Prologue
Leonardo "Leo" Hamato, eighteen years old. Cobalt eyes and emerald green skin. A senior and a jock on the Roosevelt High football team. Best known for his even temperament.
Raphael "Raph" Leroux, eighteen years old. Electric green eyes and grass-green skin. In the senior class. Best known for his foul mouth and punk attitude, he can be found hanging with the rocker kids on the quad at Roosevelt High.
Donatello "Donnie" Newfield, seventeen years old. Mahogany brown eyes and olive green skin. Student body president and Class Valedictorian. Well-known as the smartest kid in school. As something of a loner, he is often found frequenting the library and classrooms rather than the cafeteria or recreational facility.
Michelangelo "Mike" Stoddard, sixteen years old. Baby-blue eyes and grass-green skin. Considered the jokester, prankster, and all-around-funny teen at Roosevelt High, Mikey gets along well with most anyone he meets.
The brown-eyed teen frowned at the information he'd gathered, his fingers tapping impatiently on the desktop. "There's a connection," he muttered. "I know there is. I just can't see it."
"Hey, Donnie, you ready to go?" a girl asked, popping her head into the otherwise empty classroom.
"Just give me a minute, April. I'm sure there's something here. If I could just-"
The redhead walked over, gently but firmly shutting the laptop. "Donatello Newfield, you've been driving yourself crazy with this research. If there's any connection at all, you'll find it. But right now, you need to take a break and have some fun."
Donnie sighed and pulled his USB drive out of the computer, slipping it into his pocket. "You're right," he admitted, letting her lead him out of the room and down the hall.
"I know I am," she replied, grinning a little. "Now come on, slowpoke. Jurassic World is playing at the Argosy and I don't want to be late."
"You know that movie makes no sense whatsoever," he pointed out, following her down the hallway as they slipped through clusters of students and out the front doors. "There is no way that someone could create dinosaurs like that from-"
April sighed, just liked she'd done thousands of other times when they'd had this same argument. "It's Hollywood, Donnie. It's not meant to make sense."
Before Donnie could make a retort, a chill ran down his spine. He turned around in time to see a pair of baby-blue eyes flick away. A slight frown appeared on his face.
"What is it?" April asked, sensing that her friend's attention was elsewhere.
"Mike Stoddard was watching me again," he replied in a low voice. "That's the third time in two days."
"I'm sure it's nothing. He's probably just lonely."
"Please. A guy that makes friends that easily?"
The redhead sighed again, impatiently this time. "Donnie, I swear. If you don't come on, I'm going to make you buy both the tickets and the concessions too."
Warning received. His focus once again on the present, Donnie made a face at April, causing her to laugh as they walked down to the theater.
But even through the movie, the genius couldn't shake the feeling that there was indeed a connection between the other three and himself.
I will figure it out, he vowed silently. That's a promise.