a\n: Thanks to The Silent Hunter, vampirelover14, Diana Fay, syzygy101, Trunksymia, Dontgotaglue99, callmeBaby'08', and Drusilla52 for reviewing! I really enjoyed all of your reviews. If you had any questions, I hope I answered them in my pms. I also apologize for the late update! I don't believe I've ever been late! =( I'm usually pretty good with every Monday. And now it's Tuesday. A late Tuesday as well. Almost 7pm here in my time zone.
Indeed, Juno had arrived. She was running towards Scorpion, her sais drawn. The turtles looked on in awe as the small girl moved so fast...too fast! Scorpion barely had time to draw his short swords as Juno came in for the attack. Her sais stabbed downward, Scorpion swiftly stepping back to avoid her. Juno snarled as she launched herself forward, throwing a hard right hook. There was the audible crunch of bone as the handle of Juno's sai crushed Scorpion's jaw.
"Juno!" he growled. "Juno, control yourself! Don't let it take over!"
If Juno heard him, it didn't show. The girl was absolutely livid. She connected again, this time, her right sai stabbing Scorpion in the ribs.
"You're stronger than this!" Scorpion yelled. Suddenly, his entire body burst into flames as he began his own offensive. Jumping backward, he hurled a kunai at Juno. She tried to swat it away, but missed. "Get over here!" he growled, as the kunai buried itself into Juno's sternum. Scorpion pulled on the chain, bringing the girl in close. "Get a *hold* of yourself, Juno!" Scorpion yelled at her, executing an uppercut.
Flying through the air, Juno was able to right herself in the air before she landed. Her eyes flashed momentarily as if she gained some sense of what was going on...but it was short-lived. Scorpion was in her face again, the smell of burning sulphur stinging her nostrils. Her skin was singeing slightly from the heat emanating from the hellish spectre. Screaming, she launched a barrage of attacks.
Scorpion was barely able to counter Juno's ferocious attacks. But he had to find a way to calm the girl down. It had been months now since she last vented the monster's poison. Quickly ducking a deadly swipe from her razor sharp sai, Scorpion stabbed upwards with both swords, impaling Juno.
"NOOO!" yelled Raphael from the side. He made a move to run towards Juno, but Psylocke stepped in his way. "Get outta my way, bitch!"
"No Raphael. She'll kill you. She's gone berserk. It's almost impossible to get through to her when she's like this unless you injure her enough. Please. Trust us." Psylocke held her hands out in surrender.
Raphael looked as if he wanted to knock her a good one. Instead, he took a deep breath. "Fine." He didn't feel comfortable doing nothing. But he understood that he might not know what was really going on. Beta Squad had more experience than him in dealing with a crazed Juno.
"She'll be okay, Raph. I promise." Jubilee came to stand beside Raphael. She looked up at him with pleading eyes.
Nodding silently, Raphael ruffled her hair. "Yeah okay. I just...it's hard to see her get hurt."
But Juno wasn't hurt that much. Blood gurgled out of her mouth as she smiled. She set her foot flat against Scorpion's chest, and kicked out hard. "Gaaah!" she yelled, as she slid off the two swords. Panting, she slouched over slightly and spit out a gob of blood. "Scorpion...you should have told me. YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME YOUR FUCKING PLAN!"
Shrieking again, Juno ran forward. Sheathing her sais, she attacked with her fists. Almost too fast for anyone to see, she hit Scorpion again and again, finally sending him flying backwards into a rock formation.
Dodging a sai that Juno had thrown, Scorpion sheathed one sword and got ready as she neared. Narrowing his eyes, he concentrated on her body movements. NOW! he screamed in his head as he ran forward, slicing downward.
Juno screamed as Scorpion's sword sliced through her shoulder, severing her arm.
"RAAARGH! LET GO OF ME!" Raphael was yelling as Leo and Don held onto him. "I GOTTA HELP HER!"
"Raph! Calm down! Please!" Leo yelled.
"Aw man...I can't watch this," whimpered Mikey.
"You can't help her, Lucky Charms! Just sit your ass here on the sidelines, okay?" Feral stood in front of the hysterical Raphael. She calmly put her hands on his plastron. "Your girlfriend can take way more punishment than that, trust me. Okay?"
Raphael craned his neck to see what was happening on the battlefield. Juno had come around and had snatched up her arm from the ground. She held it close to her shoulder and to Raphael's surprise, reattached it!
