Sarina holds her t-phone to her ear as she runs alongside Leonardo and Donatello, breaths fast, the rooftops flying beneath their feet. "Splinter, Tiger Claw and Shredder left the headquarters. We need you and Diaval to see if you can cut them off," she says into the device.
"Are you alright?" Splinter asks.
"We are fine. We'll be there soon to help you."
"And the plan?"
Sarina looks to Leonardo briefly and he nods. She returns it. "The plan is not lost yet," she says into the phone.
"Very well. Be swift."
She gives a brief farewell before ending the call. Leonardo shakes his head, teeth gritted.
"Sarina, can you see them?" he asks.
She narrows her gaze, lips pursed. "Not yet, but I am sure that—"
A scream pierces the air and the mutant trio skids to a stop, eyes wide. "That's April," Donatello says.
"They couldn't have looped back and gotten a hold of her, right?" Sarina asks.
Leonardo says nothing, gaze darting between the horizon and back the way they came. His shoulders droop despite his steely expression. "You two, go back and find April. I'll go on ahead and rendezvous with the others."
"Leo, the whole plan was to take on Shredder as a group!" Donatello insists. "This—"
"Plans change, Donnie," comes the swift, grave retort. "Go. Meet up with me once you've made sure April is safe again." Sarina opens her mouth but he raises his hand. "We'll be able to hold them off until the others get there. Now go!"
They hesitate for a second more before nodding. Donatello reaches out and takes Sarina's arm, casting one more look at his brother. "Don't be afraid to call for us," he says.
Leonardo spares only a nod before he turns and keeps going.
----------
Donatello and Sarina refrain from speaking as they backtrack, lips pursed and shoulders tense. The sounds of struggle get more prominent as they get closer to Shredder's base and when they reach the building ledge perched above the nearest alleyway, they see Tiger Claw and April. The redhead is caught in his grasp, dangling her above the ground as she kicks and flails herself at him with everything she's got.
"Shell," Donatello mutters, reaching for his bō staff.
Sarina's boots whir as they start up and she leaps off the ledge as blue flame bursts from their base. She floats to the ground, wobbling slightly as she steadies herself, and touches down at the same time as Donatello. Tiger Claw whirls around, a snarl curling his lip, and April's face floods with relief.
"No time for banter," Sarina says, hands starting to glow.
Donatello spins his bō, one hand held outwards in a defensive position, and he extends the naginata blade with a soft shing. "We'll finish this quick."
They rush at Tiger Claw together and he snarls. Sarina shoots at him as Donatello swings his staff, blade glinting, but Tiger Claw's image ripples as soon as her energy blast goes through him. It buzzes, flickers, and both him and April fizzle out.
"What on Earth?" Sarina whispers.
Donatello's eyes burn with frustration as a metallic screech greets them and two of Baxter Stockman's mousers appears. Sarina stares at the creatures in slight awe but Donatello wastes no time in slicing them apart and swiping away the pieces like he's playing golf.
"I will say it again, but...what on Earth?" Sarina repeats, eyes flashing once as she puckers her lips into a frown.
He retracts his blade and slips the bō staff back onto his shell. "Mousers. One of Stockman's creations," he explains between puffs of breath. "We need to find the real April."
"Perhaps she is in the other alley?"
"Perhaps. Come on."
When they reach the other alleyway, they find April leaning heavily on the ShellRaiser, tessen dangling in her almost limp fingers. Stockman-Fly lays on his back, twitching and buzzing every now and again, but he's too out of it to do much else.
"April!" Sarina and Donatello call.
She looks up at them, a weak smile lifting her lips as she forces herself to stand up straight. "Guys!"
They hurry to her and she tries to meet them halfway, but her leg buckles and Donatello catches her before she hits the ground. She winces, sucking a sharp breath through her teeth as she grips her injured leg. Donatello helps her into a seated position.
"What's going on?" April asks through heavy breaths, one hand braced against Donatello's shoulder. She looks between the two of them with concern in her eyes. "Why aren't you with the others?"
"Shredder and Tiger Claw jumped ship," Donatello says. "Did you see them leave?"
April shakes her head. "No. Stockman caught sight of me earlier on and I've been focused on that," she says, glancing with a curled lip at the unconscious villain. He twitches again and she exhales heavily from her nose. "Stupid bug."
Sarina mutters something under her breath and looks to the sky. "Well, this is...not good."
"Why? What's happening?" April asks.
Sarina eyes her boyfriend, directing April's gaze back to him, and his entire demeanour seems to deflate and he shakes his head. "Sarina, me, and Leo were going after Shredder when we heard you scream and came back," he explains. "Leo went on ahead."
"It was a hologram," Sarina says. "Tiger Claw tricked us and now...we have not the slightest clue where he is."
April's jaw clenches and she struggles back to her feet, leaning heavily on her stronger leg. "You two need to go," she says. "I'll call Casey and get him to come here and help."
"I'll contact Melanie and give her an update," Sarina says, already pulling out her t-phone.
Donatello does the same, eye-ridges knit with concentration. "I'll see if I can get a hold of Raph, Mikey, and Des. If we can, we'll pull one of them out to help us."
They nod and place their focus on calling or texting who they need. April opens the ShellRaiser door and sits down, propping her leg up as best she can. Sarina finishes her call with Melanie and takes to dragging Stockman to the nearest dumpster and tossing him inside. Donatello puts away his phone and looks up just as his girlfriend finishes dusting off her hands.
"Message sent. If they can, they'll come after us," he reports.
"We have wasted enough time," Sarina says. She moves to April, eyes flashing. "Will you be alright?"
"Casey's on his way. I'm fine," she says with nary a smile.
"Good, then we need to get moving." Sarina spins on her heel, striding to Donatello with a serious yet mischievous expression adding sparkle to her face. "I believe we will be faster if we fly."
He blinks a few times. "Like...together?"
"Indeed. Hold on."
"Wait, what? What are you—" he starts to sputter as she moves to his back and wraps her arms around his middle.
His words die into a shout of terror as she blasts off into the sky, clinging to him as tightly as she can. His eyes nearly bulge out of his head and he clings to her arms, staring at his dangling feet now so far above the ground.
"Are you alright?" Sarina asks.
He swallows hard and shuts his eyes. "Just...don't drop me."
"I wouldn't dream of it, my darling."
YOU ARE READING
Emotionless Mutation (Book Three)
Fanfiction"However, you say I am human in a sense, that my body is simply fused with the robot that I have been raised to believe I am. Could you teach me...emotion?" The Kraang tried to take over the city of New York twice, and only once did they succeed. Th...
