A/N: Hey guys. I don't own the TMNT characters but I'm a big fan of them nonetheless. Since I come for Denmark, I do my best to translate it to English :)
I like to think I know Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo's characters pretty well. Furthermore, my story is not a part of my turtle saga, which I am writing at the moment, but the story takes place almost after the ending of second season of the new cartoon, as we hadn't got any further with the new cartoons in Denmark. Enjoy!
The pale moon was shining above the grey clouds. Whenever the moon broke free from its' dark prison, it revealed the cold snow lying in the streets of New York City. Casey turned his blue eyes towards his apartment window as he gazed at the sad view. The sight made him feel a bit depressive and he signed deeply in despair. God, how he hated the winter sometimes. It was the time of the year where it was nearly impossible for him to ride his motorcycle.
The roads were getting slippery with the snowy road turning into icy surfaces and the constant snow prevented him from walking outside. At this point, it had finally slowed down with the snow but he knew that it was only a matter of time before it started again. The news had predicted a snow storm that would last a least a couple of days, and Casey wasn't looking forward to stay inside. He felt like a prisoner in his own home.
It was late January, so there wasn't going to be any change for a long time and yet despite living in the slums, Casey had to admit to himself that the snow really did make everything quite beautiful, even here. He turned his gaze down at the alley below. This was his home, and disgusting alley filled with garbage round in the corners. Now even the garbage was covered with snow, hiding the ugliness from the people who were living here. Normally it didn't bothered Casey to live in a slum – it wasn't like he spend much time at home anyway, but the bad weather forced him to stay in his small apartment.
Casey move his eyes from the window, it wasn't in his power to change the weather, so there wasn't any reason to get more upset about it than he already was. He turned his attention to the TV and a little smile flickered across his face. Luckily the programs were still working, which made it possible for him to see a various kind of sport channels. At this point, he turned on the TV remote to watch one of his favorite sports: Ice hockey. The game was already on.
"What the hell am I doing?" Casey asked himself with a little laughter and gave a slight shook of his head. "What is sport without popcorn?"
In the moment he finished his sentence, something terrible happened. Before his eyes, Casey was witness to watch the TV screen turning black. With his mouth wide open, Casey couldn't believe what was happening right in front of him.
"NO!" Casey exclaimed wildly with the anger flaring in his eyes. "No, how is it possible?"
The black TV screen didn't give him any answer and somehow it irritated Casey even more. He rose irritated from his chair and clenched his fists tightly as he moved toward the TV.
"You got to be kidding me," Casey snarled as he raised his arm to hit hard on the top of the TV. "I wanted to watch that game!"
"If you ask me, blame the weather and not the TV," a hoarse voice remarked.
Casey stopped his movement in the air, nearly a few inches from hitting his beloved TV when he recognized the voice as a good friend of his. A cold wind surrounded the young man and told him that one of his windows were open. Yet, he couldn't say that he was surprised. It wasn't exactly common for his friend to use the front door. Casey turned short to look at the shadowed figure in the window. Casey smiled wryly as it was typically for his friend to hide in the dark. His friend had to be careful, as it was too dangerous for him to walk in the bright daylight. Casey crossed his arms and pointed at this friend.
"It is the most easily thing to blame the weather Raph," Casey told him and shook his head. "Not that I don't hate it also hehe."
"I thought so," Raphael said and took a step into the light. "But I was actually telling the truth Case. Your whole block has lost the signal. You're not the only one."
Casey believed him. Raphael had probably studied most of the window before he had made his way through to Casey's apartment. Even though Raphael hated that he had to hide himself from others, he knew that it was necessary. He wasn't exactly a human. On the contrary, he was a mutant, a giant turtle with ninja abilities. Raphael's skin had a deep dark green colour and his red bandana, which was hiding his eyes, suited him well for his dark humour and temper. His favorite weapons were a pair of flashing sais, which he had decorated with red ribbons to match the bandana. Casey had known Raphael for almost a year now and since their first meeting, they had been best friends. Casey and the sixteen-year old turtle understood each other as they shared the same humour and the same anger and frustration inside.
"Damn," Casey cursed and shrugged his shoulders in despair as he turned to look at the black screen. "What the hell am I going to do? Die of boredom?"
"I doubt it," Raphael remarked dryly. "This was actually the reason why I came to see you Case."
"To see my die of boredom?" Casey asked with a wry smile.
"I thought that you might need a little rescue," Raphael said and laughed. "I know that you can't stand doing nothing at all."
"You got a point there," Casey nodded but turned his head toward the window, where the snow had arrived again. "But I can't see what we could do. This weather is ruining everything and I can't believe that even you are crazy enough to be outside."
