Tracey snapped awake and a quick look at the clock on the table showed that it was only 6am but she was as wide awake as if it had been noon. Artemis was curled into a ball under the covers still dead to the world. And dead to the world Tracey would let her stay, she knew how aggravated Artemis got in the wee hours of the morning and the more hours she got of sleep, the better her mood would be for that day. Tracey muttered curses under her breath about work, early mornings, and her need to be up and moving to do something productive when all she really wanted to do was sleep. Wishing that she didn't have a morning routine that involved waking up early in the morning to go do anything else other than sleeping, Tracey carefully pushed back the blanket from her body and grabbed up her glasses, socks, and put on her shoes. She left the room and gently closed the door behind her to keep from waking Artemis, the door only creaked softly, but Tracey stood frozen in place. Looking around she found that no one was disturbed by the noise and straightened her posture. 'I think it's time for a little exploration.' Tracey thought to herself and picked a random tunnel to go down.
Choosing the one off to her right, Tracey followed the flow of water, being careful not to get wet but also glad that the soles of her boots were rubber. She walked along the grates, following the designated path before coming out in a room surrounded by water. The grates had been placed over the water to create an island of metal in the middle while a pathway led back up the way she had come. Soft lights in the water made it glow an ominous blue color, but she somehow felt it was calming and let out a quiet breath. Tracey took off her shoes and socks and place them to the side by the entrance before stepping into the center of the metal island, her back to the entrance. "I wish I had my water element here too." She sighed before closing her eyes and holding hands out in front of her. Curling her fingers into fists at her middle,
Tracey slowly unfolded the fingers of her right hand until they were flat and slid them over an invisible surface, her breathing completely even as she moved. She continued to shift her weight between the stances with ease, moving as if she still had control over the water around her, but knowing it was useless. This calming exercise continued for another hour and a half, even though the entire time Tracey was unaware of how much time had really passed.
"I have not seen such movement before. What is it called?" Splinters soft voice asked from several feet behind her.
Without stopping her movements, Tracey opened her eyes and continued to move without breaking form or her breathing. "It doesn't have a name Master Splinter." She answered quietly. "I use it as a form of meditation and it works for me. I was able to manipulate water before Artemis and I came here... I kinda miss it."
He stepped forward and watched her for a moment then began to mimic her movements. They moved in meditative silence for several minutes until Traceys stomach gurgled unhappily. Looking down at her stomach, Tracey let her hands fall until they covered her middle to try to silence her grumbling. She giggled and straightened her posture.
"Thank you for joining me Master Splinter, I'm going to make some breakfast before everyone wakes up. It's the least we can do while we're here. Do you have any preferences?"
He smiled and started back towards the kitchen. "I have always enjoyed pancakes, and I happen to know we have a stash of thick cut bacon hidden in the refrigerator inside a container of salad greens."
Tracey put on her socks and shoes again and followed him to the kitchen. She couldn't help herself and soaped up a rag so she could clean up the counters and pull things out so she could get the pancakes started. Measuring out the pancake mix, Tracey added the eggs and milk and mixed everything together. Taking a ladle, she dolloped the mixture into two pans and began to cook a few mountains of the delicious cakes, mostly because if the turtle brothers were anything like her three brothers, they were going to eat a lot. "You have to hide the bacon too? I have to do the same thing for my brothers too. All three of them would eat me out of house and home if I let them."
"I've learned to keep certain foods hidden if I want to have some." He chuckled and washed his hands before he started slicing fruit to go with the pancakes.
Eventually the smell of pancakes and bacon brought all four boys to the kitchen. "Aww sweet. Pancakes and bacon! This is like Christmas!" Mikey said with glee.
Turning from the hot pans on the stove top, she smiled and set down large plates of pancakes on the table followed closely by bowls of fruit and syrup. "Please sit and eat all you want Mikey, but it's not Christmas." Tracey said, bringing over orange juice and cutlery for all of them. "Artemis and I just wanted to thank you for your hospitality."
"Speaking of Artemis, where is she?" Donnie asked looking around as if he expected her to pop out of the ground.
"Best to let her sleep Donnie, it could be hazardous to your health if you wake her before she's ready. If we make enough noise to wake her and the dead, I can guarantee you the dead will be the least of our worries." Tracey said, taking her own seat and grabbing a few pancakes for herself before they could be whisked away and consumed. "I can make more as needed."
The boys were halfway through their second helping of pancakes when Artemis emerged from the bedroom, she was dressed, her hair was finger combed and she looked reasonably awake. Only Tracey knew the telltale signs of Artemis's 'I'm not totally awake.' expression. She slumped onto one of the high stools around the counter and blinked owlishly at everyone. Splinter took pity on her and came up with a red can of coke from somewhere. He didn't like the boys consuming caffeine but on occasion he himself needed a pick me up so he'd hidden a few cans for himself. Artemis gave him a grateful smile and cracked the can and took a long drink. "Oh sweet nectar of the gods." She groaned and pressed the can to her forehead. "I loved Greece but I missed caffeine."
"So uh… how'd you sleep?" Mikey asked, not sure how to interpret her mood.
