Chapter 38: Advance

Michelangelo puckered his mouth, vision set on the mutant creature that curled up beside Nia like a cat. "Wish I was on the couch," he grumbled from his spot on the Lair's living room floor.

"There's room," Nia remarked. She offered the cushion on the sofa's open side, but the moment her hand fell, one of the creature's large black eyes shot open—as if daring the Chūnin to take it.

"I'm injured enough. Thanks."

"Come on; he won't bite."

"Not you. I've teased Raph, but Little Arma-pig-anha is totally biased. And hostile."

"Arma-pig-anha?" Nia released a sigh then stroked the creature's torso plates. "He needs a name."

"I'm sure you'll come up with one, Dudette. Later. For now, we're just waiting on LH to complete the Geek Dream Team. Then…" Mikey beat his palms against his kneepads, using the pain in his side as a distraction from his tight chest. "Then it's go time at Oswald Cybernetics."

"We didn't want a big delay. Melody confirmed I'm strong enough to give blood, so we're leaving as soon as possible, while there're still a few hours of darkness left."

"I know. It's just—" Licking his lips, the youngest Hamato met his friend's gentle eyes. "I'm tired of bad days, ya know? I want one where my sister doesn't have seizures, my father isn't in a coma, and I'm not kicked out of the house of the girl I like."

Raising a thick eyebrow, Nia eyed the mutant on the stained rug.

"Remember the girl I kissed?"

"Starberry Girl?"

"I call her Hoshi now. We've been hanging out a lot. Thwarted a robbery, beat down some gangsters, did a few stake outs, investigations—she even introduced me to some creepy Black Market dealer named Der Gear."

"The who?"

Mikey flicked his hand. "He has some other weird foreign name I can't remember. Anyways, he helped us find a new home for Zebb and his family after the bank incident."

"Who's Zebb?" Nia furrowed her brows before scratching her head. "What bank incident?"

"Didn't Raph tell you?"

"Sorry; I've been so focused on Splinter-san that I've hardly registered anything else. It sounds familiar. I—isn't the heist the reason you met Marina and Blaine's family?"

"Exactly. Turns out, the kids from Warner-Frost were connected to Lacio's Strongman, Zebb. He and his wife—er, wives, Ulla and Unna, the Two-Headed Nightingale—had a plan to rob Diamond Bank."

"I remember Raph said it ended horribly."

Mikey made a face as Nia frowned. "You could say that. Mini cannons were involved. And gas. Lots of gas. In the end, it was a race to save five girls from suffocating in a locked vault. No one was killed, but yeesh, was that a scare."

"Everyone's okay, though; right?"

"Yeah. Raph thinks I shouldn't have been so forgiving, especially since I had to unmask to gain Zebb's trust. But the thing is, I can't blame them for anything. They were just trying to make money to leave the circus and start a new life."

"So you"—Nia glanced at her pet then pulled it closer against her leg—"you helped them with that?"

The nunchaku master nodded. "Hoshi did. While she wasn't happy about dealing with De Gear, she set it up so they were free. I know you must be upset you didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

"Is that selfish?"

"I don't think so. You really wanted to help, and the kids knew as much."

"Did they?"

The artist glanced up with such hopeful eyes that Mikey was powerless against smiling. "In fact, I promised them I'd thank you on their behalf. They said it meant a lot how you wanted to be their friend."

Nia appreciated the news; her grin mirrored her brother's and she gently brushed her fingers along Arma-pig-anha's body as if any extra force would break him. "I hope they're happy," she whispered.

"Me too," Michelangelo said with a firm nod. "Back to my point, though: Hoshi, while fun, can also be quite the pain. I've learned a lot about her at this point, but, apparently, I'm nothing compared to her ex-boyfriend."

"How does her ex factor into matters?"

"The jerk sought every way to make me feel like a third wheel."

"Eh?" Nia crunched her button nose. "You met him?"

"Unwillingly. He crashed my crash visit. Oh, and did I forget to mention he's supposedly been dead for the last four years?" At the artist's silent blink, Mikey let his arms roam free. "Crazy, right? There was a burial and everything. Doesn't that seem fishy? I think he's a clone or zombie or something, but according to Hoshi, mentioning that is like insulting her ancestors."

"You voiced these concerns in front of the ex?"

"Course not. I took her into the closet."

Nia blinked again, although her budding smile broke the serious Chi around her.

"Don't laugh; it was my only refuge since I didn't want to be seen by her mom as well."

"So are you upset she isn't being cautious? Or"—Nia's smile grew soft—"are you jealous?"

"I—" Mikey dropped his finger before he could protest and groaned. "Okay, so you would get how the whole 'ex is back in town' messes with your mind. But, Dudette, it's more than that. I'm worried he'll lead her into trouble. This guy, he—he knows too much."