"How do you think I got here in the first place?" Raphael asked and gave a little shook of his head. "Bonehead."
"Hey," Casey exclaimed insulted and was about to make a remark, when the red-masked turtle cut him off.
"Case, I was coming to ask you if you would be interested in a movie-night with my family?" Raphael asked and smiled. "You know with the whole gang? Master Splinter has forbidden us to go out, but he made an exception when Michelangelo got the idea to watch some of our favorite movies while it is snowing outside."
"Sure," Casey replied gladly as he loved to spend time with his friends. He wished sometimes that he could be in their home more often than he was.
Raphael noticed the thrilled expression in his friend's face and couldn't help smiling. Yes, Casey was a part of the family and this was the reason why his father had given Raphael permission to pay Casey a visit. Even though Raphael had realized that his family wasn't so fond of Casey being with them in the lair too much, he knew that they liked him and his support. If they ever needed someone to help them, Casey would be there. His loyalty to his friends was almost as big as the goodness in his heart.
"What about April?" Casey asked curious and cleared his throat. "Is she coming to movie night too?"
Raphael's mind went to a picture of the young red-haired woman, who had been their first human friend. She had courage inside her heart that Raphael admired. She had been there for them, even when they had to hide from Shredder. She was kind, helpful and smart. When she and his brother Donatello began to talk with each other, it was a conversation that the rest of the family was unable to follow. Yeah, April was an incredible woman.
"Of course, she is coming. Michelangelo is getting her at this minute," Raphael answered and waved at Casey to make him follow. "Come on, or the others will start without us."
"Well, we wouldn't like that," Casey said and smiled brightly as he followed his friend through the window.
April was tired after a long day. She had closed the shop a few hours ago, but it didn't mean that she had gotten time to relax yet. April gazed at the groceries in her arms and sighed resignedly as she recalled the event of the last hour.
She was thrilled when she had closed the "2'time Around". With the bad weather outside, it was almost impossible to get customers. Therefore, she had been happy when she came up to her apartment, surely in her mind that she would soon get some time to relax. April smiled with irony as she placed the two bags on her counter. When she walked into the kitchen, her happy smile quickly faded away as she discovered the emptiness of her refrigerator.
"Damn," she mumbled irritated and closed the door. "I have to get some food."
Though she hadn't looked forward to it, April knew that it was necessary for her to get to the store. Now, resigned to her task, April left the kitchen to get her long light purple coat and shoes.
"I hate this weather," April shook her head, as she began to place the milk in the right place. That was a whole hour ago.
April used the stairs down the apartment building, and as she opened the front door, the freezing air hit her face and her cheeks were quickly cold as ice. With a determent look in her eyes, she gazed both ways before she stepped out on the street. There seemed to her to be fewer people outside than normal, but she wasn't surprised. When it snowed as much as it did this afternoon, then people preferred to be inside in their nice little home. The same thought about being home hit April like a storm. She didn't wanted to be outside either, but she had too. She knew that there was a little time left to get to the store before it closed.
When she thought about it, if she was fast enough, then she could be home within 30 minutes. Encouraged by the very thought, she looked to her left to take a view of the path to the store. From her starting point there was rather long way to the next street, considering that it was impossible to see anything but the snow and the way was merely broken up by the alleyway that ran alongside her apartment.
She just had to hurry. April took a deep breath as she began her walk toward the store. After reaching the end of her street, she would then make a right turn. She closed her light purple coat even closer around her neck as she past several other apartments, a couple of businesses, and one warehouse before reaching the grocery. The grocery was a little corner store and the closest one to where she lived. April bought most of her groceries in there.
April was pleased as she noticed that it hadn't closed yet and she walked inside with fast steps. She wasn't surprise to see the store almost empty. Most people would think it insane to walk out in the snow. April made her way through the store as she quickly chose what to get for dinner and breakfast for the next day. When she was finished and had left the store, she noticed that the streetlamps were automatically lighting up, one by one. With a determent smile on her face, April began her journey home.
April was certain in her mind as she made her way to the bathroom. She needed to feel some hot water on her body after being outside in the freezing weather. She closed the door behind her and went straight to the tub. She turned the knobs on the faucet controlling hot and cold, putting a hand under the running water to test it. She adjusted the knobs accordingly until he was satisfied with the temperature, and twisted the control to the shower. There was a slight rattle in the pipes as the water was rerouted, and after a moment, came down in a steady spray.
She then stepped into the tub, and drew close the shower curtain. She stood directly under the steady spray, the warm water cascading over her tired body. April titled her head back slightly as she enjoyed to feel the warm water on her skin. She let the water caress her face, neck, and chest. She remained like that for a good ten minutes, actually feeling calm and relaxed. Finally, April opened her eyes, and reached for the bath sponge and bar of soap sitting on a corner of the tub.
