Thirty years is a long time. Yet when it comes, it all seems like only thirty seconds, like anything else in time.
This truth was running through a man's head as he looked at his calendar that announcing that by next March the 30, thirty years would have past. Not only the years, but also the day's are of the same number, which was hopefully a good omen for things to come. The man chuckled at this similarity, and then turned back to his desk were his computer lay. Across the screen was the latest storylines not only for the 2012 cartoon, but IDW's new take on the world he had helped to create with his co-worker and friend. This was sent to him out of good will and respect that he had trusted and worked another company so fully with what he had stared as a crazy, random idea so many years ago.
He could still remember it now, though it was not nearly as clear as before, how one night he was just staying up late watching cartoons, feeling silly, and then the idea came into his head. He had decided to call his friend and fellow comic enthusiast to trade ideas, eventually create the strange concept of teenage mutant ninja turtles.
He looked around the clutter and mountains of paper he had on his desk, stacks and stacks of paper. He never bothered to clean it after the unexpected popularity of the turtles.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an old paper sticking out from the chaos of stacks of drawing and such. He didn't know why, but he pulled out the paper, despite it being covered in a mountain of white stacks and deeply set in with its brethren. He finally managed to pull it out without causing an avalanche, and was deeply surprised by what he held.
A sketch, a rough one, but recognizable all the same as Michelangelo, nun chucks swinging with a teeth-filled grin on the party dude's face. The first turtle he had drawn, the one that started the whole phenomena that swept into everyone's heart, minds, and childhood memories. A simple idea, one that had sparked so many others over the extraordinary yet somehow small span of time.
Yes, it all had started with a classic case of being couch potato's with crazy ides that somehow collaborated to create the sensation. The man that partly began it all leaned in his seat to gaze at the lost picture. Then a strange thought occurred to him. What would the turtles themselves do? Would they celebrate the occasion, be aware of it? Possibly have a life beyond what he could see on paper, beyond what he knew of?
The man shook his head at the impossible sounding thought. How could that be? It was fictional, all a crazy assortment of ideas that one way another had become extremely popular through out the years, stretching beyond comic books to T.V, toys, video games, and even the big screen. The fact that such a silly idea had become a million dollar franchise, yet still keeping it's charm to so many viewers, was a amazing occurring phenomena that he had a great privilege to have begun.
He looked around at all the scattered papers that showed what happens when you get old, busy, and are a comic book "enthusiast". He then felt the crazy, impossible idea fester in his mind. It was just crazy enough for him to start looking through the big piles of paper that have piled up over the years, and not without a few paper cuts. In the end though, he had what he was looking for.
He gazed at the three pieces of paper he had in his hand, each showing an individual picture of Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello, all prepared for battle. He took these pictures and posted them on his bedroom wall, next to a poster of all the 2003 turtles, preparing to dish out justice and defend there family. There was also a poster of each of the individual 2012 turtles from the new cartoon that was now running, each with their personal weapons at ready. All along the wall were sketches, posters, and even comic covers of the turtles team. Here and there he could catch a sight of the red head April, ether in her yellow reporter jumpsuit or her younger sixteen-year-old version in the 2012 cartoon. He saw some rough sketches, posters, and such of Casey Jones,2012 or 2003, gear, no gear, or standing next to the 2003 April. Here and there he would see Master Splinter, a fountain of wisdom, the one responsible for the turtles ninja skills and survival of the strange family.
Through all this time, these characters survived to the here and now.
He was glad that the turtle's new legal owners were making efforts to make something great out of what he had started so long ago. He started to walk toward his bedroom door to get some much needed coffee, but not without a last glance at the older worlds, were the turtles roomed.
That did not mean he would forget the rest of the journey anytime soon. He made a last decision and went back to his desk. He picked up a blank piece of paper, wrote "Happy Thirtieth Anniversary Guys! " in messy, barely readable cursive and tacked it among the archive of turtles past and coming future.
"Now go have some fun, before your next adventure." He said to all the era's and generation's across his bedroom wall, which now was more like a tribute to all that had happened since that spur of the moment idea. He slowly walked out of his room, not surprised but a bit worried for his sanity when he heard a chorus of familiar voices calling out "Happy Anniversary!" right before he closed the door.
Black. Defiantly Black coffee.
Author's note: This is a short fiction story from the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles point of view, can be Kevin Eastman or Peter Laird, whichever you chose.
This will probably stay a one-shot, but I hope you enjoyed it anyhow :)