The girl smiled at the door, as if it alone would hold all the answers to her problems. Daniel glanced nervously around, not sure of what to think. Of course Jon would have the answers, but would they be good. Rorschach just stood there, calm as ever. He knew Dr. Manhattan would answer his questions about the child. He wasn't worried about it. Plus, when it was all figured out, it would be one more problem off his back.

The door opened, and Daniel suddenly remembered something very important about Jon: he seldom wore clothes among the other Watchmen. As the door slid out of the way, he quickly covered her eyes with a hand. He could see the large machines all around the room, but no Jon. He looked around rapidly, hand still over the girl's eyes as he heard Jon speak.

"It's alright, Daniel, I've covered up." He looked up to see the blue man gently float to the ground wearing… well, something at least. He took his hand off the girl's eyes, and she stared at the blue scientist. He looked back at her, then at Daniel and Rorschach.

"I can't answer all your questions, but I can tell you one thing. The girl isn't human, or at least wasn't born as one. She was obviously created while thinking of me, since she has traces of my nuclear energy, and was programmed to find us before doing anything else. She was supposed to be some sort of weapon, but the project was ended and she was to be terminated. She got out before that could happen, though, with a concussion and black eye."

Daniel looked at the girl with wide eyes. That would explain a lot: the loss of memory, the fighting skills, the invisible gun, everything. He looked back at Jon, who was inspecting the girl, face to face. She seemed to be inspecting him right back, and even reached out to touch his face. He thought he saw a ghost of a smile on Dr. Manhattan's face.

"Unfortunately, due to the radiation she gives off, I can't see much more into her past or future. I can, however, tell that this girl is tough. Much tougher than any of you. She was designed to be super-strong, super-fast, able to bear most injuries, and very intelligent. Not to mention the little 'ability' she showed you both. I could keep her here and find who and where they created her. It would be no trouble and I know Laurie won't mind her."

Daniel looked at Rorschach, who seemed to be considering it. He knew that it would be the right thing to do. To help her figure out what had happened to her, how and why she was created, how to master all the things she could do, but he couldn't bear the thought of never seeing the kid again. The girl turned to look at him and Rorschach, giving him the pitiful look, again. It almost broke his heart.

"Go ahead. Kid needs a place to stay, anyway." Daniel looked at Rorschach in shock, amazed that the vigilante could just push the girl away without a second thought. He looked at Jon, who nodded and stood from his crouching position. Rorschach let out a, "Hurm." And began to walk out the door.

"Come on, Daniel." He hadn't moved. Daniel frowned, still staring at the girl, who was still watching him.

"No, I can't do that. She needs to be treated like a real kid, not some sort of science project. Jon, I know you mean well, but I just can't let her stay." The girl looked at him, wide eyes unblinking. He almost flinched under their constant surveillance. He heard Rorschach's footsteps falter, then stop completely, and knew the vigilante was looking at him. And, of course, Dr. Manhattan was looking at him, too. Wonderful.

Then, he heard new footsteps coming down the hall. The footsteps that came from ladies shoes. Laurie Juspeczyk was coming to join the party. He turned to see her walk past Rorschach, who had been staring at him, and up to him. She smiled at him and Jon, then looked at the girl, surprised.

"Who's this?" The girl turned to look at Laurie, not expecting yet another person to show up. The woman inspected the girl, who looked back at her, in turn. Rorschach mumbled something and stepped back into the room.

"Little girl I found. A weapon. Dr. Manhattan is going to keep her, right, Daniel?" Dan looked at Rorschach, opening his mouth to say something, when Laurie cut him off.

"Does she have a name?" The girl shook her head and Laurie frowned. The girl scratched the back of her head, making a face. It was as if she'd done something wrong.

"She has no memory. She had a concussion," Daniel said, and Laurie nodded, understandably. She got down on one knee to look at the girl, eye to eye, and Daniel realized that they were more alike than he thought. They looked kind of alike.

