Something In The Air
Title: Something In the Air
Author: klcthebookworm
Characters: Glitch, Azkadellia, Chelsea, Halvard, Hank Cain, and Emily Cain from Tin Man; Allie and Zack Baker with mentions of other characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Rating: G
Summary: Glitch copes with changed plans.
Warnings: Set during my unnamed sequel to Tin Man: Dragons and Ninjas.
Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Tin Man doesn't belong to me. But I have OCs that live in both.
Note: Written for tmcrossovers Challenge 4. Protection, Kansas for the town where DG grew up borrowed from erinm_4600
Words: 2673
Glitch refolded DG's instructions with a sigh and tucked the papers back into his waistcoat's pocket. He propped his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands and surveyed the land in front of this farm cottage. They had left the O.Z. when everything was budding out from their winter slumbers. But the greenery under this singular sun was more mature with hints of the future harvest established.
Sure, he could expound on agriculture, but he couldn't figure out how to turn the power on and make the house habitable. Some inventor I am; can't even figure out these storm-blown instructions. He patted his pocket to pull them out one more time when movement above the stalks ahead caught his attention.
It looked like a storm cloud following a path to the cottage. Not a cloud of rain, but dust. He stood up and moved up the steps to the portico to see a powered vehicle approaching. It was nearly the same size as a wagon, but without a clear separation of cab from quarters.
The green and now dusty vehicle slowed to a stop before it drew even with the cottage. Glitch shifted back down the steps, but hopefully not aggressively. The door closest to his opened and disgorged one of the occupants before Glitch stepped on the grass. The slim young man still had straight black hair tumbling into his dark brown eyes, but grinned at Glitch. "Welcome to Earth." Zack Baker slammed the door shut before crossing the grass with his hand outstretched.
Glitch pumped it, stretching his lips in a relieved grin. "Am I glad to see you! DG's instructions for civilizing this place are incomprehensible and the Tin Man abandoned us. What took you so long?"
"So we need to add geography lessons to everything else we have to teach them about surviving on Earth?" A young blonde woman circled the front of the vehicle to join them. Her straight hair was cut just under her jawline.
"Probably," Zack answered. "This is Glitch. Glitch, my sister, Allie Baker."
He never would have guessed at any family ties between the two if Zack hadn't proclaimed it. She looked closer to DG's age and her blue eyes were rounder than Zack's. Their appraising gaze was uncomfortable similar and made stonier by the three parallel scars on her left cheek. But she still didn't match Zack's sketchy description. "The scary one?"
"You are still describing me that way to people?" She paused in greeting Glitch to aim her peeved expression at her younger brother. "It was old by the time you got to junior high!"
"I may have mentioned it, but it's true everybody thinks you're scarier than me." Zack scurried to the rear of the vehicle, leaving Glitch to deal with Allie.
She thrust her hand out to shake much like DG would. "Pleased to meet you and sorry for crashing the reunion."
Remembering how flustered bowing made DG, Glitch shook her hand like he had Zack's. "I suppose my communication didn't reassure you of our capabilities."
Her half smile was eerily similar too. "That's not why. Zack's not a legal adult yet. More mature than seventy-five percent of the ones I deal with, but it could still draw attention where you don't want it. So you weren't told why Cain changed his mind about returning?"
"No," Glitch plucked one of the taller blades of grass just under his hand. "Something must have changed with the Longcoats or the Blight, but what DG didn't say. She wouldn't want us to worry."
Zack rejoined them with a bag slung on each shoulder. "Longcoats again? How long has it been in the O.Z.?"
His fingers had plaited the grass blade. "About two annuals. Longcoats, somebody has been recruiting. But other than causing the populace to flee towards Central City, they haven't made any demands." He shook the O.Z's worries from his shoulders. DG had made it clear what she needed from him and Azkadellia. "We don't want to speculate in front of the children. They pick up more than you'd think."
Zack and Allie both murmured positively and followed him through the dark cottage to the back door.
Azkadellia and Chelsea had found a swing tied to the branches of a sturdy tree and tested its safety. Now Chelsea pushed Halvard to higher heights. The twins had their toys beside Azkadellia's seat on a faded blanket. She looked over her shoulder to the door with a relieved smile. "Thank the stars. I hope you know how to turn on the lights and water, Zack."
"We're here to help." Zack dropped the bags on the back stoop, so he could point. "Princess Azkadellia of the O.Z."
