RENET CONTINUED, "After Lord Simultaneous got over himself about the whole Savanti Romero ordeal, I was able to come back to New York. You guys even let me stay with you. We had a lot of fun. Mikey and I were always pranking Raph." She giggled at some unknown memory. Mikey was practically glowing. "He used to get so mad."
"Raph? Mad?" Donnie muttered, "Unheard of." He dodged Raph's punch. Splinter chastised them. Miwa was beginning to get comfortable. She felt at home with the guys again.
"Anyway, Miwa was beginning to see how corrupt Shredder was becoming. He was… hm, how did you put it again?"
She idly picked at the t-shirt Donnie had given her. "He was twisting the Foot Clan ideals and destroying everything we stood for."
"Damn, that's harsh," Raph said, leaning against the back of the couch. It was hard for him to imagine considering Karai was still strongly aligned with Shredder.
"It's true." Leo was polishing his katanas. He carefully inspected the blades and wiped away any smudges.
"Donnie helped convince Miwa to leave the Foot Clan behind. She joined up with our team and—"
Leo put down one katana and interrupted, "Wait, did you say Donnie?"
"Yeah. Me?" Donnie was a genius, but sometimes he acted like an idiot. He reconsidered Leo's statement. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing… it's just… how did you convince Miwa to help us, but I can't convince Karai? And she's Splinter's real daughter."
Donnie protested, "How am I supposed to know?"
"Probably mind control," Miwa told them nonchalantly. "Shredder's really into that in most universes. He used it on me, so he probably did the same to Karai."
Donnie puzzled through that. "I suppose it is possible, Leo. Lots of governments use different techniques that include—"
"Don't care," Raph said, "Get on with the story, Renet. How did we die?"
A muscle in Renet's face twitched. She was suddenly serious and couldn't keep eye contact. "Um…" She paced the floor. Donnie already bandaged her arm where Tiger Claw shredded some skin. It was deeper than Miwa's injury, but luckily didn't require stitches. Renet was hoping she wouldn't have to get into this part of their history.
"She wasn't there." Miwa's voice was hushed, her gaze far off. She was in another world, reliving the most horrible part. They settled down to listen. Renet held her breath. Miwa never told Renet or Splinter exactly what had happened. She'd always either broken down or receded into herself so far they couldn't bring her back. "It was dark. Cold. Stormy. We were on our nightly patrol…"
Miwa crouched next to Raphael, pulling her black jacket tighter. "It's cold as shit out here. When is Leo going to let us go home?"
"Probably never. No one is even outside in this weather." Raph grumbled back, using his massive shell to shield Miwa from an icy blast of wind that kicked up. They were less susceptible to the weather, but Raph still envied Renet and Splinter all nice and toasty in the lair.
"Would you keep it down? We're ninjas, remember?" Leo liked to use his 'I'm the leader' voice on them whenever they were out on patrol. Raph and Miwa looked at each other, a dozen jokes going through their heads. Before they could spout anything, Donnie appeared on Miwa's other side.
"How are you holding up?" He kissed her lightly and rubbed her stomach. She was barely showing, but he still liked to touch the baby any time he could manage. Donnie worried about Miwa. He wished she wouldn't come out with them anymore, but knew better than to try to force her. Miwa wasn't stupid, though, and kept out of most of the fighting. She usually kept a look out for Leo.
"I'm okay. Just cold."
"Maybe you should go home," Donnie said hopefully.
"Not a chance,"
Raph chuckled at Donnie's defeated look.
"Dudes, you are so loud." Mikey whispered, peering over the building's edge at the street. Leo was about to call the mission a bust. They overheard Hun a few nights earlier talking about ransacking a biometrics warehouse and bringing everything back to Shredder. Donnie was worried about what they might steal, so Leo decided they needed to intervene.
Donnie ignored his younger brother. "I'm serious, Miwa. I don't want you or the baby getting hurt. You're almost in your second trimester and I'm afraid you'll—" Miwa squeezed his hand tightly, shushing him. He was adorable when he got worked up. Donnie took every opportunity to quote the pregnancy books he read. He'd started a huge collection. Every time Miwa went out during the day, she would buy one and bring it back. Even April had started it up, too.
