Rain drizzled faster and harder as the day grew on in Tokyo, Japan. Cars weaved through the damp roadside illuminated a glowing orange from the streetlights, and the pedestrians were rushing as some raised their arms over their heads, some fingers coiled tightly around the stick of their umbrellas. The bright lights of the city made the rain shimmer beneath the dark, starless skies as the droplets splattered against the pavements and glass of the towering buildings. It hardly rained in Tokyo during the warm weather but when it did it had always meant to the residents that it would last until the next day or two. Some even called it bad luck because it made the clouds swirl silver into the dark gray sky, concealing the dim pale white moon.
Under the chaos of the drizzling and pouring weather, two young girls were sprinting across the sidewalks, knocking other children nearby as they expertly and speedily weaved through the heavy crowd of people. None of the girls had an umbrella on them, the droplets rolling across their skin and dampening their clothes and hair. Their faces were flushed an exhausted red and they breathed heavily as puffs of smoke could be seen through their mouth and nose as they stomped their feet forcibly into the rough gravel. The girls long, slender legs sped faster and faster until some people called out to them and ordered them to slow down or else; an occasional empty threat from an annoyed pedestrian.
One of the girls slowed her pace slightly and side-eyed the girl adjacent to her, "Rowan, are you sure your parents are even there?" she asked with a mixture of genuine curiosity but irritably could be detected underneath her smooth and rich voice. "They're probably at your—"
"Jewel, shut up." the other girl snapped in a harsh tone, giving the girl a vivid glare, "My parents and James aren't home, that's for sure. Some stranger called me from the hospital, for fuck's sake! So stop yammering and fucking move those legs before I snap them like twigs." she ended on a threatening note, quickening her rapid pace as the other girl soon followed after her, but she glared at the back of her head with a murderous glint in her eyes.
The young girl with the murderous eyes had rich brown skin, dampened as it shimmered under the bright lights slivering from the streetlamps above. She wore a pair of black leggings that seemed to broaden her lithe and slender legs, a dark camisole hung loosely from her lithe frame and a jean jacket wrapped across her petite waist and a pair of silvery white Ugg boots. Her long raven black hair trailed down her back, sticking to her dark skin like glue as it grew wet from the heavy flow of rain. Her bluish black eyes, speckled with tiny flakes of a darker brown swirling in them, were glazing with a mixture of worry and apprehension. Her sharp yet soft features were tightened, revealing her impatience and worry as her lips set into a deep snarl. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I'm just nervous...and a little bit hungry." Jewel King replied and her friend shot her with an irritated glare.
A vibrate contrast of Jewel's skin, hers was pale as snow, glowing too under the bright lights. Her long, velvety scarlet hair clung to her cheeks, slick with a mixture of sweat and rain water, and she withheld a shudder as the wind spiked her snowy white skin, goosebumps blistering across her flesh. She had on a pair of black Adidas, dark blue jeans that looked baggy on her lean and svelte legs, added a white polo t-shirt. Her golden bracelets made a clinking kind of noise the more she moved her skinny arms as she ran faster than she ever did in her short ten years of life. Icy blue eyes glassy with sheen of tears were looking straight forward, her own American features tensed as bottom lip trembled. "I'm nervous too, Jewel. But that doesn't means we have to listen to whatever bullshit they spew on us." Rowan Fox retorted and increased her speed with Jewel following suit.
Minutes later, the 10-year-old girls reached the local hospital and hurried inside. The reception area reeked of lemons and pine trees, phones ringing in the air as visitors and family waited in the chairs. Doctors rushed in and out of the room with the nurses trailing behind them, patients being hauled into the E.R. in gurneys. All ignored the young girls as they pushed the double doors opened and ventured nearby the desk near one of the receptionists. Jewel's hand raked through her damp raven tresses, water splattering onto the squeaky clean floors as Rowan walked up to the information desk. The woman behind the desk looked up from her paper thin computer and glanced at the scarlet haired girl with mild interest but said nothing. "Somebody told me that my parents were involved in a car accident. Can you please tell me where they are now?" Rowan asked in Japanese and the woman nodded once, pointing to the hall adjacent from her desk. "That's where you're gonna find them, child. Doctor King should be performing surgery shortly." she answered in Japanese.
"Thank you."
Jewel snatched Rowan's wrist and led her to the hall that the secretary directed them to and they found Jewel's father, Akio King, waiting for the two girls. Jewel ran up to her father wrapped her arms around him, and he wounded an arm around her before letting go. He placed a comforting hand on Rowan's shoulder as the girl looked up at him with tears gathering in her eyes; one fell and rolled down to her cheek, her eyes fearful and sad, "My parents? James? How are they? How did this happened?" the questions tumbled and rushed out of her tongue as her voice cracked.
Akio's serious expression faltered and he looked down at the girl with crestfallen eyes. "All I know is that the car somehow exploded. Your father and mother have sustained a couple of minor fractures along the skull but their spines are severely fractured. I wish I could say that they have a high chance of making it but I think you're old enough to know that unfortunately is not the case here. As for James, he has a couple of minor injuries but gained some heavy and internal bleeding along the hole in his lung." Rowan's eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates and she back away from him a couple of feet, collapsing on a chair as the tears fell down and slithered down to her chin.
Jewel immediately sat next to her and placed a hand on her best friend's back. "An explosion? Are you sure Dr. King?" Rowan asked. Akio nodded and Jewel rapidly thought of what could've gone wrong with the vehicle, her brain coming up with too many variables and theories on what could've started this whole thing.. The engine? Gas? Ugh, cars were difficult to understand. for the young girl despite her superior intelligence and made a mental note to do more research on the subject. Akio sighed heavily, glancing at the double doors as the nurses awaited for him to perform the surgery. He looked back to the two girls, "I should get going. Wish me luck." Akio said and quickly rushed into the E.R., leaving the two girls waiting in the uncomfortable chair as Jewel attempted to comfort Rowan.
