A Lion In Central Park
As usual, it's not a finished piece...
Dustin travels to New York and meets a new type of Ninja.
"We have received an invitation." Sensei announced.
"An invitation? Who’s having a party?" asked Tori.
"It’s not that kind of invitation." Sensei held up the card. "The International Karate Exposition has asked that our school send a representative to the exhibition."
"Awesome!" Shane took the card. "New York?" He sighed, disappointed, "We can’t go to New York."
"Not all of you, the invitation is only for one."
"I’ll go, Father." Cam offered, "The team can do without me for the weekend."
"I’m not doing anything that weekend." Tori offered.
"Neither am I." said Shane.
"I am happy to see that you are each willing to give up your weekend here but I have already made my decision on who shall attend." He turned to the yellow ranger. "Dustin shall go."
"Me?" Dustin stammered, "But Sensei I’ve never even been to an exhibition much less performed in one. Wouldn’t Shane be a better..."
Sensei’s tone gave no room for argument, "I have chosen you."
"Yes, Sensei." Dustin felt both thrilled and terrified by the prospect of going to New York.
"I have already spoken with Kelly at Stormchargers, she assured me that Blake and Hunter can cover for you."
Shane punched Dustin in the shoulder, "Take lots of pictures while you’re there." he grinned.
"Send us a postcard," Cam added, "from the Statue of Liberty."
Tori hugged him, "And I expect something pretty and shiny when you get back."
~^~
Dustin stood beside the luggage carousel waiting for his suitcase to come around. It occurred to him that there were an awful lot of bags on the conveyor that were plastered with stickers advertising various martial arts dojos. He watched as young boys and a few girls stepped forward with nervous excitement to claim the bags.
When his own bag came into view, he pulled it up and stepped back allowing other passengers to press forward to retrieve theirs. He bumped into a sandy haired boy of about ten, they apologized simultaneously and then both laughed.
Dustin set his bag down and held out his hand. "Hi, I’m Dustin Brooks from Blue Bay Harbor Dojo, California."
The boy clasped his hand, shaking it in a firm grip; "I’m Neal from Tiger Dojo, Rowlet Texas."
"Are you as nervous as I am?" Dustin asked, reclaiming his bag.
"More I bet." Neal bounced on his toes, "This is my first exhibition."
"Mine too." admitted Dustin with a grin.
"Really? Wow, that’s awesome; maybe we’ll see each other at the convention center."
"Neal, come on," a tall man called, "we don’t want to be late."
"I’ll look for you." Dustin promised.
"See ya!" Neal exclaimed, rushing to join the others headed for the exit.
~^~
He spent the first three hours of his time in the big apple just wandering the streets, taking in the sights, sounds and smells unique to the Big Apple. The buildings towering overhead, the dissonance sounds of horns, engines, tires and people, the smell of food wafting from the vending carts, exhaust and the occasional human wearing far more perfume or cologne than was entirely necessary.
When he returned to the hotel, he found that somewhere along his wanderings, pickpockets had managed to remove the loose change and the slips of paper he had written address on from the pockets of his jacket. Luckily, the money he’d tucked into the watch pocket of his jeans was still there.
He called his mother and assured her that he had arrived with no problem and was settled into his hotel room with no intention of roaming the streets at night in a strange city. After hanging up with her, the phone rang, it was Shane calling from the academy, and he could hear Tori, Cam and Sensei on the line.
"So did you get mugged yet?" Cam teased.
"Dude! How’d you know?" Dustin looked puzzled, "They got the papers I had everyone’s addresses on but that’s okay, I remember them."
"How is it?" Tori asks, "Is it beautiful at night?"
"The lights are something else." Dustin agreed, picking up the phone and walking over to the window. He was on the 21st floor of the hotel and had a pretty good view.
"Have you seen any models yet?" Shane asked.
"Just in the store windows."
"No, genius." Shane teased, "I meant real live girls."
"Believe it or not Shane; they have real live girls modeling in some of the store windows out here."
"Dude," Shane exclaimed, "you so owe me pictures!"
