"Well, I don't normally hang out with strangers like this, but you don't seem so bad."
She held out her hand. "I'm Hope. What's your name?"
"Raphael," he said, taking the offered hand, "You don't seem so bad yourself."
She eyed him up and down.
"Hmm. You're one of those mutant people, huh?"
It had only been a few years since mutants had been discovered, and the humans were still getting used to them roaming around the streets.
"Guess I am," he said indifferently. Ever since it was acceptable for him to walk around in broad daylight, he heard this question so often, it no longer offended him. "So how about that drink, huh?
"Sure thing. Where do you have in mind?" The platinum haired girl queried. She made a mental note to ask about his mutation later, once they were more relaxed.
"I know a place that serves a mean plate of chili cheese fries. It's not far." He gestured down the street with a confident smirk.
"You know, Raphael, I have never had chili cheese fries before…" she admitted and started to follow him down the street. It was a semi-warm evening, and she had her yellow hooded jumper draped over her arm.
"You don't know what you're missin' then," he said as he pushed open an aluminum door that led into a busy bar. The patrons were mostly mutants, mingled with a handful of humans, all laughing, drinking and dancing with no thought of the different species. She looked around in awe. Nodding, impressed by his choice, she looked to him.
"This is great. Good choice," she smiled and sauntered into find a table.
"What're you drinking tonight?" he asked, ready to take her order to the tall frog-faced mutant tending the bar.
"Just a beer, thanks,"she smiled up at him. As he left to retrieve their drinks, she looked around the bar. If she was truthful to herself, she had stayed clear of the mutant scene ever since they'd become part of society. She felt a little out of place at the bar.
"There ya are. Plus an extra-large cheese fries," Raphael said, setting a frosty mug in front of her before setting down his own and a plate, overflowing with french fries, cheese, jalapenos and sour cream.
"Uh wow, thanks…" She was overwhelmed by his generosity. Gazing at his plate she remarked, "Huh, mutants sure eat a lot…" before clamping her hand over her mouth. She dared not look at him, not knowing what to expect from his reaction.
Raphael threw back his head and laughed loudly. "You think this is a lot, you should see my little brother. Mikey can eat three of these." He took a long pull from his mug before setting it down with a satisfied sigh.
Hope smirked and chewed on a fry. "Is your brother a…" She waved her hand around looking for the right word. "Uh… What… What are you exactly…?"
"Give you three good guesses," he said sarcastically, grabbing a handful of fries and shoving them into his mouth. He wasn't really offended, but his rough, pugnacious nature made him sound irritated and insulted. Hope felt slightly uncomfortable at his response.
"Uh I dunno, man… You look like a tortoise…" She nervously chewed on another fry, hoping she hadn't offended him. She'd only ever met one other mutant, and that hadn't ended very well. Raphael smirked wryly.
"Turtle, actually, but good guess." He leaned back in his chair and swallowed another gulp of beer. "I've been called a frog, a lizard, even a freakin' gecko, but tortoise is new. You'd think the shell would be a dead giveaway."
Hope stifled a snort. "A turtle. Okay." She wasn't trying to be rude, but she came across that way.
Raph liked this girl. She had spunk, and he appreciated that in a person, human or mutant. "So what about you? What are you?" he asked facetiously, wiping a smear of chili and cheese off his lip.
Hope scoffed. "I'm a human. Just a normal human, no mutations… That I know of…" She smirked and pointed down at the almost empty plate. "These are really great. Good shout!" She praised.
Raph drained his mug and set it down heavily on the table. "Whatever you do, don't try to put those on a pizza. Trust me, it's not a good combo." He waved his hand in a forbidding gesture, emphasizing the word 'not'.
"Why would anyone… put fries on a pizza…?" She questioned suspiciously, eyeing the turtle.
"My brother thinks he's some kind of culinary genius when it comes to making pizza," Raph said irritably, grabbing a fry and scraped up a glob of chili with it. "One time, he put hot sauce, hot fudge, and Red Hots on a pizza because he wanted to make the ultimate hot pizza." He shook his head and sighed as he dropped the fry into his mouth.
"You're brother sounds like a riot!" Hope chuckled, finishing off her plate. She stared down at it. Was now the time to ask? "So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, Raphael, how did you come to be a mutant… turtle…?"
Raphael sighed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "It's… a really long story." He looked up and smiled as she leaned forward expectantly, eager to hear more. "My father bought my brothers and me from a pet shop and was taking us home when he ran into some guys he knew were up to no good."
Hope leaned further forward, realizing this was going to be an interesting story. She waved her hand to show she wanted to hear more.
He smiled, flattered by her interest. "Turns out, they were the Kraang in their robot suits, handing off some mutagen. You remember the Kraang?"
