AN: I am sorry for the HUGE delay on this chapter, but- well, as you will soon see, I had a LOT of characters to deal with, and as I have discovered, fight scenes with large groups are really COMPLICATED. Also, I will NEVER EVER EVER do a fight scene in a museum again. Why? Too much research and to many headaches keeping everything straight, for one thing. It was bad enough that I had the Turtles, Wyverns AND the Pack to keep track of, but Shredder and his goons, as well- and all in a very large, complex, and most importantly FRAGILE environment! And now I have the literary guilt of trashing one of New York's cultural treasures. I hate myself right now...
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Chapter Eight: Showdown!
We raced to the scene swiftly- on gargoyle wings, no less- much to Leo's misgivings. Still, I had to admire his willingness to accept the faster mode of transport from our friends, in spite of his fear of heights. Raph, of course, was also reluctant, mainly due to being adverse to depending on someone else for assistance. He's always been the self-reliant type. Mikey, naturally, was ecstatic, relishing the opportunity to fly once again. Hudson carried Bronx, and Angela carried me. Broadway picked up Mikey, Goliath took Elisa, of course, while Brooklyn was Raph's "ride". Donnie had rigged up a tethered glider for himself and our leader, which Goliath pulled behind him like a kite.
We landed on a rooftop across from the museum less than five minutes later, to discover a large hole in the front doors. "I take it this Pack of yours isn't big on subtlety?" I asked no one in particular. There were at least a dozen cops surrounding the front of the building with five squad cars, and a helicopter hovered overhead, shining a spotlight on the museum. We were lucky their attention had been elsewhere, or we might have been spotted. No doubt there were other officers at the other exits, but I suspected they wouldn't be enough.
"No, but they don't NEED to be," answered Broadway. "These guys are BAD news. One's been genetically altered, one's a robot, and the other two had a bunch of cybernetic parts installed." He pointed to the strange drill-nosed vehicle poking up from the ground next to the left side of the building, and asked, "What is THAT thing, is what I want to know."
"That's one of Shredder's transport modules. He must be after something in the museum." Leo replied grimly.
"I thought you said he was out to take over the world? Why would he be breaking into a museum?" Brooklyn wondered, his brow-ridges furrowed in confusion.
"Doesn't matter. Whatever he's after, you can bet it's not for anything good." Leo answered, as he drew out a grapple to slide down to the ground below.
"Why do these things always happen to us?" Raph wondered aloud. "I mean, seriously- Shred-head and this Pack BOTH showin' up at the same time?! It's like bad karma, or somethin'!"
"So how do we get in?" Lex asked, perplexed. "They've got that place surrounded. We're sure to be noticed."
"Not if we slip in from underground," Donnie replied smugly, holding up a computer tablet. "I pulled up the blueprints for the museum just now, and there's a grate down in the basement that leads to the sewers. There's a manhole in the alley below us; we can use it to go under the barricade."
"The sewers? Ugh, gross. Well, I guess there's a first time for everything…." Broadway muttered, as we all used grapples to make our way down to the ground below. The gargoyles, of course, simply glided down. Once on the ground, Maza placed a small audio transmitter in her ear and told the team she would stay in contact to keep us informed of what was going on outside. Each of the gargoyles had one, and I took one, as well. Then she took off across the street to join the police and other officials surrounding the museum.
Raph lifted the manhole cover, and we began climbing down into the tunnel below. We quickly made our way through the sewer to the basement of the museum. However, the trip was not without its difficulties, as we soon discovered when Broadway proved too "broad" to fit down the hole, as did Goliath, and even Hudson could barely squeeze himself down it. The two largest gargoyles opted instead to enter through a storm grate nearly half a block down the street, along with Bronx, who had difficulty climbing down the shaft. The three met up with the rest of our party, and we continued on.
