An Educational Experience

Summary: Slices of life from the world of "An Educational Opportunity"

This takes place in an AU movie universe, as far as the X-Men are concerned, that takes place vaguely after the first movie.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Rocky, "Go to the Head of the Class," Hamlet, or Romeo and Juliet.

First Day of Class

In a classroom set to receive twenty-five students, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sat quietly, patiently, with their hands folded over their notebooks on their desks in the back row.

At five minutes to eight, they were joined by four more teenagers, two boys and two girls, who stood at the door, getting their bearing on the new kids. Michelangelo broke the awkward silence. "Uh, hi. We're new here."

Raphael rolled his eyes. "I think they figured that out, genius."

The humans came closer. "Hi, guys. I'm Bobby, but they call me Iceman. This lovely lady is Anna Marie, but she's also known as Rogue. Skin contact with her can be hazardous to your health. If her power doesn't get you, I will." Rogue swatted his shoulder with a gloved hand, and Bobby grinned.

"Kitty, over there, is one to keep your eye on. As Shadowcat, she can walk through walls, and she can fry electric things if she goes through them. She also is brilliant. Like I said, it's worth keeping your eye on her." Kitty rolled her eyes.

"And that distinguished gentleman with the wings…"

"Enough, you're layin' it on thick. I'm Angel."

Iceman took on a pompously formal tone. "Yes. Angel, my good fellows, is Warren Worthington III. You might have heard of his father?"

"Iceman, don't!" Angel wasn't interested in reminding these new classmates that his father helped to get the newest anti-Mutant laws passed.

Bobby realized he might have taken his fun a little too far. "Sorry, Angel." Bobby could tell his friend's feathers were still ruffled. "So, it's nice to meet you guys."

Leonardo smiled. "It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Leonardo Hamato, and these are my brothers Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo."

Michelangelo grinned. "Very cool! Nice ta meet ya!" He grabbed Bobby's hand and pumped it.

Kitty asked, "So what are your Mutant names?"

Raphael's bandana creased when he furrowed his brows. "Those are our Mutant names."

Angel asked, "How do you figure?"

Leonardo thought of something the professor said in the plane on their way here from Manhattan. "If we have this right, you four were born Mutants. We weren't."

Bobby raised his eyebrows. "You were born normal?"

Donatello smirked. "Yup. Well, actually, we were hatched as normal. Turtles, you see, naturally hatch from eggs."

Raphael glared. "A powerful mutagen turned us as close to human as we'll ever get. Baby turtles in fishbowls don't normally get blessed with names of Renaissance artists."

Michelangelo grinned. "Nah. They get silly names like Cuff and Link."

Bobby perked up. "You like Rocky?"

The irrepressible Turtle nodded. "Yup. Always have. Yo, Adrianne!" The human classmates laughed at his antics. The two older Turtles were amused. Raphael rolled his eyes.

Glad to have missed what might have become a serious obstacle in their growing friendly acquaintance, Rogue asked, "So how come you guys chose to sit way back here?"

All four Turtles sat straight with surprise. Leonardo answered, "Well, we're new here, and we're not sure of our standing in the class yet. So, we're taking the last form until we earn our way forward."

Kitty giggled. "You sound like you're playing Go to the Head of the Class."

Donatello jerked his head. "But Sensei said that's how classes work. At least, they do in a Dojo, and that's what other classes were like when he was in school in Japan."

The four more experienced students in Xavier's School realized that there was more to these new students besides being a different kind of Mutant.

Bobby piped up, "Sorry – didn't mean to cause the culture clash. While they may run classes like that over there, we're not so formal as all that. We sit where we like in Storm's class, although she prefers if we sat closer to the front."

Leonardo furrowed his brows. "Storm?"

Raphael thought for a second. "I think he means Ms. Munroe."

Angel nodded. "That's right."

The Turtles got up and moved forward, as that would respect Ms. Munroe's wishes.

Donatello drummed his fingers on his new desk, and Bobby noted the odd, three-fingered tattoo. Donatello nodded to himself, and then asked, "Look – I see that it seems to be important to you. But what is the deal with these Mutant names? Why do they mean so much to you?"

Michelangelo cocked his head. "Yeah. I mean… it takes effort to be normal enough to go out and order a pizza without too much hassle. It's a lot easier to go about like we're invisible than it is to fit in."

