Genjutsu Crystal Chronicles

Chapter 1: Visitor in Town

TMNT 2007

The night was dark, ominously so, with suspicious looking clouds overhead, though the citizens of New York City couldn't tell it. And many didn't care. They busily went about their business, passing up and down Broadway, watch the giant video screens and looking at all the brightly lit signs. Or watching the latest game at Madison Square Gardens. Many more were working late in fully illuminated offices and yet others were trolling the countless shops and bars open late throughout the city, scattered amongst the tall skyscrapers and the many suburbs. This was after all, the city that never sleeps.

But due to all the bright lights on the island, no one felt the ominous darkness. They were oblivious to what was about to happen.

Jets were still flying into JFK International Airport, cars still backed up on the main thoroughfares. To most people, the night seemed like any other. But to the city's night time guardians, something seemed out of place. They knew something was up, they were trained to know this. They just didn't know what.

Outside the big city and all its suburbs, far from the bright lights and many people, sat a small, old warehouse near a stream, abandoned and forgotten. Nobody had remembered it in years. Suddenly, the air began to ripple around the old structure and it began to fade into nothingness. Soon only an empty field remained. Now no one ever would remember it. Now it had never existed.

It had begun but no one yet had any idea.

Not far from the 7th Ave. and West 122th Street intersection, in an apartment neighborhood, another anomaly was forming. Before, the neighborhood was clean and well taken care of. And mostly occupied. Plenty of local shops and very few vacant apartment buildings. After the shimmering air vanished, it was dirty, mostly abandoned and most of the apartment buildings and shops were all boarded up. It was now filthy and was the perfect breeding ground for trouble. No sane person ever ventured into this part of town. And no one remembered what it had been like before.

A very desperate cry could be heard for several block. A woman had tried to follow a shortcut through this part of town instead of going around like others did. Now she was lost and fleeing up a dark ally way, scared for her life. Her name was Kris and she was regretting her choice. Close on her tail were three men, all three were grungy thugs, prepared to do their worst. The woman turned an ally corner ran out from between two brick buildings out onto a dark side street, the street lights down at the intersection shining brightly enough to make her blink, but not enough to really light the side street. The men that were waiting Kris there were not cops. There stood four more thugs just down the street a few yards. They had been waiting for her to come that way. She screamed and bolted for another ally across the street just as the three following her exited the ally behind her. All men present unfortunately followed her into the next ally way.

But someone else several blocks away had heard her scream.

This new ally was far darker that the previous one had been and Kris could see almost nothing after the lights out on the streets. But the silhouettes of the men following her were clearly visible, blocking the way behind her. Kris rushed down the alley way, desperate to find a way out, but all she found was solid brick walls on either side.

But then it got worse. Kris ran face first into a dead end. Another brick wall in front of her. Brick walls on either side. And greedy, nasty men blocking the way behind.

They had tricked her into running in here.

And now they were snickering and laughing at her as they closed in and she cried in frustration, clawing at the wall in desperation trying to find some way out or over the wall in the dark. But in resignation and fear Kris finally curled up in a corner, begging the men for mercy. But they continued to get closer and closer, laughing at her distress, their minds filled with sick thoughts.

Kris readied herself to try and fight her way through the men, to fight for her life. But she already knew she was not strong enough. She resigned herself to go down fighting.

No matter how fast he came, the hero was not going to make it in time.

All looked lost.

But suddenly there was a huge and blinding bolt of light that flashed in and struck down right on the few feet of pavement that still separated the men from their victim. The light enough stunned and blinded the men, but add to that the immense boom that also accompanied it, like a huge lightning strike and the added thunder, the men were knocked off their feet and thrown back down the alley a few steps, all dazed.

Even Kris was unsure what had happened, dazed and unable to see. But she heard a voice, feminine and concerned with her well being.

The voice had to repeat what it said, louder and more assertive before the young woman understood what it said.

"Are you alright?"

