Golden Angel

“A’right. Time ta do some trainin’.”

Artemis smiled, eager to start Earthbending.

“I’m ready!”

Chi closed her eyes, taking a stance.

“Earthbendin’s ‘bout stayin’ firm, not movin’, no matter what comes yer way. If ya can’t stand yer ground, then ya can’t Earthbend.”

Nodding, the gold-banded turtle mimicked the stance, breathing out.

“Ya know ‘bout jing, right?”

“Kind of…”

“There’s positive jing, fer attackin’, an’ negative fer evadin’. Earthbendin’ uses neutral jing.”

“Neutral?”

“It means watchin’ an’ waitin’ fer the perfect moment ta strike…”

Mitsukai seemed to jump as some bricks flew up into the air, seeming to levitate around the red/gold-haired girl.

“Try ta hit me.”

“Are you serious?”

“No Airbendin’. That ain’t fair…”

“Okay…”

Artemis took a Waterbending stance, since Mizu said she was almost at the level where her teaching would no longer be required, and pulled some water from the pipes.

Shooting a thin whip at the Earthbender, she was stunned when the girl merely side-stepped the attack.

Bringing the water back around, she sent it at the girl again in a wave.

Chi brought up a wall of earth, shielding herself at the last moment, and pushed it back into the earth once the water no longer drummed on its surface.

“How do you…?”

“My sight, when someone is touchin’ the ground, is more…complete…I see your moves ‘fere ya do it, WHEN ya do it…”

“And then wait for the right moment to stop my attacks.”

“Exactly. If this were a real battle, I would ‘a counter-attacked.”

Artemis rubbed her head, sighing, before moving the water into the ‘pond’.

“Alright…”

“Let’s try a basic stance. For movin’ a rock.”

Artemis mimicked another stance, and Chi breathed out, eyes closed.

“A’right…Anchor yerself ta the earth…Feel it under ya…It’s a constant, an’ it’s necessary fer everythin’…Ya need ta feel like a part ‘a it…”

The jade-skinned turtle closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.

As she stopped depending on her sight for information, she felt the air shifting around in gentle breezes, and the vibrations from movement through the bricks…

“I think I’ve got it-.”

“ARTIE!”

Startled, the she-turtle opened her eyes before Mikey tackled her.

“OW! WHAT!?!”

“I need your help!”

Shoving him off, the crimson-eyed turtle glared.

“I told you not to interrupt any of my training! This is important!”

“But THIS is UBER important!”

With an exasperated sigh, Artemis gave in.

“Fine…What is it?”

“Do you have my latest issue of the Justice Force?”

“…”

SMACK!!!

“OW!!! ARTIE…”

SMACK!!!

“OW!!! CHI…”

Both girl’s glared at him in their own way, one crossing her arms over her chest.

“…I’ll…uh…just be over here!”

Artemis sighed, standing up.

“He’s such a shell-for-brains…”

“Got THAT right…”

Deciding to end that lesson for now, the two went their separate ways to relax.

Artemis snuggled up with her large Sky Bison, and Chi pulled on some headphones.

Don was trying out one of the Shell Cycles he’d made with Mizu, and Raph and Leo were sparring.

Throughout the noise, Splinter was trying his hardest to meditate…

A loud whistle made everything stop, and everyone, startled from their activities, turned to the elderly rat.

“For the next hour, we will practice your ninja silence! Understood?”

Everyone nodded, even Chi, and there was silence…

For about ten seconds…

Loud music basically INTRODUCED Casey Jones into their home, and Chi raised the volume on her MP3 Player.

“Sweet lookin’ ride! Hey, we should do a road trip!”

A walking stick hit the boom box speaker, and it shut off.

“Excellent suggestion.”

“…Really?” Leo asked.

“MAN…We must’ve been louder than I thought…” Mizu muttered.

“I think it would be better for all of us if you got out of the city for a while.”