The surgery took hours to finish but to Rowan it felt like it had been more than just twenty hours. It felt like months-years until the two girls had finally woken up. The previously blackened skies faded and turned to a pomegranate along the bottom of the puffy clouds, the sliver of sunlight shimmering through the rising clouds as dawn took place of night. A sliver of an orangey golden cracked through the curtains near the chairs the two girls were currently sleeping on, right near where the doors of the E.R. led to.
The double doors were flung opened, revealing an exhausted Akio with heavy bags under his eyes. His chestnut eyes were heavy with exhaustion and laced with a forlorn gleam, and Jewel immediately awoken from her slumber, and she observed her father's eyes and the bags underneath his usually bright eyes. Her brows furrowed in confusion at the look of his face as he walked closer, hinting that surgery might've not gone well...
"Daddy?"
His gaze immediately fell on his now awake daughter who was looking him with a raised eyebrow. "Morning, baby doll." he said softly with a forced smile before he looked at the sleeping Rowan next to Jewel. Her pale cheeks were slicked with tear tracks and he concluded that the poor girl was crying the whole night. "You look terrible." Jewel bluntly observed, noticing the bags under her father's eyes. Akio couldn't help that genuine laugh that rumbled warmly throughout his chest, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and he gave his daughter a smile. She reminded him so much of his deceased wife. She always had something to say and she was incredibly observant, watching everything like a hawk. Nothing escaped her watch. "I do, don't I?" he jested softly and Jewel smirked in agreement.
A groan caught their ears and both father and daughter jolted as their heads swiveled to the awakening Rowan. She peeled her blue eyes open and she looked at the small family sleepily. "Good morning, Rowan." Akio greeted in a gentle tone and the young girl curtly nodded and sat up straighter. "Morning. My parents? James? How are they?" Rowan asked hurriedly, glancing at the now closed door opposite to her.
Akio remained silent.
A thin line formed on the doctor's mouth. While he and the best of his staff had all tried their damn hardest...it wasn't enough to save the three members of the family. It wasn't enough to keep their hearts beating, keeping them alive and healthy. The explosion had severed Ann and Tom's bones and collapsed their lungs, not to mention severe spinal damage beyond repair. Half of James' body was burned to a crisp, blacked with a bloody shade of red gnawing at his skin, wrinkling the smooth surface. He and all the other doctors were forced to call it quits and it was clear on the looks of their faces there was nothing else they could do to keep them alive. At the first light of the sun...Tom, Ann and James had left the human world, entering the spiritual plane with all other beloved ones.
It was painful for Akio as well because Tom and Ann had been his closet friends other than Oroku Saki and he truly wanted them back. Both had been there for him when Faline had died shortly after Jewel's birth and both helped him in raising his young and too rebellious daughter. Ann had been the closest with Jewel because she sought to fulfill the position of a positive female role model for Jewel since Faline was gone. And that was saying something considering Jewel's past school records. And now, he had to break the news to Rowan, the girl who was like a beloved niece to him. He knew that this would break her heart and he hated himself that he was the one breaking the news. He knew for a fact that Rowan didn't have any other living relative left to protect her from the dangers of the Foot he was forced into recruiting his own daughter into. How would this affect this little innocent girl who just wanted to live a normal life with the people she loved the most?
Jewel, ever the observant one, was the first to notice her father's hesitant expression and creased her brows. "Just spit out whatever you have to say, dad." Jewel's smooth and rich voice tuned him back into reality and he looked at both girls with a heartbroken look in his brown eyes. Rowan had both fists clenched, skin paler than usual and her eyes were widened to saucers. Jewel, on the other hand, had her arms crossed over her chest, glaring up at her father with an impatient look.
Akio sighed heavily.
Time to do what's right,he thought to himself and addressed Rowan. "I can't say this is going to be easy for me and I think you should down for this be-"
"I'm not a little girl, Dr. King." Rowan interrupted, cutting the man off, "Whatever it is...I can handle it." she said, hesitantly as she looked up at him in impatience. Akio blinked in mild shock but he quickly shook his head and decided to move forward instead. "The surgery, unfortunately, couldn't do anything else to keep them alive. I'm sorry, but there were too many...injuries and extreme amount of blood loss that by the time we could perform a blood transfusion...it was too late by then and we had to call it quits. Your..." he cleared his throat forcibly and swallowed the lump lodged in his throat, "Your parents and James have unfortunately passed, Rowan."He forced out as he closed his eyes calmly, heart twisting as he surrendered to the conclusion of the loss of the two most important people of his life.
Jewel widened her eyes and her hands feel to her side. Her brows shot up in shock and she did nothing but gape up at her father in an unreadable expression. Her beautiful face was a mixture of shock, hurt, devastation, and horror. A lump suddenly formed in her throat and she swallowed thickly, pursing her lips tightly. She couldn't believe it. Rowan's parents... dead. The five year-old James dead, too. How? Why? Why did this have to happen to this loving family? Who did this to them? Who's that jerk who destroyed a little girl's life forever? She tightened her jaw and her eyes darkened, the sunlight cracking through the murderous blackish blue eyes. She wanted nothing more than to hunt down whoever had caused the engine to explode and wring their necks and snap them until they were dead at her feet. But that would be too easy of a punishment.
Rowan stood frozen from where she stood on the polished floor. Her icy eyes were widened to the size of dinner plates and her stomach twisted like rope tying into a knot. No...no, no, NO! Her parents weren't dead! James wasn't dead! None of them were dead! This was just some twisted joke, right? Rowan was sure of it. It had to be. Her parents were strong and James was one to put up a fight. They were just playing some cruel joke on her, sitting in the other room, laughing as their eyes brightened with happiness. And Rowan would rush into the room and find them all there, catching sight of the tears and they would fall into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. She would glare at them and yell but she would laughing, too. She would forgive them in an instant as her mom gathered her in her strong arms, assuring her they were all right. Because that's what family does. Or maybe the doctors made a mistake and they were all just sleeping instead...or waiting for her to come inside and crush them in an iron grip hug. Because there was no way in hell that her family was dead like Jewel's dad said.
