Don lay on his back in the grass outside the old farm house, gazing up at the cloudless sky. He watched lazily as a plane flew by, leaving a trail of exhaust in its wake. He sighed contentedly, happy to be away from the hustle and bustle of New York City.

The turtles, Master Splinter, and their human friends had taken a summer vacation to the country side to take a break from the fighting. Donny couldn't be happier—he was much more at home studying and inventing than taking out Foot ninjas and Purple Dragons. He was enjoying every minute of his vacation, despite constant interruptions from his younger and immediate older brothers. Leo kept to himself enough these days that he wasn't a distraction….

Speaking of interruptions, here comes on now, Donny thought to himself as he heard Raph slam the porch door open and stomp across the old wood. So much for ninja stealth….

"Yo, Donny! Mikey broke the fridge again. The groceries are gonna go bad!" the hot-headed turtle called.

"I only broke it 'cause Raph shoved me into it!" Mikey protested loudly from somewhere in the farm house. Raph stormed back inside without waiting for an answer from the brainy turtle. Don sighed but didn't get up. The refrigerator could wait for a minute.

He looked back to where the airplane had disappeared only moments before and thought longingly about all the technology that went into making aircraft. And a simple jet didn't even begin to compare to some of the wonders Don had seen.

His thoughts wandered to a phrase he had heard many times growing up: the sky's the limit. He pondered it, considering all the possible meanings of the simple saying. At one time, it may have been true. Before man ever figured out a way into space, the sky truly was the limit. There was little or no knowledge of what lay beyond the atmosphere. But it was now known that Earth was merely a fraction of a speck compared to what was out there. The sky was no longer holding people back; the barrier had been broken.

Don smiled dreamily and wondered what it would be like to actually explore everything that was out there. There was so much not known about the rest of the universe, so much that he wanted to know. 

He remembered when he was little, before they were allowed out of the sewers. Those walls had been the limit to their world; they knew of nothing beyond them. But eventually they had been taken topside and introduced to a whole new world. They learned of people, and plants, and buildings, and automobiles…. There had been so much to learn about life beyond the barriers they had always lived within.

He shook his head, wondering how many more such barriers there were to be broken. Mankind had breached the sky, but surely there was more beyond that. The planets, the galaxy—possibly even the universe itself.

"Donny!" Mikey called from the kitchen. "April's gonna kill you if her chicken salad spoils!" Don sighed again, this time pushing himself up from his shell. He walked to the door, pulling it open and stepping inside. He took one more longing look over his shoulder before closing the door and facing the insanity that was his family. The sky is never the limit….

TMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNT

Another random idea that popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. Thanks for reading!