"Nothing is going to happen, Donnie." Miwa told him reassuringly. She was positive everything was going to work out. He checked up on her every week. The baby was growing normally. It would be perfect.
"Heads up," Raph said. With one last squeeze of the hand, Miwa and Donnie looked at the street. A large van cruised down it slowly and backed into a narrow alleyway. There was a side entrance to the warehouse that Hun and the Purple Dragons were trying to access.
"Let's move," Leo and his brothers disappeared, leaving Miwa alone. She hugged herself and held a pair of binoculars to her eyes. They approached the Dragons, sticking to the shadows. There were only three of them.
The roar of motorcycle engines caught Miwa's attention. Another large van coasted down the road, followed by a large entourage of loud bikes. Her heart stopped. Shredder climbed off of the lead motorcycle. All of his followers shut off their engines. Miwa looked for the turtles, but didn't see them anywhere.
Bebop lifted his nose in the air and took a long sniff. "I smell them."
Shredder called, "Come out, turtles. I know you're here."
It was a set up. Miwa watched her father.
"Cowards," Rocksteady cursed, stomping the ground with one large rhino foot. Miwa's grip on the binoculars tightened. Don't. Please don't fall into his trap, Leo.
"Bring them out." Several of his soldiers rushed to do as Shredder commanded. They opened the van doors and hauled two struggling figures out. Miwa gasped as Casey tried to jerk out of their grasp. His harsh New York accent was more pronounced in his yelling. April had tears glistening on her cheeks.
With ninja stealth, Miwa ran across the rooftop and climbed down the fire escape. Even with the extra weight, she make zero noise. She dropped into a dark alley and crept towards the road, keeping out of sight.
"Show yourself or they die." There was something different in Shredder's expression. Miwa wished she'd seen the mad glint faster. She could have saved them. Leo walked into the open. Shredder smiled. It was maniacal. His tekko-kagi slid out of their sheaths. Leo pulled his katanas, expecting a fight.
"Let them go," Leo said heroically, pointing the sharp end of his katana at the Foot leader.
Shredder turned to his hostages and sliced open Casey's throat.
He gurgled on his own blood. Leo's eyes widened. April was screaming. They tossed him on the hard pavement, laughing. Casey flopped around like a fish and died a few seconds later. Raph leaped from an adjacent building. His battle cry echoed. Miwa was too shocked to fully comprehend what happened. She was shaking. Miwa stared at her hands. Her fingers were covered with gloves, but she was cold and hollow.
She vaguely recalled removing her shinobigatana from its case at her waist and charging the nearest Foot soldier. He didn't see her coming. She sliced his head clean off and it tumbled to the ground. The sound alerted the other soldiers nearby. These ones were alive, not robotic or Kraang droids. They felt the pain of her blade.
Shredder threw Raph into the hard brick warehouse. He grunted. Everything was moving so slowly, as if they were all stuck in thick syrup. Miwa cut and hacked, trying to reach him. Mikey got there first. "Cowabunga!" His enthusiastic call was shortened when Shredder turned, anticipating this move, and slid his tekko-kagi through Mikey's hard plastron.
Leo shoved Shredder away and held his baby brother. He was too heavy—they both slipped on the blood drenched sidewalk and landed in a heap. Leo was shaking Mikey's shoulders, trying to wake him. Mikey whispered something to Leo, his lips barely moving. Leo stilled. His eyes were bright, furious blue. Mikey's entire body relaxed and his orange nunchaku fell from limp fingers. Mikey's eyes were dark and empty.
Donnie, not realizing that his younger brother was gone, continued to fend off Bebop and Rocksteady. The rhino's skin was tougher than a turtle's, but Bebop was fatally wounded.
"Leo!" April screamed. Shredder's blades arced down towards Leo's undefended neck. Raph caught him with his sai. Miwa blocked a soldier's katana and pulled her short wakizashi from her waist and used it to pierce his muscle and fragile heart. She carried one weapon in each hand. Miwa didn't notice she was drenched in blood.
"Don't come any closer," The soldier who was holding April told her. "You've betrayed our master, Miwa. You and that freak you carry deserve the most painful of deaths."
Miwa threw her wakizashi. Any other insults were cut off. April lurched away from the hooded figure, running towards the kunoichi. The soldier collapsed, short sword protruding from his eye. It had been thrown with enough force to enter his brain, killing him instantly.