Kris still could not respond and couldn't see who this new arrival was. Her vision was still white.

"I'm a friend. My name is Luthinea. Are you ok?" the voice asked again, a hand resting on Kris' shoulder.

Kris finally nodded, but it still took her a few moments to form the words as her vision started clearing.

"Y-yeah, I t-think I'm ok. W-what happened?"

Kris looked up and saw the face of another young woman. But this newcomer's face was a bit hardened, filled with tension and covered with black hear with dark red highlights, in a wild style she had never seen before. And the newcomer wore strange black clothing, like some kind of perfect form fitting futuristic armor with skulls as the shoulder pads. And Luthinea also had a skull beret in her hair and a double belt covered in little skulls. And finally her flared, spiked high heel boots finished out a look that was almost too bizarre, even for this world. At first Kris could feel her fear welling up inside her again.

But Kris could see in Luthinea's eyes the concern for her, a wanting to protect her and make sure she was safe and her fear abated.

It was at this point that Kris realized there was still light in the alley, illuminating the scene, though it was fading. The light came from a pendent hanging from this savior's elaborate skull choker, which was even stranger than this arrival's cloths. Especially since it was glowing. Or maybe fading. Kris wasn't sure.

"If you can you better leave now, before things get messy," the newcomer said as she helped the Kris to her feet.

The men were starting to regain consciousness, and starting to move again. Kris knew she did not want to be there anymore.

"O-ok," she stammered and fumbling, used her hand to follow the left alley wall out to the street. From there she broke into a stumbling run to escape that neighborhood.

By the time she had left, the men were starting to climb to their feet, angry with this newcomer for interfering with their sick fun. But the light had completely faded from Luthinea's necklace now and so the men could not see the malice, the hatred and disgust that had filled the newcomers eyes. It was like an intense flame, almost visible behind her pupils. If Kris had stayed and had seen her savior's eyes now, she would have recoiled in terror.

Before the men could react, Luthinea threw herself at them screaming "I'LL TEACH YOU MONSTERS A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!"

...

By the time the hero finally arrived, driving up on his bike just a few moments later, it was all over. He had seen Kris running away, down one of the other streets, back to safety, but his instincts knew this was where everything was going down. The offenders, beaten almost to a pulp and tied up, were piled in the alley just like the garbage they were, waiting for the police, like garbage men, to come along and haul them away.

As Luthinea exited the alleyway and stepped onto the street, the hero dismounted his bike. His eyes were very much accustomed to darkness and,even hidden under his special metal helmet, he could easily discern the pile of ruffians in the alley.

"You ever heard of restraint, lady?" he asked in his rough voice. "Even I am rough with crooks, but those guys look like they could use medical help."

Her remark was just as curt.

"Then I suggest next time you get here in time and not force me to dirty my hands and be diverted from my mission. What are you, a local hero? Or a lazy costume wearing freak?"

"Why you...! That's uncalled for! Didn't your mama ever teach you some manners?" he irately responded.

"Did yours ever buy you an alarm and teach you to be on time? Or did you grow up in the zoo and is that why you're dressed up as a big metal turtle?" she responded.

At that he had enough. No one insulted him and his suit.

"Ok little missy, looks like I'll need to be the one to teach you some manners myself."

He released the special chains he had hidden in the metal compartments on his wrist armor. The loose weapon ends of them dropped down and clanked on the road. He meant business.

"Ooooo, I'm so scared. But I don't have time for this. I must find four real heroes and complete my mission. I can't stop for hot-tempered wannabes."

She turned and started to step away. But the hero was furious.

"Hold it right there, missy!"

The hero twirled and threw his right chain trying to catch the strange woman off guard and trying to wrap the chain around her. He was sure she wouldn't see it in time. But he was the one surprised.

