Rewritten chapter! It's been about two years since Mother of Mutants takes place.
It all happened too suddenly.
At one moment, everything was peaceful. The family sat in the living room, enjoying the comfort of a lazy day and each other's company. Raph was teaching Maria to knit, Don was playing checkers with Mikey, Leo was tending to the sharp edge of his katanas, Master Splinter was nursing a mug of tea and smiling as baby Etta, sitting on her chubby rump, tried to catch his slowly writhing tail.
And in the next moment, it erupted. Three figures dropped from the ceiling, fluttering down like feathers and screaming like murdered souls. Instantly, the family snapped out of their happy afternoon and into combat mode- the brothers pulled out their weapons and went to battle; Splinter grabbed baby Etta and passed her to Maria, and the three of them ran to the safety of the locked bathroom.
The brothers got a good look at the intruders as they fought; three dark-skinned women, with wings of different colors and sizes sprouting from their backs. like angels. Vengeful angels, out to take souls.
Mikey took the smallest- the youngest, undoubtedly, with grey-brown speckled wings; she easily dodged his nunchaku, her short brown curls bouncing with her every move.
Don took the middle woman, who silently abstained from joining in the others' screams, her wings tawny and mottled, her longer curls falling into her dull eyes.
Leo and Raph teamed up to take the oldest woman, and it was a good thing they did- she easily took the two brothers in a fight. Her wings were individually as long as Raph was tall, white streaked with black. Her skin was the darkest of the three women, nearly as black as her hip-length braid and the streaks in her feathers. She almost overpowered the older two brothers, dodging and punching with wings and fists. She often flicked her wings, sending herself aloft; out of their range, attacking from above. When she landed once more, Raph grabbed for her braid- a desperate, dishonorable move, and one he paid for; he yelled and quickly released her, his palm bleeding- she'd braided barbed wire into the weave of her hair.
She whirled and punched his throat, hooking her foot behind his ankle to make sure he fell and stayed down. She turned back to Leo, just as he swung a katana- she caught his wrist, stopping the blow before it could land. For a moment they were locked in a stalemate: Leo caught a glimpse into her eyes, narrowed under thick black brows. The dark of her irises melted into the small, contracted pupil. What he saw there: anger. Torment. The fires of the devil's realm, hidden in one person's soul.
The woman's face creased into a snarl, as if she knew what insight he'd found- she twisted against him, throwing him over her shoulder. Leo crashed hard to the cement floors, loosing his grip on his swords. The dark angel of fury wrenched one away from him and kicked the other out of his grip, raising it aloft.
Leo watched as his own blade turned against him; he could hear Raph getting to his feet, scrambling for his sais- and knew he would come to late. The sword flashed down- and halted a scarce breath away from his throat, stopped by the crack that echoed through the Lair- like thick wood snapping. The woman Donnie was fighting collapsed to the ground, wing at an awkward angle. Don rushed to his brother's aid; the oldest woman screamed again, as piercing as a bird of prey's cry, anger and worry and fear mixing into a single wail. She raised the sword again, moving to plunge it into Leo's heart.
Raphael didn't stop her.
Donatello didn't stop her.
Leonardo didn't stop her.
But her scream cut off and she slumped to the floor, the katana clattering beside her, steel clean. Master Splinter stood over her, holding his cane like a club. He glared around the ended battle.
"What is the meaning of this attack?!"
They all looked past the two downed women to the third and youngest, the one Mikey now held in a headlock- and awkward position for both of them, with her sleek but hefty wings. She looked like a frightened child, small and fragile, hazel eyes wide and freckles sprinkled over her cheeks. "I... I can explain..."