This is for brushbell on tumblr, prompted by her fanart where Donnie was turned human for a day. This turned out a lot longer than I intended... Oh well! Hope you like it, brushbell! I love your art!
I don't own TMNT. Sorry.
"- yes, and thank you, Gambe, for the morning weather update. Now on NYC local, we have an alert going out for a missing child. Sixteen year old April O'Neil was last seen on Tuesday leaving her aunt's apartment, where she has been living since the disappearance of her father earlier this year. O'Neil's aunt says that she expected her home after dinner, and did not alert the police until later that evening. The NYPD has released a statement saying that the disappearances, when taken together, can no longer be counted as random. At least one, if not both, are now assumed to be the result of planned kidnapping-"
April sighed and muted the TV, rolling over onto her back with a wince. Even with the ocean of old quilts and blankets cocooning her, the bench didn't exactly boast of any room to stretch or roll while sleeping.
Carefully muffled footsteps crept up behind the pit before the owner remembered to cough lightly, announcing himself. The blurry form of green, brown, and blue hovered over her and smiled good-naturedly. "Good morning, April."
"Hey, Leo." The redhead yawned, stretching for her glasses where she had laid them the night before. Fixing them on her nose with another stifled yawn, April let her eyes adjust to the low lighting in the lair. "You guys done with the bathroom?"
"All yours. Mikey's making breakfast, so just take your time."
April shot him a grateful look before rolling off of the bench and following the now familiar path. Just through the kitchen, take a right, and ta-daa, there it was. It was small, only consisting of a sink with a mirror, toilet, and old worker's shower stall, but it was clean compared to the rest of New York's restrooms.
Discarding her glasses on the sink, April leaned in close to the mirror to survey the damage. More dark rings under her eyes. A few bruises still clinging like leeches to her arms and neck. But she looked better than she had yesterday. She had to admit that much.
"Such is the glamorous life of April O'Neil," she muttered darkly. She went to remove her tank top and shorts for a quick shower, but a bustling on the other side of the bathroom door stopped her. April realized that she had forgotten to lock it.
"Mikey, I've told you! Don't take my stuff around with you if you're not going to bring it back to-!" The door flew open, and only April's lessons with Splinter allowed her to step out of the way in time.
Donatello's tirade cut short with a small squeak as he saw that the bathroom was occupied. "A-April! Oh man, sorry, I just-!"
"It's fine," April reassured him. "What did Mikey lose this time?"
"Mikey?" Donnie asked, as if his brother's name meant nothing. His eyes darted frantically, settling anywhere but on her.
"Michelangelo," April said slowly. "Orange mask. Hyperactive. Steals your stuff."
"Oh!" Donnie laughed manically and slapped a big green hand to his forehead. "Right! It's, um... Have you seen my blowtorch?"
April's eyes widened, and she quickly threw open the shower curtain. There it was, as plain as day. She picked it up, grunting under he surprising weight, and held it out to the furiously blushing turtle. "Why on earth did he bring that in here?"
"Dunno, uh, maybe... Thanksbye!" Snatching the tool from her hands, Donnie sprinted out of the bathroom with a screech of "Mikey! You're dead, you hear me?! De-!"
April chuckled and shut the door behind him, firmly locking it before stepping out of her pajamas and into the shower. It was funny how she was already used to living in the lair, but the boys still got jumpy every time they bumped into her.
It had made her nervous at first. From the way they practically did ninja flips around her, April had almost come to the conclusion that they weren't comfortable with her, and that kind of hurt. But Splinter had quickly explained to her that the boys were simply unaccustomed to sharing their world so completely.
"Imagine," he had advised. "If, in the worst case possible, we would have nowhere to go. Would you be comfortable if my sons and I were suddenly living in your aunt's home?"
April smiled, letting the hot water wash away her early morning sleepiness. Those words had prompted the ridiculous image of Michelangelo in her aunt's kitchen, wearing a frilly pink apron, humming and flipping pancakes for breakfast; of Leonardo and Raphael fighting over the bathroom; of Donatello trying to take apart every household appliance they owned and put them it together again; and of herself, in the middle of it all, trying to calmly explain the whole alien/mutant thing to her aunt.
That would totally go down well.
"Cool it," April told herself. She reluctantly shut off the water and stepped out in a cloud of steam. Pressing her face into a warm, fluffy towel, it became clear to April that just as she couldn't imagine mutants in her home, it was just as crazy for the boys to welcome a human girl into theirs. She was their only friendly human contact, but the very idea of a sleepover was a fantasy to a group of trained ninjas.
"A sleepover," April murmured, slipping into her day clothes. "Just a really long, really dangerous sleepover...That I can't leave. Yeah. Let's go with that."
Yes, she was used to living underground. No, she didn't like it. Not one bit.
"Mikey," Leo said patiently. "You can't make pancakes with a blow torch. It's just not right."
"But it looked fun," the younger turtle whined. "Why does Donnie get to play with all the cool stuff?"
Raph looked at him over the top of the comic he was reading and snorted. "Maybe because he doesn't burn breakfast even without the open flame?"
Mikey looked confused for a minute before taking a long breath through the nose and gasping. "GAH! The pancakes!" He cartwheeled over the kitchen table, narrowly missing his brother's hot tea, to land back at the stove. Quickly flipping each small circle of batter, he was relieved to find that none were badly burnt, only speckled with a few dark brown spots. "Okay, maybe I'm not that great with fire. But I'm a great cook, so what could go wrong?"
Across the counter, Donnie fell into a coughing fit. "What could go wrong? Need I remind you of the time you thought the stove was broken and you tried to build a campfire? In the dojo?"
"Okay, I get it!" Mikey frowned and stared at his griddle. "... Do you think these are okay?"
"How are we supposed to know?"/"Who cares?"/"I'm sure they're fine, Mikey."
"It is rare for you to make something so... Humane, my son."
The four turtles turned to their father, who entered the kitchen and gratefully accepted a cup of tea from Leonardo.
"Oh, uh." Michelangelo looked uncharacteristically bashful. "We ran out of pizza and... I just thought that April wouldn't really like P-shakes or worms and algae."
Silence sat between them all as Splinter looked at each of his sons in turn, gauging their emotions on the matter. "That is wonderful, Michelangelo. If you need any help at all with the recipes, please come to me."
"Thanks, sensei," Mikey smiled sadly. "I just wish I could do something better."
"What would be better would be letting her outside for a change," Donnie grumbled.
The remaining sewer dwellers exchanged cautious looks. They had fully expected Donnie to be harboring at least a little bit of secret happiness over April staying with them, but it seemed they were wrong.
