Chapter 7
"A Wing and a Prayer"
Alex loved rain. She loved to sit inside and watch it hit the window pane in April's apartment. She loved to listen to it as she laid in bed reading or trying to fall asleep. She even loved going out and playing in it with her brothers when she was little before going inside to have hot chocolate that her mother prepared for them.
What Alex didn't like was having to walk almost all the way across town in it because her brothers all fell asleep during their movie night. They were all exhausted because of the dojo and getting back into their regular lives, and Alex understood that, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about getting soaked to the bone walking home in a downpour.
The girl couldn't help but sigh as she saw a gang of Purple Dragons hanging out in an alley, as the usual cliche. She was really getting tired of running into those bums, and as she walked by, she prayed they'd just leave her alone.
"Hey, hey, don't we know you?"
Yes, I've kicked your butts before, she thought to herself. She wouldn't dare say that to them though. After all, if there was a chance she could walk right on by without having to fight, she'd try her best to do that.
"Wait, isn't she with those lizard things?"
"Yeah, grab her!"
Alex just rolled her eyes and turned to confront the gang members. "Oh for the record? They're not lizards!" She didn't wait for them to attack her. Instead, she did a front flip, kicking the guy closest to her with her foot coming down on his neck. The next guy brought his arm back to punch her, but Alex didn't give him the chance. She swung her leg out and made contact with his ribcage, causing him to hunch slightly, which put him in the perfect position to roundhouse kick him in the head.
The last guy disappeared from her sight though, as she focused primarily on those two. she didn't remember him until he hit her over the side of the head with a pipe. Alex cried out, falling to the wet ground with blood mixing with the rain water. She tried to get up, but her head was spinning and the guy kicked her in the ribs, sending her back down into the puddle.
"One should never harm a lady!"
And suddenly, the guy behind her was gone. He was lying flat on the ground unconscious, like his two other friends. She would have gotten up and stood up in defensive position, but she was too dizzy to even get to her feet yet.
"Milady, are you alright?"
Alex glanced up, her eyes coming in contact with a tall, muscular blond with white angel wings. She had seen videos on the news in regards to this birdman. They were calling him the Guardian Angel. He helped her up to her feet, holding her until she could stand steady on her own.
"Uh," she muttered, her eyes going straight to his muscles. It had been a long time since she had seen someone as handsome and good looking as him. And he had called her Milady and beautiful. How could she not blush and be flattered. "Y-Yeah, I've had worse."
"You fight with great skill," he told her. "I had no doubt that you would have made a comeback in your fight. But i could not just stand there and let a beautiful young maiden get injured."
"H-Honorable," she pointed out. "I'm Alex, and thanks for your help."
"It was truly my pleasure," he said. "And I am Raptarr. And now that you are safe, I shall take my leave. Good evening." He jumped up into the air, stretching his wings and flying away.
"….Bye…" God, that man is beautiful...
"Hey, Master," Alex greeted, moving to sit next to him on the couch.
"Good evening, Alexandra," he said, turning to her with a smile. "Child, what happened?"
She had iced her black eye all night once she got home the night before, and she had placed a bandage on the cut on her head, but that didn't mean she still didn't have bruises from the thug.
"Oh, you know, the usual," she answered as if it were nothing. "Purple Dragons."
"As long as you are in good health," he pointed out.
"I'm okay, but thank you for the concern, Master," she said.
The front doors opened, and Alex could hear the guys all shuffling in, muttering amongst themselves. She didn't really pay too much attention to them though, her focus primarily on the television of one of the shows Master Splinter had been watching. She hadn't spent much quality time with the rat lately, she she thought this was a good time as any to do so.
"Clear the couch!"
Alex looked back, seeing Raph and Don carrying Raptarr over to them. Alex was off the couch in a second, Master Splinter following her lead. They placed him on the couch, mindful of one of his wings.
"What happened?" Alex asked, kneeling down next to Raptarr, placing a hand to his forehead.
"He was fighting with some metal winged guy," Don said. "He got hurt."
"He's regaining consciousness," Master Splinter stated.
"Where am I?" he asked groggily. "Alex?"
