Golden Angel

Artemis was content to sit on the couch, reading ‘The Golden Compass’ with Mitsukai lying on her lap napping.

The quiet was rare, what with Mikey and Raph living in the lair, and she was enjoying it thoroughly.

Not to say her brothers weren’t ENTERTAINING, but some of the things they did annoyed her to the point that she wanted to burn them in the deepest pits of hell and leave them to the devil.

But she’s much nicer, warmer, than she lets on most of the time, and would never seriously hurt her family.

That’s why she took out her irritation, her anger, on punks and punching bags.

But, really, they were the same thing.

She was REALLY enjoying the peace when her brothers got back…

They were having fun, riding around and shouting.

Lowering herself in her seat as Mitsukai snuggled into her chest and did a happy little growl deep in her chest, she tried to block them out.

Splinter came out of the kitchen with a tray, tea and some sweets on its surface, and Artemis perked.

“Time for your shows, sensei?”

“Yes, my daughter. And it seems your brothers have returned…”

“UNFORTUNATELY…”

The four turtles managed to keep away from running Splinter over as the elderly rat placed the tray on the coffee table.

He seemed rather calm as he avoided Don’s bike, Leo’s scooter, and other things as he poured his tea.

Pulling her feet up, Artemis settled back to watch along with her father.

It was one of the only things she did for personal time with Splinter, and she was never happy when something disturbed it.

She grabbed one of the sweets, ready to eat it, when Mikey sped by.

He nabbed it, skating away.

“…I won’t hurt him…I won’t hurt him…” She kept muttering to herself like a mantra.

Her fingers curled a bit, ready to become fists, but she held the feeling back.

The moment Splinter sat, ready for his stories, the power went out.

Artemis cringed at the sound of a loud crash behind her, and peaked back when the elderly rat lit a candle.

“Nice wiring job, Don!”

“I can guarantee that it’s not MY wiring! Maybe it’s a blackout.”

“Maybe…Now, do you want to get your foot off my shell?”

Smiling at her brothers, she quirked an eye-ridge.

“Better keep that flame away from Mikey, sensei. He ate a whole chili pizza for dinner." Artemis teased.

Mikey pouted.

“HEY…”

“Clearly, there is a power failure. I suggest you investigate and see if it can be fixed.”

Artemis groaned, standing.

Pulling on her rollerblades, she clicked on Mitsukai’s leash.

“Let’s go. Come on, girl.”

With what looked like a grin, the husky pulled the turtle along.

“You know, my baby would make a great sled dog.” She noted.

They headed out, Artemis getting used to being pulled along by the enthusiastic canine.

They headed topside, and Mitsukai sniffed the air from the jade-skinned turtle’s dark shell, the rollerblades wheels hidden.

“Ya know, I don’t think Splinter meant we should investigate this far.” Leo stated.

“Ya can never be too thorough. ‘Specially when it equals topside time.”

“This whole side of town is dark.” Don noted.

“A substation must’ve gone down.”

“This isn’t right. Shouldn’t there be some emergency lights or something.” Leo stated.

“Yeah. It’s so dark a bat would smack into walls.” Artemis agreed.

“Which means there’s only one thing for us to do.” Mikey stated cryptically.

Not ten minutes later, they were street level and doing fancy tricks.

Mitsukai jumped over a railing, and Artemis grinded on the metal before jumping off and racing along with the canine.

Leo stopped.

“Guys, you really think we should be doing this? What if somebody sees us?”

Mikey and Raph stopped beside the blue-banded turtle, and Artemis rolled her eyes as Mitsukai stopped.

She just KNEW those two were going to say something stupid…

“Hey. Check this out.” Don stated, coming towards them.

Following the purple-banded turtle’s gaze, she spotted two ninja scaling a wall.

Mitsukai bristled, baring her fangs.

“Come on, girl…It’s alright…” She soothed, patting the husky’s head.

“Didn’t we fight these clowns once before?” Mikey asked as they hid.

“Yeah, and we nearly got waxed.” Don replied.

Artemis smirked a bit, remembering that one ninja who’d come after Mitsukai.

‘I won’t have to worry about them taking her again…’

“Whose up fer some payback?”

Raph stood up, twirling his sai.

“Let’s go get them.” The gold-banded turtle agreed.

Heading into the building, she found it was a museum.

One was using a gauntlet to get ready to pull out a strange sword, and Mitsukai seemed to snarl silently.

Artemis only knew it was there because she was holding the dog back around the chest.

Leo threw a shuriken, giving away their presence.

“Gift shop’s on the first floor, boys. But they don’t take kindly to shop lifters. And neither do we.”

