A/N: Hey, look! Didn't we just go through this? Well, we did. Alas, I wasn't exactly "happy" with my first go at this story, so I went in and completely revamped the first chapter and…well, here we are. Hopefully this time around I can keep up on updating and not keep you waiting for too long. We'll see ;D
But before we continue on I must take this time to give two huge thanks to very special people. First off is TF who took this first chapter and charged through it headfirst, completely breaking it down to show me what's what – for that I am forever grateful. Betas are always important, trust me, even people who Beta need Betas – it's just a fact of life. Like gravity!
Of course, I need to thank Elge who was there for me when I needed a break and someone to bounce ideas off of. You really are made out of rubber, man. Thanks for that.
ALRIGHT. And just as an added note, yeah, this is an AU, though I figured you'd know that by the end of the chapter. 8D
Disclaimer: April, Mutant Turtles, or any mutations you might find in this story do not belong to me. I just write about them.
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"Alright, are you ready, Ms O'Neil? You can just start from where you remember the best."
"Oh, but I remember the day as clearly as if it happened only yesterday." She sighed, old, aging hands tracing a design on a worn, well loved photo album. Turning the cover over, she looked longingly at a picture on a yellowing page before tilting the book carefully to show off. It was of a building, tall, sagging, and clearly in disrepair, but it bore a small sign that barely read through the old black and white photo: Auggie's Inn.
"I hadn't been home in many, many years. So much had changed since I had been there – everything was so new and bustling. Well, it was always crowded, but not that late in the season. It was still months away from Marraba you know – they don't hold that anymore, unfortunately. It was always so exciting to see all the different kinds of people and shops. I loved it as a little girl and being a young woman hadn't changed my love for it in any way.
The ship I had come off of was huge – living so far inland for so many years, I hadn't seen anything quite as exotic as that one before. I was so stunned and amazed; I hardly remember finding my way off the ship at all.
There were so many people, but my mind was wrapped around one thing and one thing only: I was there to get my inheritance… one I didn't want and had no idea what to do with. I had been putting it off for years, but I had finally reached my dead end and had nowhere else to go.
I just wanted to get in and out as fast as my legs could carry me. Nothing, nothing was going to stop me that time – or so I thought. Fortunately someone had much bigger plans for me than that and it was a nice slap in the face to know that I couldn't run forever from it."
April drew her skirt higher off her shoes with a disgruntled snort. It was the fourth time in the past five minutes that her hem had been stepped on and it was now thoroughly soaked with rain water and mud. Biting back snappish remarks, she straightened up, purse of gold held tight in hand, and began to elbow her way through the crowd with as much force as she could muster.
The mass of people reminded her distantly of a sea – forever changing course and full of monsters with sharp teeth. Deep down she knew she liked the pull of the crowds; it made her focus, slowed her down, and, above all, made getting to the other side of Main street take three times as long.
She'd been dreading this walk for ten years – she could afford wasting a few extra minutes with the crowd.
"Move it, Mutt! I don't have all day." A man in nice, straightened suit stood just off to the side looking distinguishably aggravated. A stooped, bowed man in haggard looking clothes came shuffling up to the man, carrying with him large, over-packed bags.
"It's about time. I can't believe how highly recommended you came – I have half a mind to go back and return you for something a little smarter." The bowed man cowered, jerkily shaking his head at the suited man. "No? Well, then you better get your tail moving a little faster, Mutt."
Y-yes sir," rasped the little man in an eerie, inhuman choke. He coughed a deep, unsettling hack that sounded anything but healthy, and a long, twitching tail appeared beneath his coat. The well dressed man had, by then, stalked far enough away to miss the bowed man whisper, "Bastard."
It didn't just sound inhuman, it was inhuman.
As she began her trek again, more confused and more irritated than when she first arrived, she noticed something a little different among the human crowds. There were inhuman things all over –and they were all following at least one human in a bowed, submissive sort of way, just like the lizard-man.
It was then that April remembered a newspaper clipping she had seen left in an old café in town some years back. "Oroku Saki Brings to Light a Better Living to All With the Help of Mutant Pets."
She frowned, thinking back on it as she turned down an alley. Mutants? Pets? Mutts? No – she couldn't worry about it now, she had one destination and one thought on her mind; to get as far away from New York as possible.