Artemis quirked an eye-ridge, but a grin spread across her face.

“ALRIGHT. Let’s go!”

Mikey was complaining about not having his comic, and Casey suggested a guy he knew.

“…ROAD TRIP!”

“Not fer me, thanks…” Chi muttered.

“Why not?” Mikey asked.

“…”

She quirked an eyebrow at him, and Artemis smacked her forehead.

“Mikey…she’s blind…” Mizu muttered, trying to help him out.

“Oh, YEAH…”

“…Do ya have a hole in yer head?”

“Yeah. It’s where ‘is brain is supposed ta be.”

“HEY…”

“NICE one…”

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The drive up to North Hampton on their Shell Cycles, along with some new biker jackets, was a bit long, but they FINALLY reached the comic store…

“We’re in luck, guys. It’s costume day.” Casey stated.

“Ya’ll blend right in.”

Stepping into the store, the Earthbender just leaned on a wall, fiddling with the baggy t-shirt and jeans she’d pulled on.

Artemis seemed only slightly interested, sticking close to Leo.

Mizu liked the Silver Sentry toy Don was flying around over their heads, and Mikey was searching fervently for the comic he wanted.

“Hey, Casey. Can you spot me some cash? I’ve GOT to buy this!”

“Sorry, friend. Justice Force 137 doesn’t exist.”

“What?! No way!! I’ve gotta know what happens to Battling Bernice!!”

“Mikey…”

“Yeah, Artie?”

SMACK!!!

“IT’S A COMIC!!!”

“ARTIE…”

With a roll of her eyes, she headed back to Leo to see what he was looking at.

Chi sighed, lifting her head when Steve replied to Mikey’s curious question.

“She…didn’t make it…”

“What? How do you know?”

“I remember it like it was yesterday…She sacrificed herself to save Doctor Dome and Stainless Steve…The Justice Force disbanded shortly after that…”

“Boy…this guy sure takes this stuff seriously…”

The Earthbender, however, knew something was being hidden…

Searching without her eyes, she found something strange…

‘What in the world-?’

Strange little robots opened the door, and everyone shared strange looks.

“Um…Who invited the pint-sized can openers?”

“Probably the same person who decided that was a good design fer a weapon…”

Windows were busted as more of the robots jumped in, and the three girls fell into three different stances.

Some were flying, so the Earthbender had to do her best to avoid them as she crushed the ones standing on the ground.

Mizu knocked them away with a whip of water, cutting some clean in half.

Artemis jumped up, doing an Airbending Slice to cut five in half at once.

“YES! Airbending SLICE!” Mikey cheered.

Casey was getting his butt handed to him before someone else in the store apparently ‘transformed’ into a superhero from Mikey’s favorite comic book.

“Metalhead?”

“WHOA…Nice job…”

“Wait? The Justice Force is real?”

Something clanged hard against Steve’s head, and there was the undoubtedly loud sound of metal on metal.

“Real as this steel saucer on my noggin.”

“Ya guys didn’t notice? Yer blinder than I am…”

“And you’re the REAL Stainless Steve Steel!”

“And those are real Domoids!”

“…Domoids? Did MIKEY name these things?”

“ARTIE…”

The old superhero strained his back finishing off a Domoid, and Metalhead was shocked by the many he was fighting.

Unconscious, they started flying away with him, even though the gold-banded turtle jumped up to stop them.

At the doorway, she spun to make a tornado, but the little robots were determined, and flew straight through the turbulence.

Stopping, Artemis put a hand to her head.

“OH…I feel dizzy…”

There was a spark, and she jumped in surprise before glaring behind her at the little Domoid.

“It just shocked me in the ass!!”

Chi couldn’t help a laugh, and hugged her gut as she threatened to fall over.

“Little thing never stood a chance…” Don muttered.

However, when the young Avatar cried out, they all jumped.

“ARTEMIS!!!”