Nope.
Rowan suddenly bolted to the room, ignoring Jewel and Akio calling her name. Her hands slammed against the double doors and she ran inside the surgery room, to the three beds which had a bright white light above them. She reached them with a relieved smile and tears ran down her cheeks, her muscles softening as her heart calmed down.
However, when she caught sight of the burned and twisted bodies though, her muscles went taut, and she frozen like an icicle.
Her mother's long, strawberry blonde hair vanished from her sight, her head bald and she could see the lights reflecting off it. Dried blood caked her pale skin from head to toe. Her eyes looked peacefully closed, wrinkled at the corners from laughing and smiling so much in her short and long lifetime. Rowan's stomach performed a flip when she saw how half of her mom's face was nearly burned to a crisp, black scorches icing on the red and raw skin, looking wrinkled and grotesque. The rest of her body was burned a pitch black at the edges, red splotches trailing down and Rowan forced her eyes onto her father. Her father and James looked the same like her mom but she saw some twisted bones beneath the sheets. The monitors weren't beeping, they just remained silent and pitch black, like a television turned off for the night. Rowan covered her mouth with one hand and a fresh set of tears sprung into her eyes, flowing like her cheeks like a waterfall, blurring her vision somewhat. Her knees faced the cold concrete floor and a thump heard all over the silent room, thunderous to her ears. Her hand fell and hit the floor hard but Rowan ignored the pain flaring around the tip of nails.
She couldn't believe it.
They—They were...
Dead.
As the tears kept falling down her white, pale face, Rowan realized that hurtful moment that she'll never have the opportunity to go on vacation with her family. They'll never go for picnics every Sunday, setting up the worn blankets on the lush grass, laughing as they all bit into their meal. They'll never have fun together as they laughed every joke of her father and they'll never watch James trying to learn how to write, like his mom. Most of all, they'll never be together. Becausefrom that day on, Rowan Fox will be all alone in the world.
She will be an orphan.
She pounded her fists on the floor and screamed.
________________________
Rowan's POV
I jolted awake from my sleep with a huge gasp. That dream...it kept torturing me for years ever since that night. Actually, it's not a dream.
It's a memory.
And that memory will never go away from both my mind and my heart, like some sort of painful tattoo I can never get rid of. I can still remember the tears, my parents' burned body, the silence before it broke with my scream, like a sharp, hot knife cutting through the air, filled with so much raw emotion. Everything is inside me. Torturing me.
Breaking me.
Akio stood by my side that night, taking me home and gathering up my things as he let me stay at his house, into the spare room that used to be a guest room, but they never had guests except for me and my parents. Jewel stayed silent and stiffly sat with me on the bed as I cried and cried until I fell asleep. Jewel and her dad stood by me through all those painful moments in my life, despite the fact that Jewel wasn't the type of girl to have a comforting presence, but I appreciated the effort. They helped me stand back on my own two feet again. To be strong. My only problem was Shredder. He ignored my pain and pressed me to do his dirty jobs and train myself harder than I ever had to before. He took advantage of my parents' death because he knew they were holding me back from the really hard stuff and when he found out they were dead...he waved it off and forced me to train day and night until I got it right. He was so focused on his stupid vendetta and there nothing else to distract, and Karai was no help.
She was just acting like a miniature version of the Shredder and the year my parents and James died, Karai gained her place next to Shredder. His third-in-command soldier, before taking up the second-in-command central after Akio died. And she became such a bitch that I had to actually restrain and tie up Jewel to keep her from attacking our so-called friend, and I was no better, either. I had to fight every instinct to beat her to a bloody pulp until she begged me for mercy. The three of us were never on the same page and we argued so much and something just snapped inside of me. I didn't know to what extent of Jewel was feeling, since she bottled up her rage and twisted the cap off when she was alone with her mother's old picture, venting to it like some coping mechanism, butI took my life in my own hands. I made some serious decisions, deciding to leave the Foot Clan forever. I wanted—neededto start a new life far away from here, from the places that reminded me too much of my family, from all the people who have hurt me. So after saving up and with the money my parents left me, I turned in my uniform and took the first flight to New York.
But just because I left behind my life didn't mean I forgot about the last important person to me: Jewel.
We never lost contact and we always talked on the phone, learning about the new stuff that was going on in our lives. Shredder thought I was dead, courtesy of Akio delivering the fake news and Jewel's sculpting talents. And that made things a whole lot easier for me. And New York was the best place to hide in, since there were so many people and Shred wouldn't think to search there should he ever find out. Bu to survive, though, in this city, I needed money and lots of it. My parenst weren't rich and I had to spend the last of the money for the plane ticket. Dancing was my only way since I loved that kind of sport, though Jewel told me it was considered more of the arts, but whatever. I found the perfect nickname and made sure to hide my actual name to watch out for creeps or Foot Soldiers. People called me Red Willsnon or Scarlet Red, and they all loved me for my unique moves, smooth and elegant.
And that's how I earned my living.
But when I met the turtles and Splinter, I just kinda stopped performing for crowds. I wasn't as active as I used to be but I didn't stop dancing either. And I never stopped thinking of Jewel. When her father died in a plane crash, I took the first flight to Japan and stood by her side at the funeral. There were a couple of people here and there. Some nurses I recognized from the hospital where he worked, and a couple of other doctors. I didn't see any family there, but I guess it made sense since Jewel told me most people from her parents' side were either dead or estranged.
I can still remember the look on Jewel's face as she gave the eulogy. Her expression was blank and stoic, but her eyes were dimmed from their usual mischievous gleam and crestfallen with pain at losing another parent in her life. She wasn't the only one sad; Akio King was an honorable and kind man and he was like an uncle to me. It was just so hard to believe that someone like that could be just gone from existence. Pain flared at our hearts and our souls with split and scratched at our hearts deeply.
