Mixed Emotions
Raphael bent to lift the injured girl, but she planted a hand on his chest and pushed him back with more force than he thought she had left in her body. He staggered a step, caught unprepared.
"Woah, it's ok," he protested. "I was only tryin' to get you somewhere safe."
"Safe, I am not," she said. Her deep brown eyes flashed wild and feral. "I hunger. Do not approach."
Raphael stepped back.
She's what? 5' 5"? 140 lbs.? As hurt as she is, I doubt she can take me. And hungry? More likely she's thirsty. But Leo said her English weren't so good.
"I'll risk it," he replied. "You need help and I ain't leavin' ya here on yer own."
He reached behind his shell and unhooked one of several canteens from his sash. They were all running with extra water this season.
Too dangerously hot to be topside without it.
He spun the cap off and took a swig to show her it was harmless before squatting down and offering a drink.
She took the container and sniffed before taking a sip. Three long swallows followed. He wondered if he might have to take it back. Too much too quickly after a long dry spell could cause trouble, but she returned the canteen still half full.
"Good girl," he murmured, then raised his voice. "Let's get ya somewhere you can rest. Someplace cool, ok?"
She offered no further protest as he picked her up, tucking one arm gingerly under her legs and the other behind her back. Apparently she wasn't cognizant enough to help, not even trying to grasp around his neck. Instead, she winced and went limp, closing her eyes.
We gotta' get her out of here. I've seen corpses with more life.
Raphael shifted her carefully to make certain of his hold. She was taller than his petite little mate, more muscular. Experience told him the more muscle one had when injured the longer you could last.
That physique might save her.
"Mikey? Ya got Donnie yet?" Raph asked, reminding his hovering little brother of what he was supposed to be doing. "Put him on speaker."
The genius picked up on the first ring.
"Donatello here."
"How's Morgan?" Raphael asked.
"Sleeping—"
"She stable enough to stay with Splinter for a while?"
"Yes, or Leonardo." Don's voice became suspicious. It was practically unthinkable Raph would ask him to leave Morgan. "What's going on? You find the source?"
"Sorta. Ya need ta meet us right away," Raphael glanced down at the girl's pale face, her breathing was shallow, faster than before. "We're headed to April's with an unconscious civilian."
Donatello let out a long suffering sigh. "You've got to stop picking up strays, Raph. I can't keep interrupting my research to treat them or I'll never find a solution for Morgan," he admonished gently. "Can't you call an ambulance?"
"Believe me, I would if I could. But...you're gonna want to see this one, Donnie. She's bleeding yer purple stuff."
There was a gasp and in the background the clink of items being tossed into a bag. Don's tone changed, becoming crisp and businesslike.
"What are we up against?"
"If I had ta guess? Shock, blood loss, and heat stroke. 'Cept it ain't blood."
"Understood. I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Uh, Donnie? Ya should bring Fearless, but best give him a heads up."
"Why?"
"I think she's his savior."
Michelangelo lingered nearby as Raph bandaged the girl's arms, offered her fresh water, and scooped her off the rooftop, not surprised in the least by his older brother's actions.
Those who didn't know him well might assume the sarcastic, egotistical Raphael couldn't care less about the plight of an injured human—especially one who appeared to have caused her problems herself.
Mikey knew better. Though his brother was volatile he secretly harbored a huge heart, caring for all those who could not care for themselves. He also possessed an overwhelming protective streak that often appeared at a moment's notice.
When Raphael sank to his knees in front of the poor girl, Mikey knew they were going to assist. When he realized she was the solution for Morgan, their help became imperative.
Now he jogged along as close as he dared, ready to step in and support the injured woman if it looked like Raph was going to falter. His grip on her seemed a little precarious as if he was trying not to hold her too closely.
I'm just used to the way he holds Morgan. Those two are magnets, every surface stuck together.
Raphael glanced his way and Michelangelo shifted his speculative gaze to the side. If Raph thought he was judging, he might get belligerent. From the look of the girl, they didn't have time for a temper tantrum.