"Kid's staying with you, Laurie. Come, Daniel. Time to go." Daniel took one last look at the girl and grudgingly began to walk towards the door. He knew the girl was looking at him. He could feel the holes burning in his back. But, he couldn't look back. If he did, he wouldn't be able to leave. He felt himself stop in the doorway. He tried to force his head to stay facing forward, but he couldn't. He glanced back at the girl.

Her eyes were the size of saucers and doing this weird sort of twinkling thing. She threw him her most pitiful face, again, and he couldn't help it. He turned around fully.

"Jon, Laurie, I really don't think this is a good idea. I mean, she isn't just a weapon. She's a kid, just a little kid! Really, a military base is no place for a kid!" He felt his face redden a bit, realizing that Laurie and Jon were both staring at him, again. Oh, and Rorschach, too, was glaring at him, again. The man obviously wanted to leave. He looked at the blue man, who seemed to be considering something.

"Actually, Rorschach, I need to ask you of something." The vigilante was back at the door and Daniel could feel the irritation just radiating off of him. "I need you to take the girl out to see how much she can do. Since you're the only active one of us, I figured it would be in the best interest."

The girl's eyes widened in shock, and she looked up at Dr. Manhattan with a curious expression on her face.

"Learn?" He nodded, then she looked at Rorschach with a small smile. Daniel felt his heart drop. No way would he let a little kid go out with Rorschach! The man, though his friend, was a sociopath, and she wasn't ready to deal with rapists, murderers, and drug dealers. He opened his mouth to protest, again, but Dr. Manhattan stopped him.

"Daniel, I know you don't like it, but she's designed to do just that, and she needs to be tested. I'm sorry, Dan." And suddenly, he was in his bathroom. His dinner felt like it was coming up, but he held onto it. He stumbled out of the room, unhappy with both his form of transportation and why he was sent home.

The girl, tough as she was, would get snapped like a twig out there! She wasn't ready to see, let alone deal with, the things that happened in the underbelly of the city. He glanced at the clock. It was after one in the morning. It was too late to stop them, now. They'd be and about in minutes, and then he'd never find them.

Daniel felt himself sink, feeling down. He'd become somewhat attached to the girl, even though they hadn't been together for long. She just had that sort of… personality. That sweet naiveté that only a child could possess. He let himself crawl into bed and fall asleep, still troubled by the idea of Rorschach being accompanied by the girl on his patrols.

&&&&&&&&&&

The girl looked at Dr. Manhattan in shock. One second, Daniel had been there. The next, POOF! He was gone. She worriedly rubbed her shoulder.

"Daniel okay?" she asked in a small voice. The blue man looked down at her, small smile tugging at his lips.

"There's nothing to worry about. He's at his home." The girl nodded, staring into space as she began to think. Rorschach shifted uncomfortably. He thought he was going to leave and never be bothered with the strange little girl, again, but now he was supposed to take her with him on patrol?! That was crazy. The kid was going to get hurt, or worse, in his way. He glanced at Dr. Manhattan, frowning. Not that they could see, anyways.

"She's just going to be out there for tests. We don't know what she can really do, yet." The man said it so matter-of-factly, but Laurie knew he was just sore because he didn't know quite everything. She found herself chuckling a bit.

"The kid's a real enigma, isn't she?"

&&&&&&&&&&

The girl was fighting a gang. Whenever she took down one, another three came to take his place, until she could no longer fight them off. She shot one, just to get run through with a knife from behind….

Daniel woke up in a cold sweat. Ever since he'd drifted off to sleep, he'd had nightmares about the girl being mauled, stabbed, shot, just all-around gory and vicious scenes that ended with lots of blood and tragedy. In truth, he felt rather horrible about letting the girl go off to be a hero, and his sub-conscience just wasn't going to let that go.

He looked at the clock. 10:00 AM. He should have been getting up, anyways. He trudged towards the kitchen, heart still sunk. He just felt so… bad. Everything seemed to be poking him in the back. He even found himself reaching in the fridge for the orange juice when he was supposed to be making himself coffee.

