Disclaimer: Are you insane? I don't own the TMNT. For crying out loud, I'm 14! Gimme a break!
A/N: And here's another revised chapter, dudes and dudattes! Sorry for the wait!
4.
The door slammed loudly, leaving Raph to lay where he was, trying to recover the wind that had been punched right out of him, and Keilah to make faces. The girl sighed finally and stared at the ceiling, willing it to disappear, along with her bonds and the bars.
It only works if you have laser vision.
"Thanks for the advice," Raph wheezed, struggling upright and wriggling his hands. "But can we try to focus on getting out of her instead of sitting around for fun and games?"
Be my guest, Houdini, Bima yawned. After several minutes of unsuccessful attempts at freeing his hands, all Raph could do was growl and mutter to himself. Well, since we aren't going to be getting out of here by that method, what say you ram the bars with your head, kame?
"Oh, shut up. I don't see you doing anything useful either, ya big lazy alligator."
What was that, Mr. Touchy?
"You heard me."
Is that a challenge?
"No, I'm makin' conversation."
Hah. Some conversation, lard butt.
"Yer ma was a salamander."
Guess who birthed the guy with the oversized hunchback.
"And yer dad was a frog."
Look who's talking, blockhead.
"Guys, knock it off!" Keilah finally growled at the two. Raph rolled his eyes and Bima stuck out her tongue.
Just relieving the boredom.
"How about we fill this turtle in on what the heck's going on?" Raph shot back. "Why are these goons after you, and more importantly, me?"
You're not important, Bima said airily. You were just a witness.
"Like somebody was going to believe a giant turtle who screams 'dragon' while running down the streets of New York," Raph snorted, shifting his arms to try and find a weak spot in the ropes.
…Good point. Why did those two brainless idiots bring you, an even more brainless idiot, along with us two lovely ladies? the dragon asked thoughtfully, sending a jab Raph's way. Keilah sent the both of them a warning glare.
"If we can't figure it out right ow, who says we'll figure it out later?" the girl said tightly. "Now if you're not going to tell him what's happening Bima, I will."
Be my guest.
Keilah sighed. "Settle in, it's a long one."
"Do you see a way out of this freak exhibit?"
She glared icily at him. "Before I say anything else, Raph, shut up. You're not making this any more bearable." Bima was about to make a smart comment but whistled innocently when noticed. "Alright, to begin with, how Bima got in my mind. I lived in upstate New York a couple of weeks ago. I'll tell you why I said 'lived' in a minute. My family and I made a living on farming and the like, so it wasn't much. Well, we had a small pond on our property and one day I had a bit of free time from work. So, I decided to explore the more sheltered parts of where we lived. When I came to the pond, I saw a small blue glow coming from under the mud. I wondered why I hadn't seen it before, because my father and little brother had gone on little fishing trips to that pond in our childhood." Neither of the listeners interrupted, though once or twice Bima made some rude noises.
"I knew that my mother would ask about wet clothes if I swam in to check it out, so I waited until midnight to go out with a flashlight and a brush from the house we used to scrub out stains from the laundry. It wasn't very hard to clear away the mud but it made the water murky and full of silt, so I had to grope for a while before I hit something. By the time I had pulled it out it was nearly one in the morning. Bima had evidently been napping while I was doing this, so it came as a surprise to her when she discovered a close-up view of my face staring down at the tablet I'd dug up."
Threw me for a loop. I'd always been looking at some ugly turtle's butt when I woke up. Raph snorted. The sucker loved to sit on me because he knew how much it irritated me.
"I was, understandably, also shocked when I felt a sharp and painful tug inside my head. It's like somebody jabs a wire into your mind and communicates through it. I began hearing Bima's voice in my head. Frightened, I threw the tablet back into the pond and ran like the devil was after me back to my house."
Chicken.
"Shut up. The next night, my curiosity was more than I could handle, so I sneaked out again and dredged up the tablet. I didn't even know what Japanese looked like so I was confused and thought it an alien language. Not caring for my state of mind, Bima attacked me again -"
Not true! I mentored you with loving care.
"You're such a liar. Now quit interrupting. She explained to me the more immediate parts of the current situation."