"What the fuck?" he whispered.
"I told you, Lucky Charms. Juno's resilient, if anything. I swear I've seen just about every goddamn limb on her body dismembered only to watch her somehow continue on and fight. Just hold on, okay?" Feral looked over her shoulder at the raging battle between her commanding officer and Scorpion. "...She's never been able to calm that fucking monster down though. That thing that's inside her...it takes hold like a motherfucker and doesn't let go..."
Taking advantage of her distraction, Raphael slipped from his brothers' grasps and bounded towards Juno.
"Shit! Grab him!" Feral yelled.
"No! I think...I think he can help her..." Leo held Psylocke back. Raphael had informed him earlier that he had a plan. He was going to try and talk to her. Leo thought it was insane...but that was Raphael for you.
"Your brother is going to die out there."
"No. He won't. Just watch," Leo said, though he was ready. Ready to jump in and save his brother if he needed it.
Juno was coming in for the attack again. She was sliced up pretty bad, and her skin was burned in various places. She tried to stab down with her right sai, but Scorpion countered it and jumped in behind her. Whirling around, Juno was prepared to headbutt him to the ground.
"Umph!" grunted Scorpion as he was tackled by Raphael. He skidded onto the ground and looked up in horror as Raphael took his place behind Juno. He tried to get his feet under him again, but knew he was too late... Shit! Should've teleported!
"Juno!" Raphael yelled as Juno turned to face him. "Baby, stop!" He had his arms outstretched as if he meant to hold her.
Gasping, Juno stopped abruptly. The entire group behind them held their breaths...
"Babe, it's me. Come on, Juno...stop, okay? You can stop this. You can control this, I know you can! You almost let it take over once, but you stopped it, remember?" Raph was talking slowly and calmly.
Juno's eyes flickered again. "Raph?"
Raph breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah! Yeah, babe! It's me!"
"I...It's too hard...Goddamnit! FUCK! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Juno roared and elbowed Raphael under the chin. She jumped on top of him and in another shout of rage, drove her sai straight into Raphael's shoulder.
"I'm going to stop this," muttered Psylocke as she began to stride towards the battlefield.
Unflinching, Raphael suddenly took Juno's face in his hands. "Juno listen to me. Listen to me, okay? Whatever it is inside you, you're stronger. You can beat it. Your friends say it's impossible, but I know it ain't. I know you, baby. You can fucking beat it!"
Juno blinked as if she was seeing Raphael for the first time. "What-" She gasped as she suddenly took in the situation. She was currently straddling Raphael. She was bloody, her heart was beating fast...and in her hand was the handle of her sai; it's pointy end buried deep in Raphael's shoulder. Taking in a few shallow breaths, Juno closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were clear. She yanked the sai out of Raph's shoulder and tossed her weapons to the side.
"Oh Raph...I...I'm sorry..." she whispered, tears falling from her face.
Raph watched as Juno buried her face in her hands. Painfully, slowly, he sat himself up. "Hey, hey girly...it's okay. It's okay. I gotcha. I gotcha..." he soothed, hugging her close. "I ain't hurt so bad. Don't cry babe."
Juno shook her head and said, "No...I hurt you! I have to learn to control this! God, what the fuck is wrong with me?" Burying her face in Raphael's shoulder, Juno sobbed.
Raph shook his head and chuckled a little. "Wrong with you? Nothing ain't wrong withchu babe. Well, maybe a teensy rage problem, but nothing that can't be fixed." He smiled as that got a bit of a laugh from Juno."
"Impossible..." grunted Scorpion from behind Raphael. But it was possible. And Juno was proof. Whatever Raphael had said to her, it had gotten through.
Juno pulled away gently from Raph. "Thank you. I just...I couldn't see or hear...it was like I was in a haze or fog...but you. Your voice came through so clear...Thanks, Raphael." She smiled and leaned her forehead against his before kissing him. She patted his cheek as she pulled away again and got up.
"Scorpion. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I thought I could just forget about who I really am...just forget about everything." Juno stood in front of her friend and looked down at the ground.
His body engulfed in flames once more, Scorpion stepped forward. Raphael stared in awe as his injuries disappeared. Scorpion took off his mask and dropped it on the ground.
