Golden Angel

“’Ere it is. Just like I told ya. Another one ‘a Shredder’s garbage-pickin’ goon squads.”

Kasai played a bit with the night vision goggles on her forehead, looking curious.

“I wonder what he’s collecting all this stuff for…”

“It probably isn’t good…” Mizu replied.

“Intergalactic yard sale?”

SMACK!!!

“OW!!! BABE…”

“No police security this time around…” Leo noted.

“Must be something pretty important buried down there if he doesn’t want the police to know about it…” Artemis added.

Don’s Shell Cell went off, and he answered it to the strange ringing, buzzing sound…
AGAIN…

“Not that stupid thin’ again…” Chi grumbled, rubbing her sensitive ears.

“Only this time, I came prepared with my Palmtop to trace the signal.”

“…How do you ALWAYS have EVERYTHING in there? …Are you a magician?”

“…No, Artie…I’m not.”

“…DARN…”

Rolling his eyes, the purple-banded turtle focused his attention back on his gadget.

“Download in progress? Impossible…”

“Don, figure it out later. We’ve got something much bigger over here.”

Mizu focused her goggles on the same spot.

“A Triceraton supply ship?”

“Let’s take a closer look…”

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“Hey, no Foot goons.”

“SH…” Artemis scolded.

“That might be the whole problem…”

“Where did they all go?” Kasai wondered.

“I don’t like it…Keep your eyes open.”

“Ya think they’re in the ship?” Raph questioned.

Chi sighed, closing her eyes.

“…I…I can’t tell…”

She seemed frustrated, and now a bit peeved.

“I’m gonna get whoever’s stoppin’ me from seein’ in there…”

“…I don’t want to be near her when that happens…” Mikey admitted.

Stepping inside, Artemis lifted up her goggles and used fire to light up the room.

“Nothing in here of any value to the Shredder…”

Artemis’s eyes narrowed, and the flames around her curled fist nearly changed blue…

“Except us…”

The door slid closed behind them, and Kasai jumped like a hare that realized its walked into the lynx’s trap.

Chi tried to rip the doors open, but electricity rushed through it, and she jerked back with a cry of pain.

“CHI!”

The Earthbender’s hands were smoking slightly, and Mizu started healing it as the others tried using other tools to force the doors open.

The lights came on, and the teens turned to see…

“Karai…” Artemis snarled, the flames licking up her arms…

“Artie…” Kasai soothed, trying to keep the flames from consuming her friend…

Once the fire was out, she stepped back, seeing the wary look on the turtle’s face.

“We need to talk.”

“Talk ta the sai, ‘cause the ears ain’t listenin’!”

“Raph, wait. Let’s hear her out.”

“She helped us last time…” Mizu reminded them.

“And she tried to kill us before that.”

“I apologize for the elaborate set-up, but I knew of no other way to contact you. I need your help.”

“AGAIN?”

The gold-banded turtle sighed, rubbing her forehead a bit.

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“And so, if they remove the anti-gravity generator, they will be sending millions to their doom. I know I haven’t been particularly kind to you, Artemisia, but your abilities will be necessary to save them.”

“I can’t stop a CITY from falling out of the sky. I can only keep it aloft for a bit.”

Chi’s eyes narrowed.

“Does this mean ya’ve left the Shredder?”

“I am duty-bound to serve the Shredder, as always.”

“Then nothing’s changed.” Mizu noted, crossing her arms.

“I just do not wish to see millions suffer.”

“Even if we do agree to help you, how do we stop the Shredder from coming back for the anti-grav generator the next time? It’s not like we can shut it down.”

“Actually, I might be of assistance in solving that technical conundrum…”

Wide eyes stared at Don’s duffel bag…

“DONNIE…What was that?”

“WHOA, I must be hearing things! That sounded like Professor Honeycutt!”

The purple-banded turtle pulled out his Palmtop, and the Fugitoid’s face appeared on the screen.

“PROFESSOR!”

“Hello.”

“It IS Professor Honeycutt!”

“Yer alive!”

Chi looked downright CONFUSED…

“I can’t see ‘im! Where is ‘e?”

“Who is he?” Kasai wondered, looking curious.

“A friend of ours we thought was dead…” Artemis admitted.

“It can’t be. We saw you sacrifice yourself. You saved the world.”

“Oh, dear…I’m afraid I don’t remember any of that…The last thing I recall, I was on the rooftop with Donatello, broadcasting the signal to make me invisible to the Triceratons. What I didn’t tell you is that I put a back-up of my hard drive in the satellite communications network. For the event of my destruction. Which I’m assuming must have happened…”

“So YOU were the one making the calls to my Shell Cell…And the download…That was you downloading your memory into my Palmtop.”

“Well, most of it…You’re hard drive was lacking capacity, so I had to forgo some nonessential information.”

Mikey took the Palmtop, grinning.

“Who cares, Professor! I’m just so happy to see you!”

“…I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Michelangelo! …Mikey! …The Mikester? Wait, so I’m nonessential information?!”

Chi hugged him, trying to cheer him up.

“AW, poor baby…Yer essential info ta me…”

“Thanks, babe…”

“Anyway, I couldn’t help overhearing your dilemma, Ms…?”

“Karai.”

“With my knowledge of Triceraton technology, I should be able to assume control of the anti-grav generator and gently lower the city of Beijing back to the earth…In theory.”

“And if it doesn’t work, I’ll have to stop it.”

“Not alone, ya won’t.” Chi retorted.

“Yer Earthbendin’ ain’t good enough ta let ya stop a fallin’ city. I’m gonna help ya.”