Can I take over now? You'll get it all wrong. Keilah made a face. Well, ya see, we dragons lived in Japan way back when the samurais and ninjas and shoguns and alla them were around. Mighty touchy. If you ever get the chance to time travel, do not go back to that time. (A/N: I just realized…they HAVE gone back to Feudal Japan!) There are five of us. There's Kiyo, Saesha, Iwansi, and Rijinn. You'd believe me if I said I'd forgotten what they're like. After all, it's been a thousand years and we have no way of communicating. Well, we matured on a heavily forested mountain, and there was a village a few miles away. Back then there were tons of guys who were called chi masters and they used magic.
"Magic's weird. I hate it," Raph muttered, shifting and looking around in the brief interlude.
Nobody asked you, crud face, Bima retorted. Some…things happened and this one dude named Akimoto, the big cheese chi master of the village, got ticked off and sealed me and my siblings in stone tablets. Then he did the next best thing and scattered us all over the globe.
"But why didn't he just destroy you? Would've saved him a bunch of trouble, and plus I wouldn't be rotting here with a fairy-winged lizard."
I'll ignore that remark, Raphael. You'd better hope I don't fricassee your butt when I get out next time. Anyway, Chi is a strange thing. You can't destroy things with it; it's more of a summoning and sealing magic. Back when there were actually dragons roaming Japan, it was a necessity to have a chi master nearby to seal them. Contrary to popular belief, them Japanese dragons loved to mess with you and cause trouble. They were especially mean to Iwansi, though I can't remember why. This is why there are no longer dragons in Japan; they got sealed into the center of the earth. But I think Akimoto may have gotten his sake spiked, because he didn't do that. Your turn. I'm tired of campfire stories.
The girl glared bloody murder at the other occupant of her head, but obliged grudgingly. "Bima finished telling me the how and why, but she didn't tell me what I was supposed to do with the tablet."
Did too. I told you that you had to absorb my spirit.
"You're just saying that right now," Keilah grumbled. "I did absorb her spirit but it took a few minutes for her to get through the hole in my mind. After that she told me I could say 'Tatsu Morph' but when I asked about it, she didn't say what it was. So I did and she shoved my mind aside and took the controls. She disappeared. I don't know how you could explain the situation. It was sort of like being on ether, like that otherworldly feeling of being detached completely from your body. Next thing I knew, Bima was howling for joy, with me trying to shut her up."
Hey, when you're finally free after a millennium, ya gotta get it out somehow and by any means necessary, said Bima with a noncommittal shrug.
"So I finally got her to calm down. 'Calm' in the context of rolling on the grass with pure glee. So then she asked me if I liked flying and I told her I'd never been on an airplane. She laughed at me."
It was a stupid question. Besides, I didn't and still don't know what the heck an airplane is.
"And then the irony of it all got her; when she tried to fly, she discovered she had atrophy in her wing muscles. So all she did was make a hop off the ground and thud back down. For the next week and a half I had managed to keep it a secret. I would go out at night and help Bima regain use of her wings. When she finally flew she did a short flight around the farm and had a time scaring the cows witless." She sobered. "Then, one night when I came back from flying around with Bima, the lights were on in the house."
She took a shaky breath. "I knew my parents never got up at night for snacks or any of that, since I had been doing this for a while now, so it scared me. I got inside…there they were…my brother…my parents…all dead on the floor, bullet holes in their backs. The shock would've been the end of me, but Bima woke me up in time to save me from a dart. The light above the kitchen shattered from the miss and I couldn't see who they were.Bima urged me to get outside and get out of there but I couldn't listen. Not then. So I tackled the nearest one and clawed him across the arm. He didn't seem to notice it and I got thrown out the window. I still wasn't done, even though common sense and Bima were screaming otherwise. A big burly guy came at me and laid me one right on the chest, sending me flying into the very pond I had found Bima in. Then was when the short adrenaline rush began to wear off. My ribs hurt really badly from that punch I had taken, and the glass embedded in my hand and arms was stinging like crazy from the pond water that had gotten in it. So I finally gave in to Bima, let her out, and we flew. In no particular direction. We ended up in New York and Bima brought up the point that perhaps we could find out some stuff on any sightings of dragons on the internet or in past tabloids.
But that was a few nights ago, and I ran into you because a bunch of Purple Dragons had seen me shift from Bima to my human self when we first arrived. Their leader wanted to gain money out of holding me captive and charging people to see me change into Bima. And here I am." She finished quietly and sat there, staring at the floor.
