Hello my dear readers! Here I have for you a long ass chapter which I really hope you enjoy. I wanted to pull you all a little deeper to the story, mostly by painting in your eyes what I see in my mind. We always see this superficial characters of the turtles during the series, where one is either always angry or cheerful or responsible, that we forget that someone can manage more than one emotion. So in this chapter I have tried to show you guys exactly that, how would it be is Mikey wasn't so cheerful, Donnie not so calm, Leo not so responsible and Raph not at all so indifferent. There are secrets that lay within each and every character, no matter how close the brothers are to each-other...everybody has secrets that they hide in the dark.
Also new characters will be introduced to the story as it continues, I really hope that you like them and that you let me know in the reviews what you thought about all of them. I was really excited to write this chapter and I can't wait to start the next one so I will be updating soon enough. Until then I hope you enjoy this chapter and...see you soon. Please read and review! XOXOXO
Where the secrets sleep…
Upon arriving home Donnie had lost no time to tend his brother's battle wounds. Although not life threatening Donatello didn't take any chances ,and quickly led his brothers towards his self-made lab room, very clearly advising them not to touch anything…well mostly advising Mikey who just seemed restless to mess with every single experiment his older brother was working on.
"Mikey sit!" Donatello finally said losing his temper as a crash sound came from somewhere in the back of the laboratory. Mikey looked at him pouting. Why did his older brothers almost always have to be so serious about everything. Everything with them was all business lately, hell…after what happened on that roof tonight and Donnie being at the edge with Leo, even their way back home had been almost as silent as the nursery of a sleeping infant, unless they needed to exchange some words about direction or the next patrols that were to come. That all was just boring to him, he needed excitement…he needed something new to get his wild and free spirit running. He needed so much more than just fighting over and over again and getting patched up right after, just to be ready and repeat everything on the new day that was to come.
Unfortunately Mikey had little hope that he would find such excitement down there in the sewers between his brother's experiments.
"Dude chill, I am just watching, what am I supposed to do ,you got your hands full. " Mikey pointed out gesturing towards Raph who was now staying in front of Don, while the later applied some antiseptic on the scratches of the turtle's face "Not like you got anything interesting going on in here anyway!"
Don tried to ignore his brother's comment, even though it got a vein to pop out in his head. If he took all the time of the world he wouldn't be able to make his younger brother understand how utterly important every single piece in this room was, so for him it was the best thing to stay quiet and concentrate in his precise work with Raph.
"The cuts don't seem to deep." Donnie explained quietly while he put some cotton and the antiseptic bottle away, taking some medical tape to finish it off "You won't need stitches" He decided and that was a win for Raphael who already had had so many stitches in the past he had lost count of a long time ago.
"That's somethin' worth hearin'!" he said loosing no time to get up. As tough as Raphael seemed he couldn't say he enjoyed the feeling of the sharp needle penetrating his skin over and over, that shit hurt like hell. Donnie smirked noticing that and put down the medical tape taking pride in his work, at least getting to watch over his brother's wounds was one of the few places Don had a chance to put his mind and skills in use. The pacifist of the family knew all to well he would never be awarded nor appreciated about his intelligence no matter how brilliant it were. His brothers had nothing to offer him in that direction and the world…Donatello suspected it would be long after he was gone from this world, that its people would as much as consider taking pride in the brain of a creature like himself. Sometime he preferred to think that the world above simply wasn't ready for something so big as the existence of his and his brothers but again…sometimes these thoughts seemed like a sweet lie he preferred to feed his mind. For the truth laid simply in the fact that they were an abnormality, an abomination, that would never be easily accepted. Donatello closed his eyes slightly brushing those thoughts away with a soft sigh. He then looked over at Leo and Mikey and making a sign to his younger brother.
"An Abomination…" he thought quietly while looking at both of his brothers. Maybe for a moment Leo or Mikey were able to notice something in Don's face, but none of the two had the chance to say anything. Whatever it was that resided inside their brother's mind was hidden away when Donnie adverted his look from his two brothers.
"Mikey you're up…finally!" Donnie joked in order to hide his distress, making Mikey sigh and shove him off with his hand from afar.
"Forget it bro, my cuts are fine, I am heading to bed!" Mikey said surprising Don, as his younger brother normally was the easiest one to be around, and would never complain of much, especially not to him, his pacifist older brother. However this time something seemed to have changed within Mikey, and Don wasn't sure if this was the first moment that he noticed it or if it had been there in the face of the younger turtle and he had just failed to notice it. Mikey seemed to be more serious and more held back…like rarely, or never before. That almost scared Donatello.
