Golden Angel

Artemis was sitting on the couch, Mitsukai lying on her lap and napping as she fiddled with a karaoke machine’s mike.

Her brother’s had gone to the junkyard, but, with her injury and sudden bouts of sleepiness, they thought it best that she stay behind.

Mitsukai had gotten even more protective, snarling at shadows and snapping at air, and stayed closer to the jade-skinned turtle than before.

Feeling confined, she pushed against her restrictions and tried to get past them.

She never fought them when Splinter or even Leo set them up, but she would get a bit miffed when the shallow gash on her head took away her time topside.

Sighing, she put down the mike, and sat back.

‘I’m BORED…’

Glaring at the ceiling, she patted Mitsukai on the head.

“Let’s go out, girl.”

Mitsukai raised her head, a wolfish grin on her muzzle and ears perked.

“Good. Let’s go.”

The dog jumped to the ground, tail wagging as Artemis strapped on her fans.

“Follow me, baby…”

Heading out of the lair and leaving a note, she went straight to the streets, and then the rooftops.

Mitsukai followed her easily across the gaps, and made her aware of danger or threats.

The husky stopped, a sharp bark in her throat, and Artemis skidded to a halt at the edge of the roof.

“What is it, girl?”

Mitsukai whined, then looked down and growled.

‘Someone’s in trouble…’

Making a sign to stay put, she jumped down into the shadows.

There was a crying little girl of eight, tears running down her cheeks as three large men chased her.

Pulling out her two small fans, she snapped them open with a flick of her wrists.

The little girl hid behind a dumpster, and Artemis took the chance to beat up the three burly men.

It was rather easy, actually.

They didn’t even see her coming.

Some well-placed kicks, punches, and swipes, and the three were out cold against the brick walls.

Snapping her fans shut, she put them back on her belt.

“Easy…”

“Wh-Who are you?”

Turning, she stepped slightly more into the shadows as the girl came out of hiding.

“A-Are you an angel?”

Smirking a bit at the irony, Artemis shook her head.

“Sorry, but no. I’m just trying to help.”

“B-But…My mommy…”

She perked, looking sympathetic.

“What happened?”

“Th-Those mean m-men wanted m-mommy’s money…”

Crimson eyes narrowed, Artemis set her jaw.

“…I’ll help you, alright?”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. Just head home. I’ll find your mom for you.”

Looking worried, the girl nodded.

“A-Alright…thank you…”

“Don’t mention it. Now go.”

As the girl ran off, Mitsukai made it to the jade-skinned turtle’s side.

“Get the mom’s scent?”

A soft bark.

“Good girl. Now let’s find her.”

Following the ‘ninja dog’ through the shadows, she was too focused on saving the woman that she didn’t notice shadows following her from a safe distance.

Mitsukai pointed her quivering nose at a run-down warehouse, and she sighed.

“Don’t get into any trouble, baby. Come get me if there’s any trouble.”

Watching the warehouse as she scaled a wall, she sat on the ledge and studied the activity.

That’s when her Shell Cell rang…

With a sigh, she put it to her ear.

“Yeah?”

“Where are you?”

The worry and concern was matched with strange crashing sounds in the background.

“…Um…Out?”

“You’re not supposed to BE out!” Leo replied.

“I need some fresh air, Leo. I can’t be cooped up.”

“You’re still injured.”

“It’s not bleeding anymore, so it’s fine. Besides, I’m a little busy.”

“…Don’t do anything stupid, Artemis.”

“I never do. That’s Mikey’s department.”

She knew she was on speaker phone when she heard Mikey’s “HEY…”

“Just don’t get into any fights.”

“I’ll try.” She promised.

“You guys can sleep easy. I’ll be home in a couple hours.”

Someone else took the phone, and she immediately recognized Don’s voice.

“Don’t do anything rash, sis. You could reopen it.”

“Yes, mom. I won’t get in trouble with the neighborhood bullies.” She joked.