"Sure hope they didn't bug the place," Raph said warily, looking around. "You would've given them a heck of a lot of information." He fell silent and began looking around for a weakness, anything that could help them escape. Finding nothing, he sighed. "Doomed to become a circus animal," he grumbled. "And I hate it when people stare at me."
What could they possibly gain in ogling at you?
He grinned slyly. "A turtle mooning," Raph purred, raising his eye ridge.
Your butt would prompt them all to demand a money-back guarantee. Not to mention your face is just as bad.
"Hey, lay off!" The dragon grinned maliciously and stuck out her tongue. Not two seconds later there was a soft thump from above, causing all three to jump.
"What was that?" Keilah whispered.
"Sounded like an overstuffed toad trying to jump."
"Gee thanks, Raph!" came the slightly hurt reply from the air vent.
"What the…Mikey! How the heck did you find me?" Raph demanded, sitting up.
"I looked into my crystal ball…" he said in a mysterious tone.
Then was the irritated sigh that could only have came from Leo. "Mike, just open the air vent and get in there! I don't know how long Don put off the alarm system for!" he hissed.
"Ten minutes, actually," came the matter-of-fact reply.
"Can it, you guys!" The vent cover fell out and would have clattered on the cement floor had there not been an agile turtle hand to catch it.
"A professional infiltration, if I do say so myself," Mikey said as he dropped to the floor and polished his fist on his plastron.
"Don't celebrate just yet, Mike," Don called in a whisper tone as Leo exited the shaft and landed without so much as a sound. "You made enough noise on the roof to wake a herd of elephants and as it is, I'm not sure if they've found us out yet."
"Thanks for the wet blanket comment, Don."
I take it this motley crew of misfits is your family? Leo unsheathed his swords in the blink of an eye, crouching on the floor. I haven't bitten you yet have I? Bima grumbled.
"Who is that?" Leo asked Raph as he put his katana away and began fiddling with the lock on the door.
The 'who' would love to be addressed as an actual person and not a figment of your imagination.
"She's a dragon. I'll explain later, but right now I'm more concerned with dropping the part of Thanksgiving turkey ready for the slaughter," Keilah deadpanned.
A devilish grin spread across Mikey's face. "Raph got a girlfriend!" he cooed, posing in a feminine way.
"I'd sooner kiss a hippo's butt," Keilah growled indignantly.
Can we see that happen in the near future? Bima asked in the tone of one close to bursting out laughing. A hollow click came and the lock flipped open. Then, so suddenly it made them all blink with surprise, the lights blazed on and the door was flung open.
"Glad to see your smiling face, you old scarecrow," Raph quipped at Nechai as the man jumped at Don, who was messing with the computer systems. The purple clad turtle whipped out his staff and parried a super-powered punch, flipping the bo up and catching him in the shoulder.
"Mikey! Get Raph and the kid untied so we can get out of here! It's too small for much combat!" Leo barked, jumping at Keron, who had joined the one-sided fight again his brainiac brother.
"I resent being called a kid!" Keilah yelped, wriggling in her ropes.
"Brought ya something, Raphie," Mike said, grinning from ear to ear as he took out a pair of red-wrapped Sais. His brother smirked as he sliced through the bonds and handed him his weapons of choice. The newly freed turtle burst out of the cell as though shot from a cannon, clocking Keron hard in the jaw.
"That's for that punch ya threw me earlier!" he bellowed, grappling with the huge man on the floor.
Keron rolled off Raph and stood, winding up. "Yeah, well I don't appreciate being paid back for it, so have another!" His fist glanced off his target's left arm, courtesy of a reactive dodge.
Come on! Can't you untie me any faster?
"Hey, well I'm not exactly a Boy Scout!" Mike complained, biting at the knot in frustration. Finally, he said "Oh!" and pulled out a shuriken, slicing the ropes off with a sheepish grin.
"Tatsu Morph!" Keilah yelled, Bima's immense frame filling the cell in the blink of an eye.
Good grief, it's stuffy in here! Lemme renovate! The dragon inhaled thunderously and blue flames exploded from her jaws seconds later, taking out the adjacent wall and the bars in front of her.
"Crap! The dragon's out!" Keron growled, throwing Raph into the wall. "Tiquae's not gonna be happy if it escapes!"
"I know that, you giant oaf!" Nechai snarled.