She fell onto her shell, electricity still playing over her skin, and the Domoid, along with a few of his friends, lifted her into the air.

“ARTEMIS!!!!!”

Leo ran to try and reach her, and barely touched her hand.

Those little buggers were fast…

“Damn little things-! WHERE ARE THEY?” Chi snarled.

“Up in the sky…” Mizu answered softly.

“There’s only one fellow I know who has the brain power to run those Domoids…That’s old Doc Dome himself.”

“Wasn’t he one of the Justice Force, too?”

“Doc Dome has always blamed the rest of us for the demise of Battling Bernice…It was only a matter of time until his anger turned to madness and revenge.”

Leo clenched his fist, obviously SERIOUSLY miffed.

Steve pulled out a strange device, pressing the button so it glowed.

“The Justice Force emergency signal?”

Chi sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“Ya read too many comics, man…”

“I’ve carried this around for almost fifty years…I never thought I’d have to use this again…”

Getting on their Shell Cycles, they headed to a large mansion, Leo managing to bring Artemis’s along as well.

“I can’t believe Doctor Dome would turn evil…”

“He did…An’ ya’ve been sayin’ that the whole ride!” Chi stated, stepping out of the vehicle.

Mizu had to agree, even though she and the Earthbender had very few views in common.

Their very styles showed their differences.

Chi was rougher, unrefined, but still powerful.

Mizu, on the other hand, was smooth, refined, and was just as strong.

They came to the same end, but one came through practice, and the other through sheer force of will and a sharp tongue.

“You can’t ignore the facts, Mikey.”

“Ya’d be amazed at what ‘e can ignore.” Raph stated.

The others headed for the door, and Mizu stopped when the door opened under her light touch.

“…Um…It’s not supposed to do that, right?”

“Uh, Steve? You leave your door open?” Don asked.

The old man shook his head, and the turtle’s unsheathed their weapons as Mizu brought water out of her flask.

The mansion seemed large and empty, dark with shadows…

The Waterbender stepped closer to her boyfriend, water rippling under her palms.

A wheelchair stopped in front of them, holding an old man in a strange superhero outfit.

“Um…?”

“AW…It’s just some ol’ dude…” Casey complained.

“OLD?”

The old man made a little tornado around the vigilante, lifting him into the air before letting him fall again.

“Watch who you’re calling old, slowpoke!”

“AWESOME…It’s Zippy Lad!”

“He ain’t so great…” Chi muttered.

“I’ll show you, little missy!”

He tried to charge her, but she moved her foot, and earth came up to lodge his wheels securely.

“HEY!”

Steve gave the blind girl a strange look.

“That’s a strange power.”

“It’s called Earthbendin’.”

“Oh, well…You’re looking well, Zip.”

“No I’m not! I’m a mess, just like you!”

“Right here, guys…I just need to stretch out is all…”

Everyone flinched a bit as his backs cracked, and Mizu looked a bit concerned.

“Did someone say stretch?”

She almost jumped into Don’s arms as the old man’s head stretched to see Steve.

Don couldn’t help smiling at having her so close, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“What’s the matter, pops? Not as Joylastic as you used to be?”

“I’ll retract eventually…It just takes a little longer than it used to…”

Chi quirked an eyebrow…

“These are yer superheroes, Mikey?”

“Yeah! Are these guys awesome or what?!”

“They’re somethin’ a’right…”

“It’s like we’re a part of history!”

“Yeah…Ancient history…” Raph replied.

As they waited for Steve to get into his old suit, the rubberband-man to retract, and for Zippy to get the kinks out of his leader’s back, the others looked around.

Leo looked through some of the books, trying to keep his mind off of the worry for his love, and Chi was knocking on walls to get a better view of the place.

Everyone else was warming up, ready to go, as Zippy finished his ‘massage’.

“Now we need to figure out how to defeat Doc Dome.”