"Get some rest Dustin,’ Sensei advised. "You do not wish to be a poor representative for us tomorrow."
"I will sensei... or I won’t I’m not sure how to say that." Dustin stuttered. "You know what I mean - I’ll sleep and I won’t be a poor representative tomorrow anyway. Goodnight guys!"
~^~
Panting, almost hyperventilating, the younger boy leaned against the stage, eyes wide. "I’ve only done this in a couple of small exhibitions, never in front of this many people."
"Take a deep breath, Neal, you’ll be fine." Dustin smiled. "Just pretend you’re back home in Rowlett, practicing at your dojo."
Aaron and his group of rowdy followers shoved their way to the edge, "Pack it up Tex, you’re going to get up there and everyone is going to laugh at your line dance."
"Ignore him, Neal; you’ll do a great job."
"Line Dancer, that’s what you are." A tall, skinny redheaded boy said.
"Dude, leave him alone." Dustin turned to the rough group, "Don’t you have something better to do than pick on somebody smaller than you?"
"Why?" Aaron sneered, "Are you volunteering to be a target?"
"Did your mommy make that gi for you so you’d look like your ninja hero?" one of the others taunted.
Dustin ignored the barbs; he knew that acknowledging the bullies only encouraged them. He tried to distract them. "I’m from California, where are you guys from?"
"We don’t need your kind around here."
~^~
Dustin took a deep breath, centering himself and bowed to each of the corner judges. He took his position in the center of the square, waiting for his cue to begin.
He closed his ears to the catcalls and hoots of the boys, imagining instead the sounds of the birds and the waterfall back in Blue Bay Harbor. His movements were smooth and precise, flowing into an easy grace as he relaxed and let go of the tension he’d tried to hide from Neal.
The sword was an extension of his arm; it led him through the kata.
He didn’t see the audience anymore, the judges were just a minor ping on his awareness, he kept their proximity in mind only because he didn’t want to land too close to them, knowing that it would cost him points not only in the competition but also in the eyes of his friends if he appeared to be too aggressive and showy.
He let the swords guide him, leading him through the intricate moves that resembled a dance. He lost himself in it, unaware of the rude gestures and sharp whispers from Aaron and his friends. Only when he came to the end of his exhibition and rested on his knees did he become aware of sounds outside himself - the thunderous applause of the audience and the piercing whistles of the team from Texas.
"Blue Bay Harbor Dojo moves to the top position with a perfect score by Dustin Brooks." proclaimed the announcer.
~^~
He changed out of his gi into jeans and a white tee shirt with a yellow button down over it and the boots he usually wore when he was riding. Dustin slung his duffel bag over his shoulder, he decided not to stay for the last events for the older contestants but walk back to the hotel and try to get in a nap before catching the tour out to Liberty Island and then dinner.
He was aware that he was being followed as he pushed open the door and stepped outside. The sun was starting to set, casting long shadows and leaving the air with a crisp coolness that he was unaccustomed to. The boys stayed back just far enough he couldn’t really make out their faces but he was certain that it was probably the boys that had been hanging around with Aaron.
The farther he walked, the larger the group became, eventually, part of them split off to walk parallel to him on the other side of the street. Dustin was so intent on the groups that he nearly walked into the guy standing on the corner.
"Sorry, I wasn’t ..." he stopped when he noticed that it was Aaron.
"I don’t want to hurt you." Said Dustin
"Well unfortunately, for you," Aaron cracked his knuckles, "we don’t feel that way about you."
His punch snapped Dustin’s head back but he recovered quickly not bothering to wipe away the blood that trickled from his lip.
Dustin rolled his shoulders, "If that’s how you want it."
Aaron snorted, moving to the front of the gang. He kicked out, running through a kata, his fists and feet missing contact by millimeters and Dustin never flinched, he did not even blink.
"You think you’re better than me, don’t you?" Aaron snarled, "You think you’re better than everybody. Well dude we’re going to teach you the New York way." He punched at Dustin who caught his fist before it made contact with his nose.
Dustin blocked every blow, never taking the opportunity to strike back.
"Come on and fight me!" Aaron yelled, "You too chicken to fight? Is that why you wear yellow? You’re a coward, a chicken?"
