Same As It Never Was (TMNT 2012 Short Story)

Chapter 7: The Heroes of Tomorrow

"Hey! General Subject!" April shouts.

Sarina turns away from Destiny, seeing the aging woman with her bazooka raised. The redhead grins, finger on the trigger.

"End of the line."

She fires, the sheer firepower smacking Sarina and sending her crashing to the ground and skidding across the floor. April smirks triumphantly, the weapon smoking from its spot on her shoulder. The dust around the cyborg clears, but she only gets back up, her face merely scratched.

"You think it's that easy?" she inquires. "Try this on for size."

She raises her hand and blasts. April yelps and dodges, the energy catching her leg. She screams and cripples, holding her leg as she feels the very skin sizzling with heat. Sarina is about to move forwards when a voice makes her stop.

"Sarina! Wait!"

She turns around to see Donatello in his Turtle Mech suit, getting to his feet as the arms spark with electricity. She arches an eyebrow, face blank save for the minimal movement. Shredder has turned away from the battle, thinking that he has already won.

"Try to remember," the turtle pleads, his heart breaking. "Sarina...it's me. Please don't forget about me...your Donatello, your Donnie..."

"I do not care for anyone such as you," she says coldly. "Sarina is not my name, nor was it ever. I am Subject 60184, and my sworn duty is to serve the Shredder and destroy the ones known as the turtles."

Donnie moves closer to her, momentarily abandoning the Mech. In his belt, he has a USB stick containing photos of the couple and the rest of her family that he collected from a spot in his laboratory back at the lair. If he could just get it into her system, he might be able to reboot her.

She powers up her lasers, eyes burning into his. He doesn't slow down, his hands held up defensively.

"This isn't you, Sarina. Come back. Remember," he whispers.

Just as she's about to fire, he lunges, catching her off guard. He pins her to the ground and jabs the stick into a port hidden beneath her hair. Instantly, the redness of her eyes disappears, the spaces glowing pure white as she screams. He covers his eyes, shielding himself from the light. She shoves him off of her just as she screams again, gripping her head tightly as her eyes flash wildly.

Then, the light stops and she collapses onto her knees, panting. Donnie looks up, holding his head as he watches hopefully.

"Sarina?"

She stumbles to her feet, her limbs sparking and crackling with electricity. She looks to the purple-masked turtle, a small and pained smile crossing her lips.

"Donnie..." she whispers.

His heart floods with relief. "Sari...you're back. You're back!"

She stands up, not running to embrace him. Instead, she turns her body towards the Shredder, guilt and loss evident in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Donatello," she whispers. "It's going to be alright."

He gets to his feet, confused yet overjoyed. "Sarina, what are you-"

"These memories aren't going to last. I'll fall back under his control," she says slowly, her voice soft, like she's delivering bad news. "That's why I must do this."

Before he can do anything, she turns and rushes towards the unsuspecting Shredder. His eyes widen in shock before narrowing back into those of anger, his exo-suit turning to face the cyborg. She skids to a stop and readies her powers, her eyes glowing fiercely as she starts to fire at him, but Oroku Saki will have none of it.