“I’m being serious!”

“And so am I. I just like joking around.” Artemis replied.

Someone else took the phone.

“Artie, can you bring me presents?”

Rolling her eyes, she smiled a bit.

“MAYBE, Mikey…just be a good little turtle and stay away from my room.”

“Um…There might be a problem there…”

“…What did you do to my room?”

“Raph did it!”

He hang up abruptly, and Artemis quirked an eye-ridge.

‘I don’t feel good about how that conversation ended…’

Shrugging a bit, and promising herself to hurt her orange and red-banded brother’s, she stood up.

Seeing a wire connecting the two buildings, she used a closed fan to slide across.

Landing quietly, she looked around at the rooftop.

Heading inside through a high window, she landed on some crates.

‘Too easy…’

Looking around, she saw at least thirty men, all burly and armed with guns, around a woman in a small wooden chair.

She was tied down with chains, and a small man, at least in comparison to the others, came towards her.

He was saying something, and Artemis pulled the kunai out of her wristbands.

‘Looks like its time for the hunt…’

Throwing the sharp projectiles, she used the ninja wire to move them enough to disarm most of the large men.

Jumping down as the others fired, she opened one of her large fans to deflect the bullets.

Once the noise died, she was off again, her closed fan smacking into one guy’s stomach as her feet came up, hitting two more in the face.

Landing in a single-handed handstand, she spun on her palm, feet and fan smacking into at least five more.

Flipping to get to her feet, she opened the fan and swung it in a powerful arc.

One came at her from behind, she elbowed him in the chest, and grabbed his shirt as leverage to lift her feet up again in a split kick.

Her feet then went immediately upward, conking the man solidly on the head before she used his face as a springboard.

Releasing him, she rolled on forward, knocking them over thanks to the solid wall of her shell.

Landing in a crouch, she looked at the many downed men, and the supposed ‘leader’.

“So, what do you say about letting her go?”

He went into an offensive stance she recognized, and she snapped the fan shut.

“Guess you want to do this the hard way, huh?”

He lunged for her, and she danced around the blow like the wind itself.

“Too slow!”

The closed fan smacked him away, but he kept his footing.

“Come on. You can do better than that!”

He pulled out a weight and chain, making her quirk an eye-ridge.

“Have we got a martial artist in our midst?”

The chain wrapped around her arm, pulling taut.

“Well, let me tell YOU-.”

Grabbing the chain tight, she pulled back with plenty of strength.

“That you can’t beat a kunoichi THAT easy!”

Pulling out a kunai, she cut the chain, and played a bit with the strange little weight.

“That the best you’ve got?”

The air shifted, and she ducked his fist.

His knee came racing up to meet her, but she blocked it with her palm before his other hand hit her on the side of the head.

Stumbling back as her gash reopened from the blow, she winced.

The gash had been long, from above her eye-ridge to her jaw line, and was now letting out fresh red blood.

Holding back the automatic reaction to throw up, she gritted her teeth.

“I’m not finished yet…”

Pulling out her kunai, she threw it easily.

He caught it, and she pulled him towards her before meeting him half-way with her foot.

He went down rather hard, actually…

Turning, she found the woman unchained and free, actually running to the door.

‘No need to say thank you…’ She thought down-heartedly, sighing.

Hooking her thumbs into her belt, she turned and headed back to the crates, jumping up easily as she one-handedly strapped her fan to her shell.

Heading out into the dark, she found Mitsukai and headed home.

The shadows that once followed her had disappeared, and she slipped through a manhole before ending up at the front door.

A bit wary of their reactions, she hesitated before opening it.

“Artie!” Mikey exclaimed, looking happy.

His grin fell a bit when he saw the blood on her face as it dripped from her chin and hit the bricks.

“Artie, you’re bleeding…”

Leo was at her side already, looking at the reopened gash worriedly as he took a towel and applied pressure.

“Didn’t I tell you not to fight?”

“I said I’d TRY not to.”