"You know why we can't do that," Leo gently reminded him. "Even if the Kraang don't get a hold of her, Shredder's out there, too."
"Karai attacked her in broad daylight," Raph cut in. He glared at the table, imagining the kunoichi instead. "If even Murakami's isn't safe..."
Mikey's eyes widened and an excited grin spread across his face. "Oh! I know! One of us could follow her, but stay hidden. Then she'll be safe!"
Splinter sighed, and slowly shook his head. "I have thought of that many times. But if something were to happen, I could not allow you to expose yourselves." He gave Donatello an empathetic look. "I do not want to shut April away from the world any more than you do. But this is truly the only place for her to be where we can protect her."
Donnie scowled. "You think I don't know any of that?" He slammed his hands down on the table, suddenly the picture of helpless frustration. "It's not fair! We're used to staying down here, but she's not. And now she's trapped, just like we were. There is no topside for her. It's killing me!" Shaking from the force of his outburst, Donatello excused himself, a terse string of Japanese following him through the curtain and into the next room.
"And here I thought he'd be over the moon about his girlfriend moving in," Raph said dryly. But his heart wasn't in the teasing. They all felt the same way.
Splinter finally broke the silence. "Now, Michelangelo, I believe we still have some maple syrup around here somewhere...?"
Behind the curtain leading to the bathroom, April suppressed a sigh.
Forget the wail of sirens and the never ending rumble of cars-the sounds of ninjutsu were the new soundtrack to her life. April tried to block out the grunts and shouts in the dojo, concentrating on what Splinter was showing her. After the incident with Karai, they had thought it wise to focus less on attacking and more on self defense.
"Feel the bone on the inner side of your arm," Splinter instructed. "It is extremely sensitive to precision strikes, and a good place to aim for if someone were to have a hold on you."
April nodded, contemplating the spot and applying varying amounts of pressure. "Okay, I think I've got it." She held out her arm, looking up at her sensei expectantly.
The rat shook his head. "This is not a move that we are able to practice." He gestured to his own arms. "My transformation has changed my bone structure. Teaching you this break with my biology would only mislead you in a real fight against the Foot. You will have to trust your instincts."
"Hai, sensei."
Splinter smiled and patted her head. "That is enough for today. You can spar with the others later if you wish to practice the other escape holds." They bowed to each other before going their separate ways; Splinter to oversee the rest of the boys' training and April to the pit and her laptop.
"Come on, gimme something," she whispered. She booted up the device and logged into the blog she ran on a public networking site. Since she didn't have school anymore, she'd had a lot more time to spread the word, asking for information on any strange occurrences in the city. If she couldn't be out in the field searching for clues herself, she was going to find out all she could from right here.
April eyed the web page with a suspicious air. Half of the stuff was far from what she was looking for- the naked guy with the guitar, a homeless lady who collected shopping bags, and quite a few mentions of the weeks-old 'Ninjas in New York' story. And if that wasn't enough, some people had turned it into their own personal whining spot where they complained about everything.
But there, between one post about a power outage and another on the possibility of a giant reptile living in the subway, was something that just might be a hit.
"This guy has been coming into my bait shop every day," the post claimed. "He's always wearing a suit and he talks like he's from a Space Heroes movie. I saw him on the street once and tried to say hi, but he acted like he didn't know me. I mentioned the shop to try and jog his memory, and he just sort of glared at me and walked off. When he came in the next day, he acted like he hadn't seen me, said something about the end of the month, and left. What a nut!"
That definitely sounded like a Kraang droid- suit, speech pattern, and multiple copies of the same face. April couldn't be sure without more information, but just in case...
Carefully carrying the computer with her, April tiptoed back to the dojo and peeked inside. The boys were in the ninjaverse, and she knew better than to walk in unannounced.
"Raph, your back still isn't straight," Donnie was saying. He nudged and prodded his brother's stance until it was correct.
"Will you just let it go!" He snapped, lunging forward with his sai. Donnie easily sidestepped the charge and stuck out his bō, sending Raphael flying.
Mikey took a break from his exercises with Leo to laugh at the stocky turtle sprawled on the floor. "Dude, you're not going to do it right if you can't even stand up straight!"
"That's it!" Raph rolled to his feet, cracking his knuckles threateningly. "Switch partners, Leo."
"Raph, don't be like that. He didn't mean anything-"
"Switch partners." Raph stalked toward Mikey with a wicked grin. "We'll see who can't stand up straight after I'm through with you!"
"Eep!" The youngest dodged out of Raphael's grasp and dove for the nearest shield- a redhead with no idea what was coming.
"Wha-?!" Raph reared back midpunch, only inches from April's face.
To her credit, she only flinched a tiny little bit. Her knuckles were white on the edges of her computer and her mouth was open in a silent squeak that couldn't quite make it past her lips, but she was absolutely not freaking out. She was just... Surprised. By how much control Raph had. That was it. Wow. "Uh. Should I come back later?"
Mikey poked his head over her shoulder. "Ooh! Antonio's Pizza coupons!" He snatched April's laptop and wheeled off to another part of the dojo. In seconds, he was back. "Hey, how do you use these?"
"Forget that!" Donnie cried, catching April by the shoulders and shoving Raph to one side in the process. "April, are you hurt? How many fingers am I holding up? What day of the week is it?"
"No, two, Wednesday," she replied dazedly. "But seriously, is this a bad time?"
"Course not," he smiled, looking relieved that she was okay. Rescuing her laptop from Mikey, he quickly led April back to the bench. "What's the matter? Tell Donnie everything."
That made April roll her eyes, but she decided to let it slide. Feeling the stares of four pairs of eyes on her, she explained her worries about the tip.
"And today is the last day of the month," she added when she had finished. "Whatever the Kraang are doing, they could be doing it tonight." A pleading tone crept unbidden into April's words. "Any lead we get is another step closer to finding my dad. Could you guys...?"
Raph, Leo, and Mikey were already back in the dojo, gathering up their weapons.
"I know that bait shop," Donnie assured her. "It's right on the Hudson River. We can get there by sunset if we go now." The others returned, Leo sending a bō spinning toward his brother's head. He caught it with ease and slid it home, turning halfway to enter the tunnels.
"Donnie?" The sound of his name brought him back, and Donatello could see the regret in the smile April offered him. "Be careful out there."
Indecision flitted across the turtle's face. "If I could bring you with me..."
April shrugged him off. "Nah, I'm okay here." A strained smile plastered on her face, she playfully slugged Donnie in the arm. "Go get 'em for me. Bring dad home."
'Get me out of here' went unspoken.
"You got it." Donatello sprinted after his brothers, pausing at the turnstiles only long enough to whisper, "I'm sorry."
