To Be Normal
By: Phoenix Ride
It was a dream they knew could never be real. A wish that couldn't be granted given the nature of what they are.
Never could they leave the darkness of the sewers. Never could walk and hang out among the humans roaming up above.
They were monsters to these beings. The people of New York would just never understand. And so that wish stayed buried, for all this time, until that vial of mutagen came.
Donatello's discovery that this rich-glowing, purple ooze could somehow mutate them into human form violently tugged at the hopeful string that was already hanging by a frayed thread.
Immediately the thought of becoming normal divided the team. Don was eager to risk it, while Leo was determined to keep under lock and key. Mikey would kill for the chance to for once blend in with the crowd.
But Raphael's reaction was the most surprising, willing to risk breaking into Police HQ to recover the vial capable of transforming him into a human being.
Leo should have realized something was wrong when the mutagen's temptation proved to be even more than his hot-tempered brother could resist.
Although he tried hard to hide his dislike about living in the sewers, Raphael always found himself drawn up to the surface above; skipping across the rooftops, taking down dozens of thugs with his skills.
All the ninja stuff was well and fun, but there were times when he would find himself simply staring at the streets, or out to the skies above. His heart yearning for a better place where he could no longer sulk in the dark or hide in fear.
To belong to something more complex than their simple life underground. To be normal, to be free.
The mutagen seemed like his hope at last, and in his selfishness, their secret was exposed. Because of his lies, April and Casey had to suffer for his sin.
The guilt that plagued Raph continued to dwell on him, as he watched the bonds between him and his family dwell further and further apart.
Leo was impossible now. He felt like he no longer had control over his team. Raph, Don, and Mikey were willing to disobey his orders. They wanted to become human. They were no longer going to be his team!
As a leader, Leo refused to listen to what his brothers most wanted, and yet understood, for even a small part of himself was willing to take the risk.
Yet he fought back against as hard as he could, and stated the most hateful sentence he ever breathed.
"We may all be brothers, but we're not a team."
Silence, division, the separation was complete. Each went to their own devices, unwilling to speak a word about the darkness that occurred on the plane.
However, fate refused to keep the tension between them silent for long, as the threat of the Technodrome assembling caused mass chaos to surge through the skies.
New York, as well as the Earth itself was in danger, and they needed to go up there and stop it, before any innocent lives were lost.
But with the police now against them, would they even be allowed to go free to save the world, or would they have to sacrifice their turtle form?
The air was thick as Donatello walked out of his lab, with the vail of mutagen clutched in his palm.
Splinter stood watching as a silent witness, speaking no rejection as he waited for his sons' to decide. They were no longer teens now, free to choose their own fate. Whatever their decision turned out to be, Splinter would still love them with all his heart.
Hesitantly, Leo took the vial away from Donnie, and stared at it for a while, indecision looming in his blue eyes.
Don and Mikey stayed silent, their faces unsure of what to do or say. Neither younger brother wanted to disobey their elder's command. If Leo said 'No' they couldn't change, then they would solemnly follow his demand.
But Leo knew that he wasn't the right person to make this decision, so he handed the vial over to the brother who wanted to be the most human of them all; Raphael.
The red-masked turtle was stunned when Leo put the vial directly into his hands.
"I'll support whatever decision you guys make," said the leader, and Raph knew that then, Leo trusted him to decide the fate of the entire team.
Raphael just stared at the vial with wonder. This is what he had fought to retrieve. This is why he lied. This was his ticket to finally get out of the sewers. To no longer be feared, and live a normal life. All of them! Him and his bros!
A frown formed on Raphael's face though as he turned, the back of his shell now facing his brothers' eyes.
This was the reason why their family had become so divided. This was the sludge that empowered such monsters like the Shredder and Krang.
This ooze was a mistake. Taking it would be like giving into fear. Giving into the dark selfishness of their whims, that they were willing to take poison from their enemy to cure their disgusting forms.
Muscles tensing in anger, Raph finally made up his mind, and threw the vial of mutagen straight smack into a brick wall. Leo, Don, and Mikey's mouths all gaped open with surprise.
Raphael felt his brothers' amaze, and turned around to face all their gazes of shock. All their eyes were burning with the same question…Why?
Why would you give up the chance to still be a turtle, but inside the form of a human being?
"We don't need to change" Raphael stated firmly " and we shouldn't."
The world could either accept them or not. It didn't matter if they still hated them or called them names.
They could cage them a hundred times over, and they would still fight to protect to keep this city from harm.
To change just to fit in, to be normal, to appease the populace because giant, mutant, talking turtles were not the things they would normally see.
This is not who they were meant to be.
They are warriors. They are turtles. They are protectors.
They would stop this crisis together, as themselves.
The End