April had a hard time keeping up with Leonardo as they circled the enormous building. He kept completely to the shadows now, and she had to strain all her senses and muscles to stay behind him. Her lungs felt like they'd been filled with cold water and shoved into a deep freeze, and the metallic taste in her mouth had turned to blood, but she forced herself to run after him.
Leonardo. She'd forgotten how stubborn he could be…probably shouldn't have mentioned that Raph would be there until the absolute last minute. She doubted he'd wait for her if she stopped to puke her guts out.
Each time she felt she'd reached the limits of her endurance, Leo would run faster. Each time, she rallied what was left of her body to keep up. But finally she hit a wall; stumbling to a halt, she dropped to one knee, panting, holding her side tightly where the stitch threatened to come undone and spill her guts on the pavement. It was as far as she could go.
"You actually believe this meeting with Angel is going to do some good," he scoffed at her.
From the corner of her eye she saw him leaning against the shell of a bombed-out car, arms folded tightly across his chest. Then she retched large quantities of blood-streaked vomit onto the pavement.
Gasping, April did her best to wipe her mouth clean. She began removing the black trench coat, but Leo made a sound of disgust. "Keep it. Please. Listen, your fifteen minutes are up. I suggest you either get up and follow me now or go back to your Keepers at the Asylum—if they still want you, that is."
"At least I'm doing something." Her throat felt thick and swollen. "At least I'm trying, Leo."
"Whatever. If I were you, I'd try to find a safe transport out of the city, buy a new identity, and move on with your life. Maybe you'll find other people to use."
"This is my fight."
"This fight doesn't want you, April. You don't fit anymore. I bet when Shredder finds out you've escaped, he won't even care."
Moving gingerly on hands and knees, April edged away from the puddle of sick and forced herself to be calm. "Don't hold back, Leo. I'm all ears. But you know what I think?" And she flashed a yellow-toothed grin at her old friend. "I think that those are things you believe about yourself."
Leo's attitude of casual boredom suddenly boiled into something more dangerous. He moved toward her with fists clenched, but she ignored him and pressed on.
"You're respected among the rebels, but you're not really one of them. They'd simply replace you if you got yourself killed." Tentatively she reached up and touched his forearm. "Mercenaries aren't heroes, Leo. They're not close like brothers-in-arms, like family. No one misses them when they're gone."
"That's not true; I'd miss ya, Leo."
April's head snapped up in alarm, but she could see no one else on the street.
Leonardo grunted. "Spader."
"That's Spades to you," the voice purred.
A lean figure slipped gracefully down from a nearby fire escape and bowed to April with a number of elaborate flourishes. Heedless of the vomit spattered around her, he reached down and kissed the back of her hand. "What a lovely black coat, my dear."
"Congratulations, April," Leo smirked. "Angel's sent none other than her Court Jester to meet you. That can't be a good sign."
"I steal from the Rich and give to the Fabulous, that's all."
April had to hand it to Spades; he'd single-handedly rescued Flamboyance from the Shredder's Manifest Destiny of Destruction. His dingy, loose-fitting clothes were patched with every color of the rainbow. A black Carnival mask covered the upper part of his face, while a few straggling ostrich plumes bravely waved from the top of his wide-brimmed felt hat. At his side was slung a long, ebony-black bow and quiver of arrows.
Leo hauled April to her feet, allowing her to steady herself for a moment on his arm. "My duty to Casey is fulfilled." Catlike, he slipped away and evaporated into the darkness that edged the far side of the street. A sudden red flare erupted in the sky beyond the rooftops, briefly illuminating his battle-worn shell as he disappeared down a nearby alley.
April felt a knot clench in her stomach, felt the urge to cry out after him. Her Leo...
"General Angel will not be happy to see you've come alone," Spades said to April cheerfully. He didn't seem in the least bothered by her appearance or even slightly curious about why April wanted to see his leader. "She was promised an audience with Leonardo. He still owes her some work that was paid for but never completed."
He looked up at the sooty night sky, which was punctuated here and there by ominous orange flashes. "Best get going if we're going to make it back tonight."
"Is it far? I don't think I can walk much further…." Inwardly, April questioned whether she could even stay on her feet for much longer.
"Oh, we're not walking. We're going to fly, of course; probably a good thing that we got all that vomiting out of the way ahead of time. But first, Miss O'Neil," and he removed a strip of cheerful pink fabric from his sleeve, "I must blindfold you. Protocols of the Resistance and whatnot."
She didn't protest as he tied it over her eyes; it smelled pleasantly like fruit—rich peaches or apricots. A smell she hadn't enjoyed in years. Suddenly her heart lightened, and hearing Spades laugh, feeling his gentle hand guiding her back to the fire escape, April felt her hope come crawling gamely back.
He's stronger than he looks, she thought as he carefully lifted her over his shoulder. Hanging upside down from the back of a stranger, suspended above the vomit-spattered pavement, April tried to picture Donatello's eyes. Trust, she remembered.
"This isn't a dignified way to travel, but don't worry—it's going to get much worse," Spades promised as he crawled up the steep steel ladder. She laughed.
Shocked, April covered her mouth. A laugh? It had been ten years. A laugh.
The concrete roof of the Power Plant was cold. The sound of Karai's voice, her hourly pronouncement of the Shredder's omniscience and mastery, rang faintly across the city. April could smell a sour mixture of sulfur and ash and diesel on the wind, but the scent of fruit and Spader's cheerful whistle made her laugh again in spite of it.
Two laughs in one night….
"Okay, this might feel a little funny, so let me explain. We've captured an Utrom exosuit and modified it for our purposes, but we still need to disguise ourselves, right? We need to look Utrom. Now," he continued, turning her so she faced away from him and pulling her firmly against his chest, "I have a special feature in this mask that cloaks our true appearance. Two very attractive people will soon appear to be one wrinkly, walking brain. Blue-eyed, I expect, but still rather squidgy. Hang on."
April waited expectantly but felt nothing except the beat of Spades' heart through his thin shirt. Then a metal clasp closed around her legs and arms, locking her firmly into the suit. She felt a burst of energy surround her like sparkles of static electricity; she assumed this was Spades' mask projecting its cloaking image around them.
"Whew! Good thing Leo decided not to come—there isn't a ton of room in here. Right—takeoff in ten…nine…"
"That's some mask, Spades."
"Beware the Phantom of the Apocalypse, my angel."
Rockets roared; she felt his muscles tighten as he guided the superhuman suit into the thick haze over New York City.
One angel on her way to meet another….