Luthinea suddenly bent backwards, with her hands on the ground, easily ducking under the chain and showing off her hidden flexibility. The hero immediately threw the second chain, trying to catch her from the other side, but she leaped with incredible power into the air in a strange twirl/somersault jump and landed all the way across the street on one foot facing away from him. The hero had never seen anything quite like it.

She twirled around faster than than the hero thought possible and assumed a strange martial arts fighting stance.

"So that's the way you want it, wannabe? Fine I'll humor you."

Uh-oh, thought the hero.

As the strange woman leaped into the air and came flying at him with incredible speed, the hero Raphael knew he was in trouble.

Too late he was realizing that tonight was not a good night to be the Night Watcher. He should have listened to his brothers and left his bulky, heavy armor at home.

And as this wild woman's knee met his chest armor, the hero knew the Night Watcher was too slow to even escape. And that even this thick armor would not save him from a beating. Then everything went white.

By the time Raph's senses cleared, he was lying with his back on the pavement 20 yards down the street, almost in the middle of the next intersection, his armor chest plate severely dented in and his own front shell was numb. But everything else hurt.

Raph rolled onto his knees and looked back down the street. This strange woman Luthinea, was standing where he and his bike had been just moments before. And between them rubble littered the roadway. At first Raph was confused as to where it had come from, but then he glanced to his left and understood what had happened. On the left side of the street, a boarded up apartment building now had a big hole where a side wall used to be. And the mangled remains of his bike now rested inside the bedroom of a first story apartment. He must have bounced off of the missing wall, moments before his bike came following behind him and punched clear through.

This stranger's strength was staggering. Literally.

But even after all that, Raph painfully staggered to his feet. As he did so, he activated a secret beacon Donny had installed in the armor.

"Thanks Donny, now hurry up and get here," he muttered to himself. Then out loud he said, "Ouch. I sure wasn't expecting that. You pack quite a punch, miss."

"Are you going to stand down and let me get on with my job?"

"I may have taken quite a hit, but it will still take more than that, little missy, to make me back down."

She crossed her arms, glaring at him.

"You have no idea what you are getting in the way of or who you are dealing with."

Before Raph could respond or even react, she launched herself at him again. But instead of hitting him from the front, she slipped passed hime, landed, twirled and launched again, slamming smack daub in the center of the back, sending him flying again, all before he could blink. Her speed this time was even more incredible than the first time. Raph could barely even take it all in before his vision faded.

Once again knocked senseless, Raph was sent flying into the side of another abandoned apartment building, this one right across from the other. But it wasn't the only building he hit this time. He ricocheted off this first building, destroying the front steps, flew across the street and hit another old building next to the one containing his bike, ricocheted again and this time went flying out over another intersection and and slamming into the corner of yet a third building. Even inside his armor, Raph took a furious building and by the time his body slid back into the second intersection, rebounding off the third building, he had blacked out.

But Luthinea didn't know this.

She came flying down the street, and just before reaching Raph, leaped into the air, soaring as high as the skyscrapers in downtown Manhattan. Then, falling faster than normally possible, she slammed the back of her leg down across Raph's back. The extreme force shoved the unconscious Raph and his armor into the ground, actually creating a three foot deep crater in the cement.

If Raph hadn't been wearing heavy armor, he wouldn't have survived, even with the protection of his own shell.

...

Luthinea paused there for a moment, her leg still pinning the hero down, to see if there was any sign of movement. After a moment, she was satisfied and stood up.

"Maybe that will teach to meddle in important affairs," she said.

She turned and walked up the curve of the crater to the edge, and added, "Now I need to go find the real heroes I was sent to find. The REAL turtles."

She started to step out of the crater, but three shadows darted out from the alley several streets down, and came around the damaged corner building. She stopped and turned to look toward them.

"Stop right there, miss..." their leader started to say, but stopped when he say the condition of his brother ninja's armor, laying in a mangled heap in the middle of the crater. "Raph!"

The three rushed down into the crater to see if Raph was still alive and if they could peel him out of the mess.