“…Cool line, Leo.” Artemis complimented, smiling, as Mitsukai tried to pull herself from the turtle’s hold to lunge at the ninja.

One unsheathed its katana, and the other reached for the sword again, but her kunai stopped him.

“Now, ‘fere ya try an’ make off wit’ the goods, ya might wanna consider a few thin’s. One, yer outnumbered. Two, don’t let the pretty faces full ya. We’re tougher than we look.”

Artemis smirked a bit at that, pulling one of her fans from her shell.

“You better believe it…”

Ninja jumped in, surrounding them.

“And three…we’re about to get our butts SERIOUSLY hammered!”

Standing up, she elbowed Mikey a bit.

“It won’t be that bad.”

Mitsukai fought against her leash in a rage.

“…Actually, I can’t wait!”

Clicking the wheels out of her rollerblades, she whistled.

“Let’s go!”

Eager to move, the white and gold husky pulled the turtle sharply.

With a grind of the wheels, Mitsukai stopped, and Artemis flew feet-first at five ninja.

Stopping once the wheels met floor, she smirked.

“Come on, girl. We’ve got lots to do.”

With a sharp bark, the strange harness around her chest straining as Mitsukai started at a run again.

Though she’d filled in, she still seemed small, and Artemis was still amazed at how strong the canine really was.

When the dog stopped again, Artemis jumped up for another kick, landing in a handstand this time.

Flipping back onto her feet, she elbowed a ninja in the stomach when he tried to sneak up on her.

Smirking, she made the ‘tsk’ing sound again.

“Don’t sneak up on a kunoichi, man.”

She did a roundhouse kick to another’s face.

“It’s bad for your health.”

She grunted in pain when one ninja managed to kick her in the stomach, but Mitsukai retaliated with a snarl and her fangs.

“…See? Bad for your health.”

She patted the dog’s head as she released the ninja.

“Good girl.”

“Guys! A little help over here!”

Looking up, she spotted her other three brothers heading to Leo’s aid, and bit her lip at the crash she could just SEE happening.

“Guys-!”

CRASH!!!

“…Watch out…”

“I sense a teamwork training session in our future…” Mikey groaned.

The ninja start scattering, and Artemis pulled out one of her small fans.

Snapping it open, she spotted one ninja reaching for the antique sword again.

“No way!”

Throwing it like a shuriken, it caught in the wood near his arm.

Not looking perturbed, he still pulled out the blade.

“Hey! No touchy!”

Skating towards them as she dropped Mitsukai’s leash, she pulled out one of her large fans.

The ninja seemed ready to leave, but she blocked his path.

“Nope. Sorry. Evil ninja aren’t using the exits today. Try later.”

Smirking a bit, it faltered when she heard a startled yelp.

“MITSUKAI!”

The ninja before her lifted the sword, and the blade glowed as the others tried boxing him in.

A strange energy came out, smacking into them and throwing them back.

Groaning in pain, she looked up to see Mitsukai, muzzled and struggling, being carried off.

“MITSUKAI!”

She couldn’t find her footing, however, and the ninja escaped.

“How about best two out of three?” Mikey suggested.

Artemis growled, eyes looking like live fire.

“Those bastards!”

“Artie…” Mikey tried delicately.

“They took my dog, damn it! I’m going to kill them!”

“Artemis.”

What looked like bristling rage seemed slightly soothed by Leo’s calmer tone.

“Calm down. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Police sirens pierced the walls, and the gold-banded turtle picked up the leash before following her brothers.

Back at the lair, she was still fuming, and even Raph scampered out of her path when she stormed past.

They grouped around Master Splinter as she stomped around, snarling and looking ready to breathe fire.

Mikey had secured all his ‘valuables’ once they got home, but he still got scared she’d break the TV’s.

Splinter thought it would be best to let her cool down before trying to reason with her, and took the piece of cloth Mikey offered him.

The questions asked were blurred in her ears, and the elderly rat’s response sounded like static.

One thought kept throbbing in her brain, pounding in her ears and ripping at her insides.

‘I let them take my dog. I wasn’t careful enough. I should’ve done something.’

The last part burned her eyes.

‘I let her down…’

Now, she knew Mitsukai was just a dog.

But she felt the dog was almost…sentient…

She was attached to the creature, loved the canine to death, and hated seeing her hurt.

It was the same with everyone else she’d let into her life, like April or Casey.

Well…

Casey, not so much…

Looking up at the strangely disappointed faces of her brothers, she bit back her hurt rage.

“What’s up?”

“Man, when you’re mad, you’re OUT of it.” Mikey noted.

She almost bared her teeth like a cat.

