Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Be aware of the passage of time when having fun *winks*

Summary: '"I got something better for all of us to do," "Better than gamin', Mikey?"' After a night of extreme sports playing, the brothers must make their way home. Trouble is, their usual routes are blocked and the sun is rising fast. Just a silly story for the 2k3 turtles involving their Scooter, Bicycle, Roller Skates and Skateboard.

A/N: This is written for a friend's birthday. BlackKatJinx said "I kind of think there needs to be more silly stories for the 2k3 turtles involving their Scooter, Bicycle, Roller Skates and Skateboard."

Thanks to KJ's-Photography for the beta :-)

Burning Daylight

Michelangelo grinned broadly as he caught sight of his unsuspecting targets. He hurriedly lifted a single finger to his lips as Leonardo began to turn upon sensing his presence. Leo's dark eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion but he returned to watching his other brothers duking it out across multiple television screens without a word.

Donatello and Raphael were so caught up in their battle that they never noticed Leo's movement, nor the fact that Mikey had crept up and was now standing directly behind them. Mikey watched the screens as they played, then, right as Raph looked about to seize victory, Mikey struck!

Flinging his arms around Donnie's and Raph's necks, Mikey pulled them to the middle while leaning over the back of the seat so his own head was in between theirs. "How goes my most favourite bros ever?" he laughingly boomed.

"Mikey!" Donnie yelped, jumping in fright.

Raph, also jumping, simply growled his name furiously in warning and Mikey quickly turned on the charm.

"Good game?"

"I was about to win, ya little turd!" Raph snapped in annoyance.

"Looked a bit one sided to me," Mikey laughed, "so I thought I'd come to the rescue."

"I didn't need you to rescue me!" Donnie cried, sounding affronted at the mere thought.

Mikey pulled away and stood before bounding over the couch and landing seated between the two with an "ooph!" Leo looked on, shaking his head in exasperated amusement.

"I know, bro. I know how sneaky you play," he said with a wink. "Programmers, huh? Tough to beat. Annnnyway, I got something better for all of us to do," Mikey beamed, mischief alight in his eyes.

Raph deliberately made space between himself and Mikey and Mikey gave him a mock hurt look in return before realising he had three very suspicious gazes upon him.

"Better than gamin', Mikey?" Raph questioned, his tone full of disbelief. "Never thought I'd hear the day you said somethin' like that."

Mikey clasped his hands over his plastron, "You wound me, Raphie. Might just die of a broken heart."

Donnie sighed and grabbed Mikey's hands, moving them. "That's not where your heart is. Try here."

Mikey's eyes twinkled with silent laughter but he didn't respond to Donnie's correction. "Plenty of things better than gaming." At the immediate disbelieving expressions on three faces, he laughed and quickly amended, "Okay, okay, maybe not plenty of things but there are definitely some things."

"Like what?" Leo asked, his voice wary.

"Skateboarding, duh. "

"You are the only one of us who is actually interested in skateboarding," Donnie pointed out.

Mikey nodded, "True but you guys have your roller blades, bike and," he paused and snickered mockingly, "scooter."

Leo sighed, "Yes, we do but our old sewer skate park is too far away from here..."

"Not to mention falling apart by now," Donnie interjected.

"... and we can't go to the surface. We'd be seen."

Mikey turned and smiled cheekily in Leo's direction. "What if I knew somewhere we could go and just let go without being seen?"

"Then I would consider it," Leo replied cautiously, "but where would such a place exist in this city? Last time we had a blackout to cover us. We are unlikely to be so lucky again."

"Well dude, remember how I went to get pizzas the other night and I went on my skateboard?"

"Yes..." Leo drew the word out, a foreboding feeling spreading throughout his body.

Mikey reached up a hand and scratched nervously at his chin while looking away from Leo. "Well, while I was out, I totally saved some dude from being mugged and he offered me a reward."

"Michelangelo!"

"Dude, it's cool! I told him that heroes don't need rewards but he totally insisted!"

Raphael shook his head and sighed, "How many times do I gotta tell ya, Mikey? We ain't superheroes, we're ninja!"

"Speak for yourself, bro!" Mikey quickly retorted. "I'm the Turtle Titan! But since I wasn't in costume, I said heroes, not superheroes. Does Raphie need his ears waxed?" he added, teasing.

"Your point, Michelangelo?" Leo asked in a long suffering tone.

Mikey brightened. "Oh yeah! My point is, the dude saw my skateboard and since he's the manager of an indoor skate park, he offered to let us in after hours! Said he'd turn off the CCTV and everything! Just asked that we lock up when we're done!"

