Note: Amber's story of her mutation and the events leading up to it can be found in Tyroth Darkstorm's fic 'A Sister's Plight'
Chapter Fourteen
Showing Strength
In the Training Room, Jake was watching the Chicago Knights as they practised their punches and kicks with punch-bags or sand dummies or sparred with each other.
Jack was sparring with Sharky, whilst Percy was hopping in the air and kicking soccer balls back at Amber as she threw them at him.
Kate was doing target practice with her whip by standing empty soda cans on a table and was striking them with precise accuracy whilst Heather and Sarah were sparring with each other.
Jake was impressed at their different styles and their strengths which no doubt would prove useful in battle as well as balance out their weaknesses if they had any.
In the time he had gotten to know them as they socialised with him as well as trained, he could see the natural talents and abilities they possessed as well, not just their fighting skills.
Looking at Jack, he could tell being a mutant wolf, he had a strong sense of smell which would make him a good tracker, and with his wolf instincts, he was a natural born leader, just like the alpha wolves in the wild.
Sharky was indeed a scary creature, yet he had laughed finding out the sharp-toothed mutant shark was a vegetarian. He had strong teeth which would terrify anyone, friend or foe, and having a tail he had the ability to swim even in the strongest of currents.
Percy, though immature, he wasn't someone not to take lightly as he had a good spring in his step and could jump high places as well as deliver very hard kicks in a fight.
Sarah was one you wouldn't want chasing you, as she demonstrated how fast she could run, like an actual cheetah and she had fast reflexes to go with it.
Jake could also tell from her style of fighting she had learnt a lot from Mona, maybe more so than the other Knights.
Heather showed she could be deadly when attacking from the sky, and was also a silent predator on those who did wrong on the world above since her wings barely made any noise at all as she hovered above everyone.
Kate was indeed one not to get on the wrong side of when mad, if not on the receiving end of her whip, she had a nasty bite which only a few lived to tell the tale. Jake had laughed when he heard of how Percy loved to tease her and how her treatment of him was one only an idiot would dare to face if caught.
The finally there was Amber, who showed she had some strong fighting skills, almost like that of a ninja, almost rivalling the turtles, and he wondered where her talents had come from, though no-one spoke of their pasts before coming to Mutopia, he hoped to get a full story at some point.
After a while, the Knights took a break and they did a few stretches before deciding to continue.
"Phew!" Jack panted "That was a good training session!"
"You bet!" Percy said "Yet I'm still hungry for more!"
"And believe it or not, I agree with the Locust!" Kate quipped as she took a mouthful of water from a bottle.
Percy just scoffed at the nickname.
"You up for some sparring Jake?" asked Amber "After all, we haven't fully seen what you can do yet!"
"That's true!" said Jake, "If you want to see, I'll show you," he patted his gun on his belt and stepped onto the middle of the floor taking a few breaths and stretching a few times.
"This'll be interesting." said Sarah as she sat cross legged on the floor and the others except Jack did the same so they could watch Jake.
"Okay." said Jack "Let's see what you can do!"
Jake nodded then stood in a stance ready to face what Jack was going to hurl at him.
"I promise I won't knock your glasses!" Jack offered to which Jake nodded in thanks.
"That's good to know." he said.
Jack nodded then stepped towards Jake throwing a punch at him yet Jake moved to the side avoiding the wolf then grabbed his wrist before throwing him over his shoulder!
The Knights winced as Jack was thrown head over heels and onto his back then before the wolf could get up again Jake placed his foot on his chest!
"Gotcha!" Jake smirked in triumph but Jack used his arm to knock Jake's leg off his chest and Jake fell on his side and the wolf jumped up to go for Jake but as he did, Jake pulled out his gun and pointed it at the wolf before pulling the trigger causing it to click!
Jack put his paws into the air in surrender as he saw the gun and stepped back.
"Wow!" he said "That's not bad!"
The other Knights were still in shock at what they saw! They had never imagined Jake was quite skilled as a fighter.
He might not be a Ninja or a Kung Fu fighter but he showed he had some strength as well as good reflexes!