"Wait, you two know each other?" Mikey asked. "And you didn't introduce me? Geez Alex!"
"Not the time, Mike," Alex scolded. "Raptarr, you're safe. I promise."
"But this place...it is an Y'Lyntia stronghold," he said.
"Yeah, well, that's a long story," Raph stated.
"You're the guy that papers call the Guardian Angel. I got all the clippings!" Mikey explained. "You're famous."
"Alex, who are these people?" Raptarr asked.
"They're friends," she assured him. "Trust me. You can trust them."
Raptar tried to sit up, but groaned in pain. Splinter pushed him back down. "You have damaged one of your wing. Do not move," Splinter ordered.
Master Splinter placed his hands on his wing and arm, pressing into a specific spot before letting go. Raptarr sat up, looking far less pained than he had a moment before. He got up, rubbing his arms. "It is much better," he said.
"I simply manipulated pressure points in your shoulder to redirect the flow of chi in your wing," Splinter explained.
"Thank you, I-Mephos! The Diadem! Where is it?" he asked frantically.
"Uh, if you mean your headband, that guy with the metal wings took it," Don told him.
"No!" Raptar exclaimed. "It will spell the downfall of my people! With it, Mephos will spark a new civil war. Countless innocent lives will parish!"
"Don't sweat it, Mr. Guardian Angel, Sir!" Mikey said. "We'll just kick tin wings butt and get your Diadem thingy back!"
"I cannot ask you to help." he said. "I am already in your debt and where I come from, that is no small thing."
"And you saved Mikey," Leo said. "We take that pretty seriously too. We'll help you, but we need to know everything."
"Every well," he said. "My name is Raptarr. I am an Avian."
"I knew it!" Don exclaimed.
"We were a race of beings created as slaved by the ancient Y'Lyntians many eons ago. Y'Lyntia was the world of wonders. Through the limitless power of their crystal sun, the Y'Lyntians had built a Utopian society far ahead of its time, but it had it's dark side.
"We Avians were treated like animals by our true Y'Lyntian taskmasters. We were worked like slaves to build their paradise, then forced to live apart in a floating cage so we would not defowl their precious city by our inferior presence.
"Then one day, there was war. The outside world have had enough of Y'Lyntian's ironfisted rule. And so had we. The slaves of Y'Lyntia have united against our cruel slave masters. The rebellion raged! Irony of ironies, it was our bird cage prison that in the end saved us all.
"My ancestors managed to free it from its tether, as Y'Lyntia finally sank beneath the waves. Savaging precious fragments of Y'Lyntian crystal sun. The Avians combined the shards into incredibly powerful energy core. Powerful enough to keep our floating area lofted forever. Their prison have been transformed into a home. My people were free. For centuries, we Avians have kept ourselves cut off from the outside world. But there were those who believed that we were destined to rule over the surface world, not to hide from it. The leader of this movement was my best friend, and comrade, Mephos.
"He lead his followers in a revolt that pitted Avian against Avian, brother against brother. The war ended with Mephos' capture. For his crimes against our people, the Avian Council sentenced Mephos to be exiled to the surface world for all time. His wings taken from him. I stayed on the surface world to watch Mephos, and to stop his attempts to return to the Avian city. Living here in your world, I have learned much. And have been able to help those in need, and I have stopped Mephos' plans several times.
"But now, with my Diadem, he will be able to find the Avian City, and entered it unopposed. The surface world is doomed. Imagine a floating city that can only be detected with a crystal Diadem. The immense power of the crystal energy core makes the Avian city an unspeakable weapon of mass destruction, and soon it will be Mephos' to command."
"Raptarr, it'll all be okay," Alex told him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We've dealt with situations like this before."
"Just give me a couple minutes!" Don said, running off to his lab.
"I do not understand," Raptarr said. "How could you all possibly help without the ability to fly?"
"Don's brilliant!" Mikey told him. "We'll figure something out."
"I promise, Raptarr, everything will turn out right," Alex assured him.
"Thank you, Alex," he said. "Saving you has turned out to be most helpful, for both of us, it seems. It is not everyday you meet such a strong female warrior such as yourself, with odd willing friends."