“So am I to assume we have a deal?”

Everyone shared a glance, and Mizu sighed.

“Deal.” Leo answered.

“Okay, now how to we get into Beijing?” The jade-skinned she-turtle questioned.

“Leave that to me…”

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“We’re in a crate…I HATE this plan already…”

“It’s a’right, Artie…We’ll get ta beat somethin’ up soon…”

“We’d better…”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Mizu stated.

“No need to get jumpy.”

Kasai jumped onto Raph’s lap.

“…Too late…”

Soft knocks on the wood…

“Stand by…We are approaching Beijing…”

“About time…I’ve got to go to the Little Turtles Room.”

“…You stay away from me…”

“We didn’t need ta know that…”

Now, Artemis knew what free-falling felt like…

THIS was free-falling…

“SHELL!”

Her wings were free, shattering the crate as the others freed their hang gliders.

Chi landed on Artemis’s back instead, gripping the shell as tight as she could, as the crimson-eyed turtle swooped down to catch a falling Karai.

“This doesn’t mean I like you…But I wouldn’t wish falling on the ground and splattering on many people…”

“Thank you, Artemisia…Now we must land.”

“I’m with you on that one…Everyone’s so HEAVY today…”

“HEY!”

“Sorry, Chi…”

“Hey, what was with the instant sky-diving lesson?!” Mikey demanded once everyone had landed.

“It was an unforeseen event.”

“I’m SURE it was…” Chi mumbled, jumping to the ground.

“But I have my suspicions as to who is responsible.”

“Ya know what yer problem is, lady? Ya can’t decide whether ta help us or ta kill us!”

Kasai tried to calm him, soothing his anger.

“I’m sure she wasn’t lying. Why would she have been falling, too?”

He huffed, crossing his arms.

He couldn’t stay mad when she was there, no matter how hard he tried to hold on to his anger.

“We need to get to the square.” Leo stated.

Don found a cart, but Artemis spread her wings wider.

“I think I’ll just fly…Let’s go.”

“Come on, Karai. Karai?”

She was gone…

“…I’m not liking this…”

“Let’s just go.”

The group took off for the anti-gravity generator, Artemis keeping into the high air, where no one could clearly see her.

She saw the upgraded Mousers, and swooped down, an Airbending Slice cutting some in half.

Chi tried puncturing some with earth spears, and Mizu was freezing the strange spider-like legs to the ground.

Kasai jumped on one’s back, melting through it’s back and ripping out some wires.

The machine bucked before she jabbed a flaming hand into the circuitry.

It roared its death, and she flipped over another as it tried to avenge its fallen comrade.

Don was running for the anti-gravity generator, and was soon on the side.

The Waterbender did her best to stop the Mousers from following him, but she was tiring, and the machines kept ganging up on her.

Artemis managed to steal their attention, and crushed their heads with powerful Metalbending.

The whole generator seemed to flux, and the city of Beijing began to fall to the ground…

“SHELL!”

Artemis flew up into the air, bringing fire into her hands and spinning as she reached the shield.

A hole was ripped through long enough for her to get out, but she didn’t waste time celebrating.

Swooping below the once-floating ground, she spun again, making a hurricane to help keep it aloft.

Once it flew up a bit, she held up her hands, concentrating as hard as she could…

It stopped in midair, but sweat was building on her brow, and her arms shook ever so slightly…

The others were worried for her, and continued fighting through the Mouser’s as Don tried to get the generator working again.

The blimp departed, and Artemis was panting heavily.

“G-Guys…” She forced out into her headset.

“H-Hurry it up…”

“It should be alright now, Artemis. You can drop it.”

“Are you sure, Donnie?”

“Positive…”

Relaxing her arms, she breathed out, wings flapping slowly as she tried to control her heartbeat.

Flying back up at a slower pace, she managed to burn her way through the shield again to rejoin her ‘family’.

The shield went down once she landed and was jumped by the large Mousers, and a mighty gust of wind headed straight for them.

Making a ball of air large enough to shield them, Artemis tried to keep from falling over.

Too much…

She was taking too much…

That’s when Karai decided to make an entrance…

“’Bout time ya showed up!” Chi grumbled, crushing a Mouser between two walls of earth.

“I could ill-afford to be seen coming to your aid earlier. If the Shredder were to find out…”

“Enough talk! Let’s do it!”

Mikey was riding one like it was a bucking bronco, though he was flung off…

Chi managed to crush the machines heading towards him with Metalbending, and ran to his side.

“Baby! Are ya ‘kay?”

Those Mousers were SERIOUSLY messing them up…

Mizu had dark bruises on her side from being flung around, Kasai had a bleeding shoulder from sharp metal teeth, and Chi was covered in bleeding scrapes.

Artemis seemed the most knocked-about, but she still managed to keep going, which caused her more injuries.

That’s when Don and the Professor managed to shock the machines, and the others could breathe.

Beijing was then safely on the ground, and Karai stood.

“Then it is over.”

“Not until you walk away from the Shredder, Karai.” \

“You know I can not do that…”

“This is the perfect opportunity. They think you’re dead. You can disappear. We can help you start a new life.”

“…Could you so easily turn your back on YOUR father? Even if you KNEW the things he did were wrong?”

Artemis looked away, deep in thought…

“…No.”

Kasai sighed, looking up at the sky.

“Um…Doesn’t the sun rise in the east?”

“Oh dear…Did I set the city down facing the wrong direction?”

“It seems ya did…” Chi answered.

“Well…Everyone makes mistakes…”

‘Maybe not mistakes this BIG, but…’