Mei grimaced as Michelangelo hoisted her up onto his back. The sides of his shell were unyielding – they dug into her legs, making for the single most uncomfortable – what did he call it? – piggy-back ride she had ever experienced. Furthermore, her hip joints hurt from the straddling position her legs were forced into, after weeks and weeks of being kept in one position by a cast.
Vaguely, she wondered if she was going to reinjure her pelvis.
But that didn't matter. They had to get the project sabotaged at all costs – countless lives could be riding on it.
She tightened her grip around Michelangelo's neck, still trying not to choke him. She could hear his breathing becoming labored. She longed to get down and walk, but her Jell-o legs would certainly not permit it. She had discovered that when they were attacked by the Foot outside the building.
Splinter had leapt into action immediately, a whirlwind of ninjutsu. Even in the dire situation, she could not help but admire how flawless his katas were, how precise every movement was, how not one bit of kinetic energy was wasted. After the initial ten men had been incapacitated, several more had arrived.
Then, the door had opened, letting out the sound of laser fire.
"Michelangelo! Get down!" Splinter shouted.
A bewildered "Huh?" was Michelangelo's reply. Splinter leapt forward, knocking Michelango to the ground, and a volley of laser fire soared out of the door, taking out one of the ninjas.
But the minute the Kraang had stopped firing, the remaining ninjas converged on her. She let her crutches fall as she pulled out her sai. With a fierce kiai, she managed to knock one of them back.
And her legs went out from under her.
Terror took over. Her body was too weak. Her mind flooded with images of the Foot coming to her house all those years, being taken to Shredder, all of the horrors of her past.
And she froze.
It wasn't until she felt a blade slice across her arm that she was able to do anything. Even then, all she could do was scream.
In an instant, Splinter came to her aid. He knocked the men back, each strike of his katana showering the pavement with blood. He cut down one of the attackers at the knee, slicing through both legs in a single furious blow.
Mei shivered as she watched him. Before, Splinter had been focused on taking the men out non-lethally, and certainly not by dismembering them. After all, his philosophy was to do the least amount of damage necessary. By his standards, this was excessive force. While he did not kill any of them, he did not seem to care whether the men would survive their injuries or not.
He reduced the attackers to a bloody, moaning mass of men on the ground. Without batting an eye, he picked up her sai, which she had dropped, and handed them to her. After she had tucked them back into her belt, he pulled her up from the ground.
He offered no explanation for his sudden burst of extreme violence.
He did not have to. Mei already knew the answer, and she was not sure about how she felt about it. She didn't have time to think about it.
"I have to carry you," Splinter said. His tone was startlingly soft coming from a man whose katana dripped blood on the ground.
Mei had nodded in response, and he had unceremoniously hoisted her up and slung her over his shoulder. It had not been by any means comfortable, but it left his sword-arm free. Then, he had run into the building, calling for Michelangelo to follow, and they had made their way past ranks of Kraang to stairwell, where Michelangelo had taken over the task of carrying her.
"Easy does it, Auntie M," Michelangelo had said, pulling her up onto his back.
Now, they were maybe halfway up the stairs. Michelangelo's breathing became more and more labored. Mei's level of discomfort made her wish that she was slung over Splinter's shoulder again.
Splinter was a flight of stairs higher than them. He dismantled the robots ruthlessly, clearing the path. When they finally reached the eighth floor, Splinter ran down the corridor and took out another advancing rank of Footbots.
When Michelangelo and Mei entered the corridor, she heard the sound of Raphael shouting curse words.
"Ooh," Michelangelo said. "That last one he said is like fifty pushups, at least. Raph's gonna be in trouble."
Mei rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but be touched by Michelangelo's innocence. "I think that's the least of our concerns right now."
From around the corner, Mei heard Leonardo cry out, "We've got to retreat, anyway! Fall back!"
"No!" Splinter rushed around the corner. "We cannot leave until this is finished."
Michelangelo rounded the corner too. Mei's eyes widened at the Footbot carnage that was everywhere. And there were still more coming – what seemed like an impossible amount of Footbots still tried to fight their way past Leonardo and Raphael. Miwa lay on the floor, clearly injured.
Mei's first instinct was to rush to her niece's aid. But she knew that the best way to do that was to focus so that they could get out of there and get medical help for Miwa. "Where are the computers?"
Miwa – no, Karai – raised her hand and pointed. "In there."
Promptly, Michelangelo ran to the room.. "All right, Auntie M, where do you want me to put you?"
Mei surveyed the place. It was filled with all kinds of equipment that she didn't recognize, but she saw something that looked like a main interface. "Over there." Michelangelo carried her over, where she slipped down off of his back. She wobbled as she tried to support herself.
"Whoa – let me help you." Michelangelo secured his arms around her waist, keeping her supported enough to work on the computer.