As soon as he was out of sight, the Cheshire's grin faded away. April whispered back, even though no amount of ninja training could carry her words to him. "I know."
And while her friends ventured up into the place that she used to call home, April O'Neil waited for them to return to theirs- hopefully, with good news.
"Okay," Leo grunted, slamming a Kraang droid to the ground. "The good news is that April was right about the bait shop."
"Oh, goody!" Raph shouted dryly. "On your six, Don!"
The oncoming Kraang met with a powerful wooden staff that took off its head. The owner glared at Leo. "Then what's the bad news?!"
"That those goons are getting away with all of the inventory?" Mikey guessed.
The other three whirled in the direction of their brother's pointing finger. A group of droids that hadn't bothered with human pretense was making short work of raiding the back of the shop. There were five of them in all, each carrying a large crate of the fisherman's best friend: live bait.
"What would they want with that?" Donnie was both bewildered and slightly disgusted, trying to come up with any possibility but coming up blank.
Raph snorted. "Who cares, as long as we get to beat the answer out of 'em."
"Right." Leo rolled his eyes. "Let's go!"
The turtles abandoned the droids around them and gave chase to the thieves. They cornered the Kraang in an alley not far from the bait shop and slowly advanced on them.
"Kraang," one of the droids said. "The ones that are known as the turtles have found Kraang in possession of that which is known on this planet which is called Earth as 'bait'."MY"That knowledge is known to Kraang," another answered, seeming to completely ignore the confused mutants in front of them. "If Kraang cannot see that the ones that are known as the turtles have found Kraang, then perhaps Kraang should have Kraang's optical scanners re-calibrated."
"Kraang's optical scanners have been re-calibrated in the past unit of time that is known on this planet which is called Earth as-"
A sai embedded in the robot's face, knocking it into the droid behind it. Two crates fell and exploded on the pavement. "Do you guys ever shut up?!" Raph's fury faded to outright discombobulation when he saw the crickets hopping past him to freedom. Donnie scrambled to get out of their way. "Ugh, seriously! What are you freaks up to?"
"Kraang does not understand what has been said by the one that is known as the turtle who is loud and-"
"Gyaaah!" Raph charged into the middle of the remaining Kraang, followed closely by his brothers. One managed to break away, running jerkily toward the mouth of the alleyway with the last surviving crate in its arms. A van met it at the entrance and the back doors flew open to reveal Kraang in human skins holding laser cannons.
"Scatter!" Leo bellowed. Laser fire peppered the alley, narrowly missing the ninja as they wove between the blasts. "Donnie! The van!"
"On it!" Donatello followed the straggling droid to the back of the van, flying through the maze of laser bursts. Safely in possession of its prize, the van peeled out into the street.
"Oh no you don't," Donnie muttered. "Not this time." He reached for his belt, where a deathly sharp array of shuriken hung waiting. Carefully calculating the trajectory in his head, Donnie took aim and tossed four spinning stars with pinpoint accuracy.
The tires blew on the Kraang's van, sending it careening into the display window of the nearest store. Donnie's eyes widened as he read the sign over the front door. Dynamite Dave's Fireworks.
"Ah, shell."
The explosion knocked him back twenty feet across the pavement. Asphalt tore at the exposed skin of his shoulders and the back of his head, ripping off his mask in the process. Through blurred eyes, he saw light and color fill the sky above New York, complemented by the shrieks and booms that reverberated in the streets below.
A second explosion brought Donatello's gaze to the storefront, where the flames had reached the gas tank of the van. The vehicle flew into the air and crash landed with the back doors mere inches from his feet. Broken and charred, they swung open, and a tide of murky green and blue was all Donnie saw before he was lost.
"Doooooooooniiiiieeeeee!" Mikey called. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
"Hey Donatello! Get out here before I beat your shell offa ya!"
"Will you guys be quiet?" Leo hissed. "There'll be firetrucks here any minute."
"Donnie would know exactly when," Mikey pointed out sadly, pouting.
Panic gripped Leo and he turned on his youngest brother, glaring. "Don't talk as if he's dead. We're going to find him."
Mikey flinched apologetically. "Sorry, Leo. But what about these guys?" He gestured at the mangled remains of the Kraang droids. The Kraang themselves had fled into the night in the firework confusion.
"It doesn't matter," Raph cut in. "We need to get Donnie out of here now. If he didn't cause that explosion, he's probably involved somehow."
Mikey nodded and took another deep breath. "DONN-!" Raph clapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him closer to the flames, trying to ignore the pang of worry he felt when the action reminded him so much of saving Donnie from his own big mouth.
"Guys, over here!" Leo raced over to the destroyed van. Peeking from between two stripped tires was their brother's staff. "He must be underneath! Raph, go around back and help me move this thing!"
For once, Raph had no argument and no snarky affirmation. He nodded once and ran around to the rear of the vehicle. "Uh, Leo? You might wanna see this."
Leo was busy helping Mikey shift the front of the van. "Raph, this isn't really the time for-"
"Leo." The fear and confusion in his brother's voice stopped Leo long enough to change his mind.
"Okay," he sighed, gesturing for Mikey to come too. "What is it?" He rounded the corner of the van and froze.
"What? What is it? Is it the crickets?! I wanna see the crickets!" Mikey joined him, but it wasn't a box of crickets that held his brothers' attention. "Whoa."
"Here." Raph clambered up a fire escape and snatched a sheet that was hanging on a line. "Put this on him. We've gotta get him home quick."
"How can you be sure?"
"Just look at him, Leo!" Raph inhaled sharply, letting the air out slowly. "Just... Look at his face. I'm sure."
"Guys?" Mikey looked up at Leo, as serious as he had ever seen him. "Is he gonna be okay?"
It took a moment for him to answer. The task of securely bundling his brother in the sheet stole all of his concentration while his brain struggled to stay calm and functional. Leo finally finished and handed Donatello off to Raph, and only then did he answer his youngest brother. "He has to be."
Mikey nodded, and the three of them took off to the sewers.
"I do not understand," Splinter choked out. "How did this happen?" He knelt in the pit next to his son, searching for any familiarity in the disfigured face. They had removed his ninja gear to look for injuries, but he seemed for the most part unharmed.
Leo took the spot next to their father and cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. It was rare for them to see Splinter in distress, and none of them were used to having to comfort him. "The Kraang's van exploded," he explained softly. "They must have had some mutagen in the back. None of us saw it happen."
Raphael shook his head in disgust and returned to furiously pummeling the practice dummy. "We shouldn't have sent him after the van alone. We should have been there."
"Sensei, why won't he wake up?" Mikey asked.
