Chapter Sixty-Eight
Digging Deep
Back topside, Hanako and Boss Kodama managed to escape thanks to Hanako's smoke bombs and flashing lights, and they hurried back to a limousine waiting for them behind one of the back alleys and quickly climbed in before starting to slowly drive away.
Boss Kodama was holding his cheek where Monalisa had slashed him, and he pulled his hand away.
"That bitch!" he growled looking at the blood.
Hanako glared.
"We'll take care of that." She said, "I'm still shocked how she was able to survive Black Mamba's poison! That venom should have finished her!"
"Those creatures are not human, thus do not have human weaknesses." Boss Kodama snarled "But, they can still bleed and should still be able to die!"
Hanako nodded.
"But despite their survival." Hanako said "I took away the red masked turtle's voice!" she grinned to herself "Arashi and Arden will love to hear that!" she licked her lips and made a mental note to report to them about that.
Just then there was a tapping on the side door and Hanako looked over and one of the ninjas opened the door to reveal another Ninja who removed her hood.
"Yes?" she asked.
"We gathered the bodies in that warehouse the Huntress killed." The ninja reported.
"Excellent." Hanako said.
"But there is something else." The ninja went on.
"What?" Hanako and Boss Kodama asked together glaring.
"When we inspected the bodies, one of them is missing his list!" the ninja replied.
Boss Kodama looked furious.
"What?" he demanded "You mean to say that creature has the list of jobs and addresses of the safe houses and might be aware of what our next move is?"
The Ninja nodded looking slightly scared then looked at Hanako awaiting her reaction, yet the woman looked thoughtful.
"Boss-Lady?" she asked and the other ninja in the car looked at Hanako who tapped her chin in thought then a smirk curled on her lips.
"You know." She said, "We could make this work to our advantage."
"What do you mean?" Boss Kodama asked as he looked at Hanako whilst one of his assassins, a woman with blonde streaks in her black hair tended to his wound.
"Think about it,." Hanako smirked "If that Huntress, or rather Pandora knows about what we plan to do next, she'll no doubt come looking for us, and if she's working alone, since the Dragon and his band of freaks didn't know she was there, from what I observed, she'll come to attack, yet one of her, and more of us…" she looked at Boss Kodama dangerously "You do the math."
Boss Kodama thought for a moment and as his assassin finished cleaning his wound and put a band-aid on it which he silently thanked her for, then he smirked.
"Yes." he said, "I can see where you're coming from." He licked his lips and looked at his gun "She'll be helpless as a fish out of water!"
Hanko nodded then took her phone and started to dial some numbers.
"Time to alter our arrangements if we are to have a gatecrasher at our next party!" she whispered.
Meanwhile, Tyroth, the Knights and the Hamato Clan hurried back to Mutopia with Erica and Richard.
Sephie's wound from where she had been shot was healing thankfully, yet Donatello and Tyroth insisted she go and see James and Dahlia to which the Gecko reluctantly agreed and hurried to the medical room but not before asking Tyroth to inform her of what he spoke about with his parents which he promised he would.
No sooner did they arrive back than Tyroth lead them to the conference room to talk.
He then gave instructions to the Knights to get cleaned up as well as go to James and Dahlia if they had been injured.
Sarah was still disgruntled about her shoes being ruined by the cement, but she offered to go to the kitchens and get some drinks and snacks for their human guests to which Tyroth gave his approval.
The Hamato Clan meanwhile stayed to listen to Richard and Erica, Monalisa was especially interested to know about the man who had kidnapped them.
After ten minutes, Sarah had returned with a tray of hot drinks as well as some sandwiches, Fruit, and cookies.
"I also brought you guys something stronger too." She added placing a bottle of spirits on the table along with some glasses "For the nerves."
"Thanks dear." Erica said looking at the Cheetah.
"Thanks Sarah." Tyroth added "Go and get yourself cleaned up and I'll call all of you together later."
Sarah nodded and left the room.
"I wonder if Tania can get these shoes back to their former glory?" she muttered to which Tyroth gave a little chuckle at the cheetah's predicament but then he went serious and looked at his parents.
Richard and Erica then preceded to tell their Dragon son, the three turtles and the lizard lady all that happened earlier as they sipped some tea as well as helped themselves to the sandwhiches.
