P o w e r
The power of four Earth, Water, Fire, Air. In ancient times four great warriors were granted the power to control these elements. Each warrior possessed an amulet that helped him or her to control and master there given powers. The most powerful of these element masters was the Wind Master, air, he was granted the power to harness each of the powers and bring them together. Every three generations a new master appeared, each more powerful than the last although non could ever match the power of the originals. It is foretold that one day, when the stars are on the earth and the waters are passed back and the land is full, the most powerful master will be born.
*0*
Whisper sighed and put down the book, wind, her power, her gift, after generations of Element masters. Her time was running out and she needed to find the next carrier of the amulet of Air.
She had had visions, blurs really, of a ninja, he seemed to be wearing all green, but before she could get a proper look, the vision ended. Slamming the book down in frustration, Whisper headed out of her apartment.
Another night of pointless searching, she thought to herself before climbing onto the roof. All Masters were skilled warriors of sorts and she had a feeling that she would find the one she was looking for up there.
As he ran, she had the distinctive feeling that she was being followed. Her silver hair blew in the wind.
Despite her physical appearance of a teenage girl, whisper was actually 104 years old. She did, however, act, feel and think just like a 18 year old, all part of her gift. Back to the present.
Suddenly a black clad being landed in front of her, gasping she turned to run, only to find a entire army blocking her path. Gritting her teeth, she went into a defensive stance.
' Ok boys, bring it on'
*0*
What is going on with me? I thought that I could control it now. The power, it's coming back, I thought that I'd hidden it, buried it…but something is happening. Again.
Mikey was brought out of his musings by the sound of his brother's voice.
" Hey Mikey."
" What? Oh, hey Don." He answered vaguely
" What's up?"
"Err, nothing, just…thinking."
This definitely sparked Donatello's interest.
" About what?" he asked curiously.
" Nothing."
Something in the underlying tone of his brother's voice told him to just drop it for the time being, but he made a mental note to continue the conversation later.
" Well, I just came to tell you that we're going on patrol now and Leo is in a hurry."
Mikey shot a murderous look at where Leo stood. Huffing he stood up and stalked past Don, not even acknowledging him. A few moments later, they were ready to go and left the lair.
*0*
They were running, competing with each other. Michelangelo was way ahead, running backwards, watching his brothers trying to catch him, he laughed, "Com'n dudes, can't catch your baby bro?" he laughed turning around and running even faster.
Ralph panted with each breath, "How…can he…keep….going…?"
Leo smiled while he ran, trying to keep up, "I've…got…no…idea!"
Mikey felt free, as if all his troubles had melted away, all that mattered was here and now and nothing else.
Suddenly he stopped dead. All his senses were tingling and alert. Leo saw this and stopped as well, he felt something, but he didn't know what it was. He saw Don and Raph pause next to him as well.
Mikey's eyes went wide and his brothers heard his gasp.
"N-no, not y-yet, I'm not ready" He whispered.
Even from far away they could sense his intense fear. He drew his weapons and his brothers followed suite.
BANG!
A sudden explosion sent them all flying, Mikey's brothers landed on the floor with a sickening crunch. Even though he was much closer to the explosion, he was only pushed back a few meters.
A tall young woman, looking about 20 years old approached, hovering in the air. She had long, black hair and crimson eyes that seemed to burn with an inner fire. Despite being beautiful, she had an aurora of darkness and power. Leo and Mikey could sense it better that the others and it frightened them, that, and the fact that she could apparently fly. She smirked evilly as she landed on the roof, she was wearing sleek, black leather pants and a matching jacket with a long red top underneath, she was stunning, but bad to the core, kind of like a vampire. Heh.
Mikey was numb with shock, he couldn't believe it, she was the girl from his dreams, or more, his nightmares. He knew she was evil, he knew that she was dangerous, and most importantly, he knew about her power. He was totally frozen as she stood in front of him, holding him still.
"I was expecting more of a fight, turtle. But no matter, as long as I can destroy you, I'm happy."
She lifted her hand and Michelangelo braced himself to the coming blow. She sure didn't waist any time with her attack.
" Get your hands off him, Scarlet!"
Mikey's eyes snapped open.
A girl of about 17 stood in front of him, arms outstretched in the classic protective stance.
