Domino puts her hand up with an apology, "sorry, miss, I have my own family to get home to, I was just cleaning up the city a bit, oh sorry about your friends by the way, I got a little... carried away there."  She says with her hand on the back of her head and a childlike awkwardness to her laugh. "In fact, I don't really know why I got so incredibly angry."  Domino finally starts to relax and reflect on her actions tonight. 

 

She quietly steps off the cowardly vampire's head to think, when the coward sees his chance to escape.  He softly starts to stand and dash towards the door only to be met with a smiling Drusilla. 

 

"Where do you think you're going? We still have questions for you, now go sit down like a good dog until we're ready for ya."   Drusilla grabs him by the neck and tosses him towards the burnt couch, as he slides to the end and awkwardly sits down like the heavy side of a seesaw.

 

Spike smiling at his beloved before looking down at the little Goddess with surprising concern in his eyes.

 

"What are you even doing here anyway, this is far too dangerous even to a lil bird like yourself.  You were literally just born, you think we didn't see your light show this morning?" Spike drops down to a knee to talk to her at eye level. 

 

"We also saw the little tantrum you threw just now, you got a little angry there didn't ya'? Spike says while rubbing the hair on the top of her head.

 

"I-I didn't throw a tantrum!" Domino says with a light stomp of her foot and a familiar glow to her eyes.  As the light burns brighter, Spike stops her with a flick to her nose.

 

"Ouch! W-what was that for?!" Domino says with childlike innocence as the light in her eyes dim while rubbing her little nose. 

 

"See? Tantrum, this is what happens when you give a child god-like abilities, you are far too young for this.  Until you learn some self-control, you need to stay clear of places like this.  You shouldn't be out here by yourself in the first place, even if you were a baby Goddess.  Where are your parents?" Spike asks in a familial tone.

 

Domino looks down at her feet as Spike was reprimanding her like the child she is.  "My mom and my sister are both at home, I-I snuck out to take a look around, I just wanted to know what the world was ... like." Domino says with a pout and just now realizing he may be right.

 

Spike with an understanding smile.  "You'll be alright, you're a good kid, well, you did a bad thing, and you know that.  You see these blokes that you dusted? They were basically children too, I remember being young and dumb, ages ago." Spike stops to reminisce for a second before shaking it off. 

 

"But we live, and we learn. Well, sort of, we're not "technically" alive, but you get what I mean.  You don't want to turn into these types do ya?" Domino shakes her head no, with watery eyes as she understands his words. 

 

"Good, now go home, we'll clean this mess up." Spike lightly pushes the back of her head towards the door, when Drusilla grabs Domino by the hand to walk her out. "S-sorry, I messed up, didn't I?" Domino says while looking in Drusilla's eyes.

 

"Oh, it's alright little one! The stars haven't abandoned you, and neither will we, I promise." Drusilla says with her pinky out.  Domino interlocks her pinky with Dru's with a small smile.  Domino reaches out to the handle before turning back towards Spike. 

 

"Th-thanks ... Uncle Spike!" Domino opens her mouth to say something else but decided against it.

 

"Hey, kid. If you ever need us again, just put on another light show, we'll find ya."  Spike says in a reassuring tone.  Domino smiles and waves goodbye as she runs off into the night.

 

Spike and Drusilla walk towards the coward on the couch.  The smiles they wore were replaced by their game faces.  The vampiric scowls return as they stare down at the man. 

 

Drusilla leans down with a terrifyingly elegant demeanor, "Now, the stars may love the little one, but they are awfully quiet about you, would you like to tell us where the big guy is? Or do we have to finish where she left off?" The man recoils with fear he has never experienced before. 

 

*****

 

Domino flies through her open window and changes back into her pajamas before finally lying down on the bed.  She stares at the ceiling, using x-ray vision to look towards the stars. 

 

"The stars sing about me huh? I wonder what they say to Aunty Dru? No, no, that's not what I should be thinking about right now.  What was I even doing...I mean I'm glad I met Uncle Spike and Aunt Dru, but... they were right, I went a little crazy there.  What would have happened if I got mad at mommy, or sister Buffy?!  I would never forgive myself.  Thank Rao, they were just vampires."  Domino continues to reflect.

