Episode One: The Blood of the Covenant…

"Master Splinter told us once when we were very young that we do not choose our family, our family chooses us. That blood makes us related, but loyalty makes us family. And as my brothers and I face the challenge of losing part of our family, we also face the challenge of losing a part of ourselves." - Leonardo.

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Cue theme song...

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"Nu uh," I hear my youngest brother's voice resonate through the liar. Master Splinter and I just got done with personal training exercises. He says my katas are really coming along but my foot work is still terrible.

"Yes huh," my purple clad brother counters. The arguing is coming from Don's lab. At least it's not Leo and Raph. Something as simple as 'nuh uh' 'yes huh' could easily lead to *punch* *kick*.

"Nu-uh!" Mikey insists

"Yes, huh," Donnie glares as I turn the corner.

It goes on and on as I lean against Don's door frame, looking in. Even when they argue it's hilarious. It rarely ever happens because Don is laid back and won't bother anyone if we don't bother him. He only complains if someone is in his lab or messing with his equipment. Which could easily be what's going on right now.

"Nuh-uh!" Mike raises his fist.

"Yes, huh!" Don raises his, too, though neither will ever strike.

I guess it could be that Don messed with Mikey. He seems to be the angrier of the two right now. But Mike is an easy going kind of guy who doesn't let much get on his nerves. Unless it's something serious like people touching his stuff (something he and Don have in common) or saying superheroes are lame. Never say superheroes are lame and expect to get away with it, "Guys, what the heck is going on in here?"

"Donnie took my comic book," Mikey throws his arms in the air.

The brainiac rolls his eyes, shooing Mikey away, "No I didn't. Why don't you go bother someone else for a change?"

"Yes, you did!" Mikey shouts, trying to get in front of Don again, "You're the only one who could have!"

Donnie counters, placing a wrench on his work bench, "No. I. Didn't."

"Guys!" I shout, getting their attention. They both freeze like they're going to strike each other again, but turn to look at me. I laugh cause it looks like something out of a cartoon, "Mikey, I took your comic book."

"See?" Donnie crosses his arms smugly.

I scoff, "Oh, don't think you're off the hook, brain boy. You knew perfectly well that I took it."

"Yeah, well…" Donnie shrugs. Without finishing, he turns away, "Could you both leave? I'm trying to work here." For someone so smart, his comebacks are usually lame.

Before the two of them can get at it again, I interrupt, "Mikey, Master Splinter wants to see you." He mutters something I can't quite hear, glaring at Don over his shoulder as he leaves. When the coast is clear, I come up beside my third oldest brother, "Okay. What'd you do with his comic book?"

"I…" he looks at me like he's going to lie. I raise my brows and he sighs, "It's over there."

"I knew it!" Mikey shouts, charging back in. I give him one look and point to the door. He grins weakly before turning and leaving. "Yeah, okay, I'll get it later, then."

I smile smugly and turn back to Don, "You know he wouldn't have cared that you took it. Just that you tell him why."

"Well, maybe I didn't want to tell him why," he shrugs, picking up the wrench again. The unsaid part of that sentence is 'because he would have a) asked a lot of questions, b) tried to touch things, or c) told me it was lame and should be working on something more productive. Like a 3D comic book.'

I look over his shoulder at some specs, "So, what cha worken' on?"

"Just our newest technological advancement," he shrugs, "X-ray goggles."

"And that's why you needed the comic book?" I ask though I know. There's an add in the back. And it's definitely a reason to keep it secret from our nosey, touchy, intrusive, playful brother.

He reads my mind, "I needed it so I could get the website and see the specs. Those are fake, but they brought up an interesting theory." Everything is an interesting theory to Don. The proton generator, the laser ray, the laser shield - all of which are still in beta testing and probably won't get finished cause 'Mike keeps distracting me.' Even the theory about whether or not toast would come out crispier if we turned it upside down in the toaster was 'an interesting theory.' But that one was before he was smart and thinking about the actual science of it. He smirks, "I can't wait to get started."

"Need any help?" I lean over the bench. I know he'll just shoo me away, but sometimes he'll let me stay. He'll even tell everyone else I made it all on my own, but we all know the truth is that he does all the legwork and I just screw things in place.

He doesn't answer right away; instead, he sits down on his stool, using a magnifying glass to place a very small screw into an even smaller hole. I tap his shoulder and he only glances away for a second, "Oh, um, no. But if I do anything that requires the history of Japan, I know who to look for."