She was positively seething, her black eyes were narrowed angrily and her silver hair was blowing around her, she was glowing. Blue. A soft blue color. Oh yeah, she was mad.
Mikey willed himself to move, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in…
He felt his limbs relax as he pushed off the spell that was holding him. Jumping out of the way, he turned to find the new arrival and Scarlet still staring each other down. Slowly he inched his way over to his brothers. One step at a time, remember sense, just merge into your surroundings. He thought desperately, he did not want to be caught up in that.
Scarlet snarled. " Fine," she hissed, " Have it your way, but I'll get what I'm after, you can count on it!"
With perfect grace she flipped of the roof and was gone. Just like that.
They stood in silence before reality sunk in. Leo, Don and Raph ran over to Mikey and bombarded him with questions such as,
" Are you OK?"
" What happened?"
"Who was that?"
" What did she do?"
And so forth, and so forth.
A few meters away, someone cleared their throat quietly. Everybody jumped at the sound, ready to face the unseen enemy. Whisper stood nearby looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"Um, I think that I should explain." she said hesitantly.
*0*
*0*
Everyone stared at Whisper expectantly, noticing all the eyes on her; she cleared her throat nervously and stared at her shoes.
" Um, well…err. It's like, um, I don't really know where to start, there's so much to explain and I don't know if any of you will believe it…" she let her statement hang unfinished in the air.
Mikey broke the silence hesitantly, " I'll believe you, and um, maybe you should start at the beginning?" He smiled lightly at the last bit. Whisper saw and immediately felt more at ease and slightly more confident.
" Well," she began, " Firstly, I'm looking for the next carrier of this amulet." She tugged nervously at the pendant around her neck. It was a silvery/white colour and it looked as If it had mist trapped inside of it. " I think that it, um, might be one of, one of you." She glanced at their respective weapons and nodded slightly, " You're ninja right?"
" Yeah, we're ninja, but why is that important? And why didn't you freak out when you saw us?" Leo narrowed his eyes slightly.
Whisper seemed slightly startled by his apparent hostility, " I-I have visions sometimes, it's how one is able to f-find the next in line, I had very brief visions, but all that I could make out was green and moves that seemed ninja-like to me. As for why I was not scared," she smiled mysteriously " Let's just say that I've seen a lot in my life"
" You were saying?" Don prompted
" Huh? Oh right." Whisper blushed slightly at this, but she composed herself quite quickly. Gulping, she continued.
"Anyway, there are some people who have been blessed with the ability to, well, to put it bluntly, control the elements."
" What! That's not possible, elements have a-"
" You're nuts ya know that!"
" What do you take us for-?"
Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael instantly sent a wave of protests at Whisper, who just grimaced and looked resigned, as if she had known all along that that's what would happen. When the uproar had stopped, she continued bravely.
" Look, I know it sounds mental but it's true! There are 4 element masters, Earth, Water, Fire and Air, also known as wind. I have the amulet of air, it enhances my powers and gives me a connection to the other carriers among other things. It's true, you have to believe me! Scarlet is getting more powerful by the minute, we need the new Element Master to help, it is foretold that he will be the most powerful, we need help!"
Before the others could argue, Mikey spoke up softly, " She could be telling the truth you know. It wouldn't be that strange. I mean none of us thought that aliens existed or zombies, or ghosts but they do, and you can't deny that. What makes this so different?"
Don opened his mouth to protest but he shut is quickly, realizing that his younger brother had a good point.
" Fine, say that you're correct, which one of us it the so called 'element master' ?" Leonardo asked in a suspicious tone.
" Um, well, that's the problem though. I, err, I don't know which on of you is the next carrier…"
Silence
" What? You come all the way here and you don't KNOW!"
" I'll find out soon! I didn't even know what I was looking for, let alone WHO!" Whisper countered angrily, " Look, Scarlet isn't going to wait too long before she attacks again. She's stronger than I am and she won't care which on of you is the threat to her, she'll destroy all of you without hesitation!"
" Waitwaitwait, who is this Scarlet anyway, and why is she so dangerous?"
" Scarlet has the Fire amulet and she is the most powerful of all of us, she's that woman who attacked you 10 minutes ago. She is obsessed with power and she want to get rid of the only one that could ever hope to stop her."