When we emerged from the maintenance shaft entrance into the basement, it was decided that we should split into two groups once we entered the museum proper. Goliath took Donnie, Raph, and Bronx, along with Broadway and Angela, while the rest of us went with Leo. The plan was to pin both Shredder and the Pack between our two teams, and put both off balance by forcing them to face unknown opponents. It was a given that anywhere Shredder was to be found, his goons were sure to appear, so Leo swiftly appraised the gargoyles of what to expect from the mutant thugs in Shredder's employ.
"Broadway, you and Lexington have been here before, correct?" Goliath asked before we opened the door leading out of the basement. "You fought Hyena here when she tried to steal the Mayan sun amulet. What can you tell us about the museum?"
"Sorry, I don't remember much. We were too busy trying to stop her to look around. We were in the Mayan art section anyway, and I think that's on the other end from the Asian stuff." He shrugged; Goliath sighed and frowned, looking disheartened.
"At least we kept her from destroying the amulet of Saffiro's clan," Lex added. "The museum has three levels of galleries. I think the Asian section is on the upper levels. I could be wrong, though."
We ascended the stairwell up to a small side door that led into a short hallway. The hallway was part of the administrative office section, and the other end led to the art galleries. The door was locked, but Donatello made short work of picking it, as well as the video cameras that we encountered along the way. All it took was a bit of strategically placed putty over the cameras' "eyes" by Donnie's bo, and we were effectively invisible. Once inside the public part of the museum, however, things were far more complicated.
On first glance, the main foyer of the museum was quiet- perhaps too quiet. However, steel bars had descended over all of the main entrances and windows, for all intents trapping any intruders within. It was no wonder the thieves had taken hostages, under the circumstances. We stealthily ascended to the second level, being careful to avoid cameras along the way. We ignored the Greek and Roman galleries; likewise the Renaissance Art section, though Mikey commented that he wished he could take a peek inside, as he had heard that there was a sculpture by his namesake on display there for a short time, and he had always wanted to see the man's work first-hand.
"You sure we can't just take a quick look after we wipe the floor with these guys?" He grumbled to Leo in a petulant tone. "C'mon, haven't you ever wanted to see one of da Vinci's paintings? I hear they have one here that's supposed to be another version of the Mona Lisa!" I was occasionally surprised by the things Mikey took an interest in, and this was no exception. Trust the artist of the family to be the one to seek cultural enrichment by viewing art from the very masters he and his brothers were named for.
"For the last time, Mikey, NO. We're not here to admire the art, we're here to stop whatever scheme Shredder has up his sleeve." Leonardo hissed softly. "Now keep quiet!"
"Party pooper," my green paramour muttered under his breath, earning a harsh look from the eldest.
"I'm surprised you're even interested in art- I thought video games were more your thing?" Brooklyn asked quietly, as we slipped along a wall toward the entrance to the main Asian art gallery.
"Well, I like comics, too, and those mostly use art to tell the story. That's what got me into drawin' myself. Turns out I'm even pretty good at it. What's so strange about that?" The orange-clad turtle replied with a shrug.
"Focus, guys. We need to stay sharp. Shredder and his goons are close- I can feel it." Leo warned sharply.
"Is he always this serious?" Brooklyn inquired.
"Yep, pretty much," Mikey and I both replied at once.
Hudson remained silent, but Lex muttered to himself. "Sounds like Goliath. No wonder they get along so well."
The outer gallery was quiet, but we could hear the muffled sounds of a battle from behind the doors to the Japanese art exhibit. The distinctive sound of blaster-fire rang out, along with glass breaking and shouts from one all-too-familiar voice- and several others I didn't recognize. At least two of the voices sounded vaguely animalistic.
"That doesn't sound like Bebop and Rocksteady," Leo said in a low voice, signaling us to stop.
"Nah, dude. Sounded more like Tokka and Rahzar!" Mikey agreed. "Wonder why he brought THOSE two?"
"Doesn't matter. But if it IS them, that changes things a bit. We'll need our heavy-hitters on those two. The rest of us will focus on this Pack. But just so we're clear, Shredder is our main priority. The gloves are off- this time he goes down PERMANENTLY." Leonardo's eyes turned hard, as he drew his katanas.