Her eyes remained closed. She hadn't spoken since they moved. Her arms hung limply, and her face twisted in agony. The faster they got her to treatment the better.
Mikey spent so much energy trying to keep an eye on them without actually looking like he was watching, he almost missed seeing the enemy on the next rooftop.
Raphael didn't. He skidded to a stop before the jump and stared across with hard eyes.
"What do you want, Karai?" Raph called, scanning the area for her backup.
After Leo's confession, neither of them expected to encounter the kunoichi on her own, but there were no Foot in sight. Smirking, she drifted closer.
Mikey yanked his weapons free and began to swing his chucks in a lazy pattern.
If she tries to cross I'll knock her back before she lands...
"Just checking in," Karai said, casually straddling the edge wall and sitting. "I heard Leonardo ran into a bit of a problem. Wouldn't want to lose my favorite sparring partner—"
"If you're so concerned, you might tell your men not to use lethal force," Michelangelo said. "Or better yet, quit ordering them to ambush us at all."
Karai didn't even glance his way. It was almost an insult that she didn't consider him enough of a threat to bother with small talk. However, she narrowed her eyes at Raph and dropped her hand to the hilt of the knife at her belt.
"Wanna fill in?" she taunted. "I could use the workout."
Michelangelo made a choked noise of frustration. He didn't know why it bothered him, because everyone tended to ignore him, except Morgan.
But that's cause lil' sis is the awesomest human being on the planet! Uh, half-human. Makes her even more awesomer. Not like Miss Smirky-pants over there.
"I ain't in the mood for yer games," Raph said, letting his voice drop to a growl.
Karai's eyes skimmed over the girl in his arms and lingered on her face. Surprised recognition flashed across her features. Mikey would have missed it if he hadn't been concentrating on her so hard.
She's met this girl before!
"That Morgan's replacement?" she mocked. "I'm shocked. You only lost her, what, four months ago? Call me sentimental, but I thought you'd still be mourning."
Raphael's growl turned from threatening to furious. His face twisted and darkened so much it turned almost black. Mikey flinched.
So they haven't figured out Morgan's still alive. The serum rumor musta been fishing. Wonder what they thought when they only caught Leo?
"Shut yer trap!" Raph yelled, shivering with restrained rage. "You don't deserve to even say her name!"
Michelangelo stayed out of it, reminding himself not to say anything to give the game away. The longer they could keep Morgan's continued existence a secret the better.
Climbing to her feet, Karai shrugged and dusted her palms, seemingly content to have gotten a rise out of Raphael. "Well, since you've got your hands full, I'll catch you some other time."
She turned to saunter away but paused. "Best be wary of that one," she cautioned over her shoulder with a tilt of her head toward the girl. "She may seem in need of saving, but she's a dragon who can eat you whole."
With that parting sally, she dove over the side and disappeared. Mikey blinked at the spot she had just vacated in confusion.
"Why would she warn us about a Purple Dragon?" Michelangelo asked. "We kick their butts on a regular basis. Besides, would one of them help Leo?"
"Don't know," Raph grumbled. "We'll tell the others, but for now, we need to get her indoors."
The light streaming out of April's apartment was glaringly bright for two-thirty in the morning. Leonardo shielded his eyes as Don tapped on the glass and waited for their friend to let them in.
Every fixture in the place must be on.
A chill ran down Leo's spine. This was too much like his vision. Darkness on one side of him, light on the other.
April's familiar face peeked out the window, dispelling the illusion. She opened the sash, welcoming them into the bright, homey apartment.
"Couch," she said when Donnie shot her a questioning glance. "She passed out before they got here."
Leonardo's stomach twisted. The same way it had when Don burst into Sensei's quarters a half-hour ago and nearly dragged him to the tunnels babbling, "They think they found her—your Alexis. She's hurt, but alive. She might even be the source of the cure."
'Alexis' and 'alive' were the only two words Leonardo processed. He quit protesting and ran, hauling the heavy bag of equipment and supplies Don tossed to him along the way. They made it to the Jones' apartment in record time.