"That, I do not have an answer for." Splinter leaned heavily on his staff and rose to his feet, Leonardo quickly following. "But I feel that he will not wake for some time. It is late, and you three should rest. We will... Figure something out in the morning."
"Hai, sensei."
The three turtles and their father made a solemn procession to bed, leaving their brother swaddled in the sheet.
The redhead in the kitchen went unnoticed, slumped over her laptop where she had fallen asleep waiting for her new family's return.
Everything was... Soft. That's what it was. Donnie groaned and turned onto his side, curling up to the back of the bench. The scent of clean cotton tickled his nose, sharp enough to drag him further into the waking world.
"Nnng. Guys?" His voice croaked out in a creaky rasp. No answer came. Shakily, Donnie pulled himself to his feet, pulling the sheet with him. His vision swam in front of his eyes, and Donnie could hardly recognize his surroundings as his home of fifteen years.
As he stumbled toward the kitchen, the haze cleared slightly from his eyes. April was snoring over her computer, propped between a stool and the counter with her arms folded under her head.
Relief overshadowed Donatello's blundering confusion. "April," he whispered. "Wake up." In a severe lapse of judgement on his part, Donnie latched on to her arm. And what he saw made him cry out.
It was a knee jerk reaction. One second April was floating in oblivion, her slumber dreamless and deep. The next, Donnie was screaming, and there was a hand on her. An unfamiliar hand. A human hand.
April's eyes snapped open and she launched herself to her feet, dragging the hand with her. It wouldn't let up.
Where was Donatello?
It didn't matter. The intruder still had her. Almost without thinking about it, April brought her free hand up and brought it down harshly on the arm of her attacker, aiming where Splinter had instructed.
"EeYOW!"
The hand released her. Another scream from Donatello. But where was he?
... And why had his voice come from directly behind her?
April whirled to meet the new face, only to quickly avert her eyes. Still unsure of the danger of her situation, she kept the figure in her periphery and remained tensed to run. "Um. Who are you and why are you not wearing any clothes?"
She heard the person- a young man, it seemed- floundering for a bed sheet and made sure he was sufficiently covered before fully focusing her eyes on him once again. Her breath hitched in her throat.
He took another bumbling step toward her, tripping over the excess fabric pooling at his feet. "Shell," he cursed.
April barely registered it. She was busy studying him. The boy was nearly as pale as the sheet covering him, with a shock of dark brown hair that flopped over his forehead just above his eyes. Those eyes... She slowly made her way closer, trying to get a better look. They were a warm and familiar brown, but distorted by confusion and fear. They locked onto her like she was the only thing keeping him grounded.
"April," he said again, reaching out to her.
"What's going on?" The new voice was accompanied by several frantic sets of footsteps invading the kitchen area. The turtles all had their weapons drawn, cautious of the loud noises they'd heard, but lowered them when they saw no immediate danger.
Raph stared between April and the human boy, eyes wide. "Oh... Hey bro. Glad you're awake."
April gasped. "Donnie?! What happened to you?" She took his extended hand and shivered. "You're freezing! We need to get you some clothes!"
"Clothes...?"
"Never mind, I'll do it," she said, distracted. "Guys, take him into the lab and let him run some tests." She began to walk away, looking over her shoulder to give Donnie a pointed look. "You know how to do a DNA sample? Can you do it on your own? Oof!" April braced herself against the obstacle suddenly in her path. She looked up into the stern face of Raphael.
"Hold it right there, sister. Where do you think you're going?"
The others' attention slowly turned to her as well, and April realized what she had been about to do. "Raph, come on. Donnie needs some clothes or he's going to freeze down here."
"Then I'll go get something," Leo decided. "You, on the other hand, are another story. What was the whole purpose of you moving in? You can't just wander out like that. Especially alone, and especially at four in the morning."
April bristled indignantly. She was about to make her argument heard and not stop until she had her way, but then she heard Donatello let out a strong sneeze on his way to his workshop. Mikey was helping him along, and recoiled from his brother, screaming about the flu.
It was a small thing, but it reminded her that he really was cold, and standing here fighting it out against the big brothers wasn't going to get him warm any faster.
"Fine," she snapped. "I'm going to the lab with Donnie. Grab the closest things and remember to pay this time." Without waiting for an answer, she swept out of the room, leaving Leo and Raph in the silence.
Leonardo sighed exasperatedly. "Is it wrong for me to want to be on her side on this one?"
Raph shook his head. "After fifteen years of the same thing? Not on your life. But what can we do? It's like sensei said- it's not like we can just waltz up there in broad daylight like we're some kinda..." He broke off, eyes going straight to Leo.
"Human," the blue turtle finished for him. "Raph, we don't know about this yet. It could be dangerous."
"Or it could be the only chance either of them will get."
"No." Leo crossed his arms. But a small, hopeful smile hid behind the mask of responsibility. "Not until he gets some clothes on, at least. Then we can talk about it."
"These numbers are astronomical," Donnie said for what seemed like the thousandth time. "The probability of this outcome... Based on the data, I should be-" He made a slitting motion across his throat. (What a strange one, too. Is that an Adam's apple?)
Mikey stared blankly at him from his perch on the lab table before turning to April expectantly.
"It's a miracle that Donnie's alive right now," she explained. "The amount of mutagen he was exposed to should have killed him, not turned him human."
Understanding, Mikey nodded solemnly. "Well, I'm not complaining. I'd rather have a freaky mutant bro than a dead one."
That got a laugh out of both of them, as he'd wanted it to.
"He's right," April snickered. "Out of the four of you, Donnie's the weird one now." Her laughter faded as she looked over his shoulder at the computer. "What do you think? Is this permanent?"
It was interesting to watch him type. Keeping with his learned system of only three fingers on each hand, the pinky and thumb remained tucked under his palms. A few deft strokes of the keyboard, and Donnie had an answer. "I don't think so. The mutation's way too unstable. We've never seen a mutant get mutated before, especially not with the same relative DNA sequence."
April was in the middle of an understanding nod before the true meaning of his words hit home. "The same... So your DNA was recombined with human genes? No rats? No crickets?" No mutant turtle?
"Well, yeah." Donnie grinned shyly up at her. "The theory is that the mutagen recombines the genetic code of an organism and the last organic material they had contact with. And since I never even stepped on those bugs-"
"The organic material was me." April choked on the words, feeling a little dizzy. She remembered before the turtles had left, when she had punched Donnie. That single casual touch, probably lasting no more than a second and with no more surface area than a dollar bill, had lingered on his reptilian skin. There was a part of her inside of Donatello now. The thought was both surreal and oddly disturbing.
"April?" Brown human eyes, bright with concern, were suddenly very much in her personal space. She jumped involuntarily. Mutant turtles were allowed to have ninja speed. Guys her age? That would take some getting used to.