"Run." Miwa told April. She didn't argue. She took off down the street, cellphone in hand. Miwa knew she was calling Splinter.
It had been threatening to pour down rain all night. It began to sprinkle. Dark clouds swirled overhead. Lightning caught the sky on fire and thunder rumbled nearby. Miwa loosened her wakizashi from the soldier's head.
Rocksteady noticed April's retreating form and stomped one foot. Donnie noticed too late. He stampeded after April, steam trailing out of his nostrils. Her agonizing scream haunted Miwa in her dreams. He ripped her open with his horn. It protruded from her chest, glistening with her blood. April touched her red soaked chest, trying to figure out why this was happening. Blood dripped out of her open mouth, coating her teeth. April didn't feel much pain. She stared at the sky and thought she saw bright stars twinkling. She drifted off, following Mikey's playful laughs and Casey's chuckle.
Rocksteady tossed April's lifeless body, focusing on alive young woman only yards away. He charged her. Miwa froze. They were gone. How was she going to tell Renet the love of her life had been murdered? That Splinter's youngest son was lying in a pool of blood? That his three other sons were fighting to stay alive… and losing? That April had died following Miwa's orders?
Miraculously, the baby stirred in Miwa's belly. It was almost as if it sensed immediate danger and was trying to alert its mother. She blinked and spun out of Rocksteady's way, instinctively bringing her wakizashi upwards. It was sharper than Donnie's naginata and easily scored Rocksteady's neck. He stumbled and fell to his knees.
A loud thud caught Miwa and Donnie's attention. Raph collapsed on the ground. One of his sai was sticking out of Shredder's shoulder, but the madman hardly seemed fazed. Donnie rushed to Raph, but he was already fading.
"It's okay, little brother," Raph told Donnie, gripping his arm. He was trying to hold on. Just one more minute. "I love you, D." His grasp loosened. Miwa attacked Shredder, anger fueling her body.
"You murderous bastard!" Her anguished screams only made him happier. He wanted to see her suffer for her betrayal. He was wounded both physically and mentally. Leo swayed from side to side, unsteady on his feet. He was rapidly losing blood.
Shredder hissed, "I'm going to kill you all."
There was something wrong with him.
Leo collapsed, vision fading. He crawled towards Raph's body, leaving his katanas behind.
"You'll die last." Shredder told his daughter, "I want you see the havoc you wrought."
"You did this!" Miwa sobbed, and slashed at his uncovered elbow. Shredder howled. His gauntlet-encompassed forearm clattered against the pavement. "It's your fault."
He brought his other arm up and smacked her. She landed excruciatingly on her hip, weapons bouncing out of her reach. "Miwa, you will always be the Shredder's daughter. It's inside of you. All you bring is destruction."
Miwa knew he was referring to the death of her mother. Why didn't he feel the pain of his severed arm? It seemed to barely faze him.
Leo pulled himself alongside Raph. The turtle's eyes fluttered open slightly. Even in death, Leo couldn't think of anything to say to comfort his hotheaded brother.
"I'll see you in a bit, Fearless." Raph ground out.
Leonardo murmured, "I'm not that fearless." They clasped hands weakly.
"Yes, you are," Raphael smiled and sank thankfully into oblivion.
Donnie fought Shredder desperately. He made loud thunking noises each time his bo staff connected with Shredder's armor. His brothers were gone. He had to protect Miwa. He was distracted; Shredder took the opening. He moved into Donnie's defense. Miwa saw the tekko-kagi. It disappeared in Donnie's plastron. He grunted and made a gurgling sound.
Donnie's shell cracked when he fell and blood gushed from multiple wounds. She'd screamed. Tears mixed with rain. Shredder was going to finish Donnie off. Miwa pushed herself off the ground and sprinted towards him…
She remembered a flash of lighting, seeing Shredder's bloodshot eyes, and hitting the hard ground, landing on her stomach. Miwa had known she lost the baby. She felt it die right there, inside. She sobbed, rolling on the ground. Shredder advanced.
Donnie, with one last surge of energy, grabbed Miwa's wakizashi and thrust it through Shredder's neck where his skin was unprotected by the Kuro Kabuto.
