Title:

Author: Tsukeru

Summary: Ever wondered what would happen if the Turtles were human? How they would act, react and live as a human being? As the four try to live among humans, they develop their brotherhood but other relationships as well. Would they adjust to their human lives?

Rating: Mature

Settings: This story takes place through many of years, in an alternative universe type setting that is remotely similar to present day New York City.

Pairings: Leonardo x Karai, Donny x Mikey, Leo x Raph, April x Casey, possibly more...

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, original stories, movies, comics, series, etc This is simply a work of fiction to show my appreciation towards this fandom. I had been a fan girl of TMNT since the early 90s and want to give thanks to the fans and the creators to give me such a wonderful series to be apart of. If you are not a fan of AU type fan fics or fics that may have original characters in it, then this is not a fic for you.

Note from the author: It's been about four years since I have written a fan fic. Thanks to my re-obsession, it has got me craving to write again. I am an original fan of the live action movies and the 1987 TV series. I'm not a huge fan on the 2003 series or 2007 series, so I wanted to write something that was remotely similar to how the characters use to be in the comics. Just thought I would warn you to who are similar to the newer versions. Please comment and let me know how you like this story!

Chapter 1

New York City – present day. Give or take a year.

Clouds had slowly rolled in from over the harbor through the evening. The moon, hanging high in the musky, velvet night, could be seen sporadically beneath a heavy mist. New York City never slept. People lived and worked in this bustling city; the tenacious behaviors of their lifestyles bursting through the frenzy. Hooligans had plagued the city for decades. Crimes and unthinkable acts, ranging from petty thefts to more gruesome cruel afflictions such as rape and murder, were committed deep in the night. Even in the heat of activity, there were four souls though that patrolled the streets above and below Manhattan. Unbeknownst to common life, they existed here.

They were four brothers bounded by soul, and unordinary in all ways, shapes, and forms. For nearly two decades now, they remained concealed under the city streets. Their master, Splinter, trained them to become skillful ninjas. Under his wing, the apprentices practiced powerful ninjutsu1. The four had lived underground in the sewers of New York City, which they declared as their own domain.

As they remain hidden from the norm, they continue to grow, strive, and gain knowledge to perfect their skills. With being turtles, it is hard to keep the four teenagers on a tight leash. Splinter's awareness that adapting to the human world would be a difficult challenge was of constant existence. However, he knew that with their skills reaching a maximum peak they would be ready and maturely so. Each brother is unique in their own way. They each possess a skill they have mastered over time through Splinter's teachings.

Firstly is Leonardo, the eldest and leader. He is a master swordsman, but a natural coordinator. Even though he does not like to boast over his direction for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, he speaks out for them. He is also a great strategist. Leo's primary weapon choices are katanas2 ninja throwing stars and other such equipment. He is known for using his twin blades.

Then there is hot-headed, Raphael. Raph is always willing to fight and sometimes leap into situations before he thinks. He always gets himself into trouble and is clearly envious of his eldest brother for his role as the leader. Often he would proclaim that he should be the leader of the Turtles should he ever be given the chance. Being mischievous as he is though, the Turtles may have never met some of their closest friends such as Casey Jones or April O'Neil without him. He mostly prefers to use sais3, but he tends to have other tricks up his sleeves.

Next up is the second middle-child, Donatello. No matter what technology he can get a grasp of, it never fails to astound him. He is always fixing something or has his hands busy with a gadget or two. Likewise, he's assumed the title of 'technology geek'. His choice of weapon is his bo staff.

Last, but not least, is the youngest Turtle, Michelangelo. Being the class clown type, Mikey is the lovable goof of the group. He enjoys fooling around, making jokes and making video games. His deepest love above all else in the world is pizza. Mikey is always the comic relief of the four, and tries hard to keep things cool between his brothers. Often times he is seen as a peace-making jester of sorts. Being a "party-dude" has gotten Mikey into some trouble with Raph.

Raph had bullied him throughout childhood. Despite all this pizza-loving Turtle has been through, he lacks patience. Mikey is skilled with nunchaku4, grappling hooks, and other similar weapons.

With how different each Turtle was in their personality, they worked together supremely well. The Turtles showed a lot of gratitude towards Splinter for all he had done for them. Splinter had been there since the day they had mutated. He had raised them in such a manner that their relations together made him like a father-figure. Even though they were not the most ideal family, they made it work for nearly nineteen years. Unfortunately, six years to this day marked their master's untimely death. The Turtles struggled to keep this dysfunctional family afloat, even if it took all of their strength to keep their bonds alive.

The Turtles had strayed from their family after Splinter's death. It was hard for each of the brothers to focus on reality after the life-changing event. Splinter had warned them in the past that there would come a time when they would be without him, yet the Turtles never thought the day would arrive. They had always imagined Splinter as immortal; a powerful being that would live for an eternity. Even so, reality hurt six years after the fact.

