Gods Above, Mortals Below

Donatello was surprised. He'd been hoping Luna would know how to free Leonardo, but her bold familial demand astonished him. He exchanged bemused looks with Raphael and Michelangelo. They looked just as confused as he felt; though Mikey's gaze was fogged a little by pain.

"Diana," Luna drew the name out warningly, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping as she scolded thin air, "If you don't get back here right now and undo what you've done, I'm telling father how you snuck into Zeus' pleasure palace."

There was a moment's pause then the other goddess reappeared, right in the infirmary.

Raphael tensed and reached for his sai, but Don put a hand on Raph's shoulder and shook his head warningly. Don had already seen this goddess in action. Nothing they could do would change the outcome of this meeting. Luna had called her, so presumably, she felt she could handle it.

This goddess was tall and willowy, with long brunette hair captured in a tight bun against the back of her head. She wore loose white leather pants, a white blouse with billowing sleeves, and a strange sort of white leather vest that resembled a sleeveless hoodie. A silver bow was slung carelessly across her shoulders and a quiver full of large golden arrows crossed her back.

Donatello suddenly made the connection with her name. No wonder they couldn't get a hit in edgewise earlier. This was Diana, Goddess of the Hunt; who, according to mythology, could control animals. He glanced at Leonardo's still form and grimaced.

I guess we're close enough to fall into that category.

"Hello Sister," Diana said, mockingly. "I see you lived through Zeus' scolding."

Raphael eyed the goddess and fidgeted angrily but Luna ignored the taunt.

"Diana, what in Hades did you think you were doing? You attacked our family!" Luna was trying to keep her voice level, but she wasn't really succeeding.

"Actually, they attacked me," Diana replied. "I'm family and I don't see you scolding them."

"After you appeared without warning, didn't explain who you were, held them against their will, and kidnapped a piece of my soul," Luna hissed softly, her voice all the more menacing because of it, "I think they had reason."

"Look Luna," Diana said, sharply. "Mother sent me to keep your precious family away from Zeus because she knew they couldn't control themselves where you're concerned. You should be grateful I acted."

"Your actions provoked them without need!" Luna retorted, through clenched teeth.

Diana shrugged, "I needed the workout."

Diana turned away from Luna's glare and walked to Leonardo. She paced deliberately around him; lightly dragging her fingertips up one arm across his shoulders and down the other, with a look bordering on sinful admiration.

"This one's quite the strategist," Diana drawled wickedly, "He almost had me a few times. With a little training he could be extremely...dangerous."

From the tone of her voice, the kind of training she had in mind wasn't restricted to the battlefield. Luna's eyes went flat, and just the ends of her hair began to flicker.

"Remove your hands from my soulmate now or I'll remove them for you," Luna growled threateningly. "If I do it, you won't have the use of them for weeks."

Don's eyes narrowed as he watched Diana's little display, gleaning all the information he could. There was more than a hint of envy there. Resentment practically oozed out her pores and the little sneer on her face said she didn't think much of Luna.

He saw Raph start to move in response to Diana's antagonism and cautioned him to stay put with a sharp glance. There was a power struggle going on between the two sisters and Luna would only look weaker if Raph interfered.

The glare Raph sent Don in return said he was near his breaking point. Donatello was actually surprised Raphael had held onto his temper this long. It seemed his self control was improving further as his relationship with Luna progressed.

Michelangelo watched the drama unfold as if it were a soap opera. Of course he was confident Luna would win if it came to a fight. Donnie wasn't so sure. Luna was not at full strength, Sol was missing, and there was an undercurrent of something else going on here. He just couldn't pinpoint it yet.

"Now Luna, don't be like that," Diana pouted, her face the epitome of a spoiled child denied a treat. "We used to share our toys. Why don't you give him to me? It would show Zeus that you can be civilized after all."

Luna glared pointedly at Diana's hands, still clasped about Leo's forearm, and refused to dignify that last remark with a response.

Diana reluctantly released Leo, with one last lingering pat to his forearm, and walked away as Luna held on to her temper by the skin of her teeth. It was all the more difficult with Raphael's outraged indignation flowing strongly through the bond.