"Karate is never for offense, only for defense."
"Aw isn’t that cute, you can quote Mr. Miagi. Well we learned ‘strike first, strike hard, no mercy. What do you think of that?"
"I think you have a poor excuse for a teacher."
That seemed to motivate the other boys, Dustin found himself retreating into an alley as they pressed forward, all seeming eager to take a turn at him.
"Get him!" Aaron said.
It wasn’t like in the movies where the ninjas waited honorably to attack him one at a time; two latched onto him and held him while the others circled him, kicking and punching him.
Dustin could not block all the strikes; they were circling him like hyenas, jostling for a chance to hit him, some in their eagerness, even hitting their friends.
Holding back for fear of doing debilitating damage to them, Dustin tried to simply block their strikes but he found it difficult to keep his feet under all the blows he missed. Fists and feet struck him from every side; they meant to hurt him and they didn’t have any morals about fighting fair.
Dustin wished that he were not surrounded by blacktop and concrete, there was no earth here to give him strength, or to allow him to escape. The attacks came faster and harder as Aaron egged them on with his shouts, Dustin fell to his knees and a kick between his shoulders knocked him down onto his hands. This seemed to spur them on to greater ferocity. On his hands and knees, he felt honest fear of death, that these kids would kill him.
They are going to kill me
"Sensei!" he screamed as a foot smashed down on his back. The sound of breaking bone and he collapsed to the concrete, fire burning along his spine faded quickly into numbness. That’s not good. Was his last thought.
~^~
Splinter had finished his tea and was sitting in the dojo with Leonardo meditating. Raph was off in the corner, slapping idly at the punching bag, Mikey on the couch engrossed in some animated show. Donatello was sitting at the desk when he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to the monitors that showed the feed from the surveillance cameras posted in various places throughout the sewers. Nothing moved.
He shook his head and went back to the circuit board he was soldering. A few minutes later he was distracted by movement on one of the monitors again. Again he checked and found nothing out of the ordinary. He stood up and looked to make certain that Mikey was on the couch and not playing some prank on him. His youngest brother was still sprawled on the cushions.
"Mikey?" Donatello called.
The orange banded turtle didn’t look away from the TV, "Dude, this is the best part, can you wait for a commercial?"
"Yeah, sure Mikey."
Donny turned back to the monitor just in time to see a flash of yellow cross the screen.
"What the shell!"
Raph paused in his workout, surprised by the outburst from the normally quiet turtle. "S’matter Donny?"
"There is something out there."
Yellow streaked across another monitor.
"What is it?" Raphael asked, moving to stand behind Donatello’s chair.
"Did you see that?" Donatello asked.
"I saw somethin’, don’t know what, but it is movin’ fast."
"But the motion sensors aren’t detecting anything." Donatello typed rapidly on the keyboard, bringing up more information on the screen in front of him. "According to the sensors there isn’t anything out there."
Raph pointed at another screen, "Well there goes nothing again."
"It’s heading this way."
"GUYS!" Leonardo shouted. "Donny!"
The panic in their oldest brother’s voice brought the other three running to the dojo. Leonardo was crouched beside Splinter who was shivering violently.
"Master Splinter, what’s wrong?"
Splinter looked up, his eyes filled with tears, "Danger, my sons, there is grave danger."
A sudden gust of wind rolled through the dojo making the candles flicker and the wall hangings scrape against the concrete.
Raph and Leo were instantly on their feet, weapons drawn.
A dark haired young man dressed in a torn yellow shirt knelt in the doorway.
"Sensei, help me!" the boy cried.
"Do not!" Splinter shouted as Leo and Raph moved toward the boy.
The brothers stepped back to flank Splinter.
"Please master, they’re killing me!" he held out his hands, pleading, and then suddenly arched back with a scream. The wind gusted again and dust swirled where the boy had been.
"Someone want to tell me what the shell just happed." Raphael growled, his sai rattling as he put them away.
"You must go to him now, before it is too late." Splinter urged, "The boy is in grave danger and you must help him."