"You told him about the rest of us?"

Mikey shook his head emphatically, "No way, bro! He already knew about us! He saw us all, well, most of us, before during the Triceraton Invasion when we were out in broad daylight. One of you guys saved him and his boyfriend then! He's been wanting a chance to show his gratitude ever since!" Mikey gazed at the thoughtful gazes around the room.

"Come on, guys! We might never get another chance and Don, he did say you were welcome to check the CCTV was off for yourself. Well, he didn't say you specifically but you know what I mean," Mikey pleaded, digging into his arsenal and added his patented puppy dogs eyes technique.

Leo, Donnie and Raph looked at each other, contemplating Mikey's words. For his part, Mikey kept up the expression he knew they had so much trouble saying no to. Finally they all nodded.

"All right. We'll go check it out but if there is any sign of trouble or deception, we are out of there." Leonardo finally acquiesced.

"Awesome!" Mikey cried in delight. "Then let's go! He said he'd wait for us until ten thirty!"

-:-

The four excited brothers arrived at the back entrance at twenty past ten and knocked. Within a couple of minutes, the door opened revealing the smiling manager. He and Mikey exchanged a high five and a grin before welcoming the turtles inside. He led them through the building, showing them all around as he went.

Mikey gazed in starstruck awe at all the ramps, pipes, half-pipes, jumps and other obstacles. "Dude, this is epic! Thanks so much for this, Sander!"

Sander chuckled, "You're welcome, Mikey."

Raph elbowed Mikey and hissed into his ear slit, "On first name basis now, are we?"

"Sure am!"

"You are far too trusting for our own good!"

"And sometimes bro, you aren't trusting enough."

Sander led the way to the office and gave Donnie access to the security system so the genius could confirm for himself that the facility was indeed safe for them. Once Donnie was satisfied, Sander took Mikey and the others back to the main area.

"Concession stand is over there. Help yourselves to whatever drinks or snacks you like but please don't leave a mess for my employees to question in the morning. If you could, please write a list of whatever you consume and leave it underneath my keyboard so I can cover the costs without anyone else noticing," the human explained. "Anyway, I need to get home before my family starts worrying so I'll leave you to it. Have fun guys. Seeya Mikey!"

Mikey grinned in excitement, "Thanks again, Sander! Later, dude!"

Once the human left the building, the brothers turned and gazed at the extreme sports playground laid out in front of them in wonder. Then Mikey began running towards a series of half-pipes, throwing his skateboard down in front and jumping onto it.

"Cowabunga!"

-:-

The next few hours passed quickly and the brothers had the time of their lives. Even Leo actually managed to relax and live in the moment.

There were races, obstacle courses and stunts galore as each ninja tried to one up the other, even going so far as to swap wheels for a couple of races and laugh themselves stupid at the antics and relative ineptitude some brothers displayed with another's equipment.

Mikey happily watched his chatting and laughing siblings as he noisily slurped the remains of a Slushie. Tonight had been a complete success! Not even Leo or Raph could deny the fun they'd had and it had been such a long time since the four of them could really relax like this, just playing like the teenage brothers they actually were. He turned his head back to the playground in front of him and jumped lightly to his feet. Mikey quickly tossed his cup into the bag Leo had scrounged for their rubbish and whooped.

"Course is calling me again bros, see you out there!"

"Okay."

Then Leo glanced up at the clock above the concession stand and paled. "Shell! Actually, Mikey, sorry but we need to go."

Mikey stopped and twisted around on his board to face Leo, "Why bro? We've only been here a couple of hours."

"More like all night. The sun's about to rise. We need to get moving, now."

Mikey looked up to the clock Leo was pointing to in shock. He knew time flew when you were having fun but this was ridiculous. He couldn't understand how the entire night had slipped away so quickly. Mikey sighed and reluctantly skated back to his scrambling brothers who were hurriedly removing all traces of them being there.

Once they were done, Donnie raced to the office and reset the security system with a time delay long enough for him to get out while the others left the building. They disposed of their rubbish in the dumpster outside while waiting for Donnie.

To Leo's horror and Mikey's complete surprise, the sky was already beginning to lighten at the edges and traffic on the roads was starting to build up. There was no chance to get into the nearest sewer entrance so instead, via alleyway, the brothers made their way to the next entrance over. Unfortunately they discovered a truck parked next to it and numerous sewer workers already descending into the deep, dark depths. Leo crept forward to listen and when he returned, his face was ashen.