Now they were here, he was at loose ends. He wavered in the kitchen door, watching as his three brothers leaned over the monstrosity in the middle of the living room Casey called a 'sofa'.
It was, in the vigilante's words, 'the finest Corinthian leather,' and large enough to comfortably hold three mutant turtles for the length of whatever game they happened to be watching. A feat in and of itself.
Though Donatello inevitably poked fun at the hockey fanatic by pointing out 'Corinthian leather' was nothing more than leftover marketing jargon created for a car company in 1974.
Is this how Don feels most of the time? Too many thoughts whirling past to pin down any particular point.
He didn't envy it.
Shaking his head, he attempted to focus on the situation at hand. The couch faced away from him so all Leonardo saw were the concerned faces of his brothers. Alexis, if indeed it was her, was obscured by the oversized back.
Donnie shooed Raph and Mikey out of the way and knelt to take her vitals, pulling several pieces of equipment out of the bag. Small beeps and other pseudo-medical sounds reached Leo's ears. He stared so hard he thought the couch might burst into flames from the intensity of his gaze, but he hesitated to move closer.
What if it isn't her?
Donnie thought this girl held the cure for Morgan. He should rejoice. But if she wasn't Alexis, after getting his hopes up that she lived, he would be devastated.
And if it is?
Any injuries she suffered were on his behalf. She had lain unprotected—exposed on a rooftop—for days. He hadn't even searched for her. Either way, the guilt was enormous.
April crossed the room, noted his worried look, and gave him a soft smile.
"Raph said you know her."
It was almost, but not quite, a question. Her inflection asking if perhaps she was something more. Leo nodded once, shortly. Neither confirming nor denying the implication. He tried to smooth his expression into one of neutrality. It was harder than it should be. His practiced mask cracked under the strain of his emotions.
"I'm sorry we disturbed you so late," he deflected with a grimace.
"I was waiting up for Casey anyway," she said. "He's out 'hunting.' Besides, any friend of yours is welcome here."
Her eyes skated over his face. April had known him a long time and she wasn't fooled by his camouflage. She could see the acute concern hiding underneath.
"She's in good hands," she reminded him, her voice laden with reassurance.
She's in the best hands.
Donatello was the only one he would trust to care for her, and there was absolutely nothing Leo could add to her treatment, but hovering in the kitchen wasn't enough. He needed to find out one way or the other if Alexis lived.
He tilted his head to April in thanks and strode around the obstructing furniture in three swift strides. Don was leaning over his patient, applying a cool cloth to her eyes. It blocked Leo's view of her face and he huffed in frustration.
"Want to bring me up to speed?"
He asked the question softly, but the intensity made it a command. Donatello jerked upright in surprise. They locked eyes as Donnie determined whether he was addressing an obsessed brother or a leader who needed a full report.
"Truthfully? I've never seen anything like her. She's certainly not human. She isn't a mutant. She isn't Feyian. She isn't alien. I'll have to take more samples back to the lab and study them further to tell you accurately what she is."
Don was clearly intrigued. His words picked up speed and he became more animated as he spoke. He grabbed the hand-held scanner and passed it over her.
"She's utterly fascinating, though. There is mass being reported as present when it is obviously not here. See?"—he waved the output in Leo's face, his expression a mask of exalted confusion—"I thought it was malfunctioning, but it reads April and myself perfectly so it must be correct, yet it's not."
"Donnie, you're not making sense," Leo almost snarled in frustration. He had to restrain himself from shaking the genius to get a straight answer. "Is—she—going—to—be—ok?"
"Well... she has quite a few injuries. One rib broken on the right, another two cracked, a rather severe bump on the head, and she's lost a lot of... Blood? Fluid? Forty percent of her skin's surface area was punctured, and if these readings are right, she's got some problems I can't see, as in, somehow they are not here. Those are simply torn ligaments and muscles. But," Don backpedaled frantically at his brother's darkening expression, "she is healing herself. Rapidly."
Leo's heart sank at the extensive list and he didn't totally understand, but he focused on the words 'rapid healing' as being positive. He bent to remove the cloth from her eyes.