"I-I'm fine," April assured him. It was too late; she could see in his eyes that he felt snubbed by her reaction. "Let's worry about you, Donnie." She took him by the shoulder and steered him back to the computer. "How long do you think it'll take for this to wear off?"
"I'd give it about twenty four hours," Donnie answered immediately. "From the time of mutation, of course."
Mikey rolled his eyes. "Of course."
"So we just wait?" April said slowly. She crossed her arms, looking troubled. "Is that really all we can do? What if it doesn't wear off?"
Donatello almost rolled his eyes. "Trust me, it'll wear off. I'm... ninety seven percent positive."
"What's the other three percent?" They all turned to see Leo and Raph enter the lab. The elder turtle carried a bundled purple t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans with him, which he quickly tossed to his brother.
"You blow up?" Raph suggested. "That really sounds like the start of an explosion explanation," he said to April. "He was ninety five percent positive that he could generate his own electricity at age eight. Kaboom."
"No." Donnie glared but gratefully accepted the clothes, although he blushed heavily when a pair of heart patterned boxer shorts came untangled from the jeans. Black sneakers and socks followed.
"Nice," Mikey chortled. April just shook her head.
Donnie sputtered and scurried behind the patrol buggy to dress. "The other three percent is -and this is really wild speculation- that the transformation could be permanent." A pause in the rustling of fabric. "Or I could continue mutating until I lose all control of my mind and snap. Then you'd have to kill me."
"What?!"
"Kidding! I swear, that was just a joke." Fully dressed, Donatello emerged, dusting off his knees in what he imagined was a very human fashion. "So, how do I look?" He looked at his brothers, but especially April, expectantly and more than a little warily.
"Um," Raph started. "Do you want an honest answer?"
"Yes."
"Then you look alright, little brother." Everyone was surprised at Raph's compliment, but only until he continued, "You know, for a small fry."
April looked between the two, and noticed for the first time that Donnie was now the shortest of his brothers. He still towered over April, of course, but no more than a human of more than average height would.
"I'm not small," Donnie was complaining. He tugged self consciously at the jeans, which hung a little too loose around his waist. "Hold on." Rummaging in the pile of his gear on the lab station, he quickly unhooked his belt from his holster and threaded it thought the loops of the pants. He then reattached the rest of the straps and belts, adjusting for his new dimensions. Once again, his eyes found April's, repeating the question.
If nothing else, at least Donnie's eyes were exactly the same. But there were other things that April realized she could still see- the quirk of his eyebrow, the tilt of his head when he was curious about something, the way he fumbled around her when he wasn't focused on his science. Even with the hair, human skin, and slighter frame, this was still Donatello.
A wide smile presented itself on April's face. "You look like... you."
Donnie smiled back.
"Not that I wouldn't love to spend the rest of the early morning talking fashion, but maybe we should wake up sensei," Leo cut in. "We have a lot to talk about."
"Why?" Mikey asked. "It's eeeeaaaarly. We don't have anywhere to be until nighttime."
"We don't," Raph agreed. He nodded to April and Donnie. "They might."
"Huh?" they said together.
"Never mind," Raph snorted. "I'll get sensei."
"Trust us." Leo ordered. "Meet in the dojo in five minutes."
Donnie frowned. "What's this about, Leo?"
Leonardo's fists clenched at his sides. "Just get in the dojo. Whatever happens, we need to make sure you can still defend yourself." If the reasoning hadn't convinced Donatello, Leo's tone left no room for argument. Minutes later, the entire Hamato family, plus April, had gathered in the dojo.
Master Splinter stood in front of the tree, with Donatello sitting on his knees in front of him. The others watched silently from the sidelines.
"My son," Splinter began softly. "Are you well?"
"Hai, sensei," he replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Hai, sensei."
Splinter seemed to deliberate his next question. "Have you attempted to use your ninja abilities since your transformation?"
Donatello blinked up at him, surprised. That was the last question he had expected. "No, sensei. I haven't."
"I see." Splinter slowly stroked his beard as he began pacing. "Donatello. I would like for you to spar with Leonardo now. Prepare yourself."
"Sensei..." Leo sounded uncertain.
"Starting positions," the rat barreled on. Both brothers looked at each other in apprehension, but took their spots on opposite sides of the mat. Leo drew his katana with a chilling rasp that seemed to echo in the wake of the growing tension. Donnie answered in kind with his staff, gripping it with white knuckles. They crouched into defensive poses and waited.
April felt a tingle of fear race up her spine. Physically, so much about Donnie had changed. Could he still fight like a turtle? For the first time, instead of reassurance, the sheen of Leo's weapons sent worry into her heart.
Splinter's tail twitched. "Hajime!"
Leo surprised Donnie by making the first move, lunging forward with both blades held high. Donnie sprang backwards, bringing his bō up to block the attack. The katana embedded deep enough in the wood to stick for some time.
"Still not as strong as I am." Leo smiled lightly, showing he meant no harm from the comment. "That hasn't changed, at least."
"I'm as strong as I need to be," Donnie hissed back. "This is going to wear off tomorrow, and then everything will go back to normal." He disengaged their weapons with a harsh pull and changed to offense. "But until then, try this on for size!" His balance was good, having calculated the compensation for the absence of a shell, and Donnie could feel every movement coming before it happened. He brandished his staff in front of him, and smirked to himself. He was in his element.
But then he tried to spin it.
The addition of extra fingers made him fumble, and the bō clattered uselessly onto the tatami mat.
The dead silence in the dojo was broken only by the sound of Splinter's sigh of disappointment.
"That doesn't mean anything." Donnie looked beseechingly at his family, but was met only with stoic disapproval. "That's just one thing."
"That's your thing," Mikey pointed out.
"It's not my only thing." Frantically, Donnie petitioned his father. "Sensei, let me try again. No weapons."
Master Splinter looked hard at his son. As strange as he looked, Donatello was reminding him so much of the first time he had tried the bō staff. It had been tricky at first, and Splinter had more than once considered that it might not have been the right choice for his son's weapon. But while his brothers continued training with their new weapons, Donatello had spent weeks fighting without his.
"We still have to know hand to hand combat, right?" He had said when Splinter had confronted him. "That's not my strongest point, so I need to work on it. I'm still practicing the staff, but I don't want Raph and Mikey to laugh at me when I mess up. I'll figure it out, sensei. I promise."
He had wanted to prove that he could do just as well as his brothers, even if it was without a weapon. He had studied every possible attack and counterattack. And as a result, Donatello was the most knowledgable and resourceful of his sons when forced into a weaponless situation.