"It seems there is a gas leak below guys but the city isn't quite sure exactly where. Reports have come from several blocks around the area of the rising scent," Leo explained. "The workers are spreading out to find and fix it before something goes wrong and there's an explosion."

"Oh, that's just peachy," Raph grumbled. "I knew somethin' was gonna go wrong."

"You said that about the skate park, Raph," Mikey retorted, "but this has nothing to do with that."

Donnie nodded, "The only thing that has gone wrong in regards to the park is that we lost track of time."

"Whatever." Raph crossed his arms. "Guess we'll have to take to the roofs. Don't expect me ta help carry your lame wheels." He scowled at Leo and Donnie.

"Would never even dream of it," Leo responded dryly. "Well, we better get moving then. It's getting light and our wheels will make us stand out too much."

Silently, the four ninja made their way to the nearest fire escape and raced each other up. Mikey snickered at Leo and Donnie's encumbered efforts the whole way.

Raph reached the top first and stopped dead with Mikey directly below him.

"What you stop for, Raphie?"

Raph scowled and moved his foot so it pressed into Mikey's mouth as he hissed, "Shut up, lame brain."

Mikey pulled away, disgusted by the foot in his mouth and silently resolved to prank Raph in retaliation later. He swung around the side of the ladder and shuffled up beside Raph to peer over the top. His eyes widened at the sight before him.

There was at least fifteen humans on the roof. All were awake, most set up in deck chairs and chatting merrily as another cooked breakfast meat on a nearby barbecue. The majority of the party were facing where the soon to rise sun would appear.

A soft sound came from below as Leo cleared his throat, seeking information. Mikey glanced down and grinned before effortlessly sliding downwards until he was at Leo's level. His eyes twinkled with amusement as he met Leo's inquisitive gaze. "Rooftop sunrise party, dude."

Donnie groaned quietly from below.

Leo grimaced. "And since we need to head east, we don't have a chance of getting past them without being seen. Not even from other nearby buildings."

"What now, Fearless?" Raph asked as he joined them on the other side of the ladder.

Leo was silent a moment, fully aware of his brothers waiting for him to provide a plan of action. "We'll just have to remain at ground level and make our way over a few blocks. Either way, it's going to be too light by then so we won't be able to take to the rooftops again. We need to find a sewer entrance past the range of the workers and fast." He shifted his scooter into a new, more comfortable position.

Raphael grinned almost evilly, "How about I just call Casey for a lift? He can borrow April's van and pick us up right quick."

Donnie threw Raph a nasty look, "Not without waking April to borrow the keys, he can't and sadly, I didn't bring my bag tonight so I don't have the remote control for the Battle Shell with me."

"Besides, wasn't Casey out drinking with some work buddies last night?" Mikey asked.

Raph's grin broadened, "Yeah, so?"

Leo sighed, "We really should have been more vigilant in regards to the time. We made our own beds, now we have to lay in them. Don't wake Casey."

"Killjoy."

"Let's get moving, turtles," Leo commanded. "We're fast running out of shadows."

Raph and Mikey mock saluted Leo and Donnie rolled his eyes at their antics in this situation, muttering, "Children," and then the four brothers started moving, making their way back to the ground.

The first couple of roads they needed to cross weren't much hassle. With but a short wait at each, the brothers easily found chances to dash across the street to the next alleyway but traffic began to steadily become heavier as the sky continued to brighten. Soon even the occasional pedestrian started to make an appearance. Worse, the only sewer entrances they came across were still within the search area of the workers below, not to mention, in plain sight of the users of the roads.

On one particular road, Mikey and the others had been waiting for a chance to get across for nearly ten minutes now and things were beginning to look grim. Leo started to make noises about possibly having to hide in the shadows of an alley all day and Raph was threatening to just call April or Casey after all. As the two quietly argued, Mikey and Donnie kept staring around the corner into the street.

A pedestrian walked past, causing Donnie to hurriedly slip back into hiding but Mikey, who stayed put, noticed the human carelessly toss something towards the bin and frowned when she missed yet kept right on walking.

Donnie hissed in Mikey's ear, "You should have ducked back Mikey! What if they saw you?"

Mikey snickered, amused. Sure, it was a chance him staying put but so was moving. Sometimes movement attracted attention, something Splinter often reminded him of when he fidgeted while holding forms for a time in training. Heck, that was how Leo usually ended up finding him in their games of hide and seek. His eyes drifted down to the rubbish that had just missed the bin and then lit up as an idea struck.

Stepping backwards into the alley, Mikey looked to Donnie, "Bro, can I borrow your bo for a minute?"