However, as she trekked down the street, she found the alley to be considerably less alive. The crowds of people were moved, piled around a raised platform yelling out seemingly random numbers. As they raised their hands as they cried out, all but shoving into each other to get to the front of the stage.
A man in an overly bright suit stood on stage, pointing and yelling at people in such a rapid fashion, April could hardly make out the words he was saying. A group of mutants stood on the platform, all chained to the wrists of their partners, all looking bleak and hopeless.
Another man on stage would quickly shuffle over at random intervals and unlock one or two Mutants at a time, leading them quietly off the stage then shoving them through a curtain where they were lost from view. Then he'd return moments later, two or three different mutants with him to replace the missing spaces. The ones that were dragged off were never brought out again.
A shiver of cold ice ran down her spine, and she silently made her way through the crowd, bizarre morbid fascination grabbing at her heart.
"Hey! FIFTY FOR THE SMALL FRY!"
April nearly dropped her purse of gold she hadn't realized she was clutching so tightly as an older woman cried out, waving her stumpy arms at the bright-suited stage man. He pointed to her and yelled nearly as loudly to the crowd.
After that, the man continued in a voice that rapidly picked up speed until all April could hear after a while was a loud, droning buzz. She stood, rooted to the spot, looking from each yelling person back to the stage and then toward the Mutants again, flabbergasted.
"You look a little out of place, miss."
"What?" April whirled around, thinking of hunched, morphed lizard men with forked tongues and winking pale, yellowed eyes here to harass her even more.
Instead, a little girl with a little torn dress and two, deep brown eyes framed by triangle ears peered up at her with a simple smile.
"Begging your pardon, but you do look a little confused, Miss Red." The little cat girl nodded knowingly. "You don't live 'round here, do you?"
"I used to, but haven't in many, many years," said April, bending down so she was more level with the little girl. "Do you live nearby? Are you here with your family?"
The girl looked up at her, a small pout forming on her pointed, inhuman face. "You haven't been 'round here in a looooong time, Miss Red. Mutts don't have family!" She said this with an air of exasperation, as if April should have known better than to ask silly questions. "I'm here with my Master! I'm his fifth Mutt, but he says he needs more and more. He has a big house, you know – huuuuuuuuuggee! And so many floors, not enough Mutants to clean it, though – he got me because I'm so tiny and can get into really tight spaces!"
"I can tell," said April kindly, not really understanding why she had attracted the cat-girl in the first place or why the girl felt she needed to tell her whole life story in one breath. It wasn't like anyone else opted to speak to her, so April took what she could at the moment and was thankful for it. "Do you have a name?"
"No, ma'am. The Master sometimes calls me Fifth, so you can call me Fifth, too, Miss Red!"
"Oh, I-I see."Well. April wasn't expecting that kind of answer. "Well, you can call me April. It's very nice to meet you, Fifth."
Fifth beamed brightly, clapping her hands excitedly. "Are you here to buy a Mutt for your home, Mis—Oh, I mean—April? Oh, I wish you had bought me instead of Master!" She pouted suddenly, looking annoyed with April for having such a terrible sense of timing.
April gave a sad smile, not quite sure how to respond. Instead she went for the easy question first. "Oh, no I'm not here to buy anyone—" There was a great pulling cheer from the crowd of onlookers as the brightly-dressed man bounded back on stage, his voice crashing through anything April had wanted to say.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, for our grouped Mutts! Best of the best that work together and work strong; or, for the ladies, a matching set for the upcoming Mutant Showcases that can be groomed for winners in no time! Now, I could stand here and be a good salesmen, talking all your ears off, but today I think these special guests can speak for themselves. Let's start the bidding at 200 coins for this fine set!"
He flourished his orange-covered arms as four figures lined up on stage, their green-tinted skins clashing magnificently with his suit, while Fifth gasped dramatically. "It's the Brothers!"
"The Brothers?" April had to stand on tip-toe to see over the heads of the crowd as people clambered forward, some gasping just as dramatically as Fifth had while others whispered excitedly to each other. She had no idea how Fifth could see the mutants or know who they were when April herself could barely make out their forms from so far away. "I thought you said Mutts— er, uh… mutants didn't have family?"