“How’d this happen?”

“Someone got a lucky shot in. It doesn’t hurt too bad.”

He applied more pressure, and she hissed slightly in pain.

“Oh, really?”

“Well, it doesn’t hurt too bad if you don’t touch it…”

Don was on his computer, but he came over with bandages.

“What happened to ‘Yes, mom. I won’t get in trouble with the neighborhood bullies’?”

“The bullies messed with somebody.” She defended, hissing again as he put on ointment.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have taken that hit to the head, then.”

“I wouldn’t have had to if I could’ve just gone with you guys…”

Raph smirked.

“Trust me, it wasn’t fun, princess…”

“Better than being stuck in here…”

Leo sighed.

It was obvious that Artemis didn’t do well in closed spaces for too long.

She had a wild streak that didn’t do very well in the sewers, and it made her irritable if she couldn’t go topside.

“…Well, we’ll be going somewhere now, actually…”

She looked up with hopeful eyes, and the blue-banded turtle decided that red wasn’t such a hate-filled color after all.

“…Yeah…We’re going to an offshore dump.”

She quirked an eye-ridge as Don bandaged the gash.

“Why?”

“They’ve been taking our homeless buddies!” Mikey answered.

She clenched a fist, letting out a heavy breath.

“What are we waiting for?”

Mitsukai shook her head, hiding under the couch.

“…She doesn’t like the smell of garbage…” Artemis explained with a sheepish smile.

“Let’s just go…”

They headed down a tunnel that came out at the harbor, and she sighed.

“Water-proof bandages?”

“Water-proof bandages.”

“Good.”

“The place LOOKS harmless…” Don noted.

“It’s quiet…maybe TOO quiet…”

“See? How does Leo make THAT line work?” Mikey asked.

“Because he’s cool, okay? Stop complaining, Mikey.” Artemis replied.

No one noticed the blush on Leo’s face from the compliment, but he tried to hide it.

“Let’s go.”

They jumped into the water, and swam through floating debris and garbage.

‘…I hate New York garbage…’

Coming up on the shore to the landfill, they headed around quietly.

Shaking off some of the water, they headed through some of the crushed garbage paths, trying to find their way around.

Mikey stepped in some orange goop, and Artemis stopped to look back at him.

“I don’t wanna KNOW what I just stepped in…”

“I don’t wanna know what you stepped in…”

“Mikey, focus!” Raph adds.

A spotlight turned on, and they hid behind the garbage.

A truck headed straight by, a spotlight mounted on it.

‘This is a weird landfill…do they expect prisoners to escape?’

They scaled up a garbage wall, missing the spotlights, and they looked over the edge to see what looked like a prison.

“Unbelievable…”

Vision shifting, she saw the many homeless working tirelessly.

‘Those poor guys…they’re slaves here…’

Gripping one of her fans tight, without pulling it free, she gritted her teeth.

Guards with taser rods kept the poor people moving, and she glared.

“This is makin’ me sick!” Raph whispered fiercely.

Leo held him back, and Artemis fought the instinct to bolt down.

A black garbage truck came out of orange goop, red headlights blazing.

“…EW…” She muttered.

It let out three more people, and they fell down a ramp to join the others.

“That’s it!” Raph growled.

“Hold it, Raph! Look!” Leo whispered back.

The garbage truck’s front opened, releasing a very LARGE, very DISGUSTING man on a strange mix between a wheelchair and a tank.

“THAT is the most DISGUSTING thing I have EVER seen.” Mikey stated.

“Just this once, I TOTALLY agree wit’ ya…”

“I’m with him.” Artemis added.

“Greetings, filth!”

‘THEY’RE filth? I can smell him from here!’

He was on a platform above the group of homeless, a ramp leading down to them.

“Garbage. Filth. Power.”

“If that’s true, then this guy is Superman.” Mikey muttered.

“Before I brought you to this island, you were human garbage. No home. No purpose. No value.”

‘I’ll show YOU no value, you stinky little-!’

