Golden Angel

Artemis sighed as she polished her smaller set of fans.

When open, they were about the size of two of her hands, fingers spread, and she only used them when her larger fans were too heavy or noticeable to be used.

Mikey and Don were arguing over what to call their new place, going through names like ‘The School of Gifted Reptiles’, ‘The Turtlecave’, and ‘For Hall of Nin-Justice’.

“My sons.” Splinter interrupted, and both stopped to look at their father.

“We will call this place…‘home’…”

As the two turtles agreed on the name, Artemis rolled her eyes, smiling at her father.

“Good save.”

“Now, what is taking your brothers so long?”

Mikey shrugged, lifting a box and heading off to put it away.

“They should be back soon. Right, Donnie?”

“Yeah. With the way the Sewer Slider is performing, they should be back any minute now.”

The purple-banded turtle headed for a workbench, where parts of one of those blasted machines was, and started tinkering.

Snapping her fans shut, she felt something shift in the air.

“They’re back.”

Even Splinter gave her a slight questioning look until the sound of the Sewer Slider’s engine reached them.

The floating ‘car’ landed easily, and Leo jumped down from the back.

“Artemis, it looks like some of your stuff survived.”

“If you brought back the bed, I SWEAR-!”

She was surprised to see her decorative sets of fans, and her eyes widened.

“MY FANS!”

Jumping up, she took them and hugged them like they were her babies.

“THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU!”

Happy as a schoolgirl with a crush, she almost squealed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Leo blushed, and stuttered out, “Y-You’re welcome…”

He turned back, trying to find something to distract himself as Artemis gave him a confused look.

“Hey, Mikey. You’re DVD collection survived.”

Throwing the box to the orange-banded turtle, Mikey grinned.

“Great! Now lets put something in that’s light on story and heavy on gory!”

“Oh, God…where’s my barf bucket?”

Raph chuckled.

“Ya can fight ninja and play in sewer much, but Mikey’s movies make ya sick…”

“…Oh, shut up…”

Mikey, not paying attention to the good-natured banter between the two more hot-blooded turtles, turned on the TV’s to find the news.

It was on StockTronics, and Don insisted on watching.

Artemis really couldn’t care less about it, and turned to balance her opened, smaller fans on her hands.

The televisions became background noise as the flat metal edges were twisted and twirled around her palms and the back of her hands, not to mention her wrists.

The gasp from the others made her turn her eyes to the screens, and she was so surprised she nearly dropped her weapons.

Raph was so angry he threatened to go topside again, but Splinter got in front of him, smacking him on the head with his walking stick.

“You’re last venture to the surface was a disaster. You can ill afford to be seen by more humans.”

Smiling a bit at her brother’s expense, Artemis turned back to the many TV’s Mikey had set up.

There was a strange maze, filled with rats, and she covered her mouth as the Mouser basically ATE them.

“Oh God…I’m going to throw up…”

“I’d sure hate to be a rat in THIS town…”

Mikey caught the look from Splinter…

“Oh, sorry sensei…”

Artemis sighed, closing her eyes as her stomach stopped grumbling in disgust.

‘I hope I never have to see THAT again…’

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Watching her brother’s get their shells thrown to the floor usually made Artemis uneasy or laugh, considering the circumstances.

Now, she really tried hard not to show how it didn’t affect her.

Stockman had made the Mouser’s that had destroyed their home, scared her, and then forced them into a fight they didn’t want to be involved it.

This strange feeling in her gut squirmed, and she pulled out her small set of fans before jumping at her sensei.

She was blocked, but managed to keep her feet as she dodged his walking stick.

Her weapons were blocked, and he kicked her in the stomach.

Stumbling back and falling onto her shell, she groaned.

“More power in your blows, Artemisia…”

She nodded.

“At least I still have my fans…”

Sitting up, she tried to release her fans.

“…I think my hand joints are locked…”

With a strange popping sound, her fingers straightened, and she sighed.

“Ah…MUCH better…”

Raph was getting his shell handed to him next, and she stood up, putting her fans on her belt.

Not really wanting to hear him complain, she only heard the basics.

Basically, he wanted to go topside and beat up Stockman.

Truthfully, she would’ve loved to join him, but the disappointed look she was sure to receive from Splinter always held her back.

The elderly rat headed for his room.

“We will resume your training in the morning.”

When the door closed, Mikey grinned.

“We will resume your training in the morning.” He stated in a gravelly tone.

“I heard that!”

“BUSTED…” Don joked.

The brother’s separated, going their own ways.

Artemis was lying on the couch, dozing off as Mikey started channel surfing.

The sounds of Don tinkering and Raph heading off to bed were some of the last sounds she heard…

‘Why in the world would Raph go to bed early?’

What felt like a moment later, someone pushed her off the couch.

“OW!”

Glaring up at Mikey, she started cursing in Japanese and stood up.

“…WHAT was THAT for?”

“You needed to wake up?”

Her glare looked deadly hot, considering her eyes were a deep crimson.

“…Donnie got the Mouser working and we need to go!”

Sighing, she shook her head.

“You couldn’t have just shaken me awake?”

“Nope!”

She quirked an eye-ridge at his grin, and snorted.

“Boys…”

“Guys! It’s moving!”

Following the little mechanical menace, she stopped in the tunnel, seeing her two oldest brothers on the floor.

“…I REALLY hope you guys are wrestling, ‘cause we’ve got work to do.”

Don and Mikey ran past her, and she pouted.

“HEY! WAIT UP!”

Running after them, she failed to see the embarrassed look on Leo’s face before both brothers followed.

The tunnel led to a drainage junction, and the Mouser started walking across a pipe.