"Mikey!" Donnie called behind his brother leaning his head back to catch a look of the lively orange banded turtle "Get your shell back in here before you catch god-knows-what infection!" he exclaimed at his brother getting up from his chair and starting to go after Mikey who didn't seem to really care about Don being in his heels. He easily sped up without looking back and did quiet a skillful flip landing on the second floor of their home, where his room laid, leaving Donatello puzzled blow him
"Get lost Donnie!" Mikey threw the words back at him before he disappeared in his room making sure to lock the door behind him in order to let everyone know none of them were welcomed. As that door closed Mikey's demons seemed to gather all around him forming a barricade and blocking that vivid spirit of his inside. The orange banded turtle threw himself on his bed taking the mask off his eyes and letting it rest in his nightstand. A soft sigh escaped his normally cheerful body as he looked at the ceiling, not really knowing to put a name to what he was feeling.
It had taken an unexpected battle, a clash between two of his brothers and some angry comments from Donatello, for Michelangelo to understand…everything was the same. Every day and every night of his life was the same, he would wake up train with his brothers, hang around by watching TV or playing video games and reading comic books pretending to add up some spice to his never changing routine, then he would follow his brothers in patrols every night, get into battles and fight for the good cause, he would save lives and play the hero…but that was it. At the end of the day the apparently carefree and cheerful turtle would come back to his room, and let his loneliness engulf him before he repeated everything again once the morning light stroke. For days Michelangelo had battled with himself as to what he was feeling, unable to recognize the strong sensation which would creep onto his every muscle once alone in his own thoughts. Tonight…Michelangelo was able to put a name to it…
"Get lost…" he said once more to no one but himself, letting loneliness strike him again. Yes he was lonely, yes he was alone, but unfortunately being with his brothers right now was not the answer. None of his brothers could follow Mikey here, where he secretly allowed for fear and sadness to engulf him, no one could comfort him here, inside these walls he had built only with the intention of keeping this ugly and scary side of him inside. No one could save the vivid turtle…the clown of the family…the cheerful Michelangelo, from himself. He had noticed that tonight, when they had been fighting up on the roof that confusing and unexpected battle, which would normally get his blood running and pushing through his veins…even that hadn't excited Michelangelo that night.
Mikey turned on his bed closing his eyes and steadying his breathing hoping to find comfort in his dreams, as well as some strength, no matter how much, he just needed enough to make it into yet another day with a happy and cheerful smile.
While Mikey battled with himself on the room Donatello stood exactly in the same place his brother had left him. He was staring blankly at the closed door of Mikey's room in disbelief. What had he said to make his younger brother snap like that? The four brothers were of course close to each-other, and yet Mikey and Donn seemed to have an understanding between each-other, a special bond that led towards a mutual understanding. As strange as it could sound, they understood each-other better than anyone else, aside from his baby brother being a goof, he wasn't stupid, and he had always been the one Donatello could go to for everything, be this his countless experiments or thoughts troubling his mind. Michelangelo would listen, he wasn't like Raph who would give you a death glare and go on about his business, he wasn't like Leo either, unlike their older brother Mikey was able to shove it in his face whenever he found Don's ideas stupid or just extremely boring, he didn't sugar coat anything and that was what Donatello really valued the most. Yet no matter how boring or unsettling their discussions might have been at certain times, never had Michelangelo shoved his older brother away like that, never had he isolated himself like that.
Leonrdo came out of Donnie's lab and sighed walking towards his brother putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Just let it be Don…" Leo told him in a quiet and reassuring voice "…Mikey is just a little out of it. He's most likely just tired and more annoying than usually!"
Donatello looked at Leo from the corner of his eyes. God knows that had he had eyebrows he would have frowned deeply. Leo could think they were okay, that it was all good when it ended good, but that was far away from what Donnie had in mind.
"This is all your fault Leo!" Donnie said moving away from his brother's touch "Why would you rush us into that fight? What has gotten into you?"
Donatello finally asked straight forward waiting a serious answer from his older brother, from their leader. He looked straight into Leo's eyes, resentment and anger firing from his own. He waited to see some form of guilt forming in Leonardo's eyes, and he was almost disappointed when he found none.
"How is this my fault?" Leonardo asked Donatello finally crossing his arms "What did you expect me to do Donnie? Stay and enjoy the show while The Foot beat the crap out of a woman? Would you do that?Is that the kind of Honor that you have?" Leo shot back at him making Donnie almost growl in anger.
"No! But I sure as hell would make sure who I was helping first before rushing headstrong in a battle we might as well have lost!" Donatello answered in a louder voice " She, a complete Stranger, who seemed completely capable of handling herself in the battle, escaped with god-knows-what from the Foot! For all we know she could be cooking up the next major attack on this city and guess what that makes us Leonardo?!" Donnie said waiting for Leonardo to give an answer. However his brother only looked back at him with a confused expression on his face.