Luna counted ten slow, measured, breaths before she spoke again, softly.

"Diana, they are family. You will treat them with the respect they are due or you will answer to a higher authority," Luna reminded her.

Helios did not allow familial disrespect in any form. Bloodline and family name were paramount in Olympian society, and Helios' penalties were harsh and immediate.

"Now if you don't mind," Luna continued, "I'd like Sol, and my soulmate, back."

"Fine!" Diana said with venom, "You can have your annoying little flame. But I won't release him."

Diana gestured to Leo once again, her face a mask of jealous scorn.

"If he really is your soulmate, Sol's all he'll need to be free. If not," she smiled deviously, "then all Olympus will know how deceitful you truly are."

Raph drew a sharp audible breath. So that was her game. She wasn't satisfied with Luna's disgrace, however unearned, she wanted Luna totally discredited as well. But why?

Diana waved her hand and Sol reappeared. She watched with smug anticipation, expecting the soul to float back to Luna. Instead, without delay or hesitation, Sol zipped straight into Leonardo and he melted back into motion.

Leo fluidly centered himself into a neutral stance as his gaze swept the room. If he was startled to be in a different location than before, he didn't show it but his eyes widened when he saw Luna in front of him facing off with the other goddess.

With a snarl, Leo executed a fast turn and switch maneuver, and Luna was suddenly behind him as he took up a defensive posture. She could feel his boiling anger but he made no further move. He simply shielded her with his body and waited to see if the intruder would bring the fight to him.

Diana swallowed her shock and disbelief, trying to mask it behind a face stiff with indifference. But not before Don noted it.

She raised a brow. "Protective, isn't he."

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Leonardo demanded, in a low threatening tone.

Luna glared daggers at Diana over Leo's shoulder until she answered.

"I am Diana, Daughter of Helios and Selene," she said grudgingly.

"And she's here," Luna said, sternly, "to clean up her mess."

It was noon before Luna finally fell into bed, completely exhausted.

Another short, sharp, argument had ensued, but she'd managed to convince her sister to undo all the damage the fight had caused. Afterward, Diana was only too happy to leave the sewers; making frequent disparaging remarks about the unsuitableness of her surroundings.

Then, Luna carefully supervised Leonardo as he practiced his healing on Michelangelo. He was getting better at controlling his energy, but he had already taxed himself against Diana and Luna wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.

Donatello's unquenchable curiosity drove him to record the whole procedure for later study. He set up a ton of cameras and lamented loudly about the lighting and lack of appropriate scanning equipment to capture it all.

Raphael refused to leave Luna's side; his suspicious glare constantly traveling over the empty room, waiting for the next interruption. His temper was frayed, and staying in sight of her was the only thing keeping his fire contained.

But with the five of them packed in so close it was getting a little claustrophobic in the infirmary and Luna was beginning to show signs of stress.

Michelangelo lay quietly throughout, his gaze flicking from face to face as they all gathered about him. He ignored Donnie; more than used to tuning out his genius brother's constant muttering.

Raph to Luna. Leo to Raph. Leo to Luna. His sharp eyes checked the emotional temperature of each relationship. But mostly he watched the parade of feelings that flowed over his sister's face.

She was obviously overwhelmed. Anger, anxiety, fear, and dread were her most common expressions, tempered with relief at their safety and love as she surveyed them. But really, more than anything she was tired, confused, and needed some time to herself to regroup.

She's at the end of her rope. Dammit, why can't she get even a moment's peace?

The second he was fully healed Mikey sat up, slid off the table, and faced his brothers.

"Look bros, we all need to compare notes, but everyone's tired and quite frankly a little too cranky. Hows about we all hit it for a while and have a family meeting later?" he said.

Michelangelo wasn't taking no for an answer, deliberately crowding his three siblings toward the door. One quick glance back at Luna's relieved expression was all the encouragement he needed to keep them moving. He forced them out into the hall and shut the door firmly behind them.

