Chapter 1

The Get Away

Hi, my name is Michelangelo but you can call me the "Turtle Titan!" With all the crazy stuff that's been goin' on with me and my bros lately we've sorta split-up.

Actually, I left after the last big fight. The last time I was there Don and Raph were very, VERY edgy, Master Splinter was trying to calm everyone down. As for Leo . . . well lets just say he was nicer in the past.

It didn't take me long to realize that living with them was a risk to my life. So, I moved out and have been living here for nearly a year now. And you know what? I don't miss them at all!

"Aaaah . . . another successful night of patrol. Now time for some well deserved sleep," I said. I wouldn't catch many Z's that day. Just two blocks away the bank's alarm went off. "That's great! I was on my way home! Oh well, I'd better check it out," I said shaking my head and turning around.

It only took me a couple minutes to get there. I noticed who the robber was. She was my archenemy "Dianne Blade." We became enemies mid-last year in New York.

"Didn't expect you'd come here," I said to her jumping down from the roof. "Aha! The Turtle Titan! I heard you were the local Superhero!" Blade smirked. "You heard right! Now leave before I have to hurt you!" I demanded. "You wouldn't hit a girl!" she scoffed."Try me!" I taunted her.

Then my shell cell rang. When I looked up from my belt, DB was gone. "Yo? What's the dealio?" I asked continuing on my way home. "Mikey? Is your name Michelangelo?" asked the voice on the other end. "I've had a lot of names in the past," I said bluntly, "But "Michelangelo" that sounds familiar. Yes I was him, Donatello."

Donnie seemed amazed that I knew it was him when he said, "Where have you been? Where are you? Mikey, are you ok?!?!" I'd already made it home so I just sat on my bed. "Well, it's nice of you to notice that I've been gone for a year! To answer your questions . . . not New York, home and yeah I'm better than ok. I just finished another patrol. I'm really tired . . . Can you call back in the afternoon?" I said. "Mikey! It's 3pm!" Donnie protested. "Well it's 5am here . . . " I yawned, "Bye Donnie . . . " I hung up on Don and fell asleep.

"Are ya sure he's in there?" came a voice from the hall. "I'm positive!" said another, "If my tracking system says so than he's there!" "That and the receptionist said there was another green guy in this room," laughed a third. I rolled out of bed, walked to the door, opened it and said, "Hey Don, Raph . . . Leo! What do you want?!?!" "Mikey!" they all shouted cheerfully at once. "The name's Turtle Titan!" I protested turning away from their outreached arms.

"Poor guy's been gone so long he's gone mad," Raph whispered to Leo. "No Raph! I'm not crazy!" I argued. "Than, why did you leave?" Don asked. "Well let's see . . . you and Raphie-boy were tickin' time bombs, Master Splinter wasn't able to control the three of you. I wasn't much help to him and Leo practically beat me to a bloody pulp! So I don't know! Why did I leave?!?!" I snarled.

They stared at me in disbelief. Then looked at each other as if saying, "Were we really that bad?" "Mikey . . . I . . . We . . . " Raph stammered. "Did you three come here to visit or to try and get me to return to New York?" I demanded. The three of them, who had been chattering amongst each other, fell silent.

"Well, we weren't exactly planning on staying," Don explained. "In that case . . . Get Out of my apartment!" I shouted angrily, "NOW!!!!" "Well guys, looks like Mr. Big Time Superhero isn't gonna come home with us!" Raph grumbled. "If he's such a big shot superhero then why's he livin' in this place?" Leo laughed. "Anything is better than living with you!" I snapped, "Now I told you to get out. So if you wouldn't mind . . . "

"Ok, we didn't wanna use this method. But . . . " Leo said, "C'mon in!" "Oh great!" I thought, "They brought one of our friends here to get me home!" To my surprise it wasn't one of our human friends. Instead the figure was of our now nine-year-old cousin holding my old teddy bear.

"Toby!" I exclaimed running over to her. Toby dropped the bear, ran behind me, and started playing with my cape. "Silly billy Turtle Titan," she giggled, "Please come back to New York. I wish you to."

The others stared at us with hope in their eyes. "Can you guys excuse Toby and me for a bit?" I asked. "Sure!" said Leo. When the three of them were out of the apartment, I closed the door and locked it.

"What are you . . . ?" Toby started, as she picked up the bear. "Saving our lives," I explained in a whisper. She just stared at me. Well, until I asked her if Raph, Leo and Don had done anything to her. "Well . . . " she mumbled.

I walked up to her, bent down and asked, "Well . . . what?" Toby began to cry and scream. When I picked her up, I noticed she was thin. "TOBY!?" I said to her, "Oh My . . . They weren't giving you enough FOOD?!"

Toby looked at me and said, "I want you to come back! I can barely eat enough. They're always fighting! I'm gonna get hurt!" Now there were tears in her beautiful blue eyes. "It's ok," I told her, holding her close, "We're getting outta here."

"Ok! We're coming in!" Leo called from the hall, "Hey! The door's locked! Mikey open up!" "No way!!!!" I hollered back to Leo. "Mikey, How are we getting outta here?" Toby asked. I looked at the window and smiled. "You're not thinking . . . No way!" Toby said, jumping from my arms. "It's either that or face starvation," I told her. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked.

We made it out just before Raph came through the door. "Shell! They got away!" he yelled. "Calm down Raphael! We'll find 'em," Leo told Raph. "It can't be too hard to find him," Don explained, "His red cape is a dead give away."

He was right. If I was to walk around in my gear we'd be found in five minutes. "Hmm . . . We might need some disguises," I told Toby. "But where will we . . . ?" she started.

I pointed to an abandoned car. "We'll hide in there," I whispered, "Hold onto me!" Toby nodded and clutched my left leg, bear in hand. I threw my grappling hook, it snagged a street sign and we swung into the car.

Soon Raph, Leo and Don jumped out the same window. "Get down!" I whispered to my quivering cousin. We ducked under the dusty seats just in time. Raph went to investigate the car soon after.

"They're not in there!" he announced. "Then we'll search in some other places," Leo told him. "Ah... ah... " Toby said about to sneeze. I put my hand over Toby's mouth, preventing the sneeze. Only to sneeze myself.

Raph must have heard me, because I saw him turn around and head back towards the car. Towards me and Toby. I snuck around to the front and began fidgeting around with the wires.

"He's getting closer!" Toby whispered a warning. "I'm goin' as fast as I can!" I whispered back. A spark came from the wires in my hands. I stuck them together with a band-aid and checked the gas gauge, a full tank.

"Mikey!!!!" Toby screamed. I turned my head to look at her but my line of sight stopped dead lock beside me. There stood Raphael, looking in at me. Waiting for me to notice."Get outta da car Mike!" he demanded. "Not on your life!" I shouted.

I revved the engine to show him I meant it. When Raph didn't move, I drove off. I didn't care if, or how bad, I may have hurt him. All I cared about was that we were getting away. My brothers, no matter how fast they think they are, would never be able to catch us.