“If ‘e’s as ol’ as ya’ll are, this should be easy…”

“CHI.” Lei reprimanded.

“What? It’s the truth!”

“I’ve been wondering…Why did Battling Bernice quit the team for a year?”

“She never said…But I always suspected it had something to do with Doc Dome.”

The Earthbender perked as something landed on the roof, and flexed her fingers.

Mizu looked up warily, water rippling under her fingers.

“Chi…?”

“Domoids…At least some ‘a the damn thin’s…”

Leo went out through a window, and saw the army of robots heading straight for them.

“Here they come!”

Everyone stood on the roof, ready to fight, as the many little machines crawled over the large roof and chimney like cockroaches.

Water blades cut the closest in half, sparking, and the Waterbender made tentacles around herself to skewer others.

Chi brought earth up from below, reinforcing her fists so she could crush the robots she could see with fatal punches.

The Justice Force was inside, dealing with the Domoids that had managed to get inside, and, from what the blind girl could tell, at least Steve and Zippy were doing alright.

When she lost sight of the fast-wheeled old superhero, she knew something was wrong…

Then they took an elongated old Joylastic and flew off with him, too…

“They’re getting away!” Mikey shouted.

“Not exactly. I planted turtle trackers on the old guys…Just in case.”

“So what are we waitin’ fer?” Raph asked.

“Let’s roll!”

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Stopping outside of the wire fence surround what looked like a giant dome building, Mizu looked around worriedly at the Domoids.

She still cut a way through the metal wire, and the eight slinked through, hiding in the bushes.

“Whoa…That’s one mighty big dome…” Casey stated.

“That’s Doc Dome’s fortress.”

“Look at all those Domoids…”

“We’re in luck. Doc Dome isn’t controlling them right now.”

Steve passed on the binoculars to Chi, who gave him a blank look.

“Oh…Sorry…Sometimes, I forget…”

“Whatever…”

She gave it to Don, who looked at the glowing heads of the robots.

“See those flashing blips in their domes? That means they’re in automated defense mode. They’ll attack anything that moves that doesn’t carry one of those signals.”

“Then we’ll just have to give off one of those signals…”

“Sweetheart, what are you thinking?”

Using his new Silver Sentry ‘toy’, he lured eight of the Domoids into their hiding spot so they could beat on them and take the domes.

It sure felt stupid to have that bulky thing on their heads…

They managed to walk right past the rest, though, so Mizu figured it was worth it…

“We look ridiculous…” Raph grumbled.

“You’ll look even worse if we get our heads bashed in by a hundred Domoids.” Don replied.

“…Can’t argue wit’ that…” Chi admitted.

The door even opened for them, and the Earthbender, who could now ‘see’ the whole building, led the way to the other members and Artemis.

The strange pods seemed to be frozen on the inside, misting the glass, and Leo rubbed it away to find the peaceful face of his love.

Though, he was pretty sure she’d be PISSED when she woke up, she looked at ease right then…

“Doc Dome will pay for this…” Steve ground out as he found Metalhead and the others.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. I’ve read too many comic book stories where things are never what they seem.”

“…Except fer the reference, that was pretty good advice…”

“Really?”

“…Not if that’s all the good advice ya’ve e’er given…”

Steve broke the glass encasing Metalhead, who woke slowly.

Then an alarm went off, beeping, as the whole place shook.

Leo cut through the glass over Artemis, and there was a hiss of air before she opened her eyes, the crimson fogged with something like sleep.

“Hey, love…morning already?”

“Not exactly…”

He couldn’t help smiling as he lifted her out, her sleepy body leaning against him for support.

“But we’ll be alright, love…”

“…I really did get shocked in the ass, didn’t I?”

“What makes you say that?”

“My ass really hurts…”

He would’ve chuckled, but a wall was blown open before a large Domoid came in.

“COOL…Doc Dome!”

“Surrender, Stainless Steve! You and your reptile flunkies may have succeeded in kidnapping the others, but you won’t get Doctor Dome without a fight!”

