TMNT: Shadows of Destiny

Chapter 3: Ether Kryst

Celeste wanted to either slap herself or rub her eyes to make sure she was seeing correctly but since her visor made that impossible she settled for simply doing a double take and stared as long and hard as she could at the sight in front of her.
              Granted she had seen many weird things in the few years she had been a mage but 4 giant walking talking terrapins made the top of her list with the robotic laser shooting trio following at close second.
              Each turtle had his own unique appearance, skin color and height. Even the color of the bandanas covering their eyes and the weapons gripped in their hands varied. Despite the differences she could tell they were all cut from the same clothe so to speak, their physical similarities marking them as brothers and with some very serious martial arts training at their backs by the way they held themselves and their gear. They easily dwarfed her tiny 5 foot 5 frame, making them each around the 6 foot tall range, the one with the purple mask easily surpassing that estimate.
              Celeste wanted to examine them further but she had 3 problems tailing her and things were about to get much worse. Laser shots cut through the doorway as the 3 droids walked in.
              “Kraang Droids!” Leo shouted and got into a fighting stance. His brothers followed suit while Celeste debated her next move. She was already sandwiched in between the two groups effectively leaving her trapped against what the blue masked turtle called the Kraang. She could either jump over the group and leave them to the mercy of the droids but seeing as how they readied themselves for battle she easily surmised they were more or less on her side. The second option being she unleash her magic which is why she ran into the part of the warehouse to begin with.
        The first option was very tempting because she had come to the warehouse strictly to investigate the power surge, which she knew by now came from the suspicious crate she spied earlier, but it simply wasn’t in her nature to leave anything, turtle or human, behind to clean up a mess she admittedly created.
        So with that she spun around on her heels and ran head first into the laser barrage, jumping high into the air above the heads of the Kraang. Twisting her body in mid air she aimed her fist down upon the first one and releasing an energy spell sliced his body from head to toe clean in two. The two halves splitting apart and falling in separate directions and spark and wires flailed everywhere.
        Upon landing softly on one heel she spun her right leg hard in a round house kick, knocking the second droid off balance slightly, enough for her to grab the laser gun in his hand, turn it upward to his chin and blast his head off.
        The 3rd one was already backing away, seeing as his two companions were put out of commission, still firing his weapon at her all the while his attention totally devoid of the turtles as they stood there watching this spectacle with a mixture of utter confusion and awe.
        She kept her distance through the hailstorm of laser beams, artfully twisting and turning her body with the grace of a dancer until she saw her chance. She arched and drew back her right hand. Flicking her wrist slightly and chanting some unknown words she threw her arm forward the way one might do when throwing a baseball. Only instead of a ball coming out of her open hand a stream of white hot fire sailed across the room and hit the droid dead on the chest, going straight through him and exiting out the other side.
        A gaping whole about the size of a melon sizzled in the center of its chest for a few seconds before the robot twitched fell over and died.
        “Dayuuuum! Girl's got style!” Someone whistled behind her. She turned to face the turtles.
        “What…on earth…was that!?” Leo asked very clearly and slowly, emphasizing just how impossible this whole debacle was.
        “Seeing as that question is coming from giant walking talking turtles….” Celeste started. “I think me throwing fire spells around is the least of your concerns right now.”
        “Spells…You mean like magic?! Seriously?!” The orange masked one squealed, a giant smile plastered on his round face.
        “Yeah right, its gotta be some sorta trick!” The overbearing red masked one huffed.
        “Yet you just saw it with your own eyes.” Donnie pointed out.
        Celeste raised her hand for silence. “As much as this conversation is charming….”
        Before she could finish the overhead lights, caked with years of dust and mold, suddenly came to life and the whole warehouse floor was flooded with yellow florescent lighting. The turtles squinted as they whirled around to find who ever had tripped the power switch. Celeste shielded her eyes from the sudden light.
        “The Turtles and the Ethereal Mage together in one convenient spot? You'd think they would have figured out this was a trap!” Came a thick growling voice from high atop the catwalks.
        Surrounding them from all angles on the walkway encircling the upper part of the factory were hoards of Kraang Droid and Thugs. There was easily 60 of them and they had Celeste and the Turtles completely at a disadvantage being on higher ground. Celeste silently cursed herself that she didn’t figure out this was what they wanted from the beginning.
        The source of the bellowing voice was a giant skeletal creature much resembling the carcass of a dog standing on the furthest side of the factory floor. He looked like something straight out of a horror movie. His gaping maw filled with razor sharp teeth and his talons gleaming under the lamp light. Worse than that, next to him was the crate that Celeste was so interested in too high up for her to access with all the soldiers around.
        “Rahzar! How in the hell are you still alive? Didnt we take care of you like...4 years ago or something?!” The smaller orange turtle screamed.
        “You know this creature?” She asked.
        “We have sort of a history with each other.” His expression suddenly became coy and he smirked at her. “By the way I am Mikey and I have to say you have the loveliest….” The big red turtle grabbed him by the mouth and pulled him back. “Now is really not the time for that       Mikey!” He growled.
        “I want the crate and its contents!” Celeste shouted.
        “You are welcome to try to take it. Seeing as you made mince meat out of the Kraang, this should be a piece of cake for you.” He teased and patted the box. He knew full well even with her type of power the sheer number of soldiers would overwhelm her.
        “Psst..whats inside the box?” Donnie whispered to her.
        “An Ether Kryst most likely.” She said candidly.
        “What the heck is that?”
        She turned her head to him sharply, ready to tell him to mind his own business but his eyes caught her off guard. She was close enough to see the brown color underneath his thick spectacles and even more surprising, other than his height and powerful build, was all the tech he had decked out on his shell added with the metal bow staff he clutched in his hands. She shook her head, trying to ignore the distraction.
        “Where are you taking that?” Leo asked.
        “Where do you think? Or better yet, who do you think?” Rahzar laughed. “And what they told us to do with you is crystal clear, none of you are to leave here alive!” And this that all the soldiers and thugs and whatnots above fired down a volley of laser beams, bullets and god knows what else on them.