But...unfortunately, Shredder found out that I was alive and back in Japan. He and Jewel's dad were close friends, something I found hard to believe, and he was there at the funeral keeping a close watch. He started to hunt me down, like I was some kind of wild animal that needed dispatching of, taking Jewel away from me one more time. I had no other choice but to fly back to the US and continue my second and much more famous life. Jewel left the Foot shortly after and faked her death, changing her name and taking up an alias as a gymnast and fashion model. Ever since then, we talked secretly over the phone, afraid of the possibility that the Shredder might be watching us, even if he thought one of us was dead and the other in hiding.
But...now it feels like I just can't forget about my past anymore. Whatever I do, no matter how hard I try, it will keep turning back, hunting me down and breaking me apart until I'm nothing but a shell of the girl I used to be. And...Karai really seems like she wants me and Jewel to forget about the past and forgive her, like how we used to be back then before everything went to hell. I could tell that she still had a good side, just like Blue said. It was hiding deep inside of her even if Shredder was molding her to be a lethal heir to his precious clan.
What am I supposed to do now?!
_______________________
The turtles and I were chasing down some Kraang with the patrol buggy. Well, more like the turtles were chasing those slimy brains down while I was flying next to them. The helicopter passed above us as Blue turned left. "Stay on them, Leo! The Kraang out's tripping out! It's picking up a signal from the power cell!" Donnie barked, holding up his T-Phone.
Oh yeah.
I forgot.
After Bluepants lost the power cell, we tried to look for it. Donnie tried to spot them by the use of his T-Phone and an app but every time we thought we were close, the signal disappeared and we ended up missing the power cell. "Again?" Blue asked in disbelief and I looked at him with a small blush rising up to my cheeks. "Last time that thing led us to a burrito in a microwave." he added and I tried to hold back a laugh. Ah...good times...Mikey tried to eat that burrito by the way, before a man yelled at his face and smacked him with a plate. Funniest moment and the highlight of my night, which is sad considering the circumstances. I heard a beep before Donnie screeched at the top of his lungs again.
"Left! Left again!"
I flew a bit higher and saw the copter flying away. Narrowing my eyes, the usual icy feeling ran down to my hands and I created an ice dagger. I threw it right at the copter but it hovered higher to the sky, and I cursed under my breath.
"Right!"
Suddenly, a crazy idea came to mind. My fangs popped out and grazed my bottom lip, energy surged into my veins. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and flew to the copter only this time, I applied my enhanced speed. I was so close to get the power cell back but a billboard, which happened to be there, blocked my way. Pain flared across my face and ran down the rest of me as my body slid down, like a fly peeling off the glass, and I grunted as I fell down onto the pavement of the rooftop. I realized that I was back to my normal form and I lifted my head to look up at the night sky, seeing that the helicopter was flying away again. "Ugh, great! You lost it, Red!" I scolded myself out loud and kept staring the sky. Something unfamiliar popped up my vision and it transferred me somewhere else.
And I couldn't—
A small girl with bright red hair was sitting on the floor, hugging herself. Tears flowed down from her icy eyes and fear creased her pretty face She was afraid of those men. She didn't know what they wanted her for. And she didn't care that much. All she wanted was to go away, to escape from that nightmare. She wanted her parents, her dolls and her bedroom. Nothing more than that.A door opened behind her and light slipped in the dark room. Some shadows appeared and the girl turned to face two men with suits, looking her with blank faces. Her icy blue eyes widened in fear and she back up a bit, holding her white t-shirt tight. Go away! I want to go home! Her thoughts yelled inside her head as her heart raced faster and faster every second. "The one called Ann Green must follow Kraang for that which is known laboratory for something that Kraang know as secret of." one of them said with his robotic voice and the girl, Ann, moved back again. "Wha—what are you going to do? Where are my parents?" she asked in fright as the Kraang grabbed her from her arms and led her outside her dark room.
Two female voices yelled her name from a distance.
_____________________________
"Rowny!"
"Rowan!"
"Sis!"
"Snap out of it!"
A hand slapped my cheek hard and I finally returned back to reality. I looked the turtles blinking, my left cheek stinging from whoever slapped me. Four eyes, four different eye colors were looking me back with mild interest and worry. I raised a curious eyebrow and immediately crossed my arms on my chest. "What? What's going on, dudes?" I asked eventually.
Four green heads shook at the same time.
Mikey looked at me, baby blue eyes shining with joy and interest and I could see a bright and wide smile on his freckled face. Clapping his hands, he hopped up and down happily. "That was awesome! Can you do it again, dudette?" he asked joyously and I frowned dripped down my lips slightly. "Do what?" I asked and Raph pointed at my eyes. "Your eyes were green. Like they are when you're ghost." he explained for me and I widened my eyes in shock.
My eyes...green?! And I wasn't in my ghostly form?!
Blue walked up to my side, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and gave me one of his loving smiles that I just adored so much. "Let's just forget about that for now. We have to go to Leatherhead." he ordered much to Donnie's dissatisfaction as he made a noise of protest. "LH? For what?" I questioned, face twisting confusedly and Blue held my hand. "I'll explain everything as soon as we move out of here." he excused and I simply nodded before we ran off.
During our route to LH's lair, the turtles explained briefly the main reason we were going there. Our alligator friend was the only one who could help us find the power cell and get it back again from the Kraang. But I was one hundred percent sure that LH won't like the fact that we lost the very thing we sworn to protect for him. And he'll possibly attack us again just like last time.
We got out from a pool and looked at Mikey, annoyed. "Who can hold their breath?" Mikes asked and I gave him a glare. "You can." I retorted crossing my arms. "We wouldn't have to if you hadn't kept swimming off to pick up trash." Raph added grouchily. Seriously, why do I keep listening to Mikey? I should have grabbed the tails of his mask and dragged him away from the trash, since it was wasting the time we couldn't afford. "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Mikes explained as if it were the most obvious thing, holding up some underwear. Gagging, I slapped away the underwear from him and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's every man's trash." I retorted with sarcasm dripping down from the tip of tongue before Blue interrupted us.
