Kagome has been jumping between the feudal era and present Japan for a little over four years now. A lot has changed since she started her journey to now. She stopped traveling with her normal group about a year and a half ago. She'd finally had enough of Inuyasha's abuse and her good will only goes so far. She may look for the best in everyone, but she only has so much patience. Plus, he had told them that he was going to work closer with Kikyo from then on, not giving any of them a choice in the matter. The undead Miko wouldn't be traveling with them, but Kagome could easily read between the lines. They'd basically be catering to her needs, following whatever she said. Kagome wanted nothing to do with that. Kagome has been betrayed one too many times by the undead Miko and wants nothing to do with Kikyo, other than her demise so she can have her full soul back again. So, she grabbed Shippo (whom she adopted as her son within the first year of traveling) and they split from the group. Sango and Miroku wanted to go with her, and it warms her heart that their loyalty is with her rather than Inuyasha, but she talked them into staying for a while for two reasons. One, she wanted to keep an eye on the half-youkai as his attitude and decision-making has gotten more erratic and impulsive as the years went on. There is nobody she trusts more than Miroku and Sango to tell her the truth about what he's doing. Kirara has become their go-between, passing letters back and forth secretly. Secondly, if they all left him at once Inuyasha would probably simply follow after them. Which would be beside the point of leaving him. It was a tearful goodbye, but Kagome could feel it was the right thing to do. An agreement was made that if Inuyasha got to be too much for them they would split off from him and join her. They're still holding out for now, but Kagome can tell that they're getting close to reaching their limit. But for her Inuyasha had long run out of second chances. She's only been able to meet back up with her two best friends less than a dozen times in the past year and a half. Getting too close to Inuyasha for too long is risky, so they do their best to keep their travel paths separate for the most part.
Kagome and Shippo traveled by themselves for a couple of months before they ran into friends. Koga tracked them down the moment he heard that she left the group, to make sure she was okay. Then he offered for them to travel with him and his pack. She nearly turned him down as she knows how fast he likes to move. She didn't want to slow him down and after escaping Inuyasha's slave driver paces she refuses to move faster than comfortable again unless it's an emergency. He insisted that he didn't mind and would never force her to do anything, "It might be nice to slow down for a bit Gome." And that if he did need to speed ahead for some reason he trusted her to be able to take care of herself until they form up again. That is what made up her mind. Nobody ever seems to believe that she can protect herself, that she's just some damsel in distress. Which she's not anymore. So, she agreed to travel with them, and all three wolves were ecstatic about it. Shippo was excited to travel with more people again as well. Honestly, it's one of the best decisions she's made. She feels so at home with the wolves.
Growing up Kagome has taken a bunch of self-defense classes. With her who dad is, it was kind of necessary. Plus, she gained many siblings throughout the years and they all like to play fight, sometimes a bit more violently than needed. Her youngest brother has a tendency to bite people. How her dad keeps finding kids that know how to fight is beyond her. But each one likes to teach her different fighting styles or other useful things. She's always liked learning new things and ways to protect herself and those she loves. She may not always show it, but she can actually fight really well. So, she can hold her own against humans with no problem. What threw her for a loop when she first fell down the well was how to properly fight demons. Most demons she can't get up close to fight against. Most demons are strong, fast, durable, have claws, sharp teeth, or a variety of different things that make it hard to fight them hand to hand. There are also some who have powers as well; they can control an element, are poisonous, have mental abilities, have minions, etc. Everyone insisted that she learn how to use a bow, something that she had never even held before. All Mikos use bows though and so does she. It's apparently the easiest weapon to channel her Ki through. She really struggled at first, but she eventually got the hang of it. She's no Green Arrow, but she's getting there. Her respect for the blond archer skyrocketed once she realized how annoying wielding a bow can be. He's quickly become her favorite Justice League member. Though she will never tell her family that, they'd be outraged at her choice. She probably would have had an easier first year if she had been able to use a bo-staff of some kind. A few of her brothers like to spar against each other with bo-staffs or escrima sticks and they made sure to teach her the basics as well. If she had more time on her visits home in the future she would probably ask her youngest brother to teach her how to use a sword, but she just doesn't have the time to go back home to the States. She's gotten a few beginner lessons from Sesshomaru, but she is nowhere good enough yet to actually use one in a fight. Koga doesn't try to keep her away from home as Inuyasha did, but she always feels so guilty staying away too long. This whole situation is her fault to begin with and she needs to see it through and fix it. She broke the jewel, so she'll be the one to collect all of the shards. So, lately, she'll go back for a weekend up to two weeks before going back to the feudal era for a month minimum. Her family from the States come to visit her in Japan when she texts them that she's "visiting home from her travels". Her mom and a couple of her siblings know about the truth of her travels through the well, but her dad and the majority of her siblings do not. So, her excuse for technically being missing off the face of the planet is that she's traveling all over Japan and doing her best to stay away from technology. Bluffing her way through high school had been much more difficult as her father and/or siblings would pop over for surprise visits when she was away, but her mom being the absolute saint she is would give a variety of excuses why she wasn't around.