We cautiously opened the doors, to find the gallery a shambles. Glass cases were shattered, their displays scattered about, some artworks broken or torn. A life-size model of a samurai on horseback lay on its side; several suits of armor were in pieces on the bottom of their case. Pottery shards- some quite ancient- lay everywhere. Several unconscious guards- six in all- lay in a heap next to one wall; all of them appeared to be wounded, though still alive, which was a small miracle, considering who we now faced.
And in the midst of all the destruction, two warring groups vied for possession of a single object. A large, wolf-like creature snarled in rage, one clawed hand grasping a lacquered scabbard holding what was obviously an ancient katana. Struggling against him was an eight-foot robot with black and gold armor plating.
Elsewhere in the open part of the gallery, an enormous, spike-shelled mutant turtle with a sharply-hooked beak and wicked talons fought with a wolf-man, while a pair of cybernetic-enhanced individuals faced off against an all-too-familiar figure in bladed armor.
"Who are the human cheese-grater and the zoo rejects?" Lex asked in a bewildered tone.
"That would be Shredder, and two of his mutant thugs. The overgrown, ugly excuse for a turtle over there is Tokka, and the big bad wolf is Rahzar." Mikey answered with a grimace. "Man, Tokka's got a temper worse than Raph on a bad day- he gives turtles a bad name…."
Leonardo suddenly gasped as he saw what the two groups were fighting over. "That's the Sword of Nowhere! It's not even supposed to BE here! Guys, we HAVE to get that sword away from them!" He exclaimed, his expression a mixture of surprise and outrage. The huge robot had yanked the weapon away from the monstrous wolf-beast, and was now using some sort of laser blasts to keep him at bay as it backed away toward its team-mates.
"Sword of Nowhere?" Hudson spoke at past, clearly confused about the significance of the weapon. He wasn't the only one- I was clueless, too.
"It's an ancient blade forged from alien metal, that can cut holes in space or even between dimensions. If Shredder gets his hands on it, he could go anywhere in an instant, at will. He could use it to get in and out of almost anywhere. Or even open a door to another dimension and let something unspeakable into our world!" Leo explained, as we watched the robot toss Rahzar away like a rag doll when he tried to lunge at the giant machine again.
"Okay, so sword equals bad mojo- got it." Brooklyn nodded, affirming Leo's revelation. "Must be why the Pack are after it, too. Do you think they know what it's capable of?" He pondered aloud, but no one seemed to have an answer. Meanwhile, Tokka was still grappling with the wolf-man, and the odd pair of cyber-freaks had Shredder cornered.
"Okay, enough chatter. Hudson, you and Brooklyn take Rahzar and the giant tin can. Mikey, Orlene- you two have the robo-twins. Lex, you're on Tokka. I've got Shredder." Leo hissed softly.
"How am I supposed to fight that guy? He's HUGE!" Lex protested weakly.
"You don't have to fight him- just keep him busy. It shouldn't be too hard; he's big, but not too bright." Leo answered impatiently. The two opposing forces had not yet noticed our arrival, but that changed swiftly when Shredder was sent crashing into a display stand nearby, sending the stone statue sitting on it toppling to the floor. He looked up, and suddenly saw us all about to attack. He leapt up instantly, his body going tense as he seemed to realize he was outnumbered.
"Tokka, Rahzar! Get that sword NOW! Those blasted shell-backs are here! And who the Hell are those freaks with them?!"
The mutant pair both turned and looked our way, snarling as they prepared to obey their master. The wolf-like mutant bit down on the arm of his robotic foe that held onto the scabbard, shaking it like a dog with a chew toy. His companion threw down his opponent and rushed over to aid him, slamming into the humanoid machine with enough force to knock it down. Rahzar grabbed its forearm and yanked hard, pulling the sword free at last. The robot let go of the scabbard as its arm sparked and whirred, visibly damaged. The mutant wolf then bounded over to Shredder with his prize, his bushy tail held high in hopes of praise. I was reminded of a dog playing fetch, and suddenly felt a little sorry for the brute, for his badly misplaced loyalty.