"There he is." he hissed quietly as he spotted the large gator. I looked at our sleepy friend's side and my eyes dropped. He looked so peaceful and cute in that way! "Awww...look how cute!" Mikey and I cooed as my hands flew up to my cheeks. "Who's going to wake him up?" D asked shakily before he, Blue and Raph shared a look, stepping back a bit. Mikey smiled in triumph and raised his fists in the air. "Yes! I win!"
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at the three turtles, tapping a foot on the floor with anger. "What?" they asked in unison and I kept glaring at them. "You guys are unbelievable!" I snapped and turned back to LH. Mikey was close to him and he tried to wake him up with his foot. "Leatherhead, wakey wakey eggs and bakey..." he whispered softly before LH opened his eyes. My eyes widened in alarm when I saw they were shaded eerily white.
ROAR!
"Can we make sudden moves now?" Donnie asked in fear and I glared at him. "Ya already did, Brainiac." I retorted and LH grabbed my genius brother by his head again."He's grabbing me by the face again!" he squealed, causing me to laugh out loud at him. The others tried to help Donnie with no successful results. "Leatherhead, don't!" Mikey yelled as he landed on a wall with a groan. "He must be having a nightmare." I assumed and unsheathed my Tanto. "That makes two of us!" Donnie screeched, muffled by the large claw covering the majority of his face. Raph turned to me. "He's your friend, Rowan! What do we do?" he asked hurriedly, jumping on LH's back. Widening my eyes, I glanced at LH and then back to Raph, thinking of what LH liked the most. "Rub his belly! He likes that!" I commanded as Blue widened his own eyes in shock. "How?!" he shrieked before he is knocked away.
"Leatherhead! Come on, dude, it's Michelangelo! Turn off the crazy eyes, buddy!"
Before I could even do something, LH grabbed me and raised me up to his face. The turtles yelled my name but I ignored everything as I was set to defend myself from a possible hit. My fangs also grew and poked at my lower lip, ready to bite. LH roared in my face and breathed heavily, hot air shoving away some blue tiffs. "Rowan? My friends..." I heard his voice saying sadly and I found myself on the ground again. The guys rushed to me and Blue hugged me tight. Rolling my eyes to the heavens, I hugged my boyfriend back and smirked. "I'm fine, he didn't hurt me." I whispered in his ear and I felt his head nodding once on my shoulder.
"I know."
"My friends. Oh no. I got angry again, didn't I?" I heard LH saying sadly and I let go of Blue, who sighed sadly. Guess that he didn't want me to let go of him...that makes two of us.
"Yes, you did it again! Why do you keep grabbing my face?! What is wrong with my face?!" Donnie shrilled in angered exasperation, pointing at his face and I snickered. "You got a pretty good face, Donatello. Especially for squeezing and shaking like ragdoll." I teased my brother who shot me a death glare. "Would you like for me to list it alphabetically or in the order of grossness?" Raph droned, squeezing some remnants of water from his torn mask tails. "Raph, you're one of the grossest mutant turtle in this world-and that includes Mikey." I scoffed with a roll of my eyes. "Seems like you're in the mood today." he observed, looking offended at the snide comment. I shrugged one shoulder. "I'm always in a mood."
"You are my friends. The only ones I can trust. That's why I gave you the power cell. For safekeeping." LH interrupted our brief squabble and we all shared a wide eyed look. How can we even tell him the truth when there's a huge chance he'll lash out again? Reminder: I'll kick Bluepants in the nuts whenever I see him again in the near future, I thought as the others started to chuckle sheepishly. Blue's hand shot out and landed on my shoulder. Gently, he pulled me behind him partially and stepped closer to Leatherhead. "But before we tell it, why don't you sit down and I and my face will take one big step backwards?" Donnie said and he stepped meters away from the alligator and I saw a relaxed smile crossing his lips. "Okay. Go ahead." he called over, and I rolled my eyes. Blue's hands tightened around my arms, squeezing my muscles hard as he was chuckling nervously. "Well, about the power cell we sort of lost it..."
LH's eyes turned white with the last phrase, a low growl rippling beneath.
"...To the Kraang."
Before I could even see LH's reaction, I had been pushed into the pool and my ears caught only his roar. I popped out my head and gave a glare to Blue. "Ya know, you should have warned first!" I retorted and turned back watching the battle. LH was holding Donnie's head again and I tried not to laugh out loud. "No, Leatherhead. These are your friends." LH said to himself and let go of Don. I got out from the pool by the time LH was squeezing the cheeks of an afraid Donatello. "Obviously you did everything you could to protect it." he said, making me to clench a fist. It was Bluepants fault! I'm gonna kill him! my thoughts screamed inside my head as I narrowed my eyes.
"Well...to be honest—"
Raph shut Mikey's mouth up with his hands and gave LH a nervous smile. "Yes. That's exactly what happened." he lied through his grin, uncovering our little brother's mouth. "Leatherhead, we need to get it back." Blue said and I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "With the power cell, it can open the portal and when it opens, they can use it to bring anything from their home here. It's so horrible, they terrify even me." LH replied and in a flash, I raised an eyebrow.
Even scarier than a whole army of vampires? I don't think so.
"We need to keep that portal from opening. Can you tell us where it is?" Blue asked and LH started to draw something on the ground. "All I remember is this." he said, showing the drawing. Donnie took a photo of that with his T-Phone and I took a closer look.
I'm sure that I've seen that. And it's from the past.
______________________________
"I know I've seen this symbol. It's so familiar!"
We were in Donnie's lab. He tried to remember where the hell he saw that symbol. So am I. "The Olympics?" Mikes asked behind me and I rolled my eyes skywards. First of all, the Olympics symbol is different than the one LH draw us and secondly, how did he came up with the Olympics? Mikey is so weird sometimes.
"No."
"I got it! The Olympics!"
"Stop guessing!"