Time to find out if she truly is my protector—
His thought was interrupted by the revelation of her face.
"Alexis," he breathed in horror.
Her cheeks were sunken, large blackish bruises surrounded her eyes, and her lips were so pale as to be almost white. Yet it was the same proud forehead, jutting cheekbones, and pointed chin.
He turned on Don with frantic eyes.
"What else is wrong?" he demanded. "Blood loss, concussion, and broken bones don't look like this. This is like—like something's eating her from the inside."
"It's the speed healing," Donnie said. "If these here-but-not-here mass indications are correct, she needs incredible quantities of food and water to sustain the process. I don't think she's been getting any. Her body is devouring itself. Before she passed out, she told Raph it was dangerous to be around her because she was so hungry."
"She's a threat?"
Leo couldn't imagine this fragile looking body being able to hurt anyone, but it would be irresponsible to dismiss the possibility out of hand. Thankfully, Don shook his head.
"If she had bad intentions, she wouldn't have warned Raph away. I'm going to start her on a special intravenous drip. The fluids and proteins will help. If we can give her enough sustenance she won't be a danger, but someone should stay with her around the clock. I'll set up a rotation with Casey and Mikey."
"No." Leo's eyes burned as he stared at her devastated face. "Show me what to do. I'll care for her as long as it takes."
Despite Donatello's loud protests he was still healing himself, Leonardo insisted. He watched intently as the genius reluctantly showed him how to replace and adjust the bags of liquid nutrition flowing through her I.V. and took notes on how often to change them.
Eventually, the night caught up with them and they began winding down. Donnie yawned and Leo stopped his lecture.
"It's late and our sister needs you home," he said.
Raphael left several hours ago, unable to stay away from his ailing mate for long. And it was time the others returned to the lair to get some rest of their own. Even April retreated to the bathroom to prepare for bed.
"I'll stop by tomorrow after dark to check on Alexis," Donatello promised. "If you need anything before, call."
Mikey gave Leo a tight smile as he followed Don to the fire escape. "Be careful," he teased. "She might bite. Karai thinks she's a Purple Dragon."
Leo's blood froze in his veins and he grabbed Mikey's wrist to stop the youngest ninja from vaulting to the roof. "You saw Karai? When?"
"She stopped us when we were bringing Alexis here. Said she was checking up on you"—the orange-banded turtle shrugged—"She was alone and spoke in her usual catty riddles, but she did recognize the girl. I got the feeling her warning was the only genuine statement she made."
"And what did she say, exactly," Leo asked.
"Uh, 'She may seem in need of saving, but she's a dragon who can eat you whole.' I thought it was kinda weird. I mean Alexis doesn't resemble a gang member. And aren't the Purple Dragon's working with Shred-head now?"
Leo's mind was racing, but he released Mikey and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll think on it. Thanks for letting me know. Get some rest, okay?"
His brother flashed another smile and disappeared. Leo lowered the window and returned to the living room, sinking into the recliner opposite the unconscious young woman.
Or old woman, if Don's DNA test is correct.
She didn't appear advanced in age. Her skin was smooth, filling out slightly with the addition of Donatello's 'liquid building blocks'. No wrinkles lined her strong features. Her hair was dark with no grey.
Yet he remembered the ancient sadness in her eyes as she wrapped herself around him. She was no stranger to pain and despair. They burrowed deep within her.
If she was the first long-lived being he had encountered, it might have come as more of a shock, but the Feyian also enjoyed an 'immortal' lifespan. Brenellean admitted to being more than three hundred years old and, aside from his half-human sister Morgan, was the youngest of his family.
Leonardo stared at Alexis silently, trying to determine who and what she may be. In his vision, she was an ancestor, but apart from their mutated selves, he had never heard of a non-human in the Hamato line.
Unless the legends are real. Could she be THE Guardian?
He searched for a name to put to the creature, realizing they'd only ever called it 'Guardian'. But it resembled a number of mythical animals, not the least of which was... A dragon.
"She's a dragon who can eat you whole."
Karai didn't mean a Purple Dragon. She had seen Alexis at some point—and not just as a woman.