Let's just say I don't care what this Tiquae says, Bima said, turning. She rammed the wall, cracking it and raining blocks of concrete down from the ceiling. One more should do it! The next blow sent her sprawling out into the cool night air. Awriiiight! We're out!
Let's get out of here! Keilah shouted, pressing her desire to leave on Bima's mind.
Everybody hop on, the Dragon Express is leaving! The first to come was Mikey, who clearly wanted nothing to do with the fighting. He clambered on to the dragon's back, followed by Don who hopped in a more dignified way. Raph and Leo kept Nechai and Keron back with aggressive strikes from their weapons. Did you not hear me, stone ears? Bima cried, lashing her tail. Move! The two turtles obliged, diving out of the way of a fireball that smote the wall with such heat that the steel supports weakened and the hole collapsed.
"I doubt that'll hold them for long," Leo said, reluctant to board their ticket out.
Who cares? By the time they get out we'll be gone!
"Not if we have to get the Battleshell out of here too," Don sighed grimly.
The Battle-WHAT?
"It's an armored car Donnie tricked out, with my help of course," Mikey bragged.
Bima looked slightly annoyed. Look, sword-boy, get on or I swear I'll leave you right where you stand. We can search for the Battle-whosi-what's-it from air. The turtle finally gave in and clambered on. The silver-blue dragon unfurled her wings and flapped down, hard. Ugh, she grunted between wing beats as she lifted away from the concrete, what do you eat?
"A healthy diet of pizza with all the fixin's!"
No wonder you're all so heavy!
"Like I said, it's muscle mass," Raph retorted, looking down. They were about twenty feet up by this point and steadily rising.
Okay, Purple, what's the Battleshell look like?
Don leaned over Bima's back and nearly fell off, saved by Leo's quick reflexes. "I parked it in an alley somewhere around two blocks away – Uh-oh. Can you fly a bit faster?"
You four sumo wrestlers are slowing me down, it's not my fault, Bima quipped. Why?
"Because I don't think that those two are going to let us get away that easily with you in tow. Look!" The turtle pointed down toward the rooftops. Keron and Nechai were jumping across alleys, every now and then looking up to spot their target. The big man was armed with a large AK 47 strapped on his back.
Uh-oh. What are we going to do about that gun? Keilah asked nervously.
"We could always fall on our knees and scream for mercy!" Mikey wailed in a feminine tone, clutching his head. Raph slapped him in the head with his palm, eliciting an indignant "Hey!" out of him.
"When we need ya to break a few windows, we'll tell ya!" Raph growled, withdrawing his hand, and looking down in turn. None of his brothers same his cheeks bulge and his face turn several abnormal shades of green as he righted himself again.
Leo looked down at their pursuers as well. " If we're lucky, we won't have to get on the roofs anyway," he said. "Dragon –"
Bima, if your highness pleases, Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt. Mike sniggered and Don hid a smile as Leo gritted his teeth.
"Fine. Bima, you can attack aerially, right?"
Who says I feel like it?
"You can. Alright, Mikey and I will distract Two-Ton down there. Don, you and Raph look for the Battleshell."
And we get Scarecrow, Keilah said maliciously, rubbing her hands together. This'll be fun.
"Hey Leo, why can't I bash in Gun-Boy's face?" Raph growled.
"And why do I have to distract him with you?" Mikey squeaked, hands up to his mouth as his teeth chattered.
Enough debating, sumos, the Dragon Express is about to collide with a wall! Bima suddenly dove with frightening speed, roaring thunderously as she swooped in over the rooftop. Gangway, blockhead! The dragon ran into the surprised Keron, cannoning the man backward into a wall. Her passengers hopped nimbly off of her back and ran in separate directions; Raph and Don to the right to search the alleys, and Leo and Mike to distract Keron. Bima shook her head and veered around sharply.
Nechai saw where she was aiming and dodged herrazor-sharp claws as they raked across the roof, leaving deep gouges. "I'm not letting you get away," the hawk-nosed man snarled as Bima landed with a heavy thud.
Last I checked, it was US who ran into YOUR buddy, not the other way around, Keilah said tauntingly. Bima lunged at him like a striking snake, barely missing his stomach with her fangs.
Keron got up with a growl and took out his gun. Mikey gulped audibly. "I don't appreciate any more than the next guy being bashed into a stairwell, and I'll show you what I do to those who manage to knock me over!" He aimed at Mikey and began firing the AK 47. Bullet holes gored the roof as the turtle jumped out of the way, yelping.
