. The cast had only come off a little over an hour ago, and when she and Luka had returned to the Liberty, Anarka had waved them downstairs where Juleka, Rose, and Mira were already waiting. An enormous pink banner across the room read "Free At Last," complete with images of x-rays on either side of the phrase and the "L" shaped like a full-arm cast.

"A toast!" called Anarka, lifting her glass. "To having two arms!"

Kagami giggled as a wave of laughter swept through the others. "I always had two arms," she protested. "It's just that I had to hold one a little closer to the chest!"

To her left, Juleka elbowed her in the ribs, grinning. "I suppose that made some activities challenging…"

Kagami nodded, groaning. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to write with your non-dominant hand? And Mother had me proofing contracts half of last week, too!"

"How did that work when you could only type corrections with one hand?" asked Rose curiously.

Kagami laughed and pointed to Longg. "As long as I was alone, it wasn't too challenging."

"I'm glad it didn't happen to me," Juleka noted, shaking her head. "How would I play with only one hand?" She glanced down the table at the group of Kwamis.

Roaar looked up at her and shook her head adamantly. "Don't look at me!" Juleka frowned. "Claws," explained Roaar, extending them to demonstrate.

Daizzi giggled. "You're just embarrassed. She has no sense of rhythm," she informed Juleka.

Roaar chucked a piece of dried beef at Daizzi and folded her arms in a pout. "Remember, Pig, I could still eat you!" She bared her teeth and ducked the apple slice that Daizzi tossed at her. It flew past Roaar and smacked Paxx in the back of the head. Sass frowned at Daizzi and Roarr, flicking the apple slice back at them with his tail.

Watching the Kwamis bicker, Juleka stifled a laugh. "Let's hope we never have to worry about that," she told Roaar.

On Kagami's other side, Luka leaned into her side and wrapped his arm around her back. "I'm sure you're glad to have the use of both hands, though," he observed, raising an eyebrow.

"So glad," she agreed. She smirked. "I can't wait to transform and actually spar for the first time! Do you realize this is the longest I've gone without practicing fencing since I was four?"

Mira scoffed. "Is that all? Mama started me off with bo staffs at three!"

Kagami smirked. "I said fencing," she replied. "I started kendo at three, and bo staffs at two!"

"I'll spar with you," Rose volunteered, grinning eagerly.

"I wanted to do it," protested Juleka. Rose stuck out her tongue at her, and Juleka gave her a mischievous look. "I'll fight you for it!"

Kagami chuckled. "I'll take you both up on the offer," she told them eagerly. "I want to do as much as I can now that I actually can… And besides, at this point, I'm pretty sure I need all the training I can get if I'm going to rebuild the muscle I lost." She frowned down at her arm, flexing her bicep. Even just from the five weeks she'd been in the cast, she could feel the difference between her arms.

"Not to worry," Longg assured her, patting her hand. "With your miraculous it should not take too long to regain the muscle you lost."

"Just don't break anything else," Anarka warned, raising an eyebrow in warning. "Your mother made me promise that if you were going to stay with us until you recover, you had to actually recover."

Kagami rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom. I won't push myself. Too much," she amended, smirking at Juleka.

Juleka smiled back halfheartedly, though her mouth slowly turned down into a frown. Turning to Anarka she pursed her lips. "Why did you have to bring that up?" she asked, her shoulders slumping. Rose put a hand on Juleka's shoulder comfortingly. Juleka turned to Kagami, her lower lip trembling. "I knew this day was going to come, but still. I'm going to miss having you living with us," she told her fretfully.

Rose nodded. "It's been so much fun the last month – even if I didn't get to see you every day…"

Kagami's eyes widened and she glanced over at Luka, who gave her an encouraging smile. "Actually," she told Juleka nervously, "Luka and I were talking about that in the car, and I've decided that after spending the last month living here, I want to stay – if that's okay with you," she added worriedly, glancing from Juleka over to Anarka for confirmation.

Anarka reached across the table and placed her hand over Kagami's. "Ah, I wouldn't have it any other way," she informed her, smiling happily.

Juleka's eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around Kagami in a tight hug. Gasping for breath, Kagami hugged her back, sniffling in relief. She felt Luka wrap his arms around both of them, and sighed. After spending so much of her life hidden inside, unable even to move without her mother's permission, with no true friends and hardly any acquaintances, she had found a new home and a new family.

"That's so amazing!" Rose gushed, clasping her hands.

Longg smirked mischievously. "I am glad I will not have to return to hiding all the time," he observed, nodding to the other Kwamis.

"Yeah," Roaar called, gesturing with a chicken bone. "That is pretty awesome. Of course, you remember what you said at Christmas, right? About how we need to 'be polite' and help out? Now that you're going to be living here, that means we're adding you to the chore list… I vote you get to help dry the dishes tonight!"

"I am happy to assist however I can," Longg responded calmly, bowing to Anarka, who tossed an anchovy to him.

Roaar folded her arms, glaring at Longg through narrowed eyes. "Stupid suck-up serpents…"

"That's great for you!" Mira told her, smiling.

"So, have you told your mother yet?" asked Anarka.

