TMNT - Worlds Change

Thirty Seven

Iris POV
"Iris! Iris!" I turned to see Mikee sprinting down the hallway to me. He had been quiet as I said my farewells to everyone else, but now he seemed almost frantic.

"Mikee,  what's wro-"

"I'm proud of you. And I know you think I'm gonna look at you differently now because you have this ability that has you scared, but you're wrong. I love you the way you are, and that's why I know you have to do this."

I felt my breath catch in my lungs.

"Mikee... you just said-"
"I know what I said. And I mean it. I love you, Iris. And that's why I will never be afraid of you. I want what is best for you, even if that means you have to be your own hero. I'll be here, getting stronger. So that I can stand by you and be just as strong."  His eyes had a firm warmth and happiness in them that I hadn't seen in a while, all the worry having stripped it away.

"Oh, Mikee..." I threw my arms around him, "I love you too."

That was 3 months ago now. I felt the flick of Sensi Tomomi's ginger against my forehead.

"Owww!"

"Stop daydreaming! If you want to get this right, then you need to concentrate. You can fantasize about this romantic partner or whatever on your own time." Sensei Tomomi sat across from me, poised with her tea. "Now try again."

I had been in Japan for these three months now, training to focus my Chi levels and balance them throughout my body. Tomomi explained that when I arrived I had too much chi in my head, and not enough everywhere else - a product of my training from Shredder. I'd had only a few moments to write to everyone back home, and those were even fleeting. I hoped Mikee was doing ok.

Mikee POV

My nunchuck clocked the Foot soldier in the back of the head, dropping him cold.
"That was the last of them!" I smiled, stowing my weapon. Raph and Donnie were moving the guards out of the way, while Leo and Venus began interrogating the foot soldiers that were still conscious.

"Where is he?" Venus held no remorse, and no emotion in her eyes as she held her blade to the soldier's throat. "Where is Shredder?"

"Healing, where you will never find him. When he is ready, he will find you,  Venus. And destroy you." The soldier moved to press the symbol on his chest. It began to glow, beeping faster. Every soldier's badge began to glow as we began running. The building came down just as we slipped out of the door and down into the sewers.

Venus slammed her fist against the wall.

"Ugh! We almost had it," the anger on her face was evident. 

"V, we didn't even get a location." Leo rested a hand on her shoulder, but she turned, shrugging it off.

"But we did get confirmation. He is alive. All that work, that pain, that healing, for what? Now we will never get a location." Leo and Venus were locked in, tension showing in their words. They were never like this, except when it came to...Iris. It dawned on me that this was all about saving Iris. They were trying to find who we thought was a dead man to stop something. But what did they know, that they weren't telling us?

All of a sudden, I had a plan.

Leo POV

"A stealth recon."

Venus and I paused in our heated discussion, hearing Mikee speak up for the first time since the building.

"What?"

"Leo, a stealth recon mission. Into one of the Foot soldier strongholds. We have to find out which location Shredder is hiding out in, and the only way is to get information." Mikee stepped forward, Raph glancing back and forth between me and Mikee. "But you have to be honest with us. Both of you."

I glanced at Venus, seeing the defeat in her eyes, the worry still present.

"What does this have to do with Iris?"

Venus POV
I flinched slightly, hearing her name. Leo and I had argued about it so much that her name disappeared into the arguments. Letters were growing more fleeting, but she seemed hopeful. But the effects of everything were still showing.

"Iris is doing well with her training, but I fear to let her move further." Lady Tomomi stood with her arms crossed, on a monitor that she wouldn't let Iris see. "Shredder's webs are deep in her mind, and it's unlike anything I have seen before. This isn't technology."

"Then what is it, Tomomi?" Master Dante spoke with great concern. I'd never seen him like this before - afraid.

"This is a dark spell. I have been working to untangle it, but it will take a while. I'm sorry if you were hoping for a speedy return."

"Whatever it takes. What can we do from our end?" I stepped forward, allowing myself to be seen. Tomomi examined me for a moment before speaking.

"Shredders blood."

The room felt cold to hear those words.

"I'm sure that the thought had crossed your mind that he was finally gone from your lives." Lady Tomomi lowered her head. "But I'm afraid he is-"

"No." I  shook my head. "There is no way. I saw his lifeless body in front of me. We watched it burn to ash."  Leo rested his hand on my shoulder, and I knew he could feel every ounce of fear that was seeping from me in that moment.

"Venus, dear girl, I am sorry. But you have to face your fears one more time." Lady Tomomi looked at me with sad eyes. She had felt the hand of Shredder herself, but I had no idea how, or why. 

I walked over to Mikee, who stood unflinching in front of me. I had never seen such fire in his eyes before, nor seen him as fearless. He was never one to speak up about making a plan. In that I saw just how much Iris had influenced his life. And I did the one thing that he wasn't expecting.

Mikee POV

She hugged me. In that moment, she gently put her arms around me and hugged me, and in that moment she felt weak. Fragile. I was terrified of what could make Venus, the strongest of us, the one who had been through so much, feel this hopeless. 

"This doesn't have something to do with Iris...It has Everything to do with Iris."

Leo POV

After returning to the lair, Venus and I gathered everyone to explain the full situation of what was going on. However, there were parts of the story I wasn't even aware of that Venus had been afraid to share... until now.