"About what?"

"About the Languu." Michelangelo whispered the alien name, like it would soften the blow. However, Nia reeled anyway, all wittiness lost. "He's stolen something from them," Mikey added. "The necklace Sophia used to wear. I think it's what caused your seizure."

"H—how? She wasn't anywhere near—"

"Yes, she was." Inhaling, Mikey rubbed his neck. "Hoshi's real name is Sophia Moretti, which isn't the name she uses in the States. She got it changed after fleeing Italy. To Sonya Fisher."

"Wait…Sonya Fisher is Starberry Girl?"

"Yeah."

"You're serious?"

The Chūnin nodded, unsure why the artist giggled.

"M—Mikey-niichan, this means you befriended the pizza girl after all."

Though the reality lacked any real humor, Mikey joined Nia in her laughter. If anything, it felt good, and left him a little lighter when he regained composure.

"Told you I could set you up," added Nia with a wider smile.

"Hey, I had to meet her outside of work on my own."

"I just find it funny how we were talking about the same girl without knowing it."

"Small world, eh? So, yup; that necklace was a Languu artifact crafted to…"

'Oh, crap. How should I put this?' Saying every time Nia entered Warner-Frost put her close to death seemed radical. Forget the weight that knowing the Davu Stone was meant to kill hybrids would put on her shoulders.

"Mikey-niichan?"

"It was meant to incapacitate insane Languu; let's leave it at that," Mikey finished with a crooked smile. "Marco went into a few details, but if Raph hasn't told you yet, neither will I. Besides, it's probably best left for after you save Splinter, so your mind stays clear. Agreed?"

"Raph was there?" Nia asked softly. Her fingers rubbed the creature, who lifted his head as the human glanced at the closed Lab.

"It's not important right now. Anyways, Marco is a total weirdo. I don't trust him and Hoshi thinks I'm being paranoid. She won't even return my calls."

"Why do I get the feeling missed calls only fuel your determination?"

"Because you know me. I plan to see her. What else can I do while half our clan is saving Sensei?"

"You shouldn't travel, though. You were attacked by a monster not two days ago."

"Tis a flesh wound!" Mikey beamed through his Monty Python quote, although the artist looked less than amused by it—possibly because the Chūnin hunched in pain from the sudden movement. "Don't worry; I'll drag Raphy Boy along."

Nia's pointed look grew darker, like the lights, so Michelangelo sobered.

"Come on, Sis. I'll be fine. I just…" The mutant sighed. "I—I don't like the mission mind-set Marco brings out in Sophia. It makes me worry for their plans against the EPF."

"You want to tag along, keep her safe."

"She may not like it, but advancing is too dangerous—especially if it's just them. So I hope they stay put, at least for a bit longer…"

Sophia fiddled with her Star Staff. Its golden top was meant as a distraction, but it never once let her forget the handsome man sitting on her full-size bed. For the first time, she found herself repulsed by Marco's olive-colored eyes—a feature that would've drawn her towards his lean body five years ago. However, two-thousand-and-seven had passed long ago, and for what felt like eons, she had longed to touch his nutty skin and curly hair.

You know, back when she thought him dead.

"Still using the staff, Love?" Marco asked. He used their native language, which the blonde admitted she missed.

"Don't call me 'love', asshole," she countered in Italian. "And what makes you think I'd ever give up my staff?"

"Guess that was a dumb question. You did craft it from scratch, despite Madam Vermillion's instance you train with a whip."

"I use whips too. Just not in the way she did. I have my Spider Cables."

Marco quirked an angular eyebrow, prompting Sophia to hold her staff between her knees.

She tugged at her elbow-length gloves, saying, "Inside these babies are six meters of braided Titanium coils. I use them for swinging from buildings, but they make great whips when need-be. Electric, too."

"Because you'd be lost without your amped-up weapons."

"Everyone has their things; my staff and cables are mine."

"As well as your name."

Sophia snorted then returned to swinging her staff, although the cramp bedroom hardly had room for such maneuvers.

"Why'd you keep it, by the way?" Marco added in a lower tone. "Bishop knew you by that name back in Italy. Yet you used it here?"

"Cosima named me," the slender blonde countered. "I'll use the name proudly, until the day I die. Besides, how is that ass supposed to make the connection? New York generally calls me 'that one heroine' or they consider me part of the Phantoms."

"Still, it was risky."

"Where would I be without a little risk in my life, Marc?" Sniggering, Soph flashed a smile—no matter how much she wanted to scream instead. "Now what were you saying? Something about a suit in California? I lost track after the staff comment."

Marco blanched. "You lost track way before then. That's why I brought up another topic."

"Sorry."