Fifth was using April's leg to steady herself as she mimicked the red-headed human, standing on her own shoe-less toes. "The Brothers are the only ones known in Mutt history," she whispered lowly as if worried of being over heard – but people were whispering so loudly amongst themselves, April highly doubted anyone would notice if a wall of screaming, hairless gorillas ran past, devouring bananas as they went, let alone one little girl whispering into an ear. "No one knows for sure if they're blood related or not, but they've always declared themselves as brothers."
"They certainly look… similar," April whispered back. The stage man waited mutely as the crowd continued their excitable chatter – he seemed to be rather enjoying himself. Unfortunately for April, he was also standing directly in her line of vision. Although from what she could make out they all looked to be of the same build, though all were definitely different sized – especially standing shoulder to shoulder as they did. "Why do so many people know about them, Fifth?"
"Beeccauuuseee!" gasped Fifth. "They're the only ones to ever defy their Masters! Naughty of them, so says Third, but Second finds them very…" she lowered her voice, glancing around nervously. April had to lean in closer to hear her properly. "Handsome." Wide, amazed eyes stared up at the woman, and April couldn't help but laugh. "Don't tell no one I said so! Second made Fifth promise!"
"I won't tell no—anyone," chuckled April, straightening up somewhat. "You said Masters? As in more than one?" Maybe it was Fifth's reaction, or maybe the crowd's, or even the reputation themselves, but April couldn't be drawn away from their stilled forms, these Brothers, standing so tall, so defiantly against the hoard of people amassed there simply to bet on their livelihood. Even from this distance she could see how young they were. "If they've bothered that many Masters, why are they so… popular?"
Fifth looked thoughtful for a minute, chewing on her lower lip carefully - April saw a sneak of a sharp, pointed fang before it disappeared once again, hidden beneath the silky fur on the girl's face. After another minute, the little cat-girl spoke slowly, carefully. "I think because they're… difficult. Un-tameable. Masters want to be known as the ones who tamed the Brothers, you know. Thinks it'll make the other Mutts in town respect them for it – or be feared."
"But other Masters like them for other reasons besides reputation," she continued. "Third says they're good at sneaking. Hiding, you know? That's how they usually escape their Masters, they sneak away and don't come back – Third says it's bad for Mutts to behave like that. Gives us bad names. Bad Masters think they can use their sneaking for things. Bad things."
April frowned as something twisted in her chest, stirring a dark, gloomy mold that spread out slowly and carefully. It was hard to ignore.
"They don't stick around for long," said Fifth who had been watching April's expression carefully. "When things go wrong, the Brother's usually leave their Masters – go into hiding. No one knows where they go but… sooner or later they're caught again."
"How many Masters have they had?"
"Mutts have nasty habits of twisting truths 'til they're lies, Miss April, so no one can say for sure. Second says their last one was their fifth… Hey! Like me!"Fifth smiled happily feeling especially smart at her brilliant conclusion as she padded behind April.
They were closer now than they had been, though, and April simply couldn't look away. The Brothers were different than what she expected – much different than the Mutant behind her. They were short and stocky, green with pointed faces. They were turtles.
That dark, stirring thing rose higher and higher in her chest choking her with its grip. It was desperately trying to tell her something.
"Three hundred for the Brothers."
The feeling shot to her throat and April craned her neck around, eyes darting through the crowd for the source of the deep gutted voice.
He was easy to find as everyone else had the same morbid fascination as she did, and had all turned to get a better look at the towering man. He stood calmly, carefully put together with his slicked hair and sharp, well ironed clothes.
The Brothers reaction to the man's comment did nothing to help her sudden deep unease about the man. As they stared down at him with their own unveiled fury, the two taller Brothers stood protectively in front of the smallest, one even going as far as baring his teeth dangerously.
The man, however, gave the smallest hint of a smirk and returned their glare with his own bespectacled one. His smile became more decidedly evil as the youngest Brother peeked around his sibling's leg and stared with eyes of the brightest, clearest blue.
"My! Three hundred pieces of gold!" cried the bright stage man flailing his arms excitedly. "What a jump in price! Now, anyone want to best that? Do I have three-twenty?"
No one spoke. No one said anything at all, not even the whispers coated the air.
Without thinking, she raised her hand above the crowd, drawing out her loudest, deepest cry for she was still almost too far away from the stage to be heard properly. She was sure, however, that she was heard loud and clear as every head turned to her.
"Four hundred and fifty for the lot of them!"