"They've got the sword! Come on, brother, let's roast these turkeys!" The female half of the enhanced pair said, cackling hysterically. My hackles rose at the sound; clearly, she wasn't playing with a full deck. Her appearance was freakish- her hips, chest, and neck were covered by some sort of metal plating, with a bare midriff and what appeared to be robotic arms and legs. Her chest-plate was adorned with a small stylized fox symbol. Her face, while pretty enough, was frozen in what I decided was a more-or-less permanent cocky smirk, framed by dark brown feathered-back bangs that swept into an upswept, short coiffure that came to a peak in back, and two locks on the sides left long, down to her collarbone. The fingers of her right hand ended in what I could only describe as long blades like carving knives.
"With pleasure, sis," answered the other. He had dark brown hair to his shoulders in a full, straight mullet cut that gave his face a rakish appearance- but that was the only NORMAL thing about him. One eye had been replaced with some sort of implant, and the rest of his body- if any of it was left- was covered in metal armor in the same color-scheme as the huge robot, with the same fox symbol on his chest. He had clawed fingers on his gauntleted hands, which were lethally sharp.
Leo held one sword up in challenge and leapt toward his target with death in his eyes. "Okay, everyone- let's take them DOWN!" He made a flying kick at Saki, but missed when Rahzar leapt at him, knocking Leo aside. They went down in a tangle of shell, steel, and fur; Leo ended up on his back on the floor with Rahzar above him. He fended off the much larger mutant with his katanas while the giant wolf-mutant snapped at him with powerful jaws.
Leo grappled with Rahzar desperately, while Tokka turned his attention on Lexington, who had jumped up onto his spiked carapace and was clinging to his neck in a vain attempt to put the huge turtle into a sleeper hold. The mutant's clawed hands reached back to grab Lex, but the nimble gargoyle released his hold and jumped away. Tokka growled and turned around, lumbering toward him, his claws swiping at the diminutive gargoyle, who leapt and dodged about the enormous turtle like a jumping bean. The mutant hissed, and Lex slowly lured him toward a large open space where a display of three Samurai on horseback dominated the center of the room. Lex began to taunt him, leading him further away from any delicate artwork as he kept the vicious mutant busy. "Leonardo, I hope you have a plan to deal with this guy! I'm not sure how long I can keep this up!" He shouted back, hopping away from another swat from Tokka's sharp talons.
Leo had finally managed to roll away from his opponent, and was now on his feet again, slashing at Rahzar's snapping jaws. "Just try to keep him away from anything breakable! We don't want to destroy the REST of the museum's collection!" Leo shouted back over the din of the fight. Hudson and Brooklyn were tag-teaming the huge robot, with Brooklyn attacking from the front while Hudson attempted to maneuver around to take its legs out from behind with his sword.
"Sure- easy for YOU to say…." Lex grumbled, dodging another swipe from the massive mutant snapper, as Mikey and I advanced on the pair of cyber-freaks, who were intent on going after the now retreating Shredder and his prize. The man extended one arm to an inhuman length to try to grab the sword from Shredder's hand, while his partner's arms and legs suddenly became elongated and spider-like, disjointed from her body at hip and shoulder and attached only by some sort of hydraulic pistons; she used her clawed appendages to climb the wall of the display room in an attempt to flank Shredder. They had referred to each other as siblings, and I was beginning to see the resemblance, both in appearance and personality. They were clearly both nuts.
The cyber-twins had cornered Shredder once again in the outer gallery, where a number of statues on low pedestals- among them an ancient Chinese lion and several Hindu gods- stood scattered about. Saki shoved a statue of a half-naked man missing its hands at the pair, knocking it over and forcing them to dodge out of its way. "I don't know who you fools are, but your interference will cost you dearly." He warned, his voice cold and flat. The two just traded a glance and grinned wickedly. It seemed his threats had fallen a bit flat, and I decided they either didn't know what kind of man they were dealing with, or- and this was even worse- they might even be just like him!