Mikey swallowed hard, eyes shut tight and tried to stop his hands from trembling, not good, not good! He thought desperately, This is not happening, not happening, la, all a dream, this is not real, when I open my eyes, I'll be at home in my nice warm bed…he opened his eyes cautiously but he was still on the rooftop with Whisper and his brothers and they were still discussing the Element Masters and the disaster that Scarlet planned to unleash, oh yeah, it was very real.
" All right, we'll meet you tomorrow, at 10pm, here, right?" Leonardo confirmed
" Yeah, that's fine, listen, I've got to go now, Scarlet is able to sense if another amulet is near by and I don't want to put you in more danger." With that, she leapt gracefully over the edge of the roof and was gone."
Everyone was quiet for a moment before Mikey broke the silence, " Ooo-kay, that was weird…anyone up for Pizza?"
SMAK!
" Ow!"
*0*
Click. "No."
Click. "No."
Click. "Boooooring!"
Click. "Oooo, That's…what do you know…boring"
Michelangelo slumped back on the couch. It wasn't like he was interested in TV at the moment, but he needed something to pass the time and take his mind off everything. Getting up, he walked over to where Donnie was working.
"Soooooo…What you doing?" he said in his 'sing-song' voice
Donatello turned to him, scowling, "Delicate and important work, Mikey!" He snapped, "Go and annoy someone else for a change!"
Mikey blinked, taken aback by his brother's behavior. It usually took a long time for Don to act like that, or Mikey had to blow up one of his inventions or something. Sighing, Mikey walked away, feeling dejected. Everyone was acting so…uptight since the night before. The day was passing so slowly, Michelangelo glanced at the clock and did at double take.
"Dude! It's only, like, one o clock? No way!" Huffing, he headed to his room, intending to spend the rest of the afternoon, sulking at the unfairness of time.
*0*
Leonardo stood at the door waiting for his brothers to join him. It was 9.30 pm and they were about to leave to meet Whisper. He wondered vaguely why on earth he had agreed to meet her in the first place, but he had made a promise and he never broke his promise if he could help it, so he didn't really have an option. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Raph till he was standing right next to him.
"Mikey and Don not ready yet?" he asked
"No, apparently not." Leo sighed, "Don's been in his lab all day, probably researching elements or something."
Raphael smiled lightly "Yeah and by the way that Mikey was acting today, I expected him to be ready at at least 7 o clock.
"You never can tell with him." Leo answered, chuckling slightly
Just then Don came out of his room, grumbling and looking unhappy.
"Don't. Even. Ask." He warned, seeing the looks on his brothers' faces. Michelangelo suddenly landed in there midst, jumping from the balcony.
"Ok, dudes. I'm good to go."
The four were soon on the rooftops, leaping and jumping, suspended in the air for a brief moment before landing and swinging. The air was thick with anticipation and tension and Leo couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
They were still quite a way off from the designated meeting place when the air started getting noticeably hotter. Mikey quickened his pace, but he knew that it was too late.
"Shell, we are so dead." He muttered to himself, his brothers heard and started feeling a little anxious. There was a blast of incredibly intense heat that nearly knocked everyone over. Once he had regained his balance, Michelangelo looked up to see the loathsome figure of Scarlet just meters away. She was smirking and she had this smug look on her face that terrified Mikey…but at the same time it made his blood boil with intense hate and anger that this lady would dare to harm his family.
Leonardo was the first to attack.
Spin, crouch, leap, STRIKE – back flip away and then lunge forward, block- spin, and slice. Scarlet was apparently very skilled in martial arts and she didn't even need to use he powers to hold him off.
Leonardo jumped to the side when she aimed the blow at him. He ran towards her with quick movements before she got the time to make another attack against him. As she turned around, he made a jump and landed perfectly behind her back. She spun lightning fast and sent a powerful kick aimed at his gut and even though he avoided her attack, he could feel the aftershock around him.
Scarlet smirked and suddenly drew her own weapons which, until this point, had gone unnoticed. She unsheathed two deadly looking katanas, quite a bit larger then Leo's and with slightly serrated edges. Leonardo's eyes widened, he readied his stance and attacked her immediately and jumped high to slash her. The opponent's swords clanked together, metal on metal. Leonardo landed perfectly and he spun round to face her
Scarlet readied herself and leaped at Leonardo, he ducked quickly to avoid the swiping blades.