"Y'know, in my defense, it was HER!" he squeaked, pointing at Bima.
The dragon spat a fireball at Nechai, who escaped with singed pants. Let's try that again, shall we?
Have a little fire, Scarecrow! Keilah cackled, imitating the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of OZ. This time Bima got him right in the rear with a little flare, burning his pants open.
Nice boxers, Bima taunted, sticking out her tongue as the man gave her an icy glare. And racing stripes. Keilah howled with laughter as Nechai bared his teeth.
"You've insulted me for the last time, dragon!" He darted at her, throwing a variety of punches and kicks at her scaly armor.
What are those fists made out of? STRAW? Keilah began giggling again, but the mirth died off when Nechai dealt Bima an especially powerful kick to the chest. The blow sent her reeling back into the stairwell, making her crack her horns on the bricks. Fissures snaked across the brickwork as the dragon got on her feet. Now THAT was cheeky, Boxer Boy, she growled, nostrils streaming black smoke.
Leo tackled Mikey out of the way of another spray of ammunition whizzing from Keron's gun. "Mikey, focus!" he yelled, jumping up and shoving his brother to avoid another round.
"I'm being mentally and physically abused!" he shrieked, huddling on the roof.
The blue-clad turtle's head snapped up as Keron stopped shooting long enough to give him a fierce uppercut in the jaw. Airborne, Leo plummeted back down only to meet his fist again, this time in the stomach. There was a loud hiss and a blue fireball hit the giant in the back, setting him on fire.
Down on the road, Don and Raph finally found the Battleshell. "Lemme drive!" Raph barked, leaping into the driver's seat. His brother scrambled into the passenger seat just as Raph wrenched the key around to make the engine turn over. The armored truck roared to life. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and the Battleshell made earsplitting noises on the damp pavement before shooting out of the alley and speeding down the near-empty road.
"Raph, are you nuts?" Don squeaked, belting himself in as the driver made a sharp turn.
"No, I ain't, now call the guys! We're blowing this Popsicle stand!"
Up on the roof, Leo struggled upright and dove aside to miss being pulverized by a spray of bullets. He had been caught off guard, but it wouldn't happen again. Coolly he wiped away a thin line of blood from his jaw and took out his swords, sprinting toward Keron.
"Ah, good grief, my shirt's wide open to this blistering cold wind!" the man whined, sticking another round of bullets in the roof.
"How about we make a basement window?" Leo yelled, slashing his belt in half. His pants fell down unceremoniously around his ankles and bright red discoloration found its way up his face.
"Why you little…" he growled venomously, boxers fluttering in the biting wind. Behind Leo Mike was laughing almost hard enough to split his shell open.
What is this? A lingerie party? Bima asked slyly, raising her eye ridges.
Eeew…Keilah said, wrinkling her nose.
There came a deafening honk from the blacktop down below. "That's Raph and Don! Finish Scarecrow and let's get out of here!" Leo bellowed, dealing a powerful kick to Keron's midsection and sending him almost off the roof. His quick reflexes latched him onto the edge of the building.
Your wish is my command, sire! Bima swatted the distracted Nechai aside with a giant paw, rocketing him into the already terribly abused stairwell. Hop on! We'll fly in low! Mikey boarded more than happily and Leo jumped on with ease. The dragon crow-hopped to the edge of the building, sending small tremors through the surface of the roof. Bottoms up! With that phrase, she dove off the roof, flaring her wings to soften the scream of the wind. You guys got a skylight in that car of yours?
"Yeah, why?" Leo yelled back.
I think I know what's she's gonna do…
Hey Purple, open up the top! Bima said mentally to Don as she flew in close over the armored car.
Aw, crap. The door slid open.
Tatsu Reverse! Mike and Leo found themselves riding on Keilah's back now, and they dropped through the Battleshell's opening due to her obvious lack of wings.
"Nice entrance," Don said dryly, closing the skylight.
"I hate you, Bima, do you know that?" Keilah groaned, shoving Mike off her back. Leo had been the quickest one off.
Hey, it doesn't have to be fancy. What gets ya in is good enough.
Mike looked out the small, triangular window and groaned. "Raph, there's some dudes who don't want us to leave the party," he said, pointing at the black shapes vaulting across the rooftops.