Leo sheathed his swords, "Where Master?"
"The alley between the building with the glass dome and the building with the lions and hawks on the roof. Hurry my sons!"
Leo turned and ran out, his brothers following closely behind.
They ran faster than they ever had before, the expression of fear on Splinter’s face giving them speed.
In minutes they reached the alley their teacher had directed them to.
"Fight." Raph said, hearing the sounds of flesh striking flesh. He drew his sais, ran into the darkness, shouting wordlessly and the other followed.
Leo was sickened by what he saw - at least ten youths were crowded around another one lying on the ground and they were kicking him mercilessly.
"No killing!" Leo warned them, "They’re just kids."
"Look what these ‘kids’ are doing!" Raphael shouted, "They deserve whatever they get."
"Raph!"
Despite his angry tirade, Raphael didn’t do worse than break a few bones, the kids scattered rapidly when they realized they were not alone.
"Donny?" Leo asked as his brother crouched by the fallen boy.
"He’s alive. We need to get him back to the lair. Careful." Donatello admonished Raph as he picked up the kid. "He’s hurt pretty badly."
"Let’s go."
Sirens sounded, closing in.
~^~
Splinter was waiting for them when they returned; he was leaning shakily on his walking stick.
"Master, are you okay?"
"I will be fine, but the boy is terribly frightened." He followed them into the lab and stood at the head of the bed, his head bowed and his eyes closed.
Donatello hurried around gathering supplies and equipment.
"What can we do?" Leo asked.
"At the moment, stay out of the way. I need to stabilize him first then we can set the broken bones and stitch up the cuts." His three brothers stepped back, watching as Donny set up the equipment.
The heart monitor beeped rapidly and the oxygen monitor screeched a warning as the boy stopped breathing. Splinter placed one paw on the boy’s cheek and another on his chest over his heart; he took a deep breath and held it, closing his eyes.
Donatello watched the readouts as the warnings stopped their strident noise. "I don’t know what you did, master, but he is stabilizing."
Splinter smiled, opening his eyes, "He needed his Sensei to reassure him. Apparently, his Sensei and I have a few things in common."
"Shouldn’t we take him to a hospital?" asked Leonardo.
"Oh yeah, that would go over really well," Raph grumbled sarcastically, "we just walk in carrying him and tell them all about how we saved him from a gang and before you know it we’re on the table."
"We can’t Leo," Donatello explained, "moving him again could cause more damage and even if we did we’d have to leave him there and that could be dangerous for him."
"What about April and Casey?"
"Casey won’t be back until tomorrow and April is on location. We’re his only help right now. I gave him something to keep him unconscious so he won’t wake up and move around and make it worse."
"Yeah, waking up to Mikey’s ugly mug will send him in to histrionics just like it did April." Raph teased.
"Hey," Mikey protested, "it was Splinter that really freaked her out."
~^~
"Is he going to be okay?"
"He has some cracked ribs and a broken arm. Lots of bruises and twelve stitches, four staples and three butterfly strips."
Raph smiled crookedly, "That doesn’t sound too bad."
"That was the good news, the bad new is," Donatello sighed, "his back is broken ... there’s a lot of swelling. I won’t be able to tell if there is any permanent damage until the swelling goes down."
"So he can’t walk?" Mikey asked.
"Right now, no. It’s possible that when the swelling decreases the nerves will recover enough that he will have mobility."
"But not very likely?"
"No."
~^~
"Lie still now child, try not to move - you’ve been badly injured."
Dustin slowly turned his head to look at Splinter. His gaze focused on the turtles who stood behind their master and he smiled.
"You do not seem to be afraid of us, young one."
"You’re a giant rat; my sensei is a guinea pig: it’s not a real huge surprise."
"And the turtles do not surprise you either?"
"I’ve seen some really big and ugly mutants and you guys saved me I remember that. You wouldn’t have come to my rescue and brought me here if you were going to kill me. I’m Dustin."
"I am called Splinter, and the turtles are Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael."
Each of the turtles nodded as they were introduced.
"Dude, does your watch play video games?" Mikey asked.