"Culprits…collaborators…you name it!" Donatello answered his own sentence. His reasoning seemed to have hit Leonardo quiet hard. He wasn't sure anymore, if what Don was saying was right or he was just worried about Mikey and their wellbeing, he wasn't sure if his younger brother was exaggerating or just being extremely blunt and straight forward.
"You are not like this Leo!" Donatello said finally sighing, in a quieter and more composed voice "What is up with you lately?"
Oh how he wished he could answer that, unfortunately Leonardo had no way of doing so, as he himself was not sure what was messing with his mind. It was like he stood under a spell…a spell cast from those beautiful emerald eyes he couldn't get of his mind. What were they telling him…
"I…" Leo started however as if gods had heard his prayers of distress Raph showed up from somewhere in the second floor apparently having been disturbed by their voices.
"Cut it out will ya'?" he said sounding annoyed while throwing a pillow right at Donatello's face, who caught it skillfully and shoved it on the ground.
"Raph…" Don started but Raph made a sign to shut Donatello up by raising another pillow read to throw it at him again.
"It's to fuckin' late for your drama, can ya' all just cut dis' crap and go sleep. Who gives a shit whose fault it was?!" Raph exclaimed trying to make a point "We kicked their asses, and we won, and we will do it again tomorro' and the day after and the next one. So both of you shut your mouths and go to fuckin' sleep!" Raphael finally finished giving Donatello a meaningful look.
Pressing his lips tightly together Donatello gave one last look at both of his brothers before growling a little and moving away towards his laboratory shaking his head in disbelief. Leonardo was left looking at Raph grateful, like so many times before. As much as it seemed like the red masked turtle didn't get along with their fearless leader at all, those two always had each-other's back in silence.
Leo nodded towards Raph…it was his way of saying thank you to his younger brother. Raph looked back at him and nodded as well in a silent understanding before turning his back at him and starting to walk away.
Their hot headed brother had absolutely no idea what was going on with his siblings however for the moment he didn't even care enough to think about any of it, as he headed to his room and bed for a very much deserved sleep.
(Military Base, New York)
Tanya's steps echoed in the empty corridors as she made her way towards the commanding rooms of the Base. Her face was stoic, and her movements quick and cautious, however somewhat relaxed signaling that she was familiar with the area around. That silver hand-suitcase which had been the center of the commotion that night was still resting safely in her hand. When she thought of that the brown haired girl almost had a satisfied smirk on her face…she never failed and today had been a proof of that. One way or another, in the end, this woman always got what she wanted.
Tanya was not just any woman, she was not a criminal however she was not a hero nor a saint either. She was a woman bearing secrets bigger than herself, secrets she had learned to protect with her own life. She was a woman of duty, having the will to meet her obligations at the very last request without a failure, she was a woman willing to die for her ideals and beliefs even if that meant having to stray away from honor and human ethics. During the course of her life this girl had abandoned any common moral and sentimental emotion shaping herself into the strong and unfeeling creature she now was. She was a soldier, a devoted member of the army, a leader on this Country's Defense Department, she was a…
"Death Machine…" that had been the nickname her comrades had given the lonely soldier during their deployment time away from motherland. The nickname seemed to pass the girl perfectly, for she was cold and emotionless like a machine and quick and dangerous like Death. She had had no problem with it…she had rather enjoyed that quiet and feared attention she would get from her comrades. However this had been long time ago, within the passing years the young woman had climbed the stairs to greater achievements and honoraries, becoming a lieutenant, sergeant and finally a colonel. Her once comrades were now to scared to throw any sort of nickname her way, the people she once tried to avoid were now her responsibility. She was their lead into the battlefield, whatever choice the young colonel took would decide who came back home and who fell on the battlefield. Sometimes she told herself she didn't care, that it wasn't her fault…However as emotionless and cold as one could be, no one was immune from seeing their comrades, their friends, falling on victims of the heartless wars. That is why Tanya was ready to go to the most extreme lengths, just to make sure such thing wouldn't happen. That was why she was here tonight…
As she kept walking forward, with these hidden thoughts residing on her head a white wooden door, guarded by two men in military clothing and heavy weaponry, came to sight. The woman immediately came to a halt examining the place as if deciding whether or not she was going to keep walking forward.
The men didn't seem to move at all, nor feel threatened by the presence of the women.
Instead almost instinctively, like a machine, both of them took two steps forward and then turned to their profiles saluting with their hand in their forehead and their firearms steady in a strong military manner.
"Greetings sir!" they said in a serious voice. To any outsider it would have been a shock to hear such a beautiful and feminine delicacy, being addressed to as "Sir". However Tanya didn't seem bothered by it…on the contrary she saluted back formally, standing in her heels and looking straight at the door.
