Title: "Too Many Doors, No Right Options"
Author: Kat Lee, formerly Pirate Turner
Rating: PG
Summary: Some days, the best option really is running away from your problems.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
"Okay," Leo panted hard as he drew his brothers into a huddle, "let's rehash our options."
"Options?" Raphael snarled. "What options, Leo? We either kick ass, have our shells kicked, or let April eat our brains!"
"Raphael, - " Leo started, but Mikey broke in.
"He does have a point, bro," he said as their enemies continued pounding on the doors, "but we can still look at this stitch if you really wanna waste time we could be using to make an escape plan."
Raphael growled at the mere thought of running away. Michelangelo ignored him and looked to Donatello. "Donnie, what's behind door number one?"
"Shredder with an army of the most advanced Footbots we've ever encountered. Given time, we could defeat them. I could reprogram them, but their sheer number is likely to be enough to overwhelm us."
"And behind door number two?"
"Leather, Bebop, and Rocksteady."
"Door number three?"
"Baxter Stockman. That would probably be our easiest win."
"And from above?"
"An entire army of aliens who want to conquer our world and consider turtle meat a rare delicacy." His expression made it clear he was trying not to shudder. "They have already made it abundantly clear how eager they are to try Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Raphael groaned, rubbing his arm where a chunk of his green shoulder was missing from a bite.
"And we totally can't forget door number four," Mikey concluded, "where every one's favorite reporter has gone Zombiefied and is looking to gnash turtle brains."
"Indeed." This time, Donatello did shudder.
"So, ya see, fearless leader," Mikey spoke, looking back to Leonardo, "we don't really have many options here, and sometimes," he looked pointedly at Raphael, "running away is the best route for a turtle who wants to live."
"I still don't like it," Raphael started.
"Neither do we," Donatello agreed, "but you have to admit - "
"Hey, guys!" Casey Jones' voice cut through their conversation. "Are we gonna stand here and argue all night, or are we gonna escape while we still have our brains and lives?"
They looked to where he stood and broke out into grins. "God, I love being a Turtle!" Mikey exclaimed, staring at the manhole cover Casey held behind a large stack of boxes like it was the biggest, yummiest pizza in the world.
"Man, we aren't running away," Raphael moaned as three of the four doors started to break down.
"Tell that to them," Donatello advised.
"The wise Ninja knows when it is best to escape into the night to live to fight another day," said Leo.
"Besides, dude," Mikey tried to reason, "even if we could take all these others, how are you gonna fight April? She'll eat your braaaaains!"
"ENOUGH YAMMERING, DOME HEADS," Casey shouted, "AND GET YOUR SHELLS IN THE SEWER!" Not waiting any longer, he jumped through the manhole.
The others started following him but not before one of the doors did shatter. "HURRY!" Mikey shouted at Donnie and began climbing down before he was entirely off the ladder. "GOING DOWN!" he called, once Don was clear, grabbed Raphael's foot and pulled him into the sewer with him.
"Hey!" Raph protested, but he was outnumbered as Mikey pulled from below and Leo shoved him down from above. They were just getting Raph clear when April grabbed Leo's shell.
Casey moved the fastest, coming back up the manhole as Leo struggled to free himself from April's scrambling fingernails and teeth without hurting his friend. Casey Jones, however, had no rush reservations as he knocked the reporter straight in her mouth with his golf club. Casey grinned as she went flying. "I always wanted to do that!"
They hurried away into the sewer before the others could come after them. They would live to fight another day, as Leo had prophesied, and together, they would do what Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did best and find a way to fix their world and heal their friend - again.
The End