"Foot!" Leo growled. "I should've know Shredder was in on this!"
Don scratched his head. "Now wait. Why in the world would Shredder ally himself with those two guys back there?"
Well, let's see…you DO have a dragon in your vicinity; that's all you need to go on, really.
"So lemme get this straight," Raph grunted. "Shred-head wants to use the power of five dragons to take over the world, am I right?"
Darn straight. If I were a megalomaniac, that's what I'd do. Who's this Shredder, by the way?
"An alien in a tin can," Leo grumbled. "Sticks out every thing we put him through and then some. Having an enemy that's practically immortal gets really annoying."
Huh…alien in a tin can, eh? Bima mused. Sounds familiar, but I guess I'll have to wait on that.
Leo looked out the window and narrowed his eyes. "Don, they can't land on us when we're going this fast, can they?"
"If they have Foot robots equipped with rocket launchers they can stop us dead in our tracks. They wouldn't need to land on us…but otherwise, no. Why?" Don asked curiously.
"I think I see your Foot robot," Keilah gulped.
Raph muttered a curse under his breath. "Great, can this day get any worse?" At that moment a deafening thunderclap boomed overhead.
"You always have to jinx it, don't 'cha, Raph?" Mike groaned as rain came pouring down in sheets. Fat drops the size of minnows spattered on the windshield.
"Raph, if visibility gets any worse for us, we'll be sitting ducks!" Don told him.
"Yeah, well if they wanna bite, we'll bite back!" Raph smacked an obnoxiously large button on the dashboard with a fist, initiating the lowering of a target screen. "Donnie, lock and load. Blow those bots out of the sky."
He grabbed the screen but all the same said, "Raph, what if I hit the building? There's innocent people in there!"
"If ya haven't noticed, I'm going toward the junkyard. You can blow them to smithereens there." Don sighed audibly.
What the heck is a missile? Bima asked.
"It's a long round thing that flies toward its target and explodes on impact with something hard," Keilah explained.
Huh. I need to get out more.
"Hang on, everybody!" Don yelled, locking onto a robot as Raph made a donut in the junkyard mud. Leo and Keilah both grabbed at something but Mike fell unceremoniously on his rear. The missile fired off the Battleshell, hitting the targeted robot in the chest. It fell into a pile of trash in ruins.
"Oh crap!" Raph smashed the breaks, tires whirling almost uselessly in the slippery mud. He franticly twisted the steering wheel left to avoid an explosion in front of the vehicle. It responded sluggishly. The mud erupted in a geyser in front of them, spattering the windshield. "Great! Just great! How the shell am I supposed to see where I'm driving?"
"Windshield wipers! WINDSHIELD WIPERS!" Mike squealed, ducking onto the floor as another explosion rocked the vehicle. Raph obliged, the wipers scraping along the glass. The rain helped it along. And what they saw did not help the situation. They were in point-blank range of a missile gun barrel.
"Raph! TURN!" Don yelled, smashing another button with a fist. There was a soft humming and the passengers not belted in flew back into the door. Keilah slammed into the switch that opened it, sending her rocketing out. Just in time she grabbed out at the door, latching onto the handle as the Battleshell swung crazily, jet propulsion thrusters screaming.
Can't you AIM when you fall? Bima cried.
"I'd like to see you do better!" Keilah retorted back, hanging on for dear life as Raph did a sharp turn. By now the rain had soaked her to the bone and her grip was slipping. "Somebody help me!" she screamed in panic, now sliding off the door. The girl chanced a look back and saw a robot hovering behind the armored car, reaching for her with its claws. Just as it took a swipe at her legs, Mikey leapt out of the Battleshell and cracked his nunchakus on the glass, shattering it.
"Grab my hand!" Leo yelled, stretching his arm out to her. She reached. His hand seemed painfully far away.
Suddenly her hand slipped off the handle. Keilah would have fallen into a pile of sharp, fragmented glass from broken TVs had Leo not snatched her arm. Holding onto the rim of the door, inch by inch, he pulled her back in. "What about M-mike?" she stammered, suddenly now very cold.
"I'm handlin' it!" Raph roared, doing a large U-turn. "Hey brainiac, switch off the thrust! I can't drive for beans if I'm going this fast!"
"We'll need the extra speed!" Don shouted back as Leo pulled one of the back doors shut and draped a worn wool blanket over Keilah's shoulders.