Alex bit her lip and blushed. "I'm going to take that as a compliment," she laughed, sounding much more like a giggle.
Raptarr got up, looking around for a couple minutes while they had the time. Mikey rushed over, taking her by her arms and shaking her slightly. "Why didn't you tell me you knew him!" he demanded.
"I just met him yesterday!" she told him.
"You should've called me right after it happened! Dude, this is awesome!"
"You are such a nut!" Alex pointed out.
He just shrugged and let her go. "Donnie! Are we going or what?" Mikey whinned.
"_, prepare to be amazed!" He pulled off the sheet from the table to show five oddly shaped backpack looking things.
"Tech-pack thingys?" Mikey asked.
"What's so amazing about that, hotshot?" Raph asked.
"Why how kind of you to ask. Just watch and be amazed!" He picked one up and slipped it on. He pressed a button and out came flaps for wings.
"Cool!" mikey exclaimed.
"I've been working on an upgraded version of the tech-pack that can fly!" Don said.
"But we still have a problem," Leo pointed out. "Without a crystal diadem we won't be able to find the city."
"But your home is an Y'Lyntian outpost," Raptarr pointed out. "Surely there are Y'Lyntian power crystals here."
"Um," Mikey muttered. "We kinda used them all to help some of our friends."
"It's a really long story," Don added.
"What of the memory crystals?"
"The what?" Alex asked, voicing what everybody was wondering.
"Let us see," Raptarr muttered. He walked up to one of the pillars and traced his fingers along it. "Here." The wall glowed green for a moment. spreading all the way up to the center of the ceiling. "It is still here." A platform lowered down, showing them a huge cluster of crystals. He flew over and grabbed a couple. "Perfect. These will do."
"Whoa," Mikey mumbled.
"Where's that come from?" Raph asked.
"I thought I scanned the whole lair from top to bottom for crystals," Don thought. "How?"
"It's….an Avian thing," Raptarr exclaimed.
"Eh, good enough for me," Alex said, taking one of the packs for herself. "You boys ready or what?"
"Your hospitality has been most generous," Raptarr told Splinter. "Thank you, Splinter." Raptarr lifted off the ledge, Alex following right behind.
"Oh, this is so cool!"' she laughed as she floated next to the Avian.
"Flying is rather enjoyable, isn't it?" Raptarr said.
"I could so get used to this!" she giggled. spinning around as the guys caught up to them.
"Remember the plan. Mephos' diare focus should be his own undoing.
"One question," Mikey piped up. "Are we there yet?"
"Actually yes," Raptarr answered.
"Wooooow," mikey muttered.
"You said it, Mikey," don added.
The large spherical domed city finally came into view through the clouds, shimmering in the sun's light.
"Am I the only one that would feel uncomfortable living there. I'd be afraid it'd fall out of the sky," Alex admitted.
"I'd rather have my feet on the ground," Raph agreed.
"Where do we look for this Mephos first?" Leo asked.
"How about there?" Mikey pointed. The largest tower had a great large red bolt shoot out from it.
The group of six made it to the tower, entering through the large entryway.
"Now, let's destroy one of the surface dwellers cities!" It was just as they all described. The Mephos Avian was techically wingless, except for the large metal, man-made wings on his back.
"I think not, Mephos!" Raptarr protested.
"Remember us? Well, now we've got wings!" Mikey said.
As part of the plan, the group lifted off, pushing forward through the air towards Mephos.
"Destroy them!" Mephos ordered.
The guys focused on taking out the traitorous soldiers while Alex went to the elders. "Is everybody alright?" she asked. "Nobody hurt? No? Okay, good. Why don't we just-" Alex's stomach dropped, and she instantly spun around to see Mephos and Raptarr fight moving over towards them. "Move!" she ordered, taking one of the elders and moving them to the floor, covering them with her body to shield them.
"Are they cleared?" Leo asked her.
"Yeah, it's all yours!" she answered.
Raptarr was forced to the ground, pinned by Mephos, who didn't seem to notice that the guys were making their way to the crystal to remove it from the control. Mephos, once he figured out what they were doing, went after the turtles that were tossing it around like a hot potato. Alex made her way to Raptarr, who was in a good eal of pain.