"Oh yeah. I was one of the lucky citizens with a sexy Kraang head for a short while." She recalled. "But go on…"
"Well, they saw that my dad was following 'em and were gonna kill him. He fought them off and kicked their metal asses single handed." His voice was laced with pride. He knew how hard it was to defeat those freaky aliens, especially alone, and Splinter had done it holding a bowl full of baby turtles. "But they dropped the mutagen they were carrying and Splinter stepped into it. When he started changing, he dropped our bowl, and we got covered in the stuff too."
"Oh… So you weren't human before you got mutated…?" She asked curiously. "Did your Dad… mutate into a turtle too?" She was starting to like this guy. Anyone who had this much enthusiasm while talking about their parent was alright in her book.
"Nope," he replied shortly. "I've always been a turtle. As for Splinter… well, a rat ran by his foot before the fight with the Kraang. Now he's a giant rat." He stood up with a groan and gestured to her drink. "I'm gonna get a refill. Want one?"
"Sure," she replied quickly, mulling over his story. Sure, it was weird, but looking around the bar, there were probably loads of different stories about how people got mutated in the first place. She decided not to grill him further about it and thought of the perfect subject to replace it with.
Raphael returned to the table, placing a new mug of frothy beer in front of her. Some of the amber liquid sloshed over the side and spilled on the polished wooden surface.
"Dammit, sorry," he apologized gruffly, mopping at the mess with a handful of paper napkins. He silently cursed his shaking hands. At least the girl hadn't fled in fear of him yet. That kind of thing still happened, even with mutants slowly becoming accepted in society, and Raph could help but be surprised that Hope had stuck with him this long.
"It's cool," she smiled. "So… Do you think the mutant marriage law will be passed?" She blurted. It was the talk of the city at that time. Whether or not mutants should be allowed to marry not only each other, but humans too. What with Hope not having really conversed with a mutant before, she just had to hear his opinion.
He blinked. She seriously wanted to talk about that? Donnie has spoken about it at length, which was the only reason Raph knew much about it. Mutants being recognized as citizens had been a battle in itself, but now they were talking about marriage. Something that Raph had never thought would happen to him. To combat his uncertainty, he chuckled sardonically. "Is that a proposal?"
Hope was not in any way ready for his reply. "Woah… What?!" She stammered. "No! Jeez, man." She felt her face burning. "I've just never had the chance to actually discuss it with a… mutant." She scratched the back of her head.
He waved his head, with a sigh. "Sorry… that was outta line." He cupped his sweating mug with both hands staring intently at the foamy liquid. "I dunno what to think about it," he admitted, "My brother's in love with this girl… and marrying her would make him really happy. I want that for him, but other than that, it doesn't matter much to me if someone like me can get married…" He stopped, pursing his lips awkwardly.
Hope cocked an eyebrow at him. "The same brother who tried to make the world's hottest pizza… is in love with a girl…? Interesting." She smirked. "You've got no one… special then?"
"Nah, nobody like that." he said, shaking his head. "And Donnie's the one in love with April, not Mikey. All three of them have been crazy about a girl at one time or another. Just too much trouble for me."
Hope held her hand up to stop him. "Hold up, hold up, man. How many brothers do you have…?" Her head was starting to feel a little woozy with the alcohol and the sudden mention of a few different names was confusing her. He grinned mischievously, recognizing the first signs of drunkenness in her face.
"I've got three brothers. Leo's the oldest, then me, then Donnie, then Mikey."
"And you're all... tortoises... Turtles...?" She asked, starting to feel a lot more relaxed. Bringing the glass to her lips, she took a large swig, leaving a dash of foam on her nose.
"Yep," he replied, leaning back nonchalantly in his seat. "We're all walking, talking, mask-wearing turtles." He was glad that Hope had decided to come with him to get drinks. The last few times he had asked a girl out, she had screamed and run in fear of him. It was nice to have a human girl look past his appearance and treat him like a real person.
"Yeah… I was gonna ask about the mask… But you know, I thought it might be too personal. Had to get the mutations, family, and marriage proposals out of the way first!" She joked, sloshing her beer around, giggling. She never thought that she would ever get to have fun with a… mutant. This guy… he was starting to sway her opinions of the new race.
Raph fidgeted with the tattered tails of his mask subconsciously. "My dad gave them to us when we were kids… something about how the colors reflect our personalities or something like that." He made himself put his hands back on the table and willed himself to keep them still.
She narrowed her eyes at him, gazing at his scarred hands. "So… red for danger? Anger…?" Mulling this over out loud she realized she had indeed hit a sensitive nerve with him. "Sorry, man. You don't need to talk about it. I'm just being nosey. My family… are really…" she brought her voice down to a whisper. "… Anti-Mutant. They would flip their lids if they knew I was in this place."