She spent a lot of time practicing with her bow and new powers, and she's gotten very good with both of them now. The sheer range of her powers still sometimes blows her mind. To go from being a normal girl to being able to do a variety of different things is beyond strange. She can purify demons and most poisons. She can create barriers, power sutras, heal wounds, see spirits, see auras, manipulate her Ki, and a few other things. It was extremely overwhelming at first. She was so used to not having powers she would forget that she had them. Which caused more issues than it should've. Now it comes to her almost naturally, like breathing. She's learned how to fight better as well. She may even stand a chance against some of her brothers now. She's deadly with her bow as well, it is extremely rare for her to miss a shot. Though she can't do any cool tricks like Green Arrow can. She's also added a bo-staff and a dagger to her arsenal for the times when youkai get too close for the bow to be effective. Also, when they are fighting humans, she needs a less lethal weapon(sometimes), so she usually uses her bo-staff. Though, it's not like she hasn't killed any humans before. Thieves and other generally bad people coming after the jewel that attack the people she cares about are fair game. She does not share the same viewpoint as her father on the whole no-killing rule. Let him try and survive feudal Japan. Whenever she manages to find time to go back home to Gotham (which at this point will probably be after Naraku is dealt with), and she sees the Joker it is on sight. He will be a dead clown who will never be allowed to kill anybody ever again. She has a certain personal vendetta against that man and has no problem with following through with it. She can't channel her Ki with her current bow staff (the next time she sees Totosai she's going to commission a new weapon from him, she's sure he could make her something that will work with her Ki), but she can with her dagger. So, her dagger is good against both youkai and humans. Though, with her current unbreakable red bow she sometimes uses that as a bludgeoning weapon if she can't switch to her bo-staff or dagger in time. She very nearly died for the red bow blessed by the gods, the least it could be is unbreakable. She is not nearly dying for a second bow.
At the moment it's just Shippo and herself, they're currently heading to the nearest village to kill some time. Koga had some business to take care of and he took Ginta and Hakkaku with him. So, she figured she'd take the time to stock up on some supplies. As Koga is the prince of the East there are times he has to step away to deal with certain issues. Much like Sesshomaru does for the West, usually leaving Rin in her care until he's finished as of late. Figures that she somehow made friends with both the Lord of the West and the Prince of the East. She guesses it's her destiny to be involved with high society people wherever she goes. She completely blames her dad for that one. At least she doesn't have to play nice with people like Lex Luthor in the feudal era. Thankfully Koga doesn't act like a socialite and she's gotten used to Sesshomaru's attitude. She can easily read his true feelings that hide behind his masks now, she views him as one of her closest friends now. If Inuyasha knew he'd be foaming at the mouth.
She's only a few miles from the town when she feels a huge surge of magic. She stops in her tracks and Shippo jumps up to cling to her shoulders. That was a massive amount of energy, an uneasy look appears on her face. This isn't exactly the best time to be separated from Koga. She can't just ignore it though, not something that big. The only upside is it didn't feel anything like Naraku, or inherently bad. She could technically wait; Koga is planning on meeting back up with them in a few hours at this point. Her original plan was to hit the town, stock up on as much as she could, then leave and make camp somewhere for the night where Koga would track her down and meet up. But this could be a time-sensitive issue and she doesn't want something to come to bite her in the ass because she didn't scout out a possible enemy. Plus, if she really thinks it may be too much for her, she can just keep an eye on it until Koga and the boys meet back up with her.
"What was that, Mama?" Shippo asks nervously, she can feel him gripping her top tightly. He gets clingy when he's unsure about something, not that she minds. She loves that he feels so safe with her that he seeks her out to protect him.