Mikey glanced from our enemy to the two former television stars turned criminals, and shook his head. "I don't know whether to go after Tin-head, or those two clowns," he whispered to me, seeming torn. "Maybe we should just sit back and let 'em take each other out." I was half inclined to agree.
Then the male half of the pair held up one hand, and the "fingers" of that mechanical appendage shot out like tiny missiles, blasting into Saki and throwing him backward. He dropped the sword, and the female pounced, grabbing the weapon. She held it up triumphantly, cackling madly.
"Okay, looks like we're up," Mikey decided. "Can't let 'em leave with that sword!" He leaped into the fray, his nunchaku flailing into the woman's metal limbs with loud clangs. Unfortunately, they seemed to do little damage, though he managed to disarm her of the sword, which went skidding across the floor again. She twisted around to face him with a look of surprise, which soon turned to derision.
"Ha, ha, ha! Oh look, the cute little frog-man wants to play, too!" She laughed, flinging him over her shoulder to land up-side-down on his shell against a marble statute of a Hindu god.
"Oof! HEY! I'm a turtle, not a frog, lady! Wait- you really think I'm cute?" He asked, both angered by her misnaming him, and flattered by the backward compliment.
"Mikey! Now's not the time, sweetie! And no flirting with the enemy!" I yelled back, as I tackled the other member of the psychotic pair. I slashed out at him in a series of attacks with the fans; the man blocked the first two with his metal limbs, bent backward impossibly far to avoid the third, and then elongated his legs to step over me and come at me from behind. I was caught off guard by the maneuvers, having never fought such an opponent, but I growled and spun to kick out at him as his legs shrank back down. His chest plate took the impact, and he simply laughed darkly.
"Nice try, girlie, but you'll have to do better than that," he said, smirking. He made a swipe at me with his sharp claws- which had somehow been replaced after he shot them at Saki- and I was forced to go on the defensive to keep from getting disemboweled. He spun toward me with a side-kick, and I dove past to slice out with one fan at his leg, the other one held closed like a short club, slamming into his arm. He barely seemed to notice the hit.
"Is that all you've got?" He asked, clearly unimpressed. I decided a change of plan was needed. I glanced over at Mikey, who was now squaring off against the female again. "Mikey- let's trade!" I shouted, spinning over to stand next to him, my fans open once more.
He glanced at me, and nodded. "Good idea, babe- I never really liked fightin' girls, anyway- they like to play dirty." He grimaced, and I wondered if he was still sore about my tactics during our sparring match several days earlier.
"All's fair in love and war!" I reminded him; he groaned, but flipped back and spun to ram hard into the cyborg male's middle. They went down in a heap, Mikey's shell protecting his head from the impact. He began to slam his 'chucks against the man's metallic limbs, until the other flipped him off, sending him sliding across the floor on his shell. Mikey rolled to his feet, and came in again with his 'chucks spinning fast.
I faced the female warily, having already seen what she could do. Hoping to catch her off guard, I feinted left, then dove into a slide that sent my feet slamming hard into her right leg. It buckled with a metallic crunch, though the impact jarred my feet and made me wince in pain. She went down onto her back, and I slashed upwards instinctively as she came back up and bore down on me with some sort of small buzz-saw that had sprung from a compartment in her forearm. Fan met arm, and I was elated when I saw the appendage and its deadly blade separated from its owner and get sent flying.
"Why you little-! You're going to pay for that, little girl!" The crazed female cried out, clearly furious. I just grinned at her and continued the assault.
"Hey, Mikey- go for the limbs!" I yelled to my partner, realizing that those seemed to be their weakest points.
"Can do!" He called back, without even looking my way. I was flattered that he felt confident enough in my abilities not to check on me, even though I knew he must be worried for my safety.
"Stop playing with your prey and finish them off, Hyena." A metallic voice called out, coming from the over-sized tin can on legs. The cyber-bitch just laughed crazily again, and grinned wickedly. I felt my stomach begin to twist in knots as I realized she was battier than a dozen belfries.