They followed carefully, since the pipe seemed a bit slippery, and Artemis almost bumped into Don when he stopped.

“Resourceful little bugger, isn’t he?”

Looking up at the Mouser as it climbed the wall, she couldn’t help but agree.

“Remember what Master Splinter said.” Leo stated, pulling on his shuko spikes.

“A ninja is always prepared.”

“I thought that was the boy scouts.” Mikey joked.

Artemis rolled her eyes, pulling on her shuko spikes.

Starting the steep climb up the bricks, the jade-colored turtle started to wonder how she ALWAYS seemed to end up BEHIND Leo…

“MAN…we should leave the wall-crawling to the dude in the red and blue tights…” Mikey complained.

“…You read WAY too many comic books…”

Artemis would’ve said something, but her voice seemed frozen.

‘Gotta stop looking at his butt-Gotta stop looking at his butt-Gotta stop looking at his butt-.’

“We made it.” Mikey cheered, and they crawled through a short tunnel.

When the roof went higher up, and they run after the mechanical little critter.

“Hey, Donnie. What’s going to stop him from chomping another 6.2 on the Richter scale?” Mikey questioned.

“I turned off its jaw servos. It can’t even chew through a stick of gum.”

The Mouser, almost as if to prove the purple-banded turtle wrong, started chewing through pipes…

“…Ya were sayin’?”

“B-But I’m SURE I shut it down…”

“Ah…Don has finally lost his techno mojo…It’s sad, really…” Mikey stated.

SMACK!!!

“OW!!! ARTIE…”

“YOU’RE sad…”

“It must have some kind of security override routine…Come on!”

This time, Artemis stopped, Mikey smacking into her shell.

“Uh oh…”

“What is it?” Leo asked worriedly.

She looked at Don, and back up at the pipe.

“If I’m not mistaken, that’s a major water main right over our heads…”

“So?” Raph questioned his brother.

“SO?! Our little Mouser friend just ate through the pipes support!!”

There was a creak of metal as the pipe cracked, then burst open.

The water swept all five turtles off their feet, and they were forced out of the tunnel and out into the open air.

Pulling out one of her large, unopened fans, she caught a pipe.

Luckily, her brothers caught hold of her ankles, and they were a string of turtles.

Gritting her teeth, she strained her arms to hold the weight.

“Leo, I hope you have a plan…”

“I have one! Don’t worry, Artie!”

“Mikey, WHENEVER you have a plan, I’m worried…”

The orange-banded turtle started swinging, and she held back a cry at the pain shooting through her arms.

“Mikey-!”

Her grip was gone, and they flew at the wall.

Luckily, her shuko spikes found purchase, and she breathed out in relief.

“Mikey…”

“Yes?” He asked innocently.

SMACK!!!

“OW!!!”

“NEVER again!”

“But-!”

“NEVER!”

With a frown on her face, she managed to lift herself up as they headed back to the tunnel.

“How are we supposed to find him now?”

“I don’t know, Mikey…Maybe the tunnel he ate through the bricks!”

The orange-banded turtle smiled sheepishly.

“Oh…Heh…What do you know?”

“More than you…”

The new tunnel was shorter than expected, but led to subway tracks.

“Hey, there ‘e is!” Raph shouted, running to catch it.

“Watch out!”

Leo pulled his brother back, and a subway car sped by.

“Hey, where’d it go?” Artemis asked, looking around.

“It’s a little Houdini!” Mikey agreed.

“No! It’s a little hitch-hiker!”

Looking up, all five spotted the little mechanical menace on the large car.

Raph jumped onto the next one that came, and she smacked her forehead.

“He’s a maniac!” Leo exclaimed.

“Yeah…” Don agreed.

“…WAIT FOR US!”

Leaping, they managed to catch onto the roof, and get off when the Mouser did.

It had already made another tunnel, and they went through to find another Mouser walking around.

Mikey quirked an eye-ridge.

“…WHOA…who invited him?”

Raph pulled out a shuriken.

“Got it!”

The head was torn open, and the little guy fell over.

He did a high-three with Mikey before it stood up again…

“…I think they’re more…resilient this time…”

More came out, and the group was bigger than the previous one.

Pulling out one of her larger fans, she opened it with a flick of her wrist.

“Well, can’t keep the party waiting…”

Jumping in, she cut at least five of the Mouser’s heads off.

Spinning it to block the lunges of more, she pulled out one of her smaller fans and cut the head right open.

It was as if, for every one she cut open, at least three more rushed to take its place.

“Guys, the only way to kill them is to cut off their heads!”

“Well, ain’t THAT great news…For the turtle’s with the blades!” Mikey retorted.

“HEY!”

“And the fans…”

“THANK you…”

When the numbers were almost completely thinned, Don seemed ready to say something when Raph stabbed the last Mouser through the head.

“…THANKS, Raph…NOW how are we supposed to follow him? You just gutted his brain!” Artemis scolded.

“Whatever…”

“WHATEVER?! Why I oughtta-!!”

She stopped herself, feeling that strange shift in the air.

“…Someone’s hurt…”

Turning, she ran down a tunnel, hardly noticing if the others followed.

Seeing the Mouser’s, she pulled out her two smaller fans.

Cutting one open, she realized how close her brothers had been when the other four were beaten up.

Still in the shadows, she snapped her fans shut and put them into her belt.

“Oh, thank you…Thank you so much…you saved my-.”

The woman cut herself off when, because Mikey can be so STUPID sometimes, stepped out of the shadows a bit.

“Hey. How ya doing?”

When the red-head fainted, Artemis rubbed her forehead before smacking him upside the head.

“OW!!!”

Rubbing his head a moment, he lifted the human up into his arms.

“Hey…SO…Can I keep her?”