"I don't know baby, wanna go find out?" she asks him. If he doesn't want to go, she'll just send him ahead to the village. He's perfected his transformation magic of being able to look human, so he'd be able to blend in for a while. He basically still looks like himself, only without his cute little fox paws and tail. He dulls the points of his ears and his fangs as well.
Shippo lets out a thoughtful hum for a bit before nodding, "Yeah, the week's been pretty boring so why not."
A short laugh escapes her as she starts walking in the direction of the magic bomb they sensed. Shippo isn't wrong, the week had gone by without a single attack against them. Honestly, she had been getting a bit stir-crazy. It's not often that they don't get attacked every few days or so. Either nearby demons sensing the jewel shards and wanting them or Naraku sending minions after them. It had started feeling like the calm before the storm and she hates those moments.
Even though her son is still clinging to her she feels the need to tell him, "Stay close Shippo, we don't know what we're walking into."
"Okay, Mama."
It takes her nearly half an hour to walk to the site of the energy spike. To her confusion and unease, a dome barrier sits in the small clearing in the woods they're in. The feel of the barrier is odd, foreign in a way, and decidedly neutral. Nothing like she's ever felt before.
"What do you think is in there?" Shippo asks as he peeks over her shoulder. When he doesn't feel like walking, is feeling extra clingy, or he's scared he usually travels clinging to her back and shoulders. She doesn't mind as he is far lighter than a normal kid would be. It also gives her the knowledge of where he is at all times. Her friends joke about her getting kidnapped a lot, and well they aren't wrong her luck is terrible, but Shippo has the tendency to accidentally wander off if he sees something interesting. Not that she's able to test him but she's pretty sure the kid has ADHD with how often he can flit from one thing to the next.
"I'm not sure." She's not able to see inside the barrier. It's a swirling gray color, like there is a cloud of smoke covering it from the inside, "Do me a favor Honey and go hide somewhere close. I'm going to approach it and if it's hostile I don't you close."
Her son actually pouts at her, "I can help."
"I know you can, but I would feel better if you were a safe distance away."
He jumps off her shoulder and gives her a very serious look. A small blue flame appears in his hand, "If anybody attacks you, I'm gonna set them on fire."
Kagome has to hold back laughter. This isn't something she should be encouraging, but he's gotten so much more confident lately in his magic skills. It's funny how much each of them progressed after they left Inuyasha. No more Inuyasha telling her she's never good enough or useless. No Inuyasha venting his frustration on Shippo. They both bloomed after getting out of Inuyasha's degrading shadow. She's been so proud of Shippo lately. She doesn't want him to have an attack first or a violent attitude, at the same time he's gotten so much more confident. She wants to encourage that confidence while at the same time making sure he doesn't turn cruel. It is a fine line to walk when dealing with youkai of any kind, especially children. Youkai don't naturally have the same kind of morals that humans do, not unless you teach them from early on. It is much more common for youkai to end up apathetic to most issues. She's doing her best to help Shippo grow into a kind and good child, she's pretty sure she's been doing good so far. (Honestly, while she loves her dad a lot of her parenting style is mostly "what would her dad do? Do the opposite." He did a pretty good job with her and her sisters all things considered, but he messed up A LOT with almost all of her brothers. Well, maybe not her newest brother, he seems pretty well-adjusted.) On the other hand, she also wants to keep her son safe and away from the fights. With how youkai age slower Shippo may only look about six in actuality he's probably about fifty. Even if he has been alive longer than her he is still by all means a child in youkai terms. She wants Shippo to have a childhood, to simply be a happy kid. The reality is that they are in the middle of a war though, and they are one of the main fighting groups. So, keeping Shippo safe on the sidelines isn't always feasible. She does her best to keep him away from the main fights as much as possible, but it's not always possible. Koga, the boys, and herself have been teaching Shippo how to fight so she's not as scared for his health as when she first adopted him. He has come a long way in the past few years. Teaching him how to fight, yet wanting to keep him out of the fights. Conflicting thoughts. Eh, food for thought for another time. Right now, she needs to focus on this mysterious barrier before her.
She gives her son a grin, "Only if I give you permission. No attacking out of nowhere. We don't want to make any more enemies if we don't need to. Always try and make allies first. Setting people on fire is rude if they don't deserve it."
Shippo pouts even harder if that is possible and Kagome has to hold back more laughter. Her son is so cute when he pouts. However, she doesn't want him to gain an attitude. Time for an ego check, "You don't want to be as impulsive and cruel as Inuyasha do you?"