Donatello looked confused at the sudden request, not having seen what Mikey had but he handed over his weapon without complaint. "What do you need my bo for?"

Mikey grinned again, "'cause I don't have a fishing rod of course." Then he turned and sidled back to the edge of the alley. He peeked past the edge, unaware that he now had the wary attention of all three brothers. Once the coast was clear, Mikey stretched out with the long weapon, pressed the end down to the ground and dragged the discarded rubbish back towards his feet.

"What do you want with a newspaper?" Raph asked, eyes narrowed as it came into sight. "You barely even know how to read."

Mikey stuck his tongue out and handed Donnie back his staff, even as he used his foot to flip the paper up into his waiting hands. Mikey stared, pleased at the paper. It was one of the nice, extra large ones. He pulled a couple of the sheets off and tossed the remains of the paper towards Leo.

"Camouflage, dude!" Mikey laughed as he held them up, obscuring one side of his body.

"How the shell's that supposed to help, shell-for-brains?" Raph scowled at the flimsy sheets.

Leo's eyes brightened. "It's a one way street with a bend just a short distance ahead," he said with realisation. "If we can get enough of a break in traffic and pedestrians, we can make a run for it. We'll be seen but no one will realise we aren't human."

"Sounds like a crap idea," Raph grumbled. "Oh yeah, that's because Mikey thought of it!"

"We just need to get the timing right," Donnie said thoughtfully. "As long as no one is walking from the other direction and we wait until the cars past us are around the bend, we can do this."

Mikey, watching the street again, abruptly turned and grinned at Leo. He then suddenly skated out and across the road, accompanied by angry tooting of car horns but he made it across safely nonetheless.

Leo shook his head. "Chancy," he muttered, unimpressed by the recklessness of the action. He moved up to the corner to take Mikey's place, glancing back to see Donnie get ready to move. After a short while, a break in the traffic came. "Go, Don!" Leo ordered.

"Ya know, this is stupid, right Leo?" Raph asked quietly as he watched Donatello ride no handed to the other side while holding up sheets of newspaper on one side.

"It's certainly not the best idea ever but it's all we have to work with right now. There isn't even a sewer entrance in this alley we could use after the workers have gone," Leo explained. "It's this or hide here all day."

Raphael grumbled some more but got ready and waited for the word to move. Suddenly it came and both Leo and Raph moved, dashing across the road. Just as they were almost to safety, a car sped past. The slipstream created by its passage tore one of the delicate sheets of print Raph was holding and almost exposed him to view.

"Shell!" he seethed and Mikey snickered at his expense. Raph quickly reached out and cuffed him across the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"I'm gonna stuff these pages down your throat if ya keep that up!" Raph threatened.

"Will you two quiet down?" Leo hissed. "In case you didn't notice, we are not in the clear yet!"

"Sorry Leo," the two brightly banded ninja apologised quickly in unison.

The four ninja kept moving, finding the next couple of roads far easier to pass, even while carting bike and scooter. Mikey just sailed freely across the streets and the park on his skateboard while Raph had the laces of his blades looped through the back of his belt. There was no unnecessary noise, nor arguments as they proceeded; just professional ninja silence and movement.

All too soon, they were once more trapped by traffic in another alleyway and the ambient light was almost to full daylight. As the desperate brothers stood in the receding shadows trying to work out what to do, Donatello suddenly realised that four had become three.

"Where's Mikey?" Donnie asked, eyes full of worry as he gazed around.

"He was with us when we entered this alley," Leo observed, his voice stressed as he fought back another sigh, wondering why Mikey couldn't exhibit his disappearing ability so well in training.

"Gonna smack that knuckle-head from one end of the sewers to the other if somethin' happened to him!" Raph snarled, trying to mask his sudden fear.

"Guh!" Donnie jumped, yelping in shock as a white clad hand suddenly clasped his shoulder and all three turtles turned to face the...

… sheet covered Michelangelo?

Mikey waved his hands out in front of himself, laughing as he exclaimed, "Oooh, I'm a scary ghost!"

"It ain't Halloween, bonehead and the only one scared of ghosts is you!" Raph snarled irritably.

"Only when they're real, bro!" Mikey snickered and before Raph could retort, he turned to Donnie. "Dude! You should have seen your face! It was hilarious!"

Donatello flushed in embarrassment.

"This is not the time nor place for joking around, Michelangelo," Leonardo reprimanded harshly.

Mikey sobered, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry, bros."

"Where'd you get the sheet from?" Raph asked suspiciously, "and why?"