Kitty widened her eyes. "You can turn invisible? That's a neat power."

Leonardo saw Raphael take a breath to start a rant, reached around Donatello, and put a hand on Raphael's arm. "Don't – I'll handle it." Raphael tightened his lips, made a frustrated noise, and sat back.

Leonardo took a cleansing breath. "No, Kitty. We don't have any nifty keen-o powers beyond that of an average human, or as Logan called them, 'Normals'. Just having the humanoid attributes we have is mutation enough. What Mike here was talking about is Ninjutsu – the Art of Invisibility. It's a discipline, or a martial art, if you will."

Angel jerked his head. "You guys are ninjas?"

Michelangelo grinned. "Yup. That's what happens when your father trains you once you're capable of walking upright."

Rogue tilted her head. "Your father? But how did that work?"

Raphael crossed his arms. "Nope – Don asked you a question first. You answer his question, then we'll answer yours."

Bobby wasn't sure what set off Raphael's bout of snarkiness, but he did realize that buttons were pushed. There were Mutants who looked – as Leonardo put it – like 'average humans', and then there were Mutants who looked like something else entirely. That sort of thing skews a person's baseline for normal.

Bobby looked up at the ceiling, blew a breath, and tried to placate the ruffled Turtle. "Raphael, weird as it sounds, Rogue's question dovetails with yours. See, you guys have a father – you'll have to tell us how that one happened later – who loves you, and obviously cares enough about you to accept you as you are, and to pass along the tools of his trade. Some of us – make that most of us - would love to have family that… accepting.

"I'm the oldest brother of two, and I've always been good at my classes. My parents were always proud of me and my accomplishments. But once my powers manifested, it was clear that I'm a Mutant. My parents just wanted me to be normal. They didn't get that my ice powers are as much a part of me as… being a turtle is a part of you. My parents gave me the name Bobby, and since they've discovered what I am, they've given me nothing but emotional pain. My friends gave me the name Iceman, and since I've come here, I have friends, acceptance, and support."

Michelangelo whistled. "Whoa, dude, that's rough. I'm sorry to hear that you had such a tough way to go."

Giving a half-smile, Bobby said, "Thanks, Mike."

Angel frowned, trying to determine how much he wanted to share. "My father," he spat bitterly, "the distinguished Warren Worthington II, fully supported Senator Kelley in all of his anti-Mutant legislation. Out of desperation born from trying not to be a thing my father despises, I tried to cut my wings off."

Donatello cringed. "Ouch!"

Angel sighed. "No kidding. It didn't work. After wasting a perfectly good set of garden shears and countless bandages and wads of gauze, they grew back. If I could take a serum or something to remove my X-gene, my father would be delighted." He stared off wistfully. "But you know… personally, I just want a chance to be me, as I was born to be. Being here helps. It would be even better if my father could accept me for who I am and what I am."

Donatello nodded. "So, Angel is a much more fitting name than Warren Worthington, as you share that name with one who hates you."

"Exactly."

Rogue had no desire to share her very private reason for running away from home with these new people. Well, not yet, anyway. So she took the reins of the conversation. "So now you know why Mutant names are so important to us. But I can also see why you guys wouldn't need them.

"Now it's your turn for information sharing. You've said that you were hatched as normal turtles. So how do you have a father who taught you how to be ninjas?"

Leonardo smiled. It wasn't Master Splinter's favorite story, but it was the story of their… creation as humanoid turtles. "Raphael mentioned baby turtles in a fishbowl. Well, we were brought home from a pet shop in a goldfish bowl by a young boy, an average human we later found out was named Zach. Zach was a small boy who lost his footing and dropped our bowl over a storm drain. Needless to say, the bowl broke and we fell in, and landed on… I'd normally say 'an average human,' but our teacher, master, and father was never average, but extraordinary. Still, he was what you might call 'Normal.' So, Hamato Yoshi, a ninja master and human, acquired four pet turtles that dropped on him from above.

"Once he had us securely in his arms and safe for transport to his home, all five of us were dosed with a powerful mutagen. We've had way too much experience and interaction with those, but this one had the power to combine the genetic material of the animal it fell on with the creature it spent the most time with." There were understanding nods all around. "For us, we'd been around the pet shop employees, Zach, and the man who would become our father and Sensei. But at that point, our Sensei had spent a lot of time caring for and training pet rats."