He was silent for a long time, staring thoughtfully at the table top. Part of him wondered if Hope's family was part of those radical anti-mutant leagues that picketed mutant rights rallies or threatened violence against mutants. Raph recalled the vegetables that had been thrown at him, the terrible slurs and jeers. He wasn't afraid of those people, but he felt the same way he did when his family had to hide in the sewers just to survive.
"And what do you think of us?" he heard himself asking quietly, unable to meet her gaze.
They had literally just met. She'd never had this deep a conversation with a human, let alone a mutant. She nursed her glass, trying to think of the right answer, before sighing and being honest with him.
"Curious." She let the word leave her lips and tasted it. Yes, it was how she felt. Looking up from her drink she continued. "I have to be honest with you, Raphael, I was dead set against you guys having any sort of rights for a long time."
Hearing the admission felt like a punch to his gut. While he admired her bluntness, it hurt to think that this girl may not think have considered him to be a person. After all, he didn't look like a human, why should he be treated like one? "I should go," he grunted sullenly, rising from the table.
"Wait." She sighed, grabbing his arm. "I meant what I said… about being curious. My family… are anti-mutation. But I always was… well… curious." She kept a hold of his arm, feeling how rough his skin was. "I never had the chance to speak to one… to a mutant… before. Stay, please."
There was a long paused, only filled with the buzzing of the busy patrons. Finally, he retook his seat. "When I was a kid… my dad told us that humans were dangerous, and that if they found us, they would want to hurt us." Raphael muttered resignedly. "When we met April, we started to learn that not all humans were bad. There were terrible ones, yeah. Ones who called us names, who screamed in our faces and threw things at us. But there were humans who gave us a chance… to be more than just mutants."
Hope nodded sadly. "Yes. And I've been around those dangerous humans. I guess… I just wanted to see for myself." She hid a smile, know that she was definitely swayed by him. "Let me get the next round." She announced and got up from her seat.
"Sure," he said and watched as she maneuvered her way through the crowd toward the bar. Tipping his mug up, he swallowed the remainder of his beer and wiped the remnants off his snout with the back of his hand. He hadn't spoken this openly with anyone about how different he was, especially not with a human. But somehow, he trusted this girl. She wasn't going to throw it back in his face. He was sure of that.
"There." She carefully placed his mug down. Taking a large swig from her own, emptying almost half the glass, she finally sat down. "Look, man. I am not a bad person." She let out a less than feminine belch and clicked her tongue. "Just. You know. Give me a chance to understand?"
Raph smirked, impressed at the length and volume of the belch as he looked her over. Her face was earnest, her eyes pleading. She genuinely did want to understand him, he could feel it. Grasping his mug, he raised it towards hers. "Second chances aren't really something I'm good at, but I'll make an exception. Since you asked nicely."
A big smile spread across her lips. "Well, thank you." She took another small sip of her beer, feeling the alcohol really rush to her head now. "Here's how I see it. You got bad mutants. But you also got bad humans. In all honesty, mutants aren't any different from humans. At least that's what I tried to tell my family before they kicked me out-" she stopped abruptly, very aware of just how deep she was going here.
The smirk instantly fell away. They had kicked her out for sympathizing with mutants? Anger towards Hope's family began clouding his mind, tinging his vision with red. His hand tightened so hard on his mug, his knuckles turned white. "That's freaking wrong. You oughta stand up to 'em."
She sighed deeply and met his green eyes. "My brother… was mutated." She admitted. "He went totally crazy. I mean bat shit insane. My parents… they locked him in our cellar." She paused here to take in his reaction.
Raphael's stomach turned at the inhumane treatment her brother had gone through at the hands of his own parents. His jaw set and the faint tinge of red in his vision deepened to a hazy cloud. "Ah, jeez. I'm sorry, kid. When did it happen?"
"Within the first few months of the mutant rights rallies." She hung her head. It wasn't especially easy to talk about, even more so that she hadn't actually told him the worst part. But his reaction was so fiery, so raw, that she couldn't bear to go on. "So…" She hastened to change the subject. "What do you do then? Do you and your brothers have jobs?"
He decided to let the subject slide. The pain in her eyes betrayed just how raw the wounds were.
"Leo started his own dojo a little bit after the first citizenship laws were passed. He's only got about five students, but the kids are loving that they can learn to be ninjas. Donnie's working on his degree in mechanical engineering, but he knows all that stuff anyway. He just wanted to go to school and get the degree. And Mikey…. he's doing his own web show out of our kitchen. Some kind of 'adventurous cooking', but I'd never eat that crap." He swallowed more of the beer and choked back a hiccup. "And I'm a bouncer at a club a few blocks from here. Not great work but the pay's good, and sometimes I get to rough up some of the sickos who get too close to the girls."
Listening deeply to his words, she nodded. "It sounds like you guys really landed on your feet. I mean, I wasn't even aware there were mutants for so many years, you must've been in hiding, huh?" Her glass clinked on her teeth, telling her that it was empty, again. Her head was spinning slightly. "Well…" She partially slurred. "I think that's enough alcohol for one night." He put out her hand. "Raphael, it was wonderful to meet you." Her blue eyes shone, albeit slightly glazed over.