"I don't have time for this!" she hissed viciously
Leonardo jumped back and braced himself, as she attacked again. In a flurry of movement that his eyes couldn't follow, she leaped to the side, flipped over him and slashed in a deathly accurate strike. Crying out, in pain, Leonardo fell to the ground. Scarlet raised her katana to deliver the final, fatal blow but as she brought it down it was stopped short.
She looked up in surprise. Donatello was standing in a defensive stance, bo-staff protectively over his older brother blocking the attack. Raphael and Michelangelo were not far behind.
"Donnie, help Leo! We'll take care of her!" Raph ordered
Hesitantly, Don nodded and pushed Scarlet's weapon up. He continued to drive her away from Leo and eventually he pulled back to take care of his older brother.
The moment Leo was out of harms way; Raphael didn't hesitate to attack her. He was beyond angry, he was mad and he had had enough of her. The cost of failure was too high. Leonardo already lay badly hurt on the ground and Donnie couldn't fight as he was busy helping him.
Michelangelo jumped in to help and was able to get his nunchuck around one of her weapons with one swift movement; he forced the katana out of her hands. Scarlet barely had time to register what had happened before he kicked her legs from under her, sending her crashing to the ground.
Scarlet blinked, surprised at his speed, before she regained her composure and sent a deadly blast of heat his way. Michelangelo felt himself being lifted up and felt the terrible force of being slammed into a wall. He slid down, groaning.
Raph growled in anger and attacked her viciously. Scarlet tried to avoid his attack but he struck her from different angles. Flipping, he dropped down silently behind her back and delivered a strong kick to her lower back. She screamed and dropped to the ground.
"Do ya give up yet, lady?" He asked but she didn't answer.
He moved towards her cautiously, suddenly she snarled "I don't give up! Ever!" she spat angrily. Swiftly she turned to Raphael, hands outstretched. Raph realized that he could no longer move, she was holding him still. Slowly, she stood up, smiling widely.
"So, how does it feel to be helpless, hmm? Knowing that I can do whatever I want and you can't do a thing to stop me. I don't know which one of you is the next carrier and I don't actually care since I will be killing all of you. One. By. One."
Raph felt his anger rising but he was overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness and terror. Scarlet would kill his family and he could do nothing to stop her. Nothing at all.
*0*
Michelangelo opened his eyes slowly, his head was still pounding. After a moment, his vision cleared and he could see Scarlet and Raphael. Mikey felt his heart leap into his throat as he realized what was happening. His brother was being help still by scarlet who was raising her remaining Katana and preparing to strike. Mikey felt a terrible grief flood him, Leo was hurt, and he and Don were to far away to save Raph, his brother would die!
Scarlet was grinning broadly, her eyes glinting with excitement. She's enjoying this! He realized
All at once it was like something awoke in Michelangelo, he felt a blinding rage and a terrible power surging through him. Nobody hurt his family and got away with it. Nobody.
*0*
All at once it was like something awoke in Michelangelo, he felt a blinding rage and a terrible power surging through him. Nobody hurt his family and got away with it. Nobody.
Michelangelo let the power flow into him, he felt it building up. All his hate and anger, his chi, the power that he had been hiding all his life suddenly showed itself.
Breath in…
He gasped at the intensity of it all, but he did not falter. His thoughts were fixed on one thing. Saving his brother. He was angry, but nothing, was more important than saving his family.
Breath out..
He rose, glowing a bright white, illuminating the rooftop. Mikey channeled all of his power, feeling it flow into his hands.
Breath in…
He pulled back, the wind began blowing, he brought his hands down, aimed and let loose. A gust of wind was sent slamming into Scarlet, any ordinary person would've been ripped apart with the sheer power put into the attack.
Scarlet gasped as the attack reached her, she felt the powerful wind hit her, rendering her breathless. The forse of his attack sent her reeling backwards, she was forced to relinquish her hold on Raphael. He dropped to the ground in a heap, looking up, he was shocked to see, the powerful enemy, stumbling, an inch from the edge of the roof.
She inhaled sharply as she lost her footing and was hurled backwards off the building. Fortunately for her, Scarlet was able to catch herself, just before hitting the pavement. She propelled herself upwards, when she came into view she was glowing a bright red.