Dustin lifted his arm, "you mean this? It’s not a watch and it doesn’t play games."
"So what is it?" Mike moved closer.
"It’s a morpher."
"What’s a morpher?"
"It’s like a key to my ninja powers. I’m the yellow power ranger."
"Dude, for real?"
"The power rangers are a myth, a comic book."
"That’s what everyone thinks; even my best friends and then we became the next ranger team. Shane is the red ranger and Tori is the blue ranger. Watch what I can do."
"Hey, now Dustin take it easy." Donatello interceded, "you got beat up pretty bad and the medicine I gave you has you feeling invincible but you have to be really careful about moving around right now. Your spine was injured and you could make it worse."
"Chill dude, I can do this without getting up." He put his right hand on his left shoulder, "Ranger power of two."
Wind swirled and kicked up the dust in the room, out of the whirlwind stepped a yellow clad ranger.
"DUDE!" Exclaimed Mikey "You are for real!"
The ranger nodded and dissipated.
Dustin sighed, "Wow, that really took it out of me."
"You should rest," Donatello scolded,
~^~
Casey came in and headed straight for the refrigerator. "Hey, guys we missed out on a good scrap this evening. Word on the street is that some gang no one has heard of before jumped some of the kids from that karate exhibition thing that’s going on downtown this weekend."
"Heard about it? Casey, we are the new gang that stomped those little twerps."
Casey raised an eyebrow, "So what’s the deal with beating up on little kids?"
"Those little kids are a bunch of no account punks that deserved to have their heads handed to them." Raphael growled. "See that kid in there?" He pointed to the lab, " ‘bout a dozen of them were pounding on him at one time."
"Turtle karma kicked their asses huh?" Casey cracked his knuckles; "wish I had been there to crack a few skulls."
~^~
Hours later the boy awoke, turning his head to watch the brothers. "Dude, could I have something to drink?"
Mikey hurried to bring a glass of water. His hands slid off the cup and Mikey caught it, holding it out .
"Sorry, my hands feel kinda weird." Dustin apologized.
"It’s okay, you were injured pretty badly, and you need to rest." Donatello helped him raise just enough to drink. When he had drained the glass and lay back down.
"The medication should have worn off by now; I want to do an exam on you Dustin if you don’t mind."
"No problem dude, I want out of this bed. I mean, no offense but I’m not used to lying around you know."
Donatello grinned, "Yeah I know what you mean."
Donatello drew the flat dull edge of a blade along the center of Dustin’s bare foot. "Did you feel that?"
"No. Nothing."
Testing it on the other foot and even trailing it the length of his legs elicited no response. Pinpricks that drew tiny drops of blood went without being felt.
Donny felt the pain of failure choking him as he tried to apologize. "I’m sorry Dustin, I did everything I could … maybe if we had taken you to a hospital..."
"It’s not your fault Donatello, I knew the second I hit the pavement that it was over for me. You did everything you could, you saved my life dude."
"But you’ll never be able to do the things you did before."
"Not like I did before but I can learn new ways, do new things."
~^~
Leo held the pieces of the broken katana. He was no expert but he was certain that the sword was older than anything he’d ever owned. The steel was beautiful even in its ruined state; he could see the layers on the edges where the steel had been carefully folded by a master metal smith. He wrapped the pieces back in the silk and laid them back in the box. He unsheathed his own katanas and began a slow kata, stretching and moving gracefully, feeling the weight of the swords. For the first time, he was fully aware of how his feet moved, how he turned and stepped and how impossible it would be to do if he were paralyzed from the waist down. He closed his eyes, imaging for a moment how it would be to have Dustin practicing with him, how they would be moving in perfect synchronization. He couldn’t imagine not be able to walk, to practice, to do any of the things he had grown so accustomed to.
"How can you be so optimistic?"
"I have to, it’s my role."
"What do you mean?"
"In every group, there are certain types of people, like you and your brothers. There’s the level headed, logical person - you. The analytical geek - Donatello and the impulsive hot head - Raphael. Mike and me - we’re the comedy relief guys who always look for the brighter side of a situation."
