Baby Metroid

The Baby Metroid, also known as the Infant Metroid and Baby, is the titular deuteragonist of the metroid franchise.
It is a Metroid hatchling that grew attached to Samus Aran during her mission to eradicate the Metroid species on the planet SR388. Unable to bring herself to destroy the affectionate infant, Samus decided to put Baby into the care of the Galactic Federation, so it can be used for medical advancement instead of a biological weapon.
==History==
===Metroid II: Return of Samus/Samus Returns===
As Samus was exterminating the Metroids on SR388 to prevent the Space Pirates from being able to use them as bioweapons for their own ambitions, she comes across the Queen Metroid in Area 8, which is the deepest part of the planet and managed to kill her. She continues venturing further until she comes across a single Metroid Egg that the Queen left behind, which then hatched, and the Baby Metroid was born. Samus quickly takes aim at the infant at first, but she is surprised at how friendly it was to her, so she holds back her fire and brings her hand out to it, which the Baby imprints as its adoptive mother. Samus decides to spare its life and brings it with her back to the Gunship as it carves out indestructible crystals on their way out. 
In Samus Returns, its role remains the same as it was in the original, yet it has been expanded upon. As they make it to the surface, the Baby was suddenly captured by Proteus Ridley, who only has a few cybernetics on its body left from its previous encounters. Ridley had come to SR388 to prevent Samus from exterminating the Metroids, but it was too late to do so, but seeing the baby Metroid has it realize that it can still use it for the purpose of cloning to recreate the Metroids for use as bioweapons. Ridley attempts to capture the young Metroid before Samus attacks it, though it managed to snag the hatchling. After being injured further, Ridley tries to make a break for it with the Baby Metroid in tow, but Samus uses her thrusters to slam into Ridley's chest, making it drop the hatchling, and it floats over to her Gunship during the next phase of the battle. When Ridley managed to have Samus at its mercy, the Baby Metroid acts to protect Samus by draining Ridley of much of its energy and transfers it to Samus for her to regain her lost strength to continue the battle. The baby continues to help Samus for the remainder of the battle and they were able to defeat Ridley, with the two of them subsequently managing to escape SR388 together.
However, Ridley managed to survive the battle and goes out to give pursuit and ditches its cybernetics before taking off, just as the X-Parasites, as well as the Metroids, their natural predators, slowly begin to resurge across the planet with one of them infecting a Horntoad. 
===Super Metroid===
After the incident on SR388, Samus brings the baby Metroid to Ceres Space Station and presents it to the scientists, who study its prowess for the purpose of medical advancement. After Samus leaves, it wasn't long before a distress call was sent out and Samus was forced to return, only to find it under attack. Baby is kidnapped by Ridley towards the start of the game, and despite Samus's attempts to get it back, Ridley escapes to Zebes, leaving the Ceres Space Station to explode. After Samus defeats Ridley on Zebes, she discovers that the glass case that contained the Metroid is broken, and the hatchling is nowhere to be found. When Samus discovers Mother Brain's lair, the now-enormous hatchling attacks Samus and begins draining her energy, but in the nick of time, it recognizes her as its "mother" and flies off in shame. Later, during the final showdown with Mother Brain, the hatchling attacks Mother Brain just as she is about to deliver the killing blow on Samus. She kills the Metroid, but not before it bestows Samus with the Hyper Beam, enabling her to defeat Mother Brain before escaping Zebes as it was about to self-destruct. 
===Metroid: Other M===
In the intro's flashback, the baby was healing Samus's injuries and strength that it had taken from Mother Brain and released her before it was killed, granting Samus the Hyper Beam to use against Mother Brain. 
The Baby Metroid was frequently referenced multiple times throughout the game, with Samus stating that it had granted her enhancements in addition to the Hyper Beam, and how the Baby's Cry distress call from the BOTTLE SHIP reminded her of the late hatchling. 
When the 07th Platoon were at the Exam Center to find out what was happening there and to find the name of the director, Samus thinks about Adam Malcovich's contempt over the use of life forms as bioweapons and how bringing the hatchling back had been a violation of protocol. 
Sometime later, MB tells Samus that the fragments of the baby were taken off of Samus's Power Suit and used to recreate the Queen Metroid, and the Metroids hatched through it were programmed to be unfreezable and were subsequently stored in Sector Zero. 