She cleaned herself thoroughly, gently scrubbing her skin. When she finished, she removed the soap off her body. April shut the shower off first, rotating the knob to its original position. The water flowed from the faucet once more. She repeated the process with the hot and cold controls, ceasing it completely. She then pulled back the shower curtain, and exited the tub. She grabbed a towel from a stack folded on top of a shelf positioned between the tub and the sink, and dried off. When she was finished, she seized her pink woollen bathrobe, which hung on a rack under the shelf. A moment later, April opened the bathroom door.
"Hey Dudette," a voice greeted, as she came out.
"Mikey?" April asked in wonder and gazed at her friend, who was standing right in front her.
A giant mutant turtle was standing in her living room, but April was merely showing a little wry smile, as she raised her eyes in wonder. Why had Michelangelo come here without his brothers? Mostly when April got a visit from her mutant friend, it would Michelangelo together with his three older brothers. Michelangelo had a dark blue green colour and he was the funniest turtle of the four. He was a turtle, who loved to play and have a good time. This was also the reason, why he had a huge amount of knowledge about movies and comics. Unfortunately, Michelangelo sometimes didn't think so much, but he was kind and friendly with all goodness in his heart. As his brothers were ninjas, so was Michelangelo. And he was surely proud of it. He had decorated his nunchakus with orange ribbons. One time Michelangelo's father and teacher Master Splinter had confided to her that these weapons had been chosen because of Michelangelo's personality. He was a kind of a braggart, cheerful and he loved to tell jokes all the time.
"What are you doing here?" April raised her eyebrows questioning.
"Waiting for you to get out of shower," Michelangelo replied honestly and smiled a little. "Don't understand why you used so much time in there though. It seemed like you just had trained with Leonardo or Master Splinter."
Leonardo was the eldest of the four turtles, and he was the leader of the small group. Taken the responsibility of the safety of his family, Leonardo could sometimes be too seriously. April could understand why Leonardo had become the leader. He had a sharp brain and determent. As a child, Leonardo had chosen the blue bandana around his head and the blue ribbons on his katanas. He was unselfish and would do anything in the world to protect his family. April admired Leonardo's discipline, but she didn't understand him much. Most things about Leonardo were his fondness of ninja training lessons with his Sensei and his brothers.
"Nah, I just needed a bath after this terrible weather," April said and crossed her arms. "This reminds me… Why aren't you at home?"
"I missed you dudette," Michelangelo grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "And my brothers were thinking of having a movie night. Want to join us? It will be fun."
"I don't know Mike," April said with doubt in her voice as she turned her eyes to her window which was filled with snow. "I could get trouble getting back home."
"Why don't you sleep at our house then? Come on April, it is going to be fun. We have homemade pizza and popcorn."
"That sounds tempting," April had to admit and smiled at little.
"Of course. I have made the food my self," Michelangelo laughed and shined like a star. "I'm the best cook turtle ever."
"That is because you're the only one," April teased him and pointed at the sofa. "But just sit down and watch some TV while I get dressed. I don't know how well it works though."
"I'll be fine. Do you have some food in the fridge? I'm hungry."
"No surprise," April mumbled and a little smile flickered across her face as she walked into her bedroom to change her clothes.
"Bad weather," Master Splinter mumbled at the depressing sight. Then he turned his head towards his son. "Donatello, something is wrong with the TV."
Donatello turned to his father, looking in his direction at the black TV. Donatello was the brilliant inventor in the small family and peaceable by nature. On his shell, Donatello carried a long bo staff, which Splinter had carefully chosen for the genius turtle, since it was an inspiring and solid weapon. Donatello had decorated himself with a purple bandana around his eyes and the purple ribbon in the middle of his staff. Donatello was very intelligent. He was brave but he would rather avoid a fight if it were possible. Most of his time was spent in his workshop and laboratory, which were his most cherished possessions.
"I don't think that I can do much about it, Sensei. The channel has problems with their satellite signals when we have a snow storm," Donatello replied honestly.
"And my favorite show was about to begin," Master Splinter sighed heavily.
"Don't worry Master. Raphael and Michelangelo should be here soon with April and Casey. Then we can begin our movie night," Donatello said and walked into the living room. "I just have to make a few changes to the DVD machine. Michelangelo has begged me to look at it. He says that it stops the movie sometimes. He told me that it would kill him if it keeps doing it."
"Well, your brother has an ability to take some things closer to his heart than we do," his father replied with a soft smile.
"Yes, just take all his comic books and burn them," Donatello giggled at his imagination pictured his younger brother in total despair. "That could be fun."