"You know, our lives are pretty grim if you think about it. No one knows what we do, we don’t get any thanks for putting our lives on the line, we don’t get awards or rewards so someone has to flip that coin over and show everyone the shiny side of it. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have our down moments; it’s just that we feel we have to stay upbeat for everyone else’s sake. You’re the leader and I bet you get scared and you worry that you might make the wrong decision sometimes but you don’t let that stop you, right?
"Yeah." Leo turned to watch Mikey picking a fight with Raph.
"We all have our duties, responsibilities that we can’t give up, that we won’t give up even if that sometimes comes at the cost of wearing a mask that makes us appear to be something that we aren’t."
Leo smiled as he saw the frown on Raph change into a broad grin as he pinned his younger brother and noogied him.
Mikey’s yelp made Dustin laugh, "we do it because of love."
"You know, your mask is slipping right now; you don’t sound anything like an air-headed comic book geek."
Dustin smiled, "someone has to play the part and I have a lot of fun doing it."
Leo grew serious, "What are you going to do when you get back home?"
"I don’t know. It’s hard to think about it right now, I keep hoping this is just a bad dream, except for the part about meeting you guys, and I’ll wake up and walk to the bathroom, wash my face and then practice my katas."
~^~
Alone in the darkened lab he let the tears fall, his heart felt like a rock, he couldn’t breathe. Everything he had ever known was gone. There was no way he could be a ranger, a ninja and riding a motocross bike, that was impossible now too. How could he go back, to see the pity in the eyes of his friends was more than he could bear. He’d put on a brave front for the sake of the turtles but there was no way he’d be able to fool their master. Splinter was no doubt by now already aware of how scared and upset he really was. Almost as if he could hear his thoughts, Splinter appeared in the doorway.
"Dustin, may I speak with you?"
Dustin swallowed the lump in his throat and hoped that he sounded tired rather than heartbroken when he replied, "Sure."
"Dustin, I know that you are greatly troubled. You have given my son a great gift in that you lay no blame upon him but you cannot carry this burden alone."
"There’s no one else to give it to Master Splinter."
"I do not ask that you give it to me, only that you allow me to share it with you."
"A burden shared is a burden lightened, that’s what my sensei told me once."
"He is a wise rodent," Splinter smiled "and a wise man. I know that this is a troubling thing for you and it has changed your world in ways I cannot truly imagine. Do not let your grief overwhelm you or you will never see the new path that has come before you."
"I understand, Master Splinter. I’m really tired; I’d like to get some rest."
The rat laid a paw on his shoulder, "It will look better in the morning, I am certain."
Dustin nodded and closed his eyes, listening as the old rodent left the room, leaving the door ajar in case Dustin needed something in the night.
Dustin tried to still his thoughts, to gather some sense of calm but it was difficult. A slow warmth seemed to spread from his hand and up his arm to his face. He opened his eyes.
Trini stood beside him; a halo of yellow light seemed to emanate from her entire body. She smiled, "Dustin, you must not give up. You can change this, you have the power, and all you have to do is call on it."
"What are you talking about? I can’t do anything now, I’m useless."
"I cannot touch you," her hand phased through his arm, "am I useless as well?"
"No, of course not."
"Use the power Dustin; do not let it fade away."
"But I don’t know how."
"Don’t think it, feel it Dustin, and draw on the power that is yours."
Trini shimmered as though dissipating before the wind.
"Feel it." her whispered words echo long after she is gone.
"Donatello! Leonardo!" He clawed at the bed, fighting into a sitting position. "Somebody!"
Leo rushed in, followed closely by Donatello, the others are not far behind.
"Dustin, what is it? What’s wrong?"
"I need to go somewhere where there is earth - dirt."
"Topside? Right now?"
"Now. Someplace away from the concrete and blacktop. I need trees, water, grass."
"There’s grass and trees and water in Central Park."
"There’s also people."
"Not that many after dark."
"Can you do whatever you need to after dark?"
"Yeah, if fact that would be best."
~^~
"By the water."