"I can see how you were able to kill Hun." said Amber "As well as several Foot Ninja!"
Jake nodded.
"I was scared when I took a few lives," he said "I regretted it, as I never dreamed I would be a murderer, but it was all in self defence and to save a life."
"We understand." Jack said as he helped to his feet "And Splinter is grateful to you, as are the turtles, and your sister."
Jake looked at his gun and placed it back in the holster.
"The gun saved my skin, as well as Splinter's and Callum's until the boathouse skirmish, but I understand that I may loose my gun again, so I must learn more about fighting without it."
"That is a wise move Callum." said Amber "As far as I have known my brother as a mutant and the others here, we have never used guns, and neither have the turtles, we have never had to rely on guns due to our own weapons and our fighting skills."
"And you fight with honour." Jake said "Just like my sister and the turtles, and for the protection of those above, even though they do not see you."
"In a way we are hidden guardians!" Percy said "Unseen, but it doesn't mean our services are not unnoticed."
The other Knights nodded and murmured in agreement.
Jake smiled.
"I would like to learn more of your ways." he said "And learn more of who and what you fight here? The turtles and Mona fight the Shredder, the Foot and the Purple Dragons, but I suppose you have your own enemies too?"
"That we do." said Heather "Chicago is a big city, and there's no rest for the wicked, we've seen practically everything! Corrupt Business Tycoons, The Mafia, Sex Trafficking, Street Gangs, even just the simple thief or Joy rider."
The others agreed.
"We've seen everything ranging from that, to even the supernatural!" Percy added to which the others hushed him.
"I beg your pardon?" Jake asked raising an eyebrow at Percy's last words.
"Way to go Vermin!" Kate growled.
"Supernatural!" Sarah said "But now's not the time, we'll tell you that at a later date, right now, shall we get back to training?"
"Yeah!" the others agreed in unison and they all jumped up to go to different areas to practice.
This time, Jack went to punch some bags, Sharky decided to see how fast he could chomp through thick wood with his powerful teeth whilst Percy started sparring with Heather.
Kate and Sarah teamed up together to spar and Amber decided to team up with Jake to do some basic hand to hand combat.
"You sure have shown you're a strong one Jake." she said as she bowed to him.
"I've had to be." Jake replied bowing back then getting into a fighting stance "I've had to grow up quickly and take Mona's place as the older sibling, I had to protect myself as well as Callum."
"I know the feeling." Amber said as she and Jake began to spar together, throwing some slow punches at each other as well as the odd kick as well as defend against each other's offence.
"When Tyroth disappeared, my whole world came crashing down, he was my hero, my protector, I could talk to him about anything! And when he disappeared along with Sephie, I had a hole in my heart that couldn't bee filled, not matter how hard I tried to carry on with life which was what my brother would have wanted me to do."
Jake listened to Amber in amazement.
"What is your story Amber?" he asked as he continued to spar with the Marine Iguana.
He had been given a brief story by Mona and the turtles about Amber's background as Tyroth's younger sister and how like Callum, drinking the water was her only chance of surviving.
Amber sighed as she continued to block Jake's offences.
"Man." she said "Where do I start? It's such a long story, some parts I wish not to repeat, but since you're curious, I'll tell you, and you can tell me more of your story?"
"Sure!" Jake agreed.
Amber took a deep breath and as she continued to spar with Jake, she told her story.
"First things first," she began "My name before Amber, was Jennifer, as I'm sure you were told by Mona and the turtles?"
Jake nodded prompting Amber to continue.
"And Tyroth, his name was Raymond, or Ray-Ray, I used to call him out of affection, and he called me Jen-Jen, though there are times we still refer to each other by our old nicknames, we grew up in Kiruna, Sweden before moving to the United States, we settled in Charleston, Illinois after our father got a job over there, I don't remember much of Sweden like Tyroth does, but I have a few fond memories of it, anyway, we lived in Charleston for years until Tyroth moved to Chicago along with Sephie, I was sad to see him go, but I wished him the best, if only he knew that trip would seal his fate."