"Obviously it's a symbol, but from where?" I asked out loud and folded my arms. "The Olympics!" Mikey said again making me to turn with a glare. "Mikey! Don't you see we're trying to remember?!" I retorted and my baby brother smiled sheepishly. "Sorry sis..." he said by the time D slammed his fists on the table, surprising his brothers. "There's something here and I can figure it outifyou all just go away and let methink!" he barked and one by one, the guys walked out from the lab. Again, I took a closer look to the symbol so as some other things that had the same thing on it but I couldn't recall something.
"Ihate my lack of memory." I grumbled under my breath and Donnie turned to me with wide eyes. "You know?" he asked, eyes glinting with hope. "All I know is that I saw it but I can't remember from where." I replied and turned back to the picture.
"Oh, the Olympics?"
Annoyed, I turned back, finding Splinter standing and watching the symbol with mild interest. "Ugh, what's going on with the Olympics today? It's not even 2020!" I exclaimed annoyed. "I know I've seen this somewhere else but I just can't remember." Donnie said, tapping a finger on his head. "And the weirdest thing is that it's inside the city." I mumbled. "You must calm your mind and wait. You are ninja, Donatello and a kunoichi Rowan. The word 'nin' means patience and perseverance." sensei replied and took a big deep breath. "Breathe." he ordered us and we immediately did what he asked. I closed my eyes and let my muscles relax a bit.
"I'm calm—Got it!"
Opening my eyes, I saw Donnie running out from the lab and sensei looked him with curiosity. "Maybe I should follow him." I suggested and walked away.
_____________________________
"Donnie, hold on!"
"Just hurry up!"
"I hate when he's like this!"
We were running and flying in my place behind Donnie who seemed sure for something. I flew closer to Donnie, a frown had been imprinted all over my face. "Donnie, where are you exactly heading? Are you sure this is the way?" I asked and my brother nodded firmly. Finally, after minutes of trying to follow Donnie, we stopped on a roof. The turtles expect D, panted while I landed next to Donnie who had now his phone raised. "I've figured out where else I've seen this." he announced before showing us...
TCRI?!
What the hell? The Kraang had been there all this time?! Jesus Christ! That's...Unbelievable! "They're behind the Kraang plot?!" Blue exclaimed as I covered my opened mouth with one of my hands. My eyes went wide in realization and I suddenly knew who had also been there.
My mom.
The suited Kraang led Ann inside a lab full of other Kraang, screens and a large canister with mutagen. Her icy eyes went wide and she struggled to free herself with no result. The two robots placed her on a bed and tied her up with metallic ropes. "Let me go, you freaks! I wanna go home!" Ann yelled but the Kraang seemed to ignore her. Tears gathered in her eyes as her red head moved left and right. "Let me go!" she heard her voice yelling again.
The Kraang ignored her protests as they simply injected a sharp needle into her arm, a blue liquid streaming through her blood.
I blinked several times, trying to shove away the memory which showed up. What...? My mother, captured by the Kraang? How? Why? What special did she had anyway? Tears pooled my eyes and my skin burned with unadulterated rage. "I think it's obvious what we have to do. We're going in and taking that portal down." I turned back to reality at the sound Blue's calm and authoritative voice. I shook my head, shoving away the plenty upcoming questions and I narrowed my eyes at TCRI.
Whatever you did to my mom, you shitty robots, you're gonna pay for it.
______________________________
April plopped a rolled-up blueprint prints on the kitchen table and Tania rolled it open, revealing some complicated designs of the TCRI building. I sat next to Blue, lost in my thoughts. He gave me a worried look but said nothing. And i was completely okay and relieved with that. I just needed time to process the fact that my mother had been kidnapped by a group of psychotic aliens for who knows why. "Now, the bottom two thirds are just a normal office building. And, from what I can tell, normal humans work there." Tania said, showing the three first offices. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. "Imagine if they knew who they were working for." I groused cynically and Blue did some abrupt and robotic moves. "The ones who are working for this place must punch the card that is known as the time card in the clock that is known as the clock of time." I pursed my lips tightly at the terrible imitation of the Kraang. I gotta say, it wasn't all bad.
Tania, Splinter and April stared at him with deadpan eyes, flatter than board.
Blue chuckled sheepishly and hurriedly sat down, and I smirked at him in amusement. "Sorry, where were we?" he asked in a rush and I giggled. "They don't even have a sense of humor." I whispered on Blue's ear and pecked his cheek. "They really don't." he whispered back and smirked playfully. "What about the upper floors?" Sensei asked girls who both showed the upper floors. "That's the thing. Top third is completely blank." April replied and I raised an eyebrow. "Strange. Whatever they built up there, they didn't want anyone to know about it." I mused as I rubbed my chin in thought. "Which means that is exactly where you need to go." sensei ordered us.
"Boo!"
"Watch it, fool!"
I rolled my eyes to the heavens and laid back into my chair. "First, we need to figure out how to get past security in the lobby." Blue said, a finger pointed the bottom office of TCRI. Yeah, that's the easy part, dudes. "It's not like we can put you in a box and send it special delivery." Tania said, sarcasm lacing her tone, and a light bulb lightened up in my head. Tania had a point; we could get into a box and send it to TCRI. Blue smirked and gave me a glance, meaning that we had the same idea.
Oh, I like it!
__________________________
Laser guns firing and grunts from the lobby were hearing until up here. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that we were climbing some ropes of an elevator. Tania and LH were fighting the security downwards us and I guessed that they went pretty good. "I feel bad leaving Tania and Leatherhead down there." Mikey said sadly and I looked at him with a playful smirk. "Look who's got some feelings for a girl." I teased and that made my baby brother to blush.
I knew it!