"Greetings, Lieutenant! Permission to enter?" she said in a strong and commanding voice. The men nodded and moved their weapons away leaving her path towards the door free.
"Permission granted sir " One of them spoke and without further comments Tanya made her way inside the room. Her hand pushed through the wooden surface of the door and she instinctively took a deep breath, before making her way to the show unleashing in front of her.
That room was the kind you would see in movies, a spacious round table, lighting in its circle the shape of the globe, with different random places marked on its map. Different name labels rested in front of every chair however many, if not most, of them were empty. The only occupied corner on that room were the three chairs in front of the huge screens in the back of the room, which for safety reasons had been turned off at the moment, causing for the light of that room to be pretty dim and as someone would say…even scary. That didn't seem to bother the young women as she stood in front of the table, immediately taking a formal posture and greeting the people sitting in front of her.
"Generals,Agent, I come back to report!" she said in a strong and determined voice addressing the three men sitting in the three chairs on the opposite side of her. Her face now however remained emotionless and she refused to look directly at the eyes of the men who were so vividly looking straight into her beautiful green eyes. Instead she decided to fixate her sight in something inexistent somewhere behind them, giving maybe the impression that she was highly uninterested on the matter at hand, or rather unguarded and relaxed. Fortunately it was neither. Every sense on the young soldier's body had been turned on, as she carefully examined the room with the corners of her eyes, noting every exit and every escape option that laid at hand. She was here out of her own free will, out of the duty she had to her country and her men, because of her Soldier's Oath, vowing to serve this country and its functionaries. However that didn't mean that the girl would stupidly hand herself over to the unknown. Tanya wasn't the one to believe in sacrifice, she wasn't the one to just give up and await for the end. This girl would fight until her last drop of blood whoever got in her way, and she never would simply offer someone the pleasure to see her scared or suffering.
Deciding that the room offered enough escape and combat advantages the girl finally returned her sight back to the inexistent object behind the three men catching a glimpse of the unmistakable shape of ,what she decided could be a gun or two, resting below their formal attires. Two of them sat in different sides of the table, bearing a military suit and many decorates as well as stars in their uniform revealing their high grade and honors on the Army. The man sitting in the middle looked somewhat different, and Tanya had never come to contact with him before. He was wearing a neat black suit and seemed more relaxed and laid back than the two military men, who for some reason kept clenching their muscles uncomfortably and looking at the mysterious man as if…almost as if they were afraid of him.
Tanya had been handpicked form these men, her combat and planning abilities setting her apart from most of the other soldiers. She along with two other people, the so called prodigies, had been instructed to join the ranks of a military force under the name of "Earth Protection Force" or as they called it the EPF. This governmental facility protected not only USA, but the whole world against foreign threats. In the beginning Tanya had thought it was just another petty organization regulating any cold war between European countries, however soon enough she had come to terms with what "a foreign threat" really meant to them. It was nothing more than a common term for "out-of-this-world" threats, or as Tanya liked to commonly name them, inexistent alien threats, simply because she had never believed there was something more in that wide open universe aside from the sad little humans, populating the earth. At first she hadn't been that keen to the idea of wasting her abilities to protect this world from some inexistent, abstract, out-of-this-earth threat, when she could be leading her men righteously in the war, there where the real threat lay. In fact she had almost laughed out loud when they had been told what exactly this Secret Force of the military dealt with, simply stating that she didn't believe in aliens or things of that sort. Unfortunately her laugh had died on her lips soon enough, as she had come face to face with maybe the ugliest being she had seen on her life, "Utroms". Aliens, monsters that threatened the people she had vowed to protect. Tanya had felt disgusted as she had seen what these despicable creatures did for the people that fell on their hands, she had felt her blood boil in her veins and a hatred like never before started to plunge its roots on her heart. With a smirk of mischief and satisfaction Tanya had directed her gun against these monsters, devouring the feeling of joy she received from their muffled screams, when that first bullet penetrated their wrinkled, disgusting skin. The monster had been unarmed and harmless, for it had been captured and restrained from the Agent and his men, however Colonel Grey didn't stop for a second to rethink her actions before she shot. She was full with range and hatred and...fear, fear from the unknown. With that bullet she had sealed her hatred as well as her future among the ranks of the Earth Protection Force. The young colonel had been honored to work under their order, even more so that her occupation with this governmental affair would keep her in New York, meaning that her squadron…her men would not be deployed until she was done. In the end it was a win-win for her.