Jake remembered Tyroth and Sephie giving a brief story of how they mutated when they were flying to Chicago and he could relate to Amber, feeling the same pain of losing a sibling they loved so much.
"It was awful." Amber continued "The whole family fell into limbo, I'd never cried so hard in my life, I was angry at him for leaving us, but also devastated that someone would want to hurt my big brother, my hero, my rock, all because he was a good man and believed in justice and honour!"
"I was the same." Jake agreed "It was like a dark cloud had shrouded over us, I felt like I would never be cheerful again..."
"I almost felt there wasn't any point in being alive, the depression was so bad," Amber continued "But nine months after the devastating news I looked through some old photos of me and my brother and I remembered his wise words to me, which I never forgot which was to always remain strong, not just for my sake, but for those around you"
She threw a punch towards Jake who blocked her and stepped back.
"Wise words!" Jake said as he did a whirl around until he was behind Amber and wrapped his arm around her neck in a headlock.
"Nice move!" Amber commented as she stopped moving, then leaned forward sending Jake flying over her back and head then go splat onto the crash mat underneath making Jake wheeze slightly and knock his glasses off!
"Offf!" Jake grunted "Should have seen that coming, now I can't see anything!" he added as he felt around for his glasses.
Amber laughed, and picked up his glasses before handing them to Jake which he gratefully took and put back on.
"Thanks!" he said before sitting up and looking at Amber who continued her story.
"Some time later, I tried to keep my spirits up and get my life back on track and I moved to New York to make a fresh start, but with a high rent and lack of a job to see my way through, I decided to steal to survive, and if luck would have it, I ran into my brother again! As he had been in New York having just met your sister and the turtles!"
"No way!" Jake cried.
Amber nodded.
"Yes way!" she said "When he confronted me, he accidentally revealed who he was, and I was shocked and furious, yet relieved that he was alive! After getting over the shock of seeing him alive, he was able to help me find a new life in Chicago and things then started to get better...until it all changed again."
"How?" asked Jake, seeing how this was going to be part where Amber was to speak of her mutation.
Amber looked down, this was never a pleasant memory for her but she felt she had to tell it.
"It turned out that the Turtle's enemies, the Foot found out about my connection to Tyroth, since they had learned about his abilities and had used him in experiments, yet he escaped their clutches." She took a breath "They realised I was his sister, and they kidnapped me, and our parents who at the time were visiting me in Chicago, they held my parents as hostages, but me, they did many horrible things, all conducted by their evil scientist..."
"Dr Arden." Jake said.
Amber nodded.
"He tortured me, then used me in an experiment where I was brainwashed into working for them! They turned me into a half human/dragon super ninja mutant and I was forced to fight Tyroth, which happened a couple of times before he was able to break me free of the brainwashing, he, with the help of the turtles and Mona rescued me and mum and dad, but without continuing treatments from Arden, I would die, and the well was my only chance of survival, I agreed and I was mere inch from death when I drank the water, and thus, this is what I am now..."
"And the rest is History!" Amber and Jake looked up to see Jack and the other Knights who had taken a break from training and were listening in to the two's conversation.
"Wow." said Jake "What a story."
Amber nodded.
"I remember Dr Arden." said Jake "I'll never forget his face in a hurry, nor Shredder, Arashi, or the Venomous Five at that!"
"Well an ugly face of that evil Monster of a Doctor is one that no-one could forget!" Kate said "Though the Shredder and Arashi are bad, I think Dr Arden takes the cake with his torturous experiments and insane mind!"
"Not to mention those Syringe Fingers!" Percy shivered "Brrr!"
"Don't mention needles!" Sarah said, going a bit green "I get nervous enough when James is handling them!"
The other Knights nodded in agreement yet Jake looked thoughtful before reaching for a bottle of water so he could have a drink.
So Jake has shown he's a capable fighter! Yet he does wish to be able to fight without relying on his gun! And he's learnt Amber's backstory and realised they have a lot in common when it comes to losing a sibling.