It took a few tries, but she had finally managed to crack into the system. With relief, she saw that it worked on some kind of binary code, not alien language. She started to scroll through the coding when Michelangelo let out a strangled yelp and was pulled away from her. She fell to the floor and the world turned sideways.
Five men had entered the room while their backs were turned. Four looked like regular Foot soldiers, but one of them was dressed differently.
The Ronin.
Seeing him made her blood freeze in her veins. Something about him seemed familiar to her, like she should recognize him from somewhere…
Two of his men held Michelangelo captive, their blades crossed in front of his throat. The other two stood at the ready in front of her.
Ronin tilted his head and looked at her. "The half-breed's sister?" He laughed. "Ah, yes. I remember you. There is less fear in your eyes now than the last time we met."
The night her family was captured. He had been there, watching as her boys and husband were slaughtered in front of her, a twisted grin on his face.
Hot, angry tears spilled onto Mei's face. Fear and rage competed in her mind. She spat a Japanese curse as if the word alone could cut him down where he stood.
Ignoring Michelangelo, the Ronin narrowed his eyes. His smile faded. "I see you remember me as well. Do not fear, I will not foul myself with you the way the Shredder did." He walked across the room and held the tip of his katana over one of her eyes. "I wonder, will you die with as little honor as your sons did?"
"Leave her alone!" Michelangelo's voice was desperate. "If you gotta kill somebody, kill me! Just leave her alone!"
Mei's heart raced. "No!"
That horrible, twisted grin crept its way back onto the Ronin's face. "It would be my genuine pleasure to cleanse the word of your filth, turtle." He motioned to his men. "Keep the half-breed here. Bring the turtle. We shall see how Hamato Yoshi and his unnatural sons react when the favored son is in peril."
The men started to drag Michelangelo toward the door.
Michelangelo's eyes met hers. "It's gonna be okay, Auntie M."
Mei's voice died in her throat.
Ronin turned back to Mei, his twisted smile replaced by a grimace. "If he dies honorably, I may consider letting you live. After all, I am not without mercy." He took a few steps away from her, then looked back. "Ah, but I forgot. He claims the name Hamato, and therefore cannot die with honor. But let him die first, knowing his sacrifice is entirely in vain."
Tears rolled down Michelangelo's face. "It's gonna – it's gonna be okay."
"Such a liar," Ronin said. "Typical of a Hamato." He strode out of the room, and his men dragged Michelangelo with them. His two remaining men came to guard her, weapons at the ready.
Mei squeezed her eyes shut, forcing away images of her family dying. She had been weak then, powerless. She had vowed never to be powerless again. And he she was, weak and powerless. Her training and weapons did her no good if her body would not work. If only her body could match the strength and fury in her mind…
Her mind.
Perhaps…
She had heard of great ninja masters who brought strength to their bodies through the sheer power of spiritual discipline and meditation.
Mind and body are one.
An image of Kenshin flashed through her mind. He looked at her, ready for death, and said one thing:
Be strong.
She drew a deep breath and focused on a silent mantra.
I am strength.
Exhale.
I am strength.
Inhale.
I am strength.
The words became her entire existence.
I am strength.
Adrenaline surged through her body. Her Jell-o legs became solid. Her arms rippled with power. The sai tucked into her waistband sang, calling for her potent hands to take them and fight.
I am strength.
With a silent exhale, she flipped up from the floor and drew her sai in a single fluid motion. The men were too startled to react, and she dropped them both within seconds. Drawing another deep, measured breath, she took a step toward the door to save her nephew.
Her legs gave out again, and she fell to the floor.
I am strength, I am strength, I am strength…
But her legs seemed to have given her all she was able to muster. No amount of mind power could negate the fact that her legs had basically been inert for a little over six weeks.
She couldn't walk.
But she could still crawl.
She propped herself up on her elbows and painfully made her way across the room. She was almost to the door when she heard Raphael shouting, then a loud clunk. She wriggled faster, until she was able to look out into the hall. There, just a few feet in front of her, the two men held Michelangelo captive.
Mei raised her sai and plunged it into the calf of the man nearest to her. He screamed as his leg buckled and he fell to the ground.
Michelangelo took over the rest. He stomped on his remaining captor's foot, then elbowed him in the gut, then flipped him onto the floor. Michelangelo struck a pose. "Booyakasha, fool!"
But Ronin turned and delivered a spinning kick straight to Michelangelo's chest. The turtle flew back into a wall with a sickening thud and collapsed to the floor.
"You!" Ronin shouted, stepping toward her. "You filthy wh – "
Mei flung one of her sai at Ronin, forcing him to duck. But as swiftly as he dodged it, he kicked her so hard in the head that flashes of light danced in front of her eyes.
The word grew fuzzy.
Then black.