“But NOW, I have recycled you, put you to work sifting through the refuse that the city stupidly squanders.”

The five stood, pulling out their weapons.

“To build my fortune. Behold the birth of my empire! Invisible to the outside world, until it’s too late!”

Someone stood up, and her eyes widened when she realized who it was.

‘The Professor!’

“I would rather be a free man, living on the streets, than a slave in your stinking empire!”

“Guards! Silence him! Get this ungrateful beast back to work! NOW!”

The old man was shocked, and she jumped down from the wall.

“Artemis!” Leo whispered as loudly as he dared, but she was already hidden from sight.

Her brothers soon followed, and she jumped out, closed fan disarming a guard and jabbing him in the gut.

Catching the electric weapon, she shocked him with it.

“Not so fun, is it?” She growled.

Mikey was ‘garbage surfing’, knocking guards away easily, and she jumped up to avoid him.

“Watch where you point that thing.” She warned.

They went and freed the homeless from their bonds, and the wave went after their oppressors.

“Make sure this goes well.”

Looking up at Leo, Artemis was ready to retort when a net was fired, catching her.

Crying out in surprise, she struggled a bit against the metal wire.

Some of it cut into her skin, and she stopped, pulling out a kunai.

Leo was worried now, but had to follow the others to fight the Garbageman.

“Are you okay, Artemis?”

“I’ll be out in a jiff. Go help the others.”

Trying to be reassured, he nodded, heading off.

She pulled the wire off, sitting up with some small cuts on her arms and legs.

“Damn metal wire nets…I oughta hurt somebody for this…”

Flipping to her feet, she managed to get a guard in the stomach.

“Got away from the mob of angry people, huh?”

She smirked, lifting him up by his ‘shirt’.

“Well, you chose the wrong girl to mess with.”

Throwing him into the growing pile of unconscious men, she looked around.

‘Now where did my brother’s get to?’

Heading for where she’d last seen them, she followed the path of garbage sludge.

She got there in time to see the Garbageman holding Mikey over the edge of a cliff.

“MIKEY!”

Don’s Bo staff made the whole thing short-circuit, but she managed to jump in before Mikey fell into the water.

Holding him up by her grip on his wrists, she gritted her teeth as she struggled to pull him up.

“DANG IT, Mikey? Why do you eat so much pizza?”

“It’s delicious?”

“Just swing, bro.” She ordered, and he swung over her head.

She managed to roll before the large man fell into the water, and breathed out in relief.

“For SURE he can’t swim…” Don noted, looking over the edge with the others.

“We’ve gotta do something.” Leo stated.

“I knew ya were gonna say that…”

“Well, I’m tired. You guys can go.”

Don, seeing the cuts on her that could easily get infected, nodded.

The four brothers jumped in, and she looked over the edge as they hit the water.

Seeing them surface a minute or so later, she knew they hadn’t found him.

By sunrise, they were back on the island and helping the homeless back to the city.

“What’s up, Professor?” Don questioned.

“We voted to stay here. There’s food and shelter. The Garbageman was right about one thing. People DO throw away a lot of valuable items.”

“Watch out fer ‘im. Somethin’ that evil ‘lways comes back.”

“Now SEE? That works! How do you come up with those?” Mikey asked.

“Quit recyclin’ the old ones, Mikey. Keep lookin’ fer somethin’ new.”

“I agree with him. All of my wittiness if completely original.” Artemis added.

“It’s 100% pure Artemis Hamato.”

“…But you’re MEAN sometimes…”

“That comes with the package.”

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

“How did it go?”

“She took the bait, master. And she disposed of them faster than expected.”

“The girl and her mother?”

“Taken care of.”

“Good…”

Standing up, he turned to look up at the symbol behind him.

“It’s about time I sent her a message, then…Start roping her in before she gets too wild.”

“Are you sure she’s tame enough for what you have planned, master?”

“Yes. She should be perfect for what I have planned…”