Finally, the Shredder died.
Miwa lay there on the deserted street for what felt like hours. The pain was constant. It didn't ebb. Donnie collapsed, hitting his knees. He surveyed the area. No more threats. The once black pavement was covered in thick, red puddles. The stinging rain hit his upturned cheeks.
He felt his brothers reaching for him, pulling him from his broken and battered body. It was time to go. He clutched Miwa's small hand. She wouldn't be following him. "I love you." Donnie told her firmly. Then he left.
Splinter and Renet found her sobbing over Donnie's prone body, trying to rouse him.
The remaining Foot Clan separated from the Shredder's radical vendetta and proclaimed they only wanted peace for New York City.
Miwa awoke in a sterile, all white hospital a day later. Splinter sat by her side. "We'll bury them tomorrow, Miwa. The Foot Clan has named you the Shredder's successor. The mayor accepted their request. They will now protect the city alongside the police. My sons—" His voice broke, "My sons will be given high honors for their sacrifices."
Splinter continued, "The baby... didn't make it. I'm so sorry, Miwa."
His numb voice was similar to how she felt. Miwa was empty. Donnie's child was gone. She would never be the same. Miwa wanted to die. Tears trickled down her pale cheeks. Miwa, Splinter, and Renet went to their funeral. It was a somber and grand occasion. Miwa still ached. Renet left to go back to her universe and time period for a while.
Miwa and Splinter settled into their new lives. He tried to adjust without his sons. He trained the new Foot soldiers and taught them the true art of ninjustu and honor. Miwa receded into herself and spend most of her days locked in her room, staring out at a city that used to be filled with love and life. She wanted to die.
Renet returned after a few weeks and tried to wake her, "There's a universe where they're alive, but struggling to defeat an alien race called the Kraang. They need our help, Miwa."
Miwa turned her dead eyes towards Renet. "We'll only get in the way."
"No, we won't. They can't beat the Kraang and Shredder alone. They're too powerful."
"They'll end up dead. Just like here."
Renet shook Miwa's shoulders. Her whole frame felt limp. She hadn't been eating; her cheeks had hallowed out and her once-toned body was a shadow of what it used to be. Renet was concerned for her friend. "It won't happen again! Not if we help."
"Go without me." I want to die. Please let me die. Miwa told her sickly reflection in the window. It didn't answer her.
It took two months for Renet to convince Miwa to consider the plan. They finally acted. Miwa began training again, pushing herself to new limits. She convinced herself that she had to be stronger, faster, and better than before. That was the only way she'd be able to kill Shredder. It was Miwa's vendetta now. She wanted revenge. Renet studied the alternate Shredder from afar and recited the details of her fake story for hours. Miwa perfected her disguise, slipping easily into her Shredder persona.
"You finally get your wish." Miwa stood in her bedroom, talking to her reflection. "It's time to die." The time between Donnie's death and going to the alternate universe was the worst part. It killed her slowly, eating away at whatever shreds of life she still possessed.
Miwa didn't tell any of turtles in this world about her pregnancy, she and Donnie's relationship, or her subsequent depression. She avoided going into any detail about those agonizing details, but the tears that trailed down her face and her shaky voice gave them all the information they needed.
No one spoke for a long time, taking in Miwa's story. Renet was staring at her friend. All this time, she'd been carrying that deep, dark weight inside. She'd never shared it with anyone. Losing the baby had been hard, Renet knew, but she began to fully realize how much Miwa suffered after the last bit of Donnie she possessed died.
Raph was sorry he asked. He looked at each of his brothers and was thankful he had them. Even Leo.
It was April who took Miwa's hand and squeezed it. There was no doubt in her eyes. "We're here for you now."
Mikey hugged Renet, stroking her back. She'd change out of her outfit and was wearing normal clothes now, so he could run his fingers through her soft hair. Raph grabbed Leo and squished him in a tight embrace. Leo didn't protest.
"I think that has been enough for tonight." Splinter told them. He stood. He was mentally exhausted after Miwa was finished. He didn't want to think about it anymore. He felt as if he had lost his sons even though they were gathered at his feet. "You and Renet are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like. You are part of our family."
Miwa murmured emotionlessly, "Thank you, Master Splinter."