17Just a bit of fun. TMNT are not mine.
A Mary Sue Moment
The outfit I picked up in Japan was lying there in its box. I'd not tried it on since the final fitting in the little shop tucked away in the depths of Tokyo.
Yellow, I grant you, was probably not a good color choice, but I was drawn to it- possibly too much "Kill Bill" influence- plus I had, as a young girl, such a HUGE crush on Bruce Lee...
I had had it specially made out of a touch of vanity, without any serious thought of ever wearing it for anything remotely like we planned tonight.
I do admit, in the back of my mind, I had secretly hoped for a chance to wear it and show them all- Master Splinter, Donatello- Casey- that I could hold my own when it came to battle.
And now, I was being presented with a chance; a chance to demonstrate my skills, so quickly and deftly learned, all thanks to the efforts of Master Splinter as well as my own natural abilities and intelligence.
Casey will be so proud of me!
I dressed. I slung the katana over my back, completing the ensemble.
I admired myself in the full-length mirror.
Vanity?
No- I was looking with a critical eye- I did not wish to shame my family- my clan- tonight.
Down the stairs I went, perhaps a bit shyly, wondering what Casey's reaction would be. He interrupted his own preparations for tonight- the stare said it all.
The breathy "Woooaaahhh" was the icing on the cake.
When I presented him with the new hockey mask, the slow, deep kiss I received was enough to make me almost forget the seriousness of this mission. As I moved against him, I felt a huge desire to remove the new outfit at once and...
But no. We had a mission: strike hard, recover our own, and save the City!
Reluctantly I broke the kiss, and without another word we left to meet with the rest of the clan.
Winters' "tower" was the magnet for the strange winds, thunder, lightning and swirling clouds that made me think of tornados. Our first peak over the high wall showed that we were going to face a large contingency of Foot- I caught a brief glimpse of Karai as she signaled her army to fade into the shadows, while she went to see who was knocking on the gate.
Whispering a brief prayer for Casey's safety, I leapt down into the courtyard and began to advance, knowing that my clan was with me...
Without any warning they were upon us. At least five appeared as if by magic, menacing, prepared.
I drew my katana, a small smile coming to my lips. A brief pause- then we engaged!
The blood! I had thought my first kill would be devastating to me, but the hot coppery smell of the blood seemed to fill me with strength, with determination. Clash-clang-clashslashslash! A muffled cry here or there, and I had cut my way through the first five, only to be surrounded by dozens more.
We were all fighting, working together, working separately, slashing, kicking, and slowly yet steadily pushing our way forward.
I lost track of how many fell before me. Every lesson, every word Master Splinter had uttered filled my mind, and my body reacted as if I had been doing this all my life!
Slashslashparrykickleapkickpunch- I heard the crack of bone when my elbow connected with the jaw of a Foot trying to attack me from behind- blood spurted around me as my blade did its job. More fell. I moved forward, ready for the next batch.
Then she was in front of me: Karai!
The sneer on her face vanished as we engaged each other.
Our katana moved in unison, in an almost well-rehearsed, carefully choreographed demonstration of prowess and skill. The sound of the thunder, the noise of the wind, the countless shouts and moans surrounding us did not drowned out the striking of metal on metal as we fought.
Karai was good- I'll give her that- but it took me little time to take care of her. Oh, I left her alive-reluctantly- but the kick I delivered to her stomach was powerful, and she was disabled- almost permanently.
Not even giving her a backward glance I sprinted ahead, vaguely aware that Casey was now by my side. I cleared the ninja from our path with my blade, and skidded to a halt within view of the open door.
I called back to my clan, alerting them to the fact that the door was open, prepared to lead them forward-
"April!" Mike finally said, and the tone of his voice made the redhead jump from her dreams of glory and refocus her attention on the turtle. The look on his face was puzzling to her. It was one of disbelief; skepticism was mixed with displeasure.
"What?" she said, even as he went back to gazing at her well-written narrative. "You said to write about what I remembered about that fight. I think it turned out rather well."
Mike shook his head, sighing in exasperation.
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind," he said. "I just wanted a brief narrative on your part in the fight. This reads like a Mary Sue story."
Silence reigned for a few brief moments, as April's face began to turn just a slightly less shade red than her hair.
"Mary Sue? Mary Sue?" Oh, she was familiar with that term. Mike, realizing that he had suddenly stepped onto thin ice, nevertheless stuck to his guns.
"Yes, Mary Sue! All this stuff about being better than Karai, about how you killed all these well-trained Ninja- remember, I was there! You fought well, but-"
"But what?" Those two words sounded like glass breaking, and Mike was in danger of being cut on the pieces.
"But for heaven's sake!" he persisted, and he looked again at the narrative. " 'The blood! I had thought my first kill would be devastating to me, but the hot coppery smell of the blood seemed to fill me with strength, with determination.' What the hell? We didn't kill anyone! Amazing as it sounds, none of the Foot died."
"Well... he COULD have died later! I slashed him pretty good, you know!" she defended.
" 'Karai was good- I'll give her that- but it took me little time to take care of her. Oh, I left her alive- reluctantly- but the kick I delivered to her stomach was powerful, and she was disabled- almost permanently,'" Mike relentlessly went on. "You KNOW that is an exaggeration beyond belief! You got in a lucky kick, and you did well against her, but you'd barely engaged her when you knocked the wind out of her."
April was growing more and more angry. How DARE Mike try to compare her to a Mary Sue! She bit her lip, trying to hold onto her temper. He was just jealous, jealous that she had done better than he had expected. Yes, that was it- jealousy!
But she would be an adult! She would NOT give way to her inner-Raph which was threatening to burst forth. She would...
"I mean, I'm surprised you didn't shit out some diamonds while you were at it," Mike said, taking that final, fatal step on the thin ice- and falling through.
Splinter, in meditation, was startled by the screams of Michelangelo. After all, Raphael was at the farm house with Casey for the next few days. Who could possibly be-
"Save me!" his son pleaded, bursting into the room and leaping for the protection of his father, April hard on his heels shouting about how HE'D be shitting teeth by the time she was through with him!
Don and Leo, attracted by the noise, were soon watching the unusual and yet familiar spectacle of their father protecting their brother from an irate sibling.
"You know, it's at times like these when I realize just how lucky I was," Don said to Leo, "to NOT have hooked up with April as I used to dream about."
"I hear you," Leo agreed, and the two wandered away- FAR away- until this whole thing blew over.