Chapter 5
Despite the fact that his greatest enemy had interrupted his first ever class trip, his Lady and his new friend were in a fight for their lives, and he was having to see his friends become akumas again, Chat Noir found himself smiling. I mean how could he not as he found himself on the shoulders of a giant rhino man using his grip on the monster's horn to aim it at Lady Wifi, Darkblade, and a fish man with metal legs. With a shout of "CHARGE!" the wearer of Black Cat Ring aimed the one April had called Rocksteady toward the middle of the trio.
Lady Wifi and the fish, April had called him Xever Chat thought, both showed how quick they were by nimbly dodging out of the way, Darkblade was not so lucky as Rocksteady slammed into him with a metallic clang. Kicking off the big mutant's head with enough force to throw the beast man forward landing hard on his horned head. Chat flipped twice in the air dodging two freeze icons from Lady Wifi and bubble that almost exploded in his face from the Bubbler, with a landing that would make a Olympic gymnast jealous he rolled to his feet coming up back to back with Ladybug and April O'Neil. "Got to tell you red. I've loved my stay in your city but I think Paris has much more attractive akumas than New York. I think Hawk Moth must have caught a late night horror movie marathon when he made these guys."
"Chat, around the world," Ladybug shouted and Chat moved on instinct grabbing April's shoulder making her bend down as his Lady spun her yo-yo over their heads in a wide ark. The attack caught Tiger Claw, Rahzar, and Bubbler across their faces causing the trio to stagger back in pain. April acted quick throwing up one hand while the other wrapped around the necklace she wore. Her irises vanished making her eyes pure white as she threw whatever power it was the girl had at their attacker's knocking them off their feet.
Chat would have cheered but he saw that the tiger man was already back on his feet, as was the rhino that he had floored, and he decided he didn't even have it in his heart to be surprised when a pig man with a Mohawk came running from somewhere to aid his fellows in the attack.
"Their not akuma victims they're mutants," April said panting. Whatever power she had it use was wearing her down little by little. "When they were human they all were crooks. The mutagen just made them monsters on the outside as well."
"So their not being mind controlled?" Chat said as Ladybug and April dropped into fighting stances preparing for their enemies' charge. April nodded in the negative as she snapped her battle fan open. The smile returned to Chat Noir's lips, "so I don't have to hold back?"
"Hold back?" Ladybug questioned but her partner was already gone shooting foreword in a black blur.
Rahzar was Chat's first target as he zoomed into the canine mutant's chest with a flying knee that doubled his bigger opponent in half before a dance like move brought his staff up under the former martial arts celebrity's chin launching him into the air. Chat Noir was already moving before Rahzar hit the ground.
Splitting his staff into two he launched each piece in different directions. One shot straight into Rocksteady's left foot just as he put his considerable weight on it knocking the big former Russian mobster off his feet, the second weapon took a more exotic route.
Xever never even saw the staff coming before it rammed into his head impossibly not losing any of it's momentum as it changed direction crashing into the side of Bebop's face. Unfortunately for the former thief the blow threw him directly into Rocksteady's path as the rhino mutant came crashing down on top of him with a thud.
Chat's cat ears twitched giving a warning a second before April's cry of, "WATCH OUT," so he was already moving as Tiger Claw's sword sliced through the spot that his head had been a second before. Chat moved in close wanting to limit the Tiger mutant's use of his curved blade. Tiger Claw proved far too skilled for this to work blocking Chat's attack with the flat of his blade then using a open palmed strike to push the hero back into range for his killing blade.
Adrien only knew one way to stop the downward swing aimed at his head and get in the shot he needed to end this fight. He also knew it was going to hurt.
Instead of using his supernatural agility to get out of the way of the mutant killer's blade Chat braced his feet and brought his forearm up in a basic block. The blow sent pain up and down Adrien's arm as Tiger Claw put all his considerable strength into the blow. For a second the black cat hero thought his arm may break, but what he never felt was the bite of the sword's edge.
The suite that Plagg covered him in looked, and for the most part felt like leather, but it was made of much stronger stuff. Adrien had wagered that it would hold up to Tiger Claw's attack. By the shocked look on his foe's face it was a gamble Tiger Claw had not thought he would win.