It charged for them, and Chi brought up a wall of earth, slowing it’s momentum, before she was smacked away by a large hand.

“You DARE accuse us of YOUR twisted scheme, Doc Dome?!”

Artemis put a hand to her head, looking like she was confused and had a headache all at once.

“Huh? Leo, what’s going on?”

“This is YOUR lab!! These are YOUR Domoids!!”

They were smacked away, but a ball of air sent the large robot back.

The jade-skinned turtle glared, fists clenched at her sides.

“I may not know exactly what’s going on…But NOBODY hurts MY family and goes away without a good butt whooping!”

“Ya GO, girl!” Chi cheered, standing up, no longer dazed from her fall.

“If you won’t admit your treachery, then perhaps your captives will!”

Doc Dome picked up Stainless Steve, and then proceeded to ‘wake up’ Zippy Lad and Joylastic as well.

Both elderly superheroes then proceeded to blame Doc Dome for their kidnappings.

“What? No! HE’S the traitor! Can’t you see he’s trying to frame me?”

“Impossible! Only YOU could have unleashed those Domoids! They only respond to YOUR telepathic commands!”

Steve managed to free himself, and Artemis quirked an eye-ridge as she took in all this information.

“I haven’t used the Domoids in years! All of that mental control is giving me super migraines! And isn’t it CONVENIENT that YOU were present for all the kidnappings, but you yourself were never kidnapped?”

The Justice Force got suspicious, of course, and the gold-banded turtle sighed.

“It’s the Avatar’s job to settle disputes fairly.”

She looked back at Mizu, who smiled reassuringly.

“Go get them, Artie.”

With a slight nod, she stepped towards the feuding elders.

“YO!”

Everything stopped, even Doc Dome’s attempt to stomp on Stainless Steve.

“Now, before you all do something STUPID, LISTEN to my opinion.”

She stepped between them, glaring at both.

“NOW, did it EVER cross your minds that it might not be EITHER of you?”

“What?”

“Then who could it be?”

“Maybe someone you guys haven’t met yet? Someone with Doc Dome’s powers? Am I the only one that THINKS of these things?”

Domoids rushed in after Mikey added in his own comic-geek input, domes glowing red, and Artemis brought up her hands.

Of course, this caused blame to land on Doc Dome…

“GUYS!!!!!”

Air stopped them from attacking the old man inside, and Artemis sighed in exasperation.

“If I remember right, wouldn’t HIS dome be glowing red, too?”

“Uh…maybe?”

“But if HE’S not controlling them, who is?” Mizu asked.

Chi whirled around, still on the ground, and knocked some Domoids away.

“I think I found who…”

Everyone turned to see…

“Battling Bernice?!”

“How’s that possible?”

“Nobody stays dead very long in comic books.”

“Look closer, Dome. What do you see?”

The old, short man climbed down from his large robot, and looked up at the woman.

“I see the woman I love…”

Chi stuck her tongue out, faking a gag.

“And just as…young? You should be older! You’re not Battling Bernice!”

“What gave it away?” The Earthbender asked sarcastically.

“The young age?” Artemis added.

“That’s right. I’m her daughter, Ananda.”

“…Seriously? What kind of name is that?”

“Maybe ‘er mom was drunk with pain when she thought ‘a it.”

“You’re lying! I would’ve known if Bernice had a daughter!”

“She didn’t want ANYONE to know! That’s why she quit the team when she did! But you PULLED her back in! ALL of you! And now I will have revenge on those who took my mother away from me!”

Claws came to grab four of the Justice Force members, and the three bender’s took stances.

“Sorry. But we can’t let you do that.”

Air flew up into blades, cutting at the claws, when the large Domoid reached down and grabbed Raph and Leo right off the ground.

Mizu brought the water up the cut at its chest, and Chi jumped up to tear the metal apart with her bare hands.