Michelangelo prowled from room to room restlessly. He'd managed to get his brothers corralled into their rooms, if not their beds, with the promise that he would stay up and keep watch over the lair. They were exhausted, but with his cells just reinvigorated from the healing Mikey felt like he'd had a good twelve hours rest.

The necessity of keeping watch in their own home was enough to make him nervous, but that didn't adequately explain his current agitation. He felt outraged. No... angry and neither were emotions he was used to handling.

Luna was suffering and the situation just kept getting worse. The 'powers that be' seemed determined to degrade her. Charon wanted to destroy her for her soul and power. Her own sister was more inclined to discredit than support her. There had to be something he could do.

Michelangelo couldn't help feeling that he was staring at a puzzle with large sections still missing. There was an awful lot of maneuvering going on that they knew nothing about. They needed more information on the situation. He sighed, frustrated, wishing he could see the bigger picture.

Everyone needed to come together, he decided. They were all holding some of the missing pieces. They just needed to start at the beginning and work their way through Luna's story one step at a time. Then they might have some hope of finishing it and finding some peace.

It was definitely time for that family meeting. He'd call one as soon as everyone was up again.

Decision made, Mikey let his mind wander as he continued to patrol their space. And without fail, his mind wandered back to Luna. She was his first thought in the morning and his last as he went to sleep. This time, though, he wasn't contemplating his brothers' relationships or their current problems; he was just mulling over the goddess herself.

Luna was fascinating. She was a complex mix of, well...everything; and he never really tired of thinking about her. She had a mysterious past; a really, really long one. And even though Mikey was by no means a history buff, he wanted to ask her a ton of questions about the things she'd seen.

She also had strong, if somewhat unreliable, powers. This only brought her closer to his heart, as it made her more like the heroines he'd followed for years in his comics. It also made her more approachable. She wasn't always the overwhelming goddess he'd seen burst into the infirmary this morning. Sometimes she was just as vulnerable as the rest of them.

Like yesterday, when she broke down on his shoulder. He had been surprised when she turned to him, thinking that one of her mates would have been chosen instead. But he was proud that she trusted him enough to expose her feelings that way and happy to know that even though she had his two strong brothers, she needed him too.

She had an amazing number of facets to her personality. She was fun, witty, and quick with a comeback, as he knew from his hours of conversation with her while she was recovering.

She was extremely intelligent. Mikey had listened in awe as she and Donnie held discussions about universal constraints and energy theory, and she posed some scenarios that even had his genius brother scratching his head and saying he had to think about it.

She was wise. She never just gave Don the answers he sought; she guided him, challenged him, and let him form his own conclusions.

She was compassionate, always trying to improve the situation of those around her. Mikey really wasn't surprised to find she was working for a shelter before her attack. She truly cared about the lives of others. In that way, she and Leo were very much alike.

She had a bit of a temper. Nothing so extreme as Raphael's constant rage, but Mikey definitely wanted to stay on her good side. He seen her scolding the others and was glad she hadn't had a reason to take him to task.

Her true anger was amazing. He thought back to the sight of her this morning when she burst through the infirmary doors. Her face was stern and righteous, her hair literally on fire, but it was her sheer presence that had impressed him the most.

The overwhelming feeling of an indomitable will prepared to defend, or avenge, any damage done. The extra flare of anger in her eyes as she beheld his injuries had sent an electric pulse through him; demanded that he respond to her concern. He'd instinctively tried but Donnie had kept him on the table.

Michelangelo came out of his thoughts with a start to find he was kneeling next to Luna's bed; staring into her face while she slept. Without realizing it, his patrol had brought him to the infirmary, and it seemed he had not been stopped by the closed door.

That's ok. I'm just checking on her. Brother's are supposed to look out for their little sisters. After all, any immortal could have just popped in here behind the closed door, he rationalized.

He went back to examining her face; disregarding the intimacy of the act. She was so relaxed in sleep, and she looked so peaceful lying there. Far cry from the angry and tormented woman she had been during his healing. He wished he knew how to make the peace permanent for her.

Because her joy was the most profound facet of all.