I've Got Your Back.
Yes the Apritello I mentioned in the story 'April's Downfall' is finally here! Well sort of, it will develop throughout this story ;) Thank You guys for your patience!
As always reviews are very much welcome.
Introducing Chapter 1!
Donatello felt the sweat soak into his purple bandana. His grip on his Bo staff tightened. His eyes glazed over and he immediately saw his enemy in a different light, he saw the weaknesses, the hesitations and the falters. A trained method of thinking, to see what your enemy does not want you to see. He threw his Bo staff in the air like a javelin, it hit its target with a perfect proximity. The wooden weapon thrown at such a force it sunk deep into the metal chest of the Kraang drone, for a moment the drone stood in surprise, unsure of its next move but as the extent of the injuries became apparent the Kraang alien left its useless robot host, crawling off into the darkness in defeat.
Donatello ripped the Bo Staff from the Kraang drones chest, sheathing it immediately. He stood on a rooftop, far above the other surrounding buildings. The bodies of Kraang drones lay around him, unmoving and silent. He looked up to the sky, the ominous clouds above sending only the beginnings of rain down. The tiny rain droplets bringing a cooling comfort. Donatello wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, breathing a sigh of relief. The battle was over. Or so he thought.
The hard metal striking bone was a noise Donatello would never forget, neither would he forget the blood curdling scream behind him. The world around him seemed to go into slow motion, he turned around, he could hear his heart beat in his ears, the pure adrenaline now running through his veins. His heart ached for him to close his eyes, to disappear, to forget. But he couldn't tear his gaze away from the falling figure in front of him. He leaped forward, his arms outstretched, feeling the familiar body fall straight into his arms like it had done so many times before.
April stood in the middle of the Dojo. She spread her feet apart, bent her knees and let the world of the Ninja over take her mind like a sixth sense. The Tessen in her right hand became an extension of her arm. The polished silver plated blade reflecting the hundreds of white burning candles that dotted the Dojo's floor. Her eyes glazed over as she took a deep breath, her body feeling as light as a feather as she danced around the candles, careful not to disturb the sensitive flames, her toes only lightly touching the floor as she fought to sustain the Ninja's abilities of silence and stealth. The path to the finish line was now clear to her, the plan in her mind unfolding like a paper map, the flourishing tree before her being the X marking the spot, the goal. But as soon as she took the first step towards her certain victory, shadows suddenly raced around in front of her, only recognizable as the four Turtles by the four different colored bandana's that almost seemed to glow in the candle light. The candles moved with them, being lifted and gently placed back down inexplicably right onto her chosen path. She blinked, her blue eyes focusing on her predicament.
"Always be ready for the unexpected April. Always be ready for a change of plans."
Master Splinter's voice broke the silent atmosphere and April sighed, feeling the flames of the candles around her lick at her ankles. She furrowed her brows, looking around quickly, searching for a new path. She found it immediately. Leaping forward, she landed on one foot in a small gap amongst the candles, she poked her tongue out in concentration. Her other leg in the air she fought for her balance, trying to ready herself for her next move, but watched in frustration as the Turtles moved in front of her again, moving with such a speed that if she had blinked they would be gone. The candles were lifted and placed back down onto her new path, blocking her in some sort of a cruel twist in this so called game. She tightened her grip on her Tessen and dared to look around, all to aware that any sudden movements would unbalance her and send her falling into the hot wax and subsequent failure. To her disappointment her search for an escape route was in vein. She was trapped and she knew she could only keep up this one footed act for only a short time. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting her sixth sense take her again. Opening them again, she grinned, the obvious solution to her problem now plain in her mind. She flicked her wrist, the Tessen flew out of her hand with a beautiful grace, the blade cutting through five candles on its journey, creating a gap for April to leap onto quickly before the dark figures of the four brothers returned to ruin her progress, she leaned down to pick up the Tessen, throwing it again and again along the floor until she had cut out a path straight to the tree. Moving quickly April climbed up the rough bark of the flourishing tree and sat triumphantly on a branch high above the candles. She couldn't hide her grin. She looked at the five figures standing with their backs against the wall, looking at her with mirrored approval.
"Well done April."
Master Splinters simple words filled April with pride, she bowed her head at him in respect and gratitude."Thank you Sensei."