Artemis grinned at him, the coke perking her up quite a bit. "I slept great. So what's on the agenda today?" She looked over at Tracey.
Tracey looked up from the diminished pile of pancakes on her plate and set her fork down and snagged the last piece of bacon before she had to fight anyone for it and chowed down on it happily. She licked her lips when she was finished and downed her orange juice to wash everything down. A delightful 'ah' escaped from her and she patted her stomach and leaned back on her stool with a smile.
"Happy belly." She said with a smile. "I guess when you're more awake, we'll go topside and have a look around, but I personally would take another night off. As you like to point out a lot, I live in the fast lane and should slow down, so I think we should take another night off and relax, besides..."
Tracey looked up at the ceiling as if she could see the sky through the layers and layers of concrete and pavement to the sky way above them. "It's going to be stormy tonight..."
With a blink and a slight shake of her head to break her trance-like state, Tracey smiled and collected up the dishes, taking them to the sink so she could start washing, drying, and putting them away. "What were you guys hoping to do today?"
"Training." Leo said as at the same time his brothers said; "Videogames, Chemistry and Basketball."
Leo sighed and Artemis chuckled before taking another sip of her caffeine. "Well I need to go topside to pick up some supplies."
"You have money?" Mikey asked looking a little surprised.
Artemis smiled. "Not yet. Do you guys have a printer and some cardstock?"
Donnie nodded. "I built it myself, it's 4 times more efficient in terms of ink usage and since I adjusted the jet output the colors come out much cleaner and…"
Raph groaned and interrupted. "So how ya gonna make money with cardstock and a printer?"
Artemis smiled enigmatically. "I'll show you once I've finished. Donnie can you help me with your computer?"
He grinned excitedly and the got up, Artemis carrying her soda with her, to his workshop. Raph looked at Tracey. "You know how she's gonna do it?" He asked.
Slowly Tracey turned and looked at Raph from the soapy water and dishes, an expression of complete and utter disbelief on her face.
"Oh my sweet, sweet Raphael. The day I know what's going through Artemis's head is that day that the world stops rotating and hell freezes over." She laughed and finished the dishes and turning to the other Turtles. "We'll just have to wait and see what she's up to, but if I know Artemis, it'll work."
They looked at each other a little confused but Leo shrugged and they headed off to their respective corners of their home. Artemis and Donnie finished the project she'd had him help her with and cut out the cards. "Hey Raph! I need a guide to the surface and a card table and folding chairs!"
He grumbled but gathered up the table and chairs while Artemis found a cloth she could cover the table with. "Tracey, I'll be back in a few hours!"
"Okay Artemis, I'm going to hang out down here. Please be careful and let me know if you hear anything that will involve us later in the future, lord knows I'm starting to not like surprises." Tracey said, waving her out of the tunnel and sighing. "Hm, what to do first... video games or training? Because I know I can't play basketball to save my life."
She shrugged her shoulders and threw her hands up in the air in defeat. "Living in Greece was wonderful and all, but no electricity has really killed my gaming skills and I need to level them up again, but then again learning a new fighting style could be useful especially with whatever might happen to us in this universe. Though I could just zap the crap out of my opponents, but that won't help us get answers... oh what to do what to do... training or video games, training or video games... screw it! It's video games!"
Tracey walked back into the living room and watched Mikey frantically jabbing buttons and jumped over the couch, settling herself on the cushions and watched him for a time before she couldn't take it anymore and grabbed the other remaining controller and hit 'Start'.
"I'm sorry to have to do this Mikey, but watching you get your butt kicked by a game console and not by me is hurting me." She said, selecting her character and then stopping to contemplate what she had just said and shrugged. "I hope you knew what I meant... oh well, prepare to have your butt kicked now."
"Oh you're on!" He bounced and the game was on.
Leo and Donnie shared an exasperated look but went back to their own activities while Artemis and Raph headed up to the surface. Artemis looked at Raph. "Let's set up in Central Park." She said and trotted after him as he led her through a series of sewers and tunnels.
He checked the grate and then helped her up through it handing up the table and chairs. He hunkered down to watch her through the grate and watched her spread the cloth over the table the tied a bandana around her hair and pulled her shirt down to show off her cleavage. She set out a sign and a basket and started shuffling the tarot cards she'd made. "Come learn your future. See if the love of your life is true, learn your destiny! Come get your fortunes read!"
He gaped up at her, was she seriously going to make money telling fortunes? A pair of feet approached the table and sat down across the table. She started the tarot reading and for the next 4 hours was kept busy enough that Raph had to reconsider his stance on the mumbo jumbo. She took down her sign and started lowering the table and chairs down to him and then slid down through the grate. "That was a surprise." He said looking down at her.
"Didn't think I could make money telling fortunes?" She asked with a grin.
"Not really. I mean… I thought that was old time movie stuff." He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged.
Artemis took the bandana off and rearranged her shirt then started counting out the bills and stuffed the coins into her pocket. She handed him a ten dollar bill and grinned again. "Pack mule's cut." She said and stuffed the rest in her pocket.
He laughed and stuffed the money in his own pocket. "Hey if you keep paying me I'll carry anything for you."