After that she had been educated to learn more about the different species and races that threatened this world, at least some of them had been useful enough to provide effective weapons for the army. Another successful result presented from the EPF. They had modified the alien weapons to be somewhat "Human-Friendly", and had put them in a good use in the army. By proceeding with further research and experiments, the US military would shortly be equipped with the best munitions available to mankind, making its soldiers unstoppable in war. It was not that much of a peaceful goal, but Colonel Tanya Grey would chose anything over the countless victims falling prey of their lack of weapons and strategy during every deployment. She was determined to do her part on keeping this country safe, keeping her men safe, she owed it to their families and her duty.
Unfortunately the Military and the government were not the only ones who had caught sniff of these opportunities. Many other organizations like The Foot wanted to make use of this extra-terrestrial technology for their own purposes, which Tanya had come to find out, were not that peaceful either. That's where she came in the game...
Her duty was to prevent such thing from happening, to eliminate anything and anyone who stood on the way of these Military projects, she was to retreat any piece of information available from her enemy using any mean possible. Nothing as powerful as foreign knowledge and technology could be trusted in someone else's hands. She was a weapon, ready to fire away as soon as that first command was given.
However now that she stood in front of these men, in front of this mysterious agent who seemed to extend a dark, agonizing aura across the room, she was for the first time not so sure about her decisions anymore. Her gut feeling told her something was not right, it told her she should be running away from this place instead of calmly holding her ground in the middle of this mess. However Tanya was not someone to simply run away when trouble presented itself, wanting to look this new trouble right in the eye, she lowered her sight towards that of the Agent. The Agent wore a pair of dark shades even though they were inside and it was pretty dark, so really their gazes never met, but she could feel his cold and lifeless eyes burning in hers from behind those dark glasses. It was hard to say what he was thinking as he looked at the girl, the shades made it almost impossible to reveal even the tiniest bit of his expression. No one hated that fact more than Tanya, who couldn't stand not knowing what her opponent was thinking.
Even though the other two men had now shifted their uncomfortable gaze form the agent and were now looking at her with a hard and unreadable expression, with a deep frown in their faces, she was able to tell what the two generals were thinking. Their face reflected judgment and at the same time…respect towards their fellow soldier. That gave Tanya a sense of confidence however there was something else in their sight, something Tanya had never noticed in the eyes of her fellow Commandants. There was sorrow, almost as if they were sorry for her.
"Colonel Grey!" one of the generals addressed her showing with his hand one of the chairs at the opposite side of the table "You may relax and take a place!" he allowed for her.
Tanya's tense muscles relaxed for a moment from his familiar voice however her respectful and formal attitude remained intact.
"Thank you sir!" she addressed him and went to sit where she had been advised to. As she took her place Tanya placed the suitcase on top of the table directing it towards the men and looking at it pointedly.
"As ordered I have brought you every last piece of it!" Tanya said as she slowly put the code to open the suitcase.
"Let us judge for ourselves colonel!" the general told her and Tanya nodded opening the suitcase and turning it towards them, so their eyes could carefully examine its content.
Inside a glass container little stones of red and orange shone dimly in the room. Under that sight a small glow of excitement escaped even the face of the always professional and stoic general. He looked at the two others who nodded in his direction. The man in the dark suit motioned for one of the guards standing at one end of the room to come his way and give him a pair of gloves which he wore hastily, just so that he could get his hands on the container resting on that suitcase. It was like that object was oxygen and he needed to touch it in order to breath. Tanya still wasn't sure about the reasons that had driven her commandants to ask from her such an unlikely mission but she also knew better than to ask. She had however a faint idea of what the substance at hand was. The only pieces of pure Francium in this earth, laid in that glass container, one of the most explosive elements known to human, almost never presenting itself in its pure self anywhere on the planet, was found in that room, pure and lethal.
Just on that thought Tanya had enough confirmation that wherever this dismembered weapon of mass destruction came to reside, would be better than at the hands of Oroku Saki and his minions, who most likely had been halfway on blowing masses of people in fireworks before the young colonel meddled with their plans.
"Beautiful…" the agent said as he looked at the content inside the glass. The glimmer of the rocks being reflected on his dark shades. For a moment Tanya thought she noticed his eyes under there…hungry…lustful eyes. However her attention was stolen by the general murmuring something to her, and when she looked at the direction of the agent again…whatever it was that she had seen, was already gone.
"You have done well Colonel!" one of the generals congratulated her. Tanya nodded and looked at the now empty suitcase, only hoping that she was indeed serving her country.
"The very last bit of pure Francium I could find lies now within your hands sir! We do not know exactly the origin of this element, such pure form of this element has not yet been discovered on earth, and as you suspected sir, has more likely been brought to us during the last invasion attempt. Either way it is highly lethal and explosive, it could not be trusted in the hands of our enemies! I am happy to report that the retrieving mission has been completed to the very last detail!" Tanya said and then looked at them with a meaningful expression on her face "And I hope this...gift of space... will be of a good use to our country!" she added while the men in front of her nodded.
