"It should be marshal law that no room should be this ungodly unclean." Casey smirked, not even halting the smooth motion of stitching Mikey's arm up. "I swear, I think I see something glowing and moving under your bed, Jones."
"Just think of my room like your lab, Donnie," he retorted. "Open for investigation and experimentation." The human threw a wink over his shoulder, making Don's hand slip out from under him where he leaned on the window sill and stumble. He then bowed his head and bit the end of the suture. "There you go, Freckles."
"Thanks, bro," the youngster grinned as he admired the jagged cut. "I'm like Harry Potter now!"
"His scar was on his forehead, man."
"Well I'm Harry Potter but with the scar on his arm instead!" Casey raised an eyebrow in amusement, packing the needle and sutures in the first aid kit and fishing out some cotton pads and bandages. He wrapped the youngest brother's arm, then got to his feet to get to Leo, who was sat in his desk chair with Raph still dabbing blood from his temple.
"Hold still, Blue," Casey said quietly; Leonardo had been complaining in his own subtle way that his ears were ringing. He disinfected the gash and pressed a pad to it, using Raph's hand to hold it in place while he bound it.
"Hnng... Lesson learned; Kraang with sledge hammers equals... Ow...," the leader murmured, leaning forward to rest his head on his brother's shoulder. Raphael stood up, pushing him back upright.
"Keep your head elevated, dummy," he hissed softly, stroking his cheek affectionately with his thumb. Donnie and Mikey wouldn't have seen from where they were, but Casey spotted it and just grinned. He gave the red turtle yet another once over, making sure all his cuts and burns from laser fire had been tended to, then looking over at Donnie.
"Sure everything's okay?" Don nodded, now seated on the sill with his arms crossed, one foot braced against the wall beneath him and one against the floor to keep himself from sliding off. He was so sulking.
Donnie had been the only one out of the line of fire, having snuck into the main console room to sabotage the Kraang's most recent scheme. Much to his chagrin, Casey Jones had been his back up. Things turned sour when a Kraang droid took a swing at Leo with an Earth sledge hammer; Raph had panicked and Mikey began to flounder, so they scooped up their leader and bolted in an attempt to find Donnie and Casey. The genius turtle had kept it together under pressure, not only completing their mission but guiding his flailing brothers out of the underground base while Casey carried Leo on his back. He had to admire the way Don had kept his cool, but wouldn't verbally express it.
"Thanks so much for letting us hide here, Casey," Leo said weakly, a tired groan in his voice. "We really appreciate it."
"Even if your room is worse than Mikey's."
"No way! I will not be shown up by a guy who lives with a cat named Snowbell!"
"She's my sisters!," Casey snapped, then rolled his eyes. He began tidying away the med kit, ready for the next use. "And anyway, my home's your home, dudes. If Jess was allowed to see you, she'd say the same."
Leo smiled and nodded, then regretted it as the room began to spin. Casey frowned, then shooed Mikey off the bed and helped Leo lay down.
"You chill right there, Blue. I'll get you some water." Picking up the med kit, Jones slipped out of his room and into the kitchen. Snowbell jingled and meowed at him, but he ignored her. "You've got food you fat bastard, shut up." He put the bright green box away and filled a glass for Leo. By the time he got back, the fur ball had somehow snuck past him and was now sitting in Raph's lap while he sat crossed legged on the desk. "Freakin' teleporting hair ball!," he hissed at her, but she simply stuck her nose up and accepted the petting and scratches behind the ears from Raphael and Mikey. He helped Leo sit up and handed him the glass. "Sorry, we don't have straws."
"It's cool," he chuckled and took a single slug, and the entire pint of water was gone. He wasn't sure if that was a turtle, ninja or just plain Leo thing.
Donnie had stopped sulking enough to come over and pet the cat, who soaked up all the attention showered upon her quite happily. Casey glared at the feline from across the room. "Don't love her up too much. She's enough of a diva as is."
"But she's so fluffy!," Mikey exclaimed, nuzzling his snout to her tiny pink nose.
"And friendly," Raph added with a hint of a smile as Snowbell rolled onto her back to let him rub her tummy. Donnie clicked his tongue and raised an eyebrow.
"An overdramatic diva that loves attention and soaks up unwarranted affection," he stated aloud. "Huh. She really is your cat, Jones." Casey snorted and licked his bottom lip, but before he could come up with a suitable rebuttal - heck knew there were enough 'diva' based comebacks applicable to Donnie - he heard the front door slam open.
"Casey?"
He blinked in surprise, then walked towards the door. "Stay here."