 

"I hope those girls got home okay, that's what I should have done!  I should have made sure of that, but instead, I had to stay and punish that guy, I still don't understand what came over me.  The poor girls that died just... I don't know...that's no excuse.  Uncle Spike is right, I need to learn self-control before going back out there.  I can't just torture people like that, well, they aren't exactly people but still, that makes me no better than they are!  I... thought it would be fun, but I didn't have fun at all! Well, until Aunty, and Uncle came around.  They were so nice... and extremely powerful, they didn't show too much, I could just tell, they were not to be messed with."  Domino says while shaking her head a little.

 

"I'm so confused though, as nice as they are, they are still vampires, right?  They eat people, but they are still not the same as those "children" as Uncle Spike calls them.  They aren't even close actually, is the age gap that big of a deal?  Do they evolve with time, or are there other factors?  I still don't understand how the "dead" can evolve.  I'll have to remember to ask them the next time I see them.  I'll think about that later, I'm finally tired now though, I think I'll just close my eyes for a bit." Domino does exactly that, as she drifts off to sleep.

 

****

 

Domino and Buffy are at the breakfast table ready to eat, Joyce brings a plate of eggs, pancakes, and sausages to Buffy, and sets down a newspaper near Domino, as she reads the headline.

 

"A Little Girl In A Kimono Saved My Life!"

 

Domino's eyes widen in shock, not expecting this at all. She turns her head slowly to meet her mother's gaze and smiles awkwardly.

 

"I-I can explain!"  Domino says apologetically. 

 

"Oh, can you? I specifically remember tucking you in last night, this couldn't possibly be you right? There must be another little Goddess out there in a kimono playing superhero."  Joyce says with sarcasm and mild disappointment. 

 

"I-I'm sorry, I just wanted to see the city, I didn't think--" Joyce stops her with a hand raised in front of her.

 

"That's right, you didn't think!  You-are-a-child! Goddess or not, the city is dangerous at night, sweetheart."  Joyce sighs as she continues to berate her newborn menace. 

 

"Never, and I mean never go out alone again, do you hear me young lady?!"

 

Domino puts her little elbow on the table and a hand under her chin. "Yes, I hear you, mommy.  I promise I won't do it again."

 

Joyce replaces the newspaper, and sets it closer to Buffy, as she puts down a plate of food for her superhero toddler as she shakes her head.

 

"Get your elbows off the table and eat, you aren't going unpunished for this, ya know?  Whether you saved a life or not, you don't get to leave this house without my permission, got it?" Domino nods with understanding, "yes mommy, I get it."  

 

Domino takes a look behind Joyce as she notices a bunch of broken plates and some bent and disfigured pots and pans. 

 

"Mommy, what happened here." Joyce looks back down at her daughter and says, "I found out the hard way that a "Kryptonian" shouldn't cook while they're angry. Now eat up, Buffy, watch her, I'm going out for a while, I have a dryer to order, and now some new kitchenware to buy." She says while glaring at her daughter. 

 

Domino just turns back to her food and stuffs her face, pretending not to hear her.  Buffy just waves her hand in the air dismissively as if to say, "sure" while eating a sausage and reading the newspaper. 

 

Buffy starts to giggle out of nowhere as she says, "you really did all of this?  Ugh, I wish I could have been there."  

 

Joyce hears this as she walks back towards Buffy and rips the newspaper from her hands. "That's enough news for all of us today, finish your breakfasts, I'll be back in an hour." 

 

Buffy looks towards Domino as she asks, "did you really kill a bunch of vampires last night?" Domino with a small smirk was about to respond when...

 

"Buffy! Eat!" Buffy jumps with a startle and says "Ah! Y-yes, mom!"  The two little tyrants at the table were left to eat in alone. 

 

"We'll talk later."  Buffy tries to whisper but Joyce retorts, "I heard that!" before the door slams shut. "Ugh, why am I always the one getting in trouble for you, is this going to become a reoccurring theme?" Buffy asks with a jokingly annoyed demeanor.  

 

Domino just shrugs with a smirk, "I'm just a baby, what do I know?" She says with a mouthful of eggs.  

 

Buffy clicks her tongue, "oh, shut up". She says while throwing a sausage at Domino's head. 

 

****