Knowing the mutant's surprise wouldn't give him more than a second's worth of time to counter attack Chat's right hand shot up claws aiming for the eye-patch over the ruin of Tiger Claw's left eye. The eye-patch flew away in pieces as blood sprayed the air. A roar of pain came from deep in Tiger Claw's throat as he fell back hands coming up to his face.
Chat Noir turned from his downed foe to find his Lady and April both staring at him wide eyed. "What," he asked bewildered?
Ladybug did a slow blink before she spoke very quickly in french. "Since when can you fight like that? I've never seen you lay into akumas like that before."
Chat Noir answered in English, the politeness he was always excepted to show as Adrien making him almost unconsciously switch to one of the second languages he spoke so not to leave April out the conversation. "I can't attack akumas like this my Lady. They aren't really evil just being mind controlled. So I usually hold back some when we face them so I wont hurt them."
Ladybug looked on the opponents her partner had just downed and her right eyebrow twitched. "Some," she said? Whatever else she was going to say was stopped with the sound of someone clapping.
The three teens turned to see Hawk Moth standing a little distance away clapping slowly. The villain stopped clapping and April noticed he seemed to be leaning on his cane a bit. Something he hadn't done at the start of this fight. His voice was still strong and superior as he spoke. "Very good ally cat, but you didn't really think that was it did you?" The ground shook slightly as Stoneheart took a massive step towards them. Also Adrein noticed that Lady Wifi was up and ready to fight and the Bubbler was pulling himself to his feet as well.
A loud metalic clang caused Chat to snap his head to the side to see the Rocksteady was up as well and had slammed his hammer and cycle weapons together to draw the heroes' attention. "Rockesteady going to crush blonde kitty's head like grape," the mutant snarled with a snort.
Chat Noir tried to hide the intake of breath that the threat caused. A big rhino man was a intimidating figure even if you wore the Miraculous of Destruction. "Hey Bugaboo I think we need a little luck right now." He punctuated his words by kicking his two staff pieces that had rolled to his feet up into his hands forming them back into one weapon before raising it into a fencer's stance.
"Right," Ladybug's eyes became determined as she threw her yo-yo straight up into the air shouting, "Lucky Cha.." before she could finish the magic's name the yo-yo was yanked to the side with such force Paris' heroine was pulled off her feet violently. For a second Marinette thought her finger was going to come lose as she was jerked to the side until her weapon's cord slipped off her finger. The next moment she found herself skidding painfully across the ground.
Looking up she found the strange sight of her yo-yo hanging in mid air with nothing else touching it. For a second she wondered if one of the strange new foes they were facing might have the same power as April. Then something stranger happened. A gloved hand appeared around her yo-yo. The next moment it was like reality rippled as a tall figure in bladed armor was suddenly standing in their mist her yo-yo gripped tightly in his right hand.
"Shredder," April hissed out between clinched teeth, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir caught something new in the girl's voice that neither had herd from the red head yet, fear.
Perhaps the more shocking was the way Hawk Moth half whispered have sighed, "Master," at the opposing man's arrival. It sounded a bit too much to both Parisian heroes like something someone at an alter would speak of the object of the their worship. The very little bit they had been able to gather about their enemy had seemed like someone who would follow anyone let alone to the point of worship.
With a laugh that was more filled with hatred than mirth the Shredder raised the hand that held Ladybug's weapon above his head. "This is perfect. Prof that I am destined to rule. Not only has my new servant brought me the power of his akumas and a pupil of the hated Yoshi for me to destroy." Eyes devoid of even the most basic human warmth roamed over first Chat Noir and then Ladybug causing both heroes to repress a shutter of fear. "But soon the powers of destruction and creation shell also serve the Foot."
A rare flash of actual anger crossed over his Lady's face and Chat felt his adrenaline spike in his system as he started to move the same time she did. The gentleman in Adrien tried to ignored the fact that adrenaline wasn't the only thing that had spike at the look of determination and righteous fury on his Lady's face. He loved every aspect of Ladybug but when she got like this it sent a naughty thrill though the cat hero.