Artemis picked up the basket with her wrapped tarot deck. "Lead the way mule."
When they arrived at the lair Artemis and Raph were met with an unusual sight that made Raph almost wish they'd left Central Park a little sooner so he could have watched the events unfold. Tracey in full Thunderbird form had Mikey pinned under her talons and was using him to sweep the floor. Artemis walked over to Leo while
Raph put away the table and chairs. "So… what started this?" She asked.
Leo had his arms crossed over his chest while he watched. "Tracey beat Mikey for the 45th time in a row and he got a little… heated… about it. They were rough housing and he pinned her down… so she transformed and well…" He motioned to the scene in front of them.
"How long has this been going on?" Artemis asked sticking her hand in her pocket.
He checked the clock and shrugged. "About 8 minutes."
"Would you like it to stop?" She asked drawing out a handful of change.
"How are you going to stop her… I mean look at her, every time I got near her she zapped me." Donnie asked coming up beside them.
Artemis grinned and shook the change in her hand catching Traceys attention. Traceys head swiveled around huge golden eyes looking over at her. Artemis shook the change in her hand again and Traceys large head cocked to the side and she chirped. Artemis looked at the brothers as Raph moved up beside them. "Stand clear." She said with a smirk and cast the coins out onto the livingroom floor where they rolled in different directions with pings and clatters. It was quite a sight to see, a giant Thunderbird shuffling in a sizable fluff of feathers across the floor after the coins. Tracey suddenly chirped loudly several times as she spread her wings wide and she crouched down low, preparing to acquire the coins. Her talons clicked on the floor tiles as she suddenly let Mikey go, her tail feathers flowing behind her as she plucked the coins and collected them into a single pile. A rumble low in her chest soon escaped her throat in a mighty, victorious cry. She fluffed her feathers again and settled herself low over the pile of coins, talons on her feet clicking menacingly as if to dare them to come closer for her shinies.
Artemis huffed out a laugh and walked towards her reaching up and tugging her beak down to pet the feathers on her forehead. "Come on you, back to human form and give me back the coins. I need to go get supplies."
Tracey jerked her head back out of Artemis's reach and squawked a little, balking that she had to give back the shines. Plucking the clothes she had to discard in order to transform, Tracey chirped at the boys and they turned around, not needing a repeat of their first embarrassment with the transformation encounter. Picturing her human self again, Tracey let out a dying cry as she slowly morphed back into a functioning human form and her cry became more pained and she heaved for air. When the torment was over, Tracey picked up her clothes and quickly dressed before picking up the coins and hesitantly handed them back to Artemis. "The pain was totally worth it, I kicked Mikey's butt and you can turn around now." Tracey said, handing Artemis back the coins. "How did you and Raphael fare up top? And what supplies do we need?"
Artemis shoved the coins into her pocket and grinned. "I made about two hundred bucks playing gypsy. We need toiletries, hairbrushes and red ninja stuff."
Leo straightened and frowned. "Red Ninja? Where?"
Tracey's eyes widened and she face-palmed her face into the palm of her hands. A look of absolute horror washed over her and she glared at Artemis. The other Turtles suddenly became on edge as if they were waiting for these Red Ninjas to pop out from nowhere and attack them. "And you told me to watch what I say!" Tracey gasped, waving her arms around wildly. "Don't worry guys, you have nothing to worry about anything, it's just something that Artemis and I have to worry about. And apparently I have to worry about Artemis and her big mouth."
Artemis gave her friend a droll look and sighed. "Woman, only you would go banana's over menstruation. For gods sake they're guys not aliens." She looked at Leo who had a dismayed look on his face and laughed. "Leo if you hang around women long enough you'll have to deal with it sooner or later. We just need some ladies supplies."
Donnie looked up from his wrist device. "Well there's a walgreens a few blocks away that has an excellent selection of sanitary napkins, pamprin and other menstruation supplies and you'll be able to pick up anything else you need."
He glanced around at his brothers who had various expressions of disgust and dismay on their faces. "What? Human biology is a fascinating subject and I've always been fascinated with the reproductive system…" He trailed off realizing his interest was not shared in the least.
For a moment Tracey's face softened and she couldn't help but laugh a little and patted Donnie's shoulder reassuringly. "The miracle life is always an interesting topic to talk about and Artemis can relate to that. You should talk to her about her son Eryk, that little boy is a smart cookie and has a lot of character." She said, giving him a kind smile. "Thank you for the directions Donnie, we shouldn't be too long and when we get back Artemis and I will make some lunch. Come on Arty, let's go."
Tracey suddenly stopped and turned to Mikey to give him a fist bump. "When you want a rematch..." She laughed. "Or your butt handed to you again, you know where to find me."
He bumped her fist and grinned. "Oh we'll see who gets whose butt." He replied then pause. "Wait…"
Artemis laughed and led Tracey out into the tunnels. Leo looked at Raph and shook his head. "I don't know who we should worry more about… Them or Mikey."
Raph shook his head. "Worry about Mikey. Art is a hustler, you shoulda seen her. She was telling fortunes with these weird cards and people were eating it up." He shrugged and headed towards the exercise room.