Mikey pointed up to a line stretched between the two buildings about five stories up. "This is why," he said brightly and covered himself up so that only his eyes could be seen. "See you on the other side!" he snickered, then jumped back onto his waiting skateboard and propelled himself across the road.

Leo sighed once more. The night had been so much fun but this morning was ever so trying. He looked up towards the clothesline, seeing one more larger sheet spread across. Within moments, Leonardo was up the side of the building and removing it guiltily. Once he reached the ground again, Leo tossed it towards Raph and Donnie. "You'll have to share."

"You've gotta be kidding," Raph stared accusingly.

"If you have a better idea, do tell," Leo threw back. "At least we won't be seen."

"No but we'll be a laughing stock of the humans who do see us running around like this!"

Donnie spread the sheet, taking note of its size. He then looked up at his leader. "What about you, Leo? This will definitely only be big enough to cover two of us adequately. Do you want one of us to cross back over here for you?"

Leonardo glanced disdainfully at the sheet and then out at the street. He briefly saw Mikey grinning and waving cheekily back at him. Then he smiled. "I'm a ninja, Don. I can make it across without being seen."

Raph glared. "Then so can I!" he challenged

"Just get across with Don, Raph." Leo suddenly smirked, "Oh, and take my scooter with you."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Come on, Raph," Donnie sighed. "Let's just get this over and done with. I would actually like to get home and sleep sometime today."

"But..." Raph turned back to argue with Leo once more but the blue banded leader was no longer in sight. Tired of all this, he too sighed before joining Donnie under the sheet as they made their way across the road.

Once Raph and Donnie reached the alley on the other side, they shucked their cover and Raph turned to see Leo standing there smiling smugly at him.

Leo chuckled, amused. "What took you so long?"

"Damn show off!"

"Where's Mikey now?" Donnie asked, not immediately seeing their other brother.

"I'm over here, dudes!" Mikey's muffled voice called.

Leo, Raph and Donnie followed the sound to see Mikey with his head down a sewer entrance. He popped his head back out at their approach and grinned disarmingly up at them.

"I can't smell anything down there except for the usual 'aromatic'," he air quoted, "scent we all associate with Raphie's feet. Can't hear anyone either."

Leo dropped down beside Mikey and listened intently. "This one should be safe to enter. However, we still need to be careful and maintain absolute ninja silence."

"Finally," Raph muttered tiredly.

"Aww, someone need their nanny nap?" Mikey teased from where he knelt. "Ow!" he suddenly yelped as pain smacked him across the head.

Raph chuckled as he removed his hand from the back of his brother's head, marvelling at the bright red impression left behind.

Donatello stared at the hole into the darkness with dismay. "This isn't a normal sized entry point."

"So?" Mikey asked, wrinkling his beak in confusion.

"So, that means my bike will not fit through."

"Sorry, Don. You will just have to hide your bike and hope no one finds it during the day," Leo said firmly, his tone brooking no argument. "We need to get below ground while we still can.

Donnie sighed in disappointment. "I know... it's just... I just gave my bike a fresh paint job just the other night!"

Mikey bounced back to his feet with a sympathetic look and wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders soothingly, "Maybe we can hide it on the roof?"

"No... Leo's right. We can't take the chance. We have pushed our luck far too much this morning already." Donnie said.

"We'll come back and get it as soon as it's dark again," Mikey promised. "Right, Leo?"

Leo stared a moment then nodded in agreement. "Right. For now though, let's just get home."

-:-

As soon as it was dark, the sewer lid slid open noiselessly and a shadowed head peeked out, taking in the surroundings and confirming it was safe before the rest of the body emerged. It was quickly followed by another who headed directly for the hiding place of the stashed bmx bike. Moments later, the bike was uncovered and a cry of dismay filled the alleyway.

"What's wrong, bro? Did it get stolen?" Michelangelo asked anxiously, coming up behind Donatello.

Donnie crouched down to pick up the remains of his bike. "Worse!"

"What's worse than a turtle's wheels being stolen?"

"That's just it! They stole the wheels," Donnie sighed despondently, "and the bell, the brake pads and the seat..."

"Dude... is there even anything left?" Mikey asked in confusion.

Donnie stood, clasping the naked frame in his hands. "Only the bare bones."

Mikey came close enough to see clearly and a piece of paper taped to the frame caught his eye. He reached out, plucking it from the bike.

"'Hey, green man!'" he read. "'Thanks for the donation but really, paint the bike a better colour next time, will you? Even I've got my standards, you know!'"

The two brothers stared at each other, Mikey trying desperately to cover his amusement as Donnie cried out.

"But it was purple!"

-:-

Owari