Angel's Child

The explanation…

Didn’t go over too well…

“This has happened before?!”

“Daddy, don’t overreact!”

“OVERREACT?! You almost DIED!!”

“I had it under control!”

“You jumped into the POOL!!”

“It helped, didn’t it?”

Artemis managed to squeeze between them, glaring at them both so they stopped yelling.

“Now that I have your attention…” She drawled, straightening.

“Your yelling isn’t helping anybody, especially my ears. Love, you go relax-.”

Her eyes narrowed, stopping his retort…

“I’ll take over training today. Angel, you’re going to stay in bed and get some rest.”

“But mom-!”

“March.”

With a pout on her face, Angela obeyed, Light trotting along behind her…

Artemis sighed, rubbing her temple…

“Put those down, Leo.”

He almost fumbled picking up his katana.

“How did you…?”

“It’s a woman thing.”

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The lair was dark as Izzy slipped out of her room…

Rosie had asked questions, wondered what was going on…

It had taken the gold-eyed turtle five minutes to reassure her sister that everything was alright…

Slinking through the shadows, she was tiptoeing around Angela’s room when someone rammed into her.

Only years of ninja training made THAT fall silent…

“What the SHELL-!”

Her soft rant was cut short when she realized who it was…

“Angie?”

“Izzy?”

Both seemed stunned to see each other, but Angela found her composure first.

“Come on.”

Both managed to slip out, Light at their heels, and the pair sat under a water tower, hidden in shadow.

“What are you out for?”

“Depends…Why’d ya bust out?”

“I’m going to meet up with…someone…”

“Me, too…”

Izzy smiled a bit, seeing her cousin relax.

The adults had always joked that, though their fathers hadn’t gotten along very well at their age, their daughters were the best of friends.

Artemis always claimed it had to be the extra estrogen, but Mizu felt it had more to do with their elements.

Water was adaptable, flowing and ebbing and raging…

Fire was constantly warm, flaring and dimming and sparking…

Both were passionate, stubborn girls, and they found similarities in a sea of differences.

Found harmony where there was chaos.

As long as they enjoyed each other’s company, they didn’t mind the strangeness.

“…Do you know the ‘Black Crows’?”

“Yeah…Why? Do ya?”

“Let’s just say we ‘met’ yesterday…”

Angela quirked an eye-ridge.

“Something I should know about, Izzy?”

The darker-banded turtle sighed as Light curled up between them.

“…I saved ‘im from ‘em a couple days ‘go…Didn’t think they’d come back fer more…”

“Don’t worry.”

The sky-masked turtle always had that smile hidden away for an occasion just like this…

“No harm done. And you had a good reason.”

“Thanks, Angie…”

They felt Light bristle against their legs, and a growl rumbled from her chest…

‘Looks like we’ve got company…’

Water started coming to her hand from pipes and the water tower covering them as fire sparked on Izzy’s palm…

Shadows slipped free of walls and doorways, inching closer to the ‘unsuspecting’ teens…

Angela spotted an emblem on one’s breast, a bright red against the black…

‘What’s that?’

Light was tensing, beginning to bare her fangs and scrape her claws on the concrete for a firmer grip…

A flash of shimmering liquid, and a whip of water was around one figure’s neck, his own katana poised over her head…

“I don’t think so…”

Throwing him over her head, she twirled around on her hand to kick another in the face.

Izzy jumped into action next, one hand aflame as she punched the black-clad ninja back.

Light snarled before pouncing, digging her fangs into one’s neck as he gave a final death shriek.

They were actually doing rather well…

Until…

Her vision was starting to swim, dimming and brightening and throwing strange shadows…

Using the water to freeze her opponents feet to the ground, Angie fell heavily to her knees…

Her skin felt so HOT…

“Angie? ANGIE?!”

Even Izzy’s panicked shouts couldn’t break through the humid fog…

Someone HUMAN grabbed her arm roughly, and her body moved on instinct.

Her katana came out, slicing through his shoulder and covering them both in blood…

The blade clattered to the ground, and Angie felt herself sway, heard the distant thunk of her shell hitting concrete…

She lost her voice again…

‘I need to get in some water…’ She thought, struggling to get up…

“Angie?!”

Izzy was there in a moment, helping her friend up.

Her heartbeat was wild with confusion and worry as she looked into glazed crimson eyes…

“W-Water…N-Need to…”

Angie had to gulp deeply for some oxygen…

“S-Swim…”

“A’right…We’re really close, Angie. Don’t die on me.”

Lifting up her cousin, Izzy whistled for Light to follow and stop messing with the charred corpses.

Taking off at a run, the dark red-banded turtle jumped clean over alleys and chimneys and stairwells, not stopping for a breath until she was hidden under a dock.

Slipping her cousin into the dark water, gold eyes widened as, in a flash of scales, Angela’s legs became a fish’s tail.

Sighing in relief, the older turtle looked up at her shocked cousin…

“…I SWEAR I can explain…”

“Would ya mind startin’?”

Sitting up straighter in the shallow water, her tail swayed a bit in the air…

“…When I was younger, I managed to contact the Moon and Ocean spirits through meditation…” Angela started off, remembering that strange feeling…

Like she was made of vapor…

“They said I was so pure of heart and had so much water in my personality that they felt I deserved a gift…”

“…A gift?”

“That’s how they put it.” The sky-masked turtle agreed, patting Light’s head.

“The Moon spirit gave me her strength over the push and pull of the water and her protection. The Ocean spirit gave me this…”

A twitch of the fin…

“And safety in the water…”

“…Cool…”

“Yeah, THIS is fun…”

Izzy smiled sheepishly…

“Sorry…”

Angie smiled reassuringly, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Just…”

She tried to keep her voice steady…

“Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“’A course. Yer secret’s safe wit’ me.”

The sky-banded turtle nodded.

“Thanks…You can go meet your friend now. We’ll meet back home in a couple hours.”

“Sure ya can walk?”

“I’ll be fine. Go on.”

Once her cousin had gone on her way, the crimson-eyed turtle changed her fin back to legs…

“Come on, Light.”

She followed the slightly-shadowed shoreline as the white husky trotted beside her…

“Time to meet up with Keishi…”

The she-turtle stopped looking up at a rooftop…

“That’s strange…” She murmured to herself, continuing on…

“I could’ve sworn someone was watching me…”

Angela failed to see a shadow move above, or the dark red eyes following her…