"And my wife," Glitch added.
"Congratulations. Chelsea Girnwood and Halvard are at the swing, and I don't know the youngest pair next to Azkadellia."
Azkadellia touched her niece's head softly, ghosting her fingers over the toddler's black curls. "This is Crown Princess Emily Cain and her twin brother Prince Hank Cain."
"DG and Cain had twins," Zack said to the young woman watching them all. "This is my sister, Allie Baker."
"Hello." Allie waved briefly. "Did you get instructions on how to turn on the electricity and water?"
Glitch passed the folded instructions to Zack, who opened and read them with an expression that grew more painfully confused. "You think Donatello's awake yet? This is full of his kind of words."
"Probably not. They sleep longer than Mike does." Allie plucked the paper from Zack's hand and snorted. "Just because you don't know what they mean, city boy, doesn't mean Donnie is the only one who does."
"You were raised in the same city."
"Then I guess we need to send you to Forsaken for survivalist training." She stepped off the stoop and headed around the house toward the barn.
"Forsaken?" Azkadellia asked as she shifted her feet under the skirt of her dress.
"A town that's hiding from everybody else. Allie has friends there, so she knows where it is." Zack plopped down on a corner of the blanket. "So what have you brought in supplies?"
Glitch left Azkadellia and Chelsea to detail that list and followed Allie. He caught up with her halfway to a tall spinner in the field next to the cottage. "I guess this trip would be a good time to start my Slipperisms translation guide."
"Cain not coming was a surprise to DG too."
"You read the whole thing."
"Last item: stubborn Tin Man adds just ask Zack for help," she quoted with a wider smile. They stopped at the spinner. "At least this generator looks less ancient that the one our grandparents had."
"Your grandparents needed one of these in a city?" Glitch helped her pry the cover off of the engine on the ground under the spinner. In the O.Z., the larger communities created energy with spinners or hydroponics for the entire community to share.
"They lived out here in Kansas before we relocated them to a different part of the country where they could be protected." She double-checked the instructions before tightening the connections on top of the engine. "How much has Zack shared with you about himself?"
Glitch prodded his synapses to remember information shared two annuals ago when the trip into the Northern Territories of the O.Z. had revealed so much. "He is an heir to a leadership position he has resigned himself to taking and he started teaching DG self protection techniques because a rival had been trying to kill him since he was a child and he knew how necessary it was. That rival threatened your grandparents?"
"I never figured our lives could be summed up into one sentence, wow." Her blonde head bent over the engine DG's instructions had called a generator. "And you're right about the threat to our grandparents. But before all that, before April adopted us, we visited them out here. I was ten and Zack was six, so he doesn't remember much about the trip. I was old enough for chores though."
The generator spluttered before chugging to life. Allie gestured for him to replace the cover while she studied the state of her hands. "Luckily, DG made sure this wasn't a working farm any longer when they had their honeymoon. Sold the cropland to neighbors and that sort of thing."
"Good, never could figure out how to run a tractor. Driving one was easy; it was the extras attached to it that messed me up. Let's check the batteries and connections to the house."
The house hummed with power before Allie drove Glitch to the town of Protection, Kansas to buy different clothing and more food. Apparently, the outfits he had based on what Cain had brought back from the Other Side were not country enough. That excursion didn't take long, though he spent most of it in silent marvel at how comfortable the ride was over the smooth black roads. No wonder DG was pushing so hard to repair the Brick Route before the current troubles broke out. He put those worries out of his head while they played with Halvard and the twins, at supper, and put the children to bed.
Quiet descended over the farm cottage brought his worries back. Azkadellia had found a treasure trove of DG's childhood things and was exploring the years they were separated. Chelsea was rearranging the kitchen and Zack was studying a thick book at the kitchen table.
The windows were still open, letting the cool twilight breeze chase out the trapped air. The parlor's lights were off, but someone had moved the wireless gramophone to a window, so the music traveled to the front portico. He opened the front door.
Allie sat on the railing half-wall leaning her back against a pillar holding the roof overhead. She held a small device against her ear and cheek. It must be another version of the cell phone DG had given him with strict instructions not to take it apart.