Kagami swallowed hard, her stomach clenching in a tight knot. Even after all this time, could she actually tell Mother that she was never coming home? Both Luka and Juleka put an arm around her back. Kagami coughed. "Not yet," she admitted. "I wanted to make sure it was okay with you first. But we're going to call her after dinner."

Mira hummed. "If she gives you any trouble, I'd be happy to 'Calm' her for you and see if that makes her kinder and more generous!"

Rose giggled. "So…" she began, giving Mira a sly look, "have you thought any more about my idea for a trip to Rio for Carnival?" She gestured to Juleka and Kagami. "We have a long weekend while it's happening, so we could stay for most of it."

Mira frowned, looking down at the table and catching Paxx's eye. "I don't know… It does sound like fun. But Night Bat has been so quiet lately. What if Night Bat does something and I'm not here to stop him?"

"There are about 20 other heroes in Paris," Rose argued. "And I'm pretty sure Ladybug would be happy to give him a beating for you if he sticks his head out!"

"The rest of the Heroes of Paris can handle him for a weekend," Kagami assured her. "After years of doing nothing but fight the Bat, you can take a weekend for yourself, right?"

"Maybe…"

"That's why you're working with a team now," Luka pointed out. "None of us should have to be 100% focused on the job all the time – and if you are, you're going to burn yourself out."

Mira still had a troubled look on her face.

Juleka cocked her head, furrowing her brows. "I don't know if Carnival is going to happen, though," she warned. "I was looking online the other day and I read that the city is thinking about canceling Carnival this year because of a flu outbreak."

Kagami raised an eyebrow dubiously. "It would have to be a pretty serious outbreak for them to actually cancel Carnival, wouldn't it?"

Anarka hummed, frowning. "The way that sickness can spread in a crowd is not something to underestimate. I remember one time we were on tour in Italy and the whole tour bus came down with a stomach bug just because Jagged got a little too close to the wrong person at an after party."

"Wait…" Mira's eyes widened in shock and her fork clattered to the table. "A flu outbreak severe enough for Rio to consider canceling Carnival?" she repeated. "That's definitely not normal." She looked down at Paxx, who echoed her troubled expression. "That has to be the Bat."

Rose cocked her head in surprise. "Why are you always so quick to jump straight to Night Bat?"

Mira pursed her lips. "Because after over a millennium of it always being the Bat, Doves have learned to always assume that whatever suspicious activity is going on has to be the Bat's work," she replied curtly. "Believe me, it's simpler that way."

Paxx nodded somberly. "Bella's current… holder… cares so little for human life that almost any major disaster can be traced back to him somehow."

"Didn't he say something about World War I last year?" asked Kagami.

Mira nodded bitterly. "That was one of my grandmother's greatest failures."

Luka hummed. "You know, I don't remember seeing Night Bat since September," he observed. "That time when he kidnapped XY."

Juleka arched an eyebrow. "I still think you should have let him keep that hack…"

"Believe me, I considered it," answered Luka, groaning.

"And they haven't said anything about him – nothing definitive, at least – at Headquarters since then," Mira added.

Kagami raised an eyebrow at Juleka. "Your friend didn't say anything about his boss, did he?"

Juleka thought for a moment and shook her head. "No… I mentioned him, but Tyran-X didn't say a word about what Night Bat was doing."

Rose cocked her head in confusion. "When did you talk to Tyran-X?" she wondered, staring at Juleka.

Juleka grimaced, her cheeks taking on a light pinkish hue. "You remember when I left for an hour on Christmas Eve?"

"Yes…"

"I went to find Tyran-X," she explained. "And I brought Kagami along for backup." Rose blinked, her eyes driving between Kagami and Juleka in shock. "There were a few things I needed to say to him."

"But why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I was trying to keep you safe." Juleka took Rose's hands in her own and squeezed them. "Last time he hurt you so badly."

Rose frowned and pulled back. "You told Kagami."

Juleka nodded. "I knew that she wouldn't hesitate to electrocute him if he made a wrong move."

Kagami's mouth set in a thin line. "No one hurts my family and gets away with it!"

"You kids…" muttered Anarka, rubbing her forehead and shaking her head. "I'm glad you watch out for each other, but could you try to avoid this whole 'getting hurt' thing?"

"We don't exactly set out to get hurt," Kagami told her. "But unfortunately the other guys usually have other ideas."

Mira frowned. "The Bat has to be in Brazil again," she asserted. "And if that's the case, I need to go and stop him."

Luka cleared his throat pointedly. "You mean we need to go and stop him."

Mira hummed in surprise.

"You need all of us," Kagami explained. "You can keep going the same way and just keep on trying to stop whatever corruption he causes, or you can bring the rest of us, let us help you out, and maybe actually take him down."

Juleka nodded, and Rose covered Juleka's hand with her own. "You're not alone," Rose told Mira. "You have us."

"We'll be right there with you," Juleka promised. She clenched her fist, running her fingers along the rings of her panjas bracelet miraculous. "I wouldn't mind introducing Night Bat to these!"

"Having a team will help," Paxx pointed out, alighting on Mira's shoulder.

Anarka chuckled. "This sounds like a wild trip!"

"What, are you coming, too?" Kagami asked, surprised.

Anarka shook her head. "Not this time. I saw enough of Rio back in '95."