“Just answer the question.”

“We can’t go topside.”

The orange-banded turtle hid behind the couch as her eyes flashed.

“WHAT!?!”

Don ran to his computer, probably to escape, and Raph got away, though his excuse would’ve been that he needed to do something locked in his room…

“Artemis, let’s not break anything…” Leo soothed.

“I’M NOT STAYING DOWN HERE, DAMN IT!!”

Mikey whimpered, hiding lower, and she seemed to lose steam at the sound.

Leo would’ve been relieved, if her eyes hadn’t started shining with tears.

“…I just can’t leave her there, Leo…”

“It’ll be okay.” He assured, worried she’d cry.

None of the brothers knew what to do when she cried.

Don was immersed in his computer search, but he looked over his shoulder at the hidden panic in Leo’s eyes as Artemis sniffled.

Seeming to gain something close to balance, she just shook her head and headed to her room.

“Artemis-!”

“Just…leave me alone…”

The door closed strangely softly, but the gentle ‘click’ seemed to ring in the air.

Leo sighed, seeing Mikey and Raph come out of hiding.

‘I’d hate to be one of those ninja when she sees them again…’

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Staring at the bed she’d made for Mitsukai on the floor with warm blankets and pillows, Artemis sighed.

Someone knocked on her door, and she lifted her eyes to see Leo at the doorway.

“Hey…We’re heading out.”

She quirked an eye-ridge, still standing.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just hurry up.”

Smirking, she strapped on her fans.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!”

She followed him out of the lair, and they joined up with the others soon enough.

They headed for the bridge, and crimson eyes narrowed on the blacked out buildings.

“A blackout. Just like last night.” Raph noted.

Don rooted through his Bag ‘a Tricks, pulling out strange goggles.

“But this time, I came prepared.”

Mikey took them from his brother’s hands, putting them on.

“AWESOME…Total Turtle-Vision!”

Don relinquished his brother of the gadget.

“Night-vision, actually.” He replied, putting the goggles on.

“How do we survey such a large area?” Leo questioned.

“I came prepared for that, too.”

Pulling something, a hang glider popped out from over his shell.

“I’ve been dying to try this puppy out!”

“What do you mean by that?” Artemis asked.

“You HAVE tested it, right?”

“Dudette, how is he supposed to test a flying machine in the sewers?”

“He’s a smart turtle! He can figure it out!”

“We’ll stay in touch via Shell Cell. Don’t worry, Artie. I’ve worked out all the theoretical aerodynamics.”

“THEORETICAL!?!”

But he had already jumped off, and she smacked her forehead.

“You guys will be the end of me, I just KNOW it…”

“It’s practically foolproof!” Don shouted, heading straight for the water.

“But is it Don-proof?” Raph asked.

“I hope so…” Artemis muttered.

“Don? Don?!” Leo called into his Shell Cell.

“I’m okay! Just forgot to compensate for the wind drag on my Bo staff.”

“And he couldn’t have thought of that SOONER?”

“Guys? I’m picking up something strange on the river.”

Perking, Artemis scanned the water, finding the disturbance.

“…Whoa…”

“It looks like…they’re searching for something under the water.”

“Whose searching?” Leo questioned into the device.

“…It’s our ninja buddies again. And they have that sword they stole rigged up to some vibrational cannon.”

Artemis bit her lip worriedly.

“What about Mitsukai, Donnie?”

“…They’ve got her!”

Steeling herself, the gold-banded turtle narrowed her eyes.

“I’m there.”

“I’m over Pier 16.”

“We’re on our way.” Leo replied as the four turtles ran down the thick cables of the bridge.

“I’m going in for a closer-!”

A startled cry made it over the speaker, and her head snapped towards the cannon.

“DONNIE!”

The hang glider crashed, and they were already nearing the pier.

“Don? Can you hear me, bud?”

There was a strangled silence as they waited for a reply…

“…MAN, that water STINKS! And this is from a turtle who lives in the sewer!”

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Artemis closed her eyes.

“Yes!” The others cheered softly.

Continuing on their way, they found the boat bearing the strange cannon, and a muzzled and chained Mitsukai.

“We’ve got a visual on the cannon.” Leo said into his Shell Cell as Artemis tried not to completely blow their cover.

Fighting your instincts, however, is VERY hard…

“I only see two guys, but that just means that the others are hiding.”

Her anger made her senses heighten, reaching past her limits and feel the air shift.

A growl rumbled deep in her chest.

Ninja jumped down from a ship, surrounding them.

“I HATE it when he’s right.” Mikey complained.

Pulling out one of her large fans, she snapped it open.