His decision made, Splinter gestured for Raphael to parter Donatello in this round. "Very well. Hand to hand only. Do not take each other down. This is only a test."
Raph grunted his disappointment, but didn't comment as he crouched opposite his brother. "You sure you wanna put him against me, sensei? I'm pretty sure I outweigh him by a couple hundred pounds."
"I told you to lay off the anchovy pizza," Donatello said under his breath.
"Enough," Splinter warned. "Begin."
April watched the following scuffle in only mild confusion. She was no master of ninjutsu, but she'd seen enough of the guys' training regimen to know that the flips, breaks, and rolls she was witnessing were far from amateur. Ever the perfectionist, Donnie adapted remarkably to his form.
Nevertheless, Raph was obviously in control. He drove Donnie in circles around the mat, trying every trick he knew to prompt the reactions he wanted.
He's testing everything he knows, April realized. And Donnie's keeping up!
She was so preoccupied with watching Donnie execute an impressive tumble (She'd been working on that for weeks!) that she missed the sudden shift of Raphael's direction. He leaped right over Donnie, away from the center of the dojo and to the sidelines. Directly toward April.
For all of her training, she didn't see the charging turtle until he was almost on top of her. But it was fine. This was Raph. He would stop.
... Why wasn't he stopping?
Shock and confusion shut her down, and all she had time to do was close her eyes and scream.
The cry burbled into a cough as the air was pushed from her lungs. The crushing weight hit her squarely, but not from the direction she was expecting. And nothing hurt.
Why didn't anything hurt?
April pried her eyes open and gasped. She was on the other side of the dojo, twenty feet from where she'd started. Leo and Mikey were giving her horrified looks. Splinter was the picture of calm. And Raph was standing where she had been, looking strangely smug and approving. "Not bad," he said.
That left only one possibility as to who was still holding her in his arms. April looked up into Donatello's furious face. This teenage boy still had the cold stare of a trained ninja. His usually gentle eyes shone with fire.
"Donnie?" She saw the rage falter when she spoke, but it came back with a vengeance when the tears sprang to her eyes against her will. They weren't tears of pain or fear, she knew. It was the shock. But from the way his hands tightened under her knees and shoulders, she didn't think explaining that to Donnie right now would help much.
He forewent setting her on her feet. She was shaking too much to support herself. Transferring April into Leo's arms, Donnie advanced into Raphael's personal space. "What was that?" he growled dangerously. "Has your minimized brain capacity finally short circuited?"
Raph blinked at the the sheer anger on his brother's face. It might be the mutagen talking, but he had never seen so much pure hatred emanating from Donnie before. "Hey, cool it Einstein. You know I wouldn't actually-"
Raph didn't see him move. He was on the ground in seconds, with Donnie's bony human elbow jabbing into his windpipe.
"I don't care how much control you think you have," Donatello shouted. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" Breathing deeply, he slowly stood up and backed away from Raph. "If you ever do anything like that again-!"
"Donatello! Enough."
Donnie whirled on his sensei. "Master Splinter, you saw him almost hit April. She could have been seriously hurt!"
Splinter, to everyone's surprise, chuckled. "If that was an attack, I would be ashamed to call Raphael my son." The rat took in the bewildered expressions of his children and explained. "Raphael came to me a short while ago and suggested a test to determine how to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in."
"A test?" Leo carefully deposited April to her feet next to him, keeping an eye on her just in case. "Sensei, you knew he was going to attack April?"
"I did."
"Whoa." Mikey took a few steps back from Splinter. "I knew there was a reason I didn't like tests."
"This one was a necessity, I'm afraid." Splinter met April's eyes and bowed lightly in her direction. "And I apologize for any upset it caused you."
"I'm good," April squeaked. She cleared her throat loudly. "I mean, it's okay. But what does putting Donnie in cardiac arrest have to do with the situation?"
Splinter decided to cut to the chase. "Donatello has proved that he is more than capable in his new form. If he can take responsibility of it, and if this form so happens to offer camouflage in a city full of humans..."
Donnie was the smart one for a reason. The meaning of Splinter's words and actions broke through and red haze of anger. "I could go topside," he breathed. "April..." He turned to the confused redhead, a huge gap-toothed grin breaking out on his face. "April, we could go! Topside, right now!"
"Topside," April repeated. The word had never sounded so beautiful. Her smile answered his in earnest. She could go. They could both go! She nodded, not trusting her voice to convey the depth of her excitement.
Donnie immediately ran from the dojo, gathering anything he might need. They could hear him muttering as he went. "Okay, the shoulder bag, t-phone, shuriken, some snacks..."
"You're welcome," Raph called out.
April shook her head with a laugh and pulled Raph into a bear hug. His arms went up, awkwardly suspending in the air before coming down to pat her shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He lowered his head slightly and whispered in her ear, simultaneously folding something into the palm of her hand. April's eyes widened, and she nodded, pocketing the object before running after Donatello.
Splinter shook his head at their antics. He had been right to trust in Raphael's control.
Now he hoped he was in the right by trusting Donatello and his science. For although he had proven himself capable, all of their lives would change if the effects of the mutagen did not behave as he predicted. And it might not be for the better.
They had nabbed a couple hours of sleep while they could get them, and by eight o'clock that morning, April and Donatello were ready to start the day.
"Are you sure you don't have anything you need to do?" Donnie asked for the sixth time. "Because you won't get another chance like this until the Kraang are stopped."
April rolled her eyes as they stepped out into the subway station. No one noticed the two teens making their way through an area usually reserved for maintenance personnel. "Seriously, I'm fine. It's not like I can go talk to anyone. This is just a getting out of the lair day."
Even so, Donnie was on high alert when they stepped out into the bright New York sunshine. He'd been forced to leave all of the trimmings of a ninja warrior at home to avoid drawing attention to them, leaving him with his stolen clothes and handy-dandy shoulder bag.
Similarly, April was disguised in her glasses, the hoodie she used on recon, and a short black wig she'd salvaged from Mikey's growing collection of topside oddities. It wouldn't do for her to be recognized by the Foot, let alone anyone who could report her to the police.
They climbed the steps of the station, emerging a few blocks away from Times Square. Tourists and locals alike streamed in all directions, sightseeing and going about their daily lives.
"Wow." April glanced sideways to see Donnie staring at the throng of people. "How do people find their way when they can't see from the rooftops or drive?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. We manage somehow." Grabbing his hand, April pulled Donnie into the current and headed in a seemingly purposeful direction. "Just follow me. If you're going to be in New York City during daylight hours, you're going to do it right."
A Best Buy. She had brought him to a Best Buy. They stumbled out of the crowd and into the air conditioned building to be greeted by a bored looking clerk.
