Okay, so here's chapter 3! Enjoy :)
Chapter 3
Venus jumped down from the side of the red box, the others following suit. She went to go into the defensive when Raph stood in front of her.
"Not you, Shinobi. You ain't ready."
"And what am I supposed to do? Just sit and watch?"
"Keep yourself out of trouble until we finish this."
"I can fight-"
"With what? I don't see a sword strapped to your back and we don't want you cooking these guys like you tried their whack-bag leader." Raph growled, scowling before biting his tongue; he had been too harsh on her. She glared at him before taking a deep breath.
"Raphael, just because I am not carrying a sword does not mean I don't have one."
"Come again?" Raphael asked, confused. Suddenly a soldier lunged at him with a katana, which he caught with his Sais. The group attacked, the turtles defending viciously in return. They tried to keep a circle around Venus but they were separated when Mikey was knocked into a container. He rubbed his head painfully, springing back up again. Venus made her way to the edge of the 'horseshoe', leaning against a container. She kept out of the way, although it wasn't long until she was spotted. A ninja moved towards her wielding a vicious looking spear. She knew she could use her power over water to wipe him out but she had promised herself that she would rely on her physical training as much as she could. Plus, her powers had been a little unpredictable as of late, worrying Master Splinter.
The spear was getting closer as Venus willed herself to focus; she ducked as he stabbed it into the container, sweeping her legs under his feet before kicking him back into the fray. He hit another soldier who immediately ran at Venus, carrying a katana. She made ready to jump when she heard her name.
"Venus! Catch!" Leo drew a third katana from behind his shell and threw it towards Venus. Master Splinter was yet to finish her own casing for her sword and so Leo had had to carry her katana with his own. She caught it and brought it in front of her just as the Foot swung down. The metal clanged loudly but Venus twisted her wrist upwards, making her foe drop his blade. She then kicked him in the stomach before joining the fray.
She fought well thanks to her training. The only problem was that she would knock into ninjas or they would fly into her from being hit by one of the guys. They weren't used to having an extra team member, who herself wasn't used to fighting a mass force. When in the Foot, she only had to fight a few 'enemies', not a whole squadron. Teamwork was another lacking feature too, the guys having mastered it a long time ago and using it to their full advantage. Raphael leapt onto Donny's shell, using the boost to grab three Foot ninja from the top of the container and throw them to floor. But he didn't see Venus fighting below him and in turn Venus didn't see Raph above her. She was knocked to the ground along with the Foot ninja she'd been fighting.
"Venus!" Leo suddenly cried, trying to hold off four ninjas at once. Raph turned to see where his brother was shouting and saw the pile of Foots moving. He went over and grabbed the only green hand he could see, pulling Venus up.
"I told ya you weren't ready!" He yelled, earning another glare.
"I would have been fine if you hadn't thrown them on me!"
"You should've seen me!"
"You should've seen me!"
"GUYS! You aren't helping!" Leo shouted, knocking his assailants out with a pair of split kicks.
They continued fighting although they were tiring from their earlier race. Even Mikey slowed a little, becoming sluggish with his strikes. One ninja ran at him at full speed and the turtle kicked him in the chest, sending the ninja flying in the direction he had just come. What Mikey didn't see was Venus fighting on the water's edge. She turned just to see a lump of black soaring towards her before it crashed into her side. She dropped her sword as she fell into the water, the freezing temperature making her seize up instantly. Out of shock, she let a blast of air out of her mouth, inhaling a glug of water in turn. Her lungs burned as she tried to kick up towards the surface. But her limbs refused to respond, the darkness of the water growing ever thicker as she sank lower and lower…
"Oops," Mikey muttered, realisation hitting him.
"MIKEY!" Donny roared, smacking his brother over the head. "What did you do?"
"I didn't mean to! I didn't see her fighting there and she didn't move so-"
"We need to get her out! The water temperature could kill a human let alone a cold-blooded turtle!" Donny yelled, panicking a little as a speed boat full of Foot ninja suddenly appeared.
Venus could hear the humming of a boat and knew she was in trouble. Closing her eyes, she focused deep within, centring herself while not letting her lack of air make her dizzy. She felt warmth flood her veins as she tapped into her power over fire and kicked her legs violently towards the surface, the heat allowing them to move again. She broke through the water, the splashing letting the guys know she was alive. She took in a gulp of air before she heard Leo yell at her:
"Venus! Behind you!"
She turned to see a boat full of harpoon wielding Foot ninjas. She took a deep breath before diving back into the water. She heard faint pops as the harpoons were fired above her. She swerved and span in an attempt to dodge the sharp metal points, but seethed when one streamed past her left forearm, slicing it open. Blood mingled with the ice-cold water and Venus desperately swam towards the edge of the docks.
The Foot ninjas were yelling in confusion; Venus hadn't resurfaced yet none of their harpoons had caught her. Leo sliced the line of ninjas blocking the turtles from getting to the water before running to the edge of the dock.
"Donny, how do I find her?"
"Leo, you aren't thinking of going in there are you? You'll freeze to death!"
"I have to get her out Donny! Do you have a torch or something I can use?"
There was a sudden splashing directly behind Leo and he quickly span to find a shivering Venus gasping for air, grasping the dock's edge. Leo offered his arm and Venus took it, grabbing on tightly while he pulled her out of the water. He guided her to kneel on the ground, joining her while she caught her breath. She was deathly pale.