"Does this mean we can blow the candles out now?" Michelangelo looked hopefully to Master Splinter, watching closely as a smile formed on his Sensei's whiskered snout. "I'll take that as a yes!" He filled his lungs with air and leaned down, racing across the floor, the flames extinguishing around him, the light in the Dojo growing fainter and fainter by the second.
April watched Leonardo, Raphael and Master Splinter leave the Dojo in silence and then looked down at the ground below her, the candles on the floor had disappeared, now a pair of green arms replaced them, reaching out to catch her. She smiled, looking to the owner of the arms. Donatello grinned at her, his maroon eyes sparkling in mischief, like a dare for her to make the jump. She closed her eyes, letting her body slip off the safety of the branch. Feeling herself fall through the air, the soft impact of her body against Donatello's arms was not painful but rather comforting. She opened her eyes, letting out an excited giggle, hardly making out Donatello's face in the dim light. The moment shared between the pair only lasted seconds as Michelangelo's hands ripped April from the safety of Donatello's arms. Michelangelo squeezed April in a hug, lifting her up in the air with ease as he spun her in circles, the pairs laughter filling the Dojo.
"You know, when I did that, it took me 4 times to get it right. I always knocked the candles over and Sensei would make me start all over again."
April felt the breath being squeezed out of her body as she struggled to reply. Michelangelo pulled her closer, the wild spinning stopping, hugging her in what was meant to be an embrace of kindness.
"Mikey…" She choked, her hands gently patting his shell. "I… can't… breath."
Michelangelo immediately released her. She fell the the floor with a soft thump, panting with the new found air. She looked up to the youngest brother, her face conveying kindness rather than anger. Michelangelo grinned at her guiltily, he pulled at the short tails of his orange bandana nervously.
"Sorry April. Should really leave the hugs up to Donnie here." Michelangelo winked and threw a smoke bomb to the ground, disappearing in the purple cloud.
April could feel the blush burning on her cheeks, She prepared her defense but bit on her tongue, saving her words. She knew Michelangelo would be long gone by now and as the smoke cleared her prediction proved correct. Michelangelo was no where to be seen, but Donatello stood in his place, a soft blush painted his green cheeks. He held his hand out to April gingerly. She took it immediately, letting him pull her to her feet. April had already begun her revenge filled plan for Michelangelo, but from the sounds coming from the pit, someone had already bet her to it. She glanced quickly at Donatello, he shrugged his shoulders and raced off out of the Dojo, pulling April along with him.
"What did I tell you? No matchmaking before dinner!"
"But why!"
"Because it makes me sick! That's why!"
Raphael held Michelangelo in a head lock. Michelangelo's legs flailed uselessly in the air as his older brother lifted him up.
"Uncle!" Michelangelo whimpered, conceding defeat.
In reply Raphael released his grip, letting Michelangelo drop the the floor. He cracked his knuckles in satisfaction. "Your welcome April" he yelled over his shoulder, not bothering to look at the stunned redhead behind him.
"Ninja senses." April muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, hearing Donatello chuckle beside her.
Raphael grinned, turning around in a quick action, a hidden Shuriken flying out of his hand, heading straight for April's face. April reacted casually, her hand flying up immediately, catching the deadly shuriken with two fingers, the blade only inches away from her face. Thank you Splinter, she smiled to herself, the trained defensive reaction had its benefits.
"Raph…" April growled, discarding the Shuriken on the floor.
"Hey, just testing you. Donnie had your back." Raphael laughed, his green eyes sparkled with mischief, he grinned confidently at her. Turning back around he helped Michelangelo up off the floor. Putting an arm around his little brothers shoulders, the two brothers headed straight for the kitchen, leaving the gobsmacked and blushing pair behind them.
"Thought you said no matchmaking before dinner?" Michelangelo whispered, pushing the dark curtain of the kitchens doorway aside.
"Yeah, from you Mikey." Raphael released his brother, settling himself comfortably at the table. "I didn't say anything about myself."
Michelangelo poked his tongue out in reply, letting the immature action speak for itself.
"So this is the power cell?" April laid her hand against the lead and glass case, the purple crystal's invisible power pulsated through her hand like a heartbeat.
"Yes, for now it only powers the Shell Raiser, but I've got bigger plans for this baby." Donatello patted the lead box affectionately. "My Ammeter can't even calculate the amount of energy the crystal releases. The readings it does receive are literally off the charts. I can only begin to imagine what else it could power with the right adjustments and output controls. It's so cool!"
