Shattered
Set just after the Kraang invasion.
I don't own TMNT in any of its incarnations.
Silence blanketed the old VW van as it carried them down the road, away from the city, away from the destruction, away from everything they had ever known.
Kirby was a kraang mutant, the lair was destroyed...possibly beyond repair, and Splinter...their teacher and father was gone. They all strongly held onto the hope that Splinter had survived being tossed into that drain, but even Mikey's unshakable optimism was rattled by all that had happened. For all they knew he was dead, leaving them for all intents and purposes orphans. Even Casey's father and sister were missing and more than likely were casualties of the Kraang invasion.
Right now the dark haired boy was staring straight head as he drove on into the night. His eyes hard in his placid face, come hell or high water he wanted the see the Kraang and the Foot Clan pay for what they had done to his family…his friends…his city.
April leaned against the passenger side door sleeping, a soft sniff or whimper telling everyone she was taking this time to grieve over what had been lost. The lair was a second home to her and Splinter like a second father. The loss of both the lair and Splinter combined with the loss of their own families weighed just as heavily on the two human teens as it did the Turtles.
Of the Turtles only Raph and Donnie were still awake. Mikey was curled up against Raph's body taking comfort in the presence of his older brothers. Raph would just watch his baby brother as he slept, softly running his hand in comforting circles along Mikey's arms or shell. Other times his eyes would get this distant look of determination that someone had to be the strong one for the sake of his family.
Donnie, on the other hand, remained by their wounded brother's side throughout the trip. Every so often the purple-masked turtle would try and occupy himself by checking Leo's pulse just so he could confirm for himself that his older brother was still alive, or obsessively readjusting the army blanket that he had draped over Leo in an attempt to keep him warm. And when he wasn't doing that he would look through the medical supplies in the red tool box he used as a first aid kit and also the stuff in his messenger bag as if to confirm for himself if he had truly brought everything needed.
Raph had closed his eyes in an attempt to try and get some sleep when he heard the tell-tale squeak of Donnie's med-box, and the cautious rustle of their current de facto leader cataloging its contents.
"Donnie…" The red masked turtle snarled in irritation. "That's the fourth time you've checked your med-kit in the past hour. If you're missing anything, wouldn't you have noticed by now?"
"Sorry," Donnie said in a defeatist tone as he closed the med-box and set it aside.
"Hey Donny," Casey said calling over to his rival. "I'm going to be making a food stop really soon so I'd be happy to stop by a rite-aid or CVS or something and pick up anything you need. Aspirin, Tylenol, more bandages, you name it."
"Thanks…that would be helpful," Donnie said with little emotion in his voice as he once again checked Leo's pulse. He didn't like how cold Leo's skin felt, being cold-blooded it was highly imperative they got him somewhere warm as soon as possible. Fortunately, the chill had aided in Leo's survival as the blue-masked turtle more than likely would have bled out before they even got him out of the city. But even with Donnie's extensive knowledge of medical practice, there was no guarantee that he would recover. Donnie wasn't even certain how deep the damage truly extended in his brother's body, but he knew for certain that there were some injuries that wouldn't heal properly and others that wouldn't heal at all. The crack in Leo's shell greatly concerned him as that could become infected if not treated. "In order to fix Leo's injuries, I may need a few things."
"What kind of things?" April yawned as she started to wake up
"Fiberglass cloth, resin, epoxy glue, and sandpaper," Donnie answered listing off the various items needed for shell repair.
"And how I'm going to afford all that?!" Casey balked nearly steering off the road,"It's not like I have steady employment."
"Why don't we see what is available in the barn first?" April suggested, "If there is anything we need, I have my dad's wallet with me. He gave it to me should…should anything happen to him….again."
Silence once again filled the van; Donnie drew his knees up to his chest, rocking himself in his grief and despair.
"You're leading us into disaster!" Donnie shamefully remembered himself yelling at Leo.
"I'm doing what Splinter would want us to do!" Leo yelled back.
Donnie bit back as sob at the memory, and now Leo was paying for all of it with his life. While he didn't always see eye to eye with his older brother, he did honestly try to impress Leo with his ingenuity. There had even been some weapons and things that the leader in blue had been amazed at from time to time. But lately, it felt that Leo trusted no one but himself and he really hoped…no...he had wanted Leo at that moment to trust him and hear him out. The invasion could appear on their doorstep at any time, they didn't have time to seek out a new base outside the city. He really believed the best course of action was to stem the invasion at the source. But perhaps maybe Leo's idea had been the right course of action, perhaps if he had agreed Leo's very survival wouldn't be hanging in the balance at that moment. And now because of his foolishness the city was overtaken by the Kraang, most of the population had been mutated, and Splinter was gone.