April noticed the duo attacking and tried to shout a warning, "NO DON'T!" her shout fell on deaf ears as both moved at the same time attacking the Grand Master of the Foot Clan from two different sides at the same time. Their teamwork was perfect, each knowing instinctively what the others' move would be and moved in to aid and enhance that attack. It was also completely useless.
Chat never even saw the two finger nerve strike to his neck. Just a jabbing pain there and then he was too busy trying not to pass out from the pain that shoot through every nerve in his body. Ladybug's flying punch was met by open palm strike that used Shredder's greater reach to connect. The attack had been with the hand that held her yo-yo in it so the villain had basically slammed her own weapon into her forehead. Darkness swam in her vision for a second before she was brought roughly back to reality as her arms were forcibly pulled forward. To her horror she realized that with a flick of his wrist Shredder had wrapped the nearly unbreakable string of her own yo-yo around her hands tying them fast.
The next instant he pulled her down on her stomach stomping his foot down on her back with such violent force Marinette was sure that she hadn't been transformed the blow would have shattered her spine to dust. To blow to her pride was almost as painful as she felt herself pinned to floor as he kept his foot on her back.
April right hand held two shuriken throwing stars at the ready but stopped the throw in mid move as Chat Noir surged back to his feet pushing past the pain Shredder's attack had caused him at the sound of his Lady's cry of pain. The straight punch he landed would have made his old karate instructor proud. It had every bit of teaching the very humorless man had drilled into his students fueled by not only the mystic might the Cat Miraculous granted it's user, but also a rage that anyone would dare harm Ladybug. There were few things on the planet he shouldn't have at least been able to throw back with such a blow.
Shredder took it on his helmeted head with a leer. Adrien pulled his hand back with a cry of pain locking eyes with his armored foe for a second. He felt himself unconsciously start to take a step back but stopped himself as he noticed Ladybug trying to push herself up from under the man's foot.
Something in Shredder's eyes screamed to Chat Noir's instincts that he was standing in front of a true killer and not the usual misguided people caught up in the akuma's magic that him and his partner usually faced. Part of him wanted to run and hide from what he saw in those eyes, but the stronger part would never leave Ladybug to deal with this evil alone. But what could he do against such a foe.
Shredder decided his action for him. "My turn," the Foot's master said as suddenly the palm of his free hand held what appeared to be a ball made up of lightning from a raging thunder storm. Before Chat could move Shredder slammed the spree into his chest and electricity arched through his body causing him to jerk back and forth for a second before with an explosion he was thrown through the air painfully.
April moved quickly shoving the throwing stars back up her sleeve to the hidden pouch that held them there and moving her arms in a wave dance like motion to help her focus her powers as she grabbed Chat Noir out of the air before he could land in the waiting arms of Rocksteady to bring him gently down right next to her. She released a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding when she saw Adrien's chest rise and fall slowly. The strange blast of energy hadn't killed the hero.
Wait, her mind screamed at her, Adrien? Looking back again she realized with a start that she could recognize the teen in the cat suite as her new somewhat neive friend Adrien Agreste. She hadn't been able to when the fight first started. Looking back to Shredder and the struggling Ladybug he held down with one foot she concentrated on the hero and felt something in the back of her mind ping. Suddenly the anger and pained face of one of Paris' heroes became the angry and pained face of Marienette Dupain-Cheng in a red and black costume.
April pushed the questions this rose to the back of her head. It wouldn't matter in the long run that she knew their secrets if Shredder was going to make it public knowledge at their funerals. Noticing that the ninja master wasn't just holding Ladybug down with his foot but was using the string of the yo-yo to keep the girl off balance enough that she couldn't bring her enhanced strength to bare April threw her fan aiming for the hand that held the super heroine's weapon.
Adding her power's might to the attack her fan shot forward like it had been fired from a cannon instead thrown by a teenage girl. The clash of metal on metal rang out loud in the room as she struck Shredder's bladed forearm forcing him to loosen his grip on the yo-yo. April had thought she could get him to completely release the weapon but it was enough as Ladybug feeling the pull on her arms slack made her move.
