Here's chapter 2! Hope you enjoy xxx

Chapter 2

The cold December night air stung at the turtle's lungs as they leapt across the roof tops. Well, four of them leapt. Venus was still sending a gush of air towards the ground and behind her to push her across the gaps.

"Don't worry Venus, you'll pick it up," Mikey commented, hanging back with her. "You'll get faster too."

"But how? These are skills I cannot learn in the lair."

"Hence why we are training topside," Leo answered. He led them towards the docks. "We can use the ship containers to practice jumps and leaps; whether it's across buildings or going into an attack against our enemy. Here, we can learn the importance of height and how to use it to our benefit."

"Alright , how about you give us an example then?" Raph asked, doubting his brother's plan as usual.

"Fine. Raphael, if you could just stand at the base of this container." He sighed but did as he was told. Leo climbed up on top of the container.

"Now, I'm going to tackle you from up here, but without any warning of when."

"Ok Leo, whatever you say- AHHHH!"

Leo took his chance to leap down, wrapping his arm around Raphael's neck as he did so. The pair crashed to the floor, Raph yelling in surprise.

"Jeesh Leo, you've made your point," he spluttered in between breaths. He turned to see his brothers and Venus laughing. The latter stepped forward.

"As fun as that looks, I would really like to master leaping across buildings. Not having to blast air towards the ground would definitely be a relief."

The guys nodded in agreement, and climbed on top of the container.

"We can start with some laps on the edge of the boxes, moving in a square" Leo suggested, and the group moved off. The first few jumps were easy, but Venus noticed that the gaps between the containers got wider and wider. She extended her legs with each leap, crouching when landing to save shattering her bones. She was thankful for the new strength that had definitely developed during her training. As she flew through the air without having to control it she began to enjoy herself.

"That's it Venus! Just focus on where you want to land and you'll be fine!" Leo yelled, pleased at her progress. Raphael scoffed at his brother's applause; he loved having a new 'student'.

"What next 'Splinter junior'? These laps are making me dizzy" he moaned, sitting on the edge of a container. His brothers and Venus stopped around him, their breath steaming in the frosty air.

"What about a race?" Mikey asked eagerly. He was the quickest of his brothers and revelled in the chance of showing them up. Donny cocked his brow before smiling.

"It couldn't hurt, and it'll build Venus' speed and stamina." He commented, looking at Leo. Their leader frowned a little before sighing in agreement.

"Okay, we start from here, head northwards to the old docks, loop round and finish in the 'horseshoe'."

"'Horseshoe'?" Venus asked, not knowing what he meant.

"It's a formation of derelict containers on the eastside. It's the only patch of concrete in that sector and one of the boxes is bright red. You can't miss it."

Venus nodded as the guys prepared themselves, Mikey stretching dramatically. They stood at the opposite end of the box they were on, giving them a run up before the first leap.

"Okay, ready?" Everyone nodded at Leo. He counted. "Three, two, one. GO!"

They ran, flying over the first gap in a matter of seconds. They were all pretty even for the first hundred yards, but as the gaps lessened to create a continuous metal track, Michelangelo soon took the lead, sprinting ahead of his brothers with glee. Raphael growled, trying to catch up, but Donatello overtook him, his slightly longer legs helping. He remained even with Leo and smiled; their leader, surprisingly, was the slowest of them all when it came to running. He could sprint like heck, but long-distance running wasn't exactly his forte. It was his weakness, and had been exploited by their enemy a couple of times. He lacked stamina, relying on his skill and accuracy to end his fights quickly, although he could land a strike with deadly speed. Raph knew it annoyed his brother but it didn't exactly hold him back. He was still the most skilled of them, although Raph would never admit it, and the concentration on his face from trying to breath just proved his determination. Leo never admitted his jealousy either; Mikey had all his speed not just because running took a lot less concentration than combat, but also due to his constant high energy levels, mainly from all the sugar he ate, and none of them could beat him. Donny had long legs and Raph had a high stamina level, despite being the stockiest of his brothers. However, right now he was secretly glad he would beat Leo. As he gradually gained ground in front, he made his feet work faster to put some distance between them. What he didn't bank on was another blue-masked turtle keeping up to speed with him; Venus stayed with Raph, not relenting. She matched his footsteps and kept her breathing controlled until she managed to over step him slightly. He watched in shock as she gradually got further and further away before sprinting off ahead. He cursed, hearing Leo chuckle behind him. He earned a growl and saw his brother push his legs to go faster. Leo simply kept his pace, trying to conserve his energy for the leaps that they were fast approaching. He hoped Venus would be able to manage them, maybe beating Raphael in the process.