"Yeah, it is getting late," Raph said, rising to his feet. "I can walk you home if you want." He offered with a smile.
Hope exhaled swiftly and pursed her lips. "I kind of… um…" She hesitated, her cheeks flushing. "I don't really have a home…" Her eyes darted to everywhere, but his. "I sleep in my Lab."
Wow, this girl really can't catch a break, Raph thought as he helped her to stand. She swayed a little on her feet and he steadied her. "We have an extra room at our place. I don't wanna leave you alone like this." he said, concerned in spite of himself. He could tell she was tough; he could see it in her eyes, but she could find herself in danger if her brain was fogged by the effects of alcohol. In this city, anything could happen.
"What? No, don't be ridiculous, man!" She batted him away. "I've got a nice little set up. It's actually quite nice. I'm never late for work!" She joked awkwardly. The truth was, she did want to sleep in a proper bed, but she had just met this guy. And as interesting as he'd been, she couldn't fully trust him.
He flushed brightly, annoyed at his own stupidity. Of course she wouldn't go home with a guy, or mutant, she just met… What the hell is wrong with you? Clearing this throat, he said with as much dignity as he could muster, "I get it. Can I walk you back anyway?" He wanted to make up for his careless suggestion in any way he could. Seriously, in what possible world had such an offer been okay?
Mulling this over in her tipsy state, she came to a conclusion. "You know what, Raphael Turtle, I think you should walk me back. I've been having some issues with the… neighbors recently. A big strong… uh… you… Would help." Hope was useless with words at the best of times, let alone when she had alcohol in her system. She often came off rude or speciesist, but in reality, she struggled with how she came across to people.
Raph offered her his arm, wondering just how much trouble these neighbors might be giving her. If any of them said even one snide word to her, he would punch them into next week. "So where's your lab?" he asked, raising his voice a little to be heard over a laughing couple who were standing nearby.
"It's just down the street." She replied, worrying about how he'd react when he saw it. They paced arm in arm down the road until they arrived at a small warehouse with a sign above it that read: Brevin Laboratories. She gazed up at it fondly. "It's not much. There's just me. But it works and it makes me happy." Scrawled across the door was some vulgar graffiti that sported the words MUTANT HATER. She sighed irritably at the message. "This happens a lot. I've given up scrubbing it off."
Raph stared at the scrawled message for a long moment, contemplating what it could mean. Why would anyone believe she hated mutants? Did it have anything to do with what she'd said about how she hadn't wanted them to have rights for a long time? Sighing, he let go of her arm and turned to her.
"Got your key?" he asked gruffly.
Yep, that was exactly the reaction she expected. Now he wanted nothing more to do with her. She nodded and started to fumble in her shoulder bag until she found the key. Sliding it into the lock, she turned back to him and attempted a smile.
"Thanks, man. I really needed this." She yanked the large sliding door across and it opened with a clang to relieve a small lab bathed in darkness.
Raph saw shadows of a lot of different types of lab equipment, not knowing what any of it did. "No problem." He said shortly. He noticed the sad shame in her face, her attempt at a smile that wouldn't have convinced a baby. Impulsively, he asked, "Got a pen?"
"Uh… sure?" She hesitated, confused as to why he wasn't bolting. She clicked on the lights and the full array of equipment was illuminated. The walls were papered with charts and X-rays, there was a large DNA model half assembled in the corner and her desk was strewn with papers, filled with writings and various genetic drawings. Finding a pen amongst the mess, she handed it to him, a shadow of curiosity waved her face.
Taking the pen, Raph took her hand and scrawled a series of numbers on her palm. "If any of those 'neighbors' give you any trouble again, or if you wanna go get another beer, give me a call." he said as he handed the pen back to her.
"I, uh, yeah, sure…" Hope stuttered. She'd never gotten anyone's phone number before. Wondering what she could possibly have done to make someone give a damn about her, she slowly walked him to the door. "You're a good guy." She commented as he turned to leave.
"You're not so bad yourself." He replied with a smirk as he stepped out into the night. He gave her a little wave before turning and walking up the street toward home. Hopefully, Hope would call him. He didn't have a lot of human friends besides April, Casey and a few guys from work, and he liked what he saw in her. He'd never admit it to anybody, but he hoped that she liked what she saw in him too.
Hope gazed at the digits scrawled on her hand for a moment, then immediately started copying it down on a crumpled piece of paper. Looking around the lab for a safe place to put it, she settled for one of the pegs which would normally hold a string of X-rays. "There." She said triumphantly. Deep down in her mind, she secretly hoped to be bothered by her God-awful neighbors, just for the excuse to call him.