"Easy," she told him, helping him sit up.
"No, I must help," he protested.
"They have it under control," Alex said. "You have to trust us."
"No! I'm too close! Noooo!" Mephos yelled as he was stucked into the power crystals hold.
One of the elders took the crystal and put it back into it's rightful place. Mephos was taken into custody shortly after that, leaving Alex and the guys with the elders and Raptarr to depart.
"Thank you for your help. You saved our city," The elder said.
"We owe you a debt of gratitude," Raptarr said.
"You know, maybe someday our worlds will could, you know, coexist," Don thought.
"Perhaps," the elder said. "Until then, I trust the secret of our existence will remain safe with you."
"You have our word," Leo said.
"I only have one request," Mikey said.
"Name it!" Raptarr told him.
Mikey handed the camera to Leo. "Somebody take my picture with Raptarr!"
"Why?" Don laughed. "You gonna sell it to the Weekly Weird News?"
Mikey just laughed. "Nah, it's for my superhero team up scrapbook...Why? How much do you think they'd give me for it?"
"With you in the picture, a nickel, maybe less," Raph answered.
Alex joined the guys at the lair after their adventure with the Avian people. She was ready to crash in her bed, but there was something she needed to deal with first. Something she needed to take care of before she could even think of doing anything.
Confront Leonardo.
He had been acting weird, or weirder than he had been lately, towards her. She couldn't figure out why though. What did she do? Was it something she did? Or was it just because of his mood swings as of late? She just couldn't wrap her head around Leo lately. Normally she could tell exactly what was wrong and what he was thinking. But lately he was erratic and unpredictable, which definitely was not the definition of Leonardo.
Alex knocked on his bedroom door and waited for an answer before she let herself in. It never came, so she opened the door and went right on in without permission.
"Woah, Alex!" Leo said standing up from his bed. "Seriously? You couldn't wait til I answered the door?" he asked irritably.
Alex shut the door and leaned against it, crossing her arms over her chest. "From the looks of it, it doesn't look like you were even going to bother," she stated. When she opened the door, that was when she heard movement. He hadn't been planning on letting her or anybody in.
"So what if I wasn't? It's my room right? So if I want to hide in my room, I will." Leo grumbled to her.
Alex sighed. "Did I do something wrong?" she questioned right off the bat.
"What?" Leo asked her.
"You've been ignoring me for pretty much the whole night," Alex told him, clarifying what she was talking about. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Well if you didn't notice we were kind of busy saving the world." Leo crossed his arms. "Again. But of course you we're a bit distracted yourself." he muttered harshly.
Alex narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?" Distracted? What had she been distracted by?
"You were more focused on the charming Raptarr to really focus on us and the mission," Leo said.
The girl's mouth fell open. "You're kidding me, right?" She pushed off the door and made her way further into his room. "You honestly think I'd risk the mission because of a guy? You honestly think that low of me?"
"Every time he talked to you, you'd swoon and sigh." Leo pointed out. "You'd get all flustered and giggly. You weren't exactly telling him to stop flattering you either."
He had a point. Alex didn't stop him. And she hadn't wanted to. When was the last time a guy flirted with her? When was the last time someone took an interest in her? Let alone someone that gorgeous? She couldn't recall a time and that brought the girl down.
"So what if I didn't?" she retorted. "That doesn't mean I don't have my head in the game! I always have your back! I always have your brothers' backs. When have I ever let you down like that, huh?"
"How about tonight? Flirting in front of us doesn't exactly make us comfortable you know," Leo grumbled. "Especially right in front of us with a guy you don't even know."
"For cry out loud, Leo! So what if you're uncomfortable? Did you ever once stop to think that it wasn't about you? The world doesn't revolve around you and your brothers, you know," she told him, her voice raising. "And so what if I don't know him. It's not the point! I don't like Raptarr. Sure, the guy has a body of a freakin' god, but so what? It was just refreshing to have someone take notice in me!
"Me!" Alex turned away from Leo, angry tears building up in her eyes. She hated the fact that she was so worked up that she was to the point of frustrated tears. "The freaky girl that can kick pretty much any guy's butt and hangs out in the sewers! Guys don't generally like that, you know! It intimidates them! G-Guy don't look at me like that.