"We need to get her back to the lair before she catches hypothermia." Donny stated. Leo nodded, helping her up and letting her lean on him. Mikey picked up her sword and sheathed it on Leo's back. Raph frowned at the blood on Leo's arm.
"Leo, you get injured or something?"
"What? Me? No, I don't think so-" he gasped as he moved his arm, revealing the wound on Venus' forearm. "Venus, what-?"
"I wasn't quick enough in the water." She explained, smiling slightly but surprised at how raspy her voice was.
"We need to get you home, now."
Leo ran towards the container while Raph climbed up the side. He helped Venus up, Leo pushing her feet while Mikey and Donny defended against the remaining ninjas. They then leapt up onto the container while Donatello took Venus's weight, almost dragging her across the boxes. He knew a route with fewer gaps while his brothers defended the pair, giving them a head start so that they could lose the Foot. Mikey then joined Donny, sharing Venus' weight as Leo and Raph created a wall, stopping any of the Foot from following them. The former two reached the edge of the containers, Donny jumping down while Mikey helped lower Venus to the ground into Donny's arms. The pair then jumped down the first manhole cover they could find, sharing Venus' weight between them as she shivered violently. The sewers were a little warmer but they also meant that Venus didn't have to move so quickly now that they weren't being chased. The lair took about ten minutes to reach, all three turtles having wrapped their masks around Venus' arm to stay the bleeding.
The warmth of the lair made Venus' skin prickle, her shivering abating a little. She felt Mikey leave to go find Master Splinter while Donatello lead Venus to his lab. He sat her on a metal table, grabbing various pieces of equipment and cloths. He began to untie the masks on Venus' arm, causing blood to pour out again. She winced a little, prompting Donatello to fasten a leather belt tightly around her arm just below her shoulder.
"This should reduce the blood flow," he assured, not directly to her. She nodded anyway, knowing that Donny was clever, but not a medical genius. The sound of a walking stick announced Master Splinter's arrival.
"Venus? What happened here, my sons?"
Michelangelo began to explain the events of the evening while Donny waited for the bleeding to abate, soaking many towels in the process. The wound wasn't particularly deep but it had sliced through muscle. He then grabbed some antiseptic and began cleaning the wound. Venus seethed in pain, not expecting the sudden sting. She was reminded all too clearly of her first time in the lair when Donny had treated her wounds then. Master Splinter frowned in concern but trusting his son to be able to deal with the injury. Satisfied that the wound was sterilized, Don turned to the equipment on the table.
"Is the wound serious, my son?"
"Not really Sensei, just long and awkward. Venus is lucky that she wasn't impaled," he smiled nervously, earning a tiny chuckle form his patient. He then straightened his face. "She does need stitches though."
"Are you able to do this?"
"Yes. It's simple really. April taught us, although I don't know if Mikey still remembers how to do it."
"Moi? Of course I do." Mikey answered, putting his hand to his chest dramatically. "But the real question is would you trust me to do it?"
Master Splinter and Donatello looked at each other before shaking their heads. Donatello turned back to Venus, Mikey's mutterings of "that's what I thought" making him sigh. He selected a needle and the special thread April had managed to get them for these kinds of situations. He threaded it through before noticing Venus was shaking again.
"Venus, are you cold?" He asked, worried that she had caught hypothermia after all. But she shook head, and he noticed that she was paler than she was before; not from loss of blood, however. Her wide eyes were focused on the needle Donny was wielding. Master Splinter placed a hand on her right arm.
"What is the matter, Venus?"
"I've never seen a...never had to..." her voice was barely above a whisper, her throat thick and constricted.
"It is just a needle, my child. Donatello needs to seal your wound to avoid infection."
"I know, it's just that..."
"You are scared?"
She nodded, shame flushing her cheeks. Mikey turned in surprise; he'd not seen Venus like this before. He stepped forward.
"Hey, me too!" he stated cheerfully. Venus frowned.
"Really?"
"Yeah! I hate needles! Once, April had to give me a shot of painkiller when I sliced my leg open during a battle and I nearly passed out. The guys had to hold me down so that she could help me, I was struggling so much."
Venus nodded, appreciating Mikey's attempt to comfort her but knowing that she needed the stitches. She just hated the idea of a needle... she couldn't even finish her thought. She took a breath, bracing herself. She held out her arm, signalling Donny to begin. He inserted the needle as gently as he could into her skin, feeling awful; he didn't have anything to numb the skin, which was naturally thicker than a human's, and therefore required more force. She didn't wince, however, for fear of worrying Donny, but instead inadvertently grabbed Mikey's hand. He didn't protest against the vice-like grip, knowing what she was going through.
Master Splinter watched in admiration at the control Venus was exerting. She had released Mikey's hand after three stitches, allowing him to clutch it in relief. She instead closed her eyes, focusing on the environment around her rather than the pain. Seven stitches later and Donny was done. Venus jumped off the examination table, following Master Splinter's advice to sit on the sofa with a blanket whilst Mikey made them all some hot cocoa and Donatello cleaned up the mess that had been left behind.
"Well done my son. You overcame your self-doubt to help your friend and in doing so save her."
"Thank you Master Splinter," Donny replied, not bothering to ask how his Sensei knew he was scared about stitching up Venus' wound. No matter how many times he told his brothers that he was an engineer, not a doctor, they still believed him to be a genius in every scientific department. He sighed, washing the blood off his hands before joining Venus in front of the T.V.