"It's Kansas, Sammie. Unless you want a harvest prediction, there's not much to report." She listened to the other person in the conversation through the device. "I wanted to catch him before patrol, but if he already left, he's already left." She chuckled. "You make the same observation every time; my indignation wore off long ago. Seriously though, leave a message telling him we got here safe and sound and I'll call earlier tomorrow. What do you mean but?" The pause was longer. "Sammie, Mike's the psychic, all I have is my gut." Her head shifted to look over the red tinted landscape. "I guess my thumbs are pricking, but there's no point in worrying Mike when he's over fifteen hundred miles away. Just give him the message, okay? I'll check back in tomorrow. Bye."
She tucked the cell phone into her pocket and continued staring at the darkening sky. The song playing on the wireless gramophone changed.
I can feel it
Coming in the air tonight
Oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment
For all my life
Oh Lord
Glitch stepped out onto the portico. "Is everything all right?"
Allie sighed heavily. "I don't know. Maybe Mike, my boyfriend, would. I just feel uneasy and I can't pinpoint why."
He moved to the half-wall so he could see more of the dark clouds rolling over the red horizon. They blotted out the colorful streaks left by the setting sun. "Maybe it's the oncoming storm? Falling pressure."
"Storms in New York don't make me feel this way." She continued staring at the storm clouds.
Well if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before my friend
But I don't know if you know who I am
Well I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe of the grin
I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies
The swinging screen door bang shut. "What's so fascinating out here?" Seeing the roiling clouds wiped away Zack's jovial expression. "That's not right."
"It's just bad weather," Glitch said.
I can feel it
Coming in the air tonight
Oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment
For all my life
Oh Lord, Oh Lord
"I listened to the weather reports while you were in town. It's supposed to be storm free for the rest of the week."
"It's a travel storm." Azkadellia pushed through the screen door. The Silver Slippers on her feet tapped loudly against the floorboards. "Do you think Cain changed his mind?"
A chorus of three no's answered her, and Glitch's head twisted between their sibling guards. Zack had traveled with them; he knew Cain. But his sister only met the Tin Man and DG once.
Allie answered first. "Cain wouldn't because your enemies could follow him here. Now DG might've knocked him out and threw him in...."
Well I remember
I remember don't worry
How could I ever forget
It's the first time
The last time
We ever met
But I know the reason why you keep me silenced up
No you don't fool me
Cause the hurt doesn't show
But the pain still grows
It's no stranger to you and me
"I think you're right, Allie," Zack said. "Cain doesn't want the twins to grow up like Jeb did, so he wouldn't lead bad guys to them. And DG wanted family raising her kids instead of robots, so I doubt she would send anyone else."
"That's not DG's magic," Azkadellia said.
A skinny, grey-cloud finger descended from the clouds now rolling over the cottage. Glitch held his breath. In the waning light, it thickened as the wind rushed around the house to join it. The point stretched out like the ground was pulling at a string.
Zack reentered the house calling for Chelsea. Allie swung off the railing and landed on the grass. Glitch clattered down the steps. "How could the Longcoats find us? The only ones who knew we were going to the Other Side were Cain, DG, and us!"
"Not my job description." The wind howled louder. "Our job is to keep you safe on Earth." She looked over her shoulder at Azkadellia. "It's a magic storm?" Azkadellia nodded. "Can you send it somewhere else?"
"A travel storm must fulfill its function once it is summoned." She pulled dark locks of hair out of her face. "But I can stop it once whatever is traveling is deposited."
"Allie!" Zack threw a heavy belt covered in pouches at her, but she caught it effortlessly. He was already wearing his. "Chelsea's moving the kids into the storm cellar."
She wrapped the belt on over her blue jeans. "Good call."
"Chelsea also has the shotgun loaded and aimed at the door." He passed a sheathed sword to her next. "She really takes being the last line of defense seriously."
"Then you can be the one to coax her out once this is over." The sword belt went across her chest so the sword was carried on Allie's back. She was obviously female and the leather was black instead of brown, but it still carried a jolt of familiarity to Glitch. "You take the front."
Zack shook his head. "Glitch can fight."
"Stay closer to the front!" Her chin-length hair whipped around her head as she pivoted and ran to the rear of the cottage.
"Don't make yourself a target!" Zack shouted before jogging to the opposite side of the house.
I can feel it
Coming in the air tonight
Oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment
For all my life
Oh Lord, Oh Lord
Glitch shook his head. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a group large enough to encircle the cottage. The long grey cloud touched the ground and thickened again. Lightning bolts shot out of the twisting air. Behind him, Azkadellia's golden glow lit the yard ahead of him.