"Harsh, Donnie," I huff. I know he didn't mean it. He's just concentrating, but it still hurts.

"No, wait, I didn't mean-"

"I know," I put my hand up to stop him. It's a little-known fact that I'm serious about three things - and only three things; learning every detail about Japan, painting, and ninjitsu. If I'm not doing one of those things, I'm dabbling in my brother's affairs; tinkering in the workshop with Don, wrestling with Raph, sparing with Leo, meditating with Splinter, or comics with Mike. I'm not even moderately good at any of those things and they only interest me because they interest my family, but it always irritates me when they point that out. It became a side joke for a while that those three things are literally all that I'm good at and nothing else. It was when we were preteens and Splinter put a stop to it fast, telling each of us that we all have worth and yadda, yadda, yadda. I just wanted to be let in on the joke. Anyway, I'm taking the time to do what they want. But I don't see them taking the time to paint with me, no do I? Still, I know his attention was taken. He wasn't thinking about his words, "Don't worry about it. I'm outa here."

"I could…use some help with the shell cycle later," he suggests as I reach the door, "If you're interested."

I smile, nodding, "Yeah. I'm interested." I leave on good terms and go for my skate board. Master Splinter is going to be with Mikey for a while - personal training - so I'm going to go skating by myself. Unless, of course, I can convince Raph or Leo to come. Doubtful, but maybe.

"Yo bro," I walk up to Raph, seeing him first. I wave my board in his face to get his attention, "Want to shred a half pipe?"

"Busy," the muscle hunk states, punching the bag a little too hard. With the amount of force he exerts, I know he's in a mood again. Of course, this in itself will probably rule out Leo, cause he'll be in a mood, too. If one is irritated, chances are that the other one made him that way. Still, it's polite to ask. Trying one more thing as I walk away, "If you change your mind…"

He gives the smallest of nods and it's clear that it defiantly wasn't me who put him in the funk. I head up the stairs to my eldest brother's room, bumping into Klunk. The little orange tike nudges my leg, giving the slightest of meows to get my attention, "Well, hello," I bend down and pick him up easily, placing him on my shoulder for the ride. He nuzzles my neck, purring, "Good boy."

Leo usually meditates around now, getting his mind ready for the rooftop run he'll have us do later. I know better than to ask about skating if he's meditating. He won't show anger towards us, but I can always hear the slightest hint of annoyance in his tone when we interrupt him. Suffice to say, if he's busy, I won't even bother to ask.

His door is closed, as per the usual. All of my brothers keep their doors this way - Raph's and Donnie's are even locked sometimes - expect Mikey. I smirk at that. Mike won't even shut his door if he's dancing around his room to a Mikey Cyrus song. It's safe to say he's the least private of us. I knock lightly, opening my brother's door just a crack to peek in.

Sure enough, Fearless is meditating cross legged in the middle of his room, surrounded by his many unscented candles. I always roll my eyes at this. It's the one thing I'll never understand. I mean, I get that candles help with concentration and ambiance and everything, but if he's going to ruin the ozone, he might as well burn a scented candle. Right?

Slowly, I back out of the room, closing the door with the smallest of clicks. Silent as a ninja. Though, knowing Leo, he probably still knew I was there. Klunk purrs against my neck again, and I scratch his head as I walk away. Even the little kitten knew to be quiet, "I guess that just leaves you. What do you say, Klunk? Want to come skating with me?" He gives what sounds like an irritated meow and jumps off. I'll take that as a no.

I look down over the balcony at Raph. I figure I could try again, attempt to get him out of his funk, but he needs to cool off a little more first. At least he's smart enough to know when to be by himself. When we were younger and before Mike and I made him the punching bag for Christmas, he'd just sulk around the shoe box apartment and be a big pain. Don, Mike, and I would sneak out and Leo would usually ignore everyone for Katas. Splinter would always try to help the hot head, but I don't think it ever worked. I grin, thinking back. Raph's face really lit up when we showed him that punching bag. I'm just glad it survived the Mouser attack.

Not bothering with the stairs, I jump over the balcony railing and down to the ground, jogging for the exit. I explain over my shoulder, "Raph, I'm going top side if anyone needs me."

He gives a loud grunt in response and I know the coast is clear. A small pang in my chest makes me wonder what exactly put him in that mood. I'd never heard a fight this morning. Except for the small squabble between Mike and Don. It was probably something with Leo. Yeah, definitely Leo.