TMNT - Worlds Change

Thirty-Five

Iris POV

"Sensei?" I tried to find the breath I had lost.

"Iris, is everything alright?" Together Master Splinter and Master Dante stood in the training area, looking over some of the weaponry.

"I'm... not sure." The two looked between each other with a note of concern and waved me to sit. I explained to them what had happened, right up to the part about the spices moving, without any physical reach or connection.

"Splinter, this seems serious. If her mental capabilities are as she says..." Dante trailed off, seemingly holding back on words I so desperately needed. What could be wrong, after everything else we had been through?

"I had wondered what opening your mind to help Bellona and Raphael would do in terms of this. You showed great promise with the healing hands. Try it here, if you would," Master Splinter gestured to the room around us. "It would help us determine if we are equipped to train these skills."

"Sensei, I would...however," I stared back at him for a moment. "I am a bit concerned about the nature of what I'm drawing to myself. They are... weapons."

Master Splinter blinked for a moment, but it was Dante who laughed.

"Here," he held out a palm with a beaded strand. I recognized them as the worry beads he had always carried. I smiled softly at the memory of them.

"Can I hold them, Sensei?" Master Dante smiled as he slowly rotated them for me to see. He lowered the beads down to my hands. The beads shimmered softly in my hand, as I rolled them slowly on their leather string.

"Iris."

Master Dante's voice pulled me back to the present, where the beads rested in my hand. I dropped them like a live coal, hot in my hand. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the crash that never came. As I opened my eyes slightly, I noticed the beads floating just above the ground that they now slowly settled onto. In the darkness, I heard my Sensei's speak softly.

"Dante, do you think it's possible that Tomomi could help her learn to harness this?"

"She is afraid, Splinter. Besides, Tomomi is on the other side of the planet. She won't even see us, let alone any of the boys."

"I never said we seek her out. She is capable of finding her. My sons have trained in many things, but you know I am not capable of even this."

With a shuffle and a hard sigh, I felt a hand on mine.

"Iris, you can open your eyes. We know what's happening to you." Master Dante's words were warm and reassuring, but I felt cold. What if it had been something worse than beads?

"I'm worried that I might hurt someone."

A hand rested on my shoulder. Splinter's. I pressed my eyes tightly shut. I felt a cloth fall over my eyes. Surprised, I opened them to see a blank fabric over the slits in my mask.

"This will keep you from your fear, for now. However, I believe Donatello might have a more suitable solution if I call on him. Would that be alright, young one?" Splinters words and gesture were kind.

"We can do that. But please, only Donnie. I don't want to worry the others with this. Not with all they have been through recently."

"What about Michaelangelo?"

Mikee POV

"Not yet. I don't want him to think I am... a monster."

I stood just outside the door, listening to her words. I wanted to comfort her, to hold her. To make this right. I would never think of her that way, no matter what the reason. And yet...

"Alright, I will bring Donnatello here. Be patient." Splinter began to exit the room opposite me.

"Why am I hiding?" I thought to myself. "I wanted to be a hero for her. Like Leo for Venus, Donnie for Athena, Raph for Bellona... so why am I still sitting here?" I glanced back into the room to see her sitting with Master Dante. Maybe it wasn't the right moment to be the hero.

I will be her hero.

Donnie POV

"I would need to run some tests, but I might be able to work something up. Why is she so scared? We've all seen her abilities before in different ways. Healing hands, helping Raph get to Bellona. What makes this so different?" I watched Master Splinter sigh softly.

"She is afraid of what she can do TO others. No matter what she can do FOR others, it is her decision to keep others separate from this for now. I'm sure that in time she will open up to Michelangelo, and then others. But for now, I must ask you to keep this project to yourself. At least its purpose. If you require Athena's help, she must be unaware of its purpose until we know more."

"But you said you know what it is?" Master Splinter's eyes were distant.

"Knowing where her powers originate is one thing. Knowing the extent of her abilities is far from it. Be swift, Donatello. We have a lot of work to do."