Shippo's eyes grow wide in alarm, "NO!" he quickly thinks about how mean Inu-Baka was to his mama. He never wants to be anything like Inu-Baka. He stops pouting and shuffles in place, thoroughly scolded, "Sorry, Mama. I'll go find a place to hide." He'll listen to his mama, but all he wants to do is help her, protect her, and make sure she stays safe. He can't lose another parent. He wouldn't be able to survive that. Losing his Papa had nearly broken him, the only thing that had kept him going was the need for revenge against the Thunder Brothers. Meeting Kagome who easily took him in and started taking care of him, who without hesitation chose to adopt him, saved him. There had been a real chance of him simply going feral if he hadn't met his Mama.
She leans down and kisses Shippo on the top of his head, "Thank you, Baby." She waits a moment to let her son go find somewhere to hide. She keeps track of his yoki and tracks him as he moves away from her. Once his yoki settles in place a far enough distance away she turns to fully give the mystery barrier her full attention.
She unsheathes her dagger, figuring that would be the best weapon for the situation. She'd be far too close for her bow to be effective and her bo-staff may not be very effective based on what's inside. Her dagger is equally effective for both youkai and humans, so dagger it is. She takes a steadying breath before approaching the barrier.
She stops mere inches from the dome, dagger held loosely in her hand. Holding it in a way that isn't immediately threatening if there isn't anything hostile inside, but also ready to be effective at any moment. She extends her Ki to flow over the barrier, cautiously testing it. To her surprise, it doesn't feel hostile, in fact, it feels almost welcoming. Like it's excited she's here. The barrier recognizes that her Ki is there but it isn't fighting her, if she had to describe it, she'd say it was studying her as much as she's studying it. What? Why would there be a random barrier that she happens to run into that feels like this? It almost feels slightly sentient. Barriers aren't that common a power, the castor has to be on the more powerful end. Only high-level youkai, Mikos, and Monks should be able to make barriers. Well, in this time at least. In the future, where metahumans are getting more common who knows who can create barriers. The Green Lanterns, Raven, and Dr. Fate are a few that she can think of off the top of her head that can easily make barriers. Here in the past, however, the only people around should only be a few high-level youkai. There aren't that many Miko left that are strong enough to create a barrier of this size, and as far as she's aware there shouldn't be any Monks near her. For the most part, Monks tend to stick to their monasteries. Well, there could be a few warrior monks wandering around, but those aren't very common. However, a youkai barrier would act hostile to her probing Ki.
Well, the barrier doesn't feel evil… or good. It's the most neutral barrier she's ever felt. Not that she has too many barriers to compare it to. Naraku's barriers always feel toxic, just altogether bad. Hakudoshi's barriers are defensive and cold. Shiori's are protective and encompassing. Her own barriers feel like safety, protection, and warmth. Or at least that is what others have told her, she's not able to feel her own powers, it just feels like herself to her. She hasn't been back to the States since she discovered her powers, having somehow convinced her dad that she wanted to finish her high school education in Japan. And the Justice League isn't very active in Japan, so she hadn't had the chance to feel what Metahuman's barriers feel like. Though, she's sure each one feels very different from the others. Her thoughts have gotten off base a little though. Long story short she's never felt a barrier feel like nothing before. She's never seen one so cloudy either. Every one she's seen before has either been perfectly see-through, like exceptionally strong glass, or a solid color of the castor's aura (black for Naraku, dark purple for Hakudoshi). Her own is a bit different, mostly see-through with the tiniest hint of pink, but she mostly categorizes hers in the first category.
Well, the way this barrier is acting is something to study later. Time to know what lies beyond this smokey barrier. Kagome takes a deep breath and reaches out the few inches to touch the barrier. Her original plan is to place her hand on the barrier and channel her Ki into it to strain it into breaking. As long as the barrier is weaker than her own power. And she hates bragging but there aren't many people more powerful than herself in terms of raw power. There are definitely people more skilled than her with less power, but her raw pool of available power is kind of overpowered. In situations where she can simply let go and go all out, she's nearly unbeatable, but she can't do that often as it leaves her tired and vulnerable afterward and it takes her a while to replenish her Ki. Naraku and Sesshomaru are the only two that come to mind that have more raw power than her. That was the original plan, what actually happens is something else entirely.