"Oh, but Coyote, dear, I'm just getting started! You never let me have fun anymore, handsome." The woman called Hyena pouted, taking aim at me with the odd laser in her palm. I ducked behind a marble foo-dog, only to see its head explode into fragments of rubble and powdery dust. I felt my blood chill, knowing that could have been MY head. Strangely, the arm I had sliced off was crawling back to its owner; the lunatic cyborg scooped it up, and was now attempting to reattach it. Great- just what we needed, I thought darkly.
"Crap! Why didn't someone TELL us these guys could put themselves back together?!" I shouted, while I watched Hyena snap the hand I'd just severed back into place.
"Oops! Sorry!" Lex called back, looking chagrined as he clung desperately to the spikes on the lower half of Tokka's shell.
"Tough break for YOU, sweetheart!" The psychotic female cackled, sounding eerily like her namesake. She fired again, blasting another piece off of the now headless foo-dog.
"Well, I guess that just means I'll have to slice you into smaller pieces!" I countered as I dashed from behind the statue, and kicked out at her middle with a feral grin to match hers. She grunted in surprise and flew back, crashing backward into a clay figure of a Chinese warrior. It fell over onto the other half of the cyborg pair, who was too focused on trying to cut Mikey to ribbons with his finger blades to notice it in time. He went down under the weight of the statue, and Mikey took advantage of his predicament to thwack him in the head with one of his sticks, hard enough to knock the man out.
"Heh, guess he got caught between a rock and a hard place," Mikey quipped, sticking his tongue out at the downed criminal. I just rolled my eyes and advanced on Hyena, who stared down at her unconscious sibling in dismay. I decided to use the distraction to my advantage, and swiped at her again.
"Ooh, you ARE a feisty one, aren't you, honey?" She purred, turning her attention back to me. "You don't know who you're dealing with, doll-face. I'm going to teach you a lesson, sweetheart, and when I'm through with you, I'm going to turn your handsome green friend's shell into a foot bath!" I didn't know which was more unsettling at that moment- the fact that she was obviously completely off her rocker, or that her sexual orientation seemed to ambiguously lean toward male, female, mutant, and apparently even over-sized robots. Yup, Freud would've had a field day with her.
At that moment, Goliath and his team entered the gallery from the other side, and as soon as Goliath saw the oversized wolf battling Leo, he roared and charged in with eyes glowing eerily. He tackled Rahzar from behind, knocking him flat onto the floor and pinning the mutant wolf. Bronx sniffed and growled, then bounded toward the smaller room where Hudson and Brooklyn were still fending off the enormous robot. He chomped down on the machine's leg, snarling and digging his claws into the floor as he held his opponent back.
Broadway rushed over to help Lex battle Tokka, using his muscular tail to sweep the huge mutant's feet from under him. "Pick on someone your OWN size, Spike!" He roared, grabbing the turtle by his legs and holding him down until Raph could knock him out with the pommel of a sai. The giant, ugly mutant terrapin- and from his appearance and bad attitude it was suddenly obvious to me that he'd once been a snapping turtle- grunted once as Raph thumped him hard on the back of his thick skull; then he slumped down, out cold.
"One down," Raph growled, turning his attention toward the next target, which happened to be the fourth member of the Pack, the large grey wolf-man. He snarled as he sprang at the altered human, while Lex made sure Tokka was out. The two came together in a green and grey blur, the Pack maniac swiping at Raph's head with long sharp claws, snarling just like his canine namesake. I was beginning to understand the reason behind their gang's name- they acted like a pack of wild animals.
Meanwhile, Broadway had seen Shredder slinking off with the sword, and bounded after him, leaping over his head with wings outstretched to head him off in the outer gallery. "That's far enough, Ginsu-guy. Hand over the sword, and you won't get hurt- much." He rose up to his full height, tail swishing angrily as he growled menacingly at the armored man.
"What manner of beast are YOU?" Shredder asked, eyes narrowed as he took in his opponent's appearance. "Are you yokai? Tengu, perhaps? Never had I thought to see such creatures with my own eyes. Why do you aid those wretched reptiles?"