"I think they'll be fine." Blue replied and we kept climbing. "So, how far to the top?" Raph asked and we all looked up high. We needed a lot of time to climb up there. "Yikes." Raph replied and I smirked. I let go of my rope and fell, turning into ghost at the same. Blue rolled his eyes with a smile. "I forgot that you can fly vampire princess." Raph commented and I chuckled. "Whatever. Otherwise, I'll keep up with you guys." I replied and flew next to Blue. I heard Mikes humming a familiar song and I turned to him slightly annoyed. "Are you humming the Olympics theme?" I asked and Mikey nodded with a smile. "It seemed appropriate." he replied and kept climbing, humming the same tune.
I rolled my eyes.
"Pipe down you two." Raph whispered and he climbed further, reaching a door. Seeing that he couldn't open it, I flew next to him and with the use of my super strength, I opened the door. First thing I saw was Kraang inside a hall and then I realized that they were wearing on their human disguise. My eyes went wide and I immediately closed that cursed door. Raph was standing next to me, wide eyed. "I gotta wash my eyes." he announced and I frowned. That was a memory that definitely I won't forget.
An alarm went off making me to pout and cross my arms on my chest. "Great. Another unexpected fight." I mumbled under my breath. Blue placed a hand on my arm and I turned to him. "Everything's in the routine Rowny. You can't avoid them." he said with a smile which I returned.
"All right!"
"What?"
"Finally, someone set off an alarm, and it wasn't me!"
I rolled my eyes .Classic Michelangelo. I thought as a door opened upwards and Kraang fired laser on us. The turtles climbed from rope to rope, trying to avoid being hit by a shot while I stood in the middle, totally intangible. Mikey threw his chain on a Kraangdroid and it fell down, crushing on the top of the elevator. "Darn it! I forgot to say 'see you next fall'! Eh, Next elevator shaft fight." Mikey said and there again, I rolled my eyes. Sometimes, that kid needs a slap to the face.
More shooting heard.
The elevator was moving to our side and we all jumped on the top, fighting some Kraang. I sliced one with my claws and froze others, giving the opportunity to Blue to slice them in half. When we finally finished with them, we all found a chance to catch our breath. "Okay. Let's get inside, where it's safe." Blue suggested, opening the top of the elevator. More Kraang were in there who started to fire laser on us. Screaming, Blue closed the door and panted. "I have to stop saying things like that!" he exclaimed wearily. "For Lord's sake..." I muttered again before going intangible. I landed inside the elevator and turned back to my human form. Unsheathing my Tanto and super speeding around the Kraang, I demolished them all and smirked in triumph. The top opened again and four heads looked both me and the destroyed robots with impress.
I chuckled.
"Anytime ya need somebody to snap Kraang heads off, you know who to call dudes." I said with a wink and the turtles jumped down. "That was awesome sis!" Mikey exclaimed happily and held a robotic head. Blue walked next to me and peeked my lips. "That's why I love you." he whispered and I blushed a bit. "Cutie pie..."
"Can we please just ride to the top?" Raph asked annoyed. "We can't. There's a retinal scanner." Donnie replied with a shake of his head. Retinal scanner huh? "I'm on it!" Raph said, taking the head that Mikey was holding and slammed it on the scanner. "That which is known as access is granted to Kraang." the computer said and the elevator moved up higher. "Hey, this is so much easier." Mikey commented as I lay on a wall. "Yeah. Finally a chance to catch our breath." I replied and we all sighed in relief.
DING!
The elevator stopped and we all ordered our weapons. The door opened, green gas rushing in. The guys started to cough and I just stood there, without the gas affecting me. "Poison gas!" Blue exclaimed, panic rising in his voice before falling down unconscious along with the others. "Blue!" I cried in worry and kneeled down to him. Something big and heavy hit my head and I immediately fell on Blue's shell, darkness swallowing me in.
__________________________
"Well, the good news is, we're all still alive."
"And the bad news?"
"We are deep in Kraang territory."
I flew my eyes open and look over the new environment covered with green gas. Kraang were everywhere. My left hand ached and I tried to move it but...I couldn't for some reason. I turned my head and saw a chain wrapped around my wrist, hanging from a wall behind me. I pouted and turned forward, looking over the room. Great, captured by the Kraang. What else will happen tonight? I thought bitterly and sighed heavily. Yep, this wasn't my night.
"Wait a moment...Where's Rowny?!"
I looked over to the source of the voice and realized that guys were inside a glass dome, looking around. I moved my ached left hand, clinging sound came up to my ears and sat more comfortably. "Guys! Over here!" I called and they all snapped their heads to me, eyes widened in shock.
"Rowan!"
"Sis!"
"Oh my Good!"
"How can you breathe in there?"
My eyes widened with Donnie's question and I suddenly realized that the gas didn't effect meat all. How? Why? "I-I don't know." I stammered nervously, trying to move. Suddenly, an idea popped up and I tried to make my left hand intangible so that I could free myself.
Nothing happened.
Great. Why my powers abandon me when I need them?! "We're not in Kansas anymore." Blue said making me to roll my eyes to heavens. "I thought we were in New York!" Mikey replied before Raph slapped the back of his head. Again, I shook my head in disbelief. And where did he thought we were? In space? The pain in my wrist grew stronger and I felt my whole hand numb from immobility.
"The portal! It's beautiful. Scientifically speaking."
My gaze fell on a big machine on the center of the room and I immediately frowned. So this was the portal LH told us about. "If you love it so much, why don't you marry it?" Raph teased with a grin and I smirked. "Do you, Donatello take this portal to be your—"
"Knock it off. All of you." Blue ordered and looked at the portal with a skeptical look. "We need to figure out how we're gonna destroy Donnie's bride, over there and save Rowny." he said and I scoffed. "Yeah, not likely. You're stuck in there and our weapons lay over there." I replied, nodding to our weapons which had two guards. One of them started to play with Mikey's nunchucks and ended up hitting his head and flying away.
That was entertaining.
"In a room that's filled with, in case you forgot, poisoned gas." Raph said causing me to clear my throat. My brother looked me and rolled his emerald eyes. "Except from you, vampire princess." he retorted. "Thank God you remembered that detail." I replied, rolling too my eyes.