"Raph! Get me close to the robot!" Leo yelled over a clap of thunder that had come after a bright flash of lightning.
"Better yet, I'll get the robot!" Raph growled, accelerating toward the robot that Mike was fighting. The turtle had a most disturbingly grim look on his normally carefree face as he dodged the attacks of his opponent while kicking away Foot ninja. His mouth moved as he yelled with the impact of each blow he gave out.
MIKEY! MOVE! Bima roared at him, knowing full well that a verbal command would never reach him in time. He looked up, startled as a deer in the headlights, and dove aside as the Battleshell plowed into the robot, rendering it completely useless as it flew back into a junk pile. Several ninja were knocked onto the ground, none of them even breathing. Lightning fast, Leo grabbed his brother by the belt and with his muscles screaming in agony, yanked him in and shut the door.
Mikey groaned and fell onto his stomach. "Man," he panted, "remind me never to play hero again."
You couldn't save a slug from its own slime, Bima quipped. The turtle yelped a "Hey!".
Leo collapsed on the floor, his entire upper torso throbbing from the effort of fighting increased gravity. "Mike, don't scare us like that!" he hissed. Mike grinned at him.
Don looked into his passenger mirror and grimaced. "There's one more robot plus several more Foot ninja. We're not out of the woods yet."
"Blow 'em up. I'm tired of dealing with those sissies in black pajamas," Raph growled, making a beeline for the junkyard entrance. Don made another face and targeted the remaining robot. With a sense of finality, he smacked the button that released the missile and watched as it ripped the hunk of machinery into smithereens. The ninja were nowhere to be seen.
"Phew," Don sighed, switching off the thrusters. "What a night!"
"You're telling me," Raph grunted right back. "Getting knocked out, wakin' up in a cage, escaping from a bunch of thugs, and havin' a mad car chase in a thunderstorm…I swear I've seen everything."
Keilah gulped and shivered, her hair dripping steadily of rainwater. "Thanks for saving me," she said with a small hiccup, directing the gratitude towards Leo and Mike.
"Howzabout a kiss for your knight in shining armor?" Mike asked with a grin, sitting up. She gave him a disapproving frown. "Oh, alright, I'll let it go this time." He pouted at her.
Leo sighed and stared at the ceiling, listening to the rain drum on the metal. "We're going to have a lot of explaining to do."
"Why, how long have we been…" Raph began, glancing at the clock. It read three thirty-three. "Aw crap. I've been gone for a grand total of seven hours." He could envision coming home to an irritated and worried Splinter. Usually they were only out on patrol for at least four hours, from nine to one.
"We can't head immediately for the sewers. That'll lead them to our home," Leo mused.
"You live in the sewers?" Keilah asked incredulously.
"What's it to ya?" Raph shot back.
She glowered at him. "Nothing."
He shook it off. "Raph, drive around a couple more blocks," Leo grunted.
"Yeah, sure, Mr. Paranoid," he grumbled, stopping at a red light. The car next to them throbbed with heavy metal music. "Geez, ya think they could turn it up any more?" the turtle asked distastefully.
"Some people like it loud," Don said with a yawn.
"I hope his ears burst." Raph turned at the light, going down a quiet street. Little did they know that car followed them at a distance. After several rounds of driving around the part of Manhattan where they lived, he turned onto Eastman, the Battleshell rumbling tiredly as it came upon its old warehouse. Don quickly ran out into the pouring rain and wrenched the door up. It slid with a rusty whine, resisting his efforts as best it could, but it gave way eventually. Raph stepped on the gas and eased the vehicle inside the warehouse as Don closed the door again.
Leo got up wearily and opened the hatch of the old armored car, breathing in the stale air of their makeshift garage. "Well, here we are," he sighed, getting out onto the cool, oily concrete floor. He helped the shivering Keilah down and assisted Mike as well.
Now what? I thought you bums lived in the sewers.
"We do." He walked over to an empty space of floor and tapped it twice with his fist. Then he backed away as a soft hum rose and the concrete opened, allowing a strange, alien capsule to rise above it. The door opened with a hiss.
Okay, that's just freaky.
"It works better than slogging through the sluice," Don said wryly.
…Well, shut my mouth.
All five piled into the glowing elevator.
Wow! I went overboard with this one! Hopefully I can begin wrking on the next chapter very soon.
Ashite Imasu,
LN