"Uh-huh." The man sounded unconvinced by his ex's lie, yet didn't press before continuing. "It's a bio-enhancement suit called a Shell. Some low-key company was producing them for the military's Black Ops. However, it had so many issues and high expenses that the project was cut."

"And what does it have to do with you fighting the EPF?"

"Bishop discovered the project, wanted it for his soldiers. I intercepted the order three years ago and took them for myself."

"So now you have dozens of sci-fi suits just lying around somewhere?"

"No; that would be reckless. I burned them, save two. Fixed the bugs, developed a way to compact them into a belt that only expands when you want it. I'm wearing one now, actually."

"Let me guess; the other's for me."

Marco gave a feeble laugh—his usual action when caught red-handed. "Call it an apology gift. I had hoped you'd accept it when…when you agreed to restart our mission together."

"Just like that?" Sophia spun on her combat boots then stood with one hand wrapped around her Star Staff to keep it from meeting the man's narrow nose. "No gift will ever make up for what you did to me, Marco."

"Sophie—"

"Why the hell wouldn't you tell me your plans?"

"I'm a better infiltrator than an actor. Yo—you know that."

"So you had me act on your behalf, to make Bishop believe you were gone? Well guess what? I wasn't acting!"

"I know. And I'm sorry. But"—rising from the bed, Marco neared the blonde who stared him down in spite of their radical height—"my cover had been blown. I needed a new angle to advance, and was sure Nom de Guerre would keep you safe in the meantime."

"Thought you said that jerk didn't tell you where I was until recently?" Sophia asked, tone flat.

"He held you for ransom, in a way. You know how his prices are."

"Until he gives up. Who knew we could break him?"

"Sophia, please. I spent the last four years tracking Bishop, watching him grow from the shadows. I wasn't ready to include you during that time, not when I knew you were out of harm's way. I slipped up last year, though. An agent spotted me and Bishop's been hunting me since."

"So that makes it the perfect time to include me?"

"No. It means I need help and…you're the only one I can trust."

Soph could feel her smile growing more bitter every second; it corresponded with the lump in her stomach and was directed at the Star Staff shaking in her grasp. "If you trusted me, you would've told the truth. And if you cared, you never would've let me suffer."

"But you understand the mission," Marco added through his cracking voice. "You, me, The Sect from Moher —we promised to ruin Bishop no matter the pain. That's why that mutant had to leave. He wasn't part of the pact, which you know we must finish together."

"Maybe there's something more than a pact in my life now," whispered Sophia towards the carpet. Her vision caught a faint red spot, a stain from where Michelangelo had been sitting earlier. Before she kicked him out.

'He wasn't feeling as well as he let on, but I didn't know he was bleeding…'

"What do you mean, Sophia?" Marco whispered in return.

Begrudgingly, the blonde met her ex's eyes, peering through their uncertainty. "The mutant who left is named Michelangelo. He and I have been fighting alongside each other for a while now, and you know something? He's never lied. Withheld a bit, yes, but never outright tricked me. Or used me.

"He's genuine to the point where it's freaky, yet I've found that…I like the change. I—I don't question if he'll betray me or if he's acting like I often do. He makes opening up far too easy and that frightens me. Somehow, though, I can't stand the idea of alienating him. Even if his conspiracy theories about you were obnoxious, expelling him was…hard."

"Are you saying you want the pact annulled?"

"I don't know what I want. I just know I—I want to be more than a mission. I want—"

"Michelangelo?"

Marco cut Sophia off with a hard stare. The blonde felt small under it, perhaps because he was right. She didn't want him to be, but he was.

And so she brought her staff close as her eyes found the bedroom window. "You're lucky Mum thinks I'm sleeping still because if she saw you, she'd—"

"Forget diversions, Sophia," Marco snapped. "This is serious. Tell me: have you found a new partner?"

Answering was the last intention on the heroine's list, thus she kept her lips shut. She countered the man's displeasure by placing the Star Staff between them, signifying defiance. The act only darkened his glare. Like, a lot.

'Wait; that's not just him. Have all the street lamps gone out?' Sophia twisted sideways, first towards her the door then the window. Then, she froze in place.

What blocked the extra lighting filled both panes with its dark fur and numerous bared teeth, and its head alone spanned almost a full meter. What struck Soph as familiar, though, were its bottomless black eyes, which had paralyzed her once before.

"I—it left after taking my necklace," Sophia squeaked while backing up. "Why would it be back?"

"I—I've seen something like this before," Marco noted in an undertone. "In California. But never this—this big. W—why is it just sitting there?"

The blonde had no reason to answer; the beast acted instead. With a ground-shaking howl, it vaulted through the glass plane head-first then swiftly rammed Sophia and Marco through the wall.

A/N: I did miss me some Nia/Mikey sibling moments. Those two are good confidants for one another. :) As for everything else...trouble's just begun.