Samus heads to Sector Zero where she encounters another infant hatchling, reminding her of the baby's hatching, but she recalled Adam's stand against bioweapons and tried to kill it. Before she considers it, Adam shoots her to render her weakened before shooting the infant Metroid as it suddenly turns hostile, before he explains what was going on and goes out to sacrifice himself to dispose of the Unfreezable Metroids contained there. It's apparent that the original baby Metroid and this infant are not the same entity. 
===Metroid Fusion===
During an escort mission on SR388, Samus became infected with a X Parasite that slowly deteriorated her health to life-threatening levels. A team of scientists aboard the Biologic Space Laboratories research station managed to develop a vaccine that incorporates Baby's DNA into Samus' genetic structure, allowing her body to absorb traces of the X that infects it, while rendering her more susceptible to extreme cold as most Metroids have carried this trait. After making a full recovery, Samus briefly reflects on the irony that the Baby Metroid has saved her life for a second time.
===Metroid Dread===
The Baby Metroid's DNA within Samus played a larger role in the story as her owning its DNA would end up making her a prime target for seven hacked E.M.M.I. robots that would try to extract her DNA so that Raven Beak can recreate the Metroids. Her Metroid Powers would manifest periodically throughout the game, from her examining a mural of the Mawkin Tribe killing of the Thoha before being ambushed by a purple E.M.M.I. robot, and she didn't notice it acting up the first time. This happens again, which she almost used against an unsuspecting creature. Later, when she was at the mercy of the orange E.M.M.I., she noticed the power surging through her arm, and when she was pinned down, she grabs it before it could impale her and siphoned its energy. She would go on to use it on the other Mawkin Chozo Soldiers. During the final battle with Raven Beak at Itorash, he reveals that since she has the Metroid DNA, he was seeking to use it for galactic domination. With Samus herself unwilling to participate with him, he plans to make clones of her that will cooperate with him as she was of no use to him. It was there that her DNA spiraled out of control as Samus transforms into a Metroid in a state of pure fury and drains not only Raven Beak's energy, but Itorash's as well. Samus's transformation grants her the Hyper Beam, which she uses against the infected Raven Beak X, a combination of Chozo and Kraid's DNA, to finish him off. However, her powers also prove to be an obstacle for her, as ADAM notes that she would risk draining her Star Ship upon making contact with it, with the destruction of ZDR being imminent. It wasn't until Quiet Robe X appeared to her and allows himself to be absorbed to give Samus back control over her Metroid powers, so she can touch the ship's controls and escape ZDR safely. 
==Gallery==
Samus (66).jpg
6418-468x-Super Metroid - Metroid Fight.jpg|The Baby Metroid after growing to colossal size.
Metroid Samus Returns Proteus Ridley Ridley Returns - Capture Baby (Cutscene).png
SR samus with baby.png
Super Metroid Samus Greets Scientist.png
Super Metroid Scientists Study Metroid.png
Baby Metroid save samus.png|The Baby Metroid gives Samus energy to fight Mother Brain.
Metroid super.gif
baby metroid dead.png|The Baby Metroid's demise.
Metroid Fusion MetroidVaccine.png
Baby Metroid in Animal Crossing.jpg
Samus Watching Baby Metroid.png
==Trivia==
*If Samus remains idle of a certain period of time after meeting the Baby Metroid in Samus Returns, the hatchling will emit its iconic screeching sounds. 
*While the Colonel from Other M was telling Samus that transporting cargo the infant Metroids for use as bioweapons was illegal, Super Metroid clearly shows that the reason Samus took the Baby Metroid to the scientists on Ceres Space Station was so that they can take medical advancements to a new level for the good of civilization, rather than use them as bioweapons which both Samus and Adam Malkovich were strongly against, and there was no indication that they are using it to clone the Metroids to be used as weapons. It is evident that these advancements led to the Metroid vaccine which would be used to save Samus's life when she was exposed to the X-Parasites. Ironically, he was possibly associated with the ringleaders who were cloning the Space Pirates on the BOTTLE SHIP, the mortal enemies of the galaxy who have no issue with using the Metroids or any hostile life forms as bioweapons to meet their ends. 
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