"Who's that?," Mikey asked.
"That's Jess."
"Jess?," he said, looking confused. "But it sounded-" The door shut before he could finish, so he looked at Raph. "... Like a boy." His older brother scowled at him and rolled his eyes, though his hard exterior was somewhat weakened with a pristine white cat with a pink bell collar nuzzling his chin.
"Jess is a girl in a boy's body, understand?," he replied. "She's transgender."
His little brother's eyes widened, along with his smile. "Oh, cool! Like the lady on Orange is the new black?"
"Yes, Mikey, now stop talking about that show. Something about it just seems too familiar for my liking,*" Leo said.
Casey came into the den, slightly panicked. In Leo's current state, the guys couldn't exactly move very quickly. Keeping Jess outside his room shouldn't be a problem, but he'd been planning on feeding the turtles as well as patching them up. And while he wasn't exactly a sparse eater, cooking enough food for four other people would probably spark his sister's curiosity. "Jess, why you home so early?," he called. "I thought you were going to the movie thee-!" Jessie flung herself at him and stuck to his chest, shoulders shaking and making loud sobs into his shirt. His eyes widened and he flung his large arms around her, cuddling her close and cradling her on the spot. "Oh, hey, shh! Hey, hey, c'mon, what's wrong, squirt?," he cooed, stroking her dark hair, then placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned her back.
His heart sank to his stomach and his blood ran cold at the sight of her bruised, bloody face.
"C-Casey...," she choked, trembling in his hold. Without a second thought, he stooped down and lifted her off the floor, hurriedly carrying her into the kitchen and sitting her on the counter top. For the second time that day, he pulled out the first aid kit, placing the bottle of disinfectant and cotton wool beside Jess' hip. He scurried to the fridge, pulling out a thin ice pack usually used in her packed lunches to keep her food cold, wrapping it in a dish cloth and carefully pressing it to her cheek.
"Jessie, talk to me. Who hit you, babe?," Casey asked, voice deeper and firmer than usual. It was the 'big brother voice', as she called it, while the turtles knew it as the 'someone's gonna die voice'.
Her sobs had calmed somewhere between the den and the kitchen; her chin resting on her brother's shoulder had settled her rattled nerves and made her feel exceptionally safe. The towel didn't help ease the chill much, her cheeks were aflame from bruising and tears. "I-I-I w-w-was... we were wa-walking to... to the theatre... a-an-and we were nearly th-there... then, someone threw a r-rock at my h-head... a-and it hurt. A-and Ben turned around to-to yell at them, but it was these... b-b-big guys...," she explained, staring down at her grubby knees. "W-we tried to r-run, l-like Dad said to if we got in tr-trouble... But they were faster, and they grabbed my hair, and they pushed me over and kicked my tummy and my face, and they punched me!"
Casey grit the remaining teeth he had, beginning to dab disinfectant against the cuts on Jessie's face. "What did they look like, Jess?"
"Uh... um, tall... h-had black leather waist jackets... and - ow! - ah... tattoos... like, purple dragons, on their arms..." Casey froze, pupils constricting and muscles tensing. Jessie hiccupped, fresh tears trickling down her face. "They... they spat on me too... and they said nasty things..."
"What kind of things, Jess?"
"... Words Dad told us not to say."
"Jess."
"... Th-things like... F-fag and... and tranny... slut... they said I was filthy, and that I was going to hell... and they kicked me down there, too..." Casey very nearly growled like a feral wolf, staring at the cupboard above her head as if willing it to burst into flames.
"Gonna kill those sons of..."
"Casey?," she whimpered. His gaze immediately softened when he made eye contact with her. "I'm not going to hell, am I?"
Casey gathered his sister up against his chest, kissing the top of her head, cooing and hushing her softly. "Absolutely not. Even though you're a pain sometimes, you're already an angel. I don't think there's a heaven or a hell, but if there was, then no one as sweet as you would go to hell." She smiled wetly into his shirt, pawing slightly at his bicep.
"And... and I'm not a slut, or... jail bait?" His grip on her tightened.
"People are welcome to do whatever they want with their bodies in my book. But you're thirteen, and you haven't even seen a dick or pussy yet. At least I hope not."
"I found some magazines under your bed once..."
"In real life I mean... And how did you find those?," he hissed. "I thought I hid them enough..." She giggled and buried her face into his front, and he smiled slightly. "My point is, assholes like that have medieval points of view. They deserve to get their asses handed to them, and that's exactly what they're gonna get when I find them."