To say the truth though, Raph was right about one thing; how could I breathe that gas? Aren't I human? Well, part human? Why it didn't effect me as much as the turtles? Wasn't that a bit weird? "If it's poisoned, how can they and Rowny breathe that stuff?" Blue wondered. "And most important, I'm not Kraang." I added. "I think that's what the air is like in Dimension X." D pointed out. "That's stupid. Why invade Earth when they can't breathe oxygen?" Raph asked and I placed a hand on my chin in thought. Maybe...
"Yeah, what are they gonna do? Mutate the whole planet so they can live here and we can't?"
My eyes went wide and I looked shocked my baby brother so as the other three. What the...? Mikey said something that made sense! "I don't know what's scarier, what you just said or the fact that you said it." Donnie said in shock and I raised my free hand in surrender. "No idea." I replied. "Wait, what did I say?" Mikey asked confused and I groaned. And the moment's gone... "Mikey's right. The Kraang are trying to transform the planet many to something that they can live on." Donnie replied and I gasped silently. "And we can't! We've to stop them." Blue ordered and I narrowed my eyes. "How can we get out of here with these guys watching our every move?" Raph asked pointing his finger on a bunch of floating Kraang. Yikes, that was awful. "We need a distraction." Blue said and I smirked coyly.
The portal activated and the Kraang flew away from the dome. And it was the perfect time to apply my plan. I reached with my free hand my gun which, thankfully, the Kraang didn't took. I turned back to the dome and held the bottom of the gun tight. "Yo dudes, Can you hold your breath?" I asked and the guys turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Like a turtle do!" Mikey replied and that gave me more confidence. "Now's your chance to prove it Mikes." I said and raised my gun. Then, I threw it towards the glass which broke into shutters.
The turtles jumped down, holding their breath and fought some Kraang. Blue back flipped to my side and suddenly, I felt my left wrist free. "Thanks." I said twisting my wrist. Raph handed my Tanto and gun by the time the green gas disappeared. Guys exhaled and smiled. "We're good!" Donnie exclaimed and I rolled my eyes. "Whatever Brainiac." I replied and the portal opposite us glowed white. "The portal!" Blue yelled and I set myself into a defensive position, tightening the grip of my tanto.
"Something's coming through!"
A giant rock hand appeared first and then an also giant rock monster cane out from the portal, fire surrounding it. Floating Kraang surrounded it and I stared at that.
Cool!
"Welcome to Earth, giant rock man." Mikey greeted and I looked him in disbelief. "What the fuck are you trying to do?! Be friends with that?!" I shrieked as the monster attacked.
I hate Kraang.
__________________________
After hours, we finally turned back to the lair. We were all exhausted and sad. LH, sacrificed himself to save us from the rock monster and he turned back to Dimension X. I still couldn't believe it.
"Farewell my friends."
This was his last phrase before white light swallowed him and the monster in. Mikey cried all his way here so did I. I was right, that day wasn't the best. We lost one of our closest friends, we failed in our mission and...
I never learned why the Kraang kidnapped my mom.
"You're okay!"
I looked up at April and walked beside her, tears gathering my eyes. "Welcome home, my children. Was your mission successful?" sensei asked and I took a sit next to Blue who wrapped hands around my shoulders. "I'm afraid not, Sensei. Leatherhead's gone." Blue said sadly and I rested my head on his shoulder. He kissed my head softly and I let a huge, sad sigh. "Yeah...but he saved us and I found this!" Mikey said and I heard D gasping. I lifted my head and looked at my genius brother with curiosity. "You realize what this is?" he asked in awe taking an object from Mikey's hand and I raised an eyebrow. "Shiny!" Both Mikey and Tania replied before glancing each other with a blush. "It's a data storage device! If I can decode it, maybe it can help find a way to stop them." D exclaimed and ran into his lab.
I sighed again and Blue hugged me tight. "Are you okay?" he asked softly and I shook my head. "I need some time to get over this." I replied, placing my head on his shoulder again. "I understand. If you need anything, I'm here to help." he said and I nodded.
"It doesn't make sense. What do they need my dad for?" April asked and I immediately thought of my mother. "Well, he is a scientist." Raph replied and that's when I forgot about LH. "Yeah, but he's a psychologist. He studies rats running through mazes. No offense." April said to sensei who smiled genuinely. "I like a good maze." he replied. "And my mom?" I finally said and they all turned to me. "Your mom?" Raph asked with a raised eyebrow and I nodded. "Yeah, I saw a vision earlier with my mother being kidnapped by the Kraang. And they did something on her. And that might explains the whole green eye-thingy." I replied and Blue placed a hand on my leg. "Why didn't you tell us in first place?" he asked and I looked him into his eyes. "I didn't know what it was exactly but when we learned about the Kraang plot, I realized that they did something to my mother." I replied softly. "So...why they were after them in first place?" Raph asked and we all shared a look.
"I don't think they were."
I turned and faced Donnie who was gesturing us to follow him in his lab. I stood up and walked inside. We all gathered his laptop and D started to type something on the keyboard. "I used the process inside Metalhead to access this store rabble device." I glanced at Metalhead who was plugged with plenty cables. "A lot of the files are damaged, but I think I found what they're after for." Donnie continued typing and seconds later, he pressed the enter key.
Many photos of me and April popped up, leaving me breathless. "They're after me?!" both I and Apes exclaimed in shock. No, no, no! This couldn't be real! Shredder, an army of vampires and now the Kraang are hunting me down?!
NO!
I stepped back, my eyes bulging out of my sockets. My heart pounded against my chest, feeling as if it would jump out of my chest and run for the hills. My face paled ten shades lighter, and I began to hyperventilate. My head was spinning and going into all kinds of direction. So many memories and the new information I'd just learned were swimming in my mind and it was too much to the point where I started to become dizzy. The world spun around me and I couldn't stand on my feet anymore. I fell in Blue's strong arms, hearing the others yelling my name from a distance.
Then, my whole world went black.