Disclaimer: I do not own them, even a little bit, none of them.
Just a warning, it contains mild cursing.
I exhaled a breath I'd been holding since 6th Street and it whistled sharply as it passed through my teeth. The air wasn't quite as thick here, so I could breathe a little more easily in this part of the sewer. Lucky that since home was getting close by, and it would have been much more unpleasant to live in some other parts of this dank maze.
The condensation on the beams supporting the street above me dripped menacingly, quietly threatening diseases I could only hope that either I couldn't catch or was already immune. Thankfully turtle DNA has served us by being a little more resilient than the average man's. The sludge sucking at my ankles rippled slightly as the drips found their home, and I swung up onto a higher brick ledge as the corridor widened slightly. The dim corridor opened to shadowy round entries allowing access to indistinct passageways, which I suppose would have looked ominous if they hadn't been so familiar to me. I navigated the next bend on the narrow brick ledge, careful not to slip back into the muck, and began to be able to hear muffled sounds over the dripping of the sewer and the squeaks of the rats.
the traffic on the… bridge was backed up for hours… power outages in…
The routine news program seemed so out of place down here, though I couldn't quite yet make out the context of the report. The echoes in this part of the sewer were another reason we chose it. If you didn't know where you were going already, it would have been difficult to pinpoint the origin of the sounds of life,
NYU student missing…gallery exhibit opened today…
and that would give us time to get out of the lair if we ever needed it. You couldn't tell from looking, but Donnie had security measures stowed all over these passages, and probably already knew I was on my way in… that is if he was still awake…
now we go to a special report…O'Neal reporting from…
Shit, I was later than usual. I didn't usually miss the special reports, and I'd meant to get back for the replay of the late news, which was already almost over. I'd gotten in a tussle with a mugger… heh… came up behind me in the park and thought he'd take my cash… like I'd have any cash. He'd really only gotten a couple of good shots in, but it'd slowed me up more than I realized. I rubbed my shoulder ruefully, that'd leave a bruise and Leo'd get mad again. 'You're always risking exposure…' and all that jazz. I exhaled another breath as I saw an arch in front of me with the eerie green light from the television shifting in patterns on the brick of the sewer wall and wondered if anyone would be waiting up this late. They'd probably gone to bed after the first run of the news. The faint odor of basil and cheese wafted towards me mingled with the light stench of rotten wood and burned rubber and other ever-present variety of smells. I hoped there was some pizza left, and it wasn't just coming from the box.
well, the Governor's office has my report on this situation but…
I entered the lair quietly so not to wake everyone, though looking at the time, Leo and Splinter'd be up for breakfast and stretching soon. I'd better get in bed before then, or I'd get an earful. Merciful Zeus… Mikey left some pizza out for me. I grabbed a slice of Margarita and Pineapple, not that I'd ever understand why Mikey chose such concoctions, and hopped the back of couch to watch the end of April's report – something about health problems in low income housing – looked like she was going to get in trouble again for her 'negative portrayal of government aid.' Heh… probably be down here tomorrow to gripe, 'I'm only trying to give a voice to those who don't have one…' I could see a faint blue glow coming from Donnie's room, fell asleep at the computer again. Too late to get him up, he'd get more sleep if I left him at the desk.
I polished off the pizza and headed to clean up the cut on my left hand before crashing…
Jeeze Raph… could it be any later? Where have you b… and what is that bruise on your arm?
Damn…… Leo was up…Hey, yeah, I was just going to bed…trying to sound sincere and nonchalant.
He raised a blue-felt-covered brow slightly… Right, and now you're going let me see that cut before you do… He crossed his arm in a move of finality to punctuate his statement.
I could argue, but then I'd just wake up the others… I was tired… Right… yeah, okay Leo…whatever…