Raphael could see Venus sprinting and suddenly leap. She cleared the first few gaps with ease but the seventh one was suddenly a lot bigger. She lost ground a little on the landing, allowing Raph to get closer. The gaps got bigger and bigger whilst the gap between the turtles got smaller and smaller. They eventually levelled up on the 13th jump and Raph just managed to overtake Venus while she rose up from her crouch. He laughed as he ran on and jumped again, bracing himself for the landing. However, as he leapt he realised he hadn't pushed off hard enough. He tried not to yell as he flung his arms out, catching the edge of the container before his body smashed into the side. He gritted his teeth as he heard another crash next to him; Venus had faulted too.

Venus clung to the box, her legs burning with exertion. Her heart pumped violently in her chest whilst her breathing turned into panting. A shadow suddenly leapt over the pair.

"Come on guys, we're over halfway!" Leo yelled, clearing the gap and landing gracefully on the other side. Raphael growled, hauling himself up and sprinting after his brother. Venus took a deep breath and pushed her legs off the side of the box, saving her arm muscles a little. She knelt on top of the container for a moment, catching her breath, before running off again.

She tried to build up speed to get herself across the gaps but they proved to be too big for her. Three more times she fell short, just managing to catch the side to avoid crashing to the floor. Although Leo had over taken Raphael, his brother soon caught up, getting ahead when running. Leo sighed, trying not to let it bother him and looked behind to check on Venus' progress. But she wasn't there. He frowned, turning around to go and find her, when suddenly her head appeared, her face flushed and contorting slightly as she tried to pull herself up. Guilt spiked through Leo: she wasn't ready for these size jumps. He ran over to help her.

"I'll be fine. You need to get moving if you want to win this race." She insisted, panting while kneeling on the floor. Leo smiled.

"I never had a chance of winning. My brothers can outrun me in a heartbeat." Venus looked up, surprised. "Come on, we'll work through these jumps together. Mikey's probably been at the finishing line for 10 minutes anyway."

Venus smiled and accepted Leo's hand as he pulled her up. They began running again and Leo let Venus use her power over air to push herself across the first few gaps. He was amazed at her ability, not realising that Venus saw him gawping.

"Take my hand."She suddenly said, and Leo took it warily. They sped up into a run again and Venus used her right hand to send a jet of air towards the ground. Leo gasped, feeling as if he were flying. She let his hand go when they landed, and she crouched down as gracefully as he before shooting up and continuing to sprint on. Leo caught up and the pair continued leaping, Venus refraining from using her magic. With Leo grabbing her hand most of the time, Venus was able to make the jumps, his weight pulling her across a little.

"Now this time, just do what I do." Leo told her, and they leapt together, Venus streamlining her body as it sliced through the air. The wind tickled her face and for a moment she felt free as a bird. When the next container began to approach her feet, instead of setting her feet directly beneath her she stretched them forward a little. This way, when she landed there was more space between her and the edge of the container; if she lost her balance she wouldn't fall straight off but land on the box. She felt happiness bloom within her when she executed the landing correctly and managed to continue running with ease this time. Leo saw her smile.

"When you clear your head and focus on your target you can achieve higher accuracy." He informed her, although Venus wasn't really listening; she was too busy planning her next landing.

It wasn't long until the pair came across the bright red container. Leo jumped down onto the concrete below with lithe elegance, Venus trying to mimic his actions. She landed awkwardly on the ground though and fell back onto her shell, earning laughs from Mikey.

"Nice landing Venus!"

"Thank you Michelangelo," she growled, accepting Donatello's helping hand. "Maybe we could try again tomorrow?"

Leo nodded, trying to catch his breath while his muscles burned.

"What took you two so long?" Raph asked, jumping up from the oil drum he'd been sitting on.

"After Venus fell the first time it took her a while to get back into the rhythm of jumping again. I helped her with the first few bigger jumps and then she managed to do it on her own again." Leo explained in between gasps of air, turning to see Venus trying to recover in the same way. She twisted her head and saw the water behind him.

"Is that the river?" She asked, walking towards the water's edge. It was the only side of the 'horseshoe' not walled by metal boxes.

"Yeah," Donny began. "You haven't seen it before?"

"The Shredder didn't exactly make time for sight-seeing." she replied, a bitter quality edging into a voice. An awkward silence fell on the group; Venus never spoke about her time in the Foot Clan. She realised what she had said and instantly regretted her harsh tone, focusing on the rippling water beneath her rather than push the subject further. They way the river reflected the sparkling lights of the city was truly beautiful, the stars above in the clear sky also appearing in the glassy mirror below. As her heart slowed a little to its normal pace and her muscles stopped burning she also realised how cold the winter night was.

"We should probably be heading back. The temperature must be in the minus-something and our cold blood wont like us just standing around like this," Donatello pointed out, trying to diffuse the tension in the air. Leo nodded in agreement, thankful to see Venus turning to join them. The group went to climb the containers when Venus suddenly froze, sensing someone close by, a presence she vaguely recognised. She snapped her head up to see a group of Foot Ninjas lining the tops of the containers. They were surrounded.