Was she also the creature on the building that night?
Leonardo shivered. That beast was fearsome, with flame and flight on its side. He could not reconcile it with the fragile woman sleeping in front of him.
April re-entered the living room dressed in soft pajamas, hair dark and curly from her shower. She met his gaze and without a word padded barefoot to the kitchen. The hiss of the kettle heating was loud in the silence. A few minutes later, she returned with two mugs, handing him a steaming cup of green tea.
"Care for some company?" she asked.
At his nod, she settled herself in the opposite recliner and sipped her own beverage. Chamomile by the scent. Her eyes flashed over him then the girl on her couch. She gave a small, knowing smile.
"You want to talk about it?" she asked.
How can I possibly explain? This girl may be a dragon. A dangerous mythical beast. Why would she come to me? And what is this need I feel in return? It's not simple guilt.
He wasn't planning to say anything, but his traitorous mouth was already answering.
"Do you remember the painted screen in Splinter's receiving room?"
April seemed confused by the shift in topic, but she must recall it. As an antiquarian, she had surely asked his father its story.
"The one showing the deceit of the minister and the fall of the Hamatos from lordship?"
"Yes. What did he tell you of the Guardian?"
"It's a totem. A protector who rises when the clan suffers and cannot continue on its own. Many cultures have such legends." She studied him thoughtfully. "You think the story relates to Alexis?"
"I think it's about her. If I'm right, she is the Guardian."
Another sudden realization followed and his lips twisted. A sour taste filled his mouth. A slow burn began in his chest and his muscles clenched. A rage he hadn't known he fostered roared up and fought with his guilt, burning it away in a flash of thoughtless fury.
Yet the whole mess was tinted by a strange desire. One his anger could not make peace with. He wanted to turn from her betrayal. At the same time, he longed to take Alexis in his arms.
It doesn't make any sense.
He set his mug aside so he wouldn't break it and sat forward, trying to control his rapid breathing.
"That makes you angry?" April asked. Her observation broke his dam of self-control and the words began to flow harshly.
"Of course it does! If the Guardian is real, why didn't she help my father? Tang-Shen and Miwa, his wife and child, were the last members of the clan! The fire that killed them couldn't have been worse than what she saved me from." He glared at the woman—no, creature—lying before him and clenched his hands.
"She destroyed Yoshi. Ruined his life. My vision was right. She forsook him. Left him wandering in the darkness. I shouldn't be helping her."
April gave him a skeptical look that spoke volumes. He recognized it as one he often gave his brothers when they were being obstinate or leaping to conclusions.
"I can't interpret your vision," she said, brow furrowed in concern, "but there are several large holes in your argument. First of all, you don't know she is. The Guardian I mean. What you do know is Alexis saved your life."
That pulled him up short and extinguished the flames of anger as if they had never been, but April wasn't finished.
"Secondly, even if she is some mythical beast tied to the clan, you don't know what her responsibilities are. I doubt she's all powerful, or all knowing. Something probably went wrong. You don't have all the details. The Leonardo I know wouldn't act without them."
He flushed. She was right. He was about to make the same error he'd made with Karai, delivering judgment without ascertaining all the facts.
If you don't learn from it, history will indeed repeat itself...
"And most importantly," April continued, leaning towards him, "if she had saved Yoshi's family, as honorable as it would've been—you and your brothers would not exist. I can't think of a greater tragedy, for the city or for me."
He met her gaze and the solemn belief there stamped out any remaining embers of animosity. Unfortunately, that left room for the strange desire to move back in. He sighed, sat back, and covered his eyes with a hand.
"Thanks, April."
"Hey, that's what friends are for, right? To give you a quick reality check every once in awhile."
"More like a swift kick in the shell," he said with a quirk of his lips, "but I needed it."
She laughed lightly and rose to head for bed. "When Casey comes in you can return the favor. He could use a kick." She frowned. "He was supposed to be back hours ago."
"I'll give him a stern talking to," Leo said with a smile.
