The red and blue lights of the squad cars lit up the front of the church, but by then Don and the others were safely outside their radius. They were able to witness the whole show while hidden within the church's own intricate exterior. Donnie had picked the perfect location where the projected shadows caused his shell to blend in from any forty-three degree angle, given the trajectory between him and the ground and the actual range of the spotlights...
"Shoulda handed him a paddle!" Mikey snickered through their comms, pulling Donnie from his analysis. "Cuse he's been sent up the river."
Raph sighed heavily. "Could you not try to make this moment completely dorky!?"
"But, it's funny," Mikey protested. "He's a bomber, he plays with fire. And water douses fire-"
"SHUT UP MIKEY!" Donnie joined Raph and Leo in hushing their pinhead of a brother. A pout came through, but he quieted.
"What're we even sticking around for?" Raph grunted as they watched three officers push the bomber into the car. "We bagged the guy, April's got her story..."
"We're following the convoy and making sure he gets into holding." Leo overruled. His voice was about as stoic as Donnie was certain their leader's position was. It had been little else as of late.
The last six months had been... tense. Leo's recuperation had slowed them down against Shredder and the Foot and it intensified Leo's desire to bring them down. He was taking that responsibility to heart... and bleeding it all over their whole family. When he wasn't striving to be as flawless a shadow warrior as ever. Donnie didn't know how much longer Leo's body could carry him underneath such mental strain.
At least Raph has the sense to get his anger out. Donnie hated to admit. Because while Leo held everything within the meditation circle, Raph had been causing unnecessary brawls across the city with both the Foot and the Purple Dragons. Donnie had been trying to cover up his worries by tinkering on various parts of the sewer tunnels, heightening their security system and what not. And Mikey... well, he blew up Emma and April's phones with his latest 'Mikey' thoughts.
A day of freedom from their fight with the Shredder was in short order. Too bad that day wasn't today.
"Preacher dude's yapping into April's mic." Mikey snickered. "He's chewing her out for staging a false wedding!"
"Well, we did put his establishment at risk." Donnie pointed out, stretching his neck out a little.
Raph chuckled. "Seriously, what's with the robes?"
"Maybe they're as cold-blooded as we are." Mikey suggested. "I mean, would it kill to spring for a heating unit up in those rafters."
"For all the visitors they get up there?" Raph pointed out. Donnie leaned back on his bo as a few heads turned in his general direction. "We did ourselves a favor, scouting the blueprints beforehand. A turtle could've gotten lost looking for that bomb."
"Like we could afford any screw-ups." Leo added in firmly. "This guy was bent on blowing April up, finding out that she was onto him."
"You mean after I lead him to believe she was onto him." Donnie corrected him. "Leo really though, we should head out. The police have been getting suspicious enough with all the Foot butt that we've been kicking lately."
There was silence as the squad car holding the bomber pulled away from the curb. "Go on if you want. I'll follow to the station."
"C'mon Leo-" Mikey started, but Don looked up to see the faint swipe of his brother's shadow disappear onto the roof of the church, heading up the street after the car. Donnie joined Raph and Mikey in a chorus of sighs and groans. Donnie looked back down, catching a glimpse of April before they made their move to retreat back to the roof. Her hair was all tousled down the back of her non-wedding dress and she spoke with flushing pride into the camera that Vern held on her. Emma was standing off to the side- wait, why was she holding a basket?
"Where'd she get chocolate?!" Mikey cried out, answering the question. "I missed the buffet table?!"
"Mikey, it was a fake wedding." Raph reminded him.
"Soon to be followed by a reeaaall one!" Mikey sang out as he took off running ahead of them. Donnie and Raph shared a glance; then a snicker. True, April and Casey were being coy about setting a date, but Casey had been trying to push April- the month- on April. Of course they all saw it as cliche, but Casey saw it as a reminder of when their anniversary would be. Course, April hadn't said much either way.
"They should use the exact same church." Mikey was going on, grinding his board along the edge of a fire escape. "Plenty of space for us to watch."
"I don't think April would want to make that big of a fuss." Donnie said, bouncing his balance off the end of his bo staff and sailing across the alley.
"She'll think of something." Raph said. "She wouldn't dare get married without us there."
Donnie glanced sideways as Raph bounded ahead. "That's true. If she wants to get married."
Mikey and Raph, at the starting point of turning their run into a race, froze on the rooftop and spun on Donnie. Making him bump into Mikey and fall back.
"Why wouldn't she?" they both looked down at him. Donnie recovered, picking himself up. "Just that April's a very straight forward person. But, seems that whenever her and Casey getting married, she gets pretty quiet-"
"So?" Raph watched Donnie, waiting for the punch line. Course, Raph was always waiting for something to get punched.
"She loves Casey." Mikey said matter-of-factly. "I mean, they kiss enough, so-"
Raph poinked Mikey's temple. "There's more to it then that, shell-for-brains."
"I don't know," Donnie dusted himself off with a shrug. "I think... I think getting married scares her. Even if it is to someone she loves."
"I think that you think too much." Raph waved him off. "That just proves that they've been dragging this out for so long."
"Yeah," Mikey flipped his board in his hands. "We should really press 'em about it when they come over to the lair."
"No," Donnie shook his head. "That's not-"
"I mean, they've got the food to think about, the dress and tux," Mikey named them off. "A place to put the food, the decorations-"
"I had some ideas for their color scheme." Raph suddenly blurted. Mikey stopped with his board and Donnie stopped with his thoughts, to stare at him. "You... you what?"
Raph put a hand over his eyes. "I can't believe I just said that aloud."
Mikey snorted, unable to hold his laughter. "You DID read that magazine April left at the lair! I knew-"
He didn't finish as Raph sucker punched him in the chest.