Broadway shook his head, but glared determinedly at the man before him. "I don't know what yokai or tengu are, but those are my friends you're insulting! You're gonna' wish you hadn't said that, pal. And it's gargoyle- and don't FORGET IT!" He roared, tackling Shredder. The armor-clad ninja fell backward, the ancient sword clattering to the floor as he struggled to fend off the larger gargoyle. The sword slid across the floor, while the two rolled away toward the still-unconscious Tokka.
Donatello had rushed in to help Hudson and Brooklyn, and now he was swinging his staff at the oversized robot like a baseball bat. However, his bo did little against the metal behemoth. Still, I knew it was just a matter of time before he found a weak point and took advantage of it. Angela leapt in to assist me with Hyena, growling softly at the other female as she came in low and fast, claws swiping at Hyena's face. She had a look of intense hatred on her face, which seemed out of place there. I sensed some animosity between the two, though why, I couldn't tell. The cybernetic psycho just smirked and turned her fingers into long sharp claws once more, slashing at the young gargoyle in retaliation.
I circled around, seeking an opening, and tried to use a grapple-hold on her from behind, but was surprised when her right foot swung up behind her at an impossible angle and kicked me in the back of the head! Dazed, I let go, and was doubly surprised when her head spun completely backwards. Shades of Linda Blair! I was starting to think we'd need an exorcist to deal with her. She reached back- again at an impossible angle- and grabbed my by the neck, tossing me over her head like a rag doll. I felt myself hit something that might have been another body, breaking my fall. A pair of hands came up from behind to steady me, and I glanced back to find Angela smiling at me.
"Thanks, Angela," I muttered, before turning back around to face our opponent again.
Hudson and Brooklyn still clung to the gleaming robot calling itself Coyote, trying to rip off its huge arms, to little effect. Bronx had leapt up onto its back, biting down at the head that vaguely resembled its namesake, but that didn't do much, either. Hudson tried stabbing his sword into the robot's hip joint, only to have the machine grab his sword and crumple it. He shook off the pair pulling at his limbs, throwing them into the wall near a large rice-paper painting. Donnie tried to ram his bo into it's "eyes", but found himself picked up and flung across the room to crash against a clay soldier, which toppled over and shattered. He groaned, and started to get up, only to have the robot pick up a second soldier and throw it at him. He was knocked back down onto his shell, pinned under the weight of the figure.
"I've had enough of this nonsense," Coyote said in an irritated tone- did robots get annoyed? I'd never met one before, so I didn't know. He yanked Bronx off his back, and tossed him into the other two gargoyles, who were just getting up. All three went down again in a pile, while the robot turned toward Broadway and his opponent. "Hyena, Jackal, Wolf- we're done here. Get the sword and let's leave this crowd to duke it out amongst themselves."
"Broadway, look out!" I yelled, just in time to warn him of the giant metal monster about to grab his tail. He dove away, ignoring the man he'd been grappling with for the moment. Shredder saw the distraction and swiftly got to his feet, swooping to grab the katana as he ran toward the door. He kicked at Tokka in an attempt to wake the turtle, and yelled back at the remaining mutant.
"Rahzar! To me, NOW! I have what I came for- these fools can all kill each other for all I care!" He growled, racing out the front of the gallery. I threw a shuriken after him, and it stuck in his shoulder blade. He snarled in pain, but didn't pause in his retreat. The wolf-mutant bit Goliath's arm and shook it, causing him to lose his grip. Rahzar howled, and then bounded after his master, ignoring the gargoyle leader. He paused only long enough to pick up the fallen turtle-mutant, and began to carry him as he backed away, trailing after Shredder with his tail wagging like a lap-dog.
"Hyena, they're getting away! Go after them, I'll keep this bunch occupied!" The robot shouted; the crazy cyber-chick turned to comply, but I wasn't about to let her get away. Leo was already chasing after Shredder, with a pissed-off Goliath right behind him, so I wasn't worried about our enemy getting far. Lex and Angela bounded off after them, leaving Broadway, Mikey, me, Donnie, and Hudson. Brooklyn was down for the count, along with Bronx. Raph was still engaged in a fur-flinging wrestling match with Wolf, the pair sounding like a couple of- well- wolves snarling over a piece of meat.