"That is cool!" April grinned at Donatello, she could tell he was lost in the science of the moment as he looked down at the power cell with adoration.
"So what did you need me here for again?" April crossed her arms expectantly.
"Oh yes, I needed some help with the modifications on the Shell Raiser. I needed someone small, I uh, you fitted that description." Donatello grinned sheepishly, his hand rubbing the back of his head.
"Someone small to do what exactly?"
"To do this..." Donatello leaned down, pushing April gently aside. She sat in Donatello's station's chair, his computer flashed on automatically in front of her. The homepage of the screen came into focus and she stared straight at the desktop screen picture, which was a photo of the brothers and her sitting together on one of the pits benches. Donatello and Leonardo sat either side of April, her arms over their shoulders. Raphael's grinning face peeked out from over her shoulder. Michelangelo sat beside Donatello, his innocent expression not hiding his actions as he was caught in the act of stealing a slice of pizza from the plate on Donatello's lap. Leonardo was looking up from a thick book, a relaxed smile spread across his face. Donatello's small gap toothed smile was shadowed by a soft blush. The simple photo had captured the personalities of the four brothers so perfectly it made April smile. She surprised herself by actually seeing how comfortable she looked in amongst four mutant Turtles. They were like a second family to her.
April looked back down at Donatello who was looking patiently back at her, seeing her reaction to his homepage screen picture, he smiled sheepishly, turning to gesture at the sudden gap at his knees, the metal flooring had been removed and below lay a mysterious machine. April raised her eyebrows at him.
"It's something I'm working on, like a stealth bike, it's faster than the Shell Raiser, well at least I hope it will be. But of course any machine like this needs a power source and I was hoping you could help me install the awesome power cell charged battery I've created."
"A power cell charged battery? Seriously Donnie do you have any limits?"
"If I do I haven't reached them yet." Donatello winked wittingly. Standing up he lifted April without hesitation, placing her into the small gap. "You see why I employed you for this job? Giant mutant turtles don't mix well with small spaces."
"Yeah well, I can't say its exactly comfortable for me either." April replied sarcastically, a small smile spreading across her face. A distant memory suddenly flashed through her mind. It was of a time not so long ago, a time that would be considered normal. Her fathers voice coming into her mind, making her heart ache. April closed her eyes, letting the beckoning memory take her.
"Now feed that wire through April."
April wiped the sweat off her forehead with one hand, immediately returning it to the thick plastic wire in her hands, she pushed the slack of the wire through a small gap in the roof. The attic in her home was skinny and small. It was much too small for her father to fit into, so here she lay among the insulation and wooden framing, breathing through a protective mask, trying to help with the wiring for her fathers new at-home-laboratory construction project. The light from the torch strapped to her head made the sweat on her skin shine. Normally this would be an uncomfortable situation, an unpleasant task, but it was times like this, when her father wasn't so caught up in his research that she enjoyed the most...
"April?"
April shuddered, the images before her eyes vanishing in an instant as she was dragged back into reality. "Dad…" She whispered, silently begging for the memory to return, begging for the stinging feeling in her heart to leave. She didn't want to open her eyes, for such a action would be taken with the risk of crying, a risk she was not willing to take. She felt the strong pair of hands come under her arms, lifting her up and out of the stealth bike with a silent reassurance. She knew who held her and wrapped her arms immediately around his neck, hugging him. She felt his hands move to wrap around her back, returning the gesture with a gentle squeeze. April let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"At least pinch me so I know your alive?" Donatello whispered into her ear, she could tell from the sudden rush of heat from his skin that he was blushing. She pinched his shoulder gently but still refused to open her eyes, her lips curling into a small smile.
"Hey Donnie, Sensei wants to know if you-" Leonardo's voice suddenly broke the silence in the Shell Raiser. "Is she okay?"
April felt Donatello's shoulders rise and fall under her arms quickly, answering Leonardo's question.
April bit into her lip, feeling the sudden anger slowly boil up within her, the memory of her father had only brought up a stronger thought. The need, the want, for revenge. It's the Kraangs fault I feel like this, it was the Kraang that took my father and they can't just get away with that. April opened her eyes, the determination to get her revenge on the Kraang now coursing through her like wild fire. She knew exactly what she was going to have to do to. It was time to settle the score between her and her enemy.