As was expected, the throne room is occupied by five of Shredder's mutant henchmen; Emery, Rahzar, Fishface, Rocksteady, and Bebop. Foot bots linger at every corner. The doors open at the far end and the mutants bristle as the turtles and their female duo enter with weapons drawn.
"Turtles," Rahzar rasps, his claws glinting in the sickly moonlight.
"We should've expected you," Fishface says smoothly as he twirls a knife in his hand. "Clever crianças."
Emery says nothing, but her golden glare bores into Destiny like the knives hanging at her waist. Destiny extends her claws and returns the stare tenfold, curling her lip to reveal her pointed canines. Emery purrs in amusement.
"Shredder couldn't make it?" Leonardo calls, pointing his katana out at them.
A chuckle rolls through the group and Bebop snorts as a high-pitched squeal leaves his mouth. "Nah, dog!"
"He is outs. He hads...other business," Rocksteady adds.
Raphael spins his sais. "If you tell us where he is, nobody gets hurt...or maybe just not as hurt as you could be."
"The only ones getting hurt today are you," Emery says with a snarl.
She snaps her hand forward and the talk ceases as the five mutants launch themselves forward while the Foot bots screech and engage. Destiny immediately takes off into the air, evading Emery's knife.
"Sorry, kitty! You aren't getting this bird!" Destiny teases as she flits back and forth as best she can.
"Come down and fight me!" Emery snarls.
Sarina laughs, but it's cut short as she ducks her head away from one of Bebop's lasers. She straightens up and frowns at the warthog as he saunters towards her, hooting and humming all the way.
"Oh, girl, you're new," he says with an eyebrow lift. A wide, piggy grin stretches his face. "Too bad you're with those losers, I could show you the Zeck side of life. Whee-hee!"
She dodges more lasers, then raises her arm and blasts one of her own. He squeals as he tumbles away, eyes wide behind his sunglasses, and Sarina allows a smirk to lift her cheeks.
"Deepest apologies, but I'm taken," she says.
Nearby, Raphael and Fishface battle while Leonardo and Donatello take on Rocksteady. Michelangelo distracts Rahzar as best he can. Michelangelo observes the carnage going on around him as he dodges swipe after swipe from the zombie wolf, his eyes widening as he laughs.
"Dudes, I just realized something!" he hollers as he swings his nunchucks.
"Really? Right now?" Leonardo shouts as Rocksteady's meaty fist nearly squashes him.
Michelangelo dances around Rahzar, pointing to him, then Fishface, and then Emery. "Dog, cat, fish! They're like a food chain!" He bursts out laughing.
"That's not technically correct!" Donatello calls. "Dogs would not naturally eat cats, the species just have some differences that make it hard to get along. Not that it's impossible—"
"Can it, nerd boy! You're making my head hurt, like when I have to listen to Katy Perry!" Bebop exclaims.
"Da, but Teenage Dreamings is so catchy!" Rocksteady retorts.
Rahzar roars in frustration and lunges at Michelangelo, knocking the turtle back. As he tumbles into the wall, the dog growls. "I will end you."
"Nah, dude!" he replies as he stumbles back to his feet, nunchucks swinging again. "You can't touch this!" He takes off again, caught in a game of evasion.
Destiny and Emery fight in a flurry of fur and swords. They move with a speed that makes it hard to decipher what's going on. Sometimes they fight as animals, biting and clawing and snarling as they tumble around, locked in a death match, and then as swiftly as that's begun they're wielding their weapons and clashing like any human warrior would.
Sarina surveys everything from above, sparing a blast only when she can tell that her teammates need the offensive help. As she looks out the window and down at the street, her eyes widen and she lets out a small cry of alarm.
"They're leaving the building!" she shouts. She can just see Shredder and Tiger Claw exiting the base and racing away. "Shredder and a large tiger! I forget his name, honestly."
"Where?" Donatello asks as his bō staff meets Bebop's gut.
"Due north and moving quickly! They may be heading for the rooftops!"
Raphael grunts as Fishface lunges for his head. The red-masked turtle topples onto his shell, sais braced against the fish's gaping maw as he cranes his head towards Leonardo. "Orders, Fearless?!"
"Sarina, Donnie, come with me!" Leonardo shouts. "Everyone else, take care of this!"
"Aw, yeah! Can do!" Destiny whoops as she knocks Emery onto her back.
As half their team hurries out the broken window and onto the rooftops, Destiny morphs into her wolf. Emery struggles back to her feet, clutching her ribs, but she doesn't back down even with the beast's extra muscle now in play.
"Stupid. Winged. Bitch," Emery pants. "I don't like dogs or birds and you're both."
"Well, can't say I like cats that much either," Destiny retorts.
Emery goes for a strike and Destiny swipes at her legs, knocking her off balance, and Destiny takes the chance to leap over her with a hard push from her powerful hind legs.
The leopard's golden eyes snap with rage. "You absolute f—"
Destiny lands and whirls around, sending a hard hind leg kick to her gut and sending her smashing into the wall. She slumps to the ground as pebbles crumble around her head like chalky sprinkles.
"Dog-bird; one. Leopard; zero," Destiny says with a triumphant ruffle of her feathers.
"Destiny! We could use some help!" Michelangelo shrieks, now trying to fight off Rocksteady too.
"I've got you!"
She rushes back into the thick of it. Raphael knocks down Fishface and spares just a glance to the window far above them, hoping above all hopes that everything will be alright on the flip side of things. The inner plea disappears as Bebop attacks and the Hamatos are swept back into the battle of their lives.
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...