"Oh, no you DON'T!" I shouted, tackling her again, this time using the blunt outer sheaths of my fans to thump against her head. If she felt it, she gave no indication. Her head spun around again- yup, we definitely needed a priest with some holy water and a crucifix right about then- and she simply grinned at me, laughing sadistically.
"You're ALL mine, honey," Hyena purred at me, her blade-fingers clicking together menacingly. I was reminded of a feminine Freddy Kruger- only more demented. She started to reach for me again, but this time I ducked and yanked backward on her arm, throwing her off balance. She fell backward, but didn't fall far. Still holding her cybernetic arm, I braced and swung hard, slamming her sideways into a stone bench, before letting go and booting the back of her head, HARD. THAT, she felt.
"That's for threatening to turn Mikey into a foot-bath, bitch," I snarled, ready to deliver a second kick if she decided to press the fight.
Her sibling had finally managed to climb out from under the statue, and he stood facing Mikey and Donnie. "That's my SISTER you just kicked, girlie. You're going to pay for that!" He said, just before he raised his arms, taking aim at me with what I immediately realized were finger-missiles. WHERE in the Hell did these people get their weaponry?! MARS?!
"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, diving for the nearest statue for cover. Mikey yelled, nunchaku twirling madly as he slammed them repeatedly at the cyber-man's arms and body. It ruined his aim- fortunately- and he was forced to turn back to deal with the immediate threat. Donatello used his bo to sweep the mans legs out from under him, then kicked him in the head when he fell. He moaned, then went limp.
Meanwhile, Wolf had managed to throw Raph off of himself, and now the two were circling each other in the outer gallery like a pair of tigers about to get into a giant-sized cat fight. I decided that my life had somehow become a zoo, and maybe it was time to consider a vacation. A nice, LOOONG vacation.
I was about to turn and rush over to help Raph, when my leg was grabbed, and I suddenly hit the floor on my rear. Hyena had recovered from the boot to the head, and she looked pissed. "Dammit, what does it take to make you stay DOWN?!" I carped in an irritated tone. This was getting old, fast.
"More than you've got, sweetheart," she retorted, swinging me around by the leg she had hold of. I shrieked in a panic, and tried to curl up for protection against the impact I knew was coming- except that it didn't. I heard a yell that would have made Tarzan proud, and suddenly saw my assailant getting knocked down by one hundred seventy-five pounds of flying turtle. She let go of my leg, but it hardly mattered, since I was already airborne. I ended up smashing into the unconscious Brooklyn, which thankfully was a softer landing than I'd expected. Still hurt, though.
"Leave her ALONE, you psycho-slut!" Michelangelo yelled angrily as he slammed into her, his eyes ablaze with fury. I'd rarely seen him so pissed, but then again, he wasn't known for being very forgiving when one of his family was threatened, either. He landed atop Hyena as she hit the floor, and flailed at her wildly with his nunchaku, battering at the crazed criminal for all he was worth, until she went down in a heap. Whoa. It was times like this I was glad to be on his GOOD side.
And that's when everything fell apart. Hudson and Broadway still had been unable to stop or even slow down Coyote, but the instant the huge metal monster saw that two of its teammates were down, the machine seemed to go berserk. "You'll regret doing that, whoever you are. That's NO way to treat a lady!" The next thing I knew, Coyote shot a hole in the ceiling with a blaster mounted in one arm, and then leveled another weapon at Hudson and Broadway and fired some sort of ray, which seemed to leave them reeling with vertigo and nausea. Both fell to their knees, and the robot turned to advance on Mikey.
"You kiddin' me, dude? She's no lady! She's nuttier than a Snickers bar!" Mikey retorted, snorting derisively. I rose unsteadily, just in time to see the robot aim its odd ray at Michelangelo…..