Liz: A TMNT Story

Chapter 3

My chest rose and fell more and more rapidly as I began to hyperventilate, trying to register what was happening. I turned and crouched out of sight, rocking back and forth on my knees and trying to make sense of this.

Okay, this isn't so bad, I thought anxiously, Its just a giant turtle, using karate to fight off all these dudes in ninja suits, in the middle of an alien invasion, with more ninja dudes on the rooftop shooting arrows at him. Not weird at all... Not at all...

I peered out to watch the turtle in blue flip over another guy, swinging his sword down. I waited for the sickening crunch of bone and flesh as the sword flew through the ninja, but it never came. Instead, sparks flew as the robot fell to the floor, mechanisms slowly skittering to a halt.

Alright, scratch that. This mutant turtle's fighting ninja robots.

I waited for another onslaught of soldiers, as did the turtle. But there seemed to be a lull in the fight. The mutant's dark blue eyes scanned the rooftop. He rose to his full height, not fully lowering his swords, and for some reason, I could tell he was about my age, maybe a bit older. A light snow had begun to fall, and I pulled my light sweater tightly around me, wondering what to do. Should I reveal myself? He seemed friendly enough, despite the massive swords in his hands. My instincts told me I could trust him, but before I could move, a flash of lightning tore through the sky. The turtle glanced down at the construction hole in the middle of the roof, and I saw one of the defeated robots move. 

I gasped, and the turtle whipped around, hearing my noise. The robot came fully into motion, making a grab at the mutant's leg. I managed a strangled, "Watch out!" before the blue-clad vigilante went tumbling into the construction pit. The robot finally powered down, and I caught other figures jump down into the pit out of the corner of my eye. A sudden splash brought me out of my dazed state, and I hurried to the edge of the pit, not caring if anyone saw me. That guy-- that green, mutant turtle guy-- was in trouble, I knew it, and I couldn't just stand by and pretend like nothing was happening. 

I reached the edge, kicking away a robot head and gripping the railing tightly. A deep pool lay at the bottom of the hole, and the turtle burst out, sputtering. He sat there for a moment, defenseless, breathing heavily, before four other figures appeared around him.

I couldn't believe my eyes: I saw the evil man from the rooftops... but he couldn't have gotten over here that quickly! The three others sent me for a loop. They were obviously mutants, but instead of Kraang creatures or turtles, I saw a robot fish and a massive tiger towering over the blue clad mutant, and... I couldn't even comprehend what the last guy had been turned into-- some sort of canine zombie, with protruding bones and ferocious yellow eyes. 

The turtle finally rose to his feet. He glared up at the armored man, yelling, "Face me, Shredder!"

'Shredder' didn't seem impressed. "You are beneath me, Leonardo," he rumbled, then turned to his henchmen.

"Now you may finish him," he ordered, and the mutants flew into motion, leaping through the air at 'Leonardo'. 

I watched helplessly as the skeleton dog slashed the turtle with his bony claws, cringed as the fish kicked him to the ground, and almost cried out as the huge tiger punched him mercilessly. 

As he fell, I glimpsed something in the turtle's eyes change-- they turned entirely white, without pupils or color, and narrowed at his enemies. 

Another flash of lightning. Before anyone could react, 'Leonardo' had jumped up, kicking the robot fish to the side, pummeling the zombie mutant, and knocking out the tiger. I was speechless. This guy had skill! 

The air tasted metallic as the snow fell more heavily, and I sighed in relief. The turtle looked up, his eyes clearing and widening as he caught sight of me. My grey orbs locked with his for a moment, before a fork of lightning cut through the sky.

It was like slow motion, as I watched 'Shredder' suddenly appear behind Leonardo. I screamed, "No!" just as the turtle turned and was slashed across his chest by Shredder's knives. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. 

Shredder picked the turtle up by his shell and threw him at the mutant tiger. I couldn't catch his words, all I could think about was the badly injured Leonardo. Tears brimmed in my eyes, and this time I let them fall. How could this be happening?! This... turtle, was being beaten and obviously outnumbered, and Shredder didn't seem to care in the least bit.

All four of Leonardo's enemies glared down at him for a moment, before the tiger hefted him roughly onto his shoulders and dragged him out of sight, followed by the skeleton dog. Shredder turned, and his fish friend followed suit, as I came to the realization they were looking at me... too late.

"That girl!" the fish yelled, "She has seen everything!"

"After her, Xever!" Shredder snarled. 

I turned and ran, hoping and praying my one year in cross country wouldn't fail me. I dodged the crates and boxes, making it to the fire escape and jumping down with 'Xever' on my tail. I jumped to the ground, crying out as I twisted my ankle the wrong way. I whipped my head back and forth, trying to think. A manhole lay not to far from me, and I managed to pry it off as the robot fish jumped down in front of me.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, startling 'Xever' just enough to leap down, free falling momentarily before my fingers grasped the rungs of the ladder. My momentum was jolted to a halt, and I yelled as my arm stretched to an above-average length. I couldn't stop the tears streaming dow my face now, as I clung to the ladder with my other hand and let my left arm fall limp to the side. I gazed up through my haze of tears at the ugly fish peering down at me. He took out a gun and fired a few shots, and pink lasers like the Kraang weapons lit up the small space around me. Thank God, none of them hit me.

Xever roared in frustration, pointing a purple finger down at me, "You won't get away from us! No one toys with the Foot and lives to the tale!"