Groggily starting the coffee maker, he sat at the table, trying to think of something else while his coffee brewed. Sounds of soft breathing awakened him from his depression. He became totally silent, but it was obvious from the start that it wasn't him. He stood, cautiously making his way to his living room.

He glanced at his couch and was relieved to see what was there:

The girl was curled up on his couch, snoring softly. She looked fine, and was all in one piece, thank god. There were some differences, though. She now had a pair of pinstriped black pants, some gray gloves, and her mask was different. It looked as if it was attached to her face, and blanked out her eyes, making them look milky and pupil-less. Her jacket was a little dirty, and he could see a bloodstain or two, but she appeared to be unharmed. A small piece of paper fluttered beside her head, and he was careful to pick it up without waking her.

.ך Γ.

Daniel smiled, stuffing the paper in his pocket. He noticed another paper sticking out of her pocket. He silently slipped it out of he coat and read it.

Dear Dan,

This is Enigma. You might know her better as 'Emmy'. She's a real tough kid. I think she even impressed Rorschach, because he had nothing to say about her. Maybe that's just me. Jon thought about keeping her with us, but she seemed really down about .I could tell she was trying to be nice, though. Jon is going to try and find out more about how she was created, and we were hoping she could stay with you. It's probably better that way, anyway. Good luck, and know that I'll come to visit you guys, soon.

Your friend,

Laurie

Dan smiled at the letter, and slipped it in his pocket with the other one. The blanket she had used, before, was still rumpled on the top of the couch and he quietly slipped that over her. She didn't even move.

'Probably worn out,' he mused to himself, and he tiptoed back to the kitchen to watch his coffee brew and stop the machine before it beeped.

&&&&&&&&&&

"Hurm." Dr. Manhattan looked at Rorschach, acknowledging the man, who seemed to be frowning. They were standing above the sleeping girl, who Rorschach had just deposited on Daniel's couch. He kept his voice down.

"Think it's best to leave her with Daniel?" The blue man nodded, looking at before at the girl one last time. They were back at the military base, in his quarters.

"She'll be most safe and happy there. She's grown very attached to Daniel. And you, too. She knows that if she stays with him, she'll see both of you more than ever." Rorschach nodded, but didn't really seem to like the idea of someone wanting to be more like him. On the outside, at least.

"Besides," the man said, looking away sadly, lost in thought, "We don't know when they'll come for her. Since they will, we both know it. They figured that since we have almost the same energy signature, she'd attach herself to me, first. Her being with Daniel would make it harder for them." Rorschach nodded.

"Still. Girl's dangerous. Never know what she'll do." Dr. Manhattan let out a chuckle.

"They say the same about you. In any case, it's best we leave little… Laurie called her 'Enigma', Emmy for short, I believe. We'll leave little Enigma with Daniel and see what happens. It's all for the best, Rorschach. Believe me."

&&&&&&&&&&

Earlier…

A man in a business suit sat on a rooftop, watching the scene beneath him unfold. A group of drug dealers had been caught by the wrong person. Rorschach was a killing machine, taking out many of the men without any help. But he wasn't a real killing machine like the other vigilante with him. The girl was programmed well, fighting off hordes of men with guns with nothing but her hands.

He stood, ready to leave before he was discovered, as the girl smiled and looked to the man for praise. Around them, bodies of men close to death and corpses riddled with broken bones and covered in their own blood laid on the ground. Yes, she was coming along quite nicely. Too bad she was to be terminated…

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A/N: Yay! She has a name! I give the credit to Detective Huckle, since YOU gave me the idea with YOUR comment. I can hug you! You shall receive many cookies and maybe a vital organ or two in the mail! I have a picture of her on my Deviantart. My name is Desdomina, and I hope you check it out. Also, It's a little shorter than the others, bit that was because I was drawing a blank. Sorry 'bout that! Anyways, enjoy!