"And I don't blame them!" she exclaimed. "I mean, look at me? I'm a mess, Leo! I'm forward, I'm too strong for their liking. I'm covered in scars! Who wants to look at that? Huh? What guy in his right mind would want his girl to look like the way I do? Who acts the way I do?
"So yeah, I liked the attention being on me for once in my life because whenever I'm out patrolling with you guys, you're all everybody see's! Do you know how many times people have left me out while they address us? How much it seems like you guys forget I'm there? That I'm not a turtle? It's so frustrating!"
"You don't think we don't notice you?! That I don't notice you!? Noticing you has basically been what I've been doing all night! And it's because you're so amazing at kicking butt and strong and hot as hell!" Leo said before his face seem to explode in a hot red blush. "I mean...the only reason people notice us is because we are turtles, as in freaks of nature. Not all attention is good, you know!"
Alex totally seemed to miss the fact that Leo had admitted the fact that he thought she was hot. She was too focused on how Leo thought of himself as a freak of nature. That he thought so low of himself. "You're not a freak of nature, Leo," she insisted.
"Alex...teenage mutant ninja turtle." Leo said pointing to himself. "Break that apart, does any of that sound in the least bit normal?"
"Do Triceratons and robots with human minds transferred inside of them? Utrom walking in machines? Four boys getting controlled by an alien? A young woman interested in dating a wack job vigilante? And a girl who's best friends are turtles? Does any of that sound normal?" she asked. "Okay, so maybe you're a freak," Alex said with a shrug, "but then again, aren't we all?"
"But they have a kind. There's more of them. But there's just us and only us in all of existence. While we have each other, we're still alone," Leo mumbled. "Even Raptarr, a freaking Guardian Angel, belongs to species."
"You have a species too," she told him, sitting down on the corner of his bed. "You're just kind of endangered? There are four of you."
"Tch, yeah. And there will only ever be four of us." Leo mumbled a bit, knowing she would understand what he meant. He sat down next to her, his shoulders slumped as his elbows rested on his knees.
"Well, I guess you're just going to have to make your existence count, now aren't you?" she said. "Let the world know just how special you guys really are." She leaned into him, bumping him with her shoulder.
"Kinda need to hide our existence, Alex. Raptarr would have an easier time than us doing that too. All he needs to hide are his wings. And even if he didn't he'd be accepted a lot quicker than we would be."
"Nah, I don't think so," Alex said. "I think, sooner than any of us think, you're going to be known world wide. And the headline won't be 'Scary Frog Creatures Discovered in NYC Sewers.' You guys are going to make a difference, I just know it. You're going to change lives. I mean, look how much you've changed mine."
"Not all of us are that hopeful, Alex." Leo sighed to her. "Thanks anyway. Sorry I got mad at you, it was more of an irritation at Raptarr and myself than you."
Alex shrugged. "And I'm sorry for putting us in that situation," she sighed. "And making you think that I wouldn't have your back."
"Don't worry about it. As you've seen just now, we all lose our focus." Leo mumbled.
"We're only human," she agreed. "And don't you dare challenge that expression, Romeo!" she warned him, pointing a finger in his direction.
"Alright, alright." Leo chuckled a bit.
Alex bit her lip and smirked, glancing up at Leo threw her lashes. "So, uh, you think I'm hot as hell?"
"I-I uh well I-I.. Get out of my room!" Leo said pointing to the door.
"Oh come on, Romeo!" Alex teased. "Don't be like that!"
"Out, out, out!" Leo said pulling her up from the bed and pushing her to the door.
"This is why Juliet killed herself! Romeo was so rude to her!" she teased as she got shoved into the hallway.
"Don't worry, I think Don has some poison for you." Leo teased right back as he closed the door.
Alex scoffed, rolling her eyes. She turned away from the door and headed to the exit. Well, at least that's cleared up. And Leo's a little more like his old self. she thought. She got inside the stone elevator and silently rode up to the warehouse. Hot as hell, huh? She bit her lip. Interesting.