Leonardo, who was reading a book about feudal Japan, couldn't help but smiling at his brother's comment. Master Splinter rose from the sofa to make some tea, while his son was working on the DVD machine. The old rat didn't have much knowledge about the technically things, therefore he was glad that Donatello was able to take care of it.
"Good evening Master Splinter. How are you?" April's voice sounded as the door opened.
The old rat looked with joy at his two sons and their friends. Master Splinter had always been worried about human relations as he knew that the surface above would see him and his family as freaks, but April and Casey were two special people even though they were very different in their kind of personality, April mostly reminded him of his son Donatello, while Casey was while as Raphael.
"Good evening Miss O'Neil and Mr. Jones," Master Splinter greeted. "I was looking forward to see you both again."
"Hey Master Splinter. Do you know what movie we're going to watch?" Casey asked curiously. "Raphael hadn't said a word about it all night."
"That is because it is a secret," Raphael exclaimed and shook his head. "Bonehead."
"You told me, but I could still ask," Casey said and looked questioning at the old rat.
"I'm afraid that I'm going to disappoint you Mr. Jones," Master Splinter said and smiled a little. "I don't know either what we are going to see. It is my sons' choice and they haven't said a word to me."
"A shame," Casey shrugged his shoulders and sat with comfort on the sofa with his legs on the sofa table.
"Would you have told him, if you knew?" April asked the wise rat with an ironic smile.
"No," Splinter answered and returned her smile.
They were all looking forward to see the movie, which the turtles had chosen for the night. It was an action movie. They had revealed that much, but still it was a mystery, which movie it was. Master Splinter, Raphael, April and Casey were all in the living room, sitting in front of the big TV-screens, while Donatello laid his final touch on the DVD machine.
"Why is it taken so much time?" Raphael asked gloomily. "Even I could have fixed the machine now."
"Really?" Donatello looked at him with a mild smile, knowing that Raphael would never have the patience to repair things.
"Humph," Raphael grumbled irritated and pointed at his younger brother. "Just get it fixed quickly, will you?"
"Okay, here is pizza and popcorn!" Michelangelo announced thrilled as he and Leonardo came into the living room.
"Great, I'm just finished," Donatello said and put the DVD machine back to its previous position. "It should be awesome to see the DVD now"
"Okay guys, we going for a journey of our life into the world of fantasy," Mickey said with a happy smile on his face. "This movie is even more spectacular than me…"
"Baboon," Raphael commented and looked impatiently at him.
"Sure someone is angry," Michelangelo said but immediately got a sharp look from his father, telling him to leave his brother alone.
"What movie is it then Mikey?" April asked and seized for a slice of pizza.
"Still a secret," Michelangelo laughed. "But I think you're all going to enjoy it."
Then he took the DVD out of its cover to put down in the DVD machine and it began to play. The movie had only been on for two seconds, when they all heard a strange sound and the light disappeared.
"Don, what have you done to the DVD machine?" Raphael asked dryly.
"It isn't me," Donatello responded in the dark. "It seems like the power is gone."
"Should we check it out?" Leonardo asked to his father. "After all, the last time the power disappeared; it was the foot clan, who was up to something."
"Don't you think that it is the weather that caused it?" April asked.
"It is more likely, yes," Master Splinter nodded. "And I don't want my sons to go out in the storm. It can be dangerous out there."
"When what are we going to do?" Casey asked irritated.
"First, we're getting some candles Mr. Jones," Master Splinter said with a little smile.
"I'll get them, Sensei. I got some in my room," Leonardo said and left them.
As a ninja Leonardo was perfectly able to see in the dark, and it wasn't a problem for him finding the candles on one of his shelves next to his bed. Leonardo always kept candles in his room, as the soft light always made him relax. When he arrived to the living room, the situation seemed less tensed. Michelangelo helped him light the candles.
"Now, this is nice," Michelangelo said and grabbed a piece of pizza. "Very nice indeed."
"Yes, pizza is good," Master Splinter nodded. "And you have loved it ever since the first time you tasted it."
"That is some time ago," Raphael remarked.
"Indeed, it was the first time that you all went against my prohibition and went to the surface," Master Splinter told them.
"What?" Donatello said and looked at his father in wonder. "I can't remember that we went to the surface and first time tasted pizza. We have always gotten the food down here."
"I can't remember it either," Michelangelo said.
"You were too young to remember," Master Splinter said and shook is head. "You were all about six years old or so."
"Really?"
"Yes, let me see," Master Splinter looked thoughtfully down at his pizza, and then he smiled. "This is how it happened."
A/N: Well, what do you think so far about the story? Please give me some reviews. I really appreciate it, thanks! The story about Michelangelo first experience with pizza is going to be the chapter and I'll try as fast as I can to get the next chapter ready.