"April, what are we doing here?" Donnie queried. "Do you need to buy something?"
"Nope." April hushed him and went up to the front desk. "Excuse me. Can I talk to a member of the Geek Squad? My friend and I have some questions."
The same dreary faced clerk who had greeted them grumbled under his breath and went to the back room to find someone. A minute later, an older man with thinning hair and spectacles rounded the counter. His name tag proclaimed him to be called John.
"Good morning," he chirped. April immediately liked him better than the other clerk. "How can I help you two today?"
April nudged Donnie. "Go on," she whispered. "Ask him anything you want."
Donnie looked at her for a minute before beaming. He turned to John with fire and brimstone. "Well first off, are you familiar with the latest model of the HP laptop?"
John grinned back. "HP Envy 17?"
"Intel core processor?"
"Fully customizable!" They finished together. After that, their conversation deteriorated into microchips and motherboards. April left them to it, always staying within earshot. After seeing him work with the refuse of the junk yards, an actual electronics store was like giving a mad scientist a nuclear reactor. She hadn't heard Donnie this excited about a new piece of machinery since the t-pod.
It was the first time he'd had anyone to get excited with.
They stayed in that one store for over an hour, April browsing and Donatello amazing the Geek Squad, which had come out of hiding to converse with him, with the design of the t-phone and the fact that he'd made them himself.
After a purchase of some odds and ends and a quick exchange of email addresses, they finally waved goodbye to the Best Buy crew and returned to the hustle of the city. But that was far from their last stop.
The American Museum of Natural History. Times Square. Wall Street. Chinatown. The Trade Center. Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty. The M&M Store for Mikey. Everything was so different during the day, but for Donnie the biggest difference was the lack of fear. No fear of being seen, no fear of a fight breaking out around every corner. As far as the people around him knew, he was another normal human who they would never talk to and never see again. He belonged to the nameless masses that flooded the world. He was invisible in plain sight. It felt wonderful.
There was too much to do to stop for long, so they took advantage of their friendship with Murakami-san to grab the quickest lunch of pizza gyoza they'd ever eaten. They arrived via the back door, as per usual during daytime visits. For safety's sake, Murakami closed the blinds and temporarily closed up shop so his turtle friend could eat in privacy.
"You are in a great hurry, April-chan," the blind man laughed. "What is the rush? It has been a while. Why don't you stay and chat?"
"No time," April said apologetically around a bite of dumpling. "We only have today to see as much of the city as possible."
Murakami nodded sagely. He reached under the counter and tossed a small bag of sweets in Donatello's direction. Donnie looked inside and smiled widely. "Wow! Thanks, Murakami-san!"
"You're welcome, non-turtle-san."
April and Donnie exchanged a sheepish look and finished their meal in silence. Nothing got past the noodle man. Nothing. They left with apologies and promises to bring the others for a visit as soon as possible.
As it got later, and their feet began to tire, April pulled out her bus pass and lead them to a bus stop, where they could sit and wait for public transit.
"So, how's it been?" She groaned, rubbing circulation back into her pavement beaten feet. "You've been pretty quiet."
"I- I just don't know what to say," Donnie answered softly. April had to strain to hear him. "This has been the best day of my life. I've never had such a feeling of belonging." He shrugged. "It feels nice."
April's heart went up in her throat. It still pained her to think about her friends' situation; fighting in the shadows of a city that would never accept them for what they were, living off of the scraps they threw away.
She laced her fingers through his. "You wanna go somewhere really cool?"
Donnie smiled down at their hands. "Even cooler than Central Park?"
"Way cooler."
"I'm in. Where to?"
April smirked knowingly as the next bus pulled up and hauled Donnie to his feet. "Get on the bus and you'll see." Once they were seated, she inconspicuously checked her watch. 6:45. They had time. But they had only gotten about three hours of sleep...
"Go ahead," Donnie whispered, somehow reading her thoughts. "I'll keep watch."
April lowered her head into his shoulder. "You don't have to keep watch on a bus," she mumbled. Her eyes were drooping even as she argued. "And you dont even know where we're going."
"I'm a trained ninja. I'm sure I can figure it out." He shifted momentarily to secure his arm around her shoulder and rest her head on his chest instead. She could feel the human heart beating strongly inside it. "Go on. Rest."
She was out like a light.
By the time Donatello gently nudged her awake, the sky was darkening into the deep purple of twilight.
April yawned, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Are we there yet?"
Donnie nodded. "If 'here' is Coney Island."
"Well well. He can read a bus schedule," April said. "I'm so proud."
They exited the bus and in no time, Donnie was blinking up at the lights of The Wonder Wheel. In the fading light, the wheel was a vortex of color. "April," he breathed.
"I've never been on," she explained sheepishly. "Dad's afraid of heights. And after I lost my mom... Well, dad and I didn't really have a lot of time to go to places like these."
Donnie looked at her, at a loss for words. "April, I didn't know..."
"Shhh." April shrugged him off and started pulling him toward the line for the ride. "Today's been a great day. Let's keep it that way."
Donnie shook himself of the sour mood that threatened to engulf him. This was as much for April as it was for him. "Yeah, of course."
With the Wonder Wheel just beginning it's light show, the line was pretty lengthy. But they had plenty of time- as soon as true nightfall hit back in the city, they could travel by rooftop if they needed to. So it was during a happy and peaceful wait that April told Donnie stories about the other times she'd been to Coney Island with her dad- old fashioned magic shows and con men around every corner, carnival style games, and lots and lots of cotton candy. In no time at all, an attendant was seating them in one of the uncovered seats on the outer ring of the wheel.
And when they reached the top, they were at the top. The top of the wheel, the world, the sky. In the distance, Donnie almost thought he could make out the twinkling lights of the city. The whole thing at once, not just snatches from different rooftops. It was the highest he'd ever been, and his first time out of the city. It was the first sunset he'd been able to watch with April without worrying about being spotted. It made him realize something that before he'd known only in theory; his life was small.
Until a few months ago, his whole world had consisted of his brothers, his father, and their home in the sewers. In comparison to that, New York had let him expand into a whole city, and that seemed larger than life.
But there, in the silent sky with April, Donnie saw that there was so much more out there that he would never see.
The sun disappeared from the sky, putting an end to his first and last day of true freedom. Just because the world wasn't ready for him.
He didn't know the first tear had fallen until the ride was over. It had passed by in the blink of an eye. There was a vague sensation of April leading him somewhere, but he couldn't be sure.
"Are you alright?" she kept repeating. "Is it the transformation? Does anything hurt?" April sat them down on a deserted bench behind the ring toss. "Donnie, talk to me!"