Scarlet scanned the roof through narrowed eyes, for the one who had attacked her. She redoubled and her eyes fell on the glowing form at the other end of the roof. She raised her hands and aimed a blast of fire at Mikey.
The orange clad ninja leapt out of the way, crouched, spun and send a wave of icy wind in her direction.
Scarlet countered with a blast of equal power, except this blast was a heat wave, eradicating the coldness of her opponents attack.
Mikey's eyes widened, but he was not put out in the slightest. He leaped at her, aiming a powerful kick at her lower jaw. She was surprised at this sudden physical attack, but was able to block him and land a punch of her own.
Eyes narrowed, Michelangelo continued his series of furious attacks. His movements were a blur, as were Scarlet's, as he attacked again.
*0*
Leonardo opened his eyes slowly, his head was pounding. He vaguely wondered why, until the previous events came back to him. He immediately sat up- or at least he tried to, but found that he could barely move due to the pain in his right shoulder and the fact that someone was holding him down. When he realized this, he began to struggle against his 'captor' until he heard the gentle shushing of his brother's voice.
"Leo, calm down. It's okay. "
"D-Donnie?" Leo questioned weakly, "W-what-?"
"Shhh. Scarlet managed to land a hit. She hurt your shoulder pretty bad."
Leonardo grimaced in remembrance. Well, at least that explained things.
"W-what about Mikey and Raph?"
Don was silent and looked a little uncomfortable.
"Don? What is it?"
"Well, um, Scarlet threw Mikey and he hit the wall, I can't see that well but, he seems unconscious. Raph's still fighting."
Forgetting his pain for a brief moment, Leo tried to sit up a little straighter but slumped back as the pain in his shoulder became too much.
"Leo!" Don chided, "Stay put, if you put anymore strain on that arm you could have some major permanent damage."
Leonardo sighed, he hated being so helpless. His younger brothers were out there fighting and he could do nothing to help. What kind of leader was he? He was pulled out of his thoughts by a short, surprised cry. He shifted and saw that Raph was leaning over his adversary who was apparently beaten. Leo smiled as much as the pain would allow but his relief for his brother's safety was short lived. He watched in horror as his brother's body suddenly froze and Scarlet rose to her feet, smiling triumphantly. She whispered something in Raphael's ear causing his eyes to widen almost…fearfully. Scarlet raised her blade. Leonardo gasped as he realized what was about to happen.
He heard his purple clad brother call out, but there was no way that they could reach him in time.
Time had stood still for a moment just on e moment as she brought down the lethal weapon.
Suddenly, the roof was filled with a bright white glow, illuminating everything around it. Leo couldn't make out the shape at the center of this light, but whatever it was suddenly attacked Scarlet, causing her to loose her hold over Raphael and tumble off the rooftop. Scarlet didn't miss a beat.
Being as experienced as she was, she simply raised herself and proceeded to attack her enemy. There was a bright light as both forces pushed against each other. Both were flung back.
The light died down a little and Leo's eyes widened in shock as he realized that he knew that form, that person was his brother.
He watched in awe as his younger brother executed a series of fast, powerful attacks. Changing from elemental to physical every few moments.
They seemed to be evenly matched; each one taking turns in the lead. Both turtle and human were fighting to win, their limbs were a blur, it seemed like the fight could go on forever.
Until…
*0*
Scarlet smirked. She had this turtle right where she wanted him. His powers were still weak and developing so Scarlet, having the advantage, had backed his up to the corner of the roof, knowing that if he fell of, he probably wouldn't be able to catch himself in time. Ninja or not.
Michelangelo stepped beck only to be met with absolute nothingness.
He squeaked and pulled himself to safety. Smirking Scarlet whispered, "Goodbye, chosen one, it's been fun. The best worrier won. No hard feelings, ok?"
She laughed cruelly and aiming one powerful blast of heat energy, pushed him off the seventeen story building, sending him tumbling into the ally below.
*0*
"You bitch!" Raphael could hardly breath, his chest was tight, his throat thick and hoarse with rage.
Leonardo stood, eyes wide, still. So very, very still.
"Bring him the fuck back!"
"Raphael.."
"No!"
Scarlet smiled, a thin, wry smile, "You lost."
Evil wins. Evil wins.
What did you think?