"And here I thought it was going to be nigh impossible for you to get rid of your murderous tendencies," he joked. "But all joking aside, Juno, I'm proud of you."
Hugging Scorpion, Juno suddenly realized something. "Wait...what do you mean 'get rid of'? You mean I won't be going into anymore berserker rages?"
"That's what I mean."
Juno looked confused. "How?"
"I can feel it. Something's changed." Scorpion shrugged.
"Oh. But...what about...the other thing..."
"*That* I don't know," said Scorpion, shaking his head.
Psylocke had stopped in her tracks when she saw Raphael holding Juno's face.
"Holy shit! Lucky Charms did it!" Feral cheered as she and the rest of the group came forward.
"I knew Raph could do it..." Leo nodded.
"Does that mean we can go home now? 'Cuz this place stinks!" whined Mikey, hopping from one foot to another.
"Actually...I think that's just your b.o. from all the sweating you've been doing..." Donatello waved his hand in front of his nose.
"Hey guys...I...I'm really sorry you all had to see that. I never wanted any of you to see that side of me," Juno apologized as she neared.
"Well, on the bright side, I finally got to see you really kick ass!" smiled Mikey, trying to brighten his sister up.
"Yeah okay Mikey...I give up. There's always a bright side to things with you, isn't there?"
Michelangelo put an arm around Juno. "Most indubitably, yes!"
"So, whaddaya say, Scorchy? Time to go home?" asked Raphael, raising an eyebrow at Scorpion.
Stifling giggles, Feral and Jubilee covered their mouths. Although, a death glare from Scorpion only produced peals of laughter from the two girls.
"Scorchy? The name's Scorpion, asshole."
"Heh. Says the guy who just got his ass kicked by this girl over here," Raphael smirked as he yanked Juno from Mikey and put his arm around her.
"Don't be a dick, Raph. And don't take it personally, Scorpion. He's just in a good mood now," Juno explained.
"Yeah, Scorchy, good mood. So come on. Do that thing you do and let's get home."
Scorpion only shook his head as he transported them all back to the lair.
Leonardo put his hand against the cool brick wall of their home. "I definitely do *not* like how that feels."
"If you go into your talk of whooshes and shifts again, I'm gonna barf," warned Mikey as he made his way to the couch.
"Actually, there was no woosh or shift this time. It was more like a pull...aah!" Donatello's head snapped back as Feral yanked on his bandana tails. She winked at him as she walked past, her tail swishing.
"So...back to my original question of why you guys brought out all the gear?" Juno waved her hand at the room, full of the supplies Jubilee and Feral had brought with them.
"While H-Fac attacks us from the front, we come in from behind and neutralize their forces," explained Scorpion.
"Mmm...I like it from behind..." drawled Feral, her eyes on Donatello yet again.
"Sounds like a plan. When do we do this?" Juno looked from Psylocke to Scorpion.
"In a few hours, home time...so that means in a few weeks from now I guess. Rain will contact us when-" Scorpion was cut short by Juno's beeping omni-tool.
"It's a transmission. ...From home!" She smiled and pulled up the video feed from the omni-tool, projecting it in front of her. In moments, a fuzzy image appeared...taking a few seconds to clear up. "Rain!" Juno exclaimed as her friend's face came into view. "I trust it's the real you this time?"
The brown haired guy in the image smiled, his lavender eyes sparkling. "Absolutely, Ma'am. It is so good to see you. Oh, hey S.C.! Hi girls!" he waved at Scorpion and the rest of Beta Squad.
"Woah! Who're the green dudes?" asked a black haired guy with ice-blue eyes. "Hi, Commander! Hi everyone else!"
"Zero! Hi! The green dudes are some friends I met here. This is Leo-"
"Woah woah, wait a sec, Ma'am, or you'll have to repeat all that. Lemme get the rest of the guys!" Zero left the picture leaving Rain alone again.
"Is this about something important, or are you just wasting comm space?" asked Scorpion, cocking his head to one side.
"Always the kill-joy, you are. I'll be glad when the Commander's back in charge," jabbed Rain.
Suddenly, the image zoomed out as five more guys entered the picture. They were all waving, and saying hi, and talking at once, obviously happy to see their Commanding officer once again.
"Okay, okay! Shut it all of you!" said Juno, putting an end to the noise.
"Yes, Ma'am!" came the reply in unison from all five men.