Mikey and Don were caught under it’s feet, and the Waterbender cut clean through the metal legs.

“But how can you control all of my robots?” Doc Dome asked as other Domoids came to restrain him.

“I thought you would’ve figured that out by now…”

Removing her helmet, Ananda revealed her glowing-red dome.

“Daddy.”

“Okay…EW!” Artemis stated, jumping away from the many little robots trying to hold her and the other girls down.

“That’s right! I inherited all of your mental powers! I took over your Domoids and your lab, abducting your teammates, knowing that everyone would blame you! Nothing would have been more satisfying to me then watching you all destroy each other! But now I’ll just have to destroy you all myself!”

The Domoids charged, and Artemis spun, making a tornado that lifted the little robots into the air.

Doc Dome tried to fight his daughters control, and succeeded in freeing Mikey and Don, along with the other Justice Force members and the other turtles and Casey.

“Oh no you don’t!”

They battled mentally for control, and Chi made the earth shake as the robots came closer.

Doc Dome was too weak to keep control…

“Face it, daddy…You’re old…And you’re weak…”

The large Domoid lifted the old man into its tight grip, and the army of Domoids got between them and Ananda.

“Uh…Leo?”

Artemis backed up until her shell clinked against his.

“Any bright ideas?”

“Everyone, concentrate your attacks on Ananda!” Don shouted.

“There’s too many of them! We can’t even get close to her!” Steve retorted.

“No, wait! DON’T concentrate your attack! Split her focus in as many directions as possible!”

The three bender’s shared a smirk, and Mizu brought up the water tentacles.

“That shouldn’t be too hard…”

With three raging bender’s fighting in so many different directions, and the others joining in, Ananda couldn’t keep up…

“Too much going on at once…I can’t control it all!”

The large Domoid, no longer on-line, fell over, crushing Ananda’s legs to the shrine dedicated to her mother.

There was a silence as the other Domoids shut off, and everyone turned to see how things had turned out.

Doc Dome freed himself, and used his power to lift the large Domoid off his daughter.

“Here…Let me help you, daughter…”

The girl refused to look at her father, stubborn…

“Ananda, look at me…No one forced your mother back into the Justice Force. She chose this life, and she chose to give her life to save ours. But you still have one parent who is very much alive.”

He offered his hands to his daughter, and she accepted.

“And wants to be a part of YOUR life…”

They hugged, and Chi faked a gag again.

“MAN…It’s like a soap opera in ‘ere…”

Artemis couldn’t help but nod, and Mizu shrugged.

“Kinda…”

“It IS pretty mushy in here…”

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Outside of the large dome, the turtle’s mounted their Shell Cycles, and the two humans settled in their side-cars.

“I can’t thank you guys enough for your help.” Steve said gratefully.

“This could have easily ended in tragedy, but it looks like things will turn out okay.”

“Thanks to these young whipper-snappers.” Zippy stated, smacking both Mikey’s and Artemis’s shells.

“How’d you ever come up with such a clever strategy?” Joylastic asked the orange-banded turtle.

Chi rolled her eyes, pulling on a helmet.

“Probably in a comic…Can we go now?”

The crimson-eyed turtle smiled.

“Oh, alright…At least Mikey’s comic geekness saved our shells…”

Leo gave her a kiss, smiling.

“It helped you, didn’t it?”

Smiling back, she nuzzled his beak.

“Yeah…Doesn’t mean I have to suddenly be nice about it…”

They headed out, but Mikey stayed back when Steve threw him something.

“Whoa…An official Justice Force Super-Secret Signal device?”

“Consider yourself an honorary Justice Force member.”

“AWESOME!”

The engine revved, and the orange-banded turtle popped a wheely, grinning at the happy shout Chi gave.

Something about that smile on her face made him feel…

GREAT…

He didn’t understand the foreign feeling, but he knew one thing…

He wanted to see it again…