When they got to the part where Boss Kodama had held them hostage Tyroth glowered, and smoke appeared from his nostrils and Monalisa scowled as she thought of the man who shot her brother.
"I don't know exactly what happened." Richard said, "But as that man was about to interrogate us, the lights went out and it was then she attacked!"
"She?" Tyroth asked.
His parents nodded.
"The one who saved us, this woman, or girl as she appeared quite young, she was wearing some kind of tribal outfit, and her face was all painted up, but she was like some feral leopard the way she attacked those gangsters and that Yakuza Boss."
"What kind of creature was she?" Tyroth asked.
"We're not sure." Erica said, "We couldn't get a good look at her as the room was dark and she moved so quickly, but she wasn't human, that's for certain."
"What makes you so sure?" Monalisa asked.
"Well for starters she had a tail!" Erica said.
"But you're not sure what animal she was?" Donatello asked to which Ricard and Erica shook their heads.
Tyroth frowned then looked at the turtles and Monalisa.
"When the Knights have gotten themselves cleaned up, we'll ask Sarah, Jack, Heather and Sharky what they saw."
The Turtles and Monalisa nodded.
"Are you still suspicious it might be one of Diablo's group?" Michelangelo asked yet he felt Raphael kick him under the table and Michelangelo looked at Monalisa who was gripping the table in anger at the sound of her younger brother's name.
"Sorry." He mumbled embarrassed yet Tyroth patted the turtle's shell.
"I'm still not sure." He said, "Hugh hasn't reported anything regarding the Raven, and also from what mum and dad said, this Huntress didn't attack like the Disciples do."
"That's true!" Donatello agreed.
"So what now?" Michelangelo asked and Raphael signed the same question.
"For starters." Tyroth said then looked at his parents "You two best stay here until we get this mess sorted."
"Thanks son." Richard said.
"Your room is the way you left it last time." Tyroth said "We'll make sure you got some fresh towels."
"You're too kind." Erica smiled.
Meanwhile outside, Pandora after she had left the washroom had gone back to her room and quickly gotten dressed, and she was wearing a long-sleeved red top to hide her wounds along with some black sweatpants.
Then later she had decided to go out into the sanctuary to find out what had happened with her family and the Knights.
She had gotten her answer when she saw them hurrying back and Tyroth was leading his parents along with the Hamato Clan to the same room where they had spoken before, and she followed behind stealthily to listen in.
After listening to the whole story from Richard and Erica about what had happened topside, she felt proud that she had saved them, yet she felt worried as she heard them talking about how the battle with the Yakuza went and how Sephie had been injured and was in the medical room.
The same guilty feeling niggled within her as she thought about her actions earlier that evening again and she wondered if she really had done the right thing.
"It was such a risk!" she thought as she hugged herself "Such a risk, and it could have gone wrong!"
"Well, it didn't!"
Pandora heard that voice again and she looked around.
"It worked well! And you assisted your family, if they had any sense, they should be grateful to you!"
Pandora bit her lip and ran back to her room before she could start arguing with herself as she knew with her family's ninja ears as well as Tyroth's sharp senses they would sense her and not just hear her.
When she got back to her room, Pandora locked the door and reached under her pillow to find the list she had swiped earlier.
Sitting on her bed with her back against the pillow she started to study it thoroughly.
On the list were dates and times as well as locations as well as information of what was to happen such as drug dealings, inspecting stolen property as well as counterfeiting money and who would be in attendance.
The next meeting which she saw had Hanako and Boss Kodama's names along with the leaders of the 95th Street Gang was at a warehouse near the river and to her delight, the hybrid saw it was taking place the very next night.
"This is it!" She thought "Whilst they're in their meeting, like I did tonight, I'll sneak in, turn off the lights, and take them by surprise!"
She licked her lips as she studied the list then looked down where she had hidden her outfit, she knew she had to give it a wash before her next trip topside, but she had to be careful no-one saw her.
She also had to fix the rips in the sleeves and lower body where the bullets had grazed her.
The Hybrid lifted her top to analyse the wounds and she smiled in relief seeing they had pretty much healed yet still looked red and angry.