With a grunt of effort she freed herself from under Shredder's heel causing him to stumble back. The next instant she made an impossible leap landing in front of April. A tight almost desperate grip on the string of her weapon freed the yo-yo the rest of the way out of Oroku Saki's grip. When she landed she spun the yo-yo so fast it became a red blur. April realized that the superhero was somehow forming a shield of some kind. The red head doubted it would last long against this new super powered Shredder.
"Chat Noir?" Ladybug asked not turning away from their foe but pain in her voice was clear as day.
"Alive," April called using her powers to bring her fan back to her hands. "He's out cold thou."
Ladybug's shoulder rose and fell for as releaf flooded her for a second. She had seen the attack that had downed her cat and was once more happy for the protection Chat's ring gave her partner. "I take it you know the big bad as well?"
"Yeah. He the leader of the Foot Clan and pretty much a living nightmare for me and my friends. The insane fighting skills are his usual but the powers part I've never seen before." A sinister chuckle from behind her that she didn't need to look to know belonged to Rahzar reminded April that Shredder wasn't their only problem. They also had the usual evil mutants and the added pain of akumas to get through. Not to mention the large number of civilians huddling in the corner to save. Sure no problem she mentally spat back at herself.
"M," April count herself, "Ladybug. Hate to say this but I think we may be way out of our league here."
"Of course you are out of your league." Shredder spat as he slowly started to advance. "You and your Rat Master are so far beneath me now it is laughable."
As he drew closer April got a good look at their foes face and gasp. "His face," she half whispered in surprise.
"What wrong with his face?" Ladybug asked as she took a step back matching Shredder's step forward. No foe had ever made her so afraid before as this one had and she hated that his mere presence was causing her to retreat.
"It's not burned." When Shredder wore his helmet only the eye area of his face was visible. April was so use to facing one brown and one yellow hatred filled eyes. The hatred was still there like it had always been but the right eye now matched the left. The burned skin that was visible was also smooth and unscared.
"YES," Shredder shouted victoriously. "The damage that monster Yoshi caused me when he stole Shen from me has been fixed thanks to my new servant. I have more power than ever and soon I will have the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous holders to serve me just as faithfully as Hawk Moth now does. Which will give me a force that Splinter will never be able to stand against."
Ladybug started to protest the villain's statement but Shredder's voice drown her out as he kept talking. "Then my forces will find my daughter and return her to me so I can undo the damage Yoshi's lies had done to her mind. She will once more be loyal to me."
Another ball of lightning formed in Shredder's hand as he locked eyes with April. "But before that I will do one more thing to cause the Rat pain. I will take his surrogate daughter and turn her to my cause as will. Maybe I will even allow you and Karai to be the ones to finish him off after I have broken him."
Rage filled April pushing her fear away from her mind. She had seen the pain that Karai being taken again and again from him caused Master Splinter daily, and now Shredder was planing to use her to inflict that same kind of pain again.
She was not going to let that happen. She felt her crystal respond to her rage as her eyes bleed from blue to pure white a wind seemed to come from nowhere blowing around her. "I will never let that happen," the voice was something alien and demonic. Ladybug stepped to the side unconsciously moving to keep both Shredder and April in her line of sight. Something in that voice caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on edge.
Shredder narrowed eyes ignoring the ozone taste of electricity in the air and April's desplay of power. "And how do you plan on stopping me Ms. O'Neil?"
Mareinette braced herself for whatever powerful attack the red head was getting ready for. None came, instead the space between the enemies was filled with a silly sounding music tone from April's back pocket.
A smile crossed April's face at the sound. No one knew where Micky had found the tone but the mutant prankster had swore it was their them song. Looking back up at Oroko Saki her smile turned into a predatory smirk. "I'll bring some friends along," she answered him as the Shellraiser crashed through one of the walls next to the magically locked doors.
/
Casey Jones knew he had a few skill sets that most people his age would think were strange. While nowhere near what anyone would call book smart he had what his father had called a fixer's mind. He had helped Donatello, who was so far over book smart Casey figured he would have to come up with a new word to describe his nerdy friend/rival, build not only a cool hot rad that had a mutant chicken as it's brains but also turn April's dad old hippie van into the Party Wagon. He also could memories any show tune he herd after just one time, but that was a secret for just him and his little sister.