"You will be rewarded for your service to our motherland Colonel!" the other general said "Tonight you might have earner yourself just another honoring grade!" he added but such statement caused no change on the girl's face. Her expression remained cold and stoic.
"I would be honored sir!" she added saluting him. For a moment everything went quiet and Tanya was waiting to be dismissed but the voice coming from the man on the suit in the middle of the table brought her back to reality.
"You are hurt colonel Grey!" the agent said gesturing at her arms and face which were full with cuts and bruises from her fight with Karai and Hun "Did you face any inconvenience during the delivery?" he asked raising an eyebrow from behind his shades.
He expected to get some kind of reaction from Tanya, maybe anger or exhaustion, but the girl remained calm and composed as she answered.
"My mission didn't go unnoticed by the enemy sir! Getting in the building and locating the objective was almost easy, however the security system, programmed to protect the objective from intrusion was highly advanced and our technicians were unable to get past the firewalls. That is why I had to carry on the mission in a somewhat old-fashion manner, which led to the enemy following me down, outside of their base in attempt to retreat the cargo from me! However their attempts went in vain! I was able to eliminate most of them sir,I am happy to report that the leader of Purple Dragons has been left in critical condition, which may very well result to his death. Unfortunately I didn't have the means to sabotage their whole base, and with your command the daughter of Oroku Saki remains unharmed!" she explained leaving some of the details out of the story. The Foot clan had had many past encounters with the army, some bad and some good however lately it seemed that things had taken a toll for the worst and Oroku Saki, their clan leader, had become a sworn enemy of the Army…a quiet powerful enemy which you couldn't just put out of the picture without drawing attention to yourself, as much as Tanya would have wished to be the one to do so. There was enough dirt that man could sweep from below the carpet to ruin every first and last military figure…including the brown haired woman.
"Those little pests…" the agent exclaimed as he examined the Francium in his eyes "…however they won't be a problem for long…that I can secure you Colonel! We can not committ a full force attack on the Foot Clan, neither can we attempt to dispose of its leader, since we do not wish for attention to be brought our way however...we will hit them when we have already achieved our goals and they have failed! We will hit them when they are at their weakest!" the agent added now looking at the brown haired woman as she looked back at him without showing any form of gratitude towards his words. He was almost fascinated by the lack of emotions in this soldier.
"Anything else you would like to report…" the agent added as if taunting her "…Colonel?"
Tanya had had a long battle with her thoughts as she made the way towards the Base not so long before. The creatures she had seen today, those fascinating beings in the shape of turtles had of course been an intervention to the whole plan, and an intervention was always to be reported…it was after all her duty as a Soldier. However…
Colonel Tanya Grey had never been the one to follow orders until the end. She remembered the expression of the one called Leonardo, how he had fought beside her with a nobility she had yet to see from any human being. How he had honorably kept his promise to not fight her further, how he had looked at her in shock and disbelief when she had given him that last message:"There is no Honor in Death!"
He had been perplexed, confused and she had been…curious. A strange excitement she hadn't felt since the Deployment times filled her body. She wanted to know more, she wanted to see them again, ask them just what the hell they were. So as the man asked her about specifics Tanya simply shrugged it off with the most believable expression in the world, leaving the brother Turtles out of the equation.
"Nothing else sir!" she added and the men nodded looking at each-other and then at the Francium still in the Agent's hands.
"Very well…" the Agent said taking the lead of the discussion and starting to place the Francium back on the suitcase before handing it to his underling.
"You may continue with your other duties now Colonel, dawn is after all…" he said looking at the clock with a sick smile on his face "…approaching. And you may start this day thinking that you helped make this city…just a little bit safer!" the agent added as Tanya stood up and greeted all of them formally.
"It is my duty and my Honor Generals…Agent Bishop!" Tanya finally said addressing the man with his name, not knowing that she was speaking the name of a monster whose arts laid in lies and deceiving. The man smirked at her direction and got up walking towards her. He stood beside the women eyeing her from head to toe as if valuing her worth, for a moment Tanya almost thought he was sniffing her before he turned his back and made a sign for her to leave the premises.
"You are dismissed Colonel Grey!" one of the generals said starting to lay out some documents and papers Tanya didn't have time to examine "Make sure to check on your wounds before you join your troops for training!" the general added and Tanya nodded saluting a last time before getting out of that room, with a heavy heart but a curious head.