"Okay guys," Casey announced. "I'm going to a little drive through that I like to call 'Mc'D's'. Anyone got any preferences or should I just make some wild guesses. "
"McDonalds?" April asked
"Hey it's nearly nine at night, and we're orphans with a budget," Casey commented, "Who knows when we'll see our dads and I guess in my case siblings again? Let alone the city, as far as we know…they may be gone for good."
"Casey!" April scolded,
"It's alright April." Raph sighed. "We want to believe that Splinter is alive…" He didn't need to finish the statement it weighed heavily on the hearts of everyone. Donnie screwed his eyes shut and curled into a ball at the memory of the loss of their father. Raph gritted his teeth irritably, and April closed her eyes in remorse. None of them wanting to say it because it would be the same as admitting it as truth, Splinter was gone and they were going to have to learn to live life without him.
Casey pulled up in front of the menu board as the order box answered with a cheerful but tinny sounding "Welcome to McDonald's, can I take your order?" Everyone awake in the van tensed being eerily reminded of the Kraang's voices.
"Um, yeah." Casey said. "I'd like a Jalapeno Double, anything you'd like April?"
"A McDouble with a vanilla shake.'' She answered.
"And what about you guy's in the back, interested in anything?" Casey called out.
"Anything's fine I guess," Raph answered, "Mikey and I'd eat anything."
"What about you Donnie?" April asked.
"I'm not really that hungry," Donnie said glancing at her slightly before returning his attention to their wounded brother. "But…thanks." April eyed her friend in concern; he had been blaming himself ever since Leo led the Kraang away from them. And yet she was the one who brought the Kraang to their lair. If it wasn't for her they would still have their home, Splinter would still be alive, her dad...
"McDouble, two Big Macs, one cheeseburger, five orders of fries, one vanilla shake, and three chocolate shakes."
"So, one Jalapeno Double, one McDouble, one cheeseburger, two Big Macs, five fries, three chocolate shakes and one vanilla." Was tinnally repeated.
"That's it," Casey affirmed.
"Please pull up to the window," The order box answered. Raph ducked Mikey and himself behind the driver's seat to avoid being seen by the drive through window cashier. Donnie also ducked below the windows to avoid detection. The bag of filled with burgers and a drink carrier of shakes were passed through the driver's side window by a smiling young woman before they were able to take off once again. It was only when they no longer saw the town lights that Donnie and Raph dared to sit up once more.
"We should probably wait to get to where we're going before we eat," April suggested glancing sadly over where Donnie was once again kneeling over his older brother and checking Leo's pulse. "We need to get Leo situated first."
There was little talking the rest of the trip, the only speaking given was April telling Casey directions. Until they at last, pulled up in front of a small three-story farm house. The sky overhead was dark casting the house in pitch black. April opened the glove compartment of the van and found a flashlight. She checked it to see if it worked before stepping out into the cold snowy ground, the light skimming over the bottom of the porch before she found a small depression between the porch boards and earth. She first flashed the light into the depression to make sure there weren't any creatures living in that space before reaching into the depression pulling out the house key, and used it to unlock the door turning on the porch light and family room as a sign the place was open to them.
"Okay, guys…" April called out as she returned to the van and pulled the side door open. "This will be our new home for the time being."
Mikey stirred and tiredly looked around him. "Are we there yet?" He asked groggily.
"Yeah, we're here," Raph sighed as he and Mikey crawled out.
"There are three bedrooms upstairs," April informed the Turtles as she started turning on more lights and started removing dust covers from the furniture. "And I believe there is one in the attic."
"Here let me help you with him, Donnie," Raph said as he helped to gently pull Leo out of the van. While they did that April ran to the linen closet and pulled out a set of sheets and blankets. She had just pulled off the dust cover and put the bottom sheet on one of the upstairs beds by the time Donnie and Raph entered the house and started upstairs cradling Leo's broken body between them.