Raphael laid Dustin on the bank. Dustin trailed one hand in the water, and clenched the fingers of his other hand into the soft earth. He closed his eyes and called on the power that lay beneath him. Lines of blue trailed up his arm from the water, yellow lines streaked up his other arm and red pulsed softly around his torso. The colors met over his heart, swirling, combining and disappearing into him. He whimpered as the power flowed into the wounds, healing them in minutes. He lay still for several minutes; the only sound was their soft breathing.
"Did it work?" asked Mikey.
"Most of it." Dustin replied, "This is harder than I thought it would be, I gotta catch my breath." His eyes closed and his breathing became slow and shallow as he slipped into a meditative state.
Light shimmered in the trees at the edge of the park, slowly approaching their position. Leo and Raph stood up; ready to defend their friend while Mikey stayed crouched beside Dustin.
As the light came closer it appeared to be a male lion, dusky skinned with a dark mane.
The lion paced slowly toward them, stopping when it reached Dustin. It sat at the young man’s feet, a low rumbling growl as it stared at the prone ninja.
Mikey’s eyes were wide, "I think it’s hungry."
"Shh." Donatello hushed Mikey, "It’s not a real lion, see how the grass isn’t flattened?"
Yellow fanned out around the lion’s mane like a halo and the energy flowed down to Dustin, encasing him its glow. The image of the lion wavered and was replaced by a young Asian woman dressed in a yellow shirt and white pants. She gave a short bow to each of the turtles in turn.
"Arigato, domo arigato." she said softly, and then faded away like mist before the wind.
"That was awesome!" breathed Mikey, "Was that an angel? Did she heal you?"
Dustin stirred, blinking as though he’d just awakened. He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked down at his feet with a determined frown.
"Did it work? Did she heal you?" Mikey asked again.
Slowly Dustin’s feet moved, flexing and extending. He smiled and sat up, curling his legs under in the traditional tea pose. He laid his hands palm down on his thighs, straightened his back and tilted his head back.
"How do you feel Dustin?" Donatello asked.
"I feel ... everything. It hurts but that’s better than not feeling anything at all."
"The lion and the girl was unbelievable, he sat right there and then he glowed and he turned into a girl and she talked to us and then she disappeared." Mikey babbled excitedly.
"The lion is my animal of power. The girl was Trini, the very first yellow power ranger. She called on the saber tooth tiger for her power."
"How did she get here? Will others come? That would be so radical!"
"Trini is the only one, her spirit watches over us."
"She died, didn’t she?"
"Yes, it was a car accident a few years after she passed her place on to the second generation of rangers." Dustin stretched, laughing as his spine cracked in a pleasant way, "Ah that’s much better." He leaped to his feet with feline grace, and then did a back flip.
"Dude!" Mikey exclaimed. "You’re almost as good as me!"
Raph rubbed his fist over his younger brother’s head, "Yeah; you get lots of practice bro."
~^~
"Sensei I want you to have this to remember me by." Dustin unpinned the red and black disk from his jacket and held it out to Splinter.
Splinter took it gravely, nodding, "Thank you, young one. I shall cherish it always."
With a grin, Dustin turned to Donatello and handed him an oblong object wrapped in tissue paper.
Leonardo presented Dustin with a katana to replace the one he’d lost in the alley. The scabbard was shiny black lacquered, the hilt, intricate pewter with accents of yellow gold; Dustin drew it from its sheath and admired the artistry of the fine edged blade.
"Dude I can’t accept this; this is way more expensive than the one I lost."
"All the more reason for you to accept it. A true ninja should have a worthy blade."
"Wow, thanks Leonardo."
He gives Raph a motocross bike belt buckle, Leo a mini replica katana set of letter openers, Mikey a subscription to the power ranger comic books. And Donny a first place plaque for being such a first place doc.
"If you guys ever make out to California, you are welcome to visit our academy."
"And if you’re ever in New York again," "I’ll come by in person first the next time." Dustin laughed.
"So how was the competition?"
"I had an awesome time! Dude; you would not believe some of the New Yorkers, radical!"
. He thought dimly as a foot connected with his temple. I’ve fought evil supervillans from outer space and a gang of ordinary humans will be the death of me.