(At the lair)
Leonardo laid in his bed wide awake, for what seemed like really long, agonizing hours. It wasn't that he hadn't been sleepy, on contrary his eyes would close from tiredness and then shoot open within a second as he imagined the horrors that would follow him in his dreams. He didn't want to see her, at least not tonight. He didn't want Donnie's words to be true, he didn't want to believe that he might have foolishly led his clan towards a slow destruction just because of his confusion, it just couldn't be true. She…she hadn't been dangerous, she hadn't attacked him, she hadn't wanted for him to fight. Hell she hadn't even screamed when she came sight to sight with such a creature as himself. The girl had been shocked he could tell, even with her emotionless and taunting face it was easy to notice the traits of shock and surprise when she came to stand in front of him…a freak. Yet she hadn't let a voice, except to tell him to get away from this battle, that it wasn't his battle. Maybe she had been right…
That girl…
Almost instinctively Leonardo clenched his fist around the handle of the sword the woman had thrown to him, the weapon which secretly held some letters engraved in its wood…
"Tanya…" Leonardo spoke out loud simply to see how that name would roll of his tongue and sway in the air. It was beautiful…he wondered it was really her name.
Leonardo glanced at the knife for what seemed like forever. It was a combat knife, much shorter than his own Katana but sharp and heavier, the blade wasn't thin and bendable, it was rather solid and thick. This weapon didn't require the swift and delicate moves of his own to be possessed, rather it needed someone strong and wicked to bear its handle. If he hadn't seen it from up close, it would be hard for the turtle to imagine Tanya's delicate hands touching such a heavy weapon. This weapon was made to kill, it wouldn't offer the opponent even a chance at fighting, its sole goal was to be painted red in thick blood. It was not the weapon of a ninja…but what did it represent?
Leonardo knew from the moment he had seen her fight that night, that the girl had no connection whatsoever to Ninjitsu nor martial arts, her skills with guns and such heavy weaponry showed simply that she was a combat fighter, trained to fight under pressure and end her enemy everytime. Leonardo wondered why she hadn't finished Karai right then and there, hell he wondered why she hadn't killed him and his brothers as well…not that he wasn't thankful for that, it was simply just too confusing for Leonardo. Hours had passed and gone by and yet still the blue masked turtle had no clue as to what had really had happened that fateful night.
Running his big finger upon those delicate shimmering letters one more time Leonardo now wondered if that sword held any sentimental value to the woman. He wanted to return her the favor, shoot that blade right back at her and give the woman a message of his own.
"There is no Honor in Death!" those words replayed in his head over and over until Leonardo felt the need to throw his pillow up his head and growl in annoyance.
"What does she know about Honor anyway?" Leo wondered in his head. He had seen the girl fight, he had seen how she would use any opening, any tactic just to get her win and her victim, there was no honor in her moves, there was no nobility in her goals, how could she lecture him about honors?
Leonardo wished to see her again, she had hypnotized him, the turtle didn't know how but one way or another he was going to get back to his senses and face her righteously. She could either be an Ally or just another name in their enemies' list, and he had no problem with that…or so he told himself…
(Military Base, New York)
Tanya was becoming more and more aware of her bruises and cuts as she walked towards the infirmary of the base to finally see a doctor and get patched up. The right side of her face hurt, most likely the first place Karai had landed one of her unfortunate punches, she felt sore on her ribs as well, most likely the place where that freak had forcefully pushed her towards Hun as they switched places. Tanya narrowed her eyes at that memory, she had used them, she had enjoyed letting them fight her fight…those turtles.
Yet being a soldier she couldn't deny that they were something, they fought good but damn did those guys like to take their sweet time. She knew they would have gotten through even without her decision to fully step in and give an end to the monotonous fight, yet they concentrated their energy on trying to knock out the enemy, one to one, they didn't fight to kill, they just tried to hold their opponents back buying themselves enough time until they found an opening and knocked the victim out and that annoyed Tanya. Such a potential going to waste by playing ninja games, they could have been something…
Well, they could have been something once the "Big-Giant-Talking-Turtle" detail was removed from the equation. Tanya still wondered how the hell such creation came to be. The girl had seen many things in her course of life, hell during her Deployment in the Middle East Tanya had seen people bending and twisting under the burns of Naphtalin, she had suffered under each of their screams as she saw the people she couldn't help slip from her fingers…hurt…disfigured.
Yet the young Colonel had never seen something like them…something so fascinating! She wasn't disgusted of them, nor was she scared, she was simply amazed and curious about how they came to be. A strong fire burning inside of her wanting to meet them again, wanting to fight alongside or against the blue masked turtle just one more time, only to have a chance to figure him out. She felt like she wanted to rip that blue mask from his face and see his expression "naked" in front of her. Would he be enraged? Would he want to take on her? Tanya wondered.