Days passed and Leonardo sat at attention in the center of the Jones' living room, barely noting the comings and goings of his friends. The family didn't even cross his mind, except in the few hours Donatello visited. Everything he held dear shifted out of focus to make room for a new occupation.
His world narrowed to two points of intense observation. The steady rise and fall of Alexis' chest and the unmoving features of her face. Leonardo's stillness matched hers, interrupted only by the need to periodically change the vital nutrients keeping her alive.
After everything she'd sacrificed for him, he might claim honor demanded this constant vigil but the true reason for his rapt attention ran deeper.
We are connected somehow, Alexis and I.
Even if she hadn't featured in his vision, he would have known. She resonated against his aura the same way his brothers did when they were hurting or in danger. But this link was something more than familial. It contained need—both spiritual and emotional. Desire, distilled to its purest form. When he gazed at her, his heart ached in a way it never had before.
Is this how Raphael felt when he encountered Morgan? No wonder he was a mess...
Leo tried to excise the emotion. The way it fogged his thoughts and divided his attention couldn't be good. He walled it away in a small corner of his heart, but it escaped somehow. As the days stretched on it infiltrated every part of him. A slow poison he could not halt.
The days seemed endless, but the nights were worse. Aside from breathing, Alexis hadn't moved. She never moaned, tossed, or made a sound. Her eyes didn't even twitch in dreaming.
Leonardo's worry grew winding him tighter until he rested on a hair trigger.
At 4 A.M. on the third night, the tension overflowed.
Leo moved abruptly from Alexis' side, shattering hours of stillness. Stalking to the window, he threw up the sash and stared into the night. The outside air was hot, but a breeze stroked his face and ruffled the tails of his bright blue bandana. He drew in a deep breath, seeking balance in the ever moving drive of the city's energy.
The lethargy of the apartment stifled him—the same way leadership did.
Leonardo was drowning by inches under the weight on his soul. The responsibilities of his position often forced him to stand alone, shouldering the burden of difficult decisions. And it separated him more than he would like from the close bonds the rest of his family enjoyed. As each year passed, he grew increasingly unsettled.
He hadn't realized the cause of his restlessness; not until Morgan came along. Her friendship alleviated the strain to some degree. Allowed him to come up for air. But it wasn't enough.
Watching Morgan and Raph as their relationship developed made him envious. Their true partnership offered the liberty he craved. Leo's gaze returned to the girl on the couch.
Could my freedom possibly be so near?
If the obsession creeping into his bones was anything to go by, it might. Yet Alexis lay like one dead.
Yesterday, Donatello hinted she might be in a coma. That despite her miraculous healing properties, she may have lost brain function from the head injury. Leonardo easily read between the lines of his brother's temporization. Don was warning, with as much sensitivity as he could muster, that she might not wake. Or if she did, she could be in a vegetative state.
Leonardo could not escape that thought. It sent him into a panic and drew him back to her silent form. He began to speak to her aloud. Secretly hoping she might follow his voice home from wherever her spirit roamed.
"Alexis," he breathed. "If you can hear me... I know. I know you are the Hamato Guardian."
A heavy bell-like tone chimed through him when he said it. Recognition of a truth so deep it vibrated his core.
"I've been thinking a lot about why you've come. Why you chose to save—me, rather than my father's true family. At first, it made me angry, but the last few days... the whys don't seem to matter. Not if I never get to ask you."
He sighed, kneeling at her side.
"Alexis, what are you doing to me? What do you hope to accomplish? You touched me once and overwhelmed my life. Summoned visions. Invaded my dreams. I can't get you out of my head. I don't understand what it means. You have to come back. Explain it to me. Please..."
His eyes caressed her, searching for some sign she might hear his midnight confession.
After days of watching over her, every plane of her face was seared into his mind. Gradual improvements—her cheeks filling out, bruises fading, scars disappearing—were the only things which kept his existence from descending into a waking nightmare.
Leo took her hand and a tingle passed through him, a spark like electricity. Startled, he let go. The strange feeling ceased. It returned the moment he reclaimed her palm. He could not name it, but the sensation stirred something inside him.
He clutched her hand until sunrise, but she gave no response.