"He can go in here," April said stepping out onto the landing and indicating one of the bedrooms. This room was furnished with two tarnished brass Larkin beds. Beside each bed was a golden oak end table topped with a burnished wood rectangular bell shaped lamp. The walls were covered stained and sun faded floral print wallpaper. The only window in the room looked out over the backyard were dressed in dust stained lace curtains. The two boys didn't complain, but carefully lay Leo onto the closest of the two beds and helped April pile the blankets on to him.
"He should rest now," April said as she headed downstairs. "It's been a long day for all of us. Come on, let's get settled and have some dinner."
"Check it out, one of the bedrooms has a bunk bed," Mikey cheered from one of the rooms "I call top bunk." Raph didn't argue with his youngest brother, in days past he would have run to claim anything that he felt gave him dominion over his brothers, best space on the couch, the first slice of pizza, who got to choose the show that night. But this time his heart wasn't in it, instead, he glanced in concern at Donnie who was sitting on the side of the bed examining the crack in Leo's shell. His younger brothers brown eyes looked stricken with grief and anxiousness.
For a moment he looked like he wanted to say something to the younger turtle, but instead, he just left the room. In the living room, Casey was setting a fire in the fireplace, while April came out of the kitchen plates in hand and the bag of fast food. Each sandwich was opened and placed on a plate while the fries were all dumped together on one plate for them to enjoy at their leisure. Opening the cheeseburger she placed it on one plate with some fries before heading upstairs again.
"Donnie?" April asked as she came into the twin bedroom. Donnie glanced up at her before his eyes returned to Leonardo's sleeping face again. "I brought you some dinner."
"Thanks, April," Donnie said giving a pained, yet appreciative smile. "But I'm not hungry at the moment."
"Why don't I leave it right here okay?" April offered putting the plate with the McDonalds Cheeseburger and fries on the bedside table. "You can have it when you're ready." Donnie nodded in acceptance, his mahogany eyes never leaving Leo's sleeping face. His brother's injuries were deliberately designed to cause slow suffering before death unless immediate medical treatment was administered. Mikey had brought in Donnie's medical kit, and Donnie had set to work binding the worst of Leo's wounds. All of them knew basic triage when it came to first aid. And of the four of them, Donnie was the one who was most likely to be considered a doctor, but even he had his limits. He could perform more extensive diagnostics upon his wounded brother using his medical equipment, but that was back in New York, back at the lair. And without it, his efforts to save his brother were much more limited. If they were human they would have taken Leo to the hospital, perhaps more work could be done to save being what they were...that was not an option. All they honestly could do was pray and if Leo survived the rest of the night they would know for he at least had a fighting chance at survival. But one thing was certain, this would be the longest night they ever faced.
"He'll be okay," April tried to say reassuringly as she placed a comforting hand on Donnie's shoulder. "Leo's a survivor." Donatello placed a gentle hand on hers and looked up into her soft blue eyes, his brown eyes showing her that he was emotionally distressed with all that's had happened; the loss of their childhood home, the loss of Splinter, and more heartache threatened to push him over the edge of posanity. April wished she could wiggle her nose or say something…do anything to return everything to the way it was. But she couldn't, everything they did from here on out, they would have to do on their own, as a makeshift family. Somehow they had to make it work.
"We'll all be downstairs," She stated as she approached the door, subtly inviting him to join everyone. As much as they worried about Leo and everyone else in the city. They knew in their hearts all they truly had was each other. Donnie nodded once again in understanding before returning his attention to his wounded brother. Quietly April left the room leaving the door slightly ajar and wiped away oncoming tears as she returned to where everyone else was gathered.
"Casey and I will need to go into town tomorrow," April said as they all tucked into their McDonalds hamburgers. "We need to pick up some groceries and other supplies, and while we are there we can look for anything Donnie needs to fix Leo's shell."
"Provided Leo survives the night," Raph said as his eyes focused on the room both his immediate older and immediate younger brothers were sequestered. "He was in real bad shape after what the Shredder and his goons did to him."
"He'll be okay, Raph" Mikey suggested sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. "Leo's strong, he'll survive this. He has to…"
"I hope so Mikey," Raph grumbled worriedly. "I really hope so.
Authors note- Hello and thank you for reading. I know this is a fic I've been working before but I've never liked the flow of it. So I've decided to open this fic up as a group project. I have written up a rough outline of the events at the Farmhouse, as well as a possible layout of the farmhouse itself. If you are interested in helping in this project, please PM me.
Another fic I'm planning on resurrecting as a group author project is the Hamato Family journal. I'm planning on waiting until Season 4 comes to an end before I open that project.