Another skill he had that most people would think was strange and probably useless to the average person was that he was really good at trashing robot ninjas. The first time he had taken on the Footbots he hadn't even made his vigilante weapons yet. He faced off with a group of them that had been sent after April with just his hockey gear on. He had gotten so good at taking down the robotic cannon fodder of the Foot Clan that he was ten Footbots ahead of Raphael on the running tally that they had on who could smash more of the things.
Raph had him beat with Kraang by five.
That was why he was seriously pissed off at the situation he found himself in at the moment. He the great Casey Jones, destroyer of evil and probably the greatest crime fighter this city had ever scene in his own humble opinion, was being forced to run from footbots. If Raph found out he would never live this down.
Of course the fact that he stopped counting how many of them there was at around thirty might save his rep. He didn't think he had ever seen so many of the things in one place. They had stopped him from blowing the doors down and had actually caused him already use the last of the explosive puks he had brought with him and it had barely thinned their numbers.
Luckily for him the place the expo was in was basically one big concrete circle so he cold keep running from the footbots for awhile yet. His roller blades giving him much more speed than the robots could match. Of course running away didn't set well with his pride at all, but he decided to think of it as hit and run tactics.
Using a concrete pillar to change his direction he shot right into the middle of the charging robots and smiled as their weird squeak language actually sounded surprised for a second before he finished two off with his Eastman hockey stick. It took only the briefest moment for them to change their charge to go after him but it was more than enough time for such and accomplished skater as Casey to pull ahead of them.
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention as noticed some of the footbots had pulled away from him and were zooming in on a pair of tourist that hadn't made it outside like most of them had when the robot ninjas had showed up. One a short angry looking man in a Hawaiian shirt was using a steel folding chair to try and fend off two footbots while a taller man in a suite that reminded Casey of Pigeon Pete for some reason cowered behind him.
Casey went to turn to aid the two when a katana wielding footbot blocked his path causing him to duck and weave or lose his head. He caught sight of the two again as a pair of footbots escaped with them slung over their shoulders. Casey shouted a few choice words from his vocabulary that would have had his little sister telling on him. That was the second and third person he had seen the robot ninjas grab. The first had been a guy with glasses and an orange scarf around his neck. They weren't just grabbing people for hostages either as the ones that had grabbed that guy shot past several other slower and easier targets to get to him. No these guys were targeting people but he had no clue why and that pissed him off even more.
Casey spun around now skating backwards as he took the head off the footbot with the katana that had stopped him from saving the two men that they had snatched. He kept up a moving fight with the foot only glancing behind him to make sure he didn't have anything in his way when he noticed something that worried him. He thought he was facing all the footbots in the area but apparently the damn things had gotten smarter. When he had hooked around the pillar only half of the things had came after him. The other half had kept going straight circling around circle that the building basically was and were now coming up on him from the other direction. He was about to become the meat in a footbot sandwich.
With a curse he spun around again putting as much speed as he could to get some distance from the Foot behind him hoping he could come up with some kind of escape plan. In a panic he wondered desperately were the guys wore, although he would never admit it he needed a rescue right about now.
As if his thoughts had conjured them the shellraiser burst though a section of wall down the corridor from Casey. The footbots there didn't even get a chance to turn before they were crushed under it's massive tires. The engines sounding more like a hungry beast than a armored vehicle as it tore down the hallway taking full advantage of how closely packed the robots were to mow them down like grass.
The shellraiser shot past Casey turning sharply throwing footbots in all directions. The side door slid open to reveal a serious looking Leonardo. "Casey where's April and the superheroes?" The blue masked leader of the turtles said one of his swords already in his hands.
"She's in the main room but the doors are locked and there some weird glowing symbol on the door and they wont open."
"On it," Leo said shutting the side door again as the shellraiser shot off into the distance.
"Wait, did he say superheroes?" Casey said as he sped up trying to catch up. "That's so metal."