The moment her fingers touch the barrier she feels it accept her Ki, like a key in a lock, and it gains a bright glow before exploding in a rush of energy. A shriek of surprise escapes her as she's blown backward. It's not painful or anything, more like a strong push rather than an attack. She stumbles to the ground, rolling slightly to minimize any injuries from falling wrong. She makes sure that her dagger is away from her body so she doesn't accidentally stab herself. The energy blowback doesn't last long and she vaguely hears things hitting the ground around the area. Projectiles? Kagome rolls to a stop and attempts to get up only to get smacked in the face with something making her stumble back to the ground with a squeak of shock.
"Mama!" Shippo shouts out in worry.
"I'm fine," she hollers back, "Stay where you are."
She sits back up, rubbing the sore spot on her face where the object had hit her. She's surprisingly not injured but it stings a bit where she got smacked. She looks over to see what assaulted her and a frown tilts her lips. Rope? Was it just supplies that got scattered? She reaches out to grab it only to frown more. No. It's not a normal rope. Strong ancient magic is tightly imbued within it. Then she notices the knot tied towards the end of the rope and her stomach drops. It's a lasso. Shit. She only knows of one magic lasso. There is NO WAY that it is that one. There has to be a second magic lasso… right?
Kagome frantically stands up and looks to the barrier site only to blanch at what she sees. Nine people are spread across the ground, all unconscious at the moment. All are dressed in colorful costumes, with one in black.
Kagome's grip tightens on the lasso in her worry, "Ah, shit. I'm so screwed." The words bubble out of her throat without her meaning to and the glowing lasso catches her attention. She lets out an annoyed hiss before tossing the lasso onto the ground. That is enough of that. She sheathes her dagger, knowing she won't need it even though dread is filling her.
Kagome crouches to the ground with a groan, she grips her head in her despair. As if she could deny the truth in front of her if she can't see it. She's so dead. Absolutely finished. Beyond screwed. Her dad is going to kill her!
How in the hell are they here? Why are they here? How is she going to get them back home? Will the well work for them? Kami, she hopes so otherwise she has no idea how to get these people back to the future.
"Mama?" Shippo calls out cautiously. He's pretty sure his Mama is okay, but her collapsing like that is worrying. She only does that when she's really stressed and doesn't know what to do. What was in the barrier that is making her act like that? He knows that his Mama doesn't want him to fight so does he need to run away to find someone to help? Koga should be close enough at this point, and Sesshomaru has traveling close enough to their group to help out if they need it. He should be able to find him if he really needs to.
"I… I'm okay Baby," his Mama's voice cracks like it usually does when she's under a lot of pressure, "It's safe to come out. Nobody here will hurt you."
Shippo eagerly rushes out from his hiding spot the moment he gets permission, "Do you know whoever made the barrier?" he asks his Mama as he trots to her side. He stops right behind his Mama, still wary of the strangers he smells. The thought of finding Sesshomaru to help still floats around his mind, Lord Sesshomaru is strong he probably felt this barrier form as well. Though, his Mama seems to believe that everything is safe. He peaks around her to see a group of very strange individuals. Some smell like humans, but are dressed in very odd and/or colorful clothing. The others smell odd, however. The largest man, the green-skinned man, the lady with the wings, and the very pretty black-haired lady smell like nothing he's ever smelled before. Not human, not youkai, not half-youkai either. Other. The fact that they smell so unnatural unnerves him.
"Uh… Kinda. I've met a couple of them, but I know of all of them. Do you remember those stories I told you? About the heroes from my time?"
Shippo's eyes light up, "The Justice League? The team with all the strong fighters!" he LOVES the stories his Mama tells about the warriors that do their best to keep people safe and regularly save the world. He looks again at the nine people unconscious in front of them. These are Justice League members?! He gets to meet Justice League members!
His Mama lets out a nervous laugh and that confuses him. Why is his Mama nervous about the heroes that she usually talks so enthusiastically about? Mama usually praises and gushes about these heroes, so why would she be scared of them? She runs her fingers through his hair and as usual, he melts under the affection. Kagome's hair petting serves a dual purpose, he gets the love and affection that he had sorely been missing since the death of his Papa and it calms his Mama down.
"Yeah, the Justice League members. In fact, these nine are most of the founding members." She points to each one as she names them so Shippo will know who is who and can put faces to the stories he's heard, "That is Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Black Canary…" she pauses as her gaze lands on the final member, "and that is Batman."
Her gaze doesn't leave Batman, the single source of her unease. The protector of Gotham herself. The place that she called home for most of her life. The Dark Knight. Her Dad.
Well… Shit. She is so screwed.