Kitty jerked her head. "If your mutation made you more human, then… did the mutation of your Sensei make him… more of a rat?"

The four Turtles observed the four humans. From what they could tell, there was… not so much disgust but undisguised curiosity at Sensei's fate. The Turtles shared a glance, and Leonardo nodded and continued. "Yes. So Master Splinter is a humanoid rat who maintained his human mind, consciousness, and skills."

Michelangelo piped in, "And he's got wicked sharp teeth that can splinter wood as easily as he can with his hands and feet, and super awesome balance because of his tail."

Donatello murmured, "Maybe you guys can meet him later."

Angel thought about this. "Sounds good. But what is an extraordinary ninja master…"

"You realize that is a redundancy, right?"

Angel rolled his eyes at Donatello, ran a hand through his hair, and tried again. "Well… what was he doing, hanging out in a sewer?"

Raphael grew belligerent. "That, my friend, is classified information." All four non-turtle Mutants raised their eyebrows and took a step back.

Donatello patted Raphael's back soothingly, but cleared his throat. "Raphael's right, though. It's Sensei's story, and he doesn't share it with just anyone. He's got his reasons."

Bobby took a deep breath. "It sounds like you've proven Professor Xavier's general axiom – every one of us has a story and a reason for being here. I see that no matter how or why we got here, we can find stuff in common. I mean… you guys like Rocky. What's not to like? I'm looking forward to seeing what else we have in common."

Ororo Munroe, otherwise known as Storm, listened as her students got used to each other. It seemed to her that this was a good time to enter. "Good morning, class. I'm sorry for being late, but it sounds like you were productive in my absence." She smiled at the Turtles. "Last night, you were told that we are currently reading Romeo and Juliet. We are up to Act II, scene 2. Have you caught up?"

Raphael said, "Yes, Ms. Munroe. This scene is almost as over-exposed as Hamlet's 'To be or not to be' monologue, or any line of Polonius that has become cliché to the extreme. 'But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?/ It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!' It's a great scene, but wow – it's got potential for leaking saccharine."

Rogue decided she liked Raphael's perspective.

Storm smiled. "I can see why you might feel that way."

Michelangelo raised his hand. Storm called on him. "Based on today's earlier conversation, I think it's just as well."

Leonardo raised his eyebrows. "I didn't take you for a Shakespeare buff."

Michelangelo grinned. "It's always cool to discover new things, and stuff like this has awesome potential for fun! But the thing is this: the scene is about introduction and acknowledging parts of identity that might otherwise… really suck."

Storm covered her mouth, amused. "Go on."

The youngest Turtle was in his element. "It's like this. It starts, 'Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?' Another one of those overdone lines Raphael was talkin' about before. But this is the important part. 'Deny thy father and refuse thy name.' And if he won't, then she will. And then she goes on. 'Oh! Be some other name:/ What's in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet;/ So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,/ Retain that dear perfection which he owes/ Without that title.'

"See, Juliet is, at the same time, objecting to Romeo's last name, Montague, as saying that names aren't all that important. So she's saying that names are important, but they shouldn't be. And then Romeo goes and agrees with her. He says, 'My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,/ Because it is an enemy to thee.'

"So, he doesn't like his name, because he sees that if she only pays attention to his name, she won't like him. And that's just like what we were talking about before. For some of us, the names we were given at… well, at the start of our, uh… humanity (kinda) are a sign of the care and love we were given. And for others, these legal names are badges of shame from those who would hurt us. Like Juliet asks Romeo to give up his name Montague, as it's a sign that her family would hate him for having it."

The room was silent for fifteen seconds, and then it burst into applause. Michelangelo jumped in surprise, but grinned at his reception. Once that subsided, he said, "Thanks, everyone." He furrowed his brows. "Is that, um, a normal response?"

Kitty smiled. "It is, when you give such a great answer." Michelangelo beamed.

Storm also smiled. "With brilliant analysis like that, it's clear that you will be a serious asset in this class. Welcome, and I look forward to working with you."

Raphael pursed his lips, nodded, and murmured to Donatello, "I think I'm gonna like it here."