“There’s gonna be a butt-whooping tonight…”

They jumped into action, and Artemis found it rather easy to dispose of her opponents.

Her fan, through large and sharp, was hard to wield when inexperienced or in very close combat.

To balance this, she’d learned hand-to-hand very well.

The fight led to the ship, and she jumped up to smack away opponents.

“This is a waste of time.” She growled, her fist coming up to hit someone coming at her from behind.

Jumping up, she swung her fan to propel herself towards the other boat.

Landing softly, she folded her fan and went towards the still-struggling canine chained to the bottom of the platform the cannon was on.

“Hey, girl…” She soothed softly, clicking off the steel muzzle.

Mitsukai whimpered, nuzzling Artemis’s face and licking her cheeks.

“Good girl…” She whispered, taking off the chains and freeing Mitsukai.

Tail wagging furiously enough to shake her rear, Mitsukai jumped into Artemis’s lap, nuzzling and licking and whimpering happily.

“I missed you too, girl…” She muttered, hugging the wolfish dog around her shaggy neck and trying to compose herself.

The sound of a helicopter brought her back to her senses, and she stood.

“Come on, girl.”

Her brothers seemed to be doing okay, so she looked up towards the cannon.

‘This might be tricky…’

Seeing the others coming towards her, she flexed her fingers and jumped up to start the climb.

The cannon seemed to be turned off when she was halfway there, and Mitsukai whined softly from below.

Her brothers followed, each at a corner.

“Now, boys. There’s a matter of some stolen property we need to discuss.”

The scientists tried to run, but Don blocked off their escape route.

“Dudes, you REALLY shouldn’t be playing with such dangerous toys.”

Raph came up as well, and they inadvertently ran towards her and Mikey.

“Hello, boys. What’s the hurry?”

One of the scientists pulled out a strange little device, which seemed to project a laser.

Dodging it and flipping up, she kicked him square in the chest.

When he fell back, the laser went straight through the controls.

The sword sparked, the platform shook, and frantic beeping made it rather OBVIOUS something was SERIOUSLY wrong.

A chopper came as Artemis fought for adequate balance, and she tried to grab them before they got away.

They were lucky, considering what she had planned for them, and got away.

The cannon turned itself on, swinging slowly to start hitting the docks.

“I think we’ve got bigger problems!”

The wood started to splinter and shatter, heading for warehouses.

“Donnie, tell me you have a plan!” Artemis shouted as Mitsukai jumped up, huddling behind her legs.

“Talk about bad vibes!” Mikey stated.

“Not funny, Mike!”

“Don, can you shut it down?” Leo questioned.

“Well, I might be able to disconnect the sword from the accelerator, but crossing the terminator might result in a feedback…”

“Whatever! Meanwhile, just point this thing AWAY from civilization!” Leo ordered.

They tried pushing it, but the cannon seemed stubborn.

Mitsukai snarled, head butting it roughly.

A police helicopter was coming now, and the husky pushing hard enough to move the cannon.

Wires sparked, and the whole thing started spinning, knocking Don off.

He couldn’t get close enough to stop it, but Leo managed to use a crowbar to stop its wild swinging.

The purple-banded turtle tried to remove the sword, but it sparked, hurting his palm.

Mitsukai picked up a metal glove with her teeth, and whined as she pushed it against Artemis’s palm.

Taking it, she threw it towards her brother.

“CATCH!”

Pulling it on, Don managed to grab the sword and pull it free.

The power died, and the whole contraption seemed ready to blow.

“Let’s get out of here!” Don shouted, and no one argue as they ran from the immediate area.

The platform shattered, and the cannon fell into the water, a small explosion following.

“WHOA…Awesome light show.” Mikey noted.

“Speaking of light shows…”

They spotted the helicopter coming closer, and decided heading home would be their best bet.

Once at the lair, they showed Splinter the ‘magical’ sword, and Artemis sat back to hug and cuddle Mitsukai.

“The design is unmistakably eleventh century Japanese…but the metal is unlike anything I’ve ever seen…”

Mitsukai gave a happy growl from her mistress’s lap, but Artemis was listening intently.

“Clearly, there is more to this sword than meets the eye…”

The elderly rat placed it on a stand, pulling off the metal glove.

“It’s best that it remains out of the wrong hands.”

“Yeah, Mikey. No touching.” Artemis teased.

“HEY…”

But the gold-banded seemed so peaceful right then, that Mikey didn’t even want to tease her back.

Reasoning that she’d already been through enough, he just smiled.

Even Mitsukai seemed happy, snuggled on the couch.

Smiling a bit, Leo shook his head.

‘We should just let her relax…Her heart might not be able to take anymore today…’