"Woah...that was cool. Make'em do that again, Juno!" an excited Mikey said, jumping up and down.
Juno gave him a sidelong glance, raising her eyebrows. "Okay, let's do it this way, why don't we all just introduce ourselves to each other?"
Rain waved. "Rain here!"
"Call me Zero, okay?" the asian male with the blue eyes said.
The man who looked like a green lizard opened his mouth in a grin, his long tongue flicking between rows of sharp teeth. "Reptile's what they call me...except for Juno, she calls me Liz. Short for Lizard."
The red-head spoke next. "Ermac."
Lastly, there was another black-haired man, whose black, glassy eyes gave him the look of someone who was insane. "Heeee..." he grinned maniacally. "I'm Noob. Noob Saibot."
"Thanks guys. I miss you all, by the way!" Juno waved. Turning to face the turtles, she said, "You're turn."
"Uh...My name is Hamato Leonardo, I am the eldest of my brothers," Leo said, bowing lightly.
"Michelangelo, but everyone just calls me Mikey!" Mikey smiled, pointing to himself.
"Donatello." Donnie gave a quick wave and a smile.
Raphael nodded and crossed his arms before saying his name. "Raphael."
Juno smiled at Raphael. Then she turned back to the image and asked, "Okay, so now that everyone knows everyone, why *are* you contacting us, Rain?"
"Oh, right. Well...I'm actually contacting you because we've run into a bit of a problem..." Rain gave a nervous grin.
"Problem? Then spit it out, already dammit!" Scorpion yelled at the screen.
"Okaaaay...totally cannot wait for the Commander to back in charge now..." Rain rolled his eyes.
"I *am* in charge, Rain. So tell us, what's the problem?" Juno sat on the armrest of the couch.
"H-Fac is moving in to your position. I've been how do you say, 'keeping tabs' on any and all dimensional travel-"
"That's illegal, Rain," said Psylocke suddenly. "No one has the right to that much information."
"Illegal shmillegal. This is war we're in here. Plus,what Chairman Pliskin doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, the bastard left out some key information himself when he executed this shit plan of his!" Rain replied, getting riled up.
"Hey...none of that, Rain. You keep your badmouthing to yourself when you're on the comms," Juno warned.
"Yeah yeah. Anyway, like I said, I just got wind that H-Fac sent over some of their peeps to where you are. My guess is their heading straight to you."
"Stop being so cryptic Rain. Peeps?" Psylocke asked.
Rain was silent for a beat. Then Zero smacked in the shoulder. "Daah! Okay, okay! They sent over 2 agents."
"What?" Juno narrowed her eyes at the image in front of her and stepped forward. As if she was there in front of them, all five of her team on the screen visibly flinched backward.
"Uh...yeah. It looks as if the attack here on Echelon City was a ruse. We're not picking up that many of their forces here. And what they do have, I could send Cyclops and his team to deal with. Hell, Azazel and Storm could probably take them down by themselves." Rain sighed and shook his head. "Their real goal was to attack you there the whole time," Rain said softly, looking down.
"How do you know this?" Feral yelled, suddenly jumping up.
"Does it matter? They're coming here, and they're coming to kill you, Commander. I suggest we come up with a plan." Psylocke's ever cool attitude pervaded the room.
Juno shook her head. "Two agents. Wesker and his bitch I'm sure. Well, whatever. H-Fac won't succeed. They've crossed the line. There are too many innocents here, and they know it. They want a fight? They're going to get a fucking massacre."
"This is good. I owe Jill a violent death." Psylocke's eyes glowed purple for a moment as the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly.
Rain nodded on the screen. "We'd send you some reinforcements, but with Scorpion there, and Beta, plus your squad of greenies, looks like you'll be fine."
"Do they know we're here?" asked Jubilee.
"Yeah, but they didn't count on Scorpion being there, and I'm sure they don't know about your new friends, either. So you'll have the drop on them no matter what." Rain was punching some buttons off-screen. "I'm sending you some upgrades on your bot, Jube. You'll like 'em. And Feral, I'm sure you've got all the artillery you'll ever need, but just in case, here's an upgrade for the Eviscerator, and an upgrade for your bolo grenades."
"Thanks, Rain. Keep us posted." Juno nodded at her tech officer.
"Yes Ma'am. Alpha squad out." All five men on the screen saluted, and then the screen went dark.