"Leonardo…" she smirked with herself remembering the look on his eyes as she had whispered his name on the night. Oh how she enjoyed it, the feeling of power she felt when she invaded his little privacy by speaking up his name, his mesmerized look…
Tanya made her way to the medical wing of the Base with a smirk never leaving her face and the thoughts of the four turtles resting in her mind. She opened the door absentmindedly seeing that the beds of the emergency were all empty and it almost seemed like there was no one there. However Tanya knew a certain person who would most definitely be there.
"Doctor Morgan?" Tanya called pushing past the door and now fully entering the room "Are you here?"
To her surprise Tanya didn't hear anything, as she kept walking around the room trying to see if the doctor was anywhere to be seen. The room was completely white and seemed peaceful, with the morning wind blowing through the opened curtains in the room. Night was long gone and finally the morning light had hit the New York City.
"Lorrie…"Tanya finally called and within seconds she heard the unmistakable sound of heels clicking on the white tiles, grow louder until it came to a stop. Her footsteps were quiet and relaxed, showing no sign of distress or worry, almost as if she was familiar to such situation.
"Why am I not surprised to see you here again Colonel Grey?" the soft voice of a female came behind Tanya. The young soldier smirked and raised her shoulder in a "I don't know" manner, while looking at the doctor only from her dim reflection on the window. Her petite figure staying carelessly behind the skilled soldier.
"I have a thing for emergency rooms doc'!" Tanya said turning around slowly "Don't tell me they don't turn you on too? Cus I just can't keep myself away from them." Tanya joked coming now to stay face to face with the young doctor, looking at her in a taunting manner while the other woman simply sighed shaking her head.
"You will never change…will you Tanya?" the young doctor said as she stepped forward crossing her arms in front of herself.
Lorrie Morgan stood 5 foot tall in front of her, seeming somewhat even taller because of her expensive black high heels that added to her delicate and feminine look. The white lab coat hung perfectly to her shoulders, hugging her slender figure beautifully, with her long legs being exposed from her fitting dress which came no shorter than her knee. The woman had a playful smile drawn upon her round lips, her honey glazed eyes seemed to as she looked at Tanya, her eyes skillfully examining the young soldier for any threatening wounds, her stance alert and ready to come to the soldier's aid even if it didn't seem so in the beginning.
Long blonde hair had been put up in a ponytail, to stay out of the way if needed and it fell graciously on her back. Tanya had to accept that she loved the woman's practicality, aside from her expensive clothes Lorrie was seen without a tint of make up on her face, and she kept her hair always tied back because it was deemed practical, she was not one of those high maintenance doctors, who deemed respect simply because she had gone through medicine school. Not at all…Lorrie Morgan earned her respect with her skillful hands and beautiful mind. The seemingly fragile female had made of herself one of the most successful trauma surgeons in the country, therefore her service to the Army was very appreciated as much as required.
"It's really nothing big, I just need some bandages and I'll be one my way!" Tanya tried to convince the woman who only sighed and tilted her head slightly to the side as if to examine Tanya better.
"Haven't I heard that before?" Lorrie said as she slowly approached Tanya directing her towards one of the beds. The young soldier obliged quietly while the doctor picked out her equipment form the endless shelves and drawers of that room. After a little while Lorrie came back to sit beside her taking a look at her cuts and bruises.
"Okay…I see no facial fractures. That is good!" Lorrie explained fully concentrated as she put some iodine on a piece of cotton and started to run the soft fabric on the girl's face. Tanya closed her eyes and let the doctor work quietly.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time Tanya…" Lorrie finally asked as she kept on working her way across Tanya's face with that piece of cotton. Lorrie almost knew for sure that she would get no answer to her question, that whatever Tanya was doing, wasn't up for public knowledge and yet…Yet she hoped to take a glimpse inside the young soldier's mind and somewhat ease the pain on her mind like the ones on her wounds.
"I am sorry Lorrie…" Tanya said opening her eyes to look eye to eye with the young doctor "…it is classified!" she spoke.
This time it was Lorrie that closed her eyes and sighed with a shaky breath. If only she knew what the young soldier had been up and about that night…if only she knew the encounters Tanya had had, if only she knew that she wouldn't stay in the dark for much longer…
If only she knew, it was better that way…
"I understand…" came Lorrie's answer as she continued to work on Tanya's wounds. If only she knew…
Cliffhanger, hmm could be...Sooo? How do you guys like this chapter, bett you didn't expect Bishop to show himself this soon huh? What do you think about my approach to the turtles, what about Tanya, do you like the way I portrayed them? I am also dying to know your opinion on the new Character of this story, Lorrie Morgan, do you guys like her?
I will be posting the next chapter really soon, I am extremely excited to get to writing it! But until then please let me know how you liked this chapter! Please please Read and Review! See you next time :)