"That was just so close." She thought to herself, "But I live to fight another day, and now I know where those bastards are going to go next!"
A smirk came to her face as she thought about it, and all the guilt she felt earlier began to fade.
"With the information I have here, there's nowhere to hide!"
"That is true!"
Pandora looked to the side and saw her reflection in the mirror, and it was the tribal face again.
"Now we both know, there is nowhere to run, nor hide! The Huntress will catch her prey!"
"We will." Pandora whispered as she looked back at the list "We will hunt, and we will catch them...and they will pay..."
Unknown to the Hybrid, Sonia was in her own room laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling as she thought about what she had seen with Pandora in the washroom.
"I'm certain somethings not right!" she said to herself, her skin colour turning blue then yellow, "Pandora was so angry and violent when she first came to Mutopia and refused to speak to me and the twins about what happened to her, she wouldn't even speak to Aunt Sephie!"
"And yet, recently she seems calmer, and is enjoying activities, even after Kemeko left for Japan, and we know how much it affected her not having her honoured sister with her."
The Chameleon sighed sadly as her colour continued to shift from yellow to blue then yellow again as her confused and sad emotions played out.
"Something's going on, I know it! But I don't have evidence!"
She rolled onto her side as she thought about what she saw in the washroom and how Pandora had covered herself fully with her two towels.
"What were those stains in the shower? It didn't look like premenstrual blood, nor heavy dirt, and I saw something on her cheek, I'm sure I did!"
Sonia then began to think about what Tyroth had spoken about and the news reports about a vigilante in Chicago, she remembered the Hostage situation, then the man who was hit by the car when chased by a hooded figure, then the gangsters who had tried to attack a couple of women who were attacked by a woman in tribal wear.
The more she thought about it, the more she started to think about how Pandora might have something to do with it.
"No…" she thought "It can't be?"
She sat up and racked her brains.
"The gunman in the store, he was slashed on the ankle, the man who was hit by the car had his ear sliced off beforehand, and those gangsters, they were killed by a slit throat, and all this started after the Hamato Clan came to us."
She then thought of Pandora's weapons such as her claws, her tail blade and Mr Swinger.
"No! No!" she told herself "It couldn't be Pandora! How could it be her?"
But despite telling herself it wasn't true, her gut was telling her otherwise, and she always knew to trust her gut, as Tyroth was always telling her during training that instinct was often right and that she had to investigate to know the truth and well as prepare for the worst.
Sitting up and getting to her feet Sonia looked at a mirror on her wall and stepped in front of it.
"I got to find out what's going on!" she said to her reflection "I'll go to Pandora's room and confront her."
But she paused as she looked at her reflection, her skin tone turning yellow again as she thought hard.
"No, I doubt she'll even talk to me! After what happened when she first arrived here, she wouldn't open up, and if I confront her, she might get defensive."
Sonia thought again for a moment.
"Then I have no other choice! I need to make my own investigations!" she chewed her lip "That's a big risk and I would never intrude on anyone's space! But when desperate times call for desperate measures, all rules are out the window!"
Sonia began to pace her room as she thought hard.
"Oh man, oh man!" she thought "This is so wrong! But I must know! And if Pandora won't tell me, I will find out for myself, one way or another."
She then thought of the twins.
"But if I'm going to do this, I might need some back up! Just in case!"
She closed her eyes and held her thumbs.
"Okay." She said softly "I'll go and speak to Freya and Loki about my suspicions, then I'll go and find clues when Pandora leaves her room."
The Chameleon felt her stomach giving a few dips and swoops like a roller coaster as she thought about what she planned to do.
"Oh Gods." She thought "I do hope I'm wrong!"
Boss Kodama and Hanako escaped and have discussed what will happen next when it comes to their activities, and they seem to have plans for when Pandora/Huntress attacks again! Uh oh!
Meanwhile, the Knights and the Hamato Clan have returned to Mutopia, Erica and Richard have given their account of what happened.
Pandora is planning her next move, yet Sonia is suspicious and plans to do some investigating of her own! How will this go?
Well that is something that you'll have to find out next year as this will be my last update of 2023!
I wish you all on Fanfiction a very Happy New Year and I will see you in 2024!