"No, you'll get hurt!," she exclaimed, suddenly panicked. "I-I couldn't stand that! Casey, don't go after them! I don't want you hurt!" She was crying again, this time for a whole new reason. He winced and stroked her hair again, hushing and calming her, planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Easy, easy... I'm big and tough, remember?," Casey grinned. "I eat bad guys and monster sweaters in the closet for breakfast!"
"But they were adults, like Dad!," she sniffed. "No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to beat up three men like that by yourself!"
"You'd be surprised...," he murmured, glancing around the room. "You're really that worried I'll get hurt?" She nodded frantically. "... If I say I won't go after them, will you cheer up?" She nodded again. With a sigh of defeat, gritting his teeth slightly, he conceded and kissed her head again. "Okay, you win. I'll just call upon my super secret army of kick ass ninjas to hunt them down and kill 'em!" That earned him a snotty giggle. She wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve and looked up at him with a weak smile.
"Casey...?"
"Yeah, squirt?"
"A cookie would help me cheer up too..."
"A cookie, you say..." A wide grin spread over her brother's face and he took a step back, placing one hand on his hip and pointing the other in the air triumphantly. "Then by the stars, you shall feast upon cookies and ice cream sandwiches, my lady! Feast like only a fair queen of the kitchen counter should!" Jessie's face lit up like a sun and she laughed wildly, ignoring the sting in her cheeks, as her brother made a show of galloping towards the cookie jar on top of the fridge on an invisible horse.
Donnie leaned away from the door jamb of the kitchen, turning silently to look straight at Leo. His older brother nodded minutely, brow set in a cold scowl, then the four turtles soundlessly slipped back into Casey's room and out the window, into the evening air.
.
When her phone bleeped at her on the desk, Jessie groaned and rolled over. The sweet smell of maple syrup met her nostrils; Dad was making waffles. Not bothering to get out of bed, she reached out, precariously teetering on the edge of the mattress. The glowing message on the screen made her eyes sting, but she managed to read it through squinted eyes.
'I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you yesterday. My Mom called the police, and they're looking for those thugs right now! Don't know if they'll find them or what'll happen, but...'
She smiled and cradled the phone in her hands, typing out her reply.
'It's okay, Benny. Us Jones types are tough. Just look at my big brother! I'm sorry I got you in trouble with those guys coz of the way I dress. Is your jaw alright?'
Half a minute later, her phone buzzed.
'Don't ever say that! It wasn't your fault at all! You can dress however you want, Jessie! And I know you're tough... I wanna be like your brother someday, all big and brave and strong.'
'I think you're already pretty brave and strong. Just have to work on the height bit, shortie!'
'Shut up! I'm only one inch shorter than you! But thanks...' A couple seconds later, he added, 'I love you...'
Her eyes welled up and she softly kissed the screen, then replied. 'I love you, too, Benny. 3'
Dropping the phone on the pillow, Jessie sat up and stretched, then flinched and curled in on herself. Right, bruised stomach muscles. She stumbled out of bed and sighed, using the back of her chair for support. She ambled towards the window, pulling back the pale blue curtains to let the morning sun pour into her room.
She very nearly shrieked at the sight of the three Purple Dragon thugs that had beaten her to a bloody pulp on the street last night chained up and dangling from the lamp post outside her bedroom window.
Jessie clapped a hand over her mouth, glancing towards her door to make sure her Dad and brother hadn't heard. She then unlatched her window and pushed it up, leaning out on the sill to get a slightly closer look. It was definitely them, but it was a little hard to tell with their faces bloody and puffed up, noses mashed into their skulls and arms and legs bent in abnormal directions. They were barely making a sound, aside from the occasional groan. She blinked a few times, jaw slack in utter awe, then she looked around the rooftops suspiciously. She saw nothing.
"... I don't know who you are... But I know you've gotta be the same people I hear Casey talking to in his room when he thinks I'm asleep sometimes... And if you're hiding somewhere listening... Thanks. You're angels, and I love you." She smiled warmly, then receded back into her room and closed the window, scampering off to get breakfast and maybe tell Dad and Casey that her attackers were unconscious outside.
"Hear that?," Mikey beamed. "She called us heroes!"
"Angels, too," Leo smiled.
"Well if we can't give her a hug and talk to her, I think this could be considered the next best thing," Raph chuckled, arms folded over his chest.
Donnie smiled softly, crouched while leaning on his staff for support, cheek pressed against the wood. "Y'know what else?" They looked over at him. "She said she loves us, too."
.
*Anyone who gets that joke earns a cookie.