/
Donatello was glad Micky had made him stay up and watch videos about on the Ladyblog the night before as they pulled the shellraiser up to the main doors. Those glowing lock symbols on the doors had to belong to the akuma that been called Lady Wifi, which meant they were not going to be getting the doors open by any normal means anytime soon.
Luckly the shellrazor gave him a few more options.
His hands flying over the keyboard in front of him with amazing speed he ran a quick thermal scan showing were the citizens were gathered together in fear and quickly out lined a second of wall on the display in front of Rapheal in red. It was enough distance away from any bystanders that none should get hurt. "Hit it here Raph he shouted." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Micky hit somehting on his T-Phone.
"Right," Rapheal said with a wicked gleam in his eye, he loved breaking stuff so the fact they were getting to smash the Shellraiser through walls was a bonus to the turtle mutant.
The concrete wall didn't even slow the vehicle's speed Donnie noticed with pride. He knew his father hadn't meant anything by it but the question earlier had pricked his pride a little. As they tore through the wall the ninjas took in the scene. April and the superhero Ladybug stood in front of Shredder with a dark clad figure at their feet that could only be Chat Noir. Between them and April stood a giant rock monster that made the four turtles think of similar creatures that the Krang used as enforcers. With a snarl Rapheal aimed the Shellraiser at the creature's leg only to have both Donnie and Micky grab the wheel forcing the former subway car into a tight spin for a moment before their brother could bring it to a stop. "What the hell," Raph snarled and both brothers could have sworn they saw actual fire in his eyes.
Michelangelo is the first to find his voice. "You can't hit Stoneheart Raph he just gets bigger." Micky sounded like he was explaining something simple to someone deeply stupid. Rapheal's very violent reaction to this was stopped by a sharp command from Splinter.
"Enough," Splinter turned his attention to Donetillo often finding his genious son was good at translating his youngest odd behavior. "What does he mean?"
"Stoneheart was one of the first akumas that showed up. He has the ability to absorb kentic energy and add it to his strength." At his angry brother's look Donnie sighed. "Hit rock monster rock monster get bigger," Donnie said slowly like he was explaining something to a toddler.
Once again on of his brothers was saved from Raph's trademark lessons on how to not be a smart ass to him by a shout. This time from Leonardo, "Guys focus," the team leader's eyes grew wide as he looked out the front window. "INCOMING BRACE," he shouted as docked down. The next instant the inside of the Shellraiser became the heart of a thunder storm as every console and wire in the vehicle suddenly blew apart in electrical sparks.
Donetillo stared slacked jawed at the destruction done to his invention. "What the hell was that?" he shouted his own anger matching Raphael's.
Leonardo spoke through gritted teeth ignoring the pain from the burn he had received on his left arm as him and Raphael forced the door open. "Shredder just threw a ball of lightning at us." This statement was met with stunned silence from the other two turtles.
Splinter response was a hardening of his eyes and the tightening of his grip on his cane. "So Shredder is changing the rules. No matter we will defeat him again." Raph and Leo got the jammed door open. "My sons your mission is the same, protect Ladybug and Chat Noir. Under no circumstances are any of the Foot's forces to get their hands on their Miraculous." His voice was steel as serious as any of the brothers had ever herd him.
With a hiss of air he drew his hidden kattan from his cane as him and his sons charged. "Leave Saki to me."
Notes: First I would like to thank everyone who has liked and commented on my story. Thank you and I'm sorry it's taking me so long to post. I've actually had to start shortening chapters to get them done. I'm not making the story smaller just the installments. This fight against Hawk Moth and the Foot was originally planned for one chapter.
I will try to post more but I'm having a mix of writer's block coupled with a shit load of real world issues. Plus with all the cool episodes that have come out for TMNT I find myself reworking some ideas for this story. Okay I'll admit I'm dying to com up with a way to add Shimigami and Alopex. Damn good characters.
Also and here's a spolier for the end of TMNT season 4 so stop reading now if you hadn't seen it.
But RIP Master Splinter. (I'm a full grown kind of monstrous looking man I will not cry because of a cartoon. Yeah that didn't work. Haven't teared up that much watching a cartoon since Morph on the old X-Men Animated series.)