The Turtles had parted ways for a while as they tried to do some soul-searching on their own. However, they soon found themselves together again in the Sewer Den. Donatello sat at his work station, busy with a new experiment. His desk had piles of books, research papers, old gadgets and gizmos and other trinkets scattered about. He was not exactly a neat freak when it came to his hobbies. He was close to finding a new chemical compound that he thought may have similar properties to the 'ooze' that had transformed them originally. He was not sure at what he was creating or the purpose of it yet, but he had always wanted to find the chemical make up of the 'ooze'. Donny knew that the person who created the original substance was a very dangerous man for having such knowledge and for the use of an unstable chemical. Regardless, Donatello's intuition told him that this was what he needed to do.

A loud clank echoed throughout den. Raphael slammed the door shut, clearly infuriated.

"Look, Leo, would you put a fucking sock in it?" he ignited. Leonardo had been yelling at Raphael since he had returned from his motorcycle ride. Evidently, Raph had failed to complete his training session for the day.

Leonardo glanced over at Raph, gritting his teeth. "Raphael, you haven't been practicing with us at all lately! We need to practice together as a team so we can predict each others moves."

Raph stomped rather roughly through the great room. He rolled his eyes in response to the other's usual ranting. "Who cares," he replied, "why do we even have to train any more? We've been training our entire lives this way-for what?" He plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV.

Leo frowned, his head shaking in subtle disagreement. Some times Raph was too predictable. "Raph, I already explained this to you."

Mikey walked out of his room, a yawn on his lips. He looked over at Donny while he walked by. "Another fight?" He asked, scratching the back of his bald, smooth green head.

"You know it." Donny remarked. He pouted and viewed the two, then just the youngest with a smirk. "Let me guess. You were up late last night playing video games again?" he teased him.

Michelangelo grinned sheepishly. "You know it." he gave him a thumbs-up. "Actually, I haven't slept yet." The youngest tilted his head to take a glance at Donny's work. "What are you working on now anyways?"

Donny began to explain, "As you can see-"

"Damn it, Leo," Raph snapped before he reached over and shoved him. "Just leave me the hell alone!"

Both Donny and Mikey looked over at Leo and Raph. Mikey lowered his head, leaning against Donny's workstation, and gulped in the back of his throat. He hated to be around them when they fought. It was heartbreaking to see them argue like this, especially when they got violent.

Leonardo stumbled back on his feet. He slowly looked up at Raph with a grimace. "You need to stop this and grow up!" He reached over and grabbed at Raphael's wrist.

"Don't touch me," Raph growled again, narrowing his eyes sharply towards the other.

As Michelangelo saw this, he began to get rather nervous. He stepped forward a bit towards Raphael. "Raph, hey look... let's just go play some video games or something," he suggested, knowing he had to be fast.

Donny watched quietly, aware that Mikey should not get involved with Raph's quarrels. They never got anywhere. "Mikey, don't..." he whispered. He could not bare to see any brother get hurt by their own.

The temperamental Raphael quickly yanked his arm away from Leonardo. He reached over and shoved Mikey away. "Stay out of this Michelangelo!" he glared darkly at him.

Mikey had fallen back over Donny's workstation. The table collapsed under him. All the test tubes, flasks, and science equipment shattered as they fell. Chemicals spilled out everywhere. Mikey was on his back, stunned.

The geek quickly rushed over to his youngest brother. "Mikey," he cried out, astonished at the slime-covered turtle. He moved over, trying to help him up. "Michelangelo?" he shook at him slowly.

Raph looked down at his foot which some of the goo had poured onto. "What the hell is this stuff?" he asked.

Leonardo gaped at the younger two. He slowly moved over to them. "Mikey?" he questioned. He did not care about the goo right now that was all over Mikey, the floor, and the others.

Michelangelo slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at his elder brother. "Leo?" he whimpered softly, slowly looking over at Raph. He sat upright, head hung low.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Whatever..." he muttered before he stormed off to his room. The slam of the door echoed throughout the den.

Leo sighed, looking over at Mikey. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked, rather concerned with how much broken glass was shattered everywhere.

Mikey shook his head. "But my ass hurts like hell," he said and rubbed his back as he sat there.

Donatello had begun to sweep up the glass. Leo reached down, extending his hand towards the youngest Turtle to help him up. "I'm sorry Mikey..." he stated. "I didn't mean for you to get involved."

Mikey shook his head again, standing as he did. He looked over at Donatello. "Sorry dude," he replied. He knew that Donatello had been working on his project a lot today. "Do you need any help cleaning it up?"

Donny looked over at him, smiling weakly. "No, but you should go wash that stuff off at least," he laughed weakly at the sight of the pink goo that covered most of his body. Michelangelo got the worst of it.

Leonardo looked over at Donny. "What is this stuff anyway?" he asked, lifting up his goo-coated hand. He spread his two fingers apart, the mess was rather sticky.

Donatello sighed heavily, lowering his head. "It was my latest science experiment," he explained, "a chemical compound that I was trying to make that was similar to the ooze that transformed us."

Leo and Mikey gazed toward Donny. They were a bit shocked by his statement.

Leonardo slowly stood up, tilting his head. "This stuff won't do anything to us, will it?" he asked, gulping in the back of his throat.

The geek shook his head no, before he laughed softly. "It shouldn't harm us at all," he replied, "but then again, it hasn't been tested yet."