He couldn't. The tears kept flowing, faster than he could ever remember. With ninja-like quickness, Donnie had his arms around April. "Can't," he finally choked out. "Can't... Go back."
"Oh, Donnie." April returned the embrace just as fiercely, tears collecting behind her own eyes. They clung to one another, both terrified that when they let go, the day would really come to an end. "I get it. I understand."
"It's not fair," Donnie whispered for what felt like the millionth time in the past few days. "I wish things were different. I wish we had normal lives." He tightened his arms around her. "I wish you were safe."
April didn't answer for a while. She knew she didn't need to. Donnie knew her; he knew how much she missed her dad, he knew how scared she was. He knew just how much this day of normalcy and camaraderie meant to her.
"I'm sorry," she said. "If people would just get to know you guys..." The thought made her shake her head against Donnie's shoulder. "But I guess that wouldn't work, would it?"
He swallowed hard. "Nope." After a moment of deliberation, he pulled out of the embrace, keeping a firm hand in her shoulder. "I didn't get it before. When Splinter said you were going to live with us, I never could have understood everything you were giving up out here."
Slowly, he removed her glasses, which were becoming spotted with salty tears. Next was the wig, and he smiled sadly when her natural red hair tumbled out. "Now neither of us can wear our own skin outside of the shadows." Donnie's hand lingered on her cheek, brushing away the wetness. "But I swear to you, I will get this back for you. Everything. Your dad, your life, your safety... Everything."
Keeping cool wasn't an option anymore. April gave, clinging to the front of Donnie's shirt like a lifeline as she cried. This wasn't what she'd wanted. She hadn't wanted this little taste of freedom to hurt them both so much inside. Hopelessness crept up on her. There was no telling how long it would take to defeat the Kraang, or if the Shredder would ever give up on his vendetta.
At that moment, a part of her wanted to run. To leave Donatello on that bench and go into hiding somewhere else, where she could at least be out in the fresh air from time to time without alien robots, mutants, and ninjas chasing after her every second.
But she couldn't. Her dad was gone. The city was more dangerous than ever. And right now, the only people who knew the real reason were all living under one tunnel. They were the only ones who could stop it.
April's sobs didn't begin to subside for some time, but when they did, she became aware of Donnie's hand at her back, rubbing slow circles. She sighed into the touch, and the familiarity of it.
He was always looking out for her, ever since the first time she had looked up at him and screamed in his face. Donnie was friend, protector, brother, and comforter all in one, and April realized with mild surprise that despite their short acquaintance and the scales, he was the closest friend she'd ever had.
"Are you okay?" Donnie asked softly.
"Yeah."
"You want to go home now?"
"Uh-huh." She didn't spare much thought on his use of the word. It was true, after all.
Donnie searched her eyes, trying to find an answer to it all, a way to make things better. All he saw was all he'd ever needed to see; April was counting on him. And he was going to be there for her just as surely as he'd been there before.
"Time to go home," he said again.
April fell asleep on the bus again, curled up against him. It gave Donatello time to mull over the events of the day. Topside in daylight, as a human. The impossible dream had come true.
But something inside of him was restless. His hand itched for his bō, squirming at the knowledge that he was unarmed but for a few shuriken and his own strength. A quick glance at April's watch informed him that there wasn't much time left before the twenty four hour deadline.
"Thanks for today," Donnie said. "You're a great tour guide, April." His chest tightened. Maybe they could risk more nightly excursions... No. No matter how much they wanted it, all of their safeties came first. That was what being a ninja was all about.
The bus pulled into a stop near the sewer entrance, and Donnie glanced down at April. Shrugging, he woke her up just enough to get her off of the bus and into his back. At his instruction, she wrapped her arms around his neck. After a few steps, she was dozing on his shoulder again as he slowly carried her home.
He thought nothing of the hydraulic whirring until the Kraang droids dropped from the rooftops to surround them.
"Halt. Kraang will be taking the life form known as April O'Neil from the life form known as the life form unknown to Kraang."
Panic heightened Donatello's senses, bringing all of the facts of the situation to the front of his mind. They'd forgotten to reapply April's disguise. He had April on his back. He was unarmed, and he was alone.
But the Kraang also didn't know who he was.
"Okay," he said quickly. "Just give me a minute to-" Feigning shock, he used one hand to point dramatically at a spot in the distance. "Look! Half price chrome polish!"
Every robot's head snapped to where he pointed, immediately turning back in disappointment. But Donnie and April were gone; vanished.
"Kraang is upset that the life form unknown to Kraang is gone."
"Kraang concurs with Kraang. Kraang would have use for chrome polish that is half of the price."
Donnie smirked from below the unnoticed manhole cover, hiking April higher on his back. Now they were safe. The trip back to the lair continued without incident, and within minutes Donnie was carefully maneuvering the turnstiles with April still sound asleep on his back.
He smiled at the sight in the pit. His brothers had gathered every scrap of cloth available in front of the TV, which was still showing a late night 80's marathon at a low volume. Leo, Raph, and Mikey burrowed between the blankets and pillows, dead to the world. The clock on the cable box read 3:27.
Figuring there wasn't much else he could do, Donnie gently untangled April from his neck and tucked her into the pile. Then he sat, and waited.
April awoke to the feeling of being surrounded. To her left was Mikey, curled around his duct-taped teddy bear. Below her feet was Leo. He was muttering in his sleep.
"Lieutenant Virtue..."
Above her was Raph, stock still and silent. And on her right...
April stared. She couldn't help it. For all of her time in the lair, she had never, ever seen one of the turtles without his mask. She could still easily recognize him, but Donatello seemed too vulnerable without that small strip of cloth covering his eyes. It was part of his identity- something he hadn't been in touch with all day.
Slowly, trying not to wake him up, April reached into her pocket and pulled out what Raph had given her. The worn violet fabric pooled in her hand and she thumbed the two small slits in the center. She carefully slipped the mask over Donatello's head and tied it loosely in the back, trying not to laugh as she formed a small bow.
"Night, guys," April whispered. She settled down in the pile and closed her eyes. She didn't even respond when soft footsteps entered the lair and a dry, wrinkled hand patted her head, but she knew he knew she was awake.
As she fell asleep for the last time that night, April knew that everything was perfect again. Her family, as strange as it was, was back to normal. And she wouldn't have them any other way.
Well, that took on a life of its own. Sorry about that. And NO I haven't seen Parasitica yet. Nick, what is wrong with you? Also, the mutation theory totally wasn't mine. Although this story is pretty much not capable of happening, the theory was from Fantasiawandering and her fabulous story, Falling. Read it and squee, guys. Moony/Maya Koppori, over and out.