Michelangelo began to stress out. "It hasn't been tested yet? But I'm covered in this stuff, Donny!" he whimpered, pacing back and forth in a circle.

Donatello placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mikey, relax. You should go get that rinsed off..."

After the Turtles had cleaned up the pink ooze and the broken glass, Donatello seemed rather disappointed with his experiment's failure. He lowered his pounding head over his desk, surprised he had not seen Raphael since the incident. Mikey had gone to his room to sulk and Leo was reading on the couch. Donny just prayed that the pink ooze had no effects on them. He wished he had a chance to experiment with it first before Michelangelo destroyed it.

Leo glanced over at Donatello. "What's wrong?" he asked, tilting his head. He closed his book, placing it on the end table.

Donny blinked at Leonardo. "It's nothing," he replied.

The leader stood up, moving over to Donatello. "I'm sorry about what happened to your project," he said, knowing Donny was very passionate about his science.

Donatello shook his head, smiling weakly. "Don't worry about it bro," he replied. "I have a few other experiments I want to try anyway." he laughed.

Leo reached down, gripping his shoulder. "Don't stay up too late," he told him.

Donatello nodded in reply as the other disappeared to his room.

In the morning, Michelangelo had awoken first. He was not feeling the best after the 'accident' yesterday. He was still a little upset with Raphael, who he had not seen since he had stormed off.

He slowly rolled out of his small bed. He yawned, arms stretched over his head. He reached down to scratch himself, before his eyes widened. His hands were flesh tone, not green. He reached down, feeling himself. His skin was soft and pink, and there was a mess of hair on his head. What was going on? He began panicking and screaming out in fear.

The other three Turtles woke from the scream that filled the den. Leonardo had shared a room with Michelangelo. He slowly looked up, seeing a strange, naked human in his room. He reached over for his katana.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing in my room?" he growled, glaring at him darkly.

Michelangelo slowly looked over at Leo. Tears filled his eyes. Rather, at the equipped boy that should be Leo. He whimpered, not knowing what was going on.

Leonardo raised an eyebrow, looking up at the strange boy. "You didn't answer my question!" he hissed out, before he moved off the bed. He moved over and pressed his kantana blade into his neck. Mikey gulped in the back of his throat, looking at him. Tears began to run down his eyes. "Leo, it's me, Mikey!" he protested.

Leonardo lowered his blade with a tilt of his head. The voice was the same, but he was human. "Michelangelo?" he questioned slowly as he reached up to touch his fleshy cheek.

Mikey nodded in reply, looking over at the other boy. He was human as well. "You may want to look in a mirror."

Leo slowly moved over to the mirror before he screamed out in terror at his own reflection. He stumbled backwards, not knowing what was going on. He reached down, touching his flesh-toned chest. He had hair on his head. He was no longer green.

Donatello and Raphael ran into the room, looking over at the two. They stopped dead in the doorway, seeing the two strange boys. "Leonardo, Michelangelo," Donatello stuttered, not knowing how to respond. He did not know what was going on at first either.

Mikey and Leo turned around, seeing their companions as humans as well. Leonardo coughed slightly, looking up at Donatello. "No side effects, right?" he muttered.

Raphael slowly walked up to the mirror, touching it. He could not believe what he was seeing. He was human. All his life, he never dreamt of something like this would happen.

Donny lowered his head, looking away. He scratched the back of it, feeling the hair. It was so strange. "Like I said, I didn't get a chance to test it," He mewled softly.

Raphael turned to glare over at Mikey. "This is entirely your damn fault!" he hissed at him.

Michelangelo's eyes widen, looking over at him. "Mine!" he cried out. "You're the one that pushed me into the pink goo!"

Leonardo moved between the two. "Raph, Mikey, stop!" he replied, putting his hands up. "Fighting won't get us anywhere right now. Not to mention, we need to figure out what to do now."

Donatello sat down on the edge of the bed, his head lowered. His own chemical compound had done this. He could not believe that something he made actually, truly worked, but he did not know how to go about making a new batch of it; the files were destroyed when the goo had spilled onto the broken table.

Mikey whimpered and gripped onto Leonardo's wrist. "Leo, what are we going to do?" he sniffled, lowering his head.

Leo reached over, petting Mikey on the head slightly. "It will be alright. Let's call April, and figure this out."


1. Ninjutsu is the collection of Martial ways learned by Ninja of feudal japan. There is no magic involved-a misconception developed from the old days, where people didn't understand science the way ninja did, and labeled some things as magic.

2. Katana is a long, curved single-edged sword traditionally used by Japanese samurai.

3. Sai has a central, rounded or octagonal shaped steel blade and can be between 15-19" in length. On either side there are two smaller prongs used as wrist guards. The sai can be used for a number of things such as stabbing, slashing, punching, blocking, and throwing. Very useful against swords. Mainly used in pairs.

4. Nunchaku is a weapon of the martial arts, made up of two sticks of equal length and connected by a chain or cord. They originated in Okinawa from rice flails when the common people were banned from bearing iron weapons (blades.)